I'm afraid of non-human beings

"You snatched it?!"

Lin You, who had expected it for a long time, took the phone away from her ear in time, and successfully avoided the eardrum pain from being shocked by the sudden octave-high exclamation.

"Yes," she said with a smile on the corner of her mouth, she clamped the phone again with her shoulders, and pulled the tab of the can with a "squeak", "It's a close call."

"Refresh in the next second and it will be out of stock." Lin You added.

Then, she heard the sound of her friend's envious and jealous inhalation coming from the other side of the phone.

"Damn it! I want to play it too, and I want to snap up it too! That's "Box"—"

Lin You was walking back with the can of iced Coke in her hand, and she couldn't help laughing as she listened to the other party whining angrily on the phone why she had to do an internship at this time.

It was the summer vacation of my junior year, and many of my peers were busy with internships to give their resumes money.Lin You has always lived a casual life, she doesn't care much about these things, and she is a little tired of the step-by-step life.

Life is too dull, so you can only find excitement in other ways.

Just in time for this stall, the high-profile thriller survival game "Box" is finally going to be released.

These days, people have seen a lot of holographic games that are played out in different ways, and those that simply stimulate the senses are no longer new. "Box" can attract the attention of the world, and of course there are reasons for it.

It is said that the manufacturers have negotiated the copyright of many classic masterpieces, and the copies in the game are all adapted and generated by their self-developed AI terminals.

The gimmick of this big production is attractive enough, and the players who were selected to participate in the closed beta and trial play were so scared that they cried and shouted at their parents while patting their chests and swearing that it was really fun to play. It would be a strange thing to fill up everyone's expectations.

Of course, Lin You, who is a veteran horror fan, is also included.

On the day of the official release, I don’t know how many people sat in front of the computer and stared at the countdown that was about to return to zero, gearing up.The first batch of game helmets were sold out in just 2 minutes, and only offline physical stores may miss them.

The popularity of "Box" can be seen.Some people were rejoicing, and naturally there were those who didn't get it. There was a third voice mixed in the two, which was the experience shared by players who had participated in the closed beta on the forum.

The small talk ended with the other party vowing to come to the liver game progress after the internship, Lin You smiled and hung up the phone.She sat back at the table, and the homepage of the forum that was opened before was still hanging on the computer screen.

While drinking Coke in mouthfuls, Lin You scrolled down to read those discussion posts.When the cans bottomed out, she felt that she had done her homework, so she simply turned off the computer and threw the empty cans into the trash can.

——Next, is the long-awaited game time.

Lin You walked to the bedside table and picked up the helmet whose power plug was connected to the power strip on it.

The game helmet was just delivered this morning, and she had already logged in once before lunch, and had entered and authenticated her information in advance.

Now as long as you close your eyes and wait for the connection, you can directly choose to randomly enter a copy.

However...something is not quite right.

Lin You frowned involuntarily as she heard the noise changing from weak to strong in her ears.

She clearly remembered that when she logged into the game last time, she was still in a small room surrounded by faint blue light—this also confirmed what the experience post on the forum said, it was independently generated for each player, The "home screen" that acts as a buffer and a place of respite.

What acts as the background sound is white noise that makes people feel peaceful, how can it be such a messy human voice——

The darkness covering her eyes disappeared, and the sudden strong light made her narrow her eyes slightly.

Before she got used to the light, Lin You was a little taken aback because of everything she saw.

The top of her head was shrouded in an ominous scarlet sky, she was standing on a flat and wide platform, a few meters away from the edge was an abyss where the bottom could not be seen at a glance, and there was still a strange red mist floating.As for those gathered on this circular platform...

People are everywhere.

The crowd was crowded, they were dressed in various styles, genders and ages, but it was not difficult to recognize players like her.Most people's faces were also full of bewilderment, and the voices of asking each other were endless. What's more, they were so excited that they grabbed the people next to them and asked them repeatedly, but the one who was caught was also puzzled.

"What's the matter?"

"I'm so confused, I just logged in!"

"Ghost knows, I was still in that Arkham Asylum just now, and I got here just by opening the door!!"

"Forcibly teleport? You're so excited to play, even if you want to hold an event, the official is thinking about snakeskin?!"

There was a lot of complaints, and Lin You also noticed that around them, there were still new players suddenly appearing in the open space with a flash of white light, and their faces were all in the same inexplicable way.

"... Could it be a bug?"

"This sky is really scary," the person who spoke immediately looked in front of him, trying to touch the menu bar that floated there, "I, I don't care, I'm going to forcefully retreat now—eh ?”

His hands paused hesitantly in the air.

"Why is the 'Exit' button... gone?"

As the saying goes, a stone can start a thousand waves.

Just such a simple sentence immediately pushed the already vaguely impetuous and restless atmosphere to the peak.The people around who heard his voice became restless, and hurriedly checked their own system menus.

Lin You moved her fingers in a similar manner, and then called up the system bar that only the player could see.

really.

