The note on the coffee table only contained descriptions of the first and third floors. As for the second floor, it was completely blank. Initially, everyone was puzzled as to why the note skipped over the second floor, but they soon understood the reason through their actual exploration.
On the second floor, there were ten locked doors, each with a corresponding number. Other than that, there was nothing else worth exploring.
Cheng Tingyu: "Besides the place we came up from, there are no other stairs. The way to the third floor should be behind the door."
Zheng Ruinan mustered up the courage and said, "So, are we parting ways here? Should we open a door and take a look inside first?"
As soon as she finished speaking, someone voiced an objection.
Liu Xuehong: "The hint emphasized single rooms. Would going to a bedroom that doesn't belong to you count as breaking the rules?"
The participants looked at each other, momentarily unsure of what to do.
Yu Wenran asked for advice, "Xiaolu, what do you think?"
Cheng Tingyu, who hadn't forgotten her current identity setup, smoothly picked up on her new name. Her natural demeanor made others believe she was really surnamed Lu. She smiled and said, "As for me, anything is fine."
The others were still a bit hesitant, but Cheng Tingyu, already feeling somewhat sleepy, directly used the key to open the door.
Yan Jiayu was shocked: "Aren't you afraid something might go wrong?"
Cheng Tingyu's smile didn't change at all as he calmly said, "In a place like this, being afraid won't prevent something from happening."
Yan Jiayu: "..." It was logical and well-founded, leaving no room for rebuttal.
Cheng Tingyu opened the door, and sure enough, there was a staircase behind it.
Cheng Tingyu paused for a moment, turned to look at the others, and said slowly, "When I was studying in the past, I once learned a principle."
——Of course, there are schools in the desolate area, but they are not as formal as those in the city. To avoid giving himself away in the details, Cheng Tingyu used a somewhat vague description here.
Yu Wenran and the others suddenly felt a tightness in their hearts upon hearing her words.
Cheng Tingyu glanced around, his expression slightly more serious, and said word by word, "There is no linear term of speed in the energy. The rotation of the reference frame causes an additional term in the energy that depends only on the coordinates and is proportional to the square of the speed."
If at first everyone was serious, now they were bewildered, wondering what on earth you were talking about.
"..."
Cheng Tingyu did not explain further. He simply smiled and waved to the others, then walked up to the third floor via the stairs inside the door.
The remaining people hesitated for a moment, but even while standing, the drowsiness grew stronger. Feeling his eyelids becoming heavy, Yu Wenran made a decision: "Let's go take a look too."
As a copy that has "deadly" written into its design concept, the cold-proof house clearly does not need to consider the living experience of its occupants at all—the stairs on the second floor lead directly to the corridor on the third floor. However, the entrances to these stairs are completely separated, but once on the third floor, the exit positions are reconnected.
Cheng Tingyu stood at the exit of Gate No. 2. To her left was the entrance to Staircase No. 1, to her right was the entrance to Staircase No. 3. In front of her was the corridor window, and behind her was the bedroom door.
Different bedroom doors had numbers on them. Cheng Tingyu didn't wait for anyone else and directly opened the door to his room.
The temperature in the bedroom was as cold as the unlit hall.
Cheng Tingyu found the stove, poured fuel into it, and the orange-red flames flared up, dispelling the unnatural chill in the room.
After tidying up the temporary residence in the instance a bit, her figure was already somewhat unsteady, and her eyelids felt as heavy as if they were weighed down by lead.
Before truly falling asleep, she forced herself to focus and briefly took in her bedroom surroundings.
In the bedside table with the lamp, there was a silver dagger engraved with the words "Exorcism."
Cheng Tingyu glanced around, placed the dagger in his sleeve, lay down with his clothes on, and fell into a deep sleep.
Second floor.
"Jie Wenwen..."
Yu Wenran: "Go rest first. Since the waiting time is a full five days, the first day should be relatively safe."
After a while, Zheng Ruinan finally nodded, whether convinced by his colleague or simply unable to resist the overwhelming drowsiness any longer.
Liu Xuehong yawned, "We live next door, so if anything happens, we can help each other."
——Although his opinion might not be feasible, it at least provided some reassurance.
Zheng Ruinan walked up to the third floor along the stairs. He breathed a slight sigh of relief upon discovering that the corridors on the third floor were interconnected, and then he opened the door to his own room.
The room was not large, but it was exquisitely decorated. The only thing that disrupted the cozy atmosphere of the bedroom was a heavy wooden stick with a metal casing on its surface. No one knew who had placed it by the bedside. In a daze, Zheng Ruinan picked up the weapon, hugged it to his chest, and fell onto the bed, falling asleep in an instant.
——They had walked in the snow for more than half an hour and then fussed around the first floor and basement for so long. Zheng Ruinan originally thought he would be so tired that he would sleep until dawn.
However, just at midnight, she was startled by a trivial, strange noise and sat up straight in bed.
The fireplace had gone out at some point, and the bedroom was as cold as if it were filled with wind and snow.
She hurriedly rekindled the stove, and the orange-red flames leapt up high, scorching the wallpaper. The wallpaper, adorned with intricate patterns, began to melt from the intense heat, and the original designs started to dissolve like candle wax.
There was originally an oil painting on the wall, depicting a forest landscape.
Under the reflection of the firelight, the forest in the painting became distorted, as if it had sunk from the land into the deep sea. Black branches squirmed and stretched, extending outward bit by bit, almost about to burst out of the painting.
Zheng Ruinan gritted his teeth and cursed, "Damn it," then rushed out the door.
However, the branches spread faster than she had imagined, and in an instant, they had already reached her feet.
