As Alger slowly moved the flashlight upward, the light in his hand suddenly went out.
Eerie winds whispered in his ears, reminiscent of the wails of ghosts.
The ticking sound on the wall had ceased at some point, and a chill gradually crept over his body from all sides.
"What... what did you do!" the woman exclaimed, about to turn on her flashlight.
Suddenly, she heard a "clang!" behind her, as the door that was originally wide open was suddenly shut by an invisible hand.
Her scalp tingling, she heard laughter.
Childish laughter.
Like tinkling bells, clear, pure, as if frolicking in the park.
She lowered her head slightly and saw a little girl in blood-red clothes staring at her, her eyes swirling like blood-colored vortexes, a cold smile playing on her lips.
"Big sister," the little girl's voice echoed in her ears, "do you like picking mushrooms?"
With that, she began to hum the nursery rhyme "The Little Mushroom Picker," each note sounding eerily unsettling.
...
[The Little Mushroom Picker
Carrying a basket of bones on her back
At night, barefoot, she walks through the graveyard and hills~]
...
"Damn, this is so creepy," the barrage began to flood in.
The woman's feet seemed to be rooted in place, as if she were stuck, her teeth chattering as she tried to flee the room. Her body, however, seemed uncontrollably glued to the spot, her eyes fixed firmly on the eerie little girl.
And in the next moment, a circular light shone forth.
The boy holding the flashlight looked over solemnly, his hand pressing against the wall.
A "click" sound.
The laboratory lit up.
The eerie scene in front of them vanished instantly, and at the same time, the woman finally saw on the wall the smeared blood palm prints and the dark liquid, creating a graffiti-like scene. Traces of blood dragged from the top to the bottom, as if forcibly dragging a body from one side to the other.
Meanwhile, several bodies lay in the corner, although she couldn't figure out why they didn't smell. But the sudden appearance of the bloody scene in her field of vision immediately turned her complexion extremely pale. The thought of staying in such a room for so long made her tremble all over.
"That... just now was..."
"Who knows," Alger said as he switched off the flashlight. "It seems that triggering the switch for this light is the condition to progress— you can go now."
He pointed to the door on the other side of the laboratory, sunlight streaming in at an angle from outside, indicating a way out.
"Me? Go out? What about you?" the woman hesitated in her steps.
"I need to investigate further," Alger said, walking towards the corner where the gruesome bodies lay.
The woman reached the door, hesitating for a moment.
[Player ( Yurou )has requested to add you as a friend.]
Suddenly, a message popped up in his field of view.
Alger accepted it and then promptly blocked the friend request to avoid distractions during his investigation.
"I'm not usually like this... I'm just afraid of ghosts and the like, but I'm confident in combat," Yurou said, clutching her clothes. "You saved me just now, so if you want to team up later, it's not impossible..."
She glanced at the boy squatting in the corner, inspecting the bodies, and waved at him without lifting her head.
...
[Goodbye.]
...
Yurou He understood the implications.
Her face flushed with anger and embarrassment, she gripped her partially melted dagger and left without further ado.
...
Watching Yurou finally leave, Alger lowered his head and began examining the bodies.
[How did the streamer suddenly seem so formidable, fearless of everything... I wonder what kind of feedback the streamer received in the newbie phase.]
[The streamer is such a typical guy, dismissing the girl who came up to him.]Barrage comments floated across his vision.
"This isn't a galgame; there's no affection system," Alger commented as he examined the bodies.
[You've discovered an item (gruesome corpse). Do you want to begin investigation? (Investigation results are associated with spirit and intelligence.)]
[*You've obtained clues One, Three, and Six (dark black blood) (fresh mushrooms) (crimson marks on the wrist).]
[Clue One - Dark black blood: Strange-colored blood, best not to touch directly—unless you're really thirsty.]
[Clue Three - Fresh mushrooms: Snow-white all over, thick mushroom caps. They look delicious and would be good supplies in the apocalypse.]
