Saving Unpermitted

Chapter 54: The First Person

Hu Yan had never encountered such a bizarre situation in his life.

He sat on the edge of the table, unsure whether to get up or lie back down. After a few dazed seconds, he let out a breath and spoke with a serious tone. “What’s going on? What’s going on? Sister-in-law has an impressive figure, and her voice is unique. I’ve never seen such a girl before, Shu Ge, you’re amazing, even the choice of partner is so unique.”

Two inexplicable strings of information came crashing down, and Hu Yan chose to focus on the one that was easier to understand. However, Mr. Hu’s head wasn’t quite clear from listening to the statement.

Shu Jun’s expression froze. As soon as Hu Yan spoke, he could feel it—although Marshal Zhu hadn’t revealed himself, Zhu Yanchen seemed even more confused than Hu Yan himself.

Hu Yan came from an affluent family. His parents were busy with work and were rarely at home. Hu Yan had been living in the school dormitory since he was young, with a distant relationship with his family. He was also known for being carefree and always finding something silly to do. Shu Jun chose to “wake him” first with this consideration in mind.

Who knew Hu Yan would react so strangely?

“Hu Yan!” Shu Jiu raised his voice and put on his former captain’s demeanor.

Hu Yan took a sharp breath, and his back straightened instantly. “Here!”

“Be more alert. I’m talking to you about serious matters. Alright, stop staring at Smoke. He’s a man.”

Hu Yan slowly turned his gaze back, looking at Shu Jun with a somewhat mournful expression. “Sister-in-law is a man? Shu Ge, that’s really… unfortunate for you.”

Shu Jun cracked his knuckles. “…So what if he’s a man, huh?”

“No, no. In any case, don’t be too upset—”

Shu Jun: “…”

“Hu Yan, 25 years old. You live in Struggle District IU-E-08. This morning, you added two spoons of sugar to your soy milk, fried five eggs, and toasted four slices of whole wheat bread.” Unable to tolerate the confusion between the two, Zhu Yanchen straightforwardly brought the conversation back on track. “Before logging into <Erosion>, you threw a blue tie into the laundry basket and almost tripped over a low stool.”

Unable to evade any longer, Hu Yan reluctantly faced reality. “Sis… I mean, ahem, Smoke Ge, it’s not appropriate. Even if it’s for a show, we still need to respect others’ privacy.”

He still tried to brush it off with a joking tone, hoping that the two would laugh and tell him it was just a prank.

As someone who had “died” before and couldn’t find customer service, Shu Jun reluctantly bought Zhu Yanchen’s story. Although Hu Yan was a bit slow, he wasn’t stupid. Even if Shu Jun was his comrade, words alone weren’t enough to convince Hu Yan of this absurd situation.

“I know it’s hard to accept, and I didn’t expect you to accept it all at once.” Shu Jun took back control of the conversation and his tone became heavier.

Hu Yan stopped smiling, and for a moment, this big man seemed a bit helpless.

“Here’s what we’ll do, Hu Yan. Log off for now, go back, and get some rest to stabilize your emotions. Then, go to my house—yes, my house. There’s a tactical notebook I’ve written. If you go and get it, it shouldn’t raise any suspicion in the system. I’ll let you know the resident password and the location of the notebook later. When you arrive, we’ll find a way to prove it to you.”

“Captain… This joke isn’t funny. Stop messing around.”

“It’s not a joke.” Shu Jun ruthlessly denied. “Considering our friendship over the years, please trust me. Keep this matter to yourself, and don’t mention it to anyone. Of course, you can contact the so-called ‘me’ on the other side, but never bring up this matter.”

Hu Yan responded in a daze.

The Blackbirds had just completed a mission and were in their resting period, so Hu Yan headed straight for the stronghold, lay in the hibernation pod, and then woke up in his familiar home.

The room was filled with a familiar scent, and sunlight illuminated the crumpled sheets on the bed. Unlike in <Erosion>, the sky outside the window was clear and bright. Hu Yan stared at his hands for a while, and the red marks from splattered oil during breakfast were still visible on the back of his hand.

Everything felt so real.

‘It must all be part of the show,’ Hu Yan thought. ‘Shu Ge has so many tricks up his sleeve, he’s probably planning a huge prank to see how I’ll react.’

Hu Yan opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of chilled soda. After downing it in one breath, his dizziness lessened.

Smoke turned out to be a man, and the world was fake. Shu Ge’s imagination was as wild as ever, but he revealed a flaw—he reacted too calmly to Smoke being a man. After all, Smoke was more than just an ordinary online friend to Shu Jun.

Hu Yan squeezed the aluminum can a few times, unable to resist picking up memories and carefully comparing them.

