NOVEL NEXT Chapter 85: Chapter 84: Grim Reaper outside the window
Moments after Jimmy fainted, more skeletons emerged from the shadows of the surrounding trees, gathering around the fallen militiaman.
"Why did he collapse? I didn't even do anything! Don't tell me he's trying to do an insurance scam?" said the back-of-skull guy.
"He's literally foaming from the mouth. This NPC's acting skills are amazing if it's an insurance scam," a nearby player quipped. "Told you that your position was sh*t and you would get spotted by the sentry. I signaled you so many times, but you didn't move."
"Huh? I didn't see it?"
"Isn't that obvious? You were gesturing at him from behind your tree. Of course, he wouldn't see sh*t!"
"Sssh! Sssh! Damn it! It's a secret operation. Can't you guys be a bit more focused?"
"Aren't we serious? I didn't even laugh out loud when this sentry acted cute; that's considerate enough."
Unceasing Entropy was about to stop this chatty bunch but suddenly froze upon hearing what they said.
Beside her, Blossoming Strokes let out an "ah" and did a little fist pump.
Ji Tang crouched over the fallen sentry and made sure he was still breathing. When he looked up and hadn't yet said anything, he saw the two strategic-thinking ladies who had devised the plan for this nighttime raid were exchanging meaningful glances.
"Ji-God, did the sentry really faint from fright?" Blossoming Strokes immediately asked the moment she saw Ji Tang had finished his inspection.
"He's fainted indeed," Ji Tang said as he drew out two nylon restraints and started fastening them to Jimmy's wrists and ankles.
These convenient binding tools were found in the tricycles they had ridden here, and Ji Tang wondered if Lord Yang had packed them in the supply cart from the start…
"Sis Blossom, what's your take?" Unceasing Entropy's breathing was somewhat ragged.
"I think that's feasible." Blossoming Strokes nodded vigorously.
"Speak in proper language! Standard and proper!" Brother Lahong couldn't take it and interjected.
"I'll explain." Blossoming Strokes gave Unceasing Entropy a nod. "For this siege quest, there might be any solution that could significantly reduce the probability of being sent back to Exile Town."
All the surrounding players immediately stopped the chattering and listened attentively.
Roughly 15 minutes later, the 226 players gathered in front of the town gate, divided into 25 teams, and sneaked into the city one by one.
These teams, with varying numbers, entered the city without openly brandishing their weapons and hacking and slashing everything in their paths. Instead, they silently infiltrated the alleys, stealthily advancing toward the strategic locations of the town: the various brothels, town hall, sheriff's office, and militia headquarters police station.
Weisshem had a base population of around 6,000 and a transient population (pleasure-seekers included) of approximately 4,000. The town wasn't large, but it was far from small.
However, the players who had entered Weisshem for the first time seemed to possess an uncanny familiarity with the town's layout and moved through it rather effortlessly.
Their ability to navigate so smoothly owed much to their earlier "infiltration investigation" conducted six hours ago in-game—while Blossoming Strokes, equipped with Give Me Medicine's Orb of Deception, conspicuously strolled through the town's main street, two other players tasked with reconnaissance had entered the town as well.
Top players like Brother Lahong, Qin Guan, Blossoming Strokes, Unceasing Entropy, and Ji Tang held substantial influence and reputation within the player community, so borrowing the two other Orbs of Deception owned by whales wasn't too challenging.
While Blossoming Strokes drew the attention of Weisshem's militia and brothel enforcers, the two other players who had volunteered as scouts had no trouble exploring every nook and cranny of the town's streets and noting the key landmarks. This town was, in fact, smaller than a typical district in a tier-3 Chinese city. Anyone with a decent sense of direction could easily memorize the layout of the town after a single run.
To sum it up, thanks to the players' audacious maneuvers, Weisshem's geographical situation was transparent to the players even before the battle even commenced.
Of course, Blossoming Strokes' excursion along the main street hadn't been in vain. While distracting the militia and brothel guards, she had also gotten a rather accurate gauge on them…
The assault team, composed of 11 players with high combat ability, including the likes of Ji Tang, Yang Ying, Tang Jia, Give Me Medicine, Unceasing Entropy, Blossoming Strokes, Study Obsessed, and Win By Grinding, set their sights on the militia headquarters, classified as a prime target after Blossoming Strokes' assessment.
