Chapter 5: Something Incredibly Cold Wrapped Around His Hand

Tao Xiu was stunned when he entered his apartment as usual. Someone unfamiliar had been in his home.

Gold glittered everywhere next to the empty dog food bag on the sofa, almost blinding him. And, all the succulents on his bedroom balcony were gone.

Facing this bizarre scene, Tao Xiu’s mind was blank for a full minute.

Even as he took the bag of gold to the nearby police station to report the incident, he felt dazed and unreal.

The police officer who received him also looked bewildered and confused: “You’re saying a perpetrator broke into your home, but only stole your succulents?”

Tao Xiu: “I can’t even confirm they were a perpetrator? After all, they also left behind a bag of gold…”

Police: “Yes, yes, and left such a big bag of… gold?”

Tao Xiu twitched his lips: “…Yes.”

The two fell into a silent pause.

The officer said, “Don’t worry, we’ll investigate as soon as possible and notify you when we have results.”

Only then did Tao Xiu get up and leave.

When he got back home, it was very late. He pushed the strange experience out of his mind and finally relaxed enough to eat his dinner.

Afterwards, he started preparing the bag of duck blood he’d bought for the dog.

Once it was cooked and cooled, he opened the utility room door and placed the plate of duck blood in its usual spot.

That room was still empty; for some reason, even the Samoyed wasn’t there today.

Tao Xiu felt slightly disappointed that he couldn’t pet the dog, but gently closed the door.

He had actually wondered if the room’s owner took his succulents and left the gold.

After all, it would be much simpler for the room’s owner to enter his apartment than for an outsider.

But a moment’s thought would reveal the utterly absurd logic of the situation: a stranger, likely a workaholic, disturbed by his door, then takes his succulents and leaves a large bag of gold while he’s away?

How could that be possible?

Unable to make sense of it, Tao Xiu stopped thinking. He stretched and walked towards the bathroom—he had work tomorrow and needed to go to bed early.

…

Meanwhile, in the room behind the utility room door, several dark blue tentacles silently appeared in the darkness.

They didn’t feed crudely as they did when unconscious; instead, they steadily lifted the plate, delivering it deeper into the darkness.

Three large dogs lay pitifully on the ground, trembling.

The Samoyed then boldly let out an “Awooo.”

A tentacle tapped its fluffy dog head.

Given that it was, after all, its own dog, the tentacle didn’t directly drill into its skull to analyze its brain, but merely performed a simple mind-read.

Then, a rich, magnetic, elegant voice echoed from deeper in the darkness: “You’re asking why I won’t see him?”

“Heh, he expects to see me by only offering one fruit and some unappetizing offerings? Impossible.”

With that, he began to taste the offering with his silver cutlery.

Suddenly, his movements paused, and his voice held a hint of confusion and excitement: “Blood?”

“He offered his own blood this time?”

As soon as he finished speaking, countless dark blue tentacles hidden in the darkness silently surged towards the serving plate from all directions.

They quickly devoured the duck blood on the plate.

After eating, the man casually tossed the plate to the Samoyed, his household cleaner.

He savored the taste of the offering, murmuring to himself with a touch of confusion: “But why isn’t it as sweet as the bodily fluid from before?”

Could it be that the sweetest part of him was his mouth?

He tried every method to offer him tributes daily, and finally, finding nothing else, he could only offer his less delicious blood?

What a devout little fellow!

Then he should at least be granted the honor of witnessing his descent once.

So a dark blue tentacle slowly wrapped around the doorknob, and with a “click,” it opened the door…

The thick darkness and countless thick dark blue tentacles silently surged out of the door, quickly encroaching upon the warm space filled with light outside, as if to completely engulf it.

From the bathroom not far away, the splashing sound of water emanated, releasing a few wisps of warm steam, which the tentacles quickly greedily consumed.

The three large dogs lay miserably on the ground, pressing down on the empty plate, not daring to move or bark.

A tentacle was about to wrap around the bathroom doorknob when suddenly, the man inside the door, who had risen and was moving outward from the darkness, rubbed his brow and sat back down, saying, “Not good, I’m about to fall back into slumber.”

The darkness and tentacles about to fill the entire living room outside the door abruptly ceased their movements, retreating inside almost instantly.

However, after the man had fallen entirely back into slumber, one tentacle that hadn’t managed to retract remained outside, glowing a bizarrely beautiful dark blue under the living room light.

After a long moment, the Samoyed inside the door finally released an “Awooo” and ran out, dutifully dragging its master’s tentacle segment back inside the door.

Then, it reluctantly glanced toward the bathroom and closed the door.

After settling its master, it begrudgingly resumed its cleaning duties, “washing” the plate and returning it to its original spot.

Seeing their diligent companion at work, the other two dogs seemed to have a sudden pang of conscience.

They picked up the watering can, stepped over their master, and began watering the neatly arranged other-world plants (succulents) by the bedside.

…

While showering, Tao Xiu vaguely felt he heard dog barks.

After his shower, he entered the living room, wearing his pajamas and drying his half-wet hair, blinking in surprise: under the bright lights, the room was empty.

The door was still tightly closed.

But he wondered if it was his imagination; he felt cold in here.

Tao Xiu shook his head: It must be because he was too tired from the day’s strange events.

So he stretched, entered his bedroom, and went to bed.

It was a dreamless night.

The next day, Tao Xiu went to work as usual.

