The Earth is Online

In this field, subtle sounds were swallowed up by the wind. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo had been concentrated on practicing with the gun while the two people were hiding very away. It wasn’t strange that they didn’t find the two people at first.

Tang Mo glanced coldly at the two people. After he looked them up and down, he turned to Fu Wenduo. The two of them nodded as they confirmed there was no threat to this man and woman.

Fu Wenduo released the hand holding Tang Mo while Tang Mo put the gun away. Then they looked at the man and woman who were far away. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo didn’t speak. The two people gradually couldn’t hold back and the short-haired woman said first, “That... do you believe that we are harmless?”

Fu Wenduo didn’t answer. Tang Mo spoke lightly, “No.” There was a pause before he added. “I don’t believe you.”

The woman’s face stiffened and she looked at her companion with confusion. The man explained, “We live in a house not far away. It is a small village near Wuxi. She is my sister. My name is Wang Wenhao and she is Wang Wenjuan. The two of us grew up in this village. After graduating from university, we worked in Wuxi and after the earth went online, we returned to our home to avoid trouble.”

Tang Mo didn’t say anything and a hint of embarrassment appeared on the man’s face. He looked at Tang Mo and then Fu Wenduo before saying, “We are just ordinary reserve players. The city is dangerous and there are many serious players. We...we didn’t dare stay there. We just wanted to go back home to eat and avoid the horrible black tower games.”

The short-haired woman hurriedly said, “This is the case. We really have no hostile intentions. We haven’t seen a living person for a long time so we came to check when we heard gunshots. Don’t get us wrong. We are going now.”

The brother and sister looked at Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo with embarrassment. They stood there with awkward expressions. The temperament of the two people wasn’t like an ordinary farmer. They sounded like white-collar workers who went to university and later worked in the city.

After seeing that Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo didn’t say anything, the brother and sister looked at each other before turning to go.

Boom!

A dazzling white light flashed in the sky. The next second, the deafening sound of thunder was heard above the heads of the four men. The terrible lightning struck from one end of the sky to the other, almost smashing into the ground. The Wang brother and sister were scared by the thunder. Fu Wenduo also frowned as he looked at the dark sky above him.

A thick cloud of darkness pressed on the earth and the air pressure was extremely low. The wind in the farmland stopped and there was a tight feeling that indicated a heavy rain was coming. This was the first rain in spring. It was just after the new year and spring might come early this year.

The young man and woman looked at the dark clouds in the sky before the man turned to look at Tang Mo. “It is about to rain. Do you want to avoid the rain? Our house is near here. Ah, you should have a car. You can take shelter from the rain in the car. But I think this rain might be a bit heavy...”

The young man and woman sincerely looked at Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo. They weren’t too reluctant and was just talking casually. Fu Wenduo’s gaze swept over the two of them. He was just about to speak when he heard Tang Mo ask calmly, “How far is it?”

Fu Wenduo turned to look at Tang Mo with surprise.

Wang Wenhao was stunned and replied, “It isn’t too far. In the first row of farmhouses, the two-storey building in the middle is our home.”

Tang Mo looked up at the farmhouse in the distance. It really wasn’t too far. It was only one hundred or two hundred metres away. He said, “Then we will trouble you.”

The Wang brother and sister really hadn’t expected these two people to go home with them to avoid the rain. They sped up to bring the guests back. They walked fast but halfway there, big raindrops fell on the four people. After entering the house, Tang Mo’s hair was all wet. Fu Wenduo raised a hand and smoothed back his hair. The Wang brother and sister gave them a chair and they sat down casually.

There were plenty of supplies in the city but the food and water was far worse than the countryside.

The short-haired woman brought a bowl of vegetable soup from the kitchen and handed two bowls of hot rice to Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo. The two men calmly put it on the table and didn’t eat. Tang Mo said, “We just ate and we aren’t hungry.”

The Wang brother and sister laughed hollowly. The four people sat in the large living room and faced each other.

Fu Wenduo was straightforward when he received the chair. He pulled the chair to the door and sat there. The chair was against the door and the door was opened halfway. Wind and rain would occasionally blow into the house but he didn’t seem to notice it. He looked down at the ground, making it hard to know what he was thinking.

Tang Mo looked at the sky outside. “It will be at least another half an hour.”

The young man was curious. “Do you know how to read the weather?”

