The World Below Surface 1 ☆ Woman on the billboard

[Attention, the following text is only lightly edited MTL that I tossed in Grammarly multiple times and corrected characters' names.
The first two chapters are edited more than the others.
I'm posting this to draw attention to this novel, hoping someone else will translate it properly.
Plus, I want to see how others view such text.
Like and comment on what you think.
For now, I'll post 10 chapters.
If there is enough response, I could post more if people like this.]

表里世界[无限流] The World Below Surface [Infinite Stream] Author：往生阙

RAW: onebook.php?novelid=4716194

The text of this article: Lu Yan lives in the most horrific and absurd world.

People here live in harmony and contentment and were oblivious of all paranormal occurrences.

People here were sacrificed to the living, and the children were eaten like lychees—first the skin was peeled off, then the soft flesh was nibbled into.

……

The world had gone mad.

The only individuals who were normal like him come from the outside world and call themselves players.

And in his struggle to live and learn the reality of this world, he can only rely on these people.

……

 

Player A: In the world I recently visited, I met an NPC.
He was completely different from other psychotic NPCs in that he was so innocent and humble.

 

Player B: Yeah, yeah, me too.
He helped me a lot.
I feel like he's more intelligent than the captain, but unfortunately, it's an NPC.

 

Player C, who was screwed by the innocent and humble NPC, died and now came back as a living dead, cast a sympathetic glance: ……
hehe.
YOu mean Lu Yan, right? Good luck to you guys.

 

*Pseudo- infinite stream + horror spooky + trying to burn your brain + chaos unresolved

① Disorderly crazy creepy society; modern overhead; really confusing, don't try to find logic.

② All villains use each other to backstab each other; male protagonist Lawful Evil, occasionally chaotic.

③ Sub-style horror, traditional flow, ghosts, and monsters are unresolved and invincible, no live room, no psychic powers, no upgrades, card draw, and other elements

④ Involves a trace of the fourth heavenly disaster; Cthulhu elements; SCP Monsters in Containment

 

Chapter 1: Woman on the billboard

The air that the cool air conditioning circulated had a faint odour of disinfectant, blood, and another type of decayed protein cooked previously.
All of this combined to provide a sweet, fishy fragrance.

Lu Yan (陆言) had long been familiar with the smell.
After saying goodbye to his colleague, he saw his colleague turn his head and smile only with the right side of his face.
His colleague watched him walk away while waving at him even after he was far from sight.

Putting on his hood and mask, Lu Yan stepped through the door of the subway carriage and, inside, 'accidentally' stepped on a palm that was a bit soft and rotten in texture.
Without stopping, he kicked the object opposite towards the door, right into the rusty billboard outside.

The corners of the billboard's softly smiling actress' lips widened a little, slowly grinning down to the roots of her ears.
Her smiling eyes began to move down to stare at the palm that had fallen below her nose.

The mouth opened wide, and a thin, bright red tongue stuck out.
The palm twitched to get away, yet the tongue still wrapped around it, sticking out of the enormous lips and pulling in.
Her pointed white teeth were hidden behind a closed mouth, and both cheeks puffed out.

The sound of chewing rang out.

Clearly, the hand was soft and boneless, but Lu Yan heard the creaking sound of bones breaking.

After a while, the woman on the billboard revealed an insatiable smile, her lips bright red.

Lu Yan did not meet those eyes.
He knew that the woman on the billboard must be staring at him, so he kept his head down and played with his phone.

The doors closed, and the subway car shifted and started to move forward.

The feeling of being watched didn't go away.

At some point, pretty actresses appeared in every subway poster, staring at Lu Yan and smiling.

Lu Yan was concentrating on his mobile phone, not listening to what was happening outside.

The subway lights were dim, tinged with an unsettling red.
The phone screen reflected the corners of the starlet's mouth rising higher and higher from the posters, as well as her long tongue slowly extending.

He could hear the hissing sound of a snake crawling, and although she was smiling, her eyes were cold.

The carriage went dark, and then the next moment, the lights came on.

The tip of his nose twitched.

The smell that had been permeating the carriage disappeared, becoming fresh and clean.

When he looked up again, all the rust and blood in the carriage was gone.
The windows were clear, and the passengers, though few, were sitting or standing peacefully as the electronic female voice played the arrival station.
The air conditioning dispersed the last of the summer night's heat and even cooled it a little.

It was quiet and peaceful, just like the ordinary world Lu Yan would have remembered, and he didn't have to be careful any more.

Yet, Lu Yan knew that this was the beginning of the vigilance he had to exercise.

When the bizarre world begins to masquerade as normal, it must be when it hides its fangs and then sows its malice……
everywhere.

At the next station, a group of people came up.

This group obviously knew each other but seemed to have nothing in common.
Men and women, young and old, identity and age varied, got in the car while whispering in low voices.
Lu Yan took one look and then withdrew his eyes to continue playing with his phone.
At the same time, the other passengers also glanced curiously, so his behaviour was not at all unusual.

But the group was clearly not uninterested in him.

Lu Yan was looking down when a shadow suddenly appeared on his phone screen.

It was a woman from the group.
She was probably in her early twenties and had a gentle, affable smile.
She seemed a little embarrassed to talk to him: “Sir, do you have a moment? I have something that I would like to talk to you about.”

Individual passengers cast envious glances.

What was this? A beautiful woman starting up a conversation with an average guy?

The young woman's face was still a little shy.
Her head was lowered while she spoke in a soft and gentle tone.
But her words were not as ambiguous as the other passersby might have thought.

Only then did the man shift his gaze from the phone screen to her, almost subconsciously taking a step back, his body language full of caution, “What do you mean?”

“Sir, there is no need to be afraid because we had the same experience.” The young woman wore a smile and said, “We met those…
too.” She moved closer, and her voice lowered even more.
Passersby couldn't hear what she was saying, but the man reacted frantically, and his breathing instantly sharpened.
The woman could almost hear the other man's heartbeat speed up.

“I, how do I know if what you guys are saying is true or not?” Lu Yan's voice tightened a little.
He obviously realized this too and cleared his throat, “I mean, who am I to believe you guys?”

“After all, there's no better option now, so why not try?” The woman smiled at him, “Are you willing to sit around and wait for death?”

Lu Yan subconsciously shook his head, and the woman's smile widened, “Don't be afraid.
We'll all help you.”

“Help me? You?” Lu Yan's tone was hesitant.

Seeing that her most sociable teammate had managed to strike up a conversation with the NPC on the first try, a slightly chubby man in the crowd gave her a thumbs up and showed his teeth in a smile.

Everyone slowly padded over and gathered around Lu Yan.

“Are you the companions she was referring to?” Lu Yan said, frowning a little in chagrin as he said it, realizing he still didn't know the woman's name.

The woman said, in due course, “Introducing myself; I am Li Fang Yu(黎芳菀).”

The others likewise said their names.

They claimed to be the same as Lu Yan, suffering from “otherworldy hauntings” (诡异) and living in constant fear.
Hence, they formed a small group to try to find a way to save themselves and discover the world's truth.

Lu Yan obser