《Welcome to the Nightmare Game》


 CH 1

    The bus steadily made its way forward, the warm sunlight of an autumn afternoon filtering through the window and onto QiLeren. If it weren¡¯t for the girl tearfully arguing into the phone with her boyfriend beside him, this could almost be a pleasant journey.


    Hah, as if. Journeys with broken laptops to fix were scarcely considered pleasant, especially when said laptop had only been subjected to a few games of minimum hardware requirements before dying completely. What absurdity; the laptop was only a few months old!


    With that being said, QiLeren¡¯d be lying if he said the game wasn¡¯t scary. It was quite a well-known game, titled ?The Nightmare Games?, which he downloaded on a whim while browsing a gaming forum. With its simple name and lack of even gameplay screenshots, QiLeren had fully prepared himself for a terrible game only to be shocked by its quality.


    As a casual fan of horror games, QiLeren had limited experience but was by no means a beginner with his eye for detail. Aside from the fantastic plot, a feature that made him by far the most satisfied was the large number of save slots, with which he could fully bring into play his skill as a save scummer. There was not a single slot left unused, totalling at around a hundred saves without even overwriting any of them. Upon completing the game with a bad ending typical of the genre, a notification popped up in the upper right corner: ¡°Achievement unlocked: [Save-scumming Maniac]¡±.


    That¡¯s an¡­interesting achievement, to say the least.


    Almost immediately, another notification appeared: ¡°Would you like to restart? Y/N¡±. It didn¡¯t take much thought for QiLeren to select yes, the soft click of his mouse sending the graphics onscreen tumbling down into pure black. After many unsuccessful reboots, there was nothing left for him to do other than to pack the laptop into a bag and haul it to a hardware store to get fixed, all the way berating himself for pirating games. It probably gave him bad karma.


    The girl next to him was still crying. That is, until her boyfriend ran out of patience with a yell of something QiLeren couldn¡¯t make out that finally made the girl snap. ¡°You wanna break up, huh?! Sure thing, buddy, see if I give a shit. I¡¯ll make sure to mail this baby over after I abort it, you hear me? I won¡¯t let you just run off with that bitch and live out the rest of your lives like nothing happened!¡± Hanging up, she hunched over screamed into her hands.


    The atmosphere inside the bus was extremely awkward. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, QiLeren dug out a packet of tissues from his backpack and held it out to the girl, only to be met with a murderous glare. ¡°I don¡¯t want your fake pity,¡± she hissed.


    QiLeren retracted his hand awkwardly and turned to face the window instead. This is what single people got for butting into a couple¡¯s fight.


    It was then that the scenery outside flew backwards, white noise overtaking QiLeren¡¯s vision. A truck appeared seemingly out of nowhere, barrelling towards the bus furiously braking to no avail; the two vehicles crashed with a loud clamour, throwing all its passengers forwards. QiLeren¡¯s hands immediately flew out to catch himself, arms buckling under the momentum as his head cracked against the hard back of the seat. Amidst the bloody screams around him, QiLeren could see nothing but black.


    It was to the sirens of an ambulance that QiLeren finally stirred. He blearily opened his eyes and was greeted by a face mere centimetres away from his.


    Both men let out a yell of ¡°Whoa!¡± before regaining their composure. QiLeren sat up, head throbbing in beat with his pulse. There was a doctor sitting beside him. Perhaps he was a paramedic brought here by the ambulance. ¡°Are you alright?¡± the doctor asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m okay, just a little dizzy,¡± QiLeren replied. He gingerly brought a hand to his forehead; it had been bandaged.


    ¡°You hit your head when the bus crashed,¡± said the doctor. ¡°You might have a concussion; it¡¯d be best to double check that at the hospital.¡±


    The idea didn¡¯t seem particularly appealing to QiLeren. Hospital fees weren¡¯t cheap and besides, it was probably just a skin wound. He turned to the doctor, suddenly taken aback at his appearance. ¡°¡­Since when did they let minors practice medicine? Have you even graduated university?¡± he scrutinised. This person looked to be a high schooler at most, some might even believe him if he claimed to be in middle school.


    The doctor glared at him venomously. ¡°I¡¯m twenty-seven already. Got my PhD. Been working for three years.¡±


    QiLeren¡¯s suspicious scrutinising immediately turned into one of awe at the academic prowess before him. Still a little dizzy, he lied back down and made casual conversation with the doctor. Dr Lu had started school at an earlier age than everybody else in his cohort and skipped a few grades thereafter. He completed his PhD at the tender age of twenty four and obtained employment at the First People¡¯s Hospital at X City, at which he hopped around speciality departments for two years before finally settling in internal medicine. His soft voice and youthful features gained him adoration from almost all nurses, cementing his status as the lucky charm of the hospital.


    It was with great empathy that QiLeren listened to Dr Lu¡¯s woes about having been single for his whole life.


    Suddenly, a wave of sluggish sleepiness washed over them, prompting yawns from both men. ¡°I¡¯m sleepy,¡± Dr Lu muttered, slumping into the wall as his eyelids fluttered closed. QiLeren did likewise, closing his eyes to the rhythmic lullaby of ambulance sirens.


    Upon waking, QiLeren found himself lying on a chillingly cold metal chair. It was quite possibly the best sleep he¡¯s ever gotten; he hadn¡¯t even dreamed. His head still throbbed though, he discovered as he sat up with a start, and the dizziness hasn¡¯t subsided. It took him a few seconds to notice that he was probably at the hospital.


    Hospital. Right.


    But the words ¡°Infusion Hall¡± on the wall opposite him informed him that he was in the infusion hall and not a ward, which made no sense. His surroundings were completely silent, devoid of even mere glimpses of people. QiLeren pushed himself up and stumbled a few steps towards the service counter, taking in the pens, post-it notes and syringes lying haphazardly across it. Wisps of steam rose from the mug as if there had been somebody sitting there just a second before.


    How bizarre; QiLeren had never seen such an empty hospital. This was the First People¡¯s Hospital, for goodness sake, they had problems with overcrowding no matter which day of the week it was. Barring the apocalypse, this hospital would never be void of people.


    ¡°Is there anyone here? Helloo, where did everyone go?¡± he called, voice echoing off the walls. He looked around him and made a beeline for the exit, intent on leaving. It was very cold, he noted, a fact that he hadn¡¯t realised among the sea of people that was usually present but now made itself very prominent. It wasn¡¯t just the temperature; the hospital itself gave off a sinister feeling that chilled him to his very bones more than mere temperature could ever do.


    Unfortunately, the glass doors that served as an exit were locked. QiLeren peered through the glass into the likewise deserted hallway beyond, feeling slightly claustrophobic at the stark white walls that boxed the empty space. Compact fluorescent lights that stretched into the darkness glowed softly in the absence of natural lighting. It was daytime, yet the hospital felt like the dead of the night.


    QiLeren spun on his heels and approached the window, rolling up his sleeves. As he swept his eyes across the room, a reflection in the mirror caught his heart in a vice-like grip ¡ª there was a lone, pale figure occupying the metal chair not a step away from him.


    His whipped around; the chairs were as empty as they had always been. Rows of them stared back at QiLeren innocently, mockingly littered with rubbish and abandoned luggage with no trace of humans to be seen. An oppressing sense of claustrophobia leapt at him from the eerie emptiness.


    Turning around once more at the shiver that ran down his spine, QiLeren hesitantly peeked at the mirror. His own pallid, bandaged face stared back at him. Behind him were rows upon rows of unoccupied seats waiting for their rightful occupants.


    There was no one. Only mistaken instincts.


    QiLeren forced down his unease, made his way back to the window and opened it as far as he could. Caging over the opening were security grills that denied any form of escape and did not budge in the slightest. Thick fog swirled out in the open and clouded his vision for any potential humans that he could see. Fear crept into the edges of his perception.


    He let out a curse. The door was locked, the window was sealed, there was something off about every nook and cranny of this place and not to mention the ghostly figure in the mirror he was trying his best to not think about. Despite his furious insistence on it being non-existent, he couldn¡¯t help the tiny voice that offered its suspicions.


    This was just like a horror room escape game! Just as he considered the possibility of being wrapped up in some form of supernatural event, a few lines of notifications popped into his mind:


    [Player QiLeren has completed Tutorial Quest 1: The Awakening]


    [Card slot unlocked x2]


    [Tutorial Quest 2: Leaving the Infusion Hall]


    [New Game+: ¡°Save-scumming Maniac¡± achievement reward, obtained skill card ¡°Law of S/L¡±]


    [Sync Countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Sync Complete]


    A sudden pain erupted behind QiLeren¡¯s eyes as if thousands of tiny needles were being pushed into them. Wiping away tears as the pain subsided, he blearily opened his eyes to see the metal chair through his tears. Silently sitting on it was a pale figure-


    -looking straight at him.

 CH 2

    Dead silence roared in his ears. QiLeren¡¯s eyes glued themselves onto the ghostly figure, the figure likewise staring back at him blankly. Malicious darkness pierced through the white fog that surrounded the silhouette of what looked like an old woman, her empty, pupiless gaze sending QiLeren¡¯s heart into wild overdrive.


    Neither of them moved.


    QiLeren took a tentative step back. Still the ghost did not move. The only thing louder than static to QiLeren at that moment was the beating of his own heart as he found it harder and harder to breathe. He slowly made his way to the side in an attempt to avoid the ghost¡¯s field of vision, only to have first her eyes then the creaky turning of her head follow his movements. As it reached ninety-degrees, she ceased all movement and stalled silently on the metal chair.


    The tapping of footsteps quickened. Heaving out a sigh, QiLeren stopped behind the ghost. His head whipped up at a large crack that interrupted his thoughts; the ghost turned her head around to one-eighty-degrees with one final, noiseless push, surveilling him from her position on the chair.


    QiLeren drew in a sharp breath, unconsciously stepping back. The ghost followed suit, pushing herself into a standing position with both her back and face towards QiLeren before stumbling towards him with small, twisted steps.


    Where could he go? The doors that served as the exit were locked shut, so that leaves¡­


    QiLeren frantically looked around for a hard object to break the glass with. A scream rang out from the corridor at that very moment, followed by the sound of frenzied footsteps. ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me! Please don¡¯t- who the hell are you? I don¡¯t even know who you are! Why are you trying to kill me when I¡¯ve never even seen you in my life?¡± Something ¨C possibly somebody¡¯s head ¨C rammed into the glass doors with a loud thump. QiLeren scrambled behind the counter and tucked himself under the desk.


    The cramped space brought a peculiar form of security but offered little in ways of shelter from the slaughter occurring mere steps away. The sound of the man¡¯s hysterical struggling permeated the infusion hall but seemed to have no effect on his soon-to-be-murderer as the chainsaw ripped through skin and bone with a dull squelch that did nothing to cover the roar of machinery. A series of thumps hammered at the glass doors with the desperation of a man about to be buried alive in his casket, screams reaching a bloody crescendo before something heavy landed on the floor and ended the chainsaw¡¯s murderous dance. In the deafening silence, QiLeren could only hear pained moans that grew weaker, weaker and weaker still until there was nothing left.


    A live, breathing human had just been murdered with a chainsaw not metres away from him.


    Somehow, this realisation hit QiLeren harder than the nearby ghost did. He could see the way a chainsaw would effortlessly rip into the body. The way it would render what was once human into a mass of blood and flesh.


    The way the murderer would watch his own gruesome handiwork with cold, detached eyes.


    ¡°Useless thing.¡±


    The man outside spoke to himself in a low tone. There was the sound of an attempt at opening the glass door followed retreating footsteps when he found they were locked. QiLeren let out a breath that he hadn¡¯t realised he was holding, pulse calming as he hugged his trembling body. The murderer was gone, he was safe¡­


    With a splintering crash, the glass door shattered. QiLeren sat up with a start ¨C the murderer didn¡¯t leave after all! He just went to find something to smash the glass with!


    Footsteps drew nearer, bringing with it the crunching of broken glass underfoot.


    The air was thick with terror and QiLeren was drowning in it. His body froze, curling in on itself as he attempted to make himself smaller. There was now nothing but a thin wooden board that stood between the two men.


    The footsteps stilled.


    With a torturous groan, the chainsaw revved to life.


    No! He couldn¡¯t have known that he was here- How did he know that he was here?!


    QiLeren could feel himself growing faint; how was an unarmed man supposed to go up against a chainsaw-wielding psychopath? The high-pitched screaming of gears hovered close by, able to end his life in a single, gentle swing.


    Run, or wait for death? QiLeren forced his fear-ridden mind to think; the door was less than three metres away and had been smashed open already, what¡¯s the probability of him getting away alive if he made a run for it?


    ¡°Get out of my way, old hag!¡±


    The murderer yelled, waving the chainsaw in an elaborate dance of death and eliciting a series of inhumane screeching from the ghost. Blood from his previous victim sprayed all over the walls, leaving crimson tear tracks in their wake. A drop flew into QiLeren¡¯s eye.


    Should he run? QiLeren struggled with himself; the ghost didn¡¯t seem like a match for the murderer, its screams fading quickly that this¡¯d be the best opportunity for him to run if he was going to at all. But if he were to take the chance, the murderer would know that there was a person hiding and without a shadow of doubt pursue him, and then¡­


    No, there was no need to run. The murderer had stopped for the ghost and would likely leave after disposing of her. QiLeren didn¡¯t have to take the risk. Taking a gamble with his self-reassuring reasoning, he sat still and waited for the murderer to leave.


    Sure enough, the chainsaw ceased when the ghost died. So this is the power of true evil, QiLeren thought to himself. The fact that he shut off the chainsaw meant that he wasn¡¯t aware of the other presence in the room, yes?


    The thrill of survival had not yet left QiLeren¡¯s system when the footsteps picked up once again and¡­walked behind the service counter.


    QiLeren¡¯s brain was immediately overridden with the white static of terror.


    The furthest drawer on the left was pulled out with a swish. The murderer rummaged around roughly for a moment before slamming it closed and moving on to the next one. QiLeren forced himself to concentrate after a short period of blanking out; this service counter was quite large and had six drawers, if he remembered correctly, each of which was separated on the bottom with planks of wood. He had hidden in the one furthest away out of instinct; there should be no way to see through the drawer to what was underneath it if one was standing up!


    The murderer had moved onto the fourth drawer, only two away from his. He could almost smell the thick, metallic scent of blood on the chainsaw.


    QiLeren noticed the murderer¡¯s shoes as the fifth drawer was drawn out. They were of unusual and quite frankly old-fashioned design, dark blue with a strange logo. Under the logo was a line of text that read Bureau of Prison Management and Surveillance.


    These were shoes of an inmate!


    QiLeren¡¯s gaze slid up the man¡¯s pants, the corner of the open drawer catching his attention and spelling his death; the insides of each drawer was made of transparent plastic! He rigidly forced himself to study the drawer above him, plastic walls baring its contents of a few pens, some memo pads and a box of paperclips to the world. As soon as the murderer opens it, he¡¯d be able to see through the plastic bottom and straight at QiLeren, helplessly and pathetically waiting for his end.


    In the face of certain death, time seemed to stretch on infinitely. The sounds of rummaging grew distant and faint; fear, bitterness, hate¡­many, many emotions threatened to overwhelm QiLeren as he so resented his own weakness and indecision for the first time. If he had seized the chance before while the murderer was distracted by the ghost, maybe he would¡¯ve lived to see another day.


    The sound of a plastic wrapper tearing took QiLeren by surprise for a few moments until he finally pieced together the sounds and smell to form a motive; the man had found a small cake inside the nurse¡¯s drawer and was now happily washing it down with the still steaming water on the table. He hummed a few lines of indiscernible lyrics with no trace of remorse for what he had done.


    This short break had bought QiLeren the time to strategize. Run ¨C he had to run. His only advantage right now was that his opponent didn¡¯t know of his presence; even murderers had to double take at a person appearing out of nowhere. This one second of inaction would serve as QiLeren¡¯s last chance.


    He mustn¡¯t let this chance slip by.


    Wrapper now discarded on the floor, the murderer took a step forward to stand directly before QiLeren¡¯s hiding place. He reached out a hand to grasp the drawer and pulled it open¡­

 CH 3

    QiLeren wasted no time after the drawer was pulled open, swinging a fist towards the murderer¡¯s general crotch area without even a glance at his face. The murderer let out a gargle of pain at the unexpected assault, toppling over onto the ground as his chainsaw did likewise.


    This was his chance! QiLeren scrambled out from his hiding spot under the counter, intent on leaving as soon as possible only to stumble from the numbness that radiated from his left leg. His heart skipped a beat; he hadn¡¯t spent too long under the counter, but in the wake of the tension and events that had unfolded he had forgotten to shift his position.


    In the short seconds that QiLeren faltered, he made eye contact with the murderer; a young man with a buzz cut, clad in, as expected, prison garb. His face was surprisingly handsome, marred only by the criss-crossing wounds that covered half his face and his pained expression.


    The murderer could not yet stand after such an attack but his hand had already found the previously abandoned chainsaw, roaring as it drew near to QiLeren¡¯s body. QiLeren forced down the discomfort in his leg as he turned on his heels, bolted past the front counter and out into the corridor. All over the glass doors were bloodied handprints of dying struggles, the owner of which was lying on the ground nearby. Entrails spilled out of the gaping hole in his stomach, having trailed after him as he crawled no more than a metre before his eventual demise.


    QiLeren pressed on, not sparing a second glance at the previous victim. He doubled back up the stairs; this was obviously a dimension separate from the normal world. Based on his observations of the infusion hall, the chances of the entrance of the hospital being open was infinitely close to zero. It would be wiser to hide somewhere inside the hospital first to buy some time.


    The second he passed the doors, two notifications surfaced in his mind:


    [Player QiLeren has completed Tutorial Quest 2: Leaving the Infusion Hall]


    [Tutorial Quest 3: Surviving Until Dawn]


    His escape went smoother than he had ever dared to imagine. By the time QiLeren came back to his senses enough to stop running, he had already reached the B block outpatient lobby on the fourth floor. The infusion hall was on the first floor in A block. If he played his cards right, the murderer wouldn¡¯t be able to find him for a week at least. Finally relieved of the tension, QiLeren slumped onto the floor, face in his hands as a wide grin overcame his face. His heart rate hadn¡¯t had time to return to normal, but the giddy euphoria of having survived washed over him nonetheless.


    Alive. He was still alive.


    The thought ran through his mind like a broken record as he spent a few minutes catching his breath. Eventually, he forced himself up to a standing position and set out to find some water. The immediate danger was over (at least for now), but there were still too many mysteries and questions for him to investigate. The notifications from before stood out in his memory, signifying that this was no longer the world he lived in.


    Card slots¡­skill cards¡­


    QiLeren unconsciously patted his hip with one hand at the memory, discovering a wide belt with two ports around the size of playing cards.


    Where had he heard the name ¡®Law of S/L¡¯ before?


    As he pondered over this, the familiar sight of an inventory screen surfaced in the depths of his mind. A small icon of a card in the first inventory slot drew his attention, materialising in his hand with a mere thought.


    [Law of S/L] (Binding skill card): Allows the holder to create a save file at the position in which this skill is activated. If the holder experiences a fatal wound or death within a time limit of 10 second(s), they will returned to a specific location and state as per the save file and a subsequent countdown will triggered immediately. Save files will expire after 10 second(s) if unused. A save file may be used 3 time(s), after which this skill will be subject to a cooldown of 1 hour(s). If you wanna use this skill, you¡¯re gonna have to die!


    ¡°¡­¡± Even a veteran gamer like QiLeren was taken aback by the sheer audacity of the skill description. It was one of those skills that seems utterly broken at first glance but even just a second of evaluation would reveal it to have a cripplingly niche useability. It may be called ¡°Law of S/L¡±, but the so-called save-load features clearly wouldn¡¯t affect the flow of time and would just return his body to the way it was instead. The most infuriating part was that he had to die within ten seconds.


    He had to die! How was he meant to know when he was going to die? What if he didn¡¯t die within ten seconds? Would he have to finish up the job himself? Was this skill trying to instigate creative suicides?!


    Even worse was the possibility of dying on the eleventh second. Dying for real because the save file expired a second earlier was not something he wanted to experience. Basically, this was a completely useless skill that¡­hm, maybe not completely useless. Maybe he could save at the top of a building and experience the feeling of jumping off of it or something. QiLeren considered these options jokingly to himself, because why would a reasonable person like him do something as stupid as¡­


    Damn, he actually wanted to try it. Not because he was suicidal or anything, but to test the skill. He lined the card up with the port on his belt and activated it.


    It was surprisingly anticlimactic, with the only change being that he was now aware of a newfound ability to place save files below himself that last ten seconds.


    Maybe it¡¯d be best to take a minute and reorganise his thoughts. QiLeren strolled into an empty ENT room, picking up a pen and a notepad to jot down any clues that came to mind. The blank notepad looked extremely old ¨C possibly a few decades old ¨C with its tanned cover and yellowing pages. There were no markings other than faintly ruled lines, not even a name. Closing the door, QiLeren sketched a rough blueprint of the hospital from memory.


    Thank the heavens for his degree in interior design. Without it, he¡¯d be nowhere as perceptive about the layout of a building. He worked as just a freelance interior designer after graduating, but it provided more than enough money to live comfortably.


    QiLeren could recall from his few visits that the outpatient area in this hospital was made up of two blocks with six floors each, A and B. These came together in the middle to form a hyperbola from a bird¡¯s-eye view. There were two ways to travel from one block to the other: the first, exiting A block and walking around the buildings to enter B block, and; the second, crossing the suspended hallway that connected the two buildings on the third level. If his memory served him correctly then it was via this hallway that he first entered B block. The chilling air had been thick with wispy white fog and held no trace of warmth even in direct sunlight.


    The prompt that required him to survive until dawn was very likely the last quest. If he were to equate his current situation to that of a survival horror game, it wasn¡¯t unreasonable to assume that timed quests like this were going to be filled with all sorts of danger. From what it looked like, this hospital had ghosts and also chainsaw-wielding murderers. The ghosts were evidently killable since that murderer had killed one with his chainsaw, which meant that physical attacks worked on ghosts¡­unless the chainsaw was special in some way?


    QiLeren circled the heading ¡°Ways to kill ghosts¡± and decided to test out his theory on the next ghost he came across. There¡¯s no way he¡¯d make it all the way to dawn without seeing another ghost, especially not with his luck. He glanced at his watch: quarter past four in the afternoon. Days in November were among some of the shortest, so QiLeren estimated that he had another hour and a half before nightfall.


    Nightfall in horror games brought terrible danger. If there were already ghosts around in the day, it¡¯d only get worse at night ¨C he did not have much time left.


    Food, water, weaponry, first-aid supplies, a way to kill ghosts, a detailed map of the hospital, something to combat the fog¡­ QiLeren wrote down a long list of things he needed, suddenly remembering that he had not yet attempted to contact the outside world. His laptop was nowhere to be seen (probably left behind on the bus or ambulance), but his phone was still on his person. Unfortunately, there was no signal.


    Having expected this, QiLeren wasn¡¯t overly disappointed. He tentatively tried to store the notepad inside the inventory, finding that it disappeared out of his hands and into the grid-like interface.


    Guess that¡¯s the problem of luggage solved. QiLeren readied himself to leave and opened the door. A pair of wild eyes that belonged to someone slinking against the wall met his, ceasing their erratic movements in an instant.


    ¡°Ahhhhh¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C!!!¡±

 CH 4

    The person scrambled backwards with a complete lack of grace, flattening himself against the opposite wall. ¡°Are-Are-Are you a human or one of them?¡±


    QiLeren looked at him blankly, deciding to have a little fun. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not human, that¡¯s for sure.¡±


    Unfortunately, the person evidently hadn¡¯t lost all their brain cells just yet, letting out a quiet sigh of relief upon the sight of QiLeren¡¯s shadow. ¡°Don¡¯t scare me like that, you¡­ You look kind of familiar, actually ¨C have we met before?¡±


    ¡°We met only a few hours ago, Dr Got-My-PhD-At-Twenty-Four-Been-Working-For-Three-Years-Never-Got-A-Girlfriend Lu. Surely you¡¯ve not forgotten me already?¡± QiLeren joked.


    Dr Lu awkwardly brought a hand up to his nose. ¡°Oh, yes, greetings, um- Hello again, Mr¡­?¡±


    ¡°Qi, QiLeren. And please, no need for the title.¡±


    Interestingly, Dr Lu did not offer his own name in exchange, instead pulling QiLeren into the ENT room behind him. ¡°Come on, Leren, we need to exchange some information. I¡¯ll start: I woke up inside the office. The door was locked, there was fog outside ¨C way too much fog, actually, definitely more than normal,¡± he babbled. ¡°I obviously went to look for the key, except the draw where we keep the keys was locked as well, which was more of a tip-off than the fog outside now that I think about it. Anyway, all this made me think of horror movies since I watch a ton of those, and then this weird notification popped up? I looked up at it and that was when I saw a ghost reflected in the mirror on the desk.¡±


    Dr Lu¡¯s experience sounded quite similar to his own, QiLeren noted as he nodded along to the recount. ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°And then I forced myself to not turn around,¡± Dr Lu blanched. ¡°I smashed open a window to the hallway and climbed out from there. Cut my hand on some glass while I was at it too. I¡¯ve never been any good at sports¡­¡± At this, he held out a bandaged hand and continued in a small voice, ¡°Something caught me from behind and I whipped my hand back to hit it by instinct. I remember feeling it slapping something solid and ¨C basically I managed to push the ghost away. I¡¯ve never managed to hit something so hard in my life!¡± He looked in awe of his own badassery. ¡°It¡¯s probably just because of the blood on my hand though.¡±


    QiLeren thought back to the bloody chainsaw, nodding in agreement.


    ¡°The notification told me to survive until dawn after I got out,¡± Dr Lu continued. ¡°I bandaged my hand as fast as I could and left pretty much straight after. I didn¡¯t really have a destination in mind, so all I could do was to avoid obviously haunted places like the OB-GYN and operation rooms, which brings us to here! It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve had much bad luck in my life, but thank god I only saw one ghost. It wasn¡¯t even very strong.¡±


    ¡°Good luck indeed. I saw a few on my way here from A block, but they moved slowly enough for me to outrun them,¡± QiLeren said, before paling. ¡°But there¡¯s something more important I need to tell you. I saw a chainsaw-wielding murderer in the outpatient lobby. He killed a person.¡±


    ¡°M-Murderer?!¡± Dr Lu¡¯s face drained of colour. ¡°Oh god, don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you know about him?¡± QiLeren immediately asked at the violent reaction.


    ¡°I heard it from some nurses gossiping at work this morning. Apparently there was a serial killer who got moved here from prison because of his self-harming tendencies¡­¡±


    ¡°Self-harming tendencies?¡± QiLeren tried to recall the adrenaline-filled encounter. Despite his tension, the murderer¡¯s face left a deep impression upon him. ¡°I remember his face having quite a few fresh wounds. Maybe they were his own doing?¡±


    ¡°According to my years of experience watching horror films from all over the world, we¡¯re done for,¡± Dr Lu said with despair. ¡°The situation we¡¯re in is kind of like the one in Silent Hill ¨C easy at first but gradually increasing in difficulty until we¡¯re faced with swarms of ghosts that all have insanely high attack power. Since this hospital has more people than just me, maybe it¡¯s got something to do with the fact that we were both on that ambulance?¡±


    As Dr Lu paced around the ENT room, QiLeren thought back to the truck that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Was it truly an accident?


    ¡°So,¡± Dr Lu began again, ¡°the people who are confirmed to be here are: you, a survivor of the accident sent here to receive treatment; me, an ordinary doctor working at this hospital, and; the murderer, sent here from prison also to receive treatment. So far it looks like anyone present at the hospital has the possibility of being sent here, but we don¡¯t know if they pick people randomly or if there¡¯s some sort of pattern to it¡­ Aah, this is so stupid. I want to go home!¡± Dr Lu sat down with a huff, an expression of annoyance on his young face. He looked more like a high school student stressing about an exam than a professional two years older than QiLeren.


    QiLeren slowly downed his water, retelling his story between sips. The only thing he omitted was the peculiar S/L card, since Dr Lu hadn¡¯t mentioned anything about cards either. He did have the same slotted belt though, so perhaps this card was not given to every player? QiLeren had not yet let down his guard, especially since he could feel Dr Lu doing the same. Their situation was a bizarre one, and nobody knew for sure whether the person he was talking to was human or a¡­


    Better safe than sorry.


    ¡°Is there anything we can use as a weapon here? I¡¯m not sure how well we can survive unarmed,¡± said QiLeren.


    ¡°Yeah, surgery department should have a few chainsaws and scalpels and stuff. The murderer probably got his from there. It¡¯s in A block though, and I don¡¯t really want to go towards the murderer,¡± panicked Dr Lu. QiLeren compared his short legs to the long ones of the murderer, nodding in agreement.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back, just need to go to the bathroom. I think I drank too much water,¡± he said, reaching for the door.


    ¡°Uh, are you really going to go to the bathroom in a haunted hospital?¡± Dr Lu asked behind him with a hint of laughter.


    QiLeren froze in his steps.


    ¡°There¡¯s a big pot plant outside, why don¡¯t you take care of your business there? Safety first,¡± Dr Lu suggested sympathetically.


    QiLeren left stiffly, returning no more relaxed after a few minutes. Dr Lu changed the topic, completely understanding his awkwardness at the unfortunate circumstances. ¡°I actually just thought of a place that might have some weapons, let¡¯s go look for it.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°The electrical room and the carpentry workshop, both in the corner of B block level one. Maybe we can obtain the ¡®Physics Holy Sword¡¯ (just a crowbar) from there, c¡¯mon,¡± he joked.


    A knowing smile sneaked onto QiLeren¡¯s face. Looks like Dr Lu was an avid fan of horror games as well. Departing from the ENT department, the pair were making their way down the hallway and towards the staircase when Dr Lu suddenly stopped in his tracks. ¡°We¡¯re walking towards the OB-GYN section right now, do you want to around it instead? There¡¯s a big abortion room¡­¡±


    QiLeren understood immediately, turning around with not a second to waste. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go around.¡±


    They didn¡¯t get to walk far before a series of heavy footsteps rushed towards them, accompanied by pained moans. A person stumbled out of the doorway, holding her belly as she slumped into the wall.


    Hold on, this was the girl he sat next to on the bus!


    The girl looked at them with a pained expression from her position against the wall, clammy face pallid and unhealthily ashy as she cried out to the pair. ¡°Help me¡­¡±

 CH 5

    Help, or ignore? While QiLeren hesitated, Dr Lu rushed to the girl¡¯s side. ¡°Are you feeling alright?¡± he asked. ¡°Where is the pain?¡±


    ¡°My belly¡­I think¡­¡± the girl forced through gritted teeth, face devoid of colour, ¡°I think¡­it¡¯s a miscarriage.¡±


    The two men froze, QiLeren swearing inwardly; she was screaming about abortion as a gift to her boyfriend earlier, but this was on a whole new level of misfortune. Was there anything worse than experiencing miscarriage in a haunted hospital? Actually, running into a serial killer was probably not much better¡­


    ¡°Do-Do you want to keep the baby? I can give you a shot of progesterone if need be,¡± Dr Lu said, enquiring about the needs of his patient with an air of professionalism.


    The girl looked at him as if he had grown a second head. ¡°Keep the- Who the fuck would want to be pregnant inside a haunted hospital?!¡±


    ¡­Can we please keep the foreboding comments to a minimum, lady? QiLeren thought.


    ¡°Stop daydreaming and help me lay her down over there!¡± Dr Lu called, interrupting his thoughts. They each slipped an arm of the girl over their shoulder and walked, step after laboured step, into the abortion room. The girl collapsed onto the bed, panting like she was about to asphyxiate.


    ¡°There are¡­ghosts here¡­¡± she groaned, surprisingly unpanicked. ¡°I ran out from this room.¡±


    ¡°Where are they now?¡± Dr Lu fretted, looking around nervously.


    ¡°They got scared away by all the blood coming out of my ass.¡± Her words started slurring from pain. ¡°Fuck, this hurts so bad¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­I-I¡¯ll go find some sanitary pads for you.¡± The room was thankfully well-stocked, Dr Lu noted as he quickly located some sanitary pads and disposable underwear that he handed the girl. QiLeren poured a cup of water, gently helping her up so she could drink.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± the girl said after catching her breath, ripping open a sanitary pad with trembling hands. ¡°I¡¯m XueYingying. What¡¯s your name, handsome?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m QiLeren,¡± he replied, averting his eyes from the somewhat awkward scene.


    ¡°We¡¯ll wait outside,¡± Dr Lu interrupted, agitated by the show of illicit interest before him, and dragged QiLeren away by the arm. ¡°Holler when you¡¯re done!¡± This was an emergency, goddamn it, at least pick a better time to hook up.


    ¡°This abortion room has a pretty complicated floor plan,¡± QiLeren noticed.


    ¡°Yeah, everyone gets confused on their first time here. The entrance we doctors go through is separate from the one for patients, and the waste chute is on another side entirely. Have you noticed that there are actually four smaller rooms inside the large one? Let¡¯s see¡­there¡¯s the break room, surgical room, doctor¡¯s office, nurse¡¯s station¡­and a closet compartment between those last two. It¡¯s really easy to get lost. It¡¯s also the ideal setting for a chase scene.¡±


    ¡°¡­Mate, can you stop jinxing us? Have you forgotten about the serial killer wandering around the very hospital we¡¯re in? He could appear at any second.¡±


    Dr Lu glanced at him sideways. ¡°You just did it as well.¡±


    ¡°¡­Oh.¡±


    The two fell silent, contemplating the next plan of action. QiLeren tried his best to bring up a topic that would not jinx them, ¡°Can you perform surgical abortion?¡±


    Dr Lu levelled him a look that spoke volumes more than words ever will. ¡°Are you kidding me? I¡¯m a physician! The most I can do is probably an ultrasound ¨C you want me to go perform an abortion?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°I guess I could give it a shot if she¡¯d definitely die without it though¡­¡± Dr Lu muttered to himself, earnestly considering the possibility.


    ¡°Speaking of ¨C is she okay? She hasn¡¯t made any noise for a while now¡­¡± QiLeren obviously didn¡¯t know what was going on behind the door, but surely changing pads wouldn¡¯t take this long?


    His question was answered soon after as a bloodcurdling scream tore through the silence ¨C ¡°SOMEBODY HELP- THERE¡¯S A GHOST!¡± The two wasted no time in throwing the door open, charging in to the scene of XueYingying scrambling away on the ground. On the bed she previously occupied was a semi-transparent figure, wild hair swishing as it crawled towards the girl in twisted movements. Before it could grab her, QiLeren darted forward and yanked XueYingying aside, operating entirely on instinct. Dr Lu looked seconds away from making a break for it, but a fierce gust of wind slammed the door closed before he could do so. He desperately rattled the doorknob, but to no avail ¨C holy shit, we¡¯re all going to die in here.


    The ghost had already crawled onto the ground. The fluorescent lights overhead winked out with a series of popping explosions amidst XueYingying¡¯s screams, raining shards of broken glass down upon its occupants and plunging the room into pitch darkness.


    The meagre light from outside did little to illuminate the chilling gloom, but it was enough to make out the translucent silhouette shifting and contorting as it drew nearer to the three. In the midst of imminent danger, Dr Lu let out a yell, ¡°Blood- Someone try using blood!¡±


    Blood? From where? Now? QiLeren¡¯s brain was surprisingly still functioning with all the tension in his body, but XueYingying¡¯s brain evidently functioned better than his as she swore, reaching into her underwear to rip something out. The two men watched in shock and awe as she slapped the bloody pad onto the face of the ghost centimetres away from her ankle.


    The ghost¡¯s anguished wail snapped QiLeren out of his shaken stupor; he picked up the chair beside him and threw it down as hard as he could onto the ghost ¨C yes, it connected! He brought the chair down again and again, fuelled only by the adrenaline running through his veins, until the ghost dissipated in a wisp of crumbling dust.


    The room fell silent, the sound of heavy breathing and quickened pulses roaring in their ears. QiLeren dropped the chair and collapsed onto the ground with a long sigh.


    It wasn¡¯t as hard as he¡¯d thought.


    After helping a moaning XueYingying onto another bed with shaky limbs, Dr Lu carefully approached QiLeren, who was still on the ground and staring into the distance. ¡°Are you okay? Any injuries?¡±


    QiLeren came back to reality at the sound of his voice and stiffly shook his head. He had no injuries but was a little shaken up by the flurry of events from before. It seemed almost surreal, the way his world narrowed down to nothing but his weapon and the ghost. The way her screams tore through his mind. The way her face twisted into something truly gruesome, harmonising with the screams to form what was ironically the most irrefutable proof of the reality they were trapped in.


    The room was no less dim than before but thankfully retained none of the stressful atmosphere. XueYingying laid on the bed, half-dead from the scuffle, staring up at the ceiling in despair as she begged feebly, ¡°Please tell me that was the only one.¡±


    ¡°There probably should be a cooldown,¡± Dr Lu said, ever the optimist. ¡°Are you hungry? I can go find some food for you. Also some weapons, since being unarmed is kind of¡­ahem, disadvantageous.¡± He swallowed down the word ¡°dangerous¡±, remembering how a ghost actually appeared after his jinxing session with QiLeren.


    ¡°You know your way around the hospital better than I do, so I should probably stay here to look after XueYingying,¡± QiLeren suggested hesitantly. It wouldn¡¯t do to leave a patient alone.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡­ I¡­¡± It took many iterations of ¡°I¡± for Dr Lu to continue his sentence, ¡°I¡¯m scared¡­¡±


    The room once again fell into silence.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, staying here might actually be safer. I¡¯ll just fight it off with some blood if another one shows up!¡± XueYingying said selflessly, valiant in the very room where they fought a ghost not minutes before. Ignoring the fact that she also screamed her head off not minutes before, that is. Dr Lu flitted around the room, leaving with QiLeren only after finding her two scalpels to use for self-defence.


    The hallway was predictably quiet and brightly-lit with stark white lighting despite it being daytime.


    ¡°The cafeteria¡¯s behind the outpatient block, but let¡¯s focus on weapons for now,¡± Dr Lu babbled to no one in particular. ¡°We¡¯ll go find XueYingying some food and drinks afterwards, since miscarriages use up a lot of energy. What do you think¡¯s up with the weird fog? We could probably go to check it out later ¨C oh, but, we don¡¯t know if the door¡¯s open or not, if not we¡¯d have to go find the key¡­¡±


    The two arrived at the carpentry workshop, which was stocked with a variety of tools they could use but sadly no chainsaws. There were only normal hand saws, as well as other equipment such as electric cables, files and drills. After much effort, Dr Lu bounded back with two crowbars in tow and proudly presented them to QiLeren. ¡°Look, I got us some legendary Physics Holy Swords!¡±


    ¡­Stop playing around.


    Since tools could be stored in their inventory, the two robbed the workshop and the adjacent electrical room of almost everything that could potentially come in handy before taking a crowbar each and preparing to look for food. Dr Lu rambled on about supernatural happenings that occurred during his night shifts.


    ¡°Quiet,¡± QiLeren hissed suddenly, heart skipping a beat. Dr Lu blinked confusedly before startling at QiLeren¡¯s intense expression.


    The quiet tapping of footsteps approached from the far end of the hallway, calm and unhurried. It didn¡¯t take long for a man to turn the corner ¨C chainsaw gripped in his hands and a glint of crazed malice in his stare.

 CH 6

    QiLeren wasted no time in the face of such danger, turning on his heels with a yell of ¡°Run!¡± before bolting down the hallway, Dr Lu hot on his heels after a momentary second of mind blank and a bit of pathetic screaming. The fact that they had weapons was completely ignored in favour of blind fear and the need to get away.


    As a male who looked young enough to be jailbait with physical coordination that put the word ¡®poor¡¯ to shame, Dr Lu was predictably the one to trip over thin air. Just as he prepared for his painful demise, their pursuer rushed past him without a second glance.


    The floored person stared uncomprehendingly at the sight of QiLeren disappearing into the corridor, followed by the murderer with his chainsaw.


    Did he just somehow survive this ordeal?


    On the other side, QiLeren was having decidedly less luck; in fact, it was possibly the worst situation he had ever experienced, with his life riding on the line between life and death. The murderer was catching up at an alarming rate, but QiLeren actually found himself growing calmer with each thump of the footsteps that drew closer and closer. How was he to survive a cold, ruthless killer who revelled in the very act of slaughter? Was there anything he could use to¡­?


    A lightbulb flickered to life within QiLeren¡¯s mind ¨C Law of S/L!


    He could see the emergency exit not far ahead and an office not ten metres away with its door left ajar, at the entrance of which he left a save point ¨C a translucent totem placed down with a mere thought. Without stopping, he made a sharp turn into the emergency exit on his left.


    [S/L skill countdown:]


    9


    QiLeren skidded to a stop, righting his body.


    8


    He gripped the crowbar now in his hands.


    7


    Sounds of the murderer¡¯s bloodthirsty pursuit could now be heard thundering at the entrance of the exit.


    6


    QiLeren swung the crowbar downwards with a shout, tripping the murderer.


    5


    The murderer tipped forwards, swinging his chainsaw clean through QiLeren¡¯s right arm and sending the crowbar flying.


    4


    3


    QiLeren struggled to sit up in the midst of his agony, experiencing a sudden burst of strength in his last seconds of life.


    2


    The murderer pushed himself into a kneeling position from his previous sprawl on the ground, launching himself at QiLeren with no shortage of malice.


    1


    QiLeren bared his neck, meeting the blade¨C


    It was as if he¡¯d detached himself from the world in the second before death, all senses of pain abandoned; a spray of dull crimson spewed from his artery and splattered onto the macabre face inches away from his, coating the murderer¡¯s twisted, demonic features in a blaze of scarlet.


    [Fatal wound experienced within 10 second(s). Save file loaded successfully.]


    QiLeren lost consciousness.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    The moment seemed to both stretch on into infinity and pass by in a blink. His restored right arm throbbed with phantom pain at the terror of chainsaws and flesh still fresh in his mind, sleeve reattached and clean of any bloodstains. QiLeren stood absently in the halfway open doorway of the office, less than ten metres away from the murderer still at the corner.


    He didn¡¯t know if his corpse was still lying in its own puddle of blood or if it¡¯d disappear as he reverted back to the version of himself ten seconds prior. If it was the latter¡­then the danger was not yet over.


    QiLeren pushed open the door at the sound of footsteps echoing in the emergency exit without hesitation, ducking into the office. It was too late to run and this branchless hallway would give him away in an instant, even without accounting for the sounds.


    Words cannot describe how much QiLeren regretted his action as soon as he pushed open the door ¨C the traitorous, seemingly normal door let out a quiet creak. It was very soft, but not soft enough to be completely inaudible from the emergency exit in the stifling silence. He didn¡¯t want to think about whether or not the murderer had heard the sound.


    The regret burned. This scenario was insanely similar to when he huddled under the reception desk, desperately praying for the murderer to pass him by, right down to the foreboding dread he currently felt in the pit of his stomach.


    The office was very cramped, containing nothing but two desks and a closet. QiLeren looked around before carefully opening the closet door; it was completely empty and big enough to fit an adult. He climbed in and closed the doors behind him. A sliver of light sneaked through the gap between them, too thin to peer into the outside. He could hear his frantic breathing and heartbeat, still on edge.


    The S/L countdown timer had already reached zero ¨C it was now too late to load a save. Each save can be used three times successively, but the skill will go into cooldown if he misses any one of them.


    The save had failed. QiLeren had nothing left but to pray.


    Heavy footsteps approached the office, the screeching of metal against flooring accompanying it ¨C he was most likely dragging the deactivated chainsaw behind him. His steps were slow and careful, carrying with it a sense of confusion and hesitation.


    Leave, please leave quickly. QiLeren couldn¡¯t help but clasp his hands together in a show of desperation, praying for the murderer¡¯s departure.


    As with Murphy¡¯s law, anything that can go wrong will go wrong ¨C the footsteps stopped, and with it, QiLeren¡¯s heart. He listened to the soft creak of the office doors as it was pushed open, dully answering his own question from before ¨C yes, the murderer had indeed heard the sound.


    The murderer¡¯s steps were still sluggish, chainsaw carelessly dragging behind him and shrieking like nails on chalkboard. Amidst the sound of approaching death, pupils contracting with panic, QiLeren recalled that he had merely watched as the chainsaw ripped through his neck; in the blur of crimson, his pain was insignificant. What he remembered deeply was instead the stench ¨C a repulsive, rotten stench of copper.


    The chilling memory was only a few seconds long but it was as if time had slowed down, allowing the scene to be captured by his eyes and branded into his mind for all of eternity.


    He could smell that stench right now, accompanying the footsteps that had just stopped outside the closet.


    QiLeren found himself unable to breathe through the harsh drumming of his heart. The sliver of light was nowhere to be found, replaced instead by the shadow of his fragile mortality. The murderer was standing right outside the closet, the two separated by no more than a thin wooden board.


    QiLeren could see the murderer¡¯s eyes in his mind ¨C twisted, inhuman and bloodthirsty with the excitement of a predator who had just caught his prey, but at the same time suspicious, for QiLeren¡¯s disappearance was inconceivable by science.


    The chainsaw was switched on with a roar, destroying QiLeren¡¯s last hope. He was to die here, throat slit with a chainsaw ¨C or perhaps worse, like the corpse in the infusion hall with its stomach sliced open. It¡¯d be a slow and painful death, organs slipping out of the gaping wound one by one as he¡¯d struggle and scream and crawl and beg until his inevitable death. The dark thoughts chipped away at his sanity in a way that threatened to snap if it were given a bit more time.


    Perhaps it was due to the mercy of the gods or mere coincidence, but it was at this very second that a terrified scream erupted in the staircase nearby, ¡°Aaaaahhhhhh- There¡¯s a ghost!¡±


    The murderer pushed open the office doors and charged towards the scream with large strides, taking with him the whirring of his chainsaw. QiLeren remained curled inside the closet for a few more seconds until the screams increased in intensity, upon which he threw himself out of the closet and fled unsteadily from the staircase.


    The sounds of pained agony grew distant, or perhaps weaker, until he could hear them no longer.

 CH 7

    Another victim.


    By the time QiLeren came back to himself, he was already standing in a hallway nearby the OB-GYN block, soaked through with cold sweat.


    ¡°QiLeren?¡± The head of a silhouette poked out from a doorway, astonished to see that he was still alive. ¡°You¡¯re still alive?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m beginning to think that you do this on purpose,¡± QiLeren said dryly. Seeing Dr Lu¡¯s lively (alive) demeanour grounded QiLeren somewhat.


    Dr Lu ran out of the room and gave him a once-over. ¡°You okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± QiLeren looked down at himself. There were no bloodstains on his clothes and his sleeve, previously severed by the chainsaw along with his arm, had been fixed after reading a save ¨C basically, his S/L skill had restored him to his body at the save point perfectly, erasing any evidence of the horrific nightmare he had been through. Mere minutes may have passed, but the encounter seemed lifetimes away.


    Dr Lu shot him a perplexed look. ¡°What about the serial killer? Did you kill him?¡±


    ¡°¡­Unfortunately not, I was lucky and managed to get away,¡± QiLeren brought a hand to his forehead, deciding to tell Dr Lu about his skill card after some hesitation, ¡°I actually have a skill card that lets me load saves. It saved my life.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue this inside, it¡¯s not safe out in the hallway,¡± Dr Lu interrupted, dragging QiLeren into the room behind him.


    XueYingying, lying on a hospital bed and looking a bit weak but spirited nonetheless, lit up at the sight of the two. ¡°Are you okay, Leren? Dr Lu said you ran into the murderer ¨C we were both worried to death!¡±


    A corner of QiLeren¡¯s lips pulled up into a wry smile before he recounted his encounter, not leaving out the bits about his skill card. The near-death experience had changed QiLeren¡¯s mindset; trusting others may not be such a bad decision after all. It was the three of them, all normal human beings, against a bloodthirsty serial killer ¨C nothing short of a miracle was going to get them out of this one.


    ¡°I¡­ I actually got a skill card just now,¡± XueYingying mumbled after QiLeren finished.


    Dr Lu gave her a quick glimpse before offering guiltily, ¡°Actually, I¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± So basically everyone had one.


    XueYingying generously held her card out for the two to see:


    [Bloodstained Youth] (Binding skill card): Grants the holder bursts of explosive strength when in pain from blood loss. Go forth and awaken your inner berserker ¨C after all, nothing stands a chance against the power of youth!


    ¡°I got it as the reward of an achievement after my abortion,¡± XueYingying said, sliding the card back into her belt. ¡°It¡¯s thanks to this that I feel a lot less weak now.¡±


    This was definitely a skill made to mock the myriads of young adult literatures chock-full of unplanned pregnancies and painful miscarriages¡­but it sure was useful here, QiLeren thought. God knows how many times better than Law of S/L this skill was. Getting raw power from shedding blood was too broken, did game balance even exist anymore?


    Was it really okay to make a girl who had recently undergone an abortion tank for them though¡­?


    ¡°My skill¡¯s pretty boring ¨C it just makes me lucky when activated¡­ It might be because I¡¯ve always been lucky, all the way since I was a kid. Maybe it¡¯s a reward for that?¡± Dr Lu said.


    ¡°Let me guess,¡± QiLeren said, annoyed, ¡°do you always win lotteries, draw SSR cards in gacha games with a single summon and pick up money off the side of the road?¡±


    ¡°¡­Not exactly. I¡¯m pretty sure karma¡¯s a thing, so I don¡¯t buy lottery tickets that often, but you¡¯re right about drawing SSR cards in gacha games.¡±


    As someone who had been plagued by misfortune for almost his entire life, QiLeren could do nothing but fall silent.


