Cheng Tingyu put the badge back into his pocket and began to analyze the current situation: "We didn't find any tools to guide us in the bag. Judging by the footprints on the ground, we are walking from the bottom up." He pointed to the snow-covered mountain path, "There is only one mountain road around us. My suggestion is to continue along this road."
Her voice was very steady, carrying a reassuring strength. Just as Yu Wenran began to wonder if people from the desolate area were particularly resistant to the cold, he caught sight of Cheng Tingyu's eyelashes dusted with snow under her hat and her faintly blue lips.
Yu Wenran couldn't help but say, "Do you want to pull your hat down a bit? At least it would block the wind."
Cheng Tingyu smiled, reached out, and pressed down the brim of his hat. "Indeed."
The surrounding temperature was so low that she felt as if her lungs were filled with ice and snow. Instinctively, she wrapped her clothes tighter around herself, without thinking to adjust her hat.
Cheng Tingyu wondered, was it that she had truly neglected the cold-weather gear on her head, or was her own vision subtly resisting any possible obstruction?
The seven people who had fallen into the copy walked one step deep and one step shallow on the snow-covered mountain path. During this time, Cheng Tingyu even broke off a tree branch to use as a walking stick. When the others tried to imitate him, they found that breaking a tree branch wasn't as easy as it looked. Branches thick enough to be used as a cane were not short, and breaking them off would consume their already dwindling energy.
Cheng Tingyu noticed this, smiled, and broke off a few branches, tossing them to his companions.
Her actions could be considered as a confirmation of Yu Wenran's suspicions.
——This person from the desolate area, inquiring about work in the development zone, has extensive experience with side missions and excellent physical fitness. Although their appearance has changed, their stamina remains the same as before.
The reason Cheng Tingyu did this was partly because, after crossing over, her physical fitness had significantly improved, and partly because she seemed to be able to tell that the branch was more suitable for breaking.
This was not a direct activation of the "Mystic Eye" ability, but rather a certain influence brought about by the ability.
After walking on the mountain path for half an hour, when Yan Jiayu and Sun Xiaolin, who were traveling together, were almost too frozen to move their legs, Cheng Tingyu lifted his head and gazed into the distance through the wind and snow.
Through the swirling snowstorm, she saw the outline of a house.
Cheng Tingyu couldn't really understand the logic of building a house in a desolate mountain, just as she couldn't understand why her character in the game would go mountain climbing with her companions on a snowy day.
Sun Xiaolin, Liu Xuehong, and Zheng Ruinan, who were accompanying him, were all newcomers who had only been in the development zone for a couple of days. Especially Sun Xiaolin, as a rookie who hadn't even completed his induction training, his ability to adapt was quite poor. When he saw a place where he could shelter from the wind and snow, he almost burst into tears.
Yu Wenran felt a bit excited in her heart. Out of caution, before making a decision, she turned to look at the reaction of the "Xiaolu" from the desolate area.
The young person dressed in thick snow gear slightly raised their head, observing the three-story red brick house in front of them. From the moment they met Yu Wenran and the others until now, a smile had always graced their face, suggesting they were a very gentle and cheerful individual.
Cheng Tingyu: "This should be the place provided by the game for us to rest."
On such a cold day, without adequate equipment, camping outside is practically synonymous with freezing to death. Providing a shelter for travelers struggling to climb in the wind and snow seems very reasonable.
In front of the red brick house, a notice was posted:
Guide to Living in a Cold-Proof House:
Lost travelers can stay in the shelter. Rescue personnel arrive every five days to provide supplies. Please respect the house rules and keep the interior clean.
Note: The house keys are stored in the mailbox. Please return them promptly after use.
This notice, battered by wind and snow, had its writing somewhat blurred.
Li Junhui murmured, "Is this... a survival-type instance?"
Yu Wenran took the key and opened the door, and everyone eagerly entered the first floor.
