Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 12: Tip of the Iceberg

The idea of one-on-one combat was pretty bold. However, Shu Jun was lying on the ground face-to-face with a mutant beast’s leg in his mouth, being pulled backwards by a column of liquid attached to his ankle. This scene was more like an angry shepherd dragging a wolf who stole his sheep.

Shu Jun felt a wave of sadness in his heart. If he had a full stomach and his weapon was still by his side, he wouldn’t have ended up like this.

In his current situation, it only allowed him to be distracted for half a second. The wind blade swooped down and cut off the column of liquid. Shu Jun rolled over, and the beast leg he had in his mouth was now in his right hand. The leg still had some warmth, and the coarse fur felt rough on his hand, but it had some weight to it, which helped him regain his fighting spirit.

The column of liquid was severed, causing the Erosion Swamp to emit a low groan. The edges of the column twisted together and lashed out like a whip towards Shu Jun. He swung the leg like a sword and avoided the first few attacks with ease, but finally took a hit from the last lash. His clothes split open, leaving only a faint red mark on his skin.

Unlike the past, he didn’t have his weapon, but he also wasn’t wearing the heavy and cumbersome mechanical armor. The most threatening erosion substance was ineffective against him, so the Erosion Swamp in front of him wasn’t much different from any other mutant beast.

Rather, compared to monsters with sharp claws and teeth, the slippery Erosion Swamp was less of a threat.

There was only one problem; he only knew how to kill the mutant beasts brought by the Erosion Swamp, and the swamp itself could only be dispersed by purifiers. No one knew how to kill this thing in front of him—the Erosion Swamp wasn’t that big; only about 20 square meters—and wasn’t much different from the other Erosion Swamps.

This slimy liquid opponent was truly annoying.

The beast leg cut through several columns of liquid, making a harsh hissing sound. The flesh and blood on the leg melted and dripped, and finally even the bone was corroded to the point where a touch of a finger could break it. Shu Jun reluctantly threw away the remains of the leg, propped himself up with both hands, spun beautifully, and dodged another strike from the Erosion Swamp.

The situation was somewhat embarrassing—the Erosion Swamp couldn’t catch him, and he couldn’t do anything to the swamp. If they continued like this, they could fight for three days and nights without any problems—as long as he didn’t get hungry.

His stomach growled loudly, and his legs gradually lost strength. Shu Jun clicked his tongue and glanced back.

They had been fighting for more than ten minutes. If only Zhu Yanchen had taken the opportunity to run away.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yanchen was still within his field of vision. Lao Wei had been tied up like a dumpling with a metal rope, lying at Zhu Yanchen’s feet. Looking at the distance, Zhu Yanchen hadn’t gone far.

“Find its ‘brain’,” Zhu Yanchen shouted loudly as Shu Jun turned his head. “When it attacked you just now, the erosion in a particular area didn’t move. Go to its southwest direction!”

“This thing has a brain?!” Shu Jun’s response was mixed with fear.

“Theoretically, it has a special erosion-made neural center.” Zhu Yanchen shouted; the long sentence made it difficult for Shu Jun to understand in his battle state.

“I have never heard of such a thing!” he shouted back.

“It’s my personal research.” Zhu Yanchen’s tone was sincere. “It’s not easy to explain right now. Let’s talk after the fight—”

… Did this guy even consider explaining it just now?

He only knew that A’Yan was serious, but he didn’t expect the real person to be this serious. Shu Jun couldn’t help but smirk, bounced up, and landed on a roof near the Erosion Swamp to observe the location pointed out by Zhu Yanchen.

It was indeed difficult to find during battle. He needed to concentrate and carefully observe the differences between the boiling and wriggling liquid surface. Zhu Yanchen could judge from a distance, indicating that this marshal was exceptionally familiar with the Erosion Swamp.

The soles of his shoe had been eroded by the Erosion Swamp. Shu Jun pulled up the waterproof plastic board on the flat roof and threw it straight towards the swamp, then immediately jumped out. The rate of erosion of the plastic board was relatively slow, giving him some time.

With the impact of an adult man’s weight, the plastic board began to sink into the Erosion Swamp. Meanwhile, Shu Jun completed his movement adjustment—at the moment before the plastic board sank into the swamp, Shu Jun’s hand had already reached into the abnormal area of the Erosion Swamp and grabbed something.

Indeed, there was a problem.

He was sure that he had touched something beyond the sticky and eroded substance—something slightly tough, like the soft tendons of an animal. But the moment he touched it, it suddenly shrunk and disappeared. The swamp showed clear fear, like a wild animal captured in a trap and started to shrink entirely.

The intimidation worked, and the creature’s hostility turned into panic and a desire to kill. As long as Shu Jun pulled his hand back, he didn’t think it would continue to entangle him. However, the premise was if he could pull his hand back. His physical strength was depleted, and he couldn’t summon the strength to pull back, and his hand was starting to hurt from the erosion.

Out of the corner of his eye, Zhu Yanchen seemed to want to come forward, and Shu Jun quickly took a deep breath and said, “I’m okay, don’t come over!”

Even if Zhu Yanchen had a thousand means, it was a fact that his arm was injured. Being close to the Erosion Swamp at this time would only aggravate his injury—and it wasn’t time for support yet.

Being stuck in the final step of the battle was truly frustrating. The monitoring device on his wrist was vibrating so hard that his hand was numb while Shu Jun felt as if his eyes would pop out. “Since you know you’re afraid, you might as well just leave.”

Shu Jun’s mind was in a state of chaos, whether it was due to hunger or not. Regardless of whether the Erosion Swamp could understand him or not, he spoke out directly.

“…Let go of me.”

The Erosion Swamp continued to bite, squeezing his hand like a clamshell.

Wind-based skills could cut things, but they weren’t very good at digging. Shu Jun himself didn’t have a built-in wind sail, nor could he rely on wind power to pull himself out. Seeing that he couldn’t get away, Shu Jun followed his instincts and simply probed deeper into the slime.

You’re afraid, huh? Then let’s make you more afraid.

The Erosion Swamp screech may have reached its maximum, and Shu Jun felt like his ears were bleeding. He scrambled inside the extremely viscous Erosion Swamp. The Erosion Swamp finally came to its senses. Ignoring everything, it sliced itself into countless liquid columns, fiercely stabbing at Shu Jun.

Shu Jun always kept his attention on the Erosion Swamp texture—erosion substance couldn’t appear out of thin air, and the more liquid columns there were, the thinner the place he probed would naturally become. As long as he watched the timing carefully, breaking the restraint wouldn’t be a problem.

His judgment was correct. The Erosion Swamp columns surged, and his arm immediately became slightly loose.

But he didn’t leave.

Just as he had just withdrawn his arm and was about to escape, a nearly instinctive anger erupted from inside his body. His feet stubbornly stuck to the remaining plastic board, unwilling to leave. And his hands, which had been dripping with erosion substance, were now completely black, and the black naturally transitioned to his forearms as if it were always like this.

The detection device that Zhu Yanchen had just given him emitted a wisp of smoke and finally stopped vibrating.

Shu Jun didn’t know what expression he had on his face now, but the anger was still swirling inside him. His past experience screamed at him to run, while his instincts rebelled in a rare manner.

The liquid column extended by the small Erosion Swamp all stopped in mid-air, and there was a momentary gap in its emotions, as if it had been scared silly.

Is the Erosion Swamp inside his body protesting? Shu Jun instinctively reached out and fiddled with the extended liquid column. This time, his hand didn’t pass through the erosion substance but simply held onto it.

Then he easily tore it apart, like tearing a loaf of bread.

The Erosion Swamp under his feet was completely panicked. It suddenly retracted all the liquid columns, further shrinking into a soft ball, and fled with a bit of a scared look. Shu Jun continued to act with his black hands, leaving a few deep claw marks before the Erosion Swamp escaped.

Unfortunately, he didn’t catch its brain.

The Erosion Swamp left, leaving only the gray-black soil under his feet. The black on his hands didn’t disappear, and the hunger became even more intense. Shu Jun didn’t have time to greet Zhu Yanchen. He rushed into the room where he had just fought with Lao Wei at the fastest speed and kicked layer upon layer of corpses on the ground, then he grabbed the only thing that looked relatively normal, and gnawed on it raw.

…As expected, it tasted terrible.

But he felt a panic as if he would starve to death the next moment, so he tore at the meat with great crispness. The beast’s meat entered his belly like stones entering a lake. In terms of the amount of meat, he ate the weight of a whole cow leg, but he was only barely three-thirds full.

“The relationship between the Erosion Swamps is like that of a wolf pack,” said Zhu Yanchen, who had returned to the door at some point. He leaned against the door frame with his injured arm wrapped in layers of protective gauze. “Of course, they are not as smart as wolves, but from a class perspective, they are very similar.”

He glanced at the discarded detection device on Shu Jun’s wrist and sighed. “Now I can be sure that you did absorb the giant Erosion Swamp from the championship. It is undoubtedly an alpha Erosion Swamp. The one you just fought couldn’t even be considered an adult.”

“Why does it sound like I’m bullying a child?” Shu Jun swallowed the meat in his mouth and freed up his mouth. “I still think it’s a bit far-fetched. One person being able to swallow such a large Erosion Swamp?”

“Over 99.9% of the Erosion Swamp is water. If it is willing to give up that water and recombine with your flesh, it is theoretically possible,” Zhu Yanchen said.

…What does it want to achieve? It’s too much to go through all this trouble just to grow two legs. Shu Jun bit down on a piece of meat with a somewhat dazed expression.

He not only absorbed the Erosion Swamp but also an ultra-concentrated one. That surge of instinctive anger just now might have been the Erosion Swamp in his body, hating that it was not strong enough—as an alpha, he was beaten up by a child and even thought about running away.

“With such an excellent observation subject like me by your side, why did you come to see the child specifically?” Shu Jun wiped the blood and meat foam from his mouth and added, “A’Yan?”

Zhu Yanchen’s mood seemed to have improved a bit. “Your situation is too special. Your flesh and the Erosion Swamp are highly compatible, which makes the Erosion Swamp think that mixing with you will give it greater survival advantages. Simply put, it doesn’t have much brain, and it wants something ready-made—even if it’s not its own brain.”

Shu Jun frowned, no longer in the mood to joke. Based on what had just happened, he vaguely guessed something.

“That ‘child’ is collecting information? …It also wants to perfect its own brain?” These Erosion Swamps weren’t unchanging; they were trying to evolve.

“Mm.”

“Then the Erosion Swamp at the corpse disposal site…”

“I cultivated that one from scratch. It hasn’t come into contact with other Erosion Swamps, does not recognize the hierarchy, and only knows how to eat.” Zhu Yanchen shook his head. “That’s the situation. You’ve experienced it for yourself since pure theory is not very convincing. Now throw the broken detector over here. I’ll fix it. You can continue to replenish your energy.”

Shu Jun looked at his blackened hands, then at Zhu Yanchen, and then back at his own black claws. As if sensing his thoughts, the blackness receded considerately. Shu Jun breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and handed over the detector.

“Let me see your injury.” As he pulled closer, Shu Jun took the opportunity to make a request. “I’m more experienced in this area than you are.”

“I’ve already taken care of it.”

“The Grand Marshal never leaves the city. Were you injured by a mutant beast before? I don’t believe it.”

“…” Zhu Yanchen sighed and extended his arm, unable to resist Shu Jun’s insistence.

The wound was tinged with a dull gray color from erosion, but it was well taken care of. Shu Jun was quite surprised—Zhu Yanchen was a strategist and shouldn’t need to engage in battlefield combat, but he seemed to be accustomed to dealing with injuries.

Shu Jun carefully inspected it. “The sutures are a bit rough. I’ll help you take care of it later.”

“Mm.”

“Oh, and one more thing. Your handcuffs…” Shu Jun shook the part that remained on his wrist. It wasn’t damaged much, showing it had clearly been treated to prevent erosion. It may have been broken earlier because he had lost control and the erosion was too concentrated.

Zhu Yanchen was unusually perplexed by this problem.

Well, Shu Jun thought, his questions were being answered one by one, but new problems followed. According to Zhu Yanchen, he certainly wouldn’t have killed his “personal doctor” immediately for his own survival. But his situation was slowly stabilizing, and there would come a day when he would no longer need Zhu Yanchen. If he became even more insane, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to turn back and slaughter the city. As a leader, Zhu Yanchen should take advantage of his unstable condition and resolve this problem as soon as possible, rather than saving him.

Where did this person’s trust in him come from?

Shu Jun shook his head and seemed to have made a decision.

He picked up the chain of the handcuffs on his side, then grabbed the one on Zhu Yanchen’s wrist and tied the two chains together.

“I can’t proficiently use the power of the Erosion Swamp yet. You know I can’t break it for now,” he said.

“If we agreed on three days, then it’s three days. I’m almost done eating. Let’s go… Oh wait, let me grab a leg.”

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 11: Eve of Awakening

Shu Jun was momentarily lost in confusion.

Since waking up, mutant beasts’ attitudes towards him had improved quite a bit, but he hadn’t done anything special. As for communicating with the Erosion Swamp, he wasn’t sure if being unilaterally suspended counted as a form of communication. This was equivalent to a child who had just learned to walk being asked to bring back a gymnastics championship.

“How do I do it?” he asked humbly, kicking away a mutant beast that tried to attack Zhu Yanchen.

“I don’t know,” Zhu Yanchen replied candidly.

“……”

“Your fusion level is currently at 19%. Theoretically, this can be done if it’s higher than 15%,” Zhu Yanchen said, deftly dodging another mutant beast, the chain of his handcuffs buzzing as it stretched straight.

Shu Jun held his breath as the mutant beasts rushed towards Zhu Yanchen, ignoring his intentions. The distant low howl of the Erosion Swamp gradually faded away, and he didn’t know how to “contact” it. If he really howled, he felt stupid even thinking about it.

In the end, after holding his breath for a long time, Shu Jun only managed to produce one skill. The wind surrounded Zhu Yanchen, enveloping him in a transparent barrier. Even so, the mutant beasts kept coming, and they couldn’t break free. One of them, particularly sturdy, propped up a chair and was about to take Lao Wei away.

At this point, Shu Jun quickly realized what was going on. This old man could coexist peacefully with the mutant beasts, and he had specially arranged a meeting place, but the first move was deadly—there was no such thing as a peaceful negotiation, and the broken room in front of him was a trap from the beginning.

When he eavesdropped last night, this old man was all smiles, putting on an act for them.

Shu Jun was a little annoyed.

Noticing that the mutant beasts weren’t attacking him, Lao Wei squirmed in his chair and turned to face Shu Jun, revealing a strange smile.

“Not bad, not bad,” he said, opening his mouth to Zhu Yanchen. “It seems that you’ve brought a good mutant beast with you, but unfortunately, it’s not very useful. No matter how strong it is, it can’t stop the numbers on our side.”

Zhu Yanchen raised his hand and fired a shot. He undoubtedly intentionally missed by a few points, as the bullet grazed the melted earlobes of Lao Wei and hit the wolf-shaped monster behind him, splattering stinking black blood all over the old man. Lao Wei was startled, and his half-melted face twitched twice.

“Shu Jun, listen carefully. You don’t have to do those two things you were asked to do earlier if you can’t. It doesn’t matter,” Zhu Yanchen said, slightly raising his voice, as if to cover up Lao Wei’s previous words. “We’ll work together. This old man won’t be able to escape.”

Of course, Marshal Zhu wouldn’t have a “hail Mary*” step in his plan.

