I Struggle to Survive in a Girl Group [Transmigration] - Chapter 25.2

Yu Tingbai’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

An Qing’s palms were sweating with nervousness, terrified of causing any adverse reaction.

Yu Tingbai raised her sunglasses and gave her a light, sweeping glance, her tone tinged with disdain.

“Faking a fall?An Qing: =Dish=!!

As expected, she saw right through it at a glance! Might as well restart life!

She quickly let go, trying to salvage the situation: “I…”

At that moment, a soft hand took hold of hers. Skin touched skin, and a faint warmth quickly spread along the lines of her palm.

“****.”

“What’s going on?”

“Did we just witness the real deal?”

“We got it on camera, oh my god!”

The surrounding fans gasped sharply, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads.

From such a close distance, they had seen everything clearly.

First, An Qing had deliberately pretended to stumble and grabbed Yu Tingbai’s arm in a coquettish manner. Though Yu Tingbai had spoken with disdain, in the blink of an eye, she had taken An Qing’s hand and showed no intention of letting go.

If this isn’t love, then what is!

The fans were thrilled, but mindful of the public setting, they didn’t dare scream out loud. Instead, they whispered among themselves and pinched each other’s philtrums to stay calm.

An Qing looked up in astonishment, but the instigator had already averted her gaze, leaving only a delicate profile. Sunglasses hid her eyes, and the corners of her lips curled up slightly.

“Watch your step, not me.”

[Dear player, welcome to Dream Town.]

[A wonderful journey is about to begin.]

In the evening, the sky was painted with a hazy, yellowish glow. Underfoot lay a narrow path, bathed in the soft light of the setting sun that enveloped the houses and trees on either side. Thick clouds piled up on the horizon at the end of the road, creating an eerie sense of oppression.

At the entrance of the town stood two low walls on either side, with colorful paint sprayed messily across them in two crooked lines:

Dream Town

Where Dreams Begin

Beside the low walls stood five young and beautiful girls, the five members of the popular girl group “Princess.” They were dressed in casual clothes suitable for movement, each carrying a flat, waterproof backpack on their backs.

The backpacks were empty; aside from their phones, all other items had been confiscated by the production team.

No one spoke. Everyone’s attention was fixed on the touchscreen watch on their arms.

Prompts continued to pop up one after another.

[Completing tasks assigned by the town’s residents will earn you varying amounts of gold coins. Gold coins can be exchanged for food, shelter, and other daily necessities, serving as the foundation for your survival in the town.]

[The number in the upper left corner of the screen is your health points. Any improper actions may result in a decrease in health points.]

[If your health points drop to zero, you will be forcibly removed from the game. Please proceed with caution.]

[Click the drop-down menu at the top of the screen to review the prompts.]

In the upper right corner of the screen was the time, while the upper left displayed the number 100. The girls glanced at each other’s screens and realized everyone started with the same initial health points. The drop-down menu was initially hidden; a light tap on the top of the screen would bring it up.

[Behind the wall, there is a wooden crate containing various supplies. Each person may choose one item to bring into the town.]

[Remember, you may only choose one item.]

“Shall we go?”

“Let’s go.”

Yi Zhuo took the lead, stepping into the town first, with the others following closely behind.

The surroundings were quiet, with only the sound of their footsteps and the occasional rustle of the evening wind brushing through the treetops.

There was no follow-up.

After the PD left, the immersion was really strong. It felt as if they were genuinely lost tourists who had accidentally wandered into this small town.

An Qing walked beside Yu Tingbai, lost in thought.

The group circled around the low wall and soon came across a black wooden box. It was about half a person’s height, with a brass clasp that gleamed with a dull metallic sheen.

With a soft “click,” Yi Zhuo opened the lid of the box.

Everyone crowded around to look inside.

The box was filled with supplies: umbrellas, ropes, knives, flashlights, bottled water, bread… everything they could possibly need.

Wen Ling asked, “What do you all want to choose?”

As the team leader, she wanted to balance the supplies as much as possible to avoid duplicates.

“I’ll take the umbrella,” Yu Tingbai said. She glanced up at the clouds gathering in the sky and explained to the others, “I checked the weather forecast. It’s supposed to rain for the next few days.”

