Chapter 105

Early

"A few years ago this was still known locally as the stinking river. But after years of environmental restoration work by the relevant authorities, and the residents taking it on themselves to maintain it, the natural environment has improved considerably. Especially in this stretch — fireflies appear here regularly."

The voice was getting closer. Curly Hair listened to what was being said, and her expression grew more and more serious.

Something is wrong. Very wrong.

When survival is already a luxury, people don't spend energy on environmental restoration. The will to survive overwhelms everything else.

Fish broke the surface with a splash. Flowers, trees, water, fish — all thriving in this heat. That meant the high temperatures weren't sustained year-round; otherwise the vegetation would have withered long ago.

Had the disaster not yet begun? Had the players entered the timeline before the catastrophe arrived?

The woman speaking had a respectful tone — she seemed eager to show the best of this place to whoever she was addressing. Which meant the person being addressed had real standing here, possibly with decision-making power.

Curly Hair didn't know when the disaster would come. But this person could be the key to survival.

She straightened her clothes and pulled her cap down over her greasy hair. Whatever impression she could manage in front of someone this significant — she needed to make it.

*

The evening was still sweltering. Even after dark, any coolness was barely perceptible — the wind itself was warm. Chao Musheng held his small electric fan, noticed Director Chen was pouring with sweat, and tilted it a few degrees toward her.

As a host, Director Chen had been maintaining poise in front of important guests regardless of the heat — when the breeze shifted to her, she blinked, then turned to see Consultant Chao's fan angled her way.

"Thank you." Her mouth softened. The brightness in her eyes deepened. The other accompanying staff saw it too, and the warmth in how they looked at Chao Musheng increased.

"Not at all." He stepped slightly closer to Director Chen so the air reached her better, and looked out at the riverbank path. "The streetlights here aren't on. Is there a problem with the wiring?"

A staff member from the local department answered immediately: "Consultant Chao — the wiring along the riverbank is fine, it gets regular maintenance. But these past few days, with temperatures this extreme, electricity demand has been high, so we've taken some non-essential supply offline to ensure residential power isn't disrupted."

He was quietly kicking himself — if he'd known the experts would be coming out in this heat, he should have arranged to restore the riverbank lighting.

"That's the right call." Chao Musheng said warmly. "The moon is very bright tonight — you can see the path clearly even without the streetlamps. In weather this hot, residential power comes first."

He looked around with genuine curiosity. "Without streetlight interference — does that make it easier to see fireflies?"

"Where are the fireflies?" The other students started looking around too — the reason they'd come out in this heat was precisely for that.

"Please, walk a little further along." The staff member laughed at their eagerness. "The fireflies are more likely to appear around the bend."

These young experts were much easier than expected. In heat like this and not a word of complaint — the country produces good people.

"Xiao Chao — are those people up ahead?" The class secretary was walking beside him. She and Chao Musheng were classmates, the computing department's second third-year representative for the trip.

In the moonlight, two figures stood beneath a willow tree — a young man and woman, blurred by the dark. The man was very tall. He looked like someone you wouldn't want to cross.

Two people in baseball caps, out this late — the class secretary was worried about undesirables.

The local reception staff reacted immediately, reshuffling their positions to shield Chao Musheng and the others in the centre as they continued forward.

Curly Hair noticed the movement. It confirmed the person they were protecting was significant. Not wanting to cause alarm, she pulled Ah Peng, who still hadn't caught on, two steps back.

Ah Peng stared at the approaching group, confused. Some of them were holding water, some had fans; their manner was relaxed — more like tourists taking in the scenery than people surviving in a hostile environment.

In a survival instance, there's no such thing as order. Aren't they afraid of being robbed?

"Are you two from the processing factory?" Director Chen had spotted the red baseball caps — the factory had recently issued this style to all its employees. She recognized them at once.

Processing factory?

This survival instance has a processing factory?

Ah Peng was lost. He looked at Curly Hair for guidance.

"Good evening, everyone." Curly Hair didn't confirm or deny. She gave a slight bow — the natural deference of a small person in the presence of authority.

That voice... it sounds a bit familiar?

Chao Musheng switched off his whirring fan and walked a few steps closer to the two figures by the river.

He studied the young woman who'd spoken. Her head was down; the brim of her cap covered most of her face. He couldn't make out her features. Her trousers had smudges on the hem, and she was holding a string of tied-together plastic bottles. She looked a bit rough around the edges.

He was not quite certain, but: "The young people here are very environmentally minded — seeing plastic waste by the path and thoughtfully collecting it all. Your public awareness outreach is really working."

The local staff looked at the string of bottles in Curly Hair's hand: ...

Truly, the experts from the capital have a way with words. Collecting water bottles to sell for scrap — reframed as environmental consciousness.

That voice.

Curly Hair's head snapped up and found the person standing at the front of the group.

