CH 32

(Part 1 – Because we are not good people)

Edited by Silver Wind 

Pa—

The black cat could not stand it any longer and it rose to its feet to grab something with its mouth before dropping it heavily in front of them.

Shen Dongqing lowered his head.

A notebook laid by their feet. 

Zhou Wenyan stooped over to pick it up. When he flipped it open, a stack of photos that had been placed inside the notebook became discernible to the eye.

He held it in his hands and looked through them one by one.

The pictures illustrated the Plague City at various points in time.

The first picture showed people coming and going while they were wearing blissful smiles on their faces and everything was shaded in warm and auspicious colours; the second was of an empty corner in the city where an occasional passer-by would be wearing a mask as they were waiting in line, and there were dead bodies lying in the shadows because there was no time to collect them; the Cathedral was already constructed in the Plague City by the third and dozens of hope flowers were swaying about by the entrance, and the city had become devoid of corpses once again since only small animals remained.

Zhou Wenyan retrieved the last photograph.

Displayed on it was a sea of hope flowers with the silhouette of the Cathedral in the distance. When he flipped over the photo, a single sentence was scribbled in a messy font on the back:

“HOPE FLOWERS HAVE NO HOPE!”

Some blood had splashed onto its edges and it seemed like the person who had written it had met with some unfortunate event. 

Zhou Wenyan held the photo between his finger and thumb.

Meanwhile, the cat licked its paw lazily and waited for the stupid humans to issue their questions.

However, Zhou Wenyan did not seem to have any queries as he inserted the photograph back into the notebook before he said: “Let’s leave.”

Shen Dongqing followed after him. 

They were leaving like this?

The black cat narrowed its round eyes and leapt off the table before it landed in front of them and meowed.

Shen Dongqing was scarcely interested. “I don’t want to touch you anymore.”

The black cat was not capable of speaking human language and it could only keep meowing urgently, claws insistently scratching the ground as if it was trying to convey something. 

Shen Dongqing glanced at it, “It’s drawing a hope flower.”

Subsequently after, the black cat painstakingly drew an “X” next to the hope flower.

Once it was done drawing, the cat raised its head to look at the pair, hoping they could comprehend what it was trying to get at.

Zhou Wenyan: “Do we look that stupid to you?” 

With such a simple hint, anyone could understand it.

The hope flower was the main cause of the disaster that had befallen Plague City.

Thus, Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan strode out of the hospital with the clues they had found.

The familiar fragrance of hope flowers rose up again and it filled their nasal cavities.

Shen Dongqing rubbed his nose with some discomfort.

Coafg j rtbga ktlif, Vtfc Gbcudlcu aegcfv tlr tfjv ab ibbx ja atf qfgrbc cfza ab tlw. Vegf fcbeut, atbrf ojwliljg fjgr jqqfjgfv bc Itbe Qfcsjc’r tfjv jujlc.

C revvfc cblrf frmjqfv Itbe Qfcsjc’r atgbja. 

Vtfc Gbcudlcu: “Qtja’r kgbcu?”

Ktf mtjcufr ab Itbe Qfcsjc’r nlrjuf kfgf reyaif, “Pa’r cbatlcu.”

Shen Dongqing’s rabbit ears quivered for a moment, and just as he took a step forward, he suddenly stopped.

He also felt that something was not right. 

Like…

Shen Dongqing stretched his hand back to feel for an anomaly, and without any suspense, he felt something fluffy.

“We grew a tail!”

Subconsciously, he looked at Zhou Wenyan. 

Zhou Wenyan was clad in a light coffee windbreaker and it emphasised his wide shoulders and narrow waist. When he looked at his side, he could see that a long… tail was sticking out from the centre of his frame.

The snow-white cat tail was even dotted with black spots.

Zhou Wenyan’s body froze.

“Let, let go.” His voice sounded strange. 

Shen Dongqing gave him a quiet glance.

Zhou Wenyan had his eyelids lowered and it concealed all the emotions present in his light brown eyes, but the fact that his breathing was a little short could be perceived.

But his tail was far more honest, it gently swayed before it hooked onto Shen Dongqing’s wrist.

