A large metal net surrounded Xiao Huai, isolating the flames outside, preventing them from penetrating through.
Crouching in the corner, Xiao Huai wrapped his body tightly in the metal net as much as possible.
His jacket had long been soaked with mineral water and lay over his face, blocking more smoke from entering his lungs.
The cafeteria echoed with the screams of monsters, and the flames continued to dwindle over time.
In Xiao Huai’s livestream, there were already 124 deities present.
After half an hour, the fire gradually subsided, the raging flames finally calming down.
As the smoke cleared, the ruined walls and ash-covered floor were revealed.
Xiao Huai lazily removed his jacket, which had dried from the heat.
He had remained motionless within the metal wires all this time.
Others thought he was dead, but he had actually fallen asleep.
His skin was marked with burns from the high temperature, and he kicked the metal net aside, which felt as hot as a furnace.
Leaning against the wall, he looked weary, the bright yellow flames reflecting on his face as the fire flickered in his crimson eyes.
A strange beauty captivated all the deities present.
They hadn’t felt this excited in a long time; a newcomer could actually make their hearts race.
Xiao Huai chuckled, and that smile was an extraordinary presence on his shockingly worldly face.
The blood on him had dried into scabs, making his smile even more bewitching.
He gazed into the depths of the flames, almost as if making eye contact with the deities beyond the screen.
“Are you all satisfied with my performance, esteemed deities?”
He stood up, his legs trembling slightly from the exertion, but his gaze was unwavering.
With a teasing smile, Xiao Huai slightly bent forward, as if tipping an imaginary hat, and took a gentlemanly bow.
“Thank you for watching.”
At that moment, all the deities’ eyes lit up as they gazed at Xiao Huai, longing to reach out and touch him.
It had been a long time since they had seen such a crazy newcomer.
His presence made the horror game even more thrilling.
Suddenly, the newcomer zone, Area 39, seemed to boil over with excitement, an avalanche of donations and comments flooding into Xiao Huai's livestream.
“Gods' livestream, entertainment above all.”
“Ding! Congratulations, Xiao Huai has gained the favor of 100 deities who have followed you~”
“Upgrading the traffic pool… promoting to the top newcomer zone.”
“The deities are blessing you! They are yearning for you! They are anticipating your death! They are waiting for the brilliance of the flower of death to bloom!”
Xiao Huai didn’t pay much attention to the upcoming system messages, which merely informed him that his survival coins had reached 5,000, and he needed a total of 10,000 survival coins to unlock the Level 2 shop.
He didn’t expect that this bit of dramatic flair would excite and energize the deities so much.
Indeed, they were a group of malevolent gods who enjoyed watching thrilling, bloody spectacles.
But it wasn’t all bad; he also enjoyed exciting things. He gently coughed and bought a medicine to apply to his left wrist.
His left hand had mostly lost feeling, and if he continued this way, he would likely need an amputation within seven days.
Forty minutes ago, he had noticed the price of the fire source in the instance had skyrocketed nearly tenfold. He could buy a lighter, but what use would a lighter be against thousands of monsters?
There was no meaning in it at all.
If he took a gamble and continued searching for a safe house upstairs, he might be lucky enough to find one, but the monsters pursuing him would block all escape routes.
He couldn’t afford to be trapped in the teaching building; he only had one chance to go up to a higher floor.
Take a leap of faith, gamble everything?
Or he could put on a show for the deities to watch.
As he jumped from the second floor toward the cafeteria, he purchased various tools along the way.
The more dangerous and thrilling, the more they liked it.
So all he needed to do was ensure he could survive while playing recklessly.
He thought of a safe mining lamp—David's lamp.
David's lamp is usually used in mining, where flames cannot pass through the metal net but can continue to burn inside the lamp.
What if he were inside the lamp while the flames were outside?
Like a beast trapped in flames, dancing on the edge of a blade.
When the flames reached the metal net, the heat would quickly transfer to other areas of the net, unable to penetrate it.
It was similar to an isolation zone from fire, but much more dangerous.
At that time, he had nearly 800 survival coins; a lighter cost 500, matches only 100, the metal net also cost 100, and water was 50 a bottle.
After purchasing all the items, he spent a total of 500 survival coins.
Five hundred survival coins could bring extreme thrills.
Now, taking a deep breath and seeing his balance of 5,234 survival coins, he felt it was all worth it.
Take a risk, turn a bicycle into a motorcycle.
He chuckled softly and left the cafeteria.
There was still an hour and twenty minutes left in the game.
Miss Hanako, will you be there?
---
On the third floor of the West Teaching Building, Xiao Huai slowly moved forward, his face devoid of color, his overly fatigued body feeling as heavy as lead.
In this world, it consumed even more mental energy.
He headed straight for the restroom and knocked on the door of the third stall.
The West Teaching Building was surprisingly quiet; without the monsters chasing him, it was so still that one could hear a pin drop.
His lips parted slightly: “Hanako, I want to play a game with you.”
Suddenly, there was a loud banging from inside the restroom door. Xiao Huai raised his eyes, placing his right hand on the doorknob.
He gently turned it.
A bloodied, mangled body appeared before him—a five-year-old girl with half her face burned away.
Her pitch-black eyes coldly gazed at Xiao Huai.
Her lips were covered in rotten flesh as she slightly opened her mouth, producing a chilling voice.
“Do you want to play a game with me?”
Xiao Huai guessed that she probably didn’t recognize him; the world of 1987 felt like a completely separate realm from where they had been before.
“Yeah. If I take the initiative to ask you to play a game, does that mean I can choose the type of game?”
The girl nodded, “Yes.”
Xiao Huai stepped a bit closer to the girl, leaning against the restroom doorframe, quietly watching her.
After a moment, he bent down and whispered a few words in her ear.
“I want to play—Truth or Dare.”
---
At Ivy League Girls' School, there were only a few minutes left before evening self-study began, and all the students were already seated at their desks, waiting for the upcoming exam.
Except for the empty seat in the far corner by the window, which was unoccupied.
He Lecheng unexpectedly arrived early to class, holding a stack of test papers and squinting at the time, a smile on his face as if he were relishing the situation.
“Ah, it seems someone in our class will be absent for this exam.”
However, just as he spoke, the door was heavily pushed open.
A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed onto the ground.
The man’s deep, hoarse laughter carried a hint of reckless mockery.
“Ha, I’m afraid I’m going to disappoint the teacher.”
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