Chapter 7: Class B Yellow, Shopping Mall (7)

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“In most malls, there isn’t a broadcasting room; there’s usually just an information desk,” Xu Yiliu said as she pulled out a stack of papers from behind her. “I said broadcasting room at first because I’m used to being at school—it was a slip of the tongue.”

Sheng Mo understood and took the papers, lowering his head to read. “Some malls, in order to celebrate local festivals or create cultural landmarks, occasionally invite celebrities for live recitations. They consider setting up a stage tacky, so they specially establish a broadcasting room—look closely, there’s even dedicated cameras and lighting panels over there.”

He pulled out one sheet. “Notice for a full staff holiday and reorganization?”

Xu Yiliu pointed to the corporate calendar hanging on the wall. “Compare the dates.”

“The notice says the holiday starts on May 22nd, but the calendar shows May 23rd…” Sheng Mo muttered. “That’s not right. You said we’re playing roles here… logically, the mall shouldn’t be open, so this setting has a conflict.”

Suddenly changing the subject, Xu Yiliu asked, “Most people wouldn’t know some malls have broadcasting rooms or what they’re used for. How did you know?”

Sheng Mo smirked. “My parents started out running a chain of malls. If you ask me, I can ask you the same.”

At this, Xu Yiliu immediately changed her expression. “Good question, young master. I’ve done some relevant part-time jobs.”

Sheng Mo looked at her, puzzled. “How many part-time jobs have you had? And please don’t call me that.”

Xu Yiliu smiled and mentally added Sheng Mo to her list of potential clients.

Young, straightforward wealthy men like him are the easiest to earn money from. Building a good relationship could mean helping with essays or other tasks in daily life… Judging by the system’s words, with so many cleaners, not all would clear the game unscathed. Maybe she could develop related services targeting wealthy young ladies and masters.

Sheng Mo eyed her warily. “Your smile’s scary. What’s your scheme? Can we get back on topic?”

Clearing her throat, Xu Yiliu said, “I’ve been timing everything—it’s been no more than twelve minutes since we entered.”

Their speech was rapid; they said a lot but didn’t actually spend much time talking.

“I’ll share my guess,” Xu Yiliu said. “This mission area is suspicious. New cleaners won’t easily detect the role-playing aspect, so failure rates are high. A few have noticed this and used it to survive temporarily, but this could also be a logical trap.”

Sheng Mo nodded in understanding. “So we’re definitely playing tourists, but those mall elements might not be, or only partly so. That’s what you mean, right?”

Seeing Xu Yiliu nod, he grinned and continued, “Among those elements, some, like us, are tourists. The rest are mall staff. They… right, now I remember—the shop assistants seem more normal.”

Xu Yiliu added, “Exactly. Shop assistants can communicate normally and even initiate conversations, while the tourists stammer. That’s the difference.”

Sheng Mo’s eyes widened. “Even the staff chasing me are stronger than the tourists. The difference between staff and tourists must be related to this so-called holiday reorganization! Are all the shop assistants infected? No, no, the system’s judgments seem pretty strict—what it says goes. Let me think, let me think.”

He felt he was close to figuring it out but couldn’t quite reach the answer. Driven by competitiveness, he wanted to speak before Xu Yiliu but only ended up blushing from frustration.

Xu Yiliu raised an eyebrow and smiled. “How about this idea? Among the staff, there’s a host—the source of the infection, carrying something classified as a contagious disease. One person infected everyone, forcing the mall to shut down for reorganization. This disease causes mutations. The host controls all employees to keep the mall open and continue infecting tourists.”

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“So the tourists have milder symptoms but are clumsier.”

Sheng Mo snapped, “Why couldn’t I think of that!”

Xu Yiliu grinned. “That host must be the contaminant. Kill her, and it’s over—”

“Wait!” Sheng Mo’s expression suddenly turned terrified.

Xu Yiliu looked puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

He swallowed hard. “I know you’re smart, so guess what I’m about to say…”

His voice lowered as his hand first pointed to the corpse on the ground, then to the door Xu Yiliu had locked from the inside. His face darkened.

Xu Yiliu froze, a chill running down her spine.

If her deduction was correct, the contaminant host could control all infected individuals, including the security guard they had just killed…

In other words, every contaminant in the mall now knew she wasn’t blind and knew exactly what they had done.

Outside the door, “someone” was probably waiting.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

“Hahaha…”

It sounded like the woman outside had realized her spying was discovered, her laughter mixing with furious banging on the door. Inside, the two felt their scalps tingle as if their skulls were about to burst.

Judging by the noise, who knew how many “people” were waiting outside!

Sheng Mo’s first reaction was to climb out the window, but the six-story height stopped him.

Xu Yiliu grabbed the bag at his waist and quickly dragged over a table. “Up there!”

Sheng Mo looked toward the ventilation duct, gritted his teeth. “Alright!”

He stepped onto the table, using his nearly six-foot height to leap up and rip off the vent cover in just a few moves, tossing it aside. He jumped again, grabbed the edge with both hands, and quickly pulled himself inside.

Xu Yiliu watched him climb in, grabbed a prepared chair, stepped onto it, and tried to jump up too.

Suddenly, a pair of arms dropped down inside the duct. “That chair isn’t stable. Give me your hand!”

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The banging on the door grew louder, the door visibly warping.

To Sheng Mo’s surprise, Xu Yiliu actually pushed his hand away. He growled, “What are you doing?”

She hesitated, then without a word grabbed his hand again, letting him pull her up.

“You…” Sheng Mo instinctively wanted to ask more but realized after she pushed him that he had to climb faster.

Xu Yiliu followed closely behind, matching his pace.

The air conditioning was on, making the duct freezing cold—with wind chilling them to the bone. The duct grew darker and darker; Sheng Mo couldn’t see ahead and bumped his head several times before finally taking a bad fall—he dropped.

Xu Yiliu faintly heard his call amid the howling wind. Her frozen mind hadn’t recovered before she suddenly lost her grip, and the feeling of weightlessness hit her.

God, she didn’t want to die from falling!

Pain and screams came simultaneously.

The screams were Sheng Mo’s; the pain belonged to both—but Sheng Mo felt it more.

He grimaced, “Ribs… ribs… I broke one.”

Xu Yiliu worried her knee might be shattered, wiped it, and sighed in relief.

Luckily, it was only a one-story drop; otherwise, the game would have ended right there.

She sheepishly said, “I might have caused it… Are you okay? We have to move quickly.”

Although the ventilation ducts had many branches, and it would take time for those things to follow, staying put was definitely not an option.

Sheng Mo staggered to his feet after she got up, tore a strip from his short sleeve, folded it thickly, and put it in his mouth. He looked at Xu Yiliu. “I’m good.”

Xu Yiliu patted his shoulder, walked to the vent opening by the wall, took a deep breath, and said,

“My friend, this is our glimmer of hope.”