Everyone present had experienced quite a bit, and they understood certain things. The more experiences one had, the more it was possible that, even in broad daylight, everything might appear calm and peaceful. However, this could merely be the tranquility before a storm.
Once night fell, the entire world could easily undergo a drastic transformation.
Therefore, Ye Tiancheng's concerns were quite valid and truly worthy of consideration.
Nie Chongyang sighed and said, "Regardless, we don't have any better options. We can only take things one step at a time."
Even if this place's nights harbored hidden dangers, they would have no better recourse. After all, they couldn't leave. They were still completely bewildered, not understanding the circumstances of their current predicament, and utterly unable to escape.
Even if it were a dragon's pool or a tiger's den, they could only charge in.
Ultimately, they had no retreat.
Speaking of this, the moods of the four men grew subtly heavy. Simultaneously, they braced themselves and became even more vigilant.
Night was not far off. If the nights here truly held danger, it meant they were not far from danger. It was best to raise their alertness and be more prepared.
The little fox asked Ye Tiancheng, "Big brother, where should we go now? Find a hotel or inn? Or just rest in the car."
"After all, who knows what it will be like outside."
Ye Tiancheng pondered for a moment before giving his answer.
He said, "How about this, we find a hotel. This time, we don't need to get suites or anything. Let's just get a larger family room, and we can all stay together. That way, no matter what happens, we'll all be together and can look out for each other promptly."
"This way, it should, to a certain extent, increase our safety."
"If we rest in the car, while it might be safer than facing unknown entities, we can't rule out the potential risks that might exist outdoors."
Having said this, Ye Tiancheng paused and added, "Besides, for four grown men to squeeze into a car to rest, we wouldn't get good sleep. If we can leave soon, then fine. But if we can't get out, wouldn't that be terrible?"
"If it goes on for too long, we definitely won't be able to hold on. But if we have to stay in a place like a hotel eventually, it's better to go now. And in similar situations, the early stages are usually safer. If we don't stay now, should we wait until later when the risks are even greater?"
"Then our precautions would be completely meaningless."
Everyone was persuaded by Ye Tiancheng and began searching for nearby hotels and inns. However, on their way back towards a hotel, they suddenly realized a problem: renting a room in a hotel required identification.
Who knew how the rules, regulations, and simulation levels of this spatial world compared to the real world.
From the navigation map, which they had already tested, it was difficult to make a judgment. Ye Tiancheng and the others dared not gamble. If they used their own IDs to register, and they didn't plan to return for the time being, interacting with the fabricated life here.
What if those so-called people around them, after they lost contact, used their identity information to track their check-in records? Wouldn't that be another kind of trouble?
Considering all these factors, Ye Tiancheng and the others could only abandon the idea of large hotels.
Even, due to considering this aspect, Ye Tiancheng, to be safe, withdrew a large amount of cash from the bank, going to several banks to ensure he had enough money, at least so they wouldn't be completely stuck.
What if later, they couldn't even use their cards or accounts?
They couldn't afford to not guard against this.
From their experience three years ago, they already knew they couldn't underestimate the simulation level of these kinds of spaces. It was indeed necessary to guard against this. Ye Tiancheng and the others weren't entirely without experience.
After making all the preparations, they went out to look around.
Some small inns were not displayed on the navigation map at all. Fortunately, the city they were in was a fusion of areas familiar to each of the four of them, so they could rely on their own experience to find places where small inns with less strict check-in conditions might exist.
As dusk began to fall, they found a "black market" inn that didn't require identification. Although it didn't have particularly large rooms, Ye Tiancheng and the others were not picky. Pickiness was useless at such a time.
Moreover, to ensure they could stay together, they could only get rooms that could accommodate several people. The rooms were not very large, and inside were bunk beds. Inns generally rented by the bed.
Ye Tiancheng and the others, to book an entire room, rented all the beds in one room. This way, they could ensure they all stayed together and didn't have to worry about unknown beings disguised as humans living in the same room, which would make it difficult to sleep peacefully.
After settling into the small inn, Ye Tiancheng and the others searched the room and even found some surveillance cameras. However, in such a black market inn, the presence of these hidden surveillance cameras didn't seem particularly surprising.
