From Cheng Tingyu's perspective, the clarity of this video was highly problematic. The frame rate dropped significantly, and it flickered occasionally. In terms of viewing experience, it really wasn't worth the 20 forum coins she had just paid.
At the beginning of the video, a grown man wearing a sky-blue plush pajama set and matching slippers appeared in the center of the room
The person looked around in a bit of a panic, immediately walking to the window to look outside. He tried to open the window but failed.
Cheng Tingyu instinctively moved the phone screen a little closer, and immediately, lines of explanatory information appeared
Name: Wu Shanyu
[True Name: Cursed Speech · Cheerleading]
[Level: [No Light]]
[Health Points (Health): 82/100]
[Stamina (Full): 92/100]
[Mental Value (Mild Madness): 60/100]
"..."
As someone who had only been a player for less than a month, Cheng Tingyu didn't really understand the mechanics of her abilities. Today was the first time she discovered that the "Appraiser" ability could even affect characters in videos.
Moreover, this time the appraisal strangely did not consume much of her stamina, as if she was not looking at a curse-type ability user, but at an ordinary water cup with no special powers.
However, compared to the data Cheng Tingyu had seen about himself before, Wu Shanyu's information appeared much more concise, completely lacking any descriptions of "special status" or "cooldown period."
In the video.
Wu Shanyu couldn't stay calm; he kept pacing around the room, seemingly unable to comprehend his current situation.
This was a simple two-bedroom apartment. The living room had beige floor tiles, an old wooden cabinet painted white stood against the wall, a wooden table was placed in the middle, and in the corner was an old straw-yellow sofa. It was tidy but couldn't hide its worn-out state. Several cardboard boxes were piled up next to the sofa, some already opened, while others remained sealed.
Wu Shanyu went to the kitchen to find scissors, cut open the tape on the box, and carefully searched inside for anything that might be useful.
Seven minutes later.
Wu Shanyu, who was rummaging through the box, suddenly wobbled. His body leaned forward, and with a thud, his head fell off his neck, his body silently collapsing into the cardboard box.
A pool of blood spread out; he died while searching for supplies.
As for the fate of this player, Cheng Tingyu was not too surprised.
Because as long as she paid attention to observe, she could see Wu Shanyu's data—
[Life Points (Death): 0/100].
After entering the instance, the player's various stats kept dropping, with the health bar decreasing the fastest. Initially, it fell by two or three points at a time, but as time went on, the values dropped more and more with each fall, eventually plummeting directly from 10/100 to 0/100.
After Wu Shanyu's death, the screen went black, and a striking line of red text appeared in the center: "Warning: Staying in the room for too long will result in immediate death."
Cheng Tingyu's gaze flickered slightly, and it took him a second to realize that it wasn't something he had identified himself, but rather a strategy guide that the video creator had actively added.
After a moment, the red text disappeared, and the video progress bar continued to move forward.
The screen flickered lightly twice, revealing the replica scene.
The same room, the same protagonist.
The recently deceased Wu Shanyu appeared once again in the instance.
Cheng Tingyu noticed that Apartment No. 6 was somewhat different from the other scenarios she had experienced. In the mascot costume scenario, her body remained the same but her clothes changed. When she reached the cold-proof house scenario, both her body and clothes changed. However, at Wei Heng's residence, she maintained her original appearance and attire to the greatest extent.
However, whether it was the mascot costume, the cold-proof house, or Wei Heng's former residence, Cheng Tingyu entered them in person. Death within the replica meant death in reality.
But Building Six was different. Although death in the instance came without warning, there was always a chance to start over.
Wu Shanyu bit his fingernail, his eyes vacant, standing there in a daze.
——Compared to the last time he entered the instance, his condition looked much worse.
Cheng Tingyu's right eye once again reflected the information of Wu Shanyu at this moment. The opponent's name and ability value naturally hadn't changed, but compared to the last time, the basic data at the start had significantly decreased—
[Life Points (Mild Danger): 72/100]
[Stamina (Mild Fatigue): 78/100]
[Mental State (Moderate Madness): 60/100]
Falling asleep is the way to enter the instance, and once you die, you will be detached from it.
