Chapter 30 – Curiousity

Nightfall descended.

A young girl, clutching documents in her arms, stumbled down the hill.

As she ran, she kept glancing back nervously, fearing that her pursuers might suddenly appear.

She struggled out of the forest, landing her in front of a road. Seeing the tire marks lining the pavement, she felt a glimmer of hope for rescue. It’s just too bad, she was fully exposed the moment she stepped onto the road.

“Bang—”

Gunshots echoed through the sky, startling the birds in the forest.

–

Meanwhile, on the main road several kilometres away.

Chu Chenli jolted awake from a nightmare, opening his eyes to see the scenery of night speeding past the car window.

Mu Yanshen, sitting quietly beside him, was acting as his human pillow.

He was the first to notice Chu Chenli move.

“Had a nightmare?” Mu Yanshen asked softly.

“Something feels off.” Chu Chenli shook his head, his brow slightly furrowed.

He felt the nauseating feeling of being watched.

Chu Chenli didn’t say much more. He shifted his gaze and realised he had been resting on Mu Yanshen’s shoulder.

“When did I fall asleep?” he asked.

“Around an hour ago,” Mu Yanshen replied.

“You need to rest properly, Ah Li.” Hua Jin turned around and interjected, “Even though your injuries are better now, the both of you didn’t return here the normal way. There could be some lingering aftereffects.”

These past few nights, everyone except He Ziyue had taken turns keeping watch.

But with Chu Chenli’s alertness, he was always the first to wake at any disturbance. Early in the morning near the LuNan base, he was the first to hear someone calling for help.

In other words, he’s been tense this whole time.

If not for the many uncertainties on the road, Hua Jin might have forced him to take some medication to put him to sleep.

Chu Chenli nodded.

Habits formed in the game were not so easily changed. Hua Jin knew this too, but he couldn’t help it.

“At this pace, if we’re lucky, we should reach the Yingchen base by noon in two days.”

“It’ll take at most two and a half days,” He Ziyue couldn’t resist adding, “if no one else asks for help along the way.”

“Can you just focus on driving?” Hua Jin wished he could silence her.

This guy’s mouth was too formidable at times.

Though she talked a lot, there were times when she hit the mark.

He Ziyue fell silent.

But only for less than five seconds.

“That Linfeng base, could Captain Tong have pointed us in the wrong direction? Why haven’t we seen any signs of it for so long?” He Ziyue muttered, “Not a single signal, it doesn’t seem right…”

Although they had encountered various mutants along the way, their new vehicle performed well, and they had plenty of firearms, ammunition and supplies. Hua Jin alone could handle most situations, so they hadn’t been delayed much.

According to Captain Tong’s directions, they should have seen signs of the base by now.

But they hadn’t seen anything.

It was already dark, the weather was bad, and there were hardly any stars visible.

The street lights were basically just for decoration and the car’s headlights were the only reliable source of light.

They usually didn’t travel at night to let He Ziyue rest, and because it was unsafe. Mutants were more active at night, and the lack of light made it easy to get lost.

It wasn’t like the days before the disaster when there were navigation systems to direct them.

“We’ll drive for another half hour at most. If we don’t see anything, we’ll have to stop.” Hua Jin reminded them.

He Ziyue sighed in disappointment.

The dream of a big bed faded away once more.

Just as she thought the base may had been moved, or that they had missed a damaged sign, a large signboard ahead by the roadside swayed in the night wind and fell with a clang.

He Ziyue, with her excellent vision, immediately recognized the words on the sign: Wan Feng Mountain.

It was the landmark that Captain Tong had mentioned.

She jerked the steering wheel hard, narrowly avoided the falling sign, and swiftly pulled over.

With a thud, Hua Jin’s head hit the car window.

Looking up and glancing at the rearview mirror, he saw that Mu Yanshen in the back seat was very attentively and considerately serving as a human cushion for Chu Chenli.

Hua Jin: “…”

Why is he always the one who gets hurt?

How annoying.

Meanwhile, He Ziyue was very happy.

Seeing the sign meant that the base Captain Tong had mentioned was now within reach.

By making a turn and taking the road to the north, they should reach the outskirts of the LinFeng base in about ten minutes.

But after driving just a few hundred metres, they gradually realised something was wrong.

The night breeze carried a faint strange smell.

Chu Chenli was startled and rolled down all the windows, making the smell of something burning even more evident.

