Cheng Tingyu greeted the other person, "I'll go in later, but I can't guarantee that I'll be able to bring your aunt's remains out."
Wei Xusheng expressed his understanding and handed Cheng Tingyu a sealed box for placing the players' corpses along with a pair of thin gloves.
["Screwdriver" Brand Sealing Box (Basic): A box with a certain power of isolation.]
["Screwdriver" Brand Gloves (Beginner): Gloves with a certain degree of power isolation.]
The appearance of protective gloves signifies that directly touching a player's corpse without any protection carries a certain risk.
Cheng Tingyu was seeing the object in front of her for the first time today, but the instructions she read allowed her to maintain her "experienced wasteland dweller" persona with the composure of an old dog. She even managed to smile at Wei Xusheng: "'Screwdriver' brand gloves?"
Wei Xusheng nodded: "This was also part of the insurance package that Aunt bought back then."
Cheng Tingyu casually asked, "Then why didn't you conveniently purchase the corpse collection service back then?"
Wei Xusheng admitted honestly, "Actually, I did buy it, but the insurance company's business is as busy as the inspection team, so it will probably take about another month."
If a registered resident of F0631 City who has purchased the corresponding insurance is in a dangerous situation, both the inspection team and the "Screwdriver" insurance company will respond as quickly as possible. However, if that resident is already dead, the priority of the task will be significantly lowered, with a clear and unmistakable double standard.
Cheng Tingyu gave a slight nod to the client, picked up the suitcase and gloves, then wrapped himself in the thick coat he bought yesterday, and strode into Wei Heng's residence.
It was already late autumn, and all the plants in the garden that had once been meticulously tended by the owner had withered. The soil had turned hard, and just approaching the door, one could feel the chill seeping in.
Cheng Tingyu inserted the key into the lock of the front door. She had put on her winter gloves in advance, yet the kind of cold that was hard to ignore still spread from the key, reaching her fingertips and forearms one after another.
According to Wei Xusheng's description, it was only after he walked into the house that he noticed the unusual coldness.
However, when Cheng Tingyu arrived, just standing at the doorway, he could already clearly sense the abnormality in the environment.
She paused for a second, then nonchalantly opened the door and walked into the house.
The wooden door silently closed behind Cheng Tingyu, and at the moment the sunlight was completely blocked, the chill inside the room became even more piercing.
Cheng Tingyu could still adapt—before coming in, she had already applied the cold-resistant ointment in advance.
The medicinal oil gradually took effect, preventing Cheng Tingyu from feeling unbearably cold.
This was a house full of life, with an old mirror hanging on the wall in the entryway, convenient for those heading out to tidy up their appearance.
At this moment, the mirror reflected the image of Cheng Tingyu.
After going through two instances, the stabbing pain in her right eye was no longer as severe as when she first crossed over. Instead, it gradually became mild and manageable, and the alien sensation when using her ability had also diminished significantly.
Cheng Tingyu glanced at the mirror absentmindedly and immediately stopped in his tracks.
She discovered that lines of text, resembling annotations, had appeared along the edges of her reflection in the mirror.
[Name: Cheng Tingyu]
[Ability: [Secret Eye****]]
[Status: [*Tending towards stability*]]
Cooling Period: 0
[Special Status: [Unusual Cold] [No Turning Back]]
[Health Points (Health): 99/100]
Cheng Tingyu turned his head, facing the mirror.
Did she see her own personal state?
Clearing the level can enhance the player's abilities. If Cheng Tingyu had checked her personal information from the previous version, she would have noticed that the details about herself were continuously being enriched.
Cheng Tingyu's gaze swept over the other data and lingered on the numbers after the cooldown period.
"..."
As a player who had just completed the Cold Shelter quest yesterday, she had quite a few opinions about this "0".
Cheng Tingyu sighed inwardly. The issue of the cooling-off period couldn't be resolved in a short time. What was more important at the moment were [Extreme Cold Sensation] and [No Turning Back]. She fixed her gaze on the names of the two statuses and soon saw a series of new descriptions—
[Unusual Cold (Lively): Currently enveloped in spreading strange cold, it continuously weakens the life force of living beings within its range. This state cannot be dispelled until leaving the affected area.]
[No Turning Back: A rule born from the incubator's wish, in the event of turning back, [Uncanny Cold] damage will increase to four times the original amount.]
Cheng Tingyu relied on his extensive gaming experience from before his transmigration to understand and roughly grasp what the [Extreme Cold Sensation] debuff was.
This thing not only reduces health points but also locks them.
Her health dropped to 99/100, and due to the [Severe Cold Sensation] that couldn't be dispelled, she couldn't recover even with healing nearby.
Cheng Tingyu did not rush to delve deeper.
She was somewhat concerned about the word "lively" in the brackets of [abnormal cold].
Whether it was the inspection team, the "Screwdriver" insurance company, or the posts on the forum, the consensus was that the duplicate of Wei Xusheng's aunt's residence was relatively safe and did not require immediate attention.
However, based on Cheng Tingyu's personal experience, this copy is in a state of continuous change. The strange chill permeating the air seems to have been endowed with vigorous vitality, growing impatiently.
Cheng Tingyu continued to move forward. [Extreme Cold Sensation] was a persistent and undispellable debuff, meaning that in the current dungeon, players should avoid staying in one place for too long and need to act as quickly as possible to shorten their action time. Before coming, she had already memorized the structure of the house—the front hall and the reception room were directly connected, and the corridor on the right side of the reception room led to the outer study. As for the bedroom, it was at the end of the corridor.
As he stepped into the parlor, Cheng Tingyu paused slightly.
