[Welcome to the Newbie Trial Area of "Help! I'm Surrounded by Them!]
[The classic map "Campus**" has been opened.]
[Please choose your romance target:]
[A. Sweet and innocent deskmate]
[B. Alluring and luscious school belle]
[C. Cold and cunning top student]
[D. Brother with eight-pack abs]
[E. Rigid and married homeroom teacher]
[F. Friend who loves singing, dancing, basketball]
[G. Snow-white and rosy neighbor auntie]
[H. Fiery and hot-bodied sports school girl]
[Each target can only be chosen by one player.]
[The options are temporarily locked and will be available for selection after a 100-second preparation time.]
[Now entering preparation time:]
[99——]
[98——]
[97——]
Floating above his head, the countdown screen kept blinking.
Wen Nan moved his gaze away from the screen and looked around.
He stood in the middle of a boys' dormitory.
The dorm was in complete disarray, with cola cans, bottled water, and milk tea cups almost covering the floor.
The stink of sneakers, the sour smell of sweat, the strange odor of Chinese plums, and the scent of instant noodles all mixed together, thrusting straight into his nostrils.
Besides Wen Nan, there were three other boys in the dorm—a tall athlete, a chubby guy wearing brand-name sneakers as slippers, and a short and skinny guy with glasses.
Judging by the surprised expressions on their faces, they were probably players who, like Wen Nan, had entered the newbie trial area.
[Beep!]
[Dear Mr. Jiu cilang, welcome!]
[I am your system, 9527.]
[If you have any questions or need assistance during the strategy, please feel free to call my name, and I will be at your service!]
[Next, let me show you your attribute panel——]
In his mind, a cold mechanical voice sounded, and then a screen appeared before Wen Nan:
[Name: Ye Jiu]
[Level: lv1]
[Strength: 2/100]
[Agility: 3/100]
[Armor: 1/100]
[Charm: 4/100]
Wen Nan furrowed his brows slightly and observed his three roommates without expression.
It seemed that this personal attribute panel was generated by the system and could only be seen by each player themselves.
That made sense, but...
His attributes were way too low!
Wen Nan shouted in his mind: [9527.]
9527:[I'm here.]
Wen Nan: [How do I increase attributes?]
9527: [You can increase levels and attributes by completing strategies, exploring the map, or purchasing equipment and items from the store.]
Wen Nan: [Open the store.]
Immediately, a classic game store interface appeared in front of Wen Nan, most of the equipment and items were locked, indicating that the level was too low to purchase.
The only three items available for lv1 were, at the cheapest, 200 Gold Coins.
Wen Nan glanced at the upper right corner of his account—initial amount, only 100 Gold Coins.
Wen Nan asked the system again: [How do I earn Gold Coins? Don't tell me I have to spend real-world money?]
He had been staying at the hospital for years and didn't have a dime on him. If this game was a pay-to-win, then...
9527: [No, the currency used by players in the real world cannot be used on this map.]
[In the strategy process, there are only three ways for players to earn Gold Coins——]
[1. Total popularity of the live streaming room, exchanged at 10,000:1 ratio for Gold Coins]
[2. Audience tips in the live streaming room, 50% credited to the player's account]
[3. Player opens bets, audience in the live streaming room places bets]
[Of these, options 1 and 2 are exchanged in real-time, option 3 is settled at the end of each task.]
Upon hearing this, Wen Nan was a bit stunned.
Live streaming room?
This game even has live streaming?
Everything he's doing now is being broadcasted in some live streaming room?
Why hasn't he seen the live streaming room interface? Where are his viewers?
9527: [After the strategy officially starts, the live streaming permissions will be opened to the player.]
Wen Nan glanced at the countdown above his head, with only 20 seconds remaining.
[Beep!]
A crisp prompt sounded in his mind.
9527: [Congratulations! You've received a newbie gift pack! Would you like to open it now?]
Wen Nan: [Open it.]
9527: [The newbie gift pack has been opened for you——add any attribute point to full capacity, 3-hour experience time.]
[Please choose the attribute you want to add points to:]
[Strength][Agility][Armor][Charm]
As he was pondering, suddenly, the three roommates beside him simultaneously started glowing with golden light.
The short and skinny guy with glasses quickly grew muscular. The athlete's limbs elongated, and his wrists and ankles became slender. The chubby guy's skin visibly thickened.
It seemed they used their experience cards on Strength, Agility, and Armor, respectively.
The increase in these attributes directly affected their physical bodies, making it look like a sci-fi movie, and the visual impact was undeniably strong.
