novelraw Chapter 51 Zhang Jie and A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Chapter 51 Zhang Jie and A Nightmare on Elm Street.
The cold white light had not yet completely dissipated, and the familiar, inhumanly pure radiance of the Main God Space had already replaced the darkness filled with madness and resentment on the verge of Cinderella's world's collapse. However, unlike the silent and precise presence of Guide 7341-ZJ after previous missions, the base of the light sphere was now empty.
The white figure that always stood quietly, its scarlet electronic eyes recording everything, was gone.
"Repair complete. Vital signs stable." Chu Xuan's voice rang out first, breaking the somewhat strange silence caused by someone's absence. He pushed up his glasses, and the lenses reflected the faces of everyone who had survived the ordeal, faces a mixture of exhaustion and complex emotions.
No one was surprised by the absence of the guide. Because this had already happened before they even entered the twisted, sweet nightmare of "Cinderella."
"7341 has been recalled by the Main God for in-depth protocol review and maintenance of potential conflict units." Chu Xuan repeated in the team channel, in his usual calm tone, the emergency order suddenly issued by the Main God thirty seconds before entering the "Cinderella" world, which was only for the guide unit. "The order has higher priority than the current team's guidance mission. According to the agreement, the Main God Space has the right to unilaterally recall, test, maintain, or reset any guide unit that has potential logical deviations, protocol conflicts, or unstable performance at any time. During the recall, the guide will suspend some non-core auxiliary functions of the original team (such as high-frequency environment scanning and non-crisis protocol consultation), but the core protocols such as basic mission witnessing, reward settlement, and return guidance will not be affected."
"In other words," Zheng Zha said, flexing his shoulder, which had just been repaired but still seemed to linger with the pain from clashing with the prince puppet, and grinning, "last time in that godforsaken place, we were completely without any outside advice and had to tough it out on our own." There wasn't much complaint in his words; it was more like a confirmation of a given fact, and a subtle—perhaps even he himself hadn't delved into—acknowledgment of an indescribable, empty unease that came with the absence of that cold figure.
"Yes," Wang Lin replied. His mental energy recovered rapidly under the nourishment of the returning light pillar, but the deep fatigue between his brows, left by the long-term maintenance of the mental matrix and the fight against the "happiness" pollution, had not yet dissipated. "The reason for the Main God's recall is very official: 'Maintenance of potential conflict units.' This is likely related to the 'benchmark repair' he received at Ruins Zero. That repair was not perfect; it merely forcibly suppressed the conflict, and there may have been hidden dangers at the underlying level that we are unaware of. The Main God's 'maintenance' during mission breaks makes sense."
Zhan Lan nodded slightly. As a psychic, her perception of "existence" was far more acute. In the Cinderella world, despite the intense battles and immense pressure, she did occasionally have a fleeting thought: if 7341 were here, his detection system might have discovered certain patterns in the castle's energy nodes sooner, or offered another perspective on the analysis of the "Law of Happiness." However, this thought was quickly overwhelmed by the urgency of survival. Now, back in the present, that feeling of "something being missing" became clear again.
"How long will the maintenance take?" Zero asked the crucial question as he wiped his sniper rifle.
"Unknown. The main god hasn't given a timetable," Chu Xuan replied. "He might return during the next mission, or it might take longer. It depends on the content and depth of the 'maintenance'."
This uncertainty, like a small dark cloud, quietly hovered in the hearts of everyone who had just reaped a huge reward and greatly increased their strength. 7341-ZJ, that silent, cold, and almost fixed background figure they regarded as a "former teammate and current guide," seemed to have already become an unknowing part of the "norm" of the Central Continent Team. His absence, even if it wasn't constantly on their minds in that chaotic and crazy world, was particularly noticeable now that they were back in safety.
"Don't overthink it." Zheng Zha shook his head, as if trying to shake off the inexplicable irritation. "If the main god wants to repair it, no one can stop him. We should just do what we need to do, strengthen ourselves, train, and wait for him to come back. Maybe... once he's repaired, he'll be able to retain more of his 'humanity'?" He said this with a hint of self-deprecation, even he himself felt it was a bit of wishful thinking.
