Chapter 44 - Love Song on Ice 1
Love Song on Ice 1
061 didn’t rush to take Chi Xiaochi to the next world, but rather, brought him to an empty rectangular space.
He asked, “Do you need a rest?”
Chi Xiaochi, “We can even rest?”
061 said, “After the end of their second world, hosts can choose to rest for a period of time in the transition between worlds to adjust their emotions and properly move on from the last world.”
After all, the hosts he had brought along before had all acted out emotional plays with the scum gongs from each and every world, and exited through suicide every time. Even if it wouldn’t result in serious mental trauma like a forced extrication would, suicide itself was a kind of strong attack on the psyche.
Chi Xiaochi took out his cards and tallied them up.
As he was counting, he asked, “Is there any time limit on this rest period?”
“According to the rules, at most, it can’t exceed fifteen days, and at least…”
Chi Xiaochi held the stack of cards in his palm, letting it disappear into data. “Okay, let’s go.”
061, “……” ……At least enough time to tally up a deck of cards.
Chi Xiaochi said, “What’s interesting about this place? If I stay here any longer, I’ll get snow-blindness.”
061 snapped his fingers.
Instantly, the little room that was only ten metres squared was set into motion.
The space folded into a rectangular shape that opened up like a cardboard box, the ceiling opened, and layer after layer of snow white walls unfolded outwards one by one, extending into infinity.
Like a game updating with a new content pack, scenery began to open up, starting from around them and spreading off into the distance——
A classically decorated cafe, a playground and a shopping mall milling with crowds of people, a park, a gym, all the way to the distant snow-capped mountains and maple leaf forests, all kinds of facilities, literally anything that one could think of, were here.
Only the spot under Chi Xiaochi’s feet was still a snow-white tile, like a game’s spawn point.
All around him, there were people coming and going, only no one was able to see this space that didn’t exist in any dimension.
061 said, “You can relax here for a bit.”
Chi Xiaochi looked around, seemingly looking interested, “Can I go anywhere here?”
061 answered, “As long as it’s a place that currently exists in any of the worlds, you can go there.”
Chi Xiaochi asked, “Can you come with me?”
061 said, “I’d really like to accompany you, but in dimensions unrelated to any tasks, my abilities are weakened to their lowest. I would only be able to preserve the most basic awareness, and even the speaking and seeing systems would be turned off. So when hosts engage in their self-adjusting and relaxation time, most systems would separate from their hosts, staying in their space and waiting for them to come back.”
Chi Xiaochi stood in the crowd, brushing shoulders with innumerable people as they rushed past.
With just one footstep, Chi Xiaochi would be able to step into the clamour of the human world.
But he said, “No need. I’m in a hurry to get back.”
That word, “hurry”, inexplicably made 061 feel gratified, yet it was like a needle, stabbing at his heart in a neither gentle, nor strong poke.
He reconfirmed, “You really don’t need a break?”
Chi Xiaochi said, “This way, it saves my time, as well as yours.”
061 didn’t ask any more questions. With a wave of his hand, once more, the space was quickly drawn into the centre, folded up, and re-folded into a white box of about ten or so square metres.
【System no. 061 requests to be transmitted to the next world】
【Checking transmission privileges】
【Di, check complete,transmission permissible】
【Random assignment to a world in progress】
【Di, random assignment complete, initiating transmission to world no. 1983】
When Chi Xiaochi next opened his eyes, he examined his surroundings, then examined the size of his hands and feet. Concisely and forcefully: “Fuck.”
061, “……???”
The scene before them indeed deserved a ‘fuck’.
Chi Xiaochi was trapped in a small, narrow men’s toilet cubicle. The cubicle door and walls were all covered in black singe marks. With one look, you could tell that it had been left by people hiding in here to smoke, casually extinguishing their cigarettes against them.
Other than that, on the walls were also all kinds of graffiti, certification advertisements, locksmith advertisements, looking for a gay buddy, so-and-so loves such-and-such for a lifetime, so-and-so is a stupid X.
……They’d even spelled stupid wrong.
