Gamers Are Fierce
Chapter 62 Hide and Seek

Chapter 62: Chapter 62 Hide and Seek

On a bustling commercial pedestrian street crowded with people, Li Ang and Wang Congshan were taking advantage of the weekend to go shopping and relax. They sat at a roadside beverage shop, sipping cool and refreshing milk tea.

"If everyone contributes a little love, the world will become a beautiful place to live."

Li Ang watched the snow-white long legs swinging prettily beneath short skirts in the cool autumn wind, and he couldn’t help but sigh sincerely.

Wang Congshan wasn’t listening to what Li Ang was saying. Her fingers were swiping across her phone screen, occasionally tapping the keyboard to enter some text, her expression somewhat irritated.

Li Ang slurped a milk tea pearl into his mouth and asked, "What are you looking at?"

"The family WeChat group," Wang Congshan said helplessly. "My uncle wants to have a second child, but my parents are advising him to wait a few more years. Theoretically, it’s not really their place to persuade him in such matters, but as you know, there have been a lot of strange things happening lately..."

Information control and compartmentalization regarding abnormal incidents were not as effective as one might imagine. Some things, no matter how well-concealed, couldn’t have their influence completely erased.

A village suddenly enveloped in dense fog had lost all contact; all the animals in a city zoo grew superfluous limbs overnight; all passengers on a small foreign cruise ship smiled as they collectively jumped overboard during a live online broadcast; a clown at an amusement park suddenly plucked out his own eyeball during a performance and chewed it...

As for bizarre and eerie homicide cases, frequent underground pipeline explosions, and unexplained building collapses, the onlookers were becoming almost accustomed to them.

On the surface, modern society seemed as peaceful and prosperous as ever, with everyone living and working in contentment. Movies and television continued as normal, and social media apps like TikTok and popular games were still enjoyed. However, anxiety and tension were spreading slowly, like a contagious disease.

The better the information blockade, the more it failed to prevent the spread of rumors. Of course, this might also involve some covert guidance from the Special Affairs Bureau, as they had to gradually acclimatize the public to all these changes.

Wang Congshan, who had once directly encountered a homicide case, put down her phone, her expression somewhat somber. It was likely that her father’s advice for her uncle not to rush into having a second child stemmed from concerns about the current situation.

Ordinary people had almost zero resistance to abnormal incidents, their only options being to flee or resort to self-deception. No matter how much they feared the unknown future, they eventually had to return to their daily concerns—the mundane details of domestic life.

Wang Congshan sighed. "Ah... I hope the world doesn’t become too strange."

"Look on the bright side," Li Ang laughed. "Chances are, before most of us, including you and me, get killed by all sorts of weird things, we’ll have already died in a global nuclear holocaust. Personally, though, I hope my own death is a bit more heroic and poignant."

Wang Congshan rolled her eyes. "Like having your rear end stuffed full of firecrackers and then lighting the fuse? That’s not just heroic and poignant; it’s also very auspicious, you know."

"Such a way with words! Did you dab honey on that little mouth of yours?"

Li Ang slurped up the last bit of his milk tea. "Let’s go. Didn’t you want to go shopping?"

"Yeah." Wang Congshan’s spirits visibly lifted. "It’s almost my mom’s birthday, so first, I’ll pick out a couple of outfits for her, then buy a new watch for my dad. After that, we can browse the jewelry store, and finally, grab some dinner."

Li Ang had come out shopping for two reasons: first, to relax, and second, to see if he could trigger any System tasks. According to the forums, apart from places like Qianhua Road, which were epicenters of abnormal events, there was no discernible pattern to the distribution of other urban legends. Wandering around was actually the best way to trigger tasks.

Of course, there was also a group of timid forum members who, after becoming players, chose to stay indoors and not actively trigger tasks. Such members were often never heard from again after their initial post—either they had cut off all contact with the outside world, or... they had died in the increasingly difficult mandatory script tasks because they hadn’t triggered regular tasks and hadn’t leveled up.

Escaping didn’t solve any problems.

Whether an ordinary person or a player, in this world that was growing crazier and more pathological by the day, everyone was constantly in peril.

Li Ang accompanied Wang Congshan as they wandered around the commercial street. They bought a few items of clothing and picked out a reasonably priced watch before finally heading to the fifth floor of Longheng Mall for a grilled fish dinner—the meal was Wang Congshan’s treat, to repay Li Ang for fixing her computer the other day.

Just as the two, full from their meal, stepped out of the mall’s main entrance, a notification sound from the System suddenly rang in Li Ang’s ear.

[Trigger Condition for Task has been met]

[Task Type: Scripted Mission (Team Cooperation)]

[Task Name: Hide and Seek]

[Task Objective: Proceed to the main lobby of Longheng Mall by 12:00 AM tonight and await further task notifications]

[Task Reward: To be announced upon receiving the next notification]

[Penalty for Failure: Erasure]

Li Ang’s stride remained unchanged as he walked out the door, but his eyes instantly turned cold.

This was his first encounter with a real-world team cooperation scripted mission.

The mission’s name was easy to understand; most people had played hide-and-seek in their childhood.

One person plays ’it.’ They blindfold themselves and count to one hundred seconds before seeking out a group of people hidden in various places within a set area. The first person found is penalized and plays the new ’it’ in the next round.

Hide-and-seek, an ancient game traceable to at least the Tang Dynasty, has endured due to its unique charm and competitive nature. However, in the unique context of the death game, the ’ghost’ hunting people might literally be a ghost hunting people...

As for the task objective... the death game was rather considerate this time, providing roughly four hours of preparation time. Moreover, Longheng Mall closed at 10:30 PM, so at midnight, the mall would be virtually empty except for security staff, making it an ideal setting for players to act freely.

While the task reward wasn’t specified, given that it was a mission requiring the coordination of an entire team of players, the reward naturally couldn’t be too meager.

As for the penalty of erasure... It only went to show that as players’ levels progressively increased, the difficulty of the tasks they faced also rose accordingly.

Li Ang’s mind raced, but he showed no outward sign. He turned calmly to Wang Congshan and said, "Are your parents home?"

"They are. What’s up?" Wang Congshan asked, narrowing her eyes. "Don’t tell me you’re thinking of mooching another meal at my place."

"What are you thinking? We just ate," Li Ang said. "I’ll get a cab to take you home."

"Huh?" Wang Congshan’s eyes widened as she stared at Li Ang in disbelief.

He’s usually incredibly frugal, almost miserly, with a reputation for emulating the penny-pinching Harpagon. He traveled exclusively by bus, subway, bicycle, or on foot. What made him suddenly decide to take a cab today? Could it be, this guy has finally seen the light?

The two got into a ride-hailing service. After dropping Wang Congshan home, Li Ang instructed the driver to continue to Wanhe Residential Area.

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