The Trial Game of Life

In Yongye City, Tang Cuo, Jin Cheng, and Wen Xiaoming were walking on the deserted streets in Area C.

This street is just behind the hotel, surrounded by stretches of residential areas. It shouldn't be so deserted, but most players were attracted to the game hall by the evil spirit badge, and a small number were trapped in the instance. There are some scattered ones left, and I don't know if they hid in the room or went somewhere.

There are houses facing the street on both sides of the street, and because Area C belongs to the high-end area, small townhouses have appeared.Wen Xiaoming looked at the street signs, "Shell Street? Baker Street? Since the NPCs have all escaped from the dungeon, there should be various missions triggered in Eternal Night City... Will there be murders here?"

Tang Cuo looked up to the second floor of No. 12 Shell Street on the left, where the window was half open, revealing a figure who had hanged himself.Looking at the door of No. 13 diagonally opposite, half of his bloody body just crawled out, and died the moment he saw Tang Cuo.

He took two steps back.

On the 11th, the whole family was exterminated.

On the 10th, the scene of killing ghosts.

On the 9th, the Last Supper.

……

This street is very long, with at least one hundred and one ways to die.

"Are you interested?" Tang Cuo turned around and asked.

Wen Xiaoming shook his head frantically, how could he be interested in the murder case, but he seemed to see the light in Tang Cuo's eyes.Jin Cheng smiled, "These should all be range triggers, just don't get close."

The three of them walked in the middle of the road and walked straight across the street.If they want to find out the specific situation of Eternal Night City and prevent the opening of the passage ahead of time, they still have to go to the gift mountain in the central area to find out.

There was a bus stop in front of them. The three of them were lucky. Not long after they walked there, they heard the sound of "ding, ding, ding" trams coming from the intersection ahead.

When the train was approaching, Tang Cuo saw the conductor, unexpectedly he was an old acquaintance.

"Hi, we meet again." The train conductor was the Teresa Teng enthusiast in the F area, and later he was promoted to the E area to drive a motorcycle, and even drove Chi Yan.

Now that I met him in Area C, it can be seen that he has been promoted again.

"Why are you driving the tram again?" Jin Cheng looked into the rear seat when he got on the bus, and sure enough, he saw the familiar record player again.

Unexpectedly, when the train conductor mentioned this, he turned into a black cat sheriff, his eyes stared like copper bells, "What are you talking about, who robbed my motorcycle last time, let me eat a lot of exhaust gas, and finally found it. But it is scrap copper and rotten iron pulled out from the ruins."

Jin Cheng rubbed his nose and remembered.

Tang Cuo turned into a black cat and was trapped in a black iron cage. Fortunately, this man arrived in time with Chi Yan and the spell to unlock it.But Crimson made a big commotion in the central area, and they rushed over there, so they snatched the motorcycle parked by the side of the road and left without a trace.

Later, when he fought Crimson, how could he care about a motorcycle?

"But anyway, it's the car of Evernight City, so I don't need to pay for it." The conductor waved his hand, and his smile brightened again. "A few days ago, I got another record of Teresa Teng, and I'll play it for you."

Although every time they met, these two people were either fighting or on the way to fight, and they got a little noisy, but the conductor was still very confident in their taste.

Not long after, the beautiful singing began to float in the night sky.The singing of the celebration is far away, it no longer occupies the high ground violently, but turns into the sound of a live band playing, faintly floating from the central area, indistinct.

In the sound of "ding, ding, ding", the tram started again, leading them across the block, all the way forward.

Although the buses in different districts do not communicate with each other, they can all enter the central area.Because they were sitting in the car, they avoided triggering tasks to delay the trip, and they also had all the situations along the way in their eyes.

The department store with screams and the merry-go-round that suddenly appeared at the intersection, only you can't think of it, but you can't see it.Most of the players are cautious and dare not approach easily, but there are traps everywhere in Eternal Night City today, and no one knows whether you triggered the game mission just because you stepped on a candy.

The central area is even more lively, looking from a distance like a huge celebration scene with bright lights.There were people and shadows intertwined inside, the sound of laughter and music was like a colorful ribbon, entwining all the lights together, illuminating the sky of Eternal Night City.

