Death Progress Bar

Chapter 124

Coins

Notice Temporarily unedited, read at your own risk

As the ship docked at the port on Crescent Bay Island, Shi Jin turned to look at Li Jiuzheng, who stood a few steps behind him. “Have you arranged things at the clinic?” he asked.

Li Jiuzheng nodded, smiling at him. “Yes, a few of my senior brothers will take turns to look after it, and Mr. Gua Two took care of all the other formalities. I can stay here for at least half a year.”

“We won’t be here for so long—we’ll stay till the end of April at most.” As Shi Jin spoke, he remembered the upcoming legal underworld organizations’ conference, and his eyebrows wrinkled in a frown.

“What’s wrong?” Li Jiuzheng asked immediately, noticing the shift in his mood.

During the plane and ship journey, which took two days in total, Li Jiuzheng gradually calmed down, changing back to the goofy older brother who always had an affectionate smile for Shi Jin. Furthermore, the more time they spent together, the more clingy he became.

Being together all the time like that would naturally slowly reveal some things. Shi Jin noticed that Li Jiuzheng was keenly attuned to his emotions, quickly and accurately capturing every change in his mood. It was almost to the point where Shi Jin ran his fingers through his hair and Li Jiuzheng could tell that he was annoyed by his hair having grown a bit too long.

At first, Shi Jin felt a little creeped out; he even doubted for a moment whether Li Jiuzheng could actually read his mind and had an urge to avoid him. However, when he suppressed his wariness and fear, evoked by the original ‘Shi Jin’s’ memories, and observed Li Jiuzheng, he found that his brother was simply very perceptive. Also, this kind of attention was aimed at him alone—when facing anyone else, Li Jiuzheng reverted to his old self, appearing polite, cold, and not willing to interact with other people.

A moment ago, Li Jiuzheng again noticed the change in Shi Jin’s mood just because of a brief frown. After Shi Jin got used to this and tried hard to understand it, his only remaining feeling towards it was helplessness. The same was true when it came to Li Jiuzheng himself. Shi Jin really didn’t know what to do with him—he couldn’t beat him or curse at him, he couldn’t give him a stern talking-to, and while he did want them to have a heart-to-heart talk, he didn’t know where to start. He felt as if he was walking through a minefield where the slightest misstep could blow up in his face.

Somehow, he was feeling the pain of a teacher trying to guide an emotionally sensitive adolescent student.

“Xiao Jin?” After not receiving a response, Li Jiuzheng stepped closer to Shi Jin in concern.

Shi Jin glanced at him, recalled to reality. Then, his eyes lit up as an idea appeared in his mind. “Fifth Brother, have you ever ridden a jet ski?” he asked.

Li Jiuzheng looked at him in bewilderment and hesitantly shook his head. “No, I haven’t… Do you want to ride one, Xiao Jin? I can go and learn…”

“I’ll teach you! Now come on, let’s get off the ship.” Shi Jin clapped him on the shoulder, then rushed into the lounge. Seeing that Lian Jun had finished talking on the phone with Lu Shan, he hurried forward to grab the wheelchair handles.

“What happened to make you so happy?” Lian Jun asked with a smile, seeing that his lover was in high spirits, which was rare recently.

Shi Jin leaned down to kiss him. “I’m going to take my brother out to play to make up for his childhood. Are you jealous?”

Lian Jun’s smile faded. “Yes,” he replied honestly. This was obviously a priviledge that he alone should enjoy.

“And that’s why I’m so happy.” Shi Jin daringly pinched Lian Jun’s cheek, grinning like the cat that got the cream. “While you’re diligently working, I’ll go to mountains and seas and have fun in your stead. Don’t be jealous though—you’ll still be the one I love the most.”

Lian Jun pulled his hand down and playfully bit his finger. “Where did you learn to talk like that?”

Shi Jin smirked and said nothing. After giving Lian Jun another kiss, he grabbed the handles of his wheelchair and vivaciously pushed it towards the deck.

Death Progress Bar is translated by Betwixted Translations. Read on the original translator’s site to get the fastest updates!

