Chapter 3: Steam and Magic |
As soon as she rushed out, her eyes were as sharp as a knife.
But when she caught sight of the open door behind Ji Xun, the murderous intent in her eyes instantly dissipated, and she blurted out in surprise, “You’re still alive?”
…
Her voice intentionally lowered, but one could tell she was probably not very old.
Perhaps she recognized him, so she didn’t attack.
“???”
Hearing this, Ji Xun couldn’t help but mock inwardly.
He had already died once.
However, this woman seemed to know him?
During this standoff, the mechanical-arm girl opposite to him seemed to figure something out and was the first to put down the steam cannon in her hand, making a friendly gesture.
Looking at Ji Xun’s empty clothes, she obviously guessed something and was even more puzzled, muttering, “You spent the night with the ‘fallen witch,’ and you’re still alive?”
“…,” Ji Xun listened but remained silent, also setting down his gun.
The other party blatantly mentioned the presence of the ‘fallen witch’ in the room, clearly indicating she knew a lot.
The mysterious woman looked at Ji Xun, who didn’t speak, and after a moment of contemplation, she asked straightforwardly, “Are you a lone hunter, or do you have a team? Are you interested in cooperating? I mean, are you interested in working together?”
Her proposal was straightforward.
She was evidently worried that the person in front of her might not understand his situation, so she added, “Otherwise, given your current state, if the ‘fallen witch’ comes for you tonight, you probably won’t survive.”
“What…?” Ji Xun listened, quickly calculating the implications of her words.
This woman was speaking in an unfamiliar manner, and she clearly only recognized him but probably didn’t know the original host.
This saved him a lot of trouble.
But from the sound of the woman’s words, it seemed he wouldn’t survive the night?
Where did that come from?
This woman obviously had a lot of the information he urgently needed.
After a moment of contemplation, Ji Xun calmly asked, “Cooperate?”
“Yes.” The mysterious woman looked at him, not directly rejecting him and spoke frankly, “I am interested in the information you have on the ‘fallen witch.’ If you’re willing to cooperate, we can hunt down this B-level pollutant tonight. Although success is not guaranteed, I will do my best to kill it. Killing the monster is the only way for you to leave this space alive.”
After a pause, she added, “Of course, I will also do my best to ensure your safety.”
Ji Xun listened and understood her intentions of killing the creature for the materials. It seemed like this alternate dimension was some kind of game-like instance.
He wanted to inquire more but knew little about this world, and he didn’t know where to start.
On the other hand, the mechanical-arm girl seemed to have a clear train of thought.
She detected Ji Xun’s hesitation and seemed to think he didn’t fully understand the terror of the ‘fallen witch.’
She asked with surprise, “Have you not bought any information and just come in?”
Her eyes seemed to look at him as if he were a reckless fool.
“…” Ji Xun was worried about how to gather information, and the other side’s comments seemed to classify him as someone reckless.
He followed up by asking, “So… the ‘fallen witch’ will come for me again?”
“…” Ji Xun remained silent, but in his mind, he was recalling the naked corpse lying inside.
Being close to it would lead to radiation contamination, which was a kind of monster he couldn’t comprehend.
Moreover, the woman in front of him was so well-equipped that she didn’t seem confident in taking it down, which confirmed his earlier judgment – he probably could not handle it, either.
However, her words were not necessarily to be fully trusted.
After a moment of contemplation, Ji Xun fell into thought.
…
How could he hesitate in this situation?
Anyone being targeted by a B-level disaster would immediately accept help, right?
Seeing his hesitation, the mechanical-arm girl seemed to come up with an explanation on her own – this guy probably didn’t have a clear understanding of the terror of the ‘fallen witch,’ did he?
She thought of something and asked with a note of disbelief, “Did you come in without buying any information, didn’t you?”
Her eyes looked at him as if he were a reckless fool.
“…” Ji Xun was at a loss as to how to gather information, and her remarks seemed to categorize him as someone who was ignorant.
He asked in response, “So… will the ‘fallen witch’ come for me again?”
Hearing this, the mysterious woman showed a helpless expression beneath her mask.
She contemplated for a moment and explained, “Then you should have seen the enlightenment; this is a spiritual-type B-level disaster that can lock onto a human’s soul. If you spent a night with it, no matter where you hide within this space, it will find you.”
“…” Ji Xun listened, his eyes slightly raised.
So the ‘enlightenment’ wasn’t something only he could see; it was some kind of rule in this world.
He understood this explanation; he was ‘marked’ by the creature.
And he also immediately realized that the reason this woman wanted to cooperate was definitely not to increase his combat capability. She wanted to make use of the creature’s marking characteristic and needed a “bait.”
However, upon hearing her explanation, Ji Xun was instead dispelled of all his doubts.
After all, they didn’t know each other, and no one would help without a reason. Even if it was exploitation, he wasn’t bothered by it.
Cooperation with an exchange of value was more stable.
After a moment of contemplation, he asked the question that was on his mind, “Can we kill it now? I mean…”
He originally wanted to say that the creature was still in hibernation and seemed harmless, so it should be easy to kill. But he was immediately cut off.
The mechanical-arm girl seemed to have detected his ignorance and firmly stated, “If it were that easy to kill a B-level disaster, so many people wouldn’t have died in this alternate dimension. Even if you could destroy its body, the creature would be completely intact by nightfall, no matter how you kill it. This has been attempted by multiple people. Additionally, anyone who comes into contact with its body will be left with a ‘mark of resentment.’ At night, the one marked is doomed to die.”
Oh.
It seemed like this plan wouldn’t work.
He was just inquiring.
Ji Xun raised an eyebrow, “Doomed to die?”
“Yes!” The mechanical-arm girl’s tone was confident, “To my knowledge, no exceptions.”
“If you don’t believe me, you can try firing a couple of shots, since you’re already marked anyway,” she said, giving Ji Xun another look, clearly surprised that the guy hadn’t died yet, and then added another question: “I’m very curious, how did you survive last night?”
“…”
Ji Xun had no intention of explaining that the original body was already dead, nor could he explain why he was still alive. But given the current circ*mstances, he really didn’t have a choice.
Although he didn’t fully believe what the woman said, he could basically confirm a few things. First, the monster inside was truly troublesome, at least beyond his capability to deal with. Second, she had top-notch equipment and could have killed him easily without needing to talk so much. To use him as bait tied up seemed just as effective.
Or maybe, she needed his cooperation to use him as bait. But regardless, at least until that “Fallen Witch” was killed, he had some utility. To be useful meant being temporarily out of danger… …
Ji Xun knew nothing about this world, and at the moment, he desperately needed a source of information. Without hesitation, he agreed directly: “I’m willing to cooperate.” After saying that, he added: “But before that, can you share some information? I mean, about this space.”
“Sure!” The girl with the mechanical arm seemed relieved to hear this; the last thing she wanted was to deal with an idiot who couldn’t grasp the situation. Having a bait would make hunting that calamity much easier for her.
While talking, she gestured towards the room number 2013 she had just come out of and said, “But there are still twelve hours until it gets dark, and I still have some preparations to make. If you want to survive until tonight, you can stay in the room. Otherwise, if you’re not afraid of encountering monsters, you can come with me. But I can’t guarantee your safety…”
Ji Xun decisively said, “I’ll go with you.” Clearly, sticking with her seemed the safer option.