Seven Days, Seven Nights

It was quite difficult to achieve an increase of 10 value points all at once. 3 value points was the average increase when leaving a game. Sadly, his force value only increased a little this time.

With a sigh, Su Er muttered: “I wonder what effect the charm value has.”

Ji Heng: “If you enter another game, you may find out.”

Their eyes met, and they pressed down on the grooved depression on their badges at the same time. The two temporarily left the game world.

The player badge/breastplate has a sunken area or depression with a pattern on it which they press in order to enter or leave the SDSN world

The first thing he saw when he came back to his senses was the eye-catching hairstyle of a certain Shamate. Zhao Sanliang was still talking to them as if they’d never left, and all of Su Er’s happiness in making it out alive vanished.

For the first time, he felt that the time difference was terrible. If they played well, they could achieve a lot of great things. Thinking of this, he looked at Ji Heng with inquiring eyes. As a senior player, it was impossible for him (T/N: Ji Heng) to not think of this, but the players in the game seemed to only focus on clearing the game.

T/N: Su Er is saying its a waste of the potential the game world can provide. “Played well,” a.k.a. speed run a SDSN instance and use the excess time to do other things, but Ji Heng squashes Su Er’s crooked thinking right away.

As if he’d read his mind, Ji Heng pointed to the insects flying under the streetlamp ahead and advised: “Don’t be like a moth to a flame. You’ll only bring destruction to yourself.”

“飞蛾扑火” – A moth darts into the fire; to bring destruction to oneself

Su Er: “Someone rushed forward?”

T/N: Asking if there is precedent of someone trying to use time difference.

“Countless.”

T/N: Because they lost focus on game trying to rush through, they end up failing to pass game

Zhao Sanliang was a person who valued results. He raised an eyebrow at Su Er: “How was the harvest? Since the boss led you himself, it must be good.”

Su Er wanted to keep his last shred of good reputation and deliberately didn’t mention the achievement point. He only said: “The charm value rose to 69.”

“Yep, that’s an impressive leap.” Zhao Sanliang snapped his fingers: “Let’s go have a big meal. I already booked a box at a restaurant near your home.”

As for how he found his home address, Su Er asked little. Zhao Sanliang must have investigated the information relevant to him, otherwise, he wouldn’t have known that he and Yao Zhi were in the same school.

Zhao Sanliang didn’t hide it either and clarified: “It’s important that we know the moral quality of our members. If they have a criminal record or unacceptable behavior in reality, we won’t accept them into Return to the Grave.”

Who knew if such a person would stab you in the back during a game?

Su Er understood and nodded.

The restaurant Zhao Sanliang found was very popular. Fortunately, the sound insulation within the box was very good.

Su Er was not short of money, and he ordered almost all the signature dishes. If he couldn’t eat well in the game, he would naturally have to make up for it outside the game.

Zhao Sanliang also savored the meal, and didn’t forget to joke: “Did you collect another achievement point this time?”

His nature as a chatterbox made him want to make fun of Su Er, but he didn’t expect Su Er’s complexion would suddenly change, and he followed suit, asking in trepidation: “There isn’t, right?”

Su Er tried to cover it up with a smile.

Soon there was even more sad news. Yao Zhi texted him, saying that his math test scores had dropped a bit.

Ji Heng caught a glimpse of the message and reminded him: “Yao Zhi will also enter a game two days from now. If he comes out alive, I’ll arrange for the two of you to enter the same game next time.”

If he came out alive…

With that premise, the topic suddenly became heavy, and even the smile on the corner of Zhao Sanliang’s mouth faded a little.

As the dishes were served one by one, the atmosphere eased a little, and they ate and drank their fill before returning to their respective homes. The next day happened to be the weekend, so Su Er slept for a while. After all, he was young and his spirit quickly recovered to its perfect state.

Throughout the weekend, except the one time he went out to watch a movie, he spent most of his time at home reviewing the 3 and 5 years’ worth of exams questions. Considering he had to go to school on Monday, he decided to go to bed early on Sunday night. It backfired. Right after he took a shower that afternoon, he received a call from Zhao Sanliang asking Su Er to meet him outside (T/N: not literally outside his house. Somewhere else in the city).

More accurately: “He spent most of his time at home reviewing the 3 and 5.” Referring to the 3 years worth of practice college entrance exams and 5 years worth of actual past college entrance exams.

When he arrived, he found not only Ji Heng but also Yao Zhi, who looked exhausted.

“Teacher just came out of a game?”

Yao Zhi nodded: “Something happened in the game, and I had to tell you right away so you can be mentally prepared in advance.”

Pushing the frame of his glasses up, he said solemnly, “The host I met this time deliberately led us to talk about you, implying you had some shady secrets.”

Su Er wasn’t stupid. The hosts wanted to use the players’ hands to deal with him.

“It’d be fine if it was just one host,” Yao Zhi continued, “But if the hosts in all the dungeons start to instill this concept into the players, it’ll be troublesome.”

