MMPS Ch. 50

Chapter 50: Clock Malfunction

In the abandoned amusement park’s circus Illusion Chamber in Hongli City.

“Team Leader Zhao’s condition is stable. He’s reached the first checkpoint in the scenario and is requesting to disconnect the link.” Ji Nian from the Mechanical Logistics Team carefully checked the connection devices on Zhao Ran.

Since Yu An had gone missing midway, Zhao Ran had explored the entire Lost Town scenario alone, searching every corner for traces of the target Aberrant—the“J.S brothers.”

As a result, all the powerful mini-bosses in Lost Town, such as the shamaness Daiya, the frenzied couple, and the Mother of Cannibalistic Tadpoles, had been cleared out by Zhao Ran alone. Without Yu An by his side, Zhao Ran was as bored as a soulless cleaning robot, and his mood seemed particularly foul, as if he were taking out his frustrations on the game bosses.

Meanwhile, Ruan Xiaoli from the Emergency Team stayed close to Yu An, keeping a watchful eye on his condition.

“Yu An hasn’t reached the checkpoint yet. He’s still in the Lost Town scenario.” Yong Zheng said, staring at the scrolling code on his computer. “He’s been forced to take many detours, deviating significantly from our preset route. The final boss has been triggered. He might be challenging the Parasite of the Dead Lake right now.”

“Wait, the Parasite of the Dead Lake? Alone?” Ji Nian frowned, running a hand through his hair. Completing the commission for Gray Crow Game Company was the third task in the intern evaluation, a simulated rescue mission that required all interns to collaborate. As a result, every intern had some understanding of Gray Crow: Toy House.

“Can we modify the boss’s combat data? Lower its health and attack power to the minimum.”

“I don’t dare tamper with the Parasite of the Dead Lake’s data. Look, this chunk of code is beyond me.” Yong Zheng said. His computer screen wasn’t displaying the game but a dense stream of code. Near Yu An, there was a bug, like a modeling error causing a character to have too many arms, tangled into a chaotic, aggressive mass.

“What is this thing? It’s really close to Yu An. If this abnormal bug starts attacking Yu An, at least he can use the Parasite of the Dead Lake to distract it and escape.”

“Let Team Leader Zhao rest first.” Ruan Xiaoli’s calm voice cut through their anxious discussion. “He needs at least an hour before he can re-enter.”

The lights on the connection device flickered off one by one. Zhao Ran’s fingers twitched, and he slowly opened his heavy eyelids, his pale lashes fluttering slightly.

He sat up, still connected to the array of devices, and rubbed his forehead. His messy, curly hair fell over his tired eyes as he took a moment to collect himself.

Everyone in the room fell silent, their eyes fixed on Team Leader Zhao, waiting for him to say something.

Instead, Zhao Ran silently turned around, resting his wrist on the forehead of the sleeping Yu An beside him. He studied Yu An for a while, then instructed the others, “Everything’s normal inside the scenario. The other interns can start attempting the link. I’m going to the restroom.”

The interns exchanged puzzled glances. From the running code, it was clear that something had gone terribly wrong with Yu An’s situation. How could Team Leader Zhao dismiss it so casually as “normal”?

The interns’ performance directly affected the evaluation and reputation of their team leader. Every high-ranking official in the Underground Metro system treated their carefully selected interns as prized disciples, imparting knowledge with great care. Since Team Leader Zhao said everything was fine, no one else had the standing to question it.

Zhao Ran tucked a stray strand of hair behind Yu An’s ear and sighed softly before standing up and walking out.

The temporary restroom in the circus tent had long been out of use, so Zhao Ran had to head to the public restroom in the abandoned amusement park.

The ruins of the amusement park were surrounded by patrol team members, with experts from the Rapid Response Unit keeping watch at every corner to prevent leaks that might attract rival companies to target these delicate interns.

The long-abandoned public restroom had only one working faucet. Zhao Ran stood in front of the cracked mirror, splashing cold water on his face.

Water droplets clung to the tips of his lashes, about to fall. Zhao Ran opened his eyes and noticed another person reflected in the mirror.

