The concrete walls had been blackened by waste fumes. Desiccated spiders clung to them on spindly legs as they hunted, while the water seeping through the floor drew dense swarms of woodlice to nest.
In a corridor lit only by light seeping through gaps in the windows, Xie De walked very slowly. He wore a wireless earpiece on one ear, his expression composed, though the voice in his mind trembled.
455, hurry up and tell me the plot of this instance and all its deadly traps. Oh my god, can you alter my perception? Make the horrors look like gorgeous women to me, so I won't be quite so scared.
455 could hear whatever he wanted to say to it in his mind. Its mechanical voice remained steady. "Host, take a deep breath. There's nothing to be afraid of. Don't worry. I'm here with you."
After at least three months together, Xie De might not have known every thought in 455's head, but he had a decent grasp of its personality.
He couldn't help gritting his teeth. If you can't do it, just say so. What's this about being here with me? Where else can you go besides staying with me? Give me the plot right now.
455 played dead again.
Xie De was horrified. Wait, don't tell me you don't actually know the plot?
455 said slowly, "It's not quite that bad. It's just that the plot I know isn't complete."
455!!
You save every dirty trick you've got for me, don't you?
Xie De complained in despair. Besides electrocuting me, what use are you? We're in a place this dangerous, and you don't even know the plot! We're both doomed. Forget clearing the instance. Let's just try to survive the first day.
"Calm down, Host!" 455 frantically processed its fragmentary data. "I remember this plot point: the protagonist discovers that the workers disappeared of their own accord. And when the instance system says the boss wants us to take the initiative and work, it means taking over the workers' jobs, not investigating the truth behind their disappearance."
Xie De asked hesitantly, Can we clear the instance now that we know that? What should I do next?
"Uh, no. I think we also need to follow the clues to find something. Hmm, what was it?" 455 sank into thought.
So you really are unreliable.
With his head aching, Xie De pulled a cigarette pack from his coat and flicked out a slim women's cigarette. He put it between his lips and lit it. The taste of nicotine numbed his constantly trembling nerves, and a red ember consumed the cigarette in the dim surroundings, giving off pale smoke with a faint scent of cedar.
He held the cigarette between his fingers, looking calm and unhurried in this eerie, sinister place. Only he knew that his heart was pounding hard enough to shatter his rib cage.
Okay, okay. Calm down.
This place was just a little colder, a little darker, and had a few more bugs. There really wasn't anything to be afraid of.
"Hello."
An eerie voice came from behind him. Trembling, Xie De put the cigarette back between his lips. Hilarious. He didn't dare turn around at all.
Behind him, Beiwei watched the man with his back to her. His silver hair, silky as moonlight, made him look like an exquisitely crafted 3D model. He didn't seem inclined to acknowledge her.
Beiwei smiled, unbothered, and spoke first. "I've finished searching the next corridor. No one's gone to the office upstairs yet. There are far more clues in the office than on the first floor. Want to go with me? We can work together."
The second floor was also far more dangerous than the first.
There were seven players in total. The system had only told them to resolve the boss's problem, without requiring them to stay together, so the players were now scattered throughout the factory.
The protagonist, Wei Yanchi, in particular, had slipped into the darkness like an eel, leaving no trace.
Xie De had made the least progress. He hadn't even opened a single door.
455 spoke quietly through the earpiece. "I recognize this girl. She's one of the powerhouses early in the novel. Cold-blooded and ruthless, but relatively loyal as players go. We can work with her."
Xie De dropped his cigarette and ground it out. If she's such a powerhouse, why would she want to work with us? Isn't she worried we'll hold her back?
"Uh, she might just want someone to take the fall. But you're too scared to go alone anyway, Host, so you might as well follow her."
Xie De felt that 455 was looking down on him, but the even sadder part was that he couldn't argue.
His dark green eyes turned toward the harmless-looking girl before him. Fuming, Xie De took the lead, thinking that a grown man like him couldn't possibly act weak and cowardly in front of a little girl.
Realizing that Xie De had agreed to work with her, Beiwei's eyes lit up with surprise, and she quickly followed.
The workers' dormitories and the boss's office were scattered across the factory's second floor, with a large communal bathhouse at the far end.
A viscous substance on the floor gave off a stench so strong it was almost suffocating. Flies buzzed ceaselessly overhead. Moonlight shone in from outside, revealing that the substance on the floor was dark red flesh and blood, with maggots wriggling over it.
"That's disgusting."
Beiwei stepped carefully inside on tiptoe, repulsed. When she looked back, she found Xie De even more disgusted than she was, standing at the top of the stairs with a deep frown.
Beiwei said in amusement, "Hey, Mr. 39, it's only a little dirty. You're not going to make me explore alone, are you?"
"Tch."
The man finally deigned to come over, opened the door to a workers' dormitory himself, and went in first.
Beiwei followed close behind. The room was much cleaner than the corridor. There were eight beds in the dormitory, all covered in dust.
Just as they were looking around, the door slammed shut behind them. An icy draft sent the curtains billowing like ghosts.
Xie De went rigid, while Beiwei's gaze instantly sharpened with vigilance!
A corpse appeared hanging from the ceiling fan ahead of them, its eyes still open in death.
455 screamed before Xie De could. "Bzz-holy shit, that's terrifying!"
Startled, 455 instinctively released an electric current. The pain it sent through Xie De's body overpowered his fear, even turning it into anger and making him want to curse.
455! Which one of us is the coward here?!
"Aaaah, grab a chair and hit it! Why is that corpse getting closer and closer to us?"
So noisy.
Unable to beat up 455, Xie De steeled himself, gritted his teeth, and hoisted a nearby stool, smashing it hard into the ceiling fan. With a crack, the fan shattered, and the corpse vanished.
Beiwei jumped in fright and turned to look at him. She could still feel the chill in the man's expression.
Okay, he really was formidable.
His hands trembling, Xie De lit himself another cigarette and said succinctly, "Go find clues."
"Okay."
Beiwei had no idea how turbulent Xie De's emotions were. She calmly rushed over to rummage through the remnants of the room, searching the beds and tables with complete concentration. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see eyes staring eerily at her from beneath the tables and beds, along with withered hands crawling out.
The man behind her smoked nonchalantly. Feeling reassured by his presence, Beiwei ignored the withered hands and eyes and kept searching.
Meanwhile, Xie De hadn't noticed those eyes or hands at all. He was still irritably trying to calm 455 down. Seriously, aren't you always calling me a coward? Why are you even more scared than I am when you see these things? You're a system. You can't get hurt, and you can't die. I'm the one who can die, okay? What are you even screaming about?
455 remained silent, simply continuing its analysis.
The data showed that when a coward who cared about saving face had someone even more cowardly beside him, he would actually become less afraid.
Before you continue