Chapter Eleven: The Overly Shrewd Granny Liu

The two of them wore casual expressions; in fact, there was even a hint of a smile on Granny Liu’s face, as if they were merely chatting about everyday matters, making it impossible to imagine that their conversation was so terrifying.

The noise of the bar provided a convenient cover, and with no one within two or three meters of them, neither of them made any effort to lower their voices.

Meanwhile, Liang Bing hadn’t noticed that the pile of clothes Da Bing had carelessly tossed to the ground earlier had somehow ended up stuffed onto the high stool behind her.

The lighting was dim and the surroundings lively, so not a single person noticed.

As for Da Bing, who had been thrown out earlier, no one knew when he’d vanished.

In the dimly-lit alley behind the bar, Da Bing, clad only in a tight vest that revealed his muscular arms, strode quickly forward.

He moved with remarkable speed; his steps made no sound even as he leapt and landed. The darkness seemed not to hinder him in the least; he ran effortlessly.

In his hand, he held two phones, pressed back to back.

From one, the faint sounds of Liang Bing and Granny Liu’s conversation could be heard, though the background noise made the voices fragmentary and indistinct.

The other phone was connected to Gao Ning.

At this moment, Gao Ning was lying in bed, pressing the phone to his ear with his right hand, his mind focused on the two yellow dots clustered together on the screen.

Through the static of the receiver, Liang Bing’s voice came again after a moment.

“It’s right here!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it for you,” Granny Liu replied blandly, her tone carrying a trace of laughter. “If it weren’t for you, I would’ve ended up dead in the last world, let alone kept any skills! Besides, the skill I gained is decent enough—at least for this sort of thing!”

Gao Ning’s pupils contracted; he sat up straight, listening intently.

What was this? Did the place really grant skills, just like the Infinite Space?

Could Granny Liu have redeemed internal energy?

Liang Bing asked, “Granny Liu, is your skill called Zombie Summoning?”

Granny Liu replied, “It’s called Corpse Summoning! With every use, I can conjure a corpse out of thin air and control it for two hours. But I must wait two hours between uses. It’s nothing compared to that young man I met when I first arrived—he wasn’t even twenty, still in high school, I think. He told me his third world was ‘Anaconda,’ so he gained the power to summon a giant python. Too bad my first world was ‘The Day After Tomorrow.’ After that boy was swept away by the flood, he never came back! Come to think of it, his giant python was formidable—it could twist a car into a pretzel with ease, not to mention what it could do to people!”

Here, the old lady sighed, as if she genuinely felt sorry for that young man.

Liang Bing said calmly, “So, according to you, as long as someone survives three worlds, regardless of whether they complete the missions, they’ll receive a novice reward skill, right?”

Granny Liu replied, “That’s what the boys said! Besides, after my last return, I immediately received the Corpse Summoning skill. Seems that’s how it works!”

Liang Bing said, “I’ve been through ‘Resident Evil’ with you, and with this time, I only need to go through one more world to get a skill! I just don’t know how the train counts it: is it a skill after every three worlds, or do you get a skill with each world after the third?”

Granny Liu replied, “That I don’t know! Our team never had continuity, so we’ve hardly any useful information. We have to feel our way forward, bit by bit.”

Liang Bing said, “At least here, even if you don’t complete the mission, there’s no punishment. Compared to the Lord God Space, this is much more forgiving!”

Granny Liu snorted coldly, “Not necessarily! Last time, we just got lucky. As soon as we realized what world we were in, we abandoned the mission and ran, so we didn’t run into any adversaries. But when I was in ‘2012,’ I saw the Ark blown to pieces with my own eyes.”

Liang Bing fell silent for a moment. “Are there really adversaries?”

“Once you’re involved in the storyline, you must choose a side. If we can stand among the winners, naturally there are those who’ll side with the villains, trying to overturn the plot entirely. Trust me, if you want to finish the mission, you might encounter these people! They’re not like us—they come solely to complete their tasks. They’re ruthless, caring nothing for lives if it means more time for themselves. If inciting a catastrophe lets them finish their mission easily, they wouldn’t even blink!”

There was a trace of hatred in Granny Liu’s voice, as if recalling something unforgettable.

Liang Bing asked, “With information this important, shouldn’t we give Gao Ning a heads-up?”

“That lad may seem dumb and honest, but he’s actually sharp as a tack! I’ve seen plenty like him. Outwardly, they play by the rules, looking mild and proper, but that’s just society’s constraints. Once freed from its shackles, they explode with wildness and madness you can’t even imagine. If he drags us down with him, we’ll be as good as dead to our families!”

Gao Ning was dumbfounded.

What was this? Were they talking about him?

He’d been a model child for over twenty years, never touching cigarettes or alcohol, let alone anything worse. He’d never been tainted by society’s darker side. Even the neighbors said he had a heart of gold. How did he become, in Granny Liu’s eyes, someone who looked honest but was ruthless inside?

What kind of perspective did she have?

Right now, Gao Ning wished he could jump in front of the old lady and give her a good kick for her loose tongue.

Perhaps noticing Liang Bing’s silence, the old woman chuckled and hurried to make amends. “Don’t take it to heart, lass. I just haven’t recovered from what happened with Da Niu. It’s just that caution is the parent of safety, don’t you agree?”

“You’re right! But I think since there are three of us, why not pool our strength and try to complete the missions? Even if we run into adversaries, we’d have some advantage.” Liang Bing tapped the table lightly. “We should’ve given him our contact info from the start.”

“No rush! You have to observe people first. If he’s careful, he’ll be able to find us early. Giving ourselves a bit of leeway is a test for him, too. After all, since we’ll be teammates, we need to know something about him.”

At this, both of them stopped, as if by tacit agreement.

Their conversation shifted to anecdotes from their current identities—Granny Liu spoke of her son, Liang Bing of her unreliable husband—and the mysterious train wasn’t mentioned again.

Gao Ning hung up, his face dark, tossed his phone aside, muttered a curse, and went to sleep.

Old people are cunning, and this old woman’s mind is practically a sieve for schemes!