"Splash—splash—"
Cold rain hammered against the glass window, blurring the city's nightscape outside. Lin Ye's eyes snapped open, only to find himself sitting at a dust-covered desk, clutching a broken fountain pen. On the corner of the desk, an old-fashioned clock showed: 21:59.
[Global Notice: All humans above 18 have entered the "Rule Gamefield · Beginner Stage — Rainstorm Apartment." Livestream has begun. Viewer Points can be exchanged for survival items.]
[Beginner Stage Rules (Public):
1. Do not open the door between 22:00–6:00;
2. Do not touch any red objects inside the room;
3. Every day, deliver one portion of "fresh food" to the "Apartment Manager";
4. Find the "apartment key" to leave early.]
[Warning: Rule violators will be eliminated by the "Water Wraith."]
The mechanical electronic voice exploded in his head. Instinctively, Lin Ye reached for his pocket—his phone was still there. The screen lit up, displaying a livestream interface he had never seen before.
Title: #00739 Player Lin Ye: Rainstorm Apartment Survival Livestream
Online Viewers: 1,389,274 (from 23 civilizations)
Comments scrolled past at dozens per second:
[Blue Star Viewer 089: What the hell? A prank? I was just working overtime!]
[Zeta Civilization Viewer: A newbie? I recommend probing for loopholes first. My last bet died because he ignored the hidden clauses.]
[Guidance Comment (red): Rule 1 is absolute! Open the door after 22:00 and you're done for! Don't risk it!]
[Prophecy Comment (garbled): □#%￥red￥%...door&*sigil...]
Lin Ye's pupils shrank—not at the interface, but at the gray annotation clinging to Rule 1 like a bloodstain:
"Opening the door between 22:00–6:00 triggers Water Wraith attack. But a 'Door Guardian Talisman' posted inside can temporarily repel it (valid for 10 minutes)."
"Rule Insight… again." Lin Ye rubbed his temples. He had been seeing strange words in dreams lately. Now he understood—it wasn't dreams. It was a lingering power from his previous life.
The clock's hand jumped from 21:59 to 22:00.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
A harsh pounding rattled the door, followed by a hoarse male voice:
"Hey! Open up! I have fresh bread—we can trade!"
The comments erupted:
[Blue Star Viewer 089: Don't! Rule 1 clearly forbids opening after 22:00!]
[Zeta Civilization Viewer: Idiot! That's obviously bait to trick him into opening the door.]
[Guidance Comment (red): Open the door and you die! Follow the rules to live!]
Lin Ye didn't rush to refuse. His eyes locked onto the inside of the door—sure enough, there was a yellowed piece of paper pasted there, covered in strange patterns: a Door Guardian Talisman.
He stood and lowered his voice.
"How much bread? What's the trade?"
"I have two bags! Just give me the red items in your room, and I'll share one!" the man outside urged. "I know Rule 2, but I can deal with red objects. Trust me!"
Lin Ye's gaze swept the room: the red pen on the desk, the red trash bin in the corner, the red patterns on the curtains… Almost everything had red on it.
He smirked. The guy wasn't just trying to trick him into opening the door—he was luring him into breaking Rule 2.
"Fine. I trust you." Lin Ye raised his voice and grabbed the doorknob. "I'll open it now. Hand me the bread…"
The chat went wild:
[Blue Star Viewer 089: Are you insane?! Open the door after 22:00 and you're dead!]
[Guidance Comment (red): Courting death! Viewer Points are going to plummet!]
[Zeta Civilization Viewer: Wait… he's looking at the inside of the door? Did he notice something?]
In the instant his hand gripped the doorknob, Lin Ye ripped the talisman off the inside and stuck it to his sleeve. Then he yanked the door open—
Outside stood a burly, scar-faced man with no bread at all—only a gleaming knife. Seeing the door open, his eyes lit up with savage delight. He lunged with the blade.
"Idiot! Rule 1 is a deathline—you're finished!"
But just as the knife neared Lin Ye, an invisible barrier blocked it.
The hallway rain boiled. A hideous Water Wraith, drenched and shrieking, crawled from the stairwell. Its target wasn't Lin Ye—but the man with the knife.
"W-what?!" the man paled, trying to run. The wraith seized his ankle and dragged him into the flood. His scream was swallowed by the rain, leaving only bloodstains behind.
Lin Ye leaned against the doorframe, glancing at the talisman on his sleeve—still faintly warm, with 8 minutes of effect left. He looked into the phone camera and smiled:
"Rule 1 says: 'Do not open the door between 22:00–6:00.' It never said who the Water Wraith attacks once the door opens."
He twirled the red pen in his fingers and raised it to the lens.
"And Rule 2—'Do not touch red objects.' It doesn't forbid making someone else touch them. If that guy survived, he might've learned that."
The livestream exploded:
[Blue Star Viewer 089: Holy shit! So that's how you play the rules?!]
[Zeta Civilization Viewer: Brilliant! That's the real way to survive Rule Gamefield! Rewarding 100 View Points!]
[Prophecy Comment (garbled): □#%￥yes...that's it...loophole...]
[Guidance Comment (red): …(3-second silence)… Warning! Player Lin Ye suspected of exploiting rule loopholes. "Rule Fog" interference will commence!]
Lin Ye's eyes narrowed. Rule Fog. Last time, it was the fog that twisted the annotations and killed him in the final round.
He slammed the door shut and locked it. The rain outside grew heavier. The clock read 22:05. This was only the beginning of the beginner stage.
Something vibrated faintly inside the desk drawer. He pulled it open—inside lay a yellowed diary. On the cover was written:
"Round 98 · Rainstorm Apartment · Su Qingyue."
"Su Qingyue…" Lin Ye murmured. His heart throbbed painfully. A blurry memory flashed—
A girl in the rain, smiling, handing him a talisman.
"Lin Ye, remember—rules always have loopholes. Just like… I'll always wait for you."
On the first page was a single line:
"Beware the Manager. She doesn't want food—she wants your life."
Lin Ye gripped the diary and looked up at the camera. Viewer count had already surged past 2 million, and View Points were skyrocketing.
He knew—in the next 23 days, he not only had to survive, but also recover his lost memories, and unravel the truth of this "Apocalyptic Rule Gamefield."
And step one was figuring out who the so-called Apartment Manager really was.