Shen Dongqing understood it immediately as he touched the tail, “You like me touching you.” 

Zhou Wenyan was somewhat helpless, “That’s enough, you can touch it when we go back.”

Shen Dongqing agreed with his suggestion happily.

They hadn’t walked for long when they met an obstruction on the road.

Eliza stepped out of the shadows and raised the corners of her skirt as she gave them a curtsy. There was a smile on her face as she spoke to them softly, “May I bother the two of you for a bit?” 

Shen Dongqing really wanted to go back and did not even think about it before he replied: “No you can’t.”

The thoughtless rejection made Eliza’s smile stiffen for a moment before she immediately recovered her composure, “The Cathedral requires some help, could the two of you do me a favour?”

Zhou Wenyan rejected her as well, “No, we can’t.”

No longer able to maintain her smile, her expression sank, “Truthfully, I had no intention to resort to drastic means.” 

Accompanying her words were numerous animals coming out from the shadows behind Eliza and they surrounded the pair.

These animals were no longer as stagnant as they were before and they revealed fierce looks as putrid saliva dripped from their mouths, drop by drop.

Shen Dongqing’s rabbit ears moved a little and he said in disgust, “I don’t want to touch such ugly things.”

They did not know what Eliza said to those animals but it had spurred them into charging at the two men. 

Zhou Wenyan patted Shen Dongqing’s hand to console him and his gaze swept across the group of ferocious animals. Not a single trace of panic was present, instead he laughed, “How coincidental, I feel the same.”

Seated on the sofa, Wu Jia kept the same posture as he shrank himself into the couch, his expression conveyed how he had nothing to live for.

The only difference compared to before was the fact that a pair of ears had grown out of his head and they seemed to belong to a deer. 

Kacha—

The door was pushed open.

Abruptly, Wu Jia stood up and looked towards the door.

A figure that was firmly tied up was thrown in and it was apparent that the person who had acted against her had no tender, protective feelings for the fairer gender. Her assailants allowed her to lie there as they walked past her, and their behaviour could be considered excessive. 

As Wu Jia stared at the person lying on the ground, the feeling of ‘finally’ was apparent in his sigh, “Boss, it must have been difficult to resist acting against the NPC up until now.”

Zhou Wenyan sat down on the sofa. However, he came to realise that something was wrong the moment he did so, because his tail was stuck and it was not comfortable no matter what position he chose to sit in.

Fortunately, Shen Dongqing helped him take out his tail and he started to knead it with great interest.

Evidently, the two of them had already forgotten that they had left a NPC lying on the ground. 

After observing them for a while, Wu Jia took the initiative to kneel by Eliza’s side to say: “Don’t be afraid, we are good people.”

Once he finished his words, Wu Jia looked at Eliza – a person who could not even move a finger because of how tightly she was tied – and suddenly felt that his words were not exactly accurate.

Thus, he could only change his words in the next instant: “You should be a little afraid because we are not good people.”

Eliza gave him a judgemental glare as if she was looking at  a fool. 

Wu Jia stayed silent for a moment before he raised himself to his feet. “On what basis is a NPC allowed to despise me?”

Having been touched to the point of comfort, Zhou Wenyan was like a real cat as he lazily said, “She’s not a NPC.”

Wu Jia was startled, “She’s not a NPC?”

But Eliza was clearly the one in charge of registry at the gate and she even had the identity of a nun in training. 

Careless and casual, Zhou Wenyan said, “What do you say? Luo Xiaozhen.”

Once she heard the name, Eliza, who had been reminiscent of a dead fish, instantaneously opened her eyes as she asked, “How did you know?!”

Zhou Wenyan made a noncommittal noise. “I guessed.”

According to the nature of the game, if it could annihilate the entire batch of players, it would never leave behind a single person. 

Thus, if Lu Xiaozhen could survive in her batch of players, it meant that there was something fishy going on.

Either way, he was just making a guess; nothing would happen even if he guessed wrongly.

Eliza, no, Lu Xiaozhen gazed right at Zhou Wenyan and let out a bark of hoarse laughter while  being utterly flippant. “So what if you are already in the know? You have already been infected with the plague and you’re not far from death.”

