https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-141-Earth-s-Wasteland-Chapter-7-/13546849/
Chapter 142: Earth Wasteland Chapter (8)
Chapter 142: Earth Wasteland Chapter (8)
An hour earlier...
Kuangzong Jianying stood five meters away from a headless corpse, keeping watch for Feng Bu Jue.
"You confirm you want to do this?" Kuangzong Jianying asked Feng Bu Jue, who was crouched beside the corpse, working intently. His tone implied: You're genuinely messed up in the head.
"I'm already doing it, aren't I? What? Worried about wasting a grenade?" Feng Bu Jue replied without looking up.
Kuangzong Jianying gave him a sidelong glance. "To be honest, I’m more concerned about your mental state than the grenade."
Feng Bu Jue snorted. "What’s mental state got to do with anything? I’m just setting up a trap using a corpse in a virtual game. Any normal person who thought of this strategy would execute it without hesitation."
"Whatever you say..." Kuangzong Jianying shook his head. At that moment, he fully understood why Feng Bu Jue's ID was "Mad Bu Jue."
Feng Bu Jue threaded a metal wire through the grenade's pin, held it in one hand, rolled up his sleeve, and shoved the grenade down the corpse’s esophagus into its stomach. On the body's front side, he made a small incision, allowing the wire to exit the stomach and emerge slightly beneath the skin.
Next, he etched a message near the wire's exit point—a "question mark"—to bait the trap.
"Why did you cover half the message?" Kuangzong Jianying asked.
"If I left it fully exposed, they’d see it from afar", Feng Bu Jue explained. "If it were completely hidden, they might miss it entirely. Half-hidden, they’ll kneel down, lift the clothes, and check. Then, assuming their eyesight’s decent, they’ll notice the wire’s end."
"And you’re sure they’ll touch the wire?" Kuangzong Jianying pressed.
"Who said I confirm they will?" Feng Bu Jue smirked.
"Wait, what do you mean?"
"Does this look like a trap to you?"
Kuangzong Jianying frowned. "Not really."
"Why not?"
Kuangzong Jianying tried to follow his logic. "Traps are usually hidden in places someone must pass through—like behind a door."
Feng Bu Jue nodded. "Exactly."
"Exactly what?"
"Another example", Feng Bu Jue continued. "Remember those safes we opened for the side questtask?"
"Of course."
"If opening a chest triggered an explosion, wouldn’t we have already lost? But the system wouldn’t set it up that way. Players need clues to dodge danger—no clue, no fair challenge."
"Ah." Feng Bu Jue leaned closer. "Am I the system? Do I seem like someone who’d kindly warn you?"
Kuangzong Jianying hesitated. "Well..."
"There’s another reason you didn’t assume that chest was a deathflag", Feng Bu Jue added.
"Because the room was optional. We could’ve skipped the chest entirely, taking the other path. Even after killing the monster, we could’ve left it closed."
Feng Bu Jue gestured at the corpse. "Same here. They can ignore the body, skip the half-visible message, or see it and still avoid the wire. The key is making them feel it’s their choice—no pressure."
Kuangzong Jianying scratched his head. "Psychological manipulation?"
Feng Bu Jue began walking. "To make someone do harm to themselves, you must make the action seem optional, not forced. It must appear 'normal'—not too hard, or they’ll fail, and not too easy, or they’ll suspect a trick.
"Like murder—resistance is expected, but excessive struggle makes you hesitate, while total passivity raises suspicion. Or planting a bomb in a facility—extreme security forces retreat, while lax guards make you wary. Balance is everything."
Feng Bu Jue coughed. "So I hid the grenade in the corpse, placed the wire where they might touch it, and carved the message where it’s noticeable but not obvious. Now, the final touch—a surprise they won’t see coming."
"What if they ignore the wire or leave without checking the corpse?" Kuangzong Jianying asked.
"They’re Classplayers, right?" Feng Bu Jue countered. "Would you walk away without checking?"
Kuangzong Jianying opened his mouth to reply, but Feng Bu Jue beat him to it. "At worst, we lose a grenade. Not like I care."
They walked for another ten minutes, rounding a corner when suddenly a basketball-sized metal object hurtled toward them from ahead, narrowly grazing Feng Bu Jue’s left cheek.
