Chapter 14
They all turned to look at Ye Nianchu at the same time—every expression, every gesture, even the way they waved their hands—it was all exactly like the boss!
The scene felt strangely creepy. Why were they waving goodbye like that?
Waving goodbye wasn't necessary!
Ye Nianchu had been through many games before, but few had involved such weird, unnatural forces. Only one had been truly terrifying. That game had a special mark—just a big, bold question mark for its difficulty level.
A group of S-ranked players, herself included, had formed a team. They were powerful enough to breeze through most games, crushing them easily.
But this game was different. It was brutal. The four S-ranked players, including her, had fought with everything they had, but almost all of them died in that round.
In the end, only one person managed to clear the level.
That person was not her.
Ye Nianchu couldn’t shake the feeling that the difficulty level of this game was definitely not a simple B.
She didn't want to stick around to find out, so she quickly turned and sprinted away. After running through two alleys, she finally stopped, leaning against the wall, out of breath.
Moss grew thick in the corner, and a single peach blossom petal lay quietly on the narrow green stone path. The place looked gloomy, almost sinister.
Then, it hit her.
Sooner or later, these ‘people’ would come after her.
If she avoided them today, they'd catch up with her tomorrow.
Great. She had managed to make her already bad situation even worse.
She felt the deep malice of the game once again.
Ye Nianchu decided to skip lunch. She had no appetite and no interest in stepping into any of Daiyong Town's restaurants or shops.
Back at the B&B, a few people were crowded around the front desk. The two young men who had checked out earlier were back, suitcases in hand. Along with them were two new guests who had come from the B&B where Deng Lan had stayed before.
One of them was Ding Qi.
“What should we do now? I’m scared,” the short-haired girl whimpered, clinging to the boy’s arm.
“It’s okay, maybe it’s just the weather. We might get a signal in a couple of days,” the boy replied, trying to sound calm.
He was carefully avoiding mentioning the strange fact that, even though they could see the road, they couldn’t actually leave. He was trying to comfort his girlfriend... and himself.
They had tried everything, over and over, but they always ended up back in town.
Others who tried to leave faced the same situation. A group of people stood at the town's entrance, trapped in a mix of fear, frustration, and bizarre theories.
Some said it was ghosts; others insisted on science; a few even thought it might be aliens.
But in the end, everyone had to turn back.
No one dared to go near the river anymore, especially not where the bodies were kept. Tourists who had originally chosen riverfront lodgings for the view had all moved to different places.
The B&Bs near the Huanzhen River were deserted, while those in other parts of town were doing great business. They'd even raised their prices, including the ones in Pingxi.
The biggest problem now was that no one inside the town could get out. But what about people outside?
Would anyone still try to come in? If people outside couldn’t get in, someone would surely notice soon, and maybe they’d be rescued.
But if people could come in but not get out... that would be bad. Really bad.
At that moment, a commotion broke out at the front desk.
“I was here first! Why did you give the last room to them?” a girl demanded, looking upset at the receptionist.
“I’m sorry, you didn’t pay, so I thought you hadn’t decided yet,” the receptionist said politely.
“I said I’d check in! I’m paying now,” the girl snapped, pulling out her wallet. “It should be first come, first served!”
“We’ve already paid!” the short-haired girl shot back.
“That’s right! You didn’t pay, so you can't stop others from staying,” the boy added, taking the room card and heading upstairs with the short-haired girl.
Ye Nianchu watched the scene unfold with mild amusement. At least some people were still worried about normal things, like rooms at a B&B. Maybe things weren't so bad after all.
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