43 - Rats and Snakes

Suicide

Translated by rabbitrisu

“What the hell is going on?” Maybe it was because he was always immersed in the process of understanding the mystery, but when seeing the trustworthy Bai Man and Dr. Jin suddenly confront Leader Cheng Yun’s weapons, the three young Dawn members, Qi Xiaomin, Du Xin, and Xiao Huo, were all extremely puzzled.

“You and the others back away.” Turning to face the puzzled eyes of the other trainers, Bai Man decisively gave orders. She finally no longer needed to cover up her emotions, and said angrily, “This person isn’t Cheng Yun at all. It’s just a rat disguised as Cheng Yun!”

“Such a person being called a rat. My heart is really uncomfortable.” The madman raised his head on the other side, pulling back the stupid Xiao Huo who was still hovering there.

Su Zimo also took the old man Elder Fang around to avoid them, and Du Xin and Qi Xiaomin subconsciously followed Su Zimo when he left his seat.

Coupled with Liu Xu, who lifted Wan Ling back to a further distance, the hall had been divided into the Chu and Han states separated by a huge river. ¹ One side had Cheng Yun, controlled by two trainers, and the other side had Su Zimo and the other trainers, who were retreating to the corridor.

“Rat?” Even Elder Fang Qin was confused.

“Actually, Cheng Yun once said that it was related to the twentieth nightmare world.” Su Zimo watched Cheng Yun stand there without oil and salt, and stared at him while saying, “Because it’s said that no one can pass the twentieth nightmare world, even a veteran trainer who can already protect themselves will not want to appear in the twentieth nightmare world.”

“Of course, because no one can pass through the twentieth world, no one knows what it looks like, let alone what the mortality rate is.” Su Zimo was still looking at Cheng Yun, who stood there and smiled casually. “Maybe because the unknown is worse than a ghost, so many trainers who are near the twentieth world will run away in fear. They’ll deliberately fail themselves through the nineteenth or even fifteenth worlds, and will be deducted 90% of their points each nightmare to continue living.”

“Such trainers are called rats.” ² The madman laughed bitterly.

“Of course, there are also those who want to clear tasks.” Su Zimo glanced at Liu Xu, and remembered that he had talked to the madman before. He wouldn’t choose to be a ‘mouse,’ but would face the twentieth world directly.

“Those are the real trainers.” The madman looked at Liu Xu with admiration.

“Of course, there is also another kind of trainer…” Su Zimo turned to look at Cheng Yun. “This kind of trainer is very afraid of death, but is braver than a rat. They live like rats, and expect to be strong enough to survive the twentieth nightmare world. But because of these people lack nightmare points, they lurk and go hunting around other trainers who hold… props.”

“I think this kind of person shouldn’t be called a rat, but should be called… a snake.” Su Zimo stared closely at Cheng Yun.

“Sure enough, I still hate you the most.”

‘Cheng Yun,’ who had always acted as if nothing had happened, suddenly froze his face, staring at Su Zimo with an expression like a poisonous snake. With his eyes and expression unlike the real Cheng Yun, he was like a viper when he said, “Do you know that you’re really annoying? Originally I found out that this nightmare world was very difficult. I wanted to see you using this face and skin for a while. We would get along normally with each other, and spend five days normally, and then finally fail the normal task clearance. No one would know that I’m a fake, and everyone would be happy. After all, everyone is an experienced trainer. We all go through several task clearance failures, don’t we?”

“But you, a newcomer, who knows nothing, just showed your head, found my flaws, and turned into a big detective. You even planned to take such a large group of us to clear the task so soon?” ‘Cheng Yun’ sneered sarcastically. “I have to kowtow and give thanks to you. Don’t you know that if you really reason it out, I have to cut my throat with a knife? ‘Suicide’ is very painful, and death is very painful. If I’m not afraid of death, why should I be a snake like you said?”

