The white wall closed, the key fell to the ground, and there was no exit. Shi Jinzhe had no choice but to sit down against the wall and calm his tense emotions.
The game is giving an incorrect message; this exit is not an option to leave the instance.
He mentally replayed the entire sequence of events, trying to find any omissions and rediscover a way to leave.
Thoughts raced through my mind, every detail was carefully recalled, but no new clues were found.
Shi Jinzhe lowered his head and sighed, finding no way out; he was truly at his wit's end.
Thinking about why he entered this game, he lowered his eyes, his expression unreadable.
Who would have thought that an ordinary greeting card casually accepted from an acquaintance would lead to a mysterious game?
This survival game is called Pyramid Survival Battle. Players are randomly selected, and the selected person will receive a greeting card.
Once the greeting card is confirmed to belong to the user, the phone will automatically install a survival game app that only the player can see.
Every player has one chance to draw a skill upon first entering the game; whether it's good or bad is up to fate.
The items are aids to clearing each dungeon, available in both one-time and permanent forms, and can be placed in the game's inventory.
He learned from a veteran player after entering the game that each greeting card has one chance to be forwarded within one hour of being received.
However, handing over greeting cards will be considered cheating by the game system, permanently disqualifying the player from obtaining items and skills.
This is a bug. The card is a pass, and the game system recognizes the card but not the player. If someone is bound to a cheat card, they will be punished and become a cheater.
Cheating players have no resources to exploit; being discovered only leads to experimentation and trial and error.
The card linked to him originally belonged to Cheng You'an, the biological son of the Cheng family.
When the time was up, he closed his eyes, leaned against the wall, and tilted his head back.
When Cheng Yun adopted him, she visited the orphanage several times, telling herself that she would treat him as family.
Because of these two words, he worked diligently as a substitute for twenty years.
But when the Cheng family’s biological son, who had been away from home for twenty years, was found, the feelings that had been transferred to him turned into guilt and a waste.
Cheng Youan loathed himself, so he wanted to leave.
He couldn't fit in with the family of three, so it wouldn't matter if they left; he never coveted anything that didn't belong to him.
Everything, from surnames to money, was returned completely when the time came; nothing was taken with it.
After leaving the Cheng family, he treated the twenty years of time and emotions as a veil to maintain a calm facade, undisturbed by anyone.
Unfortunately, Cheng Youan felt that this concession was not enough.
The arrival of game-themed greeting cards showed him a new approach.
Money makes the world go round. When Cheng Youan received the card, there happened to be an old player from the Cheng family who wanted something from Cheng's father.
Not all veteran players know this rule, but some people still manage to exploit loopholes.
The existence of the game must not be known to outsiders, but the doting parents will fulfill all of Cheng Youan's requests.
Knowing he would be in danger, she didn't hesitate to use her last bit of affection to deceive herself and transfer the crisis to Cheng Youan.
Without tools and skills, coming in is just suicide. The price to pay for the twenty years of nurturing is truly enormous.
Thinking this, Shi Jinzhe chuckled to himself.
The game didn't give him a chance to reason.
With such a mysterious power, what's the point of talking about fairness? Everything it does is right.
The scapegoat identity was placed on himself.
The maze had no exit; the replacement stage was complete, and he was not far from death.
...
"Hey, boss."
A male voice came from around the corner, his voice low, as if afraid of startling the monster.
Seeing that Shi Jinzhe did not respond, the man quietly took a step closer and found that Shi Jinzhe's eyes were closed and his clothes were covered in blood. He did not know whether Shi Jinzhe had fainted or died.
The short, somewhat shifty-looking man became a little bolder and reached out to check his breath.
He heard a man call this guy "big boss" on the first two floors. If he died, he should be able to drop some items, and maybe even some skills.
As the man thought about it, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile.
This guy looks like he has no strength left to fight back. Even if he doesn't die, I can lend him a hand and send him to his death. This thing will still be his!
Unfortunately, just as his fingers were about to touch the broken stone, he woke up.
Shi Jinzhe raised his head, his face drained of color, and his eyes slightly unfocused.
Seeing him looking like he was on the verge of death, the shifty-eyed man chuckled inwardly. He pretended to be kind and helped Shi Jinzhe up.
"Are you alright? Do you need any help? Hang in there a little longer, and we can leave together."
“…I’m so tired.” Shi Jinzhe exhaled heavily, as if he were trying to draw in air.
He reached down and groped around on the ground for a moment, then handed the key he had just dropped to the shifty-eyed man, his hands trembling as he did so. "Here's the key..."
The man helped him up and said earnestly, "Don't worry, I'll open the door right now. Do you know the answer? Tell me, and let's get out of here quickly."
"...I know, you find the keyhole, insert the key first, and I'll tell you."
His voice was weary, but the man, unsuspecting, focused on finding the keyhole on the reappearing white wall.
Shi Jinzhe leaned against the wall and stood up. Once the man had completely turned around, his listless expression disappeared.
He straightened up behind the man and pulled down the black tie that was being used to bandage his arm.
"No."
"Let's get closer and look again..."
The shifty-eyed man obeyed and moved closer to the white wall, his attention focused entirely on finding the keyhole, unaware that his tie had been straightened behind him.
A thin black shadow swept down without warning! The tie transformed into a strong rope, and the man's neck was suddenly gripped tightly!
The intense feeling of suffocation made the veins on his forehead bulge, and the tangled black tie tightened even more, causing the man's face to turn red.
Because his breath was cut off, he struggled and even scratched his own neck with his fingernails, drawing blood.
Shi Jinzhe gripped his tie tightly, his white shirt, soaked by the rain, taut from the force of his arm movements. Tearing away the veneer of morality and politeness, his actions were forceful and ruthless, showing no trace of his previous vulnerability and helplessness.
He lowered his eyes, using his height to look down at the man's despairing expression.
At the same time, it also allowed the shifty-eyed man to see the indifference and calmness in his eyes through his rolled-up pupils.
The man regretted it; he shouldn't have been greedy. The lack of oxygen caused his consciousness to gradually fade, and slowly, the man stopped struggling.
His arm fell to his side, but Shi Jinzhe didn't let go immediately. He counted the time in his mind, and only let go when he had counted enough.
He accepted this replacement by the Cheng family as repayment for being adopted for twenty years.
But accepting it doesn't mean that one should do as some people wish, and waste one's life waiting to die.
He was willing to do anything to get out of this game alive.
He wanted to survive, and since he didn't have any tools of his own, he had no choice but to steal from others!
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