The weather changed that afternoon. The warm yellow sunlight was covered by layers of dark clouds, and the sky and the earth became dark.
Chen Yang sat in front of the bed and watched Chao Jian who fell asleep after taking the medicine. He held the quilt with one hand and swiped the screen of his mobile phone absentmindedly with the other hand.
After a few seconds, Chen Yang clicked on the contacts and saw that Sun Wenjun, who was originally in the list, had disappeared, along with their call records and messages.
All traces of Sun Wenjun left in Chen Yang's mobile phone were cleaned up completely, and his former partner Xiang Zimu didn't even tell him the contact information.
"No need to contact each other. Everything is inseparable from cause and effect. After the reset, we are no longer fellow travelers. I will pray for you. Go ahead and move forward."
This was the last sentence Xiang Zimu said to Chen Yang before leaving the alley.
Chen Yang leaned his head back against the chair, and put the hand holding the phone on his eyes. When he passes the level, the memories he gets back will be tied up with a lot of sadness and regret.
It's better not to have those memories...
Chen Yang shook his head. Yes, that was his past.
His old teammates came and went, were erased and forgotten, there had to be someone to miss them, and it was him.
Chen Yang's suppressed mouth corners turned up, he laughed out loud, his eyes covered by his arms turned red: "Why am I struggling here? It's not up to me to decide whether to do it or not."
“I don’t know if I can make it to the end…”
Chen Yang suppressed the smile on his face and sighed bitterly. If he died, Chao Jian would also die, so he was moving forward with two lives and the hopes of his teammates on his shoulders.
I have to keep going no matter what! Chen Yang grabbed the quilt and buried his head in it, covering his suppressed sobs.
Chao Jian dreamed of Chen Yang's death again. He woke up from his sleep, staring at the ceiling with his bloodshot eyes, his face full of dullness after an extreme breakdown.
Chen Yang, who was sitting on the bed facing the window, turned around. When he saw Chao Jian's expression, he immediately knelt over and asked, "Chao Jian?"
Chen Yang shouted several times before Chao Jian's mind and soul slowly returned to his body. He stared at Chen Yang's neck with a creepy look.
At that moment, several fragments emerged in Chen Yang's mind. There was the scene where Chao Jian was scared to tears by a nightmare, and there was also the scene where Chao Jian held him with trembling hands and said that he dreamed of a lot of blood. It was all blood. He combined it with what Xiang Zimu revealed today about his death, and his breathing suddenly became unsmooth.
Chen Yang held Chao Jian's hand and placed it on his neck, coaxing him hoarsely, "It's not broken, look, it's fine."
The skin under his palm was warm, the arteries were strong and alive, and Chao Jian's stopped heart finally jumped.
It's getting dark.
Chen Yang and Chao Jian leaned against the head of the bed. Neither of them spoke for a while. Their hands were clasped together, tightly.
After a long time, so long that Chen Yang felt his and Chao Jian's interlocked fingers were wet and numb, Chao Jian's voice rang in his ears. "The last mission before your reset includes me, Xiang Zimu, Sun Wenjun, and Xiangdong." Chao Jian's larynx seemed to be rubbed red and swollen and bleeding by sandpaper, and his voice had a tearing feeling.
Before Chen Yang turned his head to look at Chao Jian, he heard him say, "There are more than forty people I don't remember."
So many? Chen Yang was stunned.
Chao Jian once again said something shocking: "That is an audit task."
Chen Yang's facial expression management collapsed, he let out an "ah", and didn't come back to his senses for a long time.
"Xiangdong violated the death condition when my left leg was not injured yet." Chao Jian tightened his grip on Chen Yang, "After that, you died. I saw your corpse and went straight to the last level."
At that time, no one knew that they were in the review area. This was only discovered after Chao Jian passed the review.
Chen Yang took a deep breath. Ding Huichun had said before that being registered does not necessarily mean that one will pass the review. If one fails, one will not be able to enter the last stage. There will be two possible outcomes. One is to die in the review task. The other is to complete the review task, continue to do tasks and move forward, and wait until the threshold is reached again to be registered.
So, he and Xiangdong are both in the first category, they died in the review task.
"As for Xiang Zimu, I asked Ding Huichun to check it out. She was removed from the review task at first, but was later reset because she failed in other tasks." Chao Jian said.
