บท 27: Chapter 27 - Kill Bill (3)
Tang Mo found out earlier that after the game was restored, the clothes on him were returned to their original state by the black tower. However, Cavis' clothes were gone forever. It appeared that the black tower could only return the information from when the player entered the instance. It couldn't control the life or death of the creatures in the instance. Thus, the injuries Tang Mo dealt to the earthworm during the second challenge of the instance hadn't healed.
Of course, the big earthworm couldn't understand Tang Mo's words. "You seem to be a good person. You wouldn't beat me like that man who drank alcohol."
...
Suddenly, its back scraped a sharp point and the injured band was pierced again.
The big earthworm started to cry. Tang Mo reached out a hand to catch the tears but he discovered…
The big earthworm was just making sounds! There wasn't a single tear!
Tang Mo's expression became very ugly.
If this instance was the same as Mario's Monopoly Game, he had to get the 'Earthworm's Tears' in order to leave the instance.
The kerosene lamp was broken and there was a flashlight on Tang Mo's body, but he didn't consider using it.
He tried to overcome the feeling of nausea and made himself forget that the sticky thing rubbing against him was a giant earthworm. He stretched out his hand and gently stroked the head of the giant earthworm.
The big earthworm's injuries were really caused by Tang Mo. Now he was comforting it while feeling slightly guilty. This thought made Tang Mo's actions more natural.
Before Tang Mo had entered the instance, his subconscious had a piece of information buried deep in it: the final boss of the S3 instance was the huge earthworm.
After the earth went online, Tang Mo's memory became excellent. He stayed at the entrance of the mall for over an hour and finally tracked Jack because Jack once said in the underground parking lot that he would try to clear the S3 instance and beat the big earthworm.
Tang Mo remembered these words so after entering the instance, his first thought was to defeat the big earthworm.
The final form of the instance made him feel surprised. He thought it was simply beating the earthworm. He hadn't expected so many restrictions. Thus, with this preconceived idea, Tang Mo's first choice to pass the instance was to attack the big earthworm. The second time, he thought it was too difficult to defeat the earthworm. His mind was focused on ways to defeat it and he didn't pay attention to other key points.
During the third challenge, he finally escaped from the misunderstanding set by Jack and found many doubtful parts.
First of all, this tunnel was very long. Tang Mo had walked carefully the first time and half of the 20 minutes had passed by the time he got to Bill. This was his pace that 'didn't delay the time but also wouldn't be sneak attacked by a monster.' Therefore, he only had five minutes left to face the big earthworm.
If he had miscalculated, he wouldn't have seen the big earthworm and the 20 minutes would've been over. The time limit was a bit unreasonable, not giving the players a high chance of clearing the instance.
Secondly, there were obvious doubts that could only be discovered with careful observation. For example, the wounds on the red-haired man's chest were obviously not caused by the earthworm. They were caused by a sharp weapon. There was also some ambiguous language. A few small language clues implied that Bill wasn't the earthworm.
In addition, there were the hints from the black tower. The black tower said that only the big stick could harm the earthworm and then that Bill couldn't see the light. The black tower used two different nouns. If the earthworm was Bill, it wouldn't have used two different names.
However, the black tower misled players.
The earthworm was afraid of light and Bill couldn't see the light.
Tang Mo couldn't explain why Bill couldn't see the light. But when he thought about it, he found that this wording was too ambiguous. You could say that Bill was afraid of the light like the earthworm (although he didn't react when seeing the kerosene lamp) or he was a man who couldn't see the light.
An animal afraid of light couldn't see the light. A villain who did something wicked also couldn't see the light.
This was a very deep loophole hidden in the language.
The big earthworm was still not crying.
Tang Mo kept stroking its head while thinking about how to get tears from it.
This disgusting and ugly worm was lying in Tang Mo's arms and fake crying.
Tang Mo comforted it for a moment while saying helplessly, "You can't completely blame me for hurting you. You must blame the black tower. It gave the players a time limit of 20 minutes. I did my best to run over without wasting a second and there were 15 minutes left. Normal people might not be in such a hurry the first time. But they would be anxious after failing. There is no time to pay attention to previous hints and vulnerabilities…is it hard to understand?"
It was reasonable to say that the earthworm wouldn't understand Tang Mo's words. It just 'cried' louder.
