Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 35
In front of Building A, the bodies of two snipers lay silently on the ground.
Zhou Qian didn’t let his team go out for the time being but waited for three minutes.
During these three minutes, ghostly whispers continued to emanate from the building. No new snipers emerged from inside or outside, and no other potentially lurking S Army troops nearby noticed any anomalies and rushed over.
Thus, after confirming that there were only these two snipers here, Zhou Qian gestured and walked over with his other three teammates.
In less than half a minute, they quickly stripped the two corpses of their bullets, guns, and other tools.
During the process, He Xiaowei tried to strip off their clothes, thinking that if they could wear the uniforms of the S Army, maybe they could blend in later on. But he realized he couldn’t do that.
Because these gunmen had no faces and no tangible clothes. They were like shadows formed into human shapes, able to see, hear, speak, and kill, but they weren’t really humans.
While his teammates gathered the spoils, Zhou Qian slowly walked to a spot 200 meters directly in front of the building, illuminated by a streetlight. He bent down, and after a while, he found a dull scale that hadn’t been washed away.
He reached out, placing the scale in his palm, and stared at it intently, as if deep in thought.
He Xiaowei came over with a gun, squatted next to him, and also looked at the scale. After a while, he patted Zhou Qian on the shoulder. “You’re quite an enigma. You don’t seem as cold-blooded as you appear.”
“Huh?” Zhou Qian asked in surprise. “Do I come off as ruthless? I feel like I’ve been very friendly to all of you. Haven’t I?”
He Xiaowei: “…”
Putting the gathered bullets and gunpowder into their bags, He Xiaowei then asked, “Ahem… What’s with that dragon? Is it some kind of… mental creation of yours?”
When players exited the game, all their injuries would be healed. So, He Xiaowei speculated that they didn’t enter this game with their bodies but with their minds.
Their training and leveling up in the game were actually upgrades on a spiritual level. Therefore, it was entirely possible for the mind to differentiate itself into some creature or even a human within the game world.
Zhou Qian, looking at the scale in his hand, said, “It might be. But I feel… they are not entirely the product of my mind alone.”
He Xiaowei was puzzled. “Huh? What do you mean? If not just yours, then whose?”
Zhou Qian remained silent, recalling how the little dragon seemed to have its own consciousness the previous night, heading towards Room 701 with a clear goal—Jiang Yuqing.
Zhou Qian was led into the game by a dragon. Although everything since then related to his own choices and all the hidden instances were opened through his own efforts, he always felt as if someone was expecting him to follow a predestined path.
Zhou Qian clearly didn’t like being “arranged”. After all, he was always the one arranging others.
But at that moment, he didn’t say much more. He just packed up the scale, stood up, and looked back at Situ Qing and Yun Xiangrong. “Let’s go. Our next target is Building B.”
……
Half an hour later, the snipers in Buildings A, B, and C had all been dealt with in a similar manner by Zhou Qian’s team. Now, the city’s second safe zone was theirs for the taking.
In games, monsters usually appeared where important treasures were. After killing these monsters, apart from what you could loot from their bodies, searching their surroundings would often lead to finding valuable items.
This pattern held true in this instance too. The four of them gained a lot, finding many weapons, including smoke grenades, flashbangs, and explosives.
Now better armed, they set up explosives as traps on a main road, anticipating the incoming S Army from the outskirts. Then they hid in Building A, the building closest to the west pier.
Upon entering the building, they were surrounded by a horde of ghosts. But quickly, all four took out their Seventh Army uniforms, and the ghosts joyfully welcomed them.
“Ah, the Seventh Army is here!”
“They’ve come to save us!”
“Are you tired? Thirsty?”
Zhou Qian only said one thing to the ghosts, “The S Army will arrive soon. Within ten seconds, you need to extinguish all the lights. After that, no one should speak. We will set an ambush here.”
Once Zhou Qian finished speaking, the ghosts immediately complied. Their shared hatred for the S Army enabled them to swiftly complete Zhou Qian’s instructions.
True to his word, within ten seconds, all the lights in Building A went out. Furthermore, the building fell silent, with none of the ghosts speaking.
Of course, before returning to Building A, Zhou Qian and his group had given the same instructions to the ghosts in Buildings B and C. From a distance, all three buildings appeared silent and dark, as if nothing had happened recently. It seemed as though S Army snipers were still lurking there.
After choosing an optimal vantage point at the top of Building A, the four-member squad took their positions to ambush.
About five minutes later, members of the S Army started to arrive. They came from three directions—east, north, and west—covering all directions that Buildings A, B, and C faced.
The most significant group headed towards building A, as it was the closest path to the second main road, right into the ambush set by Zhou Qian. The smaller squads took other paths, heading in the west and north directions.
Only the southern direction was unoccupied.
Zhou Qian considered three possibilities.
First, the wasteland might genuinely have landmines.
