Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 95: Mutual Traps
Long Legs played the [Interrupt Card] with satisfaction but continuing the story chain after the interruption wasn’t as joyful.
The story progressed to: Happy B runs away, and Detective C decides to embark on a “Diary Destruction Journey” with his twin guardian souls, Melancholic A and Passionate D.
Long Legs’s remaining 11 story cards were:
[Blizzard]
[No Survivors]
[I Testify]
[The Last Supper]
[Call for Help]
[No Mercy]
[Key]
[Innocent]
[Naïve Cruelty]
[Close but No Cigar]
[Bowl]
The ending card was: [There’s Only One Truth]
With these 12 cards, he could create a hundred detective stories. Why does he have to stick to the superstitious storyline of the “Ghost Diary”!
Feeling complicated emotions, Long Legs finally said slowly, “C knows very well that destroying the Ghost Diary is a life-and-death matter, so C decides…” He paused, then suddenly lightened his tone. “To eat the bread he carries first, as his last supper!”
Long Legs: Story Card 5 — [The Last Supper]
Wu Sheng: “…..”
Zhao Yukan: “……”
Elegant Gray: “Narrator 4, you’re really ruining the mood…”
Long Legs knew this card didn’t advance the main plot, so he pretended not to hear anything.
“Just about to eat, he suddenly hears the call for help from B, who had run away…”
Long Legs: Story Card 6 — [Call for Help]
Wu Sheng, Zhao Yukan, and Elegant Gray finally maintained a united silence, watching how Long Legs struggled to continue the story.
Sweating, Long Legs felt his remaining nine cards were like a gluttonous snake, devouring his brain cells. The third card must be related to the main plot. Forcing a new subplot, like a sudden blizzard or finding a strange key, would surely lead to the second warning and his elimination from the game.
Therefore, the story must continue with B’s call for help. Why, where, and how to save B are viable developments, but none align with his story cards! He can’t possibly have B call for help from a [Bowl], can he?!
If he takes too long between two cards, he would be forced to stop.
Long Legs, not wanting to torture himself anymore, directly played his only [Exchange Card].
“I want to exchange a card with you.” He looked at Wu Sheng, his target clear.
Long Legs had thought it through, choosing to exchange with Narrator 2.
First, the emotional line between B and C had already been developed by Narrator 2. Ignoring the “subtlety”, continuing the story along this line wouldn’t be a problem, and his remaining cards, likely “romantic style”, would be easier to play.
Second, Narrator 2 had already played seven cards, leading everyone. Giving him an unrelated card would also create obstacles for him.
Wu Sheng slightly raised an eyebrow, showing no annoyance at being chosen, rather seeming to anticipate the new twist in the story cards.
“The card I’m giving you is…” Long Legs reviewed his remaining cards and chose one he didn’t know how to use. “This.”
With Long Legs’s choice, one of Wu Sheng’s eight cards, [Time Travel], was taken away and immediately replaced with [Naïve Cruelty].
[Time Travel] was taken by the Exchange Card, which was a random win.
[Naïve Cruelty] was given in exchange, the user’s choice.
“I really can’t understand this term, so I have to trouble you with it.” Long Legs seemed apologetic.
Wu Sheng smiled slightly, genuinely pleased, unable to conceal his joy. “Not a bother.” Looking at the card, he sighed. “What’s puzzling for you is wonderful for me.”
Only the exchanging parties could see what was exchanged, so Elegant Gray and Zhao Yukan, unaware of the details, could only guess from Long Legs and Wu Sheng’s expressions.
Ideally, Long Legs, who exchanged an unwanted card, should be satisfied.
But now, Narrator 2, who randomly lost a card and got one someone else didn’t want, also seemed satisfied, even happier than Long Legs.
Long Legs’s expression was one of relief from immediate worry, while Narrator 2 appeared fulfilled, as if extending a beautiful follow-up story.
Even the smart Zhao Yukan and curious Elegant Gray couldn’t understand this situation.
How could such an exchange benefit both? What exactly was written on the card that Long Legs disliked but Narrator 2 welcomed so much?
Long Legs couldn’t be sure whether Wu Sheng’s reaction was genuine or a cunning strategy, but at least he was very satisfied with the exchanged card, and inspiration began to flow—
“The call for help from B came from inside the diary. C, helpless, suddenly saw the diary emit a faint light, sucking C and A, D into it, meaning, one person and two ghosts, all time-traveled…”
Long Legs: Story Card 7 — [Time Travel]
“In the diary’s world, it’s still the same school, but it looks abandoned, with weeds overgrowing the playground and the ivy on the teaching building withered. Following the call for help, they entered the building. Of course, there were no teachers or students. Eventually, they found B trapped in a basement…”
“The basement door was locked and couldn’t be broken. Then, Detective C had an idea to dig under the second tree in the playground and found an iron box—not with a diary this time, but the key to the basement…”
Long Legs: Story Card 8 — [Key]
Zhao Yukan: “You still haven’t explained why B was trapped in the diary.”