*Forcing ducks onto a perch (赶鸭子上架) Idiom referring to a situation where someone is trying to force something that’s not ready or suitable to do something it cannot do. It implies a sense of futility or absurdity, as if one is trying to accomplish something that is impossible or pointless.

“As a hostage?” Shu Jun licked his cracked lips and stared at the old man in the chair.

He had been living in a fog for the past few days, feeling uncomfortable, and had accumulated a lot of dissatisfaction. The truth of the world had turned his dissatisfaction into anger, but this anger couldn’t be vented towards Zhu Yanchen, who helped him. Thinking about how he had relaxed his vigilance last night and was fooled by Lao Wei, Shu Jun couldn’t help but be angry at himself again.

But since Zhu Yanchen had planned to come here long ago, he must have made adequate preparations. Just now, Marshal Zhu wasn’t surprised by Lao Wei’s move. Since he was willing to come to this Hongmen Banquet*, he was probably here for Lao Wei himself.

*It’s a metaphor nowadays used to describe superficially inviting someone to a meal, but the host has some ulterior motives. It comes from the historical event of the Hongmen Banquet where Xiang Yu tried to have his rival Liu Bang killed during a feast. || In this case, it really is a Hongmen Banquet, since the host is actually trying to kill them.

“As a hostage.” Sure enough, Zhu Yanchen repeated softly.

Finally, Shu Jun was able to vent his anger. He broke the necks of two mutant beasts with his bare hands, and the sharp claws cut open the abdomen of the third one, causing its smelly viscera to spill all over the floor. The large, mutant beast turned around and tried to leave the room with Lao Wei through another window, but Shu Jun cut off its head with a gust of wind blade from afar.

Lao Wei fell to the ground with the chair.

All the mutant beasts hidden in the room were almost dead, and the number of those entering the room from outside couldn’t keep up. Seeing that the sea of beast tactics didn’t work, Lao Wei’s confident demeanor began to fade.

He struggled to take out a bright toy whistle from his clothes and blew it hard.

The low howl of the Erosion Swamp in the distance instantly became louder, and the mutant beast attacking Zhu Yanchen turned red in the eyes. They no longer protected their weak points, and bit straight into Zhu Yanchen’s arm holding the gun. The other party had suddenly changed their attack, which didn’t give Zhu Yanchen time to adjust his posture, resulting in a deep wound on his forearm.

The flowing blood was slightly grayish-black.

“This thing’s saliva is very poisonous. If you get bitten by them a few more times, even a healthy person won’t be able to hold on. If you cherish your life, tell your pet… Your subordinate to stop.” Lao Wei clearly remembered the warning from the gunshot just now and quickly changed his words.

“He’s not my subordinate. He’s my partner,” Zhu Yanchen hoarsely said. He glanced at his wound, stepped on the mutant beast’s throat, and shot its head several times.

Zhu Yanchen looked indifferent, but Shu Jun had reached his limit.

Re-evaluating the relationship internally was one thing, but harming “Smoke” in front of him was another. Days of consecutive panic, anger brought on by the truth, and self-blame for powerlessness, Zhu Yanchen’s injury became the last straw. It ignited his negative emotions to the point of explosion.

Shu Jun didn’t know whether he was angry that Zhu Yanchen was injured or that he didn’t care about such injuries at all at this point.

Right now, he was too lazy to distinguish.

Shu Jun unconsciously twisted the chain, and the sound of the metal chain rustling was corroded and broken by him barehandedly. After the chain was broken, Shu Jun was like a beast released from its cage. He rushed up in one step, and his sharp claws directly pinched Lao Wei’s throat.

He wouldn’t lose his mind, but his appearance obviously scared Lao Wei. The old man swallowed his saliva and didn’t move.

“Tell those things to stop.”

Shu Jun bared his sharpened teeth. “Otherwise, I’ll pick you up and kill them myself. Let me make it clear. I’m not very skilled with this claw. I might accidentally leave a few cuts on you, so don’t complain later.”

Lao Wei frowned. “I’m an old man, and I’m about to die. Your threat doesn’t scare me. Your… um, friend is young, and if you listen to my advice and treat his wounds immediately, it may not be too late. Otherwise…”

This old man had more courage than he had imagined.

Seeing that Shu Jun was a reasonable person, Lao Wei started to talk in circles, trying to persuade the crazed mutant beasts to calm down. Shu Jun knew that in terms of fighting skills, Zhu Yanchen could defeat those monsters, but he couldn’t avoid getting injured. Marshal Zhu was also limited by the environment since he was in the erosion zone. If they continued like this, their cooperation could win, but they were bound to suffer.

Shu Jun was getting impatient and subconsciously stirred up the wind around him. This time the wind wasn’t clear; it was a black smoke-like substance that circulated around him, filled with killing intent. Suddenly, the mutant beasts reacted, flattening their ears and tails, and running out of the room in a frenzy.

And at the same time, Shu Jun’s hand that was holding Lao Wei underwent another transformation, and the black substance rolled over his skin again. Shu Jun’s breath became even more rapid, and he caught a glimpse of the bracelet as it vibrated slightly.

[Fusion degree: 21%; Erosion level is slightly unbalanced.]

He didn’t understand it, but it didn’t matter. He was still conscious. When the mutant beasts were gone, Shu Jun turned his attention back to Lao Wei.

Perhaps the oppressive power of those gray-white eyes was so strong that Lao Wei didn’t babble any longer and became unnaturally obedient. Zhu Yanchen simply bandaged his wound and walked over, trying to take the toy flute from Lao Wei’s pocket.

“Stay away from me,” Shu Jun warned. “I’m not feeling quite right.”

He was hungry again—a hunger he had never experienced before. Fortunately, Lao Wei, in front of him, didn’t arouse his appetite. Apparently, he had no particular preference for human cuisine.

“Beyond my expectations, you scared them away instead of making them behave,” Zhu Yanchen said.

“I don’t know how I did it. Maybe it has something to do with this wind.” Shu Jun grinned. The wind filled with the black substance was still circulating around him.

During their conversation, Lao Wei’s gaze kept drifting toward Shu Jun’s hand, which was seeping with the black substance and his expression gradually became more complicated.

“Take him with us first.” Zhu Yanchen and Shu Jun kept a distance of three steps. “The Village of the Ruined is not a fixed village. They are probably on the run by now since they don’t welcome strangers. But they have to go through the erosion zone. If we chase them, we can catch up with them.”

After speaking, he took out an instrument that looked like a pocket watch and said, “If we’re just tracking the reaction of the Erosion Swamp, this instrument can still be used…huh?”

Shu Jun felt dizzy and disoriented due to hunger, and he just wanted to finish things quickly. “Let’s go. Let’s go. Let’s chase them. A’Yan, do you still have any food left? Let me have it first—hmm?”

Shu Jun didn’t have an Erosion Swamp detector, but he still sensed that something was wrong.

The low howling of the Erosion Swamp had somehow gotten closer without him noticing it. To be precise, it was right outside the door. A very strange emotion was transmitted through the howling—it was simpler than the emotion of the one at the corpse disposal area.

As an allusion, at this moment, it was like a wild animal, half fearful and half curious, looking at humans approaching while disguised in a doll costume as its own kind, not knowing what to do.

…Shu Jun had fought against Erosion Swamps many times before, but he had never felt what was called the Erosion Swamp’s emotions, so he was a bit confused.

Zhu Yanchen wanted him to keep the Erosion Swamp from running away, and it seemed that he had succeeded. Shu Jun could feel that the Erosion Swamp was whispering softly and secretly observing him, but he didn’t know how to convey the information back.

How about using the wind that’s covered with erosion substance to make contact? It could be considered physical contact. He didn’t want to be suspended in the air by a liquid column again.

Shu Jun thought about it and did it. A gust of wind passed through the crack in the door and blew outside. He realized after he had done it that, unlike the mutant beasts, the Erosion Swamp had no intelligence at all, and he had no need to talk to it.

‘I must be starving to the point of delirium,’ Shu Jun thought.

“A’Yan, the Erosion Swamp is outside. If you want to see it, go ahead.” Shu Jun grimaced, grabbing Lao Wei with one hand and pulling a mutant beast’s corpse to the ground with the other. He tried to overcome the feeling of nausea and found a piece of meat to fill his stomach for the time being.

Zhu Yanchen nodded, tightened his protective suit, and took out a small gadget that Shu Jun didn’t recognize. He was about to open the door—

At this moment, the Erosion Swamp’s emotions outside the door suddenly changed drastically.

“Wait!” Shu Jun shouted.

All of the harmless confusion, curiosity, and fear disappeared from the Erosion Swamp’s emotions. What it showed now was purely instinctual—the desire to fight.

What happened to the camaraderie they had just talked about?

Shu Jun didn’t care about his hungry stomach anymore. He bit the leg of the mutant beast and held it in his mouth, grabbed Zhu Yanchen, and ran away from the other end of the room in an instant.

The bracelet on his wrist vibrated frantically as if it were about to explode in the next second. The Erosion Swamp’s roar hit his eardrums, and in the midst of that intense emotion, Shu Jun could barely discern a little bit of meaning.

[I want information.] A simple thought looped over and over again in the midst of its immense fighting desire. [I want information.]

It was so noisy that Shu Jun couldn’t help but curse in his heart.

Unexpectedly, the Erosion Swamp outside the door became quiet for a moment, and then it broke in.

[I want information!] Its emotions had become more intense.

“……”

If this was his first autonomous conversation with an Erosion Swamp, then it was quite a failure. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a stream of liquid grabbed his leg and pulled him to the ground.

‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry,’ Shu Jun thought hurriedly in his heart, but it was clearly not very effective. The piercing scream, which only he could hear, grew louder and more anxious.

Fine.

With his last bit of strength, he threw both Zhu Yanchen and Lao Wei out.

If you want to fight, then it will be one-on-one.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 10: The Man Who Stole the Erosion Swamp

Shu Jun had never heard of “The Village of the Ruined” before.

Seeing Zhu Yanchen start to wash up methodically, Shu Jun didn’t plan on forcing an explanation from him. Aside from the injection he had just received, this morning felt refreshing, and Shu Jun didn’t want to think about the sticky matters related to erosion for the time being.

Now that the situation was stable, he could ask about the village’s condition later. In any case, with handcuffs on, he couldn’t run away, and Zhu Yanchen couldn’t hide from him. Compared to those tedious theoretical settings, he had more pressing questions at the moment.

Zhu Yanchen extended the chain between the handcuffs, giving Shu Jun a little more freedom of movement. He rinsed his mouth and leisurely nibbled on dry food, saying, “I’m an unexpected variable… According to this logic, even if I hadn’t shown up, were you planning on sneaking out of your base anyway?”

Leaving a good marshal position behind and venturing alone into the erosion zone? Even if he wanted to investigate this place discreetly, arranging for some backup would be wise. Shu Jun always felt that this person had other motives.

This matter was related to his personal safety—if Zhu Yanchen finished his investigation and brought in the reserve army, they would see a walking, talking Erosion Swamp by the marshal’s side, which would be troublesome for him. On the other hand, assuming Zhu Yanchen could handle everything well and his subordinates wouldn’t harm him, Shu Jun still didn’t want more people to know about his condition.

He knew better than anyone about the government’s and players’ attitudes toward Erosion Swamps.

“If it wasn’t for you, another mutant beast would have attacked me according to the plan, and I would have been ‘kidnapped’ as usual.”

Zhu Yanchen finished packing his own briefcase, closed the lid, and seemed to see through his thoughts. “Don’t worry, your situation won’t be leaked. As long as we stay outside for a few more days, the government will change my status from ‘missing’ to ‘dead’.”

“Oh, you’re just going to tell me straight up? Only you know that I’m hanging out with an Erosion Swamp. Aren’t you afraid…”

That I might change my mind and kill you to keep you quiet?

“I’m not afraid.” Zhu Yanchen paused for a moment before continuing, “And with your current physical condition, even if you killed me, you wouldn’t live for more than a few days. The Erosion Swamp is still mixing with your body, and if no one helps control it, it will soon devour you.”

The dry food in Shu Jun’s mouth suddenly became tasteless.

Even a business partner might turn against him, so no one would want to offend their own doctor.

“Why fake your death for no reason?” Shu Jun quickly ended the dangerous topic.

Zhu Yanchen, for once, didn’t answer immediately. After a moment of silence, he maintained his position with his back facing Shu Jun. “There are many reasons, none of which you need to concern yourself with. You are safe, and that’s all you need to know.”

Shu Jun made a deep, meaningful “oh”.

Of course, he was concerned—now more than ever.

“Give me your hand.” Zhu Yanchen cleaned himself up and took out a wide bracelet-like gadget from his pocket—wide bracelet was a nicer way of saying it. Shu Jun always thought it was more like vintage-like shackles.

“One handcuff is enough, really.” Shu Jun hid his other hand behind his back. “A’Yan, we don’t have to go this far—”

“It’s not a handcuff.” Zhu Yanchen approached mercilessly. “This is a device that can detect your physical condition. I calibrated it last night. There’s no harm in wearing it.”

Shu Jun was taken aback. Come to think of it, this guy hadn’t rested since they met. Was this why he tinkered with his flesh and blood?

He sighed and extended his wrist obediently.

The iron-gray bracelet automatically snapped on, causing a slight stinging sensation. It probably had a soft probe attached to it, and it was much lighter than he had imagined; at least it wouldn’t affect his movement. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a character data display device from a “game.” On the smooth metal surface, light-colored characters slowly appeared, completely unobtrusive, and at first glance, they looked like a pattern carved on the metal surface.

[Fusion rate: 19%; Vital signs stable.]

After confirming the reading, Zhu Yanchen nodded satisfactorily and said, “Let’s go.”

Marshal Zhu stood very close, and even though he was already wearing a mask, Shu Jun could still see the sleepless dark circles under his eyes. If Zhu Yanchen wanted to completely control him, he could frequently take blood samples and secretly keep the data in his own hands.

But he didn’t do that.

Shu Jun sighed and shook his wrist, saying, “Thanks.”

A few seconds later, he added, “If something goes wrong later, I’ll protect you. Don’t be too tense.”

As someone who never liked to owe anyone favors, Shu Jun felt a bit uneasy after saying that. For another high-ranking official, this statement might be considered crossing the line.

He was prepared for a distant and polite response, but to his surprise, Zhu Yanchen stopped at the door and replied with utmost seriousness, “I know.”

“……” What’s wrong with this person?

After dawn, this place became more and more ghostly. Deformed people walked slowly in the abandoned corridors, and the mottled walls were sprayed with all kinds of words and sentences, with strokes that were so scribbled they couldn’t be recognized.

Some people still wore gas masks, while others simply didn’t, and their faces were so deformed that they couldn’t make out their exposed facial features. Some of the lesions were particularly terrifying, causing the entire body to be distorted, so they had to walk on all fours.

They passed by slowly, as quiet as ghosts, and no one stopped to observe the two strangers. Compared to these people, the symptoms of the corpse handler last night were mild.

Everyone’s constitution was different, and a small percentage of people were particularly intolerant of erosion. Even if they took purification medicine as a regular meal, they couldn’t hold on for too long. These people would have more terrifying symptoms and would often be difficult to save. Based on Shu Jun’s previous knowledge, these people should have lived in the city and received end-of-life care.

Shu Jun took a deep breath, and even the air here seemed to carry a chill.

“You guys are here. I was about to call you for breakfast.” The woman from last night hurriedly came up. She wore her mask properly, and even had a pink hair clip on her hair net. She carefully glanced at Shu Jun, then her eyes landed on the handcuffs of the two, and she shrank back slightly.

