Rebellious Game C17.1

Hey, first of all, thanks for reading my lousy Machine Translation. To be honest, I’d really like it if you guys corrected the mistakes I made. But please speak nicely and politely. My heart is not strong enough to read your too-harsh comments. Have a nice day. 🙂

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Chp17. part1

“What’s the point of this experiment?” Wu Peng muttered, watching from the sidelines. “Why can’t we just let the elderly die in peace? Natural death is better than this torment!” He felt like he was developing a psychological disorder just from observing.

“To understand the patterns and report them to the superiors,” Yun Xin replied casually.

Wu Peng fell silent for a moment before asking, “Just for that?”

“Not entirely. The original plan was to announce it to the public and warn everyone,” Yun Xin explained. “But the experiment’s results showed that informing just anyone would curse unauthorized recipients with ‘Cursed by Misfortune,’ which can only be lifted by achieving an A or higher rank. Therefore, we can only inform high-level leaders for now.”

“They’re conducting the experiment casually in the prison. They’ve pre-trained high-level leaders on how to induce vomiting. When death row inmates experience ‘accidental’ food poisoning, the leaders will have to induce vomiting in ten people consecutively to fulfill the game requirements and learn the truth organically.”

Wu Peng was on the verge of losing his mind. “Sis, how can you say such horrific things so casually? These are human lives we’re talking about!”

Yun Xin countered, “Is it terrifying to know something and never act on it?”

Wu Peng was speechless.

Yun Xin pressed on, “What about someone who claims everything they do is ‘for the good of all humanity’ and dares to do anything? Is that person terrifying?”

Wu Peng couldn’t answer. After a long silence, he finally asked, “So, the elders deserved to die miserably for the Dean’s grand ambition?”

“Once the arrow is loose, there’s no turning back,” Yun Xin sighed. “Once you’ve agreed, fear later won’t let you change your mind.” She paused. “After it happened, I wondered if I should do something to ensure the elders hadn’t died in vain. But what if the experiment ends, the higher-ups remain ignorant, and those same few individuals continue to make reckless decisions? Wouldn’t ‘that’ be letting the elders die in vain?”

“I understand. Thank you, Sis. I know what I need to do now.” Wu Peng’s voice turned resolute as he hung up abruptly, as if rushing off to some urgent task.

Yun Xin stared blankly at the phone.

I haven’t even figured it out myself. What could he possibly understand?

“This summer is scorching hot,” Zhu Lin murmured, gazing at the blazing sun outside. She took a sip of her shaved ice and couldn’t help but sigh.

“What’s the big deal about the heat? We have air conditioning inside,” Zhou Rui said as he scooped the watermelon core into the juicer.

The machine roared to life, and in no time, it produced a full pitcher of watermelon juice.

“Are we almost out of watermelon?” Zhu Lin asked, peering over.

“Yeah, the newbie went to get more,” Zhou Rui replied.

“How could you let a girl go alone?” Zhu Lin said, rising to help at the warehouse.

Zhou Rui protested, “I offered to go with her, but she said it was too hot and told me to rest. She insisted she could handle it herself.”

“She was just being polite! And you took her seriously?” Zhu Lin scoffed.

“If she can handle it, she can handle it. What’s with the politeness? It just makes things confusing,” Zhou Rui grumbled.

Just as they were about to head to the warehouse together, Yun Xin appeared, dragging a burlap sack full of watermelons.

Zhu Lin finally realized the newbie wasn’t being polite at all. Yun Xin hauled the heavy sack as effortlessly as she might drag a sack of volleyballs.

But how much do volleyballs weigh compared to watermelons? Were they even comparable?

Zhu Lin’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Watermelon juice sells really well in the summer, and I figured it would be less of a hassle to carry more at once,” Yun Xin explained as she neatly stacked the watermelons in a corner.

“Ah? Oh…” Zhou Rui seemed a bit dazed.

He usually handled the watermelon deliveries himself, with Zhu Lin occasionally lending a hand. They knew it would be more efficient to carry more at once, but the watermelons were so heavy they couldn’t manage it.

“Have you been working out your arm strength specifically?” Zhou Rui asked curiously.

“Just naturally strong, I guess,” Yun Xin replied with a smile.

“That’s great!” Zhu Lin perked up immediately. Usually, the two of them would struggle to carry watermelons, but now that a strong newcomer had arrived, their work would be much easier.

“You’ve earned a break,” Zhou Rui said warmly, pouring Yun Xin a glass of ice-cold watermelon juice. “Sit down and have a drink.”

Being new, Yun Xin was hesitant. “Is this okay? Did the boss approve?”

“No worries!” Zhu Lin waved dismissively. “Our boss is super chill. He says we can drink whatever we want during work hours, as long as we’re not wasting it by pouring half a glass away. He doesn’t mind at all.”

Only then did Yun Xin accept the chilled juice, take a sip, and exclaim, “Delicious!”

“Delicious, right? The watermelons were grown by people the boss knows from his village. They say it’s a new variety — extra large and sweet,” Zhu Lin explained to the new employee. “The boss’s story is really inspiring too. He only finished middle school, used to farm in the countryside, then came to the city to find work. Saved up some money and started his own business.”

“Because the drinks are so good and reasonably priced, he’s already opened three stores. I heard he’s bought a house and a car, and even has two kids now.”

“Wow—” Yun Xin exclaimed in admiration.

“I came here to work because I heard employees get free drinks — all you can drink!” Zhu Lin said proudly, then turned to Yun Xin. “What about you?”

Yun Xin’s answer was remarkably simple and unadorned: “Because this was the only place willing to hire me.”

Zhou Rui, “…?”

Why does that sound so bleak and pitiful?

“Don’t worry,” he reassured her. “Now that you’re here, you’re one of us. If you need anything, just say the word — we’ll all help.”

“Okay,” Yun Xin nodded obediently.

“Working here is pretty good. It gets really busy sometimes, but when it’s quiet, you can relax as much as you want,” Zhu Lin enthusiastically shared her veteran’s work wisdom.

No sooner had she finished speaking than two customers walked in. “One iced watermelon juice and one half-sweet milk tea with ice.”

“Right away!” Zhou Rui bustled into action.