The Earth is Online

Once the sun rose, more players went to the black tower to observe the changes from the new version. Most of these players didn’t take precautions. Although they were alert to the people around them, there were more than 50 people. They didn’t hide themselves.

The Tang Mo group observed the black tower again in the daytime. Tang Mo took a light-coloured coat from a roadside store and changed into it. His appearance was deceptive. After wearing this casual style, he look like an ordinary university student. In the crowd, he was aware of several gazes on him. He pretended to be indifferent as he stood with Luo Fengcheng and Jack. But Jack was really eye-catching.

The three of them soon returned to Pudong.

Along the way, Luo Fengcheng said, “The black tower didn’t give the players any hints about the new version. The assembly instances and reality instances can only be slowly figured out by ourselves. But there is no doubt that the need to attack the tower every three months won’t change.”

Tang Mo nodded. “Yes.” Many of the 50 people he was with last night should be stowaways. The black tower hated stowaways and the monsters inside the tower showed great hostility towards them. As long as the monsters ate a stowaway, they could gain a powerful ability. They sneaked towards the black tower last night and should be trying to find a way to resolve their identity as stowaway. But this time, the black tower’s update had nothing to do with the stowaways.

Last night, Tang Mo had gone to the black tower to find out more information. No one knew what the black tower update was. This was its first update. They must have more information to survive the next version. For example, if he didn’t come last night, he wouldn’t have seen the small spot flash 62 times.

Luo Fengcheng was a reserve player and his combat power was extremely weak. He wanted to come to see the changes in the black tower. Before the earth went online, he was the leader of the Shanghai black tower research group. No one knew the black tower better than he did.

Jack listened to Tang Mo’s thoughts and said like it was natural. “The stowaways are originally murderers. It is good that the black tower hates them. Before, the stowaways organization actually ate the hearts of people and Nie Fei died in their hands. If there are less of these type of people, we will have more hope to live.”

“The reasons for killing are varied.” Luo Fengcheng looked at Jack. “The black tower gave humanity three days to log into the game. There was no indication that killing was one of the ways to enter the game. According to this speculation, 99% of the stowaways didn’t kill for the black tower. But killing someone doesn’t necessarily make the person evil. There are many reasons for killing.”

Jack nodded. “I know.”

Tang Mo looked at them and slowly sank into his thoughts.

Killers weren’t necessarily bad people. This sentence wasn’t wrong.

Tang Mo wasn’t clear on how the black tower defined stowaways but according to the consistently tough style of the black tower, it didn’t matter why someone killed. As long as they did, they were a stowaway. For example, there was the 15 year old schoolgirl in the big mole game.

The little girl was deceived by someone and became pregnant. Once she understood that the father wouldn’t be with her, it was too late. She was already seven months pregnant. For her physical safety, her parents decided not to take any risks. She would give birth and her parents would raise the child as theirs. The little girl suffocated her child after they weer born. She was defined as a stowaway by the black tower and the big mole couldn’t wait to kill her.

According to China’s laws, this crime definitely didn’t deserve the death penalty. She might only be sentenced to a few years. But in the eyes of the black tower, all stowaways were equal. It didn’t matter if they were a stowaway who ate hearts or a stowaway who suffocated their child.

“When the other went online, what area in the world had the highest survival rate?” Tang Mo suddenly asked.

Jack thought for a moment. “Should it be China or India? These countries have the highest population in the world.”

Tang Mo shook his head.

Luo Fengcheng replied, “It is a war zone. A large population base might result in a large number of players surviving. But proportionally, there will be more players in a war zone. It is because they kill every day.” Killing was the easiest way to enter the game.

Tang Mo and Luo Fengcheng looked at each other.

They soon returned to the mall.

The black tower’s update didn’t bring any changes to the players. Tang Mo carefully observed every player who entered and exited the mall. They didn’t seem any different from before to after the black tower update. Until the next day, when a reserve player hurried into the mall.

It was an insignificant middle-aged man who was small and the most ordinary among the more than 80 players in the mall. Tang Mo looked down at him from the third floor of the mall and saw that he was rushing into a store at the fastest speed. As he walked, he kept looking around carefully at the people around him, as if worried that other people would notice him.

