No matter what the world is like, three meals a day cannot be interrupted.
As it approached late at night, only the midnight snack stalls were still lively.
The boss had a big belly and grilled a large amount of mutton skewers on the charcoal fire. Every time he turned it over, it would bring a burst of smoke. The aroma of mutton mixed with fireworks was full of human taste.
Shen Dongqing picked up a bunch of mutton skewers, the mutton was fat and thin, neither firewood nor greasy, with a hint of fishy smell unique to mutton, which made people sigh after eating.
"Delicious!"
This is the street food that the chef of the hotel can't match.
Shen Dongqing threw down a bamboo stick, poured a full glass of beer, poured it cold, and taught people to feel refreshed.
By this time, no one was frowning, and they were all happily drinking beer and eating skewers.
Only the woman with glasses sat silently at the corner of the table. She was an ordinary person after all. After being frightened over and over again, she couldn't eat and drink calmly at all.
She lowered her head and did not attract the attention of others.
By the time we finished supper, it was already close to twelve o'clock, and the school dormitory had already turned off the lights and closed, so we could only make do with a night in the small hotel outside.
There are no other hotels near the school. There are quite a lot of various small hotels. The group randomly picked a hotel and walked in.
The little girl at the front desk heard the door being pushed open, and when she looked up, she saw three men and two women walking in.
Fortunately, the little girl at the front desk has a lot of knowledge, so she sighed in her heart that this lineup configuration is too strange, so she smiled and said, "How many rooms do you want?"
Wu Jia wandered around his teammates: "Three rooms."
Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan must live together, the other woman with glasses was frightened enough, and the short-haired woman shared a room with her to take care of her. He was the only one who lived alone. It was really miserable.
But the woman with glasses didn't seem to understand Wu Jia's kindness, so she stood up and said, "I have a room by myself."
The short-haired girl raised her eyes and glanced at the glasses girl, but said nothing.
The little girl at the front desk went through the check-in procedures in a hurry, took out four room cards and put them on the table, and said sweetly, "Happy check-in!"
The small hotel has a total of 3 floors. It was converted from a self-built house. It is old and has outdated facilities. The walls are covered with unknown yellow stains.
Going up the narrow stairs, you can still hear the voices of couples who can't help it.
Open the door and go in. The furnishings are simple, a small bed and the smell of disinfectant.
Shen Dongqing had been tired all day, and she was not picky, she slumped on the bed with a kick of her shoes. It was Zhou Wenyan who pulled the man up and helped him to undress and wash his face. After tossing for a while, he lay down.
The single bed was narrow, and two adult men were lying on it, almost touching each other. Fortunately, the air conditioner was not too hot.
Shen Dongqing turned around, rubbed against Zhou Wenyan's chest, and yawned.
Zhou Wenyan patted him on the back and said, "Go to sleep."
Shen Dongqing fell asleep.
Nothing supernatural happened at night, he slept soundly, and didn't get up until three poles in the sun.
Zhou Wenyan woke up long ago, sitting by the bed, still looking at the sign he had obtained earlier.
Shen Dongqing lifted the quilt and sat up, put his arm on Zhou Wenyan's shoulder, and leaned over: "What are you thinking?"
Zhou Wenyan rarely frowned: "No clue."
Shen Dongqing put her cheeks against her and comforted: "It's okay, take your time."
Zhou Wenyan let out an "um" and hugged Shen Dongqing directly. After holding him for a while, he returned to normal.
The two went downstairs after washing up. Wu Jia and the short-haired girl were already waiting in the hall.
The short-haired woman's face was not very good-looking: "The glasses are gone."
The woman with glasses didn't live in the same room as the girl with short hair last night, but when she woke up in the morning, the girl with short hair went to look for her, but there was no one in the room.
Wu Jia guessed: "Did you encounter a ghost?"
The short-haired girl said: "According to what happened last night, the ghosts in this world are very low-level, even a woman with glasses can persist until she makes a cry for help, unless..."
