I Run Away with the Earth to Save the World [Unlimited Flow] - Chapter 88

Chapter 88: A gold-grade record book

The Earth, observing through Jing Qizhen’s mind, remarked, “Yun Shuanghua actually got the Prince’s script? Why would the Prince be him?”

Jing Qizhen sighed internally, “I just feel like this whole situation is so awkward…”

The Earth: “…Oh.”

After a brief pause, Jing Qizhen finally responded to the Earth’s earlier question. “Because he was part of the second group to enter.”

The Earth was puzzled. “Huh?”

Jing Qizhen explained, “This erosion area was originally created by the ‘Fairy Tale Anthology’. In other words, to resolve this zone when it first appeared, all they needed to do was—”

The Earth quickly finished the sentence, “—burn the book.”

Jing Qizhen nodded. “Right. But they didn’t find the ‘Fairy Tale Anthology’ back then. Then, as the book’s stories began mixing chaotically, the situation escalated into fatal incidents.”

To be fair, the unique nature of the erosion area’s creation had indeed caused far more misleading effects than any others Jing Qizhen’s team had encountered.

He continued, “Later on, as time passed and those foreigners still didn’t destroy the ‘Fairy Tale Anthology’, the erosion area began mutating as it expanded.

“Yun Shuanghua was part of the second group. I suspect that during the period when Yun Shuanghua entered, the ‘Fairy Tale Anthology’ directly transformed into a real fairy tale kingdom.

“We’re the third group to enter but since the book’s transformation into reality takes time, it’s still incomplete. That means we still have a chance to destroy it. If we wait until the book fully becomes the fairy tale kingdom, it’ll be much harder to eliminate the erosion core.”

The Earth suddenly erupted in rage and shouted, “It’s all those stupid trashy balls’ fault! Aaaahhh! I want to smash them to pieces!”

Jing Qizhen’s ears filled with a deafening rumble, echoing endlessly. He closed his eyes for a moment and patiently reminded, “…Babyball, calm down?”

The Earth immediately replied, “Oh, okay. 0.0”

Jing Qizhen refocused his attention on the standoff between the March Hare and Yun Shuanghua. What he saw was the two of them still locked in a staring contest, though it wasn’t so much a standoff as the March Hare simply gawking at Yun Shuanghua in utter confusion.

Meanwhile, Yun Shuanghua, meeting the March Hare’s gaze, was elegantly, yet unhesitatingly, finishing the slice of cheesecake he had brought out with him.

Jing Qizhen: “…”

This Prince is a bona fide foodie. His performance is flawless.

Watching the March Hare eyed Yun Shuanghua longingly while Yun Shuanghua maintained his silence, even Jing Qizhen, as a bystander, couldn’t stand it any longer.

He stepped forward and patted the March Hare on its shoulder, which, admittedly, was almost taller than himself. Of course, he also took the opportunity to pluck a small handful of its fur.

The March Hare yelped, “Ouch!” and looked as though it was about to jump up and yell. But before it could say a word, Jing Qizhen interrupted, asking directly, “How did it go when you took those photos back? What did the Red Queen say? Are you sure he’s the Prince?”

As he asked the last question, Jing Qizhen pointed at Yun Shuanghua beside him.

The March Hare muttered with a hint of grievance, “Yes, he is indeed the Prince.”

To prove its point, the March Hare pulled out a quaintly designed photo album from the pocket of its red jazz suit.

The album was about the size of the March Hare’s paw and before it produced the item, Jing Qizhen couldn’t fathom how such a thick booklet could fit in its pocket.

When the album was opened, Jing Qizhen was surprised to see that, rather than a photo album, its layout resembled a stamp collection. The March Hare had slapped all the Polaroid photos Jing Qizhen had given it onto the pages in a haphazard manner.

The Earth suddenly exclaimed in Jing Qizhen’s mind, “Look at Yun Shuanghua! Look, look, look!”

Jing Qizhen replied offhandedly, “The real guy is right here eating cheesecake. Why would I need to look at photos?”

Still, as he bantered with the Earth, his gaze immediately searched for Yun Shuanghua’s face within the album, guided by the Earth’s instructions.

