The Shtick Must Survive

Qiao Yuanbin was cooking plain noodles. Since there were no dried noodles available, she had to make handmade noodles, adding only a bit of salt. No one complained. Everyone was hungry, and plain noodles were just fine. If there was meat, someone would probably end up feeling nauseous. The smart ones ate what they could, and no one persuaded those who couldn’t eat.

Hua Meng was the first to finish his bowl of noodles. He then went to the servant’s room alone and stayed there for a while, possibly discovering some clues.

The portion of noodles was generous, and Gu Xiyue finished every bit.

Qiao Yuanbin asked her, “Are you sleepy?”

Gu Xiyue replied, “Not really.”

Qiao Yuanbin said, “No need to lie. You must be tired. With so much food in the kitchen, this station is clearly designed for a long stay. There’s even a place for us to sleep. If you’re tired, just sleep.”

The map showed six rooms on the second floor, none of which were locked. According to Qiao Yuanbin’s experience, these were meant for the visitors to rest. Even though it was impossible to tell the time in this place, people still needed rest, and their biological clocks would remind them to sleep.

Gu Xiyue had already yawned twice. Qiao Yuanbin remarked that she probably had never stayed up all night before, enviously saying that Gu Xiyue must have lived a charmed life. Gu Xiyue just smiled shyly, looking at the stairs to the second floor with concern. Qiao Yuanbin understood that she probably wished her body could be more resilient, so she wouldn’t feel tired and could stay alert throughout the Realm of the Undead.

But a long stay in the Old House was inevitable.

After Hua Meng came out of the servant’s room, he decided to go upstairs.

As soon as he stepped onto the spiral staircase, it became clear that the building had more than two floors, contrary to what the map showed. The stairs continued upward, but whether they led to a rooftop or a third floor was unknown. The map didn’t provide that information, which even the newcomers found suspicious.

Gu Xiyue’s intuition told her that the stairs beyond wouldn’t be easy to navigate. On the left side, facing away from the stairs, was a locked door, just as the map indicated. The other side was clear, leading to the six rooms. They couldn’t all sleep separately, so Hua Meng suggested splitting into two groups, one for men and one for women, to rest for a while.

Some wanted to continue searching for clues to open the opposite door, but Li Ke said, “We’ve been tense for over ten hours. Resting will help us regain our energy. Sharpening the axe won’t delay the work.”

Without a timekeeping tool, it was hard to realize how much time had passed. But everyone did feel tired after Li Ke’s reminder.

Out of eleven people, there were only three women, forming two groups. Each of the six rooms was similarly furnished, so there shouldn’t have been any conflicts over room selection. However, Hua Meng and Qiao Yuanbin both chose the same room. In the end, Hua Meng gave in. The room was well-lit, and Qiao Yuanbin thoroughly checked it, almost turning it upside down, before locking the door.

Qiao Yuanbin explained, “Sometimes, a door can keep some of the Undead out.”

As long as there were no Undead in the room, closing the door made sleeping relatively safe.

But in the Realm of the Undead, there was no absolute safety.

For some reason, as soon as Gu Xiyue saw the bed, she felt so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open. Her long hair was tied in a single braid, and she had a pretty hairpin behind her ear. She was so meticulously groomed that it was no wonder she gave off the impression of a pampered young lady. Qiao Yuanbin actually liked her quite a bit, feeling a certain fondness for her. She even thought Gu Xiyue looked cute when yawning and lowered her voice, “Go to sleep.”

If this were a hotel room, it would be a standard room with two beds and a long sofa. Gu Xiyue didn’t hesitate, lying down on one of the beds and quickly falling asleep, her breathing soon becoming steady.

The newcomer was stunned, “She can actually sleep?”

This wasn’t home, for heaven’s sake! This was the Realm of the Undead!!

Qiao Yuanbin ignored her, stretching out on the sofa and closing her eyes. The newcomer couldn’t tell if she was really asleep and, feeling awkward, lay down on the other bed. She was tired but couldn’t fall asleep, not even daring to close her eyes.

…

Gu Xiyue had a sweet sleep and woke up feeling refreshed, filled with energy. The room hadn’t changed much since she fell asleep, except that no one else was there.

When Gu Xiyue opened the door and stepped out, the hallway conversation instantly stopped. She counted ten people standing outside her door, all looking at her with shock, as if they had seen a corpse climb out of a coffin.

Gu Xiyue asked, “Why are you all looking at me like that?!”

Qiao Yuanbin said, “I thought…”

Hua Meng pulled her aside and shook his head.

They had been shocked to see her, and now their eyes were filled with suspicion, almost tangible. The newcomer female tourist even looked at her with fear.

Being stared at like that, who could be happy?

Gu Xiyue asked, displeased, “What’s wrong with you all?”

Qiao Yuanbin explained, “In some Realms of the Undead, visitors aren’t all on the same side. Some visitors might cooperate with the Undead to help them kill other visitors. Gu Xiyue, are you one of those visitors?”

“Of course not,” Gu Xiyue was stunned by the question, looking bewildered. “Is that even possible?!”

As a newcomer, Gu Xiyue shouldn’t have known about such tactics. Only veterans would know. Gu Xiyue suspected that Li Ke had planted this idea because he had always been scheming and eager for newcomers to trust him.

Qiao Yuanbin asked the newcomer to explain what had happened, as she was the direct victim.

