It Turns out that I am Beautiful, Strong and Miserable [Quick Wear] - 169

 

ITOTIABSAM | Infinite Flow | 169

Gu Cong didn’t conceal his favoritism, it was evident to everyone, even ghosts if they had eyes could see Gu Cong had a special preference for Xie Ye. However, his gaze was clean, not clouded by superficial appearances, but rather a gentle and inclusive expression, almost making Tang Yan think that he had a younger brother he hadn't seen in a long time, who resembled Xie Ye.

Those who frequently played games might have heard the saying: "Before the big battle, there must be supplies," meaning that the treasure chests dropped within the instance can be used within the instance itself.

Inside the chest left behind by the disappeared overweight passenger were two stacks of roughly crafted yellow talisman papers, adorned with crooked and twisted vermilion runes. They looked even worse than the cheapest ones in the game store, resembling pirated copies. 

Nevertheless, it was better than nothing. Based on their performance and latent abilities just now, it was only natural that Gu Cong received the most—three pieces.

After brief introductions, Tang Yan, the one overseeing the situation, the doctor, the one examining the bodies, Li Jie, the newcomer female player, each took two pieces, leaving just enough for the remaining eight players to have one each.

The atmosphere among the players was relatively peaceful since there wasn't much contention over these average-value replica props. Xie Ye glanced around with little interest, holding his own yellow talisman paper.

Just as the youth was about to casually fold the talisman and put it in his pocket, Gu Cong suddenly spoke up, saying, "Shall I hold onto that for you?"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the players present varied, everyone glanced to see Xie Ye's reaction. Tang Yan intended to remind him, but she saw Xie Ye didn't hesitate, directly handing the talisman to Gu Cong, saying, "Hmm."

"Tsk." With a smug tone, Li Jie controlled his volume and sneered.

What help was there in holding onto it? The props in one's wristwatch were truly considered one's own. Who would wait for you to leisurely retrieve the item from someone else when danger really struck? It's not like this was a turn-based combat situation.

A vase remained just a vase, even if it was tamed, it still looked foolish, ultimately only deserving of such treatment.

Zhao Dong and Cheng Xiaorong, who were on the same team as Gu Cong, didn't consider the situation negatively at all. They understood Jiang Chuan's personality; there must be his own reasons for doing so.

After all, having been together for so many years, 0028 understood the character of its host the best and hit the nail on the head: "Don't worry, just a few yellow talismans, they can't harm him."

A ghost who smoothly infiltrated enemy territory, how could he be hurt by such small props?

"I know," Gu Cong responded calmly, "I'm just afraid he'll feel uncomfortable."

Or perhaps his mood would be low.

Such meticulous thoughtfulness left 0028, who had never experienced such treatment before, momentarily speechless. After a pause, it finally said, "Then give him more to eat."

The immortal in this life were so easy to please.

As they spoke, the speed of the bus gradually slowed down, and after about ten minutes, a small town with a Western-style influence appeared before them.

The game wristwatch didn't display the time in the instance, but based on experience, perception, and the twilight before they set off, it was at most nine o'clock in the evening. Yet the whole town was unusually quiet, with only dim streetlights illuminating the darkness, and every household shrouded in darkness.

The driver at the front seemed to have forgotten everything that happened in his dream. He took a moment to smoke a cigarette and urged, "We've arrived, hurry up and get off."

Except for the players, the remaining passengers hadn't moved.

Testing the waters, Tang Yan asked, "What about them?"

"Them?" Taking a deep drag of his cigarette, the driver exhaled rings of white smoke. "Their destination isn't here. They still have their own places to go."

"Hurry up, stop dawdling."

As a player who had once been shouted at by the driver and personally experienced his irritability, the doctor, with keen observation, noticed that after arriving at the town, the driver kept his volume at a normal level.

Even though his patience was still as short as ever.

Was he afraid of waking something up? Or was he afraid of violating some taboo in the town?

Silently lightening his footsteps, the doctor disembarked, lost in thought.

Those who noticed this were not just him alone. In an unfamiliar and insecure environment, even those who seemed aloof would subconsciously follow the crowd.

As a result, when the bus, spewing exhaust fumes, left without looking back, they lost the last bit of excitement. Under the dim streetlights, they stood quietly, like lost souls.

Only Xie Ye, like a sunflower, stood sideways to the crowd, staring straight ahead at the departing bus until it disappeared completely.

‘So familiar’ , Xie Ye thought.

After the bus had traveled a short distance, the seemingly normal passengers on it gradually began to exhibit signs of decay, with signs of decomposition, large scars, and heads rolling off their shoulders.

Normal people surely wouldn't be able to see this horrifying scene, but Xie Ye was different. He could even clearly see the wristwatches slowly emerging on the bodies.

Exactly the same as what he and "Jiang Chuan" were wearing.

"What are you thinking?" Automatically including objects of interest to the boss within the protection range, Zhao Dong mistakenly thought Xie Ye was afraid and laughed, "We'll probably have to wait for this car to come back after we successfully clear the instance."

"When that happens, I'll let you be the first one on."

"Get out of here," nudging him with her elbow, Cheng Xiaorong retorted to Zhao Dong, "Don’t set up death flags."

Li Jie supported his teammate who was just coming to his senses, with a bandage still clinging to his neck, Li Jie silently glanced a few times in the direction Xie Ye was staring, but found nothing.

Surprised at his own abnormal interest in a vase and even attempting to synchronize with the other person, Li Jie furrowed his brow as he came back to his senses and shifted his focus, saying, "It's very late."

