Chapter 40: The Ghost King and the Poor Student 05

“Boss, there really is food!”

On their way to the backyard, Tang Bin and Cheng Hongyi ran into the two people that Lao Diao had sent earlier to find food. These two usually acted arrogantly, but here, they were so scared that they didn’t dare utter a sound. When they saw Tang Bin and Cheng Hongyi walking toward them, they quickly stepped aside to let them pass.

As they brushed past them, Tang Bin couldn’t help but feel a sense of wonder.

After all, these were the same two little punks who had tried to intimidate him at noon…

Both Tang Bin and Cheng Hongyi had eaten the dry bread from the kitchen and drunk the water from the well. Now that Lao Diao and the others were eating and drinking as well, there were no more reservations about it.

While they were feasting, Tang Bin and Cheng Hongyi had already arrived by the well in the backyard. Tang Bin was once again stunned by the scene here—

First, the yard was well-lit, surprisingly bright.

Around the yard, there were several places with wooden posts about two or three meters tall, and on top of each post, there were oil lamps hanging, providing enough light to illuminate the entire yard.

Secondly, the whole yard was piled high with thick logs, stacked like small hills.

If the little cabin in front could be described as a low-budget wooden shack, then this backyard was almost like a lumber mill.

Not far from the well, there was a circle of wooden posts, each one with an old axe embedded in it.

Tang Bin crouched down to take a closer look at the axes—although old, they were sharp. He tested them with some nearby wood shavings and found them surprisingly sharp.

While Tang Bin was examining the axe, Cheng Hongyi had already walked around the yard and the wooden posts.

His eyes scanned the area, his expression extremely focused as he carefully observed everything around him.

Tang Bin, curious about what he was looking at, followed his gaze but couldn’t make sense of it.

Unable to figure it out, he asked, “So… what are you looking at?”

“Do you remember the survival information from the phone earlier?” Cheng Hongyi asked while continuing to examine the surroundings.

“Yeah,” Tang Bin nodded obediently. Although the original owner of this body didn’t have a photographic memory, he could still retrieve information. So, Tang Bin repeated the task instructions verbatim.

This skill was pretty impressive, but when he finished speaking, Cheng Hongyi merely glanced at him, showing no surprise. He muttered to himself, “Cut as much wood as possible according to the specified dimensions, and the time is three days…”

“Yes,” Tang Bin nodded, “That’s what it said.”

“Now, there are a few problems,” Cheng Hongyi said, extending his long fingers:

“One, what kind of wood should be chopped. Two, what the specified dimensions are. Three, when does the time start counting from?”

“…” Tang Bin blinked, not knowing the answers to any of these questions.

Fortunately, Cheng Hongyi seemed to have some clues. He said, “Let’s go back and check again.”

“Alright.” Tang Bin obediently followed Cheng Hongyi back.

As they walked back to the fireplace, Cheng Hongyi lowered his gaze and examined the wood piled in front of it.

Tang Bin followed his gaze. Every piece of wood was thick, requiring an adult to hold it with both hands to carry it. Each piece was also trimmed smoothly and evenly, almost as if they were all exactly the same size and thickness…

After inspecting, Cheng Hongyi bent down and picked up one of the logs. Tang Bin followed his example and picked one up too. The two were about to head back to the yard when Lao Diao, who was chewing furiously, mumbled through his mouthful, “So, what did you find?”

It turned out that the lack of food and drink had left everyone in despair in this desolate place.

At times like this, human nature is most vulnerable to being tested.

Now that there was enough food to eat and drink, Lao Diao’s mood had improved somewhat. He no longer viewed Cheng Hongyi with suspicion. His attitude softened, as if the man who had threatened to pull out his knife just moments ago was a completely different person.

Cheng Hongyi said, “I need to confirm something, but you can check the backyard later.”

He then led Tang Bin back to the backyard. They placed the logs they had brought onto the ground, and Cheng Hongyi took two more pieces from the yard and placed them next to the ones they had brought. Once compared, Tang Bin immediately noticed the difference.

The logs in the yard were all uneven in shape—some thick, some thin, and varying lengths.

But the firewood stacked in front of the fireplace was all uniform in size and shape. Could this mean…?

“These are the system-specified dimensions?” Tang Bin pointed at the wood by the fireplace with some surprise. “So, we’re supposed to chop these irregular logs to match this size?”

“I think so,” Cheng Hongyi said.

Tang Bin: “…”

So how did Cheng Hongyi think of observing these logs to figure out the dimensions? He hadn’t thought of it at all!

Also, wasn’t this system task way too irresponsible? Just like this system, everything had to be figured out on its own…

Tang Bin couldn’t help but complain.

But Cheng Hongyi said, “That’s exactly why the task description is so short. Every word matters. Remember…”

“Remember what?” Tang Bin, still crouched down inspecting the logs, looked up curiously when he noticed Cheng Hongyi had stopped speaking.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Hongyi just shook his head and said, “Nothing.”

“?” Tang Bin was left a bit confused.

