Chapter 119: The Sea of Wandering 12
Inside the white mist.
In the classic and magnificent banquet hall, seventeen silver candlesticks shone brightly under the candlelight, corresponding to the seventeen players seated around the table.
The promise Liam made to Fu Dong was: “At the end of the white mist, I will arrange a romantic and grand French aristocratic dinner for you.” And he indeed delivered: end of the white mist, romantic and grand, aristocratic dinner—all key elements were present. It had a sort of fastidiousness that disregarded the employer’s life or death. But frankly, this fastidiousness was worse than nothing; Fu Dong’s face was currently as dark as the bottom of a pot.
“This isn’t the first time any of us have entered a Rules Zone,” Ye Jiaoyue said. “No need to be nervous, we’ll find a way out.”
“I really didn’t expect this,” Qing Gang picked up the thread, looking at Fu Dong with a gaze full of admiration. “President Fu is actually willing to come in personally to save your younger brother!”
Song Qiaowei rolled her eyes in her heart unhappily. Perhaps she hadn’t yet recovered from the shadow of the hundred million lost. Fu Dong didn’t respond either, merely staring at the King card in front of him. It displayed a Shakespearean text—”Look! Look at your child, look at the future heir to the throne! At this moment, this poor child should weep, as crows sing a mournful requiem for the tragic fate that will arrive at midnight!”
Weep, mournful, tragic—none were good words. His expression was somber. Finally, he lifted his eyelids slightly and cast his gaze toward his “child.” Qing Gang, on the other hand, was very friendly. Activating the standardized smile for service window staff at the administrative hall, he nodded politely at him, unaffected by the rather ominous words on the Princess card in front of him: “Run, fool! Or when the stars streak across the night sky with tails of fire, the doom belonging to you will come clad in scales.”
On Song Qiaowei’s Queen card was: “Molten iron of rage surges in a mother’s chest; her life should burn for her child! When Death extends his scythe toward the rose, she resolves to block it with her body.”
Ye Jiaoyue’s Prophet card read: “When the gods require sacrifice, the hand of the King holding the scepter will be steadier than that of the executioner.”
The colleagues from the Capital Team received the Fate card, Bard card, and Listener card.
Fan Xiaoying held the Fate card: “Tragedy! This tragedy unavoidable from birth, a family tree swallowed by raging fire, a contract with the devil written by demons.”
Du Bai lived up to the poetic immortals and saints in his name; his current role was the Bard, which Zhong Mu had tried for but failed to get—”When the death knell tolls at the celebration, please recite a poem. Use it to trip Death’s ankle; perhaps that will delay the damned doom a little.”
Alice, the Listener: “You are the poet’s fervent admirer, his only companion in the world. When wanton poisonous thorns entangle the dense forest, you will strip flesh and bone to pave a new road for him.”
In addition, there were ten Ministers, including Zhong Mu. The text on their cards was identical: “Listen! ‘May my King’s great enterprise be as solid as rock forever!’ They laugh and talk while clinking glasses, yet harbor ulterior motives when they turn around! What a laughable kingdom, to have three kings!”
Currently, these eight sentences were the hints for this round of the game. Taken literally, the Princess was about to meet doom, the Queen was willing to die to save the Princess, the King would become an executioner at certain moments, and the Ministers harbored ulterior motives, loyal to the King, Queen, and Princess respectively. Fate revealed that the tragedy of this family was predestined, inescapable and unchangeable, only delayable by the Bard’s poetry. The Listener seemed like the Bard’s cheat code, responsible for giving him a push when he encountered difficulties.
The whole story seemed logical, not too enigmatic. Except for Fu Dong and Song Qiaowei, the fifteen action team members present were experienced veterans. Generally, they wouldn’t be nervous in such situations. But extraordinary circumstances were another matter. For example, Comrade Du Bai right now was really unfamiliar with the profession of “Bard.” The thought that he actually needed to “recite a poem” made his stomach hurt even more. Did this poetry recitation have a theme requirement? Was anything okay? Would “Hoeing Millet at Noon” clash with the castle’s temperament?
“If the rules don’t specify, then ancient or modern, Chinese or Western should be fine. Improvising is fine too. Anyway, in a nutshell, as long as there are enough punctuation marks and enter keys, that’s poetry too!” Listener Alice patted his shoulder. But it’s best to keep it simple. If it’s too complex, I might not understand and won’t be able to help you.
Fu Dong shook his head and reached up to massage his brow.
Qing Gang thought, What are you sighing for? Our Order Maintenance Department also has cultured talents. Although very few, just two.
…
“Achoo!” Zhuang Ningyu sneezed and pulled a tissue from the car dispenser to wipe his nose. Yi Ke reached out and lovingly patted his head, lamenting, My wife is truly precious. I only delayed cleaning the car’s air conditioning by a week, and he’s already coughing sensitively. Hard to raise, I like it.
