Chapter 240: Prequel to Infinite Highway
[A total of 8 new players have joined this round, and 8 shipbuilding modules have been re-unlocked. Please complete your daily basic tasks in a timely manner. Career assignments are being made...]
[Player Li Yuan, newly assigned job as deck assembler]
[Player Mo Wen, the new job assigned is helmsman. Please complete the rudder assembly first and study the boat manual.]
[Player Luo Guang, newly assigned job as regional parts carrier]
[Player…]
The same was true for the mini-games in other stores in the mall before. As soon as everyone entered, their new identities would be directly announced, so everyone accepted it well.
After a short rest, the new players recovered quickly. It wasn’t long before they accepted the collective life here and began to prepare for shipbuilding.
During this period, you can occasionally hear new broadcasts coming from overhead.
The game clearance reminders in Infinite Mall all rely on the loudspeaker in the mall. Some people have complained about it before. If any player has the skills, they can also produce the same effect as the loudspeaker. Maybe they can pretend to be the game system to fool other players at the critical moment.
As a result, the player who proposed this matter and was preparing to implement it was exiled shortly after he finished speaking and moved up 10 floors on the spot.
This made everyone realize that every player in the mall is actually under surveillance and may be punished at any time.
Of course, what is more important is to let all players know that the collective announcement in the mall will not be imitated or even counterfeited.
"Perhaps there really is a game system. Li Yuan, aren't you a game developer? If there really is such a game system, why don't you put system notifications next to the players? Wouldn't it be more convenient for everyone to have a system?"
Xiaoguang, a photographer who has a good relationship with Li Yuan, was holding a wooden board in his hand and chattering about the loudspeaker in the mall.
Li Yuan took the materials he brought over and sorted them out.
"When our studio develops games, apart from factors such as game style, if we have better systems or resources but don't use them, there is usually only one reason."
"Ah, what's the reason?"
“The budget is not enough.”
Li Yuan didn't even raise his head: "To be frank, it's because we are poor."
"Using the loudspeaker can notify all players in the mall to the greatest extent possible. Also, didn't you notice? When we play the game, there are no NPCs to maintain order, just like the single-player games played by human players.
We relied entirely on the rules written on the wall and figured out the rules ourselves to pass the levels."
In fact, in Li Yuan's opinion, as a game designer, most of the games in the mall are not very qualified. There are no good limits on the clearance rate and death rate, which leads to the top 70 to 90 floors being very crowded, and the fewer people there are as you go down.
He also found it a bit strange: "After failing in this game, the player will not be killed directly, but will be eliminated to the upper ten or twenty floors. It seems too merciful."
Ah Guang immediately wailed: "Isn't this bad enough? Some people in our team have been eliminated and returned countless times in order to reach the second floor at the bottom."
Li Yuan had the least number of returns to the factory, otherwise the other players in the team would not trust him so much.
Li Yuan was silent for a moment. "That's not what I meant. I just think that when death is no longer a threat, the horror of the game will be greatly reduced, and players will have less motivation to complete the game. After the 70th floor, as you can see, many people even planned to lie down."
Li Yuan even occasionally felt that the guy who built the game in this mall did not intend to trap the players here. It was already trying its best to ensure the survival rate, but -
"The game design is indeed a bit lacking, the rules are not clear enough, and what is the purpose of locking us up in this mall? Can we really go back to the first floor, build a boat to cross the river, and then return to the real world and be resurrected? I believe in the principle of equivalent exchange. This mall may not be as simple as we think. It may even be alive..."
After saying that, Li Yuan looked at the big rock next to his seat with a strange expression.
A living mall?
It has to be said that he even felt that the stone next to him was alive.
Li Yuan felt that this guy was becoming more and more lively... When Li Yuan was saying some key words, the stone actually bumped him lightly as if with some dissatisfaction.
But when Li Yuan was talking about the shopping mall system, Dashitou seemed to sigh somewhat desolately, as if silently agreeing with Li Yuan's next words.
It’s strange that I can actually feel the emotions of a stone sculpture.
