The screen of the mobile phone displayed noisy snowflakes, and the image appears dim and blurry, as if playing an old cassette tape that had been around for a long time.
A man in a suit and leather shoes raced through the rainy
night, the roaring sound of the engine drowning out the noise of heavy objects
falling. The wheels bumped for a moment, and the man burst into wild laughter.
Instead of stopping, he excitedly ran over them.
The wheels crushed bones, and dark red blood splattered on
the car’s body, quickly washed away by pouring rain, leaving only a blurry pool
of dark red flesh in the rainy night.
In the next second, the scene switched to the man sprinting
on the road. His suit was old and dirty, and his hair was messy, hanging over
his face. He nervously looked around, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins, and
his face showing fear and distress.
The roaring sound of the engine followed closely behind him,
causing the man’s teeth to tremble in fear. He looked back and saw something
wriggling towards him from the darkness behind him.
The man widened his eyes and desperately tried to escape, but
no matter where he hid, the sound of the engine and that something followed him
like a shadow, like maggots clinging to bone.
Amidst the pouring rain, the man knelt down and begged for
mercy, but all he got was the familiar explosion of the roaring sound in his
ears as a speeding luxury car rolled over him.
The screen image did not stop because of the man’s death.
After a brief darkness, the figure of a man gradually became
clear in a narrow and dim alley.
He held a bottle of alcohol, belched, and walked unsteadily,
swaying from side to side. He stopped at the end of the alley and collapsed on
the steps, pounding on the door.
The sound was deafening, making people tremble in the silent
night.
The door remained motionless, angering the man. He stood up
and kicked with all his might. The old wooden door could not bear the force and
emitted a teeth-gritting noise, shaking and on the verge of collapse.
The man kicked again, and the wooden door finally gave way,
crashing down to the ground.
In the dimly lit room, a frail little boy cowered in the
corner, lifting his eyes from his arm and trembling as he watched the man.
The man stumbled forward, muttering and cursing under his
breath. He viciously grabbed the young boy’s head and slammed it against the
wall, over and over again. The wall was stained red with fresh blood as the
boy’s struggling arms gradually dropped down.
The scene shifted. One of the man’s feet was tied to an iron
pillar, and there was a machete beside him. Above the man’s head hung a large
transparent container, into which a moth accidentally fell and instantly turned
into liquid.
It was sulfuric acid!
The man swallowed hard, and the container continued to tilt.
He desperately struggled, but the iron chain held him firmly, and no matter how
hard he tried, he couldn’t escape the confines of the container unless...
The man’s gaze turned to the knife beside him. Cold sweat
formed on his forehead as he swallowed saliva repeatedly. After a struggle, he
tremblingly picked up the knife and aimed it at his own leg.
The blade was dull and stuck in the bone, unable to be pulled
out. The man screamed in agony, and his voice accelerated the tilt of the
container.
Clang...
The screen suddenly went dark and then lit up again the next
second.
This time, a pair of fair and slender hands appeared, typing
out comments with a keyboard filled with malicious and nauseating words.
—"You don’t even look in the mirror. How dare you go out
like this? You’re so ugly. Why don’t you just die?"
—"Always watching two grown men copulate. Isn’t it
disgusting?"
—"He deserves it in my opinion! Living is a waste of
resources. Why doesn’t he just die?"
The scene abruptly stopped here, and blood-red words emerged,
carrying an eerie and terrifying sensation.
【Welcome, players, to the Horror Livestream Room dungeon
instance.】
【Debts always have to be repaid.】
【Once you owe a debt, you will be selected by the horror
broadcast, and thousands of viewers will witness your death.】
【Mission: Survive for seven days or find the owner of the horror
livestream room.】
【Friendly reminder: Each person only has one chance to
accuse someone. Once you made a false accusation, something bad will happen~】
...
On an invisible screen, the scene was identical to the third
clip that had just played on the phone, except this time the image was no
longer dim but looked like a normal live stream.
The audience watching the screen started to get excited, and
text began flashing on the screen.
【Is it the keyboard warrior this time?】
【When one’s own life is unsatisfactory, they vent their
frustration by harming others online, just like rats in a sewer. They truly
deserve to die.】
【What kind of death do you think it will be this time? I
guess being devoured by rats until nothing is left, which suits his identity.】
This statement seemed to ignite the barrage of comments. The
live chat room was filled with various ways of dying, and those lines of text
appeared cold and merciless.
【I think dismemberment would be better; the scene would be
so beautiful.】
【I think we should have his hands chopped off while he
watches his own blood flow until he dies.】
The barrage of comments discussed the death methods of the
person being commented on, and no one found it too cruel, as if it were the
most normal thing, sending chills down one’s spine.
...
Ruan Qing sat in front of the computer desk, lowering his
head and letting his long hair cover his expression. He looked at the
notification messages on his phone about this instance without saying a word.
He had never seen anyone luckier than himself. Not only was
he chosen by a horror game, but he also became a special player who had to play
the role of an NPC.
Not a crucial NPC or a boss-level villain NPC, but an NPC
marked for death from the beginning, waiting only to provide warnings and clues
to other players before dying.
While other players might still have a chance to find a way
to survive, he was the unfortunate one who was targeted by the boss from the
very beginning.
A slight mistake could result in him not surviving the first
day.
Just like now.
This was his first instance, and this horror livestream room
had already chosen him.
