anovelconsole Chapter 1701 - 44: This Is Your Second Regret: The Friends You Never Met
Chapter 1701 - 44: This Is Your Second Regret: The Friends You Never Met
The first image is Flying Chess. The second image is a hazy fog that reminds one of a horror game. The third image resembles an old game console.Professional match, Su Ming’an chose the second. As for the first and third, one relied too much on luck, and the other he wasn’t familiar with.
"Swish!"
...
[Selection complete, your second round of the game begins.]
...
The next moment, Su Ming’an appeared in a dimly lit room.
Underfoot, the wooden floorboards creaked, and beside him was a bed with dried blood stains, reminiscent of the scenery of White Sand Paradise. From the window, it seemed to be a small wooden three-story building, and the other players were likely scattered throughout different parts of the wooden building.
...
"Ding dong!"
[Participant (Su Ming’an), your second round of the game is: Horror Grandma.]
[Game type: Independent game. Participants can cooperate, compete, or stay undisrupted by each other.]
[Number of players: 10]
[Game introduction: There is a terrifying grandma in this wooden building who has lost the ability to recognize people and will seek out and kill any "grandchildren" she sees. She is extremely sensitive to sound but has weaker vision compared to normal people. Your physical strength and abilities are limited to the level of an ordinary person, and you must successfully escape within an hour.]
[Three escape exits exist in this building: the main door, the back door, and the tunnel.]
[Main door escape method: After finding the key, search and open the main door. Grandma can close the main door again, and she will hide the key in a place she likes.]
[Back door escape method: Find the car stored in the wooden building, use its battery to lift the grate of the back door, start the car to crash through the door to leave. This method can only accommodate two people in the driver and passenger seats to escape.]
[Tunnel opening method: Gather three scattered wooden boards to repair the tunnel in the basement. Grandma can destroy the repaired tunnel, requiring another wooden board to repair before passing through.]
[Special escape method: By searching the wooden building and finding items like "Grandma’s Diary," piecing together the background story of the building can clear the game.]
[Game victory rules: Leaving the wooden building through any exit means that the participant has won. After one hour, the wooden building will turn into a sea of fire and become inescapable.]
...
[Each player carries a special prop.]
[Participant (Su Ming’an), your special prop is: Map.]
...
Su Ming’an remained silent for a moment.
...This is really his old trade. This is the type of horror game he is most skilled at streaming. Although both the map and the escape methods have dramatically changed, he has a lot of experience.
Is it really the Lord of Dreams targeting him with additional content? Or is it the automatic mechanism of the Source Point?
He pulled out his prop — a building blueprint, three floors above ground, one floor underground. The map was quite simple, showing only the name of each room and the location of the stairs.
In horror games, the most needed things besides weapons are maps. It ensures that players being chased by ghosts don’t run into dead ends. Su Ming’an memorized it quickly, then rolled it up and put it in his chest. This item was more precious than gold. As the trial reached this point, he had to stay vigilant for enemies in the dark.
Among the three escape routes, the main door route only required a key, but the key might be hidden in tricky places by grandma.
The car route’s position might be fixed in the basement, and starting the car would not be quiet, but it was stable.
The tunnel route was too unpredictable, requiring the collection of three wooden boards from unknown locations, so it was basically not considered.
"Click."
Suddenly, it went dark.
No... all the lights in the wooden building turned off. It wasn’t complete darkness, just enough to see a small circle of distance in front of him.
The game had begun.
Su Ming’an took off his shoes, leaving only socks, to reduce the sound of his footsteps. Grandma’s hearing was extremely sensitive, and the floorboards creaked everywhere.
In a half-open drawer on the bedside table, his fingers touched a small object — a rusty Phillips screwdriver. He put it in his pocket, noticing a flash in the corner of the wall, which turned out to be a needle.
He put the screwdriver in his pants pocket, hid the needle in his sleeve, and found by the door a scribble of charcoal:
"They all seem to have blood on them, I dare not touch them anymore. Whenever I pick up the scalpel, I see that patient’s face..." In close proximity, he could clearly read these words.
...
[You have obtained Clue Three: Writing on the Wall.]
...
This should be the fourth escape route, piecing together the background story here to clear the game. But such an escape method had too much uncertainty. Su Ming’an planned to try the car escape route.