In the past, Shu Jun was equally cheerful, but he was like a ship without direction, blindly going with the flow—because he was a combat player, he studied the game diligently; because he was the captain, he worked diligently and earnestly. Always striving, always optimistic, never revealing any flaws in his daily life, and Hu Yan had never seen him break down.

But a normal person shouldn’t be like that.

A person with strong determination should have a corresponding pillar of support, knowing why they strive. Hu Yan couldn’t see Shu Jun’s support, and the positivity of Captain Shu was like a castle in the air. Hu Yan occasionally had strange thoughts. Compared to a living person, their captain seemed more like a “perfect character”—impeccable in action but with a missing corner in their soul, drifting in aimless emptiness.

Until Smoke appeared.

For some reason, after getting to know this person, the strange sense of discord in Shu Jun disappeared. Captain Shu fell from the position of the “perfect character” and crashed into the human world, becoming vibrant. His whole being brightened.

Shu Jun would share his daily trivialities with Smoke and talk about his personal matters with the team members. A few unintentional smiles appeared on his face, and his eyes shone brighter. The hollowness that Shu Jun exuded vanished without a trace, and the missing corner of his soul seemed to be filled by “Smoke”.

Witnessing the whole process, Hu Yan felt his eyes ache, thinking that Shu Jun and Smoke were in love.

However, when they started chatting, Hu Yan realized that Shu Jun actually considered Smoke a “friend”, and their conversations were indeed in a friendly tone—relatively calm, that was.

Can a friend whom you’ve never even met have such a great influence?

Hu Yan found it strange again, but luckily this time he found a reason—being blinded by love, Shu Jun saw Smoke as a friend without realizing his true feelings.

After that day’s conversation, Hu Yan began calling Smoke “sister-in-law.” Although it was a playful nickname, as a friend, he genuinely hoped that Shu Jun would be happy and that the two of them could be together.

Years passed, and eventually, Hu Yan was almost certain that Shu Jun had truly fallen for Smoke.

However, considering the recent situation, Smoke turned out to be a man who was a few centimeters taller than Shu Jun. Ah. Hu Yan rolled his eyes inwardly—Shu Jun had never shown the slightest interest in men before. Knowing that Smoke was male, it would be strange if Captain Shu wasn’t taken aback.

But just now, Shu Jun remained calm, and there was no trace of hesitation in his gaze towards Smoke.

Hu Yan threw the beverage can in his hand and decided to go along with this poorly staged play. After all, he had seen through Shu Jun’s fake act, so giving him some face wouldn’t hurt.

He opened the communicator and sent a message to the Shu Jun who was supposed to be “traveling”.

[Captain, can I use that tactical notebook you wrote?]

Shu Jun, who was traveling, quickly replied: [What notebook?]

Hu Yan hesitated for a moment and carefully chose his words: [The tactical notebook. The one you said you handwrote. Since you won’t be using it, why not let me take a look?]

[I don’t remember having any notebook. You must be mistaken, Lao Hu.] The other side responded almost instantly. [Now you’re the Blackbirds’ captain. Don’t rely on your seniors all the time. Use your own brain.]

Hu Yan frowned. Even if Shu Jun was joking with him, he wouldn’t go to such lengths. Moreover, the other side’s attitude had subtle differences from the “Shu Jun” he knew—had it been the previous Captain Shu, he would probably laugh at him and then come up with a few temporary plans.

Hu Yan unconsciously held his breath: [Forget it. You still don’t know me. If it’s inconvenient for you, I can go to your place and get it.]

[Ah? Lao Hu, don’t make it difficult for me. I don’t even remember the password now.]

[Fine, fine, fine, I won’t bother you anymore. Go and have fun with sister-in-law.] Hu Yan typed this with a straight face.

The other side immediately sent a picture—Shu Jun was leaning against a beautiful and voluptuous woman on a beach during sunset. They looked incredibly happy, with visible tans on their bodies.

If this had happened before, Hu Yan might have envied them, but now, as he looked at the photo, he felt a chill in his heart.

He prepared a simple dinner for himself, went to bed early, and the next day went to Shu Jun’s spacious apartment.

Hu Yan had been to Shu Jun’s apartment once or twice before for offline meetings. The room was spotless, and everything was in its place. If Shu Jun had indeed confirmed his relationship with Smoke and gone on vacation, there should have been some changes in the house.

But all the daily items were still in their original positions, as if the owner of the house would return in a few hours.

Hu Yan walked around the spacious living room and entered the master bedroom. Following the prompt from “White-haired Shu Jun”, he found a thick handwritten notebook in the bottom drawer of the desk.

As he picked up the notebook, he hadn’t fully straightened up when the computer on the desk was activated, projecting a screen in the air.

“Lao Hu.” On the screen was the world of <Erosion>, and White-haired Shu Jun was looking at him with a serious expression. “Lao Hu, can you hear me speaking?”

