Mu Jiashi shakes his head and refrains from further comment on Fei and Wu Jianâs performance. He then turns to other matters, and says, âso the door to leave this scene is probably that operation room?â
Fei nods, âthatâs what I think.â
Wu Jian quickly says, âletâs go then. I remember it was⊠Operation Room 3.â
They head over, and leave the scene with the terrifying backstory without further incident just a few minutes later.
They didnât even meet the succumbed Missiontaker inside. They might be shivering in some corner somewhere, but Mu Jiashi and the others are pressed for time here.
Even if they donât know whatâs happening to XĂŒ Beijin, they are at least worried that the Nightmare may crumble after so much time has elapsed.
Though they still havenât figured out what they need to do in this Nightmare.
Resolve it?
They canât even imagine XĂŒ Beijin himself knowing how to resolve this; many present have already realised that this is the grey fog, and it is actually where all the succumbed people go; itâs a landfill, they understand.
But not resolving this Nightmare⊠XĂŒ Beijin has said that his Nightmare is a condition for opening the Ultimate Nightmare.
Then, are they supposed to find a specific scene among the countless ones present?
That would be entirely dependent on luck â or generosity from NE.
When this conclusion is reached, many of the Missiontakers appear worried.
Relying on the artificial intelligence with an unclear stance and not open to communication is hardly reassuring, even if so far, it seems NE has switched over to their side.
They canât communicate with it, after all.
That said, this could very well be their only chance at escape.
So when they arrive at ta new scene, everyone starts taking in the surroundings to understand the clues within.
That is when both A-One and A-Two yelp out.
Mu Jiashi looks over and asks, âyouâve been here?â
A-One looks quite confused, scratching his head.
A-Two speaks rather solemnly, âwe didâŠâ
A-One says, âthis is impossible. This place⊠this canât be right.â
Mu Jiashi furrows his brows and asks, âwhat about it?â
A-One is about to speak up when suddenly, someone pops up from out of nowhereââItâs XĂŒ Beijin.
The Missiontakers look at him, both shocked by his sudden appearance, and now concerned because of how pale XĂŒ Beijin looks.
Lin Qin immediately goes to his side to support him; the Missiontakers didnât even see him move when suddenly, heâs over there, now.
Lin Qin asks with a worried tone, âare you alright?â He carefully pokes XĂŒ Beijinâs face with his finger. Then he knits his brows at the coldness of the touch. His expression is both chilling and wrathful, âdid the Nightmare do this to you?â
XĂŒ Beijin grabs his hand, and finally sighs in relief at this critical moment.
He says, âdonât worry. Donât worry, little apple. Iâm fine; Iâve never been better.â
Lin Qin looks dumbfounded. Looking at XĂŒ Beijin, he thinks for a moment, and asks, âdid the fever burn you silly?â
XĂŒ Beijin ââŠâ
Damn it, Lin Qin!
A bit flustered and also a bit amused, he gives Lin Qin a glare.
It looks like Lin Qin still wants to argue, but XĂŒ Beijin really looks the worse for wear. Sighing, he says with a much gentler tone, âhow can I help you be less uncomfortable?â
âItâs fine. Lin Qin. Believe me,â XĂŒ Beijin whispers.
Lin Qin is knitting his brows again. He looks pissed off, but he canât exactly go off on XĂŒ Beijin either.
An idea suddenly pops into his mind â lock him up, and only let him out when heâs better.
Lin Qin finds the thought inexplicably enjoyable. He tilts his head and starts pondering whether he can win in a fight against XĂŒ Beijin right now.
Since if he lost, the plan to lock XĂŒ Beijin up would fail for sure.
Looking at him, though, he might not even against him using only his fingers.
Would this be simply taking advantage of XĂŒ Beijin? But, his goal is to clamp him down so he can take a rest anyway.
So in conclusion â he should learn more about XĂŒ Beijinâs fighting ability.
Lin Qin has a conclusion.
If XĂŒ Beijin knew that after all the bewildering thought processes, Lin Qin still ended up planning to fight with him again, then he might not be âfineâ anymore.
Unfor- Fortunately, he doesnât.
He simply looks over at the rest of the Missiontakers who are clearly nervous but also doesnât dare just speaking up to him, and gives him an apologetic smileââ
Though he doesnât really look the part in their eyes. Rather, even the weakness from illness is unable to keep them witnesses from experiencing the mysteriousness in his aura.
He tells the Missiontakers, âcongratulations, and thank you so much, that you found this Cell Nightmare.â
Mu Jiashi appears stunned for a moment before asking, elated, âthis is the reason you let us into your Nightmare, right?â
âBasically, it is as you say,â XĂŒ Beijin answers somewhat vaguely, and continues, âbut this is just the first step completed.â
Mu Jiashi immediately asks, âwhat else do we need to do?â
The other Missiontakers also listen attentively; Mu Jiashi called them here, so of course, he is in charge of the talking.
Though the Missiontakers also clearly appear relieved and thrilled.
Even Mystic, who hasnât regained her memories, is smiling thanks to the infectiousness of the othersâ joy.
She doesnât know whatâs going on, but she mutters, âthe road to be taken⊠is still to be walked.â
No one but herself heard it because it was so quiet.
The Missiontakers quiet down soon enough when XĂŒ Beijin mentions this is only the first step. Worry returns to their complexion as they await XĂŒ Beijinâs further instructions.
XĂŒ Beijin calmly smiles and tells them, âfirst, figure out the truth in this scene.â
The Missiontakers look at each other for a moment, and then all turn to A-One and A-Two for help.
A-One and A-Two, who already remember everything, are quiet for a little. Then, A-Two, whoâs a bit more well-rounded in personality and calmer explains, âwe donât actually know the whole picture either; when Mu Jiashi came to the Golddiggersâ for help, we happened to need a break.
So they sent us down. Otherwise, we would usually have quite a bit of work on us and we might not have made it.
We needed a break because⊠because of this Nightmare. We were stuck.â
As he listens on, Mu Jiashiâs face turns more and more astonished. So thatâs what happened. He thought he was quite the guest of honour for the Golddiggers, but it was actually a coincidence.
He canât help but feel slightly awkward about it.
Of course, nobody knows what heâs thinking. So itâs just another episode of small self-loathing in his mind.