SWBG - Chapter 25

X said to Y: There are three natives chasing us. S just went out and fought them.

S sustained minor injuries, none of the opponents were eliminated, and they are currently blocked by an item in the corridor near the elevator.

These natives are extremely frenzied. Their vision seems almost completely useless, but their hearing hasn't improved noticeably either.

To avoid making too much noise and agitating the natives, we didn't continue trying to use brute-force and solve the second room's puzzle—the decryption itself isn't difficult, but there's a time limit, so we must resolve it quickly.

Excerpts of some clues found in the second room are as follows:

"'I don't know since when, I've become irritable, easily angered, extremely neurotic, hiding alone in corners talking to myself...

Day and night have become indistinguishable. I don't even dare close my eyes, afraid I'll return to that hellish place in my dreams!'"

With the consent of Ms. Sophia's family, we excerpted parts of the suicide note for publication in the newspaper.

Ms. Sonia was formerly the head nurse of the 'Rosemary' Sanatorium and also a survivor of that incident. She was found five days ago in her apartment bathroom, having committed suicide by slitting her wrists."

There was no need to read deeply into it. The moment Shang Min'e saw the phrase "the decryption itself isn't difficult" in the message, the wound he had just received from the natives began to throb with pain—one throb came from the physical injury, the other from his wounded intellect.

Gao Bu Yi had no intention of sympathizing with him and seized the chance to kick him while he was down: "Charging in recklessly for a head-on clash before your old wounds even healed properly? Serves you right for getting injured on top of an old injury."

Shang Min'e rubbed his arm and snorted: "That guy was hurt worse than me. If it weren't for their dishonorable three-on-one ganging up, who knows who would have won? — Just now during the fight, I'm sure my strength was significantly weakened."

Gao Bu Yi reached out and ruffled his buddy's forehead with considerable force: "Talking about honor with NPCs? Did you forget to load your past gaming experience before entering this instance this time?"

They didn't lower their voices at all while speaking, seemingly convinced that the natives couldn't break through the item's barrier for a while.

If Xia Xiao Yun and Gao Shuai had seen the description of Shang Min'e's item, they probably would have understood where these two's confidence came from—

[Rapidly Growing Oat Seeds: On his way home, Mr. ▇▇▇ discovered that the oat seeds leaking from his cloth bag had grown into towering trees.]

They require no soil, water, or even sunlight. The moment they land, the oats begin their frenzied growth.

["Mr. ▇▇▇ climbed the oats all the way up to the clouds. Unfortunately, he played with the little angels for too long. After the oats were finally cut down by a hunter, he fell tragically, landing right in the devil's ladle."]

[Item Level: ★★]

[Note: This product is a single-use item.]

Realizing that he alone might be no match for the three pursuers who burst out of the elevator, Shang Min'e promptly tossed out the [Rapidly Growing Oat Seeds]. Their growth lived up to the item description, quickly physically dividing the corridor into two unconnected spaces. The massive stems and leaves kept extending to both sides. If Xia Xiao Yun hadn't deciphered the puzzle quickly, the four of them would have almost been tightly sealed inside the second room by the wildly growing oat stalks.

Xia Xiao Yun and the others had now entered the third door in the corridor.

The space inside was more vast than the previous two rooms combined—which wasn't hard to understand. Although the doorplate had long become blurred and yellowed with time, one could still barely make out the words "Rest Room." (T/N: Not bathroom in this case, but a room where people can rest)

A bulb hung from a wire dangled from the ceiling, seemingly about to fall. Shang Min'e pressed the switch three times in a row before finally managing to turn the light on.

At that moment, a new message arrived on the participants' phones:

[Huo Wen said to Fang Ge:]

[Help! Mo Tang Tang, who was with me, got caught by the natives! We've escaped to the next room now, but they'll catch up any moment! What should I do!]

Shang Min'e's gaze darkened. He put his hands in his pockets, tilted his head back slightly, and murmured in a voice so low it was almost to himself: "People are starting to die on the third floor. I wonder what the situation on the fourth floor is like now?"

The moment he saw the new message, Zhou Shuai's face rapidly turned grim—the captured Mo Tang Tang was, like him, a participant from Room 08289.

Zhou Shuai looked at Gao and Shang, a sliver of hope in his trembling voice: "What... what happens if a participant gets caught?"

[From: Happy Board Games]

[Formal Participant [Mo Tang Tang] has died. Please continue striving in the game, survivors.]

Shang Min'e opened his mouth and then closed it again—[Happy Board Games] had displayed Mo Tang Tang's tragic fate in the most direct way possible before all participants.

After reading the message, Zhou Shuai's face quickly turned ashen.

Xia Xiao Yun seemed to have thought of something. She asked softly, "I find it strange. You and Mo Tang Tang should have another companion on the fourth floor. Why hasn't she sent any messages so far?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shuai's expression changed dramatically. He hurriedly pulled out his phone and sent a message to the other person who was separated from them:

[Da Zhou said to Yu Shu:]

[Shu Shu, how are you doing now?]

Corridor 4, in front of the third door.

Among the four participants placed here by [Happy Board Games], the only male player, Yan Wu Wu, took a step forward, now just one step away from the door lock. His hair was meticulously combed back, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses sat properly on his tall, straight nose bridge. The blood-stained white lab coat on him made him seem more like the "default/original setting" than any other player.

Yan Wu Wu's voice was quite clear and bright. He nodded slightly to the girl traveling with them and invited, "Miss Yu, please come here."