    After much discussion, the three decided to take a risk and head out. Their situation was only going to get worse with the approaching nightfall if they don¡¯t find food and a way to kill ghosts within the hour.


    ¡°If you think about it, the murderer¡¯s just one person in this two-block building! It¡¯s not that likely we¡¯ll bump into him, right?¡± XueYingying reasoned optimistically. She was truly a brave soul with nerves of steel; QiLeren¡¯s impression of her had changed drastically from the young girl threatening her boyfriend on the bus after a bad break-up to someone capable of staying in a room where they fought off a ghost.


    Unfortunately, her words offered no reassurance to QiLeren. His mouth twitched, opting to stay quiet.


    ¡°We should be fine ¨C I activated my skill right after we ran into the murderer, so it¡¯s theoretically, as you said, pretty unlikely for us to run into him with my skill active. There¡¯s still seventy-five minutes left, but after that it¡¯ll be on cooldown for three hours,¡± Dr Lu said.


    QiLeren and XueYingying both let out a breath of relief at Dr Lu¡¯s words, the three disembarking on their quest without too much anxiety.


    XueYingying was still a little weak, but she didn¡¯t have any trouble walking normally and suggested that perhaps it¡¯d be best if they were to look for food first. The other two shifted in mild shame ¨C they had wanted to find food after getting weapons as well, but the appearance of the murderer may have thrown a wrench into that plan. Getting food was quite possibly the last thing on their minds.


    ¡°What do you think that stuff outside the window is?¡± XueYingying murmured in the silence.


    ¡°You see this kind of fog quite frequently in horror movies,¡± Dr Lu began in confidence. ¡°First of all, it helps to create an oppressive atmosphere, and second of all¡­ah, it can be used to hide monsters. Using it to separate the real world from the one inside the fog is also pretty common.¡±


    The three swept through all the nearby offices, finding a surprising amount of snacks. XueYingying gained some well-deserved colour back into her complexion after downing a cup of water-dissolved brown sugar. The outpatient section was big and empty with deathly stillness that gave off a feeling of unease to all its occupants; it was as though unpleasant scenarios lurked around every corner, waiting for them to stumble upon.


    As the trio approached a fork in their path, Dr Lu felt an icy chill run up his back, opening the floodgates to a myriad of hair-raising emotions. ¡°I feel like there¡¯s something off about that path. Quick, come over here,¡± he hissed in hushed tones, waving the others over. Almost immediately after they turned the corner, the heavy thudding of familiar footsteps approached.


    There was no doubt as to who these footsteps belonged to.


    They anxiously held their breath, waiting until the murderer passed by and vanished out their peripheral vision before carefully stepping out into the open. There were a few inconspicuous drops of blood on the floor that weren¡¯t there before ¨C another victim? Or was it the one from before?


    ¡°Jesus, what the hell is up with this game? You can¡¯t just have a floor boss spawn randomly all over the map!¡± Dr Lu griped quietly.


    QiLeren nodded in fervent agreement; the worst part about this was that the boss wasn¡¯t even an NPC mob ¨C it was a bloody player character! Where was the humanity?


    XueYingying pointed at the way the murderer had come from. ¡°C¡¯mon, he passed us over so this way should be safe now.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t long before they discovered the mangled corpse of the previous victim. A bloodied ¡°6¡± was smeared next to it ¨C this was the sixth victim.


    XueYingying averted her eyes out of disgust, but Dr Lu pressed on in spite of the pungent smell of copper in the air to examine the body, frowning. ¡°Female of roughly thirty years old, cause of death is blood loss from the rupture of a major artery in the neck area, likely inflicted through brutal means. Time of death should be within a few minutes prior to our arrival, accounting for the fact that her corpse is still warm. A number has been written by the culprit on the wall beside her ¨C classic serial murder scenario.¡±


    ¡°You do forensics too?¡± XueYingying asked, swallowing down her nausea.


    ¡°I¡¯m just a physician who specialises in internal medicine and loves horror movies,¡± Dr Lu corrected.


    Seeing no further information to be gathered from the corpse, the trio followed the trail of blood up to the rooftop. QiLeren was worried about the rooftop being shrouded in thick fog as well since it was technically outdoors, but his fears were evidently unfounded ¨C the fog here existed only in fine wisps, as if thinned out by an invisible barrier.


    Not far from their position was a corpse, lying on the ground, and at it a figure crouched with his back to them. He stood up cautiously at the commotion, revealing a face that would elicit a gasp of surprise from even those of the same gender.


    XueYingying¡¯s unrestrained ¡°wow¡± and subsequent harsh swallowing reached QiLeren¡¯s ears with resounding clarity.

 CH 8

    QiLeren knew that this was a world where looks were everything, but he didn¡¯t realise just how superficial it was. It had taken a whole second for XueYingying to betray him, flittering over to the attractive young man before them ¨C SuHe, his name was ¨C with a sultry ¡°Hey, handsome.¡±


    Dr Lu had no concept of repelling like charges, launching into discussion with SuHe on the enlightening topic of¡­the corpse at their feet¡­


    To say that XueYingying was slightly grossed out by the subject matter would be an understatement, but she willed herself to be strong. It was all worth it for the beauty in front of her.


    QiLeren, however, was deeply concerned about the prospects of their situation; how did this SuHe person avoid the murderer? Judging from the time, he must¡¯ve either hid behind something on the rooftop this entire time or, like the rest of them, made his way his way up after the murderer¡¯s departure.


    ¡°I came to the hospital to visit someone, but this situation¡¯s a bit of a surprise,¡± SuHe said, slightly wrinkling his brow.


    ¡°Same! This is the worst thing that¡¯s happened to me since I first started working here three years ago!¡± Dr Lu griped irritably. ¡°I would never have gone into medicine if I knew this was going to happen. Just who the hell did I offend in my past life?!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± XueYingying, who just wanted to come to the hospital to get an abortion and ended up miscarrying because her bus crashed on the way, wisely chose not to speak for she was unfortunate enough already.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± QiLeren, who just wanted to go fix his laptop and ended up in the hospital (and lost his laptop) because his bus crashed on the way, likewise chose not to speak for he was probably the most unfortunate one there. That title was not one he cared to win. ¡°Did you see the murderer?¡± he asked.


    SuHe shook his head. ¡°This corpse was here when I arrived, and the number ¡°5¡± was written in blood beside it. If there really is a murderer as you say, then it¡¯s likely that this wasn¡¯t his first victim. Perhaps the fifth?¡±


    XueYingying nodded furiously throughout his deduction, ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re completely right! You probably don¡¯t know yet, handsome, but there¡¯s a murderer wandering around right now who¡¯s really messed in the head. Dr Lu said he¡¯s a convicted serial killer that got sent here for self-harm.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re in quite a troublesome situation¡­¡± SuHe muttered to himself.


    XueYingying couldn¡¯t help but to sneak a few more glimpses at the stunning sight of a handsome man in deep thought, earnestly reassuring him that there is power in numbers.


    Having brushed the jaws of death twice thus far and firmly retaining the murderer¡¯s wrath after a certain ¡°ball-shattering¡± incident, QiLeren stayed silent. If they ran into the murderer again, he¡¯d¡­


    Just thinking about it made him weary.


    The sky was grey and dreary with clouds and fog, letting through only tiny rays of light and soon none at all as dusk approached faster than anybody had anticipated, plunging the world into darkness. The heavy fog weighed down on all the inhabitants trapped within it, thickening into the distance and obscuring any view of surrounding buildings.


    Dr Lu gave a sudden shudder. ¡°Let¡¯s leave,¡± he said urgently, feeling a heightened sense of danger, ¡°I have a bad feeling about this place¡­¡±


    Everyone except SuHe, who had not yet caught up on the state of affairs, tensed up immediately. QiLeren and XueYingying had both experienced firsthand just how accurate Dr Lu¡¯s sixth sense for danger was.


    Pausing in her rush to the stairs, XueYingying spun around to hurry SuHe only to freeze up at the sight. ¡°H-Hand¡­ Ghost¡­¡± she stuttered, eyes wide and unblinking.


    QiLeren, standing next to SuHe, subconsciously looked down at XueYingying¡¯s terrified words ¨C a pale, gaunt hand reached between the railings from beyond the edge of the building, seizing SuHe¡¯s wrist in a vice grip and dragged him off the rooftop.


    QiLeren caught SuHe¡¯s other hand out of pure instinct, but the alarmingly overwhelming force took him to the edge as well. The only reason he managed to stay on was by catching himself on the railing, but the same could not be said for SuHe; more than half of his body was dangling perilously off the edge, held by QiLeren on one hand and unable to break free of the bruising grip the ghost had on his other.


    It was nothing short of a miracle that allowed QiLeren to remain on the rooftop, muscles straining as SuHe struggled in midair. Dr Lu rushed to help QiLeren, only to be intercepted by XueYingying with her yell of ¡°Move over, I¡¯ll do it!¡± and pushed aside. She pulled with renewed strength from her earlier bout of blood loss.


    ¡°Use blood! SuHe, use blood! It¡¯s scared of it!¡± Dr Lu urged frantically.


    At SuHe¡¯s confused blink, QiLeren bit down on the tip of his tongue and spat the blood onto him. The grip on SuHe¡¯s arm loosened at the droplets of blood scattering in the mist, giving XueYingying the opening to pull¡ª


    The two fell into a heap on the rooftop. QiLeren steadied himself on the railing with a hand and leaned over to survey the scene down below. Any trace of the ghost had long since vanished, leaving behind nothing but thick fog¡­hold on, did something just move?


    QiLeren¡¯s vision blurred. A faint shadow shot through the fog with the speed and edge of an arrow, slithering its way to him in mere seconds with its spidery, twisted, inhuman shape.


    Seeing XueYingying and SuHe safe and sound, Dr Lu turned around to call for QiLeren and jumped violently at the scene before his eyes ¨C QiLeren enveloped in the embrace of a white silhouette, falling off the edge and into the mist that engulfed them.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    [Law of S/L cooldown complete.]


    It was when QiLeren was still holding onto SuHe with all the strength in his body that this notification appeared. The one hour cooldown had passed by without his knowing.


    After pulling SuHe up, as QiLeren first caught glimpse of the shadow shooting up towards him, he felt an indescribable sense of foreboding. It was then that he activated his skill without a second thought in this time of imminent peril. Not a second later saw him consumed by the sinister shadow all but throwing itself into his face and plunging them off the building, the sting of cold air filling his nostrils.


    The world stood still on its axis at this moment and left QiLeren¡¯s weightless body to freefall through the fog. It should have been over in a short few seconds, shattering his bones in an instant before he even had a chance to make out his surroundings.


    But he saw it. He saw through the translucent figure wrapped around him, the fog obscuring his view no longer. He saw the boundless sea of people on the ground, male and female, old and young. He saw their faces, twisted in terrifying mockeries of smiles, of joy, of happiness.


    He saw their eyes, welcoming him as a new addition of their kind.


    The moment passed by in a flash, leaving QiLeren no time to feel the terror blooming inside his chest as his skull hit the ground and burst open like an eggshell on cement.


    [Load successful.]


    QiLeren lost consciousness. He found himself back on the rooftop a second later, legs giving out under him as he collapsed onto the ground before his three shocked companions.


    His trembles were not from the chill but from gripping, paralysing fear.

 CH 9

    ¡°Hey¡­ Are you alright?¡± Dr Lu softly inquired as he patted QiLeren on the shoulder. The latter had not moved since reviving, staring blankly at something no one else could see.


    QiLeren convulsed at the slight touch, wide-eyed gaze darting between his three companions and the surroundings as if he wasn¡¯t quite there. Dr Lu likewise jumped at QiLeren¡¯s violent reaction. ¡°Are you okay?¡± he asked, voice softening.


    It took QiLeren a while to catch his breath. The feeling and afterimage of freefall had burned themselves into the back of his mind, unwilling to let go of the anxious adrenaline that coursed throughout his body. It was as if any step would send him tumbling down to the ground below.


    In the face of three worried expressions, QiLeren gathered his wits. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here first,¡± he said grimly.


    The four tread carefully back down the stairs and settled in a quiet office that Dr Lu led them to. SuHe poured QiLeren a cup of warm water and sat down opposite him. ¡°What did you see?¡± he asked bluntly.


    QiLeren looked up with a start, staring into SuHe¡¯s elegant features and groping after words that would not come.


    ¡°A lot of¡­¡± QiLeren trailed off. SuHe did not rush him, instead quietly gazing at him with warmth that encouraged him to calm down and reorganise himself.


    QiLeren drew a deep breath and tried to put the terrifying scene into words. ¡°There were a lot of ghosts. They were all standing in- in a crowd, like sardines in a tin. They all looked up at me after I fell with these¡­deranged smiles¡­? Like they just knew, beyond a doubt, that I was going to become one of them.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± SuHe reassured, laying a hand softly on his, ¡°you¡¯re safe now.¡±


    Perhaps it was because of SuHe¡¯s gentle, naturally soothing voice, but QiLeren could feel himself pulling free of the terrifying scene in his memory. He regained enough composure to retell the rest of his experience calmly and in detail. ¡°I suppose you might have a few questions for me. For example, how I managed to reappear unscathed on the roof despite falling off of it.¡±


    SuHe gave him a faint smile. ¡°I suppose. However, nothing is more important than your safety ¨C thank you for saving my life, QiLeren.¡±


    QiLeren stared at him for a brief moment of wonder, feeling a peculiar rush of warmth in his ears. It wasn¡¯t until SuHe¡¯s discussion with Dr Lu reached the cause of the fog that QiLeren finally snapped out of his stupor. That was dangerous. Thank god he was straight, but this curveball of raw attack power left even his defences more than a little battered. XueYingying on the other hand had no qualms of the sort, opting to prop her head up in her hands and stare dreamily at the handsome man; not a single thought was spared for her scum of an ex-boyfriend.


    QiLeren cleared his throat. ¡°Um, anyway, it¡¯s because of my skill card.¡± To hide his embarrassment at having been staring, he voluntarily pulled his skill card out of its slot and launched into explanation.


    ¡°I have one as well, but it¡¯s not as useful,¡± Dr Lu supplied after QiLeren¡¯s explanation. ¡°It just increases my luck.¡±


    XueYingying squirmed in her seat, not wanting to reveal her awkward incident in front of a handsome man that she admired. ¡°My card grants me strength when I¡¯m in pain from blood loss,¡± she admitted vaguely after a while of hesitation.


    ¡°You all have a skill card?¡± SuHe asked, looking at the three in bewilderment before letting a bitter smile surface on his face. ¡°Unfortunately, I¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s triggered by either achievements or sidequests. It¡¯s only been a couple of hours ¨C maybe you¡¯ll get yours soon!¡± reassured Dr Lu.


    ¡°What should we do now?¡± asked QiLeren. ¡°Should we go around the hospital to look for more survivors?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just us in here, is it?¡± fretted XueYingying.


    ¡°There¡¯s been at least six victims up till now ¨C plus the murderer and us four, which makes eleven people, perhaps more.¡± SuHe frowned. ¡°The only objective we have is to survive until dawn¡­ It¡¯s dark already, which gives us about twelve hours. Is there anything in particular you have in mind?¡±


    The four looked at each other in uncertainty.


    Dr Lu hesitantly broke the silence. ¡°I think ¨C I think we should go to the blood bank.¡±


    ¡°The blood bank?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, since we know for sure that human blood damages ghosts and makes them tangible. They¡¯re also deathly afraid of it for whatever reason¡­ I want to at least give it a try ¨C if plasma works, we might not have to injure ourselves so much from now on,¡± he suggested cautiously.


    ¡°Was that why you told me to use blood on the roof? Sorry, I didn¡¯t understand what you meant,¡± SuHe said, then turned to QiLeren guiltily. ¡°Does your tongue still hurt? That was quite a big mouthful of blood you spat.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, the wound doesn¡¯t exist anymore since I went back a save,¡± QiLeren managed quickly. The pressure of being subjected to such a gentle gaze was getting to him.


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear,¡± SuHe sighed with a soft smile. ¡°That¡¯s very good to hear¡­¡±


    The sky outside was now completely black, but thankfully the hospital was brightly lit all around the clock. The four left the safety of their meeting room, following Dr Lu as he navigated the party to the hospital blood bank.


    ¡°My skill¡¯s about to run out,¡± Dr Lu said nervously. ¡°It¡¯ll probably last us till the blood bank but no more than that.¡±


    Being in the same building as a murderer was already bad enough, but traipsing around in the open like this was just tempting fate.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there are four of us! Surely we can take ¡®em as they come. Maybe we¡¯ll even cut the head off the figurative snake,¡± XueYingying said optimistically as she gauged her own strength.


    Dr Lu and QiLeren looked at each other, tasting the familiar bitterness of dread.


    XueYingying had not yet come face-to-face with the murderer. The oppressive pressure of facing a monster in human skin that held no regard for life was something that could not be understood through mere explanation.


    A normal human abiding by the laws of society would not have the will to kill another, even in a brawl. The presence of bloodlust made a significant difference to an attack.


    ¡°It would still be better for us to proceed with caution, especially since there are at least six victims now,¡± SuHe said, smiling at XueYingying. ¡°But you¡¯re a very brave person. We¡¯re glad to have you.¡±


    XueYingying blushed and giggled helplessly against SuHe¡¯s dazzling charm.


    Dr Lu rolled his eyes so hard it must¡¯ve hurt. Hot people sure had it easy, picking up girls no matter the situation. It must be written into their genes.


    It didn¡¯t take long for the group to arrive at the blood bank, led through the twisting corridors by Dr Lu. He picked up a bag of red cell concentrate with his left hand and another of pale yellow plasma with his right. ¡°Which do you think will work better, the red cell concentrate or the plasma?¡±


    ¡°I reckon,¡± XueYingying started after thinking deeply on her limited experience, ¡°period blood would work the best.¡±


    The three males chose to remain silent.


    ¡°¡­Why don¡¯t you guys have any normal blood?¡± QiLeren finally asked, feeling the beginnings of a headache.


    ¡°Sorry dude, but it¡¯s all long separated into components. You¡¯re going to have use what¡¯s left in your body if you want normal blood,¡± Dr Lu replied with a shrug.


    SuHe, who had been staring intently at the bags of blood components, suddenly raised an important point. ¡°Has anyone thought about whyexactly the murderer is so obsessed with killing everyone here?¡±


    The three paused in their puzzlement with the blood components at SuHe¡¯s unexpected question.


    ¡°Because¡­ Because he¡¯s a psychotic murderer?¡± Dr Lu muttered in disgust. ¡°He was in jail for serial murders. Apparently he¡¯s killed more than ten people all over the country in the span of a few years.¡±


    SuHe sat down on the tabletop. ¡°You said ¡®in the span of a few years¡¯. That means his modus operandi mustn¡¯t have been as outlandish and grotesque as it is here, nor emotion-driven ¨C rather, it¡¯s more likely that he carefully planned out each murder. It¡¯s only upon coming here that he¡¯s changed his¡­ No, that¡¯s not exactly it. There are definitely some aspects that were kept, like the habit of leaving behind a signature of his handiwork and dismembering the corpses of his victims. These are most likely habits he¡¯s kept from before as a preferred method of killing.


    ¡°He could easily change his weapon to one that¡¯s not as obvious as a chainsaw if he really wanted to catch people off guard, or perhaps change his clothes and pretend to be trustworthy before killing his victims when they least suspect it. His actions are incredibly illogical, unless¡­¡±


    Dr Lu gulped. ¡°Unless,¡± he finished for SuHe, voice barely above a whisper, ¡°he wants his victims to struggle in terror and despair before they die. Or if he feels pleasure from such a situation.¡±


    The tension in the room was almost tangible.


    XueYingying shuddered. ¡°That¡¯s disgusting.¡±


    ¡°So as I was saying,¡± SuHe continued, ¡°perhaps fresh blood tinged with terror would work better against ghosts? That is certainly one possibility I can think of right now.¡±


    ¡°Fresh?¡± Dr Lu muttered before whipping around to look at QiLeren.


    ¡°Oi, what kind of look is that?!¡± QiLeren asked cautiously, feeling a shiver run down his spine.


    ¡°It¡¯s your time to shine, Leren.¡± Dr Lu patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Donate some blood to us once your skill finishes its cooldown, ¡®kay?¡±


    ¡°Can I refuse?¡±


    His only answer was a sinister chuckle.

 CH 10

    In the end, they decided to stock up on bags of different blood components before leaving; inventory space was the least of their worries.


    ¡°I still think fresh blood would work better,¡± sulked Dr Lu.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± QiLeren glared at him out of the corner of his eye. There was no way he¡¯d volunteer to be drained of his blood.


    ¡°We should test out how effective plasma is,¡± SuHe interjected calmly, pointing ahead. ¡°Perhaps on the white shadow over there.¡±


    The three looked in the direction of SuHe¡¯s finger; a white flash could be seen across the atrium space, disappearing as quickly as it came. But it wasn¡¯t the only one ¨C all around them were shapes that squirmed and shifted with the shadows, some melting into themselves and others peering at them eerily from their crevice.


    When had they grown so dizzying in number?


    A chill went down QiLeren¡¯s spine but he resisted the urge to look behind him.


    The screen on the first floor lobby came into view as they walked halfway around the open space. ¡°Hold on,¡± said QiLeren, halting in his tracks as he looked at the numbers displayed in bewilderment. ¡°What time is it right now?¡±


    Dr Lu pulled out his phone; there was no signal, but the phone itself could still keep the time. ¡°It¡¯s six thirty. Why?¡±


    QiLeren didn¡¯t reply. SuHe stood next to him, looking at the screen as well:


    ¨CWelcome to The People¡¯s Hospital of X City


    ¨CThe time is 04:13


    ¡°Maybe their clock is off?¡± said XueYingying.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± Dr Lu rebuked, ¡°there wouldn¡¯t be a clock that¡¯s off for no reason in a horror movie. They always present some kind of clue, or¡­¡±


    Foreshadow death. Dr Lu¡¯s couldn¡¯t bring himself to finish the sentence, but everyone heard the two words loud and clear.


    ¡°Perhaps there¡¯ll be an event that¡¯ll be triggered at four thirteen,¡± SuHe said softly.


    The four stood around, waiting for a change that never came. It was as if the board was frozen in time.


    ¡°Four thirteen¡­¡± QiLeren muttered to himself. A million possibilities presented themselves to him, but which one was correct?


    XueYingying¡¯s sharp intake of breath startled the party out of their fruitless mulling. She instinctively latched onto SuHe¡¯s arm and pointed a trembling finger at the first floor lobby below them. QiLeren shifted to look.


    A blood-covered figure was walking across the lobby towards the opposite corridor, chainsaw in hand.


    SuHe quickly waved them back, retreating towards the hallway behind them until they were unable to be seen. Theoretically, the murderer shouldn¡¯t be able to see the four perched on higher ground unless he suddenly turned around to look up, but it was better to be safe than sorry.


    There was a fishbowl on the nearby information desk, XueYingying noticed. The goldfish inside swam around leisurely without a care in the world.


    XueYingying¡¯s gaze flickered back to it.


    The fish leapt out of the water with an agonising scream. It was not a sound fish were able to emit, scraping against the inside of their ears like fish hooks. They writhed on the ground.


    One of the fish slapped against XueYingying¡¯s stockinged calf as it fell out of the bowl. She started violently, sickly green hue rising to her complexion as she brushed off her calf repeatedly and backed away.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± SuHe asked.


    XueYingying shivered, staring at the four fish with unbridled fear. ¡°It was really cold¡­¡±


    ¡°Fish are cold-blooded creatures, so it¡¯s normal for them to feel icy.¡± Dr Lu considered the way in which they came with suspicion. ¡°I think we should get as far as we can from here. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the murderer heard that, considering how quiet this place is.¡±


    His worry was not unfounded in the least. The hospital was deathly silent ¨C the murderer would definitely come to seek out the source of that ear-splitting scream. The four considered this, fleeing from the danger immediately.


    The floors of the two buildings were rather immense in terms of surface area, so it¡¯s quite unlikely to bump into the murderer except in the cases of terrible luck. It was still hard to not feel unagitated in a hospital teeming with ghosts that watched their every move, however, despite Dr Lu¡¯s familiarity with the hospital taking the party around many potentially dangerous areas.


    ¡°Wait,¡± QiLeren called, ¡°I think¡­¡±


    The floors were all similar in layout, but his occupational sensitivity alerted him to the familiarity of this particular place. Too familiar, in fact.


    He stared at the office door he knows will creak when opened. ¡°There should be a corpse around here,¡± he warned softly.


    ¡°Oh, you mean¡­¡± The pieces clicked in Dr Lu¡¯s mind ¨C this was where QiLeren managed to escape the murderer. He had been saved in the nick of time by a scream that lured the murderer away, but not much can be said about the screamer¡¯s fate.


    What they found in the near vicinity answered their doubts.


    She was a young woman, wearing a white dress that was crusted with brown bloodstains. The inside of her neck stared at them, a mess of flesh exposed to the open air and attached to her head by a thin thread of skin. Off to the side was a careless pile of severed limbs, leaving only her bare torso on the ground.


    There was a bloody ¡°4¡± slashed into her face.


    Not a single person could deny feeling some degree of nausea at the pungent smell of iron that invaded their senses. Dr Lu examined the body, making sure to block his nose, before silently shaking his head.


    The four left solemnly to rest and discuss in a secluded location.


    Despite their significant increase in numbers since daytime, the ghosts did not actively attack them, forcing SuHe and QiLeren to approach the ghosts in order to test out the effectiveness of each blood component. Plasma yielded much better results compared to red cell concentrate, but, as expected, none worked as well as XueYingying¡¯s bloody pad from before.


    SuHe¡¯s theory on fresh blood was most likely correct.


    Beyond the form of weaponry they now possessed, Dr Lu was also very concerned about the time of four thirty, convinced that it was a clue of some sort. ¡°Based on my extensive experience from many years of movie-watching and gameplay, that time is definitely hiding some big secret. Have you considered how weird our setting is? If we exclude the player anomaly that is the murderer, this is a survival game where a bunch of normal people are tossed into a sealed environment. A survival game would obviously have elements that deter our survival ¨C in our case, the ghosts ¨C and a way to overcome those elements for the players to figure out ¨C again, in our case, blood.¡±


    He downed some water before continuing. ¡°I reckon something¡¯s big is going to happen at four thirty, like a wave of sudden ghost attacks or something. I personally think that this hospital holds some clue that might help us avoid the danger at four thirty but that¡¯s about all we know for now.¡±


    QiLeren and XueYingying nodded along with the points raised, finding them to be very plausible.


    SuHe¡¯s gentle gaze rested upon them from his position on the chair. ¡°Have you thought about what the goal of this game is?¡± he prompted in a measured tone.


    The three stared back blankly.


    ¡°The first notification told us that these quests were ¡®tutorial quests¡¯,¡± he continued, ¡°which leads me to believe that this is rather similar to an MMO. Thus, it¡¯s not unreasonable for us to assume that this place is the tutorial village, created to provide challenges with only minimal difficulty. What reason would the game have for placing a group of normal civilians in this so-called tutorial village?¡±


    ¡°Uhhhh¡­ Maybe as an experiment?¡± Dr Lu guessed. ¡°Like a ¡°battle royale¡±-esque kind of situation?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps. It would certainly explain the presence of a serial killer. However, it could just have easily dispatched ghost NPCs to actively hunt us down, or even just issue quests that require us to kill each other. To gamble that a player would lose all senses of cooperation and slaughter fellow players is a significant risk that they don¡¯t necessarily need to take.¡±


    ¡°Wait, but,¡± interjected XueYingying, ¡°what if the murderer¡¯s quest isn¡¯t the same as ours? What if his quest is to kill other players?¡±


    SuHe smiled softly. ¡°Ah, then Dr Lu¡¯s theory wouldn¡¯t work ¨C it can¡¯t be an fair test if all players are not treated as equal. I myself am rather inclined to believe that the murderer was an unexpected anomaly, for both players and the game itself.¡±


    The four discussed this newfound theory, unable to come to a conclusion. They¡¯d have to work it out as they went.


    Dr Lu stood up. ¡°I want to go back and have another look at that fishbowl,¡± he said with a frown. ¡°I still think there¡¯s something we missed.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± said SuHe.


    QiLeren didn¡¯t mind either way, but XueYingying was hesitant. ¡°The goldfish were ice-cold for some reason, and knew how to scream. They¡¯re really gross¡­¡± She gingerly bent down and touched the place that the fish had flung itself against, face pale.


    ¡°We¡¯ll just a look,¡± reassured Dr Lu.


    ¡°You can stand a little further away if you¡¯d like,¡± SuHe suggested. ¡°We¡¯ll do the examining.¡±


    XueYingying bit her lip and nodded reluctantly.


    The four were carefully attempting to avoid any possible confrontation with the murder on the way to the fishbowl, but it seems that luck was on their side. The fish, however, were reduced to little more than trodden, gruesome puddles of flesh and liquid when they arrived.


    ¡°Disgusting psycho,¡± Dr Lu spat under his breath.


    Something felt off to QiLeren. ¡°Were there always three fish?¡±


    SuHe considered this, frowning. ¡°I think there were four.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I think there were four as well,¡± said Dr Lu.


    ¡°What about you, XueYingying?¡± QiLeren asked, turning to the bleakly-lit corridor to XueYingying, who had been standing off to the side while they examined the fishbowl.


    But there was nobody there.

 CH 11

    ¡°XueYingying?¡± It did not immediately occur to QiLeren what had happened, thinking that XueYingying had just walked away for a bit. He called out again. And again. And again.


    There was no trace of her in the eerily empty corridor.


    ¡°QiLeren,¡± Dr Lu stopped him, face pale, ¡°quit it. We¡¯ll be heard.¡±


    Be heard? Wasn¡¯t letting XueYingying hear them the whole point of this? It took QiLeren several moments to understand that the recipient Dr Lu referred to wasn¡¯t XueYingying.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe she¡¯s¡­here anymore.¡± SuHe strode to the place XueYingying once stood. There were no forks in the path she could¡¯ve gone down, nor could she have run back the way they came in such a short time ¨C something must¡¯ve happened while their backs were turned.


    The disappearance of a party member weighed down the three remaining survivors with an indescribable sense of pressure. How could XueYingying, who had been standing mere metres away, have vanished into thin air right under their noses?


    QiLeren felt a lump rise into his throat. ¡°Let¡¯s search around here,¡± he croaked, ¡°maybe she just stepped away for a bit¡­¡±


    His words sounded like lies to even his own ears, but Dr Lu and SuHe both nodded in agreement in this bizarre moment.


    ¡°Is that fog?¡± QiLeren heard Dr Lu ask behind him.


    Sure enough, thin webs of near-undetectable condensation hung in the air around them, and perhaps had been since they overlooked the lobby ¨C it wasn¡¯t thick, but a sinister form of foreboding was brought with it nonetheless.


    ¡°Did the fog outside leak into the building?¡± SuHe guessed in a low voice. ¡°This is not good¡­¡±


    He certainly had a point ¨C what if the ghostly shadows outside could make their way into the building alongside the fog?


    What could the event at four thirty possible be?


    The trio found no trace of XueYingying after hunting around in the near vicinity, deciding to circle back to search for clues at the fishbowl. Upon stepping out of the corridor and into the room with the fishbowl, QiLeren¡¯s gaze was drawn to the splattered remains of the goldfish on the ground.


    All two of them.


    His pupil retracted in a moment of incomprehensible blankness, glued to the place he knew the third goldfish was at. The floor there was smooth and clean, as if there had never been anything there.


    He whipped around, meeting the incredulous eyes of SuHe who had come to the same conclusion. They shared a split second of wordless communication before turning to Dr Lu, but it was already too late ¨C he was nowhere to be seen.


    A slimy feeling of dreadful coldness seeped into their body from the ground up and coated their organs in a film of ice. Only the fear in their minds ran unhampered by sluggish senses, dampened by the suffocating fog.


    ¡°Dr Lu?¡± QiLeren called softly, backing up a few steps.


    There was no response from the empty corridor, only his trembling voice fading into nothing.


    SuHe silently observed the two goldfish on the ground, thinking deeply. ¡°There were four fish at the beginning.¡±


    His words grounded QiLeren in reality. In the eerie lighting, SuHe¡¯s face gave off a shadowy kind of ethereality. ¡°When XueYingying disappeared, there were three,¡± he continued, ¡°and then it was Dr Lu.¡±


    ¡°You mean the number of goldfish reflects ours?¡±


    SuHe shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Perhaps I¡¯ll disappear after we walk around here again.¡±


    QiLeren couldn¡¯t even manage a grim smile. ¡°Or maybe it¡¯ll be me.¡±


    What happened to those who disappeared? Were they still alive? Where were they now? QiLeren felt his reasonably resilient mental state degrade as time went on in this place, threatening to snap at any moment. It was getting harder and harder to not jump at every shadow they passed.


    ¡°What if,¡± SuHe mused, gaze still on the goldfish, ¡°we were the ones who disappeared?¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ What should we do now?¡± QiLeren was at a loss.


    SuHe thrust out his hand after a moment of consideration. ¡°Let¡¯s hold hands so we don¡¯t lose each other.¡±


    Their hands linked without a second thought. QiLeren raised an eyebrow when their hands came into contact; SuHe¡¯s hands were quite long and slender for a man, but QiLeren could feel thin layers of callouses along his palm and on the pads of his fingers.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked SuHe amusedly.


    ¡°I¡¯m a bit surprised you have callouses on your hands. I mean, you look like the type to spend your days in an office. Either that or be an actor or model or something,¡± said QiLeren.


    ¡°Really? I¡¯m actually a programmer,¡± SuHe replied with a smile.


    ¡°What?! You don¡¯t look it at all!¡±


    ¡°But before then I lived through a pretty tough period of my life.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± He should¡¯ve just gone to be an actor, QiLeren thought. Even as a side character he¡¯d be a pretty damn good side character, and would earn more than a programmer would.


    Times were dire, however, so the two did not dwell on the topic for long and opted for meaningless small talk. They decided to walk around the block again, hands linked so as to prevent spontaneous disappearances.


    The time of four thirty on the screen remained unchanged as they walked passed it, hanging above their heads like a guillotine.


    Despite it being warm enough for short sleeves during the day, the temperature around them plummeted after dusk. Even long sleeves wouldn¡¯t do much to protect against the cold, and QiLeren could feel his feet growing numb even though they had been walking the entire time.


    ¡°Are you afraid?¡± SuHe asked, breaking the silence. ¡°Your hand is very cold.¡±


    QiLeren blinked a few times. ¡°Is it? I feel like yours is colder.¡± His heart gave an anxious beat.


    Why would SuHe say that his hand was cold? His was clearly colder ¨C holding it felt like holding block of ice. If his hand was already so cold, shouldn¡¯t QiLeren¡¯s hand feel warm to him?


    QiLeren at this time was walking half a step in front of SuHe. He peeked at their joined hands out of the corner of his eye.


    The hand in his was very slender, like a woman¡¯s, and completely devoid of colour.


    It wasn¡¯t SuHe¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Hmm, we¡¯re almost at the fishbowl! I wonder how many fish are left, hehe.¡± Not-SuHe spoke once again with his voice, but this time the tone was unmistakably feminine.


    QiLeren forced himself to face forward and not rip his hand away from the unidentifiable creature he had linked hands with. Her words pressed their sharp, glistening edge into the back of his neck.


    He had to buy time to come up with a plan. As they walked past a window, however, QiLeren couldn¡¯t help but sneak a look-


    The owner of the hand in his wore a bloodstained white dress. Her savagely severed head was hanging from what remained of her neck with only a thin shred of skin like a flower with a snapped stem.


    The severed head turned to face the mirror and met QiLeren¡¯s eyes with a smile, the number carved into her face unravelling in petals of flesh and blood ¨C 4.


    Her grin widened. She offered no words, but to QiLeren she did not need to.


    You know who I am, and for what I came.

 CH 12

    Her!


    An onslaught of primal fear overtook QiLeren¡¯s mind in an instant. The bloodstained dress, the decapitated, limb-less corpse, even the number carved into the peeling flesh of her face ¨C she was fourth victim they had stumbled upon, whose scream had drawn away the murderer and exchanged QiLeren¡¯s death for hers.


    She was dead. The horrifying girl standing before him was no more human that the corpse they had left behind.


    The acknowledgement of this fact tripped a live wire within QiLeren¡¯s mind. He tried to yank his hand back in a rush mindless insanity, but the pale hand clamped down on it with a vice grip.


    ¡°Are you afraid? Your hand is very cold,¡± she echoed. Her voice was no longer imitated the dark, velvety tones that SuHe spoke in but was instead the chipper voice of a girl. It was the exact same question but somehow unnerved QiLeren ten times as much, hackles rising in terror.


    ¡°Let go of me!¡± he screamed, lashing out with a kick that connected with nothing but air. Her cold, unyielding grip never faltered, skinny arms slamming him against the glass behind them.


    Her head lolled and dangled from her neck. The remains of a severed spine and muscles were exposed to the air around them, but there was not a trace of blood within the knitting of flesh. Pushing him down with one hand, the girl sluggishly righted her head back onto her neck. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± she asked.


    There was a trace of cruel yet naive curiosity on her waxen face, glazed eyes reflecting QiLeren¡¯s terrified expression in their film of grey. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± she repeated like a broken record. ¡°What are you looking at?¡±


    If he wanted to break free, he¡¯d have to¡­


    The dagger QiLeren had taken from the workshop materialised in his hand and was plunged into his chest without a second thought. The icy coldness of the blade pierced through his ribcage, colder than death itself. He could see the place of his save file over the ghost¡¯s shoulder ¨C there were three seconds left.


    He had not yet died. This injury wasn¡¯t fatal enough.


    Under the ghost¡¯s dull gaze, QiLeren gripped the dagger with trembling hands and pulled it sharply to the left ¨C the blade freed itself from the confines of his ribcage and cleaved his heart cleanly in two.


    [Load successful.]


    He was already standing a few metres away when his eyes refocused. The ghost had her back facing him, turning around lethargically as if noticing her prey had escaped. There was not surprise nor anger in her expression.


    9


    The ghost advanced towards QiLeren.


    8


    QiLeren took out a bag of blood, ripping it open.


    7


    The bag constricted under the pressure of his fist, shooting a stream of blood.


    6


    He rushed before the ghost, emptying the contents of the bag onto both the ghost and himself.


    5


    She retreated half a step, eyes unfazed.


    4


    She reached out a hand.


    3


    There was no time.


    2


    A glint of steel flashed in QiLeren¡¯s eyes. He charged at the ghost, baring his throat before slitting it with the sharp edge of his dagger. Fountains of blood spurted out of his open arteries with the beating of his heart.


    1


    [Fatal wound experienced within 10 second(s). Continuous save file loaded successfully.]


    QiLeren once again stood at his save location, swaying dangerously on his feet. The continuous usage of his skill drained him of his strength, rendering him incapable of using the third chance he was privy to, inhumane though it was.


    The shrill sound of torturous screaming echoed around the room. The ghost rolled and struggled against an invisible enemy on the ground, body flaking off into wispy tendrils of black. QiLeren staggered over, looming above her with his crowbar in hand.


    Her body was a twisted, contorted mess. Hate and malice rang true in her screams, but QiLeren was calm enough to assess the situation with a clear mind.


    Yes, there was a split second in which he felt immense guilt towards this girl who had unknowingly saved his life. Seeing her corpse had only solidified his shame.


    But the insignificant feelings of pity and remorse was worth nothing compared to his life.


    He wanted to live, live, no matter what.


    And so he raised his crowbar and brought it down heavily onto the inhuman body of the girl. It connected with something solid that gave way, eliciting a howl of agony before what was left of her strangled and crumpled into nothing but black smoke.


    The ghost was gone, but the fog around him lingered.


    QiLeren sat for a while, gathering his strength before making his way over to the fishbowl. It was only a distance of ten or so metres, yet every step he took sapped him at his strength until he was barely holding himself upright. It was cold, like an ice cellar.


    This was strange. He had never experienced such severe symptoms after using his skill before.


    QiLeren stood at the fishbowl, observing the corpse of the fish at his feet. It was a lonely mess of guts and liquid, having died a long time prior.


    Was he the only one left? QiLeren asked himself with a detached sort of bewilderment. Were they still alive? Were Dr Lu, XueYingying and SuHe still alive?


    Something blurred across his vision; QiLeren refocused on the fishbowl. A goldfish swam out from behind the decorative rock, speeding towards the surface before breaking through and landing in a squirming heap beside the first one. Immediately after, another fish followed suit and joined the two.


    One dead goldfish and two on the verge of death, enacting a bizarre, foolish farce at his feet. QiLeren stood, unmoving, before bending down and tossing the two back into their fishbowl.


    The moment they plopped into the water, QiLeren felt a heavy weight lift off of his shoulders. The heavy fog surrounding his mind only grew thicker, however, and soon he found himself sliding down the wall he leaned against for support.


    Despite his best efforts, the lethargy that stemmed from his very core conquered all logic and fear, claiming him as its own with its soft blanket of darkness.


    ¡°¡­ren? QiLeren wake up! Dude, where do you think you¡¯re sleeping?! Oi!¡±


    ¡°He most likely ran into a ghost of some kind. At least there doesn¡¯t seem to be any injuries.¡±


    ¡°Will Leren be alright?¡±


    QiLeren could hear the chattering of voices nagging at his consciousness. Irritated, he croaked out a faint ¡°Shut up¡±.


    The voices halted for a moment before resuming with twice the volume. It was to the touch of a wet towel that QiLeren finally woke; the towel was cold as ice, shocking him from his slumber.


    He was greeted with the sight of three faces very close to his ¨C Dr Lu, XueYingying and SuHe.


    ¡°He¡¯s awake! How¡¯re you feeling?¡± asked Dr Lu.


    ¡°¡­I¡¯m okay,¡± QiLeren responded after a pause.


    ¡°Your complexion is rather pale,¡± SuHe said, crouching before him. ¡°Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere in particular?¡±


    QiLeren forced a smile. ¡°A bit wobbly, but nothing too bad. I feel a lot better now, actually.¡±


    ¡°You know,¡± XueYingying grinned, holding the towel in her hand, ¡°I was scared to death when you guys all disappeared. Thank god I had blood bags to fight off the hoard of ghosts that appeared or I would¡¯ve had to take a page out of your book and use my own blood.¡±


    Dr Lu nodded next to her. ¡°Yeah, I blinked and suddenly you were all gone. How fast I bolted to Director Li¡¯s office would¡¯ve put The Flash to shame.¡±


    The three stared at him quizzically, not understanding.


    ¡°You guys wouldn¡¯t know this but Director Li is super infamous among the hospital staff for being a devout Buddhist,¡± Dr Lu explained with a straight face. ¡°And by devout I mean really devout, to the point where his office is just filled with Buddha statues. The entire way there I was being chased by ghosts practically right behind me, so as soon as I got in I lit all the candles and sandalwood I could find and recited the Diamond Sutra a couple of times. I still can¡¯t believe it worked, but the ghosts just lurked around outside for a while before leaving.¡±


    The others found themselves truly speechless at Dr Lu¡¯s miraculous survival.


    ¡°¡­Well,¡± SuHe broke the silence solemnly, ¡°my situation was more similar to XueYingying¡¯s in that there were many ghosts I had to fight. The strange thing was that I had definitely been holding hands with QiLeren, and yet I found myself alone all the same. It was almost as if there was something obscuring my senses.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± Dr Lu asked QiLeren.


    QiLeren gave a weak chuckle in response. Before he spoke, however, something surfaced in the forefront of his mind and he turned to the fishbowl. The ground below it was spotless and free from goldfish corpses.


    There was not a single goldfish in sight.

 CH 13

    Where were the goldfish? QiLeren found himself unable to break his spellbound gaze away, words catching in his throat.


    ¡°They¡¯re gone,¡± SuHe remarked, following QiLeren¡¯s eyes.


    Dr Lu rubbed his arms. ¡°Stop,¡± he pleaded with a shudder, ¡°there¡¯s something seriously wrong about this place. It feels off.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we think about this another way?¡± suggested XueYingying optimistically. ¡°What if actually seeing the fish was the strange part? Maybe the fact that they¡¯ve disappeared means we¡¯ve gone back to the normal world!¡±


    Dr Lu immediately latched onto XueYingying¡¯s idea. ¡°Hey, that makes sense! What kind of fish screams anyway?¡± he reasoned. ¡°This kind of supernatural occurrence was probably here to tell us that we¡¯ve entered another dimension ¨C each goldfish symbolised one of us, so when they disappeared it meant that we were getting segregated into different dimensions! It would make sense for the goldfish to disappear now that we¡¯re together again.¡±


    XueYingying could be seen letting out a breath of relief at Dr Lu¡¯s theory, but QiLeren only grew more worried. If the number of goldfish reflected their numbers, then why¡­


    ¡­Then why did he only see three goldfish before losing consciousness?


    The dead one obviously symbolised him, but who were the other two? And more importantly, why were there only two and not three?


    Who was the odd one out?


    QiLeren could feel the chill of terror gently lapping at the edges of his mind. There were four people, but only three goldfish. What did the missing goldfish mean? What if¡­?


    There was an moment in which he couldn¡¯t bring himself to meet his companions¡¯ eyes, just like how he couldn¡¯t bring himself to look at the person he had held hands with. The lingering doubt and suspicion at the possibility that the familiar faces he saw now were no more than masks reared its head, choking the words before he could voice them. Who could he trust?


    Only he saw the goldfish. Only he knew.


    No, maybe he was just thinking too hard and deluding himself. Maybe the two goldfish was just a coincidence.


    ¡­But could there truly be a coincidence as convenient as this? What if one of them was actually¡­?


    Who was it?


    QiLeren was startled out of his thoughts by a light touch on his shoulder, turning to see SuHe frowning at his violent reaction. ¡°You don¡¯t look so good.¡±


    Without even looking QiLeren could guess that his complexion wasn¡¯t much better than that of a ghost¡¯s.


    ¡°Are you actually alright?¡± fretted XueYingying. ¡°You were already pale and unconscious when we found you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± Not even QiLeren himself believed his words but he pressed on anyway to tell them about his horrifying experience, making sure to omit the goldfish from his story. His companions were reasonably shocked at the recount, not having expected that deceased players could become the very ghosts they fought.


    Was it because she died whilst being consumed by rage and despair, or could it be that all the dead players thus far had turned into¡­?


    Just the thought was too much.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± asked XueYingying.


    Dr Lu was still fixated on the lobby screen. ¡°I still think there¡¯s something we¡¯re missing,¡± he muttered to himself. ¡°Four thirteen¡­four thirteen¡­maybe it¡¯s a password? Like zero-four-one-three? We haven¡¯t seen any locks yet though, and also that would be way too easy.¡±


    ¡°How about we take a detour to Director Li¡¯s office?¡± SuHe suggested wisely, seeing the horror game enthusiast among them pulled firmly into the mystery¡¯s grasp. ¡°If his office indeed repels ghosts as you say, then perhaps we could use some of the objects it has to offer, like sandalwood or prayer beads.¡±


    Dr Lu lifted the sleeves of his white lab coat with a grin, revealing two hands weighed down with rows upon rows of prayer beads. ¡°I swiped these from his office earlier, but there¡¯s still a ton left in there. Care for some casual thievery?¡±


    His lively demeanour eased QiLeren¡¯s mind, tilting the balance in Dr Lu¡¯s favour. Compared to XueYingying or SuHe, this doctor that he had met at the very beginning held more of his trust.


    As it stands, no complaints were voiced about this suggestion and thus the party once again resumed their journey under the navigation of Dr Lu. ¡°I¡¯ve actually been wanting to go there for a while,¡± he chattered, ¡°but every time I think about it I remember that we¡¯d have to go past places like oncology and OB-GYN. Desperate times call for desperate measures, I guess. Ugh, why do I keep getting into situations like this?¡±


    QiLeren trailed behind the three, carefully considering each of his companions.


    Which one was it? SuHe and XueYingying¡¯s stories were quite similar in that they both had hoards of ghosts to fight off with bagged blood before escaping, whereas Dr Lu had the advantage of locational familiarity. If he were to draw a conclusion from that alone, QiLeren¡¯d be hard-pressed to choose anyone other than Dr Lu.


    But there was also evidence like the prayer beads to think about, not to mention the fact that Dr Lu was leading them to the office at this very moment. Whether or not Director Li¡¯s office could ward off ghosts was something that could be easily proven if need be; if this was a lie, then it¡¯d be a really flimsy one.


    No, Dr Lu was likely telling the truth, which left XueYingying and SuHe¡¯s stories under scrutiny ¨C seemingly thrilling but lacking the evidence to back it up. And the most important thing was¡­


    QiLeren looked down at himself; loading the saves had erased any trace of the struggle he¡¯d been in, whether it be blood from the bag he slashed open or from his own throat. The other two, however, similarly had no traces of blood on their bodies. XueYingying¡¯s hair was wild with post-battle frenzy and faint bruises on her elbows and knees could be seen peeking out from beneath her scuffed clothes, but the same could not be said for SuHe.


    He was as neat and put-together as he had always been, eyes calm as he conversed with Dr Lu. A small frown would periodically grace his expression but QiLeren couldn¡¯t help but feel as if his poise was one that stood at odds with the situation.


    SuHe was far too composed. From the moment they¡¯d met there had been no panic, no terror; not even when he was attacked by ghosts or on the verge of falling off of the roof did he show any sign of alarm. In fact, QiLeren had been more panicked than he was when that happened. Reflecting upon it now, the lack of reaction was indeed strange.


