Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The well-trained hound retreated to the corner, making way for Ji Xinghai as he entered the hunter's cabin with his dried fungus in hand.

He wasn't concerned about any further ambushes; the tracks outside indicated that only one person lived here long-term. While there were occasional visitors, most had ended up as strips of jerky hanging under the eaves.

If anyone could still be alive, it would be the owner of the freshest set of footprints at the entrance. They led in but not out, size 42, wide soles, and distinct shoe prints suggested a tall man who, even after deboning and gutting, would weigh over a hundred pounds.

But the cabin lacked the scent of fresh blood, indicating they should still be alive.

The windows of the hunter's cabin were small, casting the interior into dimness, yet it was a single large room easily surveyed at a glance.

To the left was a rudimentary bedroom and dining area, featuring a small wooden bed, a table, two stools, and a pile of simple tools nearby.

On the right was the kitchen, with a crude hearth made of stones, burning pine branches below and an iron pot above. There was a large water jar and a clay basin beside it, and on the cabinet sat seasonings and other ingredients.

The only noteworthy feature in the entire cabin was the bull-horn bow and quiver hanging on the wall.

Temporary shelter, acquired.

Food, acquired.

Long-range weapon, acquired.

The dirt floor was marked by numerous shallow footprints, crisscrossing in disorder. Ji Xinghai followed the relatively clear trail of size 42 prints, leading him to the crude square table where it seemed someone had sat for a while.

A shovel leaned against the empty stool.

The viewers watching from their screens didn't know that Ji Xinghai was analyzing the actions of the previous occupant based on the footprints. They merely saw him sit briefly at the square table.

Then he stood up and followed the drag marks across the floor to the woodpile in the kitchen.

Ji Xinghai swept away the accumulated twigs with his foot, revealing a hidden door beneath.

There was someone inside.

"..." The former student in the CCTV live stream clenched her fist. She had been observing and analyzing along with Ji Xinghai, and her process and conclusion perfectly overlapped, giving her a sense of satisfaction.

"Huh? What's going on? How did Ji Xinghai know there was a secret door here?"

"There were many clues: the footprints, the marks on the ground, the placement of the stool... In short, his observational and analytical skills are impressive."

Viewers who could keep up with his thinking were quietly pleased with themselves, while those who couldn't understand felt like they were watching magic. However, more people skipped ahead in the story, jumping straight to the results.

"A secret door, a hidden chamber,

could there be a treasure chest inside?!"

At the mention of resource chests, the audience immediately shed their previous fear, rubbing their hands together like flies, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"Please save our country's student! He's in there!" Suddenly, Ji Xinghai's live stream was flooded with foreigners, all pleading for the JiuZhou student to rescue their own.

"Which country?"

"What's happening?"

"Regardless of the situation, moral coercion can go to hell!"

There was a distinction between 'partners' and 'conflicting interests' between countries, just as there was among students. If they encountered a student from an allied nation during the exam, they might attempt to cooperate for mutual benefit.

But all cooperation was predicated on not harming one's own interests. These citizens from an unknown country wanted them to save their student right off the bat? Where did they get such audacity? Did they owe them something?

"Our student was knocked out by the hunter upon entering and thrown into the cellar tied up. We heard the commotion outside and came to investigate. Please save him, sniffle..."

These viewers from other countries cried rivers of tears and snot.

Such pitiful displays could invite scorn, but when life was on the line, what was the use of saving face?

Every time a student 'died', their country had to endure an abnormal trial. Unlike the stronger nations, which had already seen their populations reduced to a third after three years of the game, they couldn't afford many more abnormal disasters.

The threat of national extinction loomed close.

"So that's how it is."

"Oh! I remember now, it's the student who was tricked by the NPC and thrown into the dungeon. Which country in O-Continent was it? It must be Country R."

The JiuZhou audience expressed sympathy, but it amounted to nothing. First, they weren't particularly friendly with each other, and second, they couldn't connect with the students inside the instance anyway. Even if they could, why should they save them?

However, seeing their own student quickly dispatch the malicious anomaly and discover the cellar, while others waited helplessly for rescue, filled the JiuZhou viewers with an indescribable pride.

What was wrong with randomness? Couldn't random selections also produce masters? True experts were often found among the common folk!

Inside the instance, Ji Xinghai crouched down to inspect the secret door.

Without the stench of blood, this unfortunate soul hadn't been dismembered. Most cannibals valued the freshness of their prey and wouldn't kill them early to let maggots grow.

He chopped off the small lock on the secret door with his axe and pried it open, revealing a dark, half-meter-wide entrance.

There was no sound from within.

"Waaah..." A group of foreigners in the live stream cried, their wailing causing agitation and the urge to crawl through the internet cables to give them a beating.

The live stream of the Country R student had previously been pitch black, so they were unaware of their student's condition. Now that the JiuZhou student had opened the door, a beam of light appeared in their student's live stream, giving these people hope.

Ji Xinghai listened intently for any sounds inside. Hearing faint breathing, he took a burning pine branch from the hearth and tossed it into the hole.

The burning branch hit the wooden steps and fell to the ground, but the fire didn't extinguish, providing a faint source of light for Ji Xinghai as he peered inside.

The cellar below wasn't large, merely a small, square space. Apart from some potato-like items piled in the corner, there was only a person lying prone on the ground.

