Chapter 135

Chapter 135: The Earth’s Wasteland Chapter (8)

Translator: Sigma Editor: Sigma

One hour ago . . .

Wild Trace Sword Shadow was standing around five meters away from that headless corpse to guard over Feng Bujue .

"Do you really have to do that?" Wild Trace Sword Shadow looked at Feng Bujue, who was crouching down and busying himself with the corpse, as his eyes were saying, ‘You’re really a pervert . ’

"I am doing it right now, aren't I? What? You’re willing to give up your grenade?" answered Feng Bujue .

"Ah . . . Honestly, let alone the fact that whether we are going to waste my grenade or not, I’d rather be more concerned about your mental status…" Wild Trace Sword Shadow glared at him .

"What’s the matter with my mental status?" Feng Bujue answered . "I’m just using a corpse in a virtual game to set up a trap . Any player with normal psychological status, if they can think about this plan, they will do it without any hesitation . "

"Haha, as you wish…" Wild Trace Sword Shadow didn’t want to discuss with him anything . Now, he seemed to understand why this guy’s ID was ‘Unidentified Mental Disorder’ .

Feng Bujue tied a wire through the pull ring of the grenade then rolled up his sleeve, brutally thrusting his hand holding the grenade down the corpse’s throat to its stomach . And on the skin above the stomach, he just needed to make a small cut to pull out a part of the wire through the skin .

Next, he carved some words . At the place where the wire protruded from the skin, he decorated it with a question mark ‘?’, waiting for the opponent to bite his bait .

"Why do you need to write something there and just cover half of it?" asked Wild Trace Sword Shadow while looking at Feng Bujue’s setup .

"If I don’t cover it, they can read if from far away," Feng Bujue said . "If I cover it entirely, they perhaps won’t find these words . " After he was done, he used the corpse’s garment to wipe his hands, got up and said, "Half-covered… they will have to crouch down and lift up the cloth to see what it is . And then, if their vision is normal, they will find the wire awaiting there . "

"What makes you so sure that they will touch the wire?" asked Wild Trace Sword Shadow .

"Who said that I am sure that they would touch the wire?" replied Feng Bujue .

"Wut?" Wild Trace Sword Shadow seemed not to understand his idea .

Feng Bujue spoke up again, "Does this look like a trap?"

"Yeah… no . "

"Why not?"

Wild Trace Sword Shadow really wanted to catch up with his train of thought . "A trap should be placed at a random place where the others have to travel through . For example, behind a door . "

"It’s alright then . " Feng Bujue nodded .

"Done?" Wild Trace Sword Shadow still didn't get it .

"I'll give you an example," Feng Bujue said, "remember the time we received the side quest from the iron chest?"

"Of course . "

"If we opened the chest leading to an explosion, would we get trapped already?"

"The system wouldn't make such setup," Wild Trace Sword Shadow answered . "Because players would not be able to run away . If that chest was really an explosive object, there should be a clue or a reminder before we had opened it . "

"Ah," Feng Bujue said, "am I the system?"

"Yeah . . . "

"Do I look like a good guy who’s willing to remind the enemy?"

"It…"

"Besides, there’s another reason that made you think that the chest wouldn't trigger a Death Flag without any hesitation," continued Feng Bujue .

"Because… that room is an optional quest that we actually didn’t need to open the gate as we could take the other way around to leave the place . Although we had killed all the monsters, we could always choose not to open the chest," mumbled Wild Trace Sword Shadow .

Feng Bujue pointed at the corpse . "This corpse lies on the ground . They can ignore it, and they won’t check out the other half of the line I left . Even if they see it, they can choose not to touch the wire . "

Wild Trace Sword Shadow scratched his head as he just understood a part of it . "This is something like… the psychology of suggestion?"

