Chapter 105

Lin Tu remembered where the exit was. She ran at full speed, only stopping to gulp down two Night Blueberries. They were the last of the stash she'd saved from the previous disaster, which was now pitifully close to empty.

She slammed into the door, only to find it locked. But she'd already formed a plan on the way over. She quickly drew her long blade, pulled out the [Diamond Coating] ticket she'd been clutching, and was about to apply it when that man's voice came from behind her again.

"Huh? So you were heading for this exit? Didn't you know this path is sealed?" His tone was infuriatingly innocent. "Even if you break down this door, there's a pile of debris behind it, and then a second iron door."

Lin Tu spun around. He'd managed to keep up with her, even though she'd been sprinting on Blueberries. She couldn't help but feel wary of him. She decided to ignore this stranger; whether he was sincere or not, she'd open that door first and deal with the consequences later.

"Granddaughter of Grandpa Lin, I suggest you come with me," the man continued. "You'd be wasting your items and time. We can take the pipe tunnel and loop back underground to where we started. That's also the only entrance connecting Deck 7 to the upper levels. Plus, the pipe tunnel has its own ventilation, so we won't leave a scent trail."

Lin Tu shot him a sharp look, recalling the map she'd memorized. Deck 7 wasn't just this one level—there was a layer of pipes beneath it. She decided to go with him, not just for the alternate route, but because of three words he'd mentioned: Grandpa Lin.

Lin Tu had essentially been raised by her grandfather. The ramshackle house from over twenty years ago was the most beautiful place in her memories. She'd sleep in the small bed, Grandpa in the big one. He wouldn't let the big yellow dog into the bedroom, but she'd sneak out of bed at night and let him in anyway. Her bed was too low, so the dog would always come over and lick her face, and then she'd get cross, swat at him, and shoo him back out.

When she started elementary school, Grandpa made her sleep on her own. She moved into the small room she now occupied, but just a few days later, Grandpa vanished. He never came back that night. Lin Tu cried and walked the entire night with the big yellow dog until she reached town and found someone to help. No one knew where he'd gone. They all said old folks had trouble moving about and he'd probably slipped and fallen while checking his rabbit traps up the mountain. The rescue teams searched for over half a month across that vast mountain and were certain Grandpa couldn't still be alive.

It was only later she learned Grandpa had already arranged her path long before. He'd left a large sum of money with her aunt, so she had a home again. But her aunt never mentioned Grandpa's name, and Lin Tu thought the name of that kindly smiling old man would only live on in her memory.

She never expected to hear it today.

Lin Tu turned and quickly followed him through another door. Beyond it was a pipe leading down, and the two climbed a ladder to the level below. More precisely, it was a tunnel so long she couldn't see the end of it. It was about two meters wide and two meters tall, with a pipe at least a meter in diameter running along the left, and on the right, beside the ladder, a straight iron track stretching forward.

"I heard there's a hand-pushed trolley here that you can glide all the way along with arm strength, but let's just walk," the man said. He pulled out a cigarette and was about to flick his lighter when he saw Lin Tu staring at him. He paused, then put the lighter away. "Alright, fine—this really isn't the place for smoking."

Whether he smoked or not was his business. What Lin Tu cared about now was: "You knew my grandfather?"

"Of course, Grandpa Lin Zhihai," the man confirmed, and sure enough, he spoke her grandfather's full name. "You look a lot like him, especially with those glasses on. The nose and lips beneath them are even more similar. So don't blame me for recognizing you."

Meeting someone in a disaster world who knew her grandfather? Lin Tu had to suspect either this man was off his rocker and had used some item to peer into her heart, or her grandfather himself was far from ordinary.

"Are you a player?" she asked.

"Don't be so wary," the man chuckled. "If I'm not a player, what am I—a monster?"

Maybe he really was a monster at 100% infection rate. Lin Tu immediately pulled out her phone and checked his infection level.

The man spread his arms wide, looking perfectly open to inspection. "I'd show you my phone right now if I hadn't lost it. I even had photos of me and your grandfather on it! But back then you probably hadn't entered the game yet. Your grandfather never brought you into the public eye—he kept you well protected. If we hadn't run into each other by chance, I doubt I'd have recognized you. Oh, right, you're Lin Tu, aren't you? Would've been awkward if I got the name wrong."

0.8% infection rate. That number convinced Lin Tu he wasn't a monster, and besides, he'd called her by name.

So he was a player, and Grandpa had been one too. Lin Tu thought back to the whole process of inheriting her little house, and suddenly she could believe it. Anju might well have been the inheritance Grandpa left her.

It was possible to run into players in the game. And if Grandpa was a player, then meeting a player who knew him was even more plausible. Only... if she remembered correctly, wasn't this supposed to be a closed disaster world? She'd only been able to enter using the identity of the deceased, Deng Haixiang.

