That night, Ye Qi had a series of nightmares and couldn't sleep well.
He dreamed again of his first time visiting Spade 3.
The initial joy of meeting senior Cheng Ziyang, the helplessness and anger when he discovered that the senior had taken away supplies and abandoned him, the struggle to get enough to eat after arriving at the Construction Site with that group, and then being shot and killed by an escaped prisoner...
He experienced two truly real deaths.
The first time was a car accident in the real world, and the second time was in the world of Financial Crisis in Spade 3, where he was shot through the head. At that moment, he could even clearly see a large amount of blood flowing down his forehead, blurring his vision and turning the world in front of him into a blood red.
Later, in the Nightmare Secret Room, he was penniless and survived the first few days by busking on the streets. He then survived by eating leaves and wild grass every day, living a life worse than a beggar. The maddening hunger seemed to be etched into his nerves and bones, so even after leaving the Nightmare Secret Room, he would cherish every food he saw.
That time in the locked room left him with severe psychological trauma.
He feels hungry every night and has to eat a late-night snack before bed, otherwise he will wake up hungry in the middle of the night.
Those days of searching for fresh leaves and even rummaging through trash cans for food were too unbearable; he never wanted to experience them again in his life.
The recurring nightmares left Ye Qi with a cold sweat on his forehead. In the final part of the dream, Ye Qi saw Cheng Ziyang smiling at him and saying, "I'm also from the Music Conservatory. What a coincidence! I'm a junior this year, so I'm your senior."
Ye Qi excitedly walked over and shook his hand: "Hello, senior, I've heard so much about you. I often hear my classmates talk about you at school..."
As a result, the moment he grasped the other's right hand, Cheng Ziyang suddenly pulled out a knife with his left hand and forcefully stabbed it through his chest. He looked down and saw the bright blade on his chest, and the glaring blood on it.
Ye Qi was startled and sat up abruptly.
Clearly, Cheng Ziyang's appearance stirred up his unpleasant memories. Although the incident at the end of the dream, in which Cheng Ziyang stabbed him in the back, never actually happened, Ye Qi's heart still pounded—the dream felt too real, like a bad omen.
It is said that some dreams are the opposite of reality, while others are ominous omens...
Ye Qi was staring blankly at the tent when a deep voice suddenly came to his ear: "What's wrong?"
Shao Qingge was woken up by him. Ye Qi turned around and met CEO Shao's sleepy eyes, and hurriedly said, "I had a nightmare and just woke up."
"Did you dream about what happened in Spade 3?" Shao Qingge knew immediately, because the Telepathic Connection allowed him to sense Ye Qi's unease. He sat up, gently pressed Ye Qi's shoulder, and said softly, "Don't think too much about it. It's all in the past. We can trust the people on our team. No one would abandon their teammates."
"Of course I believe everyone." Ye Qi scratched his head and forced a smile. "I already said it was just a dream, it's okay."
"Hmm...it's only three in the morning, why don't you sleep a little longer?" Shao Qingge's voice was languid, perhaps because he had been woken up in the middle of the night and hadn't had enough sleep. Ye Qi said, "You go to sleep, I can't sleep, I might as well switch shifts and take the night watch."
"Then I'll go keep watch too." Shao Qingge said, starting to put on his coat.
"Don't you like to sleep in? Sleep a little longer…" Before Ye Qi could finish speaking, Shao Qingge interrupted him, saying, "It's okay. We've been taking turns keeping watch these past few days. We can't always let Professor Xiao and the others stay up all night. It's time for us to take turns."
"Hmm, that makes sense!"
When the two got dressed and came out of the tent, Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang were warming themselves by the fire.
The two of them sat on a fruit box, around a small stove used by security guards. They had added some wood to the stove and were warming themselves by the fire while... presumably chatting over a Telepathic Connection.
Anyway, I couldn't hear any sounds, I could only see them exchanging glances.
Seeing Ye Qi and CEO Shao get up, Xiao Lou asked in confusion, "Why are you up? You two don't have to keep watch tonight, do you?"
Ye Qi said, "Anyway, I woke up in the middle of the night. Professor Xiao, why don't you go and rest? Leave the night watch to us. I can also send out another eavesdropping device to listen to the outside noise at any time."
Yu Hanjiang looked at Xiao Lou: "Since Ye Qi is going to take the night watch, you should go get some sleep and get some rest."
Xiao Lou smiled and said, "Okay, then thank you for your hard work."
Yu Hanjiang nodded to Shao Qingge, and the two turned and went into the tent.
When Ye Qi lifted the tent flap, he was surprised to find that, under the light of the luminous pearl, there was only a quilt inside the tent.
Shao Qingge, who was connected to him via Telepathic Connection, quickly sensed his thoughts and said with a smile, "The other bed should be laid down underneath. Lay one bed down and cover the other with another, so the ground won't be too cold."
The voice that suddenly rang in Ye Qi's mind startled him; he was still not quite used to connecting to a Telepathic Connection with someone.
Shao Qingge continued, "Speaking might wake others. The Telepathic Connection is a good thing. Shall we try communicating in our heads?"
