The Earth is Online

The sky was getting darker. By 4:30 in the afternoon, the sun was tilting westward. A shining white pentagram appeared in the western sky, blending in with the sunset. Tang Mo stood upstairs and stared closely at the strange pentagram. Downstairs, several members of the Nanjing Group had assembled.

“That is the signal from Captain Xiao’s team.” Fu Wensheng spoke with horror. Tang Mo turned to look. It was unknown when the boy had ran out. Fu Wensheng explained, “Previously, there was a player in Nanjing who exchanged a prop for intelligence from the Nanjing Group. His prop is that flare. There are a total of four, two of which were given to Captain Xiao so they can contact the Nanjing Group in a hurry. It is the first time that Captain Xiao has used the flare since he got it a month ago… surely he didn’t have an accident?”

Fu Wenduo’s voice was calm. “He had time to send the flare, indicating that it is something that can be delayed and isn’t immediately fatal. In addition, this is Nanjing.”

Fu Wensheng nodded with reassurance after hearing his older cousin say this.

Then Fu Wensheng went downstairs to join his teammates. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo followed behind him. They didn’t completely walk over, standing at a distance while looking at the more than 10 Nanjing Group members. There were a total of 43 members in the Nanjing Group, 26 of which were outside to participate in the instances. The 17 people in front of them were all members of the Nanjing Group.

Chai Rong said, “Xiao Jitong sent a signal so he is certainly calling us about something. I will take a few people while you stay here.” He ordered 10 players to stay where they were while the other six went with him to find Xiao Jitong.

The young woman standing next to Chai Rong thought for a moment before calmly saying, “Captain Xiao can send a signal with the flare. This means it has nothing to do with a black tower game and he has encountered something else. It is most likely stowaways. You protect the base while I will go with the captain. We will send something to report back regardless of the situation. Assuming no one comes back, run away quickly.”

Fu Wensheng was one of the 10 people left behind. His mouth opened and closed as he listened to what they were saying.

He asked in a strange manner, “We should run?”

The woman nodded. “Stowaways that even the captain can’t cope with… it is more realistic for you to run away.”

The Nanjing Group determined their next course of action very quickly. Within a minute, Chai Rong and the players prepared to set out in the direction of the flare. The rest of the players weren’t idle. They started to tidy up the useful props in the organization in case there was a strong enemy and they had to run away.

Fu Wensheng came back and looked at Fu Wenduo.”There may be an incident. Two months ago, a group of stowaways attacked the base. At that time, we lost more than a dozen members just repelling the stowaways. Big Brother, Tang…” Fu Wensheng stopped speaking because he didn’t know what to call Tang Mo. Finally, he blinked and gave up on a name. “I intend to avoid any attention. If Captain Xiao feels that it is very tricky then it must be troublesome. This is a matter for the Nanjing Group. I will avoid it…”

The implication was that Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo didn’t belong to the Nanjing Group so they could leave now.

Fu Wensheng said this but his eyes were staring at Fu Wenduo. He looked seriously at his cousin with no doubts in his eyes. Fu Wenduo always bullied Fu Wensheng so that Fu Wensheng was overwhelmed by the name when he grew up. However, Fu Wenduo wasn’t a person who ran away. His older cousin was very reliable and responsible. It was impossible or him to leave Fu Wensheng alone, even if Fu Wenduo was unrelated to the Nanjing Group.

Then Fu Wensheng heard a male voice say, “I am going to see.”

Fu Wenduo and Fu Wensheng turned their heads to look at Tang Mo. Tang Mo explained calmly, “We’ve had previous contact with Captain Xiao. The big turkey game could be considered a critical one but he wasn’t too nervous from beginning to end. He is a very calm person and wouldn’t release a signal flare for nothing.” Tang Mo looked at Fu Wensheng. “You just said that this is the first time is has been used since he got the prop a month ago?”

Fu Wensheng was surprised for a moment before nodding. “Yes, this is the first time for Captain Xiao.”

“Then it will be interesting. As your captain said, the fact that he can release the flare means he isn’t in an instance right now. The tricky situation isn’t related to the black tower game. I don’t think he released the flare because of a stowaway.”