Cheng Tingyu first took a quick look at the layout of the first floor. The kitchen and dining room were on the left side of the hall, the living room on the right, and the staircase in the middle. Behind the staircase was the washroom, and the entrance to the basement was right next to it. The entrance was only big enough for one person to pass through, and the inside was pitch black. Even a flashlight couldn't dispel the unusual darkness below.
On the coffee table in the hall, there was a noticeably yellowed piece of paper.
[Cold Weather Shelter Notice: To combat the severe cold, stoves are available for use on the first and third floors.]
Guests can socialize on the first floor, and guests can socialize on the third floor.
The bedroom is on the third floor. The bedroom is a place for rest; please go to the third floor when it's time to sleep.
When you are hungry, you can eat. Excessive hunger can lead to death. You may choose any area within the shelter to dine, but please exercise moderation while eating.
The cold-proof shelter has no double rooms, no triple rooms, no quadruple rooms; the cold-proof shelter only has single rooms. If you find that the bedroom structure does not match the description in the instructions, leave the room and do not re-enter for at least three hours.
Note: The required bedroom keys and fuel are stored on the basement level. The structure of the basement is shown in the diagram below. When entering the basement, please remain as quiet as possible. Do not turn back until you have successfully obtained the keys or fuel.
At the very moment she saw the beginning of the notice, Cheng Tingyu felt herself enveloped by a chill that could freeze her blood vessels, as if she were still in the midst of an icy, snowy landscape.
"Crack, crack, crack."
The sound of chattering teeth came from the crowd.
Liu Xuehong exhaled a breath of white mist, shivering as she said, "The indoor, the indoor temperature has dropped."
After entering the shelter, participants couldn't help but read the instructions. However, the instructions themselves contained a trap: as soon as they chose to read them, the indoor temperature would start to drop.
Cheng Tingyu stared at the paper on the coffee table. In her vision, the shape of the paper gradually became strange, revealing a collapsing and melting posture. The edges had already turned into liquid, dripping downward.
After about five or six seconds, a line of text that only Cheng Tingyu could see slowly emerged—
[The notice left in the hall of the cold-proof house possesses ** power.]
Cheng Tingyu: "…?"
Looking at the line of text, Cheng Tingyu felt quite complicated. She now knew that "Secret Eye" type players were prone to sudden death from seeing things they shouldn't. She hadn't expected her ability to be so considerate, automatically censoring the crucial parts. This added a new possibility of GG due to incomplete information, on top of the monotonous sanity-draining deaths typical for "Secret Eye" players.
Liu Xuehong began to shiver from the cold. He softly described his current feelings: "I feel my limbs have already become stiff. If this continues, we might just turn into ice sculptures."
Cheng Tingyu couldn't help but smile.
——Although the Cold Shelter instance did not provide participants with explicit task prompts, it continuously used the environment to guide their actions.
Because it was cold, they needed to enter the shelter, and because the temperature in the shelter was still insufficient, they had to go to the basement to find fuel.
It seems like a free choice, but every step is clearly arranged.
Cheng Tingyu smiled, "Since we've come this far, why not decide who goes to the basement first by drawing lots?"
As the only outsider in the group, Cheng Tingyu could easily have been pushed by the others to undertake some dangerous attempts. However, perhaps due to her background from the desolate area, no one showed any such intentions.
Yu Wenran and the others exchanged glances and finally nodded.
Liu Xuehong hesitated for a moment and said, "Although there is no obvious danger, I still feel uneasy. In this situation, it's best not to separate from our companions."
Cheng Tingyu glanced at him and said, "My suggestion is that four people enter the basement in sequence, while three stay outside on guard. We'll connect everyone with ropes to prevent any accidents."
Liu Xuehong found paper and pen in her hiking bag, cut out seven pieces of paper of similar size, then wrote the numbers one to seven on them, folded them, and let everyone draw lots.
