CH 105

(I want to eat game!)

Bonus chapter (1/2) sponsored by poohbearpic79, Ko-fi Supporter, and Michelle. 

Anyone who has seen a horror movie knows that foreshadowing is essential in the early stages in order to be frightening. The dark and somber atmosphere, weird sounds, and flashing shadows are enough to make people pee their pants.

Alas! A single statement absolutely shattered the atmosphere that the game had worked so hard to create. The tentacles that were flopping everywhere now looked like squid whiskers no matter how the players looked at them.

The monster eventually emerged from the ground at this point. It appeared to have grown as it pleased, owing to the fact that there was no one else in the area where it grew up. It was horrifyingly ugly and bizarre.

The game immediately forced all players to go through a Sanity Check, but they weren’t scared of it; they just thought it was ugly. 

The game also realized that this type of damage was irrevocable, so it bluntly declared that the players had entered the combat round. According to the settings, the battle process was turn-based.

[Establishing attack sequence. The sequence is determined by the players’ Dexterity.]

[Attack order: Monster, Zhou Wenyan, Shen Dongqing, Detective, Doctor.]

[The monster decides to go after the doctor. It is massive but swift, and its tentacle smashes over.]

Screaming and rolling about on the ground, the doctor barely escaped as the tentacle brushed against her. When she turned around, she noticed that the tentacle had smashed a deep hole in the earth, causing the gravel to splash. At first glance, it appeared to be 100% fatal.

[Next is Zhou Wenyan. Please choose your attack method.]

Shen Dongqing raced forward before Zhou Wenyan could move.

The detective was stunned: “Hey, it’s not your turn yet!” 

“Is it really a turn-based game?” Shen Dongqing words came from afar.

The detective was startled and reacted as well.

They weren’t exactly playing a turn-based game on the computer. They wouldn’t be delivered to the monster one by one in the style of “calabash baby saves grandpa.” They could all play together here!

After figuring it out, the detective grabbed a weapon that the natives had dropped on the ground and rushed at the monster. 

Despite the fact that the photographer was a woman, she stepped up and tried her hardest to fight.

It’s a pity that these two individuals had poor combat power. They were seized by a tentacle and tossed aside before they could reach the monster.

The doctor, on the other hand, had been hiding in a corner for quite some time.

[You choose melee combat.] 

[Conducting Strength and Dexterity check.]

[Strength check successful. Dexterity check failed. The monster’s tentacles squirms and dodges the blow.]

The battle was in full swing, and the game was still broadcasting it in real time. It sounded like a buzzing mosquito, and its droning was quite irritating.

“Shut up!” exclaimed Shen Dongqing impatiently. 

Game: [No.]

The game felt proud of itself. It was always the game that was so enraged that it spewed blood. It was rare to be able to irritate Shen Dongqing, which gave it a feeling of accomplishment.

The Game was so easily satisfied.

[Check failed.] 

[You did not hit the monster.]

[Check failed.]

… …

The players on the scene could tell from the game’s continuous broadcast that this monster was rough and tough. Even if the check was eventually successful, the monster merely lost a small amount of blood. Looking at its massive size, you could determine right away that this thing’s health bar was probably two or three meters long. 

Su Xiaoying, who stood to the side, sneered: “Don’t waste your energy. This is an existence that cannot be eradicated.”

This was the first time Shen Dongqing had encountered a villain who was neither human nor ghost, and he was at a loss on how to cope with it. “Sure enough, this stupid game is messing with us,” he murmured as he glanced at the beast making menacing gestures at them.

Zhou Wenyan dodged to the side.

Currently, the monster couldn’t deal with them but they couldn’t deal with the monster either. 

Perhaps the monster stayed in the cave all year as a fat otaku, so it got exhausted after a while of moving and stopped to stare at the players present.

It seemed to be powering up its strength.

The expression on the monster’s grotesque face roughly translated — I’ll kill you all when I’m done charging up.

Su Xiaoying: “If you want to leave the ancient town, there is only one way. You must suppress this monster.” 

Shen Dongqing was slightly contemptuous: “Then you are too stupid. It took me two seconds to figure out another way.”

Su Xiaoying was taken aback for a moment: “What?”

“Kill it!” said Shen Dongqing emphatically.

