September 30, 2023 by Wyrd
The clock on the wall no longer ticked, but the room’s temperature remained uncomfortably low.
Adding to the eerie atmosphere were the four shriveled, pale bodies on the floor, sending shivers down one’s spine.
It’s as if there’s something unclean in the house.
Ruan Qing’s body stiffened, and he nervously glanced around, instinctively on guard for any potential danger.
He was afraid of encountering something terrifying.
Though he didn’t see anything frightening, there was an unsettling sense of danger.
As Ruan Qing cautiously scanned his surroundings, his peripheral vision seemed to catch something, and the next moment, he stared straight at the four bodies on the floor.
The bodies appeared withered, pallid as paper, devoid of any trace of blood.
Under the illumination of the light, the shadows beneath the bodies were pitch-black, making the already pale corpses look even more ghastly.
It felt eerie and horrifying.
Ruan Qing furrowed his brow as he gazed at the shadow beneath the child’s body; did that shadow just move?
The chandelier hung directly above the living room.
The shadow directly above shouldn’t be this large!
Realizing this, Ruan Qing’s eyes widened. When the shadow moved again, he forcefully pulled the advanced male player closest to the bodies, almost using all his strength.
As Ruan Qing pulled the advanced male player away, the shadow beneath the child’s body, like a black snake, suddenly detached from the ground and darted toward the advanced male player.
The shadow moved astonishingly fast and made no sound.
If it weren’t for Ruan Qing’s pull, the advanced male player would have surely been bitten by the shadow.
However, due to the excessive force he used, Ruan Qing lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Fortunately, the advanced male player swiftly turned and caught Ruan Qing, shielding him from harm.
The advanced male player had no time to think about anything else because, after missing its target, the shadow changed direction and lunged toward them again.
The advanced male player hugged Ruan Qing tightly, rolling away on the ground from their previous position.
The shadow missed them again and crashed into the floor, blending with it once more, swaying as it sought its next target.
The advanced male player felt relieved when he saw the shadow change its target. Just as he was about to stand up, he suddenly caught a faint, intoxicating scent of orchids, which was incredibly alluring.
He looked down at the person he had just protected, but the next moment, he immediately lowered his gaze and stood up, reaching out to help Ruan Qing to his feet.
Then he shielded Ruan Qing behind him.
Ruan Qing knew that he was too slow to react. If the shadow had attacked him, he would have been the first to die. That’s why he had saved the advanced male player.
Fortunately, the advanced male player seemed stronger than he had imagined.
Other players had already distanced themselves from the shadow when it emerged, staring at it as if facing a formidable enemy.
The shadow appeared to be conscious and, after drifting around for a few moments, it lunged directly at the weakest newcomer player.
Those with slower reactions couldn’t evade it.
The newcomer player’s eyes widened, filled with fear and dread. He wanted to dodge, but he couldn’t escape, only helplessly watching the shadow charge towards him.
“Ah!” The moment the shadow bit the player, it entered his body, and the newcomer player let out a piercing scream.
His face contorted in immense pain, his hands desperately clutching the spot where the shadow had entered, as if trying to pull it out.
However, it was futile. In just a few seconds, his eyeballs bulged horrifically, and then he collapsed to the ground, breathless.
Within moments, he became identical to the other four bodies, as if the blood within his body had been completely drained.
Other players, witnessing this horror, were filled with terror and astonishment, instinctively moving away from the newcomer player’s corpse.
As soon as the shadow touched them, it seemed to drain the blood from their bodies within half a minute.
Perhaps it had been discovered, as the shadow no longer concealed itself. After draining the newcomer player’s blood, it emerged from the corpse again.
This time, its body had grown slightly, as if the blood it had just consumed had increased its strength.
No, it wasn’t as if it had genuinely grown stronger, and its speed seemed even faster.
This time, the shadow targeted another player, charging directly from the corpse’s shadow towards them.
Just as the shadow was about to bite the player, the advanced male player next to Ruan Qing quickly pulled out a knife and hurled it fiercely at the shadow.
The shadow seemed unable to evade it and was sliced in half by the knife, ultimately returning to the shadows beneath the child’s corpse.
As to whether it was truly dead or not, none of the players dared to approach and check.
At least now everyone knows that this shadow can be physically attacked, and it doesn’t seem very strong despite its speed.
All the players breathed a sigh of relief.
It’s just that it’s somewhat unstoppable when it comes out; it seems like it can hide in every shadow.
If you’re not careful and get bitten, the outcome is probably the same as the five corpses on the ground.
The temperature in the room remained low, as if there were some hidden danger.