After getting off the ship, the group took a short rest and had lunch. Once they were done eating, Shi Jin sent Lian Jun off to take a nap, then tugged Gua Nine aside for a whispered discussion. Li Jiuzheng, whose room was next to his and Lian Jun’s, was also dragged along.

An hour or so later, Lian Jun woke up from his nap but didn’t see Shi Jin anywhere. Puzzled, he called over Gua One, who was standing guard outside the room, and asked, “Where’s Shi Jin?”

“He took Dr. Li jet skiing,” Gua One replied.

Lian Jun frowned at the reply. He looked past the window at the sea outside and indeed caught sight of something moving in the sparkling waters of the bay. “Make sure the people watching over Shi Jin keep sharp and alert,” he said. “And let me know when he comes back.”

Gua One acknowledged the order.

Only then did Lian Jun feel relieved. Suppressing the sense of loss at being “abandoned” by his lover, he went over to his study and pushed down the door handle.

The roar of the engine and splashing of sea waves rushed at him when the door cracked open, mixed with Shi Jin’s voice.

{It’s not this button! Maintain the direction… Don’t be scared, this handle doesn’t turn… Yes, that’s it, just like that… All right, Fifth Brother, let’s go a little farther.}

Lian Jun paused for a second, startled, then immediately looked in the direction of the sound—a tablet standing on the desk.

Gua Nine, who was guarding the study, explained, “This is a live stream Shi Jin opened using Annihilation’s internal network. Both the account and channel have been encrypted and protected, and only you can access it.”

Lian Jun came back to his senses and moved his wheelchair to the desk to look at the tablet.

In the shaky picture on the screen, Li Jiuzheng was awkwardly turning the throttle adjusting the water scooter’s speed, glancing in the direction of the camera from time to time. Then, an arm swung past just in front of the camera, waving at Li Jiuzheng.

{Fifth Brother, stop turning to look at me—keep your eyes forward and control where you’re going,} Shi Jin’s voice sounded, also very close to the camera. This live stream was clearly intended to be Shi Jin’s perspective, and the camera was probably mounted on his chest. This meant what could be seen was only what Shi Jin saw and not Shi Jin himself.

The anticipation on Lian Jun’s face faded, replaced by a blank expression—he hardly wanted to keep looking at Li Jiuzheng’s back.

“Shi Jin said that streaming like this will give you a sense of substitution,” Gua Nine explained attentively, seeing that his boss didn’t seem to like the first-person POV.

Lian Jun naturally preferred seeing Shi Jin’s face to having a sense of substitution. Keeping his gaze on the screen, he drummed his fingers on the wheelchair armrest, then said, “Tell Gua Six to have someone follow them and film them with a drone.”

“Yes, sir.” Gua Nine had predicted this development. He immediately took out his phone and gave Gua Six a call.

Listening to Shi Jin’s voice that sounded from time to time in the live broadcast and looking at the clear blue sea, Lian Jun felt as if the lively atmosphere was also transmitted through the screen. His expression slowly eased and the corners of his mouth crept up. That person somehow could always find a way to make people smile.

The drone was soon in place, and the picture on the tablet screen was split in two. One half was Shi Jin’s POV camera that was capturing his voice, and the other half was the picture from the drone displaying his figure.

Lian Jun asked Gua Nine to adjust the image again. Now, the picture taken by the drone occupied the whole screen and the POV was minimized to a small window in the corner. For a while, Lian Jun watched Shi Jin’s dashing figure as he rode the jet ski. Satisfied, he turned his attention to documents and started working.

The “noise” from the tablet should have been very distracting but in fact, Lian Jun’s work efficiency was exceptionally high today. Every time he finished processing a document, he would look up to see what Shi Jin was doing, and his face would relax. Anyone could see he was in a good mood.

Gua Nine and Gua One looked at each other and smiled.

If you’re seeing this notice, you’re reading this chapter on pirate site – the original translator of Death Progress Bar is Betwixted Translations.

While riding the water scooter, Shi Jin found a drone hovering above. Realizing why it was there, he grinned and waved at it, then sped up and rushed farther into the sea with an excited whoop.

Hearing Shi Jin’s cheerful shout, Li Jiuzheng looked back at him, startled. Blue sea, blue sky, and his family at his side—this was probably the most beautiful scenery he’d ever seen in his life… It didn’t feel real.

