Chapter 28.2 Just entered the Boundary
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Lin Zhaohe realized that unlike him, this group of children had genuinely come to play the game. They even naturally believed they would enjoy the game without any mistakes.
However, how could computer operations be the same as firsthand experience? Lin Zhaohe sighed, thinking that when Jiang Guan threw that Mr. Lu into this situation, he should have taken the opportunity to kick him a few times.
With a solemn air, Lin Zhaohe and the young man prepared to enter the next level. However, just as they were about to step through the door, Lin Zhaohe suddenly paused, his footsteps freezing. “Something’s not right—”
The young man immediately grew anxious. “What else is wrong?”
“You should put your clothes back on first,” Lin Zhaohe said.
The man, who had just stripped naked, had completely forgotten to put his clothes back on. If someone unaware saw them, they might think something unspeakable had happened between the two.
“Oh, right.” The young man finally realized and quickly bent down to pick up his clothes and put them on.
Taking advantage of this moment, Lin Zhaohe threw the last doll into the blue door they were about to enter. Seeing that the doll didn’t undergo any changes as he expected, he finally let go of his worries.
“What’s your name?” Lin Zhaohe asked.
“I’m Zhou Ze,” the young man replied in a low voice. “And you, Grandpa?”
Lin Zhaohe waved his hand. “Just call me ‘Grandpa.’ There’s only one ‘Grandpa’ here.”
The old and the young slowly entered the next door.
Inside, nothing terrifying happened in the room, and the subsequent rooms had nothing particularly noteworthy. The decryption part followed the most conventional mode in Boundary Game: passwords, images. For Zhou Ze, an experienced player, it was almost effortless. His emotions gradually calmed, and he even had time to chat casually with Lin Zhaohe.
“Grandpa, are you also a player of the Boundary?”
“Yes.”
“But we’re about to reach the second level,” Zhou Ze said. “What will you do then?”
If the first level of the Boundary was only about solving ordinary puzzles, the second level was not that simple—it became more dangerous.
First of all, random monsters would spawn on the second level. These monsters couldn’t be killed in the game, so players could only hide inside the nearby cabinets.
Just imagine, if there were many players but only one cabinet, the scene would be quite intense.
“You definitely won’t be able to compete with those people,” Zhou Ze said. “What should we do?” In the game, grabbing the cabinet required speed, but here it was a test of physical stamina. How could an old man like Lin Zhaohe compete with a young person?
Lin Zhaohe waved his hand and said it was okay. He advised Zhou Ze to stay positive because you never knew how many living people you would encounter in this situation.
Zhou Ze pondered over it and found the statement surprisingly reasonable…
It had to be said that Zhou Ze, this young man daring enough to enter the game, indeed had some potential.
He was very clever, perhaps from playing games too much, as he could instantly figure out the answers to some puzzles with just a glance.
For example, the 9×9 Sudoku in front of them. Zhou Ze merely glanced at it and effortlessly claimed to have solved the password, without even using the items prepared in the room.
Lin Zhaohe touched the pen without ink and thought to himself that this game was truly ruthless. It gave you a pen, but you had to use another liquid as ink. As for what could be used as ink on a person’s body, one didn’t need to think twice to know.
Zhou Ze entered the password and heard a beep sound. He took a gentle breath and said, “Grandpa, we’ve reached the second level.”
Lin Zhaohe raised his gaze and saw a red glow.
Unlike the closed small rooms on the first level, the second level was a very spacious area. The lights above their heads were all red. Although it wasn’t dark, it gave off a sinister feeling.
In this open space, there were rooms of various sizes scattered around. Some rooms had hints necessary for progress, while others contained monsters that could take lives.
Lin Zhaohe spotted a small table placed in the center. He walked over slowly and read the rules written on it.
Rule 1: Do not enter.
Rule 2: Do not stay in the darkness.
Rule 3: They can come back at any time.
Rule 4: Exhaust all means to leave this place as soon as possible.
