Bai Shuang said, "Let's broaden the scope a bit. The coordinates you mentioned before were for the entire city. What if this primary school is in a nearby town or county?"
The school's internal conditions weren't very good, and Wen Zheng immediately felt he was on the right track, so he had Wendy re-screen the schools.
After the flying car entered Hiiragi City, Wen Zheng finally breathed a sigh of relief; they had found it.
"Ten kilometers north of Hiiragi City, there's Tan Yue Elementary School, this is it." He leaned back wearily. "Pai Shuang will drop me off there later, and you guys go and call the police. I'm not sure if there's really any danger, but it's better to be safe than sorry."
Deng Puyue said, "Shall I go with you? Let Bai Shuang go by herself."
“It’s nothing,” Wen Zheng said softly. “This is a signal he left for me.” He paused and then added, “Maybe he doesn’t want to see anyone else.”
The layout of the Moon Exploration Elementary School is almost identical to that of the school in the game.
Hiiragi Castle is further north than Yongseong Castle, and the temperature is lower. Although the snowfall was not heavy, it still accumulated to a considerable depth on the ground, enough to cover the top of your shoes.
Wen Zheng got off the car, leaving a trail of footprints, and walked into the school gate in the dim moonlight.
During winter break and the New Year, the security guard was sound asleep in his warm duty room. Wen Zheng nimbly scaled the wall without even sounding the alarm.
The security at this school is indeed quite poor.
The display windows are filled with rows of smiling children's faces: a rotating red flag class, an advanced and civilized class collective, and outstanding student representatives. Looking at them makes one feel that the world is still a beautiful place and the future is full of hope.
However, Yu Jin spent his dark childhood in this hopeful school, and his life afterward seemed to be full of setbacks.
Yu Jin's phone was switched off. He tried calling it once, but then stopped.
As soon as he stepped into the outermost building, he felt as if he had entered a game—the first floor was open on all sides, with a central courtyard and flower beds below. Beyond the artificial landscaping was the lecture hall.
Yu Jin stood helplessly outside the door for an unknown amount of time. Wen Zheng went over, but the door remained tightly shut.
But he saw a piece of paper stuck on the door, which meant he hadn't come to the wrong place. Yu Jin had indeed left him a message, hoping he would come.
Was "save me" addressed to him?
Maybe not, it's meant for everyone, since every player might enter the instance and meet Xiao Yu Jin, and they might all try to save that poor elementary school student time and time again.
But only Wen Zheng was trying to save the adult.
The paper contained another string of numbers in a meaningless order, with no other clues. Wen Zheng copied down the reference table from the blue spiral notebook, reversed it, and deciphered the letters from the numbers to get the word "toilet".
bathroom?
Is Yu Jin in the toilet?
There was a restroom around the corner outside the lecture hall, and the sign clearly pointed to it. He slowly walked over, mentally preparing himself for a moment. The power to the entire building had been cut off, so the restroom was dark. Wen Zheng used his phone for light, circled around, and was disappointed to find no one there.
Only on the sink was an incongruous brown paper bag.
Inside the paper bag was a notebook with gray lines, filled with traces of his own aimless games of Connect Four, just like in the game.
Wen Zheng flipped through the pages one by one. When he reached the middle of the book and finished playing Gomoku, there was a blank page with writing on it.
The handwriting was clearly that of an adult. Wen Zheng took the notebook and walked to the door, peering at Xue Yue's hand as he read.
The opening paragraph is a sincere expression of gratitude, followed by an apology, repeated over and over. This content takes up an entire page.
Wen Zheng glanced at it hastily, thinking that the next page would contain his account of his past. However, the moment he turned the page, his pupils constricted.
I'm still testing you now; thinking about it, I'm a complete scumbag. Consider the following my apology.
Sorry for looking at your notebook last time; I happen to have some materials on hand. I hope these will be helpful to you.
The Beaufort square was invented by Sir Francis Beaufort, a British Royal Navy admiral. In 1857, this code was widely used in telegraphs and postcards.
The basic structure is a square table with 27 letters in both the horizontal and vertical directions, and each of the four corners is an 'a'.
Based on the ciphertext: fwao, rqaw, jtts, d□□m, qdqg, kqmv, rrwa, and the key: "Looking at the clouds, I am ashamed of the high-flying birds; standing by the abyss, I envy the swimming fish," the plaintext can be derived by comparing each of the ciphertexts: "Life is like a journey, and I am also a traveler."
Finally, thank you again; you are my only friend.
Yu Jin]
The pendant was digging into his chest, and Wen Zheng could barely read the few lines of text.
Yu Jin used the terrifying code word "save me" to get him to travel all this way just to give him a gift.
What about the others?
Wen Zheng couldn't think any further about the password; instead, he was so angry that he was on the verge of exploding.
Friend your mother's friend.
Yu Jin is a million times sillier than Bei Sining.
He didn't think there was anything wrong with his worries and premonitions, but that was the biggest problem—the clues had been cut off, Yu Jin didn't want to be found, and he didn't even know where to go to save!
Think quickly.
Wen Zheng, think quickly!
His parents made so many sacrifices, he gambled his entire life, and there are children like Bai Shuang, Xiao Yu, and Chen Xiaochen. Wasn't all this sacrifice so that the people he cared about could live?
Why are some people able to so easily give up their lives or the opportunity to live happily?
