Volume One: First Arrival in the City Chapter Sixty-Eight: Rising Difficulty

Lu Ningyu and the others wailed endlessly until sunrise before finally falling silent. By then, their bodies were covered in wounds, and Lu Yi could not tell whether these injuries would deepen and eventually claim their lives. Fortunately, such a thing did not happen. The entire morning passed peacefully in the hospital, and even the three of them did not once again enter that peculiar dream.

Time slipped into the afternoon. Suddenly, a fierce wind began to howl outside the hospital. Lu Yi and his companions stayed in their room, watching the disaster warning broadcast on television.

“This really feels like the final act of a disaster movie,” Xu Anxuan remarked casually, lifting a cup of water to her lips.

“Exactly. If we were still outside, there would be countless threats in this storm that could easily kill us,” Li Xinran sighed.

Lu Yi parted his lips, about to speak, when suddenly a prompt from the City sounded in his mind.

“Warning, warning. Due to the actions of the Trial Participants in this world, the difficulty of the current mission has increased. According to the City’s calculations, the number of people who can survive until the end of the mission will not exceed two. The main task is now being changed:

You will now face the final crisis of this mission—The Great Storm. Within the storm, there are two entities intent on taking your lives. Objective: Survive until 5:30 p.m.

When the mission time ends, all attacks will cease immediately.

Now, all Trial Participants will have one negative status removed, free of charge.”

As the City’s prompt finished, Jia Jun immediately sat up in bed, and the others awoke as well.

“Please note: Increased mission difficulty is not within the usual scope of the City’s notifications; this special alert is only for the unique circumstances of a rookie trial. In the future, similar notices will not be issued. Please remember this.”

“What’s going on?” Jia Jun, who had just awakened from what he could not tell was a dream or unconsciousness, quickly glanced at his watch and then cried out in alarm.

“Mission difficulty increased!” Jia Jun’s exclamation drew the attention of Lu Ningyu and the others, who, upon seeing the City’s prompt, were equally shocked.

“Let’s go find the veteran Trial Participants,” Xiao Wen shouted, steadying the panicked group.

“Yes, let’s go find the veterans. We can’t stay here,” Lu Ningyu and Jia Jun immediately agreed.

“No,” Li Xinran quickly blocked their way. “The weather outside has changed. It’s too dangerous to go out now. It’s still safer to stay here.”

At first, seeing Li Xinran blocking them, Lu Ningyu and the others wore complicated expressions, still recalling their disgraceful behavior in the dream. But as soon as Li Xinran said this place was safe, their faces changed.

“Get out of the way.” Xiao Wen pulled Li Xinran aside. “Xinran, you’ve found backing, so you think it’s safe here. But it’s different for us. If we stay, we’ll die. Only by finding the veteran Trial Participants and sticking together do we have a chance to survive.”

Xu Anxuan and Lu Yi were both somewhat surprised at Xiao Wen’s words. The difference between Xiao Wen now and in the dream was stark. If she had shown even half this composure in the dream, the outcome might have been different.

Lu Yi and Xu Anxuan could never have imagined that the reason for Xiao Wen and the others’ disgraceful display was entirely due to the fear spell cast by the veteran participants.

Andur, seeking to break the seal, had guided them in the dream, causing the fear spell—originally set to erupt that night—to be triggered early and completely. That was why they behaved so poorly in the dream, but were now back to normal.

Xiao Wen shoved Li Xinran aside and dashed out the door, with Jia Jun close behind, along with the girl whose name Lu Yi still could not remember. Lu Ningyu, however, unexpectedly chose to stay behind.

“Xiao Wen.” Li Xinran wanted to say something, but Xu Anxuan was the first to stand up. “I’ll go after them.”

With that, Xu Anxuan hurried out, soon catching up to the group at the hospital entrance. “Xiao Wen, listen to me—this place really isn’t dangerous at all.”

As she spoke, Xu Anxuan rushed through the hospital doors. The wind outside had grown fierce—some small trees had already been uprooted and were being dragged along the ground by the gale.

Xu Anxuan shouted with all her might, but amidst the howling wind, her voice was pitifully weak, barely audible even to herself.

Just then, a severed power line whipped through the air and wrapped itself around the neck of the unnamed girl. Xiao Wen’s face blanched at the sight. Without needing to speak, she already knew what words would have been uttered. She grabbed Jia Jun and fled with the wind, as far away as possible.

Xu Anxuan glanced at Xiao Wen and Jia Jun’s retreating figures, then at the girl lying on the ground. Gritting her teeth, she prepared to rush over and help.

But at that moment, a statue atop the hospital suddenly toppled. If not for her awakened innate sense, which had sharpened her reflexes, Xu Anxuan might have been crushed to death on the spot.

After the statue fell, a black, eggshell-like barrier slowly rose around the hospital.

Xu Anxuan immediately sensed the change behind her. When she turned back toward the girl on the ground, the girl had vanished in the blink of an eye.

Xu Anxuan hurried back, darting inside just as the black shell was about to close around the hospital.

Meanwhile, Lu Yi and the others inside also noticed a change in their surroundings. To Lu Yi’s horror, burn marks began to spread across the hospital walls, and clouds of ash were inexplicably swept up by some unseen force.

The ash stung their eyes and noses unbearably. Lu Yi could only cover his nose and close his eyes, but the ash grew thicker, heavy flakes falling upon him.

He did not know how much time had passed before he realized the acrid smell was gone. Opening his eyes, he saw at once that his surroundings had changed.

He was no longer in the hospital, but in the house from the trailer he’d seen before entering the Trial World.

“I’ve been waiting for you, betrayer.” A calm, emotionless voice sounded behind him.

Lu Yi turned to see Andur seated on a nearby chair.

“What… What’s going on? Wasn’t he already dead?” Lu Ningyu cried out, pointing at Andur.

Andur cast her a glance, then turned his gaze back to Lu Yi. “Well? You haven’t forgotten my face, I hope.” As he spoke, he tugged lightly at his own cheek.

“No, I still remember.” Lu Yi, sensing the danger, drew his gun as he spoke, but before he could pull the trigger, a hand clamped down on his. In the blink of an eye, Andur was standing right in front of him.

“So you do remember,” Andur said, burn scars blossoming across his face. “Then you remember our promise too. Why did you betray me?”