"It's almost time." The man with his legs crossed narrowed his eyes.
As he finished speaking, several beams of light descended from the sky, enveloping the four people. From the onlookers' perspective, the enveloped bodies seemed to be dissolving bit by bit until they disappeared.
"I wonder how many can survive this time." A gentle female voice spoke.
The man, with his legs crossed, was about to say something when he suddenly straightened his posture. Everyone looked off into the distance. In the misty air, two figures walked out, one in front and one behind.
"It's the one who returned to the grave."
"It seems the rumors are true." The man with glasses, who had been lying motionless on the table, raised his head and said, "A member of the Guifen group died."
Guifen is undoubtedly the strongest team, with only a few members but few in number.
"I don't know what kind of copy it is, even those who returned to the grave failed." The man with glasses had a complicated expression.
Everyone fell silent.
"How many new people are here this time?" The Shamatte who was walking towards the tall man stopped and asked.
"Four." someone answered.
Shamatte curled his lips: "How is it?"
"They're quite good," the man with glasses said gently, "and no one is shouting."
The Shamatte is a chatterbox and wanted to chat more, but his boss glanced at him and told him to shut up.
The tall man looked at the water curtain: "What exactly happened? We will have the answer soon."
·
The air was filled with a faint smell of sour wood. Sur was in a villa, and a crying child was lying on the bed in front of him.
"It's not a prank." He turned his head and saw the person next to him with a pale face, closing his eyes and muttering softly.
Suer was silent. Indeed, no one had the power to create such a prank.
"It's so noisy."
In the suffocating silence, a figure suddenly appeared beside the child's bed. He was wearing a tattered suit and knocked on the guardrail with his knuckles while cursing. The child suddenly stopped crying.
Everyone subconsciously took two steps back. The person before them was definitely not a real person. A pale rose blossomed in the man's left ear, its roots protruding from the skin behind it. The lines spreading out like tree roots were clearly visible, a sight both comical and terrifying.
"Welcome everyone to the world of Seven Days and Seven Nights." The man realized his tone was a bit harsh, smiled apologetically, and bowed to them: "I am the host of this event, Gentleman Rose."
"Patience is a wonderful quality." Mr. Rose opened his arms and spoke in an exaggerated tone, as if the people before him were not timid players but enthusiastic audiences. "This game is simple. It's called Sleep, Sleep, my dear baby."
The girl muttered quietly, "Isn't that just putting the child to sleep?"
The rose flower beside the gentleman's ear moved, as if it had caught his muttering, and clapped its hands in appreciation: "Very right..." The ending tone was long, and the corners of his mouth formed an exaggerated arc: "Now I declare that the game officially begins..."
A badge immediately appeared on everyone's chest, with each other's name engraved on it.
The adult chuckled wryly, "At least we can skip the self-introduction part."
Senior year of high school is almost the peak state of the brain. Su Er remembered the names of the other three people with just a casual glance.
The adult's name was Zhao He, the girl's was Li Li, and the young man who spoke the least had a rather strange surname: Xuanyuan, given name Ao Yu. Seeing everyone's gaze lingering on his badge for a second longer, he helplessly spread his hands and said, "My surname isn't something I can decide, nor is it something my parents can decide."
Gentleman Rose stood in the shadows, watching their discussion.
There is a lot written in the brochure, and it is obviously impractical to read it all bit by bit, and it is obviously not a wise move to force memory by swallowing it all.
Soul: "Why not divide it into pages and summarize the key points after reading your own section."
No one objected.
Ten minutes later, everyone closed their books one after another.
Zhang He: "Each person's martial arts and spiritual power are engraved on the badge. If it's below 1, they will be automatically killed."
Everyone lowered their heads and looked carefully, only to discover that there were two very small lines of handwriting in the lower right corner. The difference between them was not much, but the Surling value was slightly higher. The initial values were 50 and 14 respectively.
Li Li continued, "A force value exceeding 150 can slightly distort space and cause certain damage to ghosts and monsters. This is commonly known as great strength can make miracles happen. A spirit value exceeding 80 can achieve possession by evil spirits, but there are risks."
They are a long way from meeting the requirements. In other words, the only way to win is to play by the rules.
Xuanyuan Ao Yu's fingertips turned white as he gripped the booklet. "Even if we survive this round, there are still many difficult games waiting for us."
Su Er read the last part: "After the game, the corresponding values will be calculated based on your performance, and your military strength and spiritual value will be strengthened."
In other words, winning without doing anything is not advisable. The difficulty of the novice field is not great, but if you don't seize the opportunity to strengthen yourself, you will be finished sooner or later.
Zhang He sighed in silence: "I'm afraid we can't afford the price of failure."
The smiling, waving emoji at the end of the brochure is chilling.
He is the oldest among them and has a more comprehensive view of the matter: "We were selected, maybe randomly, or maybe for other reasons."
Each of them recalled the last things they did before entering this strange world, and found they had nothing in common. As the only person of the opposite sex, Li Li gritted his teeth and suddenly said, "My body can't feel pain."
In order to prevent herself from being injured without being noticed, she had to speak up, hoping that someone would remind her.
Zhang He suddenly had an idea and pointed to his head: "Neurasthenia, but it has been cured."
Suhr actually has his own anomalies; after a family tragedy, he seems to have lost some of his emotions. A psychiatrist suggests that perhaps he's been so traumatized that his brain is subconsciously protecting him.
Fearing that he would arouse unnecessary suspicion, he thought for a moment and said, "It's a mild emotional cognitive disorder."
Xuanyuan Ao Yu pondered for a long time: "Apart from the name, I can't think of anything wrong. But "Seven Days and Seven Nights", isn't this the book that was very popular a while ago and then banned?"
