Free Web NovelChapter 15: Chapter 15: A Terrifying Wish
For two days, Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou had been complete shut-ins, not once stepping out the door.
According to Doudou, he needed to "replenish his nutrients" to build up Wish Power. It was probably due to the different World Laws, but his Wish Power recovered very slowly in this world.
Meanwhile, Qin Xiaoxia had been glued to his computer, scouring news sites for any reports of strange phenomena. He was trying to figure out if anything else had crossed over from the Otherworld.
It was probably a futile effort, but he figured it was better to know than to be in the dark.
Unfortunately, the reality was a harsh letdown. The sheer volume of sensationalist news stories in the world was far beyond Qin Xiaoxia’s imagination, and there was no telling how many were just made up.
After two days of searching, he had come up with nothing.
Besides eating, Doudou had recently become obsessed with the internet. Qin Xiaoxia’s tablet was now practically Doudou’s personal device.
Thanks to their psychic link, while gaining knowledge still took time, picking up skills like typing was no problem at all.
He was like a kid who had just discovered the internet, so engrossed he’d forget to eat and sleep. Well, no. In Doudou’s case, he’d forget to sleep, but never to eat.
Usually, when Doudou was in the living room playing on the tablet, the TV would be on continuously.
Right now, the Yue City midday news was on TV.
"On the 13th of this month, three public officials from the Kehua District branch of the Yue City Environmental Protection Bureau—Liu Tong, Zhang Hao, and Shao Feng—went missing after heading out to investigate pollution in the Qingzhen waterways. They have now been out of contact for over 48 hours. City police have launched an investigation and are asking any eyewitnesses or individuals with information to please come forward... Liu Tong, male, Han ethnicity, 42 years old..."
Doudou was in the middle of a 5v5 MOBA on his phone and couldn’t be bothered with the news, but Qin Xiaoxia heard it from the bedroom.
He immediately came out of his room, just in time to catch the end of the report.
"Doudou, the last place they were seen before they disappeared was the Winding Loach River! Do you think it’s connected to the source of the pollution?"
"Uh-huh..."
Doudou’s game was at a critical point; he hadn’t really heard a word Qin Xiaoxia said.
Not that Qin Xiaoxia expected a coherent answer from him. Just from seeing the news report, he had a gut feeling that the river was definitely the problem.
He patiently waited for Doudou to finish throwing the current match. Just as the elf was about to queue up for another one, a large hand pressed down on the tablet.
"Enough games for now. How’s your Wish Power coming along? Is there enough to make a Wish?"
Doudou tugged twice but failed to pull the tablet free.
"It’s almost full. Making a Wish shouldn’t be a problem. If I had the right materials, I could even try forging a Gold Coin."
"Forge a Gold Coin? With what materials?"
Qin Xiaoxia’s interest was piqued. The hefty weight of a Gold Coin was a fantastic feeling, and even if they didn’t use it for a Wish, selling it would bring in a lot of money.
"Gold Ore, of course! The big, golden kind. Preferably one that’s..."
"Okay, you can stop right there!"
Qin Xiaoxia cut Doudou off.
"Are you kidding me? Making Gold Coins from Gold Ore? If I had damn Gold Ore, why would I need to rely on a magical coin to get rich?"
Doudou gave him a look of utter disdain.
"And you call *me* stupid... If you don’t forge Gold Coins from Gold Ore, what are you going to use? Water?"
THWACK! Qin Xiaoxia rapped his knuckles on Doudou’s head.
"Let’s just focus on Wishing about the pollution in the Winding Loach River."
After what happened last time, the sacredness of making a Wish had completely vanished, but the nervousness remained.
"If we ask a question, who answers it? The coin itself?"
Doudou wasn’t too sure about that, either.
"I’m still young. By this world’s standards, I’ve only lived for seventy years. I’ve never heard of anyone asking a Saroba Elf a question for a Wish, so I have no idea."
