SWBG - Chapter 10

All surviving participants stood before Cao Wan Yan's corpse, watching Chef Sam unceremoniously toss her body onto a cart like a sack of garbage before dragging it away to some unknown destination.

Liu Han Ru stammered, his voice shaking: "Wh-what happens if you die in the game? Do you... do you really die in real life?"

You Yi Ming, who had partially recovered from his initial shock, stated flatly: "We were already dead to begin with. Dying here just means losing our chance at revival."

Liu Han Ru slumped against the wooden wall, his slight frame trembling uncontrollably. Nobody could blame his reaction - even veteran He Nan couldn't maintain his usual composure after witnessing a newcomer's elimination. His plump face turned sallow with worry. "This can't be right! This is supposed to be a low-level instance, and it's only the first day!"

Yao Ruo Ling remained silent, her brows knitted so tightly they nearly touched. Her complexion looked even worse than He Nan's.

The normally aloof baby-faced man suddenly spoke up: "That girl died outside her cabin."

He Nan had an epiphany, his voice rising with excitement: "She must have been attacked while trying to meet with others! That explains why the NPC 'allowed' us to stay together last night!"

He Suo Wen said slowly, carefully weighing each word: "So the rule is we must stay in our own cabins at night?"

Gu Jing Sheng shook her head: "Since Mr. He didn't see her last night, the actual rule is probably against leaving cabins after dark."

He Suo Wen turned his face toward Gu Jing Sheng, his posture suggesting attention despite his blindness: "Miss Cheng, you didn't hear anything unusual last night?" (T/N: She's still using her alias.)

Gu Jing Sheng answered firmly: "Nothing at all."

Yao Ruo Ling seemed to calm slightly: "Regardless, everyone must stay in their own cabins tonight. No matter what happens, don't go outside."

This arrangement didn't favor the newcomers. The veteran participants all carried some survival items - even the newly promoted You Yi Ming had a few tools. But three participants didn't even have card slots yet.

He Nan said gravely: "We need to complete this game and leave the instance as soon as possible."

No one objected to this plan, including Gu Jing Sheng. Logically speaking, even as deadweight, if she could just survive until the veterans cleared the instance, she could win by association - albeit at the lowest difficulty level.

The farm provided no breakfast. Old Ivan arrived belatedly at departure time, belching with crumbs, coffee stains and bits of meat still clinging to his beard. He showed no concern whatsoever about Cao Wan Yan's disappearance, only impatiently herding the remaining players onto the carriage.

"Hurry up, you parasites! No more dawdling - you lazed around enough yesterday!"

He Suo Wen placed his right hand on his chest and bowed slightly: "Our time was too brief yesterday, and the climb consumed much of our energy. Might the kind and generous Mr. Ivan take us a bit further in his splendid carriage today?"

His perfect Western affectations and flawless localization-style speech won Old Ivan's favor. Against his established miserly character, the NPC actually agreed to the request.

"......"

Gu Jing Sheng peered out the window with an extremely complicated expression. Her facial muscles seemed to short-circuit from the rapid micro-expressions, prompting even the normally reticent baby-faced man to ask: "What's wrong with He? What are you looking at?"

Gu Jing Sheng whispered: "He's blind yet trying so hard. I feel like I should put in more effort too."

The baby-faced man paused: "Effort?"

"To walk less, he'll humble himself to flatter NPCs," Gu Jing Sheng marveled. "Could you have come up with that flowery praise?"

The baby-faced man glanced at Old Ivan and found himself unable to argue. Complimenting that broken-down carriage as "splendid" would have been trampling all over his dignity.

True to his word, Old Ivan took them further up the mountain - though "further" only amounted to about one-fourth of the total climb. Just looking at the remaining ascent made Gu Jing Sheng's legs ache in anticipation.

Ma Cong never missed an opportunity to fulfill his sycophant duties: "Even this small distance is thanks to Brother He's efforts."

Yao Ruo Ling added pragmatically: "Better than nothing."

He Suo Wen tapped his polished shoes with his cane, smiling gracefully: "I'll keep trying to improve our situation tomorrow."

At these words, even the normally unfriendly baby-faced man regarded He Suo Wen with newfound respect - as did Gu Jing Sheng.

Today's objective was confirming the blue fruit tree's number. Yesterday's discovery that Tree #8 was red meant the yellow tree had to be Tree #3 - the farthest point in the circular orchard. Though long past her academic prime, Gu Jing Sheng still remembered that the diameter was the longest possible chord in a circle.

