Chapter 7: Yin Fate (I)
Qiao Yuan was woken up by the noise.
Before she opened her eyes, she heard a roar mixed with dirty words: "What nightmare game? You'll die if you don't play it? What if I don't play it?"
"Stop the car and let me off, or I'll bring my brothers to beat you to death later..."
The background sounds also included faint crying and gentle explanations, and the various sounds mixed together like a disordered symphony in the first rehearsal.
After opening her eyes, Qiao Yuan found that the scene in front of her was much more lively than she had heard.
She was sitting in the back seat of a bumpy van. Besides her, there were several other people crammed into the not-so-spacious back seat, all wearing the same loose red coats.
Qiao Yuan's eyes swept across the people present from left to right, and soon fell on one of the figures, and his gaze paused.
These familiar facial features, this unruly temperament that is hard to replicate...
It can't be wrong.
The person in front of him was Song Yanchi, whom he had just met on a variety show.
The other party is also a player.
However, thinking of Song Yanchi's character, Qiao Yuan decided to pretend that he did not see him.
At this time, Song Yanchi was sitting in the corner with his arms folded. Just like when he was on the show, his eyes and eyebrows revealed impatience, but he was very silent, which was in sharp contrast to the middle-aged man who was roaring beside him.
Qiao Yuan had learned from the forum that most of the newcomers entered the group dungeon and were led by veteran players. Obviously, the middle-aged man in front of him was the newcomer.
Sitting in front of him was a young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses. He had a handsome and fair complexion, and even without a suit he looked like a social elite. He was patiently explaining something to him, and even when the other party kept calling him "Laozi", he showed no sign of anger. It seemed that he was also a veteran player.
However, the middle-aged man didn't listen at all until Song Yanchi on the side cursed impatiently, "Shut up, or I'll throw you out", and finally stopped talking temporarily.
He was a man who looked strong on the outside but was actually weak on the inside. After discovering that Song Yanchi might really do this, he certainly didn't dare to do it again. But soon he became agitated again, and as if he had thought of something, he pushed the young man with glasses away, and then rushed to the front driver's seat with a ferocious look, obviously trying to make the driver stop by threatening him.
The next second, the rear door of the car suddenly opened, strong wind rushed in, and the middle-aged man near the door fell out instantly.
According to the vehicle's constant speed, the middle-aged man should have only suffered some scratches when he fell to the ground. However, in reality, the middle-aged man was like falling from a height of several thousand meters. The moment he hit the ground, he didn't even have time to scream before he turned into a pool of meat paste.
The people in the back seat also witnessed the scene through the car window. They watched helplessly as a living person who had been shouting just a moment ago turned into a shapeless bloody paste in the blink of an eye. Only the cloth vaguely blown by the wind indicated that he had once existed.
Everything happened so suddenly that the carriage fell into a brief silence.
It was not until the car door was closed and the vehicle continued to move forward, leaving the pool of flesh behind, that a girl with a ponytail let out a shrill scream. A couple hugged each other with trembling bodies, and a Shamatte boy with a complicated colorful hairstyle lowered his head with a pale face and made bursts of dry heaving sounds.
Qiao Yuan had a good tolerance, so he didn't have any special reaction. He just lowered his eyes and asked the system in his heart: "Is this the punishment for not playing games?"
System: [Yes.]
[The moment a player leaves the vehicle, he or she is deemed to have refused to participate in the game.]
After getting the answer he wanted, Qiao Yuan didn't feel much relieved.
She began to observe the reactions of the people around her out of the corner of her eyes, and soon distinguished the new players from the old players based on their reactions.
Song Yanchi remained calm throughout the whole process, and Qiao Yuan guessed that he was also a veteran player.
"I'm sure everyone has seen that this is the price of not wanting to participate in the game." A regretful male voice sounded, attracting everyone's attention.
Qiao Yuan remembered this voice. She looked up and found that the person speaking was the elite man who had just explained to the middle-aged man.
Just as Qiao Yuan thought, the other party was indeed an old player.
In the real world, he should be a senior executive. After calming down the frustrated person, he quickly asked everyone to introduce themselves one by one: "We are about to do a mission together. Everyone can introduce their name and occupation. Having participated in several missions before will help us get to know each other better and complete the mission better."
"Since I brought this up, let me introduce myself first. My name is Zhou Lian. I'm a department manager in the real world. I've participated in the game three times, all in team dungeons. This is my fourth time participating in the game, so I have some experience in this area. I will try my best to get everyone through the game alive."