Zhao Sanliang spoke up timely: “The boss means to punish someone as a warning to the others. He’s found one or two thorns to demonstrate with.”

More accurately: “Kill chicken to scare monkey.” This is an old Chinese idiom referring to making an example out of someone in order to threaten others.
“Thorns” probably refer to problematic people

Although players weren’t allowed to directly kill each other, there were many ways to kill a person within the game world (T/N: the most prominent example being the previously mentioned lunatic that killed off every other player in the game he was in with).

Su Er: “There are so many game worlds. How can we ensure that a unrelated (T/N: to us) player enters the same game as us?”

T/N: How to ensure the person they want to use to warn others will enter the same game as them in the first place without the use of team props

Zhao Sanliang smiled mysteriously: “There will always be a way.”

Yao Zhi: “You can take out a prop as a bargaining chip and stir up the situation on a small scale.”

Ji Heng looked at Su Er: “What do you think?”

“It’s not worth wasting props.” Su Er said: “Besides, life is precious. Even if someone wants to kill me, it can’t use it as an excuse to kill others.”

“…”

T/N: THE THREE DOTS ARE ME AND JI HENG AFTER WATCHING SU ER RELISH IN DOOMING THE OLD LADY AND CHIEF GUARD TO DEATH IN THE LAST CHAPTER AND THEN SEEING HIM BECOME A PREACHER HERE

Su Er: “To respect life, I have an immature idea.”

Ji Heng: “Tell me.”

Su Er: “Publicize what I did in the last game, especially the ghost marriage. To highlight the benefits of this method, the substantial increase in value at the time of settlement is the best proof.”

Zhao Sanliang laughed: “Even so, who would do a ghost marriage?”

What’s the difference between this and courting death?

Su Er said seriously: “So we should spread another news as well. If you marry the host, you can survive for longer.”

As soon as his voice fell, the complexion of the other three changed more or less. Yao Zhi’s eyes hidden behind his glasses were unfathomable, while Zhao Sanliang’s were full of mirth (T/N: thinking about how much chaos this would cause).

In the end, Zhao Sanliang was the first to speak: “If word of this got out… probably no one will believe it.”

“Some definitely will.” Su Er said firmly: “Players live in an endless cycle of fear, entering one game, surviving, and then continuing on to the next game.”

More accurately: “There will be.” Su Er was sure: “Players enter the game with fear, survive, and then enter the next game, like a hopeless, endless cycle.”

At this time, they desperately needed a fuse.

“The idea is very bold and practical. Where should we publicize it?”

T/N: I’m not sure who said this line. I assume it’s probably Zhao Sanliang

When Ji Heng opened his mouth to speak, everyone turned to look at him.

“Information that’s easy to get is cheap. It’s only when you have to pay a high price that it is valued.”

Hearing this, Zhao Sanliang thoughtfully added: “You can find some big organizations that have grievances with us and let them exchange props for news.” 

Yao Zhi: “Tell them that this was a secret Su Er got from the Ghost King.”

Of course, there were still many details that needed to be discussed but couldn’t in the short time they had. However, back in Return to the Grave, there were some good at working out ideas and arrangements, so presumably, they could devise soon a plan.

Su Er frowned: “If you are the leader of a large organization, you may be skeptical. After all, why didn’t we keep such precious information and sell it (T/N: for a high price) instead?”

Ji Heng pondered slightly: “That’s right. We should raise the prices higher for such precious news.”

“…”

Zhao Sanliang patted Su Er on the shoulder: “Okay! Ah, this strategy of diverting the attention is bold enough!”

Su Er didn’t look complacent at all. Instead, his expression was a little heavy. He smiled bitterly: “I am not afraid of death, but to live, people must be bound to something. According to my observations, players should not have so much fear of the hosts. If things go on like this, it will only increase the ambition of others and destroy one’s own prestige… The rules also limit the host, and I want everyone to realize this again. You can fear ghosts, but do not fear the hosts!”

After a moment of silence, Zhao Sanliang couldn’t resist saying ‘fuck’ and gave him a very complicated look. 

It’s just a matter of calculating against others. Did you have to put yourself on the moral high ground… is that something humans would do?

T/N: “Calculate” has been used many times already, but in context, it means to plot or scheme against someone

Ji Heng’s eyes were full of admiration: “This is a massive endeavor so it will take a while to complete. Be careful in the next game.”

Su Er nodded: “I will definitely survive.” His gaze suddenly became sharp: “I’ll live to see the day when players all over the world covet the body of the host with my own eyes.”

This clay man still had three points of anger. If the hosts wanted to kill him to establish their prestige, he would give them a dose of their own medicine.

