While Ban Cun was deep in thought about whether to leave himself an escape route, Shi Jinzhe and Shehe had already locked the door, checked the windows, and were preparing to go to sleep.

The room was a little cold, so Shi Jinzhe bought a double sleeping bag from the item shop and put it on the bed.

Wu Yu said that it is dangerous after 11 o'clock and sleeping is the safest way to spend the night. But sleeping doesn't just mean lying down and pretending to sleep.

Shi Jinzhe speculates that this is because the brain no longer needs to receive various information during sleep. After the mind relaxes, the perception enters a resting state, which is a benefit of not having to process negative and frightening data.

Spending a night in fear and anxiety, with all sorts of wild thoughts easily scaring you, means that this sleep can only be a true sleep after emptying your mind.

Since she needs to truly sleep, Shekh must have a sufficient temperature to ensure she can fall asleep normally.

Thinking this, Shi Jinzhe put a hot water bottle into the sleeping bag.

"The temperature in this room is only 12 or 13 degrees Celsius. Try it first. If it's cold, I'll buy some heating and warming equipment."

Shekh lifted the soft, thick sleeping bag and patted it twice. "No need to prepare anything else, this is enough."

The room is cold not because of the heavy snow outside, but because of the eerie chill brought on by the rampant ghosts.

It only looks normal; it's actually a haunted house. If a ghost really comes looking for you, no amount of heating can stop the bone-chilling cold.

Shi Jinzhe asked uncertainly, "Really not? Don't force yourself."

"No need, it's almost eleven o'clock, you can lie down too."

Shi Jinzhe glanced at the alarm clock by the bedside. It was five minutes to eleven. He didn't waste any more time and lay down in his sleeping bag, zipping it up.

Sher leaned closer naturally and placed his hand on his chest: "I once saw a news report about an adult who left an electric heater on for their child to keep warm. They were worried the child would get cold when they went out, so they left it on. As a result, the heater spontaneously combusted and set the blankets on fire. By the time the parents were notified of the fire, the child was already gone."

Are you worried that ghosts or monsters might tamper with these things?

"Yes, everything here works fine. Wu Yu also said that their lives are no different from normal people. But we should be careful, just in case."

"Then I'll listen to you." Shi Jinzhe hugged Shehe. "I'm just worried that you'll fall into a deep sleep like last time, or that you won't be able to sleep at all because it's too cold."

Sheh was too special, and Shi Jinzhe was always worried that if he didn't take good care of her, something bad would happen to her.

Especially after learning about those things in the Jigsaw City instance and understanding how important she was to the system, the fear of her leaving him could never be suppressed.

“I’ve already evolved, so don’t worry.” Shekh touched his face. “Deep sleep is something I only do when I’m extremely uncomfortable. This temperature isn’t a problem for me now.”

"Okay, as long as you think it's fine." Shi Jinzhe deliberately lightened the mood, teasing, "If you're cold, just hold me tight, I'm hot."

Shekh gave a curt snort: "I'm afraid I'll strangle you."

"Strangling me is better than not strangling me."

"Then you can use a rope to be self-sufficient."

"A rope is nowhere near as good as you."

With only one minute left until 11 o'clock, Shi Jinzhe stopped talking, said goodnight to Shehe, and closed his eyes.

A minute later, the main lights in the room suddenly went out at 11 o'clock, and as darkness fell, the chill in the room intensified.

In the silent night, apart from a few players taking advantage of the darkness to move around, everyone inside the sealed-off Building No. 3 was fast asleep.

...

"Thump."

The sound of wood falling to the floor startled Shi Jinzhe from his sleep. He did not open his eyes immediately, but listened intently to the unusual sound.

The sound came from outside the door; it was just that one sound, like the noise of some wooden object falling.

All the windows in the room were closed, so they couldn't have been blown down by the wind. Sensing again, he confirmed that someone was moving around outside.

The location was determined by the tightly closed side-lying room, the woman Wu Yu mentioned who never went out.

She picked up two rectangular pieces of wood, walked around the living room without making any unnecessary moves, and returned to her room after picking them up.

In a quiet environment, even the slightest sound will be amplified infinitely.

Shi Jinzhe listened for a while longer, but no other sounds appeared.

After the girl, who was lying on her side, returned to the room, all he could hear was his own breathing.

The entire room, or rather the entire building, returned to tranquility.

As drowsiness crept in, his consciousness gradually became hazy again. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief and continue to fall asleep, Shi Jinzhe suddenly realized that something was wrong.

The only sound in the room was his own breathing; he didn't hear Sheikh's.

Shi Jin moved her hand, which had been folded under the blanket, to her side, only to find it empty—there was nothing there!

Shi Jinzhe's heart jumped in an instant. Where did Shekh go?

He searched around a few more times, and indeed there was no one there.

Shi Jinzhe calmed himself down and didn't rush to open his eyes. He simply asked Jin Teng to check the situation first.

The slender golden vines compressed themselves into a thin sheet, slipped through the crack in the door, and then quietly opened the security door of 402, searching for Shekh's whereabouts along the corner of the wall.

While waiting, Shi Jinzhe used [Order Reconstruction] to search for Sheh's location again, but [Order Reconstruction] failed, and he found that he could not find Sheh.

With no other option, he could only pin his hopes on the golden vine.

Fifteen minutes later, Jin Teng relayed the message that Sheh was on the sixth floor.

"Shekh went to the sixth floor?"

Shi Jinzhe couldn't understand why Shehe would leave the room and go to the sixth floor without saying a word. She was decisive, but she would always tell herself before doing anything and wouldn't act on her own.

Besides, he could hear the sound of wood falling outside the door, so how could he not notice that Sheikh had left?

Shi Jinzhe let Jin Teng investigate again, while he lay on the bed and continued to wait.

Shekh is capable of handling various problems, and the likelihood of her being in danger is low.

Leaving so silently...

Perhaps she suddenly realized something was wrong and didn't wake herself up for fear of disturbing something?

If even Shekh needs to be extremely careful, then the danger must be extremely high.

Beneath the deep ink, a certain emotion is amplified imperceptibly.

I was constantly overwhelmed by anxiety, so I forced myself not to be overly tense.

Perhaps all of this is fake, and Shekh might be right next to him, but he was blinded by the things in this building and didn't notice. It must be some kind of hallucination.

Shi Jinzhe comforted himself, telling himself that even if there were any problems, Shehe could solve them; she was very capable, and he believed in Shehe.

Shi Jinzhe kept his eyes closed, remaining in a deep sleep.

But after a short while, Jin Teng also disappeared without a trace.

It's not that no information is being transmitted back, but rather that it's completely undetectable, just like [order reconstruction].

Shi Jinzhe's heart sank, feeling utterly tormented by the thought of lying there helplessly.