I wake to discover that I am stranded more than a thousand meters above the ground, standing on the top of a stone pillar that rises through the clouds. I have no memory of how I reached it, no obvious route down, and no idea whether anyone else is nearby. The impossible location turns a simple question—how do I get home?—into a test of observation and survival. As I search the pillar for clues, I begin to suspect that arriving here was not an accident and that the sky around me is hiding an even larger mystery.
Chapter 32: It’s Free, Right?
He remembered that the last time he came here, he had two hours of free time, but this time he only had half an hour—was it because he was no longer a newcomer visiting the island for the first time? Li Teng allocated only 2 points toward today’s extra meal. Of course, he didn’t have many points in his account right now anyway. Running up a tab was too risky; Li Teng wasn’t one to live beyond his means. Last time, he spent 5 points on a bowl of hot dry noodles, a bowl of congee, one steamed bun, three mantou, and a small plate of pickles. The hot dry noodles cost 2 points, the congee 1 point, the steamed bun 1 point, the three mantou 1 point, and the small plate of pickles was free. For every point spent, he received about three strands of pickled radish; last time, Li Teng spent a total of five points, so he received over a dozen strands of pickled radish. After carefully weighing the value for money in terms of how filling the meal was, Li Teng spent two points on six steamed buns and received six strands of pickled radish as a free gift. As for the congee… he might even get a free cup of coffee, so he could skip that. One piece of pickled radish with each steamed bun—it was absolutely perfect. It was simply the ultimate delicacy. After devouring the six steamed buns and six strips of salted radish, Li Teng was still craving more. But he was a man of great self-control, so he forced himself to leave the restaurant and stepped out onto the street. He opened his terminal and checked his account. The points in his account were pitifully few. There were no newbie quests available—it seemed his luck really wasn’t very good. He walked into a clothing store, where all kinds of warm clothes were on sale. Unfortunately, even the cheapest coat cost 20 points. They also sold raincoats and rain pants, but a full set would cost at least a dozen or so points. Oh well, he couldn’t afford it—he’d just have to tough it out. As he passed the bathhouse, Li Teng glanced inside but didn’t go in. There’s no need to take a shower. Who knows—it might rain from the top of the stone pillar again someday. Wouldn’t it be better to just use the rainwater from the sky for a shower then? I seem to be smelling a bit bad right now. But if I stink, it’s not like I can smell it myself. He checked the terminal again. Still, there were no quests to help newcomers available. Li Teng slipped into the wax museum. Going into the wax museum in the middle of the night felt a little creepy. But he had to go in and take a look anyway. Compared to last time, there seemed to be a few more people inside, but Li Teng couldn’t quite remember. Guo Zhipeng wasn’t in this wax museum; this one only housed wax figures of characters who had met their demise in disaster movies. Back on the street outside, Li Teng stopped by a restroom. After leaving the restroom, drawing on his previous experience, Li Teng easily found the sign pointing to the film set—it was pointing in the same direction as last time. Moreover, the actors’ meeting point was the same as last time—outside the door of that same café. When Li Teng arrived at the café, it was only 10:43 a. m. The tables outside the café were empty. Only two expressionless crew members were standing by the café’s entrance. Li Teng rushed over to the coffee machine, holding a cup ready to fill it with coffee. “This won’t cost me any points, right?” Li Teng asked the staff member to make sure he wouldn’t fall into their spending trap. The staff member didn’t say anything, but simply nodded. Only then did Li Teng pour his coffee, carry the cup back to the table, and—to his surprise—discover three plates of snacks waiting there! A plate of french fries, a plate of cookies, and a plate of cashews. “Are these free, too?” Li Teng hurriedly asked the staff member again. The staff member nodded again. “Damn it! Last time I must’ve arrived too late—all I got was coffee, and those jerks had already polished off all the snacks! Looks like I’ll have to rush over as soon as possible every time I come to the set from now on.” Muttering to himself, Li Teng reached out and grabbed the entire plate of French fries, devouring them in a flash. Next came the plate of cookies. Perhaps because Li Teng was shoveling them into his mouth too quickly, or because the cookies were rather dry, or maybe because he hadn’t had a single sip of water since arriving at the film studio—he choked before he knew it. A large number of cookies got stuck in his throat; without the lubrication of water, he couldn’t cough them up or swallow them down. Li Teng wanted to take a sip of coffee to moisten his throat, but the coffee was scalding hot—he couldn’t bring himself to drink it. Damn it! He didn’t die on the stone pillar, he didn’t die while acting—is he really going to choke to death? “Help!” With no other choice, Li Teng opened his mouth wide, pointed at his throat, and called out to the staff near the café for help. Realizing the urgency of the situation, the staff member hurried inside the café to find some cold water for Li Teng. Just then, Li Teng heard footsteps nearby. He turned around and saw the man with glasses walking over from across the street. Perhaps because his vision was better with his glasses, the man spotted the three plates on the table before he even reached it—including a plate of untouched cashews—and immediately quickened his pace. In the blink of an eye, Li Teng—not caring about the risk of choking to death—dashed over. Before the man in glasses could get close, he grabbed the plate of cashews, dumped the entire contents into his pocket, and then set the plate back on the table. “Tsk, tsk, tsk… What kind of person is this?” Realizing he was a step too late—with only three empty plates left on the table—the man in glasses glared at Li Teng in utter frustration. Li Teng didn’t even glance at him; he dashed back to the café entrance just as a staff member was walking out carrying a glass of cold water. Li Teng quickly snatched the glass and took a big gulp, finally swallowing the cookie that had been stuck in his throat. “This water’s free, right?” Li Teng remembered something and asked the staff member to confirm. The staff member nodded and stood by the door, expressionless. Li Teng grabbed an empty cup and returned to the table, pouring the coffee back and forth between the two cups to cool it down. “Those snacks on the plate are meant for everyone, right? How can you just hog them all to yourself? Take out what’s in your pocket and give me half—then I won’t tell anyone about this,” the man with glasses reminded Li Teng. The last time the man in glasses had come over, there hadn’t been any snacks on the table, so he hadn’t expected any this time either. As a result, he watched helplessly as Li Teng stashed the last plate of cashews into his pocket right in front of him. Li Teng reached into his pocket and grabbed half the cashews, holding them in his hand. The guy with glasses reached out his hand. Instead of handing the cashews to the guy with glasses, Li Teng shoved them all into his mouth at once, then chewed them up and swallowed them right in front of him. “What kind of manners are these… Tsk, tsk… What am I supposed to say?” The man with glasses swallowed hard, shook his head, and got up to pour some coffee. When he returned to the table, the man in glasses looked at the three empty plates in front of him and still felt a bit annoyed. So he picked up the empty plates and walked over to the staff, telling them that Li Teng had single-handedly polished off three plates of snacks, and asked if they could bring a few more. The staff member shook his head and refused the man’s request. It seemed that, unlike coffee, snacks weren’t available for free refills. The guy with glasses returned to the table dejected, glaring at Li Teng with extreme annoyance. Li Teng glared back at the man in glasses, then popped the cashews into his mouth one by one. Just then, footsteps sounded in the distance. As if reinforcements had arrived, the man in glasses quickly turned his head, intending to complain to the newcomer about Li Teng’s recent misdeeds. But when he saw that it was Gao Fei, his spirits sank completely. “Good morning, bro!” Gao Fei spotted Li Teng, walked over quickly, greeted him, and then sat down next to him. “I was a step too late—he’d already polished off all three bags of snacks. I only managed to snag a few cashews; let’s split them, buddy.” Li Teng pulled out the last few cashews and handed them to Gao Fei.
