Chapter 101: “Sister, are you angry with me?”
The air fell into a moment of deadly silence.
Only the rhythmic sound of the train moving forward echoed through the vast compartment. The howling wind gushed in through the windows, and the sticky frog eggs dampened the walls and ceiling, occasionally dripping down with a pitter-patter.
“…”
Lilith’s eyes widened gradually.
Her gaze shifted from the face of Wen Jianyan to the iris flower pinned on his lapel, then slowly moved back to his face. She stammered:
“Wait… wait…”
She was stunned by the completely unexpected situation, her expression dazed. Her brain turned into a jumble of mush, crashing under the explosive influx of information.
Lilith trembled as she raised her hand, pointing toward the young man not far away.
“This… you… this can’t be… but…”
Wen Ya, with a vacant expression, was snapped out of her daze by Lilith’s voice.
After regaining her composure, she immediately understood the current situation.
“So, it seems…”
Wen Ya took a deep breath, interrupting Lilith’s incoherent speech, and said slowly, her voice filled with gloom:
“The legendary strongest newcomer… is you.”
Although this far-fetched guess was confirmed by her teammate, Lilith still appeared slow to comprehend.
Wait a minute???
Isn’t he supposed to be a tall, muscular man, standing two meters tall?
Lilith looked at Wen Jianyan in disbelief.
The young man nearby had a slender frame, and his clothes appeared loose and ill-fitting. The gusts of wind blowing into the train caused his garments to flutter, resembling a bird about to take flight.
What happened to the average-looking guy who might cause the team’s popularity to drop, requiring the addition of an attractive anchor to maintain a stable survival rate?
Lilith’s gaze landed on Wen Jianyan’s face.
The contours of the boy’s profile were smooth, and his skin was fair. The previously handsome features had softened due to his youth, and the slightly sharp corners of his eyes had become rounded. His amber eyes appeared light and penetrating in the light, exuding an especially innocent and harmless aura.
Lilith: “……”
This is considered average-looking?!
This is a low-popularity, ordinary face?!!
Wen Ya lowered her head, glancing at the iris flower pinned to her own collar, then looked up at Wen Jianyan. Her gaze landed on the iris flower on his collar, the same light purple accessory she had on herself, shining brightly in the light.
She gritted her teeth and said, “I’ve heard of your name.”
To be honest, she hadn’t connected the dots between the trickster, who had played the entire team in the instance, and the strongest newcomer player she had made contact with.
After all, the other person’s actions in the Fukang Hospital instance were truly impressive. Although she could guess that his popularity as an anchor wasn’t high based on the instance level, still…
A newcomer who hadn’t even entered the third nightmare instance yet???
How could that be possible?!
Furthermore, the Platinum achievements displayed on the newcomer ranking didn’t indicate which instance they were obtained from.
So, Wen Ya had never associated this newcomer who achieved three Platinum achievements with the trickster she had encountered in Fukang Hospital.
“……”
Wen Ya said in a gloomy tone, “I never expected that we would meet our teammate, even before we realized it. It’s truly an unexpected surprise.”
She spoke of surprise, but there was no trace of a smile on her face.
Clearly, throughout the entire journey, the person in front of them had been well aware of their identities from the beginning. But even after their relationship had eased, he still chose to pretend not to know, not showing any signs of suspicion!
Wen Ya’s expression twisted slightly.
It was the third time.
This was the third time she had been deceived by the same person.
The first time, at the hospital, it was her carelessness.
The second time, she underestimated him.
And now, for the third time, even though she knew this guy had a high rank, she still let her guard down, gradually developing appreciation and fondness for him…
She was a fool!!!!
Hearing Wen Ya’s stiff voice, Lilith turned her head slightly to look at her with concern.
She understood Wen Ya’s current mood as well.
After all, they had harbored grudges because of their encounter in the previous instance, and now she had fallen for the same trick again. Although she knew rationally that the other person had no obligation to reveal his identity from the beginning, it still felt terrible to be deceived all the way.
Lilith clenched her fist and placed it near her lips, coughing lightly.
“Cough, cough.”
However, Lilith also hoped that Wen Ya would quickly realize that regardless of everything, the other person was the one they were trying to recruit, and this attitude wouldn’t do them any good.
