A cold object brushed against Mr. Zhongli's hand, exactly matching the clues he'd pieced together earlier.
After rearranging them, Mr. Zhongli thought the most logical order was:
[While waiting I stand still.][I whisper his name in a low voice.][His fingertips run across my hand.][The hand is cold.][My body is shaking.][I waited motionless.][Waiting for this to end.]
Zhongli just stood there silently in front of the phone, that unseen cold hand gliding across his own.
It was over in seconds. The cold sensation vanished.
Then, the sound of a third baby's laughter echoed.
Right after, the phone rang.
After a few rings, a man's voice came through: "You have been selected."
And in the very next second, came the sound of a door opening at the end of the corridor.
[Through the fog of fading consciousness][I believe I heard a call]
These matched the final two clues he'd sorted out earlier.
"It should be over now."
With that thought, Mr. Zhongli opened the door at the end of the corridor.
A quick flash of the dark hallway came into view—then everything went black.
A few seconds later, the screen lit up again.
The beam of a flashlight cut through the darkness. Footsteps clattered along the road.
The camera panned up, finally revealing the outside world.
But the small town was deserted.
Dim yellow streetlights flickered eerily through the misty rain.
The place gave off a creepy, unsettling vibe.
The camera moved again and finally landed on the face of a handsome man turning his head.
And just like that, the story of "Silent Hill · PT" came to an end.
The loudspeaker in the Internet café blared with a mechanical female voice:"Congratulations to Mr. Zhongli from Unit 24 for becoming the first player to clear 'Silent Hill · PT.' Please go to the counter to receive your reward."
As soon as the announcement hit, everyone in the café froze.
Games were paused. Heads turned.
Even players grinding "Digging for Ascension" didn't care that they'd just fallen back to their "Happy Home."
Damn, that's insane—he actually cleared "Silent Hill · PT."
And on his first try, in just over three hours?
"My Lord Rex Lapis… are we even playing the same game?"
"Three hours? No way a regular human pulls that off."
"I've been playing for eight hours and still get stuck when that ghost lady pops up."
"I thought Zhongli was just a chill guy who didn't do much. Never expected him to be this legit."
"There aren't many people I look up to—but from today on, Mr. Zhongli makes the list."
"What's the reward even? I'm dying to know!"
…
Amid all the gasps and hype, Zhongli coughed lightly, trying to act modest.
Truth be told, clearing the game did feel pretty damn satisfying.
Even Childe was stunned. He clapped like he was still buffering—totally dazed.
Compared to Mr. Zhongli's calm and collected run through "Silent Hill · PT," Childe's own attempt felt like a joke.
"Stop zoning out! Go check your reward!" Hu Tao pulled Zhongli to the counter, eyes full of excitement.
Rui Shen smiled and handed Zhongli a card."Here's your honorary player card—one month of free Internet access, plus 10% off after that. Not transferable."
Then he took out a small golden trophy—pure Mora, baby.
There was also a framed certificate with Zhongli's name and an official statement: first to clear "Silent Hill · PT."
Zhongli was pretty satisfied.
Free internet for a whole month—no need to log his hours.The discount didn't matter much. He tracked his own time anyway.The trophy and certificate? Hu Tao snatched them immediately, claiming it as a win for the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
The prize might not hold a lot of actual value—but the clout? Oh yeah, that hit hard.
Even better, Rui Shen added a new feature to the café system: the Honor Board.
Right at the top, in bold—Mr. Zhongli.
First to clear "Silent Hill · PT."First game clear in the whole café.
Too clean. Too legendary.
Everyone watching knew they couldn't miss the next big flex.
Forget Mora. They wanted face. They wanted glory.
"Tsk, face is everything," Rui Shen chuckled slyly behind the counter.
And with that, he earned another boost in emotional energy.
Most of the people in his café weren't hurting for Mora.
What they really cared about was status.They loved to compare, to show off.
And nothing's more tempting than a little prestige.
Free internet for a month? Gimme.10% off? I'll take it.Gold trophy made of Mora? Say less.A clearance certificate? I need it.Top of the honor board? Let's gooo.
And so, the race was on ヽ(≧Д≦)ノ!!
With the first clear of "Silent Hill · PT" off the table, players went nuts grinding "Digging for Ascension" and "Super Mario."
Most leaned toward "Super Mario"—the difficulty was way lower than that soul-crushing "Digging for Ascension."
Those without a machine? Anxious. Watching someone else progress? Pure pain.
Some folks were curious about the free internet reward. If there weren't any time caps later, they could save tens of thousands of Mora.
And being the first? That gave serious bragging rights.
Hu Tao's eyes lit up with battle fire—she had to be the first to clear "Super Mario."
The game wasn't too bad. As long as she paid attention and caught the patterns, it was totally doable.
Her progress rocketed ahead—already past Level 5, leaving everyone else behind.
Childe actually wanted to snag the "Super Mario" first-clear title too…
But "Digging for Ascension" had hurt him deep. He couldn't let it go without beating it.
Besides, he felt "Super Mario" was beneath someone like him—an executive of the Fatui.
If Childe was gonna play, he needed challenge and pain.
Three hours in, he was already ahead of Keqing, past the castle area—now entering snowy terrain.
"Hahaha, I really am built different (*￣︶￣)" Childe grinned proudly.
Keqing arrived just in time to see that—and immediately panicked.
She had held the highest progress record before. No way she'd let a Fatui executive take her crown.
She jumped on the machine and started catching up—fast.
Childe scoffed. No way Keqing was beating him.
He popped open a can of Cola, took a swig, and dove back in.
Up ahead was a tricky spot: a cliff jump using an iron anvil as a launch point.
Miss it, and you're not just falling back—you're tumbling way down.
Luckily, Childe's skills were on point. He nailed it.
Proud? Oh yeah.
Next up: slippery snowy stones. Two failed jumps forced him to head left.
Three tiny floating rocks blocked his way. He was not happy to see those.
Tiny landing spots were hell—especially when you needed to launch yourself mid-air using a hammer. The angle had to be perfect.
Childe took a deep breath, steadied himself, and leapt with the hammer.
…And missed.
"You've GOT to be kidding me (▼皮▼#)!"
Veins popped on his forehead. Those stones were slicker than expected.
At least he didn't fall all the way to "Happy Home." He wasn't too far from where he failed.
After a lot of trial and error—falling a dozen times—Childe finally made it across.
His patience? Almost gone.
Then came the next obstacle: a wooden barrel hanging from a rope.
He had to hook it, swing himself up, and latch onto the stone ledge above.
To the left? A weird snake—or maybe a tree branch—peeking out of the clouds.
Childe's instincts screamed trap. Best not to mess with it.
From behind the counter, Rui Shen smiled like a devil.
"The snake zone… if nothing goes wrong, something will definitely go wrong."
He just hoped Childe's sanity held up.
Childe aimed carefully, hooked the barrel, started swinging side to side...
When it hit the sweet spot, he launched.
Slap.
He just barely missed. The hammer bounced.
Bald Man flung left, and his hammer latched onto the snake's head.
In seconds, he was riding it like a rollercoaster, straight down through the clouds…
And landed right next to that cursed tree.
Happy Home welcomes you back.
A message appeared beside him:
"Starting over is harder than starting.""If you're not ready—if you've had a rough day—this kind of pressure is way too much.""Come back after you've rested. I'll be here waiting."