Infinite spooky game

The moment the system interface disappeared, the pitch-black snow-capped mountain was bathed in daylight. Pale golden light rose from the distant ice surface, spreading out into a vast expanse of golden dawn. Reflected by the ice, it was dazzlingly bright to the players who had not seen natural light for many days.

Jiang Junjue immediately felt the cold, wrapped his coat around himself, and kept rubbing his hands together to try and warm them. Then he saw Shuomeng pounce on him, tugging at his coat while saying in a muffled, high-pitched voice, "Uncle~ I'm so cold~ Can I have your coat~"

"Get lost!" Jiang Junjue raised her foot, as if to kick him. "The final dungeon is over, do you think the debuffs are still there? What are you pretending for?"

Yes, the effect of "turning back into a child" has disappeared. The dream is nothing more than recalling the past three days as a mentally challenged child, clinging to Jiang Junjue all day and smearing him with snot and tears. Now that he has regained his memory and thinking ability, he immediately feels it's a pity not to have such a jerk.

Seeing that Jiang Junjue had seen through him, he jumped aside, raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, and said, "Old Jiang, I was wrong..."

The next second he truly felt the cold. He exclaimed "Damn it!" and grabbed the hem of his long coat, wrapping it around himself again and again. "This weird game isn't really going to abandon us here, is it? Forgive my bluntness, but such behavior is outrageous and hateful."

"Do you even need to tell me?" Jiang Junjue's teeth chattered, and his voice became somewhat slurred. "Based on my experience of clearing hundreds of dungeons, we've now entered the wilderness survival phase. If we can't find a heat source immediately, we're afraid we'll freeze to death here..."

"Are we just hoping to die on the same day, in the same month, in the same year?" Shuomeng looked like he was about to cry. "Do you think if I shout for God Fu now, will Kyushu come to save us?"

The two shivered like quails while chatting idly. The eerie game seemed to keep its word, automatically shutting down after the final instance ended; at least for now, neither of them could access their inventory.

Even the most powerful players in games are just ordinary people with two arms and two legs in real life. Especially theoretical players, who may even be physically weaker than the average person because they spend too much time and energy on games and neglect physical training.

Shuo Meng raised his hand to wipe the ice crystals that had formed on his face. In an instant, he thought of death. Without any props or equipment for surviving in the snow mountain, they were thrown into this deathly place, a testament to the cruelty and terror of nature, by a bizarre game. The sky and the earth were both a vast expanse of white. They could not see any caves to shelter themselves or fires to keep warm. As time went on, death was inevitable.

So, are we afraid? It's impossible for humans to be without fear of death, an image that symbolizes end and decay. As creatures that seek advantage and avoid harm, the fear of death is something ingrained in our instincts.

But sometimes, when you are constantly on the brink of life and death, witnessing the extinction of your fellow human beings, your threshold is raised infinitely. Your emotions are like a blank sheet of paper submerged in water, filling your chest with emptiness, to the point that you become dulled by various emotions that should be vivid, including fear.

Even before entering the final instance, Shuo Meng had considered that he might die. It was fate, a normal thing, and no matter how much he resisted, he couldn't change it, so why not accept it calmly? So many people in the world are dying, why can't he be the one to die?

Just as Shuo Meng was about to collapse, Jiang Junjue pulled him up from the ground, squinted, and gazed into the distance: "Let's split up. Maybe we'll run into other players. The person who cleared the final dungeon must have become a god-like being. Saving us would be a piece of cake for them. Whoever that person is, as long as they can get us out of here, that's fine."

Shuo Meng straightened up and blinked twice. "What if it's not one of ours who clears the level, but Bai Ya or Si Qi? Are you sure they'll save us? They'll be lucky if they don't kill us..." "We're going to die anyway, so we might as well try." Jiang Junjue's hand trembled as he picked up a cigarette, not lighting it, but just holding it between his lips. "Maybe they need hostages?"

Two small dots appeared on the ice ahead, roughly representing two people walking towards us. As they drew closer, it became clear that both were wearing red. Around them were many smaller dots, which turned out to be herds of yaks and flocks of sheep.

After the game ended, Baima and Zhaxi, who were NPCs in the instance, disappeared, but the yaks and goats they were herding remained. Some mountaineering supplies and warm clothes also did not disappear; they were all collected by the two players.

Jin Yusheng, dressed in a red Tang suit, followed Siqi, who was also dressed in a red Tang suit, step by step. Siqi casually grabbed two thick fur coats from the back of a yak and tossed them to Shuomeng, who then handed them to Jiang Junjue beside her. The two hurriedly put on the coats; although the cold was still biting, it was no longer fatal.

When Meng first saw Siqi, he had some reservations. From the "Red Maple Leaf Boarding School" instance, he could tell this person didn't play by the rules; after sharing information with Kyushu, he also knew this person was a ruthless, massacre-style player who had harmed countless people. Siqi might be able to save someone, but it was highly unlikely that Siqi would actually save someone.

But judging from the current development, Siqi probably still cherishes the old friendship of clearing the "Red Maple Leaf Boarding School" dungeon together, right?

Thinking this, he glanced at Jin Yusheng beside Si Qi, then pretended not to care and looked away, thanking Si Qi repeatedly and saying all the good things he had accumulated over the years.

Siqi glanced at the two with a half-smile, his true feelings unclear, and simply pointed in a direction: "Let's go, down the mountain."

The four of them mounted yaks, and with familiar mountain animals as their mounts, descending the mountain became much easier. Along the way, Jin Yusheng gave a general account of what had happened since he entered the instance, and by combining the information from both sides, they were able to deduce the full picture of the final instance.

All the holders of the identity cards and their smaller cards did indeed enter the snow mountain, but the bizarre game forcibly divided them into three teams. One team naturally consisted of Fang Zhou and others who lived in the past, as well as Zhou Ke, who is now Si Qi; another team consisted of Qi Si, Lin Wuya, and Fu Jue; while Jin Yusheng was unlucky enough to be assigned to a team with Bai Ya and Charlie Woodward, living in the snow mountain in the dream. Therefore, he was initially separated from Qi Si's team and only met Qi Si when night fell.

The White Crow made some promises and reached a cooperation agreement with Charlie. All the sins accumulated in the Scarlet Theater became bargaining chips for the White Crow to exploit, directly enabling him to meet the conditions for opening the altar of godhood. Jin Yusheng, seeing the situation was dire, immediately fled, thus avoiding becoming one of the sacrifices.

Upon hearing this, Siqi curled his lips into a smile: "Who do you think will become the final ancestral god, Fu Jue or Bai Ya?"

Knowing that the person who cleared the final instance was not Siqi, Shuo Meng breathed a sigh of relief and then seriously speculated: "I think that since we are still alive, the person controlling the situation must be a relatively rational and calm person. Considering the reputation and overall strength since the arrival of the strange game, it is illogical for Fu Shen not to win."

"Is that so?" Siqi smiled strangely, but said no more, maneuvering the yak to continue down the mountain. (End of Chapter)