Chapter 4: Death Acrobatic Troupe 04 Part 2

Requiring entanglement with the most brutal Malicious Ghost NPCs. Currently, not a single player it bound has survived its first mission under it.

Also, the host players it fancies, their faces not only have to be good-looking, but they also have to seem… very easy to deceive, easy to bully, not too bright—that kind of ‘Dumb Beauty,’ you know?

So I just wanted to see what kind of person its host is this time… Just too curious.”

Jian Bumian: “…”

The atmosphere sank into awkward silence for a moment.

After a long while, Jian Bumian said calmly: “Sorry, I’m just an ordinary player. I haven’t bound the 001 Strategy System.”

In an instance where death could occur at any moment, it was best not to reveal your bottom line to unfamiliar strangers.

Especially bound Systems and owned props.

Qin Yihan listened, a look of slight disappointment showing.

“Ah, like that… But it’s okay, we can still get to know each other.

My name is Qin Yihan. ‘Yi’ as in one-two-three, ‘Han’ as in cold, Qin Yihan.

Afraid Jian Bumian would forget his name, he repeated it.

“What’s your name?”

“My name is Jian Bumian. ‘Mian’ as in sleep.”

Jian Bumian picked up his lunchbox, placed it on his lap, and continued eating, saying nothing more.

Qin Yihan saw Jian Bumian wasn’t paying him attention.

He assumed Jian Bumian wasn’t in the mood.

That made sense. An ordinary person living in the Real World, suddenly thrown into the Infinite World, experiencing life and death within a single day…

Anyone would be out of sorts.

It had taken Qin Yihan a long time to come to terms with arriving in the Infinite World back then.

Qin Yihan patted Jian Bumian’s shoulder, sighing: “Don’t be too scared. Take it slow; you’ll find a way to survive… When you’re scared, just think about the wishes you haven’t fulfilled yet. Hmm… What is your wish?”

Jian Bumian finished his meal, obediently placed the lunchbox under the bed, and said nonchalantly: “My wish? Just to have a good, filling meal. Within the instances, that’s my wish too.”

His tone was light, but it landed on the ear with an oddly resolute emotion beneath it.

—Because that truly was his wish.

To devour more powerful and delicious Malicious Ghost NPCs.

The Bullet Comments were momentarily stunned.

【This player is really getting more and more interesting.】

【So Mianmian is a foodie beauty!! I love eating too!】

【What a unique wish…】

【Mianmian’s words sound so heartbreaking.】

Qin Yihan looked at the youth lowering his head, putting away his lunchbox. Jian Bumian was slender and looked easily liftable.

He thought Jian Bumian must have often gone hungry in the Real World.

No wonder Jian Bumian even ate the food of unknown origin in the Acrobatic Troupe with such relish.

He was a poor little thing.

Sigh.

He lowered his voice, agreeing: “Mm, you’ll definitely get to eat something delicious.”

Some viewers’ thoughts aligned with Qin Yihan’s line of thinking.

【Heart aches for Mianmian. Mianmian will definitely get to eat something delicious!!】

【Mianmian, fighting! When the Tipping Feature opens, I’ll give you my B-Rank prop! It’s the only prop Mom saved up from an instance!】

【Wuwu, no wonder Mianmian’s waist is so slim. Must be from hunger.】

Jian Bumian had completely missed the train of thought of Qin Yihan and the viewers.

Nevertheless, he was indeed hungry, and truly longed for delicious food.

It was just that his hunger and the food he dreamed of were slightly different from others’.

For instance, the thing he wanted to eat was the strongest NPC that everyone feared…

Jian Bumian stood up, got off the bed, and went to wash up.

“Time to sleep.”

Qin Yihan said nothing more and lay down on the bed.

The players hurried back to the dormitory before 11:30 PM, wasting no time returning to their beds to rest.

Some beds were always empty. Everyone knew the people in those beds would never return, forever sunk into slumber.

But who dared to be certain they wouldn’t be next?

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the players, as Acrobats, would have to draw lots again tomorrow to determine new training content.

No one spoke. A shroud of death hung over the dormitory.

They still had to survive here for four more days to pass…

Before sleeping, Jian Bumian glanced at the countdown for his System mission completion.

【System Mission Countdown: 100 hours】

【Your System Mission has had no progress for 25 hours now! Finding the target Malicious Ghost and performing a mutual love confession with it, obtaining its “I love you”—these are all tasks requiring time and thought!

If you don’t pick up the pace, the, time, certainly, won’t, be, enough—】

The Bullet Comments in the livestream room were also chiming in.

