Should we help Yu Xing retrieve his lost brain?
Xu Shulou didn’t hesitate long before tapping "Yes" on the screen—she always tried to save whoever she could.
Song Ping hoisted Yu Xing onto his shoulder. Fortunately, the paper-thin man weighed almost nothing, making it effortless to carry him.
Suddenly, the entire spider nest trembled, causing the staff member to lose his balance and accidentally crush a spider egg underfoot. After exchanging glances, the group made the wise decision: "Run!"
Before they could move, a loud "clang!" echoed as a falling rock smashed through the nest, landing right in front of them.
Peering through the shattered ceiling, the group blinked in confusion. "Did I just… see a bunch of gorillas piloting helicopters attacking us?"
Bai Roushuang leaned out seriously for a better look. "Yep, they’ve rigged up some kind of catapult."
No sooner had she spoken than another rock crashed down, flattening several spider eggs. As the barrage intensified, the group scrambled for cover, with Xu Shulou dragging the staff member along as she dodged. "This isn’t sustainable."
"What do we do, then?"
Xu Shulou eyed a peculiarly perfect "Y"-shaped tree branch nearby—as if the artist had gotten lazy while drawing it—and suggested, "Can we tie spider silk to it and make a slingshot?"
"Brilliant idea!" The staff member’s eyes lit up. "We could even fling rocks back at them."
Xu Shulou gave him an approving glance. "Glad you’re finally speaking coherently."
They got to work immediately, fastening the remarkably elastic spider silk to the tree to fashion a makeshift slingshot, then loaded one of the enemy’s rocks and launched it back.
The four shielded their eyes, watching eagerly—only for the gorilla pilot to swerve deftly, tailing the helicopter just out of the rock’s path.
"……"
"Again," Xu Shulou proposed. "This time, launch me up there. I’ll try hijacking their chopper."
The group obliged, pulling the silk taut and counting down before releasing, sending Xu Shulou soaring straight toward the aircraft.
The gorilla dodged again, but Xu Shulou latched onto the wing. The trio watched anxiously as the helicopter shuddered violently, flipping midair in an attempt to shake her off.
Moments later, one gorilla tumbled out. Then another. And another. By the time the aircraft crash-landed, only one gorilla remained, locked in a chokehold with Xu Shulou as they both slid out of the cockpit.
"……"
As the others rushed to help, Xu Shulou freed a hand and knocked the gorilla unconscious with a punch before flopping onto the grass beside it. "That slingshot’s pretty fun. Do amusement parks have anything like it?"
Bai Roushuang hauled her senior sister up.
The staff member circled the confiscated helicopter. "Anyone here know how to fly this thing? Just saying, I definitely don’t."
After a shared glance, Xu Shulou volunteered, "I’ll do it!"
Bai Roushuang eyed her skeptically. "I refuse to believe you can pilot a helicopter."
Xu Shulou was already in the pilot’s seat. "This one’s probably a simplified version. Worth a shot."
Ultimately, since no one else could—and at least Xu Shulou had nerve—they nervously agreed.
Luckily, being paper-thin, all five (or more, if folded creatively) fit snugly inside.
Thus, Xu Shulou wobbled into the sky, flying low for safety as the others scanned the ground for zombie trails.
The helicopter proved handy; spotting swarms of bees or rhinos below, they silently thanked their luck.
"Senior Sister!" Bai Roushuang suddenly called. "See that half-eaten deer? Follow the blood trail."
"Got it," Xu Shulou glanced down. "This zombie’s picky."
An alarm blared in the cockpit. The staff member tensed. "What’s wrong?"
Xu Shulou checked the panel. "Relax. Just out of fuel."
Out of fuel. Just. The sheer calm made the staff member shriek.
"See that flock of one-eyed giant geese?" Xu Shulou gripped the controls. "When we’re above them—jump."
"Wait, wha—AAAH—" Before he could process it, Xu Shulou banked sharply, and Bai Roushuang yanked him out, landing them squarely on a goose’s back.