泥人 (pinyin ní rén) means human figures made of clay. In Buddhism, refers to people trapped in hell.
I THINK Su Er is referring to himself (as in still having unresolved grievances with the hosts).
TBH when I read “clay figure,” my head was full of a very fun character that will be introduced a couple of arcs from now hehehe

Zhao Sanliang pursed his lips, unable to say anything more.

多余 – unnecessary; more than what is due; surplus; superfluous

Yao Zhi coughed softly: “Teacher believes in you.”

Su Er promised: “I won’t let Teacher down.”

“…”

It was getting late. Su Er had classes tomorrow, so Ji Heng personally drove him back.

At a red light, the usually serious Ji Heng made a rare joke: “In any case, you’ve had fate with Mr. Shuhai for more than half a night. Isn’t this too much?”

T/N: Ji Heng is joking about Su Er sleeping with and then tossing aside the host like a scum male 

One night as a couple was worth a hundred nights. Climbing into bed for half a night should also be love.

Su Er looked at the clouds in the sky and thought of a recently popular phrase. It was as if sand got into his eyes: “I seemed to have only… loved him for a brief time.”

眼睛里像是进了沙子 – “It was like there was sand in his eyes.”
You know when sand gets in your eyes and they become bloodshot and teary? Basically, it’s saying Su Er looked like he was about to cry lmao

This time, it was Ji Heng who had nothing to say.

After returning home, Su Er directly lay down on the sofa but quickly carp jumped to grab a hold of a textbook that Zhu Yun had left at school.

鲤鱼打挺 – the carp jumps on the water. This is an exercise in which someone basically first lies flat on the ground and then uses the strength in their legs and waist to stand up (not using their arms). See The first 10 seconds of this video to see what Su Er did

Every few pages were filled with dense handwriting. No matter how beautiful the penmanship was, it would inevitably give people a headache.

Fortunately, Su Er comforted himself with the fact that he could consolidate what he already learned and memorize the important points when he encountered them.

When he turned to a certain page, his eyes became more alert. The phrase ‘Great Prophecy’ was written in an inconspicuous corner. Unfortunately, a quick scan of the previous few pages didn’t reveal any related information. He looked through them repeatedly until he suddenly found Zhu Yun had drawn a few green-haired, vile-looking figures at the bottom of a page.

大预言术 – great prophecy; reason why raws says “The four words written.”

Su Er’s eyelids trembled. They had been desk mates for so long, yet he didn’t know that the other party still had such a hobby. Closing the book, he felt it was necessary to subvert his previous understanding of Zhu Yun.

“Still had such a hobby” – likely in relation to doodling in text books

Minutes passed by, and the plan to go to bed early was suspended in advance.

Su Er quickly turned to think of other matters. Since he’d already entered the game world twice, unless they used team props, it was unlikely he’d enter the game world again before the end of the month. Ji Heng would also act resolutely during this period in selling the benefits of completing a ghost wedding with the host to several organizations.

If you thought about it, the claim wasn’t completely groundless. The host was definitely not a real person, but closer to a ghost.

The achievement points he’d gained so far were related to either the hosts or ghosts. Under the evil design of the system, hidden rules for obtaining achievement points were likely placed on the enemy.

“If I can come up with this reason, Ji Heng should also think of it…” Su Er muttered to himself as he leaned back and spun on the swivel chair: “In that case, it might be the right choice to get the players to pay attention to the host.”

Su Er and Ji Heng sharing one brain cell osiusgtyisugy i love them i love them i lo
T/N: Su Er moved from the couch to the swivel chair during the time spent looking through his and Zhu Yun’s study materials

· · ·

The night wind blew gently.

Su Er lay in bed, but his sleep was anything but peaceful.

His dream was bizarre. He was chased and killed by ghosts before coming across players confronting a host in a pool of blood. However, Su Er wasn’t frightened by the nightmare but by the phantom he saw before he opened his eyes.

Zhu Yun’s pale face that hovered over him looked as if she’d been left to soak in icy water for a few days. The pungent scent of algae permeated his nose.

“Su Er—”

She whispered, her tangled hair falling towards him.

Su Er could no longer fall asleep. Waking up with goosebumps, he went to splash cold water on his face to stay awake.

“I’m still dealing with some practical problems…”

“Practical problems” – Game is causing him stress irl

He sent a message to Ji Heng, saying that he wanted to enter a game on the first day of the next month.

T/N: Players only required to play two games per month

It didn’t take long for Ji Heng to respond, and it seemed like he hadn’t slept either: [Frequently entering the game world in a short time frame can easily cause mental stress.]

Su Er sent his guesses about the host and achievement points and added: [There are too many monks and too little gruel. Too many wolves and too little meat. Once everyone puts their mind on chasing the host, this method may not be enough for us in the future.]

“僧多粥少” – “There are too many monks and too little food.” It means they cannot meet the needs of the people or that there is not enough to go around
“狼多肉少” – “There is too little meat for so many wolves;” “too many looters for the limited loot”
The two phrases and the title basically all mean the same thing

After all, there was only one host per game.