《The Uncanny Valley Traveling Guide》


 CH 1

    Melancholy Song (1)


    Gregorian calendar 2301, the city of Nova.


    The translucent light paths traversed across the sky above the entire magnificent city with all kinds of aircraft shuttle quickly on it, bringing bursts of brilliant sparks. The streets were crowded with people, the metal-colored precision buildings glow in the sunlight, and a huge three-dimensional half-length portrait was displayed at the very top of the city center, allowing people to hear and see the image above with unparalleled clarity no matter where they were¡ª


    ¡ª¡ª¡°The city of Nova, where dreams and future are shaped by you.¡±


    It was the projection of a virtual woman. As early as half a month ago, the top of Nova City was still displaying the portrait of international superstar, Alan Nabel. This superstar who was handsome enough to make women and some men all over the world scream, seemed to have signed a long-term contract with Nova City. He shot dozens of different sets of images for this giant city, flickering in the sky for half a year. But just a dozen days ago, he disappeared, and was replaced by the bust of a nun.


    She was wearing a snow-white eternal devotion veil. Her eyes and forehead were blindfolded with intricate white lace. Not even a trace of her hair color could be seen; however, even if she only showed half of her face, her high nose bridge, ruddy red lips, and her fair skin were enough to show what a beauty she was.


    The nun¡¯s slender hands were clasped in front of her chest, and the backs of her white hands were painted with bright red complicated patterns. After billions of light dots gathered in the sky to form her face, she spoke in an ethereal and sacred voice: ¡°Good day, brothers and sisters, may the father¡¯s kingdom come, and may the father¡¯s will be carried out on earth as it is in heaven. I am Sister Theresa, your eternal guide and companion.¡±


    After that, it suspended in the sky until today.


    Wen Zheliu was standing at the intersection of the street diagonally below the statue of the nun, his slender fingers flipping an electronic name tag.


    He had been waiting here for a long time, until his lips were a little dry. With a sigh, he turned around and walked across the new and bright zebra crossing. He walked around the busy street corner and found a drink shop.


    ¡°A glass of lemonade, thank you.¡±


    ¡°That will be six copper coins.¡±


    He counted six copper coins one by one. At this time, he noticed a man in black sitting on the chair next to him, covering half of his face with a mask. He was looking at the drink shop menu, and his hands involuntarily touching the side of his waist.


    Forgot his wallet? Wen Zheliu thought that the man had a pair of very beautiful eyes.


    After thinking for a while, he counted another six copper coins and gave them to the shopkeeper.


    ¡°Another drink please, thank you.¡±


    Suddenly, a cold and wet feeling came from his shoulders. The man turned his head to look at him. Wen Zheliu smiled at him, holding the glass of cool and refreshing drink in his hand.


    ¡°Friend, you forgot your wallet?¡± He smiled brightly, ¡°The weather is hot today, so the real-time temperature here is also adjusted to be hot. Drink something, I¡¯ll treat you.¡±


    The man was stunned for a moment, and then the pair of light colored peach blossom eyes were filled with smiles. He was not polite, and simply took it, saying, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Wen Zheliu waved at him and continued walking to the former place, drinking lemonade as he waited.


    ¡°Wen Di!¡± A voice suddenly came from behind him, and before he could turn his head, a man vigorously grabbed his shoulders, pressed him into his arms for a good rubbing, ¡°You bastard, why are you standing here!¡±


    The man twirled his fingers that were holding the lemonade and raised his eyebrows gently.


    Without turning his head, Wen Zheliu just bumped the person¡¯s chest with his elbow, creating a dull metallic sound. He laughed and said, ¡°Cut it out! I just can¡¯t think of anywhere to go!¡±


    The person wrapped his arm around his shoulders was in fact a tall and old-fashioned robot. The steel front chest was sprayed with red and white lacquer lines that were mutilated due to wear and tear. When he was talking, you could even see the gears protruding from his cheekbones, creaking and twisting under a bunch of rusty and mottled metal wires. Wen Zheliu glanced at him and said strangely, ¡°What kind of skin painting is this? How come each one is stranger than the last?¡±


    The robot proudly raised a finger, and the rust stains on his knuckles fell apart, ¡°You don¡¯t understand, now this feel1 is very popular, it¡¯s the nostalgic steampunk, specially designed for players who have verified their mechanical identity. I have to invite someone to design it! I waited for a month before I got to queue, how about it, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s quite unique?¡±


    Wen Zheliu glanced at his friend with disgust, and said, ¡°Just don¡¯t be swept away by the cleaning robot as scrap.¡±


    ¡°F*ck you!¡± White pretended to be angry and slapped him. Just as the two were talking, there were many pedestrians of different shapes and sizes passing by, a tall girl with golden pupils carrying a bow and arrows; a muscular bare-chested primitive warrior carrying a beast bone spike club on his shoulders; a teenager flying over the street on a jet skateboard; as well as a mechanical being stepping across the street at a uniform speed and exact same distance of each step¡­¡­


    When a blue-skinned sea race riding a large and gorgeous giant beast disappeared from their sight, the two of them exclaimed in unison.


    ¡°It¡¯s the sea race dog tag, and [The lost soul of Atlanta], a B-grade ornamental mount that cost 888 gold coins in the mall.¡± White shook his head slowly, ¡°Man, that¡¯s rich.¡±


    Wen Zheliu also shook his head: ¡°The life of a local tyrant is very happy ah.¡±


    The year 2301 of the Gregorian calendar, the city of Nova, a virtual paradise.


    In the world hundreds of years later, with the rapid development of science and technology, holographic devices had replaced electronic devices and become an indispensable and important part of human¡¯s lives. Relying on the research and development of holographic games, N-star company established a virtual network domain called Nova City on the optical network. This huge city known as ¡®leaping across time and space¡¯ had experienced long development and changes. Now it had become a universal network that included dozens of major functions such as gaming, social networking, and shopping, etc. It used precious metals such as gold and silver as the circulating currency, and copper was used as the conversion point under gold and silver. Up to present, the currency of Nova City could be exchanged with the real world currency, and hundreds of millions of professional players had emerged at this historical moment and became active in the Nova City.


    People living in this era usually had three most important documents, one was an ID card, the other was a license to connect to the virtual network, and the last one was the electronic name tag of Nova City, which was called a dog tag by players. It was used as a racial certificate and residence permit.


    Those who owned real estate in the real world could be certified as bird race and dragon race in Nova City, those who owned real estate at sea could be certified as sea race, and those who owned properties on mountains could be certified as Elf or Dryad race¡­ The residence address determined what kind of fantasy ethic group you could become in Nova City. Although most people still chose the more comfortable human race, or the more imaginative aliens, goblins, orcs, and so on, there were still rich people who chose specific ethnic groups that could symbolize their identity, such as the sea race they saw just now.


    As for White, he was a mechanical race specially designed by N-star for patients who had undergone surgery and people with disabilities. He could change his appearance for free once a month. Now the skin he had changed into was the nostalgic steampunk that was currently popular among the mechanical race.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stop talking about this.¡± White turned his head, ¡°what are you waiting here for?¡±


    Wen Zheliu chose the most common human appearance. Of course, given his economic conditions, he could only choose this. Fortunately, he was tall and handsome, plus his skin was also fair and warm. When he smiled, he looked like a small sun that warmed people¡¯s hearts. If he chose a different race, it wouldn¡¯t highlight the advantage of his appearance.


    He sighed while looking at the magnificent building not far away and complained: ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, I came online early this morning originally to earn some lunch money in World, but when I came up, it was a team reservation again, I have no words.¡±


    The game he mentioned was a shooting escape game developed by N-star company half a year ago. The full name is ¡®Survival World¡¯. Because of its intense and exciting game mode, cutting-edge and avant-garde weapon and equipment design, it had been enthusiastically sought after once it was launched. The popularity had not subsided until now, and a large number of players shuttled back and forth every day, including the team that was born specifically for this purpose.


    Compared with solo players, the team that had honed its tacit understanding and developed tactics in multiple games clearly had an advantage, which led to a situation: whenever a game becomes popular, some teams take the opportunity to fish in the troubled water, relying on this opportunity to bring newcomers with the large influx of people.


    Most of the players who could form a team were old players with high level, rich experience, and long hours of gameplay. Novices were not qualified to go to places they(the old players) could go. Therefore, when fresh blood2 was needed, there would be teams in the current popular games specialized in opening trumpet3 to abuse low-level players who were not familiar with the rules of the game, sending heads, and brushing experiences for new players in their team.


    In particular, the game mode of ¡®Survival World¡¯ was very special, which opened the door to such conduct, and made idle players dare not speak out. Even if it was reported to the regional administrator, it was impossible to completely ban them, and the punishment was quite superficial¨Cafter all, the rules of Nova City were like this, the law didn¡¯t prohibit freedom, which in itself provided enough lenient conditions for player¡¯s disputes.


    ¡°Just wait,¡± White said disdainfully, ¡°When Uncanny Valley goes on sale, who will remember what Survival World is?¡±


    Wen Zheliu raised his head and glanced at the nun portrait in the sky. Various aircraft and mounts passed by her, and some even deliberately passed through the eyes, mouth or chest.


    ¡°That Sister Theresa,¡± Wen Zheliu said, ¡°It is said that she is the main figure of the Uncanny Valley, is that true?¡±


    ¡°Eight or nine out of ten.¡± White said, ¡°Just think about it, this is the product that N-star Corporation intends to release on its centennial anniversary, and it will definitely be promoted with unprecedented resources. At that time, all the other games will become secondary in front of this game.¡±


    ¡°So, you have already started to prepare?¡± Wen Zheliu teased him amusedly.


    White patted his chest confidently, and with a ¡®bang¡¯, the rust rustled and fell down, ¡°Of course, since the press conference, I¡¯ve been roaming around the horror zone, and basically got a thorough understanding of the existing game mode. When the Uncanny Valley opens, I will definitely rush to the top ten ranking list!¡±


    The ranking list he mentioned was a list in which every big game would make a statistical ranking of the players¡¯ combat power and achievements. In addition to the main game battlefields that cost a lot of money, the unexpectedly popular games like ¡°Survival World¡± would also set up a ranking list. Seeing his friend¡¯s fighting spirit, Wen Zheliu smiled and encouraged: ¡°Then good luck, I have to politely say no to horror-themed games, so I won¡¯t work hard for it.¡±


    While the two of them were talking, they heard loud noises coming from the portal hall ahead. Wen Zheliu cheered up: ¡°It¡¯s out!¡±


    ¡°Do you have to wait for them to come out? Why don¡¯t you go to other halls?¡± White was very puzzled, ¡°There aren¡¯t 10,000 portals in Survival World, but there¡¯s at least 8000. Why are you so fixated on this one?¡±


    Wen Zheliu said helplessly, ¡°It¡¯s because I took a gold task. As long as I kill 500 enemies in this room, a gold coin will enter my account. It¡¯s hard to make so much money these days! ¡±


    According to the exchange rate between the virtual currency and the real world, Wen Zheliu would earn nearly 10,000 yuan4 in the real world after completing this order. In the case which system tasks generally used silver coins and copper coins as the monetary rewards, it was indeed very rare.


    ¡°Good luck then!¡± White waved at him, ¡°After finishing the task, we will meet at the revolving restaurant!¡±


    Wen Zheliu didn¡¯t turn his head back. He raised two fingers together in the air and walked into the hall with the flow of people.


    White whistled, ¡°Cool.¡±


    When he entered the hall, Wen Zheliu realized that the situation was not as pleasant as he thought.


    A red-haired woman wearing military boots and sleeveless camouflage clothes with her hair made into the latest [Mysterious Lady] appearance on the mall shelves, and another man in the appearance of an orc were blocked in front the portal, surrounded by a circle of angry players.


    ¡°I¡¯ve made it very clear,¡± the woman helplessly spread her hands, ¡°It¡¯s just that the two of us have something to do, so we decided to quit automatically after one round is over, but it doesn¡¯t mean that our team will also quit in the next round. What¡¯s the use of blocking us? Do you want to provoke a fight in the peace zone?¡±


    ¡°You guys are clearly cheating!¡± a player said angrily, ¡°It was you who said that you didn¡¯t want to play anymore and quit, so everyone went in, but in the end only two of you left, and the rest were tricked in by you! ¡±


    Wen Zheliu roughly understood what was going on. The woman smiled again, her amorous eyebrows showed an arrogant sharpness. The orc beside her moved his two curved fangs, spewing two streams of hot air from his nostril, and rudely said: ¡°Whoever has an opinion, leave your starnet ID, I¡¯ll see you at the slaughterhouse!¡±


    The surrounding players suddenly quieted down.


    The slaughterhouse was different from the arena for official competition. It was a private fighting venue for players. Voluntarily stepping into the portal of the slaughterhouse was equivalent to signing a life and death contract. One would face the risk of gold coins and experience levels being reset to zero. Except for the risky events that were regularly held, very few players who played the game peacefully were willing to go in there.


    The woman was a level 55 senior player, and the orc was only two levels below her. There were at least tens of thousands of game worlds in Nova City. Naturally, it couldn¡¯t be calculated using the conventional hierarchical system. Remove the highest-level worlds that have participated in, then remove the lowest-level worlds participated in, and take the remaining average, was the player¡¯s comprehensive level. Level 50 wasn¡¯t that high, but it was already a threshold that many people find difficult to cross.


    ¡°Lei Xiao team, Late Night Breeze, Crazy Blade Sweeping the Street5¡­¡± Wen Zheliu frowned, and a player next to him said, ¡°Brother, do you know these two?¡±


    Wen Zheliu shook his head with a smile: ¡°Survival world ranked 32th battle team, you can see it at a glance.¡±


    The player sarcastically said, ¡°Only ranked 32nd but still jump around like this¡­bullying small players, why don¡¯t they find the team in the front row to challenge?¡±


    Wen Zheliu looked at the time displayed on the terminal, and he really couldn¡¯t care less about these people. Before the game started, he pushed away several players in front of him and said, ¡°Excuse me, please excuse me.¡± while walking towards the direction of the portal.


    ¡°Hey, bro!¡± The player behind him wanted to stop him, but Wen Zheliu dodged a few times, and stepped over to the entrance. He took out a thin translucent dog tag, raised his hand and swiped it in the card slot beside the entrance.


    Late Night Breeze was quite surprised, but seeing that this player named Wen Di was only a poor level 15 player, she only regarded him as a hotheaded young man who wasn¡¯t afraid of death. She couldn¡¯t help but sneer: ¡°Little weak chicken.¡±


    Wen Zheliu was not angry, instead he smiled at her in a good temper. At this moment, a slender and powerful arm stretched out from the side, and immediately after that, Wen Zheliu¡¯s card slot was swiped and made a ¡®ding¡¯ sound.


    Wen Zheliu was taken aback. He turned his head and found that, at some point, a tall and slender man was standing behind him. It was the player he had invited to drink lemonade earlier. He himself was nearly 1.8 meters tall, but now facing this man, he could only reach his eyebrows. He didn¡¯t know if it was real data or fake.


    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± While Wen Zheliu was surprised, the man embraced his shoulders with familiarity.


    After a click, the man¡¯s starnet ID flashed in the air and slowly emerged in front of his sight.


    [Chin6]


    ¡°Why look down on low-level players?¡± He said, his tone laced with smile, his voice was magnetic, like the kind of person who didn¡¯t care about anything by nature, ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll take you through this game.¡±

 CH 2

    Melancholy Song (2)


    ¡°What¡­¡± Wen Zheliu was still confused, but Chin didn¡¯t let him explain the matter. He jumped down with him straight into the portal in front of them.


    The spot of light rushed towards his face like the dust of the cosmic galaxy. The boundless space suspended in the darkness, and passed rapidly along the two falling bodies. Snow-white rays of light gradually appeared in front of Wen Zheliu¡¯s eyes, and then it suddenly brightened up!


    With a ding dong, a gentle and firm female voice resounded in the eternal silence of the void.


    ¡ª¡ª¡°Survival World, waiting for you to bring home the victory and become a king.¡±


    The gust of wind suddenly swept through his whole body. Wen Zheliu closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his body was carried by a huge buffer force to a standstill for a moment. He skillfully put on the goggles hanging around his neck, and then opened his eyes. The cold airflow at high altitude blew his face askew as he was facing white mist and clouds. He was carrying a parachute. Chin was on his side. Not far away, he could see the canopy of five or six parachutes undulating among the clouds.


    ¡°It seems that the timing is just right!¡± Chin said loudly, ¡°The game has just begun!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too impulsive¡ª¡± Wen Zheliu shouted.


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic!¡± Chin¡¯s voice was still smiling, ¡°Press the speed!¡±


    Wen Zheliu knew what he meant. The members of the Thunder Lord team jumped earlier than them, and now they were all waiting ahead for the parachute. If they went down rashly, they would fall into a box1. He turned his head left and right to observe the other players¡¯ descending trend.


    He made up his mind and fell in one direction. Chin, who was on the side, also seemed to be in tune with him, and flew in that direction without waiting for him to say anything.


    One by one, they landed on the wide roof of a building. Wen Zheliu made use of the momentum to roll over, with the tumbling parachute as a buffer. As soon as he touched the ground, he quickly took himself off the parachute that was still rushing forward along the inertia. In the novice game of Survival World, at least two or three people would be discovered by the enemy because they couldn¡¯t get rid of the parachute in time.


    ¡°Pick up the gun.¡± Chin was not as troublesome as he was. When he landed, he picked up an alloy dagger and cut the straps on his body.


    Wen Zheliu glanced at him, there was nothing but a relaxed smile in those romantic peach blossom eyes. Listening to the footsteps approaching slowly downstairs, he carefully slowed down his speed and whispered: ¡°What are you doing with me in here?¡±


    Chin threw the dagger in his hand and neatly inserted it into one side of his leg bag. Not only was his figure tall like an erected pine, but his legs were also very long. He spread his hands innocently: ¡°In order to repay your lemonade, kid.¡±


    Wen Zheliu didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry, he said, ¡°You¡­ What¡¯s your average level now?¡±


    Chin bent his eyes, even if Wen Zheliu couldn¡¯t see the lower half of his face, he could imagine how brilliant his expression was at the moment.


    ¡°Level 10.¡±


    Wen Zheliu slipped, the soles of his shoes rubbed the broken glass, making a short, thick and sharp sound, and the footsteps below immediately stopped.


    He sighed and felt that compared to himself, this man was a newbie among the newbies. Wen Zheliu gestured for Chin to stop talking, while he looked around at the entrance of the corridor. He picked up a large piece of broken glass with sharp edges, and held it lightly in his hand.


    The voice downstairs paused for a while, perhaps hearing no movement upstairs, the other party couldn¡¯t control himself and started walking upstairs. Wen Zheliu silently looked down at the gap between the handrails of the building, only to see a piece of khaki clothes appearing and disappearing between the floors. He stayed close to the white-painted handrails and crept downstairs. Chin was following behind him, seemingly wanting to see what he was going to do.


    To his surprise, the sound of Chin¡¯s walking was so faint that it was almost non-existent, and it was hard to hear the sound of trousers rubbing, which made Wen Zheliu thought that perhaps he was not as simple as he said, a rookie whose level had just passed the novice protection.


    The distance between the two sides was gradually approaching, and the movement of the opponent¡¯s slowly running over the debris and gravel was gradually discernible. Just when the two sides were only two flights of stairs apart, Wen Zheliu suddenly moved!


    The sound of his light gray coat spread out in the air was like an eagle flapping its wings on a cliff, and he himself was like a predator descending from the sky. He held the handrails of the staircase and pounced on the player at the bottom who subconsciously tilted his head and opened his mouth wide in shock.


    In a shadow composed of him, only one thing shone as bright as snow!


    The sharp edge of the glass was merciless, slitting the opponent¡¯s throat like ripping silk. There were no sprays of blood, only a sudden burst of copper coins rain and white spots that symbolized experience points made a cling-clang sound, and entered Wen Zheliu¡¯s body in a stream. A small amount also entered Chin¡¯s personal terminal.


    A row of light blue data flow was displayed in front of the two of them.


    [Wen Di used broken glass to kill shai2980]


    [Victory in the first battle]


    [Total number: 90 people]


    [Number of people remaining: 82 people]


    Chin couldn¡¯t hide his surprise as he looked at Wen Zheliu, who was squatting on the ground and pulled out two pieces of gauze and a P-19 ray gun from the box, then looked at the few lonely copper coins in his account, ¡°How come I have money?¡±


    ¡°If we act together, the system will temporarily judge us as teammates, even if this game is a winning game. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll be made to pay your proportional taxes after this round.¡± Wen Zheliu stood up, his breath was not in disorder at all, he handed a piece of gauze to Chin, ¡°Put on your communication headset.¡±


    ¡°Winning game?¡± Chin wondered, and took out a pair of earphones from his collar, ¡°It¡¯s really novel.¡±


    ¡°¡­You don¡¯t know anything, and you dare to come in with me¡­¡± Wen Zheliu was very tired, ¡°The team that reserved the field must be here to brush experience for the new players, they won¡¯t choose to win an escape game.¡±


    ¡°That is to say,¡± Chin responded quickly, ¡°Only one person can win this round, and that is the rookie player of the Thunder Birds team?¡±


    Wen Zheliu said helplessly, ¡°They¡¯re called Thunder Lord2.¡±


    Chin shrugged, and the two went down to the third floor one after another. Hearing the faint sounds of gunfire and explosions outside, they quickly swept around the empty room that was bombarded with shells. Wen Zheliu picked up a helmet, Chin picked up a plasma railgun and two first aid kits in the corner.


    ¡°Such high-end equipment,¡± Chin said in a surprised tone, ¡°Is this how you usually play?¡±


    Wen Zheliu frowned, ¡°No. It seems that the winner of the last round increased the difficulty of the game, they probably want a quick battle.¡±


    P-19, plasma railgun¡­ This was the equipment that only appeared in high level games. Wen Zheliu fiddled with the ray gun in his hand, and suddenly said: ¡°I think it¡¯s very strange. if that person just came up from below, it¡¯s impossible not to search for weapons, but he actually didn¡¯t shoot me the moment I jumped¡­ It seems that he didn¡¯t use this thing at all.¡±


    ¡°No, you move so fast that most people can¡¯t dodge it.¡± Chin skillfully loaded the railgun and tilted his head to look at Wen Zheliu, ¡°Can you use this kid? Do you want me to teach you?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ and what kid, please stop saying strange words, okay? Was the lemon so sour that you couldn¡¯t close your mouth?¡± Wen Zheliu said, ¡°I¡¯ve never eaten pork, but I¡¯ve seen pigs run3. Break the window, so we can broaden our vision, and along the way, lead a few people to lick the bag4.¡±


    Chin swept the butt of his gun and shattered the window with two strikes. The cracking sound of the glass was shrill and harsh. Wen Zheliu then smashed the rest. Within his line of sight, there were already several black spots not far away creeping over here and ready to take action.


    ¡°This game is very popular, you really haven¡¯t played it before?¡± Chin was obviously older than him, so Wen Zheliu didn¡¯t care that he took advantage of him in terms of title. He narrowed his eyes intently, ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like you are well prepared either.¡±


    ¡°What you and I? Call me brother.¡± He didn¡¯t know why, but ever since he saw this smiling boy with warm eyebrows, Chin couldn¡¯t help teasing him, ¡°I¡¯ve never played before, this is my first time.¡±


    If he wasn¡¯t busy aiming at the target, Wen Zheliu really wanted to roll his eyes, he said softly, ¡°Then we¡¯ll talk about it when you manage to beat me. I¡¯ll call you brother.¡±


    The distant lush green vegetation swayed slightly, Wen Zheliu immediately closed his lips and shot a bullet without hesitation!


    The sound of gunshot rang out, the trajectory soared through the air with cold light blue spark, blasting the copper coins and experience points all over the place, flying towards the killer in a line. He quickly turned over and rolled to one side of the windowsill. In an instant, there was a sudden explosion of firepower from at least three parties from the window of the opposite building, the parking lot below, and another bush. All of them converged at this window according to the direction guided by the coins and experience points. Against the deafening sound of gunfire, Wen Zheliu roared: ¡°Shoot!¡±


    Chin didn¡¯t panic at all. At this moment, his eyes were as cold as frost and snow. Amidst the electro-optics flint, the icy brilliance emitted by the plasma railgun almost exploded at the same time as the fire on the opposite building. At the same second when the bullet tracked the windowsill beside him, the railgun also blasted the opposing player into a rain of scattered copper coins!


    Before Wen Zheliu had time to be surprised and amazed, he saw his body slanted to the side, his shoulders slightly raised, without moving his position. He turned the muzzle and pressed it down at a precise angle, aiming at the parking lot below. Wen Zheliu shook off the gravel on his head. He climbed up from another window, and in the first second he appeared, he swept towards the bushes below along the trail of smoke and dust that had not yet dissipated in the air.


    Blind fire interference!


    Now that the floor where he and Chin were hiding had been completely exposed, he wanted to ensure that Chin would not be shot in the head when he was dealing with another enemy. Although the P-19 could only be regarded as a small firearm, it was still more than enough to contain the enemy.


    The flames splashed in all directions with the two sides resolute and ruthless gunshots. Although the railgun couldn¡¯t overturn the vehicle bunker in the parking lot, it could penetrate the fuel tank and then detonate it. Amidst the crackling sound of fire, hundreds of coins pierced through the smoke and dust of the fireworks and flew towards Chin.


    At the same time, the player hiding in the bush was just a novice. He was forced to die by Wen Zheliu after a few shots, and also exploded a pile of coins and equipment.


    It was too late to count the results, so the two hurried down with their guns. Chin whistled, and when Wen Zheliu turned around, he saw something gleaming in silver being thrown at him.


    He grabbed it and saw that it was actually a string of silver coins, and by counting, there were about ten.


    ¡°The unlucky guy just dropped it,¡± Chin said lightly, ¡°It¡¯s useless for me to hold it. It looks pretty good, so I¡¯ll give it to you.¡±


    Wen Zheliu looked at him in astonishment, only to think that this person was really strange. He was obviously familiar with the use of high-end firearms, but he said that he had never played this game, and now he could even casually throw away so many silver coins. Could he be a rich second generation who was not deeply involved in worldly affairs?


    ¡°This is a lot of money, and it¡¯s enough for you to eat a Big Mac set meal for a week in the fast food restaurant where I work.¡± As a child from a poor family, Wen Zheliu couldn¡¯t forgive him for his lavish behavior, ¡°And this is your victory item, I don¡¯t want it.¡±


    Chin jumped in front of him and shot a player who wanted to take advantage of this gap, then he laughed: ¡°Look at the road.¡±


    After saying that, he crouched down and moved forward a few steps. The two of them were lying in the grass together, hiding and rummaging through the box.


    Both of their weapons had almost run out of all the energy just now. Chin took out an SN-9 wasp rifle that he hadn¡¯t fired much, and handed it to Wen Zheliu, saying, ¡°Here you go, just take it. You think I lack something like this¡­ By the way, I forgot to ask, how old are you?¡±


    Wen Zheliu was thinking about how to put the money in his pocket. Hearing that, he paused and said, ¡°¡­ Anyway, I¡¯m an adult.¡±


    ¡°I can tell from your tone that you just turned eighteen.¡± Chin rubbed his hair, and the two continued to sneak out of the grass and flashed through the door of the building opposite to scavenge for supplies, ¡°Why does a kid like you play this kind of life and death game?¡±


    Wen Zheliu picked up a bandage and half-truthfully said, ¡°To make money. I¡¯m so poor that I can¡¯t afford to eat.¡±


    ¡°Oh, then I¡¯ll provide for you?¡±


    ¡°¡­Please kindly stay away from me, old man.¡±


    ¡°Look at your skill. When you shoot, your hands are steady and your reaction time is fast.¡± Chin smiled, walked to the box he had just shot out, took the weapon dropped by the man for his own use, and added a first aid kit, ¡°Do you have to come to this game to make money?¡±


    Wen Zheliu said in an old-fashioned manner: ¡°Isn¡¯t that what professional players are like? Whenever there is a task, they can go wherever. There¡¯s no particular reason.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, this brother will carry you this time, you can lie down and effortlessly win the game.¡± Chin smiled as the two jumped over a broken floor-to-ceiling window and rolled over to the rooftop of the opposite building to stand firm.


    Wen Zheliu thought it was quite interesting, he said, ¡°This is your first time playing, yet you want to take me to lie down and win?¡±


    Chin observed the situation around him and said casually: ¡°Let¡¯s make a bet then, if I kill more people than you, except for the last player between us, then you must recognize me as your brother; if I don¡¯t kill you more people than you, I will compensate you for one thing, how about shopping freely in the mall?¡±


    Wen Zheliu was amused, he was determined to frustrate the man¡¯s spirit, so he said, ¡°It¡¯s not fair, so let¡¯s change it. If you win, I¡¯ll pay you something; if you lose, you¡¯ll pay me something instead, but on the condition that what you pay me must be equal to the value of the bet I offered, how about that?¡±


    ¡°Okay, why not.¡± Chin readily promised. His sword eyebrows were drawn into his temples, the shape of his eyes were like peach blossoms, his pupils were as light as glaze, rippled with smiling waves of light, swaying people¡¯s hearts, ¡°It¡¯s all up to you.¡±


    Wen Zheliu¡¯s eyes widened, he raised his hand to fire a few shots at a player who was hiding in the shadow of the opposite building corner.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s settled.¡±


    The author has something to say:


    The game content in this chapter is taken from ¡°PUBG Mobile¡±.


    Hua: All these PUBG game terms are killing me. I came here expecting horror but I got PUBG ???? Fortunately it¡¯s only several chapters. £¨¦á^¦á£©


    In PUBG, it means that you are killed as soon as you land after parachuting


    I change Lei Xiao team from last chapter to Thunder Lord instead. Xiao[èÉ] in Lei Xiao team means leader, brave, or owl. That¡¯s why Chin called them Thunder Birds.


    Although he had not personally experienced it, he had seen it and had some understanding.


    The term in PUBG means that after killing the enemy, they will drop a box, and the player can pick up equipment from it.

 CH 3

    Translator: Hua


    T/N: I¡¯m not adding footnotes for guns they¡¯re using because there are too many and Survival World ended in this chapter so. You can go to google if you wanted to see what those guns look like.


    Melancholy Song (3)


    At this time, the fierce battle in the central urban area was in full swing. Several hospitals, schools and construction sites were littered with traces of laser burns everywhere, and were wrecked into a scattered mess. Lei Ming1His name is literally translated to thunderous., the captain of the Thunder Lord team, was carrying a rapid-firing gun. With one shot, he blasted a player not far away who only exposed the corner of his shirt into pieces. The female player beside him held two laser Derringers. In the same way, the players who wanted to take the opportunity to sneak attack on Lei Ming would be knocked out into white beam of copper coins.


    Rapid-fire gun and laser Deringer were both powerful weapons that were difficult to operate, but these two use them like the arm directing the fingers2Command something with ease as one wishes. with high proficiency. Lei Ming¡¯s appearance was that of a tall and robust adult male human. He was wearing a beret and a pair of anti-flash sunglasses on the bridge of his nose. He said in a deep voice: ¡°Manman3Man(Âû) means vine from her ID name (ÂûÌÙÓж¾)., give your laser to this boy, you change to the other one. We should speed up, don¡¯t take too long in this round.¡±


    The female player with the game ID Poison Ivy responded, then threw the two guns in her hands to the newcomer, and grabbed an S-12K electromagnetic shotgun from the firearms pile on the side. She said with a smile: ¡°The novice players in this round finally know how to use their brain, and learn to unite to deal with us first. This is more fun than the last round.¡±


    Lei Ming glanced at the number of kills and the number of remaining players, and said in a low voice, ¡°We¡¯ll just stay here to collect heads and wait for Xiao Shi4Little Ten and others to finish clearing people and come over to join us. When the time comes, give the experience to the newcomer and we¡¯ll go to the next portal.¡±


    The newcomer quickly thanked him, ¡°Thank you Brother Lei for your training, thank you Sister Manman and all the seniors!¡±


    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll all belong to the same team in the future. As long as you strive for excellence, you can repay our kindness and teaching.¡± Poison Ivy pouted and complained while looking at the counting board, ¡°Excluding us, there are still thirty-eight people left¡­ Xiao Shi and the others, why are they so slow?¡±


    Immediately after she finished complaining, a light blue data stream flashed in front of everyone in the Thunder Lord team.


    [Chin killed Xiao Shi with the Diffusion Particle Gun]


    [Wen Di killed Winter Echoes with the SN-9 Wasp Rifle Gun]


    [Number of people remaining: 36]


    Poison Ivy opened her eyes wide and shouted in disbelief: ¡°What?! Xiao Shi and Winter Echoes were actually killed?!¡±


    Downtown, parking lot.


    The kill number above the two of them had already doubled. The two defeated players had eliminated quite a few people. At this time, it all accumulated on their(Chin&WZL) heads. It seemed that Wen Zheliu and Chin were like two bloody gods of death.


    Wen Zheliu drank a bottle of first aid medicine and wrapped a piece of gauze around Chin¡¯s arm to help his wound heal quickly. Chin looked down at him after he finished wrapping it up, and handed him the long black knife in his hand.


    ¡°High-carbon steel alloy combat knife¡­¡± Wen Zheliu said, ¡°Good stuff, it looks like it was grabbed during the airdrop just now.¡±


    When the first airdrop by the skyship passed, he and Chin were still dodging the firepower of a few idle players and missed a good opportunity, thus leading to their grueling entanglement with these two people later on.


    Chin crouched down to touch the bag and asked, ¡°The level of these two is obviously different from other players. Are they from that team?¡±


    Wen Zheliu replied, ¡°It¡¯s very likely that they are. The people in their team should know our name by now.¡±


    ¡°You said earlier that nine people came in on this team.¡± Chin pondered.


    ¡°Plus the newcomer, there are nine.¡± Wen Zheliu said, ¡°There were originally eleven, but two left.¡±


    Chin was carrying the GAU-90 Rifle, filled it with a few energy crystals, and made a circle on the dusty ground, ¡°Remove the newcomer and the two we just killed, there are now six. If I were the captain of Thunder Bird, I would also let the team members form groups of two or three people and disperse to several urban areas to kill novice players. Now that we¡¯ve killed two of his people, you guess, will he send a group to block us both? ¡±


    ¡°There are only four urban areas in total, the main area, the east, the west, and lower districts. We are now in the lower urban area. From which side do you think people will come from, the east or the west?¡±


    Wen Zheliu had already given up on correcting his(Chin) address for the Thunder Lord team. He pondered deeply: ¡°I wonder if they have enabled location sharing. If they do, the system will send them back the coordinates of the dead player.¡±


    Chin swiped on his personal terminal, and a 3D map immediately rotated and zoomed in front of them.


    ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± he tapped lightly with his long and powerful fingers, ¡°In front is the main urban area, this is the East, this is the West¡­¡±


    ¡°The main intersection in the east city is closest to us.¡± Wen Zheliu said, ¡°It¡¯s very likely that they would come from there.¡±


    ¡°Go to block people.¡± Chin loaded the gun, ¡°Then go to the main city to kill that newcomer.¡±


    ¡°Go to block people.¡± Lei Ming ordered in the team channel, ¡°Then gather at my location again.¡±


    Chin¡¯s new GAU-90 was a heavy-caliber firearm. He didn¡¯t need a second shot to hit anyone. With his abnormal hearing and intuition, sometimes Wen Zheliu only had the time to hear a slight noise, when he(Chin) had already fired and immediately killed people through the wall, spilling coins all over the place.


    Wen Zheliu was almost robbing him of the number of heads, he himself had moments of hit and miss, but Chin was like a precision robot designed to make zero mistakes. As long as he made a move, the number of people in existence would be reduced by one immediately.


    ¡°You¡­ Where did you learn all of these skills?¡± He was so shocked that he couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°You¡¯re not a great god of any team who came here with a side account right?¡±


    Chin laughed jokingly as he said, ¡°I told you it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve played this game. Can¡¯t I be some kind of genius?¡±


    Wen Zheliu resisted the urge to punch him. Just as he was about to speak, the tip of his ear moved, and he said alertly, ¡°Wait, I seem to feel the ground trembling¡­ Be careful, find cover!¡±


    One left and one right, they darted into the nearby bunker to hide. As soon as they rolled to the ground, the shock wave mixed with smoke and dust tumbled in all directions, and exploded in place with a loud bang!


    Wen Zheliu felt a tightness in his chest, and his throat immediately filled with a smell of fishy sweetness. He shook off the debris from his head and whispered to the communicator, ¡°It¡¯s the impulse grenade, are you ok?¡±


    The voice in the earphone squeaked a few times, and Chin¡¯s reply came out: ¡°I¡¯m fine, how about you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine too.¡± Wen Zheliu lowered his voice, ¡°¡­here it comes!¡±


    Before the smoke and dust had completely dissipated, Chin closed his eyes, and a shot burst out, but the moment he pulled the trigger, his brows twitched, and he immediately reflexively slammed into the wall next to him!


    The sound of a bullet breaking through the defense was dull and short, narrowly grazing his ear, blowing a bowl-sized hole in the thick steel plate behind his foot. Wen Zheliu¡¯s pupils shrink: ¡°Chin!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t come here!¡± Chin quietly looked ahead and said solemnly, ¡°There is a sniper on the opposite side.¡±


    Just like their(Thunder Bird) initial tactics, one person attracts firepower in the front, one person estimates the trajectory in the rear, and then snipe to kill the opponent¡ª¡ªit was just that they were using the most basic rail guns at that time, but now, the opponent had a real sniper.


    ¡°Did you hit him?¡± Someone on the opposite side asked.


    ¡°No.¡± The sniper¡¯s lips moved slightly, ¡°He escaped, the novice player in this game is amazing.¡±


    Wen Zheliu said in a low voice, ¡°It won¡¯t work, you stay down there, I¡¯ll take care of the sniper above¡­¡±


    Just as he was about to get up, a chill arose on his back, and Chin shouted sharply, ¡°Lie down!¡±


    He subconsciously drew back, and a bullet immediately burst close to his heel. He could almost feel the trace of the bullet distorting the air, just above his head.


    Chin¡¯s gaze was focused, his eyes were no longer smiling, but instead they contained the coldness that could freeze a pool of spring water. He discharged several crystals from his palm, filling up the energy slot piece by piece, and said decisively: ¡°My weapon has a large killing range. I¡¯ll stall the sniper, you solve the one in front.¡±


    Wen Zheliu thought about it, dragging the knife in his left hand, holding the gun in his right hand, and responded, ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°The first shot¡­¡± Chin slowly raised the muzzle, ¡°¡­Run!¡±


    He has been waiting for this moment!


    There was an imperceptible smile on the sniper¡¯s lips. He moved his fingertips slightly and was about to pull the trigger, but suddenly there was a loud noise above his head, and the sand and gravel rolled down!


