The Genius Game - Chapter 25

Jian Tanxi walked to a corner and, concealed by the curtains and bookshelves, retrieved the interstellar triangular prism from her personal space.

The triangular prism was a pale gold color and not very large, with a handle at the base that fit perfectly in her hand.

Jian Tanxi gripped the handle and gave it a few gentle swings.

She wanted to test the weapon’s power but was worried there might be others in the library, unsure whether they were friend or foe.

So, she quietly slipped out and headed to a hardware store.

The hardware store was small, easily visible from one end to the other. The shelves were crowded with items, leaving no place for anyone to hide.

Since many of the products in the hardware store were sharp, it was impossible for anyone to conceal themselves there.

After confirming that the store was empty, Jian Tanxi picked up a saw, placed it on the floor, and then struck it with the interstellar triangular prism.

She didn’t use much force, but the saw snapped in two.

Next, she found an electric drill and tapped it with the triangular prism, the drill bit broke into two pieces as well.

It seemed no further testing was necessary; the triangular prism was indeed a very effective weapon.

She stored the triangular prism back in her personal space and then entered the neighboring cake shop.

The handmade cakes in the shop had already spoiled, but there were still some packaged snacks with longer shelf lives that were still edible.

Jian Tanxi opened a box of cookies, ate two, and felt full. After all, it had only been a few days since her last meal.

She packed a few cans of cookies into her bag and returned to the library.

She planned to explore the entire library to confirm no one was inside, then find a safe place to hide and use it as a temporary base.

If there were people inside, she needed to determine whether they were friends or enemies. If they were friendly, it wouldn’t matter, they could hide together.

Jian Tanxi lightened her footsteps and slowly moved deeper inside.

After walking for a while, she didn’t find anyone.

Suddenly, she heard a whooshing sound behind her head and instinctively dodged to the side.

A stone flew past her head and landed on the floor ahead.

Fortunately, she had moved quickly; being hit by the stone would not have been pleasant.

She turned around and saw a petite girl wearing glasses who looked somewhat familiar.

The girl seemed a bit frightened at first, but upon seeing Jian Tanxi’s face clearly, she asked excitedly, “Hello, did we participate in a game together? The one where we had to survive ten days with just one steamed bun and a cup of water, it was called ‘No Starvation Allowed’…”

Jian Tanxi remembered as well and asked excitedly, “Are you Li Chuxia?”

Li Chuxia nodded, “Yes, it’s me! I can’t remember your name right away, sister…”

Jian Tanxi replied, “I’m Jian Tanxi.”

“Oh, right, that’s the name. I just remembered your name was a bit complicated.”

Li Chuxia was one of the teammates Jian Tanxi had met in the first round of the game. Jian Tanxi recalled that she was a high school sophomore who, despite her frail appearance, was very clever.

Moreover, she was the one who had first recognized Professor Pan Xian.

The two were overjoyed to reunite here.

Jian Tanxi asked, “How did you end up here?”

Li Chuxia answered, “I participated in a game a couple of days ago and was teleported to the street afterward. I wandered aimlessly and found this bookstore, so I came in. The bookstore has a comprehensive collection, and I found some high school study guides. I’ve been working on problems.”

Jian Tanxi was surprised, “Huh? You’re still doing problems now?”

“Yeah, since we’ve got nothing else to do anyway. I’m still waiting for everything to return to normal so I can take the college entrance exam.”

“Haha, you’re still thinking about the college entrance exam?”

“Of course. I’ve studied hard all these years just for that exam. Those aliens are so awful, why couldn’t they have waited until after my exam to cause trouble?”

“Pfft. I think right now we should focus on exercising and practicing some combat skills. That’ll help us get through the various games.”

Li Chuxia said, “I don’t think that’s something we can learn in just a day or two. The aliens have already enhanced our bodies, and our physical condition is much better than before. I think it’s good enough for now.”

“Even though we’ve been enhanced, so have the other survivors. If we run into any malicious survivors, we still need the ability to protect ourselves.”

“Alright. But even if we start training now, we won’t improve much in a short time. We’re both girls, and our physical strength was already on the weaker side. Plus, we’ve never learned anything like taekwondo before, we have no foundation at all.”

“Practicing is still better than not practicing. There are so many books here; there must be some that teach combat techniques. Let’s both look for them and practice according to the instructions.”

Seeing Jian Tanxi so proactive, Li Chuxia stopped hesitating and joined her in searching for combat books.

Soon, they found two books on combat techniques and began practicing according to them.

When they got tired, they took a break.

After dark, Jian Tanxi could only sit there blankly. Fortunately, she wasn’t alone anymore, she had Li Chuxia for company.

Just then, a bright light appeared before Jian Tanxi’s eyes.

She noticed Li Chuxia had turned on a desk lamp.

Jian Tanxi exclaimed happily, “Where did this desk lamp come from?”

