"Ah!"
A short scream rang out, a mixture of fright, fear, and unease. It startled the birds, sending them fluttering away.
In the woods, besides Jiang Lin and Liu Yao, there were three other people. Among them, the woman in the red dress was particularly striking. Her long hair had been styled, she wore a sleeveless gown, her makeup was exquisite, and her lips were full. She looked as though she had been dragged straight from a banquet.
"Where is this? My family is rich, don't hurt me!" the woman in the red dress said nervously, touching her arm. Without knowing anything, she immediately declared her value. She could offer money.
"What?"
The young man holding a laptop to the left of the woman in the red dress looked bewildered. Hearing her shout, his thoughts were almost led astray. But he quickly remembered that he hadn't even blinked just now, and unless there was magic, it was impossible to teleport here.
"Stop shouting, just take your things and let's talk as we walk," the person at the front said. It was a man in a dark blue suit, his back to the others. He adjusted his glasses, then picked up the basket filled with various tools at his feet and followed the NPC in a dazzling orange outfit not far away.
While they were talking, Jiang Lin surveyed his surroundings and checked the contents of the basket. A small hoe, a small knife, a net bag, a mineral water bottle, scissors, and so on. Fortunately, his clothes hadn't changed, and no curly hair had suddenly appeared on his head.
After the initial panic, the group of five walked in a line, following the NPC at the front. Each of them carried an old basket that didn't match their appearance. A cool breeze swept through, rustling the leaves in the woods. It was a bit cold, but not the biting cold of winter. The chill felt more like the transition between spring and autumn.
The elite man in the suit walked at the very front of the group, speaking to the newcomers behind him as they walked. "This isn't Earth, but it's not a parallel world either. If you have to say, it's a series of independent horror game worlds."
The young man behind him, still clutching his laptop, was about to ask something when the elite man continued, "Don't ask me how I got here or how to get out. If I knew, you wouldn't see me here. Just try your best to pass the levels; it's best if you can survive."
The woman in the red dress bit her lower lip. "Um, big brother, is there anything we need to pay attention to?" Regardless of whether what he said was true, at least for now, these people wouldn't hurt her. At this moment, being sensible and cooperating was the best course of action.
The elite man let out a 'heh' and stepped onto a slope, his voice carrying from ahead, concise and to the point: "Observe more, think more, speak less, and don't provoke the NPCs."
"Mhm, big brother is so amazing," the woman in the red dress said sweetly, acting like a sycophant trying to latch onto him. The elite man pushed his glasses up, as if he hadn't heard. He kept walking forward, like a lone wolf. Seeing this, the woman in the red dress obediently shut her mouth. Like the young man with the laptop, she quietly observed her surroundings. The woods were silent, with only birds hopping on the branches, their small, beady eyes staring down at the pedestrians.
Liu Yao, walking second to last in the line, listened to their conversation and felt a hint of smugness. Only she knew that the streamer was the real boss among them. She wondered when these people ahead would discover this and what their expressions would be.
In the white space, after the streamer's comfort, Liu Yao could already understand others' words. Although she hadn't realized it herself and had been having a nonsensical conversation with the streamer for a long time, she still believed that the electronic voice broadcast was about the next tourist destination. This place, treating life as a game, was already perverse. Calling it tourism seemed quite normal. Liu Yao had already rationalized it in her mind while eating her boxed lunch.
...
The group followed the NPC, panting as they climbed the mountain and passed through the woods. The woman in the red dress had already taken off her high heels and was carrying them, gasping for breath and almost unable to keep up. Seeing this, the young man with the laptop found a thick wooden stick for her to lean on and lent her his jacket. He still had a turtleneck sweater underneath, which wasn't too cold here.
"Thank you," the woman in the red dress said. The young man took the opportunity to ask, "How did you get here?" The woman in the red dress glanced at him warily. Seeing this, the young man spoke first, "My name is Qi Liu. I was playing games at university before." As the young man spoke, he raised the laptop in his hand. Perhaps it was his sincere face, or perhaps she felt this information could be shared. The woman in the red dress said, "Just call me Shanshan. Before coming here, I was at a friend's party."
The young man, for proximity's sake, asked the elite man ahead, "Big brother, what should I call you?"
"Whatever," the elite man replied without turning around. "I'm not interested in your names. If we meet alive next time, then we can talk about names." If they died in this level, what was the point of knowing each other's names? It would only be a waste of time and energy.
After understanding his meaning, the young man opened his mouth, then fell silent again, not asking the other two.
...
"Gold-rimmed glasses: I am the topic terminator, got it?"
"Although it's cruel, it does make some sense."
The livestream camera was focused on the group. The viewers, hearing this, were unsure how to react for a moment. What the elite man said was undoubtedly correct. If they remembered him now, he would be dead... In this place where every second counts and danger is everywhere, it was better to spend more time thinking about how to survive than to waste time remembering names. But!
"Big brother, you missed another chance to discover the streamer!"
"Gold-rimmed glasses: I could have won easily, but I didn't!"
"The truth is often right before your eyes, but people often fail to see it."
Admittedly, these onlookers were eagerly anticipating the moment the elite man would discover the truth.
...
"Alright, this is it." About an hour later, the NPC leading the way finally stopped. Everyone looked around. This was an open area with sparse greenery and short trees. Compared to the woods they had seen upon arrival, this place was barren. It looked as if it had been stripped bare. But they remembered that they had been moving forward or climbing all the way.
"Is this really the same mountain as before?" the young man muttered curiously. The difference was too great. It was as if one half of the mountain was in spring and the other in autumn.
Elite man: "What's so strange about that? Anything can happen in the horror world."
Young man: "That's true." Da Feng Novel