Ye Qi nodded, sat down where Xiao Lou had just been sitting, and added some fuel to the heater.
He glanced back at Xiao Lou's tent and thought to himself, "Won't two grown men be cramped sleeping under one blanket? Actually, we could do it like we do, with half the blanket underneath and the other half as a cover. That's much warmer and won't cause any problems."
They were fighting over the blankets.
Meeting the boy's innocent and clear gaze, he seemed genuinely offering Xiao Lou advice...
Shao Qingge sighed and said, "They did it voluntarily, so you don't need to worry about it. They were husband and wife in the Turmoil of War for half a month, and they shared a bed during that time, so they're probably used to it."
Ye Qi was stunned for a moment, then finally realized what he meant, and his eyes widened: "You mean...the two of them? That kind of thing?"
Shao Qingge asked with a smile, "Have you ever heard of men being together with other men?"
Ye Qi's face flushed slightly as he said awkwardly, "I've heard quite a few. There are some nobodys in our school who are willing to be kept by big shots in order to make a name for themselves in the music industry. As far as I know, there's a guy in our department who has a sugar daddy. I heard that the guy is more than twenty years older than him and he's keeping him as his little lover."
Shao Qingge smiled enigmatically: "Then do you need a sugar daddy? Someone who won't support you as the lover, but will only give you money."
Ye Qi was stunned: "What do you mean?"
Shao Qingge put away his jokes and said seriously, "In reality, I am the owner of a fund company. I started my business from scratch, but actually, I am also a second-generation rich kid with a wide network of connections, otherwise my business would not have been so successful."
Ye Qi looked at him with disdain: "Can a rich kid be called self-made?!"
Shao Qingge said, "I really didn't ask my parents for money. The start-up capital was a loan I took out myself. After several rounds of financing, the company grew bigger and bigger and was about to go public. If it weren't for my partner stabbing me in the back and causing me to have a car accident, I originally planned to go public by the end of the year… You wouldn't understand if I told you all this."
Ye Qi nodded: "I don't understand. But going public sounds really impressive!"
Shao Qingge narrowed his eyes slightly, smiled, and said, "Let me say something you can understand—Star Factory Records, you know it?"
Ye Qi's eyes suddenly lit up: "I know! This is the most famous record company in the industry. My idols are all in this company. Their singers are all amazing, and they also have many excellent songwriters and the most amazing producer, Teacher Zhou!"
Shao Qingge said, "Their boss is someone I grew up with, a true buddy."
Ye Qi: "..."
Seeing Ye Qi's mouth widen to the point of being able to swallow a duck egg, Shao Qingge asked with a smile, "Who are your male and female idols? Superstar Xue Ninglu and singing king Zhou Heng? I'm quite familiar with them. They've entrusted a lot of their personal assets to our company for management. I helped them make a lot of money last year, and they've even learned to invest with me."
Ye Qi: "......"
Shao Qingge stretched out his arms with a smile: "The sugar daddy is here, come and hug his leg."
Ye Qi was so excited he couldn't believe it: "R-really?"
Shao Qingge's eyes were deep: "What good would it do to lie to you? We'll have to go back to reality someday. When that happens, I can help you realize your dreams, introduce you to Star Factory as a singer, find you the best music production team, tailor-make a single for you, and make you a superstar and a king of the music scene. So, don't think about those bad things from the past anymore, think more about the bright future."
Ye Qi felt a warmth in his heart and nodded vigorously: "Yes, I know, thank you."
After a moment, he looked at Shao Qingge and said earnestly in his mind, " CEO Shao, I believe you. Although you can take shortcuts, I still want to achieve good results in the competition myself, like winning a championship or runner-up title. That way, I'll have the confidence to say it out loud. Otherwise, if I sign a singer through back channels and don't perform well, it will embarrass you..."
In the firelight, the boy's cheeks were slightly flushed, and his clear eyes were full of seriousness. Shao Qingge remembered the boy singing in the square with his guitar. That was the first time he saw Ye Qi. The boy was so serious and hardworking, playing the guitar and singing, and shouting for tips from the audience. He was full of energy.
At this moment, when he talked about his future dreams, he was incredibly serious, his eyes bright and clear. Shao Qingge's heart stirred slightly, and he couldn't help but reach out and ruffle the boy's hair, whispering, "Okay, I respect your decision. When you win an award, I'll help you get connected."
Ye Qi nodded excitedly: "That's great, thank you so much, sponsor!"
Shao Qingge smiled without saying a word. Since Ye Qi wanted to be a singer so much, Shao Qingge didn't mind giving him a hand. After all, they had been through thick and thin together, and he knew Ye Qi's character well enough.
The two chatted casually, and time flew by; before they knew it, it was dawn.
Ye Qi woke everyone up.
On this day, everyone was on high alert and in a state of readiness, never letting their guard down, but nothing happened all day.
