Qianqi: A Murder

If there's one person in this school who makes Qianqi feel repetitive and numb, it's him.

Because he is "special".

This feeling is hard to describe; it's a complex emotion mixed with envy and longing. He once saved her, but he had long forgotten her, while she could only watch him from afar, silently keeping tabs on his whereabouts.

"Oh dear, let's go to the Maid Cafe and find Ai then..."

"..."

Maid Cafe?

Qianqi listened intently to their conversation, and she became interested in the Maid Cafe Kevin mentioned, because according to the information she had gathered, Lin, who was not interested in this kind of thing, would not go there. But this time, Lin actually nodded silently.

Who is Xiao Ai?

But she has to go home; she can't possibly go with them, can she?

After a moment's thought, Qianqi shook her head and decided to go home.

"Yes, my teacher needs to talk to me today, so I'll be home a little late. Don't bother picking me up, it won't be long."

Qianqi put down her phone and sat in the last row of the bus, subtly watching Kevin, who was sitting in front of her, excitedly talking about the game, and Lin, who only occasionally said a word.

Although there are ways to postpone going home, Qianqi has never used them, or rather, she's too lazy to use them.

What difference does it make whether it's half an hour more or an hour more?

The view outside the window wasn't the scenery of the road between home and school; it was something she rarely saw. Qianqi leaned her head against the glass window, lost in thought.

Suddenly, she looked up and realized that the two people in front of her had disappeared.

Oh no, I was daydreaming too long, they've already gotten off the bus!

Completely unaware that the two had gotten off, Qianqi immediately got off at the next stop and turned back to look for the previous stop. Fortunately, the bus didn't pass many stops while she was daydreaming, so she should be able to get there in no time...

Wait a minute, she doesn't know which station they got off at. Even if she goes back to look for them, she won't be able to find them.

Qianqi immediately deflated. She looked at her own bitter smile reflected in the glass of the clothing store, sighed, and then resumed her usual demeanor, walking towards her home.

This would waste a lot of time. Should we take a shortcut?

Last time I almost got into trouble by taking a shortcut, but Lin saved me. This time... surely I won't get into trouble every time I take a shortcut?

"Clatter."

Qianqi walked into the path, which could be considered as her intention to add a little change to her boring life.

Her long gray hair swayed gently in the cold wind blowing through the alley. Due to the narrow channel effect, she felt a strong wind that was different from usual, which stirred her hair and the hem of her clothes, adding a ripple to her stagnant heart.

After returning home, things will return to normal. This world is a trash game where 99% of people are NPCs. Occasional unusual events don't mean you've become the chosen one; they just mean there's a bug in the system. And the programmer who fixes the bug is highly skilled and will fix it soon.

"Roar..."

But sometimes, you never know when a major game update will happen.

Or... a major bug.

Qianqi's legs stiffened.

The refreshing breeze had stopped at some point.

The stagnant air was filled with the stench of decay, like expired pork infested with worms in a stuffy room.

Cold sweat instantly soaked her back, and her heart was pounding faster than ever before.

Her boring daily routine was disrupted in the worst possible way.

The rotting humanoid creature, its skull exposed, twisted and moved its deformed limbs. Its neck was bent at a ninety-degree angle, and it bared its teeth and drooled.

What's this?

Qianqi's body is dominated by fear.

Before her stood a group of corpses that looked like they had been dug out of the ground months after they died, miraculously regaining their vitality. But perhaps the person who resurrected them forgot to straighten their bones and give them a makeover, because now they looked just as terrifying as zombies in a movie.

Is someone filming a movie? Did she accidentally wander into someone else's film set? Will a director come out with a sign and yell "Cut!" and then give her a piece of his mind?

Then hurry up and come out.

But the moment the sclera without pupils noticed Qianqi, she knew this wasn't a movie.

"Howl!"

The monsters swarmed forward, Qianqi's thighs trembled, unable to muster any strength to escape. She clenched her fists and pounded her legs, but it was no use. She could only watch helplessly as the jagged, blood-stained teeth approached and bit down on her delicate skin.

"Bang!"

A strong gust of wind suddenly blew up from beside my shoulder.

The monster in front of her vanished, leaving only the putrid blood that hadn't yet left behind, still suspended in mid-air.

"Tick-tock".

Blood, falling to the ground.

A person stood in front of her, grabbing the zombie monster by the neck and slamming it against the wall.

He easily stopped the monster from moving.

Qianqi, I know him.

After all, she often paid attention to this person's back view.

Chapter 43 Qianqi: A Murder

Strangely enough, Qianqi had never taken most long-distance transportation. The only sky in her life was the blue and beautiful sky of Changkong City, as described by the mayor of Changkong City. She had never left this place and rarely even rode the trams, which were unique to the Far East.

Changkong City is very small; you can leave in less than an hour by the fastest tram.

Changkong City is very large; in her eighteen years of life, she has never been able to visit every corner of the city.

However... most people are probably the same, and some people don't even remember how to get around their city until they die.

Now, as she approached the border of Changkong City, her heart pounded with anxiety, like a detective piecing together fragmented clues into complete evidence.

Under the bright lights of Changkong City outside the window, even the starlight and moonlight in the night sky seemed dim.

