TL: Welcome to the second of the new novels. This is an unlimited flow and you might recognize the author from novels such as The E-Sports Circle's Toxic Assembly Camp and This Omega is Immune to All Abilities. This is still an ongoing novel in the raws, but the author is really trustworthy and I felt confident picking it up.
I hope everyone enjoys!
Chi Ting struggled out of the huge dragging force and suddenly opened his eyes.
The dazzling and abrupt light seemed to pierce directly into his nerves.
He caught the vague outline in his field of view, and his first reaction was to directly stretch out his hand and tightly grab the thing's throat.
The fingers that were like iron pliers tightened suddenly and were about to twist with force. Then Chi Ting vaguely sensed something and finally realized what he was grabbing.
The person whose neck was strangled could clearly feel the strong killing intent directed at him and instantly sweated.
Then he felt the hand pinching him loosen slightly. It caressed the skin of his neck upward bit by bit, lifting his jaw and forcing him to meet this scrutinizing gaze.
In the next second, his head was firmly held in both hands.
At this angle, the overly slender and beautiful fingers could be captured in his field of view.
The strong killing intent from before was gone. Chi Ting just held this person's head in his hands and stared straight at him. There was a trace of confusion from his slightly furrowed brow, and he seemed to be confirming a very important thing. "You… look like a person, right?"
The name of the unlucky person whose head was being held was called Li Tao. He was originally curious about why Chi Ting never woke up and checked the situation. He didn't expect to be hit physically and psychologically as soon as they met.
…What did it mean to be a person?
The corners of Li Tao's mouth twitched slightly. "…Are you polite?"
"It is really a person. You are alive." Chi Ting touched this face up and down. He had a demeanor like he was studying an incredible thing. Then he looked around and raised an eyebrow in surprise. "So many people are all alive?"
Li Tao's face was hot from being touched. He managed to break free from the other person's 'ravages' and exclaimed, "…Are you sick?"
He was among the group of people who woke up earlier after being sent into the instance. He was initially attracted by Chi Ting's overly provocative appearance, which stood out in the crowd. He didn't expect to find that this person had some problems with his brain after a bit of contact.
Chi Ting didn't care about Li Tao's actions.
By this time, he had noticed the change in his environment.
The world he lived in was ravaged by a virus, and the last bastion of humanity had been completely overrun.
As a member of the core patrol guard, Chi Ting had been searching Earth for the last batch of surviving humans. Just before coming here, he was leading the team members to carry out the mission, but it was on this mission that his group was utterly wiped out.
The last scene in Chi Ting's memory was that he should've been sucked into a bloody mouth by the alien species with tentacles.
He didn't know what happened, but when he woke up again, he suddenly switched to this scene here.
No matter how he looked at it, the surrounding environment was like the apartment lobby in the peaceful era before the virus broke out.
The most important thing was that before his own team members were wiped out, he hadn't seen any other humans apart from his team members for a long time.
Was this the world inside the alien species' body?
Or was he already dead?
Chi Ting wasn't sure. Then after a simple count, he found out that there were a total of 12 people present, including himself!
It was definitely a pleasant thing to meet so many living people at once.
He almost forgot what it was like to live with living people!
But obviously, other people couldn't feel Chi Ting's good mood.
Just five minutes ago, they appeared out of thin air.
Surrounded by pink walls, it was charming and dreamy under the ceiling lights. It was just that the dead silence made the cute font of the words 'Love Apartment' on the wall look particularly strange.
In the depressed state of 'Who am I, where am I, and what happened?', someone was finally driven to the extremes of madness by this atmosphere little by little.
A man in the corner grabbed his head fiercely with both hands, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "Where is this place? Why did I suddenly come here… No, I have to leave…"
The man wasn't too far away from Chi Ting. Chi Ting stretched out his hand and wanted to say, 'What a coincidence, I was also sent over suddenly.' Just then, the man stumbled and got up suddenly. He looked around and rushed in a panicked manner toward the only small door on the side.
A girl was hit by him and screamed.
Someone gave a light tsk as if watching the show. His words fell into Chi Ting's ears. "It seems that there are many newcomers in this instance."
Instance? Newcomer?
Was it the special vocabulary of this world?
Chi Ting looked in the direction of the voice. He saw two people leaning against the wall not far away. Their arms were crossed over their chests, and there was a subtle expectation in their interested tone.
Judging from the way they communicated, they obviously knew each other. This comfortable appearance was somewhat out of place with the other people around them.
Chi Ting soon knew what the two of them were looking forward to.
The man rushed to the side door and was about to push it open. However, the moment he took a step, his movement abruptly froze like he was stopped by an invisible force.