    On top of that, he had no skill cards. Though there was no way to know if everyone received a skill card, both he and Dr Lu got theirs at the beginning with XueYingying following suit right after the abortion-triggered achievement. Besides, how did a normal human survive for so long (and through waves of ghost attacks while separated) in such a dangerous environment without special skills? It was by no means impossible, but it was suspicious.


    Come to think of it, has any of them seen card slots under his clothing?


    If SuHe wasn¡¯t a player¡­ No, he was reading too much into this. The fact that SuHe spoke about missions and tutorial villages before is evidence enough of his identity as a player.


    But that¡¯s not quite right either, was it? What if there was a way for NPCs to gain access to information they shouldn¡¯t have? What if ghosts could possess the corpse of a player and absorb their memories?


    The more he thought about it, the worse QiLeren felt about the situation. He observed Dr Lu and SuHe with a troubled gaze, both of whom were walking ahead of him and engrossed in a conversation about eastern religions and their presence in horror movies. Dr Lu had vast experience with watching films, but what he lacked in experience SuHe more than made up for with knowledge.


    As if sensing QiLeren¡¯s uneasy stare, SuHe turned and nodded at his blank expression with a smile.


    QiLeren ducked his head and averted his eyes from SuHe¡¯s. In the starkly lit corridor, a blinking red light above them caught his eye. It was a common sight, easy to be overlooked ¨C yet at this moment he could not feel anything other the heavy leaden weight of dread pooling in his gut.


    How could they have forgotten that there was a serial killer prowling around the hospital?


    Why was it that the serial killer managed ¡®coincidentally¡¯ run into so many victims despite them being spread out over two buildings? Because it wasn¡¯t a coincidence! Dimly, QiLeren heard himself croak with a trembling voice:


    ¡°Have the security cameras here always been on?¡±

 CH 14

    Any discussion in the hallway screeched to a grinding halt, leaving his words to echo in the silence and leave its mark on everybody¡¯s minds. QiLeren¡¯s question was cool, calm, devoid of emotion ¨C it pierced into the fear that lay dormant within them, the fear of being watched by a pair of bloodthirsty eyes matched only by its hands coated in red.


    ¡°The surveillance cameras¡­are on¡­all twenty-four hours¡­¡± Dr Lu¡¯s words quivered, seconds away from bursting into tears.


    ¡°Where is the surveillance room?¡± SuHe immediately asked. ¡°How many cameras are there in the hospital?¡±


    ¡°¡­It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s in the A block outpatient lobby,¡± whispered Dr Lu, voice breaking. ¡°There are a lot of cameras¡­most of the main hallways have one¡­¡± He shot SuHe a look of despair.


    SuHe observed the blinking red light above them before patting Dr Lu¡¯s shoulder in an attempt at reassurance. ¡°Let¡¯s find a save route and leave this place.¡±


    The party followed Dr Lu as he lead them around in circles to avoid the cameras the best he could, preoccupied with their own swirling thoughts. As soon as they reached Director Li¡¯s office, XueYingying collapsed into a nearby chair and shot suspicious looks at the closed door, face pale.


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t worry too much about this,¡± SuHe reasoned calmly, sitting down as well. ¡°Even if the murderer has been using security footage to find his victims, it¡¯s not possible for him to stay in the surveillance room at all times¡­¡±


    If anything, Dr Lu actually looked more worried at SuHe¡¯s unspoken words ¨C it wasn¡¯t possible because the murderer periodically set out to ¡®hunt¡¯.


    ¡°If we¡¯ve been lucky enough, he may very well have been ¡®hunting¡¯ every time we happened to be caught on camera,¡± continued SuHe in a measured tone. ¡°If we were to take into account the number of victims there has been thus far, he would likely have had to go out frequently enough for our whereabouts to go unnoticed. We can¡¯t let ourselves remain passive though ¨C with the decrease in numbers, it¡¯s inevitable that he will spend more time trying to find his target. If we don¡¯t do something about this he will find us, luck or no.¡±


    Situated at the foot of a statue, Dr Lu started biting his fingernails anxiously. ¡°Or maybe¡­ Or maybe he already knows where we are and held off because we have so many people¡­¡±


    This abrupt realisation thrust the room back into the rushing terror. All thoughts of the traitor amidst was immediately banished to the back of QiLeren¡¯s mind; the problem of the murderer was enough.


    Searching for an outlet for his chaotic thoughts, QiLeren fished out the notebook and pen he found what felt like eons ago, intending to sketch a rough blueprint of the building so that Dr Lu can mark in the cameras.


    Dr Lu, who had been turning the room upside down in his quest to find items of good omens, trotted over upon noticing QiLeren¡¯s plan of action. ¡°Whoa,¡± he said, gaudy Buddhist statue necklace looped around his neck, ¡°that is one old notebook. The pages are so yellow.¡±


    ¡°I found it in your hospital,¡± replied QiLeren, flipping the book over to its cover. Sure enough, printed in neat letters was the name of the hospital.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. We have standard issue notebooks, and that¡¯s not what they look like.¡± As he spoke, Dr Lu pulled out a pristine copy from Director Li¡¯s desk drawer. ¡°See, this is what they¡¯re meant to look like.¡±


    The pair¡¯s dispute drew SuHe¡¯s attention, forming a circle of three as they pondered over the difference between the two notebooks.


    Compared to the one in Dr Lu¡¯s hand, QiLeren¡¯s notebook was obviously from an entirely different generation with its aged yellow paper and employment location printed on the front. Dr Lu¡¯s, on the other hand, was in immaculate condition. A colourful wide shot of the hospital was splashed across its cover, and beneath it was its motto. Putting the two together, there was a feeling of transgenerational clash.


    Dr Lu examined QiLeren¡¯s notebook thoroughly before concluding, ¡°Your notebook is at least twenty years old.¡±


    ¡°How do you figure?¡± asked QiLeren.


    ¡°The name of the hospital printed here is The People¡¯s Hospital of X City,¡± he explained, pointing at the cover. ¡°There¡¯s a word missing.¡±


    ¡°First?¡± QiLeren mused. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s not just an abbreviation? We even call it X City Hospital sometimes in conversation.¡±


    Dr Lu shook his head. ¡°Maybe, but they¡¯d never abbreviate the hospital name on the cover of a book. I remember a colleague telling me when I first started working here about how they changed the name. It was around twenty years ago, I think, when they had to rebuild. The ¡°first¡± was added in after its reconstruction, so this notebook should be from before then.¡±


    Why was there such an old notebook here, and who put it into the drawer? Before QiLeren could voice his concerns, the ground beneath their feet gave a groaning shudder, sending the glasses cups and notebooks off of the desk into a shattered mess at their feet. QiLeren, who had been standing, nearly fell over as well, steadying himself on the table.


    Before he could regain his bearings, a series of loud, muffled noises came from the hallway outside, as if something heavy was dropped onto the ground.


    The screeching of metal on metal reached their ears like a sinister omen, stopping them in their tracks.


    Within the dead silence, QiLeren heard SuHe ask deliriously, ¡°Are you sure we¡­didn¡¯t pass any cameras on the way here?¡±


    Dr Lu was in no state to reply, slumped in his chair and gasping for oxygen like a fish out of water.


    This setting, this sound, this timing¡­ There was no doubt about it in any of their minds ¨C it was the sound of a chainsaw being dropped!


    XueYingying snapped first, jumping up from the chair as if it burned before throwing the door open. She screamed as if she had just witnessed the world¡¯s most terrifying scene and took off in the other direction.


    Run!


    Her flurry of activity spurred everyone else into action ¨C


    QiLeren charged out of the room. He didn¡¯t turn around, but out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of the figure standing nearby, who, lifting the bloody chainsaw in his hands, gave him a perverse upturn of his lips.


    All the calm and logic QiLeren previously held onto shattered, leaving him with nothing but pure survival instinct as he sprinted away from the murderer. Behind him, the thumping of hurried footsteps drew closer, and closer, and closer¡­

 CH 15

    Amidst his frantic running, QiLeren regained a thread of the logic he had lost. He knew for a fact that the murderer possessed astonishing stamina, so running like this wouldn¡¯t do ¨C he had to lose his pursuer somehow.


    Not far from them was the abortion room, which from memory had a complicated floor plan that he was more than familiar with after Dr Lu both explained and led him through it. His only hope was to use this locational advantage and shake off the murderer there!


    Resolve flashed in his eyes as he swerved sharply. From the moment he burst out of the patient hallway and into the abortion room, a blueprint of the layout was formulated in his mind with a speed only professionals can hope to attain.


    Waste chute, patient entrance and staff entrance, forming three exits in total. The waste chute was closed, so that was out, which left the staff entrance if he wanted to leave the area. The patient entrance led to the break room, where patients can rest after their procedures. From there it¡¯d be the operating theatre, quarantined by glass doors that were unlocked.


    If QiLeren wanted to lose the murderer, he¡¯d have to turn right immediately in the break area, go through the nurse¡¯s station and into the closet compartment between that and the doctor¡¯s office. There were two doors inside the closet compartment, so if he locks one of them behind him as he enters he¡¯d be able to escape out the other, run into the doctor¡¯s office and leave through the staff entrance passageway.


    The murderer had never been here before, so chances of him circling around and blocking QiLeren¡¯s exit were vanishingly small. Surely it¡¯d work!


    With his plan in mind, QiLeren was plunged into darkness as he ran into the abortion room. Waiting for his eyes to adjust was out of the question, so from memory he charged to the right.


    His foot caught something hard that sent him sprawling onto the ground. In the instant before he hit the floor, he realised what it was ¨C the chair he used to kill the ghost that had attacked XueYingying.


    The dark irony of the situation was not lost on QiLeren.


    The murderer burst into the abortion room within these few seconds of delay. QiLeren gripped the chair, ignoring the pain that coursed through his body, and swept it behind him with all the strength he could muster. The murderer fell to the ground with a dull thud and dropped his chainsaw, igniting a spray of sparks as it made contact with the flooring.


    This was his chance!


    QiLeren pushed himself up into a run. He could vaguely see the murderer to his right in the darkness, blocking the entrance to the nurse¡¯s station.


    He gritted his teeth and recalculated his escape ¨C he¡¯d have to go through the operating theatre instead. As he pushed on despite the flaring pain in his leg, the fallen murderer behind him let out a roar and hurled the chair at him.


    QiLeren leapt into the operating theatre and threw the glass door closed behind him, which shuddered dangerously with a crash when the chair hit but otherwise remained intact.


    If he could lock this door¡­


    QiLeren considered this possibility for a split second before discarding it, because the murderer was quickly approaching with his chainsaw in hand. Once again he was forced to flee, making a beeline through the passageway for the staff entrance. He threw his weight into the glass door¡ª


    ¨Cand the clang of metal on metal resonated through the passageway. He looked down in disbelief at the iron chains that held the doorway firmly shut.


    The staff entrance was¡­locked¡­


    QiLeren felt himself turn around sluggishly to face the murderer approaching like a shadowed being of nightmares dreamt only at the crack of dawn. Delicate lighting pierced through the glass doors and caressed his handsome, twisted features as a sharp grin cleaved it in half.


    ¡°Gotcha.¡±


    The voice was soft and husky, oozing the playful malice of a predator who had just caught its prey.


    QiLeren¡¯s eyes darted left to the wooden doors not far from where he was ¨C the doctor¡¯s office.


    Was the door locked? There were at most four metres between him and the murderer and one between him and the door. S/L was still in cooldown ¨C there was only one chance.


    Should he risk it?


    Of course.


    ¡°I give up,¡± QiLeren announced, throwing his hands up in a show of brilliant acting and slowly approached the murderer. ¡°Please, make it quick.¡± In the face of imminent death, he ignored the pain in his knees the fact that his legs felt as though they were about to give out beneath him.


    The murderer hesitated before subconsciously taking a few steps forwards, thrown for a loop by QiLeren¡¯s actions. And then he noticed the door by QiLeren.


    Now!


    QiLeren yanked the handle downwards and felt the door give into his push. Not a second was wasted as he all but shot forward, elation singing in his veins, and pushed his back against the other side of the door. The murderer rushed forward at the same time and launched himself towards QiLeren ¨C the two of them were left to their trial of strength.


    Flattened against the door, QiLeren retrieved the crowbar from his inventory and weighed it in his left hand before jabbing heavily it through the gap. At the subsequent howl of pain, he quickly withdrew it, heaved the door closed and ¨C locked!


    QiLeren didn¡¯t have time to catch his breath, however, as the unmistakable screech of a chainsaw sent him scrambling forward ¨C the door had already been pierced by the time he looked back, and there couldn¡¯t be more than half a minute before the murderer could break through.


    QiLeren pushed himself to his feet, darting through the other office door into the closet compartment, then to the nurse¡¯s station before fleeing through the patient entrance.


    He ran. There was nothing in his mind about the murderer, running blindly forward with not a glance back. He didn¡¯t know how much time had passed until his feet brought him to a stop in the stairway, legs giving out beneath him as he sank down onto the ground.


    Another escape from death¡¯s yearning grasp.


    The dim lighting cast shadows across QiLeren¡¯s vision as he stared blankly at the glowing green exit sign from his position on the ground. His mind wandered still, unnerved from the terror moments before.


    The speeding heartbeat and gasps slowly calmed. QiLeren pushed himself up; his knees twinged in protest, but the pain was only proof that he was still alive. He breathed deeply, preparing to continue downstairs.


    The tell-tale patter of footsteps passed above him. He froze and looked up.


    ¡°Leren?¡±


    ¡°XueYingying?¡±


    The two locked eyes before heaving out a relieved sigh.


    ¡°Oh good, I thought I was going to die,¡± XueYingying said as she made her way towards QiLeren. ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m alright. I managed to lose him somehow,¡± QiLeren replied. ¡°Have you Dr Lu and SuHe?¡±


    XueYingying looked down and shook her head.


    QiLeren drew in a sharp breath. The murderer had been right behind him this entire time, so Dr Lu should have been with SuHe. If there really was something wrong with SuHe¡­wouldn¡¯t Dr Lu be in danger?


    He pressed his lips into a thin line. ¡°Let¡¯s go find them,¡± he said, quietly, before making his way down the stairwell.


    XueYingying started to fret behind him. ¡°Isn¡¯t he around here still? What if we run into him?¡±


    ¡°Well, we can¡¯t wait here forever. I think it¡¯d be best to hurry up and move before he¡¯s had a chance to return to the¡­surveillance¡­¡± QiLeren trailed off and froze in his tracks. ¡°SuHe?!¡±


    The lighting in the hallway was much brighter, hollowly wrapping itself around SuHe¡¯s silhouette. QiLeren could faintly make out his elegant features, darkened as it was with solemn resolve.


    ¡°Come here, QiLeren,¡± SuHe said icily, stepping towards them. ¡°Now!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± XueYingying cried, pulling QiLeren back by his arm. The grip was hard and bruising even through layers of clothes.


    SuHe¡¯s expression held no trace of its usual gentle amusement. The gaze he directed at XueYingying was cold in its serenity, but softened when it rested upon QiLeren. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her. She¡¯s not XueYingying.¡±


    The hand around QiLeren¡¯s arm tightened painfully as XueYingying urged panickily, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him! I¡¯m sorry I lied earlier, it wasn¡¯t that I haven¡¯t bumped into them, it¡¯s that SuHe, he¡­he¡­¡±


    SuHe extended a hand. ¡°Come over here,¡± he said, velvety voice echoing in the stairwell.


    ¡°No!¡± XueYingying screamed. ¡°He killed Dr Lu and wants to kill me too!¡±


    The two voices collided in a frenzy of commands. QiLeren dazedly stared at SuHe on the steps below them, who met his gaze. ¡°Have you heard of the one who was devoured by a tiger?¡±

 CH 16

    The one who was devoured by a tiger? It took a few seconds for QiLeren to understand; it was said in a common folklore that the souls of those eaten by a tiger will linger and help the very being that killed them to kill more victims, hence the accusation.


    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him ¨C that¡¯s how he lured Dr Lu away! Just hurry and follow me, SuHe wants to kill us!¡± XueYingying cried as she dragged QiLeren up the stairs, grip unyielding.


    Yes, he should follow XueYingying. He had been suspicious of SuHe even just moments before, had he not?


    But was the person holding his arm really XueYingying? The strength of her grip, the way that the chill of her skin that permeated layers of clothing, wasn¡¯t it all painfully reminiscent of a certain dead girl he had met in the hallway?


    ¡°Miss Xue¡­is what I¡¯d call you, but you¡¯re not her, are you?¡± SuHe took another step towards them, solemn eyes bringing his soft features into sharp focus. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about how the murderer appeared outside of Director Li¡¯s office. If he¡¯d seen us enter through the cameras, then it would have taken him at least five minutes to arrive ¨C we spent no more than two or three minutes inside the office before having to flee. If he¡¯d just seen us nearby the fishbowl and subsequently hurried over, then it¡¯d be highly improbable for him to have so accurately pinpointed our location to the exact office.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that he has the capacity to locate others¡¯ locations, else from the very beginning QiLeren would never have escaped. The only possible answer, then, is that one of us is able to somehow notify the murderer of our location.¡±


    A corner of SuHe¡¯s lips twitched up into a wry smile as he continued. ¡°Moreover, it¡¯s certainly interesting how you, who took three tries to open a bottle of water in the office, have suddenly become shockingly strong, isn¡¯t it? If I were to take a guess, there¡¯d be two factors responsible for this ¨C firstly, you had just possessed this body and lacked control, and secondly, the sandalwood and Buddhist statues did their part to weaken you significantly.


    ¡°Am I correct, miss, in concluding that you are the annoyingly persistent Number Four?¡±


    Silence, followed by a peal of crisp laughter before something hard pushed against QiLeren¡¯s back and sent him tumbling down the stairs. In the dizzying tumble, all he could do was to protect his head and pray for an uncracked skull. Instead of the painful impact of cement, however, QiLeren found himself stopped by the embrace of SuHe, who had rushed up the stairs to catch him. ¡°Dr Lu!¡± SuHe yelled.


    Someone let out an exclamation of ¡°Ha!¡± as the sound of splashing echoed loudly in the stairwell ¨C but not as loud as the scream that followed soon after. QiLeren pushed SuHe away with a start, vision spinning as he swayed dangerously. The thick, acidic smell of blood didn¡¯t help his nausea.


    Dr Lu hurried over with the now empty bucket still in his hand. ¡°You alive, QiLeren? Quick- go finish the job- just stab her or something! I don¡¯t kill!¡±


    In the pool of blood nearby, XueYingying was writhing in agony as she let out low moans of pain, fingers clawing uselessly at the gritty cement floor. SuHe slowly strode over to her side, slender fingers capturing her chin as he observed her face ¨C eyes rolled back, face spasming as if engaged in battle with something deep inside of her. He frowned and made a shallow cut across his arm with a small blade, watching as fresh blood welled out of the wound and dribbled onto XueYingying¡¯s face.


    She screamed. A wisp of blackened fog spurted out of her gaping mouth and dissipated into the air, leaving her suddenly motionless body to slump over in dead faint.


    ¡°We should be fine now,¡± SuHe said


    as he lifted her with a single arm and made his way down the stairs. ¡°Can you stand up?¡± he asked QiLeren. ¡°Do you need me to carry you?¡±


    QiLeren shook his head, pushing himself up in muted daze. So the possessed one was XueYingying. Had he been wrong about SuHe this entire time?


    An arm snaked excitedly around his shoulders as Dr Lu drew him close. ¡°Well, that was actually kinda fun ¨C in a really scary way. How about that bucket of blood I splashed, eh? Was it right on target?¡± He paused. ¡°¡­Hey, are you alright? You kind of look like you¡¯re daydreaming. You didn¡¯t hit your head too hard, did you?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave this place first, we made too much noise,¡± SuHe interrupted. He threw a towel onto the ground and stepped on it to clean any traces of blood off of their shoes.


    Dr Lu cooperatively enabled his skill card and led them to a secluded room with no unsavoury run-ins on the way. SuHe lowered XueYingying onto a bench upon arrival and wiped the blood from her face with a damp towelette.


    ¡°I never would¡¯ve guessed but you¡¯re actually pretty strong,¡± Dr Lu noted appreciatively. ¡°My arm got sore from hauling that bucket of blood around but you¡¯re not even breaking a sweat at carrying a fifty-something kilo person!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m alright,¡± SuHe chuckled. ¡°I quite enjoy working out.¡±


    Dr Lu pinched his scrawny arms gloomily.


    Having offered not even a word on the journey over, QiLeren was still in a state of distracted stupor, staring blankly at the ceiling from his position in a chair. Too many things had happened in the short span of half and hour, leaving him drowning in the residual void of emptiness that swallowed up his thoughts before they could surface.


    He saw SuHe drop into a crouch next to him out of the corner of his eye. ¡°Does it hurt anywhere?¡± SuHe asked in his special timbre of gentleness.


    QiLeren brought a hand to his knee. The fall from earlier had only worsened its state, throbbing hotly behind his hand. Dr Lu carefully rolled up his pant leg to examine the extent of his injury. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to be sprained and the abrasion looks quite mild,¡± he concluded. ¡°It¡¯s just some bruising so far, but I¡¯ll give you a spritz of medication.¡± As he spoke, he reached into his bag for a mist spray and set about treating the wound.


    QiLeren barely had time to rasp out a word of thanks before his left hand was seized by SuHe. The sleeve was pulled away to reveal a violent black-blue bruise around his wrist in the shape of a hand. Dr Lu drew in a sharp breath. ¡°Good lord, how hard would a person have to squeeze to do that?¡± he exclaimed.


    SuHe chuckled drily. ¡°It wasn¡¯t exactly a ¡®person¡¯, was it?¡±


    ¡°What if it has bad energy or something? We don¡¯t have any holy water here,¡± Dr Lu muttered as he sprayed QiLeren¡¯s wrist down with medication and wrapped it up with bandages. ¡°Tell me if it gets worse, mkay? I¡¯ll think of something.¡±


    QiLeren mutely stared at the bandages on his wrist, mood sombre. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to look at SuHe, ashamed of the misplaced suspicion he had in his companion. He had been so untrusting, and yet¡­


    If SuHe hadn¡¯t appeared when he had, he would most definitely have followed XueYingying. The possibility of the undead Number Four possessing XueYingying¡¯s body was not one he had considered, a mistake that had very nearly cost him his life.


    The guilt gnawed at his insides but vocalising it was not an option, leaving him with no option but to listen in subdued silence as Dr Lu recounted the events that had occurred after splitting up:


    SuHe had been the one to raise his doubts about XueYingying¡¯s condition, with Dr Lu concurring after a bout of psychological analysis. The two then decided to test their theory, boldly making their way to the surveillance room in block A and making sure that QiLeren had successfully escaped before attempting to meet him. Dr Lu at this point wanted to destroy the system, but was stopped by SuHe: ¡°Keep them. We already know where the cameras are, so avoiding detection will not be a problem¡­perhaps they¡¯ll be useful in the future.¡±


    SuHe¡¯s confidence cheered Dr Lu, abandoning his idea altogether in favour of following SuHe to the stairwell QiLeren had hidden himself in. Sounds of QiLeren and XueYingying¡¯s conversation were heard as they approached ¨C it was here that the duo split up, with Dr Lu circling around to the upper floor with a bucket of blood to empty onto XueYingying at SuHe¡¯s signal. If she really had been possessed, then the blood should elicit the same response in her as it did in ghosts. SuHe was left to draw XueYingying¡¯s attention and buy time for Dr Lu.


    The plan was undoubtedly a success, though XueYingying¡¯s exact condition was left up in the air until she awakens for confirmation.


    ¡°We,¡± SuHe said, picking up a pen from the nearby desk and spinning it around his fingers in perfect, elegant arcs, ¡°have two problems at this point in time: how we might go about disposing of the murderer and the mystery of four thirteen.¡± The pen in his hand ceased its movement as he swept an amused gaze over his two companions.


    ¡°I may have a few clues as to how we can solve these problems,¡± he admitted with a faint smile, ¡°so let¡¯s work from there, shall we?¡±

 CH 17

    SuHe¡¯s words brought a spark of hope ¨C ¡°a clue¡± meant that their chances of survival were once again increased.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk elsewhere,¡± SuHe continued. ¡°XueYingying may be unconscious at the moment but if she is still possessed we may be overheard. It¡¯s far better to be safe than sorry.¡±


    At his suggestion, the three slipped into a neighbouring office, checking all the possible escape routes multiple times before settling down into discussion.


    SuHe was the one to start.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been considering possible solutions to the problem of the murderer for a long time. Engaging him head-on is by far the best option in terms of accomplishing this goal, but this comes at the cost of at least one or two deaths on our part, hence why I haven¡¯t voiced this option,¡± he said measuredly, tapping out a gentle rhythm on his thumb with the pen. ¡°There were a few new ideas I had to consider when Dr Lu and I went to the surveillance room in block A prior to this. We could say that the surveillance room is the central hub of information within the hospital considering the fact that it grants visuals for basically every major hallway in both buildings. The main reason we didn¡¯t destroy the panels was because I thought we could use this system.


    ¡°The easiest way by far is to set a trap. If done carefully, even a simple plan may be sufficient in killing him. There have been incidents in the past where the oxygen storage tank exploded and killed many people ¨C if we can lure him into a setup along these lines and light a fire, the chances of our success are considerably large.¡±


    Dr Lu jumped up in excitement at SuHe¡¯s proposal. ¡°It¡¯ll work! We don¡¯t even need to go to the storage tanks since every ward is equipped with an oxygen unit. All we need to do is to raise the concentration of oxygen, slightly alter the electrical circuit to short-circuit the system and voila ¨C a spark. I guarantee the explosion will be enough!¡±


    QiLeren shook his head. ¡°But we¡¯ll need very precise calculation to time the explosion. This plan won¡¯t work as well a second time if we fail on the first.¡±


    ¡°Precise control of the explosion, huh¡­¡± Dr Lu muttered. He and SuHe whipped around to QiLeren at the same time.


    The look was one that QiLeren was all too familiar with ¨C he had been subjected to the exact same look in the blood bank!


    ¡°You¡¯re¡­not going to make me kill myself again, are you¡­?¡± he said with a reluctant pout.


    ¡°Look dude, you have a huge responsibility as bait for the sake of everyone¡¯s lives,¡± Dr Lu sighed and patted him on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll treat you to all the best restaurants around the country when we get out of this bloody place ¨C don¡¯t underestimate the self-cultivation of a foodie!¡±


    QiLeren expressed plainly that he had more interest in staying alive than the self-cultivation of a foodie.


    SuHe silently watched this exchange, gently smiling at him. ¡°We could come up with a better plan¡­¡±


    QiLeren paused for a few seconds, conflicted, before giving in with a sigh. ¡°It¡¯s alright, if there really was a better idea I¡¯m sure you would¡¯ve brought it up earlier. I¡¯ll go, but you have to guarantee my safety.¡±


    ¡°Unless you fall over while fleeing, or enter the wrong room, or forget to save a file, I don¡¯t believe there will be a problem,¡± SuHe said lightly.


    ¡°¡­¡± This job was sounding more and more dangerous by the minute. QiLeren didn¡¯t want to do it anymore.


    After going over some rough schematics, the discussion turned to the subject of four thirteen.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you had an inkling to what this may be about as well, SuHe? Mind filling us in?¡± Dr Lu said as he relaxed into a more comfortable position, splaying over the napping recliner bonelessly.


    SuHe sat primly in his seat, fingers intertwined before him to support his chin. ¡°Do you still remember the screen in the lobby? Our attention was focused on the time, but what happened in Director Li¡¯s office reminded me that the problem was not actually the time.¡±


    Something sparked in QiLeren¡¯s mind. He took out the aged notebook and stared at the cover.


    ¡°The name!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the name of the hospital?!¡± Dr Lu and QiLeren exclaimed at the same time.


    ¡°So that¡¯s what was off about that board ¨C the name!¡± Dr Lu stood with a start and started pacing around the room, talking excitedly. ¡°The hospital name on the board is the same as the one on QiLeren¡¯s notebook, both missing the word ¡°First¡±. This suggests that the building we¡¯re in right now is the hospital twenty years ago before it changed its name, which means that the four thirteen on the board isn¡¯t actually referring to the time tonight but¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­but four thirteen on a certain day more than twenty years ago,¡± SuHe finished.


    Then it should¡¯ve happened before he turned five, QiLeren thought. What happened to the hospital before he turned five? It must¡¯ve been a big event, or had been documented somewhere within the hospital ¨C making a normal person recall something that happened more than twenty years ago was absurd. What exactly happened on this certain day at four thirteen?


    ¡°Argh, there are no clues!¡± Dr Lu yelled. ¡°God, do we really have to go to the bloody records room to flip through documents?!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a records room in the hospital?¡± QiLeren asked, vexed.


    ¡°¡¯Course, but there¡¯s so much stuff in there we can spend all night and still not find anything!¡± Dr Lu grumbled, falling into his recliner. ¡°I hate the part of mystery games where they make you go around the entire map to find evidence. The hospital¡¯s huge and it¡¯ll take forever to find anything.¡±


    The three discussed this for a while but came to no conclusions, deciding to save the problem for later and focus on the murderer.


    ¡°Now that we have a plan, all that¡¯s left is for us to put it into action. We must prevent any and all accidents that may occur. I don¡¯t want you to get hurt,¡± SuHe said seriously, locking eyes with QiLeren.


    QiLeren nodded slightly.


    He was willing to take this risk, not only for his own safety but for these companions that he had known for a short few hours. If SuHe was willing to courageously step forward to save his life, then the least he could do was to do this for them. Deep down, he also wanted revenge for the three times he had been hunted down.


    Besides¡­he had gotten used to dying.


    ¡°We don¡¯t need to rush into this, there¡¯s more than enough time for us to rest before taking action.¡± SuHe frowned at QiLeren¡¯s pale complexion. ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to ask this since we found you near the fishbowl, but does your skill have any side effects?¡± he asked, concerned. ¡°Your face is rather pale.¡±


    QiLeren brought a hand to his face and felt the coldness of his skin. The two saves he had loaded near the fishbowl seemed to have sapped him of his energy. He didn¡¯t need a mirror to know that his face was ashen with the stress of the chase; even his body felt weak.


    He was very tired.


    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure¡­I don¡¯t think the card said anything.¡± QiLeren slid the card out of its slot and studied its effects carefully, finding no mention of any side effects. His body¡¯s condition could not be overlooked, however, and suggests that the skill does cause harm after repeated use.


    ¡°You should sleep. I¡¯ll wake you at eleven and we can go to set the trap then,¡± SuHe said. He walked around the office, finding the blanket used by doctors during lunch break and deposited it in QiLeren¡¯s lap.


    QiLeren wrapped the blanket around himself, said ¡°Thank you¡± and closed his eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go see how XueYingying¡¯s doing,¡± he heard Dr Lu say to SuHe. He didn¡¯t hear a reply, but Dr Lu¡¯s footsteps slowly faded into the distance. The office door was gently shut, lights turned off, and soon the only sound left in the room was of QiLeren¡¯s own breathing.


    Was SuHe still in here with him? Half-asleep, QiLeren couldn¡¯t resist turning around and cracking open one eyelid to sneak a look.


    He could see SuHe quietly sitting by the window, staring out into the never-ending abyss of mist and fog. Slivers of light spilled through the glass panel on the door, coating his elegant profile in an ethereal glow; gentle, but so, so far, like a lighthouse seen miles away from shore, a beacon of guidance that strikes fear in people¡¯s hearts.


    This is a person different to rest of them, QiLeren thought sleepily. What a beautiful, extraordinary person.


    SuHe¡¯s gaze swept over him like a passing shadow. QiLeren thinks he may have smiled. There was no way to find out, however, as QiLeren closes his eyes to the call of sleep and falls, softly, into the darkness.

 CH 18

    The short nap did no wonders for QiLeren¡¯s overall mood, having fallen asleep in such a tense environment and was now having difficulty prying himself from the grips of his nightmare.


    He had dreamt of broken segments; fleeing from the murderer, his friends¡¯ mangled corpses, even some murky scenes from ?The Nightmare Games? ¨C under the perpetual honey-gold sunset of the sky above Dusk Village, he stood by the side of the street listening to a poet NPC¡¯s song as passersby, cloaked with the shadow of death, rushed past with hardened purpose but not for life. This was a world without hope, order or salvation.


    ¡°It¡¯s eleven, we better get going.¡± Dr Lu¡¯s voice pulled QiLeren out of his memories and into the present as he tossed a bottle of water at him.


    ¡°How¡¯s XueYingying?¡± QiLeren asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s alright, just a bit spacey. Didn¡¯t react to the prayer beads either so she¡¯s probably not possessed anymore, but the possession did some damage to her body which she¡¯s sleeping off right now. I sprinkled a lot of blood around her to hopefully keep the ghosts away,¡± Dr Lu said.


    SuHe, still sitting in his chair by the bed, smiled back at them. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if she¡¯s still possessed we¡¯d all be dead already.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± QiLeren and Dr Lu could both agree that this kind of reassurance was worse than no reassurance. SuHe was truly a man who could put a horrifying twist on even the most earnest of phrases.


    Upon leaving their hiding place, the trio carefully avoided all surveillance cameras as they made their way to the ward that Dr Lu picked out. ¡°This room should do nicely. Come in, I¡¯ll show you how the oxygen unit works. It¡¯s that switch above every patient bed.¡±


    Dr Lu closed the windows and set about demonstrating the operation of the system. ¡°Every bed has one of these units under hospital regulation in case a patient has difficulty breathing. If the oxygen concentration is dense enough, just a spark is enough to cause an explosion big enough to kill a few people.¡±


    QiLeren stood in this room of steadily climbing oxygen concentration with growing anxiety ¨C they could all be killed right now with no more than a spark. ¡°It¡¯s not really safe to be standing around, let¡¯s get out of here. If it explodes¡­¡±


    Dr Lu took this to heart and was the first to slip out of the door.


    The trio loitered around in the stairwell nearby. Dr Lu sketched a rough map of their surroundings, asking without looking up, ¡°Is there a camera here, SuHe? I can¡¯t really remember.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s one here and another one in the foot of that corridor,¡± SuHe said, pointing at specific places on the map which Dr Lu then circled.


    ¡°This is about it,¡± Dr Lu said. SuHe studied the simplified map for a moment.


    ¡°Alright,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯ll need to stay in this area and pretend to be searching for clues. If the murderer is in the surveillance room, he¡¯ll quickly notice you and approach.¡±


    QiLeren nodded, feeling his heartrate speed up.


    ¡°The reason we picked this camera is due to its excellent position. You¡¯ll have enough distance to ensure your safety no matter which direction he approaches from. Once he appears, you¡¯ll need to run towards this ward here that Dr Lu chose; it¡¯s situated at the end of a corridor, so you can act as if you ran the wrong way and was forced into the room as a last-ditch attempt. This is unlikely to arouse any suspicion.¡± Here, SuHe paused before continuing, ¡°Make sure you don¡¯t save too close to the ward, else you¡¯ll be caught in the explosion after loading¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I get three chances to load if I die quickly enough,¡± QiLeren said with a wry grimace, ¡°so even if I get blown to pieces in the explosion after loading I¡¯ll be able to do it a second time, then a third time. Surely the explosion will have finished by then.¡±


    Dr Lu clicked his tongue in either admiration or sympathy, but SuHe¡¯s face immediately darkened. ¡°QiLeren.¡±


    QiLeren straightened reflexively, feeling almost like he was a student being scolded by his teacher again.


    ¡°Do not keep this flippant way of thinking. Your life is the first and foremost priority no matter what the situation may be.¡± SuHe¡¯s disapproval of QiLeren¡¯s words were clear as day on his refined features. ¡°I would rather the plan fail and think of another one than to subject you to irreversible injuries.¡±


    This pulled QiLeren up short.


    Though his agreement to act as bait was genuine, it was hard to ignore the sliver of bitterness he felt ¨C it was the fact that only he was capable of doing so that pushed him to agree in the end. In this moment, however, SuHe¡¯s words had eliminated all traces of resentment.


    Having someone who cared about and needed him, who acknowledged him¡­it was a wonderful feeling.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I really want to kill that man as well! Just sit tight and wait for me to return in victory!¡± QiLeren said, grinning confidently as he tossed the lighter in his hand.


    Dr Lu looked away. ¡°Can you not jinx yourself before facing the boss?¡±


    QiLeren silently slapped a hand over his mouth.


    The time was now teetering on the edge of midnight, evidenced by the significant increase in both ghost numbers and attack power. The trio were forced to fend them off with the help of a restocked blood supply, without which the ghosts would prove to be a much bigger hinderance.


    Once everything was in place, QiLeren quickly ran over the escape route in his mind and bid his two teammates goodbye, psyching himself up to the role of bait.


    The pristine white of the walls encompassed the empty hallway. QiLeren muted his footsteps, forcing himself to look away from the red light blinking at him from a darkened corner. He pretended to be searching for something in the nearby office but never strayed too far from the doorway so that he could catch the sound of a person¡¯s approach.


    ¡°It takes around five minutes of travel from the surveillance room to here. If we assume that the murderer¡¯s been watching the footage this entire time, it¡¯s highly likely that he will arrive in that timeframe,¡± QiLeren remembered SuHe saying.


    His eyes darted up to the clock ¨C only two minutes have passed but these two minutes felt like an entire year!


    ¡°Dr Lu¡¯s post will be by the only path that leads to where we are now. He will signal to me as soon as he sees our target, and I will inform you. The rest is up to you.¡±


    Phones couldn¡¯t be used here, so this rather primitive way of information relay was their only option. It was not without its risks, but SuHe firmly believed that these were risks worth taking; after all, what right did they have to complain when compared to QiLeren¡¯s task?


    A flurry of activity drew QiLeren¡¯s attention as he whipped around to see SuHe, sprinting down the corridor and mouthing: He¡¯s coming!


    It was as if his legs were suddenly made of heavy, heavy stone. QiLeren was terrified and didn¡¯t bother hiding it.


    SuHe engulfed him in a warm hug. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you have another thirty seconds.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± QiLeren hissed as he pushed SuHe away. ¡°Get out of here!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine just hiding here. Be careful,¡± SuHe reassured, far more relaxed than QiLeren. He slipped into a nearby office, leaving QiLeren alone and bewildered as he stared in the direction SuHe came.


    Every second was a battle with the approaching scythe, swift and deadly.


    You can do it, QiLeren, he told himself. You can do it.


    In the silent corridor, the sound of heavy footsteps drew near.


    He was here.

 CH 19

    The moment has come.


    Whether the hammering in his chest was from fear or excitement QiLeren didn¡¯t know, but all that was left after the nerve-wracking wait was a mind clearer than ever before; he could see the floor plan before him from the perspective of an outsider, rendered in painstakingly-detailed 3D that outshone Dr Lu¡¯s rough sketch in every way imaginable.


    There was more than enough distance between the murderer on the other side of the hallway and QiLeren, but he nonetheless bolted as soon as the silhouette appeared with a sudden burst of adrenaline, the murderer hot on his heels. QiLeren didn¡¯t glance back ¨C forward, up the stairs ¨C until he reached the corner of the stairwell and risked a peek out of the corner of his eye.


    A pair of bloodthirsty eyes locked gazes with him, far closer than he had anticipated.


    QiLeren inwardly cursed and continued sprinting towards his goal. A perfectly straight corridor, stark white lighting, carefully-planned trap less than twenty metres ahead of him ¨C file saved!


    The moment he laid down the save file, QiLeren felt half of the burden lift off of his shoulders. Before he had time to feel relieved, however, the pursuing footsteps behind him drew dangerously close. A sudden shout burst out behind him as something heavy whipped across his legs.


    Thrown off balance, the lighter flew out of QiLeren¡¯s grip as he crashed painfully into the ground.


    Shit.


    He scrambled up immediately, throwing himself to the side at the thick intent for bloodlust above him just in time to avoid a fatal blow from the chainsaw, which ignited a shower of golden sparks upon its contact with the ground.


    In the moment, QiLeren couldn¡¯t feel any pain. The murderer¡¯s face was magnified many, many times ¨C the fresh wound that twisted his features into a mess of sinister malice, the reflection in his bloodshot eyes of QiLeren¡¯s desperate struggling ¨C he was a hunter, cruelly playing with his prey.


    There was no time for him to crawl back up. Conclusion evident, QiLeren promptly drew his dagger and pierced it through his heart.


    It went through cleanly ¨C he was not going to make the same foolish mistake of stabbing the wrong place again. No more than a second went by after the knife first broke skin before he blinked his eyes open at the save point.


    He had ten seconds.


    QiLeren wasted no time darting past the confused murderer and into the ward. With the chainsaw¡¯s sparks, there was no need for the lighter as a source of ignition. He could almost taste the victory!


    The two barrelled into the ward, the murderer with single-minded focus and QiLeren with desperate haste. He swerved to the side of the doorway after entering and tackled his pursuer to the ground as soon as he entered.


    Two bodies tumbled against each other in the darkness. The chainsaw, having lost its master, fell to the ground with a grating noise and let out a line of gold.


    The room erupted into the brilliant light of a sunset.


    QiLeren could make out the murderer¡¯s shocked expression below him. The ever-present malice was gone, leaving only the raw last moment of a volatile young man before all was ripped away by the loud explosion that shook the building to its very foundations.


    Immediately thrown to the ground by the shockwaves that broke through the door after loading a second time, QiLeren struggled into a sitting position and looked at the broken wall before him. He coughed, pouring all his fear and terror into the hyperventilating laughter he let out in between.


    He¡¯d won! They¡¯d won!


    A wave of strength-sapping lethargy crashed down on him after the brief but intense celebration. QiLeren collapsed onto his back and stared at the ceiling, too bright and dazzling for his eyes. He felt the cold of the ground biting at his back, smelt the smoke that lingered in the air, too tired to even formulate coherent thoughts.


    He didn¡¯t respond to the sound of approaching footsteps until a shadow cast itself over his face. SuHe crouched down next to him, scrutinising gaze running up and down his body.


    ¡°Can you stand?¡± SuHe finally asked after finding no lethal injuries.


    QiLeren took the hand offered to him and stood on unsteady legs. SuHe looped QiLeren¡¯s arm around his shoulders at the sight of his dangerous swaying and helped him to a nearby bench. Around the corner, Dr Lu had arrived. He poked his head out from the stairwell, looking ready to bolt at the slightest warning. His athletic abilities would likely trip him over within a few steps, but he had the cautiousness of a small animal nonetheless.


    ¡°He died?¡± Dr Lu asked, slinking over after seeing the two safe and sound. He looked curiously at the destroyed ward, but held back at QiLeren and SuHe¡¯s looks. ¡°I feel like this¡­¡± he hesitated, ¡°¡­might be too close to a movie trope. Can we go together?¡± He fluttered his eyelashes, taking full advantage of a youthful face that has won over too many middle-aged women to count.


    QiLeren felt a corner of his lips twitch before taking a deep breath and pushing himself onto his feet. ¡°Let¡¯s go then.¡±


    The explosion had ripped the door apart, leaving splinters and only half of the walls still standing. The three kicked away the debris at their feet as they entered, the extent of the damage revealed before them:


    The charred ward was in complete disarray. The metal of the bed frame was twisted out of shape recognition and caked with a layer of rubble, much like the deeply cracked walls and windows around it. Their target, a serial murderer whose hands were stained with the blood of many, was lying in the centre of the room, face and body scorched beyond recognition ¨C but that wasn¡¯t what brought the party to a halt.


    There were three treasure boxes floating above the corpse. The kind that glowed rainbows and clearly broke the laws of physics.


    Dr Lu dazedly brought a hand to his forehead. ¡°I finally believe that this is a game,¡± he breathed with awe.


    QiLeren laid a hand on the card slots at his hip. With the existence of skill cards and inventories, he had known that he was no longer in the real world for the past twelve hours, but somehow the sight of the chest cemented this fact.


    He stepped forward and gingerly raised a hand, if only to reassure himself that it was real. The moment his fingers touched the chest, a long-unseen system message materialised before his eyes:


    [Player QiLeren, completed sidequest: Eliminating Abnormality in the Tutorial Village]


    [Reward: Lucky draw x1]


    Abnormality in the tutorial village? QiLeren looked to the corpse at their feet. Could it be referring to the murderer?


    ¡°It¡¯s time for a lucky draw!¡± Dr Lu¡¯s joyous tones interrupted QiLeren¡¯s train of thought. He pointed at the chests in excitement, furiously gesturing at the other two. ¡°You go first!¡±


    ¡°You can go first,¡± QiLeren said, unhurried.


    ¡°No no, I want to do it last,¡± Dr Lu said resolutely.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go then,¡± SuHe smiled. He picked a chest at random and pressed a fingertip onto its keyhole, opening it with a click. QiLeren and Dr Lu peered inside, seeing nothing but the black of an empty box.


    ¡°It went directly into my inventory,¡± SuHe said, generously bringing it out for the others to see. ¡°It¡¯s an item card.¡±


    [Bloodthirsty Dagger]: A mysterious dagger that grows in lethality as the number of lives it claims increases until it is able to kill in one strike. Current status of final ability: Locked.


    ¡°So basically it¡¯s just a normal dagger right now?¡± Dr Lu gave SuHe a look of both judgement and pity. ¡°Sounds a bit useless. It looks pretty though.¡±


    SuHe just smiled. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯ll be of use one day.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your turn,¡± Dr Lu said, nudging QiLeren with an elbow. QiLeren hesitated for a moment before choosing the one next to SuHe¡¯s.


    [Rations of Shallow Affection]: A bag of mysterious animal food. Every creature from cats to dogs to even dung beetles will struggle to forget the taste of these rations after just one bite. Be the animal whisperer you¡¯ve always dreamed of becoming! Remaining rations: 30/30.


    QiLeren almost kneeled over right there and then. The entire hospital was full of ghosts, where on earth was he supposed to find animals to feed? The goldfish!?


    Dr Lu took one look at the card before giving him a consoling pat on the shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s time for me to show my worth as the Prince of Gacha, the one who draws limited cards with a single pull!¡±


    Under QiLeren and SuHe¡¯s scrutinising gaze, the aforementioned Prince of Gacha wiped the sweat from his brow and chanted ¡°Metaphysics be my guide¡± as he touched a finger to the last chest.


    Click.

 CH 20

    Dr Lu paused for a few seconds after receiving the card before bursting into raving laughter. ¡°IT¡¯S A HEALING SKILL!¡± he screamed. ¡°THANK YOU GOD! Someone¡¯s looking out for little old me up there, I tell you.¡±


    After lots of grabbing and forceful encouragement QiLeren managed to coerce the card out of Dr Lu¡¯s hand:


    [Doctor¡¯s Orders] (Non-Binding Skill Card): Allows the holder to heal all who meet the following requirements: attractive, not a Virgo and an IQ over 100. The number of requirements met will determine the effectiveness of the treatment. Skill cooldown: 2 hour(s). The ability to work miracles comes with a price ¨C a price for your patients. There will be no mercy given to those who do not deserve.


    ¡°Thank god I¡¯m not a Virgo,¡± QiLeren muttered.


    ¡°Neither am I,¡± echoed SuHe. They shared a brief moment of relief.


    Dr Lu had already clicked the card into his other card slot, turning to them with a delighted expression. ¡°Oh, ye poor mortals,¡± he cried, ¡°why dost thou tremble so? Fear not, for I shall grant sanctuary to those who offer me their faith!¡±


    QiLeren thought about his bag of dog food with bitterness.


    ¡°Dr Lu is so lucky¡­¡± SuHe sighed.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± QiLeren agreed. ¡°Can¡¯t you give me a bit of that luck?¡±


    Surprisingly, Dr Lu¡¯s expression thawed to one of abashed embarrassment. ¡°Well¡­ It¡¯s not all me¡­ It¡¯s mostly thanks to my skill¡­¡±


    His skill? Hold on, no one¡¯s had a look at this luck-enhancing skill of his yet. QiLeren and SuHe both turned in one swift action, leaving Dr Lu to squirm under their gaze. ¡°Alright alright,¡± he conceded, moving his hand off of the belt, ¡°you can have a look if you want. But don¡¯t hit me.¡±


    ¡°I dislike getting physical under normal circumstances,¡± SuHe said, smiling.


    Dr Lu timidly changed his focus to QiLeren. ¡°What about you? Do you like getting physical?¡±


    QiLeren leaned forward, face intimidating. ¡°Are you going to give it or not? Give it over or I¡¯m gonna start getting physical!¡±


    ¡°Wait wait wait I¡¯ll give it to you! Don¡¯t hit me! I¡¯m fragile!¡± Dr Lu immediately pulled the card out and presented it respectfully to QiLeren.


    ¡­What a pushover.


    Taking over the card, just the title alone was enough to make QiLeren balk:


    [Mockery of a Luckster] (Binding Skill Card): Grants the holder a passive luck buff for 90 minute(s) after activation. The buff will be more powerful in the near vicinity of those with terrible luck. Skill cooldown: 3 hour(s). You are the chosen child of Lady Luck. Show those peasants what it really means to be lucky!


    ¡°Your buff¡­¡± QiLeren levelled depressed eyes at Dr Lu.


    Dr Lu put his hands together apologetically. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I can vaguely feel the luckiness of people around me when I have the skill equipped, and you¡¯re¡­slightly worse than average.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± This was the kind of thing QiLeren considered to be better left unsaid.


