Chapter 47 Infinite World "He didn't die—good, good, there is..."
In an infinite world, an hourglass-shaped pyramid is trapped in a black, desolate valley. The boundless valley stretches towards the horizon, as if the entire world consists of only this one giant tower.
The black soil spreads outward, beyond the horizon, across three endless mists, five mosaic-like fragmented edges of the world, and countless desolate mountains and seas between ambiguous boundaries. Finally, it passes through a blurry darkness that seems like a dimensional fracture, a background that never ends in a comic book, and there is a pitch-black iron forest that seems to cover the entire world.
In the heart of the forest, a giant, abandoned amusement park is brightly lit, its rotating Ferris wheel casting a dazzling shadow that adorns the darkness of the forest. A sign on the gate reads "Amusement Park."
Zhu Wen stormed to the iconic fairytale castle in the center of the amusement park, kicked open the door, and shouted with his hands on his hips, "Where is that bastard Yan Bocheng? Get out here!" His voice echoed throughout the hall, the sound reverberating three times over.
But no one said a word. Who would dare to offend this little tyrant, fearing being blamed? They all hid in their rooms to rest, pretending not to know anything.
Zhu Wen got even angrier, grabbed the carved wax lamp and threw it, but someone caught it. A hunched old man put the lamp down and walked to the second-floor railing. His face was loose and wrinkled, but he had a bright, youthful smile on his face, like a crumpled old candy wrapper.
"Calm down, don't hold it against him. What happened?" His aged voice also pretended to lift at the end of each sentence, as if that would turn his aging spirit into vitality.
Zhu Wen wasn't buying it: "None of your business. Where is he?"
The old man, who had been trying to appear young, slumped down, finally behaving in a way that matched his aged and sinister appearance: "Can't I control you?"
"Don't try to play the official card with me. This isn't a place where shamelessness counts. Even the chairman has to watch my face, let alone a vice chairman like you who only got promoted by backstabbing. If you want to ride on my head, you'd better take a look at where you are in the queue first, you goalkeeper." Zhu Wen glanced at him like he was trash, then turned and left.
"Yan Bocheng is dead. You were in the same instance as him, didn't you know?" The old man mocked his retreating figure. "Oh, I forgot, you were completely fooled by a newbie host, running away for your life, making the guild lose face. How could you care about him?"
When Zhu Wen heard that Yan Bocheng was dead, he was momentarily surprised, like suddenly hearing the news of the death of a neighbor he would usually greet, a colleague he occasionally crossed paths with, or an old friend he rarely contacted. He felt a sense of alienation and disorientation, but in that moment of disorientation, it was as if some long-lost connection had been rekindled. He thought, "Oh, yes, that's how he was. Oh, he's dead now," and felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
But his attention was quickly drawn to the provocation behind him: "Xia Caizhe, are you looking for a beating?"
Xia Caizhe, however, seemed to have caught Zhu Wen's heartlessness and clicked his tongue in amazement: "Yan Bocheng worked several dungeons in a week to follow you, and almost died several times. He only got this spot by working overtime. You call him your partner, but he's really just a tool for you. He worked hard without complaint, admired you, and even turned himself into a maid. Enduring your bad temper was probably more tiring than working overtime. He was willing to be a supporting role to set off your red flower. But he was in the same dungeon as you, and you not only didn't save him, but you didn't even know he was dead. You're really heartless."
Zhu Wen was suddenly berated and felt completely bewildered. It wasn't like he had begged Yan Bocheng to join him, and he could pass the level even without Yan Bocheng's information. Everyone had their own agenda, and of course, they were responsible for their own lives. Did he have to constantly watch over the people around him to see if they were courting death? Wasn't that insane?
He lost to Xue Chao because he was less skilled, and he will win back on his own. Yan Bocheng died because he was not strong enough. Whether he failed to solve any mystery, was killed by something, or had no trump card, it was all Yan Bocheng's own business. He didn't harm him or hold a knife to his neck to force him to die.
People die every day in dungeons. Instead of complaining, the weak should focus on improving their strength so they can die later. At least he has never heard a top ten player complain that others don't save them.
Zhu Wen suddenly realized that Xia Caizhe and Yan Bocheng had no relationship, and even if they did, he wouldn't have wronged someone else—it was Xia Caizhe who posted the thread using Yan Bocheng's forum account, and his sycophants pretended to comment and reveal "insider information" so that everyone would know that he had been tricked by a novice host and that he was deliberately made to look bad.
He was baffled again. He lost to Xue Chao, not Xia Caizhe, so what was he so smug about? This idiot's thought process...
"I can stand out because I'm the star of the show. You can only stand out because you've plucked all the green leaves that supported you. Even a weed wouldn't stand out without you," Zhu Wen sneered. "Instead of wasting your time, you should think about how to appease the remaining idiots. After all, half the guild members have been fed into the boss's mouth for 'alchemy,' and even the former vice president who brought you in didn't escape. Your ungrateful nature is well-known. You don't actually think everyone respects you, do you? They're only afraid of you being tenth... But even if you did it again and coaxed the remaining half of these idiots into the fire to be your fuel, it wouldn't matter. Do you think everyone in the top ten is like you?"