The sky outside the window was dark, a chilly breeze blowing rhythmically. From the direction of the light, it should already be the time twilight merged into darkness.
But Chi Xiaochi’s focus was different from 061’s.
He stared at his palms and asked, “About how old is this original host?”
All of the world’s information had yet to be sent over, only basic information was provided to refer to. 061 looked through it, and also ended up sucking in a breath of cold air. “……Currently 11 years old.”
“How old was he when he met the target?”
“When they met, he was 11. They officially got together when he was 19.”
Chi Xiaochi calculated this eight year time difference that was the same as the eight year long war of resistance against Japan, then said, “Liu-laoshi, have you ever heard of ‘the quick sword cuts through tangled hemp‘.”
061, “……”
Chi Xiaochi, like a travel agent, guided him along patiently and systematically, “With one stab of a knife, the target’s short, yet happy life would be over very quickly. I guarantee it won’t hurt.”
061, “……” I’m not buying, I’m not buying into this Amway scam.
Finding that this Amway of a blitzkrieg, one solution fits all tactic wasn’t going to fly with 061, Chi Xiaochi looked around, saying, “If I’d known earlier that I’d need to stay here for seven years, I wouldn’t have been in such a hurry and had a cup of coffee before coming here.”
061 comforted him, saying, “You don’t have to worry too much about the time……”
Before 061 could finish speaking, they heard the sound of schadenfreude coupled with the sound of running water rushing into a galvanised lead bucket from outside the cubicle.
Soon, a foot slammed into the door from the outside.
The self-satisfied voice of a child sounded from outside, “Why aren’t you cursing? Gone mute? Where’s that sharp tongue of yours?”
Chi Xiaochi immediately kicked the door from inside, judging that the toilet door should have something dragged in front of it, blocking it.
He shot back loudly, “Go die.”
061, “……You’re not going to ask about what’s going on first?”
“What’s there to ask.” Chi Xiaochi rolled his neck from side to side, letting out soft cracks. “……Such unsophisticated campus violence. I’ve played with it for so many years and it’s all the old same stuff.”
After that, he made a simple estimate of this body’s state of affairs.
The original host seemed to have been practicing sports. He wore a layer of deep black, body-hugging clothes. His four limbs were long and slender, with arms longer than his torso, and both elbows past his waist. However, he wasn’t in the least scrawny, his muscled abdomen both slight and beautiful.
Even though he couldn’t see his face at the moment, thinking about it, it shouldn’t be bad either.
Chi Xiaochi’s resistance clearly angered the person outside, not to mention the heckling “ohhhs” from his companions outside, who were here to watch the ruckus and ready to make things blow up.
The child taking the lead in causing trouble turned around and ordered the others, “Fill it! Fill that bucket up for me, I’m going to give him a big one.”
Chi Xiaochi stepped onto the toilet and raised his head to watch what was going on outside the cubicle.
There was a few tens of centimetres of space above and below the cubicle. With the original host’s physical fitness, climbing out wouldn’t be a problem, but if by any chance the people outside had made preparations, a few sticks would be all they needed to stab any attempted escapee back into the prison.
At this time, 061 spoke, “I’ve received this world’s information. I’ll send it to you immediately.”
“You just need to wait a moment.” Chi Xiaochi rolled up his sleeves. “Wait for me to finish taking care of them, then we’ll talk.”
061, “……”
Chi Xiaochi squatted down and looked out, finding that the mop that was blocking the toilet door was a bare pole, braced against the corner of a raised toilet floor tile.
A moment later, the water sounds stopped.
The bucket filled with water was really very heavy. Under the instructions of the leader, two people picked up the bucket and staggered towards the miniature prison.
The bucket was too full, so when it was picked up, lot of water directly spilled out onto the ground, splashing onto Chi Xiaochi’s feet.
The leader hooted, “Topple it over! Leave him here to dry, let’s see if he still dares to have a hard mouth?”
Chi Xiaochi picked up a plastic toilet brush from the side of the urinal, positioned the side of his body close to the door, and squatted down, keeping his calves straight.
