Chapter 90.1 Crimson Sunset Expedition
The passerby was discussing the tragic scene with great interest, even enjoying his meat skewers as he spoke.
It can’t be real. It’s definitely fake!
The tour guide’s breath grew heavier as she grabbed the turtlekin that had just pried open the car door, trying to slip away. Her face turned dark with anger as she asked, “Where are you going?”
Tears welled up in the turtlekin’s eyes that were twice the size of small marbles: “I think I should be the one asking, what are your plans?”
Why not let go of it once caught?
Even Sunset Town fell under the territory of the Golden Tower Kingdom. Here, a distinct class division existed. The lowest class was made up of the exotic beings scarcely different from animals. Then came the beastkin. The highest social status was held by evolved beings in their human form.
Naturally, the barriers between the first two levels of the golden pyramid weren’t very strong. When facing natural enemies, they wouldn’t easily provoked evolved beings. For example, the teenager in the waiting hall thought about using a lizard passenger to handle the tour guide.
This system of relative and absolute arrangements ensured the social stability of the Golden Tower Kingdom.
Targeted repeatedly, the turtlekin grew a bit irritated.
He couldn’t beat this woman in a fight, but there were quite a few well-off people among the turtlekin’s clients who could hire someone to do the job.
Besides temporarily restricting the turtlekin’s freedom, the tour guide didn’t do anything excessive. Seemingly still disbelieving, she urged the driver, “The road’s clear, please start driving.”
Actually, the fire and charred body were enough to make the point. The ticket seller couldn’t have set the museum on fire, and certainly wouldn’t burn a tourist’s body–those were hard-won resources for them.
The turtlekin sighed, remembering how yesterday in the train station tunnel, the tour guide had cheerfully led a group of tourists out with a colored flag. How did it turn into madness so quickly?
The driver also felt that the woman in the back seat seemed on the verge of insanity. He honked the horn non-stop, forcefully creating a way through.
The area around the museum was under lockdown, fire trucks in action. When the body was carried out, it was covered in white cloth.
The guards responsible for the blockade around the museum didn’t specially hinder the tour guide. They were all VIP clients from the same cosmetic surgery clinic.
The tour guide hurriedly lifted the white cloth, revealing an arm that had fallen out. The fire had started on the third floor. When the fire trucks arrived, the exterior of the sixth floor wasn’t seriously burned. The ticket seller’s body was slightly bent, and one could barely make out the raised middle finger.
“Aaron.”
Seeing this raised middle finger, the tour guide instantly recalled that detestable smiling face.
Her chest heaved dramatically, her anger causing even the color of her hair to seem dull.
The tour guide half-squatted to inspect the wound–it was a knife cut.
“How could this be…”
On her way over, she thought a lot. For the tourists, most of their skills were sealed. The only way to break free was to use a single path: having a shadow impersonate him.
It sounded far-fetched, but that cunning human was not beyond achieving it. However, the wound on the neck of the body conspicuously revealed who had killed the ticket seller.
The kitchen knife belonged to Aaron. The tour guide had witnessed the power of that knife on the train. He wouldn’t just hand over a highly deadly weapon like that to the shadow.
After a short pause, she made a phone call, “Help me check the data from the museum’s automatic ticket vending machine today.”
With the anger visibly throbbing in the corner of her eyes, the turtlekin beside her rolled its eyes and said, “What’s with bringing me along to find a body that’s already cold and stiff? Isn’t this a nicely roasted body?”
Bad luck!
•
Under the same blue sky, Wen Shi had a rather decent morning. After watching a movie, he even managed a few more business deals.
The turtlekin strolling along the commercial street would approach Wen Shi on their own. They had heard about the fire incident. If even a museum could be set on fire, in this world, one needed to jump over many fire pits.
The teenager’s throat was wrapped in bandages. Despite having the same luck value, these turtlekin persistently gravitated towards Wen Shi.
According to Yu Xingzhou’s Law of Conservation, the turtlekin’s calculated luck was always relative, and most of the tour guide’s misfortunes originated from Wen Shi.
Regarding unique superstitions, Wen Shi took them all in stride. As he slipped some extra money into his wallet, he muttered, “Dealing with beastkin NPCs is much easier than dealing with NPCs trying to act like humans.”
“That’s because turtles have keen senses. There’s not much on you worth their scheming.”
Wen Shi raised an eyebrow, adopting an attitude of genuine interest. “Oh?”
“No need to beat around the bush,” the teenager said expressionlessly, “You’ve visited the museum too.”
