Vol·⑨ [Dead Doll]

Seventh Brother once said that in the underground world, Senior Passengers are highly sought after by the station. Even hunters wouldn't bother them, and would even be willing to help Senior Passengers with their explorations and troubleshooting.

They venture into uncharted wilderness, facing extreme geographical environments and spirit-disaster monsters.

Jiang Xueming felt incredibly fortunate to meet David Victor on this train.

--And so, he planned to latch onto this Senior Passenger, first absorbing half an hour of his travel experience, then another half hour of combat skills. He aimed to drain this "hottie" dry within two hours, as the unstable space of the train wouldn't offer suitable equipment or environment.

It was like a set of ultra-high-pressure environment teaching materials prepared by Teacher Victor for the passengers. With A Xing dismantling the tables, chairs, bed boards, bathtubs, and bookshelves into pieces, this course couldn't be replicated anytime soon.

This greatly disappointed Xue Ming, who wanted to experience Victor's [Spirit Pressure].

Yes—that strange, oppressive force emanating from Teacher Victor, his magical hypnosis, and that superpower that could stir coffee out of thin air.

All of this, which created an [Inspiration] pressure, would be temporarily called [Spirit Pressure].

When Bu Liuxing heard this term, he was inexplicably fired up and shouted loudly.

"Moon! Fang! Tian!"

Before the kid could finish, Xue Ming covered A Xing's mouth, suppressing that surge of passion.

"I told you last time, it's better for everyone if you watch less anime."

"ε=(ο｀*) I couldn't help myself. When I heard the term [Inspiration] pressure, I thought it was so damn cool. And then," A Xing responded with a cheeky grin, "I felt the atmosphere was right."

"Victor, regarding compensation," Jiang Xueming leaned back in his chair, observing the various damaged furniture in the room, mentally calculating their cost. "After the journey ends, Bu Liuxing and I will explain this matter to BOSS and help you rebuild a VIP carriage as our apology."

"No, replacements for things in the studio can be found anywhere," Victor leaned against the doorframe with a nonchalant expression. "Besides, when I set up this test, I should have anticipated this outcome. This is a small punishment for me—you don't need to compensate me for anything."

Bu Liuxing listened, half understanding, still confused about what had happened, his face blank.

After Jiang Xueming and Victor spent a great deal of effort explaining.

"Oh! So that's how it is!" A Xing's body language was very expressive, like Bailu, with a slow motion of his left and right hands. "Teacher Victor is a very powerful passenger, a Senior Passenger of the station, and he agreed to help BOSS train ordinary passengers, helping them grow quickly and learn to use life-preservers to resist this pressure."

He cupped the life-preserver at his chest, repeatedly wiping the golden lock, having found the treasure's use and liking the accessory even more.

"I already loved Teacher Victor's stories, and with the hypnosis he used on me, I liked them even more. These illusions intertwined with real emotions are very powerful temptations. I need to activate this life-preserver to firmly resist the temptation!"

Jiang Xueming: "That makes sense."

Victor: "His comprehension isn't as low as I predicted. It seems communication is possible."

"It's like Teacher and I had a real fight!" Bu Liuxing clenched his fists, extremely excited. "I realized when those nasty rats climbed onto Teacher's draft, I went into a rage. That feeling of injustice, the frustration of almost losing the duel, and when those strange, furry, dirty, densely packed rats pounced on me, gnawing my hand until it was raw—that pain and fear almost drowned me—but I woke up!"

"Yes," Jiang Xueming felt incredibly pleased. "You successfully awakened the Lumina Stone. It amplified your other emotions and allowed you to pass this test. None of the other two hundred-plus classmates in the bookshelf are as capable as you."

"Classmates? Classmates!" Bu Liuxing suddenly looked at the broken pieces of the bookshelf. The original logs were neatly arranged on the shelf, but now they were scattered all over the floor.

Many logs were also open, and they indeed contained the travel content and investigation tasks of others.

--Meaning.

"Teacher Victor, you didn't lie to me?" Bu Liuxing frowned again and rummaged through the floor. "These logs are real! Are you truly an Armadillo Hunter?"

"My job is to write stories and understand stories. No one says passengers can't have two jobs; many passengers have multiple identities," Victor explained casually, nonchalantly. "Besides writing, I'm also BOSS's translator—this impatient big boss doesn't want to read the trash literature you passengers write."

Victor bent down to sort the scattered logs on the ground, then took out one of them, pointing to the messy handwriting on the passenger log, patiently explaining to A Xing in detail.

"Look here, these brushstrokes, writing styles, and the vocabulary habits of different languages and grammar, the descriptive metaphors in different contexts. Most of the logs you passengers write are unsatisfactory articles in BOSS's eyes—I have to clearly and understandably convey these chaotic, dreamlike texts, which are as terrifying as the whispers of ancient gods, to BOSS."