Xiao Lou asked with some doubt: "Could it be that something happened to the Zerg in the north or south of the city? Why haven't they come to the East District yet?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "That's possible. If the Challengers in those two cities make preparations in advance and put up a strong resistance, some of them might just use gasoline to burn the area like we have. If a large number of Zerg encounter a fire, they won't have an easy time."
Old Mo analyzed, " The team from Luoying Pavilion probably didn't come to the east of the city, right? I haven't seen them for the past few days. Maybe they ran into the Zerg in another area. This team... with the captain's decisiveness, they shouldn't suffer too much if they run into the Zerg."
That female captain was indeed ruthless. When she saw her teammate infected, she burned him to death. Although this was a bit cold-blooded, her decisive and efficient approach ensured that the team would not be put in danger at critical moments.
Xiao Lou said, "Regardless of the situation in other districts, let's remain vigilant."
As night fell, everyone continued to take turns keeping watch until midnight.
Then, a notification appeared in the floating window—
Spade 8 Secret Chamber Doomsday Escape, Day 5, 00:00 AM
[ Number of Challenger players remaining: 198]
Ye Qi said, "I remember there were 208 people last night, but today it's 198. It seems only two teams were wiped out today?"
Compared to the large number of casualties in the previous days, the death toll on this day was surprisingly low.
Yu Hanjiang said, "It's very likely that the Challenger team has also accumulated some experience in continuous actual combat. Those who were eliminated a few days ago were either not well prepared or did not understand the Zerg and ran straight into the Zerg army. Those who survived are all exceptionally strong teams."
Everyone agreed with Captain Yu's analysis: the further you go, the stronger the survivors become; this survival-of-the-fittest rule has always been the rule in the Spade Secret Room. However, no one knew exactly where these teams were hiding. Currently, only Cheng Ziyang's 12-member Distant Place Association team had arrived in the East City District, which was nearby.
Because Ye Qi and CEO Shao stayed up until dawn last night, Long Sen, Qu Wanyue, Liu Qiao, and Lao Mo volunteered to keep watch tonight. Liu Qiao and Qu Wanyue will keep watch for the first half of the night, while Lao Mo and Long Sen will keep watch for the second half.
Liu Qiao and Qu Wanyue, two girls, stayed until 3 a.m. and nothing happened. When they changed shifts, everything was still calm outside.
Liu Qiao will eavesdropping device The card was handed to Lao Mo, who said, " Ye Qi's eavesdropping device can clearly hear any noise outside. Three eavesdropping devices are used in rotation, and one can eavesdrop for 3 hours."
Old Mo carefully took it and placed the unused eavesdropping device into the snowman under the tree in the distance of the warehouse.
The sound from this high-end eavesdropping device was extremely clear; you could almost hear the "swish" of snow falling. Old Mo and Long Sen listened intently to the sounds outside while warming themselves by the fire.
It was five in the morning, and it was still dark.
The snow fell all night again, and the ugly snowman Ye Qi built was covered with a thick layer of new snow. Its eyes, nose, and even arms were indistinguishable, and it looked like a big snowball. But this did not affect the performance of the eavesdropping device.
Just then, a crunching sound came from the eavesdropping device, as if something was stepping on the snow!
Old Mo's expression changed: "There's something going on outside!"
Long Sen immediately stood up alertly and turned around to wake everyone up.
Five o'clock is the time when humans are most likely to fall into a deep sleep, but everyone is very alert. After being woken up, they immediately wake themselves up and quickly gather in the warehouse.
Old Mo said, "Judging from the number, there shouldn't be many. It sounds a lot like human footsteps."
Xiao Lou said, "Don't forget that the Zerg look just like humans; they can disguise themselves."
As soon as he finished speaking, several people walked to the warehouse door and knocked gently. One of the women asked, "Is anyone inside? Can we come in and take shelter from the snow? It's too cold outside."
Everyone remained silent in tacit agreement.
Yu Hanjiang gave a signal, and everyone immediately scattered, putting on their Invisibility Cloaks and hiding.
Yu Hanjiang had already planned out the hiding spots for everyone wearing Invisibility Cloaks during the day to prevent everyone from crowding together and accidentally injuring teammates.
Just then, the door was kicked open forcefully by several men—
It was pitch black outside, but by the light of the luminous pearl lamp inside, five people could be seen: four men and one woman. They were all tall and not wearing down jackets, only sweaters. The only woman was over 178cm tall, even taller than Ye Qi.
Yu Hanjiang narrowed his eyes slightly and said to Xiao Lou in his mind, "It's the Zerg."
Xiao Lou also agreed with Captain Yu's deduction.
These people look exactly like humans; their walking posture and speaking voice are no different from ordinary people.
But everyone immediately realized that the group was insectoid—it was the dead of winter, and it was snowing outside. Xiao Lou and the others were wearing down jackets and felt cold, so they had to huddle around the heater to keep warm. Yet these people were wandering around in the snow at night without coats, wearing only thin sweaters!
Disguise can only create an outward appearance, but it cannot conceal one's instincts.
They are not afraid of the cold, but rather the heat—this is the nature of the insectoid race.
Wearing down jackets would probably make them too hot and hinder their movement.
***