Chapter 94 Night Market Street (XVI)
Xinlian Hotel.
The three were about to go back to the second floor when the words "Shen was taken away by Wenchuang, is Yang okay? Yes 3 seconds, No 5 seconds" appeared on Yan Shaowen's right arm.
He paused.
The next second, a gurgling sound was heard beside him. He raised his head suddenly and saw Xu Jin opening the side door of the hotbed with a look of horror and stepping on it. She shouted, "What's going on? I, I can't control myself! I don't want to go up, hurry up and hold me—"
Yu Ning and Yan Shaowen both stepped forward and reached out their hands, but Xu Jin was faster - she slammed the side door shut and locked herself inside, muffling her cries.
The hotel door moved to the sides, and the crystal machine turned 180 degrees on the spot and rolled over.
——It actually wanted to take Xu Jin away like this!
Yu Ning chased after it, but at the moment the crystal machine rolled out of the door, his way was blocked by two glass sliding doors that slammed shut.
He looked stunned.
The machine moved farther and farther away, and Xu Jin was sitting inside it. She didn't look back, her body was stiff, and they could only see the back of her head.
Yu Ning turned his head and looked at Yan Shaowen with wide eyes - is there no way they can stop it?
Yan Shaowen frowned: "How can we get out without a room card? If you want to save her, go up quickly and clear the last two rooms."
At the same time, night market street.
Jiang Shuyue was studying their table with Hong Yang, and suddenly he could not hear Hong Yang's voice. He raised his head and saw Lu Zhongnian running over and shouting in a deep voice: "Stop him!"
Jiang Shuyue was startled and looked carefully, only to find that Hong Yang had inexplicably walked to his hot bed and opened the side door.
Hong Yang yelled in confusion: "I...I suddenly can't control myself!"
Jiang Shuyue's face changed and he rushed forward. However, just when he was one centimeter away from touching Hong Yang, Hong Yang climbed onto the hotbed and closed the side door!
Jiang Shuyue rushed to the door and knocked desperately: "Can't you come down?"
Hong Yang sat upright inside, but his expression was panicked: "No, my body is being controlled! What's going on?!"
The hotbed had already turned around and was moving towards the end of the night market street.
Miao Xiang, who was busy at his stall, also noticed this scene and ran over in shock.
Lu Zhongnian caught up with them: "Mu Yu and Yan Shaowen just sent a message that the two students from the School of Media in their two groups have all been taken away by Wenchuang!"
Jiang Shuyue was shocked: "Are they all controlled?"
Lu Zhongnian shook his head: "Mu Yu was the first to pass on the message. I feel that the player on Garbage Street went up on his own. Both us and the Xinlian Hotel were affected on the same lifeline."
"Then, what should we do? How do we get Hong Yang to come down now?"
Hong Yang was sitting inside and couldn't hear what they were saying clearly, but when she glanced at the dense scars and words on Lu Chongnian's arm, she roughly guessed what was going on.
He gritted his teeth and shouted, "There is still time before the dungeon ends. This dungeon map is so large, and we don't know where the real boundary of the fog is. I won't die that soon. You guys should go back and clear this dungeon first!"
Jiang Shuyue rarely cursed: "Fuck, it can't be that fast, and who knows what this machine will do to you?!"
Maybe it will take Hong Yang to commit suicide right away? !
Hong Yang: "Don't worry about me for now, you can't stop me, don't waste your time!"
Lu Zhongnian suddenly took out his cell phone, dialed a number, and put the phone to his ear.
Jiang Shuyue was confused: "Who are you calling at this time?"
"10244, Wenchuang customer service phone number," Lu Zhongnian had just finished replying when someone on the other end seemed to pick up the phone. Lu Zhongnian spoke quickly, "Hello, a machine here has lost control. Can I ask you to come over and take care of it?"
It was unclear what was said on the other end. Lu Zhongnian was a step slower and came to the back of the hotbed. He looked down at a label under the machine and said, "The serial number is WC0023."
Then his brows furrowed.
Jiang Shuyue and Miao Xiang asked nervously, "Will it work?"
Lu Zhongnian hung up the phone: "No, our mobile phone number is linked to these serial numbers, and 'they' know that this hotbed is not mine."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shuyue immediately quickened his pace, ran to the side door, banged on it and shouted, "Hong Yang, are you really unable to move at all? Can you call customer service yourself?!"
Hong Yang's tone became helpless: "No...you really should just leave me alone, it's actually quite comfortable inside..."