Zhang He's eyes lit up: "Have you seen it?"
Xuanyuan Ao Yu shook his head: "I've only heard of it."
Zhang He turned his gaze to the others, who all shook their heads. He sighed, "Fortunately, everyone was able to accept reality quickly."
Except for Xuanyuan Ao Yu, everyone else lowered their eyes, obviously having some unspeakable secrets.
"Wow!" A clear cry interrupted the conversation.
Mr. Rose, who had been playing the role of air, smiled and said, "It's time for a nap."
Suer walked closer bravely. Li Li was following him but was stopped by an outstretched arm.
"Be careful." Su Er said, "This child's face was crushed by Nuwa."
Li Li didn't take it seriously, thinking it was just ugly. But when he got closer, he gasped. The child's face was so thin that it was just a shriveled piece of skin, and his eyes were lifeless. He was holding a small water cup and crying loudly.
Most people would feel pity when seeing such a child. However, while the child was crying, the gaps between his teeth were filled with blood and flesh, and as his mouth opened and closed, it looked like he was chewing and swallowing something.
Li Li was startled and covered her mouth to prevent herself from screaming.
Soul moved a little closer, keeping a safe distance and said, "Looks like he just ate."
Li Li bravely took a look, then mustered up the courage to look at Mr. Rose: "What will happen if he can't sleep?"
Gentleman Rose remained silent, as if he were just a conscientious observer.
The child's crying became louder and louder, piercing his eardrums and causing pain.
Soul stared at him expressionlessly. Thinking of the name of this game, he suddenly began to hum a lullaby: "Sleep, sleep, my dear..."
As soon as he finished singing the first sentence, the child sat up from the bed and opened his mouth to bite him.
Su Er took a step back in time and spread his hands: "I tried my best."
Xuanyuan Ao Yu's mouth twitched: "You almost sang away my fear."
Zhang He nodded in agreement: "The grumbling and mocking are hard to listen to."
Li Li: "...the most common way to soothe a child is to hold them or tell them a bedtime story."
Hold and comfort?
Everyone's eyes focused on the child's teeth, and then shifted away at the same time. Was he thinking his life wasn't long enough?
"A bedtime story might work," Li Li said, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. "I'll give it a try." He swallowed and tried hard to speak softly, but his throat was dry. He racked his brains and could only think of a fable: "One cold winter day, a farmer saw a frozen snake on the road..."
With every word the child spoke, his fingers extended a little further upwards, and his body moved outwards a little bit, almost as if he was about to crawl out.
"Based on my experience watching movies," Zhang He watched this scene, his heart almost jumping out of his chest: "We can't beat him."
If the child is allowed to crawl out, one of our allies will probably be killed.
The child's body had already stretched out over the guardrail. His legs had been tucked under the blanket, but now a pair of wild-looking claws were exposed, their nails dark and sharp, like hooks. Su Er suddenly said, "I have a suicidal idea, the kind that's like drinking poison to quench thirst."
His hand was originally on the electric shock device in his pocket, but he changed his mind temporarily. The performance of the novice field would be broadcast publicly, money is attractive, and he had a hunch that it would be best not to expose this thing in front of others.
"As long as the knife can kill the chicken, it's fine!" Zhang He's voice became sharp due to nervousness: "First, stop this monster from crawling out!"
Su Er lowered his eyes, clenched his fingers tightly, and finally shot his gaze at the child like a knife, adding a sentence at the end of Li Li's story: "If you don't go to sleep, the snake will come!"
In his hometown, many adults like to use scaring to coax children to sleep.
The child's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, and he reluctantly crawled back, covered himself with the quilt and began to sleep.
"It works!" Zhang He looked surprised.
Sur looked at Mr. Rose first, and the other party was smiling the whole time.
"What's wrong?" Girls are more sensitive, and Li Li noticed his abnormality at the first time.
"The game isn't over yet." Soul: "According to the worst-case scenario, what will happen next?"
Li Li was stunned.
Zhang He said quickly: "Snakes really do appear at night, and as a storyteller, I will bear the brunt of the consequences."
"…"
Night arrived as expected, and the child cried again. At this point, Su Er simply told the same story again. Although the child was not very happy, he still lay down and went to sleep obediently.
There is strength in numbers. Everyone originally wanted to gather in the living room to help each other when they were in trouble, but Mr. Yue gave each of them a room key and said with a meaningful smile: "Don't go out after midnight."
Everyone looked at each other and finally dispersed.
·
"That young man is going to die." The Shamatte who saw this through the water curtain said with a sigh of relief.
There is no doubt that snakes appear at night, and they are the kind that ordinary people cannot deal with.
"What a pity. This group of new recruits is rare and has good qualities, but they lack experience."
Except for the tall man who was resting with his eyes closed, the rest of the people gathered together to kill time and discuss.
The Shamatte approached him and said, "Boss, if any of the remaining three can survive, I can reluctantly accept one into the team."
If you cultivate it well, it should be fine.
The tall man nodded slightly: "You decide."
·
Soul sat on the edge of the bed, showing no sign of falling asleep. It was 11:50. Regardless of whether he could get through tonight, the stun gun would definitely be used in times of crisis. If the room was a place of death, its contents would likely be shown publicly.
I need to find a place where I won't be watched.
Downstairs, the second hand just turned a circle and stopped at 11:55.
Mr. Rose smiled happily as he thought of the bloody scene that would happen in a certain room soon.
11:56.
The door suddenly rang.
11:58.
A kind face appeared outside the door. Soul put his left hand in his pocket, holding the stun gun, and waved his right hand affectionately: "Hi."