The Earth is Online

“Ding dong! The game ‘Who stole my book?’ has been completed.”

“Calculating game clear rewards...”

“Player Tang Mo has won the game and obtained the rewards ‘Giant Match’ and ‘Mosaic’s Contempt’.”

“Player Chen Fangzhi has failed the mission.”

The clear child’s voice echoed in the empty library and entered Tang Mo and the huckster’s ears. Generally, games always had rewards. Even online card games gave some type of rewards. Tang Mo had already guessed that this big match was probably his prize.

But what was the ‘Mosaic’s Contempt?’ Wasn’t it a mission clue? It was actually a game reward?

Tang Mo’s face paled and his heart became complicated. Compared with him, the huckster was worse.

The huckster was the loser of the game. Along with rewards, there were usually punishments. Losing in an ordinary game might cause a person to lose money. Nobody knew what would happen when losing in a black tower game.

The black tower didn’t talk about the punishment. The huckster paused for a long time before slowly turning to look at Tang Mo. “...I will die?”

Tang Mo didn’t have an answer to this question. He spoke comforting words. “It shouldn’t be that serious.”

The huckster suddenly gained confidence. “I believe you. You are so smart and your words make sense. God wouldn’t be so cruel. He will bring hope and rebirth, that is my god...”

Tang Mo held the giant match and looked calmly at the huckster who was muttering madly.

Not knowing the punishment for the first game made Tang Mo uneasy. It was like the calm before the storm. This type of behaviour didn’t conform to the common sense of games and often represented a more fearful and unpredictable result. However, Tang Mo inwardly comforted himself. If the punishment for failing the game was really death, wouldn’t half the people on this world die?

How could billions of people die?

It should be impossible. It was impossible...

The game was over but the library still hadn’t returned to normal. Tang Mo and the huckster tried but they still couldn’t go downstairs. At the same time, the outside of the third floor windows were still blank space.

They haven’t returned to Suzhou yet.

Time passed and Tang Mo and the huckster were trapped on the third floor of the library.

The clock on the wall had just passed 6 o’clock when Tang Mo’s body suddenly tensed. An unknown panic swept over his mind.

His heart starting beating quickly again.

His pounding heart seemed like it would fly out of his chest. Tang Mo held onto a bookshelf but his body wasn’t stable and he ended up slumped on the ground. The huckster hurried over from a distance. “What happened?”

The too fast flow of blood caused Tang Mo’s face to become red in a minute. Every inch of his skin was a scary red, as if he was a cooked crab. The huckster took a step back with fright and horror. Then he plucked up his courage and walked to Tang Mo’s side. “Are you okay? You are so red and your face is hot...do you have a fever?”

Tang Mo’s heartbeat was too fast but his mind was still awake. He tried to speak. “Heart...”

The huckster immediately knew and touched Tang Mo’s chest. “Why is your heart beating so fast? This is 200 per minute...no, it is 300!”

Tang Mo was unable to speak, otherwise he would correct it to 394.

They couldn’t get out of the library and there were only two people inside, Tang Mo and the huckster. Tang Mo had suddenly become like this and the huckster was helpless. He could only push all the things off the help desk and place Tang Mo lying down on it. After this, the huckster ran to the bathroom, dipped the toiler paper in water and placed it on Tang Mo’s forehead, hoping it would help.

Tang Mo’s heartbeat had now reached 532 beats per minute. He didn’t know how fast the human heart could reach but he felt like his heart might explode at any second. For some reason, his heart acted inconsistently with medical knowledge and persisted tenaciously.

The huckster kept running to the bathroom, grabbing wet toiler paper and placing it on every inch of Tang Mo’s bare skin.

Tang Mo could feel that this type of behaviour didn’t help, yet he was grateful that the huckster was trying to help him. He couldn’t speak. He could only watch the sweating huckster with red eyes.

After a full hour, Tang Mo counted his heartbeats and found that his heart rate had actually dropped.

The huckster thought the cold was effectively and quickly ran a few more times, placing wet toiler paper on Tang Mo’s eyelids.

Tang Mo didn’t know how long it was before he could move again. He took off the wet toilet paper and got off the table with trembling hands.

The huckster had just left the bathroom and saw this scene. He came running and asked, “How are you?”

Tang Mo opened his mouth and found that his throat was dry. He swallowed his saliva a few times before nodding with a smile. “Good, it seems to be better.”

“That’s good. I was scared to death.” The huckster sighed with relief.

Tang Mo looked at the huckster seriously. “Thank you.”

