Hey everyone...
So, I need to have a heart-to-heart with you all.
I'm not sure if you've noticed, but my main account got hit with a restriction that basically cut its reach off at the root. (Literally, the new story's reach is 90% lower than the others, and it doesn't even show up in the mobile rankings). This was a huge blow and has made everything much, much harder for me.
I'm genuinely sad about this situation because I love what I do. This project started as something from a fan, for fans. I dedicate my time and affection to it because, just like you, I'm addicted to fanfics and novels. All the stories I bring are ones that I'm either currently reading or plan to read after stocking up some chapters, which is why I started to invest in it.
And speaking of investing, keeping the translations online is a very expensive endeavor. Just to buy the chapters, I spend between 100 and 150 dollars a month, which is a lot when converted to my currency (and that's not even counting the API usage, which can increase the cost depending on the chapter length). This is money that comes from the help we receive on P. To ensure even better quality and consistency, we also use a paid AI system, which makes the translations much more fluid and faithful.
With this restriction, our ability to cover these costs has been severely compromised. That's also why, unfortunately, we can only maintain a pace of one chapter per day. We'd love to release more, but the cost would double, and in the current situation, it's simply impossible.
It's heartbreaking to see all this happen after so much effort. But we wanted to be transparent and share this with you. The support and understanding from each of you are what give us the strength not to give up.
I know many of you can't help, and I thank you all the same; your comments and engagement are what keep the stories going. But if you want to support me in continuing this project, subscribing to P helps me cover the production costs, no matter which tier you choose.
👻 P - Walnutchan
Thank you for being with us, really. ❤️
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Night had fallen completely.
Today, a thin layer of overcast clouds shrouded the sky.
While it didn't render the sky pitch-black, it significantly reduced visibility on the beach.
Fortunately, the bonfire was burning brightly.
To the south of the fire, Nijika was still resting her head on Fumiya Jin's lap, sleeping soundly.
Fumiya Jin looked up and glanced around... The chubby guy, the black man, the madam, and the fleshy-faced woman had all gathered on the south side of the fire, and they had all been silent for quite some time.
This was partly because Fumiya Jin had already warned them to keep their voices down and not to wake Nijika.
But the main reason was Haji's death.
For any normal person, watching a fellow human being's life extinguish before their eyes was a powerful shock.
However, it was worth noting that compared to the other three, the chubby guy's reaction was a bit excessive—it wasn't just silence. His face had been pale and he had been trembling all over for a good while now.
This made Fumiya Jin a little concerned.
Because in the first trial game, it wasn't hard to guess that most of the survivors had likely sacrificed their partners to make it through. If so, they should have already witnessed a gruesome, bloody death up close.
After experiencing something like that, seeing a relatively peaceful death like Haji's shouldn't provoke such a strong reaction... just like the other three right now.
So why was this chubby guy reacting so strongly?
Could it be...
"Hey, Maruyama?" Fumiya Jin spoke up, breaking the silence. Of course, he kept his voice low, about as loud as the crackling of the fire.
The chubby guy, sitting less than two meters to Fumiya Jin's right, was startled.
He turned to look at Fumiya Jin, his expression quite respectful. "Doctor... you called me?"
"Your trial instance, how many people were in it?" Fumiya Jin asked directly.
"Huh?" The chubby guy probably didn't expect Fumiya Jin to suddenly ask about this. "The trial instance... Mine... had three people."
Fumiya Jin was slightly surprised and immediately followed up, "What was the environment for your instance? Do you mind sharing?"
Hearing this, the chubby guy didn't hesitate much.
After all, the blueberries and fresh water that were keeping them alive had been brought back by Fumiya Jin and his partner.
Besides his awe of Fumiya Jin's strength, the chubby guy was also more than a little grateful to him.
"I don't want to recall the details, but... I can tell you the environment. It was on a train..." the chubby guy said, scratching his head.
The moment Fumiya Jin heard this, he understood—everyone's trial instance was different.
Or rather, there wasn't just one type of trial instance.
He, Nijika, and Yuki Suou might have coincidentally participated in the same type of trial.
But the others might have all been different.
"Eh? A train? I was at an abandoned construction site..." the black man with dreadlocks said, somewhat stunned.
"I was in an elevator..." the madam added.
The fleshy-faced woman didn't say anything, but judging from her slightly strange expression, hers was likely a different setting as well.
