Chapter 302: Messed Up Big Time

“How about it? Are you still going to keep your mouth shut?”

Nagase Komi was seated in front of Han Bi.

The bald girl raised her wrist, revealing the watch she wore over her wrist.

“The preparation phase is long over. The restriction against killing other participants is now no more. Are you not afraid that I will kill you?”

Han Bi closed his eyes.

“I am simply curious about you. Also, it would seem as though you are acquainted with that fellow.” The bald girl stood up, walked until she was before Han Bi and crouched down. She then gripped Han Bi’s chin and said in a whisper, “My intuition is telling me that you know something important about him.”

Han Bi raised his head and opened his eyes. Both of his thick eye brows were knitted together tightly as he said, “I have already messed up once. Ever since then, I swore to never mess up a second time. My intuition is telling me that I must not tell you anything about him. I will not do anything to harm him. If you want to get any information from me… I am sorry to say, you should just kill me right now. At any rate… I am just a minor character. After dying, I’ll just go back to the outside world and live life as a normal human.”

There was a strange flicker in Nagase Komi’s eyes and she pursed her lips.

She was about to say something when she suddenly stood up instead. Then, she quickly took two steps back.

Monster and Phoenix was approaching them from behind her.

The two of them were running over from the wasteland. Monster held a spear in his hand as he took the rear. He would constantly observe his surroundings vigilantly as he ran forward while holding the spear up high.

Phoenix who was running in front noticed Sawakita Mitsuo resting himself while sitting beside a campfire. An odd expression appeared on her face and she said, “Sir Generalissimo, you seem very relaxed.”

Sawakita Mitsuo smiled softly and replied, “I am just a decrepit old man. It is only natural for me to be passing on the heavy work to you youngsters.”

Phoenix grunted in response before glancing at the bald girl. Then, she turned her gaze toward Han Bi and asked, “Have you interrogated him? Does he have any valuable information?”

Nagase Komi revealed an irritated face and shook her head coldly. She said, “No, he refused to speak. Perhaps, he is just an insignificant character.”

Monster moved closer and waved the spear in his hand. “In that case, let’s just kill him. Bringing a weak and minor character like him along would only give us more problems.”

Han Bi narrowed his eyes.

Nagase Komi however, took a step forward with a passive face, blocking Monster’s path forward. She said, “Didn’t we agree on letting me interrogate him? Are you doubting my abilities?”

Monster replied coolly, “The second phase is already starting up. We should not be wasting our time and energy on a worthless being. If you don’t like the idea of killing, then just leave him to fend for himself in this wasteland.”

Nagase Komi stared at Monster and her tone suddenly took on an odd note. “Have you never been weak before?”

“… eh?”

The bald girl’s face was cold as she spoke, “I was weak once. I was so weak, I practically had no battle strength to speak of. Fortunately, I met a soft-hearted fellow who was willing to take me in. Although he would force me to work, he had never given up or abandoned me.”

After saying that, Nagase Komi fixed a stare at Monster before continuing, “I do not know if you were already so strong the moment you entered this game. But I think… if, at the moment when you were still very weak, if you had encountered others with the same mind-set as yours now… you would have died long ago.”

Monster moved his lips but no words came out.

Nagase Komi then raised a finger up to her lips. Then, she stretched out her tongue and gently licked the tip of her finger. That finger quickly transformed into a sharp metal blade. She stared Monster in the eye and said, “He has been assigned to me. I am willing to bring him along… do you have anything you want to say?”

“No.”

Before Monster could say anything, Phoenix had already walked over and spoke out. She looked at Nagase Komi with a complicated expression. “I respect your way of thought… we’ll leave him to you. If you are willing to take him along, then he will be your responsibility.”

“I will handle it properly,” said Nagase Komi who glanced at Phoenix. Her expression eased down somewhat and she retracted her killing intent. Next, she turned over to look at Han Bi and said, “You, get up.”

As she said that, she moved forward and gently kicked Han Bi. “From this moment onward, you will be under me. Do whatever I tell you to do… that is, if you want to live.”

Phoenix cast a side-glance at the bald girl before leading Monster elsewhere.