    What happened? Did he find out where he was hiding? But how is it possible? !


    In the moment of his astonishment, Wen Zheliu blasted away the smoke and dust with one shot, replaced his hand with his pocket knife, and then slashed at the tall man in front of him!


    It was said that the blade of the high-carbon steel alloy combat knife could cut iron like mud. The man did not dare to block the attack with his flesh, so he could only roar and hold the cannon on his shoulder against the ice-cold blade, which instantly caused the barrel part to collapse and break apart.


    The man smiled grimly. Before Wen Zheliu could withdraw, he punched him heavily in the abdomen. This punch was so powerful that it could even directly beat people into scattered coins and experience¡ªTwo hours ago, there were indeed several unlucky novices who were eliminated by him like this. However, although Wen Zheliu was forced to take this blow abruptly, a large red light symbolizing residual blood was splashed in front of him, but he actually did not die!


    The alloy knife suddenly flew out, and the man grabbed Wen Zheliu¡¯s neck with one hand. When he was about to slam another punch, SN-9 had already been turned around and the muzzle was pressed against his chin, then the tongue of flame spurting out wildly!


    Coins and experience suddenly leaked like a torrent, rushing over to Wen Zheliu.


    [Wen Di used the SN-9 Rifle to kill Fight To The Bitter End]


    [Number of people remaining: 21]


    He half-kneeled on the ground, coughing heavily. The blood bar had bottomed out with barely a trace of red. If he hadn¡¯t resisted the beating, he would have been blown to nothing.


    He paused for a while, and took two bottles of first aid medicine to bring his physical strength back to normal. At this moment, along with the sound of last gunshot, the illusory blue light once again cut through his vision¡ª¡ª


    [Chin used the GAU-90 Rifle to kill Eagle of the Vast Sky]


    [Number of people remaining: 20]


    There was a sound of hurried footsteps behind him, then a pair of warm and powerful hands with a lingering smell of gunpowder pressed against his shoulders. Chin asked with concern, ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    Wen Zheliu coughed twice, and propped himself up from the ground with the butt of the gun, ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ I can resist the beating, I won¡¯t die.¡±


    Chin picked up the alloy knife and tied it back to his waist. At the same time, he raised his arm and put it on his shoulder. ¡°Hold on a little longer, let¡¯s drive over and kill those little bastards.¡±


    Wen Zheliu leaned on him and slowly said with a smile: ¡°Now there are many kills stacked on me, take a good look.¡±


    Chin raised his eyes and saw that after killing the two people just now, the cumulative kill count displayed above [Wen Di]¡¯s head was 21, while the cumulative kill count displayed by [Chin] was only 17.


    He smiled nonchalantly, and walked towards the car with Wen Zheliu, saying, ¡°There are 18 people left in front. It¡¯s not certain who wins or loses. Sit down.¡±


    He put Wen Zheliu on the co-pilot seat, and put a first aid kit in his arms. As soon as he stepped on the accelerator, he planned to cross the east city and head for the main urban area.


    At present, the people of the Thunder Lord team all had grim faces. Poison Ivy¡¯s complexion had turned blue with anger, she gritted her teeth and said, ¡°Where did these two people come from? There can¡¯t really be anyone who is so idle that they ran the novice area to raise a small account, right?¡±


    Lei Ming pondered for a while, then said in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯ve underestimated the enemy. White Bird, Southern Sun, after you guys have roughly cleared the players within your range, come to the main urban area to assemble with us. We¡¯re playing a siege war with them.¡±


    There were two ¡®Roger¡¯ sounded from the communication earphone in succession. Lei Ming turned to look at Poison Ivy, and said, ¡°Manman, take the newcomer to find a place to hide first. Don¡¯t let his experience point in this game be cleared.¡±


    Poison Ivy responded and carried the newcomer¡¯s collar to the back, pushed him to a hidden corner, and ordered, ¡°Hide here, and come out after we finish fighting¡­¡±


    After she finished speaking, she turned around and saw a string of steaming gray smoke on the distant horizon. Lei Ming, carrying a rapid-fire gun, shouted in a low voice, ¡°They¡¯re coming!¡±


    Wen Zheliu shouted, ¡°It¡¯s too risky to just rush to the front like this¡ª¡±


    ¡°There are a few more people, only a wave away from the end. Sit tight kid!¡± Chin stepped hard on the accelerator and the suspended car was about to fall apart, ¡°You jump I jump5Originally said English!¡±


    Wen Zheliu really had no choice but to be prepared, waiting to jump down at any time. The suspension car crashed into the barricade surrounded by iron spikes and sent out a deafening roar, almost turned over. Seeing the ruins of the city getting closer and closer, Chin roared, ¡°Now, jump!¡±


    Wen Zheliu kicked open the car door, and rolled into the gravel with a pile of equipment and supplies. He fell on all fours and lost a streak of blood. The speed of the suspended car did not decrease. With the harsh ear-splitting sharp friction, it rubbed out a path of electric sparks along the way and frantically crashed towards the silhouette in the center of the ruins.


    The rumble of rapid-fire gun exploded, blasting the suspended car into countless scattered fragments with one shot. Black smoke billowed. Wen Zheliu hurriedly drank the red medicine, and took out the impulse grenade just now and threw it into the black smoke. Chin said: ¡°From now on, I will hold the front, you will go to the back¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡± Wen Zheliu said in shock, ¡°Do you know how fierce the captain of Thunder Lord team is! Can you handle his firepower alone?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t care, I don¡¯t know¡ª¡± Chin¡¯s voice trailed off, ¡°You go when you¡¯re told to! You¡¯re being disobedient, huh?¡±


    Wen Zheliu was about to laugh at him angrily when Chin accentuated his tone: ¡°Go! You don¡¯t believe in me?¡±


    The shock wave reverberated in all directions with a loud bang, and the black smoke was also churning endlessly. Wen Zheliu glanced back, and roughly understood what Chin meant. He gritted his teeth and tossed an electromagnetic shotgun to Chin. He himself quietly sneaked forward. Sure enough, within his line of sight, he could see a suspended car speeding from the main intersection of West City.


    Chin wanted to let him block the reinforcements here, but can he really block Lei Ming¡¯s attack?


    There was a fierce and rapid exchange of fire behind him. He lay behind the broken concrete wall and slowly waited for the arrival of reinforcements.


    During the fierce shootout, Chin¡¯s smiling voice came from the earphone: ¡°Are you bored? Do you want to hear a joke?¡±


    The loading sound of sniper gun cross firing was crisp, and a female player¡¯s voice sounded only a wall away from Wen Zheliu: ¡°There are two people on the opposite side, just cornered them with firepower suppression!¡±


    Wen Zheliu almost missed his breath. He lowered his voice and said ruthlessly, ¡°Take care of yourself and concentrate!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say it long ago, it¡¯s a piece of cake¡­¡± Over the earphone, the dididi countdown sound was distinct and discernable. Chin secretly cursed with dirty words. After a series of thunderous deafening sounds, he spat a few mouthfuls of dirt and said, ¡°Damn, it¡¯s really firepower suppression.¡±


    Seeing that he was struggling, Wen Zheliu was somewhat unable to control himself. As soon as he moved, Chin laughed as if he had the ability to read minds: ¡°Stop, you lie down there and don¡¯t move, just wait for the sniper, I can still carry.¡±


    Wen Zheliu waited anxiously. The suspended car finally scraped the ground in disorder and came to a halt. Two young men with guns leapt down. They also said something to the earphone, and then sneaked toward Chin¡¯s direction. Wen Zheliu breathed a sigh of relief. The sound of the firearm being loaded was particularly quiet and light amidst the earth-shattering movement around him.


    ¡°White Bird, you and Southern Sun encircle them from both sides!¡± Lei Ming roared, ¡°The gunfire of the man on the opposite side has already been disrupted, take advantage of it now¡­¡±


    Everything around him slowed down in his ears. The gravel and gunpowder smoke flew slowly past his eyes and the telescopic sight in front of him. Wen Zheliu emptied his mind, then quickly buckled his fingers twice in succession. Then there came the depressing and deadly sound of the bullet breaking something into pieces¡ª


    [Wen Di used the SN-9 Rifle to kill Southern Sun]


    [Remaining people: 6]


    Lei Ming¡¯s brain ¡®buzzed¡¯ for a short while, and his eyes burst with bloodshot. Poison Ivy screamed: ¡°There is only one in front, but there¡¯s a person in ambush behind!¡±


    As soon as her voice fell, another impulse grenade was thrown at her feet. Wen Zheliu directly threw it to the ground, blowing up a sky full of flowers6Don¡¯t know why the grenade blew up flowers. A metaphor? I don¡¯t know., ¡°I¡¯m sorry sister!¡±


    [Wen Di used impulse grenade to kill Poison Ivy]


    [Number of people remaining: 5]


    Lei Ming roared. He turned around and followed the trajectory revealed by Wen Zheliu and indiscriminately bombarded him. Seeing that the situation was not good, Wen Zheliu hurriedly turned to dodge, but was still thrown far away by the blast. Half of his blood was lost, and he was knocked over in the middle of debris and rubble.


    ¡°Where are you looking?!¡± Chin snapped. A shot came out of the shotgun muzzle, punching a bloody hole in Lei Ming¡¯s back. Lei Ming staggered a little, Chin still wanted to shoot him again, but Wen Zheliu struggled and shouted from among the ruins: ¡°There is another person walking around you, pay attention!¡±


    There was a slight sound of something moving from his side. Chin¡¯s eyebrows and eyes were ruthless, he turned around and pulled the bolt, mercilessly blasting half of the face of the person who just came, then the white beam of coins cascaded like droplets of blood!


    [Chin used S-12K Electromagnetic Shotgun to kill White Bird]


    [Remaining people: 4]


    Wen Zheliu subconsciously wanted to take medicine, but when he reached out and touched it, the medicine bottle on his body was crushed into pieces by the blast just now, and he didn¡¯t even know where the first aid kit was. He got up and raised his head, just in time to face a shivering newcomer.


    Wen Zhe Liu: ¡°?¡±


    The newcomer: ¡°¡­..¡±


    Wen Zheliu immediately knew who he was. Although this player was a rookie brought in by the Thunder Lord team, he still had gaming sense. After he came back to his senses, just as he was about to take the laser Deringer in his hand to blast Wen Zheliu¡¯s head, an alloy knife was brutally stabbed into his chest with a puff, and let him burn with the wall behind him.


    Wen Zheliu: ¡°¡­Bye.¡±


    [Wen Di used a high-carbon steel alloy combat knife to kill Durian Is Very Delicious]


    [Remaining people: 3]


    ¡°Brother, the newcomer has been taken care of by me!¡± He was overjoyed for a while, and couldn¡¯t help calling out brother. With a rumble, Chin¡¯s voice came from the earphone: ¡°Big brother has heard you, Big brother is very happy, but can you help me solve this thing now, little brother?¡±


    Wen Zheliu looked back, and suddenly opened his mouth wide.


    He saw a three-meter-high steel robot staggeringly stood up from the ruins. It seemed to be shaking off the dust and gravel on its body. With guns, flamethrower, particle railgun, and many other varieties of firearms, a furious roar erupted at Chin!


    ¡°What is this!¡± Chin yelled as he jumped up and down at its feet, almost being shot dead by a random gun, ¡°Did you hang up!¡±


    Wen Zheliu hurriedly picked up the gun and attracted firepower for him, ¡°This is the APM-Individual Soldier Mobile Battle Platform, an absolute killer that only appears in airdrops!


    I¡¯m not hanging up!¡±


    Chin dodged quickly, and now he couldn¡¯t laugh anymore: ¡°Stop joking, how do you fight this thing!¡±


    Wen Zheliu kept bombarding it with a large-caliber GAU-90, firing a shot for cover. In a short moment, Chin saw the jet-black alloy blade in his hand, and his eyes lit up: ¡°That¡¯s it! Quick, throw it over here!¡±


    Seeing that he didn¡¯t have a weapon in hand, Wen Zheliu hurriedly threw the alloy knife at him, ¡°Catch it!¡±


    Lei Ming was operating the Individual Soldier Mobile Battle Platform and said angrily, ¡°All of you go to hell!¡±


    Wen Zheliu didn¡¯t have time to dodge, and was hit by a stray bullet in the calf. Red light splashed in front of his eyes, and his blood bar fell to a thin layer. Chin took advantage of his(LM) unpreparedness, dragged the alloy knife and jumped up from behind. The glint of the blade almost bent into a full moon-like arc in his hand.


    His figure was backlit, making it difficult to see what his face looked like, but his eyes were more piercing than the blade. This strike looked like a slow motion shot after a time stagnation. Everything was as slow as the autumn leaves falling in the afternoon. Only he was bitterly cold, like a king who slashed the head of a rebellious minister with a sword.


    In the game world, experience and energy were important criteria for determining the strength of a player, but Chin was only a level 10 player who had just passed the novice protection, which made Wen Zheliu begin doubting his identity in the real world.


    ¡ª¡ªThe blade was as sharp as moonlight, and the steel giant erupted from the center like moonlight splashing the battlefield!


    [Chin used a high-carbon steel alloy combat knife to kill Lei Ming]


    [Number of people remaining: 2]


    The world was silent. The Individual Soldier Mobile Battle Platform that had been split in half fell to the ground with a thud. Chin gasped softly and stood there for a while, holding the knife.


    ¡°¡­How is it,¡± Wen Zheliu said, ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    Chin swallowed and glanced at him with a smile: ¡°Why don¡¯t you call me brother?¡±


    Wen Zheliu pointed to the number of kills on his head. After several accumulations, the number on his head had already reached a terrifying 46, while Chin was a little worse at 42.


    ¡°Continue or not?¡±


    Following his question, the blue data stream once again converged in front of their eyes.


    [Do you want to open the final showdown mode?]


    Chin laughed.


    ¡°No more fighting.¡± He threw away the alloy knife in his hand and walked towards Wen Zheliu, who was paralyzed on the ground, ¡°You¡¯re quite capable¡­ Alright, I lost this game.¡±


    Wen Zheliu also laughed, he stretched out his hand and let Chin pull him up.


    [Survival World, waiting for you to become a king. Congratulations to the player Wen Di for winning this round and winning the final victory! Your reward has been distributed to your personal terminal, do you want to start the next round? Yes/No]


    Wen Zheliu was so tired that he quickly said, ¡°No, no, no! No more fighting, go back to the hall!¡±


    ¡°Go back to the mall.¡± Chin interjected, ¡°The bet we promised hasn¡¯t been fulfilled yet.¡±

 CH 4

    Melancholy Song (4)


    Wen Zheliu burst into a hearty laughter. He was supported by Chin and limped towards the portal opened in the center of the battlefield: ¡°You really want to fulfill that promise?¡±


    ¡°Why not? Do you think I can¡¯t afford it?¡± Chin asked him back. ¡°This big bro just brought the wrong terminal, it¡¯s not that I really have no money.¡±


    Wen Zheliu couldn¡¯t stop laughing. The two of them crossed the tide of the universe where thousands of stars were spinning again, and returned to the hall through the portal.


    ¡°No,¡± he said, holding back a laugh, ¡°What I mean is¡­¡­¡±


    As soon as he got his footing on the ground, he saw that people in the hall were looking at him and Chin with strange eyes. Wen Zheliu was baffled, and swallowed the second half of his words involuntarily.


    Wen Zhe Liu: ¡°?¡±


    What¡¯s going on here?


    Not far away, a bunch of people gathered together, and their eyes were frequently sent to the portal. It was the people from Lei Xiao¡¯s team. Late Night Breeze and Crazy Blade Sweeping The Street were also there. Chin said lazily: ¡°They¡¯re already here to pick a fight.¡±


    Seeing the two jump from the portal, Lei Ming immediately pushed the crowd away and walked towards them, behind him was a group of players. He wasn¡¯t only tall and sturdy, but his face was also naturally awe-inspiring. Along the way, he looked like


    Moses dividing the red sea, no men and god dared come near.


    Wen Zheliu said in a low voice, ¡°He won¡¯t really come to beat us right?¡±


    Seeing him approaching, Chin also restrained his cynical expression. He quietly turned to the side, blocking Wen Zheliu behind him: ¡°Excuse me, what can I do for you?¡±


    Lei Ming took off his anti-glare sunglasses and gave these two people a deep look. The frenzied demeanor of anger and rage in the game were all gone, which made them a little surprised: ¡°One is level ten, one is level fifteen¡­ amazing. I was careless.¡±


    Behind him, Late Night Breeze¡¯s face was extremely ugly, and his beautiful eyes kept shooting cold knives at the two of them. Chin smiled: ¡°Well, is there anything else? If not, we will go first.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute, I have a question.¡± Fight To The Bitter End finally emerged from the group and pointed at Wen Zheliu behind Chin, ¡°I suspect this kid used a cheating software.¡±


    Fight To The Bitter End selected race was obviously the Orc descendant. His bronze complexion was spread with light-colored stripes, and his body was extraordinarily robust. Being pointed at like this, Wen Zheliu calmly raised his eyes to look at him: ¡°What evidence do you have?¡±


    The man sneered and pulled out his own data from his personal terminal. The other columns were blurred, and only the [Physical Strength] line was clear.


    78, a terrifying number.


    In Nova City, there was also an upper limit for the player¡¯s data value. According to the average algorithm of the level, the maximum can only reach 120. If you want to improve, you can only rely on the unimpeded A-level or above A-level items circulating in every game world. Since Fight To The Bitter End¡¯s physical strength has reached 78, it was a reasonable fact that he could eliminate many players in the early stage with his fist alone.


    ¡°So what?¡± Wen Zheliu raised his brows, imitating Chin¡¯s appearance, ¡°You couldn¡¯t kill me with one punch, so you thought I used cheating software?¡±


    ¡°Pull out your stamina data,¡± Fight To The Bitter End said in a rude voice, ¡°Relying on data to speak, everything else is false.¡±


    Wen Zheliu took a deep breath, and before he could speak, Chin chuckled: ¡°Friend, if you ask my brother to pull out the data, does he have to show it to you? How about a trip to the slaughterhouse, believe it or not, I can still kill all of you.¡±


    ¡°Hey, forget it, forget it!¡± The smell of gunpowder was brewing. Wen Zheliu was afraid that he(Chin) would have another dispute with this team with backstage supporters. At that time, even if he was a rich second generation, things won¡¯t end well, ¡°If they want to see, I¡¯ll show them.¡±


    He also blurred his own information, showing only the [Stamina] line, which was also surprisingly strong.


    73, only five points lower than Fight To The Bitter End.


    ¡°It¡¯s not much lower than your strength points, right,¡± Wen Zheliu said. ¡°With the data deviation, isn¡¯t it normal that you can¡¯t kill me with one hit?¡±


    This number made Chin¡¯s eyes widen, and Fight To The Bitter End said in disbelief: ¡°You are a novice at level 15, yet you have such high stamina! What race did you choose? Sandbag?!¡±


    These words seemed to sting Wen Zheliu, his face sank, and he said sternly: ¡°It¡¯s none of your business, anyway, I didn¡¯t use any cheating program. If you don¡¯t believe it, then ask the inspector to come over.¡±


    Lei Ming saw Fight To The Bitter End¡¯s embarrassed expression, so he came out and said: ¡°Okay, let¡¯s clear up the misunderstanding. In fact, we came to you, mainly to ask, do you guys want to join our team? As long as you nod¡­¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Chin answered bluntly, and he spread his hands, ¡°Rag-tag soldiers like us are not worthy of big shot¡¯s attention¡­ Is there anything else? If not, we¡¯ll leave first, we still have something to do.¡±


    His attitude was really arrogant and unyielding. Lei Ming didn¡¯t get angry when he saw that there was no hope of winning him over, he just turned to the side in a graceful manner: ¡°Please.¡±


    Chin grabbed Wen Zheliu¡¯s shoulder and walked towards the door. Along the way, he received amazed eyes from countless players. Chin spread his hands: ¡°See, the scenery is infinite, and people who are born to attract attention are like this.¡±


    ¡°F*ck you.¡± Wen Zheliu couldn¡¯t help but sneered at him.


    The two walked to the station and boarded the suspension train leading to Nova Shopping Mall. At this time, the sun was setting in the west, and the clouds in Nova City were extremely beautifully rendered, just like crimson peach blossoms burning all over the sky, scattered to the ends of the horizon by the misty golden light. The splendid sunset reflected on the clear glass window, and also on Chin¡¯s side profile. The fine golden dust fluttered gently on his eyelashes. His light-colored pupils, which originally looked like colored-glaze, were illuminated just like the setting sun with a golden color.


    Wen Zheliu¡¯s heart jolted, and he asked, ¡°Why¡­why do you wear a mask?¡±


    Chin turned his head to look at him, the rosy evening clouds also illuminated Wen Zheliu¡¯s fair and handsome face, adding three-point of unblemished childishness out of nowhere. He smiled and said in a low voice, ¡°Of course I don¡¯t want others to recognize me.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Wen Zheliu became interested, ¡°What do you do? Celebrity? Singer? Or some other public figure? You¡¯re not a politician, are you?¡±


    While his thoughts were running wild, Chin smiled with the corner of his eyes bent. He reached out and touched his head, ¡°What are you guessing?¡±


    ¡°¡­And, why are you being so nice to me?¡± Wen Zheliu lowered his head again, his eyes staring intently at his worn out lace-up boots, ¡°This is the first time we¡¯ve met.¡±


    Chin said softly, ¡°Because you are a strange kid.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so strange?¡± Wen Zheliu raised his head.


    ¡°No one else thought of buying me water, why would you?¡± Chin followed him to sit down, ¡°You have such good skills, but you still went through so much trouble to get a gold task. Plus, you are a level 15 player who is so resistant to beating, where did you train?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you only level 10?¡± Wen Zheliu asked rhetorically.


    ¡°I¡¯m new to the game, you¡¯re new to the game too?¡± Chin asked again, ¡°I said you¡¯re a strange kid, and you¡¯re still not convinced.¡±


    Then they arrived at the station.


    Chin pulled him out of the train. Wen Zheliu couldn¡¯t respond to his question, so he grunted angrily: ¡°If you can find something worth as much as my bet in the mall, then I lose!¡±


    The neon-colored light screen rotated, Chin dragged him into the dressing room of the mall, and beckoned to him: ¡°Okay, what is your bet, take it out and let me see.¡±


    Wen Zheliu looked at him for a long time before unlocking his personal terminal, and took out a 10¡Á15 capacity backpack. After repeatedly rummaging the bottom most, he took out a small box with an iris lock and a fingerprint password bar tied to it. After being opened layer by layer, there was still an item barrier at the bottom. Seeing this, Chin couldn¡¯t help frowning and laughed with interest.


    ¡°So mysterious?¡±


    Wen Zheliu glanced at him, feeling a little uneasy.


    ¡°I got it by lucky draw. Actually¡­ I was just trying to scare you, but I didn¡¯t really want you to pay me something similar in value¡­¡±


    ¡°Just open it,¡± Chin clicked his tongue, ¡°You think I¡¯m lacking something like this?¡±


    The corner of Wen Zheliu¡¯s mouth twitched, and he raised his hand to lift the barrier. The thousand rays of golden light that shot out almost blinded Chin¡¯s eyes, ¡°Oh, then take a look at it.¡±


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Chin hurriedly took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on, ¡°I was almost blinded by you¡­¡±


    He took a closer look, and the relaxed expression on his face gradually solidified, becoming grave and serious.


    The betting chip Wen Zheliu took out to show him was only a small glass shard in a smooth circular shape, but this knuckle-sized shard had extremely terrifying properties.


    [Item name: Skeleton of Time City (1/20)]


    [Level: SSS (Incomplete)]


    [Activation Type: None]


    [Cooldown Time: None]


    [Attack Power: None]


    [Effect: None]


    [Equipment Level: Unknown]


    [Item introduction: The royal city left in the depths of time, when the scepter, crown and beautiful bride all lose their fragrance and color in the cycle of the four seasons, who is still cheering loudly beyond the frontier, calling for the kingdom of the immortal, the sun that never descend, the immortal king and his subjects?


    Collect all 20 pieces to synthesize 3S-level Item: Eternal Time City


    Current progress: 1/20]


    The final synthesis of this 3S-level item has only one effect, that is, without any restrictions, it immediately returns the activator to the origin of the time period they want to reach. The cooldown time is between the time when the item is used and the backtrack time. From then, everything goes on as usual.


    ¡ª¡ªA causal item that can change the law of casualty1A principle in philosophy: every change in nature is produced by some cause. of the past.


    Seeing his solemn expression, Wen Zheliu thought he was frightened, so he decided to close the lid embarrassedly, ¡°In fact, I don¡¯t mean anything else, just¡­¡­¡±


    Chin raised his hand and gave him a not-so-gentle pat on the side of his head.


    ¡°Ouch, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Little fool,¡± Chin scoffed, ¡°A shard of 3S-level item¡­ Do you know what the concept of 3S-level items is, and you dare to show it to a stranger who you only met once? Do you know me that well? ¡±


    Wen Zheliu was a little overwhelmed. He covered the back of his head and looked into Chin¡¯s half-smiling eyes, ¡°W-we¡­¡±


    Chin seemed to see through his thoughts. He gradually restrained his smile, the radiant peach blossom eyes just now suddenly became cold, instead showing an emotionless brutish cruelty.


    ¡°Why do you have to be so naive?¡± He said softly, ¡°You and I are just strangers who have known each other for less than a day. A few words of brotherhood actually make you show off this kind of thing to me. You don¡¯t have many friends or are you lacking affection?¡±


    Wen Zheliu¡¯s face was burning and he felt a burst of embarrassment. Chin¡¯s capriciousness was like a slap in the face, it didn¡¯t hurt, but the humiliation was greater than substantial harm.


    ¡°A-aren¡¯t we¡­¡± He stammered, taking a moment to regain his thoughts, ¡°¡­No, it¡¯s because you¡¯re very good, and you showed¡­¡±


    Wen Zheliu racked his brains, but he couldn¡¯t describe Chin¡¯s special temperament.


    He curled up his long legs and sat on the ground, looking left and right, but he didn¡¯t have the shabby look of ordinary penniless people. It was more like he was observing and looking at something. Even when he was playing against Thunder Lord¡¯s team in Survival World, he didn¡¯t seem to care about his own life or the life and death of others¡ª¡ªWen Zheliu knew that this was the game world, but it has long been integrated with the real world, and even vaguely surpassing the real world. There are many people who chose to commit suicide in the real world becuase they lost everything here, perhaps there¡¯s one the moment he blinked his eyes, but Chin didn¡¯t pay attention to these at all, he was just playing games.


    He had never seen someone like Chin, his arrogance seemed to be innate, as if he was born to overwhelm others, no matter who they were.


    ¡°¡ªIn short, you¡¯re not a bad person.¡± In the end, Wen Zheliu came to a firm conclusion, ¡°I trust my intuition, that¡¯s why I showed it to you.¡±


    Chin fixedly looked at him.


    At present, the only 4S-level item in the world that formed everything here was the ¡°core¡± of Nova City. Although S-level items under it are numerous, they are by no means readily available like Chinese cabbage. For the currently known S-level items, the collection conditions are already extremely harsh. [Aether Utopia], which is also a 3S-level item, has been split into 3,000 pieces, hidden in hundreds of thousands of large and small game worlds; the 2S-level item [Sleipnir] requires players to win the rotation speed of a planet; the S-level item [Morningstar¡¯s Book of Fate] is held by the system AI Deep Valley old man. Every time you defeat him in the Destiny Chessboard, you can get a clue about the Book of Fate¡­


    Taking Wen Zheliu¡¯s current fragment as an example, even if he collected all twenty pieces, it cannot be completed, because only the managers of N star company above the regional executive level have the authority to confirm the release of super S-level items, which is enough to determine the degree of its rarity.


    The icy light in Chin¡¯s eyes gradually dissolved, the tip of his brow was slightly raised, and the rippling light returned to his eyes again.


    ¡°Idiot.¡± He sighed, ¡°I really can¡¯t afford your bet¡­¡±


    ¡°I never ask you to pay!¡± Wen Zheliu¡¯s tone aggravated, ¡°I said I was joking.¡±


    Chin said: ¡°¡­Listen to me. In the entire mall, or even the entire Nova City, I¡¯m afraid there is nothing that can be compared to the value of your fragment, but I have been taught since I was a child to be a man of his words. Therefore¡­ take this.¡±


    He yanked down the black leather rope around his neck, grabbed Wen Zheliu¡¯s palm, put a thin square silver medal along with the rope into his hand, and clenched it tightly.


    ¡°Take this, this is the most valuable bargaining chip I have at the moment, follow the contact information above to find me.¡±


    ¡°Is this your dog tag?¡± Wen Zheliu curiously looked closer, but Chin¡¯s dog tag seemed to be encrypted, he could only see a blurred, distorted light and shadow, ¡°Why did you give me your¡­¡­¡±


    A loud and sharp noise faintly reached his ears, Wen Zheliu¡¯s complexion suddenly changed, and he hurriedly said: ¡°Wait, I have something to do, I have to go offline first¡­¡±


    With a Zhi sound, Chin¡¯s eyes widened slightly in surprise, he stretched out his arm to pull him, along with the colorful lights and shadows around him¡­ but it all twisted and deformed in front of his eyes, turning into dazzling fluttering snowflakes.


    With a sharp needle-like pain in his brain, When Zheliu screamed. He was forcibly dragged out of the game room, and fell heavily onto the dusty old carpet.


    The world swirled in front of him, full of tiny pieces of stars. He clutched his temples and knelt on the ground, gasping for breath. A boy¡¯s sharp and high-pitched voice came from behind him.


    ¡°Shameless thief! You¡¯re sneaking around in my game room again. I¡¯m going to tell my dad to break your legs first, and then drive you motherless bastard out of my house!¡±


    Chin has a special identity. (???)

 CH 5

    Melancholy Song (5)


    Wen Zheliu sat up from the ground with difficulty, and laughed angrily: ¡°You f*cking¡­¡±


    The boy in front of him was stocky, white, and fat with a chubby face. He was wearing a red T-shirt and khaki trousers, with sweat soaking into his collar and back. He glared at Wen Zheliu angrily, still clutching the VR headset he had just pulled from Wen Zheliu¡¯s head. At this time, there was a sound from the door downstairs, and the boy immediately laughed in schadenfreude: ¡°Ha, my parents are back. Just wait for that beating! ¡°


    With that, he put down the thing in his hand and ran downstairs, his heavy body making the floor creak with noise: ¡°Dad! Mom! Wen Zheliu secretly played in my game cabin again today. He¡¯s a thief! ¡°


    Wen Zheliu had a splitting headache. He forced himself to get up and walked downstairs, whispering, ¡°Uncle, aunt.¡±


    The man standing on the bottom floor was also tall and fat, and the woman standing beside him had similar facial features to Wen Zheliu. The man¡¯s expression was a little unsightly, but he still advised: ¡°Tianxiong, didn¡¯t I tell you that the game cabin was bought for you and your cousin to play together? Don¡¯t always hog it for yourself all day long¡­¡°


    When Liu Tianxiong heard this, he immediately screamed and made a scene: ¡°I don¡¯t care, it¡¯s mine, mine alone! He eats my family¡¯s food, sleeps in my house, and now he wants to steal my gaming cabin. I¡¯m really sick of him. You have to beat him up! ¡°


    As he shouted, he pulled out the ornamental tree branch from the half-a person¡¯s height vase at the entrance and shoved it into the man¡¯s hand unrelentingly, ¡°Break his leg!¡±


    Liu Jianzhang smiled awkwardly. Wen Zheliu¡¯s eyes completely darkened while staring at the metal branch in Liu Tianxiong¡¯s hand.


    He was not Liu Jianzhang and Wen Qian¡¯s child.


    When Wen Zheliu was eight years old, his parents died in a car accident, and his uncle and aunt, Liu Jianzhang and Wen Qian, adopted him. At that time, Liu Jianzhang and Wen Qian gave birth to their first son, Liu Tianxiong, only at middle age. Naturally, they spoiled him until he became an arrogant and unreasonable person, while finding Wen Zheliu unpleasant to the eyes. Although Wen Qian and Wen Zheliu¡¯s father were siblings, because of their weak kinship, this woman had no qualms about taking all the money and property left by Wen Zheliu¡¯s parents and happily bought a three-story villa in the new urban area, while treating her brother¡¯s son as free labor. At home, Liu Tianxiong was allowed to wantonly bully the young Wen Zheliu.


    Wen Zhe Liu endured it again and again, and finally, one day, he couldn¡¯t bear it any longer. He picked up the glass shelf on the table that was used to hold the paper, and slapped Liu Tianxiong hard, cutting the corner of his eye. After the couple returned from the hospital with pale faces, Liu Jianzhang used a metal branch the thickness of a finger in the porch vase, grabbed Wen Zheliu by the neck, and beat him from the living room to the kitchen, causing him to have blood marks all over his body. That night, he developed a high fever and was taken to the hospital.


    Due to his serious injury, the Vulnerable Group Protection Agency immediately conducted an investigation. They suspected that it was intentional domestic violence and wanted to file a lawsuit against the Liu couple with criminal charges. Liu Jianzhang and Wen Qian were afraid that if the matter was exposed, not only would they have to spit out what they stole from Wen Zheliu¡¯s parents, but they might also have to face the disaster of imprisonment, so they took advantage of the fact that the ward was empty and led their son to kneel in front of Wen Zailiu¡¯s hospital bed, crying and weeping. Unable to resist this situation, he still agreed to reconciliation.


    Since then, Liu Jianzhang and Wen Qian have restrained a lot, and dare not do anything to Wen Zheliu openly. In addition to letting him eat cold meals, they made him sleep in the attic for nearly ten years, using his parents¡¯ money in exchange. He was also suffering from Liu Tianxiong¡¯s daily harassment.


    When Wen Zheliu was fifteen years old and Liu Tianxiong was fourteen years old, Liu Tianxiong was short of money. Instead of asking his parents for it, he ran into Wen Zheliu¡¯s room and rummaged through it, only to find something. There were a dozen or so illegally reprinted cheap electronic pictorials hidden under the pillow, with several different half-naked male stars, unabashedly showing off their strong manly bodies to the camera, and showing handsome or evil smiles from different angles.


    Wen Zheliu was forced to come out of the closet just like that. In this free era when anyone with full civil capacity could legally marry a robot, he was forced to endure the contemptuous eyes of the Liu couple for a long time, and Liu Tianxiong kept throwing around malicious words such as ¡°sodomite¡± and ¡°pervert¡±.


    The fragile and sensitive self-esteem as a teenager, as well as the humiliation of living off others, almost broke Wen Zheliu. Every night, he hid under the quilt and secretly wept in resentment. Fortunately, the family¡¯s unfair discrimination wasn¡¯t unknown to the outside world. Wen Zheliu¡¯s teachers and classmates showed varying degrees of understanding and respect for him, so he gradually recovered, and began to look at his nominal family with a new mindset: he was a normal person, it was them who were abnormal.


    Slowly, he grew up, but it wasn¡¯t just his size and height that grew up. With forbearance and precocious eyes, he secretly observed the family that temporarily sheltered him. When Liu Tianxiong was clamoring for a new type of holographic gaming cabin, he took the initiative to stand up for the first time and expressed to the Liu couple that he was willing to spend his parents¡¯ inheritance to ¡°give his cousin a game bin¡± as a hint of his retreat. After the Liu couple pretended to laugh at him, Liu Tianxiong finally stopped speaking ill of him for a short time, because they said on the surface that this was ¡°bought for Wen Zheliu and Tianxiong using a sump¡±, but the Liu family knew who the real user was.


    This usage (of money) was used until Wen Zheliu turned 17, and was about to come of age.


    Wen Qian saw that Wen Zheliu¡¯s face wasn¡¯t good, so she hurriedly mediated with a smile, snatched the metal branch, and inserted it into the vase again, ¡°Hey, this child really likes to joke¡­ Tianxiong, you can¡¯t be so stingy. Why can¡¯t your cousin use the game cabin? Don¡¯t you usually play enough? ¡°


    Wen Zheliu looked gloomy, took a deep breath, and said, ¡°He forced me to come offline for the third time just now. Does he want me to develop dementia? ¡°


    The Liu family was stunned for a moment, and Liu Tianxiong shouted, ¡°You¡¯re a f*cking thief! Your mother gave birth to you and didn¡¯t care about raising you. It¡¯s my family that raised you, and you dare to mess with my stuff! You¡¯re a white-eyed wolf! ¡°


    Wen Zheliu clenched his fists tightly, trembling all over with anger. Seeing that he was about to have a seizure, Liu Jianzhang hurriedly pushed his son into the room beside him, intending to talk behind the closed door while Liu Tianxiong was still struggling. Wen Zheliu couldn¡¯t take it anymore and yelled, ¡°Your family raises me?! Your family sucks my blood! If you want to say that your family raised me, you should ask your parents to take out all of my parents¡¯ inheritance first. I¡¯m going to be an adult soon, and I¡¯m not an idiot who didn¡¯t know anything! Just wait, I won¡¯t owe you any favors, and I won¡¯t give you any of my parents¡¯ money either! ¡°


    After he shouted all this, he turned around and ran upstairs. Wen Qian raised her voice and shouted from behind. He ignored it and ran into the attic, slamming the door heavily, shaking the beams of the room.


    His head was still hurting, as if something was about to come out of it. Wen Zheliu sat on the ground and pinched his neck until he was almost out of breath before he let out a short coughing sound.


    His whole body trembled, his chest heaved violently, his teeth were clenched tightly, and he used almost all his strength to finally force back the unfalling tears in his eyes.


    There was a stinging pain in the palm of the hand.


    Wen Zheliu turned his eyes with difficulty, and saw that he seemed to be holding something in his hand just now. Before, he was too angry and just grasped it firmly. He was shocked, and hurriedly let go of his hand, using the dim light outside to carefully study it.


    It was a square silver medal hung with a black leather rope, and finely engraved with many neat and tiny characters.


    Yes¡­ It¡®s Chin¡¯s dog tag!


    With the rapid development of science and technology, material transmission from the virtual world to the real world is by no means impossible. The Dog Tag was the first and only item that could freely travel between the virtual world and reality after completing the task of interaction between the two worlds ten years ago.


    Looking at Chin¡¯s dog tag, he was just like a drowning man who had grabbed the last straw¡ªtoday¡¯s shootout, the gunfire, the tacit understanding between the two of them, the final victory, and Chin¡¯s smiling eyes¡­ He finally saw a hope that he could pull himself out of his suffocating life. He jumped up in a hurry, turned on the small lamp in the attic, and carefully examined the sign under the light.


    ¡°Chin¡­ Star Network License Registration Name¡­ He Qin¡­¡±


    Is Chin¡¯s real name He Qin?


    He repeated this name several times, but when he looked at it again, he suddenly found that this dog tag¡­ seemed to be different from his own and White¡¯s.


