บท 6: Nothing
บรรณาธิการ: EndlessFantasy Translation
From the moment she received the prompt and entered the space, Song Qingxiao still had no idea what the 'Trial of God' would be like. After all, the clues that they had up to then were limited.
After they had split off into groups to explore the space, they received instructions about a task, and nine cards appeared in her mind. She did not know if the cards had anything to do with the nine people in the space. Until she was clear about the situation, the presence of the dagger made Song Qingxiao feel safer.
"When I entered this place, I was on the way home from work and met with an accident…"
Song Qingxiao did not mention the incident where she encountered an assailant on her way home. The middle-aged man did not appear to suspect her of lying. After all, based on his and the girl's situation, the things that were in their hands right now had something to do with what they were holding when they accepted the 'Trial of God'.
However, neither the girl's phone nor the computer mouse that he had tossed aside were of any use in a place like that. The short and fat man felt that it was quite normal that Song Qingxiao was not holding anything when she entered the space. Even if she had something, the item she would have gotten was likely not to be of much use.
Despite that, the man looked at Song Qingxiao and thought she looked a little embarrassed.
After Song Qingxiao had entered the space, her hair and clothes were still drenched from the rain even though the wound on her neck disappeared. Her hair was soaked in muddy water, and it was plastered to her face. Her thick bangs stuck to her face after being drenched by the rain. The sharp contrast between her black hair and the paleness of her skin made it more evident that her skin was deathly white. It appeared devoid of blood.
She must have been startled by the weird space because she had not stopped shivering since she entered. The middle-aged man looked at her in disgust and immediately turned his head away. In contrast, the timid girl looked more pleasant to the eye next to her.
"Did you guys receive any instructions?"
The fog around them had mostly cleared. As far as they could see, it seemed as though there was nothing dangerous around them at the moment. That made the middle-aged man feel more settled. He raised his head and appeared to imitate the doctor's manner of speech from before. He put on a tone of being in control and directed that question to the two ladies before him.
Song Qingxiao did not speak. The girl appeared more naive, so she answered the middle-aged man truthfully.
"Yes, I did. When we first entered this place, I received a picture."
She appeared to have seen nine cards in her mind with mysterious patterns just like Song Qingxiao. She did not seem to know what the point of the cards were. However, the weird pattern on the backs of the cards made her uneasy.
"What about you guys?"
Since they were in that situation, Song Qingxiao guessed that all the mysterious instructions had been received by all nine people who had entered the space. The key to getting out was probably laid within those instructions.
Since everyone received the same instructions, it was not necessary for her to hide it. Hence, she nodded in response to the girl's question to indicate that she had also received the same instructions. The middle-aged man seemed to be deep in thought. It appeared as though he had still not figured out the purpose of those cards, which was why he admitted that he had also received the exact instructions.
"I think that we should return to where we came from and wait for the others before we discuss this."
As soon as he said that, the girl looked like she welcomed that idea. Song Qingxiao stayed silent for a moment before saying in a quiet voice, "The space has disappeared."
As soon as she spoke, the middle-aged man and the girl seemed to have noticed the problem as well. They turned their heads around and looked in all directions. The fog surrounding them had dissipated, but it had not disappeared completely. The light and visibility was only slightly better than before.
The place where they stood was an empty space. The area far away was still enveloped in thick, gray fog, and there were a couple of dark shadows over there that looked like strange beasts who devoured humans.
It was true that the space where all of them were before had disappeared. They could not tell which direction they had come from or even where they were. The middle-aged man immediately looked a little downcast.
"Sh*t!" He cursed. "What kind of f*cking place is this?"
The girl started to tremble. Song Qingxiao was also a little afraid. She once again stroked the dagger that was concealed in her sleeve. The sharp edge of the dagger gave her a sense of security in her circumstances. She rallied herself to be brave and looked cautiously around her. She tried to find something memorable to act as a landmark to prevent them from getting lost.
The group of nine people that had entered the space had split up into four groups. The group that Song Qingxiao was in was the weakest among the four. The girl was weak, timid, and young. In that situation, she would not be of much help to the group. In fact, it would be good enough if she did not drag the group down or cause them trouble.
The middle-aged man should have a wealth of experience based on his age. However, he had a crafty, mean look in his eyes. He seemed like an unreliable person with a mean heart based on how he reacted by almost hitting the girl because she shrieked.