“Fifth Brother, stop dazing off! Let’s do one more lap and go pick some tropical fruits,” Shi Jin called to him familiarly, steering over to him.

Li Jiuzheng came to his senses. At Shi Jin’s excited appearance, the corners of his mouth slowly rose. Emulating the youth, he let out a shout and followed after him.

Is this what it feels like to have fun with your family? I feel so happy I think I might pass out from excitement… No, I can’t, I mustn’t let Xiao Jin down.

Death Progress Bar is translated by Betwixted Translations. Read on the original translator’s site to get the fastest updates!

Li Jiuzheng felt like he had fallen into a long, beautiful dream. In the dream, he spent every day with his younger brother. They played in the sea and went hiking; on sunny days, they built castles on the beach, and when the weather was bad, they spent time indoors, listening to rain patter on the windows and watching movies. Occasionally, he would help his brother with homework. What his eyes saw was bright sunlight and clear blue water, what his ears heard was laughter and birdsong. Every day, he was so happy that even if the world were to end in the next second, he would die with a smile.

It was a winter so warm he wanted to sink into the pleasant sunshine and never wake up.

“What are you blanking out for, Fifth Brother? The fruits on this tree taste good. Can you hold my phone? I’ll climb up and pick a few.”

One afternoon, Shi Jin took Li Jiuzheng to pick wild fruits in the forest on the south side of the island. He was holding a phone gimbal and adjusted the camera position from time to time, skillfully enough that he looked like a professional live streamer.

After he spoke to Li Jiuzheng, he waved at the camera. “Don’t worry, I’m very good at climbing trees. I guarantee to get down safely.”

Immediately, a small line of words appeared in the chat box of the live broadcast channel, where the number of viewers was always ‘1’: [Be careful.]

Shi Jin grinned and shoved the gimbal into Li Jiuzheng’s hand. After rubbing his hands, he grabbed the lowest branch and quickly climbed up in two or three moves, heading towards the hanging fruits.

Li Jiuzheng, nervously holding his mobile phone, waited below, following Shi Jin around the trunk as if ready to catch him at any moment.

“Okay, here’s fine. I’m going to pick the fruits.” Once he climbed to a suitable branch, Shi Jin waved at Li Jiuzheng and the phone camera.

Abruptly, Li Jiuzheng’s face turned white. He dropped the phone, picked up a stone from the ground, and hurled it toward Shi Jin.

Xiao Si screamed, < JinJin, watch out! >

Shi Jin’s expression changed. He hurriedly twisted sideways, pulling back his outstretched hand.

Thud!

The stone hit the place right next to where Shi Jin had been a second ago—and smacked the small green snake that suddenly poked out of the leaves.

“Hiss—”

The snake hissed loudly in pain and fell to the ground.

Li Jiuzheng was frightened. The snake was already dying, but he was not reassured. He picked up a rock and, face stretched taut, started smashing its head until it was nothing but a bloody mess. His eyes were hard and cold, filled with murderous intent.

“Don’t hurt Xiao Jin, don’t try to take Xiao Jin away…”

He finally, finally managed to hold onto something. No one and nothing was allowed to destroy it! Absolutely not!

The snake was long dead but Li Jiuzheng didn’t stop. The stone and his hands were covered in blood, and it also splattered on his clothes and face. It looked somewhat terrifying.

Shi Jin was stunned by Li Jiuzheng’s sudden outburst of violence. After coming back to himself, he frowned deeply and scrambled down the tree, then rushed over to Li Jiuzheng. He grabbed his brother’s shoulders and swung him around to make him face him.

Their eyes met before Li Jiuzheng managed to get his expression under control. Faced with the icy killing intent in his gaze, Shi Jin froze. Some memories and emotions abruptly surged up inside him, making him release his grip and take a step back.

