Chapter 1904: Chapter 1081: Proof of Allegiance (Part 2)
When Yamamoto Haruna mentioned Yang Xiao and Takagi Reina, her eyes shone despite her exhaustion, "Mr. Chu Xi is truly a good person, he’s very kind!"
"Yeah, Chu Jun even specifically warned us to be careful of that bastard Watanabe Gou tonight. I was negligent," said Xiao Lin Zhengyan, feeling extremely guilty as he recalled the events of the night.
"Mr. Xiaolin, don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault, you’ve done really well. You’re the bravest person I’ve ever met! You’re a real man!" Yamamoto Haruna clenched her little fist, cheering him up.
Hearing this, Xiao Lin Zhengyan couldn’t help but feel a bit shy. In the real world, he’s nothing more than an ordinary person, constantly crushed by the pressures of life.
Being scolded by his boss at work was a common occurrence; he never talked back, silently bearing the burden of his family. Today, someone actually praised him for being brave straight to his face, leaving him flattered and overwhelmed.
"Miss Yamamoto, please stop praising me. You’re the one who did well. I’m really thankful you came back to help," Xiao Lin Zhengyan said sincerely. When Yamamoto Haruna barged in with a baseball bat, it was like a beam of light piercing the night.
If Yamamoto Haruna hadn’t returned, Xiao Lin Zhengyan knew he would have been done for. Who knows what that bastard Watanabe Gou would have done to him.
"We were too lenient with him; we should have given him a good beating!" Yamamoto Haruna fumed, thinking of the excessive things Watanabe Gou had done to them.
Hearing this, Xiao Lin Zhengyan sighed and spoke earnestly, "I understand how you feel, but... Miss Yamamoto, are you sure you really have it in you to do it?"
Under Xiao Lin Zhengyan’s gaze, the fierce determination Yamamoto Haruna had summoned dissipated a bit. Truth be told, she didn’t dare. She had never even killed a chicken, let alone a person.
In the heat of the moment, thinking of saving someone, she swung the bat at Watanabe Gou. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t dare. She couldn’t even bring herself to quarrel with people.
Xiao Lin Zhengyan was also recognized as a well-tempered person. All they could do was subdue Watanabe Gou; they couldn’t really bring themselves to harm him with a knife.
"It’s infuriating; we were so unlucky, running into Yandeta Chiyoda as soon as we walked out. We should have thrown her out instead of stashing her in the storage room!" Yamamoto Haruna ranted, scratching her head in regret.
"No way." Watanabe Gou shook his head, "Doing that would only bring bigger trouble. In this world, it’s not just the ghosts that are life-threatening; teammates and natives of this world can be just as dangerous. They have independent thoughts, just like people in the real world."
Watanabe Gou, having been through this before, explained in a hushed tone to Yamamoto Haruna, "If you just tie someone up and throw them outside, what if someone passes by and finds them?"
"If it were me, I’d probably call the police," Yamamoto Haruna answered.
"Exactly. What identity do we have now? How could we withstand police questioning? We’d be taken back to the station in no time, and the task would no longer involve us—we’d be out of play," Xiao Lin Zhengyan said.
"Out of play... what does that mean?" Yamamoto Haruna was startled, sensing a great danger associated with these words.
"It means you’re dead," Xiao Lin Zhengyan said solemnly. "When the task ends, an exit will appear. If we can’t get to the exit in time, we’ll be stuck here forever, and that might be even worse than being killed by a ghost."
"Then we shouldn’t have opened the door; we should have just tied Watanabe Gou tightly and thrown him in the bathroom. We could have taken turns watching him. That way, no one would know," Yamamoto Haruna suggested.
Xiao Lin Zhengyan shook his head, "That’s not an option either. He’s got a Ghost Train Ticket on him, remember? Watanabe Gou mentioned that last night, Mimura Kaori, who stayed in the same room with him, was targeted by a ghost after receiving a Ghost Train Ticket. The ghost came into their room, and Watanabe Gou felt a huge threat, almost losing his life."
