Chapter 29.1 Some people, once lost, are gone forever
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Lin Zhaohe rarely felt that he was not doing well.
When he was getting older, he didn’t feel that way. When he received this project, he didn’t feel that way either. Even when he was flipping the corpse just now, he didn’t feel that way.
But at this moment, hiding in the closet, wearing a dress like a magical girl, he truly felt that he was not living well and considered putting the idea of starting a new life on a different planet back on the agenda.
It got colder. It was time to start a new life on a different planet. Lin Zhaohe glanced at Zhou Ze, who had witnessed everything.
Coming out of the closet again, Zhou Ze was completely unaware of the danger of being the only witness, still happily naive. The Fruit Magical Team was his favorite during childhood. He loved watching it when he was little.
“Brother Lin, do you know Strawberry?” Zhou Ze asked. “She’s my favorite when I was a child!”
Lin Zhaohe pondered for a moment, pulled out his phone from his pocket, and scrolled through Fu Li’s photo information. He handed it to Zhou Ze and asked, “Do you see him?”
Zhou Ze looked at the big man on Lin Zhaohe’s phone. “Huh?”
Lin Zhaohe: “He is your Miss Strawberry.”
Zhou Ze: “…”
Lin Zhaohe: “He was dumped by his boyfriend because he transformed into a magical girl.”
Zhou Ze: “…”
Lin Zhaohe: “So, have you considered liking someone else?”
Zhou Ze remained silent for a minute, lowered his head, and mumbled softly, “Well, Brother Lin is also cute… and bananas are tasty, hehe.”
Lin Zhaohe: “…Damn it, that’s not what I meant!”
“From now on, I’ll be a fan of Yellow Banana!” Misinterpreting Lin Zhaohe’s intentions completely, Zhou Ze performed an impromptu wall climb, much to Lin Zhaohe’s frustration—his eyes were turning red. He really wanted to shake this kid’s head and drain out the excess water inside.
However, considering the current situation, Lin Zhaohe decided to temporarily set aside personal grievances and said, “Let’s go, let’s first look for any other clues.”
Zhou Ze looked at Lin Zhaohe with a silly smile and replied, “Sure thing, Brother Lin.”
The two of them searched through several rooms but couldn’t find what they were looking for. However, it was in the seventh room that they unexpectedly encountered two individuals.
Over there were also two people, one man and one woman, who were equally startled upon seeing them.
“Are you humans or ghosts?” screamed the woman among the two.
“I was just about to ask you the same thing!” Zhou Ze screamed back. “Why are you wearing those clothes?”
He noticed the attire of the two individuals, which happened to be the same as the previous group of people. Anyone seen wearing those clothes before either went insane or ended up dead. Now, to come across two seemingly normal living people dressed like that was truly unbelievable.
“We entered here before,” the woman explained. “We have been unable to find the exit code. And what do you mean by asking why we are dressed like this? If anything, you all seem more abnormal.”
Zhou Ze glanced at Lin Zhaohe and felt his own confidence waver a bit.
Lin Zhaohe remained expressionless, his voice icy cold. “What’s the big deal? Haven’t you heard of cosplay?”
The woman was overwhelmed by his imposing demeanor and found herself at a loss for words.
Finally having someone they could communicate with, Zhou Ze felt elated. “How long have you been on the second level? Which step of the puzzle have you solved?”
The woman replied, “It’s too dark here, so we haven’t dared to move around much. We just found the password door, but we haven’t figured out the password yet.”
Zhou Ze: “Why is the progress so slow?”
“What can we do?” the woman shrugged. “We were just here for fun. Who knew this game would be so challenging?”
“Should we stick together?” suggested the man beside the woman. “That way, we can save on flashlights… Where are your flashlights?”
Lin Zhaohe cursed in his mind, wondering why they needed flashlights. He considered revealing his powerful nuclear-powered flashlight but held back. “My clothes can emit light, so they can serve as flashlights.”
“That’s impressive,” the woman approached and observed Lin Zhaohe for a while, expressing her admiration. “You’re good at cosplaying too…”
Lin Zhaohe remained expressionless.
His heart had died, and other people’s words no longer stirred any ripples within him.
“Should we join them?” Zhou Ze asked Lin Zhaohe.
“Why not?” If possible, Lin Zhaohe didn’t mind rescuing a few more innocent people.
And so, the four of them journeyed together, heading towards the room with the password, as mentioned by the woman.
Along the way, they shared their experiences of encountering various challenges. They mentioned how they encountered a wave of monsters as soon as they entered, defeating six or seven of them. However, luck wasn’t on their side, as the power outages became increasingly frequent, accompanied by the incessant blaring of alarms.
“By the way, which closet were the two of you hiding in earlier?” Zhou Ze suddenly asked.
“In the cabinet in the corner,” the woman replied.
Zhou Ze paused in his steps and turned to glance at Lin Zhaohe.
Lin Zhaohe didn’t notice his gaze. All of his attention was focused on the man standing next to the woman.
