Translator-Rhapsodite
Editor-Yui, Proofreader-Woojoo
Was this…
A food-grade brain cultivation farm?
The sight in front of them was incredibly shocking, compelling Nan Zhou to succumb to his curiosity. He took a few steps closer, holding onto the delicate glass as he gazed curiously at the surroundings.
Li Yinhang anxiously followed suit, mimicking his actions and holding onto the glass, filled with doubt. “There are no eyes, only a visual system. How can one see outside from here?”
After carefully pondering the contrast between the warm fairy tale and the cold technology, and while observing the work reports on the display screen, Li Yinhang had a sudden realization, “So, this place is…”
Jiang Fang lightly tapped the glass in front of him with his fingers and said, “It should be an external device connected to the visual system.”
“We were put into the brain, entered five specific functional areas, played five games, and finally came to this room to complete the task.”
Li Yinhang asked another crucial question, “Then what are ‘we’?”
The three of them looked outside together.
The expansive view allowed them to easily see the presence of multiple production lines where they were.
The feeding box filled with light blue nutrient solution, which was in a horizontal position with Nan Zhou and them, was mostly empty.
However, in another row of feeding boxes parallel to theirs, there was a different type of nutrient solution filled with a dark red hue, resembling the color of the brain.
At first glance, those boxes seemed to be empty.
But in fact, every feeding box filled with red liquid was full.
Each box contained a brain.
Moreover, compared to this side, the red nutrient solution was in a state of high-speed consumption.
An external pipeline continuously injected the fresh nutrient solution into the cube.
Even so, the nutrient solution in some feeding boxes could not keep up with the speed at which the brain was consuming it.
Nan Zhou could see the state of the brain in the cylinder that was closest to them.
It was nestled comfortably within the dark red mucus, and the small mouth-like folds on its surface rhythmically opened and closed like a stomach that was eating.
This reminded Nan Zhou of the chewing sounds resembling those of pigs and cows that they often heard in the brain marrow corridor.
What would not be afraid of eating this way and bursting its stomach?
The answer is a brain without a stomach.
It endlessly sucked up nutrient solution, injecting the “satiety” signal into the brain.
As if to verify Nan Zhou’s guess, a machine extended a metallic arm to one of the dark red feeding boxes.
The white locator embedded in the top of the arm scanned the cube from all directions. A thin needle with a barcode-like pattern on its surface was inserted into the groove on the top side of the cube.
After scanning the code, the lid of the cube was opened directly above.
The mechanical arm dipped into the nutrient solution, steadily holding the soft base of the brain, and lifted it out without any damage.
The brain, which was accustomed to being in an “eating” state all the time, left the dark red nutrient solution and immediately contracted eagerly.
However, it was placed in the 1920 feeding box next to Nan Zhou.
The red nutrient solution dissolved into the blue liquid in strands.
It is apparent that the nutrient solution in the blue liquid possesses certain purification and disinfection properties, yet it fails to satiate its appetite.
After contracting for a while in vain, it found that it was unable to take in any nutrients, so it calmed down.
Soon, the words appeared automatically on the outside of the 1920 feeding box.
“Name: Feeding Box No. 1921”
“Specification: 90cmx90cmx90cm standard feeding box”
“Level: Ordinary level”
“Food maturity: 30%”
This level of maturity was obviously unsatisfactory.
So, it was dug out again by the robotic arm and returned to the feeding box on the opposite side filled with dark red nutrient solution.
After witnessing this scene, Nan Zhou’s small classroom began.
He asked Li Yinhang, “Do you understand?”
Li Yinhang: “…um.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Po atlr kfgf mbwqjgfv ab j qlu ojgw, fnfgsatlcu kbeiv yfmbwf mifjg.
Ktf ybz bqqbrlaf kjr oliifv klat qluifar bg lwwjaegf qlur.
