Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 100
In the story world set by Luo Yu, people from the dual world inherently possessed an anchoring function that allowed them to move freely within the 48 dimensional spaces and were aware of all its secrets.
However, why wouldn’t the imposter Zhou Qian dare disturb the author Luo Yu? The only explanation could be the belief that “those who are not of our kind surely have different hearts”.
Luo Yu didn’t realize that he had entered the world of his manuscript. He was deeply engrossed, pondering how to progress with his story. Should he see people from the dual world appearing before him, he might fear harm.
Perhaps he would use the tool of altering the story’s settings to eliminate these intruders. This was probably what the imposter Zhou Qian had thought, leading him to set an ambush near room 1103 but not daring to awaken Luo Yu, not taking even the slightest risk.
This choice exposed several core elements of the story to Zhou Qian—
First, the Luo Yu in the manuscript world was the real Luo Yu. He stood in opposition to the people of the dual world and wouldn’t assist them.
Second, only Luo Yu could alter the story’s settings. Otherwise, the imposter Zhou Qian and his group could just kill Luo Yu, seize the manuscript, and make changes at will.
Third, the love story between the man and woman and the animated killings of Xiong Fei and Li Yuan were all distractions. The real mystery of this story was linked to the page numbers and the elevator. The only clue to the solution was the location of Luo Yu’s room. This signified that finding Luo Yu was almost synonymous with successfully navigating the story.
These three key points dictated how to complete this instance—find Luo Yu, persuade him to change the story, and lead everyone out of this world.
But persuading Luo Yu would take time. Zhou Qian guessed that the situation in the main hall was dire. His best immediate move was to knock Luo Yu unconscious and check on He Xiaowei. Confronting the author and convincing him to lead everyone out would have to wait.
After successfully meeting He Xiaowei using the overlapping space technique and seeing his current dire condition, Zhou Qian felt the urgency to wake Luo Yu, whether to save He Xiaowei or to evacuate everyone.
He slapped Luo Yu several times, splashed water on his face, and then pinched Luo Yu’s pressure point until Luo Yu finally opened his eyes.
Luo Yu looked confusedly at Zhou Qian, instinctively touching his hurting cheeks.
Zhou Qian turned the manuscript to its title page, handed Luo Yu a pen, and demanded, “Write two sentences on this picture of the hotel lobby. First, a potion that can instantly revive the dead appears near the front desk. This potion can regenerate lost limbs, heal all wounds, and restore a person’s health to 100%.”
“Secondly, you decide to give up the story in the manuscript, to abandon the plan of letting the characters in the story act out the plot on their own. You have to make the story in the manuscript disappear entirely. You need to let everyone leave this place and return to reality!”
“I… I… What are you talking about?” Luo Yu replied, clearly baffled.
From a magazine interview, it was evident that Luo Yu wrote crime novels not to teach criminals but to explore their motives. He aimed to reveal these terrifying motives, prompting society to be wary and to improve systems.
His ultimate goal was to prevent such tragedies. Introducing fantasy elements simply made the story more appealing. The same magazine also highlighted Luo Yu’s philanthropy.
Zhou Qian deduced that Luo Yu was fundamentally a good person. He wasn’t finding inspiration and hoped the characters in his manuscript would act according to the story’s setup, guiding him on how to complete the novel.
He wouldn’t actually sacrifice so many innocent lives for his story.
Zhou Qian narrowed his eyes, staring fiercely at Luo Yu, and said, “You can’t find inspiration and are unable to write this story. The fundamental reason behind this is that you can’t discern the motive of the killer. You can’t empathize with them! You fundamentally don’t understand the murderers!”
“Regarding why that man and woman commit crimes, you only have a vague concept of worshiping Satan. You’ve constructed a hell-like secondary world, delusionally trying to probe the humanity of the murderers! You wish to resonate with them on a spiritual level, but this is a gravely mistaken idea!”
“Give up. You don’t need to probe the humanity of killers because, by choosing to kill, they’ve already lost it.”
“Some are born executioners, murderers, monsters, devils. You’ll never comprehend their motives. When you see them, just stay away. Therefore—”
“The thoughts on the first page of your manuscript are both laughable and foolish. You won’t find any answers through virtual deduction. Murderers are inherently evil.”
