“Wasn’t this supposed to be a sightseeing check-in?” Yi Xinming muttered, frowning. He knew the game wouldn’t be that simple, but people had died within just a few hours—and in such a bloody, brutal way.

“Besides the obvious tasks, eating on time seems to be a hidden quest.” Qi Yang’s gaze passed over the corpse lying by the stairwell and looked downstairs. The noise below suggested things were probably the same down there.

“What else should we be careful about besides meals?” asked a nervously speaking young man of rather ordinary looks. “Better to find out in advance, so we don’t accidentally miss something later—otherwise the person who kills themselves will be us.”

The young man had just lost his companion and was still in shock, but when he looked at Qi Yang, his expression had changed somewhat. The youth suspected in his heart that Qi Yang must have cleared the game many times, much more than the people here; otherwise he couldn’t be so calm and able to spot the problem in an instant.

If it were them, no matter how hard they racked their brains they wouldn’t have thought there was a link between digging out a stomach and not finishing a meal.

Seeing the player’s panicked eyes, Qi Yang shook his head. He didn’t have any precognitive ability; only after something happened could he trace the cause from the clues. Qi Yang only thought himself a bit clever—this ability couldn’t be called special.

“I don’t know, we’ll just have to take it one step at a time.” Qi Yang thought to himself that if he hadn’t refrained from eating earlier, he wondered whether he would have ended up literally digging out his stomach.

The monsters didn’t dare harm him, but if he refused to do the task, Qi Yang wasn’t sure what would happen. He hadn’t tested that yet — maybe he’d get a chance next time.

A corpse blocked the way, blood thickly pooled on the floor. Qi Yang hadn’t gone downstairs; even if he did, he didn’t have the power to revive the dead. Now that a player had already died, the chance of further accidents felt a little lower. Qi Yang was very sleepy and only wanted to crawl back into bed.

Kang Lian, who was sleeping in her room, vaguely heard noises outside the door. She pushed it open and saw Qi Yang, Yi Xinming, and several other unfamiliar players. Qi Yang and the others looked relatively composed, while the few players were clearly panicked.

“What happened?” Kang Lian stepped out the door, wanting to go over and see what had occurred.

“Someone’s dead.” Qi Yang said.

“The way he died was pretty gruesome. You’d better not go look — you might have nightmares.” Yi Xinming cut off Qi Yang and reached out to stop Kang Lian, telling her not to go over.

“Dead? How?” How did someone suddenly die with no warning? Kang Lian’s expression changed in an instant, her whole face going pale.

“Honestly, it’s kind of ridiculous — he didn’t eat dinner.”

Yi Xinming gave a brief explanation, omitting the detail that the player had first dug into his own stomach and then bled to death.

Kang Lian couldn’t believe it: “You didn’t have dinner?” What kind of reason was that—it’s as if they wanted players to die and just made up a rule.

“Who knows what the rule-makers were thinking. There shouldn’t be anything else after this. Go in and sleep.” Yi Xinming said this to reassure Kang Lian.

Kang Lian turned her head to look at Qi Yang, and Qi Yang gave her a slight nod.

Back in the room, the sleepiness she’d felt earlier had completely vanished. Kang Lian walked to the window and drew the curtains all the way open. Suddenly she missed Yuan Yuan terribly; if Yuan Yuan had been in this game too, she wouldn’t be alone in this room—there would be someone to keep her company.

She didn’t know where Yuanyuan and Du Yong had gone. On her side were two strong operatives, Qi Yang and Yi Xinming; if anything happened to Yuanyuan and the others today, they might not be able to handle it.

At first it was worry for his own situation, but he turned and it became concern for Yuan Yuan.

Please be okay, Kang Lian prayed silently.

Qi Yang returned to the room. Yi Xinming wanted to talk to him, but seeing fatigue etched across Qi Yang’s brow he dropped the idea. They had to get up early tomorrow to check in at the hot springs, so he should rest well tonight. In this small team they still needed him to be the one who could protect the other two with his strength.

In previous games Yi Xinming had also teamed up with others, but fundamentally he was solitary and didn’t care much about his teammates’ safety. Here, whether due to some influence or not, he had developed a sense of responsibility.

