Chapter 65

At the other end of the town, a man who had just switched teams today was awakened by the piercing scream of agony that cut through the rain. He had recently joined Malaysia’s team, and although he had been accepted, these two days had been the most alert of his life. He couldn’t afford to sleep too deeply at night.

As soon as he heard the scream, he quickly woke his wife.

His wife, like him, was fully clothed and sleeping. She immediately sprang up and grabbed the nearby backpack and travel bag without saying a word. “Is it really happening?”

“I’m not sure, but it seems to be coming from the Yang Can team’s neighborhood. However, the scream is different from the previous ones. It doesn’t sound like those infected people; it seems like… the scream of a normal person in pain!”

As he spoke, the man put on his shoes, grabbed his gear and weapon, then turned back to pull his wife. “Let’s go to Malaysia’s place. I gave him half the gold earlier. We agreed that if something happens, he’ll let us board the boat!”

“Now?” she asked, looking at the pitch-black rainy night outside. “Didn’t they say no one should go out at night? There are… monsters…”

“I don’t care. Let’s go now. Malaysia is too slippery. I’ve seen him always collecting gold, and I suspect he’s planning to run away sooner or later.” After all, gold was useless in the town, yet he always claimed he couldn’t trade gold for food with the residents.

He wasn’t exactly a bad person, but he wasn’t good either. People like him wouldn’t do good deeds without a reason. It was clear he had been planning to leave for the West to places where gold could still be used for trading.

“Alright, let’s go now!” The wife quickly made up her mind, then reminded her husband to bring the other team members who had joined Malaysia with them today. The more old teammates in an unfamiliar team, the better.

As soon as they opened the door, the sharp scream became clear and even closer than before.

Without hesitation, they quickly woke up the rest of the teammates in the building. Several of them opened the door and ran out of the yard. When they reached the street, they saw a few people stumbling toward them from the east side of the street, occasionally flinching as if they were trying to shake something off.

“What is that?” Someone stood still, watching.

They had been hiding all day in Malaysia’s house, away from the street, and weren’t clear on what had happened in town earlier. No one had come to inform them.

But some began to sense something was wrong, shouting, “Don’t just stand there! Haven’t you ever seen a horror movie? If you wait to see what it is, you’ll die! Run! Go find Malaysia, head to the boat!”

The group began running, but one person lagged behind, curious, and kept looking back. He finally saw one of the people who had been running fall to the ground. In the dim light of the rainy night, it seemed like countless gray creatures were pouncing on the fallen person.

The others didn’t look back, using the downed teammate to distract the creatures. They pushed themselves to run faster, soon catching up to the curious person.

“What is that?” he grabbed one of them.

The other person, running for his life, pulled away with a furious look, shoving him hard and kicking him. “Get away!”

The curious person stumbled to the ground, and before he could curse and get back up, he saw countless gray fish bouncing toward him in the rainy night.

“What is this—ah! Don’t bite! Ah—” The curious man found the answer he was looking for, but paid with his life.

---

Late at night, in a quiet room far from the town, Shu Fu, lying on a camping mat on the floor, was tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

She never imagined that as a screenwriter, writing a simple storyline about missing persons would be so difficult.

Ideal Plot 1: During her escape from Hexi Town, the inflatable boat she was on shook from a storm and she fell into the water, disappearing beneath the surface and never reappearing.

In reality, if she had fallen into the water, Chen Fa and Chen Yuezhen would never have just sat idly on the inflatable boat. One of them would have jumped into the water. Moreover, the water on the northern side of Hexi Town had been flooded later, and it wasn’t that deep. Given the time it would take for her to fall in, where could she have hidden?

Ideal Plot 2: On the way down the mountain, she says she needs to go her own way because she still has unfinished business in the town. She asks them to release the boat first, and if she hasn’t returned in half an hour, they should leave without her.

