“He's asking for death!”
“I've never seen anyone so arrogant.”
The people gathered in front of the water screen crossed their arms and discussed. More figures arrived from a distance—teams who had lost members in the previous game world and were now looking to recruit fresh blood.
When they saw the tall man, they exchanged glances but soon had their attention drawn back to the screen.
“Is he actually trying to ask the host for help?”
It was likely a case of ignorance breeding fearlessness. In some ways, the ‘host’ was even more terrifying than the supernatural beings.
On-screen, Mister Rose had already stepped aside to let Su Er in. As the door slowly closed, a pretty woman sighed with pity. “He’s probably going to die a horrible death.”
A faint floral scent lingered around the man. The flowers near Mister Rose’s ears appeared even more vibrant at night than during the day.
Su Er asked, “Is everything that happens here being watched?”
Mister Rose shook his head, his gaze drifting to Su Er’s vulnerable neck. Smiling, he replied, “Of course not.”
Su Er took a step closer. “Are you planning to kill me?”
His behavior—like a lamb voluntarily stepping into a tiger’s den—was baffling. Mister Rose was momentarily dazed, and in that instant, he suddenly felt a numbing sensation at his waist. Looking down, he saw a dark object pressed against his stomach. He frowned. “What is this thing?”
The stun gun didn't work.
Su Er had come here gambling on a chance, but clearly, he had lost the bet. Without changing expression, he withdrew his hand. “Did it feel good?”
Mister Rose easily snatched the device from Su Er's hand. After briefly examining it, he suddenly flung it back. Just now… it had felt as if it was absorbing his life force.
Su Er had originally prepared a backup plan—using a spring-loaded mechanism to scratch Mister Rose’s hand when he touched the device, providing an opening to attack the rose on his ear.
Such an obvious flower likely functioned as a boss’s core.
Of course, his success rate was less than ten percent. But if he had stayed in his room, that chance would’ve been even lower—probably less than five percent. After all, the snake was incredibly fast. Even if he managed to injure it, at such close range, he’d almost certainly be bitten.
But now, he saw that the stun gun wasn’t entirely useless.
Seven Days, Seven Nights?
Zhu Yun had specifically mentioned this book over the phone… Since it was banned for being too risqué, maybe the key to survival was to go wild?
Su Er pressed his lips together, unable to come up with a more logical explanation. So he followed the train of thought. “I was trying to make you feel good.” He paused, then added, “For a moment, did you feel a sharp pain mixed with a tingling sensation that shot straight to your nerve endings? Pain and pleasure intertwined, creating an exhilarating rush?”
Before he even finished speaking, a single petal drifted to the floor.
Mister Rose’s expression darkened as he reached for his ear. That fleeting sensation earlier—it hadn’t been an illusion. This thing really could drain his life force.
Feeling the cold sting of killing intent, Su Er decisively said, “You're just not used to it yet. You'll adapt to the electricity over time.”
Mister Rose treasured his flower, but he hesitated. “Really?”
Of course not. Su Er shut his eyes briefly. The last person who boasted about lightning-based techniques had ended up a laughingstock. But for the sake of survival, he had to lie. “This is a special artifact. It’s good for health.”
Ever heard of electrotherapy?
As a final touch, he added, "I wouldn’t dare deceive you."
Mister Rose studied him intently. Just a small fry—he could crush him with one hand. “If even a single word is false,” he said with a smile, “your body will become the perfect nourishment for this flower.”
Without hesitation, Su Er cranked the stun gun to maximum power and zapped the rose directly.
A perfect opportunity for a close-range attack. If worst came to worst, he’d gamble his life.
Zizi——
The electric crackling was loud. But instead of withering, the flower grew even more vibrant.
“That feels nice,” Mister Rose sighed in satisfaction, eyes narrowing in pleasure.
Su Er's hand trembled slightly. His teeth ached. No wonder the book got banned. This kind of setting actually worked?
