If anything in this forest could understand human speech, it would be the animals with human faces. They had even spoken with that big black cat before. But plants had no faces at all. No features, no ears. How could plants possibly understand human words?
Lao Shi asked, "You sound experienced. How did you handle it last time?"
While Ling Jiang was explaining, Captain Zhang had led Lao Shi and the others on a detour, so they had missed that part of the story. Many on scene knew the truth, though. Last time, they had not handled it at all. The entire team fell for it.
Captain Zhang's expression tightened. "There was no solution. Our team was wounded across the board. Half died, half survived, and a small number suffered for nothing. They didn't even end up with abilities."
Lao Gao added, "People hurt by those plants go crazier than the batch who ate bug powder. Back at base, even those reinforced isolation cells could not stop Captain Zhang. Out here, there is nothing sturdy enough to hold anyone."
In short, don't try it lightly.
Or everyone might end up dead.
But then again—
Could they even control the situation now?
"Even if we leave them alone, they don't plan to let us go," Shen Zhiyan said. "Can the insulated suits stop cuts?"
Captain Zhang said, "They help, but not against numbers like this. At the end of the day, a suit is still just clothing."
Maybe they had lingered too long. The plants that had paused mid-creep rustled their leaves and shifted closer. The sound made several teammates flinch back a step.
Pei Xin's face went taut. "What do we do? Are they coming? Are they about to attack?"
Captain Zhang said, "Ling Jiang, you can make an ice fortress. Can you make a shield we can carry? Maybe we could block their cuts."
Ling Jiang sighed. "You think I am all-powerful? Besides, those leaves are razor sharp. We might block once, but not twice."
And there were so many of them. The plan was not realistic.
So what now?
Lan Jin said, "Why are we standing here? While they have not attacked yet, we should leave. Now."
Huang Jinghe reminded her, "Sister Ling, should we not strike first while they have not attacked?"
With so many mutated plants, others might struggle, but Lan Jin would not. Besides, those towering plants were practically begging for lightning.
It was as if the plants understood their words. The instant Huang Jinghe finished, every stalk straightened, their bodies that had been leaning toward the team went taut, and they attacked all at once.
Which meant the other side struck first.
Lan Jin unleashed her ability. Bolts of lightning crashed down, each one nailing the exact center of a plant.
Worried the back line would be spared, Huang Jinghe poured water across the plants again and again.
The ring of plants seized up under the current. Those in the vanguard that took Lan Jin's strikes first burst into flame. They thrashed in place, then, when life burned away, collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
Ling Jiang said, "One strike would do. Did you have to hit that hard?"
Lan Jin answered, "I only used a light strike. I didn't push my ability. It should be because of Xiao Huang's water."
Either way, the danger ended before it truly began. Lan Jin had finished it again.
Shen Zhiyan sighed. "Having strong abilities really is convenient. It saves lives."
Shen Zhiyu worried his sister would get ideas and spoke quickly. "Abilities are good, but no one can guarantee you will get an attack-type ability. No one can guarantee it will be strong on you. And the death rate is real."
Shen Zhiyan said, "Brother, I will not lose my head and touch mutated plants on purpose. If I die, that would be the real loss. Besides, out there, I am not weak to begin with."
Since his sister understood, Shen Zhiyu said no more.
With the plants cleared, the group moved on.
After more than an hour, they finally reached the end point marked on the map. According to the symbols, they were at the exact center of the forest. Unlike anywhere else, the center was a perfect circle of bare earth, roughly five hundred square meters with no plants at all.
In the middle of that bald patch stood a four-story villa that looked shockingly high-tech.
The footprint was not large. Captain Zhang paced and eyed it. "A bit over a hundred square meters on the ground, but the structure is tall. Who would live here?"
Lan Jin frowned. "How do you know it is for living in? Maybe it is not a residence at all."
Exactly as Lan Jin suspected, it might be a laboratory. Who would choose to live in a place like this?
Captain Zhang stalled for a beat. "We will know once we are inside."
As they were about to move, Pei Xin said, "We are just going in? What if this is a trap? The door opens, it blows, and we all die."
"That is possible," Captain Zhang said evenly. "All the more reason to go in. What if what we are looking for is inside?"
Pei Xin shook her head. "You don't even know what we are looking for. Going in blind is too reckless. If we search, we have to split up. If something happens, there will be no time to save anyone."
Captain Zhang's tone cooled. "This mission must be completed. I am not the only one assigned to it, and I am not the only one in the dark. Everyone is, they are just not here. Whether you trust me or not, a building this different from the forest around it strongly suggests our target is inside. So your objections don't change the fact that we are going in. And who said I plan to split the team?"
===
Hi everyone! Just a quick announcement: I've hit the 20-novel limit on my Webnovel account, so I won't be able to upload any new projects here for now. To keep sharing my translations with everyone, I've decided to migrate my new uploads to AO3!
For my completed novels, I'll also be making them available in .epub format on Google Drive or TeraBox, so you can read them offline whenever you want. I'll put the links in the comment section. If you're reading on the app, it can be tricky to copy or open links there. In that case, please use your browser to access the web version at https://www.webnovel.com and, if needed, switch to desktop mode in your browser settings to copy/paste or access the links properly.
I've already started a new project there: "My VR Games Terrify the World"—I hope you'll enjoy it! Don't worry—all ongoing/serializing projects on Webnovel will continue here. I won't be abandoning anything you're currently following!
For extra safety, I'm also putting my translations on Royal Road (username: Reiya_Alberich) so they're accessible in multiple places.
If you'd like to follow my AO3 account, my pseud is Rikhi and you can find my profile here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikhi/pseuds/Rikhi
Or just search 'Rikhi' on it's search bar.
Thanks so much for your support, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy all the translations—both old and new—no matter the platform! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و
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Meng Shu never expected to wake up in a parallel world where VR technology is everywhere, but horror games are painfully primitive. His saving grace? A game development system that's incredibly easy to use, with a unique currency: player fear.
Every scream, every jolt, every moment of pure dread his players experience fuels his progress. With this terror tax, he can unlock the blueprints for every classic horror game from his past world. While everyone else ignores the genre, Meng Shu sees a golden opportunity.
He begins to unleash a series of VR horror experiences that leave players traumatized. Outlast has them pleading for mercy. Visage keeps them perpetually on edge, jumping at the slightest sound. SOMA plunges them into deep existential dread, and Alien: Isolation teaches them the true meaning of helpless fear.
From Silent Hill to Resident Evil and Five Nights at Freddy's, Meng Shu's growing library of nightmares has one simple goal: to become the undisputed master of fear and make the entire gaming world scream.