"…" Tang Mo touched it, silently saying: forget it, it was his fault.
Tang Mo touched it for a long time and the earthworm fell silent. Tang Mo was wondering why it wasn't making any sounds when he heard a loud snore.
Tang Mo, "…"
It just escaped from the cage. Couldn't it be a bit wary!
It was impossible to fully reproduce the scene of the earthworm's escape from the cage but Tang Mo could guess some facts according to the red-haired man, Bill and the earthworm.
The head of the circus caught the earthworm from somewhere and wanted to use it as a treasure to be appreciated by the audience tomorrow evening. The circus leader arranged for the red-haired man to guard the earthworm with Bill. But when Bill was drunk, he liked to use the stick to hit the big earthworm. The red-haired man said that Bill was crazy. He should be referring to the fact that Bill almost killed the earthworm. Thus, the big earthworm resisted fiercely.
The cage must've broken when it resisted.
The red-haired man couldn't just sit aside and watch Bill kill the leader's treasure. He certainly tried to stop Bill.
Tang Mo's eyes looked elsewhere in the dark cave. When he entered the cavern the second time, he saw a table in the corner with beer bottles on it. There were also some wine bottles scattered on the ground.
If the wound on the red-haired man's chest was made with a beer bottle after Bill was drunk, it would be understandable why he said that Bill was crazy.
Bill had an injury on his head and his leg must've been broken by the earthworm.
The cage was locked tightly but it was broken by the earthworm.
Bill said that he tried his best to escape from the earthworm's cave but once he reached halfway, he found that his leg was broken too thoroughly and he couldn't walk anymore. The red-haired man naturally wouldn't care about him after Bill went crazy and wounded him. On the other hand, the monster broke away from the cage. The red-haired man abandoned his companion and escaped first.
"If you had broken the cage earlier and killed Bill, you wouldn't have been hit so much."
In response to Tang Mo, the earthworm's snoring became louder.
20 minutes was the limit that the black tower gave to players. This led to the players having no time to pursue clues. But it was also for the player's protection. As long as they weren't too weak, a normal reserve player should be able to survive for 20 minutes. Then they could choose to withdraw from the instance.
This was a S-type instance.
In terms of difficulty, it was much lower than Mario's Monopoly Game. Death wasn't possible without greed.
Tang Mo sat on the ground and waited for the earthworm to finish sleeping for half an hour. Finally, the big earthworm woke up and Tang Mo heard it saying, "I'm hungry, so hungry. I miss my mother…"
It still wasn't crying.
Tang Mo stood up and the earthworm immediately raised its upper body.
Tang Mo couldn't see the big earthworm in the dark but he felt that it could see what he was doing. Tang Mo touched the cave wall and walked into the tunnel. The big earthworm still hadn't moved. Tang Mo walked to the entrance and beckoned, "Come here."
The large earthworm didn't respond.
Tang Mo didn't know what method to use but they had to leave first. Otherwise, the red-haired man might really call his colleagues and Tang Mo believed that the circus leader wouldn't let him go easily.
Tang Mo walked into the tunnel. He walked very slowly, stopping from time to time to make a waving gesture. He wanted the earthworm to follow him.
It took him a minute to walk 10 metres and the big earthworm still hadn't moved. Tang Mo had just given up and was looking for other ways to collect the earthworm's tears when he heard the sound of a heavy object slipping across the ground.
Tang Mo's lips slightly curved as he touched the wall and walked towards the beginning of the tunnel.
The big earthworm followed him slowly behind him. In the beginning, it was still very far away. But by the time he walked a hundred metres, the earthworm was right behind Tang Mo and even rubbed its ahead against Tang Mo's hair.
Tang Mo wanted to hit this slimy thing but fortunately he resisted. He took a few deep breaths and kept moving forward.
As they walked by Bill's corpse, the earthworm hissed with fear, "Bad person!"
Tang Mo rubbed its head and continued walking forward with the big earthworm.
They finally returned to the starting point.
Tang Mo couldn't turn on the flashlight. Thus, in the darkness, he touched the head of the big earthworm. He felt that the big earthworm became very excited after reaching this place. It was hitting the ground impatiently with its tail.
"If you want to go, before leaving…can you give me some tears?" Tang Mo tried to discuss it with the earthworm. "One drop is enough. Not a false cry. What do you think about really crying?"