Seeing this, Li Jiuzheng snapped back to his senses. He glanced at his hands, at his blood-stained clothes, and finally at the mangled corpse of the snake behind him. His heart shook, and the stone in his hand fell to the ground. He wanted to touch Shi Jin but was afraid of getting the blood on him. In a panic, he tried to wipe the blood off his hands, saying anxiously, “No… Xiao Jin, don’t be afraid, it can’t hurt you anymore and I won’t either. Don’t…”

Shi Jin took a deep breath and suppressed the overflowing emotions. He stepped forward and pulled his brother up from the ground, then wiped the blood on his hands with the front of his t-shirt. “Fifth Brother, thank you for protecting me.”

Protecting?

Taken aback, Li Jiuzheng stared at him blankly.

“You reacted so quickly and decisively and hit that snake so accurately with the stone. You were so cool! Tonight, we’re going to eat snake meat.” Shi Jin smiled at him and smacked him affectionately on the shoulder, then picked up his phone from the ground.

He switched to the front-facing camera to show that he was not hurt and explained the situation just now. After that, he went over to the dead snake. “Look, it’s this one that wanted to attack me. Fifth Brother killed it and saved me. By the way, Lian Jun, do you like snake meat? The head was smashed but the body is intact. It should be enough for a stir-fry or something.”

In the study, Lian Jun, who was anxious due to not knowing what had happened and was about to rush out and find Shi Jin, paused. Listening to Shi Jin’s chatter and seeing him safe and sound, he slowly sat down, trying to suppress the lingering fear. [Stop fooling around!] he typed with a scowl.

At this rare for Lian Jun exclamation mark, Shi Jin touched his nose, his conscience pricking a little. “Don’t be angry, I didn’t expect there would be a snake on the tree… Besides, isn’t Fifth Brother a doctor? I was never in any danger, you don’t need to worry.”

Hearing this, Lian Jun became even angrier and called him directly. Shi Jin hurriedly answered the phone and began appeasing his irate lover, murmuring apologies and assurances.

Li Jiuzheng stood some distance behind Shi Jin, his tense body relaxing as he listened to the youth’s slightly coy muttering on the phone. He glanced at his hands with most of the blood wiped off, and sat down on the ground as if his legs suddenly lost strength.

Did he protect Shi Jin?

It was good… It was good he didn’t scare him.

In the end, Shi Jin really took the dead snake back and boasted about Li Jiuzheng’s glorious achievement to anyone he saw. As it turned out, Lian Jun couldn’t eat snake meat, so Shi Jin gathered some firewood and made a small fire in an open space between two of the villas. He skinned and dressed the carcass, seasoned the meat, put it on skewers, and roasted it over the fire.

“It smells really good.” The aroma of roast meat was so enticing that Shi Jin’s mouth watered. “It will definitely be delicious. Thanks to Fifth Brother, we have such delicious fresh meat to eat today.”

Nothing showed on Li Jiuzheng’s face, but he felt embarrassed being praised so much. “If you like it, you can eat as much as you want, Xiao Jin.”

“No, let’s share it half and half. You’ve never eaten snake meat, right? You should have enough to decide if you like it… Oh, why don’t we try catching some hares tomorrow? Hare meat is also delicious,” Shi Jin suggested eagerly, throwing his arm around Li Jiuzheng’s shoulders. He wanted to make his brother used to physical contact with people.

Li Jiuzheng looked at his face that was close to his own and nodded, the corners of his mouth tugging up a little.

Seeing him smile, Shi Jin smiled too. This was how life went on—after there was enough happiness in your world, the pain slowly faded away, and time was the best medicine.

In the blink of an eye, the Lunar New Year came. On New Year’s Eve, everyone went to gather food ingredients in the mountains and forest; even Lian Jun was taken by Shi Jin to a boat and went out to sea to help with fishing. Everyone prepared the ingredients together, cooked together, ate the reunion dinner, and set off fireworks, celebrating the passage of the old year and the advent of the new.

At midnight, Shi Jin served the dumplings that everyone had made together, giving every person one bowl, and said, “A new year means a new beginning. Whoever gets a coin in their dumpling will be lucky for the next year. Now let’s eat and see who’s the king of luck!”

“Seeing as you’re so enthusiastic about this, you must’ve secretly put the dumplings with coins into your own bowl,” Gua Two teased.

Shi Jin scowled and stuffed a piece of fruit into Gua Two’s mouth to block it.