"The militia here, from what I've seen, are between Level 1 and 2. Their equipment and skill level are similar to the batch of private thugs we previously encountered but with slightly greater combat prowess. There wasn't a single Level 2 among those thugs then."
As they moved along the wall, Blossoming Strokes gave the team a final briefing on the key points of their operation. "The militia headquarters isn't far from the main street. We'll be able to see it as we work further down. It's a four-story building with over twenty windows according to my count. It's highly likely that some of these rooms would serve as dormitories for the militia. Let's start by subduing the militiamen in the dormitories, and the ones remaining outside would likely be just few and scattered."
"Hmm… What about the other sleeping sentry at the guard post by the town gate? Will there be any problems? We didn't deal with him earlier," Win By Grinding asked.
"If even that lazybones is no longer there, those militiamen patrolling outside the town might notice something amiss sooner," Unceasing Entropy answered.
"Alright, one other question. The militia captain is a Level-2 NPC, right? What if this militia captain doesn't stay in the dormitory?" Win By Grinding raised another issue.
"Why are you so meticulous? So be it if he isn't there. Would a small-time NPC turn the tides?" Give Me Medicine retorted in annoyance.
Win By Grinding glared at Give Me Medicine, but no longer said anything.
"There's nothing we can do about it. With the language barrier, we can't communicate even with the Orb of Deception. We can't ask where that militia captain lives," Blossoming Strokes gave Give Me Medicine a stern glance and explained nicely. "Anyway, we are testing the waters today, and it's fine even if things don't work out. At most, we invest more effort and keep on trying if we end up back at Exile Town."
Win By Grinding nodded, accepting the explanation.
After circling the alleys twice, the assault team spotted the standout building that was the militia headquarters.
There was a sentry post stationed at the entrance, but no one was in it. There were wires for the electric lights in the courtyard, but they weren't turned on.
The players had no reason to refuse such a generous welcome gesture. They swiftly climbed over the iron gate and entered the courtyard without any hesitation.
There was a hall on the first floor, facing a courtyard that was lit up. Ji Tang signaled the other players with a shushing gesture, stealthily went up the front steps, and peered inside the slightly ajar door.
The hall, illuminated by several lanterns, could be described as a foul sight. At least 20 militiamen were either drinking, playing cards, or dozing off on sofas behind the card tables.
Ji Tang quietly retreated down the front steps and returned to the group. "There are quite a number of people inside. I estimate around 20."
"Let's use this bunch as a trial," Blossoming Strokes said and began taking off her equipment.
"Wait," Unceasing Entropy interrupted. "I feel like a bare skeleton isn't frightening enough. How about we dress up in clothes that this bunch is more familiar with?"
"Makes sense." Blossoming Strokes looked around, then waved her skeletal hand. This 11-man assault team went around the building and went to the backyard, where they swiped militia uniforms hanging on a clothesline.
Besides taking the uniforms, the meticulous and detail-oriented Unceasing Entropy even smeared some mud on the clean clothes…
The militia uniforms were much more loose-fitting for skeletons, so the players didn't need to remove their equipment and simply wore it over. Once they were geared up in full militia uniform, the players returned to the front courtyard and stood before the entrance hall.
At this point, Unceasing Entropy still felt that the rhythm was somewhat lacking. She pointed to the windows and said, "Ghosts probably don't use doors, right? What do you guys think?"
Everyone: "…"
"Qingyue, you have a talent for being wicked. I'm starting to feel sorry for the NPCs inside," Tang Jia remarked with mixed feelings.
"Let's go." Unceasing Entropy acted as if she hadn't heard the remark. "We'll crouch under the window sill and have only one person lightly tap on the window. When the people inside start to pay notice, we gradually increase the intensity. Once the rhythm is right, those crouching can stand up one by one and smash the windows. It's better to build up fear gradually, just like a horror film."
