Being an Extra Actor in an Escape Game

Strange Phenomenon

Translated by boilpoil

Edited by boilpoil

X Beijin is thinking, and he cant even decide between first dealing with his wound and first dealing with the chaos in the stream.

In his hesitation, Lin Qin is already standing in front of him.

With a poker face, he says, no, dan-, ger.

X Beijin, feeling quite guilty, as it were, says, hahaha nomortaldanger.

Lin Qin

Angry, and also worried, looking at X Beijins pale face and blood-drenched white shirt, cant exactly start scolding him.

He just angrily spouts, you knew I couldnt throw a tantrum at you.

X Beijin chuckles, then lets himself fall into Lin Qins embrace, it really hurts, though.

Lin Qin is holding him, and with just one look, he finds himself snapping his head away, not wanting to look at that gaping wound again.

He thinks his whole heart is trembling, but he also carries X Beijin to the marketplace on the bottom floor with exceptional calm.

The Missiontakers left in quite a hurry, so there are stuff left behind.

Lin Qin grabs medicine and medical supplies all items won through the lottery at the end of Nightmares. They are classed as living essentials.

Then he carefully patches X Beijin up.

As X Beijin isnt a Missiontaker, he cant use utility cards to treat his wounds instantly. So all he can do is give him the much simpler and slow-acting method.

The entire bottom floor of the Tower is empty save for the sounds of their own breathing.

Keeping his agitation to himself, Lin Qin finishes patching up X Beijin and throws away the valuable medicine in his hands without a second thought. Then he locks onto X Beijins lips directly and rather brashly, to demonstrate his dissatisfaction and worry.

X Beijin lets him do as he wants with him, caressing Lin Qins hair gently with his intact right arm.

During the moments between kisses, slightly out of breath, X Beijin says, dont worry.

So Lin Qin stops, and puts his forehead to X Beijins, and slowly utters, I am really worried. I am really angry.

X Beijin has no excuses. He apologises, Im sorry

Im just really angry at myself, Lin Qins tone is threatening to break into tears, I dont want to see you hurt, but I still allowed you to get hurt again and again. I feel useless.

They say Im the strongest Missiontaker in the entire Tower, but I cant even protect you well.

Thats not true. Youre not useless. Its just X Beijin thinks and says, youve also been in the boundary of the Tower. I was careless and couldnt avoid all of them

Lin Qin grumbles, thats why Im useless.

X Beijin is desperately trying to convince Lin Qin with anything, but Lin Qin is adamant that, because hes not by X Beijins side when hes hurt and stop him from hurting himself, hes useless, hes incompetent, hes sad, and hes angry at himself.

X Beijin, out of ideas, just says, you really are not how about this. You can come with me wherever I go from now on. You can prove yourself. Alright?

Lin Qin immediately jumps on the idea, its a promise now. You cant leave me behind wherever you go.

X Beijin agrees.

Though he quickly realises something and gives Lin Qin a glance of suspicion.

Did he just successfully wail and bluff his way into his promising him never to leave him again?

X Beijin thinks hes right on the money.

While somewhat speechless, he also finds hes quite receptive to the gesture.

He thinks he can also sympathise with Lin Qins worry and anxiety.

Hes wounded, but, this being a game, hes recovering far faster than it would take in reality. His wound isnt even hurting anymore.

But before his wound visibly improves, Lin Qin isnt going to let him go anywhere yet.

So X Beijin decides to check the Ultimate Nightmare through his stream first.

It turns out the Ultimate Nightmare has descended into chaos.

The people are generally aware that the Apocalypse had twoPerhaps three?stages.

The first is the spread of the madness; the second is the Raining Hellfire; the third, why, that would be their entering the Tower.

That third stage is still mostly shrouded in mystery, but they have generally learned and come to appreciate some new common knowledge through Nightmares and through word-of-mouth, especially after Mu Jiashi entered key Nightmares, including X Beijins own, and X Beijin didnt stop them from spreading the news.

