The Earth is Online

Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo took two ends and looked at both sides of the alley. They were in a narrow and dark alley that only allowed one person to enter and exit freely. Tang Mo checked one end of the alley and returned. “There is a small river over there and I can’t see anyone.”

Fu Wenduo also checked the other side. “There is a street.”

Tang Mo’s eyes lit up.

“There are very few people. Only three or four people passed by. They aren’t dressed like players. They are more like people from the Underground Kingdom.” Fu Wenduo raised his head and looked at the English letter flashing above Tang Mo’s head. “It looks like this letter can’t be removed.” As he spoke, he reached out and touched the ‘B’ above Tang Mo’s head. Unfortunately, his hand completely went through the letter and couldn’t be touched.

Tang Mo said, “You just heard it Fu Wenduo. The 21 players who cleared the black tower’s first floor against you and me?”

Fu Wenduo nodded. “I heard.”

Tang Mo looked certain. “The 21 players have cleared the black tower’s first floor. Last month, the black tower opened the Christmas Eve instance and many players were forced to attack the tower. According to my speculation, in the past one and a half months, at least 1,000 players would’ve cleared the first floor of the black tower. Chen Shanshan was like this... Chen Shanshan is a member of Attack. It isn’t surprising that there will be 21 black tower players in Shanghai who entered this instance.”

Fu Wenduo said, “The players at this stage don’t have the same level.”

Tang Mo nodded. “Yes. Previously, I was on the second floor of the black tower. I met two people, your cousin and Bai Ruoyao. To be honest, your cousin is really smart but his strength isn’t particularly outstanding. He should be a medium standard among the players on the first floor of the black tower. However, Bai Ruoyao is different. I think that although he is a player on the black tower’s first floor, he has the strength of a second floor player. He just hasn’t attacked the tower.”

There were many reasons not to attack the tower. In fact, most players didn’t want to attack the tower. Even Tang Mo adhered to the principle of not attacking the tower. Every instance was caused by the black tower forcing him in.

Tang Mo was noticed by the black tower due to Mario’s Monopoly Game, forcing him to attack the black tower. Later, he was once again noticed by the black tower due to the Iron Shoemaker game and was forced to participate in the black tower’s second floor attack game. Bai Ruoyao was powerful but he didn’t attack the tower. It wasn’t impossible. As long as he didn’t participate in a game and wasn’t noticed by the tower, he wouldn’t be forced to attack the tower.

Tang Mo wasn’t afraid of the players who cleared the black tower normally. He was worried about players like Bai Ruoyao whose strength were far above the floor they were on.

“There are 21 players. If they are all average, our chances of winning are already low. Let’s say there are one or two at the level of Bai Ruoyao...” Tang Mo’s expression gradually stiffened.

Fu Wenduo said, “There are only two King’s Gold Coins.”

Tang Mo was slightly stunned and looked at Fu Wenduo.

Fu Wenduo pointed to himself and then to Tang Mo. “21 players, two King’s Gold Coins. More meat and less...” He trailed off like he thought comparing themselves to meat was strange. Then Fu Wenduo continued, “Tang Mo, these 21 players aren’t companions.”

There were only two King’s Gold Coins but there were 21 players. In the Pinocchio game, Tang Mo’s group of eight competed for just one King’s Gold Coin. One person died while three were sent to the tower attack game. Now it seemed easy to get the King’s Gold Coins. They just had to kill Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo to get them. But could these players unite?

There were only two gold coins.

Tang Mo understood the meaning and didn’t answer. He suddenly smiled. “Are we companions?”

Fu Wenduo looked at Tang Mo calmly.

Tang Mo asked, “Killing Mr. A will give a King’s Gold Coin. Major Fu, if I kill you... can I get a King’s Gold Coin?”

Fu Wenduo countered with a calm expression. “Can I get a King’s Gold Coin if I kill Mr. B?”

The two people looked at each other in the dark alley. A long time passed before Tang Mo suggested, “2v21, shall we do it?”

Fu Wenduo’s lips curved. “Let’s do it!”

Since they decided to accept this extremely unfair game, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo left the alley. They first tried various methods to see if they could hide the two English characters flashing above them. Unfortunately, the light of these letters couldn’t be covered by the hands or clothes.

The two people didn’t force it. They carefully observed the environment outside the alley and left.

Not many people were walking on the street. Those that were didn’t look at Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo, nor did they seem to notice the two glowing letters. Tang Mo deliberately walked to a two metre tall man, exposing the ‘B’ above his head to the man’s eyes. The man glanced at Tang Mo while holding a jar of sweet honey and detoured around Tang Mo.

Tang Mo wondered, “They can’t see the letters above our heads?”

Fu Wenduo took a moment to observe. “It seems they can’t see it. But this doesn’t mean that players can’t see it.”