Chen Yang swallowed his saliva. Xiang Zimu belonged to the first half of the second category.
"What about Sun Wenjun?" Chen Yang asked hurriedly, "How could Sun Wenjun become the deputy district chief of District B without passing the customs? Does he have any other identity?" Not actually dead
Chao Jian looked at the hope in Chen Yang's eyes, dialed a number, and the call was quickly connected. A hoarse female voice came from the other end.
"Hello." It was Ding Huichun.
Chen Yang repeated the question and held his breath waiting for an answer.
Ding Huichun said: "Mr. Sun has not been reset."
Chen Yang was startled: "Then why did he..."
"His accumulated task score is very high," Ding Huichun said. "Moreover, ever since he and you completed the review task, his threshold has always been at the registration line. He has been registered and has been doing review tasks, but he can't get to the last level. His situation is special."
Chen Yang was speechless. Ding Huichun's words were both unexpected and expected to him.
Sun Wenjun's threshold seeds sprouted and grew branches and leaves, and they could neither die nor live, which revealed his phenomenon.
Chen Yang seemed to see Sun Wenjun pushing up his glasses and smiling at him, "You, Brother Wen, have failed."
Sun Wenjun was looking for a way out in the dead end, but couldn't find one. He wanted to retreat but found that he had no way out either. So he became desperate, powerless, and finally relieved.
It's not that he's relieved, he's just tired.
“For example, if the threshold requirement for registration is 20, only if it is as low as 5 can you enter the final round.”
Seeing Chen Yang remained silent for a long time, Ding Huichun thought he didn't understand, so she explained, "Mr. Sun is always stuck between 20 and 5."
Chen Yang: "Not the highest value?"
"Not really." Ding Huichun said, "The rules will examine the minimum values of the tasker's emotions, psychology, and perception."
Chen Yang fell silent. He was wrong. He had it all wrong. He had thought Sun Wenjun was on a business trip to find a way to raise the threshold, but it turned out he was trying to find a way to lower it.
If his threshold seeds begin to germinate, it means that his threshold is decreasing, and if the buds bloom, it means that it has dropped to the minimum limit set by the rules.
Chen Yang took out his mobile phone and searched the Internet. The lower the threshold, the easier it is for people to lose control, and a spark can ignite a huge fire. On the contrary, the closer you are to becoming a sage, the less desire you have.
Since we are looking at the lowest value, that means the condition for entering the last level is... burning the soul.
The last level is a revolving lantern made up of illusions, and the rules require the tasker to face the light and dark parts of his life in a fragmented state.
"Mr. Sun became the deputy district chief. In addition to obtaining the threshold seed, he also recovered his memory and lost the qualification for the second reset. He was a good person, although I didn't have much interaction with him." Ding Huichun said, "Now that he is dead, the position is vacant. Unfortunately, the person can only be selected by the rules, and no recommendation can be made."
"You guys chat, I'm going to sleep." Ding Huichun hung up the phone.
Chen Yang glanced at Chao Jian's phone. It was a little after five o'clock. Most of the taskers were not living a normal life. Some could not sleep all night, while others went to bed early but looked extremely thin.
"Go on." Chen Yang rubbed his face, put down his hands and met Chao Jian's anxious eyes, "I can bear it, it's okay."
Chao Jian's pale lips moved slightly: "The rules will record and detect the thresholds of all taskers. Once they reach the registration line, they will be sent to the assessment area. Whoever's threshold breaks the critical point first will enter the final level."
Chen Yang's heartbeat couldn't help but quicken.
"Are all those who sign up experienced and experienced taskers?" Chen Yang couldn't help asking.
"Not necessarily." Chao Jian gave Chen Yang an unexpected and cruel answer, "The rules don't care how many times you have done the task, whether you have enough experience, or how capable you are. They only look at the single data of the threshold."
This is not like a game where levels are set according to difficulty. The only review standard for the rules is the threshold.
The threshold has certain innate factors. Some people start with the review task, while others do more than ten or twenty tasks and still can’t even pass the review line.
So Chao Jian borrowed the threshold seed from Ding Huichun and bound it to Chen Yang, so that he could observe the changes in the seed and control the degree of decrease in his threshold while teaching him to adapt to the rules and ensure that he learned the truth at the right time.
