Chapter 119 Sea Amusement Park (Twenty-Eight)
The sign for the carousel read like a romantic fairy tale, but no one present dared to take it seriously as a fairy tale. It was more like a dark fairy tale that involves eating people.
Reins?
Xia Yingnuan noticed the strange wording on the sign. It didn't mean to hold the stick on the carousel, but to hold the reins... The horse on this sign didn't seem to be the motionless wooden horse they saw in front of them.
"Hanqi, can you ride a horse?"
Ning Hanqi heard Xia Yingnuan's voice.
"A little." She said softly.
Recorder: Xinna / Recording time: Day 4
What I am about to tell you may sound absurd, even unbelievable, but I promise that this is a true story that happened to me.
It took me nearly three days to finally have a general understanding of my situation.
Xinling Apartment is not a home, but a breeding ground for ghosts to please them.
They enjoy watching the residents fighting, and have established various rules and are happy to participate in it.
For the selected residents, this is a hopeless dead end. But for them, it is just a game, like a chess game, a basketball game, or a board game.
The existence of successive administrators is probably just a cheap spice for the numb crowd, providing a bit of fresh panic and despair, making the whole game more interesting.
I didn't know how to react, or if I could make it out of this apartment alive. But the only thing I knew for sure was that every person and inhuman being here wanted me dead.
People died every day, but no one cared. Death was like eating and drinking, the least of our worries. I didn't know what rewards they were promised, but everyone was scheming against each other, working to kill everyone else.
Last night, the death of Mr. Luo Ming in Room 209 seemed to give me a glimpse of the truth.
At that time, he was lying in the corridor like a pile of mud, only one step away from his room. Although he had no external injuries, his pale face and the blood flowing from the corner of his lips made me realize that this person would not live long.
Luo Ming struggled to reach out toward the room and slowly crawled over. I stepped forward to help him. He refused my help and gave me a strange smile. He said, "Miss Administrator, do you think you're lucky?"
I don't understand where his conclusion comes from. I've experienced many dangerous moments these days. I can feel that the residents are trying to trick me into breaking the rules, although I don't understand why.
Oh, by the way, except Xue Lan. Xue Lan was the only one who helped me, but I increasingly found that the way she looked at me was not right, always reminding me of a jackal that smelled blood.
I've also heard a lot of strange rumors about Xue Lan—it's said that anyone who gets close to her quickly dies in mysterious circumstances. Everyone hates her and avoids her like a monster.
"Do you think you can hide away?" Luo Ming lowered his voice, as if it were some kind of curse. "You can hide away from the rules, but you can't hide away from the executioner. If you are killed by the executioner, it will not be a good thing for others... Miss Administrator, everyone will die eventually. I hope you can..."
At this point he suddenly began to breathe rapidly, then slowly closed his eyes and remained motionless. I ignored his body, as it would be eaten by ghosts soon enough anyway.
After returning to my room, I began to ponder the meaning of Luo Ming's words. The executioner referred to Xue Lan, the terrifying woman they all called her. The others wanted me to die by the rules, and Xue Lan helped me circumvent them, but Luo Ming said I couldn't escape the executioner.
Everyone has different goals, but everyone wants me dead. I don't understand, I really don't understand. But it doesn't matter. The new administrator will arrive in a few hours, and after the handover, I can leave.
Just hold on a little longer, it will be alright...
I have to get out of here...
***
The third morning.
Xia Yingnuan leaned against the head of the bed and yawned.
Last night she chose a seat against the wall. Because she had been running around all day, she fell asleep quickly and didn't hear any strange noises.
When she woke up in the morning, the apple on the bedside table had disappeared. She immediately opened the game panel and checked, and found that the buff "Xue Lan's Help" no longer appeared, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
It is still a cloudy day today, making people feel inexplicably sleepy.
Ning Hanqi stood in front of the window with his back to her, looking focused, not knowing what he was thinking about.
Probably thinking about what was written in the notebook last night, Xia Yingnuan rubbed her eyes and sighed in her heart.
After reading Xinna's page, she felt that her current situation was even more dangerous. She was also pondering another question: if Ning Hanqi hadn't been there, how long would it take her to discover the hidden content on this page?
She was still not sharp enough, nor was she mentally strong enough. If she wanted to survive this game, she had to become stronger, stronger in every sense of the word.
Xia Yingnuan decided to have a chat with Ning Hanqi, perhaps she could learn some advanced experience.
She asked, "Sister, what are you thinking about?"
Ning Hanqi paused and turned to look at her. The pale light from the sky fell on her face, making her dark golden eyes appear lighter.
She said, "I'm thinking after I finish the game, I'll go back and have a midnight snack and then do some more puzzles."
Xia Yingnuan had no idea how many hobbies Ning Hanqi had, but she quickly grasped the important information in this sentence.
She asked, "After the copy ends, will we return to the original time and place?"
Ning Hanqi nodded and added seriously, "The premise is that you are still alive at that time."
This woman is so cruel. After all, they are teammates working side by side. Can't she expect something from her?
Xia Yingnuan complained in her heart, but on the surface she still smiled nonchalantly, "Sister, when you were a novice, were you ever nervous or scared?"