With eight trees remaining for nine players, Ma Cong suggested - and Wang Meng Yuan enthusiastically seconded - letting He Suo Wen pick a tree to guess.

He Suo Wen accepted this courtesy with humility, pondering briefly before declaring: "Then I'll guess Tree #4 is white."

Tree #4...

Gu Jing Sheng glanced at He Suo Wen. Tree #4 remained her assigned tree today. Apart from the already identified trees, most players kept their same assignments from yesterday. She couldn't tell if his choice was random or... deliberately targeted.

He Suo Wen accompanied Gu Jing Sheng to Tree #4. The picture of a gentleman, he even offered to help pick the fruit. Gu Jing Sheng declined - while rationally knowing he was likely more capable, his unfocused eyes made the idea of exploiting a blind man feel wrong.

He Suo Wen smiled: "Though I cannot see, I can feel that the view from here must be magnificent. Don't you agree, Miss Cheng?"

Ma Cong immediately chimed in: "Brother He is absolutely right."

Wang Meng Yuan nodded vigorously: "The birds are singing, the flowers fragrant - perfect weather indeed."

Gu Jing Sheng: "......"

While Ma Cong's assigned Tree #5 at least made him a neighbor, Wang Meng Yuan's Tree #7 was quite some distance away, making his presence harder to explain.

He Suo Wen continued: "Do be careful when picking - bee stings could pierce a lady's delicate skin. Perhaps I should assist after all?"

Ma Cong interpreted: "Brother He means you should be more gentle."

Wang Meng Yuan added unhelpfully: "Ch-Cheng was it? Watch out for bugs while climbing."

Gu Jing Sheng: "............"

After several instances of He Suo Wen addressing her only to have Ma Cong and Wang Meng Yuan intercept the conversation, realization finally dawned on Gu Jing Sheng - was He Suo Wen actually trying to flirt with her?

She knew she wasn't bad-looking - at least her features were properly arranged - but with his visual impairment, what could possibly be attracting him besides ▇▇▇?

Despite He Suo Wen's elegant demeanor, handsome features, and considerate behavior, Gu Jing Sheng - as an emotionless gaming machine - decided blunt honesty was the best policy.

Pulling him aside where the two sycophants couldn't overhear, she said as tactfully as possible: "Mr. He, I'm currently uninterested in pursuing... extracurricular relationships within game instances."

...So much for tact.

He Suo Wen paused, adopting an expression of fragile melancholy: "What could be wrong with a beautiful romance blossoming in this magical game world?"

"My principle is instances only, no in-game dating," Gu Jing Sheng declared, offering a rejection that would earn her a beating from any traditional parent. After a moment's thought, she added: "Besides, we're all technically dead - dating now would essentially be a ghost marriage! We must stand firm against such feudal backwardness!"

He Suo Wen: "......"

Though he maintained a polite smile, Gu Jing Sheng knew she'd successfully deterred any further advances. After all, for any relationship to work, shared orientation aside, mental compatibility mattered too.

On the game's second day, the orchard's bee population attacked again, but the players had grown more adept at evasion. Beyond completing her assigned tasks, Gu Jing Sheng also correctly sorted the two confirmed fruit colors into their proper baskets.

Liu Han Ru stared wide-eyed at the still-bandaged Gu Jing Sheng effortlessly carrying three heavy baskets, intimidated by her vigor: "I thought most girls were too weak to even open bottles?"

Gu Jing Sheng regarded the romance-age youth with something approaching pity and shrugged: "That's not weakness - that's Flirting 101."

The second day proceeded much like the first, with Old Ivan ranting while reluctantly identifying Tree #2 as blue. As for He Suo Wen's guess? It managed to miss the correct answer by a perfect margin. His contribution to narrowing down Tree #4's possible colors was... well, let's just say it was microscopic at best.

After enduring another meal of black bread, all players returned silently to their cabins. Gu Jing Sheng peered through her curtains but saw nothing - the entire farm seemed to have fallen asleep, devoid of any light or movement.

That night, Gu Jing Sheng had a strange dream - a bizarre, illogical vision where clues and dangers wove together into a giant spiderweb trapping her. When she finally awoke, trying to grasp the dream's meaning, the memories dissolved instantly like transparent bubbles.

Knock knock -

The sound at her door turned out to be the aloof young man surnamed Shang.

The baby-faced man informed her bluntly: "Liu Han Ru and Ma Cong are dead - one inside his cabin, one outside. Both died like Cao Wan Yan: necks snapped, abdomens hollowed out."

And the mystery deepens... See you guys next week!