Amanda, still dazed and muddle headed, was coaxed and tricked by Bai Yanzhou all the way to her temporary residence.
The interior decorations had all been left by the landlord. Amanda hadn’t changed much of anything. After entering, Bai Yanzhou looked around, then sat down at the chair by the dining table as if he owned the place.
He sighed with exaggerated disbelief. “You clearly know what’s going to happen in a few days yet you didn’t prepare at all? Living in a place like this…”
Amanda let out a weary sigh. “After I fled here, all my sources of information were cut off. I don’t know what’s happening outside.”
“That’s true. If the news agency you worked for were still operating, they would’ve received the disaster report from Canada early this morning. A real pity. Too many of them died, power grids and communications completely collapsed. It took ages for the information to trickle out.”
Amanda’s lips trembled. “Already? That fast?”
Instinctively, she looked toward a small nearby door. She had rented this house mainly because it had a basement originally just a storage room. After moving in, she had stocked it with shelf stable food and the supplies she’d just bought from the supermarket were meant to be stored there as well.
To avoid arousing suspicion, she’d deliberately gone shopping in several separate trips with days in between, so no one would notice her quietly preparing for an impending disaster. Back at the news agency she had racked her brain trying to stir up public fear but now she was doing everything possible to keep her head down.
Resting his chin on his hand, Bai Yanzhou said leisurely, “They weren’t frozen to death, nor crushed by collapsing buildings. They were blown away, carried off by the wind. No one knows where they ended up.”
Perhaps by the time the ice storm reached Country A, people would see foreign citizens drifting across the sky.
“Blown… away?!”
Just how strong must the winds be?
“That’s right,” Bai Yanzhou replied. “Which means all those doomsday headlines your agency pushed earlier were actually the closest to the truth.”
The news organization had been misled. Their sources had concealed the actual severity of the disaster but the exaggerations typical of online independent media happened to fill that gap.
Amanda glanced at the food in the plastic bags and began doubting whether hiding underground would offer any real protection.
“You do have some sense of danger,” Bai Yanzhou said with a soft laugh. “When I first entered the physical system shop in this dungeon, I saw shelves stuffed with food and daily necessities. I guessed right then what crisis we were really facing. You know, right? Items on the shelves of the physical shop are always deliberately arranged by the shopkeeper, they match the players’ needs.”
Ye Jinran, who had silently slipped into the house, happened to hear this sentence. The muscles next to his mouth twitched slightly. So that was how Bai Yanzhou interpreted it. He had stumbled into the truth by complete accident.
Amanda didn’t fully understand. She remembered that when she entered the system shop disguised as a convenience store, the items inside didn’t match Bai Yanzhou’s description… but she simply assumed she lacked experience.
She nodded and agreed, “Right… I’ve been inside the physical shop in Blood Moon Town before. The items they sold were completely different.”
Suddenly, a flicker of dissatisfaction crossed Bai Yanzhou’s face. His tone sharpened into a cold sneer. “Shopkeeper, did my deduction embarrass you so much that you followed us all this way?”
Ye Jinran knew he could no longer stay hidden. He released his invisibility and as his figure gradually surfaced, Amanda’s eyes widened, her reaction almost identical to He Ran’s when he had seen him back in the classroom.
“Hope I didn’t interrupt your conversation,” Ye Jinran greeted, choosing a chair far away from Bai Yanzhou before sitting down. “Long time no see, both of you. Anything I can help you with?”
Of course, it would never be help for free. The price could be negotiated later; for now, he simply listened to the client’s needs.
Amanda still didn’t understand how Bai Yanzhou had detected him, nor why Black would appear here at this exact moment. Her gaze drifted back and forth between the two men. Only after a long pause did she finally ask, “So, Bai Yanzhou, what exactly is it that you want me to do?”
“You’re a journalist. A journalist’s job is to spread information,” Bai Yanzhou said, his smile faint and unreadable, his gaze still locked firmly on Ye Jinran. “I need you to publicize that a natural disaster will strike tomorrow and urge people to evacuate underground as soon as possible.”
Amanda was puzzled. “But I’ve already lost that identity and.. ”
“Why don’t you open your system panel and look again?”
Hearing this, Amanda immediately opened the panel to check her identity and mission target.
【Player Amanda has obtained the identity: The Reverse Path Journalist】
【Mission Target: Stay Alive】
Stay alive.
