The Earth is Online
chapter-196-30041322

Chapter 196

Mu Huixue was right.

An unknown woman suddenly killed the first place person, got his rest time and became a high ranking player. More senior returnees wondered what method this woman used to kill the first ranked person and eagerly tried to kill her to get her rest time.

However, as more and more  high ranking players died because of Mu Huixue, they knew the woman’s true strength and no longer rushed to challenge her. Thanks to this, Mu Huixue acc.u.mulated a lot of rest time and became first place on the time leaderboard.

Mu Huixue wasn’t a murderous returnee. This was a good thing for Tang Mo, Fu Wenduo and all the Earth survivors. However…

Fu Wenduo stated, “I have no reason to kill you.”

If Mu Huixue was a vicious returnee with more than 100,000 lives in her hands then Fu Wenduo might try to fight her. Killing her would be counted as ‘preventing harm.’ Fu Wenduo had a sense of responsibility. Of course, if Mu Huixue was very strong then Fu Wenduo wouldn’t be desperate to do this.

Mu Huixue was strong and not vicious. Fu Wenduo had no reason to kill her.

Fu Wenduo said, “I also like fighting with the strong.” He turned to look at Tang Mo. Tang Mo also hoped to play against the strong because actual combat was best for improving her strength. Fu Wenduo continued, “However, I might not be able to kill you and I have no reason to kill you.”

Mu Huixue smiled. “I want to die. This is the best reason.”

“Why do you want to die?”

A low female voice was suddenly heard and the group looked down. Chen Shanshan raised his head and stared seriously at Mu Huixue. She seemed to want to see Mu Huixue’s real thoughts from her expression.

Mu Huixue looked down at the little girl and replied after a moment, “There is no reason to live… so I want to die. Isn’t this reason enough?”

Chen Shanshan was silent but everyone knew this reason was completely untenable.

Whether it was Fu Wenduo or Tang Mo, they had no reason to take Mu Huixue’s life. They weren’t friends or enemies with the first place on the leaderboard. It was very difficult to kill her and they might not necessarily succeed.

Tang Mo thought for a moment, ready to explain the reasons. Then a low female voice was heard. Tang Mo reflexively looked up as Mu Huixue touched her chin and smiled. “What if I say that killing me can resurrect any player who died in a black tower game?”

Tang Mo’s eyes widened and his heart trembled fiercely.

In the rules for the black tower’s 4.0 version, the returnees were still subjected to the rest time but they could actively turn into official players. In addition, the time leaderboard was frozen by the black tower. Tang Mo killed Xu Yusheng, who was ranked 7th on the time leaderboard. Yet the original 8th place person didn’t rise to 7th place.

It was because the time leaderboard was frozen.

100 returnees, if one dead then there would be one less person.

Besides, the rules of the time leaderboard itself didn’t change. Tang Mo killed Xu Yusheng and got a good quality prop. On the surface, this prop was a small silver stone that could attract metal under certain circ.u.mstances. However, the note for this item was:

[Note: As a king stone, I can help other stones become night pearls!]

Tang Mo’s memory was excellent and a familiar image came to mind. He found a black stone from his pocket. Once he placed them together, the two stones merged.  The silver stone disappeared and the black stone began to glow. The introduction of the newly synthesized prop was:

[Prop: A Magical Night Pearl]

[Owner: Tang Mo]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Level: 2]

[Attack: None]

[Function: A prop with a strong magnetic force that can attract metal.]

[Restrictions: The props that are attracted must be of rare or excellent quality. The lower the quality, the lower the success rate.  The probability of garbage items being attracted is 0 and the time it is attracted to the stone is 30 seconds. IT will fall immediately after 30 seconds. It can only be used once every seven days.]

[Note: The ugly duckling can become a white swan. My small stone can also become a night pearl!]

This stone had been knocked out of Mario’s hat before Tang Mo partic.i.p.ated in the Iron Shoemaker instance.  Excellent quality props had advantages and disadvantages. There was no doubt that Tang Mo had gained one of the best props. No one thought that a normal quality prop could actually combine with another prop to turn into one of the best props.

This stone was strong when it was strong and weak when it was weak. Previously, Tang Mo used it to attract Bai Ruoyao’s b.u.t.terfly knives, catching him off guard.

Tang Mo knew this wasn’t a coincidence. He obtained the silver stone because the black tower had long known he had the black stone and gave him such a reward.

Now killing  Mu Huixue would allow them to resurrect a player who died in a black tower instance…

Tang Mo’s breathing was slightly short as he quietly stared at Mu Huixue.