He had become the player who would portray the NPC, the
keyboard warrior, who had already been selected as the next target by the horror
livestream room.
That meant the next one to die was him.
If he couldn’t find a way to survive, this instance just
started, and it would immediately end for him.
That’s not the worst part. What’s even more tragic was that
this instance read data from his own body.
Ruan Qing’s original body had become weak and fragile due to
chronic illness. Even running for ten minutes would leave him breathless.
If he encountered a death scenario like the one in the first
video, he would be hit and killed in the first second.
Ruan Qing mentally asked the game system that just informed
him of everything, his voice showing no panic despite this hellish start,
rather cold and indifferent. ‘What happens if I die in this instance?‘
The voice of the game system lacked any warmth, as if it’s an
emotionless AI. ‘Losing memory and becoming a true NPC in the instance,
forever trapped in here.‘
Ruan Qing remained silent.
Losing memory, huh...
Could a person still be considered the same person after
losing their memory?
In Ruan Qing’s view, it’s impossible.
That’s good then.
Ruan Qing withdrew his legs and curled up in the chair,
lowering his head and closing his eyes slowly.
The teenager on the chair seemed out of place in this shabby
room. His hair was too long, giving a gloomy impression. His body was somewhat
slender, and this curled-up posture inexplicably evoked a sense of pity, making
it impossible to divert one’s gaze from him.
But regardless of how aesthetically pleasing this scene may
be, it clearly depicted a posture of waiting for death.
System: ...
The system reminded, ‘In the game, everything is
possible. As long as you complete enough instance scenarios, you can obtain
what you desire.‘
The teenager on the chair remained motionless, as if he
didn’t hear at all.
Clearly, he had an obvious refusal to cooperate and appeared
as if he just wanted to quietly wait for death.
The system remained silent for a few seconds and spoke again,
‘Although the memories have been erased, occasionally they will still come
back.’
Ruan Qing, who was already prepared to wait for death: “...”
Ruan Qing was not afraid of death, nor was he afraid of
losing his memories.
What he feared was losing his memories and then recalling
everything.
That would be a disaster.
All of this was because of his constitution.
Ruan Qing’s constitution was extremely peculiar, attracting
the attention of some perverts and fanatics wherever he went.
He was afraid that without memories, he would attract a bunch
of perverts. If he couldn’t remember, it would be fine since he wouldn’t be
himself anymore, and it wouldn’t matter how he was treated.
But if he were to remember...
Just thinking about that scene made Ruan Qing’s scalp tingle.
He absolutely couldn’t die.
At least he couldn’t die in the dungeon instance.
But now it was almost an inevitable death situation.
Being chosen by the horror livestream room, he would never
survive for seven days, and it would take even longer to identify the owner of
the horror livestream room.
What Ruan Qing lacked the most now was time.
Because he didn’t know when his death would come.
Ignoring the discomfort in his stomach, Ruan Qing didn’t
rashly raise his head. He just glanced around with his peripheral vision.
The room was somewhat dilapidated, probably only about ten
square meters. There wasn’t much furniture inside, just a bed next to him and a
desk with a computer on it.
The bed was made of makeshift wooden planks, and the table
was one of those wooden ones that could easily be pushed apart with a little
force.
If someone were to break in, there wouldn’t be anything to
buy him even a little time.
As for considering the restroom, forget it. The restroom had
no windows or exits. Once you entered the restroom, there was no possibility of
escape. You could only wait for death.
Bang! Bang! Bang!!!
A loud knocking sound suddenly broke the silence.
Ruan Qing lifted his head in alarm, revealing a pair of
shimmering watery eyes and a face so radiant that it seemed to momentarily dim
the world. He swiftly turned his head to look at the door not far behind him.
The door to his room was the one being knocked on.
Ruan Qing bit his lower lip, and a faint blush stained his
pale lips, as if injecting vivid and splendid peach blossoms into an ink
painting.
They came so quickly...
And just when the live stream room, which had been discussing
various ways for Ruan Qing to die, froze in the moment when the beautiful boy
looked up, the cruel and heartless words vanished, replaced by an eerie
silence.
Only after two or three seconds did a few sporadic comments
appear.
[I don’t think he deserves to die. He just insulted someone,
right? It’s not like he took a piece of flesh from them. Why make such a fuss
over a minor issue?]
[Agreed, I don’t think he seems like a bad person.]
These two comments instantly drove the barrage into a frenzy
once again.
[???]
[??? What’s going on?]
[What’s wrong with you all? Isn’t he just slightly better
looking? Haven’t you heard of not judging a book by its cover? What does being
good-looking have to do with being a bad person?]
[...Setting aside the facts, do you really think it’s just
about being good-looking?]
[Keyboard warriors should just die! Even if they look good,
their hearts are rotten, making them ugly!]
The barrage immediately erupted into arguments, with the
majority of viewers still demanding Ruan Qing’s death. However, the small group
of viewers who were captivated by his appearance gradually fell silent due to
their limited numbers.
Yet, all of this had nothing to do with Ruan Qing as the
sound of knocking on the door rang out once again.
Moreover, it seemed urgent this time, as if the next second
the door would be forcefully broken down.
The knocking sound diverted the barrage, and the viewers
began once again to suggest various ways of dying, with some even starting a
gambling game.
All the viewers in the horror livestream room stared at the
screen, eagerly anticipating the unfolding of the next development.