Her phone was switched off. Her parents have probably made countless calls already. Hopefully, they won't call the police before she gets back.

She gripped the handrail tightly. As the tram began to slow down, she stumbled and almost fell, but fortunately, a pair of strong hands caught her shoulders in time.

"Final stop, we've arrived, get off now."

The sound coming from the person supporting her was like the cold air blowing from a refrigerator.

"This isn't the final stop." Qianqi took out her ticket from her pocket. The final stop on her ticket was a neighboring city, and there were at least three more stops to go.

"The tram will not go any further."

The black-haired man didn't explain further. The tram doors opened, and he stepped out. Qianqi hesitated for a moment, then followed him.

Why do I find myself believing him so readily?

"Forest...?"

Qianqi's limp legs finally gave way and she was able to sit down on the ground after the man had cleared away all the "zombies".

The man shook the blood off his hands. He stood amidst a large group of fallen corpses and turned to look at the gray-haired girl lying motionless on the ground.

He saved me again.

"What are these... and why are you doing this...?"

"These are Honkai zombie."

The man's tone sent a chill down Qianqi. Why was his voice even colder than usual?

"They are manifestations of an impending disaster, which could be an unprecedentedly deadly and highly contagious infectious disease, a sudden meteorite shower falling into the city, or the arrival of a monster that resembles a god."

"You must be joking..."

Qianqi swallowed hard. This kind of setting, which felt like something suddenly inserted into the middle of a game, was simply unacceptable.

However, she had already seen these monsters with her own eyes, and the man did not seem to be lying at all.

"You are one of the key figures." The man reached out his hand to Qianqi on the ground. She instinctively grabbed his hand and let him pull her up. "We need your help to stop the disaster."

"Me?" That's even more absurd. She's just an ordinary person living a boring daily life, or in other words, a passerby in an anime or an NPC in a game. What connection could she possibly have with the disaster?

"That's right."

"Okay, let me sort this out..." Qianqi took a deep breath, and somehow quickly calmed herself down. "A disaster is about to happen. It could be a zombie outbreak, an infectious disease epidemic, a meteorite hitting the earth, or the arrival of a divine agent, right?"

The man nodded slowly. "No matter what form it takes, it will ultimately destroy this world."

"Destroy the world? That's an exaggeration. Even these zombies might not cause much damage. A meteorite hitting the Earth is possible, but destroying the world..."

What do you think the world is like?

The man suddenly asked a question.

"This... you're asking me about philosophy?"

"No, just follow your common sense."

"That's the planet. Isn't the human world right now Earth?"

The man stared at her in silence for a long time, then said something that Qianqi found utterly baffling.

Do you really think you're still in your original world?

"This... how is this possible..."

Qianqi stared in shock at the scene before her that defied all common sense; her worldview, which she had built up over the years, completely collapsed at that moment.

"This is the truth of the world we live in right now." The man stood beside her, the scene before him not revealing any extra emotion. He said slowly, "You originally did not belong to this world, you were an 'outsider' like me, but for some reason I don't know, you became an 'insider'."

"I don't belong to this world... Do you mean I was originally in another world that I perceive myself to be?"

Qianqi's heart skipped a beat, and her initial fear turned into hope. She looked at the man with anticipation.

"That's right." The man's gaze lingered on her face, a moment of hesitation in his expression. "I don't know whether to believe you, but I've tried. I can't break the deadlock. To return to the original world, I must do it before the disaster strikes."

"What if a disaster breaks out?"

"We will all die."

There is no escaping it.

At this moment, a strange excitement welled up in Qianqi's heart.

A surge of adrenaline in a moment of crisis calmed her previously fearful heart, making her feel both calm and excited.

Because she inherently yearned to break free from the "ordinary"? So she was born for this line of work?

"Wait a minute, who are you? You... are not Lin."

Qianqi's calm mindset allowed her to review the man's various actions. She could not equate the person in front of her with Lin. Even though they had the same appearance, back view, and indifferent tone, there was a fundamental difference between them.

The man's deep pupils were like bottomless pools. "I am... MSA-079."

"Is this a code name?"

"I can't tell you my original name, it would be 'discovered'." The man stroked his chin, seemingly thinking. "But I am indeed the person you're thinking of."

"You're Lin? But you can't say your own name?" Qianqi was incredulous. There were only the two of them around. What did he mean by "discover"? Was someone else eavesdropping on them?

Suddenly, Qianqi felt a chill. In the previously silent environment, it was as if pairs of blood-red eyes had opened and were silently watching them.

"There are many things I can't explain directly because I'm unsure if saying something will be 'discovered,' it's like..."

His voice abruptly stopped, as if he had caught something, and his sharp eyes stared at Qianqi's back.

Qianqi's heart also suddenly skipped a beat.

They were being "watched".

"Can't you even say this..." The man grabbed Qianqi's hand and shielded her, who was stiff all over, behind him. She didn't even have the courage to look back at that "thing," and kept her head down as if she were being pricked by needles. The man said to her coldly, "Don't go near him before you know the truth. Now, go quickly."

"The truth... what truth?" Qianqi's breathing quickened, her pupils widened. She could feel it; that "thing" was getting closer!

They charged toward them with inhuman speed and momentum!