The World Below Surface
Chapter 94

The quaint town workout area was still buzzing with the chatter of a few elderly men and women who had lingered after their morning exercise.

One of them, however, remained silent and pensive. His companions noticed his unusual demeanour and prodded him curiously. "What's eating you? The visitors have been gone for a while, and you haven't uttered a single word."

The old man gestured vaguely with his hand, his brow creased with frustration. "Doesn't the name Lu Yan ring a bell for any of you? I have this nagging feeling that I've encountered it somewhere before."

"Really? It doesn't sound familiar to me."

"Now that you mention it, I do feel a bit familiar."

"Can you elaborate? Perhaps I can jog my memory too."

The old man shook his head, still perplexed. "It's baffling... Where on earth have I come across this name before..."

As his face grew more troubled, the others sensed that something was wrong.

"Never mind, it's probably just old age. Let the youngsters sort it out at their own pace."

"Ah, just drop it already. It's not worth racking your brains over."

The old man paid no heed to their words, his brow crinkling more and more, his face twisting in agony.

"Where have I heard it... where? I... I'm certain I've heard it..." His thin hand pounded his head violently. "I must have heard it! Where? Where did this name come from?"

"Easy now, easy. There's no need to get so worked up over this."

"No! I must have heard it! I must remember!" The old man's eyes were bloodshot, gripping his friend's collar desperately. "Do you remember? Do you recognise him?"

"What's gotten into you? Let go of me, let go!"

"Where have I heard it? Where?" After being forcefully pulled away, the old man collapsed, holding his head, whispering to himself.

"Who is he..."

"He's lost his marbles, that's what." Others backed away, wanting to steer clear of the trouble.

Images flickered in his mind, slowly gaining focus.

The old man's eyes gradually widened, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

He remembered...

That, er, the fellow named Lu Yan, he had visited the town before, and at that time, everyone greeted him cordially. But no one could have foreseen the calamity that he would unleash upon their town!

"I remembered, I've figured it out!" the old man cried out suddenly, leaping from his seat fervently.

New images flashed in his mind.

He saw Lu Yan's grinning face as he swung a massive axe that was taller than a child, cleaving him in two with a single stroke...

So, he had been dead for a long time...

"You remembered? Remember what?" another person approached, observing him standing motionless and extending a hand to pat his shoulder.

But the slightest contact was enough to trigger a gruesome effect. The person split in half from head to toe and collapsed to the floor in a splash of crimson and ivory. The old man was soaked in the viscera of his companion.

He stood there frozen, his face covered in blood, unable to comprehend the horror. After a few moments, he let out a piercing scream.

**

"This is madness, this is carnage. How many people have died in the town today? Could it be because of our presence?"

As the sun set, the weary survivors made their way back to their temporary shelter, hoping for a night of rest and respite.

Shen Zhu was the last one to arrive, and as she pushed the door, she was met with a chorus of voices from within.

The rest turned their gaze towards her, searching for any indication of their crucial companion, the one who had been essential to their mission.

Ling Tong's brow furrowed, "Miss Shen Zhu, please tell us, what happened to Yi Zhen Zhen?"

Yu Huai Yao, who stood behind Shen Zhu, looked like a ghost, his face drained of colour and his eyes hollow. "She's gone," he said, his voice barely audible.

"Gone?!"

The word echoed in the room, sending shockwaves through the crowd. Some of them slammed their fists on the table, demanding, "How did she die?"

Shen Zhu's eyes were icy, as she glared at them. "This is a mission, not a holiday. Death is always a possibility. No one is guaranteed to survive."

Yu Huai Yao softly narrated the events that led to Yi Zhen Zhen's death. As he spoke, he felt a pang of doubt in his heart. It was odd, he thought, that no one had seen what happened, that no one could save her.

No, something was off... There was someone...

Shen Zhu had confided in him earlier that she had some misgivings about Lin Chu, but she lacked any proof to back up her suspicions.

Yu Huai Yao's eyes darted around, deciding to keep his doubts to himself for now. He intended to retrieve the body from the police station tomorrow. Once he had the evidence in his hands, he would confront Lin Chu and expose her lies.

The others shuddered as they learned the true cause of Yi Zhen Zhen's death.

This town was a nightmare, a place where death lurked around every corner.

But something was still amiss... Shen Zhu scanned the hall. "Is everyone accounted for?"

