Chapter 182 The Non-Human Spirits in the Flames

Chapter 182: The Otherworldly Spirit in the Flames

Those chosen for the nightmare world call themselves players—perhaps out of self-mockery, perhaps due to the "nightmare game" mentioned by the administrators, or perhaps as a coping mechanism. The origin of this term is already lost to time. However, many newcomers, upon first entering the nightmare world, are even misled by this label, truly believing that with their "talents," they can slowly grow and level up like characters in a game, continuously acquiring new items and becoming stronger.

But in reality, those who have survived several games already understand that players in the nightmare world face not only extreme difficulty in leveling up but also survival on hellish mode. Most players' abilities, mutated from their "talents," are merely different forms of physical augmentations. Most items players can find are one-time use, less durable than melee weapons or firearms in the real world. Most players... can see neither the future nor their own demise.

In Su Bai's past life, some scholars he encountered were "philosophers" who spent their days pondering why players had come to the nightmare world. Unfortunately, no matter how brilliant these scholars' minds were, they couldn't figure out the value or meaning of players appearing in this nightmare-like world.

Soon, some scholars began to descend into madness, claiming that the nightmare world was merely a stage, and that some unspeakable entities, like the red moon, were casting their gaze upon this terrifying stage, watching players struggle to survive or die every day, treating everything about the players as daily amusing diversion. They declared that players were merely playthings in the hands of these unspeakable entities, and that nothing held any meaning.

As unknown as the meaning of players' existence are the supernatural entities in the nightmare world.

In the nightmare world, even players who have only gained physical augmentations are enough to deal with the lowest-level wraiths and common specters. With the help of weapons and items, even if they can't eliminate vengeful spirits or demons, they can escape from these stronger ghostly entities and survive by completing the games.

However, vengeful spirits and demons born from pure malice also vary in strength. The weaker ones are like those blood specters or starved ghosts that are easily eliminated by ordinary players once they leave the foggy areas. The stronger ones are like the massive ghost approaching Su Bai and the others with footsteps that shook the ground.

Yet, all the ghosts appearing in Fog City are merely playthings and pawns used for amusement by the self-proclaimed "Mayor Bai," the Fog City Lord. The Fog City Lord possesses the ability to manipulate all ghosts in the city at will, stuffing these eerie entities into soulless puppet vessels, altering their memories, and making them live like ordinary people in Fog City.

Such power of the Fog City Lord is undoubtedly immense.

Yet, even such a powerful Fog City Lord holds in awe a certain existence he refers to as the "Puppeteer," allowing Su Bai to realize that there are even more terrifying eerie entities in the nightmare world capable of creating puppet souls.

Coupled with the red moon in the sky, which watches over and influences everything like an eye, it's no wonder the administrators always announce "White side is at a disadvantage" after players clear a game. As the White side, players can hardly imagine having any advantage.

Jin Zheng and Jin Yi don't know as much about the nightmare world as Su Bai does. Given their experience, just a few months ago, they were still naively believing in the growth potential of players, dreaming that one day they could become storybook heroes who sweep through the nightmare world and kick the red moon around like a soccer ball. It was only recently that they realized players' lives in the nightmare world are even more fragile than those wandering spirits freely roaming the streets.

In Jin Zheng and Jin Yi's journey, Su Bai is arguably the most mysterious and powerful player they have ever encountered. After all, physical enhancement alone cannot grant someone formidable combat skills in a short time, yet Su Bai's battles with eerie entities along the way made the Jin brothers feel as if this unknown player embodied the dream version of themselves from their naive youth.

Even so, Jin Zheng and Jin Yi still don't believe Su Bai can handle the massive ghost still approaching them.

"It's too late. Turn off your flashlights and hide yourselves," Su Bai whispered, "but don't stray too far from me."

"Please, you should leave quickly! We'll tell you everything we know about Su Xuan!" Jin Zheng still tried to dissuade him.

"Don't forget why you came here," Su Bai said, no longer paying attention to the Jin brothers who had turned off their flashlights. Instead, he flipped his right hand over, allowing a small blue flame to appear in his palm. "Remember, don't let the blue flame leave your sight."

Almost as soon as Su Bai finished speaking, the blue flame in his hand instantly blazed high. The intense blue flame not only illuminated a much larger area than the flashlight beams but also made the Jin brothers feel as if the surrounding fog had dissipated significantly, expanding their visible range noticeably.

This wasn't an illusion for the Jin brothers, because as the blue flame roared to life, the illuminated surroundings—now inexplicably cleared of fog—revealed the figures of Xia Anan and Lei Ming.

This time, Xia Anan and Lei Ming could no longer ignore the bright light around them. Even though the earthquake-like tremors under their feet hadn't stopped, they couldn't help but glance back, only to see Su Bai standing there, holding the blue flame.

Su Bai's appearance was exceptional, and under the glow of the blue flame, he resembled an otherworldly spirit, like another eerie entity emerging from the fog.

However, Xia Anan and Lei Ming had no time to ponder the origins of the suddenly appearing Su Bai, because in the very next second after Su Bai appeared, a large, tree-bark textured foot stomped heavily half a meter away from them. The ghost had arrived.

"I told you long ago that this place smells of food, Xiao Bai, yet you only know how to play with Qing Lan," Xiao Huo's voice whispered in Su Bai's ears as the blue flame burned. "But it doesn't smell very appetizing—more like various leftovers thrown into a stew and boiled haphazardly."

"Imagine that," Su Bai said, lowering his hand to let the blue flame spread at his feet, using the spreading flames to force Xia Anan and Lei Ming to retreat toward the Jin brothers' position. "After all, this Fog City was originally a filthy cauldron that never gets scrubbed and is used for random stews every day. Sorry to make you eat such unappetizing scraps."

"No big deal. As long as I get to come out and play, I'd even eat cilantro."

As Xiao Huo spoke, the blue flame crawled onto the ghost's bark-like foot, blazing fiercely.

Su Bai hadn't originally planned to confront the ghost in such a troublesome way, as simultaneously using Qing Lan and Xiao Huo's abilities would drain Su Bai's power too rapidly. Plus, with limited time, the most convenient and quickest solution immediately came to Su Bai's mind.

Another reason was that Su Bai already knew very well that Xia Anan and Lei Ming were not good people. So, if he wanted to quickly and easily extract information about Su Xuan from Xia Anan, a sufficiently impressive entrance was necessary.

If Su Bai's actions were even slightly gentler, that woman named Xia Anan might endlessly demand so-called "payment."

To prevent future troubles, Su Bai decisively raised his hand, making Xiao Huo's blue flame burn even more fiercely.