Chapter 84 - Research Lab

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The boss was propping up his huge belly as he took a huge handful of mutton skewers to roast it on the charcoal fire, and each flip of the skewers would cause a waft of smoke. The mutton mingled with the smoky charcoal flavour and it was full of the taste unique to the mortal realm.

Shen Dongqing picked up a mutton skewer. The goat meat and fat were thin and interjoined, neither lean nor greasy, bringing about a hint of gamey taste that was not overpowering in the least and made people want to gasp with admiration upon eating the skewer. HTeuhB

“Tastes super good!”

With regards to this aspect, the hotel’s main kitchen could not compare to the small eateries on the roadside.

Throwing down the wooden skewer, Shen Dongqing poured himself another full mug of beer and guzzled down the beverage which was cool and refreshing, making his entire body feel comfortable and fulfilled.

By this time, none of the players looked anxious or miserable as they drank their beer and ate their skewers in a carefree manner. v2Laqy

Only the Bespectacled Lady sat in the corner silently. In the end, she was still an ordinary person; after experiencing two to three consecutive shocks, she could not calmly eat and drink at all.

Since she had her head lowered, she did not attract anyone’s attention.

When they were finally done with their supper, it was close to 12 midnight. The school’s dormitory had already extinguished the lights and shut the doors, which meant that they could only find a small hotel outside to make do for the night.

When the lady at the receptionist counter heard the door being pushed open, she raised her head and saw three men and two women walking in. Voed4C

Thankfully, the receptionist was experienced and knowledgeable, which allowed her to contain the single lament about how queer the configuration of the line-up was in her heart. She said smilingly, “How many rooms do you need?”

Wu Jia scanned all his teammates once, “Three rooms.”

Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan were definitely staying together, the remaining Bespectacled Lady had already been scared enough and it was more convenient to take care of her if the Short-haired Woman stayed in the same room with her. He was the only one who was cut off from the others, he was truly pitiful.

However, the Bespectacled Lady seemed to be ignorant of Wu Jia’s goodwill as she stood out to say: “I’ll stay in one room alone.” fUHrIi

The Short-haired Woman raised her eyes to glance at the Bespectacled Lady, not uttering a word.

The receptionist slipped away to deal with the check in procedures before she took out four room cards, placing it on the table as she said sweetly, “Have a nice stay!”

There were a total of three floors in the small hotel which was self-constructed and re-modelled. It looked like it was built a long time ago with its old-fashioned installations and walls that were tarnished with indistinguishable yellow stains.

They followed the narrow staircase to go upstairs, and they could even hear the unrestrainable voices of lovers along the way. kC6shY

Upon opening the room door and entering, the simple furnishing could be seen. There was a small bed and the room was suffused with the smell of air fresheners.

Since Shen Dongqing was burdened with a day’s worth of exhaustion, he was not picky and he kicked his shoes away before he curled up on the bed directly. In the end, it was Zhou Wenyan who pulled him up, helping him take off his clothes and wash his face, wrangling with his partner for a period of time before he lied down.

Chrysanthemum Garden.

The single-person bed was narrow; with two grown men lying on top, they were essentially plastered together. Fortunately, the air-conditioner was working so they did not find it too hot.

Shen Dongqing flipped his body over, leaning on Zhou Wenyan’s chest and nuzzling it as he yawned. eLKE1r

Zhou Wenyan patted his back, saying: “Sleep.”

Shen Dongqing slipped into deep slumber.

There were no supernatural incidents at night. He slept very soundly and he only woke up when the shadow cast by the sun was three times longer than the pole.

Meanwhile, Zhou Wenyan had woken up earlier. He sat on the edge of the bed as he continued to scrutinise the signs that they had previously obtained. 4x6haz

Shen Dongqing pushed away the blankets and sat up. Placing his arms on Zhou Wenyan’s shoulders, he leaned over, “What are you thinking about?”

This was one of the rare instances where Zhou Wenyan’s eyebrows were tightly knit. “There are no leads.”

Shen Dongqing brought his face closer as he consoled him, “It’s okay, we can take it slow.”

Humming in response, Zhou Wenyan brought Shen Dongqing into his full embrace. After hugging him for a while, he returned to normal. TDzeQv

After the pair were done washing up, they went downstairs. Wu Jia and the Short-haired Woman had been waiting for them in the main lobby a long time ago.

The Short-haired Woman’s complexion was slightly ugly. “Spectacles is gone.”

The Bespectacled Lady did not stay in the room with the Short-haired Woman last night. Hence, when the Short-haired Woman went over to look for the Bespectacled Lady last night, she found that there was not a single person in the room.