Wu Jia took her words: "The spirituality has been upgraded."
If the supernatural event will be upgraded, it is more in line with the ability of the S-level copy.
At this time, the little girl at the front desk interjected: "Do you mean the little sister who came with you last night?"
Short-haired woman: "Yes, the one with glasses."
The little girl at the front desk said, "She checked out and left early in the morning. She said she was in a hurry to go to class. You didn't ask earlier."
"Impossible!" The short-haired girl blurted out.
After knowing that he is a player, how could he possibly go back to class
The girl at the front desk: "What could be impossible? Did you quarrel?"
The short-haired woman reluctantly said, "Okay, thank you."
Wu Jia said, "I think I can find someone first."
The behavior of the woman with glasses is so weird, maybe there will be something to discover.
The group walked out of the hotel.
I thought it would take a lot of effort to find the woman with glasses, but I didn't expect to see the woman with glasses in a jewelry store not long after I went out.
Together with a group of classmates, she was talking and laughing in the jewelry store, and she couldn't see the way she was trembling with fear by ghosts last night.
"It doesn't look right," Wu Jia said.
The short-haired woman pushed open the door and walked in, walked directly to the woman with glasses, and pulled her out of the crowd forcefully.
The woman with glasses reacted violently, as if she didn't know the short-haired woman at all, and exclaimed, "What are you doing!"
Her classmates also rushed over and surrounded the short-haired girls.
The short-haired woman gritted her teeth: "what's the matter with you?"
The eyes of the woman with glasses flickered: "What? You are holding me inexplicably, why are you asking me what's going on?"
The short-haired woman pressed her hand hard: "What are you pretending to be?"
The woman with glasses exclaimed: "It hurts, let me go!"
Her classmate shouted: "If you don't let go, we'll call the police!"
The short-haired girl could only let go of her hand in order not to be extravagant.
The woman with glasses rubbed her wrist: "I don't know you at all, let's go."
Her classmate glared at the girl with short hair and followed the girl with glasses.
Before leaving the jewelry store, the woman with glasses suddenly turned around and said silently to Shen Dongqing, "Thank you."
Thank you for saving me last night, but I really can't take it anymore.
The figure of the woman with glasses gradually disappeared from the crowd.
The short-haired girl burst out with a foul language: "What the hell is going on here."
The puzzle was not solved, but the teammates didn't have to go fast one by one.
Shen Dongqing said, "She gave up."
The short-haired girl looked over.
Shen Dongqing shrugged: "I don't want to play games anymore."
The glasses girl is a new player. In the face of death, she would rather take the initiative to integrate into this game copy and become a member of it, at least in this way, she will no longer be threatened by ghosts.
Zhou Wenyan was silent for a moment and said, "Everyone here is a player."
No wonder no one was able to leave the S-class copy before this, it turned out to be the case.
These players insisted on going through one copy after another, in order to return to the original world, but now here, they just need to give up and they can get an ordinary life.
Even if this "normal" is false.
Giving up is the easiest.
Those who are not determined are the most likely to be tempted.
The short-haired girl also fell into contemplation.
Thinking from another perspective, how long can she last under such a comparison, with the hideous ghost on the one hand and the safe and ordinary life on the other
Wu Jia also wanted to understand the horror of this S-level copy.
There are no terrifying ghosts and monsters that can be seen everywhere in this world, but slowly wear down the players' fighting spirit and make them willing to become test subjects.
Wu Jia sighed: "It's terrible."
After experiencing those terrifying and terrifying worlds before, and suddenly came to such an environment, who can stand it
The short-haired girl shook her head, suppressed all her emotions, and said coldly, "We should think about how to solve the problem now."
Zhou Wenyan played with the signs: "There must be an exit to leave here."
The short-haired girl's eyes fell on Zhou Wenyan's hand: "Are these signs the key to the door?"
