Chapter 151

Chapter 151: The Attack of the Protagonist (3)

Translator: Sigma Editor: Sigma

The actual situation was similar with the information that Copernicus had provided. Not farther than one kilometer ahead of them, there was actually a building. Moreover, it looked quite big.

That was a huge and solemn house. Standing behind the gate was a garden, and the distance between the gate leading to the garden and the wide road was around two meters. This house was the same with the sight along the way there. Even if they were standing 10 meters away from it, all they could see was still a pitch black area, just like the streetlight and the moonlight had been blocked by some hazy barrier that they couldn't lit up this territory.

When they approached the house, Feng Bujue took out his flashlight and turned it on. The others also took out their lighting devices. Most of them were using flashlights, and only Zen In Scary Dream was holding a kerosene lighter, yeah, that’s right, it’s the one he used to light up his cigarettes.

"Hey Zen-Ge, aren’t you afraid that the light will burn your hand when you walk faster?" Feng Bujue asked.

"Nope…" answered Zen In Scary Dream. From his tone, he was likely to say why he wasn’t afraid of it. However, when he had just uttered, his face slightly changed as if he suddenly realized what Feng Bujue said was reasonable. But, he had started it, so he had to finish it anyway. Then, roughly three seconds later, Zen In Scary Dream stammered. "Argh… I am not afraid!"

"Alright…" Feng Bujue smiled as he thought that this Zen-Ge was interesting. He decided not to play pranks on him anymore. "I have a suggestion. At the right time, you can drink a mouthful of wine and then spray it through the flame. It can expand the lighting area and perhaps it can make a certain degree of damage."

"Hey! Good idea!" answered Zen In Scary Dream.

"You should retrieve your lighter and just follow us… We are many here, without your small flame, we don’t lack light anyway," said Galileo.

"Well, alright." Zen In Scary Dream took the chance and put his lighter away.

"Seems there’s no doorbell…" Ye Zhi approached the iron gate that locked away the garden. As she was talking, she gently pushed the gate. Squeak. It opened.

When they finally took a look at the interior, most of the things behind the gate were reflected in their eyes, which helped them figure out that it wasn’t a garden but a fenced wasteland.

There was a dried pool in the yard where a run-down fountain stood in the middle. Here and there, they could see some fruit trees with different height; obviously, they lacked care. Weeds had spread over the whole area. A strange, unpleasant smell permeated the garden.

Perhaps… This place used to be a garden that pleased people with fresh air. The lush shades of fruits tree, sweet aroma from flowers, and the relaxing sound of water flowing had once filled the place. But at this moment, this place looked exactly like the familiar Haunted House that usually appeared in horror games. When players had just entered the gate, the auras that had slapped their faces were the feelings of shriveling, pressure, and darkness.

"I think… we should let Invincible-Ge come first," said Copernicus, "just let the one who holds the Protagonist’s Halo to pioneer; even if he encounters a sudden danger, he will still be okay."

‘It seems like you know that there should be some danger not long after we’ve entered here…’ Feng Bujue muttered in his mind.

"Ah… I have the same idea, too." Invincible Hero strode forward. Quite the contrary, he looked at ease. "Anyway, from the current situation, I think we would meet some random wandering ghosts at most. I don’t think that there would be an instant fatal danger."

[The Protagonist's Halo has been transferred.]

[Player Ye Zhi is the current holder of the Protagonist’s Halo]

Right after Invincible Hero had finished, the system’s notification arose in their ears.

"Ah! Why’s that?" Invincible Hero was surprised.

"So, that’s how it works. If someone said something sincerely silly, the halo will be transferred…" Feng Bujue mumbled while rubbing his chin.

"Hey… you should know that I could clearly hear every word of yours. Can you not use those sharp words?" Invincible Hero showed that he was reluctant on talking with Feng Bujue.

"So, that’s the transferring condition of the Protagonist’s Halo?" Ye Zhi wondered.

"I think… Perhaps there are two mechanisms for this shifting stuff," Feng Bujue continued. "Invincible-Ge has lost the halo due to his behavior; it’s one of them." He licked his lips and explained, "And the other mechanism, 80% that the players who don’t have the halo can proactively take the Protagonist’s Halo through some specific behaviors."

"How to take it? Don’t tell me that it’s through speaking something purely stupid or some nonsense talk?" Invincible Hero was apparently quarreling with Feng Bujue.

Having heard that, Feng Bujue was dazed. "Yeah! Makes sense… Let me give it a try." He suddenly came in front of the team and presented a solemn face. "Let me take the mission of scouting the path…" He stood upright as if he was about to ‘transform’. Then, he used a cool-and-handsome tone to speak up something incomparably shameful. "Although the entire world sees me as an enemy and abandon me alone here, I will not hesitate using myself to shield my friends!" (Gintama’s quote, especially in Kintama Arc – TL)

The other five were dumbstruck hearing him said so; they didn't even mock him for what he said as they just stood speechless at the spot. Zen In Scary Dream even had to take a sip from his bottle to calm down.

