Chapter 196: Outside the Gate

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Protagonist:

Jiang Xuan

Feeling the changes in his body, the eight people who had originally grown accustomed to their weak bodies felt complex emotions as they sensed their superhuman physiques.

Regaining their strength meant their leisurely life belonging to them was over; they had to return to the normal rhythm of the game, for they did not belong here.

"Ayala! Can you let me see what you look like?"

"Ayala, are you still there?"

……

Geng Fan looked at the iron-linked exoskeleton gauntlet on his hand, sitting on the chair in a daze staring at his phone, the light gradually gathering in his eyes growing dimmer and dimmer.

The memories of these past ten-plus years occupied half of all his memories, like warm sunlight covering his previous scars, making him momentarily forget the cruelty and pain.

But now, the cruelty behind the gentleness emerged, like the pain of tearing open a scar, deeply engraved in his heart, making him unable to help but hesitate and be in a trance.

"Dong dong dong!" The regular and powerful knocking forcibly pulled his thoughts back; the new folding phone in front of him, the only one able to receive information from outside the courtyard, continued to ring nonstop, on it was a girl he met online, eagerly awaiting his reply.

"Who?" Geng Fan steadied himself, looking coldly toward outside the gate.

The knocking outside the gate stopped, and a youthful voice sounding sunny and cheerful came: "I am Ayala, a player of this game. Everyone has gathered together to prepare for a meeting, inviting you to come along!"

Geng Fan hesitated for a moment, then replied: "I understand!"

Looking at the phone still buzzing nonstop, Geng Fan without hesitation stood up and walked toward outside the gate.

When he arrived at the only courtyard in the yard where people could sit around, everyone else had already arrived.

The atmosphere on site was very stifling.

Seeing the last player also arrive, everyone had heavy hearts and kept their heads down, with no one willing to be the first to stick their neck out.

Geng Fan took this opportunity to carefully observe everyone around him.

Besides that new bean sprout who called him over, looking like they had completely sunk into a house-playing game, there were also two men holding their phones replying to messages, immersed in their own worlds, foolishly happy.

Of these two men, one wore a white shirt, his dense chest hair faintly visible, but his gleeful expression completely covered his original wildness; the other was a standard shut-in, squinting his eyes and swiftly swiping his phone, inside which seemed to be the world where he existed.

The other two men truly kept their heads down, not looking at their phones, but also having no desire to speak.

Because their faces could not be seen, their personalities could only be observed through their simple clothing.

One person wearing a hat almost covered his entire face, dressed casually and appearing to have no special equipment unique to himself, but such people could also be the type of pig-eating-tiger.

The other person was quietly the opposite, fully armed, playing with a knife in his hand that still had fresh blood on it, as if intimidating those around him not to have any crooked thoughts.

Geng Fan raised an eyebrow, instantly seeing that the opponent might be the softest persimmon in this game.

Those who often kill people know that generally after finishing, they should wipe off the blood; carrying dried blood not only makes the knife dull, but also makes the next person develop vigilance.

So having blood rust on the knife means either the opponent lacks confidence in his own strength and wants to rely on this specifically to intimidate others; or he hasn't killed many people. In any case, his strength and foundation absolutely cannot be strong.

If the upcoming confrontation truly requires killing, then this knife-wielding man is definitely a good target.

Unlike the men, three women sat together, as if temporarily forming an alliance to deal with whatever might happen next.

Of the three women, two were blonde with blue eyes, and one had black pupils and black hair; the three sat together smiling, chatting quietly.

Seeing the meeting fall into silence, Ayala lightly coughed and stood up: "Everyone feels our strength has returned! By rights, it should be time for us to confront! But this space did not release new rules immediately, meaning there are currently no changes at all! I think we can temporarily maintain the status quo and wait until the rules change before speaking!"

"What if the rules don't change?" The black-haired woman wore a full-body shaping outfit, quietly looking at Ayala.

"If the rules don't change, we don't need to confront to clear the game, right? Everyone can enjoy a perfect life, and after it ends, everyone can get rewards, with no danger to life!" Ayala's eyes held joy.