Lin You's gaze quickly swept across the vain transparent window. Although she hadn't officially entered the game copy yet, it didn't stop her from immediately noticing the blank space at the bottom that seemed to be deliberately erased.

"It seems that you have noticed."

The sudden sound was not very loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

For a moment, everything was silent.

"Then, welcome to Space No.19," the unidentified voice continued, "All unfortunate lucky ones."

Lin You: "..."

No.19 space?

No gender or age could be discerned from this voice, although it was clearly soft, it was especially frightening under the current situation.While it was speaking slowly, Lin You vaguely heard another subtle sound, and couldn't help but follow the prestige——

——In the middle of the sky, above everyone's heads, a giant round eye suddenly opened!

Against the backdrop of the blood-red sky, the corners of those eyes seemed to be soaked with blood.

Finally, someone couldn't bear the strange situation in front of them any longer, and screams suddenly erupted.The giant eye turned around a little as if it hadn't heard anything, and at the same time, the previous calm voice sounded again:

"My name is - 'Nova'."

When she heard it announce its name, Lin You realized that it was most likely the culprit that caused their current situation.

"You are going to have a game of gamble." Obviously there is no evidence, but there is some hint in the dark, making people believe that the voice is made by the giant eyes in front of them, "a game that bets on the fate of all of you .”

"Do not make jokes!"

A sudden yell interrupted it.

"No matter how tricky players are, there is a limit! Huh?!" The man in the middle of the crowd suddenly attracted a lot of attention, and he waved his hands indiscriminately, "I don't care if you bet or not, I won't play this stupid game ! Let me out now—"

"Unfortunately," Giant Eye said coldly, "Everyone can no longer leave the game through normal channels."

The man fell silent all of a sudden, staring blankly as if being strangled by the neck.

"Players cannot actively log out from the inside, and once someone outside tries to forcibly stop the game, the moment the helmet is removed or the built-in battery is exhausted, that player's brain will be directly destroyed by an explosion."

Everyone: "..."

An uproar!

"Explosion, explosion?" Someone stammered and repeated.

"……is that a lie?"

But judging from the panicked tone, most of the people who spoke had already believed it.

"Up to now, there have been hundreds of incidents in which the helmets were forcibly removed and the players involved died." The guy who called himself "Nova" said, "Under the urgent media reports, the lives of the rest of you are temporarily safe .”

However, the next second——

"Ahhhhhhh-"

The screams hovered in the sky, and someone seemed to kneel down not far away.Across the crowd, Lin You couldn't see very clearly, but through the gap, she could see the frail man rolling all over the ground with his head in his arms.

There was a loud bang, and a large cloud of blood mist suddenly sprayed into the air!

The headless corpse fell limply, and the panicked players around gave way to an open space.

"Okay," Juyan said without any emotion after having seen such a scene too many times, "It seems that there are still some unbelievers."

Whether it was whispering or questioning loudly before, there was an instant silence.

Knowing that the feeling of being just a game is completely different from that of a real dead person, no matter how reluctant they are, the players have to admit that what the giant eye said is very likely to be true.

Lin You crossed her arms and tilted her head.

She was alone at home now, and she should have read the news when her family came back—she knew what choice they would make.

So, she's still safe in that regard.

"The only way to successfully return to reality is to completely clear the game."

"However, once you die in the game, your consciousness will temporarily fall into a dormant state—that is, what is commonly referred to as a 'vegetative'. And if everyone is out..."

From left to right, the giant eyes slowly looked at everyone standing here.

Maybe it's an illusion.

Lin You always felt that when its eyes swept over her, it stayed there for a second and a half for some reason.

"Everyone will be forcibly brain-dead."

"However, as long as one person clears the level, it is your victory."

"Now, everyone has a button in their hand," said Giant Eye calmly, "when you are ready, you can press it to start the game."

"As for those who hesitated too much, I will directly erase their consciousness after the countdown ends."

"--please."

The voice fell, and the giant eye slowly closed, but it was still there.And directly below, a row of blood-stained, constantly beating numbers emerged.

The time limit is 10 minutes.

The players, who were so still as a cicada, exploded. Lin You lowered her head amidst the noise, and she really saw a small button device stuffed in her hand at some point.

She tilted her head and rubbed its smooth section with her fingertips.

A huge crack opened in the calm daily life.

Looking around, the players who were originally online were definitely more than this few people.According to Juyan, the space they are in is No.19, which means that there are probably eighteen more ahead.Among this huge number of players, as long as one person clears the level, all of them can escape successfully.

however……

Such a disparity in limits just reflects the difficulty of the so-called "passing customs".

Not to mention that once you die, you may never wake up again, just thinking about it is daunting.There are such hesitant discussions all around, and everyone is still undecided.

Skillful.

Lin You smiled lightly, and was the first to press the red button without hesitation.

——she is happy to accept the challenge.

In the next second, a hoarse and gloomy voice rang in his ears.

[The game officially begins. 】

【Matching levels...】

[The first level - the haunted house. 】