After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Cheng woke up groggily. In front of her was a thick fog, and she could vaguely see buildings in the distance with only a little bit of their roofs showing.
The scene was all too familiar. Xiao Cheng turned around abruptly, and thankfully, it was empty. She didn't see Fang He or Number 6.
To be honest, she really didn't expect Fang He to be so swift, accurate, and ruthless, killing her in one strike without giving her any time to react. Fortunately, her guess was right; she and Number 8 shared an identity, and if Number 8 could "come back to life," then so could she.
Xiao Cheng didn't know how Fang He was doing, but she didn't have much time left, so she knew she had to act quickly.
She took a deep breath and walked towards the building. As she got closer, the entire building gradually came into view.
Almost exactly like in the dream, the iron gate was tightly closed, as if it were just an ordinary, abandoned building.
Xiao Cheng calmed herself down and knocked on the door.
About five minutes later, the door was opened, and a tall man poked his head out. Upon seeing her, he smiled with delight: "Number 8, you've come!"
Xiao Cheng was taken aback when she saw a person with a face. She carefully recalled the characteristics of each numbered person and asked uncertainly, "Are you... Number 7?"
"Yes! It's me! Come in quickly!" Number 7 pulled her inside without saying a word, looked outside for a while to make sure no one else was there, and then locked the door again.
Xiao Cheng watched longingly as he put the key back in his pocket, wanting to say, "Put that down and let me do it," but thankfully, reason made her stop herself in time. After all, these people looked respectable, but they could actually break a large iron gate with their bare hands.
Besides number 7, there are 5 other people in the hall. Including Xiao Cheng, number 6 is still missing.
"Number 8 has arrived too." The woman number 2 was tall and thin, and it was obvious that she was blowing real bubblegum this time.
"There's only number 6 left. Has anyone gone to ask him? Give me a definite answer on whether he's coming or not. He's always the one who drags his feet." Number 3 looked impatient.
"I'll go ask," said the frail-looking No. 5, taking out her phone and turning to a corner to make a call. She returned a moment later, looking somewhat disappointed, "I can't get through."
"Forget it, let's not wait for him." Number 3 waved his hand. "Number 2, are you sure this place is reliable?"
“It’s reliable. I finally found this place. I heard it’s going to be renovated into a huge haunted house. Nobody lives here anymore, except for a security guard. He hasn’t been here for the past couple of days.” Number 2 said, “It’s such a shabby place. I don’t understand why they would hire a security guard. Maybe they just have too much money.”
"Don't worry, I brought the dog along. It won't be a problem if we run into people." Number 7 pointed upstairs, smiling憨厚ly. "It's upstairs. Let it get used to the place first."
Xiao Cheng was preoccupied with the key and didn't want to listen to their chatter about dogs. This time, the situation seemed different from the previous two times; at least until now, the security guard hadn't shown up.
"Make sure you keep the key safe. This is the only one I got," Number 2 suddenly emphasized. "Who has it now?"
"Me," Number 7 raised his hand, "Can I just leave it here?"
"Give it to number 5 or 8. Girls are careful and won't easily lose it," number 4 suggested. Before she could finish, she realized she had forgotten number 2 and quickly added, "Number 2..."
“I’m not taking the keys.” Number 2 interrupted him with a half-smile, blowing bubble gum. “After all, I’m not very careful.”
Number 4 laughed awkwardly, "I... I was just making a suggestion."
“The suggestion makes sense. Number 5, why don’t you discuss it with Number 8?” Number 3 said.
“I’ll take it; my clothes have pockets,” Xiao Cheng said, pointing to the white dress number 5, speaking with reason and conviction.
And so it was decided.
Even after receiving the key, Xiao Cheng still felt a sense of unreality. Was it really that simple? She had expected a battle of wits and courage, but the digital human was surprisingly easy to talk to.
"Make sure you keep the key safe, Number 8," Number 7 patted her on the shoulder. "Otherwise, none of us will be able to get out."
Xiao Cheng nodded, just about to give him a perfunctory reply, when the scene before her suddenly blurred. A dizzy feeling washed over her, and she stumbled and fell to the ground. But in the blink of an eye, when she opened her eyes again, she saw Fang He's handsome face.
"Oh, you're awake?" Fang He sat leisurely on the floor, eight diaries neatly laid out in front of him. Looking at his body and face, everything was clean, and Xiao Cheng had reason to suspect that he had taken a shower in his room.
"Where's the digital human?" Xiao Cheng sat up with some difficulty, raising her hand to cover her aching chest. There was no wound there, so it had probably healed, but not completely.
“They all disappeared after you died.” Fang He looked up at the digital clock. “It’s 8:49 now. I wonder if they will be resurrected later.”
"It's hard to say. After all, there are still more than ten hours to go. The dungeon won't be easy for us." Xiao Cheng now clearly understands the nature of the game and has no expectations for it.
"I must say, you've got some nerve, daring to do something so reckless." Fang He picked out her diary. "Is this what you're relying on?"
“This is called careful hypothesis, bold verification,” Xiao Cheng said confidently. “No matter what, I won the bet, and that’s the only result.”
"Okay, where's the key?"
“Here it is.” Xiao Cheng took the front door key out of her pocket, and then the smile on her face froze instantly.
It is a key, but only the left half is available.
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