Chapter 71.2 Crazy Love Season
Quest with skull icon levels were not only gruesome but also lacked rewards. This time, it was the opposite—the quest was almost effortless, like a freebie.
The University Town wasn’t far from here. The group hurried there at top speed while opening the app.
The Love You To Death app had a tacky interface design. A bunny was crazily drawing hearts on the splash screen, and the whole screen was filled with pink bubbles. After enduring the uncomfortable seconds for three seconds, the app automatically entered the running map.
Zhou Lulu tied up her hair to make running easier.
Tian Wanling sighed, “I envy you for still having hair.”
Looking at her scalp shaved bare, Zhou Lulu struggled to find comforting words.
Zhou Lulu didn’t start running immediately after tying her hair. She glanced at Wen Shi, feeling a strong sense of unease.
The game definitely wasn’t treating this player kindly, otherwise, they wouldn’t keep throwing people into advanced instances. Starting from this point, Pei Wenwei’s consistent lucky rolls seemed quite odd.
Wen Shi met her gaze and smiled. “The three tasks are related to the candidates. But from the moment we entered Mirage Landscape, we couldn’t even see a trace of them.”
He turned to look at the production team following them, his gaze focusing on the host, “Darling, you emphasized twice that everything in Mirage Landscape is related to life and death.”
The smile at the host’s lips faded away shortly after appearing, all due to someone.
Wen Shi: “In the Ghost Market, I heard an interesting piece of news from my backup candidates. Regular monsters and villagers don’t qualify to go to the Ghost Gate unless they can find a substitute.”
As he was halfway through his sentence, the host’s expression turned cold.
At the same time, when players looked at the “Love You to Death” app again, their scalps tingled.
This was a real psychological trap, using Pei Wenwei’s apparent luck to subconsciously associate him with the word “luck.” When Pei Wenwei rolled a reward, nobody questioned it, and some might even think it was only natural.
Wen Shi finished with a sneer, “Why hide in the shadows? Come out and show yourself.”
The surrounding—
Was quiet.
Not even giving face to Wen Shi?
Big Eye couldn’t bear it. Although the mini scarecrow had limited power, its eyeball played a significant role. It flew to the corner of the intersection, accurately finding a candidate hiding there, preparing to assassinate a player.
Ji Yuanzhi brought out a telescope and shook his head. “Someone three hundred meters away is preparing for aerial bombardment.”
Since the dating show began, the candidates had been attempting to assassinate players in hope of finding substitites.
This was the significance of the special guests to them. Holding hands symbolized the union of both sides, where they shared each other’s life.
Zhou Lulu sneered, “No wonder that for each of us eliminated, a candidate would also vanish soon after.”
It turned out they all found substitutes and entered the Ghost Gate.
This part was about catching players off guard. When players relaxed their vigilance, they might succeed in assassinating one or two. With preparation now, the danger was significantly reduced.
“Everyone run together, so we can watch out for each other,” Ji Yuanzhi looked at Wen Shi, “You take the lead.”
Thankfully, he wasn’t in his cat form now, or else Wen Shi might’ve puffed up indignantly, “Why?”
Even though he provided the crucial clues, he felt so weak compared to these battle-hardened players.
Ji Yuanzhi led him to the glass window without saying a word.
In the blurred hologram, Wen Shi was wearing an explosion-proof suit and a helmet. He even equipped himself with two protective visors, maintaining the image of being fully armed from the last game segment.
Wen Shi remained silent for two seconds. He truly deserved to be the leader of the group.
The six-person team started running.
The one at the front was impervious, those in the middle were vigilant from all directions, while Liu Yun at the back held a whip to guard against ambushes. The scarecrow even reported information from the sky. This all formed a composition that was as impenetrable as an egg to a fly.
The lurking candidate almost exploded with anger. How shameless could they be?
Following the players all the way, they couldn’t find a chance to strike. One candidate felt they had to do something. One of them jumped out and began to curse, “Aren’t you guys taking this too far? #￥%#…”
Before the two profane words could leave his mouth, Wen Shi shot him a cold glare.