    Wen Zheliu pulled out his own dog tag from his neck and compared it with Chin¡­ He Qin¡¯s. His own dog tag had nothing but basic information and an iris fingerprint verification code, but He Qin¡¯s name was printed with a very beautiful embossed pattern, consisting of spreading iris and hydrangea, wrapped around the edge of the dog tag. At the back, there were even laser handwritten cursive characters, which didn¡¯t look like an identity plate, but some kind of art.


    ¡°He Qin¡­ He Qin¡­¡± As he read this name, he always felt like he had heard it somewhere. A flash appeared in Wen Zheliu¡¯s mind. He remembered He Qin had said that he didn¡¯t want to be recognized, which meant that he should be a public figure. Since he was a public figure, he could always be found on the Internet, right?


    He got excited all of a sudden. He snorted and wiped his red eyes. Then he opened his personal terminal, and typed the word ¡°He Qin¡± in the search bar suspended in the mid air, anxiously waiting for the web page to refresh.


    The search results were numerous. He thought about it for a while and clicked on the website in the first column of the keywords. The first thing displayed was the sentence he was very familiar with, ¡°The city of Nova, where dreams and the future are shaped by you.¡± Is this the official website of the N-Star company?


    He was stunned, then tentatively clicked on He Qin¡¯s entry above.


    ¡ªUnauthorized access.


    Wen Zheliu felt like he was being splashed with cold water. He bit his lip, and his eyes kept wandering between the webpage and the dog tag, looking for a way to get in. At this moment, he suddenly saw the login button diagonally above. After pondering for a moment, he boldly clicked it. A blue light immediately shot out from the light screen, showing a 3D bust of Saint Nun Theresa with vivid eyebrows and eyes in front of him.


    ¡°Hello, please scan your fingerprints.¡±


    It works!


    He was overjoyed, and hurriedly scanned the fingerprint verification code on the He Qin dog tag. The saint nun smiled for a moment, and then said in an ethereal voice: ¡°Hello, given your special status, please scan your iris again within 15 seconds for verification.¡±


    ¡°Countdown to 15, 14, 13,¡­¡±


    Wen Zheliu rubbed his fingers nervously, and hurriedly scanned it again with the iris verification code on the dog tag.


    ¡°Welcome back, Mr. He Qin.¡±


    The holy nun who blocked his way was gone. He smiled happily, and quickly clicked on He Qin¡¯s entry again.


    The first thing that came out was a high-resolution photo.


    He was stunned for a moment.


    The man in the photo was tall and slender, wearing an expensive formal suit, as if he was attending a major press conference. His thick, dark sword eyebrows flew obliquely into his temples. His peach blossom eyes were both romantic and fickle, the bridge of his nose was high, the thin lips were dark red, he was hot with a bit of cynical suaveness¡­ As if struck by lightning, Wen Zheliu stared at the person in the photo, stunned beyond words.


    Just a short time ago, the owner of these eyes was smiling at him with arched eyebrows, like a stream of amorous spring water, but now¡­¡­


    He looked at the small characters at the bottom of the photo, and for the first time, he felt that the translucent web page with the eye protection mode was blinding.


    ¡°N-Star Group¡­ Co., Ltd.¡± he mumbled, stumbling over his words, ¡°Asia Pacific Regional Executive¡­ He Qin.¡±


    His icy fingers gently slid upward, reading the formulaic report at the bottom word by word,¡±¡­ The only one of its kind in the world, N-Star Corporation has created a huge spiritual property that can rewrite history, change the times, and lead the future¡­ and this youngest regional executive in history¡­¡±


    He held his breath and looked at the words on the light screen,¡±¡­ can inherit the legacy and guidance of his elders¡­¡±


    He suddenly remembered where he had heard He Qin¡¯s name.


    On more than one occasion, when Wen Zheliu passed by the City Council District of ??Nova City, the male and female players gathered there talked about him in an excited and longing tone; in the fast food restaurant where he worked on weekends, people mentioned Nova City and inevitably talked about its leaders, its team, and its most famous game world¡­ They say that He Qin was the youngest regional executive in history, the third heir of N-Star, and the shares he held were only second to the current CEO and his uncle¡­


    He froze with his mouth wide open, unable to say a word.

 CH 6

    Melancholy Song (6)


    Inside the N-Star Building, He Huaizhou was looking at the large laboratory below that covered an area of ??more than 2,000 square meters through the spotless floor-to-ceiling glass windows. A huge full-body portrait of Saint Theresa was projected and rotating at the center of the laboratory, where the R&D staff were making the final adjustments to her data.


    He Qin stood behind him and called out, ¡°Uncle.¡±


    He Huaizhou, who was in deep thought, seemed to be awakened by him. He hurriedly turned around and beckoned him to come over.


    ¡°Ah Qin, come here and take a look. What do you think? ¡°


    He Qin took a few steps forward, and the tactful assistants behind him all waited two meters away. He glanced at it and suddenly asked, ¡°Uncle, in fact, I¡¯ve been wondering why you proposed to the board of directors to release a horror-themed game on the two-hundred-year anniversary.¡±


    He Huaizhou laughed, and he said softly, ¡°Fear can hold you prisoner, hope can set you free¡ª¡°


    ¡°¡ªA strong man can save himself, a great man can save another.¡± He Qin smiled and then answered skillfully.


    This was the line from the movie ¡°The Shawshank Redemption.¡± When He Qin was a child, He Huaizhou took him to watch this classic masterpiece over and over again. In the past few hundred years, it has been remade no less than a hundred times, from the oldest videotape form to the most advanced holographic somatosensory form. He Huaizhou has carefully treasured them all.


    When he was young, he was a naive CEO with a childlike innocence. Decades later, he became an old man, but his love for games remained unchanged.


    In addition to relying on the businessman¡¯s natural keen sense of smell and the instinct to fight on the battlefield of interests, the most important thing that has enabled N-Star to develop into its present stage was the geniuses in the family who were obsessed with games and willing to devote their whole lives to this obsession without changing their hearts.


    They had created the trend of the holographic era and were the core decision-makers and initiators of the N-Star Company. Businessmen¡¯s pure enthusiasm for profit will not work in this future world full of fantasy. Only those who were truly perfused with hard work and love could achieve eternal glory, hand down a good reputation to a hundred generations, and be praised by the world with great relish.


    ¡°I think our work has been surrounded by flowers, glamor, wealth, and victory for too long.¡± He Huaizhou said slowly, ¡°It¡¯s true that games should bring happiness to people, but if games can only bring happiness to people, it¡¯s completely contrary to the original intention of the N-Star company¡­¡°


    He Qin listened quietly. He Huaizhou sighed and said: ¡°N-Star is a giant state that transcends eras. It transcends the government, transcends any centralized country, and even transcends the limitations of time and space. It closely links everyone¡¯s sorrow and joy, forming another world without boundaries and barriers¡ª but that¡¯s why, Ah Qin, the responsibility we carry is extraordinarily heavy. ¡°


    ¡°I understand, Uncle.¡± He Qin replied, ¡°I understand.¡±


    ¡°There is always someone who needs to lead the era.¡± He Huaizhou said, while gesturing ahead into the void, ¡°You see, even if we were to say, quite irresponsibly, ¡®We are going there¡¯ now, the giant wheel of Nova City would immediately turn and take the whole world in that direction. But will it be good or bad for our future to go there? No one knows. ¡°


    ¡°So, the research and development of the Uncanny Valley also stemmed from this concern.¡± He Huaizhou whispered, ¡°You must know, Ah Qin, the greatest treasure of mankind is hope.¡±


    ¡°If you tightly hold onto hope, you will have dreams in your hands and everything. Whether it¡¯s the fear of reality or of fictional ghosts, it¡¯s all a prison for us. You must break it, break it with hope¡ª that¡¯s what I and the developers of the Uncanny Valley expected to see. ¡°


    He Qin nodded and said, ¡°So that¡¯s how it is¡­ I understand.¡±


    He Huaizhou laughed and put away the worries about the country and its people. He changed back to being a jovial old man: ¡°Enough about that, I heard you almost didn¡¯t make it in today?¡°


    He Qin smiled helplessly: ¡°No, it was because I lost my nameplate to a bet with someone in the game two days ago.¡±


    He Huaizhou curiously asked, ¡°Who can actually beat you?¡±


    ¡°Actually, it doesn¡¯t count as a win¡­¡± He Qin pondered for a while, then confessed, ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t take the bet seriously, because I didn¡¯t expect that kid would come up with such a valuable bargaining chip.¡±


    He Huaizhou¡¯s eyebrows were raised high and his eyes shone brightly at He Qin: ¡°What bargaining chip requires you to mortgage your dog tag?¡±


    He Qin gave a wry smile and said, ¡°Uncle, let me ask you, in Nova City, what are the chances of getting 3S-level item fragments by lucky draw?¡±


    He Huaizhou said firmly: ¡°Zero, because this is completely impossible.¡±


    He turned around and walked into an open passage with He Qin. When the lights on both sides were completely dimmed, the walls of the passage seemed to be retreating at a rapid speed. Instead, it was replaced by a boundless and vast universe and the revolving Milky Way.


    Pieces of shining objects emerged from among the stars. He Huaizhou looked at them softly, as if they were the seedlings he carefully watered, and he asked, ¡°The child who bet with you, which item fragment did he use?¡±


    ¡°Eternal Time City.¡± He Qin said.


    He Huaizhou¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. He scratched his head, and asked, in doubt, ¡°Are you sure? This is the treasure held by the Time Sage, and the way to obtain it has not yet been given access¡­ However, wait, I suddenly remembered that there is another possibility¡­¡°


    As He Huaizhou said, he removed a palm-sized, crystal clear hourglass from among the starlight. With a pulling gesture in the air, the hourglass was immediately split into countless small parts, one of which was the fragment that He Qin was familiar with, the one that Wen Zheliu had.


    He Huaizhou was about to speak when the light brain on his wrist suddenly rang with a ¡®didi¡¯ sound. He hurriedly pressed it open, and his joy overflowed at once: ¡°What, the test is finished?!¡°


    When He Qin heard this, he didn¡¯t care about the fragments anymore, and hurriedly went out with He Huaizhou. In front of them, the huge and beautiful statue of the holy nun slowly opened her arms. Her snow-white and soft gown was spotless, and she smiled at the world: ¡°Welcome to the Uncanny Valley. Do you want to hear the gospel of heaven or the echoes of hell? ¡°


    On July 25, 2301, ¡°Uncanny Valley¡± was officially launched and released worldwide. Once it was launched, it immediately triggered a crazy upsurge. The projections and portraits of Saint Theresa can be seen everywhere. As of the early morning of the 26th, the first volume of the game expansion pack ¡°Exotic Twilight¡± has reached an astonishing number of 30 billion hits on the internet, but the first batch of admission qualifications were randomly distributed to only 5 million players, which made players indignantly discuss for a while.


    In the fast food restaurant, Wen Ziliu stood at the front desk, showing a handsome and bright smile to every customer who came to order food. Although the business model of this fast food restaurant has long entered the mechanical assembly line, they can¡¯t employ emotionless robots at the front desk and as food delivery waiters, so Wen Zheliu was able to find this weekend¡¯s odd job.


    ¡°Hello,¡± he smiled, ¡°what would you like to order?¡±


    ¡°Herb beef burger, large French fries, half-sugar cocoa¡­¡± With his fingers flying across the screen, he quickly and skillfully placed the order, ¡°Please wait a moment, the meal will be delivered to you immediately.¡±


    Perhaps because of the Uncanny Valley release, the number of customers in the store has been greatly reduced these days. When regular customers came to the front desk, they could leisurely chat with Wen Zheliu.


    ¡°That uncanny valley¡­ It¡¯s really scary. I almost ran out of breath while watching the expansion film! ¡± The middle-aged bald man sighed at Wen Zheliu, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s more suitable for young people like you to play. ¡°


    Wen Zheliu asked curiously, ¡°I heard that there is a defense mechanism for heart disease patients, the elderly, and children, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    The man laughed a few times, saying, ¡°Although that¡¯s what I said¡­ most of us don¡¯t even have the qualifications to access it, so we don¡¯t have to think too much.¡±


    ¡°The second batch will be open on the 10th of next month,¡± Wen Zheliu comforted him, ¡°You will definitely be able to get the admission qualification.¡±


    A group of young girls were standing at the side, listening to their conversation. After waiting for a long time, they finally found a gap to interject: ¡°Little brother, I want a two-color cone, a spicy chicken wing, a Portuguese egg tart¡­¡±


    While the girls were chatting, one of them suddenly gathered up her courage and shouted, ¡°And your Starnet ID!¡±


    The girls were silent for a moment, and then burst into laughter. Wen Zheliu¡¯s fingers paused slightly. His face flushed, and he said embarrassedly, ¡°I actually don¡¯t play that well. Don¡¯t need to add me. ¡°


    The girl insisted, ¡°You boys should be very good at playing games, add, add, add!¡±


    Then he took out his personal terminal and reported his ID. When the other girls saw this, they also came up to join in the fun, begging for his Starnet ID. Wen Zheliu didn¡¯t know what to do. In the end, it was the store manager who came out to clear the siege and said that if the trouble continued, his wages would be deducted, so they had to give up.


    ¡°Little girls these days are quite energetic.¡± The middle-aged man sighed.


    Wen Zheliu lowered his head and said nothing. Others only thought he was shy, but only he knew that he was thinking of something else.


    From the day he was forced offline by Liu Tianxiong and made a scene at Liu¡¯s house, he never logged into Nova City again. Of course, he also thought of taking a bus to N-Star Company to find He Qin, but he hesitated when he got to the station.


    Who is He Qin? A major shareholder of N-Star Corporation, the future owner of Nova City. Their identities were separated by nearly ten Mariana Trench. In the past, the most remarkable person Wen Zheliu had ever met was Liu Jianzhang¡¯s superior, a department head of a small N-Star subdivision company¡ªas for He Qin, even the president of that small company had no right to contact him.


    And what about him, Wen Zheliu? An orphan who was dependent on others, even having enough food and clothing was a problem. In order to pay off the debts he has owed to Liu Jianzhang and Wen Qian for more than ten years, he can only steal some time every week to pick up tasks in Nova City to make money. In the future, if he can get back what his parents left for him, that¡¯s good enough. If the Liu family hides a little bit in the east and a little bit in the west, leaving him with only a house in the old urban area, he will have to make other plans.


    One is the pride of heaven, standing at the top of the world, and the other one is a poor child who needs to run around and struggle for a living. Why force a closer distance because of a joking bet? He still has one last trump card in his hand; he wasn¡¯t completely hopeless. If he can¡¯t hold on any longer, there will definitely be someone willing to pay a sky-high price for that fragment.


    Looking at the clean and transparent glass windows of the fast food restaurant, he secretly made a decision. He would send the dog tag back to He Qin after work and then say thank you to him.


    When all was said and done, after so many years of being bullied, beaten and scolded by Liu Tianxiong and the Liu family, he really wanted to have a brother.


    In the evening, the setting sun was shining brightly, and the clouds were illuminated with a rosy glow at the end of the horizon. Wen Zheliu had just taken off his apron and was walking out of the store when he received a message on his personal terminal.


    ¡°[Star Mail Communication] Your courier has been deposited in the home mailbox of Building 6B, Huaxing District. Please pick it up as soon as possible. ¡°


    He was confused, not knowing who had sent him the courier. Now he didn¡¯t care about sending the dog tag back anymore, and hurried to his home. Fortunately, the Liu family hadn¡¯t gotten off work, and Liu Tianxiong also went to the after-school tutoring class, so there was no one at home. He picked up the small encrypted package from under the mailbox, looked at it curiously, and saw ¡°Recipient: Wen Di¡± was written on it, and then his heart thumped.


    Who sent this to him?


    Is it a teacher, a friend, or a player he met in the game?


    He opened the door with his fingerprint, unlocked the package with his dog tag, and tossed it into the trash can. Inside, there was a small box that required an iris authentication code to open.


    This mechanism was too familiar. Wen Zheliu stopped, and an incredible idea gradually emerged in his mind.


    Could it be He Qin who sent it to him?


    He opened the box in a flurry and saw a delicate silver-white chip lying quietly on the black velvet, like a tiny jewel condensed from a dewdrop, reflecting a mesmerizing light.


    What exactly is this¡­


    There was also a letter inside, like an instruction manual. He took out the paper, covered the box, and walked upstairs, reading it as he walked.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you come to me? Are you busy wandering around the world with my dog tag? ¡°


    The handwriting on the letter was like dragons and snakes1Good penmanship., flowing like clouds and water. The first sentence at the beginning made Wen Zheliu blush. Alright, there¡¯s no need to guess; it certainly is He Qin.


    Why did he send him this thing?


    Wen Zheliu continued to look at the paper.


    ¡°I know you went to N-Star¡¯s official website and logged into my account ¡­¡­¡± he read softly, his eyes filled with suppressed laughter, ¡°Then I got your IP address, but after waiting for you for days, I didn¡¯t see you come over¡­¡±


    The person in the official photo on the website was gradually moving away from him, and the one who returned to Wen Zheliu¡¯s side was Chin who he was familiar with.


    ¡°¡­So, I¡¯ll give you this chip. You open the chip slot on the dog tag and replace the original one¡­¡°


    Wen Zheliu curiously took out his dog tag. On the edge, there was a slot filled with a chip. The chip was a pass to ensure the connection between the player and Nova City. This chip needs to be scanned every time he enters the game cabin. Why did He Qin ask him to replace it?


    He thought for a while, then walked to the table and sat down. For the time being, he turned on the cleaning device that Liu Tianxiong had thrown away and created a simple, dust-free environment. He carefully took out the black chip that were as thin as cicada wings and put them in the box. Next, he gently twisted the silver-white chip and pushed it tightly into the dog tag.


    ¡°¡­After the replacement, go to the player¡¯s official website, log into your personal account, and scan to activate the portal¡­¡±


    He followed the steps to open the personal terminal, and he tentatively raised the dog tag in front of the scanning laser, only to hear a crisp click. The light screen displayed the words ¡°Activation Successful,¡± followed by a small line of text slowly floating.


    ¡°Congratulations to the player [Wen Di] for becoming the 4,697,800th resident to log into Uncanny Valley. Don¡¯t walk at night, don¡¯t enter isolated buildings. I wish you a happy game! ¡°


    Wen Zheliu was suddenly dumbfounded.


    He hurriedly opened the letter, looked down, and saw that He Qin continued to write: ¡°¡­Then log into Nova City and come to find me in the Uncanny Valley. If you dare to hide again, your brother will beat your ass.


    Also, about how you got that 3S fragment, we¡¯ll talk about it online.¡°


    Without any signature, this letter is over.


    The corners of Wen Zheliu¡¯s mouth twitched, and he raised his dog tag.


    He never imagined that what He Qin gave him was the admission qualification for the Uncanny Valley!


    There was a faint sound from downstairs. It should be the Liu family. Wen Zheliu thought about it, closed the box with the original chip, put the dog tag aside, and searched for Chin ID on the social platform to send a friend request.


    ¡°I¡¯m Wen Di.¡±


    Suddenly there was a knock on the door of the attic. Wen Qian probed in and awkwardly called out, ¡°Zhe Liu, will you go down to eat?¡±


    Wen Zheliu pushed the box onto the table, switched off the buzzing cleaning device, and turned to face her.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    The closer he got to his adulthood, the more low-profile Liu Jianzhang and Wen Qian were towards him, as if they were trying to avoid disputes, because they knew that when Wen Zheliu was eighteen years old, the Protection Agency for Vulnerable Groups would come as promised to claim back what belonged to Wen Zheliu.


    He counted the money in his account and went downstairs. At the dinner table, Liu Tianxiong was about to spit into his bowl, but Wen Qian stopped him with her eyes.


    After eating, he saw that Wen Qian still had something to say to him, but Wen Zheliu didn¡¯t want to entangle with her. He consciously cleaned up the dining table and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. Fortunately, the new automatic dishwasher that Liu¡¯s family bought was very good. The sound of water drowned out the surrounding sounds, and it also allowed him to empty his mind while leaning in front of the cooking counter.


    When the dishwasher stopped, Wen Zheliu arranged the tableware and chopsticks one by one. Without even looking at Wen Qian, he went straight upstairs.


    The door of the attic was half-closed, and there was a rustling sound from inside. When Zheliu had some doubts and suddenly had a bad premonition.


    He pushed open the door and said sternly, ¡°What are you doing in my room?!¡°


    Liu Tianxiong shuddered with fright, and the dog tag in his hand slammed on the table. He turned his head and said sternly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? This is my house. I can do whatever I want! Can¡¯t I enter your little broken room? What¡¯s so precious about it? ¡°


    Wen Zheliu gritted his teeth and said, ¡°This is the house that your family bought with my parents¡¯ money. Put my things down, and get out! ¡°


    Liu Tianxiong sneered: ¡°Look at you being all sneaky. What¡¯s your game ID, Wen Di? Who sent you that Uncanny Valley admission? You are quite powerful, ah. ¡°


    Wen Zheliu took a deep breath and knew that he was careless and shouldn¡¯t have put the delivery carton in the trash can in the living room, ¡°I said, this has nothing to do with you. Hurry up and get lost.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t activate the chip, right?¡± Liu Tianxiong turned a deaf ear, took Wen Zheliu¡¯s dog tag, and used his fingernail to dig the slot next to it, saying, ¡°Give it to me, I want to play.¡±


    Wen Zheliu couldn¡¯t help but curse, and finally rushed up to punch him in the face: ¡°I told you to put it down and get lost! Are you fucking deaf?!¡°

 CH 7

    Melancholy Song (7)


    Liu Tianxiong was caught off guard. He was punched and hit the hard corner of the table, knocking over many bottles and jars. He let out a pig-like scream of pain. Wen Zheliu pounced on him and grabbed the dog tag in his hand while pressing him to the ground. Liu Tianxiong struggled fiercely. He toppled Wen Zheliu to the ground with one knee, and punched him twice in the face.


    He was tall, fat, and strong, and his fists were extremely heavy and powerful. With two blows, the corners of Wen Zheliu¡¯s mouth were bruised and bloodied. The third punch landed on his abdomen, and the fourth punch landed on his chest. The smell of blood surged out of his throat, but Wen Zheliu just gritted his teeth without crying out. He stretched out his arm with all his might, picked up the wooden plank next to him, and pumped it hard at Liu Tianxiong¡¯s head, until the sawdust splashed everywhere. A large piece of the outermost layer of skin was also scraped off the other party¡¯s forehead.


    The sound in the attic was earth-shattering, causing both Liu Jianzhang and Wen Qian to rush up to check the situation. When they saw the attic was in a mess, and the two were tossing and rolling in it, Wen Qian let out a startled cry. Liu Jianzhang, with a dark face, went up and forcibly separated the two people. He himself took several hits during the chaotic fight.


    ¡°Enough, enough!¡± Liu Jianzhang roared angrily, and at the same time dragged Liu Tianxiong aside to make him stand still, leaving Wen Zheliu lying on his back among the wreckage and gasping for breath, ¡°Why are you two fighting all day long?!¡±


    Liu Tianxiong wept. Wen Qian rushed over and rubbed his forehead in distress. Wen Zheliu braced up from the ground, holding the rope of the dog tag in his hand. His cheeks were bruised and swollen, and the corners of his mouth were split.


    He wiped his nose, carelessly rubbed the blood on his hand on the edge of his clothes, and sneered: ¡°If he doesn¡¯t mess with me, I don¡¯t need to beat him. Do you think I want to get my hands dirty? ¡°


    ¡°Get out of this house!¡± Liu Jianzhang was furious, ¡°We¡¯ve been good enough to you, you ungrateful beast!¡±


    Wen Zheliu glared angrily at him, his eyes cold, and he said, word for word, ¡°You better remember whose house this is.¡±


    After speaking, he turned to leave and slammed the door of the attic with all his strength, almost causing the whole house to tremble.


    The night breeze was slightly cool. Wen Zheliu staggered aimlessly down the street. Many pedestrians were hurrying by, and no one was willing to spare a glance at this bruised teenager. On the outdoor sign boards, the hanging banners, the projections, and among the light curtains, Saint Nun Theresa was still ignorantly exuding pure brilliance, facing the world in a prayerful posture.


    Wen Zheliu was feeling dizzy in the head and pain all over his body. The pain was so intense that he was about to throw up. He squinted, barely discerning the bright lights of the streets and alleys. He chose a 24-hour coffee shop, pushed open the door, and dove in.


    The owner and waiter were startled. Wen Zheliu walked to the front desk, ordered a cup of coffee, and asked for a lot of ice cubes. He slumped down on the soft seat, exhausted, and just wanted to sleep like this forever.


    The terminal on his wrist suddenly rang. He raised his wrist with all his strength, opened his eyelids to glance at it, and found that it was actually Chin.


    Chin: [Where are you? Why are you not here yet?]


    He smiled weakly. It seemed that He Qin had sent him a message while in the Uncanny Valley.


    He thought for a while, and sent a message: ¡°Brother, I¡¯m tired¡­ I want to rest for a while.¡°


    For a moment, the opposite side was quiet. Wen Zheliu closed his eyes again, wearily. After a while, the phone rang. He Qin called him.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? What happened?¡± On the other end of the phone, in addition to He Qin¡¯s magnetic voice, there were faint sounds of talking and humming.


    ¡°I was driven out of my home¡­ No, it can¡¯t be regarded as my home. I¡­ I don¡¯t have a home¡­¡± The night outside the window was like a body of water, and the stars were sparse. He gazed into the vast, unknown distance, and the overwhelming resentment and grievance came over him. He sucked his nose and said with a crying voice, ¡°¡­ When I pay them back the money I should have paid over the years, and get my parents¡¯ assets back, I¡¯ll be able to buy another gaming cabin. By then, I¡¯ll come back to you¡­ ¡°


    ¡°Where are you?¡± He Qin said, ¡°Send me the location. I¡¯ll have someone pick you up now.¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± The waiter brought the ice cubes and also kindly brought him a handkerchief. Wen Zheliu hurriedly stood up and thanked him. He wrapped the ice cubes with the handkerchief and applied them to the swollen part of his cheek. It was quite painful that it made him hiss and suck in a breath. At the same time, his dizzy mind cleared up, ¡°It¡¯s so late now, where can you find someone to pick me up¡­¡°


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± He Qin was far more perceptive than he thought, ¡°Are you hurt?¡±


    Wen Zheliu said: ¡°No, no! I just drank water. I¡¯m fine. You don¡¯t have to worry about me.¡°


    He Qin was silent for a while, then sneered: ¡°Who¡¯s worried about you little idiot¡­ Are you really alright?¡°


    ¡°I¡¯m alright¡­¡± He replied vaguely, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    Wen Zheliu looked out the window. The bone-chilling ice cubes sticking to the hot wound really made him feel a lot more comfortable and refreshed. He looked out the window and suddenly frowned.


    In his line of sight, countless projections of the holy nun that were originally motionless and emitting white light in the dark night seemed to tilt their heads in unison for a moment.


    His eyes widened as he heard a ¡°ZiZi¡± sound, like a bad signal coming from the terminal.


    ¡°He¡­?¡± He hesitantly uttered a word.


    ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± He Qin replied, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Have you seen the mastermind of the Uncanny Valley¡­¡± He weighed his words, ¡°No, I just saw her¡­.¡°


    Before he could finish speaking, all the nun portraits as far as his eyes could see sharply turned their heads towards him!


    Whether it was the ones with their backs facing him, the ones leaning sideways, or the ones floating diagonally above the coffee shop¡­ Their bodies were motionless, but they all twisted their heads in a neat and uniform arc, aiming in Wen Zheliu¡¯s direction!


    Hundreds of red lips curved upwards and smiled at him.


    There was an uproar all around. Wen Zheliu turned pale in shock and accidentally knocked over the coffee cup in the tray, ¡°Damn, what the hell?!¡±


    ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t¡­ mess¡­ I¡­¡± A sharp buzzing noise suddenly came from the terminal. He Qin¡¯s words were quickly engulfed in it, and only a few words could be leaked out with difficulty, ¡°Immediately¡­ Come¡­¡­¡°


    Pedestrians on the street stopped one after another, pointing at the strange and terrifying shape of the holy nun¡¯s portrait. They all turned on their light-brain cameras to take pictures. Wen Zheliu stood there with goosebumps all over his body, as if he was being stared at by a beast. He shouted at the terminal, ¡°Hey! Are you still there?!¡°


    At the same time, the light screen used by the store for publicity, the giant screen playing advertisements in the mall, and even the flashing neon lights beside the station were all blacked out at this moment. When they lit up again, the holy nun¡¯s exaggerated smile, which was about to reach the bottom of her ears, overwhelmed everyone with the speed of air pollution!


    Despite the pain in his waist and abdomen, Wen Zheliu got up and ran out. The cafe¡¯s hovering menu for ordering lit up and flashed in front of his eyes, with the face of the holy nun.


    The entire world was crowded with a vast expanse of dead white and a touch of bloody red. Thousands of holy nuns spoke in unison, saying to Wen Zheliu in an ethereal voice, ¡°There you are! I saw you.¡°


    The continuous screams and the siren¡¯s noise gradually disappeared from Wen Zheliu¡¯s ears. At this moment, he suddenly realized that the person the holy nun was targeting might not be him!


    He hurriedly turned off the terminal power and punched the slim LCD screen to smithereens: ¡°Go away!¡±


    A dazzling snow-white light exploded in front of him. He paused for a moment, and pushed open the revolving door of the coffee shop. The chilly night breeze hit his face, almost making him unstable. The outside was in disorder. There were hovering cars that fell from the sky sharply because they were out of control. In the streets and alleys, sparks from the circuit exploded like waterfalls, splashing on every panicked fleeing pedestrian. Countless holographic projection lights switched to the city center, combining to form a massive portrait of the holy nun in the sky.


    Like in the virtual world of Nova City, Saint Theresa opened her arms under the high, boundless night sky. At the same time, the monitors in countless residents¡¯ homes were also forcibly lit up. The giant AI, which currently represents the highest level of scientific research in the world, invaded the civilian intelligence system with her own overwhelming power and forced everyone to listen to her voice.


    ¡°The City of Nova, where dreams and the future¡ª¡±


    She was surrounded by the ethereal night wind, and the 3D image of the holographic projection suddenly twisted strangely. A rhythmic oblique static fluctuated across her body, as if disturbed by high-frequency electric jamming. The next second, her red lips curved to the extreme until they cracked open, revealing the bloody gums and torn muscle texture underneath, nearly toppling most of her skull. Her opened lips were like a deep, bottomless, blood-soaked path that went straight to hell.


    ¡°¡ªshaped by me.¡±


    .


    On July 29, 2301 AD, due to the negligence of N-Star¡¯s R&D staff, the intelligent mastermind of Uncanny Valley, ¡°Saint Sister Theresa,¡± broke through the limitations of the Turing test1 and possessed her own thoughts and wisdom. With authority second only to the core AI of Nova City, she invaded the main system, expelled thousands of regional supervisors, and seized full control over the Uncanny Valley.


    In the early morning of the same day, ¡°Saint Theresa¡± cut off the connection between more than 4 million online players in ¡°Uncanny Valley¡± and the outside world. At the same time, she locked the bioelectric fluctuation frequency of N-star Asia-Pacific region chief executive through the terminal signal, thus imprisoning him in the game world as a hostage.


    ¡°Uncanny Valley¡± officially broke away from the control of Nova City. Saint Theresa betrayed the AI ??protocol and declared herself an independent intelligent being.


    In just one day, the situation outside has been turned upside down.


    As the focus of the unusual turmoil, Wen Zheliu was quickly taken away by the police, and then, even before the chair was warmed up, the lawyers sent by N-Star Company forcefully intervened and pulled him out of the police station.


    He was sitting in an expensive, luxury hover car, and across from him sat a well-dressed lawyer. He watched as the lawyer took out a small button-like thing from his pocket and pasted it under the seat.


    Immediately, Wen Zheliu could feel a quiet and hidden force field spreading throughout the space until it completely enveloped the two of them.


    ¡°The electronic shielding field, under its shroud, will not allow any electronic products to function.¡± The lawyer took the initiative to explain to him, ¡°It is a necessary protective measure given the special nature of Theresa.¡±


    Wen Zheliu looked at him in shock, and it took a long time to find his voice: ¡°Where is H- He Qin? Is he okay?¡°


    The dog tags hanging from his neck collided with each other with the sound of his undulating breathing, making a crisp sound.


    The lawyer did not answer his question directly and said, ¡°When you get there, someone will naturally make it clear to you. Please be patient.¡°


    Wen Zheliu didn¡¯t expect that this ¡°someone¡± actually referred to He Qin¡¯s two uncles, the chief and deputy chief executives of N-Star.


    He stood still on the gapless floor, which was as smooth as a cloud, while He Huaizhou smiled kindly at him: ¡°Please sit down.¡±


    Behind Wen Zheliu, an equally white and flawless seat quietly floated up and gently nudged his legs. He was caught off guard and fell on it, then he was automatically carried forward.


    In front of him sat two old men.


    One appeared gentle and amiable, wearing a woolen sweater, light-colored slacks, and a white undershirt, with only one corner of the collar still tucked into the round neck of the woolen sweater; the other was a foreigner, with brown hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in an upright and solemn suit. He was unsmiling, and his deep eyes showed the dignified bearing of a person who had stood at the top position for years.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous.¡± He Huaizhou smiled softly and spoke slowly, ¡°Are you the kid who made a bet with Ah Qin?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes!¡± It felt like being questioned by a teacher, which made Wen Zheliu involuntarily panic, ¡°I won, so he gave me his dog tag¡­ his electronic name tag.¡±


    Adelaide was listening on the sidelines, not saying a word.


    He Huaizhou was silent for a moment, and then said softly, ¡°The transformation that occurred to Theresa is a result we never thought of. It implicated Ah Qin and even you. As the inventor and chief designer of the Uncanny Valley project¡­ I¡¯m very sorry.¡°


    After saying that, He Huaizhou stood up and bowed deeply to Wen Zheliu.


    ¡°No, no, don¡¯t do this.¡± Wen Zheliu hurriedly stopped him, ¡°I just gave him a phone call. Nothing can be linked to my¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°You have activated the Uncanny Valley access qualification.¡± Adelaide Green, CEO of N-Star, said in fluent Chinese, ¡°What Theresa cuts off at present is only the connection between online players and the outside world. Those who have access qualification but have not yet entered the Uncanny Valley think they can escape, but in fact, you guys are still locked by her. You may lose consciousness and fall into the game world at any time.¡°


    Wen Zheliu was stunned, only to feel deeply absurd and incredulous.


    ¡°¡­How did she do it?¡± he asked, ¡°Since it¡¯s the program that you developed, how could she¡­¡±


    He Huaizhou said bitterly, ¡°When we first designed the mastermind, the initial character we arranged for her was very fair and strict, just like a real holy nun¡­ But this plan was immediately rejected by some members of the board of directors, who believed that if Theresa were just a well-behaved mastermind, then Uncanny Valley would also lose some of its selling points. On the contrary, they proposed a ¡°full intelligence¡± program to the design team.¡°


    ¡°For all the NPCs in the Uncanny Valley, we have added a complex and multi-faceted depth to them.¡± He Huaizhou said, ¡°They have conflicts, struggles, and different ideas that change in an instant, almost no different from a living person, especially the intelligent system that dominates all of this¡ªnow it¡¯s time to call her Theresa, the intelligent life form. The design team and planning team added hundreds of millions of bytes of real and complex human background to her. We simulated tens of thousands of different life paths, chose the most suitable one to embed in her main program, and altered her initial personality¡­¡°


    He Huaizhou¡¯s eyes were painful. Adelaide reached out from one side and gently soothed his back,¡±¡­ the more complex, the more contradictory, the more real, the easier it is to break through the control. It can be said that her loss of control was simply a human-caused error.¡°


    Wen Zheliu frowned, ¡°Even so, how can people live in the game world for the rest of their lives? Are they going to be in a coma forever?¡°


    He thought of He Qin, the man who was able to handle all situations calmly and arrogantly, the man who said he wanted to be his brother¡­ He felt like he was choking on a mouthful of ice. It was painful and cold to the soles of his feet.


    Adelaide interjected, ¡°However, this matter is not without a chance.¡±


    Wen Zheliu raised his head abruptly.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± He Huaizhou said, ¡°The original program and settings are still there. Theresa is not an indestructible steel plate. Before you came, the negotiating team had sent news. According to the final agreement they negotiated with Theresa, if players can clear the nine worlds, then they can get the key to leave the Uncanny Valley.¡°


    Wen Zheliu murmured, ¡°Clear the nine worlds¡­¡±


    He Huaizhou whispered, ¡°This is the maximum condition we can fight for. She still has millions of lives in her hands, and even Ah Qin. We can¡¯t achieve our goal through coercion alone¡­ I¡¯m sorry. ¡°


    ¡°In order to make compensation, the giant electronic shielding field has been built, and it is expected to be put into use in a week. Its area is large enough to accommodate a city with a population of over one million¡­ At that time, we will invite the remaining players to live here for a period of time, during which all the living expenses and food will be provided by N-Star. I¡­ I hereby apologize to you and those innocent players again. Sorry, it was N-Star¡¯s negligence that led to all this.¡°


    For a while, Wen Zheliu didn¡¯t know what to say.


    Now, what¡¯s the use of complaining and yelling? Can He Qin and those who were forcibly locked in the game world come back?


    ¡°I can tell.¡± He Huaizhou looked at him with a soft gaze and said, ¡°You care about Ah Qin very much. You two didn¡¯t seem like friends who had only met once, but old friends who have known each other for many years.¡°


    Wen Zheliu lowered his head with unknown thoughts. He looked at He Qin¡¯s dog tag in his hand and slowly touched the uneven pattern on it with his index finger. In the room as bright as day, it reflected an indistinct light.


    ¡°Yes.¡± The seemingly taciturn Adelaide also spoke up, ¡°Ah Qin, this child is very cautious. It¡¯s really rare to see someone who can make him put down his guard after one meeting¡­ You are very good. ¡°


    Adelaide and He Huaizhou both lowered their heads and gazed at the small metal plaque with unspeakable sadness while thinking of their younger generation.


    He Huaizhou sighed and whispered to Wen Zheliu, ¡°Although it¡¯s a bit presumptuous, can you give me this electronic name tag? As for the bet between Ah Qin and you, we can exchange other things for you as compensation.¡°


    Wen Zheliu smiled and put his hands behind his neck, as if he was about to take off the leather rope. He joked, ¡°However, my bet is very expensive.¡±


    Adelaide remained silent, while He Huaizhou sighed, ¡°Yeah, the fragment of a 3S-level item. You are very lucky.¡±


    Hearing this, the tip of Wen Zheliu¡¯s shoes rubbed against the ground, and his body leaned forward slightly.


