Chapter 92.2 Crimson Sunset Expedition
Similar to the House of Screams, the rules here tested human nature. It could be played simply or be very challenging.
Wen Shi asked Yu Xingzhou beside him, “Why the special restriction on the number of female players?”
“In Feng Shui, mirrors and women both belong to the Yin energy. There are no less than a thousand mirrors here. If more than the designated number of female players enter, bad things might happen.” Yu Xingzhou paused after explaining, his gaze holding deeper meaning.
The emotions in Wen Shi’s eyes were similarly unclear.
Crew Cut Guy was chatting with players nearby. “The game’s usual trick, stirring up the absolute worst in human nature.”
Not far away, Shadow Xiao Hua was also talking to Shadow Fu Zhixu, “I disdain the notion of men protecting women, but in most traditional views, a protector’s role is often assigned to males. The setup of this rule does cater to the game’s malicious taste.”
If in the end, only female players remain, whether in teams or individually, going in would almost be a dead end.
Song Yan appeared next to Wen Shi at some point, asking for his opinion.
Wen Shi pursed his lips and finally said, “Everything is relative.”
Based on ongoing discussions among players and shadow, it could be considered acceptable, as everyone had the right to choose and be chosen. When he was in the House of Screams, following the principle of majority rule felt unfair to him, but it didn’t affect the overall situation.
Now there were only five female players left, similar to Wen Shi’s situation back then—being in the minority.
From this perspective, it was a test of male-female dynamics and the interests of the majority.
However, Wen Shi persistently felt something was off.
If a child and an adult were dying in front of the game, it probably wouldn’t pay much attention to these nuances. It was unlikely to delve into such matters.
He even thought that the voting principle in the House of Screams was setting a trap for the House of Mirrors. Habitual thinking might easily lead people to believe that the House of Mirrors was also following a similar pattern.
Song Yan speculated about Wen Shi’s thoughts, “Boss, do you feel that if this step seems to be digging a pit for female players on the surface, there must be an even bigger pit waiting for us?”
Someone had the same concern. Shadow Qian Laiye asked, “Has the second interactive activity flipped again? Is there a limit on the number of male visitors this time?”
The proprietor smiled and shook his head, “Rest assured, absolutely not.”
This statement reassured many people, meaning that sacrificing the interests of female players now would guarantee a successful completion.
Waiting for Wen Shi’s response seemed to take a while, so Song Yan called out to him again.
After considering, Wen Shi said, “I believe the key to the game rules isn’t about gender, but we do need to consider the male-female issue in our team now.”
Song Yan got tangled up in this.
The next moment, Wen Shi coughed twice and asked the proprietor, “Um… may I ask if the distinction between men and women here is based on physical structure or psychological structure? Or perhaps, according to chromosomes?”
The proprietor looked at him as if he were daft.
The quality of the tourists kept declining, and time wasn’t on his side.
However, it was this sentence that was like a bolt from the blue, reminding everyone of a nearly overlooked issue.
Among them, some people, no, quite a few people had been flattened!
If they insisted on dividing by physical structure, that would create another category.
With these thoughts in mind, the expressions of the crowd grew complex, displaying shades of blue and purple. Some even moved their mouths as if about to speak but held back. This was a scene the proprietor delighted in, as humans revealed their ugly side in the pursuit of survival.
Amidst the eerie and twisted atmosphere, the normally silent tour guide came to the proprietor’s side and spoke rapidly.
The audience’s expressions watching the performance vanished, and the proprietor’s face began to show a range of vivid colors.
No one spoke. In the vast House of Mirrors, the sound of a pin dropping could be heard.
Could these people really not be deceiving him?
With a skeptical gleam in his mischievous eyes, the proprietor glanced at the lower halves of those nearby, noticing something awry. As he tried to avert his gaze, he happened to meet the indignant stare of one person. Embarrassed, he quickly turned his head away. Was he just trying to confirm something?
The proprietor found himself torn, wondering how to handle this situation.
