Hourglass Project - Chapter 9

Tao Luo opened her eyes. After regaining her strength, she propped herself up from the bed and slowly sat up, spotting a child curled up asleep on the cloud chair in front of her.

She turned to look at the other three, they were still asleep.

She got off the cloud bed and walked toward the door glowing red. Outside, she heard faint voices to the left.

She couldn’t understand them, probably Boundary Arts language.

She looked over and froze at the sight.

Two figures stood in the mist not far away, one facing forward, the other with their back to her. The one with their back to her was about the same height as He Kun, dressed in the same ancient-style clothes, with broader shoulders than before and long hair tied into a crown.

It was Li Moyao.

He Kun noticed her first, said something to Li Moyao, then walked over. The one with their back turned finally turned around, their face was even more stunning than the younger version, full of heroic spirit and now more mature. The only thing unchanged was that lazy smile.

“Still feeling unwell?” He Kun asked as he approached.

“No.” Tao Luo shook her head and saw him go inside.

Li Moyao walked over and smiled. “So quick~”

Seeing her approaching, Tao Luo slowly looked up. When she stopped, Tao Luo realized there was a 15 cm height difference!

“Is this your real form?” she asked.

Li Moyao smiled with this face, a touch of handsomeness added to her lazy demeanor. “Mhm~ What do you think?”

Tao Luo was silent for a moment, then said, “Even more…”

Those peach blossom eyes narrowed with a smile.

“…handsome.”

Tao Luo gave her exactly what she wanted.

Li Moyao burst into laughter, hugged her, and rubbed her hair. “Luo-Bao, you’re so cute~~~”

“……”

Among the five, only Tao Luo and Huang Jijun were relatively restrained. The others often had these “episodes.” Everyone was used to it.

﹉

“Damn, I still feel terrible…” Lin Yi scratched her head, eyebrows tightly furrowed.

After transferring her spatial pouch, Li Moyao patted her and laughed. “You’ll be fine soon~”

Feeling something odd in her right hand, Lin Yi fidgeted and stared at Li Moyao’s real face. “So you really are Yaoyao.”

At first, she hadn’t quite believed it.

Li Moyao grinned, lay down on her cloud bed, and yawned. “Don’t wave that hand around~ You might fire a cannon~”

Lin Yi laughed and gave her a slap on the butt.

Huang Yuhan, sitting on the bed nearby, had been in deep thought for five minutes. She suddenly exclaimed, “Ah—I’m dual-gender, G-type…”

Everyone in the group turned out to be dual-gender G-type.

Hearing that, Lin Yi remembered and immediately tackled Li Moyao. “Right! I’m going to screw you!!”

The scene of 196 cm-tall Li Moyao getting pinned by her was truly hilarious, they both burst into laughter.

Compared to those three, Tao Luo and Huang Jijun were much more composed, studying the watches Li Moyao had given them.

“That was made by Yaoyao,” Sheng Wenyu explained, “no idea what materials she used.”

The watches were custom-made by Li Moyao herself, identical in appearance and function to the one she wore.

There were two modes of use: button-operated and touch screen.

Buttons activated standard functions, while touch screens projected a floating UI for more advanced controls.

It had numerous features, some like a smartphone, others far beyond, like firing tranquilizer darts.

The five of them planned to return to Earth the day after tomorrow, right before the global micro-dimension time limit ended. That might be when everything is wrapped up.

Their goal was to deal with the Curtain Master. According to Li Moyao, he was on Earth. As for confirming and locating him, she had placed a Boundary Arts tracker on him. Its nature made it undetectable, so the tracking would remain active.

However, strategies for taking him down were still uncertain. They needed careful planning.

Also, the four new family members had to quickly learn about Boundary Arts and how to use it.

Li Moyao didn’t demand much, just that they be stronger than every other existing player on Earth.

Naturally, the pressure was intense.

Bang!

A vicious kick hit her knee joint, Huang Jijun dropped to the ground, making a crater with her knee! But she reacted swiftly, twisting her arm from the opponent’s grip!

