Chapter 48

Chapter 48 As Long As You Say.

The foreman stepped forward and kicked Yu Beli, cursing, “Another one dead.”

The moment the foreman’s words fell, the scene in front of Ning Rong suddenly turned illusory. The people and objects around her seemed to detach at extreme speed, everything blurring into a hazy mass.

At the same time, a mechanical voice rang in the minds of all surviving players—

【Timed Mission: Escape the Roller Coaster Area.】

The moment the system issued the mission, the scene in front of her became clear again.

However, all other players and NPCs had disappeared. Only Ning Rong remained there alone.

She raised her eyes and saw the roller coaster tracks surging down like waves, collapsing toward her with an unstoppable momentum. As the tracks broke apart, they emitted a harsh, ear-piercing screech, and the entire ground trembled violently.

She did not have much time to think and immediately turned and sprinted away.

Since it was to escape the roller coaster area, theoretically, as long as she ran out of this zone, it would be fine.

But this area was far larger than Ning Rong had imagined.

At this moment, her advantage as a student-athlete was fully revealed.

Superior stamina and stable running speed ensured that the collapsing tracks behind her always hit the ground just a few meters away.

The crashing tracks created thunderous sounds, raising massive clouds of dust that blotted out the sky, creating an intense sense of fear and unease. Within the boundless dust, Ning Rong ran faster and faster, her long legs almost turning into afterimages.

She even took the time to tie up her loose hair with a hair tie.

She had previously straightened her hair, which reached all the way down to her waist, and it had been trimmed by Tony into a layered style. Normally, she did not tie it up, but the situation was special.

The moment she rushed out of the dust-filled area, the system announcement simultaneously sounded in her mind.

【Congratulations, you have successfully escaped!】

At this moment, Ning Rong’s livestream—

【???】

【What just happened?】

【I only knew Big Sis Boss was rich, but I didn’t know her physical stamina was this good too?】

【No, I’m really curious about Big Sis Boss’s real-life identity now. She’s a wealthy person, yet she’s the fastest runner among all the players escaping. Does that make sense? Even her boyfriend can’t run faster than her.】

【On Big Sis Boss, everything makes sense!】

【Don’t you guys think Big Sis Boss’s running posture just now was very standard?】

【True, her breathing rhythm seemed extremely steady the whole time, and her speed increased gradually. To summarize it in one word: professional.】

【What do I do… I think I’m getting more and more obsessed with Big Sis Boss! The way she sprinted just now was seriously too cool!!】

Ning Rong regulated her breathing for a moment. Not long after, Zhou Yujing also escaped the roller coaster area and appeared beside her first.

Then came the other players.

Clearly, while they were running earlier, they had been in different spaces. But once they successfully escaped, they all returned to the original location.

The players who came out after escaping all wore expressions of relief after surviving disaster. Some collapsed directly to the ground and cried with their faces covered. The pressure from earlier had been too intense. The falling track fragments weighing over a thousand kilograms created scenes comparable to a large-scale horror film.

And now, less than an hour had passed since they entered the game.

At this moment, all players clearly understood—the game had indeed been updated.

The previous 24-hour safety period no longer existed.

And from the moment they entered the game, they might immediately face its trials.

In the end, a total of nine players successfully escaped the roller coaster area.

At the beginning, among the twelve players who entered the instance, aside from Yu Beli, a total of two had been eliminated in this timed mission.

Some players who could not adapt to the fast pace after the game update broke down in tears, clutching their heads.

“The pace is too fast, it’s really too fast.”

“There’s not even a single moment of buffer time left for us!”

The livestream audience was also discussing the timed mission.

【The difficulty of the game has indeed increased.】

【It can only be said that the survival space for the weak has been further squeezed.】

【Players with poor psychological endurance probably won’t be able to clear it anymore, since it’s already been confirmed that there is no 24-hour safe period anymore.】

【In that case, the impact of the faction war becomes even more prominent. Whether the game is completely ended or ushers in a new round of frenzy will depend on which faction’s Crown Prince wins in the end.】

【So, which faction is Big Sis Boss in?】

【When the faction war rules were updated, she was already inside the game. Let’s wait a bit longer and see.】

After the announcement of the deaths of two players, the game did not give the remaining players any more rest time.

What followed immediately was a new round of missions.

The two rounds of missions were issued less than ten minutes apart.

【Timed Mission 2: Eliminate the workers’ resentment.】

【Time limit: 5 minutes.】

【If any player completes the mission within 5 minutes, all players pass. If no player completes it within 5 minutes, two random players will die.】

Players: ????

The moment the mechanical voice fell, Ning Rong vaguely heard a player burst into loud crying. After that, the scene in front of her changed again.

This time, when she opened her eyes again, she was in a dark space.

The space was very small, like a temporary transit station.

At that moment, in front of her, it was as if a short film was being played, showing fragmented and chaotic scenes.

From those broken fragments, she roughly pieced together a story—

The designer, due to carelessness, provided the wrong blueprint.

The roller coaster area was under intense construction, but no one noticed the hidden danger.

During construction, the tracks collapsed, and several workers participating in the project died in the accident.

The mission was to eliminate the workers’ resentment within five minutes, so first it was necessary to understand what the workers were resenting.

Was it the careless designer who provided the wrong blueprint, or the irresponsible construction manager?

Or perhaps both?

After the fragments finished playing, Ning Rong appeared in a ruined wasteland filled with collapsed roller coaster tracks and tragic remnants of destruction.

She took a heavy step forward.

At that moment, several blurred figures suddenly appeared not far from her.

Those figures stood silently there, as if they had been standing for hundreds of years—silent, heavy, and unmoving.

They… seemed to be staring at her in deep silence.

