Chapter 135: The Witch's Ashes

A calamity unleashed by a madman...

Chen Qi had read about this type of calamity in the books of the Calamity Messengers. Generally, it occurred when a madman, seduced by a calamity, fulfilled enough conditions to trigger a calamity-based skill.

To think he would encounter one on this train...

Dense, countless threads spread out from the Weaving Train, converging into a full-blown calamity!

Chen Qi checked the information on this calamity.

【Doll Cocoon:
Aspect: Void, Edge
Calamity Type: Spatial, Skill-based (This calamity is unleashed by a madman and lasts for a very short duration.)
Level: ???
Description: Everyone shall catch a glimpse of their own likeness; everyone shall be replaced.
Effect: Anyone within the calamity will birth a corresponding thread doll. As long as this doll exists, it will inflict continuous, high mental damage upon its original counterpart and actively attack the original. The level of the doll depends on its original and cannot exceed the level of the person who unleashed the calamity. If the calamity ends and the doll has not eliminated its counterpart, it will dissipate.】

Anyone within the calamity would spawn a corresponding doll. And this doll would find ways to attack its original.

Chen Qi exhaled; this calamity was no simple matter. Each person having a replica of themselves appear would inevitably plunge the train into even greater chaos.

【You look toward the base of the forging carriage. These threads continuously converge into powerful dolls. In an instant, the "number of people" in the forging carriage has doubled.】
【Everyone is momentarily unable to distinguish friend from foe, and some even begin to doubt their own existence. The train carriage is plunged into chaos once again!】

【"Boring tricks!!"】
【Huge amounts of steam erupt from the Conductor’s body. In an instant, scorching energy gathers in his hands, blasting his fake doll to pieces!】

【The Witch of the Cocoon whispers softly:】
【"Conductor, you seem to have forgotten that I was the one who performed your hand reconstruction surgery!"】
【Threads appear on the Conductor’s hands, the very hands he used to unleash his technique.】

【A crimson glint flashes in the Witch of the Cocoon's eyes:】
【"Give me that Mechanical Nexus! Conductor!"】

Things are looking bad. Chen Qi shakes his head. As expected, his own doll is about to appear.

【You turn your head to look behind you. A doll emerges from your back, bearing a subtle resemblance to you!】
【This thread doll slowly bares its fangs and grins at you.】

This is the doll corresponding to him. Chen Qi checks the monster's panel. A red-tinted interface appears:

【Thread Doll:
Aspect: Void
Level: 12
Description: It wants to replace you and turn you into its nourishment!
HP: 400 points (grows with level)
Other attributes: Identical to you without equipment, and possesses no Mental Points.
Skills:
Unrecognizable (Passive): While it exists, you suffer continuous mental damage and are prone to self-confusion.
Soul-Sucking Strike: When it strikes you, it deals physical damage, inflicts additional mental damage, and drains 2 points of your Spirit.
Mimic Body: Every time you deal damage to it, you suffer high mental damage and minor physical damage!
Bewildered Gaze: When your Mental Points are below 2, its gaze will cause your body to partially turn into a doll.】

Chen Qi scans the monster's panel rapidly. High mental recoil, physical recoil, and a large health pool. It could be said that this monster was born specifically to be attacked! A very troublesome mental-recoil monster.

With the battlefield situation so tense, he has no time to dance around this thread doll. To deal with a monster that mimics him, he must strike a fatal blow.

Chen Qi exhales. There is one advantage: this monster is of the Void aspect. With the entire Weaving Train in turmoil, every moment this monster exists makes his position more dangerous. He checks his inventory; the Void-Slaying Bullet is the best choice to resolve this quickly.

【After creating some distance, you see the doll pick up a debt-collector’s long blade made of threads and slash toward you!】

Chen Qi clicks the skill menu to act.

【You trigger the Domain of Black Fire again, dodging the strike. The thread doll senses your position and swings a horizontal slash at you!】
【You can sense its intent: "Let's see if you can take this."】

Void-Slaying Bullet!