Hua Jin’s face changed: “A fire?”

It smelled like the aftermath of a fire.

The further they went, the stronger the smell became. It was as if the air still held the residual warmth of the flames.

Suddenly, gunshots rang out in the forest.

The evening wind carried faint cries for help.

He Ziyue couldn’t help but mutter, “We should just rename ourselves ‘The Heros saving Damsels in Distress’ squad.”

Despite her words, she still drove towards the source of the cries.

–

“Help!”

A long-haired girl stumbled through the forest.

Behind her, two uniformed men chased her with guns, shouting, “Drop the documents and we’ll let you live!!”

The girl kept screaming for help as she bolted forward, keeping her head down.

A bullet grazed her shoulder and hit a tree. The wood splinters flew out, startling her to scream. She tripped over a tree root, staggered and fell, rolling down a slope and crashing right into a tree.

The two men paused, exchanged glances, and shone their flashlights down the slope.

But just as they illuminated the unconscious girl, a gunshot rang out, followed by a warning: “Stop!”

The men froze, cold sweat dripping from their foreheads.

The bullet had grazed one man’s cheek, leaving a burning sensation on his skin.

If it had been slightly higher, his head would have been gone.

His flashlight fell to the ground with a clatter, and without hesitation, he turned and fled.

Seeing this, his companion quickly threw down his flashlight and followed, the two of them fleeing into the night.

Soon, the sound of a car engine could be heard in the distance, and there were no more sounds of pursuit in the forest.

“Scared so easily?” He Ziyue pouted, bent down to pick up a flashlight, and directed it towards Hua Jin, “How is she?”

Hua Jin was squatting beside the unconscious girl, feeling for a pulse: “She’s alive.”

“Who asked that?” He Ziyue moved over, squatted down, and shone the flashlight at the girl lying on her side.

The girl wasn’t very tall, her height around 1.6 metres, and looked petite from behind.

Apart from the loose white coat she was wearing, the most striking thing was her long, messy hair, which reached below her waist.

He Ziyue was slightly taken aback.

“No fever, no poisoning, not sure if there are any external injuries, but given that she could still run, any injuries shouldn’t be too serious,” Hua Jin said.

Even in a post-apocalyptic world, there were still differences between men and women.

Unless it was a life-or-death situation, he wouldn’t conduct a thorough examination of an unfamiliar girl without her consent.

He Ziyue was less moral than him. She pushed Hua Jin aside and directly turned the girl over.

She looked very young and couldn’t be over twenty-five years old, judging by her appearance.

She was clutching a bag of document tightly, likely the target of the ‘pursuers’.

The flashlight’s beam revealed her fair skin and delicate features, a pretty and petite beauty who seemed to be the type usually well protected by others.

Having fled through the forest for so long, the branches had scratched her face and hands.

Underneath her bangs, there was a conspicuous scrape on her forehead. Though the skin was broken, it wasn’t bleeding much, but even with her eyes closed, her face showed clear signs of fear and panic.

At first glance, she looked pitiful.

However, He Ziyue was startled.

Instinctively, she turned to Hua Jin.

Sure enough, Hua Jin was completely stunned, staring intently at the girl’s…face.

Setting aside gender differences, the girl’s face bore a striking resemblance to his, about seventy to eighty percent similar.

In that brief moment of shock, the strange girl groaned in pain and slowly opened her eyes.

The intense light made her squint, blinking repeatedly until she adjusted to the flashlight’s glare. She glanced around, confirming that her pursuers were gone, and the fear on her face slowly faded.

She looked at Hua Jin, then at He Ziyue, and asked in confusion, “Did you guys save me?”

–

On the mountain.

Chu Chenli and Mu Yanshen saw nothing but charred ruins.

A massive fire had burned the small base to the ground. The red maple forest next to it was reduced to a few charred trunks, and the rising flames chased after them, illuminating the ground beneath their feet.

Occasionally, they saw human-shaped blackened remains—charred corpses.

The only thing left unburnt was a blood-stained garment with the words “Yingchen” printed on it, clearly the uniform of the Yingchen base.

“Tsk, ruthless,” Mu Yanshen couldn’t help but remark. “Are all those conducting experiments so inhumane?”

“The doctor would punch you if he heard that,” Chu Chenli glanced at him.

