Chapter One: The Widow in the Mansion

"Why am I here?! Did you kidnap me? I'm calling the police!"

"Shut up! No one wants to kidnap you. This is the Infinite World, where people can die. I'm a veteran player—if you don't want to die, do as I say!"

The parlor was spacious and tidy, with a group of people gathered near the sofas, shoving and jostling, their faces twisted in anger or terror.

A Buddha statue sat inside the long cabinet by the sofa, as if witnessing everything in the room.

...

The commotion on the first floor didn't reach the rooms upstairs.

In a bedroom on the second floor.

The large bed in the center was soft, piled with pale gray cotton quilts and plush blankets.

Yu Deng, wrapped in a blanket, sat on the bed, struggling to process the situation.

The room was spacious, its furniture ornate but sparse: just a large bed, a bedside table, a wooden wardrobe and desk along the wall, and a small round rosewood table by the window.

There was no doubt—this was an environment utterly unfamiliar to Yu Deng.

His back was tense with anxiety, his fingers clutching the blanket. In a small, tentative voice he called out, "Hello...?"

There was a faint, barely perceptible tremor in his tone.

The dark curtains rustled as the wind swept past. The room held only Yu Deng; naturally, there was no reply.

Still, he could vaguely hear voices from downstairs—was someone else in the same predicament?

Yu Deng sat in a daze for a few seconds, then took a deep breath, deciding to get up.

He lifted the blanket and was suddenly confronted with the sight of the clothes he now wore.

A loose black robe hung languidly on his body; because he had drawn up his knees, the hem had ridden up his thighs, barely concealing what lay beneath. The exposed legs were long and slender, pale and smooth, their skin as delicate as warm mutton-fat jade.

How had his clothes changed too?

Wait, hold on—he needed to sort things out from the beginning...

Yu Deng tried to recall what happened before all this—

Before arriving here, he had just finished a classmate reunion.

He’d had half a drink there, but his tolerance was poor, so in the end he called his younger brother, half-drunk, to fetch him home.

The younger Yu picked up the drunken Yu Deng, scolding him a few times.

"I told you to come, didn’t I?"

Yu Deng, stung by the rebuke, mumbled a protest, then his mind drifted and he began to grumble, "Big brother hasn't replied to my messages in three days. He never used to be like this when he was on business trips."

The one carrying him upstairs clicked his tongue sourly. "So you get anxious when big brother doesn't reply for a few days, but when I don’t come home for a week, you don’t even look for me. Guess that's what it means to be born of the same mother but treated differently." Realizing he'd sounded harsh, the younger brother forcibly changed the subject. "Enough about that. There’ve been several missing persons cases lately. Don’t go out and play so carelessly again."

Yu Deng replied with a perfunctory hum.

The tipsy Yu Deng wandered into his big brother’s room, collapsed onto the bed and mumbled to himself. Turning over, he bumped into something at the head of the bed—then everything went black.

Then... when he opened his eyes again, he was here.

[Player a3270, Yu Deng, welcome to the Infinite World.]

An electronic voice suddenly sounded in Yu Deng’s mind.

Yu Deng jolted in shock, muttering, "Infinite World?"

[Correct. In the Infinite World, ghosts and monsters run rampant. You must continuously enter scenarios and complete tasks to earn points and sustain your life. Please note: if you die in a scenario, you will also die in the real world.]

Ghosts and death? Was this—was this real?!

Yu Deng’s face grew even paler, fear rising in his chest, along with a cascade of questions. But the electronic voice seemed to have gone offline after saying its piece, and he had no choice but to give up on questioning it.

He lowered his lashes, a faint mist gathering in his eyes. When he blinked, tears hung delicately from his thick, curled eyelashes, threatening to fall but never quite dropping.

At that moment, there was a knock at the bedroom door. A man in a long robe, introducing himself as the butler, stood at the threshold to greet him.

Yu Deng stared at the sudden stranger like a wary animal. "What do you want?"

Seeing the tearful beauty, the butler softened, offering gentle comfort.

"Madam, the young master has been gone a year. Please don’t grieve too much, it’s bad for your health."

Yu Deng: "?" Huh?

His mind couldn't quite keep up—why was the butler calling him 'Madam'? He nodded, dazed, and murmured an "oh."

After a moment more of consolation, the butler reminded him, "Madam, there are guests downstairs. Please come down when you’re ready. Oh, and Young Master Cheng Xiao has returned from overseas. Although you haven’t met before, and the young master... well, regardless, you should get along well."

Yu Deng nodded again, still bewildered.

With that, the butler left.

Would something bad happen if he disobeyed? Yu Deng didn’t want to die. He got out of bed, checked his reflection in the little mirror on the desk to make sure he hadn’t turned into a monster, then hurried from the room.

The lighting in the house was rather dim, giving it a chilly feel. Standing by the doorway, Yu Deng braced himself and surveyed the building.

