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Chapter 28: Sleep, sleep, my dear baby.
Zhong Yirou raised an eyebrow, her face displaying a puzzled expression. Time was running out, and An Wujiu came down from platform 2 and proactively stood on platform 3 to complete the exchange.
He had originally wanted to take a risk for a higher score and open up a 2-point gap with Shen Ti, who also had 10 points. But at the last moment, An Wujiu guessed that Yang Erci had already figured out his intentions.
Although he was different from others and didn’t compete, standing still and letting others choose first was undoubtedly the best way to observe.
But Zhong Yirou had only started to vie for the position of birdcatcher after Yang Erci blindfolded herself in the previous round, and she hadn’t made it clear in the previous round either. So, she was Yang Erci’s blind spot in her thoughts.
He had no choice but to step back and play a diversionary role.
When the holy voice asked Yang Erci who the birdcatcher was behind her, Yang Erci seemed to hesitate for a moment and didn’t immediately give an answer.
This indicated that the exchange tactic had worked.
“An Wujiu,” Yang Erci finally gave the answer.
Zhong Yirou jumped with joy and even made a high-five gesture toward An Wujiu. But An Wujiu remembered that the holy voice had said not to make a sound and didn’t want to dampen her enthusiasm, so he lightly touched her palm.
Yang Erci removed the ribbon and looked behind her, showing a slight surprise in her eyes. However, Zhong Yirou was very happy and, in her excitement, blew an elegant kiss to the defeated Yang Erci.
“In this round, an outsider won, deducting 5 points from the players in the cage, adding 5 points to the birdcatcher, and adding 3 points to the rest of the outsiders. The current scores are as follows: Player An Wujiu and Player Shen Ti – 13 points, Player Zhong Yirou – 5 points, Player Yang Erci – minus 5 points, and the rest of the players have 3 points each.”
“The fourth round of the game begins. Please have the birdcatcher from the third round, Zhong Yirou, enter the cage, stand in front of the door on the circular platform, and blindfold herself.”
Zhong Yirou complied, but when she actually stood in the bird’s position in the cage, the joy of victory had already been washed away by half. Because when she stood in this position, the birdcatchers she would likely face were Shen Ti and An Wujiu.
“Please have the bird in the cage say a number.”
Zhong Yirou thought for a moment, “3.”
The birdcatcher needed to stand on platform 1 to move three times and reach her position.
This was the final round of the game, and it was a crucial opportunity for Zhong Yirou to make a comeback.
If she won, she would gain ten points directly, totaling fifteen points, making her the highest scorer in the field and winning the warm-up game.
But if she lost, it didn’t matter if she lost to someone else; as long as the five points were not added to An Wujiu or Shen Ti’s scores, an additional round would be played.
Currently, their scores were tied, so in order to end the game directly in this round, one of them had to stand in the birdcatcher’s position while the other would be an ordinary outsider, thus creating a point difference.
However, Zhong Yirou wasn’t sure who would secure that position.
“The people outside the cage have finished moving.”
Zhong Yirou only then realized that the thinking time of the caged bird could pass so quickly.
“The cadged bird, who is the birdcatcher behind you?”
She had almost used up all her time, took a deep breath, and gave her answer at the last moment.
“Shen Ti.”
In Zhong Yirou’s eyes, the holy voice’s few seconds of pause felt like an eternity.
“Cadged bird, please look behind.”
It had to be a successful counter-kill.
Zhong Yirou removed the blindfold and turned her head.
Standing behind her was An Wujiu, with a composed and gentle expression.
Zhong Yirou angrily pinched the bridge of her nose and stomped her foot, and the high heels of her shoes made a clattering sound against the floor. Then she squatted down in frustration.
“Just one step! Just one step! Ah, I’m so frustrated.”
Seeing her like this, An Wujiu’s eyes displayed a hint of apology and helplessness. He extended his hands toward her, speaking gently, “Why did you choose Shen Ti?”
“Exactly,” Shen Ti, who was on platform 2 next to An Wujiu, squatted down and looked at Zhong Yirou at eye level.
Zhong Yirou was lost in her own regret, thinking she was about to turn a bicycle into a motorbike, but ended up losing even the bicycle key.
“I originally wanted to choose An Wujiu because you seem less competitive. But then I thought, what if you are competitive? You’re a person who can be completely unpredictable.”
“Then I thought that if you wanted to win, An Wujiu might let you take the first position because he is good at concealing his intentions.”
