SITS CH26

Chapter 26: Escaping Alive

Shen Man sat on the cushion and was lowered into an isolated room via the elevator mechanism. Inside the room lay a coffin. Without his walkie-talkie at hand, he scoured the room, eventually locating a clue. After deciphering it, the general gist was to have him lie inside the coffin and pretend to be a corpse to evade the searching ghosts.

Shen Man swiftly stripped off the bridal gown, thinking to himself that it was a good thing he was the one kneeling on the cushion. Had it been Zhao Rui, tomorrow’s social news headlines would definitely feature someone being literally scared to death inside an escape room.

On the other side, having sacrificed Shen Man, Xu Zhouye and the rest successfully regrouped with the main party.

“Where’s Shen Man? Why isn’t he here?” the manager asked, puzzled.

“The Captain is gone,” Zhao Rui wiped his tears. “He looked very peaceful when he left…”

Manager: “????” Knowing Zhao Rui was just talking out of his ass, he hurriedly turned to Xu Zhouye: “He tapped out?”

Xu Zhouye said, “No, he was taken away while we were bowing in the wedding ceremony.”

The moment he said this, the chaotic scene instantly fell silent, and nine pairs of eyes fixed entirely upon him.

Xu Zhouye was baffled: “Why are you looking at me?”

“You and Shen Man bowed in a wedding ceremony?” the manager asked.

Xu Zhouye said, “Yeah.”

“Then who wore the women’s outfit?” Zhang Chaoyun joined the commotion.

Xu Zhouye: “…” He fell silent for a moment, suddenly comprehending what this bunch was getting so excited about. “You guys—”

Zhang Chaoyun: “So where is Shen Man?”

“He was snatched away,” Zhao Rui said. “Now we have to rescue him.”

Splendid. Now it had turned into a “rescue the princess” storyline.

Everyone suddenly grew elated, the air filling with a joyous atmosphere.

Only Xu Zhouye knew in his heart that Shen Man would have stripped that outfit off the very first second he could. Excellent. The only person who got to look at Shen Man closely was him.

Isolated in the room, Shen Man felt rather bored.

Although so-called ghost NPCs would occasionally patrol the area, he was left alone for the vast majority of the time. This segment of the gameplay experience was far too poor; he’d have to file a complaint once he got out.

That group’s puzzle-solving speed was truly worrisome. NPCs had come and gone two or three times, yet there was still no sign of the others.

Finally, Shen Man couldn’t take it anymore. When the NPC arrived again, he poked his head out of the coffin.

“Hey, buddy,” Shen Man called out.

That “buddy” gave the NPC quite a fright: “You’re supposed to hide from me, you can’t talk to me.” Having said that, he shot a glance at Shen Man, his eyes instantly widening. “SLOW? You’re SLOW??”

Shen Man: “…” Great, running into fans even here. Now he was the one who didn’t want to talk.

The NPC was ecstatic for two whole minutes before fortunately remembering he was still on the clock. Returning to normal, he whispered, “Man-shen, what do you want to ask? I’ll tell you quietly.”

Shen Man felt a bit helpless: “I just wanted to ask what stage of the puzzles they’ve reached. I’ve been lying here for practically half a day.”

The NPC said, “It’s gonna be a while. They’re stuck on a stage. One of your friends is too scared to go down the well, so they’re in a standoff.”

Shen Man: “…” Definitely that idiot Zhao Rui.

The NPC said, “Probably gonna be a while longer, how about you take a nap?”

Shen Man was rendered speechless.

The only consoling thought was that the designers had likely anticipated players would stay here for a long time; the inside of the coffin was specially padded to be quite comfortable. Lying down wasn’t too bad, except ventilation was poor with the lid closed.

Sighing, Shen Man thought to himself: with this amount of time, why didn’t he just book a hotel room outside and sleep the afternoon away… instead of lying here suffering this torment.

The NPC who recognized Shen Man seemed reluctant to leave, sneaking over every now and then to relay intel to Shen Man.

“They went down the well! Went down the well! Finally went down!”