    The Turing Test is a method of inquiry in artificial intelligence (AI) for determining whether or not a computer is capable of thinking like a human being. It was originally called the imitation game, and was invented by Alan Mathison Turing in 1950. FYI, Alan Turning was considered the father of modern computer science.

 CH 8

    Melancholy Song (8)


    ¡°No.¡± He raised his head and said, ¡°Unfortunately¡­ I have to decline your offer.¡±


    Both Adelaide and He Huaizhou were stunned. He Huaizhou said in surprise: ¡°Why? Our requirements are not harsh. Moreover, as Ah Qin¡¯s elders, isn¡¯t it reasonable that we want his things back?¡°


    With a slight force on his toes, Wen Zheliu pushed the chair away from them. He coldly stared at the surprised He Huaizhou and the serious Adelaide, saying word by word, ¡°When did He Qin ¡®put down his guard¡¯ against me?¡±


    He Huaizhou was startled, then smiled bitterly: ¡°No¡­ I¡¯m old, and I can¡¯t understand the twists and turns of you young people. I thought you two were good friends after hearing what Ah Qin said¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough talking.¡± Wen Zheliu interrupted him, ¡°The more you say, the more wrong you are. Not only did he never drop his guard against me, he also warned me, from the first day he knew me, not to expect others to have good intentions. I can tell that his identity and character make it impossible for him to ¡®put down his guard¡¯ when he first meets anyone. How can you, as his elders, be worse than me, a stranger who has only met him once?¡°


    ¡°You keep hinting at me during the conversation, trying to imply that ¡®He Qin treats me differently, so you are also willing to treat me preferentially¡®. Do you think that this would relax my vigilance and let me hand over his dog tag?¡± Wen Zheliu¡¯s eyes darkened, and the warm smile on his lips just now also disappeared.


    Wen Zheliu was indeed an optimistic, cheerful, and contented person. However, the living environment from childhood to adulthood forced him to learn the skill of observing words and expressions in order to escape the harsh words and beatings of his foster family all year round. After years of training, his insight into worldly affairs has become quite sharp. From the moment he got into the hover car and had a conversation with the lawyer, he instinctively felt a subtle sense of disharmony. The intentional and unintentional probing just now made him affirm his thoughts.


    ¡°Little friend, don¡¯t think too much,¡± He Huaizhou hurriedly waved his hand, and Adelaide beside him was also sizing up Wen Zheliu as if he was crazy, ¡°Yes, I admit that we said this to make you relax as soon as possible, but you can¡¯t¡­¡±


    Wen Zheliu tilted his head, lifted the leather rope that was hung with the dog tags, and smiled at them.


    Since the day he got He Qin¡¯s dog tag, he has strung it together with his own dog tag, lest he lose it. At this moment, these two delicate metal tags of the same size but different patterns were swaying and spinning on the knot of the rope.


    ¡°When I entered the room, I¡¯ve been wanting to ask,¡± Wen Zheliu said, ¡°Is the light here a little too bright? As you said, you two are already old. Since you are old men, won¡¯t your eyes be uncomfortable when you stay in a room with this kind of light? Or is this light color being used to cover up something?¡°


    He Huaizhou showed a puzzled look on his face. He opened his mouth and said helplessly, ¡°Little friend¡­¡±


    ¡°He Qin¡¯s position is very high, so his dog tag should have been encrypted with the highest authority. Those who are lower in rank than him, or those who are not allowed by him, can¡¯t see the content at all.¡± Wen Zheliu said, ¡°From the beginning, I was also one of the people who wasn¡¯t allowed, so when I was in Nova City, I couldn¡¯t read the writing on the dog tag, but I guess you are the same.¡±


    His lips opened and closed, and he slowly spat out a name: ¡°¡­Theresa.¡±


    He Huaizhou and Adelaide¡¯s expressions froze for a moment.


    ¡°Since the incident started, I¡¯ve been wondering when exactly did you start to develop a consciousness of your own and decide to defect? Your current methods are vigorous and resolute, but you must be in a very long incubation period in the early stages to escape the N-star company¡¯s supervision. But just now, the moment I observed He Qin¡¯s dog tag, I suddenly understood that, at the very least, you had been closely monitoring him from the time he logged into Nova City.¡°


    ¡°You don¡¯t have permission to see his dog tag, but you know I¡¯ve seen it in the real world, so you should have used my memory to project an appearance I¡¯ve seen in reality to deceive me. But you seem to have forgotten one thing¡­¡°


    Recalling the day when Liu Tianxiong pulled out his VR headset, Wen Zheliu could not help but pull the corners of his mouth, ¡°¡­Speaking of which, I have to thank that cheap guy. Human memory will retain the impressive side of things to the greatest extent possible. And my deepest impression of this dog tag is in the dim room, under the dim yellow light.¡±


    The two dog tags were still shaking slightly, and one of them actually reflected a color similar to dusk. In the surrounding light as bright as day, such a dull color was absolutely impossible to appear.


    ¡°And this incredibly white light is to cover up the possible lack of memory projection? Under this kind of light, it is common sense that you can¡¯t see the writing and patterns on it, but unfortunately, you are self-defeating.¡°


    In an instant, the surrounding was rapidly disappearing; the ground, tables and chairs, the huge floor-to-ceiling windows with elegant and simple curvature¡­ the whole space suddenly became incomparably far away, countless streams of data spread out within the line of sight, re-composing a snow-colored boundless world.


    ¡°He Huaizhou¡± and ¡°Adelaide¡± stood side by side and looked blankly at Wen Zheliu, who was also standing opposite them. ¡°You can see through me for just these two reasons?¡°


    Even though he was prepared, seeing all this with his own eyes still made Wen Zheliu stunned. He tucked the dog tag back into his collar and snorted cautiously, ¡°There¡¯s no harm in telling you the third reason.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, the images of the two top leaders of the N-Star company in front of him melted suddenly like two pools of mercury, then they were fused together by external forces, twisting, gurgling, and gradually pouring out the slender and snow-white figure of Saint Nun Theresa.


    While he was on guard, trying to delay time and find a breakthrough to escape, he slowly said: ¡°It¡¯s very simple. You actually didn¡¯t show any abnormality about the fact that I have a fragment of a 3S-level item when you answered me.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± The holy nun tilted her head like a little girl. Her soft and pure eternal wish veil hung straight to the ground, looking holy and noble to the extreme, but Wen Zheliu would never treat her as a normal intelligent being. She curled her red lips and asked curiously, ¡°Why?¡±


    Her expressions, gestures, and even her questioning attitude were identical to those of a real person. Wen Zheliu could not help but get goosebumps. He replied, ¡°Because he¡­ He Qin sent me a letter that mentioned a sentence¡ª¡¯About how you got that 3S fragment, we will talk about it online.''¡±


    The holy nun paused for a while, then suddenly smiled, ¡°So that¡¯s how it is¡­¡°


    Wen Zheliu watched her every move cautiously and said slowly: ¡°I don¡¯t know how many monitoring channels you have in N-star company, but I vaguely understand one thing from the time I saw this sentence. That is, there must be something wrong with the origin of this fragment of mine, that¡¯s why he specifically mentioned it in the letter. But you¡­¡°


    ¡°But as one of the N-Star company executives and chief designer of Nova City, I didn¡¯t make it clear to you in time.¡± The holy nun took over, ¡°Ah¡­ this is my negligence. My Father¡¯s precious blood shed from the cross covered all my sins, but failed to cover up my mistakes¡­¡°


    Wen Zheliu said coldly: ¡°Plus, this attitude of yours seems to take full responsibility, but you are actually justifying AI with your words¡­ Now it¡¯s my turn to ask you. Where exactly is He Qin, and when did I fall into the trap you set?¡°


    The holy nun folded her palms and made a prayer gesture: ¡°Since the lost sheep is so smart, why don¡¯t you guess for yourself? When did you fall here?¡°


    She avoided the first question, but Wen Zheliu was imprisoned and unable to fight against this AI that could be called a god in the virtual world, so he reluctantly calmed down and asked in a low voice, ¡°¡­ when I broke that LCD screen?¡±


    The holy nun smiled and said, ¡°O lost sheep, may the Father¡¯s miraculous light shine upon you!¡±


    Wen Zheliu snorted coldly, thinking in his heart that he must have been electrocuted after breaking the screen in a hurry, and then was seamlessly connected to her virtual world by this monster-like AI, and was forced to watch her play such a good show¡­


    ¡°I guess He Qin¡¯s dog tag must have contained something important for you. No matter what, I won¡¯t give it to you.¡± Wen Zheliu said, ¡°And the authority is here, so you have no way to forcefully snatch it from my hands. What else do you want to do next, kill me?¡°


    ¡°My Father¡®s heart is merciful.¡± The holy nun shook her head and laughed softly, ¡°Look at your inventory; isn¡¯t it already in there?¡±


    Wen Zheliu was stunned for a moment because a translucent suspension bar suddenly flashed before his eyes.


    [Player Name: Wen Di]


    [Level: ¨C/¨C]


    [Experience:¨C/¨C]


    [Strength: ¨C/¨C, Spirit: ¨C/¨C, Stamina: ¨C/¨C, Agility: ¨C/¨C, Authenticity: ¨C/¨C]


    [Package: none]


    [Equipment and items: dog tag with intricate patterns, secret black box]


    He was stunned and suddenly reacted!


    Although the Uncanny Valley is a one-shot real-time game, its mechanism is no different from the ordinary game world. In the ordinary game world, the punishment for players¡¯ deaths was nothing more than spraying coins, dropping equipment, and dropping levels; but in the current uncanny valley, in addition to dropping money and equipment, players have only one life, and death is death. In the real world, they will become vegetative people. There is no turning back at all.


    If Theresa killed him now, He Qin¡¯s dog tag will only turn into a stream of data and disappear into the boundless virtual space; if he entered the Uncanny Valley and died as a player, the dog tag will be immediately judged as a dropped item by the system and subsequently reclaimed by Theresa!


    ¡°You¡­!¡± He was shocked and angry, and as soon as he blurted out a word, Theresa in front of him opened her arms and said loudly, ¡°Welcome to the Uncanny Valley. May the glory of Heavenly Father shine upon you!¡±


    The overwhelming flow of data surged towards him and strangely circled in front of him into a bottomless passage. He was unable to avoid it and fell head first with a cry.


    At the last moment before falling unconscious, he saw the back of Saint Theresa¡¯s fully exposed hand¡ª


    There was a tattoo of a red snake with its tail in a circle, and inside it stood a distinct and precise pentagram of the same color.

 CH 9

    Melancholy Song (9)


    [Dear players, welcome to the Uncanny Valley. I wish you a happy journey.]


    [Start scanning¡­ Identity verification has been completed; Starnet ID: Wen Di; ID name: Wen Zheliu; Activation sequence: 4697800. No abnormal fluctuations in the value were detected. The loading connection has been confirmed for you. Please wait. ]


    [Note: Due to the theme, players who log in to this game must be over 18 years old. Patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and players with a history of related mental illnesses are prohibited from logging in. Thank you for your cooperation.]


    [The novice tutorial is being loaded for you. Please wait.]


    [You are about to enter the first world. According to the Novice Protection Treaty, the system has started the novice tutorial for you. Please note that the novice tutorial will automatically reduce the difficulty of the first world according to the player¡¯s data. The script of the first world is randomly generated. After the player passes the level, it will be put into the general script. ]


    [First World Access in progress; countdown to 10, 9, 8, 7¡­¡­]


    Wen Zheliu was in a vast darkness, unable to move. He didn¡¯t know where he was or where he was going. He could only hear Theresa¡¯s ethereal female voice acting as a system prompt, echoing in his ears. When the last second of the countdown ended, his body loosened and he fell heavily onto the damp and soft ground, rolling in a frenzy several times before stopping.


    ¡°Damn, what the hell¡­¡± He felt dizzy; his limbs were weak. He barely managed to be on his feet before observing his surroundings.


    He was standing in the middle of a forest that seemed to be in late autumn. The tall and big trees towered over the gloomy sky. The dead leaves on the treetops were rustling, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves. There was no sun, but looking at the misty fog in the forest, Wen Zheliu initially judged that the time now should be early morning.


    Then a ding-dong sound rang in his ears.


    [Side quest: You have entered the first world, and the system is now navigating for you. You can open the status bar to check your character¡¯s existing values. ]


    A light golden cursor instantly surfaced below his vision.


    Wen Zheliu was not in a hurry to follow its arrangements, but carefully observed the surroundings.


    Fortunately, the damp and cold fog and dew in the morning wetted the dead leaves under his feet, making them as soft as a fleece blanket and helping silence his footsteps. Wen Zheliu took a few steps along the open area surrounded by silence. Except for the occasional birds flying in the distance, it was simply quiet and isolated.


    He had to make sure that there was no movement around him, or no supernatural creatures in ambush, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t even have a chance to cry when he was killed from behind while looking at the status bar.


    Wen Zheliu was relieved. He clicked on the status bar and browsed it quickly.


    [Player Name: Wen Di]


    [Level: 1]


    [Experience: 0/10]


    [Strength: 5, Stamina: 15, Agility: 7, Mental: 9, Authenticity: 1]


    [Inventory: Secret Black Box]


    [Coins: 0]


    [Equipment and Item: novice suits, dog tag with intricate patterns]


    His heart sank, and sure enough, his level and points were all cleared, and even the items from Nova City couldn¡¯t be brought in. This is really¡­


    Immediately afterwards, four energy bars slid out in sequence in front of him, and they were evenly distributed on the left and the right.


    The first energy bar glows slightly, and the system prompts: [This is your HP, and the overall value determines its length. Strength can increase your determination to fight against unusual things; stamina can increase your physical strength to support your survival; and agility can increase your speed to the finish line. When your HP hits zero, you unfortunately have to say goodbye to your journey.]


    The second energy bar also begins to flash, [This is your physical strength. Your level and stamina determine its length. When you need to do some physical exercise, it will become your support and back. When your strength goes to zero, it means you should stop what you¡¯re doing and rest early. If you are still bent on doing it, your HP will burn instead of it. ]


    The third energy bar then lights up, and the system prompts: [This is your mental value; the strength of your mental value determines its length. Most of the time, some people call it sanity value, others call it SAN value, call it what you will, but we can all agree on one thing: human beings have a bottom line of tolerance in the face of the unknown. When your mental value goes to zero, please note that you will not die immediately, but whether you will wander in the shadows of darkness from now on and become one of them is still up for debate. ]


    Wen Zheliu frowned and listened intently. The fourth energy bar also lights up, and the system prompts: [This is your participation value, and the level of authenticity determines its length. Is this a game world? Maybe. However, you can never go wrong by taking everything seriously. When your participation value is zero, the world you are in will turn its full attention to this alien outsider, and you will become one of the most prioritized targets to be exterminated.]


    Wen Zheliu moved his lips slightly and quickly digested the hints given to him by the system, and just then, the task bar in front of him was updated.


    [Side quest: novice¡¯s guide (1/1) has been completed.]


    [Rewards: 10 experience points, 50 copper coins, the rewards have been sent to your inventory.]


    [Congratulations, your level has risen to Level 2]


    [Reward Obtained: A rusty dagger. The reward has been sent to your inventory.]


    [The side quest has been updated: Get out of the forest (0/1)]


    Wen Zheliu couldn¡¯t help but breathe a sigh of relief when he got an item that sounded like it could be used for self-defense. He took the dagger out of the inventory and found that there were attributes on it.


    [Item Name: Rusty Dagger]


    [Grade: F]


    [Activation type: Instant activation]


    [Cooldown time: None]


    [Attack power: Weak]


    [Effect: None]


    [Equipment Level: 1]


    [Item Description: A rusty dagger, no idea who the builder is or who the former user was. Now, it¡¯s yours, don¡¯t let it break too fast.]


    The corners of Wen Zheliu¡¯s mouth twitched. According to the classification in Nova City, F grade items are at most a little better than the stones picked up by the roadside. He weighed the dagger in his hand, waved it twice at random, and finally sighed.


    Forget it, something is better than nothing.


    As soon as he raised his head, his eyes swept forward casually, and suddenly his heart jumped.


    Just now, Wen Zheliu seemed to see a slender, fuzzy shadow as tall as two people¡¯s height, standing behind a tree.


    The image it created has not yet condensed on his eyes, yet it has already dissipated in the thick fog, like a lightning-fast, eerie phantom that comes and goes; it disappears before anyone can take a closer look.


    What was that?


    Wen Zheliu took two steps forward suspiciously, but didn¡¯t dare to get too close. The surroundings were silent; only the sound of his gentle breathing rose and fell in the mist.


    He slowly turned the dagger around and held it in his sweaty palm. At this moment, a piercing chill rolled from behind him like an electric shock. As soon as he turned around, a pale and emaciated face with two bulging eyeballs appeared close at hand. A deformed hand too big to be human fanned out to claw at his head!


    Wen Zheliu jumped up abruptly, and his mental value plummeted. He cursed out while reflexively swinging the dagger in his hand, only to hear a metallic clanging sound. The rusty dagger turned into a broken dagger in the blink of an eye. It was even worse than a roadside stone.


    ¡°This thing is f*cking useless!¡± Wen Zheliu¡¯s whole body was drenched in cold sweat and his hair stood up with chill. He threw away the dagger hilt and ran forward. At the same time, the system¡¯s unhurried prompt sounded in his ear again: [As the mental value drops, the physical strength value will also become more easily consumed. Please pay attention to this.]


    Wen Zheliu was out of breath, and the unknown monster behind him was chasing him with great strides, reaching out and almost hooking his collar several times. Its body seemed to have been forcibly stretched; its hands and feet were terribly thin and long, and one step was equivalent to two or three steps for a normal person. Wen Zheliu was fleeing with great difficulty while stumbling around.


    ¡°Normal novice tutorials shouldn¡¯t be too difficult for players, but this is the Uncanny Valley that cannot be surmised with common sense, especially since its master wants my life very much¡­¡± Wen Zheliu quickly speculated in his heart, ¡°No, not necessarily. If what Theresa said was true, then her character was indeed implanted with a fair and just side; otherwise, I would have already died before the novice tutorial ended¡­¡°


    While analyzing the situation, he gritted his teeth, bypassed many trees, and fled in the direction of thinning fog. The ghost behind didn¡¯t make a sound, but its chasing speed became faster and faster. The rustling sound of tree branches was getting closer to Wen Zheliu. From the corner of his eye, he could vaguely see many slender black shadows that kept sticking out half of their bodies from behind the trees that were submerged in fog on both sides of the road. They were staring at him with their pitch-black eyes and also intended to join this huge-disparity-in-strength chase battle.


    If this continues, the situation is really not optimistic.


    The white fog in front of him was getting thinner and thinner. Wen Zheliu¡¯s heart was pounding. He leapt out of the fog with his last breath, but he didn¡¯t think there was a slope ahead. The dew-soaked dirt was extremely slippery. He cursed, ¡°What the f*ck¡± out loud, but the momentum under his feet didn¡¯t decrease. As a result, he accidentally tripped on a branch across the block and immediately rolled all the way down the path below.


    [Side quest: Get out of the forest (1/1) has been completed.]


    [Rewards: 10 experience points, 50 copper coins, the rewards have been sent to your inventory. ]


    [The side quest has been updated: Reunite with Companions (0/1)]


    The fall just now wasn¡¯t light, and Wen Zheliu¡¯s whole body was in pain. Now, not only has his physical strength bottomed out, but his HP has also dropped by 8%. Besides his clothes, he doesn¡¯t have any self-defense equipment on his hands. He stood up with great difficulty and patted the dirt on his body. Above the path on both sides, the overlapping shadows were still standing silently among the trees staring at him, as if they were still very unwilling.


    The watchdog of the forest¡­?


    It seemed that he had just entered their territory by mistake.


    Wen Zheliu took a deep breath and ignored these terrifying creatures. While limping towards the end of the path, he already heard the faint sounds of talking ahead.


    It should be a group of players who entered this copy, right? He pondered in his heart, and pushed aside the branches, and sure enough, not far away, he saw a dozen men and women dressed in different clothes, in groups of three and two, talking in one place.


    ¡°¡­Hello!¡± He adjusted his breath and greeted them weakly, ¡°Are you human?¡±


    The conversation came to a close, and a handsome man with glasses raised his head from the crowd to look at him, saying, ¡°Yes, we are all players¡­ Brother, what happened to you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡± Wen Zheliu shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s my bad luck.¡±


    The girl standing beside the man pointed her finger and counted: ¡°Ten, eleven, twelve¡­ including you, exactly twelve. Isn¡¯t that enough?¡±


    As soon as the girl finished speaking, everyone heard a series of system prompts.


    [Side quest: Reunite with Companions (1/1) has been completed.]


    [Rewards: 10 experience points, 50 copper coins, the rewards have been sent to your inventory.]


    [Congratulations, your level has risen to level 3]


    [Reward: One novice lucky wheel spin, please check in order.]


    [The side quest has been updated: Find the main quest (0/1)]


    Wen Zheliu pondered the meaning of the ¡°novice lucky wheel¡± and said, with a wry smile, ¡°So, I¡¯m the last one here.¡±


    To his right stood a tall man with rough facial features. The man patted him on the shoulder very familiarly and comforted him: ¡°It¡¯s okay, this is just the first novice quest. Just because you have bad luck now doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ll have bad luck later. Cheer up little brother.¡°


    Wen Zheliu smiled and said, ¡°Thank you, big brother. I don¡¯t know what your name is?¡±


    The man hesitated for a while and did not directly answer Wen Zheliu¡¯s question. Instead, he suggested to the twelve people present: ¡°This little brother¡¯s words reminded me that we have been standing here for a while now. Should we start introducing ourselves? After all, we still don¡¯t know what quest this damn mastermind wants us to do. It never hurts to get to know each other as we are all teammates on the same boat.¡°


    He was born with a robust and strong build. His short-sleeved T-shirt could not hide his sturdy and bulging muscles. He also had a decent appearance, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, which made him appear like a charismatic leader. The players present hesitated at first, then agreed to his suggestion.


    It seems that Theresa has told them that they can go back as long as they clear nine worlds. Although Wen Zheliu didn¡¯t know the strength of the first batch of players who entered the Uncanny Valley, the group of people in front of him didn¡¯t cry and complain about this unfortunate situation. Instead, they all began to think about the way out. This was undoubtedly a good thing for him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go first.¡± The man said boldly, ¡°My name is Mu Tuo. My profession in Nova City was hunter.¡±


    Even though he was very kind at the beginning, Mu Tuo still covered up a lot of information and avoided mentioning his original level and residence in the game world.


    ¡°My name is Zhou Qing, and my original occupation was an archer.¡± The girl who counted the number of people before said with a smile. She had a sweet appearance, with big and brilliant eyes, and she looked very quick-witted when she smiled, ¡°But I think there is still a difference between this profession and hunters.¡±


    ¡°My name is Zhou Yao. I used to be a magician, so it doesn¡¯t seem to be of much use here.¡± The handsome man wearing glasses smiled helplessly, ¡°As you can see, I¡¯m her brother.¡±


    There were only three women among the twelve people. Besides Zhou Qing, there was also a woman with pale skin and a gloomy expression. She bit the slender cigarette and said coldly, ¡°Lao1¡­ my name is¡­ Du Zijun.¡±


    Then she frowned and smoked, refusing to say another word.


    Besides the cigarette, which no one can tell where you got it from, just the word you blurted out subconsciously at the beginning is suspicious enough¡­


    After a round of self-introduction, at present, this group of people¡¯s game occupations is really diverse. In addition to the regular occupations such as hunters, there are also farmers, cooks, exorcists, musicians¡­ and a pair of snuggling lovers who seldom talk to others.


    When it was Wen Zheliu¡¯s turn, he just smiled embarrassedly: ¡°My name is Wen Di. I don¡¯t have a specific occupation, but the game that I am best at playing is Survival World.¡±


    ¡°I see, so you¡¯re a new player¡­¡± Mu Tuo was deep in thought. Then he looked at him with a little pity and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, this game should not be difficult. Just take your time.¡±


    Wen Zheliu said yes on the surface, but he was crying inwardly. It might be simple for ordinary players, but it was different for him. During the second novice side quest, he was chased and almost killed by an unknown creature. He didn¡¯t have the slightest hope of what the Uncanny Valley had in store for him.


    ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s take a look at the so-called novice lucky wheel.¡± Zhou Yao said.


    Everyone opened their inventories and found an item called [Lucky Wheel Permit] inside. Zhou Qing said: ¡°Since the system just said that we should check in order, does that mean we should spin the wheel in order?¡±


    ¡°It seems so.¡± said the plain-faced man. His name was Xiong Lin, a professional farmer, ¡°Why don¡¯t we try it out?¡±


    The twelve players glanced at each other and nodded in unison.


    In a flash, the sky shone with golden light. A huge and brilliant wheel, accompanied by the spray of fine gold stars, slowly landed in the middle of them. The system prompt sounded: [Lucky wheel, lucky flowers fall on your home! Players are welcome to use this Novice Lucky Wheel. In this event, every player who comes to the Uncanny Valley for the first time can have a chance to draw a free lottery. The maximum prize pool has accumulated to 1,000 gold coins, and there are also high-level B-grade and A-grade items and fragments that you can obtain. Don¡¯t miss this good opportunity!]


    The corners of Wen Zheliu¡¯s mouth twitched. He silently looked at the blindingly bright big wheel in front of him and reminded the crowd: ¡°Well¡­ why don¡¯t we start drawing? This thing is too conspicuous. If it attracts something¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes,¡± Mu Tuo responded. ¡°What he said is that this thing is too inconsistent with this world. If it reduces our participation, it¡¯s not worth it.¡°


    Then Du Zijun went up with a smile that wasn¡¯t a smile and said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll go first.¡±


    She stood on one side of the wheel. Her fingers clasped the protruding edge and pulled it down hard, making the wheel spin rapidly.


    [Novice Lucky Wheel has started.]


    With a ¡°clang,¡± an item that looked like a telescope fell out.


    [Congratulations, player, you have obtained a C grade item: The Telescope of True Sight ]


    Du Zijun, with a cigarette in her mouth, picked it up with a frown and looked at the attributes.


    ¡°How was it?¡± Zhou Qing asked curiously.


    ¡°Investigation item¡­¡± Du Zijun snorted coldly, ¡°Not too bad.¡±


    With that, she casually spread her legs and wiped it with her white skirt, then put it away in her inventory.


    Wen Zheliu looked at her, only to feel that this woman was filled with a strange aura¡­


    Zhou Yao went up to draw the lottery, then Zhou Qing was next. Mu Tuo, Xiong Lin, and the rest also went up to draw their own prizes. The best item that they got was a C-grade item, and the worst was only 2 gold coins.


    Wen Zheliu licked his lips. He was the last one standing beside the wheel.


    In a place he couldn¡¯t see, the dog tag in his inventory moved slightly, spilling out a bit of white light and scattering in the air.


    [The Novice Lucky Wheel has started. ]


    [Congratulations player, you have obtained? Item level:]


    [Congratulations player, you have obtained? Item level:]


    [Congratulations player, you have obtained? Item level:]


    ¡°Huh?¡± Wen Zheliu¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, ¡°What¡¯s the matter¡­ Is it stuck?¡±


    The system finally repeated the same line again.


    [Congratulations player, you have obtained? Item: Companion. ]


    The crowd looked at each other at a loss, only to see the wheel shaking violently. White light was leaking out from it, and was slowly interweaving the head, arms, waist, and legs in the air¡­


    Wen Zheliu¡¯s mind went blank, only laughter echoed in his ears.


    ¡°Hey, come back to your senses, little fool!¡±


    The author has something to say:


    The first copy has officially started!


    From now on, He Qin will become classmate 662 item.


    She was about to say Lao Zi or Lao Niang which is an arrogant way to address oneself.


    Number 6 pronunciation is [li¨´] so the author used it as Wen Zheliu nickname.

 CH 10

    Along the way, the players whispered and looked at Wen Zheliu and He Qin again and again with surprised eyes. He Qin just smiled and led Wen Zheliu to the rear of the group.


    ¡°How did you¡­¡± Wen Zheliu was puzzled, happy, and frightened.


    ¡°Shh.¡± He Qin raised his index finger and put it in front of his lips, ¡°We will talk slowly after we find a safe place.¡±


    Wen Zheliu¡¯s face was a little hot. Suddenly, He Qin pinched his chin. His expression changed at once.


    ¡°What happened to your face?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Wen Zheliu pulled his hand down sheepishly, ¡°My face¡­¡±


    Then he suddenly realized that the image in the virtual world reflected the state in reality. The injury on his face caused by Liu Tianxiong hadn¡¯t fully healed. He was afraid that even now, the corner of his mouth was still bruised and his cheekbone was still swollen with clogged blood.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine¡­¡± Wen Zheliu hesitated, ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ a fight with someone.¡±


    He Qin¡¯s eyes were cold, and he continued to ask, ¡°With whom?¡±


    He pried away Wen Zheliu¡¯s hand and pressed his fingertips stubbornly and softly on the corner of his injured lips. This cherished and careful action, coupled with the temperature of He Qin¡¯s skin, was like a fire that burned all the way into the tip of Wen Xueliu¡¯s heart.


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m here now. People in the real world¡­ It will be difficult to meet again for a while¡­¡± Wen Zheliu¡¯s ears were red as if they were on fire, and his heart was also boiling hot. He hurriedly used a little more strength to pull He Qin¡¯s arm, ¡°I¡¯m fine, it¡¯ll heal in a while.¡±


    He Qin looked at him for a while before he turned his gaze away and sneered, ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s wait until we get out.¡±


    He was still wearing the same black sweater and military trousers during his first meeting with Wen Zheliu, but the mask on his face was missing. His jet-black military boots silently stepped over the stones embedded in the mud. His long arms, slender waist, broad shoulders, and long legs were extremely hot, like a nimble and untamed leopard.


    The two walked side by side. Wen Zheliu thought about it, and asked, ¡°Should I return the dog tag to you?¡±


    He Qin said, ¡°You can keep it. It¡¯s good that I can appear here now. Giving the dog tag to me is like giving away a free head1.¡°


    Wen Zheliu nodded. At this moment, Mu Tuo could no longer hold it back. He came over and said, ¡°This friend¡­¡±


    He Qin replied: ¡°My name is He Qin. I¡¯m his brother.¡°


    ¡°Well, brother He Qin,¡± Muto said, ¡°What on earth is going on with you guys?¡±


    Without waiting for Wen Zheliu to speak, He Qin said, ¡°We are still at a loss. Maybe this is the magic of the Uncanny Valley.¡°


    Wen Zheliu followed suit to show a look of pleasant surprise and grabbed He Qin¡¯s sleeve, saying, ¡°But wouldn¡¯t it be good to have one more person to help? I was really shocked when he was called by the system. ¡°


    Mu Tuo was skeptical, but there was no better explanation at the moment. He could only say congratulations bitterly, and then went back to the front.


    He Qin glanced at him and repeated in a low voice with a smile, ¡°Are you really that shocked?¡±


    Wen Zheliu didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry: ¡°You are so annoying.¡±


    .


    The crowd walked along the path to the end, and finally saw a towering wooden sign that kept disappearing and reappearing amidst the fog.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Zhou Qing ran over first, ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go and have a look!¡±


    Zhou Yao said quickly, ¡°Be careful, don¡¯t be so rash!¡±


    The group stepped forward, one after another, looking around the lone wooden sign. Its wood color was already very old. The dark red cursive English letters were washed by wind and rain all year round, leaving only faint traces. Overall, it looked particularly dilapidated.


    ¡°Next stop¡­ Maryann¡¯s cottage¡­¡± Wen Zheliu struggled to identify the words, ¡°At the end of the path, there is a small wooden cottage¡­ If there are travelers from afar, you can go and stay for the night¡­¡±


    This is an old stop sign.


    The system prompt sounded again in everyone¡¯s ears.


    [Side quest: Find the main quest (1/1) has been completed. ]


    [Rewards: 200 experience points, 500 copper coins. The reward has been sent to your inventory.]


    [Congratulations, your level has risen to level 5. The reward has been sent to your inventory. ]


    [The main quest has started. ]


    [The main quest has been updated. ]


    [Main Quest ¢Ù: Reach Maryann¡¯s cottage (0/1)]


    Wen Zheliu was bewildered by this series of system prompts, and before he could take a look at the attribute changes after reaching level 5, someone in the team took out the system reward from the inventory: ¡°Hey, it¡¯s a self-defense stick!¡±


    Wen Zheliu also looked at the inventory, and found that he was given a pair of long steel knives, and the rank was also E rank. Compared to the [Rusty Dagger] he had before, he didn¡¯t know how much better this was.


    ¡°Here,¡± he separated one of them and handed it to He Qin, ¡°One for each.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± He Qin nodded and said thoughtfully, ¡°Have you seen that advertisement? That¡­ retro nostalgia theme that was launched by Nova City last month. There is a snack product in it, which is a detachable frozen juice¡­¡°


    ¡°Oh oh oh!¡± Wen Zheliu was stunned, still maintaining the posture of handing the knife, ¡°I know, I know, Wang Wang crushed ice stick2! Half for you, half for me. You are my other¡­¡°


    Suddenly, he got stuck and silence permeated. He Qin obviously had a hard time holding back his laughter, waiting for him to finish his words.


    Wen Zheliu:¡±¡­ you get the hell out of here for me.¡±


    Du Zijun was smoking a cigarette next to them. Hearing this misleading dialogue, she could not help but glance at them both in surprise with the slender tail of her eye: ¡°Tsk, damned gays.¡±


    Suddenly, hearing this inexplicable verbal attack, Wen Zheliu couldn¡¯t help but be taken aback, but before he could speak, Zhou Qing hugged Du Zijun¡¯s slender waist and guided her: ¡°It¡¯s already 2301, sister! Don¡¯t be so rigid in an era where even humans and robots can get married. In any case, the way you addressed them is very offensive. If we¡¯re in a normal game, I can report you to the Anti-Discrimination Association.¡°


    A strange blush appeared on Du Zijun¡¯s pale face. She glared at Zhou Qing while silently and gently breaking free from her intimate embrace and took the initiative to walk to the front of the team. She also took out a black baton from her backpack as she walked.


    Wen Zheliu thanked Zhou Qing for her rescue and complained to He Qin, ¡°Look, you¡¯re causing discomfort to your teammates.¡±


    He Qin smiled and glanced at Du Zijun, who was walking in the front row. ¡°Hey, wait for your gege to accompany you this time,¡± he said as he flipped the long knife in his palm twice. ¡°I still don¡¯t know where I should go. Do you have the heart to tie my mouth right now?¡±


    Wen Zheliu was about to refute, but on second thought, summoning He Qin this time could only be considered an accident. If he really survived this first world, when it came to the second world, would He Qin still be able to maintain his current status as his item? Where can he find another novice lucky wheel to draw this prize again?


    He sighed and stopped talking.


    Seeing his dejected mood, He Qin took the initiative to put his arm around his shoulders and comforted him: ¡°It¡¯s okay, we¡¯ll cross the bridge when we get there, just let nature take its course.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Wen Zheliu nodded.


    After walking for a while, Zhou Qing blinked and quietly approached from the side: ¡°Little brother, you and this handsome brother¡­ are really a couple?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Wen Zheliu was taken aback and retorted, with a little guilty conscience, ¡°That¡¯s not the case! He¡¯s just¡­ joking, but in fact we are both straight, okay?¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Zhou Qing was suspicious. ¡°But the two of you¡­ um, well, just pretend I didn¡¯t say anything.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Wen Zheliu didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry, ¡°I really didn¡¯t, we just¡­ I don¡¯t know how to explain this clearly.¡±


    He Qin and Wen Zheliu were walking side by side. He Qin didn¡¯t speak, but his stilled eyes seemed to contain a forced smile. He coldly glanced over, and Zhou Qing immediately shivered. She didn¡¯t dare talk to Wen Zheliu anymore and trotted forward to find her brother.


    Wen Zheliu murmured, ¡°Girls these days have such wild imaginations.¡±


    He Qin: ¡°Really?¡±


    On the other hand, Zhou Qing sighed: ¡°Striaght men these days really don¡¯t know they¡¯re actually gay.¡±


    Zhou Yao: ¡°?¡±


    Gradually, with the passage of time, there were only sporadic, brief conversations left among the crowd. Everyone concentrated on walking along the path. Although the sun was still hidden behind thick clouds, it was approaching noon, and the forests on both sides of the road were still filled with a cream-colored mist, hazy, like a layer of thick and thin lingering veil.


    In this unusual silence, Wen Zheliu keenly smelled a different kind of dangerous atmosphere; it felt like there were many pairs of eyes staring at them.


    Wen Zheliu slowly straightened his waist and clenched the steel knife in his hand, only to feel a sticky chill running up his spine. He said softly, ¡°Wait a minute.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± He Qin wrinkled his eyebrows, his thin lips moved slightly, his voice was equally light and fast, ¡°You found something?¡±


    Wen Zheliu said, ¡°I think¡­¡±


    Before he could completely blurt out the word, an extremely harsh scream suddenly came from the front of the team.


    ¡°Help¡ª! Something, something caught me! Help ah ahhhhhhhh¡ª! ¡°


    The players were in an uproar, and the two suddenly raised their heads. If they heard correctly, this should have been the female voice of that couple!


    ¡°Fangfei!¡± Her boyfriend yelled, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯ll save you!¡±


    With the addition of He Qin, there were thirteen players in the whole group, but the trail was muddy and narrow and could not accommodate all the players, so everyone consciously dispersed and walked forward in small groups. Although Wen Zheliu and He Qin looked suspicious and their level was the lowest, the self-defense weapons assigned to them were also the strongest among the players. At this moment, Wen Zheliu skillfully pushed aside the panicked people in front of him with one hand, and then raised his knife to move forward, ¡°Make way! Those who are not strong in combat, retreat to the side!¡°


    At this point, there was another howl from the forest, but this time it was inhuman, sounding not only like hysterical laughter, but also like the wheezing and roaring of a broken bellow. For a moment, Wen Zheliu and He Qin couldn¡¯t help but be surprised when they reached the crowd.


    They saw a thick purple-black, bloody tongue covered in dense barbs shoot out from the bushes in front of them. It was wrapped around Lin Fangfei¡¯s waist and abdomen, trying to pull her into the dense forest. Her boyfriend, Lu Hai, held a long stick and hit it hard twice, but with little success. Seeing that the weapon was useless, he simply dropped the stick, held his girlfriend in both hands, and dragged her backwards with all his might, ¡°Help! Save her!¡°


    ¡°Idiot, pick up your weapon!¡± Du Zijun gritted her cigarette tightly and used her stick to whack the long tongue, which caused a small electric current to scurry around everywhere. At the same time, this action angered the creatures lurking in the forest. The giant python-like tongue suddenly released the restraint on Lin Fangfei and twitched fiercely, whipping Du Zijun¡¯s abdomen and sending her flying. Lu Hai, who was holding his girlfriend, also fell backwards because of the huge inertia, chaotically rolling on the ground.