Chao Jian did his best to make everything go smoothly for Chen Yang. He passed the review smoothly and entered the final stage, and came out smoothly.
"Are the audit tasks unified?" Chen Yang broke the silence.
"No, it's random." Chao Jian said, "But the chance that we can still enter that mission is extremely low."
Chao Jian controlled his emotions, his face expressionless and his heart gloomy. He didn't want to go in again and didn't want to see those old scenes again.
Because there were seven or eight illusions in his last level that were all the same mission scenes, and he had seen enough of them.
Chen Yang raised his eyelids and glanced at Chao Jian, then said, "My audit mission is likely to be in Area B of the Rehabilitation Hospital."
Chao Jian stroked his fingers: "No matter what the mission background is, we still have to find clues and avoid the taboo of death."
"I know." Chen Yang thought, first he had to pass the review, this was the first step. The second step was the final stage.
Chen Yang felt that his last mission would definitely be more difficult than Chao Jian's.
Because Chao Jian experienced his death first and then started the last mission. Chao Jian's world was squeezed and deformed, and could only accommodate him.
But Chen Yang is different. There is not only Chao Jian in his life, but also comrades who are willing to stand by him. It will be more difficult for him to get out.
"Are you hungry?" Chen Yang suddenly smiled.
Chao Jian stared at him in a daze.
"Let's make fried rice. There are leftovers from last night in the refrigerator." Chen Yang smoothed Chao Jian's hair.
Chao Jian was still in a daze.
Chen Yang took off the black rubber band on Chao Jian's wrist and tied it up for him. Then he got out of bed and opened his arms: "Come, brother will hold you."
The deep wrinkles between Chao Jian's brows gradually unwound, and he pounced on his light.
On the weekend morning, Chen Yang and Chao Jian went to Xiang Dong's house. When they arrived there, snowflakes were falling from the sky.
On the way here, Chen Yang learned something from Chao Jian. Among their group members, not only Wen Qing had not been reset, but also Painter and Zhao Yuanfengli. He said as he walked, "It's better not to tell Wen Qing and the others. What do you think?"
"Don't tell me what?" A voice suddenly came from behind.
Chen Yang almost dropped the duck frame and duck neck in his hands. He turned around and glared at Wen Qing: "Why are you here?"
"I'll go downstairs to pick you up." Wen Qing tucked his things into his sleeves like an old man.
Chen Yang slapped away the claws that were reaching into the duck neck bag: "I mean, weren't you abroad? When did you come back?"
"It was an hour ago. This was a family gathering. How could I not come back?" Wen Qing took advantage of Chen Yang's inattention and quickly reached into the bag with his claws. He grabbed a duck neck and jumped to the side. "You haven't answered my question yet. What are you not going to tell me?"
Chen Yang turned the bag around a few times and glanced at Chao Jian out of the corner of his eye.
Chao Jian was taking a pill and had no intention of helping him solve the current problem.
Everyone treats relationships differently, some people put fate first and let things take their course, some people let go even though it hurts, and some people go crazy and risk everything in pain.
Chao Jian's paranoid personality disorder has taken root deep in his soul and cannot be removed.
Chao Jian is now one with the disease. He doesn't want friends, comrades-in-arms, or relatives. He only wants Chen Yang.
Chao Jian can watch Chen Yang make friends because of the effect of countless drugs, but it is also his limit. He can no longer help Chen Yang deal with friendships.
The three of them stopped in the snow, and the atmosphere was a little subtle.
"Okay, okay, I won't ask anymore," Wen Qing said sympathetically after finishing chewing the duck neck. He curled his lips and said, "Anyway, I know everything."
Chen Yang said calmly: "What do you know?"
"Whatever you know, I know." Wen Qing is unfathomable.
Chen Yang's eyes stayed on Wen Qing's face for a while, and he didn't have much doubt. Even Ding Huichun thought that Wen Qing was an outlier, and everything that happened to him was normal.
The three of them continued to move forward, with the wind and snow accompanying them along the way.
Wen Qing gathered his coat and glanced at Chao Jian from head to toe: "Li Mao, you don't look very good, have you been sucked dry?"
Chao Jian supported the staggering Chen Yang.
"Oh no." Wen Qing touched his chin, "Brother Yang, you abused Li Mao."
No one paid any attention to him.