With these severely ill people around and being feared by others, Shu Jun’s mood was complicated.

“We already ate,” Zhu Yancheng said in a flat tone.

“Oh, okay.” The woman responded, somewhat surprised. “The person in charge here is still having breakfast. Let me take you there first.”

Leaving the abandoned stronghold building, they arrived at a row of bungalows. The woman led the two of them to stop in front of one of the bungalows and called out, “Lao Wei, Lao Wei, I’ve brought some people here!”

Several hoarse coughs answered from inside the bungalow.

After the door opened, Shu Jun restrained his surprised expression politely.

There was an old man sitting on a chair—that was the simplest way to put it. In reality, he saw someone who was almost melting, lying on the chair like a candle that was about to burn out. The layers of flesh seemed like dripping candle tears, hanging limply on the gray-white wood.

The entire room was filled with decaying cabinets, with a thin bowl of porridge on the table in front of the old man and a urinal just a few steps away. The whole room had an indescribable smell. The woman made a clumsy gesture of respect to them and then stepped out of the room first.

Facing the scene in front of him, Zhu Yanchen didn’t react much.

“How did you two know about this place?” The old man opened his melting mouth making it look like a black hole. “Our village is a small place. There isn’t anything valuable here if you want to catch rare mutant beasts.”

Zhu Yanchen didn’t answer and just looked at him.

“I’ve heard about Xiao Xi’s matter from her. She’s been running to the corpse processing department recently, trying to steal parts from the pile of machines. Anyway, I’ll apologize to you… Our purifiers are almost broken down here. You’ve seen it too.”

‘That makes sense,’ Shu Jun thought. This village in the ruins looked poor, and the villagers didn’t seem to have much combat power. What did Zhu Yanchen want to investigate in this village full of dying people?

“She didn’t go to steal parts.” Zhu Yanchen finally spoke. “She can’t even start the purifiers, let alone dismantle parts without leaving any trace. Not to mention, the corpse processing department isn’t that easy to get into. Someone here has specially cleared the way for her.”

The old man didn’t answer and made wheezing sounds in his throat.

“Your people violated the corpse processing rules and caused the deaths of three soldiers. According to regulations, this village needs to be thoroughly investigated,” Zhu Yanchen added.

Whether it was last night or now, Marshal Zhu was quite articulate when threatening others, but unfortunately, he became a wooden fish when it came to himself. Shu Jun almost lost focus on what the two of them were playing charades with.

“What do you want?” The old man finally spoke.

“To see the Erosion Swamp you’ve been raising.” Zhu Yanchen’s tone became even colder and more rigid. “If you cooperate well, that woman will only be responsible for her violation. The Erosion Swamp here will only be monitored by the military, and things won’t get too ugly. Otherwise, we’ll follow the standard process: the Erosion Swamp will be destroyed, and the people will be taken back to the city.”

“That sounds good.” Lao Wei chuckled. “Unfortunately, the people here won’t agree.”

“Well, that’s a pity.” Zhu Yanchen’s voice showed no sign of regret. “In any case, I cannot allow you to continue stealing erosion from the corpse processing area.”

Stealing the erosion? That woman went to the corpse processing area to steal erosion?

For the purpose of raising an Erosion Swamp?

Shu Jun was about to express his doubts, but a faint howling sound came again. This time, the howling of the Erosion Swamp wasn’t as intense as last time. If the last time was a clear call, this time it was more like talking to oneself.

There was an Erosion Swamp nearby, not large in size, but quite active. From the change in the howling sound, it seemed to be moving, and there were faint footsteps outside the room.

“The village. Let’s go, let’s go.” Lao Wei laughed. “We can’t give you what you want. Your eavesdropping skills yesterday were pretty good, so I thought this matter wasn’t simple. Young man, although I don’t know who you are… unfortunately, you can only die here.”

Zhu Yanchen raised his hand and fired a shot, but the target wasn’t the old man, but above the two of them. Almost at the same time, Shu Jun also took action. His target was behind the two of them—a mutant beast whose head was blown off by Zhu Yanchen’s shot, and another whose throat was torn open by Shu Jun, with black blood splattered all over the ground.

However, Lao Wei still looked confident. More mutant beasts emerged from the cabinet, avoiding Lao Wei in the flying dust, and pounced towards Zhu Yanchen.

“Young people are always so restless.” Lao Wei laughed. “But when you’re done, our Erosion Swamp will be gone too. Young man, how about we all calm down? If you give up your goal and put down your gun, we can still have a good talk—”

“Shu Jun,” Zhu Yanchen ignored him while firing a few more shots that took down several more mutant beasts’ heads.

“Hmm?”

“Make these mutant beasts behave.”

“?”

“And make that Erosion Swamp trying to escape stop running.”

“???”

Isn’t this request a bit much?

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 9: Village of the Ruined

In the midst of battle, people often needed to separate the emotional part. The battlefield changed rapidly, and timing was fleeting. If one spent too much time dealing with emotional problems and fell into a panic at an inappropriate moment, God wouldn’t be able to save them.

Shu Jun was very sober at the moment.

He tried several hibernation pods, and the feedback from the system was exactly the same. It didn’t look like it was faked. Taking a step back, even if Zhu Yanchen wanted to play a big joke on him, such a prank was too complicated. From Zhu Yanchen’s being “kidnapped” to the Corpse Parasite in the corpse disposal office, there were too many variables in each scenario.

Combined with his own situation, Shu Jun had to admit that the <Erosion> world was the real world and made the most logical sense.

He couldn’t help but rationalize his former life.

Thinking about the past 20 years of his life, he found it quite lackluster. Shu Jun was an orphan, with no memories of his parents and had been cared for by the staff of the relevant departments since he was a child. With the highly developed technology, he didn’t need to live with adults, nor was he bored being alone. Three meals a day were delivered to his door, and his home was checked regularly. Aside from going to school, he spent most of his time at home playing games—board games, puzzles, action games—as long as he could do well, he wouldn’t refuse.

He had lived alone since he was 8 years old.

He grew up normally, playing and making friends. There wasn’t much difference between yesterday and today, and it was easy to guess what would happen tomorrow. He grew up normally, and because of his outstanding abilities, he smoothly became a professional player. In his world, this life trajectory was as standard as it could be.

To say that there were any odd things in his past, he was once “blessed” in a mock battle organized by his school.

As a highly regarded national entertainment, <Erosion> also had related elective courses offered in schools. Before the age of 11, Shu Jun didn’t perform well in combat courses—not that he wasn’t good at individual combat training or lacked ideas for command. On the contrary, he had too many tricks up his sleeve and relied on his beast-like intuition to come up with unconventional tactics, which were innovative but also quite disorganized in terms of overall strategy.

His grades once reached the brink of having him expelled.

At that time, Shu Jun only found it boring. For an 11-year-old child, training close to actual combat was too boring, and he was a kid who loved to play. It wasn’t that Shu Jun hadn’t considered giving up, but he was so competitive that he didn’t allow himself to be kicked out of a course like this, so he had to muddle through uneventfully.

The miracle came in the final mock test.

It was obviously the same test as usual, but somehow, he seemed to reach an epiphany. That time, Shu Jun’s command and layout were as bold as usual, but nothing went wrong. After too long, Shu Jun couldn’t remember the details of that game; only the feeling of his heart beating so fast that it was going to burst and that his courage and confidence flowed continuously.

And a vague but firm impression—as long as he was willing to do his best, he wouldn’t fail.

Shu Jun firmly engraved those feelings and impressions into his mind, and his grades skyrocketed since then. The instructor smiled and said that he finally reached enlightenment, but Shu Jun knew very well that the feeling wasn’t a result of accumulated experience and sudden comprehension. Someone once called him, and the faint figure was hidden in the wave of strong emotions, but he just couldn’t remember it.

If he were to draw an analogy, it would be more like he had been blessed by some kind of presence.

After that, the Blackbirds, under his leadership, although occasionally trailing behind other teams in points, were bound to win in the end. He himself won many battles and eventually became the “Immortal Legend” who ranked first in single ranking.

Thinking about it now, he didn’t know how many times he had escaped death. His life was tantamount to a long pre-game training. If he really dropped out of class at that time, what would happen to him in the real world? Was that inexplicable blessing the result of outside interference and adjustment?

But one thing was certain. It had been refined more, purely by countless battles and was still in effect.

It allowed him to stand calmly, among his peers sleeping in their hibernation pods, without being crushed by the truth. He was a fighting machine made by this world, so he would win to the end with dignity as before.

He would always win.

For this reason, Zhu Yanchen was necessary. No matter what purpose Marshal Zhu approached him with, he would never let go of this valuable intelligence target—it was enough to escape alone. If he wanted to save his teammates, cooperating with Zhu Yanchen was his only way out.

As for the vague fondness for Smoke, Shu Jun decided to press it down in his heart and let it fend for itself. His world had been turned upside down, and the “Smoke” in front of him was an entirely new person—a partner who he needed to get along cautiously with—the world wasn’t in a good state, so a person who was considered a marshal shouldn’t be useless.

“Happy cooperation.” Shu Jun’s tone was relaxed. “Okay, I know what you were worried about just now. I will not collapse and go out of control here, nor will I try to take these members—just tell me the truth, since you seem to struggle for most of the day about it. I’ve almost lost half my life. There are 300 Blackbirds members. Even if you open the door and allow me to take them away, there are problems with follow-up resources and processing.”

Zhu Yanchen exhaled a turbid breath. It seemed like he wasn’t as tense as before. “Indeed.”

“If I had insisted that I will take those people, what would you have done?” Shu Jun asked half-jokingly and half-seriously.

“Blast off your arm with a purification gun.” Zhu Yanchen didn’t sound like he was joking, and he didn’t seem to have any intention of unlocking the handcuffs.

“…” That sounded like a threat.

“It’s not time to leave yet. We need…”

“We need to replenish supplies, because you can’t get back to that secret base.” Shu Jun took over. “You brought a briefcase back then, and it was full of strange things. We need clothes and have to eat… Speaking of which, is there enough for me to eat?”

An Erosion Swamp wasn’t something that could stay honest with just afternoon tea.

“Ordinary food can make you feel better. To fill your stomach, you can try the mutant beasts outside.” Zhu Yanchen tugged on Shu Jun with his handcuffs, and the two began walking towards the door. “This is the first time I’ve seen a situation like yours, so I can only guess at the moment.”

The handcuffs still weren’t unlocked, but the man’s mood seemed better.

When they returned to the roof, one of them carried a large backpack, which was bulging with supplies. The corpse handler had stayed honestly in place. As soon as Shu Jun picked her up, he was stunned by the added weight.

Wind-based abilities were convenient, but usually the Blackbirds didn’t let their captain work as a part-time transport plane.

The stronghold that the woman pointed to was extremely far away. Shu Jun had been tossed around all day and felt somewhat lifeless when he finally landed, like a wilted vegetable.

The stronghold was exceptionally run-down, and the purifiers in the surrounding area weren’t running and had lost their color due to erosion. The building wasn’t lit up, and black cracks crawled along the walls, giving off a ghostly aura. Compared to the stronghold, this felt more like the map they had previously fought on. Shu Jun was still on high alert, while Zhu Yanchen had already taken a step forward.

“You guys came on your own. The purifiers here are broken. We’re not responsible if something happens,” the woman muttered as she led them into the building.

After that, she turned her head again. “It’s too late today. Everyone is asleep, and I can’t talk to you alone. I brought you to the place. There’s an empty room on the right side. You can stay there, and we’ll talk tomorrow.”

As if she was afraid they would refuse, she ran away after speaking.

“Take off the handcuffs.” Shu Jun flung his wrist. His occupational disease instantly struck. “I’m going to follow and explore.”

Zhu Yanchen remained motionless like a rock, but not expressionless—he raised his brows at Shu Jun.

“…No, A’Yan, do you really think I’ll go crazy now?”

“Before I let you move freely, you directly restrained me and found someone to ask for the coordinates. If your mental fortitude hadn’t been decent, we would’ve already fought to death by now,” Zhu Yanchen said hoarsely.

Shu Jun laughed. “I’m actively trying to confirm the situation. Doesn’t this show that my mental fortitude is quite good?”

Zhu Yanchen remained unconvinced. “I won’t let you go for the next three days.”

“…” Shu Jun swallowed. “It’s useless if it’s only for three days. I can act, you know?”

Zhu Yanchen pursed his lips and let out a sigh, which sounded like a polite chuckle. ‘He might as well just laugh,’ Shu Jun thought. What he did seemed as if he were being mocked.

But, to be honest, he wasn’t really good at acting.

“Okay, although I think it’s better to explore the situation.” Shu Jun closed his eyes.

“I’ll go with you.”

Shu Jun looked up and down at Zhu Yanchen. The latter opened his bag and casually fished out two gun-like weapons that looked pretty dangerous. “Let’s go together.”

The imposter corpse handler certainly didn’t go directly to sleep. In the silent building, it was particularly easy to find her movements. The two of them slowed down and quickly moved in the direction of a faint human voice. Zhu Yanchen’s sneaking skills were quite good and his level of picking locks and unlocking doors all the way made even professional thieves feel inferior. What kind of marshal is this guy anyway?

The collision of handcuffs could be regarded as the loudest sound the two made.

It was quite severely eroded here, and they could barely see any electronic equipment. Without the trouble of surveillance, the two of them moved quite fast—when they caught up with the woman again, the conversation between her and the person in the room had just begun and she was still taking off her mask.

Shu Jun looked through the gap in the door.

The woman put the mask she had taken off on the table. Her face was almost swollen, full of lesions beyond recognition, and her facial features were pushed to the edge, like a pattern on an overinflated balloon. Shu Jun recognized this; there had been similar cases among NPCs before. This was one of the diseases caused by long-term exposure to the Erosion Swamp. Without exposure to erosion and by taking medicine, one could suppress it, but if they lived in this kind of place, the only thing waiting for them was death.

He subconsciously looked at Zhu Yanchen beside him. Zhu Yanchen put a hand on his shoulder and looked more solemn than him.

“Today, I encountered a Corpse Parasite, and I was discovered,” the woman hurriedly said. “Lao Wei, listen to me. They have guns, and they insist that I bring them over.”

“People from the army?” From their angle, they couldn’t see who the woman was talking to and could only hear an old voice.

“It shouldn’t be. The man wore a mask, and he sounded like he’s from the city. He also brought a… I don’t know what it is, but it’s a monster. The monster is now following him. I ask them to rest first, Lao Wei. What about our village—”

“As long as they’re not from the army, then it’s fine. Let them rest, and tomorrow we’ll treat them well. Anyway, we have nothing valuable here for them to steal.”

“But that—” The woman just opened her mouth and then swallowed back her words. Most likely, she was silently warned by the other party. “Or we can find someone to do it. Lao Wang still has guns.”

“If someone can discover you and still dare come after you, what good is a gun? If we provoke them, we might end up burying a few people. Xiao Xi, go rest first. I know you’re worried and anxious, but this isn’t something we can rush.”

The woman opened her mouth. Her face was so deformed that this action was particularly terrifying.

“Alright, I understand.” A few seconds later, she responded angrily.

Seeing her hand turn to the mask, the two people eavesdropping outside instantly backed away. The two men quietly ran away before the woman went out.

“It seems that there’s nothing wrong for the time being. For safety’s sake, let’s take turns keeping watch overnight.”

“You sleep,” Zhu Yanchen said succinctly.