Fu Wensheng frowned. “Perhaps you don’t know that Captain Xiao’s ability is very practical but his force isn’t very high. If he really encounters a serious stowaway, he will manage to find a critical moment to send the flare and call us.”

Fu Wenduo answered instead of Tang Mo. “With his discretion, his ability isn’t offensive but he will had a strong self-preservation capability and will never act alone.”

Fu Wensheng realized. “Yes, Captain Xiao would certainly be with Sister Ningning. Sister Ningning is very strong. Only Captain is stronger than her.”

“Then why can’t he have Ningning run away to act as messenger?

Fu Wensheng had a thought, “Perhaps it is because even Sister Ningning can’t run away?”

Tang Mo laughed. “Then he wouldn’t have time to send the signal flare. A enemy that Ningning couldn’t escape from, their strength must be beyond imagination. Instead, it might be more useful to pull the Nanjing Group to Xiao Jitong’s location instead of going to their base. If Xiao Jitong met a strong stowaway, he would choose to buy time to let Ningning escape and report. The Nanjing Group and Strategy Group will join hands to make a good plan before acting. He wouldn’t do such a rash thing without planning.”

Fu Wensheng thought about Tang Mo’s words and didn’t refute them anymore. Tang Mo was right.

Then Tang Mo said, “I will go and see what happened.”

Under the gradually setting sun, Fu Wensheng understood the facts behind the matter. He looked up and saw Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo striding out of the Nanjing Group’s base, heading in the direction of the pentagram. He hastened to follow them. “Big brothers, take me along. I also want to see what happened.”

Fu Wenduo stopped and looked down at Fu Wensheng. Fu Wensheng looked at the tall person who continued walking forward seriously. Fu Wenduo looked at the ground for a moment before his lips curved. Finally, the three of them headed to the place where the flare was fired.

There was something Tang Mo didn’t say but Fu Wenduo understood his meaning.

It was only just that the person who sent the flare was Xiao Jitong, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo wouldn’t go over to check. Their curiosity wasn’t that big. The real reason was…

Tang Mo raised his head and looked at the black tower suspended in the sky.

“Too close…” Tang Mo whispered.

Fu Wensheng didn’t heard it clearly and asked, “What did you say?”

Tang Mo shook his head. “It is nothing.”

Fu Wensheng and Tang Mo weren’t very familiar with each other. His expression of Tang Mo was still stuck at ‘the powerful player who unexpected defeated the psychopath. He is powerful and unfathomable.’ Fu Wensheng didn’t ask again.

Fu Wenduo listened to the words and followed Tang Mo’s eyes to the black tower.

Xiao Jitong had fired the flare too close to the black tower.

The dazzling pentagram was sandwiched between the red sunset and the giant black tower. There was the sunset on its left and the black tower on its right. This position was very subtle, making people think that Xiao Jitong’s urgent matter might not be related to the black tower.

It was best if there was no relationship.

Tang Mo secretly thought in his heart.

The Nanjing Group’s base was a short distance from Xinjiekou. After half an hour, the three people successfully arrived under the black tower. Chair Rong was surprised when he saw Fu Wensheng and immediately approached. “Xiao Sheng, why are you here?”

Fu Wensheng replied righteously. “I followed my brother.”

Fu Wenduo raised an eyebrow at Fu Wensheng. Fu Wensheng subconsciously shrank back but he soon puffed up his chest again.

Chai Rong, “…”

“It is different having a brother.” Chai Rong muttered but he couldn’t scold Fu Wensheng in front of Fu Wenduo.

The centre of Xinjiekou Square contained a tall statue of Sun Yat-sen. Above the statue, a dark tower-shaped object floated 100 metres in the sky. Xiao Jitong and Ningning saw Tang mO and Fu Wenduo from where they were standing under the black tower. Ningning held the silver bow in her arms while Xiao Jitong looked surprised for a moment before laughing. “Mr. Tang, Mr. Fu.”

Tang Mo walked over and directly asked, “What’s the matter? Is it something to do with the black tower?”

Xiao Jitong didn’t wonder how he knew that it was black tower related. He took Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo separately. They stood on the road and looked up at the tower. The bright sun shone on the black tower and all light was absorbed into the tower. Tang Mo carefully observed the black tower. He watched for a long time and was ready to ask a question when his eyes suddenly widened.

The next moment, Tang Mo was shocked. “What is that?!”