It appears to be a very secure mechanism, but there is an issue that cannot be ignored.
Within the first month of entering Apartment No. 6, participants are not allowed to leave the premises.
Every time they slept, there was a chance they would enter a replica. Entering the replica made them feel exhausted, but this exhaustion could not be alleviated through sleep.
——If other instances mainly harm players by reducing their health points, Apartment No. 6 inflicts damage on their minds.
The second time Wu Shanyu entered the instance, he was somewhat more skilled. He gave up the idea of searching for supplies, walked to the living room door, and reached out to turn the lock. Just as his fingers touched the door, a line of twisted red text appeared on it: "Welcome to the game 'If You're a Fool, Go Up a Hundred Floors'."
"..."
At this moment, both the people inside and outside the screen fell into silence.
Cheng Tingyu suddenly felt that going to Apartment No. 6 might not have been the right choice for him..
In the video.
After being briefly shaken by the content written on the door, Wu Shanyu instead became a bit calmer—although the game's name was somewhat misleading, at least it provided a clue.
Wu Shanyu murmured, "The target is to reach the hundredth floor?"
By this point, the audience had a vague understanding of why Wu Shanyu had suddenly died the last time.
There were also comments below the video—
"His first time, he probably stayed in the room for too long, failing to trigger the main storyline, so he was directly eliminated."
"Besides the boundary, Apartment No. 6 might possess some kind of incantation power. If participants do not follow the instructions to go upstairs, they will face an unfortunate outcome."
This time, with the hint he received, Wu Shanyu died much more slowly than last time.
Before setting off, he murmured, "Wu Shanyu, you have to keep going."
The abilities of curse-word type players are often activated through speech. As soon as Wu Shanyu finished speaking, his stamina, which had already decreased significantly, instantly returned to the state it was in when he first entered the instance.
Cheng Tingyu suddenly understood—no wonder they were called the "cheerleading squad," they truly had the power to boost morale.
With his energy replenished, Wu Shanyu immediately left his two-bedroom apartment. As he closed the door, he turned slightly.
Above the door, the sign read "401," while the door opposite was marked "402."
Wu Shanyu, having received the tip, cautiously ascended the stairs. After climbing two floors, a sudden burst of blood mist erupted from his neck. Behind the blood mist, a shadow as dark as a sharp claw could be vaguely seen.
Wu Shanyu's eyes lost their luster, and his head once again fell from his neck, rolling down with a clatter. With each step it descended, a burst of blood splattered forth.
The video ends here.
The inspection team certainly gathered more than just a bit of information from the post, but to avoid giving away too much and affecting the players' problem-solving approach, they only released the most basic clues.
Cheng Tingyu rewound the video to the beginning and watched it three more times.
The replica of Apartment No. 6 gave her a very strange feeling. Even if the participants just stood still without moving, their health points would continuously decrease, and at a faster rate than in Wei Heng's former residence, which had the [Uncanny Chill].
At that moment, the private chat window on the forum popped up again.
Perhaps feeling that the main business had been discussed, Wei Xusheng sent her a message that was more akin to small talk—
[WXS: The teacher is so strong, why not give yourself a more formal nickname?]
Ten seconds later, Wei Xusheng received a reply—
[Hehehe: You make a good point.]
Wei Xusheng stared at the "Hehehe" for a long time, finally realizing belatedly that it was Cheng Tingyu's new name..
[WXS: Uh, may I ask why you chose such a nickname, teacher?]
[Hehehe: It makes me appear friendly, which is beneficial for the subsequent task acceptance.]
[WXS: ...]
[WXS: Teacher, as long as you're happy.]
When Wei Xusheng closed the private chat window, he felt that he had been too reckless just now. He could only hope that if Cheng Tingyu ever became dissatisfied with the nickname on the forum, he wouldn't remember that it was his suggestion..
