Chapter 6

“Ge ge ge…”

That ghastly green, nauseating face right in front of her was grinding its teeth. Its murky, horizontally-slitted pupils burned with a violent, manic crimson.

Su Xing’s hands were aching and numb, but she didn’t dare relax for a moment, gripping the handle as if welded to it. However, she knew she couldn’t hold on much longer.

The only small mercy was that the monster’s tongue wasn’t long. Otherwise, at this distance, it could have lashed right onto her face. But while its tongue was short, its neck was long and thin. The skin grew a layer of scale-like keratinous tissue—smooth and hard. Trapped by the door and unable to retract or extend, it began thrashing up and down instead. Its foul, dense, sharp fangs swung towards the arm Su Xing was using to hold the door.

Su Xing’s heart leaped. The standoff was unbearable. Just as she prepared to let go and turn to run, she heard Wen Ruyao behind her ask, “Is your phone still on you?”

“Yeah… in my jacket pocket.”

Her heartbeat was louder than her own voice. As she spoke, she felt Wen Ruyao’s hand reach into her pocket for the phone. Su Xing pulled the door with desperate strength. “Now’s not the time! Run! I’m letting go!”

“Hold on a moment longer.”

“…”

Su Xing sucked in a breath.

Was holding on something said so casually?! Easy for you to say! You try it!

“Hey, I’m serious. I can’t hold it back anymore—” Su Xing was both frantic and furious, her toes digging desperately against the corner of the wall, her body slowly sliding forward under the monster’s pull. At the same time, she heard the default key tones of her phone’s virtual keyboard.

Confused by Wen Ruyao’s strange actions, Su Xing clenched her jaw, about to give one final warning, when she saw Wen Ruyao suddenly reach out and hold the phone right before the monster’s eyes.

The force pulling the door from outside vanished instantly. Su Xing’s eyes widened in disbelief.

The screen’s fluorescent glow illuminated that bark-like face, making it even more sinister and terrifying. The murky horizontal pupils rotated upwards toward the screen’s direction. The monster’s body, previously wedged outside and twisting with rage, abruptly stilled.

Wen Ruyao shook the phone slightly. The bamboo-pole monster’s head followed its movement.

Su Xing heard Wen Ruyao’s nervous breathing. The next second, a pale wrist exerted force, hurling the phone out through the gap in the door.

The bamboo-pole monster’s head froze as if suspended for two seconds, then “swoosh”—retreated from the door.

Su Xing immediately slammed the door shut and locked it from the inside.

After ensuring it was properly closed, her legs gave out. Sliding down against the door, she sat helplessly on the floor, only able to gasp for air.

Wen Ruyao didn’t look much better. She’d maintained her calm purely through immense mental willpower. Now, with her near-death nerves finally relaxing, she instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

The freight elevator lobby was cramped and dark. Only faint light came through the white-windowed wall. Against the left wall stood an extra-large green trash bin. To the right was the freight elevator, and beside it, the emergency stairwell door.

Now, with all doors tightly shut and the space sealed, they were temporarily safe as long as they stayed put.

“What… what did you show it?” Su Xing asked after resting a while, her breath finally evening out enough to speak.

The trash bin here was piled high with takeout containers discarded by colleagues. Spilled soup often stained the floor. Barefoot, Wen Ruyao frowned at the filthy ground, paused, then said, “A half-naked picture of a ripped guy.”

Su Xing: “…”

“Actually, I was just taking a gamble.” Wen Ruyao stepped back half a pace, finding a relatively clean spot of floor. She crossed her arms and looked at her. “That thing just now, it was wearing Wang Ge’s clothes. You probably noticed too.”

Su Xing nodded. The shirt was the first thing she’d noticed. After all, she’d complained countless times about Wang Ge’s blindingly pink shirt before…

But why was everyone suddenly mutating into these nightmarish forms? Was this the so-called apocalypse? Because of the eerie weather and that strange rain?

“While we were stuck in the elevator, I heard your phone call. That, plus the elevator monster’s fixation on the express box…” Wen Ruyao cut off her thoughts, continuing, “If something is rewriting your genes, stripping away your human will… then perhaps, desire and fear become the last line of defense for retaining the self—and the final step in completing the assimilation.”

“Assimilation? With… what?” Su Xing looked up, meeting Wen Ruyao’s silent gaze. Her heart trembled. She felt the other woman already knew much more.

“Th-then after full assimilation… does it become even more flawless, with no weaknesses to exploit?”

Wen Ruyao slightly parted her lips, then dropped her gaze. “I don’t know either.”

“…”

Su Xing lifted her head towards the opposite window. Beyond it, still only endless white. She couldn’t see anything.

She suddenly broke out in goosebumps.

They were on the 19th floor. The entire building was over thirty floors. Surrounding them were countless other densely populated commercial towers. This was S City’s financial and business hub, right at the busiest morning rush. If everyone who’d been rained on was mutating…

Su Xing didn’t know how they would ever get out of this building. And even if they did, a thick fog blanketed everything outside. Every road leading here must already be gridlocked beyond hope. Rescue vehicles couldn’t even get through. Was she supposed to walk home on her own two feet?