Xiao Jitong nodded with a smile. “Yes, that’s it.”

They saw that three white light spots had appeared on the black tower. The three points were too small to be seen without specifically looking for abnormalities. The black tower was 100 metres high and the three small points were just the size of a human fingernail. If Tang Mo’s vision hadn’t improved, he would never be able to see these three flashing lights.

It was like the half ellipses on a computer. From left to right, these small white lights lit up in sequence. They all lit up and then darkened. Then it lit up from the leftmost side and repeated.

Tang Mo observed for a moment before looking at Xiao Jitong with a dignified expression. “What is that?” There was no surprise in his solemn tone.

The smile on Xiao Jitong’s face gradually subsided. “I don’t know.”

What were the three spots that constantly lit up on the black tower? Nobody knew. However, this was more important than the stowaways.

Three months ago, the black tower announced that it would update to the 2.0 version. Since then. there were more reality and assembly instances. Every player must also attack the tower within three months. Now the black tower was once again abnormal.

Tang Mo immediately thought, “Is it only Nanjing’s black tower or all black towers in the world?” Before Tang Mo came to Shanghai, he carefully observed the black tower in Shanghai and didn’t find such a strange phenomenon. There was a 90% probability that it wasn’t present and a 10% probability that he just hadn’t found it.

Chai Rong said, “I sent people to Zhenjiang to check the situation there since Xiao Jitong also had this question.”

Everything that could be done was already being done. Everyone stood in the same place and quietly looked at the three lights constantly flashing on the black tower.

“How did you find it?” A low voice was suddenly heard.

Xiao Jitong turned to look at the person. He saw it was Fu Wenduo and smiled after a moment. “It is a coincidence.”

“It’s because of me.”

Everyone turned to look at Ningning.

Ningning had been silently standing to the side throughout the discussion. She hugged herself and spoke coldly, “Every time I survive a black tower game, I will come here to look at the black tower. Captain Xiao came with me. This time, the instance we cleared was very close to here so I didn’t return to the base and came here directly. I looked at it very carefully and saw these three lights.”

“When was the last time you came to see the black tower?” Tang Mo suddenly asked.

Ningning was a bit stunned. “Around 10 days ago. Once we cleared the big turkey game, I came here to look at it around noon.”

“When you came to see it 10 days ago, you didn’t see the three points?”

“No.”

Tang Mo asked, “Are you sure you weren’t mistaken?”

Ningning was certain. “I didn’t see wrongly. I will always sit here for an hour before leaving.”

Tang Mo noticed something wrong and looked at Xiao Jitong. Xiao Jitong shook his head with a smile and Tang Mo didn’t ask anymore.

Everyone had their own hobby. Just like Tang Mo liked to hit the stone monument below the black tower when he was angry with it, Ningning liked to sit here and watch the black tower.

Things suddenly fell into a deadlock.

“We don’t know when these three points first appeared or if it is only in Nanjing.” Xiao Jitong stated. “However, there is no doubt that these points are unusual. Chai Rong, station people around this area and don’t let other’s enter for the moment.”

Chai Rong nodded.

Tang Mo said, “These three points hadn’t appeared 10 days ago. It means that on February 23rd, the three light points…”

The sun slowly set and the sky darkened. Once the sun sank to the horizon, the three small flashes of light gradually became clearer. It was still hard to find but it wasn’t completely invisible.

Tang Mo exclaimed, “Look for people! We might be able to determine when these three points appeared.”

Chai Rong was shocked, “Look for people?”

Xiao Jitong understood Tang Mo’s meaning. “Yes, look for people! These three light points are hard to spot during the day but it becomes easier to see them at night. Chai Rong, go and find someone. Find players who live near here. Nanjing is different from other cities and the lives of players are relatively stable. There must be players living in the same place without changing. We can ask them if they saw these three points and when they saw them. This way, we can know when these lights specifically appeared.”

Without further ado, Chai Rong hurriedly arranged the members of the Nanjing Group to find players living near the black tower.

As Xiao Jitong said, this method wasn’t feasible in other cities. Right now, the world’s players were frightened and they only moved to find food and water. Nanjing was different.

