Chapter 369: Chapter 316: Lights
"I don’t see things as clearly as you do; I just feel something off about the village layout," Yang Xiao said noncommittedly, then turned to the others, "Is it just us?"
The team was small, counting Yang Xiao, only five people. Clearly not enough for a mission of this difficulty. Of course, the main issue was that fewer people meant fewer opportunities to try and err.
The young man chuckled and pointed towards a copse to the left front, "There are a few more over there. The rookies are noisy, and it’s inconvenient to bring them along the way."
"You seem experienced," Yang Xiao observed the young man.
"I’m alright; this is my sixth time entering the Nightmare World. Actually, I’m not as relaxed as I appear; I’m quite scared, but fear is contagious, so I have to pretend," the young man turned to look at Yang Xiao, "By the way, I haven’t asked how to address you?"
"Chu Xi," Yang Xiao reached out his hand.
Smiling, the young man extended his hand and shook hands with Yang Xiao, "Cheng Cha. This isn’t the place to talk; let’s go meet up first."
The small group had just walked into the woods Cheng Cha had pointed at when they saw several people sitting under a big tree, with both men and women present. Not too far away, a young man was tied to a short tree, covered in fine cuts, his mouth also gagged.
The man looked refined but appeared quite miserable. Seeing Yang Xiao and the others approach, he immediately began to struggle, making muffled sounds from his throat, perhaps seeking help.
After the two teams joined up, there was a decent number of people, including the tied-up young man, the team had a total of ten people.
"What’s wrong with him?" Yang Xiao looked towards the pitifully tied man.
A bald man with tattered clothes, sitting cross-legged on the ground, complained grumpily, "He’s a rookie with poor mental strength, only knows how to shout and scream. We were worried he’d go stir trouble in the village below, so we just tied him up."
The bald man had a fierce look, and even when sitting cross-legged, one could sense that he was very robust, not the huge type, but definitely someone who would be fierce in a fight.
Yang Xiao sized up the bald man for a moment; his shoulders were broad, his neck muscles developed, and his ears were deformed, different from ordinary people’s, curling inwards like dumplings. Yang Xiao knew that these ’dumpling ears’ had another name, ’cauliflower ears,’ which were formed from the frequent contact and friction of a wrestler’s or judoka’s ears with clothing, mats, or their opponent’s body during training.
All in all, this was a tough martial artist and likely a professional mixed martial arts fighter with a wide array of skills.
In just a few seconds, Yang Xiao had made his assessment of the man.
"Everyone, let’s introduce ourselves," finally, the essential self-introduction part came up, suggested by Cheng Cha, who seemed to be quite influential among the group.
"Cheng Cha, a student abroad. Didn’t expect to receive a Ghost Script just after coming home for a visit," Cheng Cha joked about himself. It must be said, the young man was appealing, genteel and elegant, the kind that seemed reassuring at first glance.
"Sui Chengguo, judo coach," the bald man said succinctly.
"Mi Shu, a teacher from the Fine Arts Academy’s oil painting department," a long-haired girl under the tree nodded slightly. The girl stood out in the crowd, with fair skin and a tall figure; even dressed in ragged clothes, she couldn’t be concealed.
"Hu Yanming, I run a cake shop," a man in his early 40s sighed, apparently having lost hope.
"Liu Haiping, I...I work as a receptionist at a company. Please take good care of me!" The middle-aged woman with some spots on her face grasped the corner of her clothes, obviously very nervous, and ended with a bow to everyone.
"Lu Youcheng, I drive for the CEO of a state-owned company," the man was casual, seemingly an experienced player from his demeanor.
"Wuma Haoming, I...I work as a game substitute," a young man with an extremely sallow complexion and lifeless eyes, heavy bags under both, leaned against a tree, gasping for air incessantly, as if uttering these few sentences had left him immensely fatigued, "I’ve been helping my boss hit... complete orders, haven’t shut my eyes for 72 hours now."
"Bro, you really should stop talking. I’m genuinely worried you might suddenly drop dead," Lu Youcheng, the one who spoke earlier, hurriedly waved his hand, urging Wuma Haoming to rest.
Next up was Tong Han. Yang Xiao looked at her. If he remembered correctly, she had assumed the identity of a dancer during the last mission.
"Tong Han, I’m a police officer," Tong Han said with all seriousness.
Yang Xiao was momentarily taken aback.
Upon hearing the words "police officer," the man tied to the tree started to struggle even more fiercely, but with his mouth gagged, he could only let out helpless whimpers.
"A police officer?" Liu Haiping’s dim gaze suddenly brightened, as if she had clung to a lifeline, "That’s great, you must help all of us!"
"I will do my utmost, and I ask for everyone’s cooperation as well," Tong Han stated firmly, her whole being radiated an aura of righteousness, showing no signs that she had once been the leader of an Evil Cultivator group.
"Police officer, which agency are you from?" Someone from the crowd asked. It was Sui Chengguo, his eyes full of suspicion.
Tong Han glanced at him and answered solemnly, "I work for a rather unique department called the Patrol Defense Bureau. Some of you might be familiar with it."
Yang Xiao: "...all those are my buzzwords!"
"Are you from the official side?" A few people in the crowd looked at Tong Han with odd expressions, seemingly knowing what the Patrol Defense Bureau really was all about.
"Serving the nation is my unshirkable duty," Tong Han proficiently talked officialdom to calm everyone, "Rest assured, as long as we work together with one heart, we can certainly get through this crisis."
"It’s your turn, Chu," Cheng Cha looked at him with curiosity in her eyes.
Yang Xiao took a deep breath, "Hello everyone, my name is Chu Xi, and I’m a short video editor and director. I also write novels as a hobby, and... I’m currently single."
After uttering the word "single," Yang Xiao pretended to glance unintentionally at Mi Shu, causing the latter to be momentarily startled.
Once everyone had finished introducing themselves, Cheng Cha walked over. Instead of immediately untying the bespectacled young man, she removed the cloth from his mouth. The next second, a pig-slaughtering scream erupted, "Help! Police, please save me! These people are all crazy, all of them!!"
"Keep yelling and I’ll kill you!" Sui Chengguo walked over, raising his hand to slap the young man but was stopped by Cheng Cha.
"I...my name is Quan Doufeng, I’m an editor at an online literature platform. Let’s... let’s get me down first, we can talk this over," after this ordeal, the attitude of the bespectacled young man had improved significantly, no longer daring to shout.
Suddenly, Quan Doufeng froze, his gaze fixated on the direction outside the forest, his expression shifting from puzzled to terrified, "What... what is that?"
Everyone immediately turned to look, and through the sparse branches and leaves, several lights appeared in the previously silent village at the foot of the mountain.
The lights formed a line and began to sway and move toward the mountain.