Su Xiaoying: “Th, that’s impossible…” 

The doctor, who had been hidden behind the bushes the entire time, realized something was wrong and poked her head out to say, “You can use Double or Trouble!”

Double or Trouble.

When you were going to die due to a failed dice roll, you could apply for Double or Trouble. If you succeeded, you could receive twice as much reward, but if you failed, the penalty was harsh.

But what did any of this have to do with Su Xiaoying? In any case, the awful penalty would not be imposed on her. 

“You might succeed with Double or Trouble,” the doctor remarked, “There’s nothing else we can do.”

“That makes sense,” Shen Dongqing nodded. “Then let’s roll for Double or Trouble.”

Although he didn’t quite understand what Double or Trouble did, since the skill was available, there was no reason to waste it.

The game could lie about some things, but could not deceive the players according to the regulations. 

This was genuinely a game of chance. The dice determined everything, whether it was clue collection, fighting, or… a life and death crisis.

Ding—

A hundred-sided die was thrown.

Game: “Great success!” 

Vtfc Gbcudlcu abrrfv bea atf kbbvfc ralmx lc tlr tjcv ja atf rjwf alwf.

Ktf wbcrafg jqqfjgfv ab tjnf rfcrfv rbwfatlcu jcv vfrqfgjafis kjnfv lar afcajmifr, jaafwqalcu ab rabq atf kbbvfc ralmx ogbw mifjnlcu atgbeut atf jlg.

Ktf kbbvfc ralmx, tbkfnfg, klat atf yifrrlcu bo ugfja remmfrr, wjcjufv ab fnjvf jii bo atf afcajmifr jcv eialwjafis ragemx atf mbgf bo atf wbcrafg klat j “atecx!”

The monster screeched in agony. 

Then it rushed down the cliff at a rate that belied its massive size, the wooden stick in its body shaking. It appeared to be in extreme pain.

“Where did I jab it?” Shen Dongqing wondered.

Other players: “…”

“Think we won?” asked the detective, struggling to his feet. 

“Yes, it should be,” the doctor shrank back in the bushes.

Su Xiaoying was in disbelief: “How is this possible?”

The game was silent for a while before announcing: [Because the monster’s **** was injured and it was hit, he plans to return to the cave to be an otaku and doesn’t want to come out for a hundred years at least.]

[Instance cleared.] 

It obviously did not expect the instance to be cleared in this manner.

Shen Dongqing: “That’s it?”

So it’s gone?

The game also felt humiliated, and there was no sound after the outcome was broadcast. 

“Is it over?” the doctor said as she crawled to her feet. “What’s going on?” she asked, looking at her right hand, which still had sarcomas on it.

The detective, too, exhaled a sigh of relief: “We probably need to go through another cut scene. We have to take this lady out.”

Su Xiaoying: “I cannot leave. Please bring this to my family if you can.” She tossed a hair tie to the ground.

Detective: “What about you?” 

Su Xiaoying: “I have to wait for the next group of people.”

Following Su Xiaoying’s remarks, the group of locals laying on the ground wriggled and straightened up, eventually reverted to human shape and nonchalantly walked down the mountain.

Su Xiaoying transformed back into a tentacle monster once everyone had left, the tentacles divided, and Zhou Ah Ying walked out of it. She was the same as the other locals, standing there with a blank expression.

“Perhaps one day we can wait until we’re free.” 

Su Xiaoying then snatched Zhou Ah Ying and leaped off the cliff together.

Other players: ?

Why did they feel that their partnership had been played by the NPC?

Zhou Wenyan: “The instance is about to restart.” 

The detective hastily grabbed the hair tie from the ground and dashed out of the ancient town.

There was a loud rumbling sound behind the players after they left. A glimpse from the corner of the eye revealed that the back was being erased, returning to the way it was before they arrived.

Shen Dongqing: “Ah, apparently there’s no way to destroy this instance.”

The words were tinged with regret. 

Game: I’m so sorry.

The group soon approached the ancient town’s exit, and just as they were about to exit, two tentacles shot out of the darkness.

Because she was finally leaving this ancient town and had cleared the instance, the doctor was unguarded and taken by surprise by the tentacles wrapping around her waist and was dragged back.

