chapter 7

When a world ends, Players can take a one-day break in a virtual space.

Qin Nan was currently in the virtual space within the Realm of Death. Behind each door was a bedroom. Players could choose any room they liked, and once their identity was confirmed, other Players were not allowed to barge in.

That meant the moment Jian Fan entered his room, he unilaterally cut off contact with Qin Nan.

Compared to Jian Fan’s coldness, Lin Junruo was far more enthusiastic.

She didn’t seem to mind Qin Nan’s earlier behavior at all. After seeing him get shut down, she proactively came over again. “Qin Nan, I have two other teammates. Want me to introduce you?”

Qin Nan immediately broke into a smile. “Sure. Thanks, Miss Junruo.”

The more people he knew, the more clues he could get about the Realm of Death-right now, that was extremely beneficial to him.

But anyone who managed to survive long enough to become an Old Player wasn’t stupid. They were willing to be friendly with Qin Nan, but without knowing him well, they wouldn’t reveal much. After a long stretch of back-and-forth pleasantries, Qin Nan had only managed to “meet” them in the most superficial sense.

Lin Junruo’s teammates were a girl named Mu Xin, a high school student, and a man named Zheng Jueming, around thirty.

Just as Jian Fan had guessed, the three of them had already been through several worlds together. Zheng Jueming was the most experienced, followed by Lin Junruo. As for Mu Xin, it seemed she’d simply been lucky and coasted her way through.

Qin Nan wasn’t in a rush. He exchanged identity information with the three of them, chatted for a bit, and then everyone returned to their own rooms.

Even though he’d cleared one world, the road ahead was still long. Qin Nan didn’t dare relax. To be in better shape for whatever came next, he went back to his room, flopped onto the bed, and slept like the dead.

Qin Nan woke up again because of the System’s electronic voice.

“Players, prepare yourselves. In three minutes, you will enter the next world.”

Irritated, Qin Nan raked a hand through his hair. Unwilling or not, he still dragged himself out of bed, opened the door, and walked out.

In the originally white space, there was now a bus. Everyone was boarding one after another.

Lin Junruo spotted Qin Nan first and waved at him with a smile. “Qin Nan, we’re about to head out.”

Qin Nan smiled back. “Miss Junruo.”

As he spoke, Qin Nan noticed Jian Fan was already on the bus and hurried after him. No matter how indifferent Jian Fan acted, Qin Nan wouldn’t have cleared the last world so smoothly without Jian Fan’s reminders.

Being cold wasn’t a problem. As long as someone was reliable and could help, they were a good teammate. As for Lin Junruo-she seemed friendly enough, but Qin Nan clearly trusted Jian Fan more.

It wasn’t just because they’d worked together in the previous world. Qin Nan had his own rules for judging people.

“Jian Fan.” Qin Nan followed closely and sat down beside him. No matter how cold Jian Fan was, Qin Nan still greeted him warmly.

Jian Fan glanced sideways at him, then quickly looked away again, responding with a calm “Mm.”

When Xia Zeqin boarded the bus, his gaze deliberately swept in Jian Fan’s direction. When he saw Qin Nan, he paused slightly, then spoke with a half-smile. “Didn’t expect you’d actually find a teammate. But are you sure he’s… okay up here?” Xia Zeqin pointed at his own head.

Qin Nan’s face darkened immediately.

What was wrong with his brain? In the last world, he’d been the one who led them through.

The corner of Jian Fan’s mouth curled up. His cold tone carried a thread of mockery. “If running your mouth for a moment makes you feel even a tiny bit more confident, go ahead. After all, you lost the bet.”

Xia Zeqin got jabbed, but didn’t get angry. He just smiled. “I’ll be watching.”

Qin Nan grew even more curious about what kind of grudge existed between Jian Fan and Xia Zeqin-enough for them to tear things apart so completely in a place like this-and what Xia Zeqin had done to make Jian Fan speak so sarcastically. Curious or not, Qin Nan knew Jian Fan wouldn’t give him an answer. He only turned it over in his head for an extra minute.
The nine Players quickly took their seats.

