Chapter 443 – Palpitations from That World – Are You Here to Play the Game or Have a Midnight Snack? (10)
In the single-player game, the player who finishes first can return to their room to rest.
Wen Junnan lingered with Bai Tang for a while before reluctantly turning to head back to his room. Only after Wen Junnan disappeared from sight did Bai Tang turn and go downstairs.
Player No. 2 was Ning Sitong. She put away the cards in her hand and stepped onto the stairs without a trace of fear. “One, two, three…”
Everyone followed Ning Sitong in counting. When she reached thirteen, she vanished from sight. However, less than half a minute later, she reappeared completely unharmed. Unlike Wen Junnan, she wasn’t in a sorry state when she came out—though her expression didn’t look very good.
Ning Sitong was no longer her usual self. Her gentle expression was gone, replaced by a gloomy look between her brows. She returned downstairs, sat in a chair, and said nothing. No one dared to approach her.
The third person was Li Tefeng, who had just entered the parallel space for the first time. Although he didn’t know what happened to those who disappeared after stepping onto the thirteenth stair, even someone as powerful as Wen Junnan had come out covered in blood. It wasn’t hard to imagine how dangerous that place was.
Bai Tang moved closer to Li Tefeng and quietly slipped a protective talisman into his hand.
Li Tefeng turned his head. The boy smiled at him and placed a finger to his lips, signaling him to stay silent.
You and I know—that’s enough. Don’t let the others find out.
Li Tefeng wasn’t a fool. He gave a barely noticeable nod and prepared to go play the game. But as he turned his head, someone suddenly stood right beside him. The enlarged face startled him so much that he stumbled back several steps, his heart pounding wildly.
Bai Tang fell into an embrace carrying a faint trace of moisture; the skin he touched was slightly cool.
From entering the room to finishing his shower, Wen Junnan took less than five minutes. Sure enough, the rumor that boys shower quickly wasn’t exaggerated.
“A Nan~”
Wen Junnan hugged Bai Tang tightly, almost squeezing the air out of him.
“I’m here.” He loosened his grip slightly, but his arms never left Bai Tang.
I’ve found you again, Tang Tang.
A thousand words gathered into a tender, lingering gaze. Wen Junnan had awakened the memories of all his worlds—he was Hudson, and also Jiang Liangwu… now named Wen Junnan. And he was fortunate: every time, he had never missed Tang Tang.
Bai Tang still didn’t know that his lover had already regained all their shared memories. Right now, he was trying to pry Wen Junnan’s arms off him. “If you hold me like this, how am I supposed to check your injuries?”
The boy pouted in dissatisfaction. After one round of the game, Ah Nan seemed like a kindergarten kid—getting more and more childish.
“I’m not hurt,” Wen Junnan said. Tang Tang is really adorable—I could never get enough of looking at him.
Li Tefeng originally wanted to ask Wen Junnan what he had seen on the thirteenth stair, but seeing how lovey-dovey the two were, he gave up. Better to rely on himself.
Counting the steps, Li Tefeng walked upstairs and disappeared on the thirteenth stair.
Five minutes later, he reappeared covered in mud, tumbling down the stairs with a series of thuds until he rolled all the way to Bai Tang’s feet.
“Boss— from now on, you’re my boss!” Li Tefeng cried, clinging to Bai Tang’s leg with tears streaming down his face.
If it weren’t for that protective talisman, he would’ve been dead for sure. From this moment on, Bai Tang officially replaced Wen Junnan as the top boss in his heart.
Bai Tang awkwardly shifted his foot but failed to shake Li Tefeng off.
“Um… you should get up first,” Bai Tang said.
Li Tefeng was so excited—since the boss had spoken, he immediately tried to stand up.
Unfortunately, he was so covered in mud that it was too slippery. After several failed attempts to get up, he only ended up tugging at Bai Tang’s pants instead.
“Get up already.” Wen Junnan lightly kicked Li Tefeng in the backside.
“Hey, Junnan, how can you act like a hooligan toward me…?”
Wen Junnan narrowed his eyes, his tone turning dangerous. “Oh? Is that so?”
Li Tefeng immediately backed down. “No, no, I was just joking.”
The third player had successfully passed. Now it was time for the fourth.
Chen Chenchen stepped forward. The situation left him no room to refuse.
He stepped onto the stairs and disappeared from everyone’s sight at the thirteenth step. The players’ hearts tightened once more.
One minute passed. Five minutes passed. Ten minutes passed. Chen Chenchen still hadn’t appeared.
When he finally did, he came rolling down the stairs just like Li Tefeng, stopping in front of Roger. Lying face-up, his eyes were wide open, pupils contracted. His mouth, shaped like an “O,” slowly stretched into a stiff smile, as if telling him: “You’re next.”
Chen Chenchen was dead—scared to death.
Ning Sitong let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. It was good that someone had died; it meant the bandaged figure had gained something, and her task for tonight was complete.
Roger, facing a dead body for the first time, instantly lost his sanity. Chen Chenchen’s unclosed eyes stared straight at him, the image lingering relentlessly in his mind. He screamed that he wasn’t playing anymore and ran toward the door as he shouted.
He flung the door open. Outside, the night was shrouded in dense white fog, with extremely low visibility.
Roger’s voice faded into the distance. Then came a series of gurgling sounds. A puppet with a pale face and rosy cheeks poked half its head through the doorway:
“Players are requested to follow the rules of the game.”
After the puppet finished speaking, another puppet dragged Roger’s corpse into the room and thoughtfully closed the door.
It was bad enough that people could die in this game—but making the living share a room with the dead? Even if the game didn’t kill you, the fear alone might.
