The Earth is Online
chapter-64

Chapter 64

The first player in each region to open the black tower would be broadcasted globally by the black tower, pulling all the players in the area to attack the tower. As long as one player cleared the black tower, the other players dragged in could temporarily leave the game. Since November 15th when the earth went online, the black tower had already broadcasted ten areas.

“The China region, US region, Europe region, Russia region, East Asia region, Southeast Asia region, South Asia region, West Asia region, the Americas region and…” Luo Fengcheng spoke the name of the last region. “The Lampang region. There are 10 regions in total.”

In the past three months, there were players in the ten regions who cleared the black tower. The last region to clear the first floor of the black tower was the Lampang region, but that was already 1.5 months ago.

When the black tower had broadcasted these ten areas, Tang Mo had played a game three times and didn’t hear the contents of the broadcast. He looked at Luo Fengcheng. “China and East Asia, Russia and Europe, the United States and Americas region. The relationship between the three are the same.”

China belonged to East Asia, the United States to the Americas and Russia to Europe. However, these three countries were included in the areas to which they belonged. They were taken out separately. Tang Mo thought, “Is it related to the economic situation of the three countries?” But he soon dismissed it. “Russia isn’t ranked third in the global economy. Third is Japan.”

It wasn’t just the economy. In recent years, the behemoth Russia, the huge power that once fought against the United States, gradually sunk. Of course, it was still a deadly power and Russia was also divided into a separate area. The division of the black tower couldn’t be due to the economic gap between countries, nor was it the high level of discourse that each country had in the world.

Tang Mo suddenly understood what it was and turned to look at Fu Wenduo.

Fu Wenduo also looked at him calmly and confirmed Tang Mo’s speculation. “Before the earth went online, these three countries would truly be the most powerful if World War Three began.”

It was impossible to count Russia in the economic rankings. According to the land rankings, Russia and China accounted for the top three in the world but Canada was at number two. Therefore, the most likely scenario was that the black tower ranked it according to the countries’ military strength. Before the earth went online, these three countries were most likely to be the ultimate winners if there was a global war. After the earth went online, the players were divided and the three countries were singled out as targets.

It was just a guess and wasn’t necessarily true.

Tang Mo’s expression gradually sank as he said, “The black tower has a thorough understanding of human society.”

Luo Fengcheng nodded. “Yes. The United States, China and Russia are listed separately. This is a global analysis of the current situation on the planet. Beijing was China District 1 and Shanghai was China District 2. It is very likely that Guangzhou is China District 3 and Shenzhen is China District 4. This zoning itself represents a very familiar understanding of China. The way it divides the region isn’t important. The important thing is… Major Fu, Tang Mo, the black tower understands humans more than we imagined.”

Fu Wenduo and Luo Fengcheng had long confirmed to Tang Mo that the black tower definitely wasn’t made by any countries on Earth. China didn’t have this technology and the United States didn’t have this technology. For the six months after the black tower suddenly appeared, all the countries in the world were trying to study the tower.

This was unless the tower was made by a hidden organization.

But even the great powers like the United States, China and Japan couldn’t delve into the technology of the black tower, which exceeded the current level of human technology. If this was really made by a human organization, they would long have the power to destroy humanity. The probability was extremely low.

Luo Fengcheng said, “It knows the international situation, knows the city levels within each country, knows the traditional religious festivals of humanity (Christmas) and knows many creatures created by humans (Pinocchio). I’ve had a question since the earth went online. On May 15th, the black tower suddenly appeared on Earth. On November 15th, it made the announcement that the earth was online.  In those six month, it didn’t move. What exactly was it doing?”

Tang Mo thought for a moment. “It was collecting information about the human world.”

Luo Fengcheng looked at Tang Mo. “I guessed the same.”

For half a year, the black tower was silently suspended over the world’s major cities without doing anything special. What was it doing? If it really had to wait until November 15th, why did it appear six months in advance?

It was collection information about Earth.

This way, it could accurately divide human society.

The three people looked at each other for a long time before Luo Fengcheng smiled. “In fact, there is no point knowing this. Right now, the highest we have reached is the second floor and the tower has seven floors. The priority is to live and attack the tower. This matter has nothing to do with me. By the way, what were you saying?”

