Chapter 73: Eternal Sleep Project (Part 3)

The ending was far too bleak. After the game concluded, none of the four spoke for a long time.

It was Xia Mi who finally broke the silence. She cleared her throat and said, “About this ending… I feel like…”

Liao Tianhua looked up at her, a faint glimmer in his eyes, waiting expectantly for her next words.

Xia Mi said, “Is this ending really such a tragedy for me? I didn’t actually lose anything.”

Liao Tianhua: “…”

Mi Xiangyan said, “How can you say you didn’t lose anything? You lost your true love forever!”

Xia Mi began counting on her fingers. “Let me calculate this. I completed the mission, thwarted the ambitions of the Immortal Foundation, saved the world to some extent, and rescued countless lives. After I return and report everything to our great, righteous, responsible, and caring Deputy Director Jiao, he’ll surely apply for a living First-Class Merit for me, right?

“In the days to come, I’ll have physical capabilities far beyond the average person, a First-Class Merit, and a bright future ahead of me. I might become Division Chief Xia, Director Xia, or maybe even rise higher than that.

“I get all the benefits, but what does Xiao Liao get? My lifelong remembrance? That stuff isn’t worth a cent and won’t put food on the table. What use is it!”

Liao Tianhua interjected, “Don’t talk about your feelings like that. Your feelings are very important to me.”

Xia Mi turned and poked him in the forehead. “Is there something wrong with your head? Did you see a single sentence in that ending mentioning that I lived out my life in lonely old age? No! I would definitely get married and have children. Even if the guy isn’t quite as good as you, with my qualifications, I could easily find someone I like if I put in the effort.

“At first, I might compare him to you, but as time goes on, I’ll naturally favor my own husband and children. How could I possibly keep you in my heart forever?

“You would indeed be a lifelong regret and a failure, but people have plenty of regrets in life! To this day, I still regret not being bolder when I was filling out my college applications. If I had, I might have been admitted to a top-tier 985 university¹ with a lower score requirement. I’ve been regretting that for four and a half years, and I’ll probably keep regretting it for a long time. Are you willing to equate your life with something like that?”

Liao Tianhua said, “It wasn’t just for you. It was also to complete the mission.”

Xia Mi said, “But you could have explained the situation before I got into the elevator. You could have grabbed my leg for dear life before falling into a deep sleep, forcing me to take you back to the Disposal Bureau so I could find a way to help you recover.

“Most importantly, as long as you aren’t dead, even if you’re a sleeping monster, your official Bianzhi status remains. You’d still get a salary every month, which would be deposited into your parents’ account. That’s a very important matter!

“What I hate most is this silent martyr act. It’s the same as giving up hope yourself, abandoning yourself and abandoning us. Who gave you the right to sentence yourself to death?”

Seeing how angry Xia Mi was getting, Mi Xiangyan hugged her from behind to soothe her. “Calm down. It hasn’t actually happened yet. It was just a game.”

Xia Mi said, “How can I not be angry? It’s not easy to find a boyfriend I actually like! If he goes missing, I have to find him, or go on blind dates and filter through a massive pool of mediocre men. It’s a huge waste of time!”

Mi Xiangyan said, “Liao Tianhua is the one something happened to, so why are you the one losing your temper? Maybe you should let him get angry first.”

Xia Mi glanced at Liao Tianhua and said, “Do you see him getting angry? He still thinks his sacrifice was very meaningful.”

Liao Tianhua said honestly, “At first, I did think it was fine that way, but I’ve sobered up now. I’ll cherish myself more. I’m just very happy that you care about me this much.”

Mi Xiangyan: “…She’s repeatedly saying she’ll forget you and find a more obedient boyfriend, and not only are you not angry, you’re thanking her?”

Liao Tianhua actually gave a somewhat bashful smile and said, “She’s worried about me. Her way of expressing it is just a bit indirect.”

Xia Mi: “…”

Jiao Xingjian: “…”

Mi Xiangyan: “…”

Xia Mi had never understood when Xiao Liao’s feelings for her had become so deep and self-destructive. It wasn’t that she lacked self-confidence, but she hadn’t sent a single romantic signal to Liao Tianhua. How on earth did he fall for her?

Now she understood. With the way Liao Tianhua’s mind worked, he could fall in love with someone entirely through his own imagination.

Self-persuasion really was the most effective method.

Xia Mi waved her hand. “It’s good that you know you were wrong. Let’s find a way to solve the problem.”

The current issue wasn’t whether Liao Tianhua would speak up, but the fact that in that predicament, one of them was destined to undergo Zhuo-mutation and slide into an irrecoverable state. How could they solve this?

Mi Xiangyan said, “Would sonic weapons work? Place ultrasonic weapons on the door to attack their internal organs and force them to surrender.”

