The Hand of Confession – Chapter 120
by Little PandaVolume 5: Days of Applying Makeup to Corpses
Xiaoqiao
She probably went through more than three worlds…
The sky was clear, with countless birds flying across the azure expanse. There wasn’t a hint of wind in the air, and cicadas in the bushes called tirelessly, bringing the unique stuffiness and irritation of midsummer.
Shen Maomao stood in front of this building, using her blurry vision to look at the sign beside the main gate within the fence.
Something one something something something.
Being too far away, she couldn’t make out anything except the character “one” [ไธ | yฤซ].
The current situation was somewhat similar to her first world – people around were strangers to each other, everyone maintaining their vigilance. They all waited at the entrance for everyone to arrive, after which an NPC would appear to start the plot.
Lou Jingmo and Guan Qiwen had been transported somewhere unknown and hadn’t arrived yet.
Shen Maomao stood with her arms crossed, resting her eyes. Shortly after, a pair of hands patted her shoulders, and Lou Jingmo’s voice reached her ears: “Deep in thought here?”
She immediately opened her eyes, turning to squint at Lou Jingmo’s customized face, taking a while to focus: “Lou jie, you finally came!”
Lou Jingmo didn’t notice anything wrong with her, glancing at the situation within the fence, lost in thought: “This instance is quite interesting…”
Shen Maomao trembled: “…What’s interesting about it?” Her blurry vision couldn’t see anything.
Lou Jingmo said nothing more, beginning to observe the expressions of people around them.
Time passed second by second, and more people arrived. Soon, ten people had gathered in front of the building. Guan Qiwen had also arrived, though he didn’t acknowledge the two women, seemingly having some other plan in mind.
Among these people were both men and women, more women than men, and it seemed there were no newcomers.
Though the surroundings were beautiful and the air fresh, the players weren’t here for a spring outing and had no interest in appreciating the scenery. The NPC’s delayed appearance made most people irritable. A man kicked the building’s iron gate, making it rattle with a loud crash that startled everyone around.
A woman’s sharp voice came through: “Are you crazy?!”
“F*ck,” the man cursed, “Is this a bug? Why isn’t the NPC coming out?”
The woman said: “You can’t do that! What if it angers the ghosts and monsters…”
She didn’t finish her sentence, but obviously, everyone understood what would follow. The man’s expression changed, and he muttered a few words under his breath before falling silent.
Silence fell again at the entrance, people’s patience wearing thinner while their fear grew correspondingly…
Shen Maomao looked at the sky and couldn’t help asking: “What’s going on? Is it really a bug?”
Lou Jingmo leaned against her like she had no bones [ๆฒก้ชจๅคด | mรฉi gวtou | idiom meaning: extremely lazy or lacking energy]: “Maybe not everyone’s here yet.”
Some newcomers might not necessarily gather at the entrance, instead foolishly trying to find their own way out.
The woman who spoke first said: “Should we look for them? We can’t just stay here forever.”
The man who had been put in his place earlier retorted: “What’s there to look for? Just wait for them to die, won’t that do?”
As these words fell, the people present showed roughly two expressions: most nodded in agreement; only two women and one man slightly frowned, seemingly finding his statement too cold-blooded.
The man continued: “If you want to look, go yourself. Don’t give me that judgmental look. If you’re so kind-hearted, why don’t you go?”
The woman’s face turned pale, her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out, and her feet seemed rooted to the spot, completely motionless.
Lou Jingmo watched this drama unfold from nearby, remembering the first time she met Shen Maomao, and couldn’t help saying quietly: “If it were you, wouldn’t you beat him up and then storm off angrily to look for people?”
Shen Maomao wanted to refute that she wasn’t that reckless, but thinking back to her behavior when she first entered the game, she realized she really might have done something like that.
She coughed awkwardly twice, then raised her voice: “Shall we look around nearby? Lou jie?”
Everyone’s attention immediately turned to the two of them.
Lou Jingmo nodded calmly: “Let’s go. It won’t start without everyone here. Haven’t you noticed the sky hasn’t changed at all?”
As soon as she said this, everyone finally understood what had been bothering them – those small, cute clouds in the sky seemed to have never moved, and the originally rhythmic cicada sounds seemed to be repeating just one short melody, chirping endlessly, mechanical and eerie.
Now even those who didn’t want to move had to join the search, otherwise, while everyone else was working to start the game, being the only one slacking off would make them an easy target.
“What a pain,” the man said reluctantly, quickly stepping through the bushes toward the empty, wide asphalt road that looked easier to search.
Several others who also didn’t want to exert themselves hurriedly followed him, leaving the small grove behind the building to those who were a step slower.
After those five people had gone far enough, the remaining few leisurely walked toward the back.
A woman came over smiling to chat with Lou Jingmo and her companion, speaking softly: “Hello, I’m Xiaoqiao [ๅฐไน | Xiวo Qiรกo], I’ve cleared two worlds…”
She looked to be under thirty, with somewhat delicate features, not quite as pretty as Shen Maomao, but much better than Lou Jingmo’s customized face.