In the “Integrity First” Live broadcast room:
[Hahaha! The long-awaited scene has arrived!!! The other side finally realizes that the dog liar they’ve been working with is their trusted teammate!]
[Hilarious! This will undoubtedly cast a psychological shadow over Wen Ya. Deceived all the way without suspecting a thing! They obviously almost completed the instance together, only to discover they’d been fooled again!]
[Hahaha, scored thrice!]
[Well, we shouldn’t say such things. Let’s be fair. Although the anchor did hide his identity, his deception didn’t cause any harm and even helped them several times.]
[That’s true, but the feeling of being deceived all the way is unpleasant for anyone. And during this process, it’s clear that the other person already regarded him as a trustworthy teammate from the beginning, only to find out that he saw them as clowns. It’s frustrating.]
[Indeed, although they can still continue to cooperate, it’s likely that this psychological crack will be difficult to mend.]
[Ah, such a pity!… They were about to successfully conquer the instance!]
[Well, not entirely.]
The other side spoke somewhat shyly, pursing their lips. “After all, when we first met, you started chasing after me, so it was hard to get a good look at the accessories you were wearing.”
He ran his hand through his hair, a troubled expression appearing on his face.
“After realizing it later, I couldn’t find an opportunity to come clean… Since it was already done, suddenly revealing everything would have seemed suspicious, so I just kept delaying, up until now.”
While saying so, Wen Jianyan left his spot near the window without a trace and approached them, reducing the distance between them.
“Of course, these are all excuses…”
He took two steps towards Wen Ya and, taking advantage of his newly acquired shorter height, looked up at her.
“But mainly, I was worried about seeing the expression you have now…”
“Sister, are you mad at me?”
The young man’s hair looked particularly fluffy and soft, slightly messy from being touched. His moist, amber eyes glanced up carefully, looking at Wen Ya.
He used two fingers to tug at the corner of her sleeve, shaking it slightly.
“Sorry.”
In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:
[?]
[???]
[Ah, this dog liar is addicted to acting cute!!!]
[Damn, unexpected! You actually pulled off this move at the end! Shameless!]
[Such dirty tactics, really dirty!]
[I know this guy is acting, but… I… I really… fell for it… (hesitating)]
[Aaaaahhhh, this wet puppy dog look! It’s too powerful! Let me pat you! Please! (Reward: 100 points)]
[Waahhhh, me too. This guy is definitely acting, but I fell for it. Damn it. (Reward: 100 points)]
Lilith: “……”
Ah.
She covered her pounding heart.
She couldn’t handle it; so adorable.
Wen Ya was taken aback.
She understood that the other person hadn’t officially joined the guild yet and had no obligation to reveal their identity when they first met. She was only… angry at her own gullibility and stupidity.
But what she didn’t expect was that the other person would actually drop his facade and sincerely apologize.
She was the kind of person who responded better to gentle approaches, and Wen Jianyan’s good attitude left her uncertain about how to face him.
Wen Ya pursed her lips, and her gaze fell on Wen Jianyan.
When their eyes met, her gaze involuntarily flickered slightly, and she turned her face awkwardly, saying in a dry tone:
“…I’m not angry.”
Although Wen Ya’s voice remained flat and unchanging without any fluctuation, her tone had unintentionally softened.
Her body stiffened; her fingers twitched, but in the end, she didn’t pull her sleeve out of his hand.
In the “Integrity First” live broadcast room:
[…Misjudged.]
[…Misjudged.]
[I didn’t expect it; the progress of the strategy is back on track… I was naive.]
[I was naive. (Reward: 50 points)]
[He really knows how to coax people!]
[This Little Green Tea is killing me! Why won’t he come and tease me too!!! Ahhhh! (Reward: 100 points)]
Seeing the atmosphere between the two finally ease up, Lilith finally felt relieved. “By the way, since we’re talking about real names…”
Since the other person had voluntarily provided their real name, it was a gesture of trust and goodwill. And for people who wanted to become teammates with him, it was impossible to continue hiding their identities after he revealed his own.
“I’m Xu Lili, but in this instance, just call me Lilith.”
Wen Ya’s eyes flickered, and she whispered her own name:
“…Wen Ya.”
Now that all three of them had spoken openly, they could finally get to the main topic.
