When Xin Meng woke up this time, the first person he looked for was not You Yi, but Qi Xiaokui. However, he found himself surrounded by darkness, quiet and still, lying alone in a strange room.
What happened to Qi Xiaokui?
They had already moved on to the next game; she should be fine, right?
Xin Meng glanced at his own body and found that the scars from the previous game had vanished without a trace, and his torn clothes were as good as new. He let out a sigh of relief.
He looked around and realized this was a room resembling an activity room, with many toys scattered across the floor. However, all of them were damaged: a teddy bear with its head torn off, a plastic toy car with half its body shattered, and various fragments of materials that were unrecognizable, creating a scene of chaos.
Around the room, there was a disordered arrangement of small plastic tables and chairs, typical of a kindergarten, in red and green, but covered in dust, looking quite dirty.
Was this an activity room in a kindergarten?
Xin Meng took a quick glance and picked up a card from the ground. This time, the front of the card surprisingly did not contain game instructions; instead, it had a brand new message:
[Important Notice.]
[Team Member: Ms. Qi Xiaokui.]
[Due to triggering specific conditions, has returned to the real world.]
[The missing position will be automatically filled by the system to complete the team.]
[Please continue to work hard.]
Xin Meng’s eyes widened in shock!
Qi Xiaokui has returned to reality!?
This was so sudden; he had no psychological preparation at all!
Of course, amidst the shock, Xin Meng was also very happy for her. Although he had just made a friend and would not see her again, he certainly wished her well and hoped she would live a good life.
However, what did “triggering specific conditions” refer to? Xin Meng was puzzled; it seemed nothing special had happened before. The only difference was that Qi Xiaokui had a fever, nearly dying from it. Could that be the condition for returning to reality?
Xin Meng: …I feel like something is off.
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out. But since Qi Xiaokui had a better path ahead, what he needed to focus on now was how to find the remaining teammates and see what the new teammates were like.
Of course, it would be best if he could find You Yi first.
Flipping the card over, it read:
[Day and night interchange, yin and yang overlap, roles alternate.]
What does that mean?
The hint was vague; it seemed he needed to find other people and see their cards to make a more accurate guess.
There was nothing in the room. He walked to the door and tried to open it. The door was not locked and opened easily.
Stepping outside, he found himself in a narrow corridor, still dark, but the opposite wall had many mirrors. He walked to the glass to look outside, only to find that the glass was actually a mirror, reflecting his image completely, but he couldn’t see anything outside.
He saw his empty side in the mirror and realized that he had unknowingly lost that one person by his side, feeling a sense of loneliness…
He could no longer get used to being alone.
Xin Meng couldn’t help but sigh. Just as he was about to turn to check the adjacent room, a flash of red caught his eye.
He suddenly looked up and saw, through the mirror in front of him, a little girl in a red dress standing at the door behind him!
The little girl was staring at him intently. When she noticed him looking over, she grinned, revealing a strange smile, her crimson lips showing a row of densely packed black teeth!
“!!” Xin Meng was startled and quickly turned around, but the doorway was just as he had seen it before—there was no one there?!
But he couldn’t be hallucinating! That little girl was real!
Cold sweat broke out as Xin Meng couldn’t help but take two steps back, his back pressed against the window.
His gaze quickly scanned the surroundings, wary of anything suddenly appearing, but he didn’t notice that the glass behind him was slowly deforming, forming two hands, followed by wrists and forearms…
Half an arm extended out, suddenly grabbing Xin Meng’s body, pulling him into the wall before he could react!
“Bang!”
A sharp pain surged through his back, and Xin Meng was thrown directly to the ground from a height!
Overwhelmed with fear, he didn’t even have time to catch his breath before he rolled over and got up, panting as he surveyed his surroundings, only to find himself outside!
The dark sky had not a single star, it was pitch black, with a few dim streetlights standing sporadically, moths swirling around, constantly crashing into the light bulbs, causing the flames to flicker ominously.
With the faint light from the streetlamps, Xin Meng could roughly see the environment around him. This should be an outdoor activity area within the kindergarten. Not far away, he could see a closed gate, topped with a curved iron frame, with a few tin letters stuck to it, spelling out the name of the kindergarten.
Since he was looking from the inside out, the letters were reversed, but he could still make them out.
It read—Original Sin Kindergarten.
The position where Xin Meng found himself was a stone path after entering the kindergarten, with grass on both sides. In the center of the left side’s grass, there was a circular pit dug out, filled with sand shaped into various forms: cars, rough castles, human limbs, and a blue plastic shovel buried with only the handle sticking out.
On the right side of the grass was a giant comprehensive playground, featuring nine cylindrical slides, nine tire swings, and not far away, there were nine seesaws, along with a circular enclosed trampoline with a dark interior, making it impossible to see anything inside.
Turning around, there was a tall building with more than ten stories, its exterior painted yellow, with cute little birds, chickens, ducks, and monsters painted on the walls, along with a large expanse of green trees.