Elegant Gray: “And suddenly it turned from suspenseful romance to an escape room genre…”
“…Mm.” Wu Sheng could only agree briefly, having been preempted by his opponent.
“What’s the rush? Take it slow.” Long Legs took a breath, organizing his heavily taxed brain cells. “Where were we? Oh right, found the key, so one person and two ghosts immediately returned to the basement, opened the door, and A, B, C, and D finally reunited in the world of the diary…” He looked seriously at Elegant Gray. “Your turn to continue.”
Elegant Gray was caught off guard. He was still thinking about how Long Legs might continue the story. When he was suddenly called on, he was utterly confused. “Me?”
“Yes, you. Can’t we directly choose the next person to continue if someone can’t? I choose you.” Long Legs no longer cared about revealing his “creative bottleneck”. At this point, he thought anyone could take over the story, as his brain was about to explode anyway.
Elegant Gray: “…”
He finally understood. Long Legs’s “What’s the rush? Take it slow” was an abridged version. The full version was “What’s the rush? If I can’t explain, the next narrator can, so take it slow.”
As for why Long Legs chose him, he understood that too. It was clear to everyone that the story was veering towards Narrator 1 and 2: one steeped in feudal superstition, firmly gripping the main storyline, the other about invincible true love, overflowing with inspiration whenever B and C appeared. If the storytelling opportunity was given back to them, there was no point in playing. But it was different for him. He had a hand of hot-blooded youth cards. If played well, he could turn the situation around; if not, he’d be out. Either outcome would be welcomed by Long Legs.
No matter how accurately he analyzed the situation, it was futile. Elegant Gray, looking at his remaining 10 story cards, felt his brain cells dying, just like Long Legs—
[Never Give Up]
[Foul]
[Friends for Life]
[Sports Day]
[Wrist Guard]
[Next Class Over]
[Physical Test]
[Dream]
[Fight Despite Injury]
[Insignificant]
……
The game setting, a deserted school in the diary, the basement.
Xu Wang, Wine Red, Fair Face, and Le Xing, the four “classmates”, finally, A, B, C, D were all together.
Regardless of the blood and thunder in the game room, as characters in the story, the four friends looked at each other with a sense of kinship as they were “all in the same boat”.
So far, Xu Wang had the least role, mostly in scenes with Detective C, so he hadn’t formally introduced himself to the others.
Taking advantage of Elegant Gray’s pondering, he smiled at the AD duo. “I am the Optimistic Classmate B.”
“The Passionate Athlete D,” said the young man in the wine-red jacket, sighing listlessly. After the intense battle with the ghost, this Classmate D was emanating an exhausted negative energy, a stark contrast to his character, which was a sight both sad and pitiful.
Similarly contrasting was Le Xing, Melancholic Young A, who from head to toe didn’t look a bit melancholic, appearing even brighter than Xu Wang, the Optimistic Classmate B*.
*Clarity: His name (Le Xing) means joyful awakening, which isn’t quite related to “melancholy”.
“I guess I don’t need to introduce myself.” Le Xing first looked at Wine Red, “I killed you,” then at Detective C, “I helped you fight the ghost oppression,” and finally at Xu Wang, “We chatted in the dark room, hehehe.”
Wine Red D: “……”
Fair Face C: “……”
Xu Wang: “We just had a brief chat in the dark room…”
As Detective C, Fair Face remained mostly silent throughout.
He didn’t need to introduce himself either. If there were to be a lead male in this story relay, it would be him. With a character setup of “C” naturally in the spotlight, he would be interacting with every character, participating in every scene, not just drama, but action, and even almost a “pseudo-kissing scene” under the moonlight! God knows he only wanted to be an extra!
Just as the atmosphere was warming up, Elegant Gray’s narration came from above the basement ceiling—
“Optimistic Classmate B asked Detective C, ‘Why did you come here? Do you know it’s dangerous?’ Detective C replied, ‘I know, but I still had to come because we are friends. Friends for life!'”
Elegant Gray: Story Card 6 — [Friends for Life]
Xu Wang: “This is just a story relay…”
Le Xing: “You don’t have to voice-act with so much emotion every time…”
Fair Face: “And why are we back to the emotional storyline?”
Wine Red: “……”
Captain, control yourself. Don’t get caught up in the drama!
While Xu Wang and Fair Face were spouting the impassioned lines of “Friends for Life”, Elegant Gray, perhaps heeding his teammates’ call, toned down the drama in his next narration—
“The four were about to leave the basement when they suddenly found a blood-stained wrist guard on the ground. The wrist guard bore the name of the diary’s owner, a young boy who died in school violence ten years ago… Xiao Wang!”
