Chapter 1
As dusk drew near, darkness slowly spread across the sky, enveloping the town.
Yin Xiu sat by the lakeshore on the outskirts of town, holding a fishing rod and dozing off.
Dim yellow light shimmered across the lake, illuminating two wooden signs standing by the shore.
One was written in neat, clean handwriting: Danger in the lake. Keep away.
The other was written in crooked letters: Yin Xiu is forbidden to fish here. Get lost.
Yin Xiu leaned beside the two signs and yawned, weariness showing on his delicate features. He narrowed his eyes and lifted his fishing rod. The hook was empty, so he simply reeled in the line, packed up, and headed home.
As night approached, the town grew livelier than it had been during the day. People hurried through the square, doing their utmost to recite the town’s rules to every passerby again and again before dark, trying to etch them into everyone’s mind.
[Rules for Surviving in Town:
1. In town, the rules are absolute and must not be broken.]
(But the bans aren’t.)
Yin Xiu slung his fishing gear over his back, lowered his eyes, and straightened the wooden sign he’d leaned crooked. Then he turned and headed home.
On a winding path, two passersby brushed past him, murmuring excitedly. “I heard there’s a bus this way. It’s the only way to get out of this hellhole. Some people who watched veteran players clear the instance said they left by getting on the bus.”
“Can we really find it? I’m a little worried. Don’t the other people in town say we can’t just leave?”
“It’s fine. We can’t get out of here anyway. We’ll just end up back where we started.”
“True...”
[Town Survival Rule 2: There is no exit from town. Do not try to find a way out.]
(Such futile attempts will only leave you lost in here.)
Yin Xiu glanced at their receding backs, then calmly turned around. As he did, he met the gaze of a cat crouching in the grass.
It was an ordinary-looking cat with completely black fur and a pair of strangely purple eyes. It crouched by the roadside, staring unblinkingly at Yin Xiu as if monitoring his every move.
Yin Xiu stared back, standing motionless by the road.
After a few seconds of staring at each other, the black cat tentatively took a step toward him. Yin Xiu immediately reached for the knife hanging at his waist. The cat shrank back, bared its teeth at him, and darted away.
[Town Survival Rule 3: You must not kill any conscious being in town.]
(People, monstrosities, or cats.)
After following the path connecting the square and the lakeshore, Yin Xiu reached the noisiest place in town: the square.
It was an old-fashioned town. The silhouettes of aging apartment blocks and single-story houses overlapped, alleys crisscrossed one another, and weeds grew in the cracks between the paving stones. It was a little place abandoned in the gaps between eras.
And yet, right in the center of the town square, a huge, incongruous projection hung in the air. It showed players in different instances going through their trials. Some scenes were bloody and brutal, but the people watching below remained expressionless, as if they were used to it.
A few comments drifted across the screen, but they were inconsequential. Most of the time, the screen was quiet.
After watching for two seconds, Yin Xiu coldly looked away.
“Come on, take a rules sheet. Keep one on you, just in case,” a passerby said enthusiastically, pressing a sheet into someone else’s hand as they spoke.
When the passerby turned and met Yin Xiu’s gaze, they froze, then hurried around him and left.
Yin Xiu’s slender figure, with fishing gear slung over his back, stood out in the crowd, but most people who passed him went out of their way to avoid him.
Yin Xiu didn’t care. He lowered his eyes to the yellowed sheets scattered at his feet. People in the crowd kept handing them out, each one packed with rules meant to keep people alive. Some even walked around shouting through megaphones.
“Everyone, please make sure you carry at least one rules sheet with you. Remembering the rules is how you protect your life.”
“Also, pay attention to tonight’s weather. It looks like it’s going to rain. If this is your first time here, don’t panic. As long as you remember our rules, you’ll be fine.”
[Town Survival Rule 4: The weather in town is usually clear, though it rains occasionally. When it rains, you may open your doors freely, whether it’s day or night.]
At the announcement, Yin Xiu looked up. The sky was indeed heavy and dark. It would probably rain after night fell.
The people moving back and forth grew increasingly anxious.
“Remember our fifth rule: When it rains, some new faces will appear in town. Don’t panic. Anyone who can enter a house is a newcomer. Be sure to watch out for anyone who can’t.”