A satisfied smile curled across Ye Jinran’s lips. Someone had finally noticed. As expected, the first to sense the shift was Bai Yanzhou.
If Wang He Ran and Wang Aimin were to check their system panels now, they would see something very similar.
Their identity information had partially changed. This shift represented an alteration in their stance and all their mission goals had been unified into a single line, “Stay alive.”
Not only them, every human living on this land now had their fate subtly rewritten. The only remaining objective for all of them was survival.
With annihilation looming, humanity had been given no time left for internal struggle or consumption. Surviving this god spawned catastrophe would be the greatest, most arduous achievement they could possibly hope for.
Amanda’s identity had shifted, from a shell granted to her, into a mission she now carried.
After a long, heavy silence, Amanda looked at Bai Yanzhou, her gaze exceptionally earnest. “Alright. Whatever your plan is, this time I’ll follow your lead.”
“I don’t intend to tell you how to do it,” Bai Yanzhou replied lazily, the rose red hue of his eyes softened by a trace of languor. “You’re the journalist. You’re the professional here. The burden of publicity is all yours.”
Ye Jinran echoed casually, “Exactly. Only you can pull back the curtain and reveal the truth to the world.”
“I think our company still has a small marketing account that hasn’t been banned yet…” Amanda muttered under her breath, falling deep into contemplation.
Bai Yanzhou didn’t continue discussing that topic with her. He had only come to deliver the message in the first place; he had never planned to stay long but now that someone far more intriguing had appeared here, his plans shifted ever so slightly.
He turned to Ye Jinran, resting his chin on one hand with leisurely curiosity. “Are you going to stop me?” Ye Jinran blinked innocently. “In your eyes, do I often interfere with players’ actions?”
“No, not really. I think you’re actually very good at listening,” Bai Yanzhou said with a meaningfully amused smile. Feeling vaguely insulted somehow, Ye Jinran hid the discomfort behind an unfaltering smile.
“But,” Bai Yanzhou leaned to the side, “you saved the woman next to me, didn’t you? She was supposed to die in in <Blood Moon Town>. That’s rather inconvenient, isn’t it…”
Talking about this right in front of her, was that really okay? Keeping his expression composed, Ye Jinran answered, “I was simply following regulations. When a player has a purchase request, I have no reason to refuse. That’s how the system shop works. Whatever personal grudges you two may have… that isn’t my concern.”
Besides, he was innocent. He had never planned for Amanda to escape alive, she was just absurdly lucky.
Bai Yanzhou narrowed his eyes, satisfied as though a trick had landed just right. “In that case, since the shopkeeper is so impartial, I’ll make a deal with you as well.”
“What kind?” Now Ye Jinran was genuinely interested.
“Your convenience store’s items refresh daily, don’t they? I want all the supplies accumulated over the past few days to be distributed to the survivors.”
Ye Jinran immediately replied, “You don’t have enough points to pay for that.”
Well, he was the one who wasted them all in the first place. Bai Yanzhou still had plenty of remaining time but from what Ye Jinran knew about him, he absolutely hated using that method of payment.
A dangerous smile curved at Bai Yanzhou’s lips. “Can I take out a loan?”
Ye Jinran’s face filled with regret. “I don’t intend to launch that service for now. Debt collecting is a hassle and you players have terrible risk resistance. Who knows which dungeon you’ll die in someday, how am I supposed to get my money back then?”
“Is that so? What a pity. I personally feel my business abilities are quite good…”
Ye Jinran reconsidered. “However, I do have a new feature I’ve been planning to roll out in the system shop. As a star player, you could help me test it early and maybe promote it on the forum. How about that?”
The items in the surface world convenience store held little value to him, pretty much all trash. Everything unbought by the locals had simply been shoved into storage and piled up but if he could repurpose that junk and use it to introduce the new bundle system he had been preparing, that would be ideal.
All thanks to Bai Yanzhou mistaking them for special items, talk about someone bringing a pillow right when he was feeling sleepy. Ye Jinran couldn’t have asked for more.
Bai Yanzhou agreed without hesitation. “Sure. Speaking of which, the system shop has been undergoing so many changes lately that I’m curious what direction you’re planning to take it in. Go on, what is this new feature?”
Ye Jinran straightened up a little, trying to appear serious and enunciated each word with deliberate care. “Super Value Discount Bundles.”
