Chapter 28: The Haunted City (Part 5)
Chapter 28: The Haunted City (Part 5)
This battle couldn’t be called a tough fight—none of the five players lost any vitality points. But afterward, everyone’s capabilities had become clear.
To put it bluntly, there were three competent players capable of clearing the scenario, and two nearly useless burdens…
Wang Tan Zhi’s face and clothes were splattered with the foul blood of the aberrant infants. Fortunately, the monster’s bodily fluids carried no toxins or special effects—though they did leave him smelling unpleasant. Long Ao Min, protected by his shield, remained relatively clean. Feng Bu Jue, however, had gotten thoroughly contaminated… though he quickly resolved the issue.
Feng Bu Jue seemed prepared. After killing the last enhanced aberrant infant, he strode directly to a nearby car, tore off a seat cover, then went to a fire hydrant at the roadside. Using a pipe wrench, he loosened the valve, letting water gush out. Using the seat cover like a rag, he rinsed his face and clothes under the stream, swiftly scrubbing off the grime and stench.
Wang Tan Zhi followed suit, ripping a cloth from the car and crouching beside Feng Bu Jue to clean himself.
Long Ao Min inspected each aberrant infant corpse, confirming they were all dead before exhaling deeply and sitting on the curb to let his stamina regenerate.
Gudu and Jimo approached, returning to the streetlight’s glow. “Thanks back there—without you two, we’d probably be dead,” Gudu Xiaoge said humbly. His tone had softened considerably. Initially, he’d thought his higher level gave him more authority than the two level-5 players. Now, though, he no longer questioned Feng Bu Jue’s judgment.
“Before reaching the hellgate coordinates I estimated,” Feng Bu Jue said, drying his face and clothes, “we should find each of you some gear—even tattered-quality equipment would be better than fighting barehanded.”
“This city’s huge,” Long Ao Min replied. “Finding makeshift weapons shouldn’t be hard. If worse comes to worst, we could even grab a steel rod or use your pipe wrench to dismantle parts.” He paused. “By the way, what about your earlier theory about the darkness?”
“The first possibility,” Feng Bu Jue answered, “is that the light itself didn’t dim. Instead, our vision and hearing were simultaneously disrupted. Our eyes were blinded, and we heard strange noises, but the environment itself remained unchanged.” He hesitated. “If this is true, the question is—was the source nearby, hiding from us, or acting from a distance?”
At the words “nearby” and “unseen,” the other four shuddered. Only Feng Bu Jue seemed unfazed.
“Second possibility,” he continued, tossing aside the soaked seat cover, “the darkness was real—enveloping the entire city, even the entire scenario world. The streetlights might be explainable, but the moon isn’t a lightbulb you can just switch off.”
Wang Tan Zhi interjected, “How could that happen?”
“Regardless of the method,” Feng Bu Jue said, “assume some force achieved it. The darkness might be an unknown natural phenomenon—rapidly engulfing the world for seconds, triggering physiological mutations in the monsters during that window.”
He pocketed his pipe wrench and sat beside Long Ao Min. “I lean toward this second theory. If the darkness is a natural phenomenon, its effects would be indiscriminate—harming us only incidentally, not specifically targeting us.”
“What about the third possibility?” Long Ao Min asked.
“The system dynamically adjusted the scenario difficulty based on our efficiency killing the first four monsters,” Feng Bu Jue replied.
“No way,” Jimo said. “Gudu and I have cleared two scenarios before. Even if a team defeats enemies quickly, we’ve never seen difficulty scaling.”
Gudu added, “We’ve encountered level-10 players before too. Early monsters were practically one-hit kills. That’s why I initially said—backed by a level-10 player, brute-forcing is viable.” He paused. “But in that scenario, the level-10 player didn’t protect us. We still died.”
Feng Bu Jue nodded. “I admit the third possibility seems unlikely. Honestly, I considered it only because of a past singleplayer survival mode where AI dynamically adjusted difficulty. But I’ll dismiss it now—we’re in team survival mode for the first time, and since you’ve never encountered this before, it’s safe to rule out.”
Wang Tan Zhi stood, now clean. “The first two theories will verify themselves eventually. If either’s correct, the darkness will return as the scenario progresses.”
“Agreed,” Long Ao Min said, rising as his stamina recovered. “Then we should prioritize finding gear for Gudu and Jimo before the darkness returns—or more monsters appear.”
Feng Bu Jue stood too. “My planned route passes a police station. We’ll search it—maybe find guns, batons, or even body armor and shields.” His eyes gleamed. “I’ve always wanted to try firing a shotgun.”
Long Ao Min shuddered. Feng Bu Jue sounded disturbingly like a serial killer deprived of tools.
After a brief discussion, the group moved toward the station. The oppressive darkness lingered, shadows concealing unknown threats. Yet the promise of firearms—a rare treasure in early-game scenarios—gave them hope. Even dying mid-scenario would be worthwhile if they found a powerful shotgun or submachine gun.
(End of Chapter)
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