The water in the bucket had been spilling out continuously. By the time it was lifted near the cubicle, it had already lost a lot of water.
Together, the two people lifted the bucket, shakily reaching the gap above the cubicle.
Chi Xiaochi licked his lips, waiting for his opportunity.
As soon as the galvanised lead bucket appeared above the cubicle, he quickly pulled out the tightly-gripped toilet brush, and made a horizontal sweep towards the mop pole propped up against the door.
In the instant the wooden pole fell, he speedily hopped onto the toilet. With one hand, he grabbed the edge of the lead bucket that was gradually tilting downwards but had yet to find a suitable angle. At the same time, he lunged forward, hanging himself on the doorframe, using his body’s inertia to firmly push open the already-opened door——
The bucket was pushed over, making one of the children lose his grip. With a splash, water rushed down onto the two’s heads, drenching their faces.
Chi Xiaochi’s upper body was hanging over the cubicle door. Towering above, he quickly identified the leader who had just issued the order.
He had just lit a cigarette. Before he could even place it in his mouth, he was hit in the face by Chi Xiaochi’s toilet brush.
061, “……” Not bad. This weapon had a lethality of 5, but caused humiliation and mental damage of 10,000.
Chi Xiaochi’s goal was clear, knocking the person over with one push. His positioning was also precise, with a specialised hit to the face.
The leader had been knocked out of his wits by this torrential storm. He took a while to come back to himself, before shouting, “You dare hit me!”
Chi Xiaochi: Papapa.
He proved with his actions that not only did he dare once, he even dared to get in a few more hits.
Only when he rushed out did he realise, this group of brats all looked about twelve or thirteen, not much taller than the original host. They looked to be from the same grade, wearing the same clothes as the original host, and on their backs were even the words “Binzhou Sports School Skating Team”.
As Chi Xiaochi calmly beat them up, he analyzed the surrounding situation.
Including the original host, there were a total of five people in the toilet. In general, it could be summed up with the one currently beating people up, the one currently being beaten up, a jeering little groupie, soft egg, and soft egg +1.
After finishing his assessment of the entire situation, Chi Xiaochi was relieved.
He let go of the leader, climbed off of his body, aimed his gaze towards the two drenched people sitting on the floor, and sneered.
061 had seen this gaze and laugh of Chi Xiaochi’s before. He’d used it when acting as a murderer.
Before the leader even got off the floor, he cried out in a tearful voice, “What are you guys all doing dazing about?! Get him!”
At last, those people awoke from their daze at the sudden change.
When the two on the ground started trying to get up like dazed geese, Chi Xiaochi’s gaze turned cold. He shouted in a stern voice, “Sit down!”
His voice was much more frightening than that of the just-beaten leader, immediately dispelling the hint of fighting spirit they had just gathered and sending them into utter defeat.
Chi Xiaochi turned around to look towards the leader. His eyebrows raised slightly. “What, you’re already crying?”
The leader wiped his face, then said in a tearful voice, “Since when did Laozi cry?”
Chi Xiaochi let out a slightly contemptuous whistle.
Chi Xiaochi had seen a lot of these types of groups of little brats who depended on bullying others to gain a sense of existence but couldn’t actually do anything. There was always one person who acted as the central figure, responsible for bossing people around, and the rest helped by acting as supporting roles. When they were a large group, they imagined themselves amazing and could run wild without fear.
To Chi Xiaochi, they were nothing but a nest of flies, buzzing as they flew about, pretending they were poisonous bees.
Sure enough, after Chi Xiaochi lightly pointed out that their leader was “crying”, the others’ gazes towards him were filled with suspicion and unease.
How could the leader hold on to his face? He wiped his red and white face, saying, “Dong Ge, if you have the ability, then don’t leave! Today, my brother came to the team, I’ll ask my brother to come deal with you!”
“Don’t.” Chi Xiaochi leaned against the door, standing with his arms crossed. “How is just calling your brother enough? How about you call your parents over too? There’ll be more people to provide their strength, all the better to support you.”