“What a pity…” Mister Rose glanced at Su Er. It was unfortunate that he couldn’t keep the device for himself. He tested it again, but the moment he tried to use it, it drained his life force. As an experience, it was enjoyable—but as an item, it was useless to him.
He recalled a player who once obtained a life-saving doll after clearing a high-difficulty game. There were very few personal-bound artifacts, but they did exist. Where had this rookie gotten his?
7:30 AM.
The door creaked open. Su Er emerged, leaning against the wall, dark circles under his eyes. A whole night of charging up Mister Rose had drained him.
From upstairs came muffled sobbing.
Su Er frowned and went up to find the other three gathered outside his room. Li Li had even shed a few tears. But the moment she turned and saw him, her face went deathly pale—like she had seen a ghost.
She took two steps back, steadied herself, and asked, “You're… still alive?”
Su Er nodded. He noticed sticky residue on the floor and, in the corner, a chair draped with a piece of shed snakeskin. Before leaving last night, he had stuffed a pillow under the blanket. Now, the top layer of the comforter was corroded, tufts of cotton clumped together, emitting a rancid, acidic stench.
The venom was so potent it had surpassed what natural venomous snakes were capable of. If he had really encountered it, his stun gun wouldn’t even have been able to pierce its shed skin.
Li Li’s face was ashen. “Our guess was right.”
Things from horror stories materialized and attacked at night.
Zhao He quickly asked where Su Er had gone and how he had evaded the snake’s pursuit. Shamefully, they had all heard movement around midnight, but no one had dared step out of their rooms.
“I slept on the floor in the host’s room.”
Xuanyuan Aoyu’s eyes lit up. “So that’s an option?”
“It might not work for you,” Su Er said casually. “I was born on the Ghost Festival. Fortune tellers said I naturally attract supernatural beings. I barely survived infancy.”
Mister Rose remained in the shadows, smiling. “You’re all welcome to visit me anytime.”
According to the rules, the host couldn’t kill players—but loopholes existed. For example, in this game, players weren’t allowed to go out at night. If they violated this rule, the host could act as an overseer and eliminate them.
Su Er noticed that Xuanyuan Aoyu and Zhao He seemed tempted. His heart sank. Compared to the snake, Mister Rose seemed like the lesser evil, so they viewed him as a backup plan.
A child’s crying interrupted his thoughts. The boy had visibly thinned since yesterday.
“His hand…” Li Li covered her mouth, nauseated.
A chunk of the child's frail hand had been gnawed off, bloodstains soaking the bedding.
Zhao He gasped. “He’s using himself as food.”
Frankly, if he just died like this, it would be a relief. But his recovery ability was terrifying— before long, the hand was whole again.
It was time for another story session.
They tried their old trick, but the crying didn't stop. “You can’t tell the same story twice on a new day,” Su Er said.
Zhao He sighed. “There are plenty of horror stories, but…”
Who would tell it?
All eyes landed on Su Er. “I barely survived last night,” he refused.
Earlier, when Xuanyuan Aoyu showed interest in sleeping on the floor as well, the delight in Mister Rose’s eyes was almost palpable. The temptation of killing a player seemed to have already surpassed the thrill of electrocuting one. After all, even the freshest sensation would fade after a night.
Xuanyuan Aoyu pressed his lips together, wanting to say something but ultimately staying silent. Since Li Li was a girl, it didn’t seem right to push her forward. The storyteller would most likely have to be either him or Zhao He.
Zhao He smiled bitterly. “Rock-paper-scissors?”
No one wanted to walk into death willingly, so they might as well leave it to luck.
Xuanyuan Aoyu nodded.
Li Li suggested, “How about the hand game? I’ll join in too.”
“Forget it.” Zhao He and Xuanyuan Aoyu settled it in one round. The latter was chosen to tell the story.
Fear mixed with resignation, and Xuanyuan Aoyu seemed almost reckless. “Go to sleep quickly. If you don’t, the big bad wolf will come.”
The child, reluctant as ever, shut his eyes again.
Li Li whispered, “Maybe try picking something easier to handle?”
“It won’t help,” Zhao He interjected. “In this situation, even a washbasin could probably drown someone.”
