Translator-Rhapsodite
Editor-PerpetualMreow, Proofreader-adjective
February 15th, 7 a.m.
Early in the morning, AI XiaoBai stood at the head of Ji Dong’s bed and woke him.
Today was the day all players in the [Peach Blossom Spring] would participate in the [Film].
Ji Dong ate a large breakfast, packed the props, and followed the time guide on his watch to the Hourglass Cube.
When he arrived, more than ten other players had formed a line in front of the building’s main entrance.
Ji Dong could not find any familiar faces in the queue, and nobody said anything to anyone. Each face bore the expression of a prisoner awaiting their death sentence; everyone was anxious, restless, and solemn.
The line moved very fast. Two minutes later, Ji Dong entered the Hourglass Cube.
The hall where he had registered only eleven days ago, had vanished. He could only see one corridor in front of him and a single door at the end.
Ji Dong opened the door after crossing the corridor.
Then, as he opened the door, he felt his consciousness forcibly ripped out of his flesh by an unknown force. And, everything faded away.
“Hey, Ji Xiao’niao!”
In his haze, Ji Dong could vaguely feel that someone was slapping him on the cheek, “Wake up, wake up!”
He turned over and jumped up.
While waking up, the clue of the [Film] popped into his mind.
Ji Dong, now a researcher at a research facility, was being escorted by a special forces squad to investigate a mysterious event.
There was an iron mine in the mountains and forests of a locality. A tiny settlement called “Sunset Town” had been established nearby by hundreds of miners and their families.
Ten years ago, the miners dug out something from the depths of the tunnel.
Half a month later, the mine announced its shutdown, all personnel withdrew, and a mysterious scientific research institution took over and built a large research institute on the original site of the mine.
Sunset Town, however, did not suffer from the mine’s closure. The townsfolk volunteered to help the research institute, and, without anyone’s awareness, a new cult stealthily arose in the town.
However, half a month ago, without warning, a massive light film engulfed Sunset Town, the mines behind the town, and the neighboring mountains and woods.
The outside world could not get in touch with the research institute in the mine or the residents of Sunset Town by any means. The officials sent two investigation teams in succession, but they all went in and didn’t come out, which meant there was no news from then on.
Ji Dong and his teammates played the members of the third investigation team, escorted by a team of soldiers, who were ready to enter Sunset Town and investigate.
“Son of a bitch, this is the beginning of an old-fashioned thriller plot!”
Ji Dong rubbed his sore cheeks and sat up straight.
He found himself in the back of a military pickup truck, dressed in white work clothes, next to Ren Jianmo, who was dressed similarly. Across from them sat Mo Tiangen, who was dressed in a camouflage military uniform with a gun at his waist.
Mr. Dagen was accompanied by two big brother soldiers with ruffian expressions. One of them was still chewing on a piece of gum.
“Oh, team leader Ji, you finally woke up? Did you sleep well?”
The gum chewing soldier gave him a light smile.
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.
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These two troops were not the same as the [Peach Blossom Spring] players. They were storyline characters in the [Film], much like NPCs in online games.
To demonstrate the connection between the players and the role, the [Film] gave Ji Dong and Ren Jianmo the identity of an institution researcher and Teacher Dagen became a member of the special forces.
“You appear to have guessed correctly.”
Ji Dong attentively examined Mo Tiangen’s clothes, leaned to Ren Jianmo’s ear, his eyes gleamed with admiration, and he said,
“It wasn’t worth wasting points on guns and ammunition.”
Ren Jianmo didn’t say anything but smiled lightly.
He thought the child was very clever and had a good attitude, but he needed to work on his observation skills.
After watching the trailer, Ji Dong and Mo Tiangen thought they were about to face a group of human monsters. At least each should change a gun and bring it into the [Film].
However, this proposal was rejected by Ren Jianmo.
Because he saw many soldiers in the trailer were big guys with lethal weapons.
Ren Jianmo felt that this at least showed that in the next [Film], they could find weapons such as guns and ammunition through the plot, and they didn’t need to especially bring them out from the [Peach Blossom Spring].
More importantly, they didn’t have enough points to trade for better equipment than what the soldiers had, so they didn’t have to spend their points unnecessarily.
Thinking of this, Ren Jianmo stretched out his hand and patted Ji Dong twice on the head.