The huckster shook his head. “It’s okay. I couldn’t just leave you lying there.”

The relationship between the two of them was very confusing. On the one hand, the huckster pulled Tang Mo into an unknown game, causing him to fall into uncertain danger. At this point, the two people should be distant and wary of each other. On the other hand, the game was over and it was just like playing an ordinary game. Tang Mo’s body suddenly became like that and the huckster didn’t ignore it. It might not have actually helped but Tang Mo couldn’t be ungrateful.

After this incident, the relationship between the two people became closer.

The huckster asked, “Why did your heartbeat suddenly become so fast? My father is a doctor and that isn’t normal. For a normal person, once their heart rate reaches 250, the heart can’t supply blood and the person will die within minutes.”

Tang Mo thought about it and decided to tell the huckster. “Your heartbeat hasn’t accelerated in the past few days?”

The huckster shook his head. “No.”

Tang Mo frowned and explained. “It started three days ago. My heartbeat suddenly became fast. It wasn’t as fast as today, but it did reach 300 beats per minute. At the same time, I became very annoyed. This irritability might be because of the black tower. I am not in the ‘black tower is dangerous’ faction but I’m not someone who thinks the black tower isn’t a big deal. I can understand the irritability. However, I can’t understand the heartbeat.”

“Do you have an illness?”

“It happened after the black tower event and I haven’t been to the hospital to check.”

The huckster thought about it. “Then you should go see a doctor. I’ve never heard of this illness. Not dying after your heartbeat goes over 300 beats per minute, I am afraid you are the only one in the world.” The huckster joked, “Perhaps you might be recruited by the country and used as a research mouse. Maybe it is better that you don’t go to the hospital.”

Tang Mo smiled.

Click.

In the silent library, the sound of the door opening was suddenly heard.

Tang Mo and the huckster exchanged a glance. This was the sound of the door on the first floor of the library opening!

The two people quickly ran downstairs, with the force keeping them on the third floor of the library completely gone. They used their fastest speed to run to the mahogany door of the library’s main entrance.

The key turned in the lock and the door was pushed open. Long-lost sunshine shone through the crack in the door, shining on Tang Mo and the huckster’s face. This warm feeling was the real sun, not the fake one during the ‘daytime’ of the game.

Tang Mo blinked as the warm temperature soothed his body.

“Tang Mo, how are you here?” A bright female voice was heard. “Did you come early to get your things?”

Tang Mo’s eyes widened. “Xiao Zhao?”

Tang Mo remembered that he came to the library yesterday to collect his things because Director Wang said the library would be requisitioned by the government. It took him a few seconds to organize his thoughts. “Did you come to get your things?”

Xiao Zhao smiled. “Yes. My parents think this black tower thing is too bizarre and plan to go to our hometown to avoid it. We will leave at 10 o’clock, so I came to collect something. Eh, didn’t I ask you first? Why did you come so early? What are you holding in your hand, a match? The huckster...cough, why is he here?”

Xiao Zhao looked at the huckster, who swallowed nervously.

Tang Mo calmly explained, “I met him when I came to get a few things and we chatted for a bit.”

“You had a conversation with him...” Xiao Zhao muttered. She looked up and said, “Then I will go in to get my things. I won’t chat with you.” The young girl said this and took a step to enter.

Just as one of her legs was about to enter through the door, Tang Mo’s eyes widened and his pupils trembled.

“Zhao Yan!”

Zhao Yan was Xiao Zhao’s name. She had come to work at this library six months ago and few people would shout this name. Now Tang Mo shouted it loudly, causing Xiao Zhao to look at him strangely. “What is it?”

Tang Mo’s lips opened slightly but he couldn’t say anything. He just looked at Xiao Zhao’s lower body with a strange expression. Xiao Zhao looked down and clearly saw it. She fell to the ground, moving her hands.

“What is this, what is this? My legs! My legs!!!”

Tears overflowed in an instant.

She was a young girl born in 1996 who just graduated from university. She touched her lower body with both hands but there was nothing there.

In Tang Mo’s eyes, there was an invisible line at Xiao Zhao’s thighs that was rising to her upper body. Wherever this line approached, everything would disappear. It was like something was erasing Xiao Zhao from this world.

He didn’t know when this line had appeared but Xiao Zhao’s calf was already gone when he discovered it. She was totally ignorant and still standing while talking to Tang Mo.

Tears and snot dripped down Xiao Zhao’s face as her waist disappeared. She moved towards Tang Mo and grabbed his trousers with both hands. She cried out, “Help me Brother Tang, help me! What’s wrong with me? Brother Tang, help me!”

