Volume 1: Days Moving Bricks at the Construction Site
Game
Is Beauty Selling Her Life?!
“Hey! Wake up quickly! Otherwise, no one will take you inside later.”
A woman’s voice sounded in her ear, and Shen Maomao opened her eyes, her mind a blank slate.
She propped herself up to sit, gazing confusedly at the azure sky. The surrounding environment was entirely unfamiliar, not resembling the university town, or even Jiangcheng. Her original trench coat and cotton shoes had transformed into a half-sleeve shirt, shorts, and sandals, with large areas of skin exposed to the air, yet she didn’t feel cold.
“Where… is this?” Shen Maomao asked, looking at the woman who had woken her.
The woman’s features were very plain, the kind that blends into a crowd and is hard to distinguish. She flicked aside her coffee-colored bangs that were blocking her view, her expression inscrutable, and asked back: “Are you a newcomer?”
Shen Maomao: “?”
The woman continued: “Hey there, beauty, are you selling your life? You seem to be a newcomer, right? I can offer you a 20% discount.”
Shen Maomao: “??” What on earth?
Woman: “As long as you entrust your life to me, I will protect you in all the games to come until your demise. You won’t suffer a loss, nor be deceived—it’s truly worth every penny!”
Shen Maomao: “????”
The woman introduced herself as Xiaolou.
According to her, they are currently in a seriously messed-up escape game. They will spend the next seven days in this game, and if they can’t find a way to leave, all participants will face a massacre on the seventh day. During the game, unlucky people will continue to die until only one person remains, who can then leave the game.
She understood every word Xiaolou said, but when combined, it just left her completely bewildered.
What kind of game is this? Why would people die? What exactly happened before all this? Was she really summoned and replaced by someone else? Is she alive or dead now? How did she suddenly end up inside the game?
Xiaolou, however, offered no further explanation and simply said, “Not everyone is here yet, let’s go inside first.”
They stood before a blue iron-sheet wall, beyond which lay a building still under construction. The structure had already taken shape, likely more than ten stories high, but the windows hadn’t been installed yet. From a distance, each window opening resembled the character “hui (回),” with the entire edifice composed of these “hui (回)” character blocks. The gray-white cement exterior was interwoven with steel scaffolding, towering about thirty to forty meters high, making one feel dizzy just looking at it.
This was a construction site, featuring several tower cranes and excavators.
When Xiaolou mentioned going inside, she likely meant entering the construction site.
Shen Maomao still felt somewhat disoriented.
Why enter the construction site? What connection does the game have with it? How is this game played, anyway?
She passively followed Xiaolou along the iron sheet, her eyes darting around to take in the surroundings.
The sky was a brilliant blue, completely clear. The sunlight beamed directly onto her, leaving her somewhat unaccustomed after enduring the Siberian cold air before she fainted.
This place felt a bit strange; apart from the nearby construction site, all the distant buildings appeared shrouded in a layer of white fog, making them hard to discern.
Shen Maomao stayed alert, closely trailing Xiaolou. The construction site was quite expansive, and after walking for a short while and making a right-angle turn, they finally saw the sky-blue gate. The gate was made up of four equally sized rectangular iron sheets, with seams a few centimeters wide at each connection. At this moment, the gate was tightly shut, and a group of people, both men and women, stood in front of it.
A man who appeared to be in his thirties, wearing glasses and quite skinny, was loudly yelling: “This is kidnapping! I’ll sue you! Are today’s production teams doing anything just to get famous? I have a lot of work to do; you’d better send me back quickly!”
Another man said to him, “I’ve told you everything I needed to. If you don’t believe me, then suit yourself.”
The man with glasses widened his eyes: “Are you crazy? You brought me here and now you’re ignoring me? Why should I pay my own way home? And where’s my bag? My phone? There are important documents in there—if they’re lost, who’s responsible?”
Apart from the man speaking to him, no one else paid him any attention. A few people occasionally glanced into the construction site, seemingly waiting for something.
