Chapter 5 World City (1) Xie Jianshan feels that he and “Fei”…
Bai Bei, who was on vacation, finally had a rare nap until noon.
Someone had prepared lunch in advance, and Bai Bei went to the study after eating. He opened the laptop on the table and began to check the new unread emails in his mailbox.
Now the development of the game has basically stabilized. After the expansion of the studio, the responsibilities of each department are clearly defined, and it can run in an orderly manner even without him.
Bai Bei responded to a series of questions about the game one by one, and exited after sending them successfully. His gaze shifted, and the mouse landed on another unread email.
【Sender: Xie Jianshan】
Even though the investigation has long confirmed that the staff of "The Ninth Day" have no relationship with the players, Xie Jianshan still has not let go of his doubts, especially towards Bai Bei, the game producer.
Bai Bei clicked on the email and the content was as expected. Xie Jianshan was asking him indirectly about the ghost story game.
As an ordinary person who knew nothing, Bo Bei decisively typed a message suggesting that Shi Yu go to the hospital, saying that excessive work pressure could easily lead to mental weakness. Xie Jianshan quickly sent a new email: "Whether you are deliberately concealing this or are truly unaware, I think you should be aware that Shi Yu has been affected."
I think we should talk. 3:50 PM, at World City, right next to University A.
Xie Jianshan was determined to meet him, and the bait "Shi Yu" was already thrown out to lure him in. Bai Bei was distracted and wondered if it was because of what happened in the hotel yesterday.
Xie Jianshan felt that there must be some connection between him and "Fei", or perhaps he was "Fei", because except for this missing first player, no one could leak any game-related information under the control of the system.
Seeing that he wasn't about to refuse, the system kindly reminded him: "Shi Yu will go to World City with his classmates after class. Be careful not to be seen."
"Don't worry."
Estimating the time, Bai Bei arrived at World City ahead of time. Shortly after he entered through the main gate, a message popped up on his phone: [Room A16, KTV, fifth floor.]
Bai Bei went straight to his destination and arrived at the fifth floor according to the information he received.
Bright lights fell on the spacious box. Although it was not an exaggerated atmosphere of light and shadow, to be honest, it might not be appropriate to choose an entertainment venue to discuss serious matters. The system couldn't help laughing when it thought about what Bai Bei would say.
Xie Jianshan was wearing casual clothes, and the MV of the song was playing on the big screen. The adjusted volume would not disrupt their conversation, and at the same time it could better block out the noise in the room.
"Please sit down." Xie Jianshan told Bai Bei to just pick a place to sit. He looked at him and slowly added the name, "I'm glad you came, Bai Bei."
Bai Bei was the name registered on his household registration after he was adopted and the adoption procedures were completed. He took Shi Yu's mother's surname.
"Even if I don't want to, I have to come." Bai Bei's tone was not very good, and it seemed that he was having trouble controlling his emotions because of the involvement of his only remaining relative. "Isn't it?"
Unlike Xie Jianshan's relaxed demeanor, Bai Bei's expression was serious, his tone so urgent that he couldn't conceal his anxiety. "Even if this is a special department set up by the government, I don't think you can attack ordinary people. Besides, my brother is just a student."
Bo Bei's immersive performance perfectly embodies the nervousness that an ordinary, ignorant person would feel in such a situation. The system was amazed and wanted to eat some popcorn.
"You misunderstood. We won't do anything to Shi Yu." Xie Jianshan knew that his previous words could easily cause misunderstandings, but this was the only way to make him show up. "Regarding the ghost story, I didn't lie to you, and I hope you didn't hide anything either."
"And on this point... there are a lot of strange stories around Shi Yu, did you know?"
Xie Jianshan stopped talking. He looked at Bai Bei, who was sitting on the sofa beside him. The young man with a flawless background seemed a little confused. He shook his head to indicate that he didn't know. "Shi Yu didn't mention this to me."
"He stays in school most of the time, or goes out with his classmates. He only comes home late occasionally, but never after ten o'clock. Are you trying to say that those monsters just happened to appear wherever Shi Yu and his classmates went?"
Bai Bei calmly recounted Shi Yu's daily schedule, his initial anxiety gradually cooling. He slowly averted his gaze, a look of clear distrust evident. "What a coincidence? But there haven't been any reports of missing students at University A. The school should be relatively safe."
"I doubt whether the strange stories you tell are true or not. You think I'm a player of the infinite game, but I think you made them up to get something from me."
"Do you want money, or something else?"
Xie Jianshan was in a state of panic. His ability told him there was nothing wrong with this man, but his instincts were telling him not to let him go. He observed that Bai Bei's reaction was equally genuine, and the man on the other side had clearly decided he was a scammer and was about to leave.
Bai Bei lowered his eyes indifferently. He finally said, "I won't ask you any more about your purpose. I just ask you to stop harassing me and my family."
Just before he pushed open the door and walked out, a voice came from the intercom beside Xie Jianshan: "Captain, the detector shows that there is a low-risk ghost story on the underground floor of World City."
Bai Bei paused, and Xie Jianshan, whose thoughts were forcibly interrupted, had already walked to the door. He hesitated for a moment, then finally looked at him and said, "I'm sorry, I'm afraid you'll have to come with me. The Operations Department has the right to investigate any suspicious persons."
