30

Translated by rabbitrisu

“What’s wrong?”

Perhaps it was because Su Zimo stopped so suddenly, Du Xin and Qi Xiaomin at the back of the group also stopped and looked at the vase he was staring at near the corner of the stairs.

Strangely enough, this place they were in was in ruins everywhere. They hadn’t seen anything intact after walking in a large circuit, but this vase around the corner of the stairway, while it couldn’t be called clean or new, was whole.

But the vase was just a vase. Du Xin didn’t really know why Su Zimo stared at the vase the whole time.

In Su Zimo’s eyes, a few text boxes floated in front of the old-fashioned porcelain vase–

[Nightmare Brand Ordinary Vase (No Stars)]

[Sale Price: 1 yuan]

[Description: It’s been wiped down by the maid the entire time, but is the maid lazy now? Why haven’t they come?]

To be honest, Su Zimo didn’t want to put the vase in the backpack. Although there was still some space left, the 1-yuan vase in front of him obviously held plants before, and there were traces of dead plants still inside. There may be dry water stains inside the vase, and it felt a bit sloppy.

Even if the vase was washed and put in the store… Su Zimo stared at the unsightly vase for a few seconds, feeling that his sense of aesthetic conflicted with the vase in front of him. The vase, which looked old and valuable, didn’t look as good as the pure white porcelain vase from the first nightmare world.

Then…

Su Zimo carefully grabbed the cleanest edge of the vase and put it away.

The whole situation only took ten seconds.

“This… Old classmate, what are you doing with that vase?” Du Xin couldn’t help but ask.

“……” Su Zimo was silent for a moment, and continued to follow the team. “Maybe it can be used. Such as when we’re in danger, it could be used as a weapon or the like.”

“Do you want to tell him that malicious spirits can’t be hit by ordinary objects?” Hearing Su Zimo’s words, Qi Xiaomin pulled Du Xin’s sleeve and whispered quietly.

“Take it easy, going too fast isn’t a good thing.”

With that in mind, neither Du Xin nor Qi Xiaomin expressed their opinions about Su Zimo’s ‘childish’ behavior. Instead, the eyes of the trainers in front of them became a little weird.

Going downstairs one by one, Su Zimo found they were in a three story abandoned villa. The place where Su Zimo ended up was the innermost bedroom on the third floor. That’s why the trainers guessed that he was the last one.

The second floor of the villa was sealed with wooden boards and iron plates. If someone wanted to take it apart, it would take too long, so no one stayed on the second floor very long.

After pausing for a while, Su Zimo followed the other trainers to the first floor, and then found that although there weren’t any hall lights, there were many lit candles. In the villa, there were many simple candlesticks all over the walls, on the long dining table, and beside the sofa in the parlor. While he didn’t know why all the candles were lit, the entire hall was bright like it was daylight.

Su Zimo found that the entire hall looked very old, covered with dust and spiderwebs. Not to mention the sofas in the main hall were old and half-collapsed, the long dining table was also covered in dirty plates and some unidentifiable substances.

Someone was already packing things up by the dining table. Simply put, all the ‘trash’ was rolled up in the oversized tablecloth then thrown into a room beside the main hall.

Afterwards, at the orders of one of his companions, the trainer closed his eyes and picked up the used tablecloth to completely cover the decorative mirror in the hall.

“I didn’t expect there to be so many people.” The man who spoke was reassembling the sofa and trying to wipe off the dust on it. He looked about thirty years old, had cordial facial features, was wearing clothes that would allow him to move easily, and had a gentle smile on his face.

With the addition of Su Zimo, there were eight trainers coming down the stairs. Adding the three people who were decorating the living room, they had a huge team of eleven. At least for the veteran trainers, the number was amazing.

What’s even more amazing was that, according to Qi Xiaomin’s explanation, this time they had six members of Dawn in their team of eleven. Although Qi Xiaomin only introduced Dr. Jin Lei and Du Xin, who was about the same age as him, he was able to recognize the badges on the other Dawn members’ clothes. He had also heard about Leader Cheng Yun’s heroic deeds.

For Su Zimo, this couldn’t be considered a coincidence, but instead the result of the Dawn Organization. Although Su Zimo didn’t know whether the review process of the organization was very strict, he could see that the number of people within the organization was very high. That would give the trainers who were members of Dawn a higher chance to meet in the nightmare world.

