Dragged myself up at 2:00 a.m. to solve the hunt meta and kept going until 6:30. Every variety of brute force failed, until I finally discovered that I had extracted the starting year incorrectly—because I had simply asked AI at that step. AI still cannot replace humanity after all (

At the time, I didn’t know the reason for the error, but the sun was already up, and it was time to go out and “refresh my mind.” Following the veteran Beijinger—my dad—we headed out to explore and eat!

We took the metro to Tian’anmen West and were asked for ID the moment we emerged. (There were important meetings underway, after all.) Uniformed police lined the route, along with plenty of plainclothes officers. Naturally, this made me wonder: if I started sprinting right now, would they immediately pin me to the ground? (I did not test the hypothesis.) We passed what looked like soldiers from the flag-raising detail. The instant my camera appeared, someone called, “No photos!” The lens retreated in fright. (Yes, by itself.) For the rest of the morning, the camera oscillated between “functional” and “dead.” Time for a proper repair shop.

My dad and I walked a full circle around the Forbidden City, buying tickets to enter Zhongshan Park along the way (I got a half-price ticket!). After walking a stretch, my phone would mysteriously have several extra photos taken, and I had absolutely no idea why (checking after we finished, I found 108 extra photos in my album—so strange).

After finishing our Citywalk, I tremblingly followed my dad into a Douzhi (mung bean milk) shop. Although I should have tried Douzhi when I visited Beijing last time, on one hand, I was too young then and didn’t remember much, and on the other hand, the online complaints about it made me quite apprehensive. Once it was served, my dad even took a photo and commented: “Pray for him, he is very brave.” Me: … (took a sip)

How to describe it? Not far from tofu left to spoil. It did not make me want to throw up on the spot, but it was more than enough to leave me wondering: you veteran Beijingers actually like this stuff???

But the other bowl of flour mush tasted quite good, and I successfully asked the shop lady for an extra scoop of sesame paste. Too bad I forgot its name…

Oh right, my dad also taught me how to peel a chestnut fully intact. I succeeded a few times and felt so happy, deciding that I must teach my classmates and show off!

Then off to eat other snacks! The Pan-fried Meat Pie (Mending Shaobing) I had at Huguosi Snacks was incredibly fragrant, and the pear soup was delicious too (wow, such an emotional but uncultured expression). We also went to a Luzhu (stewed pork intestines and lung) shop near Nanluoguxiang to have Luzhu, and then I realized I still prefer lighter foods and can’t handle the heavy flavors of the North…

After eating and drinking our fill and getting a foot massage, we walked around the Drum Tower area. After hearing my dad talk about how “bustling” (referring to streets full of game shops) this place was when he was a kid, I ran straight into one of the few remaining shops and saw a wall full of PS and Switch cartridges. For some reason, even though I knew I wouldn’t buy a console, just looking at these cartridges felt great (

Crossing Yandaixiejie Street to the bank of Shichahai, we finally started eating lunch (yes, everything before that was just snacks). Along the way, we saw several “Nanmen Shuanrou” (Southern Gate Hotpot) places, but the truly authentic one was our destination. Getting stuffed with meat is the code for my dad and me!

After a short break at the Starbucks in Lotus Market, my dad set off to meet his friends. I opened Geocaching and started hunting! Actually, I had already started looking on the streets beside the Forbidden City in the morning, but sneakily searching there led to me being questioned on the spot: “What are you looking for?” Me: “Uh… something someone hid here, but it seems to be gone.” I slipped away right after saying that (too much like some shady dealer, hey!).

Later, in an alley next to a former temple (now a kindergarten) by Shichahai, I felt a test tube on the inside of a pipe. When I opened it, it was completely filled with signatures on both sides! In the end, I could only find a tiny corner to squeeze my name in, and noted to remind the next person to bring a new piece of paper. After that, wandering by the roadside for 10 minutes, I found information that the original hint was outdated, successfully located a test tube by the road, and harvested quite a few puzzled looks from passersby. On a railway bridge, walking against the flow of elementary school students leaving school, I felt out today’s last treasure from the steel frame. Making sure no one was looking, I quickly took it out, signed, and put it back. Mission accomplished!

I just checked: my 24,070 WeChat steps still dominate the leaderboard, 110 ahead of Dad in second. (Wait, I did all that in the afternoon and gained only 110? Did cycling not count?) That should tell you how far we walked. After an entire day of glorious combat, I went to bed early without the slightest idea what surprise tomorrow had prepared…