The man with glasses was still swearing and pulling on the person for an explanation, and Shen Maomao poked Xiaolou’s arm: “Sister Lou, what are you all waiting for?”
Xiaolou coldly brushed her hand off and reminded her: “Since you haven’t decided to sell your life to me, don’t follow me in this game. See that guy over there?” She pointed at the man being bothered: “If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask him. He should be quite willing to tell you everything.”
Shen Maomao: “…” Even if the deal doesn’t go through, there’s still room for kindness, big sister! Do you have to be so ruthless?
The man with glasses was still hurling insults when a delicate woman beside the man raised her hand and slapped him: “If you don’t want to live, then get out! My husband doesn’t owe you anything!”
The crisp sound of the slap shocked everyone present.
The man with glasses was slapped so hard that his head turned aside, and a bright red handprint quickly appeared on his face.
“You wretched woman, how dare you hit me?” he roared, charging forward, only to be kicked far away by the man, lying on the ground for quite a while without getting up.
The man looked at his wife: “Are you okay, Yan Nan?”
The delicate woman named Yan Nan replied coldly: “I’m fine. Since he’s courting death, just ignore him.”
Turning to the crowd, the man said: “My name is Yun Shengjin. I’ve cleared three games and consider myself relatively knowledgeable about them. You can choose whether or not to follow me. Those who choose to follow, I will try my best to protect. Those who don’t choose me, I will still share clues, so there’s no need for concern. Do as you wish.”
“Snort—” Behind Yun Shengjin, a burly man, casually leaning against the iron wall, chuckled and then turned to the person next to him, saying, “Pretentious.”
Yun Shengjin remained unfazed, calmly addressing the few terrified people at the entrance: “You are all newcomers, and the survival rate in the game is relatively low. Having an experienced player with you is better than having none. Decide for yourselves.”
Several newcomers exchanged glances, unsure of whom to follow. A slightly chubby young man gritted his teeth and stepped up to Yun Shengjin’s side: “Brother Yun! I’ll go with you!”
With someone taking the initiative, the remaining few also joined their group, expressing their intention to follow Brother Yun.
Currently, there are twelve people, divided into four groups—
Yun Shengjin, his wife Yan Nan, a man who seems familiar with them, and three newcomers; the man with glasses who remains on the ground; the burly man and his friend; Xiaolou, Shen Maomao, and a young-looking girl.
Shen Maomao has not yet chosen a side.
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Her mind quickly absorbed everything she saw before her, noting the expressions of everyone around her.
The events unfolding now defy scientific explanation, not to mention the terrifying things she experienced before entering this bizarre game.
If this game is truly fraught with various crises, Yun Shengjin and his wife will probably be too occupied to protect newcomers—especially for free.
There are no free lunches in the world; she trusts fair trade more than relying on others for protection.
Yun Shengjin proactively asked her and the young girl: “What about you two? Do you want to join?”
The girl’s delicate face showed no expression as she indifferently said, “I am not a newcomer.”
Implying perhaps, “so don’t try to use your tricks for newcomers on me.”
Shen Maomao also said, “I’m still a bit confused… for now, I want to act on my own…”
Yan Nan gave her a disdainful glance and snorted, “Don’t blame us if you end up dead.”
Shen Maomao responded with a sweet smile, “Life and death are destined.”
The burly man laughed heartily: “Hahaha, young lady, you seem quite open-minded. If you can’t hold on, you can come find me tonight~ as long as you spend the night with me, Brother Long will ensure your safety.” As he spoke, his greasy eyes roamed over her exposed thighs.
Shen Maomao replied with a sarcastic smile: “Thank you, Brother Long, but I tend to get addicted to things easily. I’m afraid after spending the night with you, I won’t want to part with your equipment and might just take it with me when I leave.”
All the men present felt a chill run down their spines.
Brother Long’s legs squeezed together involuntarily, and he gave a sheepish smile: “The young lady is quite feisty…”
Shen Maomao chuckled softly.
This Brother Long, although an experienced player, with his lust-driven behavior, is bound to meet his downfall sooner or later.
