There Must Be Something Wrong With This Game!

Chapter 2: Chapter 2: A Not-So-Reliable Companion

Pushing open the fire door, Duan Fei didn’t see a cutscene or black screen, the usual signs of loading. Instead, he found a small shopping mall on the other side.

The mall had the same layout as any other, but most of the security shutters were already down, significantly shrinking the accessible area.

A large mascot doll stood in the center of the mall. It probably looked cute during the day, but the digital clock on its head showed that it was now 9:30 PM, making the doll look rather sinister.

A circle of clothing stores fanned out around the central plaza. Their lights were off, and expressionless mannequins stood behind the display windows, their figures looking like ghosts in the darkness.

"This atmosphere... It’s intense..."

Turning his head, Duan Fei found that the fire door he had entered through was now closed. When he pushed it open again, he could only see a solid wall behind it.

"Not a bad way to start things off."

Only the emergency lights remained on, but the illumination was still dim. The only bright light source was a room at the far end, its open door printed with the words "Security Office."

The space inside the security office wasn’t large, but it had all the essential items for an overnight shift, like a bed and a television.

The most eye-catching object was a safe in the corner. It was a modular safe with several compartments, each requiring a different password to open.

Clearly, this was a key item.

A buzzing, old-fashioned electric fan sat by the bed. With every rotation, it would jerk its head up and then down, emitting the characteristic "KLACK" of old machinery.

A television was positioned opposite the bed, but it wasn’t plugged in, so there was no need to bother with it for now.

Red pennants hung on the wall. The one on the left read, "For Honesty and Integrity," while the one on the right read, "For Courageous and Just Actions." The room had a strong nineties vibe.

Duan Fei felt the only thing missing now was an old janitor in worn cloth slippers, holding a chipped ceramic bowl and slurping noodles while eyeing him and asking, "Mushrooms? Which road? What’s the price?"

’Now that I think about it, this horror game doesn’t seem so scary anymore.’

The old janitor is always the real boss.

Suddenly, the walkie-talkie on the safe emitted a crackle of static, and a young man’s voice came from the other end. "Can you hear me?"

Picking up the walkie-talkie, Duan Fei said in a low voice, "Can’t hear you."

"...Now’s not the time to mess around. I’m your partner. This is a two-player instance, and we need to cooperate to clear it."

Staring at the walkie-talkie, Duan Fei asked warily, "How do you prove you’re my partner and not some NPC in disguise!"

"What kind of twisted games have you been playing? What game would mess with your head like that! Oh, right, I guess `Abyss` would. Well, I don’t think I have any way to prove I’m not an NPC. That’s probably part of this instance’s design, to separate us and create some suspicion. But it’s fine, I’ll prove I’m reliable with my actions."

Duan Fei looked at the walkie-talkie helplessly and slapped his forehead. "So, you couldn’t just add me on Feixin?"

"...Oh, right!"

Switching Feixin to its screen-overlay mode, a translucent chat box appeared in front of Duan Fei. On the other end was the player he had just added, Little Fatty.

A moment later, a message came through. "My in-game ID is also Little Fatty. What’s yours?"

"Little Boy."

"...What a dark joke! I like it, though. Alright, what’s your real ID?"

"It is Little Boy! Unless a few Holy Professionals show up, I’ll always be a little boy!"

"You must be at least a junior mod on the dark humor forums."

After trading a couple of dark jokes and building some rapport, Little Fatty and Duan Fei had a pretty good idea of what kind of person the other was.

’The kind of person who loves playing games and causing trouble.’

Once they were done, Little Fatty said, "I’m already a Level 10 Adventurer. What about you?"

"Just started the game. This is my first instance."

Little Fatty went silent on the other end for a moment, then said with resignation, "A newbie..."

"What makes you assume I’m a newbie!"

"That’s a clever way to twist my words. Just listen to me. The clear rate for newbies in a supernatural instance like this is less than one in a thousand, and this is a Tier Two one. However, most instances in `Abyss` have a solution, so we should be able to handle it together. Besides, your role is a high-difficulty one. The system assigning it to you means it recognizes your potential."

"The system’s got good taste."

"...Is the word ’modesty’ not in your vocabulary?"

After finding out Duan Fei was a newbie, Little Fatty didn’t complain. After all, everyone starts out as a newbie.

’It’s just a shame about this instance, though.’

The rewards for this instance were quite high, and he had only gotten it by a stroke of luck.

After all, for instances in the `Abyss`, you could only see the difficulty, player count, and general type at the entrance. The specific content inside was a complete unknown until you went in.

This sometimes led to human tragedies, like a muscle-bound tough guy accidentally stumbling into `Magical Fairy Ballala`, being forced to accept Ballala’s positive Energy, transform into a Magical Girl, and then have it all live-streamed.

After collecting his thoughts, Little Fatty said, "This is a two-player instance. If one of us fails, we both fail. First, look at your top left."

Lifting his head, Duan Fei saw a security camera aimed right at him, positioned to the upper left of the door.

Sitting in the surveillance room, Little Fatty saw Duan Fei wave at him. He subconsciously waved back, then chuckled at his own foolishness.

"I’m in the surveillance room. I can see everything on the monitors and talk to you through the walkie-talkie, so try to stay in view of the cameras. Next, mentally say ’Instance Mission,’ and you’ll see your objective."

Mentally reciting ’Instance Mission,’ Duan Fei saw the mission details appear before him.

"Main Mission: Survive until dawn.

Failure Condition: The death of either party.

Note: This instance contains supernatural elements and has hidden objectives.

In this instance, you will play the role of the security guard. However, for certain special reasons, you cannot see the surveillance feed. Therefore, you must rely on your partner’s assistance to patrol the area, inspect the equipment, and resolve any anomalies.

Warning: Do not let yourself be caught in the darkness. They are waiting for you there."

After reading the mission description, Duan Fei immediately asked, "What are the hidden objectives?"

"Don’t even think about those. Just focus on completing the main mission. Don’t bite off more than you can chew."

"Alright. Do you have any items near you?" Duan Fei asked immediately.

Little Fatty nodded in approval. He was impressed by how quickly Duan Fei was getting into character.

Many newbies become very passive when they find out their partner is a veteran.

It’s partly due to their unfamiliarity with the game, and partly because they’re afraid of making a mistake.

’But this Duan Someone’s Reaction is great. He’s actively investigating his surroundings and initiating communication right from the start of his first game. You can tell he’s a veteran with relevant gaming experience.’

"There’s a lot of random stuff around me. I’ll describe it to you slowly."

Duan Fei clutched his head. ’This is going to be tough.’

Seeing Duan Fei’s expression on the monitor, Little Fatty quickly said, "Don’t worry, I did well in English class. I can definitely explain my surroundings clearly. Right now, I’m..."

"...We’re already connected on Feixin. Can’t you just make a video call? What’s the penalty for that, a few years in prison?"