Being an Extra Actor in an Escape Game

A Special Scene

Translated by boilpoil

Edited by boilpoil

After leaving the Colosseum, Lin Qin finds himself in a special scene.

Right out of an amusement park, into a zoo.

Although here, the ones put into the cages, are humans.

Not that humans arent a type of animals, though.

Disinterested, Lin Qin casts his eyes away.

If other Missiontakers were here, theyd probably be scouring the depths of their imaginations to add details to their minds Records of the Post-Apocalyptic Human Life, but Lin Qin has no such tendencies.

He only wants to find X Beijin.

Yes. He remembers everything, because hes been to this Nightmare once.

So he has regained his sense of self, not that it made much of a difference to him, whose world was empty save for X Beijin.

When he regains his memories, he still only remembers X Beijin.

In fact, remembering himself in this scene was worse, too, considering; he finds himself slightly irked.

Because he once went berserk in this Nightmare.

Berserk, is what the other Missiontakers use to describe when hes gone mad.

He is also acutely aware that he would act crazy, but ever since hes become closer to X Beijin, hes never gone berserk again.

However, many Missiontakers still clearly remember his crazed berserk form. Honestly, it looks like hes out to kill.

His eyes are bloodshot, with a violent and unrepressed aura all about him.

Almost subconsciously, hell knock and pummel everything that can move until they stay in place; once, when hes back in control, hed found he had kicked a bicycle wheel broken because it was spinning.

He was insane. He knows. Everyone knows.

Not that Lin Qin did feel much; he doesnt think it was a good thing, but he also doesnt think it makes him a monster what everyone sees him as.

Instead, he attributes losing control as some quirky, state, that he has to accept.

He follows X Beijins orders, and no longer deals with things using violence. He knows X Beijin downright dislikes his berserk state, so Lin Qin does everything he can now to keep his temper in check.

It has to be said that Lin Qin used to be called the Mad Dog by the Missiontakers.

This Nightmare was where he last went berserk, because he met X Beijin soon afterwards, and they got closer together, and he has been controlling his temper well ever since.

Why did he go berserk here?

Lin Qin tries to recall, and then casts his gaze over at the cage in front of him.

A woman and man are locked up within. The placard on the side shows that this is an enclosure where one can interact with the animals.

Someone happily strolls in and takes the woman, then after hesitating a little, also takes the man along.

There are many more similar areas in the zoo. For the crazed humans, these animals are not part of their kind; theyre just animals.

The madness seems to have overwritten their senses somehow. So even if the animals would scream out in pain and in desperation, and curse and chastise them, the people would still fail to understand. Its like some artificial language barrier was erected.

They dont understand, so whatever they end up doing isnt going to be reprehensible.

Lin Qin starts moving, before the scene would dirty his eyes once more.

There are also other enclosures in the zoo, and inside them are all humans. There isnt a single other species on display.

Just humans, being assigned to various uses and appearances, locked in different cages.

Theyre arbitrarily demoted to something lesser than humans, and so they can be treated, used and thrown away casually.

If one asks how many people among the visitors are really insane, and how many are actually sane but acting out their depraved, unspeakable desires No one knows.

Order was lost after the Apocalypse struck the world.

It was once a hypocritical veil that protected them during times of peace.

Yet, at times of chaos, the law falls silent. Even the spark of civilisation is almost extinguished.

Lin Qin stops. He looks deeply annoyed.

He doesnt understand

He doesnt know any of this. He just thinks the air, the atmosphere, everything is so deeply twisted and disgusting.

He has no idea what human civilisation once looked like. He doesnt know how any of these people here behaved on Earth.

He is just astonishedHow can these nominally fellow humans of his have acted like this? Are they even really his same kind?

It may be because of what hes seen and heard in the Nightmares, that left an impression for Lin Qin, such that he never had any remotely positive feelings for them at first glance.

Well, except X Beijin.

Thinking of X Beijin makes Lin Qin calm down a lot.

Door. He needs to find the door, leave this place behind, and find X Beijin.

What kind of door would there be in the zoo? Could it be the gate to the cages?

Lin Qin glances over at a locked cage, then shakes his head.

No. He doesnt want to go inside that door. His instincts refuse, believing the door to be elsewhere.

So he thinks about it, and then, comes up with a very logical conclusion

He should find the zoos owner. They must know where the door he needs is.

Lin Qin does not consider the possibility of this owner refusing to answer him at all.

He then starts moving, and locates the closest map and reads its markings. Then, in just a few minutes, he arrives in front of a short building.

This is the Visitor Centre of the zoo, and according to the map he saw, this is also where the office of the staff is.

Its crowded, and everyone looks brilliantly, unrealistically happy, bright as the midday sun.

Some children can be heard laughing, as usual. Even a zoo after the madness has spread is still, evidently, somewhere children enjoys.

The parents, though, surprisingly, are equally joyous instead of being bored out of their minds.

Here, there is a couple, holding the childrens hands in each of their hands, and using their other, free, hand to play rock, paper, scissors.

When Lin Qin walks past them, he can hear their conversation.

I won!

You already went to the Interactive Enclosure last time damn.

When can we try the Game Enclosure? I heard its lively there.

Meh, too many people there. The kids still young, too.

I suppose.

The conversation drifts away to the wind, carrying other similar, or even more despicable conversation with it.

Lin Qin stops listening, and ignores the people altogether. He thinks the madness and Raining Hellfire, even if there are lots of fuzzy details, at least live up to their names.

There really is raining fire, and there really is madness.

He walks into the Visitor Centre.

The air conditioning is so cold that it feels more like an icy coffin. Many visitors are resting here, though, visibly exhausted.

Some are sleeping on the seats with clothes unbuttoned and a sky-rending snore;

Some are feeding their baby with formula.

Lin Qin heads up to the second floor, towards the zoo owners office at the end of the corridor.

As this isnt that big of a zoo, there arent many staff, and the owners office is mixed in with the rest of the staffs, only distinguishing that it is the owners by a simple sign.

Lin Qin pushes the door and walks in.