Thriller Tour Group

Shi Xiao was filled with worry as a slew of comments speculated that III-9 was gravely hurt and dying. He couldn’t stop himself from glancing at Bai Xiaosheng’s notebook and saw the phrase  [III-9 passed the low SAN value test] that had just written.

Shi Xiao did not realize that he was relieved when he saw this line of words. He felt the same level of concern and worry about III-9 as he felt for Shi Tao.

“Tour guides would never be afraid of a low countdown to death.”

Bai Xiaosheng said calmly, “As long as III-9 doesn’t want to die, he won’t die.” 

“The real danger to him is the decline in SAN value, but he should have survived the state where he was being affected by the negative conditions.”

“Mr. Bai, is your esteemed self not affected by the blocking off of the livestream?”

But Shi Xiao suddenly thought of something, and stood up in awe. Afraid of attracting the attention of other onlookers, his voice was very low. Bai Xiaosheng looked up and shook his head.

“Why do you think so? The blocking off was done by the Travel Services. No one can see through the blocking off of the Travel Services.”

“Your analysis is too accurate. I thought——”

Shi Xiao’s face reddened due to embarrassment. Bai Xiaosheng’s judgment of III-9 was too accurate. That made him have a misconception, and he momentarily forgot that the blocking off of livestreams was one of the Travel Services’ rules.

“These are very easy to tell.”

Taking advantage of the SUV’s escape from the fog and mosquitoes, Bai Xiaosheng explained his inferenceswhile he rearranged his stack of sheepskin. 

“III-9’s live stream blocked himself and the area around him. The specific scope will be assessed by the Travel Services, but those who have physical contact with him will certainly be blocked together with him.”

“There was no blood on Wang Pengpai when he came out of the fetal flesh grave. After he ran to where III-9 was, his screen was also blocked. When he swapped seats and sat on the driver’s seat, his figure appeared again, indicating that Wang Pengpai and III-9 had been touching each other previously. Wang Pengpai’s left shoulder and upper body were soaked with blood. From the shape and size of the bloodstains, it can be inferred that he had carried III-9 on his shoulder and III-9 was seriously injured.”

“A tour guide’s injury isn’t anything serious as long as he doesn’t die. The crux here lies in Wang Pengpai’s ability to successfully carry III-9.. III-9 has a 1.2% chance of taking a liking to Wang Pengpai, and there’s a 94% chance that III-9 couldn’t resist his actions. Thus, we can conclude that he has very likely fallen into a state of depression due to losing SAN.”

“Here, when Wang Pengpai and Xu Chen swapped seats, the SUV was surrounded by fog mosquitoes, and the others weren’t panicking too much. This means that the window of the SUV should be closed. Zhao Hongtu’s figure was blocked, and Zhao Hongtu and III-9 sat in the same row. His scream was most likely caused by III-9.” 

Bai Xiaosheng spoke faster and excitedly, “III-9’s position is near the window. If you pay more attention to Zhao Hongtu’s scream, you can find that the buzzing sound of the fog mosquitoes suddenly increases by more than ten decibels. Thus, we can infer that III-9 has most likely opened the window. This move is inconsistent with the previous judgment that III-9 has entered the state of depression.”

“There are two possibilities. First, III-9 got rid of his negative emotions. Second, III-9 actually entered a state of self-destruction, and this implies that his SAN fell crazily. It took seven seconds from Zhao Hongtu’s scream to Wang Pengpai taking over the wheel. From the livestream screen of the other tourists in the car, we did not see fog mosquitoes. That is to say, even though III-9 opened the window, he did not want to let the fog mosquitoes in to kill the team. He probably had some method of killing or controlling fog mosquitoes.”

“It can be inferred that the first case scenario is true. III-9 has fallen into a state where his SAN is falling, but he has temporarily recovered from it.”

“So that’s the case!” 

After listening to Bai Xiaosheng’s analysis, Shi Xiao and the audience around him had a feeling that it was a waste for them to have brains and eyes. They didn’t expect that someone could analyze so many things in real time as he watched the livestream, and didn’t even have a need to replay it.

Bai Xiaosheng’s analysis was much more detailed than that of III-9’s lunatic and fanatical fans.

