Chapter 3

Chapter 3 A Heart That Wants to Be the Big Boss.

Lu Wen was startled. He had not expected Ning Rong to be so perceptive.

Most newcomers, when they first entered the game, would be confused and uneasy, hearts full of fear, with no attention left to notice anything else. But Ning Rong was different.

He smiled awkwardly and said, “I just wanted to say… you really have the aura of a big boss.” You absolutely couldn’t tell she was a complete newcomer! At the very least, compared with him, a not-so-new newcomer who had cleared two instances, she looked far less like a rookie.

Big boss aura…

The speaker had no intention, but the listener did.

Ning Rong did not think of herself as any kind of boss. But she really had once had a father who was a boss.

However, she had only seen him once, at her mother’s funeral. It was winter that year, snow falling heavily. Her father in name wore a black overcoat and black sunglasses, silently coming to pay respects to her mother.

At that time, several bodyguards stood beside him, and an assistant had to stand on tiptoe to hold an umbrella over him, shielding him from the swirling snow.

The reason the assistant needed to stand on tiptoe was because he was a full one meter ninety tall. For the sake of her biological father’s face, the assistant had been very polite to her, addressing her in Cantonese as Young Miss.

But old ties had no return date. She and that so-called biological father never recognized each other, and after that hurried meeting, father and daughter never met again.

Several thoughts flashed through Ning Rong’s mind. She said, “Here, I am the big boss.” Ning Rong truly did have a heart that wanted to be the big boss.

Lu Wen cooperatively laughed twice and even gave her a thumbs-up.

From the other party’s reaction, Ning Rong confirmed one thing: not every player had a “game identity.” What she had just said was actually a test.

If every player had an identity, then Lu Wen should have asked whether her new in-game identity was some underworld boss.

But he did not. And his expression was a little awkward, as if he were listening to her boast. The kind of awkwardness where he was too embarrassed to expose her.

It seemed that “identity” in the game should be a hidden function. Perhaps it would bring her unexpected surprises.

Ning Rong suddenly asked, “What happened with Zhou Yujing?”

“Ah? Nothing happened to him.”

Only after saying that did Lu Wen realize what Ning Rong actually meant to ask.

She was truly sharp. Probably because after hearing that Zhou Yujing was her boyfriend, he had shown some expression he should not have.

Actually, he wanted to say, Miss, since you’ve already entered an infinite-flow horror game, boyfriend or no boyfriend really isn’t important. Trying hard to stay alive is what matters most.

After all, if a boyfriend is gone, you can find another one. If your life is gone, then it is truly gone.

But… as a passerby, he had no standing to say such things.

Lu Wen scratched his head and sighed.

“In this batch of newcomers, he’s considered somewhat famous. He’s currently ranked fourteenth on the newcomer leaderboard.”

Ning Rong said, “Mm, what else?” If that were all, Lu Wen would never have looked at her with that expression just now.

Lu Wen completely gave up resisting. Anyway, Ning Rong had asked herself. He was just a kind passerby player helping answer questions.

“And also, he’s pretty close with a female teammate from their regular team.”

The anger Ning Rong had only just extinguished flared up fiercely once more.

She fired three questions in a row.

“Regular team? Female teammate? What’s her name?”

[Hahaha, she’s here, she’s here, the official girlfriend has arrived with her interrogation.]

[Why isn’t the person standing in front of her one of the actual parties involved! I really want to see her catch them in the act. It would definitely be exciting.]

[Honestly, when she said she was the big boss in the game, I really laughed. I don’t know whether her life is tough or not, but her mouth sure is.]

[Everyone knows boasting easily gets you slapped in the face. Usually people who like saying things like that don’t live long in this game.]

[Though I thought this kid was an information broker. Didn’t expect he was only half-baked.]

[Hahaha, regular team? What regular team? This game doesn’t even have such a thing as regular teams, okay?]

[Zhou Yujing and Juan Juan have entered three instances together, right?]

[Seems so. But they’re not a regular team. Juan Juan used a game item and forcibly bound herself to Zhou Yujing through money power. From what I can tell, Zhou Yujing finds her pretty annoying.]

[As a strong newcomer, Juan Juan really has no need to chase after him this hard.]

[But to be fair, Zhou Yujing’s face really is top-tier, and his potential isn’t small either. He should be one of the promising newcomers in Nightmare. Juan Juan really has good taste.]

[Finding a reliable couple partner in the game is indeed necessary. Juan Juan really has vision.]

After hearing the three rapid-fire questions, Lu Wen seemed to sense the surging force hidden beneath Ning Rong’s calm tone.

It was as if he were facing an ocean. Even when it looked calm on the surface, it was not truly peaceful. Who could know what kind of terrifying turbulence lay beneath the sea? It seemed he had dug a pit for Zhou Yujing...

But since the conversation had already reached this point, he simply poured out all the information he knew at once.

“Yes, regular team. They’ve entered instances together three times. The female teammate is called Chi Juan, nickname Juan Juan. People who know her in the game all call her that too. She is currently ranked eleventh on the newcomer leaderboard, and her strength is quite good.”

Ning Rong’s tone was calm.

“I understand.”

Other than herself, no one knew what she was thinking at that moment.

Lu Wen let out a sigh of relief. Let this topic pass quickly. Right now, the most urgent matter was clearing the instance.

Just as he was thinking that, four more players found their way to them.

These four players were two men and two women, two of whom looked relatively older. Players were randomly dropped into the instance map. At the start of the game, there would be a preparation period. During that time, players were protected. They could gather information, and they could also form teams and stick together.

After all six people had assembled, a mechanical voice suddenly sounded across the empty barren mountain wilderness.

“Welcome, six players, to the Nightmare Game.”

“The game you are about to play is called Countdown.”

“Game Difficulty: B.”

“Mission Objective: Before the countdown ends, survive, and find the way out.”

“We wish you an enjoyable time in this game.”

As soon as the mechanical voice disappeared, a girl who looked barely of age could not help screaming.

“B? How can it be B-rank! I’ve only cleared one instance before!”

Another older-looking man barked at her.

“Enough. Things are already like this. What’s the use of saying useless things now? What we need to do is gather information and make sure we leave here alive!”

Lu Wen hurriedly added,

“Right.”

[Oh ho, it’s actually B-rank. Going big right from the start?]

[Our little newcomers seem to have pretty bad luck. For these rookie players, B-rank should count as a hell-level instance, right?]

[Alright, disperse everyone. The catching-cheater scene we were hoping for is definitely gone. The official girlfriend probably won’t live much longer, so how would she have any chance to catch anyone?]

[I want to see the trashy boyfriend get beaten up!]

[Not necessarily, not necessarily. Judging from Zhou Yujing’s performance so far, he doesn’t really seem related to being a scumbag. But still, two strong newcomers entering three instances together in a row—even if nothing happened, the official girlfriend probably doesn’t feel too good about it, right? Fight, fight!]

[Tsk tsk tsk, I actually hope she survives this round. Haven’t seen a dramatic love triangle in a long time.]

[If this little newcomer can’t clear the instance, Juan Juan will most likely get her wish. After all, only by surviving can there be future stories and wine, right?]

[Looking forward to the little newcomer’s performance.]