The shadow lurked in the darkness, and nighttime was its best camouflage, making nights even more dangerous.
It could still be seen when there’s light, but without light, it’s probably a death sentence for the players here.
The players discussed it and decided to return to the hotel temporarily, resuming their exploration during the day.
Ruan Qing had no objections, but on his way out, he casually took the picture book from the sofa.
He had an instinct that it was important.
In fact, it was indeed important. When Ruan Qing opened the picture book at the hotel, he saw the word ‘Xiao Xi’ written on it.
The moment Ruan Qing saw the picture book, he felt like he had seen this book before.
He didn’t need to analyze or deduce various speculations about ‘Xiao Xi’ came instantly to his mind.
As if he had analyzed it before.
Ruan Qing thought about what Li Shuyang had said in the elevator, about resetting the instance.
The meaning of resetting the instance was evidently to bring the instance back to the beginning.
In other words, it’s highly likely that everything happening now had already occurred before, but for some uncontrollable reason, they couldn’t remember and have to reset the instance.
Did their memories get wiped out as a group?
No, probably not, as Li Shuyang mentioned, becoming lackey of the main system.
Clearly, resetting the instance was likely related to the game’s main system.
If it was just a group wipe, they probably wouldn’t receive any special treatment from the game’s main system.
Let alone special treatment, group wipes must be quite common in infinite instances, and they might not even attract a sliver of the game’s main system’s attention.
There must be a more significant reason.
For example, when the instance lost control of something.
Ruan Qing lowered his gaze, concealing the expression in his eyes, and handed the picture book to the other players.
Because it was more dangerous to be alone, they were resting in the same room.
After the other players finished reading the picture book, they frowned, seemingly not understanding its meaning.
The content of the picture book clearly ended at a crucial point, making it impossible to deduce what happened afterward.
The player with the yellow hair finished reading the picture book and said, “It’s a ‘curse.’”
“The clue is just one word, ‘gu’,” continued the player with yellow hair. (T/N: The term ‘蠱’ (gǔ) in Chinese can have multiple meanings depending on the context. In traditional Chinese culture, ‘蠱’ can refer to a type of venomous insect or worm, often associated with poison.)
“I originally thought it was about curses or something, but obviously, that shadow doesn’t quite look like a gu.”
Ruan Qing frowned. A gu? This was somewhat outside his knowledge. Ruan Qing had never heard of a gu before.
He took out his phone and searched for it, gaining a rough understanding of what a gu actually was.
Ruan Qing felt that it might not necessarily be unrelated to a gu. A gu involved causing poisonous insects to fight each other, eventually cultivating them.
The core point was cultivation, but that shadow didn’t cultivate with the same kind but with human blood.
Someone at Xishan Kindergarten was using the identity of ‘Xiao Xi’ to select targets for cultivating ‘gu’?
But who was ‘Xiao Xi’? And why would he be attacked?
Moreover, why would the people at Xishan Kindergarten use his name to cultivate a gu?
Or was it the case that anyone chosen as ‘Xiao Xi’ was considered Xiao Xi, and the one killed was the gu?
But did the gu have a name?
The clues were still too few, making it difficult to determine the situation.
After the players finished their discussion, the player with yellow hair glanced at everyone in the room and said in a deep voice, “Something is off about this instance. I know everyone doesn’t like to meddle in others’ business, but you’ve all seen it. The blood of the people in this instance clearly enhances the strength of that shadow. If our companions are in danger, let’s try to help them. It’s also a way to save ourselves.”
The other players nodded in agreement, indicating that they understood.
It seemed that the blood could enhance its power, and once it became too powerful to contend with, none of them might be able to leave the instance alive. After all, no one knew what terrifying form that shadow could grow into.
It was already quite late, and after the players agreed on the order for the night watch, they each found a corner to rest.
There were beds in the room, but there were nine of them on this side, which was clearly not enough to go around.
Ruan Qing also didn’t like to squeeze with others, so he quietly found a corner, randomly pulled something to sit on, and leaned against the wall like that.
He somehow gave off a pitiful feeling.
Like those obedient and sensible children, even if they felt wronged, they wouldn’t speak up, making people feel sorry for them.
The other players couldn’t help but feel like they were seeing things.
This chubby guy didn’t look pitiful no matter how you looked at him!
And they all found a corner just as casually; they didn’t think they were pitiful, but for some reason, they felt that guy was pitiful.
The players felt like they had some kind of illness, so they withdrew their gazes and went to rest individually.
After all, in the instance, having a weak spirit was the most fatal.
What the players didn’t know was that not long after they left, another guest arrived in Room 306.
