The Trembling World
chapter-432-30041322

TL: LifeisaJourney

While questioning Ana, Liu Gan walked back and forth across the entire set to check for clues. Finally, they stopped at the “Horrifying Ancient Well” set. After browsing for clues, they finally found the missing Sun Chao’s flashlight in a corner.

“The flashlight might have bounced off the wall and rolled from over there…” Liu Gan found fresh marks on the wall, created by the flashlight.

“The well should have some sort of fence around it. Seems like either someone removed or demolished it. There are some footprints right by the side of the well. The well is a meter and half wide. If I had to speculate, I would say that Sun Chao was running close to his top speed in the dark, unaware of this obstacle. His flashlight didn't illuminate his path or he wasn't looking. Either way, he smashed his head on the inner surface of the well. Since he had his Mist Armor protecting him, he didn't die. However, he would still have a concussion and if the force to his head was hard enough, then he would have passed out…”

“If all my speculations are right, then he must have have fallen into the well.” Liu Gan shone his light down at the bottom of the well, and there was the missing young man, Sun Chao.

Aside from Sun Chao, there were several props, ranging from skeletons and ghosts to bizarre creatures stashed at the bottom of the well. When Sun Chao fell, he didn't hit his head too severely on the well. After he reached the bottom, he saw all the props and that was the limit his consciousness could handle.

Liu Gan leapt into the well, then slung Sun Chao over his shoulders like luggage. Parkouring off both walls, Liu Gan made it out of the well effortlessly.

“Wow! Lord Liu you are so magnificent! You found him so easily!” Ana applauded and cheered at the side.

“The Trembling World is a horrifying game, but up until now I haven't encountered any paranormal activity or ghosts. So until proven otherwise, I will assume that people can't just disappear without leaving any clues or evidence behind. As for the rumor that he had been taken by a ghost, that was just a fabrication of Star Yu’s imagination. If Sun Chao didn't leave the haunted house, then he had to be here. As long as we followed the clues, we could find him,” Liu Gan replied to Ana.

“I've heard rumors that Lord Liu was a good fighter. Who would've thought that Lord Liu was intelligent, too. You are perfect, Lord Liu! Equipped with the body of a warrior, intelligence of a scholar, you are the embodiment of everything good from both sides!” Ana couldn't resist praising Liu Gan. The reason was because Sun Chao was part of her group, so he was her responsibility. Now that Liu Gan had found him, her blame was taken care of, hence her happy-go-lucky mood.

Even with such heart-felt praise, Liu Gan wasn't affected. He glanced at Ana briefly without saying anything, and continued to carry Sun Chao out of the haunted house. He didn’t say much as he started heading out of the building.

“Lord Liu, Star Yu didn’t tell us a ghost story to scare people. What happened to Sun Chao was an accident. Can you not punish him?” Ana pleaded on Star Yu’s behalf. According to the rumors in the Beginner Village, when Lord Liu gets angry, the punishment was usually death.

“He can avoid death, but he still caused trouble. His punishment will be overnight duty. If he wants to sleep, he has to stay by the bonfire. He isn’t allowed to enter the haunted house,” Liu Gan replied.

“Lord Liu, you are such a nice person! I knew that you weren’t a cold-blooded tyrant like they said! You are my model! I worship you!” Ana giggled.

Liu Gan didn’t bother replying to Ana. He continued to speed up his walk.

“Don’t be so stern! Smiling more can help ease your mental health. Don’t be afraid of adding creases to your face! What’s good for you, is good for me!...” Ana continued to talk, while hastening to catch up to Liu Gan.

Liu Gan had nothing to say to her. He only wanted to escape this haunted house.

“I’m not a female ghost, why are you so afraid? Lord Liu… ah…”

***

Sun Chao recovered with the help of both the both the healers. After interrogation, it was as Liu Gan had predicted. He tried to run out of the haunted house as fast as he could, but he didn’t see the well until it was too late. He hit his head in the well and passed out after that.

“Star Yu was just telling us how Sun Chao could’ve been transformed into this deer. If we ate the deer, it would be equivalent to eating human meat. He scared us into not eating the barbequed meat!” The snitching player was named Johnny Fei.

“Hey! I didn’t do that. That was Liu Kang, okay? I only talked about this place being haunted,” Star Yu quickly defended himself.

“This is just an attraction. Do you think ghosts are that common? If there’s a ghost, why doesn’t it take you away? You are just scaring yourself!” Ana looked down on Star Yu.

“That… well…” Star Yu didn’t have any words to defend against that. There was nothing he could say to that statement.

“Let’s eat barbecued deer!” Liu Gan announced. It seemed Liu Gan didn’t have any intention of punishing anyone. From the wooden rack, Liu Gan chopped off pieces of roasted venison. Then, Cai Hao Chen distributed it evenly amongst the remaining players.

“So do you still think this is human meat, then don’t eat it! Big Sister will eat it all!” Ana shouted loudly.

“Sister Ana, eating too much can get you fat. Lord Liu wouldn’t like that figure,” Johnny Fei teased Ana.

“Fat or not fat, he wouldn’t appreciate me. So what does that have to do with whether I eat or not?” Ana started chomping on the meat, without a care in the world.

Moonlight Gulf theme park, the mysterious black fog, the haunted house, and Star Yu’s ghost story created a frightful mood... that was interrupted by the players’ laughter.

The group would sleep in the haunted house. Excluding Liu Gan, the two groups would rotate guard duty by dividing the night in half. Guard duty would also include maintaining the bonfire outside of the haunted house and in case of any emergency, they had to wake Liu Gan up.

The resting half of the group would sleep near the entrance of the haunted house, mainly so they would feel the warmth of the bonfire and could react to emergencies.

Throughout the night, Moonlight Gulf theme park was quiet. Nothing peculiar happened. Even the ghosts that Star Yu was worried about didn’t appear. There were no further incidents of people disappearing.

Around five in the morning, Liu Gan woke up. He felt rejuvenated from his sleep, so he relieved the five players on guard duty.

Around seven or eight in the morning, the sky brightened up. In comparison, it was just a little brighter than night time. It wasn’t bright like the sun had illuminated through the thick clouds, it was just cloudy.

Being in the Trembling World, it was something Liu Gan had gotten used to. This type of cloudy weather was better than a thunderstorm. The moment it started to rain, no one wanted to leave the base.

After everyone had woken up, they moved over to the bonfire to cook and eat breakfast. This way they could follow Liu Gan deeper into the theme park to investigate.