The morning sunlight briefly dispersed the perpetual gray fog that lingered over the camp, and the show team members who had woken up one after another and were preparing for work brought a hint of vitality to this quiet land.
Xu Xi stood to the side, breathing in the fresh air while unconsciously rubbing the back of his neck.
Last night, he had made a makeshift bed in the monitoring room using a few plastic stools, barely managing to sleep. The consequence was waking up this morning with soreness all over his body, his neck especially stiff like a piece of wood.
Having to sleep on stone steps in the player space was one thing, but why couldn't he even get a decent bed after entering an instance?
Sighing with emotion, he finished stretching and turned to re-enter the monitoring room.
The other players should all be gathered together by now, preparing to face the day's challenge. He wanted to get a good look at the show.
——
Inside the camp.
All ten players were gathered in the first-floor front hall, seated around the massive dining table set up by the show team. A breakfast specially delivered by the staff lay on the smooth tabletop.
However, it was quite obvious that few people were peacefully enjoying this relatively sumptuous morning meal.
"You three... have formed an alliance?" Noticing the clearly different atmosphere between Winifred's group of three compared to yesterday, the brown-haired, blue-eyed young man, Buriman, raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile.
Polina silently wiped her dagger. Dana paused while spreading jam on her toast.
Facing the probing gazes of the other players, Winifred shook his head with a composed expression. "Not at all. We've merely reached a certain... consensus."
Consensus?
Buriman discreetly glanced at the other two, feeling a flicker of curiosity.
After all, just yesterday, that woman in the leather jacket had looked down on this bearded man with disdain, sharply ridiculing his cooperation proposal. Yet now she sat quietly opposite him, focused on polishing her dagger.
This subtle shift naturally drew the attention of the remaining players.
"What did you encounter?" The woman with red curly hair, Daisy, gently stirred her coffee. Her tone was casual, yet carried a sharpness that couldn't be ignored.
"Miss, we are not your prisoners. We have no obligation to cooperate with your interrogation," Winifred shrugged, speaking lightly.
After subtly observing the expressions of the others, Polina and Dana realized that only the two of them had been attacked last night.
"Perhaps you could also show a bit of sincerity," Polina said coolly. "Information should be exchanged for something of equal value."
The atmosphere instantly grew tense.
At that moment, everyone saw Dana, who had been eating her toast, suddenly and without warning stand up and hastily retreat. The chair scraped against the floor with a piercing shriek from her violent movement.
They saw her gripping a table knife in her right hand, inexplicably slashing at the empty air in front of her.
"What's going on?" The dark-skinned man, Saha, tensed up and backed away several steps. Only after maintaining a certain distance did he speak up, his voice filled with shock and doubt.
"There's something we can't see attacking her," a woman wearing long sleeves and trousers stated with certainty.
She didn't believe an experienced veteran player would suddenly go crazy for no reason. Either she was under an illusion, or...
Considering the abnormal behavior of the bearded trio, she leaned towards the latter.
At the same time, a flash of golden light shimmered over Dana's body, after which she finally stopped, panting heavily.
"You all..." Dana was about to say something when her expression suddenly changed drastically, and she began dodging again.
"Help me! This thing is strong! It can even resist item damage!" After another difficult roll, she urgently called for help from Winifred and Polina.
Not far away, Winifred and Polina exchanged a glance, both seeing gravity in the other's eyes.
And at that moment, a second flash of golden light passed over Dana's body. Her face looked exceptionally awful.
Everyone knew she wouldn't last much longer.
But from their perspective, there was nothing in front of Dana.
What was going on?
The bearded man felt strange. Last night, he could clearly see that eerie shadow following her, but now...
He touched the special pistol hidden in his sleeve, his expression hesitant.
Even if he couldn't see it, the bullet's damage was real. He could indeed shoot that thing.
But... his bullets were limited.
Polina clenched her dagger, unable to decide.
As for the rest, they didn't need mentioning. They didn't understand the cause and effect and didn't want to bring trouble upon themselves.
"What are you all waiting for! Don't you understand how powerful this thing is? It's me this time, who knows who it will be next!" Dana gritted her teeth and shouted.
Her protective talisman had been activated twice in such a short span. It could be said that this life-saving item she relied on most was nearing its limit. If she didn't get support before the third attack arrived, this talisman would shatter completely, and her fate would likely be sealed.
But... Dana turned her head to look at the nine players who were merely watching.
Damn it, there's no other way!
When your life is almost gone, what's the point of holding back!
Steeling her heart, Dana prepared to use another, even more precious item that could only be used once.
However, the next second, her body suddenly stiffened, and her breathing almost stopped along with it.
Everyone only saw Dana as if she had suddenly witnessed something particularly shocking. Her entire person stood rooted to the spot as if frozen. A third, seemingly final, flash of golden light passed over her body.
Then, under the wary gaze of the nine players, her pupils violently contracted, and her mouth opened slightly. "Retreat... die..."
After vaguely uttering these two words, her whole body went limp as if all strength had left her, collapsing to the ground, her condition unknown.
"..." The nine people looked at each other.
After waiting for a while and seeing no further movement from her, the man in the trench coat asked hesitantly, "Has she... begun to dance with eternity?"
"I've never heard anyone describe death so poetically before," Winifred said with a twitch of his mouth. He looked up at the miniature surveillance cameras in the corner that had recorded everything and shouted, "Hey, show team! A contestant is in trouble! Send someone in to check!"
No one dared to casually approach or touch Dana, whose life or death was unknown.
While waiting for the show team personnel to arrive, the players inevitably began to communicate.
"So this is the consensus you reached?" Daisy crossed her arms, giving Winifred and Polina a meaningful glance.
"What exactly happened to you all last night? Why was this woman targeted? And... why can't any of us see anything?" Saha frowned. He couldn't hold back any longer and questioned them.
He had originally planned to wait for other players to test the rules first. But now, although the first player to violate the rules had appeared, he couldn't see at all what rule she had violated.
This sudden attack had begun inexplicably and ended just as inexplicably.
And... to continuously deplete a life-saving item, how powerful must the thing attacking the short-haired woman be?
Thinking of this, Saha's expression turned rather unpleasant.