It was only February, but the young man wearing a knit cap was dressed in a thin, open shirt, his hands stuffed into the pockets of loose shorts. His bare calves were exposed, and he wore flip-flops.

A polished skull had been fashioned into a stylish crossbody bag.

“Ge?” Zhao Ran wiped the water from his face unhurriedly, turning away from the mirror. “What brings you here?”

“Cleaning up your mess. Why does this illusion chamber smell like you? I didn’t expect so many people to be here, including you.” Ha Bai wrinkled his nose, disgusted by the rusty, musty stench of the restroom.

“A few days ago, I was tracking down Aberrants being sold in the market and traced them here. There were armed individuals inside, and we exchanged fire. I was a bit too angry that day because the boss deliberately sent me away to teach Yu An how to be an assassin himself. I got distracted and ended up killing someone inside the circus tent.”

“I wanted to clean up the illusion chamber before anyone noticed, but one of this year’s interns, a particularly clever kid named Ji Nian, discovered the illusion room first. He suggested using the circus illusion room to host the game scenario for the link.”

“It was a brilliant idea. I had no reason to refuse. Trying to stop it would have raised suspicions.”

“But the circus illusion chamber was formed because of me, and the game scenario was modeled after Riyu Town. Reality and the illusion chamber were bound to intertwine. The deeper we went, the more the scenes resembled Riyu Town.”

“I tried to pull that brat out quickly, but he’s too sharp. The moment he noticed the people inside didn’t have arms, he immediately connected it to me.”

“In the end, we got separated. He fell into a crack, and I reached out to grab him, but he didn’t take my hand.”

Zhao Ran suddenly felt an overwhelming fatigue. He crouched on the ground, his gloved hands covering his face.

“He’s afraid of me.” Zhao Ran said in a muffled voice. “When he’s extremely obedient, he doesn’t dare leave me. When he’s extremely rebellious, he doesn’t fear me at all. The current Yu An is closer to a normal person’s state, so it’s natural for him to be afraid.”

“Oh… or maybe he just thinks you’re ugly.” Ha Bai tried to comfort him. “Who could stomach looking at a bunch of hands stuck together? You little freak.”

Zhao Ran crouched on the ground, staring at the shards of the broken mirror, examining his drooping eyes, pale irises, and jagged fangs.

“You’ve already decided to give up on him. You swore in front of me that you’d treat him as a stranger from now on. Why are you still clinging to him? He doesn’t have the ability to defeat you. Wasting more time is pointless. How many lives do you have left to spend on him?”

Ha Bai, exasperated, grabbed Zhao Ran’s long hair, forcing him to lift his pale face. “Look at yourself now. You’re so weak even a chicken could peck you to death. Do you remember how strong you used to be?”

“You’ve seen it too. This time, his eye socket can hold a core. This is the closest I’ve ever been to success.” Zhao Ran sat down on the ground, leaning against the sink with one leg bent. His messy hair hid the emotions in his eyes.

“Da-ge you’re carefree. You can just find any skilled human to form a contract with. But I can’t. The thought of living so many years tied to a boring human, protecting them, following their orders, it fills me with despair.”

“What counts as interesting?”

“Raising a little troublemaker is interesting. Every day after work, thinking about the little rascal waiting for me at home, probably having wrecked the place, opening the door feels like opening a mystery box. That’s fun.”

“Oh my god, you’re such a masochist.” Ha Bai sighed, slapping his forehead.

“If he’s really afraid of me, he might try to run away. I won’t let him go, even if I have to use force.” Zhao Ran said, his eyelids drooping as if he were planning something in his mind.

“…Hey, when did you get your ear pierced? Rare to see you bothering to dress up,” Ha Bai noticed the new earring on Zhao Ran’s ear, trying to change the subject.

Zhao Ran seemed to snap out of a daze, his fingers tracing the small stud on his earlobe. He had replayed the moment the little troublemaker pierced his ear countless times in the quiet of the night.