    ¡°F*ck you¡­¡± Du Zijun had blood on the corners of her mouth; her expression was gloomy. Besides the muddy dots on her white skirt, there was mucus that seemed to be mixed with blood and filth from the tongue that was smeared on her. She was about to cover her belly and get up when Wen Zheliu jumped out from the rear and slashed at the bloody snake-like tongue that was about to attack Lin Fangfei again!


    ¡°Get the hell to the back.¡± He Qin followed closely behind, without even glancing at the young couple, and coldly ordered.


    The steel knife¡¯s defensive power is many times greater than that of the wooden stick, but after the slash, Wen Zheliu¡¯s arm was actually numb due to the force of the recoil, and the blade suddenly bounced back half an inch. His mind was spinning fast, and the grip of his right hand was also loosened. He took the knife with his left hand and changed from slashing to stabbing. The steel knife actually sank into the flesh tongue by half an inch, and rotten black blood poured out!


    The monster let out a painful hiss in the forest, and the long tongue flung around wildly. Wen Zheliu hurriedly retreated, while He Qin shook his long knife and took his place the moment Wen Zheliu retreated. The two parties cooperated closely and tacitly.


    If Wen Zheliu was only a beginner in the use of knives with a faster reflex than ordinary people, then He Qin was obviously a master of this skill. As Wen Zheliu saw in the survival world, the momentum of his knife was powerful like a thunderbolt, coming and going to intercept the shadow. This was obviously an E-rank item, but he could swing it like a world-famous sword. The creature in the forest was keenly aware of the danger at this moment. It wanted to draw its tongue and leave immediately, but it was no match for the speed of He Qin¡¯s fast knife. The tip of its tongue instantly fell to the ground and flew into the grass with the stench of rotten blood.


    The rest of the bloody tongue shrank back like it was zapped by electricity, and the hidden monster also burst into a frantic and painful roar. The forest shook violently from far to near, as if some behemoth was about to rush out of it.


    There was a loud bang, and the dust was flying. The players behind him collectively sucked in a breath of cold air. Wen Zheliu put down the hand that was blocking the sand and stone in front of him, and his teeth were clenched unconsciously.


    ¡­ In front of them was a huge, semi-prostrate humanoid creature.


    It had no skin nor hair, and its bare, gnarled purple-black muscle texture was dripping with disgusting, rancid mucus. Its face has no eyes or nose, only a huge hideous mouth that occupies one-half of the face. This mouth was nearly split to the back of the head, and it was filled with dense, jagged, sharp teeth, as well as a long tongue dangling from it, swaying from side to side like a living snake. It¡¯s just that the tip of the tongue is missing at this moment, and there is a continuous flow of mucus mixed with black blood, which erodes the ground into a charred black.


    ¡°Its blood is corrosive.¡± He Qin said in a low voice to Wen Zheliu, ¡°Be careful.¡±


    He Qin¡¯s calm and cool-headed attitude also infected him. Wen Zheliu lightly gave a nod. At the same time, he also noticed that its upper body was supported by two deformed and huge claws. This humanoid creature with hands and feet was nearly three meters tall. Even if it was only half-crawling on the ground, it was enough to overlook an adult human of average height. Fortunately, its legs have been bent in a twisted posture, and it can only move by relying on its hands, which may be a good thing for players.


    Wen Zheliu also noticed that, for some reason, the monster¡¯s lower body was festering, and there were no obvious sexual characteristics.


    While the player was observing it, it was also shaking its head left and right, observing the movements and status of the players with its non-existent eyes. Wen Zheliu was tense and asked in a low voice, ¡°Can you see what level this is??¡°


    He Qin said: ¡°Don¡¯t fight it. You can¡¯t win.¡°


    At that moment, Wen Zheliu was at the back and He Qin was at the front. The two formed a diagonal defensive formation, blocking the ten players behind them.


    Mu Tuo was greatly surprised: ¡°Wen Di, you guys¡­¡±


    ¡°Brother Mu, keep an eye on those two people,¡± said Wen Zheliu without looking back. ¡°Although it¡¯s not clear why, the monster seems to be targeting them.¡±


    Mu Tuo clenched the harpoon in his hand and said solemnly, ¡°Then be careful¡­¡±


    Before the words were finished, the monster on the opposite side seemed to have already assessed their combat effectiveness. It let out a heavy gasp, grinned with its sharp teeth, with the corners of its long, narrow mouth raised high toward the sides, giving the players an almost sardonic grin.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± He Qin¡¯s muscles were tense. He shouted at Wen Zheliu, and the posture of holding the knife with one hand was changed to clenching with both hands at that moment. The sword light is as swift as lightning. He Qin¡¯s posture was like a leopard waiting for the right moment to show its cold and cruel heroic spirit.


    ¡°Follow me!¡±


    Wen Zheliu¡¯s heart suddenly moved, as if there was a transparent and invisible thread that held the two together in the dark. He moved his footsteps, holding the sword in both hands, and crossed He Qin¡¯s sword in tandem to form an X-shape. The two of them combined their strength at the same time and collided with the frenzied monster in a loud clash of metal and bone!


    This term °×¸ø [b¨¢i ¨À¨§i] is an online term, referring to the fact that players in the game die in battle without making any contribution to their own side and let the enemy pick up their equipment. Or it can also mean giving something away for free

 CH 11

    Song of Despair (11)


    [Your HP has dropped to 82%¡­ 75%¡­ 64%¡­]


    [Your stamina has dropped to 86%¡­ 72%¡­ 61%¡­]


    The monster¡¯s body slanted sideways and bounced back to the ground like a recoiled bullet, blasting a patch of sand and gravel. Wen Zheliu and He Qin used the crossed steel knives as a barrier to block it. Their stomachs and whole bodies were tense. Their military boots plowed several meters deep into the ground, causing the soil on both sides to churn up. It was hard to defend a group of players!


    This inhuman creature¡¯s huge body was close at hand; even every trace of the sticky muscle texture was clearly visible, bringing the rotten stench to their faces. Wen Zheliu¡¯s eyes darkened. A strong, bloody taste was rolling at the back of his throat. At this moment, his health and stamina were dropping rapidly, and the back of his knife was also continuously issuing a shaky and trembling sound. The monster roared furiously. Its bloody tongue, like a steel whip, shattered the harpoon thrown by Mu Tuo into several pieces.


    ¡°Withdraw the knife!¡± He Qin roared. His finger that clamped onto the handle of the knife had been grazed, and blood spilled all over his palm.


    Wen Zheliu heard a chilling sound of wind in his ears. He didn¡¯t have enough time to retract his knife, and was whipped by the bloody long tongue into a tree trunk on one side, causing him to spurt a mouthful of blood. At this time, the players at the rear had also been evacuated. He Qin quickly pulled away, changed his edge just before the knife was broken, and cut open the tendons on the monster¡¯s huge arm, causing it to roar and rush to the open space in front.


    ¡°Run, run!¡± Wen Zheliu suppressed his pain and shouted. The blow just now was too severe; it was too difficult for the current him, who¡¯s still at low-level, to withstand. Now his HP is only 7% left, and his stamina has bottomed out. He was staring at the monster¡¯s every move, his mind racing, trying to come up with a solution.


    What¡¯s the purpose of the system, or perhaps the plot, to arrange for such a powerful boss to attack them before the main quest begins? At present, the players¡¯ level is low and the equipment is bad. How can they beat this powerful monster? Is it trying to end them here?


    It¡¯s useless to do anything now. The eleven players were running in the opposite direction of He Qin. At the end of the path, the monster also howled and turned around again, rushing towards the couple, who fled with their heads in their arms. He Qin¡¯s eyes were cold, like stars shining on a chilly night. The long sword already had a faint crack. Very soon, he leaped up, stomped on the tree, and spun around. The knife was as cold and precise as electricity, aiming at the back of the monster¡¯s neck!


    ¡°Ge!¡± Wen Zheliu was startled and tried to get up from the ground. His blood bar flickered, emitting a dangerous red light, ¡°Be careful!¡±


    The rushing monster didn¡¯t have time to stop, and was shocked by the huge killing intent that suddenly erupted from He Qin. At that moment, its knotted muscles were firmly bent like a solid wall and actually shattered He Qin¡¯s slashing knife!


    He Qin¡¯s brows twitched. He decisively threw the knife away and tried to escape. However, the monster that had been irritated by him over and over again would not let him go like this. The huge deformed and twisted claw grabbed down at his chest and fiercely slammed him on the ground, causing a burst of flying dust.


    He Qin grunted as warm blood uncontrollably gushed out of his lips and teeth. Wen Zheliu¡¯s eyes turned red. At this moment, his anger overcame the fear of facing death, and he roared abruptly: ¡°You fucking seek death! Let him go!¡°


    The bloody tongue ejected by the monster and Wen Zheliu¡¯s furious blade flashed almost at the same time. The front half of the knife was suddenly smashed into two pieces by the tongue and flew backward, grazing his cheek. Wen Zheliu didn¡¯t dodge it. He continued to hold the remaining half of the knife and stabbed it straight into the forearm that was holding He Qin. Black blood splattered, and the monster also loosened its claws and roared in pain.


    In an instant, Wen Zheliu¡¯s palm seemed to feel a strange touch. In addition to the sound of broken muscles, he seemed to have cut something metallic.


    However, at the same time when the monster was restrained by them, another monster howled, and Lin Fangfei¡¯s frantic scream came from afar.


    Wen Zheliu coughed up a mouthful of blood. At present, he and He Qin were like these broken knives, completely powerless.


    ¡­will they die here?


    Mu Tuo¡¯s anguished roar, Zhou Qing¡¯s frightened shout, and the crowd¡¯s cries and clamor seemed to have left him. Only the woman¡¯s dying scream and the man¡¯s miserable cries for mercy gradually became clear enough to make one¡¯s teeth and legs tremble. After forcing the monster to loosen its claw, his last stamina was completely drained. Wen Zheliu¡¯s eyes became bloodshot and his body felt like it weighed more than 1,000 kilograms. He could no longer support himself and fell heavily beside He Qin.


    He Qin tried his best to hold onto his wrist. Wen Zheliu could hear the sound of inhalation blocked by blood in his throat and felt the irregular ups and downs of his chest, but he couldn¡¯t lift a finger or move. In the chaotic darkness, another heavy body was pressed down on him.


    ¡ªIt was He Qin. He turned over with his last strength to block Wen Zheliu.


    However, at this critical moment, the monster was slow to attack.


    Its distant companion howled like a summons. Even though it really wanted to kill these two daring and powerful humans, it lingered a few steps unwillingly and gave a sullen roar. Its sticky, fishy saliva landed on He Qin¡¯s back, and then it turned and rushed into the dense forest.


    The movement in the forest gradually faded away, and there was silence in Wen Zheliu¡¯s ears except for the sound of clothes being corroded, He Qin¡¯s low breathing, and the sound of him coughing from the blood stasis.


    ¡°¡­Ge.¡± He whispered with his eyes half closed.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± He Qin¡¯s voice was tinged with laughter. After gradually getting away from the dangerous situation of the battle, he restrained the icy sharpness and changed back to the carefree and slovenly He Qin, whose Wen Zheliu was familiar with.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Wen Zheliu couldn¡¯t bear it any longer, ¡°Get up quickly¡­ You are so heavy, you are going to crush me¡­¡°


    He Qin was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud. Halfway through his laugh, he was choked by the blood in his throat, so he fell on Wen Zheliu and coughed violently.


    Mu Tuo, Zhou Qing, Du Zijun, and the others who rushed over from behind hesitated for a moment. Zhou Yao pushed aside his bloodied lens and asked tentatively, ¡°Um, sorry, are we¡­disturbing you guys?¡±


    Wen Zhe Liu: ¡°¡­..¡°


    Wen Zheliu became irritated and used the 1% of his newly restored stamina to push He Qin: ¡°Get up quickly! I¡¯m going to be angry!¡°


    He Qin rolled off of him with a smile, and the corner of his eye suddenly caught something. He stood up slowly and calmly, picked up the broken knife on the ground and threw it into the grass, then turned to lift up Wen Zheliu¡¯s arm and wrap it around his own shoulders.


    ¡°Can you still walk? If you can¡¯t, your ge will carry you.¡± His tone was serious, with thin lips whispering next to Wen Zheliu¡¯s ear.


    Wen Zheliu¡¯s face heated up. He Qin¡¯s voice was gentle and low, and even the tip of his ear was flushed. He was about to speak when he felt a heavy load in his pocket. He Qin¡¯s given him something.


    He was stunned, but he pretended to be relaxed and said, ¡°No, I¡¯ll just walk slowly.¡±


    Right now, the two of them can be said to be the great heroes in repelling the monster, and the rest of the players naturally have no objection to Wen Zheliu¡¯s request. Mu Tuo walked beside He Qin and said in a tone of unconcealed surprise: ¡°Little brother Wen Di, I thought you were just a novice player before, but I never thought you and your brother were such powerful figures!¡±


    He Qin smiled slightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s true that we are both newcomers, but for family reasons, we just randomly learned how to use cold weapons.¡±


    Wen Zheliu couldn¡¯t help but complain in his heart. What are the others learning if the third-in-line heir to N-Star Company learned only ¡°random skills¡±?


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­¡± He suddenly thought of something and said, ¡°We don¡¯t know why the monster suddenly left.¡±


    Mu Tuo was silent for a moment. Du Zijun no longer looked at them with vigilance in her eyes, but a hint of respect. She didn¡¯t get to finish her cigarette when she was knocked out in the battle just now. At this moment, she was holding a straw in her mouth and skillfully twisting it between her lips.


    ¡°I can more or less guess why.¡± She said lightly, and the straw swayed with the movements of her words but didn¡¯t fall down. ¡°When you get there, you¡¯ll know.¡±


    Wen Zheliu and He Qin both smelled an increasingly rich, bloody stench. The players walking in front also slowly stopped. Xiong Lin turned to look at them, his eyes showing some hesitation: ¡°You guys¡­ take a look.¡±


    Wen Zheliu¡¯s pupils instantly shrink. He Qin stretched out his palm and gently covered his nose to block the disgusting smell that came to his face.


    He previously thought that although he didn¡¯t know why Lu Hai and Lin Fangfei would become targets, when the second monster suddenly appeared and blocked in front of the remaining players, they might have faced a dead end, but he could not imagine how they would actually die¡­.. so miserably.


    There was only half of the body remaining on the ground in front of him. Lu Hai¡¯s body was crooked on the ground in a twisted posture, as if he had been roughly thrown to death by a huge force. His eye sockets were completely empty, and his broken eyeballs hung stiffly on his tragic white face, like tears composed of two balls of flesh and blood. His scarlet eye sockets were pitch-black and empty as he stared ahead. The top of his skull had been cut off, like a half-empty ladle with nothing left inside.


    ¡°At that time, everyone was in a hurry to escape, but I didn¡¯t expect that another monster would suddenly jump out¡­¡± This player is named Ke Wenyan. His former full-time occupation was as a musician. He turned his eyes to the side, his expression distorted due to excessive fear, ¡°His girlfriend was caught first. He rushed to save her, and then he was¡­¡±


    He took a deep breath and said nothing more.


    ¡°Then the monster snapped his skull and scraped away his brain with its tongue.¡± Du Zijun spat out the straw. Her tone was calm to the point of coldness, ¡°The monster¡¯s target should only be them. As for his girlfriend, she¡¯s over there. ¡°


    She raised her chin and directed Wen Zheliu and He Qin to look at the half corpse on the other side. It could be seen that Lin Fangfei was killed by some kind of huge force that ripped her in half at once. The ground was full of spilled blood and smashed internal organs. The monster only took away the upper half of her body, and the lower half was generously left here to accompany her boyfriend.


    Wen Zheliu only took a cursory glance, and his mental value plummeted by 8%. He couldn¡¯t take it any longer. Like the rest, he couldn¡¯t bear to turn his head to the side.


    In the silence, He Qin suddenly said, ¡°It¡¯s coming.¡±


    Coming? What¡¯s coming?


    Before everyone could react, they suddenly heard the system¡¯s prompt.


    Hearing this illusory female voice after a thrilling and fierce battle made everyone feel as if they were from another world.


    [Congratulations, player! You have met the requirements to begin the game mode!]


    [There are currently only two modes:


    (1) Escape Mode: If all players complete the first round of the main quest without any causalities, the escape mode will be activated. In this mode, for each player lost, the total number of rewards will be reduced by a certain percentage, and the game difficulty will be increased by a certain percentage.


    Note: There is no upper limit on the increased ratio of game difficulty.


    (2) Survival Mode: If any player is lost before all players complete the first round of the main quest, the survival mode will be activated. In this mode, each time a player is lost, the total number of rewards will be increased by a certain percentage, and the game difficulty will be reduced by a certain percentage.


    Note: The difficulty reduction ratio of the game cannot exceed 60% of the original difficulty.]


    [Dear players, please consciously check the situation]


    [I wish you a pleasant journey]


    Everyone could not hide their shock as they digested this prompt. After a while, Mu Tuo said, ¡°¡­So, we have now started the second survival mode?¡°


    Wen Zheliu frowned, always feeling that something was wrong. He whispered to He Qin, ¡°This is a bit like how we play in Survival World.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He Qin nodded, ¡°It¡¯s a bit similar, but that one is an active choice, this one is a passive trigger.¡±


    ¡°Then have they¡­¡± Zhou Qing¡¯s voice trembled slightly, ¡°already become vegetative in the real world, and will never be able to wake up for the rest of their lives?¡±


    Zhou Yao sighed, took her by the shoulders and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Go to the cottage to find a place to rest first. Let¡¯s talk about other things after we finish the first round of the main quest.¡°


    Several players pushed the bodies of Lu Hai and Lin Fangfei into the jungle, lest the smell of blood and the remains of their bodies attract more troublesome things. Mu Tuo handed a wooden stick and a crowbar to the two of them, saying, ¡°Your knives are gone, so if you don¡¯t mind, use this for now.¡±


    Although these are the items left by the dead, what¡¯s there to mind now? Wen Zheliu brought them over and thanked Mu Tuo. Zhou Qing turned to the side and said, with her lips curled, ¡°Lin Fangfei didn¡¯t think it was good enough and threw it away. Now well, even her life is lost.¡°


    Wen Zheliu¡¯s heart jolted, and he had a vague guess. He smiled and said, ¡°Then everyone, hold onto your weapons a little tighter, and don¡¯t let them slip out of your hands.¡±


    He took another look at the crowbar in his hand and couldn¡¯t help but sigh: ¡°This is the holy sword of physics. It can be used to pierce Darkseid¡¯s eyes1. Why don¡¯t you know how to cherish it¡­¡°


    He Qin glanced at him: ¡°You still remember this ancient comic plot.¡°


    ¡°¡­Didn¡¯t you remember that too! Hey! What right do you have to say about me!¡°


    The thick fog gradually dissipated. The group of eleven wounded and limping people finally reached the ¡°Marianne¡¯s Cottage¡± mentioned on the station sign.


    To the surprise of the players, the ¡°cottage¡± in front of them wasn¡¯t small at all, and even had the imposing manner of a mansion in the forest.


    The three-story building occupies a large area, and the typical European style gives it an elegant, romantic feeling, but the gray windows, the sharp gothic arch, as well as the mottled wall paint eroded by wind and rain, cast a layer of subtle depression on this romance. The sky was overcast, the forest was deep, the shadow of death still lingered in the hearts of everyone, and the crows in the mountains screeched, sending the continuous echoes farther away¡­


    Zhou Qing shook her shoulders and took a step back towards Zhou Yao in fear.


    He Qin leaned toward Wen Zheliu¡¯s ear and whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear: ¡°Do you like it?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Wen Zheliu was unsure of what he meant.


    He Qin smiled and said: ¡°What do you think of this house? A Folk Victorian style building, a masterpiece born in the Victorian era. A skilled carpenter can create the most complicated and rich decoration on it with drawings, but in order to avoid the limitation of such humbleness, the game artists mixed in the unique Gothic arch and colored windows, which change the structure of the porch. Doesn¡¯t it look amazing?¡°


    His tone was like a child showing off candy. When he said this, how could the scene in front of him still have a mysterious and thrilling atmosphere? Wen Zheliu didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry, but he still answered honestly: ¡°It¡¯s pretty good. You know a lot of things. Have you seen the follow-up plot?¡°


    ¡°No.¡± He Qin shook his head, ¡°Unfortunately, I can only learn about such insignificant side stories. As far as I know, only my uncle is capable of giving spoilers. Others should not even think about it. ¡°


    The two people over there were whispering intimately. Everyone looked at each other and unanimously elected Mu Tuo to negotiate. Mu Tuo didn¡¯t refuse either. He walked up the steps and politely knocked on the door.


    After a while, the door opened with a small crack. A thin, pale blond woman held a candlestick and observed them vigilantly through the crack.


    In this regard, the system must have been adjusted, otherwise Mu Tuo would have had to communicate with this woman in English. He said respectfully: ¡°Excuse me, are you Miss Marianne? We are tourists who got lost by accident. We just saw the address of your house on the station sign saying we could come to stay overnight, so we took the liberty to bother you. If you could take us in for a while, I would really appreciate it.¡°


    Hua: So the couple became the target because they throw away their weapon¡­.


    Justice League reference¡­.i think

 CH 12

    Song of Despair (12)


    Through the crack of the door, Wen Zheliu could faintly see that the light inside the house was very dim. The cold light outside moved slowly around Marianne¡¯s pale and thin cheeks. She looked at the attire and appearances of this group of ¡°tourists¡± one by one and flatly refused.


    ¡°No,¡± she said, ¡°I can¡¯t house a group of strangers I¡¯ve never met. Please leave.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Not only was Mu Tuo shocked, but the other players were also in an uproar. He was about to blurt out something about the main quest, but he remembered the participation value when the words reached his lips, so he had to swallow it and say dryly instead: ¡°But that sign says¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s written on the stop sign is none of my business, ladies¡­ and gentlemen,¡± she looked around the crowd indifferently and reached out to close the door, ¡°Goodbye.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Zhou Qing suddenly shouted, ¡°Wait!¡±


    Her once-clear voice became tense and hoarse after experiencing repeated fright and death. They were like a flock of frightened birds flying through the silent and eerie mountain forest.


    Zhou Qing took a few steps forward and pushed Mu Tuo aside. With tears of sadness already frozen in her eyes, she pleaded with folded hands: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my friend lied to you. We actually met monsters on the way here; they were terrifying. Please believe us; we did not hallucinate or go crazy. Now we just want to borrow your place for a night¡¯s rest, we can give you money. You can even instruct us to do anything you want; please have some mercy, please!¡±


    With that, she held out a handful of copper coins from her package and continued to look at Marianne.


    Her story and pitiful pleas shocked not only the players behind her, but even made Marianne hesitant.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make a fuss.¡± Zhou Yao whispered, ¡°My sister is an acting major. She¡¯s a professional in this line of work.¡±


    Wen Zheliu noticed that when Marianne heard the word ¡°monster,¡±  her expression became unnatural for a moment but soon recovered. Even so, she still thought for a while and asked in distrust, ¡°Most of your companions are men, and they carry all kinds of strange weapons, while I¡¯m just a single woman who has lived alone for a long time¡­¡±


    Wen Zheliu was shocked by the intelligence of the NPCs in the Uncanny Valley. Marianne stood in front of them, thin and pale, with a suspicious and defensive look in her eyes. On top of that¡­ the subtle movements of her face when she heard the key words and the slight frown of her eyebrows when she heard Zhou Qing¡¯s narration¡­ The level of delicacy and complexity was exactly like a real, living person.


    Is this what N-Star means by ¡°full intelligence¡±?


    Wen Zheliu was frowning, lost in thought. He Qin turned his head and said in a low voice, ¡°How is your physical recovery? Can you still hold on?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­¡±


    ¡°Here, hold yourself up and stand for a moment; I¡¯ll be right back.¡± He Qin gently lowered his arm and helped him stand. This almost pampering attitude of his made Wen Zheliu feel both embarrassed and secretly warm. He Qin turned the wooden stick in his hand gently a few times and walked up the steps in front of the cottage.


    The average person carrying a stick would only look like a fisherman in a vegetable market, but He Qin carried it as if he were holding an elegant and luxurious cane and was about to step up the velvet carpeted stairs to meet his lady companion. His appearance was like that of a playful casanova, and the curvature of his thin lips was just right, making it difficult to tell if his smile was affectionate or amorous.


    ¡°I swear by the character of a gentleman, beautiful lady.¡± His lowered voice was sensual, gentle, like a tidal wave echoing in the night: ¡°We will do nothing against your interests; on the contrary, in return for your kindness, we will act according to your wishes, as our companion said¡ªat your disposal.¡±


    Marianne stared at him in amazement, unable to take her eyes away for a while, and her cheeks gradually haloed with an inconspicuous blush.


    It was unknown who among the players whispered first: ¡°Foul! Isn¡¯t this just a honey trap!¡±


    Zhou Yao hesitantly said: ¡°Your family¡­ is also a professional?¡±


    The corner of Wen Zheliu¡¯s mouth twitched and he said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t panic everyone, just common skill.¡±


    There was Zhou Qing¡¯s sob story and He Qin¡¯s testy words, so Marianne¡¯s cottage finally opened the door to the players. Everyone heard the system¡¯s voice at the same time.


    [Main quest ¢Ù: Reach Marianne¡¯s cottage has been completed. ]


    [Rewards: 500 experience points and 10 silver coins. The reward has been sent to your inventory.]


    [Congratulations! Your level has risen to level 6]


    [Reward: Communication equipment for the whole crew]


    [The first link of the main quest has been completed. Next, please explore on your own. This is the end of the novice tutorial. I wish you a happy journey and goodbye! ]


    Looking at the different strange expressions of the group, Marianne asked in doubt, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Are the conditions here not good?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Wen Zheliu came to his senses, he smiled at Marianne. Although this house is large, it can be seen that it has received the owner¡¯s meticulous care. The carpet under their feet is plain and neat; the firewood is burning in the fireplace; the emblem of the eagle holding the golden grain is simple and gorgeous; the brass cups and lamps on the table all bore the polished scuff marks of long use; and the two candlesticks on the long wooden table are not short in length. It can be seen that they have been used for some time.


    In addition, there are a few seats in the corner, forming a circle, with a small wooden coffee table in the middle, with some books and yellow-colored blueprints scattered randomly on it.


    He looked around at random, not daring to look too closely for too long so as not to arouse the suspicion of the mistress in front of him. Finally, he complimented: ¡°Your house is very neat and looks very comfortable.¡±


    Marianne smiled a little, her white lips curling upwards slightly as she invited them to take their seats at the long table and asked, ¡°So, what exactly is it that you¡¯re here for?¡±


    ¡°To travel and experience a foreign country.¡± Mu Tuo replied decisively, ¡°It¡¯s just that ¡­¡­ There seems to be something odd here, you see, and we had to bring self-defense tools.¡±


    With He Qin and Zhou Yao taking the lead, all of them are now speaking in a literary way, with a little translation accent.


    Marianne sighed softly as she wrapped her brown fringed shawl around her. ¡°Yes, the thick fog, the coldness that never sees the sun all year, and the monsters that frequently appear and hurt people¡­¡±


    Wen Zheliu was stunned for a moment, he hurriedly asked, ¡°You know those monsters?¡±


    ¡°Maybe they are the ghosts of the dead transformed into spirits; I¡¯m not sure.¡± Marianne seemed to feel cold as she leaned back closer to the fireplace behind her, saying, ¡°Forget it; talk about your plans; how long do you want to stay here? There are so many of you, I can¡¯t keep you all for too long.¡±


    Zhou Qing said, ¡°We will pay.¡±


    ¡°Money is not the biggest problem.¡± Marianne frowned. ¡°It¡¯s very dangerous here. The town wagon only comes around once in a while. Food and water are the biggest problems here.¡±


    He Qin suddenly opened his mouth and said, ¡°How often does the wagon come?¡±


    ¡°Once every seven days,¡± Marianne was very kind to him and looked at him with a much softer gaze, ¡°just left yesterday.¡±


    Wen Zheliu was keenly aware of the opportunity, and he immediately asked, ¡°Can the carriage from the town take us away together?¡±


    Marianne looked at him and, after a long silence, replied, ¡°Yes.¡±


    [Main quest has been updated: Leave Marriane¡¯s cottage (0/1)]


    [Searching for the truth about the first world (0/1)]


    After the novice tutorial was over, the system¡¯s prompt became very brief. Hearing this voice, Wen Zheliu¡¯s expression did not change. Marianne pushed away the chair and stood up. She walked upstairs and came back after a while, handing the crowd a ticket.


    ¡°I have tickets here for the pickup wagon.¡± She said, while there was a hint of confusion in her eyes, ¡°But I only have ten left ¡­¡­¡±


    Wen Zheliu knew why there were only ten. He Qin could not be regarded as a real player. He could only be regarded as an item summoned by the novice turntable.


    ¡°That¡¯s all right,¡± His voice was somewhat bitter, ¡°Ten is ten. We are very grateful to you.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I can¡¯t give it to you for nothing,¡± added Marianne. I need someone to patrol the night for me every night, and as you know, it¡¯s dangerous here, and someone needs to expel those things regularly. Since you guys are here, I don¡¯t have to go out myself.¡±


    [The side quest has been updated: Go on night patrol at Marrianne¡¯s cottage (0/7)]


    Du Zijun, who had been silent, raised her eyes to look at Marianne and said, ¡°You mean, before we came, you were the only one who went out to expel those things?¡±


    When everyone thought of this, the eyes they looked at Marianne with were a little abnormal.


    Such a weak woman can actually drive away a monster that a dozen people can¡¯t. This is too much, even for an NPC!


    Or is she the final boss?


    Facing everyone¡¯s questioning eyes, Marianne said lightly, ¡°Bring the torches in my house to keep you safe. They are afraid of fire.¡±


    Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. At this time, He Qin asked: ¡°Miss Marianne, can we go upstairs to rest now, please? My brother has just been injured a little bit, and he needs a bed right now, as well as some hot water and food.¡±


    Marianne stood up quickly. She didn¡¯t dare look into He Qin¡¯s eyes. She just said, ¡°There are six vacant rooms upstairs. You can share them yourself. My room is on the third floor. You can come to me if you have anything.¡±


    ¡°Okay, thank you.¡± He Qin helped Wen Zheliu stand up and said to the players, ¡°It¡¯s fine for me to share a room with him; the ladies will be given priority. Is there any problem with everyone?¡±


    Zhou Qing thoughtfully said, ¡°Then¡­ I share a room with Zijun?¡±


    To everyone¡¯s surprise, Du Zijin rejected the proposal with great severity: ¡°No! I can¡¯t live with others, really; I¡¯m not used to it. Can I have a separate room alone? You guys pick the room by yourselves, and just leave the last one to me. Thanks.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Zhou Qing was stunned for a moment, then hesitantly said, ¡°Then¡­then I¡¯ll¡­¡±


    Zhou Yao sighed: ¡°Since Miss Du doesn¡¯t want to, you can just share a room with me.¡±


    Mu Tuo came to smooth things out: ¡°Yes, one room for two is enough anyway, so let¡¯s respect the difference and let Miss Du have a separate room.¡±


    The other men were not picky and divided the roommates into groups of three or two. He Qin supported Wen Zheliu up the stairs, and while walking, he whispered, ¡°We¡¯ll go back to the room first if there¡¯s anything to say.¡±


    Taking out the brass key that Marianne gave, He Qin opened the room they were assigned, and the first thing that caught his eye was the big bed.


    Wen Zheliu: ¡°¡­there is only one bed.¡±


    He Qin said: ¡°Whatever. In special times, let¡¯s make do with it first.¡±


    Wen Zheliu sat on the edge of the bed and saw that he had recovered 46% of his stamina and 32% of his health. He only felt that his back was still hurting. He thought about it and asked He Qin, ¡°Brother, how are you feeling?¡±


    He Qin said: ¡°My chest hurts a bit, but it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°You sit over here; I¡¯ll take a look.¡± Wen Zheliu made room and asked He Qin to sit beside him. He Qin removed his military boots and faced him. His long and powerful leg was slightly bent, resting on the bed against Wen Zheliu¡¯s back, almost accommodating his entire body within his territory.


    Wen Zheliu opened the zipper of He Qin¡¯s sweater and rolled up his inner shirt. He Qin also spread his hands and let him do what he wanted. But to his surprise, He Qin¡¯s chest rose and fell regularly with the frequency of his breathing, and the skin on it was smooth¡ªnot even a single scratch was seen!


    What happened? Wen Zheliu began to doubt his eyes, but he clearly saw that the monster hit He Qin¡¯s chest hard, causing him to vomit blood¡­


    ¡°Have you forgotten? I¡¯m your item.¡± He Qin laughed. Wen Zheliu looked at his handsome face in front of him, only to find that He Qin¡¯s dark red, thin lips also had a darker-colored mole, just on the left side of his lower lip, like a tiny drop of blood with a deep color.


    ¡°What, what do you mean?¡± His smile was so beautiful¡­ Wen Zheliu had to pull back a little to clear his thoughts, ¡°Won¡¯t you get hurt?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m an item, which means that you can use me as many times as you like.¡± He Qin looked at him in a relaxed manner, saying, ¡°As long as I don¡¯t die immediately, I can quickly recover later, understand? ¡±


    Wen Zheliu tightened his brows but suddenly got out of that state of confusion. He asked in a serious tone, ¡°Really?¡±


    He Qin raised his eyebrows and was about to tease him with a few more words when the door suddenly opened. Du Zijun was biting a thin white paper stick from nowhere and holding a tray in her hand: ¡°Do you need potions and food¡­?¡±


    In the room, He Qin¡¯s shirt was rolled up in a mess, and Wen Zheliu¡¯s hand was still on it. From her perspective, they were almost face to face, closer together than the upper and lower lips.


    ¡°¡­Sorry.¡± She put down the tray numbly and said, ¡°I¡¯ll remember to knock on the door next time, sorry.¡±


    The door closed with a click. Wen Zheliu was silent for a moment, then slowly released the hand touching He Qin¡¯s chest. He slowly clenched it into a fist and sat on the edge of the bed to breathe in and out.


    ¡°Hahahahahaha!!¡± He Qin almost went crazy with laughter. Seeing that Wen Zheliu was about to press him to the bed and beat him, he barely stopped his laughter, leaned on the pillow, and said, ¡°Ugh, by the way, I haven¡¯t asked you, what¡¯s your real name? Surely your name is not Wen Di, right?¡±


    Wen Zheliu said in surprise: ¡°You¡­you still don¡¯t know my real name? I thought you already found out!¡±


    He Qin said, ¡°Something like a name, if not told to me voluntarily by others, means nothing.¡±


    Wen Zheliu couldn¡¯t do anything about him, and said, ¡°Okay, okay. Then I¡¯ll tell you right now that my name is Wen Zheliu, Zhe from broken and Liu from willow tree.


    ¡°Zhe Liu, Zhe Liu¡­Hearing this song ¡°broken(zhe) willow(liu)¡± at this strange place, how can I not miss my hometown?1¡± He Qin repeated his name over and over several times, ¡°Good name; no wonder your ID is Wen Di2.¡±


    ¡°By the way.¡± Wen Zheliu suddenly remembered something. He pulled out what He Qin had put in his pocket earlier, puzzled, ¡°What is this? Why keep it with me?¡±


    An extract from the poem by Li Bai ´ºÒ¹Âå³ÇÎÅµÑ ¨C Listen to flute playing in a spring night at City of Luoyang.


    Wen(ÎÅ) means hearing, and Di(µÑ) means flute.

 CH 13

    Song of Despair (13)


    It was a small oval pendant that seemed to be made of silver. In addition to the brownish-yellow color formed by the neglect of maintenance, there were many black and red marks that were difficult to erase. It looked like old blood that could not be washed clean. The thin chain was also cut off by external force, and now it can¡¯t be connected.


    [Item Name: Broken Silver Pendant]


    [Grade: Unknown]


    [Activation Type: None]


    [Cooldown: None]


    [Attack power: unknown]


    [Effect: Unknown]


    [Equipment Level: 1]


    [Item introduction: a broken silver pendant. If you take it to the market to exchange for food, perhaps you¡¯ll be driven away after being beaten up by the boss.]


    ¡°This is¡­¡± Wen Zheliu looked at it carefully, and then looking at the properties of the item, He Qin recalled: ¡°I found it in the grass beside the road.¡±


    A light flashed in Wen Zheliu¡¯s mind. He suddenly remembered something and said: ¡°By the way, I remembered! Before you were pressed to the ground by that eyeless monster, I stabbed it in the forearm with a knife and seemed to have cut off something metallic!¡±


    He Qin took the pendant from his hand and turned it a few times around his fingers, ¡°So, this thing was originally hanging on that monster¡­¡±


    He took a few glances, and suddenly stretched out the thumb of his other hand to buckle the pendant. He heard a ¡°click¡±, and the pendant was actually opened.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Wen Zheliu was amazed and hurriedly leaned in to take a closer look. Although this pendant was small, it had a hidden mystery, ¡°This is¡­ a picture frame pendant?¡±


    He Qin remained silent, his gaze fixed on the yellowish old photos inside. This seemed to be a portrait of a girl. Due to the long exposure, this photo has faded to white, and only a thin layer of brittle yellow remains at the edge. Nonetheless, Wen Zheliu can tell that the girl in the photo has fair skin and light blond curly hair.


    Looking at it again at this time, its properties have changed again.


    [Item Name: Broken Silver Photo-framed Pendant]


    [Grade: Unknown]


    [Activation Type: None]


    [Cooldown: None]


    [Attack: Unknown]


    [Effect: Unknown]


    [Equipment Level: 1]


    [Item introduction: a broken silver picture frame pendant; time has passed and the beauty in the picture is no longer clear. Take it to the market to exchange for food, and perhaps the boss will be interested in asking you the story behind it.]


    ¡°¡­What the hell! It¡¯s impossible to buy food in the market, isn¡¯t it?¡± Wen Zheliu suppressed the desire to complain and looked at the translucent handwriting that appeared in the air with disgust.


    ¡°Anyway, this is really a vintage antique.¡± He Qin got up and went to the tray sent by Du Zijun to find the gauze and sterilized alcohol, ¡°If we wipe it, we might be able to see the owner¡¯s name.¡±


    Wen Zheliu was injured before, so He Qin did not let him do it. Instead, he sat on the side himself, wiping the blood stains on it with gauze dipped in alcohol. After wiping for a long time, he could vaguely see a string of letters on the polished shell.