Mu Huixue knew that his heart was moved. She continued, “In addition to resurrecting a person after killing me, you can get all my props. Fu Wenduo, Tang Mo, I’m not a fool. If I don’t die then I definitely won’t give my props to others. Once I’m dead, you can logically get them.. The returnees must have more props than Earth’s survivors.” Mu Huixue laughed gentle. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

The conditions were enough to tempt Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo.

Then Chen Shanshan asked her, “Why don’t you let yourself die in a black tower game? Ordinary black tower bosses might not be able to kill you but Santa Claus must be able to kill you.”

Mu Huixue was a player who only cleared the fourth floor of the black tower. Santa Claus was a black tower monster on the level of the circus leader. Tang Mo couldn’t face the circus leader even if he cleared the black tower’s sixth floor. No one in the world was the opponent of these monsters. Mu Huixue could’ve deliberately broken the rules in the previous game and allowed Santa to kill her.

Mu Huixue stopped smiling for the first time and stared seriously at this short-haired girl. “Being killed by a black tower monster isn’t in line with my aesthetics. I am happy to die in the hands of a strong person. Dying in the hands of a monster… Child, that is trampling on my dignity.”

Chen Shanshan opened her mouth but couldn’t speak.

The benefits of killing Mu Huixue were very obvious but Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo shook their heads after a while.

Fu Wenduo declared, “I have no reason to kill you.”

This was still the answer.

They had no reason to kill the female player who wasn’t a bad person.

Mu Huixue thought for a moment before saying, “What if… I have another reason?”

Guangzhou, Huacheng Square.

The hot sun hung high in the air and shone onto the ground, the cement almost melting. Guangzhou was located near the Tropic of Cancer and the temperature in June was extremely high. There was no shelter in Huacheng Square and few people were walking around on this hot day. However, today there were three people walking on the road.

They were two skinny, short men and one tall, burly man.

People’s physical fitness improved after the earth went online and resistance to extreme hot and cold was greatly increased. This type of day wouldn’t make them uncomfortable. On such a short day, the first two middle-aged men were wearing thin clothes while the last bear-like man was wrapped in a thick fur coat.

He had a long beard, a dirty face and wore a hat made of fur. His face was buried in his clothing, with a pair of silver-grey eyes staring out at the world.

The two men in front were walking honestly when a sound came from the middle of Guangzhou Tower. They saw a silver arrow flying through the air at a terrible speed towards the middle-aged man on the left. The middle-aged man discovered that something was wrong but couldn’t react in time.

The arrow was about to pierce his head when a large hand reached out and firmly grasped the arrow.

In the middle of Guangzhou Tower, two middle-aged men changed their expressions and quickly left the pa.s.sage. They had just arrived at the bottom of Guangzhou Tower when they saw a tall figure in black blocking the door. The thick beard obscured his looks and they could only see a pair of grey eyes.

The two of them ran away but Andrei was faster than them. He used one hand to lift the two Guangzhou players and pressed them onto plastic rest chairs on the first floor of the TV station.

At this point, the two Xinjiang players finally ran over.

The two Guangzhou players timidly looked at this strange foreign man. He was like a giant bear and gave off a terrible pressure that caused them to shake. The Xinjiang suddenly felt empathy. They had been threatened like this half a month ago!

Andrei spoke to the two Xinjiang players. “Say, home, find her.”

They had been together for almost one month and the two men figured out how to communicate to Andrei. They told the Guangzhou players, “Don’t be afraid, we are also Chinese. He is a Russian player called Andrei. We came from Xinjiang because he wants to find Mu Huixue. I heard that Mu Huixue last appeared at Guangzhou Tower and came to take a look. Do you know where Mu Huixue is?”

The expression of the two Guangzhou players slightly changed.

After a moment, one of them replied, “Mu Huixue… left Guangzhou half a month ago.”

“What?”

The man explained, “If you’re talking about the first place on the time leaderboard, returnee Mu Huixue, she left Guangzhou half a month ago. She is a very strange person. After the two worlds merged, she didn’t do anything. She stood at the top if Guangzhou Tower and watched the stars and moon. She became tired of watching and suddenly jumped down. She told us that she was going to Beijing because she wanted to find someone to kill her…”

The Xinjiang players, “…”

Andrei didn’t understand at all. “Mu Hui Xue learn?”

A Xinjiang player said, “No Big Brother, she wants to find someone to kill her. How come this sounds impossible?”

The Guangzhou players were innocent. “It is real. She said this and then she left. Our organization is the largest official players organization in Guangzhou and we sent people to watch Mu Huixue. She left Guangzhou and headed north As for whether she went to Beijing or not, we don’t know.”

No matter how impossible it was, the two Xinjiang players could only tell Andrei the truth.

Andrei, “…”

Forget Andrei, even the two Xinjiang players didn’t believe it.