The wind off the river was warm. Curly Hair's heart was both warm and cold at once. On instinct, she shoved the string of bottles into Ah Peng's hands.

Her mind was in chaos. She didn't know why Xiao Chao would be here, in a 3S instance the Main God had aimed at its most troublesome players — but she knew she must look absolutely terrible right now.

No crack in the ground. Could she just throw herself in the river?

Ah Peng had not anticipated the sudden transfer of bottles. Caught off guard, he let the string fall onto the stone-paved path, where it clattered and bounced with exuberant enthusiasm.

Curly Hair stared at the bottles on the ground and closed her eyes in despair.

Ah. Something just snapped.

Probably her spine — which had once been straight, and had been gradually bending ever since.

Clatter-clatter-clatter.

One bottle cap was flung loose, bouncing across the stones until it came to rest at Chao Musheng's feet.

"Oh dear." He immediately bent to pick it up and walked over to her and Ah Peng. "Here you go."

A very fair-featured face.

Ah Peng looked at the young man who'd just materialized in front of him and couldn't help staring. He took the cap back in his large hand. "Thanks," he said, his voice gruff.

There's someone this good-looking in the wasteland?

"Of course." Chao Musheng laughed softly, then said to Curly Hair: "Walk with me for a bit?"

Ah Peng's eyes went wide. Bold, kid — nice face and the first thing you do is try to take a girl somewhere? What exactly are you planning?

"All right." After a few seconds of silence, Curly Hair nodded.

"What?!" Ah Peng's eyes went wider still. He stared at Curly Hair, incredulous. You agreed? Just like that?!

Are you really the relentless, iron-willed legend the player forums write about?

"Peng-ge, go on ahead." She still didn't fully understand the situation, but she knew following Xiao Chao was always the right call. "I'll find you all tomorrow."

Tomorrow?!

Ah Peng had no idea what she was doing, but he knew his instincts weren't as sharp as hers. He nodded. "Tomorrow morning, eight o'clock."

If she didn't turn up, they'd come looking.

He left — but not without scooping up the plastic bottles first, carrying the whole clattering string as he went.

The reception staff weren't quite sure what to make of what was unfolding. They could see Curly Hair's clothes were stained and she didn't look like someone from a well-off background, and didn't know how to address the situation.

"It was dark just now and I couldn't see clearly." Chao Musheng stepped in smoothly. "Let me introduce — this is my friend Wang Xiaojuan. She likes to travel light and experience life in different places."

Xiao Chao!

The awkwardness dissolved out of Curly Hair instantly, replaced by something warmer. In this entire world, Xiao Chao is still the best person to her.

The local staff absorbed this and immediately turned their full range of praise onto Curly Hair.

Adventurous spirit. Love of life. Positive energy. The kind words came in a cascade, almost none of them repeated.

Even Curly Hair, veteran of countless instances, felt her face go pink under the attention.

Xiao Chao as a lifeline is irreplaceable. Without him — who else would put this much care into complimenting her at her absolute worst?

When the praise finally subsided, Curly Hair checked her task panel. Nothing had updated — still the same bare survival objective.

"Did you arrive in Hanyue today, Ms. Wang?" Director Chen offered her a bottle of water with both hands. "Did you come after reading about the fireflies online?"

Curly Hair gave a vague nod.

"These few days have been the worst of the heat — but once it passes, you should stay and try some of our local food." Director Chen folded her into the conversation and began describing Hanyue's specialties with warm enthusiasm.

A friend of Mr. Chao's was her friend. She would make sure this woman saw the warmest face Hanyue had to offer.

"Fireflies!"

Chao Musheng looked toward the sound and saw small lights blinking in the undergrowth — tiny sparks, like scattered stars low to the earth.

He stood watching for a moment, then took out his phone and shot a few photographs and a short video. He shared them with family — and with Xu Chenzhu.

The phone can never quite capture what the eyes see. He looked up again at the fireflies moving in the dark air, and opened his phone once more.

[Seeing it in person is even more beautiful. If you have time tomorrow evening, come to the river with me.]

*

Xu Chenzhu stepped off the private jet and saw the message from Chao Musheng.

He opened the video. Small lights blinked in the dark. He recognized them immediately — zhàoyèqīng, the lantern fly. A thin scattering of them, looking a little forlorn.

There used to be so many of them in the wild. No particular beauty beyond the light they gave off at night.

Things he'd seen so many times before — he watched the clip again and again.

"Boss — something wrong?" Secretary Liu, watching him study his phone for an unusually long time, assumed a company crisis.

"Nothing." Xu Chenzhu's mouth curved. "Zhaozhao invited me to watch fireflies."

Secretary Liu looked at the boss's smile and thought: voice perfectly composed; absolutely glowing inside.