“Help! Please help me—” 

The detective shuddered.

Will he be the next? After all, he had also touched the gold.

The detective dashed out, but the tentacles did not appear. He was about to leave the instance when he noticed Shen Dongqing remove the foot that was stamping on a tentacle.

The photographer remained and stated, “Thank you very much. I’m not sure if this camera will still be there when I return. Here you go.” 

The photographer quickly exited the instance after she handed over the camera.

Shen Dongqing: “Let’s snap a photo as a souvenir.”

Zhou Wenyan took a selfie of the two of them while holding the camera with one hand and hugging him with the other.

Click— 

The two people’s heads were close to each other on the screen, and behind them was the steadily rising sun following the restart.

[You’ve left the ancient town.]

[This is an unusual instance, and there are no bonus points. Special items dropped: [Polaroid*1].]

Shen Dongqing reached into his pocket and pulled out a camera with a pink and blue color scheme: “Polaroid?” 

The item’s description was written on top — an imaging camera. Anytime, anywhere.

Looking at it again, he noticed two photos within, which were of them from the instance.

Shen Dongqing: “It’s quite handy.”

He thought for a mere second before promptly snapping photos in the room. 

A knock on the door interrupted the shoot halfway through.

Zhou Wenyan walked over to the door.

It was Wu Jia. “I’m sorry, am I interrupting you?” he said, raising his hands.

Zhou Wenyan: “What is it?” 

Wu Jia: “We learned that Ghost City was about to open when you entered the instance. You can enter Ghost City as long as you are in the city when the ghost gate opens. So I’m here to remind you that you must not enter another in…”

Before he could finish speaking, the two people in the room mysteriously vanished. Wu Jia stood stunned and stiffly spit out the remaining word: “…stance.”

Wu Jia was dumbfounded.

How come they disappeared before he finished speaking? 

[You have joined a yacht.]

[The yacht will run aground in half an hour. Requesting all players to be prepared.]

Shen Dongqing was caught off guard, appearing on a small yacht surrounded by bluish-green sea and blue sky. The sea breeze was gentle, and seagulls fluttered above.

“What’s going on?” Shen Dongqing was at a loss. 

How could they get into a game when they were just sitting in the room snapping selfies?

Because of Shen Dongqing’s reaction, the players next to him mistook him for a rookie. A woman in glasses explained: “We’re in a game right now. We’re not filming anything, and we haven’t been abducted. Be cautious; if you die here, you’re truly dead.”

Although Shen Dongqing didn’t understand why Sister Glasses uttered such nonsense, he could tell she was a good person and said “oh.”

When the other players saw his unfazed countenance, they assumed he was scared silly. 

A man in a jacket said: “There’s still half an hour left. Let’s get to know each other first. After all, we have to put up with one another for a while.”

Nobody objected to this proposition, and everyone introduced themselves.

There were six people sitting on the yacht at the moment. Sister Glasses, Mr. Jacket, Tattoo Guy, Miss Long Skirt, as well as Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan.

Tattoo Guy was a newcomer. He cursed while speaking: “What the hell is this place? Run aground? Can’t this lousy boat be controlled?” 

“Try it yourself,” Mr. Jacket said, raising his chin.

Tattoo Guy got up and walked to the steering wheel of the yacht, but no matter how he turned it, he couldn’t control the yacht. It couldn’t be stopped, couldn’t be turned around, and kept moving forward.

“Fuck!” Tattoo Guy smacked the steering wheel, exclaiming, “Where are we going!?”

Mr. Jacket was too lazy to pay attention to this hot-headed newbie, preferring to take this opportunity to observe the surroundings. 

Surrounded by an endless sea and with no point of reference, it appeared as if the only thing in the wide universe was an insignificant yacht.

Tattoo Guy cursed for a long time, but when he saw no response, he had no choice but to shut his mouth.

After a short period of calm, there was an abrupt exclamation.

The players looked over nervously, thinking something had happened. 

“There’s a fish underneath,” said Shen Dongqing, scooping up a handful of sea water.

Other players: … Tattoo Guy scolded him: “Are you a moron? Isn’t it natural for there to be fish in the sea?”

“It’s a large fish,” Shen Dongqing stated seriously, sea water dripping from the gap between his fingers.

