The Earth is Online

Tang Mo didn’t expect that Fu Wensheng would be the first player in Nanjing to clear the garbage cleaning game. He didn’t expect the black tower to announce the first person who cleared it and to give the extremely dirty ‘Garbage’s Gaze’ effect. This effect was called a reward but it was actually the biggest threat in this instance.

“We have to hurry. He has just cleared the game and must be in the vicinity of garbage disposal station.” Tang Mo spoke as he ran rapidly, “Any garbage disposal station will have players waiting nearby for an ambush. There were three hours left in the game and three batches of rabbit heads. Most players might not be ready to steal badges at the garbage disposal station but the stowaways should be there.”

“Yes.”

Fu Wenduo looked at the traffic signs on the road, turned a corner and headed for Xinjiekou.

The Garbage’s Gaze meant that every player who saw Fu Wensheng would stare at him for three seconds. This meant that if Fu Wensheng appeared in front of players, they only needed one glance to know which one was Fu Wensheng. Now all the players in Nanjing wanted to find him or catch him to know the way to get through the game.

The Nanjing Group could deter local players but players from other areas wouldn’t have any respect for this organization.

Fu Wenduo increased his speed and Tang Mo also moved faster. The two of them almost turned into rays of light as they moved through the high-rise buildings. They were getting closer to the black tower and Tang Mo could see a strange house in the distance. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the situation of the garbage disposal station in Xinjiekou. The two men stopped and looked around.

There wasn’t a single person around.

In the cold night wind, the sycamore leaves rustled. Tang Mo walked to the garbage disposal station and walked around. He looked around the intersection.

Fu Wenduo squatted and touched a dark brown trace on the ground. Tang Mo immediately went over.

Fu Wenduo confirmed it. “It is blood. However, it has been dried for at least one hour.”

Tang Mo looked around and found similar dark red marks on the road. The traces were scattered around the rice disposal station and there were more red markings close to it. Once the distance to the house was less than 5 metres, these traces became less and less with only a few scattered red blood marks.

Tang Mo said, “We came over at the fastest speed after hearing the black tower’s announcement. It took less than 10 minutes. They shouldn’t have passed the game at this garbage disposal station. Let’s go somewhere else and check the garbage disposal stations nearby.”

Fu Wenduo nodded and pulled Tang Mo’s hand as he moved forward. The two of them moved through the night in a hurry, anxious to find their younger cousin. Tang Mo’s foot stepped on a dark brown trace. The pool of blood wasn’t completely dry and the blood stuck to his soles.

Tang Mo calmly walked forward with Fu Wenduo. The two of them were just about to leave the intersection when a sound came from behind Tang Mo. It was followed by a loud gunshot.

Bang!

Bullets pierced through the air and headed towards Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo’s head.

Just as the bullets were about to hit Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo, a lacy parasol suddenly opened and blocked the rear of Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo. The bullet slammed into the small parasol and fell to the ground. Tang Mo constantly moved the small parasol to block the dense rain of bullets. On the other side, Fu Wenduo made a cold expression and pulled out a silver gun.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fu Wenduo’s head and eyes emerged from the small parasol. He shot towards three skyscrapers on both sides of the intersection without hesitation. The glass broke and two screams rang from the building. The third person didn’t make a sound at all. The bullet penetrated his head and he fell straight down.

Three shots rang out and the gunshots and hidden weapons suddenly stopped.

Tang Mo looked around indifferently. There were no lights in the buildings surrounding the intersection and an unknown number of players was hiding behind the dark windows. There was a cold silence and after a few seconds, Tang Mo closed the umbrella and ignored the people hiding in the darkness. He and Fu Wenduo completely left the garbage disposal station.

The two men found an abandoned shop.

After leaning against a wall and confirming there were no players around, Tang Mo took a breath and turned to Fu Wenduo. “Nanjing has 11 districts and 11 garbage disposal stations. Xiao Jitong said they would return to the garbage disposal station near Xinjiekou but they aren’t here now. Maybe they encountered trouble in the middle.”

Fu Wenduo said, “There are still three hours left. According to Xiao Jitong’s character, he knows that every garbage disposal station has been surrounded by players and he won’t return here until the last hour. He should be nearby now. On the way back to the Xinjiekou garbage disposal station, Fu Wensheng coincidentally cleared the game so Xiao Jitong should be delayed.”

Tang Mo fell into deep thought and pulled the chicken nest out of his pocket. He took out a white egg and turned it. There was a flash of white light and a complete map of Nanjing appeared in Tang Mo’s palm.