September 30, 2023 by Wyrd
The clock on the wall no longer ticked, but the room’s temperature remained uncomfortably low.
Adding to the eerie atmosphere were the four shriveled, pale bodies on the floor, sending shivers down one’s spine.
It’s as if there’s something unclean in the house.
Ruan Qing’s body stiffened, and he nervously glanced around, instinctively on guard for any potential danger.
He was afraid of encountering something terrifying.
Though he didn’t see anything frightening, there was an unsettling sense of danger.
As Ruan Qing cautiously scanned his surroundings, his peripheral vision seemed to catch something, and the next moment, he stared straight at the four bodies on the floor.
The bodies appeared withered, pallid as paper, devoid of any trace of blood.
Under the illumination of the light, the shadows beneath the bodies were pitch-black, making the already pale corpses look even more ghastly.
It felt eerie and horrifying.
Ruan Qing furrowed his brow as he gazed at the shadow beneath the child’s body; did that shadow just move?
The chandelier hung directly above the living room.
The shadow directly above shouldn’t be this large!
Realizing this, Ruan Qing’s eyes widened. When the shadow moved again, he forcefully pulled the advanced male player closest to the bodies, almost using all his strength.
As Ruan Qing pulled the advanced male player away, the shadow beneath the child’s body, like a black snake, suddenly detached from the ground and darted toward the advanced male player.
The shadow moved astonishingly fast and made no sound.
If it weren’t for Ruan Qing’s pull, the advanced male player would have surely been bitten by the shadow.
However, due to the excessive force he used, Ruan Qing lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Fortunately, the advanced male player swiftly turned and caught Ruan Qing, shielding him from harm.
The advanced male player had no time to think about anything else because, after missing its target, the shadow changed direction and lunged toward them again.
The advanced male player hugged Ruan Qing tightly, rolling away on the ground from their previous position.
The shadow missed them again and crashed into the floor, blending with it once more, swaying as it sought its next target.
The advanced male player felt relieved when he saw the shadow change its target. Just as he was about to stand up, he suddenly caught a faint, intoxicating scent of orchids, which was incredibly alluring.
He looked down at the person he had just protected, but the next moment, he immediately lowered his gaze and stood up, reaching out to help Ruan Qing to his feet.
Then he shielded Ruan Qing behind him.
Ruan Qing knew that he was too slow to react. If the shadow had attacked him, he would have been the first to die. That’s why he had saved the advanced male player.
Fortunately, the advanced male player seemed stronger than he had imagined.
Other players had already distanced themselves from the shadow when it emerged, staring at it as if facing a formidable enemy.
The shadow appeared to be conscious and, after drifting around for a few moments, it lunged directly at the weakest newcomer player.
Those with slower reactions couldn’t evade it.
The newcomer player’s eyes widened, filled with fear and dread. He wanted to dodge, but he couldn’t escape, only helplessly watching the shadow charge towards him.
“Ah!” The moment the shadow bit the player, it entered his body, and the newcomer player let out a piercing scream.
His face contorted in immense pain, his hands desperately clutching the spot where the shadow had entered, as if trying to pull it out.
However, it was futile. In just a few seconds, his eyeballs bulged horrifically, and then he collapsed to the ground, breathless.
Within moments, he became identical to the other four bodies, as if the blood within his body had been completely drained.
Other players, witnessing this horror, were filled with terror and astonishment, instinctively moving away from the newcomer player’s corpse.
As soon as the shadow touched them, it seemed to drain the blood from their bodies within half a minute.
Perhaps it had been discovered, as the shadow no longer concealed itself. After draining the newcomer player’s blood, it emerged from the corpse again.
This time, its body had grown slightly, as if the blood it had just consumed had increased its strength.
No, it wasn’t as if it had genuinely grown stronger, and its speed seemed even faster.
This time, the shadow targeted another player, charging directly from the corpse’s shadow towards them.
Just as the shadow was about to bite the player, the advanced male player next to Ruan Qing quickly pulled out a knife and hurled it fiercely at the shadow.
The shadow seemed unable to evade it and was sliced in half by the knife, ultimately returning to the shadows beneath the child’s corpse.
As to whether it was truly dead or not, none of the players dared to approach and check.
At least now everyone knows that this shadow can be physically attacked, and it doesn’t seem very strong despite its speed.
All the players breathed a sigh of relief.
It’s just that it’s somewhat unstoppable when it comes out; it seems like it can hide in every shadow.
If you’re not careful and get bitten, the outcome is probably the same as the five corpses on the ground.
The temperature in the room remained low, as if there were some hidden danger.
