Hourglass Project - Chapter 10

Due to the excessive number of players and associated risks, the group of five gave up the stylish sword-flying and returned to driving on land, significantly lowering their profile.

They didn’t stay long in the city and hit the road again, but constant traffic jams on the highway meant they only managed less than 20 kilometers in an hour.

“Ugh… who knows when we’ll finally get there,” Lin Yi sighed while driving, her voice full of sorrow.

“As long as that person doesn’t leave Beijing, we’re in no rush~” Huang Yuhan remained relatively carefree.

As if descending from the heavens, a crow landed on the back of a BMW, its black crystal eyes fixated on them as they approached.

The two in the front seats noticed it from a distance, and immediately had a bad feeling.

The crow tilted its head and blinked, then opened its sharp beak wide—

“Caw——!”

“Sh*t!!”

SCREECH!

The car screeched to a halt! After stopping, it heaved like it was gasping for breath.

There was no one inside anymore. Only a backpack remained on the right side of the back seat.

The creature on the BMW was also gone.

Three seconds after appearing, the system message rang in their ears:

“Welcome, players, to the micro-space field titled ‘Snatch the Ring.’ Number of players: 20. Time limit: 3 days.”

After a minute for the players to process, the voice continued:

“Inside the Bodu Museum is a highly valuable exhibit called ‘Ring I.’ Its function is to revive life. Though it only restores 25% HP, this is enough to tempt others. Because of that, the museum is under tight security, with three highly capable individuals hired to protect it. They’ve already caught numerous thieves. Luckily, an order was issued this morning—Ring I will be transported to the main city, ‘Willy,’ in three days, so those damned thieves won’t be able to steal it anymore.”

“This micro-space field uses a reward system.”

That last sentence was the real key.

Even though the introduction of Ring I was enticing and established its importance, it was unlikely to be the actual reward, more probably, a lower-tier version.

Yet even that lower-tier reward might be equivalent to Ring I in their current situation.

As long as the reward helped them survive, that was enough.

Like a scene from a storybook, the group of five sat or stood in the shadows between buildings in a small town, deep in thought.

They were already short on time, and their goal was to reach Beijing. This unexpected incident would make even the most patient person feel frustrated and speechless.

Huang Yuhan stared into space, zoned out. After a while, she fiddled with her hair and decisively said, “F*ck it, let’s find the Bodu Museum.”

She was good at adapting, now that they were on the mission, she accepted it.

Lin Yi looked at her and suddenly said, “Looks like you can say something useful.”

Huang Yuhan whipped her head around, glaring. “What kind of bullsh*t is that?! Let’s go!”

She strode off first. The others saw her heading for the main road, which was full of plainly dressed civilians [NPCs], while they themselves were dressed conspicuously, eye-catching and clearly different. Anyone with half a brain would figure out they were players.

Worse—thieves.

So Lin Yi went over and yanked her back, pushing her to the deepest part of the alley. “What’s your rush? At least think about our current situation.”

The girls in the shadows didn’t say anything.

Huang Jijun suggested, “Let’s blend in with the crowd outside first, and disguise ourselves. It might waste some time, but being discovered by players would waste even more.”

That last line from the system was not just key, but a dividing line. Players would now see each other as competitors, not allies. Rewards weren’t shared. Unless you knew someone personally, cooperation was unlikely. Even if they did work together, they’d probably scheme against each other. Eliminating another player meant gaining an advantage. Acting openly was foolish, no one would walk straight into a bullet.

Working in the shadows was the safest route. Hide your plans and movements in the dark, and you won’t be noticed.

They all agreed on disguising themselves and headed off to change before seeking out the Bodu Museum.

Huang Yuhan watched Huang Jijun and Li Moyao subtly questioning NPCs in the distance while she stood at a fruit shop, pretending to shop, picking up one fruit after another. The shopkeeper eyed her suspiciously but didn’t say anything since a real customer arrived.

The two finished and headed toward their hiding spot. Huang Yuhan, seeing them go, bit into an apple and walked off.

At the entrance of the Bodu Museum, security staff were inspecting each person entering to view the exhibits. Anyone who failed the check was detained for further inspection.

There were also many guards patrolling the area.

Lin Yi and Huang Yuhan turned to look at Li Moyao.

“Yaoyao, you’re up!”

Huang Jijun chuckled softly. These two are really something.

Tao Luo glanced over. Li Moyao was slumped lazily against the wall. She stood up with a sigh, smiling faintly.

“Alright~”

The other four watched her go. Huang Yuhan and Lin Yi looked particularly solemn, like they were sending someone off to war.

Li Moyao used a Boundary Art technique: transformation. She’d used it before to infiltrate the game’s internal systems.

The transformation technique allowed Boundary Arts Practitioners to alter their appearance. They often ran into trouble while traveling, and this ability was excellent for confusing enemies.

Li Moyao disguised herself as an inconspicuous civilian and relied on her acting skills to sell the image.

At the museum gate, a staff member briefly glanced at her nondescript face, gave her a cursory pat-down, and let her in.

Once inside, she began scanning the area, noting numerous security staff. She took the closest route and began examining the exhibits, starting on the left.

