Volume 5 - CH 87.1

Key Conflict

Translated by boilpoil

Edited by boilpoil

Fei is rolling her eyes at the debacle. What, are they in some sort of weird scene that can only happen in soap operas?

These Missiontakers from higher floors seem to have all been broken by the Tower at some point. They have all sorts of mental instability. Sometimes, Fei can’t help but ponder how similar they are becoming to the Tower residents.

Then Fei shakes her head and ignores the ongoing spat, believing in their ability to resolve this Nightmare in spite of their falling out. Instead, she looks towards her companion, who she finally notices is looking quite out of it.

She furrows her brows to ask, “what’s wrong?” She examines him closely and continues, “you almost look…”

Wu Jian comes back to himself, and slowly raises his head to look at Fei.

Then, with a face that could burst into tears at any moment, he pleads, “Fei, this Nightmare is too much. Let’s never come back to this Nightmare again…”

Fei, shocked, quickly asks, “what’s wrong?”

Wu Jian then tells her what happened to him and Jiang Shuangmei on the 26th floor in the end.

Fei grimly announces, “you were caught by the Janitors!”

Wu Jian blinks, and asks, “you…? You know what the deal with those madmen are?!”

The rest of the Missiontakers all turn their attention this way, even Suits and Teen who were bickering have turned their shocked faces here.

Suits is quite pleased with the development. It seems Wu Jian and Fei have made good discoveries.

Fei nods and quickly tells him, “first, tell me about what happened in detail,” then she furrows her brows to wonder, “why were you even with Liang Shuang… Never mind. We’ll leave that for now.”

The mention of Liang Shuang, i.e. Jiang Shuangmei’s fake name here, makes Wu Jian reflexively glance over at Jiang Shuangmei.

He can see that her face is awfully pale, probably similar to himself. Wu Jian is still absolutely paranoid, touching his forehead, as if confirming if his brain is still working properly.

Fei merely looks at him, confused.

Wu Jian then tells her the detail of his ‘janitorial duties’ with Jiang Shuangmei.

“That’s not the point though!” Wu Jian looks awfully fearful when he says this, “it is more about how we both were completely brainwashed! We both felt what we were doing, was normal, it was what we had to do, but it couldn’t… It’s impossible!

How could we ever feel like doing something like that, it’s unreasonable! But we were… like hypnotised, hexed, brainwashed…”

His speech turns into a murmur.

Fei can’t help but overthink, now, and she goes pale as well.

She knows Wu Jian must also be thinking about that as well, which is why he is so terrified. What was happening was a completely undetectable influence. And here, being in the Nightmare, the effects of it fizzles out the moment the previous run ends, and the undetectable influence is gone.

But… What if it isn’t just limited to Nightmares? What if something similar can happen in the Tower?

Like what Fei has suggested in the previous Nightmare with the ruins, that if NE can delete their memories in the Nightmares, then what’s stopping it from doing so in the Tower itself?

Here, if NE can affect their brains undetected in Nightmares, then what’s stopping it from doing so in the Tower itself?

This is already way beyond the scope of some game mechanic!

It is not simply rules in a game; they cannot leave this game, so this is their fucked up life now!

Fei bites her lips, cussing.

So many Missiontakers treat the Tower as the game that it is, and so act unrestrained, perhaps due to the hopelessness, perhaps due to simply wanting to. Fei knows about the many Missiontakers indulging in decadence on the bottom floor, some of whome still remaining so even despite the huge fiery passion burning across the entire bottom floor recently.

… But, BUT, Fei wants to ask, do they really know what is actually going on?

They are inside of some game, some game that exposes their brain to what is essentially open air; there is no protection. They are at the free whims of NE… They do not even have the privilege of choosing.

Not even a privilege to know what the truth is!

There is a moment, where Fei is pinching her own arms, almost shuddering.

The other Missiontakers cannot understand the fury she seems to be exuding, or possibly assuming she is just irate and empathetic at the terrible fate that has befallen her companion.

Looking at it, even Jiang Shuangmei has managed to snap out of her stupor entirely to offer condolences, “it’s alright. It’s in the past, now.”

Jiang Shuangmei is even speculating if Fei and Wu Jian could have a more intimate relationship, like being family, or even lovers. That is why Fei is reacting so severely to the predicament.

Among all that are present, perhaps only Fei and Wu Jian, through each other’s pale faces, can understand what they both thought of and are terrified of simultaneously.

The 36th floor falls silent.

That is when Suits starts walking over. He doesn’t mention his conflict with Teen earlier, acting as if nothing happened at all.

He calmly poses a question, “so, Fei, could you tell us what you know about the mad people in this building?”

Fei looks at him, then glances at Teen, who is still glaring at Suits. Thanks to his awfully youthful appearance, the adolescent-looking Teen could almost garner more sympathy points.

Of course, this is not her fight, or any other Missiontakers’ fight.

So she turns her attention back to tell them what she has heard from Xü Beijin. Regarding the Renovators, Cannibals, Mushrooms and Janitors… and the fact that the only remaining sane people are all those that are assembled on the 16th floor.

The Missiontakers are able to weave this into the context of what they have experienced seamlessly.

And their faces gradually turn sour accordingly.

When Fei is finished, the floor falls silent once more.

Finally, Suits says, “no matter what, I suppose the information is more the dangers we have to confront in the building, as opposed to the ‘truth’ we need that will guide us to the Ending.”

The other Missiontakers seem to be in agreement.

What has happened in the building thus far, revolting as it were, is the setting inside of some game──they tell themselves that, at least. As for whether it really is as disconnected as such, only time will tell.

… For zombies like Shen Yünjü, unlike Fei and Wu Jian, they never think about the meaning behind Nightmare or the Tower of their own initiative, and especially not the truth behind it all. They only choose to stay wilfully blind.

He has still maintained quite the unassuming, low profile in the Nightmare so far.

His almost corpse-like poker face, though, actually still belies the terror he felt and still lingers to this day, from a certain Nightmare he went through before. And in this building that suggests some even greater cataclysm, he finds himself mired deep in the muddy waters.

… Déjà vu.

He thinks about the word in silence.

Obviously, it’s not his first time experiencing this. It’s not even the same kind of ‘recreating’ some event, but actually, by definition of the phrase… Something screamed familiarity, but he cannot ever remember having recollection of it.

That commercial complex.

After that Nightmare, he chose to ditch the feelings as much as he can. His fear, his helplessness, and the hopelessness of it all, has him lower his head, close his eyes, and shut it all out.

Yet, when he stops moving to take a rest, something yet clings to him. He cannot fall asleep, even while his self-hypnosis is successful. He is frustrated, that he has no idea what he is frustrated about, or worried about.

What, did anything ever happen that should have his attention?

Is he not just going through his usual routine?

Has anything different ever happened?

Then, there will come a moment, a tortuous, even masochistic moment, when the façade breaks and he remembers the event again.

… Recently, when he was drifting around the Tower like an emotionless ghost as always, he overheard some conversation. With how little presence he ever had, and how loud those Missiontakers were, they didn’t notice him eavesdropping at all.

He learned about his Nightmare.

After thinking for a while, Shen Yünjü chooses to enter this Nightmare, holding some kind of last resort kind of resolve as he did so.

As for why that is… He is not sure himself. Maybe, after shutting out everything for so long, he himself has had enough of his own cowardice. Maybe, simply, he just wants to the torturous noises to end.

He just wants an answer.

He just wants to sleep again.

That’s all.