Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 1293 - 47: Shrinking and Cinderella (2nd Update)

Chapter 1293: Chapter 47: Shrinking and Cinderella (2nd Update)

"Get in there already, or do you want me to knock out your molars?" Teng Yuangxiang roared, and with a backhand slap, the female student’s cheek immediately swelled up like a steamed bun.

The newbies were angry but dared not speak out, helplessly taking a few steps towards the Teleportation Gate, yet no one wanted to enter.

Fuming, Teng Little Three lifted her slender, beautiful leg and pressed it against a male student’s stomach, about to grab his hair and throw him into the Teleportation Gate, but was stopped by Dong Zixuan.

"Don’t go too far—I’ll scout ahead!" the policewoman warned Teng Yuangxiang and then deployed her Shield, charging into the main entrance of the castle that resembled those of the Middle Ages.

The policewoman’s sense of justice seemed to return to her, and she wasn’t recklessly brave, as she knew to activate her shield.

"Go on in, there shouldn’t be an issue!" After laying Song Xin to rest, Tang Zheng entered the Teleportation Gate, followed by the Conquerors in single file.

"What are you waiting for—move!" Lin Weiguo cursed their lack of spirit. With this level of garbage quality, no one wanted to help.

It was pitch black in front of her, and as Dong Zixuan fumbled around, her right foot suddenly met empty space, like falling from the sky, and she plummeted straight down, then suddenly the view brightened and she saw a lavishly decorated corridor, with paintings wider than the Vault of Heaven hanging on the walls, and corners filled with antique vases standing over ten meters tall.

Thump, Dong Zixuan fell for a full ten seconds before landing on the carpet and before she could get up, a large Shadow loomed overhead, and Tang Zheng came crashing down.

"Watch out!" Tang Zheng tried to control the gravity to levitate, but an unexpected discomfort on his back and the brief reaction time meant he was unsuccessful, landing on Dong Zixuan. Fortunately, the Defense Shield took the impact, and they weren’t injured.

From above came successive screams, but Tang Zheng didn’t look up. Hugging Dong Zixuan, he rolled aside, and as expected, the next moment, his companions fell down.

"What is this?" Dong Zixuan didn’t even bother to ask if everyone was hurt, just stared dumbfoundedly at the yarn fluff at waist height, stunned.

"It’s the carpet—we’ve been miniaturized, probably to the size of a fingernail cloth!" The plush carpet now seemed like a vast prairie, Mu Nianqi parted the yarn forest and tried to walk a few steps, trying to fly by controlling the wings on her back.

"Look, everyone’s grown wings!" Lu Fan exclaimed in surprise, everyone’s back now sprouted Dragonfly-like transparent wings.

"These are controlled by imagination." Though he was unsteady, Tang Zheng flapped his wings and took off.

The learning ability of the Conquerors was evident now, with Mu Nianqi and Gu Xueqi taking off almost effortlessly, followed by Lu Fan and Dantai, while the rest were slower.

Jing Xiang and Bai Guo were the most foolish—Catwoman barely got a meter off the ground before falling, while Natural Stupid simply didn’t get the trick right, hopping in place like a comical kangaroo.

"Imagine that you can fly!" Gu Xueqi performed a graceful glide and stopped beside them, teaching by example.

"Is this supposed to make us elves, to fulfill Cinderella’s wish?" Lu Fan frowned; she had heard of Cinderella’s fairy tale, but there were no elves in it.

"Not just the power of Firearms has weakened, but our Abilities also," said Mu Nianqi as she attempted to cut through a handful of plush with the Northern Wind Ring.

"Let’s get out of here first and find a place to hide before determining Cinderella’s position!" Tang Zheng had already mastered the use of his wings and hovered in midair, the others gradually began flying, Gu Xueqi pulling Bai Guo, ensuring none were left behind.

The sudden miniaturization of their bodies was novel but also uncomfortable, as ordinary furniture now appeared immense, like towering mountains.

Tang Zheng glanced at his Wristwatch, no map—seems like Trojan intended for the survivors to find the person on their own, he turned the street corner, considering whether to disperse the Group Members to search for Cinderella, when suddenly from the corner of his eye, a large Black Shadow swooped down, disturbing the airflow and nearly causing him to lose balance.

Just barely avoiding the swipe, a golden-eyed Persian cat landed nimbly on the ground and immediately pounced again.

The group scattered, with the calm ones knowing to ascend while the panicked ones just dodged blindly, not considering the cat’s subsequent attacks. As a result, a University student became miserable when smacked by the third pounce of the Persian cat and fell to the ground. Bearing the pain, he tried to dodge but was pinned down by the cat’s paw.

The Conquerors Shot, but unfortunately, the Bullet did not kill the Persian cat. Instead, it enraged the cat, which let out a cry, lowered its head and bit into the University student’s head.

With a crunch, all that was left was a headless Corpse, with blood spurting from the neck, staining the carpet red.

"Fly quickly!" Mu Nianqi urged everyone to leave the area swiftly.

Zhao Yunwu, who was almost killed, cursed under his breath, resolving to exterminate all the wild cats in his Residential area once he returned.

Luckily, the Persian cat couldn’t fly, and after some effort, they finally shook it off and hid in an attic.