Her first stop was a teapot, exquisitely crafted and beautiful. The kind you wouldn’t even want to use.

Hands in pockets, she strolled along the left aisle, blending in with the other visitors, looking like she had no interest in finding Ring I.

After nearly circling the whole place, she stopped in front of a glass display case.

Inside was a silver-like ring, flat-bodied, about 9cm in diameter and 1cm wide. It had no visible clasp or seam, smooth and unadorned.

It was most likely Ring I.

‘But… if there’s no seam, how do you ring it?’

‘Maybe it has a will of its own.’

She stood in front of the glass for a minute before leaving, not drawing any suspicion.

After walking a few steps, she noticed two men approaching, clearly aiming for Ring I. She glanced at their expressions.

One of them made eye contact with her but quickly looked away. They stopped right in front of the display.

The other man [who hadn’t noticed her] seemed anxious?

Li Moyao exited the museum and headed toward their meeting point. As she turned into the alley, she found the others chatting.

Seeing her return, Huang Yuhan asked, “How’d it go?”

Li Moyao grinned. “Not much to say~”

Huang Yuhan snorted.

Li Moyao recounted what had happened, and the five decided to monitor the situation nearby that evening.

Night fell, the moon rose.

“Those must be the museum’s hired security?”

“Looks like it.”

Huang Yuhan and Lin Yi whispered while watching someone outside the museum who stood out from the regular guards.

The five were all hidden in the shadows, practically blending into the night.

So far, no player has made a move.

Though it was unlikely anyone would strike on the first night.

The night was quiet—

“Ugh…” Huang Yuhan groaned, stretching and massaging her sore back. “Sleeping while sitting ruins your spine.”

Lin Yi pinched her waist playfully, and Huang Yuhan immediately yelped, making Lin Yi laugh uncontrollably.

Huang Yuhan turned around, eyes narrowed, and lunged at her.

The other three ignored their antics and watched the museum. It was 7 AM now, the museum not yet open, but the outside was already heavily guarded. One particularly strong-looking man stood among them—probably one of the museum’s special hires.

Tao Luo peered through a window for about thirty seconds and said, “Someone’s infiltrated.”

Huang Jijun focused her gaze.

Indeed, a player had snuck in, but was discovered and attacked. The player smashed through the window near the group’s position and jumped out.

His face was covered with fabric, and he had a few minor injuries.

The moment he landed, the surrounding guards swarmed in to catch him, but he reacted quickly and fled—getting hurt again as he ran.

The guards eventually gave up the chase and returned, cursing the thief all the while.

The five saw everything and felt lucky they’d picked a good spot.

Huang Yuhan leaned back against the wall, about to speak when a shadow flickered past her peripheral vision. She snapped her head to look and checked around the base of the wall. Returning, she asked, “Were we discovered?”

Huang Jijun thought for a moment, then nodded. “Maybe. That guy probably spotted the player trying to steal the clasp and came to investigate.”

“Should we move?”

But all the good hiding spots nearby were taken by other players. If they didn’t move, others might come to investigate.

Huang Jijun paused, then said, “We need to split up and hide separately.”

﹉

“It’s a thief!”

“Catch him!”

That man was discovered again. Still hadn’t gotten the clasp, and was now being chased by a bunch of NPCs and guards.

“There’s another one!”

“A thief!”

Another player had tried to sneak in while attention was on the first, but got caught by alert guards and NPCs.

Both groups were now being chased. It was honestly a funny sight.

Now, a few guards were stationed next to Ring I, ready for a second thief attempt.

No more players tried after that—at least the rest were smarter.

The “Double Yellows” (Huang Yuhan & Huang Jijun) stood under an umbrella watching. Just as they turned to leave, they froze.

A man in front of them smiled.

Huang Yuhan smiled back, raising her brows. “What’s up?”

The man, also a player, smiled and asked, “Want to team up?”

He knew they were players.

That was within expectations. Huang Jijun blinked and smiled. “How do we know you’re competent?”

He countered, “And how do I know you’re competent?”

That question revealed his intent, he wanted to use them.

“You want to use us as bait,” Huang Jijun said bluntly.

“You could also use me as bait,” he replied with a smirk, the malice in his eyes now clear.

What the hell, Huang Yuhan thought, then asked, “So what exactly do you want?”

“Cooperate,” he looked at her. Seeing her unimpressed, he added more seriously, “Work together to eliminate the other players.”

“Why us?” Huang Jijun raised a brow, smiling.

They hadn’t taken action yet.

He tapped his temple and said, “Intuition. And I trust you.”

Huang Yuhan looked down, stifled a laugh, then looked up again. “Still the same question: How do you know we’d want to take out the others? What if we’re not interested?”

Hearing that, the man dropped his smile. After a moment, he looked up again, eyes sharp, voice calm.

“Then it means you’re very strong.”

Stronger than he expected.

To not even consider eliminating the competition meant they were confident they could still get Ring I—despite everyone else fighting over it. How powerful would you have to be to think like that?

But the Hourglass Plan had only started a week ago…

‘Unless they weren’t an ordinary players from the beginning.’

That would explain his gut feeling about them.

One was calm. One was playful. But both hid their strength.

Looking at them, he asked again:

“Last offer, do you want to team up?”