Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 28

At night, the temperature in the public restroom was very low. The warm breath exhaled by the players gradually formed a thin layer of frost on the huge mirror. The frost obscured the reflections of their features, making it difficult for the players to clearly see their own appearances in the mirror.

However, when they faced each other directly, they could still clearly see the changes in their teammates’ faces.

He Xiaowei, a burly man, was visibly frightened at this moment and instinctively stepped back towards Zhou Qian’s direction.

Zhou Qian asked him, “Are you afraid of ghosts?”

“Uh, well…” He Xiaowei blinked twice without admitting his fear.

In fact, through their recent experience dealing with Situ Qing, Zhou Qian had an unexpected realization—He Xiaowei’s skills actually complemented his own very well.

Moreover, He Xiaowei’s personality seemed quite obedient. Thus, Zhou Qian decisively decided to win him over. “Don’t be afraid. Follow me, and I’m sure I can help you clear this instance.”

He Xiaowei seemed to genuinely respect Zhou Qian. “Indeed, through that ‘Checks and Balance’ game, I’ve come to fully realize it! But, Brother Zhou Qian, you see, I consumed half of my HP to replenish your mana. If you don’t back me up later on, it wouldn’t be fair, right?”

Suddenly, Zhou Qian asked, “Would you like to join my team?”

He Xiaowei looked at him warily. “What do you mean?”

Zhou Qian responded, “Your gambling habits suggest you dabble in everything without mastering anything. Have you considered specializing in healing?”

He Xiaowei immediately declined. “No!”

Zhou Qian tried to persuade him. “In our team, there’s an exceptional damage dealer, a Swordmaster. You could form a duo with him and call it ‘Sword and Heart*’!”

*This is referencing the idiom courage of a warrior (sword), soul/heart of a musician (lute) (剑胆琴心). It refers to someone who is both sentimental and courageous. || In this context, they will literally be that, with Qi Liuxing being the sword and He Xiaowei being the musician (since he uses the guqin).

He Xiaowei hesitated. “Is that person a girl?”

Zhou Qian shook his head. “No.”

He Xiaowei also shook his head. “Then what’s the point? I want to team up with a girl… I want to find a girlfriend.”

Zhou Qian solemnly remarked, “Why are you so fixated on gender?”

He Xiaowei: “……”

“Anyway, I don’t want to.”

“Alright then… If we can’t agree, I’m going back to my room.”

“Hey, don’t! Given the weird situation, shouldn’t we all stick together?! Granted, there are many conflicts between the four of us… but—”

Looking at the others, He Xiaowei continued, “We should cooperate temporarily, right? After all, if we keep fighting, what if we all die here?”

He Xiaowei’s words made a lot of sense.

The game designer’s intentions were truly malicious.

In “Apple Paradise”, players had to go through a scoring game before proceeding with the main storyline. The intention was clearly to divide players through the scoring game. The same pattern was evident in “Last Wish”. Before realizing they could use corpses to draw out the bullets, players’ first instinct was likely to sacrifice 2-3 players, leading to disagreements and division into smaller groups.

However, the reason for Zhou Qian and his team’s division wasn’t about sacrifices, but it was now quite challenging for them to cooperate.

Frowning slightly, Zhou Qian turned and left the restroom. Worried that Zhou Qian might truly abandon him, He Xiaowei quickly followed. “Alright, alright! I’m willing to be a healer… I mean, a healing dad*, okay? I’ve come to realize that there are very few dedicated healers because they lack offensive capabilities and can’t even clear mobs. If I specialize in healing… I’ll definitely be the favorite in our group! Everyone will call me ‘Dad’!”

*Clarity: The term usually used in online gaming for healers is “milkmaid or wet nurse” (奶妈). Given his machoism, he changed it to “healing dad or manny/daddy daycare” (奶爸). This is probably also why he doesn’t fully focus on healing (because of his machoism), since he views the profession as more feminine and doesn’t have any offensive capabilities (not cool for a guy).

Zhou Qian raised an eyebrow. “Hmm…?”

He Xiaowei quickly added, “Except for you.”

With a satisfied smile, Zhou Qian thought: Mission accomplished.

Leaving the restroom, Zhou Qian walked along the corridor bathed in cold lighting. Instead of returning to his room, he stopped in front of Room 701. The small dragon with deep blue scales was still waiting there. It looked up and smiled at Zhou Qian, leaping into his arms. Zhou Qian caught it and peeked into the room.

Inside, Jiang Yuqing was still sleeping peacefully.

Zhou Qian opened the door slightly, observing the room while stepping in. Using the faint light from the hallway, he glanced at Jiang Yuqing and noticed that he didn’t seem to have grown any younger. Zhou Qian then turned his attention to the photograph on the wall.

The light at this moment was too dim, and the tone of the photo was also dark. Zhou Qian couldn’t see it clearly for a moment, so he took out a miniature flashlight he had purchased in advance from his bag. He shined the flashlight directly on the photo without illuminating other areas, startling Jiang Yuqing, who was asleep.

Through the cold light, Zhou Qian discovered that the photo had indeed changed.

The seven people in the photo were originally blurry; their facial features seemed to have been blurred by the dampness of the rain. But now, the appearances of three of them have become somewhat clearer. The faces of these three were very familiar to Zhou Qian; they resembled himself, Yun Xiangrong, and He Xiaowei, whom he had just seen in the mirror of the restroom a few minutes ago.

In other words, the faces of three people in the photo were becoming clearer. And the appearance and identities of Zhou Qian and his companions were moving closer to those three individuals.

By touching the photo, by ten minutes past midnight, the transformation of the three of them had reached 40%. So, after a while longer, would they completely become the people in the photo?

There was a noise from the bed behind him, which was Jiang Yuqing turning over. Seeing this, Zhou Qian left room 701 and put the little dragon down to guard the door.

After giving He Xiaowei a glance in the corridor, the two of them went to room 702 together.

As He Xiaowei entered while complaining, he asked, “Are you sure this place isn’t haunted?”

Zhou Qian replied indifferently, “If this instance really had ghosts, you would’ve been possessed by now.”

He Xiaowei: “……”

Watching Zhou Qian sit on the sofa, seemingly lost in thought, He Xiaowei quickly sat across from him. “I didn’t dare to go in just now. What’s going on?”

Zhou Qian looked at He Xiaowei and suddenly asked, “How were you able to enter this instance?”

He Xiaowei was momentarily confused by the question. “Huh?”

“I just thought of something. This instance has a hidden achievement. That Yun Gao couple and I can come in because we cleared ‘Apple Paradise’ with the same property. But it seems you didn’t.”

Zhou Qian looked intently at He Xiaowei. “So, how did you get in? Don’t tell me it’s just by luck that this instance just happened to open for you.”

He Xiaowei responded, “Huh? Isn’t that possible? Some people repeatedly do low-level instances to get tickets to hidden instances!”

“But you don’t seem like them. Xiaowei bro—” Zhou Qian continued, “I did say earlier that your skills complement mine well, and I intended to invite you to our group. But what if this is a carefully arranged coincidence?”

“What kind of arrangement? You’re just being overly suspicious. Just because one teammate wants to kill you, do you think everyone else has issues?” He Xiaowei was getting irritated. “Have I done anything to harm you?”

Zhou Qian replied, “No, but it’s always better to be cautious. Given my guess, the upcoming instances won’t be easy. I need to be sure.”

“Damn, I indeed didn’t get the ticket myself. But my involvement in this instance has nothing to do with you! It’s a test from my future master!” He Xiaowei immediately explained.

“Oh? And who is your future master?” Zhou Qian immediately asked, sensing that something was amiss.

He Xiaowei said, “His name is Hidden Blade! Let me tell you, he’s incredibly strong! He’s a Rank God player! We are at Rank D now, and you probably think Rank S is the highest in this game, right? But that’s not the case. Rank S is just the beginning! From what I heard, Rank God players were chosen by the gods right from the start. Their progression is entirely different from ours! They probably never did the instances we did! When they started this game, they were already at Rank S! They’re naturally talented and inherently strong!”

Zhou Qian asked, “How many Rank God players are there?”

He Xiaowei: “There shouldn’t be more than 10!”

After a pause, He Xiaowei added, “This is all from a guy I met in the last instance. He is one of Hidden Blade’s chosen disciples! Man, Hidden Blade is amazing! His weapon seems to be a skull, one that can give nightmares to anyone. His skill set is about crowd control, similar to yours…”

Hearing this, Zhou Qian quickly started connecting the dots. He speculated that it might have been that 137 person who asked Hidden Blade to take him as a disciple. Even though Hidden Blade was reluctant, he still sent an invitation because of the request from 137.

So, did 137 want Hidden Blade to be his master because both of them had crowd control abilities?

He Xiaowei continued, “In any case, I also wanted a powerful master. So, after exiting the last instance, I’ve been lurking around the trade house and such. In the dead of night, I finally saw Hidden Blade post a message seeking some small prop!”

“I immediately approached him for a private chat and tried to team up!”

“At first, he declined, saying that my skill direction didn’t match his. But who would’ve thought…”

“After a day, he contacted me again, saying he would take me as a disciple, but only if I come to this instance!”

“So, the entry ticket to the ‘Last Wish’ instance was given to me by him.”

After hearing this, Zhou Qian was silent for a moment, then asked, “Is it possible that Hidden Blade really doesn’t want to take you as a disciple, but after someone urged him, he agreed?”

He Xiaowei was taken aback. “I wouldn’t know about that.”

Zhou Qian then asked, “Rank God players… There might only be 10 of them. Have you ever heard of 137?”

“Ah? No, I haven’t.” He Xiaowei shook his head. “Does someone use a number as a code name???”

Zhou Qian asked again, “How much do you know about Hidden Blade’s abilities? Is he the strongest among those 10 Rank God players?”

He Xiaowei: “I really don’t know. But from the description by the guy in the last instance, Hidden Blade seems extremely powerful. Given our level with 12 gunmen, I think he might be able to make all the gunmen fall asleep, then directly go in and get evidence!”

“Let’s assume that in this game, there are very few people who can truly become friends. Let’s also assume that Hidden Blade and that 137 aren’t particularly close. Then, if even a strong player like Hidden Blade has to listen to 137, act on 137’s orders to recruit disciples, and give out small potions to lower-tier players… Does this imply Hidden Blade owes 137 something?

“Does it further imply that 137 might be stronger than Hidden Blade?”

He Xiaowei: “Brother Qianqian, I really don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Zhou Qian smiled. “Nothing much. I’m just thinking that this 137 must be quite powerful.”

He Xiaowei: ?

Zhou Qian said gleefully, “So, even if I don’t know who he is, it seems I can make good use of him!”

He Xiaowei: “Ahem, Qian Ge, what about this instance…”

Zhou Qian let out a yawn and headed to his bed. “Sleep now, Xiaowei Ge. By tomorrow morning, you should know what’s happened.”

Indeed, at 6 o’clock the next morning, He Xiaowei learned of the events. He and Zhou Qian received messages at the same time.

[Player Zhou Qian: Transformation rate 60%, direction – Bei He]

[Player He Xiaowei: Transformation rate 60%, direction – Dong Shui]

After reading the system prompt, having slept on the sofa, He Xiaowei immediately ran to Zhou Qian. “What does this mean? What’s this Bei He, Dong Shui?”

“If I’m not wrong—” Zhou Qian yawned, glanced at the system prompt, and said, “These are names. There are seven people in the photo. We will transform into two of them, named Bei He and Dong Shui.”

