The Trial Game of Life – Chapter 152

Table of Contents | Character Guide

Chapter 152: The Pale Heart (1)

With Scarlet’s death, for once, Yong Ye City welcomed a period of peace. The bars in various zones saw their traffic increase sharply in one day. Most of the players were drinking, fighting and screaming their hearts out, making such a nostalgic sight.

Chi Yan and Wen Xiaoming were one of those people.

Eventually, the gathering of the Three Musketeers of April Fool’s Day couldn’t see the daylight. Chi Yan and Wen Xiaoming wanted to hunt down Meng Yufei to give him a good beating but couldn’t find him, and by the time they came back, Zheng Yingying and Jiang He had also left.

Chi Yan felt that the little girl had no sense of loyalty. She had agreed to meet up yet didn’t even leave any contact information when she left. Meanwhile, Wen Xiaoming couldn’t stop thinking about what Scarlet said when she died: “Since we’re of different paths, we should go separate ways”, and felt that it might actually be a good thing that they didn’t gather in one place.

It was just that when the words came to his lips, they changed into: “Who wants to stick with you? It isn’t like anyone would be keen to pledge brotherhood and whatnot with you.”

Chi Yan felt so aggrieved that he ran to his Tang ge to rant. Gazing at Chi Yan’s back, Wen Xiaoming showed a helpless expression, as though he was an old father. Heaving a quiet sigh in his heart, he turned around, planning to continue the search for more information about the Vaccine Research Institute.

An hour ago, Chi Yan had accompanied him to the Infinite Market of Dreams to carry out some exchanges, but the results were negligible. That was why they headed to the bar instead. Only when they sat down in the bar did Wen Xiaoming learn that today was Chi Yan’s birthday.

This chunnibyou1中二病 [zhong er bing], also known as ‘middle school syndrome’, stems from a Japanese colloquial term that is used to describe teens who have grandiose delusions and have convinced themselves that they have hidden knowledge or secret powers.young man who was always making noise and so enthusiastic about everything had his coming-of-age celebration and drank his first-ever glass of liquor right here, in Yong Ye City.

“Xiaoming ge!” After running a few steps, he turned around and waved. Looking at him with a little bit of doubt, Wen Xiaoming saw that he was making a ‘six’ hand gesture and shaking it as his mouth screamed:

“Luck will be on our side!”

“I know!” ‘Infected’ by his energy, the corner of Wen Xiaoming’s lips couldn’t help but raise a little.

At this moment, he finally understood the difference between Yu Yiyi’s ‘luck’ and Chi Yan’s ‘luck’. Extreme Luck Yu Yiyi mostly relied on his own judgment of the situation and his good luck, while Chi Yan, this young didi, simply believed in good luck.

Chi Yan went to look for Tang Cuo but found that he was sleeping. Jin Cheng opened the door for him and asked what was going on outside. Thereafter, Jin Cheng let him stay here to accompany Tang Cuo here and headed out alone.

Chi Yan was full of energy and didn’t feel sleepy yet, but as soon as he sat down on the sofa, a wave of drowsiness assaulted him and he was knocked off at once. He didn’t even have time to walk to the guest room to sleep on the big bed.

By the time he woke up, it was already dark. Chi Yan looked at the eternally full moon outside the window and sat up, rubbing his messy head and wondering to himself how long he had slept for.

With his half-closed eyes, he subconsciously looked for Tang Cuo. As he walked to the door, there was a soft, ambiguous voice coming out. The desire to survive immediately stopped him, and like a thief, he crept away from the door at an extremely fast speed, as if someone was chasing after him.

Arriving at the main door, Chi Yan spotted the shoes on the ground and was sure that Jin Cheng had come back. Chi Yan couldn’t help thinking about a certain scene and successfully turned the colour of his own face into red.

He put on his shoes and rushed out the door — Hey, he certainly wasn’t running away. He just wanted to buy food for Tang ge.

A long time later, Chi Yan still hadn’t returned. Tang Cuo went to take a shower and came out to see Jin Cheng smoking a cigarette while leaning against the window sill. A little red dot was flickering between his fingers, and the full moon behind him was as perfectly round as a jewel. His head was turned away, but the scar on his face could easily be seen. His trousers were loosely hanging onto his hip while his upper body was entirely exposed, looking incredibly lean yet also remarkably strong. 

A fine-looking man with a scar. This made his wildness as vivid as his handsome face.