The big earthworm shouted, "I'm hungry. I will go home to see my mother, my mother!"
Tang Mo who painstakingly brought the earthworm here, "…"
The sound of the earthworm hitting the ground with its tail never stopped. Tang Mo initially thought it was so excited that it was expressing its delight this way. Suddenly, the tail smashed heavily into a piece of dirt and there was a click, as if a door had opened.
Tang Mo looked with surprise in the direction of the sound.
The big earthworm cried out, "I'm going home!" Then it moved in the direction of the door.
Tang Mo urgently pulled at the earthworm's tail. "Wait a minute, can you give me a teardrop?" Tang Mo paused before attempting, "Hiss, hiss hiss?"
"What is this strange man saying?'
Tang Mo, "…"
The large earthworm twisted its tail, broke free from Tang Mo's hands and headed towards the tunnel exit. Just as it was about to leave, the sliding sound stopped and it slowly moved to Tang Mo's side, rubbing its head against Tang Mo's face.
It didn't know that why it was rubbing against his face, Tang Mo's right hand was on his left wrist as he stared indifferently into the darkness.
Tang Mo couldn't leave this instance without the earthworm's tears.
Now that the main mission was over, he could use his abilities and the big match.
No matter what method he used, he had to get out of here.
"I want to go home…" The hissing sound was heard again.
Tang Mo's eyes narrowed and a big match suddenly appeared in his right hand. He raised the big match high and aimed it at the big earthworm's pink band. This shouldn't kill it but it would make the earthworm stay. After the earthworm stayed, Tang Mo would have a chance to slowly find the tears.
The match was just about to hit the big earthworm when the earthworm's voice was heard, "You are a good person."
As it spoke, a drop of moist liquid fell on Tang Mo's face. The big earthworm hissed and twisted its tail. The huge body slammed into the ground and disappeared from the cave in a few moments.
Tang Mo was frozen. A moment later, he reached for the tears on his face and placed the match back in the tattoo.
A white light flashed before him and once Tang Mo opened his eyes, he had returned to the abandoned factory in the Pudong District.
Tang Mo had entered the instance when it was noon and the moon was already up. The rate of time flow in the instance wasn't the same as the outside world. Tang Mo vaguely estimated the time before quickly leaving the factory in case someone was in the vicinity of the instance entrance.
He found an empty car repair shop and hid after closing the door.
Tang Mo reached out and pulled the earthworm's tears from his cheeks.
The tears had still been liquid when they landed on Tang Mo's face, but they quickly became solid after contact with the air. Tang Mo didn't turn on the lights of the car repair store. He lay on the floor and shone his flashlight on the tears.
The crystal clear tears were like small diamonds in the light, a drop-shaped diamond.
Tang Mo knocked on the tears three times and there was no response. He raised the tears above his head and nothing happened. Tang Mo tried to burn the tears and soak them in water. Once he wiped the tears with a rag, lines of words appeared on the tears.
[Prop: The Earthworm's Tears]
[Owner: Tang Mo]
[Quality: General]
[Level: 1]
[Attack: None]
[Function: Wipe the tears on the wounds. It can quickly heal injuries and repair broken limbs.
[Restrictions: Can only be used three times.]
[Note: I don't think Tang Mo is interested in remembering how he got these tears.]
Tang Mo thought for a moment. This time the abilities book was wrong. If he had to rub his face against the earthworm again then he was willing to…rub it once.
The reward from this instance was far inferior in quality to Mario's hat or the turkey egg. It might be general quality but for Tang Mo, it was an indispensable prop.
In the past seven days, Tang Mo had collected six abilities. None of them had a healing effect.
Right now, his physical quality was very good. As long as he didn't break his leg, he could heal from wounds after a fight. But if he was injured while in a fight with someone, Tang Mo didn't have time for his injuries to heal. The earthworm's tears could immediately restore his combat effectiveness. At the same time, the earthworm's tears could repair broken limbs.
"It is a pity that it can only be used three times." The S-type instance is a lot simpler than other instances and it isn't too life threatening, but the reward is worse…"
Tang Mo used his hands as a pillow and looked up at the ceiling of the car repair store.
In Pudong, Shanghai, the underground parking lot of a mall.
