Matryoshka Off-Limits Chapter 29

Chapter 29 Big Factory

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Wen Shi’s attempt to find family members didn’t get a reply.

Someone nearby whispered, “Hey, tadpole, stop calling.”

The surroundings were messy, and the smell of blood kept coming. It wasn’t the right time to search for mom.

Wen Shi was just about to correct that he was looking for dad when his face suddenly changed. It was as if a firefly had flown into the car, bringing a dim glow.

However, looking closely would reveal that the brightness didn’t come from insects, but from a person.

A player getting off the ride felt a faint light. Looking around, they realized the light was coming from their own shoulders. Someone had sprinkled fluorescent powder on their clothes. When the player realized this, it was too late to remove their outerwear. Another player behind them gave a push, and the person stumbled down the last two steps of the stairs. Seizing the opportunity, the player who tampered with the clothes quickly got off and started running.

The player emitting the light became the preferred target of attacks in the dark, as all the attackers around him closed in.

The faint light wasn’t sufficient to reveal the monsters in the dark. The unlucky one with the fluorescent powder felt something nearing his neck.

The monster opened its mouth, emitting a foul smell. The player instinctively grabbed a weapon and launched the first attack.

Outside the car door was chaos, the road blocked.

Before the situation could worsen, Wen Shi began to seek an alternate route. He opened the in-game store, searched for a safety hammer, and surprisingly found one.

【Would you like to spend 10 points to purchase the safety hammer?】

“Yes.”

Wen Shi picked up the safety hammer and started forcefully hitting the corners of the glass. A nearby player was surprised, “Whoa, are you crazy? There might be monsters outside the window.”

Ignoring the comment, Wen Shi continued to strike the edges. Suddenly, the safety hammer in his hand disappeared.

【Safety Hammer: One-time use item, can strike four times.】

He truly witnessed the manufacturer’s malicious intent.

Fortunately, the previous strikes were enough to dislodge the glass. Without hesitation, Wen Shi jumped out of the car window.

“Wait for me.” Since staying in the car was not an option, the two cooperated. There might still be a chance for survival. “Let’s work together…”

Before the sentence was finished, a chilly breeze swept by, bringing something extra. Based on past instance experiences, the player’s instinct told him that the source of this chilling aura wasn’t from a living person.

He guessed right.

Indeed, it wasn’t a human. It was the Wandering Corpse summoned by Wen Shi.

Some of the blood in his body was instantly drained. This time, the loss of blood was greater than when Wen Shi had forcibly awakened the Wandering Corpse the first time. It cost him nearly a tenth of his health points. He instinctively replenished his health, but the noise from breaking the window had attracted monsters that came running faster than he could react.

“Your war general is currently engaged in battle.”

“Outnumbered, please lead the Wandering Corpse out of the encirclement quickly.”

Wen Shi fled in the direction the bus had been heading. He had yet to retrieve the【Scented Sachet】and the luck-boosting【Ruby】from the Wandering Corpse, indirectly providing it with a layer of defensive buff.

“When things get tough, just give a signal,” Wen Shi explained while running.

With just a thought, he could recall the war general.

“Signal.” The Wandering Corpse emitted a quick signal.

“Signal.” A player who had caught up without them noticing joined in, thinking they had stumbled upon a hidden master. “Master, please take us along!”

“……” Wen Shi wondered how this joker had managed to get placed in the A+ level group.

Having just completed an instance, Wen Shi lacked any attack skills. To escape the predicament, his only option was to rely on speed and run.

…Where is my counterpart in the parallel world?

He had spent double the price to use a skill in advance and even paid extra for the system’s recommended items. But up until now, there was no heroic savior descending from the sky.

If Xie Tangyan were here, those creatures in the darkness would have been wiped out by a single sword strike.

Wen Shi’s brain quickly churned.

Depending on others wasn’t as good as relying on oneself. He had two options now: one was to use blind selection items to fight the monsters. However, different creatures had different weaknesses, and blind selection items might end up ineffective. The other option was to have the Wandering Corpse carry the【Flashlight】and lure the surrounding monsters away, giving him a chance to escape outside the tunnel.

Considering the poor loyalty of the Wandering Corpse, the decision made a second ago could change in the next, and the flashlight might just land on his own head.

The path ahead was still pitch-dark, with no glimpse of an exit light source. Running out would take some time.

“Mmm—”

Wen Shi heard a severely suppressed sound of agony nearby. It was clear that a player was injured, desperately suppressing painful sobs to avoid attracting more monsters.

“Master, why are these monsters attacking us?”

Wen Shi didn’t know the reason and felt equally puzzled. He didn’t think the initial inference was wrong. The rear door was open. If these passengers didn’t meet the standard, the monsters outside should have swarmed in a frenzy, not all of them targeting the driver from the beginning.