When they were both some distance away, Nagase Komi crouched down and stared at Han Bi. She said in a hushed voice, “Very well, since you refuse to talk, then you had best not… especially when other people asks you. Keep a lid on your tongue.”

Han Bi’s mind raced as he looked at Nagase Komi and he felt that something was strange.

“We came in contact with another team one kilometre east from here.”

Phoenix went to seat herself before Sawakita Mitsuo. She checked the time before slowly continuing, “The other party is composed of six people, a temporary alliance like us. Strength unknown. Still, from what we can see, two of them should be fairly strong. As for the results of our contact, things were pretty peaceful. We did not get into any conflicts and the other party did express the desire to cooperate to a certain extent.”

“Forming an alliance?” Sawakita Mitsuo raised his eyelids.

“Not that fast,” answered Phoenix with a smile. “The second phase has already begun. None of us knows what the quest would be, so the other party was not willing to immediately form an alliance. We’ll have to see how things goes before we can agree on anything. However…”

“However?”

“However, I did find out about something interesting.” Phoenix knitted her brows and continued, “The members of Thorned Flower Guild had made an announcement. There is someone they want. Whoever succeeds in killing this person can go find the team leader of Thorned Flower Guild to obtain rewards. Those who report information on that person can also get some rewards.”

“Oh?” Sawakita Mitsuo’s eyes lit up.

Phoenix retrieved her mobile phone and pulled open a picture from it.

Naturally, it was the portrait of Culkin.

When Sawakita Mitsuo glanced at it, he could not stop his expression from turning odd.

“This… isn’t this Qiu Yun?”

Phoenix’s eyes narrowed and she asked, “Do you know this person?”

“Qiu Yun, the Guild Leader of Meteor Rock Guild,” Sawakita Mitsuo said with a peculiar smile. “I had met him before… once last year.”

Phoenix thought about it and replied, “I have heard of his name before. He seemed quite famous.”

“He has considerable strength,” said Sawakita Mitsuo with a serious tone. “I wonder, how did he end up provoking Thorned Flower Guild? From what I can recall, he is a very smart fellow, how could…”

“This is not something that we should be worried about.” Phoenix sighed and continued, “Since he is wanted by Thorned Flower Guild, then all we need to know is that if we encounter him, even if we don’t make enemies of him, we must not cooperate with him. There is no need for us to bring the wrath of Thorned Flower Guild down on our heads.”

Pausing, she then continued in a hushed tone, “The second phase had started for quite some time now. But, the system had not issued any prompt about the second phase’s quest… this is highly irregular. I think there is something suspicious going on… Sir Generalissimo, you have the most experience here. Has such a thing happened within punishment instance dungeons before?”

Sawakita Mitsuo narrowed his eyes and said coolly, “No prompt is given for this second phase while the restriction against the killing of each other has been lifted. So… the biggest question now is: Will the participants start killing each other?

“Perhaps, this is the purpose of this instance dungeon? To let us fight against one another? A bunch of ravenous wolves stuck inside a cage, he he…”

Phoenix considered it seriously before shaking her head. “I don’t think it’s that simple. If it wants us to kill each other, it will at least issue out the corresponding quest. But now, there is nothing at all… I think there might be something more complicated behind this. Perhaps…”

Her heart gave a pound and she said, “Perhaps, the instance dungeon quest is the opposite…”

Then, Phoenix’s expression suddenly sank.

She received a message from the alliance channel.

Phoenix jumped to her feet.

“The Titan brothers are under attack three kilometres from here in the southeast direction!”

Sawakita Mitsuo finally straightened up his body. “Your men?”

There was a grim expression on Phoenix’s face.

In but a few seconds, she made up her mind. “Monster, come with me, we’ll go meet up with the Titan brothers. Tell them that if possible, retreat while fighting and withdraw toward us… if not, then stay where they are and hold on for reinforcements.”

Phoenix inhaled deeply before looking at Sawakita Mitsuo. She asked, “Sir Generalissimo, will you be helping us?”

Sawakita Mitsuo sighed and slowly got up. “Since we have formed an alliance, then at the very least, I will have to fulfil my duty as an ally. I’ll go together with you.”

