Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Airborne onto the Rankings.

After getting a definite answer from Ning Rong, wild joy appeared on Lu Wen’s face. “Then we can leave this place!”

Joy also filled Qin Jue’s eyes.

As an old player, he had naturally heard of the “escape well.”

Every game dungeon had one “escape exit.” Sometimes it might be a well, sometimes a cave entrance, sometimes a ladder. In short, the forms were different.

When they learned that “escape exits” existed, countless rookie players became obsessed with them and stubbornly tried to find the “escape exit” the moment they entered a game, wanting to leave the game as quickly as possible.

But it was precisely this point that limited countless rookie players, trapping them instead, and causing them to lose their lives because of it.

It had to be said that One Thousand and One Nightmares, which deliberately released news of the “escape exits,” had sinister intentions full of malice.

Because how could “escape exits” be that easy to find?

If one focused only on taking shortcuts while ignoring clues in the dungeon, then one would be putting the cart before the horse.

Take the escape well in this game for example. If Ning Rong had not made the village chief destroy himself, then they would never have gotten the chance to enter the village chief’s room and search it.

If they had not entered the village chief’s room, then they could not have obtained tools like the flashlight and insect-repelling powder.

Without those tools, even if they knew the escape well was in the southeast of the village, they would not have been able to get even half a step close to it.

Because this mountain forest was black to the point of bottomlessness. Sunlight could not shine into this place at all, as if it had been forgotten by light.

Only a flashlight could illuminate the road ahead. And without insect-repelling powder, they obviously would not have traveled so smoothly along the way. They might even have encountered danger here.

The whole process looked rather easy and simple, but in reality it was not. If any part of it had gone wrong, this final result would have been impossible.

First, they had to deal with the village chief. That step alone could stop many players.

If they could not deal with the village chief, then they could only be dealt with by the village chief.

It could only be said that each link in this chain happened to interlock perfectly.

Without Ning Rong, there would have been no them finding the escape well.

Qin Jue glanced at Ning Rong, then at the escape well, eager to try. “Who goes first?”

Ning Rong said, “I just received a side quest. I don’t plan to leave for now.”

The moment she finished speaking, Lu Wen and Qin Jue noticed that the countdown on her chest had disappeared. Clearly, the fatal danger of the main storyline had already passed.

[Just now the countdown only had a little more than ten minutes left! So damn thrilling!]

[That flashing red light had even me feeling uneasy, but the little rookie stayed steady as hell.]

[With that mentality, she’s already better than most veteran players.]

[If not for that number ‘0,’ who could tell she was a pure rookie?]

The world of high-level players was always more exciting. Qin Jue and the others had not received a side quest prompt, but they were not disappointed.

Qin Jue nodded. “Alright, then I’ll jump first.”

Just as he was about to jump into the escape well, he seemed to remember something and turned to Ning Rong. “Be careful of that female player.”

That female player?

He Ye?

Ning Rong gave a slight nod, indicating that she understood.

Seeing that she knew what to do, Qin Jue felt reassured and jumped down.

The instant he left, a mechanical voice rang in the minds of all surviving players present—

“Player Qin Jue has successfully escaped.”

It had to be said, this horror game had quite a sense of ceremony. Whether a player died or escaped, it would make an announcement to everyone.

But news of a player escaping should also encourage the remaining players.

[Over in the other stream, A Leng is gone. Over here, Qin Jue escaped. The contrast is sharp and makes people sigh.]

[It really is a bit dramatic.]

[What? A Leng is actually gone?]

[He was still too young in the end. He couldn’t fully bring out the advantages of Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Disaster, and on top of that his mentality wasn’t good and his teammates were weak. It’s only natural he didn’t survive to the end of Absolute Kill.]

[With this, two national team members are already gone.]

[At first I was worried whether the little rookie could clear the game. Now I’m worried whether Zhou Yujing can leave the game alive!]

[Things are going smoothly on the little rookie’s side. Surely it won’t be that the moment she exits the game, she’ll hear news that Zhou Yujing is gone, right?]

[Ptui ptui ptui, stop talking nonsense upstairs. Zhou Yujing won’t fail to clear it.]

[Even so, the situation over at Absolute Kill really doesn’t look good.]

After hearing the announcement that “Player Qi Leng has died,” the atmosphere in the squad instantly dropped to freezing point.

In such a short time, they had already lost two important teammates.

Gu Yu wore a grave expression and was trying hard to find a way to break the deadlock. Zhou Yujing seemed detached from the group, the expression on his face still faint and indifferent. Chen Chu sat firmly beside Juan Juan, still full of confidence in her.