He unexpectedly found the tension and excitement of when he first entered the World Game during the final period, as if playing a real-life horror game. He quietly crept to the door, pressing his ear on the old wooden door, and held his breath.
Outside the door was a corridor, dead silent. Only occasionally did the house make creaking wood sounds.
He slowly pressed down the door handle, opening a crack. The corridor was dark, with only a small window at the end letting in a bit of dim light. There were several similar doors on both sides of the corridor, all tightly closed.
Just as he was about to side-step out the door—
"Bang!"
A sound like something heavy falling came from somewhere downstairs! In the extremely silent environment, it was no less than a thunderclap!
Immediately, an old, hoarse, non-human-like female voice sharply pierced the silence:
"My dear——grand——son——!"
...Grandma is here.
Su Ming’an’s heart tightened, which meant a player carelessly made a noise and was discovered by grandma.
Almost in the next second after grandma’s voice sounded, Su Ming’an heard the sound of panicked footsteps from downstairs, along with a young man’s unconcealable terrified low cry: "Don’t come over! Ah——!"
"Creak——bang!" It seemed like the sound of knocking over furniture and slamming doors.
Then, a series of creepy footsteps moved over! Accompanied by the groaning of the wooden floor.
...Now’s the time!
Su Ming’an slipped out of the room and sprinted down the corridor, his bare feet stepping on the wooden floor, creating a piercing sound that made one frown!
However, the noise downstairs was even louder! In an instant, the whole building became lively, like numerous pots and pans making sounds simultaneously, several footsteps from different floors thumped, thumped, thumped, all running! This tacit footstep made people laugh and cry, and the silent wooden building instantly became a bustling marketplace. Those who dared to choose this game were very bold, none of them stayed in the room, but instead seized this chance to run!
"Thump thump thump, thump thump thump!"
At the end of the corridor was a staircase leading down, and as Su Ming’an leaned over to look down, he could vaguely see the outline of furniture in the dimly lit first-floor living room like crouching monsters. He heard a sudden, short scream from the other side.
...
[Remaining Participants: 9/10]
...
...Direct reduction in numbers? No resurrection mechanism?
Su Ming’an quickly descended a floor, realizing something very important — he needed to move fast. As participants decreased, the difficulty would increase. If only two were left, escape would be nearly impossible.
He could deduce that he was on the second floor because he had just seen a staircase leading upward, and on this floor, he could see the sky outside the window.
He held his breath, bare feet on the cold floor, and moved along the wall.
Suddenly, a loud crash above his head on the second floor sounded like heavy furniture being toppled, followed by a series of panic-stricken footsteps.
"Damn it! She’s coming up! Run!" A man’s shout vaguely reached him.
Almost simultaneously, Su Ming’an heard footsteps quickly approaching from the depths of the first floor — from the direction of the dining room. Grandma, attracted by the noise upstairs, was heading for the stairs.
He immediately ducked behind a cabinet in the living room, from which angle he could just glimpse the dining room entrance. He saw a hunched figure in a dark floral dress dash past, dragging an ax. The speed was so fast it was unclear, and in a blink of an eye, it disappeared.
After grandma left, he heard a soft breathing beside him.
...There was someone hiding here!
He turned his head to see a girl with light blue hair, adorned with colorful accessories, her twin ponytails curled and draping down. Her skin was painted with wounds, her arm wrapped in bandages, dressed in complex attire. Such a getup even stunned Su Ming’an for a moment.
He rarely saw players in the world game dressed so intricately; most wore combat uniforms, long sleeves and pants for convenience in fighting. He himself always wore a few simple outfits, except on large occasions. He didn’t expect anyone to dress like this on a battlefield.
This style was very distinctive. It seemed the girl’s strength was not bad, to have the leisure to dress herself like this.
The blue-haired girl’s breathing was a bit fast, seemingly due to nervousness. Sensing his gaze, she crossed her hands in front of her lips, meaning: don’t speak.
She pointed toward the kitchen direction, forming a rectangle with her index fingers and thumbs, implying: a car.
...Was that the entrance to the basement? Su Ming’an quickly grasped the meaning.