The boy's mocking voice faded into the distance, yet it burrowed into Xia Caizhe's ears like a poisonous insect: "You still dare to cooperate with the Red and White lackeys. You've aged into this wretched, mangy dog overnight. You're lucky. Anyone who didn't know better would think you became a 'divine soldier.' I don't know whether to praise your courage or call you stupid."
"Vice President..." Seeing Zhu Wen leave, Xia Caizhe's follower dared to come out, cautiously glancing at his expression, and immediately said indignantly, "He disgraced the guild himself, and still dares to be arrogant in front of you! The guild leader is too lenient with him! He clearly does nothing but participate in the game, and you are the one who does all the work!"
“So he didn’t become the vice president, and the future president will only be me.” Xia Caizhe’s distorted features returned to normal, and when he said this, his eyes were very calm, as if he were stating an established fact. “However, he is right about one thing: even if you bunch of trash are stuffed into the furnace again, you still won’t be able to surpass his ranking.”
The henchman's face paled for a moment, and his body trembled. Hearing Xia Caizhe's meaningful sneer, he didn't even dare to tremble anymore, fearing that this man would do it again. He became even more respectful and changed the subject: "He can only be smug for a while longer. With your intelligence, you must have a plan. What do you plan to do next?"
"Just let everyone assume I'm better than him." Xia Caizhe took out a red dart and wrote his name on the blank space on the dart. "Didn't he suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of that newcomer? As long as I kill the person he can't beat, everything will be resolved."
【Item Name: Red Directional Dart】
[Item Level: A]
[Instructions for use: The red dart can lock onto a person. Write the opponent's name on the dart to set a "target," and you will be matched with that opponent's room in the next game without fail.]
The target has been identified.
[Target: Xue Chao]
Xue Chao looked at his friend list again. Some friend requests had been withdrawn, probably because they were wary of the amusement park or guilds with good relations with the band and didn't want to cause trouble. Some, on the other hand, had sent a second friend request, probably because they were guilds with a less-than-ideal relationship with the amusement park and were adhering to the principle of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend".
[Xue Chao: I understand. Let's talk about our business first.]
[Pu Fengchun: Let's talk face to face, you choose the instance.]
Xue Chao paused. Why couldn't he just say it directly? He was about to ask when he remembered the account "Mei" that had been logged into this TV. The forum might not be safe, so he tacitly accepted the arrangement and asked again:
[Xue Chao: Aren't your players randomly assigned to rooms? Are there any items?]
Only the host can select the copy.
[Pu Fengchun: Guild benefits. Although it's just a small guild, as the vice guild leader, I still have some privileges.]
Xue Chao didn't see the guild name after Pu Fengchun's name; it must have been hidden using a prop.
Pu Fengchun's skill level is only that of an average player, similar to Yan Bocheng, Lin Feng, and Wang Song, yet he can serve as the vice president. It's probably a small guild. If that's the case, why hide the guild name? Is there anything that must be discussed face-to-face in a dungeon?
It always felt like a hassle. Xue Chao sighed; he hated troublesome things the most.
Pu Fengchun, seeing that he hadn't replied for a long time, clearly misunderstood.
[Pu Fengchun: Have you changed your mind?]
[Xue Chao: I'm afraid you'll regret it. I'm wanted by a major guild. Aren't you afraid of being implicated?]
[Pu Fengchun: Being wanted by a major guild right from the start, that's a privilege only top players get, which shows I have good judgment]
Xue Chao chuckled; it seemed Pu Fengchun had switched his bets on him.
[Xue Chao: Okay, then I'll pick a dungeon with fewer people.]
[Xue Chao: See you next week]
It's one thing to agree to meet the other party in the dungeon, but it's another thing that he has already met the target this week and won't torture himself by going into the dungeon again. As for whether Pu Fengchun met the target this week, how many dungeons he still needs to participate in, and whether he can survive until next week, that's none of his business.
Xue Chao returned to the platform and began selecting a dungeon. While it was easier to sneak around in when there were many people, the chances of being discovered were also high. The best dungeons were those with few people, large areas, and few opening attempts.
It's quite difficult to have all these features at the same time. Xue Chao spent half a day browsing the forum and finally found it in a "difficult and complicated diseases" tag.
The tags were full of strange and obscure dungeons. He finally chose a campus dungeon that only required five people. It was a "role-playing" dungeon for freshmen and had never been opened before. According to the forum, it was called the "opening dungeon," which was equivalent to the first season of the story and had never been participated in by any player before.
He had been busy for half a day and had taken two naps. When he opened his eyes, it was still dark outside. It was dark when he left the Infinite World, and it was still dark when he came back after a two-day holiday, which was normal. He didn't think much of it. Only now did he realize that there really was daytime here.