In the last world, three Players had died. In this new world, their slots would be reassigned to three Players.

They didn’t have to wait long.

Soon, two more people boarded the bus: a middle-aged man around forty, and a boy barely in his teens. The two were obviously together; they stayed side by side from the moment they got on and clearly had no intention of interacting with anyone else for the time being.

After they sat down, barely ten seconds passed before someone suddenly appeared on the bus.

Seeing that eerily familiar way of appearing, Qin Nan froze for a moment, then immediately turned to Jian Fan. “A New Player?”

Jian Fan’s gaze was fixed on the newcomer. At Qin Nan’s question, he gave a soft “Mm”: “Most likely. The Old Players I met before all boarded from their respective virtual spaces. She’s the second New Player I’ve encountered. Her entrance is the same as yours.”

“I’m a little flattered,” Qin Nan said. Getting Jian Fan to say such a long sentence to him was no easy feat.

Jian Fan finally spared Qin Nan another glance-only his expression practically screamed, Are you sick in the head?

Qin Nan: “…”

The New Player was a woman. Her short hair was a clean, sharp silver-white, and her outfit was quite trendy. The moment she opened her eyes and saw the scene before her, her pupils constricted in shock and she repeated “What the fuck” at least a dozen times.

“Interesting. Another New Player,” Xia Zeqin was the first to speak, though his eyes were actually on Jian Fan.

Hearing Xia Zeqin’s voice, the New Player quickly looked over and asked, “New Player? What do you mean, New Player? Are pranks these days really this high-tech?”

“This is the Realm of Death,” Jian Fan suddenly said.

Qin Nan was a little surprised that Jian Fan was the one to speak up. Jian Fan didn’t like dealing with people and tended to be cold; this wasn’t the kind of thing he would normally do. But then Qin Nan remembered how he himself had entered the Realm of Death-back then, it had also been Jian Fan who’d taken the initiative to extend an olive branch. Thinking of that, Jian Fan speaking up now… wasn’t so strange.

The New Player’s eyes went wide. “That does sound kinda familiar.”

Xia Zeqin gave Jian Fan a look that was half smile, half not, then spoke to the New Player: “If you die in the Realm of Death, your life in the real world will also be erased. I imagine you could use a Guide.”

The wording was identical to before, and Qin Nan frowned slightly.

Jian Fan’s gaze slowly shifted from the New Player to Xia Zeqin, his eyes calm.

The New Player let out an “Ah” and voluntarily moved to a seat closer to Xia Zeqin. She eagerly introduced herself first: “Xu Tian. You can call me Sweetheart. What did you mean just now-people actually die?”

“Of course,” Xia Zeqin replied. He hooked the corner of his mouth at Jian Fan, then turned back to give Xu Tian a rough explanation of the Realm of Death.

Jian Fan closed his eyes and feigned sleep as soon as Xu Tian started making her choice.

Watching this, Qin Nan finally pieced it together.

There was serious bad blood between Xia Zeqin and Jian Fan. Now that Jian Fan was on his own, he needed reliable Partners. Xia Zeqin, on the other hand, wasn’t picky-he took all comers, trying to pull every Player he could to his side so Jian Fan would have no one.

As for Jian Fan, every time he encountered a New Player, he would take the initiative to show goodwill, casting a wide net for potential companions. Afterwards, he would decide whether to actually befriend them based on their performance.

Qin Nan didn’t know whether to be angry or to laugh.

He agreed with Jian Fan’s approach. But Jian Fan’s attitude…

Leaving aside that what he considered “showing goodwill” still came off mostly as cold, besides Qin Nan, practically no one would ever pick him over Xia Zeqin. Yet Qin Nan, who had the good sense to recognize Jian Fan’s worth, was not only not cherished-after being acknowledged as a Partner, he was treated this coldly.

Was he just not worthy?

No. Jian Fan was just a scumbag.

Qin Nan put on a polite, inoffensive smile.