Tattoo Guy: “How big can it be?” 

Shen Dongqing: “It’s very, very large.” He added a description, “It’s bigger than the boat.”

“Such a large fish is unusual…” Tattoo Guy was mid-sentence when he realized something was amiss and slowly lowered his head.

The yacht had sailed into a rather gloomy sea area at some point. The vast expanse was indigo blue, but after a long look, they realized it was not the color of the sea, but of an enormous creature lurking beneath the water.

It was a massive fish, and it was swimming beneath the yacht. The yacht would be promptly overturned into the sea if it flipped over its body or something. 

Fear washed through the players.

This was not something that could be caused by ghosts or devils. It was a sense of helplessness in the face of nature.

Sister Glasses spoke softly: “Why is this fish so large…”

“Yeah, it won’t fit on the grill,” Shen Dongqing responded. 

Sister Glasses: ?

Tattoo Guy, who was quite arrogant just a moment ago, was now as timid as a mouse: “It, it, it won’t do anything to us, right?”

Perhaps the mood was too tense, so Shen Dongqing took the initiative to calm things down: “Let me to tell you a joke. Sharks do not eat humans, however they will take a bite for a taste. So the entire sea area is teeming with sharks, and every fish exclaims, ‘Bah! It’s not delicious.’ As a result, the fish devour the individual one bite at a time.”

“Haha——” 

Shen Dongqing was overjoyed.

But the other players didn’t get the joke at all.

Shen Dongqing blinked: “Isn’t it funny?”

Zhou Wenyan flattered him: “It’s funny.” 

Shen Dongqing snorted twice and said, “So this fish shouldn’t eat people.”

Simply said, after this incident, the atmosphere did not lighten, but rather became heavier.

Fortunately, this fish was only passing through and quickly swam away.

Only then did the players aboard the yacht dare to let forth a loud gasp. 

It didn’t take long for the players to become nervous again.

“There’s an island ahead!” Sister Glasses pointed to the front.

When the others looked, a touch of emerald gradually appeared before their eyes.

Perhaps because the yacht was about to arrive at its destination the pace unexpectedly increased. Despite hitting the beach, it surged over and did not stop. In the end, half of the yacht was stranded on the shore. 

No one dared to go down first, as the players exchanged glances.

Shen Dongqing was the first to disembark. He jumped right down and snatched up a hermit crab that was on the ground.

The hermit crab shot into the air, waving its feebly flapping claws.

“Can you eat it?” Shen Dongqing shook the poor hermit crab. 

Zhou Wenyan: “I have never eaten it.”

Shen Dongqing sized it up, compared it to the large fish that had just passed by, and set the hermit crab free.

The hermit crab that escaped the catastrophe turned a corner and quickly drilled back into the sea, leaving only a thin trace on the beach.

At this point, the game’s voice rang: [Because the yacht ran aground, you will be stranded on the island. Please find a way to leave the island.] 

Mr. Jacket jumped off the yacht as well, saying, “This time there is no time limit.”

In general, the game would have a time limit of three or seven days. If the game’s riddles could not be completed within this time frame, it would be a complete wipe-out.

Miss Long Skirt delicately clutched the skirt’s corner: “Oh! The scenery is beautiful here.”

Tattoo Guy’s mentality may have relaxed once he stepped on solid ground, breaking away from the fast-paced state: “I thought it was a game? Since it turned out to be leaving the island, let’s just build a bonfire and seek help.” 

“It won’t be so simple,” Sister Glasses said, pushing up her spectacles.

Tattoo Guy: “A man is speaking. Why are you, a woman, butting in? As long as we light a bonfire, passing airplanes and ships will find us and we’ll be able to leave at once.”

Mr. Jacket cast a chilly gaze at Tattoo Guy.

Shen Dongqing, who was formerly noisy, improved in comparison to the opinionated Tattoo Guy. 

But…

What happened to the two guys?

The remaining players looked around and discovered that they were both busy harvesting coconuts.

The players were rendered speechless. 

Did they think of this as a real island trip?

Shen Dongqing climbed the coconut tree quickly and efficiently, shaking it hard for a few moments. The mature coconuts fell to the ground with a “bam bam.”

He jumped straight down and fell into Zhou Wenyan’s arms after shaking the tree.

