Chapter 607: Three Beams of Light
Three people sat in the corner, quietly nibbling on the flatbread in their hands.
Xiao Cheng's group's base was smaller than Tiantian had imagined. It was a very old convenience store, now completely empty of goods, leaving only some bare shelves.
"Sister, if you don't mind, you can rest here tonight. There are some wooden boards in the inner room, which we used as beds for sleeping," Xiao Cheng said. Feeling it might not sound appropriate, he added, "We don't sleep together; we've made partitions, so the space is quite private."
"I..." Tiantian smiled bitterly. "I don't mind. I don't even know where I'm going right now."
Xiao Cheng swallowed the flatbread in his mouth, then nodded. "I understand that feeling—utter confusion about the future, with the three thousand six hundred Dao seemingly out of reach, and teammates not as good as I imagined."
"That's not it," Tiantian shook her head. "Maybe fools have good luck. The people around me are pretty decent."
"Really?" Xiao Cheng helplessly raised an eyebrow. "I'm different... I'll start acting soon. There aren't many days left, and I must awaken my Echo as quickly as possible."
"Hmm..." Tiantian didn't know how to respond. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Is your Echo ability very powerful?"
"My Echo is completely useless," Xiao Cheng shook his head. "If I can achieve Echo before nightfall, I can let you have a good dream."
"Good dream...?"
"Yeah." Xiao Cheng smiled bitterly. "Even so, I have no choice. I only want Echo to preserve my memories. So no matter how dangerous the situation, I have to awaken my Dreamwalk."
"Dreamwalk..." Tiantian repeated the name, as if understanding Xiao Cheng's distress.
"I wish my ability were as strong as Sister Tiantian's," Xiao Cheng helplessly shook his head. "The ability to create things out of thin air—however you think about it, it must have many uses, right? Much stronger than my Dreamwalk..."
Tiantian didn't know how to comfort Xiao Cheng, since her own Crafty Artifact also had considerable limitations.
In comparison, she envied Yun Yao's Mighty Fortune more.
"So how will you achieve Echo?" Tiantian asked. "You've helped me once too. Anything I can do?"
"My Echo—it's hard to say whether it's difficult or not." Xiao Cheng finished his flatbread and wiped his hands on his pants. "As long as I can experience a brain storm, there's a chance I'll obtain Echo."
Tiantian nodded, recalling the knowledge Yun Yao and the others had shared with her—that different Zodiacs here corresponded to different types of games.
"In other words, I need to use my brain?" Tiantian asked. "I'm not very familiar. Which Zodiac mainly represents intelligence?"
"Mainly represents intelligence..." Xiao Cheng shook his head after listening. "It's the Monkey. But the most troublesome issue now is that Human Monkey games might be too simple, while Earth Monkey games are too difficult... I don't know how to choose."
"Then just go," Tiantian said without hesitation. "If you sit here thinking, you'll never find the answer anyway."
"Ah...?"
"Start with Human Monkey. If you can achieve Echo, you succeed in one go. If you can't, then Earth Monkey is your only choice."
"That makes sense." Xiao Cheng scratched his head with a smile. "I made something so simple so complicated."
"So when are you going to act?" Tiantian asked.
"There's a Human Monkey near the base. I plan to check it out in a little while."
Xiao Cheng stood up, walked behind the convenience store counter, bent down to lift a few floorboards, and pulled out a small cloth bag from the hole.
He opened the bag and looked inside, a hint of joy appearing on his face. "Great, the stake is still here. I can use these Dao to gamble with the monkeys."
"You have so many Dao?" Tiantian craned her neck to look. "Showing them right in front of us two—aren't you afraid we'll steal some?"
"It doesn't matter." Xiao Cheng shook his head. "They were all stolen or taken anyway. Hardly any are ours. If you take them, consider it karmic retribution."
Xiao Cheng grabbed a handful of Dao from the cloth bag and stuffed them into his pocket, then put the bag back under the floorboards.
"I'm going too!" Zheng Yingxiong said. "Taking me will definitely be useful."
"Ah...?" Xiao Cheng knew he was going to a Human Grade game, but bringing such a young child would indeed be troublesome. "Little brother, why don't you rest here?"
"No need. I'll protect you," Zheng Yingxiong said. "Even if I can't help much, I can still sniff out people's scents."
Seeing Zheng Yingxiong insist on following him, Xiao Cheng's expression naturally showed hesitation.
"Do you want me to come too?" Tiantian asked. "If it's a game where you have to risk your life to pass, I can die."
"Ah...?" Xiao Cheng was taken aback. "Sister, do you really not want to live that much? I'm going to a Human Grade game; I shouldn't die."
"I don't mind," Tiantian smiled. "I feel that even if I don't die now, I'll eventually die in some corner one day. Better to die meaningfully than die without knowing why."
"This..." Xiao Cheng lowered his head and thought for a moment after hearing this, then said, "Sister Tiantian, I've thought it over carefully. You can indeed come with me, since many games have player count requirements. But I won't let you die."
"Really?" Tiantian smiled helplessly at that. "It doesn't matter if I die."
"You still have this little brother to take care of." Xiao Cheng pointed at Zheng Yingxiong. "So don't casually talk about life and death anymore. Besides, if I need to protect you two, it might make me think even harder—that's beneficial for me too."
Tiantian turned to look at Zheng Yingxiong after hearing this. She found the child still wore a naive yet resolute expression. Before she could speak, he spoke first.
"Sister, you don't need to take care of me. I'll protect you," he said.
"Ah..."
Every time Tiantian saw Zheng Yingxiong, she felt the softest part of her heart being touched. The child was very likable, but she didn't know what he had been through. His whole outlook was seriously problematic—how could a child come up with so many strange ideas on his own?
She thought for a moment, then said to Xiao Cheng, "In that case, let's go together. Xiao Cheng, I'll take care of little brother Hero. We won't cause you any trouble."