Chapter 1941: Chapter 1100: The Third Ghost
This sudden reversal left Yamamoto Chunai dumbfounded. It was still Xiao Lin Zhengyan who reacted the fastest, immediately stepping forward to pull the two apart and stop the situation from escalating further.
But their tempers came fast and went fast. Not long after, the two of them were acting like nothing had happened, walking shoulder to shoulder, continuing to talk about matters related to the mission, continuing to bicker and argue.
This left the inexperienced Yamamoto Chunai baffled. She lowered her voice and asked with some worry, "Mr. Xiaolin, Mr. Chu and Miss Takagi, they... those two are all right, aren’t they?"
"They’re fine, don’t worry." Xiao Lin Zhengyan spoke with the air of someone who’d been through it all. "In a Ghost place like this, the pressure on people is too great. Sometimes they need some way to vent. A bit of roughhousing is perfectly normal."
"That’s good." Yamamoto Chunai felt a bit more at ease inside; she was still counting on those two to lead them to survival.
Over this period of time, Yamamoto Chunai had seen through many things. The Nightmare World was a place that ate people and didn’t spit out their bones. In the eyes of these so‑called veteran players, newcomers like her were expendable consumables.
Among the veteran players, only Chu Xi was different. He was a good person. Miss Takagi and Mr. Katou were also not bad.
After learning that the previous night Kato Shinjiro had risked himself to save Sakai Misaki, Yamamoto Chunai’s opinion of this man improved a lot.
Sakai Misaki was also a newcomer, sharing the same fate as her.
Their mission today was to explore along Renhe Road, to find an entrance that would allow them to slip into the Youjian Mountain Tunnel, and to seize any chance to gather information.
Because of Suzuki Takashi’s experience yesterday, the four of them deliberately avoided Shirahata Station. After all, there was very likely a Ghost of unknown identity and unknown killing method lurking there.
They made a big detour, first going to Old Valley Town Station to gather information. Finding nothing new, they followed the section of railway line from Old Valley Town Station leading to the Youjian Mountain Tunnel.
The whole process was unexpectedly smooth. They encountered no inspections at all, until they neared the section of road close to the Youjian Mountain Tunnel entrance, where fences with barbed wire and some warning posts finally appeared.
Yang Xiao secretly observed the area for a while nearby and, seeing no one on duty, left Xiao Lin Zhengyan and Yamamoto Chunai waiting in the vicinity, while he took Takagi Reina toward the fence.
The fence had been in disrepair for many years. The barbed wire in many places was badly corroded by rust and already had holes in it.
Yang Xiao found a concealed spot. Takagi Reina, who was with him, was in charge of keeping watch. After confirming that no one was nearby, Yang Xiao quickly bent down and squeezed with difficulty through a hole under the barbed wire.
Then they switched, with Yang Xiao standing guard. Very soon, the agile Takagi Reina also crawled through, and the two of them quickly slipped into a nearby clump of trees and disappeared from sight.
Covering each other in turns, they searched and advanced. Things went far more smoothly than they had anticipated. Before long, the two of them reached the pitch‑black entrance of the Youjian Mountain Tunnel.
On the way, they hadn’t encountered any obstruction. Even at the tunnel entrance, there was only an old warning post standing there, reminding people not to enter the tunnel because of the danger from trains inside.
In Yang Xiao’s impression, for a supernatural incident this dangerous, even if they didn’t seal off the entire tunnel, they would at least station professionals on guard at both sides of the tunnel mouth. Yet the two of them had made it here this smoothly.
On the way, they hadn’t run into so much as a single person, let alone a Ghost. Yang Xiao couldn’t help but grow suspicious—this was far too abnormal.
"What do we do now?" Standing at the pitch‑black tunnel mouth, listening to the wailing sound of wind blowing through the tunnel, Takagi Reina was still somewhat afraid. She had a very bad premonition.
After hesitating for a moment, Yang Xiao gave the order to retreat. After all, they had already achieved their objective for today—they had found a route leading to the Youjian Mountain Tunnel.
Rushing into the tunnel now had unpredictable consequences. Yang Xiao wasn’t willing to take that risk, at least not for the moment. They had not yet reached the end of their rope; there were still chances.
Hearing Yang Xiao say this, Takagi Reina subconsciously let out a breath of relief, feeling a bit calmer inside. She trusted Yang Xiao’s judgment, but that didn’t mean she would accompany him in courting madness.
Without further hesitation, the two immediately withdrew. Before leaving, Yang Xiao also made a mark under a nearby tree.
This mark was very important. After all, next time they came might not be during the day. If they came at night and didn’t see this mark, that would mean the environment had changed and they had already stepped into a Ghost domain.
Not long after they walked out, Yang Xiao suddenly stopped, looking around as his nose sniffed hard.
"What’s wrong with you?" Takagi Reina, walking with him, asked curiously.
"Do you smell something strange?" Yang Xiao asked.
"What smell?"
"It’s like... paint, the kind of paint that’s just been applied and hasn’t dried yet." Yang Xiao kept turning around, searching for the source of this suddenly appearing smell.
Takagi Reina was also sniffing with her nose, but she could only smell the scent of soil mixed with grass and trees.
The next second, as if realizing something, Yang Xiao turned and ran. "Run!"
Hearing Yang Xiao’s warning, although she didn’t know what had happened, Takagi Reina instinctively trusted his judgment and, without a word, ran after him.
At this moment, Yang Xiao had already sensed that danger was approaching. There was something wrong with this smell. The paint smell itself was one thing; the key was the source of this odor.
The paint smell grew stronger and stronger. The source that was giving off this odor was gradually drawing closer to him, and the most crucial point was that this smell wasn’t affected by the wind direction at all.
The next second, Takagi Reina, running behind Yang Xiao, witnessed a horrifying scene. Yang Xiao, who had been sprinting at full speed, suddenly lost his balance and staggered, falling to the ground. At the same time, his left arm snapped at the forearm.