“Cleared another stage, they were pretty fast this time.”

“Once they grab the monster-slaying sword, they can come find you…”

Lying in the coffin, Shen Man felt as though his own corpse was genuinely about to undergo rigor mortis.

“They’re almost here,” the NPC fan said loudly. “Man-shen, I’ve always been an ACE fan, I’ve liked you for seven or eight years! Could I get your autograph?”

Shen Man: “…” Liked me for seven or eight years my ass, ACE was only founded five years ago.

But seeing how excellent his conversational service had been, Shen Man didn’t have the heart to refuse, signing an autograph on the clothing the fan presented.

The fan left satisfied, telling Shen Man before departing that his companions were on the way and to stay calm.

Shen Man thought to himself, it was a good thing this escape room was fake. If it were real, at the speed they were arriving, he could be cremated right on time before putrefaction set in.

The nine of them arrived chattering noisily. Clutching a sword, Xu Zhouye plunged it into the slot in the center of the door. With a creak, the door opened, revealing Shen Man sitting in the coffin behind it, sporting a face sourer than an actual dead man’s.

The crowd swarmed in, practically bursting with excitement, all wanting to see what Shen Man looked like in a bridal gown.

Naturally, this expectation was destined to be dashed.

“Why’d you take it off?!” Zhang Chaoyun slapped his thigh in regret.

Through gritted teeth, Shen Man squeezed out: “Since you love it so much, how about you try it on?”

Zhang Chaoyun chuckled sheepishly, scratching his head: “I wouldn’t look good in it.”

Shen Man: “Scram!”

Everyone roared with laughter.

Picking up Shen Man, the full party finally regrouped and continued pushing progress.

Passing a few more puzzles, they quickly reached the ending.

Having played the star-crossed lovers, Shen Man and Xu Zhouye entered one room alone, while the rest entered another.

Just then, the background music suddenly turned incredibly sorrowful, beginning to narrate the tragic tale.

The gist was that the woman had died a tragic, unexpected death on her wedding day, turning into a mindless, vengeful spirit. Hoping to grant her peace, her husband returned to the hometown, only to discover that her death wasn’t an accident—she had been sacrificed by the local villagers to suppress an evil entity.

Having awakened the woman’s consciousness, the lovers finally reunited. But a difficult choice now lay before them: if the man performed a ritual of salvation for the woman, his beloved would vanish forever. If he refused, the woman would slaughter everyone…

The choice was presented before them.

The curtain in front of Shen Man and Xu Zhouye dropped, revealing a torch and a skeleton before their eyes.

Judging by the clothing on the skeleton, it was the brutally murdered woman—and the only way to grant her salvation was to burn her corpse.

Not far from the skeleton was a room made of one-way glass, where Zhao Rui and the others were currently chatting inside.

The ticking of a countdown echoed by their ears…

If they didn’t burn her corpse, the ones who would die were their teammates.

Shen Man and Xu Zhouye exchanged a glance, reading the same answer in each other’s eyes.

In the surveillance room, the staff member watched the players walk up to the torch and pick it up. This scene wasn’t unusual; the vast majority of players would choose this option to save their companions. Yet the very next second, the player’s cold sneer crackled through the walkie-talkie: “Can I burn my teammates to death?”

Staff member: “Of course you can… wait, what are you trying to burn?”

“My teammates,” Shen Man said coldly, holding the torch. “Seeing them laughing so happily makes my whole body uncomfortable.”

Staff member: “…”

Why does his tone sound even more vengeful than the female ghost’s?

After a moment of silence, the staff member delivered a disappointing response: “Apologies, we do not have that option.”

Shen Man clicked his tongue in disgust.

The staff member added weakly, “You don’t need to do it yourself, they’ll die on their own in a bit.”

Shen Man: “That’s more like it.”

Staff member: “…”

Inside the room, Zhao Rui and the rest were still chatting away gleefully, saying how gorgeous Shen Man looked in the bridal gown and that it was truly everyone else’s loss for missing it. Mid-conversation, someone suddenly noticed something amiss. Glancing down at the floor, they said, “Hey? Why is our floor descending?”

