Every morning after waking up, and again just before dusk, everyone gathers habitually in the first-floor lobby. Besides observing and collecting information gathered by other players, they also check if anyone has died.
This is essential.
If someone has died, it’s best to understand the cause of death. Learning from these incidents can help others avoid similar fates and sidestep death mechanisms within the game world.
By the fourth day of entering the “Caged Bird” instance, both seasoned players and newcomers are in relatively good spirits. Fortunately, last night no one died.
According to certain game rules, the closer it gets to the mission’s end, the more dangerous the game world becomes.
As time progresses, the ghosts or bosses in the game world grow stronger, making it increasingly difficult for players to contend with them. Death is common in this world.
However, thanks to Gu Jiu’s warning, everyone was on guard last night, raising their vigilance, and they were lucky not to trigger any death mechanisms.
Still, the players haven’t let their guard down.
As always, the closer the mission time gets to the end, the less predictable the danger becomes; it could strike at any moment.
“Last night, I encountered a ghost woman crawling out of the faucet. I was almost strangled to death by her hair wrapping around my neck,” a male player said with relief. “Luckily, I was prepared and used an item just in time.”
“I ran into a ghost too—a faceless one,” another player added, still shaken.
“I met a ghost of a pregnant woman. There was a bloody hole in her stomach.”
…
After sharing their encounters, all the players felt a sense of relief.
From the events of last night, it was clear that the third night was a prime time for ghost attacks. Without Gu Jiu’s warning, they likely would have fallen victim to the illusions created by the ghosts, meeting their ends without even knowing how.
Ge Guang turned to the twin sisters, “Ling Huan, Ling Le, how was your night?”
The older twin sister, Ling Huan, replied, “While we were sleeping, a male ghost crawled out from under the bed. Lele used a Holy Light Talisman on him, and he escaped wounded.”
“Were you guys okay?” The twins looked over at Qi Yuheng.
Qi Yuheng sat quietly leaning against the sofa, his eyes half-closed, giving no sign of wanting to speak.
“We also encountered a ghost, but you all know Boss Qi’s skills. As soon as the ghost appeared, he cursed it until it fled,” Ge Guang said with a stifled laugh, making no attempt to hide Qi Yuheng’s behavior. “The ghost in our room was a female one, and she was quite pretty. Unfortunately, Boss Qi thought she was filthy and cursed her out of the room.”
In an instant, everyone looked at Qi Yuheng as though witnessing a miracle.
Chasing away a ghost by cursing it was, indeed, a skill.
With Qi Yuheng’s overly handsome face—powerful and commanding when serious, and as charming as spring mountains when he smiled—he seemed to draw in young women effortlessly. Even ghosts couldn’t resist. So, when a handsome, outstanding man starts mercilessly hurling insults, it’s hard for even a ghost to keep calm, and breaking down under his tirade is only natural.
The six ghosts in the villa included a male ghost that moved through mirrors, a female ghost crawling out of faucets, a pregnant ghost, a male ghost lurking under beds, a female ghost who was cursed away by Qi Yuheng, and a faceless ghost.
Last night, all the players except for Gu Jiu and Lu Ji were harassed by ghosts, one after the other. It seemed that the male ghost in the mirror had specifically warned the other ghosts about Gu Jiu’s ruthlessness, so the remaining five ghosts avoided their room without needing to discuss it.
After exchanging experiences, the players realized that these ghosts weren’t as terrifying as they’d first thought.
At least for now, the ghosts in the villa posed only limited threats to the players.
Suddenly, someone asked, “Was the newcomer who died on the first night killed by one of these ghosts?”
“No,” Gu Jiu replied. “I asked the male ghost in the mirror. He said that for the first five days of the game, the ghosts don’t have the power to kill players.”
Realizing the implication of her words, a chill ran down everyone’s spine.
If it wasn’t a ghost that killed the newcomer, then what was it? Could it be that something else, even more terrifying, was hidden within this villa?
The players’ expressions turned serious, their earlier lightheartedness replaced by apprehension.
Realizing that other hidden dangers lurked in the villa, they resumed their search after breakfast, determined to leave no corner unchecked.
Although they had already examined every inch of the villa over the past few days, the players were still concerned that they might have overlooked something critical.
Today, Gu Jiu didn’t sit in the sunlight to rest.
Instead, she brought Lu Ji and her “little follower” Xu Chenfeng to a door that had no key hanging beside it.
“Little follower” wasn’t a nickname Gu Jiu had given him. In fact, apart from giving Xu Chenfeng food and letting him move into an empty room next to hers on the second floor, Gu Jiu had hardly acknowledged him. Even though Xu Chenfeng was frequently bullied, he wasn’t entirely clueless; he understood that Gu Jiu was someone powerful to stick close to, so he chose to follow her.
He didn’t bother them, simply trailed behind quietly.
Since he was observant and didn’t disrupt Gu Jiu or Lu Ji, Gu Jiu allowed his presence.
In the eyes of the other players and newcomers, Xu Chenfeng looked every bit like the follower of a young lady. Gradually, everyone accepted this image, and even the other newcomers refrained from bullying him casually.
Gu Jiu pushed the door, but it didn’t budge.
Then she attempted to break it down using the Banshee’s Armor, but found that, despite its ability to pierce walls effortlessly, it couldn’t force open the door.
