The Earth is Online

The old underground person stared at the two stowaways with greedy eyes. His eyes were bare and explicit and when he gave a sinister laugh, he revealed yellow teeth. He looked exactly the same as the old man who appeared three hours ago and now he was looking at Fu Wenduo and Li Miaomiao with the same expression.

“A stowaway can be exchanged for a bowl of cat food… it is a good deal.”

The answer was the players attacking him.

There were five players present and two were stowaways. There was no doubt that the two stowaways would never agree to be exchanged for cat food. The five people didn’t know each other. If it was 3 against 2, trying to catch the stowaways wouldn’t necessarily succeed. In addition, Zhao Xiaofei vaguely sensed that the powerful silent man might be one of the stowaways.

Between giving up their stowaway companions or killing the old man, the five people unanimously chose the latter.

None of them expected this sloppy old man to be much stronger than before. His movements were more rapid as the old man pulled out a thicker stick. He slammed it against Fu Wenduo’s sharp weapon, causing Fu Wenduo to take a step back and shake his shoulders.

Tang Mo suddenly understood. “He has become stronger.”

The group was even more afraid to be careless.

This time they took 10 minutes to subdue the old man. The old man was stabbed by Fu Wenduo and fell to the ground in a comical manner, twitching twice before no longer moving. His body soon turned into a small handful of ashes and the wind scattered it into the air.

Zhao Xiaofei exclaimed, “He turned to ash himself?’

Yes, this time Tang Mo didn’t light the old man on fire but he still turned to ash. Tang Mo stared at the black ashes on the ground, his eyes narrowed slightly. He stepped forward and picked up the cat food left by the old man on the ground. Tang Mo covered his nose without any expression and handed the cat food to Li Miaomiao.

Li Miaomiao was stunned.

After a moment, she wondered, “You grabbed it yet you are giving it to me?”

Tang Mo nodded and walked in the middle with Fu Wenduo and Grecia, becoming a passerby.

Li Miaomiao, “…”

This wasn’t a man!

Li Miaomiao held the stinky cat food and headed to the castle with a depressed expression.

Tang Mo had two reasons for giving the cat food to Li Miaomiao. First, Li Miaomiao was more comfortable with the smell as she had taken the cat food into the castle last time. Second, the team was led by Li Miaomiao. Tang Mo didn’t want to destroy this hard to form relationship.

The five people sequentially entered Schrodinger’s castle and the housekeeper closed the door. In the dark castle, the red moonlight projected into the house through the stained glass windows, barely shining a light. Li Miaomiao carried the cat food and intended to check the first floor and then the second floor. She was stopped by Tang Mo just as she entered the corridor.

“Go this way.”

Li Miaomiao turned and looked in the direction Tang Mo was pointing.

It was a dark corridor without much decorations, unlike the other corridors. Li Miaomiao glanced at Tang Mo and nodded. “Whatever.” Then she walked into the corridor with the cat food.

The two female players imitated the sound of a cat, trying to lure the mysterious cat. Li Miaomiao had arrived at the end of the corridor and intended to return when she saw a wooden door in front of her. Li Miaomiao’s footsteps slowed and she understood Tang Mo’s intention. The female doctor looked calmly at Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo.

Neither of them gave her any responses.

Li Miaomiao muttered, “I have a good head,” before saying, “This is the kitchen right?” Let’s enter the kitchen and take a look.”

The middle-aged housekeeper slowly raised his head and stared at Li Miaomiao.

Li Miaomiao asked, “Can’t we go inside to look for the cat?”

The housekeeper made a mechanical sound. “You can.”

The housekeeper took out the key and opened the kitchen door. There was a bowl of hot soup cooking on the kitchen stove, the smell filling the room. This smell blended with the black thing in Li Miaomiao’s hand. Even Fu Wenduo raised an eyebrow and felt slightly nauseous. Li Miaomiao’s mouth twitched as she walked around the kitchen.

The group finally stopped in front of a locked cupboard.

Zhao Xiaofei wondered, “Wasn’t the previous bowl of cat food placed in this cupboard? Can you open it for us to take a look?”

The middle-aged housekeeper lowered his head and didn’t speak.