Tang Mo felt very uncomfortable after knowing that the black tower had been spying on the human world for the past six months. He monitored this uncomfortable feeling and said, “Major Fu’s cousin is in District 6. According to speculation, China is divided according to the strength of the city. Then District 6… is it Hangzhou? Tianjin? Or somewhere else?”

Luo Fengcheng replied, “There shouldn’t be much doubt with the first four districts. But in the future, many cities won’t have a standard ranking.

Fu Wenduo asked, “What district is Nanjing?”

Tang Mo and Luo Fengcheng turned to him.

Fu Wenduo replied calmly. “My second aunt’s mother lives in Nanjing. He might’ve gone to his grandmother’s house for a holiday, meaning he is in Nanjing.”

Luo Fengcheng said, “Nanjing is very close to Shanghai. Many people there fled to Shanghai to find surviving friends and relatives. I will ask the members of Attack to see if they can find anyone from Nanjing. Perhaps they will know what district Nanjing is.”

Fu Wenduo nodded.

After this, Tang Mo talked about what he encountered in the tower attack game.  He first confirmed Chen Shanshan’s previous speculation. “In the same tower attack game, there really are players on different floors.” Since this had been said, Tang Mo no longer hid it. “I was on the black tower’s second floor while the other two players were on the first floor. The different floors have tasks with a different difficulty. The main task for the three of us was different.”

Luo Fengcheng seemed to have already guessed that Tang Mo was attacking the black tower’s second floor. He didn’t show any surprise as he said, “This point should be noted. The main mission is the same and you can’t fully trust unfamiliar teammates. The main mission is different and you definitely can’t trust your teammates. We need to raise our vigilance… why are you looking at me like this?”

Tang Mo retracted his gaze and said calmly. “We really can’t trust our teammates. This time, I met a very strange teammate.” Tang Mo thought about him. “His skills are very good. His ability isn’t strong but he is a good fighter. I was almost tricked by him. Fu Wenduo, do you know him? His name is Bai Ruoyao. He is so good, maybe he is also part of the special forces?”

Fu Wenduo had long heard the name of Bai Ruoyao through the turkey egg and didn’t know this person. Tang Mo said the name to see if Luo Fengcheng, not Fu Wenduo, knew this person.

Sure enough, Fu Wenduo didn’t answer. Luo Fengcheng thought for a moment. “Bai Ruoyao? Is it a woman?”

It was a woman’s name.

Tang Mo shook the head. “It is a man. He has a baby-face, is very tall and very young.”

Luo Fengcheng looked at Fu Wenduo. “Major Fu, have you heard of this person in the army?”

“No.”

“I haven’t either.”

Tang Mo had already guessed this answer.

The three people spoke for a while and then Jack and Liz returned. Luo Fengcheng just received news from Tang Mo so he called the members of Attack for a meeting. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo didn’t go since they weren’t members of the organization. Tang Mo put on his clothes and left the infirmary with a bottle of iodine.

The two men turned a corner, entered a safe passage and went up the stairs.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the spacious, silent staircase. Tang Mo listened around for movements and after confirming that no one was nearby, he whispered, “The principle behind the turkey egg, I have another guess. Maybe after we saved the file, time doesn’t go forward. It is our consciousness that really goes forward. The turkey egg simulates what will happen in the next hour and instills the memories in our minds. But this doesn’t explain why time keeps moving forward if we don’t load the file.”

Fu Wenduo said, “I remember that if both of us are in the same game, as long as one person uses the turkey egg, the other person’s turkey egg will expire and can’t be used until the cooldown is over.”

Tang Mo understood why Fu Wenduo suddenly said this. He turned around and looked at the man. “Yes. In addition, as long as one person loads the file, the other person will be forced to read the file and return to the save point.” Tang Mo stopped as he understood what Fu Wenduo meant. He laughed. “The both of us playing the same game, it is really a disadvantage.”

Not only was the difficulty increased, the turkey egg could only be used once.

However, since leaving the tower attack game, Tang Mo always had a thought in his heart that he didn’t speak. He originally wanted to find Luo Fengcheng to tell him about what happened in the game and found Luo Fengcheng with Fu Wenduo. As a result, he encountered a series of things and never said anything.

Tang Mo walked up the stairs while mentally organizing his words. Just as he was ready to speak, a low male voice was heard behind him., “Tang Mo, today are you… a little bit faster?”