The moment his strength returned, he had already believed this game might truly be some kind of reward!

The black-haired girl turned to look at the girls on both sides, her eyes holding inquiry.

Seeing the two girls nod, the black-haired girl lightly nodded: "I am Fang Wenya; we three all agree!"

Ayala's face lit up with joy, turning to look at the several men beside him on both sides; they had already raised their heads when Ayala spoke, except for that shut-in phone-addict middle-aged man.

The hat-wearing man's face held a sinister smile, scanning around like he was viewing prey, merely pausing for a few seconds on Geng Fan, and said with an evil smile: "I am Martin; I have no problem! Having played several rounds of games, being able to have a reward rest round is not bad!"

"It's just unknown whether the world outside the courtyard is real or fake!" Martin said meaningfully, then lowered his head again.

The knife-wielding youth beside him had a flash of longing in his eyes, raising his head without hiding his emotions, agreeing: "Although I'm not afraid of confrontation, being able to rest and get rewards for nothing is also not bad!"

The shut-in cared not at all about everyone's discussion, merely raising his hand perfunctorily and saying "I agree too!"

The chest-hair man laughed heartily: "Hope this round is truly a reward game; if you run into trouble, you can come find me Taser!"

Seeing almost everyone agree to his proposal, Ayala looked at Geng Fan with expectant eyes.

Geng Fan slightly nodded: "If no new rules are issued, I will not take action!"

Although judging by his experience of over ten games, the possibility of no new rules being added was low, he still agreed.

It must be said, although reason told him that judging by his experience of over ten games, there was no game for enjoyment, his heart still couldn't help but harbor a sense of wishful thinking.

What if? What if this game is different?

The brief gathering soon separated; even when they only had mortal strength, they were unwilling to gather together, let alone now that they had all regained their memories.

But what they didn't expect was that the Main God of this game seemed to have disappeared, with no new rules issued and no one disturbing their lives; everything seemed as if it had never changed, and the things in this courtyard had never changed either.

They were twenty-eight years old!

Since Ayala tried being able to buy anything online, and the next day someone would specially open the courtyard gate to deliver all the purchased items, he began actively renovating the room belonging to him and his parents.

"Ayala, renovating your house again?" A middle-aged woman walked by, naturally greeting Ayala who was standing on a stool working.

"En! Auntie, you're back so early today!" Ayala politely responded; she was the mother of that knife-wielding youth. Although the players rarely communicated with each other, they would chat a few words about everyone's parents when meeting!

The woman laughed: "Nothing much at the company today, so they gave me a holiday early!"

After speaking, the woman had already walked past Ayala's doorstep, walking toward her own home.

Ayala heard the word Company, and his gaze gradually grew deep.

Is this world really fake? The Company, the internet, World News, everyone you meet in chat—all have blood and flesh, with their own lives, plans, and hopes in their descriptions!

He couldn't help but look toward the closed Courtyard Gate; every time it opened, he could see the world outside with its car traffic!

Is all this fake?

Ayala rubbed the Hammer that felt sore, regained his senses, gave up continuing to think, and instead seriously nailed nails.

He had renovated this Home inside and out, with two Partitions, Dry-wet Separation, and a clean exterior, making him enjoy this calm busyness more and more.

Whether the outside of the Courtyard is real or not, this world is already too good! Except for Imprisonment forbidding leaving the Courtyard, almost everything else is perfect!

"Ding ding ding!" As the sound of nailing nails into the door panel echoed in the Courtyard, a Scream quickly covered the Hammer's sound resounding through the whole Courtyard, that gentle and elegant middle-aged woman ran out from a room not far away, the terror in her eyes causing Ayala's heart to involuntarily rise with panic.

For some reason, when hearing this Scream, he felt his whole body turning cold, that bone-chilling cold made his head automatically Amplify this Scream, and his blood slowed down.

He had an inexplicable Premonition that the good life in this Courtyard ends here!

A full Thirty Years!

The middle-aged woman, as if finding support, charged straight toward Ayala; the fear on her face seemed branded into his heart, making him stop thinking for a moment.