Li Miaomiao asked him, “You can’t open it?”

The middle-aged housekeeper still had his head bowed and was silent.

Both female players sensed something was wrong and asked the housekeeper to open the cupboard. However, it was like the housekeeper had pressed the mute button and couldn’t hear anything. He wouldn’t react unless the two female players said a certain keyword.

Tang Mo wondered, “Can we open the cupboard forcefully?”

The housekeeper still didn’t speak.

Tang Mo’s lips curved. “Since you aren’t speaking, it seems that we can.”

Li Miaomiao’s eyes widened. “Wait, you’re going to force open the cupboard?”

As she said this, Fu Wenduo moved forward. His right index finger slightly moved and transferred into a thin wire. Grecia’s eyes moved and he smiled strangely at the sight. Fu Wenduo held the lock with one hand while inserting the wire into the keyhole and twisting it a few times. There was a sharp sound and Fu Wenduo pulled away the open lock.

The cupboard creaked open and the group saw what was inside the cupboard. Li Miaomiao turned o look at the housekeeper. “What happened to the cat food inside?”

The housekeeper actually raised his head and answered, “I poured it out.’

No one could refute these words. The housekeeper had long said that this smelly thing couldn’t be kept in the castle and that he would deal with the cat food. It wasn’t impossible for him to pour out the cat food. Still, the two women felt that something was wrong. It was probably their women’s intuition that made them realize things weren’t so simple.

Zhao Xiaofei asked, “Where do you pour it out to?”

The housekeeper repeated again, “I poured it out.”

Li Li Miaomiao was next. “Where did you pour it?” The cat food had a very strong stench. If the housekeeper took it out of the cupboard and poured it out somewhere, the players should be able to find it.

The housekeeper kept saying, “I poured it out.”

The group stared at him before the angry Li Miaomiao learned from Tang Mo. “Will you tell the truth if we hit you?”

Unexpectedly, the housekeeper raised his head and stared at Li Miaomiao. “It is forbidden to hit all of Schrodinger’s products.”

Li Miaomiao, “…”

Damn, why didn’t he acquiesce this time?

“Are you part of Schrodinger’s products?” A clear male voice was heard from behind Li Miaomiao. Tang Mo was standing next to Fu Wenduo. It was Grecia, standing even further behind them, who asked with a smile.

The middle-aged housekeeper replied, “Yes. With the exception of the five guests, everything in this fortress belongs to the great Lord Schrodinger.”

“Including the underground person who just showed up?’

The middle-aged housekeeper bowed his head. “Yes.”

Zhao Xiaofei stared as she thought of Li Miaomiao’s previous conjecture. “Schrodinger’s cat isn’t necessarily a cat. It can be a human or something else. Do you mean… the cat is actually the underground person? The underground person isn’t a real underground person at all. He can come back from the dead and turn himself into ashes. He is Schrodinger’s cat!”

“He isn’t.” Fu Wenduo spoke in a low voice. “Schrodinger’s cat likes to eat cat food. The cat wouldn’t trade cat food for stowaways because it doesn’t need stowaways. It needs cat food.”

Tang Mo added, “Besides, Schrodinger’s cat loves to be clean. That underground person doesn’t like to be clean.”

Grecia smiled at the two of them and touched the small black cat in his arms. “Is it my turn now? Schrodinger has only one cat. The little cutie who resurrected might be the same person but he isn’t the cat. My lady, to sum in up, that child definitely isn’t Schrodinger’s cat.”

Tang Mo glanced at Grecia and said calmly, “The right answer is to rule out all impossible answers. The last one left is the answer, no matter how improbable.”

Li Miaomiao pondered this phrase. After a few seconds, she jerked and stared at the middle-aged housekeeper who had a poker face.

Tang Mo told her, “Schrodinger has only one cat and he is in the fortress.”

Fu Wenduo stared at Tang Mo. “Schrodinger’s cat loves cleanliness.”

Grecia hugged the little black cat, raising the cat’s paw and scratching the air. “Only he has the key to this cupboard.”

The five players stared coldly at the middle-aged housekeeper. He still had his head lowered like he didn’t know anything.