Zheng Ruinan picked up the wooden stick and struck the strange branch heavily. With a crisp sound, the branch split in the middle, and from the broken cross-section, black-green sticky sap began to ooze out.
She stumbled and almost rolled out of the bedroom. Just as she reached the hallway, out of the corner of her eye, Zheng Ruinan caught a glimpse of a dark shadow passing by.
That shadow had no human form; instead, it resembled a mass of sentient tar.
The dark figure rapidly approached Zheng Ruinan. Terrified, she raised the wooden stick in her hand and struck the monster with all her might.
A dull sound echoed through the long corridor.
Cheng Tingyu did not sleep well that night.
Countless bizarre and fantastical scenes flashed through her mind, with light and shadows appearing and disappearing around her, seeming both real and illusory. Everything seemed to be enveloped in a flowing stream, making it hard to discern clearly.
Cheng Tingyu felt as if she had sunk into the water, yet strangely did not feel suffocated. Though she did not open her eyes, she could sense the ancient and profound atmosphere unique to the deep sea surrounding her.
"Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock..."
Cheng Tingyu, lying in bed, suddenly opened her eyes. She turned over and sat up, her gaze clear, showing no trace of sleepiness.
The light belonging to the daytime seeped through the crack in the door—it was already the second morning.
"Night is dangerous, day is safe" seems to be an ingrained subconscious belief in people's hearts. Even when inside a game instance, as long as the surroundings are well-lit, participants feel more at ease.
Cheng Tingyu gently opened the door.
The anticipated door ambush did not occur. Cheng Tingyu realized that, compared to the others, she was actually the one who got up the latest. By the time she came out, Yu Wenran and the others had already gathered in the hallway.
"..."
There were four living people and one corpse.
Yan Jiayu, who could barely hold on the day before, was now trembling with fear: "Yesterday it was Xiao Sun and Xiao Zheng, is it my turn today?"
Cheng Tingyu's gaze swept to the central area, and then he let out a gentle sigh.
The body surrounded by the crowd was none other than Zheng Ruinan.
Her expression was one of terror, her body covered in scars, as if wounded by a sharp blade.
However, strangely enough, no blood flowed from those wounds.
When Cheng Tingyu walked over, Yan Jiayu saw her and took a small step back in fright.
A certain unsettling silence hung over the crowd. After a long while, Yu Wenran finally spoke, "We can't just leave it like this. Let's... tidy up for Xiao Zheng first."
Cheng Tingyu said, "I'll do it." Then he squatted down, reached out to smooth Zheng Ruinan's hair, and gently closed her eyes.
As an ordinary college student, Cheng Tingyu had never done anything like this before, yet at this moment, he strangely did not feel much fear.
Humans are indeed a species with incredibly strong adaptability.
At this moment, Yan Jiayu could no longer hold back the words hidden in his heart: "The development zone was fine, but as soon as you arrived, we triggered a side quest... What exactly are you here for?"
Cheng Tingyu couldn't help but laugh: "The development zone was fine to begin with? Are you sure?"
Yan Jiayu was speechless—as a long-time employee with seniority, he was well aware of the dangers of this place.
However, they were not those laborers from the desolate areas; in most cases, there was still a certain degree of safety.
Yan Jiayu closed his mouth, his body trembling slightly. His walking posture was somewhat awkward, as if he couldn't freely control his limbs.
Cheng Tingyu's gaze fell on him: "What's wrong with you now?"
Yan Jiayu mumbled, "The one who was attacked last night..." Suddenly realizing, "You don't know either?"
Cheng Tingyu immediately understood the meaning behind Yan Jiayu's words—last night, it wasn't just Zheng Ruinan who was attacked; Yan Jiayu had a similar experience. However, relatively speaking, there were also some people like her who slept soundly until dawn.
Yu Wenran took a deep breath: "Last night at midnight, both my room and Xiao Yan's room underwent some unsettling changes, so we had to hide in the corridor, and then we were attacked by monsters."
Li Junhui said, "But Brother Liu and I haven't encountered these things."
After everyone exchanged information, they all felt a bit enlightened.
Cheng Tingyu, Li Junhui, and Liu Xuehong, along with the already deceased Sun Xiaolin, were the four who went down to the basement on the first day. Perhaps because they had already encountered danger, the monsters did not come for them that night.
By now, everyone in the team had encountered danger at least once.
Yu Wenran was somewhat at a loss. She remained quiet for a moment before suggesting, "What should we do next?"
Cheng Tingyu: "Just like yesterday, take the people outside first."
Yu Wenran looked at Zheng Ruinan on the ground. Amidst his reluctance, he also felt a growing numbness from slowly getting used to it.
Life within the city was so safe that she gradually forgot about the vast, desolate area outside.
Every day, new scenarios are born in this world, and every day, people are drawn into them, though they rarely encounter each other.
After the group took Zheng Ruinan out, they discovered another strange thing—
Li Junhui's face was even paler than the snow on the ground: "Did any of you see Xiaolin's body?"
The place where the body was left yesterday was now just a patch of white snow.
Cheng Tingyu checked and then shook his head: "No traces left."
The snow outside kept falling, covering all possible clues, making it difficult to determine the moment the body disappeared.
Cheng Tingyu gently picked up Zheng Ruinan's corpse and walked away from the cold shelter.
Liu Xuehong: "Where are you going?"
Cheng Tingyu: "Move it a bit farther away. That way, if Mr. Sun, who has gone missing, plans to return, he won't be frightened."
Noticing the almost frozen expressions of the others, Cheng Tingyu smiled again, "Just kidding, don't mind it."
"..."
Yu Wenran and the others: "..." You really don't look like you're joking.