"Oh! So you admit openly that you're an Armadillo Hunter," Bu Liuxing squatted beside Teacher Victor to help. "Haven't you persecuted other passengers? Teacher Victor!"

"I originally came to the underground world for writing, and I really wanted other passengers' logs," Victor stacked the books, preparing to tidy up these treasures. "After all, they are their most precious possessions, the travel experiences they exchanged for their lives are the best writing material—but why would I persecute them? Kill them? Rob them? Threaten and lure them? Deceive and abduct them? Use such despicable and base methods to snatch their treasures? I just want to write stories well; I don't have the energy to bother with the investigations of armed employees."

The more Victor spoke, the brighter Bu Liuxing's eyes became.

"I don't need the Panacea in their hands; I just hope to glance at their logs and record this precious knowledge, this information—

--It sounds like nonsense, but I must explain: if there's only one bottle of Panacea, it's gone once used.

--But if I turn a log into my story and send it to the newspaper printing house, it will become two, three, four, five, countless copies."

Two hundred and thirty-seven passenger logbooks were neatly stacked against the carriage wall.

"When I dueled you as a knight, I made the stakes clear—if you lost, I would turn these logs into my material and write them into my stories."

"As a duelist, you can also freely browse my collection of books, finding the path to victory from other passengers' travel logs, from one failed example after another. You can also directly refuse my duel invitation."

"If you agree, whether through willpower or by cheating and trickery, during the time I'm away from the carriage, I only went to make two cups of coffee, and I can't see what happened in the carriage. How would I know if you were peeking at my drafts—

--But if, even for a moment, you surrendered and gave up in this high-pressure environment, your log would belong to me. This is my hunting method."

After hearing these words, A Xing held up Teacher Victor's draft, his eyes filled with adoring little stars.

"Teacher, can I see your draft now?"

"." Victor froze for a moment.

Then he burst into hearty laughter: "Hmph hmph. Hahahaha. Hahahahaha. Hahahahaha!"

The great writer clutched his stomach, almost unable to breathe from laughter. As he laughed, he said to Jiang Xueming, "Hey! Jiang Xueming! Your friend, he's really interesting! I'm really looking forward to what else he'll say!"

Jiang Xueming replied in a low voice: "Some people, you initially feel they are useless, but in reality, they can warm people's hearts and make you angry just by seeing them."

"Hahahahaha!" Victor laughed even harder. "You're the same. One of you is as cold as ice, and the other is as hot as fire. I'm really curious, very, very curious! Can I see your logs?"

"No."

Bu Liuxing was about to speak when Jiang Xueming glanced at him.

Bu Liuxing translated Jiang Xueming's meaning to Victor.

"No, Brother Ming said his butt can't be on the newspaper."

Jiang Xueming whispered to A Xing, "You always manage to be surprisingly clever and insightful in ways I never expect."

A Xing scratched his head. "What does that mean?"

Jiang Xueming whistled nonchalantly.

"I'm praising you."

"Okay!" Victor seemed to have found a treasure in his life, pointing at the draft in Bu Liuxing's hand. "You've overcome the pressure of my Inspiration! Go ahead and read it!"

"Really?!" Bu Liuxing was eager, his fingers touching the envelope as if he were unwrapping a birthday present.

"Really! I'm so happy!" Victor's emotions were soaring, a stark contrast to his calm and indifferent demeanor moments ago. He urged, "Hurry and read it! Read it!"

Bu Liuxing acted as if he'd found a new toy. He put on a mischievous expression, flicked his wrist like a delicate flower, picked up a corner of the envelope with one hand, and covered his mouth in mock surprise. "No way! Teacher Victor! I'm looking at your draft! No way! Who was it that said drafts are like the author's..."

Before he could finish—

—Xue Ming snatched the envelope and pressed the manuscript onto A Xing's face.

Immediately after, he bowed and apologized to Victor.

"Sorry to have made you witness that."

The whole process was incredibly fast.

It was so fast that I didn't even have time to describe how Jiang Xueming stepped onto the chair, closed the height difference with A Xing, and pressed the manuscript completely onto A Xing's face from above.

Because elaborating on this process would be tedious and would greatly affect the visual impact of the scene.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's okay!" Victor was as sweet as if he had eaten honey. "When this little guy won the competition and dismissed my draft with disdain, I was truly heartbroken—but now that he's willing to read my story, I'm overjoyed."

"Then!" Jiang Xueming stepped forward and led Victor out of the messy VIP carriage. "The fun is over! I need to talk to you about something serious."

The two walked to the connecting passage of the carriage and began to discuss privately.

Jiang Xueming took out his ticket. "Teacher Victor, this is my ticket. Do you know this destination? Have you been there before?"

Victor took the ticket and, upon seeing the English letters "[DD]", immediately replied, "I'm going to the same place. We'll get off at the same stop."

