Arc 2: Internet Addiction Treatment Center
Chapter 19: Big Fire
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5039729
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
"Help me, help me…"
As the two were preparing to leave in a hurry, a faint voice reached their ears in this quiet environment. This treatment room had a second floor, and walking near the stairs made the sound a little clearer. Qin Dongwan raised her head and happened to see a pair of clear eyes.
“!”
She was really startled. The gradually rising temperature in the room was also a warning that staying there was not an option. The girl, whose entire body was lying on the stairs, had tears welling in her eyes and struggled to stretch her hand toward the two people downstairs.
They weren’t far apart, and Qin Dongwan could even clearly see the scars covering the thin arms of the girl. Despair, silent and ashen, filled the girl's gaze, but as Qin Dongwan's eyes turned toward her, a spark of hope lit up in the gloomy ashes.
This clearly isn’t an ordinary player—it’s an NPC. But NPCs in each instance aren’t always ghosts or bad people. Some of them are just lives that belong to the instance. Qin Dongwan gritted her teeth, patted Luo Shu’s shoulder to signal her to leave first, turned around, and ran quickly up the stairs in just a few steps, pulling the girl up and carrying her on her back.
The flames crazily licked the windows. The rising heat made the glass tremble more and more. Qin Dongwan was strong and fast. She carried the skinny girl on her back and rushed straight out. But just as she made it through the door, a loud explosion suddenly rang in her ears, shaking her so much that she stumbled.
Towering flames spread from the curtains in the treatment room, roaring and quickly swallowing the entire house. The desolate weeds beside the house didn’t escape this fate either. They shivered in the wind and were burned inch by inch into ash by the fire. Step by step, Qin Dongwan could no longer hold herself up. She fell to her knees with a thud, and the girl on her back was also thrown off, letting out a brief muffled groan.
“Are you okay?”
The girl with messy hair barely managed to get up from the ground. She supported herself and took a quick glance at Qin Dongwan. She was very skinny, and her once-pretty face now had several scars. Her voice sounded weak, but the fact that she remembered to check on her savior first showed that she was a decent person.
“No.”
Qin Dongwan hadn’t carried someone like that and run so frantically for a long time. The moment she dashed out, she felt as if her legs were no longer her own. She rubbed her head and was about to turn around to look at the treatment room still burning, but the instant she raised her head, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a hurried dark shadow flashing in the distance.
In the blink of an eye, it disappeared, as if it was just a hallucination from her overwhelming exhaustion.
In the Infinite Flow instances, strangeness filled every corner, and death was like a trap dug under everyone’s feet. Qin Dongwan didn’t dare let her guard down. She shared her recent discovery with Luo Shu, who was slowly walking over. However, Luo Shu’s small face showed no expression. Her purple eyes looked cold, and her face was full of indifference as she stared at Qin Dongwan.
“We better hurry and leave. The fire is already burning here, and the teacher will definitely come looking…”
The girl who had just been rescued clearly had an extremely strong will to survive. Although her face was covered with tears, she still pressed her hands to the ground and forced herself to stand up. Only then did Qin Dongwan notice that one of her legs was lame, unable to stand straight. No wonder she had been lying entirely on the stairs earlier.
The raging flames shot up to the sky, as if determined to devour everything here with the greatest ferocity. The old plaque of the treatment room suddenly fell to the ground with a thud and crackled as it burned in the sea of fire. Judging by the situation, it seemed someone would arrive very soon. Not wanting to delay any longer, Qin Dongwan, despite being exhausted, once again carried the girl NPC on her back.
The three of them hurriedly and aimlessly ran into the girls’ restroom. Fortunately, there wasn’t anyone inside at this moment. After putting the girl down, Qin Dongwan noticed Luo Shu’s gaze moving back and forth between her face and the girl’s face. Judging by her demeanor, it seemed like she wouldn’t be satisfied until she could bore a hole through them.
“What’s wrong, A'Shu?”
The girl’s lowered voice was still soft, like willow leaves swaying in the spring breeze, gently brushing against the heart. Her shiny black leather shoes impatiently scraped against the ground. Finally, Luo Shu stopped darting her gaze back and forth between the two of them and instead shot Qin Dongwan a warning look.
She then walked a bit forward and skillfully leaned against the door to keep watch.
The tense atmosphere eased slightly. Qin Dongwan stepped further inside and pulled the girl to a more hidden spot. Things in the game changed in an instant, so she had to seize the opportunity to gather information. The more she could learn, the better. Seeing that the other party didn’t show any resistance, Qin Dongwan softly asked:
“How did you end up in the treatment room?”
