Chapter 11: What It Means to Be a Mature Player
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“We’re saved! The boss has contacted me. I’ll report the situation to him and then we’ll escape together.” Robin hurriedly informed Lei, catching sight of the line of tails behind him. “Uh, you should take them out first too. There’s no other way.”
They certainly couldn’t leave them here to get bombed.
Besides, the shelter door couldn’t be locked.
Although she didn’t quite understand why Lei was being contained or how he managed to have others queueing behind him, Robin found it hard to see Lei and those creatures as the same kind.
To Robin, Lei was human—and quite friendly. It was only natural to take Lei along when escaping.
“Who exactly is this ‘boss’ you keep mentioning?” Lei leaned over to peek at the tablet, but Robin turned away cautiously. “You really look like a spy.”
“I am a spy.”
“Well, no spy would get scared like that...”
Lei had already noticed the wet stains on Robin’s pants, but under Robin’s warm smile—and mainly the intimidating wrench—she wisely kept the second half of her sentence to herself.
Though Robin exuded unprofessional and unreliable vibes from head to toe, she was still a normal person after all.
Lei had her own calculations: having a companion to escape with was safer, and if they ran into security forces, someone could help explain, avoiding the aimless wandering that previously led to being mistaken for a containment breach and locked up.
So Lei waited nearby, watching Robin excitedly tap on the tablet and occasionally turning her head to listen, confirming the collapsing sounds weren’t closing in.
A group of zombies hummed softly as they queued in absolute order.
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Shi Rang’s mind was in chaos.
He pushed aside the thick stack of documents, trying to connect two tangled threads but couldn’t find the end anywhere.
No matter how he looked at it, these were two unrelated matters.
That thief was indeed a thief, and Ying Shang had indeed met him the day before she disappeared...
But Shi Rang couldn’t find any connection between this man and Ying Shang.
At the end of the folder, Anji had written a note in marker:
“You’ve always been short of news material, right? Whether you can find anything or not, these might be useful.”
Anji had been thorough, but Shi Rang had no intention of involving his work in this.
The outlook was bleak.
When Ying Shang disappeared, the thief was still in custody, only bailed out a full week later by his tardy accomplices.
Was the only lead he had pursued for nearly two years about to end like this?
Had he been going in the wrong direction all along?
Leaning back in his chair, Shi Rang took deep breaths repeatedly, forcing himself to break free from the void.
No. Whatever happens, he must investigate this person.
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Whether coincidence or a petty criminal gang’s lackey, none of that mattered.
What did a day’s gap mean? This man was the only suspicious person besides Shi Rang himself who had seen Ying Shang before she disappeared.
That’s right, he had to keep investigating.
Shi Rang wiped his face vigorously twice and sat up straight.
He should have seized the momentum immediately, planned an investigation, and completed the necessary procedures like applying for a business trip, but digesting all this had drained his energy.
He opened his browser in a daze, looking for something to distract himself and pass the time.
Glancing at the still-open 404 page, Shi Rang was about to close it, deciding to treat the past weekend as a bizarre dream.
Just as he moved the mouse to the close button, he refreshed the page one more time without hope.
The next second, Shi Rang’s eyes widened.
The website was back!
So it really was a network glitch earlier?
Shi Rang had little knowledge about such things and didn’t think much of it.
Anyway, the restoration was good news.
He found the chat page again, expecting to have missed much feedback from Robin, and was already planning how to explain past events, only to find no new messages from her.
Could it be that because he was offline, she gave up on this missing host group?
While pondering, a message from Robin arrived.
“Boss, you’re finally back!!! I’ll report the situation immediately!”
Shi Rang was momentarily confused and scrolled up to confirm he hadn’t mistaken the storyline.
Could it be that she was running multiple storylines simultaneously and sent the message to the wrong place?
Otherwise, why had the pronouns changed?
Shi Rang reviewed the previous plot, diving back into the adventure by inhabiting “Host Shi Rang’s” avatar.
The event page showed Robin had only 24 minutes left to escape.
Should he add some pressure to urge her to act quickly?
Time was running out anyway. Better to wrap it up hastily so he could bury himself in sleep and escape reality.
“I’ve already reached the usable shelter on B2 and luckily met someone being contained...”
Robin sent a long report filled with thrilling parts and smooth reasoning.
Notably, many places clearly requiring the host’s intervention had been worked out by Robin herself, likely due to Shi Rang’s absence.
Moreover, her control of pacing was precise—she didn’t deliberately water down the challenges to succeed easily, nor did she breeze through with a simple shortcut. She created a new NPC based on the containment files to drive the plot and even introduced many settings Shi Rang hadn’t known, making it easier for him to continue guiding the story.
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Shi Rang felt deep respect for the players on this website.
Just as when co-writing the files initially, these people weren’t merely role-playing—they were co-creating with him!
The frustration that had lingered in his heart vanished instantly. Shi Rang realized his earlier thoughts had bordered on self-destructive; he had nearly dragged his bad mood into the game.
This realization scared him.
Had he been doing the same in real life?
During the days following Ying Shang’s disappearance, he had received much help and comfort from friends and colleagues, yet he vented his emotions on them, and when the investigation stalled, used them as scapegoats, eventually pushing everyone away. He escaped into new work and new relationships, refusing to face the problem.
No wonder his path had narrowed...
Anji kept contacting him because he was another person still searching for Ying Shang. She didn’t like him personally. Junzi often called to check on him, out of their deep past friendship, but Shi Rang’s avoidance had faded that friendship too.
He couldn’t be so willful anymore.
Composing himself, Shi Rang created a new document to organize the current clues.
He found information on “Lei” that Robin mentioned in the main database—CVA-D-9013, “Queue Order,” with matching number and content. Shi Rang had seen files describing humans before, but mostly heavyweight, high-level cases; this “minor character” received scant attention.
Lei’s ability was intriguing but limited. The file said his influence was restricted to humans, yet it also affected zombies?
Were zombies considered “human”? Or was it because of their high similarity to humans that they were affected?
Or was this a “secondary creation” setting?
After Robin was endangered, Lei apparently turned his back, allowing the zombie horde to witness his rear. The “queue effect” immediately spread among the synchronized zombies, making them all Lei’s followers.
Robin had now reached B2, just steps from the exit. The risk level of shallow containment objects was low, and the hope for escape was near.
Shi Rang checked the latest map and saw multiple collapses in the facility, with large areas marked red.
The original route was occupied by the “Seed of Doom” that had come through the ventilation shafts.
Whether investigator or not, the plant diligently expanded its territory.
Robin had to take a detour.
Tracing the “plant-occupied zone” with his mouse, Shi Rang scanned back and forth, estimating the time needed for the detour.
Soon, he found a good “shortcut.”
“Robin, the situation has changed. Alter your escape route.”
“Go up to B1 via the nearest stairwell, pass directly through the ‘Control Room,’ and head for the exit!”