Chapter 2: Death Acrobatic Troupe 02 Part 2

【Not entirely dumb, at least this little fool knows to button the shirt when it’s undone.】

【With that pitiful little look, I’m in! Hey there, wifey!】

【Wanna know why this little beauty put on such a wronged expression, must’ve been bullied in this way and that~】

【Actually, it’s okay if the little fool is a bit dumb and doesn’t know how to button his shirt properly~~】

Jian Bumian realized, and after fixing his buttoning properly, he also fully witnessed the audience’s Bullet Comments in the livestream room.

Jian Bumian: “…………”

Who knew that the “pitiful and delicate” description the viewers gave to the “little fool” “little beauty” “wifey” whom they found so endearing…

The reason he ended up looking so wronged and pitiful.

Was because he accidentally ate the NPC that had caused all the Players’ fear moments ago…

And it tasted utterly disgusting…

Jian Bumian pretended not to see the comments and left the examination room.

The crowd waiting anxiously outside in the hall, seeing Jian Bumian come out completely unscathed, were all shocked and froze in place.

“Hiss, he actually passed the check-up!”

“Hard to imagine what happened to him in there…”

“Didn’t we just hear a scream? How did he come out alive? Could that scream have been from someone else?”

The fat man didn’t know what transpired inside the examination room. He grinned widely and cackled.

“Congratulations to this gentleman for smoothly passing the Troupe’s Trainee entrance check-up and becoming a member of our Acrobatic Troupe!”

Ignoring the envious stares from the crowd, Jian Bumian returned straight to the spot where he had been before, found a clean empty space, sat down, leaned against the cold wall, closed his eyes, and attempted to rest.

Actually, he didn’t know if he had passed the check-up or not.

Maybe he hadn’t passed.

But it didn’t matter, the Medical Examiner had been eaten by him.

He wondered what the fat man’s reaction would be if he found out.

Thinking carelessly, Jian Bumian drifted hazily into a deep sleep.

Jian Bumian was awakened by the clamor of the crowd.

Only, compared to the noise he heard before sleeping, this sound was much fainter.

Interwoven with crying and sobbing.

Jian Bumian opened his eyes and found that the originally massive crowd had diminished by over half.

The ones gone were those eliminated during the check-up.

The stench of death and blood hung ever thicker in the air.

The check-up was over?

After Jian Bumian ate the Medical Examiner, the Infinite World likely auto-generated a replacement. Neither the fat man nor the Players noticed anything amiss, so the check-up could proceed.

These low-level NPCs easily eaten up were generally expendable, with many backups.

But they were incredibly disgusting too.

Jian Bumian stood, stretched his somewhat stiff limbs, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and looked towards the fat man standing at the front of the hall.

The fat man surveyed the remaining people and laughed.

“Congratulations on passing the Troupe’s Trainee entrance check-up. From today onward, you are all members of the Acrobatic Troupe! Since you’ve joined us, you must follow the Troupe’s Trainee rules—”

The previously dispirited crowd, upon hearing “Trainee rules,” instantly became alert, especially some veteran Players who had experienced multiple instances.

The survival rules presented by an instance’s NPCs.

Must be etched into one’s very DNA, absolutely never to be violated.

The fat man enunciated each word:

“First, no matter how great the obstacle, you must conduct training at least once every day to ensure the Acrobatic Troupe can detect your movement trajectory. Otherwise, you will be designated as a Corpse and disposed of.

Second, after 11:30 PM is the maintenance time for the Acrobatic Troupe’s training equipment. ‘Staff’ will be performing equipment maintenance. Every Trainee MUST return to the dormitory and ABSOLUTELY NOT leave the dormitory! No matter how great the danger inside the dormitory!

Third, if you find your training equipment occupied by a Trainee you’ve never seen before, do not be curious. That is a deceased Trainee. Absolutely DO NOT let it see you!

Fourth, never stay alone on equipment designed for multiple people.

Fifth, each person’s training content is not fixed. It will be decided by drawing lots every day! Trainees who fail the training will be dealt with!”

The fat man said: “These are the rules within the Acrobatic Troupe. Everyone, return to your dormitories tonight to rest. At 6 AM tomorrow morning, assemble here to draw lots for your training content.”

Everyone listened quietly, terrified of missing a single word that could lead them to their death in the future.

After finishing his speech, the fat man vanished into the darkness.

People finally let out a sigh of relief.

No matter what dangers awaited tomorrow, tonight, at least, should be safe.

Surviving one day at a time was all they could hope for…

Suddenly, someone remembered something and asked in a shaky voice:

“Does anyone have a watch? What time is it now?”