Tang Mo narrowed his eyes before walking down the stairs.

A light shadow quickly passed the stores and stopped at a cake shop.

Once the middle-aged man entered the clothing store, he locked the door. His shadow couldn’t even be seen through the glass. Tang Mo looked around before entering the cake store next door. He locked the cake store from the inside, then entered the kitchen of the cake store and found a ventilation fan.

The kitchen table was filled with moldy cakes and the fan was covered with ash. Tang Mo opened the fan and measured the diameter of the tuyere with his right hand. He pondered for a moment before taking out Grandmother Wolf’s small parasol. After speaking the spell, Tang Mo’s right wrist moved and the tip of the parasol pierced the wall 10 centimeters below the vent.

There was a clear sound as Tang Mo poked four small holes in the wall around the vent. He put away the parasol and carefully removed broken stones from the small holes. He cleared the holes and went to the warehouse of the clothing store.

He clung to the door of the warehouse and heard the voice of the man and woman outside the door.

“Li Qiang was pulled into a reality instance! I was walking with him just now and he was suddenly pulled in.”

“What?”

“Hush, keep your voice down.” The middle-aged man hastened to cover his companion’s mouth.

After a while, the female voice rang out, “How do you know it is a reality instance? The reality instance is something the black tower only recently made. What if Li Qiang entered an undetected instance? Isn’t it a safe type instance that we used to go to?”

“Of course not. It is a reality instance.” The man’s voice was filled with a trace of fear. “A big iron shoemaker suddenly appeared behind the factory and dragged Li Qiang away. I don’t know what Li Qiang did. I was right next to him. The iron shoemaker just smiled at me and didn’t drag me away. He also told me that I was welcome to enter the instance.”

Tang Mo’s eyes narrowed.

The woman asked, “What about Brother Qiang? Brother Qiang went in. Why didn’t you pull him out?”

The middle-aged man muttered, “You think I can pull him out? What am I going to pull? The iron shoemaker’s nails were all bloody. If I dared say a word then I would’ve died. I hurried back...”

Bang!

There was a loud sound outside the clothing store and the middle-aged man and woman shook with fear. The two people hiding behind the counter trembled as they stared at the man who kicked open the door and entered.

Tang Mo’s hand was on the padlock that the middle-aged man used to lock the door. It had broken into two halves. Tang Mo threw the heavy lock to the ground and stepped towards the two reserve players. He gazed at the woman and then finally the middle-aged man.

Tang Mo spoke calmly. “You just said that a black tower monster appeared in the real world?”

The middle-aged man had seen Tang Mo and the Attack members walk together. But this news was very important and valuable. His gaze shifted and he wanted to hide. “I just saw someone pulling my companion away...”

Tang Mo spoke lightly. “Attack’s base is here so nearby stowaways would never dare to come to this mall.” Every night here could be spent without any fear.

The middle-aged man and woman looked at each other, not understanding what Tang Mo was saying.

Tang Mo saw their expressions and felt he should be tougher. He had two options. He could turn and find Jack. Jack was greatly feared in the mall. He never hurt anybody but he had a giant body, causing the reserve players to feel afraid. And the other option was...

A small pink parasol pierced the wall in front of the middle-aged man and woman.

Cobweb-like cracks appeared on the wall and spread quickly, covering half the wall.

The middle-aged man saw this and his heart stopped. He slowly turned to look at this strange young man.

Tang Mo’s lips curved but his eyes were extremely cold. “If you don’t say it... I will kill you.”

Five minutes later, Tang Mo walked into Luo Fengcheng’s office and got to the point. “A reality instance has appeared.”

Luo Fengcheng immediately looked up. “A reality instance?”

Tang Mo brought the middle-aged man into Luo Fengcheng’s office.

For the man, it was the first time he entered the Attack organization’s base. In this mall, the three-storey underground car park belonged entirely to Attack. Other players weren’t allowed to enter. He trembled in front of Luo Fengcheng as he explained everything that he saw.