After the two finished washing and eating, they left the room and met Yun Xiangrong, who also received a new prompt. She would transform into someone named Xi Jiang.

Hearing her name, He Xiaowei couldn’t help but say, “Hiss… Xi Jiang, Dong Shui, Bei He. Our names all combine a ‘direction’ with a ‘water’ word. It’s a pity that Situ Qing didn’t trigger this*—”

*Clarity: North River [Bei He] (北河), East Water [Dong Shui] (东水), West River [Xi jiang] (西江)

Just then, Situ Qing walked out of her room. She not only looked like herself but also bore the shadow of someone else. After glancing at the others, she shared the information she had, probably because she didn’t want to die in the main plot.

“Last night, I went to Jiang Yuqing’s room and touched that photo. I saw a military officer writing poetry, and then he burned the poem. That illusion should be the same as what you all saw. Currently, I’ve achieved a 20% transformation rate. However, I still don’t know who I will transform into or what his name is.”

He Xiaowei blinked. “Anyway, your surname will most likely be ‘Nan*’, and your name will be related to water.”

*South.

The corridor fell silent. Apart from He Xiaowei, no one else spoke. He looked at the others with a complicated expression, feeling that aside from him, they all had ulterior motives, each harder to deal with than the last. Of course, Zhou Qian being the biggest devil among them.

By 7 a.m., someone finally arrived. It was the security guard they had met the day before. The guard, holding a notebook and pen, stepped out of the elevator. Seeing the four caretakers in the hallway, he said with satisfaction, “Good! Everyone’s here!”

He Xiaowei swallowed hard and bravely asked, “Is it really everyone? Don’t you remember… there were six of us yesterday? No, if you count Lao Yu and Lao Tie, there were eight of us in total?”

The security guard looked at him in surprise. “When was this? Were you dreaming? Weren’t there just the four of you? Fine, as long as everyone is here, my attendance task is completed.”

“Has Mr. Jiang woken up? Take good care of him. Oh right, when he wakes up in the morning, he usually reads for a while. Then he goes back to sleep. If you all want to slack off, wait until he’s asleep. Other floors are still not open. Don’t run around!”

After instructing the players, the security guard turned to press the elevator button.

However, Zhou Qian called out to stop him. “Wait. Were you in charge of our attendance?”

Yesterday afternoon, when they first entered the building, Zhou Qian clearly remembered that the receptionist at the front desk was responsible for attendance. The receptionist even emphasized that she was responsible for everyone’s attendance.

The security guard looked back at Zhou Qian and replied naturally, “Yes! I’m in charge!”

Zhou Qian asked, “Wasn’t there a receptionist yesterday? Haven’t you seen her?”

The security guard shook his head in confusion. “We haven’t hired a receptionist. I’ve even helped post several job advertisements. Probably because the job’s far, the pay’s low, and the workload is high, no one even applied!”

He Xiaowei felt flabbergasted and couldn’t help but exclaim, “What the hell?”

The security guard shrugged. “Is it your memory that’s faulty or mine? Are you guys dreaming, or am I?”

Before entering the elevator, he concluded, “You all must be dreaming. My memory is perfectly fine!”

The security guard took elevator A and left. At this point, He Xiaowei was pretty convinced of one thing—people’s sudden disappearance in the building had nothing to do with the elevators. He wanted to share a glance with someone, but Yun Xiangrong and Situ Qing weren’t responsive. As he wasn’t sure how to approach the girls, he turned to Zhou Qian.

Zhou Qian said, “Didn’t the security guard ask us to take care of Jiang Yuqing? Let’s go to his room. We can’t go to other floors anyway. We can only go to 701.”

Before Zhou Qian finished speaking, a system notification popped up.

[Main Quest Triggered: Players must go to Room 701 within 5 minutes to take care of Jiang Yuqing.]

Thus, the four players had to return to Room 701.

Inside, Jiang Yuqing was already awake, reading a book quietly without causing any disturbance.

Seeing this, the players, although tasked with “taking care” of Jiang Yuqing, felt it redundant and aimless.

He Xiaowei turned to Zhou Qian. Even though he thought Zhou Qian was intimidating, he was currently the only person He Xiaowei could communicate with.

He Xiaowei whispered, “I suddenly realized something. Jiang Yuqing hasn’t eaten, drunk, nor used the restroom. At first, I thought taking care of an elderly dementia patient would involve lots of dirty work. But we haven’t had to do anything like that!”

“Moreover, since yesterday, aside from a piece of osmanthus cake, he hasn’t eaten anything. There isn’t even a cafeteria in this building. I haven’t even seen anything like a water dispenser. Him not eating or drinking… it’s totally illogical!”

Zhou Qian responded, “Actually, it’s logical.”

He Xiaowei: ?

Zhou Qian explained, “This only further proves that this is Jiang Yuqing’s consciousness world. In real life, he has severe dementia. He doesn’t remember eating, drinking, or taking care of basic needs. Perhaps the [Wang’s Osmanthus Cake] is very precious to him, something he hasn’t forgotten. So, in his consciousness world, it’s the only food that remains.”

He Xiaowei: “Makes sense.”

Zhou Qian continued, “The same goes for this building. Normally, buildings are designed with staircases. But perhaps in real life, Jiang Yuqing never used the stairs. He might have been wheelchair-bound and taken directly to 701 via the elevator. So, in his consciousness world, there are no stairs. Or maybe he did use the stairs but just completely forgot about them.”

“Also, due to dementia and probably rarely visiting other floors, he has no memory of them. Maybe there is a cafeteria on one of those floors, but he doesn’t know. So, in this memory world, the other floors remain permanently sealed.”

He Xiaowei: “Oh shit, it’s like this! Wait, wait! I suddenly had a thought!”

Zhou Qian spoke up, voicing his thoughts. “So, in our current world, the reason why people disappear out of thin air one after another is just because they are forgotten.”

The vase on the bedside table and the flowers inside vanished into thin air simply because Jiang Yuqing forgot.

The caretakers who looked after Jiang Yuqing disappeared one by one because he forgot about them and couldn’t recognize them anymore.

The receptionist disappeared, of course, because Jiang Yuqing forgot her.

As for this room. The reason the faces of the seven people in the large photo were always blurred was simply also because Jiang Yuqing forgot their appearances.

Even Jiang Yuqing’s own features seemed vague.

It was also because he forgot himself.

Turning his head, Zhou Qian looked at the photo on the wall, which seemed to have been soaked in water, and said, “There are seven people in the photo. And there are six players who came this time. One Jiang Yuqing, plus six players—isn’t that exactly seven?”

He Xiaowei: “!!!”

“The reason why the elderly Jiang Yuqing became young yesterday evening isn’t because he was practicing some sort of rejuvenating magic. It’s just that through yesterday’s ‘Checks and Balance’ level, we helped him recall a bit of his past. So he remembered a bit of what he looked like when he was young.”

Pointing to the photo, Zhou Qian continued, “The same goes for the others. I think Jiang Yuqing and these six people are all comrades from the 7^th Brigade. Just as he forgot himself, he also forgot their appearances. Of the six people, we still don’t know the names of three, but now at least we know that the other three are called Xi Jiang, Dong Shui, and Bei He.”

“So I think—”

Turning around, he walked to Jiang Yuqing, squatted down, and looked at his still aging face with indistinct features.

He took Jiang Yuqing’s old hand and said softly, “Your so-called ‘last wish’ is just not to forget, right?”

“Mr. Jiang, you don’t want to forget the past, don’t want to forget yourself, and don’t want to forget those six comrades, right?”

“You want us to help you, right?”

On the side, watching quietly, He Xiaowei felt a bit moved.

He wasn’t sure if Zhou Qian was acting.

All he was doing might be trying to get information from the NPC.

Yet He Xiaowei was still deeply touched. How many precious memories does one have in a lifetime? Although he felt his life was mundane, he still had many memories that he would never want to forget until death.

The first day of school, the first friend, the first love, the taste of the first piece of cake, the feeling of the first plane ride, the first college entrance exam, the first job interview… he never wanted to forget any of them.

Physical death was one thing, but if memories remained, perhaps one wasn’t truly gone. But if even the memories were gone…

It was as if one had truly vanished from the world.

In the warm room, the elderly expressionless Jiang Yuqing sat in a chair, holding a book in his lap. One hand was held by the squatting Zhou Qian. Zhou Qian’s gaze was clear and tender, but Jiang Yuqing looked confused.

After watching this scene for a bit longer, He Xiaowei felt his eyes become moist.

So, Jiang Yuqing’s real last wish wasn’t to live a few more days or to become young.

He just didn’t want to forget.

Jiang Yuqing seemed still not sure how to speak and didn’t understand what Zhou Qian was saying. So he withdrew his hand and continued to read.

Zhou Qian stood up and looked back at the old photo.

Wiping away a tear, He Xiaowei quietly asked, “So our task…”

“Our current direction is correct. The caretakers come and go and are seen by the elderly Jiang Yuqing. But they are not Jiang Yuqing’s most precious memories, so they were forgotten one after another. Jiang Yuqing’s most precious memories are probably the years he spent with those six comrades. Xi Jiang, Dong Shui, Bei He… as long as we complete the transformation to 100%, we can fully become his comrades. In this way, we can say we live in his memories. If we survive in the memory world, we are not forgotten and thus complete the task.”

He Xiaowei still had questions. “By the way, in the photo illusion, what’s the deal with that young officer?”

Zhou Qian thought for a moment. “We previously triggered two states of Jiang Yuqing, [Manic Jiang Yuqing] and [Dementia Jiang Yuqing]. That officer… is probably also Jiang Yuqing, and he might be the [Young Jiang Yuqing].”

He Xiaowei: “What do you mean?”

Zhou Qian explained, “We analyzed it yesterday. The manic and dementia versions of Jiang Yuqing are both harmful to players and show hostility. However, the young officer aids the players, showing good intentions. Based on today’s new findings, we can understand yesterday’s analysis from a different perspective—”

“The elderly Jiang Yuqing with dementia and manic, in essence, represents his old age. Only the officer represents his younger version.”

“Let’s anthropomorphize this a bit: when you grow old, there are two personas fighting inside your head. One is killing your memories, every individual in them; while the other is trying desperately to protect those in your memories.”

He Xiaowei widened his eyes. “Ah, I get it… The young officer represents Jiang Yuqing’s youthful memories, so he’s protecting us!”

Zhou Qian nodded. “Exactly. That’s why the officer said, ‘It’s you who came’ when he saw us yesterday. The young officer is still Jiang Yuqing. In this world, by protecting us, he is essentially safeguarding his comrades and, in turn, his memories.”

Upon hearing this, He Xiaowei didn’t feel elated from nearing the real solution to the game but instead sighed heavily, feeling melancholic.

About forty minutes later, as the clock approached 8:30 in the morning, Jiang Yuqing put down his book and went back to bed, soon drifting into a deep sleep.

He Xiaowei snapped out of his daze, his expression turning serious. “He’s sleeping again in broad daylight; could it be—”

Before He Xiaowei could finish, Zhou Qian had already reached room 701’s door and swung it open.

Outside the door was no longer a hallway but, unexpectedly, a vast sea.

A new consciousness world had indeed emerged, indicating that a new level had been activated.

Moments later, He Xiaowei, Yun Xiangrong, and Situ Qing also stepped out of room 701. The moment the door closed behind them, room 701 vanished completely.

