Chapter 244: Horror Reflection, Level 5 Region!
The brain felt like it had crashed, but after a brief moment of unconsciousness, Qin Nuo gradually regained self-awareness and slowly opened his eyes.
The familiar environment seemed somewhat unfamiliar; it was his own room.
The desk in front of him was spotless, and a label was stuck on the bookshelf beside it, with a few words written on it: "If you're back, there's food I've prepared for you in the fridge."
At the end, there was even a smiley face.
The handwriting was naturally familiar to Qin Nuo; who else could it be but Qin Yushi?
Qin Nuo stretched lazily on the chair, looking at the photo frame with a picture of him and Qin Yushi.
In reality, he often subconsciously thought of Qin Yushi as his biological sister.
Even now, although things had changed, he still had such thoughts...
He opened the door, washed his face in the bathroom, and then took out the food wrapped in plastic wrap from the fridge.
Qin Yushi didn't know when he would return, but it seemed she would prepare a meal every day and leave it in the fridge, waiting for him to come back. "Long-lost food."
Qin Nuo poured it into the pot and simply heated it up.
He brought it to the dining table and took a few bites. Perhaps he had seen too many heavy flavors in the Horror World and eaten too much heavy food, but the meal in front of him felt very bland, almost unappetizing.
It was as tasteless as plain water soaking plain rice.
After a few hasty bites, he cleaned up the table.
Even though it was daytime, Qin Nuo felt exhausted and drowsy.
"Others are dealing with time zones, and here I am, adjusting between the Horror World and the real world. It's absurd."
He drew the curtains open, and the glaring sunlight poured in. Qin Nuo shielded his eyes with his hand, feeling quite uncomfortable.
Outside the balcony, the azure sky, bustling streets, and vibrant greenery seemed full of life. Yet, in Qin Nuo's eyes, these ordinary scenes appeared so surreal.
Every time he returned from the Horror World to the real world, he would feel this way. Qin Nuo stood there, dazed for a moment, before he adjusted.
Taking out his phone, Qin Nuo thought about calling Qin Yushi, but after a moment's thought, he put it back in his pocket: "Forget it, I'll take this time to go out for a walk."
Closing the door, he encountered a neighbor from upstairs while going down.
The lady upstairs was very enthusiastic. During his university days, every time he came back, she would stuff two fruits into his hands. He had even eaten at her place; she had a son who was also in college.
"Isn't this little Qin? Haven't seen you in a while. How's your studies going?"
"Come, come, Aunt Mei just bought some oranges, have a taste. If you haven't cooked dinner tonight, come over to Aunt Mei's place. I'm all alone at home, and there's no one to chat with."
Qin Nuo took the orange and looked at Aunt Mei's basket. The Horror World reflected in his mind, making it seem as if the basket was dripping blood, and the orange handed to him was a bloody infant's head.
Aunt Mei's face was covered in corpse spots, her grinning mouth hanging with pieces of crimson flesh.
Qin Nuo was in a daze.
Aunt Mei waved a hand in front of Qin Nuo's face: "Child, are you okay?"
Qin Nuo shook his head, put the orange to his mouth, and said while eating, "I'm fine, Aunt Mei, your oranges are really sweet, thank you!"
Aunt Mei was stunned, her mouth agape: "Child, you haven't even peeled the orange!"
Qin Nuo realized, forcing a smile: "It's okay, eating the peel gives me energy."
"Child, are you under too much study pressure? Come over to Aunt Mei's for dinner tonight, I'll make some brain-boosting soup for you."
"No need, Aunt Mei, I'm fine. Thank you for the orange, I'll head downstairs now."
With that, Qin Nuo dashed down the stairs.
Aunt Mei shook her head, sighing: "This child, so pitiful."
On the street, Qin Nuo slapped his face hard, saying, "Get a grip, this is the real world, stop imagining things!"
Walking down the street, listening to the chatter and laughter, the playful noises, everything sounded unbearably harsh to his ears.
Qin Nuo inexplicably felt out of place in such an environment.
He glanced at a bun shop nearby, where the owner was making pork buns with minced meat. The sight of the blood made Qin Nuo think of Dafu's father, while a child in a school uniform was helping out.
"Young man, would you like to buy some buns?" The owner noticed Qin Nuo staring and asked.
Qin Nuo shook his head and turned away.
On the street, an ice cream truck was playing a nursery rhyme, attracting many children. The tune felt strangely familiar to Qin Nuo.
He rubbed his forehead.
A voice came: "What's wrong with you? You don't look well."
It was the voice of the Blood-Eyed Ghost.
Qin Nuo shook his head and said, "Just some lingering effects from the Horror World."
In the end, he only bought a bottle of mineral water and returned home.
After drinking the entire bottle, Qin Nuo went to his room and took a nap.
He was awakened by the alarm clock by his bedside, the golden sunset filtering through the curtains onto his face.
After the nap, he felt much better. As soon as Qin Nuo stepped out of his room, he smelled the aroma of food. In the living room, he saw Qin Yushi wearing an apron, busy in the kitchen.
She brought out two dishes and, seeing Qin Nuo, smiled as if it was no surprise: "You're back. I've made your favorite dishes, wash your hands and come try them."
"The food in the instances must be terrible, right?"
Qin Nuo washed his hands, came out, and asked, "Has anything happened in the past half month?"
"Everything's been fine."
Qin Yushi took off her apron and sat across from Qin Nuo.
"I even bought a bottle of wine; you can have a couple of glasses to celebrate."