"For as bad as Watanabe Gou is, he’s not stupid. He’s way more capable than the two of us combined."
"With his skills, he barely survived last night. If it were us, we might not be so lucky. We can’t take that gamble."
"So, what do you suggest?" Yamamoto Haruna was at her wit’s end, feeling like every choice was a dead-end road.
"If I had to do it again, I would still tie him up tightly, gag him, and drag him out to a secluded corner of the storage room downstairs, letting him die silently. That would be the best choice; it was just our bad luck to run into Yandeta Chiyoda, that old hag," said Xiao Lin Zhengyan, shaking his hand dismissively. "Anyway, it’s over. There’s no point in discussing it further."
In conclusion, they managed to escape tonight, and that’s the important part.
Of course, there’s still a possibility that they could be haunted by ghosts tonight again, but if that happens, there’s not much he can do.
"Mr. Xiaolin, where should we go next?" Yamamoto Haruna asked after taking a short break.
It was already late at night, and they were unfamiliar with the area, which seemed cloaked in danger, making her uneasy.
"Let’s go back to our place. Now that Yandeta Chiyoda and the others are on the train, no one will bother us anymore."
"Probably not," Xiao Lin Zhengyan added after a moment.
Suddenly, Xiao Lin Zhengyan seemed to remember something. He took out his phone, though the screen had been shattered during the earlier scuffle. Fortunately, it was just the outer screen, and he could still use it with some effort.
He composed a long message, detailing everything he knew, and sent it to Yang Xiao’s phone.
He chose not to make a call for fear of being misunderstood by Yang Xiao and potentially causing trouble for them.
After all, they had experienced something terrifying last night. Hearing the phone ring had brought the water ghost back to them.
When listening to Yang Xiao recount the strange occurrences at the detective agency the previous night, Xiao Lin Zhengyan turned pale. He knew that if it had been him in that situation, he wouldn’t have stood a chance of surviving.
But looking at Yang Xiao’s expression, there was almost no intense reaction, as if for him, such situations were routine.
From that moment on, Xiao Lin Zhengyan realized that although this man looked young, he was undoubtedly someone formidable.
His partner, Takagi Reina, was also quite capable, never intimidated by the veteran Yandeta Chiyoda, and holding her ground in arguments.
Frankly speaking, the current situation for him and Yamamoto Haruna didn’t look good. Their escape tonight meant they’d completely offended Watanabe Gou, Yandeta Chiyoda, and Hirano Yuuhi.
The three of them were seasoned players, and this matter wasn’t going to be easily forgotten. They would certainly seek revenge in the future.
But even if he had the option to do it again, he would still choose to run. Only a fool would stay on the train and wait to die.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Yamamoto Haruna beside him, who was still naïvely looking around. Xiao Lin Zhengyan sighed inwardly, thinking he had another option tonight.
He could have chosen to escape on his own, leaving Yamamoto Haruna behind.
That way, those three veterans wouldn’t have bothered him anymore; there would already be a scapegoat, demonstrating his sincerity.
But how could he do that? From the moment Yamamoto Haruna rushed back to save him with a bat, that option was no longer viable for him.
Xiao Lin Zhengyan had made up his mind about his path forward. Now that they’ve completely fallen out with Watanabe Gou and Yandeta Chiyoda, there’s no need to be timid anymore.
He decided to side with Yang Xiao and Takagi Reina. The message he just sent was his pledge.
In the Nightmare World, any ally is precious, and he believed Yang Xiao and Takagi Reina wouldn’t refuse them.
Additionally... Xiao Lin Zhengyan’s gaze unknowingly turned cold. Who said he should fear Watanabe Gou and Yandeta Chiyoda? Tonight, those two were probably struggling to protect themselves. Heh, let them survive and then become his opponents.
