Tan Xinger looked at Gu Jingyong, her eyes filled with confusion. She remembered Gu Jingyong mentioning that this was already his third time entering this instance. How did he manage to leave the previous two times?
"There should be a real escape door somewhere. We need to find it quickly," Gu Jingyong said, unable to explain everything to Tan Xinger at the moment. He walked to the railing and gazed at the distant buildings.
Now, only Qingjiang Tower remained, but there was no light screen visible above its rooftop from here.
The escape door wasn't on the rooftop of any of the financial buildings. That was the only conclusion they could draw.
"Are the strategies provided by the forums always correct?" Tan Xinger suddenly asked, looking at Gu Jingyong with a hint of doubt in her eyes.
"The strategies on the forums are posted by players after they clear the instance, available for purchase with circulating currency. However, the system avoids revealing hidden points within the instance. No player can convey all the information," Gu Jingyong explained, and Tan Xinger understood his point.
"Hidden points are the contents deliberately concealed by the system from players, such as the existence of both real and false escape doors in this instance. Yet no player could obtain such information in advance, right?" Tan Xinger looked at Gu Jingyong, who nodded slightly. He hadn't expected the hidden points in this instance to be like this. It seemed that he had found the real escape door in the previous two instances by luck.
"So, where is the real escape door?" Tan Xinger slowly squatted down, feeling like she had seen something that could be the key to leaving the instance.
"On the rooftop of the financial buildings," Tan Xinger gazed into the distance. It was evening, and the sky of the city was always so magnificent, with a large swath of red clouds dampening the horizon.
Standing by the edge of the rooftop, Tan Xinger, already slender, appeared even more fragile, as if she could be blown away by the wind at any moment.
"Xing Zi, it's windy. Don't stand there," Jiang Qiqi said, brushing aside her blown hair. She looked at Tan Xinger's silent figure, assuming that she was upset about not being able to leave the instance.
But her words unexpectedly jolted Tan Xinger awake. She turned around and looked at Jiang Qiqi with a bright expression. "Do you remember that gust of wind?"
"Huh?" Jiang Qiqi was puzzled, and the others also looked at Tan Xinger, not understanding what she was talking about.
"Last night, we waited until midnight and still didn't see the escape door on the rooftop. We were about to rest when I felt a strong wind, so I moved a bit and woke you up," Tan Xinger recalled, feeling that something was amiss. They had all chosen to huddle near the signal tower in the center of the rooftop because they were afraid of climbing zombies. That place was a cement platform about half a person high, so even if it was windy at night, it shouldn't have blown on their faces. At the time, they had just assumed it was a night wind and hadn't thought too much about it, but now she found it suspicious.
Tan Xinger approached the light screen, with Gu Jingyong following closely behind. Side by side, they stared at the escape door. After a moment, Tan Xinger slowly reached out her hand.
Everyone held their breath, watching Tan Xinger's movements. She inserted her arm into the light screen, feeling no discomfort as her arm disappeared into it. Instead, she sensed a faint breeze and suction from inside, as if enticing her to step in.
Just as Tan Xinger was about to retract her hand, she suddenly felt something was wrong. Her face changed drastically, and she tried to pull her hand back, but it was too late.
Gu Jingyong stood beside her, watching her actions closely. Almost at the same time, he noticed something was wrong with her. Subconsciously, he grabbed Tan Xinger's left hand. The next moment, both of them were sucked in by a tremendous force.
"Be careful!" Si Qiao shouted first, but it was too late.
Tan Xinger was completely sucked into the light screen, while Gu Jingyong held onto her hand tightly. Just when everyone thought they were about to be thrown into the zombie crowd, Gu Jingyong appeared at the edge of the railing.
With one hand grabbing the railing, he hung outside the building, holding onto Tan Xinger's hand. They were suspended outside the rooftop.
Si Qiao rushed over hastily, but as soon as he approached, he felt the suction force of the light screen. For safety reasons, he had to hurriedly retreat.
"Don't go over," Si Qiao's face turned dark as he stopped Jiang Qiqi, looking at the two hanging outside the railing with some confusion.
Tan Xinger snapped out of the sudden change, realizing the seriousness of the situation. She felt as if she were in dire straits, as there was nothing to hold onto on the outer side of the building. Below was a smooth glass surface, reflecting their shadows.
Gu Jingyong's right hand gripped the railing tightly, unable to move at all to pull Tan Xinger back. The back of his hand against the railing showed bulging blue veins, and his fingertips turned pale from the pressure.
"It's okay."
Gu Jingyong looked at Tan Xinger, whose face was turning pale, and reassured her, tightening his grip. He glanced at the light screen, his eyes filled with a chilling determination.
When Hu San and the others left, the light screen didn't have such a strong suction force. Who exactly was it targeting visibly?
Meanwhile, Si Qiao was trying to figure out how to pull them up. Unfortunately, their position was behind the light screen, and whenever they got close, they were sucked in. Without getting close, there was no way to pull them up.
"Take off your jackets," Si Qiao said to the others after assessing the distance.
Jiang Nan, who had been standing nearby, glanced at them and then took off a jacket from somewhere and handed it to Si Qiao.
"Thanks," Si Qiao said after receiving it.
"Just returning a favor," Jiang Nan said with a raised eyebrow, smiling, as he stood by with his arms crossed, watching their actions.
Si Qiao tied the jackets together to form a short rope, then stood aside and threw the rope towards Tan Xinger.