Tang Mo said, “If it was really eaten by the cat or someone else secretly opened the cupboard, there is no need to lock the cupboard again after stealing the cat food. Schrodinger’s cat loves cat food. I think that even if we make another lap of the castle with the second bowl of cat food, a cat won’t come up to us and eat it. In the end, you will remind us that there can’t be any smells in this castle and then take the bowl of cat food away. In other words… this bowl of cat food belongs to you. You love to eat it.”

Fu Wenduo took the cat food from Li Miaomiao and handed it to the middle-aged housekeeper. His dark eyes were deep and bottomless as he whispered, “Will you eat it?”

The middle-aged housekeeper took the cat food, holding it in his hands before slowly looking at the five players in front of him.

After a long time, he opened his mouth and cried out in a stiff and nasty voice, “Meow.”

“Ding dong! The branch mission 2: Find Schrodinger’s Cat has been completed. Triggered the main mission: Schrodinger’s hide-and-seek game.”

The clear voice sounded throughout the castle but suddenly stopped after saying these words. The players waited but the black tower didn’t say anything else. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo exchanged strange looks.

Zhao Xiaofei was in a daze. “We triggered the main mission and then it… disappeared?”

Tang Mo waited for a while before looking at the housekeeper. “What should we do now?”

The middle-aged housekeeper seemed like a black tower boss who could open the black tower game. If nothing else, this game should be hosted by the middle-aged housekeeper. However, this time the middle-aged housekeeper didn’t answer. He held the stinky cat food and stared at Tang Mo, repeating in a mechanical voice, “Meow meow, meow meow.”

Tang Mo, “…”

Everyone, “…”

Even Jack wouldn’t believe this thing was a cat!

No matter what the players asked, the middle-aged housekeeper only replied with “Meow.” The two female players looked around the castle. Since it was a game of hide-and-seek, they were definitely looking for something. Grecia didn’t seem to want to move. He stayed in the kitchen with the black cat in his arms. He poured himself a glass of water and elegantly stood by the window, admiring the steel forest outside the fortress.

Tang Mo went over to him. “Mr. Grecia.”

Grecia turned and looked at Tang Mo. After a moment, he smiled. “My lady, what can I do for you?”

“Where are you from?”

Grecia asked, “Where is any person from?”

Tang Mo looked calm. “Before the earth went online, where did you live? What district of China?”

Grecia stared at Tang Mo before earnestly replying, “I live in your heart.”

Tang Mo, “…”

“Then can I ask where you live, Mr. Grecia?” A low voice was heard from the side. Fu Wenduo leaned against the wall and stared at the tall mixed-raced person. He was smiling but his eyes were cold. He asked, “Do you also live in my heart?”

Grecia smiled. “No, I only live in this lady’s heart. Or this lady only lives in my heart. I am fascinated by him. If my heart can be divided into three then one copy will certainly belong to you. Unfortunately, I always choose the most important thing. So…” He touched the black cat before looking at Tang Mo. “My lady, you live in my heart.”

Fu Wenduo quietly stared at the blond man in front of him before showing a deep smile.

Zhao Xiaofei and Li Miaomiao entered the kitchen again. “We didn’t find anything strange.”

Li Miaomiao came over and said, “You should also look around the castle. This is the first time I’ve encountered such a strange game. It only told us the name but didn’t mention the rules or give any hints about what we should do.”

Fu Wenduo said, “The black tower gave us a hint. A hide-and-seek game is divided into two teams. One is the people hiding and the other is the seeker. In this game, it is clear that we are the seekers. Then we just need to find the one who is now hiding.”

It was the first time Li Miaomiao heard Fu Wenduo say so many words and she looked at him with surprise.

In the Tian Xuan organization, all members knew Fu Wenduo’s name. Everyone in Beijing, China and even the whole world knew this name. However, they never had any contact with Fu Wenduo, apart from the Tian Xuan organization.

Six months ago, Fu Wenduo was about to leave Beijing. Li Miaomiao followed Ruan Wangshu and Qi Heng to stop Fu Wenduo and pull him into the organization. The man was silent and powerful. His fighting was never about victory but for the sake of human life. He was a different player from them. They were stowaways but they didn’t have the smell of a killer.