Immediately afterward, a distorted expression due to pain instantly occupied his entire face. His hands, with bulging veins, fiercely grabbed at his throat.
The blood vessels in his body gradually expanded invisibly. The back of his hands, his neck, and his forehead were densely covered like a spider web…
Bang—!
Bang bang—!
The explosions that occurred one after another were like a small and bloody fireworks show. Thick plasma covered his hideous face along the cracked blood vessels.
The feeling of terror rushed to their heads in an instant. Someone retched violently.
A trace of regret clearly flashed on Chi Ting's face.
He just saw living people. How come he lost one so quickly? IT wouldn't be the end of the world here, so they would all die again, right?
He sighed deeply in his heart, but he was familiar with such an excessively bloody scene. He moved his gaze and continued to observe the surrounding environment.
Li Tao's face didn't look very good. Death often occurred before the game started if newcomers were present, but this situation was likely to increase the difficulty of other players clearing the game.
He secretly cursed the newcomer's fragile psychological quality. He took the opportunity to quickly determine the number of new players in this game.
After sweeping his gaze around, his eyes fell on Chi Ting again.
Chi Ting belonged to the standard appearance that was enough for both genders. He looked a bit cold when he wasn't smiling, but when he smiled, he always made people feel like a spring breeze due to the sincerity in his eyes.
His silky black hair was longer than the shoulders and casually scattered around his collarbone. This was accentuated by the unknown red stone hanging from the double-layered chains below the choker, making him look even more charming.
Unlike other players, his attention didn't fall on the corpse that exploded. He seriously looked at the decoration style of the apartment as if he wanted to engrave every inch of this lobby into his mind.
In stark contrast to the apprehension of the other players, Chi Ting's demeanor showed a signal everywhere—he liked this place very much.
It was the type he really liked.
"..."
Li Tao's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly became unsure. 'F*k, is this a bigshot?'
[Ding—!]
A sudden sound broke the dead silence.
[This is the Love Apartment, where everyone has love. You are welcome to join the Love Apartment, a warm and loving family. Please try your best to capture the NPCs and increase their favorability!]
The overly sharp mechanical sound was emotionless. This made the words of welcome even stranger and subtle.
For a moment, no one spoke. Everyone was listening carefully to the next content.
[Please note, the initial rules are as follows:
1. Carefully receive the favorability task during the game. Once received, it can't be revoked.
2. For all tasks that can increase the favorability value of the corresponding NPC, there is a probability that it will have a synchronous impact on other NPCs.
3. It is only when the favorability on the same floor reaches the green value that the upper and lower floors can be unlocked. Cross-floor visits are strictly prohibited.
4. Don't communicate with red-named NPCs. Those with poor neighborhood relations are dangerous.
5. New rules might be added at any time due to changes in the game's progress. Please always pay attention.]
[Finally, it is reiterated that any operation that forcibly ends the game will be severely punished.]
[—Please follow the rules of the game!]
Chi Ting listened to every sentence in the rules and glanced at the bloody corpse on the ground.
So this man ended up like this before he tried to forcibly get out of the game?
He blinked slowly.
He still didn't know why he came here, but he somehow felt that it was fun.
What Chi Ting didn't know was that at the same time as the initial rules were announced, a section called 'Love Apartment' suddenly appeared in the game classification list of a live stream platform.
At the same time, 12 live stream windows were simultaneously opened. Except for one of the interfaces that had been completely darkened, what appeared in each live stream room were the figures of the remaining 11 people in the instance.
Coincidentally, Chi Ting's smile was captured on the screen.
A few players saw a new instance broadcast and clicked in. Then they were directly hit by this beauty attack.
[F*k, I almost thought I had entered the face value category.]
[I came in directly after seeing the instance of 'Love Apartment'. He is smiling so innocently. It must be a newcomer.]
[What bad luck. I went around for a while. It seems that there are a lot of newcomers this time. It is estimated that the group will be wiped out again.
[This isn't the first time that Love Apartment has been opened, right? I remember that the highest completion level seems to have reached 40%?]
[It is the 11th time. The people in this instance have been wiped out 10 times! A bigshot should hurry to clear this level and share the strategy. Otherwise, I really will be doomed if I am matched to it!]
[Wait a little longer. If this time doesn't work, there will be a next time. There will always be a big shot on the leaderboard that eventually encounters it.
[Ah, it is a pity for the few people in this instance. I guess they will be cannon fodder again.]
[Not next. Check Li Hou next door. His ranking is 12,248th. Maybe…]
[The ranking of 12,248 guarantees clearance? Hahaha, I can only say that your wish is too beautiful.]
