It's You Who Are Treading on Thin Ice, Not Me

"Everyone, let's be frank."

The man in the gray wolf mask spoke, his voice deep and weathered.

"In a Nightmare-level Team Instance, one wrong step leads to a bottomless abyss. If we keep scheming against each other, we're not far from being completely wiped out."

His voice made him sound even older than he looked. To show his sincerity, he revealed his player ID and level.

【Prophet Bei Lang】【Lv15】

It was the same opening move Baili Dao had used. This had to be the wolf-type mask Xiezhi had mentioned.

Evidently, Gray Wolf was a member of the Abnormal Affairs Bureau. He was also the unlucky fellow Wu Wang was supposed to rescue.

Wu Wang could tell Xiezhi wasn't very optimistic about his chances. The pressure of a Nightmare-level Instance was immense, after all.

This instance, 【Masquerade Ball】, had been discussed on the forums. It had appeared about ten times, and so far, no one had ever survived.

Fortunately, the Open Beta hadn't started yet. Otherwise, with so many failures, the instance would have already descended upon the real world.

"The uncle is right. I, too, would love to be frank with everyone~"

Miss Rose exuded an irrepressible charm.

She called herself "older sister" when she heard my young voice, but now she calls herself "I" for the uncle. Heh. Fickle woman.

As she spoke, Miss Rose revealed her player ID.

【Yanran Hanxiao】【Lv17】

She cast a flirtatious glance at the others.

With a collective shrug, the rest revealed their IDs.

Fox Loli was 【Xiaoxiao】【Lv18】.

Miss Black Cat was 【Liu Jiang】【Lv15】.

Batman was 【Batman】【Lv14】.

The Thorny Show-off was 【The Elegant Gentleman】【Lv16】.

That was unexpected.

Everyone stared in astonishment at the little, white-haired loli who was still idly poking the carpet with her high heels.

She was the highest-leveled player here!

Only Wu Wang looked at Batman.

"Your name is actually Batman! How are your parents doing? I think I found their pearl necklace in an alley once."

"..."

As a loyal DC fan, Batman instantly knew the kid was mocking him. He just rolled his eyes, not bothering to reply.

"Don't forget why we're in this psycho's room," the Fox Loli finally spoke.

Her voice was a complete mismatch for her appearance. It was filled with an icy chill.

"Oh~ If you hadn't mentioned it, little sister, I would have almost forgotten."

Miss Rose turned her attention to Wu Wang. "May I ask, dear little brother Kamen Rider, why didn't you respond to us earlier?"

Her voice was full of allure, making one instinctively want to answer her.

"Hmm? Did that happen? It might have been game lag. I just connected," Wu Wang said, stating the facts without a hint of a blush.

He had actually noticed the discrepancy himself. He had just logged into the game, yet the other six were already grouped up and knocking on his door.

The Calamity Game wouldn't just leave him out while the other six spawned in the same room for a meet-and-greet, would it?

It was obvious he had experienced a delay, entering the instance a few minutes later than everyone else.

After a moment of thought, he decided it had to be the Abyss God's fault. The Abyss God's account had some... issues. That must have been what caused his entry time to be out of sync.

After speaking, he also revealed his ID.

【Yan Shuangying】【Lv. ???】

The three question marks where his level should be made the others pause. A hint of vigilance flickered in their eyes.

What was this? Everyone else had shared their information honestly, but this kid wanted to be mysterious?

"Don't be nervous, everyone. It's a Curse I received in a previous instance. Its name is 【Lie】."

Wu Wang lied without batting an eye.

"It obscures my information when I share it, making it impossible for me to gain my companions' trust. I'm quite troubled by it, too."

He added, "Let me introduce myself. Yan Shuangying, level 17."

The others scrutinized the masked man with doubtful expressions. They really didn't trust what he was saying.

But if they didn't trust him, didn't that mean the 【Lie】 curse was working? So... was he telling the truth?

It was an interesting logical loop.

Only Gray Wolf showed a flash of surprise. Xiezhi had clearly told him the name Yan Shuangying beforehand, letting him know that Wu Wang was a friend, not a foe.

He stepped forward to smooth things over.

"We'll take your word for it on the name and level for now. Let's talk about the problem at hand. Where should we explore?"

At his words, the other five fell silent.

Seeing Wu Wang tilt his head in confusion, Gray Wolf continued to explain.

"When we woke up, there was a note on each of our nightstands with a rule for the cruise ship. It's a bit... complicated."

"Spill."

Wu Wang casually picked up a snack from the table, but when he went to toss it into his mouth, his mask got in the way. He angrily threw the snack into the trash can.

No one paid any mind to his neurotic behavior. They simply consolidated the rules each of them had found.