Wang Lin glanced at Zheng Zha but remained silent. He stroked the completely cold, unresponsive rat pendant (a remnant from the Cinderella world) in his arms, and recalled the pair of eyes belonging to "Zhang Jie" in the Zero Relic, eyes filled with struggle and pain. Was the Main God's "maintenance" truly just a simple "bug fix"?
There is no answer to this question at the moment.
The days that followed were a bittersweet period of strengthening and adjustment, accompanied by a massive influx of reward points and side quests. Resources were more plentiful than ever before, and everyone was striving for higher levels. In the training grounds, with time flowing at a hundred times the normal speed, their newly acquired power was relentlessly honed, and teamwork approached perfection in each extreme simulation. But whether in heated discussions of tactics or quiet moments to recover, occasionally someone would unconsciously glance at the empty spot next to the sphere's base.
Until one day, there were still forty-eight hours until the next horror movie was scheduled to be shown.
Without warning, the orb of light from the Supreme God sent a brief message to all members of the Central Continent Team:
[The lead unit 7341-ZJ has completed the deep maintenance agreement execution.]
The core protocol conflicts within the organization have been mediated and solidified a second time.
The effectiveness of the emotion suppression module has been specifically adjusted.
[This unit will resume full guidance duties for Squad 7341 in the next mission world.]
[Warning: The adjusted unit behavior logic may exhibit non-standard fluctuations. This is an expected adjustment result and will not affect the core guidance function.]
The message was cold and businesslike. But the sentences "The effectiveness of the emotion suppression module has been specifically adjusted" and "Behavioral logic may exhibit non-standard fluctuations" made everyone who saw it jump in surprise.
"Targeted adjustments... non-standard fluctuations..." Chu Xuan repeated in a low voice, his gaze behind his glasses sharp as a knife. "The Main God actively adjusted the Guide's emotional suppression module? This doesn't conform to the core design concept of the Guide as a tool. Unless... this adjustment is to resolve some more serious potential risk, or to achieve some new 'balance' that we don't know about."
"Whatever the adjustments they make," Zheng Zha clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking, but a hint of expectation, which he himself didn't realize, flashed in his eyes. "As long as they can come back. At least... there's another person who can share the burden."
Wang Lin and Zhan Lan exchanged a glance, both seeing solemnity and a hint of unease in each other's eyes. The "maintenance" and "adjustment" by the main god were far more than just patching things up. It was more like a... "remodeling"?
The remaining forty-eight hours flew by in a mix of fulfillment from enhancement and upgrades, preparation for unknown missions, and complex speculation about the soon-to-return, "adjusted" 7341-ZJ.
[Enter the beam of light within 30 seconds, target locked, A Nightmare on Elm Street, initiating teleportation...]
The familiar half-awake state, the dizzying sensation of spatial displacement, came over me.
When his feet touched solid (or at least felt solid) ground again, and his nostrils filled with the faint smell of rust, old wood, and a hint of... burnt smell, Wang Lin immediately opened his eyes. At the same time, his mental matrix, as if by instinct, quietly expanded outwards from him, covering his teammates.
This is… a dimly lit street. The streetlights are dim and yellowish, many broken, flickering with a buzzing sound from poor connections. On both sides of the street are old, somewhat dilapidated two- or three-story detached houses, many with blacked-out windows, exuding a desolate, uninhabited feel. The branches of the roadside trees are twisted and gnarled, casting menacing shadows in the dim light. A strange sense of oppression and…being watched permeates the air.
Elm Street.
Wang Lin instantly confirmed the location. At the same time, his gaze, as if drawn by a magnet, suddenly fell upon a figure in the group—a figure that was both expected and somewhat unfamiliar.
He stood there, still in that simple white Guide uniform with silver patterns, his posture upright. But some things were different.
