Chapter 30: Life and Death Race 16

Chapter 30: Life and Death Race 16

After a while, Lu Zai Chuan sent another message, "Is it that hard to admit?"

Pei Yi: "..."

Admit what... He chose not to respond, opting to ignore it.

He felt that the other person was intentionally provoking him, so he decided not to engage.

Casually browsing his own live stream, Pei Yi discovered he had truly become popular.

He had never been this popular during the Black Tower Haunt, but after the Life and Death Race, he had skyrocketed in popularity. His live stream's follower count had reached over 2000, with the number continuously increasing.

His "Life and Death Race" replay had millions of views. Pei Yi felt this was definitely his peak, doubting he could achieve the same results in future instances.

Strangely, the racing instance felt familiar to him, as if racing on the track was tailor-made for him.

Yet, with only 38 points scored, he felt a hint of regret. He considered trying again but decided against revisiting what was a challenging first hurdle. He didn't want to face another "test" in his life.

Comments were continuously refreshing below, and during this downtime, his live stream had thousands of online viewers.

His sudden popularity was unexpected.

Seeing him online, everyone became excited, "Looking forward to Pei Ge's next instance."

"Pei God, when will you start the next instance?"

"Waiting for you, my god of racing!"

Pei Yi hummed in response, noticing a post sharing, filled with praise about him, too tempting not to check out.

Titles like "Astonishing driving skills, the new god—Pei Yi. Click to see spectacular driving techniques!"

"What's it like to speed up to 400 km/h? Check out Pei Yi. The coolest god of cars in JC's seven years, the defining battle of 'Life and Death Race'!"

"Pei Yi—Ah, my god, I want to marry you!"

The last title made Pei Yi's skin crawl. Smoking a cigarette, he clicked on the post, ash falling onto the bed, filling the room with smoke, creating a hazy atmosphere by the bedside.

The post was made by "Love Pei Yi for Ten Thousand Years."

Upon opening, Pei Yi was startled by the enlarged high-definition images, all capturing him driving.

From the second round, his bewildered look upon learning the system's rules, to the high-speed car chase with Lu Zai Chuan in the latter half, and his one-handed steering for a 360 spin... The photos, especially of his profile, were numerous.

Pei Yi touched his face, wondering if his profile was indeed more handsome. He hadn't noticed. The endurance race was extensively photographed.

Damn, such a dedicated fan made Pei Yi blush. How many times had they watched the official race video? The phrase "wanting to marry him" appeared over a hundred times.

This level of enthusiasm... better spared him.

After exiting the post, Pei Yi browsed further. There was a technical explanation of his speed, too complex for even him to fully grasp. Criticisms were suppressed; Pei Yi chose not to upset himself by reading them.

In a less noticed corner of the forum were two posts, one titled [Day One of Shipping Pei Yi and Lu Zai Chuan] by a professional CP fan.

Shipping? Like drugs? Curious, Pei Ge silently clicked open.

Inside were many photos, but all of him with Lu Zai Chuan, where Lu always seemed attentively listening to Pei Yi, either whispering together or standing side by side.

During the third round of the Life and Death Race, he merely held Lu Zai Chuan's hand, and the post was filled with countless detail shots of their hands tightly clasped together, from fingertips to palms, from front to side, all angles covered.

Pei Yi, seeing this, had only two words to say: Nonsense. He's a straight guy, and 'shipping' was just too much for him; he quickly closed it.

Looking at the post below. This post was right after the previous one, without a title, and due to fewer views, it was at the end.

Upon opening, it actually had a title.

Posted by: Troll

"Time in dreams is wonderful but fleeting. In dreams, you experience momentary happiness and instant joy. In dreams, the essence of the Race for Life and Death truly emerges. In dreams, I am brave. This game is for the brave, the true definition of the Race for Life and Death."

Pei Yi, confused by what he read, also closed this post.

It was still early, so Pei Yi browsed the NPC forum, finding the posts quite interesting.

Scanning around, most posts were NPCs looking for people for tasks and jobs.

[NPC Diary 1: Today’s Experience – Tire Changing in the Race for Life and Death and Watching Pei Yi] Posted by: Crying Pig

"The salary for S1 NPCs is higher, so everyone can apply! I was fortunate to get one, and the salary is 1 point. Overall, the work is really exhausting. Although it’s all automated by the system and we just follow along, it's still tiring... I work hard, so why doesn’t my salary increase! The tires are heavy, but I have no choice but to force myself to do it.

