Chapter 361: The Secret of 3911, Part 2

Jiang Ran sighed,

“You’re really smart at the worst possible times.”

Resigned, he had no choice but to follow Sang Biao’s orders and form an equilateral triangle around the Treasure Chest.

Then, under Sang Biao’s direction, they began to recite the utterly embarrassing Treasure Chest-opening Spell together.

Sang Biao would say a line, and Jiang Ran and the third man would repeat it:

“Moe moe.” “Moe moe…”

“Shaka shaka.” “Shaka shaka…”

“Doki doki!” “Doki doki!!”

“Waku waku!” “Waku waku!!”

Sang Biao winked and made a face, mimicking the expression in the Spell:

“Open Sesame! Ciallo～(∠・ω

Jiang Ran and the third man copied him:

“Open Sesame! Ciallo～(∠・ω

POP.

The unbreakable Treasure Chest popped open!

“Holy shit!” x3

Although he felt like Cheng Mengxue was messing with them, now that the Treasure Chest was finally open, Jiang Ran couldn’t contain his curiosity. He and Sang Biao squeezed their heads together to peer inside—

And there…

Inside the Treasure Chest lay a frilly, pink Magic Wand!

It had a short, delicate handle topped with a pink ring. A golden five-pointed star was set inside the ring, which was flanked by a pair of cute little white wings!

‘Isn’t this…’

Jiang Ran’s eyes widened.

“This is the Magic Wand from *Cardcaptor Sakura*!”

He’d often watched cartoons at Cheng Mengxue’s house when they were kids, and this thing was practically a must-have for every Magician Girl.

Suddenly, he recalled the Suggestion Sang Biao had given Cheng Mengxue:

“I told her it was a great treasure that could grant any wish! That it was like using Magic to control the elements and make all your dreams come true!”

Uh…

It seemed this Suggestion had made Cheng Mengxue think of a Magician Girl, and so the treasure inside the Treasure Chest had naturally turned into a Magic Wand.

HISS…

Sang Biao sucked in a sharp breath.

“So an old man’s tastes are this cutesy, huh? Suddenly, I don’t look up to Pompey as much anymore.”

“But! No matter what this thing looks like! Since Pompey went to all the trouble to hide it here, this must be the controller for the entire Virtual Digital World! Right, little bro?!”

“Right, right, right.”

Jiang Ran nodded while backing away two steps to a safe distance.

“Then, Brother Biao, you should hurry up and try it out.”

Sang Biao nodded.

He gripped the Magic Wand.

And raised it high.

“I will become—the King of the Digital World! The Counting King!!!”

Suddenly!

Sang Biao’s entire body began to glow, turning a crystalline white. He then levitated into mid-air and started to spin.

The shimmering light from the Magic Wand transformed into ribbons that wound around Sang Biao. Just like a Magician Girl’s transformation sequence, they morphed into all sorts of ornate decorations on his body!

“Whoa whoa whoa, here it comes, here it comes!”

Sang Biao was ecstatic, feeling power surge through his body. His kingly transformation had begun!

SWISH.

An abacus-shaped crown appeared on his head. A cape imprinted with the words [Math Prince] unfurled behind him. A multiplication table materialized across his chest, a set square was holstered at his waist, and a sword-like compass appeared in his left hand. In his right hand, the frilly pink Magic Wand also transformed in the light, becoming an electronic calculator.

With that, Sang Biao slowly spun back down to the ground.

Transformation! Complete!

“…” “…” “…”

All three people on the scene, Sang Biao included, were utterly dumbfounded.

“What the fuck! What is this?!”

Sang Biao cried out, his finger furiously mashing the calculator’s clear button over and over again:

“What the hell is this thing! Why is there a calculator?!”

PFFT—

Jiang Ran couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.

‘It seems my expectations were correct. In Cheng Mengxue’s subconscious, this is more or less what a “Counting King” is supposed to be.’

“Hey, hey, hey! What are you guys playing at? It looks like fun!”

Just then, Cheng Mengxue charged in, riding atop a large-headed Rhine Cat and leading the Rhine Cat Legion.

“Whoa!”

She stared at the newly transformed Sang Biao:

“Is this Pompey’s treasure? It’s so cool! By the way… who exactly is Pompey?”

Jiang Ran gave a helpless smile and walked forward.

“If you’d asked that question sooner, Sang Biao wouldn’t be so embarrassed right now. Pompey was the creator of this Virtual World, but he committed suicide three years ago.”

He explained to Cheng Mengxue:

“However, the day before his suicide, Pompey secretly came here. We don’t know what for.”

“Sang Biao guessed that Pompey hid his treasure here, which is why he’s been staking out the place day and night, looking for a chance to sneak into Floor Negative 42 and find it.”

Oh~

Realization dawned on Cheng Mengxue.

“Oh, so that’s what’s going on. Did Mr. Pompey really hide a treasure here?”

“There’s no way to know.”

Jiang Ran shrugged.

“Frankly, this is all just Sang Biao’s personal speculation. Whether Pompey actually left anything here, or what he even came to do… it’s a total mystery. No one knows the answer.”

Behind them, Sang Biao stood petrified in his Math Prince costume, holding a large compass and a calculator. His spirit had clearly taken a massive blow.

“Hmm…”

Cheng Mengxue tapped her chin with her index finger, thinking.

“Jiang Ran, do you want Pompey’s treasure too?”

“Not really.”

Jiang Ran shook his head.

“I don’t really care what treasure Pompey left behind. I just want to know what he was doing here the day before he killed himself.”

“On that point, I think Sang Biao’s got the right idea. Since he made a special trip here right before he died, it couldn’t have been for nothing, right?”

“It’s just… there’s no way to find the answer now. Pompey came here completely alone, with no one else around. Nobody knows what happened.”

However, Cheng Mengxue blinked and tilted her head.

“[Then why not ask the Rhine Cats?]”