The players thoroughly inspected the entire villa. Aside from a locked room, the villa held no particular dangers or noteworthy elements.
Returning to the first-floor hall, the players pondered the meaning of “The Caged Bird,” while the newcomers curiously observed their surroundings.
For these new players in their first game, they hadn’t yet encountered the dangers the game could harbor, and couldn’t fathom its cruelty. Thus, they remained at ease.
Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed through the hall.
Everyone turned to look, seeing the flashy punk who had previously been yelling and kicking at the villa’s main door now running down from upstairs.
He ignored everyone in the room, heading directly to a window.
The villa’s windows were built high and wide. The punk pushed one open, effortlessly climbing up and out through it.
As he left, everyone could still hear his muttering, “I’m outta here. No way am I sticking around to play this dumb game with you idiots!”
He was convinced he’d been brought to this house as a prank and that he just needed to leave to be free.
The newcomers crowded around the window, watching the punk leave with interest.
He stomped through the rose bushes in the garden, crushing the delicate blooms underfoot with a few harsh steps. Leaving behind broken petals scattered across the dirt, he marched toward the iron fence at the front gate.
The fence stood three meters tall, but that didn’t faze him.
He deftly climbed up using the decorative patterns in the fence, and once at the top, leapt forward into the gray mist beyond.
“Aaaargh!”
In the next moment, a blood-curdling scream echoed from the mist, cutting off almost as quickly as it had begun.
No one could see what was happening in the gray fog, but the scream hammered into everyone’s hearts like a sledgehammer, especially for the newcomers, who turned pale with fright.
One of the players sneered and muttered, “Idiot!”
The newcomers trembled in terror, abandoning any thoughts of leaving the villa.
When they saw the punk leaving the villa, a glimmer of hope had remained in their hearts that this might really just be a prank. If he had managed to escape, they’d have gladly climbed the walls themselves.
However, the terrifying scream from the mist shattered that glimmer of hope entirely.
The newcomers, almost paralyzed with fear, huddled together, not daring to make a sound.
Even Ai Ruyi, who had initially hired two burly men as bodyguards, suddenly felt far from safe. She glanced anxiously toward the people on the sofa, hoping to find a more seasoned player to rely on.
Aside from the nine newcomers, there were ten players with prior game experience.
The experienced players paid no mind to the newcomers, instead continuing to contemplate the meaning of “The Caged Bird.”
Players could usually deduce certain clues about the game world from the name of the game instance and task requirements. This time, “The Caged Bird” was a significant clue, but its meaning was still ambiguous. They couldn’t yet determine whether the “The Caged Bird” referred to the players themselves or something else.
“Strange, there haven’t been any NPCs this time?” wondered a middle-aged woman dressed like a housewife, who was also a fairly experienced player.
“No NPCs have appeared so far, meaning this instance likely has none,” another player replied.
“No NPCs—how are we supposed to get our meals? Is the villa supposed to magically provide food?”
“Maybe we’re expected to handle it ourselves.”
Upon hearing this, some players rushed to the kitchen to investigate.
Soon, the player returned, frowning, “The kitchen and dining room are spotless. There’s nothing there.”
No ingredients, no utensils—everything gleamed as if freshly built.
Most of the players exchanged uneasy glances, feeling a creeping sense of dread.
A sealed-off house, no NPCs, and no food. Were they expected to go hungry? A little hunger might be tolerable, but lasting seven days without food was unthinkable.
However, some players, like Gu Jiu, had the foresight to bring supplies with them, so they were less concerned.
Outside, the sky gradually darkened.
The newcomers, unable to bear their hunger any longer, went to the kitchen and dining room to look for food.
Suddenly, a scream sounded from the direction of the dining room, drawing everyone’s attention. The players rushed over to investigate.
Upon entering the dining room, they saw a long table large enough to seat twenty people. It was now laden with silver platters, each covered by a polished silver cloche, preventing anyone from seeing what was inside.
The player who had checked earlier for food in the kitchen and dining room said, “When I was here earlier, the table was completely empty.”
Ge Guang turned to Ai Ruyi, the first to spot the newly-appeared food, and asked, “When did this appear?”
Ai Ruyi shook her head in panic, “I don’t know. It was here when we came in.”
She and her two male dorm mates had come to check for food in the dining room, only to find the table filled with silver platters, causing her to scream in surprise.
One of the twin sisters accompanying Qi Yuheng stepped forward and lifted one of the cloches.
Underneath lay a small pile of brownish pellets.
“What is this?” someone asked in disgust.
Everyone moved closer, uncovering the other cloches.
When they finally opened all of them, they saw what lay beneath: an assortment of colored pellets—brown, black, gray, tan… and even some white rice.
“What’s the meaning of this?” someone asked, baffled.
Seeing the pellets, many of them had a faint, unsettling realization.
Gu Jiu turned to Lu Ji and said, “Ah Ji, look at these pellets on the plates. Don’t they look like bird food?”