Ktfs vlv cba wffa atf rajcvjgvr jcv cffvfv mbcalceber reqqifwfcajalbc bo cfk ceaglfcar.
Ktf offvlcu ybz atja Rjc Itbe jcv atf batfgr kfgf meggfcais lc tjv j dejilas lcrqfmalbc oecmalbc atja mbeiv vfafgwlcf ktfatfg atf ygjlc qijmfv lc la kjr j tlut-fcv qgbvema atja tjv yffc gjlrfv ab yf rbiv.
This could also explain why the brain they were in had been constantly chewing but quieted down midway.
It was likely that this brain, similar to the one encountered earlier, was temporarily removed and placed in a new feeding box for quality assessment and compliance with standards.
However, unlike raising pigs, the brain was a delicate food.
It’s easy to see that it’s not easy to raise artificially bred brains to maturity.
In theory, each part and functional area of the brain needed to be developed evenly to be more delicious.
However, artificially bred brains could only be artificially injected with vast amounts of knowledge and provide a sense of satisfaction.
More complex emotional information could not be fabricated out of thin air.
This would inevitably lead to continued brain shrinkage, affecting “quality control.”
Combining the current situations, Nan Zhou calmly reached the conclusion, “So, these brains need external stimulation.”
He seemed to not realize how chilling the implications of his words were, “We are the ‘external stimulation’.”
Upon hearing Nan Zhou’s statement and reflecting on the path they had taken, Li Yinhang couldn’t help but sense her pores constrict and a chilling sweat trickle down her back.
Their setting in the copy, could they be the …… employees of this brain farming base?
Moreover, it should be the lowest kind of employee.
The designer behind the scenes, by dividing the brain into areas, designed a unique fairy tale playground.
They, the players as employees, entered the game, explored, fought, and risked their lives…
Everything was done with the intention of triggering the brain, inducing a range of emotions such as loneliness, fear, and the secretion of sex hormones that could not be elicited by external organs.
…to make it more mature and more delicious?
While Li Yinhang felt chills all over her body, a simple operating table slowly appeared in the center of the small room.
There was only a blood-red fingerprint scanner and a speaker on it.
A mechanical voice came from the speaker.
“Will you deliver the task?”
Nan Zhou, Jiang Fang, and Li Yinhang looked at each other, and Nan Zhou answered, “Yes.”
A happy voice came from inside.
However, this happiness was accompanied by a formulaic and false enthusiasm.
“Thank you to ‘Cleaners’ No. 12, No. 19, and No. 27 for their outstanding contributions to the [Brain Invasion] factory. It is because of your unremitting efforts that the business of the [Brain Invasion] factory has been thriving.”
“Please place your right thumb on the fingerprint scanner, let it sit for fifteen seconds, and then proceed with the transmission.”
“Thank you again.”
Their duty as “Cleaners” in the [Brain Invasion] factory seemed like it would never end.
Clearly, the fate of “Cleaners” like them was a constant cycle of entering rooms. Make a single mistake, and perish entirely in a remote corner of the brain. Eventually, they would be consumed, cooked alongside a mature brain, and served on the table.
However, Nan Zhou and his team’s mission had already ended completely.
After each of them held their fingertips on the fingerprint scanner for fifteen seconds, they heard a prompt indicating that the mission was over.
[Ding ding ding dong]
[Congratulations to the “Cube Boat” team for completing the copy.]
[Congratulations to the “Cube Boat” team for completing five games and winning the “Game Hunter” award, each receiving 10,000 points!]
[Congratulations to the “Cube Boat” team for exploring the hidden secrets behind the game, unlocking a total of 6 hidden achievements including “The Wish of the Tin Soldier”, “The Disguise of the Stepmother”, “The Fastest Awakening Record”, “Happy Life Without a Candy House”, “The Deal of Inger”, and “The Memory Test That No One Fails” each receiving 6,000 points!]
Li Yinhang, “…”
She felt that the achievement of the “Fastest Awakening Record” was awarded to herself.