[Clue Six - Crimson marks on the wrist: Doesn't seem to be drawn on, could it be a special tattoo?]
[Clues have been recorded in the clue column and can be viewed at any time. (Subsequent clues will form connections, leading to speculations. Speculations can be used in "Final Inference.")]
...
[Hint: You are gradually approaching the truth.]
[Received exploration points 10*3]
After this unexpected joy, Alger put the cup of purple liquid in his backpack and then paused to consider. He temporarily ended the live stream and summoned a clone using the magic he had regained.
He initially thought that the clone would be like a remote-controlled car, with his main body just giving commands. However, when he actually sent out the clone, he found that both shared the same senses, and he needed to consciously control the view. It felt like having two identical versions of himself, causing some dizziness.
The shared sensations made him dizzy, and he quickly retracted the clone, ensuring that he could think clearly. He now understood what the "attention" in the skill description meant. It seemed that at this stage, simultaneous attacks by both him and the clone on a target wouldn't be possible.
...It looks like he would need to focus on increasing his mental attributes in the future.
He resumed the live stream and walked out through the door, greeted by the sun shining on his face. Today marked the first day of survival, and the apocalypse had not yet begun. According to his shadow judgment, it was currently noon.
This was the periphery of the laboratory, surrounded by high gray-white walls and erected iron railings. Several guards lay on the ground with clear wounds on their necks—obviously Yvonne's handiwork. She had a dagger and displayed considerable skill.
It was best not to deal with these bodies if unnecessary, Alger thought, and proceeded along the road.
Upon reaching the city's interior, he roamed around for a while. He noticed that food prices in the city were significantly higher, but mushroom-based food items were unexpectedly cheap. Logically, this shouldn't be the case because the news had informed him that treating a certain disease could only be done with mushrooms. Given people's behavior of hoarding during crises, mushroom-based food items should have been sold out.
The current issue for players should be the food crisis. Alger stood by the supermarket for a while and observed many people who seemed dejected, likely players who could only afford mushroom-based food.
...Because they didn't have enough money, only the initial capital provided by the system, and the system store didn't sell local currency or food.
Alger bought a few loaves of bread with all his initial funds, enough for only two meals, and avoided mushroom-based food items.
[You've obtained items (sealed meal pack) *2]
[(Sealed meal pack): Poor-quality meal pack, perhaps only chosen by the poor or students.]
Alger felt that he was fulfilling the role of a student quite well.
He followed the crowd to the talent recruitment market, but after inquiring, he found out that the market only hired locals—meaning that players had no means of earning money through normal channels here.
...
[System: You have a video call request.]
Alger accepted it, and suddenly, a display panel appeared in front of him. Yvonne was watching him through the video call.
"I suppose you've noticed the current situation," she said. "What's your plan?"
"As you can see," Alger replied, sitting on a park bench with his bread. "Eating bread and sleeping in the park?"
"Eating bread and sleeping in the park?" Yurou frowned. "Is that all you've got?"
"You seem to have overestimated me," Alger chuckled. "I'm just a student."
"Hmph..." Yurou gave him a skeptical look. "The park isn't safe; I've already seen several groups of marauders. They're all six-person player teams who gather from the beginning, targeting lone individuals to steal their food and money."
"Expected," Alger said. "I can imagine people making such decisions."
"...Aren't you planning to move?"
"A very practical reason—no money."
"Ping!"
Alger heard a notification sound.
[Friend (Yurou ) requests your current coordinates.]
"I just sold the dagger and have some spare money. Where are you? I'll bring you some." Yurou stared at him intently.
"Haha... no need." Alger waved his hand—this woman really had a sense of obligation, even if he had angered her once: "I've already found a place nearby where I can stay safely."
"What?" Yurou didn't catch on.
The next moment, she saw through the video chat, behind the still-smiling teenager, several figures wielding weapons appeared. The clubs in their hands were aimed straight at Alger's head!
[——HP-300! (Weak point strike, full force blow!)]