The Hand of Confession – Chapter 179

Volume 6: Days of Being Zapped in the Lab

300

Letting Shen Maomao save the world? You might as well wait a few hundred million years after the world ends for new life to emerge.

The frail Shen Maomao, unable to care for herself, leaned delicately on Lou Jingmo’s shoulder.

She provided the water, others provided the manpower. Very fair.

290 didn’t argue much either, carefully carrying the bottle out of the elevator.

He twisted open the cap, aimed at the monster whose body was still visibly rising and falling with breath, and splashed the water over it.

The monster, which had been lying there quietly, zipped away with a whoosh, moving so fast Shen Maomao almost couldn’t track it.

But this confirmed the research conclusion of the white coats – this type of monster was afraid of water.

The group filed out one after another¹, standing in the open space before the elevator. The elevator doors slowly closed and automatically descended, returning to standby on the Fourth Floor.

290 said, “Since that’s the case, let’s split up and search for clues individually. In two hours, regardless of whether we’ve found anything, let’s meet back here and head down to the next level together. Okay?”

No one objected, nor did anyone raise the issue of “how do we confirm the time without watches?”

Shen Maomao crooked her index finger at the man with the dislocated wrist. “You, come here.”

The man, face full of vigilance, took an angry, ragged breath. “What else do you want?! Wasn’t breaking my wrist enough for you?!”

Shen Maomao couldn’t be bothered wasting words on him. She walked up to him in a few quick steps and cleanly and decisively popped his wrist back into place.

Another howl echoed out. The other players couldn’t help but silently edge away from this delicate girl.

Shen Maomao said, “Popped it back for you. Stop howling.”

The man’s cry stopped abruptly, his expression incredibly twisted – like pain, like anger, and maybe even tinged with humiliation.

Shen Maomao took Lou Jingmo’s hand and picked a direction to start moving.

The Third Floor was fundamentally different from the Fourth Floor.

The Fourth Floor was clearly an experimental site at a glance, but the Third Floor had a distinct atmosphere of daily life. The path they chose was lined with rooms on both sides, looking overall like a hotel filled with futuristic technology.

The two checked every door they came across. Some rooms were locked, some weren’t. The general layout inside didn’t vary much; some furniture inconvenient to move had been left behind. There were differences in details, but all were messy, clearly showing how hastily the former occupants had left.

After checking several rooms, Shen Maomao asked doubtfully, “Was this where the researchers lived?”

Lou Jingmo wasn’t sure either. “There weren’t that many researchers, were there?”

Besides, the props in these rooms had nothing to do with scientific research. Shen Maomao even saw some children’s toys missing arms and legs.

Perhaps just days ago, a group of humans had lived here, only to have fled in a hurry now.

Aside from the monotonous² rooms, there was also a small shop in the very center, selling convenience foods like mineral water, instant noodles, and canned goods, along with daily necessities.

Most eye-catching among these were the vast quantities of gas masks in the shop.

Lou Jingmo pulled one out and handed it to Shen Maomao. “Try it on.”

Shen Maomao: “…Can this thing filter the IM Virus?”

Lou Jingmo: “Better than nothing.”

The two put on the gas masks, but soon found themselves struggling to breathe.

Lou Jingmo took the mask off again and said regretfully, “It seems we can no longer breathe normal air.”

The IM Virus seemed to create a kind of dependency. After inhaling the virus, people would begin to mutate; the more they inhaled, the faster the mutation. But if they stopped inhaling the virus, they would suffocate…

It had replaced oxygen, existing in the air, constantly modifying the human body.

The two gas masks were ruthlessly discarded. Lou Jingmo took out two water guns, handing Shen Maomao a red and green one.

Shen Maomao felt rather conflicted – how could anyone take weapons like these seriously?!

The weapons might look ridiculous, but their effect should be decent. Along the way, they encountered several more blocking smiley-faced monsters, passing them all without incident.

Finally, they found two elevator cards in a broadcast room.

Lou Jingmo said, “There should be many key cards on this level.”

Shen Maomao looked at the microphone in the broadcast room, itching to use it.

Lou Jingmo: “…Go ahead.”

Shen Maomao switched on the mic: “Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?”

“We’ve found the key cards. The card hunt ends early; you can start looking for the elevator. Same rules as before, we leave in exactly one hour. I’ll leave the used card at the door.”

After speaking, the two left the broadcast room, and immediately spotted a monster lying below the screen³, its legs constantly moving beneath it.

The way this thing moved was just too freaky; Shen Maomao couldn’t help but look away.

Lou Jingmo suddenly thought of something and whispered, “Let’s go back.”

Shen Maomao: “?”

The two returned to the broadcast room. Lou Jingmo switched the mic on again, placed it gently on the desk, and then took out a small… music box? from her prop backpack.

She opened the music box, and a beautiful melody flowed out, spreading through the entire Third Floor via the microphone.

“Not all props in the game are necessarily useful,” Lou Jingmo said helplessly. “I have many more useless⁴ props like this.”