While waiting, everyone exchanged names.
The person beside Brother Long, who looks like his sidekick, is called Binzi; the experienced player in Yun Shengjin’s team goes by the name Beidou; the three newcomers are the slightly chubby otaku Ding Hou, the seemingly honest Luo Xingbang, and a young man with pronounced dark circles named Wei Gu; the girl calls herself Xuehua.
As for the man with glasses who has fainted on the ground, no one bothers to know his name.
All the experienced players, except Yun Shengjin and Yan Nan, used pseudonyms. Shen Maomao, when introducing herself, was also cautious, saying only that she is called Rabbit.
Having just gone through a soul-calling life exchange, she understood better than anyone how crucial a name can be.
Twelve people, each with their own concerns or perhaps hidden motives, quietly waited at the entrance for the others to arrive.
Soon, three more individuals appeared around the corner of the wall.
There were two men and one woman among them. The woman looked quite old and was tugging at the arm of the slightly older man as she spoke, her voice particularly loud, making it easy for those at the entrance to hear her.
“Young man! You need to explain clearly to this old lady! What’s going on here? Don’t just walk without saying anything!”
The older man remained unmoved, acting as if she didn’t exist. The young man behind them, with dyed yellow hair and hands in his pockets, curiously surveyed the surroundings, appearing to be a newcomer.
As they approached the crowd, the previously silent door suddenly creaked, startling several newcomers, including Shen Maomao, and everyone present turned to look at the door.
A man in blue overalls and a safety helmet pushed the door open and stepped out, addressing them: “You’re the ones here to work, right? I’m your foreman. Follow me.”
The gap between the four iron sheets of the door was two fingers wide, making it easy to see inside from the outside. Before the foreman appeared, they could see that no one was inside, so the foreman must have appeared suddenly.
After speaking, the foreman turned and walked into the construction site, seemingly unconcerned whether the others would follow.
Yun Shengjin said, “Everyone’s here, let’s go in.” With that, he led the way into the construction site.
“What work? The construction site is so dirty, I’m not going in. Just tell me where this is, I need to go home and cook.” The old lady followed behind the unnamed older man. “Young man, don’t ignore me. Can’t you be a bit polite? I’m talking to you, can’t you hear?”
The man, seemingly annoyed by her questions, shot her a cold glance, his eyes emotionless as if looking at a dead person: “If you don’t want to die, don’t ask so many questions.”
The old lady was intimidated by his gaze, retreating a few steps, muttering, “No respect for elders or care for the young. If you don’t want to talk, don’t. Who are you showing that dead face to? Do you dare to hit me?”
She continued to mutter as she walked away, standing under the sign at the entrance for a while, seemingly searching for the way home.
Shen Maomao glanced back at the unconscious man with glasses lying on the ground, hesitating about whether to move him inside.
As Xiaolou passed by, she remarked, “Just take care of yourself.”
Shen Maomao grabbed her wrist and asked, “Sister Lou, what happens to people left outside alone?”
Xiaolou’s thin lips parted slightly as she uttered a cold word: “Die.”
Shen Maomao’s eyes widened, and she turned to the old lady, saying, “Ma’am, stop looking for the way home, quickly come inside with us!”
The old lady was ungrateful and even shoved her, causing her to stumble back a few steps.
“You little girl with bad intentions! With your seductive looks, it’s clear you’re no good! Keep away from me! Don’t try to trick me inside!” the old lady said as she wobbled away.
Shen Maomao, whose good intentions were mistaken for malice, thought: “???”
What kind of perception does this old lady have? She’d love to be a seductress, but she lacks the means for it…
Xiaolou, standing at the door with arms crossed, remarked with a slight smile, “I didn’t realize you were quite kind.”
It was clear she wasn’t being complimented.
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“Isn’t this just having a clear conscience?” Shen Maomao said as she laboriously lifted the man with glasses, dragging him into the construction site and placing him by the entrance, then dusting off her hands.