“It’s…” Zhao Ran started to speak, but Ha Bai, sensing his sudden shift in mood, immediately covered his ears. “Shut up. I don’t want to hear it.”

*

Yu An had been linked for over eight hours, his brain operating at full capacity. Though he wasn’t aware of it in the scenario, the mental overload was taking a toll on his body.

The world seemed split in two by an invisible wall of code. On the left side of the sky, a cold sun rose over an icy sea, clouds drifting above floating ice that bobbed in the turbulent currents. Pure snowflakes, briefly caught in the wind, eventually sank into the clear, transparent water.

On the other side, the scenery was perpetually bathed in twilight, as if even the leaves and houses were stained with an inescapable desolation. The deep green lake rippled, shadows stirring beneath the surface. True to its name, the Lake of the Dead was like a restless blanket covering the bodies of thousands of souls, allowing them to rest in peace.

Eight skeletal arms connected to a bony torso, carrying a wooden coffin on its back, floated on the water like a water spider.

The experience was entirely different from the countless times Yu An had challenged the Lost Town scenario in the game. Through a computer screen, he couldn’t fully grasp the oppressive presence of the boss. Now, standing face-to-face with the colossal creature, the Armor-Piercing Awl in his hand, Yu An couldn’t help but feel the urge to retreat.

In the legends of Lost Town, the villagers would choose a young maiden each year to throw into the lake, appeasing the Parasite of the Dead Lake as part of their cruel faith. Little did they know, the resentment of the drowned maidens only made the creature stronger. The Parasite of the Dead Lake thrived on the grievances of the drowned, its body a convergence of intense malice. Yu An assessed his own strength realistically. His chances of winning a one-on-one fight were zero.

Although there was another bizarre, multi-handed monster behind him, it looked too simple-minded and clumsy. If a direct confrontation broke out, the multi-handed monster probably wouldn’t last two rounds.

But when Yu An turned to look, the multi-handed monster had assumed a battle-ready stance, its arms bent and muscles tense, its skin flushed with blood. A network of blood vessels spread across its surface.

A piercing screech erupted in Yu An’s ears, a ghostly wail that radiated outward like a shockwave. It sounded like a chorus of eerie laughter, echoing across the vast water.

The source of the ghostly laughter was the multi-handed monster. The base of its arms slowly split open, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth, inch by inch.

The appearance of the Parasite of the Dead Lake had triggered the multi-handed monster’s combative instincts. The monster let out a sinister laugh as it slowly sank into the water. The surroundings fell silent, leaving only the sound of flowing water.

The Parasite of the Dead Lake raised one of its skeletal arms, swiftly approaching the lone boat in the center of the lake. It lifted its arm high and brought it down with tremendous force.

The sheer power sent towering waves into the air, flipping the boat high into the sky. Yu An clung to the edge of the boat, his mind racing as he tried to figure out the boss’s weakness.

The fishing boat was tossed into the air, hovering briefly before plummeting back down. Yu An struggled to maintain his balance, knowing he couldn’t afford to fall into the water.

Just as the boat was about to crash onto the surface and shatter, Yu An noticed a massive golden circle forming beneath the water. A golden line rotated around its center like the hand of a clock.

The hand suddenly stopped, then began to spin counterclockwise.

“A sundial? Is that the monster’s ability… Clock malfunction, reversing time.”

The Parasite of the Dead Lake’s skeletal arm, mid-swing, unnaturally lifted back up. The massive skeletal body also began to retreat, as if the entire boss was being rewound like a video, moving back five meters.

The sundial on the water’s surface vanished, and countless severed hands suddenly sprouted from the depths, tangling around the Parasite’s skeletal claws.

The fingertips of the severed hands rapidly grew long, blood-red tendrils that burrowed deep into the bone marrow, greedily sucking its life force.

The multi-handed monster’s sharp screech echoed across the sky. The eerie, laughter-like noise was familiar. Back in the ancient county hospital, when Yu An first met the interviewer, he had laughed like this while piercing the tough chest of the Goat-headed Aberrant, pinning the massive creature to the ground in a spray of blood that stained his pale hair.