In reality, Chen Fa would likely have stayed on the water with Chen Yuezhen and accompanied her back into town…

Ideal Plot 3: She encounters a small group of jumping monsters in the forest at the foot of the mountain. While using a nail gun to fight them off, she runs in the opposite direction and yells, “You guys go ahead, I’ll draw them away!” then disappears.

First of all, “extra” monsters aren’t just available on demand. Also, even if we don’t mention Chen Fa, based on the way Chen Yuezhen wielded her fire axe at noon, Shu Fu felt that even if she hadn’t run far, the monsters would probably have been dealt with by her…

Shu Fu covered her head, feeling it was the biggest obstacle she had ever faced in her career as a screenwriter.

On the bed beside her, Chen Fa turned over and spoke to Shu Fu, who was lying on the floor nearby: “Why aren’t you sleeping? Are you worried about tomorrow?”

“It’s not…” Shu Fu struggled to speak, “I ate too much tonight. I feel a little bloated…”

Chen Fa: …

However, soon after, Shu Fu, who felt something, froze completely.

She quickly turned around, pulled up the thin blanket covering her, and slowly activated her wristband under the blanket to retrieve her notebook.

Sure enough, a new task appeared in the notebook.

[In the next five days, complete the check-in task at Lu Cheng Trading Station No. 3 to receive 15% progress on the level 4 raft. (Current progress of level 4 raft: 45%)

Note: Failure to complete this task will result in a 20% progress deduction.]

Shu Fu: !!

Lu Cheng is located outside the flooded area of Hexi Town, and the appearance of this task meant—she could now leave the town’s limits!?

She had never felt that her “little darling” was as considerate as now, offering her a map because it knew she had encountered a bottleneck!

After a while, Chen Fa, hearing the silence for a moment, heard Shu Fu speak again, softly: “Fa Fa, um… what did you and Grandma plan to do later today?”

Chen Fa: …

“Fa Fa” is Chen Fa’s nickname, but because it sounds too childish when called out, Chen Fa doesn’t like her friends using it.

Whether it was during their four years of university or after graduation, Shu Fu and the others had gotten used to calling her by her full name.

However, there were occasional exceptions, such as when they had done something “bad” or needed a favor from her, in which case they would purposely switch to this affectionate form of address.

Chen Fa: “Speak plainly, and speak properly.”

Shu Fu: …

A few minutes later, Chen Fa rejected Shu Fu’s suggestion to split up after they landed, even though Shu Fu hadn’t explained why she suddenly wanted to go to the Lu Cheng Trading Station. She firmly stated that she would go with her to Lu Cheng.

“I’ve stayed in Lu Cheng with my grandma before. Back then, there was already the beginning of a trading station, though it hadn’t opened to the public yet. Later, when our team borrowed Malaysia’s boat twice to cross the flooded area to exchange supplies, we didn’t go deep into the city, but we did deal with the local team. I’m more familiar with that place than you. Besides, you’ll eventually need to go to Ping Cheng, right? The most direct route is through Lu Cheng.”

“But Lu Cheng is chaotic now.” The three of them were women, and just by looking at their appearances—one “old,” one limping with a “disability,” and one with a face and body combination that made her look easy to bully—they were already a target. Plus, they were carrying multiple travel bags. It would be hard not to attract attention.

The bigger problem was that she wasn’t sure how much of her map was unlocked. While the current task was in Lu Cheng and she could definitely go in that direction, what about other places, like surrounding villages or even Ping Cheng? What if something went wrong halfway through the task, and she had to flee? What if she ran into a bug in the system?

Would she end up performing a ghost wall in public?

That thought was rather unsettling…

“Lu Cheng is chaotic, but do you think other places are peaceful?” Chen Fa sensed that Shu Fu was about to say something and spoke again. “Shu Fu, last night when I told you not to worry about me and to escape on your own, did you listen? You wouldn’t leave me to face danger alone, and I, Chen Fa, wouldn’t either. Don’t underestimate me, Shu Fu!”