However, they asked other Guangzhou players and the answers were the same.

Andrei stopped talking and slowly looked north. The hearts of the two Xinjiang players tightened and they got a bad foreboding. Sure enough, the next second, Andrei looked at them and said, “Ho to Beijing.”

The Xinjiang players, “…”

Did he think China was as big as a world map? Where did he want to go?

Meanwhile, Beijing, the Temple of Heaven.

Mu Huixue pulled out the red whip and held it in her hands.

On the opposite side, Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo stood and the trio quietly watched each other.

After Mu Huixue explained her ability, Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo decided to kill her.

Mu Huixue’s ability wasn’t an attack type but it was extremely difficult to kill her. On the one hand, she didn’t want to die casually and wanted to die under the attacks of a strong person. On the other hand, her ability would make her subconsciously fight back.

Tang Mo asked, “Do you want to think about it?”

Mu Huixue smiled. “You might not be able to kill me.”

Tang Mo didn’t answer. He pulled out the small parasol and stared calmly at Mu Huixue. He glanced at Fu Wenduo and the two of them knew that the other person was thinking about how to crack Mu Huixue’s ability. The next moment, without any signs, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo rushed from both sides, attacking Mu Huixue.

A golden light flowed through Mu Huixue’s eyes. There were several golden dots in her eyes which reflected the body parts of Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo.

“I found it!”

The red whip immediately moved towards Tang Mo. The angle of the long whip was extremely tricky. It was from behind Tang Mo but just happened to be at a key moment when Tang Mo was jumping up. Tang Mo’s whole body was jumping in midair and he couldn’t avoid it. He turned his body as much as possible to evade but the red whip left a shallow trace on the back of his hand.

There was a hot pain from the wound.

Tang Mo glanced at the other person.

Mu Huixue’s lips curved. “I won’t casually be defeated.”

Tang Mo said helplessly, “If you are like this then I will think you don’t want to die at all. You want to kill us.”

Mu Huixue opened her mouth when her expression changed and she moved sideways to avoid the blow. The black sharp instrument flashed in front of her eyes and Fu Wenduo swept towards her. She took three steps back to avoid it.

Fu Wenduo wondered, “Isn’t this a life or death duel?”

The implication was that this was a life or death duel. Did she still have time to chat?

There really wasn’t time.

The trio rushed together and continued to fight.

There was one thing Mu Huixue didn’t know.

In fact, killing her wouldn’t only give them a chance to resurrect a player and to gain her props. Tang Mo could also get her ability. Still, this wasn’t enough to tempt Tang Mo to kill a person who had no reason to be killed. The thing that made them really determined was Mu Huixue’s words.

“Lucky keeps doing things to tempt death because it makes him feel that he is alive. Me, I’m already dead.”

“I killed the first place on the time leaderboard to resurrect a person.”

“Then four months ago, that person was killed by me.”

“Fu Wenduo, Tang Mo. Kill me… let me gain real freedom.”

Thus, Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo agreed that they would do their best to kill her. She would also try her best to respond in this battle.

A strength gap didn’t exist in the battle between masters. It was about the details and who made a mistake first.

Tang Mo’s fighting ability was far inferior to Fu Wenduo and Mu Huixue but he had more abilities and always had a surprise in his hand. He didn’t use the A Fast Man ability but he used almost all his abilities. Mu Huixue was forced into a corner by him but every day, she could find the flaws in Tang Mo in the fastest time and attack, so that he could only defend.

It was inevitable that this battle wouldn’t be understood by Chen Shanshan and Fu Wensheng.

The sun gradually sank and in the Temple of Heaven park, several trees were cut down by the trio.

As the moon emerged from the clouds, Fu Wenduo suddenly found a flaw in Mu Huixue. He touched the ground with one hand, the black metal colliding with the ground, while his other hand turned into a sharp weapon that stabbed at Mu Huixue. At the same time, Tang Mo approached Mu Huixue at the fastest speed. The moment he approached, his palm turned over and a huge match appeared in his hand.

The big match rubbed against the ground and ignited sparks.

The black weapon pierced through the air and approached Mu Huixue’s th.o.a.rd.

At this moment, the golden light was constantly s.h.i.+ning in Mu Huixue’s eyes. Her ability was struggling to find a way for her own survival. The two people in front of her were clearly flawed and there were many places she could attack. It was precisely because there were too many flaws that she couldn’t escape the strikes of the two people.

Fu Wenduo’s sharp weapon was dangerous and the giant match was even more terrifying.

In the blink of an eye, Mu Huixue made a decision.  She raised her left arm to block the black weapon. Half her arm was cut off and landed on the ground. Thus, she managed to avoid the match. Her whole body fell back. She knelt on one knee and gasped heavily while holding her damaged arm.

Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo stopped their actions at the same time.

The wounds on their body were no less than Mu Huixue’s, especially Tang Mo. Putting aside Mu Huixue’s lost arm, Tang Mo had more injuries than her.

The three of them didn’t speak.

After a moment, Tang Mo opened his mouth and spoke in a slightly hoa.r.s.e voice. “Do you really want to die… Mu Huixue?”

Fu Wenduo grabbed his weapons and props and then had Fu Wensheng come over to make mineral water to treat Tang Mo’s wounds. At the same time, he took two bottles of mineral water from the chicken nest and threw them at Mu Huixue. “Treat your wounds.”

Mu Huixue didn’t refuse.

Mu Huixue had a strong self-healing ability. She added the mineral water and her arm slowly grew back to its original state.

Tang Mo suggested, “Let’s find a safe place to speak.”

Everyone agreed.

After leaving the Temple of Heaven Park, Fu Wenduo found an abandoned office building and the five people settled in.

Due to her injury, Mu Huixue leaned against the wall and wrapped her wounds with gauze. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo seemed to have more injuries but they were all flesh wounds. Tang Mo sat in a computer chair, pulled a packet of tissues from the person’s desk, soaked it with water and wiped at the dried blood stains on his skin.

“…Why do you want to die?”

Mu Huixue raised her head and looked at Tang Mo.

Tang Mo cleaned his blood and stated, “Live. You still have a lot of things to do.”

Mu Huixue was silent for a moment before smiling. “A lot of things? Attacking the tower?”

Fu Wenduo said, “There are three floors of the black tower that haven’t been cleared.”

Tang Mo asked, “Aren’t you curious about what will happen once all seven floors of the black tower are cleared?”

Mu Huixue was about to answer, “Not curious,” but she remembered her actions of doing her best to save her life and closed her mouth. Mu Huixue looked up a the ceiling and closed her eyes, thinking for a long time. She opened them and gazed at Tang Mo. “I don’t want to die.”

If she really wanted to die, she wouldn’t have done her best to survive, to the point of cutting off her arm.

If she really wanted to die, she wouldn’t come all the way from Guangzhou to find someone to kill her.

She had no interest in the world but the fact that she lived to the present proved that there was something in the world to be nostalgic for. Mu Huixue didn’t know what it was but she could only live and find the answer.

At the same time, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo glanced at each other and decided to ask the real reason why Mu Huixue wanted to die. Tang Mo was just about to open his mouth when the melodious ‘Little Star’ was suddenly heard. It was late and the group rushed as fast as they could to the window to see the black tower suspended over Beijing.

There were no lyrics but this melody was the world famous ‘Little Star.’

Like the real little stars, the black tower shone with a silver glow, flicking and constantly blinking, illuminating the whole city. The same thing happened around the world, with tens of thousands of black towers s.h.i.+ning together. This type of thing wasn’t obvious in the daytime, but in the Eastern Hemisphere, the light that was like a star couldn’t be ignored.

Fu Wenduo said, “The black tower will rarely play this popular tune.”

Tang Mo’s eyes narrowed. “…A new version?”

Once the song finished, the clear child’s voice was heard.

“Ding dong! Europe District 1’s official player Lena Jophos has successful cleared the fifth floor of the black tower!”

“Ding dong! Europe District 1’s official player Lena Jophos has successful cleared the fifth floor…”

It was notified three times.

The loud voice spread all over the world.

Tang Mo hadn’t expected someone to clear the black tower’s fifth floor so quickly. The thing that made him more vigilant was, “The black tower hasn’t told the players to attack the tower for a long time.”

This wasn’t normal!

“Ding dong! It is expected that at 6:00 on June 7th, 2018, the version 4.5 ‘Grab the sixth’ mode will be updated. As of June 10th, 2018, the region where no one has cleared the fifth floor of the black tower will be forced to attack the tower. All players, please be prepared.”

The last time the black tower released a song to celebrate a player successfully attacking the black tower was two months ago. At that time, Mu Huixue attacked the fourth floor and release the mysterious version 4.0 and the black tower specifically played a song to thank her. Today, the black tower actually released version 4.5.

Mu Huixue opened her mouth. “The black tower has never released a 0.5 version before. This is the first time.”

An ominous feeling filled Tang Mo’s heart and the black didn’t didn’t let him wait long. It soon resolved his doubts.

“Ding dong! The European region has successfully cleared the black tower’s fifth floor and has obtained the preferential treatment of not needing to attack the tower.”

“The remaining nine regions…”

“Please try to attack the tower!”

Added a ko-fi for the people asking for an alternative to Patreon:

You can also join my discord channel to chat with fellow readers about the novels;