As for Juan Juan, she sat quietly, unconsciously recalling the past.

She thought of the conversation she had with her father before entering the game.

When he learned that she was going to chase after Zhou Yujing again, her father looked helpless yet indulgent. “Since you like him that much, then go.”

She hugged her father’s arm and complained, “But he still hasn’t fallen for me.”

Hearing her aggrieved words, her father patted her head and comforted her. “Dad will make your wish come true.”

From childhood until now, there had not been a single promise her father made to her that he had failed to fulfill. Since her father had said her wish would come true, then it definitely would come true.

Before that happened, her life absolutely could not stop at Absolute Kill.

She stood up and said, “Let’s cooperate with the remaining two players.”

Although there was a risk of being backstabbed, there was also a possibility of cooperation. Since those two had survived until now, they surely had some ability.

Even if they backstabbed her, she was not afraid. She had items given by her father. Although they were not as powerful as life-saving items, blocking damage from companions was more than enough.

Gu Yu and Chen Chu looked at each other. Neither had any objection. “Alright!”

After Qin Jue, it was soon Lu Wen’s turn.

He was a little reluctant. “Sis, then I’ll go first?”

Ning Rong’s tone was calm. “Go.”

[Dead laughing. Lu Wen is actually reluctant to leave.]

[Players in other livestream rooms can’t wait to escape, and he’s still dragging his feet.]

[This is the benefit of hugging the right thigh. It’s too comfortable.]

Lu Wen scratched his head. He wanted to leave, but also did not really want to. “Sis, after leaving the game…”

“If anything comes up, you can look for me.”

Lu Wen instantly beamed with joy. “Alright, Sis.”

Only after receiving this assurance from Ning Rong did he jump into the escape well in complete satisfaction.

Very soon, the announcement “Player Lu Wen has successfully escaped” also rang in the minds of all surviving players.

There had been six players in one round. At present, one had died, two had escaped, and three players remained.

He Ye, who was still dealing with the villagers, slightly raised her head after hearing these two consecutive broadcast announcements.

She did not have any deep impression of Lu Wen. On the day they entered the game, they had only had shallow contact. She only remembered him as an ordinary player with no ambition and no ability.

At that time, when she learned that this ordinary player even planned to bring along a complete rookie, she had already labeled him as “not worth getting close to” and “dead man walking.”

Yet this “dead man walking,” whom she had not placed in her eyes at all, cleared the game before her.

A trace of curiosity appeared on her face.

Was it because of Qin Jue?

Probably.

Among everyone present, only he was a veteran player who had cleared four times. If that was the case, then it made sense.

After a few thoughts flashed through He Ye’s mind, she stopped thinking about those two. She had already fallen one step behind the others and could not afford to fall too far behind.

She should leave too.

And after hearing those two announcements, Jian Ru’s son’s ashen face burst with strong hope.

They had cleared the game so quickly, which meant this game was not that difficult, right?

He... should still have hope of surviving, right?

Ning Rong remembered the warning Qin Jue had given her. After her two companions left, she took out the map looted from the village chief and began studying it carefully on the spot.

They had previously explored around the village. Aside from the stretch of wilderness when they first entered the game, the hill they had accidentally stepped onto while fleeing the villagers’ pursuit, and this forest, she had not set foot in any other places.

This map already looked very old.

She saw that the upper-left corner of the map had a huge cross drawn on it.

This cross had been drawn in red pen. Perhaps because too much time had passed, the red had slightly faded and turned into a deeper brown color. Or perhaps it had not been drawn with red pen at all, but with something else.

The person who drew the cross had used great force. Even the back of the paper showed faint marks from it. Beside it was a line of small black words. The handwriting had already blurred slightly, and most of the characters could not be seen clearly. Only some curses could vaguely be made out.

Ning Rong did not know where other people would choose to investigate first after obtaining this map, but she only wanted to first go look at the place marked with the large cross.

What would be there?

After making up her mind, she put away the map and began walking toward the northwest of the village. Her feet stepped on withered leaves, making an unpleasant crunching sound.

Her back was straight, and her long legs were especially striking as she alone headed toward a grand side quest.

Though it was only a back view, it somehow seemed full of strength.

[She’s going to the forbidden area of this dungeon?]

[Based on my livestream-watching experience, the first few players who went to forbidden zones all got GGed.]

[Why isn’t she afraid at all! Isn’t she a complete rookie? Shouldn’t rookies be the most afraid of being alone?]