Tang Mo nodded. “Let’s go to the Strange Circus first. Our mission is to ensure that the monster isn’t stolen by players within these seven days. First we have to find the monster.” Tang Mo pulled out a thin advertisement leaflet from his backpack and Fu Wenduo looked at it curiously. Tang Mo explained, “This is the advertisement I got about the Strange Circus. It has a map of the Strange Circus.”

Tang Mo pointed to the advertisement where there was a rough hand-drawn map in the lower right corner. The two people quickly recognized the road and followed the map to the circus.

This advertisement had been obtained from Mario’s hat when Tang Mo was playing the Happy Hamster game in Monster Valley. The smelly hat gave Tang Mo lots of strange garbage. Apart from some useless items, other props that seemed like they would play a role later were kept by Tang Mo.

Fu Wenduo looked thoughtfully at the map and then Tang Mo’s head. He seems to have guessed something. But in order to prevent himself from making this unfamiliar teammate angry and having to face 21 players alone, his lips just curved and he didn’t say when he had guessed.

With this map, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo succeeded in finding the Strange Circus.

They stood in front of the magnificent and tall circus, the huge dome tent exceeding Tang Mo’s imagination as his eyes widened with astonishment. This huge tent seemed to cover the sky. Like the tents that every circus liked to use, colourful ribbons were tied around the tent. The breeze blew and the ribbons fluttered. They were in the bright colours that all children loved.

However, this tent was too big. It was more like a huge building than a tent. Anyone would become a small insect compared to it.

Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo stood in front of the circus and looked at each other. They didn’t need to talk, both of them understanding what the other person meant—

‘Find a chance to sneak in.’

The two people hadn’t left yet when a sharp voice was heard behind them. “Oh, you are finally here!”

Tang Mo’s hand quickly grasped the small parasol while Fu Wenduo turned quietly, looking at the dwarf gnome running towards them. The dwarf trotted to Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo. He was less than a metre tall and only went up to Tang Mo’s thighs. He wore a green hat and looked at Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo. He opened his mouth and tried to speak, but wasn’t able to. “Ah...Achoo!”

A huge green snot bubble appeared from the dwarf’s nose. He took a strong breath and sucked the disgusting snot back in. The dwarf wiped his nose and placed his hands on his hips, crying out with dissatisfaction. “Mr. A, Mr. B, we spend money on you. Why did you procrastinate and only arrive today?” His big bell-like eyes stared ferociously at the duo.

He looked too funny and the previous appearance with the snot bubble was disgusting. Therefore, Tang Mo didn’t feel any threat from his gaze.

Tang Mo thought for a moment. “Do you know who we are?”

The dwarf stomped on the ground. “Is there anything in the Underground Kingdom that I, Sneeze doesn’t know? You are Mr. A.” He pointed towards Fu Wenduo. “And aren’t you Mr. B?” He pointed to Tang Mo. Sneeze spoke proudly. “Do you think Sneeze is blind and don’t know how to read? You can see it clearly written above your heads.”

Fu Wenduo’s eyes widened. He pretended to be calm as he asked, “Oh? You can see the letters above our heads?”

Sneeze replied, “Of course.”

“But other people on the street didn’t seem to see them.”

Sneeze suddenly became angry. “Can those stupid people compare to our Strange Circus employees? We all eat public food and have legitimate jobs! In the entire Underground Kingdom, only our circus staff can see the letters above your head. Is this a privilege that anyone can have?”

Fu Wenduo asked, “Only you?”

“Of course only...” The voice stopped and Sneeze said bitterly, “Well, there are the bad guys who want to steal the monster. They can also see the letters above your heads.”

At these words, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo’s eyes narrowed, their brains working quickly.

Tang Mo no longer wasted time with nonsense. “Where is the monster? Take us to it.” They had to find the monster before the players.

Sneeze said, “Ah, it isn’t here.”

“What?”

“The leader seized it yesterday and couldn’t successfully sneak it from the Monster World. Today, it is going to be secretly sent to our circus. Speaking of which, Mr. A and Mr. B, shouldn’t you hurry to the dock to pick up the monster? If the bad guys steal the monster...” Sneeze’s eyes became frightened like he was thinking of something terrible. “The leader will kill us, the leader will kill us all!”

Sneeze panicked and ran three laps around Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo. After running three laps, Sneeze looked up and found that Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo were still in the same spot. He asked with surprise, “Aren’t you going to the dock to pick up the monster?”

Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo didn’t know where the dock was. They stood in place, hiding their emotions as they quietly watched Sneeze.

Sneeze saw their appearance and his face changed. He shouted for the duo to hurry and pick up the monster. But the two people didn’t move. Sneeze finally couldn’t bear it anymore. His face turned red and he made a depressed expression as he pulled out five copper coins from his pocket. “You are infuriating, asking for money! Here, this is the deposit the leader told me to give you. Go and pick up the monster, don’t let the bad guys take it!”

Tang Mo took the copper coins. The two people still didn’t move.

