Xiao Jia: "I just opened a book, and then I came in."
Xiao Yi: "I came in when I was about to read a book."
Their answers were just like Cheng Tingyu's experiences.
Cheng Tingyu: "Second question, how long have you been here?"
Xiao Jia: "A long time, I can't remember, maybe more than half a year or over a year."
Xiao Yi: "Quite a long time, probably more than a year, or maybe not."
Cheng Tingyu's gaze swept over their answers and continued, "The third question, the order in which you entered."
Xiao Jia: "I was the earliest, soon I will be Xiao Yi."
Xiao Yi: "A little slower than Xiao Jia, but almost at the same time."
While Xiao Jia was writing, he observed the young man not far away. Perhaps it was due to the candlelight, but Cheng Tingyu's features revealed a certain enigmatic and fierce quality.
Cheng Tingyu's gaze lingered on the writing on the ground for a moment before he spoke: "The fourth question."
"The book that let you in, how thick was it approximately?"
Compared to other aspects, the thickness of the book is not an issue worth concealing. Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi both quickly provided the answer.
"About one centimeter," both of them answered.
Cheng Tingyu did not speak.
The faint candlelight fell into her eyes, as if it were about to be completely swallowed by the deep, dark pupils.
Xiao Jia's eyes were still oozing blood, yet he did not resist Cheng Tingyu's questioning because of his injuries—in the moment he realized he couldn't win alone, Xiao Jia had been extremely cooperative.
However, it did not mean that she had given up her plan to oppose Cheng Tingyu.
For his own sake, Xiao Jia must kill the newcomers in the dungeon.
...or killing Xiao Yi would also be an option.
On the floor, due to the immense pressure on his back, Xiao Yi's breathing became slightly faint.
The new young man sighed softly, "The situation is worse than I thought."
A sense of foreboding rose in Xiao Jia's heart.
Cheng Tingyu gazed at the two participants who had once disguised themselves as NPCs and conveyed a piece of information to them: "When I came in, the thickness of the book I saw was also one centimeter."
"..."
Xiao Jia listened to Cheng Tingyu's words, vaguely grasping something very frightening, yet unable to fully comprehend it in such a short time.
The thickness of a book doesn't change; isn't that a normal thing?
Cheng Tingyu did not explain directly. She looked at the two participants in front of her, the smile on her lips unwavering, and gave a reminder: "The time between us is very long, yet the thickness of the book has not changed."
"Since the number of pages won't increase, the length of the story must have a limit."
Before Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi could fully sort out their thoughts, Cheng Tingyu continued, "The sixth question, what do you think the book that arrived at that time was called?"
Xiao Jia originally intended to conceal some information, but the other party's expression led them to some ominous associations. The mindset of the two participants who had entered the instance earlier had already undergone some changes, especially Xiao Jia, who felt she had made some mistakes.
After a while, Xiao Yi tentatively tried to lift his head. However, as soon as he moved, his entire face was forced back onto the blood-soaked floor, and his sternum emitted a teeth-gritting crackling sound.
——The young man who controlled him merely appeared to become a bit more amiable.
Xiao Jia couldn't help but shiver, lowered his head, and began to write the answers.
This time, their answers once again converged—"A Heartwarming Storybook."
Cheng Tingyu brushed back the strands of hair that had fallen to her cheeks.
The answers from both of them were very valuable.
Cheng Tingyu saw the title "A Boring Storybook." The transition from warmth to boredom indicated that the book's title would change.
When Cheng Tingyu fell into thought and stopped speaking, the corridor immediately became very quiet.
Xiao Jia raised his head again and quietly glanced at the young man.
She always felt a hint of fear towards him, and this fear wasn't entirely due to the young man's actions.
The expression on her face had a subtle sense of discord; she seemed to be smiling, but her eyes were devoid of emotion.
...or rather, Xiao Jia couldn't understand the emotions in her eyes.
Cheng Tingyu pondered for a moment, then finally released his control over Xiao Yi.
"You can stand up now."
Xiao Yi didn't seem like he could move anymore, but Cheng Tingyu's tone was exceptionally confident, as if he had already confirmed that Xiao Yi could get up.
——This was because Xiao Jia's escape was not swift enough. After seeing her companion being struck down, she did not immediately flee with all her might, making Cheng Tingyu suspect that she believed Xiao Yi still had the strength to fight even after taking a heavy blow.
Xiao Yi leaned against the wall, swaying as he stood up. The bloodstains on his body had soaked through his outer garment
Little Jia suddenly spoke, his breathing somewhat rapid, as if he had just realized something: "You just said, the length of the story is limited..."
Cheng Tingyu: "You have been here for almost a year. Even if the plot of this year is simplified, it will still take up quite a few pages. Once all the pages are filled with content, whether the story has reached its end or not, it must come to a close."
"Take a guess, will the participants appear directly outside the instance, or will they be trapped in the story, never able to leave?"
"..."
Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi held their breath for a moment.
Their expressions twisted slightly at the other's words.
The first assumption is quite pleasant: just wait, and there will be a day to clear the level. However, the dungeon has never been a benevolent existence. Harboring such hopeful expectations can easily lead to a death so thorough that not even a trace remains.
Little Jia and Little Yi both already believed that once all the pages available for writing were used up, they would be completely and utterly frozen within the unfinished story.
