Failed to Transmigrate, I’m Back Again - Chapter 15

A group of people splashed and ran through the water, stirring up the stream until it turned muddy.

Shi Shuwu, dragged around by Tang Wuyun, finally endured until everyone’s water guns ran dry. She swiftly retaliated, her sudden counterattack stunning Tang Wuyun, who had just regained her composure.

No one knew where Shi Shuwu had gotten the water ladle, but she moved like a wound-up toy, bending over and frantically scooping water to drench everyone. Tang Wuyun watched in stunned silence.

Lu Ya and the others retreated repeatedly, unable to refill their water guns and completely defenseless. The group howled in mock terror as the chaos erupted anew.

Shi Shuwu single-handedly dominated the entire battlefield.

Tang Wuyun: “!”

I want to play too!

Zhang Rui was the first to crack, raising her hands in surrender and scrambling toward the shore. “I surrender! Ceasefire! Ceasefire!”

Luo Xiting and Shi Zhimiao were even faster, already on the bank. Only the tenacious Lu Ya, Ji Mingyin, and Qiao Mian, who hadn’t yet surrendered, remained in the water.

Another ladle of water splashed over Qiao Mian. “!”

She, too, began slinking toward the shore.

Lu Ya, exasperated, shouted, “How can you all just run away like that? Where’s your fighting spirit?!”

She turned to the only remaining ally, Ji Mingyin.

Ji Mingyin wiped the water from her face and, under Lu Ya’s expectant gaze, suddenly sat down stiffly, then leaned back, lying straight down in the stream, her actions signaling her surrender.

Lu Ya: “?”

Ji Mingyin stretched out her arms and legs, forming a “大” shape as the cool water flowed over her body. She sighed contentedly, “Ah! This is so refreshing!”

The water barely reached her ankles, but since she was already soaked, she figured she might as well enjoy it.

The moment she saw the stream, she had wanted to do this, but she hesitated, fearing people would think she was crazy. Now, surrounded by fellow “patients,” Ji Mingyin completely relaxed.

The others: “……”

Tang Wuyun wrung the water from her hair, her eyes fixed on the spot where Ji Mingyin lay, itching to try it herself.

Shi Shuwu, who had just fought fiercely, straightened up, panting heavily.

Tang Wuyun approached her, her voice tinged with confusion and suspicion. “Why didn’t you fight back earlier?”

They had been beaten so badly—why hadn’t Shi Shuwu retaliated?

Tang Wuyun’s question ignited Shi Shuwu’s temper. “You were dragging me around like a ragdoll, pulling me left and right! How could I fight back when I couldn’t even stand straight?” she snapped.

Don’t think I didn’t notice, Tang Wuyun! You were using me as a human shield!

The others truly showed no mercy, unleashing a relentless barrage of attacks.

This demonstrated just how high Tang Wuyun’s hatred value had soared.

Shi Shuwu couldn’t help but wonder what Tang Wuyun had done to provoke such intense anger from everyone.

Tang Wuyun, feeling utterly guilty under Shi Shuwu’s gaze, glanced sideways and saw Lu Ya lying down next to Ji Mingyin. She immediately rushed over to mimic them.

Shi Shuwu: “……”

Wading through the water, Shi Shuwu approached the three women lying in a row.

After a moment of silence, she inexplicably bent down, scooped up water, and inexplicably poured a ladleful over each of them.

The onlookers on the shore: “……”

Watering the trees, are we?

The staff, long since resigned to their fate: “……”

Ephemeral Manor offered numerous water activities, and the production team had anticipated the contestants getting wet, even preparing spare clothes. However, they hadn’t foreseen the contestants deliberately soaking themselves to the bone.

Production team: We prepared, but apparently not enough…

The accommodation, originally scheduled to open in an hour, was hastily made available for the women to shower and change.

But the eight contestants didn’t get off easy. Each had an additional 30 minutes deducted from their remaining time.

Combined with the 30 minutes deducted on the bus, Tang Wuyun and Ji Mingyin each lost a full hour.

Adding the four hours that had naturally passed, they now had only 19 hours remaining.

Tang Wuyun remained calm, knowing she still had a one-hour extension card she had obtained herself.

The accommodation had three floors, each with two private bathrooms. When Tang Wuyun emerged from her shower, only Ji Mingyin remained in the living room; the others were gone.

Tang Wuyun couldn’t resist glancing around several times to confirm Shi Shuwu’s absence. Finally, she asked Ji Mingyin, “Did they all leave?”

Ji Mingyin looked up from her smartwatch screen and nodded. “Yes, they left to find free accommodation cards. If they can’t find any, they’ll do missions to earn points—a hundred points per person per night.”

“Oh,” Tang Wuyun replied absently, then asked, “Did Shi Shuwu leave too? When did she go?”

Ji Mingyin’s gaze turned meaningful. Instead of asking why Tang Wuyun was so concerned, she tactfully replied, “I don’t know. I didn’t see her, but she probably left too.”

After all, Tang Wuyun and Ji Mingyin had been the last to shower, and the others wouldn’t waste time waiting for them.

Tang Wuyun felt a strange unease in her heart.

So Shi Shuwu hadn’t been deliberately following her after all.

Tang Wuyun didn’t ask any further questions. Just as she was about to head out, both her and Ji Mingyin’s watches simultaneously emitted a notification.

*The Red Team has successfully activated the time reversal device. All team members’ time has been increased by one hour.

Activating the time reversal device has caused temporal fluctuations. The “Infinity” cultist hidden among you will activate their abilities in ten minutes. Every two hours, the cultist can assimilate one person into their faction.

Note: Assimilated cultists do not possess the ability to assimilate others.*

After reading the message, Tang Wuyun subtly distanced herself from Ji Mingyin.

From this point forward, team affiliations no longer mattered. The arena had now split into two factions, and no one could be certain whether their own group harbored a hidden cultist.

Based on the clues they had gathered today, “Infinity” was an organization attempting to steal time and exploit its power. The cultists were its core members, despising time yet coveting its abilities and yearning for immortality.

Only those marked by them could perceive Ephemeral Manor. This mark was referred to as “contamination.”

The contaminated individuals hailed from various timelines. Upon entering the manor, it would automatically drain their time.

Ephemeral Manor served merely as a base for stealing time. Half of the stolen time was distributed among “Infinity” members, while the other half fueled the manor’s continued operation along the River of Time.

Tang Wuyun understood the clues and the explanation for the countdowns on their bodies.

But there was one major problem.

Time had begun to flow away from them before they even entered the manor.

One of the earlier clues mentioned a woman named An Ruenia who had entered the manor a year after first seeing it. Her time outside the manor seemed to have remained unaffected.

Tang Wuyun fell into deep thought.

Was it possible that each group had an “Infinity” cultist who began draining everyone’s time before they even entered the manor? Or had the manor’s time-draining radius expanded beyond its walls?

Tang Wuyun believed the former was more likely. If it were the latter, the cultists wouldn’t need to go to such lengths to lure people into the manor to “kill” them.

If her theory was correct, there were at least four cultists currently in the manor.

Could they be the teachers mentioned in the identity information?

Ji Mingyin met Tang Wuyun’s wary gaze, her expression blank for several seconds before comprehension dawned.

She waved her hands frantically. “Hey, I’m not one of them!”

Tang Wuyun remained cautious. Being alone was the safest option now.

“Oh? You’re still here?”

Shi Shuwu’s sudden voice shattered the tense silence in the living room.

Tang Wuyun’s eyes involuntarily lit up, but she quickly forced them to dim again.

Three people now. The situation had become even more precarious.