The Trembling World Chapter 205

Chapter 205 - Cause of Death
TL: xDh20, LifeisaJourney
ED: Nintendonuts
Han GuangMing listened closely for a while, but the sound was muffled out by the thunderstorm and Han GuangMing wasn't able to hear that sound anymore.
A flash of lightning lit up the area but due to the heavy downpour, Han GuangMing was unable to clearly determine what lied beyond the few feet that he was able to see in front of him.
Right as Han GuangMing was about to reconsider whether or not to go out and investigate, a loud thunder rang throughout the night sky. The thunder sounded close by as Han GuangMing's ear was ringing from the shockwave. The thunder caught Han GuangMing off guard, he quickly relinquished the idea and locked the door after closing it.
Those who heard the thunder had also been caught off guard. The flash of lightning was expected, but they didn't expect the thunder to be so closeby. If struck by lightning, there was no way to dodge the lethal strike. So by the time, you have heard the thunder, it's already too late to retreat when struck.
Just like now, Han GuangMing had witnessed the lightning, but didn't think too much about it. Until he had heard the thunder, then he realized that it was a miscalculation on his part.
"The whistle-like sound seems to have stopped," Qian An said to Han GuangMing. Now that their eardrums were ringing from the effects of the thunder, it was hard to tell whether the sound from earlier was still present. Since Han GuangMing was at a higher level, his hearing was better, and he was able to confirm that the sound was still persisting.
"It has temporarily stopped. I still can't distinguish what produced the noise." Han GuangMing shook his head. He was still hesitant as to whether or not to report this anomaly to Liu Gan or the others.
Even so, would this be considered strange?
Han GuangMing led Zhao Meng and Qian An back to the reception area, when they discovered that the reception desk was unoccupied.
"Little LuChen?" Qian An asked loudly.
No response.
"Wait, didn't he follow us before?" Han GuangMing asked Qian An and Zhao Meng.
"Nope." Qian An and Zhao Meng shook their head in unison.
"Where did he go?" Han GuangMing asked Qian An.
"I wouldn't know. He did seem very scared, it is possible that he ran back upstairs to his room?" Qian An guessed.
"The candle is on the floor, and there is a trail of dust that leads this way… to this corner…" Zhao Meng used his flashlight and pointed onto the floor. The trail of dust led to a corner.
There were marks leading to the dark corner, Zhao Meng followed the trail and pointed his flashlight at it. As he registered the scene, he immediately blew his whistle loudly to report it. Qian An was the second to witness the scene and also blew his own whistle.
The first floor created a huge commotion. Liu Gan and all the squad leaders quickly assembled. Most were dressed casually and some were inappropriately dressed as they quickly rushed down. Soon every member had gathered on the first floor, having been awakened by the sound of the whistles.
LuChen Wang's body laid silently in the corner. His face was deathly pale. His skin was wrinkled up as if he had significantly aged or had been laid out to dry in the sun. The dried up skin led all the way up to the neck. After unclothing LuCheng, the body was just as white.
Even though LuChen Wang had died, a permanent look of horror had been etched upon his face. His eyeballs were bulging out of his face.
Even with this horrifying scene, Zhao Meng and Qian An kept blowing the whistle.
"This hotel has a ghost!"
"It must have been the ghosts that ate his soul!"
"This is too horrifying!"
"Quickly leave! We will all die too!"
As fear spread throughout the gathered players, a commotion erupted in the lobby. There were players that were divided on what to do next.
There was a difference in how zombies and ghosts were regarded since many people were not afraid of watching zombie movies, but were fearful of watching ghost movies. LuChen Wang's body had definitely been bitten by zombies, but the way he was killed made it hard for it to be reanimated. So it was easy to come up with the conclusion that a ghost might have inhabited the body.
"CALM DOWN! There's no such thing as ghosts! This is just a zombie game, it isn't a ghost-related game! Whoever spews any more rumors, I will kill them myself!" Liu Gan shouted. There would be a lot of communication problems if they all panicked. So to prevent the spread of rumors and false information, Liu Gan instilled a more present fear in them.
"Don't speak anymore! Especially nonsense!" Zhang ShengLi helped control his own squad to further suppress debate.
"The neck region shows bruising, it seems like it was from strangulation. All the blood has been exsanguinated from him, it seems like it was sucked out dry through the wound. This is definitely not a ghost. It could be a zombie that likes to drink human blood, just like that Variant Zombie on the island that likes to eat human brains," Lee Miao said after her brief assessment of the corpse.
Even though she didn't quite believe it completely, but saying this would help coordinate with Liu Gan and Zhang ShengLi in controlling the emotional state of the members.
"See, it's just a zombie that enjoys draining the blood of humans. It's not a ghost or spirit so don't you dare spread any more rumors!" Zhang ShengLi said to everyone after hearing Lee Miao's words.
"It's possible that it was from the strange sound we heard nearby the back door…" Han GuangMing whispered to Zhang ShengLi.
Zhang ShengLi gave a quick glance at Han GuangMing to stop any further words from being exchanged. This wasn't the right time to be speaking about such things. If the wrong person had overheard, it could easily lead to a mass hysteria in the group. If it wasn't for Liu Gan suppressing the situation it would have escalated out of control.
Regardless of how LuChen Wang had died, there was no reason to contribute to the negative atmosphere. It was best to restore the emotional state of the team members. Then, they could gather an investigation squad together after it was over.
Han GuangMing received a glance from Zhang ShengLi, but he had no idea the hidden meaning behind it. Han GuangMing was smart enough to keep his mouth shut as he read the mood, he realized that it wasn't the right time to speak about such topics. It was best to report back to Elder Liu at a later time.
"This is only a Variant Zombie that followed us during the day. It should be related to the Variant Zombie that ate the brains of humans. This one seems to prefer blood! Aside from that, it has shown signs of intelligence, but the combat ability isn't that strong. So when we are grouped up during the day, it wouldn't have a chance to attack. Only when we are split apart will it choose an isolated individual to strike."
"So there's nothing to be afraid of. As long as we don't wander off alone or act independently, then the Variant Zombie wouldn't have a chance to strike. Right now, we need to wake everyone else. Gather everyone so they won't be in danger," Liu Gan ordered after he thought about it. Then the individual squad leaders all went around to gather up the remaining squad members.
Player: [Liu Gan]
Lv: 6
Ability: [Mist Armor]; [Psychic Shock]
Android: [Yin He]
Lv: ???
Ability: [Sleeve Blade]
Player: [Zhang ShengLi]
Lv: 5
Ability: [Whirlwind Slash]
Player: [Wang DeCheng]
Lv: 5
Ability: [Forage]
Player: [Han GuangMing]
Lv: 5
Ability: [Meteor Hammer]
Enhanced Survivor: [Zhang Hua]
Lv: ~5
Ability: Long-Distance Javelin