Blossoming Strokes agreed wholeheartedly. "Qingyue is right. We ought to do it this way. Gradually intensifying the fear factor would be more effective compared to giving them a scare right off the bat."
Everyone: "…"
Give Me Medicine couldn't help but jest, "Why don't we log out and suggest the addition of scary sound effects? When we appear, background music can play, and it would add more to the eerie ambiance."
Unceasing Entropy and Blossoming Strokes completely ignored him. The two ladies led the way by crouching under a window and beckoned to the others that were still standing in the courtyard.
The players had traveled more than twenty kilometers via mountain roads before the night raid and had also spent six hours practicing their lifestyle class skills or fighting monsters while waiting for late night to come in-game. Right now, not a single skeleton was clean, and with the oversized uniforms that were intentionally muddied, it made them look like they had freshly risen from the grave.
Unceasing Entropy, who could be rather evil when she put her mind to it, made the first move. Without revealing herself, she simply raised a skeletal hand and began tapping the window pane lightly.
It was rather noisy inside, with intoxicated militiamen hurling insults at each other while playing cards, so this faint knocking couldn't be heard.
Unceasing Entropy didn't get impatient and continued tapping for a bit before increasing the intensity.
After a dozen or so rhythmic and gradually intensifying taps, one of the less intoxicated militiamen seemed to hear something. He stopped talking to his friend and looked around in bewilderment.
"Hey, what's going on?" Militiaman B, who was conversing with him, was unhappy with his distracted demeanor and slapped his comrade's shoulder.
"Strange, I thought I heard something? Didn't you hear it?" the still somewhat sober Militiaman A said.
"Oh? What are you implying? A woman's moans? If you want a woman, go to the streets. When has Weisshem ever lacked those?" Militiaman B laughed heartily.
"No, it's not…" Militiaman A shook his head, wanting to say something, but paused and frowned. "Hey, buddy, listen. This sound is getting louder."
"All I hear is Sam letting out a fart, hahaha!"
Militiaman A shook his head again, not expecting anything from this drunkard, and got up by himself.
The rhythmic rapping grew louder by the second, and Militiaman A found this sound rather familiar, just that he couldn't quite place it because he had been drinking too.
As Militiaman A tried to look around in his slightly inebriated state, his peripheral vision swept by the window and… his eyes suddenly narrowed.
The glass windows used by the militia headquarters were just standard flat glass that wasn't very smooth, with impurities and bubbles within that could cause slight visual distortion when looking through them.
But, even with distortions, Militiaman A could clearly see… a bone-chilling skeletal claw on the windowsill, tapping on the window over and over.
"Aaah!" Militiaman A shrieked and fell back onto the sofa.
This shriek seemed to be the signal for action. The bone claw that had been tapping against the window slammed heavily against the window frame. The owner of this bone claw, a dirt-covered skeleton in a militia uniform, also "floated" into frame.
"Aaah! Aaahhh!!" Militiaman A shot up from the sofa and went behind, grabbing Militiaman B by the shoulder and forcefully shaking him while pointing toward the window.
"What are you doing?" Militiaman B, who was sobered up by this vigorous shaking, shouted at Militiaman A, annoyed, and only then did he look in the direction of the window.
Outside the window stood a skeleton.
This skeleton was wearing their uniform, covered in dirt and grime, with one bone claw perched on the windowsill and the other repeatedly striking the window frame.
"Aaaaaahhhhh!!"
Militiaman B let out a scream more piercing than Militiaman A's, and his wine glass fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.
These two made such a commotion that all their fellow comrades in the same room, whether drunk or engrossed in their card games, stopped whatever they were doing and turned to look at them in annoyance and irritation.
In perfect unison, Militiamen A and B pointed in the direction of the window, their trembling lips unable to form a coherent sentence.
The men all turned toward the window while still cursing…
And then, the cursing stopped.
This bunch that had lost themselves in gambling and drinking stared blankly in the direction of the window, wide-eyed and mouths agape.
Before this bunch of militiamen, sluggish from alcohol and still up this late at night, could react, a second skeleton appeared outside the window, followed by a third, then a fourth…
In just a few seconds, over ten skeletons had appeared, covering the entire one-and-a-half-meter-wide window.