Wen Qing snorted, his eyes like a fireball: "Li Mao has been vomiting blood recently."
Chen Yang's footsteps suddenly stopped.
"Look at the beautiful world more, listen to the sounds of nature more, relax your mind, and don't let things accumulate in your mind, remember this." Wen Qing's first half of the sentence was very serious, but the second half was distorted, "The most important thing is to avoid sex." He said earnestly, "Brother Yang, please bear with it."
Chen Yang: “…”
Soon, Chen Yang was sitting in Xiangdong's living room, next to him were the members of the "Walk Along the Way" group, absent were the painter, Zhao Yuan, and Pineapple.
The group members present seemed to be muted and no one spoke.
"Oh, so boring, Xiang Gou, where's your computer? I'm going to go watch a movie." Wen Qing stretched.
He pointed eastward and said, "Get lost!"
"You're so fierce, be careful of getting bald." Wen Qing left the living room cursing Xiangdong.
"Bald." Xiang Dong sneered, "There is no bald person in my family." The next moment he put his head in front of Chen Yang, "Do I have any signs of baldness?"
Chen Yang was peeling an orange: "Aren't you only 28?"
"Twenty-eight is nothing. Nowadays, people start to go bald at the age of ten." Xiangdong held the cigarette in his mouth and reached for the lighter. "Our pineapple loses a handful of hair every time we wash it. It's like being in a horror movie."
Chen Yang said: "I think he has a lot of hair, and the hair quality is also good."
"Wig." Xiangdong spat out the two words in sorrow.
Chen Yang was speechless.
"Luckily, I have a good head shape, so I can handle any hairstyle. If hair loss becomes serious in the future, I'll just shave my head." Xiang Dong paused and cursed, "Fuck, why the hell are we talking about hair loss?" He kicked Bai Tang next to him, "Everyone is here, let's talk about business, hurry up."
No one knew what Bai Tang was thinking, and he didn't show any movement.
"You're just talking nonsense, Professor Bai." Xiangdong threw the lighter on the floor, grabbed Bai Tang's sweater and turned him over so that he was facing Chen Yang, "Look up!"
Bai Tang looked at Chen Yang. There was no trace of romance in his pair of peach blossom eyes, only desolation.
Chen Yang's brows twitched slightly. He had never seen Bai Tang so depressed during the mission. Moreover, he had lost a lot of weight and his chin had become pointed.
Xiangdong leaned against the sofa and smoked: "I told Professor Bai my guess, and he was shocked."
Chen Yang understood. He handed the peeled orange to Chao Jian and said to Xiang Dong, "Give me a cigarette."
"Old Chen, are you going to give an impromptu speech? Do you still need to think about it?" Xiangdong threw the cigarette box and lighter to him.
Chen Yang lit a cigarette and smoked it with his eyes half closed.
The world has ended, and it is reasonable to infer that we are already dead.
This place is equivalent to a rebirth and reconstruction base. Those selected based on genetic selection will be issued an identity card.
Those who pass the customs can be reborn with their identity number.
If you can't pass the level, you will be given another chance if your total score is high, and you can start a new life again. If your score is not high, you will be cleared once you fail the task, and your ID number will be cancelled.
That's how it is.
All these tragedies are the fault of the rules, but not entirely the fault of the rules.
Because the source of the tragedy is that the real world is broken, which may be caused by a natural disaster.
The occurrence of natural disasters is related to humans, and in the end it is probably still a cycle of cause and effect.
Chen Yang couldn't reveal all the above information, so he thought, leave some hope.
For example, Wu Yu realized that he had no home, had no hope, and didn't want to leave.
Chen Yang coughed and exhaled a puff of smoke: "It is indeed as Xiangdong said, this real world is fake."
Bai Tang's clenched fingers loosened weakly.
Xiangdong grabbed a pillow and threw it into his arms: "Did you hear it? Do you believe it now? I've told you at least twenty times, if not eight hundred times, and you insisted..."
"Don't argue," Bai Tang interrupted Xiang Dong. He threw the pillow aside, looked up and asked Chen Yang, "So we were really teammates in our previous life?"
Chen Yang put out the cigarette, and he squatted down from sitting. He ate a piece of orange flesh from Chao Jian's hand, and mentioned "reset" in a vague voice.