As the nightmare world grows, so does Dawn…

As the new head of the Su family, Su Zimo subconsciously felt that these two things weren’t good.

“This is leader Cheng Yun.” Qi Xiaomin walked up to him from behind and whispered to Su Zimo. “I heard he’s experienced over a dozen nightmare worlds, and the only thing comparable to him is his title of ‘Wife-Pampering Madman.’

“Old people often say that someone who spoils his wife isn’t a bad person.” Du Xin didn’t know why he was blushing. “So Leader Cheng Yun’s reputation within the circle has always been good.”

“Is that the lady over there?” Su Zimo saw Leader Cheng Yun being followed by a woman with short hair in a white leather coat. She looked very tidy.

What puzzles Su Zimo was that the lady was constantly looking at the phone in her hand and from time to time would raise her head to observe Su Zimo.

“The first time I saw her, I heard it wasn’t. She’s called Bai Man. Because I knew Leader Cheng, I was temporarily responsible for verifying the work of us trainers.” Maybe because she had fought side-by-side with him before, Qi Xiaomin had kindly introduced him.

“Verify?” Su Zimo heard another strange word.

“Dawn has a special database. Everyone will upload it with some dangerous people they’ve encountered in the nightmare world. The database sorts out the dangerous people that are uploaded, and then arrange them by the number of uploads. Then, the list of dangerous people will be summarized.” Du Xin also helped explain. “That elder sister’s job is to make sure there are no dangerous people among us.”

"

"

“I heard that some people have props that can disguise them, but it’s only rumours.” Qi Xiaomin added.

“Come here, it’s almost sorted out over here.” After looking at the lady Bai Man, Cheng Yun beckoned to Su Zimo. “There are too many rooms in this nightmare world, so we’re tidying the main hall. It’s best to stay together for the five day task period. But before we discuss further, it’s necessary that we introduce ourselves.”

Is the task time five days? ¹ Su Zimo was thoughtful.

“Let me introduce myself first. My name is Cheng Yun, Cheng from journey, and Yun from cloud. I’m a team leader of Dawn. Everyone who had been present 12 times may have heard more or less about Dawn Organization.” As he spoke, Cheng Yun pressed his waist bag again. “As for the weapons I carry, I won’t introduce them now. After all, trainers need to have secrets.”

“My name is Bai Man. I’ve experienced nightmare worlds eight times.” Bai Man nodded slightly, and her words were very concise.

“Just call me Xiao Huo-ge.” The boy who claimed to be called Xiao Huo looked like Cheng Yun’s follower, the same one who just covered the decorative mirror in the main hall with a tablecloth. When talking to the other trainers, this fiery little brother played with an unlit lighter in his hand ²

[Spot Lighter (One Star)]

[Sale Price: 10 yuan]

[Description: A flame that malicious spirits hate. When the lighter is lit, the chance of malicious spirits appearing slightly increases.]

“My name is Jin Lei. They’re all members of Dawn, but I’m a medical officer. I’m responsible for medical emergencies within the teams.” Jin Lei was very gentle when it came to first aid, but pulled out two sharp scalpels from her white coat.

[Lost Scalpel (Two Stars)]

[Sale Price: 40 yuan]

[Description: A sharp weapon dropped in a haunted hospital. No one knows whose it used to be, but it may bring bad luck to its new owner. This misfortune is double-sided. While it brings bad luck, it can also become a weapon against malicious spirits.]

[Special Ability: After being contaminated with human blood, its ability to harm ghosts is improved.]

Su Zimo looked at the two people in front of him. Unexpectedly, it didn’t take long for the nightmare world to begin. He saw two ghost tools with stars, one of which turned out to be a two-star tool, and the owner was Jin Lei, who claimed to be a medical officer.

“My name is Qi Xiaomin, and I’ve experienced three nightmare worlds. My qualifications are still shallow, but I’m also a member of Dawn.” Qi Xiaomin, who had a ponytail, was graceful when speaking.

“Du Xin, like San Jinxin. I went to university in Shoushan.” Du Xin, who was a lot stronger than in high school, punched his fist. “I’m a part time coach at the gym.”

After all the trainers wearing Dawn badges introduced themselves, Su Zimo and four other trainers were left.

After the trainers listened to the Dawn member introductions, Su Zimo could already feel that the quality of this team was a lot different from what he’d experienced before. It was almost difficult for him to feel that these people had ordinary lives. These people have been transformed into warriors because of the nightmare world.