    ¡°SuHe seemed pretty alright though,¡± Dr Lu continued. ¡°Better than you in any case. But hey, my buff wouldn¡¯t be so powerful without you around!¡±


    QiLeren could feel his heart slowly shattering into fine shards, never to be put together again. SuHe consolingly wound an arm around his shoulder offering soft condolences as Dr Lu rambled on in the background about how he would proactively help heal him in exchange ¨C which didn¡¯t make QiLeren feel any better. Didn¡¯t that just mean he¡¯d get injured more often from Dr Lu¡¯s curse?!


    The trio carelessly bantered in front of the charred room, completely unaware of the situation they were in until the ground below their feet let out a shudder and sent various objects far away as well as they themselves crashing to the ground. Dr Lu hit the bedframe with a pained cry. The wall, already weakened by the explosion, split down the middle with a loud crack and collapsed to reveal the endless darkness outside, shrouded in thick layers of fog.


    This ward was situated at the end of the hallway, which meant that it was on the very edge of the building. Without its outermost wall, QiLeren could see the unknown yet foreboding mess that was the outside wall. Luckily, there seemed to be an invisible barrier that stood between them and the fog.


    QiLeren pushed himself up and pulled Dr Lu up with him. SuHe took a few tentative steps towards the fog and observed it thoroughly.


    It twisted softly, fading and thickening under the hallway¡¯s light. It looked eerie.


    It looked alive.


    QiLeren gathered his wits and strode forward to stand beside SuHe. There seemed to be something within the fog, but the lighting was too dim to make it out. Having been inside the fog once before, QiLeren was cautious.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± QiLeren said softly. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous.¡±


    SuHe sighed. ¡°You¡¯re right. We should leave.¡±


    The two turned back to regroup with Dr Lu, perched on the edge of the scene and ready to bolt at any moment. He let out a visible huff of relief upon seeing that the two had stopped pushing their luck. ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s get out of this haunted place as soon as we can. We still need to check XueYingying.¡±


    ¡°What time is it?¡± SuHe asked.


    ¡°Give me a second,¡± Dr Lu said, taking out his phone. It had no signal but otherwise worked fine. ¡°It¡¯s twenty-three fifty-ni¡­ Oh. It¡¯s midnight.¡±


    Midnight.


    QiLeren felt a chill run down his spine. It was as if the word was a signal of some sort, bringing with it a draft that swept ash off the ground and propelled them into an aerial dance. The hallway was soon engulfed in the flurry of a black snowstorm that obscured their vision. The hallway¡¯s light was no more than ten metres from where they stood yet felt like a whole other world away.


    Dr Lu stared at his two companions with alarm from the doorway of the ward as they whipped around at almost the same time.


    The barrier was gone. Meeting no resistance, the endless darkness flooded into the building.


    ¡°Run!¡± SuHe¡¯s shout resonated in QiLeren¡¯s ears he sprinted for the door.


    Dr Lu had already been left far behind after a few seconds of running. ¡°Wait, wait for me!¡± he called helplessly. Resigned, QiLeren doubled back to Dr Lu and dragged him along as they ran for their lives. The familiar sight of their previous camp greeted them in no time at all.


    The fog behind them had disappeared sometime without them noticing, but still they ran, fuelled by the claustrophobic terror that threatened to choke.


    ¡°What¡¯re you guys running from? Did you run into a really powerful ghost?¡± Not far ahead was the strange sight of XueYingying ferociously swinging a bloodied firefighter¡¯s axe into a fast-moving ghost as she called out to them.


    The sounds emitted by the ghost scraped against their ears. Its movements were too fast to pin down, causing XueYingying¡¯s axe to miss more than a few times and embed itself into the cement walls around them. The deep groove it left behind was testament to the power in her swings.


    Having dealt with the obstacle, XueYingying slung the axe over her shoulder and strode over. ¡°I think I remember you guys saying something about killing the murderer while I was unconscious? Did you want some help with that?¡±


    The three took an unconscious step back. XueYingying awkwardly stopped in her steps and tossed her axe to one side. ¡°Sorry about that,¡± she said, raising her hands in surrender. ¡°I don¡¯t know what came over me, but I just felt kind of¡­cold? And I couldn¡¯t really control my body? I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    Her words could not have mattered less to QiLeren at that moment. All that effort they spent on setting the trap was a gigantic waste of her skills! Why couldn¡¯t they have just sent the berserker in their team in to hack at the murderer?


    What a terrible, terrible waste.

 CH 21

    Midnight brought with it a drastic increase in the volume of ghosts, all of whom were shielded behind a smoky veil of fog. This left the party, who had quickly found themselves unable to see past a small radius, completely at the mercy of the silent assassins lurking unseen around them.


    It was not an ideal situation, to say the least.


    ¡°Good thing we got rid of that murderer already or we¡¯d have another thing to worry about,¡± Dr Lu sighed with residual trepidation.


    ¡°How unlucky do you have to be to run into a murderer during the tutorial?¡± XueYingying muttered. Without so much as a pause she swung her axe into a ghost that had appeared out of nowhere, sending splatters of yellow fluid across the pristine walls around them. It did absolutely nothing to help the already eerie atmosphere.


    The three males shuddered and looked at her with conflicting feelings. XueYingying offered a chilling giggle in response. ¡°I can¡¯t wait till we leave this stupid place,¡± she sighed happily. ¡°I bet the feeling of my scum of an ex¡¯s face against my knuckles would be divine with this new strength I got from the skill card.¡±


    Looks like SuHe¡¯s face alone wasn¡¯t enough to erase all thoughts of her ex, QiLeren thought.


    Lead by Dr Lu, the four weaved their way through the foggy corridors towards the records room as ghosts pounced from all directions. By the end of it all, QiLeren had grown numb to the panic these surprise encounters used to bring. With Dr Lu¡¯s mildly annoying voice rambling in the background, QiLeren wielded his crowbar like an extension of his arm and disposed of their resident supernatural population with no more than a few swings each, dully impassive all the while.


    ¡°Don¡¯t lose yourself in your thirst for blood, QiLeren,¡± Dr Lu advised unhelpfully with a trace of awe.


    QiLeren rolled his eyes so far back he swore he could see his brain. Out of all of them, Dr Lu was probably the weakest one by far, everything about his pathetic physique pointing to his presence as half dead weight and the other half even deader weight. He probably hasn¡¯t even set foot in a gym before in his life. Compared to XueYingying ¨C who was most likely bleeding at any given moment yet standing strong as steel as their front-line fighter, steadily growing strength in her arms suggesting that she had plenty more where that came from ¨C Dr Lu was undoubtedly the class dunce.


    SuHe was likely the most idle. He had the dagger gripped in his hand, but its delicate craftsmanship and elegant adornments suggested that it was unfit for even small skirmishes. Perhaps it¡¯ll become more useful after its final ability becomes unlocked; it was, after all, an item from a chest.


    Upon their arrival at the records room, Dr Lu rummaged around for the key, eventually locating it in a nearby draw. The heavy doors opened to release the thick, musty air within, flickering overhead lights illuminating the rows upon rows of documents resting in their metal coffins.


    There was too much material and not enough time.


    Dr Lu circled around the shelves. ¡°This can¡¯t be all of them. Where are the earlier ones?¡± he muttered to himself quizzically, opening some archive racks peering into them.


    ¡°What happened?¡± QiLeren asked.


    ¡°I can¡¯t find anything from twenty years ago,¡± Dr Lu replied and pointed to the open shelf before him. ¡°See, this is the earliest I could find.¡±


    ¡°Could they perhaps be kept somewhere else?¡± SuHe said.


    ¡°I can go check the medical records and prescription files,¡± Dr Lu offered. He pocketed the keys and headed towards the neighbouring room.


    Something was wrong. QiLeren took in the shelves that towered over them menacingly in the cold lighting, each held closed by their own handle. There must be a reason as to why the documents were nowhere to be found.


    It wasn¡¯t long before Dr Lu returned with disappointing news. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find anything,¡± he reported, shaking his head in mystification.


    SuHe frowned. ¡°Did the hospital by any chance relocate twenty years ago?¡±


    ¡°No, we¡¯ve been here for fifty years already,¡± Dr Lu replied with the confidence of a true local. ¡°Even if we did it wouldn¡¯t have just erased the records as cleanly as this.¡±


    SuHe considered this. ¡°This hospital underwent a name change, yes?¡± he asked after a pause.


    ¡°Yeah it did.¡±


    ¡°If I recall correctly, I believe you said that the ¡®first¡¯ was added after its reconstruction twenty years ago.¡± SuHe said, standing beside a filing cabinet. Under the light, something danced within his eyes.


    Dr Lu froze for a few seconds before slowly, ever so slowly, opening his mouth into a soundless gasp.


    How could QiLeren describe his expression? It was the raw emotions of a lost man who had finally found light after trudging endlessly through the dark, only to find that the world he had dreamt of so longingly was no more hell on earth. It was twisted, sickening and unbelievably cruel. The others found themselves unable to respond and opted to watch silently.


    Dr Lu remained frozen to the ground where he stood. ¡°¡­Did it ever occur to you,¡± he rasped finally, ¡°that there¡¯s been two earthquakes since we first arrived?¡±


    Two earthquakes? The realisation hit QiLeren like a bus; yes, there¡¯d indeed been two earthquakes! The first was when they took shelter in Director Li¡¯s office, which caused the murderer to drop his chainsaw and subsequently offer the party precious seconds in which they fled. The second was the incident that exposed them to the fog outside not long ago in the charred ward. The fact that none of them had stopped to think about this would be puzzling had both occurrences not been immediately followed by life-threatening danger.


    Of course there¡¯d be earthquakes. After all, X City itself had been the host to a particularly large one twenty years ago!


    The earthquake had been no more than a vague memory by the time QiLeren¡¯s family moved here, the city having rebuilt itself, so it was small wonder that it slipped his mind. Even so, the severity of the disaster had made itself known to all.


    ¡°I see. So at four-thirteen on a certain day more than twenty years ago, a large earthquake in X City caused the hospital to undergo reconstruction, which led to the loss of all records up to that point,¡± SuHe concluded. ¡°If we are to survive until dawn, we¡¯ll need to find shelter.¡±


    QiLeren¡¯s heartbeat thundered in his ears. Finding shelter meant leaving the building for an open area, but who knew what the mist outside held?


    ¡°We can¡¯t go outside,¡± he said resolutely, shaking his head. ¡°We musn¡¯t. Ever.¡±


    ¡°But we¡¯ll die if we stay here!¡± XueYingying argued. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to try our luck outside?¡±


    QiLeren brought a trembling hand to his face. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be saying that if you saw what I did.¡± In fact, he¡¯d rather die a slow and painful death, crushed under the debris of an earthquake, than to face that horrifying scene again. It was not something anyone¡¯d understand unless they had seen it for themselves. His dour words and demeanour left the atmosphere grim.


    It was Dr Lu who finally broke the silence. ¡°Wait!¡± he exclaimed suddenly. ¡°I think I know how we can survive the earthquake without leaving the building!¡±

 CH 22

    Dr Lu¡¯s words were a much-needed flame in the darkness.


    ¡°Our hospital is equipped with a fallout shelter,¡± he said giddily under the gaze of six hungry eyes. ¡°It just so happened to be rebuilt during the nation-wide construction of underground air shelters, plus we¡¯re at a very important location, so they added in a nuclear-grade shelter.¡±


    ¡°Is it far from here?¡± SuHe asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s inside the hospital,¡± Dr Lu answered. ¡°The door¡¯s outside the outpatient building, but that one¡¯s solid steel and really hard to open. Luckily for you, I know where the back door is!¡±


    He looked at his companions expectantly for praise but eventually continued when he was met with tense silence. ¡°¡­It¡¯s around the A block emergency hallway. As soon as summer comes around everyone hides in there to take naps during the day because it¡¯s cooler than the aircon.¡±


    If the entire experience thus far was a rollercoaster ride, then Dr Lu¡¯s information was the final stretch in which they pull into the station. For the first time in far too long, QiLeren could feel the solid ground beneath his feet.


    XueYingying saw no reason for further delay. ¡°Why are you just standing there? Lead the way!¡±


    At XueYingying¡¯s urging, Dr Lu turned around with a call of ¡°Alright kids, follow me¡± and ushered them towards A block.


    The four waded through the misty hallways that formed their tomb. No amount of lighting could neutralise the chill they felt at the sinister desolation, the paranoia from ghosts they walked among.


    Mutilated corpses littered the path they travelled. From the numbers that decorated the ground beside them, the identity of the killer was obvious. It was fortunate that the murderer had been taken care of already; to take a path with so many surveillance cameras would be suicide.


    ¡°Do you think there are any other players left?¡± XueYingying asked softly.


    ¡°Maybe a few of them are hiding somewhere?¡± Dr Lu suggested.


    Maybe. But they may also have become victims of the murderer, or perhaps sacrificial offerings to the ghosts.


    ¡°We can go give a holler over the PA system if you really want,¡± Dr Lu shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s about all we can do. If they still end up dying then that¡¯s not really our problem anymore.¡±


    Meeting no opposition, the party changed routes to the broadcasting room. Dr Lu strode in and spoke solemnly into the mic:


    ¡°To all those who are still alive: good evening.¡± The sudden sound was startling to say the least, but Dr Lu¡¯s mellow voice softened the edges of their midnight announcement. ¡°It is currently twelve forty-three a.m. Beijing time, leaving approximately four hours until the X City Earthquake. Yes, you heard correctly ¨C we have reason to believe that the hospital we¡¯re in right now is one whose time overlaps with that of twenty years ago. The two tremors that occurred not long ago is, I believe, proof enough.


    ¡°If you wish to live, I highly suggest seeking shelter in a stable location. According to a teammate who wishes to remain anonymous, all that waits outside the hospital is a sea of ghosts, so we wouldn¡¯t really recommend leaving the building. As a side note, we have eliminated the problem of our friendly neighbourhood serial killer so for anyone still worrying about him, feel free to turn your attention to the matter at hand. If you think you can trust us, please come to the level one foyer in A block; we have found a safe shelter that is sure to protect us from the impending earthquake. That is all.¡±


    Satisfied, Dr Lu turned to his companions. ¡°Anything anyone wants to add?¡±


    XueYingying shook her head.


    After a moment of consideration, something occurred to QiLeren. ¡°Do you think the goldfish jumping out of their fishbowl was, like the foreshocks, a sign of the earthquake?¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve heard about that before. Most animals display strange behaviours before earthquakes, and I believe fish tend to jump out of the water? This horror game is more well-researched than I thought.¡± Dr Lu nodded and turned to SuHe, who was deep in thought. ¡°Did you want to add anything over the PA system?¡±


    SuHe took a second to respond. ¡°I have a question¡­¡±


    His three teammates prompted at the same time, ¡°About?¡±


    ¡°About the time.¡± SuHe frowned slightly. ¡°Are we sure that time of the earthquake is four thirteen?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­probably? It was sometime after twelve, but I was on holidays in America with my family around then so I¡¯m not sure of the exact time¡­ Hey, what¡¯s that look for? I know visas were tricky twenty years ago but my grandma is American and my grandpa has permanent residence after their marriage. It¡¯s totally normal for me to go over and visit family! My mum actually wanted to move overseas after the earthquake, but my dad was so against it that they ended up just staying here,¡± Dr Lu reminisced. He shot QiLeren a suspicious look. ¡°Do I have something on my face?¡±


    ¡°No, I was just thinking about your hair colour. Not dyed but inherited from your grandma, huh¡­ Can good luck be inherited? No wonder your entire family was able to avoid that earthquake.¡± Here, QiLeren let out a defeated sigh. Unfortunately for him, his genes had decided to ignore his mother¡¯s beauty and acting ability in favour of his father¡¯s terrible luck.


    ¡°Of course! I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve ever been short on anything before; my parents would just win whatever random supermarket raffle that they enter. I¡¯m pretty sure we have more than a few TVs just lying around.¡±


    ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is,¡± SuHe cut in, watching with resignation as his topic raced further and further off track, ¡°we don¡¯t know the exact time of the earthquake.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it four thirteen? That¡¯s what it says on all the screens,¡± XueYingying said with conviction.


    SuHe quietly looked at them before sighing softly.


    ¡­Why was there such a heavy feeling of condescension?


    SuHe tried again. ¡°Four thirteen in which month?¡±


    ¡°I know!¡± Dr Lu answered eagerly. ¡°It was the fifteenth of August!¡±


    ¡°Which would place this earthquake at four thirteen on the morning of August fifteenth, twenty years ago.¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    None of them could see where SuHe was going with his prompting, but the concerned expression on his face steadfastly held their attention for the reveal.


    SuHe didn¡¯t disappoint.


    ¡°If I recall correctly,¡± he said measuredly, ¡°this country operated under the daylight saving time system in the summer of that year.¡± His tone was light, voice unwavering, but his words brought to light a dangerous trap that had very nearly cost them their lives.


    Daylight saving time.


    ¡°Daylight saving time¡­ I think it was around when I was really little.¡± XueYingying was very confused. ¡°Is there a problem with that?¡±


    Dr Lu and QiLeren, on the other hand, finally understood what SuHe had been trying to say for the past few minutes; there was a time difference of one whole hour between standard time and daylight saving time!


    ¡°Daylight saving time is typically implemented during the summer months to save energy and to make use of daylight hours. All clocks within the country will be pushed forward one hour during daylight savings and pulled back to standard time in September.¡± SuHe explained patiently to XueYingying. ¡°If the time given on the screens is indeed in daylight saving time, then the earthquake¡¯s onset in standard time would actually be three thirteen.¡±


    ¡°Oh my god, then what are we standing around for? We need to get to the shelter!¡±


    ¡°We still have plenty of time, but I suppose there¡¯s no use to loitering around,¡± SuHe agreed. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    This time the party took no detours and immediately headed to the emergency hallway. After a violent upheaval of the nearby furniture Dr Lu triumphantly uncovered the key hidden away in a drawer and lead the party to the door.


    QiLeren would never have believed that a fallout shelter laid behind the slab of unassuming concrete before them if he hadn¡¯t been told.


    Movement from the door triggered the emergency lighting to reveal a space, large enough to fit more than a hundred people, boxed in by secure walls of reinforced concrete that gave a peculiar sense of security.


    ¡°Ventilation and air flow here is basically as good as it gets. There¡¯s some new medicine and food stocked less than a few days ago when the higher-ups came for their routine check, so they should all be safe to eat.¡± Dr Lu¡¯s voice held a slight tremble as it echoed off the walls, still nervous about SuHe¡¯s hypothesis.


    SuHe smiled gently in response. ¡°It was just a guess,¡± he soothed. ¡°Perhaps the ¡®four thirteen¡¯ was actually in standard time. We don¡¯t need to worry so much.¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re right,¡± Dr Lu said insistently. ¡°I think we¡¯ve all been missing something. If you think about everything we¡¯ve been through today, it¡¯s obvious that what this tutorial village is testing isn¡¯t our combat abilities but our capability for logical analysis.


    ¡°From the very beginning, that¡¯s what pushed us forward.¡±

 CH 23

    Having gained everyone¡¯s attention, Dr Lu cleared his throat before continuing. ¡°Let¡¯s first ignore the surprise element of the murderer,¡± he said. ¡°Without him, we would be in a puzzle-solving game with relatively low requirements for combat ability; the ghosts were pretty easy to deal with after we figured out their weakness-¡±


    QiLeren narrowed his eyes sceptically. Dr Lu had been carried through practically every combat situation thus far.


    ¡°-which brings us to the topic of surviving till dawn. Sounds straightforward on paper but it actually required us to find out what exactly was going to occur and how to avoid it. Again, logical analysis ¨C if we overlooked the earthquake in any capacity, we would¡¯ve died for sure once the time was up anyway.


    ¡°Basically, what you needed to survive in this game was never strength but intellect. Even without someone like me with home advantage, it shouldn¡¯t be too hard for fifteen normal players who don¡¯t know about the earthquake to figure it out. The murderer was an anomaly, no? Everyone could¡¯ve worked together to solve riddles, look for clues¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s such a shame¡­¡± QiLeren mumbled.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Dr Lu agreed softly. ¡°The earthquake should be easy enough for most players since every local would¡¯ve at least heard of the one twenty years ago. Figuring that out would only be a matter of time, especially with the two foreshocks, which is why I¡¯m not very surprised at the little trap they placed. Speaking from my years of experience from playing horror games, the real puzzle here was the time of the earthquake, not the earthquake itself.¡±


    There was a very real possibility that, had they not worked out the time difference, they would be wandering around outside and looking for survivors only to be killed by the earthquake themselves. To lose their lives from such a small yet fatal detail would be nothing but utter despair.


    XueYingying raised her question timidly. ¡°So are we going to¡­you know, look for survivors¡­?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not taking a single step outside of this shelter,¡± Dr Lu refuted immediately. He shook his head. ¡°We¡¯ve already done our part by notifying them of the danger.¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t there still two more hours?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just the earthquake, the number of ghosts outside is increasing as well. Plus, what if we went outside and wasted a few hours on another goldfish incident? We¡¯d be dead meat.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­alright¡­¡± XueYingying conceded with a face full of guilt.


    QiLeren frowned at the door. XueYingying was right; there was a lot of time left, and if there really were survivors waiting in the foyer who didn¡¯t know about the time difference¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± SuHe said as he stood up, cutting through the silence. ¡°I¡¯ll just leave a note ¨C it¡¯ll take no time at all.¡±


    Dr Lu wanted to scream. ¡°Did you really have to jinx yourself like that before leaving?! Why can¡¯t you just go like a normal person?!¡±


    SuHe couldn¡¯t hold back his smile. ¡°My bad,¡± he apologised insincerely. ¡°Don¡¯t worry though, the foyer is just a few minutes¡¯ walk from here. I¡¯m sure nothing bad will happen.¡±


    His utter lack of self-awareness rendered Dr Lu speechless.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ll go with you,¡± QiLeren decided. ¡°It¡¯ll be safer with two people.¡±


    SuHe considered him for a moment before smiling. ¡°In that case, I¡¯d be glad to have you.¡±


    Dr Lu and XueYingying bid them farewell with the air of parents watching their children leave to war. QiLeren glanced at the time ¨C one fourteen.


    Good. There was still time.


    The hospital felt deader with the silence. Bright crimson splatters of blood left behind cut through the thick fog obscuring their vision, painting a scene of horror onto the pristine canvas it lay upon. The only sounds QiLeren could hear were of their footsteps and faint breathing, but each time he opened his mouth to speak he found himself at a loss of words. What could he say?


    As they passed by a window, QiLeren glanced at SuHe¡¯s reflection out of the corner of his eye; SuHe met his gaze and sent him a gentle smile.


    Shivers danced down QiLeren¡¯s spine. Unbidden memories of holding ¡°SuHe¡¯s¡± hand surfaced to the forefront of his mind, bringing with it the terror of discovering the true owner of the hand in his own. He wrenched his eyes away from the glass and trained it on the path ahead.


    ¡°Did I scare you?¡± SuHe¡¯s soft, soothing voice washed softly over his companion.


    ¡°Erm¡­no¡­¡± QiLeren denied. He didn¡¯t particularly want to admit his frightening train of thought.


    A light chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m actually quite surprised when you said you wanted to come earlier,¡± SuHe mused.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    SuHe turned so their gazes intertwined, delicate features graced with the gentleness of a faint smile. ¡°Did it ever occur to you that I might have ulterior motives before naively following me like this?¡±


    It was as if someone dumped a bucket of cold water over him. QiLeren flinched violently backwards, face full of open horror, but before he could do anything SuHe let out a suppressed chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m joking,¡± he amended mirthfully.


    ¡°!!!!!!!!¡±


    At the sight of QiLeren¡¯s clear unease, SuHe rushed to placate. ¡°I apologise, I shouldn¡¯t have done that. It¡¯s just that, with the way you were looking at me, I couldn¡¯t help but¡­¡±


    ¡­But to tease this little guy a bit.


    ¡°I can walk in front of you if you¡¯d be more comfortable with that,¡± SuHe offered when QiLeren only bristled at his attempts at placation. Receiving no reply, he quickened his steps.


    QiLeren hesitated but decided to follow anyway.


    SuHe¡¯s back formed a tall silhouette in his field of vision. ¡°You don¡¯t trust me, do you?¡± His melodic voice weaved itself into the air around them, bringing with it the ever-present calm and serenity despite the situation.


    QiLeren opened his mouth to refute but found himself unable to do so upon recalling his doubt at the fishbowl.


    ¡°I¡¯m the same,¡± SuHe continued, unfettered. ¡°Everyone here has the potential to be a dangerous enemy. Some are rather unsubtle about it, like the murderer, but others¡­¡±


    Who was he referring to?


    ¡°Number Four, for example. I think she would¡¯ve been quite a clever and ambitious girl when she was still alive. It¡¯s a shame she met her death so early.¡±


    At SuHe¡¯s mention of the girl, QiLeren felt a heavy weight settle in his heart.


    ¡°Do your best to escape from here safely, okay?¡± SuHe stopped at the end of the corridor and turned back to QiLeren with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll¡­tell you a little secret of mine when we leave this place. I believe we can become very good friends.¡±


    Somewhere during QiLeren¡¯s shaken daze, they had arrived at the foyer.


    QiLeren could feel his mind resettle itself after leaving the note and embarking on their journey back to the shelter. SuHe¡¯s honest words had soothed his nerves; the admission of paranoia made him feel closer to the companion he walked along.


    QiLeren steered his thoughts away from SuHe¡¯s so-called ¡°little secret¡±. He seriously doubted it was a little secret in any capacity.


    Having met not a single other human and leaving just a note, the pair quickly arrived back at the shelter. Dr Lu and XueYingying¡¯s face of relief was welcoming but also somewhat insulting to QiLeren ¨C was their survival really so surprising?


    Despite the relief, Dr Lu was determined to verify their identities. A few minutes later saw QiLeren silently wiping blood plasma off his hand with a cold glare in Dr Lu¡¯s direction, which Dr Lu openly ignored in favour of caving under SuHe¡¯s smile instead. Under the pretence of napping, he slinked away and wrapped himself into a blanket from his inventory. XueYingying likewise nestled herself into a corner to rest.


    QiLeren¡¯s nap from earlier was nowhere near enough to compensate for dying twice, but where his body felt fatigue his mind was abnormally alert. Giving up on the idea of rest, he sat down next to Dr Lu and began writing a rough recount of the events thus far.


    ¡°No offence dude, but I don¡¯t think writing in your diary is the best idea,¡± Dr Lu advised, peeking out of his cocoon.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°You know how most horror games and movies have a diary as a key item? This means that the writers would¡¯ve had to have died in order for their diaries to give the protagonist the help they need, which means that writing in diaries equals death,¡± Dr Lu concluded sagely.


    QiLeren decided to ignore him.


    Time passed in slow, torturous seconds. The closer they were, the more alert everyone became ¨C Dr Lu¡¯s eyes were practically glued to his phone.


    Tick.


    Three thirteen.


    Suddenly, it was as if the room itself came to life. Upheavals wracked the walls around them, buckling like a creature unable to withstand the powerful blows of a god. Through the cacophony that threatened to overtake his senses, QiLeren had several moments in which he expected to die ¨C but the shelter held. Deep fissures may have scarred its previously planed surfaces, but it held.


    The earthquake lasted no more than a short minute, but to them, it had been an eternity.


    QiLeren let out a long breath of relief. After so many close brushes with death, it was them who came out victorious.


    There were three hours left until dawn.

 CH 24

    The soft gold of dusk trickled over the horizon, dyeing the ocean into the colour of honey over which seagulls glided. Salty-cool breezes caressed the land with its delicate limbs and swept away all worry, leaving behind only dazed captivation and a gentle blanket of warmth.


    QiLeren found himself momentarily disorientated. Where were they? What happened to the shelter? He looked around; the buildings and scenery were clearly not of the real world but rather similar to that of the industrial revolution, amateurish works of intertwined timber and metal looming over its inhabitants. All around them was the magnificent presence of steampunk technology ¨C windmills, engines, exposed gears, seaplanes. When QiLeren looked up at a shadow that befell him, a colossal metal airship greeted him with its unique rumble as it sailed overhead.


    It was¡­familiar. QiLeren stared into the horizon, suddenly at a loss for words.


    Eventually, SuHe stepped forward. Illuminated by the sunset behind him, he flashed the trio a comfortable smile. ¡°Welcome to Eventide Village.¡±


    Eventide. It was as if someone had struck QiLeren in the chest, giving him pain, giving him terror.


    ¡°It is one of the two major strongholds of humanity in the Nightmare World, named Eventide after its eternal sunset.¡± SuHe¡¯s voice was feathery light, dancing upon the salty sea breeze.


    Dr Lu retreated half a step back. ¡°Who are you? Why do you know this?¡±


    SuHe¡¯s eyes shone with humour as he looked into QiLeren¡¯s unfocused ones.


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­tell you a little secret of mine when we leave this place.¡±


    That¡¯s right. He¡¯d said that, hadn¡¯t he?


    Now QiLeren knows.


    ¡°Please allow me to introduce myself again. My name is SuHe, a player in this game just like you, only I entered quite a bit earlier. Less than a day ago I received an urgent quest to investigate the abnormally high death rate in a certain tutorial village ¨C I suppose the system may have suspected that it was the fault of a bug. I quickly found out after arriving that it was in fact another player who was causing the deaths, which was unfortunately out of the system¡¯s jurisdiction.¡±


    XueYingying¡¯s jaw was seconds away from dropping to the ground.


    Silhouette softened by the sunset, SuHe continued. ¡°Due to the special condition of the quest, I was to leave the tutorial village as soon as the investigation was completed. My original plan was to fall off the ceiling and fake my death, which would prevent you from discovering my identity ¨C a requirement of the quest along with being unable to provide assistance ¨C but QiLeren truly surprised me.¡± SuHe shifted his gaze onto QiLeren¡¯s face, which was tinged red by the lighting. The soft affection and slight amusement proved to be too much, forcing QiLeren to turn away. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect him to risk his life for mine, even if it was just a moment of impulse ¨C for that, I owe you my gratitude. It was this sincerity that convinced me to stay and guide you through the tutorial village.¡±


    ¡°But you did help us,¡± XueYingying mumbled quietly.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ll find that the system is quite inflexible sometimes. Its definition of help did not extend to this type of help.¡± Here, he tapped his temple.


    ¡°So that¡¯s why you were even more of a dead weight than me with fighting!¡± Dr Lu blurted, suddenly enlightened. ¡°So that stuff you said about not having any skill cards¡­?¡±


    ¡°I apologise for lying to you about that. I couldn¡¯t use any of them, but I do indeed have many skill cards. However, if I revealed this then I would¡¯ve been forced to use them at some point, which would violate the quest conditions. Again, I¡¯m very sorry.¡±


    XueYingying refused to accept SuHe¡¯s apology. ¡°Please don¡¯t be sorry!¡± she exclaimed, hands floundering. ¡°It¡¯s us who have to be apologise for being so useless ¨C without you we¡¯d all be dead!¡±


    QiLeren was still lost in his own thoughts. He hadn¡¯t believed SuHe at the time, but he was a ¡°programmer¡± indeed.


    Something occurred to him.


    The three goldfish were representing him, Dr Lu and XueYingying. As for SuHe, he was the one who ¡°did not exist¡±.


    So that¡¯s why, QiLeren thought mutely. That¡¯s why.


    With all their secrets out in the open, the atmosphere between them reverted back to the relaxed air it always had been. Dr Lu leaned forward from his position on a half-metre deep dam, whipping his head back and forth to drink in the view. ¡°This place looks like something out of a fantasy novel! Is this the second instance dungeon?¡± He paused, then corrected himself. ¡°No, wait, the system hasn¡¯t given us any new notifications yet, has it? I got ten days of lifespan though. What¡¯s that?¡±


    Having never played ?The Nightmare Games?, Dr Lu¡¯s confusion at Eventide was to be expected. The oppressive feeling from earlier came flooding back; this land of eternal sunset was one of the last remaining strongholds humanity possessed in this world. Taking a single step outside its protection would land one in demon territory, where humans lived as prey in days without hope nor refuge. QiLeren had spawned in Eventide at the start of his playthrough, where he took finally discovered the main quest after taking on many sidequests. His experience ended shortly after with his reception of a bad ending and the subsequent death of his laptop while trying to load a save.


    From the looks of it, he was the only one who had any knowledge of the game.


    ¡°We call this place the Nightmare World. Technically speaking, this isn¡¯t an instance but rather the overworld. Quests you receive can vary in location with both the overworld and instances, type, difficulty¡­¡± SuHe shook his head. ¡°There are too many to talk about here. Shall I take you to the player hub? It¡¯s on the island just ahead of us. I¡¯d like to treat you all to a meal if it isn¡¯t too much to ask for ¨C think of it as an apology for my dishonesty.¡±


    At the mention of food, Dr Lu¡¯s eyes lit up. XueYingying likewise gulped, stomach growling. QiLeren couldn¡¯t find any reason to turn the offer down, settling for an abashed ¡°You¡¯re too generous.¡±


    SuHe¡¯s captivating smile drew the attention of two people hurrying past. One of them ¨C a young girl ¨C murmured quietly to her companion. ¡°Are those newbies? Should we go be ¡°tour guides¡±?¡±


    ¡°No, the ship is leaving soon,¡± the older woman replied, though her gaze lingered on them for a few seconds longer. Her precise features betrayed no emotions, considering the group before her as a merchant would their goods before giving a negative conclusion.


    The girl was evidently displeased with this answer, turning back to give SuHe a friendly smile before being tugged away by what seemed to be her sister.


    ¡°Tour guide?¡± Dr Lu asked SuHe.


    ¡°Some players may offer to explain some things to new players, though most of them tend to charge for the service,¡± SuHe explained.


    ¡°Charge? I think I might have a bit of cash on me, does this place take card?¡± XueYingying patted her pockets and pulled out a few notes she had prepared for the abortion.


    SuHe chuckled. ¡°The currency we use here isn¡¯t money, nor is it precious metals.¡±


    ¡°What do you use then?¡± XueYingying asked, curious.


    ¡°Here,¡± he answered, giving them a deep look, ¡°we trade with our lifespans.¡±

 CH 25

    The airship drew away from the seaport in all its metal-enclosed glory, beginning its journey over the waters with the gradual steadiness of vessels of old. Archaic round windows allowed its new inhabitants a glimpse of the heavens outside and the rolling clouds that, emblazoned with the fires of dying stars, tumbled into the waves they rode upon.


    The sharp scent of gasoline and food wafted through the air. It wasn¡¯t a pleasant smell exactly, but the hustle of people around them gave QiLeren a peculiar sense of vitality; they weren¡¯t NPCs but living, breathing humans just like them.


    He put aside his curiosity for the moment and quietly observed his fellow passengers. Most of them were young adults with few older and even fewer younger, more or less evenly split between male and female. They all seemed accustomed to life within this game, some conversing mildly with companions of recent spoils and incessant pleasantries while others sat alone in the belly of the ship and stared bleakly into the sunset with unseeing eyes.


    They were at the peak of their youth, yet moved with the air of dead men walking.


    Were their lifespans running low? QiLeren felt his chest tighten at his own hypothesis ¨C he himself only had a mere ten days.


    ¡°Lifespans?¡±


    Following SuHe¡¯s words, a horrified reutterance tumbled unbidden from Dr Lu¡¯s mouth.


    SuHe cast his gaze out to the unending ocean, features aglow from the brilliant passion of a midnight sun. ¡°Yes,¡± he said, ¡°lifespans. Every player is gifted with ten days upon clearing the tutorial village and it is in these ten days that you must gain more or meet your death. Without lifespans, everything is meaningless. Money, too, is worthless here.


    ¡°Perhaps time is just an arbitrary concept to those outside, something granted to them in abundance. Most pay very little mind to the value of their day and allow it to pass them by without a second thought. Here, time is the measure of life, the most precious resource of all.¡±


    SuHe¡¯s voice was soft, but the steely glint of its implication was clear. QiLeren thought back to his aimless days spent lounging around, playing video games and accepting the occasional design work as a freelancer to maintain an income; the distant future was not something that had even crossed his mind, but now with only ten days left on his clock¡­what he wouldn¡¯t give to rewind all the time he wasted! In his hands was a mere whisper of what he had, but he¡­


    He wanted to live.


    SuHe returned with some bread and water and passed them out. ¡°Some items from instances can¡¯t be brought into the overworld, which includes food. Here¡¯s something small to tide you over until we arrive.¡± He smiled at the sight of his companions wolfing it down.


    Under his composed gaze, XueYingying felt her cheeks colour. ¡°Wh¡­ What about you? Do you want some?¡± she stuttered around a mouthful of bread.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I can wait until we arrive,¡± SuHe replied mildly. ¡°You should save yourselves for the proper meal we¡¯re going to have as well.¡±


    QiLeren personally thought that it was more because the food was comparable to mouldy bread. SuHe seemed like someone with rather expensive tastes.


    A passing passenger¡¯s cape brushed against QiLeren¡¯s cup. As he reached out to steady it, QiLeren caught a glimpse out the corner of his eye as the man, whose cape was wrapped so tightly that his silhouette was almost shapeless, stopped by the corner of the room in conversation with another person.


    There was a patch over his right eye, most likely blind from an injury, while his companion¡¯s prosthetic leg gleamed with reflected light.


    QiLeren felt a peculiar precognition.


    These two were fugitives.


    Almost as if a trigger had been flipped, the Prosthetic Leg swung a heavy kick into the cabin door before slapping a piece of paper onto it, sending the quietened room a menacing smile as he placed a hand on his companion¡¯s shoulder. Eyepatch slowly pushed his cape aside, revealing the rows upon rows of explosives strapped to his body and a detonator clutched in his hand.


    QiLeren stared in apprehension. Robbers?!


    ¡°You see, me and my buddy here, we¡¯re not doing so good,¡± Prosthetic Leg rasped, voice stained with the colour of giddy mania. ¡°Upsetting some folks we probably shouldn¡¯t have with my missing leg and his missing eye, our days are running real low ¨C but guess what? We¡¯ve decided that we¡¯re not gonna die just yet. We¡¯re not asking for much, just ten days from everyone on this ship. If you¡¯ll all just sign your name on this contract here, we guarantee you¡¯ll live to see tomorrow. If not¡­¡± Prosthetic Leg patted Eyepatch¡¯s hand. ¡°I guess we can all die together!¡±


    The cabin was deathly silent. Eventually, a young man stood and spoke up. ¡°I need to have a look at the contract.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s right here on the wall, buddy. Sign your name, let us tie your hands together, go stand in that corner over there and we¡¯ll let you go when the ship arrives,¡± Prosthetic Leg drawled easily.


    The young man raised his hand in surrender and approached the contract under the robbers¡¯ cautious gazes. ¡°By signing the contract below, Party A (signee) hereby agrees to provide Party B with 10 days of lifespan in consideration for the benefit of arriving safely on land,¡± he read aloud. ¡°Party B is not to harm any persons undergone the transaction¡­this kind of contract would never have been approved! This¡¯ll be ruled as fraud in no time and the only thing waiting for you then is death!¡±


    Prosthetic Leg burst into laughter. ¡°This isn¡¯t some run-of-the-mill contract, kid, what do you take me for? No, this is a demon¡¯s contract ¨C I signed an agreement with Archduke Demon of Deceit so it¡¯d be binding regardless of the legitimacy!¡±


    The young man¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°You¡­surrendered yourself to a demon¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d sell my soul in a heartbeat if it¡¯d buy me another day to live! Fortunately for you, I¡¯m not asking for your souls but a mere ten days. Great deal, isn¡¯t it? Are you sure you want to risk your life for ten days?¡± Prosthetic Leg placed a pen down before the young man. ¡°Sign it.¡±


    The man signed crisply despite his dark expression before allowing his wrists to be bound and was ushered to the designated corner.


    ¡°Hurry up, who¡¯s next?¡±


    QiLeren, Dr Lu and XueYingying shared a look of panic. Ten days may not be much for the veterans on the ship but to them it was all they had ¨C handing it over would mean certain death!


    ¡°Excuse me, I have a question.¡± It was the woman from the harbour, sitting one table away. ¡°What should we do if we don¡¯t have enough days to give?¡±


    Prosthetic Leg sent her a poisonous look. ¡°Then you can go die.¡±


    The woman chuckled placatingly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I myself have more than enough. The same can¡¯t be said for everyone on the boat, however; will you allow me to pay for them?¡±


    The poison subsided, but Prosthetic Leg¡¯s tone was still cold. ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡±


    Smiling like a cat that got the cream, the woman turned to QiLeren¡¯s table. ¡°Pay me back three times the amount within a month, deal?¡± she asked in a low voice.


    QiLeren felt like he was dreaming. Was this person seriously doing business in this kind of situation¡­?


    Beside him, SuHe let out a longsuffering sigh. ¡°Businesswoman ChenBaiqi, you never miss any opportunity to make money, do you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m honoured that you know my name, handsome. I have to apologise for not being able to return the favour, which is weird because a face like yours would surely stand out in my memory,¡± ChenBaiqi mused, raising an eyebrow. Her warm demeanour was a complete one-eighty from their chilly encounter on the harbour, where she spared not a second glance at SuHe and looked at him as one¡¯d look at a piece of rock on the sidewalk.


    ¡°I must say I don¡¯t find myself visiting Eventide very much,¡± SuHe replied lightly. ¡°Compared to the eternal sunset here, the scenery of daybreak is much more suited to my tastes.¡±


    ¡°You settled in Aurora Village?¡± ChenBaiqi said, taken aback. ¡°No wonder¡­ I was a bit rude earlier, sorry about that.¡± At this, she pulled away with her the girl she had been silencing with sharp looks for the past few minutes to sign the contract, retreating to the corner with not a further word about lending lifespans.


    Aurora? From what little he could remember, QiLeren recalled that it was the other major stronghold for humanity whose standards of living were vastly higher than those of Eventide. To think that SuHe lived there¡­


    During their short chat, most of the passengers had already lined up and signed their names. Some were clearly hesitant but ultimately decided that ten days was not worth the risk ¨C the robbers had clearly decided on an ideal number.


    SuHe turned so that his back faced the robbers and leaned in. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± he whispered, ¡°those two won¡¯t be a problem for much longer.¡±

 CH 26

    With the increase of passengers onto one side of the ship, so did the amount of signatures on the contract. The fugitives¡¯ eyes contained an glint of joyous greed; there were at least sixty or seventy passengers on the boat, netting them an entire year¡¯s worth of lifespan each after all was said and done. This would undoubtedly be a huge income for most players, much less two fugitives on the verge of death.


    SuHe stood, shooting his companions a comforting smile before approaching the fugitives and picking up the pen. ¡°I¡¯d like to cover the fees for my three friends. Would amending clauses be needed for it to take effect?¡±


    One of them glared, irritated but unwilling to part with the lifespan he was about to receive. ¡°Go sit back down,¡± he snarled. ¡°I need to think about this.¡±


    QiLeren, Dr Lu and XueYingying watched the scene with trepidation, but SuHe calmly returned to their table.


    ¡°What¡¯s gonna happen now?¡± Dr Lu whispered to SuHe, staring restlessly at the two figures by the contract. ¡°They¡¯re not gonna kidnap us or anything, right?¡±


    A corner of SuHe¡¯s lips drew up sharply into a cold, mocking smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re here already.¡±


    QiLeren reached for his cup, feeling thirsty, and as he did so something flashed across his peripheral vision that very nearly made him fall out of his chair ¨C there was a person hanging outside the window! The airship wasn¡¯t quite as fast as a plane, but why would there be someone clinging onto the outside of a vehicle so far from the ground?!


    The figure seemed to be surveying the situation inside and disappeared in a blink. QiLeren stared blankly at the window as if the person would come back if he kept his gaze there.


    ¡°They¡¯re here.¡± SuHe leaned into his chair with crossed arms, eyes half-lowered and content to just sit back and watch the scene unfold.


    His three companions turned their attention to the fugitives to see a young, uniformed man phase through the airtight walls and into the ship without a single sound. The room was deathly silent aside from the fugitives¡¯ ceaseless hustling, ignorant to the figure behind them.


    At this, the passengers of the ship displayed a unity that before this was unthinkable to QiLeren. Not a single person gave any outward reaction to this new development, not a single whisper nor change in expression, all minding their own business and wordlessly waiting for the fugitives¡¯ inevitable capture.


    The young man swung the metal pole gripped in his hand and downed Eyepatch without fanfare. When Prosthetic Leg turned around suspiciously at the noise, all he saw was the unforgiving glint of approaching metal before likewise dropping unconscious beside his friend.


    A total of no more than three minutes elapsed between the young man¡¯s first appearance and the incapacitation of both fugitives; there was not a wasted motion nor any tension. Perhaps one could even describe the whole process as being somewhat anticlimactic, but QiLeren personally thought that this was the way things should be ¨C simple, efficient and effortless. The idea of rescue workers engaged in a drawn-out cinema-worthy showdown with the fugitives, in which the bombs may or may not be seconds away from being detonated for extra points, could not be less appealing.


    The uniformed young man looked down at the hand under his boot before shifting focus, tilting his head at the detonator on the ground.


    ¡°I¡¯ll defuse it.¡± Emerging from the crowd was a smiling ChenBaiqi, whose hands had somehow been freed from its bindings. ¡°Since it¡¯s for my own safety, I won¡¯t ask for payment.¡±


    The young man gave her a steely look and retracted his foot. ChenBaiqi didn¡¯t disappoint, making short work of the detonator and stripping off the explosives, which she threw to the young man. ¡°I suggest throwing these outside. If they go off accidently because of shoddy workmanship¡­¡± She chuckled dryly.


    ¡°This is material evidence.¡± As if a switch had been flipped, the young man started speaking, though his expression remained cold. ¡°Two pieces of scum with not even a card on their body. Probably sold them all long ago, hence why they turned to robbery. Can someone give me a rundown of what happened here?¡±


    ¡°I can do it!¡± the little girl who came with ChenBaiqi volunteered.


    The young man made notes on a notebook as she recounted the events, raising questions where needed. ¡°How many people signed this contract?¡±


    ¡°Everyone standing on this side,¡± ChenBaiqi answered, pointing.


    The young man tore down the contract and fell silent as he read the terms. ¡°This¡­this is a demon¡¯s contract?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mr Al,¡± the little girl replied softly. ¡°The robber said that it¡¯ll be effective as soon as we sign. I got a notification saying that ten days were deducted.¡±


    Al gave the fugitives on the ground a disgusted sneer. ¡°The Institution will get it out of them.¡±


    A few minutes later saw the contract put away and the two fugitives snugly tied up in the corner. The young man named Al slouched contently in his chair, arms crossed as he spoke to ChenBaiqi. QiLeren could hear them clearly due to how close they sat, but the two made no moves to conceal their conversation.


    ¡°That¡¯s not the weapon I remember you using,¡± ChenBaiqi commented at the metal pipe now discarded on the table.


    ¡°I ripped it off the side of the ship. It¡¯s enough against two pieces of trash,¡± Al replied leisurely. He looked at QiLeren.


    QiLeren¡¯s heart skipped a beat. This man, who was most definitely the same person who he saw earlier hanging by the window, was no ordinary passer-by.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Al asked. The person he addressed was, of course, not QiLeren but SuHe.


    ¡°Friends,¡± ChenBaiqi introduced with a smile. ¡°One from Aurora and three fresh out of the tutorial.¡±


    Al¡¯s eyes held a blatant display of armour-piercing scrutiny, as if he was going to peel SuHe¡¯s defences apart, layer by layer, until the very components of SuHe¡¯s soul were bared for him to examine.


    ¡°Would it be correct for me to assume that Mr Al is an officer of the Tribunal Institute? I¡¯ve heard much about the renowned Institution, but your efficiency today was truly impressive.¡± SuHe smiled, but didn¡¯t offer up his name.


    ¡­Which was just as well since Al didn¡¯t seem very interested in knowing, seemingly losing interest in this stranger immediately after learning their origins. It was as if he was a beast in the wild, running into one of his own kind and unwilling to expend even a single drop of additional effort after confirming that the other was not a threat.


    ¡°There¡¯s been an influx of diabolical followers recently,¡± ChenBaiqi brought up offhandedly.


    Al¡¯s eyes closed as he dozed in the chair. His voice held the delirious air of sleep talking. ¡°Weaklings will always choose to betray, and those who betray will be judged at trial for their crimes. They have committed unforgivable sins that can only be washed away with death.¡±


    The little girl sitting by ChenBaiqi sneaked glances at SuHe, evidently wanting to talk but held back from doing so every time by ChenBaiqi¡¯s warning looks.


    The ship around them had fallen silent, previous chatter dropping into hushed conversations to out of consideration for Al. The young man looked as though he was asleep already, but QiLeren knew he¡¯d be ready for combat in a split second at the faintest suggestion of disturbance.


    He was most likely a highly experienced player, QiLeren thought. To think that a veteran would be so frightening ¨C suddenly appearing on an airship sailing high in the sky, having the ability to soundlessly phase through walls and knocking down someone with a single hit¡­not to mention the fact that, from ChenBaiqi¡¯s remark, this metal pole was apparently not his normal weapon. Even this clear underplay of Al¡¯s abilities was enough to render QiLeren speechless.


    Would he become that powerful as well? QiLeren brought a hand to the card slots on his belt and thought of the fugitives¡¯ lunacy, the desperation of men with nothing left to lose and everything to gain, bringing with it a sympathetic bitterness. If he couldn¡¯t become stronger then the only road left for him was to die here.


    Ahead of him, the road to survival seemed endless.

 CH 27

    Passengers filtered out of the airship upon landing, leaving the unconscious bodies of the fugitives for several similarly uniformed people to collect. ChenBaiqi shot the four an amicable smile before joining the flow with what seemed to be her little sister.