Zhuang Ningyu ignored his look of intoxication and continued staring at the document in his hand.
Game, King.
King.
“Wifey.” While waiting for the light, Yi Ke glanced at him from the corner of his eye and lectured earnestly, “Although you are very smart, you probably can’t deduce the entire set of rules from just these four words. Can you stop working for now? The doctor said your brain needs appropriate rest; overusing it will cause headaches. You’ve been in meetings all day.”
Zhuang Ningyu: “Mmh!” This was the second syllable he could produce besides “Ah.” It was high-pitched and thin, sounding equally funny, as if fate were strangling his throat. Yi Ke pressed his lips together hard, one hand on the steering wheel, turned his head, stroked his chin with the other hand, and looked out the car window as if nothing happened.
A Huolala truck was stopped next to them. Although the guy in the passenger seat didn’t know why the rich person in this flat car suddenly showed him a mysterious smile, he still flashed eight big white teeth in return and actively offered a box of cigarettes, striking up a conversation: “Bro, want one?”
“Thanks, I don’t smoke.” Yi Ke waved his hand, politely declining. “My wife doesn’t let me.”
Zhuang Ningyu: Just saying the first four words was enough. Also, you don’t smoke anyway, don’t use this as an excuse to show off!
The Huolala guy gave a thumbs up: “Tsk, Bro, you’re really a good man. So handsome, the car is handsome, the person is handsome. Sister-in-law is truly blessed to have found you.”
Easy to say, easy to say. Meeting a kindred spirit on the service road, Yi Ke felt great from the praise. He grabbed a box of new tea from the back seat, originally intended for the office, and insisted on throwing it into the other guy’s window; he couldn’t be stopped. The Huolala guy beamed with joy. Even when the light turned green and they started moving, he was still cupping his fists and shouting: “Thanks Big Brother! Wish Big Brother and Sister-in-law a loving relationship and a hundred years of harmony!”
His voice was so loud that passersby looked into the car. Zhuang Ningyu propped his forehead with his right hand, appropriately blocking part of his face, and took out his phone with his left hand to order a full-car privacy film upgrade service from a car detailing shop.
Instead of changing others, it’s better to rely on oneself.
The two didn’t go home directly but went to the Certification Center first and successfully obtained the S01A98521 Yi Ke had been longing for! The staff even specially gifted Comrade Little Yi a pair of couple card holders, mysteriously indicating that this was the latest product launched by the Global Evolutionary Management Center. It would only hit the market next month, and the selling price was very expensive—520 yuan for two!
Zhuang Ningyu found it hard to understand. Would anyone really buy this kind of ghostly thing?
Yi Ke: Too beautiful, I can’t let go!
Zhuang Ningyu quickened his pace, afraid his ID would be snatched away by him. Last time they came to the Certification Center, he wanted to visit the bookstore opposite. Now it was still early, perfect for browsing and getting something to eat. The café on the second floor had a light meal area. Yi Ke ordered two pork chop rice bowls. When he brought the drinks over, he saw Zhuang Ningyu sitting on the sofa, looking up at Hamlet playing on the wall-mounted TV—
“Polonius: …’Tis too much proved—that with devotion’s visage and pious action we do sugar o’er the devil himself.
King: O, ’tis too true! How smart a lash that speech doth give my conscience! The harlot’s cheek, beautied with plastering art, is not more ugly to the thing that helps it than is my deed to my most painted word. O heavy burden!”
Coincidentally, the “King” in the Rules Zone, according to the poem on the card, was also a hypocrite chasing profit. The rules appearing in the first round seemed to only outline fate generally without hints on how to proceed with the game. However, since the King card mentioned “midnight,” perhaps time would reveal the secret.
Seven hours until midnight.
During this period, the signal transmitter continued working hard, constantly emitting urgent and hoarse beeping sounds. Fu Dong and Song Qiaowei were annoyed by the noise and simply sat far away in another corner of the banquet hall. The action team members were busy in their own ways. Du Bai and Alice were busy making cheat sheets for poetry, while the rest surrounded Qing Gang, pondering how to save this “Princess destined for tragedy.”
“I think the cards are just settings and hints, not established facts,” Qing Gang said. “Otherwise, Song Qiaowei should sacrifice herself to save me. Do you think that’s possible?”
“That’s true, but it’s never wrong to be extra careful.” Zhong Mu flipped through her card, unable to resist saying it again. “If Captain Zhuang were here, it would be great. Heard he recites Shakespeare even after general anesthesia. He could definitely save poor Little Du.”