The sky was cloudy and foggy, and that was the terminus of the magic train.No one knows what is hidden in the cloud, because no one has boarded that train so far.Or someone has been there, but no one knows.

At this moment, glowing lines hang down from the cloud, like the traces of meteors across the sky.And below the line, there are apples hanging one after another.

The clouds are high, and so are the apples.But someone took a long, long bamboo pole and tied it with a net bag, trying to pick the apple off.

How long is the bamboo pole?It looks like a ladder.

"We're going in." Amidst the conductor's reminder, the tram plunged into the noisy ocean.

Wen Xiaoming lay on the window and looked out, with most of his body leaning out.He was very curious about the ladder-like bamboo pole, but soon, everything around him was so dizzying that he could no longer take care of it.

"Dingling, dingling..." A young man wearing a beret passed by the tram on a bicycle, and the people coming and going screamed to avoid it.

Those who happened to turn around were men and women, wearing suits, cheongsams and even bunts.Coupled with the tram under their seats, in the blink of an eye, they seemed to have entered the old shadow of the Republic of China.

There are also many players in the crowd, which are easy to distinguish from the clothes and expressions.They are suspicious and vigilant about everything around them. In contrast, the NPCs are methodical.

No matter who they are, whether they look arrogant or sallow and thin, they seem to have been living in this city all the time, and there is no violation.The identities of the aborigines and the intruders seem to have been completely lost at this time.

There was also a bus platform ahead, and the tram stopped in front of the platform. A charming lady in a western dress got on the bus with a gentleman in a suit and leather shoes on his arm. When passing by Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng, he couldn't help but take another look at them.

Tang Cuo saw her open her mouth, as if she was about to speak, but Jin Cheng moved faster. He took Tang Cuo's hand and stood up, nodded politely to them, and then passed by directly.

Seeing this, Wen Xiaoming hurriedly followed, and the three got off the train unhurriedly. The conductor was still waving at them from behind, "Come back to my business next time!"

The tram pulled away, revealing the situation across the street.A player was sitting with his back to them, his feet up on a small bench, and asked the shoe shiner to shine his shoes.

But he obviously didn't wear leather shoes, but white sneakers.Seen from the back, he is not so much sitting upright as his whole body is stiff, the knuckles of his fingers holding the seat are white, and he seems to be trembling slightly.Looking at his feet again, they were clearly nailed to the bench, and the blood flowed out from the shoes, staining the white uppers red.

But the shoe shiner didn't seem to see anything, and kept on polishing the shoes wholeheartedly, but the more they polished, the dirtier they got, and the dirtier they got, the more they had to polish them.

Wen Xiaoming felt pain just looking at it, "What the hell kind of game is this?"

Jin Cheng shrugged, "If he was decisive enough, he should have chopped off his foot and left right now."

The voice was neither soft nor heavy, and it was just within the acceptable range for the ordinary high-level hearing of players in Eternal Night City.After finishing speaking, the three of them didn't stay long, and continued to walk in the direction of Gift Mountain.

"The games in the central area are more decent than those in other areas." Tang Cuo said as he walked.

"It is indeed more decent. The murderous intent is hidden in the subtleties, and the blood is left in invisible corners. Everyone is decent, and even the npcs are rarely ugly." Jin Cheng said, and suddenly heard a clicking sound next to his ear , he turned around, and saw a small man with a mustache and an old-fashioned camera smiling at him.

To be precise, he was smiling at him and Tang Cuo, who were the two of them he took a photo with the camera just now.

"It's still hard to guard against." Jin Cheng concluded his speech.

Tang Cuo also looked over, and the little man made a gesture of invitation, "Misters, would you like to come in and sit down, so that I can print out the photos I just took and give them to you? To tell you the truth, our store It just opened today, and you are my first batch of customers, open for business, and do not charge money."

Jin Cheng: "What if I say no?"

The little man suddenly showed a embarrassed expression, "But I took all these photos. You two are very photogenic. It's a pity not to take such a good photo."

At this moment, Tang Cuo shook his head at Jin Cheng.He tried, and an invisible barrier had been set up within one meter around them, and they couldn't get out.

Jin Cheng immediately took out something and threw it to Wen Xiaoming, "You go first, try not to forget to go ahead alone, and find a way to meet Leng Miao."