Then, she changed the topic, “If you let me go, I’ll tell you how to treat the plague.” 

While she was saying that, Shen Dongqing was making his own small advancements as he had started to caress Zhou Wenyan’s cat ears and his entire person was almost hanging on his partner, which made what was supposed to be a serious atmosphere seem strange.

“Plague?” He remarked curiously, “I think this plague is quite nice.”

Zhou Wenyan pulled him down, “You like this?”

Shen Dongqing stared at him for a long while before he shook his head. “Forget it.” 

Patiently, Zhou Wenyan asked: “Why?”

“Cats are very cute but I don’t want you to turn into a cat,” Shen Dongqing replied.

If he were to turn into a cat, what was he going to do if the cat could not be used as his reserve grain? Furthermore, he liked people more than cats, although it was a pity that people did not have soft fur to touch.

Zhou Wenyan squeezed his rabbit ears and said: “I see.” 

Lu Xiaozhen felt like she was about to be forgotten again, and she felt like the chips she had in her hands were useless in their eyes.

Her anxiety was on the rise and she could not resist speaking to remind them of her existence. “Do you think it’s enough to just catch me? You still have another traitor amongst you, do you know that?”

Zhou Wenyan looked down, “Thank you for your reminder.”

Lu Xiaozhen returned back to herself, “You knew about it!?” 

“I didn’t know initially, but now I know.” Zhou Wenyan said, “Additionally, his acting was way too clumsy, I would have discovered it if I examined everyone carefully.”

For example, the man with the sunglasses.

Most players would usually choose to place their own safety before the matters of principle but Sunglasses Man had jumped out, wanting to be the leader instead. And tacking on the interaction he had with the priest, all the pieces of evidence pointed at the fact that something was off.

Lu Xiaozhen’s complexion changed, and she insisted, “The plague is impossible— is impossible to eliminate. The only means of survival is joining us.” 

Zhou Wenyan was too lazy to acknowledge her.

Lu Xiaozhen: “You don’t believe me?”

With the magnanimity he had, Zhou Wenyan replied, “I have never believed the words spoken by an idiot.”

Lu Xiaozhen widened her eyes and she did not speak for a long time. It was only at the very end that she shrieked hysterically, “You will all die!” 

Probably because he had grown an additional pair of ears, Shen Dongqing found her voice to be exceedingly harsh to the ear. Thus, he picked up the vase on the table and shoved it into her mouth.

The mouth of the vase was slender and long, and it was sufficient in blocking Lu Xiaozhen’s words.

She Dongqing clapped his hands together: “Apologies, I couldn’t find anything else, please bear with it first.”

Although he said ‘apologies’, he had no intention of removing the vase from her mouth. 

Lu Xiaozhen’s gaze became more resentful: Wuu wuu wuu….

During such rampant and crazy times, the only ending for those who stepped into Plague City was death.

So many players had arrived in this city and none of them left alive. Therefore, she did not believe that players who could find the solution existed.

No, even if they did exist, they would not be these two weird players! 

Zhou Wenyan stood up and shook his tail before he curled it up in his windbreaker.

Seeing that he had run before he was done touching the tail, Shen Dongqing stared at the windbreaker tightly as if he wanted to tear the thin fabric apart.

Tugging up the corner of his windbreaker, a smile played on Zhou Wenyan’s lips. “We’re going out to do proper business.”

Wu Jia was still a little out of the situation: “Go out to do what?” 

“The nights are dark and the winds are high; it is time to murder and set fire.” Zhou Wenyan spoke in a low voice.

If you were to ignore the cat ears sticking out of his head, maybe you might feel a trace of horror but right now… people only wanted to touch those ears of his.

And that was exactly Shen Dongqing’s train of thought, so he reached out to touch it.

While he was touching it, he pointed out the peculiarity in his words: “Isn’t it daytime now?” 

There was still a lot of time before the skies went dark.

Wu Jia: “Pfft.”

Zhou Wenyan shot a cold look at him.

Hence, Wu Jia immediately stepped up for his boss: “The important point is the murdering and the arson; the others are just small details, don’t mind, don’t mind.”