Before the players, the hallway was replaced by a desolate sea. The water wasn’t a deep blue but had a dull gray tint with hints of yellow and black.

In the distance, where the sea met the sky, the heavens were also a dull gray. Such a setting set the tone for this part of the game.

Oppressive and gloomy, no one felt uplifted.

They stood on a pier, which looked rather luxurious. Several passenger and cargo ships were docked. However, there were no dock workers or passengers. The sea and dock were eerily quiet.

The only option for exploration seemed to be the city.

Turning their gaze forward, right in front of the three players was a sign. It read: [Year XX37, September, Cypress City, West Pier.]

Zhou Qian looked down at his attire. He was no longer wearing the caretaker’s uniform but was dressed in a military uniform with a “7” inscribed on it.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 27

Jiang Yuqing had become younger.

This matter wasn’t noticed by He Xiaowei until Zhou Qian mentioned it. But after hearing it, he took a closer look and felt that Jiang Yuqing indeed seemed younger.

“Could it be…” He Xiaowei thought of a terrifying possibility. “Did he set up some kind of magical formation, killing those two caretakers? His purpose was to kill and rejuvenate himself—”

He Xiaowei’s voice rose. “I get it. Jiang Yuqing is the boss of this instance. Aren’t we supposed to fulfill his last wish? I think his wish is to become young again! Now… he has killed two players and three janitors in a side mission. And two caretakers vanished in the main storyline…”

“It’s horrifying. Extremely cruel. He must have used some dark magic?!”

Zhou Qian, looking through the window into room 701, said, “I don’t think so.”

He Xiaowei: “Huh?”

Zhou Qian continued, “There must be a way to clear this game, and the clearance rate of this stage is as high as 60%. If Jiang Yuqing’s wish is to kill all of us and become young, and we need to fulfill this wish to clear the level… think about it, isn’t that contradictory and impossible?”

He Xiaowei nodded vigorously. “Right. True. This building feels very strange.”

“It is strange,” Zhou Qian said. “Have you ever seen, in the real world, an entire nursing home where everyone revolves around just one person?”

“No… I haven’t!” He Xiaowei exclaimed. “You mean, this isn’t real?”

What He Xiaowei meant was ambiguous since they were both in a game world, which wasn’t reality.

But Zhou Qian understood him.

Regardless of the game’s backdrop, based on the plot in this instance, everything they encountered didn’t seem to follow the logic of the real world. They seemed to be in a virtual space, like an illusion.

Zhou Qian began, “If my guess is right, this might be Jiang Yuqing’s conscious world, where he controls our existence and disappearance.”

“He slept for an hour in the afternoon. During this hour… we entered another layer of his conscious world, which was the side quest.”

“The side quest called ‘Checks and Balance’ isn’t easy to clear, but surviving it is simple. Players avoiding those 12 rooms, enduring an hour, and returning to 701 can leave the side quest and return to the regular 7th floor. In reality, Jiang Yuqing would wake up after that hour, ending the dream.”

“However, since we cleared it, everything we experienced, and the ending scenes are significant and might be related to the hidden achievement.”

“The S squad’s gunman kills the 7 squad members with bullets marked ‘S’. Our mission was to help a young officer collect 12 bullets marked ‘7’, which he then used to retaliate against the 12 S squad gunmen.”

“There’s a meaning in this, but I haven’t linked them to the main plot. Also—”

Looking at the peculiar damp photo on the wall, Zhou Qian said, “I still can’t grasp the meaning of that photo.”

On the photo were seven blurred faces. When the side mission started, touching the photo would reveal a handsome officer giving players hints. Dead players would vanish when the side mission ended. All the janitors disappeared during the side mission, and caretakers started disappearing as well…

What was the meaning behind these images?

It was as if a curtain covered the truth.

Now, Zhou Qian had lifted most of it. Just a bit more, and he would see the entire truth.

At that moment, there was movement in room 701.

Jiang Yuqing asked three times in a row, “Where’s my osmanthus cake?”

With the two girls lost in their thoughts and not answering him, he began to act.

[Target: Jiang Yuqing]

[Rank: B]

[Specialty: ???]

[Due to not getting his beloved osmanthus cake, Jiang Yuqing becomes agitated and shows a strong murderous intent. Players, be careful!]

Suddenly, all four players received this notification.

At this moment, Situ Qing calmly nestled beside the bookshelf, as if nothing had happened. This was probably due to her physical and mental fatigue and also because the protective shield around her had not yet completely disappeared.

Yun Xiangrong quickly hid near the door. Pushing it open, she exchanged a glance with Zhou Qian and silently moved to the other side of the corridor.

Following Yun Xiangrong out of the room was the little dragon Zhou Qian had brought with him earlier. Sensing danger, it widened its eyes in surprise, let out a faint “yelp”, and rushed out of the room, jumping straight into Zhou Qian’s arms.

Zhou Qian patted its head, and it curled up into his embrace without making any fuss.

At the door, He Xiaowei first curiously looked at the little dragon, then turned his gaze, full of concern, towards Yun Xiangrong not far away. Seeing her red eyes, he seemed to want to comfort her but didn’t know what to say. So he lowered his hand and whispered to Zhou Qian, “Hey, did Jiang Yuqing’s irritability happen because he didn’t get to eat the osmanthus cake? Should we give it to him?”

“Yes. But wait, let’s observe first.”

Zhou Qian held the little dragon close and signaled He Xiaowei to be quiet, then continued to look into the room.

Inside the room, only Situ Qing and Jiang Yuqing remained. Even though the system had alerted that Jiang Yuqing now had a strong killing intent, he didn’t seem to show any noticeable aggression towards Situ Qing.

However, Jiang Yuqing was indeed “irritable”. He first smashed a vase on the table, then walked to the bookshelf. Without even glancing at Situ Qing by its side, he pulled out several books and threw them on the floor, stepping on them forcefully.

With a fierce look in his eyes, he seemed ready to tear the books apart when he suddenly froze. It appeared he remembered something, slowly turned around, and then looked at the photographs, walking towards them.

“What the hell—” At the door, He Xiaowei frowned and asked Zhou Qian, “Bro, have you figured anything out yet?”

“How can a man with only three days left to live suddenly become a Rank B ‘monster’?” Zhou Qian countered.

He Xiaowei quickly responded, “So, you were right! This is a consciousness world, not reality! In reality, Jiang Yuqing indeed has only three days left to live! But now, we are in a consciousness world. So, this consciousness form of Jiang Yuqing, under someone’s control, can suddenly become powerful!”

“Yes, it should be like that. But if… the elderly Jiang Yuqing in front of us is aggressive towards players, and the side quest ‘Checks and Balance’ related to the 12 rooms is also his creation in a dream, based on these points, it’s safe to infer that in this instance, this elderly Jiang Yuqing is hostile towards us players. But at the same time—”

Inside, Jiang Yuqing was walking towards the photograph. Zhou Qian glanced at the photo three times and then said, “The young military officer in the photo gave us clues to pass ‘Checks and Balance’; in the end animation, it was also him who dealt with the 12 gunmen. Does this mean that the young officer is opposed to Jiang Yuqing? That is, in this instance, unlike Jiang Yuqing, this officer is relatively friendly to players.”

Before He Xiaowei could respond, Zhou Qian suddenly entered the room. The moment he stepped in, he said to the person opposite, “Mr. Jiang, your osmanthus cake has arrived.”

These words were as soothing as a spring breeze, calming all turbulent emotions. Jiang Yuqing immediately smiled.

[Player triggers clue hint: “Wang’s Osmanthus Cake” can soothe Jiang Yuqing’s emotions; Jiang Yuqing’s irritable state is resolved.]

[Player unlocks two states of Jiang Yuqing: 1. Manic Jiang Yuqing; 2. Dementia Jiang Yuqing.]

So, the system had now clearly indicated that this elderly Jiang Yuqing indeed had dementia.

After the manic episode subsided, Jiang Yuqing, like a child, happily walked up to Zhou Qian, stretching out his hands in a candy-seeking gesture.

Zhou Qian handed him a piece of osmanthus cake he had prepared earlier. Receiving the cake, Jiang Yuqing showed an innocent, childlike smile and carelessly sat on the wooden floor, eating the cake bite by bite.

The centenarian sat on the floor eating sweets, crumbs scattering everywhere. But he seemed not to care at all.

He Xiaowei followed Zhou Qian into the room. When he saw the scene, he felt rather emotional.

Throughout one’s life, people would go through the long passage of time, experiencing childhood, youth, middle age, and old age… But when people reached a certain age, it seemed like they had returned to their childhood.

Physically, they would lose their ability to take care of themselves, and they would have to rely on others for eating, drinking, and their daily needs. Mentally, they became like children in their infant stage, seemingly losing all reason and becoming prone to crying and fussing.

‘Perhaps life is a cycle,’ He Xiaowei thought.

As for Zhou Qian, he didn’t pay much attention to Jiang Yuqing. Instead, he looked at the photo again.

The reason he had entered the room just in time to give the osmanthus cake was because he had seen—when Jiang Yuqing in his manic state approached the photo, he tried to grab it, seemingly intending to destroy it.

From Zhou Qian’s previous analysis, whether it was the [Manic Jiang Yuqing] or the [Dementia Jiang Yuqing], both were harmful to the player. The former might attack the player, while the latter could use dreams to activate the “Check and Balance” mechanism to harm the player.

By contrast, it seemed that the only one who could help the player right now was the young officer in the photo.

So, Zhou Qian must prevent the photo from being destroyed, lest the officer in it disappear.

After giving Jiang Yuqing a piece of osmanthus cake, Zhou Qian hid most of the remaining cake in his bag.

Now he approached the photo again, trying to take down the framed picture to prevent Jiang Yuqing from potentially destroying it unexpectedly at night.

However, Zhou Qian found he couldn’t remove it.

The frame didn’t seem glued or nailed to the wall, but Zhou Qian simply couldn’t take it down.

He gave up, and at that moment, a hand suddenly grabbed the back of his collar.

Turning around, Zhou Qian found himself face to face with Jiang Yuqing.

Jiang Yuqing’s gesture had no other meaning.

He simply hadn’t had enough snacks and was asking for more.

Zhou Qian raised his hand, playfully tugged at Jiang Yuqing’s white hair, and said as one would to a child, “That’s all. Eating too many sweets is bad for you. You can have more tomorrow.”

Hearing this, Jiang Yuqing looked somewhat displeased.

But he didn’t say anything, silently turned to a bookshelf, and began reading a book.

It seemed that a small piece of osmanthus cake was enough to calm him down. He didn’t become agitated again.

The osmanthus cakes in the bag might come in handy later.

Then, Zhou Qian noticed that the book Jiang Yuqing was reading was on physics.

The “Check and Balance” level was related to mechanics in physics.

This could be seen as a clue—the side quest was constructed by the thoughts of Dementia Jiang Yuqing in his dream.

With Jiang Yuqing now calm and engrossed in his book, Zhou Qian looked around the room. Books were scattered on the floor, thrown by Jiang Yuqing during his fit.

A blue and white porcelain vase with fake flowers had been knocked over, its petals scattered like stars.

Suddenly, Zhou Qian looked at another bedside table. He noticed something amiss. On the other bedside table, there was supposed to be a glass vase with fake flowers. But now it was gone.