“I…”
The girl glanced at Luo Shu, who was standing at the door, as if reluctant to speak in front of her. But remembering that Qin Dongwan was her savior, she hesitated for a moment before lowering her voice and saying:
“Wei Zi and Xiao Qin said they wanted to steal a phone to call their families. I wanted them to bring one for me too, so I helped keep watch. Then the professor suddenly came. Wei Zi ran the fastest and didn’t get caught or noticed, but the others were all captured…”
Qin Dongwan quietly noted down the names and glanced at Luo Shu without showing any emotion. She saw Luo Shu’s thoughtful expression, which suggested she could hear the conversation at this volume. Qin Dongwan continued:
“Did you get all these injuries in the treatment room? You said Wei Zi ran away, but what about the others? Why did I only see you?”
It was like a thin silver needle suddenly piercing her brain. The girl, who had been relatively calm, suddenly became agitated. Her frail hands grabbed Qin Dongwan’s shoulders fiercely, and her sharp nails pierced through the thin summer clothes into her skin, causing her so much pain that she almost pushed the girl away. The next second, a voice filled with sobs and broken cries echoed intermittently in the restroom, mixed with sharp pain:
“The treatment room—it’s hell! Teacher Zhu is a demon, a ghost… wuwuwu… I don’t know where they went, I don’t know. I’m the only one who came here. I don’t want—I don’t want the phone anymore… I want to go home…”
“Someone’s coming!”
Luo Shu, who was standing at the door and keeping watch, listened carefully while observing the outside. Seeing someone approaching, she quickly whispered a warning. Qin Dongwan immediately covered the girl’s mouth, trying to stop her from making any noise. But the girl, already on the verge of a nervous breakdown, was crying uncontrollably—how could she willingly be restrained?
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5039729
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
The girl’s elbow suddenly jabbed Qin Dongwan hard, and in her semi-conscious state, she whimpered and tried to dash outside. However, Luo Shu, coming in from the front, swiftly and decisively knocked her down with a clean punch. Qin Dongwan quickly dragged the girl back, and the three of them barely managed to hide behind the last stall just as the crisp sound of high heels grew closer and closer.
She held her breath as much as she could, not daring to peek out at this critical moment. Instead, she carefully pressed down on the now-unconscious girl while curling herself into the darkest corner, locking eyes with Luo Shu.
“Tap, tap, tap.”
The woman in high heels seemed to come closer. The restroom wasn’t big, and the distance wasn’t far. Qin Dongwan could even hear the sound of the old faucet being turned on, followed by the sound of water gushing out.
The treatment room next door had mysteriously caught fire, and the teacher who came over was probably here to put it out. Thinking of this, Qin Dongwan gathered a bit of courage and cautiously poked her head out, trying to catch more clues.
But as soon as her eyes swept over the sink, a wave of regret surged in her mind.
What gushed out wasn’t water. Bright red blood flowed from the faucet like a pillar, yet the woman collecting the “water” in a basin remained completely calm. The restroom was relatively clean—aside from years of accumulated dust, there was no stench of excrement. This made the strong smell of blood even more distinct as it spread through the air, hitting the nose directly.
After filling the basin with blood, the female teacher hurried off toward the burning area. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Qin Dongwan decided to go all in. She jogged forward and took a look at the faucet that had just been turned off.
Blood had splattered everywhere, mixing with mud and dust as it began to flow into the tiny cracks on the floor. Qin Dongwan only glanced at the sink before quickly turning her head away. Unable to hold it in, she rushed into a stall and vomited violently.
The white porcelain sink was soaked in bright red blood. Even more disgusting were the sticky strands of flesh and clots of blood slowly sliding out of the faucet, dropping with a splat into the drain. This grotesque sight reminded her of the ghost she encountered in the last beginner instance—a monster that disassembled limbs all over the floor and stood outside a bloody kitchen, bowing its head and smiling faintly at people.
Her stomach churned again, waves of nausea overwhelming her.
After Qin Dongwan finished vomiting and came back out, Luo Shu pointed at the unconscious NPC lying on the ground, signaling that she might as well go all the way and help her completely. Since she had already rescued the girl, it wouldn’t make sense to leave her behind and let her fend for herself. Qin Dongwan forced herself to endure the discomfort, picked the girl up again, wiped her mouth, and said:
“The treatment room mysteriously burned down. Anyway, since we don’t know what to do, should we head back to the dormitory?”
The fire in the treatment room wasn’t caused by them but seemed to have triggered some kind of plot event. It shouldn’t be a dead-end scenario right from the start. The first level of the game was mainly a transitional phase and was relatively friendly to players. If such a disaster were to happen after the second level, she wouldn’t dare to handle it so lightly.
“Alright.”
Luo Shu hated do-gooders, but at least Qin Dongwan’s rescue had yielded some information and hadn’t dragged her down too much. Since it didn’t involve her directly, she hadn’t gotten angry. Her petite figure darted out of the restroom, and moments later, she returned to grab Qin Dongwan’s arm:
“Follow me and hurry up. If you’re slow, I won’t wait for you.”
With that, the girl dashed out again, moving nimbly like a little cat darting around. Qin Dongwan gritted her teeth, picked up the NPC girl, and jogged after her. The people nearby were all shouting about putting out the fire, so they didn’t notice the figures slipping away.
Author's Note:
She's jealous!
