ATFBETIBM Chapter 630

The surroundings were pitch black, yet the ground beneath him wasn’t as hard as he had imagined.

Bai Lixin propped himself up with his hands, and felt a soft and sticky sensation creeping up his palms.

Small tentacles climbed over his fingers and palms, and a slight prickling pain spread across his hands.

Snap!

With his other hand, he switched on the flashlight, the bright light instantly illuminating the surroundings and scaring away the wriggling tentacles.

Bai Lixin looked down and saw the tentacles that had been crawling on his hands quickly retreating back into the pulsating dark red ground as if ebbing away like a tide.

These unknown tentacles and the dark red ground seemed to be very afraid of light. When the flashlight shone on them, they quickly became quiet and eventually disappeared.

The sensation under foot returned to being hard, just like ordinary floor.

Bai Lixin looked around. This place seemed like a tunnel deliberately dug out by someone, with wooden supports overhead and around the sides. Every so often, a dim, smoky kerosene lamp hung on the walls.

The walls were dark, and the long, narrow tunnel extended deep into the darkness.

He was the only one in this tunnel.

They had entered as a group of four, but now the other three were nowhere to be found.

The tunnel had two ends; one was a dead end against a wall, so without much hesitation, Bai Lixin raised the flashlight and walked towards the other end that extended into the darkness.

The air was filled with a messy and unpleasant smell.

Sulfur, disinfectant, formaldehyde, and the pungent stench of rotten eggs.

After walking a short distance, he came across a crossroads.

At the end of the three paths, there was nothing but darkness, completely obscuring what lay beyond.

At that moment, a low sobbing sound came from the tunnel on Bai Lixin’s left, with a pitiful voice constantly calling out for help.

“Help me.”

“Is anyone there? Someone, please help me.”

[Lord Host,] S419M noticed Bai Lixin turning left and cautioned, [Be careful, it could be a trap.]

Bai Lixin: [Since we’re already here, we might as well check it out.]

S419M: […]

Following the sound of the sobbing, Bai Lixin walked a bit further and saw someone sitting against the wall.

The person had their head lowered, with long black hair cascading onto the ground, completely covering their face.

Judging by the clothing, it should be a woman. She was wearing a red wedding dress, sitting against the wall, with the long ruffled hem spread out.

Long-haired woman: “Help me, someone please help me.”

S419M: [Lord Host, according to supernatural stories, it’s best not to respond in situations like this. This is a curse, it’s definitely a curse.]

Bai Lixin: “How can I help you?”

S419M: […]

The sobbing stopped abruptly.

The woman’s head wobbled, her neck making a strange “crack, crack” sound as it moved.

The woman: “I want to go home.”

Her long hair still covered her face. Bai Lixin asked, “Where is your home?”

The woman: “Chenjia Village, I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home.”

“I really want to go home.” The woman’s voice began to choke up, “But I can’t go home.”

Bai Lixin: “Why can’t you go back? Are you lost?”

The woman’s hand emerged from the wide sleeve, the bare white bones glaring under the light.

She tugged at the hem of her skirt, “Look, I have no legs, I can’t walk back.”

Beneath the hem was completely empty, with no limbs at all.

Bai Lixin: […]

The woman wailed, “Wuuu, I want to go home, I want to see my parents, I don’t want to be stuck in this place, I don’t want, I don’t want, I don’t want.”

“Come on up, I’ll take you back.” Bai Lixin crouched down and offered his back to the long-haired woman, signaling for her to climb on.

S419M was shocked: [Lord Host!]

It seemed S419M wasn’t the only one startled. The long-haired woman, who had been crying about wanting to go home, also stopped crying and cautiously asked, “Can you really take me home?”

Bai Lixin: “Yes, I just came from Chenjia Village. My name is Chen Erniu.”

“Erniu? You’re not him. How could you be Erniu? Erniu is already…” The long-haired woman shook her head mid-sentence, “Have you seen my father?”

Bai Lixin: “Who is your father?”

“My father? Old Chen, don’t you remember?”

Bai Lixin was stunned for a moment.

Old Chen…

Of course, he remembered.

On the first night after entering the copy, Old Chen was marrying off his daughter. By the next day, Old Chen was dead.

Bai Lixin: “Are you Sister Xiaoling?”

The long-haired woman giggled, “Yes, I’m Xiaoling.”

S419M stuttered, [L-Lord Host, I seem to remember that Chen Xiaoling is already… already…]

The escape system chimed in: [Already dead. She was only nineteen when she died.]

S419M: [So the Xiaoling in front of us is a ghost? A ghost? Lord Host, I’m scared.]

Bai Lixin: [Don’t be scared, soon Xiaoling will be your companion.]

S419M: […]

‘I’m even more scared now, okay?’

“It’s been so long since someone called me that. You really are Erniu.” Xiaoling’s laughter was like the tinkling of silver bells. “You really are Erniu.”

“Come on up.” Bai Lixin gestured to Xiaoling. “What did you just say happened to me?”

Chen Xiaoling tilted her head. “I forgot, I forgot.”

Without legs, Chen Xiaoling could only hang onto Bai Lixin’s neck using the strength of her arms. Even through the fabric, Bai Lixin could feel that the woman was hard and bony.