“Can you hold on?”

“Used to it.” Zhu Yanchen nodded. “You’re exhausted today, so it’s better to rest early. If you become ‘hungry’ like before again, we’ll all be in trouble.”

After speaking, the man sat down on the bed, opened his backpack, and took out a few documents to read.

It seemed that even if he fell asleep, Zhu Yanchen didn’t intend to unlock the handcuffs. Shu Jun was discouraged and had to lie down on the bed. He was obviously very tired, but he couldn’t fall asleep.

The bed was hard with erosion marks along the sides, and the sheets were dusty. The air here made him feel refreshed, and the concentration of erosion wasn’t high. Shu Jun turned to look at Zhu Yanchen, who was still wearing a gas mask. The other party was sitting up straight, carefully examining the information. As his gloves brushed over the paper, it made a rustling sound that was quite pleasant to listen to.

Speaking of which, Zhu Yanchen didn’t replace his torn protective suit but just added another coat outside.

Grand Marshall Zhu wasn’t a girl. Even if he were handcuffed to him, he wouldn’t be so thin-skinned that he wouldn’t change protective suits in front of him. God knows how many secrets this guy was hiding. Shu Jun rolled over and closed his eyes.

His breathing quickly became light and long.

After making sure the person behind him was asleep, Zhu Yanchen gently put down the documents in his hand and stood up carefully. He frowned and swallowed a pill. He kept the handcuffs on as he began to unbutton his protective suit.

In order to cope with various situations, the design of the protective suit was relatively complex, and there were many ways to disassemble it, but it was still easy to get around with one hand.

He silently took off his damaged jacket, pulled a new one from the freshly searched materials, and quickly put it on. If Shu Jun was still awake, he might have seen Zhu Yanchen’s back.

The skin on Zhu Yanchen’s back was equally pale but covered with fine and dense scars. It wasn’t a battle scar but closer to a surgical scar, and several new injuries were still faintly gray. He got dressed extremely quickly, and his body was soon squared away again, regaining the neatness enough to enter a conference room.

Then he sat back down on the edge of the bed, twisted around, and held out his uncuffed hand. There was no hug and no touching of skin. The gloved hand twirled a few strands of gray hair and brushed them into a neater position.

“Good night,” he said, turning his gaze back to the document in his hand.

When Shu Jun woke up again, it was already dawn. The place wasn’t a heavily erosion zone so there was still some difference between day and night. Zhu Yanchen sat on the head of the bed like a statue. If it weren’t for the documents in his hand turning into a book, Shu Jun would have thought he hadn’t moved all night.

“Morning,” Shu Jun muttered.

“Good morning.” Zhu Yanchen turned around and stuck a needle directly into him.

Shu Jun: “……”

“How do you feel?”

“Not bad.”

Shu Jun glanced at the arm that had just been poked. His slightly dim complexion and mutated nails hadn’t recovered, and the bandaged wounds were still there, but he felt comfortable, as if he had been covered by a three-layer blanket all night, and he finally poked out his head. There was no trace of fatigue that followed him like before, and his physical condition was good enough to go to the battlefield.

“…Just a little hungry,” he added solemnly.

Zhu Yanchen pulled out a piece of compressed dry food from his backpack. “Very good. I happened to look at the data on hunger status. You can use this for now, and we’ll go hunting when we have time.”

“Now that we’re already in a hand-in-hand relationship, just tell me. Why are you here? Where is this place?”

With one hand restrained and his nails turning into claws, Shu Jun struggled to tear open the packing of the compressed food. Zhu Yanchen took the ration back, tore open a hole in it, and then threw it back to Shu Jun.

“I planned to come here from the beginning, but fortunately, I ran into people from here by chance, so I didn’t need to find the way.”

“From the beginning?”

“Well, you’re the unplanned variable.”

“…….”

“This is the ‘Village of the Ruined’,” Zhu Yanchen continued to answer, putting the book back in his bag.

“A place of your ‘suspected kind’.”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 8: Happy Cooperation

“…There isn’t an Erosion Swamp hidden inside of me, right?”

“Mm, but it’s still not very obedient.” Zhu Yanchen’s didn’t fluctuate. He clenched his gun while looking around vigilantly.

The corpse handler never managed to start the purifier. She was still nesting in the gap between the equipment, completely wooden. The room was filled with blood-red warning lights, and the sirens were blaring.

“Could it be that you brought me here today because you want me to have a good exchange with this small Erosion Swamp?” Shu Jun stood in Zhu Yanchen’s blind spot and kept talking.

This is just logic of the game setting. They are just discussing the game setting. Shu Jun tried to make a joke, trying to save the increasingly unpleasant topic—in a sense, Zhu Yanchen was right. He did “understand everything”, but unfortunately, understanding was one thing; accepting was another.

“This Erosion Swamp is artificially bred. It has only swallowed human corpses. The adaptability of its erosion substance and human tissue is very good,” Zhu Yanchen replied seriously to his joke. “As long as the Erosion Swamps come into contact with each other, there will be a simple exchange. The things on your body can draw on the experience of similar creatures, so as not to immediately fight to the death with your body.”

Shu Jun: “……”

As an aggregate of a group of microorganisms, the Erosion Swamp had no brains, let alone true intelligence. For example, they were more like creatures such as ants and bees. They would resonate and exchange simple information, but that was limited to just this.

The information necessary for survival would be exchanged between Erosion Swamps. Shu Jun had long known this, but this behavior had a premise: both sides had to be true Erosion Swamps.

The situation was more like “he’s the swamp” than “the swamp is hidden inside him”.

Why can’t this friend go offline? Because he accidentally fused too well with the Erosion Swamp, becoming so entangled that they were now inseparable, even a filter paper couldn’t filter them out. When Shu Jun thought this, he clicked his tongue. The development of the situation had become so unreal that he felt a sense of detachment.

There was a solution somewhere*, so there was no point in worrying about it.

*There’s always a way to get to a mountain, no matter which direction you take. Referring to (车到山前必有路，船到桥头自然直) Idiom referring to whatever challenges or difficulties one may encounter, there is always a solution or a way to overcome them.

The Corpse Parasite hadn’t moved. This kind of thing was always cautious. Since it was severely beaten unexpectedly, it wouldn’t act for a short time. Zhu Yanchen lowered the muzzle of his gun a little. Shu Jun glanced at the other’s protective suit and felt a little guilty. “Then I have finished communicating with the Erosion Swamp. Shall we go back?”

“Can’t go back.” Zhu Yanchen shook his head and walked to the place where the corpse handler was squatting. “You lost control here. The military has the means to detect the Erosion Swamp, so you’ve been exposed.”

Thinking about the shocking truth that caused him to lose control, thousands of question marks returned to Shu Jun, but before he could organize his words, Zhu Yanchen had already walked in front of the corpse handler.

“You’re not an employee here, are you?”

The woman, who was shrinking in the corner, raised her head. Her whole body stiffened like a woodcarving.

“How to turn on the purifiers in a timely manner is the first lesson for any corpse handler. No matter what happens, this step must never go wrong.” Zhu Yanchen sounded like he was in a bad mood. “And regular corpse handlers rotate once a month. Have you been here for more than a month?”

The woman nodded, shook her head again, and aimed her eyes at the gun on Marshal Zhu’s waist.

“According to the rules of shift work, there won’t be too much erosion substance in the body of a corpse handler, so they won’t be seen as clues by the Corpse Parasite to find an Erosion Swamp. It’s very cautious, and it only approaches after observing for a long time… In short, it was attracted by you.”

Zhu Yanchen’s tone became a little colder.

“If we didn’t happen to be here, not only would you die, but this Erosion Swamp would leak out. Now that the warning flares have been issued, someone will come here soon. Have you figured out how to explain things?”

The woman glanced at the three corpses not far away, hugged her knees tightly, and covered her mask.

Zhu Yanchen pondered for a moment. “You can’t get into this kind of institution alone. Take us to your stronghold. People can’t come back from the dead, but you can still make up for it.”

As he said this, he glanced at Shu Jun and found that he was also looking at him. Zhu Yanchen quickly retracted his gaze.

Shu Jun continued to stare at Zhu Yanchen’s back.

He suddenly understood the anomalies of “Smoke’s” journey—just like the A’Yan that he knew well, as long as he asked, the other party would definitely give an answer, but it was only an answer. Compared to A’Yan who was willing to discuss tactics in detail, the “Smoke” in front of him was subconsciously keeping his distance from him.

At least when he was sober.

Shu Jun could understand if he didn’t want to discuss plans with him or if he didn’t want to take the initiative to explain the reasons for his actions. There were too many things stuffed in his mind, and they needed time to be digested slowly before he could pursue the minutiae. But if he was replaced by Smoke from before, these things would definitely be put on the table and explained.

The Zhu Yanchen in front of him seemed to have no idea how to get along with him.

A’Yan didn’t talk much, but he wasn’t the type to be uneasy or nervous about this kind of thing. Shu Jun always felt there was a deeper reason behind it, but he really didn’t have a clue now.

To be honest, Shu Jun didn’t want to accept information passively all the time, and he didn’t like the awkward atmosphere between the two. Combined with his own laundry list of problems, there was only one solution.

Although absurd, he had to first determine whether this world was the so-called “reality”. Thanks to his previous episode, he had already thought of a way.

“A’Yan, my body will be fine this time.” Shu Jun made his tone look particularly relaxed.

A low “not for the time being” floated in the distance.

The imposter corpse handler was shaking as she said something to Zhu Yanchen. Shu Jun thought for a few seconds and strode forward. Seeing the man who had just taken out the erosion substance approach, the corpse handler couldn’t wait to squeeze into the crevices of the equipment. Zhu Yanchen was a little surprised by Shu Jun’s approach. He thought the other party was going to ask him more questions, so he turned around…

“Since you have been working here for more than a month, tell me the coordinates here.” Shu Jun deliberately stood behind Zhu Yanchen with a fierce expression on his face.

Speaking of which, Shu Jun was quite confident in his appearance, but with his gray hair color and beast-like vertical pupils, gentle tactics probably wouldn’t work.

Zhu Yanchen planned to stop the conversation from continuing, but Shu Jun put one arm in front of him and covered his mouth. The red light of the siren reflected in his gray-white eyes, and coupled with Shu Jun’s actions mimicking a kidnapper, the woman took a cold breath and immediately revealed the coordinates of this place, shaking as if she were sifting chaff.

“Thanks.” At least he should still have the courtesy he should have.

After saying that, Shu Jun didn’t let go of Zhu Yanchen. Instead, he continued to tighten his grip on him with his movements, grabbed the trembling woman with his other hand, and flew directly into the sky.

He knew the coordinates of the strongholds when he went online and offline. After confirming the location here, Shu Jun could figure out a way back.

Zhu Yanchen didn’t say a word the entire way, probably because he was angry, Shu Jun thought.

The building in the stronghold was familiar enough to put him at ease. Shu Jun stopped on the roof, put the two people down, and then climbed into the building. Unexpectedly, just as he was about to let go, he found that his wrist was bound by something.

Zhu Yanchen took a pair of handcuffs out of nowhere and handcuffed himself and Shu Jun together. The handcuffs used an electronic password lock so Shu Jun couldn’t even grab the key.

…Finally, there was a familiar feeling of tactics and mutual teasing with “Smoke” like in the past.

“Wait here. We’ll be back soon.” Judging from the tone of Zhu Yanchen’s speech to the corpse handler, his emotions seemed to reach a freezing point.

Shu Jun had no choice but to take Zhu Yanchen with him. The two of them snuck into the building through the window—it was midnight, so there weren’t many people still awake in the stronghold. Even with an extra person, Shu Jun slipped underground smoothly.

It was just that the matter of knocking out the guards became a bit more troublesome than usual.

The room where they usually went online was still the same. The familiar hibernating pods were neatly arranged. Shu Jun quickly found the one that belonged to him. After opening the hatch, he couldn’t help but frown.

Inside lay a young man he didn’t know.

Zhu Yanchen sighed and remained silent.

Shu Jun walked around again and finally found an empty pod in the corner. He pressed his palm on the control screen and began to verify his identity. Despite the fingerprint entry, the familiar game prompt didn’t appear and instead was replaced by a cold warning.

[Identification error. The authority of S-001 synthetic body “Shu Jun” has been canceled. Please enter the correct data.]

Shu Jun took a deep breath and pressed his palm again.

[Identification error. The authority of S-001 synthetic body “Shu Jun” has been canceled. Please enter the correct data.]

Switching to another hibernating pod, the prompt was still the same. Shu Jun lay down inside the hibernation pod and tried to operate the screen inside the machine.

[Identification error. The authority of S-001 synthetic body “Shu Jun” has been canceled. Please enter the correct data.]

Shu Jun clenched his fist. His face became uglier, and his movements became faster.

“Next, you will realize that this world is indeed ‘reality’.” After being dragged around for a while, Zhu Yanchen finally spoke.

“Then you will think your teammates are being used and won’t give up on them.”

“Finally, you’ll perceive that, as the original inhabitant of this world, I have known about it from the start.”

Shu Jun turned his head and suddenly brought the two of them closer—so close that he could feel the other’s breath. Zhu Yanchen made an odd movement. He seemed to want to grab the handle of his gun, but in the end, he didn’t. He exhaled again and gazed fixedly at Shu Jun, like he was waiting for something.

The handcuff still connected the two of them, and the air was frozen for a while.

Shu Jun was silent for ten minutes.

“That’s right,” he said, but there wasn’t much anger in his voice that Zhu Yanchen expected.

“But I won’t be stupid enough to go crazy here unprepared, disregarding the only person who is willing to tell me the truth.”

“I indeed want to save my teammates, and I will rescue them.”

“And you are a native of this world, with a high position and power, and you are able to stabilize my physical condition. You’re an excellent partner for cooperation.”

Zhu Yanchen showed a surprised expression for the first time.

“As for the rest… Since you decided to tell me this, there must be a reason for the previous concealment.” Shu Jun stretched out his handcuffed hand and grabbed Zhu Yanchen’s handcuffed hand. “This is a handshake.”

Zhu Yanchen still stared at him, as if quite surprised by his attitude. Shu Jun stood in place, surrounded by rows of hibernation pods. He looked at Zhu Yanchen calmly and smiled.

“I haven’t lost before, and I won’t lose this time.”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 7: Corpse Parasite

The lights lit up again, and the cement-colored room was as bright as day. Fighting instinct was engraved in Shu Jun’s bones. He grabbed Zhu Yanchen and leaped onto the pipeline. The pipeline creaked and hissed, spraying steam; mixed with the shadows it became an excellent cover.

Although he came to his senses and felt better, the strange sensation of being eroded by the Erosion Swamp still remained on his skin.

The situation was weird. Zhu Yanchen’s argument was logically sound, but Shu Jun didn’t intend to buy it right away—the new information was too sensational, and he hadn’t fully grasped the other party’s motives behind his actions. It wasn’t like he would believe what others would say.

Zhu Yanchen didn’t rush to explain. He put on his mask and quietly let Shu Jun hold him.

The body handler paced back and forth along the edge of the Erosion Swamp. The sound of bubbles from the Erosion Swamp echoed in the space. He flashed his light to illuminate a few corners on the ground but didn’t search the two-meter-high pipe clumps. After a while of searching and finding nothing, the corpse handler gave up going around, but he had no intention of leaving.

The two waited patiently for a while, but not only did the corpse handler not leave, but the main entrance of the building also rattled again.

What are you afraid of? It’s late at night. Is there going to be a party at the corpse disposal factory?