Feng Bujue had already walked forward, gestured his friend to catch up with him while saying, "If you want to make someone do something that doesn’t look harmful at all, but it’s actually dangerous, you have to let him feel that it’s okay if he has to do it or not, and he isn’t forced to do it . Then, this will look like it’s just a ’normal’ matter, and what’s so-called ‘normal’… shouldn't be too difficult . Because if it’s too difficult, it won’t work . And it should also be not too easy . If it is too easy, the enemy will be suspicious of it .

"For example, when you attempt to kill someone and the victim starts to resist, it’s ‘normal’ . But if he resists too hard, you will give up in the middle of the process . And, if your victim is too calm waiting for you to kill him, you will have suspicions .

"Another example, if you want to install a bomb in some structures, if that place is strictly guarded, you will eventually give up . And if the defense is too weak, you will feel it’s inconceivable…"

Feng Bujue licked his dry lips and dryly coughed . "Thus, I have to hide the grenade inside the corpse and set up the wire at a place they can choose to touch it or not . And, my message isn't placed on the surface or on its ass, so that they couldn't easily find it . " He sighed, "Finally, we prepare an unpredictable surprise for them . "

"What if they can’t find the wire or won’t check the corpse before they left?" asked Wild Trace Sword Shadow .

"They are professional gamers, aren’t they?" asked Feng Bujue .

"Yeah…"

"If you were there, would you leave without checking anything?"

Before Wild Trace Sword Shadow could answer, Feng Bujue spoke up again, "Of course, in the worst case scenario, we simply lost a grenade . "

"You didn’t lose anything though, right…"

"Yup," answered Feng Bujue shamelessly .

It was roughly 10 minutes after they had been walking and talking along the way . All of a sudden, a metal chunk as big as a basketball emerged from a turn ahead of them, screaming through its way, brushing Feng Bujue’s left cheek .

Feng Bujue’s initial reaction was to bend down, taking out the pistol and preparing to counterattack . As he was looking forward, he found a silhouette standing in a dusky corridor far away from them . Apparently, that one had launched this attack .

Wild Trace Sword Shadow had also noticed the attacker . His action was extremely fast as he didn’t say a word; he just stormed forward with the sword in his hands .

No matter who or what the attacker was, to Wild Trace Sword Shadow, if it were in the effective range of [Glorious Shadow Slash], he was definitely confident that he wouldn't fall into a disadvantaged situation .

As that silhouette saw Wild Trace Sword Shadow had stormed towards it, it was petrified at the spot for an entire two seconds before turning around and running away .

At this moment, Feng Bujue was also running forward . Noticing the other’s reaction, he called out to Wild Trace Sword Shadow who was running ahead of him, "Catch him alive!"

Wild Trace Sword Shadow didn’t have time to answer, but he had heard that .

When Feng Bujue ran with all his strength, he was fast . In the scenario where the two of them had fought against each other, Wild Trace Sword Shadow could see that when Feng Bujue ran with all that he had, it was 80% or 90% of his speed . And, after he had activated his [Body-Spirit Congregation Technique], even if Wild Trace Sword Shadow had used all his strength, he couldn't catch up with Feng Bujue .

Right now, the two of them were using the same speed to chase after and soon approached the runner . That guy was wearing an orange protection suit . His speed wasn’t at the same level with the two players, and he was holding an [Anti-gravity Launching Device] in his hands . As Feng Bujue saw him, he could confirm that the one who had ambushed them was an NPC . Thus, he shouted ‘catch him alive’ .

Not long after that, Wild Trace Sword Shadow had finally reached to the range he could activate his Glorious Shadow Slash . After he had used teleportation, he appeared right in front of the other . That NPC was frightened but couldn't stop his footsteps . Wild Trace Sword Shadow’s elbow swept over the man’s collarbone, throwing him down on the ground .

Although the man had already suffered from the fall and was groaning on the ground, Wild Trace Sword Shadow didn’t show any mercy as he pulled the NPC’s arms and pushed him closer to the ground then snatched his weapon .

Feng Bujue arrived, but he didn’t look like the other hotshot who could always maintain calm and stable breathing . Seeing the situation was under control, he then rested both hands on his knees and panted heavily .

