Chapter 122: Abandoned City of Doppelgangers |
Since this Script had no shop, after sorting out his belongings, Bai Mu went to the community to meet with Misty Rain Traveler and chat about their subsequent experiences.
The two of them sat on the beach in the community, listening to the crashing waves. The community had normal sunrises and sunsets. It was dusk right now, and the surface of the sea was dyed crimson. They found a random spot to sit, chat, and drink a few bottles of beer.
The public area was filled with Players acting crazy. Some built fires on the beach for a bonfire party, others charged into the sea with surfboards despite not knowing how to swim at all, and a few tried to build an airship out of bamboo baskets and balloons to send themselves into the sky.
Because the goods in the community shop were ridiculously cheap and basically included all daily necessities, you could try almost anything you wanted in this limited area.
In fact, sitting in the public area, this place really did look somewhat like a "Paradise."
After all, everyone could see their Community Time. Rather than spending that limited time zoning out, it was better to try everything they could think of before the next Script.
Bai Mu and Misty Rain Traveler clinked their glasses together, the beer foam popping inside. Some unfamiliar faces also came over to toast with him.
Everyone was very friendly. The community was a safe zone; even if you were hostile, you could not hurt another person. Here, even if you were in freefall from thirty thousand feet in the air, you would not die. Fighting was impossible—your fists could not land on the other party's face. At most, there would be verbal altercations, but no one could truly out-argue anyone else. If you didn't want to listen, you could swipe your card and leave at any time.
Faced with their limited lifespans, the vast majority of people appeared unusually tolerant, or perhaps everyone was just preoccupied with their own worries.
"Have you already bound the Forensic License?" Bai Mu grabbed a skewer of roast beef and stuffed it into his mouth. Besides Player-run shops, the community also had Paradise vending machines that sold prepared food like freshly made burgers and meat skewers. The prices were just as cheap; a single Point could buy a huge pile.
"It's bound," Misty Rain Traveler replied. "This profession actually suits me quite well. It can increase the damage of cutting skills, which synergizes perfectly with my bloody throwing knives."
"Class-change items are super rare items. I really owe you for this one." Misty Rain Traveler raised her glass and clinked it against Bai Mu's again, looking to be in great spirits.
Bai Mu silently finished another glass of beer and asked, "Have you thought about the future?"
"The future?" Misty Rain Traveler laughed self-deprecatingly. "I don't even know if I can survive the next Script. Where would I find the time to think about the future?
"I'll just take it one day at a time. If I really have to guess, I'll probably die in the corner of some obscure Script."
"Just like the friends I added in the past. There were several people I met once, and then I never heard from them again."
"But I think you're incredible. You'll definitely live for a long time, and having someone who can live a long time remember me isn't a bad thing."
"Come on, let's keep drinking." Misty Rain Traveler filled Bai Mu's glass to the brim.
The two drank until the sun went down, but the public area remained bustling. When night fell, even more people came out to play wildly. Some wrestled and held sumo matches on the beach, some sang and played with guitars and microphones, and someone even jumped off a thirty-story rooftop, diving headfirst into a sandcastle they had built themselves, smashing it to pieces like a cannonball.
The streetwalkers holding signs were even more enthusiastic, soliciting business in crowded areas.
They wore fawning smiles on their faces, but in truth, it was quite pitiful. They just wanted to live for a few more hours.
"What are your plans now?" Bai Mu stood up and looked at Misty Rain Traveler beside him.
"I'm going back to get some sleep," she replied.
"Bye then."
"Bye."
The two shared a brief farewell and departed the public area separately.
Bai Mu strolled through the trading zone alone. The Murkoff pistol he had listed in the shop still hadn't sold. He walked around the trading zone but couldn't find any items that particularly interested him.
Because his rank was only an E-Grade Player, the trading zone he entered was primarily populated by other E-Grade Players. The items circulating here were generally inferior to what he already had on him.
There were some valuable things in the auction house, like firearms, but the average price was about thirty percent more expensive than the Script Shop.
The items in the Script Shop were indeed a bargain. After some calculation, Bai Mu spent five hundred Points to restock two Hand Grenades and thirty
shotgun shells before leaving the trading zone.
After his purchase, he only had one empty slot left in his inventory. He already had twenty-nine items and pieces of equipment. Although he wanted to buy more basic supplies, he wouldn't be able to carry them if he bought too much. Furthermore, the price of storage-type items was more expensive than he expected, averaging over fifteen hundred Points. It seemed these things were quite rare.
"Time to queue up for the next Script."
He returned to his room and opened the matchmaking interface once again.
Those few days in Beika Town were already considered ample rest for him.
When he asked Misty Rain Traveler about her plans, he was also thinking about his own future.
For him, there was only one lifestyle he truly desired and hoped for.
That was the calm and tranquil world of peace from before the apocalypse. His current way of survival was not what he wanted. Therefore, there was only one thing he needed to do: find a way to attain that life.
He believed that Paradise held the opportunity to give him such a life. He just needed to act like a treasure hunter and seek out the prize he desired.
[Do you wish to start a random Script early?]
[Yes / No.]
"Yes."
[Player K8107 has joined the random Script queue.]
[Drawing a random Script for you. Draw complete. You are about to enter: Solo Mode (Normal).]
[Script Name: Abandoned City of Doppelgangers.]
[Current Script Hazard Rating: C-Grade.]
[The Script introduction will now play. Once the playback is complete, the Script will begin immediately.]
Bai Mu entered a first-person perspective. The first thing he saw was blinding sunlight.
The sunlight scorched the earth dry, baking it until rolling heat waves rose from the ground.
'This doesn't seem to be an ordinary heatwave.'
Bai Mu saw the greenbelts, trees, and grass on both sides of the highway wilting under the sun. The outdoor temperature seemed to have reached a level unbearable for humans, to the point where some dried branches even spontaneously combusted.
After briefly displaying these scenes, time shifted to late night. A bulky, old-fashioned television came into view.
In the darkness, the static-filled screen emitted a faint glow, broadcasting the news.
"Due to abnormal solar activity, the average outdoor temperature during the day has risen to fifty degrees Celsius. Currently, all major industries nationwide have halted production."
Click. Bai Mu saw a man's hand press a remote control, turning off the television.
Knock-knock-knock, knock-knock-knock. The sound of someone knocking echoed from outside the door.
However, the person whose perspective he was sharing completely ignored it.
Bai Mu followed this perspective into the bedroom. The man lay down on the bed and tucked himself beneath the covers.
But faintly, Bai Mu heard footsteps. A figure in the darkness slowly approached, stopping right by the bedside.
The man in bed rolled over, and a bizarre, eerie face abruptly filled Bai Mu's vision.
The face was pale like a corpse's, wearing an indescribably grotesque smile.
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