Wen Xiaoming knew the seriousness, so he nodded without saying anything.What Jin Cheng gave him was the quantum invisibility cloak, and there was only one piece of this thing, so he didn't take it out just now.

To be on the safe side, Wen Xiaoming also put on a mask and the invisibility cloak, and he disappeared in front of Jin Cheng and Tang Cuo.

"Please, both of you." The little man didn't say anything about Wen Xiaoming's disappearance, but still smiled and invited them in.

Entering the photo studio, Tang Cuo was attracted by all kinds of cameras on the entire wall behind the counter.But it is strange that there are so many cameras in this store, but the frames are all empty.

There are four walls in the photo studio, except for the wall behind the counter where the camera is placed, and countless photo frames of various sizes are hung on the other three walls, which is very unfriendly to cryptophobic patients.

Tang Cuo narrowed his eyes, and suddenly, as if feeling something, he looked up at the ceiling—there were photo frames hanging on the ceiling, and among those photo frames, one and only one was embedded with a photo, a black and white photo.

It was a girl with a ponytail and a necklace, smiling very standard.The background is pure white, so I can't tell where it was taken.

"Choose, both of you." The little man brought an album from the counter and asked them to choose the style of the photo frame, and said, "I'll send you both. It's free, no money."

Tang Cuo said, "No, I'll buy it."

The little man's smile remained unchanged, "The guests don't have to be so polite, they said they are open for business and don't charge money."

Tang Cuo directly pulled out a hundred-yuan bill and put it on the counter, "I insist."

The little man looked at the red note, and the corner of his mouth twitched.In Yongye City, where the renminbi is depreciating rapidly, whether 100 yuan can buy a stone is a problem. Kuo Tangcuo can still pay so confidently.

"Boss, please do me a favor. I wish you a prosperous business." Jin Cheng also saw something from Tang Cuo's attitude, and looked at the little man with a smile.

The little man was so kind, he finally agreed to accept the money, but after he agreed, his attitude changed suddenly, revealing three points of impatience, seven points of indifference, and his two mustaches were slightly upturned, showing a hint of meanness.

"Choose it yourself." Without even looking at the red note, he turned the booklet in his hand upside down, and the framed album became a price list.He casually tossed it to Tang Cuo, "Since you insist on paying, then the previous one can only be voided and re-shot."

After finishing speaking, he turned around and walked back to the counter, scolding the two for their ignorance while fiddling with camera equipment.Jin Cheng shrugged, turned his head and asked Tang Cuo, "What did you see?"

"Bulgari's necklace." Tang Cuo glanced at the girl in the photo frame again.The necklace is by no means the same age as the owner of the photo studio, so the girl in the photo frame is not a plot character, but a player.

They are not the first customers of this store, the owner is lying.

If they took the boss's photo for free, I'm afraid they will become the second work in this store and be hung on the wall.As an NPC, the boss repeatedly mentioned the word "free" as a reminder.

Jin Cheng couldn't help sighing, "Our Cuocuo is already a Cuocuo who has mastered the dungeon rules."

Tang Cuo looked down at the price list, without raising his head, he said: "Can you get rid of the habit of repeating words?"

Jin Cheng: "Doesn't it sound good?"

Tang Cuo was silent for a moment, "Miao Miao, Xiao Yiyi, and Cuo Cuo are nothing special."

Jin Cheng: "Okay, I accept this reason."

I'll call you Baby from now on, with a standard Beijing accent, which is very nice.

This is, the little man patted the counter heavily, "Have you chosen yet?"

Tang Cuo handed the price list to Jin Cheng with a blank expression, and Jin Cheng glanced at it with the same expressionless expression.

Solo headshot - 50 points

Single person landscape photo - 1 eye

Single People's Republic of China Charm Experience Photo——Soul 1g

Couple headshot - points 120

Landscape photo for two people - 2 drops of blood

Two photos of the experience of the charm of the People's Republic of China——soul 3g

*Group price please negotiate with the boss

But what made Tang Cuo even more concerned was that the name of the photo studio was written on the header of this price list—Memory Photo Studio.

Jin Cheng also noticed it, but since he had already entered the game, he had no choice but to continue. He looked at the boss with a smile on his face, "We choose a couple's headshot."

