Super Righteous Player
Chapter 97 - 96 Secret Passage_1

Chapter 97: Chapter 96 Secret Passage_1

Lin Yiyi took a deep breath.

Pangs of sharp pain that occasionally came from her abdomen rendered her thoughts somewhat chaotic and her mood a bit irritable.

Her approach to the game was completely opposite to that of the wandering child.

Upon confirming that this was her second playthrough, she had some vague ideas and began to adopt an exploratory method that was different from the last playthrough.

As Lin Yiyi pushed open the first door, she noticed a narrow, short corridor ahead that turned to the right.

In sharp contrast to a brightly lit gallery, this short turn was exceedingly dim. Only the door at the end flickered with a dim light, as if enticing Lin Yiyi to quickly pass through this area.

"Well, I’m not going there!"

Lin Yiyi declared, her words brimming with bravery, "I might as well die on the first layer!"

Having said that, she did not proceed to the next layer but instead began to carefully examine each painting.

"——Don’t be a coward, Sister Rod!"

"——Yeah, what’s there to fear when you can resurrect after dying! Go to the next round!"

"——Charge! Sister Rod, lead the charge!"

"——Big Pigeon, if you keep this up, the brothers are gonna go protect someone else with their bullet screens."

"Don’t panic, don’t panic, wait until I’ve looked at these paintings..."

Lin Yiyi muttered to herself while seriously examining the details of each painting to see if there were any codes or anything. She even tapped each painting, then tapped the walls between them, and turned them slightly... to see if there were any mechanisms.

This was experience gained from her frequent escape room games.

In pixel-style RPG horror games, she was the type of player who would painstakingly inspect every single item at least twice...

Contrary to what the bullet screen chat thought, Lin Yiyi wasn’t hesitant or timid due to memory loss... Remember, she and the wandering child were the two who encountered Gerald and had their minds directly hypnotized and altered.

If even Gerald couldn’t instill fear in them, then let alone this nightmare replica that would disappear at daybreak.

Moreover, according to what Tan Juan said, this feature of "losing all memories upon death and the nightmare resetting" seems to be the special aspect of this replica.

Although it didn’t quite feel like a beginner’s replica, she thought it was quite normal.

After all, this game called a game was actually a real alternate world, so there was nothing like a "newbie tutorial phase." It was quite normal to be faced with difficulties right off the bat.

The players’ view of this alternate world was akin to an "eternal space without death." Their attitude always fluctuated between excitement, seriousness, obsession, curiosity, and caution, finding the perfect balance between "a brave willingness to die" and "fearlessness in the face of death."

Not to mention, the ability to enter this alternate world directly through a mobile app, and that "Frostwater Harbor Forum" that existed only in consciousness and could still be used outside of the game—these things were definitely not the technology of this world, this era.

Already, some players had been forced to change their phones due to accidents, and the game silently moved to their new phones without a trace; they also tried to let their friends open this APP, but after the opening CG ended, they were met with a message saying, "Hello, the quota for the first test is full, please look forward to the next test opening~" and kicked them back out.

So now the players had a clear grasp of the situation.

Their little tricks simply couldn’t escape the watchful eyes of the game’s publishers.

Whether this game was from aliens or people from an alternate world, or even some ancient deity from somewhere... in short, if those big shots really wanted to do something bad to them, they definitely wouldn’t have much ground to resist.

They were all mature adults and considered themselves to be elites in their industries, long past the age of "my fate in my own hands."

Some players also speculated on the forum that maybe when the game was fully open to the public, it would be like a resurgence of spiritual energy described in novels, accessible to everyone. If that were true, these internal testers would definitely hold significant advantages by then...

But regardless, instead of choosing passive escape, it’s better to actively engage with this alternate world... To not seize the gifts given by the heavens is to invite calamity.

There was one particularly unusual point, however.

That was, without having signed any non-disclosure agreement, players had tacitly chosen to remain silent to the outside world, jointly keeping this vast secret.