【Yeah, the last host bound by the 001 Strategy System started working on the mission from the very first moment of the countdown. In the end, they still died from running out of time. The moment the countdown hit zero, they exploded into a bloody flower.】

【Why isn’t this player panicking at all?? He hasn’t even asked around for any info on the target NPC’s identity?】

【Tomorrow they’ll draw lots again, have to do the training again. Where would Mianmian find the time to handle the conquest mission? It’s definitely over!】

【Sigh, hope Mianmian can at least die looking pretty.】

Jian Bumian turned off the System’s voice and ignored the comments.

He opened his eyes in the darkness and looked at the picture on the dormitory wall.

The painting of the Little Unicycle Girl had a different change.

The head, previously twisted 180 degrees, was now turned back.

The front of her head looked much the same as the back, full of golden hair, tied in two curly little pigtails.

Jian Bumian discerned her head had turned by the direction of her ears.

Jian Bumian: “…”

What a mischievous little girl.

As Jian Bumian closed his eyes and sank into slumber.

He had a premonition that something would definitely happen tonight.

Jian Bumian slept very soundly.

Suddenly.

Someone nudged his shoulder again.

Jian Bumian frowned and mumbled incoherently, wanting to roll over and continue sleeping. His fair cheek was chafed red by the coarse fabric pillow, as if someone had taken a bite.

“Mm, stop bothering me.”

But the person nudging him didn’t give up, nudging even more insistently.

Jian Bumian didn’t open his eyes, asking groggily: “What is it?”

The voice came from Qin Yihan, sleeping next to him.

Qin Yihan’s voice carried a tremor.

“Have you felt that we’re sleeping closer and closer together, but I haven’t moved at all…”

Jian Bumian: “…”

Jian Bumian buried his head in the pillow, half-asleep, half-awake: “Is it a big deal? Probably a ghost pushing our beds. Go back to sleep…”

Qin Yihan: “??”

Seeing Jian Bumian unresponsive, he had no choice but to shut his mouth.

But a while later, Jian Bumian sensed Qin Yihan nudging him again, his voice even more panicked: “Hey, it’s not just us getting closer. The beds in the whole dormitory are slowly squeezing together. The entire space seems to be compressing…”

Jian Bumian had wanted to keep sleeping, but as soon as he lifted his arm, he bumped into Qin Yihan’s chest, and his limbs couldn’t stretch out. Sleeping was extremely uncomfortable.

He could only open his eyes and sit up.

Everyone in the dormitory had noticed this eerie phenomenon. Nobody could sleep.

Visibly perceptible.

The pitch-black walls of the dormitory indeed seemed to be slowly compressing, converging towards the center.

As if an invisible hand was squeezing the room, wanting to unknowingly crush the people inside into a can of human meat.

Someone cried out: “Look at the walls! Why are the people painted on the walls getting closer!”

Jian Bumian followed the gaze.

They were talking about the Little Girl on the Unicycle painted on the wall.

Every time Jian Bumian inadvertently blinked, the little girl without a face, just hair, seemed to enlarge slightly during the moment his eyes were closed, as if stealthily approaching from afar.

So Jian Bumian started blinking frantically.

Until the little girl’s figure enlarged more and more, finally looking as if she was about to burst through the wall.

Jian Bumian blinked once more.

He had expected that this time when he opened his eyes, he would see the Little Girl riding her Unicycle, arrived right before him.

But he saw nothing. The little girl on the wall had also disappeared.

Jian Bumian: “?”

Maybe she’s hiding…?

The entire dormitory noticed this bizarre phenomenon.

The ghost inside the wall, from slowly approaching to suddenly vanishing, couldn’t be a good sign.

Perhaps it was hiding, intending to launch a surprise attack.

The walls continued compressing.

The beds against the walls were squeezed into distorted shapes.

Someone wanted to go to the wall to retrieve their hanging clothes, but the moment their hand touched the wall, they suddenly erupted into a scream.

Everyone watched that person, as if seized by a pair of immense, invisible hands, begin twisting all over.

Their legs folded at an impossible angle, bent up level with the top of their head. Blood instantly sprayed from the joints.

Their arms broke past the limits of their joints, twisting into a braided pattern like soft noodles.

No one spoke in the dormitory. Only the cracking sound of bones and sinews snapping, and the hoarse screams.

“AHHH!! Just kill me!!”

In the end, that person was completely folded into the size of a suitcase, covered in blood, minced flesh oozing from the joints, bones piercing through the skin, exposed.

