This Setup Is Broken - This Setup is Broken Chapter 3: Goals

The house is made of wood, consisting of a living room, two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom in a small side room. Although it looks old, it seems relatively clean. Bai Shi remembers saying that the main character has to work odd jobs in a garbage dump.  He feels an overwhelming regret, wishing he could bang his head against the wall. If he had known it would be like this, he would never have spoken so carelessly. No… He should have rushed over when that group wanted to collaborate, bought a pack of rat poison, and taken them all out together.

Chi Zuo is worried. Since Gou Dan returned, he hasn’t been acting normally. First, he stared blankly at the garbage dump for a long time without moving. Then wandered around the house, sat down on a small stool by the door, and started zone out.  Just as Chi Zuo is about to ask, he suddenly sees the bedroom door open. He calls out: “Grandpa.”

Bai Shi comes back to his senses and looks over. He’s unsure about the medical advancements here, but judging by appearances, the tall old man in the living room looks around sixty and seems quite healthy. He stays silent because he and Chi Zuo have different surnames. Chi Zuo’s grandfather might not be his grandfather. Right now, he has no memories, and if he slips up, it would be a disaster. Luckily, the old man doesn’t seem to mind and simply instructs: “Don’t work in the morning. Go for a run and then eat.”

Chi Zuo replies affirmatively then heads outside. Bai Shi follows him into the yard, where he sees Chi Zuo tying small sandbags around his ankles. Noticing two more nearby, he guesses they must belong to him. After a moment of silence, he silently ties them on. Filled with questions in mind, he starts to jog awkwardly.

“Is this part of the original setup? Is this physical training? It can’t be, the protagonist should get stronger only after being eliminated. So what is this? Are they playing around? As a writer who prefers to stay indoors, I hate exercising!”

Despite his frustration, Bai Shi finds that after running for a while, he’s not as exhausted as he expected, likely due to this body’s condition, which makes him somewhat satisfied. They run for a long distance, and he starts to feel tired. But thinking of himself as the protagonist, he endures, pushing through. Until he feels like he might just chop himself up with a kitchen knife, finally, Chi Zuo slows down. Bai Shi nearly tears up with relief. He matches Chi Zuo’s pace, then they both walk around for a bit before dragging his heavy legs back into the small yard.

His breathing is still a bit ragged, and he’s soaked in sweat, as if he’s just been pulled out of water. Chi Zuo is in the same state, intermittently mentioning they should shower. Bai Shi takes off the sandbags, and they head into their bedroom. The room is small, containing only a wardrobe, a desk, and a double bed. Not knowing which clothes are his, he just stands there blankly. Thinking Bai Shi is in a bad mood, Chi Zuo grabs his clothes and says: “Let’s go.”

Bai Shi silently nods. Seeing him still quiet, Chi Zuo softly adds: “Gou Dan, don’t lose heart. If you reach C grade or above, you can apply to the military academy to become a mecha pilot. You’re hard working, so you’ll definitely be stronger in the future.”

Bai Shi is briefly taken aback. He isn’t sure about that information, but the three people in their group live together, so they must discuss many details privately. It’s normal for him not to know. He responds vaguely, thinking he should first try to see if he can go back. If he can’t, the first thing he’ll do is to change his name. He can’t tolerate it—he was so reckless back then, how could he let the protagonist have such a name? It’s karma!

The two quickly shower, and when they come out, the old man has already prepared a meal and is calling them over. Bai Shi steps into the living room, trying to stay silent to avoid giving himself away. He can’t help but remember the mecha parts he saw in the bedroom, he recalls how familiar the protagonist is with them, while he feels completely clueless, which gives him a headache.

He isn’t afraid of pretending to have amnesia, he’s scared of deviating from the plot. If a slight mistake prevents him from going back, that would be terrible. Since entering the book, he has thought of three ways to return home: Sleep, suicide, and clearing the plot.

Suicide is a one-time chance, if sleeping doesn’t work, he can only choose to clear the plot first. If that doesn’t work, he’ll consider suicide again. Of course, if there’s something he can’t let go of, he might stick around. If not, he’ll just end it. But if clearing the plot is possible, it could take years or even decades. Will the real world still be the same then? What if his body decays?

Seeing Bai Shi lost in thought, Chi Zuo can’t help but worry, asking, “Gou Dan, what are you thinking? Are you really okay?”

Bai Shi snaps back to reality, noticing everyone is looking at him. So he picks up his chopsticks to eat. How does he explain this bizarre situation? With a straight face, he says: “I’m contemplating life.”

The old man casually asks: “How was the test?”

Before Chi Zuo can decide whether to speak, Bai Shi replies calmly: “My gene grade is C, I failed. He has an A grade, and he passed.”

The old man observes him quietly. He has seen how hard this child has worked and how determined he is to become a mecha engineer over the years. Now that he’s been eliminated, it must be hard for him. But he doesn’t see disappointment in the child’s eyes, indicating he hasn’t given up. Good, he has a strong will.