——This kid was such a curly-haired child who even brazenly said that he wants to protect all his teammates!
However, for Ren Jianmo, even though Ji Dong and Mo Tiangen were too innocent and gullible, they were good at listening to his opinions.
After listening to his analysis, Ji Dong and Mo Tiangen felt what he said was very reasonable, so they gave up their plan to exchange points for guns from the [Peach Blossom Spring], and changed them into other props according to his instructions.
Of course, in addition to props, Ji Dong and Mo Tiangen also used points to do some physical strengthening.
As an upright athletic man with a straight aesthetic, Mr. Dagen didn’t resist the temptation and spent thousands of points on increasing muscle and strength. Now he was consciously capable of carrying the tripod. It was not a problem for him to play with it ten at a time.
Ji Xiao’niao didn’t care so much about his physical fitness but focused on strengthening his eyesight, arm strength, and wrist strength.
Although it was of little use now, Ji Dong had a hunch that the greatest weapon he could use was the one he grew up with: his bow and arrow. It wouldn’t be this time, but it could be the next. One day, he would pick up his bow and arrow again.
———————–
The military pickup truck proceeded down the twisting mountain highway for a bit before slowing down and coming to a stop.
“Here we are.”
The soldier in the crooked beret spit out his gum, got up, pulled open the door, and jumped down first.
Ji Dong adjusted his clothes, carried the backpack with their props, and followed the soldiers out of the car.
He looked up and saw a transparent “high wall” looming before him.
The high wall was made of a thin light film that resembled the clear cellophane used to wrap gifts at Christmas. Ji Dong experimented with changing the angle of viewing and discovered that it refracted light and changed colors as if there was a layer of liquid moving gently over the surface.
Two other pickup trucks also stopped in front of the “high wall”.
When the rear compartment opened, twelve people came down one after another. Four of them were dressed in white work clothes like Ji Dong, and the remaining eight were dressed as soldiers.
“Since we are all here, let’s go in.”
A female soldier emerged from the crowd, hung her gun over her shoulder, and went to stand in front of the translucent film-shaped high wall.
Ji Dong turned his head and carefully observed the talking lady.
The other party looked to be about thirty years old. She had bright facial features, a tall body, and hair cut short and dyed crimson. At first glance, her hairstyle looked like the hero of a famous Japanese basketball anime.
She wore a black watch on her left wrist.
Based on this alone, Ji Dong could judge that she must be a player like himself.
The red-haired beauty was probably the head of these special forces. She spoke with great weight. As soon as her voice sounded, the soldiers quickly lined up and protected several researchers in the middle in a fan shape.
“Hey, are you also a player?”
“Come to the rear and stand!” The red-haired female officer said to Mo Tiangen, who didn’t know how to line up. She stretched out her long legs in military boots and booted him in the ass.
He didn’t know if he was intimidated by the other party’s prestige. Mr. Dagen didn’t say a word, bowed his head and walked to the vacant position of the fan formation, stood well, and didn’t dare to move.
“Let’s go!”
The red-haired beauty said, taking the lead to walk towards the film-shaped high wall, and others, whether the players or the plot characters of the [Film] themselves, obediently followed her orders.
Ji Dong took Ren Jianmo’s hand and fell to the end of the group.
“Hey…”
He lowered his voice and whispered to the person beside him, “What would happen if we turned around, left now, and resolutely didn’t go in?”
Before Ren Jianmo could answer, the man in front of them turned back first.
The man’s face was unremarkable, neither handsome nor ugly. He had a round face, thick brows, and the expression he had was very complicated to understand. He appeared to be a game-addicted otaku.
“I advise you not to do so.”
The guy wiped the sweat from his forehead and stressed nervously, “We will die. The plot will kill us.”
Not following the plot would result in the plot arrangement’s destruction, which was referred to as: plot killing.
In the game, for example, there were several scenarios in which some characters might die. Those scenarios would appear as long as the player progressed. It couldn’t be changed no matter how hard the player tried.
In other words, if any player dares not enter the known plot trigger point according to the setting, but instead chose to avoid it or hide, the rules of the [Peach Blossom Spring] would give him a plot kill that the player couldn’t escape no matter what, and that player would be dead forever.