She even called her by her full name. Shu Fu could only give in for now: “Okay, okay, we’ll go together.” As for what would happen after they arrived in Lu Cheng, they’d figure that out later, one step at a time.

On the bed next to them, Chen Yuezhen, who had been silent throughout the conversation, closed her eyes and smiled gently. Both of these were good kids. After falling ill, she had been worried that she would become a burden to Chen Fa, but now it was fine. With Shu Fu here, if something happened to her in the future, at least Chen Fa wouldn’t be alone.

---

The next morning, after breakfast, the three of them quickly organized their travel bags and supplies. According to the weight limit of the inflatable boat Shu Fu had given them, after checking the supplies they had brought from the small building and the container house, they realized they could carry everything.

Before leaving, Shu Fu changed Chen Fa’s bandages again. The wound was still gruesome, but after a day and night, it had nearly healed.

Chen Fa got out of bed early and moved around to make sure the pain wouldn’t affect her walking speed.

After Shu Fu changed the bandages, she wrapped a layer of plastic around her ankle for waterproofing. The effect wasn’t great, but it was better than nothing. She also made sure Chen Fa wore the rain boots that Shu Fu had packed in her travel bag.

Since Shu Fu was wearing waterproof boots, it made sense for her to carry an extra pair of rain boots in her bag. That way, all three of them were wearing tall, sturdy boots, which would help protect them from possible attacks by strange fish when walking through muddy or shallow waters.

The three of them donned their raincoats and pants again. They carried what they could on their backs, and for the rest, they carried by hand, just in case. Each of them had a weapon.

Chen Yuezhen carried a fire axe, while Chen Fa kept a less powerful nunchaku hidden in her sleeve, along with a multi-functional folding shovel, which had a serrated edge and a pointed pickaxe, making it effective against strange fish.

Shu Fu still carried her nail gun, the only long-range weapon, even though its maximum range was only ten meters. It was better than a melee weapon.

The three of them finished preparing, opened the container house door, and stepped into the rain.

It was a bit muggy outside, and the temperature had risen a little. The rain was heavier than yesterday, but luckily there was no wind. No one was near the mountain pass, so they pulled their masks down to their chins and carefully started walking down the mountain along the original path.

The air was thick with the dampness of heavy rain, and there was a faint smell of fish mixed in. They had all heard from Shu Fu that when the monster fish’s bellies burst, their innards emit a horrible, rancid stench. So they wondered if the monster fish from yesterday had come down to the base of the mountain. As they walked, they became more cautious, glancing around.

The further they descended, the stronger the fishy smell grew, and when they were nearly at the bottom of the mountain, the three of them had to pull their masks up again.

Sure enough, not long after, they spotted the monster fish corpses—more than one, scattered around them. Some were the same size as the ones Shu Fu had seen yesterday, but others were much larger. Among the particularly large ones, their burst bellies revealed clumped-up orange fish eggs, resembling a string of sticky ping-pong balls.

The further they walked, the more monster fish corpses they saw. The three women began to sense that something was wrong, but they had already reached the bottom of the mountain. After turning a corner, they would reach the small grove Shu Fu had visited yesterday, and beyond that was the flood zone.

However, their steps soon slowed. They heard another sound mixed with the rain—a “pata-pata-pata-pata…” sound, wet and sticky as if something was bouncing.

Their faces changed instantly. Not only was the sound familiar, but it was so frequent that it seemed like many monster fish were jumping at once. The moment they turned the corner, their thoughts froze.

At the same time, their footsteps halted. Ahead of them was a small road leading to the town. One side was a vast grassy field, and the other was a forest. The entire area should have been green, but now it was replaced with a wriggling gray mass.

It was a school of monster fish—sitting on the grass, in the muddy path, and between the trees. The school was dense, and many of the fish were still jumping up and down. Each time they jumped or flicked their tail stingers, they made a loud “pata-pata” sound.