"Celebrate what?" Qin Nuo asked flatly.
"Isn't it worth celebrating that you got the MVP rating in the third instance? My brother is so outstanding!" Qin Yushi said with a smile.
"To be honest, I almost died several times in that instance." Qin Nuo poured a glass of wine, looking at the crimson liquid, feeling an inexplicable appetite.
"No matter the situation, you must ensure your own safety. It's okay to fail an instance, but dying in the Horror World means real death." Qin Yushi said seriously.
"There was a glitch in the protection mechanism in this instance, and I didn't inform you in time. That's my fault." Qin Yushi said.
Hearing this, Qin Nuo's expression changed slightly.
"Did you discover something in the instance?" Qin Yushi cut a piece of steak, put it in her mouth, and looked at Qin Nuo with her chin resting on her hand.
"I did find a problem."
Qin Nuo looked at Qin Yushi seriously: "I suspect that the so-called parents living in the Horror World might be able to interfere with the instances I participate in."
"I hope the organization behind you can investigate."
Qin Yushi's expression changed: "Are you sure?"
"We've been together for two years; you should know my character. I wouldn't make baseless accusations."
"Alright, I understand."
Qin Yushi smiled sweetly again: "Let's eat first, or the food will get cold and won't taste good."
"I'm not really hungry."
Qin Nuo shook his head.
"How can that be? These are all your favorites." Qin Yushi tried to put some food into Qin Nuo's bowl.
Looking at Qin Yushi's delicate face, Qin Nuo said, "Even though you can still be my sister, some things should be faced honestly."
"You've become a key member of that organization, so you must know a lot about the Horror Game and the world. How many instances have you participated in, my sister?"
Qin Yushi paused and said, "Six instances."
"Let me ask you something else. Is there a place called Yuan City in the Horror World?"
Qin Yushi shook her head: "I'm not sure about that, but I can ask around."
"Do you really need to ask later? Can't you ask now?" Qin Nuo pointed to his ear.
Qin Yushi smiled wryly and touched the silver earring on her earlobe, which was a disguised communicator.
After reporting, she quickly received a response from the organization, and her expression changed: "Level 5 region?"
Qin Nuo looked at her face: "So you do know."
"Are you planning to go there?" Qin Yushi asked.
"Yes."
"Not to mention how dangerous that place is, with your current level, you can't even reach that region." Qin Yushi shook her head.
"Why?"
"The Horror World is much larger than we imagined. It seems chaotic, but there are specific rules."
"The instances matched to players are related to the player's level, not just in difficulty but also in region."
"The higher the level, the higher the region you can match with. Like the four instances you previously completed, including the forced ones, they were all actually in the same region."
Qin Yushi's words made Qin Nuo realize that the four instances—the restaurant, apartment, mental hospital, and school—indeed seemed not far apart.
"As a player's level increases, they unlock a new region, and the instance maps matched may have a certain probability of being in that region."
"Your level is 4, while Yuan City belongs to a level 5 region. The Horror World has regional barriers that players cannot cross."
"So it's impossible for you to go to a level 5 region now." Qin Yushi explained.
"Can't I just complete one instance and level up to 5?" Qin Nuo rested his hands behind his head.
"The progress bar for level 4 is relatively long. To reach level 5, you need to complete at least two instances." Qin Yushi poured herself a glass of wine.
"That's too long." Qin Nuo shook his head.
"To do it in one go, you would have to directly match with a level 5 region instance and complete it with a high score to jump to level 5."
"Do you have a way?" Qin Nuo's eyes lit up.
"It's too dangerous. I don't agree, and the organization won't allow it either." Qin Yushi shook her head, but it also indirectly indicated they could do it.
Qin Nuo shrugged, looking very relaxed: "Being able to continuously get MVP ratings in four instances already shows that these instances are too easy for me."
"A higher-level instance would just be more challenging for me."
"But you just said you almost died." Qin Yushi said.
"That was just being polite."
Qin Yushi took a sip of red wine and gently wiped her mouth with a napkin: "Xiao Nuo, I know you too well."
"Precisely because I know you, I have to stop you from going."
The Blood-Eyed Ghost couldn't help but speak: "Why does this woman talk so much nonsense? Just let her leader speak."
"It's just a level 5 region. I'll cover you; who would dare touch a hair on your head?"
Seeing Qin Nuo's absent-minded expression, Qin Yushi seemed to understand something and said, "Even though you have a Half-Ghost relationship, I've seen too many players killed by the ghosts they've contracted with!"
"You have to listen to me, Xiao Nuo!"
"Hey, my temper! Hasn't anyone taught this woman how to talk?" The Blood-Eyed Ghost was instantly displeased.
Qin Nuo hesitated and suddenly said, "Can I have a word with your leader?"
Qin Yushi was about to refuse, but the communicator seemed to say something.
She furrowed her brows, but still took off the earring and placed it in front of Qin Nuo.
Qin Nuo picked up the earring, put it to his ear, and smiled slightly: "Hello?"
The voice on the other end was that of an elderly man, with a touch of kindness: "Qin Nuo, I'm Qin Yushi's superior. It's nice to finally meet you."
"My name is Fang Yushan, you can call me Senior Fang."
"Old Fang, let's not beat around the bush. Let's get straight to the point. You should have a way to match me with a level 5 region instance."
"Qin Nuo, listen to me..."
The other side seemed to want to persuade Qin Nuo, but he interrupted: "Don't rush to answer."
"I have a compelling reason that will make you agree!"