Chapter 73 Shadow Town 2: Four College Students

(The previous chapter has been completely revised)

You were suddenly pulled into the shadows by that hand. After running a few steps, you looked down and heard a rustling sound. Looking closely, you saw a makeshift shed made of wooden planks and plastic sheeting, using the outer wall of the station and the bicycle shelter as cover.

The shed was dimly lit and filled with the mixed smell of disinfectant and sterilizing agents. A simple air purifier sat in the corner, emitting a faint gurgling sound.

Entering such an "indoor" space without warning, you immediately hug your arms and stand firmly in a corner, knife already in hand. You quickly scan the area and find three other people in the shed: a tall, thin boy wearing black-rimmed glasses, a short, stocky boy huddled in a corner trembling, and a girl who is almost unnoticeable unless you look closely, leaning against the wall with a book in her hand.

She was carefully studying something in the sliver of light streaming down from the roof, and she didn't react at all even when you barged in like this.

The girl who pulled you in let go of your hand, took off her mask, and revealed a bright smile that seemed out of place in the terrifying environment outside.

Her short red hair stood out in the dim light, and her white hiking clothes were covered in dust, but she didn't seem to care much.

"Are you alright?" she asked warmly, her voice filled with concern. "That was so dangerous! Those monsters almost found you!"

You nodded, but before you could answer, she began introducing herself: "My name is Hayakawa Hana, and I'm a journalism student! These are my companions—" She pointed to the boy with glasses, "This is Morita Akira, a botany major; that's Ishikawa Makoto, a physical education major; and this is Shiraishi Mizuki, an art major. We're here together to investigate the Shadow Flower! By the way, have you ever heard of the Shadow Flower—"

"Hayakawa!" Morita Akira stepped forward, blocking your path between you and Hayakawa Hana, interrupting her, her tone as cold as ice, "Isn't it too rash of you to reveal everything to a stranger like this?"

Hayakawa Hana pouted and retorted with dissatisfaction, "Hey, Morita, you're being way too anxious! She was almost caught by those monsters just now! We can't just stand by and watch her die, can we?"

Akira Morita pushed up her glasses, a cold glint reflecting off the lenses: "In a place like this, trusting strangers is suicide. How do you know she's not infected?"

Hayakawa Hana rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips: "Come on, look at her, how does she look like an infected person? She's even wearing a homemade mask, which means she's just an ordinary person trapped here, like us!"

Watching them bicker, you felt a slight sense of relief.

Before you could even exhale, you tensed up again.

What language are they speaking?

Having experienced what happened with the previous translator, you are extremely wary of language that is directly understandable.

They're clearly locals from the Japanese version; their tone of voice and body language are significantly different from you outsiders. The fact that you can understand them means—

That's not right either. The translator's appearance wasn't without flaws. If you think about it that way, you shouldn't have been possessed on the tram.

Right now, all you see outside are monsters, and you used the fog canister almost as soon as you got out of the car, so there's no way you could have been caught in the crossfire and tricked by another ghost using a similar method.

Yes, you've already been fooled once, you won't be fooled a second time.

In just a few blinks, you've already sorted out your feelings.

As you observe these people's somewhat naive and straightforward way of speaking, and the behavioral patterns and micro-expressions that "normal" people would have, regardless of whether you can understand what these people are saying or not, at least you feel a little more at ease.

You cleared your throat, pursed your lips, and your tongue and facial muscles naturally began to function as you would in Japanese, interrupting their argument: "Um—thank you for saving me. I'm a student too, and I wanted to go on a picnic. I fell asleep and missed my stop, and ended up here by accident."

You shook your backpack, looking helpless yet feigning fear: "What's going on here? How much do you know about this place? Can you tell me?"

Hayakawa Hana rolled her eyes again, immediately turned her head, and said, "Of course! We—"

“That’s enough, Hayakawa,” Morita Akira interrupted, her eyes scrutinizing you. “We don’t need to say so much to a stranger.”

