Infinite Game Ch.68.1

Chapter 68.1 – It’s hard to be a stepfather (seriously)

Xiao Pang’s steps completely turned around, and he consciously sat on the sofa, asking, “Can you tell me more about it? Uncle, when did you go there?”

As the news transitioned to the financial segment, and once again, he saw the face of Lu Yiyi, Jiang Yujin raised his hand to change the channel.

The news switched to a commercial, and he sat up a bit with the big goose in his arms, saying, “I went there a few years ago, before Chen Jing came.”

Chen Jing looked over.

This person rarely talked about the past, especially things that happened before he arrived.

“Don’t be fooled by your uncle’s appearance. In fact, I used to be quite wealthy and traveled around the world.” Jiang Yujin hugged the big goose and said, “The Vanished City is called Atsha, actually a country.”

Atsha is an island nation in the South Seas, in the center of the sea. It’s not large, so more people used to call it a city.

Atsha is not big, but its economy is very developed. To increase the building area, the island is full of skyscrapers, even more modern than modern.

He stayed there for a day and left in the early morning. Later, when he was in other places, he heard that Atsha was gone.

At that time, he didn’t go far, so he heard the news firsthand.

Atsha disappeared, and the entire island vanished. In the morning, people living on the mainland coast noticed that the sea was different, not right. After the storm subsided, they sailed to the sea near Atsha and discovered it.

The coordinates on the boat showed that they were near the island, but there was no island with skyscrapers.

At first, people on the boat thought the positioning system was interfered with. After checking all the faults, they came to a conclusion that sounded very bizarre.

Atsha vanished.

The conclusion they reached was so unbelievable that even they themselves didn’t quite believe it. They thought they had encountered some unscientific force, felt inexplicable fear, and quickly left the place.

It wasn’t until later, after investigation, that they finally concluded Atsha had indeed disappeared. There were no remnants of the island on the sea surface, and there was no trace in the depths of the sea. Atsha did not disintegrate in the storm, nor did it sink to the bottom of the sea; it truly and completely vanished.

This contradicted science, and at that time, there happened to be an invasion of strange species with various strange phenomena occurring. They classified this as an unknown impact brought about by the “Game.”

One country disappeared overnight. To avoid causing severe panic, the joint organization ultimately decided to suppress this news, strictly prohibiting any media, online or offline, from reporting on this matter. They also sealed off all information, prohibiting anyone from spreading this incident on the internet.

Until the information was sealed off, only the people on the coast knew about it. Under this rapid suppression, the news was quickly suppressed and the event, which should have caused a great uproar, was sealed in the archives of that time. Atsha’s name quietly disappeared from the national directory, and only those who had truly experienced it knew what had happened.

At that time, there were conflicts in some places, many small countries rose and fell, and the disappearance of an unknown country did not attract much attention.

As Jiang Yujin spoke, he took a sip of water.

In the gap when he drank water, Xiao Pang quickly picked up his phone to look for the current and past national directories.

Sorting them alphabetically and checking them one by one, Atsha is nowhere to be found in the current national directory. However, comparing it to the directory from a few years ago, there was a conspicuous entry for “Atsha” near the bottom.

But when he continued to search for Atsha, the search engine indicated that there was currently no relevant information.

Xiao Pang looked up and said, “Uncle, do you remember the specific location?”

“It’s a bit difficult for your uncle,” Jiang Yujin rubbed his hair and said, “I’ve been to so many places back then. If you ask me now, I can’t recall it.”

He asked, “Why are you asking these questions?”

Xiao Pang unconsciously glanced at Chen Jing, and Chen Jing, with a poker face, looked back.

“It’s like this,” Xiao Pang said, “we are doing a research project and, for various reasons, chose the Vanished City.”

Jiang Yujin raised his eyebrows slightly, “So, research projects can be done across schools.”

Xiao Pang nodded with a forced smile, “Yes, that’s right.”

The investigation progress inexplicably jumped a big portion, and Xiao Pang left with a brain that finally had some information and a fully-packed backpack.

Watching the high schooler send Xiao Pang away, then seeing him return, when the door closed again, Jiang Yujin waved at him.

The high schooler, noticing the empty water cup on his desk, said, “Do you want some water?”

The big son promptly refilled his water, skillfully and smoothly.

Holding the newly filled water cup in his hand, Jiang Yujin, rarely reflective of his usual actions, thought for a moment.