Sneeze, “...”

A minute later, Sneeze cried out, “Okay, all 10 copper coins are for you. This is really all of the deposit that the leader gave me. You go and stop the monster from being stolen by the bad guys!”

Sneeze used his hands and directly pushed Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo outside. He didn’t wait for Tang Mo to say anything. Sneeze fled back into the circus tent. He covered his heart like he was scared, pulled out a piece of silver from his pocket and smiled wickedly. “Hehe, this Sneeze is so smart and secretly hid it.”

Brush—

The tent door opened, causing the frightened Sneeze to turn around and look.

Tang Mo was showing a hint of surprise while Fu Wenduo stood behind him, staring at the dwarf from the tent holding. Sneeze stared transfixed at Tang Mo while holding a small silver coin in his hand.

Tang Mo looked at the silver coin and said, “In fact, I wanted to ask you... how do we get to the dock?”

Sneeze, “...”

One minute later, Tang Mo took the one silver and 10 coppers from Sneeze and headed to the dock.

Fu Wenduo wondered, “The King’s Gold Coin allows us to abstain from a game. Will the silver coins and copper coins have any special effects?”

Tang Mo shook his head. “I grabbed these coins and the black tower didn’t give me any hints. For the time being, we don’t know if these coins have any special effects. They might just be ordinary coins. Previously, Santa said that he only had eight King’s Gold Coins. The special coins wouldn’t be so common. I am inclined to think that these coins are really just coins.”

Fu Wenduo slightly nodded.

Tang Mo added, “I previously received copper coins from Grandmother Wolf and the black tower prompted me to exchange the copper coins for a prop. In the eyes of the black tower, the copper coins are worth less than props.”

Fu Wenduo grabbed the key point., “You are familiar with Grandmother Wolf?” Tang Mo didn’t ask and he hadn’t told Tang Mo what he encountered in the Iron Shoemaker game.

Tang Mo thought about it. “...I’m a bit familiar?” He seemed to be Grandmother Wolf’s granddaughter?

The two men didn’t dwell on the subject.

Halfway to the location, Tang Mo stopped and looked at a tailor’s store.

Tang Mo said, “The black tower will still abide by a fairness principle. The opponents are 21 people while we only have two people. Before the game started, the black tower didn’t disclose our names to the 21 players. It told them that we are Mr. A and Mr. B.”

Fu Wenduo added, “At the same time, they don’t know whether we are players or residents of the Underground Kingdom.”

They looked at each other before walking into the store.

10 minutes later, a tall and handsome bard and a knight in armour walked out of the tailor’s store. A grey mask covered the lower half of Tang Mo’s face, revealing only a pair of cold eyes. He wore a pointed grey hat with a white feather in the brim, high boots wrapped around his legs and a piccolo hanging from his waist. At first glance, he looked like a bard in a fairy tale.

Tang Mo looked at Fu Wenduo.

Fu Wenduo was tall and handsome in his mighty armour. Fu Wenduo really looked like a medieval knight with his armour and long sword hanging from the waist. However, he wore a silver helmet that completely covered his face. Therefore, he looked a big strange and funny.

Tang Mo thought that with his face mask, the players wouldn’t be able to recognize him even if he was seen by them. He hadn’t expected Fu Wenduo to also use this trick.

He looked at the eccentric looking knight and suddenly felt a little funny. He said, “They did know that we are players and can mistakenly think that we are the underground people, causing them to lower their guards. But it isn’t convenient to call ourselves by our names when disguised as an underground person. Tang Mo thought for a moment. “How about I call you Tang Ji?”

Fu Wenduo’s face was hidden by the helmet and Tang Mo couldn’t see his expression. He heard a low voice coming from the helmet, “You changed my name into something with your surname, Tang?”

Tang Mo knew that he misunderstood. “It isn’t the surname Tang, it is Tang Ji from Don Quixote. You are... he is also similar.” (TL: The first half of Don Quixote in Chinese is Tang Ji).

He was a crazy and eccentric knight.

Fu Wenduo contemplated. “Your name is Victor.”

Tang Mo suddenly froze. He looked at Fu Wenduo, his eyes wide. His heart beat quickly as the name that had been buried deep in his heart suddenly entered his mind again.

An unknown emotion emerged in his heart. After a long time, Tang Mo asked, “Why am I called this?”

Fu Wenduo’s face was covered by the helmet but Tang Mo felt that this person’s gaze was on him. Fu Wenduo quickly answered, “The end of Christmas, the red soaked star. ‘Martial Song’, to Victor Voroskirsky. You are a bard so this name is very suitable.

Tang Mo slowly recovered and he smile. “Okay, I will be called Victor. Come on Tang Ji, let’s go find the monster.”

The author has something to say:

Old Fu: Good exchange of names. My surname is Tang, you are called Victor.

Tang Tang: Who exchanged names with you?”