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Meanwhile, Jiang Shuangmei has also made a similar choice herself.
She tells Fei, “this is my own decision, so you don’t need to feel bad for it. God knows how much I wanted to be able to help when you were going to Xü Beijin’s Nightmare.
But I know I’m only going to be a burden; I don’t fit the requirements. But now… In the Ultimate Nightmare——I can enter the grey fog!”
She even looks slightly excited.
She knows meeting her sister’s chances are slim. She even knows it’s most likely her older sister is still trapped in an elevator rather than having poured out with the other madmen, but she’s determined.
She and Fei have also been trapped in an area now surrounded by the grey fog – it appears slightly more dangerous than Mu Jiashi and Shen Yünjü as well, because the madmen on this side seem to be acting hostile towards them.
So they had to leave.
Jiang Shuangmei is going to scout ahead.
By scouting, she is going to enter the grey fog first and try to walk through. If it’s not dangerous, she will return to where she started in five minutes.
If she’s lost, or if some kind of danger has… regardless, Fei will be deciding if she will take the risk to traverse the fog if Jiang Shuangmei isn’t back in five minutes.
Scouting is necessary, dangerous as it is. Hopefully, Jiang Shuangmei comes back safe and sound. If not, at least Fei will know that the grey fog is dangerous, possibly lethally so.
Jiang Shuangmei mumbles, “I just hope the resurrection still works in the Nightmare… Or at least, I get turned into a madwoman in the fog.”
If they at least survive, there is still hope.
Fei seems to be deep in thought.
Jiang Shuangmei waves at her and takes a step.
Then Fei says, “no, we’ll go together.”
Jiang Shuangmei freezes in place.
Fei looks up and grits her teeth, seemingly fighting back some tears, and she says, “I don’t need this kind of sacrifice… Do you get it? Your older sister has already succumbed. I can’t possibly watch you do the same.
If you walk in and succumb, then I——I’d have basically killed you with my own two hands! I’m-I was a doctor! I can’t… can’t just watch someone walk to their death!”
She wipes her tears as she walks forward, and forces a smile, “and, we might not actually die, might we?”
Jiang Shuangmei looks at her, stunned, before saying, “yes. We can still live.”
They walk into the grey fog together.
At around the same time, Mu Jiashi has sighed. He tells Shen Yünjü, “you know that I… I’m not a good person at heart. I value efficiency, teamwork and emotionless progress.”
Shen Yünjü is looking at him oddly, wondering why Mu Jiashi is once again… ‘throwing a tantrum,’ as He Shujün once put it.
And Mu Jiashi says, like he’s throwing a tantrum, “but… I mean… oh never mind,” he just gives up speaking entirely and wraps his arm around Shen Yünjü’s shoulder, saying, “we’ll go, together.”
Shen Yünjü remarks, “that makes you not emotionless after all.”
“I just feel like, it’s all come down to this. It’s meaningless to keep taking stock now,” Mu Jiashi says frankly, “it’s already the final push when we should all work together. All sacrifice should be avoidable at this point.
So, we either both live, or both die.”
Shen Yünjü looks speechless for a moment, saying, “so you mean, actually, that if my sacrifice is necessary, you’ll still have me do it without hesitation.”
Mu Jiashi looks slightly embarrassed.
Shen Yünjü glances at him, and for once, shows a slightly lively ‘speechless’ kind of look. He then pats Mu Jiashi on the head, saying, “aye, aye, capt’n, lead the way.”
Captain.
It’s been a really long time since someone has called Mu Jiashi that.
Once, he was also the captain of a Golddigging team, until he gave up everything, and then realised all his proud past achievements were simple ignorant arrogance, and was defeated. Now, he is being called captain once again.
Mu Jiashi seems to space out for a bit before saying, “alright, follow me,” then he adds, “also, don’t pat me on the head.”
“But aren’t you still a student? I’d be several years older than you…”
Mu Jiashi looks unimpressed still, “you still can’t just pat my head… Ok fine, do what you want.”
They head into the grey fog like bros, with bags of food and water still in their hands.
The grey fog swallows them up in no time.
XĂź Beijin and Lin Qin walks outside the Tower at the same time.
The mysteriously effective bandage and pills in the game has Xü Beijin’s arm treated and healing, though the long scar is still pretty terrifying to see.
Before he left the Tower’s entrance, Xü Beijin first changed his clothes at the bookstore, as his shirt and pants were both slashed open as well, and also drenched in blood. Xü Beijin, ever the stickler for cleanliness, has to change his clothes first.
Lin Qin’s hand brushes past the freshly healed skin around Xü Beijin’s left arm. The slightly cold fingers are a bit itchy to Xü Beijin, so he almost flinches in repsonse.
He looks at Lin Qin, sighs and asks, “what are you looking at now? It’s ugly.”
The wound exceeds 20cm in length, and lies right on the outside-facing part of his arm.
The one on his ankle is only a few centimetres and not deep, and definitely not as shocking as the wound on his arm.
Xü Beijin wants Lin Qin not to pay attention to it, because of… reasons. Like feeling a little guilty, and also not wanting Lin Qin to be worried.
But Lin Qin saw him change clothes, so unavoidably, his eyes become glued to the wound.
Well, normally Lin Qin would have all sorts of places to look at in such a situation, but the wound is all that matters to him as soon as he saw it. Staring, Lin Qin’s expression looks slightly off.
Then, he asks, “is the wound… going to heal without a scar?”
Xü Beijin looks at him, surprised, and then says, “I don’t… know?”
He says, “it might have affected my character model after all.”
The wound was inflicted in the boundary of the Tower, technically, not the normal game area.
Then he casually adds, “you have nothing to worry about anyway. I can use NE’s authority to modify the appearance of my character. I can wipe the wound away.”
Lin Qin looks like he still wants to say something, but gives up, and then leans over to gently kiss the wound on Xü Beijin’s arm.
XĂź Beijin calmly watches over him.
Lin Qin mumbles, “it’s really ugly and long…”
Xü Beijin, speechless, wonders what he’s doing getting disgusted now.
Then Lin Qin says, “it makes me think it hurts really badly.”
Xü Beijin pauses, and then says, “it doesn’t anymore…”
“You said it really hurt before.”
“That was then, but not now.”
Lin Qin asks, “if you change your character appearance, will you also feel the pain?”
“No…” Xü Beijin is able to answer him firmly, “I really won’t, since it’s not something that’s happening ‘in-game,’ as it were.”
Lin Qin looks reassured by that answer.