The players who had already suspected as much fell silent.
Lu Ji: “….” Honestly, you didn’t need to say it out loud.
Gu Jiu’s words seemed to clear things up for those still confused. Their faces turned pale, a creeping realization dawning, “So… this is our food?”
“Ugh!” someone couldn’t help but gag.
Even those who were starving felt nauseous at the sight of the bird feed.
Suddenly, Qi Yuheng laughed, drawing everyone’s attention.
He was a handsome man with a cold, unapproachable aura when serious, his presence intimidating. Yet when he smiled, there was an elegance about him, like a nobleman with a springlike charm. Several of the female players couldn’t resist glancing at him.
“I see!” Qi Yuheng said with intrigue, “It seems we’ve indeed become birds in a cage. Though I wonder who our ‘watcher’ might be.”
The meaning of “caged bird” was now blatantly clear. The villa was the cage, and the players were its captive birds.
The “caged bird” is meant for humans to watch and enjoy. But now that the players have become these birds in a cage, who is watching them?
According to the game’s objective, the players need to survive in this villa for seven days. Though it’s unclear what exactly will happen, they know it will be anything but peaceful.
Several players looked serious, while the newcomers were lost and confused, their eyes on Qi Yuheng.
Qi Yuheng showed no interest in the bird feed on the table. “Let’s go back to our rooms and rest. Tonight probably won’t be quiet, so be careful,” he said, though it wasn’t clear whether he was addressing the three people following him or everyone present.
Ge Guang and the twin sisters followed him out of the dining room.
Gu Jiu, also uninterested in the bird food, left with Lu Ji.
Of the remaining four players, two had bought food from the system’s marketplace and didn’t seem too bothered. The other two looked miserable, not expecting the game world to be this harsh, reducing them to eating bird food.
The only consolation was that, among all the trays of bird food, there was a modest portion of plain white rice.
But the rice was far too little to fill up a group of over ten people. And eating only plain rice was torture for these modern-day players used to a life of comfort.
—
Gu Jiu also found this game world incredibly frustrating.
She took out the food she’d bought from the marketplace—bread, water, and instant noodles—and sighed.
“I bought food just in case. I figured, being in a villa, the food would at least be decent, better than in Qingshan Village, right? But while the living conditions improved, they’re actually skimping on food. It’s beyond frustrating…”
Lu Ji listened to her complaints in silence, unsure how to console her.
“Next time, I’ll definitely file a complaint with the system and demand proper food for players. Bread, water, and instant noodles barely count as food! How can they expect people to live on that every day, right?”
Lu Ji replied, “… You’re absolutely right.”
Gu Jiu turned to her. “Ah Ji, which one do you want?”
Lu Ji pointed at the bread and water, “I’ll have these.”
Gu Jiu handed her the bread and a bottle of water, then took a packet of bread for herself, slowly unwrapping and chewing it.
Surprisingly, the bread from the marketplace was quite good—soft, sweet, and as satisfying as a high-end dessert. Gu Jiu felt slightly comforted.
After finishing her bread, she handed Lu Ji a sealed bottle of water. “Ah Ji, can you open this for me?”
It was entirely natural for her to ask others to serve her, even asking a frail young girl like Lu Ji. Only this young lady could pull it off.
Lu Ji twisted the cap off with ease, not even breaking a sweat.
Taking a sip of water, Gu Jiu looked at her with a pair of beautiful almond-shaped eyes, smiling. “Ah Ji, you’re really strong.”
Lu Ji nibbled on her bread and glanced at her with a calm expression. “Just a bit stronger than average.”
“Is that so?” Gu Jiu flashed her a radiant smile, leaving it at that.
By the time they finished their simple dinner, it was already dark.
Standing by the window, Gu Jiu looked out at the night sky, noticing it was beautiful, dotted with stars, so different from the pitch-black nights in Qingshan Village.
There were no street lamps outside the villa, and the garden was cloaked in darkness. Only a faint outline of the rose bushes was visible in the light spilling from the windows.
The entire villa seemed like an island isolated in a world of darkness.
Gu Jiu closed the window, loosening the scarf around her neck. “Ah Ji, I’ll take a bath first. You can go after.”
Each room came with a private bathroom and toilet, making things very convenient.
Lu Ji was sitting on the edge of the bed, folding a piece of white paper. When he heard Gu Jiu’s voice, he instinctively looked up, only to see Gu Jiu undressing. His eyes widened, and his usually calm voice came out a bit flustered, “You—you’re undressing?”
Gu Jiu was already down to her underwear and looked at her in confusion. “I’m going to take a shower, of course I need to undress.”
Lu Ji quickly turned around, mumbling softly, “You could… undress in the bathroom.”
Since when did human girls undress in front of their roommates so casually?
Gu Jiu stared at her for a moment, barely holding back a laugh.
She casually tied her hair up, saying, “We’re both girls; what’s the big deal? I’m always like this at home.”
Lu Ji: “.…”