Even the other four trainers standing next to Su Zimo weren’t to be underestimated.

“My name is… My name is Wan Ling.” It was the shy girl who was with Jin Lei at the beginning. She was 13 or 14 years old, with a soup noodle hairstyle and a small face. ³ She looked to be the kind of obedient child that parents and teachers like.

He didn’t know why, but there were many bruises on the girl’s body. Although it didn’t look serious, they were in many places. The ankle exposed by her white skirt was even bandaged.

“This is… Last time I was injured in a nightmare world.” Perhaps after sensing everyone’s looks, Wan Ling hid behind Jin Lei’s white coat. Maybe the girl was so close to Jin Lei because she was afraid of being hurt and subconsciously wanted to be close to the doctor?

“Liu Xu.” On the other side was a dark-skinned man, about thirty years old. Although he looked lean, his exposed arm muscles looked more explosive than gym-coach Du Xin’s.

Moreover, Su Zimo noticed that Leader Cheng Yun’s team was slightly surprised at hearing the ordinary name ‘Liu Xu.’

“What’s the meaning of introducing myself?” Another man with a scummy beard and a braid rubbed his already messy hair, then pointed at the little brother who was still playing with a lighter off to the side. “That guy just got a nickname.”

“This isn’t a mandatory requirement, we just want a convenient title.” Cheng Yun smiled good-naturedly.

“Then call me… madman, alright.” The man didn’t say his name in the end, just gave himself a weird title.

“My name is Su Zimo. I’ve only experienced nightmare worlds twice, and my experience is still shallow. Please take care of me.” Su Zimo also thought about hiding his own name, but considering Du Xin and Qi Xiaomin both knew it already, he just said it.

“Su Zimo…”

Hearing Su Zimo’s name, the last trainer to introduce himself showed a thoughtful expression on his face.

When Su Zimo looked at the last trainer, he also felt a little strange. He seemed to have seen the white-haired energetic old man who was wearing a white tai chi suit before he entered the nightmare world.

“Excuse me…”

“Hahaha, it’s nothing. I just feel like I’ve seen this little brother before. He’s so handsome, maybe a movie star? Hahahaha-” The old man had a good spirit, and his white hair and large back were also amazing. “This old’s man name is Fang Qin, Fang of round place, Qin of Qin Dynasty.”

“No, I’m just…” Su Zimo thought about his identity, and suddenly found that his identity as Su family’s young master and the owner of An Yu Yi Yu, which had never been open, seemed arbitrary. Leaving behind those real identities, he gave a fake. “… an ordinary student.”

“Oh, Zimo, are you still in Shoushan City?”

Hearing Su Zimo’s words, Du Xin’s eyes lit up, and he didn’t know since when he was called ‘Zimo.’

“Maybe, maybe not.” Su Zimo inexplicable felt that he may be off to a not-so-good start.

“It’s a pity. I’d planned to invite you to attend this Sunday’s reunion party. If they knew that I’d invited you, they would definitely treat me like a hero.” After Du Xin stopped dressing up in that very special manner that could send his family to their graves, the large boy smiled like the sun itself. Especially when he looked at other people, he seemed like an eager-to-please husky.

“That’s right.” Before waiting for Su Zimo to say anything, Du Xin stared at him with a pair of puppy eyes. “Su Zimo, if we can safely leave this nightmare world together, no matter where you are, come to the reunion, okay?”

Su Zimo felt Du Xin was very cunning.

Although the atmosphere during introductions was relaxing for everyone, they all know that the more unusual the trainers were, the more unusual the thing they had to face would be. So, what Du Xin said was like asking for reassurance and good luck.

“Okay.” Su Zimo sighed inwardly, then finally nodded with a smile. “If you leave safely, then I’ll listen to your arrangements.”

When Su Zimo introduced himself as a student, the old man named Fang Qin kept staring at him. He seemed to think of something, and he revealed a grin like an old fox.

“Well, since everybody is introduced, let’s talk about the task.” Cheng Yun, who placed himself in the leader’s position, smiled to calm everyone down.

Footnotes

<ol>Raws said five hours here, but above it says five days. Considering they’re setting up sleeping areas, I’m going with the longer time. Fiery little brother is a pun on his name. Xiao can mean small, and Huo can mean fire. I think this just means she has really nice hair. Long and silky, smooth, and slightly curled. I couldn’t find pictures, sorry! All I found was noodles and normal hair.</ol>