Song Ping, still carrying Yu Xing, landed gracefully beside them, followed by Xu Shulou, who drifted down like a leaf. Noticing the staff member’s death grip on the goose’s neck, she asked kindly, "Scared?"
Tearfully, he gasped, "What kind of monsters are you?"
Even if jumping was necessary, normal people needed a moment to panic. But these three? At Xu Shulou’s word, they’d leapt without hesitation—his brain hadn’t even caught up before he was dragged onto the goose.
"Outsiders," Xu Shulou intoned mysteriously.
"……"
The goose, less than thrilled, skimmed low through the forest, trying to scrape them off with branches.
They didn’t overstay their welcome; once deep enough, they hopped off.
Tracking the zombies’ dragging footprints and occasional discarded limbs (half an arm, an eyeball), they trailed the horde for hours before spotting them—shambling stiffly, slow but relentless.
"How do we handle this?" The staff member scratched his head. "Movies and games say you gotta destroy the brain. But there’s so many… Do we have enough health potions?"
Xu Shulou pondered, then said, "Stay back. I’ll scout for tools."
She returned shortly, signaling Bai Roushuang and the others to hide.
"What’s she doing?" The staff member tensed—then gaped as Xu Shulou sliced her arm open with a sharp rock, letting blood drip freely. The scent drove the zombies into a frenzy, surging toward her.
She bolted, chugging health potions while bleeding, barely keeping her vitals stable. The bloodlust even sped up the zombies.
…This was insane. The staff member stared at Xu Shulou’s dust-kicking sprint, then turned for solidarity—only to find the other two utterly unfazed.
"This… this isn’t normal, right?"
Bai Roushuang nodded nostalgically. "Yeah, the game’s kinda limiting her."
"……"
As the horde of zombies was about to disappear from sight, the group chased after them and soon spotted a giant-footed creature stomping on the undead. Each step crushed a cluster of zombies, producing a series of sickening cracks—likely shattering their bones. Xu Shulou was also within the creature's attack range, but her agility allowed her to roll away just before each stomp landed.
A staff member clutched his chest. "Traveling with you guys is giving me a heart attack."
Bai Roushuang noticed her senior sister still holding a struggling zombie and immediately guessed, "Does that one have Yu Xing's brain?"
Despite being busy, Xu Shulou still found time to reply, "This zombie seemed unusually smart. While the others kept chasing me, this one ran from the giant-footed creature. Figured it was worth checking."
...A zombie with a brain being smarter—not a bad line of reasoning.
Xu Shulou deftly redirected the threat and soon escaped the giant-footed creature's territory, leaving the unfortunate zombies to their fate.
The group gathered around the "smart" zombie Xu Shulou had captured, pinning its limbs down as she searched its body.
"Nothing," Xu Shulou shook her head. Just as the staff member sighed in disappointment, she added, "Guess we’ll have to crack its skull open."
"..."
True to her word, Xu Shulou rolled up her sleeves and reached into the zombie’s dried-up eye socket.
The staff member nearly vomited.
"Not much in here," Xu Shulou muttered as she rummaged around. Suddenly, she let out a surprised "Huh?" and pulled out a pink slip of paper.
The others leaned in, and Song Ping sucked in a breath. "Damn, they even drew the cerebral cortex and hypothalamus—pretty accurate."
"So... this is Yu Xing’s brain?"
A translucent screen popped up in front of Xu Shulou: "Congratulations! You have obtained the item 'Yu Xing’s Brain.' Would you like to equip it?"
"Equip? As in, wear his brain?"
The screen seemed to sense her confusion. A small line of text flickered below, and Xu Shulou squinted to read: "Equipping another’s brain grants a significant intelligence boost, with effects extending to reality."
"That’s terrifying," Xu Shulou refused outright. "No way I’m wearing someone else’s brain. Let’s return it to Yu Xing."
She slapped the pink paper onto Yu Xing’s forehead. A flash of light later, his dazed, spiraling eyes returned to normal, and he woke up.
"Yu Xing!" The staff member waved a finger in front of his face. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
"..."
