Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 201: Chapter 5: Survival of the Dead Island

After a two-hour preparation time, Bai Wu went to see Jiang Xuan. Once Jiang Xuan’s "employment procedures" were properly handled, he had a brief chat with Jiang Xuan.

The two men, in terms of appearance, looked about a decade apart in age, but when they talked, they both seemed rather mature.

To Bai Wu’s surprise, Jiang Xuan was quite cautious. He barely touched on many topics, sticking primarily to discussing cases and everyday life with Bai Wu.

Bai Wu was happy with that; right now, he needed to figure out how to stabilize this ticking time bomb.

Before finding a way to suppress the Three Souls Transmigration, Bai Wu wasn’t planning on burning bridges with Jiang Xuan.

In the office, as Bai Wu was preparing to leave, Jiang Xuan suddenly said:

"Are you planning to go out of the Tower?"

"Yes."

"How about bringing me along for some world experience?"

"Your Innate Force is not weak; surely you are not someone who hasn’t seen the world. Next time."

Bai Wu had plans to take Jiang Xuan out of the Tower, but not this time. He planned to do it the next time the Order Faction got involved.

Cain and several other rulers were at odds, and Bai Wu thought that if Cain was present, there might be a chance to use Cain to restrain the Order Faction.

This was to be his last venture out of the Tower with trusted colleagues. After this outing, if he wished to leave the Tower alone in the future, he would have to conceal his identity and use Constantine’s identity to do so.

As for a collective departure for an investigation, it would easily attract the attention of the Order Faction.

"Next time? Alright, I’m looking forward to venturing out of the Tower with you, Captain."

"I am too. See you tomorrow, if all goes well."

"Tomorrow? That’s sooner than I expected."

"Just taking a break from the Tower; it won’t take too long," Bai Wu said earnestly.

Indeed, this trip out of the Tower was simply to try his luck,

Originally, Bai Wu had planned to find Ming Che, but Ming Che’s gathering had been delayed a few days due to the case. Now that the case was handed over to the Investigation Corps for handling, he again had time to organize a get-together with like-minded male colleagues.

But plans had to be postponed for a few days.

Of course, Bai Wu wasn’t going because he coveted someone else’s wife; he just wanted to find the Harbinger.

...

...

The High Tower had few holidays—at least the important autumn festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival, wasn’t observed.

In the cool season of fall, most miners worked even harder at mining due to the favorable weather outside the Tower. If they didn’t save up enough Tower Currency before winter, mining would become very risky.

The areas outside the Tower during winter were unforgivingly cold, to put it mildly.

Therefore, the Lower East Square was quite lively today.

There were only two people participating in the exterior investigation of the Tower: Lin Wurou and Yin Shuang. Shang Xiaoyi and Wang Shi were held back by Wu Jiu; it looked like he had some special instructions for them.

Looking at the long queue forming under the giant stele, Lin Wurou said:

"Just the three of us, isn’t that a bit too few? Speaking of which, about that bet we made..."

Bai Wu silenced Lin Wurou with a look, and she realized she had misspoken:

"What I mean is, it seems difficult for us to level up now that we are heading out of the Tower."

Unless one stayed outside the Tower for several days, it was difficult to make any breakthroughs after reaching the sixth order of the Innate Force.

Bai Wu said, freeweɓnøvel.com

"Each time we exit the Tower is a new beginning, since we never know what we may encounter. Besides, it’s important to dream. What if the thing you want happens to be ’Spirit Possessed’? What if we come across a creature that has dropped from a Sequence?"

It has been quite some time since they had obtained a new Sequence, which caused Bai Wu to harbor some resentment towards the headmaster and his disciples.

The three of them quickly arrived at the blue Stele, which was always deserted regardless of the crowd density in the square.

The Investigation Corps now had little reaction to Bai Wu and the others heading to the blue Stele, because this group’s pattern of leaving and entering the Tower was so irregular that no one could predict from which Stele they would emerge after entering.

The blue light attracted sidelong glances from the people around.

Soon, Bai Wu, Lin Wurou, and Yin Shuang disappeared from everyone’s sight.

The miners did not wonder for long and continued to queue for their turn to leave the Tower.

...

...

The sea breeze carried a hint of saltiness. Bai Wu felt as if there were grains of sand in his nostrils. When the consciousness of the blue faded away, he opened his eyes.

He immediately saw Yin Shuang, drenched all over, and Lin Wurou, who was lying prone on the ground.

The sound of the tides echoed in his ears as Bai Wu propped himself up and looked out to sea.

"An island..."

There was no end in sight, just the boundless ocean.

