Chapter 57: Road Trip Tips (I)
“…”
Faced with the blessings, several people in the dormitory did not feel the joy of the holiday, but rather felt more like myocardial infarction.
What was this? A stage accident? A surprise attack? A flying head?
Tang Xinjue silently pulled out the toilet plunger and raised a gentle and harmless smile: "Hello, is there anything I can help you with?"
Looking at the toilet plunger that gave off an ominous aura of ghosts, Little Red Riding Hood felt a chill on her head: "..."
She pursed her lips, held back the tears in her eyes, and tried to make her head spin. Her head quickly took off, returned to the TV screen, and returned to her dazed body.
The little girl on the stage straightened her head and apologized tearfully: "I'm sorry, it's my first time performing on stage and I made a mistake accidentally."
As he was crying, he got so excited that his head, which had just been put back in place, fell down again and started crying on the ground.
A non-mainstream girl with fiery red hair and smoky makeup ran up to the stage, lifted Little Red Riding Hood's head with one hand, supported her body with the other, and bowed to the audience to apologize:
"Hahaha, please forgive me. This is the first debut performance of our artist Little Red Riding Hood. If you like this performance, please pay attention to the first 101 talent show in University Town to be held in a while, and cast your precious vote for Little Red Riding Hood!"
Before the two dark ghosts came up to chase them away, the non-mainstream girl quickly grabbed a handful of colorful papers from her pocket and threw them out: "You must come to support us! It's better to come to the scene! When Little Red Riding Hood becomes popular, you will be the pioneering fans... I will treat you to a meal!"
As they were pushed away, the piece of paper also penetrated the TV screen and slowly fell into Tang Xinjue's hands.
—— Suichao Entertainment, welcome your attention!
The handwriting on the paper is unruly, and looks like it was written with a colored pen, full of cheap and unreliable texture. It looks like both a business card and an invitation ticket.
As for the specific competition address, it becomes a column of blurry garbled characters when it appears on the screen, making it difficult to see clearly.
When he looked up at the TV again, the stage was empty. Two fishmen walked onto the stage with easy steps: "Today's party celebration ends here. Thank you all for watching!"
???
The entire celebration consisted of only one unreliable performance?
The black curtain fell and the channel program list popped up - it turned out that there was only this one program throughout the whole day.
After briefly shedding a tear of sympathy for the poor spiritual and entertainment life of the "university town residents", several people quickly shifted their attention back to the information they had currently obtained.
The rustling sound stopped after a few minutes. Tang Xinjue shook the tip of his pen and tore off a mind map from the table.
“If the world we live in right now, and all the information we have access were condensed into one picture, this is what it would look like.”
Following Tang Xinjue's pen, the structure radiates outward from the "Dormitory Survival Game" and is divided into first-tier, second-tier and third-tier universities.
Four heads gathered in front of the paper, reading intently.
"Due to our current level, we can only access a portion of the exams."
There are two question marks after the first and second tier universities, and the structure is concentrated in the [third tier universities] section.
Tang Xin Jue continued, "Currently, the only way to level up is through exams and competitions. The exam subjects are university courses, and the content consists of dungeons and ghost NPCs."
"There are some exams where, when we enter, we find that our dormitories have also become part of the dungeon. At this time, the exam background is usually inside the [third-tier university], which can also be said to be the real background in the game."
For example, in "Dormitory Civility Rules" and "Four Seasons Protection Guide", most of the ghost NPCs they encounter are also on-campus. For example, Xiaohong was originally a student at a third-tier university. But later she was transferred to "Classic Movie Appreciation" and became a bathroom mirror ghost.
"Movies like Classic Movie Appreciation are like the other world in the game world. The ghosts and NPCs in it are more brutal and more lethal."
After a pause, Tang Xin Jue pondered and said, "According to this distinction, it can also be temporarily compared to private enterprises and civil servants."
Private companies generally have a serious internal competition of 996, and their employees are very aggressive. Civil servants are relatively Buddhist, and their work is stable as long as they don't make major mistakes, while their NPCs are subject to greater restrictions by rules.
Guo Guo and the other two: "..."
Can we use this analogy?
Zhang You thought about it and tried: "Then the more difficult the exam, the stronger the ghost NPC is. Can it be regarded as a higher position level?"
In fact, the first time they had a vague understanding of the school in the game was in the "Four Seasons Protection Guide", an A-level exam they mistakenly entered, where they first came into contact with the student union, heaters... and even the reapers.
In Tang Xinjue's mind map, the three branches finally converged and connected to a name: University Town.
"From the information available, the [university town] in the game is a concept that is somewhat similar to reality, but more bizarre."
It has three universities, countless NPC residents, a shopping mall, and even a dedicated TV station and entertainment company.
Students are forced to enter it and subtly become a part of it, but they have to face the dangers lurking here.
If they want to survive, the exams will inevitably become more and more difficult. So the information they have at this moment, whether it comes from A-level copies or TV, is of inestimable value.
After reading the mind map, Guo Guo sighed: "I don't know why, I know more now, but I feel more confused. Oops, have I been infected by the eldest lady?"
Zheng Wanqing: "?? Look at the difference in our professional course scores. Do you think your IQ is higher than mine?"
She is reckless, but not mentally retarded!
Guo Guo was not convinced: "A good man does not brag about his past achievements. Besides, I did not study hard at the time, so I cannot use this to judge my IQ."
Zheng Wanqing: "Oh, then why don't you study hard?"
Guo Guo: "I was..."
Seeing that the two were about to deviate from the topic again, Zhang You looked at Tang Xinjue helplessly.
Tang Xin Jue posted the information map on the door and said calmly, "If anyone makes more noise, there will be no spicy chicken feet to eat tonight."
