"Huh, is she deaf??"
The viewers listened to the conversation between the two.
At first, when they heard the word "steak," they were completely confused.
Why did they suddenly mention food?
Even if they were asking the streamer for food... weren't they being too bold?
And there was a sense of incongruity.
After a few exchanges,
Everyone realized that the person just hadn't heard clearly.
"Deaf... can't be that deaf, right? This is completely off the original meaning."
"Upstairs, have you ever talked to the aunties and uncles in the community?"
"Could she be scared silly?"
Amidst the bewildered barrage of comments,
Some viewers, based on their own experiences, began to speculate:
"She's not wearing much, which means she was in a warm place before.
But she's wearing a shirt and fleece-lined wide-leg pants. Looks like a worker."
If she's a worker,
And she's so deaf and still employed by a company,
Then it's probably a company for the deaf and mute.
However, her pronunciation is accurate and her speech is natural.
She doesn't seem deaf.
...
"I think she might be too nervous. Although she doesn't realize it herself,
Arriving in such a place and meeting the streamer, she must be under physical and mental pressure."
Another viewer shared their experience,
Offering a different guess:
"My roommate encountered this situation before.
When he first arrived in a new city to work, he often couldn't hear his colleagues clearly.
And they mistook it for him not understanding the local language."
Seeing this string of comments,
The viewers had different reactions.
"There's such a thing? But it sounds quite plausible."
"Wow, I learned something new."
"Damn, I've had this happen too. When I first transferred schools, I couldn't hear the teacher clearly, and I almost got sent to a special school."
...
In the live stream footage—
Jiang Lin, listening to Liu Yao's strange questions, stopped speaking.
Instead, he used his mind to transmit a message directly into her brain.
"What's your name?"
Liu Yao on the other side clearly froze for a moment, then replied fluently, "My name is Liu Yao, Liu as in Liu Bang, Yao as in Yaochi."
"Don't be nervous, you're still alive."
Jiang Lin repeated his earlier words,
Then briefly explained the current situation to her, and she nodded repeatedly.
"Okay, streamer, I'll be good and won't cause you trouble. I'll try my best to survive!"
Jiang Lin: "...Mm, keep it up."
Gurgle...
Gurgle...
As soon as their conversation ended, Liu Yao's stomach started rumbling.
In this vast white space, it was hard to ignore.
Jiang Lin pointed to the electronic screen on the white wall, "There's a shop over there. Buy whatever you want to eat."
"Thank you, streamer!"
Liu Yao, thinking about the 'game' she was about to face, didn't stand on ceremony. She nodded and jogged over.
Her last meal was lunch, and it had been nearly ten hours since then.
After settling Liu Yao, Jiang Lin began to check on Shen Luo's situation.
Thanks to the liveliness of the small live stream sphere, he managed to see all four people in the card room.
After a quick overview of the general situation, Jiang Lin used the small live stream sphere to open a bullet comment box visible only to Shen Luo.
With a thought, he sent a message:
[This is Jiang Lin, how's your situation?]
...
The two exchanged information and guesses through the bullet comment box.
Finally, they reached a few conclusions:
One, the rules could be exploited in reverse. The conditions for certain death were not absolute.
Two, this world within the black hole was called the Ghost Building. Either it was just a nickname, or all the 'small worlds' here actually belonged to the same building.
This meant that if they broke through the barrier of one small world, they might be able to reach another small world, or even leave the Ghost Building directly.
Three, the rules and appearance of the 'small worlds' within the Ghost Building were derived from the culture of Water Blue Star.
—The origin of "The Little Match Girl," and how the people inside spoke foreign languages that were automatically translated into sounds they could understand.
—The aesthetics of the ghosts in the card room were different from those of Water Blue Star people. Their current appearance was likely just to help players adapt faster.
Four, the time flow in each small world, as well as the time flow between the Ghost Building and the human world, were different.
Five, the Ghost Building was absorbing the players' energy through various means.
The exchange rules in the card room meant that ordinary people would lose their lives if they lost.
Jiang Lin felt hunger under the power of the rules, which was also a form of consumption.
Although he later replenished it through cultivation, he still needed to be vigilant.
Based on this understanding,
Jiang Lin, combined with 'Number One's' special perspective, also came up with a guess.
However, because it still needed to be confirmed and was difficult to explain, Jiang Lin did not mention it for the time being.
After the brief exchange, Liu Yao had just finished a box of rice.
She burped contentedly with the empty box in her arms and happened to meet the streamer's gaze, feeling a bit embarrassed.
She also felt a hint of instinctive fear.
To be honest, as a 996 overtime worker, when writing wills was popular, she had written one too.
She was afraid of dying of overwork at any moment.
She wiped her mouth, stood up, and asked, "Streamer, are we leaving now?"
"Mm, are you ready?" Jiang Lin asked.
Liu Yao nodded nervously, "I'm ready, streamer."
She couldn't drag the streamer down,
And she had to cling to his leg.
...
Liu Yao tightly gripped Jiang Lin's sleeve.
To better integrate into the culture of the 'small worlds' that emerged from the Ghost Building, Jiang Lin had transformed into ordinary human clothes and his hair had become short.
Without the tall hat and white robe, although his face was the same, he looked like an office worker who had graduated two or three years ago.
He raised his other hand and clicked [Enter Game Now].
"Transmitting... Error detected! Error detected! Repairing... Repair successful! Transmitting..."
After a genderless electronic voice, the portal arrived as expected.
Jiang Lin's vision shifted.
The dark corridor around him transformed into a world of glowing energy.
Based on the flow and structure of the energy, their destinations and functions seemed to vary.
With the experience from last time, Jiang Lin observed carefully and discerned some patterns in the chaotic energy flows.
Some of these energy flows formed a cube, some resembled a small ball, and some looked like square grids...
Furthermore, through these constantly receding energy formations, Jiang Lin could clearly feel himself moving forward and upward.
It was like riding an elevator.
This further strengthened his and Shen Luo's conjecture about the Ghost Building.
In an instant,
The teleportation ended.
Jiang Lin and Liu Yao landed on the ground together.
Along with them, three other people appeared.
The five stood in a line.
They were surrounded by tall, lush trees, and birds chirped on the branches.
The air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and wood.
Before they could observe further, greetings came from the front.
"Alright friends, the future of Water Blue Star is in your hands. Pick up your tools and set off with me!"
A man wearing bright orange clothing stood before them. His skin was dark and a bit dry, with straight eyebrows, giving him an aura of diligence and integrity.
After a loud shout, he shouldered a basket and held a homemade long knife—a small knife tied to the end of a bamboo pole—and took the lead.
...
(Ps: For those who asked, I'll clarify here that the Ghost Building is just an event, and it won't be written as an infinite flow novel. _(:зゝ∠)_ )