Being an Extra Actor in an Escape Game

Mystic tires her best to talk to the little girl their group found on the 31stfloor, and finally, her expression turns from daze and fear, to that of normal anxiety and wariness. Blood is also returning to her pale face.

Then finally, Mystic asks, why did you end up here alone?

The little girl blinks her eyes, seemingly confused, saying, something something went boom And mommy and the uncles and aunties went outside Mommy told me to hide here So long ago. Mommy hasnt come back Im hungry

The little girl rubs her tummy.

Mystic doesnt have food on her, and she looks hesitantly over at Suits and Teen.

Though neither of them are paying attention to the hungry girl.

Suits says, so she wasnt abandoned here, but something has happened instead.

Dangers of a certain floor? Trapped somewhere? Or Teen narrows his eyes to suggest, the elevators? That group of people may have lost their way and even sense of which floor theyre on because of the elevators.

That doesnt sound likely if they can still see the floor number from the stairs Suits then pauses to correct himself, or not. There might be some danger on some floors that does not allow them to get to the emergency stairs at all.

Currently, they are still unaware that the stairs beneath the 9thfloor is inaccessible, which would render confirming the floor impossible even if the floor itself remains accessible by elevators. This may also errors and discrepancies in the records on which elevator button led to which floor.

Teen concludes in the end, no matter what, though, at least there should be a group of sane survivors in this building.

A conclusion made for the fact that, given there is still a little girl alive up here, there must be further clues to be found. Its possible theyre dead, but an adult would bean excellent source of information.

Suits nods in agreement, saying, we can try searching later.

Only trying, however, as they have also merely explored only a small part of the Nightmare. Further down could be other obstacles waiting for them.

Then they continue to ask the little girl for more information. Beyond the weird boom and how her mother left with her coworkers, though, she doesnt seem to have more information.

So Suits and Teen have decided to leave.

Mystic then naturally holds the little girl by her hand.

Suits furrows his brows, asking, what are you doing?

Mystic seems surprised to be asked, but then replies, seemingly even surprising herself with her answer, are we not bringing her? Clue This is, a clue, her speech gets more incoherent by the second, I can feel, she, this is, hope, breakthrough, of the Nightmare!

Stop that blabbering, Mystic. I dont need you messing with us with that often-misfiring ability of yours, Teen makes a cold chuckle, and asks, what use is there dragging this letdown with us? She knows nothing, and you say she can help with the truth, make a breakthrough with the Nightmare?

Suits concedes this way, how about this, well come back for her if we find her mother.

Mystic still wants to say something.

Teen, impatient, simply says, enough! If you want to be with this girl so badly, you can stay her with her

Suits intervenes, though, telling him, no, we cant let Mystic stay here. There are still too many unknowns in this Nightmare. This is an unnecessary risk.

Teen pouts, but acquiesces.

Mystic would surely love to yell out you cant tell me what to do like Lin Qin did, but she is simply feeling powerless here.

She looks at the little girl, and after thinking a little, she takes a bracelet off of her hand, and gives it to the little girl.

Mystic tells her, good girl, well come back for you soon enough, she points to the desk where the little girl was hiding, and says, if youre scared, you can stay under there, alright?

She is offering the little girl, hope.

Then, she obediently but quietly follows after Suits and Teen to leave the floor behind. Suits pushes the button reading twenty-nine in elevator One.

The little girl is still standing there, staring at them blankly, holding the bracelet in her hand. She still seems shellshocked.

The viewers in the stream seem positively irate, typing,

fuck! what the hell!

they just left the cute sweet little girl behind without flinching!

well yes but, this is a game, and she is an npc, so priorities with empathies

but she is still a person! an actor!

which makes me feel less sympathetic its all an act

even if she was an NPC, Im still torn

well, im not saying i cant sympathise

X Beijin almost feels like smiling at the absurdity of the comment barrage, before turning his attention to the little girl who was left behind, helpless.

Mystic was right. The little girl is the hope that can help breakthrough this Nightmare.

Though, speaking of the mother f this little girl

He looks out at the common area of the 16thfloor, where a particular woman is among the group of office workers gathered here.

She is in a smart, elegant suit, but it is largely creased and dusted now. She looks quite on edge, with her hair scattered, her delicate makeup all messed up. She is biting her nails in her nervousness as she listens to the others speak.

Acting, as it were, but who knows if any of these Actors have already ended up completely assuming their roles?

X Beijin looks at her quietly for a moment, wondering if the Missiontakers would treat this woman as the mother of that little girl, given how prominent she appears among the other survivors.

This ties into the importance of the role of the little girl in this Nightmare. For example, if the little girl was important, then so would be the mother of the little girl. God knows, she might even turn out to be the owner of the Nightmare.

At least, the Missiontakers should be aware that the owner of this Nightmare is a woman.

X Beijin narrows his eyes at the thought.

Though that is when Lin Qin and Wu Jian have made it back up to the 16thfloor. The woman on edge, and the other Tower residents here, all turn to look at them.

Its their second time here already, so the Tower residents, recognizing them, parts away as if it was the natural thing to do.

Though this time, Lin Qin, and especially Wu Jian, isnt here for X Beijin. Instead, theyre here for clues on the Nightmare.

X Beijin is sitting down as per the Servers instructions, showing a dazed look reminiscent of the victim of a recent concussion, in accordance with his assigned plot.

While he does so, X Beijin glances over at the stream out of habit.

This time, he is checking in on Jiang Shuangmei, Fei and Shen Ynj.

They have explored the empty, unlit floor, and didnt find a single clue. There isnt an elevator or cargo elevator here, or any other form of danger. The floor is the 21st.

This floor is so quiet that it is unsettling. Jiang Shuangmei can feel her hair standing on end on her back.

All of a sudden, though, she realises the source of the oddness she has been feeling. Its the floor she has been stepping on. Her steps feel subtly heavy, sticky, even.

She couldnt see much in the darkness, though.

Could the floor be wet? While the city burns outside, the air indoors is much cooler here. Did this perhaps make the moisture in the air condense on the floor?

It sounds plausible enough.

Thinking so, Jiang Shuangmei crouches down to look at the floor closely.

Under the dim rays of light, she can see, that the ground is covered in a layer of thick, half-dried, icky blood.