Tang Mo carefully looked at the Nanjing map. “They must be in the old city district right now, which are these areas.” He used his hand to draw a triangular area. “There are five districts nearby and five garbage disposal stations.”

There were a total of five garbage disposal stations. In the end, which one did Fu Wensheng use to clear the game?

Tang Mo looked up at Fu Wenduo and in the darkness, Fu Wenduo gazed back at him.

Fu Wenduo spoke in a low voice. “The Trojan Horse.”

Five minutes later, Nanjing’s Qinhuai District.

A small horse advanced on the street. It was the size of an adult’s palm and the speed of its advance wasn’t fast or slow, it was similar to an adult’s walking speed. It looked no different from an ordinary toy horse but when moonlight shone on it, there unexpectedly wasn’t a shadow. It seemed to be hidden as it turned a corner, headed east for a kilometer and turning onto another path.

In the darkness, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo quietly followed the wooden horse and walked a kilometer away.

The small horse turned onto a spacious road. Then Fu Wenduo grabbed it and placed the small horse into his pocket. Tang Mo opened the map and determined the real location. “It is in Xuanwu district.”

The Trojan Horse acted as a messenger. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo could follow behind this horse and find Fu Wensheng’s location. It was just that this horse moved too slowly. It took one hour to travel five kilometres. Nanjing’s old city was very big and Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo couldn’t really use this small horse to find Fu Wensheng. Therefore, they used it to rule out the wrong disposal stations and headed in the right direction.

The two people moved through tall buildings and soon came to Xuanwu Lake Park.

Four hours ago, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo had gone to the Xuanwu district and confirmed that the garbage disposal station was at Xuanwu Lake Park. A breeze blew on the wide and flat surface of the lake. The centre of the lake had a small artificial island with green trees. Tang Mo followed the bridge to the small island and reached the small house in the centre.

Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo stepped on the island with calm and seemingly casual expressions. However, they never relaxed their vigilance. Tang Mo was always staring at the surroundings from the corner of his eyes and he looked down at the soil in front of the garbage disposal station.

Tang Mo grabbed a handful of soil and pinched with his fingers. “It is wet.” He looked at his fingers again. “It is also red.”

Fu Wenduo started sniffing.

There was no need for him to say it. Even Tang Mo could smell the bloody smell in the air. The thick scent of blood was blown by the lake’s wind and didn’t disperse for a long time. The soil of the small island was stained red and was wet. It was March and the soil shouldn’t be this soft. It was normally hard in cold weather. Yet this soil was soft.

It was soft because of blood.

There had been a fierce battle here and many people died. The earth was heavy and dark due to the blood it absorbed.

The two people examined the area and didn’t find anyone. The two men looked at each other in silence and nodded before turning away from the island. On the quiet island, the leaves were blown by the wind. Tang Mo quietly left the garbage disposal station. He had just stepped on the bridge when he suddenly stopped and his right hand moved back.

A dart was fired from Tang Mo’s hand towards the ground. Meanwhile, a dagger appeared in Fu Wenduo’s hands. The silver dagger gently cut a large tree on the edge of the island. It was just a light strike but the thick trunk fell to the ground with a loud sound. Fu Wenduo cut four trees at a very fast rate. He had just struck the fifth one when there was a thunderous sound from the ground.

The next moment, a slender figure emerged from the earth, followed by two more figures.

Whoosh!

A silver arrow went through the tree that was about to fall and flew past Tang Mo’s cheek. Tang Mo moved sideways and let Fu Wenduo snatch the long arrow. Tang Mo shifted his gaze towards the person. The two sides were startled when they clearly saw each other’s faces.

“Ningning?”

“Tang Mo, Fu Wenduo?”

The young woman holding a silver crossbow was Ningning.

Tang Mo looked at the tense Ningning and was about to ask about Fu Wensheng’s whereabouts. At this time, a small shadow appeared. The next second, Tang Mo looked down at the little boy who just emerged from the ground. Fu Wenduo also shifted his gaze at the sudden appearance of the little boy.

The two of them watched Fu Wensheng’s body for a few seconds before moving.

Fu Wensheng hadn’t expected the people to rush to the island to actually be Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo. He had been hiding in the ground and couldn’t hear anything above him. Fu Wensheng sighed with relief when he confirmed it was his older cousin. He went forward, “Big Brother...” His voice abruptly stopped and his eyes widened as he saw Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo holding hands.

Fu Wensheng looked at the two hands with astonishment and then looked between Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo.

“...” Tang Mo directly released his grip.

