novelraw Chapter 69: Sea of Darkness - (69)
Chapter 69: Sea of Darkness - (69)
“How should we handle Leini’er?” Kui Xin asked, “Do you want him killed too?”
“That will depend on the boss’s instructions.” Night Cicada rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“‘Dad,’ how do you wish to deal with Leini’er?” Kui Xin queried through the leisurely-paced communication link, “Should I kill him as well?”
“That depends on whether he still holds any value,” Wei Haidong replied. “The intelligence Zhao Wenyao can provide is limited; we need more players.”
“What should be our next course of action—conducting individual investigations? How long would that take?” Kui Xin asked. “With just ten thousand players, if they were evenly distributed, finding one or two in a city would be sheer luck. They blend in with the population, so how can we detect them? As time goes on, it will undoubtedly become increasingly difficult to identify who the players are—they know how to conceal themselves.”
“Yes, discovering Duolin, Leini’er, and Zhao Wenyao did involve elements of luck,” Wei Haidong acknowledged. “In this regard, our fortune has been decent. In fact, we’ve already identified four players, but there’s an issue with the fourth—it’s much more complicated than Leini’er’s situation.”
Kui Xin felt a slight twitch between his brows. “Who is the fourth?”
“You’ve met him aboard the Kraken,” Wei Haidong slowly said.
“Tang Guan?” Within Kui Xin, there was a sense of both surprise and inevitability.
“It’s him,” Wei Haidong confirmed. “After you see Leini’er, you can go check on Tang Guan.”“Alright.” Kui Xin’s expression remained unchanged. “I am indeed very interested in Tang Guan.”
“We’re here. This is Leini’er’s cell,” Night Cicada said. “The smell inside might be somewhat overpowering; please bear with it.”
“Tsk.” Kui Xin frowned as she watched the metal door slide open and then stepped into the cell.
It had the same layout—a spacious room divided into two sections by glass. Leini’er sat slumped in a restrained chair, seemingly unconscious.
An intravenous drip was connected to his arm, with drops of medication slowly falling from it into his veins.
“This guy doesn’t eat… uh, all his teeth were extracted, so I guess there’s no way for him to consume food,” Night Cicada muttered. “Could this be why he refuses nourishment? Anyway, we have been administering nutrient injections to Leini’er just to keep him alive. Over these past few days, I haven’t tortured him, so logically, his condition should have improved considerably.”
Night Cicada snapped his fingers, causing the glass barrier to lower. He walked up to Leini’er and patted his face.
“Hey, Clark Kent, wake up,” Night Cicada repeated several times.
Leini’er gradually opened his eyes, revealing a poor mental state. He appeared almost on his last breath, his gaze dull and showing minimal reaction to external stimuli.
“The stench here is overwhelming.” Kui Xin waved her hand near her nose.
A strong scent of blood filled the air, making her feel as if she had returned to the Kraken.
“Spill everything,” Night Cicada said with a grin, gazing at Leini’er. “The player from your world has already disclosed everything.”
Leini’er wore a metallic bracelet that continuously monitored his vital signs and detected lies based on his statements. This device could not save his entire physiological state from analysis.
Upon hearing Night Cicada’s words, Leini’er’s eyelashes fluttered, and he spat a mouthful of bloody saliva towards Night Cicada.
The spittle landed on Night Cicada’s glossy black boots, visibly dampening his mood. He became ominously gloomy. However, Leini’er silently chuckled—not because he didn’t want to laugh audibly, but because he genuinely lacked the strength. When he laughed, faint wheezing sounds emerged from his chest, reminiscent of a dying person straining for breath.
Night Cicada forcefully gripped Leini’er’s jawbone and asked, “Is my torment not harsh enough for you? Hm?”
He raised his fist, striking Leini’er’s face hard enough to contort it. Feeling it was still too lenient, he retrieved a retractable baton from behind his waist and proceeded to brutally beat him with it.
“Still not satisfied with the beating? Make it quick.” Kui Xin glanced at her bracelet. “I don’t have much time to waste.”
“Huff…” Night Cicada put away the stick and said, “Fine, whatever you say.”
Leini’er slowly moved his head, speaking through slurred words, “In most cases, you rely on tools to torture me rather than using your fists or feet. Each time you strike me with your fists or kicks, the force is lighter than I would expect. You don’t seem like a trained warrior but rather an ordinary person with average strength.”
He spoke in English, and due to having all his teeth removed, some words were pronounced unclearly. However, Kui Xin’s multi-functional camouflage mask accurately translated his speech.
Night Cicada was touched by his sore spot; compared to others, he indeed lacked combat prowess. His superhuman ability granted him an irreplaceable role within the organization, elevating him to a status difficult for others to match. However, physical fitness remained his greatest weakness, making it challenging for him to adequately protect himself.