Huang Yuhan dodged her dagger in time, then summoned a blade and struck back!

Huang Jijun grabbed her dagger again and used her Mecha-morph to transform it into a longsword. Then she charged!

The two quickly engaged, exchanging rapid attacks, with flashes of blades and shadowy movements constantly erupting!

They still had the powers given by the “Hourglass Project,” and these didn’t conflict with their Boundary Arts. On the contrary, they could combine the two.

Since the start of the micro-dimension event, the four had fully understood their own abilities:

• Huang Yuhan – Blade control

• Tao Luo – Ice manipulation

• Lin Yi – Mind control

• Huang Jijun – Mecha-morph

Mecha-morph: Requires an object (regardless of material), and uses it as a base to shape machinery through imagination.

Each power’s effectiveness depended on the user’s strength. Tao Luo could currently manipulate the temperature within a few meters. If stronger, her control range would grow.

All powers had hidden potential.

Lin Yi, watching the “double-Huang” fight, was excited, analyzing every detail.

Combat was both awe-inspiring and terrifying.

She turned to Tao Luo and saw her wiping the bl00d off her right arm, a tube of restoration cream on the table.

Restoration cream—a healing salve from the Boundary Arts domain.

The four had been undergoing extreme training these past days, constantly fighting, almost like they were going to tear the place down. Li Moyao often came by to deliver crushing blows, completely extinguishing their arrogance.

Damn that power gap!!

﹉

“Why haven’t you died and come out yet?”

Lin Yi shouted, then opened the door and saw Huang Yuhan standing in front of a mirror, dressed in a black, tactical combat suit.

Huang Yuhan finally snapped out of it and walked toward her. Seeing Lin Yi in the same outfit, she couldn’t help asking, “How do I… look?”

Lin Yi instantly understood what she meant. She smirked and said, “Eh, just okay. Not as cool as me.”

“Bullshit, I’m obviously the coolest.” Huang Yuhan laughed it off.

She snorted.

﹉

“No one… Oh f**k!”

Before she could finish, Huang Yuhan was pushed out. She looked back to see Lin Yi walking out, muttering sarcastically, “As if they’d just wait at school. Dumbass.”

The five exited the office, scanned their surroundings, no one around.

They looked up at the hourglass in the sky. About two-thirds of the sand had fallen.

Roughly 3.5 billion players had successfully emerged, an acceptable number, roughly what they expected.

They walked out of the school and saw the wreckage of the main road. Many cars had collided, likely startled by the crow’s scream.

Shops across the street showed signs of looting. It seemed like a lot of students had already escaped.

“Do you guys want to go home?” Li Moyao asked, hands in pockets, smiling at them.

They looked at each other.

Go home?

For what?

Did they need to retrieve anything?

Phones? Money?

All useless now.

Still, they felt a little lost.

“Nothing to take,” said Huang Jijun. “It’s hard to let go now, but we’ll forget eventually.”

She was right. Time was magical.

Li Moyao studied them for a moment and smiled. “Alright then~ let’s go find him~”

She opened her watch and projected the Curtain Master’s Boundary Arts tracking data.

“Beijing, huh~” she grinned. “Far from here.”

Huang Yuhan groaned, “That far, huh…”

Even so, the five quickly found a car and set off.

Five minutes into the drive, Lin Yi suddenly asked, “Wait, is it really safe letting her drive? She’s never been on the road before.”

Huang Yuhan pouted, offended. “What? I’ve driven for a while now and nothing’s gone wrong! Plus! There are barely any cars anymore—”

Before she finished, someone darted out in front of the car! She reacted quickly, swerving and braking!

“Sh1t! Told you!”

“Eat sh1t! That’s not my driving skills, that’s a coincidence!”

Tao Luo got out first, followed by the others. They found a bloodied woman lying not far ahead.

She was covered in bl00d, with main injuries on her arm and leg.

Huang Jijun crouched down, flipped her over. Her face was stained with bl00d, breathing faint, on the verge of death.

