Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 172: Moonlight
A faint glimmer flashed above their heads. It was extremely shallow and fast, easily overlooked under the moonlit night. Yet in this abyss-like darkness, the five companions subconsciously looked up.
Simultaneously, Wu Sheng’s flashlight was also raised.
The ceiling was calm. The flash from half a second ago seemed like an illusion.
Qian Ai felt somewhat disappointed, but from the corner of his eye, he suddenly sensed a shadow moving and immediately turned his head towards the corner of the wall.
Then, cold sweat began to trickle down.
The ghost dolls were there.
The ghostly shapes were there.
But beside them, there were two more.
One was a burly man as tall as a mountain, his body pierced with steel spikes, including his face, with blood seeping out of every wound. From afar, he looked like a bloody hedgehog; the other was a pale-faced boy, slightly bowing his head. His eyes looked up at people with a sinister gaze, yet his mouth carried a faint smile.
“Wu Sheng…” At this moment, only the advisor known for encountering and slaying ghosts could give Qian Ai, who felt his scalp about to explode, a sliver of courage. “It seems like we have two more companions…”
Wu Sheng looked over, not at the ghosts’ appearances, but first fixed his gaze on the crosses over their hearts.
A bad premonition struck—no, it was no longer just a premonition. Wu Sheng, at the very first moment of judgment, loudly warned, “There are other teams!”
But it was already too late.
[Owl: Someone has used [(Illusory) Forget-me-nots] on you~]
The moment they heard the prompt, the five companions’ thoughts became light and airy, turning into a soft, dreamy cloud with a faint sense of comfort and relaxation.
They saw a light flash again near the chandelier on the ceiling, saw the coffee table tremble, and then the badge didn’t flash again.
Wu Sheng clenched his fists, letting the pain in his joints force him to stay awake, but he still couldn’t move, couldn’t raise his arm to point the flashlight, and didn’t even have the desire to attack. He could only try hard to concentrate, calling upon the still-effective [Nowhere to Hide].
The invisible team suddenly became visible.
One was on the coffee table, having taken the badge but not yet had the chance to jump down, while four stood beside the coffee table, one of them raising his arm, looking like he was about to deliver a devastating second strike.
Wu Sheng was desperately trying to stop them, but the effect of the [Forget-me-nots] was too strong, almost impossible to resist with willpower alone…
“I’m sorry!” The companion who was about to click the flashlight suddenly lowered his arm and abruptly performed a ninety-degree bow in apology.
Wu Sheng was startled.
Xu Wang, Qian Ai, and Kuang Jinxin, still under the influence of [Forget-me-nots], were also puzzled.
It wasn’t over yet. The other four people also performed a uniform ninety-degree bow.
“We’re sorry! We shouldn’t have ambushed you!”
“Not sincere enough.” Chi Yingxue slowly walked forward.
“We’re sorry! Big brother, please forgive us! We really know we were wrong! Ambushing is the least kind thing in this world!”
The five people apologized earnestly and vigorously, but if you looked closely at their faces, they were all twisted in anger, ready to bite at any moment.
Even the slowest among Xu Wang and his companions could tell something was off.
“If I’d known it was this effective, I would have saved it.” Chi Yingxue’s words were directed back at his own four companions, regretting that using it on these five was a waste.
The companions had a stroke of fortune.
Chi Yingxue’s [(Illusory) I Urge You to Be Kind].
When the effect of [Forget-me-nots] wore off, the apologies from the attackers finally stopped.
These two illusory stationeries had similar effects, and even their durations were nearly the same.
However, on Xu Wang’s side, “quietly forgetting worries” didn’t drain their physical strength, but on the attackers’ side, their old backs were almost bent from bowing.
Xu Wang truly didn’t expect to encounter fellow competitors in this challenge.
The [Leaderboard] was opened five days ago, at that time, their score was 11/23, ranking second. The first place score was 12/23, and the third place team’s score was 8/23. Whether it was the teams ahead falling back three levels or the ones behind continuing to advance, they all felt the chances of encountering each other were slim.
So, was this No. 3, who had continuously passed three challenges and was proceeding to the fourth, or No. 1, who had fallen back three challenges and then advanced two?
Regardless of which, the situation wasn’t optimistic.
This was a team that exuded a “keep out” vibe. To put it plainly, each member looked unfriendly, and this “unfriendliness” came in many varieties: “the elite cold boss you least want to encounter at work”, “the brother wearing gold chains you least want to brush past on the street”, “the delinquent teenager you least want to meet at school”, “the type you hate to encounter in a movie theater kicking the back of your chair”, and “the icy model that doesn’t spare you a glance”.