Xiao Guang carried a large wooden board that Li Yuan had processed on his shoulders, preparing to take it back to another processing team. He poked his head out and asked curiously, "You still have this stone with you? You even put it next to the place when you were working."
Li Yuan frowned: "Don't you think this thing is alive?"
Xiao Guang was startled by his serious look and said, "Don't say such creepy things. Didn't we tell everyone to look at it before? They all said it was just an ordinary stone.
After coming into contact with the players on this floor, Li Yuan asked them about the stones in the passage in many ways, but in the end he only got the news that the stones could help point the way.
"Qi Fan also said that this thing is useless after leaving the passage. They have collected a lot of corresponding stones, aren't they all piled in one place? If it is really that precious, they would not have enough time to hide it."
Li Yuan frowned and turned his head to look at the busy people in the distance, not knowing what he was thinking about.
Xiaoguang took a large piece of the deck he had just assembled and gave it to another player to complete the new assembly work.
In the distance, in an open rest area blocked by several large pillars, there was a half-assembled ship. With the active cooperation of the players, a water vehicle was being slowly completed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Yes, just like the jigsaw puzzle, the shipbuilding game is a little too easy.
The mall broadcast will repeat the tasks assigned to all players in the square every day.
Among them was even Teacher Du, who had previously hitched a ride on their car and then went crazy and tried to steal the statue.
Li Yuan knew that Teacher Du's assigned job was cleaning, and the area he was in was very close to the half-finished ship.
Qi Fan smiled and said to Li Yuan and the others, "It's okay. This area is equivalent to a safe zone. Players are not allowed to fight or even kill each other. He can't harm you even if he wants to. Just assemble the ship first. You can deal with any problems later. There's no rush."
Li Yuan also noticed that Qi Fan's posture at this time just blocked their view of Teacher Du.
After specific tasks are assigned, the area where each person moves is actually restricted to a certain extent. At least near the half-assembled ship, only porters and players who do cleaning and assembly work are allowed to get close.
For example, Teacher Du, for example, Qi Fan.
They can't get in unless the people inside come out voluntarily.
Very strange.
Li Yuan felt that this invisible rule seemed to be used to avoid something.
Moreover, Qi Fan must know what happened to Teacher Du.
Qi Fan was also deliberately avoiding the players of the Eye of Wisdom from getting any information from Teacher Du.
The episode passed quickly.
Each player on the first floor of the mall was assigned corresponding tasks to be completed. In addition, Li Yuan took the initiative to look for Qi Fan, the shipbuilder who was the first to greet them on this floor.
Today is already their third day down here. They repeat the same work every day. It's easy to get numb after doing the same thing for a long time. At least in the entire underground first floor, those who have been down here for a while longer than Li Yuan and his team have very strange expressions on their faces.
To be more precise, it was an expressionless tiredness.
Ah Guang once quietly commented that these people had a faint sense of death as if they were about to be buried in the ground.
But sometimes there are guys with extremely cheerful expressions.
Qi Fanzheng rolled up his sleeves to his shoulders and helped carry some larger wooden boards. His job was the same as A Guang's, which was to place the parts near the boat.
The players on Qi Fan's side came down earlier and completed their work very efficiently, but their expressions looked like those of dead people.
The few normal people in the group stand out particularly well.
Li Yuan watched for a while and felt that this fellow named Qi Fan seemed a little stronger than before. Not only him, but also other players around him who were dealing with ship parts had a very subtle change that was difficult to detect.
Like a wild beast ready to eat before hibernation, it is full of power and aggression.
"Li Yuan? Is there something you want to talk to me about?"
Don't judge Qi Fan by appearance. He is very strong and can easily carry more than three times the amount of cargo as A Guang.
There are too few supplies in this place. Not to mention carts, even things with wheels are rare. Qi Fan has reminded players that it is best not to use any ship accessories to help transport goods.
Otherwise, it will cause wear and tear, which will indirectly lead to their failure in the game.
Yes, Qi Fan also called this shipbuilding activity a game.