Zhou Wenyan shook his head.
When he and Shen Dongqing went to the outskirts of the city before, they also carried these signs, but they still couldn't go out.
These signs may be useful, but they don't have to be keys.
Zhou Wenyan: "Go back to school and see."
They didn't find any clues in Mr. Chen's office last night, and they might meet Mr. Chen during the day.
The group returned to school and bumped into several familiar faces on the way.
Those former players don't remember anything, and they look like native NPCs in the dungeon.
Wu Jia sighed: "Maybe this is also a good ending."
Better than dying at the hands of a ghost.
They came to the teaching building again. The door that was violently torn open last night was still open there tremblingly. It seemed that Teacher Chen had never come back.
Wu Jia stopped a teacher and asked, "Where did Teacher Chen go? He asked me to get a document."
The teacher who was stopped was a little dazed: "Mr. Chen? Which Mr. Chen?"
Wu Jia pointed to the half-open office and said, "This is the office."
The teacher suddenly realized: "Oh... You remember correctly, this office is from Teacher Shen, and there is no teacher surnamed Chen in our school."
Wu Jia thanked him and took out his phone to check. Sure enough, there was no teacher named Chen among the teachers in the department.
But he clearly remembered that there was such a person.
The office door was pushed open.
The skeleton specimen that was originally placed inside disappeared, and the lesson plan placed on the table was signed with the name of "Mr. Shen".
If they hadn't really come to this office last night and got a business card, they would have wondered if Teacher Chen didn't exist at all.
Wu Jia: "The clue is broken."
Teacher Chen has completely disappeared, leaving no trace.
In the case that the clue is broken, they can only find another way.
The four of them had no choice for the time being. They could only think about going around the school, doing things separately, and casting nets everywhere to see if there were any clues. However, no clues were found, but a lot of ghosts were found online.
Those ghosts completely ignored the students next to them, and only came to the players.
Wave after wave, without even a chance to breathe.
The spells in Wu Jia's hands were almost used up, and the short-haired girl was also very embarrassed, so Zhou Wenyan and Shen Dongqing were both enjoying themselves, and it didn't look like they were surrounded by ghosts at all.
The short-haired woman asked, "Have you never met a ghost?"
Shen Dongqing: "I met him." He looked disgusted, "There is no one who can fight."
Short-haired woman:…
People really can't compare.
After she calmed down, the short-haired woman said, "We didn't find many useful clues."
It's too late to even deal with the ghosts, how can there be time to find clues
Wu Jia: "Me too."
There are too many ghosts. At first, they would pick up the signs dropped by the ghosts, but when they got to the back, it was too late to even escape, and it was too late to collect the spoils.
Wu Jia wiped the cold sweat on his face and smiled bitterly: "If it happens again, I'm afraid I won't be able to stand it anymore."
Only Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan felt okay.
It may be that a group of ghosts has just arrived, and now there is a gap period, and players have a short time to exchange information.
The short-haired girl said, "I just met a player."
That player has completely transformed into a creature in the dungeon, and doesn't know the short-haired girl at all.
But this is not the point, the point is that this player was clearly dead before, but now he is here alive.
The short-haired girl paused: "I tried it, it's a human, not a ghost."
The player comes back to life.
However, this situation is not uncommon in dungeons, and it can barely be regarded as a clue.
Wu Jia said: "I saw the school badge."
He took out his phone and opened the album.
A picture appeared on the screen of the mobile phone. It was a round school badge surrounded by strange patterns, surrounded by an eye in the middle. The pupils were as thick as ink, as if staring at the person outside the screen.
The short-haired woman guessed: "Is this a school run by a life science research company?"
They were discussing over there, and Shen Dongqing sat on the side with a frown.
Zhou Wenyan noticed it and asked, "What's wrong?"
Shen Dongqing held the card and said, "The props are useless."
The weather was very hot, and he wanted to eat ice cream, but there was no response.