After a moment of mutual assessment, the leading “cold boss” fixed his gaze on Chi Yingxue, who had caused them a great loss. “You can break free from [Forget-me-nots]?”
Chi Yingxue shrugged. “I have too many worries to forget.”
Nodding, the opponent readily accepted this explanation, then surveyed the entire squad, finally resting on Xu Wang. “Team captain?”
Xu Wang felt he needed to adjust his “first impression” of this man; he wasn’t cold, but calm. In the moment Chi Yingxue’s stationery lost effect, this man’s eyes regained that extreme composure and rationality.
“Yes,” Xu Wang admitted openly.
“We two teams can talk,” the opponent said calmly.
Xu Wang scoffed with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. “After you’ve stolen our badge?”
The opponent smiled. “Strictly speaking, before a badge is obtained, it doesn’t belong to anyone specifically.”
Xu Wang: “So you can ambush?”
Opponent: “I think we’ve already deeply apologized for our actions.”
Xu Wang: “……”
[Owl: Someone has used [(Offense) Picking Leaves and Flying Petals] on you~~]
The prompt notification disrupted the “friendly” conversation atmosphere.
In an instant, thin as cicada wings yet extremely sharp leaves flew towards Xu Wang’s team.
“Qin Rui.” The captain of the other party, who had always been calm, frowned in displeasure, accurately calling out the perpetrator’s name.
The called-out young man had hair that was a deep grape purple, but his temper didn’t match that deepness. “Quit talking shit and just send them home!”
[Owl: Someone has used [(Defense) Impenetrable Safety Island] on you~~]
The defense stationery was used by Xu Wang, and immediately a safety island with a thickness of ten centimeters and a diameter of about one and a half meters rose under the small team’s feet. None of the sharp leaves could breach the safety island’s defense.
This was essentially the start of the fight.
Xu Wang’s team welcomed this outcome. The other side’s desire to talk was merely to exchange some conditions for them to go easy and avoid a mutually detrimental conflict, but they hadn’t even settled the score for the stolen badge yet. Dreaming of peace after theft? Quite a beautiful thought.
Their will to fight was strong, but the odds of victory were uncertain.
Qin Rui. With just this name, Wu Sheng was already pulling up a profile—Fu Wenqing, He Lanshan, Qin Rui, Wu Yanchao, Zhao Muchen.
When they first entered the Owl, and saw the [Leaderboard] being opened, this team was at No. 4 with a score of 9/23; and the last time the leaderboard opened, this team was at No. 3 with a score of 8/23.
Although it was unclear why, after such a long time, they hadn’t advanced beyond the thirteenth level, their strength was definitely not to be underestimated.
[Owl: Someone has used [(Offense) Earthquake] on you~~]
The prompt that sounded again interrupted Wu Sheng’s thoughts.
The opponent really wasn’t planning to give them a breather.
The ground shook violently, causing the safety island’s occupants to sway and stumble, and within a few moments, they were thrown off the island!
“Xiao Kuang, deploy large-scale defense!” Wu Sheng leapt up as quickly as possible, orchestrating their strategy. “Xiao Xue, pick one you fancy for a duel! Xu Wang and I will be mobile. Lao Qian…” His peripheral vision caught someone running towards the corner. Wu Sheng had a bad feeling and immediately changed Qian Ai’s task on the fly. “Lao Qian, guard the ghosts!”
“What?!” Qian Ai was bewildered, instinctively looking towards the corner, only to see that Grape Purple had already plunged his cross into the heart of a ghost doll.
The moment the cross was inserted, Wu Sheng’s cross coincidentally fell to the ground.
“Fuck!” Qian Ai cursed, dashing forward in a beeline to deliver a deadly charge at the Grape Purple’s back.
Grape Purple sensed the attack and sidestepped, underestimating the attacker’s “width” and still getting scraped by Qian Ai’s shoulder. This scrape sent him reeling backward, causing his head to bang against the wall.
Qian Ai used his hands against the wall to brake the inertia, steadying himself before immediately bending down to pick up Wu Sheng’s cross to stab it back in.
Just as he reached out, a foot came over and kicked the cross away.
The next second, a knee slammed into Qian Ai’s jaw.
Qian Ai felt numb, skipping past the pain to go straight to being dazed, for a moment completely unable to feel his jaw.
Fury took over, and he fiercely wrapped his arms around the opponent’s waist, flipping him over onto the ground.
Grape Purple hit the ground with a thud, gnashing his teeth as he said, “You motherf…”
Qian Ai didn’t let him finish, pouncing like a cannonball to smash down on him.
