Transformed into a heartthrob's simp, every day is a battleground.

Chapter 29 Dying in excruciating pain

When Yan Xun saw Gui Yuchong through the peephole, he hesitated for a moment before opening the door to room 504.

Upon seeing Yan Xun, Gui Yuchong immediately showed a relieved expression, putting down the kitchen knife in his hand. "I was so scared just now."

"I think everyone else should be afraid of you," Yan Xun thought to himself, but he would never say that out loud, so he just pretended to be concerned and asked, "Why aren't you staying in your room?"

He should have kept quiet; once he asked, Gui Yuchong almost burst into tears on the spot.

“Those things came right in,” he told Yan Xun, his voice trembling slightly, perhaps from fear. “...I escaped when they weren’t looking.”

"That's terrifying."

Yan Xun: "..."

If he hadn't just retrieved Gui Yuchong's body, he probably would have thought the man was truly innocent. But after learning that the man wasn't alive, seeing him act like this suddenly felt very strange.

Li Wu naturally knew that Gui Yuchong was not human. He looked at Gui Yuchong—

Perhaps noticing his gaze, Gui Yuchong looked up from beside Yan Xun, looked at Li Wu, and then smiled at him.

Then she clung to Yan Xun as if she couldn't bear to leave his side, looking so scared that she didn't dare to move an inch.

Feeling nauseous, Li Wu thought to himself, seeing this freak putting on such a show really makes me want to vomit.

Shen Rui was completely oblivious to the strange atmosphere in the room. His brain was so smooth that he couldn't retain any information. He was just leaning over, panting, and said, "We just went around several more layers before we finally shook off those things."

"The security guard from our room came too." He pointed to himself and Su Yumin, then said to Yan Xun, "He said you found a clue?"

"What clue?"

Su Yumin took out his diary, looked at the crowded room, and finally said to Yan Xun, "The clue is here."

"What clues did you find?"

Yan Xun had told him on the phone that they had also discovered some clues.

Room 504 wasn't very big to begin with, and it became even more crowded after accommodating five people.

Yan Xun pulled out two newspapers he had found earlier. "The clues we're looking for are here."

"Us?" Su Yumin looked at Yan Xun and Li Wu. "I haven't even asked yet, why are you in 504?"

"Is this place deserted?"

"You planned this together?"

Yan Xun really didn't understand why this person was speaking in a tone that said, "You're excluding me and not including me in your group."

They act like they're really close, even though they're the kind of people who would stab each other in the back, yet they're pretending to be best buddies.

"Yeah, why are you two together?" Gui Yuchong asked curiously. "Did you plan to come to 504 together?"

Why didn't you tell me?

He was about to burst into tears as he spoke, "...Actually, I can also help in some way."

Yan Xun looked at Gui Yuchong with a subtle expression, not understanding why this "person" loved to act so much, no matter where he was.

"We didn't make plans," he said.

"It was just a coincidence."

"I went to 508." When Yan Xun said this, he didn't dare to look at Gui Yuchong. His acting skills weren't that good, and he was worried that he might accidentally give himself away.

Unexpectedly, he ignored Gui Yuchong, but Gui Yuchong persisted, bringing his face close to Yan Xun's. "508?"

"Isn't this the room where we first appeared?"

He stared at Yan Xun. "What clues did you find?"

He had a face that was extremely similar to that of Gui Yuchong. If the deceased Gui Yuchong was younger, then he was clearly the more mature version. His gaze followed Yan Xun's lips to his eyes... Yan Xun's pupils were very light, and when he looked down at people, he always gave people an impression of impatience. Because of his pale complexion, the dark circles under his eyes were also more obvious.

He stared at Yan Xun, his gaze like spider silk, binding him tightly. "What clues did you find? Hmm?"

Yan Xun reached out and pressed his face against his, preventing him from getting any closer. "You're too close."

Yan Xun's fingers were long and had distinct knuckles, but perhaps because of some injuries, some areas were severely red... He pressed his palm against Gui Yuchong's face and pushed him away, but the movement still inevitably touched Gui Yuchong's lips.

It was icy cold, reminiscent of the skin temperature of well water in summer.

A chill ran down Yan Xun's spine. He lowered his hand and casually put it in his pocket. "I haven't had time to look for it yet."

"And here comes this unlucky fellow."

He could clearly see the slight regret in Gui Yuchong's eyes, as if if there were no other players around, the other party would not hesitate to bite off his hand and swallow it whole.