Shen Maomao: “Then what kind of props might be in this instance?”

Lou Jingmo: “There might not be any, and even if there are, we might not find them. Survival comes first.”

Shen Maomao nodded. Only then did the two set off again. But as soon as they opened the broadcast room door, they saw a dense, dark mass of things stream past them, heading straight for the various speakers in the corridor.

These things varied in size but looked mostly the same: black bodies with red legs. Right now, the red legs were scrambling frantically beneath hairy bodies, a sight that was intensely skin-crawlingly dense⁵.

Shen Maomao gave Lou Jingmo a thumbs-up. The two silently gripped their water guns tighter, hugging the wall as they carefully moved forward.

The situation was the same after turning the corner. The music continued, and monsters still surged forward relentlessly. They piled up into mounds, large ones forming the base, small ones climbing to the top, launching fierce attacks on the sound sources.

Shen Maomao secretly clicked her tongue.

Just how many of these things are there?!

And they’re so disgusting!

Lou Jingmo said, “We need to leave the Third Floor before all the speakers are destroyed, otherwise, I fear it could be dangerous.”

Initially, she had planned to use the water guns to fight, but given the current situation – the little water in the guns probably wouldn’t be enough for anything.

The doors on the Third Floor didn’t require card swipes; a gentle push opened them, saving them a lot of trouble.

After passing through another corridor, Shen Maomao’s sharp ears caught the sound of hurried footsteps.

Not the ‘tap-tap’ sound of monster claws hitting the ground, but genuinely human footsteps. Probably another player.

Within seconds, the two groups met face-to-face. Shen Maomao’s eyes widened in surprise, and she spoke at the exact same time as the person opposite her: “It’s you?!”⁶

This person was actually the female player who had been kicked around like a ball by the big spider and Little Ancestor!

She hadn’t seen this woman in the elevator earlier and thought something had happened to her. Unexpectedly, she had actually made her own way up here!

This woman had some skills.

The woman glared back at her, clearly still holding a grudge about Shen Maomao watching her get kicked around without helping: “You guys actually made it up too?!”

She used the word actually.

Lou Jingmo reacted instantly: She knew the elevator cards were limited. She took one and came up, knowing there was a high chance the others would be trapped and die on the Fourth Floor.

Although this kind of action wasn’t wrong from various perspectives – after all, humans are self-interested creatures, and everyone present, including Lou Jingmo herself, would absolutely have the first reaction of leaving quickly after getting an elevator card, or perhaps grabbing a few people as cannon fodder to scout for traps…

But compared to Shen Maomao, this behavior seemed somewhat selfish.

And under Shen Maomao’s influence, she herself had actually started considering others…

Shen Maomao was changing her, perhaps in the future, she could even change the entire world, allowing a flower of hope to bloom from this sinful game…

“What’s wrong with us making it up?” Shen ‘Flower-Bloom’ Maomao didn’t think that deeply. She just assumed the woman said that because she thought they should have been killed by the spiders already, and couldn’t help complaining internally – This woman is too petty, holding onto such a small thing for so long!

She couldn’t resist saying, “Besides, following your logic, should I blame you for not sacrificing yourself as a toy for the monsters so we could escape?!”

Woman: “???”

Lou Jingmo: “…” Letting Shen Maomao save the world? You might as well wait a few hundred million years after the world ends for new life to emerge.

The woman said, “That was your voice on the broadcast just now, right? Fine, talk if you want, but why were you playing music??”

Shen Maomao, mercilessly: “None of your damn business?”⁷

The woman stomped her foot anxiously. “How is it none of my business?! You summoned all the monsters! What are you going to do if they lose control later?!”

Shen Maomao said nonchalantly, “By then, we’ll already be on the Second Floor.”

The woman paused. “You found an elevator card?”

Shen Maomao glanced at Lou Jingmo and stopped talking.

Lou Jingmo received the signal and asked in return, “You found the elevator to go up?”

The woman nodded. “Perfect then. I found the elevator, you found the card. Let’s go up together.”

Lou Jingmo: “Lead the way then.”

“Before I lead the way, shouldn’t you let me see what the elevator card looks like? How do I know you’re not tricking me?”

Lou Jingmo took out a card. “This is it. I only have one right now.”

The woman quickly snatched the card back, examined it carefully, then handed it back, asking, “Have you searched the nearby area?”

Shen Maomao nodded repeatedly.

There were many cards, but Lou Jingmo thought carrying too many was a waste of space, so she only took two – one for her, one for Shen Maomao. Technically speaking, she did indeed only have one card in her hand right now, so it wasn’t exactly a lie.

The woman pondered for a few seconds and immediately made a decision: “Then I’ll go up with you.”

She was decisive, ready to go immediately. Not planning to waste time on the doors behind them, she walked ahead to lead the way for the two.

Shen Maomao looked at her back. Although there were some bloodstains on her clothes, they didn’t completely obscure the number. She squinted for a moment and recognized the three digits – 300.

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