Volume 1 - CH 11

Xü Beijin, after deliberation, still decided to meet the viewers.

Mainly because, he really wants to use this chance to learn about the world outside.

One day, humanity just woke up and realise they are all inexplicably locked up inside this game called ‘Escape.’ They have struggled inside now for countless days.

Both the Tower residents and outsiders all still remember their lives back on Earth. They still remember everything. Occasionally, they might even run into people who were once their relatives, friends, acquaintances.

Yet… It seems they would never be able to return to their former lives.

They want to ascend the floors, to truly ‘Escape,’ because, they wanted to know, what happened? What happened to Earth? Are they all that’s left? What is going on outside?

Can they, still be free of the Nightmares of the Tower?

They have so many questions, one of which, the stream might provide an answer for.

After streaming for this short while, Xü Beijin has observed the viewers, and to be honest, he can’t see anything wrong with them. It seems they really are just regular people that are relaxing in their free time by watching a host’s stream. It’s perfectly normal.

Well, the detective dalao is a bit oddly serious, but that’s still quite possibly his true personality.

The viewers, are all very ‘normally’ watching this stream of a game.

Which is the biggest abnormality, in comparison.

All the humans know they are in a game, a game that is, somehow, their entire lives. Why, can this game, even be streamed? It is connected to the Internet outside?

Frankly, Xü Beijin’s first reaction was to recall those theories of the brain in a jar or the Truman show.

Perhaps they are performing on a shapeless stage, unaware that, behind the fourth wall that none of them can see, the countless audience are cheering on for them.

Perhaps their deaths, their struggles, their failures, their hopelessness… Are merely grand shows that the audience would applaud and would talk about for days to come.

Just look at them, the residents of the Tower. They’re all Acting already, aren’t they?

This sure is a possibility that Xü Beijin would despise.

He could accept that, under the Server’s orders and suppression, they are forced to act like NPCs and even be forced to hide this fact from the Missiontakers. He can treat the Acting as a mission themselves. A different pathway to escape, perhaps.

Yet, he cannot accept himself, and all the Actors and Missiontakers, being treated as monkeys performing tricks under someone’s arrangements, unaware of their conditions, weary and desperate.

Who is it that is acting almighty and controlling other’s fate? Who even deserves such a role? (TL: Since this point potentially conflicts with plot points that will be revealed in like, over a hundred chapters, I’ll just clear up right here that Xü Beijin cannot accept there might be humans outside that are treated differently to them, knowingly so, and still acting nonchalant about it; all he is willing to begrudgingly accept is that humanity as a whole has equally fallen)

Nobody!

Xü Beijin is sitting down quietly. His gaze is calmly, but also deeply aimed to the front, at nothing in particular. He knows the stream’s camera is pointed right at his face——Obviously, since he could see the screen right there.

Honestly, it’s almost a bit like looking at a mirror.

An invisible camera floating in the void is slightly uncomfortable, to be fair, but he decides to keep his thoughts to himself.

Brain in a jar, or the Truman show, or whatever else, are still only his guesses, or perhaps even delusions. He doesn’t know what’s truly going on outside. And the viewers… Really, there’s no saying whether they might be innocent or complicit.

Xü Beijin decides to be a bit more careful for now. Since the audience acts nothing unlike normal viewers, he’s already prepared to be like a normal game stream host.

And if, what he does does not cause the viewers any confusion… That must mean that the cultural entertainment outside, or at least, game streamers, are normal and accepted.

It’s hard to say whether that would be good news or not, though.

After mulling for a short while, he begins speaking to the viewers, with a normal speed and tone, “I didn’t greet you all at first to try to give you an impactful first impression, though, there’s always unexpected circumstances…”

“Hahaha I get it, I know, host, you definitely didn’t expect us to work out that you’re the perpetrator!”

Xü Beijin almost chokes. He is quiet for a moment before saying, “I’m not.”

The viewers are going “? lolol dont try to weasel out anymore, we got it already!”

Xü Beijin says with a slightly quieter voice this time, “I’m actually not.”

The detective dalao is going “…”

Shortly after, he gives a slightly awkward comment, “oh, ha ha. Ha ha.”

Every ‘ha’ belies an embarrassment from guilt.

His very confident reasoning now only makes him feel like burrowing into the ground.

Xü Beijin can’t help but smile and says, “now that the misunderstanding is cleared up and you saw me, then let’s continue spectating the other players.

Right, first, let me introduce the rules of the game for you. This is an Instance, but we call them ‘Nightmares.’ When players enter Nightmares, they have to investigate its situation, in order to resolve its owner’s… crux, let’s say. In addition to finding out the truth about the Nightmare.

The players’ actions in the Nightmare directly affects the ending of the Nightmare. There are three main types of endings. True Ends, Normal Ends and Bad Ends. Endings other than those three are rare, and all known as Special Ends.