[Please choose the attribute you want to add points to.]
The system urged in his mind.
Wen Nan quickly made his choice: [Charm].
A flash of golden light surrounded him, and he felt a brief itching sensation on his skin and bones.
9527: [Points have been added. Current Charm value: 100/100.]
Wen Nan was about to look for a mirror to check himself out, but when he looked up, he found the other three people giving him a complex expression.
"You...added to Charm?"
Glasses guy asked him.
Wen Nan nodded, "Yes."
If it were a previous game, Wen Nan would definitely add to Strength, Agility, or Armor, but...
This is a romance strategy game now.
To woo girls, what use are high Strength, Agility, or Armor?
Of course, you need to max out your Charm!
The glasses guy looked at Wen Nan with a look that suggested he wanted to say something but stopped.
At this moment, the countdown above them began flashing red and emitting a jarring "thud-thud" sound, akin to a fire alarm.
[Preparation time is about to end, please get in position immediately!]
[10——]
[9——]
[8——]
Wen Nan raised his head to look at the countdown screen again, thinking, isn't it just about choosing a romance strategy target, why make the atmosphere so tense?
Someone who doesn't know might think this is a battle royale game.
Wen Nan looked again at the options: sweet and innocent deskmate, alluring and luscious school belle... they all sounded like ideal romance targets.
But among these options, aren't there some strange ones mixed in?
[3——]
[2——]
[1——]
The countdown ended, and the athlete jumped on his toes, extending his arm, and with a standard slam dunk pose, he slapped the screen above his head.
Smack!
His palm accurately hit—
F. Friend who loves singing, dancing, basketball?!
Wen Nan was shocked.
No way, bro, so you are...
Wen Nan ultimately suppressed his urge to complain and chose to silently respect.
He looked at the other two players, wanting to see a similar expression on their faces, but discovered that they were looking at the athlete with overwhelming displeasure and jealousy?
Wen Nan: ?
Isn't there something wrong?
Just as he was in a daze, he saw the chubby guy dragging a table over, preparing to climb on it to grab the remaining options as fast as possible.
Seeing this, the glasses guy rushed over and started wrestling with the chubby guy.
Ultimately, the glasses guy, with full Strength, easily defeated the chubby guy with full Armor, stood on the table, and made his choice—
D. Brother with eight-pack abs!
Wen Nan: ?
He never expected his small dorm room would be this diverse.
Wen Nan looked at the chubby guy who was now slumped over the table.
The chubby guy's face looked really bad, like he had lost a loved one.
He gritted his teeth, looked at the panel with two options gone, and thought pensively:
'It's well known that this is a horror escape game. As the game's name suggests, the bosses in this game are all female ghosts!'
'Since all the bosses are female ghosts, it stands to reason that options D. and F., these two male roles, can't possibly be bosses but just ordinary neutral NPCs.'
'These options should be newbie perks; getting them is a win.'
'Unfortunately, his hand speed was too slow and let the athlete and glasses guy snatch them first.'
'Now, he could only retreat and settle for the second-best option.'
'Among the remaining options, although they are all female, the difficulty of the strategy obviously varies——'
'As everyone knows, in this game, the more attractive the woman, the more terrifying she is.'
'So...'
Smack!
The chubby guy stood up, slapped right down on—
E. Rigid and married homeroom teacher.
Wen Nan looked at the choice locked by the chubby guy and fell silent.
This fellow, is his surname Cao?
While making fun of him internally, the athlete said: "We've finished choosing, it's just you left."
Wen Nan smiled, "You guys are great, helping me remove three wrong answers."
He wasn't joking; he was genuinely grateful, as this group of players had such unique tastes.
But for some reason, those three people looked at him with that same complex expression once more.
"If it were me, I'd choose C. among the remaining options." The glasses guy pushed up his glasses and thought, the top student is most likely male and probably not good-looking; the uglier, the safer.
"I think it should be A.," the chubby guy interjected.
He thought, the deskmate might not necessarily be female. Moreover, being so cute, it must be a boy, right?
However, when they looked at Wen Nan, they found him shaking his head, stepping up to the table, and raising his hand——
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
[Player Ye Jiu successfully locked in——]
[A. Sweet and innocent deskmate]
[B. Alluring and luscious school belle]
[C. Cold and cunning top student]
[G. Snow-white and rosy neighbor auntie]
[H. Fiery and hot-bodied sports school girl]
After bagging all five targets, Wen Nan hooked the corners of his lips and let out a mischievous laugh:
"Only kids make choices; adults, of course, want them all!"