Wen Ling said, “Then I’ll take an umbrella too. With five of us, two should be enough.”

Although there were many places in the town to take shelter from the rain, Ghost Town Survival was a mystery-solving and reasoning variety show. To find clues and clear the game as quickly as possible, they needed to maintain high mobility.

Yi Zhuo hesitated for a moment between the flashlight and the lighter but ultimately chose the flashlight for the convenience of moving around at night.

“Should we take some food and drinks? I’m afraid we might starve if we can’t earn any money,” Shen Siqi said with a worried expression.

After getting off the plane, they had hastily eaten a fast-food meal before rushing to the filming location. After all the commotion, she was already hungry.

Wen Ling thought for a moment and said, “That works too.”

It was currently 5:30 PM. The idea of earning enough coins to pay for dinner and that night’s accommodation before bedtime seemed like a daunting task.

Seeking help from the local residents was also an option, but based on previous episodes of the show, staying in the wrong house could result in a loss of health points for eating, drinking, or sleeping.

With the team leader’s approval, Shen Siqi happily chose a large bag of bread and carefully placed it in her backpack as a reserve supply.

Among the five of them, only An Qing hadn’t chosen any supplies yet. She fiddled with the items in the box, a hesitant expression on her face.

Yi Zhuo was growing impatient and was about to urge her when someone tugged at her sleeve.

Wen Ling shook her head slightly at her and asked, “An Qing, what are you choosing?”

An Qing pursed her lips and picked up a palm-sized pack of candy.

“Can I have this?”

She had rummaged through the supplies in the box and found only this small pack of candy, which seemed like something the production team had casually tossed in to make up the numbers.

Yu Tingbai occasionally suffered from low blood sugar, but after an incident where she was criticized for practicing with candy in her mouth, she had become very cautious and avoided mentioning it whenever possible.

Even now, although candy could relieve low blood sugar symptoms faster than other foods, Yu Tingbai would never actively choose it.

An Qing could easily imagine how the anti-fans would attack Yu Tingbai online if she took the candy.

“Isn’t the low blood sugar act enough?”

“Why so pretentious? Can’t bread raise blood sugar too?”

“So selfish, only thinking about herself, no team spirit at all.”

Yu Tingbai carried too many burdens and couldn’t withstand such things, but An Qing was different. She simply didn’t care what others said, nor did she intend to let anyone think she chose the candy because of Yu Tingbai.

“While sleeping on the plane, I dreamed I was eating candy.”

An Qing hugged the candy tightly in her arms and spoke with a serious expression.

Yu Tingbai glanced up: “And then?”

An Qing: “When you dream of someone, you should go see them when you wake up.”

Yu Tingbai:

So flashy.

Though she knew An Qing did it for her, she didn’t want to trouble anyone, so she reached out to throw the candy from An Qing’s hands back into the box and pick something more practical instead.

At that moment, Wen Ling spoke up: “That makes sense.”

Shen Siqi: “Great, I want some too!”

Yu Tingbai: ?

She glanced at Yi Zhuo again, but Yi Zhuo wasn’t looking at her, standing off to the side pretending not to hear.

So An Qing happily packed the candy into her backpack and winked at Yu Tingbai.

Just then, the information on the wristwatch began flashing again.

[This round’s theme is, Who Is the Deceased.]

[You are a group of lost tourists who accidentally discovered this town, wanting to rest here but finding it filled with strangeness.]

[You’ve also heard a terrifying fact among the town’s residents, one is already dead.]

[“It” thinks it’s hidden well, but will still inadvertently reveal clues.]

[Communicating with other residents may yield unexpected leads, though sometimes you might be misled.]

[Within three days, determine the deceased’s ** and enter the name in the dropdown menu above the screen.]

[You and your teammates have only one chance to submit. Any single entry will count as the team’s decision.]

[If you fail to submit in time or make the wrong judgment, it will be considered a failed attempt.]

[Well then, enjoy the game.]

The game prompt on the wristwatch’s touchscreen stopped at that line.

