Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Veteran players like Brother B could see the live comments whenever they wanted. However, the Main God automatically censored anything related to spoilers to prevent players from cheating.
Brother B said, “Don’t be so quick to judge. I don’t think this little girl is as simple as she looks.”
The not-so-simple Yu Lingling had determined that this so-called instance really wasn’t much different from an online game. It seemed the only accessible area was this building.
Brother B was now certain that Yu Lingling was a genuine newbie, not some fake newcomer specifically trained by professionals. She didn’t even know the most basic information about instances.
“An instance where the clear condition is surviving for a certain number of days is called a survival instance. The most important thing in a survival instance is staying alive.”
A survival instance?
This was a survival instance, and the requirement for clearing it was to survive a certain number of days?
There was also a grace period after the System announced that the instance was about to begin. They clearly knew exactly how long that grace period lasted.
Yu Lingling tugged at the teddy bear’s ear. This game was getting more and more interesting.
As soon as they approached the entrance, they felt an icy chill carrying a rancid, fishy stench.
Brother B didn’t enter right away. Standing at the entrance, he said in a low voice, “You need to analyze what the instance might contain based on its name. This instance is called Happy Family, so the first thing you need is a home. As for whether you also need a family, you’ll have to decide that for yourself.”
Yu Lingling lowered her gaze slightly and looked at the brown teddy bear in her arms.
Everyone else had known the instance’s name and clear conditions before coming in, while she hadn’t been given any information at all.
The so-called System had only ever told her they were the first and second instances.
Was it like this for every newbie?
No. Sister A and Brother Knife should both be newbies too. The aura left on them by the instances they had experienced wasn’t particularly strong.
Meanwhile, the aura around Brother B was several times denser than theirs, though still nowhere near as dense as Doctor Song’s.
Assuming Sister A had been telling the truth when she said this was her third instance, then using her as a baseline, Brother Knife should have experienced roughly the same number. Even if there was a difference, it couldn’t be large. Since Brother B’s aura was several times denser than theirs, he was most likely the Full-fledged Player Sister A had mentioned.
As for what level he was at as a Full-fledged Player, Yu Lingling didn’t have enough information to judge.
It seemed this so-called Horror Game was specifically targeting her.
Yu Lingling’s lips curved upward as she said in an obedient, sugary-sweet voice, “Thank you, Brother B.”
At that moment, Brother B felt his long-lost conscience twitch a couple of times.
“If you survive, I’ll tell you something very important.”
Yu Lingling tilted her head and looked at him. “Okay. You’re such a good person.”
Yu Lingling’s Livestream Room immediately grew lively again.
“What difference was there between saying all that and saying nothing?”
“He’s doing her a tiny favor now because he wants the streamer to trust him and think he’s a good person.”
“He’s just making a friendly investment. If the newbie obtains a skill later, that makes him an angel investor.”
Meanwhile, in Brother B’s Livestream Room:
“Here’s a joke: Brother B is a good person.”
“He said a whole bunch of seemingly useful nonsense.”
“The only useful hint was not to choose a floor with a special number. Who knows whether the little newbie picked up on it?”
Brother B ignored the comments in his Livestream Room. “You go in first.”
Yu Lingling nodded and walked through the entrance with the stuffed bear in her arms.
Her teddy bear slippers made soft sounds against the floor.
Only after Yu Lingling disappeared from sight did Brother B glance at the comments and chuckle. “Uh-oh. My conscience actually stirred twice just now.”
“Hahaha! He has a conscience, just not much of one.”
When Brother B saw that comment, he pulled a pack of gum from his pocket, popped a piece into his mouth, and chewed as he headed toward the entrance.
His conscience?
It had been worn away long ago, over the course of instance after instance.
Still, the sight of such a young kid bundled up in fluffy clothes had made him let a little information slip. If he really did see her in danger, he might even save her – as long as doing so didn’t put him at risk.
Sister A and Brother Knife had already chosen their rooms, which would serve as their so-called homes for the next few days. The two had agreed to work together, and both had chosen vacant rooms on the seemingly safest floor: the second.
Neither room was in a particularly good location. One was right beside the stairwell, while the other was next to the bathroom at the far end of the hall.
When they heard movement, they both came to their doorways and watched Yu Lingling make her way upstairs.
Yu Lingling met their gazes, then continued upward.
The stairs, hallways, and walls were all made of rough, unfinished concrete. Not only were they pitted and uneven, they were stained with grime everywhere. Garbage and household items were piled up in the corners.
Even Yu Lingling, a slender thirteen-year-old girl, had to turn sideways to squeeze through certain spots on her way up.
Sister A had chosen the room near the stairs, while Brother Knife had taken the one at the far end beside the bathroom.
The two exchanged a glance before Sister A said with a bright smile, “Little girl, we’ve already checked. There’s only one empty room left, and it’s on the fourth floor. You’d better hurry before someone takes it, or you’ll have to share a room with the monsters.”
Yu Lingling stopped and turned to look at them. She remembered her brother telling her that she had to be polite.
“Thank you, ma’am.”
She had already decided which room she wanted, and it just happened to be on the fourth floor.
Brother B had also heard Sister A. He said to the viewers in his Livestream Room, “See? Compared to those two, I have a conscience.”
A streamer could prevent the other players from hearing him while interacting with the viewers in his Livestream Room, so Brother B wasn’t worried about being overheard.
“Brother B, follow her and see if that little girl really goes to the fourth floor.”
“She’s already cleared one instance. She can’t really be that naive, can she?”
“Didn’t you hear the kid say five people made it out? That was practically an instance where everyone survived. It must’ve been one of those easy ones where everyone worked together. Brother B was nice to her too. What if she thinks they’re all good people?”
Sister A and Brother Knife secretly followed Yu Lingling upstairs.
Brother B glanced at the rooms they had chosen on the second floor, a trace of mockery flashing through his eyes. Vacant rooms might appear to be the safest, but they also offered the least useful information – and information was crucial inside an instance.
Besides, every instance was designed with a deeper purpose. There were four players and four floors, yet those two had deliberately chosen the same floor and even thought themselves clever for it.
More importantly, this was the third instance for both of them. If they failed to obtain a skill, it would be difficult for either of them to get very far even after becoming a Full-fledged Player.
Brother B looked away and headed to the third floor. He glanced at Yu Lingling, who was still climbing toward the fourth floor, then at the smug expressions on the other two players’ faces now that their scheme seemed to have succeeded. After that, he turned his attention to the rooms on the third floor.
There were five rooms in total. The door to the middle room stood ajar, making it obvious that the room was vacant. As for the other four, he could roughly infer what kind of people lived there from the household items left outside and the condition of their cooking stoves.
Brother B didn’t knock recklessly. After thinking it over, he bit the gum in his mouth into two pieces and stuck one piece to the wall of the vacant room. Only then did he knock on the door to its left.
As the door opened, he stuck the remaining half to it, then flashed the old woman inside a brilliant smile.
“Grandma, I’m home!”