As a result, the banging from the door became more urgent, and there were a few screams mixed in. Shu Jun immediately collected his thoughts and tensed his back. It was getting late now, and it was a desolate and eroded area. There were various mutant beasts wandering around, and many of them could imitate human voices.

He didn’t know what Zhu Yanchen’s situation was. At least he suspected he was unarmed, so he couldn’t make a rash move.

The corpse handler also looked quite surprised. He took out a gun from his waist and slowly rubbed against the door.

The knock on the door grew fainter, and the screams grew louder with an unbearable sense of despair. An observation window was installed on the heavy metal door. The corpse handler used it to look out. They didn’t know what he saw, but he paused for a few seconds, then opened the door.

Three wounded soldiers came in from outside, all wearing masks so they couldn’t see their expressions. The leader looked like an officer, while the other two dragged in the corpse of a mutant beast full of bullet holes. The body handler saluted them, and the leader spoke while panting. “If we hadn’t killed that thing, were you planning not to open the door?”

“After all, given the time, I hope you can understand…” The corpse handler responded passively. Based on the voice, it was unexpectedly a woman—she had long arms and legs and was tall and sturdy. While wearing a protective suit, it was hard to tell her gender.

“The signal didn’t work. We needed to notify you of urgent information. Don’t misunderstand. Who would go to the erosion zone so late?” Seeing the dull look on the corpse handler’s face, the officer complained a few more times without any intention of continuing to make things difficult for her. “Alright, Xiao* Sun and Xiao Li, you two can dispose of the body of that thing in the Erosion Swamp.”

*Little/Young/Junior (小) When used as a prefix in front of a name, it expresses familiarity or affection towards a person, usually used when the person is younger or lower rank than you (like kouhai).

The corpse handler froze. She seemed to want to say something, but in the end, she didn’t say a word.

The other two wounded soldiers continued to drag the monster towards the Erosion Swamp. Shu Jun narrowed his eyes. His instinct as a soldier was screaming in his head. The scene in front of him was inconsistent—the two wounded soldiers limped along while dragging the corpse, while the leading officer in charge was walking behind them, never far away. Looking carefully, although the three people’s steps were irregular, their movements and frequency were exactly the same.

Shu Jun’s hair stood up.

That was a Corpse Parasite, one of the most annoying monsters for players. It was elusive in the erosion zone, and its essence was a tangle of straw-like limbs. That thing liked to burrow into ordinary mutated beasts, control them to attack humans, and then pretend to be defeated. When people thought they had won, it would leave the mutated beast’s body and sneak into the gaps in the protective suit while no one was paying attention.

It would inject paralyzing venom into the human body, eat them silently, and replace the missing flesh with its straw-like limbs to prop up their clothing. People normally wear tight clothes in the erosion zone, so they often wouldn’t notice the abnormality.

When the victim realized it, most of their body would already be gone, leaving only a skeleton and some nerves left, as well as an intact head.

Although the predation method of the Corpse Parasite was quite creepy, that wasn’t its most hated thing—the Corpse Parasite didn’t necessarily eat humans; it specifically attacked them for a reason.

Compared with ordinary mutant beasts, the Corpse Parasite was particularly dependent on the Erosion Swamp. There was a symbiotic relationship between the two. It deliberately left the human heads alive for a while and would take them to places where the erosion level wasn’t high—when the victim died, it would remember these locations and would feed the information back to the Erosion Swamp.

It was just like the hound of the Erosion Swamp.

In this way, the Erosion Swamp could erode more purposefully, increasing the concentration of the erosion substance everywhere, and in return, the Corpse Parasite could live more nourishingly. This was a beautiful win-win model for them, but it was undoubtedly a disaster for mankind.

In the past ten years, Shu Jun had probably killed around a few hundred of them, so he was familiar with this kind of thing—when it controlled multiple bodies, it couldn’t simulate different actions and movements completely. To cover this up, it would first use the skin of ordinary mutant beasts to injure the victims, making them unable to walk normally. However, if one observed carefully, the flaws could still be noticed.

Things were looking bad.

Although the heads of the three soldiers were still alive, they could only hold on for a while longer. Without weapons and relying solely on his abilities, Shu Jun could at most disperse the “straw” of the Corpse Parasite but couldn’t completely kill it. Their hiding place could only deceive human eyes. When the Corpse Parasite emerged from the bodies of those people, everyone in the room would become a target.

If he gathered wind into a hurricane, he might be able to break through the window in the corner of the wall. If he was fast enough, he could run away with Zhu Yanchen in one hand and the corpse handler in the other. He just didn’t know what was going on with his body right now or whether he would be able to complete this series of actions smoothly.

Zhu Yanchen, who had been silent all this time, also moved. He took out his gun and stared at the three “people” not far away.

“Marshal Zhu Yanchen is missing. If anything happens nearby, you must report it immediately.” The officer knew nothing about his approaching death.

“What about the Erosion Swamp here? Marshal Zhu has always been in charge here…” The corpse handler raised her head.

“The data monitoring of the Erosion Swamp will be done as usual. Marshal Yi Ning will arrange for people to deal with all abnormal reports.” The officer nodded, followed by his voice jamming, like broken audio data. “Deal, deal, deal…”

The two wounded soldiers nearby also fell down, and a gray-black straw-like object drilled out of the protective clothing of the three people, causing the fabric to deflate. The three of them remained motionless on the ground, and their protective suits crumpled up like deflated balloons, revealing the faint outline of their bony skeletons.

The corpse handler screamed. She dropped her gun, which scattered on the ground. The Erosion Swamp began to boil, making a small howling sound as if it were calling.

Zhu Yanchen’s entire body shook. “How troublesome.”

Indeed, it was troublesome. The Corpse Parasite shouldn’t act so quickly. Shu Jun grabbed Zhu Yanchen tightly, observed the position of the corpse handler, and prepared to carry the two of them away. As a result, as soon as he rushed out, he faced the oncoming Corpse Parasite head-on. Shu Jun stretched out his hand towards the pile of rotten straw, trying to blow it away to buy more time.

The howling of the Erosion Swamp was getting louder, as if it were calling for something.

Just as he gathered the power in his hand, Shu Jun’s originally clear mind became dizzy again, and he could hardly think smoothly.

Amidst the strange howling sound, he suddenly felt that the Corpse Parasite in front of him looked lovely, just like a pet dog frolicking and exposing its belly. The small Erosion Swamp next to it didn’t seem so annoying either. However, the light above his head was too bright, making him irritated.

As for the person near him, Shu Jun thought he looked… delicious.

He was hungry.

He stretched out his hand and pressed the other person to the ground. As a result, just as Shu Jun leaned down, the cold muzzle of a gun was pressed against the center of his brows.

“Hold on.” Zhu Yanchen’s voice became less cold, sounding a bit cautious, like he was coaxing an injured animal. “You have survived twice. You won’t fall this time. Don’t let it dominate you.”

These words reached Shu Jun’s mind, but he gradually couldn’t understand them.

Just as he couldn’t understand the meaning of the icy coldness between his brows at first, Shu Jun pressed his head down, trying to sniff Zhu Yanchen’s neck. Zhu Yanchen didn’t tremble and didn’t shoot, but there was more force applied to the muzzle of the gun.

“Shu Jun.” His call was like a sigh.

Shu Jun swallowed and began to tear Zhu Yanchen’s protective clothing with his claws. He was a little confused about the situation. Maybe he shouldn’t be doing this, but he was so hungry.

Zhu Yanchen raised his other hand that wasn’t holding the gun, as if he wanted to give him a hug, but he got stuck in the middle of his movements.

“I don’t want to say ‘sorry’ anymore.” His voice was low. Shu Jun didn’t know whether he was saying that to Zhu Yanchen or to himself.

For some reason, the Corpse Parasite waited obediently beside him while the small Erosion Swamp not far away was still howling. Zhu Yanchen closed his eyes and yelled at the frightened corpse handler, “Turn on all the purifiers and suppress the Erosion Swamp!”

The corpse handler had no intention of finding out where the two men came from. She shivered and started to move to the nearest operating table. Starting the purifier wasn’t a job that could be solved by pressing a button, but she was so nervous she couldn’t even get started for a while.

Zhu Yanchen stared at Shu Jun’s movement and pulled his finger on the trigger.

Shu Jun couldn’t bite down. At this distance, he could feel the other party’s body temperature. The temperature was like a pot of cold water, which sobered him up a little. Shu Jun knew he shouldn’t hurt him, but there was a force that seemed to be twisting his head and burning his stomach. Shu Jun tried to open his eyes, trying to make his blurred vision clearer.

It felt like he was struggling in a swamp.

His hands were pressing on Zhu Yanchen’s chest, and his sturdy protective clothing was torn apart by him. The dark claw tip left fine blood marks on the other’s skin, and a little blood bead oozed out. Fortunately, he hadn’t made any heavy moves yet. Shu Jun tried to suppress the urge to attack and adjust his breathing.

There was a special sound of erosion flowing that was beating in his ears. The woman’s scream and the whistling of the erosion were mixed together, and the volume was becoming louder.

“What is that?” The woman’s voice was full of fear. She even ignored the Corpse Parasite and looked directly at him. “What did you bring?!”

What is she saying?

Shu Jun moved his gaze and looked at his other hand—his left arm was in a semi-melted state, and black erosion was flowing down the skin, forming a small pool of erosion by Zhu Yanchen’s side.

“Shu Jun,” Zhu Yanchen called to him again.

Shu Jun moved the half-melted arm, and the erosion that was scattered on the ground floated back to its place, forming a normal arm again.

As his appearance recovered, although the corpse handler failed to activate the purifier, the howling of the Erosion Swamp slowly stopped.

“…Did you sober up a bit?” Zhu Yanchen asked with relief.

Then, he pressed Shu Jun’s head into his arms and slid his gun up, firing several shots behind him. It was obvious that Zhu Yanchen’s bullets were specially made, as the parts where the Corpse Parasite was hit were directly turned into powder.

After eating a few shots, the Corpse Parasite lost its honest appearance just now, and its body, which had no fixed shape, danced wildly and rushed towards the two of them.

Shu Jun wasn’t idle. He supported himself and rolled off of Zhu Yanchen, activating his ability. A storm was raised, blowing the straw-like monster directly onto the wall at the other end of the room.

The power was much stronger than before but was also extremely difficult to control. Not only was the monster blown away, but even the wall was blown down. The night mist filled the room, and the interior of the building was illuminated by blood-red warning lights.

“Suppose what you said is true—just suppose—I guess the concentration of erosion substance in my body can no longer be measured by ‘concentration’.”

Shu Jun glanced at his arm. The unpleasant feeling that overwhelmed his consciousness hadn’t subsided.

He had fought with the Erosion Swamp and mutant beasts for a decade and was familiar with all kinds of erosion conditions. The condition of his arm just now didn’t seem like it was eroded, but more like the erosion substance spontaneously formed his arm.

“You just said, ‘Don’t let it dominate me’. The Corpse Parasite can’t control me, let alone the corpse handler. Although I hope you were referring to that small Erosion Swamp, I have another conjecture.”

When he first woke up, the ordinary mutant beast passing by didn’t attack him. The same thing happened to the Corpse Parasite just now—this thing would only submit to the Erosion Swamp and had no goodwill towards its own kind. If he had just turned into a new type of mutant beast, it wouldn’t be so polite.

He started to feel wrong after hearing the Erosion Swamp’s howling. The howling sounded more like a test to confirm his identity than control.

“…There isn’t an Erosion Swamp hidden inside of me, right?”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 6: Corpse Disposal

Shu Jun didn’t dare to really fall asleep and stared with wide eyes for a long time.

The first reason was that he was afraid that if he closed his eyes and kicked his legs, everything would be over without any follow-up. As for the second reason…

Zhu Yanchen was cold by nature, but he didn’t have the air of someone in a high position. His every move was characterized by a faint sense of detachment. However, if it was in regards to unconsciously provoking people’s emotions, Shu Jun truly thought he was fitting for a Marshal.

While he was lying there, completely awake, a few steps away, Zhu Yanchen was cutting off rotten flesh from his wound and collecting it as samples. The scene was quite grisly. Every now and then, the strange smell of flesh and blood being handled would waft over. If Marshal Zhu was a dentist, he would definitely use glass as the walls in his clinic and wouldn’t mind if his patients screamed in pain for everyone to see.

Not to mention that this person was so busy that he realized it was time for a meal halfway through, and he simply drank his nutritional supplement at the same table. This practical approach was indeed reminiscent of the characteristics of the Smoke he knew.

There were many bloody elements in <Erosion>, so he didn’t dislike seeing such a scene; in fact, he found it quite interesting. The Marshal Zhu portrayed in the game’s promotion seemed more like an empty shell, but now there was a bit more substance to him.

Zhu Yanchen brewed two cups of nutrients; one of which was placed gently by Shu Jun’s bedside.

Shu Jun gathered some strength and asked, “Aren’t you tired?”

He had been lying on the bed for a while, and Zhu Yanchen had been busy at the table all this time without taking a break.

Zhu Yanchen hesitated for a moment, shook his head, turned around, and was about to leave.

“I feel much better now. Why don’t we talk—”

Zhu Yanchen glanced at him from behind the goggles. “Speak less.”

Shu Jun smiled and then grabbed Zhu Yanchen’s arm. Marshal Zhu was strong, but unfortunately, he didn’t have much hand-to-hand combat, so he was caught off guard. He didn’t feel any pain and didn’t sense any intention of being harmed by the other person. Zhu Yanchen didn’t struggle and sat by the bed, letting out a sigh. “Okay.”

“It took me a long time to squeeze out just a few words.” Shu Jun let go of Zhu Yanchen’s arm. “How about this. I’ll talk, and you listen.”

Zhu Yanchen looked at him.

Shu Jun didn’t joke around. Even though he had been lying there for half a day, his mind wasn’t idle. Waiting around and doing nothing was never his style.

“I thought before that for a casual player like you, A’Yan, your tactical level is too strong. Even if you’re an official from <Erosion>, there was no need for you to deal with my bug using an important NPC identity.”

“Your job is to play ‘Marshal Zhu Yanchen’, right? Your original purpose shouldn’t be to ‘save me’, but to make other arrangements. It’s just that we happened to meet, and we know each other, so you just went along with it.”

If he had been prepared, “Zhu Yanchen” wouldn’t have let him touch him in such a simple and crude way. And considering the company’s confidentiality issues, it was understandable that Smoke was reluctant to talk about his work. The more Shu Jun thought about it, the more plausible he felt this was.

“So that leaves just one question.” He tried smiling but his sharpened teeth got in the way. “We’re friends now, so why don’t you respond to me?”

Zhu Yanchen narrowed his eyes.

The game and reality had been reversed, and Shu Jun started speculating based on what he knew of the NPCs and the bugs. But aside from this, Shu Jun had mostly guessed his own actions.

What terrible intuition.

“You said my brain would ‘reject specific information’, but I don’t have a headache now.” Shu Jun confidently took a sip of the nutritional solution. “It seems that I successfully bypassed that minefield.”

“That’s because you’re lucky. Rejection… No, intracerebral shock hurts. If it happens a second time, I may not be able to save you.” Zhu Yanchen’s voice was cold. “It’s hard for people to control their own thoughts. You’ve always liked to indulge in your own wild thoughts. Don’t be in such a hurry to throw your life away.”

He didn’t correct the way Shu Jun called him.

“A’Yan, it’s really you.” Shu Jun scratched his face. He forgot that his nails had sharpened, and he made thin marks on the side of his face. “It was worth it that I came up with all these messy thoughts.”