"Ahh." He made a show of checking his own phone with a theatrical frown. "Xiao Chao only sent it to the boss. Didn't realize Hanyue had fireflies."

"He probably thought you were too busy to be disturbed." The light in Xu Chenzhu's eyes was brighter than any firefly.

Secretary Liu nodded to himself. His own last exchange with Xiao Chao was from several hours ago — a reminder to prepare for the heat in Hanyue.

When you see something beautiful and want to share it — the first person you think of is the one you care about most.

In Xiao Chao's heart — where did the boss stand?

*

After the fireflies, the staff, worried about heatstroke, walked the group back.

Old people who'd been sitting inside all day and couldn't stay still were gathered in twos and threes along the roadside, chatting in the cool of the night.

"Did you hear? There were lunatics in the old market this morning."

"Not robbers?"

"What kind of robbers only take pumpkins and sweet potatoes and leave the money. You'd have to be living on sweet potato porridge to pull a stunt like that."

"Fair enough — pumpkins and sweet potatoes aren't worth anything. I've got more sweet potatoes than I can eat, feed most of them to the pigs."

Passing by, Chao Musheng caught the exchange. Sweet potato thieves?

People hungry enough to steal food — in Hanyue County?

The reception staff were going crimson, wanting to explain but not knowing how to start.

Heaven as witness — Hanyue was poor, but nobody here was actually starving to the point of robbing sweet potatoes off a market stall.

Was this a rival county trying to sabotage their image in front of the expert team? What a vicious, petty thing to do.

Curly Hair, walking behind Chao Musheng, tucked her chin to her chest and prayed none of the old people would recognize her as one of the so-called lunatics.

Fortunately, the old people were entirely absorbed in their gossip and paid no attention to who was passing.

They made it back to the hotel without incident. Chao Musheng paid for a room for Curly Hair himself; Director Chen and the reception staff both tried to cover it and were firmly stopped. "This is a personal matter — I can't have everyone spending money on my account."

Curly Hair stood beside him, staring at her dirty shoes, too embarrassed to look up.

She felt like a complete liability to Xiao Chao right now.

"Come on." He handed her the key card. "Go freshen up. The small shops here are mostly closed at night — if you need anything, it'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Thank you, Xiao Chao."

She took the card and looked at the hotel.

Compared to the white villa building at the Linhai compound, this place was simple — even the floor tiles were worn. But if the working team had been put here, it was probably already the best in the area.

She found her room — about twenty square metres, an old-fashioned wardrobe, but with a private bathroom. After showering, she put on the hotel robe and hand-washed all her clothes before picking up her phone.

The phone that had been dead all day seemed to wake up the moment she was here — all functions restored. She looked at the Hanyue County location tag, the today's-high-of-forty-two-degrees display, opened the search bar, and read through what came up.

Poverty-designated county. Basin geography. Subtropical climate — hot and humid summers. Major labor-exporting county. Severe population decline.

Nothing in any of this matched the system's description of a brutal, lawless wasteland.

If the system wanted to kill its most troublesome players, why would it dump them somewhere safe?

What had gone wrong?

She replayed everything she could remember about entering the instance. And then she remembered — when the system tried to drag her in, her phone had emitted that strange light.

Could it be... this wasn't the instance's intended destination?

Had she and the other five players been diverted here — to Xiao Chao's world — because something went wrong at entry?

She would rather that than anything happening to this world in the future. The Main God had poisoned many worlds before — but she wanted Xiao Chao's to be spared.

She thought of the five players still in the derelict factory, knowing nothing about any of this, and sighed.

*

Back at the factory, the players found Ah Peng had returned. Everyone sat on the floor, exhausted and sweating. "We tried every direction. None of us can get more than a thousand metres from this factory."

"That can't be right." Ah Peng pushed back. "I walked east with Xiao Juan — we went a long way, found a river. How can you not even manage a thousand metres?"

"You're serious?!" Hua Ba had noticed the plastic bottle string at Ah Peng's feet. "Where's Xiao Juan?"

"We ran into a group of NPCs by the river — clean clothes, healthy color. Xiao Juan went off with them." He explained. "We agreed she'd come back by eight tomorrow morning."

"She went with NPCs?!" Ah Rou's brow knotted. Xiao Juan was an experienced player — she wouldn't casually trust an NPC. Why would she go with strangers?

"She did." Ah Peng nodded. "The NPC who brought her along was notably good-looking. Seemed to be the most senior person in the group. Maybe Xiao Juan saw a better chance of survival through him?"

"The four of us can't get past a thousand metres; Xiao Juan and Ah Peng can." Da Chang was thoughtful. "Peng-ge — take us back over the same route you two walked."

"All right."

Ah Peng led them back along the path. They were crossing an open patch of wasteland when he stopped.

"What is it?"

"I can't go any further." He pressed his hand against the air wall ahead of him. He remembered that a few hundred metres along this trail was the drainage ditch. "Something is blocking my range."