120 points, still affordable.Although it is a bit more expensive than a single person, it is good for two people to take care of each other.It's just that when he finished speaking, he caught a glimpse of Tang Cuo's face from the corner of his eye, but felt that he seemed to be resisting.

It's just that this trace of resistance came and went quickly, making Jin Cheng think that he was dazzled. How could Tang Cuo resist doing tasks with him?

At this moment, the boss urged them to hurry up and stand still in front of the white curtain. He was about to start taking pictures, so Jin Cheng suppressed the doubt in his heart.

Tang Cuo looked as usual, only he knew that he really didn't want the set meal for two just now.

Taking pictures here is definitely more than just taking pictures.In the memory photo studio, does the word "memory" point to something?Does this mean they will see images from the past?

He didn't really want Jin Cheng to see the scene before his death.

But he didn't need to arouse Jin Cheng's curiosity for unknown things, so he suppressed himself and stood in front of the curtain with him.

"Look here, don't move." The boss held up an old-fashioned flash and pressed the button to take pictures impatiently.

"Kacha—" A strong white light flashed across the two of them instantly.

The bad premonition in Tang Cuo's heart suddenly intensified, and when he regained his sight, he couldn't help saying: Sure enough.

What appeared before my eyes was the summer of 2015.He had a rare half-day vacation that day, but because the time was short, he didn't have any relatives and friends to visit in the resident, so he walked on the street alone, wandering aimlessly.

It was a very hot summer, and it was so hot that people were restless.Tang Cuo wasn't in a good mood either. Afraid of the heat, he turned into a shady alley next to him, and met a gangster snatching bags head-on.

The scream of the woman behind made Tang Cuo instantly judge the truth, so he kicked the gangster over with a flying kick. Tang Cuo, who was about 20 years old, was much cooler than he is now. When he kicked the gangster to the ground, his hands were still in his pockets.

It's just that no one expected that the gangster brought a knife, he couldn't hurt Tang Cuo, but he could hurt others.In order to protect the woman, Tang Cuo got a cut on the palm of his hand. It wasn't very deep, but it still bled.

Speaking of which, this is really a very old-fashioned plot.

When Tang Cuo took care of everything, he didn't take the wound seriously, and planned to go to the pharmacy to buy some medicine for rubbing.But as soon as he walked out of that trail, he saw a motorcycle parked by the side of the road and an instructor who hadn't seen him for half a year leaning on the motorcycle.

He wiped his sunglasses, cast a casual glance, and said with a smile, "Little friend, your weekend life is very rich."

Tang Cuo didn't look sideways, and walked straight past him.

Jin Cheng sighed, put on his sunglasses, started his motorcycle to chase after him, and stopped him again, "Can I eat you? Why do you run away every time you see me? When Da Li and the others said you were at odds with me, I Still don't believe me, you really hate me? Blame me for calling you by your name?"

So annoying.

Tang Cuo stopped, "Instructor, I'm on vacation."

Jin Cheng: "What a coincidence, I'm also on vacation."

Tang Cuo: "..."

Jin Cheng: "Get in the car, I'll take you to a nearby pharmacy, and take a drive along the way."

Tang Cuo knew that Jin Cheng was a person who would never give up until he achieved his goal. He didn't want to have anything to do with Jin Cheng at first, but he got on that motorcycle awkwardly in the end.

When the motorcycle drove away, Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng who belonged to the Evernight City came out from behind the big tree by the road.Jin Cheng folded his arms and leaned against the tree trunk, and said, "Look at you before, you were really awkward and cute."

Tang Cuo declined to comment.

Immediately afterwards, the scene changed, and they saw their former self sitting on a bench by the lake eating a burger.Jin Cheng treated Tang Cuo's wounds, and said boldly that he would treat him to a big meal in order to save their precarious teacher-student relationship.

Burgers, hot dogs and iced Coke, this is Jin Cheng's so-called feast.Jin Cheng, a modern philosophy health master who loves junk food.

It was already sunset at this time, and there were not many people by the lake.

The weather is not as hot as in the afternoon, the breeze blows across the lake, and the reeds sway gently, bringing a touch of coolness.It was late, Tang Cuo got up after eating the hamburger and prepared to go back.

But at this moment, his mobile phone fell out of his pocket, and he bent down to pick it up, but was a step too late.Jin Cheng picked up the phone and said, "Tang Cuo, I have read all your files."