Phoenix revealed a soft smile and she cast a profound gaze at the old Japanese man. “Thank you, Sir Generalissimo.”

Monster had already brought out a dune buggy. Both him and Phoenix jumped into the dune buggy and they moved to the southeast.

Following behind them were Sawakita Mitsuo and the middle-aged man.

The old man had Nagase Komi stay behind.

“Komi, you’ll stay here. The terrain of this place is quite good; we can use this place as a temporary base. You will be responsible for keeping watch here.”

As he spoke, the old man gave her a meaningful wink as he gestured toward Han Bi.

Nagase Komi watched as Sawakita Mitsuo and the middle-aged man left with the dune buggy. She harrumphed and pointed at Han Bi. “Put out the fire.”

Han Bi did not attempt to resist and he simply moved forward and got to work.

He picked up a bucket of water that was placed beside and splashed the water down on the fire, extinguishing it. After the flames were extinguished, the camp became dark and the stars and moon became the only source of illumination, shining faintly on their bodies.

“Why did you… save me?” Han Bi put down the water bucket and looked at Nagase Komi.

She simply gave a harrumph without replying.

Han Bi hesitated for a moment before saying, “The one you were talking about earlier… was it Chen Xiaolian?”

“… … …” Nagase Komi turned to look at Han Bi.

Han Bi gave a wry smile and said, “Among all the people I know, he is the only one who would do something so soft hearted.”

Pausing, Han Bi then frowned and said, “Just now, what you said… you want me to keep all information about him a secret? Are you protecting him?”

Nagase Komi walked until she was standing before Han Bi. “You are his friend, are you not?”

“… yes.” Han Bi nodded his head and said, “Something like that.”

“You are quite lucky to have such a good friend,” Nagase Komi said coldly. “However, let me warn you. From this moment onward, except for me, you had better not mention his name to anyone else.”

Han Bi was not a fool. He was quick to catch on. “Is it… to be on guard against that Phoenix woman and her companions?”

Nagase Komi stared at Han Bi with a cold expression for a good 10 seconds.

As Han Bi was thinking to himself that he would not be getting an answer from her…

She suddenly opened her mouth and spoke up.

“That woman knows Chen Xiaolian.”

“How do you know that?”

“That Black Widow spider silk in her hand,” Nagase Komi said coolly. “It’s the thing they used to tie you up. Chen Xiaolian had quite a bit of those… he’s quite the clever one. Not many people would think of using the Black Widow spider silk in such a way. However, I did see him use it before. As for that Phoenix woman… I inadvertently heard her say that the spider silk was given to her by a friend.”

“You think Chen Xiaolian was the one to give it to her?”

“Mm, that is possible.” Nagase Komi answered.

“But… if she is friends with Xiaolian…”

“I realized that when she was talking about the ‘friend’ who gave her the spider silk… there was a complicated expression on Phoenix’s face. And there is also that big oaf, Monster. When he was talking about that friend, his expression was one of vigilance.”

Han Bi nodded. “So, you mean… although they know each other, they might not necessarily be friends. Rather, they might even be enemies?”

“Only Heaven knows,” answered Nagase Komi who shook her head. “Maybe they cooperated before and maybe they ended up becoming enemies in the end. At any rate, those expressions are something you use when thinking of enemies and not friends.”

“So, why don’t you want me to talk about Chen Xiaolian?”

Nagase Komi was silent for a few seconds before replying, “Because… Chen Xiaolian is also in this instance dungeon.”

Han Bi was silent.

Nagase Komi suddenly leaned closer to Han Bi’s face. She stared him in the eye and said, “Oh? You don’t seem surprised? When I said that he was also in this instance dungeon, you did not become surprised at all? It seems you already know about it.”

Han Bi was shocked. He did not think that he would be exposed so easily.

He hesitated for a bit before replying in a whisper, “I… I did indeed figure it out.”

“Oh?”

“But, I cannot tell you.” Han Bi shook his head.

Naturally, he had already guessed that the one who was impersonating the Thorned Flower Guild member was Chen Xiaolian.

It was due to what Chen Xiaolian had said:

“My friends all live a good life while my enemies have already paid the price for doing so.”