Upon seeing it, Jing Qizhen instantly noticed something amiss.

Jing Qizhen: “These are all our photos. Let me see this album!”

Without waiting for the March Hare’s reaction, Jing Qizhen reached out and grabbed the album.

The March Hare didn’t resist or protest. Instead, as Jing Qizhen flipped through it intently, the March Hare rubbed its nose and turned its head away, sneezing multiple times in a row before mumbling, “Why do you always smell like cumin barbecue seasoning? That scent makes me allergic just smelling it.”

Jing Qizhen: “…” That’s because of the tiny bottle Si Jiayang gave me.

After all, kitchen spices could double as improvised deterrents when necessary. At least for the March Hare, the impact was profound.

The album’s cover bore a resemblance to the ‘Fairy Tale Anthology’ Caroline had pieced together earlier but its contents were strikingly real.

The first page featured the name ‘The Great Queen of the Fairy Tale Kingdom, the Red Queen’. However, the portrait was blank, leaving only a line of text.

Jing Qizhen vaguely recalled that in ‘Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland’, there should theoretically have been a Red King alongside the Red Queen. However, it seemed the Red King’s significance paled in comparison to the Red Queen herself.

The Earth commented in his mind, “When you said Red Queen, I felt nothing. But when you mentioned the Red King, I suddenly thought of red dragon fruit.” |1|

Jing Qizhen, while flipping through the album, retorted, “What about when you heard ‘Knight of Heart’?”

The Earth replied, “Knight of Heart didn’t evoke anything. Maybe it’s just the Red King that sounds odd. 0.0”

Jing Qizhen: “…”

Thanks to the Earth, he couldn’t help thinking of red and white dragon fruits… and, well, pomegranates too. |2|

After the page dedicated to ‘The Red Queen,’ the next page featured Yun Shuanghua, the inexplicably food-obsessed ‘Prince.’

The March Hare had carefully pasted Yun Shuanghua’s close-up Polaroid in the center of the page, looking relatively neat compared to the others. Below the photo, several lines of cursive English text had been scrawled in small, flowery handwriting.

Jing Qizhen squinted to decipher the text. After straining his eyes to the point of near-sightedness, he barely made out the following:

[1. The Prince lifted Snow White and she spat out the poisoned apple. Oh no, the Prince disappeared and Snow White died of poisoning!!!]

[2. Cinderella didn’t pick up the peas. The Prince disappeared and the banquet was ruined! What happened? Why did Cinderella die too?]

[3. The Little Mermaid wore Cinderella’s glass slippers and danced in the water. Why is the mermaid dancing in the water? The Little Mermaid didn’t find the Prince. The Prince didn’t find his princess. And I didn’t find the Prince either. What a disaster of a day.]

[4. Sleeping Beauty woke up from the Prince’s call. But then she burned down her castle. Does she not want to be a princess anymore?]

[5. The noble Sir Rabbit found the Prince!]

[6. …]

If not for the copious strikethroughs, Jing Qizhen might have thought he was reading the March Hare’s notes rather than looking at an album.

The Earth softly reminded him, “The original script versus reality.”

Jing Qizhen: “Yeah.”

After Yun Shuanghua’s page, the next was a blank one. At the top, the title read ‘Snow White’, followed by Sophia’s name written in the same handwriting in parentheses. Unsurprisingly, Sophia didn’t have a photo.

The following entries for ‘Cinderella’ and ‘The Little Mermaid’ were just like Sophia’s, with the names Sean and Williams written next to them.

Jing Qizhen once again confirmed that in the ‘Fairy Tale Anthology’ role-play, characters didn’t have fixed genders.

After that came the disorganized Polaroid photos Jing Qizhen had provided, which the March Hare had stuck onto the pages in random orientations.

The Earth exclaimed, “Wait, wait, wait! That big rabbit wrote you as Sleeping Beauty! But back then, it was Manman’s hand that got injured, which matched the part in ‘Sleeping Beauty’ where the princess pricks her finger on a spindle!”

Jing Qizhen replied, “…I don’t mind Manman playing the princess at all. Plus, she already has her own prince!”

The Earth immediately understood. “Oh, right, Manman has Si Jiayang. Those two are so close! In fairy tales, the princesses are usually single until they meet the Prince at the end. So, Manman was ruled out.”