    ¡°This place is called Nightfall Island, the central player district of Eventide. I suppose I¡¯m getting a little nostalgic ¨C it¡¯s been quite a while since I¡¯ve come here¡­¡± SuHe¡¯s voice was as soft and mellow as the island before them, bathed in sunset.


    QiLeren stood at the hatchway and followed his gaze. Under the honeyed glow of the sun, a lone island stood, an untouched sanctum in the vast ocean that surrounded it, magnificent yet intimidating in a way that made people hesitate to approach. He had heard about this island in passing from NPCs but never had the chance to visit.


    If only he had taken the game more seriously¡­


    Dr Lu¡¯s head popped over QiLeren¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Move over, giants, cute gnomes coming through!¡±


    ¡°Yeah guys, have some consideration for us short ones,¡± XueYingying agreed.


    QiLeren and SuHe were herded to one side and forced hug the metal handrails as they disembarked within with the stream of passengers.


    ¡°This aesthetic should be called steampunk, right?¡± QiLeren pointed up towards the airship. ¡°It¡¯s kind of unbelievable how that looks identical to normal ships that sail on water but could just¡­fly.¡±


    ¡°This is nothing compared to a lot of the things you¡¯ll see here in the future,¡± SuHe replied with faint amusement.


    The four passed through a narrow alleyway and made their way to a metal bridge. The sight of highly mechanical yet somewhat run-down buildings surrounded them, transforming their world into what could be an industrial revolution era factory district littered with wide pipes that unloaded wafting clouds of steam.


    ¡°This restaurant¡¯s been here since I first came to Eventide and is quite famous in this region. I was actually worrying about what I¡¯d do if the owner was no longer here,¡± SuHe introduced.


    The important information didn¡¯t escape Dr Lu. ¡°The owner¡¯s a player as well?¡±


    SuHe nodded. ¡°Some players choose to earn their lifespan through methods other than quests. ChenBaiqi and Al for example both have alternate sources of income, but the monthly compulsory quest can¡¯t be circumvented.¡± The three nodded vaguely in response before following SuHe into the unremarkable restaurant.


    If QiLeren was being honest with himself, the store itself was less than glamourous; actually, it¡¯d be a miracle if it passed any food safety inspections at all. The dim lighting did nothing to disguise the mottled stains on its walls and flooring, which, combined with the faint but constant smell of gasoline, made the presence of food somewhat unwelcome. That was not to say that the smell was solely localised here; the entire walk reeked sharply of engine oil, so much so that QiLeren was ready to give himself the wild diagnosis of anosmia from the growing numbness in his nose.


    The four picked and entered a private booth that allowed for quiet conversation. XueYingying carefully positioned herself onto a patch of the sofa that looked adequately clean as Dr Lu likewise showed much disdain for the poor hygiene and was forced to overcome his occupational germaphobia. QiLeren, on the other hand, had no such hesitation and leaned back as he read the weirdly sticky menu. ¡°This place is all western food?¡± The dubious food items on it didn¡¯t seem terribly appetising considering his general apathy towards the cuisine.


    SuHe didn¡¯t take offence. ¡°There are places for Chinese as well. Perhaps next time.¡±


    The wait for their food to arrive provided an excellent opportunity for the three newcomers to raise their burning questions ¨C with the first being, of course, the way to return to the real world.


    Under the expectant gazes of three pairs of eyes, SuHe let out a light sigh. ¡°What a question to start with. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t answer that ¨C nor can anyone else here, for that matter.¡±


    ¡°Will we go back if we die here?¡± XueYingying asked with no shortage of hope.


    ¡°You can attempt doing so if you happen to have the courage,¡± SuHe replied mildly. ¡°Unfortunately, nobody living here will know of the outcome.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t think so.¡± Dr Lu¡¯s refute was unwavering. ¡°If that really were the case, those two fugitives wouldn¡¯t have risked so much for their lifespans.¡±


    SuHe nodded. ¡°The general consensus among players is that death is just death, which erases you from both the real world and the one we¡¯re currently in. It¡¯s been said that the key to returning lies at the end of the main quest.¡±


    The end? What constitutes as the end? A thousand possibilities flashed through QiLeren¡¯s mind; the game did indeed have a main quest, but he died far too early to make sense of it all.


    ¡°You¡¯ll need to understand the history of this world to understand the main quest,¡± SuHe patiently explained. ¡°The beginning of the Nightmare World occurred about twenty years ago. According to the evidence players have uncovered so far, the earliest batch of players arrived twenty-two years ago ¨C these people have since disappeared and are most likely dead. To the world itself, this was when the most significant changes started to take place.¡± Warmth from the glowing red sunset filtered through the smudged glass window and into their dimly-lit room, mellowing SuHe¡¯s features to match his gentle tone.


    ¡°Twenty two years ago, the Archduke Demon crossed into the mortal realm with a legion of demons through the sacrifices of his worshippers and by drawing on the eclipse¡¯s power. He slaughtered and enslaved a devastating number of humans before returning and leaving behind armies of followers and an endless flow of sacrifices. The world he left behind was one that was one of chaos, still bleeding freely from its wounds with what little faith it once possessed having crumbled to its foundations.


    ¡°From then on, a fracture divided the people into two. The first faction simply gave up on resistance, preferring to accept the sign of apocalypse for what it was ¨C divine punishment for their sins. These people followed the church to Neverland, where they rebuilt their homes. The other faction was determined to fight until the end. They endeavoured to preserve the human civilisation in the years following the invasion, establishing places like Eventide and Aurora. These villages are located at the two ends of the mortal realm, separated by immeasurable distance. Due to reasons unknown, Aurora is in a constant state of sunrise just as Eventide remains static in its eternal sunset. Civilians settled down in the villages and restarted their lives, though those with wisdom in their minds foresaw a second rising of demonic power.


    ¡°They were, unfortunately, proven right. Three years ago, the demonic race once again set foot into the mortal realm.¡±


    ¡°Again?¡± XueYingying muttered, sounding disgusted.


    SuHe chuckled. ¡°Yes. But this time, the one leading them was not the Archduke Demon from twenty years ago. Three new demons had risen to take his place, representing power, bloodlust and deceit. Under their leadership, the mortal realm was once again plunged into a war that would see many new followers for the demonic race, leaving only Eventide and Aurora as some of the last remaining shreds of peace in this ravaged land due to their special construction that proved to be difficult to breach. Humans outside of these strongholds currently live in what could be said as an abyss of suffering and misery, some converting to the worship of demons and others doing anything they can to live just one more day.¡±


    The more SuHe said, the more alarmed QiLeren became; this familiar story was identical to the background of ?The Nightmare Games?!


    ¡°And I suppose this background story has something do with us players,¡± Dr Lu said after a moment of thought. ¡°Is there a main quest that requires us to aid the humans in defeating the demons?¡±


    ¡°That is a rather difficult question to answer,¡± SuHe answered vaguely. ¡°The current demon invasion has not yet ended. Though most of them have returned to their own realm, the passageway remains open for demons to come and go as they please, not to mention the vast numbers of lesser demons that still remain outside. Defeating even those is quite a feat for any player, much less the archdukes.¡±


    The three newcomers were understandably left dejected by the information, though the hurdle of simply surviving at their skill level was enough to stave off thoughts of the more distant future.


    As the waiter arrived with their food, SuHe glanced quizzically at the lamb placed before him. ¡°Did you change chefs?¡±


    The waiter blinked. ¡°Which chef might you be referring to? I¡¯m afraid I haven¡¯t been here for very long but I¡¯ve heard that we¡¯ve had about eight chefs in the last three years.¡±


    SuHe stared at him, a rare sliver of bewilderment visible in his deep eyes, before politely thanking the waiter. ¡°Looks like I can¡¯t treat you to the lamb I¡¯ve been thinking about for three years after all,¡± he lamented to his companions, knife and fork in hand. ¡°What a shame, I really was fond of the flavour¡­¡± SuHe¡¯s sombre words danced across the air before dissolving into the roar of a passing engine that disrupted the silent twilight around them.


    Their life in this strange, fascinating world of nightmares had officially begun.

 CH 28

    The meal its last threads of conversation were finally brought to a close as the time neared nineteen o¡¯clock. Eventide¡¯s perpetual sunset made it quite hard to tell the time, making the distant chiming of a clock and SuHe¡¯s pocket watch their only source of such information.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take you to the marketplace first,¡± SuHe told them as he paid for the meal. ¡°You won¡¯t be able to afford any of the cards or items they offer, but you can apply for an empty house to stay in. After that we can drop by the quest hub so I can show you how to take quests and the rest will be up to yourselves.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re leaving?¡± XueYingying grew uneasy at the implication in his words. QiLeren watched SuHe with apprehensive eyes.


    ¡°I need to return to Aurora soon, but you can¡¯t go there yet. It¡¯s mostly NPCs living in the village right now since to unlocking it requires the completion of a chain of quests.¡± SuHe stepped outside the restaurant and into the gentle shower of twilight with the three newcomers in tow. Nightfall Island around them was illuminated in a dreamlike haze, as if even the most fantastical of fantasies had their place here. ¡°I¡¯ll be staying here for a day or two before I leave. I hope to see you in Aurora one day ¨C I believe in you.¡±


    The sunset pulled at SuHe¡¯s shadow, leaving behind an silhouette that would stay in QiLeren¡¯s mind until the end of time.


    The trio settled in at Eventide with SuHe¡¯s help. Their allocated homes were spread out across Nightfall Island, but the island itself was small enough to travel across with ease.


    QiLeren was the last to be bid goodnight by a good-natured SuHe, who had walked him to his home as it was located near SuHe¡¯s accommodation on the west coast. He stared at the house that strangely reminded him of Hobbiton, hesitating ¨C and unlocked the door to his new home.


    Judging by the complete mess inside, the previous owner was evidently not one for order. QiLeren firmly reminded himself that defamation of the dead was a rude thing to do before sluggishly setting about to tidy up the bedroom.


    The flower on the windowsill was long dead. A thick layer of dust had settled over the bed. When QiLeren rolled up the bedding to throw into the floor and promptly burst into a fit of coughing, he discovered that the thick layer of dust in fact covered the entirety of the room.


    He managed to uncover a reasonably clean bedspread from the closet, though his sleep-addled brain could not care less at that moment. Nearing almost twenty-four hours of wakefulness, QiLeren threw himself into the shortest shower he could manage before collapsing onto the bed.


    He was out almost immediately, falling into an oblivion so deep that not even dreams could reach.


    QiLeren woke a warm sunset and confusion. He blinked; this wasn¡¯t his apartment.


    Oh, right.


    He was in another world. A world where danger lurked around every corner, where every second spent was a second burned off his life. He aimed a cursory gaze at his remaining lifespan ¨C nine days, seven hours and twenty-eight minutes.


    Well, that was his good mood gone. QiLeren ran a hand through his hair as he reluctantly pushed himself up and reflected upon his situation.


    Despite their inability to afford any cards, the staff member at the Trading Centre had informed them of the room allocation system with amicable professionalism. Places of permanent accommodation on Eventide operated on a lottery system; every newcomer was to be granted a place to stay until their death, where their home would be given to another newcomer. Any special requirements for accommodation can be acquired through trading and other means of exchange.


    In fact, it wasn¡¯t restricted to houses; food, weapons, skill cards, item cards and the like were all able to be traded between players. Trading itself, however, was an activity that was strictly monitored for justice. Robbery under the guise of ¡®trading¡¯ was not tolerated and will be met with both punishment for the offending party and reversal of the contract.


    The meal with SuHe came to mind. The currency he used to pay was not money but time ¨C a total of six hours and seventeen minutes to be paid upon signature, from what QiLeren could recall. The restaurant was a legal business, so the transaction was established as soon as SuHe pen left the paper.


    On the opposite end of the spectrum were the fugitives on the airship. Using a ¡®contract¡¯ to trade for others¡¯ lifespans was a transaction that never should¡¯ve been established, but they achieved it anyway through demonic power. To illegally obtain lifespans of other people in such a way was undoubtedly dangerous.


    QiLeren dug through the mess to find an old notebook from the previous owner and seated himself on the bed as he recorded what he could remember of the game¡¯s plot.


    The background lore was more or less the same as SuHe¡¯s explanation. He had found what seemed like the main quest during his playthrough, which led him to the Holy City and triggered his first and final bad ending. He had, however, undertaken a number of sidequests before then. If this world was the same as that of the game, then maybe the sidequests would be as well.


    It was only yesterday that SuHe had told them of the two types of quests: quests concerning the nightmare world and quests that take place in instance dungeons. The first type had the ability to change the course of the world itself ¨C rumour has it that the second demon invasion three years ago contained the handiwork of players.


    For QiLeren though, such matters were only faraway concepts. His primary goal for now was to take as easy of a quest as he could get for bit more lifespan. Only then could he afford the luxury of mulling over returning home.


    Having finished recording what he could, QiLeren put away the pen and paper and lied back pensively.


    Why had they been chosen for this game? Was there a criteria that everyone had to meet to be chosen in the first place? When they asked SuHe about this the night before, QiLeren felt a twinge of guilt; what if it was because he¡¯d played the game and everyone else, including those who died, was simply wrapped up in it all?


    ¡°Another difficult question,¡± SuHe had sighed with a shake of his head. ¡°I don¡¯t believe anyone truly understands why they were chosen. If I were to take a guess from the player demographics though, most of the players are promising young adults with a high tolerance for stressful conditions who¡¯ve arrived in waves; which is to say that at a certain point in time, a certain location will become a tutorial village ¨C in your case, the hospital ¨C and a portion of the people within that location will be chosen to enter the corresponding tutorial village. These people have now become the newest wave of players to enter this world. It seems so far that places dense in population like schools, hospitals, stations and malls are especially likely to spawn such instances.¡±


    ¡°And what of our bodies? Did they come with us inside the game or get left behind outside? Are we made up of lines of code right now?¡± As a doctor, Dr Lu was much more interested in this.


    SuHe shook his head again. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t answer that question either. There are many skills in that defy logic ¨C turning reality inside out, rising from death ¨C that I trust you¡¯ll form your own thoughts on when you witness them in the future. And as to whether it¡¯s real, I will ask you this: to mortals who are struggling to live another day ¨C does it truly matter?¡±


    The discussion with SuHe had opened the newcomers¡¯ eyes to the reality around them, to the overwhelming pressure that followed them as they walked, never to be escaped from.


    QiLeren was still unsure of whether he was alone in having played ?The Nightmare Games?, nor did he want to risk finding out. Not even to SuHe, whom he trusted, did he dare to reveal even the slightest of hints.


    Not to mention that SuHe was leaving soon, anyway.


    Despite their short acquaintance, SuHe had truly left an everlasting impression in QiLeren¡¯s mind. His mystique, his unwavering calm, his intelligence ¨C they were just the icing on the cake that was his immense power. For such a person to remain and guide them in return for a single rescue (that wasn¡¯t even needed) was already enough to drive QiLeren to the height of gratitude, much less ask for anything else.


    And anyway, SuHe had said that they¡¯d meet again in the future, had he not?


    Maybe, just maybe, QiLeren will have grown to be as powerful as him when the day comes.


    QiLeren didn¡¯t spend much more time dwelling on the brief introspection and pushed himself to clean his new home to an acceptable standard. He wasn¡¯t particularly good at housework, but years of living alone had honed his speed to a fine point.


    Surveying the now habitable quarters before him in satisfaction, QiLeren felt his stomach rumble and headed to the kitchen, which held some food left over from the previous owner¡­


    ¡­all of which were mouldy to the point where QiLeren suspected that simply looking at it could cause food poisoning.


    Perhaps it was best to hunt for food elsewhere. He could drop by the Quest Hub and have a look for a beginner quest while he was at it, ideally something with good rewards.


    The now familiar sight of a dazzling sunset greeted him as he stepped outside and took a deep lungful of the salty, engine-oil infused air. The machines around him hummed to the rhythm of human civilisation, to the power of survival.


    And him? He was going to survive!


    The moment was somewhat ruined when his stomach gave a grumble in protest. Maybe he should go get something to eat first, QiLeren thought as he patted his stomach in resignation.

 CH 29

    Under the twilight sky, QiLeren made his way through the many roads and alleyways of Nightfall Island. Apparently all the residents here were players apart from a small handful of NPCs, unlike the player-to-NPC ratio of the rest of Eventide.


    QiLeren felt his mouth water at the smell of food wafting along the trunk road, and ¨C was that braised meat he smelt?


    No, he had to save money. With great pain he brought himself to a food cart and purchased a large bowl of fried rice instead, which he ate with a bowl of soup. Reenergised, he signed the bill ¨C


    [20 minute(s) have been deducted from your account. Remaining balance: 9d4h7m. All complaints and objections are to be submitted to the Trading Centre.]


    QiLeren¡¯s eyebrow twitched. The imminent problem of survival was a constant thorn in his side.


    He should ask Dr Lu for his plans, QiLeren thought as he left the trunk road and approached his friend¡¯s new house. Maybe hanging around this lucky guy who mained support would give him an extra life of sorts.


    Rather than chance his (unimpressive) luck in the winding alleyways of Nightfall Island, QiLeren opted to retrace the steps of last night when he walked with SuHe. At least he wasn¡¯t too terrible with directions ¨C actually, his memory was pretty good with things like this. Once was generally enough to commit the way to memory.


    As QiLeren walked, the ringing of the clock tower at the heart of the island once again reverberated through the apricot sky, adding a tinge of melancholy to the unending sunset of Eventide; a reminder that every minute, every second brought them one step closer to death.


    QiLeren sighed. There must¡¯ve been many, many people just like him, with the same worries and woes. In this world that toyed with the lives of its people with a childlike cruelty, they too must have been left with no option but to struggle on, lacking the courage to chance escape through death.


    In the hazy dusk, a large black bird approached from afar and landed itself on a fence by QiLeren¡¯s side. The lighting was somewhat dim but it was enough for QiLeren to realise that the bird was perhaps not a seagull. It looked more like an eagle.


    QiLeren frowned suspiciously. Did this place have eagles?


    The bird raised its head in a sudden motion. ¡°Human,¡± it said, voice profound, ¡°make a contract with me and become the chosen hero of legend!¡±


    !?!?!?


    QiLeren couldn¡¯t have masked his shock if he tried. This bird could speak? Was it even a bird? Or did he stumble upon some hidden sidequest?


    He schooled his expression into something more composed before carefully asking, ¡°What contract?¡± At the very least, he couldn¡¯t let himself seem like some gullible idiot who fell for scams so easily.


    A pair of beady black eyes stared into his soul for what seemed to be hours. Just as he thought the bird was going to hold this staring contest with him until the world goes to ruin, it let out an odd sound of laughter.


    ¡°Haha,¡± it chirped, ¡°I was lying.¡±


    Murder sounded good, QiLeren decided. Perhaps roast bird was on the menu tonight.


    Dark thoughts aside, he fished out the [Rations of Shallow Affection] and threw a handful onto the ground. The rations gave off a scent so alluring that even QiLeren, who was far from hungry, felt the instinctual urge to lick some off the ground.


    Unlike QiLeren, the bird had no such qualms and immediately dropped into a nosedive and squawked at QiLeren for more.


    What was the deal with this bird? Was it a quest NPC or not? He supposed he could give it another handful, but there were only thirty in total and now that he used one¡­


    Before he could reach a conclusion, the a shrill whistle tore through the air and froze the bird in its tantrum. It flapped its wings, pausing to cast QiLeren one last look before taking off towards the sound. Maybe its owner was the NPC he heeded to find. QiLeren quickly put away the rations and ran to catch up.


    The intricate alleyways soon proved to be too much, leaving QiLeren to run around blindly, having lost sight of the bird long ago. A little bit miffed, he rounded a corner and-


    -skidded to a complete stop. The intense metallic smell of blood greeted him, forcing him to stumble back as he took in the familiar sight of corpses on crimson; there were at least seven or eight bodies strewn across the floor, but not a single one exhibited any sign of life. This was very clearly a murder scene.


    QiLeren hesitated. The culprit may very well be doubling back at this very moment, so the best thing to do would be to turn around and leave like nothing had happened.


    But would fleeing do anything? whispered a nagging voice in the back of his mind. This isn¡¯t your world of peace and sunshine. If fleeing truly granted people the chance to survive, then why would anyone take the risk of hijacking an airship?


    Oh, to the hell with it. No risk, no reward, and QiLeren had ample experience with the former. He lingered at the alley until it was clear that nobody was coming back before cutting off a sleeve to cover his face and approaching the scene in careful steps.


    The seven bodies, QiLeren noticed, were clearly divided into two groups. One group was of five men clad in indistinct uniforms, all armed with weapons. Their fatal wounds were clean and concise, clearly dealt by a skilled hand. The other group were two young women no more than seventeen who looked similar enough to be sisters. Neither were armed, their bodies littered with wounds that seemed to have been inflicted during bouts of struggling.


    If QiLeren were to guess, the sisters were likely killed by the five men, who in turn were killed by an unknown killer ¨C whose bloody footprints trailed into the alleyway before gradually fading into nothing.


    The men had nothing on them except some food and weapons. Judging from their distinctly western features, they were most likely NPCs. Massaging the pins and needles out of his legs, QiLeren pushed himself from his crouch and made his way over to the unfortunate sisters.


    Something caught QiLeren¡¯s eye; one of the girls sported what looked to be a painted emblem on the back of her hand. Leaning in for a better look, his hand unintentionally brushed against the design.


    Almost immediately, a flourish of colour bloomed on the back of his hand like a flower in spring.


    [Special quest: Witchcraft Sacrifice. Remaining time until quest commencement: 7 day(s). Lifespan countdowns will be frozen upon arrival until quest completion. Please ensure your arrival at Makah Village prior to quest commencement as late arrivals will be regarded as quest failure and induce a penalty of -100 day(s).]


    So there was a quest! QiLeren slapped his right hand over the emblem and frowned to himself. He didn¡¯t have time to loiter around anymore. Where even was this Makah Village?


    He searched the bodies of the sisters, this time with haste, only to uncover nothing at all relating to the quest.


    What?! How was this even possible? Not only did they not carry any important items, they didn¡¯t even have food or water, almost as if¡­


    Someone else had searched their bodies already.


    QiLeren¡¯s expression darkened as he took in the other body, the one without an emblem on her hand. What if the killer had triggered the same sidequest? It¡¯d make sense for them to take away everything on the bodies and any key items then, wouldn¡¯t it?


    The new revelation did absolutely nothing for QiLeren¡¯s situation; arguably, it made it worse. This was definitely not a solo quest, but it probably wasn¡¯t a party quest either judging by the lack of any mentions of such. He wouldn¡¯t go so far as to rule out the presence of other players, though he doubted they¡¯d be allies when the time came ¨C perhaps a free-for-all?


    QiLeren could feel the beginnings of a headache. Resigned, he pushed himself to his feet and left the way he came, making sure to scuff his footprints off the ground before doing so.


    He should go find SuHe. At the very least, he¡¯d know how to get to the quest location.


    Not long after QiLeren¡¯s departure, another player stumbled upon and reported the murder scene to the institution. If he had remained there, he might¡¯ve recognised the squadron leader as Al, the young man he¡¯d come across on the airship.


    ¡°All seven victims are NPCs, but the wounds differ between them,¡± an officer reported to Al. ¡°The five male bodies suffer knife lacerations, dealt by a user of combat knives in the dual-wielding style judging from the angles. The wounds were cleanly targeted to fatal areas and likely caused instantaneous death. No potential murder weapons were found. The female bodies both suffer multiple lacerations, all of which were successfully matched to weapons found in the possession of the male bodies. Aside from the one who reported the crime, there is evidence of two people who have visited this crime scene. One left complete footprints and departed through the alleyway while the other destroyed them before departing in the opposite direction.¡±


    Al¡¯s paused before QiLeren¡¯s footprints for a brief second before turning away. Any details that may have been present were severely smudged, leaving them with no way to determine the suspect¡¯s height or posture.


    ¡°Are we to further the investigation?¡± asked the officer.


    ¡°Nah, the institution has better things to do than sort out pointless NPC business,¡± Al replied lazily, though this image was quickly broken by his next sentence. ¡°We¡¯ll just go ask the culprit.¡±


    Another officer standing nearby did a double take. ¡°You know who the culprit is?! The footprints still need to be matched and we haven¡¯t even sent the bodies in for autopsies yet!¡±


    Al gave a dry chuckle in response and pointed at a puddle of blood in the corner ¨C or rather, the feathers stuck to it. ¡°We¡¯re looking for someone who keeps a pet bird, wields double knives and is skilled in combat,¡± he listed off in a sardonic voice. ¡°You think you can find a second person on Nightfall Island who meets those points? Who else would it possibly be?¡±

 CH 30

    Due to the little accident along the way, QiLeren abandoned his plan of visiting Dr Lu altogether and quickly headed to SuHe¡¯s accommodation instead. When he arrived, QiLeren realised that he shouldn¡¯t have worried after all; Dr Lu was also at SuHe¡¯s place, proudly showing off the new item card that he picked up off the road:


    [Free WiFi]: A strange item that causes people to gravitate towards it. As long as it works property, nobody will care about where it comes from and easily overlook its owner as they concentrate ontheir phones own business instead. Should the holder move a certain distance away, the people will follow. All surrounding NPCs and players will be compelled to enjoy the holder¡¯s company. Remaining usage: 88 hour(s).


    ¡°So there I was, out on a walk, and I spot this bad boy lying in the corner. I have no idea who left it there.¡± Dr Lu gleefully grabbed his card from QiLeren¡¯s hands and slid it into a card slot.


    QiLeren subconsciously shuffled towards Dr Lu. Any choice words he wanted to say evaporated in an instant, leaving him to turn to SuHe instead, who patiently listened as he recounted his encounter in the alleyway.


    After he finished, SuHe took a moment to consider his words. ¡°This is clearly a quest that happens in the Nightmare World itself. From the name, I¡¯d wager that it has something to do with demonic worship.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Demonic?!¡± Dr Lu quivered a bit and shot QiLeren a look of pity.


    Unfortunately, his words went unnoticed.


    ¡°Witchcraft sacrifice¡­ It sounds very similar to offering sacrifices to demons in exchange for power or protection. Since you mentioned that others may have received the same quest, then it¡¯s very likely for it to be one with multiple players at the same time. Conflicts may arise between players, which makes it¡­disadvantageous for a newcomer such as yourself.¡±


    QiLeren grimaced. ¡°I figured as much¡­but even if I can¡¯t win by brute force, I still stand a chance as long as S/L isn¡¯t in cooldown. Getting rid of that murderer gave me some inspiration; if I catch my opponent off guard, I can probably take them with me and then load a save.¡±


    SuHe nodded appreciatively. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve found a way to creatively utilise your skill. Many people dismiss cards that come into their possession as useless, when in reality it¡¯s simply not been used to its full potential. Here¡¯s a suggestion: to unlock the full potential of the law of S/L, consider obtaining an skill card that predicts the future or enhances your intuition to warn you of threats.


    ¡°There are two paths you can go down. One is, as you said, to use kamikaze tactics. The other would be similar to XueYingying¡¯s combat style, where you trade your vitality for bursts of attack power. This would suit you very well as unlike other people, you don¡¯t have to worry about the drawbacks. Item drops from quests tend to be heavily dependent on RNG though, so I would suggest saving up and trading for such cards.¡±


    QiLeren dazedly digested the information. ¡°I¡­have never thought of it that way.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not all,¡± SuHe said with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve once heard of a card that can revive another person at the cost of the holder¡¯s life. It sounds quite amazing but was deemed to be lacking in practicality and eventually sold for a very low price. If you could pair such a card with your skill¡­¡±


    Dr Lu gasped. ¡°Oh my god, so your skill¡¯s actually broken. You¡¯re the one with the cheat codes all this time!¡±


    No, QiLeren thought, that¡¯s SuHe.


    ¡°And in regards to the quest location, Makah Village,¡± SuHe continued, passing on his experience, ¡°I would suggest doing a bit of research. You may find some clues that will save your life.¡±


    ¡°Where would I find the resources?¡± QiLeren asked, ever the good student.


    ¡°Eventide has libraries that you can browse for a small fee. Alternatively, you can seek out information brokers like ChenBaiqi. One of the many things she deals in is intelligence.¡±


    ¡°Does¡­ Does she charge a lot¡­?¡± As a broke newcomer, this was QiLeren¡¯s primary concern.


    SuHe chuckled lightly. ¡°She prefers to deal long-term businesses. If she likes what she sees, she¡¯ll be willing to give you a loan for your potential.¡±


    ¡°A loan?¡± muttered the long-forgotten Dr Lu. ¡°She¡¯s not scared of people dying and leaving their loans unpaid?¡±


    ¡°No, she¡¯ll get her money back from those who are alive.¡±


    ¡°You finally noticed me! You¡¯ve been ignoring me for so long,¡± Dr Lu exclaimed. ¡°This WiFi card is pretty useful, huh.¡±


    SuHe gave him a faint smile. ¡°It does indeed lower your presence, but this degree of disguise will do nothing for those with sharp senses.¡±


    Dr Lu drew the card out with a sigh. ¡°Well, it¡¯s better than nothing I guess.¡±


    It was only after the card was removed that Dr Lu¡¯s existence became more solid in QiLeren¡¯s eyes. It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t see him per se, but rather that it was too easy to forget that there was another person there.


    ¡°Come to think of it,¡± SuHe mused suddenly, ¡°I don¡¯t believe you¡¯ve told us of your real name.¡±


    It took QiLeren a beat to realise that Dr Lu wasn¡¯t a real name. He had completely overlooked this detail in the tutorial village!


    Dr Lu burst into nervous laughter. ¡°Names are¡­very unimportant, wouldn¡¯t you agree? ¡­Hahahahaha¡­haha¡­¡± He waved a hand as if to dispel the question.


    QiLeren and SuHe looked meaningfully at each other before simultaneously turning to Dr Lu and burning into him with their eyes.


    The room was completely still for a second. Two seconds. Three seconds.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    Somewhere around the ten second mark, Dr Lu caved into the pressure. ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll tell you so stop looking at me like that! But you have to promise not to laugh.¡±


    ¡°I promise not to laugh,¡± QiLeren said with a straight face.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± SuHe offered instead. He flitted his eyelashes at Dr Lu, which was totally unfair.


    ¡°Ok, fine,¡± Dr Lu conceded. ¡°My full name is¡­¡± his voice lowered to a whisper so soft QiLeren almost couldn¡¯t hear, ¡°¡­LuCangshu¡­¡±


    ¡°Pfft-¡± QiLeren tried his best, he really did. Beside him, SuHe attempted to disguise his aborted laugh as coughing.


    Dr Lu levelled them an half-hearted glare, pouting. ¡°You laughed. Liars.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but¡­¡± QiLeren¡¯s face twisted horrifyingly as he fought with his smile before just giving in to the howling laughter.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the Cangshu you¡¯re thinking of!¡± Dr Lu insisted with indignation amidst his friends¡¯ display of pure betrayal. ¡°My name uses different characters to the ones for hamster!¡±


    His attempts at explanation were only met with knowing grins. He gritted his teeth. ¡°I¡¯m telling you right now, do not call me by that name! I didn¡¯t spend all those years in med school only for people to notrespectfully address me as Dr Lu, okay?! I¡¯m going to be a legendary doctor in the future, so you better not mess with me!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite the goal,¡± SuHe said encouragingly.


    ¡°Duh, I didn¡¯t go through the torture that¡¯s getting my certification just so I could die as some cannon fodder,¡± Dr Lu huffed.


    SuHe patted his left shoulder. ¡°Keep up the good work.¡±


    QiLeren patted his right. ¡°I believe in you.¡±


    Sandwiched between the two, Dr Lu was suddenly acutely aware of their differences in height. ¡°I hereby curse the both of you to a life without cute girls¡­¡± he sulked bitterly.


    ¡°Sorry, but I prefer the beautiful onee-san type who can hold their own. I strongly suggest you reconsider your preferences, because there¡¯s no future between a cute girl and a hamster,¡± QiLeren advised sagely.


    Dr Lu wanted to murder someone.


    ¡°So that¡¯s Leren¡¯s type,¡± SuHe said, as if he¡¯d stumbled upon an astonishing revelation.


    QiLeren nodded fervently. He was fiercely appreciative of independent women with career ambitions, perhaps as a by-product of having grown up being influenced by his mother. Cute girls were nice and all, but they lacked that particular spark for him. ¡°What about you?¡± he asked SuHe as an afterthought.


    ¡°I prefer cute boys,¡± SuHe dropped the bombshell with astonishing sobriety.


    ¡°!!!¡± As a legal shota, Dr Lu darted behind QiLeren in a flash, who looked at SuHe a little weirdly.


    ¡°I¡¯m joking,¡± SuHe said, a mirthful smile playing on his lips. ¡°Of course.¡±

 CH 31

    In the end, QiLeren decided to follow SuHe¡¯s advice and seek out ChenBaiqi. He¡¯ll definitely have to cough up a pretty penny for her information, but it¡¯d be worth it.


    He eventually managed to find her not in her shop but at the coastline of Nightfall Island, gazing into the horizon with a wistful expression. The little girl she was always seen with was searching for seashells on the beach, turning around with a brilliant smile as she showed off a beautiful conch to ChenBaiqi.


    In the sunset, her sharp, indifferent features were stained a warm orange-red as she stared beyond the city, softening the edges until QiLeren became painfully aware of the fact that she too was just a young adult.


    ChenBaiqi didn¡¯t turn around. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re the first to find me.¡±


    QiLeren didn¡¯t understand. He stood beside her and mimicked her relaxed lean into the dam wall. ¡°Why can¡¯t it be me?¡± he asked at the sunset.


    He received silent laughter and an offer for a cigarette in lieu of a response. When he turned it down, ChenBaiqi shrugged and lit up her own. ¡°I thought,¡± she said around the cigarette, nonchalant, ¡°that your friend Mr Su was going to seek me out for information.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± He really needed to work on not seeming like a complete idiot, but he was curious.


    She blew out a breath of smoke and gave QiLeren a sardonic look. ¡°Surely you don¡¯t think a player hailing from Aurora would look after a group of complete newbies out of the kindness of his own heart? Back on the airship I thought that he just wanted to hitch a ride to Eventide with you guys at the end of the tutorial since Aurora is quite far, but maybe that¡¯s not quite it.¡±


    QiLeren grappled with words as ChenBaiqi turned around so her back leaned against the wall instead, coming up with none. With the sun behind her, the end of her cigarette flickered with the sea breeze. ¡°Something happened in that tutorial village of yours, didn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°¡­Yes.¡± This woman was frighteningly perceptive. He should¡¯ve known that anyone who managed to find their footing in this world was bound to be sharp as a razor.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that players who enter Aurora are granted special privileges and can be assigned special quests by the system, like cleaning up bugs in instance dungeons. Compared to normal players like us, I guess they¡¯d be more like GMs,¡± ChenBaiqi mused, flicking off some ash before continuing. ¡°The number of people who game out from your tutorial village was too low. Normally a batch of newbies will either all die together or come out with over half still alive. You guys, on the other hand, arrived in Eventide with only three newbies and a player from Aurora ¨C there must¡¯ve been a problem with your tutorial.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± QiLeren confirmed. ¡°One of the players in our tutorial village was a serial killer who ended up murdering most of the players there. If it weren¡¯t for SuHe, we probably would¡¯ve died together as well.¡±


    ChenBaiqi frowned. ¡°A player? That¡¯s not a bug.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, which is why SuHe initially planned to fake his death and leave after he realised, except then I saved his life¡­well, I guess it¡¯s more like I interfered with his plan.¡±


    ChenBaiqi made a noise in acknowledgement, pinning QiLeren with an undecipherable look that made his hair stand on end. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± he asked nervously.


    She chuckled and took a long drag from her cigarette. ¡°Mr Su must really like you.¡±


    SuHe¡¯s joke from half an hour ago replayed itself in QiLeren¡¯s mind ¨C wow, he was very uncomfortable with that thought ¨C but he soon realised that ChenBaiqi was referring to the normal meaning of the word.


    ¡°There¡¯s only one explanation I can think of for Mr Su¡¯s behaviour, and it¡¯s that one of you have piqued his interest. I suppose that¡¯d be you. I don¡¯t know how exactly you ¡®saved¡¯ him, but if I were him I think I would be interested too. As a veteran, the amount of time we spend trying to off each other grossly overshadows time spent helping each other; I haven¡¯t been saved by a stranger in a very long time, and I¡¯d imagine that number only grows larger for Mr Su.¡± The look ChenBaiqi gave him was stained with the colour of schadenfreude, sending shivers down his spine.


    QiLeren could almost hear her unspoken words: Very good, boy, you¡¯ve caught my eye.


    No, he didn¡¯t want this kind of onee-san!


    Thankfully, ChenBaiqi decided to take pity on him. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll stop teasing you. So, what did you need me for? Don¡¯t tell me you just wanted to watch the sunset with me. Sunset dates with a cute boy like you has a great aesthetic, but I¡¯m not going to give you any discounts for it.¡± She stubbed out the cigarette and gave QiLeren an amused look.


    No no no no no, he liked beautiful mature women who were elegantly aloof. Not like this. No thanks.


    ¡°I do indeed have something I was hoping you could help me with. It¡¯s about a place called Makah Village¡­¡± QiLeren carefully omitted the origins and details of the quest, giving only the location and his request for its history.


    ¡°Makah Village¡­I have a vague idea.¡± She crossed her arms as she considered this, before asking, ¡°How much of your lifespan have you spent already? How much I tell you will depend on it.¡±


    Oh no. ¡°¡­Not much.¡±


    ChenBaiqi sighed. ¡°Scratch that thought, I¡¯ll offer you a bargain: give me three days and I¡¯ll tell you everything I can.¡± She immediately produced a blank contract, filled in the details and gave it to QiLeren to sign. With great pain, QiLeren printed his name onto the line.


    ChenBaiqi was clearly unsatisfied with the meagre three days as she rolled up the contract, but a deal was a deal. ¡°This Makah Village of yours isn¡¯t too far from Eventide; there¡¯s been players who¡¯ve passed by there before. They have a delightful tradition of sacrificing girls to demons.¡±


    QiLeren nodded slowly. So far, everything was as SuHe predicted; the background of this quest should be the sacrifice of young girls to demons in exchange for power or protection.


    ¡°This tradition stems from the first demon invasion of twenty years ago, when Makah Village, along with several others in the vicinity, gave themselves to the demons and obtained protection through continuous sacrifices. Every three years, thirteen girls are chosen as offerings and thrown into a forest until one of them is chosen and becomes a witch to act as a demon servant.¡±


    Here, ChenBaiqi paused to look QiLeren from head to toe, finally settling on the emblem on his left hand. ¡°Some guys from the institution dropped by a few minutes before you to ask me about something. Apparently two NPC girls got killed nearby. The killers were NPCs as well, but here¡¯s the strange thing ¨C the killers also got killed, though theirkiller is nowhere to be found right now. Considering the time, people involved, age, gender, as well as that recently-surfaced emblem on your hand¡­¡± A dry chuckle. ¡°Let me guess. Did you see something you shouldn¡¯t have?¡±


    QiLeren¡¯s heart was beating out of his chest as his mind raced for a response. How did she get all that from his simple question?! And now that she knew he was a witness, was she going to report him to the institution?


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know you¡¯re nowhere good enough to actually have committed the crime.¡± She fixed QiLeren with a look of equal parts amusement and curiosity. ¡°Besides, the institution already knows who the culprit is, they just sent some officers to ask if I knew of their whereabouts. You¡¯re a surprise though, walking into a trap like you did. Anyhow, I have no interest in informing the institution of this; I don¡¯t report to them, nor am I unprofessional enough to sell out a client I¡¯ve already charged.¡±


    QiLeren let out a breath he didn¡¯t realise he¡¯d been holding and shot ChenBaiqi a look of gratitude. Letting the institution know that he was a witness probably wouldn¡¯t amount to anything big, but the fewer complications, the better.


    ¡°Did you see the person who did it?¡± ChenBaiqi asked, quirking a long slender brow.


    QiLeren shook his head and was met with a laugh.


    ¡°Pity. A cold beauty, that one.¡±


    Was the culprit the owner of that talking eagle? The whistle had come from around the crime scene, and then he followed the eagle straight to the bodies¡­the time matched up, at least.


    ¡°Oh, and one more thing,¡± ChenBaiqi suddenly added. In the distance, the little girl had become tired and was running back with an armful of seashells. ¡°If you do end up in the same quest, don¡¯t oppose them no matter what. You¡¯ll never win.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be careful.¡± Going by ChenBaiqi¡¯s description, QiLeren created the mental image of the woman, beautiful and aloof, that he¡¯ll meet in the next quest.


    ¡°Sis, look what I found!¡± The little girl nimbly climbed over the concrete wall and held out her spoils with a proud grin.


    ChenBaiqi patted her head indulgingly. ¡°You¡¯re so good at picking out the really pretty ones.¡±


    What the little girl held in her hands were just normal shells, QiLeren realised. The only thing that could really be considered to be pretty was a little conch.


    ¡°I¡¯ll compile all the information I have on Makah Village and send it to you,¡± ChenBaiqi said as she dusted the sand off her sister¡¯s dress. ¡°One last thing.¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Bring some bird food.¡± She took her sister¡¯s hand and left with a smile.


    QiLeren stood silently, watching their departing figures. Bird food?

 CH 32

    [Player QiLeren has commenced quest: Witchcraft Sacrifice]


    Awareness came in pieces. QiLeren could feel the ground faintly shaking beneath him, the distant sound of hooves and hushed female voices feathering at the edges of his consciousness. With a jolt, he opened his eyes.


    He was on a carriage.


    Lines of game notifications flashed across his mind, and he subconsciously looked down at his chest when it came to a certain one ¨C lo and behold, there were two things on there that definitely shouldn¡¯t be. At all.


    What the fuck?! Whoever designed this quest desperately needed to see a psychiatrist, because this had crossed the line from questionable taste to psychopathy. With a sinking feeling, he clenched his legs together, and felt ¨C yeah, nope, the important thing between them was gone.


    This fucking game.


    QiLeren was never going to choose another female avatar for the aesthetics in his life. The trauma ran too deep.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± the person sitting across from him asked.


    QiLeren wiped the expression off his face as he raised his head, though he paused at the distinctly Asian woman before him. His gaze darted to her waist ¨C she didn¡¯t have a belt on, but the fact that they both wore identical white sacrificial gowns made it unclear if she had no belt in the first place or simply chose to hide it. NPC? Or player?


    ¡°I¡¯m YeXia, nice to meet you. We¡¯re¡­the same.¡± With a flick of her handsome face, she unflinchingly patted her waist and gave away her identity as a player.


    YeXia¡­with a name like that, could this person be male as well? But considering the easy attitude of her introduction, maybe that wasn¡¯t the case.


    QiLeren moved his attention to the other two women on the carriage. One of them looked like a halfie, a pair of beautiful emerald eyes shining from the corner she was quietly curled into, while the other had the classic appearance of a blonde hair blue-eyed doll.


    The blonde, clearly the youngest, fixed them with a watery look. ¡°Have you seen my big sister?¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s your sister?¡± YeXia asked.


    ¡°My sister¡¯s name is Elsa, and mine is Elle. If you see her, could you please bring her to me?¡± Elle begged. ¡°She gets sick really easily and I¡¯m scared something¡¯s going to happen to her while she¡¯s all alone.¡±


    Almost immediately, QiLeren received a notification:


    [Branch quest: Locate Elsa. Help Elle reunite with her sister, Elsa, before completing the primary objective. Reward: 10 day(s) + Lucky Draw x1. No penalties apply for quest failure.]


    When he looked enquiringly at YeXia, he found her staring back ¨C she had clearly received the same quest. ¡°Looks like we can consider working together for now.¡±


    ¡°My thoughts exactly.¡± QiLeren startled at the sounds that came out of his own mouth. The hell was this loli voice? Could someone please save him from this nightmare?!


    YeXia laughed and fluttered her eyelashes at him. ¡°Adorable little girls like you shouldn¡¯t act so solemn.¡±


    Did¡­did he just get teased? QiLeren took a moment to feel indignant about his designation as an ¡°adorable little girl¡±; he may not be as handsome as SuHe, but he was still good-looking enough to coax an extra ladle of food from canteen ladies. Why was his female counterpart a loli?!


    ¡°QiLeren. My name.¡± Thank god his name sounded androgynous. It¡¯d be way too awkward for him to reveal his true gender at this point in time.


    ¡°What about you?¡± YeXia asked the girl huddled in the corner.


    The girl hesitated, unease flashing through her eyes. ¡°My, my name is Anna¡­¡± She lowered her head and fell silent.


    It seemed that Anna was more aware of the gravity of their situation than Elle, who was still young and somewhat naive. ¡°A girl from the village next to ours was chosen three years ago,¡± Elle said, telling YeXia about the legend in her village. ¡°The adults all said she went to serve the noble demon and now it¡¯s me and my sister¡¯s turn. My sister was really scared and kept saying she didn¡¯t want to go, but we get locked up if we don¡¯t¡­ A few girls ran away together a few days ago. Chief sent so many people after them. I wonder if they got away.¡±


    Ran away together? QiLeren looked at the back of his left hand, which had shrunk a few glove sizes after his transformation; the emblem on it was probably from one of the girls who ran away.


    An idea came to mind. ¡°Do you know how many girls ran away?¡±


    Elle started counting off her fingers, ¡°One, two, three, four, five¡­six, there were six girls that ran away.¡±


    Then there were probably six players in this quest.


    Elle scrunched up her nose and wilted a little. ¡°I miss my big sister¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± YeXia reassured as she gently petted Elle¡¯s hair, ¡°we¡¯ll find your sister.¡±


    Cute¡­


    This was not the time for cute. QiLeren wrenched his thoughts away from frivolous matters and onto the situation at hand. ¡°Where are we going now?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to Demon Woods. Chief said that we need to unlock four sealed towers before going to the underground palace to see the noble demon. But¡­but I really want to go home¡­¡±


    Elle¡¯s information was more or less in line with the quest background. Closing his eyes, he combed through the details; they first needed to find the four towers, and then unseal them in some way, and then enter the palace and become a witch.


    His strength and speed were definitely lowered in this body. He had bought some potentially useful items with what little lifespan he had left, but whether or not he¡¯ll actually get to use them was uncertain. Thankfully, SuHe had left his [Bloodthirsty Dagger] with him before leaving¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid this quest will prove to be quite difficult for you,¡± SuHe said as they stood before the entrance of Makah Village, calm and gentle as always. ¡°I can¡¯t help much, but I hope this¡¯ll prove to be some use to you.¡± Here, he delivered the ornate dagger into QiLeren¡¯s hands.


    The carriage came to a sudden stop. Amidst the vicious barking of dogs outside, the carriage door was thrown open and the four passengers were ushered out.


    The world outside of Eventide, abiding by the cycles of the sun, was current bathed in the hazy darkness of twilight. The woods before them exuded a cold eeriness that made QiLeren hesitate to approach.


    A few villagers, all armed, were muttering amongst themselves nearby. QiLeren strained his ears to their whispers ¨C apparently two other carriages were not yet at their destination.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s time.¡± An elderly villager emerged from the crowd, closely followed by four snarling, slobbering dogs, held back by their leashes. Elle and Anna flinched at each bark, attempting to hide behind the other two.


    ¡°It¡¯s very cruel, but we have no other choice¡­we¡¯ll all die if we fail to satisfy Their Excellency.¡± The elderly villager¡¯s wrinkled features were twisted in a shallow mockery of sympathy as he waved his hand at the villagers behind him. ¡°Do it.¡±


    The moment their leashes were released, the dogs pounced.


    Elle screamed, lifting up her dress as she ran into the woods. QiLeren did likewise, but the sacrificial gown proved to be a major hinderance to his ability to move. As a first time dress-wearer, he quickly fell far behind the other three, the dogs nipping at his heels.


    The four sacrifices were mercilessly driven into the forest and soon separated in their desperate flight for survival.

 CH 33

    Unfortunately for QiLeren, the forest floor was made up of a mess of winding roots and slippery mud that nearly tripped him more than once. Clad in a gown that looked pretty but proved to be an absolute horror to run in, QiLeren quickly found himself losing ground to the dog behind him.


    He needed to do something before he became dog food! Could he load a save? No, there was no point, the dog would still be there. Other skills? Items? Or-


    Wait, the rations!


    QiLeren quickly dug out the rations, grabbing a handful and throwing it as hard as he could behind him. The instant the rations left his hand, the dog that had pursued him with single-minded determination abandoned its mission completely and twisted in an almost comedic fashion towards the rations instead.


    QiLeren paused for a second at the sudden change and debated whether or not to kill the dog. It¡¯d save him future headaches but¡­perhaps it was best not to push his luck. If worst came to worst, he could just throw another handful of rations. Nodding to himself, QiLeren turned his back on the dog and ran into the forest.


    Luckily, the dog didn¡¯t follow. As he had predicted, this new body of his couldn¡¯t hold a candle to his normal one, leaving him gasping for air against a tree not long after he had started running. That wasn¡¯t the worst part though ¨C the worst part was that even his panting sounded loli.


    QiLeren pulled out his water and took a few gulps. Drops of the icy liquid leaked out the corners of his mouth, trailing down his chin and pattering gently onto his chest. He paused and looked down, hesitating, before tentatively placing a hand on it ¨C it was¡­soft¡­very soft¡­


    Uhh.


    So he didn¡¯t just imagine the bouncing on his chest.


    That aside, he definitely needed to get out of these annoying clothes. Thankfully, he had the foresight to bring a set of activewear.