[O noble steed, with four legs! O vast sea, all water indeed! If it’s the distance to the next land you want me to gauge, you’ve come to the right person, although even you with your Enhanced Vision cannot see it. You only need to swim continuously, across the Grand Route and the Calm Belt, for three days and nights to reach... the next sea zone. It’s a long journey, so why not turn back instead?]

The implication was that the next scene could only be this island; seeking another path by crossing the sea was undoubtedly impossible.

Bai Wu turned around and looked at the trees on the edge of the island. By this time, Lin Wurou had also started coughing, while Yin Shuang slowly opened her eyes as well.

[The Bomb Coconut Tree, though it looks like a coconut tree, if you rashly approach and startle it, the coconuts will fall. Don’t think for a moment that they contain the coconut water you’ve grown up drinking; inside is only enough gunpowder to make you go booooom. If you stay in this area, you’ll soon be blasted away. Of course, you can hide in the sea; there are no sharks because sharks are too weak. So I suggest moving forward. As for the destination, please check your pockets.]

"Cough, cough, cough... ptui, ptui, ptui... Where is this?" Lin Wurou had a mouthful of sand and was trying to spit it out.

Yin Shuang asked directly,

"Which way?"

"Follow me. We’ll talk as we go. Also, feel in your pockets to see if there’s something there."

Bai Wu led the way, with Yin Shuang and Lin Wurou full of questions trailing behind him.

As he pondered continuously in his mind, Bai Wu pulled out a card from his blue uniform—

The Three of Hearts.

Yin Shuang and Lin Wurou also pulled out a card each.

"The Three of Hearts? What’s this?" Lin Wurou asked Bai Wu, puzzled.

"I don’t know, but it’s probably the destination." Bai Wu was relieved to find that all three of them had the same card, which gave him a clue.

"The destination?" Yin Shuang suddenly felt that this island might not be a natural one.

Though Enhanced Vision couldn’t see through the ocean, it allowed Bai Wu to see the far end of the island.

He saw area cards not far ahead, lined up like steles marking territories, with the Five and Four of Diamonds arrayed horizontally. Bai Wu couldn’t see the regions further away, but he could see that the closest area card was the Two of Spades.

This means that the island was divided into many areas.

Therefore, Bai Wu speculated that this place was the Spade Two zone, and in a few minutes, the Spade Two zone would be bombed by the falling coconuts from the Bomb Coconut Trees.

The reason no traces of the island being bombed could be seen might be that all the material on the island had become part of the scenery, indestructible. However, as living beings on the island, they would be affected by the Bomb Coconut Trees.

The final destination should be Heart Three. Perhaps only there could they find temporary safety.

Bai Wu moved quickly, running with Yin Shuang and Lin Wurou. He swiftly left the Spade Two zone and entered the Diamond Two zone.

When they saw the stele of Diamond Two, Yin Shuang said,

"Have we been swept into some incident?"

"Incident? Don’t be so optimistic. If I’m not mistaken, this should be a game, a death game." After entering the Diamond Two zone, Bai Wu breathed a sigh of relief.

The Spade Two zone, which was the outer perimeter of the island, had only beaches, tides, sea breezes, and coconut trees.

But inside the Spade zone, Bai Wu saw endless weeds.

The weeds grew rampant, as if they had suddenly entered a thicket from the coconut grove. These weeds were also ridiculously tall, tall enough to completely cover Bai Wu. The weeds had blocked the view Bai Wu had been scouting earlier.

[Yellow Line Grass, unlike Red Line Grass that can drive away mosquitoes and Blue Line Grass that can replenish various survival nutrients, is a predator. Although it’s called Yellow Line Grass, if someone wakes it up, it will rip you apart like tentacles. Believe me, the experience of being eaten by grass is terrible. One last warning... don’t jump up.]

Clearly, this was another zone where they needed to escape; Bai Wu speculated that they would not have peace until they reached the Heart Three zone.

Just as Lin Wurou was about to ask something, Bai Wu suddenly shouted,

"Get down!"

Boom!

Though Lin Wurou and Yin Shuang were confused, they both reacted swiftly, instantly dropping to the ground without any hesitation.

With the sound of massive explosions continuing, feeling the scorching air on their backs and the rustling of the Yellow Line Grass as the wind pressure passed over, Lin Wurou wished she could bury herself in a hole.

Heaven knows what the effect of so many Bomb Coconuts exploding together was?

Yin Shuang also felt a frisson of fear, as if she had nearly stepped into the Underworld.

Listening to the endless explosions, Bai Wu’s thoughts were completely different from the other two—

"What would have happened if I had triggered the explosion in advance?"

"If Yin Shuang, Lin Wurou, and I had been a little later to the scene, would we have been caught in the explosion and killed on the spot?"