"Instance boundary." Da Chang's expression was grave. "When you moved with Xiao Juan, you could pass through — with us, you can't. The difference has to be Xiao Juan."

"You think Xiao Juan's the problem?" Ah Peng shook his head. "She doesn't feel like that kind of person."

"No." Da Chang pressed his hand against the invisible barrier. "I mean Xiao Juan is someone this instance world favors ."

There were always players who had a special encounter in certain instances. Maybe Wang Xiaojuan was one of those.

"So it's not that Xiao Juan needs us to look after her. We need to attach ourselves to Xiao Juan." Ah Peng scratched his head. "In a survival instance, having a leg up — that's not bad at all."

*

"Mr. Xu — you've had a long journey. Please rest at the hotel first." The welcome staff were visibly nervous — they had never received anyone of this caliber, and even officials from the city had come to accompany him.

"Thank you." Xu Chenzhu stepped out of the car and looked at the crowd of reception staff filling the hotel entrance. "Is the Jinghua University support group also staying here?"

"They're at the hotel in the township." The staff explained. "It's closer to their project site and more convenient for them."

They hadn't expected Xu Chenzhu to ask about the Jinghua group, and added quickly: "The township hotel is simpler, but we've arranged for staff to be on duty around the clock — their safety is fully provided for."

Xu Chenzhu nodded. "The ribbon-cutting tomorrow is also in the township?"

"Yes — the expert group from Jinghua is supporting the project you sponsored." The staff led him forward. The crowd that had been waiting by the entrance came forward to greet him, equally warm toward Secretary Liu and Assistant Yang.

They'd done their research. Two people especially trusted by Mr. Xu. Had to be these two.

Secretary Liu read the boss's expression and saw the mood was flat. He shepherded the surrounding people away efficiently. "Boss — it's late now. Xiao Chao is probably already resting."

He and Yang got the boss's things settled. When Yang reached for the pale yellow case, Secretary Liu intercepted him. "Don't touch that one."

Yang withdrew his hand and stole a curious look at the case. Is there some classified secret in there?

"You can both go rest." Xu Chenzhu stood and came to take the yellow case himself, locking it in the wardrobe. "Arrange with the local staff to leave early tomorrow morning."

"Secretary Liu," Yang said once they were outside the room, "it's past eleven. We're leaving early tomorrow?"

"It's cooler earlier in Hanyue." Secretary Liu smiled and patted his shoulder. "When you're working alongside the boss, you just follow the boss's arrangements."

*

The next morning, Yang came downstairs with Secretary Liu and immediately saw the pale yellow case in a bodyguard's hands.

The boss was bringing it to the township?

Hanyue County's seat was not large. The car pulled away from the hotel and was already out of town in fifteen minutes.

"Mr. Xu — it's about twenty minutes from here to the township." The staff said. "There's still two hours before the ribbon-cutting. Would you like to rest at the township hotel first?"

"Please, yes." Xu Chenzhu nodded. "My assistant is also staying at the township hotel — it would be convenient to meet up with him there."

Assistant?

The staff glanced back at the car following behind, confused. Wasn't Mr. Xu's assistant right there with him?

"Our Mr. Xu has several assistants," Secretary Liu explained on his behalf. "Assistant Yang is here today. The one staying at the township hotel is Consultant Chao — a Kunlun technical consultant. Mr. Xu regards him very highly."

The staff understood at once. The township hotel's Consultant Chao is Mr. Xu's most trusted person.

He immediately messaged the township reception team: make sure to fully cooperate with Consultant Chao and not do anything to offend him.

The car arrived quickly at the township hotel entrance.

"Mr. Xu."

The car door opened. Chao Musheng was standing outside it, bent slightly at the waist, smiling. "Good morning."

Morning sun blazed through into the car. Xu Chenzhu looked up at the young man outside. "What are you doing here?"

"I guessed you'd come early." Chao Musheng raised a hand to shade the space above the car door frame. "So I waited for you at the entrance."

He hadn't guessed wrong.

Xu Chenzhu stepped out in silence. He caught a faint scent of soap from Chao Musheng, and noticed the tips of his hair were still damp.

"Washing your hair in the morning isn't good for you." Xu Chenzhu took out the handkerchief he kept on him and carefully pressed the nearly-falling water droplets from Chao Musheng's hair.

"But you were coming." Chao Musheng turned slightly toward him and said, close to his ear: "I had breakfast and sweated through it. I wanted to be clean when I saw you."

Xu Chenzhu's neck went instantly, completely red.

Assistant Yang, climbing out of the car behind, looked at Consultant Chao standing beside the boss, then at Secretary Liu a short distance away smiling to himself, and looked around at the scene in bewilderment.

Something was definitely off.

He was standing here and feeling very much like a spare part.