Jing Qizhen: “…”

The Earth’s conclusion felt oddly reasonable, even if there was something strange about the way it was phrased.

The Earth continued, “So, the princess who set the villa on fire is you, isn’t it? Wow, the only Sleeping Beauty who didn’t sleep through the story!”

After realizing his role in the fairy tale, Jing Qizhen quickly flipped to the next page of the album.

Manman and Si Jiayang’s photos were pasted together with the caption: [The prince and princess lived happily ever after. No, no, these two aren’t the prince and princess, but they’re living happily together. ]

Angelina, just as they had guessed, was playing the role of the little girl Alice. However, this ‘Alice’ stayed far away from the rabbit hole and had no intention of entering the fairy tale kingdom.

As for the others, the March Hare had pasted all their photos onto the pages but the captions were left blank. Clearly, the contents of this album would be filled in as the fairy tale storyline progressed. Those who hadn’t yet been assigned roles were just like the characters in the kingdom who hadn’t made their appearances yet, still in limbo.

At the very bottom of the album was a photo of the Filipino maid, with a straightforward caption: [Whether it’s the Red Queen, the Prince, or the Princess, they all need a Maid by their side.]

After finishing the album, Jing Qizhen exhaled lightly. Instead of returning it to the March Hare, he handed it to Yun Shuanghua without a second thought.

Yun Shuanghua instinctively reached out to take it, even though his other hand was still holding the empty plate from his cheesecake.

The March Hare didn’t question why Jing Qizhen didn’t return the album to it. Instead, its eyes followed the album as it landed in Yun Shuanghua’s hands.

Yun Shuanghua maintained his ‘silence is golden’ demeanor, refusing to speak unless absolutely necessary.

The March Hare was dragged into yet another deathly silent staring contest with him.

The March Hare: “…”

In his mind, Jing Qizhen complained to the Earth, “Look at Yun Shuanghua. Doesn’t he seem like a computer running a massive program? Click on him and he immediately crashes.”

The Earth responded, “…When you put it that way, I can’t argue.”

Taking advantage of the silent ‘deadlock’ between the March Hare and Yun Shuanghua, Jing Qizhen rolled the rabbit fur he had plucked earlier into a ball. He then took out a plastic lighter he’d borrowed from Yan Hong and swiftly set the tuft of fur on fire.

The smell wasn’t like the scent of burning protein. Despite the March Hare’s lifelike appearance, there was no trace of the inky or bookish aroma of paper. Still, when its fur burned, it disintegrated into ash just like paper would.

Perhaps because it had never been burned before, the March Hare didn’t flee at the sight of fire as the Knight of Heart did.

However, its reaction was just as sharp. The moment it smelled something burning, its long rabbit ears shot straight up as it warily asked, “Who is it?! Are you planning a barbecue again?!”

Jing Qizhen: “…” Looks like the March Hare has some serious psychological trauma.

Jing Qizhen silently discarded the rabbit fur that had burned to ash and carefully pocketed the lighter as well.

“For now, there probably won’t be any barbecues,” he said sincerely to the March Hare.

However, he couldn’t guarantee what Si Jiayang might be up to in the kitchen, could he?

The March Hare gave Jing Qizhen a cautious look. Although the psychological trauma lingered, it decided to trust him for the moment.

It then glanced at Yun Shuanghua and didn’t bring up the album from earlier. After a long hesitation, it finally asked, “Your Highness, will you return to the palace with me?”

Jing Qizhen instinctively looked at Yun Shuanghua, unsure of what narrative path this scene was supposed to follow in the fairy tale.

Based on their earlier discussions at the villa, Jing Qizhen still leaned toward blowing up the entire fairy tale kingdom and destroying the ‘Fairy Tale Anthology’, ending the erosion area for good.

In a standard erosion area, Jing Qizhen typically wouldn’t resort to aggressive methods. But this area was clearly undergoing some kind of mutation that made it difficult to predict. With prior casualties already, Jing Qizhen naturally wanted to end everything as quickly as possible to minimize future risks.

