Chapter 16
The first floor had already been searched. Jiang Jitang followed the slanted corridor to the entrance of the multimedia exhibition hall—now on the second floor.
It was now the 53rd minute of the game. Six people had been eliminated, scoring ninety points.
Only three remained.
Since growing up, he hadn’t played hide-and-seek so freely and wildly. He decided to temporarily forgive the system for arbitrarily cutting off his “food and medical supplies” option.
The game was so much fun.
The cheerful hunter casually whistled. The crisp, melodious sound was like the trembling of a devil.
Minute 67.
From the gap in the ceiling, a head peeked in, along with a photo frame.
“Censored.”
“!!!”
[Fraudster Aveta has been eliminated.]
Minute 74.
Inside a 20cm-wide gap in the wall behind an LCD panel, a face peeked out from the crack. Its gaze moved and landed on a skeleton wrapped in skin.
“Hey, the hunter’s here~”
“!!!”
[Glutton Mark has been eliminated.]
Minute 88.
On the rooftop, a beam of light shone precisely on a creepy figure hanging upside down outside the wall. At the end of the light stood a frightening man with a shy smile, insincerely saying, “Sorry to bother you. Smile, have a nice life,” while quickly snapping the frame.
[Hanged Man Toby has been eliminated.]
[The seeker caught all hiders within ninety minutes and completed the game. Player has cleared “Night at the Art Museum.”]
[Game over. Non-players have one and a half minutes remaining.]
Jiang Jitang suddenly thought of something. He pulled out a mask large enough to cover most of his face and put it on.
He wasn’t ready to reveal his identity yet.
Then, a bubble window appeared—visible only to him:
[Congratulations, player, for completing the ‘Let’s Play Hide-and-Seek’ challenge. You have received 200 points, one wishing star, and a hide-and-seek game souvenir: ‘Empty Picture Frame.’]
[Empty Picture Frame: Upon opening, produces a 15×15cm frame. Direct contact with skin transforms the target into an oil painting. Usable only in special domains. One-time use item. Note: targets with stronger mental fortitude than the user may break free—use with caution.]
As soon as the prompt ended, the pitch-dark abandoned art museum lit up. Under the lights, it looked magnificent, with no trace of abandonment.
Facing him now were a group of seven in utterly miserable condition. Only two were relatively intact; the rest bore severe injuries and had lost combat capability.
A blond man had even lost an arm, with his intestines excavated. A teammate was currently holding his intestines in place, while his severed limb was stored in a special container.
Were they planning to take him back for treatment? Using some kind of tool, or relying on modern medical methods?
These people carry misfortune similar to Officer Han. Judging from their positioning, they clearly don’t know each other well. Men, women, old, young, all skin colors—very international.
Jiang Jitang thought this, his face expressionless, exuding a forbidding coolness that warned others to stay away.
He thought it was just a simple hide-and-seek match, yet it now seemed more like the other side of some horror game. Could it be…?
His gaze swept quickly over their clothes and faces.
All very ordinary clothing.
But precisely too ordinary—as if they were people he would run into in everyday life.
“We survived.” The brown-haired woman in front had red-rimmed eyes. Her voice carried relief after surviving disaster along with a sob, “Merciful Lord, thank you for answering my prayers.”
She knelt down to pray, tears streaming, utterly panicked, blind to everything around her.
She was an ordinary person, without any special training—her mental state was concerning.
“How did you do it? So many monsters.” The blond man, nearly dying himself, still found the strength to ask.
“I never knew this damned game allowed off-field assistance.”
“Hey man, are you an Eastern player? From which country? C-Country?”
The others were overwhelmingly emotional, speaking over one another in excitement from having just escaped death.
It seemed the monsters they encountered were nowhere near as “gentle and friendly” as the ones he faced—likely thanks to the Wish-Fulfillment General Store System.
Also, they were clearly not first-timers in this kind of deadly game, and they had never encountered “external aid” like him before.
“You’re welcome,” said Jiang Jitang, satisfied with the 200 points and the Wishing star he had earned. He pointed toward the severely injured among them. “But… will they be fine like this?”
“Thank you for your concern. We’ll figure it out once we’re back.” Healing items were extremely scarce; injuries piled with multiple debilitating debuffs would cost a fortune. But money was worth sacrificing—not their lives.
Watching the countdown enter its final minute, Jiang Jitang snapped his fingers.
A silent radiance dispelled some of the black, thread-like curse. The seven felt unprecedented clarity in their minds, and their injuries began healing rapidly—even minor wounds vanished entirely.
They looked toward where the external assistant stood before—but bathed in light, he had already left.
Back home, the first thing Jiang Jitang did was turn on his phone and search.
“XX Art Museum, a well-known private art gallery, built in…” The webpage displayed that very museum.
He slowly exhaled.
All the puzzles now had answers.
It was as if this world had gone mad.
“Jitang—Jitang—” The visitor at the back door was still ringing the bell. Jiang Jitang looked toward the rear entrance.
The iron gate opened.
“Song Ji’an?” Jiang Jitang wasn’t entirely sure. He had little impression of the Song family.
The Song family was his biological father’s family. The man waiting in the backyard was the one who had messaged him a few days ago asking, “Are you okay? Why aren’t you answering my calls?”—a suspicious person from the Song family.
He had continued sending harassing messages with no substantial content these past days, until finally showing up in person.
“Yes, cousin Jitang, I…”
“I almost died.” Jiang Jitang cut him off, watching his expression. “The other party used… something beyond common sense.”