【You dodge to the side, and the moment the opponent lunges, you use the Void-Slaying Bullet.】
【Things of death shall return to dust!】
【Infused with spirit, the Void-Slaying Bullet fires from your hand, carving a trail of light through the dark night.】

【Break!】
【The Void-Slaying Bullet shoots out at high speed, striking the thread doll’s chest. The patterns on the bullet flare, turning into a spiral of raging fire that completely consumes the doll’s fake body!】
【The Void-Slaying Bullet has struck the Void-aspect monster, killing it.】
【You have killed the Thread Doll, gaining 450 EXP, plus 90 EXP for the Edge aspect. Current EXP: 607/700.】

One hit, one kill!

After taking down the calamity monster, Chen Qi immediately assesses the battlefield. On this train, he wasn't the only one attacked by the Doll Cocoon calamity; the situation for others was equally grim.

【You grit your teeth, ignoring the sharp pain in your chest, and look toward the Witch of the Cocoon and the Conductor.】
【The Witch is currently attacking the Conductor, vying for the Mechanical Nexus in his hands! That nexus controls the train's defense systems. You look at the others; most are still fighting their own dolls, with no time to assist the Conductor.】

【"How long has it been since you last fought, Conductor! You are far too weak now!"】
【The calamity-transformed Witch of the Cocoon slashes the Conductor's right arm with a whip-kick, dealing heavy damage.】

Chen Qi observes the battle. Given the current situation, things are dire. If this continues, the Witch will seize the Mechanical Nexus, and his own situation will become even more dangerous. It’s either the Witch dies here, or he loses his life! Rather than standing by and watching the battlefield shift, he must take the initiative. He cannot let the Mechanical Nexus be stolen.

Chen Qi pulls out his potions, consumes them all, and initiates the final battle!

【You look at the Conductor. Under the Witch's onslaught, he has shifted to a defensive stance, solely to protect the nexus. His hands are being shredded by the threads!】

Chen Qi clicks the game interface and charges toward the center of the battlefield!

【"That is mine. Your hands are about to crumble into dust. Don't count on the train staff; I’ve already taken care of them all. Now, no one can save you."】
【The Witch of the Cocoon strikes the Conductor with several hands like a sudden downpour.】

【"You are digging your own grave."】
【The Conductor knows his current strength is insufficient to protect the nexus. He must seek help from others. Yet, on this train, the staff he trusted and the friends he once knew are all entangled by thread dolls.】

【Suddenly! The Conductor’s eyes light up as he sees you dash out from the black fire! He understands your intent!】
【"A final gamble, is it? How long has it been since I made such a daring decision..."】
【The Conductor chooses to abandon his defense, throwing a fierce, explosive punch at the Witch’s abdomen! Immediately after, he finds the right angle and tosses the Mechanical Nexus in your direction.】
【"It's in your hands, guest. If you're a doll, then this old man accepts his fate."】
【After saying this, he turns back to block the Witch of the Cocoon!】

【"Are you joking? You would give the precious nexus to a weak Night-Watcher? Ha! Your brain must be fried!"】
【The Witch, sent flying into the air, laughs aloud.】

【Her eyes turn crimson. Throughout her long life, she has always sought techniques that transcend distance. She never imagined she would one day use this move on a mere former Night-Watcher!】
【Her eyes glowing red, she unleashes a terrifying technique:】
【"You are truly interesting. What a pity, a genius of the Lantern aspect is about to fall. Doll Curse, Death Scythe."】

Text pops up on the game interface.

【You faintly sense a scythe at your throat. This is a terrifying attack that hits as soon as it sees you.】
【Warning: You have been locked on and are about to suffer a massive amount of true damage!】
【You are about to suffer terrifying true damage.】

Ignoring distance, plus true damage!

Chen Qi takes a deep breath. This is undoubtedly the most terrifying skill he has ever faced in the game "New Sun." Before him, a bizarre scene unfolds. It is as if a white reaper has appeared beside him, holding a massive white scythe to his neck.

Chen Qi calms himself. Don't be afraid... He has always wandered on the edge of death; the more critical the situation, the more he must remain calm. Despite how terrifying this move is, he has a chance to dodge it!

"Walking in Black Fire" allows his physical form to briefly enter another world, thereby avoiding damage in this one. If he times it perfectly, he might evade this attack! He just isn't sure if it can bypass the damage of a curse... But he must try. Chen Qi exhales, concentrates his mind, and prepares to use "Walking in Black Fire" at any second.