Opening the door definitely required the cooperation of two or more people, one to operate, the other to use props to distract grandma. He only had a map and a screwdriver, it would be good if the blue-haired girl had a weapon.
Right on cue, the blue-haired girl made a throwing gesture, indicating her prop was a concussion bomb.
Su Ming’an took out the map and handed it to her.
The blue-haired girl gaped in surprise, clearly realizing how precious such a prop was. She continued gesturing: [Let’s work together, find another companion, then we can open the door.]
Even with a concussion bomb, it could only hold for a few seconds, unable to delay grandma long-term. They needed another person to coordinate with the girl to drag it out longer. Otherwise, if the girl made a mistake and grandma turned back, Su Ming’an would also be in trouble.
[Do you have any information?] Su Ming’an gestured.
The blue-haired girl raised an eyebrow, tilted her head, seemingly not understanding Su Ming’an’s "toothy grin" gesture.
[You, clues.] Su Ming’an simplified his gestures as much as possible, pointing at the girl, then the house.
The blue-haired girl finally seemed to understand Su Ming’an’s gesture, handing him a photograph from her bosom.
A yellowed photograph revealing a family of three. The elderly grandma, a man in a white coat, and a little boy in the middle. Their smiles were all very happy.
...This grandma should be the horror grandma. Why she’d become like this, and where the other two went, was uncertain...
Su Ming’an pondered.
...
[You’ve obtained Clue Four: Family Portrait]
...
[Let’s go take a look first, ask if we encounter someone on the way.] The blue-haired girl pointed to the basement entrance, lifted her leg, indicating they should go first.
The two of them supported themselves on the cold rough wall, inching forward step by step.
Along the way, Su Ming’an noticed the girl seemingly didn’t recognize him. There truly were players in the world who didn’t know Su Ming’an, but they were rare as giant pandas, typically people who were completely uninterested in broadcasts. Of course, it might also be related to her personality.
The basement was darker than the first floor, with only a faint light outlining the contour of the clutter. The two of them searched separately in the darkness.
Suddenly, the blue-haired girl gently tugged on Su Ming’an’s sleeve. Su Ming’an paused, showing a puzzled expression.
The girl turned her side, revealing a small iron door painted the same color as the wall behind her.
Su Ming’an nodded, advancing with a screwdriver. Amazingly, as long as the screwdriver was aligned, a progress bar automatically appeared in front of him, and once full, the door would open.
"Creak—Creak—"
The iron door occasionally emitted sounds, making the two of them vigilant for a while, but grandma seemed to be distracted by other players.
While waiting for the progress, the girl constantly stood several steps in front of him with a bomb in hand, ensuring that even if an enemy rushed in, they would see her first.
With a "click," the screwdriver automatically broke, and the iron door opened.
The two walked in cautiously to find a surveillance room filled with equipment.
On the wall hung a row of old CRT monitors, only two or three of which were lit, showing blurry images of several areas inside the wooden building: the first-floor living room, the second-floor staircase, the third-floor attic... In the basement garage, there was a black sedan. It seemed they could take the car route.
Su Ming’an scanned around and discovered that grandma was crossing the second-floor corridor with astonishing speed, chasing a young woman. The young woman was running desperately, and her direction was straight toward the stairs to the first floor.
If that woman fled into the basement being chased by grandma, the three of them would be trapped in this closed space with no escape. Going up now would more likely get them blocked at the stairway.
Su Ming’an spotted an old cabinet to the side; in the current situation, they had to hide.
However, the blue-haired girl pointed, and Su Ming’an looked down to find her leg tied with no less than seven or eight sharp kitchen utensils—a boning knife, a butcher knife, scissors!
Was she walking all this time burdened with these heavy tools? So heavy, yet she didn’t make a sound...
The girl picked up a knife and weighed it: [I’ll divert that person, you go find the car!]
In the darkness, her crimson eyes showed no fear or dread, as if she was truly confident.
Time was pressing, and the footsteps and grandma’s shrieks upstairs were drawing nearer. A prompt decision had to be made, after all, hiding together in a cabinet was too risky, and being discovered would mean double death. He nodded quickly, indicating to be careful. He could tell she was a formidable player, possibly with her own skills for evading ghosts.