At the same time, Nightmares also carry their own particular dangers. For example, in this Nightmare, the dolls all come to life to try to kill the players. Any players dying would result in the Nightmare restarting and the players resurrecting.

However, as the Nightmare is restarted over and over, the situation begins to deteriorate and it grows more dangerous. At the same time, information becomes easier and easier to access. Therefore, whether to resolve a Nightmare quickly, or to contend with danger to be able to gather more information more easily, is also a choice for the players.”

Xü Beijin gradually lays out the rules of Nightmares, skipping over the parts about Actors and the fact that ‘Players’ are actually real people that are going to life-or-death trials again and again. Also, he kept some information regarding the Tower, utility cards and Collapsed Nightmares to himself.

He assumed the role of a newbie streamer, and explained the main idea of the game as he expects a normal audience to interpret how ‘games’ and ‘players’ would.

The audience also seems to be receptive. They begin discussing as they come to understand.

“sounds like an interesting mystery solving/escape the room kinda game”

“I like this game! Working through the clues to look for the truth… sounds amazing!”

“so host, what kind of role are you?”

Xü Beijin answers, “after some players enter the game, they may end up with special roles.”

He is skirting by the limits of what the Server would permit him to say to try to hint at his situation as much as possible.

And the viewers do not fail his expectations, since the detective dalao did make a bunch of reasoning along the same lines already, so the audience quickly gets it.

“Oh, got it! The game really does sort the players into different stances. Different players possess different roles and learn different information in the beginning.”

“wow cool, but it sounds like its a big brain challenge”

“i feel like the host knows a lot more than the players? is that so?”

“They probably had different roles. The host said he has a special role as well, but it is because of this so he cannot explore and can only stay in the bookstore, I think?”

“and other plays come to ask for information from the host too… ur rly like an npc lol”

“not exactly an NPC, per se… I feel like it’s more an MMORPG like mafia or something, a player is the killer, a player is the detective, and a player is a witness, they all know different information from the start”

“I really want to play too, though I can’t find anything about this game online. Another host-exclusive game? Uwuwu I’m going to cry.”

Xü Beijin is reading everything the viewers are saying carefully, while thinking about how he should act and behave in the future so he isn’t busted.

Though the last comment makes Xü Beijin slightly surprised.

A host-exclusive game?

It is clearly an important piece of information to him, but given how Xü Beijin is now, not only must he not ask anything, but he even has to just nod nonchalantly to imply ‘right, that’s it.’

He is really frustrated inside, so to distract himself, he tells the viewers, “right, we’ll be looking over at the others now to see how they’re doing.”

How are the others doing?

Honestly, not well.

Starting from this sixth run, the dolls have crossed a threshold in their chase. Other than Lin Qin who still looks completely carefree, the three are all stumbling and barely making it along.

Fortunately, they did get out of the first wave alive and are now back on the first floor of the Dollmaker’s.

“We don’t have much time left. There’s at most a few minutes before the second wave starts,” Ponytail quickly says, “we have to decide what to do next.”

Quarrelsome says, “we still haven’t checked out the last room on the second floor.”

Glasses says, “that doll of the little girl disappeared after the dollmaker woke up, and the five-minute time limit was gone too. We should talk to Wu Shen again.”

Ponytail is also thinking while listening, and says, “I have to go to the bookstore again. I feel like he still has more information we haven’t found out yet.”

The spark she had right before restarting was triggered in her conversation with the bookstore owner. She hasn’t managed to figure out what’s wrong in that conversation yet, though, so she must go talk to him some more.

They then look at each other and quickly says in unison, “let’s split up!”

Ponytail then turns to Lin Qin and gives him a slightly ingratiating smile, asking, “dalao, can you help a little? I want to talk with the bookstore owner for a bit. Can you watch out for if the dolls are chasing after me? You don’t need to fight, only keeping an eye out.”

They really don’t dare impose on Lin Qin too much, because if he lost patience, he can just simply immobilise all moving objects of the entire Nightmare, people or not, and force the Nightmare onto a Special End.

Not just Ponytail, but all three of them feel like there’s hope for a True End this run!

Lin Qin gives her a glance and nods slightly.

He’s going to the bookstore anyway, and he can keep an eye out in the meantime too, or rather, he has to, so that he doesn’t end up troubled either; Lin Qin does not think of himself as the kind of demon lord that just screams murder and violence all the time.

Ponytail seems overjoyed and immediately rushes for the bookstore. Lin Qin is following behind her with casual steps, almost like a stroll in comparison.

Quarrelsome and Glasses both abandon their grudges and immediately rush for the second floor.

The doll of the little girl in a red dress is sighing inside as she carefully jumps off the display cabinet, and begins making her way up the stairs again.

It’s again the eyes she doesn’t like…

The doll, forced to Act again, is again climbing the stairs diligently today.