"Excuse me, what do you want?"
He suddenly opened his eyes, and there was a blurry patch of color in front of him, the red patch moving and changing.
The dull gray patches seemed to brighten, they cracked into individual pieces, each with its own color, and the world gradually awoke.
Yet my mind felt numb, with a strange sense of disconnect. My body had arrived, but my soul had yet to return; everything outside was blurred through a layer of color filter.
"Which one do you want, classmate?"
Where is this voice coming from? Is it from the left or the right? Is she talking to me? Who am I...?
His mind seemed to have become dull, and he still stood there blankly, his soul, which had not yet fully entered his body, processing the information he received at an extremely sluggish pace.
'who I am?'
Confirming his identity seemed like a very important thing; he was certain, he knew, and a voice inside him said it was important.
But he remained expressionless, his hand slowly extending like a zombie's, though he seemed unaware of why he was doing so. His body was like a recently thawed corpse, its sensory and responsive organs still dormant, unable to provide the correct feedback.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
He was suddenly patted on the shoulder, and he shuddered. Although his vision was still filled with blurry colors, he became a little more alert: I am Ren Yifei.
The moment that name appeared, memories seemed to resurface. Somewhat chaotic, fragments of memory were swept up in a vortex, and it took him a long time to confirm: I am Ren Yifei, and this… is a dungeon.
As a fine sheen of sweat crept up his back, Ren Yifei felt an indescribable terror. His soul seemed to have leaped out of this three-dimensional world and made contact with a formless consciousness that was hidden somewhere unknown in a peculiar way.
Deep within that unspeakable consciousness, an eye opened in a crack, and his soul's accidental connection with that world abruptly ended.
His soul returned, and he could even feel how it was forcibly stuffed into this body, then established a connection, and awoke.
I closed my eyes, opened them, and after a brief dizziness, what I saw before me was no longer a blurry patch of color, but a blurry figure of people and a blurry background.
Okay, at least he knows where he is.
This is a cafeteria. He's holding a plastic card in his hand, handing it to the cafeteria worker. His blank face is reflected in the cafeteria's glass.
Ren Yifei felt a little dazed again; some of the soul he had just inserted floated out, as if it had drifted into the air. He felt that everything in front of him was as fake as a cake model in a shop window.
What's wrong with me? What's affecting me?
He felt himself being pulled by something, unable to control his actions, but this only angered him.
How could he allow his body to be out of control?
"This, this," he mumbled, pointing at the food through the glass. His finger twitched erratically, as if two opposing thoughts were locked in a tug-of-war.
The cafeteria lady didn't think much of it. She often saw students who looked dazed and like zombies after staying up all night, and she was used to it.
"Here you go." Judging by the student's appetite, she put two steamed buns and a fried pork chop on top, then swiped her card.
All this food only costs nine yuan, such a bargain is only available in the student cafeteria.
Ren Yifei received his tray, and the students behind him urged him to hurry up and leave so as not to delay the students behind him. So he slowly walked towards an empty seat.
Step by step, the world slowly became clearer. His world was like a fogged-up window being wiped clean, and the blurry figures finally had faces.
He safely reached the empty seat, sat down, and then let out a long sigh of relief.
The cafeteria offers a wide variety of breakfast options. Across from him was a man slurping rice noodles in a large bowl held in both hands. The white rice noodles were soaked in the bowl, topped with a generous portion of tangy pickled vegetables and bamboo shoots, and then drizzled with a spoonful of hot and spicy minced meat sauce.
The aroma of the pickled cabbage, even through the air, made his mouth water, and his soul seemed to be drawn in as well, willing to stay more firmly in this body.
Upon noticing this, he picked up the steamed buns from the plate. Between the snow-white dough, he could see layers of reddish-brown red bean paste, fine and sweet.
The steamed buns filled with red bean paste are so delicious! They're piping hot, and the red bean paste inside is practically oozing out.
Ren Yifei suddenly remembered that red beans preserved with sugar are also called honey beans. Red bean paste is delicious, and honey beans are also delicious.
After eating a steamed bun, he was surrounded by many vibrant, everyday sounds, and the distance between him and the world seemed to have thinned. Ren Yifei himself was surprised; it was actually the food that kept his restless soul from drifting away.
He looked at the nearly one-centimeter-thick fried pork chop on the plate. It was golden brown, coated in egg, and then breaded until crispy.
The golden, shiny appearance was constantly tempting him, and Ren Yifei finally couldn't resist. He reached out his chopsticks and picked up the pork chop.
Crunch!" The moment you bite into it, the breadcrumbs stuck together with the egg liquid and the crispy fried breadcrumbs crack, releasing the aroma of meat and the steam from the cracks.
His stomach suddenly started rumbling, as if urging him to hurry.
I thought this fried pork cutlet without any sauce would be a bit dry and bland, but when I took a bite, I found it to be tender and juicy pork.
Ren Yifei could imagine that, in order to make it so flavorful and not dry after frying, the chef must have carefully loosened its fibrous structure with a wooden mallet before marinating it in a sauce bowl.