Unlike the situation upstairs, the two bodies that had died in the hall downstairs had been examined carefully. Qiao Ran was crouched beside one body when Zhong Chong walked over from the right and kicked the corpse with his foot. Qiao Ran glanced sideways and said, “Have some respect for the dead,” but his phoenix-like eyes flickered with excitement. Other people’s deaths thrilled him. Ever since he was a child he liked watching fights; he didn’t feel afraid at all, but rather watched with keen interest, even wishing they would fight more fiercely. That had forged his peculiar personality: while other players struggled desperately to survive in this escape game, he was enjoying one excitement after another.

Qiao Ran noticed unusual scratch marks on the deceased’s wrist. Someone fetched a bottle of mineral water and washed the wrist clean; a distinct scratch emerged. Someone had approached the player before he died—who was that person, or rather, which ghost was it?

The latter was best — exactly what Qiao Ran had been waiting for.

It seemed someone upstairs had died too; voices could be heard, but they quickly stopped and no one came down. Suddenly Qiao Ran glanced to his side. The innkeeper standing there flinched, his eyes flickering. Qiao Ran let out an amused smile.

Qi Yang didn’t know exactly what they were doing downstairs. After washing his face, he didn’t feel very sleepy; instead, his mouth tasted bland. He’d eaten a lot for dinner, but probably because of the pregnancy, he wasn’t particularly hungry now—just had the urge to eat something.

The dining hall was next door, and there were no snacks in the room. Going out late at night, Qi Yang wasn’t afraid of those ghosts and monsters attacking him; strictly speaking, they should be the ones afraid of him. He didn’t want to make a big show of it.

Standing by the window, Qi Yang drank from a bottle of mineral water and suddenly remembered that during the last game someone had delivered quite a few snacks to his dormitory; he wished someone would do the same in this game.

He shook his head slightly and smiled, staring out into the night. Another knock came at the door unexpectedly, and Qi Yang immediately frowned—how much time had passed? Could something have happened again?

Qi Yang instinctively thought it was Yi Xinming knocking from outside. He walked to the door and opened it. The person standing there wasn’t Yi Xinming, but someone else—someone Qi Yang really didn’t want to see right now.

Qi Yang’s hand was still on the doorknob, his expression tinged with indifference. He stared at this uninvited guest—coming to disturb him so late—didn’t she know this was annoying?

“Not inviting me in to sit?” Nan Sheng asked with a smiling face, as if he couldn’t see the displeasure on Qi Yang’s face.

“What’s the matter?” Qi Yang asked.

“Figured you weren’t asleep, so I brought you something.” Nan Sheng raised his right hand, holding a bag that seemed to be full of stuff.

He had just been wondering if anyone would bring him snacks, and then Nan Sheng appeared when he turned his head—what a coincidence.

“Thanks.” Qi Yang didn’t bother being polite with Nan Sheng. Owing favors or feeling indebted had no place with him—at least in this game, some of the rules of the living world didn’t need to be observed. Who knew whether the person standing alive before him might one day lift a knife and stab him.

Taking the bag, Qi Yang glanced down and roughly looked inside; besides some snacks, there were also some fruits.

“Anything else?” Qi Yang still didn’t intend to let Nan Sheng into the house; his look plainly meant get out if there’s nothing, don’t disturb my sleep.

Nan Sheng’s gaze dropped for a moment, a quick glance—Qi Yang didn’t notice he was looking at his belly.

“Yes, one small thing.” Nan Sheng looked up and smiled. The friendliness he put on might fool others, but it had no effect on Qi Yang.

Qi Yang stared at Nan Sheng, waiting for what he would say next.

“Can I pursue you?” Nan Sheng’s sudden question left Qi Yang stunned.

Under Nan Sheng’s expectant gaze, Qi Yang smiled.

But Qi Yang didn’t answer with “can.” Instead he countered: “Are you sure you’ll make it to the end?”

“Sure.” Nan Sheng’s tone was firm, his expression like someone already holding victory in his hands — he would survive and win Qi Yang over.

Qi Yang pressed his lips. If Nan Sheng, like him, really was a game player, then the other wouldn’t know he was pregnant; if he did, he would surely be using the child as leverage now. But if Nan Sheng wasn’t a game player and held some other identity, then whatever he was showing now was just an act.