While she isn’t exactly a saint, she offers her seat on the bus and picks up trash from the roadside when she’s not in a hurry… If her inaction were to lead to someone’s death, she might not be able to live with herself.
But for someone like the old lady who refuses help, she can’t just knock them out and drag them in, can she?
Xiaolou also walked in, and the iron gate closed with a “bang,” kicking up a cloud of dust.
She looked at Shen Maomao with a somewhat complicated expression.
Many newcomers, just entering the game, are like her—ignorant and fearless, holding onto rare goodwill and humanity. But these newcomers either die in the game or become like them…
This girl… which one will she become?
Yun Shengjin and the others had already walked far ahead with the foreman. Shen Maomao grabbed Xiaolou’s hand and quickened her pace to catch up: “Let’s hurry, Sister Lou! We mustn’t miss any information!”
Xiaolou: “…?” How are you so friendly so quickly? Who’s “we” with you??
Construction sites are not known for their beautiful environments. The road beneath their feet was made of sand and dirt, leaving footprints with every step, and each time they lifted their feet, a cloud of dust rose. A group of people marched through, kicking up dust as they went.
Despite his somewhat suspicious appearance, the foreman was a very kind person, almost answering every question posed to him.
From the conversation between Yun Shengjin and the foreman, they gathered some basic information—
For instance, the company contracting the site is called “Shuitian Concrete,” and a new residential development named “Shuitian Yise” is to be constructed here. Additionally, some minor issues had recently occurred on the site, leading to the dismissal of some workers, which is why the foreman had recruited more people from outside to work.
However, when Yun Shengjin asked what had happened, the foreman showed an impatient expression and scolded him: “Why ask so many questions? Just focus on doing your job well!”
Yun Shengjin paused for a moment, smiling apologetically: “I was just asking casually.”
Shen Maomao pulled Xiaolou aside to whisper: “I didn’t expect that after all my hard work to get into college, I’d still end up moving bricks. It’s all too real…” Genuine tears.
“I think you can handle this job,” Xiaolou remarked, not at all wanting to be best friends holding hands, but she had tried to shake her off disdainfully before and still hadn’t managed!
The slim-looking girl is surprisingly strong!
Shen Maomao hesitated: “Do you think if I move bricks well, they might give me a bonus?”
Xiaolou: “…Do you really think you’re here to move bricks?”
Shen Maomao: “…” She was just a bit nervous and wanted to lighten the mood.
She stuck out her tongue, and after getting a mouthful of dust, quickly closed her mouth.
They passed by foundations that were either freshly laid or already formed buildings, walking from the gate to the innermost area. The innermost area featured two rows of small houses with blue roofs and white walls, one on the left and one on the right, separated by a pool in the middle.
The foreman said: “Men live on the left, women on the right, with toilets on both sides and washing facilities in the middle. There’s a canteen on the construction site, but the cook recently resigned. Does anyone know how to cook?”
Yan Nan said, “I can.”
The otaku, Ding Hou, chimed in, “I can too, I can too!”
The foreman glanced at him and said, “You, as a big man, should save your strength for moving bricks!” Then he looked at the other three women present and asked, “Who else among you can cook?”
Xiaolou and the girl Xuehua remained still, and Shen Maomao followed their lead, not moving.
The foreman casually pointed and said, “You, go to the kitchen to help.”
Shen Maomao: “…” Damn it, why?! Following Yan Nan, she’s afraid she’d be sold and still help count the money…
The foreman didn’t care what she thought and assigned tasks to the others: Yun Shengjin, the otaku Ding Hou, and Brother Long were responsible for painting the walls on the scaffolding, while the others only needed to stack bricks nearby.
Shen Maomao didn’t understand what this “stacking bricks” operation entailed, but tomorrow, after they finished cooking, they would follow along, and she’d find out then.
Xiaolou sarcastically said, “Congratulations, college student, you’re about to start your brick-moving career.”
Shen Maomao, considering her face thicker than a city wall, didn’t take her sarcasm seriously: “I’m aiming for the Best Employee Award, too.”
