Hourglass Project - Chapter 14

The earth stirred restlessly, trembling with a resentment that came from forced change.

In the distance, a tall building collapsed with a thunderous crash!

The hotel was on the verge of falling. Huang Jijun shouted to the others,
“No time! Jump!”

All five of them jumped from the third floor just before the ceiling came crashing down. As they hit the ground, they sprinted toward open space, narrowly dodging falling debris along the way.

City players scattered in panic. Some were crushed under rubble, buried in ruins, while others narrowly escaped death by pure luck!

The earthquake struck suddenly and lasted a full five minutes. The magnitude fluctuated constantly, peaking at level seven!

As they surveyed the city, they saw the destruction was irregular, some buildings were untouched, while others were decimated. The cracks in the ground mirrored this inconsistency.

When the quake ended, the surviving players began emerging from hiding, all equally stunned and suspicious of what had just occurred.

Barely a minute had passed when a slow male voice suddenly echoed in the sky above the city:

“My dear Earth players, my children, it’s been so long! I’ve missed you all dearly.”

“This time, I wanted to give my lovely children a little gift. The gift has already been unwrapped. I know exactly how you feel! surprised, delighted. Of course, this won’t be the only gift. There’ll be another one next time, and every gift will be different. I’m sure you’ll all love them~”

“To be honest, I want to see my children grow stronger for me, your father. So I decided to give you a little challenge this time. Changing your survival environment will help you grow better! so happy, right, my children? No need to thank me. Your happiness is my happiness, and it’ll only get better from here~”

The voice vanished without waiting for a response, completely self-centered.

“What the hell, what a freak!” a player cursed loudly.

“If he’s not a freak, who is?”

It was clear most players disliked the game’s creator. But the creator probably believed his children were just being shy or dishonest.

A true maniac.

This time, even as “children,” the players weren’t even given the right to unwrap the gift themselves.

It seemed they had no choice but to be passive. In the game creator’s eyes, they had no freedom; everything was forced on them.

“Damn it,” said Huang Yuhan, shaking her head. “We need to find a new shelter.” Their hotel had half-collapsed.

“The roads are a mess. No way we’re driving anywhere,” Huang Jijun said after scanning the streets. “We’ll have to walk.”

“Ah—” Lin Yi squatted down with a grimace.

“Hey! Someone’s trapped!” a player shouted from under a ruined building nearby.

“Here too!” another voice echoed.

They looked back at the ruined city and accepted the earthquake’s aftermath.

Under the collapsed buildings, many players hadn’t escaped in time. Fortunately, due to in-game mechanics, even full-body crushes weren’t fatal.

Maybe the game master’s earlier speech had united the players in hatred, because now they all began working together to rescue those trapped in the rubble.

Huang Yuhan flipped a heavy stone to the side, revealing a boy beneath it, his body pinned except for his head. When he saw her, he gave a cheerful “Hey!” She didn’t rush to rescue him, just laughed.

The boy smiled back weakly and called, “Sis.”

“Yo, isn’t this the kid who tried to steal our empty bag last night?” Huang Yuhan crouched down, still laughing. “Gone for a while, and now look at you?”

“Heh, sis, can you pull me out before you scold me?” the boy pleaded. “This position’s kinda awkward…”

She laughed again, glanced around, then reached to move another stone, teasing, “Oh dear, your face is pale, let me cover you with another blanket.”

Terrified, the boy shouted, “Sis! I was wrong! I was wrong!!”

Still laughing, she helped him out, propped him onto a stone, checked his injuries, then stood up and said, “Not bad. Nothing serious, just paralyzed from the waist down.”

The boy grabbed her pant leg, sobbing, “Sis…”

She couldn’t stop laughing. Pulling a small canister from her pocket, she handed it to him and grinned, “From now on, you gotta fend for yourself. Life’s tough when you start young.”

He caught the canister, then limped after her. “Sis, I actually have a really embarrassing thing I wanna tell you…”

“Then don’t tell me.” Huang Yuhan was already walking toward a half-collapsed building, scanning for a good place to climb up.

He followed her. “Come on, sis, you’re supposed to encourage me…”

Suddenly, she leapt upward with ease.

“…Come out!” he froze on the spot.

She brought a woman down from the second floor, gently set her aside to check her injuries, they weren’t serious and should heal quickly, then walked off.

“Sis! Wait for me!”

As the five regrouped, the boy limped after them. They turned to listen.

“Sisters, you see, I’m pretty capable, right?” His eyes sparkled with hope.

Huang Yuhan almost went blind from the brightness. Nodded repeatedly: “Yes, yes, you’re amazing. Beijing’s yours tomorrow.”

The boy blushed shyly, then asked, “Can I… come with you?”