"…So you're pretty unlucky too. Clearly very powerful, but in the end, you have to die in the storybook just like us."
Xiao Jia stared at Cheng Tingyu, a hint of madness and despair surfacing in her expression, while the young man seemed completely unaware of his situation. So she couldn't help but want to say more: "Do you know why this book is called 'A Warm Story'?"
Cheng Tingyu glanced at her and politely said, "I would like to hear the details."
Xiao Jia had spent quite a long time in the copy, and she naturally had some speculations about her situation: "Have you read fairy tales? Most of those stories end with the protagonist living a happy life, and this copy is the same."
Cheng Tingyu smiled, "It doesn't sound like a bad thing."
Xiao Jia's eyes had stopped bleeding, but half of his face was still mottled with bloodstains. Under the dim candlelight, it looked particularly terrifying: "That's because you haven't yet experienced what they call a 'happy life.'"
"In that blissful life, you will gradually become a frozen character in a story, unable to think or act."
Cheng Tingyu's gaze lingered on Xiao Jia's face for a moment, a slight realization dawning: "So this is why you killed."
"The cabin has three rooms, so there should be three people living here 'happily ever after,' trapped in a frozen state. If the happy ending for the three cannot be achieved, the scenario will naturally bring in new characters..." She pondered for a moment and offered her guess, "At that time, would you also regain your autonomy?"
Xiao Jia admitted cheerfully, "Yes, that's why we wanted to kill you. But think about it, it's been a year since we came in, and there shouldn't be many pages left until the end. Even if we get rid of the new character, we won't live much longer."
Cheng Tingyu glanced at Xiao Jia and shook his head, "You haven't read 'A Heartwarming Storybook'."
Little Jia knew the other party was questioning based on the phrase "entering the instance as soon as you open the book," and explained, "We've been here for a long time, so we definitely know more."
Cheng Tingyu smiled and patiently, yet politely, explained his thoughts to Xiao Jia: "I'm not denying your understanding of the copy, but what you call the ending is merely your personal summary. It doesn't mean that the content on the page about the ending is just this one line."
"Do you mean that there's more to this story?" Xiao Yi, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up
Cheng Tingyu: "Such a simple plot isn't worth being carried by a book an inch thick."
Little Jia shook his head vigorously: "We thought the same at first, but no matter what we did, the cabin couldn't expand the storyline any further."
Cheng Tingyu: "What about places other than the cabin?"
Hearing her words, Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi simultaneously showed a strange expression on their faces. After a while, Xiao Jia slowly said, "Do you know how we first discovered the patterns in the copies?"
Her voice carried a hint of schadenfreude, as well as a touch of despair.
"I, along with Xiao Yi and another person, whom you can call Xiao Bing, were the first three to enter the instance. At the beginning, we were all studying the mechanics of the instance, hoping to clear it early. When we discovered that the cabin, aside from providing a place for players to eat and rest, served no other purpose, Xiao Bing decided to explore other areas."
"At that time, our relationship wasn't very good, so we didn't act together. Xiao Bing left the cabin alone and then disappeared into the distance."
Xiao Jia's features twisted slightly as he whispered, "I saw that scene. She was moving too fast to stop. After she left the cabin and got a certain distance away, the color of her body quickly faded, and then she disappeared on the spot, as if some force had erased her."
Cheng Tingyu had a suspicion flash through her mind—Xiao Bing's disappearance was because she had strayed too far from the storyline, thus becoming a non-existent character.
"After that, we gradually fell into a rigid state of 'happily ever after' until the fourth person was added to the copy, and we regained our ability to act autonomously. At first, we didn't harm her but lived together—after all, food appeared every day, and there was no need to fight over living supplies."
"One day, two days passed without any issues, but by the third day, we noticed that the stiffness of becoming a story character reappeared."
Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi also had some experience with dungeons. Although they hadn't completely figured out the structure of the storybook dungeon, they had become aware of some patterns in this place.
For instance, reasonable textual descriptions possess power. Furthermore, when there are fewer than three characters living in the cabin, the scenario will draw in new characters, and the appearance of new individuals will break the stiffness among the participants.
Little Jia: "After killing that person, we obtained new information. Simply reducing the number of characters allows us to regain a certain amount of autonomous behavior for a period of time."
There was no need for an explanation; Cheng Tingyu could easily imagine the actions of these people.
In order to escape the predicament, the cycle of "falling into rigidity -> adding a new character -> rigidity resolved -> falling into rigidity -> killing off the new character -> rigidity resolved -> falling into rigidity" kept repeating.
Cheng Tingyu: "The further we go, the shorter the time new characters can break the stiffness, right?"
A look of surprise and wariness appeared in Xiao Jia's eyes. She nodded and asked, "How do you know?"
Cheng Tingyu casually said, "Your goal is to maintain as much independent action capability as possible. If stiffness only appears on the third day, then taking action in two days will maximize the benefits."
The newly received information seemed to have given her some inspiration. Cheng Tingyu stood in the corridor, slightly lost in thought.
Xiao Yi looked up and gave Xiao Jia a meaningful glance.
They had stayed in the copy for too long, fully understanding each other's will to survive.
Xiao Jia nodded slightly, but without a trace, he drew the dining knife hidden in his sleeve and suddenly launched an attack.
——Her blade thrust towards Xiao Yi.