The living room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
"Fuck, it turns out it's not some bullshit previous life, I actually ran twice, and this is the second time!" Xiangdong was jumping up and down in front of the sofa like an irritated gorilla. He suddenly stopped where he was for a while, kicked the coffee table, and the bottles and jars shook with a thrilling sound.
"The world is fake, life is fake, and memories are fake." Bai Tang murmured helplessly, "Xiangdong, our past was also fake."
After Bai Tang finished speaking, he bit his lip, with an expression on his face that looked like he wanted to cry but also laugh.
Xiangdong panted and swore, "It's enough if the relationship between teammates is real."
Bai Tang suddenly buried his face in his hands. No, no, his thin shoulders kept shaking. Some things are better not to understand than to understand them.
He regretted finding out the truth. He shouldn't have found out and he really shouldn't have come here.
"Why are you so sad? Maybe you were exes before you reset." A slow and leisurely voice of a literary young man floated out from the door on the left.
Xiangdong subconsciously said, "What's the point of talking about this?"
"Yes, yes, it's meaningless. If you want to know what your real life is like, then just get out alive and go home." Wen Qing walked into the living room with a smile.
“Go home…” A crack appeared in the darkness in Bai Tang’s eyes, and light seeped in.
Wen Qing winked at Chen Yang and asked, "What do you think of my inspiring technique? Have you learned anything from me?"
Chen Yang communicated with him by mouthing: "If you want to listen, just listen. Why are you hiding at the door?"
"Fun." Wen Qing blinked.
Chen Yang tried to see Wen Qing's soul through his eyes, and vaguely discovered that he had no soul.
Hipsters are naturally people with high thresholds.
"Professor Bai, you look like a little white rabbit when you cry. I want to pinch your ears and feed you carrots." Wen Qing squatted in front of Bai Tang with a tissue box in his arms. "Calm down. Just make the best of it. We all have our own day of ending." Wen Qing suddenly laughed, "Except me. I'm a TV series. There will never be a finale!"
Bai Tang was shocked by Wen Qing's change in temperament.
Chen Yang pulled Wen Qing away: "Say less."
"I'm telling the truth." Wen Qing shook his head and sighed, "Why do you live such a tiring life? It's because you have so many things on your mind, wanting this and that. Alas, only by learning how to do subtraction can one be happy."
"Take me for example, I just want to have fun. With this purpose in mind, I travel between two worlds. I have so much fun." The young man made a "V" sign at his chin.
Chen Yang did not expose the literary youth’s bubble kingdom: “Everyone has their own choices.”
"Hmm." Wen Qing sat down next to Chao Jian, "Li Mao understands me. We are the same kind of people. We only want one thing in our life, which is to be simple and happy. Right, my good friend?"
Chao Jian bypassed Wen Qing and went to Chen Yang.
Wen Qing couldn't help smacking his lips when he saw Bai Tang chasing Chao Jian Chen Yang with envious eyes. You think other people's happiness is blown by the wind? You wish.
That day, Xiangdong took out all the good wine that the painter had given him. He got his teammates drunk and also got himself drunk.
I sobered up, it was daybreak, it was snowing, and kids in the neighborhood were having a snowball fight downstairs. It was a new day, accompanied by the sound of wild cats fluttering around in the white bushes.
They still have to live their lives in this fake world and walk the road ahead, and they have to do their best to walk it well and not stop, because their real home is waiting for them.
Wen Qing will not be leaving for the next few months, so Chen Yang sent 03 to him.
Nini didn't reject 03, they got along very well.
Wen Qing ate three meals a day at Chen Yang's, even on the night of the 30th.
The staple food for the New Year’s Eve dinner is dumplings. All the beautiful ones are made by Chen Yang. As for the others, it is hard to tell which ones are made by Chao Jian and which ones are made by Wen Qing. They are all equally ugly.
After Wen Qing had his fill, he dragged Chen Yang to watch the evening party, ignoring Chao Jian who was waiting to spend some time alone with him. He stayed until after midnight before leaving.
Chen Yang was tidying up the snacks on the coffee table when he found a note in the gum jar he bought for Wen Qing.
Ayang, happy ending is boring, but I hope it is you.
—Wen Qing stayed on New Year’s Eve 2024.
Chen Yang read it word by word, and put the note into the book he was going to take home.