The others examined her. Her eyes were scattered, gaze unfocused.

Li Moyao knelt beside Huang Jijun and placed two fingers on the woman’s neck. After thirty seconds, the woman’s fading eyes regained clarity.

They carried her into a shop, left her with a loaf of bread, and left.

The woman never forgot the five anonymous heroes who helped her.

On the highway, they saw many crashed cars. They had to reverse, zigzag, and squeeze between wrecks.

After ten minutes, they reached a gas station, filled the tank, and hit the road again.

While driving, Huang Yuhan suddenly slammed the wheel and cursed. “Damn! Why did I go mute back there?!”

Lin Yi gave her a curious look. “So you were quiet the whole ride just thinking about that?”

She had thought the woman’s condition had traumatized her. Guess she overestimated her.

Huang Yuhan ignored her, still brooding over her temporary muteness.

The others laughed and teased her.

After some time, they encountered a massive traffic jam stretching endlessly ahead. No turning back, no side roads. They had to abandon the car and walk.

“There’s no faster way across this?” Lin Yi asked.

“There is,” Huang Yuhan replied, smiling. “Fly.”

“…That’s so flashy,” Lin Yi said flatly. “And kind of dumb.”

“How?” Huang Yuhan didn’t get it, then laughed. “As long as we’re faster than The Flash, we’re good!”

Lin Yi had no words for her nonsense.

Huang Jijun asked, “Yaoyao, got any ideas?”

She was their trump card.

Everyone looked at Li Moyao. She gazed ahead and said with a smile, “Mmm… sword flight?”

“Hell yeah!” Huang Yuhan agreed instantly.

‘Flying on swords? That’s cool as hell!!’

Li Moyao turned to the others. Huang Jijun and Tao Luo were clearly waiting for the catch, and she didn’t disappoint, “Do you know how?”

They’d received knowledge about moves from the Boundary Arts domain, but hadn’t practiced much.

“Pfft, piece of cake!” Huang Yuhan boasted.

Li Moyao chuckled. “Alright then~”

Soon, five figures soared high into the sky.

Li Moyao shared the tracking signal with Huang Jijun’s watch. At their current speed, they’d reach Beijing in a day.

Flying beside her, Tao Luo looked down. “There are players below.”

They all looked down and saw scattered groups of players who had exited the micro-dimension. The city below had at least ten thousand players.

Not a huge number, but not small either.

They flew through thick clouds and left the city behind.

Later

“First time I’ve seen this many people,” Lin Yi said through a hotel window, watching the players ransack the supermarket across the street. It was almost comical.

When did humanity become so desperate just to eat?

The group had stayed at this hotel overnight and would resume traveling soon.

Huang Jijun stood beside her, silent, arms crossed, tapping her right index finger against her arm.

When the frantic “thieves” finished gathering supplies and ran off, likely to their temporary shelters, the two looked up at the city’s hourglass.

At the same time, players worldwide looked up too, as if sensing something.

About a third of the sand remained. Then—time stopped.

Caw—!!

Crows screamed again.

System broadcast:

“It is now 7:00 AM, November 24, 2021. The first global micro-dimension has ended. According to system records, approximately 3.7 billion players successfully completed the event. About 1.4 billion failed and remained inside.”

“From now on, the end of one micro-dimension marks the start of another. Players, please strive to grow stronger.”

The message repeated three times.

Afterward, all hourglasses resumed flowing, emptied within a minute, then flipped but this time, sand got stuck and didn’t fall.

What did the new hourglass represent?

Huang Jijun lowered her gaze to the first character of the supermarket’s name sign.

A black object, like the crow in the story “The Crow and the Pitcher.”

Humanity is the water. The Curtain Master is the crow.

The morning sun was bright and warm, but Huang Jijun felt like the crow’s glow stabbed her eyes.

Peace was officially dead. Laws were abolished for the first time.

Because of the power of this game, both the Eastern Tao and the Western God were rendered powerless.