NPCs were quite stubborn in many aspects. They couldn’t casually alter the rules and were confined within a certain framework of consciousness. Occasionally, there were exceptions—either they went mad and grew stronger or died on the spot. The Earl was a perfect example of this.
After a while, the proprietor managed to say, “If there’s only one person…”
The tour guide interjected, “Five or six.”
“……” Another ten minutes passed, and the proprietor cast a reproachful look at the tour guide. “Why didn’t you connect the situation in a timely manner after it happened?”
Paying little attention, Fu Zhixu lifted his eyelids upon hearing this. “I did suggest a solution, but the ticket seller rejected it.”
“Exactly!” Memories surged forth, and a sense of sorrow welled up within a player. At that time, he had even set aside his pride, nearly begging the ticket seller to intervene.
For a moment, many people directed accusing glares at the tour guide. Since they were all part of the same corrupt industry chain, they should have foreseen such situations.
The tour guide, quietly shouldering the blame, found herself without an explanation.
The scenes from that night in the House of Screams were too shocking, and another incident occurred at the museum the following day. She simply didn’t have the time to consider all of this.
Anger surged up once again from the depths of her heart. The tour guide’s gaze landed on the root of all these troubles, filled with hatred. Why did every miserable incident seem to be connected to this person?
Suppressing the urge to sneeze, Wen Shi rubbed his nose. It seemed that his cold hadn’t completely cleared up. He’d have to continue taking medicine when he got back today.
“Let’s go with chromosomes! If they were male before, they can still be considered as such,” the proprietor deliberated, his decision finally made.
Several angry glares were directed at the proprietor. What did he mean by “before”? Was that polite?
The outcome didn’t come as much of a surprise to the group. Rather than saying the proprietor had reasoned it out, it was more accurate to say it was the will of the game itself. After all, they couldn’t just spontaneously introduce a third gender.
Meanwhile, the system’s notification sound rang out—
【Side Quest: Mirror Person
Hint: The “Absolutely Safe Room” does not involve any deception. Players who meet the conditions can enter safely.
Hint: The “Dangerous Room” does not involve any deception. Those who enter are all in danger.】
The game emphasized these two points, proving the proprietor’ words were true.
With a major issue resolved, the proprietor wiped off a bead of sweat. “Once you’ve made up your mind, you can enter. Each room can only accommodate one group at a time. Another group can enter only after the previous one exits.”
Among the shadows, a group was formed almost instantly. The shadows of the players led by Li Nan, abandoned Shadow Xiao Hua, opting to enter the Absolutely Safe Room.
After that, no one else joined, as they wanted to see how things turned out.
Under everyone’s watchful gaze, the six individuals entered the Absolutely Safe Room, and the outer door closed automatically.
Shadow Xiao Hua approached the original. “We’ll set out together in a while.”
“Heh, I have someone to bring me,” Xiao Hua sarcastically replied without mercy.
Shadows inherited some of the memories of evil deeds but were minimally affected emotionally. Shadow Yu Xingzhou might disregard the life or death of his teammates, but the real Yu Xingzhou wouldn’t.
As the mirror door closed, those outside were even more anxious than those inside.
However, they barely held their breath for less than ten seconds before the door opened again, and the people inside walked out, all accounted for.
“There’s nothing inside.” Someone preemptively answered, knowing what they were about to ask.
Immediately, several people started forming teams.
Song Yan instinctively glanced at Wen Shi, but the latter was engrossed in conversation with Yu Xingzhou, so he refrained from interrupting.
Yu Xingzhou: “Surprised?”
Wen Shi nodded.
He didn’t hope for anything bad to happen to others, but he always felt that something was amiss with this safe room.
Just then, Burnt Player passed by and pulled Song Yan aside. “We’re one person short. Let’s go in together.”
Song Yan frowned, about to decline, but Burnt Player ruthlessly pointed out the reality, “Pei Wenwei loves to meddle in others’ business. He’s definitely going to take female players in. If you go with him, you’ll just be a liability, and you might even harm the other side.”
