Chu Siyan kept a careful eye on the Apple Watch still strapped to his wrist. Just as the clock hit 7:30, a young girl's voice called out for everyone to come down for dinner.
'So early… I guess my intuition is correct. The darker it gets, the more dangerous it will become in here.'
As he got out of bed, he thought back to his conversation with the girl. When that NPC had invited him into the sorority, she had looked genuinely frightened when she mentioned that it was getting dark. She had kept urging him to come inside.
'Will the ghosts only do their 'visitation' outside the sorority, or do they also enjoy leisurely strolls around this place?' He rolled his eyes at the thought.
Opening the door, he glanced at the trench coat guy. "Are you coming?"
The man simply looked at him before continuing to lie on the bed.
Seeing this, he paused. "Not eating in this world causes starvation and death?"
The man slightly raised a brow. "If you don't eat, you die."
"Oh, great." He nodded to himself. "Thank you." He closed the door behind him.
The others were waiting in the hallway. Along with the handsome, treacherous guy, the two young women and two men were gathered together. The red T-shirt guy had an annoyed look on his face as he played with his phone.
As for the other three young women, they were the NPCs who lived here. One girl had bright pink hair and numerous tattoos covering her arms and legs. She looked at them with interest.
'I want a tattoo...'
"You! Why do you keep looking at girls' legs like that? Only lecherous people have that look in their eyes," the annoyingly handsome guy said disgruntledly.
Chu Siyan raised a brow. 'What is wrong with this guy? Why does he keep messing with me? Is it because I warned the others... Is he holding a grudge?'
The said girl with the tattoos also glanced his way. Her dark eyes looked lifeless and shallow. Her face was adorned with a distinct black circle around her eyes.
Thinking that the girl had misunderstood him, he walked up to her. "I admire your tattoos. Where did you get them? Can you suggest a place?"
The entire hallway fell silent. Every other player silently called him a crazy lunatic in their hearts.
But Chu Siyan was completely serious. He really wanted a tattoo to commemorate the first day of his rebirth in the game.
The NPC raised a brow. "I did them."
"You did them?! They're super cool! I've always wanted one."
All his life, he had been confined inside a glass bubble. Of course, he had never had much human contact. Things like tattoos had been completely impossible for him.
"Do you want me to ink you?"
"Yes! Definitely!" He held up his white arms to her.
The young girl laughed out loud. "This year's students are so cute." She even pinched his cheeks. "Come on, I'll do yours after dinner." She smiled and gestured for him to follow.
Watching this, the handsome dude's expression stiffened. He silently gritted his teeth. 'This sicky guy is dangerous... I can't let him continue like this.'
After playing three games, he had learned that the NPCs were completely useless. They only provided the initial situation, and then all of them eventually died.
The other four followers of his tugged at his sleeve. "Bro, do we need to associate with the NPCs? Will that give us some kind of saving grace?"
"No, che. That guy is simply a dog wagging his tail at them. Stay away from him."
As he said this, the red T-shirt guy gritted his teeth and walked past them. At a leisurely pace, he followed the four NPCs.
Chu Siyan walked into the dining hall. It was relatively small. The pink-haired woman sat down and gestured to the seat beside her. He plopped his butt onto the chair, admiring the tattoos running up her arm.
"Cutie, I forgot to ask your name." The NPC gently pinched his nose again.
Chu Siyan grinned. "Chu Siyan. Call me Siyan."
"Siyan? It sounds masculine. It doesn't suit a cute girl like you." She grinned cheerfully.
Chu Siyan wasn't bothered by being addressed as a girl. He simply went along with it and chatted about random things. As they talked, he learned her name. She was called Sara. She then introduced him to the other NPCs.
The young blonde bob-cut girl sitting to his right was called Barbara. She had a cute smile, with dimples on either side of her cheeks.
Then there was Tilly, who had shown them around the place.