Tang Mo stretched out his hand and took Xiao Zhao’s hand. However, he had just held it for two seconds when the line reached Xiao Zhao’s arms and her hand disappeared.

The transparent line came to Xiao Zhao’s neck.

Her head lay on the ground, looking up at Tang Mo with tearful eyes. It was strange and scary.

“I don’t want to die...I don’t want to die. I haven’t talked about love yet or liked anyone. I want to go back to watch cartoons. I haven’t finished the novel I read yesterday. Mom...Dad...I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die. Brother Tang, help...”

Her mouth was gone.

The wet eyes stared at Tang Mo until this person disappeared.

Within a minute, a living person disappeared.

Tang Mo’s brain was blank. At this moment, the thing that scared him the most was how incredibly calm he was. He looked at the place where Xiao Zhao disappeared for half a minute. Then he suddenly thought of something and turned to look at the huckster behind him.

In the dark library, the area below the huckster’s thighs had disappeared. He looked at Tang Mo with a pale face, revealing a fearful and miserable smile. “Tang...Tang Mo, this is the penalty for failing the game...”

“Huckster!”

Bang!

The huckster’s stick fell to the ground.

Tang Mo immediately rushed up and held the huckster’s hands.

The huckster wept, tears flowing down his face and snot sticking to his lips. He clung to Tang Mo’s hand and like Xiao Zhao, he repeated over and over, “I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die...Tang Mo, help me, I don’t want to die...”

Tang Mo was powerless. He pressed his hand on the areas that hadn’t disappeared. But once the line crossed it, the area disappeared and he was only touching air.

There was only the upper body left.

Tang Mo cried out, “Don’t be afraid. There must be a way.”

The huckster cried. “There is no way. I don’t want to die, I really don’t want to die...Tang Mo, you save me! You are the one who eliminated me, so save me! Help me!”

Tang Mo couldn’t say anything.

The huckster no longer spoke. He just kept crying and crying. Time became extremely slow. As his chest was about to disappear, he suddenly gripped Tang Mo’s hands and looked at him with bloodshot eyes. He hissed out, “I have a daughter. She is in Shanghai and her mother and I are divorced. Help me by checking to see if she is still alive. Her name is Shanshan, Chen Shanshan. She must live, she must be alive! Help me by looking for her!”

The huckster’s hand disappeared.

“Help me Tang Mo. I beg you, please help me. She must be alive!”

Tang Mo asked, “Where does she live?”

“She lives in the Jing’an District and and is studying at the Beili School in the first grade. She...”

The huckster’s mouth was gone.

His eyes were fixed on Tang Mo.

The transparent line reached his ears and he stared at Tang Mo without blinking. His eyes were frightening, as if he had exhausted all the strength in his body.

“I will find her and she will surely be alive.”

The line had completely erased the huckster’s ears, but his eyes suddenly relaxed. He was still crying without any words. He only looked at Tang Mo and blinked before his eyes disappeared. A tear fell to the ground.

Tang Mo was kneeling in the library entrance. Xiao Zhao had disappeared outside the door while the huckster disappeared inside the door.

The bell for 8 o’clock rang through the library and Tang Mo was still kneeling on the ground with the 8th gong rang.

“Sleep, sleep, my dear baby. Mother’s hands are gently shaking you...”

A gentle and kind female voice was heard throughout Suzhou.

Tang Mo turned his head stiffly and looked at the black tower 200 metres away from the library.

Colourful lights flashed on the black tower. One day ago, there were thousands of people around the tower. Now, only seven or eight people were sitting on the ground like Tang Mo. They looked up blankly and watched the black tower sing the lullaby.

Once the female voice finished, a group of children’s voices sang with the female voice.

“Sleep, sleep, my dear baby.

Mother’s hands are gently shaking you.

The cradle shakes and you quickly fall asleep.

The night is quiet and warm...”

The voice sang over and over again. The wind blew over the Earth, bringing this song to distant places.

Once the song finished, the familiar child’s voice rang out.

“Ding dong! 498.16 million players successfully loaded the game...”

“Game saved...”

“The game data is loading...”

“Players information is loading...”

“Save is successful...”

“Loaded successfully...”

“Loaded successfully...”

“Ding dong! November 19th, 2017. I welcome all players into the game.”

“Announcing the three iron-clad rules of the black tower—”

“First, everything is explained by the black tower.”

“Second, 6 o’clock to 18 o’clock is the game time.”

“Third, all players please attack the tower.”

“Ding dong! Happy games!”