ITOTIABSAM | Infinite Flow | 172
Good?
Xie Ye's statement sounded perfectly reasonable, but Gu Cong felt a bit bewildered.
Indeed, due to the guilt he harbored toward the Immortal of many worlds before, his treatment of Xie Ye was somewhat special. But was a coat, two pieces of chocolate, and a few words of concern enough to make things "okay"?
Too simple, too easily deceived.
"Um," feeling slightly uncomfortable under Xie Ye's clean gaze, Gu Cong turned his head, pressing down the subtle sense of guilt, pretending to admire the fountain. "I'll be better to you in the future."
While the words sounded pleasing to the ear, Xie Ye didn't pay any attention at all, continuing the previous topic without missing a beat. "Don’t do evil things, and don’t be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door. Those players who were chosen last night probably all had their own guilty conscience."
It was a pity that the ghost underestimated him. He had too many similar experiences, even if the memories were blurry, they had once existed vividly, leaving him with no guilt or fear.
But unfortunately, as a player, the man beside him lacked any sense of being a player. Instead of discussing the clues, he raised his hand and, with a warm and dry palm, rubbed his head.
"Although I don't know why you killed him," softly, Gu Cong said, "I think it probably wasn't your fault."
—It's not your fault.
It was the first time Xie Ye had heard such words.
So he lifted his head, the desire to explain surfacing for the first time, and he spoke truthfully, "He was trying to kill me."
"So it seems that the ghost in this instance is too foolish, picking the wrong person to judge," Gu Cong's fingertips trailed down Xie Ye's soft hair, he maintained a careful balance, gently adjusting the collar of the raised coat, "Does it still hurt?"
The buttoned-up collar reached the top, neatly enveloping the silky neck, and on the exposed skin, there were no finger marks or even a hint of redness.
But Xie Ye liked this concern and wanted it to stay a little longer.
However, he wasn't very good at lying, so he could only shake his head honestly, purse his lips, and dodge the topic, "It hurt a lot before."
The tone was slow and light, almost a kind of subtle and indirect coaxing. However, Xie Ye who spoke didn't realize it, but Gu Cong, the listener, was softened to the core.
"Sorry," his fingertips gently passed over Xie Ye's neck, as if soothing, he closed the young man's collar again, "I'll wake you up next time."
"Jiang Chuan" had a pair of amber eyes.
Xie Ye had noticed them when they first met, but now he felt that those eyes, filled with hidden concern, looked even more beautiful, like the sun, warming him up.
He hesitated, then added somewhat contradictorily, "Actually, it didn't really hurt that much."
Gu Cong burst into laughter.
As the gentle breeze swept by and the fountain gurgled up and down, they stood side by side quietly for a while. Only then did Gu Cong say, "The one who killed the 205th player should be a chip."
"Only casinos use physicalized points for transactions."
The cold, metallic numbers on the wristwatch couldn't compare to the tangible weight of a mountain-like stack of chips. Pushing down a pile of chips felt more atmospheric than tapping away at a virtual screen that only he could see, creating an atmosphere of "all in".
And it's exactly this kind of atmosphere that casinos need, driving people's brains dizzy, hearts pounding like drums, and adrenaline soaring.
With thousands of different themes in instances, there naturally are occasions where lives are at stake. Despite having the impression stored in his mind, Xie Ye was still curious about the one Gu Cong mentioned. So he asked, "Have you been there?"
Gu Cong nodded.
Even though at that time, it was the real Jiang Chuan who controlled this body.
"The place is called Destiny Roulette, and it's the liveliest spot in the entire transit station," Gu Cong explained, guessing that Xie Ye probably hadn't been outside the instance before. "Players cooperate with the system, and the background is very hard."
"Cooperate?" Xie Ye inquired.
Gu Cong: "That's right. The boss doesn't need to enter the instance, but the price is to stay in the game forever."
The existence of casinos can bankrupt countless players who seek shortcuts, forcefully pulling them into high-level instances, increasing the death rate while helping the system reclaim the item points it rewards to players.
From this, it can be seen that the attitude of Infinite Game towards players is full of malice. Although there are only the top ten players on the leaderboard who are qualified to challenge the final instance and return to reality, it's like a moon reflected in water or flowers seen in a mirror; no one has ever come out alive.
"Perhaps he harmed someone at the gambling table," Gu Cong reasoned, his thoughts spinning. "But he's a lone wolf with no companions. Even if it's true, it would be difficult to prove."
Furthermore, if it's the "guilty conscience" that turns sweet dreams into nightmares, regardless of right or wrong, how many people dare to speak out as openly and candidly as Xie Ye?
"It's okay," Xie Ye said, indifferent. "As long as you believe me."
"Anyway, I only told you."
After Xie Ye said what came to mind, he didn't even spare Gu Cong another glance, looking around and asking, "Where to next?"
...
In stark contrast to the night, the nightmare town in daylight was warm and friendly. As long as players initiated conversation, they would be noticed by the residents. At noon, when they gathered at the inn, everyone was present and accounted for. Xie Ye even had a black and white parasol in his hand, with lace edges perfectly shielding the sunlight from above.
Li Jie had always looked down on such delicate items, sitting in the outermost position without greeting anyone. Cheng Xiaorong couldn't stand the former's arrogant attitude, deliberately making noise with her chair, getting up, and approaching Xie Ye with excitement, asking, "Where did you get that?"