Zhou Qian glanced down at the little dragon in his arms and whispered in its ear, asking if anyone had moved the vase when he wasn’t in the room.

The little dragon, having witnessed everything, obediently shook its head.

Seeing this, Zhou Qian’s expression turned serious.

If no one moved the vase, it meant that it had vanished out of thin air.

Could it be that the elderly caretakers, Lao Yu and Lao Tie, and even many others who “left without getting their salaries” as the front desk recalled, had they also disappeared in the same way?

There was no so-called magic circle that reverses aging, nor any haunted supernatural events.

Many objects and people simply disappeared in this consciousness space.

But what did that imply?

Among the myriad clues, Zhou Qian grasped at a fragmentary piece of evidence.

He began to have a rough idea of the whole truth.

A moment later, the phone in room 701 rang.

Zhou Qian answered it, hearing the voice from the front desk. “Just letting you know, security and I are about to clock out. We’ve turned off the elevator, so just stay on the 7th floor and rest. See you tomorrow!

“Oh, and Mr. Jiang likes to read at night. If he’s tired, he’ll go to sleep early. He usually doesn’t cause trouble at night. No special precautions needed. You guys should rest too!”

Since this statement was from the front desk, it basically meant:

Players will live here for the next three days. The main plot probably won’t resume until tomorrow. All plot clues have come to a temporary close. Everyone can finally take a break.

With that, the players left Room 701 one after another, returning to their own rooms to rest.

The front desk prepared six rooms for the caretakers. Due to the deaths of two people, only four were now available.

Zhou Qian casually chose Room 702, right across from 701, also at the very end of the corridor.

Before entering the room, he heard He Xiaowei nervously say to him, “Bro, be careful. Rooms at the end of the corridor tend to be haunted!”

Zhou Qian: “That’s nice. Being alone is boring.”

He Xiaowei: “…”

Bidding farewell to He Xiaowei, Zhou Qian entered room 702.

The room was actually quite good, like a standard hotel room. But Zhou Qian undoubtedly looked down on it.

Once upon a time, he only stayed in high-end suites.

While squeezing into the tiny shower, Zhou Qian was showering when he suddenly remembered a middle school trip.

The teacher took them to a famous scenic spot in Lin City, with green mountains and clear waters. But the location was remote, so the accommodation wasn’t great.

The moment Zhou Qian entered the hotel lobby, he showed his dissatisfaction and was even more disdainful after seeing his room.

His repulsion peaked when he found cobwebs on the window, refusing to stay in the “shabby inn” of the scenic area. He insisted on going to the city to find a star-rated hotel and sneaked away when the teacher wasn’t looking.

That night, Bai Zhou, the class president, concerned about Zhou Qian, followed him.

To this day, Zhou Qian still remembers Bai Zhou’s very serious expression that night.

He also remembers saying to Bai Zhou, “Zhou Ge, do you think I’m wasteful? But my dad’s a gambler. He might go bankrupt one day. If I don’t splurge now, I won’t have the chance in the future!”

Bai Zhou ignored Zhou Qian’s bizarre logic and tried to persuade him to go back. “Stick with the group. You don’t know this place. It’s not safe.”

Zhou Qian faked sickness and lay down on the bed. “I can’t move. I have a fever.”

Bai Zhou: “If you can’t walk, I’ll carry you back.”

Zhou Qian refused and made excuses. “Actually, I have a reason for not going back. I’m avoiding the beauty of the class next door. She confessed to me yesterday. When we were assigned rooms, she was right opposite me. It’s so awkward!”

“No, Zhou Qian—”

“Huh, why did your face change when you heard this? Do you like the beauty from next door?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Come back with me!”

“You go back if you want to. I won’t!”

Bai Zhou sighed. “I’m mainly worried about you. If you go alone—”

Zhou Qian smiled at him, tempting him to break the rules. “Then why don’t you stay here too? If you don’t leave, I won’t be alone.”

Bai Zhou: “…”

Suddenly, Zhou Qian sat up and looked into Bai Zhou’s eyes. “Actually, the beauty from the next class likes you. I heard she’s writing you a love letter. Hey, will you accept that letter?”

…..

After showering and turning off the showerhead, Zhou Qian’s thoughts, immersed in memories, came back.

Then he solemnly frowned, feeling that his junior high self was embarrassingly childish.

As he dried his hair and lay down to rest, Zhou Qian turned his full attention back to the current game.

First, he entered the trading house.

The system’s trading house consists of several different sections.

In the first section, all sellers were the system, equivalent to a system store, selling daily necessities like food, water, tissue, and common tools like daggers and scissors.

Regardless, in Zhou Qian’s view, the fact that the game didn’t provide food and required players to buy it from the trading house was purely a money-grabbing move by the system.

In the second section of the trading hall, the sellers were players.

Players could sell unwanted items or tools they’ve made or collected to earn money.

Rare items like health potions, when listed, were usually snatched up immediately.

There was also a third section in the trading house. This section was for buyers seeking purchases.

If players wanted to buy something they couldn’t find, they could list a “wanted” item, state their demand, and offer a suitable price; if a seller agreed, they could chat privately and enter a system-supervised transaction platform.

In the trading hall, Zhou Qian first went to the system store section to buy water and food. Reluctantly eating the food, which he found barely palatable, he then headed to the diverse second section to try his luck at finding some good items.

Players, when resting in a completely safe environment, would slowly recover health and mana. However, this recovery was painfully slow. Zhou Qian’s health was full, but he estimated that by tomorrow, his mana would only be half full. By common sense, the mainline instance levels would become more challenging, and he would inevitably face monsters. Having only half his mana might not suffice. Mana recovery potions were rare to come by, so he hoped to find some useful items in advance.

After buying food and selecting some items, Zhou Qian proceeded to the third section. Knowing the chances were slim, he still listed items he wanted to buy, including a mana recovery potion.

Zhou Qian gave his purchase request a very catchy title— [High price for purchase¹, sincere offer…]

Three minutes later, he saw some comments under his post.

[Whoa, I thought it said ‘paying a high price for a child¹‘ at first.]

¹Clarity: Zhou Qian’s listing is (重金求购). The comment replying to it says he thought he saw (重金求子) with purchase (购) replaced with child (子).

[Same upstairs.]

[+10086]

[You’re not right, I’m not right, we’re all not right.]

Zhou Qian: “…”

He quickly replied, [If you’re not selling, don’t comment.]

Then, Zhou Qian went to sleep. But he didn’t sleep well. Roughly two hours later, he woke up.

The system notified him of unread messages. Upon opening, he saw someone had responded to his purchase request. The person had sent a trade request.

[Trade Item: “I Can Still Fight”; Potion; S+ grade; restores 400 MP; Quantity: 2]

[Trade Price: 3 gold coins]

[Seller: “137”]

[Trading Item: “I Feel Powerful Again”; Potion; S grade; restores 200 HP; Quantity: 4;]

[Trading Price: 3 gold coins]

[Seller: “137”.]

Previously, there was someone named [Hidden Blade] who at least had a codename. This person’s name was just a string of numbers. Was “137” his codename? What kind of weird code name was this?

Opening the trade interface, Zhou Qian immediately messaged, [Who are you?]

A moment later, the reply came: [I am a friend of Hidden Blade. I heard he recently took you on as a disciple. I saw your purchase request while browsing the trading house, so I sent over the potions you needed.]

A friend of Hidden Blade? But didn’t Hidden Blade say he took me as a disciple on someone else’s behalf? Was that “someone” this “137”?

Zhou Qian narrowed his eyes while typing back. [I never agreed to be his disciple.]

The other side paused before asking, [Then what kind of master do you want?]

Without waiting for Zhou Qian’s reply, he added, [The master-disciple system is just for convenience—to send messages, transfer items, etc. In future special instances, the system may limit regular chats and trades, but the master-disciple system will remain unaffected.]

Ignoring the question, Zhou Qian cheekily asked, [How about you? Who’s stronger, you or Hidden Blade?]

Before he received a reply, Zhou Qian rapidly shot back several probing questions.

[Are you considering taking me on as a disciple?]

[Do you think Hidden Blade is better suited to be my master? Why?]

[Oh, is it because you think he’s stronger than you?]

[So, you’re not up to the mark?]

Feeling quite pleased with his cheekiness, Zhou Qian quickly agreed to the trade to avoid offending “137” into canceling the deal. He then leisurely waited for “137” to respond, sipping on a bottle of juice.

However, after a while, there was no reply from “137”. Zhou Qian, slightly puzzled, initiated a trade request, only to receive a system prompt he found very strange.

[The other party has gone offline. Trade cannot be initiated.]

Offline?

This was the first time Zhou Qian saw this term. It was strange since he had never seen anyone in an “offline” status before. Whether in the game battling through instances or back in reality, players were always “online”, as they could still chat, trade items, team up, participate in instance matching, and so on.

That was to say, Zhou Qian had always thought that the player was always “online”, the only difference being whether they entered the instance or not. Unless they died, Zhou Qian still had no idea how a player could go “offline”.

“137” remained offline since. Zhou Qian waited for a while and, not seeing him, fell back asleep.

By the time Zhou Qian woke up, it was almost midnight. He was awakened by a noise. The sound was harsh, like fingernails scraping a blackboard, causing Zhou Qian to immediately frown. When he got up and looked, it was the small dragon he had conjured using scales, scratching at the door, seemingly wanting to get out.

Three scales could conjure up three small dragons that fully obeyed him. That was what the System had explained. But why did this dragon now seem to have its own consciousness?

Walking up to it, Zhou Qian squatted down and patted its cute little head. “Where do you want to go?”

“Ah, ah, ah…” The little dragon tilted its head and smiled at Zhou Qian, then pointed outside. It couldn’t speak, but it seemed to have a place it wanted to go.

Zhou Qian squinted slightly, didn’t say much, but stood up and cracked the door open. He then quietly followed the little dragon, only to find it heading to room 701.

The little dragon tilted its head and stared at the door of room 701, looking a bit lost. It tentatively pushed the door, and finding it locked, its eyes showed a bit of urgency. In its haste, it seemed to want to scratch at the door again.

With the corridor light shining, Zhou Qian peered through the window into the room. Jiang Yuqing was already asleep. He was lying quietly on the bed, looking very peaceful. For now, it seemed that he hadn’t become agitated or tried to destroy the photo frame.

Zhou Qian thought for a moment, squatted down, and tried to calm the dragon. The little dragon quickly settled down, its eyes glistening as it looked at Zhou Qian, appearing extremely adorable.

“Don’t disturb others’ sleep, okay?” Zhou Qian whispered to it. The dragon stared at Zhou Qian in confusion, but it was very obedient. It blinked in comprehension, not making any noise or trying to scratch on the door of room 701. Instead, it cuddled in Zhou Qian’s arm and nestled into his embrace.

Patting its head again, Zhou Qian felt a twinge of reluctance, thinking that it would disappear by tomorrow afternoon. After all, to him, animals were much more adorable than humans. Even though this little dragon was artificial and didn’t have life.

Zhou Qian then asked, “Do you want to stay here?”

The little dragon nodded.

Zhou Qian said, “Alright. Then you’ll help me keep watch here. Make sure the person inside doesn’t destroy any furniture or clues. If he acts up, come to my room and alert me.”

The dragon smiled, obediently nodded, and hopped to the entrance of room 701, sitting down and assuming a serious guarding posture.

Zhou Qian waved at it and turned to head back to his room. Just then, he heard footsteps. Looking over, he saw Situ Qing approaching from the end of the hallway.

