ATFBETIBM Chapter 249.1

[…], Bai Lixin typed a line in the group chat, [Am I that popular?]

Emil: [… You’re the popular one, but I’m the one who got hurt.]

Bai Lixin remembered the scene when Emil was punished and locked up in a small dark room by an NPC. [It’s been hard work.]

Emil paused for a moment while packing his belongings. [Well, talking about it so much will only bring tears. At that time, I wanted to test the extent of the system’s punishment and deliberately challenged the system’s rules. But I wasn’t unprepared. Samael was waiting nearby, though the process got a bit bloody, the final result was good.]

Emil: [I’m not someone with great ambitions. Leaving this cursed place is more important to me than anything else.]

Bai Lixin: [Song Yuantian was interested in me because he wanted to revive Hongyue. What about Samael? Why did he want us to enter this copy and what is in it? You were close to Samael, you should know things that we don’t.]

Hongyue: [… Thank you for remembering me, haha.]

Bai Lixin: [Haha, Hongyue, you’re here too.]

Hongyue: [Hehe.]

Emil: [I don’t know who Samael really is. When I entered the game, he was already in the Sand Sea Guild. At that time, he wasn’t even the vice president, just a guild member who was much stronger than me. I only got to know him when I accidentally saw his face.]

Bai Lixin: […]

Emil: [Since that day, I’ve been entangled with him. He ordered me not to reveal his appearance to anyone. If he found out, he would kill me.]

[I was terrified back then. I didn’t want any trouble, so I agreed.]

Bai Lixin: [When did he give you the movie ticket?]

Emil: [Not long after seeing his face. The way he threatened me, I felt like he would really kill me, he wasn’t just scaring me.]

Bai Lixin: [Why can’t his face be seen? He looks quite handsome, nothing to be ashamed of. Could it be that he sneaked into the game lobby, and once his face is exposed, the system will detect him? What about that cloak, is it an ordinary cloak or does it have some special properties? Hongyue, when you wore that cloak, did you notice anything special?]

Hongyue: [You’re asking the right person. When I wore that cloak, it happened to be right after the zombie virus was cleared.]

[I received two system notifications.]

[One congratulated me for reconnecting to the system, and the other was about obtaining a concealment aura buff from the cloak.]

Bai Lixin: [By the way, Hongyue, I never asked, what floor are you currently on?]

Hongyue: [Me? I’m currently around the 350th floor. Speaking of which, I used to be in the top ten players. Now I can’t even reach the average level. I’m useless.]

Bai Lixin: [Emil, you should already have an answer regarding Samael’s identity, right?]

Emil: [I do have one, but it’s too unbelievable. To make me believe that he is an NPC who escaped from a copy to the game lobby? It’s simply unbelievable. After all these years, I’ve been manipulated and threatened by an NPC for so long. I don’t feel well.]

[If Samael is really someone from a copy, how did he enter the game lobby? I think we need to find him. Perhaps he knows more about the game rules than we do.]

Bai Lixin inadvertently looked up while chatting and suddenly became transfixed by what he saw.

Jia’er had changed her clothes at some point. She had taken off her luxurious evening gown from the daytime and put on a light silk pajama.

It was long-sleeved and modest, but unexpectedly beautiful.

Her golden hair, which had been tied up during the day, now fell simply around her shoulders. She sat outside his room door, casually resting her chin on her hand, her eyes calmly watching him. He didn’t know how long she had been staring at him.

The deep blue eyes shimmered.

Like a hunting leopard on the grassland.

He was the prey in her eyes.

Her gaze seemed to tell him that he couldn’t escape.

Bai Lixin silently shifted his gaze, and once his thoughts settled, he noticed that several messages had been sent in the group chat.

Hongyue: [From the very beginning, the system told us that the copy was just a game copy. But what exactly is inside the copy, I have more say than many others. Don’t forget, I lived in the cooy for decades.]

[Those so-called data people I once thought were truly terrifying are something else. Can a bunch of data really combine to create something so real? The chilling sensation of snowflakes falling on the face, the smell of blood flowing from the body, and the fearful emotions of the NPCs. They never thought of themselves as data, they all believed they were living beings.]

[The only ones who think they are data people are us players.]

[So the question is, why can’t we be the wrong ones?]