Li Chuxia replied, “This library also sells desk lamps, and they run on batteries. There are batteries at the checkout counter too, so I took one, installed the batteries, and brought it out to use once it got dark.”

“That’s great! I never thought we’d still have light now.”

“Yeah, luckily we found the desk lamp, or we’d have to spend the night in darkness.”

“By the way, are all the curtains closed?”

Li Chuxia said, “Don’t worry, I’ve closed them all. You can’t see anything from outside. The past couple of nights, I’ve been using the desk lamp to read until I got tired, then went to sleep.”

“That’s not bad… at least we still have books to keep us company. Oh, and from now on, no matter where we’re teleported, let’s try to find the nearest post office, library, police station, bank, school, or convenience store to settle in. When we join games, we can also share this idea with reliable teammates. The more people know about it, the easier it’ll be to find other survivors in the future.”

Li Chuxia nodded, “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Anyway, I like libraries the most. If there’s no library, I’ll go somewhere else.”

Both of them picked out a book they liked and started reading.

The desk lamp was new, and its light was bright enough for them.

After reading until they were tired, they chatted for a while before lying down on the floor to sleep.

It was hot now, so the nights weren’t cold, and they didn’t need blankets.

The next day, when Jian Tanxi woke up, she found Li Chuxia sitting and staring blankly.

Jian Tanxi asked, “Why aren’t you reading or doing practice problems?”

Li Chuxia said, “Tanxi, if we keep participating in these games endlessly, and it never stops for our whole lives, what will happen?”

“This… I don’t think so. It will eventually come to an end.”

“But you can’t be certain, can you?”

Jian Tanxi said, “We’ve participated in too few games so far. We don’t understand those aliens, nor do we know what they want. When we join more games and become stronger, perhaps we’ll find a way to confront them.”

“But our supernatural abilities, tools, and physical enhancements are all granted by them. That means their civilization is far more advanced than ours. Challenging them would be like an ant trying to shake a tree.”

“Maybe confrontation isn’t necessary. There might be peaceful ways to resolve conflicts. I feel like those aliens don’t seem intent on destroying humanity.”

Li Chuxia said, “Hmm, I’ve noticed that too… The condition for clearing every game is for everyone to survive. If anyone dies, the game can’t be completed. This is very different from what I imagined aliens would be like. Actually, I have an idea.”

Jian Tanxi asked, “What idea?”

“Don’t we often watch TV? I was wondering if those aliens also enjoy watching TV. But their TV shows aren’t acted by performers, instead, they make people from other planets participate in challenge games and broadcast the footage live to their planet. If that’s the case, then our participation in these games is completely meaningless. We’re not saving ourselves; we’re just providing entertainment for the aliens.”

Jian Tanxi looked surprised. “That’s a fresh perspective, and it makes some sense. But regardless of the aliens’ intentions, our survival is what matters most. As long as the green hills remain, there’ll be no shortage of firewood. We’re still young, and young people are the hope of all humanity.”

Li Chuxia nodded. “Yes, you’re right.”

Jian Tanxi said, “I think we shouldn’t let ourselves stay idle. When we have nothing to do, we start pondering these abstract questions. How about we create a daily schedule? Whether we’re together or not in the future, we’ll follow this schedule to keep ourselves busy.”

“That sounds good.”

So, they made a simple daily plan, including times for running, practicing combat, resting, walking, and so on.

Since it was still early, they went out for a run.

Li Chuxia’s clothes weren’t suitable for running, so they found a clothing store and picked out appropriate outfits.

Jian Tanxi also chose a sweatband to tie around her head to absorb sweat.

As usual, they left their names and contact information, noting what they had taken and promising to repay when possible.

They ran outside and discovered a small hill not far behind them.

So, they climbed up to breathe the fresh air.

Li Chuxia said, “Sister Tanxi, have you noticed how much the natural environment has improved since humans disappeared?”

Jian Tanxi nodded. “Yes, human destruction of the environment was too severe. There’s one benefit to this situation, the Earth can recover its vitality.”

“Hahaha.”

They lived regularly for a few days, gradually adapting to the environment.

One downside of random teleportation was that they were sent to new places each time and had to start adapting all over again.

Fortunately, they were young and adaptable, so it didn’t feel too difficult.

Li Chuxia said, “Tanxi, I plan to settle down near a library in the future.”

Jian Tanxi asked, “This library?”

“Not necessarily this one, it could be any library, but it has to be a large one. That way, I can read books conveniently.”

“Mhm, your wish will definitely come true.”

“But the prerequisite is that the people of Earth must return. Otherwise, who will maintain this environment?”

“True.”

A few days later, Jian Tanxi and Li Chuxia went hiking again.

Just as they reached the mountaintop, they heard a “thud,” as if something was hitting a tree.

Li Chuxia nervously grabbed Jian Tanxi and whispered, “Tanxi, could it be a wild beast?”