And she had reason to believe that it was a merciless mockery of her.
The rewards this time were enormous.
The broadcast continued.
The uninterrupted reward prompts were like joyful stimulants, constantly stimulating them.
No wonder it was a level 11 difficulty dungeon.
The process of passing through this instance was undeniably a matter of life and death. Correspondingly, the rewards were generous and amazing.
[Congratulations to the “Cube Boat” team for entering the final room, successfully completing the mission, and receiving the reward “Brain Janitor,” each receiving 3,000 points!]
[Congratulations to the “Cube Boat” team for completing all games within 48 hours of the game time limit, each receiving 10,000 points!]
[Congratulations to the “Cube Boat” team for achieving a survival rate of 100%, each receiving 3,000 points!]
[The current main task exploration rate has reached 100%. Completion rate is 100%, and it can be judged as a perfect S-level!]
[Beep beep – S-level rewards are 1,000 points each and any random props, which will be sent to the players’ backpacks within three days.]
[Please choose to leave the dungeon within three minutes.]
Although the end of the dungeon was frightening to think about, the continuous stream of game achievements flashing across the screen momentarily alleviated the fear in one’s heart, providing a fleeting sense of satisfaction.
Li Yinhang stretched her arms lazily, trying to release all the pressure and anxiety in her heart with this big stretch.
She said, “Where should we go?”
Jiang Fang glanced at Nan Zhou and smiled as he answered, “Let’s go to [Paper Gold City]. We’ll have a buffet.”
They chose [Paper Gold City].
[Initiating teleportation.]
At the moment when the three of them completed the mission and appeared on the streets of [Paper Gold City] at night, it was like a stone being thrown into still water.
Strange movements appeared in the world channel of the game panel.
Several people were exchanging messages that were cut and edited.
“Online.”
“What location?”
“B17 district in [Paper Gold City]!”
The three of them were still unaware of it.
Only Li Yinhang, after teleporting, looked around and muttered softly, “Why is the street so quiet?”
After hearing her casual exclamation, Nan Zhou’s eyes flickered slightly, and he glanced at the storage slot on the control panel.
“…very strange.”
In the past, when they returned to safe points like [Paper Gold City] or [Rust City,] their items were usually in an “unusable” state.
But this time, Nan Zhou noticed that his prop bar was not closed.
He lowered his head and walked forward slowly, leaning against Jiang Fang’s arm without making a sound.
Just as they walked forward, a player squatting directly above them on the rooftop slowly opened the bolt of his gun and loaded it.
Click.
This soft sound should have been as small as a drop of water merging into the sea in the lively [Paper Gold City] street.
However, Nan Zhou suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He had faced this kind of situation many times before.
For months, he had been fighting these hidden dangers day and night.
… three people were peeking at them through the window of the building to the east.
In the corridor of the building on the west side, two people were pretending to look at the moon.
There were two people above them.
One of them had a weapon like a gun.
If they continued walking forward, someone was hiding in the alley ahead.
If they retreated, the empty alley they just passed through now had new people.
More footsteps were coming from another parallel street towards them.
Li Yinhang was also a little frightened.
She had just walked out of the copy, just like how one cannot immediately reduce their speed upon exiting a highway
The vigilance she brought out of the copy gave her a brief muscle memory.
She felt that something was wrong.
Nothing was right.
Therefore, when the black gun barrel protruded from one side of the roof and aimed at Nan Zhou, Li Yinhang, who was timidly looking around, was the first to notice it.
She screamed, “Be careful!”
She stood in front of Nan Zhou, instinctively wanting to push Nan Zhou out of range.
But before she could take the next action, a dark red gunfire had already shot out of the barrel.
The target moved from Nan Zhou’s chest to Li Yinhang’s back.
Li Yinhang’s heart sank.
However, before her heart could sink completely, Nan Zhou threw her aside with one hand.
