The others took a moment to understand before fully grasping the mechanism of the cold-proof shelter.
——As long as you ensure that a companion is within your line of sight while ascending the stairs, you will not be affected by hallucinations.
Yu Wenran couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration for the other person. While everyone else was contemplating how to survive, that "Xiaolu" had already moved past the pursuit of survival and started thinking about how to crack the copy mechanism, and was brave enough to try.
Cheng Tingyu: "However, I can't guarantee that this will really work, so I set up a verification question in advance."
Yu Wenran quickly reacted: "Is it about that energy speed thing?"
Cheng Tingyu nodded.
Yu Wenran was stunned: "Is it because he couldn't answer just now..."
Cheng Tingyu laughed, "No, he answered it." He shrugged, "It's strange that he answered it. Why would a normal person remember that stuff?"
Li Junhui held back for a moment, but couldn't resist and finally spoke, "But don't you remember it yourself?"
"..."
Cheng Tingyu blinked: "My situation is a bit different."
Yu Wenran and the others suddenly realized—the other party was a seasoned expert with extensive experience in clearing game levels, so having a bit more knowledge was normal.
Cheng Tingyu nodded slightly—as a recent graduate, she absolutely could not forget the knowledge she had learned in college before finding a job.
The two exchanged a glance, both feeling that they had reached an understanding with each other.
The werewolves in the group had already been eliminated, the fuel was basically sufficient, and the survivors all stayed on the first floor, passing the time with idle chatter until nightfall.
At this time, it was already time to sleep. Yu Wenran, feeling somewhat relieved yet a bit uneasy, returned to his room. Driven by drowsiness, he lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and slept until dawn.
Although the rescue would not arrive for another two days, Yu Wenran inexplicably felt that the matter had already come to an end.
The fifth day at dawn.
...
Cheng Tingyu went back early yesterday afternoon to take a nap and recharge. By midnight, he had already packed his luggage, grabbed a flashlight, and stood outside braving the wind and snow, waiting for the rescue team to arrive.
Li Junhui didn't understand: "There's no need to leave so early..."
Cheng Tingyu explained, "The hint paper only mentioned that the rescue team would come on the fifth day, but it didn't specify when on the fifth day. Anyway, I'm not sleepy, so I'll wait for a while."
Li Junhui was a bit worried: "Even if we have to wait, there's no need to stay so far from the shelter."
Through the wind and snow, Li Junhui couldn't really see Cheng Tingyu's expression clearly. He only felt that the other seemed to smile slightly, then slowly said, "It's precisely because we're far away that we can see the rescue team sooner."
The others were unaware that the reason Cheng Tingyu appeared so composed was not solely due to her calm personality. A larger part of it was because, as a time traveler, she had already accepted the sudden arrival in a perilous and unfamiliar place. Thus, when faced with other dangers, she could approach them with an even more tranquil mindset.
The flashlight found in the luggage was of ordinary quality; even without the influence of illusions, it could only illuminate a small area in front.
Cheng Tingyu stood calmly in the wind and snow, white snowflakes falling on her hat and shoulders, making her look like a statue in the snowy landscape.
Around three o'clock, some orange lights appeared in the distance. As they drew closer, Cheng Tingyu could clearly see a group of people bearing the flag of the "Rescue Team" approaching the shelter.
She turned back: "The rescue team is here, go inform the others."
Li Junhui looked bewildered: "Who is it? Has someone come?"
In Li Junhui's field of vision, the surroundings were still pitch black, and even the figure of Cheng Tingyu ahead appeared particularly blurry.
Cheng Tingyu smiled, "It's really here."
Trusting in the mysterious expert from the desolate area, Li Junhui called for the others. Just as they reached within five meters of Cheng Tingyu, he suddenly felt that something was amiss.
Their field of vision suddenly became much broader, as if they had broken through an invisible barrier. The rescue team, which had been impossible to see before, now appeared clearly before everyone's eyes.
The rescue team waved at them and shouted, "Hurry up, everyone! We're about to leave!"
Li Junhui couldn't help but say, "Aren't you going to check the cold room? What if someone else is still there?"
The leader of the rescue team was quite puzzled: "If something was missed, it was missed. These things are always inevitable."
Li Junhui was silent for a moment, then couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath.
At this point, even Yan Jiayu, who had been trembling the entire time, understood the true mechanism for escaping the current scenario.
The rescue team coming every five days is true, but when these NPCs arrive, they don't check the cold shelter. The guests staying in the cold shelter can't see them either; interaction only occurs when the distance between them is short enough.
Li Junhui gritted his teeth, "If we fail to find the rescue team in time..."
Cheng Tingyu: "Then we'll just have to wait for the next five days." Comforting, "I've checked the food supplies in the kitchen, and they should last until the next cycle."
Li Junhui remained silent.