Even Amanda, who had been standing silently on the side like a statue, was completely shaken.
“I’m planning to sell certain items in combined sets,” Ye Jinran began explaining. “For example, items that have synergy or complementary effects, items suited for the same specific scenario or items players often buy together and besides the goods themselves, I’m thinking of stuffing some points into the bundles as well, to make them even more super value.”
Bai Yanzhou put on an equally serious expression, deliberately joining the discussion as if he were participating in some grand strategic meeting. “So what you’re saying is, the price of the bundle will be cheaper than the total cost of all the individual items, correct? This idea is absolutely genius. How did you come up with it?”
Ye Jinran fell silent for a moment.
He definitely couldn’t say it was because he had been scammed one too many times by pay to win mobile games with reskinned cash grab bundles and finally learned the pattern.
Ye Jinran replied, “Keeping up with modern human trends.”
In any case, everyone seemed to be very receptive to this approach.
“You are truly remarkable. I’m willing to be the guinea pig… no, the lucky dog, sorry, I mean, I’d be very happy to become the first customer to experience the combination pack,” Bai Yanzhou said, barely suppressing his laughter, his expression already trembling a little at the edges.
Feeling guilty all of a sudden, Ye Jinran averted his eyes. “Just like the monthly pass, the combination bundle must be purchased using real world currency.”
Bai Yanzhou nodded with perfect seriousness. “I already bound my payment account last time when I bought the monthly pass. It can deduct directly.”
Amanda timidly raised her hand. “Do you need me to pay as well? My savings are actually… quite substantial.”
Unfortunately, because bank accounts weren’t under the system’s jurisdiction, Ye Jinran couldn’t see the players’ actual balances. He could only estimate and name a number. “A one day supply pack for daily living necessities: one hundred thousand.”
Years of dealing exclusively with points had blurred his sense of real world money, so he had subconsciously set the price on the higher side.
Who would have thought that Bai Yanzhou was just as clueless? “No problem. I’ll take five.”
Amanda quietly lowered her raised hand.And just like that, in the ten years since the global launch of the Infinite Game, the very first super value mega bundle was successfully sold. The buyer: Player Bai Yanzhou.
A few hours later.
Major video platforms across the internet suffered sudden hacker intrusions. A video posted by a small marketing account inexplicably gained massive views and landed on the front page of every platform.
The video wasn’t long. The narrator’s tone was urgent, giving the impression that it had been recorded under extreme emergency. It listed several entrances to underground air raid shelters, complete with precise coordinates and informed viewers that these were public emergency refuge sites stocked with adequate survival supplies, safe to use when danger arrived.
The government continued to suppress the trending topics about doomsday and the coming disaster but the video’s creator conveyed a message in a subtly coded way, avoiding any banned keywords, the storm will arrive on our doorstep tomorrow.
Most people insisted they didn’t believe it, arguing in the comments and trying to debunk it everywhere yet behind closed doors, they quietly began packing suitcases, placing their valuables carefully inside.
After bidding farewell to the two players, Ye Jinran returned to his small shop and collapsed onto the temporarily summoned sofa, finally able to breathe.
Amanda had purchased a data traffic service from him, so the so called hacker attack and the sudden explosive popularity were merely effects triggered by the items he had used.
For the first time ever, he had infiltrated all major social media systems using nothing but a single smartphone. Ye Jinran was completely drained.
He hadn’t actually helped the players all that much. Hopefully the Main God wouldn’t blame him…
It was only after hearing Bai Yanzhou’s full plan back at Amanda’s temporary residence that Ye Jinran realized just how much preparation he had done.
The underground of the city had been almost entirely excavated by Bai Yanzhou. Parking lots and basements were only one step away from being fully connected; the thin layer of earth separating them could be broken through with a strong push from any average adult.
Of course, accomplishing such an engineering feat bare handed was impossible but Bai Yanzhou had used digging type tools, similar to the shovel A’Peng had used in <Mist of Nanjin Village>. Items from the system shop always had a way of turning decay into miracles.
Ye Jinran had trouble picturing him tunneling through the underground these past few days like some human excavator.
What’s more, Bai Yanzhou had managed to cleverly avoid all the areas where the ground above might collapse, resulting in an underground air raid shelter and tunnel system that was astonishingly secure and stable. Truly, a master hidden among the common folk.
