Chapter 144
Chapter 144
Time passed second by second.
Everyone understood the importance of intelligence in a game. No one urged the girl to hurry. Instead, they heightened their vigilance and guarded her from nearby.
A rough analysis of the mission showed little conflict between the players’ interests. In fact, they might need teamwork to complete it at all.
Staying alive mattered more than obtaining a gold coin.
“Recovery complete,” the girl whispered. Everyone immediately gathered around.
She showed them the screen. She had even managed to recover the photos.
The most recent call in the log came from a contact saved as *Baby*.
“That’s probably his daughter…” said a girl with a ponytail.
“Mm. It’s possible.” The technician nodded and held a hand out to the ponytailed girl. “Hello. I’m Su Muhan.”
“Qin Rong.”
Since they might need to cooperate here, everyone began introducing themselves.
They could hardly keep calling one another “hey, you” forever.
Xiao Huai was the exception. Even without an introduction, everyone knew his name.
Was the funeral not being held for him?
He was famous in the *Vampires* instance.
Su Muhan pointed toward a photo on the computer. “This doesn’t seem to be an ordinary factory.”
It was a photograph of the dead man with an older gentleman who had a white beard.
The true focus, however, was the background behind them.
A transparent glass prison stood there, filled with strangely shaped… people.
Every one of them had some kind of disability.
Not an ordinary disability, but the complete absence of certain facial features. They resembled humans without truly looking human, closer to an entirely different species.
It reminded the players of the eyeless, noseless monster they had seen moments ago.
“A research institute.” Xiao Huai suddenly rose and walked slowly toward them. “An abandoned institute built to study those monsters.”
His gaze landed on a pile of glass instruments in the corner.
They were not simple containers, but professional equipment more likely to appear in a scientific research project.
“A monster research institute? Then doesn’t that mean monsters could be everywhere? Splitting up would make finding his daughter faster, but now it would also be extremely dangerous.” A stubbled middle-aged player stroked his chin in thought.
Qin Rong nodded in agreement, then asked Su Muhan quietly, “Xiao Su, do you see any pictures of his daughter in there?”
They were trying to work out how to find her.
Xiao Huai, however, was unusually silent.
The stubbled man could not help looking over. “What are you thinking about?”
Xiao Huai was the most famous among them, and possibly the most capable as well.
Gods did not take an interest in the weak. They watched only those who intrigued them. There had to be something extraordinary about Xiao Huai for him to draw so much attention.
His long lashes moved faintly. “I’m wondering where Qi Sha went.”
Every quiet discussion stopped as soon as the words left his mouth.
That was right.
They had entered Qi Sha’s game. Where was Qi Sha herself?
How could she simply disappear?
She was even a resident god NPC of the ninth floor.
The ninth floor was a height they could only dream of reaching.
The middle-aged man’s Adam’s apple shifted. “Do you have an answer?”
Xiao Huai raised his eyes, tilted his head, and gave a tiny nod. “Perhaps.”
With that, he walked out alone.
The others jumped when they saw him leave. Keeping their voices low, they exchanged glances and asked,
“Where are you going? Aren’t you staying with us?”
Xiao Huai did not look back. He only said,
“Bring a photo of the man. It might improve your chances of finding his daughter.”
Then he left on his own.
Xiao Huai was more accustomed to working alone. Most of the time, he was the one being targeted, and the people near him often suffered misfortune.
Put plainly, he was rather unlucky.
He had lucky moments too, but not very often.
That was why he always imagined the worst outcome in advance. If it truly happened, the disappointment would not be as severe.
The others wanted to follow, but he was already far away. After repeated hesitation, they abandoned the idea.
No method could hold someone determined to leave.
The seven of them were better off staying together than scattering.
Su Muhan lowered her head and thought about Xiao Huai’s words for a long time before printing a photograph of the man.
“If his daughter is still here, she’ll recognize her father. Xiao Huai must have a reason for leaving first. Perhaps… he’s drawing the danger away. Don’t forget: whether it’s Qi Sha or the other gods, which player are they all watching? Staying beside him might make us fail, but separating from him could create a chance for the mission to turn around.”
Su Muhan rose and looked toward Xiao Huai’s retreating back.
“There’s a map here. We’ll have to gamble on it. Gamble that we can work together as a team…”
* * *
They did not know that once Xiao Huai was far away, he transformed completely into another person.
He activated Na Ran’s Blessing: Disguise. It could change his appearance, be canceled at will, and had no fixed time limit.
The longer he maintained it, however, the greater the damage to his Sanity.
He had taken the form of the NPC who died before them not long ago.
Xiao Huai also bought a white lab coat from the System Shop and draped it over himself, concealing his player badge.
Fluorescent lights flickered and failed intermittently along the gloomy corridor as he walked straight ahead.
He was following scents: the odor of scorching and the stench of blood.
Why had only the man’s upper body remained? Why did the monster bear traces of fire?
This was a small game arranged by Qi Sha.
She was the ruling god. None of these details could be meaningless.
Once he found the answers, the mission might unravel on its own.
If something truly had happened here, all he needed to do was reach the center of the accident.
As Xiao Huai continued forward, the sounds around him grew increasingly chaotic.
He reached a fork. The left side was completely dark, while faint light shone from the right.
Wind, footsteps, and the crackle of flames.
“Brother Wang? Why are you still here?! I sounded the alarm! Hurry, this place is dangerous.”
A young man with short flaxen hair patted Xiao Huai’s shoulder. His expression was anxious and his body wounded. Without another word, he grabbed Xiao Huai’s arm and dragged him toward the exit.
Xiao Huai turned. It was an unfamiliar face without a player’s numbered badge. An NPC.
Why was he *still* here?
Still?
The implication was that he should not be.
Xiao Huai immediately began acting. His brows furrowed deeply, anxious sweat almost forming as he seized the young man’s shoulders.
“Have you seen my daughter?! My daughter and I were separated. I have to get her out of here.”
The flaxen-haired young man froze, his expression turning ugly. He placed a hand over Xiao Huai’s and spoke with sympathy.
“Your daughter… died a long time ago. Brother Wang, the dead are gone. You have to keep living.”
This time, Xiao Huai froze.
If the girl was dead, what exactly was the man’s dying wish?
Xiao Huai did not break character. He shook his head, eyes lowered as he muttered repeatedly, “You’re lying. My baby girl called me. You’re lying… I’ll find her. I’ll find her.”
He released the young man’s shoulder and walked toward the other side of the fork.
“Wait, Brother Wang. What did you just say? Xiaotian called you?”
The young man’s voice contained unmistakable terror.