Luo Fengcheng called Jack and Tang Qiao. Including the little fatty and Tang Mo, five people followed the middle-aged man to the place where reserve player Li Qiang was dragged away.

They were one kilometer from the area when Luo Fengcheng stopped. “Be careful, the way that the instance is triggered here is temporarily unknown. There is a high chance that we will also be pulled into the reality instance.”

Luo Fengcheng asked the middle-aged man to carefully point out where the iron shoemaker appeared.

“It is at that corner. Li Qiang and I wanted to try the brewery instance over there. It is an instance that we can safely exit from. I didn’t expect that when we got here, there would be the sound of iron knocking against the ground. We are just reserve players and have no fighting power. We were scared and wanted to find a place to hide. But in a matter of seconds, the iron shoemaker appeared. He came out from there.” The middle-aged man pointed to a corner of the factory.

Tang Mo asked, “What does he look like?”

The middle-aged man was scared just thinking about it. “His height is two metres, at least two metres. He is very strong. He had a broken iron padlock in his left hand and a long nail in his right hand.”

Tang Mo asked, “How do you know he is an iron shoemaker?”

The middle-aged man replied, “He said it himself. When he met Li Qiang, he said ‘Welcome to the Iron Shoemaker’s Game World’.”

The middle-aged man pointed out the path he and his companion had taken and the place where the iron shoemaker had disappeared. Tang Mo’s group let him go. They walked to the vicinity and looked from a distance.

Luo Fengcheng said, “Zhao Ziang, try to move something over there.”

Zhao Ziang nodded.

The little fatty had the ability to move objects through space. He moved a nail first. This little thing moved effortlessly. He steered it back and forth through the air and ground near the factory. The nail was unimpeded and didn’t touch anything.

Tang Qiao took out a large piece of foam cotton and handed it to the little fatty. The foam cotton was bulky but light. It was easy to move. The little fatty moved the foam cotton and still didn’t encounter any obstacles.

Tang Mo pointed to a small road behind the factory building. “The instance is triggered here so we won’t be able to go there. Go around from there. If a monster from the black tower really appears on Earth, is is likely that the game is on Earth as well.”

The five people avoided the path and moved forward.

As the middle-aged man said, it didn’t take long for Tang Mo to find a few drops of blood. The dark blood was hidden in the soil and difficult to detect. Luo Fengcheng squatted down, grabbing some soil and placing it before his nose. He looked up, “The smell of human blood hasn’t dried up completely.”

The iron shoemaker really appeared nearby and the blood had probably dripped from the iron shoemaker’s nails.

The five people walked cautiously and halfway through, they found more blood on the ground. Tang Mo spoke. “You stay while the four of us will continue walking.”

Luo Fengcheng was too weak. Not only would it be dangerous for him to encounter a monster, he would also become a burden to the team. He nodded and agreed to wait in this place.

After another half a kilometre, Tang Mo’s footsteps suddenly stopped. A crisp voice was heard in the ears of the four people.

“Ding dong! The reality instance ‘A Lovely Iron Shoemaker’ has been opened. Please complete the branch task ‘Bump into the Iron Shoemaker’ and then enter the instance.”

Tang Mo quickly grabbed the handle of the small parasol. Behind him, the little fatty moved a nail and Jack formed fists. Tang Qiao pulled out a knife. However, there was silence in the surroundings. The Iron Shoemaker didn’t appear and the actual instance didn’t open.

Tang Mo vigilantly watched the surroundings before slowly releasing the hand holding the small parasol. “It seems that the task of encountering the Iron Shoemaker must be completed before entering the reality instance. We shouldn’t be able to enter yet.”

Tang Qiao nodded. “This is a reality instance. Let’s go back and talk to Dr. Luo about the situation here.”

The four of them were ready to leave.

“Wait.” Tang Mo opened his mouth and everyone turned to look at him.

They saw Tang Mo standing on the empty road, looking in front of him with a deep gaze. In front of him was a crossroad. From here, he could take the concrete road and go back. This was the intersection of several factories. It seemed to be the same as usual. There was no weirdness. Tang Mo watched for a moment, not saying anything.

The little fatty asked, “Brother Tang?”

