As Rong Ping’an emerged from the photograph, she could not help but think that God possessed a level of control that far surpassed a normal person’s. Being targeted by Him was never a good thing, especially since Xing Yun was far too opinionated and had a sharp edge to her.
They arrived at a new room. Both side walls were embedded with independent boxes, and the open ground in the middle was lined with rectangular containers that could hold a person. They looked like coffins, enough to make one’s hair stand on end.
The temperature here dropped sharply. The room was dim, the overhead lights flickered constantly due to unstable wiring, and an irritating, pungent odor faintly permeated the air.
At the entrance, various pastries were displayed on exquisite trays, looking delicious enough to make anyone’s stomach growl. Rong Ping’an’s spine stiffened. Just as she was about to warn Xing Yun to be cautious and observe the environment, she was stunned to see Xing Yun calmly pick up a pastry and eat it.
Rong Ping’an was speechless. “Why are you putting everything in your mouth? Spit it out. Do you not think it is abnormal for food to appear here?”
As Rong Ping’an had suspected, how could such exquisite desserts be produced in such a grim environment?
After Xing Yun finished a few pastries in one go, she patted her stomach with satisfaction. “In every movie, it is always the person who seems least suspicious who turns out to be the killer. If God set up such a low-effort trap, I would really laugh at His intellect.”
Rong Ping’an’s mouth twitched.
Sometimes Rong Ping’an felt that Xing Yun was the craziest of them all. Others were crazy in a simple, frantic way, but Xing Yun was calmly crazy, building on the foundation of survival. Every one of her actions was grounded in logic, yet shocking to behold.
She seemed to understand God’s intentions inherently, even better than some veterans who had walked through the gates of hell multiple times. In God’s eyes, everyone else was a blank sheet of paper, and they were all in awe of Him, whereas Xing Yun was daring enough to treat God as the blank sheet.
“Why are you looking at me with that complicated expression? Eat.”
As she spoke, she shared her tasting notes and put the pieces she considered the best on a plate for Rong Ping’an.
“Do not be polite.”
“…” Rong Ping’an’s eyelid twitched. The vigilance she had cultivated from years of exploring instances made it impossible for her to reach out.
Of course, Xing Yun was no fool. Even if people here died, they would be resurrected. Since that was the case, what was wrong with eating a few of God’s pastries? If she died, she could just come back to life. If she could fleece God’s wool, she should do it quickly.
She never thought about following God’s plan; being an eyesore to God was the best outcome.
Furthermore, after putting people inside the photograph, every step she took left her exhausted. If she did not replenish some energy, she feared she would not survive the road ahead.
Rong Ping’an still could not bear to watch. She reached out to snatch the pastry from Xing Yun’s hand, but before she could say a word, Xing Yun fed it to her by reversing her hand.
Rong Ping’an: …
They were the first to arrive, but they did not enjoy the peace for long. Others soon followed. Xing Yun and Rong Ping’an hid behind a box near the entrance to conceal themselves.
Xing Yun pricked up her ears, listening to the sounds outside, while her hands were not idle. She went about her own plan. Under Rong Ping’an’s confused and shocked gaze, she held up a finger to her lips, signaling Rong Ping’an to just wait and see.
…
Yu Xi had been separated from Xu Lang. When he reached the new location, his heart was pounding. Although he would not die in this space, he could not help but feel uneasy. He carefully examined the environment and realized he was still in the first batch to arrive; he thought he had been quite slow.
Suddenly, he saw Xu Lang walking toward him. His heart relaxed, and he let out a long breath. Only then did he finally feel the fatigue.
“Glad we are both safe,” Yu Xi said. “My intuition was right after all. You got the item from the fork in the road, right?”
He tried to clench his fists to stay awake, occasionally pinching his arm with his nails; he saw Xu Lang as a double image.
When he saw Xu Lang nod at him, Yu Xi felt relieved, but his body felt unstable. He simply sat on the ground to rest.
“I followed that ‘strongest’ person. I might have already been fleeced by her on the way, but in the end, I found a bead in the gap between two bricks.” Yu Xi opened his hand to reveal the bead; it was only the size of a small fingernail.
