PFRG: Chapter 93

The strange atmosphere at the scene made the man in the suit, who had just spoken, smile. His attitude was as humble as ever. “So everyone should’ve realized that unless we can achieve team cooperation, there seems to be no need for too many intersections in this instance. Then please allow us to leave first.”

After saying this, he turned around. In an instant, four more people followed him and left.

The remaining people saw the five people leaving. Finally, someone reacted. “Ah, they seem to be the Jazz team…”

“The Jazz team?” Everyone else looked blank.

“It is a newly emerged team. I’ve seen their introduction on the forum. The Jazz team is the most powerful among new teams recently, and will soon be able to squeeze into the top 100.” The player introduced it patiently. Then he noticed the gathered gazes on him and smiled slightly. “But what they said is correct. Does anyone want to form a team? If not, it seems that there is really no need to waste time forming a team.”

The moment these words came out, the others looked at each other. They were obviously very hesitant about this issue.

A single person needed 50,000 game coins to redeem an arcade pass. But if purchased as a team, it only cost 30,000 per person.

This did seem like a very tempting condition.

But in this type of game instance full of traps, it was obviously not that simple.

If they were lucky enough to save up 50,000 game coins early, but other players in the team hadn’t met the 30,000 requirement, this requirement would become a restriction instead. Moreover, during the period of participating in these recreational games, various situations that might hinder their progress could occur at any time.

In many cases, working alone was better than working as a team.

This was the perception of some lone wolves among the Sanctuary players.

At this time, they could find the composition structure of this group of players. In addition to the five people of the Jazz team who just left and the four people from Chi Ting’s side, the remaining nine people had a pair of twins who obviously came together, a group of three who came together and four single players who stood at a distance from each other.

The player who had just spoken had already cast his gaze toward the twins without concealing his intention at all. He walked straight over. After some discussion, they quickly reached a consensus and went together to the service desk not far from the entrance of the arcade.

In this race against time situation, the trio quickly caught up, leaving the three single players who seemed more willing to believe in their own abilities. They walked toward the internal amusement equipment area one after another.

Chi Ting was a bit surprised to see that the other players had left without introducing themselves.

Why did it feel like the atmosphere of this instance was different from what he had encountered before? Was it because of the special game environment or because everyone in the Sanctuary wasn’t very willing to socialize?

Yue Ren asked, “How about we go and change to the team experience mode as well?”

Chi Ting withdrew his thoughts upon hearing this voice.

He was already interested in these amusement projects. Of course, he didn’t want to waste any more time. “Let’s go.”

The development of the instance made the discussion in the live stream room more intense.

This initial rule seems very subtle.]

[The people in the Watchtower team have come to witness the birth of a new team. It should be very difficult if it is judged as a certification instance, right?]

[D*mn, I hate the brain-burning type of instance the most.]

[Why didn’t I see anyone discussing it before? Has anyone seen this instance before?]

[Huh? Now that I think about it, no one has followed this instance before. This instance should be…]

[F*k, a new instance that hasn’t been streamed yet? Isn’t this going to be another first pass?]

In the blink of an eye, Chi Ting had already arrived at the service desk.

Looking at it from the outside, there was no one in front of this very eye-catching service desk. It wasn’t until he got closer that he found an NPC wearing a pink doll uniform sitting inside.

The eyes that could be seen in the hood were as empty as the staff member’s voice. “The Starry Sky Arcade’s salesperson No 007 is here to serve you wholeheartedly. Due to the high volume of customers right now, please line up in order to go through the formalities.”

In the empty arcade, apart from the brilliant lights on the equipment, there were only 18 players at most. This wasn’t a lot of customers at all.

However, after hearing this, Chi Ting exchanged looks with Yue Ren again.

Their eyes met and they spoke at almost the same time.

Chi Ting said, “It is No 7 again.”

Yue Ren said, “It is pink again.”

Chi Ting: “……”

Why did it feel like there was no tacit understanding at all?

He paused before reminding, “Is there something wrong with your focus?”

“I feel from the bottom of my heart that this guy’s love for pink is indeed almost perverted. Or you can try to experience the feeling of seeing pink everywhere when you go out every day, and you will understand. Even now, I still suspect that I have some PTSD about this color.”

Yue Ren felt sick from the bottom of his heart when he recalled the days when he lived in the Love Apartment. So when he looked at Chi Ting again, his expression became more gentle. “Of course, it is a good thing that I met you and you helped me escape from the sea of suffering. I think that if it is possible, it would be a very happy choice for me to be with you for the rest of my life.”

Chi Ting, who was caught off guard: “……”

Ji Xingque, who happened to overhear this: “……”

Even Song Xuefeng, who had been following silently with his head down, couldn’t help looking up.

His expression seemed to be saying, ‘Awesome.’

It was so silent that a pin could be heard falling.

At this time, the previous player completed the change of membership permissions.

After hearing the reminder from the staff member in the doll costume, the four silent people handed over their game cards in unison.

The staff member took it and swiped it on the device. There was a beep before he handed the cards back. “It has been switched to the four player experience mode. I wish you all a happy game.”

Chi Ting took the game card and found that there was no obvious change, except that there was a new number 4 next to the original number of 500 game coins. This corresponded with the number of people in their ‘team.’