This association made him clench his fist, but on the surface he still seemed oblivious to the danger posed by Gui Yuchong.

"504 is that unlucky guy's room."

He gestured for everyone to look at the private room, "After Li Wu and I dealt with that thing, we came here."

Shen Rui had a look of sudden realization on his face. "No wonder you two were here."

"Is Pei Xingyan still locked up?" He remembered Li Wu's roommate.

When Li Wu left the small room, the other person was still there. Pei Xingyan did not return to 1101 afterwards, so Li Wu did not know where the other person was now.

He is only responsible for assessing the other party's level of competence, not for acting as a babysitter to help them pass the test, so he doesn't care where the other party is now.

So when Shen Rui asked him, he simply shook his head and said, "I don't know."

What a cold and aloof man! Shen Rui pondered.

He looked at the few people in room 504.

Li Wu—what a cold and indifferent man.

Gui Yuchong – He seems weak and unreliable.

Su Yumin – Pure neurotic, impossible to communicate with.

Yan Xun—the only good person.

Without even thinking, Shen Rui had already chosen sides. He silently approached Yan Xun and asked, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"What can you do to help?" Su Yumin asked at this moment, looking Shen Rui up and down like a picky eunuch, finding fault with everything about him. "Did you find the clues? And you're going to help?"

"I can run errands for Brother Yan!" After deciding to curry favor with him, Shen Rui immediately called him "brother," acting very familiar with him.

"Shameless," Su Yumin thought, feeling that this person had no shame in order to curry favor with someone powerful.

Gui Yuchong looked at Shen Rui with even more confusion, not understanding why this person was even calling him "brother." "...Brother Yan?" He pondered Shen Rui's form of address for a moment, then looked at Yan Xun, "Is he younger than you?"

"This is out of respect! Do you understand?" Shen Rui was afraid that Yan Xun would abandon him and make him team up with these three. "Besides, we don't judge people by age. Whoever is stronger is definitely the eldest brother."

"Ha." Su Yumin actually laughed this time, but his expression quickly returned. He looked at Yan Xun and said, "You really want this kind of idiot as your underling?"

Yan Xun felt as if she were on a farm.

All around him were chickens, ducks, and geese making noises and saying things he couldn't understand at all—he didn't understand why Shen Rui thought he was a big shot.

"The clue I found is related to the owner of the room." Yan Xun pushed away Shen Rui, who was leaning close to him, and spread the newspaper out in front of everyone. "He is the owner of room 504..."

Sharing this part of the clues was the result of his recent discussion with Li Wu.

There are too many rooms here for them to explore, so exchanging and sharing some clues was a decision he and Li Wu made together.

After Yan Xun finished speaking, he looked at Su Yumin, who seemed to be lost in thought.

Perhaps he was too lazy to act, Su Yumin didn't have a smile on his face at the moment. His facial features were deep, and when he smiled, he gave people the feeling of a smiling tiger. Now that he didn't smile, under the shadow of the light, he inevitably gave people a gloomy and damp impression.

He lowered his eyes and gazed at Yan Xun, who was looking up at him.

"I'm only telling you this."

He glanced at the others and said, "I can't learn to share."

Yan Xun shrugged and walked to Su Yumin's side. "The kitchen, or..."

Room 504 is not large; the only places where one can have a private conversation are the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom.

"Bedroom." Su Yumin glanced at the semi-transparent glass of the kitchen, not thinking it was a good place to exchange information.

Yan Xun didn't care where they talked. Once he saw that Su Yumin had decided on the location, he turned and walked into bedroom 504.

……

Messy was Yan Xun's impression of this bedroom.

He glanced at the packing sheet lying on the bed, not even wanting to go near it. Li Wu had already searched this place before but found no useful clues. He looked at Su Yumin, who had followed him into the bedroom and then closed the door, and asked, "Where are your clues?"

Su Yumin seemed to find the place too dirty and messy. He leaned against the bedroom door, unwilling to go any closer. When he heard Yan Xun's words, he simply threw the diary in his hand to him, saying, "It's all here."

Yan Xun took it and began to read it.

The diary entries were short, taking less than a minute to read... When he reached the last date, he looked at Su Yumin and asked, "What do you think is the reason he stopped writing?"

What could be the reason?

"Either you die, or you get replaced."

Su Yumin spoke bluntly, "Didn't you also see the newspaper in room 504?"

Seemingly disgusted by the place, Su Yumin wouldn't even take another step forward. He merely glanced at the room and said, "He's seen the owner of room 504 in the building."