Tang Cuo looked up, with a hint of coldness in his eyes.Even if the other party is Jin Cheng, someone he once had fond memories of, he doesn't like the other party's behavior of flipping through his files without authorization.

Jin Cheng also saw the coldness in his eyes, and he responded with a more generous smile, "How about joining me? With your strength, you will definitely pass the team's assessment."

Tang Cuo was startled.

Jin Cheng crossed his legs and looked ruffian, but he said something that couldn't be more serious.He immediately turned on Tang Cuo's cell phone, quickly entered a number, and pressed a few more times before throwing it back to him.

On Tang Cuo's mobile phone, there are only three contacts saved in total, and no payment app has been downloaded, so there is no password lock set.

"Call me if you have anything to do." Jin Cheng also stood up, half a head taller just enough to cover Tang Cuo.He looked down at Tang Cuo slightly, and said, "I guess you wouldn't bother to memorize my number. You're so unlucky that you'll run into robbers every time you walk on the road. I set me up as your emergency number." Contact person. Of course, if you have nothing to do and just want to talk to the instructor, I welcome you."

Tang Cuo asked, "Why?"

There are many excellent people, Jin Cheng has to choose someone, he is not lacking.Since he has read his file, he should know that a person like him is not good at everything, including his background and education.

Why not pick something better?

Jin Cheng asked back: "I'm very surprised that you would ask this question, don't you think you are not good enough?"

Tang Cuo is very calm, the more he is like this, the more rational he is, the rationality is almost unreasonable, "It's not that no one has better grades than me."

Jin Cheng: "But only you are Tang Cuo."

Tang Cuo: "?"

Jin Cheng smiled, "Trust me, I won't make a mistake. I'm not picking someone else, I'm picking my teammate. I said you are the most suitable, but I must be you."

At that time, Tang Cuo thought to himself, why is he always like this, leaving no room for others to refuse, disturbing other people's mood and life without authorization. Tang Cuo, who is around 20 years old, is sensitive and a bit awkward. He sensed the faint concern in Jin Cheng's words, and was disturbed by the sudden emergency contact. Although he forced himself to calm down, he didn't know—all the emotions, They are all more depressing and more turbulent.

Tang Cuo did not agree to Jin Cheng's proposal in the end, but he did not directly reject it either.It should be said that Jin Cheng didn't give him a chance to refuse, so he waved his hand and drove away on his motorcycle.

Not to mention taking Tangcuo for a ride.

Dead straight man.

"Did you fall in love with me at that time?" The straight man is still trying to cliché.

"No." Tang Cuo's tone was cold.

"If you don't have it, you have it. It's all irony at this time."

"Tsk."

Jin Cheng smiled and stopped teasing him, "Actually, I went to find you on purpose that day."

Tang Cuo turned his head to look at him.

Jin Cheng: "Before you entered that trail, I followed you for a while. I saw you walking alone on the road, so I really wanted to pick you up and bring you home."

That back view is very distressing.

Jin Cheng didn't know how to describe that feeling at that time, maybe the seeds of love had already been planted at that time, but he was too slow to notice it.Later, he always came and went in a hurry, and it was rare to meet Tang Cuo, and he couldn't say a few words.

Even at the moment of his death, he didn't know whether Tang Cuo had participated in the team assessment.

Hearing the regret in Jin Cheng's words, Tang Cuo's eyes lowered slightly.He stored Jin Cheng's number in his cell phone and looked it up countless times, but he didn't call it.

After that meeting, he wasn't sure if Jin Cheng had forgotten the original invitation, and he always passed by each other several times.

The last time, and the only time, Tang Cuo dialed that number, but no one answered it again.

He didn't want Jin Cheng to see the scene at that time.

But things backfired, the picture in front of me began to blur, and then reorganized, gradually becoming the night when Tang Cuo died.On the empty long street, Tang Cuo saw himself lying in a pool of blood.

Jin Cheng's expression gradually became cold and hard.

At the same time, Lin Yandong, who left District A, also stepped into the block that Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng walked through just now.Although he was wearing modern clothes and a bright red scarf, when he was walking in the middle of the crowd, the calm demeanor on his body blended perfectly with everything around him.

Looking at the gentleman in a long gown passing by, his eyes showed a trace of nostalgia.