“And it’s almost dark, so remember to make an offering before you go inside. Whatever you do, don’t forget.”
As the voice from the megaphone repeated its warnings, a rules sheet fluttered down at Yin Xiu’s feet.
[Town Survival Rule 6: At dusk, you must leave an offering for the Night Goddess at your door to ensure your house is safe at night.]
Below it was a line of blue text.
(Remember to bring your respect, or I’ll come find you myself.)
Yin Xiu glanced up unconcernedly. Rules sheets were pasted all over the square, but they carefully avoided the bizarre statue in the center, which looked utterly out of place.
It depicted a woman with long hair and a long dress, her huge, grotesquely contorted body wrapped around a pillar. With a strange smile, she gazed down at everyone in town. She was the greatest threat in town—the Night Goddess.
Yin Xiu tightened the straps of his black backpack and walked through the bustling crowd.
The other players living in town, noticing him, all stepped back to avoid bumping into him.
Behind him, the loudspeaker blared on, still proclaiming: “As long as you follow the rules, nothing will happen to you in town. Avoid strange rumors and things as much as possible. Be sure to trust the other players around you. No one here will hurt you.”
“Ah... but there is one exception. Everyone, absolutely do not follow the example of a man named Yin Xiu. He’s a textbook bad example, so you must...”
As Yin Xiu walked away, the loudspeaker’s voice faded into the distance.
He passed low walls of varying heights and entered an alley. The dusk made it look even darker. The narrow street was crowded with doors and windows, and every numbered house was home to two or more players.
The town was only so big, and new players arrived every so often. Most players had at least one roommate, but Yin Xiu didn’t.
“Hurry up, it’s almost dark! Get an offering ready for the Night Goddess!” Someone rushed out of a house and placed a piece of raw meat in the iron bowl outside. They even bowed, murmuring, “Please don’t come looking for me tonight...”
An iron bowl stood outside every home in the alley, each filled with an assortment of meat. At least, everyone seemed to have done their best to offer what they considered good food.
Yin Xiu’s eyes flicked over them. He lowered his gaze and pondered.
He’d tried hard to catch fish, but hadn’t caught a single one. As usual, he’d just pour a cup of water into the bowl today.
The players by the roadside hurried out of Yin Xiu’s way, allowing him to walk unimpeded down the narrow alley to his home—the house at the very end, No. 401, where Yin Xiu lived alone.
Today, a tattered cloth doll of a little girl in a red dress sat outside his door, wearing a sweet yet eerie smile.
Yin Xiu bent down, picked it up, opened the door, and casually tossed the doll onto the pile of assorted junk in the corner.
He turned on the light, poured a cup of tea into the iron bowl by the door, then began closing the windows and locking the door.
[Town Survival Rule 7: At night, remember to lock your doors and windows. No matter what you hear, do not open them, and do not let anything outside tempt you.]
(If you’re looking for a shortcut to death, this is a good choice.)
The sky gradually darkened. Lights came on in homes throughout the town, and the people still outside hurried indoors, locked their doors and windows, and prepared as best they could for the night.
A long, drawn-out cat’s meow rang through the dim alley. Afterward, the town fell completely silent.
[Town Rule 8: After dark, try not to go outside, especially once you hear a cat’s meow.]
(If you’re confident you can beat them, by all means, give it a try.)
In the darkness, a rules sheet drifted down from a wall and landed on the ground.
On the back of the town’s rules sheet was a clean page covered in neat handwriting.
[This is a note for new players.
Please remember: There are only eight rules in town. The black text gives the rules; the blue text can be trusted, but should not be obeyed.
If you follow the rules strictly, nothing will happen to you. But if you accidentally break a rule and encounter them at night, remember this next rule.
No matter where you are, do whatever it takes to reach No. 401 in Alley A. That’s Yin Xiu’s home. Leave all your belongings at the door. Even if he ignores you, knock. If necessary, try threatening or provoking him. It might not work, but it’s your only chance to survive.
If he opens the door, you’ll live. If he doesn’t, there’s no hope for you. The outcome depends on his mood that day and his recent financial situation.
During the day, stay away from him, and don’t try to become his roommate.
May every new player who comes to town have a safe night.]