With Zhou Lian taking the lead, everyone followed suit.
The second person who introduced himself was a thin man with triangular eyes and a flat head. Even though he tried hard to hide it, there was a hint of ferocity in his eyes: "You can call me Adao. I'm a butcher. This is my second time participating in the game."
Qiao Yuan judged from his micro-expressions and movements that there was a high possibility that he was lying.
Although this thin man who called himself Adao had no resemblance to the forest ranger in the previous copy, the two of them gave Qiao Yuan a similar feeling.
Even if the other party is really a butcher, I'm afraid the ones he is killing are not ordinary pigs, cows or sheep.
However, Qiao Yuan knew that this was only his subjective feeling and could not be regarded as any evidence, so he did not expose it, but became a little wary of Adao in his heart.
The third person to introduce himself was Shamatte, who was a barber in real life and was participating in the game for the first time. His real name was very difficult to pronounce, and after finding that no one remembered it, he could only helplessly say that everyone could just call him Shamatte, and he was so skilled that it made people feel distressed.
The fourth person introduced was Song Yanchi. His introduction was concise and to the point: "Song Yanchi, singer, participating in the game for the third time."
Because of the sudden incident with the middle-aged man, many people were distracted and had no mood to observe their companions. It was not until they had the opportunity to introduce themselves that they knew who their teammates were.
The moment he opened his mouth, many people's eyes fell on him. Even the ponytail girl who was sobbing intently and the girl in the couple raised their heads, staring at Song Yanchi with red eyes, and excitement was revealed in her eyes. If it wasn't for the wrong timing, she would have rushed up to ask for an autograph.
Zhou Lian even said, "Mr. Song is very famous. Even someone like me who doesn't pay attention to the entertainment industry has heard of him."
"But in this game, everyone is equal, and the only function of our identities in the real world is to help people pass levels..."
But before he could finish his words, Song Yanchi interrupted him without hesitation: "It's time for the others to introduce themselves."
Zhou Lian's expression suddenly turned ugly, but it returned to normal in just a moment, so fast that it made people feel that the change in expression just now was just an illusion: "That's right."
The next couple to introduce themselves were the girl's name was Lanlan and the boy's name was Li Lei. They were ordinary office workers, of medium build, and had the kind of looks that you wouldn't be able to find in a crowd. It was both their second time participating in the game.
The girl with a ponytail is called Su Yan. She is a college student and this is her first time participating in the game.
The last person to introduce himself was Qiao Yuan.
Before she could introduce herself, Zhou Lian said, "Are you Miss Qiao Yuan? You are also very famous. I have seen your variety show."
Lan Lan had already shouted: "That piece of trash?!"
"Why should I participate in the game with her? Will we be dragged down to death?"
She usually pays close attention to the entertainment industry, so she is very familiar with Qiao Yuan, a frequent hot searcher. Having experienced a dungeon, she has seen the cruelty of the game and knows the importance of teammates. After all, she and Li Lei passed the novice dungeon last time with the help of reliable teammates.
Su Yan also knew Qiao Yuan. Her thoughts were actually similar to Lan Lan's, but she just didn't say them as bluntly as Lan Lan.
After noticing the bewildered looks on some people's faces, Lan Lan directly explained to them Qiao Yuan's various operations, and was not satisfied until they showed the same contempt on their faces as she did.
"Please don't say that. Since we have entered the same game, it is fate. Miss Qiao is also our partner." Zhou Lian stood up and turned to look at Qiao Yuan: "Don't worry, Miss Qiao, there are benefits for newcomers."
Qiao Yuan was stunned, and then realized that Zhou Lian didn't even give her a chance to introduce herself, and directly judged her as a novice.
Obviously in Zhou Lian's eyes, she was not someone who could survive the novice copy.
Although Zhou Lian noticed Qiao Yuan's lack of reaction when the middle-aged man died, in his opinion, the other party was just petrified.
When Qiao Yuan saw Zhou Lian's gaze, his eyes flashed, and he suddenly realized that being considered a novice by Zhou Lian might not be a bad thing.
So she didn't refute: "Thank you, Mr. Zhou."
She is really exquisite in appearance, and because of her starry eyes, even if you just look at her, she seems to be full of infinite charm.
Even Zhou Lian couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and it took him a few seconds to come back to his senses.
When Lan Lan found that even her boyfriend's eyes were glued to her, she couldn't help but pinch him, and then turned her hateful eyes to Qiao Yuan: "You only know how to seduce others."