“Now you’ve dragged living beings, including yourself, into this virtual world. The killer here won’t provide creative inspiration but will only kill us all!”
Concluding his rant, Zhou Qian menacingly picked up an ax, holding it above Luo Yu’s head. The wind from the motion brushed Zhou Qian’s face, revealing his almost reddened eyes.
Staring intently at Luo Yu, Zhou Qian, in a raspy voice, commanded with unquestionable authority—
“Write! Write as I instructed! You have only 20 seconds. Otherwise, I’ll let you die in this world you’ve created!”
“You are responsible for everything that happens here. It’s your duty to bring back those who shouldn’t die!”
……
On the other side.
Wen Bin first disguised himself as “Ke Si” Liu Wansan, then as He Xiaowei, and now he had taken on the face of Hidden Blade. During the chaos in the hall, he fled towards the corridor.
However, the corridor now appeared quite different from before.
Previously, this corridor turned at a right angle and led to the dining hall, but now he seemed to be endlessly running inside a long corridor, as if he had returned to the corridor on the 11th floor.
Suddenly, he heard rapid footsteps approaching from behind.
Swallowing hard, sensing danger, he stopped in his tracks and turned around—only to see the player called [137] holding a long, straight sword, slowly walking towards him.
Wen Bin was thoroughly panicked.
Initially, he thought everything was foolproof—his gambler had prepared an escape route for him; he could pretend to be a ghost, sneak into the elevator, and escape to some space.
But he never expected the spaces to overlap completely!
There was no way out now. Wen Bin racked his brains, trying to find a way to survive.
He immediately said, “You have a special relationship with Zhou Qian, right? Did you hear what he said? Once you choose to kill, you lose your humanity. So, you…”
Unexpectedly, his words seemed to infuriate Bai Zhou.
Bai Zhou showed no emotion, but Wen Bin could feel a strong murderous intent emanating from his eyes, his footsteps, and even the gleam of the sword.
“You…”
In the next moment, Wen Bin’s pupils dilated in shock. From behind Bai Zhou, another figure approached—it was the swastika serial killer!
Just then, he saw the system’s prompt—
[Key item determining NPC behavior this time: “Swastika” tattoo.]
[Player Wen Bin used the “Identity Copy Camera” item in the exhibition hall’s rest area to photograph player Hidden Blade. He now looks like Hidden Blade.]
[In that photo, player Hidden Blade had no “Swastika” tattoo; hence, in the eyes of the serial killer, Wen Bin now also lacks the tattoo.]
[The killer will have murderous intentions when encountering players without the swastika tattoo.]
[The system announces the judgment to be effective immediately.]
Shivering, before Wen Bin could react, he collapsed on the ground.
At that moment, Bai Zhou turned to look at the newcomer and immediately grasped the situation.
Sheathing his blade, he ignored Wen Bin and headed towards the main hall.
Inside the hall, Chen Dami, Qi Ke, and the white fox were all unconscious.
Chen and Qi were knocked out by the white fox, while White Fox Hidden Blade was knocked out by Bai Zhou.
As for the writer, Luo Yu, he was kneeling on the ground, writing settings.
His first setting was clearly finished, where he creatively turned the potion into a purple color, adding a note—just one drop would take effect.
Zhou Qian was currently pouring the purple potion into He Xiaowei’s mouth.
Only 10 seconds remained.
Then, 9, 8, 7…
With just 5 seconds left, He Xiaowei coughed and opened his eyes.
Zhou Qian quickly lunged at Luo Yu, swinging an axe and then positioning the blade near Luo Yu’s forehead. “Have you finished writing?!”
Luo Yu replied in utter terror, “I’m done!”
The 5-second countdown ended.
The manuscript world collapsed.
Zhou Qian opened his eyes and was back in room 1107.
Zhou Qian felt extremely weak, and as he regained consciousness, feelings of hunger and thirst overcame him. He felt slightly delirious. Amidst the overwhelming hunger, he suddenly felt bizarrely satiated.
Sitting up, he realized he had previously fallen near the window.
