IGSB – Chapter 12
Chapter 12: Entering the New World (Part 12)
A long and perilous night.
Xia Zhiyi covered her mouth and quickly backed away from the small hole.
The thought of what she had just seen sent a chill down her spine. Goosebumps erupted all over her body, and her stomach began to churn.
In the cold, hazy light, her face was terribly pale.
Seeing this, Jing Ruyu reached out and pulled her into an embrace, gently stroking her hair to soothe her.
She wanted to say something comforting, but when she opened her lips, no words came out. In the end, she could only continue to stroke her long hair gently, trying to give her a sense of security.
No matter how mentally strong her ex-girlfriend was during the day, no matter how she dared to confront the quest NPC, she was ultimately still a new player, an ordinary person.
No one could see such a scene without being horrified. Even she found it quite unsettling.
Even in a novice instance, the cruelty of the New World was not diminished in the slightest.
Xia Zhiyi buried her head in the crook of Jing Ruyu's neck, her arms wrapped around her waist.
Xia Zhiyi could feel her hands trembling.
This was the second time since yesterday that she had felt such profound fear.
But in this place, fear was useless. To escape, she had to survive, and to survive, she had to be calm and clear-headed enough.
Her trembling fingers slowly clenched into fists as Xia Zhiyi tried to adjust her mindset.
Don't panic, don't be afraid. At least I have someone I like, someone familiar and reliable, by my side to watch over me.
Taking a deep breath and regulating her breathing for a few moments, Xia Zhiyi forced herself to calm down. The trembling in her fingertips subsided.
“I’m afraid things don’t look good for Xiao Ya.”
“Yes.”
Jing Ruyu’s tone was also considerably heavy.
Xia Zhiyi looked up at her. “I don’t know when that thing will leave. It looks like we won’t be able to go to the backyard tonight, will we?”
Jing Ruyu nodded.
Going out now would undoubtedly be like serving the monster an extra meal. The only fortunate thing was that they had figured out the time the monster appeared.
The atmosphere instantly grew heavy again.
Jing Ruyu cautiously approached the small hole and peeked outside again.
The monster was still there, sitting on Gao Hui, its back to their room. It was eating slowly, clearly in no hurry to leave.
If it didn't leave, they couldn't either. They could only go to sleep for now and try to get through this terrifying night.
“Zhiyi, go to sleep.”
Jing Ruyu gently patted her back, her tone gentle.
“Get some rest. We’ll figure out the backyard tomorrow.”
“Okay…”
Xia Zhiyi wasn't stubborn. She went back to the bed with her, ready to rest. Then she got up again, moved the table and chairs to block the door, giving herself an extra layer of psychological comfort before lying back down.
“I’m a little scared of that thing.”
Sensing Jing Ruyu’s gaze, she said honestly.
She felt it wasn't her fault. It was the first time she had seen such a scene, and she wasn't used to it…
Jing Ruyu didn't say anything, just gently wished her goodnight.
“Goodnight.”
Xia Zhiyi closed her eyes, trying to drift off to sleep.
After a while, following an internal struggle, she had to open her eyes again and turn to look at Jing Ruyu.
“President Jing.”
“Hm?”
“Um… could your kind self hold me while I sleep?”
Jing Ruyu lifted her gaze to look at her. After a few seconds, she smiled and raised her arm. “Come here.”
“Thank you. A lifetime of peace to a good person like you.”
Xia Zhiyi said gratefully, then quickly burrowed into her embrace, seeking a long-lost sense of peace.
Another day passed.
This was their third day in the New World. Tomorrow was the wedding of the Gu Residence's young lady, yet they hadn't even seen a shadow of the Ferry Crossing.
Xia Zhiyi felt a headache coming on.
As soon as they woke up, before Xiao Qiao arrived, the two of them tacitly went to check on Gao Hui's room.
The first thing they saw was a large patch of dried blood at the doorway, along with marks left by something being dragged.
A long trail of blood stretched all the way to the courtyard gate, then disappeared at the corner, as if the monster had vanished into thin air with Gao Hui's body.
The two followed the blood trail to its end before having to turn back.
They avoided the blood on the ground and entered Gao Hui's room, only to freeze in unison when they saw Xiao Ya's bed.
“Xiao Ya?!” Xia Zhiyi exclaimed in surprise.
At that moment, Xiao Ya was sitting on the edge of the bed, completely unharmed.
Her face was just deathly pale, and her hands rested limply on her lap, still trembling.
Everyone was utterly surprised by her appearance.
After such a perilous situation yesterday, how on earth did such a delicate young woman survive?
“Xiao Ya.”
Xia Zhiyi walked over and gently took her trembling hand. Seeing that she was still in shock, she crouched down and soothed her in a soft voice.
“Xiao Ya, it’s okay now. It’s okay, don’t be afraid.”
“He’s dead…” Xiao Ya’s pupils dilated in terror, her voice trembling. “He was eaten, he was eaten…”
“I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die…”
“It was so scary…”
Her entire body was shaking, as if she had experienced the most terrifying thing in the world. Now that she had finally made it to daylight and seen other people, she couldn't hold back any longer and threw herself into Xia Zhiyi's arms, breaking down in tears.
Xia Zhiyi and Jing Ruyu looked at each other, at a loss.
Xia Zhiyi patted her on the shoulder, patiently comforting her. “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s all over now.”
Xiao Ya couldn't stop crying.
Jing Ruyu seized the opportunity to ask, “What happened last night?”
Hearing this, Xiao Ya cried even harder.
“I don’t know, I don’t know…”
“When I woke up, I saw him being bitten, wuwuwu—”
“It even leaned close to my ear and asked if I saw it, wuwuwuwu—I’m so scared—”
“I was so close to dying, I was so close to dying!”