The people in the instance couldn't see the contents of the barrage.
PART 2
In the lobby on the first floor, the notification sound disappeared, and dead silence returned to the surroundings.
At this time, the existence of newcomers became very easy to distinguish. The group of ashen-faced people were almost indistinguishable.
Chi Ting had already noticed it before. Besides the cannon fodder brother from before, there should be at least three other people like him who were new to this strange situation.
For the two people watching the fun, it obviously wasn't the first time they had entered an instance.
After listening to the rules, one of the men went straight to the central counter and rummaged around. Finally, he opened a drawer, poured the contents on the table, and said, "Okay, come here and get your room cards. The game has officially begun."
The hard cardboard packaging that was dug out by the man had detailed names written on it. Several old players claimed it one after another. The remaining clueless newcomers also found their names.
Chi Ting got his room card and looked at it carefully with a bit of curiosity on his face.
It was worthy of something from the peacetime era. The access cards they used were all basic models with an extremely low security factor.
The man distributing the cards glanced over. He happened to see Chi Ting's room number and raised an eyebrow. "The 12th floor? That is just above me. What a coincidence."
He extended his hand enthusiastically. "My name is Li Hou. How about you?"
"Chi Ting."
The two of them reached out and shook hands gently.
A seemingly kind smile appeared on Li Hou's face. "How many times have you cleared an instance?"
From his perspective, compared to the frightened newcomers, Chi Ting had always behaved calmly and was undoubtedly enough to be labeled as an 'old player.'
Chi Ting smiled slightly but didn't answer. He instead asked, "Why don't you guess?
Li Hou: "..."
Li Hou obviously hadn't expected such an answer. His first reaction was that this person was being perfunctory with him. However, his words of dissatisfaction completely stopped the moment he met Chi Ting's gaze.
How to say it? In the process of communication, every smile of the person in front of him seemed to exude a strong kindness all the time. Combine this with his narrow and beautiful eyes, and there was even a hint of the illusion of affection.
It was straightforward and explicit, like teasing a favorite little animal, but it was also a very natural desire to make him happy.
Li Hou's heart unexpectedly skipped a beat. A thought flashed through his mind. 'D*mn, none of my previous girlfriends have looked at me with such eyes. This kid looks like this. He won't be gay, right?'
Chi Ting saw that Li Hou didn't answer for a long time and blinked doubtfully. "Aren't you guessing?"
Such an expression fell into Li Hou's eyes and, combined with his previous guesses, made alarm bells ring in his heart. He immediately lost the thought of continuing to test this person. "No, there is no need to guess."
Then he walked straight toward his companion without looking back.
Chi Ting instinctively pinched the red stone hanging under his choke with two fingers. Thoughtfully, his fingers tapped rhythmically one after another. This was his habitual movement when he was thinking.
Why did he feel like this person ran away on purpose?
Could he be that he hadn't communicated normally with humans in so long that he didn't perform well enough?
Just as Chi Ting was feeling puzzled, he heard someone shout, "The elevator is coming! It is an elevator!"
At this time, everyone realized that there was an elevator inside the side door that the previous man had wanted to escape through in a panic.
However, this discovery didn't make anyone smile.
After all, it meant that even if the man had managed to get through the door, there would be nowhere to escape to.
In the dead silence, everyone stepped onto the elevator one after another.
This elevator had a card-swiping mode. Only the corresponding room card could trigger the floor. This limited everyone's range of activities in a disguised way. According to the previous rules, it should be possible to open the permission to go to other floors after acquiring favorability from the NPCs on the same floor.
Starting from the 8th floor, players walked out of the elevator one after another after arriving at their own floor. The crowded space slowly became empty as the number of people decreased.
Some people started to talk as if they were comforting themselves.
"Ah, it is really unlucky. No one has seen the clearance strategy for this instance?"
"For this type of NPC-oriented game, it generally isn't too difficult as long as we don't violate the rules of the game, right?"
"We should just need to gain enough favorability to clear the level."
"But the higher the floor, the more difficult it should be. How many NPCs do you need to gain it from before returning to the first floor?"
"Woo woo woo, stop talking. I'm on the highest 20th floor!"
"There are only 12 of us. The lower floors below the 8th floor look empty. There shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Don't worry. If it is just pleasing NPCs, I am the best at this!"
After reaching the 11th floor, the man called Li Hou also got out of the elevator.
Chi Ting felt someone gently pat him. He looked back and found it was the first human he had met here, Li Tao.
He was caught off guard before, so he strangled Li Tao and touched his face. This meant Li Tao's mood was very complicated when he faced Chi Ting again.