The sky had darkened without them noticing, and the empty, silent streets felt eerily sinister. The road stretched into the distance, its end swallowed by the gloom, hazy and unclear.

Thinking about the “deceased” mentioned earlier sent chills creeping up their spines.

Shen Siqi murmured, “I remember a horror movie that started like this a group joins a scary reality show, but the ghosts are real.”

An Qing got goosebumps listening, then heard Wen Ling ask curiously, “What happened next?”

Shen Siqi: “Then they were wiped out, boohoo.”

An Qing: !!!

She wanted to go home qaq.

“Alright, no need to scare ourselves,” Wen Ling said, somewhat amused. Looking at the two trembling girls, she softened her tone. “Let’s walk further in first.”

The town’s permanent population seemed small. After walking for over ten minutes, they still hadn’t seen a single person. The houses lining the road had a rustic charm from afar, but up close, every door was tightly shut, not a single light on.

Forget about the **, they couldn’t even see a living soul. Did this godforsaken place really have people?

Could it be like Shen Siqi said they’d been transported into the beginning of a horror movie? But she’d already transmigrated into a book once; was she really this unlucky to do it again?

An Qing’s face was tense, her mind uncontrollably racing with wild thoughts.

After turning another corner, Yu Tingbai, who was walking ahead of her, suddenly stopped.

“There’s someone up ahead.”

An Qing was startled and followed their line of sight forward. Ahead lay a spacious clearing surrounded by green trees, dotted with recreational facilities like swings, seesaws, and slides, alongside a sandpit resembling a small town park.

A petite figure stood alone in front of the sandpit, holding something in their arms, completely motionless.

“Let’s go take a look.”

Yi Zhuo was impatient by nature and reached the figure in just a few strides.

It was a little girl, seemingly no older than ten. She wore a white princess dress, her soft hair styled in a fishtail braid, with large, sparkling eyes that blinked repeatedly. A fluffy bunny backpack hung from her arm.

The girl was adorable, but the eerie atmosphere of the town had already seeped into An Qing’s consciousness. Recalling the earlier mention of “the deceased,” she felt a chill run down her spine.

Shen Siqi was also frightened. She clung tightly to An Qing’s arm and reminded her, “An Qing, An Qing, you promised to carry me through this. Go talk to her.”

An Qing: “…”

Did she really say that? She’d completely forgotten!

After a moment’s thought, she feigned calmness and patted Shen Siqi’s hand. “You go.”

Shen Siqi widened her eyes in disbelief. “Me?”

“Of course. I’m giving you a chance to shine,” An Qing said seriously, setting her up. “This level of difficulty doesn’t require my intervention. I’ll step in when we encounter a truly terrifying NPC later.”

Seeing Shen Siqi still hesitating, An Qing continued to persuade her, “What’s there to be afraid of? Yi Zhuo is over there too. She’s brave, you can go with her. It’s a great opportunity to practice.”

Shen Siqi found this reasoning convincing. After all, the other party was just a child, what harm could she possibly do? Finally encountering an easy task, she had to seize the opportunity to amaze the fans who had mocked her!

So she obediently let go of An Qing and walked toward Yi Zhuo and the little girl not far away.

An Qing breathed a sigh of relief and instinctively wrapped her arms around Yu Tingbai’s, trying to hide behind her.

Yu Tingbai curled her lips and leaned close to An Qing’s ear, whispering, “How could you treat your innocent teammate like that?”

An Qing felt that anyone else could say that, but not Yu Tingbai.

She shrank back and retorted stubbornly, “I learned it from you.”

Meanwhile, Yi Zhuo crouched down in front of the little girl and asked as gently as possible, “What’s your name?”

The little girl eyed the group but said nothing.

“How old are you?”

Still, the girl remained silent, seemingly uncooperative.

“Let me try!”

Encouraged by An Qing, Shen Siqi eagerly stepped forward.

She steadied herself, deliberately putting on a stern face to create an imposing presence, hoping to make the little girl comply.

“Big sister is talking to you. Why aren’t you answering?”

The little girl stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth between her soft lips.

Shen Siqi’s legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground.

Tearfully, she cried, “Sister, I was wrong, sister qaq!”