Chapter 29: The Operation — You’re Not Going Back to School Either? Part 1

【Points Reward: 3,000 Points】

【Supply Reward: Safe House Upgrade Module x1, Basic Medical Card x1】

【As the Player Backpack is full, supply rewards will be delivered within one meter of the player. Please collect promptly】

“Holy sh—!”

“No no no no… damn it!”

“Scared me half to death! I almost fell!”

“What happened?! What’s wrong?!”

The chorus of yelps startled Ji Li wide awake. Before he was even fully conscious, he bolted upright—and opened his eyes directly into the Main Quest completion screen.

Before he could process it, something smacked him on the head—hard-edged and rock-solid, nearly knocking stars into his vision.

“Fuck! What the… what is this?” Ji Li picked up the fist-sized, distinctly high-tech cube that had landed beside him, completely dumbfounded.

“That should be the Safe House Upgrade Module. And that’s your medical card.” Shen Shuyan’s voice came from beside him—outwardly calm, but with a tremor underneath.

“The Basic Medical Card… Then Brother Shen, use it, quick!” Ji Li snapped fully awake, clutching the upgrade module in one hand and holding up the medical card with the other, staring at Shen Shuyan in excitement.

But Shen Shuyan shook his head and gestured at the air. “The Virtual Screen hasn’t vanished. There should be more.”

Only then did Ji Li notice that the pale-blue translucent screen still hung there, unlike usual, when it disappeared after about ten seconds.

A full minute passed before a new screen appeared.

【Scan confirms the player has bound a Safe House. Please be inside your Safe House before teleportation begins. If the player is not inside the Safe House when teleportation activates, the player will be deemed to have abandoned the Safe House and the binding will be dissolved. This notice will not be repeated】

【Reward distribution complete. At midnight tonight, the player will be teleported to the Extreme Cold Apocalypse. Please prepare accordingly】

The screen faded slowly, and after a long silence, someone let out a sigh.

“Knew it…”

Those words ignited everyone at once, and the room erupted.

“I knew this rotten game was up to no good! It wants to force us to walk to our deaths!”

“Damn it! It can scan inside our safe houses, but carrying them over for us would be too much to ask?!”

“Maybe it can only scan the binding, but can’t locate the safe house if the person isn’t inside?”

“You’re defending the Game now? Whose side are you even on?”

“Actually, it’s not that dire… worst case, just don’t keep the safe house—” The moment Qin Xiaoxiao finished, the outcry stopped dead, and the room went silent.

After a moment, Zhang Luyao picked up an Explosive Charge and tossed it out the window, saying evenly, “I’m going back.”

Gao Lan followed at once. “So am I.”

Chen Jianxin was right behind. “Same here.”

Shen Shuyan’s eyes flickered. He picked up the medical card and tore it in half. “Ditto.”

The instant he finished, a sweep of blue light washed over him. His whole body blurred into a translucent virtual image.

“Bro-Brother Shen?!” Ji Li gaped. He hadn’t expected the man to use the medical card without a word of warning—and turn into a hologram?!

Skinny Monkey, on the other side, was even more terrified, gingerly poking at the hologram.

Watching his finger pass straight through Shen Shuyan’s face, he shuddered violently. “L-L-L-Little Shen, this is—!”

“A fixed… procedure of the medical card?” Ji Li tried to explain, though he couldn’t fathom what holograms had to do with medical service.

The others, too, had their emotions interrupted by Shen Shuyan’s stunt, and crowded around, poking and prodding the projection with curiosity.

“Can Little Shen change back like this?”

“Should… be able to? Otherwise why call it a medical card—might as well call it a murder card.”

“Look! I can stand entirely inside Little Shen!”

“Get out of there, Luyao! What if it messes up his treatment!”

“Okay, okay…”

A few minutes passed, and Shen Shuyan still hadn’t reverted. Everyone grew anxious.

“Nothing’s going to go wrong, right?” Chen Jianxin looked at Ji Li pleadingly.

How would Ji Li know? He could only offer reassurance. “It should be fine…”

As he spoke, he reached out and touched the projection—and at that moment, blue light flared. The hologram doubled, and before Ji Li could react, Shen Shuyan materialized, the projection shattering. Aside from a slight shift in position, even his posture was identical to the instant he’d vanished.

Ji Li’s eyes lit up, his hand landing naturally on Shen Shuyan’s shoulder as he grabbed it, firing questions. “Brother Shen! How do you feel? Are you recovered? Can you walk?!”

The others clamored around him:

“Little Shen, where did you just go? Did you see anything?”

“Quick, what did it feel like? Dizzy at all?”

“Can you stand? Want me to hold you up?”

Shen Shuyan’s expression was indescribably complicated. He gently pushed Ji Li away, declined Skinny Monkey’s support, and, bracing against the mound of blankets, slowly stood on his own.

“It… it worked! Thank god!”

Skinny Monkey lunged and threw his arms around Shen Shuyan, and Chen Jianxin was so moved he wiped his eyes.

“Good, good. Recovered is what matters. Say what you will about this rotten game—the items genuinely work.”