She was very light, so light that it felt like a small kitten was hanging on him.

Bai Lixin lowered his head. The long red skirt swayed from side to side, brushing against his legs, casting a shadow that flickered in the wavering light.

Chen Xiaoling was wearing a red wedding dress.

Was she wearing it because she had a ghost marriage after her death?

Or was she in the process of getting married when she died and continued to wear the wedding dress afterward?

Why was she here, and why did she lose her legs?

Chen Xiaoling seemed not to have spoken for a long time, and now that she met “Chen Erniu”, she chattered incessantly while clinging to his neck.

“Erniu, do you think the banyan tree on the mountain behind our village has bloomed again?”

“And the old elm tree in the middle of the village, I really want to eat the flower cakes made at home.”

“Let me tell you, we raised an old sow at home. My dad said that when I got married, he would slaughter the sow, tie a red ribbon in my hair, and buy the most beautiful wedding dress so that I could have a grand wedding.”

“Wedding… wedding… Erniu, it seems I got married…”

“My dad even slaughtered the pig and personally sent me off…”

“Yes, I should be getting married. How did I end up here? How did I end up here…”

Chen Xiaoling seemed to remember something, and her words became more and more incoherent.

“Don’t grab me…”

“Don’t touch me… don’t tear my wedding dress. My dad bought this for me. It hurts, it hurts so much…”

“Wuuuu, wuuuuuu.”

At first, she sobbed quietly, but then it turned into loud wailing.

Her cries echoed through the narrow tunnel, shrill and sorrowful.

[Lord Host,] S419M huddled in Bai Lixin’s mind, [For some reason, I suddenly feel like crying.]

Bai Lixin: [So, are you still scared?]

S419M: [I’m not scared anymore, I just want to cry. I feel so sorry for this little sister.]

Bai Lixin: [In the photos, Xiaoling was once a girl with a smile in her eyes. At nineteen years old, this was supposed to be the most beautiful time of her life. She should have had endless possibilities. What you should fear isn’t her in this state, but those who did this to her, those who inflicted such pain upon her.]

S419M: […Sigh.]

Perhaps exhausted from crying, Chen Xiaoling eventually fell asleep on Bai Lixin’s back.

Bai Lixin continued moving forward in the dark tunnel, one hand supporting Chen Xiaoling’s waist and the other holding the flashlight.

The space down here seemed to have some kind of buff; the escape system and S419M couldn’t scan the area or determine coordinates. He could only move forward, hoping to stumble upon an exit.

The complex underground structure resembled a maze. To avoid getting lost, Bai Lixin marked the walls as he walked and always chose to keep to the left at every fork in the path.

After another half-hour of walking, Bai Lixin finally heard something.

The noise came from another intersection. The chaotic and heavy footsteps, and some unintelligible language made him instantly alert. He switched off the flashlight and hid in the shadows.

Soon, a few faint lights flickered at the intersection. He turned his head and saw the familiar attire he had seen during the acid rainfall.

Black rubber suits, eerie bird masks.

The bird-masked figures gathered at the intersection, looking around as if searching for something. They exchanged a few words in a short, staccato language that Bai Lixin couldn’t understand, then split into groups and quickly moved along different paths.

Two of the bird masked figures came down Bai Lixin’s path.

They were holding up their flashlights, getting closer and closer.

Chen Xiaoling, who had woken up at some point, let out a small gasp and hurriedly covered her mouth.

She was terrified of these bird masked figures, and her whole body was trembling uncontrollably.

However, that small gasp seemed to catch the attention of one of the bird masked figures.

The broad-shouldered bird masked figure paused and exchanged some words with the other. The other bird masked figure turned and left, leaving just this one behind.

The bird masked figure raised his flashlight and stepped closer to Bai Lixin.

Chen Xiaoling’s trembling grew more intense.

Bai Lixin put away the flashlight and quietly took out his scythe.

Five steps, three steps, one step…

The moment the bird masked figure entered Bai Lixin’s sight, he raised the scythe and slashed.

However, the bird masked figure seemed to have anticipated it. When the white blade cut through the air, the bird masked figure bent to the side, narrowly avoiding Bai Lixin’s strike.

Bai Lixin paused, surprised by the bird masked figure’s movement.

When the bird masked figure straightened up again, he didn’t attack, nor did Bai Lixin strike again. The other party simply stood there silently, his posture as rigid as a steel plate.

The thick black rubber suit and mask completely concealed the other person. Bai Lixin scrutinized the figure from top to bottom, shock and excitement gradually surfacing in his eyes.

The bird masked figure pointed in one direction of the fork, seemingly giving Bai Lixin directions. After pointing, he turned to leave, without any intention of lingering.

Watching the bird masked figure’s back as he turned away, Bai Lixin blurted out, “Li Cangshan.”

The bird masked figure’s body froze abruptly, pausing mid-step.

Bai Lixin pressed on, “Is it you, Li Cangshan?”

The bird masked figure remained silent, but stiffly turned around.

He raised his hand and removed the bird mask from his face, revealing a face with sharp, resolute features.

The surprise and excitement in Bai Lixin’s eyes finally settled, “It really is you. How did you end up here? Back in Dark Steel City, weren’t you already…”