The Cracked Wick, the Golden Generation

The Spirit Hall deacon held the Wind-Calming Lamp, its surface webbed with cracks, his face completely drained of color.

He clearly wanted to kneel and beg forgiveness, but he was still wearing the Synchronized Headband. If his in-game character moved recklessly, the flame would only sway more violently. So all they could see was the Lantern Bearer on the right-hand screen frozen in the soft sand, too afraid to move. His lips trembled several times before he finally forced out a sentence.

"Holy Maiden, this subordinate made a mistake."

Hu Liena looked at the crack in the lamp, then at the patch of soft sand beneath his feet. Her expression was unpleasant, but she did not blame him right away.

"Stabilize the lamp first."

Xie Yue lowered his twin blades, his gaze as cold as steel. Yan's Phoenix Firewire still lingered beside the base of the pillar, his fingers clenched so hard they had turned white. The three of them knew this was no small problem. The lamp had not gone out, so the team could continue, but their rating had already fallen. With the wick damaged, the winds ahead would also become harder to judge.

If they had merely been clearing the stage normally, they could still have forced their way through.

But this was a speed run, and Shrek's lamp had not cracked.

The gap between them lay hidden in that single crack.

Ma Hongjun opened his mouth, wanting to make some cutting remark, but when he saw the deacon's face, he swallowed the words. He had suffered losses himself and knew that a taunt at a time like this could shatter someone's spirit even further. Ning Rongrong was more direct. Through the screen, she reminded him, "Don't point the lamp opening into the wind. The crack will draw in the wind."

The deacon froze for a moment, then drew the lamp half an inch closer to his chest. The flame immediately steadied somewhat.

Hu Liena raised her head.

"Thank you."

Ning Rongrong did not exchange pleasantries.

"The Shared Mechanism isn't over yet. If your lamp really goes out, things might not go well for us either."

By this point, the race between the two teams was no longer a simple matter of chasing one another. If Spirit Hall completely collapsed, the lingering Yellow Wind might pour back into Shrek's route. If Shrek only focused on seizing the advantage, they might suffer the same loss when they encountered the second Shared Mechanism.

Lin Chuan watched the panel without rushing to confirm anything. Instead, he asked Tang San first.

"The Shared Mechanism replay will involve your route and judgments from earlier. Do you agree to make it public for both teams in this round?"

Tang San did not answer immediately. He first turned to Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Ma Hongjun.

Xiao Wu spread her hands.

"Let them watch. They helped suppress the wind just now too."

Ning Rongrong nodded.

"Only this segment."

Ma Hongjun scratched his head.

"I don't mind, but Yan has to admit that he couldn't have managed that just now without me."

Yan raised his head.

"You admit first that you can't manage without me."

Ma Hongjun immediately perked up.

"Heh, why are you so unreasonable?"

Somewhat helpless, Tang San said to Lin Chuan, "We agree to release the Shared Mechanism segment. The rest of the route remains private."

Lin Chuan nodded, then looked at Hu Liena.

"The Spirit Hall Cooperative Advance Team applied for a replay and must pay the Shared Mechanism replay fee. The replay only shows the mechanism and will not alter the result. If you want to stabilize the cracked lamp, you must separately pay for lamp-repair materials. The repair only fixes this round's game wick. It will not restore the rating or generate rewards."

Yue Guan narrowed his eyes.

"Can't we buy the full replay?"

Lin Chuan opened the ledger.

"The full replay belongs to the team. If they will not sell it, I will not sell it for them."

Yue Guan's smile deepened, but he did not press further. He understood that Lin Chuan was not bargaining with Spirit Hall. He had nailed the price to the rules. What could be bought could be bought; what could not be bought would not be sold, no matter who came.

Hu Liena spoke.

"Pay it."

The deacon's face turned even paler.

"Holy Maiden, this subordinate is willing to bear the cost."

Yan frowned.

"What are you bearing? This is the team's matter."

Xie Yue added flatly, "Stand steady."

The deacon's eyes grew hot, and he finally said no more. Lin Chuan took out a small paper packet and a narrow-necked ceramic bottle from behind the counter. The packet contained fine grayish-white sand, while the bottle held pale yellow lamp oil. Neither looked remarkable. Yet when Lin Chuan poured the sand into a small dish and added a drop of oil, the Wind-Calming Lamp on the spectator screen flickered brighter.

Quite a few people in the shop sat up straight at once.

Chen Xin looked toward the counter.

Ning Fengzhi looked toward the counter as well.

That obviously could not be ordinary lamp oil. It could not be taken out of the shop, nor could it become real-world combat power, but it could connect to the in-game state of the Wind-Calming Lamp. That alone was enough to show that the Small Counter in Grand Dao Internet Cafe sold far more than tea and pastries.

As though he had not noticed those gazes, Lin Chuan simply set the dish on the counter.

"The repair is starting. Don't move."

On the screen, an extremely faint gray light covered the crack in Spirit Hall's lamp. The crack remained, but wind no longer seeped out from it. The flame did not return to its former height either. It merely went from nearly extinguished to barely sustainable.

[Wind-Calming Lamp crack stabilized.]

[Rating loss for this round will not be restored.]

[If damaged again later, lamp repair will be ineffective.]