She frowned slightly, understanding that these locked rooms were likely domains of the six ghosts. As ghosts intrinsic to the villa, the places where they resided were protected by rules, preventing players from forcibly breaking in.
Gu Jiu turned to Lu Ji and asked, “Ah Ji, if this villa is supposed to be a birdcage, why would it have designated rooms for the ghosts? Don’t you think that’s rather interesting?”
Lu Ji shifted his gaze from the locked door to her and replied, “I can’t figure it out for now.”
Gu Jiu chuckled. “If force won’t work, I guess we’ll have to play by the rules and find the keys to these rooms.”
“Sister Gu, should we go find the keys?” Xu Chenfeng asked, gathering his courage.
Gu Jiu turned to look at him.
The boy’s face, still bearing traces of bruises, flushed with embarrassment. Clearly, he wasn’t used to sharing his opinions in front of others, but he’d managed to muster the courage to take the first step.
Lu Ji also looked at him, noticing a shift in the boy’s demeanor today.
If yesterday Xu Chenfeng had been a submissive, timid figure, today he began to transform, becoming firm and courageous. It was as though a single, casual gesture from Gu Jiu had given him the courage to change.
Gu Jiu responded with a soft, lazy tone, “Look carefully through the villa and try to find all the keys.”
She gave the order naturally, as if she were instructing her own follower, and Xu Chenfeng happily agreed without any objections.
Onlookers who passed by shook their heads, amused.
It was the first time they’d seen someone so eager to be a young lady’s follower.
Gu Jiu then continued to check the other locked rooms.
On the third floor, she and Lu Ji ran into Qi Yuheng and his group.
Qi Yuheng and his companions were also standing in front of a locked room, with Ge Guang and the twin sisters trying various methods to attack the door. Despite their efforts, the door remained unyielding.
Qi Yuheng leaned against the wall, carefully wiping his hands with a handkerchief, displaying his fastidiousness to the fullest.
Upon seeing Gu Jiu and Lu Ji, Qi Yuheng said knowingly, “Miss Gu, are you here to check these rooms as well?”
Gu Jiu gave a slight nod and asked, “Have you found anything?”
Her question was so direct that it briefly caught Ge Guang and the others off guard. But they quickly remembered that this young lady never hid her intentions or concealed anything.
Qi Yuheng replied, “Not much for now, but I have a feeling these six locked rooms are key. They’re not just the ghosts’ quarters; they might play a role at the end of our mission.”
While Qi Yuheng wasn’t yet an experienced advanced player, he was highly skilled and possessed sharp insight. Traps set within the game world rarely fazed him, as he always managed to spot details that others overlooked.
As the game’s time limit drew closer, the dangers would become increasingly unpredictable.
The game only set the objective of surviving seven days within the instance without requiring any specific tasks. However, time-bound missions like this one often ended up being the deadliest. At the final hour, a fearsome boss might appear, launching an attack on everyone.
To avoid this, players could only gather as much information as possible within the game world to prevent a potential mass slaughter by a boss at the end.
Gu Jiu’s face showed a hint of delight. “I think so too.”
“Shall we collaborate?” Qi Yuheng offered sincerely.
“Once this game ends, I’ll be moving up to the C-level arena.”
Ge Guang and the twin sisters looked surprised; this was the first time they had seen Qi Yuheng propose a collaboration with anyone, showing how highly he valued Gu Jiu.
Could these two really be potential elite players, destined to rise to prominence in the advanced arenas?
Gu Jiu replied, “I’m open to a collaboration!”
She paused, then added, “Actually, this is only my second game.”
Since he had shown such genuine intent, she figured she should be equally transparent.
Ge Guang and the twins were stunned. “What?! This can’t be!”
Nothing about this young lady’s mannerisms suggested she was a newcomer who’d only survived her second game.
Qi Yuheng’s face registered surprise as well, but he quickly shifted to admiration.
“Miss Gu, you’re truly impressive. I feel confident teaming up with you.”
Seeing that Qi Yuheng didn’t belittle her for being in only her second game, Gu Jiu felt even more at ease. She enjoyed collaborating with people who understood respect.
After discussing, they both agreed that the keys were the main focus; they needed to find the keys to those six rooms.
“The keys must be hidden in the villa,” Qi Yuheng stated confidently.
Gu Jiu stroked her chin, adding, “They’re definitely hidden here! Everyone has searched every possible hiding spot over the past few days, but I think maybe it’s just not the right time for the keys to appear, which is why we haven’t found them yet.”
Ge Guang and the twin sisters, just about to set off in search of the keys, felt like they were going to kneel in awe.
What did this young lady eat growing up? Her mind was so sharp.
Upon hearing that Gu Jiu was looking for the six room keys, other players immediately joined the search without hesitation.
The group spent an entire day, practically turning the villa upside down, yet they still found no trace of the keys.
Someone muttered with a pained expression, “Could Miss Gu have been mistaken? Maybe these six rooms don’t even have keys. Opening them might not actually impact the mission, right?”
“Miss Gu can’t be wrong!” another player quickly rebutted. “I heard even Mr. Qi and Mr. Ge are searching for the keys with her. Do you think they’d all make a mistake?”
Without question, Qi Yuheng and Gu Jiu’s influence among this group was unparalleled.