Chapter 99 - Lurking Danger

The Mandatory Quest known as "Life's Hard Disk" was designed to ramp up in difficulty with each reload, and the Players had already triggered two of those. The first was a result of a typical, unsuccessful attempt, while the second had been intentionally brought about by Bai Zhi.

It was during the second reload that unusually terrifying changes had manifested, changes that had not been apparent during the first. Even Bai Zhi had been caught off guard.

It was just as Traveler had said—as the supernatural entities surrounding them increased in number with each reload, they would soon be overwhelmed, and the Players' suffering, if not eternal, would certainly not be far from it.

Thus, by orchestrating a team wipe, Bai Zhi had raised the difficulty exponentially. At this point, if he insisted on rooting out the traitor among the seven, there was a high chance of triggering a third reload.

"The best laid plans of mice and men" indeed... Even Bai Zhi felt somewhat at a loss for how to handle such a tricky situation. This was truly a case of "woes within and foes without*".

Not only did the Players have to contend with the supernatural entities that already existed within the orphanage, they were also beset on all sides by their fallen-comrades-turned-monsters, not to mention having to be on constant alert against the hidden traitor.

As for the identity of said traitor, Bai Zhi was still totally in the dark. However, Bai Zhi had other things on his mind—namely, figuring out what exactly had happened at the orphanage... He had a personal connection to it, after all.

The diary he found on the sixth floor had contained many entries describing when "he" had appeared at the orphanage, each time ending in a fierce confrontation with the orphanage director.

Unfortunately, he had found no such recollection in all the memories he inherited when he took over this body. The Director that he remembered was a kindly old man who had raised him and provided for him, even up to university.

In ousting the original owner of his body as a cuckoo ousts its "siblings" from the nest**, he had received the memories possessed by the original, but not all of them. If he could recover those missing memories, he was sure he would uncover the mystery behind his host's sudden fall from grace after starting university.

If anyone knew the truth about what had happened at the orphanage, it was the other "Bai Zhi".

It's a shame—I never expected the dead Players from the last reload to show up as supernatural entities—now my plans are ruined, and I'm no closer to finding out who's the traitor... Bai Zhi thought, frowning deeply.

Even a master builder can't make bricks without straw; without more clues, there was nothing more he could deduce. There was no telling if the precautions he had taken against the traitor would even be of much use now...

Bai Zhi turned his attention to Viridescent, who had struggled into a sitting position, and asked, frowning, "Well? How long before you're back to fighting form?"

"...Give me an hour or two," Viridescent replied, flexing her bandaged arm and making a fist. "My weapon was destroyed in the last fight, so even by the time I recover, I would be fighting with my bare hands—still far from my best."

"What type of weapon was it?" Bai Zhi asked as he looked to an area of ground pitted by corrosion, clearly where Traveler and Viridescent had faced off against their last enemy—a battle that, despite their victory, had incurred heavy losses nonetheless.

Against supernatural entities that were basically small, dangerous critters, the Players had only one option—to confront them head-on. As they were now, the party of four would be vulnerable to such threats, since they lacked a damage-dealer.

"A sword. My skills are mostly—uhh!—sword-related."

Despite her best efforts, Viridescent's several attempts to stand ended in embarrassing failure. Resigning herself to the floor, she looked Bai Zhi in the eye and said gravely, "Neither Traveler nor I are of any use in combat right now, so I say we should find a safe place to rest and regroup, instead of risking another encounter with supernatural entities. Our last fight caused quite a commotion, and I'm worried about the possibility of any roaming entities being attracted by the noise, just like when we fought the Ghostwall entity—the explosions were what brought that accursed thing with the acidic blood."

"Good points, but personally, I think the better course of action is to rendezvous with Iron Blood and his squad to make sure everyone stays alive. We can't afford another reload," said Traveler, giving the broken glasses on his face a nudge and sighing. "Every time it happens, we're forced to face yet more monsters, while we retain none of our memories... A vicious cycle, if there ever was one."

Bai Zhi looked casually toward the stairwell. "Let's find a room to make camp in. I agree with Viridescent; we need to regroup, at least until you two can hold your own. Otherwise, if we meet another supernatural entity, you will be the first to die, and that's just gonna make matters worse."

Comparing his own bruised and battered body and Viridescent's humiliating bandages to the near-perfectly unharmed figures of Bai Zhi and Temperance Gentleheart before him, Traveler couldn't help making a wry smile, in silent acknowledgment of Bai Zhi's analysis.

The party soon found a room on the third floor. After making sure it did not contain any hidden traps, the four of them walked inside, single file, with Bai Zhi in the lead.

The room was simply furnished—there was a bed, a desk, a few chairs, several closets, and scant else. Bright light from the window near the desk briefly dispelled the gloom in their hearts.

Viridescent hobbled over to the bed with Temperance Gentleheart's help and lay down, while Bai Zhi and Traveler took up separate positions at the door and window, respectively.

Just as Bai Zhi carefully shut the door, he suddenly felt a chill come over him as his surroundings darkened, and alarm bells rang wildly in his mind.

Bai Zhi took a sharp breath as he whirled around, his eyes instinctively drawn to the window.

As he expected, the sky was dark—the sun had disappeared.