Zhao Xiaorou stood on the platform with exaggerated flair. Her red cheongsam was slit all the way up to her thighs, and after getting Filorga injections, her skin glowed with an unnatural pallor.
Standing beside the radiant Zhao Xiaorou, Hu Xiu had a sneaking suspicion that this woman wasn't here for the Live Action Role Playing Game. More likely, having recently regained her single status, she was eagerly encroaching upon territories populated by handsome men—ready to conquer and plunder.
Sure enough, when Qin Xiaoyi opened Rong City's heavy iron gate, Zhao Xiaorou took a deep breath and declared: "Hu Xiu, this is your last chance. If you don't make a move on Qin Xiaoyi today, I'm taking him back to Xiafei Court to chop him into pieces."
"So desperate?"
"What would you know? I've been married before. Do you understand what it's like to release a hungry and craving tiger back into the wild? Forget drawing blood—I want to sink my teeth into anything that's still breathing."
"What are you two discussing over there?" Qin Xiaoyi smiled and pointed at Zhao Xiaorou. "Anything so important it has to be discussed outside the platform? All our guests are VIPs, and the platform is quite chilly."
It was only October, after all. In the game, Qin Xiaoyi was forever trapped in the winter of 1934. The only difference was how his smile landed on Hu Xiu—once met with cold avoidance, now returned with a grin hiding mutually understood secrets.
Waves of turmoil surged in Hu Xiu's heart as she silently vowed: Zhao Xiaorou, don't even think about it. Feng Youjin and Ning Zechen can be yours.
But Qin Xiaoyi is absolutely off-limits—he's already walked me home twice at night!
Originally planning to sit at the same table with Zhao Xiaorou to conspire in helping Feng Youjin succeed, Hu Xiu watched as Zhao Xiaorou directly took the Behind-the-scenes role at Ning Zechen's table—right beside him, no less—flashing her pale, exposed thighs.
Hu Xiu thought: Is she really going this far? Zhao Xiaorou turned back and spotted Hu Xiu from across the room, then deliberately hitched her cheongsam even higher.
Watching Ning Zechen's eyeballs nearly pop out of their sockets, Hu Xiu saw him immediately pull money from his pocket and press it into Zhao Xiaorou's hands. No need to guess—he was sending her to deliver a love letter to Lin Qiumei.
As Zhao Xiaorou stood up and walked away, her body curved into exaggerated proportions that made Hu Xiu secretly scoff—
This terrifying woman! Just a year ago, seeing someone like this would have made her curse about where this wild chicken came from, yet now she herself was behaving so shamelessly!
People truly do become what they despise as they age.
Snowpiercer had undergone new changes after just a month's absence. Hu Xiu never worried about feeling repetitive while playing the same Live Action Role Playing Game repeatedly—they seemed to have reserved several rooms in the venue, regularly adding new themes.
The prohibition against private contact combined with frequent content updates was probably why Snowpiercer maintained its top ranking among downtown Live Action Role Playing Games.
Hu Xiu was obsessed with collecting every new version's storyline. Each return felt like coming home to her parents' house.
Noticing the name tags on players, Hu Xiu realized the journalist and casino owner Roles from previous games were gone, replaced by new ones—the script had been rewritten again.
This round, Zhao Xiaorou was playing a socialite while Hu Xiu was assigned a diplomat—two Roles with minimal interaction.
Yet whenever Hu Xiu entertained thoughts of more interaction with Qin Xiaoyi, she would inevitably draw a Role that had zero connection to his.
Although she'd met Qin Xiaoyi outside the game and no longer worried about not seeing him, it was still frustrating to draw such a worthless Role when there were rare opportunities for three hours of close interaction.But being a behind-the-scenes role lacked the thrill of opening Pandora's box. The old Hu Xiu preferred stability and safety, hoping to see the outcome of everything. Now she wished for surprises in her routine life—only ups and downs made things interesting.
If she were to enter just to romance Qin Xiaoyi while ignoring the quest card, she'd find such heavily motivated romance dull.
Zhao Xiaorou said this was precisely why Hu Xiu couldn't win over Qin Xiaoyi. Sighing at the entrance of the grand theater, Hu Xiu recalled she had tried chasing Qin Xiaoyi in the play before, but the way he looked at her... always made her feel like an idiot.
After all, her IQ just wouldn't function properly around Qin Xiaoyi!