Zhu Yanchen: “……”

Although he was wearing a mask, the marshal looked like he wanted to smack him for a moment.

Unexpectedly exposed, Marshal Zhu’s mood declined instead of improving. Seeing this, Shu Jun stopped and quickly flattened himself on the bed, with a posture as if he could be buried immediately.

Zhu Yanchen didn’t plan to let this go. “It seems that you’ve almost recovered. Let’s set off.”

He threw down a healing patch. “…Deal with your face.”

Shu Jun’s nerves finally loosened a bit. In any case, this was the Smoke he knew. Even if in the past few years, the other party’s communication had other purposes, it was better than facing a completely unknown “Marshal Zhu”.

In all things, there was a limit to what could be said, and some dangerous topics couldn’t be rushed—such as saying it was Marshal Zhu who saved him, and it was also Marshal Zhu who told him to be careful of the intracerebral shocks, yet he was the one who induced it in the first place.

He hoped that their destination would give him an answer.

Shu Jun initially thought Zhu Yanchen would send him to an official reception center, where there would be a normal building. However, they only moved from one dangerous location to another.

On the ground, Shu Jun was gasping for breath as he leaned against the stalagmite. A feverish feeling and weakness spread through his body.

There was a building here—a low concrete structure ambling on the ground that looked patchy and wrong, covered with gray and black caused by erosion. There were only a few purifiers around, dutifully filtering the fog. This place didn’t even have the quality of a stronghold, and it didn’t look like it was hiding any earth-shattering secrets.

As soon as the two landed, Zhu Yanchen led Shu Jun away from the surveillance cameras and headed to the back door of the building. The interior of the building was neither minimalistic nor crude. One half of it was filled with instruments, while the other half had square pits dug into the ground. Shu Jun recognized what was in the pit—a small Erosion Swamp was rolling in it, leisurely swinging its liquid columns.

After suffering a big loss, Shu Jun had even less fondness for this thing. He squatted behind the machine and looked at it for a long time, still without the slightest premonition of enlightenment. There were some changes; the air here must have been eroded, yet that made him feel comfortable.

As soon as Shu Jun was about to turn his head and ask questions, Zhu Yanchen made a silent gesture.

Someone was coming.

The main entrance creaked open, and a man in thick protective clothing came in with a cart. There were two carts filled with bulging body bags that resembled the shape of a human body. He—or she—unloaded them from the cart and put them into a chute, then watched as they were swallowed up by the Erosion Swamp.

The bodies buzzed, then quickly dissolved.

“How much do you know about the Erosion Swamp?” Zhu Yanchen spoke amidst the cacophony of corpse disposal.

“…Just the background of the game.”

In the game, it was inevitable that there would be some strange settings. The Erosion Swamp was an aggregate made up of erosion substance, making it the number one monster in <Erosion>. Shu Jun only knew how to deal with it but didn’t consider any more detailed levels.

How come they started discussing the game setting?

“During the apocalypse, the research talent was interrupted. Even today, human understanding of erosion substances is limited,” Zhu Yanchen said. “People have only ever utilized a little of it. Keep watching.”

Shu Jun turned his head in confusion and saw the man begin to throw the corpses in the second cart into the Erosion Swamp.

Something was wrong.

The first cart of corpses decomposed quietly, but the second cart of corpses didn’t. The unnatural land fluctuations, the pervasive mist, and the sound of rocks clanking one after another caused even the walls near the Erosion Swamp to peel off.

The momentum was somewhat similar to their abilities, but compared to that, it was extremely weak.

“The first cart has civilians who died normally, while the second cart has soldiers who were eroded by the Erosion Swamp. The body of the latter will resonate with the environment. The air, water, soil… in the erosion zone, they have different levels of erosion, so the ‘properties’ presented by the resonance are also different.”

Having said that, Zhu Yanchen paused for a moment and looked at the corpse handler.

Shu Jun suddenly felt an inexplicable chill. It was late at night, which made the scene in front of him look particularly gloomy.

Players would have some transcendent abilities or traits, which was almost a conventional rule. Such things were taken for granted, and most people focused on the skill itself, while few seriously pursued “what is the principle behind this skill”.

According to Zhu Yanchen, to what extent does the player have to be eroded to possess such a powerful ability?

“Continue,” Shu Jun said.

“Erosion can interrupt signal transmission and corrode mechanical joints. Machines cannot replace humans in setting up purifiers. Some people have strong resistance to erosion, but no matter how special humans are, in the long run, there’s only a dead end… There are not many survivors, and the sacrifice of the purification project is too great for society to sustain.”

Zhu Yanchen spoke a bit slowly. Following his narration, the corpse handler packed up the cart and slowly retreated.

“By using humans as a blueprint for transformation, it’s possible to obtain ‘synthetic humans’ with extremely high resistance to erosion. However, there’s a cost. As non-natural products, they are destined not to survive for too long.”

The light went out, and the room fell into darkness.

“…No, it should be said that ‘you’ are destined not to survive for too long.”

Not to mention, whether he believed it or not, Shu Jun already had a vague guess in that direction.

As a “human” who was born with great power, who would want to be born only to risk their lives in battle and then quickly die? Currently, synthetic humans had intelligence that was no different from humans, and brainwashing education was prone to accidents—due to the vast difference in power, whether the probability was one in a thousand or ten thousand, if a rebel appeared, humanity would suffer a heavy loss.

Then it was better to find a way to ban certain truths and deceive everyone.

An extremely absurd tactic, but logically, it made sense.

As his thoughts spun, a familiar headache slowly crept back. Shu Jun didn’t vomit but couldn’t help but kneel down on one knee. The impact on his brain this time was stronger than before, and his head felt like it was being split in half.

The Erosion Swamp made a sticky churning sound that was unpleasant to hear. In the darkness, something climbed onto his arms and legs.

Shu Jun lowered his head and looked at Zhu Yanchen. The man’s face was covered by a gas mask, so he couldn’t see the eyes behind the goggles clearly.

Zhu Yanchen said that if he experiences this a second time, he will probably die. So what was he doing now? If his goal was to kill him, then these methods seemed quite unnecessary and only complicated matters.

…Wait. He was clearly kneeling on the ground, so why was Zhu Yanchen looking up at him?

Only then did Shu Jun realize that the Erosion Swamp was boiling under his feet. At some point, a liquid column lifted him into the air, wrapping around his body in all directions. His entire body was in excruciating pain, and he wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

“Sorry.” Zhu Yanchen apologized for the second time; his voice was muffled as if it were like a puff of mist.

More liquid columns entangled, and the passage of time began to blur. Everything in front of him became more distant. Shu Jun gasped with difficulty. He was unable to struggle anymore and could only accept the pain as he tried to keep his eyes open with the last of his strength.

Zhu Yanchen took off his gas mask. A glimmer of moonlight fell through the window, illuminating his pale face.

‘The concentration of erosion substance here must be off the charts,’ Shu Jun thought fuzzily. ‘Does this person want to die?’

Zhu Yanchen reached out to him and said something, but Shu Jun couldn’t hear it clearly. The pain of his body disintegrating engulfed him, and he closed his eyes, wishing he could just pass out.

[You will not lose.]

A voice sounded in his hazy consciousness. The voice wasn’t like Zhu Yanchen’s. He didn’t remember it, but it felt nostalgic. Stimulated for a while, Shu Jun tried to lift his eyelids. Zhu Yanchen was still standing there, with his hands outstretched and his face unobstructed.

And his expression looked sad.

He wasn’t even skilled at expressing his sadness. As for this pile of crap, he still owed him 10,000 explanations…

Wait. Despite the headache, he didn’t forget what he had heard. Shu Jun’s mind shook, and the pain also numbed slightly. After all, he was swallowed by the Erosion Swamp once. He had to stay conscious. Even if he died, he had to hold onto the information to the end…

But the Erosion Swamp didn’t seem to have any plans to swallow him.

He didn’t know how long but Shu Jun finally fell from the air. To be precise, it was more like he was being inspected by the Erosion Swamp and then thrown away in dissatisfaction. This time, it was Zhu Yanchen’s turn to act as a meat cushion, and he was hit hard.

The liquid column receded, and the pain dissipated. For some reason, the previous weakness was also swept away. Shu Jun suddenly became energetic and looked at Zhu Yanchen.

Marshal Zhu’s lips were pale, and his appearance looked quite wretched. The sadness he had shown earlier seemed to be his own illusion. Now, Zhu Yanchen had a serious look on his face, and his dark eyes were bottomless.

Shu Jun decided to cut to the chase. “What did you let the Erosion Swamp do to me—”

“Who?!” A sharp shout interrupted Shu Jun’s question. For some reason, the corpse handler, who was supposed to leave, suddenly turned back.

The light switched on again, lighting up the entire room as bright as day.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 5: Returning Light

For the first time, Shu Jun had a novel experience.

One second, he was still standing a few steps away from the sofa, and the next moment, he was sitting on it. The water cup that was originally in his hand fell to the ground, splashing water all over the floor.

Time seemed to have been cut off.

…Can VR games also have frame drops? What was I going to say just now?

There was a strange impression in his mind—although there were frame drops, he seemed to have heard something important from Zhu Yanchen just now. However, he couldn’t remember any details, and his memory only stopped at his own words, “I’m ready.”

Shu Jun picked up his cup in confusion. His head throbbed as he straightened up. As he tried to remember more, his stomach began to churn, as if he had just swallowed a live snake. Eventually, he didn’t have time to stand up and threw up on the sofa.

He was supposed to vomit nothing but ended up regurgitating a large amount of black liquid mixed with lumpy pieces resembling internal organs. Some of it splattered onto the sofa, adding gray spots to the bright chocolate color, and the gray continued to erode the surrounding colors.

The same erosive substance as the Erosion Swamp.

It took a while for Shu Jun to stop vomiting. His chest and stomach were in pain, and his head was buzzing. He raised his eyes and tried to put the double image of Marshal Zhu back together. What he had vomited out was corrosive, and Zhu Yanchen had removed most of his protective equipment, so it might be dangerous. He had finally managed to grab a lifeline, so he couldn’t just start pitting it.

“Sorry.” Zhu Yanchen’s voice came from a high place, sounding ethereal.

What are you apologizing for?

Shu Jun shook his head as if his ears were submerged in water, making him even more dizzy. Someone helped him onto a bed and gave him an injection in his arm. After resting for a while, Shu Jun could finally distinguish Zhu Yanchen’s mouth from his nose.

He chose the question he wanted to ask the most. “Gas masks?”

“I took protective medicine while you were showering, so there shouldn’t be an issue within half an hour,” Zhu Yanchen said as he retrieved the syringe and put on a protective suit. “How do you feel?”

Good question.

After ten years of fighting, he had lost quite a few teammates to the Erosion Swamps. If one only got a little bit of erosion on them, there was still hope, but once they were swallowed up by the Erosion Swamp, it would be no different than falling into a sulfuric acid pool. Now that he had become the person who vomited sulfuric acid, he should first celebrate the fact that he was still alive.

He wanted to smile bitterly but had collapsed so much that he couldn’t even smirk. “I feel okay. I just learned how to travel through time, so I’m a little motion sick.”

Zhu Yanchen lowered his gaze. “……”

Interestingly, Marshal Zhu didn’t question the “time travel”, so he must know something. Shu Jun gasped a few times, finding it difficult to speak as a pile of questions got stuck in his throat.

“A’Yan,” he finally managed to say without sounding interrogative.

Zhu Yanchen paused, still expressionless. It was unclear whether he was affirming or dismissing it as nonsense. He took out a row of medicine bottles from his briefcase and skillfully mixed them together, looking like a professional nurse.

Shu Jun saw that he was on an IV. Marshal Zhu hid behind the gas mask again as he cleaned Shu Jun’s wounds.

With the IV attached and little strength left in his body, Shu Jun’s mind began to wander. Perhaps this “Zhu Yanchen” was indeed the real Smoke and wasn’t controlled by AI. This could explain many things, such as his location, his knowledge of the game, and his skilled medical care.

It was a comforting thought, much more reliable than the idea of NPCs interfering with reality.

Looking at the rapid change of expression on Shu Jun’s face and his gaze drifting towards him, Zhu Yanchen’s expression changed slightly, but it was difficult to tell if he wanted to laugh or was unhappy. “Your brain will reject specific information. Even if I tell you again what I just told you, you won’t remember… It’s hard to explain now, so you should rest first.”

Shu Jun turned his mouth towards the glass of water on the table. Zhu Yanchen understood and poured him two sips of water. Shu Jun was visibly shaken, but he still bravely spoke up. “I was feeling great before I came here, but your words just knocked me down. I think you need to give me a logical explanation.”

At the end, he raised his voice for fear that the other party wouldn’t be able to hear him. “A’Yan.”

Zhu Yanchen neither admitted nor denied it, and Shu Jun didn’t have time to inquire further because the bombshell he threw was even more provocative—

“This was a last-ditch effort* from you earlier.”

*Returning light and reflecting shine (回光返照) Idiom referring to a dying flame or a person’s final burst of energy or strength before their demise. In a figurative sense, it can mean a temporary recovery after a decline or a last-ditch effort to salvage a situation. || Note: This is also the title of the chapter.

Afterwards, the person added in a tough tone, “Rest first and don’t think too much.”

…Don’t think too much. Shu Jun almost choked on his saliva.

Feeling inexplicably trapped in the game, his mind lagged, and his mouth spewed poison. The important NPC seemed to be his love interest, but his actions made no sense. Now, he was told that he was about to die and to take a break first, despite the absurdity of the situation.

Others achieved a double harvest in career and love, but for him, he had received bombs instead.

Zhu Yanchen saw that Shu Jun was shocked and began to conduct a comprehensive blood test. Shu Jun vaguely caught a glimpse of the black blood, but he already had too many questions and didn’t rush to ask about it.

Instead, he picked the biggest question and threw it out. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Saving you,” Zhu Yanchen said.

As if he was afraid that Shu Jun would keep asking, he added, “…I have no intention of hiding it from you. When your condition stabilizes, I’ll take you somewhere. Then you’ll understand everything.”

Inside the city.

“Is there anything wrong with Zhu Yanchen?” Xia Liang tied up her hair in front of the makeup mirror.

The election for the Head of State was just around the corner, and intelligence agencies from all over the world were working hard. Unsurprisingly, the news that “Marshal Zhu was attacked by a mutant and his whereabouts are unknown” spread instantly. Everyone knew that “unknown whereabouts” was a nice way of saying that a person who entered a heavily eroded area wouldn’t survive for more than 48 hours without any preparations.

As long as the person surnamed Zhu stayed hidden in the safe house for a week, the United Government wouldn’t be able to find him and would be forced to announce his death. The leaders were supposed to choose between Yi Ning and Zhu Yanchen, but with Zhu Yanchen’s sudden death, the entire process would have to start over, which would take another three months.

According to their agreement, Zhu Yanchen just took advantage of this time to go experiment outside.

It had been more than 200 years since humans couldn’t penetrate the heavily eroded areas. Whether Zhu Yanchen could survive outside for three months would depend on his luck. According to Zhu Yanchen’s own statement, winning was the true victory, but even if he lost, he had already made arrangements.

In this world, one must be extremely lucky to be born with a golden spoon*, but some people insist on risking their lives. Xia Liang naturally hoped that Zhu Yanchen would live longer, as he was a top-level contact. With a well-planned operation, Zhu Yanchen had always been calm and steady, but he unexpectedly took the wrong first step…

*Metaphor for being born into a wealthy and privileged family and having everything handed to you on a silver platter.

