Tang Cha

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Tang Cha (唐茶)
Species/Race	Human 11 47
Gender	Male 2
Age	18 4 47
Occupation/Role	Recent high-school graduate; university admittee; survival-game player 2 11
Affiliation	Teammates with Ji Xun, Lu Jiancheng, and Fang Rui 37 39
Residence	C District, Headquarters Base 15
Status	Died in the real world; active in the survival game through the provided chapters 11 50
First Appearance	“Beginner Uninhabited Village (2)” in the provided material 2
Initial Game Identity	A high-school student who failed his entrance exams and visited the village to unwind—unlike his actual success in obtaining an acceptance letter 2

Background / History

Tang Cha entered the game shortly after graduating from high school and receiving his university acceptance letter. A drunk driver struck him with a white SUV on Kangning Road in J City—the same driver responsible for Lu Jiancheng’s death. Before losing consciousness, Tang Cha’s last concern was that his mother should see his acceptance letter 2 11.

He initially did not know whether he was dead or alive outside the game. After hearing his account, Ji Xun suggested that his unfinished wish might have brought him into the survival game 3 11.

Appearance

• Baby-faced: His youthful face helps him earn elderly people’s affection and trust 2 8.
• Hoodie: He wears a hoodie when introduced aboard the bus 2.

Personality

Tang Cha is talkative, curious, and quick to establish friendly contact. On the bus, he prompts the players to share their assigned identities and sympathizes with Ji Xun over their interrupted plans. His jokes frequently lighten frightening situations; his mistaken conclusion that Ji Xun starved after being fired makes the grieving group laugh 2 11.

He is easily frightened, and his imagination often makes matters worse. He worries about hidden dangers beneath beds and even asks whether a roasted pheasant might return as a ghost. Nevertheless, he follows Ji Xun’s judgment despite hunger, uncertainty, and other players’ ridicule 40 41.

His timidity does not prevent him from helping others. He objects angrily when the Man-Snake treats villagers as usable goods, invites Grandpa Jin to escape, warns players about dangerous food, and helps rescue people during the mansion’s nighttime attacks 13 14 44 47 48.

Abilities & Skills

Paradoxical Luck

Tang Cha describes a lifelong tendency to encounter things he desperately wants to avoid that ultimately benefit him. This is a self-reported trait, not an explicitly named system ability 4.

• At a fork in the village, he feels drawn to a house while expecting something frightening inside 4.
• The selected house contains murder victims and crucial quest evidence, but also provides refuge because the monsters hesitate to enter 5 6.
• His luck does not spare him fear or danger; the useful outcome comes through an unpleasant encounter 4 5.

Rapport and Information Gathering

His baby face and persuasive manner make him particularly effective at speaking with elderly people 8.

• Earns the village elders’ trust when Fang Rui sends him to interview them 8.
• Discovers that their supposedly deceased children resemble the villagers who become monsters at night 8.
• Obtains information about Grandpa Jin’s missing son, A-Fei, and the old man’s warnings about snakes and river ghosts 8.
• Passes Ji Xun’s food warning from room to room when the mansion players have no shared group chat 44.

Investigation and Emergency Assistance

Tang Cha contributes practical observations and helps carry out his teammates’ plans rather than directing the investigation 12 39 49.

• Recognizes the wall-scraping sound as resembling fingernails on a blackboard and reads the skeleton’s warning aloud 5 6.
• Notices blood on the mansion’s wall and armor, drawing on earlier investigative experience 39.
• Finds Mr. Lin’s obituary during the newspaper search into Katherine’s marriages 46.
• Questions whether someone encouraged Xu Xingfa to accuse the Cook 49.
• Helps Lu Jiancheng subdue an affected player and rescue another hanging outside a window 47.

Limitations

• Limited endurance: Becomes exhausted during the village escape and jokes that being chased by monsters would have helped him pass physical education 4.
• Vulnerable to forced sleep: Falls into the village’s supernatural nighttime drowsiness and must be awakened by Ji Xun 8.
• Dependent on stronger teammates: Uses Ji Xun’s protection when acting as bait and is nearly bitten after becoming overconfident around the captured Man-Snake 12 13.