Xu Lang’s eyebrows jumped. “You managed to find that? I really have to hand it to you.”
Yu Xi asked, “I saw Tong Huiran on your path. She did not make things difficult for you, did she?”
Xu Lang shook his head. “That does not matter… but you do not look very good.”
Yu Xi leaned against the wall, squinting his eyes, and sneezed. “I have a very uncomfortable feeling… could it be due to the food?” He propped himself up against the wall, stood up, walked over to the pastries, and even picked one up to sniff it. “I am this close, yet I do not feel anything unusual… could it be…” He suddenly turned his head and looked at Xu Lang with a sharp gaze.
Xu Lang swallowed hard and took two steps back. Yu Xi pressed closer until he was right in front of Xu Lang, frowning. “You, on the other hand, give me an uncomfortable feeling…”
Xu Lang placed his hand between them to create space and turned his head slightly. “You must be mistaken.”
“Impossible!” Yu Xi’s voice rose. “I cannot be mistaken.”
Hearing Yu Xi’s intense reaction, Xu Lang turned his head aside, his gaze trembling. Seeing this, Yu Xi’s face darkened, and his expression cleared significantly. “Could it be…”
“Are the items you picked up incompatible with me?” He bit his lip. “Perhaps this is the price for obtaining ‘absolute luck’.”
Xu Lang caught his breath and swallowed it back down, rubbing his nose. “Why are you always so jumpy?” He suddenly grabbed Yu Xi’s collar and pointed forward. “Look ahead, do you see any danger?”
Yu Xi felt dizzy but looked carefully. “I see many people ahead. We should avoid them…”
Xu Lang continued to press him. “And then?”
Yu Xi pressed his temples, his voice weak. “At the end, there will be a warm place to rest waiting for everyone.”
These words were exactly what “Xu Lang” wanted to hear.
“Xu Lang” smiled and placed Yu Xi against the wall. “Thank you. Get some rest.”
Yu Xi clutched his head and leaned against the wall, drifting off to sleep.
Suddenly, a pair of hands shook him awake. He looked carefully and saw Xu Lang’s joyful face. “Your intuition was right! There is nothing to worry about. You got your item too, right?”
Yu Xi covered his aching head, looking horrified. This scene was so familiar; was Xu Lang not just repeating his lines from moments ago?
“Why are you mimicking me?”
Xu Lang helped Yu Xi up, looking bewildered. “What do you mean ‘mimicking you’? Did we not just run into each other?”
“Are you serious!?”
Yu Xi’s back was instantly drenched in cold sweat. He felt his face turn hot in an instant. “Damn it, I have been played.”
After Xing Yun met up with Rong Ping’an, she took off the mask on her face. This item was indeed powerful; there was no sense of stuffiness at all, and it felt as natural and thin as real skin. She shared the intelligence she had gathered from Yu Xi with Rong Ping’an. “We met in the last instance. He has ‘absolute intuition,’ so he can be trusted. It was necessary to extract information from him.”
“Information is truly a good thing.” Xing Yun gave a mischievous smile, then opened her hands to show Rong Ping’an her extra gain: “I swiped this bead from him. All his hard work for nothing; he is going to be furious.”
Xing Yun’s plan was simple: as long as they avoided the people Yu Xi mentioned, they could successfully clear the level.
“Well done.” Rong Ping’an thought for a moment and said, “Then we should carefully find where those people are and bump into them.”
Xing Yun: “?”
This did not seem to be the plot she had imagined. Was this the daily life of an expert? Could she leave her out of the insanity?
Rong Ping’an seemed to perceive Xing Yun’s thoughts and said calmly, “Only by delving deeper into danger can you gain more performance points.”
Xing Yun could not help but confirm: “The ‘danger’ you are talking about is not just some small trouble.”
Rong Ping’an watched as more people arrived and no longer concealed her figure.
“Anyway, we have confirmed that we will not die here.” Rong Ping’an looked forward with a firm gaze. “I have a reason that I must do this.”
“Then I am not going.” Xing Yun’s face fell.