"Why are you here?" Lin Tu asked after a moment of silence.

"Wow!" the man let out a startled squawk. "You're a bit unreasonable, aren't you? We're in a disaster world—if you can get in, why can't I? Don't you dare tell me your grandfather is Lin Zhihai. I'd really lose all dignity and hand you the spoils of this disaster, but only if you get me out of here."

Lin Tu: "..." Fine. Maybe this guy was also working off the books like she was. Whether he could get in or not wasn't her problem. She only needed to know one thing—

"Where did my grandfather go?"

If he was a player, the theory that he'd vanished in the mountains and died no longer held. Lin Tu had to know how her grandfather had died, and one day she'd bury his remains atop that mountain.

Now it was the man's turn to fall silent. He looked Lin Tu up and down, as if she were an idiot. "If your grandfather didn't come into this disaster with you, then of course he's in Doomsday Town! You're asking me that? Grab anyone on the street and they'll know him, but where exactly he is—who can say? Your grandfather's a big shot! Unless... he's recently gone missing in a disaster world? Well, that would be bad..."

According to him, her grandfather was still alive?!

Lin Tu could hardly believe it. Her grandfather had vanished when she was seven, and that was nearly twenty years ago now. To put it bluntly, shouldn't her grandfather be dead by now? Wait... Lin Tu felt a surge of joy—she'd been stuck in a mental trap.

The flow of time in Doomsday Town was different from that of other worlds. She didn't know the principle behind it, but it hadn't stopped her from growing up healthily for twenty years, with her grandfather still somewhere out there waiting for her to come meet him.

So Anju wasn't the inheritance Grandpa had left her—it was the ticket he'd left her to see him again!

It was all her fault for being too slow! Grandpa had even specifically written in his will that she had to live in the house for three months, just to trigger Anju! How had she not figured that out? If she'd thought of it sooner and gone to find Grandpa, she might have already seen him by now.

She could tell Grandpa all about what had happened in these past few disasters. She'd heard Grandpa was very capable, so she could legitimately latch onto his coattails. Back when she was working, though she'd acted dismissive on the surface, she'd truly envied those with powerful connections who soared thousands of miles in a single step, while ordinary people had to grind themselves to the bone just for a chance at promotion. Now she had connections too! She had a family member who loved her!

A powerful rush of joy flooded Lin Tu's heart, swiftly followed by a case of nerves at finally being so close to home.

She suddenly found herself afraid to ask anything more about her grandfather, so she changed the subject. "Why did you lose your phone?"

"Bad luck," the man shrugged. "See, that monster just now—I pulled out an item to attack it, and somehow I chucked my phone right at it! It chomped it up and swallowed it whole."

Lin Tu: "...Then what do you do without a phone?"

"It'll reset once the disaster ends. No big deal."

Lin Tu: "...What's your name?"

At that question, the man suddenly clutched his head, a pained grimace twisting his face as he let out a muffled cry. Lin Tu watched him warily, but he managed to push through the invisible torment. After a moment, he looked up—

"I don't know..." the man said with a bitter smile. "Ever since my phone was damaged, I forgot my name. I think it's a side effect of losing the phone. Even worse, I've also forgotten what my mission objective is in this disaster."

Lin Tu asked, "Isn't the mission to survive for three months?"

"Sometimes, a person doesn't come just to survive. I'm looking for a local, someone very important..." the man said. "I remember what she looks like, but I forgot her name." As for why he needed to find this person, he'd forgotten that too.

The two continued walking, and as they neared the exit, Lin Tu pondered for a moment, then said, "Does the face you remember include what she was wearing?"

The man immediately nodded. "She seemed to be wearing a research lab coat."

That simplified things. Lin Tu quickly said, "Then she's most likely a student or a teacher. I know a girl studying on this ship. If you describe the person you're looking for to her, she might be able to recognize who it is. She's in the electrical room on Deck 1 right now, and you'd better not scare her."

The man was overjoyed. "Great! If I need to get in touch later, how do I find you?"

"I'm staying in Room 442, but I'm planning to move to a container on the Open Deck. If you need to find me..."

"I can go to the Open Deck," the man said, breaking into a bright smile. "Even though I've lost my memories, I still remember my abilities and items. Please put this peach blossom outside your door. When I want to visit, the blossom will bloom, and if you pluck a petal, I'll know where you are."

Lin Tu nodded. "Then what should I call you?"

"Call me Da Jun," Da Jun said with a smile. "After I came to my senses, I found a slip of paper in my pocket with the names of six or seven people written on it—Da Jun, Da Sima, Xiao Wu, Da Hai, Qu Qu, and so on... I figure one of them might be my name."