Due to the loss of two people and the addition of two burdens, the progress this time was significantly slowed down. Fortunately, everyone had experience and remained calm, steadily passing through each level one by one.
Upon reaching the castle, before the little black man fell into the trap, Xin Meng handed Qi Xiaokui over to Dou Dou, and pulled the rope herself, lowering the trapdoor, allowing the little black man to pass through smoothly.
However, this time he did not let go as he had done every previous time; instead, he continued to pull the rope with all his might, but the rope did not budge an inch. He exerted all his strength and finally managed to loosen the rope slightly, but it was still not enough. Seeing this, You Yi came over to help, and together they pulled with all their might, only to hear a dull thud as the rope fell completely.
“What a sturdy rope!” The onlookers were astonished as they stared at the rope, realizing that this prop needed to be put away early so it could be used in the final level, leaving them speechless.
What a ridiculous situation!
However, the key prop was now in hand. Because Qi Xiaokui’s condition was concerning, everyone dared not delay and continued to follow the little black man on the road, exterminating bees, battling bulls, killing green fish, and escaping from under a bear’s backside, only producing a single raisin, ultimately sending the last little black man on his way.
You Yi took the rope and climbed up the stone before the little black man, securing the rope and bending it into a loop below.
As soon as the little black man climbed up, he was pressed down by You Yi, who shoved his head into the loop, and then You Yi jumped down, allowing the little black man to act freely.
Xin Meng: “You’re just one step away from pushing him down; what do you mean by letting him act freely?”
The little black man did not disappoint, truly acting freely, completing a hanging suicide in a manner reminiscent of drowning.
This time there was no daze, no rollback!
On the thick trunk of a large tree, a black hole appeared, which was the exit of the level!
“We cleared the level! We finally cleared the level!” The group excitedly raised their hands to high-five each other!
Finally, they could leave this hellish place!
But amidst the joy, Xin Meng also noticed that Qi Xiaokui’s breathing was gradually weakening.
His expression changed.
With no time to greet anyone, he carried Qi Xiaokui on his back, pulled You Yi, and rushed into the entrance first.
Little did he know, just before he completely entered the exit, Qi Xiaokui’s heartbeat… stopped.
…
Qi Xiaokui woke up amidst a clamor. She rubbed her eyes, sat up, and found herself in a place resembling a medical room, with the noise coming from outside.
Where was she?
Had she already entered the next game?
In the little black man’s game, she had fallen into a deep coma, completely unaware of everything around her, not knowing what had happened. But now, she had only one life left, and being able to open her eyes meant she had successfully cleared the level, right?
She really troubled everyone, especially Xin Meng.
Becoming friends with Xin Meng was probably the only right thing she had done in her life.
Since she was in the next game, the first thing to do was to look for the card. She lowered her head, was about to move, but suddenly felt unbearable pain all over her body!
She was startled, threw off the blanket covering her, and discovered she was wearing a hospital gown, her body wrapped in bandages. Had the wounds from the previous game carried over to this one?!
She was horrified. If the wounds didn’t disappear, wouldn’t she become a burden?
She quickly groped around the bed with both hands, trying to find that familiar card.
However… there was none.
None, none, nowhere to be found!
She even flipped the pillowcase, but still found nothing!
What was going on? What had happened?
Was she… still in the game? Why was there no card? Had someone taken it away?
Just as she sat there in confusion, the door suddenly swung open, and a man who looked gentle and warm, wearing a white coat and a stethoscope around his neck, walked in slowly.
“Hey, you’re awake?” The man smiled at her friendly.
“Who are you? Where is this? What happened to me?” Qi Xiaokui asked him impatiently, her mind filled with questions.
Sure enough, the man smiled, “Don’t be anxious, don’t be anxious. You’re asking me so many questions at once; which one should I answer first?”
Qi Xiaokui thought for a moment and asked first, “Who are you?”
“Me? I’m the doctor!” The man tugged at his white coat, “Can’t you tell?”
Qi Xiaokui nodded, thinking he was just a doctor NPC.
“Excuse me, before I woke up, was there a card next to me, about this big,” Qi Xiaokui gestured, “Can you tell me where it is?”
“Card?” The doctor raised an eyebrow but did not answer her immediately. When Qi Xiaokui looked at him suspiciously, he revealed a meaningful smile, “No card, little sister. This place… doesn’t need a card.”
Qi Xiaokui was stunned, “This place doesn’t need a card? Where… where is this?”
“This place…” The man blinked and suddenly laughed, mysteriously saying: “This is—”
Qi Xiaokui widened her eyes, watching his lips, her whole being captivated by his demeanor, only to hear the man suddenly shout loudly:
“Lan, Xiang, Technical, School!”
“Huh?!” Qi Xiaokui was dumbfounded.
“Hahahaha!” The man burst into laughter, and Qi Xiaokui immediately realized she had been tricked, her face turning red with anger… furious.