“Quit it.” Tang Cuo loved to see this fine-looking man smoking, but hated the smell of cigarettes.

Jin Cheng smiled. He hooked his arm over Tang Cuo’s waist and, not saying a word, he poured Tang Cuo a mouthful of smoke. Only when Tang Cuo started to cough did he admit to his ‘wrongdoing’, but his confession was no better than a mischievous trick, for he simply hugged Tang Cuo from behind like a large sloth. As though the sloth was willing to dangle on the tree for an eternity, he hung onto Tang all the way from the bedroom to the living room, till the both of them met Chi Yan, who had finally come back after buying food.

Chi Yan: There seems to be a problem with my luck buff these days.

Not feeling even the slightest hint of embarrassment, Jin Cheng glanced at the takeaways he was carrying and said: “Didi, your ge can’t eat hot and sour noodles today. You bought the wrong one.”

Tang Cuo’s face turned black, but his bones felt like they had become mushy by now, so he couldn’t bother to hit him. He simply threw a cold glance at Jin Cheng and announced his death sentence with his eyes.

As Chi Yan fearfully put out the tableware and chopsticks, he couldn’t help but stole a glance at them. The boy felt that Jin Cheng’s willingness to ‘die’ like that was largely due to Tang ge’s willingness to let him do whatever he wanted.

See, his face was so black, yet he still let Jin Cheng get so close.

In the end, Tang Cuo didn’t eat hot and sour noodles but the steamed buns that Chi Yan had specifically bought from East Cross Street in Zone F. There were also signature beef noodles that came from a newly opened noodles shop.

After dinner, they started discussing the main business. Jin Cheng originally planned for Chi Yan to follow Wen Xiaoming for now, but Chi Yan shook his head.

“I want to go to the dungeons with Qian Wei and Peng Mingfan, can I?” He looked at Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng eagerly, his eyes full of hope that they would approve: “After I followed An Ning jie into the dungeons, Rong Yi ge also took me in for a while, and I think I’ve grown a lot. Qian Wei and Peng Mingfan are not much different in strength than me, and since I’m lucky, I shouldn’t be sent to dungeons that are too difficult.”

Hearing this, Jin Cheng raised an eyebrow. Not bad at all, the little didi has his own plans now.

By following An Ning and Rong Yi, Chi Yan had obtained a lot of knowledge that newcomers had no way to know and managed to avoid many obstacles. But also because of this, his practical experience wasn’t enough. It was time he went out on his own. It would be too dangerous to be alone, and inevitably, someone would recognise him as Jin Cheng and Tang Cuo’s didi, which might actually cause him trouble. Qian Wei and Peng Mingfan were good players in the low-rankings zones yet never too prominent, so it would be nice if they stayed together.

Tang Cuo also thought the same way: “Have you talked to them?”

Chi Yan nodded quickly: “When A Wei and Peng Peng came to me to discuss Meng Yufei earlier, Peng Peng asked me to ask for your opinion.”

Tang Cuo: “It’s up to you.”

Chi Yan: “Then I’ll do it!” 

The matter was settled merrily.

There remained three more days until Chi Yan triggered the forced mission. Peng Mingfan had just come out from a dungeon and Qian Wei wasn’t in a hurry, so the three decided to go to the training ground to familiarise themselves with each other’s skills before setting off.

To Tang Cuo’s surprise, Rong Yi and Leng Miao were still searching for Miao Qi’s whereabouts. But rather than saying they were concerned about Miao Qi, it was more appropriate to say they were concerned about Lin Yandong.

Lin Yandong asked Rong Yi not to make it too difficult for Miao Qi, but Miao Qi had vanished after the fight with Lawless.

“Rong Yi never cared that much about Lin Yandong before.” Jin Cheng leaned against the window with his arms folded and turned his head to look at Yong Ye City outside. From the opposite side of the window, Tang Cuo said: “He might’ve found something in the prison.”

Jin Cheng: “But with him on the lookout, we should get lazy. We’ve been so busy lately that we don’t even have time for a date. “

Tang Cuo: “.”

Jin Cheng was convinced that the two-player mode of the dungeon [Kingdom Hidden In The Moonlight] should be called ‘dating mode’, not to mention the entire trip was completely paid for, just like how he firmly believed that whatever was between Theodore and Lancelot, it must be love.

Tang Cuo declined to comment because he knew how to get along with Jin Cheng. Sometimes, you just have to follow him. The more you refute, the more zest he’ll gather.

