“23411, come out and register. Stop f*cking sleeping.”
The Instance Supervisor had sharp features, a defined jawline, and a fierce glint between his brows. He reached out and knocked on the door, his exposed, pale hand bones striking the metal surface, producing a deafening sound.
No one answered from inside the room.
The man pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, his black military boots leaving shallow dents on the door. “Still alive? If you are, get the hell out here.”
Couldn’t be dead, could he?
Instance Games were perilous, and many Players, even after clearing them, were left severely injured. Without enough Points to afford Healing Medicine, they could only wait to die in their rooms.
This was especially true for new Players who had just completed their first Instance.
He frowned in annoyance, gathered his materials, and prepared to head downstairs. But just as he turned, the door behind him suddenly cracked open.
The person inside shuffled out in slippers, moving at a leisurely pace, completely unfazed by his harsh words.
“Can’t you f*cking—” hurry up.
The Supervisor turned around, the rest of his words catching in his throat as the materials clutched in his bony hand fell to the ground.
A girl peeked out from the doorway, her skin porcelain white, her lips moist and pink. Her round, cat-like eyes gazed at him warily, her thick, curled black lashes not daring to blink.
Her curious gaze swept over him, first flinching in fear at the sight of his terrifying, skinless hand, then squinting as she inspected the rest of him. Finally, she boldly pushed the door open, revealing her full figure.
A large, white cotton shirt covered most of her body. It didn’t seem like she was wearing anything underneath, as half of her thighs were exposed, soft and fleshy.
It looked as if a simple touch would leave marks that lingered for a long time.
The man remained frozen in place. In his dazed vision, she slowly shuffled toward him.
Seeing him standing there speechless, her beautiful eyes widened in confusion. She kindly crouched down to help him pick up the scattered documents.
Her knees, having healed considerably from the Healing Medicine, flushed a lovely shade of pink as she bent them.
The man finally snapped out of it and crouched down as well, one knee hitting the ground in his haste. His bony hand mechanically grabbed at the papers, accidentally brushing against her soft, delicate hand. He jerked back as if shocked.
His pale face flushed crimson.
She smelled so good, and she was so small—small enough to be carried on his shoulder or ride on his neck.
So she was wearing a green skirt underneath after all. It matched the color of her eyes perfectly.
“Did you see anyone outside my door just now?”
Her voice was lovely too.
Jiang Yingxiao stuffed the materials into his hand, deliberately avoiding contact with his bones. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“Someone was damaging my door earlier. They seemed really fierce, like a murderer. If you see them, stay far away.”
Her innocent, guileless gaze remained fixed on him, thinking to herself that this big, clumsy, speechless oaf would be the easiest target for a murderer.
He might even be illiterate, unable to cry for help even if he were attacked.
The Supervisor’s flushed face instantly paled. “N-no, I didn’t see anyone. That person is really, really terrible. Let me fix your door for you, okay?”
He lowered his voice, deliberately altering his tone as he spoke. He subtly hunched his shoulders, letting the sleeves of his jacket slide down to cover his proud, sharp hand bones.
She probably didn’t like them.
“Great, so you can talk.” Jiang Yingxiao smiled upon hearing this, her gaze dropping to the few sheets of paper curled up in the other person’s arms, where her name was written at the top.
“Are you here to find me?”
“Mhm… mhm, my name is Derek…” He felt as if he were suffocating from the fragrance, but upon hearing her voice, he finally remembered his original purpose. He stood up, trying to keep his sleeves long enough to cover his palms. “Follow me.”
The two passed by over a dozen dormitories, all designed identically, and took the express elevator down to the lobby on the first floor.
The glass walls around them let in the light from outside, revealing dense clusters of buildings in the distance. Airships flew past colorful neon lights.
The cityscape, bright with light pollution, was a stark contrast to the leisurely turning Ferris wheel on the lush green grass in Love Game.
[Welcome, Player Number 23411, to the Towards Death Game Center.]
[Please proceed to the lobby for registration promptly.]
The System prompt sounded just as Jiang Yingxiao took the registration form from Derek’s hands.
“The officials will generate questions based on your conditions. Just answer them truthfully.”
The girl nodded, leaning against the marble tabletop. The smooth stone surface reflected her slender, pale arms, with a faint shadow above.
The questionnaire was long, with about 100 questions. The first part consisted of basic information like name and height, which Jiang Yingxiao filled out effortlessly. But then, her delicate eyebrows suddenly furrowed.
“What’s wrong? Is there something off?” The man had been watching her expression closely and leaned down to look.
The game officials always included some mischievous questions in the questionnaire.
They likely asked about the level of horror one could tolerate and the types of horror one could accept. Then, once players entered the instance, they would switch to the opposite content, scaring them into a panic.
This was still too difficult for a girl who had just started playing horror games.
The supervising officer was about to break the rules and secretly give her a hint when he heard her voice, filled with confusion, “Why are they asking about my ideal partner type?”
The air fell silent for a few seconds.
Derek’s expression darkened, but he still held onto a hidden hope, his voice hoarse, “So, what type do you like?”