Equipment / Items

• Flashlight — Hands it to Lu Jiancheng before resting and later uses bright light against a human-headed scorpion 3 9.
• Identification tag — Completes the registration paperwork for himself and Ji Xun to obtain their Headquarters Base tags 15.
• Recovered notebook — Receives the foul-smelling notebook Ji Xun retrieves beside the Maid’s corpse; his immediate reaction is to beg for it to be taken away 50.

Relationships

• Ji Xun — Trusted friend, protector, and preferred teammate. They first connect over losing the chance to enjoy important milestones. Tang Cha later asks to enter future instances with him and brings him food at the base 2 15 16. Although Ji Xun’s blood-soaked clothing briefly frightens him, he reaffirms his trust after Fang Rui reminds him of Ji Xun’s repeated rescues 9.
• Lu Jiancheng — Teammate and older-brother-like companion. They discover that the same drunk driver killed them. Tang Cha helps investigate Lu’s disappearance and later works alongside him to rescue mansion players 11 38 43 47.
• Fang Rui — Teammate whose investigative ability he respects, calling her the team’s “brains.” She assigns him the elder interviews and helps restrain him when the Man-Snake’s words provoke his anger 8 13 49.
• Zhao Fu — First-instance companion. Zhao Fu’s death is Tang Cha’s first direct experience of witnessing death, leaving him sobbing and afraid that the survivors will be next 10 11.
• Zhou Yang and Xin Xin — Initial teammates later revealed to be veterans. Zhou Yang’s warning about conflicting quests makes Tang Cha worry about betrayal in future games 15.
• Grandpa Jin and A-Fei — Village residents he comes to regard with sympathy. He invites Grandpa Jin to leave with the players and gives A-Fei an emotional farewell after the dead villagers protect their escape 14.
• Mother — Central to his unfinished wish: his last thought before death was that she should see his university acceptance letter 11.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Uninhabited Village

• Encourages the bus passengers to compare identities and quickly finds Ji Xun reassuring enough to sleep beside him 2 3.
• Uses his unusual luck to select the house that becomes the group’s refuge and a major source of evidence 4 5.
• Interviews the elders, supplying clues about the replaced children and A-Fei’s disappearance 8.
• Calls for Ji Xun during the riverbank attack; Ji Xun returns and cuts off a scorpion’s stinger before it can strike him 10.
• Breaks down after Zhao Fu’s death, then regains enough composure to discuss his own death and help ease the group’s grief through humor 10 11.
• Acts as bait for a Man-Snake, helps restrain it, and opens the bedroom door during Ji Xun’s interrogation so Teacher Meng’s husband can confront it 12 13.
• Escapes aboard the bus after A-Fei and the other dead villagers intervene 14.

Headquarters Base

• Is assigned housing in C District alongside Ji Xun and proposes continuing their partnership 15.
• Reports a 300-point reward for the beginner instance and shares information about food purchases and guild inquiries 16.
• Reconnects with Ji Xun after the school instance and arranges a team run with Lu Jiancheng and Fang Rui in three days 37.
• Investigates Lu Jiancheng’s disappearance with Ji Xun. After finding evidence of a struggle and the address “A District 004,” he wants to help with the rescue, but Ji Xun sends him back to safety 38.

Thinking Forest Mansion

• Shares a room with Ji Xun, Lu Jiancheng, and Fang Rui for safety. Ji Xun’s warning keeps him from volunteering for the Cook’s mutilating “short-handed” side quest 40.
• Follows the team’s decision to avoid the Cook’s meals, gathering hunted pheasants and eating alternative food instead 41 42.
• Blocks Ji Xun from leaving their room during the disturbing nighttime noises 43.
• Warns other players against the meatball noodles, investigates Katherine’s marital history, and helps rescue players undergoing violent nighttime episodes 44 46 47.
• Shares fruit when the players refuse the Cook’s food and participates in the pheasant diversion that enables the cellar investigation 48 49.
• Is present when Ji Xun confirms the Male Host as the murderer, then receives the notebook recovered from the underground chamber 50.

Notable Quotes

“My luck is terrible, but also really good. I always end up running into things I really don't want to face, but that turn out to benefit me.” 4

“They're people, not objects! What do you mean, 'usable'?” 13

“Before I lost consciousness, all I could think was that I had to let my mom see my acceptance letter for herself.” 11