Although they didn't know if these surveillance cameras in this spatial world meant anything else.
However, since they had discovered them, regardless of what these surveillance cameras meant, Ye Tiancheng and the others decided to deal with them all. It was safer than leaving them there.
They also locked the room door, dealt with the surveillance cameras, and then took out the food they had brought from their respective storage spaces to eat. They didn't have to worry about going hungry, nor did they have to mistreat their stomachs by staying in such a place.
Since they could prepare outside, Ye Tiancheng and the others didn't hold back, bringing plenty of good food. However, in an emergency situation, there were also convenient food items in their storage spaces.
But now wasn't an emergency, so there was no need to be so rudimentary.
They ate their meal with great satisfaction, then gathered together to discuss their plans for the night and what specific actions they would take tomorrow.
The matters of the next day were relatively easy to discuss. The preliminary decision was that they would definitely go to that university to take a look. After all, the key to breaking the deadlock was likely related to that place. Regardless, they had to go.
As for other matters, they would likely have to make plans and judgments based on the situation tomorrow.
As for what to do at night, they found it difficult to say. They needed to carefully discuss how to ensure safety and allow everyone to rest well.
They had no idea what would happen during the nights in this spatial world. Moreover, when resting at night, they would definitely need to keep watch. Someone had to be vigilant during the night so that if anything happened, they could wake up the others who were sleeping.
Finally, they settled on a plan.
They decided to take turns keeping watch, with two people per shift. One shift would guard the first half of the night, and the other shift would guard the second half.
This way, everyone could rest and be ready to guard against any accidents, ensuring everyone's safety.
In terms of pairing up, they didn't just pair up based on who was more familiar with each other. They didn't have Ye Tiancheng and the little fox guard one half of the night, and then Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping guard the other half.
The reason for choosing this arrangement was based on multiple considerations.
On one hand, even after multiple tests and confirmations, they still couldn't be completely certain that all four of them were their true selves and not impostors. Although they didn't want to suspect their companions, they still needed to take necessary precautions.
On the other hand, they also considered the combat capabilities of Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping.
Among ordinary people, Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping's skills were naturally undeniable. When the real world underwent changes, and because they had experienced various events beforehand, they weren't exactly weaklings among special individuals; they still possessed some formidable abilities.
However, these abilities, when placed before Ye Tiancheng and the little fox, and in environments like the current one, were somewhat lacking.
It was also evident that after entering this place, in terms of strength and skills, Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping were mostly helpless. Only in areas related to their professional expertise could they contribute and offer suggestions.
Therefore, having Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping guard together would be quite insecure.
Because, if they encountered a truly urgent and dangerous situation, even the combined strength of Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping would be insufficient.
If something were to happen, and it was extremely dangerous, they might be in trouble before they could even react, let alone alert Ye Tiancheng and the little fox.
Ye Tiancheng and the little fox were a bit better. Although the little fox was weaker than Ye Tiancheng, in this regard, it wasn't entirely insurmountable.
Therefore, the final decision was to pair Ye Tiancheng with Liang Ping, and the little fox with Nie Chongyang, to guard the first and second halves of the night respectively. This would be much safer, their combat power would be more balanced, and in case of any crisis, the guards would not be unable to alert those who were resting.
As for what would happen during the night, only time would tell after they experienced it.
At the beginning, they didn't notice anything particularly unusual. Looking out the room window, the world outside was brightly lit and appeared very normal. However, what lay within, no one could know until the masks were revealed.
They sat there, eating, inspecting the room, and discussing matters for several hours. It wasn't until around eight o'clock in the evening, when Ye Tiancheng and the others checked, that everything was still relatively normal.
Considering the need to take turns guarding, the little fox and Nie Chongyang rested relatively early. Only Ye Tiancheng and Liang Ping remained awake, paying attention to the external situation and maintaining vigilance against danger.
Thus, time ticked by, second by second. Just as Ye Tiancheng thought that perhaps nothing would happen that night, around eleven o'clock, Ye Tiancheng and Liang Ping suddenly heard the sound of their room's doorknob being turned.
The two immediately exchanged glances.