Song Yan could barely be considered one of Wen Shi’s apprentices, and Burnt Player was trying to involve him to make Wen Shi feel uneasy. Of course, what he said was also true.
Among the players brought by Burnt Player, there were shadows as well. To enter the Absolutely Safe Room, the condition of having at least four men was necessary, and the shadows couldn’t carry out assassinations inside. Currently, both sides were in a potentially cooperative state.
As a newbie, Song Yan had neither items nor points to his name. Considering he wouldn’t be a burden, he chose to join them.
On the other side, while conversing with Yu Xingzhou, Wen Shi contemplated the upcoming team formation. Among the players, only Xiao Hua and another female player remained, while the rest were with the shadows. The scarcity of female players this time suggested that the game didn’t truly pick players at random when bringing them into the instance. It took into account the potential situations in various stages of the instance.
“Unfortunately, it’s still not intelligent enough.” The bugs at the start almost caused fatalities.
After sighing inwardly, Wen Shi lifted his gaze and happened to spot the three chubby worms in a corner, looking pitiful as they huddled together. Nobody was considering taking them along.
“Mirror Person.”
He repeated the name of the activity, suddenly realizing that to enter the Absolutely Safe Room, there were conditions to be met: a group of four or more male participants.
The proprietor had consistently used the term “participants,” making Wen Shi tense up. What if among the visitors who entered, one wasn’t actually a human?
“Shadows definitely are.”
Shadows, to some extent, resembled clones of players. They could participate in the game together, have their organs harvested as if they were living beings, and their “human” status was recognized.
Wen Shi’s expression turned sour. If the game was setting up traps in this area, wouldn’t it imply that there had been an NPC mixed into the team right from the start?
He took a step forward, about to intercept those entering the safety room, but Yu Xingzhou stopped him with a hand.
“Respect others’ fates,” Yu Xingzhou emphasized each word slowly.
If indeed there was a monster mixed into the team, this would be the most perfect opportunity to test it.
The five individuals about to enter all seemed suspicious in their own ways: Burnt Player who managed to survive despite losing his rationality; Crew Cut Guy who stepped on others to climb up but was willing to help players turn into worms before the parkour game began; and the two shadows—monsters disguised as shadows would be easier than disguising as players.
The most suspicious one was the newbie… Yu Xingzhou narrowed his eyes. Song Yan’s learning ability was too fast, like a blank canvas easily following the trajectory drawn by Pei Wenwei.
This morning, as Song Yan left, his steps seemed somewhat unnatural, ensuring he crossed the threshold with his left foot.
Walking ahead of him was Pei Wenwei, causing Yu Xingzhou to doubt whether Song Yan was deliberately imitating every move of Pei Wenwei.
Wen Shi tugged at his sleeve and shook his head. “Don’t use human lives and humanity for experiments.”
Whether Burnt Player lived or died didn’t matter much, but among these five, there was bound to be someone who shouldn’t bear the consequences of trial and error.
As he approached, Yu Xingzhou continued to ponder the previous situation.
“The newbie…” Even if using the newbie’s life as a buffer to lower the difficulty could be effective for a standalone, its impact wasn’t substantial.
With these thoughts in mind, Yu Xingzhou’s expression subtly changed. He walked briskly over to his shadow and used a shielded device to prevent eavesdropping: “On the train, the clue about ‘contrasting cuteness’, did you fabricate it?”
After returning, he had heard from Xiao Hua about the process in which the shadow was exposed—pure self-exposure due to being too clever.
The shadow inherited his original self’s thinking and understood the reason behind Yu Xingzhou’s question, surprising him this time by not concealing it. “No.”
At the time, he had considered fabricating a clue and even intended to take control of the driver’s cabin However, he abandoned the idea due to the warning in red letters prohibiting entry. But upon noticing that the slogan was pasted on and one corner was slightly raised, the shadow, as if controlled by some unseen force, tore it off and found a note behind it with the words “contrasting cuteness”.
