PTYS Chapter 21

After returning to her room, Shen Qingqiu took a shower. Finally, she had a chance to change into clean clothes. Lying on the bed, she couldn’t help but think of Xiao Muyu. He shouldn’t dislike her now.

While she was lost in thought, the phone on her bedside table rang. Shen Qingqiu’s previously softened expression turned cold again as she answered the call.

“It seems you’ve successfully cleared the level once again. Congratulations.”

Shen Qingqiu’s eyes darkened slightly, and she gave a cold smile. “You’re still alive too. Congratulations.”

“Ding!” Xiao Muyu, having packed her things and checked out, heard a sound. She glanced at the time in the hotel lobby; the new instance was about to begin.

“Miss, good luck and welcome back next time!”

The receptionist seemed to know exactly what she was about to do and said this to Xiao Muyu.

Then Xiao Muyu once again appeared in the room where she had started, surrounded by white light.

The setup was the same, but the person sitting there was no longer the young girl from Room 1.

“Welcome to Instance 002. I am the referee for this instance, Number 002. You will enter the new instance in fifteen minutes.”

Number 002 looked about eighteen, with a serious expression, wearing a white shirt and dress pants, giving off a slightly cold vibe.

“First, let’s verify player information: Xiao Muyu, age 27, cleared instances: 001 – Human Skin Manor, points: 125, rating: S.” As she said this, she glanced at Xiao Muyu, clearly surprised by her score.

“Yes.”

“An excellent score. Achieving an S rating on the first level is quite rare. I hope you continue to excel.”

“I have a question. How many instances must I clear in total?”

Number 002 smiled slightly and then directly told Xiao Muyu, “Ten. These ten instances are divided into four levels of difficulty: B, A, S, and SSS. The first three levels each consist of three instances, with the tenth instance being SSS level.”

“The 001 instance should have more than one type, right?” Xiao Muyu asked.

“Correct. Each instance corresponds to hundreds of different scripts, and which one you enter is randomly assigned. Of course, later on, you will be able to draw for yourself.”

“One more question: what is the highest record in the Skynet world currently? Has anyone successfully returned to the real world?”

Number 002 frowned and looked at her. “That is beyond my authority; I cannot answer.”

Xiao Muyu fell silent and didn’t say anything further. Number 002 made a gesture of invitation, and Xiao Muyu felt a wave of dizziness.

The familiar sound of gears turning echoed in her ears, and the cold mechanical voice of the system resounded once more.

“Loading file, decompressing, loading complete! Launch!”

With a loud boom, Xiao Muyu opened her eyes.

As soon as she opened her eyes, Xiao Muyu’s heart almost stopped.

Just ten centimeters away from her, a pair of eyes were staring right at her. Startled, Xiao Muyu instinctively stepped back, and those eyes’ pupils contracted and also retreated.

Cold sweat broke out on her face. It was only then that she realized the eyes were her own, reflected in a mirror! Her own reflection stared back at her, equally tense and frightened.

What was going on? She cautiously looked at the mirror and then at the area below it.

The place she was in was pitch dark, and the reason she could see her reflection was because two candles were placed on either side of the mirror.

In the dim light, her reflection wasn’t very clear, with most of her expression hidden in the shadows. Only her eyes, Xiao Muyu’s own eyes, were exceptionally clear.

Suddenly, a faint crackling sound was heard, and a small spark burst from the candle’s wick, like some kind of signal.

Unable to hold back, Xiao Muyu gripped her hands tightly. This scene was too eerie; what was the meaning of lighting candles in front of a mirror at night?

As Xiao Muyu turned to check her surroundings, the reflection in the mirror, representing Xiao Muyu, also turned its eyes to follow her movements.

One of the candles’ flames began to flicker. Xiao Muyu immediately turned back, staring at the candle. Simultaneously, her reflection in the mirror mimicked her actions.

Xiao Muyu glanced at the mirror out of the corner of her eye. Her reflection also glanced at itself, finding nothing unusual, but she felt uneasy.

Only one of the two candles’ flames was flickering more and more intensely, as if it would go out any second. Xiao Muyu reached out her hand to feel, but there was no wind.

Xiao Muyu was fully on guard, her nerves taut, trying to remain calm and figure out what was going on.

At that moment, the second candle also started to flicker. With the flickering candlelight, her reflection in the mirror also began to sway.

Swaying… something was wrong. The mirror reflected her own image; when she didn’t move, her shadow might sway with the light source, but why would the reflection move?

She immediately stepped back, but the figure in the mirror maintained its original stance, staring at Xiao Muyu with its eyes following her every move.

Xiao Muyu’s heart was in her throat; she had no doubt that the so-called reflection of herself could step out of the mirror at any moment.

The doorknob! Xiao Muyu grabbed the doorknob and turned it forcefully, but it wouldn’t open!

She couldn’t afford to have her back to the mirror, so after finding the door wouldn’t open, she immediately turned back to face the mirror.

The woman inside the mirror was clearly her, but she just stood there, then her lips curled into a strange smile, and her gaze shifted from Xiao Muyu to her own front.

Xiao Muyu felt that her actions were strange, as if the person in the mirror was looking at herself standing inside the mirror.

At this moment, blood-red marks began to appear on the mirror, as if someone was writing. Xiao Muyu stared at the writing, unable to look away. By the time she realized something was wrong, the first word had already been written. It wasn’t in Chinese characters but in English: “Bloody.”

The blood-red liquid flowed down the glass, causing the word “Bloody” to blur and spread.

The writing continued, and the reflection of herself in the mirror seemed increasingly pleased.

Something flashed through Xiao Muyu’s mind. She forcibly covered her eyes and quickly rushed to the mirror, using her sleeve to vigorously wipe away the writing.