He turns to Chi Zuo and asks: “Besides you, how many others have A grades?”

Chi Zuo scratches his head. “I didn’t pay attention, but I heard from the person who tested me that there aren’t many A grades.”

Some families check their children’s gene grades early on. Like Dejie, who learned he had a B grade at a young age, which is why he has always looked down on them. Chi Zuo never knew his grade, and when he discovered it was A grade, he was overwhelmed with joy. He is still a child, so despite caring about Bai Shi’s feelings, a hint of happiness still slips onto his face.

The old man acknowledges with a hum and doesn’t say more. Bai Shi looks at the old man, feeling it might be his imagination. He gets the sense that the old man didn’t seem surprised or delighted upon learning his grandson’s gene grade. Isn’t he being too composed?

The old man notices Bai Shi’s gaze and looks back at him. Bai Shi expressionlessly meets his eyes for two seconds before lowering his head to eat. The old man thinks Bai Shi is waiting for feedback, so he encourages: “C grade can still join the military. You just need to train hard.”

“Mm.”

After finishing their meal and resting for a moment, Chi Zuo pulls Bai Shi to take a nap. But he notices Bai Shi’s serious expression and asks in confusion, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing”, Bai Shi replies, sincerely patting the pillow. He thinks: “God, please let me successfully cross over.” He then takes a deep breath and closes his eyes seriously.

Chi Zuo: “…”

The nap isn’t long, and Bai Shi quickly wakes up. He doesn’t return to his world but instead receives the memories of this body. After a moment of silence, he covers his face, thinking: “Dang it, does this mean he is going to have to struggle in this world?!”

But having memories is still good, at least he can understand the situation. The protagonist has a father who entrusted him to Chi Zuo’s grandfather, Chi Haitian, before he died. From then on, the protagonist has also called him “Grandpa.”

Chi Haitian is an ordinary machine repairman at the village’s recycling station, with a low salary that barely supports his family. A few years ago, the protagonist and Chi Zuo happened to see the heroic mecha warriors in a movie and became deeply fascinated, vowing to become like them.  When Chi Haitian saw their determination, he found a book on physical training and started training them two years ago, which explains the small sandbags in the yard.

The protagonist is quiet and doesn’t like to talk much. His dream is to own a mecha and roam the universe as a powerful being, so he trains hard every time. Perhaps because of this, even after being eliminated, he continues to work hard.

Chi Zuo wakes up at some point, stretches, and asks, “Shall we go to work?”

Bai Shi hesitates for a moment, silently accepting his fate as he picks up the bag and heads to the garbage dump. Their task is to find recyclable items to sell for a little money. Ever since Chi Haitian asked them to pay for meals regularly a year ago, they found this job. Looking back, Bai Shi thinks Chi Haitian either wants to train them or teach them independence.

As they get closer, the air starts to smell bad. Bai Shi feels frustrated and agrees with the people in the group who say that such an underdog kind of protagonist is too unremarkable! Chi Zuo doesn’t notice his inner turmoil and starts working when they arrive. Bai Shi glances at him and silently follows. The two work until evening, happily exchanging the money they earned before heading home to shower and eat, then closing their eyes to sleep. The next day, they repeat the routine of training and working.

The Youth Academy starts in two weeks, and the town government will take them to the destination. Perhaps Bai Shi’s words had some effect because Dejie and his group, who often bullied them, haven’t come to bother them recently. It’s a rare moment of peace. These past few days, Bai Shi takes his sleep very seriously. Each time, he naively believes he can go back, but he faces huge disappointments each time. After five days, he finally resigns himself and starts executing plan B—clearing the plot.

This is actually somewhat difficult. He isn’t the one who wrote this story, and sometimes he isn’t present during the discussions in the group, so he has very little information. At this moment, he doesn’t know where to go after being eliminated.

So… how can he get stronger? Well, he’s the protagonist, so he can try jumping off a cliff. Who knows? He might find a mecha secret manual and an awesome mecha.

He could also explore the alleys more. Maybe he would encounter a master who would kindly say: “Little friend, I see you have exceptional talent and remarkable potential. You must be a rare genius. The important duty of maintaining justice and peace in the universe will be entrusted to you. Here, I have a long-lost mecha manual and a top-notch mecha. Since we’re fated, I’ll sell it to you for just five bucks. How about that?”

“—Is that even possible, you idiot?!”

Bai Shi almost wants to flip a table. He ends this unreliable fantasy and wipes his face. When he pulls out his ID, he stares at it silently. As Chi Zuo just opens his eyes, he sees this scene and is taken aback. “Gou Dan, what’s wrong with you?”

Bai Shi doesn’t answer. He gets out of bed and goes to find Chi Haitian with a serious look. “Grandpa, I want to change my name.”