But they weren’t dead, letting out faint, gasping breaths.

This was a veteran player who had experienced three instances.

“This looks a bit like the ‘Contortion Box’ from the acrobatic acts…”

Someone said calmly: “In any case, absolutely do not touch the walls.”

But the walls continued to compress at an ever-increasing speed. The space able to provide footing grew smaller and smaller. Everyone was tightly huddled together.

If this kept up, touching the walls was inevitable.

The only way out was to leave this dormitory immediately!!

But…

Everyone instinctively recalled the very first day they arrived here.

The Acrobatic Troupe had clearly given the survival rules.

Survival Rule #3—

【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!】

Currently, it was 4 AM.

After 11:30 PM, no matter what danger occurred inside the dormitory.

Absolutely do not leave the dormitory.

This indicated that whatever danger happened inside the dormitory was safer than being outside the dormitory after 11:30 PM.

So, should they stay here and wait for death, or gamble on leaving the dormitory?

“We obviously have to leave here quickly!!”

Someone yelled, clawing at their hair.

“But what if we encounter the so-called ‘Staff’?”

“We’ll deal with it when we do!”

Jian Bumian stood by, watching quietly, not speaking.

Qin Yihan tugged at his sleeve and asked: “What do you think?”

“I’m choosing to leave.” Jian Bumian said without the slightest hesitation.

“Why?”

Jian Bumian glanced at the posture he and Qin Yihan were huddled in, his slender brows knitting together: “I don’t like having my feet stepped on. It hurts.”

It was only then Qin Yihan realized that because the floor space kept shrinking, he had unknowingly leaned closer to Jian Bumian, his feet stepping on Jian Bumian’s Shoes.

Because his back was to Jian Bumian, he hadn’t known it was Jian Bumian behind him, thinking it was just the floor.

Qin Yihan wanted to move his feet, but there was absolutely nowhere to step. He could only apologize.

“S-sorry… But there really is nowhere to step. How about I just carry you?”

【Feels like this Qin Yihan won’t live long. The target Malicious Ghost will get jealous.】

【Daring to step on Mianmian’s foot? You’re dead!】

【Don’t take my Mianmian! Only I can hold Mianmian!!】

Jian Bumian: “…”

This living human player was way too bold.

Jian Bumian’s fair ears flushed red.

He cleared his throat lightly, changing the topic: “In a moment, I’ll open the dormitory door. You and I will leave together first. But I’ll give you one piece of advice—”

Qin Yihan’s heart tightened.

“What advice?”

The youth’s voice was very gentle, utterly devoid of panic, strangely capable of bringing a sense of security that made one’s heart race.

“Once you’re out, you absolutely cannot stop. Use the fastest speed of your entire life, run like crazy, and absolutely, definitely do not look back or trip.

I noticed a Little Unicycle Girl on the dormitory wall; she should be a ghost, but she hasn’t appeared yet, so she’ll likely emerge later.

She has the Unicycle as a prop, a mode of transport. She might trigger a chase sequence with us outside the dormitory.”

Qin Yihan nodded, immediately feeling Jian Bumian was not simple.

Even though Jian Bumian was clearly a new player, he seemed like a long-time native of the Infinite World, seemingly harboring a wealth of experience.

Qin Yihan was unwilling to be outdone: “Before I came to the Infinite World, I was a senior in a sports university. No particular skills, just run pretty fast. I can pull you along, so you can run faster too.”

The walls were gradually compressing.

Jian Bumian and Qin Yihan were only a finger’s width away from the wall.

Someone finally couldn’t bear it and screamed, throwing open the dilapidated dormitory door.

“Now’s the time!”

Qin Yihan tightly grasped Jian Bumian’s hand and dashed out of the dormitory like an arrow released from a bow, so fast he could almost leave afterimages.

The cold night wind scraped past his face, blowing up his temple hair.

He noticed there were no other players running behind them.

Must be because he was running too fast; the others couldn’t keep up.

This truly was the fastest he’d ever run in his entire life.

He ran for a while and asked the person behind him: “When can we stop? Is this speed impressive enough?”

No one answered him.

The hand he was holding, which should have been warm, now felt cold as a corpse.

“Jian, Jian Bumian?! Jian Bumian? Say something… Say something…”

Still, no one answered him.

Qin Yihan sensed something was wrong and slowly stopped his fleeing steps.

He realized the route he had taken to escape was a bit… off.

…It seemed he had pulled Jian Bumian in the opposite direction, getting closer and closer to the ghosts.

He suddenly felt too afraid to turn his head and look back.