061, “……” This mouth of Chi Xiaochi’s.
The leader looked to have been quite agitated by Chi Xiaochi. He let out a curse, then got up from the floor and rushed at Chi Xiaochi.
Suddenly, from the door came a teenager’s pleasant voice, “……What are you guys doing?”
Those few people turned and looked around to see two people standing side by side in the doorway. Immediately, they were so scared that they couldn’t stand straight.
“Fan-ge!”
“He-ge!!”
It had to be said, those two had come just in time.
If they had been just a little slower, the leader might have gotten another beating.
Chi Xiaochi placed the mop pole he’d just picked up down upright, resting it against his palm. He nodded towards the two teenagers who looked to be three or four years older than him.
Their identities were not difficult to ascertain.
The two people were both wearing the same fire-red jackets, with the logo “Provincial Ice-Skating Team”.
And their builds were similar to those of the children present, with long arms and legs like works of art that had been precisely measured to the nearest centimeter with a ruler to strictly comply to predetermined lengths.
The one that they had called “He-ge” was a teen with delicate features unlike that of a man and an incredibly cold temperament.
Seeing the water poured all over the floor, he furrowed his brows, as if he’d thought of something bad.
It was just that the scene and atmosphere before him were a little weird.
The first thing he noticed was that child holding a pole.
It was for no other reason but that he was a vivid budding beauty standing there, so anyone would notice him at first glance.
The corners of his eyes and mouth were all a little broken, but it just made his dazzling features stand out all the more. His mouth, his eyes, his nose, everything was naturally gorgeous, yet shockingly harmonious, nowhere outshone anywhere else.
However, in sharp contrast to his appearance was his temperament, like a wild horse, a stubborn, indomitable ambition shining from the inside outward.
The other four people would try to dodge their gazes when it fell on them, yet only he dared to calmly stare straight back.
In sports schools, it was common to see people being bullied by big groups, and the scene before them was clearly yet another one of those.
But this situation actually looked as if this beautiful child had single-handedly, one against four, gotten his revenge.
……And the more he looked, the more familiar this beautiful child seemed.
The slightly taller teenager standing next to him said to him in a soft voice, “Changsheng, you forgot? He’s the kid the coach said he wanted to accept into the provincial team in the future. The one who was wearing blue cloud patterns on the rink just now.”
He Changsheng remembered now. “The one who danced《Unstoppable》.”
Chi Xiaochi answered concisely and comprehensively, “Yes.”
Right now, he had no time to study the world information and could only have 061 tell him some basic information about the original host.
The original host’s name was Dong Ge, 11 years old this year, from a little county town that was covered in ice and snow five months a year. His parents ran a family ice-skating rink. From a young age, he had grown up on the ice, to the point that it wasn’t clear whether he’d first learned to run or first learned to skate.
However, his parents didn’t have a good relationship and often got into big, sometimes physical fights.
When they argued, little Dong Ge would dress himself into a furry ball, and would, with his hands clasped behind his back, do rounds around the ice-skating rink, spinning around with his eyes closed along to the love songs blaring from the loudspeakers.
Nevertheless, his parents, who had serious differences of opinion and raised Dong Ge strictly, were extremely unified on one thing.
——They would never say anything good about Dong Ge.
If Dong Ge got a score of 98 for his exam, they would definitely ask how he lost those 2 points. Their final, concluding statement would be, why are you so careless.
If Dong Ge got into a fight with his classmate, they would press Dong Ge’s head down and make him apologise to his classmate, not caring about whether that classmate had first thrown Dong Ge’s pencil case out the window.
If Dong Ge was scared of thunder, they would disdain him for being a coward, not being at all like a man. Later on, after Dong Ge had heard a lot of it on his own, he was no longer scared.
Under this kind of teaching from his parents, Dong Ge became silent, but stubborn and competitive.
He was the leader of the dance team in elementary school. Because he liked skating and was eager to get away from his parents, he gave up his studies after graduation and was admitted into the figure-skating team of the city’s sports school.