After these two days, the candidate still held some fear for him. He shrank his neck, “Alright, how much? You give a foundation…”
After so many episodes of “Crazy Love Season,” why was it so easy for others to find substitutes while it felt harder than reaching the sky for him?
With so many players around, Wen Shi didn’t need to be fully focused on defending against ambushes. He focused on other aspects. When he turned his gaze towards the production team, he coincidentally met Ji Yuanzhi’s eyes. Their gazes lingered for two seconds. Wen Shi discreetly pointed upwards with a raised eyebrow.
The clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, revealing the clear brightness over the distances they had covered. The city lights in the distance had extinguished, and the shattered skyscrapers had risen again from the ground.
Ji Yuanzhi slightly nodded.
Successfully completing a heart-shaped path, the system sent a completion sound for the task:
“Group quest ‘Encircle your devotion’ has been completed.”
“All players can advance along the 521 Love Path!”
The rewards given by the game were quite practical, equivalent to a safety roll.
With this remaining distance, as long as they rolled a six one more time, they could exit Tianhai City!
When Ji Yuanzhi picked up the dice, Zhou Lulu noticed that he didn’t use the luck-enhancing item this time, which puzzled her. Although the item wasn’t very useful, something was better than nothing. It didn’t make sense to be stingy during such a crucial moment.
While she was still puzzled, Ji Yuanzhi had already thrown the dice, rolling a【3】.
The hearse, perhaps out of a sense of conscience, finally slowed down a bit. Who knew that each time it sped up, what made people feel worse than motion sickness was the cold wind causing a sudden drop in body temperature. At this point, the players’ hands were icy.
Driving in a more humane manner, they even found the mood to appreciate the scenery outside through the windows that lacked glass.
Someone sighed, “Finally past the old town area.”
Only a short distance remained for them to return to where they initially entered through the gate.
The car suddenly jolted violently.
Again?
Just when the players thought the hearse was about to accelerate, they realized it wasn’t the case. The tall buildings on both sides, the neon lights along the streets, all shook for a moment.
The earthquake lasted for only three seconds. After it ended, rows of windows in the tall buildings opened wide, and beams of light shone on them from an unknown source. This created strong reflections, turning the windows into thousands of glimmering scales. It all started from the tall buildings and then extended to the water on the ground, the old streetlight bulbs, the shop windows… all the surfaces reflected a mysterious light beam. Thousands of beams converged and shone toward the distant horizon.
An iridescent rainbow pierced the sky, and the sunlight cascaded for miles. Finally, it condensed into a water curtain, projecting itself at the end of the city.
Within the water curtain was also Tianhai City.
The same street, and even the moving hearse was the same.
The players seemed to be witnessing a mirage of Tianhai City. The difference was that the image displayed in the water curtain was much clearer than a typical mirage. The scene continued to zoom in, eventually focusing on the hearse itself. Stripping away the presence of the production team, the number of people on the hearse in the water curtain matched the exact count of players at that moment.
“Mom?!” Zhou Lulu’s initially relaxed expression froze first.
Inside the opposing hearse, it seemed like they were being watched, capturing every movement in vivid detail.
Liu Yun’s expression changed, “My sister is there too.”
It wasn’t just them. Every player had their loved ones up there.
Wen Shi also spotted A’Sang, who sat alone at the back holding a bowl.
As the hearse here moved, the one in the illusionary scene moved as well. The distance between the two sides endlessly narrowed.
The hearse came to a halt at the 6521 mark.
Players stood still on the car, and the host offered a warm reminder, “It’s time to get off and roll the dice.”
The program’s viewership ratings once again shot up. The current audience count wasn’t any less than when watching Wen Shi’s martial arts matchmaking contest!
The players remained motionless, but this time the host’s attitude was much better, with an infinitely expanded smile.
The hearse shook violently, urging the passengers.
The sky’s dark clouds completely dispersed, revealing a clear blue expanse, just like the water curtain ahead.