No. She probably didn’t have a home anymore.

Glancing at the elevator and the emergency stairwell door, Su Xing slowly stood up. “So right now we—”

She stopped mid-sentence, as if choked by something.

Because she heard a sound. Coming from the other side of the door. A slow, slithering sound.

It was very faint, possibly inaudible if you weren’t right next to the door. It drew closer and closer to the door. At its closest point, it paused.

“Wha…”

Wen Ruyao was about to ask when Su Xing’s eyes suddenly widened. In one stride of her long legs, she lunged over, covered Wen Ruyao’s mouth with her hand, and yanked her into her arms.

Wen Ruyao struggled instinctively, then immediately sensed the urgency, growing perfectly still, leaning quietly against her.

The entire process was virtually silent. The slithering sound paused for a long time. So long that Su Xing thought she’d imagined it, before it slowly receded.

The back of Su Xing’s shirt was drenched in sweat. Only when Wen Ruyao poked her arm did she belatedly let go.

Rubbing her neck, which was sore from being held, Wen Ruyao raised an eyebrow slightly. “Next time, you don’t have to be so dramatic. A look would suffice.”

“Oh…”

Su Xing barely acknowledged it. Without explaining, she reached out and pressed the nearby elevator button. “This place isn’t safe! We need to get out of here fast.”

The security door behind them might not withstand a monster’s full-force blow. And who knew how many people in the office outside had mutated. Just the thought of that chilling slithering sound made Su Xing feel suffocated. She felt like it was something with tentacles, which could easily reach in through the crack under the door any second…

“Wait.”

Wen Ruyao grabbed her hand to stop her, but it was too late. The button with the downward arrow was already lit.

“What’s wrong?” Su Xing was startled by her sudden seriousness.

Wen Ruyao stared at the elevator display, which had been stuck on floor 1 the whole time, and sighed. “We have absolutely no idea what’s happening in this building. We can’t predict what’ll be waiting when those doors open. If we run into trouble in there, we’d be dead for sure.”

Realizing the danger, Su Xing gasped. “Then… take the stairs down? I just heard a really creepy noise outside. This isn’t a safe place.”

“It looks like the stairs are our only option.” Wen Ruyao gestured towards the elevator. After all this time, the floor number display was still 1.

“The freight elevator’s broken too?” Su Xing frowned. Even normally, the freight elevator should be free; there was no way it’d be occupied this long.

Wen Ruyao: “Let’s hope so. Or maybe something is blocking the doors.”

“…” Su Xing shuddered. She inexplicably remembered the security guard from the first floor.

“It’s not safe here, but there’s no immediate danger. Before we go downstairs, I think we need to be mindful of one thing.”

Seeing Wen Ruyao look towards the “white” window, Su Xing followed her gaze.

“Do you think that’s fog?”

“…Even though it’s strange fog, what else could it be?”

Wen Ruyao pressed her lips together tightly. The faint light from outside traced the outline of her profile, accentuating her cool, alluring beauty.

Seeing her remain silent for a long moment, Su Xing’s throat tightened.

Could this fog, like that rain, cause mutation or death upon contact? How was she supposed to escape? Just getting out of the building was a death sentence. Even the first level of a game wasn’t this hard. Was it because she wasn’t the protagonist? Or was she simply cannon fodder, destined to die in the first level to pave the way for the protagonist?

[Not bad, you finally got it.]

“…”

After calming down, Su Xing’s resentment towards her cannon fodder life flared up. “So I’ve picked up a System now. Isn’t that basically defying fate? Can’t I work hard and become the protagonist?”

[You’re dreaming.]

“…”

[I am, at birth, the Female Lead’s System. In death, during the next cycle, I’m still the Female Lead’s System. If I get too far from the Female Lead, I can’t even initiate. Dummy.]

“…”

[And haven’t I shown you a clear path? Just stick to your role as her bootlicker.]

Su Xing sucked in a sharp breath.

Her character setting was Wen Ruyao’s bootlicker?? You’ve got to be kidding. Initially, she couldn’t stand Wen Ruyao!

[This highlights the Female Lead—the bottom’s—charm. Aren’t all Yuri novels like this? And later, Top One, Top Two, Top Three… and so on will show up.]

“…”

“Su Xing.”

Just then, feeling a light tug downwards on her sleeve, she saw Wen Ruyao beside her reach out and pinch her cuff.

[Ding, Energy Recharged: 30%]

Su Xing looked down, staring incredulously at Wen Ruyao’s fingers hooked around her sleeve.

“We just confirmed that this elevator has a problem, right?” Wen Ruyao paid no attention to her small gesture. Staring intently at the elevator, her face was tense.

“Right, you said it might be stu—”

Su Xing stared in shock at the display. Sometime while their attention was on the window, the elevator had started silently climbing. It was already on the 10th floor!