    The thought was quickly dashed when he found out that the gown he was wearing was not to be changed out of for the duration of the quest. This quest was the actual worst, QiLeren decided. The trauma it gave its male players was not worth whatever rewards it was going to give.


    Well, he was stuck with the gown for now. With the dagger SuHe had kindly given him, QiLeren hacked his long dress into a short one. His legs felt a bit cold, but it was better than tripping.


    Clothing sorted, QiLeren took out the compass he had prepared before coming and headed north. Thank god for ChenBaiqi; she may have taken an entire third of his lifespan, but her service was impeccable ¨C her sister showed up not a day after their chat with a folder containing all the information on Makah Village, including a map of the general area.


    ¡­Calling it a map was perhaps a bit of an oversell, sloppily drawn as it was by most likely a passing player or NPC, but there were two locations marked within the Demon Woods area ¨C Swamp Tower and Cave Tower. He figured that he was probably in the entrance closest to Makah Village, so the closest tower to him would be the Swamp Tower downstream. All he had to do was to find the river. There was no more information to be gathered from the map, but QiLeren was more than happy with what he had.


    Thankfully, the soft trickle of flowing water soon reached his ears. Quickening his steps, QiLeren made a beeline for the river and splashed some water onto his face before looking down at his reflection.


    The face that greeted him was framed by long brown hair that cascaded gently down her shoulders, features extremely similar to his if not for the fact that it was softened to look distinctively feminine, and a few years younger, and ¨C oh god, he looked like a loli.


    If he saw this face on the street he might¡¯ve given it a second glance, but actually having the face for himself was a different matter altogether!


    No, he needed to calm down. This was just for the quest ¨C he was going to leave, be turned back to how he was before and never have to mention this to anyone.


    Having deluded himself into calming down, QiLeren pushed the matter of his appearance into the back of his mind and began to plan out his next steps.


    It was getting dark, which made travelling through the forest a terrible idea ¨C perhaps he should find shelter for the night and wait until light to continue moving. QiLeren picked himself up in resignation and went hunting for twigs; he wasn¡¯t exactly an expert on wilderness survival, but fire should theoretically ward off wild animals in the night, right?


    What TV shows neglected to show was just how frustrating lighting a fire was, QiLeren discovered as he just about hacked up a lung. Rather than bursting into the flames he had expected, the moisture inside the tree branches effectively reduced what felt like the first fifty attempts into thick smoke. At least he had thought to bring a lighter; if he had to use a fire drill he¡¯d most likely die before he could even light a spark.


    Beneath the dark sky, QiLeren leaned back against a tree and feasted upon his meal of dry bread and water. The bread was hard as rocks and wasn¡¯t going to get good reviews anytime soon, but was easy enough to store that QiLeren had brought well over a month¡¯s supply. Better safe than sorry, in any case ¨C no one knew how long the quest was going to last.


    At least lifespan countdowns were paused, or he¡¯d have more to worry about. He shot a worried look at what little remained of his lifespan; he¡¯d have to take another quest not long after this if the rewards turn out to be insufficient, which SuHe had explicitly warned them not to do. He had suggested for them to learn some basic combat skills when they had the time, since the difference between someone trained in combat and someone who wasn¡¯t was quite large.


    The bonfire before him crackled periodically as it burned. QiLeren curled into his blanket; the oppressive atmosphere made it hard to fall asleep, but he knew that if he neglected sleep he¡¯d be way worse off the next day, nevermind finding the four towers. What he needed was an ally to sleep in shifts with. The quest didn¡¯t seem to call for any unavoidable conflicts between players so far. It was too bad that he got separated with the other three from the carriage.


    QiLeren was hovering between sleep and wakefulness when he jerked upright at the sudden sound of wings. A black shape had landed itself by his bonfire ¨C a bird that looked very familiar.


    He stared at it for a while before realising that it was the bird that ate a handful of his rations and then lied to him in the alley. Wait, if it was here now then¡­


    QiLeren shuddered. The memory of the shrill whistle was still fresh in his mind, as was the scene he had stumbled upon afterwards. The bird¡¯s owner was most likely the culprit. A cold beauty, ChenBaiqi had said.


    The bird let out a strange sound, letting QiLeren brew in his anticipation for a bit before continuing. ¡°Wolves! Wolves!¡± it crowed.


    QiLeren all but dived out from under his blanket and whipped his head around the surroundings. Under canopy of leaves above, all was calm.


    The damn bird tricked him again!


    Something fiery bubbled within. The bird seemed to be aware of his murderous intent, launching itself onto a high-up branch almost immediately and squawking its sardonic laughter at the figure pacing in fury below it.


    Eventually, the surroundings fell quiet. After a long while of unsuccessful waiting for the bird¡¯s owner to make their appearance, QiLeren sagged back into his seat and began munching on some rations.


    Almost as if it had been waiting, the bird started screeching its cries of ¡°Wolves! Wolves!¡± again.


    QiLeren chuckled dryly. ¡°You think I¡¯m gonna fall for that again, you little asshole?¡±


    The bird responded by tilting its head innocently, which QiLeren ignored with crossed arms. He looked around, unimpressed, when something caught his eye.


    A pair of green eyes peered at him from within the undergrowth.


    Fuck, there were actually wolves?! QiLeren threw himself at the campfire and drew out a branch to use as a makeshift torch. Wolves were supposed to be scared of fire, so he¡¯d be fine if he stayed close.


    A lone wolf stalked out of the bushes, approaching him like a hunter would a prey.


    QiLeren gulped. His heart thundered in his ears.


    A second wolf approached from the opposite side, followed by a third, and a fourth¡­


    Being faced with beasts whose minds have been corrupted by hunger felt distinctively different to the ghosts from worlds before. QiLeren didn¡¯t know which was scarier, the insatiable malice that snarled at him now or the uncanny emptiness of the undead. His hand tightened around the fistful of rations; would he still be alive if not for this item that he only now celebrated obtaining?


    Saliva dribbled down the wolves¡¯ mouths as they growled greedily and lowered themselves to the ground. The menacing pressure forced QiLeren a step back.


    Instincts triggered, one of the wolves pounced at QiLeren despite the fire he stood next to. The human promptly hurled the rations in his hand, along with the still flaming torch, towards the wolf ¨C something sharp shot past his ear, missing it by a hair, followed by a dying cry that pierced the air as the wolf fell heavily onto the ground. Having watched the entire encounter as if it was mere entertainment, the black bird dived down from its perch and stole away the rations with a joyful squawk.


    QiLeren stared at the wolf. Embedded into its skull was a shining silver arrow, reflecting brilliantly in the night.

 CH 34

    Read this chapter in light mode


    Before QiLeren could find the stranger in the darkness, several silver streaks shot past him in quick succession, each arrow finding its target with pinpoint accuracy and killing all the wolves who dared to set foot within a few metres of the fire with its bone-piercing force. The rest of the hungry pack turned and fled, disappearing quickly into the shadows.


    Silence settled around them, the rustling of trees fading until all that was left was the quiet crackle of the bonfire.


    QiLeren was keenly aware of the stranger lurking closeby; in fact, he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if there was another arrow aimed at the back of his head, ready to fire at the slightest sign of animosity.


    To be honest, he was more afraid now than when he was surrounded by wolves. The one he faced now was definitely a player of far superior skill, someone who could kill him as easily as they killed the wolves. He didn¡¯t even know where they were hiding.


    The sheer gap in power sent chills down QiLeren¡¯s back. He had to say something, anything, to discourage the stranger from killing this potential rival if nothing else.


    He raised his hands slowly in appeasement and said with a slightly trembling voice, ¡°Hey there? Thank you for saving me.¡±


    QiLeren wracked his brain for things to say.


    ¡°Do you know ChenBaiqi? She told me about you and how you accepted the same quest as me¡­ I promise I don¡¯t have any ill intent ¨C if you don¡¯t mind, perhaps we can consider working together?¡± Considering ChenBaiqi¡¯s tone, she probably knew the owner of the black bird. Whether or not they were on friendly terms was left up in the air, but it wasn¡¯t like he had any other options.


    QiLeren heard what he thought might be the soft sound of a weapon being put away before the branches above rustled lightly under the weight of a person¡¯s agile steps.


    Someone dropped onto the ground before him.


    Illuminated by the soft light of the fire, QiLeren took in the sight of the stranger ¨C it was just one look, but ChenBaiqi¡¯s reason for calling her a cold beauty was made crystal clear.


    The stranger was dressed in the same sacrificial gown as him, though what was once a loose gown was now bound tightly around her body, its sleeves cut off and hemline shortened. Her long hair had been tied up into a high ponytail, revealing refined features that held the poised beauty of a rose covered with frost and snow.


    QiLeren stared. Something akin to warmth unfurled within his chest ¨C perhaps some would call it love at first sight.


    A gorgeous face that gave off an icy vibe due to her overall aura of a cold beauty, coupled with long legs and the maturity that came with sheer competence? Was she not the physical embodiment of his perfect goddess?


    He had to leave a good first impression.


    QiLeren stamped down the chaos of his trembling heart and forced a pleasant smile for his goddess. ¡°Hello, pretty goddess, my name is QiLeren.¡±


    Was he seeing things or did her eye just twitch?


    He took a step forward before continuing, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    He might¡¯ve hit some dangerous trigger with this, QiLeren thought as his goddess drew a short knife hanging by her side in a sudden motion and hurled it towards him. Had he said something wrong? Why was she trying to kill him?


    Most importantly, he hadn¡¯t saved a file yet for the goddess to kill him a few more times until she was happy!


    In the instant between life and death, it was obvious that QiLeren¡¯s brain was no longer functioning correctly. The expected pain, however, never came. The short knife had instead embedded itself by his feet ¨C or rather, in the triangular-shaped head of a rather colourful snake.


    Oh. It was to save him. Feelings complicated, QiLeren carefully sneaked a glance at his goddess. Her deep eyes reflected a faint blue hue in the campfire as she shot him a cool look. His glance was probably not as sneaky as he¡¯d hoped.


    QiLeren hurriedly bent down and pulled the knife from the snake. It was heavier than it looked, despite the pair of fullers that ran down its length, glinting its cold lethality in the night.


    ¡°Here.¡± Pinching the blade between two fingers, he presented the knife handle first, which his goddess accepted and slotted back into its sheath ¨C she had two short knives on her person, QiLeren noticed, and neither were in the inventory but rather belted to her thigh.


    It was probably faster to use them this way.


    Contrary to his expectations, his goddess seated herself by the campfire and started cooking some meat jerky she took out of the inventory. As the inviting smell of warmed meat wafted through the air, QiLeren quietly lamented the rations in his stomach.


    Somewhat desperate to make conversation, he coughed lightly to draw his goddess¡¯s attention, then closed his mouth when she looked at him.


    What if he, having never gone after a girl before despite having being alive for twenty-five years already, said the wrong thing?


    The black bird descended down from its perch and landed on his goddess¡¯s shoulder, before crowing in disgust at the meat she offered. It flew to QiLeren with hopeful eyes.


    Should he feed it?


    Seeing QiLeren¡¯s prolonged hesitation, the bird bit him on the arm and flew back to its owner in a fit of irritation.


    QiLeren stole a peek at his goddess. She was chewing on her meat with a blank expression and exuded unapproachable animosity.


    Damn it, she clearly didn¡¯t want to talk! She hadn¡¯t left yet though, so she must be at least somewhat willing to get along with him temporarily?


    Gathering his courage, he finally spoke again to the crush he had fallen for at first sight. ¡°I¡­ My name is QiLeren. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    The beautiful stranger lowered her meat jerky and fixed him with an indiscernible gaze, blue eyes seemingly glowing in the night. The half of her face illuminated by the campfire looked almost ethereal, though her eyes held no trace of emotion ¨C no joy, no sorrow, no vitality.


    QiLeren swallowed. This person sitting in front of him¡­was she even a player?


    His goddess stared at him for a beat longer as QiLeren inwardly panicked and held his breath to meet her gaze, then coolly turned away and resumed eating her meat jerky.


    QiLeren¡¯s mind exploded into a flurry. What was that supposed to mean?!


    The black bird on her shoulder gave a sudden squawk, before craning its neck and saying, ¡°She¡¯s mute, she¡¯s mute!¡±


    What?!


    ¡°I swear on my bird-tue that I¡¯m telling the truth!¡± the bird added, sprouting nonsense in its annoyingly inscrutable way.


    QiLeren had no idea if the bird was intelligent or not, but given that it had screwed with him twice already, its virtue, no, ¡°bird-tue¡±, was pretty much non-existent. It¡¯s a wonder how his goddess puts up with it.


    Even worse was that his goddess didn¡¯t correct its words. She quietly looked at QiLeren for a bit, before adding more firewood to the fire and closing her eyes as she leaned back against a tree.


    QiLeren¡¯s chest immediately warmed with the pride of being trusted. Was she about to sleep?


    His goddess! Was going to sleep right in front of him!! She trusts him enough to keep watch!!! A nagging voice in the back of his mind mocked him for being so weak that there was no reason for caution, but he squashed it down and concentrated instead on staying awake and being the best night watch his goddess would ever meet.


    In the quiet woods, the strange calls of unknown birds and crackles of the bonfire filled the air as time passed in slow seconds. Now that she was asleep, QiLeren could finally study his goddess¡¯s face with audacity ¨C the more he looked, the more he felt his inner appreciation for beauty awaken. Goddamn it, how could she be so pretty! Her smile could bring ruin to the world with its sheer radiance if she ever showed it.


    The woods at night was a little cold. QiLeren lightly gathered the blanket he had discarded onto the ground before to cover the sleeping girl, only to meet her opened eyes not a few steps in. The reflection of a dancing flame burned within her pupils, alluring and unearthly.


    ¡°It¡¯s cold at night,¡± QiLeren explained, handing over the blanket with forced calm. ¡°Here, you can use this.¡±


    Thankfully, she accepted his offer, drawing the blanket around herself as she closed her eyes again.


    QiLeren silently gave himself a pat on the back. He didn¡¯t mess up this opportunity to show his ability to be a great boyfriend. Perfect performance!


    Despite his excitement, QiLeren found himself nodding off as he stared at the bonfire. Its light and warmth drew away from him, farther and farther into the distance until it disappeared altogether.


    He fell asleep.


    It was a deep sort of slumber, unwilling to let go even as QiLeren awoke to the sound of bird calls. He took a few minutes to realise where he was before struggling to sit up.


    Something fell onto his lap. It was the blanket he had given his goddess last night, now draped over his body. The bonfire next to him was burned out, and when he looked to the tree trunk nearby, the figure that had been resting there last night was long gone.


    Bathed in the hazy light of daybreak, QiLeren couldn¡¯t help the bitter taste of disappointment that rose to his tongue.

 CH 35

    Read this chapter in light mode


    QiLeren packed up his things among the fine mist that enveloped the woods at dawn. Before leaving, he crouched by the creek to splash his face with some water. The face of a loli stared back at him. Thinking back to how he met his goddess with this exact face, QiLeren sighed.


    To be completely honest, this gender-swapped face of his wasn¡¯t bad, considering his mother¡¯s genes and her status as an A-list actor before retirement ¨C though her marriage with her non-famous childhood friend baffled many fans. It was his father¡¯s downward-slanting eyes that transformed him into a loli.


    Could his goddess have saved him only because he looked like a loli? Had he fallen to the point of relying on his face to ride on girls¡¯ coattails and be carried through the battlefield?


    There was no point thinking about it, QiLeren decided, snapping himself out of his reverie. Finishing the quest in one piece and earning lifespan was more important.


    Steeling himself for the journey, he continued towards Swamp Tower.


    The morning air in the woods was cold, a chilly breeze brushing past his neck and leaving goosebumps in its wake. The strange feeling of being watched nagged at the back of his mind as he halted in his steps multiple times to survey his surroundings. There was nothing out of place, only the crisp calls of birds that filled the woods with quiet serenity.


    Berating himself for overthinking things, QiLeren dismissed the thought.


    As the soil beneath his feet slowly transitioned into mud, the air he breathed became colder. By noon the woods he walked among had all but disappeared, giving way to a wide open plane of low shrubs and shallow patches of water, broken up into gurgling streams by strange trees whose roots grew exposed to the air.


    Was this the swamp?


    QiLeren took a deep breath, the rancid air of decomposition filling his lungs as he warily eyed the soft vegetation.


    Maybe continuing like this was not the best idea, just in case he finds himself sinking into the swamp. Dying like that would really be the biggest black mark on his life.


    A gaunt-looking crow rasped a caw from its perch on a dead tree. Breaking off a branch, QiLeren tapped it against the ground ahead of him and carefully picked his way across the winding roots; it was a harder path, but at least this way he wouldn¡¯t sink into the mud.


    The sky seemed to darken with every step. There was a dense layer of fog that QiLeren didn¡¯t remember being there before, laden with a putrid smell that made him dizzy. The further in he walked, the more wary he became; it almost felt as if there was something lurking in the fog around him, ready to strike in the next moment.


    Just as QiLeren was starting to wonder if he had in fact gone down the wrong direction, the scenery before him changed. Hoisting himself up the roots of a dead tree with some difficulty, QiLeren could just make out the foggy shape of a black tower deep within the swampland.


    There it was! With the destination now clear, it took no time at all for him to arrive at the foot of the tower.


    The sealed tower before him was an imposing black structure of some seven or eight metres tall and about two arm spans around. Its base seemed to be carved from smooth marble, yet emitted a cold mysterious light that dimly illuminated a vaguely religious emblem engraved onto the surface. QiLeren examined the emblem on his hand; it was somewhat similar.


    Perhaps it was some sort of evil demonic religion, QiLeren mused to himself as he reached out a hand. As his fingertips brushed against the tower, a line of text appeared within his mind:


    [Player QiLeren has discovered Swamp Tower. Current status: Sealed. To unseal tower, place the body of one young girl as sacrifice at the foot of the tower. Removal of seal will grant Lucky Draw x1.]


    A chill ran down QiLeren¡¯s spine. The system message seemed fine on the surface but carried with it a sinister undertone. There were four sealed towers here, so to open them would require four deaths¡­not to mention that this was just stage one. Who knew what awaits them within the palace?


    QiLeren took a step back, deep in thought.


    The first thing to consider was his S/L skill. If he saved a file then killed himself at the foot of the tower, would the tower acknowledge his death? His body disappears immediately after dying and reappears at the save file though, so maybe not.


    Maybe he should give it a try, QiLeren deliberated.


    ¡°Ahh, I can¡¯t watch this anymore. I wouldn¡¯t be stupidly standing out in the open like that if I were you,¡± a crisp female voice sighed from behind him.


    QiLeren jumped away, dagger gripped in hand.


    The girl, who definitely hadn¡¯t been standing there before, shrugged to show her good will. ¡°Look, you left yourself open. I could¡¯ve killed you ten times over on the way here if I really wanted to.¡±


    Dressed the same sacrificial robes as him, her hair was bound into two pigtails. She was definitely cute, but the expression on her face was somewhat¡­sleazy.


    Sure enough, the girl flitted her eyelashes and asked coyly, ¡°So what¡¯s your name, cutie pie?¡±


    This was the sleaziest girl he had ever met! ¡°Why should I tell you?¡± he huffed.


    Her flirty expression disappeared in an instant. ¡°What? How could you not answer my question?!¡± she accused, taking a step back.


    QiLeren levelled her a baffled look. Why did he have to respond?


    The cute girl crossed her arms. ¡°No female can refuse to answer my questions,¡± she announced valiantly. ¡°That leaves only one possibility ¨C you are not female!¡±


    This person was more likely than not mentally deranged and unfit for human conversation, QiLeren promptly decided.


    ¡°I¡¯m being serious. You¡¯re a male player, aren¡¯t you?¡± The cute girl sized him up, unhurried. ¡°No doubt. I¡¯m one hundred percent certain that my card¡¯s in its slot, so the only reason you could avoid answering my question earlier must be that you don¡¯t fit its requirements. You¡¯re¡­crossdressing?¡± She tilted her head to one side in consideration.


    QiLeren finally understood the situation ¨C the girl before him probably had some sort of skill card that compels female players to answer truthfully. Unfortunately for her, he was a guy.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been following you this entire time. You¡¯re a bit clumsy, but I¡¯ll be gracious enough to overlook that and hope you come in handy. Anyway, my name is LuYouxin and I¡¯m a lesbian who loves other lesbians, which doesn¡¯t include you so you can rest easy. How about it?¡± She extended a hand, embellished with the same emblem as QiLeren¡¯s.


    ¡°¡­QiLeren,¡± he offered somewhat reluctantly. To be honest, this zany character was not his first choice of an ally.


    ¡°You know the exact location of the towers, yes?¡± LuYouxin asked with a quirk of her lips. Without the frivolous expression, all that was left was the sharpness of an experienced veteran.


    ¡°I know a bit,¡± QiLeren deflected, unable to meet her eyes.


    LuYouxin smirked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I wouldn¡¯t kill you for outliving your usefulness even if you only knew the location of this one tower.¡±


    In QiLeren¡¯s resounding silence, she placed her hand on the tower, mulled over the system message and finally turned with a sweet smile. ¡°Looks like we still need a sacrifice.¡±


    QiLeren immediately tensed at the implication, ready to save at the slightest provocation.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go get an NPC to sacrifice,¡± LuYouxin suggested easily. ¡°I don¡¯t like having to kill each other.¡±


    An NPC, huh. QiLeren thought back to Anna and Elle on the carriage. They were NPCs, but to sacrifice them would be no different to killing a normal human, something he was by no means ready for.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s coming!¡± LuYouxin seized QiLeren by the wrist and bodily dragged him behind a tree, putting a mess of tangled roots and shrubs between them and the newcomer.


    Illuminated by the dim lighting, a shapely woman approached from the distance with a corpse slung over her shoulder, long hair swaying with every step.

 CH 36

    QiLeren froze and held his breath in fear of breathing too loudly. Beside him, LuYouxin displayed no such qualms. ¡°Now there¡¯s a ten out of ten if I ever saw one,¡± she exclaimed giddily. ¡°Look at those sexy curves! That bouncy ass! Legs for literal days! Daaaaaays, I tell you. And that foxy face? Ravishing. What an absolute babe. She could shank me in the gut and I¡¯d probably thank her for it. What we¡¯re witnessing right now is the peak of humanity, QiLeren.¡±


    There was a moment in which QiLeren was not quite sure whether LuYouxin was actually real and not a hallucination. Wasn¡¯t she supposed to be a veteran of sorts? Where was the class? More importantly, was there still any class to be salvaged considering the fact that she was currently squatting behind a bush to leer at a pretty girl while providing commentary about it?


    ¡°Keep your voice down,¡± QiLeren hissed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing,¡± LuYouxin reassured with a huge grin.


    The aforementioned foxy beauty came to a stop before the sealed tower. Despite wearing the same sacrificial robes as the rest of them, there was not a sliver of innocent purity left on her; instead, her presence felt akin to an elegant snake, swimming through the darkness ¨C dangerous, but alluring nonetheless.


    Lifting a porcelain hand, she allowed the insects hovering around her to perch upon a fingertip.


    ¡°Why are my babies so restless today?¡± she whispered lovingly to the insects. ¡°Do you smell something you don¡¯t like?¡±


    QiLeren tensed; if this woman was able to control insects, then they were in grave danger.


    ¡°Go, find her for me,¡± she commanded, flicking her finger gently. The insects hovered for a few moments with loving hesitation.


    He wasn¡¯t going to go down without a fight. QiLeren took in a deep breath, gripped the miniature bomb he had bought prior to leaving and readied himself to save at a given moment.


    ¡°Stop stressing, she¡¯s not going to find us,¡± LuYouxin said confidently as she pushed down his hand. When QiLeren shot her a look, she pointed to her card belt with a wordless smile.


    Sure enough, the insects flew in the opposite direction and finally came to rest under a dead tree. A cold light ignited within the shadow, striking the insects out of the air.


    The woman let out a soft ¡°huh¡±, gaze passive as it swept over the leafy darkness. ¡°It was you?¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting to see you here either,¡± came the response, calm as its owner emerged from hiding.


    It was YeXia.


    The woman clicked her tongue. ¡°What were you doing, hiding in the trees? Might the noble and virtuous YeXia have stooped to using such utterly deplorable tactics as sneak attacks?¡±


    ¡°None as deplorable as your existence, I assure you,¡± YeXia scoffed coldly.


    ¡°Well, I suppose we can settle all our grievances together, hm?¡± The woman smiled sweetly before swinging an arm up to release hundreds of insects from her gown, forming a dense cloud as they swarmed towards YeXia.


    YeXia let out an icy laugh and drew her sabre. Its gleaming blade cut through the bitter air, calling forth strong gusts of wind that sought destruction. The swarm of insects halted as if coming into contact with an invisible wall before glaciating into a flurry of snowflakes that drifted, softly, onto the soil below.


    ¡°Did you somehow forget that I can counter your ability? I won¡¯t let you escape again.¡± With a light smile, YeXia shot towards the woman, fast as an arrow and just as deadly.


    The woman leapt atop the dead tree with a graceful manoeuvre. ¡°Looks like you forgot something as well,¡± she remarked from above. ¡°Only fools judge another in past tense.¡±


    With that, the hand she pressed against the branch began to emit a faint glow that spread throughout the tree, which trembled beneath her touch and revived itself like a giant from century-long slumber. The silty ground at their feet crumbled to give way to massive winding roots that unearthed themselves from the surface, while the previously lifeless trunk waved around like an arm before whipping towards YeXia.


    ¡°Holy shit, what a bitch fight,¡± LuYouxin breathed, delighted, to the high-strung QiLeren still crouching next to her. ¡°How¡¯s the pure energy that chick¡¯s emitting, eh? Both bugs and trees? Goddamn, she¡¯s going to be a force to be reckoned with in a forest like this.¡±


    ¡°Could you watch your volume?!¡± QiLeren snapped, half-suspecting that she possessed a skill that disguised her body and voice from outsiders. There was no way the two women could¡¯ve missed her loud exclamations.


    ¡°Cool your jets, you ever heard of ¡®falling on deaf ears¡¯ before? As long as you don¡¯t step out of the effective radius, no one¡¯s gonna hear you even if you scream.¡± At this, LuYouxin flashed him a sharp smirk that stood at odds with her cute face. QiLeren averted his eyes immediately.


    Her skill sounded uncomfortably similar to something teenage delinquents would say to wholesome girls on the street. Wait, wouldn¡¯t that make him the wholesome girl?


    LuYouxin was completely unperturbed by QiLeren¡¯s obvious judgement. ¡°How could a peeper as masterful as I not possess the means to hide myself entirely?¡± she gloated. ¡°To do so would be a stain upon the art of peeping!¡±


    QiLeren chose to ignore the person patting herself on the back beside him and focused instead on the fight.


    The situation had changed dramatically. Having previously taken the upper hand by virtue of her ability, YeXia was quickly finding herself overpowered by the massive tree giant that rendered both her weapon and ability ineffective. Despite the nimbleness she dodged the tree¡¯s onslaught of attacks with, there was only so long she would last if the fight dragged on.


    QiLeren couldn¡¯t help but hold his breath for her; they were by no means close, but he didn¡¯t want the charismatic player he¡¯d met on the carriage to die here.


    ¡°You know each other?¡± LuYouxin suddenly asked.


    ¡°¡­We met on the carriage,¡± QiLeren admitted.


    ¡°Oh. What¡¯s her name?¡±


    He squinted at her. ¡°YeXia.¡±


    LuYouxin stroked her chin. ¡°Hm. Cute name, person¡¯s pretty cute as well. She¡¯ll do.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± he asked, confused.


    ¡°Going to help her, obviously.¡± LuYouxin grinned. ¡°How could I leave a cute girl in need?¡±


    ¡°¡­I thought you liked the other one. Why YeXia?¡± LuYouxin¡¯s absolutely unneeded commentary on how hot the other woman was had not yet left QiLeren¡¯s mind.


    Her eyes immediately turned serious. ¡°You really want to know why?¡±


    Influenced by the sudden gravity of the conversation, QiLeren responded with a solemn nod.


    ¡°It¡¯s because she has big tits,¡± LuYouxin declared sagely. ¡°Big tits are justice, I want to bury my face in big tits.¡± Following her proclamation, she propelled herself out of the shrubbery they¡¯d been hiding behind with a call of ¡°Let me help you, YeXia!¡± like a true white knight. Somewhat distantly and a bit wide-eyed, QiLeren wondered if something had finally broken inside his brain.


    Startling blue flames erupted at LuYouxin¡¯s feet and surged towards the two women engaged in battle, engulfing the tree giant in a split second. Colour draining out of her face, the woman standing atop the tree soon found herself surrounded by flames from all sides. In the midst of certain death, she leapt decisively off the branch she¡¯d been perched on despite the danger of getting burned, wrapping her cloak tightly around herself and tucking into a roll. She glared at the pair as she emerged from the sea of fire. ¡°You had backup,¡± she spat. ¡°I¡¯ve miscalculated.¡± Outnumbered, she fled without hesitation.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother chasing after her, there¡¯ll be traps,¡± YeXia cautioned, flinging out an arm to stop LuYouxin from further pursuit.


    LuYouxin changed focus immediately, grasping YeXia¡¯s hand with deep passion in her eyes. ¡°What am I but a servant to the words of a beautiful lady like yourself? Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t chase after her; my eyes shall gaze upon nobody else but you alone.¡±


    YeXia¡¯s clearly bewildered expression was what finally drove QiLeren to emerge from hiding. ¡°We meet again, YeXia.¡±


    ¡°Ah, it was you.¡± At this, YeXia smiled gratefully at the two. ¡°You have my gratitude. If it weren¡¯t for your help, I¡¯d no doubt be the one unbecomingly fleeing for my life right now.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as whether or not your escape is unbecoming, only that it works. As long as you get away in the end, you could make your escape by rolling through mud and it¡¯d still be a good escape,¡± LuYouxin advised.


    YeXia simmered with laughter. ¡°You¡¯re a very interesting individual.¡±


    LuYouxin visibly lit up, turning to QiLeren with a joyful exclamation of ¡°A cute girl called me interesting!¡±, to which QiLeren looked away wordlessly.


    Was it too late to claim he didn¡¯t know her?

 CH 37

    YeXia was quickly brought up to speed in regards to the towers¡¯ rules with QiLeren¡¯s information. She cast a glance at the corpse on the ground ¨C the girl looked to be a sixteen or seventeen year old girl, likely an NPC in the quest. Her eyes remained wide open in death but were clouded over with a veil of grey. From the greyish-green tinge of her skin, the cause of death seemed to be some form of strong poison.


    Crouching down with a sigh, YeXia gently closed the corpse¡¯s eyes. ¡°There¡¯s not much difference between NPCs and humans no matter how you look at it, is there?¡±


    ¡°Beautiful on the inside and out. I like that in a person,¡± LuYouxin made sure to appraise on the side.


    QiLeren tried his best to pretend nonchalance and turned his head elsewhere. Just standing next to LuYouxin filled him with a deep sense of embarrassment.


    ¡°Someone once said to me that only the compassion of the strong can be called kindness.¡± YeXia¡¯s smile was grim. ¡°Compassion of the weak is nothing more than mourning for a death of their kind.¡±


    YeXia¡¯s words struck a chord within QiLeren as he looked, almost involuntarily, at the dead NPC. He obviously felt some form of grief at death, but it was at best a weak struggle of conscience ¨C he didn¡¯t even know how long this conscience would last.


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough about that,¡± YeXia said, breaking the sombre silence. ¡°I¡¯ll leave the matter of unsealing the tower to you two to decide as thanks for helping me. You might get something decent from the lucky draw.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t help very much, LuYouxin can do it.¡±


    ¡°Cool, thanks,¡± LuYouxin replied easily without a modicum of obligatory resistance, contrary to QiLeren¡¯s expectations. With that, she scooped the corpse up, tossed it at the foot of the tower and placed a hand onto the tower wall. A soft glow began to emit from the emblem on her hand, diffusing into the air like a fine mist of light before sinking into the body of the tower. As QiLeren watched on with stunned fascination, a radiant beam of azure light burst from the top of the tower into the heavens, sending ripples across the sky at its contact with the clouds. The entire forest was bathed in its light, this brilliant pillar that remained aloft and visible in exchange for the body on the ground that had since disappeared.


    ¡°This beam is too conspicuous,¡± QiLeren noted, frowning.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be long gone before anyone can get here, don¡¯t worry.¡± LuYouxin retracted her hand. A chest had materialised beside the tower, which opened to reveal a card when she pressed a finger down on its lock. She raised a surprised eyebrow. ¡°They might as well have given me a pigeon,¡± she muttered so softly that QiLeren might have missed it entirely had he not been standing close. The card was shoved into her bag without a second thought.


    The chest remained. Confused, LuYouxin took another peek inside and pulled out a piece of paper. ¡°A map?¡±


    QiLeren snuck a glance. It didn¡¯t look like a map of the forest, but rather¡­


    ¡°This looks like the map to the palace that¡¯ll open once we unseal all four towers,¡± LuYouxin confirmed before smiling sweetly at YeXia. ¡°This is probably gonna be pretty important, babe. You want a copy?¡±


    ¡°No thank you.¡± As if taken aback by her own answer, YeXia froze, bewildered.


    LuYouxin clicked her tongue. ¡°Looks like you still don¡¯t really trust me, do you?¡±


    YeXia¡¯s elegant brows drew together into a frown as she pinned LuYouxin with a scrutinising gaze.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just a harmless trick,¡± the culprit offered smugly, shrugging. ¡°Every pretty girl I come across will have to honestly answer the first question I ask; I usually use it to get their bust/waist/hip measurements.¡±


    So that was why she had seemed so surprised when he refused to answer her question, QiLeren realised. Sleazy questions like this were such a waste of a good skill.


    ¡°Well, if y¡¯all don¡¯t want it¡­don¡¯t mind if I do,¡± LuYouxin concluded.


    Hold on, he never said anything of the sort. Did males not hold rights in LuYouxin¡¯s eyes? Perhaps the mournful bitterness in QiLeren¡¯s eyes wasn¡¯t as subtle as he thought it was, since LuYouxin looked him up and down before reluctantly offering for him to make a copy.


    ¡°I just need a quick look.¡± QiLeren was rather confident in his memory. True to his word, he passed it back to LuYouxin after half a minute.


    The composition of the palace was a bit more complicated than he had anticipated. Unfortunately, only a quarter of it was mapped out; the rest would likely be at the other towers. He knew where Cave Tower was, so¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s probably time for us to leave. Want to go together?¡± LuYouxin asked YeXia, completely ignoring QiLeren.


    ¡°No, but thank you.¡± Politely turning down LuYouxin¡¯s offer, YeXia bid the pair goodbye and headed off on her own.


    After a brief struggle, QiLeren decided to do likewise; he might not survive being in the presence of LuYouxin for extended periods of time, to which the girl just shrugged with nonchalance. ¡°Well then be careful I guess, I¡¯m not going to be protecting you like you¡¯re a cute girl this time.


    QiLeren was absolutely positive he didn¡¯t need that kind of protection.


    After leaving Swamp Tower, QiLeren made his way south. According to the map, he would arrive at Cave Tower in the south of the forest before nightfall if all goes well.


    Trying to travel alone in an unfamiliar forest was, as QiLeren discovered, much harder than he had thought, to the point where he actually regretted turning down LuYouxin a little bit. Despite her general air of unreliability, perhaps it was because of her skill that she was able to display so much of her personality and quirks without fear.


    There was no prickling feeling of eyes on his back this time. QiLeren suspected that LuYouxin had moved onto stalking YeXia considering she was an actual female, a thought that filled him with pity for the new victim.


    The overhead sun after noon made its presence known with its sweltering heat. Wiping beads of sweat off his forehead with a sleeve, he lamented the terrible condition of his clothes. After a day of rolling on the ground, climbing trees and crouching in swamps, the previously pristine robes were now no more than glorified rags. The most damning thing about the whole situation was the system requirement to have them on at all times, leaving him unable to even wash them properly.


    The sight of a trickling stream before him invoked a feeling akin to seeing the light at the end of a tunnel, something QiLeren basked in as he ran over and promptly washed his face. Cool splashes of water drew away some of the heat simmering beneath his skin. Unsatisfied, he waded into the stream and submerged himself entirely as he scrubbed wherever he could. He couldn¡¯t take the robes off, but soaking in the water with clothes on never harmed anyone.


    The stream wasn¡¯t very deep, but it was clear. QiLeren could see schools of little fish no bigger than his thumb swimming through the water, as well as his feet ¨C his petite, feminine feet. As with everything about his current appearance, he sighed.


    Something upstream caught his attention. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn¡¯t seeing things. No, there was definitely something floating towards him. As the thing got closer, he realised with a start that it was a piece of torn fabric ¨C and not just any piece of fabric, but the exact same fabric as his own robes!


    QiLeren immediately stumbled out of the water, fabric gripped in one hand and skimming his knee in his haste. Unperturbed by how drenched he was, he smoothed out the fabric. Bloodstains had seeped into its threading, having spread into large, horrifying blotches of light red after being soaked in the stream.


    That was his destination, QiLeren thought with dismay. What on earth could¡¯ve happened upstream?


    Unnatural squawking overhead sent QiLeren¡¯s head whipping upwards. Perched on the tree in front of him was a familiar black bird ¨C it was his goddess¡¯s bird! Was she here as well? Before he could get a good look around him, a heavy coat fell from above and effectively swallowed his body whole. He could hear the sound of a body dropping onto the floor next to him in the darkness as he struggled to resurface, finally emerging to the sight of a face so icy it was hard to look at directly.


    It was her!

 CH 38

    Ah, as expected of his goddess. The mere sight of her face sent QiLeren¡¯s mind spiralling into nothingness, face aflame as he stuttered out a frankly pathetic ¡°Hello¡±. His goddess merely looked down at him with familiar iciness. Her bird, having returned to his perch on her shoulder, tilted its head cutely at QiLeren. ¡°Good food, good food!¡±


    It was not without great reluctance that QiLeren complied. His rations were for life-threatening situations, damn it, wasting it to curry favour with a bird¡­well¡­since it was his goddess¡¯ bird¡­


    Feeling the last of his principles crumble under the temptation of beauty, QiLeren offered up a portion of what little was left in the palm of his hand and watched in quiet despair as the black bird pecked at it eagerly. His goddess made no move to stop it, nor did she make any sound at all as she fixed her gaze upon QiLeren. At such a close distance, her eyes, shining between two rows of thick eyelashes, shone beautifully like pure, polished sapphires.


    A spark of something akin to suspicion flared in QiLeren¡¯s mind; could she be of mixed blood? SuHe had mentioned that there had never been a single foreign player in the game before, but almost all NPCs looked distinctly non-Asian, which made the difference between players and NPCs quite telling.


    The black bird eventually finished its meal and affectionately rubbed its head in QiLeren¡¯s hand before flapping up to a tree branch with a flurry. Seeing his goddess¡¯ gaze drift to the torn pieces of the sacrificial gown, QiLeren hurried to explain, ¡°I saw it floating down the river earlier¡­hey, it looks like we¡¯re wearing the same thing.¡±


    At this, he pulled open the coat that had fallen onto him earlier to compare it to his own (still dripping) gown. Before he could uncover anything more than his collarbone, however, his goddess stopped his hand and packed him tightly back into the coat draped around his shoulders.


    What the heck was she doing???


    The black bird squawked twice from its perch on the tree and finally said its first semi-presentable sentence: ¡°Public indecency.¡±


    What? What on earth was happening?? Public indecency??? All he did was expose some collarbone! His clothes were indeed soaked through and sticking quite close to his skin, but they were both girls so what did it matter¡­ Oh, wait, he was male. That was close.


    Could his goddess have realised what his true gender was? QiLeren flinched at the thought and sneaked a peek at her, but she had long since turned away to dazedly stare at the clothes on the ground. Upon further inspection, QiLeren was alarmed to find that her ear had turned red.


    ¡­!


    She was embarrassed? Good lord, how could she be this cute?!


    Fears laid to rest, QiLeren could focus on nothing else but the adorable shyness of his normally aloof goddess. To test the theory, he calculatingly shifted the coat and hiked up a corner of his gown over his thigh to reveal the creamy expanse of skin underneath. ¡°I accidentally scraped my knee on the rocks when I came out of the river¡­¡±


    His goddess¡¯s gaze swept over the bruised and bleeding skin of his knee for a split second before she¡­swiftly pulled his gown back down, shoved something cold into his hands and leaped to the other side of the river before he could snap out of his confusion. QiLeren stared at the opposite riverbank, slack-jawed, but there was no trace of his goddess. The river was at least three or four metres wide; had she just jumped over it in one leap?


    The black bird let out a strange chuckle, as if mocking him for his failed seduction attempt, before taking flight after its owner, but not without leaving behind an ¡°I can fly, dumbass¡±.


    QiLeren felt as if something inside of him had exploded. His goddess ran away! That¡¯s not what he had meant to do; he had just wanted to see her being embarrassed, not force her to look at his thigh!


    Alas, she had left. Left standing on the riverbank, still dripping wet but now armed with his goddess¡¯ gift of a coat and ointment, he had no words to express his anguish.


    Unfortunately, the quest wasn¡¯t going to complete itself. Opening the alarmingly high-quality looking ointment, QiLeren rubbed some onto his knee and watched as it healed almost immediately before promptly deciding to save it for the future. When he took off and examined the coat around his shoulders, the silver crosses adorning its upper sleeves did nothing to distract from the fact that no matter how he looked, it was unmistakably a man¡¯s jacket.


    Wait, could his goddess have a boyfriend?


    All the colour drained from QiLeren¡¯s face as he dwelled on this fact. No, he couldn¡¯t accept this. Her boyfriend must have atrocious taste to have chosen such a plain black jacket and is therefore completely undeserving of his icy and unbelievably cool goddess.


    No no no, maybe his goddess just liked male clothing? It wouldn¡¯t be strange at all for a beauty so far out of everyone¡¯s league like her to wear male clothing! Having convinced himself, QiLeren reluctantly shrugged on his newly attained jacket and made his way upstream, finally arriving around sunset. Vision brought by the thinning forest and elevated ground brought with it a strange odour, he noted with unease as he opened the map to check his position; he was not too far from Cave Tower.


    A smidgen of browning blood caught QiLeren¡¯s eye. Walking closer to investigate and swiping a hand through the stain, it seemed that the blood was likely fresh and spilt not long ago. Surrounding it were similar splotches of blood and¡­some traces of bloodstained clothing.


    QiLeren swallowed, mouth suddenly feeling dry as his heart thumped in his ears. The bloody gown was most likely from here, but where was the body? How did she die?


    The surrounding area was made up of sparse trees and a dense cushion of tall grass that covered the ground completely, making it difficult to make out bloodstains on the ground. Following the trail with some difficulty, QiLeren noticed that along the trail were traces of bark that had been ripped off in large chunks, some branches even broken, almost as if they were snapped by¡­rough trauma of some sort. The sort that seemed too violent to have been done by wild animals.


    If not an animal, then who¡­then what could have caused the wreckage before him?


    The woods around him were deathly silent, devoid of even the birdcalls that had chirped incessantly before. An unpleasant odour wafted through the darkening sky. QiLeren could hardly hear over his own heartbeat, each step feeling as if he was on the edge of a cliff.


    There was danger ahead.


    An unspeakable intuition urged QiLeren to flee, but with Cave Tower at his fingertips and all his items on hand to fight, he couldn¡¯t justify running any longer. Rather than hiding in a corner and waiting for death, he might as well give his all; nothing ventured, nothing gained. Forcing himself to press onwards, he reached the hill¡¯s peak at last and surveyed the area.


    No more than a few hundred metres away from him was an open area of gravel, next to which was a looming cave surrounded by a haphazard barrier of stone around one metre tall. Within the barrier was a hulking giant stirring a huge cauldron with a thick wooden stick.


    Beside it, a pack of wolves happily feasted on a mutilated corpse.


    The giant reached out a clumsy hand to pull out a macabre bone from the wolves¡¯ dinner and threw it, still dripping with torn flesh and blood, into the cauldron. Bubbles gurgled out of the green-brown liquid. The wolves dragged the corpse slightly away, whimpering softly but not daring to resist, before continuing their meal.


    A gust of wind carried a peculiar scent from the woods. The wolves, following the scent, paused in their feast and raised their heads to growl to QiLeren, who was situated upwind from them.


    A pair of giant, blood-red eyes met QiLeren¡¯s own.


    With a roar of excitement, the giant jumped to its feet and thundered towards to him on strong and solid legs. The wolves howled in unison at the sound of the clarion call, advancing as one behind the giant with their eyes set on QiLeren!

 CH 39

    Damn, it was fatal!


    Qi Leren finally understood why such a bloody dress was floating on the river, but at that time it was useless to know more. He ran wildly while thinking fast.


    What should he do? It¡¯s almost a dead end!


    No, not yet! He had enough skills and possessions to get out of this dilemma!


    S/L Skill cards, rations, weapon daggers, and miniature bombs bought by Eventide!


    Cave Tower on the map must be in the cave next to Giant Camp. He had to go in to reach Cave Tower! But he had to get rid of ¡­ No, kill these hungry wolves and giants!


    When the giant ran, he broke the branch of the road and brutally cleared the obstacles along the way. Every step of the giant on the ground made a dull loud noise and set off a whirlwind of fear. At this time, the girl¡¯s body inevitably dragged down the speed. Several times, the stick almost rubbed his back and fell down. Every time, it threw a tremor. The terrible giant ran across the forest like an ancient beast.


    In such a time, there¡¯s nothing to hesitate about. To hesitate was to die!


    Qi Leren did not hesitate to face more than one death.


    Three food rations were thrown out, and the three wolves who came after them turned their heads and scrambled. The giant was not moved at all. He shouted and waved a big stick and hit Qi Leren. Qi Leren rolled, almost rubbing the huge stick to avoid dying on the spot..


    Archive completed!


    Coming! Qi Leren, holding a mini-bomb, turned his head and rushed to the giant. At this moment, he could hardly see anything. He only knew that he could not fail, that he could not die here, and that he must survive even if he risked everything!


    The giant hesitated for a moment by his sudden u-turn, and then he raised the huge stick to hit him. However, Qi leren ran flexibly, and in an instant, he hit the giant¡¯s muscular thigh, and forced himself to bear the stench to detonate the miniature bomb on his hand.


    There was a loud bang, with the giant as the center, and all were blasted into a blackened death within three meters. At the moment of the explosion, Qi Leren lost consciousness. When he woke up, he stood in the place where he archived and was knocked to the ground by the shock wave.


    The system flashed and a message appeared:


    [Player Qi Leren, SL Dafa Skills Card meets the upgrade conditions, the upgrade is completed. After upgrade, the holder can set an archive site at the location of his body. If he dies or suffers fatal injury within 30 seconds after archive, the body automatically returns to the position and state of the archive site, and immediately trigger the second use. More than 30 seconds, archive sites automatically fail. An archive site can be used three times in a row, and the cooling time is 1 hour. Anyway, to use it, you have to die. This use is based on the upgraded skills. ]


    At this critical moment, skills had been upgraded?!


    Qi Leren¡¯s ecstasy lasted a few seconds before he saw the wolf rushing up again, just a dozen meters away from him.


    Thirty seconds was enough. This time he won¡¯t run away again. Solve the problem once and for all!


    The first wolf came up in a ferocious way, biting on Qi Leren¡¯s arm. A sharp pain came. Qi Leren¡¯s wrist went weak and his dagger almost fell to the ground. He plunged into the back of the hungry wolf forcefully, which burst out a fierce crying. The wolf began to bite fiercely. Qi Leren protected his neck and struggled hard against the wolf. Finally, he died and read the archive.


    Returning to archive site again, the wolves that had just bitten him were laying half dead on the ground. The other two wolves were ready to move, but they were deterred by the fighting power he had just exploded. They could delay. Qi Leren could not. He shouted loudly and ran after them. The two wolves turned around and disappeared in the woods in a twinkling of an eye.


    Qi Leren just sat on the ground. After reading the archive twice, all his physical strength was drained. If there was another fight for life and death, he was afraid that he would not be able to fight the hard energy he just had.


    But in the end, he won and saved a miniature bomb to deal with the wolf. He could afford three bombs in all. He was reluctant to use more.


    Qi Leren wiped his face, stood up with his feeble legs, and went to the place where the explosion had just occurred. The giant¡¯s body had become blackened, but there was still a treasure chest floating on it, just like in the case of killing maniacs in tutorial village. It seems that the system had a special reward for killing small BOSS level monster.


    He pressed his finger on the lock of the treasure box. The treasure box opened automatically. It was a card. Qi Leren took it out and looked at it with great joy.


    [Collect Clothes in Rainy Days] (Unbound Skills Card): Passive Skills. Whenever the weather is gloomy, the housewives always look at the sky anxiously and wonder when it will rain and whether they will have time to collect their clothes. During the use of this skill, the player will feel the dangerous atmosphere of the rainstorm ¨C of course, not necessarily effective, up to three crises sensored in 24 hours. The current remaining induction number is 3/3.


    It¡¯s the sensory skills Su He said! The one he desperately needed!


    But¡­


    Qi Leren was worried about the two slots on his belt. One slot was given to SL Powerful Skill and the other to the bloodsucking dagger, which had to be inserted in the slot to use.


    Unfortunately, once the cooling SL Powerful Skill was removed, its cooling time would stop until it was equipped again, so he must equip it in the slot. He had to take out the dagger card and change it into the new skill. As for weapons, just make up with ordinary daggers first.


    After equipping with the skills of Collect Clothes in Rainy Days, Qi Leren felt his intuition sharpened immediately. No, it should be said that he felt very dangerous now.


