Chapter 2: Meeting the Protagonist (1)

An eerie, ghostly aura permeated the gloomy factory.

The smell of dust assaulted the nose. Overhead, dim glass lamps swayed uneasily. Various shipping containers were parked all around the factory floor. A slender, tall man sat carelessly on top of one of the containers, his prominent knuckles playing with a Swiss Army knife.

The cold voice of the Scenario System suddenly rang out in his ears.

"Congratulations, players, on arriving at the Hope Factory. Recently, workers at the factory have been disappearing inexplicably, bringing immense distress to the boss. Therefore, we hope all players will work hard to solve the boss's troubles."

Solve the boss's troubles?

So, how many players are there in total?

And are there any traitors among the players?

‘I hope there are fewer newbies. Having people drag down the team is always a hassle.’

Wei Yanchi let out a yawn, his thoughts driven by sheer boredom. The main event hadn't started yet, so he could relax for a moment.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and then suddenly looked toward the door.

Someone was coming.

Creak— The rusty iron door opened, and sunlight poured in like water.

Wei Yanchi's movements with the army knife paused. His entire being, including his breathing and heartbeat, seemed to stagnate and skip a beat for a split second.

Walking in from the doorway along with the sunlight was a tall man with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He wore a dark leather trench coat. His flowing silver-white hair seemed even silkier than the sunlight. The shadows somewhat obscured his facial features, but one could still discern his cold, sharp contours. His skin was a cool pale white. He possessed a dangerous yet intensely mysterious beauty.

Indeed, just as the system "Gibberish" had said, there are some people who, just by standing there, make others feel it would be an absolute pity if they ended up as cannon fodder.

Wei Yanchi pressed his tongue against his upper palate, fighting the urge to whistle. His gaze assessed the newcomer unceremoniously.

‘Is that silver-white hair real?’

Is he a foreigner?

A veteran player or a newbie?

He took the initiative to greet him, a brazen, unrestrained smile hooking the corners of his handsome face.

"Hey handsome, care to get to know each other? My name is Wei Yanchi."

The man seemed to just notice him. He lifted his head slightly, and his eyes were surprisingly not a pure black, but rather a deep, dark green. They were slanted upwards and narrow. His gaze was sharp and indifferent, carrying an undisguised aggressiveness as he carefully scrutinized Wei Yanchi before looking away.

"39."

It was a deep, slightly hoarse voice.

Incredible.

Wei Yanchi felt himself suck in a breath. Yup, for some inexplicable reason, this hit all of his sweet spots.

"29?" He jumped down from the shipping container and smiled faintly. "A very nice code name. So, should I call you 39?"

"Mm."

Using numbers instead of a name? What a strange setup. Wei Yanchi couldn't recall any organization in the world that used numbers for names. Was it a newly emerged one? But with a temperament like 39's, would a new organization even have someone like him?

Or was some veteran organization probing the waters?

Mr. 39 clearly didn't like to talk much. He stood there quietly, waiting for the other players to arrive.

His head was lowered slightly as he looked at the ground, his silver hair cascading smoothly over his shoulders.

He's quite obedient.

Wei Yanchi couldn't help but study him, his hands itching with the desire to stroke that silver hair. He could practically imagine the silk-like texture slipping through his fingertips.

Even Mr. 39's eyelashes and eyebrows were silver. This meant the hair color was genuine and not the result of albinism, as there's a distinct difference between white and silver.

With eyes like that and such deep-set features, he had to be of mixed heritage.

The man before him seemed annoyed by his stare. He pulled a phone out of his clothes and walked to the side, completely ignoring him.

Wei Yanchi crossed his arms in amusement. He didn't dial back his gaze in the slightest, staring naturally and openly.

His eyes trailed down from the long silver hair to just below it, to the lean waist faintly outlined by a belt.

…………

Xie De: “Gibberish!! Save me!”

Xie De: “Don't play dead. If you don't tell me what to do next, I'm going to die right here."

Xie De gritted his teeth. On the outside, he remained perfectly composed as he silently moved a bit further away from the protagonist, while frantically calling out to Gibberish in his mind.

The protagonist was undeniably good-looking, as refreshing as a spring breeze. Gentle and humble, yet wildly uninhibited. Dressed in a white shirt and sneakers, he looked exactly like a polite scholar.

Xie De thought with a pang in his heart. He's probably evenly matched with how I look right now.

Thinking back on the three months of hellish emergency training he had endured, Xie De couldn't help but want to tremble and cry. It was simply inhumane and brutally cruel. Just thinking about it made his heart quiver.

Gibberish is a maniac! A maniac!!

He hated his past self for not taking this seriously.

Now, his facial nerves responsible for expressing emotion seemed to have been electrocuted into paralysis by Gibberish.

I won't just permanently become expressionless, will I?

"Host, ٩(◦`꒳´◦)۶, stay steady. You're doing great."

"(ง•̀灬•́)ง, Those three months of training really paid off. Host, you've made huge progress! You can actually remain so calm upon seeing the protagonist."

Calm my ass! Don't think you're cute just because you use kaomoji!

"Didn't you notice the protagonist has been staring at me the whole time? What does he want? He doesn't want to kill me, does he?"

Gibberish offered a simple analysis.

"It's possible, because right now you look like someone not to be messed with, and you give off a 'bad guy' vibe. However, based on my analysis, the protagonist won't kill you for now. The scenario is very dangerous, so you guys will need to cooperate."

And whose fault is it that I look like this?

Without replying, Xie De put his phone away.

The protagonist was still smiling at him and said gently, "There's no signal here. Are you a new player?"

"Mm."

Xie De watched him warily.

The protagonist leaned in a bit closer. His healthy, fair skin resembled warm jade. He didn't look at all like the man Gibberish had used to terrify Xie De, a man who "killed without blinking and ate people without salt." His voice was very mild, too.

"Mr. 39, are you special forces from the national team?"

Special forces??

Does it have to be so edgy?

Xie De was a bit bewildered as to why the protagonist would ask that. But he neither confirmed nor denied it. Adhering to the principle of "the more you say, the more mistakes you make," he let the protagonist guess for himself.

Wei Yanchi looked at the man's aloof and guarded demeanor, thinking he looked exactly like a proud, long-haired Maine Coon cat.

My hands are itching. I want to pet him.

"Then Mr. 39 surely knows about this so-called instance escape game, right?"

"I know."

"We call this escape game the 'Scenario.' There are many opportunities here. If you want, you can even do whatever you please in this place," Wei Yanchi said with a smile. "For Mr. 39, it should be quite simple."

Simple? Xie De felt like the protagonist was mocking him.

At that moment, several more people trickled through the large doors.

Every one of them looked grim, sporting gloomy expressions and guarding against each other.

There were five in total: three men and two women.

Wei Yanchi assessed them and curled his lips into an amused smile. They were all veteran players. It seemed Mr. 39 was the only newbie.

An older-looking man wearing glasses was called Lao You.

A taciturn, decisive woman was named Yue Xiamo.

A sweet-looking, expressionless girl was Hu Wei.

A muscular, burly man was Li Luohan.

A gloomy, short-statured man was Fang Jueshan.

Wei Yanchi smiled faintly and took the initiative to introduce everyone.

"Long time no see, everyone. This is a newcomer, 39."

Seeing Wei Yanchi here, everyone immediately tensed up, as if a mouse spotted a cat. Every inch of their bodies went on high alert.

Hu Wei's gaze swept over 39's figure. She paused for a moment before silently retracting her gaze.

Such an imposing presence actually exists?

Probably another dangerous guy.