19: Chapter 19 The Mute Uncle's Radio Was Playing a Death Spell

Chen Fan squatted on the blue tiles, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

The lingering bell in his palm vibrated hotly, like a tightly clenched miniature sun.

He stared at the faint blue light three hundred meters away. The blue light was slowly moving along the bluestones of the alley entrance, pausing every half an inch, as if being pulled along by an invisible string.

"Sssshhh--"

Static suddenly crackled from inside the house; Uncle Ya's old radio started up again.

Chen Fan's ear twitched slightly as the tail end of a nursery rhyme drifted out: "...Brother, hurry and hold my hand--"

Just as the trailing note faded, the blue light paused exactly.

His pupils contracted sharply.

This wasn't a coincidence.

The last few times the monitor approached, this broken nursery rhyme always floated out of the radio. He had assumed it was system interference, but the moment the passive warning triggered just now, he clearly captured the rhythm of the blue light's movement—a pause every seven seconds, perfectly matching the interval between the emphasized beats in the nursery rhyme's 'Red light shines, the soul departs.'

"Damn it," Chen Fan gritted his back molars and flipped over the eaves, his heels clicking sharply on the roof tiles.

He kicked open the slightly ajar wooden door. Little Honey was squatting beside the square table, wiping a medicine jar. She looked up, her braid swaying: "Brother Chen? Tea..."

"Lend it to me." Chen Fan snatched the celadon jar from her hand.

Little Honey made an 'Ah' sound, her fingertips still smeared with half a dab of ointment, as she watched him press the bronze bell shard against the bottom of the jar and tap it lightly.

"Ding--"

Amidst the crisp sound, ripples like water waves spread across the surface of the porcelain jar.

Chen Fan squinted and leaned closer, only to see countless tiny streams of data flowing along the jar's wall, exactly matching the scan waveform of the monitor from before.

"The System has embedded a data anchor in everyday items," Su Shuang said, appearing behind him at some unknown time. The fox tattoo on her wrist flowed into a pale pink color. "This jar is new, delivered this morning. I had Little Honey buy it from the apothecary."

Chen Fan tightened his grip on the bronze bell shard.

He recalled the broken bowl he picked up in the Newbie Village three days ago. Back then, he thought the pattern at the bottom of the bowl was strange. Now, thinking about it—that wasn't a pattern at all; it was clearly the System's location code.

"Your critical hit system is 'listening,'" Su Shuang lightly touched the body of the jar. The data streams recoiled as if scalded by her fox tattoo. "The last time you triggered a critical hit, the lingering bell shattered half a bronze mirror. A similar waveform surfaced on the back of the mirror. The System thinks it's monitoring you, but actually, your golden finger is reading back its lies."

Chen Fan suddenly laughed.

He looked at the pulsing data streams at the bottom of the jar, his Adam's apple bobbing twice: "That works out perfectly. I'll feed it something fake."

Little Honey stared blankly at the empty medicine jar, watching him grab a shovel and rush into the backyard.

Half of the bluestone slab by the ancient well was pried up. Chen Fan buried the porcelain jar in the damp soil, then pressed the bronze bell shard against the bottom of the jar—it was something he had dug out of the Zombie King's mechanical core, still carrying a scorched, musty smell.

"When it scans this jar, the data will feedback," He patted the dirt off his hands. When he looked up, the moonlight fell across his brow. "The System loves to lie, right? I'll teach it to speak the truth."

As the third watch gong sounded its third strike, the blue light at the alley entrance suddenly accelerated.

Chen Fan squatted on the ridgepole, the vibration frequency of the lingering bell as fast as a heartbeat.

He watched the faint blue light dart to the back wall of the Teahouse. The monitor's mechanical arm slowly raised—

"Beep--"

The data streams shot into the earth like silver snakes.

The next second, the porcelain jar buried by the ancient well erupted in a blinding white light.

Chen Fan saw the blue light flicker violently. The monitor's mechanical joints emitted cracking sounds of breaking. The sensor head, which had been aimed at the Teahouse, slowly turned—

Directly toward the abandoned signal tower on the edge of the city.

"Go on," Chen Fan pulled out a cigarette and lit it, the spark flickering in the night. "Scout the path for me."

Just as the morning sun climbed onto the eaves the next day, the System announcement exploded.

[New Player Alert!] The mechanical voice was sharper than usual. "Abnormal data node detected at the signal tower. An emergency mission is now issued: [Repair the City Signal Tower Data Node]. Time limit: 40 minutes. Reward for completion: Rare material [Pure Crystal Chip]."

The radio in the Teahouse was slapped shut with a 'snap'.

Little Honey ran out from the inner room, still clutching half a piece of uneaten osmanthus cake: "Sister, the signal tower! I heard the elders say it was built when the System first arrived. Many players went in and never came out..."

"Family, look over here!" The voice of the livestreamer, Little Honey, suddenly burst from the electronic screen on the street corner. "The signal tower is one of the System's core hubs. Whoever repairs the node can touch the underlying code! This is a huge win--"

"Brother Dao, let's go!"

"Brother Tie, Chen Fan stole the Zombie King last time. We must get the crystal chip back this time!"

The clamor from outside flooded into the Teahouse, mixed with the morning mist.

Chen Fan tore off the cuff of his work uniform, revealing the crisscrossing marks on his arm—the pale pink fox tattoo crawled over deep brown corrosion scars, like a flower blooming in the ruins.

"They're after the chip," He tucked the lingering bell into his chest, looking up with light in his eyes. "I want the red light at the base of the tower."

Su Shuang paused the hand that was wiping a teacup.

She looked at his profile. The fox tattoo spread to a deep pink around the corner of her eye: "Red light?"

"Last night, when the monitor turned, I scanned it with the lingering bell," Chen Fan touched the fox tattoo on his chest, which still held the warmth from last night's resonance. "It's in sync with the pulse of the Newbie Village Zombie King's iron crown. Whatever the System is hiding, the answer must be in that red light."

"You can go," Su Shuang suddenly grabbed his wrist. Her fingertips were as cool as the morning dew in the teacup. "But remember, every time you trigger a critical hit--"

"I have to come back for tea," Chen Fan finished the sentence smoothly. He looked down and saw the small fan-shaped shadows her eyelashes cast beneath her eyes. "I know."

He turned toward the door, the morning mist enveloping his back.

The corner of the lantern outside the Teahouse was lifted by the wind, letting out a warm yellow glow that illuminated half a bronze bell shard sticking out of his work pants pocket—that was the bait he had just buried.

The spire of the signal tower was faintly visible in the morning mist.

Chen Fan squinted up at it, seeing that the tower was covered in dark purple vines. Every vine emitted a faint glow of flowing data, like countless venomous snakes crawling up the tower wall.

He touched the lingering bell in his chest; it began to vibrate gently again.

This time, the vibration carried a hint of excited tremor.