Players generally liked to gather around the bases of large organizations because there was more security. An example was that many reserves stayed at the large shopping mall where Attack was based. Nanjing was a city that was too stable. Players didn’t need to find a large organization to rely on and could directly find a place to settle.

The Nanjing Group was very famous in Nanjing. After half an hour, they found more than 20 players living in the vicinity of the black tower.

Xiao Jitong explained things in a simple manner and they shook their heads, saying that they never see the three flashing lights. They didn’t look that carefully.

10 minutes later, Ningning brought back a 14 year old girl. The girl was very short and she was afraid and curious when she saw the Nanjing Group members. Once Ningning told her the identities of Chai Rong and Xiao Jitong, her eyes brightened and she said, “…Are you Captain Chai and Captain Xiao? I saw it!”

Xiao Jitong asked, “When did you see it?”

The middle school student remembered. “Nine days ago, just before I entered the No. 279 instance. The night before I entered the instance, I was looking at the black tower and saw a bright spot. It flashed on the black tower but I’m not sure if it was three dots… I live in a community building a bit far away.”

The hope that filled the crowd burst.

Xiao Jitong pulled the girl aside and carefully asked what she saw in detail. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo moved away from the black tower. The three points were near the top of the black tower so Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo found the highest office building nearby and headed to the rooftop, standing in a closer position to observe the black tower.

Tang Mo had seen a total of three black towers.

They were the black towers in Suzhou, Shanghai and Nanjing. Every black tower looked the same from the outside.

Tang Mo got a strange feeling in his heart as he looked at the black tower. It was like he had returned to four months ago. In the six months before the earth went online, he sat at the window of the library countless times and would watch the black tower after finishing his work. At that time, the black tower was still a phantom that was unable to be touched.

Now it weighed heavily on the earth and three tiny spots of light were constantly flashing at the spire.

Tang Mo set his mind and said, “There is a 70% possibility that the girl didn’t read wrong. She is an ordinary reserve and would be thinking about how to live, not looking at the black tower. But she is the only one who said she saw the lights on the black tower. Ningning didn’t see it in the afternoon 10 days ago. The little girl looked at the tower at night 10 days ago and saw these three points.” Tang Mo uttered a date. “February 23rd.”

Tang Mo frowned as he pondered what was so special about this day. At this time, Fu Wenduo whispered, “The earth was online for 100 days.”

Tang Mo was stunned and turned to look at Fu Wenduo.

Fu Wenduo responded lightly, “On November 15th, the earth went online.” February 23rd is exactly 100 days.”

Tang Mo was enlightened.

Yes, February 23rd. This was 100 days after the black tower announced that the earth was online. He was sure that if there was something special about that day, this should be it. However…

“Is there a special game for the 100 days?” Tang Mo looked at Fu Wenduo. “On Christmas, there was a special instance. But the black tower didn’t show any reaction to the new year or the spring festival. Assuming that the three light points are really related to 100 days since the earth went online, 10 days have passed. 10 days… why is it 10 days?” 10 days passed without the black tower reacting.

Fu Wenduo looked down at Tang Mo.

Tang Mo looked back at him, wanting to hear the answer. After a long time, Fu Wenduo just smiled and didn’t reply.

Tang Mo asked, “…Fu Wenduo?”

“I don’t know.”

Tang Mo, “…”

He felt like a teacher eagerly staring at his student in class, waiting for the student to give an answer. He didn’t expect the student to say bluntly, “I don’t know.” Fu Wenduo spoke like there was no problem but Tang Mo just felt strange. He had been with this person for a long time and always felt that this person knew everything. On most issues, Fu Wenduo was able to give an alternative answer.

Tang Mo’s way of thinking was generally more neat, orderly and based on logic. Fu Wenduo was different. He could always think of unexpected things. This type of open-minded thinking was extremely aggressive, sharp and impactful. Therefore, he and Fu Wenduo had a tacit understanding. The two of them could complement each other, taking into account what the other person couldn’t think of.

It was like him and Victor. When playing bridge, the two people had different styles. Tang Mo was more orthodox while Victor was more treacherous. The two people cooperating made up for every shortcoming.

Tang Mo remembered the name and his heart was slightly moved.

“Tang Mo?”