The blue-haired girl returned a smile and slipped out of the surveillance room like a phantom cat.
Su Ming’an was really curious about such a unique person, yet he hadn’t seen her on the world forum.
[Who is this player? So unique, I can’t believe she’s not on the rankings.]
[I’ve searched all the leaderboard player avatars, she’s not among them.]
[The United Group and Human Self-Rescue Alliance’s information department is fully investigating, trying to uncover her true identity.]
[A newly appearing girl, exceptionally coordinated, and completely calm demeanor... Could she be an insider sent by the High Dimensions?]
[Yet to pinpoint her identity... truly strange.]
[She feels so cool, how can she not be a leader-board player?]
[It’s too late. The game is about to end, and only now we see such a player emerge. Indeed, many talented people are buried in this vast world.]
...
After confirming the girl had left, Su Ming’an moved toward the garage. He soon found a heavy wooden door at the end of the clutter, and upon pushing it open, there was an empty garage with a black sedan inside.
He opened the car door, immediately spotting a car battery on the passenger seat. He quickly lifted the battery, opened the hood, and started connecting the lines.
...
[You need a "screwdriver."]
...
... It seems, a screwdriver is a mandatory repair tool.
Su Ming’an could only turn around to search but suddenly heard a heavy breathing sound.
A blood-covered figure stumbled toward him—it was the woman being chased! The surveillance screen was too blurry; at a glance, Su Ming’an found it was an acquaintance—Violet!
Upon seeing him, Violet was momentarily startled but quickly smiled: "Long time no see... Relax, I shook off the horror grandma."
The garage’s soundproofing was excellent, and Violet staggered closer, speaking in a low voice.
Su Ming’an felt something weigh in his hand—it was a screwdriver! He looked up, seeing her smiling eyes.
"You need this, right?" she panted.
Violet happened to have a screwdriver on her, saving a lot of time. Su Ming’an helped her sit down and saw several deep claw marks on her belly.
Su Ming’an had a deep impression of Violet, being the only one who stayed beside Lin Guang without getting chased away, calming Lin Guang during manic phases single-handedly, showcasing her high IQ and EQ.
"I really... didn’t expect..." Violet said helplessly, clutching her stomach, "I, who roamed the world game for so long, became as weak as a chick in this game." She chuckled, tilting her head to look at Su Ming’an, "Is this what they call returning to basics?"
These few rounds of games made all players feel like they returned to the initial entry into the world game, fearing being killed by strong enemies at every step.
"Don’t worry, we’ll be out soon," Su Ming’an said.
Time was running out, the chase sounds upstairs were heart-pounding, and Violet supported herself against the wall to stand, assisting Su Ming’an in accurately connecting the battery lines. Her fingers were terrifyingly steady, completely unlike someone who just escaped a life-and-death situation.
"Done." Seconds later, Violet whispered, pointing to a control panel in the garage corner connected to the cables leading to the back door, "Start the car engine, it should power it up."
The electric light gradually lit up, Su Ming’an closed the hood, and suddenly—
"Bang."
His pupils contracted.
It was the sound of a silenced gunshot.
The bullet came from the shadows at the garage entrance, accurately piercing Violet’s side!
She let out a muffled groan, the tremendous impact slamming her against the cold wall, and her clothes were instantly soaked with blood.
"Hah... hah..." A man’s figure staggered out of the shadows, wearing a shirt stained with grime. His eyes were cloudy and wandering, pupils unnaturally dilated, with a twisted expression of fear and fanaticism on his face.
... Someone actually found a gun!
Su Ming’an immediately supported the falling Violet, reaching for his waist—
"Don’t move!" The man instantly aimed the gun at Su Ming’an, stammering, "Nobody move!"
His state was clearly off, as if he had mistakenly ingested or injected mental drugs from the building.
"Tch... Does this weakling try everything on himself?" Violet grimaced in pain, biting her lip, "He’s probably trying to snatch the escape quota from us, let’s give it to him."
She quickly assessed the situation, realizing it wasn’t worth risking the gun; retreating was the better option.
However, the man had no intention of stopping, raising the gun and breathing heavily as he walked directly towards Violet, his eyes filled only with distortion and desire.
The next moment, Su Ming’an took a step forward, blocking the man, and pushed Violet into the car.