Facts had proved that Jin Cheng was really a person who could talk about love with an unflinching expression even at someone’s grave.

On the third day of entering the fourth round of [Kingdom Hidden In The Moonlight], Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng were sieged inside an underground tomb, facing an army of undead.

Strictly speaking, it was actually Theodore and Lancelot who strayed into the tomb of the legendary last king of the Tucha Empire, Louis XIV The Undead Rose.

The tomb was located in the Kingdom of Locke.

Tang Cuo had heard this place’s name in the second round [Song of The Wind]. The Kingdom of Locke was a gathering place for necromancers. It was also an important principality during the dark age, the reign of the Tucha Empire. It wasn’t out of expectation that Louis XIV chose this place to build his tomb.

As for Theodore, he had resigned from the office of the Greenvines Alliance in the Principality of Flange shortly after leaving Forest of The Elves. He was there for a year, and at the end of the year, he began to travel across the continent as originally planned.

Meanwhile, Lancelot earned the friendship of the Elf Prince McCaw in [Forest of The Elves], and a forest concert that followed boosted his fame further. The popularity of Lancelot The Bard gradually spread in the continent of Sicilit.

Fate made the two meet during their travels, so they simply journeyed together and arrived at the Kingdom of Locke.

The storyline that the system set up as a side mission certainly also featured the Rose Sect. It was they who brought the legendary tomb back to light. Such a loud move couldn’t stay hidden from everyone, resulting in many adventurers and bounty hunters gathering in this place.

Amidst the crowd were Theodore and Lancelot in disguise. Here, they would also meet their old friends Bazz and Priest Peter from [Song of The Wind].

The Undead King bestowed eternal life.

This was the Rose Sect’s belief.

In [Song of The Wind], Lancelot’s friend Bazz and Priest Peter both came back from the dead with the help of the Rose Sect’s resurrection formation. Judging from what the Greenvines Alliance had to say, either of them would likely become the vessel for the resurrected Louis XIV.

Thousands of years later, when time had turned, The Undead Rose would bloom again

That was the tale that was told across the continent. But in the end, neither Tang Cuo nor Jin Cheng knew whether it was Peter or Bazz that would become the vessel.

Tang Cuo guessed that the Rose Sect’s motive for opening the tomb was to wait for the return of Louis XIV. Since this was a critical part of the resurrection plan, it made sense that Bazz and Peter would be here.

But Louis XIV’s tomb was certainly not so easy to break into. Even the Rose Sect couldn’t figure out how to take down all the traps inside, not to mention that there was an army of undead here, causing heavy losses to both sides.

For Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng, since they were good at fighting and destroying traps, even a situation this chaotic couldn’t hinder them much. Instead, what Tang Cuo was most concerned about was the title of the fourth round, [The Pale Heart].

When Black Hat announced his possession of the movement, he mentioned four items, [Black Dragon Scale], [The Pale Heart], [Drake’s Gem] and [Spark of Forgiveness]. Among them, [Drake’s Gem] was a reward from the third round [Forest of The Elves], which the system automatically gave to Black Hat before Tang Cuo could even touch it.

[The Pale Heart]. Wasn’t it one of those four items?

This meant that they would have to work for Black Hat for free again

But since they also wanted to see what Black Hat really had up his sleeves, they obviously wouldn’t stir trouble on their own volition. As the dungeon moved forward, those who survived after breaking into the tomb finally opened the last door and saw Louis XIV’s coffin which was made of solid gold.

In the circular chamber, the high dome was full of hollow windows carved with flower patterns, which seemed to be of a style very similar to the Kingdom Hidden In The Moonlight. The golden coffin was placed at the chamber’s heart, with intricate rose patterns engraved on its body. The magic formation on the ground was exactly the same as the one they saw inside the Well of Time.

The coffin lay open, and it was empty.

Everyone was flabbergasted, each speculating where Louis XIV’s body was. If he wasn’t here, where would he be? Did they lose so many people just for an empty tomb?

Even the people of the Rose Sect didn’t seem to have expected this situation.

Priest Peter grasped the edge of the coffin tightly, the knuckles on his hand turning white as his veins popped up. The shade of his face made it seem that he was still calm, but his eyes were shrouded in inexplicable darkness that made people feel shaken to the core.

Suddenly, there was a cracking sound from above. He looked up to see that a flower window had shattered, and a familiar smiling face had appeared by the window.

“Huh? It’s empty.” Said Aesop The Rebel.

