Player Reload
Chapter 475 - 441: Fear

Chapter 475: Chapter 441: Fear

"Stop blowing, you’re going to blow Tombstone Sis to death."

Li Cheng rolled his eyes and took the buzzing suona from Gray Rain’s hand.

The black-clad woman’s power is definitely above Level 33, no less than the headless reindeer encountered in the previous battery escort task. Even acting as the final boss in a punishing killing field task feels perfectly natural.

Listening to White Horse Tombstone’s last calm tone, she seems to probably, possibly, perhaps really be confident she can hold out...right?

"Cough cough—"

Blood Lion Roar, who had been repairing under the truck for a while, crawled out with a face full of black oil smoke, shook his head and said, "The truck is too damaged, this is the best I can do."

He waved his hand, transforming the heavy-duty truck into a Gundam with sparks and lightning, but the legs were completely scrapped due to total damage.

In its place was a tank chassis with seven pairs of road wheels, taken by Blood Lion Roar from his spatial device.

"For a Gundam, legs are just for show, the people up top wouldn’t understand."

Though Blood Lion Roar said this, the Gundam’s upper body sitting on the tank’s floor still had a comical look like a burly man driving a tiny go-kart. Combat-wise, there’s no guarantee.

Zhangsun Yao felt headache, turned to Li Cheng, "How are Red Spider and Nikola doing?"

"There’s probably no risk of rescuing them."

Li Cheng shook his head, Nikola clearly overextended himself using the Exile Technique, falling unconscious and depleting both his Spiritual Power Value and Sanity Value.

The former is manageable; even though his head turns pointy, he just needs to drink some Replenishing Potion to recover.

But once sanity falls below 30 points, it leads to madness or, worse, permanent brain death.

Li Cheng poured Move Drink into Nikola’s brain using a soy sauce funnel, but didn’t succeed in reviving him.

As for Red Spider...

Li Cheng pulled out the USB from the back of his neck, and Red Spider immediately opened his eyes and croaked, "Do you know who I am? I’m Johnny Silver Hand who nuked Huangshan Tower! Let me go!"

Not Johnny Silver Hand, not Johnny Silver Hand, not Johnny Silver Hand?

Li Cheng rolled his eyes again, plugged the USB back in, and let Red Spider continue to lie down.

"Phew..."

Zhangsun Yao sighed heavily, grabbed her hair in frustration. The current situation is like a nun’s convent being demolished — dire straits,

White Horse Tombstone’s fate unknown, both Red Spider and Nikola down,

The current fighting strength only includes her, Pifu, Binary Tree, Blood Lion Roar, and perhaps half of Gray Rain.

Forget the black-clad woman; even a Gray Green Giant would be hard to tackle.

Facing such adversity and contemplating her unfinished endeavors, Zhangsun Yao found herself envying Blood Lion Roar — he had long prepared for reality by backing up his consciousness and cloning his body, able to "regenerate" with backup persona even if killed in the killing field, so he could stay with his family as part of him.

Self-deception or not, holding onto hope is essential as long as you’re alive...

Zhangsun Yao was about to speak when Binary Tree suddenly interrupted with a hand gesture, "Shh, everyone quiet."

The scene fell silent, Binary Tree sniffed like a hound sensing prey, quickly picking up the pace.

This corridor was filled with basalt pillars, akin to the real world’s Northern Ireland natural landscape — "Giant’s Causeway," a stone pillar forest formed by repeated volcanic magma outflow and ocean wave erosion.

The group followed Binary Tree, trotting past a section of stone pillars, discovering in a low-lying area...

"Mikazuki?"

Zhangsun Yao exclaimed in surprise; lying in the stone pillar forest was the Lv25 white-haired, purple-eyed girl Mikazuki, belonging to the Navigator Guild.

She lay flat on the ground, there were no external injuries, already long gone, lips curled in a satisfied smile, a glass goblet was placed beside her.

A trace of crimson liquid still remained in the cup.

"WTF? How did she end up dead here?"

Blood Lion Roar was puzzled; the Navigator Guild is famous for mysticism, its members are skilled in tarot reading, spirit mediumship, prophecy, and even opened a divination section on the player forum.