“It is rare to come to a place like this. What do you plan to play first?” Yue Ren’s tone sounded as if he was in a good mood. It was as if he really just came to the arcade with friends to relax.

If it wasn’t for Ji Xingque and Song Xuefeng beside him, he might not mind creating a romantic double date atmosphere.

Chi Ting wasn’t very familiar with the equipment of the arcade. He glanced around and first noticed the rows of equipment that he knew how to play. “That’s it.”

The Starry Sky Arcade was very large and the other players had disappeared in the blink of an eye. They were obviously very cautious and chose to understand the situation in detail before making the final game selection.

As a result, the claw machine area near the entrance appeared very empty.

The cheerful melody was faintly heard through the claw machine area. The lights flashing on each machine made this environment full of romantic, childlike fun.

It wasn’t just Chi Ting. Ji Xingque was also apparently visiting this type of arcade for the first time. He ran to one of the claw machines and looked at it curiously for a while. He raised his head and paused for a moment. “Captain, look!”

In fact, he didn’t need to give a reminder. It would be hard for others not to notice it.

There was a note on the upper left corner of each claw machine with the same content written on it.

[Claw Machine User Guide]

[Welcome to the claw machine area of the Starry Sky Arcade. Cute dolls are an indispensable part of everyone’s childhood. Please enjoy the innocent happiness.

In order to have a better experience during the game, please read and abide by the following rules carefully:

All claw machines in this area charge 2 coins per attempt. If you fail to grab any dolls within 10 attempts, please remember to change the machine. Otherwise, the charge will be increased to 3 coins per attempt, and will gradually increase with every 10 attempts.
All the machines in this area are operating normally. If you find a problem after inserting a coin, please stay in front of the claw machine and wait patiently. It will return to normal after 10 minutes.
The claw machine is random. Please don’t try to damage the machine in order to increase the success rate of grabbing a doll. Otherwise, you will need to pay compensation.
Please make sure that only one claw machine in each row is in operation. Don’t insert coins into two or more machines at the same time. If you find that other claw machines in the same row have received the same number of grabs, please pretend that it didn’t happen.
There are only dolls of the same color in each row of claw machines. If you find dolls of different colors mixed in, don’t use the machine and stay away from it as much as possible.
The numbers on the dolls represent the game coins you will be rewarded with. The amount of the reward has nothing to do with the color of the dolls. However, if you grab a pink doll, please notify the staff to deal with it.
If you are visiting the claw machine area with friends, please make sure that each person grabs a different colored doll.
it is normal for the joystick to be out of control. It is because it might not be the joystick but your own hand that is out of control. If your hand is out of control for a long time, please leave this area as soon as possible for your own safety.
The circuits in the claw machine area are always very stable. If there is a circuit failure, return to the entrance, cut off the power supply and restart it to restore it to normal.
Please take away all the dolls you pick up during the game except for the pink dolls.
Whether it is in this area or other areas, be careful of employees and players carrying pink dolls.]

Chi Ting read the rules one by one. Then he turned his head to look at the claw machines in his row.

The claw machines filled with sky blue dolls were flashing with bright lights. The very natural picture didn’t look abnormal at all. It was as if it was calling for the players to come.

According to the third clause of the initial rules, it was possible that there might be incorrect rules in the playing guide for all areas of the arcade.

So, will there be one in this claw machine area?

If so, was it only one or…

“These dolls all look cute. Which one do you like better? How about this dolphin?”

A voice suddenly entered his ears. Chi Ting responded instinctively without thinking too much. “Yes, it is cute.”

He reacted just after he finished speaking. After turning back, he saw that Yue Ren had already taken out the game card and inserted it into the card slot. As the reading was completed, the ‘-2’ appeared on the display screen, indicating that the game coins had been deducted.

Ji Xingque heard the movement and immediately came over. “You are starting to play now?”

“Or else? Who made your captain think it is cute?” Yue Ren smiled in a disapproving manner and manipulated the joystick very skillfully. After aiming at the position, he lightly tapped the button.

Such a confident and neat operation was performed in a calm and unhurried manner. Ji Xingque was just marveling at the fact that this man was actually an expert at claw machines. Then he saw the hook of the claw machine sway slightly before grabbing nothing.

Ji Xingque: “???”

Yue Ren: “……”

He cleared his throat quietly. “Yes, I’ve tested it. It seems that a failure of this extent won’t result in any punishment. You can start the game with confidence.”

Ji Xingque: “.”

Who the hell would believe him?

Chi Ting looked at Yue Ren’s pretend calm appearance and didn’t expose it. He laughed silently. “Then good luck?”

Yue Ren coughed again.

He took out the game card and swiped it a second time.

Chi Ting stood by while trying not to smile. He was just about to see how this man was going to save his image when he suddenly felt a gaze from behind him and turned around.

His pupils contracted slightly when a figure behind several rows of equipment came into view.

It was another staff member wearing a doll costume.

This person was wrapped up so completely that it was hard to tell if this was the same person as the one at the reception desk.

The gaze from under the hood fell clearly on his body, inevitably making people feel uncomfortable.

What Chi Ting cared about wasn’t this person standing here and looking at them, but—

Rule 11 of the claw machine user guide clearly stated that in any area of the Starry Sky Arcade, they had to be careful of employees and players carrying pink dolls.

So, was the pink doll costume worn by the staff considered a type of pink doll?!