“So you want to obstruct our task clearance? Just because you don’t want to commit ‘suicide’?” The madman shook his head helplessly. “There are only two ways to survive. One is that all the task clearance failures are painless and easily achieved, and the other is to end your life before task clearance. With both methods you won’t die, but the latter will obviously be more painful…. But in the end, this path was chosen by us, ourselves, and it’s worth the pain to survive.”

“I hate you mice, too.” ‘Cheng Yun’ turned his head and glared at the madman. “Always looking more noble than us.”

“Mr. Madman is also a veteran who’s experience nightmare worlds over a dozen times?” Qi Xiaomin appeared surprised as she looked at the scummy madman who had never trimmed his beard before.

“I didn’t want to get involved with you in the first place, so I didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble.” The madman facepalmed with a headache. “Although the term ‘mouse’ isn’t good, we are also principled. No name, no information, no friends, no trouble.”

“Unfortunately, Mr. Madman isn’t such a non-existent person.” When Su Zimo spoke, he still looked at the ‘Cheng Yun’ in front of him. “Miss Bai Man, Dr. Jin, and the real Mr. Cheng Yun have all experienced nightmare worlds over ten times, so if he was attacked by this gentleman in a nightmare world, there shouldn’t be any real life danger.”

“En.” Bai Man seemed to have known this, so she just nodded and turned to ‘Cheng Yun.’ “It doesn’t matter who you are. Leave Cheng Yun’s things, and use your method to get out of our sight. Now, immediately, immediately!”

“Otherwise, I’ll help cut your throat.” The scalpel in Dr. Jin’s hand reflected the cold glow under the candlelight. “If I help, it will definitely hurt.”

“Heh.” Cheng Yun’ sneered coldly. “Even if the props in your hands are particularly powerful when facing malicious spirits, how many trainers would actually dare to kill people? On the contrary, us venomous snakes, if we encounter some nasty people in the real world, maybe we can’t bear it. We can’t help but do it in the real world. No matter how many nightmare points, won’t they be useless then?”

“What do you mean by that sentence?” Bai Man’s nails almost dug into the skin on ‘Cheng Yun’s’ wrist. “What the hell did you do to Cheng Yun?”

“Do you mean the owner of this skin? If I meet this kind of person in the real world, I just can’t help it!” ‘Cheng Yun’ chuckled twice. Do you know I hate Cheng Yun the most?”

“……”

“The most annoying thing about that guy was him desperately wanting to save me.” ‘Cheng Yun’ showed scorn all over his face. “Obviously I accepted the result of being eaten by a malicious spirit, but the guy just had to desperately come and rescue me. It’s okay to save me once, twice, thrice, even four times. Obviously we were together for the entire nightmare world. He tried to take me through the task clearance, not even giving me the opportunity to commit suicide. That kind of person… I really hate it!”

“I hate that kind of person the most, so I hate you, too, Su Zimo!” ‘Cheng Yun’ turned to him. “Don’t think you can save everyone. Don’t think everyone needs you to save them.”

“This gentleman, I think you’re overthinking too much. I’m just a newcomer without nightmare points. No matter what I do, it’s just to keep myself alive.” Su Zimo shook his head. “Also, if you want to die, I will never reach out to stop you.”

“If you want to do it yourself, please don’t waste our time!” Both Bai Man and Dr. Jin tightened their grips, and the madman and Liu Xu standing next to them even covered Xiao Huo and Wan Ling’s eyes for the first time.

“Too late.”

Cheng Yun, who had been restrained by two trainers with knives and seemed to be unable to resist, suddenly shook his whole body.

Immediately afterwards, Bai Man and Jin Lei froze for a moment, because they discovered that Cheng Yun, who was originally restrained, suddenly turned into a ghost in white clothing stained with blood. They could even see his pale skin and bloody eyes covered with the ghost’s long hair!