“I… I can hear you.” Hu Yan glanced at it and realized that the “sender” of this video call was Smoke.

“Thank you for believing in me. Now look outside the window.”

Hu Yan swallowed his saliva and looked outside from Shu Jun’s bedroom—it was a great view from the high-rise, and he didn’t see anything unusual.

“In five seconds, a swallow will fly past the window and land on the windowsill,” Shu Jun said. “Five, four—”

“Ah?”

“Three, two, one.”

Sure enough, a swallow landed on the windowsill.

If it was a mechanical swallow, it should be possible. Although he was a bit shaken, Hu Yan still tried to convince himself.

“Next, it’s a leather shoe.” Shu Jun began the countdown again.

“….?”

However, after the countdown ended, a leather shoe walked along the wall, stopping next to the swallow.

Hu Yan was instantly horrified.

“Shu Jun…” He shook his head frantically, trying to shake off the scene in front of him. But the shoe continued to step in place, as if it were a living creature.

“A’Yan, is this really okay? What if we get caught or something…” White-haired Shu Jun turned his head, whispering in a low voice. After a while, he seemed to have received an answer. “Hmm, okay, okay, I understand. Alright, Lao Hu, let’s continue.”

“I… I don’t understand.” Hu Yan leaned against the edge of the bed and slowly sat on the floor. Despite the quiet and peaceful surroundings, he felt like he was on the edge of an abyss.

“You are the current captain of the Blackbirds. Remember that and stay calm.” Shu Jun lowered his voice. “Lao Hu, look outside the window, keep looking.”

“Captain Shu, tell me this is a joke.” Hu Yan pleaded, but still forced himself to look up. He faintly sensed the scent of the truth, but that scent was too cold, and he didn’t want to get closer.

“Whether it’s the swallow or the shoe, you guys prepared these props in advance, right? It’s a virtual projection, isn’t it? Or you can bring out a person with four arms and legs—fuck!”

No sooner had he spoken that the thing he described appeared outside the window.

A humanoid creature climbed onto the windowsill. Its legs twisted into a tangled mess, and it contorted at an unnatural angle like a flesh-colored spider. It stretched out a bony arm and slowly pushed open the window.

The window lock had been undone at some point.

It crawled into the room like that, its eight limbs twitching, and its movements weren’t very coordinated. Hu Yan had never seen a monster in this paradise-like city before. He sat there motionless, his hands and feet ice-cold.

The thing approached slowly, one hand gripping Hu Yan’s wrist tightly, and then it transformed into countless fragments of light, dissolving into the air.

Only a red handprint remained on Hu Yan’s wrist.

“A virtual projection can’t do this,” Shu Jun said. “You should have felt its body temperature and the texture of its skin. That was a simple model created by Smoke on the spot, directly entering the virtual world.”

He sighed, “Hu Yan, you know, I never joke about these things. If it were for a show, I definitely wouldn’t scare you like this.”

Hu Yan held onto the thick notebook, slumped on the edge of the bed, staring at Shu Jun on the screen, his eyes slowly turning red.

“What should I do?” he asked in a daze.

“Play the whole act. Take the notebook home and then immediately log into the game to come see me—Smoke can only interfere with the data near my house, but you can’t stay at my house for too long.”

“I understand.” Hu Yan said with difficulty, “When we meet, you have to tell me everything.”

……

“Interference completed, disconnected.” Ai Xiaoxiao commanded and adjusted the drip’s infusion speed with her hand.

She was in the deepest part of Ai’s Clinic, in the middle of the room with countless locks. Upon receiving instructions, the mechanical assemblage on the room’s ceiling rumbled, and the indicator lights flashed frantically.

“Our signal is reconnected. Everyone, log in again. Fifteen seconds after the connection is complete, administer the awakening agent to all personnel.” Her voice echoed in the dark space.

“Just a moment.” Then she lowered her head and looked at the hibernation pod in the center of the room—within the pod, the near-liquid mass of flesh wriggled slowly, offering no response. Fifteen seconds passed, and the wriggling of the mass of flesh increased in speed, following a rhythmic pattern.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” Ai Xiaoxiao muttered. “There’s no other way. Someone surnamed Zhu wants to borrow my equipment to heavily interfere with ‘the other side’… I can only ask you to log out for a while. He’s also helping you all. You don’t mind, do you?”

The almost liquefied mass of flesh still remained silent, continuing to undulate peacefully.

Ai Xiaoxiao smiled. “Goodnight.”

The indicator lights stopped their frantic flashing, gradually settling into a regular pattern. Dim light illuminated the label on the hibernation pod. The label was handwritten, with crooked and twisted characters, and the paper had turned yellow with age. The label bore mottled traces, as if it had been dampened by water, but the words were still discernible with some effort—

[Patient No. 1, Xu Kan.]