Chapter 97

On the computer screen, the gap could be crossed by simply controlling the protagonist to jump over it. However, in reality, no, at least in this situation, standing there made it impossible to exert enough force. A misstep could not only result in failing to jump over but also in a fall.

Well, Luo Rui could only admit that he had been too presumptuous. In the end, everyone still had to step on the steel bars and carefully move over, although the action was slow, it was at least very safe.

Climbing up to the scaffolding above, the group circled around the wall to a window.

"Be careful, the light inside will suddenly go out."

Luo Rui warned, "Don't get scared."

"The light will go out?"

After climbing through the window, what came into view was a cluttered room. An old incandescent light bulb hung from the ceiling, emitting a yellowish glow.

"You said the light will go out, how—"

"Zzzt..."

A burst of electrical sparks instantly interrupted Zhang Meng's words, and the entire room plunged into darkness.

"Ahh..."

Despite the prior warning, the two girls were still taken by surprise by the sudden darkness, and He Ting and Ye Qingqing trembled all over.

"Quick, turn on the flashlight."

The flashlight was switched on the next second by Zhang Meng, casting a beam of light into the darkness of the room.

"What are you screaming for, like a pig being slaughtered."

Zhang Meng scolded the two screaming women, "Probably the fuse has burned out... Damn, how unlucky can we be?"

However, Luo Rui's prediction came true again. Although Zhang Meng still found it absurd, a shadow of unease had unknowingly crept into his heart.

"Let's go this way."

Leaving the cluttered room, they entered another room. Here, several single sofas were arranged around a fireplace, and the faint glow of the TV seemed to indicate the tranquility of the place.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Only Luo Rui looked puzzled, glancing at the TV, feeling that something was off.

"Hmm, I've looked around, there's no phone here."

Feng Li circled the room and announced his findings.

"We should keep moving... The text message said to enter the administrative building to get the security room key card. There might be a phone or a way to contact the outside world in the security room."

Following another door of the room, a messy corridor filled with various items appeared before them.

Here, Zhang Meng could turn off the flashlight, as the fluorescent lights in the corridor were still working, unlike the pitch-black room they had just left.

"Hey, there's a computer in there."

Before they reached the halfway point of the corridor, a small room with an open door caught Zhang Meng's attention. A computer screen was lit up inside.

"Computer?"

Everyone crowded in, with Feng Li checking the computer and Fang Ye picking up some documents to read.

"No way, it's locked, I don't have the password to access it."

After a few moments, Feng Li gave up, dejected.

"Are you kidding me, it's password-protected?"

Zhang Meng cursed his bad luck.

"Feng, look at these documents..."

Fang Ye handed a document to Feng Li.

"This is..."

Feng Li took the document and frowned after a quick glance.

"What document? Let me see."

Zhang Meng leaned in, "Damn, it's all in English, how are we supposed to read this?"

Feng Li ignored Zhang Meng's curses and looked up at Fang Ye, "What do you think?"

"I just checked all the documents and books, they're all in English... and according to the address in this document, we should be in..."

"Colorado, USA."

The two men exchanged a look of shock.

"What about Colorado, how does this involve the USA?"

Not only Zhang Meng, but the other two women were also confused.

"I told you, we're in a game. The address in the game is deep in the Colorado Mountains in the USA..."

Luo Rui, who firmly believed they were in a game, interjected.

"You mean we're in the USA now?"

Zhang Meng was shocked, "How is that possible? I didn't even realize I was in the USA?"

"It's not the real USA."

Luo Rui countered, "It's the USA in the game."

"Wait a minute..."

Fang Ye asked, "Did anyone see where Luo Yanfeng went?"

His question made everyone look around, and they immediately noticed that there were only six people in the room, and the person who claimed to be Luo Yanfeng was missing.

"Maybe he's outside?"

Zhang Meng stepped out of the room and looked left and right down the corridor, but it was empty.