A few seconds later, unexpectedly…

[The Protagonist's Halo has been transferred.]

[Player Feng Bujue is the current holder of the Protagonist’s Halo]

"Pfffff ——" Zen In Scary Dream spit out the wine he had just drunk.

Feng Bujue turned around with a contented face. "Well… a piece of cake."

"Seriously, it works like that!" Invincible Hero yelled, "Then, I just casually shout ‘Coach, I wanna play basketball!’ [1], will it work that way too?"

"Of course not. You should have tears lingering on your eyes, kneel down in front of someone and cry until you hoarsen your voice. Also, your tears should roll down on time too. Then, it should meet the demand," said Feng Bujue.

"How could you come up with this request?"

"I just said the method I’ve used. Not sure if it’s correct." Feng Bujue spread his arms. "Ah, besides, your script is just minor role’s lines, I guess it wouldn't work."

"Cut if off… Just call it the stupid halo," Ye Zhi said. "If it’s so, I will have no chance, and of course I’m not interested in fighting for the halo…"

"In fact, you can try…" Feng Bujue said, "For example, let’s say…‘On behalf of the moon, I will right wrongs…’ [2]"

"I’m warning you not to say nonsense things and expect me to repeat it," Ye Zhi directly interrupted him.

Feng Bujue smiled. "Well then… Zen-Ge, yeah, and the two pioneers in astrology, are you interested in this?"

"Don't look at me as the way I am now… I used to have face…" said Zen In Scary Dream.

"Ha ha… no thanks," said Copernicus.

Galileo sighed. "Well… Feng Bujue, I… well, controlling the Protagonist’s Halo, only you are capable of doing so."

"In fact, I think it’s simple," said Feng Bujue. "For example, I don't want it now, and I can…" He suddenly revealed an extremely despicable expression and smiled pervertedly. "I’m not morbid. Even if I am, I’m just a gentleman with a perverted reputation." [3]

[The Protagonist's Halo has been transferred.]

[Player Invincible Hero is the current holder of the Protagonist’s Halo.]

"We just need to say some lines…" Instantly, Feng Bujue recovered his calm visage. "We will lose the halo immediately. Anyway, I proactively create a FLAG to transfer the halo; it’d better than the system though."

"Da-Ge… don’t be like that…" said Invincible Hero.

Feng Bujue totally ignored him and continued, "If I want it back…" He suddenly changed into an exhausted complexion, but there was a light of will power in his eyes. "Katsura, instead of thinking about how to die gloriously, let’s think about how to survive gloriously!" [4]

[The Protagonist's Halo has been transferred.]

[Player Feng Bujue is the current holder of the Protagonist’s Halo]

"Have you played enough…" Ye Zhi facepalmed and shook her head; she would never understand the world of an otaku.

"Even the Protagonist’s Halo is spoiled by you!" Invincible Hero said, "Behave! Can you leave now? No one wants to take it from you!"

"Ah, then I should try my best… taking the responsibility of the main character." Feng Bujue changed his face even faster than people flipping pages from a book. He had only spent one second to recover his usual complexion as he walked into the place.

"From some aspects… This guy’s dangerous…" Zen In Scary Dream blew out smoke rings as he muttered to Invincible Hero and Ye Zhi.

Soon, six silhouettes took turns crossing the garden gate, entering the big western mansion.

…

At the same time, at the mountain, inside the shrine.

In a corner of a room stood a pot. It was an ancient brown pot covered with spider webs. In this dark background, it wasn’t eye-catching at all.

All of a sudden, a human hand jutted out from the pot.

After protruding through layers of dust and spider webs, that hand was still clean, just like it didn't come from inside a pot.

After that hand had come out, an arm followed naturally. However, the body parts from the shoulder onwards were stuck inside, unable to get even an inch out. It seemed that the pot was a space channel, but since its gate was too narrow, the owner of the arm couldn't get here safely.

"Tsk… too annoying," a deep and low male voice arose in the room filled with darkness.

Lay at another corner was an altar, and next to the altar was something shimmering, looking like a giant pupa. This pupa was around one meter tall, and the largest part at the middle of the object was even more than one meter. At this moment, a human face had protruded above the pupa, which had just uttered the complaint.

"The transformation speed of the data fragments is reduced by such level…" Another voice had sounded in the room, also a male one, but it came from the beam in the ceiling. "Are you a level 3 Derivative?"

"You level 4 people do like to ask about things that are boring," said the man in the pupa. "Harrumph… You don’t even know what ‘boring’ is."

"Can I help you with anything?" asked the level 4 Derivative sitting on the beam.

"Of course, yes," he answered, "you can try to help the players get the quests to pass this game and let them teleport before they can get here."

…

[1] (Hanamichi says to his coach begging to join Shohoku team in manga Slam Dunk by Takehiko Inoue – TL)

[2] (Sailor Moon’s quote – TL)

[3] (Quote from Kumakichi (lit. the lucky bear) of Gag Manga Biyori – TL)

[4] (Gintama’s quote – TL)

Translator's Thoughts Min