The small red house contained only a crib, a few small toys, and an open wardrobe; it was completely empty.
Outside the brick-red hut, near another window, Ren Yifei squatted down, covering his mouth and nose, holding a long iron hook in his hand, motionless.
Upon hearing the footsteps, he didn't even have time to think; he instinctively jumped out of the window.
From hearing the footsteps to climbing out the window, only a dozen seconds had passed. If he had hesitated even for a second, the round-headed man would have already spotted him.
Of course, he is still not out of danger, and Ren Yifei's nerves are on edge.
The round-headed man squeezed half his body into the window, stretched out his arm, and used a long iron hook to knock on things inside the house.
The baby crib, wardrobe, small stool, small dressing table... these delicate and fragile items were smashed to pieces by the round-headed man in just a few moments. But he still didn't see the prey he was looking for.
This made him very unhappy, and he started making "ah ah" sounds.
After a while, unable to find anything, the man finally gave up. He poked his round head back out of the small window, reached into his large sack, and left again, humming a song.
Ren Yifei waited until the singing faded away before turning back into the house through the window.
He sat amidst a pile of ruins, still shaken.
He didn't feel this particular fear when facing the game itself. Back then, he was confident he could escape unscathed, but not now.
Moreover, even the most basic mini-games still allow for communication. However, this round-headed man clearly resembles a ferocious beast that cannot be communicated with, a demon devoid of humanity.
This is so strange, isn't this an escape room game?
Ren Yifei couldn't understand why this person was here. Was the puzzle game turning into a chase game?
Assuming this amusement park is an escape room in a game, then what is this round-headed man? Is he a catfish among sardines, added to increase the players' enjoyment (?)?
"Children, isn't hide-and-seek fun? It's a pity that three children weren't hidden well and were found. The rest of you must play the game carefully!" The children's song "Hide-and-Seek" on the radio paused, and a sweet girl's voice came out.
"Now, let's continue the treasure hunt! Find the pirate captain's treasure chest and you'll get the key! Kids, search carefully and don't miss any corner!"
That cheeky, cute voice—it's definitely a mini-game.
Ren Yifei heard rustling footsteps outside, and he cautiously peeked out again.
The round-headed man disappeared at some point, and the players emerged from various corners, some even sliding out of a cylindrical slide – how creative!
There seemed to be no immediate danger, so Ren Yifei came out of the small house. He had a feeling that everyone standing in this amusement park came from the desolate corner.
There were very few people; at a glance, there were only six or seven.
The other players looked at the long iron hook in his hand with curiosity; this thing had only recently appeared in the hands of that terrible butcher.
In fact, players have more items. Unlike Ren Yifei, who doesn't buy anything, these players have suffered enough from the limited number of items that can be carried in the Wasteland, so they will buy as many as they can whenever they have the chance.
The mini-games didn't stop them either; now each player was piled high with items. They were much more extravagant than Ren Yifei, who only had a long iron hook he'd picked up along the way.
With a cold expression, Ren Yifei strode past the trampoline area and the bubble area. He remembered there was a 'treasure hunt' poster where he had come in, which contained the clues he needed.
Why didn't I pay attention and memorize this poster back then?
Ren Yifei hurried past the trio that were approaching from the opposite side.
A faint aroma of wine wafted over, subtle yet undeniably strong. He walked over without changing his expression, but a turbulent feeling stirred within him: "Chen Shen? She's here too?"
Samantha and Kobe were on the train at the time, but they didn't smell this wine.
"It seems that more than one team has entered this game. The mini-games may be trying to catch everyone at once, so they've included all the players."
Assuming all the remaining players are already here... Ren Yifei thought about the silk handkerchief and the red dots on it. The number of survivors last night minus the number of red dots before that would be the number of players who died in this game.
There are already over a dozen people dead, and the death toll continues to rise. Using players from the Wasteland Corner to fight against other players in this mini-game is such a sneaky tactic; no wonder the players are suffering heavy losses.
He rushed to the spot where he had first appeared, and the poster was still there. Ren Yifei breathed a sigh of relief.
"Red paper, red paper, take a pair of scissors and cut it..." At this moment, the special song came on the radio again. Ren Yifei's heart jumped again. He glanced at his phone; it had only been five minutes since the song last disappeared.
What will it be this time? Paper cutting?
Ren Yifei didn't have time to think. He tore down the poster, hid in the spherical reading room, and then took the time to read behind a bookshelf.
Want to obtain the Vikings' secret treasure? Follow their path, collect clues, and find the key to unlock the treasure!
He'd heard of the Vikings, that they were the ancestors of the five Nordic countries, and that they even discovered the Americas before Columbus. But more specifically…
Ren Yifei once again felt the pain of insufficient knowledge. He knew the route of Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean, but he really didn't know about the territory expanded and invaded by the Vikings.
"If only the Academic Superstar System had come to me back then, that trash Great Villain System would have been much better!" He stomped on the Great Villain System for the ten thousandth and first time.
