The World Below Surface

As darkness enveloped the city, a colossal fireball erupted, hurling fiery plumes into the air.

Illuminated by the blazing inferno, Lu Yan vaulted over the railing. He barely landed on his feet when a series of detonations shattered the silence, sending a car door flying towards him. It grazed his shoulder, then slammed into the concrete where he had been moments ago.

A fraction of a second slower, and that car door would have sliced him in half.

He evaded the first onslaught, but more shrapnel followed in the wake of the explosion. Lu Yan twisted and turned, avoiding the worst of it, but some fragments still tore through his flesh, leaving crimson trails behind.

He didn’t stop running.

On the rooftop of the next building, a hopeless man drained his final bottle of booze before plunging into the void.

A surge of urgency propelled Lu Yan, spurring him to increase his speed. He sprinted past the neighbouring building, just as a lifeless body smashed into the pavement, spraying gore everywhere.

A heartbeat later, and that body would have crushed him.

He didn’t dare to glance back. He bent down, clearing a thin wire that spanned the street at the level of his throat.

A faint glimmer of light caught his eye, alerting him to the danger ahead. Otherwise, he would have run straight into the trap and gotten his head cut off.

Who was behind this ruthless attack?

He thought of his doppelganger who had taken his second jade pendant. Was he still alive? Had he escaped?

Lu Yan had always relied on his instincts to survive. He could sense danger before it struck and find the best way out of any situation. But now, he felt trapped and cornered. No matter which way he turned, there was a threat waiting for him. He had nowhere to hide, nowhere to catch his breath.

He dashed past another storefront, which exploded behind him, sending glass fragments flying in all directions. Simultaneously, a chain of blasts rocked the shops in front of him, keeping pace with his frantic sprint.

It was as if someone had rigged them with bombs and was detonating them remotely. He realised he was being herded, like a sheep to the slaughter.

He was already bruised and bloodied from the night's ordeal.

He did not realise that the storefronts concealed a more sinister sight.

Inside, ghostly figures loomed, their faces pale and blurry. They fixed their gaze on him, as if they could see through the broken glass.

The windows were shattered for a reason — to cut off Lu Yan's escape.

Lu Yan, despite his exceptional skills and abilities, felt a surge of exhaustion wash over him as he faced the relentless hostility that surrounded him.

Death lurked behind every corner, waiting for a chance to strike. He had to be vigilant, alert, and careful.

He could not afford to die.

Not now, not ever.

**

An Ru lay in the hospital bed, enveloped by a stark white that hurt his eyes. The sterile environment contrasted sharply with the chaos in his mind.

“Come on, mate, you need to look after yourself better.” His colleague said, peeling an orange for him and setting it on the bedside table. “You can’t keep pushing yourself like this.”

An Ru just stared at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts. His colleague tried to cheer him up with some small talk, but soon gave up and left.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Chu Xiu entered, closing the door behind him.

Chu Xiu had a vague sense of familiarity with the person who had just exited, but he could not recall where he had seen them before. He shrugged it off and approached An Ru, who gestured for him to sit down.

Both of them had done their homework on each other, digging up as much information as they could. But this was the first time they met face to face, and they had to act as if they were strangers.

Chu Xiu had agreed to come here in Lin Chu's place. It was the deal they made.

"I don't think I'll be coming back from this one," Lin Chu said, without a trace of emotion in her voice. "You know what I'm trying to do, and I need to know if you're with me on this."

Chu Xiu felt a strange surge of sympathy for her, despite their past differences.

"There's something else, though…" Lin Chu hesitated, as if she wanted to share a something, but then closed her mouth. Her eyes betrayed a deep anxiety that weighed on her mind.

Chu Xiu sensed that her concern was not just about her own fate, but about something far more terrifying that loomed in the future.

"What are you planning to do, exactly?" Chu Xiu asked, feeling a chill run down his spine.

She reminded him of Lu Yan, the way she kept her cards close to her chest, making her impossible to anticipate. But Lin Chu was even more enigmatic than Lu Yan.

Lin Chu looked away, towards the distant horizon, where the sun was setting in a blaze of red. "I want to put an end to this nightmare, once and for all."

As he remembered her words and faced An Ru, Chu Xiu was torn between hope and fear.

Chu Xiu greeted him with a warm smile. "Good day, Mr. An Ru, I presume?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I have some new information for you about your son's disappearance."

An Ru's eyes sparkled with hope as he heard Chu Xiu's words.

"Mr. An Ru," Chu Xiu went on, locking the door behind him and walking towards him slowly, "tell me, do you believe in ghosts in this world?"

"Ghosts? What are you talking about?"

An Ru asked, confused, as Chu Xiu reached him and opened his laptop in front of him.

NPCs cannot be informed of the mission, but he could still communicate with others in this world.

A weird thought crossed his mind: why hadn't the missions been announced to the public yet?

But he dismissed it as soon as it appeared. He was like those who had leaked secrets before, and had forgotten about the inconsistency.

An Ru scanned the website, his face turning from curiosity to shock. "Is this... is this all true?"

"Every word of it," Chu Xiu said, shutting the laptop. "Your son was involved in this too."

That was why he had gone missing.

Chu Xiu left him with those words, turning on his heel and walking out of the room.

An Ru lay on the hospital bed, struggling to process what Chu Xiu had told him, when a powerful, inexplicable sensation, like a wave of nausea or a jolt of adrenaline, swept over him, sending his thoughts into a whirlwind.

"What... mission..."

**

Meanwhile, the ones who were actually on the mission were roaming the streets, looking for clues.

The town's inhabitants were all friendly and hospitable, and the scenery was quite charming. But there was something off about this place, something that made them uneasy, something that sent shivers down their spines.

Xi Men Yuan led his team towards the east of the town.