Ji Dong promptly revised his decision and continued to march ahead with the large force.
Ji Dong felt an unexplainable sensation of oppression as he passed through the translucent film.
The air at the film seemed to condense into an invisible colloid, which brushed against his skin, chilly and greasy, causing him to get goosebumps involuntarily.
“I’m going…”
Ji Dong shivered and looked up at the sky, “This place is more strange than the [City of Ashes]…”
At this time, they were like a few small flying insects that accidentally broke into a huge soap bubble. Everything they could see was shrouded in a transparent film.
Obviously, it was still daytime, the sky was clear but as soon as they passed through the high wall, they immediately felt that the light inside was much darker than it was outside.
Furthermore, the film appeared to filter light waves of specific wavelengths. Everything everyone saw appeared to be filtered through a blue-green filter.
Ji Dong used the sleeves of his white work clothing as a reference and concluded that the experience of seeing objects in blue and green was real, not a psychological adverse he had developed after spending a long period in the woods.
“Reporting to the captain!”
After playing with a walkie-talkie for a while, a special forces soldier looked up and said to the red haired female officer, “All our communicators have lost their signals.”
“Yes.”
The red-haired beauty lifted her eyelids to look at the soldier, and replied coldly, “I know.”
In truth, the messenger was not required to report. This was something that every player was aware of.
The basic setup of horror films was that the communication equipment failed and the protagonist was unable to communicate with the outside world. It is the same as 1+1=2. It would be shocking if this individual told them that the walkie-talkie worked and that they could call headquarters at any time.
“In short, let’s hurry.” The female officer said, “We have to get to Sunset Town before dark.”
———————–
Despite the failure of all communication equipment, the setting of the [Film] was not so ridiculous that they couldn’t even use the compass.
So, using a map and compass, the group searched for road signs in the mountains and forests and headed towards Sunset Town.
Even though the mountain road was rugged and difficult, and the surrounding environment was strange, the progress bar displayed on the player’s watches was still in the initial state, and the color of the pointer was also a safe green, so everyone’s expression was very calm, and the atmosphere was still relaxed.
Taking this opportunity, Ji Dong, Ren Jianmo, and Mo Tiangen exchanged information with the other team.
Since the [Peach Blossom Spring] had the rule that you could search the room number when you know the appearance and name of the player, the participants of different teams generally wouldn’t exchange their real names until they were entirely confident in the other party’s trustworthiness.
When Ji Dong introduced himself, he just called himself Ji Xiao’niao. At the same time, he called Mo Tiangen and Ren Jianmo, Dagen, and Mr. Ren.
As for the other team, there were five people.
The red-haired beauty was the captain. She gave herself a very tacky but arrogant code name called Flaming Rose.
The remaining four people, including the otaku who had spoken to Ji Dong before, also introduced themselves. The otaku was called Fatty Huang, the two tall, thin, young men, were brothers who were called Xiong Da and Xiong Er, and the last person was a delicate and gentle young girl named Linglong.
Rose told them that the people in her team were entering the [Film] for the third time.
After this time, the five people would be forced to upgrade to level B difficulty by the rules, so they were here to try their best to stimulate the abilities of all members.
“I don’t like playing tricks. But if you pit me, I will hurt you, so I’ll start by saying, first the villain and then a gentleman, and put words first.”
The red-haired beauty walked along the aisle, “There are only three powers in our team now, and we need at least two special props, so if we encounter anything that may be collectible prop, we will grab it.”
She raised her eyebrows at Ji Dong and the others and gave them a provocative smile, “If you want it too, let’s do it according to our abilities. Whoever gets it first will get the prop, how about it?”
Ji Dong looked at Mo Tiangen and Ren Jianmo and silently estimated their combat effectiveness.
He himself had inspired powers.
Although the name and usage rules of the [Ordinary Power Bank] were very stupid, it was better to use it first.
Mr. Dagen had no powers. Considering the future [Films] he must find a special prop for him.
As for Ren Jianmo…
Ji Dong looked away. “Okay.”
He nodded.
Tysm for the chapter! The film kinda reminds me of Annihilation (2018), especially the Shimmer
Thank you for the chapter!
They still didn’t explain Ji Dong’s powers, right?
Oh Kagami Taiga
GAHHHH