Under the cold lighting, Situ Qing’s hair and eyes appeared even darker, exuding a cool elegance. Her red lips added a touch of allure. It seemed she had recovered quite a bit, looking much better than her previously distraught state. But when her gaze met Zhou Qian’s, she frowned.

In the corridor, Zhou Qian’s tall figure cast a slender shadow. His face was sharply defined by the lighting, and his dark, emotionless eyes held a hint of mockery. “Did your gambler send you? He wants to check on Jiang Yuqing’s condition at night and see if he’ll destroy that photo?”

Situ Qing avoided Zhou Qian’s gaze, her face turning slightly pale. She continued walking to the door of room 701 and turned to look inside at Jiang Yuqing, leaving Zhou Qian with a view of her slim and straight back.

Watching her, Zhou Qian said, “The previous two times, I told you two sharp truths. They might not have been pleasant to hear, but they were accurate.”

“The first was that he fears you becoming too powerful and slipping from his control. The second was that he wishes to control you because you’re useful to him. Now, let me tell you a third thing. Hey, don’t be so quick to leave. This one will sound much better than the previous two.”

Seeing Situ Qing turn away, but her silhouette momentarily paused, Zhou Qian chuckled. “You have a talent for output, but you lack the wisdom to play such games. That’s why you can only act based on his cues and commands.”

“But think about it from another perspective,” he continued. “It seems you’re living in his shadow, but perhaps he can’t afford to lose you either. Why would he go to such lengths to control you otherwise?”

“That brings me to my third point. If he still needs to control you, it means you’re still valuable to him. So, while you’re still of use to him, you should take the chance to escape. I can help you.”

Hearing this, Situ Qing stayed silent for a while. Finally, she turned to face Zhou Qian and met his gaze. “I’ve told you before, you’ve got it all wrong. You misunderstand our relationship.”

“Really? And what is your relationship?” Zhou Qian probed.

Situ Qing replied, “It’s one of mutual love. We love each other. There’s no control or manipulation like you’re suggesting.”

“Oh, so you’re willingly imprisoned by your love for him?” Zhou Qian’s words grew more cryptic. “I’ve said it before, a bird in a cage usually doesn’t meet a good end.”

For a brief moment, a look of surprise flashed across Situ Qing’s clear eyes. But she quickly turned cold again. “I love him. That’s more important than anything else.”

Did she truly love him? Or was she saying all of this for his benefit, knowing he’d be watching?

Regardless, this conversation between Zhou Qian and Situ Qing had only deepened the rift between them.

Zhou Qian laughed with a hint of malice. Then he heard Situ Qing’s tone become more urgent. “You really don’t get it. Talking about caged birds…You’re so presumptuous. How much life experience do you think you really have?”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qian, without hesitation, revealed a painful memory. “Actually, my mother was an amateur singer. She sang beautifully. Her best song—do you know its name? It’s called ‘Caged Bird’.”

Situ Qing frowned upon hearing this. Zhou Qian continued, “For her, I’d say I pity her misfortune but am angry she never fought back. She wouldn’t dare defy my father, even when he tried to harm me and gambled me away.”

“Really?” Situ Qing asked, “And what happened to her afterward?”

Zhou Qian stepped closer. His dark pupils were fixed on Situ Qing as he whispered, “She died. My father killed her.”

Situ Qing instinctively stepped back, as if Zhou Qian was some malevolent creature. If she got any closer, she might get ensnared by him. After a deep breath and a long pause, she finally looked back at Zhou Qian.

Situ Qing said in a hoarse voice, “I know what you’re trying to do. Our conversation can be heard by him. You’re intentionally saying all of this to sow distrust between us so you can find our weakness later. Zhou Qian, an enemy like you, is truly terrifying. They say one shouldn’t air their dirty laundry, and no one would usually share such dark secrets. But you’re willing to share even this with your enemy to break me down and ruin our relationship. Honestly, I admire that. But you should know—”

At that exact moment, it struck midnight. Suddenly, Situ Qing froze mid-sentence, her expression turning to one of utter shock, as if she was seeing something unimaginable.

Then, from down the hallway, He Xiaowei’s voice exclaimed in panic, “Fuck! My face! There’s something wrong with my face! Brother Zhou Qian—oh, you and Situ Qing are here! Shit, your face too… I’m going to get Yun Xiangrong—!”

Three minutes later, four players stood in front of a large mirror in the 7^th floor bathroom. Three of them, Zhou Qian, He Xiaowei, and Yun Xiangrong, had visibly changed features, somewhat recognizable but drastically different from before.

[Player Zhou Qian, Transformation 40%]

[Player He Xiaowei, Transformation 40%]

[Player Yun Xiangrong, Transformation 40%]

The three of them not only had their facial features changed, but they also received these notifications. From start to finish, the only one who hadn’t undergone any changes or received any notifications was Situ Qing.

Late at night, with a chill in the air, even the cold lighting added a sense of eeriness.

He Xiaowei couldn’t bear to look at himself in the mirror for more than a few moments. He turned away, dripping with cold sweat, and didn’t dare look at the mirror again.

He couldn’t help but hug his arms tightly. “What’s going on? I’m so scared… Wuwuwu. Have I been possessed by a ghost?”

Zhou Qian glanced at his reflection in the mirror with a calm expression.

Then he said, “During the side quest ‘Checks and Balance’, in order to find the clue to pass, the three of us touched the photo in room 701 and experienced illusions to varying extents. Only Situ Qing didn’t touch it. That’s probably why we transformed, but she didn’t.”

---

The author has something to say:

Zhou Qian: Zhou Ge, are you not up to the task?

Bai Zhou: ???????

——

P.S. Mu Sheng and Situ Qing are not blood related.

“The Caged Bird” is a lovely old song. Highly recommended~.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 26

The dark, narrow, and eerie corridor was now filled with dense fog.

The thick fog severely impaired one’s vision and hearing, invoking involuntary feelings of trepidation and panic.

Contrastingly, when the “jingle” sound resonated, it was as if, amidst a mountainscape obscured by thick clouds, a trickling spring suddenly made itself heard, providing guidance and vitality to those lost.

The sound was crisp and pleasing, capable of making one forget all worries.

Yet at this moment, it was the most terrifying weapon of murder, foreshadowing the impending sweep of snow and ice upon this world.

At the crucial moment, Zhou Qian rapidly analyzed the current situation in his mind.

First was Yun Xiangrong’s side.

Just before Gao Shan’s death, Situ Qing had feigned a major move with her bell, intending to deceive him. At that time, she was far from Rooms 6 and 7, remotely controlling the situation as if she was just an observer.

At that moment, Lu Mengmeng was also far from there. After swapping two number plates, he quickly moved away to avoid suspicion.

He Xiaowei should’ve been following Zhou Qian towards Room 7. But Zhou Qian was delayed searching for evidence for quite some time, during which He Xiaowei probably moved on. From his subsequent comments, he wasn’t near Rooms 6 or 7, so he had no idea how Gao Shan died.

Thus, when Gao Shan took a bullet in room number 6 and ran out, only Yun Xiangrong was initially close to him.

But to hear Gao Shan’s dying words, Zhou Qian expended a lot of mana to freeze time and approached Gao Shan, becoming one of the closest people to him.

Before and after stopping time, Zhou Qian’s position changed.

As a result, from Yun Xiangrong’s perspective, Zhou Qian appeared to have teleported in front of her and Gao Shan.

Moreover, only Yun Xiangrong saw Zhou Qian’s teleportation due to the distance and the thick fog; none of the other players in the game noticed it.

During the time freeze, after learning everything that had happened from Gao Shan, considering the well-coordinated actions between Lu Mengmeng and Situ Qing, Zhou Qian wasn’t certain but began to suspect the gambler’s side.

Therefore, before Gao Shan’s last moments, his words, “Let Yun Xiangrong hate me”, were intended for the gambler, not Gao Shan.

What Zhou Qian meant by this was simple.

Facing a terrifying organization alone, Yun Xiangrong likely has only a path of death. So, let her hate and target me. I won’t truly harm her.

Time heals both love and hatred. After she vents her anger on me, perhaps she can calm down, and then I can persuade her to genuinely let go.

Zhou Qian purposely said this, both to test if the gambler would leak secrets and to prepare for subsequent plans. He never truly intended to oppose Yun Xiangrong. He was just putting on a show for everyone.

And without a doubt, Yun Xiangrong received his message.

Firstly, after witnessing Zhou Qian’s teleportation to Gao Shan, Yun Xiangrong could probably guess the skill he used.

Secondly, before dying, Gao Shan transferred a large amount of gold and items to Yun Xiangrong via the trade house.

Being astute, she understood the implications—Gao Shan, who should’ve died immediately, had the time to make such arrangements, possible only due to Zhou Qian freezing time, delaying his death.

Thus, trusting Yun Xiangrong’s intelligence, when she approached Gao Shan’s body and shoved him away, Zhou Qian whispered in her ear, “Gao Shan told me everything. I’ll avenge him.”

In essence, Zhou Qian and Yun Xiangrong never truly opposed each other. From the moment Yun Xiangrong pushed him, their coordinated act had begun.

By declaring in front of the gambler that Yun Xiangrong should hate him, Zhou Qian set the stage for their “fallout”.

Later, the so-called retrieval of the bullet from Gao Shan’s corpse, or claiming to have the Tick Tock Clock but not giving it to Yun Xiangrong, even making her kneel and cry until her eyes bled…

All of it was a performance by the two of them, aiming to avenge Gao Shan.

If the enemy didn’t believe that Zhou Qian truly faced universal abandonment and was at his weakest… How would they casually reveal their hand and decide to strike him down?

As expected, Situ Qing should have been just watching from the sidelines. Now that Yun Xiangrong had shown genuine intent to kill Zhou Qian, Situ Qing fully revealed her murderous intent.

Probably, it was Yun Xiangrong’s statement of “Reviving Gao Shan is more important than revenge”, that convinced Situ Qing—Yun Xiangrong was indeed out to kill Zhou Qian and definitely wanted to seize the Tick Tock clock.

From Situ Qing’s point of view, within these 30 seconds, He Xiaowei entered room 10 to find evidence. Yun Xiangrong truly stood against Zhou Qian. With Zhou Qian out of mana, it was the perfect time for her to act.

Situ Qing was indeed fooled. Not only was she fooled, but her vulnerability was also exposed.

Why did she wait for Yun Xiangrong to express her intent to kill Zhou Qian before acting? It could only be because she didn’t dare act rashly unless she was sure that Yun Xiangrong and Zhou Qian were indeed adversaries.

This could only mean one thing—her mana was also running low.

Previously, she and Lu Mengmeng set up a series of traps—lowering the corridor’s temperature to reveal fake clues on the door, deploying a powerful move to create the illusion of killing Zhou Qian, deceiving Gao Shan, and then using her ability to kill Lu Mengmeng…

She probably didn’t have much mana left—perhaps just enough for one ultimate. Given that Yun Xiangrong might heal Zhou Qian, and even He Xiaowei, who was somewhat of a healer, might assist, Situ Qing couldn’t ensure a kill on Zhou Qian with one blow, so she was still waiting and didn’t act directly. After all, she only had this 30-second window. If she missed it, the tide would completely turn against her.

Yun Xiangrong’s fake intent to kill Zhou Qian indeed increased her “confidence”, successfully deceiving her to act at this moment.