These dirt-covered skeletons, as if they had just crawled out of a grave, crowded against the window, staring at the people inside with their dark eye sockets while the many bone claws pounded rhythmically on the window frame.
"Aaahhh!"
"Mommy!"
"Lady Gold Coin! What in the world is this?!"
The militiamen were on the brink of going crazy, and some started to scream.
The skeletons outside seemed to become more enthusiastic. Their pounding turned to bashing, and the window frame shook continuously.
If the players suddenly broke in through the window, these militiamen, who were used to running rampant in town, might pick up weapons and fight back in the heat of the moment.
However, the players were merely outside, tapping and knocking on the window, inducing panic but with no imminent threat to life. Consequently, the militiamen in the room lost any courage to resist.
Not only was the courage to confront the situation head-on lacking, but some "smarter" ones even thought about escaping and letting others deal with it when they saw the window frame shaking precariously as if it were about to break.
Several men closest to the hallway took the lead in running away. This bunch of militiamen, who already had little fighting spirit to begin with, crumbled, and all of them rushed toward the hallway in whimpers.
The subsequent events that followed were no surprise. When it came to speed, players weren't inferior to professional-level combatants. They gleefully smashed the window and jumped into the room, sweeping through the entire building floor by floor and capturing their targets as if they were chickens.
It wasn't just the militiamen on night duty who were caught; even the resting militiamen in the dormitories upstairs couldn't escape. With the spread of panic, it was futile to think about mounting an effective resistance no matter how many people were there.
In less than half an hour, all 141 stationed militiamen at the militia headquarters were taken out.
Militia captain Kardo Gauld didn't return home on this night.
His wife stayed in Indahl to care for their two children studying in a private institution there, so there were only three elderly relatives in Gauld's Weisshem place. Moreover, due to Gauld's status in town, no one ever inquired whether he was having an extramarital affair or staying out late.
As per usual, Captain Gauld, who knocked off in the middle of the night, went to a club called "Lover" to meet with his current lover and spend the rest of the night with an affectionate rendezvous.
Whether it was the streetwalkers in the alleys or male whores, very few willingly engaged in the flesh trade. However, since reality was such, people would often find reasons to deceive themselves in order to survive.
Gauld's lover, Madam Shirley, was one such person who deceived herself in order to live. She tried her hardest to make herself believe that the fleeting novelty of pleasure-seeking customers was also a form of love, and even the affection shown by the pleasure-seekers, however insincere, made her more valuable than others.
Under this self-deceptive brainwashing "to make the best out of a bad situation," Madam Shirley did everything she could to extend the "honeymoon period" of her clients. Whenever Captain Gauld spent the night with her, she was always ecstatic as if she were a legitimate wife welcoming her husband home.
Just that… one could not live a lie forever. Even in a meticulously constructed false world, the human soul, deep within, instinctively raised doubts and questions.
The sky was still terrifyingly dark when Madam Shirley woke up from a nightmare.
She couldn't help but tremble uncontrollably in bed for a moment. After regaining her composure, she carefully shifted Captain Gauld's arm, got out of bed quietly, and walked to the window, barefoot.
Madam Shirley was no longer young, and she couldn't compete with young teenage girls. Her room was situated toward the back, so all she could see out of her window was a pitch-black alley and not the bright streetscape of years past.
Hugging herself and leaning against the window, she stared blankly at the darkness outside.
A person like her had long lost any hope for the future. Or… perhaps most of those on this street could only rely on repeatedly savoring the brief moments of happiness they had once experienced in the past as nourishment for their souls.
Such a life was exhausting.
Whenever Madam Shirley woke up from a nightmare like this, she would think about dying.
When would she finally be released from this life?
She couldn't wait any longer.
Madam Shirley, staring numbly through the window, suddenly saw the image of a reaper appear outside the glass.
The skeletal Grim Reaper, clad in a white robe and holding a steel knife, leaned on her windowsill, staring at her through the glass window.
Madam Shirley gazed silently at the Grim Reaper, and the Grim Reaper did the same.