Cheng Tingyu drew the number "2". The people going down with her were No. 1 Li Junhui, No. 3 Sun Xiaolin, and No. 4 Liu Xuehong.
When Li Junhui saw his number, his lips turned slightly pale.
Yu Wenran: "How about I switch with Xiao Li?"
Li Junhui Lu is a girl who wears glasses. She was a bit scared, but she still shook her head at her colleague: "No, thank you, Sister Ran."
——The dangers within the copy certainly aren't limited to what we see in front of us. Going to the basement to get fuel, relatively speaking, isn't too terrifying.
Cheng Tingyu and the other three tied their clothes from the luggage into ropes, binding them to each other's wrists, and one by one, they walked into the basement.
In the luggage, there were flashlights, but whether it was a hidden setting in the system that made participants navigate to the basement in the dark as much as possible, or the quality of these flashlights was simply subpar, they could only illuminate a very small area in front of them.
The staircase was very narrow, only about fifty centimeters wide. Wearing a thick winter coat, Cheng Tingyu descended sideways. With each step she took, the darkness grew denser. By the time she reached the thirteenth step, the darkness enveloped her like a cocoon, completely shrouding her.
The flashlight beam belonging to Li Junhui flickered ahead, appearing weak and blurry, and the distance between him and Cheng Tingyu kept widening.
Cheng Tingyu took a few more steps forward, then reached out to tug the rope on her arm, trying to sense her companion's position. However, with just a gentle pull, the rope seemed to have broken free from something and was easily retracted into her hand.
Cheng Tingyu looked at the obvious cut marks from a sharp blade at the end of the rope and slightly raised his eyebrows.
Normally, upon discovering that the rope connecting her to her companion had been severed by an external force, she would certainly have reacted in some way.
Running towards the place where there is light to meet up with Li Junhui is one option, but the presence of the break indicates that there is unknown danger ahead.
Cheng Tingyu lowered her gaze, lost in thought—if she were a bit more flustered..
Li Junhui is a resident of F0631 City. She grew up in this city, originally living in the central district, and only moved to the outer district after reaching adulthood.
If it weren't for the increasingly dire financial situation of her family, she would never have come to work in the dangerous development zone.
The darkness was like viscous seawater, enveloping Li Junhui and her flashlight together.
She clutched the rope tied to her arm, cautiously taking one step at a time downwards. Following the instructions on the note on the coffee table, she moved forward. On the wall ahead hung the key to the upstairs bedroom, and in the cabinet below, the fuel needed by the guests was hidden.
Because the note emphasized the need to stay quiet, Li Junhui didn't even dare to make too much noise while walking, for fear of disturbing the dense darkness around him.
One step, two steps, three steps... Li Junhui walked forward slowly, carefully remembering the notes. Each step was taken lightly, as were the steps of the others. The surroundings were so quiet that there wasn't a single sound. Apart from the rope held in her hand, she couldn't feel any trace of the others' presence.
In moments of fear, people tend to seek the help of companions. Li Junhui, who was walking at the front, tugged on the rope in his hand, hoping the others would come over quickly and stand with him.
She waited in place for a moment, and just as she began to feel uneasy, there was finally a response from the other end of the rope being pulled.
Li Junhui breathed a sigh of relief. After descending the steps, the basement space wasn't as cramped. She planned to wait there for a while and then retrieve the needed fuel once she had regrouped with her companions.
The instructions said not to go back, but they didn't say you couldn't look back. She couldn't help but slightly turn her head to see how far the others were from her.
Behind her, clusters of light swayed in the darkness.
Perhaps it was due to the unique environment of the scenario, but Li Junhui couldn't see the figures around him holding flashlights. However, even this faint glimmer of light was enough to bring warmth to his heart.
She waited in place for a while, but the distance between her and the ball of light did not shorten.
Li Junhui's body suddenly stiffened.
She clearly saw that the glowing orbs swaying behind her were not three, but four.
——Something had unknowingly slipped into their ranks.