Jia Dong considered himself fortunate. The grand theatre seemed vast and empty, unlikely to conceal anyone, yet he had found an incredibly well-hidden spot.
Beneath the stage was a small space, just enough for one person. Two layers of partitions concealed it, ensuring no one would discover him.
However, it was pitch black inside, and he only had a lighter, which he couldn't keep lit constantly.
Since he couldn't see even with his eyes open, Jia Dong simply closed them, clutched the lighter tightly, and tried to calm himself.
He wasn't afraid of the dark, but the game rule, "Do not hide in places you shouldn't," made him uneasy. He hoped the space under the stage wasn't one of those forbidden places.
As Jia Dong gradually soothed his emotions, he suddenly noticed something amiss.
He was alone here. If he remained quiet, it should be silent. Why, then, could he hear a faint crying sound? He had heard nothing when he first entered.
To confirm if he was mistaken, Jia Dong pushed aside his anxieties and listened intently.
"Wuuu..."
Indeed, there was crying!
It sounded like a child's cry, high-pitched and thin.
After hearing it clearly, Jia Dong wondered if it was his imagination, but the crying seemed to grow louder and closer, until it was right beside his ear.
"Wuuu wuuu..."
"Who's there?" Jia Dong mustered his courage and asked.
The crying became more distinct.
"Wuuu wuuu wuuu... Go die... Go die."
"Ah!"
Jia Dong screamed, wanting to escape immediately, but found himself completely unable to move!
How could this be?
"Go die, all of you, go die."
The crying, accompanied by curses, echoed in Jia Dong's ears.
Unable to move, he couldn't even cover his ears with his hands. He could only shout in his mind, over and over, *Go away! Go away!*
"Die, you all deserve to be punished! Go die!"
Jia Dong desperately tried to ignore the crying and curses in his mind, but the harder he tried not to hear, the clearer they became.
What should I do? What can I do?
After an unknown period, the crying and curses showed no sign of stopping.
Listening to these sounds, a thought gradually formed in Jia Dong's mind.
*Die, why live? If I die, I'll be free. No more fear, no more worry about when or what might kill me.*
With this thought, Jia Dong realized he could move. The lighter in his hand had somehow become a knife.
"Die, it's better to be dead," Jia Dong mumbled, his hand holding the knife slowly moving towards his neck.
Just as the blade was about to cut his throat, Jia Dong suddenly regained consciousness.
*No! Why should I die? I'm going to get out of this damned place alive!*
However, another voice in his mind continued to urge him to die.
To stay awake, Jia Dong plunged the knife into his arm and thigh. He could be injured, but he would not die!
He stabbed himself again and again, willing to do anything for survival.
Jing Minghe glanced at his watch. It was 8 PM, time was up.
He felt a slight disappointment that he hadn't been found.
As he prepared to get up, the words "WARNING" appeared in the air before him in vivid red. The words "WARNING" then vanished, replaced by a line of text: "Do not reveal your hiding place to any player!"
Jing Minghe let out a cold laugh. *Interesting. Even if they were allowed to speak, how many would tell others their hiding spot? If you've found a safe place, you'd naturally keep it secret.*
He had been wondering how he would extract information if others were unwilling to describe their hiding experiences. Now, with such a clear warning, it seemed he wouldn't be able to trick anyone.
He stood up, brushed off some unknown debris from his clothes, and said with a sigh, "Never mind, let's go meet up with everyone."
Since they couldn't share their hiding experiences, it seemed he would have to rely on exploration outside of the game.
But how to get clues during the game?
If you're not a ghost player, can you only hide quietly? Can you move around freely, as long as you don't encounter a ghost player? Even if you do, at worst, you become a ghost player.
Jing Minghe exited the room and, upon reaching the stairwell, saw Chi Hao standing at the corner. A flicker of doubt crossed his mind. He had come down from the fourth floor, so where had Chi Hao been? Had he come down from above the fourth floor earlier, or was he preparing to go up to the fourth floor?
Going up seemed unlikely, as the assembly hall was on the second floor.
If he was coming down, his chosen room was close to the stairs, and he hadn't heard anyone coming down.
Seeing Chi Hao standing still, Jing Minghe walked over and asked, "Brother Hao, why aren't you going down?"
"Waiting for you."
"..." Waiting for me? Chi Hao was waiting for him? Why was he standing here waiting for him?
Right, Chi Hao's position was exactly on the path to the second-floor banquet hall.
But why didn't he go to the banquet hall first, and instead stood here waiting for him?
Was he really waiting for him?
Jing Minghe couldn't help but feel a bit pleased.
It seemed that after losing his sight in the previous instance, Chi Hao had developed a good partnership with him during his care, after all, they had even held hands while walking. Although there was a reason for it, it was a fact.
Yes, good, I like it.
"Then let's go," Jing Minghe said, his eyes curving into a smile. "Let's go meet everyone."
Chi Hao didn't know why Jing Minghe was suddenly so happy. Was it because he knew he was waiting for him? If that were the case, he was willing to wait for his Minghe, no matter when or where.
The two arrived at the banquet hall and saw Tong Zheng and Wan Zuo talking.
Jing Minghe approached and said, "Yo, you guys are quite fast."
Tong Zheng smiled and said, "I got lucky."
"It's good that you're all right," Jing Minghe said, his gaze shifting towards the entrance of the banquet hall. "I wonder how Wu Wen and Sister Yumi are doing."
Tong Zheng walked over, a hint of worry on his face. "Let's wait a bit longer, after all, the game time just ended."
"By the way," Tong Zheng remembered something and said to Jing Minghe, "the entrance to the basement was closed during the game, so we couldn't go down. But it opened again after the game ended. Wan Zuo and I were just analyzing that the basement probably isn't part of the instance exploration."
Jing Minghe nodded. "In that case, I agree with your analysis. If we can narrow down the search area, that would be for the best."
As they were speaking, Yumi and Qiu Zhi'an walked in together, appearing to have encountered no danger.
Following them, Shen Rong also slowly entered the banquet hall. Her gaze lingered on Chi Hao for a moment before she walked directly to the bar on the side of the hall and leaned against it.