Xiao Ya sobbed uncontrollably, her words a jumbled mess.
“It must have been that plate of fruit. I clearly told him not to eat it!”
“Why did he have to eat it!”
With that statement, Xia Zhiyi and Jing Ruyu immediately grasped the key point.
Gao Hui had actually eaten the fruit—the hallucination and the ghost were indeed related to the fruit!
The other two players also rushed over upon hearing the commotion. Seeing Xiao Ya crying so miserably, they both offered her tissues to comfort her.
Once everyone was gathered, Jing Ruyu spoke again. “It’s best not to eat anything the young lady gives you.”
Her expression was serious and her tone heavy. Anyone could tell what had happened.
The two thanked her, saying they would remember.
“But how did Xiao Ya survive?” asked the short-haired girl named Zhou Yan, curious.
Everyone had seen what happened yesterday and knew the danger of opening the door.
Yet, just when everyone thought Xiao Ya was done for, she had miraculously survived. It was hard not to be curious, and they even had to wonder if she was still human.
Xiao Ya had never seen a scene like last night's. The memory alone was enough to make her break down, and her tears flowed even more fiercely.
“I don’t know…” she sobbed, wiping away the endless stream of tears. “It asked me if I saw it. I didn’t say anything, and then it… it told me to open my eyes and look at it… But I… I was too scared, I didn’t dare to move, and then it just left, wuwu…”
Even now, she could still remember the bone-chilling cold of that thing when it was near her.
That low, sinister ghostly whisper brushed past her ear, terrifying enough to give someone a lifetime of insomnia.
“Did you see?”
That thing had asked her.
But she was too frightened at the time, so frightened she forgot how to speak, even how to move.
However, the thing didn't give up. In the darkness, it whispered in her ear again, “You’re awake, aren’t you?”
“Why don’t you dare to look at me?”
“Open your eyes and look at me, look at me…”
She still didn't dare to react, her throat feeling as if it had gone completely mute.
In truth, she had been prepared to die from the very beginning. In fact, even before coming to this bizarre world, she had thought about dying—more than once.
That was why she appeared indifferent to everything, with no attachments.
However, at this moment, when she was closest to death, she felt for the first time an unwillingness to die just like that.
—She didn't want to die anymore, she wanted to live, she never wanted to die again!
But now it was too late.
In her despair, she suddenly felt the chilling presence leave her body. The thing grunted reluctantly, “So you’re not awake after all…”
“So hungry, how can one be enough? So hungry…”
It resentfully returned to the doorway and sat on Gao Hui.
Xiao Ya’s nerves were stretched taut, and she didn't dare to relax at all. She held on like that until it dragged Gao Hui's body away, held on until dawn…
From her fragmented sentences, Xia Zhiyi and Jing Ruyu were able to piece together what had happened last night.
They were even more certain that the fruit was related to the ghost. Furthermore, if you didn't open your eyes to look at it, it might not be able to eat anyone other than the person who had the hallucination.
There were restrictions on its killing.
And so it was with the Ghost King.
“We might have encountered the Ghost King,” Jing Ruyu said.
As her words fell, Xiao Ya’s crying paused, and the entire room instantly fell into a dead silence.
The Ghost King had appeared, and tomorrow was the last day. Time was even more pressing.
Before they could recover from the news of the Ghost King, Xiao Qiao arrived for work outside.
And with her came a long-awaited broadcast notification from the New World—
【Hint: This instance is now halfway through. If players fail to complete the mission and exceed the specified time limit within the instance, the quest NPC will perform a mandatory clearing of the field.】
【Hint: The remaining number of players after this instance’s clearing is three.】
【Hint complete. Players are encouraged to actively participate in the instance, search for clues to pass, and obtain clearance hints.】
【Cherish life. It is everyone’s responsibility.】
Everyone was stunned.
Xia Zhiyi looked at Jing Ruyu. “What is this?”
Jing Ruyu patiently explained, “This is the condition I mentioned for the quest NPC to kill players directly. It’s a rule created to prevent players from not doing the mission and staying in the instance for too long.”
“If on the last day we are lucky enough to escape the Ghost King but still haven't found the Ferry Crossing, then the quest NPC, as a staff member of the New World, will ‘generously’ help us clear the instance by force. From the hint, Xiao Qiao will kill us until only three people are left.”
“So, clearing the field is basically the quest NPC’s slaughter time.”
Xia Zhiyi blinked and turned to look at Xiao Qiao, who was standing outside the door.
At this moment, a rare smile appeared in Xiao Qiao’s eyes as she looked at her. “It seems our honored guests have all heard.”
This smile suddenly became incredibly sinister.
Everyone: “…”
They couldn't help but silently look at Xia Zhiyi and Jing Ruyu, the two brave souls who had provoked the quest NPC.
Jing Ruyu was unconcerned.
Take it one step at a time. They couldn't even survive the present, so who cared about the clearing time? Besides, there was still a Ghost King to deal with before the clearing time. Whether they lived or died was still uncertain.
Xia Zhiyi blinked, looked at Xiao Qiao, then turned back to Jing Ruyu. “So Qiao-zi is this powerful. We can’t beat her at all. In that case…”
“—Then let’s join her!”
With that, she strode forward, grabbed Xiao Qiao’s arm, and pointed at the people in the room. “Attention, stand at ease! All of you, be good and listen to our great Butler Qiao’s important speech!”
Everyone: “???”
You switched sides way too fast!!!
Xiao Qiao: “…”
She slowly pulled her arm back, drawing a clear line between herself and Xia Zhiyi, and then posed a soul-searching question:
“When you came here, did you forget to bring your face along?”
If you enjoy my translations, please consider supporting me!
Comments
Post a Comment