Before the mutant that was supposed to “attack” Zhu Yanchen arrived, Marshal Zhu had run away with an unknown mutant that came out of nowhere. Xia Liang didn’t believe Zhan Yanchen was really kidnapped, but to prevent the original planned kidnapping scene from going wrong, Marshal Zhu brought a lot of weapons dedicated to restraining mutants.

The result wasn’t much different. No matter who staged the kidnapping, the timing of the fake death message was accurate within a few hours. She didn’t need to cover for him too much, but the unnecessary variables were annoying her.

How did I end up with such a troublesome boss?

After venting, Xia Liang used her pinky to even out her lipstick. She poked the phonograph on one side, and a pre-recorded cry came from the device.

Despite the troubles, as a “former ex-girlfriend” who parted amicably, the show must go on.

She hoped that the work done by Zhu Yanchen for the Blackbirds wouldn’t go wrong. Xia Liang was uneasy as she thought about it and cursed. She pulled out a loose red robe from the closet, activated the projection button, and disguised herself as an old man with a hunchback, then slipped out of the room through a secret passage.

The center of the city was some distance from the border stronghold where the players lived.

“Dong Lao*.” Seeing Xia Liang, who looked like an old man, coming over, the guard hurriedly saluted.

*When adding (老) after a name, it’s a way to show respect for the person’s age and wisdom and can also indicate a close relationship between the speaker and the person being referred to. || In this context it’s a form of address so translated would be like Elder Dong.

This old man had a mysterious origin and was a general under Zhu Yanchen. Although the news of Marshal Zhu’s disappearance blew up, the official news of his death didn’t come out, and it was too early to be rude to the Marshal’s confidant.

The thoughts of several guards were written on their faces. With just a glance, Xia Laing knew that these people were Yi Ning’s supporters. She didn’t bother to talk to them and went straight to her destination. The guards exchanged glances, and one of them followed.

The players’ depository was underground, with rows of hibernation pods densely packed. These contraptions drew from the pre-doomsday game pods, and the servers were the technological heritage of the pre-doomsday. Their living weapons were sleeping in them, dreaming of a beautiful dream of a “real world outside the game”.

Shu Jun’s hibernation pod was stuffed with someone new.

“Dong Lao, the management of this place has been taken over by Marshal Yi Ning.” Seeing that Xia Liang was about to act, the guard reminded her in a timely manner.

“What are you guarding against?” Xia Liang rolled her eyes and pinched the voice modulator disguised as an old man. “General Zhu isn’t dead yet. I don’t think the handling of losses has been taken care of, has it?”

“Marshal Yi’s side…”

“What, even if he takes over management here, he still needs to officially register tomorrow, right?” Xia Liang ignored the guard and pressed the hibernation pod.

The guard hesitated for a while, as it wasn’t appropriate to pull away an old man. Since he hadn’t entered the management interface and was only taking a look, it shouldn’t cause any trouble. He thought it was fine to let the old man take a look.

Xia Liang had already connected the perception system to her own.

Since she wasn’t logging in as a player, she could only see a thumbnail of the God’s-eye view. The players were concentrated in the same virtual city, and the Blackbirds were celebrating while the AI that had replaced Shu Jun mingled among them. According to the usual script for a death scene, the fake Shu Jun would announce that he was leaving the city to experience life and that he would keep in touch in the future—simulating text messages didn’t require much calculation, and his friends would find it difficult to detect any problems.

Groundwater seemed to have finished their meal, and their captain, Luo Duan, had even arrived home. Xia Liang glanced at him briefly, then focused her attention back to the Blackbirds. The happy Blackbirds members were still hanging out with the fake Shu Jun and hadn’t noticed anything wrong.

Zhu Yanchen was still the same Zhu Yanchen, completely airtight. Once she was sure everything was going smoothly on this end, Xia Liang logged out.

“Done.” She waved her hand, leaving a guard smiling awkwardly in place.

“We’ll escort you out.” The guards exchanged glances. The two of them then escorted Xia Liang out of the room. The room was reserved for the top-tier teams like the Blackbirds and Groundwater. With both teams on vacation, there would be no training schedule for a short time. Leaving for a minute or two shouldn’t be a problem.

There was indeed no problem with the Blackbirds, but someone from Groundwater had no intention of enjoying a vacation.

The captain of Groundwater, Luo Duan, pulled the curtains and covered himself with a blanket, looking unhappy. He was two years older than Shu Jun and was almost thirty, so he was supposed to retire soon. It wasn’t surprising that he looked like this since they didn’t perform well in the championship, so no one would question it.

Thus, no one noticed his movements under the blanket—Luo Duan turned on the light screen, rolled up his sleeve, revealing a short phrase tattooed on his arm.

[This world is a lie.]

At first glance, it looked like a poetic sentence. This tattoo had been with him for less than a year and was still new. Luo Duan forgot why he tattooed such a thing, and thought it was the product of a drunken escapade. Recently, though, he felt things were getting worse. Several times he would look at it and briefly get lost in his thoughts, like time had been stolen.

Loss of concentration was often accompanied by headaches. Recently, this headache was becoming more serious. Even when he logged into the game, his body didn’t feel comfortable.

At the cost of scrapping his account, Shu Jun won.

For some reason, this thought didn’t make Luo Duan taste the bitterness of defeat but instead made him feel an inexplicable sadness in his heart. He seemed to have forgotten something important. Just like a dream he had, he felt he remembered it, but he couldn’t recall the contents.

This world is a lie?

Dominated by a strange impulse, Luo Duan got up from bed, subconsciously walked to the VR pod, and then woke up in the hibernation pod in the game. The guards who were usually patrolling weren’t there, and there was no one around. Inexplicable discomfort surrounded him again. Luo Duan coughed twice and sat down, leaning on the hibernation pod.

No one from Groundwater was online, and the training grounds weren’t open. He didn’t know what he was doing with this impulse to go online, so he froze on the spot. Not long after, the sound of NPCs talking came from a distance. Luo Duan wasn’t feeling well, so he was too lazy to deal with them. He simply covered himself in water mist and became invisible.

One of the guards poked his head around to make sure no one was in the room. “Dong Lao finally left. How are we going to explain this to Marshal Yi? What a headache.”

“Dong Lao loves to run around and is quite elusive. He didn’t move anything, so let’s not report it.”

“Right after Marshal Zhu’s accident, Dong Lao came here to check. And now, just after the death of the Blackbirds’ captain, I can’t help but feel that this is no coincidence…”

“Who knows. Maybe he really just came to check on the damage. Marshal Zhu was always interested in the Blackbirds, so it’s not surprising that Dong Lao came to see how things are going after their captain’s death… I thought Shu Jun could hold on until normal retirement. Now it seems that the captain of Groundwater, Luo Duan, is lasting longer. I heard he can last for another six months at most. This is the first time I’ve seen a synthetic human last this long. It’s quite impressive.”

“Marshal Zhu’s team was responsible for inspection before. What should we do now…”

“Who knows.”

Luo Duan remained motionless.

It was a similar accident and a similar conversation. He recalled his previous discovery and knew that he would soon be overwhelmed by a headache and forced to forget about it. He should do as he did last time and go back before his memory was erased, struggling to leave some records behind.

The players aren’t humans. The players are being used. The player’s world is indeed a lie.

Perhaps it was because he had repeated the process too many times, or maybe it was because he was already hovering on the brink of death, but the Grim Reaper seemed to have cut him some slack. The information could stay in his mind for longer periods of time. As the guards walked away, Luo Duan reached out to touch the pod door, but his movement suddenly froze.

A black liquid that seemed all too familiar oozed out from the seams of his gauntlet, dripping onto the floor.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 4: Kidnapping

The two looked at each other for a moment.

Shu Jun was only interested in playing the game and had never bothered to think about the official plot. Compared with analyzing the complicated emotions of love and hate, it was more practical to look at more maps and watch more battle examples. In his mind, NPCs like generals and marshals only had names and didn’t match their image at all.

But even if Zhu Yanchen hadn’t shown his face much before, he could still recognize him at a glance.

The reason was simple. Marshal Zhu’s appearance was quite handsome—<Erosion> focused on a wasteland background, and players used their real looks. It was impossible for all the NPCs to be handsome and beautiful, but games were still games, so there had to be some good-looking NPCs to attract players.

Marshal Zhu was one such popular NPC. The female members of the Blackbirds would talk about him constantly in front of Shu Jun.

With this face, coupled with the striking marshal uniform, the name “Zhu Yanchen” seemed to be imprinted on his forehead. There weren’t many young marshals to begin with, so it would be difficult for Shu Jun not to recognize him.

The NPC who had just passionately tried to persuade Marshal Zhu, approached and saw Shu Jun on the edge of the window. He jumped back a few steps and drew his gun with trembling hands, as if he saw a poisonous spider crawling on the bedside.

Zhu Yanchen didn’t react much, but his expression was a bit complicated. Shu Jun didn’t have time to appreciate the meaning of this expression; he was trying to think of a decent way to escape.

Since he was discovered by a marshal-level NPC, it was too late to find equipment to contact the outside world. The distance between strongholds wasn’t far, so he could think of another solution…

The main thing was not to get captured again.

Shu Jun’s mind quickly turned. He loosened his hands, and wind accumulated between his body. He was going to try to escape in one breath, but Zhu Yanchen was even faster and managed to grasp his wrist.

Once a skill was activated, there was no way to instantly stop it. Shu Jun was stunned as he was blown away by the wind with an expressionless NPC hanging on his arm. In theory, NPC intelligence should be no different from that of a real person. Marshal Zhu was known for his strategic abilities and shouldn’t take such inexplicable and reckless actions.

However, the hand on his wrist remained tightly grasped. The violent wind swept the two people away and they flew directly out of the stronghold range.

Seeing that he was about to land, Shu Jun instinctively protected the other party and used himself as a meat cushion. It wasn’t until his back hit the ground that he realized the person in his arms was an NPC and not a teammate that he wanted to protect.

The siren from the stronghold sounded so sharp that he could faintly hear it from here.

“…The sample escaped! The sample escaped! It has kidnapped Marshal Zhu Yanchen. Repeat, it has kidnapped Marshal Zhu Yanchen…”

Shu Jun: “……”

Kidnapping? Wasn’t it this NPC’s fault in the first place*?

*Touching porcelain (碰瓷) Slang referring to a person intentionally causing an accident in order to extort money or compensation from others. It’s usually used as an expression for someone who deliberately sets themselves up to be a victim or to be taken advantage of.

The culprit didn’t continue to press on Shu Jun. Zhu Yanchen neatly stood up with not a single crease on his clothes, and he was even holding a decent-sized briefcase in his hand, as if he were about to step into a conference in the next second.

He simply scanned the surroundings and stretched out his hand to Shu Jun, who was lying on the ground. The hand was covered with white gloves, and there was a little skin exposed at the cuffs, that was almost the same color as the glove fabric.

Shu Jun waved his hands full of sludge and stood up on his own. Zhu Yanchen quietly retracted his hand and turned to pat the dust off his uniform emotionlessly.

Shu Jun decided to size up the other person along with his uniform.

It was the first time he got up close and personal with an important NPC who was famous. Marshal Zhu wasn’t wearing a gas mask at this moment. He was indeed handsome, but his brows were cold, as if they were soaked in frost, making him seem quite unapproachable.

And it looked as if he had facial paralysis. Just looking at his expression, Shu Jun couldn’t figure out what the other party was thinking.

After looking at this bigshot, Shu Jun didn’t feel any excitement but only hoped that this person would have higher-level authority so he could contact an official sooner. Considering the other party’s NPC status, he decided to rule out the reality issue and start from the game perspective.

“Why did you just… Hiss.” He forgot about his mutated fangs and bit his lips again.

“Excuse me.”

Zhu Yanchen stretched out his hand. His fingers moved to the corner of Shu Jun’s mouth naturally. The index finger that was covered with a glove touched the tip of his tooth and then the wound on his lip.

Shu Jun’s mouth was invaded by dry cloth. His tongue was astringent, and his cheeks tensed uncomfortably. If he wanted to, he could immediately shake off that hand. It was just that Zhu Yanchen wasn’t making any dangerous movements at the moment, so it wasn’t good to sour his relationship with an important character too quickly.

Fortunately, this process only lasted about five seconds.

Zhu Yanchen opened his briefcase. The lid blocked Shu Jun’s view. Watching the sporadic movements, Zhu Yanchen sealed the blood-stained gloves in a plastic bag and changed into a pair of longer gloves, which tightly covered his wrists.

Then he took out a dice-size cube, which quickly unfolded like a flower and turned into a familiar gas mask. After putting on the mask and buckling the goggles in place, Zhu Yanchen’s voice became a bit muffled. “There’s an eroded area ahead. The pursuers will catch up soon, so we must leave immediately.”

It seemed that this “deliberate accident” was going to continue. Shu Jun let out a sigh.

“Wait—”

“Mr. Shu Jun, I know you have many questions. You won yesterday, but you can’t leave the game. There’s no customer service representative to receive you in <Erosion>. The NPC’s attitude towards you is no longer friendly.” Zhu Yanchen’s tone was as if he were reciting a speech. “I don’t have time to explain too much now. If you still want to live, please follow my instructions.”

This time, Shu Jun didn’t stay stunned for long.

The situation had gone really wrong—NPCs should follow the settings and know nothing about things outside the game world. Words such as “game” and “customer service representative” shouldn’t have come out of Zhu Yanchen’s mouth, let alone Shu Jun’s real name.

A pile of virtual data suddenly broke through the limitations and had a good understanding of reality, which made Shu Jun break out in a cold sweat.

Zhu Yanchen quickly said, “Follow me.”

The battlefield was changing rapidly, so there was no time to dawdle. Shu Jun decisively hugged Zhu Yanchen’s waist and held him tightly by his side. “Where are we going?”

“Due north, ten kilometers.” Zhu Yanchen didn’t resist.

A hurricane rose.

Shu Jun was taken aback. This guy didn’t go to the front lines much, but he wasn’t “weak” at all. Zhu Yanchen’s waist was thin and strong, and his physique was just as good as his own. He was even slightly taller. In the shock just now, Shu Jun didn’t pay attention and underestimated the other’s weight, almost causing him to stumble.

“This place is a bit far away. You have to bear with it during the journey. If you need to throw up, let me know.” He was used to moving with the wind, but others usually couldn’t handle this transportation method.

Zhu Yanchen didn’t say a word, acting as honest as a dummy. Thanks to this, it took less time along the way than Shu Jun thought.

Their destination didn’t look very safe.

The gray mist rolled against the ground, and giant stalagmites poked out of the mist. There were oddly shaped caves abound, creating what seemed like a maze, and the creatures were strangely shaped to the extreme. This place was definitely a heavily eroded area.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Shu Jun didn’t let go of Zhu Yanchen’s waist, nor did he hide the suspicion in his voice.

“Mm.”

“Okay, can you explain now?” Shu Jun paused for a moment and added, “…Marshall Zhu? Sir?”

Zhu Yanchen shook his head and pointed to a certain cave in the gap between the stalagmites. “I can’t stay outside for too long. Let’s talk when we go in.”

After he finished speaking, he skillfully flew into the depths of the cave and opened a thick metal door. It felt like an unreal development. Perhaps this was all a dream. Embracing his longing to wake up, Shu Jun pinched his arm hard.

The dream wasn’t a dream, and the pain was real.