Li Jiuzheng looked at Shi Jin with a smile. He picked up his chopsticks and stirred the plump white dumplings in his bowl, remembering how he and Shi Jin made them together. His smile widening, he picked up one and ate it.

“Ow!” He suddenly covered his mouth.

Everyone on the table turned to look at him with a collective ‘No way’ expression.

Li Jiuzheng looked back at them, his eyes widening a little. Slowly, he lowered his hand and spat out a coin.

“Shi Jin, you cheater! I can’t believe you didn’t give this dumpling to Jun-shao!” Gua Two mercilessly exposed that Shi Jin rigged the game.

Lian Jun eyed the bowl in front of him, expressionless. He showed no sign of reaching for his chopsticks.

Li Jiuzheng froze for a moment, stunned, then turned to stare at Shi Jin.

Shi Jin didn’t expect Gua Two to be so despicable as to sow discord even in this situation. He pounced at the other man to bring down “the hammer of justice” on him. “Who said there’s only one dumpling with a coin?” he growled through clenched teeth. “Shut up and eat your dumplings!”

Everyone burst out laughing. Li Jiuzheng looked at the coin in his hand and clenched his fist over it, holding it tight. His lips slowly curled in a smile—to cheat and secretly give him the dumpling with a coin so he would be lucky in the coming year, his younger brother was so cute.

His smile was pure and childlike and his eyes were bright as if filled with sparkling stars called happiness. Shi Jin saw his brother’s expression out of the corner of his eye and felt as if a tight knot that had always existed in his heart suddenly loosened up. He turned his head, glancing at the moonlit sea gently lapping the shore, and let out a long breath.

It hadn’t been easy, but the child who grew up in pain finally learned how to really smile.

He let go of Gua Two, walked over to Lian Jun, hugged him from behind, and buried his face in his shoulder.

“Hmm?” Lian Jun laid his hand over the arm hugging him, looking sideways at his lover.

“Happy New Year,” Shi Jin murmured. In a whisper, he explained, “There are actually three dumplings with coins, and two of them are in your bowl.”

Lian Jun paused in surprise, then smiled. “You’ve really learned how to follow bad examples…” he said, turning his head to kiss Shi Jin’s hair. “Thank you. Happy New Year.”

On the fifth day of the new year, Lu Shan called.

{I’m very sorry to disturb you at such a time but this really can’t wait. The leaders of Meridian Gate and Epoch came to Formosa in person to find me and did much to prove their goodwill. If I continue to drag my feet, they’re going to become suspicious.}

Shi Jin was huddled on the sofa with Li Jiuzheng, teaching him how to play mahjong. Hearing Lu Shan’s words, he paused and looked at Lian Jun sitting behind the desk with a frown.

Lian Jun had been expecting this phone call. He gave Shi Jin a reassuring glance, then returned his attention to the phone. “This is normal. This year’s underworld conference is not far off. They should be trying to stabilize the alliance before it starts.”

{Then should I accept their sincerity?} Lu Shan asked.

“Yes. When they contacted you, who seemed to be in charge, Meng Qing or Qi Yun?”

{Meng Qing from Meridian Gate.}

Lian Jun nodded as if he already knew. “As expected. He’s a little conceited and likes to play first fiddle. Compared to him, Qi Yun from Epoch is much more cunning and dangerous. You should pay more attention to Qi Yun and not get too close to him.”

{I understand.}

The conversation stopped for a moment. Both of them knew that the real battle was about to begin.

{It will probably happen after the conference ends. You should get ready,} Lu Shan said with a sigh.

Her words sounded cryptic, but Lian Jun replied, “I’ve already finished my preparations. It’s actually you who should watch out—don’t let yourself be caught in it. Also, thank you for helping me delay things until now.”

Lu Shan laughed. {Stinky boy, how are you talking to your aunt? I’ve fought and survived in this mire for so many years. As if it would be that easy to catch me.} She paused, then added, {Take care of yourself. See you at the conference.}

“See you at the conference,” Lian Jun replied and ended the call. At that moment, the door of the study was suddenly pushed open and Uncle Long, who had shut himself in his lab since arriving on the island, appeared.

“That probably won’t happen,” he said, then continued with emphasis, “The latest examination results are out. Jun-shao, you can start the treatment.”