"Cough cough, so dirty!" Sunlight streamed through the skylight, casting light on the moldy floor covered in dancing dust, and Teng Yuangxiang accidentally covered herself in grime.

The atmosphere was heavy, and Tang Zheng was concerned that splitting into groups to find Cinderella might give the imposters a chance to attack the Group Members, but moving as a group was too time-consuming.

"What should we do? Come up with an idea!" Mu Nianqi wanted to see how Tang Zheng would respond.

"Split into groups!" Tang Zheng took a deep breath and decisively issued the command. He couldn’t always think everything through for them—this was their own war. If they couldn’t survive, it only meant they were inferior in skill. Of course, he could also infer more intelligence based on those who died.

"Not bad!" Mu Nianqi nodded, very satisfied with Tang Zheng’s response. As a group leader, he should be prepared to sacrifice some members for victory. Taking on all responsibility alone was simply unrealistic.

"I’ll team up with Ruan Feifei," Gu Xueqi volunteered, having observed that the female broadcaster would not be a problem.

"Make your own groups!" Tang Zheng saw several people coming towards him and hurriedly stopped them. "I’m going solo this time."

Li Xinlan hesitated for a moment, looked towards Dantai, and finding that he paid her no attention, she could only pick Qin Yan.

"Bai Guo, come with me, too," Qin Yan cursed the older woman in her heart. As a former colleague, their current relationship was not bad. Rejecting her would surely arouse Tang Zheng’s suspicions. Now, she could only mimic her original self’s behavior to lull him.

The newbies were at a loss, but a heart-wrenching scream saved them.

"It might be Cinderella’s stepmother abusing her!" Mu Nianqi flapped his wings, following the sound, with Tang Zheng closely behind.

No one wanted to be separated from the group leader; they all took off and followed.

In the tidy kitchen, a short, plump middle-aged woman was holding a wooden stick, viciously beating a beautiful girl. The girl wore a gray dress; though it had many patches, it was clean. Now, however, it was stained with fresh blood, drenched in soup, and vegetable leaves clung to her black hair. Luckily, it had cooled, or she would’ve been scalded.

"Die, you lowly pig, for stealing my food!" The woman’s flabby cheeks trembled, and spit flew everywhere—she was repulsive.

Cinderella was extremely aggrieved. Her arms, which shielded her head, were covered in bruises. The food was just leftovers meant to be thrown out by her stepmother and stepsisters, who didn’t allow her to eat with them at the table. She had only a hard, stale piece of black bread each day, which was not enough to satisfy her hunger, so she had to sneak some leftovers.

Cinderella had long grown accustomed to such beatings. Whenever her stepmother was bored or simply found her disagreeable, she’d find a reason to beat her.

"Shut up, don’t scream," the stepmother threatened viciously, worried her husband might hear. "Or else I’ll kill you."

Cinderella clenched her teeth tightly; she had screamed earlier because the pain was too much to bear.

"We need to think of something fast. If she keeps getting hit, she’ll die," Jing Lan said anxiously. If her body hadn’t shrunk, she would’ve beaten up the wicked stepmother.

Tao Ran empathized with her deeply.

"Mom, good news! Tonight, the Prince will hold a ball at the castle. All girls under the age of 18, be they commoners or nobles, are invited to attend, and he will choose his bride from among them," two blonde girls rushed over, shooting a contemptuous glance at Cinderella and grabbing their mother’s arm. "Let’s hurry and prepare our gowns. I want to marry him."

"I want to, too," the younger sister cooed, hugging her mother’s arm. "I need new dance shoes and jewelry."

"Alright, we’ll buy everything. I will make you both look stunning and utterly bewitch the Prince," the stepmother tossed aside the stick, paying no more attention to Cinderella.

"Ugh, let’s go. It’s so dirty here," the younger sister urged incessantly.

"Wait, sister, don’t you also want to go?" Seeing Cinderella’s eyes suddenly brighten, the older sister’s lips curled into a mocking smile. She picked up a plate full of green peas from the table and threw them into an ash pile. "If you can pick them all out before lunch, you can go to the ball."

Cinderella’s spirit was instantly drained—the peas numbered in the hundreds and were almost impossible to pick out.

"Sure, if you can do it, I’ll agree," the stepmother was clearly toying with Cinderella, leaving behind a smug whisper as she was pulled away by her daughter.

"Mom, please help me, I want to get out of this miserable life!" Cinderella cried out in sorrow before quickly wiping away her tears and squatting down to pick up the peas. "I won’t give up."

"We’ll help you!" Jing Lan and Tao Ran flew down. To them, each pea was as heavy as a grindstone.

Cinderella was startled but soon became delighted. "Are you fairies?"

"We’ve been graced by your mother, and we’ve come to repay that kindness," Tang Zheng bowed respectfully. "We’ll make sure you marry the Prince."

"Hurry up, everyone come help!" Lu Fan urged the others.

"This won’t work; we need to find a better way," Mu Nianqi refused to do such an exhausting and thankless task. According to Trojan’s evil taste, there must be a shortcut waiting.

"The back garden’s hazel tree has a bird’s nest containing the secret to completing the mission!" The long-awaited Trojan announcement rang out. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it with a recommendation ticket or a monthly pass at Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)