Rather than wasting his life in a desolate corner, Ren Yifei would rather become a simple and unpretentious academic genius, swimming like a butterfly, backstroke, and doggy paddle in the ocean of knowledge.
"Huh? A reference book."
Where is he now? In the reading room.
What's most abundant in the reading room? Books.
Although they are all children's picture books, what if? What if there's a book about Vikings?
Ren Yifei cautiously peered out from the bookshelf. It was quiet outside; he saw no other players and heard no voices.
Outside, only the children's songs playing on repeat on the radio could be heard.
He was about to turn his head back when he saw a white shadow flash by in the blue public walkway outside.
The thing was moving too fast; he didn't even see what it was. He only knew it was white and not very tall, maybe up to his knees.
Upon hearing this, Ren Yifei even put down his book search and gripped his long iron hook, watching the commotion outside.
"Hiss!" Something bit his ankle. Ren Yifei immediately swung his long iron hook at it, while also looking in the direction of the bite.
What did he see?
Five or six paper mice scurried around on the ground, one of them with a piece of meat in its mouth—a piece of meat it had bitten off its own body.
Moreover, more and more paper mice were crawling out of the gaps in the bookshelf. They avoided Ren Yifei's iron hooks but refused to leave.
The commotion was also quite loud elsewhere in the amusement park. More white shadows appeared in the corridors, surging out like a tide, and then following the scent of the players.
Paper cutting, this is the 'paper' that has been cut out.
"Cut a dog, cut a cat, cut a duck and quack." The children's song was still playing on the radio, accompanied by the laughter of children.
"Ah—" A player's scream came from afar.
Most of the items produced in the mini-games are for players to kill each other, and in terms of practicality, they are not as good as the iron hook in Ren Yifei's hands.
Of course, fire is actually the best tool to use right now.
Paper is afraid of fire.
However, Ren Yifei had nothing on him that could start a fire. He did have a miniature concave-convex mirror that could focus light into a flame, but there was no sunlight at the moment.
"There are too many rats, we can't stay here any longer." Several cunning paper rats climbed onto the bookshelf, jumped onto Ren Yifei, and bit him again.
He simply ripped the paper mouse off his neck and tore it to shreds.
"If there's no fire, we'll use water." Ren Yifei glanced at the indicator lights on the ceiling outside. Besides the exit, the lights also marked the direction to the toilet.
He swung the paper mouse with the long iron hook and, ignoring the pain, ran wildly toward the toilet.
Ren Yifei was fast enough, but he lacked stamina, and his speed began to drop after sprinting for about ten seconds. The rat army behind him kept up, following him all the way into the men's restroom.
But what greeted these star-chasing rats wasn't the poor player cornered by them, but a corrupted player holding a water pipe, pressing down the beginning with his thumb, and then turning the tap on full blast.
Two-thirds of the water pipe outlet was blocked, and the rushing water was very dangerous, especially to the paper mice.
Ren Yifei wielded the hose like a soldier with a machine gun, sweeping away a whole patch in one go. The paper mice were scattered and scattered, sticking wetly to the ground outside the toilet and unable to get up for a long time.
The swarming army of rats was no match for the water gun. In less than half a minute, most of them were lying flat on the ground. Some were barely clinging to life, but they were too soaked to move.
Several paper mice blocked the drain, and the water on the ground accumulated, almost forming a small puddle. The paper mice couldn't get past the puddle, which acted like a moat, protecting Ren Yifei inside.
"Heh." Touching the blood flowing down his neck, Ren Yifei dropped the hose, bent down to pick up a soaking wet, still struggling paper mouse, and without saying a word, started tearing it apart.
One paper mouse after another floated silently on the water's surface. Those paper mice still submerged in the water struggled fiercely, but the more they struggled, the faster their bodies rotted.
The commotion outside grew louder and louder, and Ren Yifei seemed to see flames, with paper butterflies fluttering in the flames—following the paper mouse army, the paper butterfly army had arrived.
"Be careful, these paper butterflies are poisonous!" a player shouted to warn the others.
A group of paper butterflies were flying towards Ren Yi, and he immediately picked up the water pipe.
Just as they were about to make their move, a rift suddenly tore open in mid-air, and a player fell from the sky, crashing directly into the puddle filled with paper mice. The splashing water carried away a batch of paper butterflies.
He was dying; his heart had been ripped open, exposing his red organs to the air, a faint bitter aroma mingling with the smell of blood.
He knew he was about to die. In his hazy state, he saw a player and, as if giving his last instructions, tossed out an item: "Find... Black Rabbit, exchangeable for 100 gold... shells?"
A pair of enormous wings of light gently enveloped him, bringing a comforting warmth that seemed to drive away the pain in his body and the weariness in his soul.
"One hundred gold coins is not enough."
Author's Note: Afei: Where did I get a hundred gold coins?
Saman: My legacy.