That was exactly the effect the bandaged figure wanted. He wished everyone would be scared to death all at once so he could feast his fill.
The order of deaths in the game followed the players’ room numbers. With Player No. 6 dead, the game oddly assumed that the players before him had already completed their turns. It skipped Bai Tang entirely and called Li Pai forward.
Li Pai: “……” Something’s not right here.
Everyone’s attention shifted to Bai Tang. Ning Sitong was puzzled, Li Tefeng was concerned, Wen Junnan was protective—and only Li Pai looked at him with hostility.
Pointing at Bai Tang, Li Pai snapped, “Why does he get to skip the game? That’s not fair!”
In this world, there was no such thing as absolute fairness.
Qiu’er gripped his scarecrow, ready to act. If this person dared to accuse Tang Tang one more time, he wouldn’t hold back.
I’m the one who gave Tang Tang the cheat—so what? If you’re not convinced, come fight me.
“Calm down, calm down. Getting worked up over someone who’s already received a death notice just lowers your standards,” Xiao A said, trying to soothe Qiu’er. In his view, there was no need to be angry at Li Pai. What mattered now wasn’t questioning why the host could skip the game, but figuring out how to stay alive.
Wen Junnan stepped in front of Bai Tang, blocking Li Pai’s line of sight. “If I were you, I wouldn’t waste my time here.”
With that single sentence, Wen Junnan dragged Li Pai back to the reality that it was his turn.
The order had already reached him. Delaying any longer would make the game think he was resisting. The bandaged figure was like a god here—no one could defy the game. Even the male lead in the original storyline, before mastering his powers, couldn’t resist it.
Li Pai’s expression changed drastically. Ning Sitong said, “You can’t afford the consequences of defying the game. Hurry up and go.”
Although the bandaged figure had already fed on one person’s fear, Ning Sitong felt a faint unease. She shouldn’t have been in danger while participating in the game—but this time, she actually felt the fear of death.
Her gaze shifted to Wen Junnan. Before her, he was the only player with spiritual energy who had cleared the game. What exactly had he done inside to drive the bandaged figure into such a frenzy?
If she hadn’t trained herself over a long period of time, she might have died in the alternate space at the thirteenth step as well. She could only hope Li Pai would appear weaker and calm the bandaged figure’s anger.
As Li Pai passed by Bai Tang, he shot him a glare. But Bai Tang, protected by two systems and the male lead—and no slouch himself—wasn’t afraid at all. He glared right back with his round eyes, as if to say: So what? My eyes are bigger and better-looking than yours.
Wen Junnan let out a soft laugh and ruffled Bai Tang’s hair.
Tang Tang had become even cuter than before.
Li Pai stepped onto the stairs with heavy footsteps. One step, two steps, three steps… He moved slowly, but no matter how slow he went, there were only thirteen steps—he would reach the end eventually.
Soon, Li Pai stepped onto the thirteenth stair and disappeared inside the house.
Li Tefeng felt very nervous. Two people had already died in this game—surely no one else would die tonight, right?
Wen Junnan pressed Bai Tang down into a chair. “Tang Tang, stay here. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Bai Tang obediently sat still. Wen Junnan walked past the staircase and headed to the back. Li Tefeng leaned over curiously to take a look, but didn’t dare follow. It was too dark behind the stairs. There were more people here, and candlelight—it felt safer staying where he was.
In tense moments, time always seemed to pass slowly. Li Pai still hadn’t come out, yet it felt like several centuries had gone by.
A rich aroma of tomato sauce suddenly drifted through the air. The three of them turned toward the scent. From the darkness behind the staircase, a figure gradually emerged—Wen Junnan walked out carrying a freshly made bowl of braised tomato noodles. The colors were vibrant, the presentation excellent, with chestnuts and chopped scallions sprinkled on top.
Bai Tang’s face lit up with delight. Since arriving here, he hadn’t had fresh food in a long time. Although his small storage space could preserve food, it couldn’t compare to freshly made dishes cooked by his own lover.
“Hungry, Tang Tang? There were only these ingredients left in the kitchen, so make do for now. Once we get out, I’ll cook you more of your favorites.”
Li Tefeng stared at the noodles, practically drooling. He couldn’t take his eyes off the bowl—he wanted some too.
Having never eaten hot food before, Ning Sitong kept glancing at the noodles. What is this? It smells so good… it looks delicious.
Bai Tang was used to being stared at and wasn’t affected at all. He picked up his chopsticks and started eating. The sweet and savory flavors spread across his taste buds, and the noodles were perfectly chewy—delicious!
I want some, I want some, I want some… Li Tefeng stared at Bai Tang without blinking. Seeing that Bai Tang had no intention of sharing, he turned to Wen Junnan. “Junnan, look—I just went through a dangerous game for no reason. I’ve already run out of energy. I’m so hungry…”
They were all roommates and good brothers, so Li Tefeng didn’t stand on ceremony with Wen Junnan.
Wen Junnan gazed gently at Bai Tang, not even lifting his eyelids. “There’s more in the kitchen behind the stairs. If you want some, go serve yourself.”
Li Tefeng looked toward the darkness, feeling uneasy. This… doesn’t seem like a good idea.
Suddenly, he thought of something and turned to Ning Sitong. “Classmate Ning, are you hungry? How about we go together?”
Ning Sitong glanced at Wen Junnan. Seeing that he had no intention of paying them any attention, she suppressed the excitement in her heart and gave a slight nod.
“Alright then—let’s go, quick! It won’t taste good once it gets cold.” Having found a “comrade,” Li Tefeng eagerly pulled Ning Sitong along toward the kitchen. At least with someone accompanying him, he wouldn’t be as scared.