Chapter 96.2 Crimson Sunset Expedition
The elevator doors slammed shut with a loud bang, startling both inside and outside. If Song Yan hadn’t reacted quickly, his head might have been caught. He had only stepped halfway in earlier, and when the elevator malfunctioned, Song Yan’s instinctively stepped back.
The cabin was now empty, with only Wen Shi and the mini octopus.
The elevator seemed to be malfunctioning, not moving at all, but constantly swaying. Wen Shi tried pressing the buttons for each floor, but unfortunately, the approach of dealing with emergencies in real life was of no use in the game.
Wen Shi frowned. “Is the game intentionally trying to separate me from Song Yan and kill him?”
The floor numbers on the display kept flashing with a purple glow, and the system’s notification sound rang out:
“You’ve noticed the true spirit, and you’ve violated one of the hidden rules of the game.”
Hearing the beginning of the message, Wen Shi already knew the reason. He laughed, “So, they want to kill me.”
He wasn’t scared by the information in the notification sound.
In the instance created by true spirits, they naturally wouldn’t want anyone to discover their existence. Hence, it was easier to be targeted by the rules.
The notification sound continued to announce:
“As an observer of the true spirit, you’ll have a free upgrade opportunity.”
“Will you upgrade to an advanced main quest? Steal a bottle of ultra-rare Divine Evolution Potion.”
“Note: After completing the advanced main quest, you will undergo a complete transformation.”
The last time he undertook an upgraded quest was during the activation of his skill, almost a certain-death situation. Now, with his 101 HP being locked , it was equivalent to losing his last lifeline.
Just as Wen Shi was about to firmly reject the tempting offer, he hesitated. Currently, the shapeshifting skill would only grant him cat ears and a cat tail. Would undergoing a complete transformation mean that he would become a cat during the limited time?
If that were true, his abilities to scale walls, move swiftly, and hide would all be significantly enhanced.
“……”
This frustrating game, he shamefully found himself tempted.
“Please make your choice within the next 10 seconds: 10s, 9s…”
The game initiated its countdown.
The cabin reflected Wen Shi’s expressionless face, while the mini octopus in his pocket could sense the spreading nervousness from his slightly stiff fingertips. The octopus suddenly became curious, wondering if Wen Shi had the same impassive expression when he was at Big Factory, even when he was nervous.
This contrast made it grip his fingers tighter. It regretted not placing more surveillance at Big Factory, missing the opportunity to later appreciate the nuances of his body language.
When the countdown had reached its last second, Wen Shi said a single word, “Yes.”
In those past few seconds, he pondered just two questions. Besides his health points, his subconscious reaction made him wonder if the old lady was present.
The summoning skill had caused him to develop a degree of reliance.
Wen Shi didn’t reject the use of his trump cards, nor did he blame himself for it. Provided that there were enough trump cards, he could not always rely on his parallel world selves. For example, in this sealed space, no one could rely on anyone. The more skills he had on his attribute panel, the better.
Moreover, whether he chose to upgrade or not, since the system had explicitly noted the violation concerning the discovery of the true spirit, any challenges he faced during ordinary tasks would surely not be minor.
The elevator finally started to descend normally.
“Main quest upgraded.”
“Before the surgery begins, please find the blueprints for the underground control room. They will help you obtain the ultra-rare Divine Evolution Potion.”
Wen Shi: “Do you know where the control room is?”
He remembered the mini octopus mentioning something about modifying the surveillance.
“On the third floor.”
At that information, Wen Shi fell silent for a moment. It seemed the hospital had two control rooms. He could explore the underground one independently later.
With a “ding,” the elevator doors opened, revealing an empty surroundings.
On the first underground floor, only emergency lights were on. To enhance his night vision, Wen Shi activated his transformation skill.
The ceiling, walls, and floor were all covered in uniform off-white tiles. Wen Shi caught a whiff of an unpleasant odor. Before he could react, he saw the mini octopus digging through a trash can, pulling out a cotton swab and rubbing it against the floor crevice. It was just a light swipe, yet the cotton swab was smeared with blood and mud.
Witnessing this, Wen Shi became extremely cautious.
The corner was piled with containers. When Wen Shi turned on his flashlight, he noticed many dark red bloodstains on the ceiling and walls. Due to time constraints, he couldn’t explore each one.
Choosing to forgo opening the potentially dangerous containers, Wen Shi continued forward, attempting to find the control room’s location as quickly as possible.
Less than ten meters away, he realized his naivety.
The entire first underground floor resembled a complex maze with multiple pathways, small rooms unevenly distributed along each corridor, their doors labeled with different numbers.
It was highly unlikely that patients were held in this environment. Rather, it was probably experimental subjects.