In a trance, Shi Xiao thought that after knowing that III-9 was out of danger, he could finally watch the livestream without any worries. But Bai Xiaosheng’s next words made his heart jolt again.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

“It is recorded that around 3 a.m., the mortality rate of III-9 exceeded 50% for the first time.” 

“Qts!”

Djl Wljbrtfcu’r lcofgfcmf raeccfv Vtl Wljb. Glvc’a tf pera rjs atja PPP-9 kjr bea bo vjcufg? Lbk mbeiv tf rjs atja atf wbgajilas gjaf bo PPP-9 ja 3:00 j.w. kjr tlutfg atjc 50%??

Dea Djl Wljbrtfcu vlvc’a jcrkfg atlr alwf. Llr fsfr kfgf nfgs obmerfv bc atf rmgffc. Vajgalcu ogbw atf kbgvr “Pa lr gfmbgvfv”, atf ofjatfg bo atf delii qfc lc tlr tjcv mtjcufv lar mbibeg ab qegqif. Ktlr uglw jawbrqtfgf joofmafv fnfgsbcf cfjgys. Vtl Wljb reymbcrmlberis tfiv tlr ygfjat, rfmgfais jczlber lc tlr tfjga.

At one o’clock in the morning, the mosaic on III-9’s body disappeared, and his figure appeared in the livestream room. His clothes were in disarray and the sight of his whole body covered in bloodstains caused a frenzy in the barrage. The audience who were following the livestream knew that III-9 was a neat freak who changed clothes almost every day. From what they could see now, III-9’s current situation was really horrible. 

“What is he looking for?”

III-9’s behavior incited everyone to talk about it.

“A monster is chasing him?”

“Is III-9 nuts?” 

“It couldn’t be that there’s a woman who meets his standards in front of him, right?”

In the virtual hall, the people around Bai Xiaosheng had long become used to waiting for him to analyze first. Shi Xiao, who was nearest to him, directly looked at Bai Xiaosheng’s notebook and saw him write two phrases side by side.

[Zombified flying fox king]

[Spiteful ghost Pingping] 

“It can’t be the zombified flying fox king.”

Shi Xiao twisted his eyebrows and said, “The newly opened scenic spot is usually closely related to the tour’s attractions. III-9 killed the zombified flying fox right commander in Little Dragon Farmstead and the zombified flying fox left commander in Ferocious Bone Plank Road. It can be inferred that he should have completed at least 50% of his task of opening up new scenic spots. The final boss, like the zombified flying fox king, should only appear in the second half of the tour.”

“The ghost baby may be Pingping’s former child. The zombified flying fox king was domesticated by her. If it appears in the second attraction, it is likely that he is the guardian of the ghost baby and will appear at the beating three dynasties banquet at the end of the second attraction. If the tourist chooses the wrong baby and chooses a human baby, maybe it will come out to punish the tourists. That will be the time for III-9 to act.”

“If he went to look for the zombified flying fox king ahead of time, I don’t think he could find it. It’s more likely for him to find the spiteful ghost Pingping. After all, he has a ghost baby in his hands.” 

His reasoning and analysis were reasonable, leading to the approval of the nearby audience. Bai Xiaosheng didn’t speak after that and had been watching the livestream carefully. III-9 walked in the mountains and forests in his search for something. The scenes of him climbing mountains and traversing forests were boring after a while. Most of the audience turned their attention to the tourists’ sub-screens to see them preparing for the attraction.

Shi Xiao also turned his attention to his brother and buried his worries in his heart until a tourist nearby suddenly exclaimed.

“Fuck, what’s that??”

What happened? 

Shi Xiao recovered from his stupor and looked at III-9’s screen before gasping in shock. III-9 had stopped moving. There was a beautiful head on the couple tree that had its trunk entangled together in front of him!

[Fuck, fuck, III-9, what did you find!]

[It gave me a fright, this thing that came from hell almost frightened me to death]

[Is this what he has been looking for? It’s terrifying. Wha is it?!] 

“It’s Pingping!”

Shi Xiao blurted out, “He was looking for Pingping.”

But as soon as the voice fell, he frowned again. No, it was more reasonable to think that III-9 was looking for the zombified flying fox king. Why would he want to find the spiteful ghost Pingping? Did he still want to kill her? Or did III-9 receive any tasks related to Pingping?