Navigators usually help predict fortunes for players, occasionally moonlighting as online matchmakers, offering paid predictions for player relationships.

Fate is predetermined by heaven but happiness belongs to oneself. Edit a message with "your name + the name of your desired partner," like "Guo Jing + Huang Rong," and send it to the Navigator Guild to learn the fate index.

Mikazuki was an outstanding figure amongst navigators, leading to the formation of a team to enter the Secret Realm on her claim that "within the Inverted Pyramid, all danger is virtually absent, with high chances of survival."

"She killed herself."

Binary Tree solemnly picked up the glass goblet, VR glasses read and projected the liquid information inside.

[Item Name: Drunken Life and Dream Death]

[Type: Consumable]

[Quality: Rare]

[Special Effect: Sweet Death. After voluntarily drinking, experience intense happiness and fulfillment within five seconds, dying peacefully on the fifth second]

[Consumption: None]

[Cooling Time: None]

[Use Conditions: Perception Attribute greater than or equal to 3]

[Note: "Life as bright as summer flowers, death as tranquil as autumn leaves" — Florian Wilet]

This liquor is a specialty of Japan’s Anomaly Affairs Investigation Bureau, with many middle to lower-tier players spending money to buy a cup for their Backpack.

At the brink of despair, downing it results in peaceful self-inflicted death, better than being torn by zombies, tormented by ghosts, brainwashed by Evil Gods. At least it’s painless.

"Hmm..."

Gray Rain rubbed his chin, recalling a literary short video seen on TikTok, raising a hand and saying, "Wait a minute, ’Life as bright as summer flowers, death as tranquil as autumn leaves,’ isn’t this line from Indian poet Tagore? Who is this Florian Wilet?"

"Head of a Swiss euthanasia company called ’Last Resort’ in the real world."

Li Cheng checked Mikazuki’s corpse and said casually, "This company supposedly uses high-tech capsule equipment to slowly induce death by hypoxia and nitrogen gas for customers,

but in reality, halfway through nitrogen infusion, the CEO himself strangles customers to death with a rope.

In some sense, it’s indeed assisted death.

Family: Peace.

CEO: Joy.

Customer: Death."

The killing field randomly inserting this arrested Florian Wilet in the description came close to a Hell joke.

Based on onsite traces and Mikazuki’s rigor mortis, she likely drank [Drunken Life and Dream Death], voluntarily dying three hours ago.

In her stiff palm was a portable sports camera.

Previously, the ticking sound from the camera caught Binary Tree’s attention.

The players exchanged glances, Binary Tree pulled out the camera, connected it to VR glasses using a data cable to project the footage.

Fizz—

Mikazuki’s projection emerged mid-air; she stood among the stone pillars, took a deep breath as if making up her mind, said to the camera, "Zhangsun Yao, Pifu, Binary Tree, Blood Lion Roar, when you watch this video, I’ll be dead.

Between the Inverted Pyramid and the surface exists a reality-distorting barrier that interfered with the divination results. I mistakenly predicted upon entering the Secret Realm, causing many deaths. I’m very sorry for this."

Mikazuki bit her lip in pain, said bitterly, "But after entering the Inverted Pyramid, my prophecy ability somewhat recovered.

I know by this moment, you experienced repeated fierce battles, with Red Spider’s brain damaged, Nikola unconscious, and Pifu’s Magic Pet in the best condition,

I also know its next words are ’Who’s the Magic Pet? Did you call me Magic Pet? Call me Magic Pet!’

’Who’s the Magic Pet? Did you call me Magic Pet? Call me Magic Pet!’

Gray Rain angrily waved his hammer, overlapping his voice with Mikazuki’s, indirectly corroborating her prophecy ability.

"I’m very sorry, I don’t have the courage to hold out until you arrive; no matter how many predictions I make, I can’t find my own way out nor see your ending — the bottom of the Inverted Pyramid conceals some anomalous existence, interfering with my word spirit."

Mikazuki’s expression seemed lost, her voice echoed, "I can only sense a clue that might be useful to you — Red Star Orphanage, in Yin City in the real world."

After saying this, Mikazuki’s face changed abruptly, anxiously said, "Get ready, an anomaly is approaching,

his name is F, his power is...infinite fear."