He had split them into three groups, each taking one of the main roads that led to the east. He took the middle one, accompanied by his friend Tan Xu. They were joined by two rookies, who gazed around with fascination at the buildings that lined the street.

The buildings were indeed stunning. The hedges on either side of the road were neatly clipped, and among them stood many realistic statues, as if frozen in time. Ahead of them, a fountain sparkled in the park. It would have been a lovely place to visit, if they weren't on a mission.

A group of elderly gentlemen were using the public exercise equipment, making the iron pillar groan with their efforts.

The group of taskers moved forward.

Without warning, the person at the back of the group lost his footing and tumbled to the ground.

A small uneven patch on the floor caused him to lunge forward, smashing his head against the end of the seesaw with a sickening thud.

"Come on, get up." His companion exclaimed, reaching out to pull him up, only to find him cold and lifeless.

A wave of shock and horror swept over the group, as they realised that one of their own had died right under their noses, and they had no clue how it happened. Could this be a mere coincidence, or was there something more sinister at play?

Xi Men Yuan stared at the corpse on the ground, feeling a chill run down his spine.

What exactly happened just now?

Why did the killing suddenly start?

Xi Men Yuan had surmised that this Lu Yan and the missing person must have been formidable adversaries, warranting such a large team to hunt them down. He had hoped that the bloodshed aimed at them would subside until they accomplished their objective. But to his dismay, he soon discovered that they had lost a team member as soon as the operation started.

If they failed to unravel the mystery of his death, he feared that he might be the next one to meet a grisly end.

The handful of elderly people who were still engaged in their exercise routine appeared indifferent, displaying no sign of alarm at the sight of the lifeless body. They carried on with their workout as if nothing had happened, with one of the old men even flaunting his prowess by doing pull-ups, relying on his good physical strength.

Xi Men Yuan exhaled deeply, aware that this was not the time to lose his temper.

"Good day, elderly gentlemen. We are..." He rose to his feet and approached the old-timers.

But before he could utter another word, the old man who was doing pull-ups emitted a piercing shriek. His arms seemed to suddenly give way, losing their hold on the railing, and he plunged down, crashing on the ground.

The old man's bones were fragile, and after hitting the ground, he was unable to stand up. In the distance, among a group of youngsters who were also exercising, one of them was hurling a discus.

Having completed his warm-up, he unleashed a loud cry and flung the discus forward with all his might. Alas, his aim was faulty, and the discus veered off course, striking an oblivious old man squarely on the head.

The old man toppled over, dead on the spot.

Xi Men Yuan was rooted to the spot, dumbstruck.

Could it be... that the random deaths were not limited to their group?

That even the NPCs were affected.

The other elderly people who were exercising nearby showed no shock. They casually rose from their equipment, while the young man who had thrown the discus sprinted over.

"Look at you, so reckless," chided one old lady.

The young man expressed his sincere apologies and summoned a few mates to help carry the corpse away.

"No, you can't just..." A young man called Liang Jian (梁间), who was standing behind Xi Men Yuan, was flabbergasted.

(梁 (Liáng) is a surname that means “beam” or “bridge”. 间 (Jiān) is a unisex given name that means “between” or “space”. 梁间 could be interpreted as “a space between beams” or “a bridge between spaces”.)

Since when did deaths become so trivial? How could someone's demise be as mundane as eating and drinking?

The young man gazed at him with bewilderment. "What's wrong?"

Tan Xu stretched out his arm and yanked him abruptly. Liang Jian came to his senses, clumsily waved his hand and feigned a smile. "It's nothing, I just reckon you should be more cautious next time."

With a series of nods, the young man muttered, "Yeah, yeah," as he lifted the iron disc from the blood-soaked ground, feeling a pang of sorrow clutching his chest. "It's hard to clean off the blood stains."

Watching his genuine regret, contrasting with the indifference, the tasker's eyes drifted to his companion, who had been chatting with him moments ago but now lay lifeless on the grass. A shiver ran down his spine, and a cold dread crept up from his core.

The town, which had once seemed so quaint and charming to him, had lost all its appeal. Only horror and eeriness lingered in his sight.

"Oh, by the way, could you move him too? He's taking up space. Old Zhang's grandson is coming to play on the seesaw later."

An elderly lady, who had resumed her exercise routine on the fitness equipment, pointed to the corpse lying nearby.

Xi Men Yuan flashed a smile at the old lady. "We'll move him right away."

He gestured to the people behind him, and despite the reluctance of the other two newcomers, they still bent down to lift the body, preparing to carry it back.

Xi Men Yuan and Tan Xu didn't leave, instead staying behind to chat with the group of old people, engaging in idle conversation.

Before long, Old Zhang arrived with his grandson, accompanied by seven or eight other children. They gathered around the seesaw and swing, running and playing on the grass still stained with blood, their laughter echoing into the distance.

As Xi Men Yuan observed the eerie aspects of the small town, he had to suppress his curiosity and unease until the opportune moment. He cautiously broached the topic that had brought him here, and uttered in a low voice, "There was someone I knew, once, who came to this place as well."

Old Zhang, who went by that name among the locals, leaned in eagerly and demanded, "And then?"

Xi Men Yuan hesitated, unsure of how to continue. He whispered, "He... vanished. And I..." He stopped mid-sentence, as he noticed the sudden change in the atmosphere. Just like the previous times, the mention of vanishing elicited a palpable sense of dread among the townsfolk, as though they were confronted with a terrible secret.

Old Zhang's face hardened into a scowl, and he snapped, "Vanished? There's no such thing here. Why do you insist on bringing it up?"

The little girl, who had been swinging joyfully on the swing, joined the conversation with a shrill voice, "You better watch your mouth, or we'll kick you out!"