Infinite: Dawn Game

Yu Shijiu paused in his act of covering his mouth, then subconsciously shook his head and looked up at the other person.

In front of him was a middle-aged man who was somewhat older, with gray hair, but still looked quite energetic. His eyes showed genuine concern, indicating that he was an NPC who truly cared about him.

After confirming that the other party was an NPC, Yu Shijiu slightly loosened his hand covering his mouth and nose, and spoke in a muffled voice, enduring the nausea from the smell of engine oil:

"I'm fine, just a little dizzy."

The middle-aged man seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He bent down, picked up the backpack at his feet, and began to rummage through it. Finally, he took out a few green oranges and handed them to Yu Shijiu.

"Eat some of this. It's sour, but it can help relieve dizziness."

As he spoke, he bent down and grabbed a few green tangerines, stuffing them all into Yu Shijiu's hands.

Yu Shijiu was still a little dazed, her temples throbbing, and she subconsciously pulled them all away.

When a strange, sweet and sour scent filled his nostrils, he swallowed hard, looked up at the middle-aged man, and whispered his thanks:

"Thank you uncle."

Judging from his age, he should indeed call the middle-aged man "uncle".

The middle-aged man waved his hand, "No need to thank me! Just call me Uncle Gong. Young man, you don't look that old, yet you're traveling alone? How old are you this year?"

Yu Shijiu lowered his head and stuffed the green oranges one by one into his pockets, leaving only one green orange to peel.

"I'm turning eighteen this year."

“Eighteen,” Uncle Gong nodded with a smile.

“That’s about the same age as my daughter. She’s twenty-five this year, a few years older than you.”

"Daughter?"

The orange wasn't big, so Yu Shijiu stuffed a whole piece of orange into his mouth. The strong sweet and sour taste filled his mouth and actually helped to dispel some of the gasoline smell in the bus.

Are you here looking for your daughter?

The bus was still moving, and perhaps because it was late at night, the windows were covered with a thick layer of frost, making it impossible to see outside.

When Yu Shijiu curiously reached out to touch it, his hand was covered in dust that he hadn't wiped off yet. Disgusted, he pulled out a piece of paper and wiped his hands.

Uncle Gong didn't seem to care much about whether he could see clearly outside. Yu Shijiu's words seemed to have stirred up his memories, and he laughed.

"Yes, my daughter came to Changsheng Village to teach right after graduating from university. Let me think, she's been here for 12 years now, and has been teaching for four years. It's been 16 years this year."

Uncle Gong was clearly very proud when he talked about his daughter's experience teaching in a rural area:

"Since you've come to Changsheng Village for a visit, you should know that although Changsheng Village has beautiful scenery and simple folk customs, the children here are indeed lacking teachers."

Upon hearing this, Yu Shijiu raised an eyebrow. He glanced at his seat and looked up ahead.

The bus was dimly lit and poorly ventilated, but you could still see many people sitting in their seats. Most of them were motionless, and it was hard to tell whether they had just entered the game and were unconscious or were NPCs.

At a glance, there were more than forty people.

Uncle Gong, who was standing nearby, was still talking to himself:

"Sigh, this girl is just too soft-hearted. Four years ago, after graduating, she came to Changsheng Village for a trip and said the children here were too pitiful. She insisted on staying to be a volunteer teacher, and she hasn't been home for many years, leaving me, an old man, at home..."

Uncle Gong's voice was a little hoarse, but it was easy to see that he was actually very excited, which could be seen from his shining eyes.

Yu Shijiu started peeling oranges again. Just as he was about to say a few words to Uncle Gong, "Xiao Li," who hadn't uttered a sound since entering the game, spoke up.

【Changsheng Village, as the name suggests, is a village where all the local residents live long lives, with centenarians being the majority. However, as young people go out to work in order to keep up with the times, over the years, the number of young people left to live in Changsheng Village has become pitifully small.

As a newly developed tourist area, the elderly residents of Changsheng Village have prepared farmhouses, fishing spots, and ancient sacrificial activities to welcome all visitors to Changsheng Village...

"Xiao Li" paused here, then reluctantly continued:

This is a time-limited game; all players must survive in Changsheng Village until the fourth day to complete the game.

Yu Shijiu paused in peeling the orange, then slowly looked up at the hazy white mist outside the glass, becoming curious about this survival time.

"Does having only one breath count?"

Yu Shijiu asked "Xiao Li" in his mind.

"Xiao Li" snorted: [Of course it counts, even if all your arms and legs are cut off and you're just a torso, as long as you're still breathing, but—]

"Xiao Li's" tone was somewhat harsh, while the little girl's voice was sweet and cute.

[If you think that you can eventually beat the game with just a body that can only roll and talk, I think that would be pretty great!]

Yu Shijiu didn't ignore "Xiao Li's" malicious assumption, and smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners:

"I wonder if there's an item in the game that can drag the system out. If there is, I think it would be perfectly acceptable to let you come out and experience what it's like to be a human. What do you think, Xiao Li?"

"Xiao Li": [...This kind of item is impossible to appear in the game.]

"That's not necessarily true. Don't worry, I like you so much that if I had such a tool, I would definitely drag you out—oh no, I mean turn you into human form and treat you well."

The car interior was dimly lit with a bluish tint. Against this dark blue backdrop, Yu Shijiu's skin appeared unhealthy and cold. He curled the corners of his lips into a smile and silently spoke to the void:

"How about cutting off all four limbs and crawling on the ground, just like you said?"

"Xiao Li": [...]

For a moment, its internal database began to heat up and then cool down. Some indescribable current penetrated its non-physical body, causing it to tremble violently with fear.

After a while, just as Yu Shijiu and Uncle Gong beside him were about to fall asleep due to drowsiness, "Xiao Li's" slightly trembling voice softly rang out:

Stop lying, you big liar, you stinking liar! All you do is deceive and scare people!

Yu Shijiu, who was leaning against the window with his head tilted in sleepiness, subconsciously replied upon hearing this:

If you call me a liar again, I'll block you.

"Xiao Li": [...]

Who are you trying to scare? Even if you block it, you won't get any messages. Do you really think this system is just sitting around doing nothing?

However, it eventually stopped its banter, silently logging off while gazing at Yu Shijiu, who was already fast asleep in the carriage.

--------

When Yu Shijiu woke up again, he was awakened by the noisy commotion around him.

"Holy crap?! Who brought this orange tabby cat? It's practically a human being! So big and so fat! How did they raise it?!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, if no one admits it, I reckon the driver might get so angry that he'll throw it off the plane, right?"

"Come to think of it, this orange cat, apart from being a bit big, actually seems quite cute?"

"..."

Yu Shijiu was still a little dizzy, but as soon as he heard the words "such a big and fat cat", he opened his eyes and stood up as if stimulated, startling Uncle Gong who was peeking over to watch the fun.