These monster fish were only slightly larger than a fist, but their mouths were filled with sharp teeth.

Considering the fish eggs they had seen earlier, these must have been newly hatched monster fish.

They could also see several spots with a particularly dense school of fish, and there seemed to be something on the ground that was attracting them. As they watched, Chen Fa spotted disorganized pieces of flesh and black hair between the fish—they were human!

“They’re eating people!” Chen Fa exclaimed.

Shu Fu immediately realized, “The large ones are female monster fish. They came ashore to lay eggs…”

The female monster fish that had attacked Chen Fa earlier were larger, with thicker tail stingers. They had been lurking in the ponds around the town after coming ashore to lay eggs. While it wasn’t clear why fish came ashore to spawn, it was likely due to their protective nature, so after coming ashore, they didn’t wander around.

During the day, they generally didn’t appear, but at night, they might come out to hunt or seek out a nutrient-rich place to lay their eggs…

The monster fish accidentally caught by the fishermen on the boat last night were likely males. They didn’t lay eggs, so they didn’t come ashore, but once disturbed, they began to fight back.

Now, with so many young monster fish, it seemed the eggs on the shore had hatched last night. After hatching, the young fish needed nutrients, and they likely considered the three women as their food.

The three women all thought the same thing at the same time and glanced toward the town. If that were the case, the town had already been attacked by the monster fish last night…

At that moment, the young monster fish, still focused on their food, hadn’t noticed the three women standing on the mountain side.

“Stay calm. Don’t panic. We’ll retreat first. They won’t stay here forever—they should return to the water soon. Let’s back off,” Chen Yuezhen’s voice came from behind.

She had been walking last and lowered her voice to softly warn the others. Then, she began to step backward slowly.

Shu Fu and Chen Fa followed her lead, carefully stepping back. When they reached the bend in the path, they slowly turned around, intending to quicken their pace and head back up the mountain.

But just then, a large female monster fish leapt out from the side of the grass. Its large mouth, filled with sharp front teeth about two centimeters long, looked capable of tearing through their raincoats and masks.

The fish was closest to Chen Yuezhen. Shu Fu shouted, “Watch out!” and Chen Fa quickly threw down her travel bag, swinging a multi-functional shovel at the creature with all her might.

With a loud thud, Chen Fa felt her palm go numb as the fish was knocked to the ground. Chen Yuezhen had already turned around, and with her axe, she swiftly struck at the monster fish. The sharp end of the axe pierced the fish’s stomach.

It thrashed on the ground, still trying to get up, but Shu Fu’s nail gun quickly followed up, firing several shots and pinning the fish to the ground.

Together, the three women managed to kill the ambushing monster fish, but their faces were grim. They had made too much noise, and the monster fish school at the bottom of the mountain must have heard them.

Sure enough, the surroundings suddenly fell silent. All the “pata-pata” sounds disappeared, and the air seemed to freeze.

Chen Fa glanced back through the heavy rain and saw the small monster fish that had been fighting for food had stopped moving. Each of them had propped up their large heads with their “legs” and raised their dorsal fins, lifting their upper bodies.

Their ugly heads all turned in the same direction, their cold, bulging eyes staring down the mountain.

In just one or two seconds, as Chen Fa grabbed her travel bag and shouted, “Run—!” the entire school of young monster fish leapt into the air, all heading toward the three women.

The three women were not far from the direction of the fish school, and a small group of particularly fast-moving young monster fish was getting closer. When the first fish leapt onto them, they had no choice but to stop and start fighting back.

The young monster fish weren’t large, and a single swing of a shovel could easily kill them. The axe was also very effective, and unlike the larger fish, these smaller ones didn’t know how to dodge. They charged forward, mouths wide open.

However, their numbers were overwhelming. No matter how many they killed, more kept coming.