Second, countless citizens of Cypress City were buried there, making it a cemetery. But since the area lacked items like dog blood and talisman paper, perhaps the S Army was superstitious and chose to avoid it.
Third, with only a few trees and no buildings, the wasteland offered little cover; it was unlikely that Jiang Yuqing would be hiding there, so there was no need for the S Army to search that area.
From the top of Building A, Zhou Qian watched a large troop approach using his binoculars. They didn’t head straight to the main road. Instead, they methodically searched house by house, looking for Jiang Yuqing. People kept entering and exiting houses. Those exiting shook their heads to indicate that Jiang Yuqing wasn’t found.
Once the troop finished searching the whole street and was sure Jiang Yuqing wasn’t there, Zhou Qian signaled Yun Xiangrong. She immediately took out her flute and played a soft note.
The flute’s sound was melodious but subtle from the building’s height. As she played, soft willow catkins surrounded her. In the past, these fluffs could heal wounds. Now, they became weapons.
However, this time, Yun Xiangrong’s weapon wasn’t the catkins itself. She used it as a medium. As the catkins gathered, He XIaowei quickly ignited it with a lighter. The catkins transformed into glowing embers and dispersed as Yun Xiangrong played a more urgent tune. The embers floated out of the building and began to fall.
Discussions erupted among the S Army below.
“What’s that?”
“Fireflies? Are there fireflies in Cypress City?”
“That doesn’t seem right!”
“What harm can fireflies do?”
Suddenly, the dark night was lit up by countless falling sparks, resembling a meteor shower. But this beautiful sight was deadly.
The embers aimed not at the troops on the road but at the edges. The faint “pop” sounds were the fuses of the hidden explosives igniting—a sound all too familiar to veterans.
“It’s an ambush!”
After a shout, the well-trained troops scattered. But it was too late. Explosions resonated throughout the street, turning it into an inferno. The flames, like a monster, devoured every escaping S Army member.
On the main road, the entire S Army troops were obliterated. The flames almost turned the sky red.
The S Army squads from other directions realized the danger and ran with their guns drawn. However, by this time, Zhou Qian and his group had already silently left Building A, heading straight to the last “safe zone”—the core area of Cypress City!
……
Leaving the second main road, Changjiang Road, the four players checked along the way for any signs of dog blood and amulets on the ground while moving forward in the dark.
When they reached a certain point, Zhou Qian made a gesture, and all four of them stopped.
The reason he wanted everyone to stop was simple: about five hundred meters away, almost every place was brightly lit.
Why, in the central area of the city, were all the lights on in every household?
Zhou Qian suppressed the doubts in his heart and rearranged the team into pairs. After grouping, everyone did the same thing as before—climbing trees or getting on top of buildings to check the situation in the city center and see which tall buildings had talismans around them.
The central area of the city was relatively small, covering an area of about three kilometers in diameter. This time, it took less than ten minutes for them to roughly check the area and regroup.
However, everyone looked serious. The situation seemed much more complicated than they had imagined.
Not far ahead was the very center of the city. The largest building there was a school.
The school had many buildings, and one of its towers was the tallest structure in that area, a place Zhou Qian was keen to take control of.
Three sides of the school were surrounded by wide, straight roads connected to many alleys and various buildings, while the remaining side had a row of low houses.
Initially, the players speculated that most of the S Army was on the outskirts of the city, fearing the numerous ghosts in the city. They let two children slowly sprinkle dog blood and paste talismans until most of the ghosts were sealed.
Under such circumstances, the number of S Army members who initially entered the city center would not be large, approximately the same as the snipers in the three ABC buildings.
However, their findings contradicted this. Fortunately, they stopped in time. Starting from about 300 meters ahead, almost everywhere was covered in talismans. In the dark night, the many bright yellow talismans almost formed a river, laid out on every road.
This suggested that there could be ambushes in every building in the city’s core area.
“What the hell is going on?” He Xiaowei whispered in shock. “Not only are there so many S Army on the outskirts, but there are also so many in the core area! We initially thought there were hardly any people here!”
Zhou Qian slightly frowned, then said, “So we need to revise our initial judgment. But if you think about it, this makes more sense. Remember the two plot points we triggered?”
“Yeah,” He Xiaowei immediately replied. “The first was about marrying a ghost bride, and the second was being robbed by ghost children on the main street!”
“Right, in both plots, Da Shou and Xiao Pang appeared. They first went to the place of the marriage ceremony and then to the main street. Compared to the outermost main street, the alley where the ghost bride event occurred is closer to the city center. So,” Zhou Qian continued, “we can infer that these two children started from the center of the city and moved outwards. Therefore, based on our current observations, the real situation might be that a team from the S Army arrived in Cypress City first and directly reached the core of the city. Da Shou and Xiao Pang might have been in the very center of the city from the beginning.”