Shen Maomao glanced at her, guessing her surname was probably โQiaoโ.
Lou Jingmo replied: “I’m called Xiaolou.”
Shen Maomao followed: “I’m called Xiaoshen.”
The other man nearby said: “I’m Xiaokong.”
Xiaoqiao: “……”
Guan Qiwen came over from the side, saying with a smile: “I’m Xiaoguan. Hello, beautiful ladies.”
Xiaoqiao had been stealing glances at him since he first appeared at the entrance. Now seeing such a handsome man actually coming to talk to her, she couldn’t help but blush, her voice becoming so soft it could drip water: “We’re not sure if the forest is safe, let’s not split up…”
The remaining lone wolf Xiaokong nodded repeatedly, agreeing with her suggestion.
Shen Maomao and Lou Jingmo naturally had no objections, so the five people walked in formation – two in front, two in back, with the solitary Xiaokong in the middle – slowly entering the small grove.
The moment they stepped into the grove, the noisy insect sounds instantly fell silent, causing everyone to halt their steps at the forest’s edge.
Xiaoqiao was scared pale, burrowing straight into Guan Qiwen’s arms: “What’s happening? Why did it suddenly get so quiet?!”
Guan Qiwen didn’t hesitate to wrap his arm around her shoulders, comforting her in a low voice: “Don’t be afraid, the instance is probably just trying to be mysterious. It’s only the first day, everything’s fine…”
Xiaokong said: “I’m a bit uneasy… let’s be careful.”
The five continued deeper into the forest, with Guan Qiwen and Xiaoqiao seemingly having forgotten they were in a game world full of dangers, chatting quietly up front, occasionally letting out either coquettish or carefree laughter.
Shen Maomao listened intently for a while, but finding their conversation topics had severely polluted her ears, she immediately diverted her attention and whispered to Lou Jingmo: “What’s up with them? They’re already getting so friendly?”
Lou Jingmo gave a cold laugh, answering softly: “They’re just looking for someone to take the fall.”
Xiaokong, walking not far ahead of them, shuddered, his head twitching as if wanting to look back at them, though he managed to restrain himself.
The air was filled with the fresh scent of soil and trees, mixed with an indescribable smell of decay… or perhaps rot.
As they walked deeper, Shen Maomao looked back and realized they could no longer see the building at all, quickly calling out: “Wait! Let’s not go any further, we’ve gone too far!”
Though the sky still appeared clear and boundless, the forest was too gloomy and too quiet – it seemed if they stopped talking, they could hear each other’s heartbeats.
Xiaoqiao became timid: “Should we go back? We’ve walked so far without seeing anyone. The newcomers must be along the main road… Ah! What’s that!”
Before she could finish speaking, there was suddenly a rustling sound from the nearby bushes. Her voice, which had been like lovers’ whispers, instantly became sharp, startling Shen Maomao.
All five people faced the trembling bushes together. Xiaoqiao shrank behind Guan Qiwen, shrieking: “Who?! Who’s there?!”
Guan Qiwen’s ears hurt from the sound. He frowned slightly but quickly resumed his mask-like fake smile, dutifully protecting her behind him.
“Wait!” A human voice came from the bushes, “I’m not a bad person!”
“Seems like a person…” Shen Maomao said.
However, they didn’t relax their guard, remaining vigilant.
The bushes shook twice more, and a woman wearing a big red dress emerged, her head covered in leaves.
Xiaokong glanced at her feet and sighed in relief: “She has a shadow…”
The woman in the red dress was very alluring, her charm undiminished even with her face covered in dirt and head full of leaves. She emerged disheveled, stood there adjusting her dress, then said to everyone: “Hello… where is this place? Do you know which bus I can take to get back to Xiangyang District?”
The group exchanged glances, realizing this might be a newcomer.
Xiaoqiao stepped forward, taking on the role of explainer: “You probably can’t go back for now. What I’m about to tell you might destroy your three views, but please stay calm and don’t be too afraid.”
Hearing this, the woman in the red dress became nervous: “W-what’s going on…”
Xiaoqiao said: “This is a horror survival game, filled with ghosts and monsters who kill without blinking. If you die in the game, you die in reality.”
The woman in the red dress turned deathly pale: “Then I…”
Xiaoqiao interrupted her: “Don’t rush to ask why you were pulled into the game. Only people who have done many bad things end up here. Everyone present is like this, including you, and naturally including me.”
Shen Maomao internally: I’m not! I haven’t!
Xiaoqiao: “The game lasts seven days. People really die during these seven days. The ghosts and monsters usually follow certain patterns when killing, but some don’t follow rules, so I can’t guarantee anything. We need to sort through the clues in this instance, find the exit, and possibly defeat the final boss…”
Lou Jingmo leaned close to Shen Maomao’s ear: “She’s probably been through more than three worlds…”
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