Tang Mo was stunned and couldn’t react. “What is faster?”

The two people had already arrived at the first floor. Tang Mo was standing on a corner of the stairwell on the first floor, a large floor to ceiling window beside him. The bright morning sun shone through the window onto his body, dying his hair gold. He turned to look at Fu Wenduo, not understanding what he meant.

Fu Wenduo looked at the young man about to melt in the golden sun and explained. “You seem to be doing everything a bit faster today. Well… for example, when you changed the gauze, your actions were very fast and short. The speed of your speech is also 0.5 seconds faster than normal. The last is…”

Tang Mo looked at the three steps between the two of them.

“I’m not walking slowly but Tang Mo, you are really walking too fast. Therefore, are you a little bit faster today?”

Tang Mo who remembered the side effect of using a certain ability, “…”

You are fast! Your whole family was fast!

The ability A Fast Man allowed the user’s maximum movement speed to reach the speed of sound. Once he used the ability, the side effect of A Fast Man would occur for 24 hours and he would… become very fast.

Tang Mo couldn’t say this and became anxious.

At this time, Fu Wenduo added firewood to the fire. “What happened to make you so urgent and to do things so fast?”

“……”

Tang Mo was too pained to say a word. He didn’t feel desire in that aspect right now, so he couldn’t prove if he was fast everywhere. But according to what Fu Wenduo just claimed, he truly did become faster. Therefore… for the next 24 hours, he would be very fast.

Tang Mo didn’t speak and Fu Wenduo looked at him thoughtfully.

This gaze made Tang Mo feel more depressed. Based on Fu Wenduo’s IQ, perhaps he could guess something. Tang Mo finally said, “It is your illusion. I just left the tower attack game and my mind is tense. I am always on guard against unknown danger and brought this habit to reality. It should be fine after a few days.” To be precise, it was 24 hours.

Tang Mo saw that Fu Wenduo still wanted to say something and immediately changed the topic. “Two weeks ago, the black tower updated to version 2.0 and it allows multiple players to team up to enter the game.”

Fu Wenduo swallowed down his words. He closed his mouth and looked up at Tang Mo.

“So?”

Tang Mo was watching Fu Wenduo while Fu Wenduo smiled at him.

One person stood in the sun while the other one was standing in the shadow of the staircase. It was just like the identities of the two people. One was an official player and the other was a stowaway. No matter the reason behind the killing, Fu Wenduo was the ultimate stowaway hated by all Chinese players.

After a long time, Tang Mo opened his mouth first. “In yesterday’s tower attack game where I met your cousin, I found that having good teammates is very important. Therefore… Fu Wenduo, do you want to team up the next time to attack the tower?”

Tang Mo spoke very calmly. However, this was a question he had been thinking about for a while.

Since the earth went online, Tang Mo wanted to find at least one suitable teammate. His teammates list only had the name Chen Shanshan on it. Unfortunately, Chen Shanshan was still young and not mature enough. She was currently a member of Attack and Luo Fengcheng’s student. If there were no incidents, she couldn’t team up with Tang Mo for a short period of time.

A good teammate could make the game easier, with a 1+1= more than 2 effect.

Chen Shanshan was very smart and her ability to make the most accurate choice and judgment were useful for the team. But she was less important than Fu Wenduo.

The criteria for a good teammate included intelligence, force, strength and many other aspects. The most important thing wasn’t these personal qualities but the tacit understanding between the team members. Whether it was Pinocchio’s Honest Card Game or the Iron Shoemaker’s Game, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo became aware of the excellent tacit understanding between them. The only obstacle was…

“Tang Mo, aren’t you afraid to go with me?” Fu Wenduo’s lips curved as he stood in the darkness and stared calmly at Tang Mo.

Tang Mo smiled and asked, “Aren’t you afraid to go with me?”

The world’s first player to clear the first and second floors of the black tower, the stowaway that the black tower monsters wanted to eat the most to raise their strength. Fu Wenduo asked if Tang Mo wasn’t afraid to team up with him.

Tang Mo’s answer was: Are you afraid to team up with the world’s first player to clear the tower attack game in difficult mode?

Once they teamed up, the team’s strength would be greatly improved but the games would also be more difficult. No one knew if the difficulty of the game would increase more or if the two people’s overall strength would improve more. But after going through the tower attack game with Bai Ruoyao, Tang Mo became more concerned about having a good teammate who was trustworthy.