Yu Shu, who was slumped on the ground, looked up. Her pretty oval face was covered in cold sweat. She hid her hands against her chest and shook her head desperately.

Blood flowed from her sleeves, dripping sporadically onto the floor.

Tears streamed down Yu Shu's face as she pleaded bitterly, "You've already cut off two of my fingers... I don't want to..."

Yan Wu Wu said softly, "But at least you are still alive—if you could solve the lock's password, I actually have no desire to be overly cruel to a lady."

Yu Shu couldn't stop trembling all over: "Then why don't you cut off your own fingers!"

Yan Wu Wu couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips upwards, as if he had heard an incredibly ridiculous joke. He laughed for a moment before explaining unhurriedly: "Because I am stronger than you, and therefore naturally possess greater value to continue living."

His tone was gentle, but the content was chillingly cold.

Due to the system's assignment, the other two girls who had to travel with Yan Wu Wu remained silent the entire time. It was unclear whether they felt unqualified to speak due to their perceived low strength, or if they had already grown accustomed to the twisted world of [Happy Board Games].

Seeing that Yu Shu refused to come closer no matter what, Yan Wu Wu decided to be gracious and took the initiative to walk towards her. Just as the distance between them shortened to about one meter, Yu Shu suddenly let out a loud cry, jumped up from the ground, and swung a short knife at Yan Wu Wu.

Her arm had only extended halfway when Yu Shu felt a cold sensation on her hand—she watched as her middle finger instantly separated from her palm, sending a spray of blood. What followed was an intense pain, as if a sharp blade had pierced her heart.

He Qing Hua watched as Yu Shu, clutching her chest, fell to the ground, her legs kicking and convulsing. She drew a sharp breath in: She saw very clearly that in that instant just now, Yan Wu Wu had extremely swiftly cut off Yu Shu's finger, but hadn't harmed her otherwise. Therefore, the only explanation for Yu Shu instantly losing her combat ability was that the other party had used an extremely special item.

Although the pursuers had poor eyesight, their hearing was passable. Attracted by Yu Shu's scream, they emerged one after another from the first room and moved towards Yan Wu Wu and the others.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Before the pursuers could get close, Yan Wu Wu grabbed Yu Shu, who was still clinging to life on the ground, and effortlessly tossed her in front of the pursuers like throwing a sandbag.

The prey delivered right into their arms successfully hindered the pursuers' steps. In her extreme agony, Yu Shu vaguely saw the shadow of death slowly creeping closer to her.

...

[From: Happy Board Games]

[Formal Participant [Yu Shu] has died. Please continue striving in the game, survivors.]

Yan Wu Wu carefully pinched the middle finger he obtained from Yu Shu's hand and inserted it into the door lock.

"Click."

The lock opened.

[Little Sister's Small Key: The kind and lovely little sister dried her tears, packed her luggage and small folding stool, and left home to travel far away in search of her seven brothers, who were turned into crows by an evil magic.]

[▇▇ was a compassionate star. It told the little sister how to open the door of the Glass Mountain.]

["Kind little girl, please don't grieve over the lost key anymore. Cut off your fair, tender finger with a dinner knife; this key can open the strongest lock in the world."]

[Item Level: ★★★★]

[Remarks: 1. Just as every lock has its own key, each finger can only open a specific lock. 2. The key must be taken from a living person to unlock the door. This key will become unusable and obsolete thirty minutes after leaving the palm.]

Yan Wu Wu didn't care about what happened between the pursuers and Yu Shu. After opening the door, he politely gestured for He Qing Hua and Le Jiang to enter the shelter first, and then gently closed the door behind them.

"Since Miss Yu has unfortunately passed away, then next..." Yan Wu Wu's gaze, devoid of any warmth, shifted back and forth between the two girls, finally settling on Le Jiang. "Next, it's your turn, Miss Le."

The room behind the third door in Corridor 4 was still a ward, but in terms of area compared to the second room, it was like the difference between a communal bunkroom and a double room, or a public toilet and a single flush toilet.

Although the light in this room was old and in disrepair, thankfully it wasn't completely broken. However, its activation method posed a challenge for the four's heights—it was a nostalgic pull-cord fluorescent light. The light tube was fine on the ceiling, but the pull cord was only a short stub remaining.

Wei Jia Shi pricked up his ears and listened for the pursuers' movements. Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief: "It seems they are still in the first room..."

"Buzz—"

The message from [Happy Board Games] arrived at this very moment.

The consecutive deaths of Mo Tang Tang and Yu Shu instantly dampened Wei Jia Shi's mood. Gu Jing Sheng couldn't really comfort the youngster, she could only tell him to focus on the task at hand first, lest he end up getting himself announced right after sympathizing with others. However...

Gu Jing Sheng's gaze darkened slightly—If Mo Tang Tang and the others met their misfortune because they obtained the password too late, then Corridor 4, from which only He Qing Hua had sent information so far, beneath its untimely silent appearance, likely harbored something even more terrifying than the instance’s pursuers: "human-caused disaster."

Translator's Notes

At first, I used pronouns in front of their alias like “Mr. X” or “Ms. Y”, I think I will continue with just saying “X” and/or “Y” without the pronouns. In the original chinese, “x君” was used and the term in this case is gender neutral, so I thought I should remove it. Since players are separated and our three characters from the same room used aliases, people from different rooms wouldn’t know their respective genders unless they met.