There were no timekeeping devices in the room, and it was difficult to distinguish between night and day, making time ambiguous. Bennu only mentioned that a notice would be issued in the new week.
He felt something was off, so he went shopping again and spent a long time looking through the decor, where he found clocks.
After the purchase, the bronze clock hanging in the living room, which had been paused long ago, started spinning again, and a short hand appeared to indicate what day of the week it was. Xue Chao's expression changed; it was only Tuesday.
But he had a day off on Monday, and two days later, he should have returned on Wednesday—the flow rate in the infinite world is different from that in the real world, and a day in the infinite world is longer than a day in the real world.
The holiday pass duration is calculated based on the real world.
Tsk, what a lousy company, playing word games again.
Xue Chao stood by the window. Outside, there were no flowers, grass, sun, or moon. The night was the sky, and the desolate valley was the land. There were no living beings. It was as if the whole world consisted of only this strange obsidian building, lifeless and gloomy.
Suddenly, he saw a speck of white, drifting down. He looked up in surprise and saw no clouds or moon, yet it was snowing.
The snow was light, falling gently, thin and cold. When the wind blew it up, it was like a sail that had no control over its course, changing its path with the changing world.
This light snow was more like a gentle tornado passing through, sweeping over the cold, strange tower, and then spreading across countless blurry areas that seemed to be the edge of the world, until it reached a continuous range of snow-covered mountains.
The mountains are all very steep, with little gentle slope. From a distance, they look like countless cold, sharp cones stacked together, reminiscent of a monster's fangs.
Snow falls year-round, draping every mountain in a mournful white coat, yet occasionally revealing the blood-red soil buried beneath, bright and vivid, as embellishments, like the bloodstains remaining on a corpse's face or the red makeup smeared on a paper doll.
On the highest mountain, a little boy emerged from a snow cave at the summit. He was probably human, since he looked human, but he wore paper doll makeup that matched the strange mountain perfectly. He had a white face and rosy cheeks, wore a long blue coat to keep warm, and had a tattered suona hanging around his neck. He ran all the way and stopped near the summit.
With a long face, he craned his neck and called out, "You're back? You suddenly ran off halfway through what I was saying, you scared me half to death! How are you?"
Snow fell on the mountain peak, and a new layer was added on top of the thick snow, silently melting into it. Suddenly, the "mountain peak" moved. A little below the peak, the snow loosened and fell, revealing a bit of the white linen brim of a hat and a pair of thin, bright red lips under the hat—this was not a mountain peak, but a person wearing a mourning cap buried in the snow!
The mourning cap was wide and long, completely concealing the person sitting on the mountaintop. The long tail of the cap draped over the cliff, and the pointed top, once covered by snow, blended seamlessly into the mountain, becoming the "mountain peak."
"Kill him." The man exhaled a chilling breath as soon as he opened his mouth. His tone was both soft and strange, and those two words were enough to make one's "heart break" and were so creepy that they made one's teeth ache.
The young boy, however, seemed used to it. He nodded and said, "The matter you entrusted to me has been settled. I have located her whereabouts. In a place that hasn't been opened yet, should we send a few believers in to investigate first?"
"What do they know? Go play somewhere else. I'm dizzy for ages after being summoned by spirits. You have no idea how pungent that flesh and blood is. They even have to pluck my scales to use as anchor points. There are so many restrictions. It's not fun at all. Have some pity on me." The person hidden in the snow complained affectionately, then lazily added, "I'll go myself."
"Huh? But the guild tournament isn't even here yet, and your dungeon can't be opened..." The young boy was taken aback. "You want to go as a 'player'?"
"To see an old friend, it's naturally better to visit in person... and the sooner the better." The last syllable went off-key, and the barely concealed killing intent made it even more incoherent. Xue Li stretched out a pale hand and took the blue dart handed to her by the young boy. The dart was inscribed with "Old School Days".
The young boy glanced at his expression and asked, "Are you in a good mood?"
"I packed a big meal and was just about to enjoy it." After saying that, He pursed His blood-red lips, opened them slightly, and slowly inhaled. The cold air swept across the tip of His lips, but He was stunned, as if raising a cup to drink nectar, only to find that the cup was empty—how could a dead person have no emotions?
unless……
He suddenly burst into laughter: "He's still alive—good, good, interesting!"
Some of the snow, which seemed to have merged into one, was shaken off, and the cold wind swept through the mountains, blowing his mourning clothes, but it could not cover up the maniacal laughter that echoed through the heavens and earth.
Time flies, and as the smallest hand of the bronze clock completes a full cycle, a tiny gray-blue pixelated bird pops out precisely from the all-seeing eye of the television set: "A new week has begun. All employees, please work hard and achieve your targets!"
You have selected the instance "Old School Days".
Your room is now open.
[The copy has been loaded for you, 3, 2, 1—]
Please host a fantastic game for the audience!
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