The teeth of the young monster fish weren’t sharp enough to pierce their raincoats and boots, but their exposed hands and faces, where only masks were worn, were vulnerable. As they fought and retreated, they remained alert, guarding each other. But the mountain path was slippery and the rain heavy, making it difficult to navigate, let alone fend off such a large group of fish.

Soon, Chen Fa was bitten by one of the young monster fish. She endured the pain and swatted it off, and Shu Fu quickly moved forward to help, but her nail gun had run out of nails, and reloading it was too slow. She switched to using a pry bar instead.

After killing that fish, she felt Chen Fa shove her aside. She was pushed back a few steps, and when she turned around, she saw a male monster fish biting into Chen Fa’s right arm—the spot where she had been standing just moments ago.

The male fish wasn’t as large as the female, and even though its teeth could penetrate the raincoat, it couldn’t instantly tear through flesh. However, it caused enough pain to slow down her movements. As another monster fish jumped, Chen Fa bent down to dodge, but her foot slipped, and she fell hard onto the mountain path.

The group of small monster fish immediately abandoned their attack on Chen Yuezhen and Shu Fu and rushed towards the fallen Chen Fa. It was as if they knew that a large creature that had fallen was the most vulnerable target for them to attack.

Shu Fu ran over in a few quick steps, activating her personal shield. She planned to cover Chen Fa as she got up, but when she reached her, she noticed that the young monster fish that had been rushing at Chen Fa were now retreating in a frenzy.

The air was filled with a rotting, fishy stench.

Taking advantage of this moment, Shu Fu pulled Chen Fa up. Chen Fa also noticed the odd behavior of the fish. She unzipped her raincoat, reaching into the inner zippered pocket of her jacket to pull out a plastic bag.

The plastic bag was torn, and as it was pulled out, red, foul-smelling liquid dripped from it. The few glass bottles inside had been shattered during Chen Fa’s fall, and the broken glass had punctured the plastic bag, causing the liquid to leak out and the smell to spread rapidly into the air.

Chen Fa thought for a moment, then swung the plastic bag towards the young monster fish on the ground, flinging a few drops of the red liquid. The liquid, diluted by the rain, lost some of its intensity, but it still emitted a strong, rancid smell.

The young monster fish that had been crouching nearby indeed backed away further. However, one large monster fish still continued to attack.

Chen Yuezhen killed another monster fish, approaching Chen Fa, and gestured for her to follow. Chen Fa immediately understood, and she tore open the plastic bag, quickly splashing the red liquid, mixed with shards of glass, onto Chen Yuezhen, Shu Fu, and her own raincoats and pants.

The stench in the air grew stronger, and since the source of the odor was now on them, there was no escaping it. Even though they wore masks, the smell was so overwhelming that it nearly made the three of them vomit.

But evidently, the young monster fish didn’t like the smell either. They all jumped back a little further. Still, their instinctual need for food and nutrients kept them surrounding the three women, forming a tight circle around them.

This circle followed their every movement, and occasionally, a larger fish would leap from the school on the ground, baring its teeth and charging at them. The red liquid had less effect on these larger fish, but many still retreated further than the smaller ones.

The few large fish that leapt up were all killed by the trio, who fought back-to-back.

“What was that red stuff?” asked Chen Yuezhen.

“I don’t know, but clearly, the young monster fish don’t like the smell. It’s a shame we wasted so much when it broke earlier. Now, we’re out of it,” Chen Fa replied, suggesting that they not return to the mountain hollow. Since the young monster fish were now wary of the smell on them, they could take this opportunity to rush through the woods and head to the water’s edge, where they could open the boat bag and escape.

“The rain is too heavy. The smell on us will soon be washed away—”

Before Chen Yuezhen could finish speaking, Shu Fu reached into her own backpack, pulling out three bottles of the same red liquid and holding them between her fingers. “I took a few bottles that day. There’s enough for us to escape this town. Let’s go to the water’s edge and use them as we go!”

Chen Fa: …!!