"Bang!"
"Ugh!" The man was caught off guard, stumbling, his cloudy eyes fixated on Su Ming’an’s face, anger and jealousy almost pouring out.
"You...!" The man growled, swinging the gun’s grip heavily towards Su Ming’an’s head! Su Ming’an tilted his head to avoid the vitals, the gun’s grip grazing across his forehead. The man then grabbed Su Ming’an’s lapel, using his size to pin him heavily against the cold concrete floor!
... Back to basics.
In that instant, Su Ming’an thought of this phrase.
He instinctively wanted to use divine power, but quickly restrained himself; this wasn’t a desperate situation.
"Bang!" The dull thud of his back hitting the ground, the cold gun muzzle pressed against his chin, the metallic taste and smoke smell wafting in.
"I’ve had enough of you! You... you...!" The man held the gun with one hand, pressing hard against Su Ming’an, while the other hand clamped around his neck like a vise, the distorted face almost touching Su Ming’an’s.
"Why... huh? Why are all the good things yours, even in such a desperate situation there’s someone to help you!" The man’s voice was hoarse and sharp, filled with resentment and malice, "Don’t I work hard? Have I not struggled, suffered so much, killed so many people! Why don’t I have your brains, your ability, why doesn’t anyone love me, why aren’t there so many people ready to die for me?!"
The force of his grip tightened, Su Ming’an’s breathing became difficult, his cheeks reddening from lack of oxygen, yet his eyes remained unusually calm, coldly watching the face above, completely distorted by jealousy.
"Your failure isn’t because no one helped you, but because of your actions." Su Ming’an said coldly, "The people beside you are living, breathing warriors you can trust with your back, not trophies for someone like you to fantasize about during times of despair."
The man’s eyes instantly turned red, his roar echoed in the empty garage, nearly crushing Su Ming’an’s throat: "I’ll kill you right now... kill you! No, wait... damn it! I’ll make you suffer more than death!"
With a physical and strength disadvantage, Su Ming’an was at a disadvantage. However, his gaze was sharp as a knife, provoking the man while observing his breathing rhythm.
... Yes, it’s different now.
Even if my physical state reverted to before the World Game, back to that frail student... it’s completely different now.
The version of me from a few months ago... wasn’t this calm and skilled in analysis.
The man’s spirit was clearly on the brink of collapse, and at the most intense moment of his emotion—
A cold needle slid out from the sleeve of Su Ming’an’s hanging arm, pinched between his index and middle fingers, and swiftly stabbed into the man’s right arm.
"Ugh—!"
The man let out a strange gasp, a violent jolt of tingling surged from his elbow to his fingers, his right hand uncontrollably opening.
"Clang—!"
The gun slipped from his spasming fingers, landing on the ground with a clang.
The man’s gaze shifted from madness to terror, immediately attempting to clench his fist again, only to find his ring finger and pinky completely unresponsive, and his middle finger half-numb.
The spot Su Ming’an hit controlled the fine movement of the ring finger and pinky, also the key nerve points for holding a gun. This is basic biological knowledge, thanks to Acto’s emotional resonance.
Meanwhile—
"Bang!"
A steel pipe suddenly struck from behind!
A crisp sound of bone shattering, making one’s scalp tingle!
The man’s eyes instantly lost focus, and his whole body crumpled to the ground like a sack, blood quickly seeping from the back of his head.
A tall figure approached, wearing a faded old military jacket, with red short hair like burning flames, a deep scar cutting diagonally from his left forehead to his jaw, his face rugged and weathered. The man held a blood-stained steel pipe, his gaze sharp as an eagle.
"What a piece of trash! Disgusting!" Si Nian spat towards the man, his voice hoarse yet steady, looking at Su Ming’an, extending his hand, "Are you okay?"
Su Ming’an propped himself up, grasping Si Nian’s hand.
The low hum of the engine came from under the black sedan’s hood, the headlights flaring up.
"Thanks... come on, get in the car." Violet, leaning against the car door, smiled pale-faced. Her hand had just found the bone knife at her waist, and now retracted it.
Su Ming’an picked up the man’s gun:
"There are only two escape quotas. Si Nian, Violet, you two go."