"Say it, who are you?" said Wild Trace Sword Shadow to his captive .

That man had been running until he was out of breath and then got thrown down to the ground, so how could he speak up now .

"Get off him . It’s alright," said Feng Bujue .

Wild Trace Sword Shadow loosened his grip, took two steps back while still holding his sword, gazing cautiously at the attacker on the ground .

That man flipped his body over, and faced up while his chest was heaving heavily . It took him a really long time to stabilize his breathing . From his transparent mask, they could see that he was a Caucasian man, looking very young, around 20 years old . His head was relatively small . He was around 160 centimeters tall with a small build and black hair that looked like instant noodles .

After he had recovered a little bit, the man sat up, his pair of arms supporting his body from behind while he retreated until he reached the wall . All this time, he looked at the other party standing in front of him with a frightened face .

"Let’s talk," Feng Bujue crouched down, leveling his eyes and the other’s eyes, "What’s your name?"

"Outlanders! You evil! Pagans!" the man screamed while holding his helmet with both hands . "Don’t you even think about hypnotizing me with your ‘devil language’! In your dreams!"

Wild Trace Sword Shadow looked at Feng Bujue . "I think… It’s getting complicated . Isn’t it a science-fiction scenario? Why is there a magical and religious setting?"

Feng Bujue hesitated for a while then beamed a cold smile . "No, I think this is a futuristic science-fiction setting . " He finished then took out the steel sword from his bag .

Having seen that, the man started to scream out insanely with all of his strength .

"Shut up…" Feng Bujue used a normal voice to speak, but the other was screaming louder . Feng Bujue immediately put the steel sword on his neck and shouted, "Shut up!"

The guy was scared and immediately shut his mouth up .

"What, is, your, name?" asked Feng Bujue, spitting out one word after another .

"Han . . . Hank," answered Hank .

"Hank, whatever you think we are, it’s okay . I don't need your trust . I also don’t need to explain anything to you . However, you have to answer us honestly . If not, you will die… very painfully," said Feng Bujue .

"No… Don't…" said Hank, "Don’t, please, I still have a mother at home… My brothers are all dead… I can’t…"

"Don’t babble!" Feng Bujue interrupted, "I’ll ask, and you will answer . "

Hank nodded . His emotion was a little bit calmer, just like a crying child who was scared and forced to stop crying .

"What are you doing? Why are you here?" asked Feng Bujue .

"I… I’m a member of the ‘Scavengers’ squad… under the order, I’m here to search," answered Hank .

"How many people are there in your squad?" asked Feng Bujue .

"Five…" answered Hank . "But several hours ago, I’ve lost connection with them . " He strangely looked at Wild Trace Sword Shadow .

"Don’t look at me like that . I didn’t kill your friends . " Wild Trace Sword Shadow, of course, recognized that . He retrieved his sword and said, "We’ve seen a friend of yours, but when we saw him, a monster had killed him already . " That was the man who got the octopus parasite .

"What… mons… monster? Ah, my god… damn it . " Hank’s body was shivering constantly, just like he was about to cry . "That’s why they said they found something peculiar…"

"What kind of vehicle you’ve used to come here?" asked Feng Bujue .

"Vehicle?" Seemed Hank didn’t understand this word .

"What did you ride to come here?" Feng Bujue changed the words of his question .

"It’s the ‘Shark Cabin’ . Scavengers’ members all use it," answered Hank .

"Is that something like a boat or a car?" asked Wild Trace Sword Shadow .

"Car?" Hank was confused again .

Feng Bujue shook his head, sighed and continued his interrogation, "Originally, you were staying in the ‘Shark Cabin’ while your four other friends had entered this lab to search . And, because you’ve lost connection with them, you’ve entered here too, right?"

"Yes," nodded Hank .

"Why did you attack us?" asked Wild Trace Sword Shadow .

"You… you are…" Hank looked at them with fear in his eyes . "Because you guys are outlanders…"

"Can you explain what is ‘outlanders’?" said Feng Bujue .