In the center of the living room, the light from various stationeries never stopped, making even the corner wall brightly illuminated.
Grape Purple watched as a mountain bore down on him. No matter how stubborn he was, he didn’t dare to just take it; doing so would have flattened him into a pancake in minutes.
“Bang—”
Qian Ai heavily landed on the floor, and Grape Purple, having rolled to the side in the nick of time, felt like he had narrowly escaped death, even though the way he rolled over made him look like a tumbling purple eggplant.
Qian Ai rarely lost his temper, but when he did, it was full-on physical confrontation. However, his anger came quickly and dissipated just as fast. Feeling his jaw return and the pain from hitting the floor himself, his anger gradually subsided, and rationality reclaimed its ground.
Both got up from the ground at the same time, panting heavily, but despite their disheveled states, they didn’t miss glaring at each other, engaging in a battle of stares.
Qin Rui: “Why, why not use your stationery?”
Qian Ai: “That-that would be letting you off too easy. I have-I have to return that knee of yours!”
Qin Rui: “It’s useless to say words. If you have the guts, try and take back the ghost doll.”
Qian Ai: “Take back? I’ll direct-directly wipe your team out.”
“Qin Rui, what are you doing?! Chatting it up?!” The youth in the center of the living room, categorized by Captain Xu as the type to continuously kick your seatback in a movie theater, glanced towards the corner during a lull in the team fight to check on his teammate’s progress. That glance nearly made him spit blood.
Qin Rui was having a “showdown” with Qian Ai. Being poked by his teammate like that immediately deflated him, sinking his mood. Just as he was about to retort, he realized his body had suddenly stiffened.
His sharp gaze shot towards Qian Ai, suspecting the latter had used stationery, but noticed his opponent’s complexion wasn’t great either.
Qin Rui: “Frozen?”
Qian Ai: “You too?”
Qin Rui: “……”
Qian Ai: “……”
They could move their necks and above, but everything below felt as if it had been frozen solid, completely immobile.
Even more terrifying was that it wasn’t just them; the other eight people felt the same.
The entire house quieted down, with no more sounds and no from stationery. Only the flashlight left on the floor emitted a limited glow.
A cold breeze blew in through the window damaged by the stationery.
A chilling cold.
“What’s going on…” Xu Wang looked towards their advisor.
Wu Sheng vaguely guessed it was related to the ghosts in this house, but for more specific details, perhaps asking the more experienced team would be more reliable…
“Don’t look at me. This is our first time on this level.” Fu Wenqing remained calm at that moment.
Wu Sheng was surprised. “You’ve never been to this challenge?”
Fu Wenqing: “No.”
Wu Sheng: “Skipped it?”
Fu Wenqing: “No.”
Not skipping meant that until today, their best achievement was also only up to the eleventh level?
Wu Sheng: “Weren’t you already through 9/23?”
Fu Wenqing: “You know?”
Wu Sheng: “You just called out Qin Rui.”
Fu Wenqing thought for a moment, then understood. “You’re quick to react, with a good memory.”
Wu Sheng: “Rather than compliments, I’d prefer answers.”
Fu Wenqing went silent. Then… remained silent.
Along with him, the other four teammates also remained quiet.
Wu Sheng: “……”
If not for the slightly complex look in Fu Wenqing’s eyes, Wu Sheng would doubt he had even asked a question.
Qian Ai couldn’t see the others clearly but could see Qin Rui. However, combining Grape Purple’s deeply aggrieved face, the silence behind him, and what Wu Sheng said about “already reaching 9/23″…
Qian Ai’s brain, at that moment, was possessed by his advisor. “10/23 is Aeroplane Chess. This challenge is your stumbling block, right? You always fail to roll a 6 or a 10, right?”
Fu Wenqing, Wu Yanchao, Zhao Muchen, He Lanshan: “…”
Grape Purple’s face turned utterly purple.
A series of light chants floated in from the broken window, like some ancient language, sung by a lilting female voice, enticingly melodious.
Yet, the ten people inside the house felt their bodies stiffen even more.
A graceful figure landed in the center of the living room.
No one saw how she entered. All they could see was the intricate, gorgeous hem of her dress, her slender waist, full bosom, and that pale yet captivating face.
The moment her dress touched the ground, a fierce wind blew.
All the windows were flung open, and the black plastic was blown away without a trace.
The wind stopped.
Moonlight poured in from all directions, filling the room with its bright glow.
The woman stood in the moonlight, slowly smiling, holy and enchanting. For a moment, it inspired an incredible urge in everyone, as if they would be willing to offer their lives for her.
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