Ever since he transformed into a magical girl, his vision had returned, and it was even better than before. He could see clearly into the darkness.
“Brother Lin,” Zhou Ze called out softly to Lin Zhaohe.
“What’s up?” Lin Zhaohe looked at him.
“I need to use the restroom. Can you come with me?” It was a terrible excuse, but Zhou Ze couldn’t think of any other reason at the moment.
“Just go wherever,” Lin Zhaohe replied, seemingly not understanding Zhou Ze’s intention.
Zhou Ze tugged at the hem of Lin Zhaohe’s clothes and whispered, “Number two!”
Lin Zhaohe: “Wait… I’ll take a closer look…”
Zhou Ze was about to ask what Lin Zhaohe had seen when he heard Lin Zhaohe said, “Can the dead wander around?”
The atmosphere instantly froze.
The expressions on the man and woman’s faces vanished, and they turned their heads, staring menacingly at Lin Zhaohe.
“What did you say?” the woman asked.
“Weren’t you both hanged in the room?” Lin Zhaohe spoke without hesitation, “Who released you and let you wander around?”
Zhou Ze was frightened, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead as he trembled, “Brother Lin…”
“What nonsense are you spouting?” the woman said softly, “I’m perfectly alive. Who’s the dead person?”
“He has the number 8 on his neck. And what about you? Where’s your number?” Lin Zhaohe said, “The number on a female corpse is usually visible without removing their clothes. Is it on your hands? Or your feet?”
The woman fell silent, her pitch-black pupils fixedly staring at Lin Zhaohe.
Lin Zhaohe: “Where do you intend to take us?”
The woman: “You’re quite clever. Clever people usually don’t live long.”
Lin Zhaohe: “You see, you’re both so foolish, yet you died so quickly.”
The woman: “……”
Zhou Ze was genuinely afraid that a fight would break out between the two sides.
They stood in confrontation for a while longer before the woman let out a soft sigh. She ran her fingers through her long hair, revealing a prominent red mark on her neck, and said, “Well, I wish you success in finding your way out.”
“What’s the password?” Lin Zhaohe began searching for a wrench in his backpack.
“Seven,” the woman replied. Knowing that Lin Zhaohe wouldn’t believe her just like that, she rolled up her sleeves, revealing the number on her elbow.
“Alright,” Lin Zhaohe said, “Then we’ll go our own way. Stop staring and let’s go.” He slapped Zhou Ze, who was standing next to him like a fool.
Zhou Ze hadn’t expected that this situation could actually be resolved through negotiation and peace. He wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and followed Lin Zhaohe as they turned and left.
As they walked away, they heard the woman’s chilling voice, “If it weren’t for his glowing clothes, I would’ve tried.”
The man chuckled good-naturedly and said, “It’s alright, darling. We’ll wait for the next one.”
Zhou Ze swallowed hard, feeling a lump in his throat. He had never encountered such a situation in the Boundary. In the Boundary, there was nothing safer than the body of a deceased teammate…
“Do we need to search for the location of the password room?” Lin Zhaohe asked.
Zhou Ze replied, “No need. The password room spawns in a fixed location, in… right at…” He had already memorized the location of the password room, and if it were in the game, he could have controlled his character to rush there in less than a minute. But in reality, as he gazed into the boundless darkness around him, Zhou Ze realized he was somewhat lost.
“Can’t find it?” Lin Zhaohe wasn’t surprised.
“A bit confused,” Zhou Ze scratched his head, “Let me give it a try.”
The two of them began searching for the location of the password room. The password room would spawn a fixed number of key cards, which was a necessary condition to enter the third level. The number of key cards depended on the number of passwords the players had solved. For example, one password might provide three to four room cards, and so on.
The only thing worth celebrating was that they didn’t have to worry about their flashlights running out of battery. Lin Zhaohe, wearing his little skirt, was like a firefly in the dark night.
After searching for a while, Zhou Ze finally figured out their current location. He said the password room was not far from them, just another ten minutes or so of walking.
Lin Zhaohe finally breathed a sigh of relief. Once they reached the password room, he would be able to transform back—
The two of them naturally quickened their pace.
The path was clear, and they finally arrived at the entrance of the password room, only to hear arguing from inside.
“Why did you take so many key cards?” a man shouted, “Are you trying to get us killed here? Hand over the key cards now—”
“Yeah, do you want to be a murderer?” another person chimed in, “We’ve finally made it here, and you’re hiding the key cards…”
“Then treat me as a murderer,” it was Jiang Guan’s voice, cold and calm, neither fast nor slow, “I advise you to be polite to me, or else be careful I might kill you.”
It was unclear what she had done, but those emotionally charged individuals immediately fell silent.
Lin Zhaohe tilted his head to get a better look. Through the partially closed door, he saw Jiang Guan and her four bodyguards. Surrounding them were several young people, one of whom had a familiar face—it was Mr. Lu, the person who organized the activities. The bodyguards had all drawn their guns, so it was no wonder that the surrounding people suddenly became quiet.
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