Su Er thought for a moment. “There has to be a way to clear this. Let’s search for clues first.”
Zhao He asked, “Two people per group?”
Su Er shook his head. “We wasted an entire day yesterday being stupid. Now, time is life.”
The villa was quite large. Including the attic, even a full day might not be enough to check every nook and cranny.
Just then, someone’s stomach growled.
Li Li looked embarrassed. “I’m a little hungry.”
Zhao He said, “I checked this morning. There’s expired bread in the fridge.”
Having something to eat was already a luxury. Everyone forced down a few bites to fill their stomachs before splitting up to search the villa.
Su Er took charge of the second floor. In one of the rooms, he found a family portrait. The frame was covered in dust, but the people in the photo looked strangely vivid. He suddenly felt that he wasn’t much different from them—living in a confined space.
After his family fell apart, he became increasingly indifferent to life. What truly terrified Su Er was that he didn’t even feel sorrow over his parents’ passing. If he couldn’t grieve for his closest family, didn’t that mean he had lost his basic humanity?
Entering this world, aside from the initial shock, Su Er mostly felt… relief. Maybe, just maybe, he could use this chance to recover something.
The family of three in the photo were all smiling happily. Su Er stared at them for a few seconds and suddenly felt dizzy. It was as if the eyes in the photo were staring straight at him, unmoving.
“Come,” the woman in the photo spoke gently. Her features began to shift, gradually overlapping with the image of his mother in his memories.
His brain felt like a clock running out of battery, about to stop ticking. That soft voice lingered in his ears. “Give me your hand, and you’ll get what you want most.”
But what Su Er saw was completely different. The woman in the photo was now filled with malice, eagerly watching as his pupils lost focus. She was just about to succeed.
“An eternal peace…” the woman whispered, luring him in.
The boy's body suddenly shuddered, a small tuft of hair standing on end as his body carried out the brain’s final command… electrocute himself.
After three jolts of electricity, Su Er’s vision cleared. He swung his palm at the photo, righteously declaring, “I’m here to reclaim lost love and emotions, not to die.”
The woman's face in the photo was knocked askew. Su Er glanced at his tingling palm, then at the woman’s terrified expression, and grinned. “Looks like your ability is limited to creating illusions.”
Stuffing the photo into his pocket, Su Er stepped out of the room and looked toward the Mister Rose standing in the shadows. “Will things that happen in the restroom be broadcast publicly?”
Mister Rose replied, “Key scenes will be censored with mosaics.”
As a horror setting, restrooms were naturally common places for ghosts and monsters to appear, so they would be broadcast.
“…Good thing it only happens the first time,” Su Er sighed.
Who could stand it happening constantly?
Dismissing the idea of testing the photo with more electric shocks in the restroom, turning back now would seem too suspicious. Standing by the toilet, Su Er held the photo between two fingers. “I ask, you answer. If you stay silent or give a wrong answer…”
He didn’t finish the sentence but pressed the flush handle, his warning self-explanatory.
“First question—am I good-looking?”
The woman in the photo stared into his eyes, where the fierce glint of a beast flickered. Instinctively, she shook her head.
“As expected… deceitful.” Without hesitation, Su Er tore off a piece of the photo and tossed it into the water, nearly ripping the woman’s arm apart. “I hate lies.”
The woman couldn't hold back and cursed, “…You beast!”
Su Er’s eyes turned cold, and he ruthlessly tore the photo further, right from the arm. The woman screamed in agony.
Outside the water screen.
“How ruthless.” The punk-styled man put away his joking expression. “But he actually resisted the photo’s influence.”
“Maybe his willpower is just that strong,” someone speculated. “Illusions affect people differently.”
The punk turned to the tall man beside him. The latter opened his eyes, leaving his meditative state. “What interests me is how he walked out of the host’s room alive last night.”
The punk recalled the scene of Su Er leaning against the wall as he left and muttered to himself, “Sacrificing the body to save the soul?”
----------
No comments:
Post a Comment