"But I also saw the counterfeit in the newspaper."

"They both exist simultaneously."

Yan Xun also noticed this point mentioned in the diary: the people in room 504 were forced to come to the Meimei Building because they were replaced by fake people.

But Shen Rui in the diary seems to have been replaced as well.

The location of the copy was limited to the Mei Mei Building, proving that they could definitely find all the clues there.

"Is the TV in your room still working?" Yan Xun asked Su Yumin.

"I can't watch any programs."

The computer in the room couldn't access the internet, and although the mobile phones could send messages and make calls, they were only usable by a few players.

Yan Xun looked through all the messages on his phone. There were no chats with anyone else, his social relationships were completely blank, and even basic payment information was missing, as if it had all been deleted not long ago.

Yan Xun did not forget that "he" did not need to eat.

The trail ends here.

However, Yan Xun was not in a hurry. There were still a few days left before the dungeon ended, so they could continue looking for clues.

Su Yumin remained calm, showing no sign of anxiety... as if the other party was certain that he had a way to leave the instance.

Yan Xun handed the diary to Su Yumin and prepared to leave, but the other person was blocking the bedroom door. Yan Xun had to ask the other person to move aside before he could leave. "Excuse me? Could you move aside?"

"What did you find in 508?" Su Yumin asked directly without waiting for a reply.

"We didn't find anything," Yan Xun said.

Su Yumin took a pendant out of his pocket. "A disposable prop. Use it to find another clue."

As he spoke, he placed the item in Yan Xun's hand, seemingly unconcerned that the other party might take the prop and run away.

Yan Xun glanced down at the props—

I am your father!

[One-time use skill! But please use with caution. This item will cause the user to fall into one of two states depending on their past experiences: obedience or berserk!]

[If you're lucky, your opponent will become a docile lamb; if you're unlucky, they'll unleash their maximum rage and tear you to shreds!]

Yan Xun: "..."

To be honest, he felt he wasn't very lucky.

But having props is better than having none, and besides, the discovery of 508 isn't something that can't be discussed.

Yan Xun weighed the options for a moment, then simply put the props in his pocket. He glanced at the door behind Su Yumin, considered the danger level of Gui Yuchong in the room, and finally beckoned to Su Yumin with his finger.

"Come closer to my ear."

Su Yumin glanced at him a few times, but finally moved closer to Yan Xun.

As he got closer, he heard Yan Xun whisper in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Among the players, there is one who is not human."

After Yan Xun finished speaking, he stepped back a little.

"The rest is at a different price," he said, spreading his hands.

Su Yumin then put on that fake smile again, "It seems you really did find something good in 508."

He didn't ask Yan Xun how he determined who the replaced player was. There were only two methods: either a player's body was found in room 508, or it was discovered through other clues.

Seeing Yan Xun's confident and fearless demeanor, he knew that it was most likely the first method.

—He and Li Wu discovered the body and somehow hid it.

And it's a place that no one else can find.

"Let me guess who it is?" Su Yumin suddenly asked.

This person must be hiding among the guests.

He knew he definitely wasn't one of them, and neither did Li Wu or Yan Xun, so the only remaining suspects were their roommates.

Shen Rui observed that most of them were complete novices.

The fact that a high-ranking guild member like Li Wu suddenly entered an intermediate-level dungeon is most likely to test new recruits, and Pei Xingyan is probably one of those new recruits he's testing...

"Gui Yuchong?" Su Yumin said the name.

He looked at Yan Xun and, seeing that Yan Xun did not avoid his gaze, immediately knew that he had guessed correctly.

"Is this buy one get one free?" Su Yumin asked, not expecting an answer from Yan Xun.

His gaze involuntarily fell on Yan Xun's back. Although there was nothing there at the moment, he knew that the clues Yan Xun had discovered were in his backpack space.

Su Yumin had never heard of a new player having such a large backpack space. Even some veteran players could only fit a few small items in their backpacks.

He didn't ask any further questions, not even what Yan Xun had gained in room 508. He just chatted casually, holding the bedroom doorknob with one hand, and said to Yan Xun, "You can hide the props in your backpack space."

"But you have to hide it well."

He turned back to Yan Xun and said meaningfully, "I've seen someone whose backpack space was opened while they were still alive."

"The backpack space is connected to your soul... It feels like a hand is reaching into your body, rummaging and probing." He opened the bedroom door and said these threatening words with a smile.

"Those who had their backpacks opened while they were conscious all died in excruciating pain."