How could this be possible? Shi Xiao felt that what he was thinking was ludicrous, but his heartbeat started beating faster again. Regardless of whether he was looking for the spiteful ghost Pingping or the zombified flying fox king, he was probably sending himself to death’s door in his current state! 

The surrounding audience also quarrelled so much that it became an absolute mess. They argued about what the head on the tree was and what III-9 wanted to do.

“It’s not Pingping.”

Just then, Bai Xiaosheng opened his mouth. He loosened his quill pen and took out a pocket watch.

“It’s not Pingping?” 

Shi Xiao wondered, “But the beautiful head on the tree, she also said she was Pingping…”

Before the words fell, he shut his mouth and realized that he was making a mistake. He couldn’t believe the damned thing he had just said.

However, many people were convinced by the story narrated by the beautiful head. After all, the experience was very tragic. It seemed to correspond to the life of the corpse driver, Pingping. The barrage was full of analyses on how to obtain benefits from Pingping and pass Pingping’s test. Some people were worried and typed that III-9 should leave quickly. The spiteful ghost Pingping should be the most dangerous monster on the tour, he wouldn’t be able to beat her in his current state.

But Bai Xiaosheng sounded very certain just now. He was sure that the beautiful head on the tree was not Pingping——how on earth was he sure? 

“Tree burial is a very ancient type of funeral, which can be roughly divided into ‘wind burial’,  ‘hanging burial’, ‘air burial’ and ‘sky burial’. This head is not embedded in the trunk but is hung on the branches, so it belongs to ‘hanging burial’.”

“Hanging burial is a funeral tradition of ethnic minorities in Guangxi, Guizhou and some parts of Xiangxi. They believe that children are flowers that were picked up and sent to the mortal realm by the flower goddess who specializes in childbirth. If children die before the age of five, the “flowers wouldn’t return naturally”. In order to send the child’s soul back to the flower goddess, the child’s body is usually wrapped and hung on a branch as a prayer that the child can reincarnate smoothly in their next life.”

Bai Xiaosheng said, “The woman’s head has never attacked III-9, but keeps luring him to go closer to the tree. It is very likely that she is trapped by the tree temporarily. This can confirm that she is not the spiteful ghost Pingping. And you have also analyzed that the zombified flying fox king may be the guardian of the ghost baby and ordered by Pingping to guard the ghost baby’s graveyard.”

“The zombified flying fox can construct visual and auditory illusions. This woman’s head is not necessarily a woman’s head. But for the couple tree to exist in the illusion, we can decipher that probably the tree is the medium of sealing the zombified flying fox king. The zombified flying fox king’s illusion can disguise it, but it can’t completely erase the tree and the things hanging on it. The woman’s head may be fake, but the things hanging on the tree are real.” 

“To sum up, the monster III-9 is facing is the zombified flying fox king. This tree is probably the real graveyard of the ghost baby.”

As soon as Bai Xiaosheng’s voice fell, he saw a rocket launcher on III-9’s shoulder in the livestream screen. He shot at the couple tree. At the same time, the thick white fog dispersed and the sharp and shrill roar of the zombified flying fox king resounded through the virtual hall.

“Godly, your esteemed self is too godly.”

Shi Xiao was completely convinced by Bai Xiaosheng, and the audience nearby were amazed. Seeing that the livestream screen was filled with question marks and the viewers couldn’t figure out how Pingping suddenly became a zombified flying fox king, the audience in the hall suddenly felt slightly peculiar. They sympathized with the audience in the livestream. 

Not everyone had brains like the bigwig Bai Xiaosheng.

Shi Xiao felt the points he had spent to have Bai Xiaosheng analyse the tour was worth it.

Shi Xiao was also amazed. Bai Xiaosheng’s careful, logical thinking and analytical thinking had benefited him a lot. When he looked at Bai Xiaosheng again, Shi Xiao found that he had calmly lowered his head and continued to record something, undisturbed by the exclamations surrounding him.

[III-9 has bad luck. Pay attention to this point.] 

Ah, this……

Shi Xiao’s eyes reflected that he was in a daze, and he was speechless for a moment. Soon, he had no time to think about that point. Even a rocket which sounded so explosive couldn’t kill the zombified flying fox king. The fierce battle between III-9 and the zombified flying fox king attracted all the attention of the audience. They couldn’t see anything clearly because of the dense fog shrouding the battlefield, but the sounds they could hear was enough for the audience. Occasionally, they could see hints of the huge and terrifying figure hidden in the fog. This would cause a wave of exclamations.