Seeing that the pine branch burned brightly, indicating ample oxygen, the individual inside wouldn't have suffocated due to lack of air. Thus, this person was either knocked unconscious or feigning it.

After some thought, Ji Xinghai didn't immediately descend the wooden ladder. Instead, he found a new, burning pine branch and accurately tossed it onto the head of the person lying on the ground.

This hit woke the person up.

Watching his fellow student awaken, yet bound and writhing on the ground like a caterpillar due to the restraints, the native viewers of this unfortunate soul's livestream laughed and cried, grateful that they had once again escaped a calamity.

While a few ungrateful individuals criticized Ji Xinghai for his rough handling, the majority were immensely thankful.

'Human, hands tied behind back, feet bound with hemp rope; no signs of performance. Another one kidnapped to the mountain?'

Ji Xinghai, unaware of the outside world, hadn't forgotten his self-imposed role as an unlucky ghost, kidnapped to the mountain and left to fend for himself.

Having made his assessment, he carefully examined the other corners of the cellar, finding no hiding places. He then tossed the dry matsutake into a wicker basket, removed his walking stick, and descended with his axe to untie the person.

In this complex world, he needed a 'guide' to acquire information.

"Hello, you're also a student, right?" The person on the ground, clutching their head, brightened upon seeing the watch on Ji Xinghai's wrist. Ji Xinghai now noticed that this was a Caucasian, with a high nose, deep-set eyes, a square face, and abundant body hair.

He didn't know what a 'student' was, but instinctively sensed that the situation differed from his initial conjectures.

For instance, he was curious about the identical black electronic watches on both their wrists.

Could it be that they weren't kidnapped to the mountain, but specifically selected?

But why?

Was it for a special test based on selection criteria, or perhaps some form of entertainment?

Ji Xinghai maintained a poker face, responding with a noncommittal "Mm," and extended a hand to help the person up.

This individual was roughly the same height as Ji Xinghai, likely over six feet tall. Sturdier than Ji Xinghai, he wore new black clothes—shirt, pants, and shoes.

They climbed out, and the hunter's cabin remained unchanged. The man immediately picked up a shovel and surveyed the surroundings.

Finding no signs of struggle in the house, he tiptoed to the door.

"Woof? Woof, woof woof!" The previously frightened hunting dog, tail between its legs, began trembling and barked loudly upon seeing him.

This startled the man.

"Damn it, scram!"

"The hunter isn't here?" After scolding the tethered dog, he energetically returned to search for the absent hunter. "He actually dared to ambush me?"

Ji Xinghai glanced at him, noticing that he hadn't paid attention to the hunter's skeleton, now reduced to dry wood by the door. A smile slowly spread across his face, adopting once more the appearance of a greenhorn student.

"I'm not sure. There was no one else in the house when I came in."

Relieved, the man sat down on the small stool he'd used before: "Buddy, you're lucky. That hunter wasn't easy to deal with."

Ji Xinghai took a seat on the other side.

"In any case, I still need to thank you. You're a student from Country D, right? From now on, follow me."

"What the hell?"

In Western movies, people from the Y Continent were always relegated to the role of sidekicks trailing behind white protagonists. This man seemed to have immersed himself in such a movie, believing that people from the Y Continent lacked leadership skills and were only fit to obey, recognizing a white person as their elder brother upon sight.

The livestream's audience, infuriated by this clueless individual, unleashed a torrent of abuse, but Ji Xinghai paid no heed. His mind was preoccupied with another matter.

Country D? The country that harbored a centuries-old enmity with JiuZhou? Indeed, this appeared to be another highly similar parallel world, albeit with a magical twist—monsters and students alike.

Ji Xinghai raised an eyebrow. That amiable, handsome face revealed a warmer smile as he caressed the axe and inquired 'friendly': "Why do you say that?"

"Aren't you a student from Country D?"

The man pondered for a moment before reaffirming, "N countrymen have narrow eyes and broad faces, and are very stingy. Y countrymen are sleazy, looking like monkeys. JiuZhou people are quite rustic. You must be a student from Country D."

"Damn it!"

"Damn it! Did he just use the most vile language to insult our student?"

"Bastard!"

"Well, he managed to offend three countries in one sentence."

Ji Xinghai didn't answer yes or no. He continued to wear a harmless smile, asking, "Why are you here?"

The elongated tone carried a hint of confusion.

Just having narrowly escaped danger, the man, caught up in his emotions, didn't think too much and answered offhandedly, "Isn't this about exploring the surroundings? After climbing the mountain for half a day without encountering anything, I wanted to go down and take a look. Later, I saw a house here..."

This man was a chatterbox, and one question led to a flood of words from him. Ji Xinghai listened quietly: despite speaking fluent JiuZhouese, he was mistaken for someone from Country D. As a Caucasian, this man spoke JiuZhouese without any accent, his mouth movements not matching the language, as if he were speaking his native tongue.

This was a world equipped with a built-in translator.

The identical watches could be used to confirm identities and might provide basic information.

With an inherent language translation function, it resembled a holographic online game or a fantasy setting more than the real world.

A group of individuals identified as 'students,' who were either competitors or companions.

Exploration was required, and certain tests existed.

...Oh, Infinite Terror?!