Being someone who valued faces, Night Cicada couldn’t erupt in anger when his vulnerability was exposed. Instead, he sneered disdainfully and retorted, “Quite the detective, aren’t you?”
“I believe my guess is correct.” Leini’er lifted his battered face and looked at Kui Xin. “Look, you’ve brought a new face here. Can you introduce her to me?”
“Before asking others to introduce themselves, you should start with your own introduction,” Kui Xin said. “Your name isn’t Clark Kent, and in your world, there aren’t parents who would give their child three distinct names. Everything you told us earlier was deception.”
“I didn’t lie; whether you two choose to believe it or not is up to you,” Leini’er uttered indistinctly.
“Still pretending? Is this due to wishful thinking, or do you think we can’t do anything as long as you deny everything?” Night Cicada grabbed Leini’er’s hair, forcing him to make eye contact.
Night Cicada observed Leini’er’s reaction and enunciated each word deliberately: “Players like you have affiliations, right? One side consists of Deprivers, and the other comprises Proxies, am I correct?”
Leini’er stared at Night Cicada and blinked, tears welling up at the corners of his eyes. Before Night Cicada could mock him, he squeezed his eyes tightly shut and said, “My apologies; the interrogation room’s lighting is just too harsh, causing involuntary tears.”
“…?” Night Cicada stared at Leini’er, unimpressed.
Without mercy, Night Cicada landed a punch on Leini’er’s face, causing it to swell visibly.
Night Cicada said, “Do you know what I’m thinking, Leini’er? Digging out your eyeballs should not be a significant concern for you, given that you have already lost your teeth. You complained about the harsh light making you want to tear up; if I remove them, you won’t have to endure that discomfort anymore.”
“The player who confessed mentioned that your world lacks a unified political system and instead has numerous countries. He came from China, but how about you? Which country do you hail from?” Night Cicada asked.
“Apologies, I’ve already stated that I am from Nebula M78.” Leini’er replied, sighing before continuing, “Never mind, since you seem to know, let me tell you…”
Night Cicada thought Leini’er had finally given up resisting, and for a moment, Kui Xin believed so too.
However, she then heard Leini’er say, “This is actually a multi-world competition game. Aren’t there different regions and servers in games? I’m from the Nebula M78 server. The one you captured should be from the Blue Star server. There are also players from the Earth 616 server, Cybertron server, Pokémon server…”
Kui Xin was momentarily taken aback.
“…?”
Leini’er continued, “Faced with our higher-dimensional world’s invasion, your low-dimensional world hardly stands a chance to resist… Give up struggling, mate. Capturing me serves no purpose; there are others even without me. You might as well kill me swiftly. At worst, I’ll just reload and start over.”
Night Cicada burst out laughing in anger. “Still trying to deceive me?”
Kui Xin looked at Leini’er and said, “Players only have one life. If you die in our world, you also die in yours.”
“I’ve never heard of such a rule,” Leini’er chuckled. “This is a game; surely the game developers wouldn’t be so cruel? That player was lying to you, intending to provoke you so you’d kill him sooner. By doing that, he could return to the real world and create a new character, starting afresh. He might even post on forums, rallying his gamer friends to seek vengeance against you.”
“Is that so?” Kui Xin tilted her head slightly. “If what you say is true, then his scheme may have succeeded; we have already killed him.”
For a subtle moment, Leini’er’s emotions fell silent, his half-long blonde hair obscuring his face.
There was a silent moment of mourning.
Kui Xin was the only one who noticed his quiet contemplation.
“It seems we’re not getting much out of this guy,” Kui Xin said. “Should we keep him for future questioning when there’s an opportunity, or should we kill him?”
After a few seconds, Wei Haidong replied, “Let’s hold onto him temporarily. Xiao Xin, you and Night Cicada go meet with Tang Guan, then head back to rest. Your work at the Investigation Department has been arduous.”
Kui Xin turned towards Night Cicada. “Let’s go.”
Night Cicada cast a cold glance at Leini’er, and the isolation glass automatically rose, trapping Leini’er inside.
As they exited the room, Leini’er silently stared after them with open eyes, as if trying to memorize their distinct features.
“How peculiar. I was ordered to kill Zhao Wenyao, who was a practically useless waste, yet we’re supposed to spare Leini’er, who refuses to reveal anything,” Kui Xin muttered, puzzled. “What exactly is my father thinking?”
“Who knows? Just follow the boss’s instructions,” Night Cicada lazily responded. “I don’t believe a single word of what Leini’er said.”
“But most of the time, the polygraph didn’t sound any alarms,” Kui Xin pointed out.
Night Cicada remarked, “After all, it’s just a machine. Every machine has vulnerabilities; we can only design them to approach perfection as closely as possible. If someone is truly cautious, they will undergo counter-polygraph training to confuse the polygraph’s judgment.”