Lin Zhaohe couldn’t be bothered to wear his glasses, so he squinted and had Zhou Ze read the rules aloud. After hearing it, he took advantage of the young man and said, “Well, you’re really like my grandson…”
Zhou Ze felt that Lin Zhaohe’s tone was a bit strange. He raised his head and glanced at Lin Zhaohe, feeling unsure if it was just his imagination. Lin Zhaohe seemed much younger than he had initially thought. However, in this complex environment, Zhou Ze didn’t dwell on it and said, “Let’s go and explore nearby.”
The rules were laid out before them. To progress, they needed to find the passwords in the nearby rooms and enter the password room to reach the third level. Their current task was to explore each room and find the ones hiding clues. The danger level on this level was much higher than the first, but the only advantage was the absence of a time limit.
“Let’s start by finding some hiding spots in the vicinity,” Zhou Ze suggested. “Otherwise, when the monsters respawn, we won’t even know where to run.”
Lin Zhaohe agreed with the idea.
“I remember there are a few fixed hiding spots in the corners,” Zhou Ze said. “It should be around here—wait, what is that?” He suddenly halted his steps forward, filled with fear.
Lin Zhaohe squinted his eyes and looked over, but all he saw was a blurry figure. He coughed and said, “Wait a moment, I can’t see clearly. Let me put on my glasses…”
Zhou Ze: Is Grandpa here for sightseeing?
Lin Zhaohe put on his reading glasses and finally saw what it was. In the corner of the cabinet, there was a curled-up figure. No, it wasn’t just any figure, it was a person. The person was huddled, trembling, and muttering words incessantly. It seemed they had completely lost their sanity.
“I’ll go take a look,” Lin Zhaohe said as he leaned on his cane and approached.
As he got closer, he confirmed that the figure before him wasn’t some strange creature but indeed a person.
The person was dressed in black, with a crazed expression, hugging the cabinet tightly. Even when Lin Zhaohe approached, there was no reaction from him until Lin Zhaohe tapped him with his cane. “Hey, Little Brother, are you okay?”
“Ah—help, help, there are monsters—” Upon hearing Lin Zhaohe’s voice, the person suddenly reached out and grabbed Lin Zhaohe’s cane, lunging towards him. Fortunately, Lin Zhaohe was prepared and kept his distance, swiftly dodging to the side.
“There are monsters—there are monsters—” The person screamed, “Don’t let it go dark, don’t let it go dark—” He shouted like a madman, his cries echoing through the vast room, sending a chilling sensation down the spine.
The person’s mental state was so unstable that Lin Zhaohe didn’t dare to approach him. Zhou Ze hurriedly supported Lin Zhaohe and said, “Grandpa, let’s keep our distance from him.”
“Is he insane?” Lin Zhaohe sighed, “Was he one of the people who entered with us?”
“Probably… not,” Zhou Ze observed for a while and whispered, “He seems to be from the previous group of players.” He recognized the clothes the person was wearing.
The previous group of players had taken a group photo before entering, everyone wearing the Boundary logo on their clothes. Zhou Ze remembered it vividly.
The fact that someone from the previous group who entered the game was still alive and hadn’t escaped surprised Lin Zhaohe.
“We don’t have time to deal with him now,” Zhou Ze said, looking at the person and recalling the gruesome death of their companion. For a moment, he couldn’t decide who had it worse between the two. He rubbed the goosebumps on his arm and said, “Let’s quickly find a hiding spot.”
“Alright,” Lin Zhaohe nodded.
They were lucky to find several fixed-position cabinets next to the person. Zhou Ze instructed Lin Zhaohe to remember this spot, so they could head here once they heard the alarm.
Lin Zhaohe nodded in agreement, contemplating the meaning behind the rules he had seen on the table.
Zhou Ze approached the first room’s door, turned the doorknob, and entered to inspect the room. Luck wasn’t on their side as they found nothing valuable.
The same routine followed for the second and third rooms. Each time they opened a door, they mentally prepared themselves, took a deep breath, and turned the doorknob.