He was so angry he was about to go crazy, and he slammed the notebook to the ground.
He closed his eyes and suddenly remembered that he had streamed today's dungeon run.
Given this arrangement, is it possible that Yu Jin won't watch his live stream? If he does watch it, wouldn't he want to know whether he actually came to school or not?
Wen Zheng turned and ran outside.
Yu Jin must be at school!
Moreover, it's a place where you can see the main gate and whether anyone is coming.
The floor plan suddenly appeared in his mind. Wen Zheng turned around and rushed towards the tallest experimental building, braving the wind and snow.
There's a rooftop terrace on the top of the lab building, overlooking the school gate. Thinking about the rooftop made Wen Zheng even angrier. Damn it, that idiot built that "Freedom Castle" thing, and all he got was a kid jumping off a building! Who says he didn't think about it himself!
Panting, cold air rushes into my lungs, a feeling of being in both ice and fire.
Wen Zheng was afraid he would be too late, so he ran to the front of the laboratory building at top speed.
The door was locked, so he took off his clothes, smashed the window next to him, and slipped inside. The elevator had stopped, so he had to take the stairs, climbing all the way to the twentieth floor.
The rooftop was finally within reach. Wen Zheng's eyes were bloodshot as he saw a figure through the frosted glass door.
His heart jumped up and down in a strange way, feeling both relieved that he hadn't guessed wrong and resentful that he hadn't.
"Yu Jin!" Wen Zheng roared, his hand cut by shards of glass, blood dripping down. Unaware, he smashed the frosted glass door in the same manner. The person sitting on the edge of the rooftop shuddered and slowly turned to the side.
His eyes held fear, apology, and his usual shyness. Many things are easy to say over the internet or on paper, but become difficult in face-to-face interactions.
Yu Jin sat on the edge of the rooftop, where there wasn't even a safety net to prevent him from falling. The area was locked year-round, and no one knew how he managed to get in.
Wen Zheng felt dizzy and kept asking himself, why is it always him? Why does he always lose whatever he wants?
Why is it that even the simplest wishes cannot come true?
Why is it that even if he doesn't say anything, God seems to be able to read his mind, and keeps doing it again and again, endlessly?
"Yu Jin!" His voice was completely hoarse: "If you dare to jump down, I'll tear you to pieces!"
Yu Jin was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "I'm already dead, what am I afraid of being torn apart by five horses?"
Then he sadly pursed his lips and said, "I didn't expect you to come... I should have chosen another place. I'm sorry, or you can hate me."
His mouth moved again, but he didn't say anything more. The moment Wen Zheng exerted his muscles and took a step, he pushed off and jumped, disappearing into the edge of the rooftop.
He jumped.
It's impossible to make it in time.
Wen Zheng's legs gave way and he fell to the ground, his knees sinking deep into the snow, and his vision went blank.
Save me.
I want one too!
Who can save him?
I will, I will definitely try my best to live, I will definitely not...
In a mere half-second, the rooftop door suddenly flew out of the building, and the loud bang made Wen Zheng physiologically squint.
A black line appeared in my blurred vision.
The line was beyond the maximum speed that the human retina could capture, and even if Wen Zheng didn't blink, he couldn't see its shape clearly.
The black cat roared angrily, and the air vibrated and froze.
It flew to the edge of the rooftop, leaped into the air, and suddenly grew taller under the moonlight, transforming into a man.
Her clothes fluttered, her sleeves were adorned with cloud patterns, and her long hair floated in the air, making her look like a celestial being descended to earth.
Bei Sining angrily grabbed Yu Jin's collar, which had already fallen off more than half of its length, lifted him up, and threw him to the ground, sending snowflakes flying.
He roared, "What the hell?! Why are you playing the suicide game?! I've caught you this time! You can't yell at me anymore, and you're not allowed to tell me to get out! Do you hear me?!"
Author's Note: Dahei: I still hold a grudge about the rooftop incident!
(I've updated 17,000 words, I'm sure I'll get praise today! Things will get sweeter from here on out!)
Chapter 79
Bei Sining angrily yelled at Wen Zheng, but when she finished, she found that he didn't respond at all. He knelt on the ground for a long time without moving, and it was unclear where his gaze was focused.
His heart skipped a beat, and panic spread outwards from his rapidly accelerating heart rate.
"...Hey!" Bei Sining shouted again, unable to bear it any longer. Wen Zheng suddenly jumped up and staggered towards Yu Jin, who was lying in the snow.
"He's not dead!" Bei Sining took two steps back irritably, making room for him. "I knocked him out, he'll be fine. Wearing so many layers, he won't freeze to death anytime soon... What are you doing!"
Wen Zheng's hands trembled as if he'd been electrocuted. He pressed against Yu Jin's neck, unable to feel a pulse. The temporary numbness in his fingers was a result of the combined effects of oxygen deprivation and sudden freezing. He didn't have time to warm them up slowly; instead, he rubbed them hard with the sole of his shoe.
The next second, Bei Sining lifted him up.
"Wen Zheng!" Bei Sining called out anxiously, "It's alright! He's alive, look at me!"
As blood returned to his normal flow, Wen Zheng gradually regained his hearing.
The sound of falling snow, the roar of machines, and the white noise from the air conditioners, heaters, and various living areas gradually penetrated his vibrating periosteum into his brain nerves.