Kui Xin pondered for a moment and then spoke words that aligned with his character and stance: “I believe we don’t necessarily need to exterminate every player. According to Zhao Wenyao’s reaction, there will never be a shortage of people desperate to survive at any cost. We could exploit this by winning over a group of players, establishing long-term cooperative relationships, and extracting intelligence and value from them.”
“I’ve previously suggested this idea to the boss,” Night Cicada said. “The boss mentioned he would consider it.”
They reached the end of the corridor, facing a metal door that was larger and more robust than the previous two.
Behind this metal door likely lies something significant.
“The earlier ones were merely appetizers,” Night Cicada stated. “Now comes the main event.”
A blue light scanned Kui Xin’s entire body, and the metal door opened.
Before their eyes appeared a massive laboratory bustling with activity from about a dozen researchers.
At the center of the laboratory stood a glass cage divided into three layers. Each layer’s glass was made using the most advanced technology, capable of even withstanding bomb impacts.
A person lay in the center of the glass—it was Tang Guan.
He was no longer a two-headed monster but an ordinary human, with his eyes open and staring at the ceiling.
The laboratory head was an elderly man with graying hair. One of his eyes was a mechanical prosthetic, giving him a somewhat telescopic appearance at first glance.
“This is Dr. Long, responsible for research on species. He’s an authoritative expert in this field,” Night Cicada introduced to Kui Xin.
“Welcome.” Dr. Long smiled at Kui Xin. “People are always filled with curiosity towards the unknown; it’s inherent in human nature. Thanks to you all, I’ve had the opportunity to encounter such a peculiar species.”
“Peculiar species?” Kui Xin’s gaze shifted to Tang Guan, who was lying in the glass cage. “Are you referring to him?”
“Yes,” Dr. Long replied. “He is neither fully human nor an alien creature, but rather something between both… A symbiont. The relationship between him and the monster is one of mutualistic coexistence.”
“What does that mean? Could you elaborate further?” Kui Xin earnestly questioned, “What circumstances led to such an exceptional case?”
“Superhuman abilities.” Dr. Long grinned. “We meticulously examined his blood and discovered that he is actually a Variant Blood individual, one who has awakened superhuman abilities—a Variant Blood Awakened Being. His ability is called ‘Symbiosis’. When the monster attempted to take over his body and corrupt his mind, somehow his superhuman ability was triggered, resulting in this peculiar yet stable state.”
“Stable?” Kui Xin frowned. “I don’t think he’s stable at all; I’ve witnessed firsthand what happens when he loses control.”
“No, no, no. Compared to other parasitized humans or Variant Blood individuals, he is exceptionally stable,” Dr. Long said. “His stability lies in the fact that he shares his body with the monster. If he falls asleep, loses consciousness, or suffers a mental breakdown, the monster will control his body. However, if he persists without sleeping, maintaining alertness and focus, he remains in his human state.”
No wonder… No wonder during their first encounter, Tang Guan looked haggard, as if he hadn’t slept for several days. He must have been continuously resisting sleep and battling the monster’s consciousness until, finally reaching a breaking point, he spiraled out of control.
“He was the fourth captured player?” Kui Xin softly asked.
“Yes.” Night Cicada smiled. “It seems like the identities of players when they arrive in our world are random. Leini’er became a researcher; Duolin was also a researcher; Zhao Wenyao became a wealthy second-generation heir; and Tang Guan became a heretic. Their identities are all quite intriguing.”
“Tang Guan belonged to the secret cult?” Kui Xin questioned. “Did he say it himself?”
“Yes, he said it himself.” Night Cicada nodded. “When he had just recovered from his monstrous state, he spoke tearfully amidst sobs. As he wept, he muttered to himself, seemingly filled with intense feelings of guilt. He recounted the events on the Kraken, stating that upon waking up, he inexplicably found himself with this identity. Every night, the monster within him would emerge and wreak havoc; it wanted to kill everyone aboard the ship. The creature even communicated with him, incessantly chattering inside his mind, driving him close to breaking point.”
“So… it was like that,” Kui Xin said.
Tang Guan was the instigator, yet not entirely so. But what could be confirmed is that the mastermind behind everything was the secret cult.
Finally, after a long period of investigation, there was a resolution.
“[Quest Progress]: 100%”
“You have experienced life on the brink, overcoming hardships and obstacles, and finally completed your first solo mission. In the face of danger, you remained composed, unraveling threads step by step to approach the truth. Although some sacrifices were made during your investigation, you still achieved the desired outcome.”
“You have successfully completed the mission and received the reward: [Invitation Letter].”
“[Invitation Letter]: You can select any one person from the First World and invite this fortunate individual to join ‘Crimson Earth.’ This invitation letter is usable when the second phase of closed beta opens.”