Chapter 1456: Chapter 897: Accident (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!) (Part 3)
"Incredible... incredible!" Zhou Mingxiao was almost in tears, his mouth twisting into a smile mixed with a sob as he said, "Chu, my little brother, you... you’re my savior. I, Zhou Mingxiao, will never... never forget you!"
"You flatter me, Mr. Zhou. I just did what I should have." Faced with the compliments, Yang Xiao remained calm; those polite words were useless. What he needed were clues.
When Zhou Mingxiao caught his breath, he sat up and began to look around. Yang Xiao quickly explained, "No need to look. Wu Zhuo is dead. When I came back, a ghost was impersonating him. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the body."
"Good riddance. Useless thing, only causes trouble," Zhou Mingxiao said, panting heavily and without reservation. Although Yang Xiao spoke lightly, how could the seasoned player Zhou Mingxiao not know the risks involved.
As soon as the two of them left, the place was burgled. If it weren’t for Yang Xiao’s quick thinking, he would have been killed by that impostor ghost’s schemes. And if Yang Xiao were to die, no one would pass on information about the Waist-breaking Ghost to him, and it would all be over tonight; their three-member team would be completely wiped out.
And if all three of them died tonight, without leaving behind any valuable information, this mission would basically be a failure.
Before leaving, Yang Xiao had invited Wu Zhuo several times, and Zhou Mingxiao saw it all, but the latter refused. This proved him to be a complete fool.
Dead, fine, he should have died long ago. In these nightmare tasks, what’s scary is not having a bad teammate, but a foolish one, especially those unaware of their foolishness. Running into them is sheer bad luck, and many times teams are wiped out because of these people.
Players who have experienced nightmare tasks, especially those with many difficult missions, develop a condition—foolphobia—and Zhou Mingxiao was one of them.
After resting on the ground, Zhou Mingxiao stood up with Yang Xiao’s support, and then sat in a chair, trembling as he reached into his coat and pulled out the DV machine.
When Yang Xiao entered, he noticed Zhou Mingxiao’s bulging coat but didn’t ask, waiting for Zhou Mingxiao to reveal it himself, which was a rule among smart people.
"Chu, my little brother, this DV machine I found near the fire center is extremely valuable." In the next moments, Zhou Mingxiao recounted everything that happened afterward to Yang Xiao, including the phone number information he found and, most importantly, the terrifying creature that crawled on all fours.
Now, Yang Xiao had already proven his worth to Zhou Mingxiao, and Zhou Mingxiao reciprocated by sharing all the information he knew with Yang Xiao.
This mission was very tricky, and both of them could feel it, so cooperation was the only choice.
"This DV machine captures the past, meaning the scenes before the fire." Yang Xiao fiddled with the old machine, deep in thought.
Swallowing some blood-tinged saliva, Zhou Mingxiao nodded solemnly, "That’s right. Not only can it capture, but it also allows the holder to touch the past. That’s how I found that number."
"The number of Pioneer Film and Television Prop Rental Company, the contact is Xu Yan," Zhou Mingxiao emphasized.
Yang Xiao tried to turn on the machine but failed several times. He searched around the office for a cord to charge it, but found nothing. It seemed like he’d have to wait until morning to figure something out.
Even if he found a matching charging cord or battery, it wouldn’t necessarily work, but it was worth a try—just in case.
In the Nightmare World, anything could happen; players needed to be bold enough to try.
The reason Yang Xiao wanted to turn on the DV machine was simple. He wanted to see if Zhou Mingxiao recorded any footage of tonight’s events, and also, the machine itself might hold secrets, like some stored videos.
"Mr. Zhou, have you checked the memory of this machine since you’ve had it?" Yang Xiao asked, holding up the DV machine.
This question made Zhou Mingxiao a bit embarrassed. He shook his head and said softly, "No, I... I forgot. The scene was quite overwhelming. You must understand what I mean."
"I see." Yang Xiao nodded, showing his understanding. However, if it were him, he would definitely check the memory first.
Seeing Yang Xiao so composed, Zhou Mingxiao couldn’t help but lower his voice and curiously asked, "Chu, my little brother, if I may ask, what exactly do you do?"
"Police," Yang Xiao responded calmly, without a flush or a palpitation.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Mingxiao gave an awkward laugh and swallowed, "I’ve been through a few missions as well. Every time, there’s almost always someone impersonating a police officer—tricks to deceive newcomers. We don’t need that between us, right?"
"Don’t get me wrong, I mean no harm. I just really admire your skills, young brother. Such talent shouldn’t be wasted."
Zhou Mingxiao, valuing talent, extended an olive branch to Yang Xiao, cupping his fists in salute, "To be honest, I am a branch president of the United Federation. I have some fame in the Jianghu. If you don’t mind, you can come find me. People like you are the pillars of the nation!"
"That would be great." Yang Xiao laughed, also cupping his fists in return, "Then after we get out, I’ll come find you, and we can be friends."
"Absolutely!" Seeing that Yang Xiao didn’t ask much, but was skillful in speech and manner, Zhou Mingxiao’s heart tightened, realizing that the other party didn’t find his status as a United Federation branch president impressive, which proved that this person had a significant background himself.
This was someone he wouldn’t be able to recruit. What was said was merely to give himself a way out.