The decor was lavish, dominated by black, white, and brown. There were no modern smart appliances, but the space was festive—outside, he glimpsed green branches and red lanterns swaying in the wind, as if something auspicious was about to happen.

...

Downstairs.

The new players tried to open the mansion’s front doors, but no matter what they did, they couldn’t leave. Helpless, they huddled together.

An energetic old man passed through the parlor, greeting the players with a calm nod before leaving, the butler remaining behind to host them.

The butler, as if oblivious to their fear, instructed the servants to prepare tea, then smiled at everyone in the parlor. "Young Master Cheng Xiao has finally returned, and Young Master Wen Hao’s classmates have arrived as well. Welcome. The wedding will be in three days, and guest rooms have been prepared for all of you."

Two people in the crowd remained quiet—the veteran players, who immediately began extracting information from the butler’s words.

It seemed their assigned identities in this scenario were as classmates attending the wedding.

But apparently, this was the first time since the scenario’s inception that someone had drawn the role of "Young Master Cheng Xiao."

One of the veterans glanced unobtrusively at the boy identified as Young Master Cheng Xiao.

The boy sat with arms folded, lounging on the sofa in a relaxed, carefree posture.

Though he ignored them completely and didn’t seem at all flustered like the newcomers, the veterans were sure—he was indeed a player who entered the scenario with them.

—Click, click.

As anxiety simmered, the marble spiral staircase suddenly echoed with soft footsteps.

Everyone turned toward the sound, and when they saw who it was, they could not look away.

It was a youth of breathtaking beauty, who appeared not yet twenty.

His features were exquisite and lush, his skin pale as freshly fallen snow. The skin revealed beneath his clothes was soft and delicate, clearly pampered and well cared for; more than new snow, he was like a cloud of pure white down.

His eyes were rounded, clear and bright, with a slight flush at the corners that blended innocence with a hint of allure—so beautiful it was mesmerizing.

For a moment, the parlor was so silent one could hear a pin drop, broken only by the faint sound of someone swallowing hard.

The boy who had drawn the young master’s role also looked at Yu Deng, his gaze finally flickering with interest.

The butler’s expression softened as he saw Yu Deng and called, "Madam, you’re here."

Yu Deng, now understanding that "Madam" referred to him, lifted his gaze, swept it over the assembled players, and answered softly.

The veterans struggled to recover from the overwhelming visual impact, but when they heard the butler’s words, they froze again.

The young master role at least had some mention in the scenario’s background, but they’d never heard of a "Madam" role before!

Change and unpredictability in the Infinite World were terrifying prospects.

A chill of foreboding swept through the seasoned players’ hearts.

At that moment, a bloodcurdling scream echoed from the building behind the house.

"Something terrible has happened! The master—he’s suddenly passed—!"

The temperature in the parlor dropped abruptly.

All the players, Yu Deng included, heard an electronic voice in their minds at once.

[Ding. The scenario is now officially beginning.]

After pausing for a few seconds, the system began to recite in a measured tone.

[This scenario is titled "The Cheng Mansion." Main quest: Survive for seven days and identify the culprit and cause of Master Cheng’s death. Side quest: Uncover the Cheng family’s secrets and avenge them. Note: The side quest is optional.]

[Warning: This scenario is set to hard mode.]

The butler’s face darkened. He quickly instructed everyone to remain in the parlor, gave Yu Deng a meaningful glance, and hurried away.

Yu Deng hesitated for a moment, not following immediately. He quietly slipped out of the nervous crowd, standing near the base of the stairs, struggling to process the information he’d just received.

The others in the parlor were in a state of shock.

"Did you all hear that? A scenario? And it’s, um, hard mode? What is this?" a short-haired girl stammered.

"I—I also heard it was hard mode."

The veteran players felt a wave of despair.

This scenario used to be the easiest of the beginner scenarios. The main quest had changed a few times, but it always revolved around the wedding.

Even though those who’d cleared it couldn’t tell newcomers exactly how to win, there were so many clues that it had the lowest mortality rate of any beginner scenario—otherwise, the veterans wouldn’t have chosen it to farm points.

Well, now the wedding had become a funeral, and the main quest was all about survival—meaning anyone could die at any moment.

As the veterans explained this, the newcomers grew even more anxious and bewildered.

"Let’s get familiar with the environment first." The veterans exchanged a subtle glance, directing the newcomers. "While the butler’s gone, look for clues. If you meet any NPCs, try to get information out of them."

Grasping at this lifeline, the new players flocked to the veterans, regardless of their private doubts.

All except the aloof boy watching coldly from the corner.

Not far away, Yu Deng watched the panicked players, equally unsettled.

Because, in addition to hearing the same quest as everyone else, he had also received a special mission!

[Hello, Player Yu Deng. I am your support system, System No. 01.]

Yu Deng responded politely, "Hello."

The system’s voice was entirely devoid of emotion as it began to recite.

[In the Infinite World, some players possess extraordinary abilities, but they can wreak havoc on scenarios, even causing them to collapse entirely.]