Though Yun Shuanghua hadn’t participated in the earlier discussions, having quietly eaten throughout, he remembered everything the group had said. After locking eyes with the March Hare for a long moment, he finally broke his silence with a single word, “No.”

The March Hare didn’t seem to think there was anything strange about the stoic, silent, food-loving Prince and accepted the role without question. It wasn’t even disappointed, responding with a simple “Oh.”

It then glanced at the seasoning bottles still emitting a barbecue scent from Jing Qizhen’s pocket, turned around, and hopped back into the rabbit hole, muttering to itself, “I heard there’s flooding in the northwest of the fairy tale kingdom. The noble Sir Rabbit must assist with the disaster relief!”

Jing Qizhen didn’t stop the March Hare.

It wasn’t until the March Hare had disappeared into the rabbit hole that Gu Leshan and Lu Lingxi, who had already prepared explosives, approached with their bags.

They had been listening to the conversation between Jing Qizhen and the March Hare through their earpieces. Combined with surveillance camera feeds, they were aware of the situation despite not being physically present.

Lu Lingxi asked Jing Qizhen, “What’s the verdict?”

Jing Qizhen replied, “The rabbit fur burned to ash, like paper.”

In other words, no matter how realistic the March Hare appeared, it was nothing more than a paper character.

Si Jiayang stroked his chin. “Does that mean if we had actually put it on the grill, brushed it with oil, coated it in honey, and sprinkled spices, we’d still have ended up grilling nothing but disappointment?”

Manman: “…”

Jing Qizhen chuckled. “Maybe?”

When the March Hare had asked Yun Shuanghua if the Prince would return to the palace, Jing Qizhen thought that perhaps there was another way to resolve the erosion area. Following the Prince storyline and continuing to play along in the fairy tale kingdom might offer a solution other than directly destroying the ‘Fairy Tale Anthology’.

That said, in most cases, brute force was still the simplest and quickest method, provided you had the ability.

Take the scene in Yunhai Wancheng Department Store, for example. Even without fully understanding Miss Li’s backstory as the ghost, targeting her directly would have allowed them to leave that erosion area all the same.

Gu Leshan bluntly asked, “Shall I proceed?”

Jing Qizhen exhaled deeply and nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

Jing Qizhen stepped back a few paces, watching intently as Gu Leshan, Lu Lingxi, and Yan Hong prepared the explosives according to their earlier plan.

Joyce, still by his cousin’s side, looked pale as he observed Gu Leshan’s adept movements.

Angelina kept taking deep breaths. She seemed to want to pray but, remembering how ineffective her prayers had been earlier, gave up. Her clasped hands drooped in frustration as she muttered, “This will work, right? It’ll be fine, right?”

Caroline said nothing but nervously ran her hands through her hair.

Lu Lingxi suddenly looked up, his Bambi-like eyes focused and sharp during his work. “Everyone, step farther back. Yes, farther. For safety.”

Jing Qizhen paused, then speculated aloud, “The rabbit hole functions like a spatial portal but we can’t be sure the explosives will transfer into the fairy tale kingdom?”

Gu Leshan nodded. “Exactly. I just calculated the blast yield with Little Lu. Even if the explosives detonate on the surface, as long as we stay far enough away, we’ll be safe.”

Jing Qizhen fell silent for a moment, then smiled. “Right. Besides, what we really need isn’t the explosion itself but the spark it generates to ignite the book.”

Professor Jones, McCain, and the others paled as they watched Gu Leshan, Lu Lingxi, and Yan Hong methodically assemble the explosives.

Soon, under Lu Lingxi’s signal, Jing Qizhen and the others retreated even farther, nearly reaching the edge of the erosion area.

Jin Guijuan handed out a few pairs of earplugs, saying, “Little Lu reminded me the explosion might be loud.”

The housemaid took the earplugs with trembling hands, looking ready to faint.

Old Xiao, though sweating profusely, tried to reassure everyone. “Really, think of it like controlled demolition during a building teardown. Same principle, nothing to worry about.”

Angelina gave him a despairing look.

Jing Qizhen raised an eyebrow at Old Xiao, his expression clearly saying, ‘Do you believe that yourself?’

Old Xiao: “…”

Moments later, Lu Lingxi and Gu Leshan, also wearing earplugs, ran toward the group’s position.