"Or did the game only start after we entered?"

"It’s hard to say. Assuming this is a fight-to-survive death game, it’s quite common to die as soon as you parachute down... But one thing is certain: since there are cards in our pockets, there must be a designer behind this island."

The explosions seemed to have nothing to do with Bai Wu anymore. He faced the ground, holding his breath, calmly analyzing the situation on the ground.

Clearly, after the explosions ended, the three of them would have to keep running for their lives, as these Yellow Line Grass would likely soon turn into death-seeking ghosts.

But a game must have winners and losers; to lose meant death, and to win should at least come with a corresponding reward.

Oddly enough, Bai Wu began to look forward to it.

At the same time, a map started forming in his mind.

"Just pass through the weeds, and we’ll know the suit of the next row of zones. If it’s Heart, we just need to move to the east; if it’s Diamond, then the fastest way is to take a diagonal path in the northeast direction."

Thirty seconds later, the explosions finally stopped. As the three of them got up, Bai Wu said,

"Don’t stop, follow me!"

The explosions were tremendous, but they clearly did not damage the vegetation on the island; however, Lin Wurou was certain she could not have survived the explosion they just experienced.

Yin Shuang was able to use the Refraction Shield, which made her relatively safer.

Bai Wu pushed aside the Yellow Line Grass in front of him, which was even taller than him, making the three of them slower than when they had been running wildly through the coconut grove area marked by the spade suit.

"Pick up the pace, these grasses will become as dangerous as the bombs just now."

"Fuck! Should we use the Return Roulette and go back?" Lin Wurou suddenly felt like retreating.

Bai Wu said:

"You two can go back, I intend to take a look."

Seeing Bai Wu was interested in this place, Lin Wurou no longer had the intention to retreat.

The Yellow Line Grass was nearly two meters tall, somewhat resembling reeds, but completely withered and yellow. As the three of them pushed through the grass, Yin Shuang suddenly said:

"There’s an Evil Fallen to our right...heading our way."

Bai Wu glanced at Lin Wurou’s and Yin Shuang’s wristwatches. Although they didn’t look composed, the readings on their watches clearly indicated they were frightened.

"It must have been attracted by the negative emotions you two are exuding, but it’s not a big problem; let’s keep moving forward."

Not a big problem...

Lin Wurou always felt the problem was significant. He didn’t know that, deep down, Bai Wu was even looking forward to encountering an Evil Fallen.

Because he needed more clues to complete his calculations about the island.

About thirty seconds after he finished speaking, three figures emitting a foul stench suddenly lunged from the other side of the grass.

These were three humanoid Evil Fallen with skin the color of sewage sludge. They wore varying clothes, all filthy, yet they were agile.

Bai Wu noticed that each of the three had cards in the pockets on the front of their clothes, but he couldn’t see the specifics.

"Rats, bugs, dung beetles, maggots, and flies, cockroaches longer than your index finger. Do you think I’m talking about some inexplicable, disgusting creatures? No, I’m talking about the three level-three Evil Fallen that are charging right at you. Their bodies are made of countless such creatures, combined with rotting corpses. Their powers are limited, but they have a rare Mutation Entry that’s enough to disgust you—Corpse Corruption Infection. It’s an entry that, once contracted, incessantly erodes vitality."

"Yin Shuang, deploy the Refraction Shield, Lin Wurou, draw your sword!"

Although they were three level-three Evil Fallen that matched the standards of a blue area, Bai Wu wasn’t the least bit negligent to avoid contact with the Corpse Corruption Infection.

The three sixth-rank experts effortlessly disposed of the Evil Fallen.

At the moment they killed them, Yin Shuang and Lin Wurou felt a wave of nausea rising in their stomachs. Bai Wu frowned.

Countless cockroaches, bloated flies, and maggots continuously crawled out from the bodies of the three dead humanoid Evil Fallen.

It was as if they had been wrapped in a cocoon being nibbled away by various carrion insects, with gray-green corpse oil, rotting flesh, the smell of decay, and even the black-stained bones, all indicating that the bodies of the three Evil Fallen had been dead for a long time.

A large question mark hung over Bai Wu’s head.

"What exactly happened here?" Lin Wurou asked the question once again.

Bai Wu didn’t know either.

The filthy black bodies began turning to dust, revealing equally sullied bones. Only the three pieces of clothing did not decay with them.

Bai Wu picked up three cards.

Three of Hearts.

"Take them, they are the symbol of your victory, and will allow you to exchange for more initial supplies in the next area."

He suddenly understood a bit.

"Keep going, the Hearts Three area isn’t far from us now. All questions will be answered once we get there."