This is not a matter of food reserves, but a matter of mindset. If they fail to find the rescue team, they will inevitably start to doubt the accuracy of the instructions on the note. Perhaps, at some point, they will stop paying attention to those rules altogether.
Yu Wenran looked at Cheng Tingyu.
Although there was no evidence, she always felt that this visitor from the desolate zone, who called himself "Xiaolu," had long anticipated that the copy would end with such a twist.
Cheng Tingyu smiled faintly.
Regarding the way the copy ended, she did have some guesses.
The fourth line of the notice on the coffee table in the first-floor lobby outlined the dining rules: "You may dine when hungry; excessive hunger will lead to death. You can choose any area within the shelter to dine, but please exercise restraint while eating."
This rule left Cheng Tingyu puzzled.
The food supplies in the insulated cabin were ample, and they were stored right in the kitchen, making them very easy to access.
So who exactly is bound by this rule?
Cheng Tingyu thought that the unknown force lurking in the house might also be subject to the rules.
She wasn't particularly sure of her suspicions until she discovered that Sun Xiaolin's body had disappeared.
From the first notice indicating the location of the key, it can be inferred that the power of the cold-proof house can affect the outdoors. As for the reason for the disappearance of the corpse, Cheng Tingyu has a bold hypothesis.
The guests are the prey, and their corpses, after being processed, become edible ingredients. The essence of the corpses' disappearance is the feast of a ravenous monster.
That monster was also bound by the rule of "please exercise restraint during meals," so after killing one resident, it would choose to stop temporarily.
After making the above assumption, when arranging Zheng Ruinan's body, Cheng Tingyu deliberately walked a bit farther away—she hoped to use this to measure the radiation range of the cold shelter's power.
It was impossible for the entire mountain to be considered an edible area; otherwise, there would have been no need for the instance to guide them into the shelter.
The subsequent events unfolded just as she had predicted: as long as one moved a certain distance away from the cold-proof shelter, the bodies would not disappear.
The monster cannot eat in non-insulated areas.
At the same time, Cheng Tingyu vaguely understood the possible reason for the incident on the first night: if, according to the rules, the small area outside the door was also considered part of the cold-proof house, then their act of placing Sun Xiaolin in the snow would have violated the requirement to "keep the indoor environment clean."
The area considered "indoors" is not limited to the space within the door; the entire region influenced by the power of the cold-resistant house is also considered "indoors."
For this reason, the guests influenced by the indoor forces were unable to see the rescue team passing through.
If they couldn't decipher the hidden meaning within the rules, they would never know that an invisible wall still stood between them and the real outside world.
On the snow-covered mountain path, Cheng Tingyu and the others, who had successfully joined the rescue team, carried their luggage and trudged forward, their steps sinking deeply into the snow. They crossed a hill and turned from a small path onto a main road. Just as Yu Wenran and the others began to doubt whether leaving the shelter was truly the way to escape the scenario, they felt a pat on their backs, followed by a heart-wrenching sensation of weightlessness..
After the copy ends, there will be a seemingly slow detachment process.
Cheng Tingyu felt her vision dim at first, her whole body seeming to float in the seawater. Amidst the indistinct chaos, she received a string of information—
[Congratulations to the player for clearing the dungeon, you have obtained [Relic of the Strange Tenant] ×1, [Old Pen from the Cold-Proof House] ×1, [Inexpensive and Practical Hiking Backpack] ×1.]
[Congratulations to the player for clearing the dungeon and obtaining the remnant item [Exemption Entry Pass] ×1.]
It seemed as if a long time had passed, yet also as if it had only been a brief moment. Regaining control over his limbs, Cheng Tingyu slowly opened his eyes.
...
She still stood outside the duty room, and the surrounding light was almost unchanged compared to before entering the copy.
A cry of surprise came from the duty room, followed by the door being hastily opened from the inside.
Yu Wenran saw Cheng Tingyu outside, let out a slight sigh of relief, and signaled her to come over and take a look.
In the duty room, there were three living people and three patches of blood that seemed to have dried a long time ago.
Yu Wenran: "We were missing for about thirty minutes." He reminded again, "There are surveillance devices in the duty room, and the inspection team should have been alerted by now."
This is not a surprising piece of news.
To ensure the stability of the urban area, there must be an effective maintenance system in place.
Cheng Tingyu certainly wanted to act low-key, but choosing to slip away quietly at this moment to avoid the inspection team's notice was clearly a behavior that would attract more attention.
Yu Wenran coughed again and said, "Excuse me, do you have an account in F0631 City?"
As a senior staff member on duty, Yu Wenran's question was an expression of his willingness to transfer money to Cheng Tingyu.
Although making money was difficult, being able to come out of the dungeon unscathed was obviously a much better outcome. Yu Wenran was quite self-aware and knew very well that in such a strange and dangerous dungeon, if it weren't for Cheng Tingyu's presence, even if the staff in the development zone were lucky enough to stay in the cold-proof house for five days, they would still have failed at the point of rendezvousing with the rescue team.