Though Lu Lingxi said nothing, Gu Leshan raised his fingers to signal a countdown from ten.

The housekeeper squeezed her eyes shut and whispered, “Oh God!”

When Gu Leshan finished counting down, Jing Qizhen closed his own eyes.

Even with earplugs in, a deafening ‘BOOM’ echoed from the rabbit hole.

But the sound cut off abruptly after a single blast.

Jing Qizhen immediately opened his eyes, looking toward the site of the explosion.

Angelina screamed, “Don’t go over there! Did something go wrong with the explosives?”

Gu Leshan glanced at her. “There’s no doubt about it. The subsequent explosions took place in the fairy tale kingdom.”

Jing Qizhen said, “Let’s wait a moment before checking.”

Before his voice even faded, the Earth’s voice rang out in his mind, “I’ve captured the energy from this erosion area! The special energy of the area is already starting to dissipate!”

Jing Qizhen finally let out a deep breath of relief. “Alright, good.”

The Earth interjected, “Hmm, strange. The dispersal of this special energy is unusually slow.”

Jing Qizhen pondered for a moment and speculated, “Maybe it’s because this time we forcibly destroyed the erosion core. Previously, Miss Li, Xu Erya, and Xu Siya dissolved on their own accord, right?”

The Earth asked, “Does that make a difference?”

Jing Qizhen shrugged. “I’m just guessing.”

The Earth replied, “Fair enough. We can try again next time to see if that holds true. But I think you may have a point.”

Jing Qizhen smiled slightly. “Hmm.”

At that moment, Yun Shuanghua, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly handed the photo album that the March Hare had left behind to Jing Qizhen.

Jing Qizhen blinked in surprise. “What is it?”

As he took the album, he was startled to discover that it had transformed during the destruction of the erosion core. In just those few minutes, it had become a special item; an exceptionally rare gold-grade one, something Jing Qizhen had never encountered before.

[Name: The March Hare’s Record Book]

[Type: Daily Item]

[Grade: Gold]

[Function: Write it yourself or let it write for you.]

[Limitations: Dreams come true… or maybe nightmares!]

[Remarks: The March Hare called it a photo album but it clearly used it as a record book. Entries written in this book can be edited or erased but they will ultimately become reality.]

Jing Qizhen reviewed the description. Of all the erosion areas’ special items he had encountered, this one had the shortest explanatory note.

However, following the rule of ‘the fewer the words, the greater the implications,’ Jing Qizhen treated the gold-grade item, acquired so easily, with extreme caution.

Jing Qizhen murmured, “Anything written in this becomes reality…”

The Earth: “Isn’t this a wish-granting book?”

Jing Qizhen frowned slightly. “What if I wrote in it for all parallel universes’ earths to vanish completely?”

The Earth exclaimed excitedly, “Little Jing, you’re the best! Those annoying balls should have disappeared long ago!”

Jing Qizhen, interrupted by the excited Earth, rubbed his forehead helplessly before continuing, “—I suspect the method of realization might involve accelerated erosion. The erosion areas have already spread, likely causing multiple planets, including yours, to merge into one. To put it simply, the Earth explodes, and the apocalypse happens.”

The Earth: “…QAQ?”

Jing Qizhen seriously reminded, “The difference between a sweet dream and a nightmare is just in the interpretation, Babyball.”

The Earth: “QAQ! Then what’s the use of this wish book?”

Jing Qizhen: “Use it cautiously and beware of backlash. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, I don’t really recommend using this kind of thing. Items that influence cause and effect can easily lead to trouble.”

As they spoke, the scene near the rabbit hole suddenly became blurry. The villa, which had been reduced to ruins, now reappeared as a complete shadow.

The Earth came back to its senses. “The energy of the erosion core has almost dissipated! This erosion area is collapsing!”

While speaking, the ball became happy again!

At the moment Jing Qizhen and the others disappeared, inside the flickering image of the rabbit hole, the March Hare poked its head out, holding a broken book cover. Its gaze happened to meet Yun Shuanghua’s, who was the only one left.

The March Hare shuddered immediately.

The broken cover it held was now empty, with no trace of the March Hare.