It appeared innocent and playful.
But Xin Meng did not feel that way at all, as he had just been thrown out of that building by something unknown.
And that little girl he had seen earlier…
The kindergarten… the little girl… the red dress…
A chill ran down Xin Meng’s spine.
No way…
This was the scenario he feared the most…
“Creak, creak…”
While he was lost in thought, suddenly, he heard footsteps crunching on fallen leaves behind him!
Xin Meng’s scalp tingled!
He immediately turned around, drawing his dagger and pointing it forward!
“Ah!” Luo Yingying was startled by his sudden movement and almost fell to the ground.
“It’s you…” Xin Meng let out a breath of relief, sheathing his dagger. “Why didn’t you say anything? You scared me.”
“You scared me first, okay!” Luo Yingying said, exasperated. “What were you doing standing in the shadows? I didn’t even notice there was someone there!”
Xin Meng looked and realized he had unknowingly stepped into a place where the streetlight didn’t shine, making it quite concealed.
This was something You Yi had taught him—never stand in the light.
Otherwise, it would be easy to become a target for enemy attacks, falling into a passive situation where the enemy was in the dark and he was in the light.
“Have you seen Wen Jun?” Luo Yingying walked over to Xin Meng, worried. “I couldn’t find him.”
“No,” Xin Meng shook his head. “You’re the first person I’ve seen. Where did you wake up just now?”
“In a classroom!” Luo Yingying perked up, saying, “I’m very familiar with this place; it’s a kindergarten! I recognized it at a glance!”
As expected of a kindergarten teacher, her understanding of this place should be deeper than anyone else’s, which was an advantage.
Clearly, Luo Yingying thought so too. She happily said, “Finally, I can be of some use! But…”
She looked at the tall building, revealing a puzzled expression. “But the kindergarten building isn’t this tall, and there shouldn’t be so many play facilities. There are nine slides, all cylindrical? This design isn’t very reasonable. If the teachers can’t keep an eye on everything, accidents could easily happen while the kids are playing.”
Indeed, the insides of the cylinders were dark, making it impossible to see if there were any children inside or their condition. Generally, kindergartens avoid designing too many hiding spots for children to prevent accidents, ensuring that teachers can see all the kids at a glance.
Xin Meng hesitated to speak, and Luo Yingying looked at him curiously. “What’s wrong? What do you want to say?”
“You need to be mentally prepared,” Xin Meng said hesitantly. “This game may involve some… unexplainable phenomena.”
Luo Yingying didn’t immediately react. When she understood what he meant, her face turned pale; this was what girls feared the most.
“Speaking of which, I accidentally touched the wall and suddenly ended up here, which is also…” Luo Yingying couldn’t help but move closer to Xin Meng, feeling very insecure without her husband by her side.
Xin Meng nodded; it seemed they were the same.
They hadn’t exchanged many words when they heard a voice from the other side. Turning around, they saw Dou Dou, who had also been thrown to the ground, just sitting up, grimacing as he rubbed his backside. Upon seeing Xin Meng and Luo Yingying, he began to complain, “What kind of place is this! Why does the wall throw sandbags?”
Before he finished speaking, another person was thrown beside him.
“Hubby!” Luo Yingying rushed over to help Li Wenjun up as soon as she saw him.
“Tsk, no one cares, no one loves; not even a hand to help me up after falling,” Dou Dou said, patting his backside as he stood up, shaking his head in lament.
Xin Meng ignored his sarcastic remarks and directly asked Li Wenjun, “Did you also come out by touching the wall?”
“Yeah, I just touched it a bit, and I don’t know how I got thrown out,” Li Wenjun said, still feeling a bit dazed, instinctively pulling his wife close. “Who are we still missing?”
“We’re still missing You Yi and the new teammate,” Dou Dou said, pointing at the tall building in front of them. “Should we wait here or go in to look for them?”
“Let’s wait a bit; maybe they’ll come out soon,” Luo Yingying said to Xin Meng, who was staring at the building. “Don’t worry; You Yi will definitely come soon.”
“…” Xin Meng fell silent for a moment before suddenly saying, “I estimate we won’t be able to wait for him.”
“Why?” Luo Yingying asked, puzzled.
“Because…” Xin Meng said helplessly, “In a strange place, he definitely wouldn’t go touching walls without a care.”
The others: … Suddenly feeling a pain in their knees, what was going on…
They chatted for a while longer, mainly about news regarding Qi Xiaokui. Luo Yingying was very eager to know how to leave the game and return to reality, but in contrast to her, Li Wenjun and Dou Dou seemed uninterested in this issue; they were more focused on the new teammate.
“I wonder what kind of person it will be; I hope it’s not a weirdo,” Dou Dou said with a mischievous smile. “It would be best if it’s a big beauty, E-cup!”
At that moment, steady footsteps sounded from behind the group.
“Sorry to disappoint you; counting my chest muscles, I’m only a C-cup.”