Jiao Xingjian shook his head. “The other side will have definitely anticipated that kind of attack. They’ll be able to defend against it. What if we send a few professional locksmiths along with Captain Xia?”

Mi Xiangyan said, “Those types of personnel have poor physical fitness and lack experience with ‘Zhuo’. There are too many Zhuo-mutated monsters in the laboratory with unknown abilities. They worship Xia Mi, but that doesn’t mean they won’t attack anyone else. If one of those monsters goes on a killing spree, the professionals won’t have any way to protect themselves.

“Currently, no one can enter except for the Nest Master and Xia Mi.”

Jiao Xingjian said, “Would it work if we gave the professionals protective suits made from ‘Shield’?”

Liao Tianhua shook his head. “‘Shield’ only has an energy capacity of 100 Zhuo Coins. The monsters in the laboratory are very strong. If they launch an all-out attack, Shield herself might die.

“I noticed that I destroyed the surveillance in the game. Could we destroy the cameras in advance so they don’t know what’s happening outside? That way, they won’t be able to precisely stun the Drones.”

Mi Xiangyan said, “That won’t work. Xia Mi only has twenty-four hours, and they likely know that. They could just stun all the Drones beforehand and wait out the twenty-four hours. They can afford to wait; Xia Mi can’t.”

Things seemed to have reached a deadlock.

With those few people hidden inside the safe room, there was no way to deal with them for the time being.

Xia Mi listened to the three of them discuss their opinions. She glanced at the time; three hours had already passed, and her remaining time was dwindling.

It seemed that no matter what they did, they wouldn’t be able to force those technicians out of the room within twenty-four hours.

After thinking for a moment, Xia Mi asked doubtfully, “Do I absolutely have to deal with them?”

All three of them turned to look at her in unison.

Xia Mi explained, “I wanted to open that door and catch them for two reasons. First, I wanted to kill a few Drones to prevent them from seizing the Queen Bee while I’m weak. Second, I wanted to get information from those who know the inner workings of the laboratory.

“But through the game, I already have the information. According to what Liao Tianhua said, if we cut the surveillance, they won’t be able to track my movements and will have to wait patiently for me to reach my limit.

“On the contrary, I can use the Drones’ Consciousness Threads to monitor them during this time. If they actually knock the Drones unconscious, then I won’t even have to worry about the Drones anymore.

“Can’t I just go and seal the Queen Bee and the related experimental monsters first? Some Drones should be among those monsters. Once the Eternal Sleep Project is successful, those researchers will be sitting ducks, won’t they?”

Everyone realized she had a very good point!

So that was an option. Their thinking had been far too restricted before.

Liao Tianhua said rigorously, “But if the Eternal Sleep Project succeeds, I’ll lose my abilities. The Hive will automatically dissolve, and the barrier blocking the bombs will vanish. They can sense whether the Hive has dissolved through the status of the Drones. Once they realize the Hive is gone and detonate the bombs, both of us will die.”

Xia Mi replied, “Your concern is perfectly valid, but I believe Old Jiao isn’t useless. While we’re performing the mission inside the Hive, he’ll definitely be able to send in a professional team to defuse the bombs.”

Since Liao Tianhua was keeping the bombs blocked in the real world, Jiao Xingjian could indeed send people to dismantle them. Once the Hive dissolved, the bombs wouldn’t explode no matter how the researchers tried to trigger them.

Jiao Xingjian had already given up on fighting the nickname Old Jiao. He seriously considered Xia Mi’s suggestion and said, “It’s certainly feasible, but you’ll be inside the Domain. How are we supposed to notify you once the bombs are defused?”

Xia Mi smiled slightly. “We have Shield. She can notify us.”

Shield’s ability to communicate between the two worlds had been kept well-hidden. Even Old Jiao didn’t know about it until now.

After getting her answer, Xia Mi opened the game, intending to spend a thousand Zhuo Coins to play once more and verify her plan.

Unexpectedly, a game window popped up with a prompt: [Energy doesn’t just fall from the sky. Save it whenever you can.]

It was surprisingly frugal.

With a detailed plan in place, Jiao Xingjian and Mi Xiangyan began their preparations. Xia Mi and Liao Tianhua, the two combatants, closed their eyes to rest and build up their energy for the coming battle.

Two hours later, Xia Mi, Liao Tianhua, Shield, a professional bomb disposal team, and logistics personnel boarded a plane.

Three hours later, the group arrived near the island.

Liao Tianhua was the first to parachute onto the island, while Xia Mi remained on standby, quietly holding her phone.

She lightly touched the Project Queen Bee app on her phone and murmured, “It looks like this is our final battle.”

The game seemed to respond to her, as a dialog box popped up: [The Hive never belonged to you. It is about to welcome its true King.]

“Oh, so now you’re acting aggrieved,” Xia Mi muttered back, aggressively turning off her phone screen.

Translator’s Notes