Chapter 347 Difficulty Escalation

Chapter 347: Escalating Difficulty

"If our memories from yesterday serve us right, Honghuai City appeared perfectly normal then," Zhuang Anping mused, adding, "More than just normal. Looking back, apart from a few buildings differing slightly from my recollection, yesterday's Honghuai City was indistinguishable from the real world. At the very least, as I walked the streets, I felt that everyone was alive—they had their own emotions, their own lives."

"And now, what's the difference between these people on the street and walking corpses?" Zhuang Anping surveyed his surroundings.

At first glance, they seemed to be in the throes of a city's bustling morning rush hour. Yet, the eyes of every pedestrian on the road were devoid of light. Each person appeared soulless, their hurried footsteps contrasting with vacant stares, as if pulled forward by invisible strings. An eerie silence permeated the air, as though the city had lost its very essence, leaving only an empty shell in operation.

"Could it be that we're overthinking it? You office workers are forced to wake up early every day, perpetually sleep-deprived. Perhaps this is just how everyone looks after struggling out of bed?" Chen Xi's barbed comment was both unpleasant and difficult to refute.

"Heh." Zhuang Anping let out a dry chuckle. "If you put it that way, there's some truth to it. My colleagues often joke that our work turns us into mechanical zombies, confined to our cubicles, busy from clock-in to clock-out. But the strangeness on this street isn't limited to those forced into the daily grind." Zhuang Anping scanned their surroundings. "Everyone here is odd. Even classmates walking closely together don't exchange so much as a glance. And the parents dropping their kids off at school—they're all eerily quiet."

"So the strangest part now is the complete lack of communication between people, not even eye contact?" Chen Xi frowned, observing the peculiar pedestrians, a shiver running down her spine.

"Yes, it's quite similar to my work environment, actually." As Zhuang Anping spoke, a sudden realization seemed to dawn on him, and his expression turned peculiar.

"What's wrong?" Chen Xi noticed his discomfort and turned to ask.

"Actually, it's precisely because my work environment is so isolated, with no opportunity to interact with others, that I failed to complete the administrator's assigned rule yesterday. If people don't even exchange glances, how can players find someone to express a request to? Under these circumstances, players might not even be able to find anyone willing to listen," Zhuang Anping said with a helpless shrug.

"Is that so?" Chen Xi pondered seriously for a moment. "Come on, Uncle, wasn't the real reason you didn't complete the task that you refused to tidy up or wash the dishes when your wife asked you to after getting home?"

Zhuang Anping was momentarily speechless, his lips moving but no rebuttal forming.

Thanks to Chen Xi, the fear that had enveloped them both dissipated somewhat.

"But you're right, Uncle. Even though we didn't complete the task on the first day, we who 'died' just thought we were unlucky. After all, as long as you communicate more with those around you, fulfilling someone's request should be a simple task. But given the current situation, it's only the second day, and the difficulty of completing the task seems to have already changed."

Chen Xi's tone grew heavier as she spoke.

"This is the Nightmare World, after all. We and the other players are trapped in this nightmare game. These damn eerie entities won't let us off easily, and the difficulty of completing the rule-based tasks will undoubtedly continue to escalate."

Chen Xi and Zhuang Anping continued walking along the street. Sunlight cast the shadows of tree branches and leaves onto the ground, creating a dappled pattern that, against the backdrop of the strange pedestrians, resembled a bizarre painting.

The pedestrians still moved mechanically, each face wearing an expressionless, cold mask, devoid of any vitality. Although some shops on either side of the street had opened for business, the employees standing at the entrances merely stood there woodenly, their vacant eyes fixed ahead, as if controlled by an invisible force.

Apart from the voices of the "dead" Chen Xi and Zhuang Anping, the street was enveloped in utter silence.

"Let's go find my brother first," Chen Xi said, her pace unconsciously quickening. "If the game's difficulty keeps escalating like this, more and more players will 'die.' The daytime in this city is already so eerie—who knows what horrors night might bring? We also need to check the large screen on the commercial street. It should display the city's weirdness meter!"