She didn't lower her voice, obviously she was speaking on purpose for Qiao Yuan to hear.
Although Qiao Yuan is a star in the real world and someone she hardly ever meets on a daily basis, she is someone who has survived a mission after all and is much more experienced than Qiao Yuan.
Qiao Yuan didn't respond.
After all, Lanlan didn't mention any names, and she is not the kind of person who likes to identify herself with anyone.
Qiao Yuan's lack of reaction made Lan Lan feel like she was punching cotton. She couldn't help but snort coldly. If Zhou Lian hadn't stopped her, she would have said something.
In addition to the dead middle-aged man, there were eight players participating in the game this time, five men and three women, two of whom were real newcomers.
And because Zhou Lian was the person who participated in the most tasks, and he showed leadership from the beginning, he quickly became the backbone of the group. The Shamatte people started calling him "boss", and Lanlan and Su Yan looked at him with admiration.
After introducing herself, Lan Lan naturally looked at Zhou Lian: "Mr. Zhou, what is the mission?"
Zhou Lian said gently: "The mission is issued by the system."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qiao Yuan heard the system's mechanical voice without any fluctuations:
【You are a new employee of Jiayuan Wedding Planning Co., Ltd. 】
[Soon after you joined the company, you were lucky enough to get a commission to go to a village with other colleagues to complete wedding planning.]
[This is your first time to participate in the whole process of wedding planning. As a newlywed, please make good use of this hard-won training opportunity. ]
[Copy: Yin Yuan]
[Type: Multiplayer Instance]
【Task: Please plan and complete a perfect wedding. 】
[The successful wedding is considered as completing the mission. If the player dies during the mission or fails the mission, the player will also die in real life.]
[This is not a special instance, so players are prohibited from killing each other. Violators will be killed. ]
【Live broadcast has started.】
…
Obviously, these so-called colleagues are players like her.
Judging from the surprise on the players' faces, they had obviously heard the task mentioned by the system.
"Wedding planning?" Shamatte repeated, with an anxious look on his face: "No one in our group is in this profession. How can we plan a perfect wedding?"
Zhou Lian adjusted the frame of his glasses on his nose, and then said slowly: "Don't worry, there will definitely be prompts when the mission comes to guide us to complete the task."
This matter was within Qiao Yuan's expectations. After all, this was a death game, not "The Heart-Stirring Offer", and the purpose of the game was not to develop their professional skills.
Just then, the vehicle suddenly stopped.
Through the car window, they found that the vehicle was parked in front of a village that looked quite old.
A hoarse male voice came from the front row: "We have arrived at our destination."
It was the driver's voice.
Even after the middle-aged man jumped out of the car and they were openly discussing their real identities in the back, the driver did not make any sound, causing everyone to subconsciously ignore his existence.
However, Qiao Yuan also knew that this should be the rule of the system, otherwise they would have to appease the frightened NPC.
The driver was an ordinary middle-aged man who called himself Brother Chen. He was a senior sent by the company to help them. He urged everyone to get off the car quickly and follow him into the town.
From beginning to end, he did not notice that there was one less person in the back seat. When Shamatte asked tentatively how many people came this time, he only said eight.
Zhou Lian's voice rang in Qiao Yuan's ears: "People like this who die at the beginning will be automatically ignored by the NPCs."
Zhou Lian really understands the rules.
Qiao Yuan's eyes darkened.
There have been comments in Qiao Yuan's live broadcast room , but some people swiped away without interest after recognizing her, while some people stayed for fun.
[Alas, Qiao Yuan is back on air, and he is not dead. ]
[I was shocked too. Fortunately, no one predicted her death on Weibo. Anyone who watched the live broadcast last time can tell me how she got out alive? I saw someone say that both of them were murderers, so I stopped watching.]
[Besides luck, what else could it be?]
[People who watched the whole thing said that Qiao Yuan's actions were unprecedented for someone like me who has lived for more than 20 years. She turned into a murderer and stabbed the murderer.]
[Huh? I know every word, why are they so confusing when put together?]
[Fuck, I get it, this operation is too explosive]
[I'm new here, who is this anchor? Is he some big shot? ]
[I’m tired of explaining, just search on Baidu. 】
[Lucky, she probably succeeded by sheer luck. I think she knows her own worth, so she just pretended to be a newbie this time.]
[I also think that I probably won’t make it through tonight]
[Song Yanchi is also there...]
[Wait, this Zhou Lian looks familiar to me, as if I have seen him somewhere before]