“I didn’t expect…” Zhong Yirou shook her head, stood up, and found that even Wu You, who liked to act cool, was smiling. “You really disappointed me, Shen Ti.”
Shen Ti also stood up, his thoughts still stuck on what Zhong Yirou had said earlier. “He would let me take the first position?”
“Why would I let him take it?”
An Wujiu immediately clarified. “I won on my own merit.”
Zhong Yirou sighed and left the birdcage.
“Never mind, these 5 points were practically a gift from An Wujiu. Let’s just call it even.”
After she left, the holy voice’s voice echoed once more.
“The game is over.”
The massive golden cage disappeared, leaving only the holy voice announcing the final results in the spacious hall.
“The current scores for the players on the field are as follows: An Wujiu with 18 points, Shen Ti with 16 points, Wu You, Nan Shan, and Josh with 6 points, Zhong Yirou with 0 points, and Yang Erci with -2 points.”
“Congratulations to the player, An Wujiu, for winning first place in this round of the warm-up game.”
The game was just that dramatic.
Yang Erci, who was clearly intelligent and understood the rules from the first round, ended up with a score eight points lower than several players who were practically idle throughout the game. Zhong Yirou, who was just one step away from victory, ended up with a score of zero.
An Wujiu’s side table displayed a blue gift box.
“Congratulations! Before initializing the game against all the players, you can open your reward first.”
An Wujiu was somewhat surprised. Was it his turn for a reward this time?
He reached out and touched the blue box. The gift box automatically opened, accompanied by cheerful music, and it revealed many colorful ribbons and shiny golden paper inside.
The pop-up was so sudden that they all shot toward An Wujiu’s face, leaving him a little dazed.
Inside the box were two red cards with the word “reward” written on them.
He picked up the cards and turned them over. One of them had “Game Mode Selection” written on the back, and the other had “Easter Egg Card” written on it.
The holy voice appeared: “Player An Wujiu, it is now time to open your reward. To protect your reward, for the next period, all other players present will be completely blocked from our conversation until the reward distribution is complete.”
Quite user-friendly.
“Please select the mode of competition for this round’s official game from the following two options.”
Soon, a line of text appeared in front of An Wujiu.
[1. Individual Battle (Players act individually); 2. Team Battle (Players are randomly divided into two groups, with the winners advancing and the losers being eliminated).]
“Random…” An Wujiu’s voice was quiet and low.
This time, he had won the game to have the opportunity to choose the team battle. However, he had overlooked the rules for forming teams. If it was a random team assignment, he had no idea what the team composition would be.
At a rather inconvenient time, images from the 24 hours in the real world flashed through his mind.
Developing emotional bonds in the “Holy Altar” was extremely dangerous from a rational standpoint. It could lead to deception, affect decision-making, or even result in death.
An Wujiu was aware of this.
“Individual battle.” He raised his head.
“Are you sure?”
He nodded, then suddenly considered asking whether there might be non-team-based team battles in the future, but he quickly gave up on the question because it would be unfair.
“Alright, your second reward is a rare Easter Egg Card, which means you are very lucky.”
Really? An Wujiu was skeptical of the holy voice’s words.
“But the Easter Egg’s redemption is contingent on you surviving this round of the game. Otherwise, it will become invalid.”
As expected.
“Is it possible to transfer it to someone else?”
“It cannot be transferred, but you can commission someone else to draw the card. Each Easter egg card has three drawing opportunities. If you are lucky enough, you may draw a special ability card that can be used in any game at the Holy Altar, regardless of the game type. However, you can only use it once.”
“For example,” he mentioned a very tempting skill card, “the Resurrection Card, which is an SSS-rarity rare card but not entirely impossible to draw.”
An Wujiu suddenly felt like the holy voice was a salesperson for an extreme pyramid scheme, presenting enticing proposals with nearly zero probability of success.
“Alright,” An Wujiu accepted somewhat indifferently, “as long as I survive this round, I can draw the Easter Egg card at any time, right?”
“Yes, as long as you survive this round,” the holy voice emphasized, “but whether you draw a rare card, an ordinary card, or even a blank card, it will be up to luck.”
An Wujiu had always considered himself to be very unlucky.
So, he wasn’t too excited, just accepting this precious Easter egg card.
“The reward time is over.”
The block on communication with the others also ended, and the holy voice announced, “Player An Wujiu has chosen an individual battle.”