Behind him, Bai Zhou lay near the bathroom door.
Zhou Qian now understood. That night, upon returning to the hotel room and watching the dense fog outside while waiting for Bai Zhou to shower, he fainted. Bai Zhou, who had just left the bathroom, also did the same.
Afterwards, their spirits or souls entered the virtual manuscript world, while their bodies lay in the hotel room for four days and nights without food or drink.
Both of them got up, one after the other. Bai Zhou’s first action was to fetch water from his bag and give it to Zhou Qian, asking, “How are you?”
Shaking his head, just as Zhou Qian was about to ask something, the voice of their guide came from outside—
“Dear tourists, how did you enjoy your four days of free exploration? I’m here to pick you up!”
At the same time, a system message appeared.
[The four-day tour of Blue Harbor City’s Saiya Hotel has ended. Players Zhou Qian, 137, Hidden Blade, He Xiaowei, Qi Ke, Chen Dami, and Jian Erdan survived. Congratulations on clearing Hall D.]
[Player Jian Erdan spent all four days in jail and did not explore the hotel, with a storyline completion of 30%.]
[The remaining players’ storyline completion was 100%.]
[Completion affects gold and skill point rewards, which will be calculated when players finally leave the exhibition hall.]
[After leaving Hall D, players should follow the instructions of the staff.]
……
After a while.
At the Blue Harbor City’s Murder Exhibition Hall, inside the public rest area.
In front of the merchandise counter, Bai Zhou was shopping. After a moment, Hidden Blade came over.
Facing Bai Zhou, Hidden Blade seemed like a different person compared to when he was in front of He Xiaowei.
At this moment, he lowered his head somewhat sheepishly. “Um… thank you.”
Bai Zhou simply shook his head, not saying much.
Hidden Blade glanced at him and instinctively rubbed the back of his neck. “My neck hurts so much. I wonder who hit me.”
Bai Zhou: “…”
Suddenly hearing a commotion behind him, Bai Zhou turned around to see He Xiaowei holding Zhou Qian, crying bitterly.
“Wuwuwu, Qian’er, you really saved me!”
“Wuwuwu, Qian’er, I love you! I love you to death!”
“I can’t even express how I feel right now, wuwuwu…”
……
After lamenting for quite some time, He Xiaowei felt his clothes being tugged at the back of his neck.
Blinking twice, he looked up and turned around, only to see Bai Zhou.
To his surprise, Bai Zhou was holding a huge cushion, seemingly offering it to him.
He Xiaowei was almost taken aback, asking incredulously, “Is this… for me? Really? Wuwuwu, thank you so much, big brother! Thank you for buying this stuffed cushion to comfort me!”
“You’re welcome. Just hold it and cry into it.”
Bai Zhou thrust the cushion into He Xiaowei’s arms. Taking advantage of the moment when he was hugging the cushion, Bai Zhou quickly pulled Zhou Qian over to the merchandise counter.
Looking at Zhou Qian, Bai Zhou said, “Given the circumstances, you should eat something. Fruits aren’t enough; shall I heat up some fast food for you?”
“Okay. I’ll make do with it. Then please heat it up for me,” Zhou Qian replied with a smile.
Bai Zhou nodded and went to prepare food for Zhou Qian.
Meanwhile, Zhou Qian approached Hidden Blade.
Upon seeing Zhou Qian, Hidden Blade also sincerely thanked him. But he noticed Zhou Qian’s smug expression.
Hidden Blade: “Hmm… did you want something?”
Zhou Qian, with sparkling eyes, proudly said, “When Xiaowei thought he was going to die, he left 70% of his inheritance to me!”
Hidden Blade: “…That’s… nice?”
“Yes, yes.” Zhou Qian replied with a contented smile. “If both of us fell into the water, Xiaowei would definitely save me first!
“Hmm… Oh, I’ll have to tell Xiao Qi about this. Shows him to turn his elbows outwards*!”
*Idiomatic expression referring to someone who doesn’t help or support their own people or group but instead favors outsiders.