…The newcomer couldn’t sleep and didn’t dare to toss and turn, mainly for fear of disturbing Qiao Yuanbin. The room was too bright, and the candlelight made her eyes uncomfortable. She couldn’t help but turn to face Gu Xiyue, seeing her sleeping peacefully, looking so innocent. She felt a bit envious.

Envious that, as a fellow newcomer, the veterans took better care of Gu Xiyue, and envious of her ability to sleep soundly.

When she noticed a few pale fingers around Gu Xiyue’s waist, she thought she was seeing things and rubbed her eyes. But the fingers were still there, and they were definitely not human.

The newcomer started trembling. Slowly, a pale-faced boy crawled out from behind Gu Xiyue, his pupil-less eyes locked onto her. His arms and legs, like porcelain, silently shattered on the bed, and he bled from all seven orifices, giving her a creepy smile.

…A severed hand crawled towards her.

The newcomer couldn’t hold back and screamed.

Qiao Yuanbin was startled awake and saw the Ghost Child. Unlike the newcomer, she didn’t flee immediately but called out to Gu Xiyue. The Ghost Child turned and glared at her, as if ready to kill her if she made another sound. She didn’t dare stay any longer and followed the newcomer out of the room. The Ghost Child, enraged, caused a knife to fall from the cabinet, cutting her arm.

The newcomer also had a tough time. She had voluntarily signed up for the Plan, like Gu Xiyue, and had three Shields, all of which were now gone.

The Shields were one-time use. Each scream used one up. If she hadn’t been scared unconscious by the sound of the Shields breaking, she would have been dead by now.

The commotion woke up the others in the adjacent rooms. After hearing what had happened, everyone thought Gu Xiyue was surely dead. But she came out unscathed, just with slightly messy hair from sleeping.

It was hard not to be suspicious, even though the possibility was very low. But who would risk their life on a gamble?

Gu Xiyue’s face turned pale as she tugged at her clothes. “But I didn’t hear anything.”

Qiao Yuanbin thought she didn’t seem to be faking it. Her desire to take a shower and change clothes was evident. But there were still doubts because Gu Xiyue’s luck was just too good.

“The Undead didn’t harm you. The first time, you were fine. The second time, you were still fine.”

Gu Xiyue speculated with a bit of pride, “Maybe my Talent Ability works on the Undead too? Maybe the Ghost Child liked me and didn’t want to hurt me.”

Qiao Yuanbin: You naive thing.JPG

This guess was quite shameless. Everyone knew Gu Xiyue’s Talent Ability, but they didn’t think it could make her invincible in the Realm. Why would the Monsters treat her differently? The Paper Man had attacked her just earlier! Little girls loved to fantasize, but no one had ever heard of someone charming their way through the Realm of the Undead.

Hua Meng said, “The Undead are emotionless killing machines. It’s impossible to expect them to like you and not attack. You probably didn’t provoke them, so they couldn’t harm you. You got lucky!”

The Undead had conditions for killing. If they could kill indiscriminately, no amount of Shields would be enough.

Gu Xiyue said, “As soon as I entered the room, it felt like my mom was lulling me to sleep. I fell asleep as soon as I lay down. I really didn’t know anything. Could it be that the Monsters don’t kill people in their sleep?”

This was pure speculation… But from Gu Xiyue’s words, it was clear she had been affected. Staying awake gave a chance to escape, but she had fallen asleep so deeply that she didn’t even notice a ghost on her. This wasn’t normal sleep; it was like she had taken a sleeping pill.

Hua Meng was reassured, “Alright, Xiao Gu’s suspicion can be dismissed. Let’s focus on figuring out how to open the lock.”

= … =

While Gu Xiyue was sleeping soundly, the live chat was flooded with messages like “Wake up, streamer!” and “There’s a kid on your waist!” But even after her roommates fled, she kept sleeping.

[Mom, I’m scared! The Ghost Child’s eyes nearly made me pee myself.]

The entire live chat saw the Ghost Child blowing cold air on the streamer’s neck.

The streamer… was still asleep.

Golden Boss: [Turn up the audio, and you can hear Xiao Gu’s sexy snores.]

[Mr. Gold’s got a unique angle.]

Everyone watching knew the history between the streamer and the Ghost Child. They clearly saw the intent to kill on its face. But everyone also knew the Realm of the Undead had rules. There were cases of random killings, but not at this stage. The Ghost Child couldn’t even wake the streamer and had to disappear in frustration.

[The dead are coming back to life.JPG]

[Screenshot taken, smoking and smiling.JPG]

[If this was a setup, the kid definitely messed up.]

[Hahaha][Hahaha]

There were still serious viewers in the chat, raising a question.

[The streamer’s Talent Ability isn’t Affinity. Wouldn’t lying about it be exposed?]

[This deserves praise. The streamer is smart. Talent Abilities can’t be shown off. Affinity can’t be definitively proven. The streamer said it was a passive skill, so she can’t actively use it, making it even harder to verify. What’s more impressive is that her lies are interconnected. Did you notice she chose a non-threatening persona that even evokes sympathy? In the Realm of the Undead, avoiding negative feelings is as good as gaining positive ones. Can you count how many times she subtly mentioned her Affinity Talent? She even used this fake Talent to calm a panicking newcomer in the storage room. A lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth. Who would doubt this setup? Think about it, anyone comforting a panicking newcomer would have worked!]

[Cool!]

[Meticulous.]