The white rose bush was still vibrant, showing no signs of wilting or further growth.

The strange young man also came to the botanical garden today, huddled in a corner, doing nothing.

For some reason, he looked even more haggard than before, his eyes sunken and bruised.

Tao Xiu couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He sat directly beside him, handed him a water bottle, and gently said, “Can you tell me what’s wrong? Perhaps I can help you.”

The young man’s body stiffened slightly.

When he looked up, the fear he usually showed towards Tao Xiu was gone.

He smiled bitterly at the young man and shook his head.

Tao Xiu frowned slightly, looking at him.

After a moment of thought, he said, “If you’re feeling very unwell, perhaps you should go to the hospital now. I can cover your medical expenses.”

This person clearly looked unwell.

A self-deprecating smile and a hint of relief appeared on the young man’s face: “No need. It’s already Thursday. Three more days, and it’ll all be over. That’s fine too.”

Tao Xiu paused: “What?”

Lin Mei shook his head, saying nothing more, only extending his hand to Tao Xiu: “Hello. My name is Lin Mei. I used to work as an accountant at a company, and now I’m unemployed. You can call me Xiao Lin.”

Tao Xiu blinked and shook his hand: “Tao Xiu.”

After releasing the young man’s hand, Player 3, Lin Mei, clearly showed relief on his face: Such a warm hand, he’s truly human. How could he possibly kill a living person in the real world? Thankfully, he hadn’t killed a living person in the real world.

He smiled genuinely for the first time since arriving here, as if the weight on his heart had disappeared entirely.

He looked at Tao Xiu and said, “Um, could you lend me 200 yuan? I want to go back and see my hometown. But I can’t pay you back.”

He only had three days left and wanted to see his hometown.

His hometown wasn’t far from here, actually.

He wouldn’t burden his family; just seeing them from a distance would be enough.

Tao Xiu: “Of course.”

After speaking, he took out three hundred yuan from his wallet and handed it to the other party: “Don’t refuse. The extra money is for your transportation from here to the station, and you can also buy some food.”

Lin Mei looked deeply at Tao Xiu, his eyes red: “Thank you.”

At the final moments of his life, encountering such a gentle and kind person felt truly good.

He paused, then looked intently at Tao Xiu, saying earnestly, “I believe ‘it’ chose the wrong target.”

How could a human possibly be the terrifying, cold-blooded dungeon core of legend?

“But the participants won’t care about that; they will definitely come after you.”

Those desperate individuals only want to complete their mission, survive, and gain rewards.

“There’s a person named Chen Ji, whose ability is [Solid Compression]. He’s targeting you and already planning to approach you. After work today, could you please stay home for three days? Don’t go out, and don’t let strangers touch you.”

Player 4 was dead, and the police caught Player 1; now, only Player 2, Chen Ji, remained.

As long as he avoided him, the young man would be safe.

Tao Xiu’s pupils constricted. He said, “Honestly, I don’t understand what you’re saying. Can you explain?”

Lin Mei smiled bitterly: “Sorry, I can’t.”

Anyone involved in this game would become unfortunate; it was better for the young man to remain ignorant.

Although he wasn’t sure where the true core of the real world was, the system couldn’t be wrong forever.

The next wave of players would definitely go after the real core. He wouldn’t be implicated if Tao Xiu knew nothing about the game.

After a moment, Tao Xiu looked at him, his moss-green eyes clear and translucent.

He said, “I won’t ask you why again. The botanical garden will be closed for the next three days, and I’ll rest at home. I won’t go out. Thank you for the warning.”

Only then did Lin Mei relax. He earnestly said goodbye to Tao Xiu, then stood up and left.

Just as he was about to leave this small plant section, he heard the young man call out to him: “If you come back to A City after visiting your hometown and you’re still without a job, you’re welcome to come work for me if you’re interested.”

Lin Mei’s steps faltered, his pupils constricted, but he only gave a bitter smile without turning around.

He waved dismissively at Tao Xiu and left.

…

Before leaving work that day, Tao Xiu hung a “Closed for Three Days” sign in front of the botanical garden and synchronized the information on the botanical garden’s online account.

Before going home, he went to the fresh food supermarket and bought enough vegetables, meat, and fruit for three days, as well as a new bag of dog food.

It was a rare holiday, so that evening, he personally cooked hot dishes and stewed fish soup.

His cooking had always been excellent, but it had been too long since he’d cooked properly, and he cut his finger while chopping vegetables.

He paid it no mind, quickly and neatly dealt with the emerging bead of blood, then bandaged the wound with a band-aid.

After dinner and cleaning up, he once again stood in front of the utility room door with a plate full of dog food: Actually, he was a little hesitant.

After all, he was already wrong to bother the room’s owner with this door, and he still didn’t know the owner.

It felt a bit inappropriate to keep feeding someone else’s dog without permission.

But he really liked that dog.

How could anyone see such a cute, fluffy dog and not want to pet it?

Tao Xiu silently told himself, “Just one last time,” took a deep breath, and opened the door.

He placed the plate into the darkness as usual, and just as he was about to call the dog out, his pupils suddenly constricted:

The impenetrable, unknown darkness seemed to surge wildly for a moment.

From within it, something incredibly cold grasped his hand—or, more accurately, wrapped around his hand.

He felt a dizzying sensation in that instant, almost like a heart palpitation.