As soon as he said this, the other three people's faces changed.
——"It's quite comfortable inside"? Is this something Hong Yang could say when he was conscious? !
It was obvious that he had been bewitched by the hotbed!
Lu Zhongnian signaled Jiang Shuyue to come down, and he quickened his pace and knocked on the side door.
Hong Yang turned her face slightly, and looked at him with her eyes that had become somewhat cloudy: "I have already said..."
Come to an abrupt stop.
Lu Chongnian raised his left arm.
On his left arm was a line of huge words:
"If something happens to you, how am I going to explain it to your parents and Ye Sui when I get back?!"
Then another sentence emerged:
"Didn't you say you wanted to help us? If you die you won't be able to help us anymore!"
Then——
"You won't succumb to these tricks of the copy, will you? If you succumb now, you will be pissed off at yourself when you become a ghost!!!"
There was some petulant cursing at the end.
Outside the door, Lu Chongnian looked at the fog that was already very close in front of him, then turned his head back, his pair of black eyes were very calm.
He moved his lips and said something.
[You can move now.]
The turbidity in Hong Yang's eyes was dispelled, and at the moment he flicked his fingers, the crystal machine took him and slid into the mist.
The three people stopped.
Jiang Shuyue panted and said hoarsely: "Now, what should I do now?!"
…
Hong Yang walked through the fog.
…He can indeed move.
He seemed to understand what was going on.
The reason why he was controlled just now was probably because he had no intention of stepping into the hotbed, but the copy required him to enter the hotbed.
And now he has taken back the autonomy of part of his body, probably because he was immersed in it just now...
As long as he was willing to stay on this machine, he would be able to control his body... After all, there were no intelligent mechanical arms in the hotbed, so he had to do everything by himself, whether he wanted to eat or drink or do anything else...
But he won't be awake for long.
Hong Yang could feel that something was rapidly invading his brain, and soon he would return to a state of chaos.
He picked up the phone with difficulty, dialed 10244 with stiff fingers, and turned on the speakerphone.
The phone beeped twice, and then it was picked up. A gentle and polite female voice came from the other end: "Hello, this is the customer service department of Wenchuang. How can I help you?"
The machine continued to roll forward, and the fog quickly retreated on both sides.
Hong Yang said in a hoarse voice: "My machine has lost control and it has locked me in. Come quickly and get me out."
"Hello, what is the serial number of your machine?"
Hong Yang panted and his eyelids drooped.
There is a small label under the side door with a combination of English letters and numbers on it.
"WC0023."
"Okay, Mr. Hong Yang? Our technical staff will be there soon, please wait."
The machine rushed out of the fog and Hong Yang completely lost consciousness.
*
Wang Hao wandered around aimlessly in the deserted city.
Less than ten minutes after he came out, the bravery and boldness in his heart had disappeared.
When he discovered that where the Night Market Street was supposed to be was now just an empty piece of land and he couldn't find any players at all, he was swept by a deep sense of panic.
There was no living creature in the entire city except him.
The phone call could not be made, the words carved in blood on his arm received no response, and when he shouted loudly, only his own voice echoed. The only person who accompanied him was a strange and cold machine.
Wang Hao regretted so much that he shouldn't have come out alone.
Where is he going now?
Had he really come to the right place?
Is it possible that players shouldn't step out of the starting map at all, and the Demon Moon is actually inside their respective maps, and once they step out of the starting map, the players are doomed?
Is he finished?
Is he dead?
Wang Hao was sweating profusely. He stopped, supported his knees with his hands, and gasped.
He looked at the cold and dark buildings around him and felt that these buildings were dead and yet not dead. They were like huge monsters in disguise, staring at him with ill intentions, waiting for the moment when he would completely collapse mentally, and then pounce on him and devour him.
My scalp was tingling and cold sweat was oozing out.
...No, he still had to go back to the Xinlian Hotel! Even if the hotel had disappeared there, returning to that place would at least give him a sense of security...!
Just as Wang Hao made up his mind to stand up, he heard a very strange sound.
Gurgle, gurgle.
Something was rolling, coming from far behind him.
His heart skipped a beat, thinking that a player had finally come out. He turned around excitedly, but was stunned for a moment.
Three crystal coffins slowly emerged from the darkness and drove parallel to three avenues.
They moved between the houses, moving at a constant speed and keeping parallel.
There was only a coffin, no people.
To be precise.
Everyone was in the coffin.
…
Hong Yang felt as if he had slept for a long time.