Jiang Yingxiao seemed to struggle with the question, hesitating for a long time before finally lifting her hand to write.
After answering the final question, the paper vanished from the tabletop.
[Sky Light Base Instance loading. Please prepare, Player.]
The mechanical voice sounded abruptly. Jiang Yingxiao instinctively looked around before losing consciousness.
[Zombie Apocalypse. Sky Light Base was established in Qinggang City, forming the main force for personnel accommodation alongside Dawn Base, 200 kilometers away. Under the command of the base leaders, people venture out to fight and distribute supplies, hoping for the day the apocalypse ends.]
[This instance operates under the Competition System. Clear condition: Annex the opposing faction.]
[Your faction is: Sky Light Base.]
[Your identity is: Useless Vase Who Holds Teammates Back.]
The air carried a chill as someone picked her up from the ground. Rough, dry fabric brushed against her face.
“Brother Chi, the road ahead is blocked by four or five Level Twos!” A young voice shouted urgently from nearby.
The person holding her responded with a muffled, steady voice, taking a few steps forward before transferring her onto a soft cushion.
Distant metallic clanging sounds mixed with the agonized screams of monsters drifted in from outside. Before long, the man from earlier returned and embraced her once more.
He had likely removed his jacket, as the softer fabric of his inner layer brushed against Jiang Yingxiao’s face. The firm muscles beneath pressed uncomfortably against her nose, and she let out a drowsy murmur of discomfort.
Yet the situation did not improve—his muscles only tensed further.
The car door closed, and the man in the front seat stepped on the accelerator, his voice echoing in the cramped space. “No one in the apocalypse dresses this cleanly, without a single scratch on them. Probably another spy from Tianguang.”
“Now they’ve really got it all figured out—even resorting to beauty traps.”
A brief silence fell inside the vehicle. The young man in the front, receiving no response, chose not to say more and focused on driving, bumping along until they reached the main road.
“She’s not.”
Jiang Yingxiao heard the man’s magnetic voice above her and opened her eyes.
Before her was his black combat suit, above it a sharp, defined jawline, and beyond that, his expression remained unclear. Only then did she realize she was lying in his arms, her head resting on his powerful thighs.
She tried to turn over and sit up but suddenly lost her balance, tumbling downward. A large, rough hand caught her beneath her knees, and Jiang Yingxiao found herself cradled in his embrace once more.
“Awake?”
His eyelids lowered, and his head dipped slightly, allowing the girl to finally see his face clearly.
“You’re… my boyfriend?”
Her voice carried a hint of uncertainty, the tail end of her words lifting softly, yet her eyes were bright—a beautiful green hue unseen in the snowy landscape outside.
After entering the game, before the apocalypse had even begun, she had inexplicably started dating someone while eating by the roadside. On the day the apocalypse started, her boyfriend called to say he would come pick her up, but the signal cut out right after.
“Chi Shangyan, I missed you so much.”
[Since when did my wife have a boyfriend? Someone explain this to me, or I’ll feel like my hair’s bothering me every day.]
[Probably an NPC arranged by the instance based on the form my wife filled out… Just started streaming, can I see what the NPC looks like? I could get surgery to look like that too.]
[D*mn NPCs really have all the luck. Who knows how many times he got to kiss my baby while they were dating? So unfair.]
The young man driving glanced in the rearview mirror, his grip loosening slightly. The car swerved over a zombie outside, nearly tipping over.
Jiang Yingxiao clung to the man’s lean waist to keep from falling and met the driver’s gaze in the rearview mirror, glaring at him fiercely.
Perhaps intimidated by her ferocity, the young man tightened his grip on the steering wheel and stared straight ahead, not daring to look back.
The girl turned around, leaning securely against the man’s body, but he shifted his gaze to look out the window.
“Chi Shangyan, Chi Shangyan, why aren’t you saying anything?”
She tugged at the corner of his combat suit, leaning against him, her eyes widening slightly as she looked up at him. Her body rose and fell with his heavy breaths. “Don’t you miss me too?”
Her voice carried a subtle hook, scratching at one’s heart. Just hearing it, one could imagine how sweet their past must have been.
Finally, the man turned to look at her. His hand, hanging at his side, clenched into a fist, and his eyelids lowered, obscuring his expression. After a long pause, he managed to utter a single sentence, his voice low and muffled. “I missed you too—”
“You’ve got the wrong person.” The young man in the front seat cut him off, pulling the car into line to wait for inspection. “That boyfriend of yours might have kicked the bucket ages ago. The only one here is Chi Yubai.”
So he wasn’t her boyfriend.
No wonder his expression was so cold. Chi Shangyan always smiled every day—he would never be this harsh with her.
Jiang Yingxiao fell silent, the tuft of hair that had been sticking up now drooping down. She curled into a small ball on the other side of the seat.
The man beside her quietly moved a little closer. His large hands, so adept at dealing with zombies, now seemed at a loss, until finally he placed one on the girl’s head and gave it a gentle pat.
“Chi Shangyan was my younger brother. After his death, I’ll protect you in his place.”
Author’s Note:
New Instance unlocked!