"Try to grab the rope," Gu Jingyong said, shaking Tan Xinger's hand and guiding her towards the rope.
Tan Xinger tried to control her fear, avoiding looking down, and reached out with her left hand to grab the clothes. After a few attempts, she finally felt the edge of the clothing.
"Wrap the rope around your wrist several times. I'll go up first," Gu Jingyong said slowly, watching Tan Xinger wrap the rope around her wrist, gently caressing her hand with his fingers.
Feeling Gu Jingyong's comforting touch, Tan Xinger felt less afraid. She took a deep breath and signaled to Si Qiao that she was ready.
Si Qiao adjusted his position, holding the rope with both hands by the railing, also nervously watching her actions.
In an instant, Gu Jingyong let go of her hand, and Tan Xinger swung to the left. She grabbed the rope tightly, hanging in mid-air.
After making sure Tan Xinger could hold on, Gu Jingyong pushed off the wall with his feet, then sidestepped the light screen and leaped over the railing, striding towards Si Qiao.
Seeing Gu Jingyong safely ascend, Tan Xinger breathed a sigh of relief. Her hand holding the rope felt tense and numb, but Si Qiao was slowly pulling up the clothes.
As they approached the top, Gu Jingyong leaned over the railing, his hands pinching Tan Xinger's shoulders to lift her up.
The moment her feet touched the ground, Tan Xinger was overwhelmed with excitement, almost wanting to cry. However, she held back her tears when she saw the others and just kept holding Gu Jingyong's hand.
Sensing Tan Xinger's unease, Gu Jingyong looked at her grasping his hand and didn't say anything, just standing there to comfort her.
Jiang Qiqi hugged Tan Xinger excitedly, almost on the verge of tears, and said with a trembling voice, "You scared me."
"It's okay."
Tan Xinger subconsciously let go of Gu Jingyong's hand and wiped away Jiang Qiqi's tears, the two of them standing close, becoming true sisters in adversity.
"Oh, what were you going to say earlier?" Gu Jingyong asked casually.
"Almost forgot the main point!" Tan Xinger was reminded by his words and hurriedly said, "I suspect the real escape door might be on the rooftop of the previous building."
"There? But we didn't see it," Jiang Qiqi said, not understanding. They hadn't seen the escape door at all, so how could such an obvious thing be hidden?
"It's just my speculation, but that gust of wind I felt earlier was similar to the one I felt when I was being sucked in just now," Tan Xinger said thoughtfully. The escape door led to another place, which was why there was wind coming out of it, a cold wind that was completely out of season.
"If it's really there, does that mean we have to go back?" Jiang Qiqi felt a darkness descend upon her when she thought about having to go back after all the hardships of escaping.
"We can only take a gamble. After all, the escape door isn't here," Tan Xinger sighed and suddenly looked at Gu Jingyong, her gaze direct enough to make Gu Jingyong unable to ignore it.
After a silent inquiry in her eyes, Tan Xinger pursed her lips and pulled Gu Jingyong to the side. "If my speculation is wrong, can you still come back?"
Seeing the trace of unease in Tan Xinger's eyes, Gu Jingyong knew that she had already surpassed her usual understanding of things. She started to worry about what would happen to herself if she died and was refreshed by the instance, and also began to worry about being trapped in an endless cycle of repetitions.
Gu Jingyong bent down slightly, meeting Tan Xinger's gaze squarely. The two pairs of clear eyes seemed to beat to the same rhythm, and both of them felt a strange tremor in their hearts, gazing at their own reflections in each other's eyes.
"Yes, if anything unexpected happens, I will definitely come back to find you."
Gu Jingyong spoke slowly, as if giving Tan Xinger time to react.
Receiving the affirmative answer, Tan Xinger breathed a sigh of relief, and the tension in her heart eased.
Ever since she found out about the role-playing instance, she had imagined herself as a player who failed to clear the instance. She even wondered if she could continue living in ignorance within the instance if she hadn't met Gu Jingyong.
But she quickly dispelled this thought. If that were the case, she would have become a soulless puppet. Meeting Gu Jingyong was like being given a knocking brick, a chance to break free from the shackles of the instance.
With this in mind, Tan Xinger suddenly felt a surge of determination. After casting a deep glance at Gu Jingyong, she pulled him back.
"What have you decided?" she asked.
"We'll take a gamble. Staying here is a dead end anyway," Gao Xin said deeply, with a hint of resignation in her voice.
"Then let's set off quickly. It's getting late," Tan Xinger said, glancing at the red glow in the sky. Darkness would soon fall completely, and she wanted to gather as much light as possible to prepare for the coming battle.
Jiang Nan had been like a ghost, but upon hearing they were leaving, he naturally followed suit.
Tan Xinger noticed he kept his distance, feeling a bit awkward. Apart from their initial eye contact, Jiang Nan hadn't initiated any conversation with her. It wasn't that he had forgotten her; he was intentionally ignoring her.
This suited Tan Xinger just fine. She didn't want any association with Jiang Nan, especially considering his affiliation with the Northern Union. She wished they had never met.
Sensing Tan Xinger's discomfort around Jiang Nan, Gu Jingyong casually walked over to stand between them. Tan Xinger didn't mind; she felt a subtle sense of relief, as if an invisible shackle had been lifted.
Gu Jingyong and Jiang Nan walked slowly to the back, their eyes cold as snow and a hint of a cynical smile, exchanging unspoken understanding when they locked gazes.
An invisible pressure seemed to clash between them, but it disappeared in an instant, unnoticed by anyone else.