Chapter 5 Let's set sail, ███! He will use his sacred tablet...
Two dead fish-shaped machines blocked the ticket hall door from the left and right. The electronic lights emanating from their fish eyes were further away, scanning half a circle like lasers. Seeing that no one was about to enter, they were about to retreat into the hall when they were nipped aside by the toes of sneakers.
"No sense at all." Zhu Wen walked in with a look of disdain. He was the only player who took the initiative to enter the ticket hall.
Other players secretly observed, and two or three followed them into the ticket hall. The doors closed, and a sign read, "Full capacity, no entry."
The ticket hall looked creepy, so it was safer to try the ticket machine first. Zhu Wen dared to go in directly, but the others wouldn't easily change their minds.
That means they had other motives—logically, the memorial tablet should contain a prayer text, and they were just "taking advantage of the situation."
Xue Chao felt no guilt whatsoever; he was truly sorry, for he hadn't played by the rules.
He erased the directional arrows that filled the large screen according to the program. Giant Port's network was completely independent. He found a few old advertisements in the barren storage and played them on all the radio and television broadcasts aimed at tourists, making the deathly silent terminal a little more alive.
But the effect may be counterproductive. The loud and clear broadcast voice, accompanied by the beautifully presented advertising PPT, suddenly resounded throughout the empty building, startling everyone. Some players subconsciously gripped the blades hidden in their sleeves.
It turned out to be just an advertisement. After all that tension, the man in the trench coat frowned and gritted his teeth, feeling annoyed that he, a smart man, had been tricked.
In the long line at the ticket machine, the long-haired woman glanced discreetly at her watch.
Congratulations! You have obtained the "predicted position" for this game.
Don't let everyone down!
The All-Seeing Eye pattern appeared for a fleeting moment, then vanished from the dial. A notification only she could see.
There are clearly top ten players.
Why her?
Whether it's shops or special abilities, they are all necessary means for players to complete the game or acquire more resources.
Unlocking shops and special abilities requires both a certain level of popularity in the room and a certain level of "contribution" from the player, which is equivalent to "player points".
There are two types of contribution: dungeon contribution and popularity contribution.
The former refers to exploring the dungeon, while the latter refers to boosting the popularity of the live stream.
Predicting camera angles attracts all the viewers' attention in the early stages, so there's no worry about contributing points. Even though there's a risk of being overshadowed or causing trouble, for most players, the advantages of predicting camera angles far outweigh the disadvantages.
...But not for her. For her now, attention is actually dangerous.
What's wrong with this host?
Fortunately, everyone thought Zhu Wen was a precious memorial tablet, but they didn't expect her to be the one in question.
Suppressing her unease, Pu Fengchun focused on resolving the immediate problem. She shifted her position to observe the ticket collection process for the people in front of her. No identification was required; simply placing a finger in the sensor area allowed the machine to recognize the information, print the ticket, and match it with the passenger's personal details.
Hopefully, things won't go wrong right from the very first step.
"...It's out of ink?" someone suddenly said from the machine next to them.
Sometimes, what you fear most is exactly what happens. Pu Songying's heart skipped a beat, and she looked over.
The passenger's ticket was not quite accurate to describe as "without ink," because all the necessary modules were there: route information, cabin information, passenger information, and even the font size and shade of the precautions were perfect. However, the space immediately following each item was completely blank, with no information whatsoever, giving the impression of "no such person" and "no such ticket found."
The passenger held up his ticket, and Pu Fengchun saw the back of the ticket. The cruise company's advertisement was blurred into a mess, and the huge luxury cruise ship was twisted into a spinning pretzel by the sea. The colors were disordered, like jumbled code, as if the printer had malfunctioned.
The ticket machine's camera lens stiffly rotated, looking down at the passenger, and then his face appeared on the electronic screen—it was a camera.
The next second, the fish-shaped machine split open from the middle, revealing two rows of sharp steel fish bones that swept the passenger into its belly. The machine snapped shut again in the blink of an eye, accompanied by a shrill scream like being trapped in a metal can and the sound of flesh being pierced. Blood seeped from the gaps in the machine, flowing over the rust and dripping onto the ground.
The ticket, which had been slipped from my hand, fluttered down and fell into the gap between the machine and the wall.
...Now I know where the stench from that broken machine came from.
Among all the passengers, some have blank tickets, and given the game's cynical nature, the player will inevitably fall into this group of unlucky individuals.
The other passengers were also frightened and instinctively backed away, but they still maintained a blank, lifeless expression. The players in the back row had already quietly retreated with the retreating crowd.
Pu Fengchun also wanted to leave, but by sheer coincidence, the person in front of her successfully got their ticket, and it was her turn in the queue.
The fisheye camera locked onto her first, and a notification popped up on the electronic screen: "Madam, it's your turn."
"【Pu Fengchun】jokingly said, 'There's going to be a good show.'"
"【Pu Fengchun】The others haven't even unlocked the camera positions yet, and the room went black after she died. Congratulations to the host for getting the 'Little Black Room' achievement in the first dungeon, hahaha."
Xue Chao had been preparing for this moment by starting the commercials. He seized the opportunity and seamlessly switched to his pre-prepared ad after the previous tour group's advertisement finished. His male announcer's voice rose several notches, passionately proclaiming, "Giant International Cruise Terminal, in conjunction with various cruise lines, is offering discounted upgrades for passengers. Whether it's the Dream-class, like a cradle of foam; the Mermaid-class, swimming in the water; or the Adventure-class, a 'ship within a ship,' all passengers have the opportunity to enjoy an 8.8% discount..."