Emil: [… Speaking of that, I suddenly remembered something. I once asked Samael where his hometown was and what his lifelong wish was.]

[Samael said his lifelong wish was to break a curse.]

[I asked him about the curse, but he hesitated and didn’t say anything in the end.]

A curse?

Bai Lixin’s gaze focused on these two words.

When he was chatting with Xia Chi, Xia Chi also mentioned the word “curse.” His movie was about a cursed pirate ship.

Was Eden Resort also related to a curse?

Bai Lixin raised his head in contemplation and his gaze froze once again.

Jia’er, who had been sitting outside the bedroom, had moved the wheelchair closer, and was now by the door.

The same hunting gaze.

Bai Lixin: “…”

123 Wooden Man?

“Miss Jia’er,” Bai Lixin snapped out of his thoughts, “What’s the matter?”

Jia’er smiled faintly, looking enchanting and captivating. “Nothing, I just came to give you some advice. No matter who comes to call you tonight, don’t leave the room. However…”

She paused, her lips curved once again. “Even if someone calls you tonight, I don’t think you’ll wake up.”

“Mr. Bai Lixin, I wish you sweet dreams. Hopefully, we’ll meet in the dream. Goodnight~”

Bai Lixin tensed up, and even after watching Jia’er leave, he furrowed his brows slightly.

This bastard always drops a few random words without any context, couldn’t he just tell him everything he knew?! Was he playing “The Strongest Brain” with him here?

To his surprise, Jia’er never came to find him again.

Although these suites were just rooms for receiving guests, the facilities inside were no worse than the rooms they had stayed in before.

Just as the tour guide said, there was a double bed inside, as well as a slightly smaller single bed.

The two rooms were separated, each with its own bathroom.

Outside the bedroom, there was a common area for resting.

For some reason, Bai Lixin felt particularly sleepy tonight. He had originally planned to stay up a little later to see if he could go out. After all, it was almost certain that the youngest daughter would die tonight, and he wanted to see how the Golden Room achieved this.

However, at ten o’clock in the evening, there was a series of sounds outside, like the swinging of a pendulum.

“Thud.”

“Thud.”

“Thud.”

With each strike, the surrounding lights went out simultaneously.

All the guests heard the familiar voice of the tour guide from outside: “Dear guests, may you have sweet dreams, goodnight.”

In the next moment, Bai Lixin, who was just sitting on the bed, suddenly felt a blank in his mind and instantly lost consciousness.

The room, which was still brightly lit moments ago, was now engulfed in darkness.

There were rustling sounds.

Rustle.

Rustle.

That sound was like the movement of a snake through the grass, eerie and chilling in this silent darkness.

Unlike the sleeping guests inside the rooms, the attendants outside kept their eyes open.

In the pitch-black night sky, their eyes were unusually bright, unblinking in the dark hall, like floating will-o’-the-wisps.

In the darkness, a pure white figure quietly approached Bai Lixin’s bed.

The crow perched on Bai Lixin’s shoulder was also asleep, lying sprawled on the pillow, its bald belly exposed.

The pale blue hollow eyes of the pure white figure glanced at the crow for a moment, then disdainfully grabbed its leg and casually threw it behind on the nearby sofa. The crow immediately landed on the sofa in a parabolic arc.

After dealing with the little crow, the pure white figure lowered its head once again to look at the young man who was sound asleep.

The light blue eyes carefully examined the young man, ensuring that his soul had not been deceived by demons. Satisfied, he gently turned the young man over and touched the back of his neck with his fingers.

The moment his fingers touched the back of the neck, two black marks and one white mark appeared simultaneously.

The black chains firmly restrained the white wings, which were struggling like a trapped beast but unable to escape the shackles of the black chains.

The beautiful eyebrows of the pure white figure furrowed. He once again aimed his fingers at the back of the young man’s neck, and two more white marks appeared.

At this point, the young man’s neck was crisscrossed with black and white marks, with three white marks and two black marks.

Seeing that the white marks had completely suppressed the black chains, the pure white figure relaxed his brows and pushed the young man slightly. “Hey, wake up.”

However, the young man seemed to be in a deep sleep and couldn’t be awakened no matter how the man pushed him.