The yard was still silent, with no sound of insects or wind. The view was blocked by piles of wood, so he couldn’t see what was behind the little cabin. In the stillness of the night, the silence made the air feel unsettling.

Fortunately, the silence didn’t last too long.

The two people, who were looking at each other, suddenly heard a series of piercing screams. The source of the noise was coming from the little cabin in front of the yard!

The two exchanged a glance. As soon as Tang Bin stood up, Cheng Hongyi naturally grabbed his hand, and the two of them ran quickly toward the front house.

“What’s going on?” Tang Bin asked as they arrived.

This little wooden house was indeed very small, and it only took them a few seconds to run back. Tang Bin could still hear the ringing of the phone echoing in the house, along with Lao Diao’s trembling hand holding the flip phone.

He was frantically pressing the answer button, but the ringing sound showed no signs of stopping.

The call couldn’t be answered.

And it was clear that the ringing sound was not coming from the phone in Lao Diao’s hand.

“What, what, what’s going on?” Lao Diao was completely stunned, looking at Cheng Hongyi with eyes full of fear and seeking help. Cheng Hongyi raised his hand and glanced at the time again. His cold voice intersected with the urgent ringing sound.

“There’s another phone,” he said.

As he spoke, Cheng Hongyi moved toward the fireplace, where, from between the bricks, he pulled out another phone identical to the one Lao Diao was holding.

Then, without any hesitation, Cheng Hongyi pressed the answer button, all eyes on him in silence.

Once again, there was that strange, crackling static sound. Cheng Hongyi didn’t speak, and no one dared to make a sound. After about a minute, there was finally some movement on the other end of the call.

This time, Cheng Hongyi pressed the speakerphone button. A raspy, unpleasant voice echoed through the cabin: “Welcome to the temporary stay in the little cabin. Now, the specific game content will be announced—”

The voice sped up suddenly, and the static grew louder, making the tone even stranger: “The cold winter is coming. Hunters who are going up the mountain must leave the mountain as soon as possible. However, the broken wooden bridge is blocking the hunters from crossing the river. Please prepare as much wood as possible according to the standard!”

The static noise seemed to turn into a whistling wind. If the sound hadn’t been so eerie, it would almost sound like someone telling them a story.

But the voice was just too unpleasant.

And this world was full of strange things, so no one present felt any gratitude. In fact, they became more and more irritated by the noise.

“What is he saying?” Huang Xiaomeng and the others, once again scared by the odd tone, impatiently asked.

But the voice on the phone didn’t stop. With more static, it continued: “Hurry! Time is tight!”

Cheng Hongyi made a gesture to the restless crowd to quiet down. Then, his cold and emotionless voice rang out as he asked, “So much wood, so thick and heavy. How are we supposed to bring it down the mountain?”

Although this question seemed somewhat absurd.

Everyone exchanged glances, confused about why he was concerned about this.

The voice on the other end slowed down abruptly, returning to its initial cold, rough tone, and surprisingly answered him: “The system has prepared a personal space for each player. Wood that meets the required size can be stored in it. Players need not worry.”

“Wood that meets the required size?” Cheng Hongyi’s expression grew more intense than before, and he even furrowed his brows.

He wanted to ask more, but the unpleasant voice on the other end continued, “Since someone from your side has already summarized the game rules in advance, the following rewards are granted: One, the game start time is changed to 6 AM tomorrow. Two, one question will be answered for the participants. The question has already been answered. Good luck to everyone.”

After that, the call was abruptly ended by the other side.

Cheng Hongyi threw the phone onto the table.

The people around them were nearly stunned. Shouldn’t this reward have been mentioned from the start? And they hadn’t even had time to think about what to ask! How could that be counted as asking a question?

Someone cast a resentful glance at Cheng Hongyi, but for some reason, they were becoming increasingly reluctant to offend him.

No one dared to blame Cheng Hongyi for his rashness, not even Lao Diao, who remained silent.

“So… what’s going on?” After a moment of silence, Yang Yi was the first to speak.

She was clearly asking Cheng Hongyi, her eyes shining with curiosity. “…Was that strange voice giving the reward to you?”

Cheng Hongyi didn’t answer her. Instead, he pulled on Tang Bin’s arm and asked, “Did you figure out what’s going on?”

Tang Bin thought for a moment. He had been running alongside the male lead for the whole night, and had somewhat grasped the general idea. He replied, “It means that we need to use the next three days to chop up the wood in the backyard into this size, and then we’ll have a personal space to carry the wood. After that, we’ll need to go fix the wooden bridge, right?”

“What the hell…” As soon as Tang Bin finished speaking, Lao Diao’s lackey impatiently muttered.

But Cheng Hongyi nodded in affirmation, his expression softening slightly. “Our doubts have been cleared up.”

Tang Bin nodded. “Mm.”

Everyone else: “???”

“So what do we do now?” Tang Bin asked.

“They said the activity starts at 6 AM tomorrow, right?” Cheng Hongyi raised the corner of his mouth and, for the first time, gave a rare smile. “So now, we’re going to sleep.”