In truth, Bai Xinjian had considered a question: could the so-called monsters be existences from a higher dimension than the Transmigration Bureau where the system belonged? To him, the Bureau was already an unknown power, yet the monster’s existence seemed sufficient to make even the Bureau wary. Otherwise, they would not have conceived of a method to eliminate the monster by having it devour worlds. Were the Bureau and the monster actually on opposite sides? That would be wonderful. If they were to clash, Bai Xinjian would undoubtedly listen, watch from the sidelines, and offer no assistance. That would provide plenty of entertainment.
There were two monsters in the room, but Bai Xinjian did not seem afraid at all. He even reached out and pointed to the sofa in the corner. “Why do you not sit there for a while? There is another guest who has not arrived yet tonight.”
Gu Yue turned in the direction Bai Xinjian was pointing and made eye contact with Claude, who stood nearby, staring at the monster with bitter hatred.
“Roar.” Both sides bared sharp fangs in a threatening display.
Bai Xinjian stepped into his soft, white, fluffy slippers. He approached Gu Yue and Claude, patting them on the shoulders, his manner entirely gentle as if soothing them. “Have patience. You must get along well.”
The two monsters gradually settled, as if genuinely calmed by Bai Xinjian, though they would still involuntarily clash whenever their gazes met. The warm yellow lamp on the bedside table remained lit; Bai Xinjian did not plan to turn it off. He even considered going downstairs alone to fetch a glass of milk.
Bai Xinjian paused and turned to ask the two monsters in the corner. “Do you want some milk?”
Beside the soft sofa, neither monster sat down; they just stood in place, occasionally emitting low, hoarse murmurs.
“Eat, eat.”
“Fragrant, seems like.”
Are they that hungry?
Bai Xinjian tilted his head. Before he could go downstairs to pour the milk, the door knocked once more. This time, Bai Xinjian felt the temperature in the entire room slowly dropping. Ice shards began to spread from the doorway like a spiderweb, slowly coating the walls surrounding the door. The door was pushed open, and a foot stepped into the room.
“Warning, warning!” 0048’s voice rang in Bai Xinjian’s mind. “High-risk species detected.”
Bai Xinjian tried to call out to 0048 in his mind, but there was no response. The system simply repeated the alarm, as if it were broken. Bai Xinjian looked up at the doorway. This time, the monster that barged in had a face similar to Shen Yuhuai’s, though upon closer inspection, it was not quite the same. Its face was twisting, the right eye emitting a scorching dark blue light. Then, it closed its jet-black left eye, only to snap it open suddenly.
From the depths of that left eye, Bai Xinjian saw a deep red, flame-like glow. It looked like the hellfire of the underworld. Yet, in a split second, the fire vanished. Immediately after, a tentacle covered in dark blue patterns stretched out from behind the monster.
“Eat, eat.”
In the room, the voices of the other two monsters echoed in unison, whispering before finally merging into a single sound.
“Are you here to eat me?” Bai Xinjian could not help but ask.
The temperature in the room dropped further, nearly reaching sub-zero. Shen Yuhuai walked toward Bai Xinjian with stiff footsteps. The expression on his face was ferocious due to constant shifting, but that tentacle seemed to like Bai Xinjian, wrapping itself around his waist first.
“Eat, eat, Bai Yu.” The monsters chimed in unison.
Bai Xinjian laughed and reached out to support the face of the monster in front of him. “So, you truly want to eat me.”
The tentacle lifted its tip playfully from Bai Xinjian’s waist.
“Touch me, touch me.” Bai Xinjian heard another voice. He looked down and found that the tentacle was wiggling incessantly against his waist, trying to grab his attention.
“Eat, let me eat.”
“I eat, I eat.”
“Do not compete.”
“Shut up.”
The monsters began to mutter in a chaotic, evil confusion.
“Are you hungry?” Bai Xinjian leaned into the ear of the monster named Shen Yuhuai and whispered, “If you must devour something to satisfy your craving, I suggest you devour this world first.”
The monster’s eyes widened slowly. The dark blue glow of the right eye was intense, while the red light in the left eye flickered in and out of existence.
“Want to eat Bai Yu. World is not tasty. Hungry, Bai Yu, fragrant.”
“You want to eat me because I am fragrant?” Bai Xinjian guided him slowly. “Do you like me?”