For various reasons, a team from the S Army came to the city’s core area first.
It could be speculated that there were no landmines or the like in this area because these people need to run around here. That was why they pasted talismans all over this place.
From the beginning, Da Shou and Xiao Pang were brought by this S Army team to the very core of the city. It was this team of the S Army that forced them to move from the city’s core area, scattering talismans all the way to the west pier, paving a path for the rest of the large forces to easily enter the city center.
So, the two children started from the city center and moved towards the outskirts, leaving talismans in many ghost-prone areas under the S Army’s instructions. They also placed many talismans in tall buildings where snipers might be stationed.
In this way, they first encountered the ghost bride, sealed her, and then retreated to the city’s outermost main street, where they tried to seal a large number of ghosts.
Hearing this, He Xiaowei couldn’t help but ask, “When a unit from the S Army initially arrived at the center of Cypress City… what were they there for?”
Yun Xiangrong replied, “Perhaps it’s related to the storyline. Isn’t there a school in the city center? Maybe there’s some kind of laboratory inside. Or perhaps Jiang Yuqing left some notes at that university. They needed to search the school. Jiang Yuqing’s notes are crucial, so despite the ghosts not being sealed, they went in first.”
Zhou Qian, who was sitting in a tree, squinted towards the direction of the school.
“Actually, the full sequence of events could be that a contingent of the S Army first arrived in Cypress City, and at the same time, they captured Jiang Yuqing.”
“Maybe, as Yun Xiangrong suggested, Jiang Yuqing had visited this school before and left something behind; or perhaps a professor here was classmates with Jiang Yuqing and knew some related information and wrote down some draft notes related to formulas…”
“In any case, this S Army brought Jiang Yuqing to the school, forcing him to write down the formula while simultaneously searching the school.”
After a brief pause, Zhou Qian continued, “However, later on, Jiang Yuqing was rescued. Meanwhile, all the exits from this city were occupied by the S Army. This pretty much ensured that Jiang Yuqing hadn’t left the city and is still hiding somewhere. Afterward, they arranged for children to spread talisman papers and other things. Due to the ghost disturbances, some people retreated to the pier, but because the mission was urgent, others continued to stay around the school searching for information.”
“My guess now… is that, based on the principle that the most dangerous place is often the safest, Jiang Yuqing is hiding in that school, or nearby. The troops outside the city will search layer by layer, but those left inside are also scouring every inch for him. So maybe… Jiang Yuqing will soon be found. Moreover, the above speculations indicate a very important matter.”
With a tense expression, He Xiaowei hurriedly asked, “What important matter?”
Zhou Qian’s gaze became grave. “The S Army currently located in the city center is the vanguard. This means they are the real invading force. The citizens all over the city… were first slaughtered by them!”
The elite force that invaded Cypress City and massacred its residents was right now in the city center. Those on the pier were partly the reserve force, arriving only after the vanguard successfully captured Cypress City.
As such, the combat capabilities of the S Army in the city center might be entirely unmatched by the small fries they had encountered before. They were a formidable team, but also extremely brutal.
Having understood many key points, Yun Xiangrong couldn’t help but frown. “This level… cannot possibly be just a level-two difficulty. Where does the 60% pass rate come from?”
At this moment, Situ Qing glanced at Zhou Qian next to her and said, “I guess there are two main tasks. If we hadn’t completed the side quest named ‘Check and Balance’ yesterday, today’s main task would be much easier.”
“But now… we’re going for hidden achievement. So this mission seems too hard. Not to mention that the enemies in the city center are very tough to deal with. Even if we manage to deal with them… we have no idea how many are at the pier. How can the four of us go against an entire army?”
After discussing for a while, the three players looked at Zhou Qian with indescribable expressions. They saw Zhou Qian casually taking out a piece of paper and a pen, starting to sketch out a map of the city center.
He then said, “The elite S Army inside is elite, but they are just more accurate snipers, stronger and more brutal. However, their weapon configurations must be similar; they won’t suddenly bring out a powerful weapon that deviates from the game’s logic to deal with us.”
“Moreover, having slaughtered the city, they’ve likely used up a lot of their ammunition, significantly weakening their strength since their siege. Lastly, there must be a way to clear the game. If the three safe zones are seen as three small levels, then the rules given in the first two levels must also apply to the third one.”
“Otherwise, the storylines and levels provided earlier would be meaningless. If game designers capriciously changed the rules, then this isn’t a game. Why wouldn’t they just kill players outright?”
“Therefore, avoiding light can prevent sniping; cleaning up dog blood and removing talisman papers can unseal the ghosts. These rules will continue to apply. Let’s think positively; the only added difficulty in the final level is that previously, we only had to deal with Buildings A, B, and C. Now, the area we have to cover is just a bit larger.”
Everyone thought to themselves—This is what you call a bit larger?