Everyone has been a novice before. She plays the emotional card. If it can evoke Ning Hanqi's past memories, maybe she will tell her about her experience in passing the level.
"No." Ning Hanqi thought for a moment and answered firmly, "I have been strong from the beginning."
Xia Yingnuan: ...Sorry to bother you.
She changed the subject, "How long do we have to wait?"
Just as he finished speaking, footsteps were heard outside the door, coming from far away and very quickly.
Then there was a knock on the door.
Ning Hanqi looked towards the door, the corners of his mouth curled up, "Isn't it coming now?"
She walked over and opened the door, and outside the door was Song Yun's anxious face.
When Song Yun saw Ning Hanqi, he felt like he had seen a savior. He grabbed Ning Hanqi's wrist and said, "Ms. Administrator, come and help us!"
Ning Hanqi broke free calmly and asked, "What happened?"
Song Yun's eyes were red, tears still lingering. She rubbed her eyes vigorously and spoke in a sobbing voice, "They threatened Mo Shu. They want all her potions... It's too late. Come with me..."
As she said that, she reached out to pull Ning Hanqi again.
Ning Hanqi moved sideways, leaving her empty-handed.
She lowered her eyes and looked at Song Yun, "Control? Aren't you two in the same group?"
Song Yun was stunned, his face showing a confused expression, "What are you talking about?"
"Let me guess what your plan is."
Ning Hanqi smiled playfully. She bent down slightly and looked straight at Song Yun.
"On the first day, you took the initiative to show weakness and lower my guard. On the second day, you arranged an argument and put yourself in the victim's position. You confessed your past and pretended to be honest. You even gave me real potions to gain my trust."
"After all, we have enough potions, so giving away two bottles won't hurt. As long as we trust you enough, we'll easily fall into your trap."
Song Yun's body trembled slightly. She tried to explain, "I don't understand what you mean. I just want to help you. I..."
Ning Hanqi ignored her performance and stood up straight. "If we die at Xue Lan's hands, Xue Lan will gain some kind of benefit. This will probably bother you a lot."
"Fortunately, Xue Lan couldn't act right away due to some rules, so you thought it would be more cost-effective to use the rules to kill us before then. So you carefully planned this scene. You've lived in the apartment for so long that you've already figured out the patterns of ghosts' appearances."
"When the ghost is about to appear, lure us over, and then use the set means to induce foul play, just like what Ren Qiu did yesterday. Miss Song, am I right?"
Ning Hanqi studied her pale face with great interest. "If I were alone, I wouldn't mind acting with you until the very last second. Your expression would probably be even more amusing by then. But this time, I'm carrying a burden with me, so it's not convenient for me to take any risks. Please forgive me."
Xia·Bully·Yingnuan: ...Don’t cue me, thank you.
After reading Xinna's records yesterday, the two discussed it for a while and came up with two guesses that were not yet fully formed.
First, violence between tenants and administrators is currently prohibited. Xue Lan helped them circumvent the rules in order to wait for the right moment to kill them. As for the specific time, it is still uncertain.
Although Song Yun gritted her teeth and said nothing, her expression said it all.
She simply stopped hiding it and became cold and hard.
"Miss Administrator, you are very smart, but what's the use?"
Song Yun's tone was cold, his eyes full of pity. "Even if we manage to survive by following the rules, we can't escape the executioner. We are all losers in this game, and no one can escape."
After saying that, she was about to turn around and leave, but Ning Hanqi called her.
"Wait a moment."
Song Yun ignored her and continued walking forward.
Ning Hanqi smiled and spoke slowly, "Miss Song, would you like to cooperate?"
Song Yun stopped with his back to her and asked, "As an outsider, what can you do?"
She turned around, her emotions suddenly becoming agitated. "You don't know anything. You don't even..."
"I advise you not to waste your time trying to use the rules to kill me." Ning Hanqi interrupted Song Yun and walked over to her side. "After I'm prepared, I will never be fooled by you, just like now."
"Your plan is all based on the premise that I will be killed if I encounter Xue Lan. But I am strong, I will kill Xue Lan."
In the deep and dim corridor, those golden eyes seemed to gather a ray of starlight, bright and soft, with a hint of bewitching aura.
"You know very well that it is almost impossible to defeat Xue Lan with your strength. So you have two choices, cooperate with me..."
Ning Hanqi's eyes lit up with a smile, as if he was appreciating her struggle, "Or die."
"Okay." Xia Yingnuan took Ning Hanqi's hand and pulled her out of the room. "Didn't you say last time that you wanted to tidy up the garden? It's a good opportunity to go and see what flowers to plant today."
The scene outside the room was both familiar and unfamiliar to Ning Hanqi. Although every blade of grass and every tree looked the same, the warm light was scattered everywhere, making it look like a vibrant scene.
The distorted scene outside the house had now returned to calm, and those disgusting faces had disappeared from the house. There were no poisonous snakes or rats, no evil spirits or evil thoughts. There was only her and the one she loved, planted with their favorite flowers and plants, and a small pet playing around in the grass...
How could this be a copy of a game? Rather, it felt more like the real world outside, like... home.
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