Qin Xiaoxia’s eyes bulged as he stared at Doudou.
It wasn’t because Doudou was clueless about the outcome. It was because this little pipsqueak was actually *seventy years old*. ’What the hell?!’
"Let’s just get on with it. We’re not going to figure it out by talking. We might as well give it a shot."
There was no need for a ceremony or any elaborate preparation. The holder of the Wishing Gold Coin simply had to state their wish.
Anytime, anywhere.
It was a remarkably convenient way to make a Wish.
Qin Xiaoxia laid the Gold Coin flat in his palm and spoke to Doudou.
"We wish to know the cause of the recent pollution in the Winding Loach River."
The moment he heard the wish, Doudou began to vocalize in a high-frequency tone.
Unlike last time, Qin Xiaoxia could understand the meaning behind Doudou’s tones for practically the entire duration.
This strange language, which seemed to resonate simultaneously in the ears and in the mind, was something Qin Xiaoxia could now use as well. He just found it strained his throat and felt too awkward, so he never spoke it. freewēbnoveℓ.com
"Yimodo, Fick Luo Lingqi!"
As the last word of the incantation was spoken, Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou felt the sofa beneath them tremble.
Like a fleeting illusion, Qin Xiaoxia suddenly felt as though he was being watched.
THUD—
It was immediately followed by a powerful force, like the g-force of a rapidly accelerating car, that slammed both of them back into the sofa cushions.
Their vision blurred, and the scene before them began to change at a dizzying pace.
They could feel the raw power of the acceleration pressing them deep into their seats.
Their surroundings were no longer the living room of their house. It was as if they were hurtling through a hazy fog while sitting on their sofa.
It was actually quite a thrill, because the physical sensations were completely real. They could even see each other’s hair whipping backward.
But this high-speed, flight-like state offered no protection at all. Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou were plastered to the sofa, not daring to even lift their heads.
Their hearts leaped into their throats with every rise and fall of the sofa, leaving them without even the strength to scream.
They were on a thrilling emotional rollercoaster, and if their shared feeling could be put into words, it would be something like: ’Holy crap, we’re gonna die, we’re gonna die, we’re gonna die...’
The surrounding fog began to thin, and the world ahead of them came into sharper focus.
The environment felt desolate, yet uncannily familiar.
"WATER, WATER, WATER, WATER!!!"
Doudou shrieked, clutching Qin Xiaoxia for dear life, who in turn was gripping the sofa with all his might.
Where the fog parted up ahead, they could clearly see their speeding sofa approaching a body of water.
Their frantic prayers had no effect whatsoever.
SPLASH!
A massive plume of water erupted from the high-speed impact.
Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou plunged into the water, sofa and all.
The sofa didn’t slow down in the slightest. The sensation of the water was incredibly real, and the torrent rushing against their faces was excruciating.
Neither Doudou nor Qin Xiaoxia had gills, and they both wore the terrified expressions of people who were about to drown.
You can’t hold your breath for long when you’re panicking. After what felt like an eternity under the threat of death, Qin Xiaoxia couldn’t take it anymore.
In desperation, he took a gasp of... "air?"
Yes, what flowed into his nostrils was unmistakably water, yet his lungs were filled with the life-giving sensation of oxygen, and his body felt no discomfort.
He exhaled, then inhaled again.
He really could breathe.
Qin Xiaoxia couldn’t resist touching his own cheeks, checking to see if he’d sprouted some weird new organs.
As intense relief washed over him at having survived, he saw that Doudou’s little face had turned purple from holding his breath. The elf’s eyes were rolling back in his head as if he’d already given up on life.
’Oh, crap! I almost forgot this kid is terrified of water!’
"Hey, hey! Doudou, quick, breathe! You can breathe in here!"
His voice could somehow travel through the water, but in his rush to stop Doudou’s "suicide," Qin Xiaoxia didn’t have the mental capacity to ponder that problem. He just kept shaking the elf frantically.