Tang Mo didn’t answer with words. He stepped forward, one hand holding the small parasol. He walked three steps forward, then four. Once he reached the fifth step, Tang Mo’s right hand stopped and his expression changed. His hand pressed against the air and he said, “I can’t go this way.”

The trio were astonished.

Tang Qiao reacted first. She ran forward, pressing a hand to the air like Tang Mo. “There really is a wall!”

A glass-like wall was blocking the air. Tang Mo could see the opposite factory building and road but he couldn’t get there. A breeze blew from behind them and passed through the invisible wall, blowing the leaves on the opposite side of the road.

Tang Mo whispered, “The wind can pass. Little fatty, try a nail.”

Zhao Ziang replied, “Okay.”

A small nail shot towards the invisible wall. But like Tang Mo, it was blocked by the wall. The iron nail seemed to hit something, spinning at high speed as it tried to enter. Zhao Ziang put away the nail.

The ground was dry and darkened with blood. The factory area was sunny and there was no change compared to usual.

Tang Mo looked at the quiet and peaceful factory.

“...This is a reality instance.”

Tang Mo and the others returned to Luo Fengcheng, telling him what they saw. Luo Fengcheng’s expression immediately changed. He also walked to the invisible wall, trying to touch it. Like Tang Mo, he threw three pebbles at the wall and tried to pass it. The pebbles bounced back. But the sun and breeze all passed through the wall without any obstacles. This was a reality instance.

Tang Mo looked at Luo Fengcheng and Luo Fengcheng looked at him.

Luo Fengcheng said, “Objective existences such as the wind and sun can enter without being blocked.”

Tang Mo replied, “As long as it is something that is artificially changed, it can’t enter. Even a stone.”

The black tower’s new version was launched and a reality instance appeared.

A day later, an assembly instance also appeared in front of everyone.

In the early morning of January 3rd, the hour hand pointed to the 6 o’clock position and a loud voice spread throughout Shanghai.

“Ding dong! The assembly instance is open for a limited time. Game Location: Banana Pub in the Underground Kingdom.

Game Reward: A bottle of Uncle Mario’s favourite smelly socks soju.

Game BOSS: The owner of Banana Pub. At 17:42 on January 3rd, all players are invited to participate in the game at Zhongtie Central Times Square in the Jing’an District!”

“Ding dong! The assembly instance is open for a limited time...”

The black tower broadcasted it three times. When Tang Mo heard the voice, he was packing up and preparing to return to Suzhou. His hands started moving immediately as he listened carefully to the black tower’s broadcast. The voice of the black tower stopped. Tang Mo was silent for a moment before pulling the door open and gong to Luo Fengcheng’s office.

Luo Fengcheng seemed to have been waiting for him.

One person sat at the table and the other stood at the door. They looked at each other and didn’t speak.

After a long time, Luo Fengcheng said, “10 days have passed. Chen Shanshan and Qiao Feifei haven’t returned. Are you going to wait another day to see the assembly instance or will you go back?”

Tang Mo walked to him, pulling out a chair and sitting down. He calmly analyzed, “The biggest difference between the reality instance and other instances is that the game is on Earth. The black tower monsters come directly to Earth and start the game. Such an instance, the game content is worth pondering. Perhaps it is related to the surrounding environment.” Tang Mo looked at Luo Fengcheng and declared, “I won’t enter the assembly instance.”

Luo Fengcheng was surprised. “You don’t want to go in?’

“Yes. It just came out and no one knows how big the risk is. I will wait here to hear from you.”

Luo Fengcheng understood what he meant. He looked calm as he asked, “The Attack organization will definitely enter the assembly instance. But Tang Mo, why should we tell you this precious news?”

Tang Mo said, “I have met Mario. I can give you some information about him. Although the BOSS of this instance doesn’t seem to be him, the prize is related to him and he is a frequent guest of the pub. I’ve also heard news of Banana Pub.”

Luo Fengcheng’s eyes brightened. “You know this pub?”

Tang Mo looked calm. “Yes. In my Christmas instance, the game BOSS was Pinocchio. He said something like ‘You are that stupid bug in Banana Pub, stupid and cute.’”