"Where did he go?"

"Did anyone notice?"

After exchanging glances, no one could answer the question.

"Damn, that kid must have run off on his own. I knew that bastard was up to something."

Zhang Meng punched the wall in frustration, "I should have kept an eye on him."

Luo Rui was also puzzled. According to the game's progression, this point should have been completely safe, and there shouldn't have been any danger.

Even if there was danger, it wouldn't have resulted in someone disappearing without a trace. So, it was almost certain that Luo Yanfeng had left on his own.

"What should we do? Should we look for him?" Zhang Meng asked.

"Hmm, Luo Rui, what do you think we should do next?"

To everyone's surprise, Fang Ye, instead of answering Zhang Meng's question, asked for the high school student Luo Rui's opinion.

"Ask me?"

Luo Rui was taken aback, "Well, according to the game, we should go this way."

Leading the group out of the room, they walked about five to six meters forward and turned right into an open door, which seemed to be a temporary rest room. Two Coca-Cola vending machines were prominently placed opposite the door.

"Blood, there's blood!"

He Ting's face turned pale as she pointed to a pool of blood on the wooden board, terrified.

Blood?

Following He Ting's gaze, everyone saw a pool of bright red blood.

To be honest, although they had encountered some strange things, they hadn't really faced any real danger, so some people still harbored a bit of hope. However, seeing the blood, everyone fell into a trembling silence.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

"What's that?"

The sudden noise pulled everyone out of their silence. Zhang Meng looked up to see where the sound was coming from, "It's the ventilation duct..."

"There's something in the ventilation duct."

"Something just passed through the ventilation duct..."

The sound gradually faded away. Luo Rui, clutching his chest, said in fear, "No, no, there shouldn't be anything unusual here in the game."

"Luo Rui, what do you mean by that?"

Fang Ye asked, alert.

"In the game, everything is safe up to this point, and we need to crawl through the ventilation duct to reach another place."

"I've already said, this isn't a game."

Zhang Meng took a deep breath, "Besides, even if it were a game, how many protagonists do you control? How many of us are there?"

What Zhang Meng could understand, Fang Ye and Feng Li had already anticipated.

"Regardless, we're here now, and we can only go through the ventilation duct."

"But we don't know what's in the ventilation duct..."

Fang Ye interrupted Zhang Meng, "I'll go first. Feng, give me the dagger."

"Are you sure you can do it?"

Feng Li hesitated a bit.

"I'll go in first... If everything is fine, I'll call you over."

Taking the dagger, Fang Ye stepped firmly on the wooden board and crawled into the ventilation duct through the opening.

The remaining five people waited anxiously for Fang Ye's news.

After about half a minute, Fang Ye's voice came from the ventilation duct, "It's fine, everyone can come over."

"Phew..."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the next moment, they had to decide who would go in second.

After some consideration, the men decided to let the two women go first, followed by Luo Rui, then Feng Li, and finally Zhang Meng.

"Is that the hall?"

Feng Li, the second to last to crawl out of the ventilation duct, was immediately drawn to the light in the hall.

"Damn, can we finally get out?"

Feng Li jumped down from the ventilation duct, and Zhang Meng followed, poking his head out.

"You guys are really slow..."

"Whoosh... Splash..."

Before Zhang Meng could finish his sentence, a black, blade-like bone pierced through his mouth, and blood gushed down his chin as he spoke.

"Aaaah..."

The screams of the two women and a high school student echoed through the hall...

(P.S. Some readers have asked if the book is changing to an infinite series. This plot is just a branch of the story. The core foundation relates to the construction of a global consciousness network, which is a crucial plot point. It might take 400-500 chapters to get there, as the book's setting is quite complex, involving construction, farming, development, and dominance. Even when we enter the vast universe, it won't be a cliché of fighting aliens... I hope for more genuine readers to support me, so I can continue writing and have a source of income. Thank you for your support.)

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