[6. She’s genuinely brave.]

[She’d better not throw away a watermelon to pick up sesame seeds. She didn’t choose direct escape just to finish the side quest. Hope she won’t regret it.]

Regret was impossible.

Ning Rong’s heart only held curiosity and anticipation toward the “hidden identity.”

After Lu Wen escaped Countdown, he suddenly appeared in a messy room filled with yellowed traces of age.

After returning here, he let out a long breath.

He had survived another game.

Truly worthy of celebration.

Thanks to Ning Rong, he had been able to survive smoothly this time.

After coming out, he did not leave the game teleport point immediately. Instead, he slowly slid down along the wall.

Although he had stayed in Countdown for less than three days, his body was tired and his mind even more tired. Right now he only wanted to rest properly.

Scenes from what happened in the game flashed through his mind one by one.

Only after resting for half an hour did he have the energy to open the door and walk out of the room.

If Ning Rong were here, she would discover that the place Lu Wen had appeared in was the apartment building she had previously found through the game invitation letter.

Inside the building were room after room that looked alike. The rooms of dead players had all been sealed with notices, permanently locked away, never to be opened again.

After living players finished a game, they would all appear here.

At this hour, no one else had finished a game, so on this corridor that seemed to stretch endlessly, only Lu Wen was passing through. In just that short stretch of road, he noticed that the number of rooms sealed with notices had increased.

There clearly had not been this many before.

After realizing this, his mood became somewhat heavy. His shoes stepped on the cement floor, occasionally splashing through puddles. Because the environment was too quiet and damp, some echoes were produced.

He could not help recalling the days spent with Ning Rong.

Although in the game every moment had been full of danger, as if tomorrow could not be seen, his heart had strangely felt peaceful.

After leaving the game, his heart instead became empty and aimless.

After leaving the building, he dragged his exhausted body onto a bus and returned home.

After getting home, he did not choose to wash up or eat first. Instead, he took out the game invitation letter that belonged to him from a locked drawer.

The game invitation letter still looked the same as when he first received it—luxurious and exquisite. The invitation words written on it were ambiguous yet sincere, but they made him not dare look at them carefully a second time. If possible, he would rather never have clearly seen those words at all.

The moment Lu Wen picked up the game invitation letter, several options appeared in front of him.

[Enter Forum]

[Enter Store]

[Personal Space]

Without needing to think, he directly chose [Enter Forum].

Even though countless people died in the game every day, countless newcomers also joined the game every day.

So no matter what time one chose to enter the forum, it was always extremely lively. Every minute and every second, people were making posts and replying.

They shared gossip, complained about the dangers they encountered every day, and lived lives without knowing what tomorrow would be like.

Lu Wen used to really like this kind of bustle, because only by seeing these noisy human voices would he clearly realize that he was not the only one experiencing all this.

There were countless others just like him, experiencing the horror game and struggling desperately to survive inside it.

He had thought he would always like such a lively forum.

But at this very moment, seeing many threads on the homepage pairing Juan Juan and Zhou Yujing together, his mood could not improve.

[Vote! When will Zhou Yujing get together with Juan Juan?]

[Hope I can match with Juan Juan next time I enter a game. Want to watch that peerless love story up close!]

[I received an invitation from the national team. How can I end up under the same leader as Zhou Yujing and Juan Juan?]

Lu Wen’s heart was full of anger and dissatisfaction, like a volcano inside him about to erupt with lava. This blazing fury was about to burn away his reason.

He really wanted to make a post and say something.

But he knew that as Ning Rong’s little follower, he truly had no standing to say or do anything.

If he did, it would seem like overstepping boundaries.

To avoid bringing trouble to Ning Rong, he could not, and had no right to interfere in this relationship.

Even if it were truly necessary to confront these people, Ning Rong herself would have to do it.

After all, she was the person directly involved.

And he was only someone who knew the truth.

Although he could not openly discuss how Juan Juan kept pestering Zhou Yujing while knowing he already had a girlfriend, he could talk about something else.

In an instant, Lu Wen had an idea.

He clicked [Make Post], rapidly typed out a paragraph, and hit send.

After posting, he rubbed his hands together, his heart full of anticipation and excitement.

Very quickly, a new thread appeared on the forum. Its title was especially flashy and attention-grabbing—

A Big Shot Is About to Air-Drop into the Top Ten Rookie Rankings! Tremble, Trash!

Who the trash referred to—those who understood, understood!

The players browsing the forum: ???