Death Trap

"Wait, what are you doing with that knife?"

Seeing the Young Girl in front of him silently pull out a knife from her Inventory and grip it tightly in her hand, seemingly going through a great internal struggle, Bai Zhi cautiously moved his chair a few steps to the side, looking completely bewildered.

"I feel like you've been acting a little strange today. Did the knocking startle you so badly that you went insane?"

"... As a qualified cook, it's perfectly normal to carry a knife with you."

After a moment of silence, the Night Owl turned his head away expressionlessly.

"That's none of your business."

"Um... let me tell you about my experience!!"

Seeing that the atmosphere in the room was becoming increasingly strange, Zither-Drum Harmony quickly spoke up.

"My experience last night was the same as always: I played Game, turned off the lights, wore headphones and an eye mask to bed, and slept soundly until morning. Nothing unusual or strange happened... Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Seeing the three pairs of eyes that had all focused on him, Zither-Drum Harmony's lips twitched involuntarily.

"Something's definitely fishy!"

With his arms folded, Heavenless Heretic nodded solemnly.

"The absence of any anomalies is the biggest anomaly!!"

With her hands crossed and resting on her chin, PrayerUnderDreams to speak.

"Why is it that all of us are unlucky, but you can enjoy a comfortable vacation all by yourself?"

Rolling his eyes, Bai Zhi spoke out what the other two truly wanted to say.

The Zither-Drum Harmony: "..."

Holding his potted street lamp plant, the Night Owl stared at someone to the side, his face deep in thought, without saying a word.

"To be honest, I also think there's something wrong with this."

Bai Zhi glanced somewhat strangely at the Night Owl who was staring at him intently, and then began to speak.

"Sharing blessings and hardships is the right thing to do. Think carefully, is there anything you've overlooked? For example, are there any details that are worth paying attention to?"

"Details... uh, does it count if I haven't been dreaming these past two days?"

After thinking for a moment, Zither-Drum Harmony spoke with some uncertainty.

"I used to have a lot of dreams when I slept, but these past two days I've been sleeping much better. I just close my eyes and open them, and it's morning when I wake up."

Have you noticed any changes in your physical condition?

Bai Zhi narrowed his eyes slightly.

"... for example?"

"Waking up with a sore back and aching waist, as if you've just walked a long distance, or perhaps you have inexplicable wounds or strange scratches on your body... Do you have any of these?"

"No...?"

When Bai Zhi asked this question, Zither-Drum Harmony themselves became somewhat uncertain.

"Now that you've said that, I'm starting to doubt myself..."

"Based on the current situation, I think you are the most likely person to have entered that Nonexistent Door, after all, you are the most suspicious."

Bai Zhi stood up from the table, his expression noncommittal.

"It's almost nine o'clock, let's go to the gym."

"Well..."

On their second night here, having gained relevant experience, everyone's energy and spirits were in pretty good shape.

However, before heading to the gym, Bai Zhi made a point of going into the Ingredient Area and taking out the ingredients he had requested on the note he had left on the table the night before.

"Canned food and chili peppers? Are we having this for lunch?"

Looking at the cans of food and the basket of bright red chilies that Bai Zhi had brought to the gym, Heavenless Heretic couldn't help but feel a little strange.

"The world's hottest chili pepper, Dragon Breath Chili, you can try it if you want, I can be your Xiao Bai."

Bai Zhi glanced at him.

"The canned food is Herring Can. Do you want some?"

"... So why are you asking for these ingredients?"

"Oh, making Biochemical Weapon might have some surprising effects in certain situations, but unfortunately Dog Poop isn't on the ingredient list... You guys focus on your training, just leave me alone."

"???"

Having learned about the benefits of the gym yesterday, everyone spent almost all of their time there from 9 a. m. to 3 p. m.

After five hours, even the one who gained the least among the five people had seen their basic Attribute Value increase by three points. This is definitely a huge improvement, something that would take at least several months of training to achieve in the outside world.

Take Bai Zhi for example. Originally, he was a weaker version of himself, but now his three attributes— Constitution, Strength, and Agility—have all reached an average of 12 points, which is above average. If we add the attributes attached by the Free Attribute Point, he has reached a level close to the human limit.

These extra items won't give you much of an advantage in fighting Anomaly Incident, but they will at least increase your chances of survival.

"The drinks at the Bar can provide different temporary buffs. You'll see once you try them all. But those who don't drink should not force themselves."

On the way to the Entertainment Area and then to the Supermarket, Bai Zhi casually introduced the place to the others.

This thing is useful, like a picture book, but it can't be put in your Inventory or taken away; it's destined to be just a consumable item during this mission.

However, if we look at it from another perspective, this mission not only provided them with an excellent opportunity to improve their Base Attributes, but also supplied them with so many Special Effect temporary items for free. Considering the usual principle that the danger and benefits of missions are proportional, the perilous nature of this mission is simply unimaginable...

--But so far, not a single one of them has died.

Forget about Dead Person, they didn't even suffer any significant losses. The Anomaly in the room were mostly for scaring people, and the difficulty of the mission was not reflected at all.

This is unreasonable.

Bai Zhi had been worried about this very thing, fearing that they might unknowingly walk into a Death Trap... or that they might have already walked in without realizing it.

That's the scariest part, because you might die without ever understanding how you died.

To be honest, Bai Zhi would rather there be some Anomaly or unusual phenomena in this Apartment. Seeing something is always better than seeing nothing, which is why he has repeatedly chosen to go out at night.

However, nothing was found.

Or rather, it's not that he gained nothing, but the new clues he has gathered so far are simply insufficient to unravel the mystery. The clues are inadequate, and he hasn't yet collected all the necessary pieces of the puzzle.

He needed a breakthrough.