"Ahahaha—" Yu Xing burst into bizarre laughter. He rubbed his forehead, ignoring the finger. "Why does my head feel so... empty?"
"It was empty, but we just put your brain back in."
"Ahahaha—what the hell happened to me?" Yu Xing stared bewildered at the four paper-thin figures before him. "Who are you?"
"Here, let me explain," the staff member volunteered.
Yu Xing listened, his expression growing increasingly dazed, nearly reverting to his earlier spiraling eyes. Song Ping raised a crucial question: "Now that we’ve found Yu Xing, how do we leave?"
Xu Shulou didn’t hesitate. "Keep moving forward. Kill anything in our way. We’ll find an exit eventually."
"Ding." As if alarmed by her approach—which would likely result in excessive NPC casualties—a screen flashed before Xu Shulou, Bai Roushuang, and Song Ping: "Congratulations on passing the survival trial. You have been granted immigration eligibility."
"Immigration eligibility?" Bai Roushuang blinked. "Does that mean we can leave?"
"Only those with eligibility may depart. However, each of you has one pet slot. Would you like to register the other two as pets?"
Bai Roushuang glanced at the nervous Yu Xing and the staff member, then sighed. "Fine, pets it is. Let all five of us out."
The moment she spoke, the ground split open, and a swirling current sucked them in. Another toilet-flush-like experience—they were beyond complaining.
When they finally landed on solid marble flooring, everyone sighed in relief, patting their restored flesh-and-blood bodies. The staff member nearly cried from joy.
Bai Roushuang pressed, "What’s this about immigration?"
With no screen in sight, Xu Shulou pressed a hand to the wall, communicating through spiritual sense. After a moment, her expression turned odd. "It says it’s an extraterrestrial, not a demon from the mortal realm."
Yu Xing and the staff member gaped. Song Ping nodded calmly. "That explains the unfamiliar energy."
Bai Roushuang frowned. "An alien running games on Earth?"
Xu Shulou relayed, "It claims it didn’t want to eat us. Its home planet looks like the game world, and it was selecting humans who could adapt for immigration."
"..." The group fell silent. Yu Xing pinched his thigh hard, convinced he was dreaming.
"Can we refuse?" Bai Roushuang whispered.
The wall trembled angrily. Xu Shulou translated, "It says it finally found suitable candidates and won’t take no for an answer."
Bai Roushuang’s sword, Qilu, materialized in her hand. "Guess we’re doing this the hard way."
The entire building shook, then began rising. Only then did they realize the "building" was actually a disguised spacecraft. Whether they liked it or not, they were being forcibly hauled to another planet.
Yu Xing whirled on the staff member. "What kind of oversight does your studio have? How did an alien sneak in and build a fake building?!"
"..."
Now that her spiritual power was restored, Xu Shulou wasn’t about to let this slide. Her folding fan shot out, embedding itself in the floor and shattering it. The group leapt down just as the building lunged to swallow them again. Xu Shulou struck it with a palm strike infused with crushing force, sending the entire structure shuddering before it crashed to the ground, motionless—as if knocked unconscious.
Yu Xing and the staff member stared, jaws slack.
Xu Shulou calmly retrieved her fan. "Aliens fall under the divine realm’s jurisdiction. Let them handle it."
Bai Roushuang blinked. "Wait, so the divine realm deals with aliens? How long has this been going on? Are there a lot of them?"
"No idea," Xu Shulou shrugged. "I used to wonder—if the divine realm doesn’t intervene in human wars, diseases, or disasters, what do they do? Turns out, they handle things from beyond the sky."
"..."
Yu Xing and the staff member remained shell-shocked. Xu Shulou frowned. "Take them to a hospital. Just in case the brain reattachment didn’t go well. I’ll go send a fax."
"Wait, a fax?"
"Yeah," Xu Shulou nodded. "Apparently, the divine realm isn’t exactly up-to-date with technology."
"..."
A busy yet fulfilling night passed in a flash. The next day, when the film crew arrived to pick up their actors for work, they were met with an unexpectedly wide-open view—only two things remained on the site: Xu Shulou and the foundation.