"There were three races in total, and it was us NPCs who did the work. As usual, let me talk about the eerie and scary stuff. I have to mention my colleagues – how do I describe them? Though they’re robots, they have a certain aura of death. During the second and third races, there were a lot of people, and I didn't think much of it.

"But in the third race, it was in a remote field with a makeshift maintenance station, and there was no one around, just players. Together with my colleagues at the tire-changing station, there were four of us. They were still cold and silent, not talking at all, not out of aloofness. I accidentally touched their hands, and they were so cold, like the hands of the dead."

"The scariest part was around 2 or 3 in the morning when a thick fog suddenly enveloped a section of the road, shrouding even our area. Normally, visibility should be very low, but I saw, very clearly, a red-dressed woman appearing on the dark road, flashing by in an instant.

"I was really startled. Thankfully, the drivers came by soon after, and I returned to normal. My friends know that having been an NPC for so long, I always encounter strange things. I suspect I might have a Yin-Yang fate, or maybe there are just too many eerie instances in JC. Anyway, believe it or not, but please don't attack me personally.

"Now, about Pei Yi. He was the last to enter the station in the final lap. He really stood out, distinct from the other drivers. His face was ruggedly handsome, very masculine, with charming peach blossom eyes, more attractive when he's not smiling.

"I hope he smiles less. Oh, and his driving was incredibly fast, calling him lightning would be an understatement. You all should see him drive in person! He’s even more handsome than Lu Shen. Lu Shen is best in the suspense and mystery instances! After changing his tires, we couldn’t even speak before Pei Yi’s car zoomed off. Lucky to have worked on his car again. I hope he does well in his upcoming instances!"

Pei Yi responded to the same person again, "What's your next NPC task? I’ll make sure to greet you."

Crying Pig: "I dare not disturb the big shot. Mainly, JC doesn’t allow NPCs to interact with players, or we'll be permanently banned..."

Following posts also chimed in, "Ah ah ah, big shot, when will you drive again? So fast and impressive!"

"Big shot, please take me with you. You are my idol."

Seeing the crowd increase, Pei Yi logged out.

However, what Crying Pig mentioned piqued his curiosity. If the first time was an accident, what about the second? Surely, the entire JC world can’t be haunted? He bookmarked the post, planning to revisit it later.

After browsing the forum and checking the time, sleepiness overcame Pei Yi, and he fell asleep.

Waking up, Pei Yi received a message from Chen Mo, saying the instance was about to start and asking if he was ready, mentioning that they had a full roster.

Ready? Of course. He had prepared a small notebook, anticipating this instance would require reasoning.

Sitting up, Pei Yi stretched, feeling surprisingly tired despite a full sleep. Odd, he thought, given his youth.

With time to spare, Pei Yi thought about finding information on the 'Snow Mountain Spirit,' but found nothing. The system had automatically blocked relevant info – excellent confidentiality.

He checked Lu Zai Chuan’s profile again, discovering something new. This person had played 'Snow Mountain Spirit' over three hundred times.

Is he sick? Trying to complete it? Also, there was no gold medal symbol next to the instance, indicating he never aced it.

Pei Yi became motivated, determined to complete it and make Lu regret not choosing him as a teammate!

He opened the pre-booked Snow Mountain interface, revealing a new page.

[Hello, Pei Yi, the game has finished loading.]

[Would you like to start? Yes/No?]

Pei Yi clicked yes, and the next second, a CG image appeared before him, featuring a sky full of heavy snow, dark and gloomy, as if he could hear the sound of the blizzard howling beside his ears, getting louder and more real... Pei Yi frowned and covered his ears. In that moment, the blizzard hit his face, turning into real snow and wind.

But the image did not fade away. In front of his eyes appeared four blood-red characters, "Snow Mountain Spirit." The system's voice then sounded—

[Welcome to the Thrilling City JC regular instance, themed "Snow Mountain Spirit."]

[Thrill level: Four stars. Mortality rate: 80%.]

[Key to the game: Mysterious rules, storytelling, and deductive reasoning.]

[Game Introduction: You and a few friends venture to a long-abandoned snow mountain resort for an adventure. However, a sudden heavy snowfall blocks your way down the mountain. Forced to take shelter in a wooden cabin, bizarre events begin to unfold...]

[Game rules: Unknown.]

[Victory conditions: Unknown.]

[Current number of survivors: 10/10]