“Little Shen, how does it feel?” Gao Lan leaned in. “Do you remember the treatment process?”

Shen Shuyan walked an excited circle before sitting down to answer everyone’s questions.

“It feels the same as before the injury—better, even. I had a herniated lumbar disc from sitting so long, and now it feels completely healed.”

“You can feel that?” Zhang Luyao marveled.

“It’s just a feeling. I don’t know how to describe it…” Shen Shuyan pondered. “Something like… my lumbar spine got updated. As for the treatment itself, I have no memory at all. Eyes closed, eyes open, and I was here.”

“Convenient, at least…” Ji Li muttered, glancing at the items in his hands before storing them in his bracelet.

Since Shen Shuyan remembered nothing of the treatment, further questions were pointless. Gao Lan turned to the others and said directly, “Right now, me, Luyao, Brother Chen, and Little Shen have all decided to return for our safe houses. What about the rest of you?”

Ji Li’s hand shot up. “Me too!”

Gao Lan shot him a glance and said nothing, only looking at Skinny Monkey, Qin Xiaoxiao, and Lu Zihan.

Ji Li found it odd and was about to speak when Lu Zihan said, “I’m going back. The less this rotten game wants me to do something, the more I’ll do it! It wants me to unbind my safe house? In its dreams!”

Skinny Monkey looked around, his expression conflicted—but his words came out surprisingly firm. “I go where Boss Chen goes. Whatever he does, I do.”

Chen Jianxin patted his shoulder, though his face was anything but happy—more troubled, like he was holding something back.

Another handful to worry about.

Gao Lan found it somewhat funny, and turned to Qin Xiaoxiao. “And you?”

Qin Xiaoxiao became the center of attention again, but this time she didn’t keep them waiting long.

“I’ll… not go back. You can survive without a safe house anyway—it’s not worth the risk. Sister Lan, I know you’re someone of real ability, but I’m just an ordinary person. I only want to scrape by.”

Gao Lan frowned. “Who here isn’t ordinary? Who doesn’t want to live? We weighed the odds and decided the risk was acceptable, and gathered companions along the way. How did that turn into me forcing you to pick sides?”

“I—I didn’t mean it like that…”

Qin Xiaoxiao flushed crimson in an instant, but Gao Lan just waved a hand.

“Whatever you meant, we don’t leave until eleven tonight. You can change your mind anytime. And you two definitely aren’t going, right?”

Yu Shen and Yang Haoran shook their heads like rattles, shrinking back, terrified of being press-ganged.

Gao Lan couldn’t be bothered with the pair, and waved the others over to the shattered floor-to-ceiling window to plan the night’s operation.

Ji Li spoke first. “Are we sure about leaving at eleven? Isn’t that cutting it close?”

“If all goes well, half an hour gets us back. If not, one hour of escape time is still better than a few.” Gao Lan paused, then glared up at him. “What are you crowding in for?”

Ji Li blinked. “Aren’t we planning the operation?”

“You’re not even going back to the school. Why are you butting in?”

“I am going back! Why wouldn’t I?!” Ji Li flared up. “And if I don’t go, who supplies your Explosive Charges?”

“Oh, please. Everyone here knows exactly how those charges appear. Just hand them over and be done with it,” Zhang Luyao said.

“She’s right, Little Ji. There’s no need to risk yourself with us,” Shen Shuyan urged.

But Ji Li wouldn’t budge. “If I give them to you, can you even carry them? There are over a thousand Explosive Charges!”

“Listen to him brag! Go on, inflate it more!” Skinny Monkey jeered. “If you really had that many, you’d have had Luyao throw every last one down and blast those core-farming bastards to bits already. Instead we’re sitting here planning how to get home?”

Lu Zihan snorted coldly. “Any smart person knows hiding here is safest. You’re the only fool who wants to come die with us.”

Seeing Ji Li hang his head in silence, Chen Jianxin sighed.

“Little Ji, we all know you mean well. Honestly, if you hadn’t reminded us how much the safe houses matter, we’d have given up long ago—we’d never have lasted to today. You’ve already done everything you can. The rest of this road, we walk ourselves. Life and death are fated. Don’t come risk your neck with us.”

Ji Li tried to protest, but Gao Lan cut him off flatly. “It’s decided.” Then she turned to the others.

“Starting at ten-thirty tonight, Luyao wears the Night Vision Goggles and throws gasoline bottles—light at least ten buildings in the direction opposite our retreat. At ten-fifty, start throwing explosives. If all goes well, the Black Tide will recede and split, and we slip out through the gap.”

“On the road, to prevent encirclement, we drive with windows open. Three people per car: besides the driver, two keep watch on either side. The Black Tide isn’t attracted to light, so bring the High-Powered Flashlights.”

“Why not mount the flashlights on the cars? Frees up hands,” Shen Shuyan suggested.

Gao Lan nodded, then frowned. “Mount them where?”

“The master bedroom,” Ji Li interjected. “There’s room.”

Everyone looked at him. He coughed awkwardly and muttered under his breath, “The cars are… all with me…”

“You’ve stopped even pretending, huh?” Zhang Luyao poked his forehead.