Chapter 9: The Great Good Person
"Nightmare World?"
"Little brother," the fake security guard began, now dressed like the people around him in coarse cloth attire, his features softened considerably, "come here and take a look."
Approaching the window, he looked outside to see people in period attire walking the quaint streets, both men and women. The buildings and shops on both sides of the street had also changed, now antique in style. Spread out before him was an ancient town like those only seen in television dramas.
"Have we... traveled through time?" His breathing quickened, the visual shock of the scene before him was overwhelming for Yang Xiao, who had just woken up.
The man who had posed as a security guard nodded, his gaze drifting to the mist-enshrouded peaks in the distance, "You could say that, although the town’s changed a lot. But if you look at the surrounding mountains, the place we’re in now is Fengmen Town, just several hundred years earlier."
"Like you, we all received a Ghost Script, and it’s this thing that brought us here. The forerunners also call this place the Nightmare World."
"Of course, each Nightmare World has different scenes. It might be the ancient town we see now, a high-rise building, a school, a village, or even a forest, a beach, a snowy plain, or a wasteland."
"Any scene that has appeared in our real world could appear in the Nightmare World."
"What do we need to do?" Yang Xiao asked the crucial question.
"Based on the scene that emerges, cooperate with the other players, find clues, complete tasks, and try to survive in the process," the middle-aged man said succinctly.
"I... I don’t want any Nightmare World! I want to go home, my wife and children are still there, I... Can someone save me?" A man in the corner sobbed, curled up into a ball. If he had a cellphone, he would have called the police long ago.
After arriving here, not only had their cellphones and other personal items disappeared, but even their clothing had been replaced. Now, each of them wore coarse cloth clothes with patches, which were not only of poor quality but also somewhat dirty.
"Fuck your mother, had enough yet?" The young man with earrings suddenly stood up and kicked the man twice, knocking him to the ground, "Keep crying out, and if you attract those damn things, I’ll kill you myself!"
The kicked man immediately dared not make a sound; after getting up, his nose twitched, and faint tear marks could be seen in the corners of his eyes, pitiable to behold.
The man was about 30 years old with a clean face and well-groomed hair, looking like an employee of a large company.
"Alright, stop picking on him. He’s new, after all," someone interjected.
Yang Xiao was not interested in these exchanges. In any game, newbies were always the least welcome, unaware of the rules and prone to causing trouble. Thus, he tried to speak little and listen more, asking only key questions, "Once the task is over, we can return to the real world, right?"
"That’s right," the middle-aged man nodded.
Once things had settled down, the middle-aged man took the lead in having everyone introduce themselves. After all, as he said, they were all in the same boat—strangers in a strange land.
"My name is Kuang Hongyi, I’m a security guard at a real estate company," the middle-aged man said interestingly, looking at the others, "What do you all do? It’s fate that we’ve gathered here."
"Xu Su, a university lecturer," the woman who had helped Yang Xiao with the cold towel earlier said first.
"Which subject?"
"Engineering sciences, fluid mechanics," Xu Su responded with the same somewhat indifferent demeanor.
"It’s rare to see such a young university teacher," the young man with earrings said with a meaningful smile, "My name is Ke Long, I don’t have any proper job. I work at a factory my family owns, oh, a parts processing plant for motorcycles."
"Shi Dali, seaman, work for an ocean shipping company." The robust, dark-skinned man with a loud voice was not very tall but well-built, his eyes small but taking in everyone else. He was the oldest there, roughly in his early fifties.
"Su Tingting, I... I’m a college student. Do you know Rongcheng Art College? That’s where I study..." The short-haired girl with light makeup whispered softly, clearly frightened, her complexion pale and her voice trembling, likely another newcomer.
"I... my name is Shi Guanming, I’m a designer," the man in the corner whispered.
"Designer? What kind of designer?" Kuang Hongyi seemed to perk up with interest.
"Light fixtures."
Kuang Hongyi shook his head, obviously a bit disappointed, and then turned to look at Yang Xiao. He was the last one, "Your turn."
𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺
"Chu Xi, I work at a bubble tea shop right now. My job’s not very stable." Given the unclear situation and indeterminate friends and foes, he naturally couldn’t reveal his true identity.
Out of the seven people, only Yang Xiao, Su Tingting from Rongcheng Art College, and lighting fixture designer Shi Guanming were newcomers, arriving at the Nightmare World for the first time, while the other four were veteran players.
They didn’t even get a chance to chat casually when hurried footsteps were heard outside the room, and the next second there was a knock on the door, "Settle Guests? Are the Settle Guests awake?"
The group exchanged glances, and in the end, it was Kuang Hongyi who went to open the door.
After the door opened, an inn servant appeared before them with a grimy cloth slung over his shoulder, his face looking rather shrewd. His thieving little eyes peeked into the room, "Aiyo, all the Settle Guests are here."
"Is there a problem?" Kuang Hongyi looked at him.
The servant offered a sycophantic smile, his eyes crinkling into creases, "Settle Guests, at noon, Master Feng’s household sent someone to invite you all. Knowing you had a late night yesterday, they didn’t have me disturb you, but now the sun is nearly setting, so what do you think..."
"Master Feng? Which Master Feng?"
"Oh my, Settle Guest, you sure know how to joke. In this area of a hundred miles, aside from our great benefactor Master Feng, who dares to claim the title of Master Feng?"
"What does Master Feng want with us?" Xu Su also stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Kuang Hongyi.
The servant hesitated for a second, then smiled wryly, "Aiyo, Settle Guests really have short memories, you are esteemed guests invited by Master Feng himself. The Feng Family paid in advance at our little inn, and wasn’t last night’s feast, that welcoming meal, not to your satisfaction? Perhaps you drank too much?"
"Don’t mention that meal. Right now, my head is still so foggy. Who knows if there’s something wrong with your drinks."
Shi Dali glared, and the little servant immediately cowered, which also conveniently steered the conversation back for Kuang Hongyi and Xu Su.
"I’m asking you, where are the people sent by the Feng Family?"
The inn servant’s demeanor became even more submissive, smiling awkwardly, "To answer you, sirs, they’re still outside waiting. They’ve been asking for you several times."
Kuang Hongyi gestured with a nod of his chin, "Lead the way."
"Right away!"
Following the servant’s guidance, upon exiting the inn, they saw two horse-drawn carriages not far off, along with several people standing by dressed like servants from an ancient, well-to-do household.
"Let’s go have a look, and remember, don’t say anything unnecessary. Just play it by ear," Kuang Hongyi reminded in a low voice.
But no sooner had they stepped away from the inn than the servant at the door’s demeanor changed, he spat on the ground behind them, snarling bitterly, "Pah! What rubbish, a bunch of Settle Guests that might drop dead any day, buttered up by a few nice words and they start thinking they’re lords?"
"Selling their own lives so cheaply, I reckon they’re no better than the lowest whores and actors!"