"Devils! Men from outside the village!"

"How do you know we come from another place?" asked Feng Bujue .

"Your clothes…" said Hank . "I’ve never seen clothing like that . Moreover, you guys don’t need protection suit to survive here . "

"What?" Feng Bujue frowned . "How? Would you die if you breathe in the air here?"

"Of course! It was only in the village that we can breathe fresh air! The air outside is fatal! It’s because the outlanders have diffused toxic gas!" Hank pitched up his tone .

Feng Bujue got up, walked to Wild Trace Sword Shadow and said, "Do you remember the opening of the 10th movie in ‘Friday the 13th’ franchise?"

"Just say what you want to say…" Wild Trace Sword Shadow said, "Whatever you say is true anyway…"

"That means you don't remember exactly," said Feng Bujue .

"Nonsense . Who can remember in details a movie released years ago?" said Wild Trace Sword Shadow . Anyway, after he had spoken up, he suddenly recognized something and immediately added, "Alright, not including you…"

"I remember clearly that in the opening scene of that movie, the member of the scientists team from the outer space can remove their helmet and breath when they enter this lab . Of course, the premise is that they have already checked the air quality and the bacteria around there," said Feng Bujue .

"Get to the main points," continued Wild Trace Sword Shadow .

"The main point is… the man in front of us, just like I’ve assumed before…" Feng Bujue lowered his voice to talk while watching Hank, who was crouching and leaning against the wall . "He should be the descendant of the survivors on the Old Earth, but I don't know why he isn’t evolved physiologically to adapt to the environment . Quite the contrary, he got the tendency of degeneration . Even those immigrants in space can breathe the air in this lab for a short while, but he can’t do that . "

"Is it strange?" asked Wild Trace Sword Shadow .

"Is Darwin a false God?" asked Feng Bujue .

"Eh . . . " Wild Trace Sword Shadow said, "Alright, I’m not good at biology . But, I think you are saying that this situation is not suitable with the theory of evolution?"

"The group of people living in the spaceship has similar lungs and heart functions with human beings of 400 years ago," Feng Bujue said, "but the ones who survive on the Old Earth, which has the extreme conditions for living creatures, will choke themselves to death breathing the air here . " He paused for a while, "And, do you remember the guy with the octopus?"

"You meant the one you’d beheaded and harassed by putting the grenade through his throat and carved words on his tummy?" Wild Trace Sword Shadow pretended to concentrate then spoke up . "Ha… it’s easy to forget him…"

"His height and appearance aren’t much different from Hank’s . Unusually thin and weak," said Feng Bujue .

"So?"

"They are Caucasian… I should remind you a bit here . In our age, Western European men’s average height is around 180 centimeters, and the guys from Northern European countries approach 190 centimeters," said Feng Bujue .

"Don’t you think that in this planet, the malnutrition is more popular?" Wild Trace Sword Shadow said, "and, this is just a game, why do you need to pay attention to those details?"

Feng Bujue shook his head . "I don’t know how many human beings are left on this Old Earth, but I can confirm that Hank’s ‘village’ has some problems . "

"Feng-Ge… do you remember that we are playing Killing Game 2 versus 2? We are not here to save some NPC’s village!"

Feng Bujue held up his hand, unfolded three fingers then seriously listed up three reasons . "Breathing air in their village will not reduce our Survival Value . Their science and technology level can produce [Anti-Gravity Launching Device] . Moreover, people there can’t bear one strike from us . "

"Ah… You are not going to save the village, but to burn down houses and rob their properties, aren’t you?" Wild Trace Sword Shadow seemed to understand .

"Saving and also robbing, well, talk about it later… We need to think about how to get on Hank’s ‘Shark Cabin’ to leave this lab . Then we are invincible . Before the two patient badasses from Corpse Saber have drained their blood supplements, we have a variety of strategies to use and totally grip the initiative," said Feng Bujue .