With so many people around, Zhao Rui wasn’t scared anymore: “Hah, look how cowardly you are, hallucinating from fear?”

“No!” Liu Shishi said in terror. “The floor really is descending!”

Everyone looked down and realized the floor was indeed sinking. Not only that, but the floor was actually a giant display screen. A horrifying female ghost’s face materialized on the floor, and accompanied by a blood-curdling shriek, the entirety of ACE, MIN, and one manager were successfully team-wiped.

Having exited earlier, Shen Man and Xu Zhouye saw the group led out looking ashen-faced, clearly still reeling from the shock.

“Why was that the ending?” As the host, Luo Zhile didn’t understand why the ending turned out like that, turning to ask the staff member.

The staff member phrased it delicately, explaining that this theme had multiple endings, all dependent on the choices made halfway through…

Having said that, he quietly cast a glance at Shen Man standing nearby with his arms crossed: “Cough, cough, we welcome you to continue exploring next time!”

Shen Man: “Heh.”

Luo Zhile looked completely bewildered, still not understanding.

“I’m extremely happy today. Dinner’s on me tonight,” Xu Zhouye interjected, interrupting everyone’s thoughts. “What does everyone want to eat?”

“Anything works, let’s get hotpot,” Zhang Chaoyun said. “Starving to death here.”

“Let’s go, let’s go,” the manager corralled everyone. “I know a pretty decent place nearby…”

Having played for hours on end, everyone was quite famished.

Young men in their early twenties were exactly at the age of voracious appetites. Ordering a massive table full of dishes, everyone dug in with fiery enthusiasm.

Shen Man loved hotpot, and being hungry to begin with, his chopsticks never stopped moving.

But halfway through the meal, Zhang Chaoyun suddenly stepped out to take a call and never returned. Luo Zhile went out to check on him, and ended up disappearing as well.

“Where did those two go?” Zhao Rui mumbled around a chunk of potato in his mouth. “Got lost?”

Shen Man looked at him with disgust: “Swallow first before you speak properly.” He stood up: “I’ll go check.”

He hadn’t walked far before hearing voices conversing.

The voices were familiar—it was indeed Zhang Chaoyun and Luo Zhile.

Luo Zhile was apologizing to Zhang Chaoyun, saying, “Captain, I’m sorry, I’m truly sorry.”

Zhang Chaoyun sounded a bit resigned: “Forget it, no need to apologize. Staying at MIN really is a waste of your talents.”

If Zhang Chaoyun had reprimanded him, it might have been better. Yet this understanding attitude only made Luo Zhile feel worse, his voice even catching with a sob: “Captain, just scold me. I’m sorry…”

Zhang Chaoyun patted his shoulder: “You haven’t done me any wrong either. But when did you decide you wanted to leave?”

Luo Zhile said, “When we beat UN…”

The moment those words left his mouth, Zhang Chaoyun deflated like a punctured balloon, his entire demeanor slumping.

Indeed, that match against UN proved Luo Zhile’s strength. Carrying the entire game by himself and tasting the sweetness of victory, Luo Zhile clearly realized that he wasn’t suited for MIN.

“I feel MIN’s playstyle doesn’t suit me very well,” Luo Zhile kept his head bowed, wishing he could bury it in his stomach. “I also want… I also want to stand on that stage and hoist that trophy…”

Zhang Chaoyun sighed.

To hoist that trophy—was that not the dream of every pro player? Yet how many could actually achieve it? In that moment, Zhang Chaoyun seemed to age considerably. He said, “Alright then. Go on.”

Luo Zhile hesitated, wanting to say more.

Zhang Chaoyun gave a resigned smile: “That’s enough. Even if the deal falls through, the goodwill remains. Go.”

Luo Zhile hesitated for a moment longer. Seeing that Zhang Chaoyun truly had nothing more to say, he finally turned and walked away. He had initially assumed that, at the very least, a fierce argument would break out between him and Zhang Chaoyun; he hadn’t expected it to end in such a light, understated manner. Returning inside, Luo Zhile ran into Shen Man standing by the door and halted his steps.

