The Genius Game - Chapter 19

Qu Chen was quite a helpful little assistant. Even though he couldn’t speak yet, he could already hint at key points to clear levels. If they could understand his thoughts, clearing levels would become even easier.

Jian Tanxi had earlier thought of using a pen to cross out some of Miss Jenny’s dating requirements precisely because Qu Chen had been holding that pen all along.

Qin Man and Sun Lianhu also showed happy expressions, indicating they had gained useful special abilities.

Although Jian Tanxi felt it was unfair that even someone like Sun Lianhu could get special abilities, this game was controlled by aliens, and it wasn’t up to her to decide.

Qu Chen looked dazed, seemingly somewhat confused. He probably didn’t understand why there was suddenly a voice speaking in his head, nor could he comprehend what special abilities meant.

Qin Man asked the King, “Your Majesty, my son can’t speak and doesn’t understand his special ability. Could you directly tell me what his ability is?”

The King replied, “No, that’s against the rules.”

Qin Man felt disappointed but had no choice.

Jian Tanxi comforted her, “Sister Man, we’ll find out Xiao Chen’s ability someday.”

Qin Man nodded, “Yes. By the way, thank you for giving your healing pills to me and Xiao Chen earlier. Otherwise, we would have definitely died. We don’t know when we’ll meet again next time, and I don’t have anything precious with me. Let me give you one pill each from mine and Xiao Chen’s share. They might come in handy someday.”

“My pill is a Height-Increasing Pill, and Xiao Chen’s is a gray pill with unknown effects. Just keep them for now.”

As she spoke, Qin Man gave Jian Tanxi two pills.

One was white – the Height-Increasing Pill that could increase height by 1 meter for 20 minutes after consumption.

The other was gray with unknown effects.

Jian Tanxi initially didn’t want to accept them, but Qin Man insisted, so she had to take them.

Jian Tanxi said sincerely to Qin Man, “Sister Man, we’ll always be teammates, forever friends.”

Qin Man nodded, “Yes, definitely.”

However, there was some confusion in Qin Man’s eyes too. She didn’t know when she would see Jian Tanxi again, maybe in a few months, maybe in a few years, or perhaps they might perish in some instance…

She could only try not to think about these things.

Qin Man said to the King, “Your Majesty, could I exchange my special ability for another reward?”

The King asked, “What would you like to exchange for?”

“Could you cure my son’s autism? I really hope he can recover and be normal.”

“We don’t provide treatment.”

Qin Man was shocked, her heart sinking to the bottom, “How could… Aren’t you very powerful?”

The King said, “We truly cannot cure it. You should keep your special ability.”

Qin Man was very sad but could only say, “Alright, thank you…”

Next, the King took out another ecosphere and said, “This ecosphere contains 200,000 Earth people. Do you want to preserve it? Jian Tanxi contributed the most and can choose first.”

Jian Tanxi quickly said, “I want this. But I’m not sure if my personal space can store it?”

“It can. The personal space can store up to 1,000 ecospheres.”

As he spoke, the King gave the ecosphere to Jian Tanxi.

Jian Tanxi enlarged the ecosphere slightly and indeed saw that it contained more people. She opened her personal space and placed this ecosphere inside.

In addition to the previous 100,000, she had now protected 300,000 Earthlings.

However, compared to the total population of Earth, 300,000 was just a drop in the bucket.

She didn’t know where the other ecological spheres were or if she could obtain a few more.

Jian Tanxi asked the king, “Your Majesty, is winning the game the only way to obtain an ecological sphere?”

“Correct, winning the game is necessary, but not every game will reward an ecological sphere.”

Beside them, Sun Lianhu let out a mocking laugh. “What do you want that thing for? You’d be better off asking for more rewards.”

Jian Tanxi shot Sun Lianhu a disdainful glance and couldn’t be bothered to explain.

People like Sun Lianhu would never be on the same path as Jian Tanxi. She hoped she would never run into him again.

At that moment, the king spoke up, “I almost forgot the extra reward. Jian Tanxi, this is for you.”

The king handed Jian Tanxi a gauze garment and explained, “This is a fireproof gauze robe. Once worn, it protects you from fire, and you won’t feel the heat even in a blazing inferno.”

The gauze robe was incredibly light and emitted a faint blue glow. It was unclear what material it was made of, but it had an understated, luxurious appearance.

Jian Tanxi took the gauze robe and felt its cool, smooth texture.

The king added, “You can store this gauze robe in your personal space.”

Jian Tanxi tried opening her personal space and placed the gauze robe inside.

She was thrilled and said to the king, “Thank you, Your Majesty!”

Sun Lianhu was displeased. “Why does Jian Tanxi get an extra reward while we don’t?”

The king replied, “Jian Tanxi made the greatest contribution to clearing the level, and she shared her healing pills with her teammates.”

Sun Lianhu retorted, “Why didn’t you say so earlier? If I had known, I would have shared my healing pills too! I have several of them.”

“These are hidden rules and will not be explicitly stated.”

“That’s not fair!”

Sun Lianhu wanted to protest further, but the king ignored him and announced to everyone, “The ‘Find the Groom’ game has been cleared. All players, activate the teleportation channel.”

Jian Tanxi traveled through the darkness at high speed for a few minutes. When light returned, she found herself on a mountain.

She looked around, but there was no one in sight.