It seemed that the others weren’t surprised or opposed to An Wujiu’s choice. Unlike the previous game, the players this time, at least on the surface, didn’t seem as vicious or reckless.
“Now, let’s initialize the official game.”
Soon, the hall they were in shattered into countless particles in an instant, like disintegration. But quickly, those particles gathered again, forming a new world.
An Wujiu squinted his eyes and adjusted to the light. This place was very similar to the luxurious hall of the birdcage. It was dimly lit, with a blurry field of vision.
They seemed to have been initialized in a dark, small room with no windows. Only along the top edge of the four walls, connecting to the ceiling, were long, greenish light strips visible.
Besides that, the entire room only had a large, darkened screen and a projected keyboard.
“This place is a bit scary…” Zhong Yirou hugged her arms, feeling a chilly breeze around her, regretting that she shouldn’t have worn short-sleeved clothing today. However, when she touched her arms, she realized she was wearing a white lab coat.
An Wujiu also felt that something was off about the atmosphere.
Especially the air here; it’s quite murky, with a faint mixture of a bloody and excrement smell.
“It’s a bit cold.”
He heard Shen Ti’s voice and felt someone moving next to him, standing close, their arms touching.
The holy voice appeared.
“Welcome, everyone. The name of this round’s game is ‘Abandoned Baby Shelter.'”
“It’s a charitable institution aimed at sheltering and caring for abandoned infants and toddlers. The shelter is a multi-level tower-like structure with a total of five floors. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, the security system of the shelter has malfunctioned, and the entire building is in a state of complete lockdown. You are the people trapped inside, and those who escape from the tower within 72 hours will be recognized as the ‘survivors’ of this round of the game.”
“I have a question.”
The usually silent Taoist priest, Nan Shan, slowly extended a hand and said, “In a completely closed state, how do we escape? We don’t even know where we are at the moment.”
His tone of voice was somewhat flippant, which deviated from the image of a Taoist that An Wujiu had imagined.
“You have been initialized on the first floor of this shelter,” the holy voice explained. “Despite the malfunction of the security system, the shelter has a backup emergency system. You need to enter a key into the mother server on the fifth floor to open a special secure channel and leave from the top floor’s rooftop.”
“This key is divided into five parts, each stored in a room on one of the five floors. You will need to collect pieces of key information on each floor, progressing from one level to the next, to open the door to survival.”
“These are the rules, and corresponding instructions will appear as the game progresses. Please be prepared, as everything is about to begin.”
An Wujiu furrowed his brow.
Listening to the rules, it seemed like this game didn’t require the same level of intrigue as the previous Red and Black game.
Could it really be as simple as gathering information and leaving the sealed shelter, with no other survival challenges?
A white countdown timer had appeared over the seven players’ heads, giving them only 5 seconds.
After the countdown ended, there wasn’t much change in their surroundings. Similar to the birdcage, the music suddenly materialized in the space, and following that, a gentle and loving female voice began to sing.
It was a lullaby.
“Sleep, sleep,
My dear baby,
Mommy gently rocks you in her hands.
Rock-a-bye, quickly fall asleep,
Sleep in the cradle, warm and cozy…”
Even though it was a heartwarming song, at this moment, in this room filled with eerie green light, it carried a different undertone.
“It’s really cold in here. Are we supposed to get out of this room?” Josh’s voice trembled, and he didn’t seem like a player accustomed to survival games.
An Wujiu reassured him, “Yes, we don’t know the difficulty of leaving the room right now, but there are seven of us, and together, we can solve the puzzle.”
His comfort made Josh feel a bit calmer. “Thank you; I have claustrophobia, so I’m a bit timid.”
“It’s okay. We should be able to get out.”
Shen Ti, who was sticking close to An Wujiu, was somewhat annoyed, but he didn’t realize he was annoyed; he just found it strange.
So he tapped An Wujiu’s shoulder with his finger and said, “Hey.”
An Wujiu turned his head, looking up at Shen Ti with the eerie green light illuminating his face. There was an odd sense of harmony in that moment.
Shen Ti parted his lips and deliberately adopted a childish tone. “I’m scared too.”
An Wujiu finally felt the chill, and goosebumps broke out.
“Do you think I believe you?”
Zhong Yirou, standing behind the two of them, quietly reminded Shen Ti, “Don’t push him into a different state. I’m begging you.”
Wu You added with a cold tone, “I agree.”
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Thank you for your translation!!
Thank you for the update ❤️💯