His technical skill was first-rate amongst his peers, but his stubborn, inflexible personality was never likeable.
The person who’d taken the lead in bullying him this time was called Xue Yibo. Since Dong Ge had entered this school, he’d disliked him. The reason for bullying and humiliating him this time was because the provincial figure-skating team’s coach had brought a few students who had graduated from Binzhou Sports School to share their experiences.
Dong Ge and Xue Yibo were under the same coach. He’d pushed Dong Ge out like he was presenting a treasure, telling him to skate for the provincial team coach.
Dong Ge, a cold look on his face, went up and did it.
This was originally nothing but a normal sharing of experiences, and the provincial team coach hadn’t expected too much from a little child who’d only been in school for half a year.
Who would’ve thought that in less than a minute, the coach would straighten up in his chair, staring straight at the child dancing as much as he liked on the ice.
His blades scored a full arc on the ice. When he jumped, his blades scraped up flecks of frost, chasing after his feet like white butterflies.
The provincial team coach watched the entire program. He didn’t even ask anything about him before first opening his mouth and saying, “Next year, the provincial team is recruiting. Tell him to come.”
Not surprisingly, as soon as he left the ice rink, he was locked into the washroom by a few people led by Xue Yibo.
Chi Xiaochi only knew a brief outline of the circumstances leading up to it, and the ultimate ending.
Dong Ge suffered mental trauma and was admitted for psychiatric treatment.
One winter day, Dong Ge, now skinny to the point of becoming totally unrecognisable, was accompanied by a caretaker out on a walk. When the caretaker went off to take a personal call, the muddled him noticed that the hospital had an ornamental lake, and the lake was frozen over.
……The ice was really thin.
As a system-certified B-rank difficulty world, Chi Xiaochi felt that this scenario was more acceptable than that fucking A-rank.
He Changsheng’s companion smiled gently, then turned and said to He Changsheng, “Look, ”a.”
His voice was really pleasant.
It was his voice just now that had successfully prevented the possibility of this group being beaten up.
He Changsheng looked at the bullying children, his gaze slightly cold. He was silent.
That person walked into the crowded and dirty toilet, and asked amiably, “What were you guys doing just now? Were you all playing a game?”
This way out was given just in time. Xue Yibo immediately started nodding incessantly.
He said, “In the future, don’t play these kinds of games anymore. Do you hear me?”
After that, he pressed on Dong Ge’s shoulder and raised his voice, “I know Dong Ge, he was my neighbour in the past. You guys take good care of him, okay?”
Xue Yibo and the rest’s mouths fell open in surprise.
Xue Yibo stuttered out, “Fan-ge? ……He, he never mentioned it before……”
Even Dong Ge showed some astonishment. “You……”
Fan-ge smiled warmly. He lowered his head and whispered to Dong Ge, “You might not remember me anymore, but I know you. Your family ran an ice-skating rink, when you were young, you especially liked to play with a little yellow dog.”
Chi Xiaochi choked slightly.
An indescribable feeling pervaded his heart.
He asked, “Liu-laoshi, Liu-laoshi, which one of them is the target this time?”
Only after choosing to “accept the world information”, would the relevant information of the target be displayed on the digital display before Chi Xiaochi.
061 had said before, the task target appeared in Dong Ge’s life when he was 11 years old.
And choosing this time to let Chi Xiaochi take over for Dong Ge proved that that target had a high chance of appearing today.
061, “……En?”
Chi Xiaochi was silent for a moment, before asking, “……Liu-laoshi, you weren’t daydreaming just now, were you?”
061 hesitated for a moment, then said gently, “Sorry.”
He Changsheng took another deep look at Dong Ge, seeming to not want to stay here any longer.
He said, “Lou-ge, let’s go.”
Those two words ruthlessly shot a bullet into Chi Xiaochi’s heart. A deafening echo echoed in his chest, making his ribs throb slightly with pain.
At the same time, 061 spoke.
His tone was a little different than usual, sounding very strange, “……He’s this mission’s target. Lou Sifan.”