You want to play a love game with me?

Qi Yang really wasn’t interested; he didn’t like being too passive. Nan Sheng gave him the impression that the other person knew a lot and was also hiding a lot.

“It’s getting late, go to bed.” Qi Yang’s mouth twitched, and the next second he slammed the door shut.

The door banged closed right in front of him. Nan Sheng took a step back and stood outside the door for more than ten seconds, a smile rising in his eyes.

Even if such an adorable person rejected his pursuit, he wouldn’t give up. He wouldn’t let the person carrying his child walk out of his sight.

After Nan Sheng left, a door in the corridor softly clicked shut. Qiao Ran hadn’t expected to witness that scene—someone actually trying to fall in love in a world of ghosts and monsters. Was it sheer audacity or fearless recklessness? Qiao Ran’s phoenix-like eyes curved into a smile, his expression one of keen interest.

Qi Yang opened the package and ate some dried fruit. With snacks to munch on, his mouth suddenly felt much more satisfied.

Late at night, after Qi Yang had turned off the lights and fallen asleep, the curtains he had closed were lifted from the outside by a hand. The curtain fluttered gently in the night breeze, and when the fabric fell back, a tall, imposing figure stood at the bedside.

The man slipped quietly to the bedside; the room was pitch dark, but night to him was like daylight—he could see Qi Yang’s peaceful, beautiful sleeping face with perfect clarity.

Reaching out, the man gently stroked Qi Yang’s smooth, soft face; merely touching him this way seemed insufficient for Nan Sheng. He sat at the edge of the bed, bent forward, and slowly leaned toward the young man who had drawn him in. Then Nan Sheng kissed Qi Yang on the lips.

Those soft lips, and the words that had just come from them that displeased Nan Sheng, earned him a small punishment. Nan Sheng lightly bit Qi Yang; the sleeping Qi Yang’s lips stung, he furrowed his brow, but still did not wake.

Nan Sheng slightly lifted his head and nodded. For a moment he wondered what expression Qi Yang would have if he opened his eyes now, found himself in his room, and discovered that someone had taken advantage of the night to steal a kiss.

He’d probably be angry and punch him in the face. Getting punched once would be fine—pregnant husbands have the right to hit people. He could even stab him if he wanted; anything was okay as long as Qi Yang was pleased.

Nan Sheng did not know that his feelings for this person had already shifted from initial interest and fondness to something different.

After kissing a little longer, Nan Sheng stopped. He placed his palm on Qi Yang’s abdomen. This child could only be considered half-human; human food alone could not fully meet the child’s needs. It also required some other, non-human energy to grow better. Otherwise, if the child relied solely on Qi Yang’s body for energy, it would actually harm Qi Yang. A compressed wisp of soul energy appeared in Nan Sheng’s palm, and he sent a small portion of it into Qi Yang’s abdomen. Qi Yang’s sleeping face became even more peaceful.

The next day, Qi Yang woke up feeling completely refreshed, as if he hadn’t slept this deeply in a long time. While washing up he noticed his lips felt a bit numb. He touched them, found nothing seriously wrong, and figured he was probably overthinking it.

In the morning we were supposed to check in at the hot springs, but before leaving we went to the dining hall for breakfast. By the time breakfast was served all the players had arrived; many of them had dark circles under their eyes and looked like they hadn’t slept well.

Qi Yang and the other three sat at a table, and Nan Sheng, being quite familiar by nature, plopped down next to Qi Yang. Qi Yang knew it was impossible to chase Nan Sheng away. The man looked amiable and easy to get along with, but that was mostly a façade. There was no need to make an enemy of him completely; as long as he didn’t do anything too strange or cross a certain line, Qi Yang could choose to turn a blind eye.

There are now twenty-one players; yesterday there had been twenty-four in total — three have died.

Twenty-one people — if they could find cars, they’d need several vehicles; of course, if it was a coach, one bus would do.

The group of seven players finished breakfast quickly; a few got up and left the dining hall, planning to head to the hot springs depending on the situation.

Qi Yang wasn’t in a hurry; it was fine to let them go scout ahead first.

📘 The complete novel is available for download in PDF via the link below.