“As soon as I heard that magical laugh, I knew you were bullying the newcomers again, right?” The door opened again, and a woman in a racing suit walked in, holding a helmet. Seeing the man laughing uncontrollably and Qi Xiaokui fuming, she sighed helplessly.
“You’re going to die one day because of that unreliable mouth of yours.” The woman poked the man’s forehead with her index finger.
Only then did the man slowly stop his exaggerated laughter, but he still looked very pleased, “It’s not like I’ve never died before, what’s there to be afraid of!”
The woman looked very speechless. Soon, she turned her head to Qi Xiaokui, who was watching them with a wary gaze, and gave her a friendly smile, “Hello, please don’t be angry with him; he means no harm. Also, welcome to our group.”
Qi Xiaokui frowned, “I’m not joining you!”
“No,” the woman shook her head and smiled, “The fact that you can come here is proof that you’ve joined us. From now on, you will only live here.”
Qi Xiaokui thought she was being threatened and refused to accept it, “Why can I only live here? Who are you people?”
“We?” The man smiled, speaking in a melodious tone, “We are… survivors of the game, favored by the main god!”
“Of course,” the man added, “You are one now too.”
Qi Xiaokui was taken aback.
The woman continued, “Once you come here, you have already broken free from the cycle of the game. You don’t need to carry a card, traversing through one horror game after another, without worrying about failure or death.”
“As long as you can’t return to reality, you can live well here.”
Can’t return to reality?
Qi Xiaokui said, “But I don’t want to stay here; I want to go back to reality!”
“Tsk tsk tsk, poor child,” the man sighed with a smile, “Don’t you understand? Whether you come here or not, you can’t return to… reality…”
“What do you mean by that?” Qi Xiaokui widened her eyes and immediately pressed for answers.
“Don’t listen to his nonsense; he’s just trying to show off,” the woman said bluntly, glaring at the man with disdain, then turned to Qi Xiaokui, “No matter how you think, once you enter here, you can never leave, unless you have to carry out certain special missions.”
“Special missions?” Qi Xiaokui still didn’t quite understand the situation.
“Yes, this is a special space independent of horror games, and most people here refer to it as the ‘Main God Space.’ We survivors, chosen by the main god, or those who have passed through layers of elimination, live here. As I said before, here, you don’t need to worry about survival, nor do you need to struggle for a living, but conversely, you also have responsibilities to bear.”
“This game was created by someone unknown, but the program is complex, and the computational load is enormous, capable of simultaneously maintaining the operation of thousands of horror game worlds. However, since it’s a machine, it always requires regular maintenance and repairs,” the woman said, “And we are the chosen ‘repairmen.’”
“The doctor always tells every newcomer that this is ‘Lan Xiang Technical School,’ which means something similar. There are many high-end talents here, covering almost all professions. They possess exceptional skills and resilient characters, and are capable of maintaining and improving the system itself or the game content, which is our daily work.”
The woman, fearing Qi Xiaokui wouldn’t understand, continued, “For example, the doctor, besides treating the injured who return from special missions, his main job is to improve various medical data within the game and fix bugs, while I am a race car driver, responsible for data and bugs in that area. Additionally, besides our full-time positions…”
“What full-time positions? We’re just sitting in an office!” The doctor crossed his legs, picked up a coffee cup nearby, and began to sip leisurely.
The woman rolled her eyes, “Alright, alright, office it is; as long as you understand. Besides us office workers, there are also some field personnel who directly enter various games to find and fix bugs, usually hidden or difficult bugs, which is why they temporarily leave here, but they can’t return to reality either. Once the field mission is over, they will still return here.”
“So that means I can never leave here again?” Qi Xiaokui confirmed once more.
“Yes.” The woman answered affirmatively.
“……” Qi Xiaokui fell silent.
The woman had seen many newcomers and all kinds of reactions. She knew what they were thinking and skillfully comforted her, “Don’t feel too disappointed about not being able to return to reality. You’ve personally experienced how dangerous it is in the game; surviving is already quite difficult. Living well here is much better than dying in the game, so try to think positively.”
However, she didn’t know that Qi Xiaokui was different from others; she didn’t have such a strong obsession with going back. What was there to go back to? No family, no friends; in the game, there was still Xin Meng…
“Can I go back to see my friends?” Qi Xiaokui asked.
The woman was taken aback, not expecting her to accept reality so quickly, and even more surprised that her first question after learning the truth would be this. It was the first time someone asked about friends instead of herself. She smiled, “Theoretically, it’s not possible. There are countless horror games, and once you miss one, it could be a permanent farewell.”
Qi Xiaokui couldn’t hide her disappointment.
Would she really never see her first friend again?
“Is there any way to let them know I’m okay? I disappeared so suddenly…” Qi Xiaokui said, feeling down.
“Are you talking about your original team? There will be hints on their next game card, so don’t worry,” the woman comforted her.
But Qi Xiaokui stared blankly at the wall, still filled with doubts in her heart.
What high-end talents had nothing to do with her? She had no special skills; why was she chosen?
If there was a choice, someone like You Yi should be the one to come here, right?
And now that she was here, what could she do?