Instinctively wanting to protect themselves, Bai Man and Jin Lei only hesitated for a moment before they realized that the ghost in front of them might still be ‘Cheng Yun’ pretending! But even if Bai Man and Jin Lei had reacted, ‘Cheng Yun’ had taken Jin Lei’s scalpel long before they were stunned. Instead, he grabbed Bai Man’s standard dagger with one hand, and put the scalpel in a reverse grip on Bai Man’s neck. The hostage took a hostage!

The whole series of events was done in one go, so the other trainers who were far away from them couldn’t react.

After all, no one thought that ‘Cheng Yun’ could become a ghost in addition to other people! However, judging from their opponent’s still ‘normal’ attack style, he didn’t seem to possess a malicious spirit’s ability despite having the appearance of one.

“You forced my hand.” ‘Cheng Yun,’ who turned into a malicious spirit with some kind of mysterious ghost tool, smiled with a bloody mouth. Even his voice became hoarse like a female ghost.

Just a minute later, ‘Cheng Yun,’ who held Bai Man hostage, changed back into Cheng Yun again. He didn’t seem to be intent on exposing his true appearance. Like the best vipers, always in the dark and hiding what he really is.

“However, Su Zimo had just seen the text boxes of an important prop on ‘Cheng Yun,’

[Li Gui Shroud (Three Stars)]

[Sale Price: 200 yuan]

[Description: She was a soul dying for peace, but a shameless human broke the tranquility of her burial ground, stole everything, and even undressed her. She abandoned her corpse in the tomb and attached to the shroud that hadn’t decayed over the centuries. She wanted to see if there were more wicked people than good people in this world. If so, then she would one day let all the wicked people be buried together!]

[Special Ability: The shroud made of special materials has the ability to disguise anyone under its influence as a female ghost. It has little defense capabilities.]

[Limitations: You pretend to be someone else. The wicked person pretends to be a good person, and the gruesome ghost tool pretends to be a harmless shroud. One day, the disguise will be dismantled, and one day, the wicked people will be swallowed up by the ghost’s shroud!]

Peng Peng really is a little angel…

When Su Zimo finished reading the text boxes on the ‘Li Gui Shroud,’ he couldn’t help but feel the harmlessness of Peng Peng and his ‘Sheet Music of the Dead,’ sincerely admiring how he brought a lovely angel back to An Yu Yi Yu.

After the other party turned back into ‘Cheng Yun,’ the text boxes on his body suddenly disappeared, as if the existence of the Shroud itself had also been disguised.

“It’s a really good prop.” ‘Cheng Yun’ looked at the two star ghost scalpel belonging to Jin Lei. “But from now on, this is mine.”

“You…” Dr. Jin looked at the self-satisfied ‘Cheng Yun,’ then hesitated and grit her teeth. “If you’re satisfied now, let go of Bai Man quickly, then take the scalpel and leave us immediately!”

“Just kidding. I’m in a good situation now.” ‘Cheng Yun’ looked at Bai Man who had a scalpel held against her neck, and extended his hand to wave in Liu Xu’s direction. “I also want Hero Liu’s red gloves.”

Although ‘Cheng Yun’ couldn’t see the text boxes on each ghost tool, he saw the scene where Liu Xu punched through the wooden planks and iron bars, and knew that the red gloves were unusual.

“As long as you give me the gloves, I’ll disappear from in front of you.” ‘Cheng Yun’ reached out and grabbed Bai Man’s arm again. “Just toss me things, I won’t pursue them anymore.”

“He won’t give it you you.” Bai Man grit her teeth to hold back her pain. “Don’t worry about me, my nightmare points are enough. I’ll be fine!”

“Do you know what scalpels are for? This kind of thing is generally used to cut people’s skin, as well as some places that aren’t very critical. It’s very sharp, and very painful every time.” The man said while admiring Bai Man’s pale face. “So, have you heard of Lingchi?” ³

“It’s okay for you.” Liu Xu said expressionlessly. “But after getting the gloves, will you really leave on your own?”

“En…” The man used Cheng Yun’s face to reflect his thoughts. “You agree so easily, it’s really boring.”