On the coffee table covered with sky-blue linen, there was a beautiful porcelain tea set and a fruit plate, while various tea canisters were arranged in the cabinet.
Perhaps due to the low temperature, the fruits in the platter did not show any obvious signs of decay.
From the cozy arrangement of the living room, it could be seen that Wei Heng was someone with a keen sense of life's pleasures.
Cheng Tingyu smiled faintly, then proceeded to the corridor on the right.
A simple turn didn't seem to trigger the [No Turning Back] effect. Cheng Tingyu pondered in her mind that if she had some free time after completing the task, she could try making two consecutive ninety-degree turns to see if she could circumvent the [No Turning Back] mechanism..
Wei Heng's residence wasn't very large; it took only about ten steps to get from the reception room to the corridor. However, Cheng Tingyu, whose life force was limited, did not immediately enter the corridor.
She saw a bright pool of blood, spreading outward at that very moment.
The chill permeated every corner of the house, yet the blood had not congealed.
Blood brimming with vigorous life: their owner is already dead, but they seem yet to have perished.
Cheng Tingyu did not doubt that the owner of the blood was Wei Heng, because she had already seen an adult male corpse lying across the corridor. She paused for a second, clenched her right fist, and lightly tapped her left palm, muttering to herself, "That's right, Wei Xusheng has a sister..."
Outside the replica.
As the task commissioner, Wei Xusheng was patiently waiting for Cheng Tingyu's work results.
Five minutes after entering the door, his phone suddenly rang. The caller ID displayed the name "Wei Xu Gui," which, just by looking at it, seemed to be a family member of Wei Xu Sheng.
Wei Xusheng answered, "Xu Jun?"
"Big brother, don't go into Aunt's house just yet."
Wei Xusheng was puzzled: "Why?"
Wei Xuguang's voice was hoarse: "I posted a task on the forum, asking someone to go to the house and bring out my aunt's body. The insurance company just told me that person had an accident."
Wei Xusheng was startled: "You hired someone? When did this happen?"
Wei Xuguang: "This morning at six." He paused and asked, "What happened?"
Wei Xusheng murmured, "I also sent someone over." He lifted his head and looked in the direction of the house, his face pale. "Just five minutes ago, she had already entered the instance."
Cheng Tingyu did not realize that she had almost simultaneously learned the news with the client that "Wei Xuji also sent someone into the copy, and that person unfortunately died." She merely bent down slightly, carefully observing the corpse in front of her.
This was a man around thirty years old, with a wide wound on his chest that seemed to have been slashed open by a sharp blade, exposing his organs.
Blood was continuously gushing from his wound, pooling on the ground.
"..."
At this moment, Cheng Tingyu had a subtle feeling akin to an unexpected additional question of unknown difficulty suddenly appearing in what was supposed to be an ordinary test.
Through the torn flesh, Cheng Tingyu saw the heart of the deceased.
In fact, there was at least a two-meter distance between her and the deceased, but the enhanced vision brought by the "Mystic Eye" allowed her to easily capture various details on that shell.
The crimson heart did not fall into slumber along with the breathless man; instead, it continued to beat rhythmically.
Cheng Tingyu was silent for a moment, then took out his phone from his pocket—
In the diverse array of literary works before the time travel, there were still some relatively reliable contents. For instance, in the event of a dangerous situation, the communication devices carried by the protagonist would often encounter various malfunctions, such as running out of battery or losing signal.
Cheng Tingyu encountered the second kind at this moment.
Moreover, not only was it impossible to make calls, but even built-in functions that didn't require a network connection, such as the time display and calculator, were also unusable. It seemed that in a short period, this phone had regressed from a product of modern technology to a mere metal brick.
In the event of an unexpected situation, directly exiting the instance is a reasonable choice.
Cheng Tingyu's rational mind knew what to do, but she did not immediately put her thoughts into action.
She had always known that there was a certain contradiction in her character.
Generally speaking, Cheng Tingyu would think carefully and act from the heart, yet she would easily feel bored because of this and would want to actively seek some excitement.
"Since neither the inspection team nor the insurance company has sent anyone, the situation should still be within controllable limits."
Cheng Tingyu muttered to herself. She didn't leave the scene but leaned forward, carefully observing the still-beating organ. She took a rope from the [cheap and good-quality hiking bag], looped it around the deceased from a distance, and gently dragged the body over.
——The other party's position had already surpassed the front door of the outer study, and the current instance had a special restriction of [no turning back]. Compared to walking over to the deceased, dragging the deceased over was a safer choice for her.
Red bloodstains marked the long corridor, appearing exceptionally vivid.
After dragging the deceased, Cheng Tingyu also dragged the sealed box and gloves that had fallen by the deceased's hand, which he had brought in, to the front using the same method.
The air was filled with an unnatural vitality, the biting cold lively swirling around her.
Cheng Tingyu lowered his head and gazed at the chest cavity of the deceased.
The Heart That Keeps Working:
True Name: Flesh and Blood · Life Overload
Level: [No Light];
Status: Undergoing mutation.
Cheng Tingyu felt the stinging pain in his right eye intensifying.
Observing the remnants left by players is more exhausting than observing other things.
If the blue bar could be displayed as a percentage, she would now be at about 60% of her full capacity.
The deceased, who seemed to have accepted Wei Xuji's commission, was a flesh-and-blood player, with blood vessels connected to his heart still bleeding.
In Cheng Tingyu's eyes, that crimson organ shimmered with an unignorable red glow.
Cheng Tingyu put on his gloves, picked up the heart, and threw it into the sealed box that had the power to isolate.