Hayakawa Hana stretched her arms down, leaned forward, and raised her voice: "Morita, you're so heartless! Why do you always question whether others are bad people? She just wanted to help. Besides, we're all in trouble too. What's wrong with having another helper?"

Morita Akira ignored her and just stared at you expressionlessly. After a few seconds of silence, he seemed to resignedly accept the fact that you were already there, but his tone still carried a hint of warning: "At this moment, trust is a luxury. We don't know your background or your purpose. If you want to cooperate, you'd better prove your worth first."

Tsk, so arrogant, so infuriating. You frowned, about to speak, when a trembling sob from the corner interrupted your conversation.

"It's no use...it's no use..." The short, stocky man named Ishikawa Shin clutched his head, his voice filled with terror. "We can't leave here...this is a cursed land...we'll all die here..."

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the shed instantly froze.

Hayakawa Hana glanced at Ishikawa Makoto with concern, then turned to you, explaining in a flustered but gentle tone, "Don't mind him, Ishikawa... he's a little nervous. When we first came here, we also encountered a lot of terrible things."

You nodded, thanking Hayakawa Hana for her kindness, and were about to ask more questions when you suddenly heard a cold laugh.

"Fools." Shiraishi Mizuki closed the book in her hand, raised her head, and swept her eyes over all of you with a hint of contempt. "It's been a whole day, and you're still yelling about curses and death. What else can you do besides creating panic?"

Ishikawa Makoto suddenly raised his head, his face flushed red: "You...you're just saying that! Didn't you see it yourself? Those monsters...those spores...they're everywhere! We can't escape at all!"

“Heh,” Shiraishi Mizuki covered her lips with one hand and chuckled lightly, her words dripping with sarcasm: “Escape? I never even considered escaping. Everything here is excellent material for art. You cowards will only waste opportunities.”

“Mizuki, don’t say that.” Hayakawa Hana walked up to Shiraishi Mizuki again, took her hand, and gently shook her head. “Ishikawa is just too scared. What we need now is mutual support, not mutual blame.”

Shaking Hayakawa Hana's hand away, Shiraishi Mizuki shrugged and said coldly, "Support? Who can support whom? Since you're all cowards, even if you stick together, you'll only die sooner."

Mizuki Shiraishi's personality is really awful to the point of being... rigid.

Your gaze shifts downwards, obscuring the eye movements you make while thinking. Then again, the behavior of locals is inherently difficult to predict using common sense.

"Shiraishi, what are you saying?" Morita Akira began to criticize Shiraishi Mizuki again. "Fear and emotions will only make us lose our judgment, but you shouldn't be so cold to us classmates. We must stay rational in order to find a way out."

Mizuki Shiraishi retorted again. Seeing that they were about to start a new round of arguing and trying to mediate, you scratched your forehead and helplessly interjected, "Everyone, listen to me. I understand your concerns, and I know that your ultimate goal is to leave. But right now, our only way out is to cooperate. At least, you have to promise me that I won't hold you back, right?"

You smiled at Morita Akira, who sensed your threat and her expression immediately fell, but she didn't say anything more.

“I’m just passing through and know nothing about this place, but if you’re willing to share information, maybe we can find a way to leave together.”

Hayakawa Hana immediately nodded, her smile returning to her face, and continued, "That's right! There's strength in numbers! If we work together, we'll definitely be able to get out of here."

"Come on, let me tell you why we're here!"

She pulled over a large, broken rock, wiped it with a tissue, gestured for you to sit down, and then stood to the side, gesturing wildly as she began to tell her story:

“We passed through this place on a school trip and heard that there is a magical plant in this town called the Shadow Flower. Its seeds can be made into a super powerful medicine that can fight bacteria and viruses, and even prolong life! The people in the town have made a fortune from it, but we always feel that such a good thing should not be monopolized by private pharmaceutical companies. Even if it exists, it should not only be sold in the nearby area.”