Unless…

Running while thinking, Wen Shi pondered, “Unless there’s something else mixed among the passengers.”

Those attacking the driver weren’t the same group as those attacking them.

Wen Shi’s expression turned somewhat grim. Perhaps the monsters wouldn’t initiate attacks on players, but if players struck first, it might be a different story. The current issue was that it was impossible to distinguish between monsters and another group of attackers in the darkness.

The best solution would be to use items for illumination, everyone working together to escape. The problem was, each player was shrewd and none wanted to be the first illuminator.

Clang!

Suddenly, a sound echoed in the darkness.

Ssssh…

Each tone sent shivers down the spine, more unsettling than nails on a chalkboard, making hearts race a hundredfold.

Wen Shi had never endured such an unpleasant sound, causing a physiological discomfort. One thought dominated his mind: My ears feel dirty.

“Your war general is currently playing【Harp】.”

“Your war general is using a new type of plucking technique.”

“As the war general’s master, you possess a 99% defense against musical attacks.”

In other words, was he only affected by one percent of the musical influence?

Wen Shi found it difficult to imagine how others were feeling at this moment.

“Ma-master… ugh…” The player beside him was already vomiting, exerting his last bit of strength to distance himself from Wen Shi. It was the first time he felt a strong urge for self-reliance.

“Stop playing.” Wen Shi had a headache.

He worried that if everyone united, they could silence the source of the noise pollution.

The interface for the Wandering Corpse updated.

【Type: Wandering Corpse

Current Rank: Advanced Monster, with a certain probability of transforming into a Corpse Guard.

Rationality Value: 5

Loyalty: 5

Intelligence: 79

Weapon: Harp

Skill: Heavenly Melody Level 1

Duration per use: 15s

Skill cooldown: 18 hours

Life forms affected by noise pollution will experience slowed movements.

The vengeful harp’s resentment deepened after encountering its tone-deaf new owner. Also, your Wandering Corpse has a difficult-to-discuss secret.】

Wen Shi was surprised to see the rationality value of the Wandering Corpse increase. The skill of playing the harp could actually raise its rationality value. This was crucial data related to whether the Wandering Corpse would turn hostile. Ignoring the unpleasant sound, Wen Shi praised against his will, “You play very well.”

As for that difficult-to-discuss secret, it likely involved the mutated pomegranate flower seeds.

Now wasn’t the time to explore the fate of pomegranate flower seeds. It was a moment to save their own fate.

“Are you still here?”

No one responded. Obviously, the player who had been following him had been driven away by the harp’s music. Seizing this 15-second window, Wen Shi ran at a newfound speed in his life.

…

Outside the tunnel.

By the sparse trees, stood six or seven players who had emerged. Among them was a man with bloodstains all over him, though it wasn’t his blood. A mechanical puppet sat on the man’s shoulder. The puppet’s little fingers were short but agile, stained with crimson blood. When the man saw Ji Yuanzhi a moment ago, he froze instantly, then a hint of ecstasy flashed in his eyes.

This joy hadn’t faded yet.

It wasn’t because Tu Bianxi was impatient, but he really didn’t expect such a pie to fall from the sky. The guild had gone to great lengths to secure a team slot, trying to obtain clues about the special 3S instance from the newbie, but ended up losing to other guild. As for why he ended up in this instance, it was purely coincidental. Tu Bianxi hadn’t entered an instance for some time, but the game had pulled him in directly.

Who would have thought Ji Yuanzhi would also be in this instance? That indicated one thing: Pei Wenwei was probably here too.

Instances could drag on, and sometimes a month could go by without a new one. Unless the Second Commandment assigned others to enter the instance with the newbie, Ji Yuanzhi wouldn’t risk entering one ahead of schedule.

Tu Bianxi touched the mechanical puppet on his shoulder, and the overly prominent apple of his cheek tightened unnaturally. He casually asked, “Aren’t you going to check on the condition of the people inside?”

Ji Yuanzhi said indifferently, “If they can’t even get out of a tunnel, they might as well have died early.”

Tu Bianxi’s excitement was evident. This was an implicit confirmation that Pei Wenwei was indeed here.

He quickly pondered Ji Yuanzhi’s attitude. The logic was sound, but Ji Yuanzhi wouldn’t be so indifferent and let the newbie fend for himself after spending a considerable amount of points to secure a team slot. He was certain there was another motive behind Ji Yuanzhi’s calm demeanor, but he couldn’t figure it out completely.

While contemplating, Tu Bianxi began to assess the other players. When he saw a pair of twin sisters, known as Big Sis and Lil Sis, a grin spread across his face. If he could turn them into puppets…

The older girl sneered and touched her weapons at her waist.

Tu Bianxi struck a comically surrendering pose. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s an occupational disease. When I see good-looking people, I just imagine making them into puppets, hahaha.”