【Five-minute limit, and two minutes have already passed!】

【Even the time for background explanation counts?】

【I’m dying laughing, I just wandered over to the other livestream—guess what I saw?】

【What?】

【I saw players actually crying and begging those shadowy figures to spare their lives. Some even bragged loudly, saying they would help those shadows kill the designer or the construction site manager.】

【No way, it’s at least a B-rank instance, and the players’ psychological resilience is just this?】

【Wait, I checked the NPC distribution and suddenly noticed something interesting. What a pity—I can’t tell this player face to face, but the designer and the construction site manager aren’t even in this instance… Even if that player really wanted to do it, they probably couldn’t.】

Just as the audience said, in order to complete the timed mission, the surviving players were using every method they could think of.

After all, the rules were very clear: if no one completed the mission, two random players would die.

No one knew who those two unlucky players would be.

The safest method was to clear the mission.

As long as one player succeeded, everyone could survive this timed mission!

The male player who had previously given Zhou Yujing the hearing aid item was currently praying with his eyes closed.

“Please let there be a big shot among these nine of us, please let there be a big shot who can carry us to victory, please, please, please!”

【Ahem, I heard your prayer. Let me tell you clearly—you really do have a big shot among your randomly matched teammates!】

【Two and a half minutes left, and this person still isn’t doing anything?】

【Maybe his skill just isn’t suitable for this kind of game…】

【If he runs into pig teammates, he’s going to cry himself out.】

【But his luck this time is pretty good. Looks like he’s about to get carried to victory.】

Ning Rong felt boundless loneliness and pain from those silent shadows.

Since this was a five-minute timed mission, in her view, the solution would not be difficult.

The game was more inclined to toy with players rather than truly wipe them out, so five minutes was, in theory, more than enough.

Since breaking the situation was likely not difficult, could she communicate directly?

Ning Rong said directly, “If you have any wishes, you can tell me. I can help you fulfill them.”

“As long as you say it.”

【“As long as you say it”!! If anyone else said that, I would definitely call them a fraud who only talks big and has no real ability; but if Big Sis Boss says it, I think there’s nothing wrong with it at all!】

【Big Sis Boss has spoken—if you have grievances, just say them. She’ll take care of it for you!】

【Even though the designer and construction manager aren’t in this game, if it’s Big Sis Boss, she should still be able to somehow drag them in, right?】

【Why are you in such a hurry? Maybe their resentment isn’t even about those two?】

At the moment Ning Rong finished speaking, a voice came from far away.

“All wishes?”

Ning Rong replied firmly, “All wishes.”

The voice continued, “People who make big promises are plenty, but those who can actually do it… none.”

Ning Rong calmly replied, “Others are others. I am me.”

Others may make empty promises, but she would not.

Because… she only spoke the truth.

The voice continued, “We… cannot let go of our families.”

Ning Rong was slightly surprised. “You don’t resent the designer and the construction site manager?”

The voice seemed to be recalling something, and slowly said, “After this incident, the designer took his own life out of guilt. The construction site manager compensated our families with a sum of money and also received legal punishment.”

【No wonder the designer and construction manager aren’t in this instance.】

【Not letting go of their families? Could it be that they want Big Sis Boss to find all their families?】

【Their wishes are very different from what I originally thought. No wonder the other players all failed the mission. They started off in the wrong direction from the beginning.】

【I can only say the cinematic fragments earlier were too misleading. The clips focused heavily on the designer and the construction site manager—who would’ve thought the workers didn’t care about those two at all anymore?】

【To clear the mission, it really comes down to Big Sis Boss. She didn’t say a single unnecessary word—just said she would help “fulfill their wishes.” Those four words already cover everything. Whether they resent the designer, the construction manager, or have other grievances, she can solve them all.】

Ning Rong fell silent for a moment, then asked, “Then what do you want to do?”

The voice gave a bitter laugh and murmured, “Back then, the compensation wasn’t small. But living off savings alone, after our families lost us as their main support pillars, there was no new source of income. Life… has been getting worse and worse.”

Hearing this, Ning Rong understood.

For these departed shadows, the most important thing was their families’ future.

The accident had already happened. They were no longer fixated on the past. What they wanted now was for their families to have a stable future.

A simple, yet very realistic wish.

Ning Rong said directly, “I can, depending on the situation, arrange for your families to work at my resort mountain estate and give them a stable source of income.”

“Of course, the premise is that they are hardworking, diligent, and steady in character.”

After hearing this, the shadow froze for a moment and asked, “Really?”

“Of course.”

The shadow said in disbelief, “Which resort mountain estate?”

Ning Rong said, “Su Mountain. It was shut down for a while before, but after I took it over, it has already been rebuilt and is now officially operating.” She had also considered renaming it before, but she didn’t have a better idea for now, so she simply continued using the original name.

The shadow: !!!

“Do you have proof?”

Ning Rong paused for a moment, then took out the ownership certificate of the resort estate. “This?”

【!!!】

【The way Big Sis Boss pulled out that certificate is so cool.】

【It may look like just a thin stack of documents, but that thing is worth over ten million game coins!】

【Worth its weight in gold!】

The shadow was clearly also stunned by Ning Rong’s demeanor and stammered, “The certificate is actually real… then… then it’s fine.”

At the moment the shadow finished speaking, the system notification for Ning Rong sounded—

【Timed Mission 2 completed.】

After the notification, she noticed a new neutral buff had appeared in her status bar—

【Gaze of the Black Shadow】.

There was also an explanation attached to this status.

【After you properly arrange the shadows’ families, this buff will disappear. If not properly arranged, this buff will turn into a negative buff. Under its influence, the player will suffer significant negative effects.】