Lin Zhaohe understood why Zhou Ze was so cautious. He had also played similar games, where these rooms could be filled with peculiar creatures. If luck was not on their side, it could result in a terrifying encounter.
Finally, in the fourth room, something was different. Zhou Ze opened the door and saw four bodies hanging in the room, while in the corner, there was a password box.
“We’re really lucky! This is the corpse room! Finding the password will give us a key,” Zhou Ze exclaimed happily. “Let me see…” He raised his head to observe the bodies, but his expression grew worse the more he looked.
“What’s wrong?” Lin Zhaohe asked him.
“What… these bodies, they look so familiar,” Zhou Ze’s voice trembled, a layer of goosebumps forming on his skin. He continued in a shaky voice, “Aren’t these… the people from the previous group who entered the Boundary?”
Lin Zhaohe took a closer look and realized that indeed, these people were all wearing the same set of clothes.
“And if I remember correctly, the password is a six-digit number,” Zhou Ze felt his whole body trembling. “But… there are only four bodies.” It meant they were still missing two bodies to obtain the password.
As Lin Zhaohe approached the bodies, he indeed saw two empty hanging ropes.
Zhou Ze couldn’t bear it any longer. The sight of hanging bodies was terrifying. Their pale faces and protruding tongues sent shivers down his spine. Just looking at them made his scalp tingle, let alone searching for numbers on their bodies.
The reality was far removed from the game, not just visually, but also in terms of touch and smell… Indeed, this was much more intense than virtual reality. Zhou Ze found himself struggling to accept it.
In comparison, Lin Zhaohe standing beside him seemed rather indifferent in his reaction.
“How can we obtain the numbers?” Lin Zhaohe asked, “Should we bring them down?”
“Yes,” Zhou Ze lowered his head, “The numbers are located on different parts of their bodies… We mustn’t mix up the order…”
Lin Zhaohe nodded and prepared to enter the room. He was also afraid, but when he truly wanted to accomplish something, that fearful feeling would temporarily be suppressed. Perhaps that’s why he had managed to survive in the company for so long. In Zhuang Lao’s words, Lin Zhaohe’s fear was always timely.
Lin Zhaohe found the hanging ropes against the wall, intending to release the bodies. However, he suddenly heard a piercing alarm sound in his ear—resembling an air raid siren—that quickly spread throughout the entire space.
At the same time, the red lights above them began to flash continuously. After a moment, they all went out, plunging the entire second level into complete darkness.
“Run quickly!” Zhou Ze shouted.
Lin Zhaohe stared at his cane, thinking to himself, “I do want to run, but I can’t bear to throw away this expensive cane worth over three thousand. So, an old man and a young man stumbled their way towards a nearby cabinet.
Zhou Ze held a flashlight, illuminating the path ahead. He could have gone in first, but when he glanced at the stumbling Lin Zhaohe, he clenched his teeth and said, “Old man, I’ll carry you. Hurry up.”
“Alright…” Lin Zhaohe didn’t hesitate and said, “Thank you, young man.”
With Lin Zhaohe providing light on Zhou Ze’s back, the two of them sprinted all the way and reached the cabinet just in time, before the arrival of the monsters. They hid inside the cabinet.
Within the pitch-black darkness, the footsteps of the monsters could be heard. The sound of their footsteps was rustling, not just from one but from a group. Their feet stomped on the sturdy floor, creating a kicking and tapping sound.
Lin Zhaohe hid inside the cabinet, peeking outside through the gaps. It was too dark to see anything. Lin Zhaohe could vaguely sense that something of immense size passed by in front of his cabinet. It seemed to linger in front of Lin Zhaohe’s cabinet for a moment.
Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened, and the sound quickly faded away, returning everything to calmness.
Could they come out now? Lin Zhaohe remembered that in the game, they could leave the cabinet once the monsters disappeared.
As he pondered whether to open the cabinet, he heard a creaking sound—his cabinet was being opened from the outside by something.
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