Those who could be the first to exit the tunnel were not ordinary. Both sides didn’t immediately make things difficult for each other. The twin sisters, Liu Yuan and Liu Yun, were both players ranked in the top 1000. Seeing Tu Bianxi, they silently cursed their bad luck.

The Puppet Guild’s style was always ruthless and overbearing, but they had the capital to be arrogant. The Puppet Guild had almost gathered all players in the game who possessed the【Puppetry】skill, a skill that was extremely rare even in the virtual world. In terms of overall strength, the last three ranked guilds among the Ten Commandments might not even compare to it now.

Another player walked out at this moment, a frown unconsciously appearing on their brows.

Tu Bianxi.

One of the most twisted members of the Puppet Guild. Tu Bianxi had a terrifying penchant for turning corpses into puppets. Even though players’ corpses had lost their vitality, Tu Bianxi didn’t give up and settled for turning them into doll-like figures. Sometimes, when he encountered someone with a desirable appearance, he would even secretly harm them without reason, all for the final crafting process.

The player who just exited the tunnel instinctively positioned themselves further away from Tu Bianxi.

Seeing the situation, Tu Bianxi’s grin widened. He genuinely enjoyed witnessing fear in others’ eyes. If he could keep their pupils permanently dilated, it would be even more perfect.

As players continued to emerge, reaching about ten in total, Tu Bianxi smirked with a hint of sarcasm. “Looks like someone’s over ten thousand points are going down the drain.”

The other players didn’t respond. Tu Bianxi and Ji Yuanzhi were both ranked in the top one hundred players. Naturally, nobody wanted to provoke either of them.

Squinting his eyes, Tu Bianxi’s rampant behavior was more of an attempt to probe what Ji Yuanzhi was planning, but the latter still remained indifferent.

“Someone else is coming out.” A player stared at the entrance of the tunnel.

The entrance to the tunnel was small, allowing only two rows of cars to pass through. Standing at the border between light and darkness was Wen Shi.

Wen Shi was still wearing a blood-stained white coat. His peach blossom eyes revealed a hint of coldness in the dim light, but he had a smile on his face. He immediately noticed the familiar figure and friendly waved his arm. “Golden Dad.”

Upon hearing this address, Ji Yuanzhi, who had been expressionless, felt a twitch in his temple.

Wen Shi quickened his pace to step out of the tunnel, spotting Tu Bianxi, or more precisely, the puppet doll on his shoulder. His footsteps halted. He had a deep impression of this doll, which was similar to the little puppet that broke into the hotel through the window.

The situation was chaotic at that time, but now, the eyes of the doll looked strange. It had more white than black, with a layer of hazy white fuzz floating around the pupils.

Tu Bianxi showed off his creation. “These eyes once belonged to a player. Do you find them attractive?”

“Beast.” One of the twin sisters, Big Sis, muttered under her breath.

While they weren’t exactly traditional do-gooders, neither of them would resort to something so cruel.

Tu Bianxi had excellent hearing and caught her curse. He sneered, “These eyeballs need to be changed from time to time. Whose eyes are we changing next?”

His gaze swept across the girl’s face and eventually returned to Wen Shi’s, his lips involuntarily licking his own.

Speaking of appearances, who among those present had good-looking faces?

“You’re quite suitable to be turned into a doll.” As the conclusion was spoken, Tu Bianxi’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

It turned out Wen Shi wasn’t alone. Behind him, not far from the dim tunnel entrance, stood another figure. This person was carrying a large harp, handling it roughly as if carrying a chainsaw.

The dark clouds overhead dispersed, and the scorching sunlight beamed down on the barren land, illuminating the presence at the entrance of the tunnel.

The zombie’s face was entirely devoid of color, with sunken cheeks and excessively long nails showing an eerie bluish tint. His skin, under the sunlight, also exhibited a faint bluish hue.

“Peng Lu.” Someone recognized the face. The player who called out the name Peng Lu stared fixedly at the zombie’s motionless chest. His expression turned extremely unpleasant.

Peng Lu had long died in the【Night of the Horror Ancient Castle】instance, which was widely known. The figure standing before them now was clearly not a living person.

Ji Yuanzhi was the first to conclude, “He’s been turned into a zombie.”

The crowd collectively gasped.

Turning a person into a zombie while they were still alive had transcended abnormality. It was a level of sheer madness.

Previously, Wen Shi had been concerned that there might still be monsters outside, so he hadn’t immediately recalled his war general. Now, the Wandering Corpse stood unmoving in its place. Wen Shi calmly tucked his hands into the blood-stained white coat’s pockets and, under the sunlight, gazed at Tu Bianxi and the puppet on his shoulder. “How old are you? Still playing with dolls?”

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