Hidden Blade: “…”
I’m a Rank God player; your money and items are of no use to me. Even if He Xiaowei left 100% to you, I wouldn’t mind. Whatever makes you happy…
After the players had eaten and drunk their fill, the ghostly female staff member in the white dress appeared again.
Zhou Qian’s eyes sharpened, and he stared coldly at her.
However, she eerily said, “Today’s visit has come to an end.”
Zhou Qian asked, “What do you mean? Didn’t you say earlier that our group of players must visit every exhibition hall?”
“Yes. All outsiders who entered the exhibition halls from morning to night are considered the same batch,” the staff member replied with a smile. “Of course, when you leave here, we might meet again!”
Whether from intuition, logical analysis, or the deep implications in the staff member’s words, Zhou Qian knew the story wasn’t over yet.
For example, the significance of visiting the Murder Exhibition Hall.
So far, he had only visited two exhibition halls. Both related virtual games involved survival games—survive a few days, and the player passes.
In the first story, one simply needed to find the trick, avoid the traps that lead to death, and then kill Ruan Mei to pass.
As for the second story, it involved two different serial killing cases. The death risk from the swastika killer was similar to Ruan Mei’s, even easier to avoid.
In the other case, one must avoid being fixated.
The two killers, a man and a woman, responsible for those deaths probably had already died in the history of Blue Harbor City. By the time the players reached the year 1997, they might have been executed or at least were no longer at the Saiya Hotel.
The player’s mission wasn’t to find or survive from them but to find a way out of the manuscript world.
Thus, there wasn’t much to delve into in these two stories since the clearance time was very limited. But the story itself hadn’t ended.
What happened to Ruan Mei, why the manuscript world exists, whether Luo Yu wrote that novel afterward, and if the dual world had any other meanings…
There were still many unknowns about the exhibition hall. Due to the time constraint, players didn’t have the room to delve deeper, and Zhou Qian hadn’t triggered any hidden tasks as he had in previous instances.
Could the moment they “meet again” in this exhibition hall be the time to complete the hidden task? Would he obtain the fourth thing created when God formed the world?
Many thoughts raced through Zhou Qian’s mind, but he said nothing in front of Chen Dami and the others.
He just looked at the staff member. “The visit has ended… but when we left Hall D, you still brought us here to the rest area. You wanted us to spend money here, didn’t you? You’re quite sly.”
The staff member laughed. “You can’t quite put it that way. We were just waiting for the people from Hall E to finish. Now… the door is open. Please leave.”
And so, the players had no choice but to leave the resting area and head outside the exhibition hall.
……
In Blue Harbor City, October 1997. Inside room 1103 of the Saiya Hotel.
The writer Luo Yu sat at his desk for a long time, still in shock. He truly couldn’t tell if everything that just happened was merely a dream of his own. Even when he saw each page of his manuscript pierced with a large hole, he wasn’t sure.
He wondered—did I develop a split personality, and when that personality took over this body, did it create that hole?
Perhaps I should leave this place.
They were right.
This hotel has too much negative energy. If I continue to stay here, I might go mad…
Regardless, I heard what that personality said, and he was right.
I shouldn’t remain immersed in this. If I can’t find the motive of that man and woman, then I won’t look! Not every murderer has a logical, touching motive. Some people simply kill for the sake of killing.
What Luo Yu didn’t know was that a man identical to him silently appeared behind him. He didn’t expect that the man would quickly take out a tie, unexpectedly loop it around his head from above, then tighten it and strangle him to death!
After the murder, the man hid Luo Yu’s body under the bed, opened the wardrobe, changed into a suit that fit him perfectly, and when he sat back down at the desk and took out a blank notebook from the drawer, the desk lamp illuminated a face identical to Luo Yu’s.
“Thank you for bringing me out of the second world.”
“You forgot to get rid of me.”
“So, I had to kill you.”
“You truly are a coward. Then this novel will be finished by me in your stead.”
“You couldn’t discover the motive behind the Pentagram killing group, right…”
“If you don’t put yourself in the shoes of the murderer, of course, you wouldn’t understand. So—”
“I’ll become the killer for you! I’ll personally put nylon bags over the victims’ heads, personally carry out the beating, personally punish them, and personally draw the inverted pentagram…”
“Unlike you, who chose to flee weakly, I will truly understand them and finally complete this novel!”