A muscular blond man was sitting in a chair with a gloomy expression and spoke honestly about the strange things he encountered today.
Jack said, "I didn't clear the instance after killing the big earthworm."
Luo Fengcheng's expression slightly changed and he sat up. "Are you sure you killed it? The earthworm can have its body broken into two or three segments and it won't die. How did you kill it?"
Jack felt wronged. "I really killed it. Dr. Luo, I did it according to what you said. I broke the stick into two pieces and used both hands to smash the earthworm. It wasn't hard but it was a bit difficult to do it in 20 minutes. I tried many times before I was successfully. But it died and my mission still failed.
Luo Fengcheng stood up and paced around the room. He turned. "From now on, tell me everything you experienced in the instance. The rules of the black tower, the words of the two men, tell me clearly."
Jack scratched his head and tried to remember.
One hour later, Luo Fengcheng punched the table. He didn't look very good. "Bill isn't the earthworm. You have to kill the blond man on the ground."
"What?"
"Originally, the S3 instance isn't as difficult as you say. It just gave you a trap of directional thinking. It made you sure that you have to kill the last monster that appeared." Luo Fengcheng rubbed his eyes wearily. "Tomorrow, go kill the blond man and you will definitely pass the instance."
Jack nodded happily and didn't ask about what he misunderstood. He turned away from the room.
The next day at noon, Jack headed to the factory with two companions from the organization to enter the instance. "I thought this instance was my favorite fighting type instance and didn't expect to use my brain. I hate this type of instance the most. Later, I won't come back to this type. I will give it to you and Dr. Luo. You wait, I'll come out later."
Jack stepped on the manhole cover. However, a long time passed and nothing happened.
He stepped twice on it in case there was an error then the other two people surrounded him.
One person said, "It looks like someone has cleared it. According to Dr. Luo, this instance isn't difficult and the entrance is quite large. There are many people in the mall who know the location of the entrance. It isn't surprising that someone would clear it. Jack, you shouldn't be so reckless in the future and should think more."
The second person said, "Forget about this instance. Let's try the S1 instance."
Jack's depressed expression brightened as soon as he heard about the S1 instance. "Let's go! The S1 instance is interesting. I will go to the last gorilla!"
Tang Mo didn't know that his development made Jack miss the chance to clear the S3 instance. Even if he did know, he wouldn't change it. He followed Jack to quickly clear an instance (this was one of the reasons why he proceeded immediately against the earthworm without thinking) in order to earn the instance reward and increased his winning percentage in the tower attack game three days later.
There were still two days left after clearing the S3 instance. Tang Mo stayed in the vicinity of the mall as he prepared to clear another S-type instance. However, he was following a member called Tang Qiao only to accidentally trigger an instance halfway there.
This was a single player instance and wasn't very difficult. It was simpler than the S3 instance with the earthworm but it was very time consuming.
By the time Tang Mo left the instance, it was the morning of the 10th day.
At 17:00 on the 23rd of November, Tang Mo was informed by the black tower to participate in the tower attack game. The black tower's time was always in accordance with the human time system. The 'three day elimination period' started at 8 a.m. on November 15th and ended at 8 a.m. on November 18th.
According to these calculations, there was 10 hours left before Tang Mo would be pulled into the tower attack game.
Tang Mo checked his backpack and determined there was nothing missing. Then he headed to a hardware store. The store was turned upside down. It was apparent that people had come here to look for weapons after the game started.
Tang Mo found a sharp knife in the rubbish heap. He went to a small room behind the hardware store, took out the big match and started sharpening the knife with the big match.
The wooden handle of the match was rubbed against the sharp blade and didn't lost any sawdust. On the other hand, the blade was sharpened and revealed a cold, metallic luster.
Tang Mo used the same method to polish two small knives and four small darts. He tied the knife to his right leg and the four small darts were hidden in his pocket. The big match was more powerful than the knife and darts, but it wasn't omnipotent. Sometimes a knife would play a greater role.
Once his weapons were prepared, Tang Mo headed to a convenience store and found half a bottle of water and a packet of biscuits under the counter.
After the earth went online, Tang Mo's physical fitness improved and he found that his demand for food and water had become lower. This phenomenon became more apparent after Mario's Monopoly Game. Tang Mo calculated that based on his need for food and water, the packet of biscuits and half a bottle of water was sufficient to stop him feeling hungry for three days. His physical fitness wouldn't be affected for four days.