However, when Li Yuan came to him and asked him directly whether there had been any rule notes on this floor, the other party denied it.
"There is no such thing. The biggest difficulty on this floor is getting down from upstairs. You have passed the test. As long as we build the boat safely, we can drive it home. It's not that difficult."
No, that's obviously not true.
Although Li Yuan felt that most of the game designs in the mall were a bit too immature, a game placed next to the final level could not be worse than the ones on the ten or twenty floors above.
But Qi Fan just shook his head: "There is indeed no rule paper."
Li Yuan didn't quite believe it.
He stood in front of everyone and blocked Qi Fan's way of delivering parts without retreating: "You should have explored the surrounding area a long time ago. Didn't you see any prompts? Any text prompts for players will do."
In the Infinite Mall game, the rules and prompts are very hardcore. For example, when they came down from the upper floor, the passage they passed through was hung with banners, one after another, repeating the same words over and over again.
Even in the passage going downstairs, there are rules reminders, not to mention this entire floor of a shopping mall used for shipbuilding.
Those shops whose doors were damaged or even most of them were smashed open could not have been used specifically to provide players with tents and other daily necessities.
Li Yuan and his companions had not been here for long, but they could already realize that Qi Fan and his companions were consciously not letting them go to certain areas.
When you get close to them, say that the girls are changing clothes, going to the bathroom, or sleeping, and don't disturb them.
There are also women in Li Yuan's team, but after calling Aunt Huo, who sews canvas, over, Qi Fan and the others will openly give up the room that Li Yuan suspects has problems.
There were obvious signs of cleaning inside.
Aunt Huo went in and took a look around, then came out and shook her head.
No special clues were found.
At this time, it was the third time that Li Yuan confronted Qi Fan directly. He was an intuitive person who always made guesses first and then verified. "I won't beat around the bush with you. I want to know if you have ever hidden some reminder items similar to text descriptions for players from us."
This time the person on the other side was obviously silent for a while.
When Qi Fan was about to deny it again, he saw a card in Li Yuan's hand.
【Lie Identification Card】
A card whose deterrent effect is greater than its usage effect.
Prop cards are relatively rare in shopping malls. Only the players who perform best in a single game and make the greatest contribution to completing the game can get one.
The lie identification cards are almost the rarest ones.
Qi Fan wanted to explain something, but when he saw the card, his words got stuck in his throat.
After the players on the first level are assigned new jobs, the original player skills cannot be used, but the prop cards can still be used.
Fighting is prohibited, but lie detection is not prohibited.
After all, there had been no conflicts among the people. They were all working hard to finish the work quickly and build a boat to go home.
Only Li Yuan felt that this group of players working so hard was very strange.
He repeated his question at last: "Is there any hidden items similar to text descriptions or tips for players on this floor of the mall, in this space—"
This time his question was interrupted by a scream.
“Ahhhhh——someone’s dead, someone’s dead!!”
This shout instantly attracted the attention of most people.
After a few days of simple shipbuilding work, which was as peaceful and smooth as playing a puzzle, everyone almost forgot what kind of place this mall was essentially.
This is the game, this is a world of infinite survival.
The players with hurried footsteps and different expressions soon squeezed into a narrow corridor.
The scene inside was a bit bloody. The players crowded at the door and could only see dark scars splashed on the ceiling.
Everyone knew what happened inside, because the female player who found the body was obviously emotionally broken, holding her head and repeating one sentence over and over again:
"Dead, really dead, no, help, I don't want to stay here any longer, I want to go upstairs, I don't want to die, I don't want to die...!"
A player had already gone over to calm her down, while the others stood at the door.
The light bulb in the room broke, and the lights outside the mall were like a paved road, crushing the victim's face.
The death was horrible.
In a place where professional skills are restricted, only item cards can be used, and players are prohibited from killing each other, the thin, bespectacled man had his limbs twisted off and his entire abdomen was hollowed out, like a can that had been violently torn apart and its internal organs eaten out.
Teacher Du is dead.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
