Arc 2: Internet Addiction Treatment Center
Chapter 22: Blood
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5039729
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
"Wu..."
The scream that just rushed to her mouth was quickly covered by her own hand. The sudden fear made goosebumps rise all over Qin Dongwan's body. A cold wave washed through every inch of her veins, and she couldn't do anything else except cover her mouth with her hand.
That pair of eyes suddenly showed up in the dark and stared right at her for a while. Then a sigh came out of its throat with a crying sound, and everyone turned to look at once. The burning silence was broken. Qin Dongwan, who had been scared stiff, woke up like from a dream and stepped back two steps. She raised her hand and pointed from afar:
"There!"
This classroom felt like it hadn't been cleaned for a long time. Except for the overly wild mosquitoes and flies and the four people who suddenly came in tonight, it even felt kind of lifeless. The girl's clear voice had just sounded in the quiet when the desks and chairs over there got pushed away with loud banging sounds. Under the weak light, dust flew all around, and a boy who looked a bit underdeveloped crawled out from under a desk, coughing lightly.
His legs did not seem to move well. His big eyes had no spirit in them. He didn't care at all about the room full of people being on guard. He just stood there and kept coughing, though he lowered his voice without thinking. Everyone got startled by this boy suddenly coming out from under the desk. Luo Shu even got into a fighting pose. She grabbed a blackboard eraser without thinking and stared hard in that direction, just like an arrow ready to fly off the string.
"Cough, were you guys sent here as punishment?"
The boy, who was coughing while patting his own back, slowed down a bit and then spoke. His voice was hoarse like he hadn't talked in a long time, and it sounded weak too. Tang Zihang couldn't help but frown when he heard it:
"Are you a normal person, hiding in here all this time?"
"...You all look kind of unfamiliar. So you're new here, huh."
The conversation between the two was irrelevant but at least it showed that this seemed like a more normal NPC student, not one of those weird and creepy teachers or ghosts. Qin Dongwan's heart, which had been hanging high, finally settled down a little. She rubbed her arm that had gone a bit weak just now, and a light feeling of weightlessness suddenly rushed into her head.
Bad memories from her childhood showed up again because the situation just now was too similar. They forced their way into her mind and took up part of her attention. Qin Dongwan wobbled over and found a chair that could still be used. She sat down without noticing the strange sticky liquid that had already started spreading quietly under her feet.
After a round of back-and-forth questions, she found out his name was Wei Zi. Qin Dongwan couldn't hide her shock. That NPC she saved in the treatment room had said before that Wei Zi and Xiao Qin went to steal a phone. All of them got caught, and Wei Zi was the only one who escaped.
"I just wanted to steal a phone so I could call my mom... I wanted to tell her I was wrong. I don't want to stay here anymore..."
Wei Zi's voice had a bit of a crying sound in it. He was only a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, right at the age of rebellion. When he was first sent here, he really did feel unwilling to listen. But after just a few days, he already had one scar after another on his body. The beatings and abuse had worn away all his anger, and they pushed him to take a big risk just to steal a phone and send a message asking his mom for help.
"So you mean you didn't manage to steal the phone, so you had to run away first and hide here for two days?"
Hua Qingjiu asked while looking over the boy. He was only a little taller than Luo Shu, thin and small, still very young. After saying a few words to them, there was finally a bit of fear showing in his eyes. The weak light shined on Wei Zi and cast a small shadow behind him. His neck shrank in a little, like he was getting ready to be hit, trying to protect himself by instinct.
He had stayed here for two days, probably without even a sip of water. Qin Dongwan thought for a bit but didn’t mention anything about Xiao Qin or the other girl to him for now. First, she still couldn’t fully trust him. Second, saying it would only make things sadder. What was done was done. Putting more pressure on him would just break his nerves and cut off that last bit of will to live.
"So what do you think..."
Before she could finish speaking, Qin Dongwan, who had just tried to stand up, suddenly slipped. She didn’t know where all the water had come from. The floor that was dry just now had suddenly turned wet and slippery. In the game, any strange change could be a sign that something deadly was coming, so they had to stay alert. She quickly told everyone to move to a slightly higher spot, and they all saw the liquid rising slowly at a speed visible to the eye.
No, it wasn’t water. It was thick blood.
Under the dim light, Qin Dongwan bent down and saw that the tops of her shoes were already soaked in red. The strong smell of blood was getting thicker, and the sticky, heavy blood spread out in streams. Under the faint light, it looked even creepier.
"The words are getting covered!"
Qin Dongwan quickly noticed the words that had been carved into the floor earlier—the ones she wanted to check out before, but forgot because she got scared. Everyone looked at her all at once, but only Wei Zi suddenly widened his eyes in shock:
"You saw it too, right? Wang Long wanted to kill himself. He also grabbed Chen Ya! He wrote the Chainsaw Killer’s name on the floor. He wanted to copy the Chainsaw Killer! Wait, what did you say? The words are getting covered? No way, it still looks fine to me!"
