Chapter 21: Red Treasure Chest

The more Jiang Jinyue read, the deeper her frown became. She quickly scrolled upward through the chat records and only then figured out the reason for the anomalies’ carnival.

It turned out that the souls of players who had failed to wake up from the nightmare, and were about to dissipate, had been directly packaged by the game rules and distributed to the anomalies of each district as “performance rewards.”

Watching the anomalies in the group chat enthusiastically discuss “texture,” “flavor,” and “which part had the richest fear energy,” Jiang Jinyue felt a wave of physical nausea. At the same time, a sorrowful feeling of grief for her own kind rose in her heart.

Human strength was so tiny before these unknown anomalies.

They could casually fulfill your wish, and they could also take your life at any time.

She was still too weak. No matter what stood behind all this, it was not something she could contend with right now.

Survive. Surviving was the only goal right now.

After suppressing all her fluctuating emotions back into the depths of her heart, Jiang Jinyue silently exited the group chat and checked the time on the panel.

5:54.

There were still 6 minutes left. She no longer wasted time. She quickly tidied her clothes, put on her badge, and gripped the iron shovel.

Jiang Jinyue did not wait until exactly 6:00. Instead, 3 minutes early, she gently twisted open the door.

The corridor beyond the crack in the door was deathly silent. Under the pale lighting, there was no one around. Only the emergency exit sign in the distance gave off a faint green glow.

At this time, most players had already been deceived by the so-called “Safe Time” and had fallen into sweet sleep.

Especially after experiencing all kinds of thrilling life-and-death crises, both their bodies and minds were exhausted to the extreme. Once they fell asleep now, they would definitely enter deep sleep.

And in a state of deep sleep, most people would automatically block out their perception of the outside world.

After letting out a breath of relief, Jiang Jinyue slipped sideways out of the room, then reached back and closed the door with the gentlest possible force.

The whole process barely made a sound.

She leaned her back against the cold wall, holding the heavy iron shovel in her hand, her eyes fixed on the jumping time displayed on the game panel.

5:58, 5:59, 6:00 sharp!

The next moment, almost in the blink of an eye, treasure chests of various sizes silently appeared throughout the corridor as if by magic.

They appeared without any warning, without any light or sound. They simply lay quietly on the cold floor, almost blending into the dim surroundings.

Only, their numbers were far less dense than the first time. Not only were they scattered sparsely, but there were also no golden treasure chests for everyone to fight over.

However, among these few scattered ordinary gray treasure chests, there were also some beautiful dark red treasure chests. They were a size smaller than the surrounding chests.

For some reason, the moment Jiang Jinyue saw the red treasure chests, what came to mind was the red-clothed anomalies that had already gotten off work.

She did not immediately act rashly. Instead, she first opened 【District Seven Anomaly Management Group】 to see if she could obtain any useful information.

Unfortunately, the chat group was still celebrating what had just happened this time as well. None of the anomalies were discussing anything related to treasure chests.

Jiang Jinyue was not disappointed. After closing the game panel, she lightened her footsteps and went straight to the red treasure chest. Holding the iron shovel, she opened it on the spot.

She had to verify the “gold content” of the red treasure chest right away. Only then could she better set her plan.

The chest lid collided with a faint “click.” Fortunately, the sound was very soft and did not startle any players.

The system voice sounded in her mind again.

【Congratulations, player. You have obtained: Mineral Water ×5, Self-Heating Hot Pot（Spicy Beef Tallow Flavor）×1, Wuchang Rice（5 kg bag）×1, Red Fuji Apples ×3, Mini Smart Rice Cooker ×1, Exquisite Bone China Tableware Set（including chopsticks and spoons）×1, Cotton ×5, Wood ×5, Ordinary Iron Ore ×10, Slowing Refrigerator ×1, Gold Coins ×12】

A huge harvest!

Jiang Jinyue was secretly delighted. Not only were there many items in this treasure chest, but their quality was also clearly higher. There were even practical appliances and items.

As if she were afraid the treasure chest would go back on its word, she quickly stored everything into her backpack.

Among them, the item description for the 【Slowing Refrigerator】 made her eyes light up even more.

【Slowing Refrigerator: Can be used without electricity. Energy-saving and environmentally friendly. Not only can it preserve food, but the faint blue light it emits will also cover the front door, slowing anomaly attack speed by 30%.】

After putting away the treasure chest with satisfaction, Jiang Jinyue looked at the ordinary treasure chests nearby. She did not directly pick them up or open them. Instead, she quickly went to the corner of the corridor.

At this moment, an ordinary gray treasure chest was also quietly sitting there. After narrowing her eyes and thinking for a moment, she still chose to open it immediately.

On the one hand, she wanted to confirm the difference between red treasure chests and gray treasure chests so she could plan her next treasure-chest-collecting route.

On the other hand, she still had some expectations. She wanted to confirm once more whether there might still be special treasure chests around the corner.

However, disappointingly, the items in this treasure chest were very ordinary. She only obtained:

【Mineral Water ×3, Braised Beef Instant Noodles ×1, Plastic Washbasin ×1, Toothpaste and Toothbrush Set ×1, Ordinary Iron Ore ×7, Cotton ×2, Wood ×3, Broom Turret ×1, Gold Coins ×7.】

Both the quantity and quality of the items were clearly a level lower. Although having an extra wash set was not bad, its overall value was far inferior to the red treasure chest.

Since she now had a plan in mind, Jiang Jinyue did not rashly pick up or open any ordinary treasure chests again.

The first time treasure chests appeared, the system had prompted that each person could only pick up 3 treasure chests.

She had already opened 2 treasure chests now. If she really only had 1 slot left, then she definitely had to choose another red treasure chest.

Glancing at the identical ordinary treasure chests around her, Jiang Jinyue did not pause at all. She decisively quickened her pace and walked into the distance.

Her footsteps were extremely light. Her entire body seemed weightless as she used the corners and shadows of the corridor to move quickly, her sharp eyes sweeping over every corner.

Very soon, deep in another connected corridor, she discovered a second red treasure chest.

This time, she did not choose to open it on the spot. Instead, she directly picked it up.

The next second, the treasure chest successfully entered a backpack slot, but there was no system notification.

Jiang Jinyue’s heart filled with joy. Her footsteps became even lighter and more agile as she began searching for her next target again.

Soon, just as she turned a corner, she saw a red treasure chest placed right in the middle of the corridor.

Just as she was about to approach it quickly, an unexpected change suddenly occurred.

“Creak…”

A faint door-opening sound, soft but especially clear in the silent environment, came from a dormitory beside the treasure chest.

Jiang Jinyue instantly stopped in her tracks. She tightened her grip on the iron shovel in her hand, pressed her body close to the shadow at the corner, and looked toward the source of the sound with vigilance.

Behind the iron door that had opened, a little girl walked out. Her hair was fluffy, and she wore a bloodstained, worn-out Paul Frank jacket.

The girl looked no more than twelve or thirteen years old. There was still a bit of childishness on her face, and her eyes were bleary with sleep, making her look as if she had just woken up.

When she noticed the scattered treasure chests in the corridor, her sleepy eyes instantly widened. After a flash of joy passed through her eyes, she immediately lightened her movements and looked around warily.