Luo Fengcheng’s eyes narrowed. “You only know this sentence?” Luo Fengcheng’s tentative gaze stayed on Tang Mo’s body.

The air was quiet. Both of them looked at each other silently.

Tang Mo’s fingers tapped on the table for a while. His lips gently curved as he said, “What if I said that I have an advertisement for Banana Pub?”

On the afternoon of January 2nd, Attack organized their four most powerful players- Jack, Zhao Ziang, Tang Qiao and a young man. The four of them went to Jing’an to participate in the assembly instance.

Tang Mo stayed in the mall and watched them leave.

The little fatty was surprised. Before he left, he asked, “Brother Tang, you aren’t going with us? You are so strong. Let’s go together.”

Tang Qiao listened to this and looked at Tang Mo silently.

Tang Mo had many reasons not to go. He looked at little fatty and said the one he could accept the most. “I have participated in the black tower game. The BOSS was Mario. Mario is a frequent visitor of the pub. If I meet him there, I’m afraid that something terrible will happen.”

The little fatty said, “You won’t necessarily meet...”

“As long as there is a chance of something bad happening, no matter how small the chance, it will definitely happen. Little fatty, this is Murphy’s law.” Tang Mo smiled and gave a lesson to the little fatty.

Who knew that Zhao Ziang would say, “I know. Shanshan told me this. Shanshan said she came back to us because she was worried we would meet the stowaways. Shanshan...” The little fatty’s voice abruptly stopped before he murmured, “Shanshan and Feifei haven’t come back yet...”

The smile slowly disappeared from Tang Mo’s face.

Attack’s four person team left quickly.

Luo Fengcheng said, “This is the first time an assembly instance in Shanghai is opened. Not surprisingly, there won’t be too many people going today. Players who are alone won’t go. Only teams and organized players will be able to take risks.”

Tang Mo replied, “Every three months, the players must attack the tower once. Now three days have passed. S-type instances and other instances are limited. Once they are cleared, they disappear and are hard to find. The reality instances and assembly instances are in order to allow a player to improve their strength faster and let them cope with the tower attack game.”

He paused. After a long time, Tang Mo asked, “The nation was researching the black tower for half a year. Luo Fengcheng, what did you study?”

Luo Fengcheng didn’t reply.

The wind whistle as Luo Fengcheng turned and entered the mall, speaking only one sentence.

“If we studied anything, Shanghai has four research groups. It isn’t just me alone.”

Tang Mo stood in the sun, looked up at the black tower in the distance. The tower was always silently suspended there. No matter where he stood and how far away he was, he could see it clearly. Looking at the giant tower, Tang Mo could only feel cold, despite being bathed in the sunlight.

He turned and walked into the mall.

At 17:42, the black tower’s prompt was heard over the city.

“Ding dong! The assembly instance is open for a limited time. 102 players in China District 2 have successfully entered the instance.”

A total of 102 players, the vast majority of which were definitely players with teams. The strength of the four Attack members was among the highest in Shanghai. Tang Mo wasn’t worried about their conflict with other players. They just needed to guard against the black tower.

Apart from Zhao Ziang and Jack, Tang Mo was unfamiliar with the other members of Attack. He came to the second floor of the parking lot.

Luo Fengcheng didn’t waste any of the electricity left by turning on the light. Tang Mo walked through the dark parking lot, avoiding obstacles based on his memory. He walked to his usual business car but didn’t have time to go rest.

Tang Mo listened carefully, paying attention to every sound around him. After confirming there was no one else around, he took out a ruby from his pocket.

Today, Tang Mo used the Banana Pub advertisement for a transaction with Luo Fengcheng. As long as little fatty’s group came out from the instance, Luo Fengcheng would talk about this case with Tang Mo. This advertisement flyer had been obtained when Tang Mo knocked against the wall with Mario’s hat four days ago.

Mario’s hat could only be used three times a day. The fourth time would cause damage to Tang Mo himself. This hat had a change to give treasures and Tang Mo never wasted this chance. He wore the hat every day, seriously hitting the wall three times. Then he harvested a pile of garbage.