Speaking of which, there was a crucial element in this game—mana or skills. Regardless of how powerful a player’s skills were, they were limited by their mana, and no one could use their skills indefinitely.

This meant that in this game, especially in the early stages, no player would recklessly confront teammates using skills directly. Even if they wanted to kill a teammate, they were more likely to exploit the instance’s inherent traps and dangers rather than engage directly. After all, if they exhaust their mana competing against teammates, how would they fight the boss later?

Given this mechanic, mana recovery potions were almost nonexistent in this game. Health potions were already rare, and those available in the market might only recover 1% or 2% of the health. Mana potions were even rarer, basically legendary, even scarcer than resurrection tools.

During combat, predicting an opponent’s mana was crucial. Zhou Qian guessed right; Situ Qing probably had mana just for one ultimate. Situ Qing also saw Zhou Qian was out of mana and believed Yun Xiangrong wouldn’t heal him, so she dared to act.

What Situ Qing didn’t expect was—Zhou Qian actually had an extremely rare mana potion, given by someone named [Hidden Blade].

That day, while observing Zone X from a tree with binoculars, Zhou Qian received a message from someone wanting to take him as a disciple. The person was [Hidden Blade].

Zhou Qian neither accepted nor refused but replied, “You should show some sincerity if you want to take on a disciple, right?”

Soon, a trade request was sent.

[Player Zhou Qian, Hidden Blade has initiated a trade request.]

[Trade Item: “I Can Still Fight”; Potion; S+ grade; restores 400 mana.]

[Trade Price: 0]

Zhou Qian quickly accepted and asked, [Why do you want to take me as a disciple?]

The reply was, [Oh, I have many disciples. I have disciples everywhere*. If you agree, you can be a junior in my sect. I didn’t really want to take you. I prefer obedient disciples. Clearly, you’re not one.]

*Peaches and plums all over the world (桃李满天下) Idiom that refers to having many talents or students that could be found everywhere.

Zhou Qian’s eyes narrowed, and then he saw a message: [Ahem, well, someone asked me to. I’m just doing a favor for a friend.]

Who this “Hidden Blade” and his “friend” were wasn’t Zhou Qian’s current concern. But now, at least he could use this mana potion called “I Can Still Fight”.

This potion would restore 400 MP to Zhou Qian. Not enough for a big move, but enough for a small one. His small skill was “Bone Nightmare”, a control skill that could trap the target in an illusion.

So now, first and foremost, Zhou Qian had to ensure that Yun Xiangrong would help him and prevent himself from being instantly killed by Situ Qing.

Next, as long as he could hold out until He Xiaowei emerged from the adjacent Room 10, he could also get He Xiaowei’s assistance. Considering that Situ Qing had been trying to kill so many people, it was uncertain whether she would sacrifice her own teammates to pass the game. He Xiaowei wasn’t stupid; he had no reason not to help Zhou Qian.

Lastly, with the help of these two, as long as Zhou Qian could withstand one of Situ Qing’s ultimate attack, Zhou Qian, with his 400 mana, could even launch a minor attack that would be enough to control Situ Qing and then find a way to defeat her.

At this very moment, accompanied by the clear “jingling” sound, Situ Qing did launch an ultimate attack at Zhou Qian.

[Warning! Player Situ Qing has used the skill on you: Silver Blossom Ice Spike.]

[Rank attack, three rounds of continuous damage. Please dodge!]

With a gesture from Situ Qing, a bell floated into the air and began to sway violently. The “jingling” sound rapidly increased in frequency, becoming piercing. Suddenly, thousands of droplets appeared in the void, slowly condensing into sharp icicles, about to turn into the sharpest weapons.

However, this scene didn’t scare Zhou Qian at all.

Because he noticed that all of Situ Qing’s moves had a characteristic—they required a casting time.

That was, she couldn’t release her ultimate immediately. During this casting period, the temperature within the range of the skill decreased at a certain rate, providing the conditions for her moves.

Taking advantage of the time it took for her to channel her move, Zhou Qian acted quickly.

His first move was to take out a shimmering, deep blue scale from his bag. He threw the scale to the ground, and a little dragon burst out.

The little dragon was blue all over, about the height of Zhou Qian’s knee, and extremely cute. Its large, round eyes were also deep blue. Under the light, they shimmered like the sunlit sea. The dragon blinked at Zhou Qian, tilted its head, and smiled.

Although the dragon couldn’t speak, it stared at Zhou Qian. Zhou Qian gently patted its head and whispered something. The dragon then darted back into a room to gather evidence.

Zhou Qian’s second move was to take out the mana potion, restoring 400 MP. His third action was to pull out a pre-purchased defensive cloak to slightly shield him from damage.

Quickly putting on the cloak, Zhou Qian gripped a Rib of God in one hand and narrowed his eyes in the direction of Situ Qing.

The first round of ice spikes abruptly fell.

The Ice Queen’s long-range attack power was formidable. Zhou Qian was an entire level below her, not good at defense or offense, making the situation incredibly perilous.

Fortunately, the Ice Queen’s skill was an AOE attack. The floor, ceiling, and corridor walls were instantly encased in glistening ice and frost, which to some extent, absorbed some of the damage meant for Zhou Qian.

Still, this was only enough to prevent him from being instantly killed.

Countless ice spikes mercilessly struck down, first tearing Zhou Qian’s cloak. Then, he had to withstand the icicles with his body.

His hair, brows, and long black eyelashes were all frozen white. He felt a bone-chilling coldness, especially in his knees, making him feel like they were about to freeze off. Without even realizing, he was already on one knee. Simultaneously, his body was hit by numerous ice spikes, causing blood to pour out. He was in so much pain that he broke into a cold sweat, but the sweat immediately froze on his body.

[Player Zhou Qian’s HP has dropped to 50%.]

[Player Zhou Qian’s HP has dropped to 30%.]

[Player Zhou Qian’s HP has dropped to 10%.]

There were three rounds of ice spike attacks. After withstanding just the first round, even with a shield to help him, Zhou Qian’s health was already down to 10%. At this rate, he definitely wouldn’t survive the third round.

In the distance, Yun Xiangrong was about to act with her flute when someone else acted first.

The door of Room 10 was suddenly pushed open, and He Xiaowei actually came out earlier than expected.

A flowing melody suddenly filled the air. The invisible soundwaves instantly clashed with the frost, turning them into flurries of snowflakes. The sound waves warmed like spring water, melting the ice and reviving everything…

However, the actual situation was: [Zhou Qian’s HP recovered to 13%.]

Zhou Qian: “…”

Yun Xiangrong in the distance: “…” It seems I still have to step in.

He Xiaowei, who rushed out of the room clutching his guqin: “……”

“Hey, my ability adds health at random. How much health I can restore depends on luck. This only proves that you, Zhou Qian, are unlucky!”

“What the hell is happening? Situ Qing, why did you kill so many people?”

“Damn it, I have to stay and help you, don’t I?”

“Hey, Yun Xiangrong, what are you staring at? Can you come and help? The dead are gone; shouldn’t we, the living, move forward?”

Before He Xiaowei could finish, he looked up.

Countless icy rains came from the void, once again about to form countless ice spikes.

In the brief moment before the ice spikes fell, He Xiaowei’s shoulder was gripped by the severely wounded Zhou Qian.

Turning around, he saw Zhou Qian spitting out blood from the corner of his mouth. His whole body was covered in wounds, and his blood even dyed his thick down jacket red. To He Xiaowei, Zhou Qian seemed on the verge of death.

However, Zhou Qian’s eyes looked no different than usual.

He simply asked He Xiaowei, “So, what’s your ultimate move? Can you still use it?”

“Ugh, my ultimate is a scam. It’s a sacrifice type! It consumes either health or mana!”

“I… Well, considering you’re about to die, I can share half of my health with you. But if I… never mind, I won’t overthink it. I’ll just share half of my health with you! Wait—”

He Xiaowei was about to lament and then reluctantly planned to unleash his ultimate, but Zhou Qian interrupted him.

In the mist, He Xiaowei felt Zhou Qian’s gaze turn somewhat mad for some reason.

Then Zhou Qian asked, “Can you share half of your mana with me?”

“Uh… huh? Look, Zhou Qian, I just used three of my minor skills to send the corpses and bullets to three different rooms. So I only have 1,600 MP left. Let me quickly explain my skills.”

He Xiaowei’s skills were unique.

He had a total of 2,000 HP and 2,000 MP, which was the same as an average Rank D player’s attributes.

With a cost of 1,000 MP, he could share half of his health with someone else. This move was called [Sacrifice Life].

He could also consume 1,000 HP to give half of his mana to someone else. This move was called [Sacrifice Soul].

“Brother Zhou Qian, based on my skill’s nature, if I share my remaining 1,600 MP with you, I won’t be able to heal you with my ultimate! Because my remaining mana isn’t enough for the healing ultimate, get it?”

“You know, my healing with minor skills depends on luck…”

“So, you get what I mean? It’s not that I don’t want to share my mana with you. It’s just, if I do, and those ice spikes fall, you might die instantly.”

“What use is the mana if you’re dead?

“So, I should just use [Sacrifice Life] to heal you!”

“No. I don’t need health. I need mana,” Zhou Qian said. “I’m preparing for my ultimate.”

“What do you mean…”

“Hurry!”

“Alright, alright, you’ll have it! Just don’t shout at me!” He Xiaowei quickly strummed his strings, sacrificing half of his health, then shared half of his mana with Zhou Qian.

The 400 MP he got from a small mana potion, combined with the 800 from He Xiaowei, made a total of 1,200 MP, just enough for Zhou Qian’s ultimate.

In the void, the ice spikes had taken form and were about to fall.

Before He Xiaowei’s eyes, Zhou Qian did something completely unexpected—he took off his down jacket, as well as the protective suit underneath, revealing his lean and scarred body. Because sweat and some of the blood had frozen, the protective suit was practically stuck to his wounds. But he took it off without a care, reopening many wounds in the process.

Zhou Qian only frowned slightly at the sight of the blood, then seemed to dismiss it. He then took out a dagger and stabbed it directly into his left shoulder.

In an instant, blood poured out, completely drenching Zhou Qian’s already bloodied body. When he pulled out the dagger, blood splattered across his pale and thin face, staining his lips. Yet he was smiling, appearing wildly insane but oddly charming.

While hurting himself, Zhou Qian saw Yun Xiangrong a few steps ahead, seemingly about to play her flute. He quickly shook his head at her, and she hesitated before putting the flute down.

At that moment, a system warning sounded.

[Player Zhou Qian’s HP has dropped to 12%.]

[Player Zhou Qian’s HP has dropped to 11%.]

…

[Player Zhou Qian’s health has dropped to 9%.]

Just a moment before the myriad of icicles thundered down—Zhou Qian unleashed his ultimate.

This action completely stunned He Xiaowei.

Holy shit, is this the legendary skill of unleashing your ultimate move while at low health?

[Player Zhou Qian released the skill: Bone Kill]

[Harnesses the power of a Rib of God to attract resentful energies nearby to attack enemies. The stronger the resentment, the stronger the attack. Triggered when the player’s health is below 10%. Consumes 1,200 MP.]

There were numerous corpses in this corridor, filled with countless resentful energies. And this resentment was exactly what Zhou Qian could control.

The bodies of Lu Mengmeng and a janitor, under the influence of this resentment, were controlled by Zhou Qian to fly upside down and appear instantly above Zhou Qian and He Xiaowei.