Wen Shi briefly recounted what happened during his visit. “The danger is relatively low in the North Zone, and there’s less information involved.”
The teenager coldly smiled. “It’s your fault for leaving without an audio guide. All you thought about when leaving was setting fires.”
Surprisingly, Wen Shi shook his head. It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered it. It was just too risky given his limited skills. Moreover, those items in the museum were its property, and he didn’t want to end up caught with stolen goods.
The teenager casually brought up something about the South Zone. “The first time I was killed, the ticket seller mentioned something about the shell being intact and hitting the jackpot.”
Whole human shells were quite sought after by monsters. A’Sang had engaged in that kind of trade back in the Ghost Market. After a brief pause, Wen Shi recalled the vivid image of the tour guide ruthlessly attacking tourists on the train. He spoke up, “They seem to be part of an industrial chain, where intact corpses fetch higher prices. If the tour guide succeeded in killing passengers on the train, these ‘goods’ wouldn’t be available for others to feast on. However, things are different in Sunset Town. I’m afraid in each of the destination we’re headed to, organ theft will be a recurring issue.”
He paused for a moment, then made up his mind. “Let’s go to the library.”
Business followed death. He needed to get a more comprehensive understanding of the evolution in the Golden Tower Kingdim.
The library allowed visitors in for free. It wasn’t a designated tourist spot. However, it housed an internet-famous souvenir shop. Buying a souvenir from there would earn you a stamp.
Wen Shi casually bought two expensive keychains and, feeling thirsty in the summer heat, also grabbed three cups of iced milk tea. Inside the library, eating and drinking weren’t forbidden, and customers could be seen browsing as they indulged.
The written language in the Golden Tower Kingdom was the same as in the real world. Information about the kingdom’s origins was scarce. Wen Shi flipped through a few books based on their titles, and only stumbled upon a somewhat useful clue:
In the Golden Tower Kingdom, there were two ways of evolution. One involved evolving with the help of beastkin, but the downside was that those who evolved this way often ended up resembling real animals, like the chubby worms. The other method was much safer: ingesting Evolution Potion, which had a ninety percent chance of maintaining the evolved state of being half-beastkin. There was also the opportunity for cosmetic surgery in the future.
“Evolution Potion…” Wen Shi’s eyes carried a hint of scorn. This thing reminded him of Big Factory’s Beautiful Soul Elixir. In essence, both were viruses.
The teenager noticed Wen Shi’s gaze lingering on the channel for buying Evolution Potion, instantly grasping his intention. He realized that Wen Shi wanted to purchase a bottle for any future needs.
In some aspects, beastkin were indeed gifted. Under equal conditions, humans were undoubtedly the prime target for monsters. After all, humans possessed more usable organs.
“Gotta leave an escape route. Hopefully won’t need it,” Wen Shi murmured to himself as he flipped through the book.
This time, without any personal emotions involved, the teenager calmly said, “The more unfavorable the escape route is, the likelihood of requiring it approaches one hundred percent.”
Some mystical explanations were hard to understand, like having an extra health point, resulting in an extra death during each instance due to various reasons.
Wen Shi realized this as well and felt immensely relieved. “Thankfully, this time there’s a scapegoat.”
The scapegoat, whose wound under the bandages was still seeping blood: “……”
How he wished to end him with a steel pipe.
Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the door.
They were currently in the history section—a niche area where barely anyone visited.
The two who were engaged in fierce combat were Qian Laiye and his shadow. The quarrel began with the shadow’s ambush, attempting to kill and steal.
“Acting silly and cheerful every day,” Shadow Qian Laiye taunted him. “Despite hating social interactions more than anyone, you’re desperately trying to blend into the larger crowd.”
Qian Laiye, who was usually easygoing, had a gaze full of murderous intent. He had wanted to kill his shadow for a long time but had restrained himself, fearful of potential consequences. Now, after barely surviving the ambush, his patience had reached its limit.
Just as the two were about to plunge into intense combat, a peripheral area caught their attention–three people seated at a table.
The girl in the white dress sat quietly, engrossed in her book, diligently studying culture. The teenager and Wen Shi sat face to face, a book placed between them, their heads bent, seemingly discussing something. Their conversation was interrupted, and all three of them glanced up simultaneously.
Wen Shi slightly furrowed his brow and was the first to break the silence. “Even though this library doesn’t enforce rules, making loud noise isn’t appropriate.”