【The Witch of the Cocoon takes the Conductor’s attack head-on, whispering softly:】
【"It's over."】

This is the moment! Chen Qi clicks "Walking in Black Fire"!

【You can feel the terrifying, invisible scythe slashing toward you!】
【Your form vanishes from the black fire, entering the other world, evading the curse!】
【The Witch of the Cocoon cannot sense your soul's aura and smiles slightly, but her expression quickly turns numb. The black flames gradually dissipate, and you reappear, reaching out to grasp the Mechanical Nexus.】

A brilliant piece of text pops up!

【You have obtained the scorching Mechanical Nexus of the Weaving Train!】

【Mechanical Nexus of the Weaving Train.
Aspect: Hammer (High concentration)
Introduction: The train's core, forged through intense emotion.
Usage Requirements: Requires the infusion of sufficient spirit from the Conductor himself, and can only be used on the train.
Effect: Holding this nexus grants control over most of the train’s weapons.
Skills:
Burning of the White Rune: You can manipulate the train’s white runes to inflict massive burn damage on calamity monsters!
Steam Giant: You can control the Steam Mechanical Giant and command it in battle.
Train’s Head: You can control the direction of the train.
……】

Leap of Lightness!

【You instantly put distance between yourself and the Witch of the Cocoon!】

Chen Qi scans the panel. With this nexus, he can use the many defensive weapons on the train. It is precisely through these defenses that the Weaving Train has survived countless calamities. At this moment, a specialized "Nexus Panel" is added to the game interface.

【The train has ceased its movement.】
【You have survived the Reaper’s Scythe... The Witch of the Cocoon looks at you, a look of fear appearing in her eyes for the first time.】

【You look slowly to your left. A Steam Mechanical Giant, which has not been used for a long time, has arrived from the head of the train. The Steam Giant stands thirty meters tall, loaded with the Weaving Train’s backup furnace core; it is the Conductor’s greatest masterpiece.】

【Cocoon Clones!】
【As if splitting apart, the Witch’s figure divides, trying to break free from the Conductor.】
【The Witch creates multiple dolls resembling herself and begins to flee.】

Clones? Chen Qi exhales. Such clones made of thread are far too easy to identify in front of the Morning Star. After using the Morning Star to lock onto her true body, Chen Qi clicks the Nexus Panel and commands the Steam Mechanical Giant and the "Burning of the White Rune" to attack the Witch of the Cocoon!

【Under your command, the massive steel body of the Steam Mechanical Giant stands before you, slapping the frenzied Witch of the Cocoon high into the air!】
【"Why can you recognize me?"】
【Your Spirit Vision is actually this powerful? Are you also a detective from New Capital District 2? The Witch, slapped into the air, has a strange thought in that instant.】

Burning of the White Rune!

【You take a deep breath and manipulate the white runes on the train, converging them into a wolf made of white flame armor that charges at the Witch of the Cocoon!】

This is the strongest mechanism on the train—the runes from the safety carriage. And now, these white runes are many times stronger than those on the safety carriage!

【Looking at this white wolf made of white fire!】
【She looks toward the distance, filled with resentment. She had prepared so thoroughly, restricting most of the staff and passengers, struggling through great hardship to create countless dolls, and even ambushing the Conductor. But she still failed, and she was still so far from final victory.】
【"Life is always full of surprises."】
【Unable to resist, the Witch of the Cocoon, caught in the air, looks up at the sky in despair, reaching out to seek salvation from the calamity. However, from the sky above, no salvation-bringing threads descend for her!】

【The white runes shine like stars. In an instant, this abyss of white mist seems to welcome the dawn.】

【Burn!】
【Raging white fire completely swallows the Witch of the Cocoon!】

【You stand on the shoulder of the Steam Train Giant, watching the charred remains fall from the sky, as massive amounts of steam blow through your hair.】

【The world seems to have quieted down. You let out a long breath, Edge aspect +1.】
【You look into the distance; the witch’s ashes are blown away by the white mist.】
【The wind continues to blow...】

【You exhale, clutching the Mechanical Nexus, and look at the swarm of spiders on the train, speaking slowly through the train's broadcast system:】
【"Broadcast notice: Passengers, please be advised, the Witch of the Cocoon has turned to ash. Everyone, please pull yourselves together; we can make it out of this dark night."】