Before he could collect his emotions, he was sprayed with disinfectant spray in the isolation room. The two stood in silence for a few minutes before stepping into the real entrance.

There was a small safe house hidden behind the main entrance. It could be seen that no one had been here for a long time. The erosion was all blocked outside as the furniture inside still retained its bright colors. Zhu Yanchen took off his protective equipment and filled up two cups of water from the water filter.

“Have a seat.”

“……” Shu Jun glanced at the clean sofa and then at himself, covered in mud. “How much time do you need to explain?”

“It depends.”

“Is ten minutes enough?”

“Not sure.”

“Then I’ll take a shower first.”

The expression on Zhu Yanchen’s face finally twitched. “……”

“You don’t look like you’re conveying any good news based on this setup.” Shu Jun took the cup and drank all the water in one gulp. “It’s been a rough ride. I want to be as comfortable as possible while dodging bullets.”

“The shower cabin is over there, and there are spare clothes in it.” Zhu Yanchen sighed, unaffected by Shu Jun’s relaxed tone.

The shower cabin was extremely narrow, with only enough space for one person to stand. Shu Jun turned on the water to its maximum, allowing the water to beat down on his skin. Finally, his heart rate slowly began to stabilize.

In this situation, accompanying an important NPC, he appeared relaxed on the surface, but his nerves were already stretched to the limit. If things continued like this, he was unsure if he could appropriately respond—Zhu Yanchen was the most important character in <Erosion>. The current situation was so bizarre that Shu Jun didn’t want to make random mistakes.

Although he knew what was in front of him was an illusion, the warm water still made him feel better.

Is this really an illusion?

Shu Jun gave himself a self-deprecating grin. The nested bugs gave him a terrible headache, and he couldn’t distinguish between truth and fiction. He subconsciously wiped the water from his face and lowered his gaze.

The water rushed and splashed, scattering the remains of his clothes. The communication screen that came with it was still blinking. Wiping away the water mist on the screen, Shu Jun narrowed his eyes. The location tag belonging to “Smoke” was still glowing, unmoving near him.

……This may be the most terrifying “bug” he had ever encountered.

Three years ago, he and “Smoke” met while discussing strategic issues on a certain map. In the beginning, most of the topics were about combat, and Smoke always had some sharp opinions. He was also smart and humble, so it was easy to get along with him.

The two of them gradually became acquainted with each other and developed a relationship where they would chat every few days. Later on, chatting with each other became a regular occurrence.

It was impossible for Shu Jun to say he didn’t feel pressure, as he was known as the “Immortal Legend”. He spent almost all his time on work, and to maintain balance within the team, he couldn’t get too close to any particular teammate.

Slowly, Smoke, who didn’t belong to any team and was good at tactics, gradually became an oasis for him. Perhaps because of their matching personalities, this person could always give Shu Jun just the right amount of support and care. When it came to what kind of person he wanted to live with, Shu Jun’s first reaction was “someone like Smoke”.

After several years of contact, one could see a bit of character based on a person’s words and actions. He decided that Smoke was a girl who was a bit cold but gentle in nature. Even if it were a man, if the other party was willing, he would want to try to see where it went.

But he wasn’t an adolescent who would go crazy for some vague affection. Moreover, he was busy every day, and there was no need to rush to break the current understanding between the two of them as there was still plenty of time ahead.

Relying on text communication was still thin. He wanted to see the other after his career was over, confess his feelings, and everything would follow after that.

Shu Jun naturally thought about many situations where he would be unable to confess his feelings, such as if “Smoke” already had a lover or was already married. He even considered the possibility that “Smoke” could be an old man. Despite all his conjectures, not once did he guess that “Smoke” was an NPC in the game.

Shu Jun raised his face and let the water hit him heavily in the face. Leaving the gender issue aside, the object of his affection was just a pile of data.

…Or there was a possibility of something worse. Shu Jun didn’t want to think about it further until he fully grasped the current situation.

After eating a set of realistic combo punches in just one day, Shu Jun had the confidence to stay rational no matter what Marshal Zhu was about to tell him. After stabilizing his emotions, Shu Jun stepped out of the shower cabin and dried his gray hair with a towel.

“I’m ready,” Shu Jun said solemnly. He wrapped the towel around his neck, freeing his hand to grab a glass of water, with a face like death.

Zhu Yanchen looked him straight in the eyes and cut straight to the point. “Everything you have experienced isn’t a bug.”

“This world isn’t a game. Your world is.”

Shu Jun only felt that something in his mind had exploded. This wasn’t metaphorically, but rather realistically.

Pain surged like a tsunami, sweeping his nerves.

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Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 3: Eyes Facing Each Other

When Shu Jun woke up for the second time, he was met with a hungry stomach. The sky in the erosion zone was always overcast. The fog on the ground hadn’t dissipated, and the surroundings were as quiet as an old cemetery.

He yawned. The inside of his lips tingled, and the taste of blood filled his mouth.

Shu Jun frowned and touched the wound. Another problem was exposed—his canine teeth had become a bit sharp. If he really bit the mutant beast last night, he might actually be able to tear through its throat.

Yesterday’s mood was mostly helpless, but now, Shu Jun felt a bit of anger. There were more abnormalities in front of him, but there had been no feedback from the outside world for nearly 24 hours. <Erosion> shouldn’t have such a low-level problem.

His protective equipment was completely broken, and the physical and energy data were unknown. The air quality here was acceptable, but it was still in the scope of the erosion zone. He didn’t know what the consequences of dying in the game would be, so it was better to leave as soon as possible.

Shu Jun crawled out of the cave and began to move in the direction of the NPC stronghold.

Now that his condition was stable and his physical strength had recovered a little, he began to try to activate his skills. The originally calm air became turbulent, and the familiar whistling wind rushed into his ears. Since there was no problem with his skills and the stronghold wasn’t far away, even if he encountered an elite monster, he still had the ability to escape.

‘A beautiful vacation was just ahead,’ Shu Jun thought as he quickened his pace.

According to last night’s estimate, it would only take about six hours to reach that stronghold. The situation was smoother than he expected. There were no dangerous monsters on the road, and before he left the stone forest, human voices came from not far away.

Two NPC soldiers were patrolling nearby.

Shu Jun raised his hands in surprise and greeted them loudly. “I’m Shu Jun, captain of the Blackbirds, number S-001. Please take me to your stronghold. Also, if it’s convenient, can you lend me a communicator…”

Before he finished speaking, a bullet passed by, followed by a burning sensation on his ear. The gunfire didn’t stop. As a seasoned fighter, Shu Jun subconsciously manipulated the wind, and the sudden wind quickly pushed him away.

If he had been slower by half a second, the ensuing rain of bullets would have turned him into a sieve.

The fingers on his right hand twitched twice instinctively. Shu Jun gritted his teeth—the weight that should’ve accompanied him wasn’t in his hands. There was no greatsword and no mechanical armor—there were only tattered clothes that covered his shame* and provided no defense at all.

*Figuratively, as in his privates.

But no matter how embarrassing his image was, the NPC should always recognize him as an individual. This kind of offensive intensity was simply unreasonable. Shu Jun had to use his limbs like a real beast and hide himself behind a boulder. <Erosion> had emphasized many times that attacking NPCs would have serious penalties, so it wasn’t time to take risks.

“Hey!” Shu Jun raised his voice. “Stop attacking. I need to contact the game administrator—emergency contact code 4072…”

However, the patrols didn’t plan to let him finish.

He didn’t know what weapon the other side took out, but the boulder was directly shattered. Shu Jun planned to create some distance again but found that he couldn’t move.

There was a faint light shining under his feet. He recognized this thing. It was a top-tier hunting net used to capture large, elite monsters, and its price was quite staggering. The Blackbirds were one of the largest teams in <Erosion> and the number of top-tier hunting nets in their warehouse didn’t exceed three.

God knew how these NPCs had this kind of thing.

Faced with this thing, if he had equipment, he could still fight. Unfortunately, at the moment, Shu Jun was bare-handed and close to naked. The claws at his fingertips could tear fibers, but when the hunting net wrapped tightly around him, his struggle became futile.

A current flickered along the net, causing Shu Jun to arch his back. He forcibly tried to retain his consciousness under the continuous electric shocks as he tried to tear through the net.

“You’re seriously violating the ‘VR Game Management Regulations’—ah—”

Seeing that he was tearing too fiercely, the restraints bound his limbs tighter and gagged his mouth. Shu Jun became like a flopping fish caught in a net and could only raise his middle finger at the two NPCs.

“Erosion index?”

“It’s still the same as before. Maybe the machine is broken.”

The NPCs ignored him and spat out some words behind their gas masks.

“Take it back first. This kind of… thing has never appeared before.”

Judging from the results, Shu Jun entered the stronghold earlier than expected. It was just that instead of stepping through the doors with his own feet, he was pushed into a metal cage and transported in on a cart.

The metal cage bars were thicker than his wrist.

This was no longer a problem that could be solved by complaints. After he successfully withdrew from the game, he would find a lawyer—the prison cell was as narrow as a cargo box; certainly not as good as the cave he was hiding in before. Shu Jun’s limbs were firmly chained to the wall in an extremely uncomfortable position.

The group of NPCs didn’t even bother to give him some decent clothing.

Shu Jun looked around. The ground was wet without even a speck of dust that could be blown up. The cell observation window was made of reinforced glass, and two heavily armed guards stood on either side.

The pale white light poured down from the top of his head, and through the accumulated water on the ground, Shun Jun saw his current appearance clearly for the first time.

The game character was 100% true in line with reality, so his facial features hadn’t changed. His body was perfectly toned, and there were no strange blood vessels protruding or overly swollen muscles at the moment.

Not to mention the sharpened teeth and nails for the time being, the biggest change was his hair and eyes.

Shu Jun originally had normal black hair and eyes, but now his hair and eyes had turned ash-like gray, and his round pupils were lined with thin cracks. He had never seen anyone with a similar appearance, but at least he still looked human and not like a grotesque mutant beast. The NPC’s attitude was really suspicious.

He had to find a way to escape.

This place was similar to the cage where dangerous monsters were held in the game setting. Smoke was a meticulous strategist. After being inculcated for a long time, Shu Jun also had some understanding of this strange equipment. Such cages were usually equipped with physiological monitoring devices, so faking death or pretending to be sick was unlikely to be effective. His condition was already bad, and the longer he dragged it out, the more unfavorable it would become.

Shu Jun glanced at the surrounding surveillance cameras and suddenly had an idea. The wind swirled and violently twisted the camera off its bracket. The glass of the cell was smashed and rattled, and sirens blared incessantly.

The defense mechanism was immediately activated.

At first, it was an anesthesia bomb, but it was deflected by the wind and failed to hit Shu Jun. Then came the live ammunition. Shu Jung pulled up the chains on his wrist and barely managed to block his critical areas, though there were a few blood holes in his arms and shoulders.

The blood dripped and turned pitch black the moment it touched the ground.

At this moment, Shu Jun didn’t have time to observe the ground as there were more anomalies in front of him—was his ability always this strong?

The broken camera was thrown around by the wind like a large bullet and almost hit Shu Jun several times. It slammed against the observation window, leaving a spider web-like crack in the tempered glass. The chain-fixing bolt let out a shrill sound as Shu Jun tore off the chains.

Shu Jun was aware of his own physical strength. He didn’t have the energy to do such a feat again.

He took a breath and pulled the chain out with all his strength, hitting the center where the glass cracked. Shards of glass scattered around amidst the cracking sound. Shu Jun gathered the wind at his feet and ejected himself out of the cell.

The guards tried to stop him, but one was knocked out with his elbow while the other was kicked away. The two guards fell unconscious and slumped to the ground.

The entire process took no more than half a minute.

He went against his ban on attacking NPCs that he had compromised earlier since he found that it was pointless.

Not wanting to leave any room for hesitation, Shu Jun quickly stripped off the clothes of one of the guards, picked up the spoils, and ran. Before anyone arrived, the nearby surveillance and lighting were completely destroyed by the violent storm.

The NPC’s standard clothing didn’t fit him well. It was a little tight in the shoulders and a little loose in the waist, but it wasn’t a big deal.

In <Erosion>, the player’s residence was located in a stronghold on the edge of the contaminated areas. The structure of this stronghold was much the same, so it wasn’t difficult to find an escape route. But before escaping, he had to get some supplies first and also try to find a way to contact the outside world.

Since this was the cell floor, there had to be a lounge for the guards to change shifts nearby.

There was no time for him to breathe a sigh of relief. The alarm hadn’t reached its highest level yet, so it was prime time for action. Shu Jun braced himself and moved quickly down the corridor.

The lounge was empty.

Shu Jun swept all the gadgets he could use into his pockets and then turned on the contact light screen on the table. In response to unexpected situations, <Erosion> issued emergency contact codes to all players. As long as they reported the string of numbers to an NPC, an out-of-game customer service representative would intervene. Unfortunately, based on the situation not long ago, it seemed that the NPC route could be considered useless.

40721. A string of numbers flashed in the input box. Time moved slowly forward, but no customer service representative appeared.

Shu Jun quickly entered the team channel, but no one was online. Opening his friend list only showed all the names grayed out.

Wait. Someone’s name lit up. The system showed that the other party was online, and the waiting interface displayed the map and the location of where they were. The geometric patterns used for decoration changed around the map.

…Smoke was nearby.

Strange. Shu Jun raised his brows. Smoke always stayed in the inner city, out of the reach of combatants, and had never appeared in a border stronghold. Due to their distance from each other, the game never gave an exact location. Shu Jun always defaulted that he or she was a casual player.

How could a casual place run to such a place?

But since Smoke was nearby, it was better to go and meet first—the current situation was really abnormal, and a friend around him would make things feel more at ease. Since his account was abnormal, Smoke may be able to contact the outside world normally.

The game wasn’t reality, but there was no difference between the game character and the real person. Shu Jun smiled bitterly, thinking that this first meeting was quite embarrassing.

According to the positioning displayed, the point belonging to “Smoke” was moving to a certain room on the top floor. Shu Jun dexterously jumped out of the window and climbed to the top floor with the help of his wind.

“You should go back first.” An anxious voice rushed into his ears first.

“No need.”

“That thing ran out, and its erosion index hasn’t been determined. If the situation changes, this stronghold will probably be locked down. You just arrived here, and the special car hasn’t left yet, so it’s better you leave now.”

“I said, no need.”

The voice that responded was cold and sounded a bit familiar. Shu Jun grabbed the edge of the windowsill. The curtains completely obscured the indoor scene, and the sound inside wasn’t very clear.

Smoke’s location was just a few steps away.

…Looking at the frame, was Smoke an assistant to some bigshot?

The positioning stopped by the window, only a few steps away from Shu Jun. In order to hear more clearly, Shu Jun held his breath and climbed up the windowsill. The mutated nails made this a lot easier.

“In short, find it first. If I stay here, it’ll heighten your sense of alertness,” the cold voice continued. “I brought a lot of special equipment. There’s no way the entire base can’t catch a single mutant.”

The sound was getting closer, giving Shu Jun a bad feeling.

Swish.

The person in the room opened the curtain. The two looked at each other as their gazes met.

The anxious persuader was standing at the door, so there was only one person in front of the window, who was obviously not the casual player Shu Jun had guessed—the NPC in the uniform of the Marshal was staring directly at him; a trace of bewilderment flashed across his pale face.

Zhu Yanchen: “……”

Shu Jun: “……?”

Are the bugs in <Erosion> getting more serious?

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The author has something to say:

The prologue is over (^ρ^)/

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