Feng Bu Jue ducked, drew his handgun, and scanned the dim corridor. A shadowy figure stood far down the passageway—the attacker.
Kuangzong Jianying reacted instantly, sprinting forward, sword drawn. For him, closing the distance to activate Huiying Zhan meant victory.
The attacker froze for two seconds, then fled.
"Leave him alive!" Feng Bu Jue shouted as they chased.
Kuangzong Jianying didn’t reply but heard the order clearly.
Feng Bu Jue sprinted, matching Kuangzong Jianying’s pace. While Kuangzong’s full power couldn’t match Feng Bu Jue’s spirit sense body technique, their current speeds were equal.
The target wore orange armor—clearly an Npc given their sluggish pace and the anti-gravity launcher in hand.
"Capture him!" Feng Bu Jue repeated.
Kuangzong Jianying closed the distance for Huiying Zhan, teleporting to block the Npc’s path. The attacker froze in terror but couldn’t stop his momentum. Kuangzong Jianying smashed his elbow into the Npc’s collarbone, sending him sprawling.
Before the Npc could recover, Kuangzong Jianying twisted his arm, pinned him face-down, and seized the launcher.
Feng Bu Jue arrived panting, hands on knees.
"Talk. Who are you?" Kuangzong Jianying demanded.
The Npc, still gasping from the blow, could barely speak.
Feng Bu Jue said, “Let him go. It’s fine.”
Kuangzong Jianying released his grip and stepped back two paces, still holding his sword at the ready as he warily watched the assailant on the ground.
The man rolled onto his back, chest heaving violently as he struggled to catch his breath. From the transparent visor of his suit, his face was visible—pale-skinned, young-looking, around twenty years old, barely 1.6 meters tall, and frail, with black hair resembling a tangle of instant noodles.
Once he’d regained some composure, he pushed himself backward with his hands, retreating until his back pressed against the wall. He stared at the two before him, eyes wide with terror.
“Let’s talk,” Feng Bu Jue said, crouching down to meet his eye level. “What’s your name?”
“Outsiders! You devils! Heretics!” The man hugged his helmeted head and screamed, “Don’t think your ‘witchcraft tongues’ can hypnotize me! Never!”
Kuangzong Jianying glanced at Feng Bu Jue. “Man… this is getting more complicated. Isn’t this supposed to be a sci-fi scenario? Why did we suddenly get religious fantasy elements?”
Feng Bu Jue hesitated briefly, then smirked coldly. “No, I’m sure it’s still a futuristic sci-fi setting,” he said, pulling a steel knife from his satchel.
At the sight, the man began roaring hysterically.
“Shut up,” Feng Bu Jue said first at a normal volume, but when the man kept shouting, he slammed the knife against the man’s throat and bellowed, “Shut UP!”
The man froze, his voice vanishing instantly, though terror still contorted his face.
“What. Is. Your. Name,” Feng Bu Jue asked, enunciating each word.
“H-H-Hank.” Hank stammered.
“Hank, what you think I am doesn’t matter. I don’t need your trust or to explain myself. But you will answer our questions truthfully—or you will die in unimaginable agony,” Feng Bu Jue said.
“No… please…” Hank pleaded. “Don’t kill me! My mother’s still alive… My brothers are all dead… I can’t…”
“Stop babbling!” Feng Bu Jue snapped. “I ask. You answer.”
Hank nodded. His panic had eased slightly compared to a minute ago, like a child startled into silence.
“What do you do, and why are you here?” Feng Bu Jue asked.
“I’m a ‘Scavenger’… Our squad received orders to come here for a search,” Hank replied.
“How many are in your squad?” Feng Bu Jue asked.
“Five…” Hank said. “But the others… I lost contact with them a few hours ago.” As he spoke, he gave Kuangzong Jianying a strange look.
“Don’t stare at me,” Kuangzong Jianying said, sheathing his sword casually. “I didn’t kill your comrades. We encountered one of your companions, but when we found him… he was already dead, killed by a monster.” He referred to the man parasitized by the octopus.
