Chapter 14 The Nightmare Unfolds

After the whispers came a cacophony of bizarre, chaotic sounds…

The sloshing of fluids, the howling of wind, the sizzle of hot oil devouring flesh, the grinding of bones…each sound resonated close at hand.

Angry roars, pained moans, manic laughter, heart-wrenching sobs…every utterance struck directly at the ears.

The sheer auditory pressure created a hellish sensation.

Although the players had lighting equipment, the darkness was like a rabid beast, clutching all the city’s light sources tightly in its claws, allowing not a single ray to escape.

Some tried to shout, hoping to communicate with their teammates, but they couldn’t even hear their own voices.

Some tried to wave their hands, wanting to use touch to assess their surroundings, but their fingertips only encountered gusts of hot and cold air, sometimes dry, sometimes humid.

Fear and helplessness spread rapidly, growing in the players’ hearts…

Objectively, the darkness hadn't lasted long, but to those within it, it felt like an endless night.

Finally…

After about a minute, the “darkness” receded.

A blood-red moon rose in the sky.

The mist that had served as the “connecting medium” had dissipated, and the true Nuka City…appeared before the players’ eyes.

Looking around… jagged scorched earth, a seething river of blood, thickets of withered bones, wriggling remnants of corpses, soaring demonic figures, and so on…countless terrifying things that only appeared in nightmares painted a grand panorama of the underworld.

All the bizarre sounds had materialized, becoming genuine threats of death.

…

West side of the city, where the Golden Warhammers team was.

“What the [Bleep] is going on!” At this moment, Huang Dachui was completely out of sorts. Under the combined influence of the Z-virus and the fear, he was drenched in sweat, his face pale. “How did it suddenly become like this?”

“It feels like we suddenly switched to the inner world…” Xuan Ling Wangzhe was also shaken, but compared to Huang Dachui, his shock level was still relatively stable.

Qi Doushi, wiping away cold sweat, added, “I’m saying… could it be caused by that man we met earlier?”

“That’s certainly possible,” Jianxing Nan nodded in agreement. “Maybe he provoked the Boss or pushed it into its ‘second phase’…”

“So…” Huang Dachui asked tentatively, “the current situation… is essentially because this script’s Boss unleashed a big move?”

“Who knows…” Jianxing Nan really didn’t know the specifics. “I’m more concerned about… whether such a drastic change in the script’s map will affect our search for the antidote…”

“That’s right!” Xuan Ling Wangzhe immediately realized. “Let’s assume that man really left us the antidote, but what if the antidote was left in the ‘outer world’? Won’t we be unable to get it?”

“Indeed…” Jianxing Nan said in a deep voice. “Taking it a step further, even if the antitoxin serum was also transmitted to the inner world, take a look around…” He paused for two seconds. “Not to mention the monsters roaming everywhere, even the change in terrain is worrying… what if the antidote falls into the lava or river of blood? Or what if the stone tablet with the riddle disappears?”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Huang Dachui exclaimed. “Let’s hurry up and keep looking!”

“Hmph… I’d like to, too…” Jianxing Nan said with a bitter smile.

Before he could finish speaking, a circle of shadowy figures had already surrounded the four members of the Golden Warhammers team…

“But these monsters don’t seem to be cooperating with us…” Jianxing Nan muttered, as he once again summoned his twin scythes.

…

On the other hand, where the Hell Frontline team was.

“Even if you squat there looking aggrieved, the script won’t revert to its original state,” Xiao Ling said to her boyfriend with a disdainful look, earnestly advising, “Hurry up and get up to help.”

As she spoke, she was holding her arms out straight, using [Moon Slayer] and [Meteor Fall] to fire mindlessly at some monsters dozens of meters away. Since both guns had a certain degree of auto-aim, when shooting at small monsters, Xiao Ling only needed to aim with the corner of her eye and fire at will.

“I know…” Xiao Tan replied, already standing up. “My scare value was a bit high just now, let me recover for a bit…”

“You’ve already recovered for thirty seconds, aren’t you done yet?” Xiao Ling asked impatiently. “Are you seven years old?”

“So this time is related to age…” Xiao Tan replied, his mouth twitching. “People over seven years old must calm down within thirty seconds when encountering a terrifying change…”

“Of course,” Xiao Ling said as a matter of course. “Don’t tell me that when you saw a question you couldn’t do on an exam paper when you were a kid, you remained in a state of panic until the end of class?”

“Uh…” Xiao Tan was momentarily speechless.

“I say, you guys… what are you discussing the ‘thirty-second principle’ for at this time…” At this moment, Huajian also chimed in from the side. “Focus on fighting the monsters.”