Being mentioned eight hundred times a day by colleagues in the Rules Zone, Zhuang Ningyu buried his face in the quilt and sneezed over a dozen times in one breath. Yi Ke ran out of the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth, finally realizing the severity of the problem: “Wifey, do you have a cold?”
No. Zhuang Ningyu sat up with a red nose and waved his hand. I just feel like someone is talking about me.
Yi Ke reached out to check his forehead temperature and pinched his mouth open to check his tonsils. His technique was professional, but his medical knowledge was entirely fabricated. Finally, the conclusion reached was “too many meetings.” He was forbidden from going to the office tomorrow and had to rest at home.
Zhuang Ningyu removed the hand placed on his stomach. Understood, you may withdraw.
Yi Ke pinched his cheek and went back to brush his teeth. After the bathroom door closed again, Zhuang Ningyu stealthily fished his phone out from under the covers. There were just a few new voice messages from He Mo—
“I can reconstruct the Jade Bird Pavilion’s Rules Zone, but I can’t send team members in because there’s simply no entry path.”
“What logic? The logic is you can’t open a door on a door to enter this door; it’s just a door!”
“I’ve just relayed the unreasonable request you made to me to Yi Ke.”
Zhuang Ningyu’s eyes widened slightly. He absolutely didn’t think his hypothesis about re-establishing the connection between Jade Bird Pavilion’s Rules Zone and the Wandering Sea was unreasonable. Wasn’t this a very normal work discussion? A “ding” text message alert came from the bathroom. It was too late to rush in and grab the phone now. Zhuang Ningyu chose to combine feigning sleep and feigning illness, clutching his stomach and shrinking to the side of the bed. Very weak, unable to withstand even a bit of criticism.
Yi Ke was indeed startled after coming out of the bathroom and ran over to squat by the bed: “What’s wrong, wifey? Stomach uncomfortable?” He moved Zhuang Ningyu’s hand away, pressed his warm palm on his stomach and rubbed it, asking with concern, “Is it because you drank iced juice on the way home?”
Zhuang Ningyu indicated: Possible. Come, come, sleep.
Yi Ke didn’t get into bed immediately but sat by the bed and made a phone call first: “…Cancel the menu you sent just now. We won’t come over for dinner tomorrow… No lobster… No sea urchin either… No matter how hard-to-find good stuff, we don’t want it… Stomach ache, can’t eat raw or cold food… Forget it, I’ll cook some plain congee at home… What tuna? Isn’t tuna also raw and cold?… Can’t eat, can’t eat any of it. Sell it to someone else, don’t save it. Alright, that’s it.”
Having been pitted out of sea urchin by He Mo, Zhuang Ningyu felt he could fully recover tomorrow. He wanted to eat it, but Yi Ke held a different opinion and really guarded the kitchen early in the morning to cook Husband-brand loving plain congee, without a drop of oil, salt, or minced meat. The sun warmed the large bed. Zhuang Ningyu lay flat, sighing and groaning, losing the motivation to get up. He grabbed his phone for a look, pondering in his heart: If the time in the Wandering Sea is consistent with outside the Rules Zone, then accounting for the time difference, it should be just past midnight in the Rules Zone right now.
…
Shhh, shhh.
Shhh, shhh.
Shhh, shhh.
As the grandfather clock finished striking twelve times, a strange sound came from outside the castle in the distance. Although somewhat broken up by the waves, it was still clearly discernible.
There were no stars or moon this night. Fortunately, the action team members had set up lighting and image transmission equipment at several key points in advance. So at this moment, through the screen, everyone could clearly see something slowly floating forward on the pitch-black sea surface.
Kelp, or seaweed? Hidden under the snow-white spray, the colors weren’t clear, occasionally glinting with ripples of light.
“Are they… fish?” Alice asked uncertainly when the glimmers got closer.
Ye Jiaoyue was the first to see the clue: “Mermaids.”
Qing Gang was shocked: “How can there be such things?”
Splash! As his voice fell, a pale face abruptly appeared on the screen, proving on the spot that indeed, there were such things! Although there was still some distance from the camera, the people in front of the screen were still startled by this horrific scene that suddenly crashed into their retinas.
A mermaid, but not the “beautiful” mermaid of conventional impression, but a rather terrifying-looking one. Wet long hair plastered to pale cheeks, bulging eyeballs, a large mouth almost splitting to the ears, a skeletal body with prominent ribs visible. The fish tail was also a dingy, dirty color, with scales mottled and peeling. After being washed onto the beach by the seawater, it could immediately stand upright and “walk” towards the castle relying on the swinging of the fish tail.
One.
Ten.
Fifty.
More and more mermaids emerged from the sea, twisting and turning, their fish tails dragging thick trails on the wet gravel.
The action team members gripped their guns tightly, aiming the muzzles at the closed door.
