Soon.
Chen Yi and his companion had cleaned up all the bodies in Zhongdeng Square, leaving the scene spotlessly clean, a testimony to their professional skills.
"Let's go."
Just as Chen Yi was about to leave, he narrowed his eyes and halted in his tracks, peering at a chest that had suddenly appeared not far away.
The floor here had just been washed.
He was certain that there had definitely been no treasure chest here before; he had no idea when it had appeared.
A wooden chest, roughly the size of four stacked shoe boxes, with a few gemstones on top emitting a dazzling light.
And with the chest as the center,
a massive blood-colored pattern like a spider web had appeared at some unknown time.
It almost covered the entire first floor of the square.
"Yi..."
The Tuberculosis Rabbit swallowed nervously, "Didn't you just say what ordinary people lack is the ability to execute judgment?"
"So what kind of judgment should we give this chest, and then how should we carry it out?"
"..."
Chen Yi stood in place, staring at the chest in silence without speaking.
It was obvious that this chest was a product of the game.
To approach it and open it, there were only two possible outcomes.
A reward, or... a punishment.
At that moment—
The walkie-talkie on his chest suddenly transmitted the urgent voice of the captain of the Law Enforcement Bureau outside the mall: "What's happening in there?"
"A blood-colored membrane has suddenly risen around the exterior of the mall, just like an eggshell."
"It's rising at an alarming rate, about to envelop the entire mall."
"Hello? Hello? Can you hear me? Evacuate quickly, clear... the survivors... immediately..."
Just as Chen Yi was about to reply, the captain's voice coming through the walkie-talkie suddenly began cutting in and out, followed by a burst of static, and, shockingly, all that could be heard was the buzzing of an electric current.
At this moment.
A panel popped up in front of both Chen Yi and the Tuberculosis Rabbit.
'Ding, congratulations on discovering the Reincarnation Treasure Box, triggering a special event.'
'Players who open the chest will receive a reward.'
'When a player's fear level fluctuates between 70% and 100%, there is a 30% chance of obtaining a reward and a 70% chance of releasing a nightmare.'
'When a player's fear level fluctuates between 30% and 69.99%, there is a 50% chance of obtaining a reward and a 50% chance of releasing a nightmare.'
'When a player's fear level fluctuates between 1% and 29.99%, there is a 60% chance of obtaining a reward and a 30% chance of releasing a nightmare.'
'When a player's fear level is at 0%, there is a 100% chance of obtaining a reward, and the reward will double and crit.'
'Before the chest is opened, all present players cannot leave the site.'
'Players may only leave once the chest has been opened by a player.'
'ps1: This event can only be probability triggered in May.'
'ps2: When the death toll in one place due to violation of the May rules reaches more than 10 at once, there is a certain probability of this event being triggered.'
"Reincarnation Treasure Box?"
The Tuberculosis Rabbit was initially stunned, but a flicker of excitement passed through his eyes, "Isn't this chest specially prepared for you, Yi?"
Yi naturally had no fear, which he knew.
If they let Yi open the chest, wouldn't they be 100% guaranteed to get the reward?
Chen Yi also slightly raised his eyebrows, apparently surprised; such good fortune falling from the sky was unexpected.
And at that moment—
Footsteps were also heard from the second floor of the mall, clearly those survivors who had hidden on the second floor had seen the panel notification and were coming down to check things out.
He didn't hesitate at all.
He strode forward and opened the treasure chest, and in the instant the reward appeared, he didn't check it carefully but went straight to grabbing his tools and heading outside of the mall.
In the instant they opened the treasure chest.
The membrane that shrouded the outside of the mall also disappeared, and the treasure chest on the ground, along with the bloody patterns, vanished without a trace.
Everything seemed as though it had returned to normal.
...
Seeing Chen Yi and his companion come out safely, the team leader who had been waiting anxiously outside hurried over with a face full of worry and asked in a rushed tone, "What happened inside?"
"Nothing."
At this moment, Chen Yi had no desire to linger, wishing only to leave quickly and check the gains from the treasure chest. He brushed the question off, "Everything inside has been cleared. You guys can go in and check for yourselves."
"Oh, and don't forget to transfer the Points for this operation Into my account."
Players could add each other as friends and freely trade Points.
Having said that, he took Tuberculosis Rabbit, hopped on the motorcycle parked nearby.
A twist of the throttle, and he quickly left the area.
...
Meanwhile, inside the mall.
A man with narrow eyes and a shorter stature stood on the second floor of the mall, witnessing the entire process of Chen Yi and his companion leaving.
After a slight hesitation, he slipped into an unoccupied changing room on the second floor.
He picked up the phone and dialed a number.
"Boss, I've discovered something new."
"Just now, a panel popped up in front of everyone, saying something about triggering an event, with a treasure chest."
"Opening the treasure chest would give a reward, and it said the event could only be randomly triggered in May."
"Right, right, right, then I'll come to report to you in person right now."
After speaking, the somewhat short man stuffed his cellphone into his pocket and squeezed through the crowd, heading toward the first floor.
Those who still came to the mall on such days were either desperate for money or incredibly daring.
After the version update and the game's arrival.
The government ordered supermarkets crucial to people's livelihood to keep their doors open, and they couldn't raise their prices by more than 100%.
Most other shops, like restaurants and luxury boutiques, had long since closed their doors and hidden away at home.
After all, people valued their lives.
But... as the saying goes, the bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish.
The more shops that closed, the better business was for those still operating, and they could arbitrarily hike up their prices. The price of a wrench in the hardware stores had gone up 30-fold, yet it was still in high demand.
Such massive profits led many business owners to keep their doors open, despite the dangers.
Perhaps, in the hearts of most people.
There was the thought of seizing the opportunity to make a fortune.
This event would eventually pass, and by then, they could change their social status with the wealth accumulated during this time.
In fact, there were quite a number of people with this mindset.
Even during this period, there were individuals and funds massively bottom-fishing in the stock market.
A world of chaos.
...
Now back in his rented room, Chen Yi, having shed his outerwear and casually chugged a bottle of mineral water, sat on the sofa, looking expectantly at the system notification.
'Ding, congratulations on receiving the reward from the "Reincarnation Treasure Box".'
'Additionally, since your fear level was at 0% when you opened the box, the reward has been maximized.'
This was a reward for a special event.
It was also his first time triggering a special event, and he believed the rewards would not disappoint his expectations.