“Shen-ge,” Luo Zhile called out softly.

“It’s fine. Head inside,” Shen Man gestured inside with a slight lift of his chin.

Luo Zhile knew he must have overheard. Poursing his lips, he wanted to say something, but was cut off by Shen Man.

“No need to explain it to me,” Shen Man said. “This has nothing to do with me. It’s your own business.”

Luo Zhile: “…”

Shen Man: “Go inside.”

Luo Zhile: “Okay…”

The two remained silent for a while before Zhang Chaoyun spoke: “You’re not going to comfort me?”

Shen Man: “?”

Zhang Chaoyun: “I thought you’d at least offer a couple words of consolation.”

Shen Man said expressionlessly, “How old are you already? Still need me to comfort you?”

Zhang Chaoyun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Even though Shen Man was two years younger than him, interacting with him always made it feel as though Shen Man was the older one. He asked, “Back when Qin Yixing left with Yang Shanhe, how did you feel?”

Shen Man found it baffling: “What do you mean, how did I feel?”

Zhang Chaoyun said, “ACE nearly disbanded. Weren’t you sad?”

Back then, Qin Yixing was poached by TKR for a sky-high price. Had Shen Man agreed to leave with him, ACE as a team would have practically dissolved. Yet nobody had expected Shen Man to reject an astronomical signing fee to remain at ACE.

Shen Man said, “As long as I’m here, ACE won’t disband.”

He said it carelessly, yet the underlying confidence in his tone stung Zhang Chaoyun nonetheless. Shen Man possessed that confidence, but Zhang Chaoyun certainly didn’t. Luo Zhile was a Marksman he had personally scouted; although he had only played one season, the kid clearly harbored immense potential. With their abysmal results this season, he had originally pinned his hopes on making changes next season. He hadn’t expected Luo Zhile to be poached before the transfer window even opened.

Zhang Chaoyun wasn’t Shen Man. If MIN kept playing like this, the entire roster would probably need an overhaul.

Zhang Chaoyun said, “I can tell you truly weren’t sad.”

Shen Man spread his hands.

“Looks like we really overthought things in the past,” Zhang Chaoyun sighed helplessly. “Never dared to bring it up, afraid it would make you sad. So why didn’t you go to TKR back then? If you went, you might have won Worlds again these past two years.”

Shen Man stayed quiet for a moment: “Moving is too troublesome.”

Zhang Chaoyun: “…”

“Plus, the city TKR’s base is in doesn’t eat spicy food,” Shen Man said.

Zhang Chaoyun: “…”

Shen Man said earnestly, “I couldn’t get used to the food.”

Zhang Chaoyun: “…That’s it?”

Shen Man said, “What else would it be?”

Zhang Chaoyun: “…” He was utterly speechless.

“Does Qin Yixing know you refused to go because of this reason?” Zhang Chaoyun was far too curious about the tangled grudge between the two.

Shen Man shook his head: “Don’t know what he thinks.” He didn’t much care, either.

Zhang Chaoyun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“All the bustling in the world is for the sake of profit, and all the scrambling in the world is for the sake of profit,” Shen Man said. “Don’t care too much about other people’s business. Everyone has their own unspoken difficulties, and their own paths to walk.” Qin Yixing needed money, so when he left, Shen Man genuinely held no blame toward him deep down.

Life had thousands of diverging paths; parting and reuniting were simply the norm.

However, not many possessed Shen Man’s mentality—at the very least, Zhang Chaoyun couldn’t do it.

He said with a bitter, gloomy face that he genuinely didn’t want to retire with this season’s match record to his name. But with MIN’s current results, what promising pro player would ever dare join?

Shen Man said, “It’s fine, look on the bright side. Your upper management will be having headaches right alongside you.”

Zhang Chaoyun looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh: “Fair enough, chatting with you makes me feel much better.”

Shen Man asked him what felt better.

Zhang Chaoyun said if his corpse was just getting cold earlier, it was fully decomposed by now.

Shen Man: “…”