Everyone instantly recalled the fat man’s second rule.

—Before 11:30 PM, they had to return to the dormitory.

They were currently all indoors, with no windows, unable to tell the time.

Although they weren’t sure if watches brought from the Real World were applicable to the time here.

It was still better than waiting for death not knowing the time.

After a long moment, a girl checked her watch. She glanced at the time, and her face turned pale.

Her voice was tiny and weak, trembling, but to everyone’s ears except Jian Bumian, it hit like a giant boulder crashing down.

“Ri- right now, it’s 11:28 PM.”

Two minutes left.

They had absolutely no idea where the “Trainee dormitories” were.

Someone immediately collapsed, wailing:

“How can it be so sudden?! How are there only two minutes left?! And they didn’t even tell us where the dorms are!”

Silence fell over everyone, save for that one person’s cries echoing through the huge hall.

Abruptly transported here, abruptly forced to undergo the “Acrobatic Troupe check-up,” and then a large portion of people had died.

In this short time, everyone had endured unimaginable high stress from the Real World.

Jian Bumian leaned against the wall, coldly watching the wailing person.

If the NPC hadn’t specifically told them the time, then the time on watches brought from reality was probably the current time in the instance.

Indeed, only two minutes remained.

But this wasn’t a deliberate trap set by the instance.

It was because the newcomers had taken too much time during the check-up, too much dawdling.

Some had cried and lay on the ground, dragging their feet for half an hour, refusing to budge into the examination room.

This wasted a lot of time, leaving everyone with only two minutes to find the dormitories now.

Time concepts were incredibly important in instances.

Even a delay of a single second could cost Players their lives.

Someone ran over and kicked the crying man on the ground fiercely: “What the hell are you crying for?! What use is crying!”

After kicking him, he looked around the hall and noticed a staircase in the corner. He immediately dashed up, shouting as he ran: “Anyone who doesn’t want to die, follow me!”

Only then did everyone else react, surging up the stairs like a school of fish, frantic not to be left behind.

The sound of thunderous footfalls on the stairs filled the space instantly; everyone was terrified of being the last.

Fortunately, the layout within the Acrobatic Troupe wasn’t too complex, and the second floor just so happened to have a blood-red sign.

【Acrobatic Troupe Trainee Dormitories】

On either side of the Hallway were rows of pitch-black iron doors. Through the slightly ajar doors, tightly packed beds could be seen inside.

This had to be the Trainee dormitories.

“Ten seconds left!”

Someone shouted, and everyone panicked even more, rushing like a swarm of hot-headed ants to squeeze into the nearest dormitory door.

The moment 11:30 hit zero, “Clang—” all the dormitory doors in the entire Hallway slammed shut simultaneously! The Hallway echoed with the thunderous crash of iron doors colliding.

It was as if invisible dormitory managers were closing the iron doors one by one.

Some people only had one foot inside the dormitory door,

but that foot was instantly severed by the heavy iron door as it slammed shut. Only the bloody, lifeless foot entered the dormitory; the person collapsed outside the dormitory door, dragging half a leg and moaning in pain.

Others who hadn’t made it into the dormitories frantically knocked and pried at the doors, letting out begging cries. It was futile.

Those who got inside collapsed on the floor, gasping as if having survived a calamity.

The crying, pleading, and banging outside gradually grew weaker and weaker.

Those who hadn’t gotten into the dormitories in time were likely doomed.

The survival rules within an instance were absolutely not to be violated. Once violated, death was the only outcome.

Jian Bumian was in the second dormitory along the Hallway.

He had absolutely no idea how it happened.

Jian Bumian’s frame was slender and light.

This resulted in him being lifted off his feet by the surging, squeezing crowd, somehow swept jostlingly into a dormitory.

His clothes and hair were completely disheveled from the crowd’s jostling.

The previously carefully tied collar buttons were all undone, and his black messy hair was ruffled with a few strands sticking up.

His arms and face had been bumped by someone’s clothing, leaving several red marks on his delicate, milk-white skin.

Jian Bumian inhaled softly.

—This new batch of Players had quite a strong survival instinct.

While thinking this, Jian Bumian found an empty bed that nobody had occupied yet and lay down nonchalantly.

The dormitory conditions in the Acrobatic Troupe were terrible. Dim yellow bulbs, black cement floor, beds in the dorm were large shared bunks (tong pu), crammed tightly with so many beds there was hardly room to step down.

The pillows and blankets were black; you couldn’t tell if they were dirty or not, smelling only of dampness.

But it was better than having nowhere to sleep.