As for herself, Song Qingxiao was not the bravest person around. However, she was not going to trust people easily in a place like that. She could only rely on herself.
While the girl and the middle-aged man were in a daze, Song Qingxiao took a deep breath.
"We need to find a place and make sure we're heading in the right direction. If we want to leave this place, we need to meet up with the others before we find a way out."
Since there was no other option available, the middle-aged man and the girl quickly agreed with Song Qingxiao's suggestion.
Once the decision was made, the middle-aged man quickly tried to assert himself as the team leader over the two ladies. He reached out his hand toward the girl and said, "We don't know how dangerous this place is. Hence, it's best if we don't get separated. I'm going to hold your hand…"
He puffed out his chest as he gave the orders. When he saw Song Qingxiao's dirty appearance, he ordered the girl with a disgusted look in his eyes.
"You hold her hand."
It was evident that he did not remember Song Qingxiao's name. She did not mind it. After all, she was used to being overlooked and ignored by people. In addition, she also had a feeling that not being very noticeable or memorable when she met a group of strangers would be favorable for her in a mysterious place like where she was.
The girl obediently let herself be dragged away by the middle-aged man while she used her other hand to hold onto Song Qingxiao. She must have been terrified to be trapped between the middle-aged man and Song Qingxiao. Even though Song Qingxiao's hand was not clean, she still gripped onto it tightly and did not let go.
Song Qingxiao could sense that the girl came from a good family. Her parents must have cared for her very well. Her hands were smooth and soft to the touch. As soon as Song Qingxiao held her hand, she could tell that the girl had never done any house chores. That was the only way her hands would feel like that.
"Do you want your mouse?" asked Song Qingxiao softly when she saw the computer mouse strewn on the floor just as they were about to leave.
She felt like she had very few things on her. She did not know what could happen in the future, but she felt as though carrying something with her, even if it may not be super helpful, would give her a sense of security.
The middle-aged man had complained before that the mouse would serve no purpose. However, when he saw that Song Qingxiao wanted it, he refused to be at a loss, so he replied to her question by saying, "Of course I'd want it."
While he spoke, he bent down to pick up the mouse.
The three of them walked hand-in-hand in a direction that they had picked. After they had walked for nearly ten minutes, they had still not encountered any other people. The ground was overgrown with a massive amount of weeds. The further they walked in a direction, the denser the weed overgrowth became until it completely swallowed up their ankles.
They did not know how long or how far they had walked since none of their watches nor phones worked in the space. The middle-aged man slowly became more impatient. Before they left that place, they noticed that the dark shadow drew closer and closer towards them. It made them all break out in large amounts of cold sweat.
The middle-aged man could no longer take it. He stopped in his tracks and yelled loudly. His voice sounded a little hysterical.
"Hello? Is there anyone there? Doctor? Zhou Jing?"
The two ladies did not dare to make a sound. After he had finished yelling, a faint echo could be heard a little while later.
"Hello… Is… there… anyone… there...? Zhou… Jing… Jing... Jing..."
The last word 'Jing' seemed to echo many times. The shrill echo frightened them terribly. The middle-aged man went weak in the knees and nearly collapsed to the ground.
Song Qingxiao licked her dry lips and flexed her arms so that she could feel the presence of the dagger. That calmed her heart down for a few moments before it started to beat rapidly once more.
After experiencing this echo, the middle-aged man no longer dared to scream and shout casually. The sound of his voice before was pretty loud. If Zhou Jing, the doctor, or anyone else from the group of people from that empty space were around, they would surely have responded.
Since there was no response, it was proof that they were no longer in the same space. It also proved that the other three teams were not close by and might even be somewhere quite a distance away from them.
If that were so, it was quite problematic for them. Since everyone was so far from each other, if there was any danger, they could not help nor save each other.
Song Qingxiao could sense that the middle-aged man was starting to become more and more uneasy. She was extremely sensitive to threats around her due to her upbringing and the encounter that night that nearly caused her to lose her life. She felt like she needed to be more careful around the man.
The nine cards in her mind remained unchanged, and she could not tell if that was a good thing or not.
After another unknown period of walking, the middle-aged man finally could no longer take it. He forcefully kicked the thick growth of grass before him. He was about to yell out curses, but when his foot landed, it came into contact with nothing.
The middle-aged man did not manage to catch himself in time. In the end, he fell to the ground, dragging the girl and Song Qingxiao down with him!
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