In his sleep, his consciousness was constantly struggling, and a voice told him that if he slept any longer, the copy would end, and then he would be really finished... But he couldn't wake up.
As if trapped in a nightmare, his body was stiff, his heart was beating fast, he was sweating profusely, and the light and shadows in the dream were chaotic.
At some point, he was suddenly awakened.
He suddenly opened his eyes and felt the wind flowing in.
In front of us, outside a clear crystal, are dark city buildings and straight avenues.
He slowly and stiffly turned his head and looked to his left.
The side door of the machine has been opened, and a lady is standing outside the door with a smile: "Hello, I am employee 001 of the hotbed technology department. The door has been opened for you. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Hong Yang moved his lips, but before he could speak——
A figure suddenly rushed over from the side and grabbed the NPC.
That was Wang Hao. His expression was horrified, his eyes were bloodshot: "My girlfriend is also trapped in the machine, can you please go over and open her door?!"
The female NPC asked him in surprise: "Did your girlfriend call the customer service hotline?"
Wang Hao was stunned: "She...she...should have been beaten! She should have been beaten! You, you come with me quickly!"
The NPC stood still and said politely: "If you have already called the customer service number and placed an after-sales order, then just wait patiently for the corresponding after-sales staff to come over. There is no need to rush."
Wang Hao froze: "What will happen if you go over and open the door now?!"
"Sorry, we can only accept orders assigned by the system and cannot work beyond the company's internal system."
Wang Hao stared at her intently, his chest rising and falling. Suddenly, he clenched his fist and raised his arm.
His wrists were grabbed!
Hong Yang warned: "Don't attack NPCs casually, something bad will happen. What will happen to your girlfriend?!"
Wang Hao's eyes were filled with bloodshot.
His eyes were red, his breathing was rapid, and his gaze shifted back and forth between Hong Yang and the smiling NPC, as if he would explode at any moment.
A few seconds later, he gritted his teeth, pushed the NPC hard, turned around and chased after the crystal machine that was driving away.
Hong Yang stepped off the hotbed, and the NPC bowed to him: "If there is nothing else you need help with, then I will leave."
Hong Yang looked at her obscurely and did not answer.
The NPC smiled, turned around, walked towards the darkness, and gradually disappeared from his sight.
The road was empty and in a blink of an eye, Hong Yang was the only one left.
The night wind blew, and he looked in the direction where Wang Hao had just run, turned his head to look at the hotbed next to him, then turned sideways and looked in the direction he came from.
…The night market street is no longer visible anymore. Can he go back?
Hey, this game is played.
Hong Yang thought about it and took out a sticky note and a pen from his pocket.
He wrote a few words on a sticky note, then looked up and around, ran to the side of the road, and stuck it on a lamppost.
In order to make it more conspicuous, Hong Yang tore off several sticky notes and arranged them around it.
After doing all this, he chased in the direction where Wang Hao had just run.
*
In the end, Wang Hao failed to stop the machine carrying Xu Jin.
He was exhausted.
The smooth glass slipped from his hands and he fell to the ground, watching the machine gradually drive away. The last image left in his mind was Xu Jin sitting inside with his eyes closed.
He clenched his fists and pounded the ground, unable to do anything except roaring to vent his anger.
Everything in front of his eyes was blurred and tears fell one after another. His head was swollen and his heart was full of despair. He cried for a long time and took out the train ticket from his pocket with shaking hands.
I don't know when the starting point of the train ticket changed.
It changed from "Xinlian Hotel" to a string of unfamiliar house numbers.
Wang Hao was kneeling in the middle of the road. He turned his head and looked to the side. Above the door of a closed and dark shop on the side of the road was the same house number.
The starting point seemed to be right under his feet.
And the destination is still "home".
Wang Hao turned his head, staring at the train ticket in his hand with red eyes.
...Do you want to go up?
The moment the thought came to his mind, a row of tracks appeared silently on his left side, laying out in the middle of the avenue.
The wind blew, and the rumbling sound came from far away and slowly stopped beside him.
At this moment, Wang Hao stood still, and the wind also became still.
The picture seemed to be frozen.
After a moment, he raised his arms and wiped away his tears vigorously.
He stood up, lowered his head, turned around and strode into the door of this mysterious vehicle that was opened for him.
This is a poorly made train with an old interior.
There was no light on in the car, and only the dim light coming in from the outside could barely maintain vision.
