Infinite Game Ch.7

Chapter 7 – 001

Jiang Yujin watched the surveillance footage afterward and saw a passerby riding a small electric scooter. The passerby noticed the helmet resting on Jiang Yujin’s scooter at the roadside, glanced around for a couple of seconds, then took the helmet and rode off.

Later that evening, the police, who had comforted the innocent and saddened Jiang Yujin for a long time due to the stolen helmet, promised to do their utmost to catch the helmet thief and even offered to escort him home.

By the time he arrived home, it wasn’t early anymore. The lively streets of the day had quieted down by then.

Jiang Yujin ascended the stairs while pondering; he felt like he had forgotten something, but after a long day and a tired mind, he decided not to dwell on it, as sleep was calling his name.

When Chen Jing, who supposedly went to a classmate’s house for studying, returned, he noticed that the lights were still on at home.

Although the lights were on, the person inside was fast asleep. The person sprawled on the sofa slept soundly, one hand dangling to the floor, seemingly affected by the cold. His fingers twitched slightly, then there was no further movement.

Chen Jing crouched down, lifted the hand that had dangled to the floor, and halfway through, noticed thin white threads resembling spider silk entangled in the red string hidden in the person’s cuff, wanting to help remove it.

As he reached out, just before his fingers touched the red string, the seemingly lifeless figure on the sofa recoiled, opening their eyes slightly.

Yawning, Jiang Yujin rubbed his hair and sat up, saying, “You’re back.”

Just waking up, his voice was even huskier than usual.

Chen Jing withdrew his hand, responding, “Mm.”

Putting down his backpack, he asked, “Have you had dinner?”

After briefly recollecting the sight of the human-faced spider he saw today, Jiang Yujin said, “I feel like having crab.”

Chen Jing: “?”

Being from a financially strained household, Jiang Yujin ended up eating a bowl of noodles with two pieces of vegetables late at night.

Ignoring the events that transpired in the building, under the warm yellow light, he vividly recounted the painful experience of his stolen helmet.

He narrated it passionately, revealing the turmoil still lingering within.

Chen Jing listened quietly and then said, “We’ll have a two-day break after this exam period.”

“That’s good,” Jiang Yujin asked, “Do you want to hang out together?”

Chen Jing shook his head, having already made plans with classmates as usual.

Jiang Yujin exaggeratedly sighed, “Then I’ll go out by myself.”

After a lengthy conversation and finishing his late-night snack, he took a shower and went to bed.

Chen Jing stayed back to wash the dishes and, before returning to his own room, paused to see the light in the adjacent room dimmed. He then walked in and skillfully opened the window.

…

The next day, as Jiang Yujin passed by the barbershop downstairs on his way to work and noticed that the door was still closed, he finally realized what he had forgotten.

He had left his good friend from the barbershop inside the convenience store and forgot to give him the keys.

Without the keys, there was no way to close the shop on time and leave.

The morning wind was unusually cold, sending chills down his spine.

With the fastest pace he’d ever had in his life, Jiang Yujin hurried to the convenience store, covering half the city.

Sure enough, the barbershop owner was still there, standing behind the counter, eyes darkened. Smoking wasn’t allowed in the shop, but he exuded an impatient and tense demeanor, as if itching to beat someone.

Jiang Yujin: “…”

Jiang Yujin cautiously entered the shop, giving a small wave. “Morning.”

The barbershop owner instantly looked over.

“…”

Xiao Li, who came from the hospital to work, happened to see the barbershop owner leaving with an unlit cigarette in his mouth.

Entering the shop, the person sprawled on the counter like a corpse covered his head and weakly greeted, “Good morning.”

Xiao Li: “…Morning.”

He seemed okay, but the person in front of him didn’t quite look the part.

After surviving the morning rush, Jiang Yujin, with an ice pack on his head, finally found an opportunity to chat with Xiao Li.

Xiao Li brought the latest news, saying, “Those patients from the hospital have woken up; I heard they’re all okay.”

Bringing up the hospitalized patients again after yesterday’s adventure at the Hongsheng Building, his tone this time was anything but relaxed, unlike before.

At that moment, he remembered something else and added, “Yesterday, the vice-captain from the Special Investigation Unit said those people probably had no hope of waking up.”

The person had mentioned that if the captain were there, maybe they could save a few more, but the captain had gone deep into the mountains to find someone and wouldn’t be back for a while.

Jiang Yujin nodded.

The human-faced spider never had the habit of storing food; it would catch and eat immediately. However, this time, it uncommonly stored food and, despite the intense spinning of silk, remained motionless, as if deliberately leaving something for someone else. It was indeed unusual.

But these weren’t concerns he should ponder; he was just an ordinary office boss.

With no customers in the shop at the moment, after their conversation, Xiao Li resumed working while the ordinary office boss idly passed time.

He was looking down when Xiao Li, who had already taken a few steps away, turned back in surprise and said, “You’ve got white hair?”

This person was tall, and usually, he rarely saw the top of his head. But just now, he suddenly noticed quite a few white hairs there.

“Oh, really?” Jiang Yujin looked up, casually ran his hand through his hair, and chuckled. “It happens as one ages.”

He said it so seriously, as if it were a profound truth.

Xiao Li looked at him again, attempting to gauge his age with a visible shock he couldn’t hide.

*

In the Central District, amidst the desolate town within the city.

Before the immense mutated corpse, another member of the ordinary office pulled back their gun. Seated not far from the ruins, a short-haired girl with an umbrella raised her hand, and fiery flames surged, turning the colossal corpse into ashes in an instant.