In the urban core area, everywhere was littered with talisman papers and dog blood. All the places were brightly lit, making it impossible for them to hide. Another 500 meters, and they would be exposed under all those lights.
How the hell were they supposed to handle this?
Situ Qing was the first to speak. “Cleaning up such a vast area of dog blood will deplete my mana. Without it, we won’t be able to use our abilities against the S Army. Sniping by myself… I doubt I can take them all down.”
He Xiaowei sighed repeatedly. “I wish I had learned to shoot earlier.”
Yun Xiangrong bluntly said, “Even if you had learned earlier, it wouldn’t make a difference. Given the vast difference in numbers, whether Situ Qing is the only one sniping or both of you are, the outcome will be the same. We have to think of another way.”
He Xiaowei was taken aback. “What do you mean by that?”
However, Yun Xiangrong turned to Zhou Qian and asked, “So, what’s your plan?”
Zhou Qian quickly drew a rough sketch on a draft paper, then he highlighted a path. “Based on our two teams’ reconnaissance, I’ve drawn a map. The path I’ve marked has the fewest talismans, dog blood, and lights combined.”
“All three of you, cooperate and do one thing.”
“Yun Xiangrong, follow this path and use willow catkins to cover the streetlights, bit by bit, silently. After covering one-third of the distance, as you continue to cover the lights ahead, blow away the catkins from behind so that the previously obscured lights light up again, so it doesn’t seem suspicious if the entire path goes dark.
“He Xiaowei and Situ Qing should follow the previous method and clean up the talisman papers and dog blood on this path.”
“If we’re only dealing with this path… our mana should be more than enough. But—” Yun Xiangrong glanced at Zhou Qian’s map. “Does this path lead to that school?”
“Yes. Following this route, we can pass through a row of residential houses and reach the school. From my observations, it’s the back entrance of the school.”
Zhou Qian elaborated further, “Since the S Army’s primary target is the school, it’s likely the first place where a massacre occurred. Da Shou and Xiao Pang might have been nearby, possibly even attending school here. The S Army might have decided to keep them after seeing the talisman on them and realizing they knew some occult techniques.”
Zhou Qian circled the location of the school and added, “The school’s labs, library, or offices are suitable for Jiang Yuqing to write. So after the S Army finds Jiang Yuqing, they’re likely to bring him to the school.
“Instead of trying to infiltrate the school later, we should take advantage of the fact that the main forces haven’t arrived yet and sneak in now. That’s the first reason for heading to the school.”
“As for the second reason—” Zhou Qian’s tone grew solemn. “Given the high probability of a massacre at the school, there must be many ghosts here. So, by breaking the seals, we can utilize a lot of spirits.”
“This means going deep into enemy territory and turning the tables.”
……
After about seven more minutes, following Zhou Qian’s method, the four successfully navigated the narrow path and reached the back door of the school directly.
Inside was the school’s rear playground.
The night seemed incredibly long and heavy.
There was no moonlight to be seen, but the lights from the edge of the playground revealed bones scattered all over.
How many students, teachers, and citizens were massacred here?
Hiding behind the wall next to the back door, the players felt an overwhelming weight on their hearts.
Just then, footsteps suddenly echoed near the back door, and everyone quickly retreated to a nearby house.
While they were clearing the talisman papers and dog blood earlier, they had unsealed many ghosts. Not only did they ask them to stay quiet, but they also had them scout the area, confirming that at least this row of houses had no S Army. The reason for the talismans here was likely that the S Army needed to search the houses for information, look for Jiang Yuqing, and collect supplies.
At this very moment, they all crouched low, hiding in a civilian house. Separated by two walls, they could hear the back door being opened.
The sound of heavy military boots resonated in the alleyway.
A voice from an S Army soldier soon followed. It was him speaking to someone over a walkie-talkie.
“Yes, notify the main troops outside the city that Jiang Yuqing has been found. There’s no need for them to continue searching everywhere.”
“Where was he? Haha, there’s an old saying here that it’s darkest under the lamplight*. Turns out it’s true. He was actually hiding in the school’s cafeteria! There’s a very concealed basement under the wine cellar. Damn… how much effort did it cost us?”
*A colloquialism referring to not seeing or noticing things and events close to them. It stems from the idea that although the lamp illuminates its surroundings, the area right beneath it might remain in the dark or in shadow.
“Of course, we’ve already tied him up.”
“What’s the next plan? Haha, did you know, besides Jiang Yuqing, there are also quite a few students and teachers in that basement. I suspect there are also some of their national intelligence agents. Probably around twenty or so in total.”
“Hmm… send out the message to tie Jiang Yuqing and those people up in the schoolyard.”
“Have Jiang Yuqing start writing the formula immediately. Of course, we have plenty of time to wait for him, but every ten minutes, we will shoot one of his compatriots! Until he completes it!”
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