Grand View Garden Survival Rules [Infinite] - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Huainan Yue

“D*mn it, where is this?!” A man with a buzz cut rubbed his eyes. He reeked of heavy alcohol mixed with the pungent scent of cigarettes, appearing severely intoxicated.

Huainan Yue frowned, quietly moving a few steps away.

She remembered clearly: one second she had just turned off the lights to go to sleep, and the next, she was here. Carved corridor pillars stood around her, flanked by lush trees. Butterflies flitted through flowers and willows—everything looked fresh and beautiful.

It would have been perfect, if it weren’t haunted.

The surrounding architecture was classical and elegant. Eight people stood in a circle; some were hysterical with terror while others were eerily calm. The group was as binary as digital code—only zeros and ones, with no middle ground.

Huainan Yue observed them in silence until a girl spoke up coolly:

“Grand View Garden.”

“What the hell is that?!” The buzz-cut man couldn’t take it anymore. He lunged forward to grab the girl’s collar, cursing her ancestors. “I was drinking perfectly fine back there! Who gave you the right to kidnap me to this ghost place? What’s going on? Can you explain it clearly, you damn b*tch?!”

The girl shifted her body slightly, dodging his attack. Her tone remained flat: “I suggest you talk less. Rule Two of the Grand View Garden is: No loud shouting after six o’clock.”

She pointed to the sun in the sky, paused, and added: “It’s dusk. It’s almost six.”

The buzz-cut man froze. Then, likely feeling he’d lost face by being intimidated by a girl, he continued to bluster in his raspy voice: “I’m warning you, stop talking sh*t! You think I’ll believe whatever you say?! I’ll shout as loud as I want!”

The girl smiled. “I tried to talk to you nicely but you wouldn’t listen. It’s not like I brought you here, so why take your temper out on me?”

“What a pity.”

The man wanted to ask “What’s a pity?”, but he could no longer make a sound. He watched the surrounding scenery suddenly spin. Then, he caught a terrifying glimpse of his own body—from the neck up, it was completely empty…

A split second later, it registered: his head had fallen off.

His body collapsed onto the ground with a heavy thud. He was dead.

The girl’s smile faded. She simply said: “It’s six o’clock.”

The others shrank back in fear. No one spoke. They watched as the corpse on the ground suddenly turned into a pile of mud, which then melted like ice into water and seeped into the soil.

After a long silence, someone finally spoke.

“Miss,” a man asked, trembling like a wound-up toy, “Where… where is this? Why did we… come here?”

“Didn’t I say it before? This is the Grand View Garden,” the girl replied steadily with a faint smile. “Yes, the Grand View Garden from Dream of the Red Chamber. It’s also a game instance. You die if you trigger certain conditions or break certain rules. You only pass by completing the mission. As for why we’re here… I only have a vague guess. I’m not entirely sure, so I have nothing to tell you.”

“At eight o’clock, an NPC will come to lead the way. While we have this gap, we should probably introduce ourselves. You can call me Dove. This is my third instance.”

Dove’s voice was melodious, her tone rising and falling like a winding mountain stream in a deep forest. Unfortunately, no one was in the mood to appreciate it.

The remaining five—three men and two women, began their introductions. One person had cleared an instance before, but most were pure novices, looking shaky and clearly still reeling from shock and horror.

The sun gradually dipped below the horizon. The surroundings turned as dark as a flock of crows packed tightly in an ancient forest. At a certain moment, the lanterns hanging from the corners of the corridor lit up automatically. The “crows” vanished, giving everyone a fright.

Huainan Yue heard someone sobbing softly: “How did I end up here? So unlucky.”

…Exactly, she thought idly. So unlucky. I can’t even get any sleep.

It was her turn to introduce herself.

Huainan Yue stood by with her arms crossed. Seeing Dove tilt her head toward her, saying “Just you left,” she slowly rubbed her sleeve. After thinking for a moment, she asked a question instead of answering:

“Are you really a person from the outside, just like us?”

Dove’s smile didn’t falter. “What do you mean?”