Wu Jia guessed, “Did she encounter a ghost last night?” fE78sL

The Short-haired Woman replied, “Considering the encounters we had last night, the ghosts in this world are very low-tier; even if it was the Bespectacled Lady, she’s still capable of preserving herself for long enough to scream for help. Unless…”

Wu Jia continued speaking for her, “The ghosts have levelled up.”

If the supernatural beings were capable of levelling up, it would be more in line with the S-level game copy’s difficulty.

At this moment, the receptionist at the counter interrupted: “Are all of you talking about the younger woman who was together with you last night?” t2JUV9

The Short-haired Woman: “Yes, the one wearing glasses.”

The receptionist lady replied: “Her? She checked out of her room in the morning and left. She said that she was rushing to attend her classes. Why didn’t you ask earlier?”

Chrysanthemum Garden.

“Impossible!” The Short-haired Woman blurted out.

After realising that she was a player, how could she possibly go back and attend her classes? hcB0tL

The receptionist lady: “What do you mean by impossible? Did all of you get into an argument?”

The Short-haired Woman forced herself to say: “It’s nothing, thanks.”

Wu Jia remarked, “I think we should look for her first.”

The Bespectacled Lady’s behaviour was too strange. Maybe she discovered something. zO7Qj3

Thus, the group left the hotel.

* * *

Originally, they thought that they would have to expend some effort to find the Bespectacled Lady, but they did not expect that not long after they walked out, they would catch a glimpse of the Bespectacled Lady’s figure at an accessory store.

She was together with a group of students, chattering and laughing inside the accessory store. Her appearance from last night, where she was frightened into trembling and shaking because of the ghosts, was nowhere to be seen. H5wvYy

Wu Jia: “Something looks amiss.”

The Short-haired Woman pushed open the store door directly and walked in, making a beeline towards the Bespectacled Lady. Then, she forcefully pulled her out of the group.

The Bespectacled Lady’s reaction was intense, as if she did not recognise the Short-haired Woman at all. She exclaimed in shock: “What are you doing?!”

Her classmates also stepped forward, surrounding the Short-haired Woman. kcnWKi

The Short-haired Woman gritted her teeth: “What’s wrong with you?”

The Bespectacled Lady’s gaze flickered, “What? You

One of the nutrition cabins issued a muffled noise, followed by the entire lid turning open. Zhou Wenyan sat up from the cabin, wiping away the faint green nutrient fluid before he observed his surroundings.

He stood up from the nutrition cabin and his first reaction was to find Shen Dongqing.

It was just that despite looking through the entire testing lab, he did not find Shen Dongqing’s figure. USb9fl

Hewas not here.

Zhou Wenyan could only settle for the second best option, opening Wu Jia’s and the Short-haired Woman’s nutrition cabins first, thus pulling the two of them out and saving them.

Wu Jia conveyed: Many thanks to the Boss for remembering me still.

After the Short-haired Woman stepped out of the nutrition cabin, she lowered her head to look towards the Bespectacled Lady, who was lying there with a smile on her face, appearing as though she was genuinely enjoying her current life. AdWVcD

The Short-haired Woman hesitated for a moment, but she still pressed the button, opening the Bespectacled Lady’s nutrition cabin.

“Wake up—”

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The Bespectacled Lady did not show any reaction.

After trying two times without any results, the Short-haired Woman could only give up and cover the nutrition cabin again. s2WgVk

“So the previous world was fake,” the Short-haired Woman mumbled.

Back when she was struggling with the ghosts, she had considered giving up too, but she did not expect that everything was a fabrication.

If those players knew the truth, would they still make the same choice?

Perhaps they would. fqBGvF

The Short-haired Woman asked, “Right now, we…”

Before she could finish her words, Zhou Wenyan had already opened the large doors and walked out.

Wu Jia shrugged his shoulders, “Let’s find Boss’ partner first.”

Outside the testing lab was a long, long corridor. It was extremely modernised, such that there would be a 360° surveillance camera that had no dead angles every few steps. tsmv4W

When Zhou Wenyan appeared in the surveillance cameras’ range, red lights appeared.

【 Warning, Warn— 】

The voice abruptly halted.

The strands of black fog wrapping around Zhou Wenyan’s fingertips had directly twisted off the surveillance camera. EIdVTX

Following that, the surveillance cameras in the corridors fell down like rain, crackling and rattling as they smashed into the ground, broken into pieces.

Zhou Wenyan stepped on the wreckage left behind by one of the surveillance cameras, causing it to issue a teeth-grating noise as he continued to forge ahead. The white incandescent lights shone down from the ceiling, landing on one side of Zhou Wenyan’s face, making him appear more sunken, cold, and harsh.

Wu Jia shrank his head. “The Boss is starting to become serious.”

2H My3