“Speaking of which, when we passed through the second tunnel earlier, how did you suddenly disappear?”
Wen Ya frowned as she asked.
When the light reappeared, she turned her head and found one person missing from the team, which had startled them: “We really thought you wouldn’t come back.”
“It’s a long story…”
Wen Jianyan sighed. “I’ll tell you after we regroup.”
Wen Ya nodded and didn’t ask any further.
“By the way, did you find the vaccine1?” Wen Jianyan asked.
Wen Ya’s expression darkened for a moment, and she nodded slowly.
Wen Jianyan noticed the change in her expression and asked, “What’s wrong?”
In fact, shortly after Wen Jianyan disappeared, right after they left the second tunnel, the “vaccine” appeared.
The so-called vaccine referred to the infected individuals from the previous tunnel. When all the “zombie” bodies exploded, the infected anchors from the previous tunnel also exploded along with them. However, unlike the ammunition that was dropped from the zombie bodies, the anchors dropped green vaccines.
These few vaccines caused a frenzy among everyone in the compartment. In the process, two anchors died.
Wen Jianyan said, “Speaking of which, did you read the staff rules I gave you? Do you still have them with you?”
Although he discovered those staff rules, the situation was urgent at the time, and he hadn’t had a chance to read them before being dragged into the mirror.
Wen Ya nodded and took out her phone from her pocket, opening the photo album.
Although the original staff rules were with Yun Bilan, as a senior anchor, Wen Ya had also taken photos of the guidelines as a backup.
Wen Jianyan took the phone and carefully read the content.
Wen Ya said, “After our discussion, we believe that the key points for completing this stage are the fifth and sixth rules.”
With the other person’s words, Wen Jianyan’s gaze fell on those two rules. “5. After all tourists get on the train, please turn on the power, and after driving the train through three tunnels, turn on the switch [1].
6. After returning to the starting point, if there is a shortage of passengers, please leave the driver’s compartment and turn on the power again before leaving.”
“Now that the conductor has obviously died, we should take on the conductor’s role. After we pass through the third tunnel, we need to activate the switch, or we might be sent to rule [6], where the conductor leaves and the train automatically goes to some location.”
—And that place was most likely not a good destination.
Wen Jianyan nodded, “Indeed.”
Compared to the thrilling projects in the Thriller Zone, the projects in the Leisure Park were relatively simpler and didn’t have various peculiar death triggers that could be unknowingly activated. This indirectly confirmed his initial speculation.
Based on the information they knew now, they could basically summarize the general rules of this project.
Firstly, according to rule [1], it could be seen that this project wasn’t available from the beginning of the instance.
In other words, the “Crazy Little Train” wasn’t operational during the early stages of frog egg parasitism, and it wasn’t until the number of infections reached a certain threshold that the staff of this project would start working.
This meant that although the instance had been open for a while, this project might have only recently become available.
Wen Jianyan pondered for a few seconds, then stood up and walked toward the conductor’s cabin, with Wen Ya and Lilith giving each other a slight glance before following him.
Wen Jianyan surveyed the conductor’s cabin in front of him.
Compared to the last time he came here, the contamination had worsened to an unimaginable extent. Every surface was covered with a thick layer of sticky mucus. If he hadn’t entered here before the last tunnel and had waited until now, even he might not have been able to find those staff rules.
Wen Jianyan walked directly to the unmoving staff member who was lying on the desk.
He cautiously extended his hand and, while ensuring he activated the isolation tool, removed the fuzzy headgear from the person’s head.
Gurgl…
Viscous, translucent, disgusting mucus flowed out from under the headgear.
The unsupported fuzzy coat tilted and fell to the ground.
More mucus gushed out, and beneath the wrapping of the mucus, a pale and sticky human body was faintly visible.
Its eyes were widened, its face twisted in anguish, and its facial features were covered with thick mucus, which continued to gurgle out from deep within his body. The whole person seemed to be soaked in this disgusting liquid.
Lilith gasped, “It’s actually a living NPC?”
“Seems like it.” Wen Ya’s complexion also turned grim.
“Is it that a conductor dies every time the train is activated? Or is it just our bad luck, coincidentally encountering an NPC’s death?” Wen Ya’s face turned unpleasant.
Wen Jianyan lowered his eyes, gazing at the employee in the fuzzy coat.
