Li Ban's eyes widened immediately.
Loading? That sounded very similar to what he heard when he was drowsy.
Could this boy before him be here on a mission just like him?
Were they both... undercover agents?
This boy had just helped him - perhaps he was an ally?
Was there a custom here of explaining the rules to newcomers?
Seeing Li Ban no longer thinking of escape, the boy helped him up and dragged him toward the back of the carriage, loudly declaring, "I'll take you all the way to the back so you'll give up on escaping."
Li Ban obediently followed the boy away from the enigmatic Uncle Ma, sitting in the very last row.
The others consciously kept their distance, as if afraid of being implicated by Li Ban.
But when he opened his mouth, not a single word came out.
How should he probe?
He wasn't actually an undercover agent - he didn't know how!
The boy kept one hand gripping Li Ban's arm, as if preventing him from escaping.
Seeing Li Ban's utterly foolish demeanor, the boy also looked puzzled.
He spoke in a very low voice, "You... woke up so slowly. Did something go wrong during loading?"
The carriage wasn't exactly quiet - besides people's hushed conversations, there was the rumbling of wheels.
Li Ban had to concentrate hard to hear what the boy was saying.
"Yeah, there was a problem," Li Ban answered vaguely.
Li Ban still didn't know how to understand his current situation without arousing the boy's suspicion, but since the other had asked if there were loading issues, he could attribute his ignorance to that.
"I'm very confused right now, don't know what's happening, seems like I've forgotten many things."
The boy immediately looked pained and said worriedly, "Amnesia - I've heard of this side effect, but it's my first time seeing it."
Glancing back at the others and seeing no one paying attention, the boy whispered, "The technology isn't perfect yet, so there are naturally many side effects. Don't worry - look how many people failed to load entirely. We got in, that's success already."
"What things do you still remember?"
When the boy turned the question back on him, Li Ban wanted to say he remembered the lab, the space capsule and the mission.
But he wasn't sure about the exact terms - should he say it directly?
Seeing Li Ban hesitate, the boy thought he might have forgotten quite a lot.
The boy tentatively said one word: "Director?"
Li Ban's eyes widened.
"Director" wasn't a term that belonged in this ancient world.
Seeing Li Ban's familiar yet surprised reaction, the boy relaxed. "You remember the Director, remember your origins - that's good enough."
Seeing the boy so friendly yet revealing little information, Li Ban decided to take a risk: "But I've forgotten the mission."
The boy just waved his hand. "No problem. Anticipating possible information loss during loading, all critical data is stored in your consciousness layer's mission assistance system. When it detects key information, the system will trigger prompts. And your amnesia might improve after a while."
The boy acted like it was no big deal, but Li Ban still worried.
He had only crossed over right before entering the experimental capsule.
Was that mission assistance system really in his consciousness layer?
Could it be in the original host's consciousness instead?
Would that mean he'd never know what the mission was?
"Is our mission the same?" Li Ban asked by the boy's ear.
The boy continued whispering, "Don't know. We're not allowed to discuss our individual mission details."
Li Ban had a headache - he could only hope his assistance system was still there.
The carriage kept rocking along, with no sign of reaching its destination.
The subdued conversations in the carriage continued.
Not just Li Ban and the boy - the others also seemed full of anxiety about the future.
Their voices gradually grew louder, drowning out the sound of wheels.
Ze - as the boy introduced himself - didn't seem worried at all about becoming a slave.
Was becoming a slave necessary to complete the mission?
Li Ban asked his most pressing question: "What kind of world is this? Can we leave?"
Ze thought for a moment. "This is the Witch World - an independently operating virtual world extremely close to reality. My knowledge is limited too. But don't worry - no matter how dangerous it is, it doesn't matter to us. We're only here to complete missions. Each stage mission completed grants one voluntary logout opportunity during sleep or unconsciousness."
If this was truly just a loaded virtual data world, it seemed less dangerous - no need to fear slavery.
Li Ban relaxed slightly and asked about slavery: "Can't we escape? How to complete missions as slaves?"
"Slave status makes it easier to infiltrate various factions. Of course we can't escape."
Li Ban stared into Ze's eyes: "If... we die here, can we return?"
Completely unaware of Li Ban's inner tension, Ze nodded easily.
"Of course we can return to the lab. But that wouldn't be normal logout - it'd be forced logout. After forced logout, the Witch World body dies - meaning this character's account gets banned. You'd have to start a new one."
Li Ban mentally sighed in relief.
Though he still didn't know his current identity, the mission, or what this world was like - at least his life wasn't in danger.
He'd just... take it one step at a time.
By now, the carriage had traveled through the wilderness for a long time. Most passengers lost their desire to talk, growing drowsy.
No longer fearing for his life, Li Ban also grew sleepy.
Just as he closed his eyes, the carriage jerked to an abrupt stop.
All slaves in the carriage lurched forward half a meter.
Being in the last row, Li Ban luckily avoided being crushed.
Struggling to push himself up, he looked through the suddenly opened door at the person blocking their path.
Seeing this figure, Li Ban was stunned speechless, only able to frantically shake Ze beside him.
The one who stopped the carriage and opened the door... wasn't human!
The figure's body was like a tree - uniformly thick from top to bottom, with bark-like skin. Its facial features were fissures in the bark.
Its limbs were thick branches and roots, with several slender twigs growing from its body and head.
Somewhat willow-like, but leafless.
About 1.5 meters tall, with arms reaching the ground, legs and feet totaling under half a meter.
"It's a tree-person!"
Ze, pinned beneath Li Ban, also saw this but wasn't as shocked.
"Just don't know which area's guard it is."
As expected, the driver Old Man soon provided answers.
Standing obsequiously beside the tree-person, his wrinkled face all smiles: "Sir, see - these are my goods. Top quality, bargain prices."
"All of you - perk up!" Turning to the slaves, his expression turned fierce: "The Death Prison officials are selecting slaves! Show your best selves!"
His shouting backfired - nearly everyone shrunk their necks, trying to appear inconspicuous.
Ze also pulled Li Ban to hide behind others.
Li Ban's brief hesitation left him the carriage's tallest occupant.
Because upon hearing "Death Prison," a flat mechanical female voice suddenly spoke in his mind:
[Keyword "Death Prison" recognized - confirmed as current mission location.]
What was this?
The mission assistance system Ze mentioned?
Even with a soul replacement, he could still receive subconscious mission info?
The tree-person pulled its feet from the ground and slowly approached the door.
Li Ban noticed its eyes resembled humans', except they opened vertically.
Raising an arm - already over 1.5 meters long - it easily reached into the carriage and pointed at a young man in his twenties and a girl around ten.
What standards were these for selecting slaves?
Then the tree-person stopped, still not leaving - as if needing more selections but unsure whom to choose.
While Li Ban puzzled over this, the driver pointed at him from afar, enthusiastically recommending: "Sir, this slave survived the Shock Terror technique - should be excellent Death Prison material."
The tree-person's eyes swept over, giving Li Ban two looks before nodding - actually accepting this suggestion.
Li Ban's spine stiffened - he was really becoming a slave!
Then he heard Ze's barely audible whisper beside him:
"Finished! Finished! Finished!"
"...Your account is banned!"