There was a chance that the instance time might go for too long and he wouldn't have any food and water. Therefore, Tang Mo found several other convenience stores and supplemented his resources.
It was already one in the afternoon.
Tang Mo sat in a small restaurant and looked out the window calmly. It took around five minutes for someone to walk outside the window but he watched silently for a long time. He didn't speak or move. He just sat there for more than an hour.
Three hours later, Tang Mo would participate in the tower attack game.
Half a month ago, all Chinese players were pulled into the black tower by Fu Wenduo and forced to participate in the tower attack game. At that time, Tang Mo had participated in the mentally-handicapped mode. This time, Tang Mo knew he wouldn't be facing the mentally-handicapped mode. It would be the real tower attack game.
The black tower had a total of seven floors. On the first day when the game officially began, it announced the three major rules of the black tower.
The third rule: all players please attack the tower.
The attack tower games were absolutely not as simple as the S-type instances and would probably be harder than Mario's game.
Tang Mo couldn't guarantee that he would survive.
Every minute and every second was probably the final countdown of his life.
This restaurant was located in a corner of a commercial street. There were a few pieces of plastic green leaves on the window edge and a few flower pots. It was a peaceful and quiet atmosphere. This store must've been a very quiet place before the earth went online. Maybe the business wasn't very good but there would be a few frequent visitors who enjoyed their time here, as if to escape from the world or to have a space to relax.
Tang Mo slowly closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
It was three in the afternoon.
Tang Mo took out the turkey egg, knocked on it three times and whispered, "Mr. Fu."
There was the strange sound of music in his ear and Fu Wenduo didn't reply immediately. After a few minutes, Tang Mo heard 'the scheduled task two has been completed.'
Then Fu Wenduo said, "What happened? Is there something?"
Tang Mo asked, "Are you playing a game?"
Fu Wenduo took a deep breath. "Yes, I was accidentally pulled into an instance and just completed the second branch mission."
The original stowaway Fu Wenduo was also pulled into instances.
There wasn't much of an expression on Tang Mo's face. He leaned back in his chair and spoke in a calm voice, "Mr. Fu. This is the situation. I will be entering the tower attack game in two hours."
The sound on the other end of the turkey egg stopped for a few seconds before soon returning to normal. Fu Way grabbed the main point. "The tower attack game? You are going to attack the first floor of the black tower? Did the tower pull you in?"
Tang Mo's heart was calm now that he could speak about this matter.
"The black tower informed me 10 days ago that I will be playing the tower attack game at five o'clock this afternoon. I've done my best to prepare as much as possible. Before I attack the tower, I want to trouble you…can you tell me a little bit about what you encountered while you were attacking the tower? His voice paused before Tang Mo continued again. "You don't have to say it if you don't want to."
Fu Wenduo responded quickly this time. "After I entered the black tower, I got the main mission to steal a most precious turkey egg from a turkey. The turkey egg was our archiver. But once I entered the game, I had four other companions for a total of five people. They didn't know who I was but they couldn't hide their hostility towards me. At the same time, their task was to protect the turkey egg."
Tang Mo frowned. "Your task was exactly the opposite?"
"Yes," Fu Wenduo said. "I hid my main task and entered the vast underground world with them. The people there are called the underground people. The dividing line between humans and monsters is clear. In the middle of their world, there is a pink river. The left bank of the river is the underground kingdom and the right bank is the monster world. The turkey was in the monster world."
After saying this, Fu Wenduo stopped speaking and there was the sound of fierce fighting from the turkey egg.
Five minutes later, Fu Wenduo gave a little gasp and continued, "We arrived in the underground world. In order to reach the monster world, we needed to cross the pink river. I will call it the Pink River for the moment. There was a ferry boat on the Pink River. The only way to cross a river is to play a game. In order for the ferry to go forward, it must have a boatman. The boatman is an underground person. A maximum of three people can be on board every time but there can't be less than two people. If the boatman is alone onboard, he will go away with the boat…"
Tang Mo listened carefully to Fu Wenduo's words. His fingers tapped on the table as he thought carefully about the three games Fu Wenduo explained.