The monster seemed to have triggered a keyword, and the light in the left eye began to brighten as well.
“Like, I like Bai Yu. I like you so much. Bai Yu is mine. I want to eat. Do not compete.”
The tentacle around Bai Xinjian’s waist also went wild, trying to join the fray. Bai Xinjian held down the restless tentacle. “You should know I am a human, not a monster, right?”
The monster quieted down.
“If you eat me, I will die, and you will never see me again,” Bai Xinjian tempted Him. “Do you want to see me in the next world?”
The monster did not understand what Bai Xinjian’s question meant, but He understood the word die.
“Cannot eat. Cannot eat. Cannot eat, cannot eat.”
The monsters began to make different noises again.
“Hungry, hungry.” The monster began to open his mouth wide, his entire body swelling. He grew larger and larger, gradually merging into one, nearly bursting through the ceiling. The soft tentacles scooped up Bai Xinjian, carrying him along with the monster’s expanding body as they surged toward the sky.
The night deepened. Only the deep red, blood-like moon hung in the sky. Bai Xinjian saw the giant monster slowly open his mouth. He smelled the rich fragrance of roses.
“My name is Bai Xinjian,” Bai Xinjian suddenly said to the monster. “If you are still there in the next world, remember to recognize me.”
The monster’s giant pupils contracted slightly. Immediately after, everything before Bai Xinjian’s eyes was engulfed by total darkness.
Bai Xinjian seemed to have fallen asleep at some point. When he regained his consciousness, he heard a voice calling him in his mind.
“Wake up, stop sleeping.”
Bai Xinjian recognized the voice; it was 0048. He slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying on uneven ground. The environment was strange, resembling a cave.
0048 said, “Congratulations, Jianjian! The mission in the previous story world is over, and the Transmigration Bureau has sent the settlement information and notification. Therefore, you have passed your internship and have been promoted to a full-time employee!”
0048’s voice sounded very happy. Bai Xinjian asked, “Should I feel honored by this?”
0048 choked. By comparison, Bai Xinjian was more concerned about another question: “Does being a full-time employee mean I have to sell my life to you forever? Does this mean I am signing a long-term labor contract with you?”
0048’s voice grew guilty, “Actually, no. Our Bureau provides employee benefits.”
0048 unfolded a panel before Bai Xinjian, “Look, this is the points bar. For every mission completed successfully, the Bureau gives you a rating. You scored very high in the last world, over 3,000 points, ranking you among the top interns.”
“Employee benefits?” Bai Xinjian asked. “What are they?”
“You can retire once you accumulate enough points. The Bureau provides retired employees with preferential internal pricing for housing. Once you retire, you can choose to spend your retirement in any story world you like.”
Bai Xinjian looked at the interface 0048 displayed. It mostly showed pictures of houses and prices in different worlds. Housing prices were calculated in points. Naturally, they were cheaper than in the real world, but most cost between 300,000 and 600,000, with some exceeding 1,000,000, though those were large houses; some villas or estates were even more expensive. In other words, completing one story world earned 3,000 points, and a house cost at least 300,000. He felt even more like a hard-labor worker.
0048’s voice remained guilty, “It is like this, Jianjian: after crossing into each new story, your salary will increase. It will not just be 3,000; that was just an intern’s salary. Do not worry.”
Bai Xinjian did not want to ask how much the salary would increase; that was not something he needed to worry about now.
“Welcome to the new story world,” after finishing the topic, 0048 tried to pull Bai Xinjian’s thoughts back. “You have traveled into an infinite horror game world. Because you have been weak and sickly since childhood, you cannot lift anything heavy or carry anything. You have no advantage in the game world. Fortunately, a childhood friend who grew up with you and has always had a crush on you has traveled into the game with you. He is very capable: smart, strong, and a good fighter. He attracted a group of other capable followers who want to rely on him after clearing the first game world, and he has subtly become the leader of a small group. After the first game world, you know that teamwork and mutual aid among players are crucial to surviving in this world. Although you always looked down on this childhood friend in your original world, because he was very poor—even though you were just as poor as he was. You knew he liked you because he had confessed his feelings to you, promising he would work hard to make money after graduation to give you a stable and secure life, but you dismissed him. You preferred to date someone wealthy; after all, you have a bit of beauty. In your original world, several wealthy people were pursuing you. But now, everything is different. You want to survive.”