Zhou Wenyan took the card, but there was no response.
Wu Jia said: "No, our spells are all useful..."
Zhou Wenyan didn't look up: "It's different."
The functions of ice cream cards and kitchen cards are similar to traveling through space to obtain things from other worlds, and they are not the same props as those spells.
Zhou Wenyan caught something vaguely, and he was not in a hurry, first stuffed Shen Dongqing with a note: "Go buy milk tea."
Shen Dongqing took the money and ran to buy milk tea.
Everyone else was thinking about how to solve the problem, but he was very good, his face was heartless, and after buying milk tea, he was seriously chewing with pearls.
Halfway through the drink, a shadow suddenly fell in front of Shen Dongqing. He looked up and found two little girls standing there.
The two little girls were wearing cool clothes, with suspenders and hot pants, with sweet smiles on their faces: "Will you add a WeChat?"
When Shen Dongqing was approached for the first time, she didn't know how to react, she blinked blankly, causing the two girls to cover their mouths and laugh.
For Shen Dongqing to face the ghosts, it would be easy for him to fight a group by himself, but now he is at a loss when facing these two little girls, so he can only ask Zhou Wenyan for help.
Zhou Wenyan wrapped his arms around Shen Dongqing's shoulders, rejecting their request: "No WeChat."
The two little girls seemed to understand something, looked at each other and smiled, said "excuse me", and turned to leave.
Shen Dongqing suddenly "hey".
Zhou Wenyan followed his gaze and found that the two girls had a tattoo attached to their shoulder blades. The tattoo was only the size of a palm, and it was a series of numbers.
They are "0321" and "0343" respectively, and they look a bit chic.
Wu Jia understood, and hurriedly stopped them and asked, "The tattoos on your body are quite unique. Where is the tattoo? I also want to fix one."
The two little girls grinned and said, "Your chatting routine is too old-fashioned. Where do we get tattoos?"
Wu Jia's eyes passed over the shoulders of the two people: "It's on your shoulders."
The little girl turned her head and looked: "This, this is the symbol of our city, everyone has it, and you must have it too."
Another little girl echoed: "Yes, there is no sign but you will be kicked out."
After speaking, the two little girls left.
Sign, sign again.
The ghosts have signs, and so do the inhabitants of the city.
Zhou Wenyan said: "Ghosts and players are both test items. Ghosts have signs, and players must have them too."
And the most important point is that once the goblin loses its emblem, it disappears, so what about the player who loses the emblem
The short-haired girl hit the nail on the head: "It may also be death."
There are two possibilities, one is that the goblin leaves the "testing ground" after losing the logo, and the other is that the goblin drops the logo after it dies.
What if it's the latter
Zhou Wenyan: "Just try it and you'll know."
Ignoring the strange eyes of the front desk attendant, the four of them opened only one room.
Wu Jia held the room card, and the door opened after a "di" sound.
The room was packed to the brim when four people entered.
The short-haired woman objected to Zhou Wenyan's proposal. The reason for her objection was: "The risk is too great. Who knows if it will be directly obliterated if the logo is lost."
Zhou Wenyan sat on the sofa, raised his foot to put on the other leg, and said casually, "I'll try mine, you can do whatever you want."
The words of the short-haired girl were blocked in her mouth.
The risks are all resisted by others, and she can't say anything else.
Zhou Wenyan raised his hand: "Please avoid it."
The short-haired girl froze for a moment: "Huh?"
Wu Jia turned around sensibly.
Only then did the short-haired girl understand, and turned around exactly the same.
Zhou Wenyan neatly unbuttoned his shirt, and he could see a line of numbers on his shoulder blades.
0431.
Shen Dongqing reached out and touched it, the number of words was not on it, but like some kind of tattoo sticker, stuck on it.
Without any hesitation, Zhou Wenyan tore off the tattoo sticker.