Tang Mo didn’t deny it. The rain outside was heavy but it was an intermittent spring rain. The thickness of the clouds meant it wouldn’t stop for at least half an hour. He looked around the room. This was an ordinary two-storey rural farmhouse. Most of the people in the countryside didn’t renovate their homes and the floor was entirely cement. A large mirror occupied half a wall while on the opposite wall, there was a cabinet with a Buddha statue as well as an image of the president.

The brother and sister seemed to have lived here for a long time as every place in the house was clean.

Tang Mo looked around for a while before glancing at the embarrassed young man. “What do you want to say?”

The young man was stunned. “...You realized?”

Tang Mo didn’t answer.

The young man coughed and said shyly, “You aren’t bad people. If you were really bad, you wouldn’t have let us go. My sister and I have stayed in our home for a long time and we are the only ones in the village. We haven’t touched any black tower game and we can live based on what we grow here. But...” This voice was bitter. “This... this...”

Tang Mo stated, “My name is Victor, he is Tang Ji.”

The young man nodded. He knew that Tang Mo was using a pseudonym but he didn’t care. He said, “Victor, as you know, the black tower stated one and a half months ago that every player is required to attack the tower within three months. In that case, my sister and I will have to face a black tower game.”

Tang Mo asked, “What games have you participated in?”

The short-haired woman said, “We haven’t participated in any games. We don’t know what happened. Four months ago, our colleagues disappeared while we survived. We returned to our hometown and didn’t play any games in the middle. Oh yes, last November, we were pulled into the tower game by the stowaway called Fu Wenduo. It is the game that all Chinese players were involved in.”

Fu Wenduo sat at the door and looked at the rain outside while Tang Mo quietly watched him.

The young man said helplessly, “That’s why the two of us don’t have any experience playing games. We are very happy to be able to meet you this time. Mr. Victor, Mr. Tang Ji, can you tell us anything about the black tower games? And what about the outside world?”

Tang Mo asked, “After the earth went online, you came back here and never went out again?”

The young man nodded. “Yes. On November 18th, the earth went online and the people around us disappeared. The morning of the 20th, my sister and I returned here. After that, we were pulled into a strange tower game and never saw anyone else after that. Mr. Victor, can you tell us anything about the outside world? It won’t be for free. We cooked some dishes and also made steamed bread. There are ingredients outside so you can take them if you are nervous...”

Bang!

A gust of wind blew from outside the house, causing the door to slam against the wall and it made a loud noise. Fu Wenduo was unmoved, as if he didn’t hear this terrible sound. The short-haired woman gave him a strange look and stepped forward to close the door. She asked cautiously. “Mr. Tang Ji, why are you sitting here? It is raining.”

Fu Wenduo turned to look at her. His eyes were calm, his dark eyes staring at the short-haired woman. Wang Wenjuan was nervous and gulped. Then she heard Tang Mo’s calm voice, “He likes the rain.”

The short-haired woman hurried back inside the house.

The brother and sister were a bit hesitant. The young man spoke again, “We really don’t have any good things. Mr. Victor, if you don’t want to say anything then we understand. I guess the outside world definitely isn’t in a good state. Where are you going on the highway? Are you planning on going home too?”

Tang Mo replied, “We are going to Nanjing.”

“Nanjing, it is far away. There are many cars on the highway so it should take another day and night of driving.”

The three people spoke for a while.

The rain outside gradually became smaller and smaller. It eventually stopped, with only a few raindrops still floating in the air. The Wang brother and sister didn’t give up as they tried to find out some news from Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo.

“The rain is going to stop. You should eat something before you go.” The short-haired woman quickly ran into the kitchen and brought out a bowl of hot vegetable soup. This time, Tang Mo unexpectedly held this bowl of hot soup. A hint of surprise flashed on the woman’s face before she said, “Mr. Victor, can you really not tell us anything about the situation outside? We only need a little bit. We really haven’t seen any living person in a long time.”

The brother and sister looked at Tang Mo.

Tang Mo’s hand touched the edge of the soup bowl. He lowered his head and looked at the lettuce floating in the bowl of soup. After a long time, he said, “In fact, it isn’t a big deal. I can tell you information that everyone knows.”

The Wang brother and sister looked at him with surprise.

Tang Mo looked up and smiled. “But before that, I want to ask you... Have you heard the name Li Wen before?”

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Old Fu: Who am I, where I am, what am I going to do?