Wen Shi randomly approached one and glanced inside.
Iron bars were used to separate the door’s upper part, making it easier for him to peek.
Inside, there were only a few iron basins with remaining bits of flesh and a surgical table doubling as a makeshift bed. The rusted iron chains on the ground shimmered with a cold hue under the light of his phone.
Wen Shi’s throat moved. “Do you know what I am thinking just now?”
The octopus’s little head shifted as it spoke in a deep voice. “When the situation is desperate, release the experimental subjects to divert the night shift security guard’s attention.”
Wen Shi took a deep breath and tugged at the iron door, effortlessly opening it.
A somewhat forced smile appeared on his lips. “But I’m afraid the experimental subjects have already escaped.”
Just as he finished speaking, a dark shadow suddenly darted across the corner ahead. Without investigating further, Wen Shi considered stepping back and choosing a different path.
But it was too late.
The pungent smell of blood grew closer, and suddenly, a skinless blood creature stuck to the ceiling like a gecko, rushing toward him with a nearly terrifying speed.
Relying on the agility of a cat, Wen Shi seized the moment the blood creature emerged, finding a gap and dashing forward. The eerie corridor echoed with the sounds of desperate footsteps as he ran.
His throat, already dry from cold, became even more parched. When it came to endurance, a human could never compete with a monster. Such a chase was not unfamiliar to Wen Shi, who usually employed clever tactics, like cutting his own palm to drop blood on his clothes, which he would then throw to distract the monster and buy himself some escape time.
However, against a creature that hadn’t even finished eating the flesh in an iron basin, tempting it with blood was child’s play.
“Fudge.”
While running, Wen Shi cursed under his breath. His trouble now was that he had no leads at all. Seeing the blood creature closing in, he adjusted his breath and yelled out at the top of his lungs.
He didn’t know if the monster could understand human speech, but it was faster than him. Trying to negotiate was out of the question. He needed to create a sense of crisis and then take a chance.
“With all this commotion, the night shift security guard will be here soon,” Wen Shi warned.
Animals that ate raw meat lacked intelligence. Upon hearing the words “night shift security guard,” the blood creature hesitated for a moment and then swiftly resumed its pursuit of Wen Shi.
“Watch out!” The octopus suddenly grew larger, one of its tentacles curling around Wen Shi’s neck, revealing a nearly two-meter-long forked tongue.
The octopus’s strength paled in comparison to the brute force of the blood creature. It should have paid the price of losing one of its tentacles while grappling with the blood creature on the ceiling.
However, the mindless blood creature didn’t rely solely on brute strength. Instead, it jumped down from the ceiling and retracted its tongue, attempting to drag the octopus closer.
Wen Shi halted in time, drawing his【Greenwood Sword】and stabbing fiercely at the excessively long tongue. The blood creature winced, but Wen Shi didn’t fare much better.
The blood that splashed from the wound was highly corrosive. His forearm was covered in pockmarks from the corrosive blood in an instant.
This pain was much sharper than the usual injuries he had endured. Cold sweat drenched his outer clothes within moments.
With no other choice, he thrust the sword fiercely once again at the charging blood creature.
The blood that spewed out was practically toxic. The octopus’s size swelled by twice, shielding him from most of the corrosive blood. Several of its tentacles were almost melted.
The monster was also severely wounded.
“Run, quickly.” Wen Shi’s right arm was nearly numb, but he gritted his teeth through the pain to speak.
Being too large wouldn’t aid their escape. The octopus, covered in wounds, shrank back down and stuck to Wen Shi again.
Thud.
Thud.
Ahead, heavy and peculiar footsteps echoed. The monster wouldn’t create such a loud commotion for no reason. Wen Shi guessed that it was the night shift security guard he had attracted.
He took a few steps back. Before long, similar footsteps sounded from the other side.
Thud.
It seemed that there was more than one night shift security guard.
Caught between them, Wen Shi gritted his teeth and prepared to retreat back to the small room where the gecko monster had been held.
“Unbelievable.” Wen Shi struggled to control his breath, swallowing two bottles of health potions.
Whether it was the appearance of the monster or the entire chase process, it felt as if it had predicted his every move and blocked all exits.
Wen Shi took out the mini octopus, which sadly shrank its almost broken tentacles. It comforted him in reverse, “They’ll regenerate.”
Thinking about the lively appearance of the octopus scratching the door frame during the day, Wen Shi felt a twinge of sadness.
The room had basic equipment and no other hiding places. Sitting on the floor, Wen Shi’s expression grew dark, “Qian Laiye’s speculations weren’t entirely wrong.”