Huainan Yue’s gaze flicked downward, landing at the girl’s feet.

“You only have one shadow,” she said softly.

The smile on Dove’s face froze. She stiffened her neck and looked down inch by inch as Huainan Yue continued in an emotionless tone: “You are standing between two lanterns. At that angle, there should be two shadows.”

“You only sculpted one. A careless mistake.”

The group: …!

Everyone looked down at the shadows, their faces paling instantly. They scrambled back, putting at least three meters between themselves and Dove.

They watched the curve of the girl’s lips snap shut, only to stretch wide again—wider and wider… until the split reached her ears, revealing blood-red gums. Her face glowed warmly under the lantern light, the shifting shadows highlighting deep furrows that began to multiply until her facial features were almost unrecognizable.

Everyone instinctively took another step back. Huainan Yue heard the girl next to her let out a tiny sob.

Fortunately, Dove didn’t continue her “Sichuan Opera face-changing” act. She pinched the corners of her mouth back into place, swept her gaze over the crowd, and finally locked onto Huainan Yue.

“We will meet again,” she whispered.

A gust of wind blew from nowhere, kicking up sand and stones in a chaotic gloom. Huainan Yue’s eyes were blurred by the dust; when she opened them again, Dove was gone.

The sobbing girl was nearly collapsing. Huainan Yue glanced over and reached out to steady her. The others seemed to have found their pillar of support and huddled toward Huainan Yue.

…It looks like these people are treating me as their lifesaver.

Huainan Yue frowned inwardly and spoke before anyone could open their mouth.

“Don’t ask me,” she said. “I’m a total novice. Ask the one who’s cleared an instance.”

The person who had cleared an instance before called himself Rabbit. His hair was either a wig or dyed so white it looked like rabbit fur.

Rabbit rubbed his hands together and spoke timidly: “What Miss Dove said was mostly true. This is a Dream of the Red Chamber themed instance set in the Grand View Garden. At eight o’clock, an NPC will come to lead the way and introduce the rules.”

“How will we know the time?” someone asked.

“There are bells,” Rabbit said. “It doesn’t follow ancient timekeeping, however many times it rings is the hour.”

“That Dove said breaking rules means death. What exactly are the rules?”

“I really don’t know.” Rabbit was submissive, his voice even carrying a hint of a sob. “In my last instance, there was a pro player who carried the whole team. We all survived.”

“What was up with that Dove? Why are NPCs coming out to mess with us? If it weren’t for…” The speaker glanced at Huainan Yue, “…that lady discovering the anomaly, we might all be dead.”

Rabbit hung his head, tugging at his clothes. He looked ready to cry, his voice small as a mosquito: “I really don’t know. In the last instance, no NPC appeared before eight o’clock.”

Huainan Yue stood by a pillar, looked away, and began to pace slowly along the veranda.

Her clothes had been changed. It wasn’t her pajamas, but a long dress from her wardrobe, paired with a set of stiletto heels from her shoe rack.

…It felt like she was about to walk a runway.

As she walked, she grumbled internally about the System changing her clothes without asking. Turning her head, she suddenly realized a string of “tails” was following her.

“Why are you following me?” Huainan Yue stopped, feeling stuck between laughter and tears.

“You’re observant,” someone said boldly. “I’m afraid of dying. Following you feels safer.”

Huainan Yue: …

Another person asked, “Miss, how should we address you?”

Huainan Yue hadn’t introduced herself to Dove. Since everyone was clearly using aliases, she thought for a moment and said: “White Moon.”

As the last syllable fell, a heavy bell tolled in the distance.

Rabbit’s body shivered as she took a sharp breath: “The NPC is coming.”

The bell rang eight times. A flash of light streaked across the sky, so bright it forced everyone to close their eyes. When they regained their senses, they were shocked to find a wooden door standing all alone in front of them.

The ethereal sound of copper bells echoed from nowhere. Lamps flared up, illuminating the area around the wooden door as bright as day.

