Chapter 34: Four Tight Constraints on the Future

Lu Xi pursed her lips. "I don't know."

"I get it," Meng Yuanyuan beamed. "If you don't know, it actually means you have feelings for him in your heart."

"Huh?" Lu Xi looked bewildered.

"Because if you really didn't like him, you would have denied it immediately when we asked you just now, but you didn't."

"Adults understand how this works. Hemming and hawing is the most honest answer; not saying 'yes' immediately is the same as a refusal. It's the same logic."

Laughter and playful banter filled Room 601, briefly dispelling the fear and chill of the survival game.

"Oh, by the way, Lu Xi, what did you do before? In the real world?"

"You're so pretty and have such a refined air; you look like you were raised in a wealthy household," Meng Yuanyuan said, resting her chin in her hands.

The original owner of this body was indeed a wealthy socialite. A pampered young lady. But Lu Xi herself was not.

"Me? I can describe it in four words: 'The Four Tightnesses of a Career'."

"A bright future?" Gu Yun repeated, confused.

"Tight wallet, tight budget, tight clothes, and a tight brow," Lu Xi joked. "By day, I was a beast of burden; by night, I hid under my covers and wallowed in emo. Every day, my brain cycled through 'n' ways to die. I was either afraid of the pain or afraid of the hardship, only to realize I was just a depressed beast of burden terrified of dying."

The people around her burst into laughter. How could that not be considered the "Four Tightnesses" of a career?

After Meng Yuanyuan finished laughing, she said, "I lived with my mom, and I was still an intern."

Gu Yun looked a bit shy and spoke softly: "I wasn't good at studying, and I'm not very smart... I didn't continue my education after high school. Before coming here, I worked in a factory."

"Was it an assembly line?" Lu Xi asked.

Gu Yun nodded, smiling self-consciously before continuing: "Yes, my family is poor and couldn't help me much. I wasn't cut out for books, and I'm not quick-witted, so I could never learn more complex tasks."

Only the factory assembly line suited her.

"How long have you been working?"

"Five and a half years."

Lu Xi gasped. "That's amazing! I worked on an assembly line once, too. Wow, that line was so fast; I was all thumbs and couldn't keep up with the speed of the conveyor belt at all. I did such a bad job I got fired."

Lu Xi had also worked hard in her time, but she never had such a positive and optimistic mindset. She hated every job she ever held; she felt defeated by every trade in the book. Let alone sticking with one for so long.

There was no scorn or disdain in her voice, only genuine admiration. This left Gu Yun stunned on the spot. She looked into Lu Xi's eyes—the young girl's gaze was bright and clear.

"Exactly, exactly! You were able to stick with such a grueling job; you have such strong resilience and a powerful inner core," Meng Yuanyuan exclaimed. "Whatever I do, I only have a three-minute attention span; I could never keep at it."

A wave of warmth washed over Gu Yun, and a hint of joy touched her brows. The feeling of having friends was truly wonderful.

After everyone freshened up, they climbed into their respective beds to rest. The dormitory was set up with beds on top and desks below. Lu Xi specifically chose an exceptionally thick book from the desk. It wasn't because she was a scholar who loved to read, but because there were no sharp tools in the dorm, and a thick book could serve as a temporary brick. Perhaps it would even play a vital role at a critical moment.

Deep in the night, a commotion suddenly erupted outside the dormitory.

"Dumping the dead!"

Dumping?

Awakened, the girls rubbed their sleep-heavy eyes and scrambled out of bed in a daze.

"Don't go out!" Lu Xi saw Zhang Qiulan about to pull open the balcony door and stopped her immediately.

"It's foggy outside," Lu Xi added. "Do you remember the rule of this world from when we first entered?"

*Thick fog rises, men and ghosts are hard to tell apart; please do not enter the mist.*

The night fog outside was dense, and the balcony's glass door kept it at bay. Zhang Qiulan felt a lingering fear; she had a poor memory and had long forgotten about that.

"Mom, come back!" Meng Yuanyuan rushed over to pull Zhang Qiulan back.

"The group chat is so busy," Gu Yun suddenly said.

Everyone opened their phones in unison.

"What's going on? Did you hear that sound just now?"

"Dumping?"

"'Dumping the dead,'" Jiang Chen replied.

"What kind of stage is this?"

Jiang Yanyan sent a voice message in the small group. Lu Xi tapped it, and Jiang Yanyan’s voice, gentle as water, filled the room.

"Everyone, don't go out. The fog outside is very heavy, and in this dungeon world, the fog doesn't seem to be a good omen."

As soon as her message went out, the group chat exploded.

"Wow, Goddess! Your voice is so pretty."

"Does the young lady have a boyfriend? If so, would you consider having another?"

"What is Yanyan doing?" Meng Yuanyuan was completely confused.

Ji Yunxuan: "There are dead people downstairs."

Everyone realized belatedly that the voice shouting "Dumping the dead" was indeed strange—it didn't sound like something a human would make. It was sharp, crisp, and filled with an eerie, odd tone. It sounded a bit like an animal character in a cartoon.

So "dumping the dead" meant literally dumping "dead people"?!

The group chat fell into sudden silence. Because they weren't sure if the deceased were players or ordinary NPCs, they started a spontaneous roll call in the small group. As it turned out, some players' accounts remained silent.

A stifling atmosphere seeped through the internet connection into everyone's hearts.

"This dungeon seems so hard. I wonder what conditions are needed to trigger the existence of a door," Gu Yun said, feeling defeated.

Meng Yuanyuan's eyes reddened. "Will we really die in this world? Will we never get out?"

Lu Xi hadn't spoken this whole time; she had just silently climbed back into bed.

"Lu Xi? What do you think? Why do you look so unconcerned?" Meng Yuanyuan asked, curious.

"Being anxious won't help," Lu Xi shrugged, sitting on her bed. "Take it one step at a time. If it comes down to it and I die halfway, I'll just treat every day I spend in this world as my last. Anxiety won't solve the problem, and giving up entirely doesn't seem right either."

So, let nature take its course. Every extra second, minute, or hour she survived was a bonus she had gambled from the heavens. Reaching a dead end wasn't the end of the road; there was always the option to die. If she turned into a ghost NPC, well, that was just another way of existing.

"You've given up on struggling, haven't you?" Meng Yuanyuan sighed toward the ceiling. "How does that saying go? Life tried to chew me up, but found that I melted in its mouth."

Everyone crawled back into their blankets to sleep. Lu Xi's words still held weight; eating and sleeping well was better than being constantly anxious and fearful. Extreme depression and anxiety were, in fact, a form of self-bullying. It might look spineless, but it was also a form of letting go.

The next day.

When they pulled back the curtains, the thick fog outside was heavy, making it almost impossible to see the building opposite.

"It's foggy again. What do we do? Should we go down?" Gu Yun worried.

Teacher Qin had already posted a notice in the class group: everyone to assemble at 8:00 AM sharp, no tardiness allowed.

"Teacher Qin?" Lu Xi was surprised. "Doesn't he not have a head anymore?"

Ghost NPCs could not be judged by conventional logic.

Lu Xi: "I'll try to see if I can ask for a leave of absence first."