Forget it. As Hu Xiu sat on the bench reading her quest card, the casino owner suddenly stuck a rose card on her back.
Hu Xiu glanced around—she'd never seen any props here before. Vaguely sensing this might be a quest, she peeled it off and checked the back: blank.
Just as she stood to leave, the casino owner sitting on the bench murmured softly, "Congratulations, you've plucked this rose that bloomed in the wrong place. I have a property deed here—a private residence next to the Peace Hotel.
No one has entered it yet. When you've earned 100,000 in Rong City, come find me. I'll give you the keys to the house."
Hidden Quest!
Earning 100,000 alone in the play wasn't easy. Last night's quest reward was 10,000; helping NPCs with tasks paid another 10,000. Doing manual labor like sweeping floors in dance halls or pulling rickshaws only earned 3,000. Reporting traitors in your group could net 50,000, but Hu Xiu couldn't bring herself to do something so unethical. The only viable option was—taking tasks assigned by candidates, which could earn 20,000-30,000 while building favorability.
After swindling a love letter from Feng Youjin to deliver to Bai Luoyu at the department store, playing both sides to earn 40,000, Hu Xiu set her sights on Ning Zechen—
She couldn't ask Qin Xiaoyi for money unless absolutely necessary. The finance minister was too sensitive about money.
Pushing open the door to Room 303, Hu Xiu froze. Zhao Xiaorou was... playing finger-guessing games with Ning Zechen.
Zhao Xiaorou had brought her bar skills into play, one knee on the coffee table as she leaned down laughing with Ning Zechen.
The glasses contained iced black tea (after coming here so many times, she could identify the drink by color), yet both pretended to be drunk, using the game to touch each other's hands.
Hu Xiu felt the surveillance camera overhead was practically useless, but Zhao Xiaorou maintained perfect measure—not exposing too much, minimal skin contact, neither party crossing into harassment territory.
Ning Zechen rolled up his sleeves, muscles straining the fabric, laughing heartily: "Finish this drink, and I'll reward you with 30,000!"
Man dies for wealth as birds die for food—Hu Xiu rushed over extending her hand: "Officer Ning, may I play too?"
Leaving Room 303, Hu Xiu only got 10,000; Zhao Xiaorou made a killing, spinning excitedly in the hotel corridor.
Hu Xiu couldn't resist teasing, "Zhao Xiaorou, that's enough! When I opened the door earlier, I thought I'd walked into some shady massage parlor. You even made the lighting turn pink."
"What did I do? I was just playing finger games. If I actually did anything, all I can say is I had clear goals and didn't hide my motives."Opportunities aren't for the prepared, but for the decisive warriors. Would someone like Ning Zechen, a brainless musclehead, really play house with you and Qin Xiaoyi?
"I'd like to see when you'll ever have physical contact like we do."
"Zhao Xiaorou, wait a moment."
Zhao Xiaorou turned back: "What?"
"Lend me thirty thousand... I need it for a quest."
"No. I just made a bet with Ning Zechen to help him become the boss of Rong City."
"What happens if you win?"
"Not telling..." Zhao Xiaorou threw a seductive glance.
At the dance party, Zhao Xiaorou and Ning Zechen actually started dancing rumba. Zhao Xiaorou had been a professional Latin dancer since childhood, bringing fierce competitive energy to the floor that could rival a bullfight.
Now he'd learned to control his intensity, slowly performing open hip twists with Ning Zechen to the background music of "Night Shanghai," letting Ning Zechen lead him hand-in-hand across the floor before being pulled into an embrace. Hu Xiu sneered at the sight - using rumba as an excuse for physical contact? Disgusting.
Feng Youjin clicked his tongue from the audience: "Isn't that the girl who caused that marriage scandal last time?"
"Divorced, single now," Hu Xiu added.
"Incredible—she's got skills." Feng Youjin stood up and walked onto the stage, scattering thick stacks of money. The stage became crowded with players and Non-Player Characters, leaving only Qin Xiaoyi and Hu Xiu in the audience.
Hu Xiu glanced at Qin Xiaoyi and found Qin Xiaoyi's gaze already on him. Gathering courage, he approached: "Minister Qin, I'd like to earn some money. Could you assign me some tasks?"
"What do you want this time?"