Now, Fumiya Jin was completely certain of his judgment.
But he didn't press the issue further by asking them to reveal the specific details of their instances—even if he asked, they probably wouldn't tell him.
In fact, the only reason they were willing to reveal the themes of their instances was because he had done them a favor.
If he had asked the same question last night, they would have likely remained silent. After all, these were their personal secrets.
"Regarding the creature that bit Haji to death, do you have any other information?" Fumiya Jin changed the subject.
Everyone was taken aback for a moment, then they shook their heads one after another.
"At the time... the attack happened underwater. We couldn't see anything on the surface," the madam said. "After we pulled Haji ashore, we were worried something might follow, so we kept a watch on the coast for a long time, but nothing came out. I guess... it might really be something like piranhas. It seems they can't come onto land."
Fumiya Jin nodded slowly.
Based on the current information, it was impossible to determine what kind of creature had attacked Haji.
But the fact that it couldn't easily come ashore was good news.
Otherwise, if they couldn't even stay on the beach after being too scared to enter the forest, they would truly be screwed.
"Hiss... it stinks... why did it suddenly get so much worse..." the fleshy-faced woman suddenly covered her nose, her face filled with disgust.
The others were startled for a moment, then quickly covered their noses as well. They, too, had caught a whiff of a particularly pungent stench.
In truth, the smell had been there all along.
After all, Haji's body was just a few meters north of the bonfire.
The group had silently gathered on the south side partly to put some distance between themselves and the corpse.
Even so, the direct distance was only about five or six meters, so of course, they could smell the corpse.
It was just that...
Now, the stench seemed to have suddenly grown stronger, more acrid, making one's head spin.
"What's going on..." the black man with dreadlocks wondered, getting up and taking two steps north to look. "Holy crap... it's rotting! The body is rotting badly!"
Hearing this, the others also stood up and took a look from a distance.
And they discovered with horror—the state of decomposition of Haji's body was truly exaggerated.
Under the high temperatures of the beach, it wasn't strange for a body to decompose faster. If Haji's body had just been rotting a little quicker, the group wouldn't have been so shocked.
But the reality was—it had only been a little over an hour since Haji died, yet his body had already lost its human shape, its surface completely covered in a blackish-green pus.
The dozens of wounds on his body were like dozens of sources of decay... each wound rapidly festered and spread, turning the surrounding flesh into patches of dark, sticky, rotten meat...
"What's going on..." The fleshy-faced woman's face turned green with fear. "Is it going to mutate?"
With Nijika still lying on his lap, Fumiya Jin couldn't stand up to get a look.
Fortunately, he was quite tall. By straightening his back and leaning slightly to the side, he could see past the flames and get a rough view of Haji's body...
His expression immediately turned grim.
"Decomposing like this can easily breed disease... and judging by the speed of decay, whatever bit him was no ordinary fish. That black, viscous liquid looks very dangerous at a glance." Fumiya Jin analyzed the situation and made a decision. "We have to move the body, throw it somewhere far away."
"Of course... with this pile of rotten meat here, how the hell are we supposed to sleep?" the fleshy-faced woman said with a look of disgust.
Fumiya Jin turned his head to look at the fleshy-faced woman and said flatly, "You're too loud."
Hearing this, the fleshy-faced woman was initially unconcerned.
But the next second, when Fumiya Jin's slightly cold gaze swept over her...
A chill ran down the fleshy-faced woman's spine. Despite the hot weather, she felt as if she had been plunged into an ice cave.
She shivered and immediately backed down. "I... I get it... I'll be quiet, I'll be quiet..."
Only then did Fumiya Jin continue, "Nijika and I found water and food. The madam spent the afternoon cleaning all of Haji's wounds. The three of you, on the other hand, have only managed to start a fire. Your contribution is insufficient. The task of moving the body is yours."
Of course, the most important thing for surviving the night was to ensure the bonfire didn't go out. So, he wouldn't leave the fire under any circumstances, which naturally meant he couldn't go with them to dispose of the body. He had to let those guys go.
When Fumiya Jin said this, the madam gave him a somewhat grateful look.
She had spent over half an hour that afternoon fighting back nausea while cleaning Haji's festering wounds, and she still felt a bit sick.
If she had to look at the body for even another second, she might actually vomit. And that was without mentioning the horrid stench.
As for the fleshy-faced woman, the chubby guy, and the black man, their faces changed drastically.