Theyve already got the word out before entering the Ultimate Nightmare.

So right now, the Missiontakers the ones still awake, at least have a general understanding of the spread of the madness and the Raining Hellfire.

And they have come to realise they need to avoid the madmen and some of the larger locations that are clearly carrying the madness virus.

They also know to seek the closest large building for shelter during the Raining Hellfire, or death would come all too easily.

At this stage, the madness has spread, but there are still no signs that the Raining Hellfire is soon to strike.

So Missiontakers and Actors are still busy moving along the streets to look for other lucid companions and support each other.

Though that is when the sudden proliferation of the fog affects their visibility greatly.

Whats happening? Why is there suddenly a fog?

Is the weather turning bad?

Wait! Ive heard that the grey fog outside the Tower

Many Missiontakers and Actors, while not having been to X Beijins Nightmare, have gained knowledge through various means that includes rumours like the grey fog outside the Tower is full of mad people.

They cant verify the information, but many of them have kept the mental image in mind when entering the Ultimate Nightmare.

So right now, with the grey fog spreading out, they cant help but start feeling panicked and uneasy.

Why is such a fog appearing in the Ultimate Nightmare? Are there mad people inside? Are they currently going to be in some unknown danger?

Fear and worry accompany the grey fog that suddenly appeared.

Then, the doors came.

This is impossible!

When Fei sees the door inside the grey fog, she spouts.

Next to her, Jiang Shuangmei is observing the door with keen interest.

She gulps, and, compared to the fright the other Missiontakers are having, she looks slightly expectant in comparison, and asks, is that the door in the grey fog you were talking about?

Fei isnt paying much attention to how Jiang Shuangmei looks right now, and is biting her lips, leaving deep teeth marks as she does so. Hesitantly, she agrees, I yes, I suppose they are.

And Missiontakers who once succumbed in Nightmares are inside?

Thats right. No wait, what are you thinking? Fei suddenly widens her eyes and looks at Jiang Shuangmei, asking, youre youre not thinking of looking for you sister?

Jiang Shuangmei does not answer.

Not long ago, when she just entered the Nightmare and didnt run into Fei yet She saw her older sister.

A shadow from the past, that the Nightmare constructed for her.

Jiang Shuangmei looked at her older sister, confused whether she was dreaming for a momentWell, she is, a Nightmare, even. She wasnt expecting a reunion with her sister that way in the Nightmare at all.

And oddly enough, her older sister even seemed, unfamiliar.

They havent separated for that long yet, but the same face and appearance was not enough for her to recognise her older sister that way.

Then she realised, it was because this was back on Earth, before they have ever entered the Tower.

Of course she isnt her older sister.

This was this was just a mirage the Nightmare wove for her. A fake, false, disgusting, replacement.

She still couldnt help but look at her older sister with nostalgic eyes, right there, in their own house; their parents were calling out. Its meal time.

Jiang Shuangmei looked closely at her older sister, and at her father, her mother.

Tears wouldnt stop falling out of her eyes. She pried her longing eyes away from them, their clear concern and worry for her shattering her heart, too.

She said, Im sorry Im sorry, sis. Im sorry. I was wrong. I should have listened Im sorry, Im so sorry, mom and dad, Im sorry I failed to live on well with sis

She cried, she apologised, she wanted to just kneel and break down there. She realised, she didnt even bawl out remotely as much when her older sister had truly disappeared from her side, but she was crying like hell to a strange recreation of her silhouette.

Her older sister would never want to see her cry like that, she thought. She knew, she knew it was all fake.

The Ultimate Nightmare must have wanted her to indulge herself in the fake warmth. Family. Memories. The past. Anything. They were trying to keep her there in the past, so she becomes lost in it forever.

Yet Jiang Shuangmei mumbled, Im sorry but, sis, she is waiting for me.

Jiang Shuangjie was waiting for her. Waiting for her, trapped inside the cold metallic husk of an elevator, because of her.

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