He felt that Chi Ting was strange, but he still chose to whisper, "That person just now is called Li Hou, right? You should pay attention to him. Li Hou and his companion gave me a very uncomfortable feeling just now. There are many people in the world who won't hesitate to step on the corpses of others in order to survive. My personal skill allows me to feel the malice in others. Believe me, stay away from them, and don't be taken advantage of."
"Thank you for the reminder." It wasn't known if Chi Ting listened to the advice. He just blinked and replied, "Your skill is quite useful. The fact that you suddenly reminded me of this means that in your eyes, I should be…"
Li Tao hadn't expected Chi Ting to be so keen and paused slightly. "..."
He might have nothing bad to say, but this person clearly wasn't normal anywhere, okay!
Li Tao had experienced a few instances before this. However, this was the first time he saw a person like Chi Ting in the unlimited world, who was kind to everyone.
This kindness was so radiant that it almost blinded him due to his personal skill!
Li Tao cleared his throat and changed the topic. "In short, you just need to remember that my name is Li Tao, and I live on the 15th floor. After you open the activity permission, you are welcome to come and visit me."
Once he finished speaking, he pointed to the elevator doors that opened again.
"Okay, see you later." Chi Ting smiled and waved to Li Tao. Then he walked out, strides long due to his long legs.
The elevator doors closed behind him, and it continued to move up.
The 'click' of the machinery gradually got far away, and the surroundings became quiet.
It was so good that he could get to know so many people at once. He would definitely work hard to be kind to people in the future!
With this thought, Chi Ting put his hands in his trouser pockets and observed his surroundings.
He was very satisfied with his adventure so far, but his long-term experience of surviving in the apocalyptic environment made him habitually want to grasp all the details.
This should be a very common apartment design in peaceful times. There were three families on one floor. The 1202 he lived in was in the most central position. Room 1201 was on the right, and there was an aisle on the left. After passing through it, he could see the other Room 1203.
The people living here should be the good neighbors he needed to capture.
Chi Ting wasn't in a hurry to return to his 'home.' He scanned around before pushing open the door next to the elevator room that was marked as the 'safety exit.'
Just like with any regular apartment design, this was a staircase leading to the upper and lower floors. Apart from the pink color that was the same as the lobby on the first floor, everything was very normal.
There were even several empty cardboard boxes piled up in a corner. They looked like garbage that hadn't been picked up yet.
Chi Ting touched his chin and habitually confirmed the escape route he would choose in case of an accident. He was about to turn around and leave when suddenly, a childish female voice was heard.
In such a quiet environment, it was enough to raise a chill in an instant.
"Brother, have you seen my doll?"
Chi Ting looked up and found that a little girl had appeared at an unknown time at the entrance of the stairs leading to the 13th floor. She wore a delicate and beautiful Lolita-style dress, making her look like a realistic doll.
The little girl met Chi Ting's eyes and showed a sweet smile. Then she asked again. "Brother, I lost my doll. Can you help me find my doll?"
At the same time, Chi Ting heard a 'ding-dong' sound in his mind.
He already had the experience of the lobby on the first floor, so he easily realized what was happening.
Sure enough, a virtual interface was immediately displayed in front of him.
[Task name: Find the doll.]
[Task introduction: Gloria on the 13th floor is a little girl who likes to collect dolls, but she accidentally lost her doll. Can you help her get it back?
Task reward: Gloria's favorability +20.
Hidden effect: Unknown (???).
Do you want to accept the mission? Yes or no.]
The few people in the live stream room, who saw Chi Ting exploring the map in advance and thought that this newcomer had some potential, were also stunned at this moment.
[Is this Gloria? What type of opening is this?!]
[Fortunately, it doesn't look like they live on the same floor.]
[Is this okay? It is over as soon as he accepts the task!]
[Perhaps. Or he might refuse.]
[Hehe, when you were a newcomer, could you withstand the temptation when an NPC sent a task to your door?]
[…You're right. I couldn't.]
Just as several players in the live stream room were sweating, Chi Ting's eyes lingered on the content of the panel for a moment. He recalled the initial rules heard on the first floor before looking up at the expectant Gloria with a kind smile.
Under such clear kindness, the live stream room was filled with 'it's over.' Gloria also seemed to have a hunch, and the corners of her mouth curved up even more.
The next second, she heard the other person's answer.
Chi Ting's expression was sincere and full of apologies. "I'm sorry, I can't. I am too busy. You can find a way to find it yourself. Be obedient, and I will definitely bring you candy to eat in the future."
Obviously, she never expected such an answer. The girl's smile froze together with the barrage in the live stream room.