Night fell. At this hour, the city was normally still bustling, bright and noisy but tonight the streets were unusually quiet, carrying a heavy atmosphere of imminent storm.
The military announced that their weather control weapon had completed its testing phase and would soon be deployed, even releasing footage of the trial site. The steel behemoth forged by high technology radiated a fierce sense of power, easing the public’s fear by a small degree.
Official media finally gave up resisting. They announced that a massive rainstorm would strike tomorrow, urging citizens not to go out and declaring a full suspension of work and school.
On university campuses, however, He Ran and her classmates could not rest. They carefully examined the storm’s trajectory, attempting to determine precisely how long the disaster would last.
Once a hurricane disaster began, panic would inevitably spread. People would anxiously await the moment it passed. If they could provide a definite end time for the catastrophe, it would serve as a stabilizing force, a reassurance that could prevent countless unnecessary losses.
At the meteorological station, Wang Aimin did not dare relax for even a second. He remained ready at all times to press the launch button at the optimal moment, unleashing a counter current of air to strike the approaching ice storm head on, buying precious evacuation time for the public.
As one of the designers of the weather control weapon, he knew full well their resistance was nothing compared to the force on the other side but delaying it by even one more second might mean one more life saved.
It was destined to be a sleepless night. People hid inside their homes or relocated into underground shelters, waiting fearfully for the arrival of the next dawn.
The sun did not appear on the horizon as expected.
Ye Jinran stepped out of the shop and stood on the empty street, letting the wild wind whip through his hair. The anomalies of the dungeon couldn’t truly harm him, so he was free to stand at the best vantage point and witness this once in a millennium cataclysmic spectacle.
He lifted his head and saw a sky smothered by dense clouds, the only illumination flashing from lightning and thunder.
The wind continued to accelerate, this was the prelude to disaster. Birds and beasts scattered from the trees. Plastic bags and scraps of paper skittered rapidly across the road. Window frames not tightly shut creaked and twisted as if they might fall off at any moment. Occasionally, something shattered. Somewhere, a faint sound of breathing could be heard.
Ye Jinran continued walking forward. Not every resident believed the warnings that had been spreading wildly across the internet. Some had not taken shelter in advance. Now, seeing the sky suddenly darken, they finally realized something was terribly wrong and began desperately searching for cover. As he surveyed the city, he saw figures still scattered everywhere, people who had been left aboveground, fleeing in frantic disorder.
He soon arrived at the nearby university campus. The volunteer teams formed by students, together with some teachers, were the last ones holding their posts. The residents living on campus and the remaining students were being herded into the school’s own air raid shelter.
Within the crowd, he spotted He Ran.“How many people are left?” she shouted into the wind toward the teammate behind her, doing her best to keep her voice from being swallowed by the gale.
Her groupmate, a male student, yelled back in the same throat scraping volume, “There are still a few hundred on the football field!”
“I’ll go get them! Hold things steady here!”
He Ran’s eyes were sharp with determination. The ferocious gusts that could topple grown adults did nothing to shake her resolve. She pushed through the packed crowd with all the strength she had, racing toward the shadowed distance.
When the disaster passed, she could finally say boldly that their research had not been in vain.
Leaving the campus, this last pocket of almost utopian order, Ye Jinran stepped back into a city that had already turned into a vision of hell. The wind howled like a demon’s roar; the plummeting temperature caused the water on the streets to glaze over with thin layers of ice.In their terror, some people slammed shut the entrances to their basements, ignoring the desperate pounding and pleading from companions still outside, until those cries turned into hopeless curses and sobbing.
Rain mixed with hail came sheeting down, collapsing visibility in an instant. People still on the streets completely lost their sense of direction. Some panicked and ducked into their cars; others gripped their steering wheels with trembling hands but veered wildly in fear. One misjudged turn sent a car crashing into the roadside. Screams pierced through the storm, more bodies fell, never to stand up again.
This, this was what the Main God wanted, Ye Jinran thought. In the days to come, he would be pushed again and again to the edge of the stage, watching this brutal tragedy unfold alongside Him.