“Boom!”

The countless icicles finally fell, but the majority were blocked by the two corpses controlled by Zhou Qian.

Only a few icicles slipped through, stabbing into Zhou Qian and He Xiaowei’s thighs and arms. However, the damage was minimal, only slightly reducing both of their health.

Both Zhou Qian and He Xiaowei quickly adjusted their positions, curling up to protect their vital areas from the icicles. At the same time, He Xiaowei constantly monitored Zhou Qian’s health. At its most critical moment, when it dropped to 2%, He Xiaowei immediately boosted it to 8%. In this way, He Xiaowei both saved Zhou Qian from dying and ensured his health didn’t exceed 10%.

He Xiaowei had always complained about this basic skill of his; although it consumed minimal mana, the healing was too little. He never imagined that this skill would come in handy at this critical moment.

After withstanding the second wave of icicles, only one round remained. Moments later, the third wave of icicles began to form.

Zhou Qian summoned two more janitor corpses to block all the icicles.

In the end, He Xiaowei’s health was reduced to 13%, while player Zhou Qian’s health remained at 5%.

The terrifying three-wave attack was finally over, and Situ Qing’s ultimate move had come to an end. All the raindrops scattered, and the temperature in the corridor gradually rose.

Zhou Qian’s body was now covered in countless wounds. His limbs, neck, and even his cheeks were all filled with tiny cuts from the icicles. Most of his injuries were from the first wave of attacks. The subsequent waves were less intense due to the two corpses that shielded him.

At this moment, covered in wounds and blood, Zhou Qian clenched the Rib of God and walked step by step towards Situ Qing. He was bleeding so much that each step left a bloody footprint in the corridor.

Staring mercilessly at the pale-faced Situ Qing, Zhou Qian said in a deep, slow voice, “You’ve used your ultimate move. Now it’s my turn. Gao Shan—”

At this moment, Zhou Qian looked like a blood-soaked demon. Stepping over a sea of blood and mountains of corpses, he emerged from hell, full of murderous intent, seeking vengeance!

“Gao Shan, take your revenge personally.”

With a sinister tone, Zhou Qian said these words and pointed the Rib of God towards Room 6.

Immediately, the cold corpse on the ground eerily stood up. Influenced by the resentful energy, he quickly appeared beside Zhou Qian, then turned to face Situ Qing.

In that instant, Yun Xiangrong’s heart leaped into her throat. Her body trembled, but she didn’t move a step forward.

She watched from a distance as Zhou Qian, standing behind Gao Shan, gently patted his shoulder with his bloody hand and said, “Go on, Shan Ge. Seek your revenge.”

A faint mist emanated from the Rib of God, and when it merged with the corpse, it unleashed a tremendous force. The cold corpse seemed alive, and in one leap, he reached Situ Qing, catching her by the throat before she could react.

Situ Qing’s eyes widened in horror as she struggled to break free. Desperately, she drew a dagger and fiercely stabbed it into Gao Shan’s arm.

Yun Xiangrong, standing not far behind, immediately burst into tears. Holding back her emotions and not stepping forward, she even pinched her thigh so hard that she drew blood.

She was relieved to see that Situ Qing couldn’t move Gao Shan’s grip.

The current Gao Shan was, after all, a corpse and not a real living person. He didn’t feel pain and acted only under Zhou Qian’s control. Until the effect of [Bone Kill] expired, he would only obey Zhou Qian’s commands. The order was to kill Situ Qing, so at this moment, his arm was like it was welded with iron, leaving Situ Qing with no chance of escape.

[Player Situ Qing’s HP drops to 50%]

[Player Situ Qing’s HP drops to 10%]

[Player Situ Qing’s HP drops to 5%]

……

Zhou Qian’s body was riddled with injuries, and the pain near his knee was becoming unbearable. He had to lean against the corridor wall to stand. Yet, throughout, he remained indifferent, wanting to witness Situ Qing’s death personally.

However, Situ Qing didn’t die immediately. When her health dropped to 3%, a pair of golden, semi-transparent wings suddenly appeared behind her. The wings unfolded and then enveloped her, protecting her from all harm.

The next moment, the effect of the [Bone Kill] skill disappeared. The moment Gao Shan’s corpse fell, Yun Xiangrong rushed to embrace him. Situ Qing, under the protection of her wings, fell to the ground, barely alive.

It was clear that Situ Qing had an item that saved her life, which was probably why she dared to gamble. But it didn’t matter. In Zhou Qian’s eyes, she was already dead. Holding a dagger, he walks step by step to look down at Situ Qing. “Such an item won’t last long. Your death is certain. If Gao Shan couldn’t kill you, it doesn’t matter. I’ll finish you with my own hands.”

Lying on the ground, gasping for air, Situ Qing didn’t have the strength to reply. At this moment, Zhou Qian’s watch vibrated—a message from Qi Liuxing finally arrived.

Seeing this, Zhou Qian was relieved. He knew Qi Liuxing’s character. He wouldn’t let someone die. The lack of response earlier meant either he faced a massive threat and couldn’t check the system messages, or he was dead. Now it seemed he was safe.

Checking the system panel, Qi Liuxing traded the Tick Tock Clock and attached a message:

[Of course I’m willing to save Shan Ge. I was busy fighting the boss earlier and didn’t check the messages. I’m safe now and have left the instance.]

The moment Zhou Qian took out the Tick Tock Clock from his bag, Yun Xiangrong rushed over. Desperate, she snatched it and quickly ran to Gao Shan, attempting to use the clock to revive him.

At this moment, there were only 30 seconds left until the end of the challenge. Zhou Qian’s dragon returned, bringing with it nine bullets marked with the number “7”. Taking the nine bullets and combining them with the three he had, he now had twelve in total.

System prompt:

[Side Quest “Checks and Balance” completion: 100%]

[A cinematic is about to play. Players, do not panic; you will not be harmed.]

[Note: The corridor and 12 rooms will disappear. Please return to Room 701 within three minutes.]

Suddenly, a young man in a military uniform appeared in front of Zhou Qian. Zhou Qian realized he was the NPC and also the young man he saw in the photo illusion.

In the illusion, in front of candlelight, he wrote a love poem, burned it, and passed the challenge to Zhou Qian.

Now, in this foggy moment, he approached Zhou Qian, took the twelve bullets, and loaded them into a gun.

Then, the young officer turned and, over the course of one and a half minutes, entered each of the twelve rooms.

“Bang,” “Bang,” “Bang”…

Twelve gunshots rang out as the officer took out the twelve gunmen. Finally, he returned to Zhou Qian, thanked him, and started to fade away.

And throughout, whether it was the thick fog or something else, Zhou Qian couldn’t clearly see his face.

Watching the officer disappear before his eyes, Zhou Qian once again felt the sensation he had when he touched the photograph.

His heart started to beat rapidly, and at the same time, he felt an inexplicable sense of desolation. He reached out to touch the officer, but the officer had already disappeared.

Not only had the officer vanished, but the entire scene also began to turn transparent.

The mist was dispersing, but the corridor, ceiling, 12 doors—none of these objects became clear.

There was still a minute and a half left in the end animation. Everything in the corridor would completely disappear in a minute and a half.

And the players needed to return to Room 701 before then, or they might face danger.

Suddenly thinking of something, Zhou Qian’s heart sank, and he looked at the two nearest cleaner corpses.

They were also turning transparent.

Including Lu Mengmeng, his originally pale face had almost become completely transparent.

Seeing this, Zhou Qian immediately ran to Gao Shan’s side.

Yun Xiangrong was kneeling next to Gao Shan, adjusting the Tick Tock Clock.

Unlike regular clocks with minute and hour hands, this clock had one pointer. Adjusting the pointer to different frequencies would make it tick differently.

When the ticking could resonate with the heartbeat of the departed, it could travel to the heart of the deceased and make it beat.

When Yun Xiangrong began adjusting the clock, her hand was shaking. She forced herself to calm down so she could adjust the pointer’s frequency steadily.

The countdown was at 80 seconds.

Then 70 seconds.

60 seconds, 50 seconds… Yun Xiangrong had not succeeded and was sweating profusely.

Zhou Qian observed for a while, then turned his attention to other parts of the corridor—as the corridor continued to become transparent, the walls and floor began shaking rapidly. A wall lamp shattered on the ground, its light extinguishing immediately, and the shards also began turning transparent.

“He Xiaowei, Yun Xiangrong, take Gao Shan’s body back to 701,” Zhou Qian said, drawing his dagger. With some stumbling but determination, he walked step by step to Situ Qing, who was still lying on the ground.

The flash of the knife blade, cold and sharp, neared Situ Qing’s neck. Delicate beads of blood rolled down the blade. If Zhou Qian pressed on, Situ Qing would undoubtedly die.

But just in the nick of time, the melodious sound of a flute echoed, and willow catkins floated around, tightly wrapping around Situ Qing. They healed her wound, restored some of her health, and gave her the strength to stand.

Zhou Qian, taken aback, turned to see Yun Xiangrong holding the flute, looking at him in despair.

By her side, Gao Shan’s body was turning transparent like the cleaner NPCs.

He couldn’t be saved.

When time was up in this level, the dead truly die.

They would vanish along with the disappearing level.

On the ground, Situ Qing hadn’t fully managed to get up, seemingly not believing that she had been given another chance at life. In a place hidden from Situ Qing and her gambler, Yun Xiangrong stood behind her. As all the mist cleared, she mouthed to Zhou Qian, “Given the situation, let me continue this act.”

At first, in front of the gambler, Zhou Qian told Yun Xiangrong to resent him.

Later, in front of all the players, through various means, he successfully made everyone believe that he and Yun Xiangrong had truly cut ties.

However, his plan was only meant to last until the end of this level, once they had successfully killed Lu Mengmeng and Situ Qing.

But now, Yun Xiangrong implied—since Gao Shan couldn’t be saved, she might as well continue the act of their falling out.

For now, Gao Shan couldn’t be brought back.

However, after all, Situ Qing was just a gun.

If they killed Situ Qing now, they might lose the only lead they had, never knowing who was really behind her.

So, Yun Xiangrong wanted to spare Situ Qing’s life for now until they could draw out the person behind her.

She even wanted to use her “enemy of Zhou Qian” identity to get closer to that person. After all, an enemy of an enemy was a friend. Yun Xiangrong’s goal now was to form an “alliance” with the legion behind Situ Qing.

Yun Xiangrong not only wanted to know who the enemy was, but she also wanted to infiltrate their ranks, uncover the secrets of the organization behind Situ Qing, and completely destroy them.

Only then would she have truly avenged Gao Shan.

Walking step by step toward Zhou Qian, Yun Xiangrong did something that surprised everyone.

Situ Qing was disoriented; her ears were plugged and she was unable to hear anything.

But through the screen, her gambler saw everything unfold.

Upon accessing the system panel, Yun Xiangrong chose to reset all of her 150 skill points, only to get back a mere 30 in return.

To prevent players from frequently changing their skill directions, the system had rules. Once skill points were used, they couldn’t be easily reverted. If a player wanted to reset a certain skill and replace it with another, a significant number of skill points would be wasted.

Just like Yun Xiangrong, she had cleared numerous instances to earn those 150 points, investing all of them in healing-related skills. But now, after resetting her healing skills, she only had 30 points left.

