Chapter 1 Setting the Stage

Black clouds blanketed the sky, lightning flashed, and raindrops the size of beans poured down.

Mingmei, peering through the old wooden window at the pitch-black night, occasionally glimpsed streaks of silver lightning illuminating everything in the room, which could be described in two words: dilapidated and decaying.

"Snap!"

With a snap of Mingmei's fingers, the pitch-black hall, previously illuminated only by flashes of lightning, was instantly bathed in light.

Under the dim yellow glow, the previously perceived decrepit and decaying furniture was now coated in a layer of soft, warm light, lessening the sense of ruin and adding a touch of retro charm.

Anyone who came here would think it was a small, nostalgic inn, right?

"How does it feel, being the Boss?"

Mu Chen suddenly appeared beside Mingmei. Mingmei didn't answer his question, but hummed to herself, indicating her good mood.

However, the words changed on her tongue as she said, "If only it were easier to get academic credits as the Boss, and..."

Thinking about what she had to do with the identity card she'd received, Mingmei frowned and stared at Mu Chen, "Were you this bloody every time you were the Boss?"

The thought of what the Boss had to do made Mingmei’s face resemble that of the old man on the subway looking at his phone.

"It depends on luck, but it's okay. Even if you don't do well this time, the academic credits you earn as the Boss will go to me, and all the academic credits from the boxed lunches I sell for you will go to you."

Hearing Mu Chen's words, Mingmei felt relieved once more. She reached out and patted Mu Chen's shoulder, saying, "Don't worry this time, I'll earn credits for you properly~ Hehe, I can't wait to see Lu Xiaoyao and the others cry."

This feeling of turning the tables and becoming the Boss was really great!

"Ah~ Too bad, I don't know where Uncle hid himself. We could have done this intelligently one time~"

Mingmei sighed regretfully.

This trip, although she encountered her unlucky brother on the road and her parents after arriving, fortunately, the focus was on Mu Chen.

Although she felt sorry for Mu Chen, there was nothing Mingmei could do. Her family generally didn't hit girls.

At least, she and her sister hadn't been beaten much since they were young, but if they dared to make their mother cry, their father would teach them a lesson _(：3」∠)_

This time, when facing her mother, Mingmei believed she had been as well-behaved as possible and hadn't made any mistakes!

Even when Mu Chen was taken away by her father for a chat, Mingmei didn't dare ask her mother what they had talked about.

Mu Chen also said it was a secret between him and her father and couldn't be revealed.

However, because of this, their parents finally let them be alone for the last part of their trip.

Before that, however, Mu Chen couldn't avoid being openly threatened and secretly intimidated by her mother not to engage in any intimate behavior with a negative distance.

This trip was probably the first time in Mingmei's life that her emotions had fluctuated so much.

After returning, Mingmei immediately contacted Yan Hui and talked about whether she could have the script in her hands, and how her uncle couldn't "mistreat" his niece.

Unfortunately, Yan Hui said he wasn't at the company and couldn't modify these settings, but he suggested another feasible method: switching accounts.

"You're with Mu Chen, right? I saw your mother denouncing Mu Chen in the family group yesterday~"

"Later, you and Mu Chen should enable account data sharing. Then, when you log into the game, you log into his account, and he logs into your account. After entering the game, even if your models don't change, the internal tasks and functions will be switched between you."

"But you'd better do this less often. After all, your second sister-in-law is your class teacher. What you're doing is basically cheating. Your second sister-in-law will probably notice it after you've done it once. Don't think she'll let you off easy."

"The players aren't all as brainless as Lu Xiaoyao. Maybe the players won't notice the first time there's an abnormality, but if they notice it the second time and report it to the company, I'll treat it as a complaint, and everything will be handled according to the complaint."

...

The memories ended there. Through the backstage live stream, Mingmei looked at the seven players, still halfway up the mountain and drenched like drowned rats, heading down the mountain.

The name of this game was actually very realistic: *The Terrifying Inn*.

The background of the story was also very simple.

It told the story of a group of backpackers camping in the wilderness when a storm suddenly arose, and torrential rain fell. Even the road down the mountain was washed away by a mudslide. The group could only walk up the road, and finally, they encountered a small inn at the top of the mountain...

Well, the bloody story began here~

The first thing Mingmei did after logging in was to read the story introduction and her character introduction and settings.

Unfortunately, even with such a short story introduction, it still took the players a long time from entering the game to finding this place.

Through Lu Xiaoyao's live stream, Mingmei saw the "as expected" look on the faces of a group of players with the ultimate mission of [Safely Descend the Mountain] when the only road down the mountain was washed away.

"So, since you've seen it, why don't you go back?"

From the moment she entered the game, Lu Xiaoyao had been drenched by the heavy rain, leaving her cold and tired.

The character didn't even have an umbrella. Although the windbreaker was waterproof, it couldn't withstand the torrential rain beating against her face, seeping through her skin and leaving her feeling listless.

"I told you to go up the mountain earlier, but no, you had to suffer."

At first, upon receiving the [Safely Descend the Mountain] mission, everyone was talking about first safely reaching the mountain road and descending along it.

However, some more thoughtful players in the team suggested another view: go up the mountain.

"The game can't be set up so simply, and the name of this game clearly indicates that the final plot should start in an inn. And does your character information mention any inns on the way down the mountain?"

The game instructions required them to reach the mountain road, but whether to go directly down or up along the road was a point of contention at the time.

Julian and Lu Xiaoyao wanted to go directly up.

The remaining Wang Wenfei, Madison, Charlie, Leng Youyou, and Hu Yue all said they would go down the mountain first.

The reason they gave was simple: "At least we know why we can't go down the road safely, right?"

The minority yielded to the majority, and the seven of them walked in the dark and rain for less than twenty minutes before seeing the road washed away by a mudslide that had suddenly appeared due to the heavy rain.

"Let's go back."

Having confirmed one of the reasons why they couldn't safely descend the mountain, the players turned around and headed up the mountain.

Mingmei looked at Lu Xiaoyao and the others, who resembled a group of small cabbages tormented by wind and rain. Mingmei expressed her sympathy, shedding the non-existent crocodile tears of a big Boss.

"You know, my uncle should just not tell the players their names when they enter the game next time. Today's name exposes the problem—we're a black shop."

Sympathy was sympathy, but the name almost made Mingmei reveal her identity, which made her very unhappy.

"Okay, relax, have some tea first."

With that, Mu Chen handed her a cup of hot tea. Mingmei took the tea he had just made, tasted it, and then narrowed her eyes like a cat, letting out a comfortable sigh.

Finally, when Mingmei opened her eyes again, she raised her head at a 45° angle, revealing a very sinister smile and said, "But, they have to come to our shop, don't they? I just love watching them do things that they know will lead to their doom but have to do anyway, hahahahaha..."

[Host.]

Gui Gui suddenly interrupted Mingmei's laughter.

Gui Gui, who had returned from studying at the main brain, spoke less and seemed to have become more aloof. This was the first time it had taken the initiative to speak to her since its return.

[What's wrong?]

[Although, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, no matter how sinister you smile, Mu Chen will think you are the bright moon in the sky... but! Can you consider the players you're about to see? Are you trying to blow your cover in minutes with such a scary smile?]

Mingmei: [...]

No, she wasn't.

She was just indulging in the villain's expression in advance.

After all, when she has to chop up those players who accidentally broke the rules one by one with a bone chopper, she might not be able to make the villain's expression!

She had never tried doing bad things with a perverted face before QAQ!