The world is quiet.
After sorting out the current situation and mentality, the four of them began to conduct physical and reaction training in the limited dormitory space.
Zheng Wanqing used to love fitness and bought dumbbells, elastic bands, small sandbags and other tools. Now that she has lost her right forearm, she can only practice daily activities with one hand. By the way, she gave all the tools to Guo Guo and urged her to practice body strength.
Guo Guo started wailing within an hour, "Help me, Miss, I really have no strength left!"
Zheng Wanqing strictly corrected him: "According to the data on the survival app, your current four-dimensional attributes are about twice that of an ordinary person, so you can fully bear this level of physical exertion. The reason why it feels difficult is because you have not yet correctly understood your own strength and cannot fully exert your attributes. Do you understand?"
"Don't disbelieve me, I can fight with you to test it out," Zheng Wanqing said seriously, "I'll give you a hand."
Guo Guo: “…”
While they continued to train hard, Tang Xinjue and Zhang You were not idle either.
Tang Xinjue was helping Zhang You research a suitable weapon, but when it came to quoting a price, the latter rejected all the proposals with a painful expression.
Tang Xin Jue: "If you continue to fight in the wild, the environment you are in will only become more and more dangerous. How can you survive without weapons?"
Zhang You thought seriously: "...Can I run?"
Although she lacks weapons for attack, she is quite confident in her ability to roam and escape.
“…”
Finally, Tang Xin Jue used their points to buy a [Danger Summoner] for 30. Once the danger around Zhang You is too high, Tang Xin Jue will receive a prompt immediately.
“But on the bright side , maybe after we start this [specialization support program], the next time the positioning will be changed.”
Tang Xin Jue joked, "Consider the output position?"
Zhang You: "...Thank you. I'll just play jungle."
After a whole day of practice, in the evening, several people cut a piece of fresh bread for dinner, and after a full meal, they began to make final preparations.
Tang Xinjue took out a few strands of red hair from the end of the previous exam.
Although the black hair was a pile of dead matter, she could still feel the cold breath of ghosts lingering on it.
I threw the hair into the rubber head and the toilet plunger swallowed it quickly.
After a while, Tang Xinjue frowned slightly.
This time, something seemed different. Although the toilet plunger ate the food, it didn't show any reaction - no hair was spit out, and no new skull logo appeared.
She shook the plunger and pressed the spray button. After a long time, the rubber head slowly spit out a small stream of water.
The sense of abnormality became more obvious.
Finally, Tang Xin Jue asked his roommate to cover his ears and stay away, then he held the toilet plunger and chopped it down, performing the "Ghost Scream".
Along with a shrill scream that went straight to the ceiling, a strong wind suddenly rushed out from the rubber head, overturned the chair, and suddenly disappeared along with the scream.
"puff."
The toilet plunger slowly spit out a stream of water.
Now not only Tang Xinjue, but others also realized that something was wrong.
Several people slowly approached, their faces full of shock: "What's going on? Is there something wrong with the toilet plunger?"
Tang Xinjue pursed his lips and nodded.
…
Until the next morning, Tang Xin Jue still couldn't find out the specific problem with the toilet plunger. He could only be sure that it was because it ate Xiao Hong's hair that the abnormality occurred.
Fortunately, most of its abilities can still be used, but there will be brief delays or short-lived effects.
Putting aside this doubt for the moment, Tang Xinjue looked at the screen of her mobile phone. They were going to choose a new exam.
[Please select one of the following test contents. Countdown: 15 minutes]
Volume A: "Road Trip Tips"
Volume B: "Dead Rising: Dormitory Survival Test"
Volume C: Archaeology Begins with Grave Digging
None of the three C-level exams look like a good match.
"Dead Rising is a test that has appeared before, right?"
Zhang You recognized the familiar options, "It has already appeared before. If we don't choose it, it can appear a second time."
Unfortunately, there is no doubt that they will still directly PASS this time.
Sure enough, after one round of voting, zombies and gravedigging were all eliminated, leaving only "Road Trip Tips".
"Look at it from a positive perspective." Zheng Wanqing encouraged the students as usual: "Maybe we can take a free road trip during the exam!"
They had fantasized about taking a road trip after graduation, but they didn't expect to wait for graduation, but instead wait for games.
"Then let's go."
Tang Xinjue pressed the confirmation button, and the four of them held each other's hands.
"After the exam, I'll make spicy chicken feet with yogurt for everyone."
No matter what happens or what they go through, nothing is more important than them being able to sit here intact after the exam.
Guo Guo suddenly realized: "Wait, won't this cause diarrhea..."
The words were drowned out by the surging darkness.
When Tang Xinjue opened his eyes, a slight tingling sensation almost immediately penetrated his mind.
Enduring the pain in his head and looking around, Tang Xinjue found himself sitting in the driver's seat of a convertible with a map placed on the steering wheel.
Apart from that, there was no one else there, no sign of any roommates.
Picking up the map, a note fell out, which read:
[Please deliver this box of specialties to Grandma Mayas's house. As a reward, I can lend you this car for a day. The car has plenty of gas, but the navigation system is a little broken, so I'll have to trouble you to use the map to find your way. Remember to deliver the things before dark, it's very important to Grandma Mayas!]
The exclamation mark is drawn heavily to emphasize the importance of the sentence.
On the passenger seat was a purple gift box, with a red seal marking the joints: [It should not be opened by anyone except Grandma Mayas]
Tang Xinjue placed the note on the gift box and opened the map, which showed that it was a ring road.
After reading it carefully, Tang Xinjue's eyes darkened slightly.
There is no mark about "Grandma Mayas's house" on this map.