He placed a runny omelet on top of the fried pork chop. When they were combined, the crispy pork chop and the soft omelet complemented each other perfectly, creating another feast for the taste buds.
It's a pity that it's missing two crisp, juicy lettuce leaves. If all three were combined, how delicious it would be!
Ren Yifei munched on his fried pork chop and fried egg, and everything in front of him became crystal clear. He could even see the tiny red dot that had just appeared on the corner of the boy slurping noodles across from him.
He felt his intelligence and rationality return, his brain was working at high speed, and fragments of memory were neatly arranged and waiting for his examination. He had complete control over the body.
Do not discriminate against species.
This had never happened before, he thought. Not long ago he had been like an uncontrollable drunkard, but now he was unusually sober.
Ren Yifei was certain that this was not his personal fault, but rather a problem with the instance itself.
He seems to be able to receive signals that transcend dimensions.
It's indescribable; it's just terrifying.
As to the specifics, I can't recall them at all now.
It's unclear whether he was the only one treated this way, or if all other players received the same treatment. If it's the latter, how are those players doing now?
After finishing his meal, he wiped his hands with a tissue, then pretended to look for something in his bag. He used the bag as a cover to secretly peek at his ID card:
One of the players is a murderer. Find him, or survive seven days.
[Character Quest: Kill 'it'.]
[Identity: Student.]
[Character: Zhang Zhengyuan]
[Keyword: Deep Blue]
[100]
The character's quest is actually 'kill it'?
it?
Ren Yifei pondered the word. It didn't seem to refer to a specific person, but rather to some non-human entity. Why would the original owner of this body be associated with such things? Could it be...?
He thought of the feeling of his soul leaving his body that he had just experienced.
Without time to think, Ren Yifei took out his resume, pretending to take it out of his bag, and openly looked at it in the bustling school cafeteria.
The resume looked exactly like the A4 paper from the print shop at the entrance; he looked at it openly, but no one gave it a second glance.
This time, the resume didn't have any gimmicks, or perhaps he didn't hide his identity in this version, so there were no gimmicks. In short, it's a very ordinary male resume.
His name is Zhang Zhengyuan. He comes from a well-off family of three. His family is harmonious and has never experienced any dramatic events such as terminal illness, car accidents, or amnesia. He is a very ordinary person.
The original owner of this body was somewhat sensitive and weak-willed, and her studies were average. Later, she was admitted to this private university, which had relatively high tuition fees but a decent reputation, and became a student majoring in sculpture in the art department.
He's a sophomore now, and it's early summer.
In the cafeteria, you can see people wearing short sleeves, long sleeves, and three-quarter sleeves; it truly is early summer.
Judging from the resume alone, this is a very ordinary college student, so we can rule out the options of "extraordinary background" or "having special experience".
None of the characters players enter will be completely unrelated to the main storyline, so what kind of abnormal events will the original owner encounter in the future?
With these questions in mind, he checked the original owner's backpack and found only a bag of scrapers and a book on the history of ancient architecture . However, the original owner was a sculpture major in the art department.bookshelf
In the small front pocket of his backpack, he also found a timetable, with the daily classes, times, and classrooms written on it. On the back of the timetable was a map carefully drawn with a ballpoint pen, with each small square labeled with the building number.
This was the first time he had encountered the original owner of this body providing clues in such a foolish way, and he was almost moved to tears.
My phone shows it's Thursday, and I only have one class this morning at 8:00, but it's already 7:40.
Ren Yifei memorized the map, slung his bag over his shoulder, and turned to walk towards the door.
Based on the original owner's character, he wouldn't be late. If he asked for leave, he wouldn't know which teacher was in charge of the morning's major course. So it was better to hurry to the classroom.
He stepped out of the cafeteria, bathed in golden sunlight. The lingering chill on his body was completely dispelled, and his numb, frozen soul melted into his body. The sense of separation from the dungeon world vanished in that instant.
Ren Yifei checked the time, then determined the direction before setting off.
The teaching building was across from Mingguang Lake on the other side of the college. He needed to either walk halfway around or cross the bridge. He chose to run across the bridge, the winding waterway, its wooden floor creaking as Ren Yifei rushed across.
The morning sunlight is gentle and affectionate, the morning breeze is refreshing and invigorating, and even the campus in the early morning has a unique beauty. Students practicing English conversations on the benches by the shore, and students gathering together to practice their singing, all add color to the beauty of the morning.
Everything is beautiful.
In Ren Yifei's heart, the lingering unease gradually faded and became fainter.
He quickly found the oval-shaped teaching building where the art students were located. It was very tall, probably more than twenty stories high, and students were constantly going in through the door.
Ren Yifei breathed a sigh of relief; it wasn't yet time for the dungeon to truly begin its operations during the day.
"Get out of the way!" A man next to him suddenly yelled and rushed towards him. Before Ren Yifei could react, he was pulled to the ground and rolled away.
"Bang!" Something fell from the sky where he had been standing.
It was a person, no, now it's just a lump of flesh.