With that said, the man freed his hand to fumble around for a while, then dropped a black object on the dining table in the middle of the crowd.

This is the first time Su Zimo had seen such a thing. It looked about the size of an ordinary school badge, but it was entirely black, and its texture was vague under the candlelight.

“Mr. Du over there.” The man smiled at Du Xin and said, “Do you know what this is?”

“….” Du Xin was silent.

“This is a slave mark. You hand it over to Mr. Su, then let Mr. Su pierce his right arm with the spikes on the back. As long as a drop of blood stains it, the mark and contract will appear on his right arm.” The main said, still with a large smile. “Isn’t that what you want?”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about!” Du Xin, a big man who trained in a gym, was scared away because of the man’s words. If he hadn’t retreated to the edge of the wall, he would even seem like he was ready to escape.

“Don’t be stupid. I can see that you’re an ordinary stupid boy, and the one over there can be viewed as a high mountain flower that can’t be picked.” The man glanced at Su Zimo who was standing there silently. “As long as you make a contract, no matter where you go, he’ll always have to follow you, and be inferior to you, and take you as the leader. Looking at you like a lifesaver, maybe those eyes that seem to see through everything will one day look at you pleadingly. Don’t you like that?”

“Why are you doing this, Su Zimo didn’t offend you at all!” Bai Man, who was held by him, reached out and grabbed the scalpel in the man’s hand, trying to cut into her neck.

“Miss Bai, you probably haven’t really ‘killed’ anything living? It’s useless to make yourself bleed and feel pain this way.” The person dragged Bai Man directly to push her into a nearby chair, not allowing her to struggle.

“The boy over there, hurry up and get it!” The man urged Du Xin again. “As long as you have this, the relationship between you isn’t just the words ‘Shoushan No. 1 Secondary School.’ Isn’t that good?!”

“I… I…” At that moment, Du Xin seemed really hesitant. He even glanced at Su Zimo, then saw a pair of completely indifferent eyes. He trembled, then went wild and shouted, “I don’t want it! I don’t want it! I don’t want it! Leave me alone! I don’t want it!”

He clasped his head tightly and slid slowly down the wall, curling himself up at the edge of the wall and trying to escape his surroundings.

“Why bother?”

Then, Su Zimo moved.

He seemed to randomly take a metal pen from his backpack. Although in theory, it was a weapon that only worked against malicious spirits, Su Zimo now knew that the man had the entire ghost tool wrapped around him right?

He was playing with the metal pen in his hand as if nervous, showing everyone that it wasn’t a weapon, and then approached the person step by step.

Of course, Su Zimo’s behavior wasn’t completely reckless. While approaching the man at a slow speed, he put his other hand behind his back, stretched out his fingers, and gestured to the madman and Liu Xu, making an gesture to activate the lighter.

“Hak.” The madman standing behind him coughed softly, as if to tell Su Zimo he had received the signal.

“You hate me so much, why don’t you just put the slave mark on me yourself?” Su Zimo lifted his chin, exposing his elegant white neck and the silver chains on his glasses against it. He suddenly showed a smile on his originally apathetic face, limited to just the corner of his mouth.

The man didn’t know what was happening, but he watched Su Zimo approach step by step.

Footnotes

<ol>Chu and Han states were part of a squabble between the Qin and Han dynasties, after the Qin dynasty collapsed and divided into 18 pieces. War broke out to gain power over as much land as possible, and Chu-Han shared a border on Wei River. Iirc, the Han side put a dam in the river, so when the Chu army was trying to cross to attack the Han army, they opened it and they almost all drowned. The Han army won. So in earlier chapters I used mice for this because they were mainly described as hiding themselves. I’m using rat here because rats are thought of as tricky and self-preserving rather than just hiding away in fear. I’ll switch between the two terms as necessary depending on context provided. Just letting you all know for continuity! Lingchi is an ancient torture method, death by a thousand cuts. Very slow and painful.</ol>