"To be honest, I want to buy a property deed. I've been running all over Rong City earning money, but I'm still thirty thousand short."
A subtle expression flashed across Qin Xiaoyi's face—wanting to laugh but holding back, only narrowing his eyes slightly. He pulled out thirty thousand from his suit pocket: "Consider this your housing fund. But that building... well, you'll have to fend for yourself."
Hu Xiu completely missed Qin Xiaoyi's meaning—so dramatic, it's just a house.
Maybe if I buy the property and rewrite the plot, I'll leap to become Rong City's new ruler. My first act would be to bring the finance minister into my room...
No, what am I thinking all day? My mind's full of indecent thoughts. Zhao Xiaorou has corrupted me.
When collecting funds for candidate voting, Hu Xiu pleaded poverty. Taking one hundred thousand, he went to find the casino boss, completely forgetting about Feng Youjin.
The casino boss smiled mysteriously upon seeing the hundred thousand, producing a key and saying, "Follow me."
Hu Xiu followed arrogantly behind. What's a Hidden Quest? I, Hu Xiu, can accomplish it alone!
After opening the room door, the boss said, "You'll walk the rest of the path alone. Take care."
This was newly developed land in Rong City, previously unused because this was—a haunted house.
With that, the door closed behind Hu Xiu. His mind filled with question marks as he noticed this room's background music differed completely from the rest of Rong City—eerie and sinister, with sudden volume spikes resembling horror movie sound effects.
As he ventured forward, the dark and deep blue scenes made it hard to see his own fingers, the path ahead gradually blurring. Hu Xiu's legs grew weaker with each step. What kind of place is this? Snowpiercer hasn't visited for just a month, how did an Escape Room appear here?
No sooner had he spoken than a shadow suddenly flashed by, crashing down in front of him with a loud bang. Screams and laughter echoed from all directions.A cloud of dust erupted before her eyes as lights flickered on, revealing... a corpse.
It was a real person, plummeting straight down from above—what kind of stunt double was this?
What bizarre plot was this?! Hu Xiu shrieked and scrambled aside, about to turn back when zombies came charging from behind.
Only then did Hu Xiu realize the scene wasn’t a straightforward path. Seven or eight branching routes were swarming with zombies—some running, others crawling, even scrambling along the narrow ceiling on all fours—all advancing toward her. Their faces were smeared with blood, clothes tattered and torn, scars beneath their eyes, and withered leaves tangled in their wild hair. It was like a full-scale Train to Busan reenactment!
Why wasn’t she running? As Hu Xiu dodged the corpse on the ground, a hand suddenly clamped onto her ankle. She crashed to the floor with a thud, screamed, and began frantically crawling forward on her knees.
She never played Escape Rooms—this level of extreme horror was only for seasoned veterans. Had she known it would be like this, she’d rather die than enter. Now, with no way back, she sobbed and crawled as zombies closed in from behind and above. Tears blurred her vision; she wiped them away, but her body felt like limp sludge, refusing to cooperate. Spotting an open door ahead, she mustered every ounce of strength to push herself up, staggered inside, and slammed the door shut, her breath catching in her throat.
Her clothes were caked in dirt and dust—the scene was terrifyingly realistic. The door shuddered violently under the zombies’ furious pounding, the aged wood splintering and smoking, on the verge of breaking.
Hu Xiu glanced back to see skeletons and rotting zombies filling the space behind her. Her weeping intensified as she stared despairingly at the disintegrating wooden door—she had no choice but to steel herself and open it, then sprint back under zombie pursuit. Unfamiliar with the layout, she might never find her way to the haunted house’s main entrance.
Her voice was hoarse from screaming. She kept mentally repeating: It’s fake, it’s fake, don’t be scared. Just call for help—the game master will see me. They can’t let a player die of fright in here...
But she couldn’t make a sound. It was too horrifying; she’d never faced such a life-threatening spectacle, not even in horror movies—and this was in 4D. If the game master didn’t notice, she’d likely die here today.
Suddenly, the door swung open. Hu Xiu’s courage nearly shattered as Qin Xiaoyi dropped to his knees, gathered her into his arms, and comforted her: "Don’t be afraid. Come with me."