"Ayala! My son is dead! He lies in a Blood Pool! Did you see anyone enter my Home?" The woman's voice trembled; after the fear, Tears fell in large drops, heavily striking the ground, making the whole world ripple.

Ayala barely recovered his thinking; he had been buying construction materials at his own Home all morning, only coming out in the afternoon to Install and replace Door Frames; besides him, he had never seen anyone leave their own Room.

"Ma'am! I came out this afternoon and didn't see your son! We should call the police right away!"

"Right right right!" The middle-aged woman walked toward outside the Courtyard step by step.

The Scream made all players walk out of their Rooms, and they all heard the two's chat; many looked at Ayala with Suspicion in their eyes.

"Someone died!" Taser Scanned everyone: "Why kill? Didn't we agree to pass this Game peacefully?"

The sinister hat-wearing youth Martin stood in the Distance laughing: "I predicted long ago that someone would die! At the First Meeting I already reminded you! Is the world outside the Courtyard Gate real or fake? Aren't you willing to open the door and look yourselves?"

Ayala heard this, looking at the Gate that closed just as the woman walked out of the Courtyard; an icy cold body, from where he didn't know, surged with strength, and he strode to beside the Courtyard Gate, placing his hand on the Door Handle!

A system voice sounded in his mind:

"The world outside the door! Just sacrifice any one life of the Courtyard Residents! You can go outside the Courtyard to the place you want to stay for Twelve Hours! Time cannot be Accumulated!"

After hearing the information in his mind, Ayala's heart involuntarily surfaced a thought: he wanted to go see the world outside the Courtyard!

If possible, he wanted to take his parents out for a walk; his parents had always hoped to take him Mountain Climbing and Camping together, even just once! Seeing Sunrise and Sunset would be good too!

Just need someone else's life!

Since the knife-wielding man is already dead, can't his parents at night...

Ayala withdrew his hand and fiercely Slapped himself a Big Slap, but the chill in his heart became even harder to suppress, even making him forget to walk; indescribable fear like the Deep Sea drowned him, pressure, Darkness, Suffocation swarming in.

Even someone who has only experienced Two Games, whose mindset is still Optimistic, and who has decided to pass this Game peacefully for a lifetime, actually wants to kill because of a Twelve Hours Experience Card!

What about the others? Those who have experienced several games, or even more than ten games?

They could endure Darkness, but now they have seen light!

Even if the light is so Short-lived, it will make them rush toward it like moths to a flame!

Those Numb people have not lost the heart to yearn for Happiness; they have just suppressed all emotions in the Depths of their hearts, and the power when it bursts forth will be how terrifying!

Seeing Ayala Stunned standing at Yuan Di, others also Walked Forward one after another, grabbing the Door Handle, quietly Digesting this message of only a dozen or so characters.

In the Distance, Martin's sinister smile on his face had already Collected, and instead he was seriously observing the remaining six people gathered at the Gate; a trace of Heaviness flashed in his eyes.

The six people's expressions did not look fake, as if they really had not Touched the Gate!

But the key to the problem is, the knife-wielding youth really wasn't killed by him, although he also Prepared to make a move!

This shows that one person among them is hiding very deep; that person wants to push him, who proposed this Proposal, into the spotlight! While he attracts others' attention, continue killing!

After a long while, everyone Tacitly withdrew from the Gate to a position that could briefly guarantee their own safety, looking around with Scrutiny in their eyes; of course, the most attention still fell on Martin.

"Hey! Don't look at me like that! If it really was me who made a move, I wouldn't remind you of this news! And before the First Meeting I already Discovered this Hidden Rule; if I wanted to make a move, I would have done it long ago!" Martin spread his hands and loudly argued.

"Maybe you couldn't use it before, but suddenly have the Desire to go out now?" Ayala Stared at Martin, a Dagger already pinched in his hand; with his current strength, crossing the Courtyard was only a matter of one second.

But the atmosphere of the whole Courtyard changed because of this sentence from Ayala!

Others did not echo his words!

The air fell into Silence!

A Heavy aura Spread throughout the whole Courtyard! (Chapter End)