    It¡¯s like standing alone in an empty pitch dark night, but somehow, people felt that something was watching behind them, that kind of malicious eyes, ready to do something¡­


    [Collect Clothes in Rainy Days] The current remaining induction number is 2/3.


    Here it came.


    Qi Leren turned sharply, and in the sparse bushes, two pairs of bright green eyes were staring at him.


    The two wolves came back unexpectedly!


    Qi Leren was shocked and suddenly realized that his S/L skill was still cooling down.


    What should he do? Running or¡­


    Wait, he had rations. Qi Leren breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed two handfuls of rations ready to throw out at any time. At this time, he did not care about wasting consumables. It was always life safety that ranked first anyway.


    Before he could throw the grain rations, two arrows glittering with silver flew over his head, and two dull sounds of falling to the ground came from behind the bushes, and then there was no sound.


    Qi Leren looked back and saw a robe hiding behind the branches. Before he could break the secret, a big black bird flew over and stood on his shoulder enthusiastically begging for food, ¡°Food, food.¡±


    Qi Leren had a pain in his flesh, grabbed a handful of ration and fed it. The big black bird pecked it joyfully and swallowed it with his neck up.


    Somehow it saved a mouthful, Qi Leren thought while seeking joy amidst sorrow, feeling much better all of a sudden.


    ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t know your name yet.¡± Qi Leren got up the courage to shout.


    She saved him twice. At least tell him her name.


    Unfortunately, his goddess turned and went away mercilessly. He could only see the distant treetops shaking gently for two times, and she had disappeared in the distance. The big black bird pecked his ears intimately and flapped its wings and flew away.


    His favorite mature lady was so cold. Qi Leren was a little disappointed and reviewed his aesthetic taste and found out that he was only into this kind of ladies.


    Looking at the direction of the Goddess¡¯s departure, maybe she went to Cave Tower too. When he got into the cave, maybe they would meet again. At least he could ask her name before leaving instance dungeon. He didn¡¯t want to go back and ask Chen Baiqi. But can¡¯t the goddess really talk? Was that big black bird saying the truth? He really didn¡¯t hear a word from the goddess.


    Was it true that God was jealous of beautiful women? Qi Leren showed a tender care for the goddess for a while, and then his thoughts drifted all the way to if there was any place to learn sign language in Eventide. For the goddess, he must be able to learn sign language!


    No, don¡¯t think about it. Go to Cave Tower first.


    Qi Leren kept up his spirit and went to examine the bodies of two wolves. Sure enough, silver arrows shot through each wolf¡¯s head. He reached out and pulled ¨C failed. Qi Leren looked at his rubbed red palms incredibly. He rubbed his hands and continued to work hard, but again he failed.


    Recalling the past pain, Qi Leren wrapped his hands with the corners of his clothes to increase friction. He stepped on the wolf¡¯s head and pulled the arrows vigorously. As a result, his hand slipped off the arrows. This inertia was too big. He also sat on the ground with his butt. He beat the ground with regret, and finally realized how loli felt when they could not screw the mineral water bottle.


    His goddess¡¯s arm force was amazing. Her bow could definitely not be opened by ordinary people!


    At last Qi Leren forced out the arrow with a dagger, kind of aggrieved. It made his whole body bloody and looked very miserable. He simply went back to the stream and washed the silver arrow, then put on the ointment all over his scratches ¨C thank the goddess for the ointment she had thrown to him before, which was very useful.


    After dealing with everything, Qi Leren ate something, and went to the cave at Giant Camp in the twilight .


    Cave Tower, it should be there.

 CH 40

    In the Giant¡¯s camp, the crucible boiling with the green-brown liquid was still bubbling. Qi Leren, driven by curiosity, looked up and was instantly smoked black. This was no longer the category of dark cuisine. It¡¯s absolutely a murder weapon. Giants live on it? The living conditions were a little hard¡­


    Qi Leren looked around again. The ghastly corpse had lost all human form, leaving only scattered skeletons and flesh after being eaten by hungry wolves. The rest was mostly in the pot. Qi Leren sighed, and he didn¡¯t know whether it was an NPC or a player who died here, but now it¡¯s meaningless to tangle with this.


    Standing outside the cave, Qi Leren looked inside. It was a dark place, faintly reflecting the light of water. Probably because the cave was low, a lot of water accumulated in it after the rain.


    The feeling of being watched had returned.


    After equipping with ¡°Collect Clothes in Rainy Days¡± skill, Qi Leren¡¯s original keen intuition became more sensitive. He glanced at the system prompt. The ¡°current remaining induction times¡± on the skill card showed 2/3. The one time was deducted when he just felt the wolf approaching. Now it was no longer deducted. So there should be no danger of death now?


    Would it be Lu Youxin? No, it seemed a little different from that time¡­


    If he went in now, he might be attacked in the darkness. It would be safer to wait outside during the cooling time of SL Powerful Skill.


    Determined, Qi Leren simply sat down at the entrance of the cave, restored his strength while eating, and waited until night came. When his skills cooled down, he carefully entered the underground cave.


    The cave was bigger than he had ever imagined. Qi Leren lit the lights he had bought in his Eventide and the underground cave finally became bright. The water at the depth of the wrist reflected the light, making the dark cave even deeper and more eerie.


    Something dangerous was coming out of it, Qi Leren thought.


    Faced with this unknown dangerous environment, he was unavoidably a little afraid and uneasy, but thinking that the goddess was also in it, he felt a lot more at ease. No, was he reduced to count on a girl? But he had actually rely on the girl several times! What a shame!


    The empty underground cave was huge. Qi Leren had crossed through the shallow water area and stood on dry land surrounded by karst stalagmites. The light was dim and it was difficult to distinguish directions. He continued to move forward and felt that the whole cave extended infinitely downward.


    How deep was the cave? Where was the Cave Tower hidden?


    The further Qi Leren went, the more frightened he felt. He was alone in the endless darkness with the lamp burning. In the dark corner, those shadowy things watched him stealthily, as if they were plotting some malicious plot in a low voice.


    ¡°Crack¨C¡± Qi Leren lowered his head and found that he had broken a piece of white bone. Over time, the weathered bone had become loose and fragile, so he easily broke it with one step.


    Was this the skeleton of an animal or¡­


    Qi Leren lifted the light and tried to shine farther.


    With the light, he squinted deeper into the darkness and then suddenly opened his eyes wide.¡ª¡ª


    In the vast darkness ahead, he could vaguely see the layers of bones piled up in the underground cave, like an ocean of white bones, boundless¡­ In the darkness, the scattering green ghost fires were floating like the fluorescent jellyfish in the deep sea. The weak light not only could not illuminate the darkness, but also added some horrible color to it.


    How many creatures were buried here? This was a graveyard full of dead bodies!


    Qi Leren was thrilled.


    The cold wind came from the bottom of the earth, with a rotten smell.


    Qi Leren shivered, and there was goose bumps on his arms and thighs. He could not help but wrap up the jacket that did not belong to him and unconsciously touched the dagger Su He had sent. But he remembered that the slot was not enough. He had just put the dagger¡¯s cards back into the package. Now he could only use the ordinary dagger.


    The deeper he went, the more white bones he saw. Some were like the bones of wild animals, while others were hard to recognize. Qi Leren even saw tusks as long as his arms. He couldn¡¯t imagine what animal¡¯s teeth were they. They did not look like living things on earth at all¡­ Yeah, now he was not on Earth. In this nightmare world, there might be certain terrible unknown creatures, such as the giant outside the cave.


    Despite his psychological preparation, Qi Leren was shocked when he saw what appeared to be a large skeleton of a dragon.


    The skeleton of the dragon was more than a dozen meters long. Only the skull was bigger than his whole body, not to mention its two rugged wings. He couldn¡¯t even imagine how majestic it was in his lifetime. But at the moment, its white bones were half buried in the sand lifelessly with innumerable unknown corpses, waiting for people to imagine what it once looked like.


    What awakened Qi Leren from his fantasy was the peeping sight. He pretended to be attracted by the skeleton of the dragon. He turned sideways to check it, and then looked at the entrance where he came with the afterglow of his eyes ¡ª Sure enough, a white shadow flashed behind the stalactite. Someone followed him all the way and then quietly hid there.


    Qi Leren¡¯s heart was racing because he knew that an unknown enemy was following him quietly. He could not judge whether she was kind or malicious, but he did not want to bet his luck.


    He must not be careless. He must find a way to preempt others.


    Qi Leren thought for a moment, pretended calmly that he hadn¡¯t found out, and went on.


    Qi Leren picked out one of the winding fork roads ahead and went in. Then, as he passed a corner, he put out the lights and pasted them on the wall, waiting quietly for the followers.


    It was dark all around, and only the faint fluorescence of moss on the rock walls brought a little light, so that people did not think they had lost sight.


    In the silence there was only the sound of his own low breathing, and the dripping sound of water on the top of the damp cave, ticking, ticking.


    A light footstep approached, and the visitor walked slowly, cautiously, and the faint light made her a little difficult. Qi Leren heard her stumble over the stones on the ground. It seemed that she had little night vision ability.


    In that case¡­ Qi Leren thought of a safer way.


    He held the dagger in one hand and the light switch in the other. When the footsteps sounded right beside him, he switched on the light and threw it at the corner where she came.¡ª¡ª


    In a sudden and dazzling light, the visitor whispered and was suddenly knocked down by Qi Leren. The cold sharp dagger hit her throat, almost pressing a bloodline.


    Qi Leren opened his narrowed eyes and looked at the girl on the ground in astonishment, ¡°Anna?¡±


    He was followed by the NPC Anna, who was in the same carriage with him.


    Anna recovered from the brief blindness caused by the strong light and cried in horror, ¡°Are you going to kill me, too? I don¡¯t want to die. Wu Wu. I just want to go home¡­ Please don¡¯t kill me!¡±


    ¡°Why were you following me secretly?¡± Qi Leren frowned.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m afraid¡­ Someone wants to kill me. I¡¯m afraid you want to kill me too. I don¡¯t want to die¡­ But I don¡¯t know where to go¡­¡± Anna cried miserably. She looked frightened. Her green eyes were wet with tears.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Elle?¡± Qi Leren asked again.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ We were apart when we fled¡­¡± Anna shrank and looked at the dagger around her neck in horror.


    Qi Leren finally was relieved. He drew back the dagger and said, ¡°It¡¯s not safe inside. You¡¯d better go outside. The forest is very big and it¡¯s not easy to meet other people.¡±


    ¡°I see. I¡¯ll go right away.¡± Anna got up from the ground shivering and trembling, and walked out of the cave in fear.


    Qi Leren looked at Anna¡¯s departure and suddenly felt strange. He just felt that something would happen if Anna left alone.


    ¡°Wait a minute. I¡¯ll take you out. It¡¯s dark here.¡± Qi Leren said, picking up the light on the ground, and followed up. He decided to watch her leave.


    Anna¡¯s pale face showed a grateful and pleasant smile, ¡°Thank you, you are so kind¡­¡±


    They walked out of the winding tunnel path side by side and returned to the huge white-bone cemetery. There was still silence around them. To resist the pressure of the emptiness, Qi Leren talked with Anna and said, ¡°How did you get selected for the sacrifice?¡±


    As soon as Anna heard the sad news, her tears fell down again. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ One day the totem appeared in my hand and I was taken to be locked up¡­ Later, someone fled, but I dared not run away, so¡­ Here I am.¡±


    Elle did say that six people had escaped, and two of them were supposed to be the source of the totem on his hand and on the back of the hand of the goddess.


    ¡°There will be a sacrifice every three years. Are there that many young women in the nearby villages?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    Anna froze for a moment but said, ¡°There are also some people tied up from other places¡­ Aren¡¯t you like that?¡±


    From the setting, these six players were supposed to be tied up to participate in the sacrifice. So that¡¯s right.


    Qi Leren mumbled and was about to continue asking questions when the system suddenly prompted him that the current remaining induction times of [Collect Clothes in Rainy Days] was 1/3.


    No!


    In an instant, Qi Leren burst out with amazing reactivity. He threw away the light and rolled on the ground in spite of the broken bones. A sharp wind almost brushed his body, but failed to cut him in two.


    Qi Leren writhed on the skeleton all over with pain. He struggled to support his body. The blood from his broken forehead slid into his eyes, leaving a pale blush in front of him.


    Anna, with a long knife in hand, sighed with regret and said in a solemn tone, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re much more alert than I thought.¡±


    Qi Leren finally knew where the strange feeling of Anna came from. From the very beginning, this person was a player pretending to be an NPC!!

 CH 41

    NOTICE: This is edited machine translation?


    The lamp that was left on the side gave out a pale light, illuminating Anna¡¯s face from bottom to top, making her originally gentle and beautiful face become ferocious and terrifying, even her timid voice became cold, with a little exaggerated dramatic accent: ¡°You hid so fast, but I killed many idiots this way.¡±


    ¡°Are you a player, too?¡± Qi Leren talked to her as he was thinking about how to get rid of this dilemma.


    This is not a hopeless situation for him. He is glad that he waited patiently for his skills to cool down before entering the cave. Otherwise, it would be a dead end. As long as he cooperated with his skills, it¡¯s not impossible to fight back.


    ¡°Of course. Is my acting good? ¡± Anna took a step forward with a smile and crushed the disordered bones on the ground. ¡°I really like this place. It¡¯s my home stadium, so it doesn¡¯t matter if you can escape a disaster for a while. It¡¯s just a perfect performance for you. You should thank me for letting you see this incredible thing before death.¡±


    As she said, Anna¡¯s fingers were virtual pressed on the card slot of the belt. At the next moment, the air around her suddenly cooled, and Qi Leren, who fell on the ground, raised his palm incredibly. In a short moment, he felt that the palm he stuck on the ground seemed to be frostbitten. He heard a noise. In the restless agitation, the white bones on the ground made up a skeleton.


    ¡°Get up, souls, and dance for death.¡± Anna made no secret of her desire to perform. She raised her skirt and bowed to the void. With the long knife in her hand, the white bones on the ground stood up one after another. In the dim light they become a grim and horrible death corps!


    ¡°First of all, invite the spectators to sit down.¡± Anna smiles and points at Qi Leren with the long knife. The white bones at Qi Leren¡¯s feet form a white bone seat at an amazing speed, which locked his feet. His heart sinks. The picture just now is so scary that he couldn¡¯t react. But now he¡¯s not in a hurry to archive. He¡¯s going to see what Anna, who is immersed in the performance, wants to do.


    Maybe he died so many times that he is numb to death. He can even calculate the most appropriate time to die, but¡­ Is this really a good thing?


    ¡°Let me introduce to the audience the rare guests here, such as this extinct saber toothed tiger.¡± Anna grinned as she wielding the knife, and a fierce beast formed by a skeleton strode towards Qi Leren. A blue soul flame was burning in her skull, driving her to act as if she were alive. Her two forepaws were put on a white bone seat, and her long, terrifying tusks were ferociously pressed against Qi Leren¡¯s throat, as if she wanted to bite at any time.


    Qi Leren looks at Anna calmly. He is not unafraid, just because he has something to rely on in his heart, he can face it calmly.


    Anna raised her eyebrow: ¡°it seems that our guests are not satisfied with you, so let¡¯s meet the next guest, and the ancient Python that has been extinct for millions of years!¡±


    As her cool and inexplicably excited voice reverberated in the cave, more clicking sounds of bone collision sounded, beyond the scope of lighting, a blue soul flame was ignited, some huge creatures were awakened from death, slowly swam on the ground piled up by sand and bones, and approached Qi Leren.


    ¡°But I like it the most.¡± Anna stroked the skeleton of dragon sleeping in the cave, affectionately tracing the bones on its wings with her fingers, ¡°unfortunately¡­ It takes someone¡¯s life to wake it up¡­ Poor little sister, would you like to help me? ¡°


    ¡°You should thank me.¡± Anna said quietly, pointing to the giant python composed of skeletons which tied Qi Leren on the white bone seat. The craggy bones made him ache all over, ¡°maybe you can go home after you die. But I don¡¯t want to go back at all. How interesting it is here¡­ I really like so many, so many incredible things. ¡°


    ¡°Goodbye then. Have a nice trip.¡± Anna smiled at him, raised her skirt and bowed to him.


    Qi Leren, who had been preparing to archive and fight back, could not help but stop when he suddenly saw the cold flash of the passage in the cave. Next second, a silver arrow pierced Anna¡¯s chest from behind, and her smile solidified on her face. She opened her eyes incredulously, and then slowly fell to the ground.


    Anna, who fell to the ground, covered her chest, and the sharp arrow had pierced her chest. She looked at the scarlet red hands, and her throat uttered a breathless breath: ¡°no¡­ This¡­ ¡°


    She didn¡¯t have the strength to look back at the murderer. She could only stare at Qi Leren with bitter eyes. The bloody hand pressed on the belt falsely: ¡°Bring me¡­ Together¡­ ¡°


    Blood gushed out of her mouth, and she fell to the ground, died.


    In the crash, the white bones lost their soul fire and fell to the ground one after another. Qi Leren sat on the ground, and the white bone seat had been reduced to pieces, which made him almost scream.


    Footsteps came from the deep cave. Qi Leren looked up and saw a tall figure coming from the dark with white bones all over the ground.


    It must be her!


    Qi Leren got up from the ground, greeted excitedly, ¡°Goddess! Thanks for saving me! ¡°


    The one came here stopped suddenly. There was an unnatural look on her face illuminated by the lights. Before Qi Leren could strike a conversation, the black bird on goddess¡¯ shoulder made a sharp cry: ¡°Enemy attack, enemy attack!¡±


    Qi Leren stares at it. The bird even lied to goddess? Why hasn¡¯t goddess stewed it yet?


    At the words of blackbird, the double knives hanging on the outside of the thigh instantly came out of the sheath, almost at the same time, Qi Leren received a prompt from the system: [Collect Clothes in Rainy Days] current remaining induction times 0 / 3, cooldown countdown 23:59:59.


    There is a real threat of death?!


    Suddenly there was a faint light around, not the dark green of the previous ghost fire, but the blue of the soul fire. The light rises from the ground under your feet, and the flame shoots out from the ground. It encircles the two people with amazing speed, forming a circle of complex magic array!


    Between the shaking of the earth and mountains, the entrance direction of the cave was blocked by countless falling stones, unable to leave at all. Qi Leren¡¯s wrist was clenched tightly by someone. With no words, goddess rushed to the deeper part of the cave with him. Qi Leren was dragged to stagger and almost fell to the ground. A terrible roar came from behind, shaking the whole cave!


    Qi Leren turns around as he runs. In the bone buried place, a skeleton dragon with blue flame is waking up from the abyss of death. The master who once dominated everything but was defeated by death is here and back to the world! With its resurrection, the legions of the dead were also given another life, recovered their bodies from the bones, and walked towards them.


    Qi Leren was pulled to escape into the rock tunnel. He thought it would be safe, but the revived skeleton dragon waved its wings made of white bones and hit the tunnel crazily ¨C a roar, the earth trembled, the rock rolled down from the top of the head, and the two people avoided the stone rain. The disaster is not over yet. The skeleton dragon falls in front of the corridor. The soul fire burning in the abdominal cavity is like a blue beam of light rising up along the bone of the cervical vertebra. Finally, it condenses in the mouth of the skeleton dragon. It raises its neck high, whistling the flame to the rock wall ¨C a roar. The rock mass is smashed into pieces by the dragon breath.


    The rubble fell one after another. Qi Leren thought he was going to die. Unexpectedly, there was an underground Canyon in front of him. He was pulled hard and jumped down into the cool underground lake. Countless stones fell into the lake together, and the impact force was reduced by the current. The two men sank deeper and deeper, avoiding the stones falling all over the sky.


    In the darkness and coldness, only the hand holding him was warm. Qi Leren opened his eyes under the water, and the underwater grass was emitting fluorescence. He vaguely saw that he was being pulled by others, cruising slowly under the water. Goddess¡¯s hair has gone, and she is like a mermaid in the bottom of the water, pulling him back from hell to the world in a dreamlike light and shadow.

 CH 42

    Qi Leren jumped into the water in a hurry. He didn¡¯t even hold his breath. Although he didn¡¯t stay underwater for a long time, he felt a strong sense of suffocation in the water pressure around him. A string of bubbles overflowed from his mouth, and his brain began to become chaotic. He looked at the fluorescent water grass in a daze. Everything was dreamy and empty, as if he was in a blurred dream.


    Someone took him by the hand and led him upward, but he even lost his strength to swim in suffocation..


    What a pain..


    Qi Leren struggled in the agony of suffocation and drowning. The arm pulled convulsed several times. The person in front of him finally realized that something was wrong, but Qi Leren was almost unconscious.


    His eyes could still see what was happening, but his brain was no longer able to analyze. He stared at her turning around, her black hair spreading in the water, half covering her face. It was very close and beautiful


    Hearing began to slow down, he felt as if he was floating in a sea of stars. The cold light of stars came into his eyes through the silent universe. Every light he saw was the remnant of stars hundreds of millions of years ago. In this silent and great time and space, everything was quiet and slow, making people calm down or even forget the fear of death.


    She took him by the waist, held his back head with one hand, and kissed him on the lips.


    Fresh oxygen poured into his mouth. He couldn¡¯t help breathing in the air greedily, even bit her lips when the temperature left.


    The water surface was getting closer and closer. Finally, they rushed out of the water and swam to the shore. Goldess had amazing physical strength. After such a toss, she easily supported the ground with hands and landed on the bank. Qi Leren lay on the bank and gasped. He looked at goldess with more admiration


    Goldess glanced down at him. Her eyes paused for a second on his chest, and held out her hands.


    Qi Leren took a long breath as he clambered onto the bank, clutching goddess¡¯s hand.


    Wait, did he just kiss with goddess? Qi Leren suddenly recalled what happened under the water, which was unbelievable for a while. Or was it just an illusion of suffocation?


    Qi Leren glanced at goldess¡¯s lips secretly. The light around was too dark. The brightness brought by the fluorescent moss was not enough for him to see clearly. He was so anxious that he wanted to thank her several times, but didn¡¯t know how to start.


    If it weren¡¯t for goldess, he would be in a real dangerous situation. Even if he succeeded in killing Anna with S/L Skill, Anna¡¯s terrifying call of skeleton dragon before death was powerful enough to kill him tens of times. This kind of creature couldn¡¯t be fooled with rations. If being crushed under a stone, he would be in a dead situation that couldn¡¯t be saved no matter how many times he reloaded.


    Fortunately, goddess rushed into the cave and jumped down into the underground lake without hesitation. She came in an hour earlier than him. She should have found out the terrain inside. But this kind of resolute death-will was not seen in ordinary people.


    It seemed that the goddess was a lady with many stories, Qi Leren thought.


    The temperature under the ground was lower than that on the ground. In addition, it¡¯s already late at night. Qi Leren, who just came out of the water, was shivering because of a cold wind. He didn¡¯t know where his coat had been gone in the water before. He tried to warm himself by shaking his arms, and was immediately wrapped in a coat by goddess.


    ¡ª¡ªHow much do you like this kind of men¡¯s coat? It¡¯s the same style!


    Qi Leren cried in her heart¡­ but put it on immediately.


    It¡¯s really much warmer.


    But goddess was really shy. She hadn¡¯t looked at his face since just now. She was a person that would be shy even when looking at a girl¡­So lovely.


    Qi Leren happily planned how to take this opportunity to get along with goldess and cultivate feelings. Many hero and heroine in novels and TV series had love sparks exactly in such dangerous environments. Definitely, he could do it with his goddess!


    A strange cry came from the top. A big black bird flew down and stopped on goldess¡¯s outstretched arm. It rubbed the goddess¡¯s face intimately.


    ¡ª¡ªGo away, you funny stupid bird! Goddess is mine!


    Qi Leren glared at the big black bird, but it ignored him at all. It whispered to goddess, ¡°A large group coming, bones, cracking and clicking.¡±


    Goldess frowned. She nodded and signaled Qi Leren to follow up. They went deeper into the cave.


    The cave had labyrinth and maze like passages. Though Qi Leren was good at memorizing maps, he was also confused. Finally they came to a place where the fluorescent moss was bright. He hurried forward to look at goddess¡¯s lips ¨C it was really bitten.


    His heart beat faster. It was not his illusion. He did kiss goddess underwater?!


    No, no more thinking. It was just artificial respiration.


    But he really cared much about it..


    Qi Leren was almost suffocated. He tried to talk with goddess for several times, but goddess always looked serious. She was too cold to get close. Even so, that gorgeous side face was attractive enough for him.


    I have to find a way to talk to goddess. Qi Leren cheered himself up in his heart. Just as he was about to open his mouth, goddess stopped and made a silent gesture to him.


    Qi Leren held his breath and listened to the movement around him.


    Click, click, click¡­ There was a low and odd sound of footsteps, accompanied by the hitting sound of components. Qi Leren quickly pictured a walking skeleton in his brain, walking towards them.


    Sure enough, a blue light lit up in the front passage. Soon, a skeleton soldier with a rusty weapon appeared at the corner. It found the existence of the two people and walked toward them quickly!


    Five meters, four meters, three meters¡­ The terrifying skeleton soldier was getting closer and closer. Qi Leren was so nervous that her heart was almost convulsed. Swish! The two swords of goddess came out of the scabbard, the black bird flew away from her shoulder, and she rushed up like an arrow.


    How fast! Almost in the blink of time, she rushed to the front of the skeleton soldier and brushed two knives. She cut off the bone of his hand holding the weapon with one knife and chopped off his head cleanly with another. The skull with the fire of the soul fell to the ground, then it was crushed by her foot. The flame went out in the passage, bringing darkness back. The whole process only lasted for three or four seconds and was incredibly fast.


    Qi Leren swallowed his saliva, and couldn¡¯t help applauding goddess. Goddess looked back at him. The black bird fell back on her shoulder, and said with menace, ¡°Keep it down! Are you looking for death? ¡°


    Qi Leren quickly stopped and gave a resentful look at the black bird. He had fallen to depend on a lady and be taught how to behave by a big black bird¡­ Miserable, it¡¯s really miserable.


    Qi Leren swallowed all the prepared words back after such an interruption, so he had to be a junior attendant of goddess silently, trying to wait for the opportunity.


    Now his foreboding skill had entered a 24-hour cooldown, which couldn¡¯t be used for the time being. Qi Leren could only follow goddess.


    Deep in the cave, the terrain was very complex. Unfortunately, there were more and more skeleton soldiers and many skeleton beasts. They two failed to avoid them even they detoured several times. But fortunately, goddess was a powerful fighter. When she saw the skeletons galloping up, she would crack the skeletons and them down.


    Qi Leren quietly praised the spirit of ¡°don¡¯t be frightened, just do it¡±. It was simple and rude, and he liked it.


    ¡°It¡¯s not scientific¡­ Is there no call time for skeleton dragon? There are more and more skeletons if it doesn¡¯t die.¡± Qi Leren muttered.


    As he spoke, another group of skeletons appeared in front. Goldess took a meaningful look at him, raised her knives and went up. She cleared up the skeletons like cutting melons and vegetables, and then came back.


    Because of the inconvenience of frequent takeoff and landing, the big black bird simply chose Qi Leren¡¯s shoulder as the landing place. It pecked at his head and said, ¡°Shut up. No talk! You crow beak! ¡°


    He was mocked by a black bird! Qi Leren was about to refute this kind of stigma when, suddenly, the front was enlightened¡ª¡ª


    In the huge underground cavity, a towering and terrifying skeleton dragon was falling from the top. Seeing the two people, it raised the head with the soul flame and sent out a terrifying dragon cry.


    At this moment, Qi Leren sincerely regretted for the first time: I will never speak randomly any more¡­

 CH 43

    This time, the escape was more dangerous than the last one. Because the passage was spacious enough, the skeleton dragon chased into the cave passage with amazing speed. Its body composed of white bones was as huge as a mountain, and every step brought the tremor of the ground. Fortunately, the intensity of the sound flame seemed to have not recovered. It had not spewed out the horrible death dragon breath temporarily. Otherwise, they two would die here immediately.


    Qi Leren ran while being pulled by the goddess. Several times, he felt that he was running so fast that his legs had already been lifted out of the air. Before he remembered to land, he had been dragged out several meters away. But even they were running at this kind of non-human speed, the skeleton dragon was still chasing closer and closer.


    ¡°Let¡¯s run separately!¡± Cried Qi Leren, panting.


    Goddess didn¡¯t respond. She took his hand and ran across a fork in the road. They two had already escaped into the most complex passages in the cave maze. Several criss-cross shaped passages were overlapped and zigzagged. If they went straight to the exit, they would be seen at a glance. Therefore, they two simply circled in the maze passage and briefly shook off the skeleton dragon to get a little breathing.


    ¡°I mean it, I know how to revive¡­¡± Qi Leren said as he lowered his voice and coughed. He had ran so fast that his lungs were dry and his breath was painful. Dare not cough loudly, he was so suffocated that his eyes were red. He said, ¡°Cough¡­ Later, I¡¯ll run to the Underground Lake to lead him away. You can go out later and jump into the lake and flee with the undercurrent, or you can just go another way and hide deeper. This summoning magic can¡¯t be permanent. You can go back to untie the seal of Cave Tower when you are safe. Anna¡¯s body is still on it. This was the best way to make both of us live. If we escape like this, we will be caught up sooner or later. Then there will be only a dead end! ¡±


    The cold blue eyes fixed on him, and then she shook her head firmly.


    ¡°No, listen to me!¡± Qi Leren took her arms and said confidently, ¡°When you saved me outside the cave, you should have seen my skill. Now the skill has finished its cooltime, so I can use it to escape.¡± You have saved me several times. This time it¡¯s my turn to help you¡­ ¡±


    The heavy footsteps of skeleton dragon had come from the side passage. Qi Leren didn¡¯t know how but had summoned up the courage. He tried to show a bright smile to goddess and said, ¡°Anyway, thank you. After this, tell me your name!¡±


    With these words, he rushed to the direction where the skeleton dragon was about to appear, and ran to the coming death without turning back.


    The skeleton dragon was attracted by him the little bug that appeared suddenly. It roared and chased after him. Qi Leren kept running to the direction of Underground Lake and rushed out of the passage.


    Nothing else was In front of him. The Underground Lake was just tens of meters away. As long as he had another ten seconds, he could jump into the lake. But the blue light behind him suddenly became dazzling, and the rolling blue flame poured down from the top of his head like blue magma.


    Archive, archive now! Right away!


    Almost at the last minute of the archive, he was engulfed in a sea of soul flame and his fragile body was instantly destroyed.


    This time, the death was too long. Until the loading time, Qi Leren was still in the blue sea of fire. The cold soul flame was like a frozen hell. Before he realized anything, he had died again.


    It wasn¡¯t until the second loading that the flame went out, but there was scorched earth all around. Qi Leren had lost his mind for a second before he rushed straight to Underground Lake.


    Obviously, skeleton dragon didn¡¯t understand why the little bug survived the dragon breath. It hesitated for a moment, then rushed to him. The hesitation gave Qi Leren a chance to escape, and he plunged into the water.


    The icy water passed over his head. Finally the skeleton dragon did not catch up with him, but wandered on the shore. Qi Leren held his breath and sank. Until now, the pain of being burned to death caused by the dragon breath slowly returned to his consciousness. The sequelae of continuous loading also emerged. He felt limb weakness and mental fatigue. He even dare not recall the pain of death. The huge pain from skin to internal organs while being swallowed by dragon breath was more terrible than any death. At that moment, he almost doubted that his soul was destroyed by the cold but burning fire.


    It was terrible. He was not sure whether he could summon up the courage to fight again.


    Goddess should be all right. Qi Leren thought in the bottom of the water. The oxygen in his lungs was almost exhausted. He floated up slowly and wanted to take a breath.


    The world overhead seemed strange in the dim light. Just as he crept to the surface of the water and took a deep breath to continue to sink down, his eyes were fixed on the rock wall in the distance, staring at the goddess who appeared there when he didn¡¯t notice.


    In a cave above the cliff, goddess was aiming her long bow and arrow at the skeleton dragon lying beside the Underground Lake. Behind her, the phantom of a huge six winged angel emerged. The golden halo covered her figure, making her whole body flow with holy light.


    The sound came from the broken air, and the arrow with dark golden streamer drew a bright arc in the darkness. The skeleton dragon seemed to notice it and raised its head slightly, but the arrow had already hit the burning soul flame in its abdomen.


    The blue flame was instantly frozen away. A layer of frost gas wrapped it with visible speed. Taking the skeleton dragon as the center, the frost spread rapidly on the ground. Even the Underground Lake also experienced a sudden temperature drop, floating a thin layer of cold ice.


    The frost flowers in the sky burst, turning the huge skeleton dragon into countless white bones covered with ice and breaking the ground.


    It was so dark and far away, but Qi Leren¡¯s vision collided with the person on the cliff. He was too cold to speak, but he tried to show a stiff smile. Next second, goddess and the phantom of blazing angel disappeared together in a cave on the cliff. Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help but feel lost.


    It was probably too cold in the Underground Lake, which floated up the broken ice. He tried several times but failed to climb up the bank. His body was frozen stiff. His hand scratched a blood trail on the ground, which was covered with ice and gravel, but he didn¡¯t feel any pain because of the cold.


    But if he stayed like this, he would freeze to death sooner or later. He must go ashore.


    So Qi Leren breathed out on his hand, rubbed the bruised palm, propped up his weak body and went ashore. But when he lifted his foot, he lost balance. He failed to stand on the ground and e fell back into the water.


    After the arrow that killed the skeleton dragon, the temperature around suddenly dropped. Even the water temperature of Underground Lake was close to zero. Qi Leren was so cold that he was unconscious. He drifted in the water in a trance. His frozen brain was unable to think about where he was.


    Could he go home if he died?


    Once again, the long suppressed question came to his mind, making him want to escape from all the terrible things here and return to the real world.


    Maybe if he died, he could go back¡­


    There came a dull sound into the water. Qi Leren tried to open his tired eyes. In the dim light, he saw someone swimming towards him. It was still that beautiful face, but with obvious worry and anxiety on the once cold face. Qi Leren smiled at her and wanted to tell her that he was OK.


    He was very happy to have helped her, if only a little. Even if he knew that she was much more powerful than himself, but he still wanted to protect her. The mood would never change due to their physical strength.


    If you liked a person, you would become brave.


    Back on the shore, Qi Leren slumped on the ground, coughing and shivering. Unconsciously, he had drunk a lot of ice water which full-illed his stomach and made him cold all over. Goddess, who saved him, still pulled his wrist and his hand to check his wound, which had been soaked into white in the water. The wound, scratched by the sand on the ground when he struggled to land, spread from the fingertip to the palm.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt, really¡­ Cough¡­ ¡± Qi Leren said with a shudder. As a cold wind poured into his lungs, he coughed heavily,which in turn injected energy into his tired body after repeatedly loading the archives. He felt as if he had really come back from the cold bottom of the water.


    He wanted to applaud the brilliant shot of the goddess, but was suddenly hugged.


    Goddess¡¯s clothes were also cold and wet, but her skin was warm. She knelt on the ground and hugged him tightly.


    This hug was so powerful that Qi Leren, who had few physical contact with people, had realized for the first time that it felt so good to be hugged by people he liked.


    Suddenly, he felt like he had the whole world.

 CH 44

    Hugged by the goddess, Qi Leren was too excited to say anything. He shivered for a long time before he got up the courage to clap the goddess¡¯s back.


    Goddess let him go and looked at him anxiously.


    Qi Leren was so fascinated by the beautiful blue eyes of goddess that he stared at the glass like eyes. Then he found himself reflected in her eyes, pale and wet, shivering like a hapless quail who was at a loss after falling into the water.


    Maybe he looked too miserable, goldess carefully wrapped a coat for him, picked him up and strode to the deep cave.


    Qi Leren in the arms of the mature lady: ¡­


    It¡¯s a shame. He¡¯d better cover my face.


    The seemed-endless passage when he was chased by skeleton dragon was much shorter when they went back. Soon, goddess stopped. Qi Leren, who was so humiliated that covered his eyes with one hand and pretended to sleep, peeped through his fingers, and just hit the sight of goddess. He paused and closed his fingers in silence.


    He felt more shameful. How could he face such a shameful scene after changing back?


    When they arrived at the grottoes deep in the cave, Qi Leren was put down, shivering in his thick coat, and unable to stand up in the cold. Goldess skillfully took out the dry firewood from the package and lit the fire. Finally, the surrounding area became warm. Qi Leren took a breath of relief and moved to the fireside. He reached out above the fire and warmed himself.


    Goldess sat down beside him, took his hands and drugged him.


    The hands, bruised from his struggle to reach the shore, were still icy. But goldess¡¯s hand was warm. She frowned and carefully cleaned the wound with alcohol. As soon as the alcohol touched the wound, Qi Leren screamed loudly and tried to draw back his hand like an electric shock. However, goldess held his wrist very hard and picked out the broken sand and stone firmly, which made Qi Leren tearful. Even so, he tried to hold back the tears because he didn¡¯t want to lose face before his favorite goddess.


    Maybe he looked so pitiful, goldess hesitated for a moment and touched his head stiffly to encourage him. Qi Leren looked at her inexplicably, then she quickly took back her hand and continued to clean the wound for him.


    The wounds on both hands were cleared, drugged and wrapped in gauze. Even the forehead hurt by Anna¡¯s sneak attack was carefully treated. Qi Leren touched the gauze on his head, and praised, ¡°Goddess, how well you did!¡±


    Goldess¡¯s face was a little red in the fire. But she still didn¡¯t say a word.


    Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help but think more. Goldess was so skilled at cleaning the wound. She must have been injured frequently and suffered a lot. The more he thought about it, the more distressed he felt. He looked at goddess with a tender care.


    The black bird of Goddess also came back. It seemed that it had the ability to find its own master, flying through such a complex passage and coming back to the goddess. Seeing poor Qi Leren wrapped in gauze, it didn¡¯t mock him but looked at him, stopped on his shoulder and rubbed his face.


    Qi Leren was flattered, but also frightened. The bird rubbing his face was more frightening than the goddess hugging him!


    Fortunately, the bird soon went back to goddess. Qi Leren was relieved. He felt more natural to be mocked by the bird than to be intimate with it. Did he really get used to be an M?


    The campfire was burning. Qi Leren felt warmer. He took a sip of hot water handed over by goddess. The cold air in his stomach was dispelled. He sighed contentedly. Goddess took out a towel, sat behind him and wiped his wet hair. Qi Leren held the water and sat quietly. He couldn¡¯t help but feel that goldess was a girl who was cold in appearance but gentle in heart. It was so nice.


    When goddess wiped his hair, Qi Leren had all kinds of strange ideas in mind. How old was goddess. Why goldess didn¡¯t say anything¡­ By the way, he didn¡¯t even know the name of goddess yet.


    ¡°You promised me you will tell me your name!¡± Qi Leren suddenly said.


    The person behind him stopped to wipe his hair. She kept silent, and then continued to gently wipe the water in his hair.


    Qi Leren could not help but feel uneasy and sat there apprehensively. He didn¡¯t know how to make it, so he pretended that he didn¡¯t say that.


    The hair was carefully dried and combed from the top to the end. It was still a little damp, neatly arranged and spreading on the shoulders. Goldess put away the towel and the comb, sat down beside him, grabbed his bandaged hand, and wrote her name on his wrist ¨C Ning Zhou, .


    What a beautiful name! Just like the beautiful goddess! Qi Leren had already become a huge fan of goddess. With the thought that ¡°my goddess is perfect¡± in mind, even if goddess was called ¡°donkey egg¡±, he would feel the name cute.


    ¡°Ning Zhou¡­¡± Qi Leren murmured. He showed a bright smile and said, ¡°My name is Qi Leren, as I said before.¡±


    Ning Zhou nodded. A faint smile appeared on her bright but serious face.


    Goddess, goddess is smiling at me! It¡¯s worth my life! Qi Leren was so excited that he blinked to goddess to express his admiration. It seemed that goddess received his signal and blushed her ears, not daring to look into his eyes.


    Goddess was so cute! The cold mature lady with long legs and a beautiful face was actually a shy girl inside. No one could refuse this kind of setting!


    Qi Leren felt that he was full of strength. He was not afraid to fight a skeleton dragon again!


    Seeing that goldess¡¯s hair and clothes were still wet, Qi Leren asked apologetically, ¡°Let me help you wipe your hair?¡±


    Ning Zhou shook her head. She took up his hand, and wrote on his wrist: [sleep for a while].


    Qi Leren, wrapped in a thick coat, nodded. It was true that he had exhausted his energy after continuous loadings. Not to mention that he had had one more such continuous loading just an hour ago. It was a spent force to have supported himself to now. When he lay on the ground, endless fatigue began to toll up. He couldn¡¯t open his eyes but simply rolled up the blanket that had been taken out from the package and lay down.


    It was clear that he was still in dangerous conditions, but he fell asleep peacefully. This time, there was no chaotic and tense dream to disturb him. He fell into a silent world.


    Half asleep and half awake, he felt cold and curled up. Someone helped him to tuck in the blanket on his body, and covered him with another piece of clothing.


    When he woke up, Qi Leren sat up from the ground and looked around in a daze.


    The blanket and clothing on his body slipped down. Qi Leren grabbed his hair, and finally remembered where he was.


    Ning Zhou¡¯s black bird fluttered to his side and stared at him with the black eyes.


    ¡°Where is the goddess?¡± Qi Leren looked left and right, but couldn¡¯t find her. He got nervous. But the bird watching him still stayed here, which should mean she didn¡¯t leave.


    ¡°Clean up, collect the body.¡± Black bird actually understood his words. Although with a strange voice, it answered his question.


    ¡°You can understand human language?!¡± Qi Leren was thrilled. He always thought that the bird could just repeat what it heard.


    The black bird pecked his leg angrily to express its dissatisfaction. It seemed that it could really understood.


    Worthy of being a bird of goddess! A bird that understands human language!


    When the person and the bird were staring at each other, Ning Zhou came back and brought Anna¡¯s body with her. Qi Leren looked at Anna¡¯s waist in the spirit of research ¨C sure enough, the belt disappeared with the player¡¯s death. Su He had told him in Eventide that if a player died, all the system items would disappear, even the belt. So it was very difficult to rob the skill card by killing other players. Unless he forced the other party to hand it over before death. But in this way, what he got was illegal goods, which would be very difficult to trade out, but easy to be tracked down by the trial.


    Seeing Qi Leren awake, she nodded her head expressionless, and then beckoned him to follow.


    Qi Leren hurriedly got up, gave his coat back to Goddess and followed her closely.


    The cave was deeper than Qi Leren thought. They went inside for a long time before coming to the Sealed Tower.


    Similar to Swamp Tower, the high tower stood in the huge underground cave, surrounded by white bones, just like the white bone cemetery at the entrance of the cave. Qi Leren stood under the tower and touched it, and there was a same hint as that in the Swamp Tower.


    Ning Zhou took a look at him, threw Anna¡¯s body on the ground, and motioned Qi Leren to remove the seal.


    ¡°Me? No, no, no, you go. ¡± Qi Leren shook his head and refused to take advantage of goddess. Ning Zhou didn¡¯t speak. She looked at him quietly for a long time but didn¡¯t move.


    Being stared at directly by goldess, Qi Leren had to look down at his toes and explained, ¡°After all, you have saved me so many times. I owe you.¡±


    Ning Zhou grabbed his hand and wrote on his wrist: [Be good].


    Goddess asked him to be good! Qi Leren half opened his mouth, reflecting on his words. Wasn¡¯t it humility?!


    Well, be good¡­


    Qi Leren was actually itching to unseal the tower. Now he had enough reasons. He was so excited to drag the body to the Sealed Tower that he almost fell down. Anna¡­ was heavy¡­


    The young girl¡¯s body was too weak. Qi Leren had known it well. He rubbed his hands and prepared to try again, but goddess couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. She easily put up the body and threw it in front of the Sealed Tower. She urged him to hurry up with eyes.


    Qi Leren immediately put his bandaged hand on the tower. Under the bandage, the totem flickered with slight light. Countless particles flew from the totem to the sealed tower, surrounding the cave tower like a halo. A moment later, a beam of dark blue light condensed on the top of the tower, passed through the stone wall on the top, and rushed to the sky.


    He removed the seal. It¡¯s time to open the box. Qi Leren put his finger on the lock of the suspended treasure box and opened it.


    [Primary Combat Skill] (Unbound Skill Card): As the title, you can use primary combat skill after equipment.


    Qi Leren looked at the skill card on his hand and was a little speechless. This introduction was so perfunctory! Besides, he didn¡¯t have enough card slots. He had to figure out which card should be picked up.


    Once again, he touched the treasure box and found another map. Like the map in Swamp Tower, it was a part of a map. Qi Leren even forgot the existence of goldess for a short time and looked at the map wholeheartedly for a while. He took out his notebook and pen and drew the map of Lu Youxin according to his memory.


    ¡°Goddess, look! I saw another map in Swamp Tower before. The two maps can be put together. It should be the next place we are going to. ¡± Qi Leren said and gave then notebook to Ning Zhou.


    Ning Zhou took a look and nodded to him.


    Goddess is looking with appreciation. She must think I am very capable! Qi Leren was inspired by the sights of goddess. He patted his chest confidently and said, ¡°I know the way very well. Don¡¯t worry, goddess. When it¡¯s time to open the sacrificial underground palace, I¡¯ll you lead the way!¡±


    The black bird suddenly said a dog-leg line with a strange tone, ¡°Taikun, me menial lead you the way.¡±


    Ning Zhou looked at her bird, then at Qi Leren who was ashamed and angry, feeling puzzled.


    Qi Leren was so awkward and thought in mind: It¡¯s cold. Cook the bird.

 CH 45

    Chapter 45: Witchcraft Sacrifice (XIV)


    When he left the cave, it was already dawn. Qi Leren reflected on how long he had slept, then he looked at the goddess. Her complexion looked good; she probably did rest herself too.


    At daybreak, three blue beams connected the sky one after another. When Qi Leren looked back, the nearest one to them should be the beam of the tower that had just risen. This light actually passed through the stratum, and he didn¡¯t know what power it was.


    ¡°It seems that three towers have been unsealed. The tower in the east has not been. Let¡¯s go there and have a look. Maybe we can unlock the last tower.¡± Qi Leren said to Ning Zhou.


    Just as the words fell, far away in the east of the forest, the fourth beam shot up into the sky.


    Blackbird: ¡°LOLOL.¡±


    Qi Leren: ¡°¡­¡±


    His face hurt.


    But this time, he can finally team up with the goddess, which was no small progress.


    The system prompt will appear soon: [The first step for the sacrifice of the witch: unseal the seals on the four-sided tower. 4/4 of the currently unlocked four-sided tower. Unlock the second step: sacrifice the underground palace.]


    [Task background: There are countless undead wandering in the underground palace of the demon, among which seven are dead witch candidates, who are about to awaken from the abyss of death under the power of the demon ¡­ After the sacrifice is completed, all surviving players are deemed to have completed the task.]


    [Teleportation countdown. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, teleportation completed.]


    Qi Leren only saw a light beam rising under his feet. He looked at Ning Zhou in consternation and found that she was wrapped in a beam of light, too. The picture in front of him changed rapidly, making him dizzy. When everything came to a standstill, Qi Leren found himself standing in a dark room, and the candlestick on the wall was burning, bringing some faint light to the room.


    He was alone.


    With quiet all around, Qi Leren didn¡¯t rush out to find someone, but changed his skills in the card slot first.


    The skill of Rain-Day Laundry was put back into the package since it was cooling down. Although this skill has saved him several times, now he has no time to wait for it to cool down. Let¡¯s give priority to fighting skills and S/L skills. After equipping his skills, Qi Leren thought about the present situation.


    The system gave him a hint, but it was ambiguous. According to his understanding, this task was needed to complete the final sacrifice, but the hint of the system was vague. Instead, it takes seven dead witch candidates as an important hint, that is to say, they need to deal with these witch candidates first. But they¡¯ll have to further figure out whether it is logical puzzle solving or a violent unsealing.


    Now it seems that after the opening of the four sealed towers, all the surviving players have been sent and scattered in the sacrificial underground palace. The system said that there are dead souls wandering in the underground palace, but it also said that the dead witch candidates are ¡°about to¡± awaken, that is to say, these should be small BOSS characters, but they¡¯ve not awakened yet.


    To complete the final sacrifice, you need to wake them before they can be dealt with. Do you need the flesh and blood of the living just like the seal tower? No, it was impossible. The number of people was too small. Four people have been sacrificed in the four seal towers. Together with the players who were killed by giant attacks, at least five people have died. The remaining witch candidates are at most eight, probably even less than seven. Then this method was probably not used, otherwise it would be practically a complete annihilation. So why should the system specifically state that ¡°all the surviving players are regarded as completing the task¡±?


    So some condition must be triggered to wake up the dead witch candidates? What are the specific conditions then¡­


    Qi Leren thinks more and more, and his thoughts become more disordered, so he could only to shelve this problem first. He plans to explore it, and then leaves the room to find others.


    Fortunately, the prompt given by the system didn¡¯t appear immediately, which made them face to face with each other. At the very least, before dealing with the dead witch candidate, they should still be able to cooperate. Otherwise, now he not only has to worry about wandering spirits, but he also has to worry about threats from the players and NPCs.


    The room Qi Leren is in looks like a bedroom, but the ground and bed have accumulated a thick layer of dust, with even the cobwebs covered with dust, which seems to have been deserted for a long time. He checked the wardrobe, cabinet and other places, and there was nothing. It was like an abandoned sleeping hall, no one had set foot in it.


