Chapter 14: Centipede

The truth behind the scenario was becoming increasingly complicated and confusing.

When Xie De heard the clue about a sixth supervisor, he almost didn't react in time. Then it suddenly dawned on him that the six people who survived were actually five supervisors plus one boss, not six supervisors.

Speaking of supervisors, during the time that they had been in this scenario, they had indeed seen a cursing supervisor in the morning. That was a ghost, perhaps the one who died in the factory along with the workers.

The gloomy wind howled, and thunder rumbled.

The flames in the factory gradually receded. Xie De wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but he noticed the moss on the walls had turned into indelible black ash. The faint sound of machinery operating reached his ears once again.

Wei Yanchi glanced at his watch. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, he grabbed Xie De's wrist, holding it tightly, and walked "anxiously" towards the cafeteria.

"The scenario's Q&A game isn't over yet. It’s now trying to recreate a scene. We have to hide immediately. Otherwise, if the NPCs in the recreated scene spot us, it won't be very fun."

Wei Yanchi pulled Xie De along very quickly, dragging him for dozens of meters before Xie De could even react. Wei Yanchi had a strong grip and accidentally pinched his wrist hard enough to hurt.

Unable to hold back, Xie De shook off his hand and said helplessly, "I can walk on my own."

However, his tone didn't come out very friendly, unconsciously carrying a deep alienation and an irritation born from a dislike of physical contact with others.

Wei Yanchi paused. Xie De immediately realized he had just acted as if he were disgusted by the other party. It was a bit awkward, but stopping to apologize and explain while running for their lives seemed even more awkward.

A hopeless social anxiety case is truly beyond saving.

He had no choice but to quickly walk to the front, moving as fast as he could. His long silver hair spread out in the air currents, giving his back a cold and aloof aura that said 'I don't want to talk'.

Xie De didn't realize that the resulting effect looked even more like disgust.

Lao You chuckled and hummed, glancing at Wei Yanchi with his small eyes, and commented, "Rare."

Hu Wei, as expressionless as ever, followed closely behind.

Wei Yanchi curled the fingers that had been shaken off. His jade-like eyes were filled with a hint of a smile, not showing the slightest trace of gloom.

After the scenario's scene recreated itself, the headless ghost in the cafeteria was nowhere to be found. There were only busy figures in the kitchen, cooking smoke rising upwards, and the smell of seaweed and egg drop soup wafting through the air.

They hid in the cafeteria's storage room, leaving the door slightly ajar to peek outside.

The scene being recreated now was the morning work period, so there was no one in the cafeteria, allowing them to remain undiscovered.

Wei Yanchi's gaze had always been open and unabashed. Xie De was clinging to the window, looking outside for clues, and Wei Yanchi just stared at him. When Xie De turned his gaze back, Wei Yanchi's eyes looked exceptionally innocent.

Xie De was speechless. He just shook off his hand, didn't he?

What exactly did the protagonist want?

As to what he wanted to do, Wei Yanchi himself wasn't clear either. He still remembered the conversation he had with Yue Xiamo after they had finished sharing clues.

Yue Xiamo looked at him expressionlessly.

"Wei Yanchi, what on earth are you thinking? You should know that the more people who clear the scenario, the less you might get. I don't believe you've suddenly been struck by a bout of kindness and want to lead everyone to clear it. Even if you really want to bring everyone through, do you think they would trust a madman like you?"

"Besides, what exactly are you plotting? That silver-haired guy is definitely not a good person. How long has he been in the scenario, and he's already killed two veteran players? With such a bloodthirsty nature, even if you show him goodwill, he won't take it to heart."

Wei Yanchi lowered his head, his voice gentle.

"I know, but pulling a person like that into our camp, isn't that considered a good thing?"

"A good thing?"

Yue Xiamo tilted her head to look over, her gaze bypassing him.

Wei Yanchi also looked over.

Lao You had actually walked over to recruit Xie De as well, and it seemed he had succeeded.

This guy, Lao You, loved to organize cliques among players and even had a penchant for psychological manipulation. He had killed quite a few new players using this trick.

Disdain for Lao You surfaced in Yue Xiamo's eyes. She sneered, "There are only five of us left in this scenario. I'd like to see how many can actually clear it."

Then, she gloated, "It seems the person you've got your eye on has also caught Lao You's eye."

Wei Yanchi shrugged helplessly.

"What can I do about that? The scene is about to be recreated, aren't you going to disappear?"

Yue Xiamo had always been a bold yet meticulous lone wolf. She left behind the phrase, "Be careful of getting backstabbed by this group of players," and agilely disappeared into the interior of the factory, her presence dropping to zero.

............

The sound of an argument came from outside the storage room. Everyone immediately pressed up against the crack in the door and the window, straining their ears to listen outside.

However, outside was a blind spot. They basically couldn't see the scene and could only hear the voices.

It was a woman crying and cursing angrily.

"They are targeting me. I feel like I can't stay here anymore. Ma Hui is a liar! Why did she do this? Why?! What did I do wrong?"

Then came another woman's exhausted, comforting voice.

"Just endure it a bit longer. Jobs outside aren't easy to find. You've also seen how miserably those student workers are exploited."