They were very relieved that the first batch of testers did not include any idiots, laypeople, or idiotic laypeople. At least they were all intelligent, communicative players...

Lin Yiyi, having encountered the Soul Snatching Spell, had an even deeper understanding of this world.

So, she was not playing the game passively, but instead exploring it in her own way.

She had some understanding of this replica.

It seemed to be a replica similar to Layers of Fear—each time one advanced a circle, they would return to the starting point, and the surrounding environment, in turn, became darker, stranger, and more dangerous.

There were also chase sequences and traps later on.

Its advantage lay in the fact that everyone who entered this nightmare embodied the same severely injured middle-aged painter. This meant that it was not actual combat power that was tested, but mental acuity, courage, and luck.

For the players who were still very weak, this indeed counted as a decent novice replica.

If it were this type of replica, then the first round should theoretically be the safest spot. The cost to restart was also the lowest.

Her pacing back and forth in the gallery was all for this reason.

Unlike the skilled card counters and calculators such as the expertly adept Frostwater Geese, Lin Yiyi had always had a poor memory. When it came to memorizing game boards, she would rely on copious amounts of time, patience, and life after life.

Therefore, she had to walk several rounds just to barely remember the locations of all the items in the gallery and the size of each room. This way, in the later levels, she could immediately realize "where I am" and "where I need to go".

If she triggered some death flag in the first round that caused the game to restart, she could also return to the previous location to continue exploring.

Yes—

Lin Yiyi planned to die her way through.

She believed that there must be other players who thought the same way.

By utilizing the barrage team left outside, they could exchange information, explore the instance separately, and try to identify all the triggers for death flags. Then, they could explore boldly.

As for the chase...

...it would come down to every person’s skills.

"Huh?"

Lin Yiyi paused for a moment.

She felt that... behind one of the portraits, there was an empty space.

Her thorough search had surprisingly turned up results?

First, she tried to take down the painting, but found that it wouldn’t budge. Then she shook the frame left and right—this time it was successful.

She turned the frame clockwise by half a turn and discovered a dial mechanism inside.

Lin Yiyi had to use both hands to slowly turn the dial. She noticed that while the small compartment was full of dust, the dial seemed to have been used not long ago and was quite clean.

And as Lin Yiyi turned the dial, with the sound of chains being pulled, a small section of the wall next to her began to bend inward. Eventually, a narrow and cramped passageway was revealed.

It only allowed passage for one person; two people walking side by side would be extremely cramped.

At the end of the narrow passage was a wooden door.

It looked identical to the one at the end of the corridor.

But obviously, it was not a door that should be taken in the regular course of events.

Lin Yiyi’s spirits lifted, and she proudly shouted, "See that? My method is the right one!"

"—66666666"

"—Damn, there’s a mechanism here!"

"— Sister Yiyi is awesome!"

"— Why spamming 6s, what are you spacing out for?"

"— I get it, let me tell the other bros!"

"Hold on, don’t rush it. Let’s see what’s inside first..."

Lin Yiyi casually advised, "Who knows, there could be some death trap inside..."

She didn’t choose the door that led to the next level but instead headed for another door that her own switch had opened.

The narrow corridor was quite dim, but fortunately, it wasn’t difficult to navigate.

And the only portrait hanging here was of a girl who looked to be laughing purely.

She was wearing a white dress, her cute smile meeting Lin Yiyi’s gaze.

"— Honey!"

"— I declare her my new wife!"

"— The one in front, sentenced to three years... Nah, just give him the death penalty."

"Tsk, not sure if I should say the kid is cute or the artist is skilled..."

Lin Yiyi clicked her tongue, "Oh right, I am the artist now. So this must be my work... Which means I am awesome wow."

As she spoke, she pushed open the door at the end.

And then Lin Yiyi was taken aback.

What she saw in front of her.

— Was a staircase leading downward.