✦ ✧ ✦
Nycreth
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
The translator humbly requests tribute in coffee form. (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ ☕
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Blood Moon Town: ShhhChapter 2 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (1)Chapter 3 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (2)Chapter 4 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (3)Chapter 5 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (4)Chapter 6 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (7)Chapter 7 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (6)Chapter 8 · The mist over Nanjin Village (7)Chapter 9 · The Mystery of Nanjin Village (The End)Chapter 10 · Real WorldChapter 11 · Riding The Wind (1)Chapter 12 · Riding The Wind (2)Chapter 13 · Riding The Wind (3)Chapter 14 · Riding The Wind (4)Chapter 15 · Riding The Wind (5)Chapter 16 · Riding The Wind (6)Chapter 17 · Riding The Wind (7)Chapter 18 · Riding The Wind (8)Chapter 19 · Riding The Wind (9)Chapter 20 · Riding The Wind (10)Chapter 21 Part 1 · Riding The Wind (11)Chapter 21 Part 2 · Riding The Wind (11)Chapter 22 · Real World (1)Chapter 23 · Real World (2)Chapter 24 · Golden Sands Fade Away (1)Chapter 25 · Golden Sands Fade Away (2)Chapter 26 · Golden Sands Fade Away (3)Chapter 27 · Golden Sands Fade Away (4)Chapter 28 · Golden Sands Fade Away (5)Chapter 29 · Golden Sands Fade Away (6)Chapter 30 · Golden Sands Fade Away (7)Chapter 31 · Golden Sands Fade Away (8)Chapter 32 · Golden Sands Fade Away (9)Chapter 33 · Golden Sands Fade Away (10)Chapter 34 · Golden Sands Fade Away (11)Chapter 35 · Golden Sands Fade Away (12)Chapter 36 · Golden Sands Fade Away (13)Chapter 37 · Golden Sands Fade Away (14)Chapter 38 · Golden Sands Fade Away (15)Chapter 39 · Golden Sands Fade Away (16)Chapter 40 · Golden Sands Fade Away (17)Chapter 41 · Golden Sands Fade Away (18)Chapter 42 · Golden Sands Fade Away (19)Chapter 43 · Golden Sands Fade Away (20)Chapter 44 · Golden Sands Fade Away (21)Chapter 45 · Golden Sands Fade Away (22)Chapter 46 · Golden Sands Fade Away (23)Chapter 47 · Golden Sands Fade Away (24)Chapter 48 · Golden Sands Fade Away (25) The EndChapter 49 · Main God’s DomainChapter 50 · Anomaly Investigation Bureau (1)Chapter 51 · Anomaly Investigation Bureau (2)Chapter 52 · Item FactoryChapter 53 · Defrosted Friendship (1)Chapter 54 · Defrosted Friendship (2)Chapter 55 · Defrosted Friendship (3)Chapter 56 · Defrosted Friendship (4)Chapter 57 · Defrosted Friendship (5)Chapter 58 · Defrosted Friendship (6)Chapter 59 · Defrosted Friendship (7)Chapter 60 · Defrosted Friendship (8)Chapter 61 · Defrosted Friendship (9)Chapter 62 · Defrosted Friendship (10)Chapter 63 · Defrosted Friendship (11)Chapter 64 · Defrosted Friendship (12)Chapter 65 · Defrosted Friendship (13)Chapter 66 · Defrosted Friendship (14)Chapter 67 · Defrosted Friendship (15)Chapter 68 · Defrosted Friendship (16)Chapter 69 · Defrosted Friendship (End)Chapter 70 · The Real WorldChapter 71 · Matching TimeChapter 72 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (1)Chapter 73 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (2)Chapter 74 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (3)Chapter 75 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (4)Chapter 76 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (5)Chapter 77 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (6)Chapter 78 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (7)Chapter 79 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (8)Chapter 80 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (9)Chapter 81 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (10)Chapter 82 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (11)Chapter 83 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (12)Chapter 84 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (13)Chapter 85 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (14)Chapter 86 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (15)Chapter 87 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (16)Chapter 88 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (17)Chapter 89 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (18)Chapter 90 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (19)Chapter 91 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (20)Chapter 92 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (21)Chapter 93 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (22)Chapter 94 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (23)Chapter 95 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (Complete)Chapter 96 · The Main God Invites You for TeaChapter 97 · The Player ForumChapter 98 · Training GroundChapter 99 · Eternal Night – The Stone-Striker (1)Chapter 100 · Eternal Night – The Stone-Striker (2)Chapter 101 · Eternal Night – The Stone-Striker (3)Chapter 102 · Eternal Night · The One Who Strikes the Stone (Finale)