“What… monster?” Hank gasped, his body shaking violently. “Oh God… damn it…” His voice cracked. “No wonder they said they saw something strange…”
“What transportation did you use to get here?” Feng Bu Jue asked.
“‘Transportation’?” Hank seemed confused.
“What vehicle did you ride here in?” Feng Bu Jue rephrased.
“A ‘Sharkfish Pod’… All Scavengers use them,” Hank replied.
“Is it like some kind of boat or car?” Kuangzong Jianying interjected.
“Car?” Hank looked puzzled.
Feng Bu Jue shook his head with a sigh. “You stayed aboard the ‘Sharkfish Pod’ while your four companions descended into this lab to explore. When you lost contact, you came down here too, right?”
“Yes.” Hank nodded.
“Why did you attack us?” Kuangzong Jianying asked.
“Y-You… outsiders…” Hank stammered, staring at them.
“Explain—what’s an ‘outsider’?” Feng Bu Jue pressed.
“Devils! People from outside the village!” Hank replied.
“And how do you know we’re outsiders?” Feng Bu Jue asked.
“Your clothes…” Hank said. “I’ve never seen anything like them. Also, you can survive here without protective suits.”
“Oh?” Feng Bu Jue raised an eyebrow. “You mean you’d die if you breathed this air?”
“Of course! Only the village has breathable air! The outside air is deadly—it’s poisoned by outsiders!” Hank shouted.
Feng Bu Jue stood and leaned toward Kuangzong Jianying. “Remember the opening of Black Friday 10?”
“Just say what you mean…” Kuangzong Jianying replied.
“You don’t remember.” Feng Bu Jue stated.
“Obviously. Who remembers details of some old movie watched who-knows-when?” Kuangzong Jianying muttered. Then he realized something. “Well, except you…”
“I remember clearly. At the start of that movie, the research team from space could remove their helmets and breathe freely in this lab. Of course… they tested air quality and bacteria first,” Feng Bu Jue explained.
“Get to the point.” Kuangzong Jianying cut in.
“The point is, this guy is exactly as I suspected,” Feng Bu Jue said in a low voice, eyes locked on Hank cowering against the wall. “He’s likely a descendant of survivors from Old Earth, but somehow, instead of adapting and becoming stronger, his physiology has regressed. Even space-dwelling colonists could breathe this lab’s air briefly, but he can’t.”
“Is that so strange?” Kuangzong Jianying asked.
“Is Darwin a charlatan?” Feng Bu Jue countered.
“Uh…” Kuangzong Jianying frowned. “Okay, I’m not great at biology, but… you’re saying this contradicts evolutionary principles?”
“A species raised in artificial environments like spaceships still has respiratory capacity matching humans from four centuries ago. Yet these Earth survivors choke on a whiff of secondhand smoke,” Feng Bu Jue said. “Also, remember the one killed by the octopus?”
“You mean the guy you decapitated, shoved a grenade down his esophagus, and carved something into his stomach?” Kuangzong Jianying squinted. “Heh… easy to forget…”
“He was Hank’s height and just as frail,” Feng Bu Jue noted.
“So?”
“They’re white, remember? In our time, the average male height in Western Europe was around 1.8 meters, nearly 1.9 in the Nordic regions,” Feng Bu Jue said.
“Are you saying malnutrition is normal here?” Kuangzong Jianying asked. “Besides, this is just a game. Why get hung up on details?”
Feng Bu Jue shook his head. “I don’t know how many humans remain on Old Earth, but Hank’s ‘village’ definitely has issues.”
“Feng Bu Jue… remember we’re here for kill game mode 2v2, not to save some Npc village.”
Feng Bu Jue raised three fingers solemnly. “First, their village has air that doesn’t consume vitality value. Second, they possess technology to manufacture [anti-gravity launchers]. Third, their villagers are pathetically weak.”
“Oh… you’re not here to save the village—you’re here to pillage it,” Kuangzong Jianying said, finally understanding.
Feng Bu Jue replied, “Whether it’s salvation or plunder can be decided later. First, we secure Hank’s ‘Sharkfish Pod’ and leave this lab. Before Shidao’s team exhausts their patience or healing items, we’ll have multiple strategies at our disposal. The initiative is in our hands.”
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
