Chapter 6: The Killer Fifty Kilometres

"Consciousness Movement?"

The notification that suddenly popped up from the System left Ye Qinghe utterly bewildered.

He had assumed the daily five-kilometre requirement could only be completed in the real world — he never imagined the System would be thoughtful enough to let him move inside the Consciousness Space during times when he couldn't go outside.

Although the Consciousness Space came with a tenfold distance multiplier, just from the name alone it was obvious it should be far easier than the real world. More importantly, the fact that there was a tenfold penalty meant the System itself acknowledged that moving inside the Consciousness Space was somewhat easier — which was precisely why the distance was scaled up.

[Do you wish to enter the Consciousness Space to perform movement?]

"Yes!"

Ye Qinghe chose yes without a moment's hesitation.

The instant he made his choice, the ceiling before his eyes vanished, replaced by a wide open road stretching ahead of him, with rows of trees lining both sides in an unbroken chain.

Ye Qinghe glanced down and found that he actually had a body.

"This is incredible!!"

Bursting with excitement, he threw himself into all sorts of movements right where he stood.

For the past day and more, he had been confined to lying there, only able to turn his head from side to side, unable to make any other movement — it had nearly driven him out of his mind.

Especially when some spot on his head started to itch and there was no hand to scratch it — that feeling was truly unbearable.

Ye Qinghe scratched his forehead, his face, his head, and all over his body. The suffering he had endured during the day was carved deep into his bones, and he had to relieve that torment through exactly this kind of release.

"With the Consciousness Space, I won't have to go out five kilometres every day anymore — I just need to complete fifty kilometres inside the Consciousness Space!"

Once the excitement settled, Ye Qinghe set off walking along the road.

The System's requirement was to cover the distance — it never specified whether he had to walk or run, so he figured walking would do.

But the moment he actually started walking, he realised the System had played him.

He had imagined that Consciousness Movement would be something that required no physical exertion whatsoever, with no pain or hardship of any kind.

In reality, inside the Consciousness Space he could feel every ache in his body — he could feel the vibrations that shot up from his feet each time they struck the ground, and he could feel the faint, creeping soreness in his muscles as the walking dragged on.

At first he was still riding the wave of excitement, but after one kilometre he realised he might be in serious trouble.

If everything here mirrored the real world, then fifty kilometres was going to be an enormous ordeal.

Even when he had been healthy, the furthest he had ever walked was around ten kilometres — he had never gone any further than that.

And now he was supposed to walk fifty kilometres?

By the three-kilometre mark, Ye Qinghe could already feel a distinct soreness and weakness spreading through his calves.

At five kilometres, he was drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.

At ten kilometres, he was staggering along, panting heavily.

"This is insane — walking fifty kilometres inside the Consciousness Space is absolutely brutal.

Finishing this might actually kill me!"

He dropped to the ground and sat there, catching his breath while muttering to himself.

When he couldn't feel his body, he had desperately longed to feel it again. Now that he could feel it, he wished his body were like it was when paralysed — unable to feel even a trace of soreness or pain.

Quit?

The thought flashed through Ye Qinghe's mind, but he quickly shook it out of his head.

Quitting would mean missing a Lottery Draw — and that could mean losing a chance to recover his body!

What if this very draw gave him back some physical function?

"Is there anything worse than lying in bed unable to move a single muscle? It's just fifty kilometres — how big a deal is that? Let's just do it!!!"

Ye Qinghe leapt to his feet, pumped his fist at the sky with a shout, and broke into a run.

He hadn't lost his head, though. He knew the remaining forty kilometres would be an enormous challenge, and if he ran too fast he would collapse before long — so he kept to a slow jog, making sure not to burn through his stamina too quickly.

This road that stretched on without end had a clear marker every kilometre, letting Ye Qinghe know exactly how far he had come.

"System! Can you change the scenery around me? Switch it to a city?"

He had thought of something — the same distance felt much shorter when surrounded by buildings and crowds, but with only dull, monotonous scenery on all sides, it felt endless.

The System didn't reply in words, but the scenery around Ye Qinghe shifted at once, transforming into a city at night. Pedestrians strolled along the streets, bicycles drifted past — though the lane he was running on had neither cars nor people.

"Pretty smart!"

Ye Qinghe laughed softly, satisfied, and ran on.

At twenty kilometres, Ye Qinghe felt as though he could barely lift his legs.

At thirty kilometres, he felt as though he had lost all sensation in his legs — they just kept moving mechanically in the same repetitive motion.

At forty kilometres, Ye Qinghe felt like he was dying. His whole body refused to obey him; every breath felt like he was inhaling sparks; pain radiated from every part of him, and his consciousness was beginning to blur.

At forty-three kilometres, Ye Qinghe was no longer running — he was moving slower than a walk.

At forty-six kilometres, the whole world seemed to be swaying around him.

At forty-nine kilometres, he could barely even call it walking — he lurched forward inch by inch, teetering on the edge of collapse at any moment.

Fifty kilometres…

[Congratulations, Host! You have completed the fifty-kilometre task and earned one Lottery Draw!]

The moment he heard the System's announcement, Ye Qinghe lost consciousness.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the rented room. The ceiling was once more all he could see. He couldn't help turning his head toward the window — the heavy rain was still pouring down, not the least bit lighter than before.

"Xiao Ai, what time is it?"

He turned his head back. Ye Dali hadn't returned yet; he was alone in the room.

"The current time is 22:17!"

The fifty kilometres he had just covered inside the Consciousness Space — had it taken less than a minute in the real world?

Hearing the time, Ye Qinghe understood that everything he had just gone through had been an instant in reality.

Incredible!!

The System truly lived up to its name!

It was just that the Consciousness Space was so much more gruelling than the real world!

In the real world, he only needed Ye Dali to push him five kilometres. In the Consciousness Space, he had to complete fifty kilometres on his own — running, walking, shuffling…

* * *

"Dali, is the drain blocked again?"

"Yeah! There are some plastic bags and leaves in there — I'll clear it out in a moment!"

"The rain today is really something!"

"You're telling me! Every summer these past few years there's been rain like this — it's strange, I tell you!!"

The voices of Ye Dali and a neighbour drifted in from outside.

Ye Qinghe turned his gaze to the Lottery Draw wheel before him.

"Lottery Draw!!!"