Pu Fengchun was experienced after all. After a brief moment of confusion, he quickly seized the information sent by Tian Song, calmly stepped forward, closed the notification box, and instead of selecting "Get Tickets," he selected "More Services." Sure enough, he saw "Upgrade Service" in the category.
A new message pop-up appears: The ticket collection hall on the first floor is full and temporarily closed. If you need to upgrade your ticket, please go to the window on the second floor.
"【Pu Fengchun】What? He didn't die."
"【Pu Fengchun】is still quite sharp-minded; this advertisement came at just the right time."
Xue Chao glanced around and saw four players enter the ticket hall. There were no surveillance cameras in the ticket hall, so he couldn't see what was going on. The four players left the ticket machine and explored other places to find a way to get their tickets.
He checked the schedule in the program; there was one last ship tonight, a cruise ship named Destiny, which would arrive at the port at midnight sharp, while the schedule for tomorrow was blank.
In other words, this is the only boat.
He projected the Destiny's schedule information onto various notification screens, and then ignored where the players went to explore. He focused most of his attention on Pu Fengchun, the most taciturn player he had specifically chosen.
With the blessing of the gods drawing away players who were trying to get a shot of the game, and the ticket machine swallowing people and scattering the remaining players, Pu Fengchun found himself alone not long after the game started.
This was convenient for him.
When the passengers arrived, Xue Chao observed them for a long time but did not see himself.
Although, in theory, the host's identity is that of an AI and does not require a physical body, during the standby time, with a giant port in the sea outside the window, he prefers that he himself is in the instance.
With his consciousness withdrawn, his body was just an empty shell.
He cannot allow his body to lie dormant; if it is used or destroyed, his consciousness is likely to be affected.
He doesn't care whether others live or die, but he definitely cares about himself.
He wants to use his sacred tablet to reclaim his body.
The device behind the second-floor window lit up briefly, as if responding to his thoughts and waiting for guests.
*
The second floor was equally dark, with only the screens displaying advertisements and flight information providing light. The ticket machine service window was not at the stairwell, but at the end of the second-floor corridor.
The three glass windows were completely blocked by a black curtain. The window numbers were not stickers, but "2"s sprayed in red paint. Inside, there were several bright red handprints, about the size of a child's, sticking part of the curtain to the glass.
"Hello, is anyone home?"
Pu Fengchun sat down cautiously, but nothing happened. No one greeted her, and no vengeful ghost banged on the window trying to bite her neck off.
She breathed a sigh of relief for no apparent reason. She hadn't originally intended to upgrade her ticket; she was worried that revealing she might have a blank ticket would put her in danger.
Unable to find any clues, Pu Fengchun got up to leave, when he suddenly caught a faint flicker in his peripheral vision.
She looked closely and saw a blue light behind the curtain, jumping rhythmically like a signal light from some kind of equipment, illuminating the outline of a person with neatly combed hair, who must be a staff member.
Pu Fengchun asked again, "Is anyone there?"
The blue light paused noticeably for a second before resuming its rhythm, and a voice came from inside the window: "...Buzz...Buzz...Employee ID 029, it's a pleasure to serve you. How can I help you, ma'am?"
At first, it sounded like a male voice, mixed in with the static, making it hard to hear clearly. But the last few words turned into a clear female voice, very professional and steady.
Pu Fengchun countered, "What services do you provide here?"
The person inside seemed taken aback by the question and remained silent for a moment before saying, "...We can process upgrades here. We're currently having a promotion, so we can offer a discount."
Pu Fengchun was certain that the person inside the window was not a real staff member, but something else in disguise.
A fake staff member can actually be advantageous to a fake passenger who is suspected of having a ticket that cannot be found.
"That sounds very appealing, how do I apply?"
The fake staff member remained silent, seemingly trying to think of something to brush her off, and finally said only, "The window is temporarily closed. If you need assistance, you can find staff at the boarding gate."
Then, no matter how Pu Fengchun asked, there was no further answer from inside the window.
An NPC who seemed easy to bully, and with a clue. Pu Fengchun made a quick decision, followed the wall to find the hidden employee passage, sneaked in, and the overwhelming fishy smell made her feel nauseous.
Thirty centimeters from the ground, there are two long indicator lights on either side, which are the only light sources in the passage. The dim light illuminates the dense clusters of small round pieces on the ground, scattered here and there, with some scattered in the middle, as if they had been dragged and fallen all over the ground, gleaming with a sinister silver-gray.
Pu Fengchun squatted down to observe and found that they were fish scales.
...Is the guy she's talking to even human?
She carefully avoided the fish scales and, using the rough map on her watch, found the approximate location inside the window. The combination lock was lit, but the door was blocked by a hand, leaving it ajar.
Pu Fengchun struggled to push open the door and heard the sound of something sliding and hitting the ground—a headless woman in work clothes was lying face down at the doorway. Her upper body, which had been pressed against the door, was now slumped to the side, and her hands were still clinging tightly to the door, as if she had crawled to the doorway in her life, trying to escape. Her body was covered in lividity and emitted a foul stench.
She bent down, turned the woman over her shoulder, and saw the name tag "029" pinned to her chest.
The person she just saw was...
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