Rong Ping’an was puzzled. “Without me, you definitely would not have made it through that last stretch on your own.” She pointed to her legs—legs made of blue flames, as brilliant as the Milky Way. “Who do you think is helping you maintain your body temperature right now? Although we will not die, the feeling of being repeatedly frozen into an ice sculpture, and then after ‘dying,’ only being able to move forward two steps before your life fades away again, is more painful than death.”
Xing Yun was startled. She looked back at the corridor. In that hallway, without her knowing, countless people were still trapped on the path. Every time they died in agony, they watched their own frozen fingers drop off and vomited blood. They repeated this torture over and over, and some did not even know how much longer the road was.
Most people had arrived in this instance without knowing what was happening. Some, like her, were asleep and had not even put on enough clothes, making their situation in this environment especially difficult.
Xing Yun lowered her head and said nothing.
She wanted to try to smile, but she could not. She wrapped her pajamas tighter, thinking that for the others, reaching a new location did not bring happiness, but greater despair, as the environment in the next location was even colder.
It was true, as Rong Ping’an said. If it were not for her, she would certainly still be struggling for survival.
Rong Ping’an put on a wide smile. “Let us go. Working together will earn us higher performance points, which is good for both of us.”
“I should have guessed long ago that you are not exactly a charitable soul.”
Rong Ping’an smiled. “If we run into danger, I will lend a hand.”
Xing Yun glared at her sideways. “You just want to use me to farm points.”
Rong Ping’an curled her lip. “Then stop intentionally pitching your voice when you talk to me. I am not buying it.”
Xing Yun pointed at herself in disbelief, horrified. “Pitching my voice? Who?”
She rolled her eyes. She had never seen such a shameless person. She had even suspected her of deliberately flipping her hair earlier; it was purely a fabrication.
Although there were not many people in this room, there were over twenty. About a dozen of them kept a distance of neither too near nor too far from Xing Yun and her companion, believing that following the “strongest” person meant safety.
Xing Yun suddenly realized something incredible:
The reason Rong Ping’an was placed on the pedestal of being the “strongest” was likely a huge misunderstanding.
Is it possible that everyone thinks Rong Ping’an enters the most dangerous instances and gets out safely because she is strong and handles crises well?
But in reality, it is because even when she enters a safe instance, she tries her best to court death, turning ordinary danger into extreme danger.
It is completely because she courts death and never explains!
Xing Yun looked with pity at the people following cautiously. These people had no idea that the “expert” was not a guardian angel, but a reaper leading them in the wrong direction.
“You guys should go explore somewhere else; there are two doors ahead.” Xing Yun reminded them kindly.
But that group was completely stubborn and would not listen.
“…”
Xing Yun laughed dryly and asked Rong Ping’an, “Will you ensure their safety?”
“Do I look that idle?”
“…”
Rong Ping’an looked at Xing Yun, her tone serious: “And you, you cannot be a dead weight, either.”
“…”
This room was like the previous corridor, appearing endless. But the further they walked, the more stable the circuit became; the previous flickering no longer occurred.
Just as Xing Yun felt relieved by the brightness before her, the lights suddenly went out. The sudden darkness plunged everything into panic.
She clearly heard wailing and cries for help, but it happened too quickly, and her eyes had not adapted to the darkness, so she could not see anything.
She felt a chill run through her entire body. This is what happens when one is in the unknown; fear devours the body and logic. Her hands shook uncontrollably, until she felt her hand grabbed firmly by another.
When in danger, having another person beside you naturally brings some comfort. She squeezed Rong Ping’an’s hand back hard, conveying her strength.
As the lights came back on, she saw that only five people remained of the small group that had been following them. The others had vanished, with only bloodstains on the floor and drag marks revealing what had just happened.
Looking at the bloody handprint right at her feet, Xing Yun’s scalp tingled, because she had been only one step away from danger, yet she had no idea what had just occurred.
She could feel the agony of those who had been dragged away because she saw several peeled-off fingernails that had snapped off while they were clawing at the floor. What an incredible survival instinct one must have to endure having one’s fingernails torn off!