"Endure? I want to ask you how much longer you are going to endure? You get beaten so miserably, why don't you get a divorce?"

The exhausted woman was stunned by the remark. Her voice dropped, carrying a hint of a sob.

"I'm doing this all for my child! Besides, if I get a divorce, where can I go? Where can I go?"

Immediately following that was the sound of footsteps. The two women walked away.

Scene recreations would present some important reasoning fragments. They couldn't hide here forever, but if they went out and these NPCs discovered an anomaly, they would be doomed eternally.

Wei Yanchi glanced at Lao You and whispered, his eyes devoid of any smile.

"I have to go out for a bit. You guys stay here. I'm going to steal a chef's uniform. Mr. 39's appearance is too conspicuous, he'd be easily recognized at a glance as someone who doesn't belong here. So this time, I'll go alone."

Honestly speaking, the protagonist was also a very courageous lone wolf.

With a quick flash, he slipped out through the crack in the door. His movements were very light, not making a single sound.

Xie De certainly didn't have the protagonist's skills, and neither did Hu Wei. They had no choice but to stand inside the storage room, trying their best to stay quiet.

The sound of the chef walking by occasionally came from outside the door, easily inducing a hair-raising feeling.

Xie De tried to calm his nerves, acting like he was relieving stress before a college entrance exam, and asked Gibberish randomly, "Do you think the protagonist will die?"

Gibberish unsurprisingly spared no effort in hitting him where it hurts.

"Even if you die, the protagonist won't die."

That was a relief, then.

Suddenly, however, Lao You let out a muffled gasp. Hu Wei widened her eyes and, with a leap, jumped onto the box closest to the door.

Xie De's heart tightened, and he looked back. From under the boxes storing food in the storage room, cockroaches were scrambling out in a panic.

These cockroaches were scurrying around chaotically.

It gave people goosebumps all over.

Inexplicable things wouldn't happen in a scenario, so these cockroaches scurrying around could only prove that something even more terrifying existed inside the boxes.

You've gotta be kidding me. Not earlier, not later, but it just had to happen right after the protagonist left.

Xie De stared nervously at the box that had disturbed the cockroach nest.

Under their watchful eyes, a one-meter-long, incredibly sanity-draining centipede, emitting a disgusting sizzling sound, crawled out of the box.

Gag.

Xie De felt like he was going to throw up. This thing was even scarier than a cockroach! And it was a meter long, half the size of a person! One bite from it, and you'd be dead for sure.

He grew up in the countryside and wasn't afraid of bugs, but if the bug was a meter long, that was a different story!

Lao You and Hu Wei both froze. Neither dared to make a sound, terrified of attracting the monster's attention.

The massive centipede raised its head and looked at Xie De.

Xie De really f*cking wanted to sneer, except only cold sweat soaked his back. He said, trembling inwardly, "Gibberish, do you still have power?"

If it had power, he'd at least have a bit of strength to resist. Getting shocked was better than dying.

"Yes, yes, Host, steady! Don't panic."

How could he not panic?

Who knew if this thing was afraid of electricity?

Moreover, this little trash Gibberish was reliable one moment and unreliable the next.

Bzzzt.

The centipede lunged at Xie De as expected. It was ferocious and terrifyingly fast, its freakishly long limbs looking like skeleton arms.

The light in the storage room naturally wasn't turned on, but that terrifying dark shadow rushing at his face only increased the horror effect, feeling extremely ghostly and macabre.

Xie De was so frightened his legs went weak and he couldn't stand steadily. It actually looked like he took a step forward, and the long stick in his hand fell to the ground with a thud.

With lightning speed, Gibberish sent an electric current along the floor, shocking the centipede completely off guard.

The huge centipede crashed to the ground instantly. The fall seemed to clear up its eyes significantly, and then it slowly shrank from a meter long to the size of an adult's palm.

Although still very large, at least it wasn't as creepy anymore.

It stood up in a panic, trying to escape, but bumped its head into the wall.

Gibberish came up with a terrible idea, saying arrogantly.

"Quick! Host, catch it quickly. I've shocked it so much it has no power to fight back! Hahaha..."

"You actually didn't shut down."

Xie De's hand was also numb from the shock. He silently watched the small centipede wobbling around dizzily, unable to even walk straight. He actually gathered his courage, went over, and pinched one of the little centipede's antennae.

The little centipede played dead and stopped moving.

At this moment, Xie De recalled knowledge from his biology class: Scutigera [1] is a nocturnal, carnivorous arthropod, also known as 'straw sandal bottom' or 'sesame oil bug'... They can help humans eliminate poisonous bugs, silverfish, flies, and other pests, maintaining household hygiene.

In Feng Shui, scutigera symbolizes 'strings of cash'. Traditionally, their appearance is believed to foretell an improvement in financial luck and impending wealth.

It is even considered an auspicious sign, as the name 'youyan (蚰蜒)' sounds similar to 'youyan (油盐),' which means oil and salt and represents the necessities of life, and is believed to bring good omens. In traditional Chinese culture, they also symbolize thriftiness and good fortune.

At the same time, this creature is very timid.

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[1] Scutigera - a genus of centipedes in the family Scutigeridae, most famously represented by Scutigera coleoptrata, commonly known as the house centipede.