The Banana Pub advertisement flyer, Cinderella’s cloth shoes... Tang Mo obtained strange things but never any treasures. Of course, Tang Mo didn’t throw these things away. He never knew when they would play a role, just like the Banana Pub advertisement this time. Perhaps by relying on this flyer, the little fatty’s team of four could more easily pass the instance.

In the darkness, he couldn’t see the ruby. He used his fingers to explore this gem. Half a minute later, he held the ruby over his head and it changed to a hat.

The next moment, the overwhelming smell of sweat drifted into Tang Mo’s nose.

Tang Mo held his breath, aimed at the wall of the parking lot and slammed into it.

Bang!

A pushpin fell off the wall.

Bang!

A half eaten piece of pie fell. Tang Mo picked it up and was almost overwhelmed by the stinky smell of the pie.

“This special smell comes from Mario!” Tang Mo exploded.

If he kept wearing Mario’s stinky hat, Tang Mo might be killed by this horrible smell. He hurriedly placed his hands on his hips and slammed into the wall.

Bang!

A glowing stone fell out of the air and rolled to the ground. A faint light illuminated the area two metres around them. After hitting the wall three times, Tang Mo couldn’t wait to take off the hat and put the ruby back into his pocket.

The third thing that came out was the glowing stone. It fell from the air, rolled a distance across the ground and hit a pillar in the parking lot. Tang Mo went to the stone, bending down to pick it up.

Just as his finger touched the stone, Tang Mo pulled out a parasol from his backpack and quickly chanted the spell. As he finished speaking, he had a low laughter in the darkness.

Tang Mo’s left foot moved as his body flew like an arrow, the umbrella tip moving in the darkness.

Clang!

There was a loud metallic collision sound. Tang Mo was shocked by the powerful force on the other end of the small parasol. He didn’t dare be careless. He opened the parasol and blocked the attack. The next moment, the other person directly bypassed the small parasol and attacked Tang Mo from below.

Tang Mo’s eyes narrowed. His palm blocked the man’s fist as he attacked with the parasol.

The two men collided in the dark parking lot.

The glowing stone lay quietly on the ground, barely giving off a soft light.

This person’s speed was extremely quick. He didn’t let Tang Mo attack from a distance, always attacking from a close distance. After a few counts, Tang Mo threw the small parasol and raised his arm to block the attack of this person. He bent down quickly, extending his right leg and sweeping it towards the other’s lower body. The other person lightly avoided it. At the same time, one hand extended and passed through Tang Mo’s defense. He grabbed Tang Mo’s right wrist and forced a flip. Tang Mo’s body was half twisted by this force and he was pulled into the man’s chest.

But Tang Mo didn’t stay still. The moment he was pulled towards the man, he grabbed the man’s right arm.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. The two men imprisoned each other’s actions. Tang Mo moved his left hand and stepped on the man’s foot. The latter immediately released his wrist and stepped back. He moved behind the pillar in the parking lot to avoid Tang Mo’s attack. Tang Mo didn’t rest. He turned and attacked again. As he ran, he picked up the small parasol he had thrown to the ground. The umbrella tip was held to the man’s neck.

At the same time, a military dagger reached Tang Mo’s belly at a speed that the human eye couldn’t follow.

The movements of the two men stopped.

In the darkness, there was a faint breathing sound near his ear.

The voices of some Attack members could be heard from a staircase in the distance. They quickly went upstairs and didn’t stop on the second floor. Tang Mo was holding the umbrella handle while the dagger wasn’t sheathed, the sharp blade pressing against his lower abdomen.

After a long time, Tang Mo opened his mouth and spoke in an indifferent voice. He pressed the small parasol closer to the man’s throat.

“Mr. Fu, long time no see.”

“Long time no see, Tang Mo.” Fu Wenduo said with a smile.

The author has something to say:

Many years later, when recalling this meeting.

Tang Tang: I didn’t know I would be with him. It is fair to say that we both saw the light. [Poker Face]

Old Fu: When I met my wife, he was passionate about changing into a magical girl. I fell in love with him at this time. [Not really]