"We need to find a place to stay first."

Although old mansions, hospitals, and schools were all frequent haunted buildings in horror movies, for most people, being inside a house was much safer than being outside.

The spot where the bus dropped them off was already close to the center of the town. The mermaid-shaped fountain stood empty, with not a drop of water, as if it had entered dreamland along with the residents.

Splitting into two groups, they searched along the streets illuminated by streetlights. Fifteen minutes later, the group regrouped and, led by Tang Yan, headed towards the only inn in town that had not yet closed.

Most of the writing on the sign had faded away, and the decorative light bulbs that were supposed to flicker were not lit at all. The décor was old, the door wide open, and behind the left-hand side of the front desk sat an old one-eyed lady holding a cat.

If one had to describe it in a single sentence, it would probably be "the atmosphere of a horror movie turned up to the max."

Fortunately, most of the players present were seasoned veterans, so Gu Cong calmly stepped forward, wearing a polite smile, and said, "Hello, we'd like to stay at your inn."

Like the sloth Flash from a certain classic animated movie, the old lady held her cat and stared at Gu Cong with vacant eyes for a while before saying, "No vacancy."

"There are only six rooms."

Her wrinkled skin, resembling aged tree bark, trembled with the movement of her mouth. Six rooms meant potentially accommodating twelve players if they were all double rooms, but they had one extra person.

As for squeezing extra people into one room? This kind of setting emphasized by NPCs often indicated a rule.

A rule that was advantageous for avoiding death.

The visibly nervous novice male player who had just narrowly escaped death became even more anxious. He had no teammates, was injured, and couldn't even speak properly, let alone run or jump. He seemed to be the weakest link.

Previously, he had been terrified by the high death rate of advanced instances and the system's "haunted" warnings on the bus. He was so nervous that he felt like he couldn't breathe and was suffocating. In the end, this nearly became his cause of death.

Afraid of repeating the same mistakes, he tried hard to calm himself and seek composure, but his expression still betrayed his thoughts.

Li Jie also understood that if they were to give up on one player, it would most likely be one of the two injured ones. However, abandoning a rookie would be more cost-effective than abandoning a seasoned player. This was such a simple logic that no one should fail to grasp it.

However, just as Li Jie was about to take the initiative and incite a vote, Gu Cong at the front unexpectedly gave a third response: "Can't we squeeze?"

...Squeeze?

Such a "novice mistake" instantly attracted the attention of all the players.

Yet Gu Cong, who was at the center of attention, remained unperturbed, repeating, "Can't we?"

After a silence that lasted for several tens of seconds, unexpectedly, the seemingly difficult-to-please one-eyed old lady nodded slightly. Fumbling around, she retrieved six room cards from the drawer behind the front desk. "Second floor."

"Me and Xie Ye, with Zhao Dong," Gu Cong said straightforwardly, turning around and handing out the room cards he held. "You guys go first."

—This meant that they would bear the consequences themselves.

Believing in their leader's capabilities, Zhao Dong nodded without hesitation, while Xie Ye playing with an energy bar didn't react at all, obediently following the man's arrangements.

Seeing this scene, the other players didn't feel the need to say anything further. Why intervene in something where both parties were willing? As long as it didn't affect themselves, that was fine.

Whether in groups or alone, the thirteen players went upstairs one by one. The ancient wooden staircase creaked under the weight, emitting a slightly eerie sound in the silent night, making everyone involuntarily move more lightly.

On both sides of the corridor, rooms were arranged in sets of four, with rooms "203" to "208" in their possession. The first two rooms were likely already occupied, leaving room "208," furthest from the staircase and against the wall, naturally becoming the last one left.

Click.

Gripping the key, Gu Cong turned it left twice before pushing open the door. He rubbed his hand against the wall and found the switch, turning on the lights.

The room was passably clean, without any strange odors, and contained two stark white beds. There was a bathroom, but in most cases, few players bothered to use it.

Xie Ye, however, had no such reservations.

Xie Ye took out unopened chocolates and energy bars from his left pocket, along with the one he was playing with, and handed them all to Gu Cong, indicating for him to temporarily hold onto them.

As his fingertips touched the bulky, cheap plastic zipper of his oversized school uniform, the porcelain-like fair-skinned youth was about to take off this seemingly dirty coat when he suddenly paused, remembering something.

Pretending not to notice the momentary strangeness from the other person, Gu Cong naturally sat on the bed closer to the bathroom. "Go ahead."

"If you encounter danger, just call for me."

Xie Ye obediently nodded, although he didn't feel that there was anything dangerous for him.

*Splash, splash...*

In the starless and moonless night, the sound of water came first from the bathroom of room 208. Steam filled the air as Xie Ye locked the door behind him, unzipping his coat to reveal a shirt with unbuttoned cuffs and faint scars underneath.

There were many scars like this.

As the youth shed each layer of fabric that wrapped around him, the exquisite and delicate "porcelain" gradually turned ugly.

Deep or shallow, some were new, some old. Some looked like burns, some like electric shock scars, and some like small holes pierced by bullets. More of them were long and thin, as if pinned by a sharp object and then pulled down fiercely.

Shoulders, chest, collarbones, sides, knees, calves, ankles - no part, whether fatal or not, had been spared.

However, Xie Ye was accustomed to these scars.

Stepping under the showerhead, he let the hot water flow along those grotesque scars, his expression remaining unchanged.

Previous TOC Next