Time passed very slowly and very quickly after the New Year. Chen Yang had been waiting for the audit task to arrive. When he found out it was coming, he had a strong premonition.
This caused Chen Yang to be confused for a moment, even though he had been waiting for a long time and was well prepared.
Chen Yang paced back and forth in the old house. He felt nervous and anxious as if he was going to an examination.
Chao Jian frowned: "I told you, just treat it as an ordinary task."
"I understand." Chen Yang responded perfunctorily but rushed into the room.
After a while, Chen Yang came out carrying a small silver box. Whether he was dead or gone, this house no longer belonged to him.
Just like the little mute cousin's house, there will be a new owner.
What about diamonds
Chen Yang handed the box to Chao Jian: "You decide."
Chao Jian bit his milk slice and said, "Donate it to build a Hope Primary School."
Chen Yang was stunned: "Even if this is a fake world, besides the tasker, there are only NPCs?"
"Okay, I'll listen to you." He immediately called the painter.
The painter was attending an auction abroad. He stood up and left the hall, spraying disinfectant as he walked.
"If you have something to say, tell me. I'm listening." The painter stood in the empty corridor. Before leaving, Chen Yang solved his incense problem. This friendship was precious to him. He hoped that everything was fine with Chen Yang and Chao Jian.
Chen Yang talked about the donation: "Will it be a bit troublesome?"
"No problem, I'm already doing it." The painter agreed without hesitation. "The amount of your batch of diamonds is quite large. I will hand over the relevant matters to the team and then set up a foundation in your name."
"Don't use my and Chao Jian's names," Chen Yang looked at Chao Jian who was sitting in the morning light, "just use the name Chao Yang."
Chen Yang left two diamonds, one was a red diamond named Sei Unico, and the other was a blue diamond, Desperate Love, and he put them at the bottom.
That night everyone got together again.
Chen Yang and Xiang Dong played games with Wen Qing for an hour or so, and they both became quiet at the same time.
"Damn, what the hell? Is this a special ability that allows me to reset the journey twice? Old Chen, you are going to pass the last level. I can sense it!" Xiangdong threw the game controller away.
Bai Tang on the side pressed his eyebrows. He too hadn't been able to sleep at all these past few days.
"I didn't feel anything." Wen Qing said aggrievedly, "Why, is it because my appearance is not good enough?"
"Yes." Xiangdong said contemptuously.
Wen Qing's expression changed suddenly, and he smiled grimly: "What did you say?"
Bai Tang grabbed the young man in the play and said, "Chen Yang is leaving."
"Oh, look at my memory. Ayang, have a safe trip and see you later." Wen Qing's face instantly became bright. He looked as if he had just remembered it, and acted casually as if he could see you tomorrow. Even if he couldn't see you tomorrow, he would definitely see you in a few days.
But he didn't want to go to the finish line at all.
We will never see each other again, so the hipster went to turn coins against the wall.
"Fuck you, I only know that one idiom, and I can't say anything after you said it." Xiangdong yelled at Wen Qing with a dark face. He was playing with the air freshener that Chen Yang had not finished using up. There were still dozens of bottles at home, and he didn't know when he would use them up. Anyway, he would not be able to use them up before he died.
Bah, not before dying, but before going out!
"Give me an idiom similar to 'bon voyage'." Xiangdong nudged Baitang with his elbow, "Speed."
"Have a safe journey." Bai Tang said.
"Old Chen, what Professor Bai said is what I want to say. Please answer if you hear it!" Xiangdong shouted in a hoarse voice.
Chen Yang put the puppy that was clinging to his clothes into Nini's arms, pinched its soft paws and said goodbye to it: "I heard it."
No one thought whether this would be the last gathering or a farewell forever; they all skipped over the idea.
"Xiangdong, you must keep the notebook I gave you. Don't lose it. It's related to the overall background of the mission. You should slowly tell the painter Fengli and the others, step by step. Be sure to pay attention to the threshold. Xiang Zimu is my old partner. I have sent her photo to the group. If any of you meet her in the mission, please take care of her. She is tired and needs someone to stand with her, give her a hand, or just talk to her..." Chen Yang gave instructions while walking towards Chao Jian who was waiting for him at the door. He turned around, smiled and waved to his teammates.
"Chao Jian and I will go ahead, you guys hurry up and catch up."
See you outside the finish line.