The group was smaller than before, missing not only Yi Zhen Zhen, but also five others.

Xi Men Yuan spoke up, "I'm down one person. He tripped, smashed his head on the seesaw, and bled out."

Jiang Yu said, "I lost two. One got crushed by a flowerpot that fell from the sky, and the other got electrocuted by a GG sign that came crashing down."

Di Ying continued, "Same here, two gone. One drowned in a well when the water level rose suddenly and we couldn't pull her out. The other got stabbed in the eye by a paper plane that a kid threw at her on the street and failed to avoid the truck."

The room grew quiet as they recounted the deaths of their comrades.

These deaths were too bizarre. There were no signs of any ghosts, just a series of freak accidents, but that only made it more horrifying.

Xi Men Yuan broke the silence with a question, "Any leads?"

Their eyes met, conveying their mutual frustration.

Tan Xu voiced his observation, "The locals recoil at the mere mention of 'disappearance'. They act as if we're accusing them of something. They deny any knowledge of a Lu Yan."

"Maybe they're so scared of the word because they've seen too many disappearances before," another chimed in.

Something was definitely off about the townspeople.

"And death doesn't seem to bother them either, as if..." someone trailed off, unsure how to express their thoughts, "as if it's as commonplace as breathing, not a cause for alarm."

What kind of twisted town was this?

"Spirit Vale..." Xi Men Yuan whispered the name, as if trying to make sense of it.

Spirit Vale—a town shrouded in mystery, where mediums were said to dwell, those who could speak to the dead and cross the boundary between the physical and the spiritual.

Was there any truth to these rumours?

Jiang Yu, usually silent, finally offered his opinion, "I think we need a different strategy.

— This task has no deadline, which means we're stuck in this world until we either kill Lu Yan or replace the missing person.

— And right now, there are no signs of any ghosts or curses or anything supernatural. All these deaths have been caused by coincidences, but these coincidences are too convenient to be random."

— From another perspective, as long as we steer clear of these coincidences, we don't have to worry about completing the short-term task."

Ling Tong felt compelled to ask, "So, what are you implying?"

Jiang Yu said, "With no time pressure and such a large team, is it possible that this task is impossible to complete in the short term?"

Everyone had entertained this thought, but few had dared to say it out loud. Lingering in the mission world for too long was a bad idea.

After all, it was only the first day, and six people had already perished.

Shen Zhu said, "So, our priority for now is to protect ourselves, be as vigilant as possible, and evade any threats that may arise from any potential coincidences."

"Coincidences are not as simple as they seem. I propose we review the details of the incident to see if we've activated some kind of death rule," Di Ying suggested.

They knew from experience that setting off some sort of death trap would result in casualties. Everything had a logic to it, otherwise, they would have been doomed.

Despite having heard the story before, they still planned to examine the incident thoroughly once more.

Jiang Yu, on the other hand, kept quiet, merely sitting and listening attentively.

"It's pointless."

As they scrutinised the written version in front of them, everyone was trying to replace clues, but Jiang Yu shook his head and repeated, "It's pointless. Can't you see?"

Not bothering to wait for their reactions, Jiang Yu went on, "Everything, from the patterns we've uncovered to the escapes we've devised, is slowly losing its effectiveness."

This revelation was more startling than anything else.

Ling Tong asked, "What are you implying?"

Lin Chu mimicked the same shocked look as the others, but inside, she felt no surprise.

It appeared that she was not the only one who had noticed it.

When she returned from her previous task and diligently compiled all the tasks posted on the website once again, she couldn't help but feel a growing sense of coldness as she read through them.

The number of tasks had spiked again in just half a month, with nearly a thousand new users joining, but the active users had dwindled drastically. And in the recent tasks, there was hardly any pattern to decipher.

It meant that deadlocks were becoming more common.

Maybe more and more task-takers were meeting their end, and they had no chance to share their task progress.

Lin Chu forced a smile. Who could tell if this time it wouldn't be a deadlock?

Jiang Yu's verdict chilled everyone to the bone.

"So, are we..." one of them whispered.

Are we doomed?

**

A bus was winding its way through the hills and woods, with only two people on board.

One driver and one passenger. The passenger by the door rolled down the window, admiring the view outside, making small talk with the driver now and then.

"That town, it's no place for ordinary folk to linger."