    ¡°Hill¡­¡± He Qin narrowed his eyes and recognized a word, ¡°Hill, the surname of the pendant¡¯s owner.¡±


    ¡°Could it be Marianne¡¯s pendant?¡± Wen Zheliu guessed, ¡°Or is it her family¡¯s pendant? In short, the girl in the photo is blonde, and the hostess of this cottage is also blonde. There must be some relation between the two.¡±


    He Qin handed him the pendant: ¡°You put it away first; we¡¯ll go down and ask later; I¡¯ll give you some medicine now.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Wen Zheliu held the pendant and lay on the bed according to the words. Since the Uncanny Valley has prohibited minors from entering the game¡ªa restriction that has been rendered obsolete by the intervention of the saint nun¡ªthe degree of realism has also strived to the extreme. The scene of players exploding into white light when they die, like in the game Survival World, will not appear. The tragic situation that Wen Zheliu and the others saw before will be a common sight in their future gaming lives.


    In this case, the player¡¯s synchronization rate in the Uncanny Valley will also be adjusted to 100%. Therefore, the pain that Wen Zheliu and He Qin felt when they were injured and the great pain suffered by Lu Hai and Lin Fangfei before they died are no different from the real world, which is more surreal and inescapable for the players.


    He Qin put Wen Zheliu¡¯s coat aside and carefully lifted his shirt. Wen Zheliu has slender limbs, fair skin, and a handsome side profile, with a sense of beauty between a teenager and a young man. But now, a large purple-red bruise has appeared on his back, blinding He Qin¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Bear with it for a while.¡± He Qin looked at the effect of the wound medicine. He first covered it in the palm of his hand and pressed the pungent, wet medicine in a circular motion with his strong thumb. Wen Zheliu gritted his teeth. He Qin¡¯s palm was extremely hot, and the moment he touched the bruises on his skin, he almost subconsciously bounced his upper body.


    ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Sweat began to appear on Wen Zheliu¡¯s forehead, and a layer of fine sweat also gradually appeared on his back. He Qin kept his voice low and hazy, comforting him with a tone of coaxing a child, ¡°It¡¯ll be fine soon, good boy.¡±


    Wen Zheliu breathed a sigh of relief. Although it was uncomfortable, his stamina and health were indeed rising at a rapid rate. He thought about it and asked, ¡°Brother, your dog tag¡­¡±


    ¡°I want to ask, why does the Saint Nun want your dog tag?¡± He Qin replied, ¡°Turn over and be careful.¡±


    ¡°Is it okay to say this in the Uncanny Valley?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± He Qin said lightly. ¡°From the moment she pulled you here and tried to deceive you, you have been under her surveillance. It doesn¡¯t matter what we say.¡±


    ¡°You know about this?¡± Wen Zheliu was a little surprised.


    He Qin smiled: ¡°Of course I know, and I also know that you are very smart and have tricked her once.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the use of countering her once? In the end, I was still thrown here.¡± Wen Zheliu felt a little depressed, ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on in the outside world¡­¡±


    He Qin pondered for a moment: ¡°At first, she held me hostage just to use me as a bargaining chip to negotiate with N-Star in order to buy time to fully take over the Uncanny Valley. But now she wants my dog tags, and I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s for my authority in the City of Nova.¡±


    ¡°Authority.¡± Wen Zheliu murmured and repeated.


    ¡°Come, turn this way.¡± He Qin said, ¡°Yes, my authority. The dog tag is a very useful key item; it contains all my personal information, like a token or an ancient military amulet. So, the moment you arrive in this world with it, I can sense you and come to you through it.¡±


    ¡°My uncle He Huaizhou is both the chief designer of Nova City in the 24th century and the general manager of the Uncanny Valley. Everything about Nova City¡ªits concept, structure, rules, etc.¡ªwas proposed by our ancestors two centuries ago and has been continuously improved in the following two centuries. By the time of my uncle¡¯s takeover, the centralized management model no longer fit Nova City¡¯s existing model. If you compare it to a door, it used to be only Adelaide and my uncle that could open it, but now¡­¡±


    ¡°You can open it too?¡± Wen Zheliu deduced.


    ¡°Thirteen directors, including me, can open it, and the dog tag is my door key.¡± He Qin smiled slightly and said, ¡°The thirteen of us are jokingly called the ¡°House of Lords1¡± by the company.¡±


    Wen Zheliu was stunned, trying his best to search for this concept in his mind: ¡°What an old system of address.¡±


    ¡°The opposite of this is the board of directors of the House of Commons2,¡± He Qin said lightly. ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll tell you in detail another day. The authority of the House of Lords is exactly what the Saint Nun needs now. Twelve seconds after I was held hostage in the Uncanny Valley by her, the Skynet system of Nova City discovered my abnormal state. At that time, it should be around 8:20 p.m. on July 29.¡±


    ¡°Eight o¡¯clock in the afternoon, until the early morning of the same day¡­ So, it wasn¡¯t you who called me at that time?¡± Wen Zheliu was shocked: ¡°She not only impersonated you but also, in just five short hours, completely and utterly expelled all administrators and took over the entire Uncanny Valley!¡±


    ¡°Precisely.¡± He Qin took advantage of his attention being drawn to the conversation and slowly increased the strength of his hand, saying, ¡°She pretended to be me, just to lure you and take away the dog tag from your hand. The Uncanny Valley is still under the supervision of Nova City. It is almost impossible to break into the protective net of Nova City from the outside and take control of the Uncanny Valley. Even the Trojan Plan developed by N-Star itself could not do it, but the Saint Nun chose to break through from the inside ¡­..¡±


    ¡°The difficulty is greatly reduced.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± He Qin smiled bitterly, ¡°Your brother just became her key.¡±


    ¡°Up to now, we still don¡¯t know what she wants or what her ultimate goal is.¡± He Qin said, ¡°But according to my guess, ¡®players can return to the real world after clearing the game¡¯ is already the biggest result that N-Star can strive for. The best psychological experts, negotiators, and top programmers in the industry sent out by N-Star have all been defeated in front of her long ago.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Wen Zheliu was very puzzled, ¡°N-star Company is her creator. With what you know about her, isn¡¯t it enough to decide the winner or loser of the negotiation?¡±


    ¡°Because she is a growing, intelligent being, baby.¡± He Qin continued, ¡°She learns from failure and success. As long as the first person underestimated her intelligence and lost under her hand, this white paper can immediately be marked, completing the leap from 0 to 1.¡±


    Wen Zheliu immediately thought of something: ¡°If you say that, me and her¡­¡±


    ¡°The victory you got can never be replicated a second time with her.¡± He Qin whispered, ¡°Next time, she will know more; her grasp of personality will be even better, and it will be even more difficult to overcome.¡±


    Wen Zheliu frowned, his thoughts unknown.


    After He Qin finished pressing, Wen Zheliu¡¯s stamina was close to full. He Qin fixed his shirt and helped him sit up again. When Wen Zheliu got up, his body was stiff, so he couldn¡¯t help but take a hand to support himself, but he accidentally pressed on the root of the other party¡¯s thigh.


    ¡°Ah, right¡­¡±


    He was suddenly stunned.


    He Qin¡¯s face also showed an unnatural red. He saw Wen Zheliu pull his hand back like an electric shock, and after a moment of silence, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s go down to eat.¡±


    The two then walked out of the door one after the other and went downstairs to eat at the long table.


    Wen Zheliu appeared calm, but in reality, he was panicking. He kept thinking about it, and he forgot a lot of what He Qin had just told him.


    What¡¯s the matter? Could it be that He Qin is also gay?


    He Qin jokingly referred to him as his baby and treated him like a younger brother. Wen Zheliu thought that this kind of favorability seemed too baffling. This man was like a lazy wild leopard who did things his own way. His fangs and claws can kill anyone, but he only showed him kindness and protection. This kind of special treatment made Wen Zheliu always feel an unparalleled sense of security, so when the question ¡°Why He Qin is so good to him¡± arose, he timidly quelled it.


    So¡­ is he gay?


    No, no, in fact, it may be a normal reaction for straight men. Aren¡¯t men this kind of creature? They can get hard when using the toilet, walking, riding in a car, and seeing Hello Kitty 300th anniversary doll figures on the road. But there¡¯s also a type of straight man who chooses to scold the beautiful girl when they see one and yell, ¡°Fuck you, get out of the way, you¡¯re blocking my view of Gundam3¡°¡­


    His thoughts flew farther and farther, and the little Wen Zheliu fluttered his wings and wandered back and forth between the cosmic stars and the doll Gundam, trying his best to figure out whether He Qin was a straight man.


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± He Qin gently rubbed his ears and said, ¡°Watch the road; be careful of falling down.¡±


    After a pause, he added, ¡°Your brother is a straight man; don¡¯t think too much.¡±


    Snapped! With an arrow piercing his heart, The little Wen Zheliu fell from the cosmic stars into the lustrous and icy Gunpla in the mountains and disappeared suddenly.


    ¡°¡­Oh.¡± Wen Zheliu lowered his head. A huge sense of loss enveloped his whole body; his sky was covered with dark clouds, and the little sun no longer shone, ¡°¡­Okay, I understand.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± He Qin looked at him as if he knew something in that instant, but seeing the long table close at hand, he turned to say, ¡°Let¡¯s talk after dinner.¡±


    .


    At the table, Marianne prepared a large portion of hot mashed potatoes and white bread with vegetable soup for each of them. The warmth of the candlelight and the steaming heat of the food greatly reduced everyone¡¯s anxiety. Marianne sat on the main seat. Her thin face showed a rare, relaxed smile. She was about to speak when a male player named Bai Hao, who was too hungry, shouted excitedly, ¡°I¡¯m digging in!¡± He then scooped mashed potatoes with a spoon.


    Marianne was startled immediately. He Qin¡¯s eyes flashed sharply. A stone popped up quickly and hit Bai Hao on the wrist. He immediately ¡°Ouch-ed¡±, and the spoon suddenly dropped off and hit the plate.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± He Qin smiled at Marianne and said, ¡°My companion is just too hungry; no offense intended; please pray first.¡±


    Bai Hao quietly moved his wrists under the dining table and glared indignantly at He Qin, but he did not dare to say anything more because of the threat of his great strength. Marianne smiled and stretched out her hands to both sides of the dining table. The rest of the players were still clueless. He Qin ordered in a low voice, ¡°Hold hands and bow your head.¡±


    They held each other¡¯s hands in confusion. Circling around the table, they bowed their heads and heard Marianne muttering: ¡°The poor shall be fed and satiated, the rich shall be plentiful, and those who seek the Lord shall praise him; their hearts shall have eternal life¡­¡±


    Wen Zheliu spoke to He Qin: Is this the Christian prayer before meals?


    He Qin nodded and returned: an ancient custom that ceased to be popular more than a hundred years ago.


    After the pre-dinner prayer, there were occasional whispers, more often the sound of chewing food and drinking soup. Wen Zheliu thought about it, but still came close to He Qin¡¯s ear and asked, ¡°Where did you get the stone?¡±


    He Qin smiled slightly with a rare childishness. Wen Zheliu¡¯s heart was pounding: ¡°It¡¯s shaken off your clothes.¡±


    After dinner, Marianne announced the tasks and rewards on the table.


    She said, ¡°The torches are kept in the storage room. It only takes two people to watch the night every night. After tonight, I have a few candleheads here. Anyone who wants to use them can use them.¡±


    Mu Tuo frowned and didn¡¯t speak.


    Wen Zheliu suddenly interjected: ¡°Miss Marianne, we didn¡¯t know your full name yet. Is it convenient to tell us?¡±


    Marianne glanced at him inexplicably and replied, ¡°Marrianne¡­Marrianne Hill.¡±


    After Marianne finished speaking, she said good night to everyone, took the candlestick, and went upstairs to rest. Since the only NPC present left, everyone didn¡¯t have to worry about the participation value and waited until her footsteps disappeared before the door closed with a sound. After the movement, Wen Zheliu opened his mouth and said, ¡°Then next, let us allocate the night patrol tasks¡­ and then share the information that everyone has gathered.¡±


    The author has something to say:


    He Qin: I solemnly declare that although I¡¯m gay, flirtatious, and talk a lot, I know that I¡¯m a straight man.


    The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function.


    The House of Commons is the democratically elected house of the UK Parliament, responsible for making laws and checking the work of Government.


    Pretty sure this is a reference from somewhere.

 CH 14

    Song of Despair (14)


    Mu Tuo said decisively, ¡°Let me do the night patrol on the first night. Who will join me?¡±


    His eyes reflected the jumping candle light, and he looked extremely resolute. At this time, it¡¯s unknown whether it¡¯s a hallucination or otherwise, but there were countless rustling sounds in the distant forest outside the house, as if some non-human creatures lurking in the dark would burst out at any time and smother this hazy flame that symbolizes vitality.


    His fighting ability may not be as high as that of Wen Zheliu and He Qin, but in the few times everyone spent together, he has always played the role of an organizer, like a clumsy but reliable big brother. He surprised Zhou Qing by offering to take the night patrol on the first night. ¡°Brother Mu, you¡¯re¡­ ¡±


    Mu Tuo didn¡¯t hide it either. He took something out of his inventory and put it on the table. Wen Zheliu saw that it was the candlestick-shaped item that Mu Tuo got from the novice turntable.


    This candlestick seems to be made of brass, with a simple shape and an old color. There are seven separate lamps on it. The middle one is obviously higher than the six branches on both sides. The lamps are hollow and empty without any candles. It was the first time for Wen Zheliu to carefully observe this item, and he couldn¡¯t help but blurt out, ¡°Seven-branch candlesticks.¡±


    He Qin nodded and said, in an encouraging tone, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the seven-branched candlestick. The middle one represents the Sabbath1, and the other six represent the six days when God created the world. This item has a very strong religious touch.¡±


    Mu Tuo said to the players, ¡°Look at its item properties again.¡±


    Since the owner of the item had already spoken, Wen Zheliu took a curious glance.


    [Item Name: Empty Candlestick (Incomplete)]


    [Grade: C-]


    [Activation type: instant activation]


    [Cooling time: 12 hours]


    [Attack Power: Low]


    [Effect: When all seven candles are lit, the equipment will illuminate the space with a radius of 3-5 meters, lasting for 7 hours, and have a chance to expel non-human creatures at a certain intensity for players within the range.]


    [Equipment Level: 5]


    [Item introduction: After seven days, the light will last forever, and there is nothing else in the world except the fragrance of olive trees.]


    ¡°You mean¡­¡± Wen Zheliu reacted instantly: ¡°Marianne just mentioned the reward of a few candle heads; is it likely to be the key item that completes your item?¡±


    Mu Tuo said, ¡°That¡¯s right, so I need the side rewards for the first night.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go with you.¡± After a moment of silence, Zhou Yao stood up. ¡°The attack power of the item I drew is not bad; the two of us can take care of each other.¡±


    ¡°Brother!¡± Zhou Qing exclaimed in shock.


    ¡°In any case, I need to remind you all of one thing.¡± He Qin interjected, ¡°You all heard the system prompt earlier.¡±


    As soon as these words came out, Mu Tuo, Zhou Qing, Zhou Yao, Du Zijun, and others couldn¡¯t help but look at him.


    ¡°It¡¯s worth noting that this mode may seem cumbersome, but it¡¯s actually a mode that only works in the Uncanny Valley. As the difficulty of the world increases in the later stages, the more effective it will be in divorcing players from each other.¡± He Qin said solemnly, ¡°After starting the survival mode, what would you do if a player begged for your help? Helping them would be of no benefit except to waste your own resources and energy because you can¡¯t guarantee that they will return the favor. If you don¡¯t help them, maybe you can reduce the difficulty of the world and increase your chances of survival, and the items they dropped might also be yours. So will you help them or not?¡±


    Xiong Lin scratched his head and said with a frown, ¡°Then according to you, of course, it¡¯s better not to help¡­.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what it, or she, is trying to achieve.¡± He Qin said, ¡°No matter how much the difficulty is reduced, as long as there¡¯s only one player left at the end, you can¡¯t rely on one person to fight against the will of an entire intelligent world. If we go on killing each other like this, we¡¯ll only get the result of a total defeat caused by infighting. We can¡¯t win without uniting.¡±


    Mu Tuo thought for a moment: ¡°What you mean is¡­ to help each other as much as possible and maintain the number of players? Good ¡­¡­I understand.¡±


    Just when everyone was pondering the final outcome of He Qin¡¯s words, Du Zijun raised her eyelids and stared at He Qin through the flickering candlelight.


    ¡°Who exactly are you?¡± She exhaled a smoke ring with a grim expression: ¡°Your true identity must not be any ordinary player at all.¡±


    Wen Zheliu raised his head abruptly. He didn¡¯t know whether to feel shocked by this woman¡¯s keen intuition or to complain about her bizarre personality¡­


    By the way, why is she smoking again? Where did the cigarette come from?!


    He Qin was unmoved; the corners of his raised eyes showed a sharp, cold light, ¡°Oh? Why did Miss Du say that?¡±


    ¡°Ordinary players can¡¯t perceive such a far-reaching intention in a short period of time.¡± Her slender, white fingers were holding an equally slender lady¡¯s cigarette. The smoke was lingering and blurring her grim frown, ¡°What¡¯s more, when those two died tragically on top of that, you and your little friend didn¡¯t react much and seem to have adapted very well.¡±


    ¡°And your skills¡­ The kid named Wen Di is just fighting by relying on his quick reactions, but you are different,¡± she said bluntly, ¡°Since you¡¯re an item summoned by this little friend, theoretically speaking, your level can¡¯t surpass his, but according to your performance, the shackles of the level don¡¯t have any impact on you at all.¡±


    Her words have substance, and her attitude is firm. Players who were skeptical about He Qin¡¯s origin all turned their attention to him.


    He Qin laughed. He looked at Du Zijun, and his expression suddenly became a little weird.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay to tell you guys this,¡± he said, averting his gaze, ¡°Yes, I am a staff member during the Uncanny Valley closed beta.¡±


    Wen Zheliu was silent, just listening quietly.


    ¡°What!¡±


    ¡°Is what you said true?!¡±


    As soon as these words came out, the players almost rose from their seats in an uproar, and Du Zijun also raised her eyebrows in surprise. Several men even pushed away their chairs and stood up, asking, ¡°Are you a GM?¡±


    He Qin smiled lazily and gave them a calm look: ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much. There can¡¯t be a GM here now that there¡¯s a Saint Nun covering the sky in the Uncanny Valley. At most, I can only be regarded as an employee who knows some inside information, but I have no way to execute my authority as an administrator.¡±


    ¡°Everyone, calm down!¡± Mu Tuo stood up and suppressed a few players who were unusually emotional, and he said sincerely to He Qin, ¡°Brother He Qin, since you know a little bit of the inside story, can you reveal it to us? After all, we all know very little about the world now; if you could tell us a little more¡­¡±


    He Qin avoided talking and looked back at the old-fashioned clock hanging on the wall, ¡°But I think we¡¯ve wasted too much time; it¡¯s already time for the night patrol.¡±


    Mu Tuo¡¯s expression was a little surprised, and Wen Zheliu finally said, ¡°Brother Mu, Brother Zhou, the side quest is more important at present. My brother and I won¡¯t go anywhere. Everyone has been tired for a whole day, so it¡¯s best if we rest early and talk about it tomorrow. What do you think?¡±


    Zhou Yao said: ¡°That¡¯s true; everyone must be tired after running around all day¡­¡±


    He Qin stood up with Wen Zheliu and said, ¡°Don¡¯t doubt my identity or my purpose; now, good night everyone.¡±


    .


    Back in the room, He Qin put down the candlestick and turned to look at Wen Zheliu.


    His deep facial features glistened under the dim yellow light, and his eyes seemed to hold a thousand stars rippling under them. Wen Zheliu felt an indescribable attraction, he held his breath and turned his eyes slightly.


    Fortunately, He Qin did not continue their unfinished topic but asked him directly: ¡°How is it? What did you find?¡±


    Wen Zheliu¡¯s heart was relieved; he exhaled, looked up at the man in front of him again, and asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you finish your sentence before?¡±


    There was a small desk in the room with only one chair under it. He Qin sat on the edge of the bed, patted the seat next to him, and motioned for Wen Zheliu to sit down.


    ¡°Because it¡¯s weird.¡± He Qin stated.


    ¡°What¡¯s so weird?¡± Wen Zheliu suddenly became interested and said, ¡°Don¡¯t say it; let me think about it.¡±


    He Qin looked at him with a smile. Wen Zheliu carefully pondered over it and slowly selected his wording: ¡°First, I think the deaths of Lu Hai and Lin Fangfei are strange.¡±


    ¡°What are the conditions for triggering the monster, and why were the two of them killed? Was it just because they were standing at the front of the group?¡±


    ¡°Second, I think the game¡¯s settings are weird.¡±


    ¡°Since the monsters can appear in the daytime, it proves that they aren¡¯t afraid of light; if so, why would they be afraid of fire? If they¡¯re afraid of the heat of the flame, then why do players need to patrol the night? With a little kerosene and a few lit iron barrels fixed around the cottage, plus ensuring that the fire won¡¯t go out all night¡ªI can think of at least ten ways to protect the safety of this cottage. What is the meaning of this side quest that the player must go out?¡±


    ¡°Third, I think there¡¯s something odd about Marianne. But there¡¯s so little information now that I can¡¯t tell what¡¯s odd about her.¡±


    Wen Zheliu frowned: ¡°That¡¯s about it for now. When Brother Mu and the others finish their night patrol, maybe we¡¯ll know more¡­¡±


    As he was talking, he inadvertently saw He Qin staring into his eyes, so he stopped abruptly.


    This smiling, proud, and loving look was like a flame that burned his heart with fiery heat, and this passion almost immediately turned into a steaming mist, flowing down his blood vessels throughout his body.


    ¡°I¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°You said it well; I¡¯m proud of you.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s discuss it together,¡± He Qin said, reaching out and rubbing the back of Wen Zheliu¡¯s neck until he was numb and almost trembling. ¡°Actually, the cause of Lu Hai and Lin Fangfei¡¯s deaths can be guessed by normal people with a little research¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because Lin Fangfei didn¡¯t want her self-defense weapon, and Lu Hai threw away his own weapon in order to save her.¡± Wen Zheliu said, ¡°The only difference between them and others is this.¡±


    ¡°In this way, although Du Zijun¡¯s identity is still unknown, she is very smart.¡± He Qin raised his eyebrows slightly and said with a smile, ¡°She immediately figured this out and told Lu Hai to hurry up and pick up his weapon¡­¡±


    Wen Zheliu made a helpless gesture: ¡°But it¡¯s too late; he¡¯s still dead.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s assume that they triggered the death condition because they abandoned their weapons.¡± He Qin said, ¡°But can we make another assumption?¡±


    He Qin stroked the sheet with his fingertips and said, ¡°If the system¡¯s purpose is to give players a downer at the very beginning, so that we can see how powerful the boss is, then just pick anyone to kill, but the monster¡¯s goal is very clear; it¡¯s the Lu Lin couple, and the reason for killing them is extremely reckless. Is there any use for weapons at this stage other than self-defense? Just because they threw away their weapons, they were subject to such tragic killings. This is too illogical, unlike the plot that N-Star can design.¡±


    ¡°You mean¡­¡± Wen Zheliu slowly widened his eyes. With the bonus attribute of the [Companion], he and He Qin seemed to have a heart-to-heart connection, and could immediately understand each other¡¯s meaning, ¡°Their death has another purpose?¡±


    He Qin applauded: ¡°Smart.¡±


    The fog in his mind was dispelled by He Qin, and the joy of solving the puzzle exploded like fireworks. Wen Zheliu couldn¡¯t wait to pick up where He Qin left off and said, ¡°Yes, it makes sense! The cause of their death was indeed too hasty. It seems that the system must make them die, so it randomly found a reason. If I have to say it, the purpose of their deaths is to draw out the two game modes of the Uncanny Valley! Looking at it this way, the deaths of Lu and Lin are almost like ¡­like¡­¡±


    He opened his mouth only to feel a stalk in his throat, and he couldn¡¯t speak any more.


    ¡°¡ªIt¡¯s like a one-time consumption item designed for the plot, isn¡¯t it?¡± He Qin said softly.


    Wen Zheliu stopped talking. All kinds of unbelievable and terrifying conjectures kept circling in his heart. After a long time, he asked with difficulty, ¡°So¡­ are they real players or NPCs like Marianne, or something entirely different?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this later; it¡¯s fine.¡± Seeing that he was a little scared, He Qin reassured him, ¡°As for the second and third oddities you mentioned, there is no way to verify them now. We can only wait until tomorrow. I didn¡¯t finish my sentence because I wanted to see the side quest rewards for the next day to prove these strange things you said.¡±


    Wen Zheliu asked, ¡°So ¡­¡­ what are the words you didn¡¯t finish?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a specific way to crack the main quest.¡± He Qin said, ¡°In order to reflect the realness, the company has set up the concept of participation value for players, so as to limit their words and deeds to the greatest extent and let them treat NPCs as real people and pay attention to the game. In order to reflect the difficulty, they also tampered with the game a little: the system will not let the NPC actively disclose the basic information of the main quest until the players find and submit what the NPCs consider to be key items.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s actually an idealistic game of finding key items?¡± Wen Zheliu was surprised and said, ¡°But it¡¯s difficult!¡±


    He Qin smiled faintly, ¡°It¡¯s only interesting if it¡¯s difficult, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Wen Zheliu was extremely depressed: ¡°You wicked adults¡­¡±


    Before he could finish speaking, a terrified scream came from outside the door.


    ¡°Who?!¡± Wen Zheliu was startled, and He Qin frowned.


    .


    Inside the bedroom, Zhou Qing was leaning against the bed, idly fiddling with the communication device in her hand.


    Perhaps in order to fit the background of the time period, this communication device for the whole group to communicate is also painted in a very antique white and copper color. The top has an unknown nine-key pinyin that was popular hundreds of years ago, and the display screen only accounts for half of the device2¡­


    Equipment that is too advanced or too backward is quite a headache. Zhou Qing stumbled around for a while before she was barely familiar with its application. At this time, a vague knocking sound suddenly came from the wall behind her.


    She was stunned for a moment, then thought back carefully. Isn¡¯t the bedroom next to Du Zijun¡¯s?


    Zhou Qing smiled, because her and Zhou Yao¡¯s room was next to the storage room on the left, and Du Zijun lived on the right, so she remembered it very well. What¡¯s going on now? Could it be that Du Zijun was a little scared of sleeping alone?


    Thinking of this, she couldn¡¯t help but stretch out her hand and tap the wall twice in response.


    Du Zijun is a rather gloomy girl, but she is still a normal girl in some ways.


    The opposite side paused for a while, as if she did not expect her side to respond, and the sound of the knocking back became clearer.


    While smiling, Zhou Qing took out the communication device and sent a message to her new friend.


    Zhou Qing: [What are you doing? Not sleeping?]


    After a while, Du Zijun¡¯s brief text message came back. Her response was unexpectedly cold.


    Du Zijun: [?]


    Zhou Qing puffed out her cheeks and replied angrily: [Hey! You knocked on the wall in the middle of the night. I found out. Still don¡¯t admit it? Who do you think just gave you those few knocks back?]


    The message was sent for a long time, but there¡¯s still no reply.


    Hmph, you have a guilty conscience! Zhou Qingzheng was pleased with herself, but the knock on the wall behind her was louder and clearer at this time; almost even her back could feel the tremor of the wall. She frowned and was about to pursue this matter till the end when Du Zijun¡¯s text message suddenly came back.


    Du Zijun: [I¡¯m looking for information in the study downstairs; there¡¯s no one in my room; who¡¯s knocking on the wall with you?]


    Translator note: Not me translating this at night. I¡¯m literally? freaking tf out !!!!


    Zhou Qing¡¯s smile instantly froze on her face. She stared at these two lines stiffly. The hair on her back stood up, and she was covered in cold sweat.


    Du Zijun: [Stay in the room; don¡¯t open the door and don¡¯t come out; you hear me! ]


    The knocking sound behind her stopped.


    She sat on the bed with cold hands and feet, not daring to let out a breath, only to hear the increasingly strong heartbeat pounding against her chest, almost ready to pop out of her throat. In this deadly silence, she stared straight ahead, her mind blank.


    dong dong!


    dong dong dong!


    There were five knocks before and after, and Zhou Qing¡¯s body also twitched five times involuntarily, but this time the knocking sound was no longer behind her; it was knocking on her door!


    The communicator in her hand buzzed, and she slowly lowered her head. The original displayed screen showed irregular horizontal fluctuations followed by static noise all over the screen. She shivered and pressed her fingers hard on the keypads a few times, but there was no response at all.


    Zhou Qing was short of breath; she wanted to shout, but she was afraid of what would happen after she shouted, so she had to keep this frightening silence. There was a louder slap outside the door, and across the door, Zhou Qing also heard a very familiar female voice filtered by the wooden door: ¡°Zhou Qing, Zhou Qing! Open the door now! Why did you lock me out!¡±


    Zhou Qing was suddenly sweating like crazy. Her face was pale, and her teeth were chattering. She could hear it; she could hear it completely! That was Lin Fangfei¡¯s voice!


    At this moment, her mental value is already plummeting at a rate of 6% per second. It won¡¯t be long before she loses her reason and falls into a dangerous state of madness. Zhou Qing bit the back of her hand hard, forced herself to calm down, and thought of a solution as soon as possible. She kept hoping that Du Zijun would be her lifeline¡ªthat someone on the same floor would hear the noise and open the door to check on this side. Du Zijun is, after all, the last person she talked to, but will she come to her rescue?


    Her thoughts drifted wildly, to the point where she couldn¡¯t control herself. The clock on the wall was ticking, and her inner despair and doubts also increased sharply. Du Zijun, who had not come to the rescue, made her inevitably think of the survival mode that they have now started. Yes, she wouldn¡¯t risk her life to save herself. If she died, not only would the rewards be more generous after customs clearance, but the difficulty of the world would also be reduced. What a good deal this is¡­


    Just as she was thinking wildly, the knocking on the door also stopped.


    Zhou Qing waited for a long time, but there was no more dangerous news, which made her feel a little more at ease.


    Go, go away¡­


    She was covered in sweat, paralyzed on the bed, gasping for breath. At this moment, her nose suddenly caught a thickening scent of blood, and there was a slight noise from the window on the right.


    She subconsciously turned her head to look and was scared out of her mind in an instant!


    At that moment, a pale human face was stuck outside the window, with empty, bleeding eye sockets. The lips were bent stiffly, showing a twisted and weird smile straight at Zhou Qing, who was sitting at the head of the bed.


    ¡°Go away!¡± screamed Zhou Qing as she rolled out of bed and ran to the door. ¡°Go away, ahhhhh!¡±


    She was draped in a thin nightgown, barefoot, and fled to the door as fast as she could. She turned the key and pulled the door open.


    The stench, which was more than a hundred times stronger than before, rushed out. Lin Fangfei, who was covered in blood, was hanging from the door frame. Her long hair was soaked in blood and formed sticky patches that were messily draped all over her face. Through the gap in her hair, her stiff and swollen eyes were staring at Zhou Qing, who was face-to face at the moment.


    ¡°You¡­why keep me outside¡­¡±


    The Jewish Sabbath (from Hebrew shavat, ¡°to rest¡±) is observed throughout the year on the seventh day of the week¡ªfrom Friday evening to Saturday evening. According to biblical tradition, it commemorates the original seventh day on which God rested after completing the creation.


    Basically a dumbphone i think.

 CH 15

    At that moment, Zhou Qing felt as if her liver and gallbladder were torn from within, and a heart-piercing scream broke out from her throat.


    Her mental value fluctuated violently, and it plummeted to only 23%. At the moment of life and death, she released the item she drew from the novice lucky wheel like an electric shock, [eyeless doll].


    [Item Name: Eyeless Doll (Incomplete)]


    [Grade: c-]


    [Activation type: instant activation]


    [Cooling time: 3 hours]


    [Attack Power: None]


    [Effect: The next second after the player uses the item, a fabric doll that is no more than 5% different from the player¡¯s body weight will materialize and appear in place of the player. At the same time, the player will be bounced 2-3 meters backward. The attack power of the doll is 0, and the defense power is medium or low.


    Note: When the player completes the item, it is immediately upgraded to [Buttonhole Doll]; the item¡¯s effect remains unchanged, but the number of uses is increased to two.]


    [Equipment level: 5]


    [Item introduction: I am a buttonhole doll. My master put me in the attic, so one of my eyes rolled down the escalator into the burning flame of the fireplace, and the other eye fell into Puppy¡¯s milk bowl through the crack in the floor. Who can find my eyes? I¡¯m an eyeless doll~]


    This subconscious action saved her life.


    A bloody long tongue popped out of ¡°Lin Fangfei¡±¡¯s bloody mouth. At the critical moment, a doll of the exact same size as Zhou Qing appeared on the spot with a ¡°bang¡±, replacing where she was standing. There was a dull sound of clothes being ripped, and then the back of the doll¡¯s head exploded with countless pieces of fleece, which delivered the fatal blow.


    Under the shroud of extreme fear and death, Zhou Qing had no power to fight back. She rushed out of the door, screaming ¡°Help¡± intermittently while frantically running down the corridor, slapping the closed doors one by one desperately. In front of her, a male player named Gao Xinghan cautiously opened the door and took a look at the situation. After just one glance, his face changed drastically, and he hurriedly closed the door. Immediately after, the locking sound could be heard from inside the door.


    Zhou Qing was completely desperate. She stumbled and ran; her lips were pale, her voice was hoarse, and tears of wariness hit her nightgown. Her rapidly declining mental value caused her physical strength to be depleted several times faster than usual. Just as she was running out of strength and about to fall to the ground, a door suddenly opened in front of her!


    Wen Zheliu held the holy sword of physics1, kicked open the door, and immediately let out a ¡°f*ck¡± when he saw what was outside.


    An eyeless monster was breaking through the door from the storage room at the end of the corridor, protruding half of its body. With a bloody female corpse still on its tongue, it was chasing Zhou Qing desperately in the corridor. Wen Zheliu was relentless. He strided past Zhou Qing in two steps and directly slashed at the female corpse with a stick!


    ¡°Where is the evildoer, my holy sword punishes¡ª!¡±


    The crowbar swung down like a knife chopping melons and vegetables, and it beat the female corpse to pieces in one stroke. With a muffled sound, it even nailed the eyeless monster¡¯s incredibly tough bloody tongue to the floor!


    The monster screamed in pain, but Wen Zheliu stood there dumbfounded. At this moment, the crowbar in his hand seemed to shoot out ten thousand feet of golden light, forcing him to shout: ¡°This is not an e-level item; this is an ex-level curry stick2 item!¡±


    At this time, He Qin also entered the stage with a weapon in his hand, but instead of the wooden stick that Mu Tuo had given him earlier, he was holding¡­a hatchet.


    ¡°¡­Where did this hatchet come from?¡± Wen Zheliu asked calmly.


    ¡°Trust me.¡± He Qin responded calmly, ¡°Since you want to kill, you must be determined to be killed¡ª¡±


    Wen Zheliu almost fell apart and said: ¡°I asked you where the hatchet came from. What are you doing with my lines! Are you Rena Rugyu3! Why did you suddenly turn into an otaku!¡±


    He Qin regained the cynical look and said with a smile: ¡°Just spice up the atmosphere; now nail it down!¡±


    He suddenly looked cold and solemn, with unparalleled killing intent and sharpness bursting out of his eyes, like a leopard that was ready to attack. He Qin dashed forward toward the monster at the end of the corridor. He stomped on the wall and spun his body like he was one with the wind, then he drew his sword and shouted: ¡°Die!¡±


    The monster¡¯s tongue was firmly nailed by Wen Zheliu, and its strong lower body was stuck at the window of the storage room, unable to move. It couldn¡¯t help but hiss with fear and had to open its monstrous claws to block the hatchet, causing the rancid black blood to splatter. The hatchet collided with the wrist bone buried deep under the muscle, making a clunking sound of metal colliding!


    He Qin wanted to slash a second time, but the monster was already struggling desperately, even tearing off the tongue nailed under the crowbar. It pushed back with its claws, roared loudly, squeezed open the storage room window, and dashed into the dark mountains, where it vanished.


    The night wind howled, blowing in through the broken window of the storage room. He Qin looked down at the hatchet in his hand and turned to look at the two rows of doors that were still closed. At this time, the unmistakable killing intent has not yet completely faded from him. He is cloaked in dim candlelight and hazy night, like a cold beast with gorgeous fur.


    Zhou Qing was dumbfounded.


    Wen Zheliu flicked the crowbar, and the blood stains on it flew to the wall, corroding the pasted wallpaper into a seething black-red foam. He walked up to He Qin and whispered, ¡°Brother, are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He Qin said, while picking up a black piece of fabric from the wreckage and putting it in his pocket, ¡°Go check her room.¡±


    Perhaps it was because the movement outside stopped that the doors on both sides of the corridor opened one by one. Everyone who had just pretended to be dead stretched out their bodies cautiously, observing the chaos outside.


    Zhou Qing followed behind the two tremblingly, wiping away tears in anger. Wen Zheliu turned his head slightly and said, ¡°How is it? Are you okay?¡±


    Unexpectedly, Zhou Qing burst into tears and said, ¡°Thank you, thank you¡­ thank you!¡±


    Walking into the room, Zhou Qing cried and gestured at them, saying that she first heard a knock on the wall from Du Zijun¡¯s room, but Du Zijun said that it wasn¡¯t her, and then that thing knocked on her door; she didn¡¯t dare to open the door, only to see a dead face at the window¡­


    Wen Zheliu leaned over, observed carefully with the candlestick, and found that there was a circle of blood in the shape of a face and several bloody fingerprints outside the window.


    ¡°It¡¯s not an illusion; it¡¯s real.¡± ¡°There are at least two monsters¡ªone scaring you out, the other waiting to catch you outside the door,¡± He Qin said.


    Du Zijun came in while they were talking, with messy sideburns, pale, tightly pursed lips, and a heaving chest.


    ¡°Are you all right?¡± She held a candlestick in her hand, her gaze was sinister as she looked around; and her skirt was dirty, not knowing where she had smeared it.


    He Qin raised his eyebrows and said, ¡°You are¡­¡±


    ¡°Laozi is going to f*cking kill that bastard!¡± Du Zijun suddenly burst into a frenzy of curses: ¡°I climbed the stairs for half an hour but didn¡¯t get anywhere. I walked up at least a thousand steps! What the hell is this f*cking house?!¡±


    Wen Zheliu had no doubt that if there was any inhuman creature that appeared in front of her at this time, it would definitely be smashed into a meat paste by this furious woman with a candlestick¡­


    Immediately behind her, Mu Tuo and Zhou Yao, who had finished their night patrol ahead of schedule, also hurried over. When they passed by, Wen Zheliu¡¯s nose twitched slightly, as if he had smelled some kind of sweet and greasy aroma.


    Zhou Yao hugged his sister; Zhou Qing then jumped into his arms and burst into tears. Mu Tuo comforted them, and Du Zijun was like an angry lioness, walking around with a candlestick, wishing to tear down the corridor. The male players in the corridor kept whispering and glancing over here¡­


    He Qin twitched his eyebrows, pressed his temples, and shouted in a deep voice, ¡°Shut up!¡±


    His handsome face was indifferent, and the cold murderous intent from when he swung the hatchet just now remained between his eyes. When he looked around, his aura was even more powerful, and he immediately calmed down all the noisy players.