Ruan Wangshu said that Fu Wenduo had probably killed more people than all of them combined.

Li Miaomiao originally thought that Fu Wenduo had the identity of someone who didn’t like to speak and just obeyed orders, like Lian Yuzheng. Every time they challenged the black tower gave, Lian Yuzheng spoke few words. Generally, Ruan Wangshu would formulate the strategies while Lian Yuzheng silently executed them. Originally Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo were the same. How did Fu Wenduo suddenly start talking?

Li Miaomiao glanced at Tang Mo, who looked calm, as if he knew something.

…It was probably their strategy.

Li Miaomiao secretly thought.

In fact, she didn’t know that Tang Mo was calm on the surface but his heart was full of pressure. Tang Mo had long discovered that this hide-and-seek game was for them to find someone. Countless speculations passed through his mind but he couldn’t grasp the light.

Fu Wenduo already knew?

Fu Wenduo continued, “As long as you know the identity of the person hiding, the game should start normally. Besides, we might grab the person who is hiding and the game can end immediately.” He looked at Tang Mo and his tone became slightly softer. “The hide-and-seek game has another nickname, peekaboo.”

Fu Wenduo’s softening wasn’t obvious and no one was aware of this change.

Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo watched each other and Tang Mo finally understood Fu Wenduo’s meaning. The answer made him surprised but after carefully thinking, he felt it was a bit funny. Tang Mo had long known that his thoughts were very rational. He liked to come to conclusions based on clues and following reasonable thoughts. Fu Wenduo always said many whimsical things. His thinking was extremely open but it wasn’t outrageous. Many times he guessed correctly.

The answer this time really made Tang Mo smile.

Fu Wenduo turned and faced Grecia, who was standing by the window and holding a cup of tea. He casually said, “Schrodinger’s cat isn’t a cat but a person. Schrodinger’s hide-and-seek game, the person who the players should look for, the person who is hiding can only be Schrodinger. A cat isn’t a cat, he is a person. Then who is Schrodinger?”

A few seconds passed before Li Miaomiao let out a shocked cry. “Originally you aren’t Schrodinger’s cat, you are Schrodinger!”

Li Miaomiao had guessed that Grecia was Schrodinger’s cat but she guessed wrong. Now she called Grecia Schrodinger but it made sense. It wasn’t Schrodinger’s cat that she perceived with her feminine intuition but Schrodinger himself.

When he heard Li Miaomiao’s words, the middle-aged housekeeper eating the cat food in the corner of the kitchen looked up at Grecia.

Grecia was watched by the four players and the middle-aged housekeeper. He froze for a few seconds before smiling and pointing at himself. “Now I am Schrodinger?”

Zhao Xiaofei thought, “Are you called Grecia Schrodinger? Or Schrodinger Grecia?”

“My name is Grecia Sykes.”

The female players didn’t believe him.

Li Miaomiao asked the housekeeper, “Is he Schrodinger?”

The middle-aged housekeeper replied, “Meow.”

Grecia looked very innocent. “My ladies, I’m really not Schrodinger.”

Li Miaomiao glanced at the calm Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo and chose to believe them. “You aren’t Schrodinger but in the castle, the five of us and Schrodinger’s cat are the only ones present. Who else is there besides you?” Li Miaomiao sneaked a peek at Zhao Xiaofei before looking away. She felt it was more like for Grecia to be Schrodinger than Zhao Xiaofei. It was because Grecia had a strange temperament that was different from other players. This temperament was strange but he was real.

In simpler terms, she instantly felt that Grecia was different from other players when she first saw him. She didn’t know how he was different but he must be different.

Grecia raised his hand and rhythmically slammed his cane against the ground. He was preparing to refute it again when a voice was heard. “Victor didn’t say that he was Schrodinger.”

Li Miaomiao was stunned.

Grecia smiled and turned to look at Tang Mo.

Tang Mo gazed at Grecia before leaning over and staring at Schrodinger. “Dear Lord Schrodinger, can you tell us how to open the main game of Schrodinger’s hide-and-seek? Or will this game be over if we grab you right now? Then this is the simplest tower attack game I’ve ever experienced.”