The shadow lurked in the darkness, and nighttime was its best camouflage, making nights even more dangerous.
It could still be seen when there’s light, but without light, it’s probably a death sentence for the players here.
The players discussed it and decided to return to the hotel temporarily, resuming their exploration during the day.
Ruan Qing had no objections, but on his way out, he casually took the picture book from the sofa.
He had an instinct that it was important.
In fact, it was indeed important. When Ruan Qing opened the picture book at the hotel, he saw the word ‘Xiao Xi’ written on it.
The moment Ruan Qing saw the picture book, he felt like he had seen this book before.
He didn’t need to analyze or deduce various speculations about ‘Xiao Xi’ came instantly to his mind.
As if he had analyzed it before.
Ruan Qing thought about what Li Shuyang had said in the elevator, about resetting the instance.
The meaning of resetting the instance was evidently to bring the instance back to the beginning.
In other words, it’s highly likely that everything happening now had already occurred before, but for some uncontrollable reason, they couldn’t remember and have to reset the instance.
Did their memories get wiped out as a group?
No, probably not, as Li Shuyang mentioned, becoming lackey of the main system.
Clearly, resetting the instance was likely related to the game’s main system.
If it was just a group wipe, they probably wouldn’t receive any special treatment from the game’s main system.
Let alone special treatment, group wipes must be quite common in infinite instances, and they might not even attract a sliver of the game’s main system’s attention.
There must be a more significant reason.
For example, when the instance lost control of something.
Ruan Qing lowered his gaze, concealing the expression in his eyes, and handed the picture book to the other players.
Because it was more dangerous to be alone, they were resting in the same room.
After the other players finished reading the picture book, they frowned, seemingly not understanding its meaning.
The content of the picture book clearly ended at a crucial point, making it impossible to deduce what happened afterward.
The player with the yellow hair finished reading the picture book and said, “It’s a ‘curse.’”
“The clue is just one word, ‘gu’,” continued the player with yellow hair. (T/N: The term ‘蠱’ (gǔ) in Chinese can have multiple meanings depending on the context. In traditional Chinese culture, ‘蠱’ can refer to a type of venomous insect or worm, often associated with poison.)
“I originally thought it was about curses or something, but obviously, that shadow doesn’t quite look like a gu.”
Ruan Qing frowned. A gu? This was somewhat outside his knowledge. Ruan Qing had never heard of a gu before.
He took out his phone and searched for it, gaining a rough understanding of what a gu actually was.
Ruan Qing felt that it might not necessarily be unrelated to a gu. A gu involved causing poisonous insects to fight each other, eventually cultivating them.
The core point was cultivation, but that shadow didn’t cultivate with the same kind but with human blood.
Someone at Xishan Kindergarten was using the identity of ‘Xiao Xi’ to select targets for cultivating ‘gu’?
But who was ‘Xiao Xi’? And why would he be attacked?
Moreover, why would the people at Xishan Kindergarten use his name to cultivate a gu?
Or was it the case that anyone chosen as ‘Xiao Xi’ was considered Xiao Xi, and the one killed was the gu?
But did the gu have a name?
The clues were still too few, making it difficult to determine the situation.
After the players finished their discussion, the player with yellow hair glanced at everyone in the room and said in a deep voice, “Something is off about this instance. I know everyone doesn’t like to meddle in others’ business, but you’ve all seen it. The blood of the people in this instance clearly enhances the strength of that shadow. If our companions are in danger, let’s try to help them. It’s also a way to save ourselves.”
The other players nodded in agreement, indicating that they understood.
It seemed that the blood could enhance its power, and once it became too powerful to contend with, none of them might be able to leave the instance alive. After all, no one knew what terrifying form that shadow could grow into.
It was already quite late, and after the players agreed on the order for the night watch, they each found a corner to rest.
There were beds in the room, but there were nine of them on this side, which was clearly not enough to go around.
Ruan Qing also didn’t like to squeeze with others, so he quietly found a corner, randomly pulled something to sit on, and leaned against the wall like that.
He somehow gave off a pitiful feeling.
Like those obedient and sensible children, even if they felt wronged, they wouldn’t speak up, making people feel sorry for them.
The other players couldn’t help but feel like they were seeing things.
This chubby guy didn’t look pitiful no matter how you looked at him!
And they all found a corner just as casually; they didn’t think they were pitiful, but for some reason, they felt that guy was pitiful.
The players felt like they had some kind of illness, so they withdrew their gazes and went to rest individually.
After all, in the instance, having a weak spirit was the most fatal.
What the players didn’t know was that not long after they left, another guest arrived in Room 306.
