Being an Extra Actor in an Escape Game

What the teenage girl talked about has come to pass.

A Missiontaker has inexplicably disappeared, after being killed by a sentient facility.

A scapegoat, huh?

The viewers in the stream have yet to know this, but even if they did, they would probably assume a player has just quit the game.

Plus the tragic death he suffered and his thus far fruitless exploration, would probably justify someone rage-quitting in extreme anger and fear; the viewers should draw the obvious conclusion.

Yet X Beijin knows that it is far from being as simple as that.

A disappearance In the Tower, that is practically the same as concluding they have succumbed to a Collapsed Nightmare; however, this Nightmare has yet to Collapse. The fact is, only the Missiontaker has gone missing.

Rumours say, that in Collapsed Nightmares, events in a Nightmare would repeatedly occur, and the Missiontakers will also go crazy eventually in the cycle of death, resurrection, and death again.

There is no way out of the particular Nightmare anymore, and they will only fall deep into the abyss with the Nightmare; they truly become living husks, and are unable to escape the fate at all.

Like a pile of game data with a bug, that can only be treated as junk, despised by the Server, NE, in its server capacity.

Sentient furniture

X Beijin is wondering whether the missing Missiontakers have really ended up scapegoats in the furniture, waiting until someone could take their place this time.

A chill is seeping into his spine. After a moment of pondering, he fixes the camera over at Jiang Shuangjie, but has also opened up an additional view down at the bottom right of his screen; not showing him, but the elevator that killed Muscular.

What X Beijin just did piqued the viewers interest. He explained thusly, this elevator just killed someone the last run. I want to see what it might do this run, and to find out whether it was on purpose.

The viewers are led astray almost immediately,

I think yes!

its smashed the head against the ground already yes+1!

omg it was super scary! im not riding the elevator today or tomorrow!

the stairs have cameras that secretly spy on you (demonic whisper)

aaaaargh shut up! your light is staring at you from above!

please, im really scared, i still wanna sleep tonight

the bed

rejected, the bed has no electricity or internet connection, no way it can become sentient

wasnt someone wishing for the bed to become sentient and be her boyfriend earlier?

my bad! im gonna look for a real human for a boyfriend, definitely!

X Beijin cant help but smile.

On-screen, the elevator is stopped at the eighth floor, unmoving, staying exactly where Muscular boarded it earlier. What X Beijin is suspecting whether Muscular is now the elevator seems like it would remain a mystery for a while.

He checks out the rest of the Missiontakers and sees that they are all quietly staying in their apartment units, waiting for the first hour to pass.

Thus, X Beijin stands up to enjoy another stroll around. The last run, he didnt leave the bookstore and slogged through an hour of sleepiness, so this time, for his own sake, he should go outside, if only for a change in mood.

Really, his usual state is depressed and lonesome. So it is a good thing he can come across this livelier setting and take a walk around, if only to chase the loneliness away a little.

The stream is still directed at the Missiontakers and the killer elevator instead of X Beijin himself; he would also take a look every so often, so that he doesnt miss anything important.

He is really distracted, of course. A few minutes in, he has a bubble tea in each of his hands.

When he queued up again, that Actor colleague of his gave him odd looks as well, but still allowed him two bubble teas on the house. It made X Beijin happy for sure.

For a moment, he was even glad he has been assigned as an Actor instead of a Missiontaker.

If he was a Missiontaker, then these Actors acting as staff would certainly not let him have bubble tea for free. Hmm Except Lin Qin.

Even Actors still have survival instincts, you see.

He is walking around the commercial area, and when he walks past a hotpot restaurant, he spies a big bald guy sitting in front of a table alone, chewing on the ingredients in the spicy hotpot with a terrifying expression and sweat all but drenching him entirely.

He is able to see him clearly thanks to the half-open design of the storefront.

X Beijin gives him curious glances.

The bald guy notices his gaze and greets him.

X Beijin is hesitant as he walks over and then asks, do you not like the spicy hotpot?

Of course I do the bald guy continues stuffing veggies into his mouth, and continues, not, my arse!

X Beijin is baffled.

Bro, poor me, the bald guy is actually tearing up at this point, NE told me to eat hotpot, but the Missiontakers kept restarting over and over, so Ive been fucking trapped here, eating hotpot for over four hours already! I want to puke!

X Beijin

The bald guy desperately wails, and I cant handle spiciness at all! Shit-eating NE kill me!!!

X Beijin opens his mouth, but in the end, just raises him the bubble tea he hasnt had any yet, telling him, have this, and relieve your tongue a little.

The bald man

Ha. Ha. Thanks.

X Beijin is hesitant handing the bubble tea over.

The bald guy doesnt curtsy either, and quickly gulps down while gesturing for X Beijin to take a seat.

Going with the flow, X Beijin also starts eating the hotpot.

X Beijin

Somehow, this is really making him feel like hes back on Earth, and has just run into an eccentric who is eating hotpot alone in some commercial complex. They had a pleasant chat, and so theyre now eating the hotpot together.

Yet, even though the hotpot is steaming, even though people are walking all around, all lively This is still the Nightmare.

He cant help but end up recalling what Dai Wu jokingly remarked, as their Second Life.

A game, a Nightmare, but it can still be, a second life?

X Beijin looks reluctant as he picks up a bok choi from the hotpot. Then, he ends up with watery eyes from the spiciness immediately. The bald man cackles, going, bro, youre doing even worse than me!

X Beijin realises that both Dai Wu and this bald man seem to enjoy calling him bro; is that the latest fad in friendly conversations?

The bald guy introduces himself, telling him, Im Wei Lezhang(TL: Pronounced more like Lrzharng), the le from happiness, the zhang from essay.

X Beijin, our man answers, and mimics Wei Lezhang, the bei from north, the jin from end.

Wei Lezhang gives it a casual remark, oho, a pretty interesting name, huh.

X Beijin smiles a bit awkwardly.

Wei Lezhang is a pretty happy-go-lucky and straightforward guy. Instead of Dai Wus unconvincing casualness and vague words, he is much more nonchalant talking about Nightmares, the Tower and the Server.

He says, who the fuck cares. As long as the Server doesnt throw me into this Nightmare again and tell me to eat hotpot for four hours, Id be calling it daddy!

X Beijin hasnt eaten much, but he has taken a few bites, and says, at least its better than being the furniture

But then, he pauses.

It was like a joking remark when he replied to Wei Lezhang, also talking about this Nightmare, but he suddenly realises another thing.

These sentient furniture Are they actually Actors too?