As Chen Xiaolian’s hard-core novel fan, it was only natural for Han Bi to know that the quote was something that Chen Xiaolian was very fond of.

However… he must not reveal it.

Although he did not know why Chen Xiaolian would appear as a member of Thorned Flower Guild…

The fact that he was covering his face meant that he did not want others to know of his identity.

Han Bi did not want to disrupt Chen Xiaolian’s plans.

“I will not tell you about it.” Han Bi shook his head firmly.

“Whatever you like.” Nagase Komi frowned. “However, I must remind you not to mention to Phoenix that Chen Xiaolian is in this instance dungeon.”

“You fear that she holds a grudge against Chen Xiaolian and might take this opportunity to get vengeance?”

“It’s not that simple…” Nagase Komi sighed and there was a complicated look on her face.

It’s very complicated.

…

Nagase Komi’s reasoning was very simple.

It just so happened that she knew of one matter.

The winner of the London instance dungeon was Chen Xiaolian’s team.

As for how she knew…

…

Chen Xiaolian did not know that his secret had been found out by the bald girl.

He clasped the stone book tightly with a perplexed expression.

The short recording carried a large amount of information, so much so that Chen Xiaolian’s mind was unable to process them all quickly enough.

By carefully assessing the recording, it was possible to deduce several information.

First, the Conqueror Guild and the one who left the recording had existed for an extremely long time, as long as Bai Qi and Mr San. They were the masters of their era.

Second, although they were Players, their entire guild was wiped out right here.

And yet, they did not say anything other than: Do not trust all of it, everything might not exist.

Those ambiguous words were hard to comprehend.

However, there was a rather inconspicuous fact within the recording that made Chen Xiaolian’s heart pound madly.

All this while, he had always been curious about one thing.

If Awakened ones were to die in this game, they would be refreshed into ordinary humans to live on in the outside world. They will have their memories as Awakened ones erased by their system to restore the balance.

Then… what about the Players?

Within the ‘Upper Plane’, the ‘world of Players’; what would happen to Players when they die?

Since this was just a game, so what if they failed to complete a quest or die?  Will they lose their equipment? Lose levels? Lose points?

No.

That did not appear to be the case.

Through the recording, Chen Xiaolian was able to note that the one who left the message, the one known as Kaiser…

His tone was filled with grievances, anger and unwillingness toward the loss of his comrades.

Chen Xiaolian carefully weighed the matter…

Assume, just assume that you are playing an online game. When you are playing that game, you and your companions failed the quest given by the game and all died.

Would you show such a kind of reaction?

If it was merely an online game, what’s the big deal with dying during a quest? At worst, you will just lose levels or be required to login again.

At most, you would just QQ or go chat with your fallen companions; cursing while pulling faces. Then, you will return to the game a few days later and continue on.

Who would show such an agonizing and vehement outburst?

Unless…

There was only one explanation.

“Would they really… die as well?” Chen Xiaolian mumbled to himself.

…

At the edge of the town.

A black figure strode forward across the road on the wasteland as black coloured flames enveloped his entire body. His hand was dragging a large black coloured long sword, which created sparks as it scraped against the road.

The Fallen Avenger moved across the road and into the new little town.

…

System prompt: Player mode activated. Players will enter this instance dungeon in one hour’s time.

System prompt: Player mode activated. Players will enter this instance dungeon in one hour’s time.

System prompt: Player mode activated. Players will enter this instance dungeon in one hour’s time.

System prompt: Player mode activated. Players will enter this instance dungeon in one hour’s time.

…

Every Awakened ones inside the instance dungeon received this prompt inside their personal system at the same time.

The prompt caused everyone to become confounded.

…

“What the Hell? Isn’t this supposed to be a punishment instance dungeon? Why would Players enter a punishment instance dungeon?”

“Is there an error in the system?”

“What happened?”

“Oh, my God! Why would Players enter?”

…

Chen Xiaolian’s mouth was agape as he looked at his personal system.

System prompt: You have completed the warm up phase for Player mode. Entering second phase of Player mode… linking and merging of instance dungeon in progress, entering will commence in one hour.

“I… damn… … … I messed up big time.”

…