Xiaolou sneered: “So you’ll stay here moving bricks for a lifetime?”
“No, no, I’m scared, I’m scared,” Shen Maomao quickly replied.
After assigning the tasks, the foreman said: “We usually start work at 7:30 in the morning and finish at 4:30 in the afternoon, with a one-hour break at noon. The job is physically demanding. It’s already past 4 today, so just get familiar with the construction site, and start working early tomorrow morning.”
Everyone agreed it was no problem.
Shen Maomao asked: “Could you tell us how the wages are calculated? Do we sign a labor contract?”
Others: “???”
The foreman also paused for a moment, perhaps because he hadn’t encountered anyone asking about wages and was momentarily unsure how to respond.
Xiaolou pulled her aside: “Are you crazy?”
Shen Maomao: “Sorry! It’s a habit!”
Recently, she had been looking for an internship and was particularly sensitive to wages, contracts, work, and overtime, so she asked without thinking.
The foreman, unsure how to respond, chose to ignore her question and directly addressed Yan Nan: “Why don’t you all go and start cooking? The canteen is over here; I’ll show you the way.”
Feeling a bit timid, Shen Maomao followed dejectedly behind the group.
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The canteen was a bit of a distance from the dormitory, directly facing the girls’ dormitory, and consisted of a row of blue iron-sheet houses.
Shen Maomao and Yan Nan were left to cook while the others were free to do as they pleased. The foreman, with his hands behind his back, leisurely strolled away, saying he was going to get their work clothes.
The inside of the canteen was very dirty and messy. The floor was made of red paving bricks, mixed with sand and dirt. There were only three large round tables inside, all covered with grease stains, and one table even had a dirty rag on it. In the corner of the canteen, a stack of blue plastic stools stood, looking greasy as well.
Inside the small partition is the kitchen. The kitchen has no light, only a gas stove with a rusty large pot on it, and the cutting board even has green mold.
Golden Retriever (the blonde guy) who arrived later said disdainfully, “Can the food made here even be eaten?”
Yun Shengjin replied, “If you don’t eat, you’ll starve. Everyone, don’t just stand around; help clean up the kitchen and canteen.”
Golden Retriever refused, “I won’t do it. I’ve never worked since I was a child.”
Brother Long extended his arm and hooked it around his shoulder, saying, “Kid, in the confession game, everyone is equal regardless of wealth, gender, or status. No matter who you are in reality, in the game, you must obey! Who cares if you’ve worked or not? If you don’t work, then don’t eat. If you dare, just refuse to work!”
Gaojie (high-level or advanced) game…
Shen Maomao quietly noted this name, planning to ask Xiaolou about it when she got the chance!
Golden Retriever brushed off his hand: “If you’re not afraid of being poisoned, then eat. I’ll find my own food.” With that, he walked straight out of the canteen.
Yun Shengjin reassured everyone: “Don’t worry. Once he faces reality, he’ll naturally come around.”
He assigned cleaning tasks to everyone present, and the others had no objections, working as he instructed. Among the three newcomers, Ding Hou and Luo Xingbang were very proactive in helping, seemingly eager to prove their worth to Yun Shengjin. The remaining newcomer, Wei Gu, wiped the table slowly with a rag, his eyes vacant, lost in thought.
Shen Maomao couldn’t cook, but she could help Yan Nan by scrubbing the pot and washing vegetables. Yan Nan used the rice cooker to steam a large batch of rice. Together, they lifted the heavy iron pot, turned on the gas, and prepared to stir-fry the vegetables.
There wasn’t much food in the kitchen, barely enough for the players to last two days. No one knew how they would manage in the days following.
Just as the potatoes hit the pot, they heard a commotion outside the partition. Yan Nan quickly turned off the gas and walked out of the kitchen, with Shen Maomao hurrying after her.
Golden Retriever, who had stormed off earlier, returned with Glasses whose clutching his stomach, both wearing frightened expressions. Golden Retriever shouted with lingering fear, “What on earth are those things outside the main gate?!”