"If this plant is real, then we should expose it so that more people and companies know about its existence; if it is just a scam, then we will also expose it, so that at least ordinary people who have already believed in the efficacy of this product will not be cheated out of their money again."

Listening to her narration, Hayakawa Hana was really too enthusiastic. Looking at the reactions of the others, you subtly raised the corners of your lips. It seems that they all have their own ulterior motives.

You carefully chose your words and asked, "You're all students from prestigious universities, do you really believe this plant is that magical?"

Hayakawa Hana was stunned and couldn't speak for a long time.

"Ah, that's what the advertisement says, and we've seen many townspeople in the vicinity consuming it. Yes, that's it. And this area is also a famous longevity valley, so..." Hayakawa Hana stumbled through her explanation of why she believed it, before finally returning to her optimistic and cheerful state.

Despite always contradicting everyone else, the clear-headed Morita Akira did not disagree on this point: "The medicinal value of Shadow Flower is absolutely based on scientific evidence. We bought that kind of medicine and had it tested in the town's laboratory. It does contain a special compound that can inhibit the growth of many pathogens. It's just that this compound is unknown to the world."

“We should extract more of the relevant components, publish papers, and let it benefit the whole world,” said Morita Akira, his glasses shining brighter and his lips pursing uncontrollably.

What a hypocrite!

You glanced at him, but continued to ask, "Then why did this place become like this? If Shadow Flower is really that powerful, how could the town have... And what about those monsters?"

Akira Morita spoke first, her tone full of regret: "We don't know much about it either. The station here was closed after the shadow flowers were planted on a large scale. It's said that the local government kept only one path leading into the mountains to cover up the secret of the shadow flowers. We sneaked in by climbing over mountains, but along the way, not to mention the shadow flowers, even ordinary weeds were withered in large areas..."

His voice also turned dejected: "As you can see, the soil in the town has become barren. We walked all the way in until we entered the town, only to find that the people here had all turned into those monsters, and the Shadow Flower had disappeared without a trace."

Ishikawa Makoto howled again, "It's not that it disappeared! It's that it's been cursed! Those shadow flowers are nothing but evil things; they're gifts from the devil! The townspeople have turned into monsters, and those so-called long-lived people who took the medicine will also turn into monsters. We...we'll all—"

Snap!

Shiraishi Mizuki walked up to Ishikawa Makoto with lightning speed, slapped him so hard that he spun around several times.

Ah, this…

"Shut up, you idiot." Shiraishi Mizuki rubbed her hands and tossed her long hair. "Since you're so eager to die, why don't you go and interact with those monsters, and become Morita-san's—what's the word? Observational sample? That way, maybe the clever Morita-san can find a way to deal with the monsters?"

While Shiraishi Mizuki was complimenting Morita, she was actually secretly glancing at you as you silently observed her.

“Mizuki, don’t do this…” Hayakawa Hana stepped in to mediate.

The short and stocky Ishikawa was stunned by Shiraishi Mizuki's spinning top-like beating, and the burning pain on his face left him speechless for a moment. But soon, his emotions shifted from fear to anger, but not directed at Shiraishi Mizuki.

His small eyes blazed with fury as he glared at Morita Akira. "It's all your fault!" Ishikawa Makoto jumped up and pounced on Morita Akira. "If you hadn't insisted on coming to this godforsaken place, we wouldn't have encountered these monsters! You're the culprit!"

Morita Akira remained noncommittal, but being pushed to the ground and beaten by the strong Ishikawa Makoto was truly undignified. While blocking, he raised his voice, "Ishikawa, you really are a savage. Can't you control your behavior and stop acting on impulse? We're here to study the Shadow Flower; it's part of scientific exploration. If you're afraid, why didn't you refuse in the first place? You've had many opportunities to stay in a safe place after we entered the mountains, instead of causing trouble here."