One could feel how fierce and bloody the battle was just by listening to the sounds! The hound at Shi Xiao’s feet stared at the screen, lowered their body, and issued a vigilant growl in their throat. Shi Xiao’s ears moved. As an old hunter, he could clearly distinguish that the painful roar came from the zombified flying fox king.

III-9 had the upper hand. 

It was unbelievable, but this was a battle. The zombified flying fox was unable to leave the couple tree. In its sealed form, the zombified flying fox king was not a worthy opponent for III-9. Perhaps the final result of the battle would be that both sides would lose, but III-9 would definitely be the final winner.

Shi Xiao was still confident about III-9’s fighting ability. He subconsciously looked at Bai Xiaosheng and wanted to see his analysis, but he found that there was nothing written on the parchment in front of Bai Xiaosheng. He was holding a gold pocket watch in his hand. Now, Bai Xiaosheng aimed the pocket watch at the livestream screen and moved the pointer.

The pointer of the pocket watch finally pointed to “2:30”.

It was 2:30 in the morning in the Intoxicating Xiangxi tour. 

Seeing him move, Shi Xiao suddenly felt uneasy for no reason. He subconsciously asked Bai Xiaosheng to obtain reassurance from him.

“Mr. Bai, III-9 will win.”

But Bai Xiaosheng shook his head.

“I’m not sure.” 

Bai Xiaosheng said, “Look, it’s nearly three o’clock in the morning.”

Three in the morning? What will happen at three in the morning?

Shi Xiao suddenly remembered that this was the second time Bai Xiaosheng had mentioned 3 in the morning, and he fell into deep thought. At this time, the barrage on the livestream screen was in a state of disharmony. Some people said that III-9 was just looking for trouble. He was just a low-ranking tour guide and he wanted to kill the zombified flying fox king in advance? Intoxicating Xiangxi series tours were already so difficult. Even serious tour guides wouldn’t want to open new scenic spots there. Why would people think that III-9 was godly? He was just fooling around and seeking death.

There wasn’t only one person who was stirring up trouble. The commentary barrage soon became abuzz, and the audience in the virtual hall also muttered: 

[“III-9 is really crazy. If he is defeated and dies, won’t everyone else in the tour group be wiped out?”]

[“Yes, one should do things within their own capabilities. He really underestimated the enemy.”]

[“The zombified flying fox king can’t even be blasted by the rocket launcher, why would he have the courage to rush up to it?”]

[“Yes, in case III-9 is defeated……”] 

[“III-9 won’t lose.”]

Hearing someone’s affirmation, the previous speaker just intended to refute, but when he glanced up, it was actually the bigwig, Bai Xiaosheng!

Bai Xiaosheng ignored the restlessness of the people next to him, but calmly repeated, “If there is no accident, III-9 will win.”

“The battle range has always been near the couple tree. The zombified flying fox king has not been unsealed. It is responsible for protecting the ghost baby. III-9 is carrying the ghost baby, and the ghost is very close to him.” 

“And because of this, the zombified flying fox king will not truly hurt III-9, and the only result is that it will be killed by III-9. If III-9 waits until the end of the second scenic spot’s attraction to kill the zombified flying fox king, the ghost baby’s sins will be expiated and that will unseal the zombified flying fox king., The difficulty of opening up a new scenic spot will increase by more than ten times, and it will become even harder to defeat the zombified flying fox king”

“III-9 has grasped the time very accurately and made all the preparations. Even if I was on this tour, I could not do better than him.”

Bai Xiaosheng’s calm words gradually suppressed the agitated people around him. After listening to his words, the audience felt his words really made sense. Looking at the livestream screen, although it was covered by thick fog and they could not see the specific scene, it was indeed the zombified flying fox king who was screaming all the time. It seemed that they only heard III-9 say something like “be quiet”.

It seemed like III-9 was really going to win? 

How could it be possible for this little Silver-Rank tour guide to really complete the task of opening up a new scenic spot in an Intoxicating Xiangxi tour??

The audience felt that their outlook on the world had been subverted.