Volume 1 - CH 2.1

[Now connecting to streaming service…]

[You do not have a registered streamer account. Do you wish to automatically register and begin streaming?]

[Yes/No]

Xü Beijin reflexively sits up, looking at this screen in front of him with surprise on his face.

When the Nightmare restarted just now, he just instinctively touched that spot of light left behind by that strange person that suddenly disappeared, when suddenly…

A streaming room shows up?

Wait, a streaming service?!

So the person just now, was a streamer from the world outside of the game?

And the streaming device… had a bug? Why did it connect to him?

Xü Beijin’s mind is filled with countless thoughts and a sense of disbelief. He almost immediately looks outside the store, through the store entrance, looking at the Nightmare.

He knows ‘Escape’ is a game. Yes. Everyone knows that. From the residents of the Tower to the outsiders. They all know that this is a game.

The world of the Tower——The game world of Escape, besides the narrow tower that stands alone on the ground, is an endless, expansive grey smog that fills up the entirety of the world beyond.

No one knows why humans are there. No one knows why they are undergoing these life-or-death challenges here.

They do not know what has become of the world outside, even though they really wish to ascend to higher floors, and, after reaching the top floor, to escape.

Meanwhile, in front of Xü Beijin, is a single, suspicious, streaming service, that could possibly communicate with the outside world.

The world outside the Tower, that no humans know.

So, after only a brief hesitation, Xü Beijin chooses ‘Yes’ with his consciousness.

He could hear an indistinct ‘ding’ as the screen in front of him changes drastically.

On the screen are some circles and simple sentences with arrows pointing to the circles. It looks like a tutorial, explaining to him how to use this streaming service.

The screen’s theme is a half-transparent ice blue. It is divided into two main parts.

On the left is a large live stream section, now showing a frame fixed right inside his store.

On the right, are data such as the number of viewers, a ranking list of presents, tools and other stats of the streamer. One of the options immediately attracts Xü Beijin’s attention. It is an option named ‘Change Screen Source.’

The explanatory text says that, in some games that support this option, the streamer can change the video source of the screen, allowing the stream to not only be limited to what the streamer sees alone, but also able to switch to other players and scenes, or even a bird’s eye view that allows them to observe what’s going on between all the players and how the entire game is playing out.

Almost like spectator mode.

And, ‘Escape,’ supports this function.

Xü Beijin clicks on the function, and several options jumps out, corresponding to different scenes and Missiontakers in this Nightmare.

At a glance, there’s several scenes. Bookstore, Dollmaker’s Floor 1, Dollmaker’s Floor 2, Abandoned Street. There’s also people’s names under the names of the scenes, corresponding to their current location.

For example, under the word ‘Bookstore,’ is an indented ‘Xü Beijin (Streamer).’

He pokes his head outside to make sure that no outsider is walking his way, then decides to sink into the recliner behind the bookstore counter, and presses ‘Dollmaker’s Floor 1.’

… Somehow, it feels like that in this streaming room, he’s actually the viewer instead?

Since he is a nameless little streamer that just began, so no one is clicking to enter his stream…

Xü ‘The Viewer’ Beijin is lounging in his own bookstore while observing the Missiontaker’s actions in the Dollmaker’s from afar. Right now, there are four Missiontakers in the store.

He doesn’t see the streaming host that disappeared before. Did he not log back on? Speaking of, he didn’t know why he just disappeared or how the streaming service got connected to him.

No matter what, though, his monotonous, extra life might be slightly more interesting from now on.

Xü Beijin is now watching the stream slightly more excitedly.

And then he is petrified.

… Wait! He thinks there’s someone he recognises in the four of them!

And a guy he’d much rather avoid at that!

Lin Qin feels like this must be the most ridiculous, unreasonable Nightmare he’s ever been in.

Besides that ridiculous fellow who began screaming and yelling and running away after entering the Nightmare and has now ended up who-knows-where… These few Missiontakers here are already about to argue.

He is leaning impatiently on the doorframe with a cold smile on his face, as he observes these Missiontakers while tilting his head.

For people who do not know Lin Qin, the man is a handsome, and rather harmless looking person.

Since he has a natural baby face with smiling lips and curvy brows. If he’s in a good mood and actually smiles, he would definitely look cutesy.

Unfortunately…

All the Missiontakers are aware, that Lin Qin is basically a mad dog.

There seems to be a distinct impatience threshold to him. The moment it is surpassed, he will immediately go berserk, and use his unreasonable, inhuman fighting power to suppress everyone in the Nightmare regardless of friend or foe, and then——

The Nightmare will be forced into a Special End, and end like that.

If some Missiontakers did end up unfortunately with Lin Qin in a Nightmare, then it ends two ways; either Lin Qin goes berserk, or the other Missiontakers would all act extremely timidly and leave the dalao (TL: Chinese slang meaning someone who’s respectable because they’re in charge or is an expert in their field or deserves recognition because of their achievements; used more loosely here) alone, to try and win the Nightmare themselves.

… It really is ridiculous that someone with Lin Qin’s fighting strength is inside an escape-type game like ‘Escape’ in the first place!

And he seems to have been stuck on the bottom floor of the Tower for a long time. No one has seen him go up a floor. When someone steels their gut to ask, Lin Qin would answer, he isn’t interested.

Is he really disinterested, or… is he completely unable to in the first place?

Some people speculate behind his back that perhaps, besides his fighting strength and the face, Lin Qin is absolutely worthless. He can survive well enough on the bottom floor Nightmares, but he can never actually solve any of them.

And the speculation only stays behind his back because of his immense strength, of course. Nor do they dare cross him in the Nightmares.

… Yet in this Nightmare, something seems to be different.