(Note: The thirty-second principle is the principle that "if you are still at a loss within thirty seconds of reviewing a question on an exam or test, you should decisively skip the question," because a question that you can't figure out in thirty seconds may not be solved even if you think about it for thirty minutes, and self-deceptive persistence will only waste time.

ps: This principle was made up by me in thirty seconds, please don’t take it seriously.)

“Okay! Watch me!” Xiao Tan said, using his hidden weapons and shotgun to suppress the approaching monsters.

After fighting for a few seconds, he seemed to have suddenly thought of something, and stopped to say to his teammates, “By the way… these monsters… I seem to have seen them somewhere before…”

…

Ten minutes ago, in the city center, inside the Alien Citadel.

Three figures entered through the main hall’s door and walked all the way to Samodir’s throne.

“Yo~ Yo~ Peeps~ We’ve brought ‘em~”

“Please Big Boss… che~ che~ check_out~”

Dian San and Dao Si reported to Samodir in rap.

“Alright, you two can leave now.” Samodir sat motionless on the throne, without even opening his eyes.

The two exchanged a glance after receiving the order, then shrugged and turned to leave.

After they left the main hall, Feng Bujue chuckled, “Are you keeping your eyes closed because you can’t bear to look at your two subordinates?”

“Crazy Not Awakened…” Samodir didn’t answer Jue Ge’s question. He knew that if he followed that topic, he would be bombarded with complaints again, so he only said what he had planned in advance, “… Even now, you can maintain such a calm attitude. I must say, I admire that.”

“What? Did you expect to see me with a look of fear and panic?” Feng Bujue asked.

“Hmph… how boring…” Samodir said, opening his eyes.

His pupils were now a different color than when he was on the Island of Chewing Demons. At that time, he had a pair of yellowish-brown eyes, but now, his beastly eyes were jet black.

“You are a frustrating opponent, Crazy Not Awakened.” Samodir spread his huge bat wings behind him, rose from the throne, and slowly walked down, stepping with his giant hooves. “I’m not sure if you’re too crazy or too calm, but I’m sure… it’s impossible to get even the slightest pleasure of revenge from you.”

As he spoke, he walked to Jue Ge, “Because… although you are just a humble creature, you always look down on everything with the attitude of someone superior, looking down on… me!”

That “me” brought out a roar, and the gust of air from Samodir’s mouth blew Jue Ge’s hair back.

The next second, Feng Bujue glared with dead fish eyes and replied, “Judging from the current situation, there are at least two reasons for me to adopt a superior attitude in front of you; first, I do a much better job of oral hygiene than you. Second, I still know not to talk to people when I have bad breath.”

Samodir, hearing this, took two steps back, quite embarrassed. “Hmph… can your human set of pointless social etiquette also be used as a source of pride?”

“Leaving aside social etiquette… isn’t this mainly a matter of personal hygiene?” Feng Bujue’s rebuttal came quickly and was well-founded. “And I don’t have anything to be proud of. You should be feeling ashamed. If you insist on saying I’m arrogant, I’ll put my arm around your neck and talk to you with shit in my mouth in the future, I wonder how that would make you feel.”

As soon as these words came out, Samodir unconsciously took another half step back. “Enough! Stop dragging me off topic!” He quickly realized that the topic had been unwittingly diverted by Jue Ge again, so he decided to get straight to the point immediately. “Today, I want you to pay for what you’ve done!”

With that said, Samodir’s demonic energy surged around him, and a killing intent like a tsunami surged out.

“Ha? Make me pay?” Feng Bujue stood still, not even taking out his Ling-Energy weapon. “With you?”

“Hmph…” Samodir sneered. “It seems you’re not that great after all…” He paused for half a second. “Do you think… you can get away unscathed like you did on the Island of Chewing Demons?”

“Oh… you mean that time.” Feng Bujue replied in a very relaxed tone, with his hands in his pockets. “The fight where you pretended to attack me fiercely, but were actually waiting for a chance to ambush Executioner?”

Samodir’s expression changed slightly. “You…”

“How would I know?” Feng Bujue interrupted. “Heh… I know much more than that.” He raised a hand, touching his chin. “I also know that you today are about three times stronger than you were then, right?”

Samodir didn’t respond, but his shock was reflected in the fluctuations of his own demonic energy.

“I admit… when we first met, I did underestimate you a bit.” Feng Bujue continued, “But after that encounter on the Island of Chewing Demons, I changed my mind. Later… after I sorted out the information about you, I gradually discovered that your scheming and potential… are not to be underestimated.”

“Hmph… bluffing…” At this time, Samodir calmed down slightly and tentatively replied, “Your usual trick.”

“What? You think I’m using empty words to trick you?” Feng Bujue chuckled. “Heh… then I’ll give you some real substance.” He spread his hands, reciting with his usual irritating expression, “Hmm… where should I start… Oh, right, why not start with that strange religion you, Duo Ling, and Talium founded together.”