His name was suddenly called out, causing Tang Mo to shake his head and put aside the strange feeling. He said, “Perhaps Xiao Jitong already thought about the connection between February 23rd and the earth being online 100 days. Let’s go and exchange information with him. We can discuss what these three points are…” What happened?

His voice abruptly stopped.

It was because Fu Wenduo reached out from behind and grabbed Tang Mo’s face. Tang Mo was stunned when hot palms touched his face and his breathing stopped. At this moment, he felt Fu Wenduo let go. It was as if he was giving way.

Tang Mo’s spirit returned. “What’s the matter?”

Fu Wenduo’s eyes were staring behind Fu Wenduo. Tang Mo noticed something was wrong. He wanted to turn around and look at the situation but Fu Wenduo’s hand was already on his shoulder. One hand touched Tang Mo’s right side face and the other was on his shoulder, his two hands forcing Tang Mo’s body to turn.

“It stopped.”

The sky was dark and cold wind blew from the distance over the roof. Fu Wenduo’s voice was heard in Tang Mo’s ears, causing his heart to thump. Tang Mo immediately looked in the direction that Fu Wenduo placed his body and was stunned when he saw it closely.

“…It stopped?”

Below the black tower, Ningning stood up and said coldly, “It stopped.”

Xiao Jitong had been asking the middle school student questions. He heard this and quickly looked at Ningning. Then he ran to the square at the fastest speed, looking up at the three white spots. He saw that at the top of the black tower, the three white spots were no longer flashing.

The white dots were fixed on the black tower, no longer beating.

Tang Mo’s heart filled with a sense of danger as his eyes swept across to the distant bell tower. On the clock, the hour hand was at the ‘6’ position and the minute hand was almost at ‘12’.

It was 17:59.

“Hurry and leave Nanjing!” Tang Mo shouted. There was an inexplicable outpouring of thoughts in his mind and he didn’t know why he suddenly thought this. He just felt that his judgment was right. This was Chen Shanshan’s super-intellectual thinking ability. Every time he judged one thing, there was a 10% probability of being right.

Fu Wenduo released his hands and intended to ask the reason. However, he saw Tang Mo’s solemn look and didn’t ask.

“Okay.”

Tang Mo immediately turned to run downstairs but Fu Wenduo pulled his hand. “Let’s go directly.”

Tang Mo looked at him in dismay. Fu Wenduo soon grabbed his waist, almost carrying him by the shoulder. Before Tang Mo could react, Fu Wenduo jumped off the building away from the black tower.

Tang Mo was stunned by this action of jumping through the air. By the time he recovered and was preparing to break away, a child’s voice filled the sky of Nanjing. At the same time, this voice was also heard over the land of China. The boy hummed a familiar melody. He didn’t sing the lyrics but Tang Mo knew what it was. “The Painter?”

It was the melody of the Painter.

Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo landed on the roof of a building not far away, staring at the giant black tower. He saw that lights were constantly flashing on the black tower, like small stars. The lights weren’t very dazzling but they made people feel strange, especially when combing with the boy’s singing. The cold breeze blows, and Tang Mo clenched his fingers.

After the Painter finished, the white lights stopped.

“Ding dong! On March 5th, 2019, China’s District 10 has opened the extra instance ‘the last person’s garbage cleaning game.’

“The rules of the game—”

“First, from 18:00 on March 5th to 6:00 on March 6th, 2018, all players who set foot into China District 6, China District 49, China District 194… China District 1002 are considered to be players in the game and will participate in the game.”

“Second, the game time is 18 o’clock to 6 o’clock the next day. The game locations are the above 10 districts.”

“Third, a number of rabbit heads will appear every hour. Kill a rabbit head and get a badge.”

“Fourth, there are 11 garbage disposal stations in China District 6, 5 garbage disposal stations in China District 49… 6 garbage disposal stations in China District 1002.”

“Five, put your surprise into the garbage disposal station and you can clear the game.”

“Sixth, each player can only enter the garbage disposal station once.”

“Seventh, players who clear the game can rest. For the next six months, they only need to attack the tower once.”

“The losers will immediately enter the tower attack game and the difficult is set on hard mode.”

“Ninth, announcing the list of 10 districts. China District 6, China District 49, China District… China District 1002.”

“Ding dong! Forgive the black tower. I’m not targeting anyone. I mean, everyone in the above 10 districts are garbage.”