They did not understand a few of the names, but Qin Dongwan had heard of the Chainsaw Killer back in her original world. Thinking of the bulky man with a chainsaw they saw when first entering the game and the rumors of self-harm, a chill slowly crept up Qin Dongwan’s spine. She had thought the twisted ones here were only the teachers, but now it seemed many students had also been driven to the brink of madness.
While the rest had already moved to higher ground, Wei Zi was still standing in the thick, surging blood, as if he could not see it at all. Everything around him seemed to be cut off from his senses. The dark red blood did not touch him at all, instead flowing strangely around him as if avoiding his body on purpose.
In his eyes, only the flickering light shone inside the broken-down classroom. The four pitiful newcomers had somehow been assigned night duty here, yet the ghosts and monsters running wild in the treatment center seemed to have nothing to do with these so-called ordinary NPCs.
But compared to studying those students, the more urgent problem now was figuring out how to escape. The sticky blood was steadily rising and creeping toward the last bit of ground they stood on. Luo Shu, who weighed the least, had already climbed onto the podium table for safety. She crouched with her knees up, her pale fingers suddenly pointing outward:
“Look, all the lights outside are off.”
Without phones or watches, no one knew what time it was. This rundown classroom had become the only place in the entire Internet addiction treatment center with a bit of light, which made it stand out even more. The faint thread-like glow kept flickering, with very low visibility. They could only see that outside was slowly being swallowed up by thick gray fog.
“Does this happen every day?”
With a ready-made NPC beside them, Hua Qingjiu started to speak more. He had a refined appearance, but his cold tone carried a trace of aggression, which made Wei Zi feel a bit afraid. Still, he answered honestly:
“If you mean the lights going out, then it should be eight o’clock now. They turn off all the lights at eight to save electricity. At nine they check the dorms. If you are not in bed by then, the next day… get ready for electroshock therapy.”
“Electroshock therapy? From the treatment room?”
Catching a clear keyword from his words, Qin Dongwan immediately asked.
“You guys better not mess around… Even if you are not okay with it, you have to endure. Do not go against them. None of those people are good!”
When this most taboo matter was mentioned, the always dazed Wei Zi suddenly became like a puppet wound tight with a spring, gaining a bit of energy. The teenager suddenly sneaked over to the window and peeked outside. Seeing there was no movement, he walked back over to them.
This time, everyone saw it clearly—the blood actually parted on its own as he passed by, not touching him at all. It slowly flowed past his calves, then merged back together.
"They say they are treating your internet addiction, but they are actually doing some disgusting things. Mr. Zhu in the treatment room is one of them. He rapes female students behind their backs. Those people are like blind and didn't see anything! Half of the people who enter the treatment room can come out alive, but most of the girls who come out are crazy! Last time, a girl got pregnant, and Mr. Zhu electrocuted her and her baby to death on the bed!"
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5039729
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
The smell of the thick blood was almost so strong that it choked people. Hua Qingjiu and Tang Zihang had long arms, so they pulled over a few nearby desks and chairs that were still in good condition to step on. Qin Dongwan crouched on top, but she felt the blood water rising faster and faster at a speed visible to the naked eye. It surged and swirled around Wei Zi's side, while their side was still a little better.
"A lot of those female students were killed by that shameless beast."
Ignoring Qin Dongwan's reminder, Wei Zi cursed a very dirty word. He did not care about the strange way the others were standing. He continued, "He also does not know where he hid some girls. It's really damn disgusting! Every time he shocks the boys, he uses all his strength. Look at my wounds, all caused by him... Ah, my..."
The thick blood flowed into the classroom faster and stronger. In the dim light, the ripped jeans on Wei Zi's leg disappeared. To be exact, the part below his waist was swallowed by the blood. The players could not see it, and in the end, he could not see it himself.
The dark red slowly swallowed his waist and lower belly. No one expected it to rise so fast. Qin Dongwan first stepped onto a higher platform and pulled Tang Zihang and Hua Qingjiu up. Just as they stood firm, the desks and chairs were knocked down by the blood flow. Tang Zihang, standing on the edge, wanted to pull Wei Zi up again, but in the blink of an eye, the person on the ground was gone without a trace.
Floating clothes drifted up and down in the blood. His face suddenly turned very pale. A scream almost came out of his throat, but Hua Qingjiu quickly covered his mouth from behind. Qin Dongwan carefully put her toe on the liquid surface. A burning pain like termites biting spread quickly. She quickly pulled back and saw her shoe had a hole.
"This blood is corrosive!"
Author's Note:
I discussed with the editor and decided to go V in a few days. Meanwhile, I will keep holding the drafts tight and keep writing.[yingyingying]