But this reflection lasted only a few seconds. Afterward, he looked up, took a sip of water as if nothing had happened, and casually asked, “Do you want more people to take care of you?”

Chen Jing raised an eyebrow, “?”

Jiang Yujin glanced at the tidy room the high schooler cleaned, the kitchen he organized, the meal he made on the table, and the water he poured. After a moment of silence, he changed his wording, “Do you want someone to share the household chores with you?”

As long as this person hasn’t upgraded to a higher level of being useless, Chen Jing felt he could manage the workload.

Chen Jing asked, “What are you trying to say?”

“Nothing,” Jiang Yujin shifted his gaze and said, “I happen to have a friend who loves cleaning.”

He didn’t continue speaking, and the high schooler didn’t inquire further. The matter of the friend who loved cleaning passed like that.

In the evening, after the high schooler cooked dinner, he went out, saying he was going with Xiao Pang to visit Zhang Xin, who was still in the hospital.

“Wait a moment,” the adult, who had finished dinner and was preparing to watch TV, extended his hand and said, “When visiting, you should bring something. Wait for me for a moment.”

Although he had been going to the hospital every day, and given their relationship, there was no need to bring anything. However, Chen Jing watched as the man entered the house and started rummaging through cabinets. He didn’t say anything and just stood there quietly, waiting.

Jiang Yujin’s search through the cabinets resulted in a small box, a deep blue velvet box containing a bracelet with small seashells strung together.

Tossing the box to the high schooler from across the room, he said, “This looks pretty good. The little girl should like it.”

It didn’t seem like a valuable gift, but Chen Jing accepted it.

Jiang Yujin stood at the door, watching the high schooler leave with the gift, smiling and waving.

*

Chen Jing did go to the hospital.

He and Xiao Pang met at the hospital entrance and entered the inpatient department together.

Zhang Xin had been moved to a regular ward. Her parents, worried that she might not be accustomed to the presence of other patients, specially arranged a private room.

When they arrived, the elderly couple was still there. After greeting them, the two left for dinner, leaving the space for their friends to chat.

Compared to when she was first brought down from Duolan Mountain, Zhang Xin looked much better. When they entered the ward, she was sipping chicken soup from a small cup.

Xiao Pang put down the fruits he was holding and briefly explained the progress of the investigation from this morning. Then he said, “I checked online again this afternoon, but there’s no news about Atsha. We might need to go to the South Seas and ask the locals there.”

The information was blocked quickly, and the force of the blockade was strong. The possibility of probing into the information across the internet was too low. To find the location of the Vanished City, they would need to make a trip to the local area.

The room fell silent for a moment.

They all understood what this meant. Unlike their usual trips to other cities, if they were to go to the South Seas this time, the time and energy they would have to invest would multiply several times. If they didn’t find the Vanished City, that’s one thing, but even if they did find it and went to Zero’s headquarters, there was no guarantee they could come back intact as before.

Not knowing what kind of people they were dealing with, they needed to be prepared for the possibility of not returning.

From the very beginning, Chen Jing had prepared for the possibility of not coming back. What mattered most were Xiao Pang and Zhang Xin.

They both had parents and were the only children in their families.

“I must go,” Zhang Xin said.

Putting down the bowl of chicken soup she was drinking, she continued, “My dad encountered the strange species a few days ago.”

At that time, when her father came in, he was limping, with scratches on his face. When asked, he only mentioned that he had fallen. However, when she later went to the corridor to get some fresh air, she overheard patients talking about strange species appearing on the streets near the hospital. Even if it was dealt with promptly, some people still got injured.

That street was the one her dad would pass through from the company to the hospital.

The strange species were not far from their families. Even if they managed to escape this time, there might be another encounter in the future. If they didn’t solve the problem at its source, they would live in constant fear every day.

Xiao Pang nodded quietly, wiped his face, then looked up and said, “We’ll set off after the mock exams next week. Let’s sort out the visa issues before that.”

No one had any objections, and the plan was settled.

Before leaving, Chen Jing handed the bracelet brought by Jiang Yujin to Zhang Xin.

A simple little gift, but the thought behind it was meaningful. Zhang Xin smiled and put on the bracelet, saying, “Thank you.”

They were still smiling now, but a few days later, when they went together to apply for visas, there would be no smiles on their faces.

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