Sun Lianhu was gone, and Qin Man and her son were nowhere to be seen.

Although she was glad to be rid of Sun Lianhu, she felt sad about being separated from Qin Man and her son.

Her emotions were complicated, but unlike last time, she didn’t shout out for anyone.

First, because Qin Man and her son were likely not nearby, so shouting would be pointless. Second, because there might be wild animals or dangerous people in the deep mountains, and shouting would only reveal her location.

Therefore, she made as little noise as possible, staying where she was to rest briefly and observe her surroundings.

She was on a mountain path paved with smooth, large stones that wound its way upward.

It seemed this wasn’t a desolate mountain, as the path was man-made. Under normal circumstances, many people would likely come here to hike.

Thinking this, Jian Tanxi felt less afraid.

A mountain with paths for pedestrians to walk on probably wouldn’t have any dangerous beasts. Moreover, there might even be some convenience stores along the path.

With the current hot weather, many fresh foods had already spoiled.

But convenience stores didn’t carry much fresh food; most of their products were instant noodles, biscuits, and the like. If she could find a convenience store, she could take some food supplies for emergencies.

She wasn’t hungry now, but with the next game entry time unknown, she had to eat something every few days to avoid hunger during gameplay.

After walking for a while, she began to feel a bit lonely.

She planned to take out the two ecospheres to look at once she found a place to settle.

Now that her physical strength was enhanced, climbing the mountain didn’t tire her at all.

Soon, she reached a small platform halfway up the mountainside.

On this small platform stood an ancient tree so large it would take three people to encircle it, adorned with many red prayer ribbons that looked beautiful from afar.

As Jian Tanxi approached, she saw various wishes written on these red ribbons, some hoping for lasting love with their partners, others for their children’s academic success, and still others for prosperity in business.

Now, these red ribbons still fluttered in the wind, but their owners were nowhere to be found.

Just a few dozen days ago, people’s wishes had been diverse.

But now, everyone likely shared only one wish: to survive.

Jian Tanxi gently touched the red ribbons on the tree and murmured to herself, “I will definitely bring you back.”

She sat under the tree for a while, treating the ancient tree as a temporary friend.

She confided her worries, confusion, and anxiety to the tree.

Though the tree couldn’t respond, it offered a sense of comfort.

After about ten minutes, Jian Tanxi stood up, waved to the tree, and said, “I’m leaving now. Wish me unwavering courage.”

Reinvigorated, she continued her ascent.

Upon reaching the mountaintop, she indeed found a convenience store.

Seeing shelves stocked with chips, biscuits, gummies, mineral water, and more, she was overjoyed, as if reuniting with old friends.

She walked over to grab some snacks.

But then she noticed an old man inside the store, dozing off, and was startled.

Could it be that the convenience store owner hadn’t disappeared or been taken into the Genius Game?

Was there really someone who slipped through the net?

That seemed unlikely, right?

Suddenly, Jian Tanxi found the old man somewhat familiar, though she couldn’t recall where she’d seen him before.

Since the shopkeeper was present, she couldn’t just take things directly.

She woke the old man and asked, “Excuse me, are you the owner? Could I possibly get some food and mineral water on credit? With the earth’s drastic changes, most people have vanished, and there’s no phone signal to make payments…”

The old man stared at Jian Tanxi, a look of pleasant surprise on his face, and asked, “Are you Jian Tanxi?”

Jian Tanxi was taken aback. “You know me?”

“Yes, we participated in a game together.”

“What? We played a game together? But I don’t remember…”

“About 20 days ago, we took part in a ‘No Starvation’ game where seven people had to survive for ten days with just one cup of water and one steamed bun…”

Jian Tanxi suddenly remembered who he was. “You are… Professor Pan Xian from the Chinese Academy of Sciences?”

The old man nodded happily. “That’s me. During the game, I was unconscious the whole time, so we never spoke. No wonder you don’t remember.”

“Professor Pan, it’s so great to meet you here… But if you were unconscious during the game, how did you recognize me?”

“That goes back more than twenty days. I had a sudden heart attack, was hospitalized, and then fell into a coma. I didn’t wake up until several days later.”

However, when I woke up, I found myself not in a hospital, but in this convenience store on the mountain. Moreover, my body had suddenly become extremely healthy, not only was my heart condition gone, but all the chronic illnesses that had plagued me for decades had vanished as well.

I could feel that my physical fitness had greatly improved, far surpassing even what it had been in my youth.

I had no idea what was happening and thought I must be dreaming.

But then, a mechanical voice suddenly echoed in my mind. It told me that most of Earth’s population had vanished, and only a small number of geniuses remained on the planet to participate in a game designed by the Hog people. Completing the game would grant rewards.

It said that I had already participated in one game while unconscious, and the reward I received was enhanced physical fitness, along with the ability to survive on just one meal every ten days, making it easier to endure than before.

I was puzzled and asked what kind of game it was. In response, it showed me the entire gameplay footage of the “No Starvation Allowed” game, and only then did I understand what had happened.

Because I saw the footage, I also remembered my teammates from that time. I kept thinking that if I ever got to reunite with you all, I’d love to catch up properly.

I never expected to run into you so soon. Back then, I also asked other questions, like why the other Earthlings were taken away, what their purpose was, why they were making us participate in these games, and what our ultimate fate would be, but the voice didn’t answer any of them.