The man’s face went pale—not with surprise, but with a look of “as expected”, “mentally prepared.”
“You know something.” Jiang Jitang concluded. His tone was gentle, but he was undeniably pressing him.
The man nervously glanced around and lowered his voice. “Can we talk inside?”
Jiang Jitang stepped aside.
But they didn’t go upstairs—only stayed in the courtyard.
“I’m not used to outsiders entering my house, so let’s talk here. Apologies for the lack of hospitality.”
Since Jiang Jitang had spoken, the visitor could only accept it.
“You rushed over so anxiously—there must be a reason?”
His parents had divorced when he was six months old. Since then, they hadn’t even met, and there was no child support. So even if Song Ji’an showed goodwill, to him it was like a weasel wishing a chicken Happy New Year.
Whether he was actually the weasel… that depended on the answers to come.
“Do you know about the ‘Cube World’?”
“Cube World?”
At the clearly pronounced words “Cube World.”, Song Ji’an’s expression changed again. “So you also…”
You also?
“No wonder you came out unscathed. You used an item brought from Cube World?”
Jiang Jitang didn’t answer.
He had just played a small game, and suddenly, the hidden corners of this world were no longer guarded against him.
Officer Han mentioned it, Song Ji’an mentioned it—it was all connected. Even the attacks he suffered were related.
Wonderful.
“Jitang, do you know the ‘Dongying Association’?”
Song Ji’an confirmed him as one of their kind, and for the rest of the time, he confessed everything. He said he entered Cube World a year ago. As the game modules he accessed grew increasingly difficult, he joined a civilian organization.
A month ago, his organization received vital intel: the leader of the Dongying Association was looking for a man with golden blood, born on a specific date.
Song Ji’an immediately thought of Jiang Jitang.
Because Jiang Jitang was one of only fifty known golden blood cases worldwide—and was born precisely on that exact date.
After extensive inquiry, Song Ji’an learned that someone crucial to them had narrowly escaped death from the game but was struck with a guaranteed-fatal curse. They needed someone born on that exact day, with the same blood type, to transfer the curse onto.
“So that’s why you suddenly showed up a month ago and insisted on adding me on Feixin?” Jiang Jitang stroked his chin and asked a rather ruthless question. “But you didn’t do anything, did you?”
“Sorry.” Song Ji’an gave a bitter smile.
“It’s fine. Even if you’d told me, I wouldn’t have placed any hope in you. Don’t pressure yourself too much. In the end, we’re strangers.”
Song Ji’an clenched his fingers. He rolled up his sleeves and shirt to show the black worm-like crawling scars on his arms and torso. “When I heard something happened here, I wanted to come, but I was hospitalized for a few days.”
And it was exactly in those absent few days… that the incident occurred.
“When was that?”
Song Ji’an gave a rough timeframe. Jiang Jitang thought about it—it was the same day as his encounter.
Actually, he took everything Song Ji’an said with caution. By nature highly suspicious, he only believed conclusions reached through his own collection and analysis of information.
“How did you even think to come to confirm things with me? Because the Dongying Association failed, so you had doubts?”
“Exactly. I got the info—they succeeded, but only halfway. That person is barely hanging on.” So Song Ji’an kept messaging him but never got a reply, which was why he came here in person.
“I haven’t been in Cube World very long. Someone invited me to play a game at the time…” Jiang Jitang spoke slowly, subtly observing his expression.
“Was it an invite code for a browser mini-game—no download needed?”
“Mm.”
“I knew it. Ever since ‘immunity passes’ suddenly popped up in Cube World a month ago…” Song Ji’an gritted his teeth.
Turns out Cube World had existed for two years and eight months.
The earliest players were all those who died unexpectedly or violently. In other words—for two years and seven months—excluding suicides and deaths from old age, others had the chance to enter Cube World.
Because the number was limited, and gameplay only extended those players’ lives while providing game items, its existence hadn’t affected reality. Governments were aware but did not pay attention.
But a month ago, Cube World introduced “Immunity Passes.” Each player could acquire up to three. But immunity passes required newcomers in exchange.
That is—invite a newcomer in, receive one immunity pass—up to three.
Those who had long interacted with Cube World began suffering psychological issues. Even if they could no longer receive immunity passes themselves, they would still invite newcomers into that world.
“I am trapped in hell—why should you be allowed to live in the light?”
The number of people dragged in far exceeded expectations.
“The people from the Dongying Association won’t stop. Jitang, if possible, you should join a well-known game-clearance organization. My current group works. There aren’t many who can restrain the Dongying Association, and even fewer willing to protect lower-tier players.”
“No need.”
Song Ji’an looked disappointed.
“You could pretend you never knew any of this.” Jiang Jitang looked at him, wondering why this person was showing kindness. They had barely any relationship—let alone emotional ties. As for his potential, honestly, a few days ago he was just ordinary.
“Is it because of Song Shiren?” After thinking it through, that was the only possibility.
“It has nothing to do with Uncle,” Song Ji’an shook his head. “Aunt—your mother—once saved my mother at the old house. She’s divorced and living outside now, doing well. After coming of age, I severed ties with the Song family.”
He said no more, leaving behind a business card before departing.
After Song Ji’an left, Jiang Jitang went upstairs to wash his hands, sprayed disinfectant, and then entered the kitchen to prepare the chicken he had bought.
These matters could be handled anytime. Missing dinner—meant missing dinner.