After a few seconds, Madam Shirley was certain that the Grim Reaper outside her window wasn't an illusion… and tears welled up in her eyes.
"…You've finally come." The exhausted woman, with tears streaming down her face, smiled with a sense of relief. She opened the window as if afraid the Grim Reaper would change his mind and extended her hands toward it.
The Grim Reaper, outside the window, tilted his head slightly. Then… albeit somewhat hesitant, the Grim Reaper opened its bony claw and grabbed Madam Shirley's hand.
The trembling Madam Shirley bent forward, pressing her face against the Grim Reaper's icy bone claw and muttering, "Please take me with you. I'm begging you, please take me…"
Grim Reaper: "…"
The slightly bewildered player held the shoulders of this female NPC and gently pushed her to the side before adeptly jumping through the opened window.
Upon noticing the male NPC lying on the bed, the player's eyes lit up. Like a starving wolf, he charged over, lifting the blanket and swiftly securing nylon restraints around the NPC's wrists and ankles before expertly shoving the underwear lying by the bed into the NPC's mouth.
Before Madam Shirley could process what was happening after being pushed aside by the Grim Reaper, Captain Kardo Gauld had already been dealt with.
A second player crawled in through the window, glanced strangely at the bewildered civilian NPC standing nearby, and asked the first player, "What's up with this woman? Do we need to restrain her?"
"I don't know, but this NPC seems to be on our side. She opened the window for me," said the first player. "Come help me. This NPC is Level 2, and we have to get him under control first."
"Sure."
The two players worked together to lift Captain Gauld, who was now awake and struggling frantically, off the bed, wrapped him in bedsheets to further restrict his movements, then stuffed him under the bed.
Throughout this process, Madam Shirley remained rooted to her spot, completely dumbfounded.
After the two "Grim Reapers" had stuffed Captain Gauld under the bed, they began to divide up his personal belongings.
"Whoa, the sword used by this NPC is amazing! The physical attack is so high, it's on par with an Uncommon-grade weapon!"
"Oh my, this ring's return value is 50 copper coins?! We've made a fortune!"
"Hahaha! All our losses from earlier have been made up!"
After collecting any loot they could identify as valuable, the two Grim Reapers opened the room door and walked out, paying no heed to the startled or screaming hostesses who had woken up.
Still in a daze, Madam Shirley watched the Grim Reapers leave, then suddenly came to her senses and chased after them.
The two skeletons made a turn in the hallway and took the stairs to the ground floor, where they joined hands to open up the club's main entrance and allowed another six or seven skeletons to enter.
Madam Shirley, standing at the foot of the staircase, was dumbfounded once more.
Although these skeletons noticed Madam Shirley as they entered the club, they showed no interest in her (in the eyes of players, unarmed civilians without hostile intentions held no significance). They split into groups of two or three and systematically moved through various rooms. Whether it was overnight guests, enforcers taking a nap in the staff break room, or even the bosses sleeping in their offices, the players subdued them all, binding them and muffling their cries.
After sweeping through Lover Club, these skeletons departed without the slightest bit of sentimental attachment. They paid no attention to the frightened hostesses screaming and crying.
Madam Shirley had followed the skeletons throughout their operation, witnessing them sweep through the establishment and subdue the enforcers, but was still completely unable to comprehend what was happening.
When the skeletons left, she chased them to the door and saw the group of skeletons running to the adjacent strip club. One of the skeletons, whom she had previously mistaken for a Grim Reaper, draped itself in a white bedsheet and skillfully began scaling the wall.
In no time came screams from inside the strip club.
"Ghosts! Aaaaah!"
Madam Shirley: "…"
And she also saw… further down the street, another group of skeletons entering and leaving the main entrance of another establishment…
Madam Shirley silently returned to Lover Club.
Inside, the 20 or so frightened hostesses of the establishment had gathered in the lobby, not daring to go outside or return to their rooms. When they saw Shirley, who had the courage to follow the skeletons, return, they all looked toward her.
Madam Shirley took a deep breath…
"Don't just stand there! Look for any valuable items and hide them. W-we will take those things if the skeletons don't want them!"