Her tears burst forth uncontrollably—she couldn’t even stand. This was far from a graceful damsel-in-distress rescue: covered in grime and dust, her face must be a tear-streaked, messy ruin, her already subtle makeup surely smeared. Meanwhile, the zombies’ roars persisted, accompanied by sounds of struggle and collapse outside—she couldn’t tell if it was audio effects or real, trembling violently, her soul seeming to flee her body.
Qin Xiaoyi removed his suit jacket and draped it over her head, then lifted her horizontally into his embrace, his chin gently resting against her crown. "Don’t be afraid. Hold onto me tightly."
The sound effects continued unabated. Hu Xiu’s mind went blank, tears still streaming down.
The wind brushing past her feet must be from zombies—something seemed to strike Qin Xiaoyi, the impact feeling dull through his body; that blow must have hurt.
His warmth offered little comfort—this fear was too visceral. Yet Qin Xiaoyi walked steadily, his muscles conveying unshakable resolve. The noises gradually faded, replaced by the sound of a door opening. It was the casino owner.Qin Xiaoyi sounded somewhat annoyed: "We shouldn't assign this kind of mission to timid players. She was almost paralyzed with fear in there."
"Talk about a jinx. I didn't expect that either. Seeing how often she comes to play, having participated in nearly ten Battle Royales, I thought she was an Escape Room veteran."
"Definitely not. Look, she's still trembling." His suit jacket was gently lifted at the corner.
In her line of sight was half of Qin Xiaoyi's face: "Are you okay? Sorry for scaring you. I had a feeling you might be in danger going in, so I followed. Just as I thought."
Hu Xiu, with tears still wet on her face, murmured faintly: "I must look awful right now..."
"Not at all. You just soaked my suit. And... your nails are quite sharp."
Sitting quietly on the floor, Hu Xiu accepted the wet wipes offered by the casino owner. After wiping her face and calming down, it took her quite a while to stand up.
Her first thought upon rising was that Qin Xiaoyi really had well-developed muscles, and secondly—she would never touch any Escape Room again in this lifetime.
By the time she emerged, the Battle Royale had already ended. A group of people sat in the debriefing room, passionately analyzing the game.
Zhao Xiaorou took off her coated equipment and noticed Hu Xiu's red, swollen eyes: "I didn't see you earlier. Why did you remove your makeup inside? And your cheeks are allergic."
"I..." Hu Xiu struggled to exhale: "It's a long story..."
A staff member approached and handed her a hot towel and an envelope: "Congratulations on completing the Hidden Quest. This was our Halloween easter egg for October—whoever picked up the rose could enter after purchasing the deed. How was your experience?"
"Of course she's not satisfied! Her face is having an allergic reaction. What kind of terrifying thing made her cry like this? Can she even go home with eyes this swollen?"
"And she's your loyal player who came specifically to see Qin Xiaoyi. Do you think she'd be happy meeting him while crying like this?"
Remembering how Qin Xiaoyi had suddenly rushed into the dark room and held her, Hu Xiu nodded dazedly: "Satisfied. This experience... was extremely satisfying."
"Are you crazy?" Zhao Xiaorou frowned as she opened the envelope: "What's this? Snowpiercer tickets? Is this the Hidden Quest bonus?"
"Yes, successfully experiencing the Haunted House earns you one ticket. Although technically she was rescued by our NPC."
"Rescued?"
"That's right. Your friend became immobilized inside, so Qin Xiaoyi's actor carried her out..."
On their way home, Zhao Xiaorou cursed vehemently, accusing Hu Xiu of being too cunning—she had precisely mastered her famous motto:
Opportunities don't wait for the prepared, but for the decisive warrior. After going out for a large bowl of beef noodles with two marinated eggs, Hu Xiu finally regained her composure enough to retort, but Zhao Xiaorou stuffed a piece of gum in her mouth: "Shut up. I thought I was clever enough, but you always stumble into better luck. How come you've been on a winning streak ever since meeting Qin Xiaoyi?"
"Not really. You don't understand the struggles of being a translator—I have plenty of sleepless nights too. Besides, you've seen me when I'm broke."
Her companion's high heels clicked loudly, completely ignoring Hu Xiu's words: "You've already touched him and been held by him. If Qin Xiaoyi doesn't marry you, it would defy all reason."
"Next time you go in and buy a property deed too. Ning Zechen won't disappoint you.""I don't need..." Zhao Xiaorou spread her hand open before Hu Xiu, revealing a line of numbers written in pen: "I've already gotten the WeChat account."
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