The three of them, before losing consciousness completely, finally managed to find their rooms in the distorted world.
The moment they returned to their respective rooms, everything returned to normal.
Jing Minghe gasped for air. Now he finally understood what Hu Feiyan meant by the 'doors closing'.
After his breathing stabilized, Jing Minghe looked up at the clock on the wall. It was 12:01 AM. If the so-called 'doors closing' time was exactly midnight, then from the moment he noticed something was wrong to running back to his room and recovering his breath, only a minute had passed.
Yet, Jing Minghe distinctly felt as if a long time had passed. The time he stumbled through the hallway alone felt longer than a minute.
Frowning, Jing Minghe walked to the bedside and sat down. It seemed that in this instance, he had to stay obediently in his room at night.
He wondered how Chi Hao and Gu Chenhui were doing, if they had successfully entered their rooms. But he couldn't check now and could only choose to believe in them.
·
Fang Chao sat on the bed, his eyes fixed on the direction of the door, terrified that some horrifying uncanny doll would suddenly burst in. The threat in this instance was indeed the dolls. No matter what, he had to stay far away from that thing. He absolutely could not become the first casualty of this instance.
"Damn it!"
Fang Chao cursed angrily.
He still hadn't avenged how Gong Liang had almost killed him in the previous instance. If he couldn't get through this one, even if he had to stop here, he would definitely drag Gong Liang down with him!
Knock, knock, knock.
The sudden knocking startled Fang Chao.
"Dong, dong, dong,"
The knocking was soft, a steady rhythm. It sounded like the person knocking outside was being very careful.
Could it be another player? Had that uncanny doll not chased him?
Fang Chao was filled with doubt. The knocking sounded three more times, still with that regular, rhythmic pattern.
Even so, Fang Chao dared not open the door to check. What was even more frustrating was that the room's door didn't even have a peephole!
However, the knocking sound repeated every few minutes. He couldn't ignore it. Even though the knocking was gentle, its persistence made it impossible to overlook. If the person outside kept knocking like this, he wouldn't have any peace.
Fang Chao guessed that perhaps a player needed him for something important?
"Who is it?"
Fang Chao got off the bed, cautiously approached the door, and asked in a low voice.
"It's me." A gentle female voice came from outside the door.
Fang Chao frowned. He remembered there were four women among the eleven players this time. But he wasn't familiar with any of them. In fact, if they hadn't entered the same instance, he wouldn't have known them at all.
Moreover, each of them had their own companions. Why would they come looking for him?
As Fang Chao hesitated whether to open the door for the person outside, the voice outside spoke again.
"Fang Chao, can I come in and sit for a while?"
Hearing this, Fang Chao's hesitation lessened. Since she knew his name, she must be a player. Although he didn't know why she was looking for him or what her purpose was, as long as she wasn't a dangerous element from the instance, there was nothing to fear.
"Just a moment."
Fang Chao swallowed, mustered his courage, and slowly opened the door.
The moment the door opened and he saw the person standing outside, Fang Chao froze. Because the person standing before him was not one of the four female players, but the woman he longed for most in his life, yet could not have.
"Luo Xi? How are you here? This is..."
This was the instance of Infinite Horror: City of Death. Based on all the instances he had experienced, each instance had exactly eleven players, no more, no less. And Luo Xi was not among these eleven. Could there be players who joined midway? He had never heard of such a thing.
"Fang Chao," Luo Xi said, "Can I come in?"
"Ah, right," Fang Chao quickly opened the door wider, stepping aside to let her in. "It's dangerous outside, come in quickly."
Luo Xi smiled slightly, nodded in thanks, and walked gracefully into Fang Chao's room. Fang Chao peeked out to check the corridor; there was nothing unusual.
He let out a silent sigh of relief. Fang Chao thought that perhaps the players' accommodations were safe zones within the instance. As long as he stayed on the fourth floor or in his room, nothing would happen, he just wouldn't be able to find any clues.
However, clues were not his sole responsibility with so many players. He could tell the other players about the uncanny dolls tomorrow, and no one could say he hadn't contributed to clearing the instance.
Closing the door, Fang Chao turned to walk back and saw Luo Xi sitting by the bed. He couldn't help but feel a stir. He recalled that in the previous instance, due to the influence of the instance, he couldn't control his desires and mistook another female player for Luo Xi, forcefully sleeping with her. As a result, he indirectly caused that female player's death.
Seeing the real Luo Xi at this moment, he felt a strange sense of guilt.
It was this trace of guilt, combined with the joy of seeing Luo Xi, that left Fang Chao with no extra energy to think about whether this Luo Xi was real or not.
He only cared about one question: "Luo Xi, how are you here? Do you know what this place is?"
"Of course I know," Luo Xi lowered her head, a hint of bitterness on her face. "This is the game space where the system plays with humans, the place we call the City of Death."
"So, you were chosen too," Fang Chao quickly asked. "Is this your first instance?"
Luo Xi shook her head. "No. I can't remember how many instances I've been through. I only know I've passed many, many instances. After the last instance ended, instead of returning to the resting area, I was sent here."
She paused, and before Fang Chao could ask further, Luo Xi continued, "But one thing is very strange. All the instances I've experienced before had exactly eleven players, but in this instance, including me, there are twelve people."
Luo Xi's words perfectly addressed Fang Chao's doubts. He quickly asked, "When did you arrive? Why are you showing yourself now? Is it because of this strange phenomenon?"
"Yes," Luo Xi nodded, her eyes looking at Fang Chao with an innocent expression. "When I arrived, all of you had already gone upstairs. Out of caution, I quietly followed. I carefully counted and realized there was one extra person. For some reason, I was afraid of causing suspicion among the players, so I hid in the shadows. Only after everyone returned to their rooms did I come to find you. After all, among these players, I only know you. It's fortunate that there's someone I know here."
"I see.
Hearing Luo Xi's words, Fang Chao couldn't help but feel a secret joy. Not only had he gained a companion he could trust, but this companion was also the woman he most desired. More importantly, Luo Xi said she couldn't remember how many instances she had passed, which meant Luo Xi had experience from many instances and could provide him with immense help.
Perhaps, the two of them could even overcome this instance together and successfully leave this damned place.
Fang Chao couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile. But he didn't notice that Luo Xi, standing beside him, was also curling her lips. However, their smiles were entirely different.