A chubby guy wearing glasses ran over, calling out “Chen Jing” and then said, “We’ve found clues related to 001.”

001, the top scorer since the game collapsed with no information available thereafter.

According to most accounts, the game started collapsing gradually after this person entered the final dungeon alone. They aimed to investigate what happened at that time and what led to the current situation, and the only way was to find 001 in person.

The trouble was their almost nonexistent knowledge about 001. The game used real names, and while everyone’s name could be found on the leaderboard, the top three scorers had the privilege to change their names. 001 had utilized this and had entered the game early on, leaving few survivors who knew his name, and they wouldn’t easily disclose it.

Unknown name, unknown age, unknown appearance—the only information they had was the rumor circulating among some that 001 had white hair, yet they couldn’t confirm the validity of this information.

Since their return from the game, it had been a long time, and this was the first time they had found a clue related to 001.

“Ranked 69, Liu Cheng, an information dealer. He’ll provide information for money or exchange equivalent details. He entered the game before 001 and might know his name, maybe even more.”

Xiao Pang took out a note with an address written on it, the handwriting slightly smudged by sweat but still decipherable.

[B City, G Town, Congshan Village]

Without much time for joy, Xiao Pang said again, “But Liu Cheng sold information from the Special Investigation Unit, and was already wanted. Now the captain of the Special Investigation Unit is looking for him. We need to make the trade with him before he gets caught.”

The girl with short hair jumped down from the low wall and asked, “When are we leaving?”

After quickly scanning the address on the note, Chen Jing said, “Now.”

Some minors were investigating the truth, while some adults were idling and playing games in the convenience store.

Jiang Yujin, who was playing a game, received a call from Chen Jing, reporting the itinerary. He responded absentmindedly twice, didn’t inquire about the destination, uttered a “Stay safe,” and then hung up.

Without the high schooler, there was no dinner. He kept idling until evening. Jiang Yujin bought a boxed meal from the store.

Balancing the boxed meal, he went upstairs. Just as he took out the keys, something envelope-shaped fell from the door crack.

It had his name on it, with no other information whatsoever.

Holding the envelope and the boxed meal, he entered the living room, first turning on the TV. Later, he unpacked the meal and finally, while eating, slowly opened the envelope with one hand.

It was an invitation letter. His name was written on the envelope, but the first line inside read “Dear 001.”

The TV was still on. Jiang Yujin briefly closed his eyes, lashes lowered slightly when he reopened them. He tossed the envelope, pocketed the letter, and continued watching TV.

Early the next day, Jiang Yujin boarded a car headed to B City.

A City and B City weren’t too far apart. It took just a few hours by car. However, changing cars from B City to G Town took up some time.

The reality was he hadn’t eaten breakfast and was very hungry. Before reaching his destination, Jiang Yujin bought two steamed buns.

…

Today happened to be market day. There were many people in town, especially at the market. Every step was a challenge.

Walking amidst the crowd, Xu Tonggui scanned around with his iron-grey pupils, constantly searching.

Someone walked directly into his field of vision, holding steamed buns and swaying them. Their messy hair slightly bobbed with their movements, appearing rather lively.

The chaotic crowd seemed to have no effect on him. He was completely unrestricted, weaving through the crowd just as swiftly as he appeared, leaving just as quickly.

Someone tapped his arm, causing Xu Tonggui to retract his gaze, looking down, he saw a middle-aged woman, whom he had previously asked a question, struggling to squeeze next to him and saying, “I remembered the person you asked about. He went to Congshan Village several days ago. My husband saw him getting on the bus.”

The woman kindly added, “The bus to the village will leave in a while. If you go now, you can make it.”

…

Relying on his skills, Jiang Yujin navigated through the crowd to reach the station.

He was heading to Congshan Village, not a very developed area. Locals said the road to the village was unpaved, with only two buses a day.

It was still about ten minutes before the first bus departed, giving him plenty of time. He reached the station, nibbling on a steamed bun as he boarded the bus.

Surprisingly, the bus was packed, except for the last row where there were two seats without windows.

Jiang Yujin took his steamed bun and settled in the innermost seat.

As he began eating his steamed bun, someone sat down next to him. Abiding by his principle of friendliness, he greeted, “Hello.”

Xu Tonggui briefly responded to the greeting, his gaze inadvertently drawn to the large white steamed bun in the other person’s hand.

Jiang Yujin was generous and noticed the person’s glance. He asked kindly, “Do you want to have some?”

Xu Tonggui shook his head, cautioning, “Eating too much now might make you nauseous later.”

Jiang Yujin waved it off confidently, “No, it won’t.”

The bus started, slowly traversing the dirt road.

The road was indeed rugged, enough to sway and shake.

Upon a sharp turn, Xu Tonggui suddenly found something new in his hand—a half-eaten steamed bun.

“Xu Tonggui.”

Jiang Yujin stared ahead with lifeless eyes, stating matter-of-factly, “I feel like vomiting.”

Xu Tonggui: “…”

Sure enough, he still got motion sickness.

Xu Tonggui glanced at the steamed bun in his hand, hesitating.

Sure enough?

He turned slightly and happened to see the person beside him, resolutely playing a game on his phone. Despite the bus swaying from side to side, the person remained steady, his hands unaffected, and amidst his black hair, a few strands of white hair swayed gently before settling down.

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**TN

I uploaded 3 chaps today~ Btw, I’m the only one managing this website, I don’t update the Table of Contents because I need to add the links manually, kinda tiring, don’t wanna do it. So just use the Novelupdates TOC. Hehe. 😀