The face that belonged to "Zhang Jie" was no longer the absolutely flat, mask-like emptiness, nor the stiff distortion that occasionally arose from contractual conflicts. His brows were almost imperceptibly furrowed, as if he were adapting to something, or analyzing the environment around him that made him uncomfortable. Those signature scarlet electronic eyes, which always flashed with cold data streams, still glowed red, but deep within that light seemed to have gained an indescribable focus and emotional depth belonging to "humanity." They were no longer merely scanning machines, but seemed to have gained "gaze."
He seemed to be "looking" around as well, his gaze sweeping over the dilapidated streets and the distorted shadows of the trees, before slowly turning towards the members of the Central Continent Team.
His gaze lingered on the faces of Zheng Zha, Wang Lin, Chu Xuan, Zhan Lan… for an extremely brief moment. That gaze was complex, containing scrutiny, assessment, a hint of deep-seated, almost elusive bewilderment, and… an extremely faint, subtle emotion belonging to “acquaintances,” as if seen through a layer of frosted glass.
Then he spoke.
The moment the sound rang out, everyone froze.
That was no longer a pure, cold, electronically synthesized, and perfectly precise mechanical voice. The voice carried a very subtle, human-like husky quality from the vibration of the vocal cords, and the intonation was no longer a flat line, but had a very faint, Zhang Jie-like quality, a kind of languid yet sharp rise and fall.
"...Elm Street. Rule characteristics: The boundary between dream and reality is blurred, there are signs of interference from higher-dimensional consciousness, threat assessment: the mental level takes precedence." He gave a standard facilitator-style environmental analysis, but his speaking speed seemed a little more "human" than before, and the end even had a slightly imperceptible pause between a statement and a soliloquy.
He paused, his scarlet eyes, tinged with a complex humanity, sweeping over the crowd once more. Finally, the corners of his mouth twitched upwards very slightly, somewhat stiffly. It wasn't a standard smile, nor a programmed expression; it was more like... an attempt. An awkward attempt to express some emotion "not stipulated by agreement."
"Furthermore..." he added, his voice now carrying a hint of humanity, though still constrained by a strong framework of rationality, "According to the latest reconciliation agreement... in this mission, I can probably... offer a bit more 'help.' Of course, within the bounds of the rules."
He raised a hand, seemingly to habitually push up his non-existent glasses (a habitual gesture of Zhang Jie), but his fingers paused in mid-air, then naturally lowered, clenched into a fist, and then relaxed. This small gesture was full of contradictions—it belonged to "Zhang Jie's" subconscious, was restrained by the rationality of the "guide," yet ultimately revealed in a compromise.
He looked at his teammates, who were somewhat stunned by his change, especially Zheng Zha and Wang Lin, who were staring at him intently with complex and unreadable expressions. A complex red light flickered in his eyes, and finally, in a tone that was a mixture of a leader's reporting calm and a hint of almost imperceptible weariness and self-deprecation that belonged to "Zhang Jie," he said in a low voice:
"The Supreme God's 'protection'... has a rather peculiar effect. I feel... like a semi-newbie right now."
He pointed to his head, a gesture so casual it was almost rude, yet strangely it softened the cold distance emanating from him.
"My mind has a lot more... 'instruction manuals' now, but it also seems like... I've rediscovered something beyond the 'user manual'."
His gaze finally settled on Zheng Zha and Wang Lin's faces, where emotions surged for a moment before being forcibly suppressed beneath the calm surface of the ice. But everyone could feel the ripples beneath the ice.
"In short..."
He took a deep breath, and the decisiveness that belonged to "Zhang Jie," carrying the rust and gunpowder of steel, seemed to briefly overpower the absolute rationality of the leader, allowing his voice to ring out clearly and firmly on the quiet Elm Street:
"This time, let's deal with this damned nightmare together. And..."
He paused, looked at his teammates, and uttered those words that, after spanning two worlds, transcending life and death and identity shifts, and the reconciliation of coldness and humanity, once again clearly pointed to the "past" and the "present":
"...Brothers."