Fu Wenduo's final fight with the turkey sounded the easiest.
Fu Wenduo didn't introduce his ability. He just said that the giant turkey suddenly attacked them. Three of his four companions died and only one escaped. His identity as a stowaway was discovered by the turkey. The turkey tried to eat him so he fought it and finally succeeded in claiming the most precious archiver egg from thousands of turkey eggs. Thus, he cleared the first floor.
Tang Mo thought for a moment.
The three games that Fu Wenduo experienced weren't impossible, he just needed to spend more time on them. The hardest part was fighting the turkey at the end.
Fu Wenduo didn't say it but it was obvious that he had an offensive ability. The giant turkey shouldn't be weaker than the big mole. Last time, Tang Mo was unable to compete with the big mole and now he felt that he could escape from it. However, his chances of defeating the big mole was less than 20%.
But he wasn't a stowaway.
Fu Wenduo was a stowaway and all black tower monsters wanted to eat him. This was an advantage that Tang Mo had over Fu Wenduo.
After listening to all this information, Tang Mo looked at the turkey egg on the table before saying, "Thank you."
Fu Wenduo had already ended his instance game. Fu Wenduo whispered, "If there is only one remaining turkey egg, I don't know if I can continue to save the game. I hope you can pass the black tower floor. I really need the save function of this turkey egg."
Tang Mo knew this, which was why he came to Fu Wenduo for information.
If Tang Mo wasn't going to attack the tower, Fu Wenduo wouldn't have easily said this. But now it was a moment of life and death. Tang Mo wasn't stupid enough to think that the Chinese stowaway would have a good feeling towards him after a few short exchanges. He felt that both sides didn't want the other to die. Once one of them died, there was no guarantee that the turkey egg could be used.
Even Fu Wenduo couldn't easily give up on a legendary quality turkey egg.
But Tang Mo still said, "Thank you."
This was the second time he said it and Fu Wenduo stayed quiet, not responding for a long time. After a long time, Tang Mo heard a deep laughter. Fu Wenduo's voice was filled with laughter as he said, "You are very strong. You will live. You aren't a stowaway and should have it easier than me."
Tang Mo suddenly wanted to know how the other person had become a stowaway and who he killed. But he didn't ask. He just laughed. "Rest assured, I don't want to die."
The two people had a tacit understanding and no longer spoke. Tang Mo closed the turkey egg.
Tang Mo put the turkey egg back in his pocket, carried his bag and walked out of the small restaurant. He returned to Jing'an District from Pudong and came near Nanjing Road. He was now in a very relaxed mood as he walked towards the black tower suspended above Huangpu River. His eyes were firm and calm.
The sun fell slowly, the golden light shining on this oriental metropolis.
On the west side of the city, there were two black dots. The black dots became bigger and bigger. Eventually, they reached the Shanghai toll station and rushed into the city with all their strength.
They were two injured people. One person's left arm was broken and flesh was still clinging to the body where it hadn't been peeled off properly. The other person was covered with blood and every step was very hard, as if they would fall at any time.
A middle-aged woman passing by on the street saw the two men and ran away with fright.
A young girl emerged around the corner and was pulled over by one of them before she could run. The man shook as he pulled the girl's arm. He was almost crying as he asked, "Shanghai…does Shanghai have them? Is there any in Shanghai? Is there?"
The girl was frightened to tears. "What are you talking about? Who are you? My friend is an official player. He has an ability. You don't want to harm me. If you harm me, he…he will get revenge!"
The man with the broken left arm spoke in a hoarse voice, "Stowaways! Are there any in Shanghai? Does this place have them?"
The girl replied, "Of course there are."
The two men were filled with despair as they sank to the ground.
"Here…there is a stowaways organization here…"
The girl wondered, "What is a stowaways organization? The stowaway organized a group?"
The broken armed man shook and grabbed the girl's shoulder, "No? Shanghai doesn't have an organization of stowaways? There is none!"
The girl was crying with fright and couldn't speak.
At the same time, Tang Mo stood under the huge black tower and looked up at it.
He listened to a cheerful music in his head followed by the clear and loud child's voice.
"Ding dong! The black tower's first floor (normal mode) is officially opened. The single player game is loading…"
"Sandbox is being generated…"
"Sandbox loading complete…"
"Welcome to the monster world!"
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