Qian Laiye had always believed that the true spirit appeared in the form of mirrors. Upon reflection, he considered that their daily actions unfolded under a sky resembling a mirror. Wen Shi even entertained the idea that his very own pupils, or perhaps the eyes of each town resident, served as channels through which the true spirit gathered information.
The opponent knew his abilities and was clear about the strategy to deal with him.
The intense pain in his arm wouldn’t subside for a while. Glancing at the time, Wen Shi realized he had only eight minutes until midnight. Finding the control room in such a short time, evading pursuit, and successfully returning to the operating room were nearly impossible.
…
Fourth floor.
The plump nurse, who was taking the tour guide to perform post-repair work, suddenly lost focus in her gaze. Time around her seemed to freeze, her eyes vacant, and she forgot why she had come upstairs in the first place.
The tour guide also displayed a similar reaction, her gaze becoming hollow. When her brightness returned, an indescribable strangeness filled her.
——The true spirit’s consciousness was undergoing a brief revival within the incarnated vessel.
Just as Li Nan and Yu Xingzhou had previously reminded Wen Shi, one must remain vigilant about true spirit’s revival upon discovering the incarnations.
The willpower of the two newbies wasn’t suitable for the descent of true spirit. Only the vessel of the tour guide could be used for this purpose.
Under the balance of the game’s rules, even with one’s own incarnations, true spirits couldn’t remain revived for too long. He didn’t utilize this time to trouble Wen Shi further. Everything underground had been arranged already, and there was no need to complicate matters.
Finding a mirror with reflective surface, the ‘tour guide’ emitted a chilling aura far colder than the gloss reflected in the mirror.
Leveraging the mirror space, the true spirit easily moved, leaving the hospital in a blink, arriving at the train station.
Occasionally, trains would arrive in SunsetTown at night. Some turtlekin were too lazy to move and would sleep in the underground passages.
Among all the beastkin, turtlekin were the most unique. Their lifespan was long due to the fact that while other half-beastkin rarely regressed once their condition stabilized, turtlekin were different. With age, they continuously regressed, eventually turning into actual turtles.
During their regression phase, the turtlekin’s foresight abilities were often the most accurate.
A slumbering turtleguy suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold. It poked its head out of its shell, only to find a silver-haired woman standing before it, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.
“You…”
This was the weirdest moment in the turtleguy’s life. Although the figure before it possessed a woman’s physique and appearance, there was an eerie sensation of being unable to truly discern gender and age.
Looking at the woman’s unlucky expression, the turtleguy inexplicably felt compelled to submit and worship.
With a casual gesture, the true spirit conjured a water curtain beside them. In it played a scene of Wen Shi, disheveled and hiding in a small room. “Do you think he’s still lucky?” the voice resonated, distant yet strangely close, causing the turtleguy’s soul to tremble.
The true spirit’s visit was merely a whim.
Among the creatures under his jurisdiction, the turtlekin were somewhat interesting. Moreover, when the true spirit’s consciousness descended, he had already glimpsed the entanglement between the tour guide and the turtleguy from the incarnation’s memories.
He had come out to have a bit of fun.
Without thinking, the turtleguy glanced at the water curtain. The teenager’s right sleeve was stained with blood, his face as pale as paper, looking utterly miserable. Yet, the turtleguy’s eyes, as large as beans, ignored Wen Shi’s wretched state and nodded honestly.
Barely had the turtleguy nodded, when it collapsed onto its back.
Blame it on its professional habit. When answering questions, it stole a glance at the true spirit, wanting to see their face. The result was fainting on the spot.
Good-naturedly, the true spirit slipped the consultation fee into the turtleguy’s claw, then stepped outside and gazed at the boundless sky, squinting slightly. “So, can he make it through?”
Every aspect of the first underground floor had been designed in reverse according to the other’s thinking. Surviving under such circumstances would indeed be incredible.
The true spirit’s gaze became more vacant and quiet, encompassing every blade of grass and every tree in the world. The hospital in the distance, the platform behind them, the abandoned tracks farther away, and… the turtleguy, who had just awoken and scurried to the lawn to twist open a buried sprinkler head and rub its claws.
“……”
The turtleguy vigorously rubbed the claw that the true spirit had stuffed money into, rubbing it until the skin turned from dark green to slightly red, as if worried about bad luck. It muttered, “Heaven is pure, earth is pure, bad luck be gone!”
Then it devoutly bowed towards the direction of the previous water curtain, saying a prayer, “Fire Pit, bless me.”
The true spirit was speechless.
He suddenly realized that if one day the ‘Fire Pit’ wanted to overturn this world, the turtleguy would definitely be one of the first to join the opposing side. No doubt about it.
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