Fu Wenduo looked at him.

Tang Mo said calmly, “It is estimated that the next three hours will become more troublesome. We can try again after the game is over.”

Fu Wenduo didn’t express any objections.

Fu Wensheng didn’t think too much when he saw his older cousin and Tang Mo release their hands. He thought they were holding hands for some reason. The child guessed that these two people needed to hold hands in order to use a certain prop, for example, a prop that had revealed his location under the ground.

Xiao Jitong also climbed out and smiled helplessly when he saw Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo. “It really is you. People who can find us in the soil and directly attack, it should only be you two.”

Tang Mo said, “The most dangerous place is also the safest place. We came here very quickly. It took around 30 minutes. The blood on the ground indicates that a great battle took place here and you shouldn’t have gone far. The soil on the island is closer to water and it is softer than the soil in other places. It is normal to be soft after being soaked with blood but this is too soft. It is because you turned it over.”

Xiao Jitong laughed. “Just because of this?”

Fu Wenduo spoke lightly, “There is no blood on the bridge outside.”

If it was a fierce battle, it was impossible for the winners to not be injured. In order to leave the island, they must walk over the bridge, unless they swam. The island was bloody but the bridge was clean. This wasn’t possible unless the winners didn’t leave the island at all. They were still hiding on the island.

Xiao Jitong’s smile stiffened for a moment before he sighed. “I was too negligent.”

The two sides met so Tang Mo got straight to the point. “How did Fu Wensheng clear the game?”

Xiao Jitong didn’t answer directly. He first let Ningning and several members of the Nanjing Group leave to rest and recovery from their injuries. Tang Mo’s eyes stopped on a blood-soaked man. He stared intently and exclaimed, “Chai Rong?”

The members of the Nanjing Group were carrying an unconscious Chai Rong. They gently placed him on the ground, taking out a bottle of mineral water and pouring it on his wounds. However, his injuries were too serious. His whole body was wounded and there was a terrible injury from his left chest to his right abdomen. His internal organs were almost exposed to the air. Chai Rong could survive this type of injury and not die on the spot. If it was Xiao Jitong, he wouldn’t live for a second.

Xiao Jitong’s expression sank after hearing Chai Rong’s name. His voice was cold. “Half an hour ago, we met a few stowaway groups on this island. They were very powerful and most of them weren’t from Nanjing. Of course, there were some Nanjing players following them. We were ambushed by them when we went to the island. Later, Xiao Sheng was accidentally pushed into the garbage disposal station and forced to clear the game.”

Tang Mo asked, “How did he pass the game?”

Xiao Jitong replied, “He collected badges.”

Tang Mo’s eyes narrowed.

Xiao Jitong said, “The sixth rule of the game states that each player can only enter the garbage disposal station once. As we guessed, the garbage disposal station doesn’t have a door and is a flat plane. All players who get within a certain range is considered to have entered the garbage disposal station.”

Tang Mo thought of the scene he saw in Xinjiekou. “The range is 5 metres?”

Xiao Jitong stared at him, “Yes, it is 5 metres. Xiao Sheng entered the garbage disposal station and wasted his one chance. He must clear the game to get out. Therefore, we handed him a set of surprise wooden badges. He put the eight badges into the yellow light at the entrance of the garbage disposal station.” Xiao Jitong pointed to the yellow light in front of the house. “Then he cleared the game. You heard what happened next.”

Fu Wenduo asked, “Were the stowaways who ambushed you very strong?”

Xiao Jitong replied, “They are strong but not that strong. We have Chai Rong and Ningning. If you add Xiao Qiao and the members of the Nanjing Group, we successfully broke through those who ambushed us here.”

Tang Mo wondered, “Then why...”

Why did Chai Rong suffer such a heavy injury? The other members of the Nanjing Group were also seriously injured.

Xiao Jitong was suddenly silent. He looked around at the vast expanse of water around the island and smiled slightly, “How many bodies do you think is lying in this lake? They are the bodies we pushed down the sake of hiding.”

Tang Mo thought about it. “20 people?” Then he thought about the blood that softened the earth and gave another answer. “50 people?”

Fu Wenduo spoke in a low voice. “This much blood, it is at least 100 people.”

The author has something to say:

Xiao Fu: ⊙０⊙ Big Brother, Sister-in-law, you... what are you doing?

Tang Tang [Hurriedly removes his hand]: No, don’t misunderstand.

Old Fu: You didn’t misunderstand ^_^

Xiao Fu: [Acting as if he understands]

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