The production team handed over the dice. Liu Yun clenched her fist without taking it. After a brief daze, she remembered the couplet on the door and murmured, “Death awaits those who enter from the left, life greets those who exit from the right…”
Circling around and returning to the starting point, the beginning was also the end. As their hearse went out, the other hearse came in.
The death gate swapped for the life gate—instead of being reborn through death, it was more like trading one death for one life.
“Time to roll the dice,” the host’s chilling voice floated over, repeating once more.
A drone descended, finally capturing the most worthwhile spectacle apart from motion sickness—the desperate expressions of the special guests. This brought deep satisfaction to the viewers in front of their screens.
In the time it took for Liu Yun to become bewildered, a hand suddenly extended from in front of her and took the dice.
Instantly awake, Liu Yun lifted her head and saw Wen Shi making a dice-throwing gesture. She grabbed his arm and asked, “What are you trying to do?”
Wen Shi replied calmly, “The number plates have disappeared.”
Liu Yun lowered her head and realized the number on her chest was gone, which meant anyone could roll the dice from now on.
She wanted to stop it, and she wasn’t the only one. The nearby players also tried to restrain Wen Shi, but the crew intervened.
The crew, who had seemed easily dismissed before when they were left at the death gate, now exhibited immense strength, showcasing the special power monsters had when not bound by rules.
The host smiled and said, “Please, this special guest, don’t be so extreme. Don’t forget the name of this place.”
Mirage Landscape.
“Look, the destroyed buildings aren’t restored, right?” The host hinted that everything was fake. “And even if you drive at a normal speed, you can’t possibly return to the starting point in just a few hours.”
Illusion and reality intertwined in Mirage Landscape’s limitless capabilities.
“It’s not fake!” Liu Yun, looking at Wen Shi about to roll the dice, almost lost her voice, “I was supposed to come in with my younger sister, but she unexpectedly received a system message banning her from entering the instance for four days.”
She never understood why the game restricted Lui Yuan’s entrance, and now she finally realized the issue.
Sun Geng looked at the frail old man trembling behind the water curtain, his voice shaking, “Yes, it’s real.” He continued, “That kid, the child you call your son, he can’t possibly be fake.”
The host repeatedly emphasized that everything in Mirage Landscape was related to life and death. Without reason, how could the production team kindly provide a clue? This was almost explicitly a signal pointing towards the Ghost Gate. It was impossible to escape the theme of life and death.
“It seems the special guests this time have somewhat volatile temperaments.” The host stepped forward, reaching the few players who hadn’t spoken yet. First, he interviewed Zhou Lulu. “Could you share with our viewers how you’re currently feeling?”
Zhou Lulu’s lips tightened into a straight line as she held back her true emotions.
The host craned his neck, looking around. “Which one is your relative? Oh, the middle-aged woman over there, right?”
He had reviewed all the guests’ dating profiles, which not only covered the virtual world but also the real world.
Inside the hearse behind the watery curtain, a middle-aged woman, holding a kitchen knife while wearing an apron, who was cooking at home just a moment ago, seemed clearly confused. A girl resembling Liu Yun appeared to be talking to her. Suddenly, the middle-aged woman spotted her own daughter and, still looking puzzled, immediately stood by the back door’s pillar, knife in hand.
Zhou Lulu closed her eyes.
There was a STOP button on the rear door’s pillar, a setting for passengers. Generally, pressing it would give the driver a chance to stop the vehicle.
The game must have already informed their loved ones about all the rules. At the very least, it explained the concepts of the gates of life and death. It would have also mentioned the method to stop the vehicle. Otherwise, her mother wouldn’t have reacted that way.
Others also thought of this point. Passengers on the opposite side could stop the vehicle at any time. Consequently, the people on their side would never get out. The middle-aged woman might not have believed it initially, but upon seeing Zhou Lulu, even if she didn’t fully understand, she instinctively made the choice most favorable to Zhou Lulu: preventing anyone from touching the emergency stop button.
The rising viewership wasn’t affected by the lack of answers. The host observed their subtle expressions with satisfaction, and ultimately, his venomous gaze locked onto Wen Shi, who held the dice.
The host smiled and asked, “And you, are you going to roll the dice?”
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