Jiang Xueming was momentarily stunned.

His heart suddenly felt choked.

This was where the Senior Advanced Passenger was going—

—How old was Xue Ming? He was just a little baby on his second trip!

"Don't worry," Victor explained patiently. "Even though we're getting off at the same station, we're going to different places. I'm going deeper—Jiang Xueming, how many times have you ridden this train?"

"The second time."

"Then you should be investigating near the official's family housing."

"Teacher Victor, isn't this your first time here?"

"Senior Advanced Passengers have the authority to choose their destinations. We can go wherever we want, and decide when to go and when to return."

"Official's family housing? Tell me more about it."

"Then you have to promise me that once you hear this, you won't go back on your word, and you won't give up halfway through this journey. That would cause trouble for the BOSS, and the BOSS would pass the trouble onto me, which would be very inconvenient for me."

Jiang Xueming pondered for a moment. "Please, tell me. I won't cause you any trouble."

"Sometimes, not knowing where you're going, not knowing your destination, can actually be a kind of happiness," Victor glanced back at the VIP carriage, still hesitant. He didn't quite dare to believe the stranger passenger's promise, as Jiang Xueming looked much more mature and complicated than Bu Liuxing.

Jiang Xueming followed Victor's gaze and looked back—

—A Xing was in the carriage, holding the draft and shouting excitedly.

"What is this! This book, this manuscript..."

"This vivid and thrilling perspective, is this the story after Teacher Victor's revisions?"

"It doesn't have the gloomy and terrifying atmosphere I saw in the first version published in the newspaper. Everything happens in the sunshine and sweet morning mist."

"This severed palm occasionally splatters blood towards me, like descriptions of [jelly or sticky cornmeal meatballs] or [fingers swollen like German white sausages], yet it doesn't make me feel nauseous at all."

"The coherent writing and well-placed punctuation have turned the entire story into a series of neat and tidy rooms. These subtitles are like signs on the doors, making people unable to resist pushing them open!"

"To use a strange metaphor, it's like there's an ant nest in my skull, and they've hollowed out my brain—leaving only one thought in my mind!"

"Turn the next page!"

"He is indeed quite happy," Jiang Xueming could tell from A Xing's flushed face and excited expression.

"Can you understand?" Victor described it. "It's like a chef has prepared a grand feast. Before the guest lifts the lid, they don't know what's inside. This surprise lasts until the diner has eaten every last bit, licked the plate clean, wasted nothing, and finally collapses on the table in satisfaction."

"Yes," Jiang Xueming ventured to interject, picking up the previous topic. "An unknown menu and an unknown destination are the same, full of novelty. But I still want to clarify. After all, I'm still working out, and I can't eat just anything. I don't want surprises; for me, it's more likely to be a fright. Besides, I can't run around like Teacher Victor, relying on the abilities and privileges of a Senior Advanced Passenger. This is only my second trip; I'm still a baby."

"Then I'll explain it to you in detail," Victor took out his pen, biting the barrel as he always did when thinking. "The place we're going to is called [Dead Doll]—which translates to the Dead Doll Mechanism."

Jiang Xueming immediately pulled out his logbook and got to work.

Victor continued—

"—My latest novel is about a corpse, so I went to BOSS for help, asking if there was a special zone in the underworld that existed on the borderline between life and death, or if there were any half-dead creatures. BOSS recommended this mechanism to me."

"What was this mechanism before? What was it used for?" Jiang Xueming asked without looking up, his pencil flying across the paper. "If it's a facility of the station, all stations, trade hubs, power stations, and research stations have formal names. Why is this Dead Doll Mechanism being downgraded and abbreviated now? Did it have a severe spiritual disaster accident?"

"Your imagination and ability to connect thoughts are truly impressive," Victor replied with a smile. "But let's tackle questions one by one. My studio is ruined, so how about I join you in your carriage?"

Jiang Xueming interjected, "Sit down and let's chat."

Victor put away his pen, preparing to move. "Besides the information about this destination—"

"—I also have two things to ask of you," Jiang Xueming said rapidly. "The first is, I want to drain. Oh, no, I want to ask you for some combat and survival experience and tips."

Victor heard the slip of the tongue and its immediate correction, and when he heard the word [drain], his Inspiration suddenly struck him like a blow.

Then, things returned to normal.

"Anything else?"

Xue Ming pointed at Bu Liuxing, who was still wailing in the VIP carriage.

"Why isn't there any more!?"

A Xing's eyes welled up with tears.

"Poor Margaret, I feel so sorry for her! What should I do? How can I save her!"

He held up the manuscript pages high, flipping through them repeatedly.

"I really want to know what happens in the next issue. I really want to know the rest of the story."

Xue Ming pointed at the entranced Bu Liuxing and earnestly requested Victor.

"Please, teacher, cure him."