“Is he any different?” Taking advantage of his absent teammate, Mu Yanshen made an unrestrained personal attack. “Do you know how many times he stood over my bed with a scalpel in the middle of the night, ready to dissect me? If I hadn’t woken up in time, I would’ve been in 108 pieces by now.”

“He was just curious about the anatomical differences between NPCs and normal humans,” Chu Chenli defended his teammate. “Besides, he could sew you back together after the dissection.”

Mu Yanshen shuddered.

“Two eyes, two nostrils, one mouth—I’m a human being,” Mu Yanshen tried to salvage his dignity. “You would really let him dissect me, Ah Li?”

Chu Chenli thought seriously for a moment and then asked, “Why would you think I’d stop him?”

After all, the doctor was just “waiting for the right moment,” whereas Chu Chenli almost truly did dismantle him into 108 pieces.

Mu Yanshen: “…”

Alright, it’s all in the past.

Mu Yanshen decided to stop humiliating himself.

“But I think this Yingchen base definitely isn’t up to any good,” Mu Yanshen abruptly changed the subject. “There’s no one left alive here.”

Chu Chenli silently nodded.

Whether it was revenge or some other motive, their methods were too ruthless.

As they walked, they saw several children’s bodies.

The bloody uniform left at the entrance was a blatant provocation.

Thinking of Fang Xiyu, their hearts felt heavy.

Regardless of what happened, being in the hands of such a base was never a good thing.

“Let’s go,” Chu Chenli sighed, taking one last look at the base’s ruins before turning to head back down the mountain with Mu Yanshen.

The way down was quieter than the ascent.

This was the first time since returning to reality that the two had truly been alone.

Mu Yanshen found himself easily satisfied, feeling his mood improve just from this.

“I was curious back then, too,” Mu Yanshen suddenly said.

“Hm?” Chu Chenli glanced at him.

“In the game world.” Mu Yanshen smiled, “I’ve been watching you from the very beginning.”

From the first moment players entered the game, even before his NPC character appeared, Mu Yanshen had noticed Chu Chenli.

Back then, everyone, including He Ziyue and Hua Jin, thought he was just a fragile and beautiful vase.

Except for Mu Yanshen.

“I could see everyone’s information, from the top-secret Shen Xuanyi to the ‘commoners’ like the Hua siblings. I could trace their records back to birth photos. The shortest record belonged to someone who dropped out of elementary school, then worked in a factory for seven years, before seeking solace in a mountain monastery as a Taoist priest until the disaster struck…As long as someone has lived in this world, they cannot leave no trace.”

Chu Chenli was the only exception.

“Under the name ‘Chu Chenli,’ there were only a few lines of information: born on a certain year, month, and day, partnered with Ye Lanzhou on a certain year and day, severely injured and was near death, then entered the infinite game world.”

Before meeting Ye Lanzhou, Chu Chenli’s life was a blank slate.

After meeting Ye Lanzhou, his profile only added two more lines.

Compared to the resumes of other players, this name was strikingly succinct.

“Before the game started, everyone told me that the arrival of the disaster had a reason, the game’s existence had meaning, and those who entered the game were selected carefully…But they never told me what the true reason and meaning were. I’ve always been curious,” Mu Yanshen said slowly.

“Everyone?” Chu Chenli questioned.

“The people who ‘created’ me,” Mu Yanshen replied.

“So you followed me because you wanted to know the truth about the disaster and the game world?” Chu Chenli asked.

“That was before,” Mu Yanshen said. “I thought you might at least know something.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know much more than you,” Chu Chenli said calmly. “The game and the current situation are beyond my understanding as well.”

“That’s why I said ‘before’.”

“And now?”

“Because of you.”

“…”

Chu Chenli turned to look at Mu Yanshen.

Mu Yanshen’s heart almost stopped from the look. He was used to people giving him disdainful and speechless looks after his usual nonsense. But when he blurted out a sincere comment and was met with such a gaze from Chu Chenli, he began to feel a bit uneasy.

Within his anxiety, there was also a hint of unnamed expectation.

Chu Chenli studied him for a long time and gradually showed a knowing expression.

“Xiao Mu,” he said with a comforting smile.

“Hm?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t laugh at you for not being able to beat me,” Chu Chenli said warmly. “After all, I did genuinely try to kill you and never held back.”

As he spoke, he reached out and patted Mu Yanshen’s shoulder.

It was as if he was reassuring him, telling him not to be hung up on that embarrassing moment.

Mu Yanshen: “…”