There was someone else behind him. Although he was wearing a red robe with a hood, that figure and vaguely exposed strand of red hair could only mean one thing: it was Bazz. That Bazz with freckles and red hair.

He used to be a poor but happy boy, but now, the hood was covering his face, only revealing his chin that seemed a tad too tense and the corners of his mouth that were no longer tugging up.

Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng watched from the crowd, but neither intended to come forward. The moment he saw Bazz, Tang Cuo thought of the words in his dying letter again —

[And I hope only the wind will know about my death.]

Tang Cuo had no idea why, but this sentence had touched his heart the most in the whole dungeon. He would always remember Bazz running against the wind in the sun, his hair as woolly as a dandelion.

It was that Bazz who wrote his last words on a winter night when he thought he might not make it. At that time, it must be beyond his wildest dreams that he would rise from the dead.

Just like Tang Cuo on that April Fool’s Day. He would never have imagined that he would be here with Jin Cheng today.

Bazz didn’t see them, but Aesop picked up the faintly familiar aura in the air and looked over with a smile: “Let me see your faces. My two lovely little friends, we’ve met again.”

Everyone was stunned, for no one knew who he was talking about.

Peter immediately turned around and quickly spotted Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng hiding in the crowd. Seeing through their disguise, he muttered: “It’s you.”

Knowing that they couldn’t hide any further, the two removed their disguise and stepped out.

“Bazz.” Seeing Bazz’s shoulders tremble, inside his sleeves, Jin Cheng’s fist clenched tightly. It seemed he wanted to come over, but he knew he wouldn’t have a chance to walk past Aesop.

Aesop let out a soft chuckle. His tassel earring swayed along with his movements, as though it clearly knew the struggles hidden in everyone’s heart.

“Let’s make a deal. How about this: You kill Peter, and I’ll let Bazz meet you alone? Peter is also a member of the Rose Sect, so you’ll have to kill him anyway.” With a snicker, Aesop proposed.

“Aesop, you’re such a blatant traitor.” Peter took a deep breath, and finally regaining his composure, he gently looked up at Aesop, confronting him from a distance.

Aesop shrugged: “Is today the first day you’ve met Aesop The Rebel?”

Peter’s tongue was tied. He knew that Aesop never feared anything. Differing ideologies had started to form within the Rose Sect, and some people had stood behind Aesop to support his views. If Aesop’s target was only Peter, the sect would never lay a hand on him.

Thankfully, the majority of the sect still supported him. Thinking of this, Peter pulled out something that looked like a dried longan. It was black in colour, its size slighter bigger than a normal longan.

Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng didn’t know what it was, but Aesop recognised it at once. Narrowing his eyes, he said: “[The Pale Heart]. They really gave it to you.”

“[The Pale Heart]?!”

“That’s [The Pale Heart] belonging to Louis XIV???” 

Amidst the exclamations, Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng exchanged a hazy look, for neither of them expected the item to look like this. Judging from Aesop’s reaction, this heart might be the reason why the Rose Sect came to the tomb.

Tang Cuo calmly opened the mission panel and glanced at it again. The main mission hadn’t changed — ‘Destroy the magic formation’.

In the blink of an eye, Aesop brazenly made his move. Completely ignoring the presence of other Rose Sect members, he pointed the black umbrella directly at Peter. But how could these men let Aesop deal a blow so easily? They hurriedly stepped forward to stop it.

The next second, Peter made a cut on his palm. The blood that gushed out seeped into the ‘longan’, and in just another blink, the thing seemed to have come alive. It beat vigorously like a human heart.

“Thump thump.” The beating’s frequency was slow at first, then it gradually quickened. The ‘longan’ sucked the blood and slowly became larger as its black skin started to exude a hint of dark red.

Very quickly, Tang Cuo realised that it was a real heart!

“Give it up, Aesop.” As Peter held the heart in his hand, the blood from the heart dripped into the magic formation engraved on the ground and the gold lines started glowing. He looked at Aesop, then his gaze moved past him and towards Bazz, who was still standing on top of the dome, his eyes drenched in sympathy: “Even if you have [The Pale Heart], how can that frail little child shoulder the legacy of the rose?”

Letting out a cold snort, Aesop shook the black umbrella to push off the two men blocking his path: “You won’t know until you try.”

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The translator has something to say:

Here’s a fun quiz for y’all: Why was Tang Cuo unable to eat hot and sour noodles? *evil laugh*