Chapter 41: Another Talk
It was rare for Bai Cha’s words to carry such aggression, which surprised Wang Xuming.
“Do you know that black shadow?”
Bai Cha remained silent.
She snorted coldly. This person was playing dumb with her!
So he did know all along that those black shadows on the second floor were probably players who had once been trapped here.
The registration form at the front desk recorded the information of past players.
The Ponytail girl beside them listened to their conversation, finding it all very strange.
Wasn’t it normal to attack when encountering danger? How could one not attack?
Wang Xuming’s reply was also strange. A normal person would scold Bai Cha for being a naive fool, not say something else.
“What were you about to say to me just now?” The Ponytail girl realized that these two might know much more than she did, so she looked at Bai Cha again.
Bai Cha, however, remained silent. She glanced at Wang Xuming with obvious apprehension and simply shook her head.
Wang Xuming immediately smiled, finding it quite interesting.
Bai Cha was not someone who outwardly expressed her emotions, and this attitude clearly signaled to the Ponytail girl to take a side.
“I’ve saved you twice now, is this really necessary? Just say what you want to say.”
Bai Cha: “…”
The most troublesome part had arrived.
Her current situation did indeed make her seem ungrateful, and she even wanted to be more ungrateful.
The life-saving grace was undeniable.
Even if she were a player of Wang Xuming’s level, she would casually save a seemingly decent and weaker newbie.
It wasn’t out of kindness.
Newbies with decent abilities but lacking strength meant control.
Especially for many newbies, being helped by someone would inevitably lead to feelings of admiration and dependence.
In an instance, what was most important? Besides one’s own strength, it was human nature.
Saving someone was just a small effort, so why not do it?
But even though Bai Cha clearly understood Wang Xuming’s intentions, she couldn’t deny the fact that he had saved her life.
She liked to calculate everything clearly, and it was the same in reality. Due to her physical condition, she often encountered things she couldn’t do. If she couldn’t do them, she simply wouldn’t, and she could think of other ways. But there would always be someone who would step up to help her.
Was it wrong for others to help her?
Accepting the kindness of others was originally harmless.
But perhaps it was because she was too delicate, sensitive, anxious, and insecure that she disliked it. It was a feeling of powerlessness, of not being able to control her own life and having to rely on others for help.
Placed in the current game, this sense of powerlessness was magnified even further, evolving into a lack of control over her own life.
Bai Cha didn’t respond, but a sense of frustration arose in her heart.
She wanted to become stronger.
She had to become stronger!
She glanced at the chess piece that had started moving again.
It should be Xiao Xiao’s turn now.
Bai Cha closed her eyes, deciding to rest for a while.
It wasn’t until the Ponytail girl drew their task that she opened her eyes and looked at Wang Xuming.
Wang Xuming raised his eyebrows at her.
“Something wrong?”
“What do you want?” Bai Cha went straight to the point. “I only want to live.”
The way she entered the dungeon was problematic to begin with. If she couldn’t leave this dungeon alive, then everything would be in vain.
But Wang Xuming’s goal was completely different from others.
“Just looking for an item. It’ll be about over when this tabletop game is finished. Don’t worry, I’ll take you out,” Wang Xuming said with a smile. “I even want to recruit you into the guild.”
Bai Cha looked at him coldly.
This was why she had almost been misled before; the other person seemed genuinely sincere.
Perhaps there was admiration, but if a sacrifice was needed, he would definitely not hesitate.
“Even if the tabletop game ends and all the rules of this world become completely chaotic, can you protect me from beginning to end? Even if I leave this dungeon, can you still resolve all those dangers and ensure I won’t get hurt at all?”
Wang Xuming looked at her with some surprise.
“No wonder you’re so angry. It’s not like I only schemed against you.”
Bai Cha: “…”
“Yeah, I came in here to find something. Logically speaking, since you’ve realized the problem now, it’s still not too late to cut your losses. But unfortunately, I need to see the entire world completely mixed up.”
Wang Xuming twirled the gun in his hand, looking at her with a half-smile.
“And I really can’t guarantee that you’ll definitely leave alive. I can only say that I can keep you alive until you clear the game.”
He didn’t hide anything or feel uncomfortable admitting it, after all, his strength spoke for itself.
Bai Cha could guess that the other person’s level was definitely above S. Even if his strength might be suppressed in this dungeon, he definitely wouldn’t lack life-saving items.
Going against this person would not end well, but it was really infuriating.
She had survived several times by making deals with death, and each time it only guaranteed her immediate survival.
Neither the front desk, nor the evil god, nor even the female ghost in the bathroom would let her leave this instance, would they?
This world involved the intermingling of multiple forces, all coveting the lives of the players.
The game placed rules above these forces, constructing a superficial dungeon, namely the Strange Tales Rule Dungeon.
However, as players explored the game, they would come into contact with these various ghosts and monsters, and these powers would take the opportunity to invade, causing the Strange Tales to gradually become marginalized, serving only as a connection.
Conversely, the powers and ghosts outside the Strange Tales would gradually become stronger and begin to slaughter on a large scale.
For players like them, death did not mean liberation; they would very likely end up like the shadows on the second floor.
Deceased players are forever trapped in the instance, indirectly or directly becoming blades in the hands of ghosts.
“What is an evil god?” Bai Cha stopped dwelling on Wang Xuming’s question.
There was no point in dwelling on things she couldn’t do.
“Don’t know, something indescribable, maybe. Generally speaking, you can actually avoid it, as long as you don’t go out… oh, you can’t avoid it, you’ve already been targeted.”
Wang Xuming glanced at Bai Cha. She currently had at least three marks on her.
It was indeed not easy to survive.
“What’s the relationship between the two statues?”
“Different forms of the same thing, just differentiating the players. The two downstairs should have already received information telling them their factions.”
Wang Xuming exuded a very strong aura of watching a good show.
This person was very confident in his own strength.
“So the thing you’re looking for is related to the evil god.”
Wang Xuming’s hand that was twirling the gun paused slightly, and he didn’t hide his surprise.
“Tell me about it?”
Bai Cha only took out the key she had found, flashed it, and then put it back close to her body.
“What do you think this key opens?” She also showed a hint of a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.
Wang Xuming’s playful smile faded, and he stared at her blankly for a while.
After a moment, he put on his smile again.
“Alright, how can I get the key?”
[?]
[What are these two talking about? What’s going on?]
[I feel like I missed a lot of the plot. How did it suddenly jump to the key, and what exactly is this dungeon?]