The ticket in Wang Hao's hand disappeared. He clenched his fist, stood silently in the middle of the carriage for a while, then walked to a seat by the window and sat down.
He leaned against the window in a daze, as if all his strength was gone.
The train started to move, making clanging sounds, and the scenery outside the window began to recede, slowly and then quickly.
Suddenly——
“Boom!”
"Depend on!"
It seemed as if something heavy had rolled in from the carriage door which had not yet been closed.
Wang Hao was startled and looked back blankly.
Hong Yang touched his butt and climbed up from the ground. Behind him was his hot bed.
He looked at the one-carriage carriage and walked towards Wang Hao: "Are you sure you want to take this thing? Your girlfriend may not die. Maybe we can crack this dungeon before she is taken out of the dungeon map?"
Wang Hao moved his lips: "...So the only thing I can do for her is to take this train."
Hong Yang paused and scratched his head: "That's true."
Without their respective initial maps and without any valuable clues in hand, what else could they do except try this train?
Hong Yang walked to the seat in front of Wang Hao, sat down, and said nonchalantly: "So——"
"You don't want to die, do you?"
Wang Hao stared out the window blankly, muttering: "...I just want to die meaningfully."
Hong Yang pursed her lips.
So, he still wanted to commit suicide and never thought that he could survive.
This is still a kind of love suicide.
Hong Yang exhaled, was silent for a while, and said: "Did Yan Shaowen tell you? We still have a chance to revive the dead players. Although we don't know how to do it yet, there are signs that it can be done."
Wang Hao seemed to have completely lost his concentration. After a long while, he slowly said, "He said that, but... this is an uncertain thing, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is possible to succeed or fail," Hong Yang tilted his head and looked at him, "You are a little pessimistic, aren't you?"
"I just can't think right now..."
Hong Yang looked away.
He sighed and said, "Then take a rest and talk about it when we reach our destination."
It is indeed a bit unrealistic to persuade him to let go of the bad news when his girlfriend has just gotten into trouble.
The train rumbled forward, its speed temporarily slower than that of the hotbeds, and therefore it kept falling behind the two hotbeds.
Wang Hao kept staring at them in a daze.
However, the track does not go straight forward, it turns.
After turning a corner, the scenery outside the window disappears behind the buildings.
Wang Hao pressed against the window, holding his breath, trying hard to take a last look at the cradle that held Xu Jin.
He opened his eyes wide, tears still gleaming in them.
Hong Yang had been secretly paying attention to the train route.
He found that the train was always looking for the main road, and would automatically avoid the small roads when it encountered them, so the entire track became winding.
Along the way, he saw familiar buildings and roads, but unfortunately there was no light and no people. It was a dead city, and he did not see the Devil's Moon on the road.
The carriage was very quiet. Wang Hao didn't say anything, and he had nothing to say.
Gradually, he became sleepy and his eyelids drooped little by little.
…
His upper body suddenly rushed forward.
It's inertia.
Hong Yang woke up suddenly, and Wang Hao behind him also opened his sleepy eyes.
Hong Yang lowered his head and looked at the time on his phone - it was already 7:15.
Outside the window, the scenery seemed to have stopped, but I couldn't be sure because it was pitch black outside and I couldn't see anything.
The two men just looked at each other, and the next second, with a bang, the door of the carriage on the same side behind them opened automatically, scaring them.
...Well, this probably means we have reached the final stop.
So… outside is “home” now?
They slowly rose from their seats.
When they saw the scenery outside the opposite window as they turned their vision, they were stunned.
Then, with shock and confusion in their hearts, they turned around and cautiously walked to the door of the carriage on the same side of their seats.
Two pairs of feet just stopped within the boundary of the carriage door.
Outside the border is darkness, nothingness, a starless universe, and a dark ocean.
"...Where is this place?" Wang Hao said tremblingly.
Suddenly, something flashed in their peripheral vision - they leaned over to look to the left.
The two hotbeds had also arrived here, and they had fallen behind them without knowing when.
At this moment, they are still rolling forward at a constant speed, approaching the darkness.
Then at a certain position, a certain boundary line - they suddenly stopped together, and the bodies slowly tilted forward.
Wang Hao's pupils suddenly contracted, and he shouted in a lost voice: "Jinjin——"
The two machines fell down.
Like two drops of water, silently dripping into the darkness.
Wang Hao and Hong Yang stood stiffly in the train carriage.
The wind blew upwards from the depths of darkness.
Outside the carriage is the abyss.
And the map of this copy seems to have not reached the end yet.
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