“What?” Lin Yi was surprised. “You want to join us?”

He nodded earnestly, looking at them with pure admiration.
Though he hadn’t seen them fight, he instinctively felt they were strong—each of them gave off a sense of reliability and safety!

Huang Jijun declined with a smile, “Sorry, our team is strictly five members.”

They had never planned to expand.

“Why not?” the boy asked.

Huang Yuhan looked him up and down. “You’re not tall enough.”

At 170 cm, the boy was crushed by the rejection.

Li Moyao, who was draped over Tao Luo, laughed. “Come on, give the kid some confidence~”

The boy lit up.

“When you’re strong enough, we’ll reconsider~” Li Moyao gave him a clear goal.

“Really?” he asked.

Lin Yi glanced at Li Moyao and saw her nod with a smile. “Yup~”

The boy turned back to Huang Yuhan, grinning.

She sighed, “…Good luck.”

They didn’t lie to children, even if the words sounded deceptive.

Before the group left, he asked, “Will you stay in Beijing?”

“Unless something unexpected happens, we’ll stay a month,” Huang Jijun replied with a smile.

He nodded. “Then what’s your team name?”

Huang Jijun just smiled, but Huang Yuhan threw an arm around her and answered, “You want our name, huh?” She tapped her chin, thought for a second, then said firmly,
“Guangdong S Team!”

Not far away, Lin Yi turned her head away in silence.

“From Guangdong?!” the boy was thrilled, then shouted,
“I’m Qi Changche! Remember me, pretty sis!”

“OKOK~” Huang Yuhan had no idea how to spell it, but responded anyway, leaving Huang Jijun amused and exasperated.

They set off for the place where the game master last appeared in Beijing far away, a half-day’s walk.

They quickened their pace and passed through the central square, noticing the flag-raising platform hadn’t been destroyed.

They gazed up at the empty flagpole, filled with determination.

The red flag would rise again.

“There’s someone there,” Lin Yi pointed.

They looked and saw a woman standing near the flagpole, staring at a portrait above the gate.

The woman didn’t acknowledge them, and they didn’t linger.

“Sh1t, a crow…” Huang Yuhan whispered to Huang Jijun.

They froze, staring at a dark figure on a crooked streetlight.

With no cover nearby, they’d be spotted either way.

Based on past encounters, they knew locking eyes with a crow triggered a screech.

Waiting for it to leave wasn’t an option. The five began walking straight ahead, avoiding eye contact.

But just as they stepped forward, they saw the crow glance at them. As they passed under the lamp.

Li Moyao made direct eye contact.

The crow’s beak opened, its neck stretching forward. It was about to screech, but no sound came out.

“Damn, that’s badass,” Huang Yuhan looked back, impressed.

Li Moyao smiled, her gaze locked with the crow’s.

They walked away. When they disappeared, the crow still couldn’t make a sound.

“Yao Yao! Teach me!” Huang Yuhan begged, clinging to her. “Teach me!”

Li Moyao’s hand was pulled from her pocket. Gazing at the setting sun, she smiled,
“Mm~ but you can’t use it too often~”

Overusing it would alert the system. If the system discovered their true identities, things would go south.

“It won’t! It won’t!” Huang Yuhan cheered, hugging her and giving her a quick kiss.

Lin Yi made a face of disgust on the side.

Li Moyao laughed helplessly and asked, “Jun Jun~ how much farther?”

“Turn right up ahead,” Huang Jijun said, checking the map.

They chatted a bit and quickened their pace. But when they turned the corner, they fell silent.

It was an empty lot.

Not surprising, really. The game master wouldn’t leave himself open to attack.

“Tsk…” Huang Yuhan walked onto the lot, turning to ask,
“What tech are they using to hide this?”

“Like they’d tell you, dumbass,” Lin Yi muttered, squatting down to examine the dirt.

Still, they searched every inch of the lot just in case, but found nothing.

Soon, the moon rose high. Darkness covered the Earth.

They found the only usable office building nearby to rest. The path was rough, filled with holes and cracks. Thankfully, their night vision was excellent.

No signs of life inside. They went up to the third floor.

No one there either. They found an office ransacked and messy.

“Sigh… feel bad for clean freaks,” Lin Yi said, placing a piece of paper from the sofa onto the table, then lying down. She opened her arms to Li Moyao.
“Yao Yao, I need you.”

Li Moyao had a natural calming effect. Anyone who slept next to her would fall asleep—like a walking sedative.

Yawning, she glanced around—Double Huang had already fallen asleep, and Tao Luo was sprawled on another couch.

She lay down beside Lin Yi, draping her limbs over her, happily drifting into sleep.

Lin Yi chuckled softly then closed her eyes, and began to fall asleep.

Have a good night.