With a creak, the door opened. A girl with a maid’s hair-knots, wearing a gauze shirt and a red silk skirt, walked out gracefully. She curtsied slightly and said:

“You have all come from afar and must be tired. My mistress sent me to receive our guests. Tea has been prepared inside. Please, come in to rest for a while; your lodgings will be assigned later.”

The group hesitated. Even Rabbit looked indecisive.

Huainan Yue stepped forward but was caught by Rabbit.

“Moon… Sister Moon,” the girl said cautiously. “Aren’t you going to ask more? What if this NPC is a ghost too? Miss Dove tried to trick us just now.”

“Isn’t this your second instance? Didn’t you just go straight in last time?” Huainan Yue asked flatly.

“That… that’s true.” Rabbit’s voice grew smaller, looking ready to cry again. “But last time no NPC came out to mess with us beforehand. I’m afraid this time is different…”

Huainan Yue feared nothing except people crying. She took a silent deep breath, telling herself to be patient.

“It’s fine,” she comforted. “An NPC appearing at eight to lead the way is a major rule; it should be universal across instances.”

Then, she raised her voice slightly so everyone could hear: “Aren’t you tired? I am. I’m going in.”

She stepped through the door. Rabbit hesitated for a moment before following. The others looked at each other and followed suit, leaving only a man in a tank top with tattoos on his arms. He spat on the ground and stomped his foot, muttering hatefully: “Damn it, such a creepy place, who would be stupid enough to enter? If something happens, will you take responsibility?”

Huainan Yue stopped, turned her head, and gave him a fleeting glance.

“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” she scoffed. “No one is holding a knife to your throat.”

“But if you do want to come in, I suggest you hurry… mm, I’m guessing everything here has a time limit.”

The tattooed man grit his teeth and barked a curse: “Stop talking sh*t to me! You really think you’re some big shot?”

Huainan Yue ignored him entirely and continued walking.

Losing face, the tattooed man refused to give in. He stiffened his neck and yelled at the others: “Don’t you think she and this place are both incredibly weird? Watch out or she’ll lead you all into a ditch!”

Rabbit didn’t stop; she even sped up a little.

Except for the tattooed man, everyone entered the door.

As the man continued his stream of insults, the NPC apparently couldn’t take it anymore. She smiled softly and said: “Sir, why not come in first? We can discuss things inside.”

The tattooed man couldn’t back down; his mouth was harder than diamond. “I’m not going in! What the f*ck can you do to me?”

The NPC kept her gentle smile, shook her head, and simply said: “What a pity.”

…What a pity.

Dove had said the same thing.

The tattooed man’s eyes widened. In that flash, he finally felt fear. He lunged forward, trying to rush through the door, but it was too late.

The NPC continued: “It is now a quarter past the Hour of Xu.”

8:15 PM.

As soon as she spoke, the wooden door slammed shut with a bang. Huainan Yue turned back to see the scenery outside cut off by the door.

Including the tattooed man.

All that remained was a thin, fading scream. The tattooed man was dead too.

Rabbit’s body shook with terror as she whispered: “The second one.”

Huainan Yue’s gaze passed through the faint light of the candelabra and landed on the girl’s youthful face.

She suddenly asked: “Are you very afraid?”

Rabbit nodded, then shook her head tremulously.

“Afraid of dying?”

“Yes.” Rabbit lowered her head. “A week ago, I was on my way to school. Before I left, I told my mom I wanted wontons for a late-night snack. She said okay. Then a white light flashed and I was here. I don’t know if my mom realized I’m gone. If she did, I wonder if she’s crying.”

“Mhm.”

“I’m not actually that afraid of dying, but if I die, I won’t see my mom again. I’m afraid she’ll forget me… but I’m more afraid that she won’t.”

Huainan Yue’s eyes reflected the flickering candlelight, looking a bit like a crystal ball on an easel by a winter fireplace—they softened slightly.

“Don’t be afraid,” her voice was low and powerful.

Rabbit turned her head and met Huainan Yue’s eyes.

She heard Huainan Yue say: “I’ll make sure you get out.”