Although this tattoo sticker is attached, it is integrated into the flesh and blood, and when it is torn off, it is like a living piece of flesh torn off.
A bead of sweat fell from Zhou Wenyan's forehead.
He stopped dawdling, and simply pulled it off.
rip-
"0431" fell to the ground, and Zhou Wenyan on the sofa disappeared.
Shen Dongqing's eyes widened.
Such a big person, just disappeared like this? !
When Wu Jia heard the movement, she turned around quickly, and was also stupid: "Where's the boss?"
Shen Dongqing: "I'll go find him."
He did as he said, painted the gourd as he did, and tore off the label on his body.
In the white light, I remembered a chatter.
Their voices seemed to be separated by a barrier, vague.
"I've never seen such an ability."
"Changing research subjects."
"Transfer '0432' to the laboratory."
In a plain and indifferent room, the sound of "didi" was constantly heard. Looking in from the translucent window, you would find that there were nutrition capsules one by one, and you couldn't see the edge at a glance.
There is a person lying in each nutrition cabin, some old, some young, some male and some female. They all closed their eyes, as if they were in a sweet dream, very peaceful.
click-
After a series of verification procedures, a person in a white coat and a mask walked in, picked out one of the nutrition cabins, and pressed the button.
After a "drip" sound, the nutrition compartment opened, and a robotic arm stretched out from the ceiling, dragging a woman out of it.
It's probably been too long since the sun was shining, the woman's face was as white as paper, her limbs were shrunken, and she was easily carried by the robotic arm.
The woman was unaware of this, and remained silent in a false dream.
The white coats came and went in a hurry, and only took one test item.
The laboratory fell into tranquility again, only the camera on the ceiling was constantly rotating, monitoring this batch of test items with due diligence.
everything is normal.
The red light on the camera flickered, but what it didn't know was that a wisp of black mist crept up, blocking the camera and covering up all the abnormality.
boom-
There was a muffled sound in one of the nutrition cabins, and then the entire lid was lifted. Zhou Wenyan sat up from it, wiped off the pale green nutrient solution on his face, and looked around.
He stood up from the nutrition cabin, and his first reaction was to find Shen Dongqing.
It's just that the entire laboratory looked over, but still couldn't find Shen Dongqing.
People are not here.
Zhou Wenyan had no choice but to settle for the next best thing. First, he opened the nutrition cabin of Wu Jia and the short-haired girl, and rescued the two.
Wu Jia said: Thank you boss for remembering me.
The short-haired woman got out of the nutrition cabin and looked down at the one next to her. The woman in glasses was lying there. She had a smile on her face and seemed to like her current life very much.
The short-haired girl hesitated for a moment, then pressed the button directly to open the nutrition cabin of the woman with glasses.
"Wake up-"
The woman with glasses didn't respond.
The short-haired woman tried twice to no avail, so she had to give up and cover the nutrition cabin.
"It turns out that the previous world was fake." The short-haired woman murmured.
When she couldn't resist the ghost, she also thought about giving up, but she didn't expect everything to be false.
Would those players have made the same choice if they knew the truth
Maybe it will.
The short-haired woman asked: "We now..."
Before he finished speaking, Zhou Wenyan opened the door and walked out.
Wu Jia shrugged: "Find the boss first."
Outside the laboratory is a long corridor, very modern, with a camera every few steps, 360° without dead ends.
As soon as Zhou Wenyan appeared in the camera's view, they began to glow red.
[Warning, warning—]
The sound stopped abruptly.
Zhou Wenyan's fingertips were wrapped in a wisp of black mist, and he directly unscrewed the camera.
The cameras hanging in the corridor fell to the ground with a crackle like rain, and fell to pieces.
Zhou Wenyan stepped on one of the wreckage of the camera, made a toothache, and continued to walk forward. The incandescent light on the ceiling fell on Zhou Wenyan's side face, making his outline even colder.
Wu Jia shrank his head: "Boss is getting serious."