Zhou Wenyan hugged him tightly, then reached out and caressed Shen Dongqing’s unkempt bangs. 

Shen Dongqing smiled and kissed Zhou Wenyan before turning around and bringing two coconuts and a sharp stone to smash the coconuts apart.

They drank one at a time.

The wild coconut water was delicious. “Why did the game suddenly pull us into the instance?” wondered Shen Dongqing, taking a deep gulp and wiping his mouth.

“Wu Jia previously stated that Ghost City will only send invitations to players who stay in the rest area, and those in an instance will not be allowed to enter the ghost gate,” Zhou Wenyan said as he bit into the coconut meat. 

“So the game doesn’t want us to enter Ghost City?” said Shen Dongqing, sitting up straight.

Zhou Wenyan: “Seems so.”

Shen Dongqing held the coconut, murmuring: “But I still remember…”

The ghost from Ghost City told him when he was in the Life Science Research Company that he could enter the ghost gate no matter where he was. 

He felt the same way.

As a result, the game’s efforts were futile.

Shen Dongqing: “Somehow, I have this feeling that the game is scared.”

It was scared he would enter Ghost City, so the game had recently started playing all sorts of tricks on him, causing him to suffer losses in the game. 

Is there a secret in Ghost City?

Shen Dongqing tilted his head and thought for a while, but couldn’t come up with an answer.

“We’ll find out when we get there,” Zhou Wenyan said, rubbing his head.

Shen Dongqing was not the type to be paralyzed by doubts. He quickly pushed the concern to the back of his mind and cheerfully drank the coconut water. 

“I’ve never seen anything like this sea view.” Shen Dongqing buried his hands in the sand, enjoying the cool sea breeze.

“It’s pretty good,” Zhou Wenyan said, resting his hand on the shoulders of the guy beside him.

They just stared out towards the sea.

The players, on the other hand, were significantly less calm than the two of them. They searched the beach but came up empty-handed. The yacht couldn’t start and required repairs. 

It was absurd to rely on the yacht to depart the island.

Mr. Jacket was only able to take a few useful items from the yacht.

“It’s bad news. We don’t have much supplies, especially fresh water.”

Tattoo Guy: “Water? Isn’t all of this water in front of you?” 

Now no one wanted to pay attention to this idiot.

Freshwater and seawater were two very separate concepts. Drinking seawater without desalination equipment was a recipe for disaster.

Miss Long Skirt: “There are coconuts over there.”

There were several coconut trees growing along the beach. 

However, given the number of players, the coconuts would be depleted in two days.

Mr. Jacket: “We can only go deep.”

He counted the supplies on board: “We have only two bottles of mineral water, a lighter, a pack of cigarettes, and a pocket knife. That’s all.”

Tattoo Guy: “Go deep? You’re not going to stay on the beach for help? There could be a passing ship.” 

“Enough.” Sister Glasses grew cold, “If there is no air or shipping route around here, there will be no boats coming over till you die. If you want to die, I can see you off now.”

Tattoo Guy: “You’re a woman…”

Sister Glasses didn’t talk nonsense. She simply kicked Tattoo Guy to the ground with one foot, then patted the dust off her body and headed deeper into the island with Mr. Jacket.

Miss Long Skirt considered the two opposing sides and ultimately chose the one with more people. 

Tattoo Guy clenched his teeth and stood up, spitting in scorn, but he didn’t dare to stay here alone, so he had no choice but to join them, crestfallen.

A rain forest lay inland from the beach. Perhaps because they were scared of snakes, ants, and mosquitoes, Sister Glasses and Mr. Jacket, who were leading, were on high alert. Miss Long Skirt and Tattoo Guy, who were in the middle, were faltering due to their inexperience, emphasizing the extreme ease of the two men in the back.

Shen Dongqing’s exhilaration was at its peak: “It’s like Man vs. Wild! I want to eat game!”

Mr. Jacket curled his lips in disdain as his comments reached the front. 

This type of newbie, who was ignorant and arrogant, would almost certainly be the first to die.

“Bad luck,” he cursed quietly.

This time, he ran into four newbies, one of whom was an annoyance and the other three had defective brains.

The author has something to say: Young Mr. Jacket doesn’t understand anything…