In Virtual Reality

9;s lone foot began to dissolve, and the liquefying elevator floor devoured it relentlessly, causing the once towering monster to slowly shrink in size.
Despite its best efforts, the figure could not free itself from the floor's clutches.

Zeng Zhi watched in horror, fearing that he, too, might be “eaten” by the elevator.
He tiptoed anxiously, desperate to avoid the same fate.

Xu Jin Yi, on the other hand, remained still.
She had not caused this chaos, nor had she knocked anything over.
Turning slightly, she saw that the large pile of spicy hot pot had vanished without a trace.

Nobody had yet exited the 23rd floor.
Xu Jin Yi feared that the emaciated figure would be consumed, leaving no one to take its place as a sacrifice.

With gritted teeth, Xu Jin Yi seized the skinny figure's wrist.

The skinny figure:!

It was elated and clasped Xu Jin Yi's outstretched hand.
Together, they strained against the lift as if competing in a tug-of-war.

The speed of its consumption slowed considerably.

Xu Jin Yi breathed a sigh of relief but knew she had to get the skinny figure out of the lift before it was too late.

She hammered the “Y” button with lightning-fast reflexes, waging a frantic struggle against the lift.
Finally, she triumphed over it…or did she?

The skinny figure unleashed a mournful cry as its waist was violently ripped apart.
Xu Jin Yi flung the upper half of its torso out of the lift while the lift devoured the lower half.

As the thin figure's body extended more than halfway out of the elevator, the doors abruptly slammed shut, severing the body in two!

Xu Jin Yi whirled around as the explosive black substance sprayed her back.

The elevator behind her fell silent, and Xu Jin Yi promptly glanced at the display.

The light on the 23rd floor flickered a few times before grudgingly snuffing out.

Now, only Xu Jin Yi and Zeng Zhi remained in the elevator.

Xu Jin Yi saved her progress and eyed her lone NPC teammate.

Zeng Zhi's gaze vacantly.

Xu Jin Yi: “…”

Bad news, Zeng Zhi's sanity level has dropped too low! She took a giant stride and crouched before him, shaking his shoulders.

Hold on a second, why does this sanity restoration require a QTE! Her mind whisked her back to the Screaming Haunted House game, where she had to incessantly prattle to salvage Tian Si De's sanity.
Back then, she could hardly bear to utter a word because of the aftermath! With no other choice, Xu Jin Yi saved her progress again and commenced another round of QTE.

Xu Jin Yi's fingers were nearly worn to the bone before Zeng Zhi's sanity level finally reached the passing mark.
Once it did, his sanity would slowly recover on its own.
Although it was currently stuck, it would soon improve.

Xu Jin Yi saved her progress before standing up to rub her fingers.

Zeng Zhi was dizzy from the terror that had just unfolded and barely managed to regain his composure.

He massaged his temples and whispered, “Shh, what should we do now?”

It wasn't that he didn't want to use his brain, but his efforts were futile.
When she moved, everything was resolved.
When he moved, everything went wrong!

Zeng Zhi's sanity level was too quickly diminished, causing Xu Jin Yi some distress.

Just then, the elevator stopped once again.

【17】

It was the floor the barefoot ghost had pressed.
Xu Jin Yi thought, 'Why was i so unlucky?' Could two people even escape the elevator on the 17th floor?

Xu Jin Yi held her breath and returned to the previous save.
Since the elevator stopped on a random floor each time, this time, the save brought them to:

【18】

It was still the floor the barefoot ghost pressed.
Xu Jin Yi wanted to drag the barefoot ghost back and give it a good beating.

“Continuing to rewind,” Xu Jin Yi said as she furiously tapped the save file.

【22】

She continued to rewind.

【9】

“…Still rewinding!”

【13】

“Rewind!!”

【32】

“Re-…
hold on, not this time.”

Perhaps, after being plagued by misfortune, their luck had finally turned.
The elevator had stopped on the 【32】 floor, which was the one Zeng Zhi had pressed earlier.

Xu Jin Yi sighed in relief, realizing there was no need to rewind again.
She pressed the 'open door' button.
“It's your turn now.”

Zeng Zhi looked at Xu Jin Yi, confused.
“Me?” Zeng Zhi's eyes widened in surprise.
'Was I really that lucky?' From his perspective, he had almost just pressed the 【32】 floor button.

As Xu Jin Yi pushed Zeng Zhi out of the elevator, he felt like he was in a daze.
Zeng Zhi gripped his camera tightly and prepared to move forward cautiously into the darkness.
However, his legs seemed to have a mind of their own, propelling him forward in great strides.

Zeng Zhi:???

He had never run this fast before, not even during his university physical exams!

His legs moved so quickly that they left a trail of afterimages behind them, but he felt no pain.
Only after he crossed the white border did he regain control of his body…and then he collapsed.

Holy shit!

His heart was pounding so fast that it felt like it was about to die.
His calf muscles twitched and ached, and a sweet, metallic taste rose from deep within his throat.
The cold air filled his lungs, making every breath feel painful.

Zeng Zhi lay on the grey concrete for what felt like an eternity, slowly recovering from his burst of energy.

The sun in the sky was strikingly prominent, its orange-yellow light filtering through the window without glass and casting his face in a warm glow.
Zeng Zhi squinted his eyes wearily.

Has the sun already risen?

Zeng Zhi rose, gasping for air as he fished out his phone.

“…?”

Several messages from Wang Jin Long lit up his phone screen, but Zeng Zhi was flabbergasted by the time displayed.

How could he have been in there for three days?

And it was 6:00 pm…so this wasn't sunrise, it was sunset??