"A safe place?" Ishikawa's fists pounded on end. "Where is it safe? There are monsters everywhere outside, and the shacks are about to collapse! You're ruining us! It's all your fault."

The kind-hearted Hayakawa Hana had no choice but to use all her strength to pull Ishikawa Makoto away: "Ishikawa, don't hit him! Morita brought plant analysis equipment; he'll definitely find a solution later!"

Ishikawa showed no mercy to Hayakawa Hana, his earlier cowardice in the face of the monster completely gone. With a wave of his hand, he sent Hayakawa Hana staggering a few steps, his tone thick with jealousy: "You're a brainless person too. You believe everything Morita says, like coming here to do news. I think you're only doing this because he's good-looking and a pretty boy! Let me tell you, he's a cold-blooded madman!"

"What are you saying?!" Hayakawa Hana was really angry.

Mizuki Shiraishi leaned against the wall, as still as a statue. Suddenly, her eyes met yours again.

She waved to you.

Meanwhile, you stood aside, watching this four-person drama with great interest.

Wonderful.

You are genuinely malfunctioning.

If it weren't for the increasingly loud thumping sounds from the monster outside the shed, you might even have wanted to move a chair and watch this farce while snacking.

However, reality doesn't allow you to leisurely stand by and watch.

The two men were incredibly noisy. The shack wasn't soundproof to begin with, and now it was making a "whoosh" sound as the monster slapped them.

Every crevice was crammed with eyes covered in mycelium. Hayakawa Hana was the second to realize this. Her expression changed, and she quickly pulled a mask from her backpack and shoved it at you: "Wear this! The one you made yourself won't work. By the way, the spores can infect through respiration!"

You took the mask and quickly put it on. To be honest, even without the comparison to the other three, Hayakawa Hana is a bit too good.

She rummaged around on the ground for a while, then picked up an iron rod, her eyes resolute: "Everyone, we can't just sit here and wait to die, we have to break out!"

In contrast to the hot-blooded Hayakawa Hana, Morita Akira and Ishikawa Makoto, the two men who had just been fighting side by side, were now cowering in a corner of the shed, not uttering a sound.

Morita Akira pushed up his glasses, his body pressed tightly against the wall, as if trying to hide himself in the shadows. Ishikawa Masashi, on the other hand, reverted to his initial state, babbling incessantly, "No...no...there are monsters outside...I'll die..."

You couldn't help but ask, "Are you two just planning to hide here and wait to die?"

Akira Morita said without hesitation, "Our mission is to find the Shadow Flower, not to take unnecessary risks. The most important thing is to stay calm, not to rush out recklessly."

You were speechless. Looking at Shiraishi Mizuki, she still stood there with an air of indifference, as if her own life didn't matter to anyone else. Fine. Taking out a lighter from your pocket, you walked up to Hayakawa Hana and said, "These monsters are afraid of fire. We can burn them!"

Hayakawa Hana's eyes lit up, then dimmed again, her tone uncertain: "Eh? You didn't know?"

"No!" Morita Akira declared authoritatively, "Burning the monster will only make things worse."

Huh? "What do you mean?" you ask.

“While these monsters’ bodies will be burned, their spores are highly fire-resistant. Burning them will only destroy their ‘human shells,’ causing more spores to be released into the air. But at that point, at such close range, we could all be infected.” Morita Akira regained his confidence.

how so?

You clearly saw with your own eyes those mycelia scattered in the air being burned to ashes.

"Really, I'm not kidding you." Hayakawa Hana took the lighter from your hand without any ceremony, lit a wad of paper, and threw it into the air. "See, these spores won't catch fire at all."

As you watch the wad of paper burn into black charcoal in the distance, a sense of foreboding creeps in.

Where can I find spores?

You can only see small patches of black and gray over there.

Just like the ashes floating around the tram tracks before you board the tram.

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A note from the author: Good afternoon!