Fu Wenduo was strong and smart, while his tacit understanding with Tang Mo was very high. His identity as a stowaway was also because he performed a national mission. Tang Mo didn’t doubt his character for the time being. If Fu Wenduo had been there, it would’ve been absolutely impossible for Bai Ruoyao’s sneak attack to work and he might’ve even be beaten up until his parents didn’t recognize him.

The more Tang Mo thought about it, the more suitable Fu Wenduo was to be his teammate.

Fu Wenduo said, “According to the current situation, the difficulty of your games will increase if we team up.”

Tang Mo didn’t deny it. Fu Wenduo was a stowaway and the world’s first player to clear the first and second floors. The black tower should rate Fu Wenduo’s strength as above Tang Mo and the increase in difficulty of the games would be more apparent for Tang Mo. Tang Mo said, “Assuming that the difficulty of the game is too much and the team is about to lose…” Tang Mo smiled. “Mr. Fu, I can take a step first and leave you behind.”

Fu Wenduo was slightly stunned but he soon understood what Tang Mo was saying.

Tang Mo admitted that he had the King’s Gold Coin.

If the game was really too difficult and couldn’t be cleared, Tang Mo wouldn’t hesitate to use the King’s Gold Coin and leave Fu Wenduo behind.

Tang Mo spoke honestly and didn’t hide his thoughts. Fu Wenduo looked at him for a moment before taking one step up the stairs. He took a total of three steps and quickly arrived in front of Tang Mo. “You probably don’t know my ability yet.”

Tang Mo was stunned. “What?”

Fu Wenduo laughed. “Before you can slip away, in the face of a powerful BOSS, rest assured that I am certain to die after you.”

Tang Mo, “…”

Putting aside the future of selling their teammates, this was about life and death in battle. Tang Mo seemed speechless on the surface. He waved his hand and turned to go into the mall. Fu Wenduo didn’t say anything more as he kept up with Tang Mo’s pace. In fact, Tang Mo already seized the meaning of Fu Wenduo’s words deep in his heart.

Fu Wenduo didn’t know what Tang Mo’s ability was. Tang Mo didn’t know what Fu Wenduo’s ability was. But Fu Wenduo confidently told Tang Mo that if the two of them met a really horrible black tower monster, he would definitely die after Tang Mo. In other words, he wasn’t saying he would sell Tang Mo out to escape. Instead, he believed that he could live longer than Tang Mo.

What type of power did he have that made him so confident?

Tang Mo couldn’t find a clue. At this time, the two of them had entered a clothing store. Tang Mo’s clothes were covered in blood while Fu Wenduo’s collar was torn by a black tower monster. The two of them chose their own clothes and entered a dressing room.

Tang Mo stood in front of a mirror and finished with his cuffs. He spoke lightly, “The next tower attack game is in three months. When do you plan to go?”

Fu Wenduo replied, “I will prepare for a while, so around two months.”

“Good, we will go two months later.”

There was no need to say anything else. Both of them agreed that the next tower attack game would be done together. This was from their tacit understanding.

After changing clothes, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo parted in the mall. Before leaving, Tang Mo had a thought. “If I want to find you tomorrow, where should I go?”

Fu Wenduo raised his eyebrows. “Are you looking for me for something?”

Tang Mo’s face didn’t change. “My fighting skills can’t keep up with my physical fitness.” Therefore… give your teammate a few pointers, Mr. Fu. After all, your team will become stronger if your teammate is strong. Tang Mo didn’t say these words but he knew that Fu Wenduo understood his meaning.

In the warm sunshine, Fu Wenduo stared at Tang Mo and Tang Mo calmly let him.

After a while, Fu Wenduo nodded. “Tomorrow afternoon, I will see you in that clothing store.”

The author has something to say:

Tang Tang: This person must be the best teammate for me!

Old Fu: This person is the best husband for you. [Smile]

—————–

I suddenly thought about what would happen if the game is really difficult for Tang Tang and Old Fu to clear…

Tang Tang: [Uses the King’s Gold Coin] Slipped away! Selling my husband, no problem.

Old Fu: ???

Haha, it is really good when thinking about this. I really want to write it 2333333333