The bus came to a halt before a tunnel, and the driver warned, "Young man, if you're looking for someone, make it quick and get back."

Lu Yan thanked him politely and asked, "Could you tell me why?"

The driver shook his head, "That's not something I can share, talking about it would invite trouble."

As Lu Yan got off the bus and stood by the door, the driver pushed a button, and the doors shut.

Lu Yan turned around and headed for the tunnel.

The driver drove away, feeling a nagging sense of unease.

"Strange... Why does the name Lu Yan sound familiar?" The driver racked his brain, but couldn't remember.

No, he had definitely met this person before! But where?

Why did he have a vague recollection of him, yet couldn't place him?

Where had they crossed paths?

Fleeting images of the figure wielding an axe and swinging it down flashed in his mind, and the driver rubbed his head.

In his mind, that figure grew closer and clearer with every second.

He witnessed the other person's gruesome actions of butchering a human being, chopping and chopping, blood spattering everywhere. The other person had a serene expression, as if performing a mundane task.

The visions in his mind grew sharper by the minute.

The driver's eyes slowly widened in horror.

At last, he saw the full picture: the man was hacking the driver's body to pieces! Over and over, reducing the already mutilated corpse to smaller chunks.

And there was his own head, lying nearby, eyes still open, unyielding in death.

The driver was paralysed with terror, his soul leaving his body. He accidentally caught a glimpse of the rearview mirror and was rooted to the spot.

In the mirror, he saw his own reflection, eyes bulging, face ashen, exactly like the severed head he had seen in the vision!

As soon as he realised this, his body was seized with excruciating pain. He looked down, and his body suddenly split open...

Lu Yan had barely walked a few steps when a deafening noise resounded behind him at the entrance of the dark tunnel.

He turned around and saw the bus swerve off the faraway roadside and slam into a tree.

Before he could react, the vehicle exploded with a massive blast, flames soaring up several metres high, instantly setting the nearby trees ablaze, heat surging towards him.

There was no turning back now.

Lu Yan gave one last look at the burning bus before turning and entering the tunnel.

As if swallowed by a monstrous beast, the tunnel engulfed him in its gloomy, damp maw, where soft, wet earth squelched beneath his feet. The faint cacophony of the outside world, faded into silence as he ventured deeper into the abyss. He craned his neck to look forward, but no glimmer of light pierced the pitch-blackness that loomed over him.

A shiver ran down his spine. The tunnel was eerily quiet, a soundless void that enveloped him in darkness.

Lu Yan clung to the inner wall as he crept forward, his heart pounding in his chest. He could smell the musty stench of moss that clung to the nearby wall, a sign of the dampness that pervaded the air. He could hear the faint, unknown skittering of insects that scurried along the wall, their tiny legs brushing against the rough surface. And then, his own soft footsteps, the only human sound in this desolate tunnel.

How long was this tunnel? Why did it seem to have no end? How much time had elapsed since he entered this hellish place?

Lu Yan knew he could easily take out his phone and check, but something deep inside him told him not to. In this tunnel, it was best to pretend to be blind and deaf, to ignore the horrors that lurked in the shadows. To hope for a way out.

He walked for what felt like an eternity, losing all sense of direction and time. He almost lost himself in the darkness, his mind wandering to the point of madness. When a faint light suddenly appeared ahead, he thought it was a hallucination, a cruel trick of his mind.

But it wasn't a hallucination. It was real. The light was about two hundred metres away from him. He was nearing the exit.

Lu Yan quickened his pace towards the light. He was almost there. He was going to make it.

Outside the tunnel, the evening had fallen. The moon in the mountains shone with an exceptional brightness, casting a radiant silver light that bathed the surroundings in a soft glow. It was a stark contrast to the darkness he had just escaped from.

Lu Yan emerged from the tunnel and beheld the scene before him.

A small cabin stood by the road, its windows dimly lit by a flickering lamp. Two men, who had been taking turns on night duty, sprang to their feet as soon as they caught sight of a young man stepping out of the tunnel. They hurried out to meet him, their faces tense and alert.

"Who are you? Are you from the town?" the shorter one asked cautiously, his voice low and wary.

They noticed his dishevelled appearance, his clothes torn and stained by explosions, his face bruised and scratched.