Elegant Gray: Story Card 7 — [Wrist Guard]
All friends in the game room and plot line: “……”
Couldn’t you just name him Xiao F to keep the style consistent?!
“Narrator 4, you continue.” Elegant Gray couldn’t continue and pointed back to Long Legs.
Just as he finished speaking, a calm voice announced.
[Attention, the right to narrate cannot be repeatedly transferred between the same two narrators.]
Elegant Gray’s heart skipped a beat, fearing he might be sent home, until he realized it was an “attention” and not a “second warning”, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
Unable to choose Long Legs, that left Narrator 1 and Narrator 2, who had already played 7 story cards. This was a man who played cards like the wind whenever he got the chance. Narrator 1 had only played 5 cards, but those 5 had locked up the storyline into a supernatural horror theme. Neither was an easy choice…
“Narrator 1.” Elegant Gray finally made his choice.
Narrator 1, who had only played 5 cards, might be strategically cautious or overly conservative, hesitating to make a move, while Narrator 2, who not only played his cards swiftly but also had a certain “captivating” narrative power. Comparing the two, Narrator 1 seemed less dangerous.
In the basement, the four who had just picked up the wrist guard awaited the “relay of destiny” to continue.
Soon, Zhao Yukan’s calm voice came from above—
“Melancholic Boy A tells B, C, and D that he seems to have seen this wrist guard somewhere before but can’t remember where. Meanwhile, the two humans and two ghosts hear some noise outside. Worried about being trapped in the basement by evil forces, they decide to leave first. B, C, and D walked out of the basement first, and A, still pondering over the wrist guard, lagged behind. Before he could leave, the door to the basement was suddenly shut from the outside…”
Zhao Yukan: Story Card 6 — [Evil Force]
“It turns out this isn’t just a world inside the diary. The diary is merely an entrance. The young boy who died with hatred ten years ago… uh, Xiao Wang, used his resentment to truly drag the two humans and two ghosts into the underworld. The underworld is like a reverse world of the living world. For example, if there’s a school here in the living world, there’s also one in the underworld, but of course, there are no teachers or students, only wandering spirits…”
“B, C, and D, who went up first, saw a large number of spirits gathering because they realized that living humans with unfinished life spans had entered their realm. They wanted to absorb their life force to extend their own lives and return to the world of the living…”
Zhao Yukan: Story Card 7 — [Unfinished Lifespan]
“B, C, and D closed the door to the basement, telling A to hide inside and not come out, while the three of them prepared to fight. After a tough battle, they defeated countless spirits…”
Xu Wang B, Fair Face C, Wine Red D: “……”
Defeat, countless, spirits?!
Could this get any more difficult?!
“……” Xu Wang looked up. In his heart, ten thousand grass-mud horses had already run through, each with Wu Sheng riding on them!
Don’t you already know the story is really happening? Your team captain is almost being doomed by this. Don’t you have any sense of it?!
“Two problems…” As if responding, Wu Sheng’s questioning voice came from above. “First, A is already C’s guardian spirit, so how can he leave C? Second, three people fighting against numerous fierce spirits and winning is illogical.”
Xu Wang wanted to applaud his advisor!
But Zhao Yukan’s response was quicker, still confident, and composed. “According to the rules, since the Owl didn’t question me, my continuation is valid. But since we’re all playing at the same table and you’ve asked, I’ll convince you completely…”
“First, A becoming C’s guardian spirit is a contract made in the living world, and this is the underworld, where earthly contracts don’t apply. Even if they did, it was C who asked A to stay in the basement, so A obeying his employer is reasonable…”
“Second, you’re misrepresenting the concept. It wasn’t numerous fierce spirits, but rather spirits. Fierce spirits are difficult to fight, but spirits, well, they’re weak. Besides, humans are afraid of ghosts to some extent, but ghosts are more afraid of humans*. Plus, there’s Passionate Athlete D. With his righteousness, sweeping to victory shouldn’t be a problem.”
*This comes from an old Chinese proverb: People are 30% afraid of ghosts, while ghosts are 70% afraid of humans. It’s used to express the idea that often our fears are exaggerated, and the thing we fear might be more afraid of us than we are of them.
Hearing this, Xu Wang and Fair Face slowly turned their heads to look at Passionate Athlete D, Wine Red.
Wine Red looked up, silently accusing the instigator, “Who the hell gave you such confidence?!”
“Ding—”
As the 5-minute countdown for the game room’s rest time began, the battle in the storyline kicked off.
In the corridor on the first floor of the teaching building where Xu Wang, Fair Face, and Wine Red stood, a tidal wave of spirits surged in!
In the basement, Melancholic Boy A, Le Xing, listened to the commotion above and felt genuinely melancholic. “Kankan, you’re really drawing a lot of hate with this game. If this round doesn’t get rid of Classmate B, I reckon your team captain, me, won’t have good days ahead either…”
The author has something to say:
Advisor Wu’s anger level is being accumulated…
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