Outside, the leaves rustled, as if something was lurking.

Seeing that he couldn’t wake the young man, the angel gave up. He gently picked up the young man and placed him in the bed, adjusting him to a comfortable position before covering him with a blanket. After making sure that every wrinkle on the blanket was smoothed out, he found a corner closest to the young man, crossed his arms, and slowly closed his eyes.

————————

When Bai Lixin opened his eyes again, it was already early morning of the next day.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he was momentarily stunned.

He clearly remembered that he had lost consciousness while sitting on the edge of the bed, but now he found himself inside the blanket.

Bai Lixin looked around warily and quickly noticed a pure white feather near the pillow. The corners of the blanket that covered him were pointed and exasperatingly symmetrical.

Bai Lixin: “…”

Apart from the angel, who else could it be?

In that case, did the angel appear again last night?

Appearing at night and disappearing during the day… Could it be that the angel’s activity time was only at night?

Bai Lixin glanced at the clock on the wall. It was seven in the morning.

After staring at the white feather for a while, his somewhat hazy consciousness finally fully awakened.

It was strange. Although he didn’t dream last night, he seemed to have heard something calling out to him all night.

But that voice seemed to come through clouds, and all around him was a vast expanse of whiteness. In his dream, he stood in the mist all night.

A tapping sound came from the next room, accompanied by Jia’er’s distinctive voice. “Mr. Bai Lixin, are you awake?”

Bai Lixin rubbed his face and sat up from the bed. He replied through the wall, “Good morning, Miss Jia’er.”

Jia’er’s relieved voice came through. “I’m so glad to hear your voice. Your voice sounds so strong. Did you sleep well last night? Did you have any dreams?”

Dreams?

Bai Lixin thought seriously for a moment, but besides the hazy fog, there was nothing else.

He answered truthfully, “I didn’t dream of anything.”

As the two of them communicated through the wall, a knock on the door sounded from outside the suite, followed by the familiar, irritating voice of the tour guide. “Dear guests, are you awake? Breakfast will be served soon, and we have activities today.”

Activities?

“What activities?” Bai Lixin walked to the door and opened the suite’s entrance.

The tour guide, with his fake smile, immediately revealed himself to Bai Lixin.

Bai Lixin glanced past Thomas’ shoulder towards the lobby of the reception area, where more than twenty attendants stood obediently in the corners, motionless, their gazes fixed forward as if they were robots.

The tour guide smiled amiably, ”You’re guests, after all. We can’t keep you locked up like prisoners all the time. With the approval of the resort owner, we have decided to continue the tour for all of you. No one wants to see death, but when death occurs, we must face it calmly. Life must go on. What do you think, dear guest?”

Bai Lixin scanned the attendants one by one and asked, “Did anyone go out last night?”

The tour guide replied with patience, “You’re the third guest to ask me this question. Nevertheless, I will patiently tell you that our attendants didn’t close their eyes all night, and no one went outside.”

Bai Lixin asked, “I’m the third one. Who were the first two?”

The tour guide answered, “Young Master Emil and Mr. Richard.”

Bai Lixin: “…”

No one went outside, which meant that no one entered the Golden Room last night. Did that mean there was no wisher and sacrifice?

Could it be that simple?

Thinking of something, he glanced at the suite not far away. “Are the others awake?”

The tour guide replied, “Some are still sound asleep, but I have already woken them up. It seems like everyone had a good and sound sleep last night.”

The tour guide took a glance inside, “By the way, I checked each room to ensure everyone is present. Could you please ask Miss Jia’er to come out? I want to confirm.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Miss Jia’er, as if hearing it, opened the bedroom door. She was wearing fresh clothes and looked at the tour guide from a distance without saying a word.

The tour guide glanced at her and put on his professional fake smile. “Good morning, Miss Jia’er. Breakfast will be served in half an hour. I hope your mood today will be as bright as the sunshine outside.”

Bai Lixin watched the tour guide leave and head to the next room. He didn’t go back to his the room, and stood at the doorway, observing the tour guide.

The next room belonged to the Nick daughters and the actress.

The tour guide knocked on the door, and it was opened shortly after. A soft and delicate voice reached Bai Lixin’s ears.

Upon hearing this voice, Bai Lixin was taken aback for a moment.