In the following three weeks, seven murders took place on the 11th floor of the Saiya Hotel. A month later, writer Luo Yu was arrested. But later, the police received new evidence suggesting there might be other suspects. After Luo Yu was temporarily released, he returned to room 1103 of the hotel.
The body under the bed was gone. Discovering this, he smiled contentedly and began to pack his suitcase. After a moment, he noticed the walls and carpet starting to warp.
The next moment, Blue Harbor City, 2301. The lights in Hall D of the exhibition suddenly lit up, and Luo Yu appeared inside with a twisted, dark smile on his face.
An employee approached and handed him a red ribbon. “Welcome. Please continue your visit. You won’t be disappointed.”
……
On his way out of the exhibition hall, Zhou Qian rolled up his sleeves and found his tattoo was gone. He blinked, remembered the hair salon that also did tattoos, and decided to coax Bai Zhou into getting one with him.
“Zhou Ge.” Zhou Qian nudged him with his elbow. “What’s going on in Blue Harbor City? There seem to be hidden tasks in the exhibition hall. Should we stay overnight here in the game? That issue with your spirit domain…”
Bai Zhou replied, “Hmm, okay. I’ll explain the spirit domain issue to you tonight.”
“Then…”
Zhou Qian seemed to remember something. He looked at He Xiaowei and Hidden Blade. “The fast food there made me sick with one bite. Now that we’re out of the exhibition hall, let’s have a feast in Blue Harbor City. Can you two find a restaurant?”
“Sure, don’t worry, Qian’er. I’ll find the best place for you. What do you want to eat?” He Xiaowei asked.
“How about Hong Kong-style hotpot? Make sure the seafood is fresh.”
After dispatching He Xiaowei and Hidden Blade, Zhou Qian happily dragged Bai Zhou to get tattoos.
However, when Bai Zhou began getting his tattoo, Zhou Qian surprisingly turned and walked out alone.
“Zhou Qian? Where are you going?” Bai Zhou asked.
“No worries. I’m just going to check out something nearby. I’ll be right back.”
After leaving the tattoo shop, Zhou Qian did indeed go to a nearby place—a hotel he’d noticed when he first came to the store.
Entering the hotel, after inspecting the lobby and the style of the rooms at the front desk, Zhou Qian seemed satisfied. He then waved to the front desk and handed over a generous tip. The receptionist, also a player, was ecstatic.
He asked Zhou Qian, “Mr. Zhou, what can I do for you?”
Zhou Qian said, “I’ll leave for a moment and return soon to officially book a room. When I do, you must say you only have one room left.”
“Oh, no, not just that. You must also say that many people have recently come to Blue Harbor City and all the hotels are full. Only your hotel has one room left!”
Front desk: “Alright, no problem!”
After instructing the front desk, Zhou Qian left satisfied and quickly returned to the tattoo shop. With the high-tech efficiency of Blue Harbor City, everything was speedy. He and Bai Zhou soon had the letter “Z” tattooed on their hands.
Ten minutes later, Zhou Qian took Bai Zhou to the nearby hotel.
“I noticed many new players arriving. Let’s book our room first.”
Bai Zhou had no objections and asked the receptionist, “What rooms are available?”
“Hahaha, yeah, what rooms are available?!”
Just as Bai Zhou spoke, this voice echoed from the hotel entrance.
Shocked, Zhou Qian turned to see He Xiaowei and Hidden Blade rushing into the hotel. Following them were Qi Liuxing and Ke Yuxiao. Before Zhou Qian could ask how they managed to upgrade to Rank S to come to Blue Harbor City, he quickly signaled the front desk.
The receptionist shot back a reassuring glance and loudly said, “Sorry, we only have one room left! In fact, in all of Blue Harbor City, only one room remains. Do you six want to stay together?”
Zhou Qian: “…………….”
The author has something to say:
When I’m procrastinating, I need a Qian Ge holding an ax glaring at me as he fiercely asks, “Have you finished writing?!”
That way, my typing speed will definitely be much faster hahahaha.
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