Lu Yan also scanned the two men with a practised eye. He had encountered taskers like them many times before, and he could easily tell them apart from the local residents. He could even estimate how many missions they had been on. They were not seasoned veterans, but they were not rookies either.

He knew that his current appearance might arouse their suspicion, so he smiled gently and said, "I'm here for sightseeing. And what about you?"

The two men exchanged a quick glance, then plastered friendly smiles on their faces. One of them extended his hand, saying, "Sightseeing? You must have a keen sense of adventure to replace this place. By the way, I'm Wang Shun De (王顺德). And you?"

(王 (Wáng) is a surname that means “king” or “monarch”. 顺 (Shùn) is a unisex given name that means “smooth” or “obedient”. 德 (Dé) is a unisex given name that means “virtue” or “morality”. 王顺德 could be interpreted as “a virtuous king” or “an obedient moralist”)

"I'm Lu Yan, you can call me whatever you like," Lu Yan replied with a mild smile, taking his hand.

At the sound of this name, the two operatives felt a jolt of adrenaline coursing through their veins.

Lu Yan! Wasn't he the one they were hunting?

They could barely contain their excitement for a moment. One of them almost leaped up, but Wang Shun De quickly held him back and warmly invited Lu Yan inside.

They knew that someone who prompts so many pursuers must be formidable. It was better not to make any rash moves.

By a stroke of luck, or perhaps fate, an axe lay in the room.

"It's quite late now, still a few hours until dawn. Why don't you rest here in this room? We'll head to town together when it's light," Wang Shun De said earnestly, his eyes gleaming with a hidden agenda. "We're here to guard the forest against wildfires. Someone will take over in the early morning. If you don't mind, that is."

The room was cramped and modest, consisting of two rooms with a bathroom. They had each claimed a room for themselves, but now that Lu Yan had arrived, the shorter man graciously offered his room to him.

They both wished Lu Yan would drift off to sleep soon, so they could strike. Without wasting any time, they urged him to eat something and freshen up, then snuffed out the lights in the room.

"When do you think he'll fall asleep? When should we make our move?" The shorter man whispered as they lay side by side, his heart racing with anticipation.

He had thought it would be a long and arduous task, after hearing the bosses' plans during the day. But who would have expected, not long after, that Lu Yan would walk right into their trap?

He was eager to end his life and return to his own world. He had had enough of this!

Wang Shun De whispered to him, "No need to rush, let's wait a little longer. We'll sort it out after he's dozed off."

They lamented their lack of drugs; otherwise, it would have been perfect if they could slip something into his food and drink.

After waiting for over two hours, assuming that he had fallen into a deep slumber, the two stealthily got up.

Wang Shun De grabbed the axe from the wall, and the short man likewise snatched a thick wooden stick from behind the door.

"Let's go."

On the other side, the door to the room was slightly ajar.

The wooden cabin, long neglected, had doors in both rooms that couldn't be securely locked. A gust of wind could easily blow into the room, making the wooden doors rattle.

He pushed the door open, bathed in the moonlight, and saw the shape of a blanket heaped on the bed.

Was he sleeping under the covers?

Wang Shun De tiptoed towards the bedside, barely making a sound.

He lifted the axe high and brought it down with force!

The bed was cleaved in half, but the expected scene of blood spattering did not occur. All he had cut was the quilt on the bed.

"How can this be? Where is he?!" Wang Shun De flung the quilt aside.

The duvet was the only thing left on the bed; the figure had disappeared.

"What the hell? Wasn't he asleep??" Wang Shun De hissed, disbelief and fear mingling in his voice.

The short man beside him scanned the room frantically, searching for any sign of their target.

A young man's voice broke the silence from the doorway. "Are you looking for me?"

He leaned casually against the doorframe, a friendly smile playing on his lips. He was slender and wiry, with no obvious muscles or weapons, but Wang Shun De and his companion felt a chill run down their spines as they sensed the lethal threat he posed.

"Y-you..." Wang Shun De stammered, trying to fabricate an excuse to weasel out, but Lu Yan quickly slammed the door behind him, smiling as he closed the gap between them.

The door shut, leaving only a few slivers of moonlight filtering through the window. Lu Yan moved forward, dodging when the other attacked him. He flicked his wrist, and a dagger flashed in his hand. With a speed that defied belief, he pressed the blade against the man's neck from behind, swiftly knocking him out, then faced the other.

"Don't come any closer!"