Lin Chuan put away the ceramic bottle.

"Done."

Yue Guan lightly drew a breath and smiled. "Boss Lin's little counter has more and more things these days."

Lin Chuan said, "More things means more rules."

That sentence stopped Yue Guan's next words. Ning Fengzhi merely smiled and did not speak. He could see that the more clearly Lin Chuan laid out the rules, the harder it would be for any single faction to swallow up this shop. Yet precisely because it could not be swallowed, everyone wanted to enter.

The replay began.

The scene rewound to before Hu Liena pressed down the Wind-Calming Stake. Everyone watched Spirit Hall take the lead, watched Yan use fire to burn across the sandpit for the first time, watched the yellow mist rise under the flames, then watched the deacon spot a weak point in the wind behind the flagpole. The scene continued until the Wind-Eye Suppression Formation activated and several faint lines emerged from the ground.

One was a fire line.

One was a wind line.

The third was a line of sand beneath the Lantern Bearer's feet, softened by the flames.

The moment Grandmaster saw that sand line, he lowered his head and began writing furiously. Tang San also frowned. The battle had been too rushed just now. Everyone had focused only on wind blades and monster shadows, and no one had noticed that this soft sand had planted the seeds of disaster during the first rush for speed. Yan's fire had not touched the lamp, but it had loosened the ground on the Lantern Bearer's unavoidable retreat path.

The cracked lamp had not been caused by the final blow alone.

It had been built up by every earlier attempt to go faster.

The deacon stared blankly at the scene.

"So I didn't only make a mistake at the final step."

Hu Liena shook her head.

"We failed to let you finish speaking earlier."

The deacon abruptly raised his head.

There was another detail in the replay. After Yan burned the sandpit, the deacon had warned them that "the sand underfoot is unstable." But Xie Yue had already cut into the front, Hu Liena was watching for weak points in the wind, and Yan was busy controlling the flames. His words had been drowned out by the sounds of battle, and they had also been casually ignored.

If the team had slowed down by half a beat then and adjusted their positions, they might not have stepped into the soft sand later.

The shop was terribly quiet.

This silence was more oppressive than when the Wind-Calming Lamp had cracked. Everyone understood that Spirit Hall's Golden Generation had not lost because they lacked strength, nor because their reactions were too slow. They had lost because they were too accustomed to letting the strong make decisions. The low-ranking deacon carried the lamp, so everyone assumed he only needed to follow along. But on a map like Yellow Wind Ridge, the one carrying the lamp sometimes saw more than the main attackers at the front.

Lin Chuan tapped the counter.

"That is Cooperative Advance."

There was no long speech.

As those words fell, the expressions of Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan all changed. Tang San fell into thought. Ning Rongrong folded her arms and gave a soft snort, as though she had vented half the grievance for the Lantern Bearer. Ma Hongjun muttered, "So the one carrying the lamp is that important."

Ning Rongrong shot him a glance.

"You only just realized that?"

Ma Hongjun immediately became serious.

"I already knew. Now I know it even more."

Xiao Wu laughed so hard her shoulders shook.

When the replay ended, the Spirit Hall team returned to the cracked lamp. Hu Liena did not rush to continue. Instead, she turned and looked at the deacon.

"For the next section, you call the route. Whatever you see, say it directly."

The deacon froze.

"Holy Maiden, I'm only..."

"You're the Lantern Bearer."

Xie Yue took over.

"The lamp is in your hands. You have the right to call it."

Yan was silent for a moment before awkwardly adding, "Just don't speak too slowly."

That was already the best attitude he could offer. The deacon's eyes turned completely red, but he did not lower his head again. He hugged the Wind-Calming Lamp tightly and, for the first time, took the initiative to stand in the most suitable position at the center of the team instead of merely following wherever others protected him to.

[Spirit Hall Cooperative Advance Team structure adjusted.]

[Lantern Bearer command authority temporarily confirmed.]

[Future rating may still be contested.]

The moment the notice appeared, another commotion rose in the shop.

So ratings did not only judge monster kills and speed. The game also remembered who was heard within the team, who took responsibility for their position, and who was willing to slow down half a step to make up for earlier mistakes.

Ning Fengzhi looked toward the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciples behind him.

The female disciple held a charcoal pencil in her hand, her eyes shining brightly. Ning Fengzhi did not ask whether she wanted to try. The answer was already written all over her face. Chen Xin said quietly, "If Seven Treasure is to form a team, the Lantern Bearer cannot merely be someone protected by others."

Ning Fengzhi nodded.

"I know."

Lin Chuan put away the small dish used for the lamp repair and added another line beneath the rules sheet.

[Supplement: Within a Cooperative Advance Team, the Lantern Bearer has the right to issue route reminders. Continually ignoring the Lantern Bearer's reminders may lower the team rating.]

After writing it, he set down the pen.

"Continue."

On the right-hand screen, the Spirit Hall team once again headed deeper into the Yellow Wind. On the left, Shrek did not take the chance to charge forward recklessly either. They set out again only after Ning Rongrong confirmed the wind conditions. The gap between the two teams remained, but that crack seemed to have jolted everyone awake.

Winning was not merely about leaving others behind.

At least on Yellow Wind Ridge, winning also depended on whether you could hear the lamp behind you.