Logically speaking, they cannot drag irrelevant people into the events related to the ghost story, but there are too many suspicious points about this studio. "The Ninth Day" was created before reality was polluted, and Bo Bei has been safe and sound and has not been pulled into the game.
But if he is "Fei", the time of his disappearance should not be completely inconsistent, unless... it is really just a coincidence.
Fortunately, the ghost story he was going to deal with was just a low-risk one. Regardless of whether Bai Bei was an ordinary person or not, Xie Jianshan could ensure his safety.
"Okay." Bai Bei agreed. He didn't follow immediately, but instead raised his hand and knocked on the wall. Before Xie Jianshan, who was standing at the door, could react, the door of the next box opened the next second, and several strong bodyguards walked out.
Bai Bei pointed at them, smiling extra kindly, "So, it should be okay for me to bring a few bodyguards, right? If you're a scammer, we'll send you straight to the police station."
Xie Jianshan: “…” Quite safety-conscious.
These bodyguards were temporarily assigned to him by Shen Que.
Before coming here, Bai Bei always felt that something was wrong. A normal person would not jump into such an obvious trap and would definitely believe that the other party was a liar. However, the bait of "Shi Yu" was there after all, so he had to go.
So he mentioned it to Shen Que, and Shen Que immediately found a bodyguard to tell him that there would be absolutely no problem.
Bai Bei felt that this was a big problem. Which good person would go out with bodyguards? But in the end he accepted Chen Que's arrangement.
"Where are we going?"
"Basement floor."
Bai Bei managed to get by with some effort and followed the others to the basement. The people coming and going had already been evacuated urgently. Some cosmetics stores and restaurants that had not had time to close were empty, and even the service staff were nowhere to be seen.
Xie Jianshan, who was walking hurriedly, suddenly stopped in front of a store. He turned around and looked at the bodyguards standing not far away behind him. He said, "Let them wait outside. If you are worried, you can start a video call."
Bai Bei stared at him for a moment, then lowered his head and opened his phone. He clicked on a dialog box and typed in a number before raising his head again. "Okay, let's go in."
Xie Jianshan pushed open the door.
The lighting equipment on the underground floor of the shopping mall is still bright enough, but no external light falls into this area. The lights in the store are not on, forming a sudden black puzzle, a low-quality trap waiting for people to be deceived.
He took a step forward, and the vague waves of water spread across his face, as if he had crossed a barrier and stepped into another unknown world. The impending danger made him instinctively uneasy.
Bai Bei glanced at the black screen of his phone, then looked at Xie Jianshan who had taken out a flashlight. He shook the object in his hand and took the initiative to say, "My phone won't turn on."
Xie Jianshan was used to this. He explained, "Most electronic devices in the field of strange stories are inoperable. We have now entered the realm of strange stories."
Bai Bei finally reacted, as if belatedly. He put his useless phone in his pocket and asked with a calmness that seemed to reveal something in his fear: "Then why did we come here to die?"
Xie Jianshan: "...To prove that we're not deceiving each other?"
Bai Bei: “…”
Xie Jianshan: "Because I have to deal with this trouble. Judging from your expression, this joke doesn't seem very funny?"
Bai Bei: "You'd better stop joking around."
Xie Jianshan handed the flashlight to Bai Bei, then pulled out his pistol, pulled the safety, loaded the bullet, and pointed the muzzle steadily at the darkness at the end. He tilted his head and instructed, "You follow me and walk a little to the side so that it will be easier to light the way."
The illuminated area looked like a corridor. It was not narrow and could just accommodate two people, but ordinary shops should have nothing to do with such a passage.
Xie Jianshan had wanted to ask if this scene looked familiar, so he could bring up a new topic, but a single corridor didn't reveal much. After a pause, he asked directly, "Do you remember the early dungeon in your game, 'Corridor'?"
Bai Bei answered very smoothly: "I can't remember."
Xie Jianshan: “…”
Xie Jianshan: "That's because I have an impression of it. This strange story is very similar to the dungeon in your game."
Bai Bei shone his flashlight around, looking thoughtful as if recalling something. After a long pause, he replied, "It does look a bit like it."
"But our game has too many copies and a lot of corresponding rules. I'm not sure about the content of this copy."
Xie Jianshan obviously had no intention of relying on Bai Bei to take the back door from the beginning. He responded but was not worried. After all, it was just a low-risk ghost story and he could handle it easily.
They walked for a long time without finding another way, and the monsters in the area hadn't appeared either. Xie Jianshan stopped and asked the game producer beside him, "Is this corridor looping?"
"Um."
"...Are there any monsters in the Corridor dungeon?"
"No."
Xie Jianshan: "...Why didn't you say so earlier?"
He silently put away his gun. The "Corridor" dungeon sounded more like a puzzle-solving horror story. Besides, there were no monsters that could harm the player. This corridor was likely a closed space that trapped people until they died.
"Can you still think of a way to leave?" Xie Jianshan gave up trying to figure out the answer and asked, "Can this corridor be opened?"
Bai Bei shook his head. "No, this corridor cannot be opened by ordinary means unless you use a large number of bombs to blow it open."
Xie Jianshan seemed to be thinking about something, and he picked up the walkie-talkie.
Bai Bei: "...I advise you not to."
Bo Bei: "Otherwise, we might be the ones to leave first."
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