“You, and you…” Qian Laiye’s expression was hard to put into words. His gaze shifted from Wen Shi to his own shadow, leaving him momentarily speechless.
Surprisingly, it was Qian Laiye’s shadow that spoke up with a questioning tone. The latter sneered, “Seems like someone has switched sides.”
Having experienced life and death, the teenager was no longer as casual about killing. However, he still had some way to go in terms of restraint.
Faced with the insolence of others, the teenager pressed a hand onto the book’s page while subtly touching the edge of a steel pipe. He couldn’t directly attack his teammate, as the game had identical restrictions in place. The teenager pondered how to use the rules to eliminate this shadow.
Wen Shi tapped the table with a bent finger, causing the teenager to momentarily set aside his thoughts as they both returned to their books.
Watching this scene unfold, Qian Laiye couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you mortal enemies not too long ago?”
He still remembered the brutal image of the teenager slashing someone’s throat at the train station. So, what exactly needed to be done to tame the savage leopard into a domesticated cat?
Coach, I want to learn too!
Wen Shi supported his head with one hand, not bothering to lift it as he said, “Hire them to watch a movie at the Royal Cinema, buy souvenirs.” Taking a sip of milk tea, he added, “And the first cup of iced milk tea in summer.”
Qian Laiye fell silent.
Shadow Qian Laiye also fell silent. After a moment, it spoke earnestly, “If you’re going to treat me like this, I can also accompany you to read.”
“……” Qian Laiye ultimately refrained from spewing profanities.
If he had that much spare money, would he need to go to a boxing gym to get beat up while being a sparring partner?
Ignoring the tug-of-war between the two sides, Wen Shi called the newbie who had transformed into a half-human, half-worm form, inquiring about his whereabouts.
Receiving Wen Shi’s call out of the blue, the newbie felt somewhat pleasantly surprised. “I’m scavenging on the main street.”
Wen Shi rubbed his temple. “I’ll give you fifty as a deposit. Come to the library first.”
The newbie was immediately intrigued.
According to Sunset Town’s rates, he’d need to pick up at least five hundred bottles to earn fifty. Compared to dumpster diving, the extra income from the library was much more appealing.
While keeping an eye on his shadow, Qian Laiye leaned in. “What kind of job? I’ll take forty.”
The shadow chimed in, “I’ll do it for thirty-five.”
“I’ll do it for thirty-three.”
Wen Shi sighed. This was the lamentable state of cheap labor. Even before the boss spoke, the employees were eager to accept a pay cut.
“You won’t be able to handle this task,” he handed over twenty yuan, “Take it and buy some milk tea. The condition is that by the end of the day, no more fighting.”
After returning the book to its shelf, Wen Shi called the teenager and the girl over and headed to the entrance to wait.
After waiting for about ten minutes, they could see a chubby worm swaying its body from a distance. Influenced by the wormkin’s humble demeanor, the newbie, despite arriving quickly, still apologized upon meeting, “Sorry, I’m late.”
Seeing the newbie’s pale complexion, Wen Shi asked, “How much longer can you maintain this half-human, half-beast state?”
“Probably not more than four or five days.” Earlier, half of his neck still bore a human likeness, but now it has stretched nearly beyond the neck.
His memory had been deteriorating over these days, and the newbie felt an inexplicable panic. He sensed that once the transformation was complete, he would never be able to leave this instance.
Wen Shi couldn’t offer any assurances, so he offered a comforting words, “If you completely transform, I’ll do my best to make the tour guide go down with you.”
“……”
Exiting the building, the four of them squeezed into a car. Wen Shi provided a series of addresses. The girl recognized the place. It was the Enchanting Beauty Clinic where she had distributed flyers before.
Once the car was on the road, the newbie clung to a glimmer of hope. “Is there any chance of reversing the transformation after it’s complete?”
Wen Shi shook his head directly.
According to the information he had previously reviewed, this type of transformation didn’t even qualify for cosmetic surgery.
“Instead of hoping to reverse the transformation, it’s better to find a way to get out quickly.”
He refrained from speaking much in the taxi. Once they got out of the car, Wen Shi bought him a bluetooth earpiece. Luckily, his head was still intact, so using the earpiece wasn’t an issue.
The newbie assessed the surroundings. They hadn’t left Wangjing Road. Across the road, the signboard of the Enchanting Beauty Clinic was particularly conspicuous. While dialing a number, Wen Shi said, “Keep the line open later. Just follow my instructions. The danger level is relatively low.”
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