Xie Ye, with the umbrella folded in courtesy, didn't hesitate to answer, "It was a gift from someone in town."
He was afraid of getting sunburned and had planned to endure it, but unexpectedly, while walking down the street, he was given a brand new umbrella by a female resident, pristine as if it had just been unboxed.
"It’s been checked," Gu Cong explained before Li Jie could make any sarcastic remarks, "There's no problem."
Seizing the opportunity to receive affirmation from their leader, Cheng Xiaorong chimed in, smiling, "It must be because even the NPCs think Xie Ye looks good. He's as fair as snow. What if he gets sunburned?"
"Did you find anything useful?" Liked by the residents of the town, the benefits outweigh the risks for Xie Ye, even if there are risks, it's his responsibility. Other players watched silently, neither helping Li Jie nor Gu Cong. In the end, it was Tang Yan who stepped forward and brought the conversation back on track.
"I feel like this town is a bit fake," Zhao Dong, who had just secretly given a thumbs-up to Cheng Xiaorong, suddenly became serious when mentioning this, "According to the residents, there are no bad people or bad things in the town. None of the messy entanglements from previous instances have been heard of."
"There haven't been any festivals in the town recently," the new female player glanced at Tang Yan, receiving confirmation, then continued, "And we haven't found any totemic customs related to beliefs. So we can basically rule out the possibility of sacrificing outsiders."
Sacrificing was probably the most dreaded and avoided development for players because summoning a boss with human lives often resulted in the most difficult opponent in the same-level instance.
"But we did have someone die," the voice of the new male player whom Li Jie called a coward trembled slightly, "If this town is really as good as they say, why did someone die?"
"Indeed," the doctor, pushing his glasses, nodded in agreement after dissecting the body, "The innkeeper just went upstairs to clean, showing no reaction to the tragedy in Room 205."
Tang Yan was taken aback, "Cleaning? You mean?"
"Oh, she tidied up the body on the bed, put it in a large black garbage bag, and just threw it behind the inn. Do you want to go take a look?" the doctor replied casually.
Such a skilled operation suggested that she had probably done similar things before.
Xiao Baimao, lying on the table, suddenly lifted the coat over its head and asked, "Is it clean now?"
"Squeaky clean," sensing the underlying message, the doctor added, "You can sleep soundly now."
"Sleep?!" Fuming at the strange bunch of players he was matched with, Li Jie grunted, "Read the title of the instance twice, don't involve us if you want to die."
Xiao Baimao didn't even bother lifting his eyelids. "I kept watch last night too. Nothing happened before 1 a.m. The instance requires us to survive for seven days to clear it. Can you really stay awake for seven days?"
Silently adjusting his umbrella, Xie Ye thought to himself, ‘Good, so the players' goal is to survive for seven days.’
Most likely because he entered the instance through the black mist, there were many garbled data on his wristwatch display, and he didn't inherit any items from the previous player. If it weren't for Tang Yan initiating a conversation with him, he might not have even boarded the bus that was about to depart.
Suddenly realizing something, Xie Ye leaned his shoulder towards Gu Cong and whispered, "Have you slept?"
Gu Cong nodded.
The original host had teamed up with Zhao Dong many times before, and they had developed a vigilant and tacit understanding of taking turns to keep watch.
"Then tonight, I'll take over," Xie Ye volunteered himself, and assured him, "I'll protect you."
Having no doubt about Xie Ye's abilities, Gu Cong reached into his pocket, smirked, and said to Xie Ye, "Put out your hand."
Thinking that Gu Cong was about to give him food again, Xie Ye cooperatively opened his palm, only to feel a sudden chill.
It was square and neat.
It was an old-fashioned padlock.
"Don’t you want to know?" Gu Cong picked up the thin wire and demonstrated, "I'll teach you."
In the instance where survival for seven days was the goal, it was difficult to find any crucial clues on the first day. The players were well aware of this, so they weren't too disappointed.
It wasn't until they were about to disperse that Gu Cong subtly mentioned Xie Ye's discovery in a more indirect way: "The physicalized points are chips, and things outside the instance may be related to the player's own experiences."
"Ah, I see," the doctor exclaimed, reminded by Gu Cong. "He had dice in his pocket, must be a regular at the casino."
Tang Yan frowned. "Could it be that he lost to the ghost in his dream?"
Li Jie scoffed lightly. "Lost? Only if he won would he have a chance to eat so much."
"In that case, my dream must have been about the Grim Reaper paying a visit," casually joking about her luck, Cheng Xiaorong glanced at Xie Ye next to the boss who was focused on picking the lock, she suddenly a bit worried that one day he might end up bursting from overeating, just like the food.
Zhao Dong hadn't thought about it that much. He volunteered to go and watch the room where he could see behind the hotel, observing what the body that had been put into the garbage bag would eventually turn into.
But who would have expected that when he stood in front of the window of room 207 and looked down, all he saw was a cat.
Dark as night, nearly the same color as the noticeably deflated garbage bag nearby, elegantly licking away the bloodstains on its paws and whiskers, it looked up, its emerald eyes narrowing, and grinned at Zhao Dong.
0 Comments
Post a Comment