10 o'clock in the morning.
At the entrance of No. 777 Kapok Road in the outer district, a sleek black sedan came to a stop.
——The entire area of Kapok Road consists of private residential zones with excellent security conditions.
The driver got out of the car first, opened the door, and three well-dressed young people gracefully stepped out.
The young man in the lead rang the doorbell and introduced himself, "I am Ji Shilu from the Ji family in the central district, here to visit Grandma Qin with my younger siblings."
A moment later, a response came from the person inside the house through the main gate monitor—
"The old lady is not at home, please come back another day to visit."
Ji Shilu slightly frowned.
On the way, they saw the inspector team's car leaving No. 777.
There was a silver ash leaf on that car, symbolizing the inspector.
In the outer district, there were not many people qualified to ride this car and visit Granny Qin.
The three people outside the door were as clear as a mirror in their hearts—Bu Wushang had just visited Granny Qin.
A young man said, "Forget it, Brother Lu. Let's just go straight to the dungeon. We can visit after we come out, and it will be the same."
Ji Shilu pondered for a moment, then nodded: "Get ready. Tomorrow or the day after, we'll go to Apartment No. 6."
The next day.
There were no direct buses to Apartment No. 6 from the outer district. Cheng Tingyu took a bus to Mulberry Street and then walked nearly three kilometers, finally approaching his destination—these temporarily unsolvable sub-areas were always under the supervision of the inspection team, who used various methods to reduce the risk of outsiders accidentally coming into contact with them.
Those intending to visit the apartment will not get lost halfway; there is only one road, and by the roadside stands a wooden sign painted white.
The wooden sign depicted the words "Apartment No. 6, 300 meters ahead," with the final stroke of the character for "meters" extended so long that it reached the edge of the sign, mingling with the splattered mud, resembling dirty bloodstains.
Cheng Tingyu raised his head and quietly looked ahead.
It was an entirely gray apartment building, with the paint on the exterior walls already peeling off. Just looking at it made one doubt the living standards inside.
Cheng Tingyu withdrew his gaze and glanced at the ground.
Apartment No. 6 was located in a remote area, and maintaining the road condition was evidently a thankless task. The only road was covered with dirt and gravel. Even without the enhanced vision from his special pupils, Cheng Tingyu could clearly see the fresh tire tracks and footprints on it.
——Although ordinary residents wouldn't venture near Apartment No. 6 for thrills, the Security Bureau or the Inspection Team would regularly deliver some daily supplies.
Directly ahead, the presence of the apartment building standing amidst the trees was very prominent. Cheng Tingyu gazed at the structure before him, and his originally clear vision suddenly blurred. The gray high-rise became hazy, as if it were a swarm of fluttering gray moths, evoking a creepy and bizarre sensation. It felt more like an imagined, illusory scene than something that truly existed.
The unusual sight lasted for less than a second, yet it successfully affected Cheng Tingyu's mind.
——She was already experiencing a ringing in her ears.
Cheng Tingyu did not cover his ears with his hands but calmly took out the small round mirror he had bought at the convenience store from his pocket.
In the mirror, the reflection of Cheng Tingyu appeared alongside several lines of information, with the mental value column showing "98/125."
After a day of rest, Cheng Tingyu had originally restored his mental state to 105, but in that instant just now, it suddenly dropped to 98 without any warning.
Cheng Tingyu felt that ever since she had acquired her true name as an "appraiser," the probability of her being passively sanchecked had steadily increased.
Apartment No. 6 was a solitary building.
Even though it was daytime, the apartment building's main door remained tightly shut.
A half-hearted notice was posted at the entrance—"Please do not enter Apartment No. 6 at will. If you need to check in, please use the doorbell to contact the staff of this building."
Cheng Tingyu immediately understood the reason behind it—strict access control was to prevent the residents of the apartment building from escaping.
However..
She slowly lifted her head, her expression calm as she surveyed the dense, ominous forest around her.
As I approached the apartment, I found myself already under the gaze of others.