Unexpectedly, the word “Bloody” was wiped off easily. The two flickering candle flames suddenly steadied, and a faint, regretful sigh from a woman echoed from the mirror.

When Xiao Muyu looked up, her reflection in the mirror appeared pale, breathing erratically, her chest heaving with intense effort—that was truly her.

She immediately rushed to the door and pressed down on the handle. With a click, the door opened.

A beam of light pierced through the darkness and fear, illuminating the outside. Without hesitation, she stepped out, and the door slammed shut behind her. The candles inside went out instantly.

“Heh.” A soft laugh echoed. A woman standing at the closed door laughed, looking exactly like Xiao Muyu.

As Xiao Muyu closed the door behind her, she finally saw where she was. Turning her head, she found herself in a long corridor with doors on both sides, all tightly shut, reminiscent of a school dormitory. She quickly scanned the door numbers, noting that the room opposite was 4320, while hers was 4311. The room numbers were jumbled. Did “43” mean building four, third floor?

While she pondered this, a faint click came from room 4319, a sound she was familiar with—the sound of a door failing to open. This was followed by muffled screams and the sound of someone banging on the door.

Xiao Muyu solemnly watched the door. Though the door wasn’t thick, it didn’t completely block out the sound, yet it cruelly separated life from death. The person inside likely faced a grim fate, ending before even starting.

“Ah… Ah! Bang!” Another door opened, room 4314.

A woman tumbled out, desperately kicking her feet to get away from the door. She was disheveled, screaming and crying as she hugged her head.

Xiao Muyu saw it clearly—a pale hand reached out from the doorway, quickly retracting when it missed its grasp, as if surprised by the sudden attack.

Xiao Muyu acted swiftly, her heartbeat racing. She ran over, gritting her teeth, and kicked the wrist of the hand with force.

The creature inside hadn’t expected such a decisive counterattack and immediately pulled back, seemingly startled.

Seeing it retreat, Xiao Muyu quickly shut the door, averting the danger.

The woman, seeing Xiao Muyu, froze and stared at her, fear still evident in her eyes.

But this calmness lasted only a few seconds before another door burst open. Xiao Muyu watched as a woman beside her opened her mouth and screamed again, closing her eyes tightly. The piercing scream was so grating that Xiao Muyu had to tilt her head and turn away.

As she turned, she saw a tall woman standing in the corridor, and another woman identical to her emerged from the open door. The ghostly figure had a pale face and menacing white fingers, intent on strangling the other woman.

“Don’t let her out!” Xiao Muyu shouted urgently. The standing woman hesitated, then swiftly shifted her left leg back, lifted her right leg, and delivered a powerful kick to the ghost’s head.

The kick made Xiao Muyu’s head buzz just watching it. The ghost’s neck made a cracking sound, and it fell to the ground, likely in pain.

The ghost shrieked and lunged with elongated, claw-like nails.

But the woman moved faster than the ghost, dodging to the side, grabbing the ghost’s right hand, and evading the left hand before wrenching both hands backward, breaking the bones with a sharp crack. Xiao Muyu turned away, wincing.

When she looked back, the ghost was kicked back inside, and the door was firmly shut.

As she turned around, Xiao Muyu finally saw the woman who acted so decisively—it was Shen Qingqiu.

“Why is it you?”

“So it’s you.”

Both women spoke, their words carrying distinct meanings.

Shen Qingqiu chuckled after Xiao Muyu’s words. “I get the feeling you’re not very happy to see me, Miss Xiao? Too bad, I was quite thrilled just now.”

Shen Qingqiu wore a black V-neck T-shirt under a black leather jacket, with black pants and boots, looking like a formidable figure.

Despite the disheveled brown curls and delicate features, her charming smile made her look especially alluring, a mix of contradiction and harmony.

Xiao Muyu frowned but spoke calmly, “I was mistaken. There’s probably no one else in the world who can treat ghosts so violently. It’s normal that it’s you.”

Shen Qingqiu laughed even more heartily, her eyes fixated on Xiao Muyu. “So, are you complimenting me?”

Xiao Muyu felt a bit helpless. This person wouldn’t hear anything she didn’t want to. She turned to look at the woman beside her, who was still crying and staring at her and Shen Qingqiu, then turned her attention to the many closed doors, wondering if anyone else would emerge.

Shen Qingqiu pushed a door, but it wouldn’t budge. The setting was peculiar; only the room’s occupant could open the door, and once closed, the mirror ghost couldn’t open it either.

Xiao Muyu was right; three more doors opened. Unfortunately, only two people came out, and the girl furthest away was dragged back inside by the ghost before they could save her.

The three girls who survived were all deeply shaken. Two of them couldn’t even stand, one curled up in the middle of the corridor crying, and the other huddled in a ball with her eyes tightly shut. Only one girl, with her hair in a bun, pale-faced, managed to say, “Thank you,” to the two of them.

Shen Qingqiu glanced at her without responding, while Xiao Muyu, seeing her struggle to maintain her composure and still express gratitude, replied, “You’re welcome.”

Neither Xiao Muyu nor Shen Qingqiu moved, both watching the unopened doors, wondering if anyone else would emerge.

But no other doors stirred. Xiao Muyu was puzzled—were there only five players, and all female?

Just then, a “ding” broke the silence, startling the already terrified trio.

“Welcome, players, to the 002 survival instance: The Deadly Room. The game has begun. All players, please proceed to the conference room in the lobby of the main building. You have fifteen minutes. Otherwise, these doors won’t keep those things inside.”

The cold, mechanical voice echoed above them. Xiao Muyu looked at the row of rooms. If all the ghosts inside came out, even Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t be able to handle them. Her expression grew serious: “There are no stairs here; it’s all rooms.”