He glanced around. There were supposed to be four NPCs, according to the room tags he had spotted. "What about our other senior?"
Sara's expression slightly grimaced. "She is quite timid. She doesn't like coming out much."
He noted that mentally.
The others joined them by then. The handsome-faced dude still maintained his sweet and trustworthy older-brother facade. He introduced himself as Harris.
This started a chain of introductions. The two young girls in his group meekly introduced themselves as Hina and Poppy.
The black-haired, ordinary-looking man nodded and said his name was Timothy.
The other two guys who followed Harris condescendingly looked at the NPCs. "I'm Liam." He grinned and then straight-up groped a nearby NPC's thigh. It happened to be Tilly, who was sitting beside him.
She had an uncomfortable look on her face as she pushed his hand away.
Siyan frowned. Men like this disgusted him. "Talk, don't touch," he warned him softly.
Being called out for his actions, the man started to lose his cool. "Who are you to tell me what to do, huh? You're nothing but a meat shield for us! Just you wait. The first person to die will be you!" he cussed out loudly.
But after that, he wasn't quite so handsy.
Chu Siyan sighed. In just a few hours, he had met so many different kinds of people.
Tilly looked his way and mouthed a small thank you.
"What is the use of being a hero to NPCs?" Harris muttered under his breath.
Chu Siyan completely ignored him and glanced around the dining table. The dishes had not been served yet, but everyone was already there.
Just as he thought this, a tall, stout woman walked out carrying the dishes. She set them down unceremoniously.
"Eat," she said before leaving.
It was just plain porridge with a side of pickles.
Harris and his cronies scrunched up their noses and refused to eat it.
Chu Siyan, on the other hand, picked up a bowl and ladled himself a good amount. The porridge had a very distinct taste of fish and prawns. Along with the chili pickles, it tasted heavenly. He had never had spicy food like this before. It was so delicious that it made his eyes water.
"I told you he would be the one to die first," Harris muttered under his breath.
Chu Siyan didn't even bother looking his way. His patience was already stretched thin. He glanced at the red T-shirt guy, who was still playing with his phone.
"Eat while it's hot," he shouted so that the man could hear him.
The young man looked up at him.
The others thought he might refuse to eat the possibly poisoned food, but to their surprise, he simply raised a brow and gulped down the warm porridge. After that, he continued playing with his phone.
Chu Siyan nodded to himself. 'Good man. Only a well-fed person can run from danger.'
Sara secretly placed a few pieces of beef jerky into his bowl. "Eat well, cutie Siyan."
Grinning, he ate them with gusto. After finishing his meal, he didn't forget to take another clean bowl of porridge and pickles for his roommate.
As he was doing this, he heard Harris and his cronies discussing strategies to escape this level of the game.
"This game is very simple. All we need to do is find clues. It's probably outside this sorority, somewhere in the college. Since there is a restriction at night, we might have a greater chance of finding clues. We shall all head out tonight at ten."
The others looked hesitant.
Harris grinned softly. "Only when we put in a bit of effort can we pass this level. Just follow me. Brother will bring you guys out alive."
This seemed to reassure them. They all nodded with tears in their eyes.
Chu Siyan desperately tried to roll his eyes at the display.
Dinner was over soon. He covered the bowl of porridge with a clean piece of plastic that Sara had kindly offered him. It had simply been the packaging for the beef jerky he had eaten, but it worked perfectly well. He covered the bowl with it and walked upstairs.
The first thing he did was drop off the dinner for his roommate.
The trench coat guy looked at the bowl and then at him in surprise.
"Eat well. You'll get tired if you don't eat. How will you run away from trouble if you don't have dinner?" he nagged for a bit.
The man looked skeptically at the bowl.
"It's very nice. If you're worried it's poisoned, I can sample a bit for you. But don't waste food, okay?"
He took the spoon from the man and ate a spoonful of the porridge.
"Eat while it's warm," he added before leaving the room.