Thud. The tablet slipped out of Shi Jin’s hand and fell to the ground. He sprang to his feet and blurted out, “Uncle Long, what did you just say?”

If you’re seeing this notice, you’re reading this chapter on pirate site – the original translator of Death Progress Bar is Betwixted Translations.

The doctor turned to him. “I said, Jun-shao’s body is strong enough that he can start the real treatment. However, I also have bad news.”

“What bad news?” Shi Jin asked hurriedly.

Uncle Long tapped the file folder he held. “I’ve mentioned before that the medicine will reactivate the toxin remaining in Jun-shao’s body. Unfortunately, the toxin is more tenacious than I expected—it shows signs of becoming active already, even before the treatment began. I’m speculating this is caused by the improvement of Jun-shao’s physical condition.”

Lian Jun moved his wheelchair to Shi Jin’s side and took the younger man’s hand, squeezing it soothingly. “You mean, I’d better take the medicine as soon as possible?” he asked, looking at Uncle Long.

Uncle Long nodded. “Yes. A preemptive attack is a good strategy in war, but also in medicine. Without a doubt, it would be safer and less risky to try to get rid of the toxin while it’s still suppressed than after it becomes completely active.”

That was obvious, but now they faced a problem. The underworld conference was not that far away. If Lian Jun began taking the medicine now, then by April, when the conference started, he would likely be in the most critical and painful stage of the treatment and would definitely not be in a good enough condition for public appearance.

However, Lian Jun had to attend this year’s conference. It was a critical time; as the other four top-echelon organizations were about to finish forming their alliance, Annihilation couldn’t show any weakness to the outside world.

“Once I start taking the medicine, how long will it take for the toxin to be completely cleared?” Lian Jun continued to ask.

Uncle Long glanced at Shi Jin, whose expression had become very ugly. “It may take as little as three months or as much as half a year or even a year, it’s impossible to say. The treatment consists not only of getting rid of the toxin but also of recovery and rehabilitation. No matter how much you try, it’s impossible to speed those up.”

Three months at the earliest. And there were less than two months left until April.

Shi Jin clenched his fist.

Lian Jun thought for a moment, frowning. “Would it be possible for me to take the medicine—”

Shi Jin squeezed his hand warningly. “Don’t you dare to joke around with your body.”

Lian Jun stopped talking. Seeing that Shi Jin’s expression was really bad, he got up and hugged him, soothingly stroking his hair. At the moment, he also didn’t know what he should do.

Shi Jin hugged him back, frowning deeply.

The time of the treatment and the conflict did overlap after all. What do they do now?

Translator’s Notes:

Is this what it feels like to have fun with your family? I feel so happy I think I might pass out from excitement… – here, Li Jiuzheng actually says something like “this is greatest happiness”, but the word he uses is 幸福 [xìngfú].

The meaning of this word is difficult to render accurately in English. It is typically glossed as “happy; happiness” in dictionaries, however, a sharp distinction between 幸福 and some of the other words for “happy” is made in Chinese.

Xingfu typically refers to a state of long-term happiness with one’s life, and implies having a loving family, spouse, or a sense of general well-being. This is in contrast to words such as 開心／开心 (kāixīn) and 快樂／快乐 (kuàilè), which refer to a state of fleeting happiness, or a relatively short elevation in mood that comes with certain news, event, activity, etc. (Wiktionary) Small green snake – the species is not specified but it might’ve been bamboo viper. The youth’s slightly coy muttering on the phone – 撒嬌 [sājiāo] – to act in a loveable, coy, childish or coquettish manner to someone who loves or dotes on them, in order to fulfil their wish or display their affection.

Translator: Eques

Editor: –

Eques:

Long time no see, everyone! Sorry for disappearing on you, I wasn’t in a good place mentally for a while. I think I’m better now and I fully intend to finish translating DPB. Thank you for all your patience and support, guys, you’re awesome

Aaaaaanyway, it’s happening, my little buttercups—Lian Jun’s about to start the treatment! I honestly warn you, it’s gonna be a real rollercoaster because the author is a total S. I love and hate those chapters. ヾ(≧へ≦)〃