She couldn’t stand firm and knocked her head against the graffiti-covered wall.
At the same time, Nan Zhou turned his head.
With a swift motion, the bullet grazed Nan Zhou’s disheveled black hair, nearly piercing through it, and struck the red brick wall behind, scattering a cloud of red dust and shattered tiles!
The amateur sniper peered out from his cover, saw that the target had not been hit, and clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.
Before he could retract his head, Nan Zhou swiftly turned around, caught the flying debris in mid-air, quickly examined it, and skillfully threw it backhandedly.
Bull’s-eye!
The sniper lying in ambush received the brick directly on his head, causing blood to flow down his forehead. He collapsed unconscious on the ground.
Nan Zhou didn’t stop at all. He rushed towards the five-story building where the gunman was located and jumped up.
Grab the gun!
Only by getting the gun in hand could he take the initiative!
Someone in the crowd shouted angrily, “You, hurry up!”
As soon as the voice fell, a man hiding in the shadow of the alley quickly activated his prop item.
…An extremely valuable B-grade Lunar Card for him.
Stepping on the fire escape ladder outside the floors, Nan Zhou quickly moved up to the top floor at high speed. Suddenly, his foot slipped, and he stepped into the air from the edge of the tin ladder.
He grabbed it quickly and barely caught the handrail of the ladder, hanging in mid-air on the third floor.
But the strength of his arm muscles was also rapidly draining at a terrifying speed.
He raised his head in dismay, only to find that the original crescent moon had disappeared.
In its place was a golden full moon.
Amidst his rapid panting and heartbeats that were as intense as drum beats, Nan Zhou made a decisive move and let go of the handrail he was gripping.
And the next moment, a phantom-like flying knife appeared in the position where Nan Zhou had just hung.
——The target was supposed to be his heart.
Jiang Fang ran quickly, opened his arms, and caught him around the waist as he fell from the third floor.
The phantom dagger missed its target for the first time and fell straight down like a bird, only to aim at Nan Zhou’s chest again.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Nan Zhou pushed Jiang Fang away.
As the two rolled away from each other, the dagger made a resounding clang as its sharp edge struck the ground once more.
As it failed to strike again, this phantom dagger that could have made a double hit was rendered useless.
The owner of the dagger, who was hiding in the dark, was preparing to retrieve it when Nan Zhou abruptly flipped over and managed to catch the handle of the dagger just as it was about to be flung back. With all his might, he exerted force to firmly grasp it in the palm of his hand.
He crouched on the ground, his hands and mouth were scratched.
The strong smell of blood filled his mouth.
In this gruesome scene, his chest heaved uncontrollably like a provoked little beast.
As droplets of blood from his lips dripped onto the dagger, the once restless weapon grew suddenly still.
The person in the shadow slapped their thigh in anger.
Damn, it recognised the owner!
How can it be so coincidental!
Through the solid cement ground, Nan Zhou heard the sound of footsteps getting closer and closer, surrounding him.
Li Yinhang clutched the corner of her forehead that had just been bruised and struggled to get up from the ground.
In a daze, she saw a figure approaching her.
Just as she was about to draw her dagger, she heard a nervous and urgent female voice:
“Miss, run! The person following you is a boss who escaped from the instance!”
“Come over here quickly!”
No way Li Yinhang abandons Nan Zhou. I’m pretty sure she already suspected him anyway (if I’m remembering correctly) so this “rescue” plan is about to blow up in their faces. People always act righteous when meddling in others affairs without even bothering to get all the facts and hear from those directly involved 🙄
Btw, I don’t remember: why are they named Cube Boat?? xD
I swear it’s because they all have different characters for the word “boat” in their name, and since there’s 3 of them, then it would be boat^3 which is “boat cubed/Cube boat” or something like that
THAT’S WHAT IT WAS!
Thank you >~<
And what? I mean, what you will do with him? Experiments? In your game environment?
Thank you for your translation 💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