Washing

[Boyang University] The cafeteria level was relatively peaceful and lively.

After discussing it, they unanimously decided to first store Tu Shan's corpse in the dormitory’s small dining area. Once they had all gotten enough rest, they would toss it into the main trunk to exchange for new fragment information.

Yang Zhanbai summarized the patterns and clues and posted them in the group chat, being careful not to reveal the existence of the red telephone, that miraculous device.

He stared at his phone screen for a while, his facial muscles growing increasingly tense.

"Less and less people are talking in the group," he said. "Look at the messages."

Zhu Yan had indeed been busy all day and hadn't had time to check the messages yet.

He opened his phone and saw that the freshman group chat had over 99+ unread messages.

Zhu Yan observed Yang Zhanbai's expression, stretched his legs out, leaned back in his chair in a relaxed posture, and started scrolling through them bit by bit.

The content of these messages was all over the place. Some were seeking item trades, some information trades, some asking for shelter, and some were just nonsense.

"Damn, sleeping in late in the dorm and not going with the roommates to check out the exam actually saved my life?"

"Anyone on floor 68? Willing to trade for some food. We're out of rations."

"Help! Something is banging on our door!!"

"……”

Yang Zhanbai clearly still had some influence in the group.

He had appeared once before, sending a message about floor change instructions.

A bunch of people in the group started calling him 'big shot,' though of course, some inexperienced newcomers ended up dead.

"Is this a rule-based horror story? If nothing is attacking our dorm, maybe we can ask the monsters for the change instructions without breaking any rules?"

"Watch out, the person above. It's not certain."

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'm heading out to check."

Zhu Yan scrolled down and, as expected, didn't see the 'nothing ventured' person speak again.

Just like Yang Zhanbai said, as time went on, the number of active people in the group had noticeably decreased.

There was one person named Shen Zichen who would occasionally send a hint or two.

"Bros, the higher the floor you're on, the fewer horror creatures there are. But that doesn't mean none. Be careful when you act."

"If you have the strength or items, you can try going out and exploring. Focus on looking for a branch of the [Lazy Craft Shop]."

"You can pay them to process various things or buy items there."

The [Lazy Craft Shop]!

Zhu Yan's eyes lit up.

He followed Shen Zichen's messages and sure enough, found something.

"I asked around for everyone. The [Nightmare Bookstore] is in Xishan University, and the [Lazy Craft Shop] is in Boyang University. They're both branches."

"The owner of the [Lazy Craft Shop] won't casually eat people or hack them up, as long as you have enough Bone Gold Coins."

"We swapped for a door that can withstand level 13 attacks for our dorm. Cost 30 Bone Gold Coins. The effect is decent. For players who passed the exam, it's affordable for the wallet."

Zhu Yan was silent.

30 Bone Gold Coins for a door that can withstand level 13 attacks? Then a door that can withstand level 14 attacks probably isn't that much more expensive, right?

How much had that damn toad charged him again?

How much was it? Several hundred Bone Gold Coins?

Zhu Yan sneered and rubbed the disposable storage bracelet on his hand.

Damn it, could he just cook that toad skin?

Shen Zichen: "Family members, you can ask the boss to buy or process weapons. 10 Bone Gold Coins can get you a level 4-5 knife. Long knives are more expensive."

Shen Zichen: "Currently, the highest level weapon available at the [Lazy Craft Shop] is only level 5."

Zhu Yan felt a bit better.

At least the long knife he had grabbed was level 8.

But this Shen Zichen guy seemed pretty resourceful.

If he found time to go to the [Lazy Craft Shop], could he get those skins he obtained processed into something useful?

Zhu Yan was tempted.

He glanced at the serious-faced Yang Zhanbai and the seemingly contemplative Qi Yinming.

If he could grab a short nap and then slip away during the "night game," that would be perfect!

Yang Zhanbai stood up from his chair.

"Bro Zhu, come out with me for a bit?"

He pointed at the mirror: "Look, there are still students from other schools out in the hallway."

"They don't look like they're buying food; they seem to be trading and exchanging info."

Indeed.

Outside the door was the lively corridor, right across from a stall selling egg-filled pancakes.

Although a crowd was gathered in front of the stall, they weren't buying pancakes. Instead, they were huddled together talking with various expressions, the atmosphere not exactly relaxed.

It wouldn't be bad to go out and take a look.

It wasn't really "nighttime" yet anyway, so he could still sleep plenty after he got back.

Zhu Yan nodded: "Let's go."

Qi Yinming glanced at the eager Chen Zhaoxing and reached out to hold him back.

"We'll hold down the fort. Chen Zhaoxing, don't run off either."

Chen Zhaoxing let out a string of wild monkey-like "ooh ooh ooh" sounds but didn't argue.

Zhu Yan followed Yang Zhanbai out the door, but the female announcement voice rang in his ears at that moment.

"Hunters, please pay attention."

Her tone was light and cheerful: "We will announce the current player rankings in 10 minutes. Please hurry up and confess to your companions that you carry [Key Fragments]."

"We hope you enjoy the [Carnival Paradise]'s protection for [Hunters]!"

Protection?

Zhu Yan wanted to ask more, but the female voice disappeared.

Alright.

He might as well listen to this special reminder from the female voice.

Although he wasn't sure it was real "protection," and he didn't have much faith in the female voice, he trusted that the audience of [Theater of Multitudes] didn't want him dead too soon.

The female voice probably wouldn't screw him over at this moment.

He might as well confess to Yang Zhanbai right now, secretly get it out in the open!

In just a few seconds, Yang Zhanbai had already smoothly blended into the group of students ahead.

He whispered a few words, scanned a QR code with his phone, and quickly pulled Zhu Yan away to another spot.

"What did you just do?" Zhu Yan asked quietly.

"Got into the [Boyang University] survivor player group," Yang Zhanbai said with a grin. "I think players should stick together. Their group has different information."

Fair enough.

Zhu Yan prepared the ground and whispered, "There's something I need to tell you."

His tone was serious, which made Yang Zhanbai suddenly serious too.

"What's wrong?" he asked, suspiciously looking Zhu Yan up and down. "Did you get hurt and hide it from us? Your injury isn't fully healed?"

Zhu Yan shook his head and leaned in close to his ear.

"I found the first three fragments."

Yang Zhanbai was startled and didn't react for a moment: "What?!"

His voice was a bit loud, startling the surrounding players into staring at them.

Zhu Yan quickly grabbed him and pulled him away, lowering his voice even further.

"The first [Hunter] gave the key fragment the players are looking for to Tu Shan. Tu Shan is dead, and I brought his body over. He probably doesn't know about the fragments yet."

"The fragments are on Tu Shan's body. I found them. So we now have three key fragments."

“When I picked it up, the female voice broadcast gave a warning. These are what the 【Hunters】 fought tooth and nail for, and also what players need to collect to clear the game.”

Zhu Yan spoke very quietly.

He lifted his head, carefully gauging Yang Zhanbai’s expression.

“I didn’t dare to say anything. Because you guys mentioned before that the 【Hunters】 can come and go from the dorm as they please.”

Zhu Yan swallowed hard. “I was afraid he’d come after me. It’s not really about dying.”

“It’s that if he snatched the fragments back, then everything we did would really be for nothing.”