1. 【Guests are free to explore any area.】

2. 【Except for public areas, all private areas have their own unique rules. Violators will be responsible for the consequences.】

3. 【Proper meals can only be eaten in the Restaurant.】

4. 【There is no Back Kitchen on the ship. If you encounter someone claiming to be from the Back Kitchen, please contact a staff member, who will handle the trouble for you.】

5. 【The staff will satisfy guests' needs as much as possible. You must not harm the staff.】

6. 【It is best to go out with your partner.】

Hearing their news, Wu Wang couldn't help but grin.

Gray Wolf shook his head and sighed.

"On the surface, it says we're free to explore. In reality, we have no idea which places are private areas, nor do we know their specific rules. One wrong step means death."

"So, what's the rule for your room?" Batman questioned.

They hadn't seen a note anywhere in the room. The only possibility was that this Kamen Rider had hidden it.

Wu Wang was confused. What note? I didn't see one either!

Before he could speak, something unexpected happened.

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound of knocking echoed in the room once again.

Everyone looked at each other. All seven players were here.

So who was knocking?

Unexpectedly, the first to act was not the steady Gray Wolf, nor the high-leveled Fox Loli, but Miss Rose.

With a smile, she walked to the door and pulled it open.

What greeted their eyes was a female attendant in a white shirt, black suit, and tie. She wore a pure black half-mask that covered only her eyes, and her lips were curved into a standardized smile.

"Esteemed guest, hello. Is there anything I can help you with? Number 05, at your service."

Miss Rose naturally stepped forward, taking the attendant's white-gloved hands.

"Little sister, your mask is lovely. I like the minimalist style," she praised. "Could you possibly tell us the rules you know?"

Everyone present could see that Miss Rose possessed some kind of charm ability. She was likely a player who specialized in leveling up 【Charisma】 to win over NPCs and clear instances.

But after she posed her question with supreme confidence, the unexpected happened.

The female attendant simply looked at her with an unchanging smile, not saying a single word.

"..."

The atmosphere instantly turned awkward.

Miss Rose immediately put on an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, little sister. Did I put you in a difficult position? I don't need any service. You can ask them."

Although she was all smiles, she was cursing up a storm internally.

Only she knew how ridiculous that failure had been. Her Charisma stat was a full 30 points. Combined with various equipment effects and items, NPCs in past instances had always shown her the greatest favor from their very first meeting.

This ability had always allowed her to learn secrets from NPCs that other players could only dream of, even in 【Hard】-level instances.

The subtle influence of her favor worked on both men and women. This was the first time she had ever been given the cold shoulder by an NPC.

The others exchanged glances. They didn't know what kind of service to ask for, nor did they know if this attendant posed a threat.

A Nightmare-level instance was truly a hard road to walk.

But to everyone's surprise, the man in the magenta Kamen Rider mask strode forward.

"Me, me!" he said cheerfully. "I was the one who pressed for room service."

Everyone whipped their heads around. Only then did they notice the call button by the head of the bed was lit up.

What the hell! Was this guy really that impulsive? He doesn't know anything!

Damn it! Is he trying to get the whole team wiped out right at the start?

Wu Wang walked to the door. Miss Rose stepped aside, making way for him.

The meaning was obvious. You caused this trouble, you deal with it.

In the next second, Wu Wang walked straight out of the room. He patted the attendant's shoulder.

"Show me around," he said. "Especially the places guests don't often go. I'm very curious."

"Of course, sir. Please follow me."

The attendant mechanically turned to lead the way, each step she took exactly the same length.

As he left, Wu Wang glanced back at the six dumbstruck people in the room.

Even with his mask on, they could feel the infuriatingly smug look he was giving them.

His meaning was also very clear.

You're the ones treading on thin ice.

Not me.

"Fuck! So confident? Is he not afraid of being the first unlucky bastard to die?" Batman muttered under his breath.

The other five agreed. The psycho was being far too reckless. A rash move like that would probably make him the first casualty.

Even Gray Wolf felt helpless.

Boss, you sent this kind of unreliable person to save me? Isn't this a bit... rash?

Ignoring his teammates' thoughts, Wu Wang followed the attendant. He looked all around the corridor, gawking like a tourist, exclaiming "wow" here and "amazing" there.

He was practically hopping around like a monkey.

It was only after they had left the residential area that the attendant in front of him suddenly stopped.

She turned her head to face Wu Wang without any warning.

"Sir, please do not harbor any killing intent towards me," she said. "Such an act will get you expelled from the ship."

The eerie part was the turn itself.

Her body didn't rotate at all. Only her head twisted a full one hundred and eighty degrees to face backward, a feat impossible for a living person. The standardized smile on her face didn't change in the slightest.

Wu Wang shrugged.

"You can sense killing intent? I can't even think about it?" he replied nonchalantly.

His question was a generous admission. He had indeed felt a flash of killing intent just a moment ago.

"Since you can detect that I want to kill you, you should also know the reason, right?"

Wu Wang then continued, enunciating each word clearly.

"Why did you take the rules-note from my room? Hand it over."

The attendant remained silent.

She simply reached a hand into her pocket.

When she drew it out again, she slowly opened her palm.

Lying in it was a white slip of paper.