He shrugged, “Who knows?”
But based on the characteristics of the Nightmare instances, he was more inclined toward the first possibility.
From what they knew now, the operational mechanism of this project was relatively simple.
Simple and malicious.
After entering the tunnel, the “zombies” attacked. They not only attacked the anchors but also left behind explosive corpses, causing a second contamination in the train and restricting the anchor’s movements.
If an infected anchor didn’t find the “vaccine” before the next tunnel, they would explode and drop new vaccines from their bodies.
In other words, the first wave of infected anchors was destined to die.
The remaining anchors who wanted to avoid infection, or those who were already infected and didn’t want to die, had to fight over these vaccines, leading to conflicts and mutual harm.
If that was the only problem, it would be fine, but the issue was that “the train passes through three tunnels” only happened “when everything is going smoothly.”
And if the conductor dies—just like in the current situation.
At the same time, no one found the staff rules.
So, after the three tunnels are completed, there will be no anchors to activate switch [1], which means… the train will not return to the starting point.
It may instead head to an even more terrifying place.
Of course, it could also continue to loop in the tunnels until everyone dies or someone finds the staff rules.
And in the endless loop, the vile mechanism of the vaccine project would truly come into play.
Anchors would be unable to escape the train, gradually going mad in this increasingly confined environment. Eventually, in order to stay alive, they might even “infect” their companions, forcing them to become “vaccines” in the next round.
After listening to Wen Jianyan’s analysis, Wen Ya and Lilith couldn’t help but shiver.
Indeed, the rules of this project were much simpler compared to the thriller zone, and the way to break the cycle was relatively easy. However, the level of malice was undiminished.
In this project, the slow-moving “zombies” and the frog eggs and mucus produced after explosions were never truly threats. The real enemies seemed to be the other anchors, who appeared to be teammates.
With a slight misstep, everyone on the train could be thrown into an endless abyss of madness.
“Crazy Little Train.”
The name was truly too fitting, to the point of sending chills down one’s spine.
“Gurgle—”
At that moment, a strange and sticky water sound echoed in the conductor’s cabin, interrupting everyone’s thoughts.
Everyone involuntarily looked in the direction from which the sound came.
On the ground, the corpse, dressed in a fuzzy coat, lay quietly in the mucus.
Its pale forehead slowly swelled with a small bump, which burst open with a “pop” right before their eyes, releasing more mucus that gushed out.
“By the way,” Wen Jianyan’s expression froze for a moment. “Did you notice…”
“What?” The other two looked at him with confusion.
“In the mucus that gushed out of the body, there doesn’t seem to be any frog eggs present.”
Wen Jianyan said thoughtfully.
Wen Ya and Lilith were both stunned and turned their heads to look at the corpse lying on the ground.
Indeed.
In every other part of the train, the mucus was accompanied by frog eggs, whether unhatched or just hatched from the eggs. But inside this particular corpse, there wasn’t a single frog egg, only translucent gelatinous mucus.
“Gurgle—”
The swollen bump rose again.
With a “pop,” it burst open.
As if a switch had been pressed, more and more large and small bumps burst open from the inside out, oozing sticky mucus with a fishy smell.
The limbs of the corpse twitched.
No… rather than saying they were twitching, it was as if something was trying to break free from beneath the skin.
In that instant, Wen Jianyan seemed to realize something.
In this instance, every stage of frog egg development needed to parasitize the human body to complete. Whether it was the egg or the “tadpole”, it required the human body as food.
It is well known that frogs undergo metamorphosis in nature.
In other words, the “frogs” in this instance should also undergo such changes, with different stages in their lives requiring different components and nutrients.
If they followed this line of thought, then what they were seeing in front of them should belong to…
“…F*ck.”
Wen Jianyan widened his eyes in shock, took a deep breath, and involuntarily cursed, “This is a f*cking fully developed one!!!”
That’s why there was only mucus inside and no eggs.
—Because the egg encased in mucus was already mature, even in the final stage of development!
Wen Jianyan screamed, “Run!!!”
The author has something to say:
Wen Ya: Even if I jump off from here and die outside, I won’t believe a single word of you, you liar!
Liar: Sister, don’t be angry, boo-hoo.
Wen Ya: ….