The shadow had always believed this clue referred to himself. There was indeed a point of contrast in him. But the other players weren’t aware of this fact. Coincidentally, this clue could be interpreted as pointing to the newbie, so the shadow had directly spread it.
Shortly thereafter, it attracted Li Nan and Xiao Hua’s siege. Later, he was captured, and Pei Wenwei created various situations. He, much like the tour guide, hadn’t critically thought about things that were seemingly straightforward.
For example, the hint indicated that the clue about the shadow could be found among the train passengers’ belongings, but this clue was actually located behind the warning slogan.
Yu Xingzhou frowned. Monsters didn’t need to masquerade as newbies. Newbies often died early on, which wasn’t conducive to sustained deception.
His focus had been on the key all along, but now he recollected everything from Sunset Town, including the eerie setting sun. They all connected, leading him to the same speculation as Qian Laiye: true spirit.
The moment this realization occurred, Yu Xingzhou sensed the temperature around him momentarily dropping. Something cold and sinister seemed to be watching him.
Yu Xingzhou didn’t immediately consider the downsides of discovering the true spirit. Instead, he thought of another question.
His knowledge about true spirits was more extensive than Qian Laiye’s, and he had encountered instances containing a true spirit before.
True spirits favored putting incarnations within instances, sometimes even multiple incarnations, characterized by their initial weakness. In the game, being weak led to bullying, and the fear, pain of abandonment, and suffering experienced by these incarnations were all nutrients that true spirits liked to extract.
Without exception, all incarnations met a deathly fate, triggering a series of events upon their demise. Sometimes they became vengeful ghosts, or even possessed other players’ bodies. In any case, the death of an incarnation served as a pivotal point, often signaling the official commencement or impending conclusion of an instance. The main quest of this instance hadn’t been activated yet, clearly falling into the former category.
If Wen Shi heard his analysis, he would surely immediately think of Jian Qingrong. There were too many inconsistencies with him, especially since he was set to take charge of his own death, just when the instance was reaching its climax.
A peculiar thought crossed Yu Xingzhou’s mind—what if the incarnations never died?
He looked ahead, where Wen Shi had already pulled Song Yan out of the group. Of course, he wouldn’t directly disclose the pitfalls of “Mirror Person.” Wen Shi had no sympathy for the players who had been duped.
Then, he glanced warningly at Crew Cut Guy, bluntly stating his disapproval of Burn Player. If Crew Cut Guy chose to join, he would bear the consequences.
Lastly, Wen Shi signaled to the three worms by the wall. “I’ll take you in together later.”
The worms were filled with gratitude.
Song Yan didn’t question why Wen Shi prevented him from entering the Absolutely Safe Room. He felt a strange sense of unease in his heart, but couldn’t quite put it into words.
“I don’t have any items or points. Going in will only…”
“It’s okay, I’m here,” Wen Shi said. While he harbored doubts about Song Yan, it was precisely because of those doubts that he wanted to keep him close and prevent harm to others. “Afterwards, except for solo quests, just stick with me.”
Then he turned to the worms. “You’ve managed to survive until now, so don’t give up hope of staying alive.”
The three worms nodded emphatically.
Behind them, Yu Xingzhou stood shoulder to shoulder with his shadow. The shadow found it hard to put into words, “Sometimes he really should learn to respect the fate of others.”
Yu Xingzhou had already told that to Wen Shi, but unfortunately, it had no effect.
The shadow took a deep breath, considering the same question as his original. “If, I mean if, it never dies…”
Once the game’s prompt sound passed the House of Mirrors, the main quest would be activated. However, with Pei Wenwei’s attentive care, the newbie still existed. Would the main quest still be triggered?
Wen Shi was prepared to enter the Dangerous Room. He let the female player in their group decide whether to join them. Then, he did the final motivational work for Song Yan and the others. “What’s our motto?”
“To stay alive!” the group chorused in unison.
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