Proofreader&Editor: Howard Wong
After sending off the little girl, He Gu's nerves, tense all night, finally relaxed.
He was so exhausted that night, he fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed.
***
Meanwhile.
On Blue Star.
Members of the supernatural incident response agencies from various countries were watching the live broadcast from China.
"It's clear that China's challenger, He Gu, because he's carried over from the previous instance, has encountered many plots and scenes that are different from the others."
"Indeed, although He Gu is currently leading in progress, due to the unique nature of the scenarios he triggered, we must be cautious when referencing and giving hints to our challengers."
"There are still 24 challengers alive, but only He Gu has reached the step of taking down the supervisor. According to the plot progression, the remaining challengers will probably face the supervisor head-on tomorrow night."
"The problem now is, the rest, including our country's challengers, don't have the red scarf item. How are they going to deal with Old Ma later on?"
"In fact, including us, only six countries still have the opportunity to give hints, the other challengers, let alone the red scarf, probably won't even be informed about Old Ma."
"Many challengers haven't even encountered Old Ma yet, and it's unknown how they will deal with the subsequent crises."
"Looking at the current situation, after tomorrow night, it's uncertain how many of the 24 challengers will survive…"
……
Similar conversations were happening in the supernatural incident response agencies of various countries, and many online forums were also discussing it.
That night, the countries with one last hint opportunity chose to use it to warn their challengers to be wary of Old Ma.
However, confidence was soaring from top to bottom in China, full of faith in He Gu's ability to clear the instance.
Of course, He Gu was temporarily unaware of this.
He slept soundly that night, not even dreaming once.
Since entering the world of supernatural tales, He Gu had never slept so deeply.
***
At half-past eleven in the morning, He Gu was woken by his phone alarm.
Blinking groggily, He Gu felt as if he had been away for ages.
Sitting up from the bed, he paused for a few seconds before remembering he was still in the world of supernatural tales.
Taking a few seconds to fully wake up, He Gu got out of bed and suddenly discovered that his body, which had ached all over before sleep, had mostly recovered!
He Gu stood by the bed and moved around a bit, finding only his neck and back still had noticeable pain, while the rest of his muscles, though still slightly sore, didn't really affect his movement.
Could it be that after taking the medicine and medicinal patches a few times, his body's recovery ability had improved?
He Gu was surprised and quickly took out the lens Old Ma had left him, and looked in the mirror.
At this moment, about three-quarters of He Gu's right face had turned into a dark brown, bark-like color, while the white on his left face had receded by more than half, replaced by a corpse-like ashen gray.
Seeing this, He Gu frowned.
Although there was no immediate danger of being consumed, his condition hadn't improved significantly.
The white medicinal patches, and the unknown "corrosion" were pulling at each other within He Gu, with any tilt towards one side being fatal.
After checking his condition, He Gu quickly took a shower, changed into a spare green work uniform, and left.
Although He Gu's condition had improved since last night, probably due to the hard fall from Old Ma, his back still hurt when he walked, and his legs felt sore and weak.
He didn't have to walk as slowly as last night, but he was still somewhat limping.
Especially when going up and down the stairs, it was extremely painful.
He Gu struggled down the stairs, gripping the handrail, and when he reached the ground floor, he suddenly saw a man in a blue work uniform standing at the stairwell with a cane.
Upon seeing He Gu, the man's eyes brightened, and he approached with his cane.
He Gu tensed up, watching the man warily.
"Are you 444?"
Hearing the man's words, He Gu was taken aback and replied cautiously, "Yes?"
The man smiled faintly, "I'm 111, we're alumni. Teacher Fang has mentioned you to me."
Upon hearing this, He Gu remembered that Teacher Fang had indeed mentioned that an alumnus with the code 111 lived on the first floor and had become a supervisor.
He Gu glanced at 111 and subtly checked his work badge before relaxing his guard slightly, forcing a smile, "Alumnus, is there something you need?"
111 pointed to the cane in his hand, "I heard from Teacher Fang that you volunteered for the night shift, so I guessed you'd probably need this."
With that, 111 offered the cane to He Gu, "Take it, consider it a gift from a fellow alumnus."
He Gu eyed the cane warily and didn't reach out to take it.
It was essentially an aluminum rod with a handle, which wouldn't be of much use given He Gu's current state.
More importantly, in this supernatural world, it was hard for He Gu to trust someone who suddenly appeared out of nowhere offering him a gift.
Seeing He Gu's hesitation, 111 smiled, "Take it. You're not going to be in danger just because you accepted a cane from me.
Besides, you're about to put on the blue uniform… Trust me, you'll need a cane like this soon enough."
Hearing this, He Gu tensed up and quickly asked, "What do you mean?"
111 just smiled, "Nothing much, you'll understand soon."
"So, do you want this cane or not?"
After a moment's hesitation, He Gu finally reached out and took the cane.
"Thanks."
111 shook his head with a smile, "I'm in Logistics Group 6, remember to think of me if anything good comes up."
With that, 111 left with a meaningful smile, waving goodbye.
He Gu watched his retreating figure intently, feeling there was more to 111's words.
After pondering for a while and still not figuring it out, He Gu shook his head and left with the cane.
Next, He Gu went to the cafeteria for a hearty meal as usual, then set off for Building 3.
***
At 13:21, He Gu arrived in front of Building 3.
The Personnel Department was on the 9th floor of Building 3, which Teacher Fang had taken him to once when he first arrived.
As He Gu entered the main entrance, the security guard at the door gave his cane a long look but ultimately said nothing.
This made He Gu take another look at the cane in his hand, feeling that there was more to it than met the eye.
He remembered on his first day, the security guard wouldn't even let him bring in a suitcase, but now there was no objection to the stick?
With this doubt, He Gu quickly entered the elevator.
There was no one else using the elevator at this time, leaving He Gu alone inside.
After pressing the button for the 9th floor, He Gu stood quietly with his cane, waiting.
However, the elevator stopped at the 2nd floor.
The doors slowly opened to darkness, with no one waiting for the elevator, a scene identical to He Gu's first day.
But after a moment, the elevator doors didn't close.
He Gu's heart tightened, and he frantically pressed the close button.
Yet the elevator seemed to have lost power, the lights went out, the buttons dimmed, and the doors remained open on the 2nd floor, motionless…