Yun Xiangrong converted all these 30 skill points into offensive capabilities. She then turned to Zhou Qian, “Shan Ge is dead. There’s no one left for me to heal. From now on, I’ll only be an attacker.”

“Zhou Qian, I know… maybe it was unintentional on your part. But if it weren’t for you, Shan Ge wouldn’t have been shot; if you hadn’t been so reluctant to hand over the Tick Tock Clock, I wouldn’t have been too late to save him. Now Shan Ge has vanished before me… He had a chance to live, but you killed him, twice… exactly twice!”

Zhou Qian knew Yun Xiangrong was acting. But there might be a bit of real blame in that act, which made her speak with gritted teeth, her eyes red as if they were about to bleed.

Under the guise of this act, Zhou Qian also responded with what was on his mind. “Perhaps anything I say now is too late. But I really did want to save him. Although I’m not a good person and, in my opinion, most people in this world tend to do evil, Gao Shan is an exception, just like…”

Just like Bai Zhou was also an exception.

Gao Shan and Bai Zhou, in terms of personality, appearance, intelligence… were nothing alike. But to Zhou Qian, they were both good people. For that alone, he would’ve tried his best to save Gao Shan. But just as he could never find Bai Zhou again, Gao Shan had now vanished from his sight.

Considering himself smart and cunning all his life, Zhou Qian realized he had never been able to protect the ones he truly wanted to keep safe.

Leaning against the corridor, with a bleeding wound on his shoulder, Zhou Qian looked up at the completely transparent ceiling, as if seeing a god hidden in some void.

Then he solemnly declared, “If this game is orchestrated by some god, whether a god testing human hearts or a malicious god playing with mortals… I will confront him and force him to return all the people I wish to keep, whole and intact!”

…..

The level ended, and the four surviving players returned to Room 701.

Then something miraculous happened—everyone’s health was fully restored to 100%.

An hour later, Jiang Yuqing woke up. It felt as if the players had shared a dream with him.

Now that everyone was awake, all injuries vanished, their health was restored, and they were back in their caregiver uniforms. Only the complete disappearance of Gao Shan and Lu Mengmeng and the depleted MP, visible only to them, reminded them—everything wasn’t just a dream.

Upon waking up, Jiang Yuqing mumbled, “Where’s the osmanthus cake… Why isn’t it here yet?”

When Zhou Qian and the others first arrived at this building as caregivers, they took Elevator B up. They met two senior caregivers, Lao Tie and Lao Yu, outside Room 701, who were leaving the 7^th floor to buy osmanthus cake for Jiang Yuqing.

They mentioned that if Jiang Yuqing didn’t get his osmanthus cake, he’d be upset. So, this [osmanthus cake] seemed pretty important. Moreover, an hour had passed, so why hadn’t they returned?

After pondering for a moment, Zhou Qian said to He Xiaowei, “Shall we go downstairs and check?”

“Yeah, let’s go.” He Xiaowei glanced at Yun Xiangrong, who was sitting on the floor in silence, and Situ Qing, who was sitting by the bookshelf with her eyes closed, nodded, and followed Zhou Qian out.

The room became completely silent. Situ Qing glanced at Yun Xiangrong, paused for a moment, and then looked at the system panel displayed on her watch, visible only to her. It was a message from her younger brother.

[Keep an eye on Yun Xiangrong; either win her over or find an opportunity to kill her, eliminating future threats.]

Situ Qing exhaled softly, ignoring the message, leaned her head against the bookshelf, and closed her eyes again. Even though the injuries on her body had disappeared after the side quest ended, she still felt extremely exhausted, to the point where her consciousness was still in a state of disarray.

Even when she closed her eyes, she couldn’t shake off that uncomfortable feeling.

She could only tightly wrap herself in the golden wings, the prop that had saved her life at a crucial moment—the [Guardian Wings].

This precious tool was given to her by her younger brother, who was also her gambler.

His name was Mu Sheng.

Perhaps it was because she had seen Jiang Yuqing’s sickbed that every time Situ Qing closed her eyes, she saw another one.

On that bed, the pale boy, Mu Sheng, just opened his pitch-black pupils, looking at a younger version of herself.

Situ Qing saw her younger self trembling, but her eyes were full of pity when she looked at the boy.

The young Mu Sheng said to the equally young Situ Qing at the bedside, “I can’t walk anymore, right?”

“I’m sorry!” The young Situ Qing held his hand. “A’Sheng*, I will take care of you for the rest of my life!”

*(阿) When used in front of a name, it is an affectionate way to call someone, signifying closeness.

“It’s your fault.” Mu Sheng looked at her with malicious eyes. “It’s all because of you and your mother. You pushed my mother to her death and caused my disability! I’ll hate you forever!”

Tears fell from the young Situ Qing’s eyes as she swore, “I will make it up to you. I definitely will!”

The scene shifted.

Many years had passed.

Mu Sheng had grown up. Sitting in a wheelchair, he smiled gently.

Situ Qing asked him, “What have you been up to recently? Where did you get your money? I know you’re smart, but please… Please don’t break the law! I’ll work hard to earn money! I’ve been working several jobs recently—”

Situ Qing noticed Mu Sheng was often busy with a phone and computer.

She knew her brother was smart and good with computers, but she feared he might venture into hacking.

However, she heard Mu Sheng laugh. “Sister, would you play a game for me? You don’t need to work so hard to earn money. Just finish the game, and we’ll have endless wealth. Also…”

Whispering into Situ Qing’s ear, Mu Sheng said, “Didn’t you promise to make it up to me for a lifetime? Now’s your chance. Would you be willing to get me a pair of legs? Sister, I want to stand.”

Since then, Situ Qing felt she was being drawn deeper into an abyss.

Reaching Rank S was her goal. Only at Rank S could she approach the so-called god and have the chance to let Mu Sheng stand.

But at the same time, she knew—several near-death experiences were caused by Mu Sheng.

Whether she was forced to kill or faced danger, it was all because of Mu Sheng’s coercion.

It was Mu Sheng who pushed her into the abyss, staining her hands with indelible blood.

But every time she was close to death, just like the protective wings she now wore, they were also gifts from Mu Sheng.

He wanted her dead, but he also kept her alive.

She couldn’t distinguish his good from his bad.

Perhaps some people were destined for lifelong tribulations.

……

On the other side.

Zhou Qian and He Xiaowei opened room 701. Outside was no longer the eerie hallway with 12 rooms, but back to its previous appearance.

They took the elevator down, and the receptionist was calculating bills while the security guard stood at the entrance.

“Hmm? Why are you two here?” The receptionist looked at Zhou Qian and He Xiaowei, holding up a box of osmanthus cakes. “Want some? I just bought them.”

Zhou Qian said, “Mr. Jiang wants some osmanthus cakes. Maybe he’ll get angry if he can’t have them. Can I give these to him?”

“Of course. We’re all supported by Mr. Jiang’s salary.” She smiled. “Our principle is to meet Mr. Jiang’s needs.”

After taking the osmanthus cakes, Zhou Qian asked, “Where are Lao Yu and Lao Tie? Did they go to buy osmanthus cakes too? Have you seen them?”

The receptionist shook her head in surprise. “No, they never came down.”

He Xiaowei asked the security guard, “Did you see Lao Yu and Lao Tie come down?”

The security guard shook his head. “No, only you two.”

Hearing this, Zhou Qian looked up to find a security camera facing the elevator’s direction.

Zhou Qian asked, “Can we see the hall’s surveillance footage?”

“Sure, you can use the computer at the front desk. Which part do you want to see?”

The security guard readily agreed.

A moment later, Zhou Qian and He Xiaowei were standing in front of the computer at the reception desk. Using fast-forward mode, they quickly checked the past hour’s surveillance.

At 3:15 in the afternoon, six players took Elevator B upstairs. During the playback, upon seeing Gao Shan and Lu Mengmeng, He Xiaowei couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh before continuing to watch.

Just two minutes later, Elevator B descended to the ground floor on its own. After the door remained open for 10 seconds, it closed automatically without anyone exiting.

The next movement of the elevator was an hour later. At 3:18 pm, when the elevator doors opened, Zhou Qian and He Xiaowei walked out.

This bizarre surveillance footage gave He Xiaowei goosebumps. Zhou Qian frowned slightly and rewound the video to 3:17 pm when Elevator B opened and then closed in the ground floor lobby.

As the elevator door opened, Zhou Qian pressed the pause button and zoomed in on the image. Inside, there was no one.

He Xiaowei exclaimed in horror, “That was when Lao Yu and Lao Tie took the elevator downstairs! We watched them from the seventh floor as they entered Elevator B. They pressed the button for the ground floor, so the elevator descended there. But when the elevator stopped and the doors opened on the ground floor, it was empty! It means that—”

“Somewhere between the seventh and ground floor, they disappeared into thin air!!!”

The stark light shone down, reflecting coldly off the marble floor. Under this light, the receptionist and security guard appeared unusually pale.

Walking away from the screen, Zhou Qian was the first to approach the elevator and press the button to go up. “Let’s quickly send up these snacks.”

He Xiaowei looked at him in disbelief. “Dude, you still dare to take the elevator?”

Zhou Qian replied, “There are no stairs here. We can only take the elevator.”

He Xiaowei hesitated. “What if we also disappear?”

Zhou Qian suggested, “Let’s take Elevator A then. After all, the incident occurred in Elevator B.”

“That sounds reasonable,” He Xiaowei agreed instantly.

Soon, the two entered Elevator A.

As the elevator moved smoothly upwards, He Xiaowei sighed with relief, “Seems we’re safe.”

Zhou Qian suddenly said, “Their sudden disappearance has nothing to do with the elevator’s number.”

He Xiaowei: “?”

Zhou Qian explained, “The disappearance of Lao Yu and Lao Tie is clearly part of the main storyline. In other words, it was an event destined to happen. But them taking Elevator B downstairs was just a random event.”

Zhou Qian’s point was clear. When the players went upstairs, both elevators were on the ground floor, and they randomly chose Elevator B. When they reached the seventh floor, Elevator B stayed there, and naturally, Lao Yu and Lao Tie took it to go down.

Thus, the two NPCs taking Elevator B were a result of the players’ random choice, but their disappearance was inevitable and had nothing to do with which elevator they chose. This implied their disappearance might not be related to the elevator itself.

“Wait, then why did you…” He Xiaowei was baffled.

“Just to rush you upstairs,” Zhou Qian said calmly. “Let’s deliver the snacks to Jiang Yuqing first.”

He Xiaowei exclaimed, “Damn bro, that’s too much! I saved you!”

“Thank you,” Zhou Qian responded unenthusiastically. As soon as the elevator reached the seventh floor, he immediately walked towards Room 701 with a box of osmanthus cake.

He Xiaowei followed Zhou Qian to the door of Room 701 and noticed he didn’t enter but was observing from outside.

“What are you looking at?” He Xiaowei whispered.

Zhou Qian replied, “I wanted to observe Jiang Yuqing to see if he’d become agitated without the snacks and act abnormally. But now I’ve noticed something else.”

“What?” He Xiaowei asked curiously.

Through the door’s window, Zhou Qian observed Jiang Yuqing standing in the room. He seemed to have dementia, appearing somewhat dazed. However, there were significant differences in his appearance.

His forehead, cheeks, and the corners of his eyes—the wrinkles there had lessened. His once-stunning youthful looks were starting to emerge.

Zhou Qian’s pupils shrank as he whispered, “He’s becoming younger.”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>