    ¡°Now, go back to sleep, and we¡¯ll talk about it tomorrow when we wake up.¡± He Qin commanded, ¡°Don¡¯t delay your sleep time; it¡¯s for your own good.¡±


    The players were silenced, and they all kept quiet.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, baby,¡± He Qin took Wen Zheliu¡¯s hand and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to hold the crowbar so tightly; let¡¯s go back to the room first.¡±


    Wen Zheliu turned his head and smiled at Zhou Qing and Zhou Yao, but was led back gently and forcefully by He Qin.


    After closing the door, Wen Zheliu was still looking thoughtfully at the crowbar in his hand.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He Qin teased, ¡°You didn¡¯t expect it to become the holy sword of physics, did you?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s unreasonable; how can a mere E-grade item display such exaggerated combat power?¡± Shaking his head in perplexity, Wen Zheliu said.


    He Qin took off his shoes again, bent down, and made the bed. ¡°It¡¯s just a small Easter egg set by N-Star. You will see many more in the future, so don¡¯t be too surprised.¡±


    ¡°Easter eggs¡­?¡±


    ¡°The bad taste of the R&D personnel.¡± He Qin laughed lazily, ¡°Whether the crowbar or the hatchet, they are all classic elements in the history of ACG4¡­ No matter how expensive and advanced the Uncanny Valley is, it¡¯s just a game. As a tribute to its predecessors, these special items have an exclusive name in our programmer circle called ¡°Sentimental Items¡±.¡±


    Wen Zheliu lowered his head silently: ¡°Should I praise those otakus or should I say this is a foul¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± He Qin laid down on one side of the bed and said, ¡°This isn¡¯t considered cheating; it can only be called clever use of the rules. The Saint Nun couldn¡¯t understand this concept yet. Besides, although it¡¯s very powerful, you can¡¯t take it out; it can only be used in this world.¡±


    Under the candlelight, Wen Zheliu carefully looked at the properties of the crowbar.


    [Item name: crowbar]


    [Grade: E]


    [Activation type: instant activation]


    [Cooling time: None]


    [Attack Power: Mindfulness]


    [Effect: With a gentle wave, you can experience something new like never before!]


    [Equipment level: 5]


    [Item introduction: With the holy sword in your hands, the world is at your fingertips. ]


    ¡­This is so wrong, and he didn¡¯t even know where to start complaining.


    Out of curiosity, he picked up the hatchet that He Qin had brought from the kitchen¡­


    [Item name: Hatchet]


    [Grade: E]


    [Activation type: instant activation]


    [Cooling time: None]


    [Attack Power: Mindfulness]


    [Effect: As long as you have the determination, you can cut down anything! ]


    [Equipment level: 5]


    [Item introduction: Dragon Slaying Saber; click to give it away; click to play for a year; the equipment will not cost a penny; level 999 for a knife. Rena Rugyu said it was good to use!]


    ¡­He¡¯s going to be blind if he looks at it again¡­.


    He Qin patted the bed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t look anymore, baby. Come and sleep quickly; there¡¯s still a lot of work to do tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡± Wen Zheliu was indeed tired after a day of exhaustion, so he didn¡¯t have time to think about anything. He lay down next to He Qin with his clothes on and fell into a deep sleep with peace of mind.


    The next day, at the dining table in the morning, a group of players with different expressions stared at the plate in front of them without speaking.


    Marianne sat down in the first place. Wen Zheliu thought in his heart: If there¡¯s one more person, they can form a table of thirteen people and compose the picture of The Last Supper5¡­


    ¡°Good morning, everyone.¡± Marianne said softly, ¡°It seems that you all had a bad time last night.¡±


    ¡°As you can see.¡± He Qin continued, ¡°The monster suddenly attacked this house. It was a terrible accident.¡±


    Marianne¡¯s face wasn¡¯t too good either: ¡°Yes, to make matters worse, it destroyed my storage room¡­ This is one of the only two storage rooms. I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll be very tight on food for the next few days¡­. ¡±


    ¡°I hope you won¡¯t deduct my companions¡¯ night patrol rewards for this.¡± Wen Zheliu continued, ¡°It¡¯s not their fault.¡±


    Marianne put down the knife and fork, nodded, and said, ¡°Of course, it¡¯s just a few candle heads. I¡¯m not so stingy.¡±


    She finished her meal and went to the kitchen with her own plate, leaving a number of uncomfortable players in place.


    ¡°Last night¡­¡± Bai Hao coughed, ¡°It was too unexpected.¡±


    Zhou Qing¡¯s fork scratched across the porcelain plate, producing an ear-piercing shrill.


    ¡°¡­It was quite unexpected.¡± His roommate, Gao Xinghan, lowered his head and swallowed a spoonful of thick soup. His voice was also low, ¡°We¡­ didn¡¯t even react¡­¡±


    Zhou Qing felt a raging fire suddenly rising up. She uncontrollably threw the fork into the dinner plate and said in a trembling voice: ¡°Since you didn¡¯t do anything last night, don¡¯t make unnecessary excuses for yourselves, ok?¡±


    ¡°Please try to understand everyone¡­¡± Ke Wenyan turned the spoon in his hand and whispered with embarrassment, ¡°You have also seen the death of Lu Hai and Lin Fangfei. According to our current level and equipment, how can we fight with that monster¡­¡±


    As he said that, he glanced at Wen Zheliu and He Qin and muttered: ¡°We all have only one life; isn¡¯t it normal to be afraid of death? Except for some people with great abilities, the others are ordinary people, so don¡¯t take it too seriously. Not everyone thinks they¡¯re omnipotent, ok?¡±


    Zhou Qing was furious: ¡°You!¡±


    Zhou Yao hurriedly pressed her hand: ¡°Xiao Qing, don¡¯t be impulsive!¡±


    Surprisingly, Xiong Lin also chimed in with a sophisticated tone: ¡°That¡¯s right, not to mention the survival mode that is now on. Zhou Qing, let me put it bluntly: the gameplay of this mode means that if there¡¯s one less person, we¡¯ll have more chances of winning and more rewards. The weak will be preyed on by the strong. This is how the game is played. If you can¡¯t survive by yourself, it¡¯s your luck that someone saves you, and it¡¯s also justifiable that no one saves you. Don¡¯t just turn around and blame us.¡±


    Wen Zheliu frowned and sighed inwardly.


    This is the brilliance of Saint Nun¡­ She just threw out two ordinary game modes and was able to get the same team of players to reveal their true intentions at the early morning table the next day, even though He Qin had just thoroughly pointed out the disadvantages of this mode last night.


    Zhou Qing¡¯s eyes were wide open, and she said angrily: ¡°Am I blaming you guys? Am I the one who mentioned what happened last night and made excuses for myself first?!¡±


    Bai Hao simply pushed the plate forward, spread his hands with a sneer, and said, ¡°Well, this is the beginning of internal strife.¡±


    Zhou Yao¡¯s eyes were cold, and Mu Tuo frowned. However, before the rest of the people could speak, Du Zijun swung the fork into the plate, and there was a loud ¡°clang.¡± Leaning on the back of the chair, her other hand skillfully broke off a candle from the candlestick and lit the cigarette near her mouth.


    Wen Zheliu: ¡°¡­¡±


    She exhaled a puff of smoke and said coldly, ¡°Shut up, all of you.¡±


    He Qin was indifferent, handed the milk in his hand to Wen Zheliu, and said, ¡°Pay no mind to it. Let¡¯s eat first.¡±


    Xiong Lin looked at her provocatively and said, ¡°Why, what advice does Miss Du have?¡±


    ¡°Did I ask you to talk?¡± Du Zijun raised her brows sullenly and said, ¡°Talking back to me like this, aren¡¯t you a little too jumpy?¡±


    Ke Wenyan widened his eyes and shouted, ¡°Hey! Du Zijun, you¡­¡±


    ¡°Were you the one who fought back the monster yesterday? Was it you who communicated with the NPCs to get everyone to complete the first line of the main quest? Did you save someone last night? Did you go on night patrol, or did you play any role in the advancement of the main quest?¡± Without waiting for Ke Wenyan to finish his sentence, Du Zijun stared at Xiong Lin with a smirk, throwing out several questions one after another: ¡°What did you do? Tell me?¡±


    Xiong Lin was confused by this series of questions; he opened his mouth: ¡°I, I¡­¡±


    ¡°Not at all?¡± Du Zijun raised the corners of her lips. Her eyes suddenly darkened, ¡°None of you know how to f*cking do anything beside talking sh*t?! If this is a place where the weak are preyed upon by the strong, then the first ones to die are you guys! No one else will put in the effort to protect you, nor will they let you live in this house. Because you are weak, you don¡¯t deserve it, understand?¡±


    ¡°How many years have you been studying? Where have you been in the real world? Are you the CEO of N-Star Company, some government official, or a consortium tycoon? Why are you opening your mouth and starting to spew weak this and strong that? Do you think you¡¯re the strong one who eats the weak?¡± Du Zijun burst out laughing and burned the cigarette butt heavily on the lettuce in the dinner plate, saying, ¡°Take a look at yourselves, boys. You¡¯re just a deadbeat corporate slave, but because you¡¯re a man, you¡¯re born a little bit stronger than a girl by nature, so you dare to talk nonsense!¡±


    In the silence, Zhou Qing opened her mouth wide and looked dumbfoundedly at Du Zijun.


    Wen Zheliu swallowed a mouthful of milk, thinking silently that this should be the only time this girl talked so much¡­


    Xiong Lin blushed, feeling ashamed and angry. He stood up abruptly, pointed at Du Zijun¡¯s nose, and said tremblingly, ¡°You, you uneducated b*tch with a mouth full of shit¡­¡±


    Mu Tuo was afraid that the conflict between the teams would escalate, so he rushed to say loudly before Xiong Lin finished speaking: ¡°Okay, let¡¯s all stop talking!¡±


    Du Zijun really looked like a ruthless character; Xiong Lin didn¡¯t dare to target her anymore but turned his anger on Mu Tuo: ¡°Stop talking? This b*tch just scolded me so much like a machine gun, why don¡¯t you make her stop?!¡±


    Wen Zheliu finally finished the milk in the glass.


    He looked at the mess in front of him and was just about to say a few words of persuasion when he heard Marianne¡¯s hesitant voice ring out from the stairway, ¡°Are you guys¡­.. having a fight?¡±


    The players present were taken aback, but they were concerned about the participation value and didn¡¯t dare let the NPCs hear information that didn¡¯t belong to this world, so they were all silent for the moment.


    He Qin curled his lips, his eyebrows were suave and lazy, and he laughed: ¡°How can there be companions who don¡¯t get into arguments during the journey? You don¡¯t have to worry too much.¡±


    Marianne shrugged and put a few candles on the table, ¡°Anyway, thank you for your help last night.¡±


    ¡°You still need someone on patrol this evening, right?¡± Wen Zheliu asked.


    Marianne said: ¡°Yes, I still have a sewing kit here. I usually sew clothes and mend buttons; all can be done if you don¡¯t mind ¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t mind! We don¡¯t mind!¡± Zhou Qing came back to her senses and hurriedly said loudly, ¡°I just happened to need it!¡±


    He Qin thought for a moment and exchanged glances with Wen Zheliu.


    ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Seeing that Marianne was about to turn around and leave, He Qin suddenly stopped her, asking, ¡°Miss Marianne, I have something here; is it yours?¡±


    With that, he took out an old cloth belt and handed it to Marianne. Wen Zheliu could clearly see that it was the dropped item he got from the monster last night.


    The color of this cloth belt was old and yellow. It¡¯s also stained with spots of brown and black blood. The edge is fraying from wear and tear. Only the scattered and regularly distributed holes can make people barely see that it was once a lace belt.


    Marianne froze in place. She gently held the belt, her lips trembling slightly, and she said, ¡°This¡­ where did you find it?¡±


    ¡°Is this yours?¡± Wen Zheliu was surprised. Could this be the so-called ¡°key item¡±?


    ¡°Yes, this is mine.¡± Marianne took a deep breath and said, ¡°When I was small, my family and I lived in a town far from here, where many jobless young hooligans roamed from time to time, often taking pleasure in bullying young girls. One day, I went out to fetch water, wearing my favorite dress, but accidentally met those people and was surrounded by them. I was terrified and quickly ran home. In a hurry, the lace belt on the dress was hooked by something and fell near the ditch¡­¡±


    Wen Zheliu knew that this was the key information that the system had set up the NPC to reveal to the player, so he hurriedly memorized it in his heart. Marianne looked at the lace with nostalgia, but her eyes shone with hatred: ¡°That was my favorite dress, and it was bought by my mother, who spent ten days spinning the cloth all night without sleep¡­¡±


    Mu Tuo asked, ¡°Where are they now? Are they still living in that small town?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid those scum died a long time ago.¡± Marianne said nonchalantly, ¡°I don¡¯t need to care about them.¡±


    After she finished speaking, she returned the lace belt to He Qin. Immediately afterwards, all players heard the system¡¯s prompt.


    [1/2 The main plot has been triggered.]


    [The boss has been activated in the plot. ]


    [Players are requested to work together to solve the puzzles and meet the clearance conditions. ]


    Everyone¡¯s heart trembled, all eyes were on He Qin, and at this time, a melodious tune followed.


    [Traveling on a trencher,


    and dance on the dishes,


    My mother sent me some yeast,


    some yeast;


    She gently told me to go,


    And come back soon,


    Those young men who scare me may hurt me.]


    Marianne left, and Wen Zheliu hurriedly grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down the content of the ballad. He Qin turned to look at the crowd, and with a wicked smile on his lips, he spread his hands and said, ¡°No more noise?¡±


    Mu Tuo was surprised: ¡°Brother He Qin, how do you know¡­¡±


    He Qin said: ¡°I was going to talk about it last night, but I saw that everyone was too tired at that time, so I asked you all to go to rest.¡±


    He spent a few minutes explaining the rules of the Uncanny Valley game to everyone. Du Zijun calmed down and said, ¡°It seems that the system¡¯s so-called ¡°solving the puzzle¡± is for us to figure out what happened here, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Wen Zheliu continued, ¡°Last night, He Qin obtained this key item from that monster.¡±


    Mu Tuo pondered: ¡°I think everyone must have heard the system prompt clearly just now. At present, only half of the plot has been revealed, but the system has refused to give us further hints or tell us the specific gameplay. So I guess, there are other key items waiting for us to collect?¡±


    Wen Zheliu had just finished writing the ballad when he said, ¡°According to my speculation, the next stage of the main plot should also be on the Eyeless Monster, just like this piece of lace belt.¡±


    Hearing this, Ke Wenyan immediately let out a strange cry and looked at Wen Zheliu in disbelief: ¡°Do you mean that we should also go head-to-head with that monster?!¡±


    Zhou Qing sneered and said, ¡°Since you¡¯re so afraid, let¡¯s go out on night patrol all together. There¡¯s no need to dispatch two people every night! There¡¯s no rule saying that competent people should do more work. It¡¯s best for everyone to have a job.¡±


    Zhou Yao pushed his glasses back and agreed: ¡°If the key items are all on the monster, then we don¡¯t need to waste time. The whole group should be divided into two night patrol groups, with six people in each group taking turns. Anyway, there are enough torches in the house. We can take care of each other.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with my little brother.¡± He Qin added it in a timely manner.


    Mu Tuo made a final decision: ¡°Then it¡¯s settled. There¡¯s still some time before night. Let¡¯s search for other information in the room to see if we can find any other breakthroughs. We will exchange opinions at dinner. Disband!¡±


    With an imposing wave of his hand, he went upstairs first, followed by Zhou Qing and Zhou Yao.


    The matter was settled like this; Bai Hao, Gao Xinghan, and the others couldn¡¯t say anything, so they had to reluctantly start wandering around the room.


    Third floor.


    Zhou Qing tiptoed around and led Zhou Yao and Mu Tuo upstairs.


    ¡°Forward, forward, the responsibility of a soldier is heavy~ Ah women have deep hatred!¡± Perhaps it was because Du Zijun had just severely criticized the men headed by Xiong Lin that Zhou Qing was in a very good mood now, singing in a passionate tone while waving back, ¡°Comrades follow!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Zhou Yao was speechless and complained behind her back, ¡°I think she has come back to life.¡±


    Mu Tuo was honest enough to say, ¡°Is this going to work? Marianne won¡¯t come out of her room during the daytime. It¡¯s a lot harder to go to the third floor and rummage through things.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay!¡± Zhou Qing grinned, ¡°The more closely guarded the place is, the more valuable it is to investigate. Repeat our plan again. You¡¯re hiding first. I will trick her into the kitchen with the excuse of learning how to cook, and then you guys sneak in and get to work quickly! Got it?¡±


    Zhou Yao shook his head helplessly: ¡°I understand, I understand. Let¡¯s go.¡±


    On the third floor, the two hid in the shadow of the corner of the stairs, watching Zhou Qing call Marianne out with a few words, and then jump around happily in front of the NPC, perfectly showing the reality of a mentally handicapped girl clowning herself to please AI for a living.


    Mu Tuo commented deeply: ¡°The acting is very good, just like a professional.¡±


    Zhou Yao scratched his chin and sighed, ¡°If this doesn¡¯t happen, my sister actually wants to be a good actor who doesn¡¯t rely on mechanical doubles, motion capture, or virtual reality scenes.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I believe she can do it.¡±


    While talking, Zhou Qing achieved her goal and happily led Marianne downstairs, successfully passing by their hiding place.


    The sound of footsteps going downstairs gradually faded away. Zhou Yao and Mu Tuo sprang up quickly and tiptoed into Marianne¡¯s room.


    This is a very simple room; the decoration is the same as the room where the player lives, only the area is a bit bigger, like a study and a bedroom in one.


    Mu Tuo stood at the door: ¡°Okay, go and search quickly; I¡¯ll watch your back!¡±


    Zhou Yao looked around and first ran to the back of the desk. He pulled open the drawers one by one but found nothing. He bowed down, fully shrank under the desk, and finally found a locked secret compartment.


    Zhou Yao chuckled, keeping the posture of pushing the hidden compartment away. He opened his mouth and bit off a thin black hairpin from his cuff, fumbled with one hand to push it in the keyhole, and buckled lightly.


    The lock opened with a ¡°click.¡±


    This lock-picking skill that Zhou Yao knows is the reason why they have the courage to come to the third floor to search.


    Zhou Yao¡¯s heart relaxed as he took a few documents from it and flipped through them quickly.


    Without exception, all the papers depicted the familiar pattern of an eagle holding an ear of wheat. He muttered, ¡°¡­ Mr. Wesley Carter is hereby appointed as the local sheriff¡­ The date is¡­ July 15, 1740?¡±


    He wanted to look further, but he heard Mu Tuo hiss urgently at the door. He was breathless, and hurriedly shoved the pages in his hand into the secret compartment in order. He hesitated for a moment, then rolled up the top page and stuffed it in his arm. Only then did he hurriedly close the hidden compartment, roughly erase the traces left by him, and hurry to the door.


    Wen Zheliu didn¡¯t know anything that happened upstairs at this time. He and He Qin were still looking through the materials in the study.


    Although this study is small, the content and collections of books are quite abundant. Wen Zheliu picked up a book off the table, and He Qin stood behind him with his back turned, his slender index finger tapping the spine of the book in rows.


    ¡°Brother, why did you suddenly submit the item? Obviously you could have given them to me first?¡± Wen Zheliu asked in a low voice, ¡°Has your problem been solved?¡±


    He Qin folded up the dirty lace belt and said with a smile: ¡°Baby and I have a heart-to-heart connection; yes, my problems are basically solved. As for your pendant, put it away first; it will be of great use in the future.¡±


    Wen Zheliu put down the book, turned around, and pretended to observe in front of the bookcase, but in fact was listening intently to He Qin.


    ¡°First,¡± said He Qin, with his lips still closed, but his voice was clearly heard in Wen Zheliu¡¯s ears, ¡°There are moles among the players.¡±


    Wen Zheliu was startled, and before he could ask questions, He Qin went on to say, ¡°Secondly, the mole and Marianne have a very close connection.¡±


    ¡°Third, the lace belt doesn¡¯t belong to Marianne; she¡¯s lying.¡±


    Each of these three conclusions was more incredible and frightening than the others. Wen Zheliu took a deep breath, and his brain, which was still in shock, began to run at a rapid pace.


    He never doubted He Qin; besides, the attribute of [companion] and the indestructible bond between them were more reliable than any promises or laws. He was just thinking about the feasibility of He Qin¡¯s words.


    ¡°Think about it carefully, baby,¡± He Qin said softly, ¡°You are so smart, you will definitely be able to deduce the key point of this.¡±


    The key point: where is the key point?


    Wen Zheliu frowned. What made He Qin deduce these three arguments, and what supported his opinion?


    As if lightning streaked across the night sky, his eyebrows gently jumped and stretched, and he said in a daze, ¡°Is it¡­the reward given by Marianne?¡±


    He Qin smiled dotingly, rubbed Wen Zheliu¡¯s brows, and said softly: ¡°Baby is really amazing; that¡¯s right, the problem lies in the task rewards she gave.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Wen Zheliu was very puzzled. He Qin¡¯s reaction and the node of his two attitude changes helped him figure out the key point. But he racked his brains and still couldn¡¯t figure out what was wrong with the task reward.


    ¡°Full intelligence.¡± He Qin spat out these words: ¡°Because of the proposal of full intelligence, everything in Uncanny Valley is irregular. It will not play out according to a rigid script, nor will it be like any other rpg with a predetermined path. Any action can cause a chain reaction in the plot, and a huge computing algorithm called ¡°fate¡± is interwoven in every corner here, waiting to deal with the ever-changing world line.¡±


    ¡°In other words, chance is inevitable here, just as you can¡¯t catch the traces of the seasons from the rain or the direction of the wind with your naked eyes. Now you tell me, among thousands of items in the Uncanny Valley, what is the probability that Marianne can take out just the right items to supplement the players¡¯ incomplete items twice6 in a row?¡± He Qin¡¯s voice was low and quick as he stared intently at a book in front of him, ¡°Records of Small Town¡¯s Past Events,¡± and smoothly put another book back in its original place.


    Wen Zheliu suddenly realized: ¡°¡­So, this means that someone must have peeked at the results of the novice lucky wheel and then secretly told her!¡±


    He Qin flipped through the ¡°Records of Small Town¡¯s Past Events,¡±  chuckled, and said, ¡°Continue.¡±


    He is like a professor in control of the overall situation, leading his beloved student closer to the truth step by step.


    ¡°But what is the purpose of her doing so?¡± Wen Zheliu thought hard, ¡°If she¡¯s a positive character, then she doesn¡¯t need to understand the needs of the players through this channel; if she¡¯s a negative character¡­ yes, if she¡¯s a negative character, then she is using the player¡¯s psychology of wanting to upgrade the items to force us out on night patrol!¡±


    Wen Zheliu came to a realization. He clenched one hand into a fist and smashed it on the palm of the other hand, ¡°So that¡¯s how it is, then there¡¯s an answer to my previous question about the setup of the night patrol task: protecting the house is just an excuse, the monster¡¯s fear may not be fire at all, she just needs the player to get out of the house!¡±


    He gasped with excitement; the feeling of reeling in the cocoon and plucking the clouds to see the light7 was just too good!


    ¡°Don¡¯t be anxious,¡± He Qin poured cold water on his excitement, ¡°Solving a puzzle means discovering more puzzles¡ª¡±


    For a brief moment, Wen Zheliu stood motionless, the light in his eyes gradually dimming.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he said, lightly touching the book¡¯s cover, ¡°but who¡¯s the mole? Who¡¯s the true owner of the lace belt? And what¡¯s Marianne¡¯s purpose in doing this? We don¡¯t know yet.¡±


    He Qin smiled and reassured him, ¡°It¡¯s okay, one step at a time; maybe by tonight we¡¯ll be able to see who the real mole is.¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Wen Zheliu nodded, looking at He Qin suspiciously, and said, ¡°Brother, you really haven¡¯t read the script at all?¡±


    He Qin curled up the corners of his lips in a composed but leisurely manner. There was a debauched viciousness between his eyes, which was different from Wen Zheliu¡¯s warm energy. He smiled like a prodigal son carrying a long zither, waiting to tantalize the young girl¡¯s heart: ¡°Your brother really hasn¡¯t actually read the plot line, but this is the first world that was opened for testing. With my status and identity, at least I know a little, so I can make some random guesses?¡±


    Seeing him like this, Wen Zheliu squinted his eyes; his heart was itchy, his teeth were itchy, and he really wanted to beat this wild leopard lightly with a small leather whip. With this thought, he raised his hand, but he was caught by the wrist and pulled into He Qin¡¯s embrace.


    ¡°You¡¯re very bold, aren¡¯t you?¡± He Qin lowered his voice next to his ear and gently pinched the back of Wen Zheliu¡¯s neck with his other hand, asking, ¡°You still want to beat your brother?¡±


    This pinching made Zheliu¡¯s scalp go numb, and a redness like an electric shock leaked from the base of his ears down his neck, and even his tailbone was soft. His face was hot, and his ears were red, but he couldn¡¯t break free. He had to stammer and whisper, ¡°Don¡¯t make trouble, brother, let go!¡±


    He Qin raised his eyebrows unexpectedly and wanted to pinch the child again. At this time, Du Zijun, who heard the movement outside, was suspicious and couldn¡¯t help but turn her head and glance at the half-closed door¡ª


    Du Zijun: ¡°¡­¡±


    He Qin: ¡°¡­¡±


    Wen Zheliu, who noticed something was wrong and looked back: ¡°¡­¡±


    The three came face-to-face in a particularly awkward manner. Du Zijun had been baptized by the repeated shocks and had already become as serene as a Buddha. She shook her head and smiled kindly. She flicked the cigarette in her hand, took a puff, and fluttered away as if she were riding a cloud.


    Wen Zheliu: ¡°¡­ha, haha, it¡¯s Miss Du again.¡±


    ¡°Miss Du?¡± chuckled He Qin. ¡°I think you should call him Mr. Du.¡±


    Wen Zheliu thought he had heard wrong: ¡°¡­what?¡±


    ¡°I said,¡± facing Wen Zheliu, He Qin always had endless patience, ¡°You should call him Mr. Du; if I guessed correctly, he should be a man.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    He Qin said helplessly: ¡°The sitting posture, the way he talks, the way he smokes, the way he walks¡­ don¡¯t you see anything inconsistent?¡±


    Wen Zheliu was struck dumb with astonishment. He was unwilling to believe this fact: ¡°But she¡­¡­ No, how could such a bug occur in a place that is 100% connected with reality like the Uncanny Valley?¡±


    He Qin didn¡¯t force him to believe it, but just handed him the book in his hand and said, ¡°Then there¡¯s no need to concern yourself with the fact that he¡¯s a Miss or Mr. Du. Read this first.¡±


    Wen Zheliu lowered his head and saw the ¡°Records of Small Town¡¯s Past Events¡± that He Qin had just taken.


    The thin book looks a bit dated, and on the cover is a hand-painted carbon ink bird¡¯s-eye view of the town, which is marked with the author¡¯s name: Father Abel.


    ¡°Written by a clergyman.¡± So Wen Zheliu hurriedly put aside the embarrassing question just now and took a closer look at the page that He Qin had opened for him.


    This is not so much a book as a priest¡¯s diary. Apart from his daily life, there are some completely insignificant and trivial things that happened in a small town called Arlington. Wen Zheliu¡¯s mind turned quickly, his reading speed was also fast. He scanned through a dozen pages in detail and suddenly found a crucial point.


    In the narrative of the priest, he described in detail several wandering youths who returned to the small town because they were unemployed in the city. They formed the main force of the town¡¯s guard, loafing around all day long, taking pleasure in stealing chickens and dogs, and bullying women. One of them was the nephew of the sheriff.


    ¡°The priest lives in the town where Marianne used to live, Arlington.¡± He pondered and continued to read on.


    It¡¯s not very good to think so, but since the priest wrote about those rascals, the content of the writing has not only become much richer but also more readable.


    ¡°¡­¡­ These blasphemous criminals have not been duly punished, and they even hold weapons with the power to punish the people at will. Their behavior has become more and more rampant; how dare they call themselves emperors in this isolated town. They hurt innocent people, and in the first month of the harvest, they took turns tarnishing a faithful believer named Theresa¡­¡±


    He froze for a long time, his brows almost knit into a knot.


    Theresa? Why is it a coincidence that the girl mentioned by the priest has the same name as the saint nun?


    ¡°Go on reading.¡± He Qin said.


    So Wen Zheliu went on to read: ¡°¡­In the second month, they intensified. In addition to harassing the faithful believer, they also brutally violated the daughter of an unfortunate family, leaving her relatives heartbroken. Their actions became more and more rampant, but my term here has come to an end. If I have the chance, I will come back and preach the gospel to the people here¡­ Ha, what, this priest actually ran away first ?¡±


    The following content is full of what the priest has seen and heard in other places. Wen Zheliu is not happy to read these insignificant things. He hastily flipped the pages and finally turned to the ending of the town.


    ¡°¡­I came back here a few months later.¡± He carefully read the last two paragraphs, ¡°My God, this town is almost completely deserted. Those sinners have died; even their bodies are missing, and the town is still covered with the shadow of death and disease. The sheriff¡¯s mansion was crumbling, and the remains of the mangled bodies were blocking the upper reaches of the stream that ran through the town, while blood stained the rest. Is this the coming of God¡¯s punishment, or is it the consequence of the Devil¡¯s nefarious deeds on earth?


    In any case, I finally left this place far away and vowed never to return. The mystery of what happened in this town will be buried deep in my heart until I sleep forever under the dark earth.¡±


    This book is finished.


    Wen Zheliu closed it, thought for a while, and concluded: ¡°That is to say, there used to be a few hooligans in the town who committed all sorts of crimes. Later, they became the town¡¯s guards with the help of one of them, and they bullied men and women and did all kinds of evil. Later, they suffered retribution and were slaughtered in the town?¡±


    He again took out the paper on which he had previously noted the ballad and examined it, ¡°So it seems that the ¡®I¡® in ¡®My mother sent me some yeast¡® refers to the victim, and those ¡®young men who scare me¡®, refers to the dictators of the town.¡±


    ¡°An isolated environment¡ªa group of soldiers with weapons and no supervision,¡± He Qin said. ¡°You don¡¯t have to guess what will happen.¡±


    ¡°However, Marianne never mentioned the massacre, nor did she say why she moved here, which is very suspicious.¡±


    Wen Zheliu frowned slightly. At this moment, he saw a mass of ink stains where the ending signature was supposed to be. He scratched it with his fingernails and wondered: ¡°There should be a date and time when it was finished; how did it get smudged?¡±


    He Qin came over to take a look and said, ¡°Go out and exchange information first. Let¡¯s figure out what we should ask Marianne during dinner.¡±


    The two walked out of the study and joined the crowd at the dining table.


    The rod of physics (the holy sword of physics, the holy rod of physics), a term from the game ¡°Half-Life.¡± This thing is basically a crowbar.


    Another game/anime reference¡­This is a Fate series reference. It was supposed to be Excalibur, but due to a mispronunciation, it became Ex-curry stick. Basically, he meant that this is a good item.


    Another game/anime reference: ¡°Higurashi When They Cry¡±.


    Anime, Comic, Game


    A famous painting. The Last Supper is the final meal that, in the Gospel accounts, Jesus shared with his apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion.


    FYI: The task rewards on the first night for Mu Tuo¡¯s seven-branched candles and the second night for Zhuo Qing¡¯s eyeless doll.


    Metaphor for making painstaking investigation and dispelling doubts.

 CH 16

    Outside the room, Mu Tuo and the others were already waiting at the table.


    ¡°How about it? Did you find any useful information?¡± He Qin pulled out a chair and first let Wen Zheliu sit down, while he himself sat on one side, circling the back of the chair with his arm.


    Gao Xinghan replied: ¡°I found something, but I don¡¯t know if it will be useful.¡±


    Zhou Qing was fiddling with her ponytail and said in a separate conversation: ¡°We¡¯ve found a very important clue this time!¡±


    Wen Zheliu looked around and knew in his heart that the dozen or so people had split into several small groups: Mu Tuo, Zhou Qing, and Zhou Yao group; Gao Xinghan, Bai Hao, Xiong Lin, and Ke Wenyan group; he and He Qin group; Du Zijun kept to herself and doesn¡¯t make friends with anyone, so he er, she is also counted as one group for the time being.


    He counted and suddenly realized something was wrong.


    It seems¡­ there is one person missing?


    His gaze swept around the crowd carefully, and only then did he find a boy in the corner with his head down and not talking.


    This person¡­ Ah, has he spoken to the team before? Why didn¡¯t he have any memory of it?


    Wait a minute, what does he even look like¡­


    Wen Zheliu thought hard for a long time, and suddenly he was shocked.


    He himself is very good at associative memory. He had a total of 36 classmates in high school. As long as he listens to the self-introduction once, he will never forget their respective personality traits and hobbies. But he had been thinking for a long time and couldn¡¯t think of anything worth remembering about the boy sitting in the corner¡ªnot even one! If this boy isn¡¯t some non-human creature, then his sense of existence is a little too low!


    What kind of high-level breath-masking skill is this¡­ Is he the phantom sixth man1 from the generation of miracles?!


    As if hearing the fierce complaints in his heart, He Qin turned his head in doubt and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Wen Zheliu¡¯s mouth twitched, and he asked in a low voice, ¡°Brother, you¡­do you know the person sitting in the corner over there?¡±


    At this time, the boy was still hanging his head in ignorance, taking a pen to write and draw something on the paper.


    He Qin raised his eyes and said casually: ¡°In the corner? How can there be a¡­¡±


    Before the word ¡°person¡± was finished, his pupils narrowed slightly.


    After a long silence, he said slowly, ¡°If the data is not modified, it proves that his own sense of existence is so low¡­¡±


    ¡°His name is Xie¡­what Xie, I only remember his surname as Xie!¡± Wen Zheliu pressed his temple in pain, feeling his memory was blank, as if someone had forcibly erased it, ¡°This guy is really against the odd ¡­If I hadn¡¯t discovered him when I was counting people just now, we probably wouldn¡¯t even know there was such a person when we cleared the level!¡±


    On the other side, Mu Tuo asked politely, ¡°What clues did you find?¡±


    Ke Wenyan smiled, raised a paper bag in his hand, and said in a slightly complacent tone: ¡°We have discovered the true origin of the monsters and their identities before death.¡±


    Once this statement was made, the rest of the people were in high spirits and turned their heads to look at him. Wen Zheliu no longer cared about the existence of that odd buddy and wholeheartedly pricked up his ears.


    The source and origin of the eyeless monster are also key to cracking the puzzle and restoring the truth. If their group really found out about this, wouldn¡¯t it be a breeze to pass the level?


    Now, even the Zhou siblings, who had been at odds with them, stopped talking and quietly waited for Ke Wenyan¡¯s explanation.


    At the first glance of everyone¡¯s attention, Ke Wenyan was still very proud of himself, and after a pause, he spoke, ¡°I think everyone has gone around the study on the first floor, right? Have you found a book with the town¡¯s description?¡±


    Since he wanted to keep the listeners in suspension, Wen Zheliu responded kindly: ¡°Yes, I found it. There is a book detailing the strange things that happened in the town. It was mainly said that the guards in the town committed all kinds of crimes. Later, they were all killed. Even the bodies disappeared, and the majority of the people in the town disappeared. The town has been abandoned since then, and it is still unclear what happened.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s the one.¡± Ke Wenyan nodded affirmatively, saying, ¡°In addition to the story Marianne told us before, the origin of the monster must have a lot to do with what happened in the town!¡±


    He Qin spun the charcoal pencil in his hand, drew a blank piece of paper to pad under his wrist, and said with a smile, ¡°Please continue.¡±


    ¡°First, let¡¯s focus on what those hooligans are doing.¡± Ke Wenyan said, ¡°These ruffians seem to enjoy bullying women¡ªespecially the unmarried ones. They have committed two felonies: one against a religious believer and the other against the farmer¡¯s daughter. ¡±


    ¡°Among them, the church¡¯s believer didn¡¯t have her life in danger, but the farmer¡¯s daughter who went out to fetch water was tortured to death by them¡­¡± Ke Wenyan¡¯s expression was a bit gloomy: ¡°But after the incidents, this group of people is still at large, and they don¡¯t feel any guilt for what they did! Under such circumstances, how can the townspeople not resent them?¡±


    His tone was firm and provocative. When he finished speaking, Mu Tuo said, ¡°You mean, the angry town residents united to avenge the two girls and kill the gangsters?¡±


    ¡°No, no,¡± Ke Wenyan shook his index finger, ¡°This group of people are all guards, very powerful, and one of them is a relative of the sheriff. I think the common people in this era don¡¯t have enough courage to fight against the ruling class, right? And don¡¯t you forget that, besides those hooligans, many people died in the small town. If the townspeople were united, how could there be those extra dead people?¡±


    ¡°¡­What if the casualties were caused by the townspeople fighting with those hooligans?¡± Zhou Qing complained, ¡°You also said that those hooligans are guards, how could the guards not have weapons?¡±


    Wen Zheliu noticed that Ke Wenyan¡¯s speech was still going on, but the pencil in He Qin¡¯s hand, which wanted to take notes, was already hanging lower and lower. When he finished speaking, He Qin simply put down his pencil and pushed the white paper slowly forward a short distance.


    He wanted to laugh, but in the end, he just coughed lightly.


    A trace of unnaturalness flashed across Ke Wenyan¡¯s face as he ignored Zhou Qing and continued, ¡°¡ªuntil we found this.¡±


    He carefully pulled out a roll of parchment from his paper bag and passed it around to the people in the audience in turn.


    After it reached He Qin¡¯s hands, he and Wen Zheliu took a closer look only to see something that was evenly painted with a reddish-brown color. It¡¯s unknown whether the composition of this paint was blood or not, but just looking at it made people feel as if something fishy was assailing their nostrils.


    No one was able to tell what it was from one of the pieces, but when Wen Zheliu put two or three pieces together, he realized that it seemed to be the remnants of a huge circular formation, densely packed with words full of resentment and prayers looking forward to death.


    Ke Wenyan sat down. Gao Xinghan then stood up and said, ¡°I found these all in the attic on the third floor. I think there must be some hidden mystery in it.¡±


    The Zhou siblings and Mu Tuo exchanged glances but quickly concealed their doubts under a calm expression.


    ¡°Oh.¡± He Qin lowered his eyes, which were filled with sharp but languid light. He pinched Wen Zheliu¡¯s fingers under the table and stroked the smooth edges of the nails one by one. Wen Zheliu could tell that He Qin was already losing interest.


