Teamwork

Translated by boilpoil
Edited by boilpoil

Mu Jiashi is speechless looking at the man with long hair.

In the Tower, there are quite the number of… deviant Missiontakers.

For example, this one, whose strangeness Mu Jiashi gets almost as soon as he spoke.

Resurrection is possible immediately after death in Nightmares in the Tower.

This, in turn, has attracted types who pursue death; with death’s consequence drastically reduced, then it is also far less terrifying. Death in reality turns you into a corpse, but death in the game merely sets you back somewhat.

If you make the horrible experience of near-death into something repeatable, it would simply become a rare, even valuable experience instead. It would even… become addictive for some.

Of course, the other Missiontakers hate them to the bone.

They can chase death all they want, but when any death also restarts the Nightmare, then numerous deaths will mean the Nightmare isn’t far from crumbling. There are some of the more ‘moral’ Deathseekers that would just enjoy a few deaths before letting the other Missiontakers get on with resolving the Nightmare.

But some people really do look like they’re tumbling straight for Collapse on purpose.
Dragging the others along for a horrifying ride.

If a Nightmare threatens to Collapse during a session, it doesn’t necessarily mean all Missiontakers will end up succumbing to it and be unable to escape, but a Bad End will practically be guaranteed.

Suffice it to say more than a handful of Missiontakers on the upper floors end up tossed back down some floors by these group of people.

The Deathseekers have a reputation in the Tower possibly comparable, or, for some, even worse than that of Carddealers. Though thanks to their ceaseless pursuit of death, one by one, they’ve succumbed themselves to Collapsed Nightmare. At this point in time, Deathseekers are already a rarity to see.

… At least, it’s been years since Mu Jiashi ran into one in the Tower.

Right now, right here, at this critical juncture, though, he has ended up with one.

Mu Jiashi finds it hard to swallow.

The rest of the Missiontakers have caught on as well. They are all showing sour expressions.

The man goes ‘hehe,’ saying, “don’t worry,” he then licks his lips, looking like he can almost burst just from his excitement, and saying, “I won’t go kill myself freely, but if an opportunity comes, do let me die and don’t try to stop me.”

The other Missiontakers have various spots on their faces twitching, as they wonder – what’s the difference between that and seeking death, even?

They decide to ignore the man entirely.

Fei glances at Mu Jiashi, and sees him currently deep in thought, and so picks up the slack and has everyone do the introductions.

Of the nine Missiontakers present, besides Lin Qin, Mu Jiashi, Ding Yi, Fei, Wu Jian, and the man with long hair, there are three others, one man and two woman. The man and one woman say they are a couple, while the other one, the young adult female Missiontaker, speaks with quite the cheery tone.

She calls herself He Shujün, and apparently she’s from the upper floors, and is here looking for the Ultimate Nightmare and for an exit to the Tower.

Her forthrightness lets the Missiontakers present relax a little as well.

Before she bluntly broke the veil, the Missiontakers present in the Nightmare had an odd tension – everyone was thinking about the ‘Ultimate Nightmare,’ but no one would come out to save it.

The couple there seem especially relieved, thumping their chests, even.

The male Missiontaker of the couple says, “since we’re all here for the Ultimate Nightmare, let’s quickly get to investigating then.”

They take in their surroundings more closely.

The intersection they’re in seems to be part of the CBD of this city; not far from where they stand, they can see many highrises with markets, department stores, and also a collection of bank branches and some hotels.

Oddly, though, despite how prosperous this area should be, there is nobody else around except for the occasional people that run around like they’re out of their minds. Here, the many highrises seem to have formed some sort of labyrinth, housing countless more psychotics within.

And that’s not to mention the great amount of trash, mess of things and leaves scattered around; it almost looks as if the entire city’s janitorial services have disappeared. The trash has all rotted soon enough in the searing summer sun. The smell is quite indescribable, and the buzzing of flies is almost as loud as the cicadas chirping.

The Missiontakers are also wiping their sweat profusely.

Looking around, the most notable building seem to be a library that isn’t far away from where they are.

It looks like it has seen its fair share of history, with its architectural style and the calligraphy in its highly visible plaque of ‘Cangcheng Library’ having people realise that, this is probably at least a landmark in this city.

“Cangcheng?” Wu Jian is murmuring, “Cangcheng… Cangcheng?”

Fei asks him quietly, “do you feel familiar with it?”

Wu Jian is looking at the building, and slowly nods in a daze, he says, “I think, I might… I might, have been someone from Cangcheng.”

Fei, shocked, quickly asks, “are you sure?”

Wu Jian puts on a bitter smile, saying, “I’m not sure. I don’t remember anything anymore, or rather, it’s been blocked off,” then, staring at the library, he says, “it does look so familiar. It’s like I was still borrowing and returning books here not long ago…”

Fei quietly listens.

Wu Jian continues saying, “I think there were many buses passing through this place… There was this tourist bus that headed straight for the museum too…”

Fei comments, “you don’t seem like you can’t remember it.”

Wu Jian doesn’t seem to be sure of himself either, adding, “it feels really off, though; I know I’m familiar with this, but it doesn’t feel real at all. It feels like my brain is making up these memories… It’s like, I dreamt about it.”

Fei pats him on the shoulder, quietly supporting him.

Wu Jian shakes his head and says, “I’m going to stop thinking about it,” and then he quietly adds, “it’s meaningless too, isn’t it? We all know already. It’s Earth… That Apocalypse, happened on Earth.”

His companion takes a deep breath but doesn’t continue the topic. She bites her lips hard while she turns to the others.

They have already split up.

Lin Qin is staring straight at the library; the couple is checking out the bus stop nearby; the man with long hair is looking both ways on the street, possibly contemplating if a car might come along and crash into him; Ding Yi is checking out the bank through the glass alongside He Shujün.

Mu Jiashi is still thinking about something there, looking around him.

He told Fei and Wu Jian before that he had been to this Nightmare already, but he didn’t talk about it in too much detail, as they were still pretty shellshocked from how ‘the Tower residents are Acting.’

Then when they heard that this Nightmare was here on the bottom floor all of a sudden, Fei and Wu Jian told him not to tell them all the details, for the same reason they did when they were worried Mu Jiashi’s experience with the Nightmare featuring the malfunctioning elevators would have caused them to form misleading first impressions.

In fact, if they already knew about Mu Jiashi’s ending back then, they might not have been able to make the connection to ‘Acting’ and Tower residents in the Nightmare.

Which means, in this Nightmare, only Mu Jiashi would know details about it right now.

Right now, Mu Jiashi is looking all around him, feeling a bit confused; he can see that this Nightmare really is the exact same as the Nightmare he experienced on the higher floors.

… Could it really be the same Nightmare?

He was still doubtful before he really entered the Nightmare; could it possibly just be a Nightmare that has a similar sort of setting? It could be another Nightmare from the one he entered on the higher floors.

Yet, when he is now here, he can feel the special, even familiar vibe all around him…
Then, he turns his head in the direction of Ding Yi and He Shujün, who are checking out the bank branches.

If this really were the same as he experienced, he thinks, then the two Missiontakers should already…

That is when He Shujün quickly turns her head around to tell them, “there’s something here!”

Mu Jiashi can feel his mood sinking.

While the rest of the Missiontakers are heading over with some excitement in their steps, Mu Jiashi’s mind is only filled with endless questions.

The same Nightmare? What about Su Enya? Who was she, even?

Fei walks next to him, asking, “how is it?”

Mu Jiashi tells her, “compared to the Nightmare I remembered, this is exactly the same.”

Fei falls silent.

It must mean that there is something behind it all.