chapter 15
Newcomers are unpredictable factors. Most people who enter the Game for the first time are anxious and helpless. In a state of extreme fear, people tend to do stupid things, and Bai Jiang didn’t want to lose his life because of that. So whenever he encountered a Newcomer, he would always emphasize this point.
Tong Qian’s eyes immediately reddened with fright. She hurriedly nodded, “I know all the rules. I’ll behave, I definitely won’t cause any trouble.”
Bai Jiang’s expression eased a little. “I have the highest level here, so let’s do things my way.”
Tong Qian and Zhao Liang both nodded in agreement. Cheng Miao shrugged indifferently, while Qi Jiajia kept a cold, expressionless face, seemingly muttering something.
It looked like she said, “Idiot.”
Bai Jiang noticed it too. He hadn’t expected to be snubbed by a Little Girl and reached out to pull Qi Jiajia over, but Cheng Miao frowned and stopped him. “Let’s focus on the main issue. Don’t waste time.”
Bai Jiang hadn’t really intended to do anything to Qi Jiajia, so at Cheng Miao’s words, he reluctantly withdrew his hand.
Qi Jiajia glanced at Cheng Miao in surprise, seeing that Cheng Miao wasn’t looking at her, and raised her eyebrows with interest.
She immediately glared at Zhao Liang, who was itching to strike up a conversation with her, and quietly moved two steps closer to Cheng Miao.
Bai Jiang glanced at the sleeping bear behind them and said in a low voice, “From the hint, we only have a day and a half. As long as we find what Baby Bear wants-its toy-we can clear the Instance. The key is, the hint doesn’t say what the toy is.”
Cheng Miao calmly picked up the conversation. “Before we find the toy, there’s another problem: the Three Bears look exactly alike. How do we tell which one is Baby Bear? And since the hint mentions what Papa Bear and Mama Bear like, it must be important…”
Cheng Miao paused for a moment, then continued, “It specifically introduced Papa Bear and Mama Bear’s preferences. Can we interpret that as… revealing their weaknesses, so we can use them in certain situations? If we reason it out this way, I think these bears might go berserk under certain circumstances.”
Everyone’s expression darkened. Whether or not they had thought of this, none of them wanted to admit that those monsters might attack them.
Tong Qian’s lips were pale as she shakily reached for Bai Jiang’s hand.
“Save it,” Bai Jiang saw her intention at a glance and dodged Tong Qian’s outstretched hand. After a few Instances, he’d seen plenty of Newcomers trying to cling to someone strong.
“In this kind of Game, who has the mood to play the good guy? I’m not someone who values lust over life. You’re on your own.”
Tong Qian was rejected in front of everyone, her face flushed with shame, but her eyes were still filled with deep fear and despair.
“So, do you have any ideas?” Bai Jiang shifted his gaze back to the expressionless Cheng Miao. This woman was even calmer than he was, and in such a short time, her analysis was deeper and more organized than his own.
Bai Jiang was somewhat chauvinistic, but he was also smart. Cheng Miao might still be a Newcomer, but her potential was greater than his. Yielding to the strong wasn’t shameful.
Cheng Miao glanced at Bai Jiang in surprise, but didn’t answer his question. Instead, she asked, “You’ve played more Games than us, you have experience. Do you think the Three Bears in this Instance might suddenly attack us?”
Bai Jiang bit at the dead skin on his lip and replied seriously, “The veteran who brought me in told me there are generally two ways people die in an Instance. One is when a Player triggers a death condition, and the other is when there’s a time limit-within that limit, there’s usually no danger.”
Bai Jiang had used too much force, splitting the corner of his mouth, but he didn’t care at all and simply licked away the blood that seeped out before continuing, “No matter which type it is, there will always be hints in the Instance. For example, the final time limit for this Instance is before sunset tomorrow. No matter what conditions have restricted the Three Bears before, as long as we haven’t found Baby Bear’s toy by tomorrow afternoon, once the Three Bears’ killing restriction is lifted, none of us will be able to escape.”
Bai Jiang’s words confirmed Cheng Miao’s suspicions; the Abandoned Courtyard was just such an example. The appearance of Liu Xue’s ghost signaled the approach of the Instance’s final time limit, while Cheng Miao taking out the Diary in the bathroom triggered Doctor Xu’s killing condition in the Illusion.
“In that case, before sunset tomorrow, we don’t need to worry about the Three Bears going berserk together. But we do need to be careful not to trigger any Death Condition while searching for the toy.”
Cheng Miao pointed to the sun outside the window. “They should be napping now. Let’s keep quiet and look for clues in the room first. There must be hints in the Instance that can help us distinguish the identities of the Three Bears.”
Bai Jiang nodded slightly and moved nimbly toward the Bookshelf closest to the Three Bears, while the other three remained motionless, still sitting in a circle.
Especially Tong Qian, who looked so frightened that she seemed almost dazed. Cheng Miao sighed.
“You have to overcome your fear and participate seriously in the Instance,” Cheng Miao glanced at Qi Jiajia beside her, hinting at something.
“If your teammates are strong enough, maybe you can coast through and clear the Instance. But if you clear it that way, your earnings in the Game’s final settlement will be very low, and you might not be able to afford a higher-tier hotel. You don’t want to be stuck struggling in a Basic Dormitory for the rest of your life, do you?”
Seeing that Tong Qian was moved, and Qi Jiajia pursed her lips without speaking, Cheng Miao left it at that. No one was responsible for anyone else; Cheng Miao had said all she could, and the rest was up to their own fate.
Cheng Miao pushed open the Kitchen door. The Kitchen was filthy, with the Sink piled high with dishes.
In the corner, there was a basket filled with large fish over a meter long.
The fish were still very fresh, their scales shimmering with a faint blue, and their lips opening and closing as if not completely dead.
At first glance at the basket of fish, Cheng Miao thought of the hint: Papa Bear loves to eat fish.
On the windowsill above the stove sat three large bowls, filled with thick, unidentifiable porridge-apparently the Three Bears’ dinner.
Looking at the three huge bowls, something flashed in Cheng Miao’s eyes as she seemed to think of something.
This Instance space was limited, even smaller than the Abandoned Courtyard. The front door couldn’t be opened at all.
It seemed that the Item obtained earlier, the Swift Running Shoes, wouldn’t be much use here. No matter how fast you run, where could you go? You couldn’t fly, after all.
When Cheng Miao returned to the Bedroom, Bai Jiang and Tong Qian were already whispering about something, facing a coil of Hemp Rope as thick as an adult’s forearm on the floor.
Zhao Liang was following Qi Jiajia, and the two were still circling the three giant Chairs. Qi Jiajia was holding something like a Notebook in her arms.
“How did it go?” As soon as Cheng Miao returned, Bai Jiang hurriedly asked her, but before she could answer, he continued.
“I didn’t find anything. The books on the Bookshelf are all useless, but I did find this Hemp Rope in the Cabinet.”
Cheng Miao nodded and turned to look at Qi Jiajia, who was walking over.
The Little Girl seemed to be sulking about something, her face gloomy as she shoved the Notebook into Cheng Miao’s arms with a stiff tone, “Only found this Notebook.”