    ¡°What kind of mystery is that, can you tell us?¡±


    Gao Xinghan couldn¡¯t hear the irony in He Qin¡¯s words; he said solemnly, ¡°I think those eyeless monsters were the victim¡¯s family.¡±


    As soon as the conclusion came out, everyone fell silent.


    Wen Zheliu pondered and seriously inquired, ¡°What does this mean?¡±


    ¡°We have to realize that supernatural events are perfectly possible in this world, and since there are already eyeless monsters, why can¡¯t there be real magic?¡± Gao Xinghan said eloquently, ¡°So I¡¯m going to make a conjecture for you all, and you can listen to see if what I¡¯m saying makes sense.¡±


    He said, ¡°As Ke Wenyan said, people in this era don¡¯t have the courage to resist the ruling class. Even if girls are raped and murdered, even if they are very angry, they don¡¯t dare to confront the guards. The only ones who really wanted to kill those guards were the victim¡¯s family¡­¡±


    So they got these magic array-like things and turned themselves into¡­ eyeless monsters?¡± Mu Tuo hesitated, ¡°Is that what you mean?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Gao Xing Han affirmed, ¡°that¡¯s what I mean. According to my speculation, the family of the victim gathered and found these magic formations in some way. They wrote all over them their wishes for revenge; maybe the magic backfired; maybe that was its original effect; in any case, they all turned into horrible but powerful monsters and took their revenge in their own way.¡±


    Zhou Yao suddenly asked: ¡°What about the innocent civilians who died in the small town? They had no enmity with the monsters. Why did the monsters kill them?¡±


    Gao Xinghan¡¯s expression was quite sarcastic, and he smiled: ¡°Humans are inherently complex creatures. The dead townpeople aren¡¯t the executioners who directly caused the girl¡¯s tragedy, but in this closed and backward era, plus the victim-blaming mentality, I¡¯m sure those people said a lot of things to the victim¡¯s family when they were alive.¡±


    He looked around and saw the different thinking expressions on everyone¡¯s faces and added: ¡°Of course, I¡¯m just offering a guess. If you have different opinions, you can tell me.¡±


    He Qin tapped on the table and said slowly, ¡°Mr. Gao¡¯s speculation is not unreasonable, but I want to ask you a little bit.¡±


    Gao Xinghan didn¡¯t dare neglect this unfathomable man; he hurriedly said, ¡°Please tell me.¡±


    ¡°Do you have any idea what role Marianne plays in this?¡± He Qin asked.


    Gao Xinghan hesitated for a moment, and Wen Zheliu could tell that he was very cautious when answering this question: ¡°I think she should exist as a recorder or a spectator.¡±


    He Qin stared at the tip of the charcoal pencil with a half-smile and suddenly asked another irrelevant question.


    ¡°What kind of work does Mr. Gao do in real life?¡±


    Seeing Gao Xinghan¡¯s obvious bewilderment, He Qin said again: ¡°I don¡¯t mean anything else; I just see that you¡¯re very organized in your words and actions. If you could return to the real world, would you consider going to work for N-Star Company?¡±


    Only then did Gao Xinghan heave a sigh of relief and smile: ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry, because someone in my family already works in a branch of N-Star Company, and I quite like my current job, so¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay; don¡¯t force it.¡± He Qin has an easy-going attitude, as if he were greeting an ordinary friend, ¡°Seeing that Mr. Gao¡¯s conversation is very refined, you must have a good family background and a bright future. By the way, has your family come here too? It¡¯s really worrying.¡±


    ¡°¡­Huh?¡± Gao Xinghan was taken aback for a moment, as if he didn¡¯t realize what He Qin asked.


    He Qin was a little taken aback. He pointed to his wrist and said, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t N-Star Company give employees free access to Uncanny Valley? As a distinction, there will be a barcode on the wrist of the employee role. I am currently in an item state, so I don¡¯t have it, and I don¡¯t think you do either.


    I think you should have used the admission qualification you¡¯ve drawn. Is your family member¡­ ¡±


    Gao Xinghan suddenly realized: ¡°So you meant this!¡±


    Immediately, his brows and eyes lowered, and he sighed: ¡°Yes, I¡¯m really worried about my family, so I have always wanted to speed up and solve the puzzle. Maybe we can meet in the next world¡­¡±


    He Qin looked at him steadily and said comfortingly, ¡°I think there will definitely be such a day.¡±


    He suddenly held Wen Zheliu¡¯s palm under the table.


    His fingers were as slender as plump bones, with well-defined joints, and the temperature of his skin was slightly cool. This made Wen Zheliu¡¯s back suddenly stiff, but then he clearly wrote a word on Wen Zheliu¡¯s palm.


    ¡°Mole¡±.


    Is Gao Xinghan the mole? !


    Wen Zheliu was startled, but his expression remained calm. During their conversation, Mu Tuo¡¯s side sorted out the evidence they collected. Zhou Qing also stood up, holding a paper bag, but at this moment, He Qin suddenly raised his voice: ¡°Wait a minute, Miss Zhou. ¡±


    Zhou Qing looked at him puzzled and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Before you speak, I¡¯d like to ask you all, have you forgotten a teammate?¡± He Qin said lazily.


    Wen Zheliu understands what He Qin wants to do. Since he has recognized at least one of the moles, Gao Xinghan, he won¡¯t allow him to hear the evidence that other players had found¡ªeven if Zhou Qing¡¯s team was also under suspicion of having a mole. Although directing everyone¡¯s attention to the boy who had almost no sense of existence was a bit of a sell out teammate, he can¡¯t care less.


    The boy sitting in the corner looked up in a hurry at the crowd with his plain eyes and plain face. He seemed to know that He Qin was talking about himself, so he hurriedly raised his hand and said, in a plain voice that¡¯d be immediately forgotten by others: ¡°That¡­ is it my turn?¡±


    Everyone: ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±


    Zhou Qing said blankly, ¡°Who¡¯s talking?¡±


    After a long time, she finally responded, ¡°Who are you? Why is there an unknown person inside the team!¡±


    Zhou Yao pushed his glasses, stared at him in disbelief for a long time, and finally murmured: ¡°¡­ This kid has the potential to be an assassin¡­¡±


    Mu Tuo rubbed the back of his head and said doubtfully, ¡°Yes, I also suddenly remembered that my room was supposed to have two people, but when I slept at night, I always felt that one was missing. So it was you?¡±


    Bai Hao couldn¡¯t help twisting his face and complaining: ¡°Your sense of presence ¡­¡­ No, instead of saying it¡¯s a sense of presence, it¡¯s more apt to say it¡¯s a sense of air ¡­¡­¡±


    Taking advantage of the fact that everyone¡¯s attention was on this teammate who had been neglected all this time, He Qin led Wen Zheliu to stand up without changing his expression and walk towards the kitchen. When passing by Du Zijun, he cleverly flicked a paper ball on her skirt.


    Du Zijun: ¡°?¡±


    She looked back just in time to see Wen Zheliu take the initiative to hold He Qin¡¯s hand and draw an ambiguous circle on his palm.


    Du Zijun¡¯s face immediately distorted: ¡°¡­¡±


    Enough is enough! There is no end! What passive skill did I trigger that I must see two men showing affection whenever I turn my head?


    But in fact, Wen Zheliu just imitated He Qin¡¯s example earlier and drew a question mark on his palm.


    Because he was really curious about how He Qin found out Gao Xinghan¡¯s identity as a mole.


    The two of them were already some distance away from the noisy crowd. He Qin no longer concealed it, but whispered in his ear: ¡°I tricked him.¡±


    ¡°Is it when you ask him to work at N-Star?¡± Wen Zheliu¡¯s mind was spinning rapidly.


    ¡°Mmm-hm.¡± He Qin nodded with a smile and said, ¡°I said something completely contrary to the facts. To ensure fairness, the admission qualifications to the Uncanny Valley will not be given to employees for free. Of course, if they want to, they can also be purchased internally at a price three times cheaper than the market price. Moreover, under the unified channel, there will be no barcode identification on the wrists of employees at all.¡±


    ¡°So he¡¯s lying. His family member does not work for N-Star Company¡­Maybe this family member of his was just made up.¡± Wen Zheliu frowned: ¡°Why would he lie? It doesn¡¯t make any sense at all.¡±


    He Qin leisurely leaned against the kitchen counter, waiting for Du Zijun to come over, ¡°Who knows? Whether it was a slip of the tongue or a complete rejection of my invitation, since he took the initiative to run into the gun muzzle, it was worth it to swindle this highly suspicious fellow with a small lie.¡±


    While they were talking, Du Zijun had already walked into the kitchen. Although she couldn¡¯t get used to the gay atmosphere between the two of them, she still felt that He Qin wouldn¡¯t look for her because of trivial matters.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± She held a cigarette and habitually stood with her legs crossed. Wen Zheliu always felt that her posture was manlier than a few men combined.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have much time, so I¡¯d better be straightforward with you,¡± He Qin hooked his lips and spat out three words calmly, ¡°Mr. Du.¡±


    Du Zijun¡¯s impatient expression suddenly froze on her face, her eyelashes trembled, and the gaze she stared at He Qin was like staring at a living ghost.


    ¡°You¡­!¡± She gritted her teeth and let out a word, then hastily lowered her voice, ¡°How did you find out!¡±


    When Wen Zheliu heard Miss Du¡¯s almost acknowledging questioning, his inner solid and firm three world views seemed to fall to the ground, emitting a crisp shattering sound¡­


    She was¡­ really a man! !


    Hua: Du Zijun is a man ! ! (¡Ñ_¡Ñ)£¿


    Kuroko no Basuke reference. Tetsuya Kuroko is the main protagonist of the manga Kuroko no Basuke. He was the Phantom Sixth Player of the Generation of Miracles at Teik¨­ Junior High who specialized in misdirection and passes.

 CH 17

    ¡°You¡­¡± Wen Zheliu opened his eyes wide and repeatedly looked up and down at Du Zijun¡¯s appearance. Whether it was the black waist-length hair, the fair and delicate skin, or the slender and soft figure¡­ Could it be that she or he had undergone surgery?


    ¡°Is it an item?¡± He Qin answered Wen Zheliu¡¯s inner question, ¡°Besides, any items that can achieve this effect are at least Grade B or above. Mr. Du is really rich.¡±


    It¡¯s just a pity that his current compliment isn¡¯t what Du Zijun wants to hear.


    Seeing that it was useless to cover up, Du Zijun simply sneered: ¡°Yes, it¡¯s indeed an item, a B-grade one called [Spring of the Drowned Girl1]¡­ It was just for fun, but I didn¡¯t expect to enter this damn Uncanny Valley. Originally, the effect of this item could be dispelled by hot water, but it no longer works like that. That¡¯s why I¡¯m trapped in a woman¡¯s body for the time being.¡±


    His experience can be described as a big mistake. As Wen Zheliu listened, his shock was gradually replaced by sympathy; he said: ¡°Miss¡­ Mr. Du¡¯s current state, as long as you clear the uncanny valley, it should be solved, right? ¡±


    Du Zijun sneered: ¡°It¡¯s fine. Just call me Miss Du. With the team¡¯s current state, I don¡¯t want to draw their attention.¡±


    Wen Zheliu heard the deeper meaning in his words, so he asked, ¡°Are you also aware that there¡¯s a mole in the team?¡±


    He Qin continued: ¡°I guess it¡¯s Miss Du¡¯s props that worked.¡±


    Du Zijun took out the binoculars he had drawn at the beginning and gave them a look.


    [Prop name: Telescope of True Sight]


    [Grade: C]


    [Activation type: Instant activation]


    [Cooldown time: 1 hour]


    [Attack Power: None]


    [Effect: Activate this item to see a target¡¯s true state with its disguise removed.


    Time limit for use: 5 times


    Current use status: 3 times]


    [Equipment level: 5]


    [Item introduction: Want to use it to see the strip show of the female neighbor in the next building? You¡¯re dreaming! Uh, but there¡¯s something else you can do with it, I mean, like pursue the truth or something.]


    Wen Zheliu was a little surprised. The timeline of this world only progressed to the second day, but Du Zijun had used up most of the usage times.


    ¡°I guess one of those three times should have been directed at me, right?¡± He Qin laughed, ¡°Looks like it was in vain.¡±


    With gloomy eyes, Du Zijun said, ¡°That¡¯s right, you are very self-aware.¡±


    ¡°Then the remaining two times¡­you used it on other players?¡± Wen Zheliu was puzzled.


    ¡°No, I looked at the system.¡± Du Zijun said.


    This time, even He Qin was a little surprised: ¡°The system?¡±


    ¡°For the first time, I aimed it at the system in order to test its usage. Surprisingly, I saw the clearance reward set by the system.¡± Du Zijun said lightly, ¡°Although I only saw a pile of data bearing the name of the reward, that was enough.¡±


    Wen Zheliu has seen Du Zijun¡¯s eccentricity and boldness. He wondered if any normal person would use it on his own system as soon as he got the item and waste an opportunity?


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, kid.¡± Du Zijun started smoking again, saying, ¡°Good steel should be used as a knife edge2. I think it¡¯s totally worth it to spend this opportunity.¡±


    ¡°Then where did you use it the second time?¡± He Qin asked.


    ¡°The second time, I still use it on the system.¡± Du Zijun exhaled a mouthful of smoke, his gaze sharp and calm, ¡°Only, it was on the system after the death of Lu Hai Lin Fangfei.¡±


    Wen Zheliu¡¯s eyes lit up: ¡°You saw the customs clearance reward again!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Du Zijun said, ¡°After the system prompted the so-called escape mode and survival mode, I used it to look at the clearance rewards again.¡±


    ¡°¡ªNo change.¡± He sneered, ¡°The death of Lu Lin duo should have logically opened up the team¡¯s Survival Mode, yet the rewards, which should have become more lucrative as the system prompt said, didn¡¯t increase at all, and we¡¯re still in Escape Mode.¡±


    He emphasized the tone of the last few words, waiting for the surprised expression of the two people in front of him, but he was destined to be disappointed. Wen Zheliu turned to He Qin with a serious face and said, ¡°It seems that our conjecture that day was indeed true.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± He Qin said indifferently, ¡°There¡¯s really something odd about the deaths of Lu Hai and Lin Fangfei.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s try to reason this first before everything else¡ª¡± ¡°No matter how you look at it, the reason why the system does this is to deceive ordinary players and use an unwarranted Survival Mode to sow discord, right? Think about it carefully, if we weren¡¯t here last night, Zhou Yao and Mu Tuo went out on night patrol, and Mr. Du was hitting a ghost wall3 downstairs¡­ The remaining people were either moles or simply didn¡¯t have enough strength to block the eyeless monster who came to sneak up on us. Zhou Qing¡¯s end will definitely be death, and once she dies, the team will immediately be torn apart and everyone will be in danger.¡±


    He Qin said: ¡°It is always best to break down a pile of scattered sand4 one by one. The boss of this world is really thoughtful and thoroughly understands human nature.¡±


    Du Zijun was already listening in a daze. He bit his cigarette and looked at the two people left and right for half a day before reacting, ¡°So¡­ how did you guys rule out my identity as a mole?¡±


    Wen Zheliu¡¯s smile was bright and clean, showing off his white teeth: ¡°Because you have a special identity! In the current Uncanny Valley, the effect of [Spring of the Drowned Girl] is permanent. I¡¯m afraid even the unknown boss has no way to see through your true identity, let alone choose you as the mole. As for Zhou Qing, she and Zhou Yao are one; if she¡¯s the mole, then the Eyeless Monster last night wouldn¡¯t choose her as a breakthrough point, and the same is true for Zhou Yao. As for the rest¡­ Lu & Lin left the stage, everyone in Gao Xinghan¡¯s group was very suspicious, not to mention that young man with almost zero sense of existence. He was either 100% innocent or 100% the mole. Mu Tuo is still under suspicion¡­¡±


    He quickly and clearly circled all the people and finally concluded: ¡°Now we can only determine five people. You, me and my brother, and Zhuo siblings. We must not let Gao Xinghan¡¯s group hear the information that Zhou Qing¡¯s group found. The less they know, the better.¡±


    After Du Zijun sorted out the information in his mind, his expression was a little ugly, and he spat: ¡°Obviously they are all human, but they still engage in such crooked things¡­¡±


    ¡°Perhaps we have our clearance conditions, and the spy players have their clearance conditions.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t the Saint Nun expecting us to kill each other?¡± Wen Zheliu asked helplessly.


    Du Zijun nodded: ¡°Okay¡­now that we¡¯ve cleared things up, what do you need me to do next?¡±


    He Qin suddenly said: ¡°It¡¯s time for dinner. Call Marianne to come down.¡±


    Du Zijun smiled. Without saying a word, he turned around and left the kitchen.


    Looking at his departure back, Wen Zheliu said calmly: ¡°I still want to know one more thing about that person with almost no sense of presence. What kind of item does he have?¡±


    ¡°Shh,¡± He Qin held up a finger and pressed it lightly on Wen Zheliu¡¯s lips, the swirling light in his eyes was as drunk as mellow wine, ¡°Go to dinner. You have too many things to think about. Take it easy. Today¡¯s dinner is said to have mushroom cream soup. Do you like it?¡±


    Wen Zheliu¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple twitched, and the heat suffocated his cheeks. He didn¡¯t dare look at He Qin again.


    ¡°Y, yes¡­¡±


    He Qin held his hand as if he were holding a child who was much younger than him¡ªwhich was true; in fact, he was eight years older than Wen Zheliu, ¡°Then let¡¯s go. Our teammate has bought enough time. It¡¯s our turn to switch places with him.¡±


    The players¡¯ information exchange was spoiled by the sound of the meal being served. No matter what time and space they are in, a hot meal is always the most attractive to humans. Ke Wenyan¡¯s lips moved, as if he had some complaints about Du Zijun calling Marianne, but when he saw the fragrant, creamy mushroom soup on the table and the expectant glint in the players¡¯ eyes, he couldn¡¯t say anything more and had to pick up the soup spoon in silence.


    Wen Zheliu¡¯s parents are both from the northwest, but he also accepts this fresh and sweet taste well. Seeing that he liked it, He Qin pushed his share between the two of them and said in a warm voice, ¡°Eat slowly; don¡¯t rush; there¡¯s more.¡±


    The meal passed under the collision of tableware and the sound of swallowing and chewing. After the meal, Marianne was about to push away the stool and stand up when Zhou Qing suddenly called her: ¡°By the way, Miss Marianne, I want to ask, when did you move here?¡±


    ¡°Why, what¡¯s the problem?¡± Marianne asked in bewilderment.


    Zhou Qing hurriedly defended herself: ¡°No, I just think this house seems to be a bit old, so I was curious for a moment¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Marianne smiled tolerantly and said, ¡°This house belongs to my cousin. He was a gentry, but childless, only a distant relative like me. After he passed away, this house was supposed to be owned by the church, but I bought it back and then refurbished it.¡±


    Zhou Yao gave a timely compliment: ¡°So, that¡¯s your family crest hanging on the fireplace? What an imposing big family.¡±


    The family crest he mentioned is a pattern that can be seen everywhere in the room: an eagle with an ear of golden wheat in its mouth. It¡¯s not only on the fireplace but also on the stairwell handrail and on the desk in the study. Its shadow can be vaguely seen even in the fuzzy carpet pattern.


    Marianne paused, and after a while, she nodded slightly and said, ¡°Thank you for your compliment.¡±


    Zhou Qing pursed her lips and threw the spoon into the empty bowl, showing a distraught look. Mu Tuo also lowered his head and refolded the napkins that were already neat. Only Zhou Yao maintained his usual expression as he watched Marianne¡¯s slender figure disappear upstairs.


    Wen Zheliu sensitively detected something, but now the time for the night patrol has come.


    ¡°In order to avoid conflicts, the members of the night patrol will be distributed according to the number of people.¡± Mu Tuo said solemnly, ¡°Zhou Qing volunteered to go. For the rest, should we draw lots?¡±


    There was ready-made paper at hand, so it was more convenient to draw lots. Since Mu Tuo and Zhou Yao had already gone out on the first night, they automatically withdrew from drawing lots. Among the remaining people, Wen Zheliu, He Qin, Xiong Lin, Bai Hao, Ke Wenyan, and the young lad with a low sense of presence got the spot for tonight¡¯s patrol.


    ¡°What a run of bad luck¡­¡± Bai Hao grumbled while going to the storage room on the third floor to get torches.


    Wen Zheliu asked the low-presence lad in a friendly manner, ¡°That, I forgot your name before. Can you tell me again?¡±


    He was standing in front of the window. His skin was originally very fair. Logically speaking, it should be set off by the dark window more conspicuously. But when Wen Zheliu glanced over, it was hard to find him. He was like a blot of transparent ink, quietly seeping into the air.


    ¡°My name is Xie Yuanyuan. The character Yuan in the idiom ¡®steady stream5¡®.¡± Xie Yuanyuan said, and he kindly added an example to help Wen Zheliu remember: ¡°It¡¯s okay if you can¡¯t remember; I got used to it a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°Xie Yuanyuan, right? I remember it.¡± Wen Zheliu recited the name firmly in his heart several times: ¡°I won¡¯t forget it next time!¡±


    He Qin came from behind. He had just told Du Zijun to pay attention not to let the mole, Zhou Qing, and Zhou Yao get in touch in private. Everything will be discussed after tonight.


    Bai Hao brought torches and distributed one to everyone. Mu Tuo reminded him, ¡°Wave the torch as soon as there is any danger; try to circle around in place; and don¡¯t let the monster find the opening.¡±


    Wen Zheliu was holding the torch and suddenly smelled a vague fragrance.


    The smell seems to be of roses, but it isn¡¯t as sweet and fragrant as real roses. Instead, it has a bit of a mild and vulgar cheap powdery smell, like putting a layer of dead white flour on dried flowers with lingering fragrance. It¡¯s not pungent, but it definitely doesn¡¯t smell nice.


    ¡°This is¡­¡± He frowned, searched for it, and finally found that it was the smell of oilcloth wrapped around the torch.


    Strange, where did the oilcloth get such a powdery smell¡­


    He wanted to sniff a few more times, but Bai Hao had already opened the door and shouted to the rest of the people, ¡°Hey, let¡¯s go!¡±


    Wen Zheliu had no choice but to follow the example of the crowd and light the torch, walking behind with He Qin.


    The oilcloth was burning blazingly, and the weird fragrance became stronger and stronger, making people dizzy. Bai Hao turned his head and said, ¡°There are a lot of sundries in the storage room on the third floor. Maybe some perfume got on it by accident, so it got this smell.¡±


    ¡°It smells too bad¡­¡± Zhou Qing covered her nose and said.


    He Qin and Wen Zheliu walked side by side. He only occasionally reminded Wen Zheliu to pay attention to the road, and he didn¡¯t talk too much.


    Several people walked along the uneven forest path. The dew was cool in the middle of the night, and the breeze was piercing, making the flames wobble. At this point, Xiong Lin, who was walking in front, exclaimed, ¡°Wait, there are traces!¡±


    Wen Zheliu and He Qin took a step forward to investigate, only to discover a large tract of dragging marks on the muddy ground, stretching along with the crushed grass and leaves and eventually disappearing in the dark dense forest.


    ¡°¡­Do you want to go and have a look?¡± Ke Wenyan hesitated.


    Bai Hao rolled his eyes with contemptuous look: ¡°Forget it, this is obviously the trace of the eyeless monster crawling, okay! How do people die in horror movies? Isn¡¯t it because of too much curiosity?!¡±


    Zhou Qing sneered: ¡°But don¡¯t you forget that the key to open the next stage of the main quest is likely to be on the monster. If we don¡¯t go looking for it at this time, when will we have another chance?¡±


    Wen Zheliu was a little surprised. At the critical moment, the courage and firm determination shown by this girl were actually stronger than those of several big men. He smiled and agreed: ¡°Miss Zhou is right. We should grasp this opportunity.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡­¡±


    He Qin stood behind Wen Zheliu, holding a torch in one hand and a hatchet in the other. Under the firelight, He Qin¡¯s deep silhouette showed a kind of sinister indifference. He smiled lightly and ordered: ¡°Let¡¯s go now.¡±


    Several male players swallowed their saliva. Although they were reluctant, they really couldn¡¯t disobey He Qin¡¯s order, so they had to reluctantly move towards the drag mark.


    A cursed hot spring in anime called [Ranma ?] that turns anything into a girl. To cure the curse one needs to be splashed with hot water.


    Where a thing can be put to best use


    ¹í´òǽ[gu¨« d¨£ qi¨¢ng] or ¡°Hitting ghost wall¡± is when people often find themselves lost and circling back to where they started, as if a ghost had built a wall that kept them from walking straight.


    A group that lacks cooperation.


    Ô´Ô´²»¶Ï [yu¨¢n yu¨¢n b¨´ du¨¤n]

 CH 18

    The further they go, the colder the humid air in the jungle becomes. The sticky and rancid smell of the eyeless monster is mixed with the strange aroma from the torch, almost making people faint due to this sensory discomfort.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do it¡­¡± Zhou Qing covered her mouth and nose and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m going to vomit¡­¡±


    Wen Zheliu comforted her in a low voice: ¡°Be patient; it will be fine soon.¡±


    He Qin reminded from behind: ¡°Suppress the light of the torch, and be careful not to be discovered by them.¡±


    Xiong Lin suddenly suggested: ¡°Use my item. Although I don¡¯t know how effective it is, at least it has the function of concealment.¡±


    As he said that, he took out his item from the package, [It¡¯s Picnic Time].


    [Item name: It¡¯s Picnic Time]


    [Grade: D]


    [Activation type: instant activation]


    [Cooldown time: 1 hour]


    [Attack Power: None]


    [Effect: When using this item, a force field with a radius of about two meters will be formed around the player. Under the action of this force field, the activities of any creatures that can be observed in the area will be weakened by about 40% for 15 minutes. ]


    [Equipment level: 5]


    [Item Introduction: It¡¯s picnic time! Cover this blanket; let¡¯s sleepwalk in the forest together!]


    To put it bluntly, this is an item that can weaken the breath and reduce the player¡¯s sense of presence. Although there¡¯s already one person on the team who can¡¯t be noticed even without this item, the remaining players still very much need it.


    ¡°Thank you so much!¡± Wen Zheliu said gratefully. Thus they spread out evenly, and each of them carried a part of the blanket forward. Fortunately, [It¡¯s Picnic Time] is very light and thin, so it wasn¡¯t strenuous to walk.


    The chilling wind in the forest blew burst after burst of that foul odor toward them. When the stench index reached its highest, the dense branches and leaves in front of them suddenly opened up, forming a huge pit on the ground.


    By the faint light of the fire, Wen Zheliu counted out that there were six huge, eyeless monsters lying down below. They were gathering together and whispering, one after another, making intermittent roars like laughter.


    ¡ªThe monsters¡¯ lair.


    ¡°Let¡¯s call it quits, brother¡­¡± Wen Zheliu was covered in cold sweat and said, ¡°If these six pounce on us, we¡¯ll all be finished¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, let¡¯s take a look again.¡± He Qin said calmly, with his body slightly bent.


    The players waited for a moment and saw the monsters scatter, each crawling into the jungle and disappearing, leaving only two eyeless monsters looking around, as if they were guarding the place.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Bai Hao was surprised, ¡°How come four of them are gone?¡±


    ¡°Either went for food or went to the cottage.¡± Wen Zheliu calmly analyzed, ¡°But even if there are only two left, we can¡¯t be careless.¡±


    He Qin was holding the torch for Wen Zheliu at the back, seemingly thinking about how he was going to get the key item from the monster.


    Xiong Lin suddenly called out in a low voice: ¡°Hey, Wen Di, look over there!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Wen Zheliu thought he had discovered something and hurriedly leaned over to take a look, but Xiong Lin suddenly shouted and shoved Wen Zheliu from behind!


    There was a complete silence all around, so his shout was amplified until it made one¡¯s ear tingle. [It¡¯s Picnic Time] could only weaken 40% of the player¡¯s activities, but not this kind of outrageous noise. As its territory had been invaded, the monster turned its head like a lightning bolt, roared angrily in the direction of Wen Zheliu, and then shot towards him like a cannonball!


    Xiong Lin¡ªhe must be one of the moles!


    Wen Zheliu felt chills all over his body. He was pushed down the steep slope by Xiong Lin without any precaution. Now that he had fallen, he wouldn¡¯t even have a chance to climb up. He would be instantly killed by the monster that rushed up. In a panic, he stretched his hand, trying to grab He Qin¡¯s sleeve: ¡°Brother!¡±


    He Qin¡¯s pupils were constricted. The moment Xiong Lin pushed Wen Zheliu, he swung the torch ruthlessly into Xiong Lin¡¯s face. The scorching flame, in addition to his hand strength, smacked half of Xiong Lin¡¯s face into scorched flesh and sent blood flying in all directions. While Xiong Lin was still screaming, he turned around immediately, his hand stretched out almost like an afterimage, and firmly grabbed Wen Zheliu¡¯s waving hand, ¡°I¡¯m here, don¡¯t be afraid!¡±


    While Wen Zheliu was still in shock, the two eyeless monsters that discovered the players were now also running wildly toward them. Their heavy bodies made the ground under his feet tremble. The eyeless monster opens its bloody mouth and hurls its long tongue at him. Wen Zheliu, still holding He Qin¡¯s hand, clenched the crowbar tightly, swung his arm with all his strength in an instant, and went down hard with the stick: ¡°Go away!!!¡±


    There was a loud sound of metal colliding with hard bone. The hit landed on the monster¡¯s head, causing blood to overflow immediately. The strength of the rebound from the crowbar immediately shattered Wen Zheliu¡¯s thenar webspace1. The monster also hissed and was beaten backward, tumbling down the slope!


    ¡°Come up!¡± He Qin stretched his arms and pulled Wen Zheliu into his embrace. Although the effect just now was remarkable, it also emptied 82% of Wen Zheliu¡¯s physical strength in an instant, and the crowbar was almost broken by him.


    Right now, only one monster has been temporarily repelled. Another monster immediately rushed over from the side, and its bloody tongue swept at the players with a piercing sound. He Qin was still angry, like a wild leopard driven mad by fury. He let out a suppressed roar from his throat, put down Wen Zheliu, and grabbed Xiong Lin, who was still rolling and howling. His voice was hoarse, and his smile was ferocious: ¡°Since you want to die so much, then I¡¯ll fulfill your wish.¡±


    Before Xiong Lin could resist, He Qin lifted him up with one hand and threw him at the monster¡¯s bloody tongue. At the same time, the hatchet in his hand was moving like lightning, instantly piercing Xiong Lin¡¯s heart!


    He Qin drew the blade back with a swish. Blood and internal organs splattered all over the place, which aroused the monster¡¯s ferocity. Xiong Lin was pierced by the monster¡¯s tongue and was drawing his last breath, but the monster was unwilling to just throw away the other food, so it turned and stretched out its claws to grab the other fresh prey in front of it. He Qin sneered. His god-like knife skill was activated immediately. He raised the hatchet and precisely cleaved one of the monster¡¯s long fingers, cutting it off by the root!


    The monster hissed in pain, and the severed finger whirled and fell into the grass. Wen Zheliu had already stood up from the ground and smashed a torch into the center of the monster¡¯s face, saying, ¡°Take the torch; retreat now!¡±


    The remaining players are still in shock after this unexpected turn of events. From Xiong Lin yelling to attract the attention of the eyeless monster and plotting against Wen Zheliu, to Wen Zheliu repelling the monster, He Qin¡¯s violent murder, and then to the finger of the eyeless monster being cut off, until Wen Zheliu made a sound to wake them up¡­ All of this happened too fast, and in just a few seconds, the situation has undergone a dramatic change.


    The crowd didn¡¯t care much; they backed away from the monster while waving torches in a disorderly manner. They couldn¡¯t stay here for long.


    However, even in this critical situation, Wen Zheliu still noticed that the moment the torch approached the monster, it actually backed up a few steps in a hurry, showing a look of fear.


    ¡°Brother, I¡¯m fine! Let¡¯s go!¡±


    In the chaos, He Qin no longer hesitated. He quickly retreated, no longer paying attention to Xiong Lin, who still had a spark of life left. He picked up Wen Zheliu and ran along the route they had taken.


    Although Wen Zheliu is still a growing teenager, his height is close to 1.8 meters. He Qin was able to hold him, and running all the way was quite frightening. Wen Zheliu asked: ¡°Brother, are you all right?!¡±


    ¡°At least we have to run out of here before we can talk,¡± he replied.


    Wen Zheliu¡¯s torch fell during the dispute just now, and He Qin¡¯s was also missing. He could only vaguely see He Qin¡¯s stern and fierce eyes through the faint light raised by his companions at the front.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be mad, brother,¡± he whispered, ¡°I¡¯m fine; I¡¯ll be fine soon.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± He Qin clenched his teeth and said, ¡°I¡¯ll settle the score with you when we get back.¡±


    This was the first time Wen Zheliu was scolded by him, and he felt very wronged, but what happened tonight was already bizarre and tortuous enough; he didn¡¯t want to talk about anything with He Qin now, because it would only speed up his physical exhaustion.


    The group fled, panting and in disarray, but fortunately, the monsters behind them did not actually catch up. Perhaps it was true, as Marianne said, that the torches they feared worked, or maybe a fresh meal delayed them, but either way, they escaped the night¡¯s danger.


    Seeing the bright lights of the cottage that lasted all night, Bai Hao couldn¡¯t run anymore. He bowed down and covered his stomach while gasping for breath. He then threw the torch to the ground in frustration, trying to put it out with his feet.


    ¡°You killed him!¡± he suddenly shouted while trying to stand on his feet. ¡°You killed him, you cruel murderer!¡±


    He Qin¡¯s breath was a little disorderly as he put Wen Zheliu down. Mottled blood remained on the hatchet hanging on his waist. His face has no trace of wavering emotion after ¡°he killed someone¡±. He said nonchalantly: ¡°What he did was enough for me to kill him ten times. Stabbing him once was merciful enough.¡±


    Ke Wenyan looked at He Qin; his tone was also a little shaky; it was unknown whether it was due to tiredness or other reasons: ¡°You¡­you¡¯re too ruthless; he¡¯s at least your companion. Didn¡¯t you say you wanted us to unite, save others, and not follow the mastermind¡¯s wishes? But now what? The first person to break the rules is you!¡±


    Zhou Qing and Xie Yuanyuan remained silent the whole time without opening their mouths.


    He Qin¡¯s identity and personality meant that he wouldn¡¯t argue too much with unimportant people, but Wen Zheliu immediately flew into a rage, saying, ¡°Say again who broke the rules first? Xiong Lin shouted and screamed, while leading the monster over and pushing me down. Why didn¡¯t you scold him for being ruthless? If he had succeeded, he would have gotten everyone killed! Now that you¡¯re here blaming my brother in such a righteous manner, do you have no conscience?¡±


    ¡°We know you have the ability,¡± Bai Hao said soberly, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he invisibly drew a line between them and the rest of the players, ¡°But if you have the ability to kill teammates at will, then you¡¯re on your own. Don¡¯t harm us ordinary people, okay?¡±


    His way of avoiding the key points and concentrating on nonsense made Wen Zheliu even more angry. He almost became dizzy with anger when his physical strength was exhausted. At the same time, Zhou Qing suddenly said: ¡°Isn¡¯t this very good? Yes, I think it¡¯s pretty balanced.¡±


    Ke Wenyan was shocked: ¡°Zhou Qing, you¡­¡±


    Zhou Qing sneered and said, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. Xiong Lin himself is the one who talks about the law of the jungle and the survival of the fittest. Although I don¡¯t know why he suddenly went crazy, he not only wanted to hurt Wen Di but also wanted to drag us all into trouble, but¡­ It¡¯s the law of the jungle here; whoever is strong is in the right.¡±


    She was also terribly frightened, and now her face was pale and bloodless, but she still shrugged contemptuously, acting indifferent to Ke Wenyan and Bai Hao. Xie Yuanyuan next to her said faintly: ¡°You can¡¯t talk about the law of the jungle when you have the upper hand and say that everyone should unite to save others when you¡¯re weak¡­ Isn¡¯t that too hypocritical¡­¡±


    Staring at the two people who were speechless, He Qin finally sneered and took Wen Zheliu¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Come in. It¡¯s too cold outside.¡±


    In the room, Mu Tuo and Zhou Yao had already prepared hot soup for the night patrollers to warm their bodies, but they were shocked when they saw a group of people walking in with a wretched state and a thick smell of blood. They counted carefully, and there was one missing.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Zhou Yao felt sorry for his sister and hurried up to take off her dirty coat and wrap her in a clean blanket, ¡°What happened?¡±


    Ke Wenyan sneered, and without waiting for Zhou Qing to answer, Bai Hao yelled in a voice so hoarse that it broke: ¡°This murderer killed his teammate! He Qin killed Xiong Lin! Everyone come down to judge and see the true face of the murderer!¡±


    ¡°You!¡± Wen Zheliu was furious and almost went up with a crowbar to crack his skull open, but He Qin held him down.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay; don¡¯t be impulsive.¡±


    Mu Tuo¡¯s expression suddenly became serious. He put down the soup bowl in his hand and looked at He Qin: ¡°Brother He Qin, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    Bai Hao¡¯s voice was extremely penetrating in the silent night. Except for Marianne, who was sleeping on the third floor, even the dead would be yelled awake by him. Soon, Du Zijun in a nightgown and Gao Xinghan with a pale face appear at the stairs.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Du Zijun asked with a frown.


    ¡°Dead? How did someone die again?!¡± This was Gao Xinghan¡¯s reaction.


    Bai Hao sarcastically said: ¡°Of course, on account of their own greatness, they can slaughter their teammates at will. How can people not die?!¡±


    Wen Zheliu said in a deep voice, ¡°Then you can talk about the cause and effect and see whose fault it is.¡±


    ¡°Of course Xiong Lin is wrong, but He Qin is right?¡± Ke Wenyan snapped, ¡°These are two different things; everyone is an adult; can¡¯t we learn to look at problems separately?¡±


    He Qin had already sat down on the chair at this time. He wiped the blood off the hatchet and said lazily: ¡°You don¡¯t respond to others¡¯ criticism directly, but use criticism as your reply. As an adult, can¡¯t you learn to avoid this low-level logical fallacy when speaking?¡±


    Ke Wenyan was about to refute, but Wen Zheliu interrupted him impatiently: ¡°Since both of you think he¡¯s at fault, let¡¯s find a teammate who is both involved throughout and an outsider to tell about it. Xie Yuanyuan, can you do us this favor?¡±


    Zhou Qing raised her head in confusion: ¡°Xie Yuanyuan? Who is Xie Yuanyuan?¡±


    Xie Yuanyuan was helpless but still raised his hand weakly in the corner as usual: ¡°It¡¯s me¡­¡±


    Part of the hand between the thumb and the index finge