    It seems that sending him here has no special significance, just pure coincidence.


    After thinking, Qi Leren settled his mind and opened the door of the room with a dagger in one hand.


    Outside is a corridor, every few meters there is a burning candlestick made from an unknown material. It could unexpectedly burn up to now. The ground is paved with marble. From a distance, it reflects candlesticks one after another, like an underwater road.


    The surroundings were quiet, but it was cold. Qi Leren wrapped his coat tightly, studied only half of the map, and found that his location should not be within the range of the map, so he continued to walk forward with light steps.


    In the emptiness and silence, Qi Leren suddenly felt something. This kind of invisible feeling is very subtle and indescribable, but he just felt that someone was approaching. At the corner up ahead, Qi Leren stopped and held his breath against the dusty wall, clutching a dagger in his hand.


    The candlesticks on both sides of the corridor glowed with yellow light, and he listened quietly to his heartbeat, waiting for a certain feeling.


    They¡¯re coming.


    A slight footstep came from the corner, and a figure flashed out. Qi Leren pressed the person against the wall without thinking, and the dagger touched their throat. The person screamed and trembled for mercy: ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t kill me ¡­¡±


    Qi Leren narrowed his eyes slightly, and the girl he pressed against the wall had flaxen hair and deep facial features, so she should be an NPC. However, having had experience with Anna, he touched the waist of the person and confirmed that she didn¡¯t have the player¡¯s belt before whispering: ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I ¡­ my name is Aisha.¡± The girl answered in horror.


    ¡°Aisha? Do you have a sister? ¡± Qi Leren immediately thought of the task they received from Ellie when they were in the carriage.


    ¡°Right, right, her name is Ellie. Have you seen her?¡± Aisha was so happy and afraid that she coughed and turned pale because of emotional excitement.


    Qi Leren remembered that Ellie said that her sister wasn¡¯t in good health. He felt that Aisha should be harmless, so he let go of her hand: ¡°I will take you to her, she asked me before.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Aisha said excitedly.


    With a temporary companion, Qi Leren¡¯s tense mood relaxed a little. They talked in a low voice and walked on: ¡°So, you didn¡¯t know about the sacrifice before?¡±


    Aisha nodded: ¡°Mom and Dad didn¡¯t tell me, and people in the village didn¡¯t talk about it, but every three years, several girls would always disappear ¡­ Isabel, who was sent with me this time, should know something. Her sister was sent as a sacrifice three years ago, and then¡­ never came back.¡±


    This topic is too heavy for Aisha. Her eyes turned red and she murmured: ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to Ellie, I¡¯m so worried about her ¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, a beautiful girl like her will be safe.¡± A voice came from behind the two, and Qi Leren jumped up and watched in horror as Lu Youxin appeared behind them.


    Lu Youxin smiled at him: ¡°Hey, bogus girl, we meet again.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± He didn¡¯t want to see her at all.


    ¡°Have you seen Ellie?¡± Aisha got excited at once.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve seen her outside before. Your sister isn¡¯t bad.¡± Liu Youxin licked her lips, a face of appreciation as she spoke.


    Qi Leren feels that this ¡°not bad¡± seems to hold a deeper meaning. Let¡¯s light a candle for the loli who is zeroed in by a pervert.


    ¡°How long have you been with us?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    ¡°Not long, probably when you came out of the room? I happened to be nearby. ¡± Lu Youxin was calm, with no guilt about stalking them.


    ¡°Have you caught up with Ye Xia?¡± Qi Leren asked again. He was really curious about it.


    Lu Youxin curled her lips: ¡°The revolution has not been successful, and this comrade still needs to work hard.¡±


    It seems that Ye Xia escaped, Qi Leren thought with relief.


    ¡°Hey, something is coming.¡± Lu Youxin suddenly raised her head and looked behind the Qi Leren.


    Qi Leren was suddenly surprised. At the end of the dark corridor in the distance, where the candle lit up, an invisible white shadow stood there, quietly watching them. The next second, it suddenly crossed the distance of tens of meters and appeared beside Qi Leren. Qi Leren leaned back with unusual agility, and his arm held out in front of him passed through the body of the dead, which was bitterly cold.


    Equipped with primary fighting skills, he responded flexibly, and the dagger swung across at where the ghost was, but it didn¡¯t have any effect. Qi Leren made a quick decision and cut his arm. The dagger dipped in blood finally touched the ghost, and the dead let out a sharp howl, making his eardrums ache. It threw itself at Qi Leren!


    A light sound, a blue and white flame rises from the feet of Qi Leren and the undead are burned in the flames. The flame seems to contain holy power, and the burnt undead send out shrieks and finally turn into ashes in the flame.


    Lu Youxin, who was guarding Aisha behind him, shook her head and looked at Qi Leren like he was an idiot: ¡°You¡¯re wild, attacking this ghost using physical attacks.¡±


    Qi Leren held his bleeding arm as he rolled his eyes. Would he go as far as to hurt himself if there are other ways to attack? Truly oblivious to others¡¯ plight!


    The Qi Leren who was treating his wounds saw that Aisha, who was shivering, was well protected by Lu Youxin and complained: ¡°I¡¯m sure now that you only have girls in your eyes.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± Lu Youxin proudly said, ¡°In my eyes, there are three kinds of girls. The cool girl on the preparatory stage, the cool girl in the active stage, and the cool girl in the retired stage. All need to be well protected.¡±


    Qi Leren ridiculed her: ¡°What if she doesn¡¯t look good, what if the chest isn¡¯t big enough?¡±


    Lu Youxin¡¯s face sank, staring at Qi Leren¡¯s chest coldly. ¡°That¡¯s not a girl, it¡¯s a female primate. Oh, you¡¯re not even this kind, you¡¯re the kind at the bottom of the food chain. ¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Qi Leren: What a bitch, I really want to slap her!

 CH 46

    Chapter 46: Witchcraft Sacrifice (XV)


    After meeting Lu Youxin, Qi Leren¡¯s luck seemed to be a little better. At least they didn¡¯t meet the dead again the whole way. Although Aisha was very bothered about Lu Youxin¡¯s enthusiasm, she also knew that she couldn¡¯t offend her and had to endure this harassment from the same sex.


    This underground palace was very large. After walking for a long time, Qi Leren finally felt that the terrain was a bit familiar. Recalling the map, he turned to Lu Youxin and said: ¡°There should be a big palace in the center of the underground palace. Want to see it?¡±


    Lu Youxin was busy courting Aisha and bragging about her adventures of fighting ghouls in the sewers of abandoned cities. When she heard Qi Leren¡¯s words, she casually said, ¡°OK, then let¡¯s go and have a look.¡±


    After that, she suddenly remembered something and gave him a suspicious look: ¡°There seems to be no place in the map I showed you? You later unsealed a sealed tower?¡±


    It turned out that she was quite perceptive, and Qi Leren explained: ¡°Well, I was lucky and later found another one.¡±


    ¡°Heh, you really knew the location of the sealed tower. You dare to lie to me. It seems you ¡®re tired of living.¡± Liu Youxin gave a fake smile, tone eerie.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°But it doesn¡¯t matter, the main highlight is still here. Ah, I feel a little excited when I think of being in the same room as so many girls.¡± Lu Youxin laughed, as if she hadn¡¯t just been threatening him.


    Lu Youxin¡¯s excitement turned into horror after entering the palace. The huge underground house was surrounded by underground rivers, with grotesque humanoid statues and coffins, and several people had arrived above the layers of stone steps.


    Qi Leren saw a familiar figure from a distance and excitedly went forward: ¡°Godd ¡­ Ning Zhou!¡±


    His goddess was leaning against a giant statue with crossed arms. She nodded at Qi Leren, but when she saw Lu Youxin, she frowned involuntarily.


    Lu Youxin suddenly ran all the way to Ning Zhou and looked at her for a while. She asked like a ghost: ¡°Ning Zhou?¡±


    Qi Leren suddenly swore internally, it¡¯s here, it¡¯s here. This crazy girl won¡¯t have a crush on his goddess, will she?! His goddess¡¯s chastity is in danger! No, no, no, he will defend his goddess¡¯s chastity to the death! Keep his goddess away from abnormal harassment!


    Before Qi Leren could make a sound, Lu Youxin suddenly burst into laughter: ¡°Hahahahaha Ning Zhou, you¡­¡±


    ¡°Get out.¡± Cold-faced, Ning Zhou suddenly opened her mouth, the deep but gentle and lovely feminine voice full of murderous intent.


    Qi Leren was dumbfounded: the goddess spoke, but the goddess could speak! Goddess, you have a beautiful voice! Eh, why did Lu Youxin really scram?!


    Liu Youxin, who rolled down the stairs with all her heart, stabilized her body in a terrible posture and climbed up from the ground while holding her waist, teeth gritted: ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll shut up. Can we not use that trick? Otherwise, if you shout to get naked, won¡¯t I walk around naked? Hey, this is a good move. Can you sell me this card?¡±


    Lu Youxin suddenly thought of a wonderful usage and cheerfully asked.


    Ning Zhou coldly swept her one eye over her and didn¡¯t speak again.


    Qi Leren was still shocked that the goddess could speak, until the little girl Ellie excitedly ran down the steps and threw herself into the arms of her sister Aisha: "Sister! It¡¯s great that you are all right! ¡±


    The two sisters met again in this dangerous place, and both shed tears.


    [Players Qi Leren has completed the side task: find Aisha.]


    [Reward: increase the survival days by 10 days, and draw a random lottery once.]


    Qi Leren draws the lottery decisively. In this dangerous place, everything that can be drawn is good.


    [This tooth is poisonous] This is a magical false tooth. If you bite it casually with it equipped, you can kill yourself immediately. You say it doesn¡¯t have any fucking use? You can equip it into the enemy¡¯s mouth! You said you couldn¡¯t do it? Ha ha, you still blame me for not being able to do it yourself? Remaining use: 1/1.


    ¡°¡­¡± Qi Leren only felt that his throat was sweet, and now he finally knows why Dr. Lu can pick up cards anywhere. Some cards are truly useless! Taking great pains to think about it, at least this false tooth was still useful to him, as it could allow him to commit suicide when his body is bound. He can¡¯t think about what kind of breakdown others would have when they obtained this item¡­


    Anyway, it doesn¡¯t occupy a card slot. Qi Leren simply stepped aside and put this thing on, and the denture stuck to his gums quite firmly. After loading, he couldn¡¯t help licking the denture deep in the alveolus with his tongue. He had the urge to take a bite¡­ No, he had to hold back. If he didn¡¯t hold back, he would have to ascend to heaven.


    When Qi Leren secretly installed the false tooth, he looked back and saw the goddess watching him silently.


    This¡­.. This scene is so embarrassing! Did the goddess see it?! Just now, he pushed his false tooth into his mouth. Does the goddess think he was picking his teeth secretly? Qi Leren was too shy to return to the goddess as if nothing had happened, so he went quietly to Ye Xia, who stood in front of the rock wall between the two statues and meditated quietly.


    ¡°When did you get here?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    Ye Xia studied the totem on the stone wall. After hearing the question from Qi Leren, she said faintly: ¡°One step ahead of you. Ning Zhou and Ellie had already arrived when I came.¡±


    ¡°Do you also know Ning Zhou?¡± Qi Leren asked curiously.


    Ye Xia shook her head. Qi Leren was disappointed. He thought he could inquire about the deeds of the goddess from her.


    The topic couldn¡¯t go any further. Qi Leren quietly observed for a while. Now there were six people who had arrived at this stone hall, including the Ellie-Aisha sisters, Lu Youxin, Ye Xia, Ning Zhou, and him. He doesn¡¯t know if anyone else will arrive here alive.


    Just thinking that, a figure appeared outside the stone hall, with light steps and an enchanting figure. There was a rare beauty in her blood-stained sacrificial clothing. At the moment when she appeared, Ye Xia entered the ready-to-go state from her original careless pose of standing with a hand behind her, and looked coldly at the person who was getting closer and closer.


    The new person smiled charmingly: ¡°I¡¯m late.¡±


    There is a delicate girl behind her, who seems to be an NPC, who has been standing far away and seems to be very afraid of them.


    Ye Xia looked cold and called out her name: ¡°Xie Wanwan, you¡¯ve gotten a lot braver.¡±


    Xie Wanwan smiled: ¡°Why? If you want to die with me now, it¡¯s not the time.¡±


    Qi Leren looked at the two girls who were at odds, and didn¡¯t know if he should interrupt. Instead, Lu Youxin made a bold mistake: ¡°I said you don¡¯t have to be so aggressive now, do you? Hey, the new task conditions have come out, let¡¯s solve the immediate problems first. ¡±


    Qi Leren looked down the direction of Lu Youxin¡¯s finger, and the bloody words appeared on the stone walls filled with totems.


    [The living witches gather together, and the dead witches are ready to go. ]


    This string of bloody words appears at the top and center of the stone wall, and under the eyes of all, another bloody word slowly emerges on the left side of the stone wall: [Sleeping in rusty iron, burning my body with fire, nourishing the vegetation of hell with my blood; people who wake me up will be executed by hanging.]


    It¡¯s coming. Qi Leren¡¯s heart is still in the air, thinking about the meaning of these two hints.


    The first sentence probably appeared after all of them arrived. There are eight of them now. Which means at the tower where the seal was unlocked in the previous step, only five people died there, four were sacrificed, and the other one should be a NPC eaten by giants. Everyone else survived, which is slightly different from what Qi Leren expected, because as far as his experience is concerned, the difficulty of the previous step is already very great.


    It seems that there is something wrong with his luck value, Qi Leren thought sullenly.


    Now that all eight survivors have arrived, according to the stone wall¡¯s tip, the dead witch candidate can be triggered, and the second tip right now should be the location of one of the witches.


    Sleeping in rusty iron? Is it an iron coffin? The flame burns her body, which may mean her death. The vegetation in hell should say that she can manipulate plants to kill the players who went to hunt her, or simply hang them with vegetation.


    This should be a tough one.


    ¡°How about we go and find it together?¡± Qi Leren suggested.


    Lu Youxin curled her lips and turned her eyes at him. Xie Wanwan sneered and asked: ¡°Then, because of who sent themselves to death and the uneven distribution of stolen goods, we¡¯ll immediately have a fallout?¡± You can¡¯t trust even your teammates completely, let alone a group of malicious opponents. Those who are confident will go by themselves. At least they won¡¯t turn hostile for rewards afterwards.¡±


    Then, she shrugged her shoulders and walked out of the stone hall along the stairs.


    ¡°So hot, I like it!¡± Lu Youxin touched her chin and looked at Xie Wanwan¡¯s back sternly.


    Being interrupted by Lu Youxin, Qi Leren didn¡¯t feel embarrassed. He coughed and whispered to Ning Zhou: ¡°What are your plans?¡±


    Ning Zhou looked at him quietly, then took his hand and led him to the gate of the temple.


    Qi Leren, who was caught off guard by the goddess¡¯ initiative, only felt a burst of burning heat on his face, and was shocked for a while, and didn¡¯t wake up until he was pulled a few steps. Does the goddess mean to take him to fight the monsters together? Okay, okay, make a date!


    But what about the rest? Qi Leren looked back, Ye Xia smiled and nodded to him, and Lu Youxin¡¯s expression was like seeing a ghost in broad daylight. She looked straight at the two people who left hand in hand for a while, looking like the sky was about to collapse and the end of the world was coming.


    Why is she so surprised? Qi Leren just thought about it, and the sense of crisis suddenly surged up ¨C Lu Youxin doesn¡¯t have a crush on his goddess, does she!


    No, he won¡¯t give Goddess Ning Zhou to a lesbian when he dies! Especially a fickle and crazy lesbian!


    The Goddess must be his!

 CH 47

    Chapter 47: Witchcraft Sacrifice (XVI)


    There was a dead silence in the underground palace. Qi Leren didn¡¯t know who had the remaining half of the map, and he didn¡¯t think that these people would take it out and share it. They simply proposed to search the part that they had the map for first and see if they could find the location of the first witch.


    It remained a dead silence all around, the old corridor had towering white statues all over. Half-human, half-beast strange creatures, ferocious monsters in the dim candlelight, as if they will come back to life at any time.


    Qi Leren recalled the map of the underground palace and said to Ning Zhou: ¡°I remember there is a courtyard on the southeast side of the underground palace. There may be plants there, which may match the vegetation of hell. Why don¡¯t we go there and have a look?¡±


    Ning Zhou nodded quietly. Even the big bird on her shoulder didn¡¯t beg for food. She cocked her head and looked at Qi Leren.


    On the way to the courtyard the two people ran into several ghosts, but before Qi Leren made himself bleed to fight, Ning Zhou rushed up, and the drawn double knives gave off faint fluorescence, which easily tore up the formless undead, and the torn ghost screamed silently, vibrating in the air and dissipating.


    Qi Leren looked numbly at Ning Zhou¡¯s seemingly enchanted weapon, and felt that the game was too unfriendly to newcomers. But then again, will he be that powerful in the future? He will, and he will be the saint warrior of the goddess!


    In the complicated underground palace, some places are old enough to collapse, so they can only walk around. It took two people half an hour to find the courtyard on the map by detouring. Standing at the entrance, the ceiling was no longer closed, but open. They can even see the sun hanging overhead.


    ¡°Want to go in?¡± Even in the sun, the courtyard in front of them seemed strange. Qi Leren hesitated for a moment and asked Ning Zhou.


    Ning Zhou nodded, and her bird was humming a strange tune actively. Listening carefully seemed to be saying nothing ventured ,nothing gained.


    True. If you cringe backwards if you are afraid of danger, you will die sooner or later. In this Nightmare World, you are really seeking riches and honour through risks.


    Seeing that Ning Zhou had entered the courtyard, Qi Leren quickly followed.


    Under the warm sunlight, the courtyard covered with grass was deep and quiet. It was built underground like the underground palace, and the whole courtyard was sunken like a basin. The beautiful courtyard decorated with flowers and fences was full of iron statues, all of which were human-shaped, sitting or standing, and some even lying on the ground, but their expressions were cold but serene.


    Qi Leren felt very uncomfortable. These iron sculptures gave him a strange feeling. He even suspected that the first witch was hiding in these statues.


    ¡°I kept feeling as though something is wrong.¡± Qi Leren murmured.


    Ning Zhou frowned and patted the blackbird on the head. The blackbird pecked her finger gently and flew away to explore the road.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Qi Leren asked softly.


    Ning Zhou closed her eyes and seemed to be listening to something. She shook her head for a long time and mouthed, Let¡¯s go.


    Qi Leren also got suspicious and always felt as if he heard some strange sounds, but when he listened carefully, he found that the surroundings were quiet, with only the footsteps of the two of them.


    ¡°Why hasn¡¯t your bird come back yet?¡± The two people circled around the courtyard and found nothing abnormal, although everything around looks very strange, but there was no sudden danger, even the dead all see none.


    Ning Zhou whistled and waited in place for a while, but the big blackbird still didn¡¯t come back.


    This time, Qi Leren was also in a hurry. This courtyard was full of strange dangers. In the event that the goddess¡¯s bird never returns¡­


    ¡°Let me go up the tree and have a look. I can always see clearly when I stand high.¡± Qi Leren pointed to a tall tree next to him and said.


    Ning Zhou shook her head, climbed the branch and went up. The trees were verdant. When she went up, she was blocked by leaves. After waiting for a while, Qi Leren suddenly felt something was wrong and shouted under the tree: ¡°Ning Zhou? Ning Zhou! ¡±


    He didn¡¯t know where the wind was blowing. Although he was clearly under the sun, there was a stinging coldness.


    Qi Leren climbed up the tree without saying anything, and the leafy canopy blocked the sunlight, making his vision dark. The branches stuck in him painfully. Qi Leren climbed to the top of the tree regardless, and it was dark in front of him!


    No, it¡¯s not pure darkness. After passing through the top of the tree, above there was no longer a day with warm sunshine, but an endless cold moonlit night-under the vast starry sky, with a crescent moon hanging overhead, sending out bright moonlight. Looking at it, a thick fog enveloped the earth and wrapped the whole courtyard in the fog of the sea of clouds.


    This¡­.. This is too weird.


    Qi Leren¡¯s hands and feet had become cold, and he scrambled to climb down the tree. Clear moonlight illuminated the courtyard, surrounded by a faint fog, which made the courtyard seem ominous in the sunlight, and became more and more deep and strange in the moonlight.


    Qi Leren held a dagger, confirmed that the S/L skill card and primary fighting skill were equipped in the belt, and took a deep breath.


    It seemed that the main scene was coming.


    He took a few steps forward, and the courtyard illuminated by moonlight was still full of plants and statues. These iron statues reflected the cold light of metal in the moonlight. Qi Leren suddenly felt something was wrong and looked at the nearest statue. The humanoid statue that had been sitting still- he didn¡¯t know when it changed!


    It was a statue with the abdominal cavity cut open, the ribs lifted like the wings of a butterfly, revealing a belly full of viscera. She looked miserable and ferocious, and struggled with her neck lifted high, as if she were screaming bitterly.


    The pain of torture, just to imagine it makes people feel sick.


    Qi Leren unconsciously touched his stomach and looked at other statues. Sure enough, the humanoid sculpture that looked normal in the sun showed a different appearance in the moonlight. Countless prisoners were fixed on the pedestals in various distorted postures under the torture of strange instruments of torture, exposing the pain and cruelty of torture clearly to the visitors.


    It was getting colder all around. Qi Leren wrapped his coat tightly and moved some stiff limbs. At this time, he has realized that he was no longer in the ¡°courtyard¡±, but instead that this was the real courtyard, a world under the control of demons and witches.


    Just now, Ning Zhou went up the tree first, then disappeared. She should have come to the present courtyard, but he doesn¡¯t know if they are still in the same space. If he wanted to leave here and return to the normal courtyard ¡­


    Qi Leren pondered over the tree. After a long time, he decided to give it a try and climbed to the top again. There was still endless night in front of him. He returned to the ground with a sense of loss. It seemed that the same way couldn¡¯t get him out of here, and he had to solve the puzzle of this courtyard.


    The breeze blew, the chill fog changed its shape in the moonlight, and Qi Leren walked in the courtyard. On several occasions, he clearly heard the sound of rustling, which seemed to be the movement caused by the wind blowing branches, but when he stopped to listen to the sounds  his ears only found silence, and even the sound of insects did not exist here.


    Was it auditory hallucinations? Qi Leren pondered and denied his own judgment. In this unusual place, any subtle clues may be dangerous hints. The sound should be¡­


    Some kind of ¡°vegetation from hell¡±? Qi Leren watched the sculptures around them carefully, looking for the one that was ¡°burned by flames¡±.


    Qi Leren walked deeper and deeper in the courtyard, and the sculptures around him were all strange and twisted, but the ones that were not burned by flames died of an interrogation chair full of nails, and died of being sawed from between her legs after being hung upside down. She died of being scraped off by a washboard and being squeezed by a punishment cap ¡­


    No, the order is wrong!


    Qi Leren suddenly realized something was wrong. He had been wandering in this courtyard for half an hour, but the order of statues around him changed! At present, the neck was tightened by the chain, and the statue of a heavy iron ball was still hanging at the foot, which was not in this position!


    This sudden discovery of abnormality made Qi Leren¡¯s hair stand on end. In the cold air, he was the only one whose breathing and pounding heartbeat became more and more urgent.


    Calm down, calm down. The position has changed. It should not be dangerous, but a hint.


    He had been circling here for half an hour, but in the courtyard with an originally simple path shrouded in moonlight and fog, he could no longer find a way out, and he could only wander here repeatedly. The position of the statues changing, was this the key to crack the puzzle?


    Qi Leren took a deep breath, ready to save at any time, and then walked slowly to the sculpture.


    The cold wind blew away the floating clouds, and the moonlight fell quietly. Qi Leren finally saw the statue blocked by the fog, and the painful twisted face was his own!

 CH 48

    Chapter 48: Witchcraft Sacrifice (XVII)


    In an instant, a chill ran through his heart.


    Qi Leren took a step back in shock and instinctively wanted to escape, but he instantly realized that he was in this strange courtyard. If he fled in a hurry, he would easily fall into the hunter¡¯s trap.


    Right now, there was nothing to attack him. It¡¯s just constantly threatening him, trying to unnerve his mind.


    Although he understood that this was just a psychological attack, it seemed that there was something strange hiding everywhere in the courtyard, so it was beyond human instinct to calmly regard all anomalies as nothing. This kind of fear caused by a threat to one¡¯s life is engraved in people¡¯s genes, prompting people to avoid danger, but now he had to confront this instinct ¡­


    It¡¯s just, it¡¯s just ¡­


    The sound came again, as if something was rubbing against the earth¡¯s surface and wandering among the grass. Qi Leren suddenly turned around and illuminated the lamp in the direction of the sound. In the dark filled with fog, only the flowers and trees in the courtyard surrounded the statues suffering from torture.


    No one was there.


    However, the feeling of being stared at by the malicious line of sight haunted him like gangrene in his bones. No matter which direction Qi Leren turned, there was always such a line of sight watching from behind him.


    But it was just watching.


    Qi Leren took a deep breath and went to the statue with his face, even reaching out and touching it. The metal was cold from the fingertips to the soles of the feet, but there was no abnormality. But he thought the statue was a breakthrough, so he crossed the wooden railing and walked into the lawn where the statue was placed. When he came behind the statue, his eyes suddenly became clear.


    Originally covered by trees and shrubs on the lawn, there is a path covered with moonlight and shadows.


    Finally. Qi Leren couldn¡¯t say if it was fear or relief, but the weight in his heart finally fell to the ground. Instead, he didn¡¯t panic like just now. After reviving his spirit, he went to the moonlit path.


    The breeze was blowing, the trees were swaying, and his feet made a slight noise when stepping on the grass, just like the rustle that sometimes didn¡¯t exist at that time. On several occasions, Qi Leren felt that he had seen something hidden behind the bush that made it shake gently, but when he shone the light there, the place was very normal, as if the shaking just now was just his imagination.


    But he knew it wasn¡¯t.


    Going deeper and deeper in the courtyard, the surrounding light was getting darker and darker. When you looked up, the moonlight was no longer seen above your head, the sky instead covered by dark clouds. It was dark and dead all around, but fortunately the lamp in his hand was still working diligently, lighting up the world around him.


    At the end of the path, the front was a rock wall, which suddenly blocked the way forward. Qi Leren stopped in astonishment, looked around, and there were many trees everywhere, but there was nothing unusual. He suspected that the rock was strange, but he couldn¡¯t see anything strange at the moment.


    This rock wall covered with vines should be the outermost part of the courtyard in this basin. Looking up, this straight rock wall was tens of meters high, and it was impossible to climb it. There was nothing obviously abnormal around, let alone the ¡°rusty iron¡± and ¡°flame¡± in the prompt.


    The shuffling sound came again. The Qi Leren immediately turned around, and the lights in his hands shone in the direction of the sound. There seemed to be something swimming in the slightly shaking grass ahead. Was it a snake?


    Qi Leren¡¯s hand holding the dagger was tight, and he hesitated to go forward and check it out carefully. Suddenly, a weak cry for help came from behind him: ¡°Help me¡­¡±


    ? !


    Qi Leren looked in the direction of the voice, but it was in the rock wall!


    This cognition made people feel cold, but Qi Leren took a step back and looked at the rock wall with fear that something would suddenly jump out of it.


    ¡°It¡¯s so painful, so hot, I¡¯m going to die¡­ Save me¡­ Why don¡¯t you save me?¡±


    The whispering voice became sharp and despairing in the cold air that was steeped with malice.


    In all directions, the sound of the rustling became clearer and closer, and this strange sound came from the wall. Qi Leren didn¡¯t even know where to hide, but at this moment, the lantern in his hand suddenly let out a crisp click, and the light flickered.


    At such a time¡­ Damn it! Qi Leren simply took a gamble, and the dagger in his hand swung to the place where the cry for help came, trying to plunge into the rock wall. The touch of the blade touching the mass of rock was real, not like illusion, but at the same time, the lantern in his hand was completely broken, and a restless darkness came.


    It¡¯s coming!


    The sound of rustling was close to the ear, from below his feet, from above his head, from behind, from all directions, everywhere. The crawling sound was pervasive, eroding people¡¯s will and letting fear spread to the greatest extent in the dark.


    Pain shot through his ankle the Qi Leren shouted. There was something wrapped up under his feet, turning his body upside down! At that moment, he finished saving, and the primary fighting skills made him sensitive. He folded his body by the strength of his waist and cut the something wrapped around his feet with the knife.


    The rope-like thing broke immediately, but when his body fell, more ¡°ropes¡± wrapped up him. On the waist, hands, and feet, these cold and stinging things pestered him, and he struggled in a hurry, but they became tighter and tighter, almost suffocating.


    I can only load the save file. Qi Leren tried to lift the hand holding the dagger, but these things were wrapped too tightly, and they couldn¡¯t escape at all¡­ The sound of the rock wall opening came from beside his ear. Qi Leren opened his eyes wide and looked at the direction of the sound in the dark, and suddenly there was light in front of him.


    The open rock wall revealed an iron coffin embedded in the rock wall, and the heavy iron lid opened to both sides like a window, revealing the hot liquid of molten iron. In a rush, it poured out from the iron coffin, spreading like magma on the grass, illuminating the darkness around them, but adding a hot terror to it!


    Qi Leren¡¯s eyes widened. At this time, he finally saw that the things wrapped around his neck were not ropes, but countless green vines! Vines clinging to his body, as if to wring his neck and suffocate him.


    A human figure emerged from the flowing molten iron, emitting orange-red heat. It was faintly visible as a young girl. She groaned, sang and cursed: ¡°I didn¡¯t hurt her¡­ She lied to you¡­ I hate you¡­ You killed me¡­ It was so hot and painful¡­ Why did you lock me up here and fill it with molten iron¡­ It was so painful. I¡¯ll kill you all, I¡¯ll kill you all!¡±


    The witch who melted the molten iron murmured, her blistered red hands clenched into fists, and the vines strangled Qi Leren¡¯s limbs and hanged him slowly. In a daze, Qi Leren felt that the time of 30 seconds was coming to an end, it was almost too late! He must load the file!


    Qi Leren bit down on the poisoned-filled false tooth hard, and the toxicity suddenly occurred. He only felt black for a moment before he fell headlong into the place where he had just been grabbed by vines. He had thought a lot in this short moment of falling. What to do? Was this monster really something he could compete with? He could deal with giants and beasts, but could he really deal with monsters whose bodies had even been destroyed?


    He had to try. If he failed¡­ Qi Leren dared not think about it any more, struggling to get up from the ground, rushing to the human form made of molten iron, and resolutely detonated a miniature bomb.


    There was a loud bang, and a violent explosion occurred in a radius of three meters. Qi Leren returned to the save point again, his head spinning. The earth was already scorched, and the witch created from molten iron was torn apart by the impact. There were hot molten iron traces everywhere, like orange spots in the darkness. The vines have been destroyed by the explosion, and they could no longer be seen.


    Did it succeed? Qi Leren dragged his body to stand up, and the molten iron around him suddenly moved, converging together at an amazing speed!


    Qi Leren took a step back in horror. His body has been drained by continuous loading and he couldn¡¯t even escape, but it was a dead end to stay any longer!


    Think again, think again, there must be some way¡­


    The fear of the dire straits he was in made Qi Leren fall into despair, and time seemed to be infinitely long at this moment.


    Was it really hopeless? No, go over it again from the beginning. According to the hint of the system, the witch in front of me should be the victim of the last sacrificed witch. She was locked in an iron coffin, and her body was completely vaporized by pouring molten iron into the coffin, so there was no form.


    No, wait a minute. If it¡¯s molten iron, why wouldn¡¯t the iron coffin melt? Could it be that¡­


    The molten iron gathered together at a rapid speed, and a half-human figure appeared. Qi Leren, with no way back, decided to gamble on it. He flew into the rock wall, plunged into the iron coffin, and pulled closed the iron lid that had been opened by the witch.


    It was dark. Soon, he found the iron coffin wrapped in molten iron didn¡¯t have the scalding heat he¡¯d imagined. On the contrary, it was heavy and cold, sending out the peculiar smell of corroded metal.


    As time went by, the beat of the drum roll gradually subsided, and the building tension made him anxious, but Qi Leren did not dare to open the iron coffin rashly. He was still waiting.


    Waiting for the hot metal to lose its horrible high temperature, solidify into a dead thing, and destroy the tortured soul trapped in the blazing heat in this time period.

 CH 49

    Chapter 49: Witchcraft Sacrifice (XVIII)


    A deafening crash sounded outside the iron coffin, screaming to high heaven, and gradually died.


    Qi Leren felt relaxed for the first time in the darkness, and the narrow space gave him an indescribable sense of security. Compared with the endless dangers outside, this darkness felt peaceful.


    Only when there was a lack of oxygen, Qi Leren carefully pushed open the door of the iron coffin with a dagger in hand.


    When the first ray of sunshine passed through the closed iron coffin gap and came to Qi Leren¡¯s eyes, the feeling of seeing the light again made him unable to calm down for a long time. In the sunlight, the originally horrible and desperate courtyard had returned to normal, and only the pools of solidified molten iron on the ground and the glittering treasure chest floating in midair made him realize that he had experienced a narrow escape test.


    With his current fighting capacity, it was impossible to defeat the witch head-on, but only by this opportunistic way could he win. However, it seemed that this game does not refuse to give ordinary players a way to live. So long as you can find the chance, surviving is not hopeless.


    He had fought his ass off. He hoped this treasure chest could produce something good.


    Qi Leren stepped forward and opened the treasure chest.


    [card slot +1]


    Qi Leren was stunned, unable to say whether he should be surprised or disappointed. However, at present, his card slots were really not enough, so he could add a card slot, and finally put the skill of Rain-Day Laundry into the card slot so that it could continue to resume cooling time.


    After the resurrected witch died again, the courtyard had been restored to calmness, and Qi Leren could finally see this previously shrouded place clearly. It should be a corner on the edge of the courtyard, full of vegetation, and the molten iron that solidified after the witch died was like a twisted and ridiculous statue standing there lifeless.


    Hmm? It seemed that something was shining.


    Seen from a certain angle, there seemed to be something on the solidified molten iron that reflected the rays of the sun, which looked particularly bright.


    Qi Leren stepped forward and touched the crystal with his fingers. It rolled out of the solidified molten iron, fell to the ground and was picked up by Qi Leren.


    The crystal was only as big as the fingernail. It was strange that there were two holes in this glass-like crystal. It seemed that someone once used it as a pendant after threading it.


    Can this crystal not melt even at high temperature? Qi Leren looked at the crystal curiously for a while, but he couldn¡¯t figure out what substance it was. He simply put it in his pack, since it might come in handy in the future.


    It was time to leave this place, and he didn¡¯t know what happened to Ning Zhou¡­


    Worried about the goddess, Qi Leren walked in the direction he had come from.


    Through the path between the trees, he returned to the place full of sculptures from before. These sculptures had already returned to normal under the sun, and there was no ferocious and horrible appearance in the moonlit night. Qi Leren even stood in front of the sculpture with the same face as him for a while. At this time, it was no longer his appearance, but a male sculpture quietly reading books with a cold face.


    There was a familiar strange cry from overhead. Qi Leren looked up immediately. Ning Zhou¡¯s big blackbird found him and immediately landed on the sculpture, skipping to his arm.


    ¡°What about your master? Is she all right? ¡± Qi Leren asked in a hurry.


    Just asking, Ning Zhou was already walking towards him from far away, and there seemed to be a trace of worry in her cold expression.


    Qi Leren quickly reported his safety: ¡°I¡¯m fine, the witch is dead. Like the tip, she was probably locked in an iron coffin, filled with molten iron and vaporized, and can control the surrounding vines to attack, but I¡¯m lucky ¡­¡±


    Said, Qi Leren smiled brightly at Ning Zhou, and wanted to show his confidence in front of his favorite goddess. Unfortunately, the scrapes and bruises all over his body seemed unconvincing.


    Ning Zhou frowned slightly, blue eyes flashing some kind of emotion that Qi Leren couldn¡¯t understand, and as Qi Leren was talking with her cheerfully, and he was caught off guard when she patted his head. He stopped talking, stunned. The goddess seems to particularly like touching his head? Is this her way of comforting him?


    There seems to be a different air between them. Qi Leren opened his mouth and wondered if he should continue boasting, so he simply asked about Ning Zhou¡¯s situation: ¡°What about you? After climbing the tree, I found you¡¯d disappeared. What happened to you later? Did you encounter any danger?¡±


    Ning Zhou line of sight slipped to one side, her mouth pursed in silence.


    Qi Leren was in a hurry. Before he asked, the big blackbird coolly spat out a few words: ¡°She got lost.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­..¡± Qi Leren stared at Ning Zhou dumbfounded. What? The Goddess was actually bad with directions? The Goddess also blushed, she turned away, the goddess must be shy! My goddess can¡¯t be this cute!


    Qi Leren, who was hit so hard by the cuteness, watched Ning Zhou go out more than ten meters away, only to catch up. As he walked along, he seemed to inadvertently complain about the complicated terrain here, and how it made him dizzy and couldn¡¯t find the right way at all, trying to excuse the lost goddess. However, the goddess didn¡¯t seem to appreciate it, and looked down at the road all the way until they were outside the courtyard and had returned to the underground palace.


    "What¡¯s the matter?¡± Qi Leren asked curiously.


    Ning Zhou took out a box of ointment from her pack and handed it to him. Qi Leren quickly declined: ¡°You gave it to me last time. It¡¯s okay. I don¡¯t hurt now.¡±


    Seeing Ning Zhou still looked at him with a face of disapproval, Qi Leren had to take out ointment to apply a little to his scrapes and bruises. When he took off his coat to show his arms and collarbone, Ning Zhou simply turned away, but her bird bobbed at him and watched him with great care.


    Qi Leren had become accustomed to the shyness of the goddess. It was so lovely to wonder what kind of environment the goddess used to live in while applying medicine to herself.


    When the medicine was fully coating him, the two walked to the hall in the center of the underground palace, which was more silent than when they came. Qi Leren secretly looked at Ning Zhou¡¯s face from the side, and somehow felt that she seemed to be in a bad mood. His intuition was that it had something to do with him, but he didn¡¯t know what was going on.


    Is the goddess unhappy because she got lost all the way and didn¡¯t meet the BOSS?


    Strangely enough, after entering the courtyard in the moonlight from the courtyard in the sun, he hadn¡¯t seen Ning Zhou around the courtyard for a long time. Were they separated in different dimensions at that time? Was it that until one of them had found the witch and destroyed her, both of them couldn¡¯t return to the courtyard under the sun?


    Just like that time in the goldfish bowl in the hospital, when he was separated from Dr. Lu, and finally even separated from Su He. This kind of power that unconsciously divided people into different parallel worlds was really horrible.


    There was a light footstep in front. Ning Zhou stopped and stopped Qi Leren. A figure flashed out at the corner in front. When they saw the two, stunned, they asked in a panic: ¡°Have you met that witch?¡±


    It was the NPC who came in with Xie Wanwan. She kept quiet in the temple, only had some contact with Ellie-Aisha sisters, and seemed to be on full alert to others. Qi Leren didn¡¯t even know her name. However, he heard Aisha talk about a girl from the same village named Isabel, who was also sent to participate in the sacrifice this time. She also had a sister, who was sent to participate in the sacrifice three years ago and has never returned since then. He doesn¡¯t know if she is the NPC in front of him.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Qi Leren nodded. If this NPC is the Isabel Aisha mentioned, he should be able to guess her purpose.


    She seemed more nervous and asked with a little anxiety, ¡°Did you see what she looked like? Does she look a bit like me? ¡±


    Sure enough ¡­


    Qi Leren sighed, ¡°You are Isabel, right? I heard Aisha talk about you. I couldn¡¯t see how the witch I met looked anymore, so I don¡¯t know if she is the one you are looking for. ¡±


    ¡°She ¡­ what has she become?¡± the girl asked, looking at him with a pleading expression.


    Qi Leren hesitated. He hesitated whether to tell her everything he saw. If the witch was really her sister, the truth was too cruel. Oh yes, there is that crystal.


    Qi Leren found the crystal from the pack and put it in the palm of his hand: ¡°I found this, is it your sister¡¯s?¡±


    Isabel grabbed the crystal and shivered and shed tears: ¡°It¡¯s really her¡­ really¡­ no¡­ it can¡¯t be¡­¡±


    She burst into tears in an emotional breakdown.


    Qi Leren looked at Ning Zhou at a loss, only to find that she was more upset than he was, and she was stiff in both her posture to her expression, with a face at a loss. It seems that the introverted goddess can¡¯t be expected to comfort a girl who lost her loved one. Qi Leren could only do it himself and comforted her for a while. While comforting, he was still a little flustered. After all, he killed somebody else¡¯s sister again¡­ Although she was not actually alive after the resurrection.


    ¡°I knew¡­ I had a dream three years ago that she was locked up in a dark place, and then burned to death¡­ When I woke up, I found that I had lost some of my memory¡­¡± After crying, Isabel¡¯s mood seemed to stabilize a little, but she still looked dull and talked to Qi Leren about three years ago.


    ¡°Lost memory?¡± Qi Leren keenly felt as if he had triggered some special plot, so he quickly repeated the question.


    ¡°Yes, because I have the habit of keeping a diary, but when I woke up that day, I found that I couldn¡¯t remember the things in my diary.¡± Isabel gawked at the crystal pendant in her hand and said, ¡°The diary said that on the day my sister was sent away, I was worried about her and determined to secretly follow her, but when I woke up, I only remembered that I had that nightmare .. Did I secretly follow her that day or did I see her one last time¡­ I don¡¯t remember anything¡­¡±


    With Isabel¡¯s statement, the system suddenly jumped out:


    [Player, Qi Leren triggered the hidden quest: Dusty Past. Help Isabel recover her lost memory before the Witchcraft Sacrifice mission is completed. If the mission is successful, the rewards will be given after the completion of the Witchcraft Sacrifice mission.  There will be no penalty for failure.]


    Qi Leren immediately looked at Ning Zhou just as she looked at him. Qi Leren immediately understood that both of them had received this task.


    A hidden task that was not the main quest.


    ¡ª¨C

 CH 50

    Chapter 50: Witchcraft Sacrifice (XIX)


    Isabel¡¯s task was obviously more difficult than Ellie¡¯s task of finding her sister. According to the hint of the system, this is probably a hidden story related to the main story of the Witchcraft Sacrifice. He even suspected that this was probably a necessary condition for playing the true ending. Isabel¡¯s lost memory must have key elements related to this task, and they must find ways to let her uncover that memory.


    Qi Leren wondered how to start, so he simply discussed with Ning Zhou to take Isabel back to the temple first. Ning Zhou had no opinion, so the three people quickly returned to the temple.


    As soon as they entered the hall, Qi Leren saw Ellie and Aisha looking at the rock wall in panic. Lu Youxin, Xie Wanwan, and Ye Xia were not there.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Qi Leren came forward and asked.


    Aisha pointed to the stone wall and said, ¡°Just now, new words suddenly appeared on the stone wall¡­¡±


    When Qi Leren looked intently, there were only two lines on the wall, one at the top and in the middle, telling them that the living witches had gathered and the dead witches were about to wake up. Then at the bottom of this line, near the left side, is the tip of the first witch, that is, the witch candidate whom Qi Leren just went to great lengths to kill. At this time, there is a new line on the right and bottom of this line.


    The sentence on the right is like a clue to solve the puzzle: [Kill us all and the altar will appear.]


    However, the following sentence is similar to the prompt of the last witch candidate: [I have been awakened, wandering around, and those who kill me will get my wealth.]


    After a little thinking, Qi Leren felt that he understood the routine of this task.


    Every time a witch is killed, the tip about the new witch will appear below the tip in the previous sentence, and at the same time, a clue related to completing the task will appear. When they kill all the seven witches, there will be seven clues in total, which may be the final altar location or sacrifice method.


    ¡°The second witch is not the same as the last one. She should be a random BOSS.¡± Qi Leren said.


    Ning Zhou nodded.


    Because of the cooling of skills, Qi Leren didn¡¯t want to take risks now, so he inquired about Ning Zhou, who looked at his injuries and shook her head.


    ¡°Wait for my skills to cool down and then go. It will take another half an hour.¡± Qi Leren whispered close to Ning Zhou¡¯s ear, and his warm breath touched her ear. Ning Zhou quickly jumped two meters away.


    Qi Leren looked at the goddess whose face was reddish but still pretending to be cold, and felt that he was attacked by cuteness. It was so fun to flirt with the goddess!


    Do it again next time! He secretly said to himself.


    ¡°There are two more words!¡± Isabel¡¯s yell made Qi Leren wake up and hurry up to check.


    Behind the second witch¡¯s tip, there appeared a corresponding clue sentence, which said that someone had killed the second witch, and Qi Leren looked at it carefully.


    [We used to serve the Old Devil, but now we serve the devil who is in charge of deception.]


    Qi Leren suddenly remembered that there seemed to be two players who had signed a demon contract with the Devil of Fraud on the airship heading for the Village of Twilight, which could plunder other people¡¯s survival days. Power, Killing, and Fraud; in the background of the Nightmare Game, these three demons replaced the Old Devil and ruled the underworld. So, did the witch who won this mission serve the Lord of Fraud? Maybe the player who finished the final sacrifice in this task will turn into the devil¡¯s servant?


    Because at that time he couldn¡¯t understand it, Qi Leren quietly read out the hint of the third witch.


    [Are you willing to sacrifice, have you ever been betrayed, and have you seen the distortion and beauty of love when it¡¯s sprouted into despair? The fire of love, which I wanted but could never have, burned to the end of my life.]


    Bloody words are engraved in the stone, flowing with dark red luster, and the twisted love seemed to penetrate into people¡¯s hearts through the words. Qi Leren suddenly remembered the resentful words of the witch who was killed with molten iron in the courtyard. She said: ¡°I didn¡¯t hurt her¡­ she lied to you¡­¡±


    She¡­ deceived?


    At that time, the situation had been too tense, and Qi Leren hadn¡¯t taken the witch¡¯s crazy words to heart. But now, looking back, why was she locked in a coffin and burned alive with hot metal? Who carried out this cruel torture and what was the reason? When Qi Leren was in this task, it was difficult for him to regard these details as ordinary coincidences, and he believed there must be a reason.


    What happened in this underground palace when the witch was sacrificed last time? What does this have to do with Isabel¡¯s lost memory? Amid all the confusion, Qi Leren couldn¡¯t find a clue.


    Footsteps came from outside the temple, and all the people on the stone steps looked at the gate. Lu Youxin walked towards them with a straight face. The original neat sacrificial clothes were covered in blood and looked shocking.


    Lu Youxin, who had not been killed, seems to have another kind of coldness, like her right hand soaked in blood, and at that time he couldn¡¯t tell if it was her own.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Lu Youxin was glad to see several NPCs retreat again and again, looking frightened. She laughed brightly. ¡°It¡¯s not my blood, it¡¯s dead meat that has been rotten for three years. In fact, it looks good. I didn¡¯t even get a hot shot. It must be because I accidentally broke it too much.¡±


    As she spoke, she walked slowly to the front of the stone wall, gently crossed the second witch¡¯s prompt with her hand covered with half-dry blood, and read aloud: ¡°Are you willing to sacrifice, have you ever been betrayed, and have you seen the distortion and beauty of love when it¡¯s sprouted into despair? The fire of love, which I wanted but could never have, burned to the end of my life¡­ This feeling of despair is really beautiful.¡±


    Lu Youxin seemed possessed and looked at the words on the wall and smiled until¡­ She was pecked by a big blackbird.


    ¡°Oh, your bird is quite fierce!¡± Lu Youxin said angrily as she clutched at the pecked back of her head.


    Ning Zhou whistled and called the bird back. With such an interruption, the atmosphere was much better, and the oppressive feeling of being pinched at the heart also dissipated. After a little thought, Qi Leren asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine. I saw two beauties fighting on the road, and I went up to do a good deed. Gee, I¡¯m really kind-hearted.¡± Lu Youxin boasted shamelessly and looked up and down at Qi Leren and Ning Zhou. Her expression was a bit subtle. ¡°Mind if I ask, how do you know each other?¡±


    Shit, Lu Youxin knew he was a man! If this kind of thing was exposed by others instead of admitting it himself, it would be easy for the goddess to think that he had ulterior motives! He also wanted to make friends with the goddess with the convenience of being a girl first, and then give the goddess a surprise when they¡¯re out of the instance world! With the foundation of experiencing tribulations together, the goddess should accept him better then! Even if he couldn¡¯t be a couple, he can be a good spare tire. He will strive to be a spare tire that trains by himself!


    Qi Leren, who was nervous, naturally didn¡¯t find any unusual behaviour with Ning Zhou. He was busy trying to wink at Lu Youxin, and couldn¡¯t wait to send his inner cry to Lu Youxin¡¯s mind: My lord, please, don¡¯t expose me!


    ¡°Well, we met in the woods, and Ning Zhou saved me several times¡­¡± Although Qi Leren actually heard Chen Baiqi mention Ning Zhou when he was in the Village of Dusk, Chen Baiqi didn¡¯t tell him the name of Ning Zhou at that time, but only said that it was a cold beauty. This description is really accurate. It really was a cold and beautiful goddess!


    Lu Youxin¡¯s eyes crazily jumped, and she didn¡¯t have to look to know that Ning Zhou was staring at her with murderous eyes ¨C telling her to shut up and roll away. Thinking about it, Ning Zhou didn¡¯t want to expose his gender at this time and be regarded as a guy with bad intentions by his favorite cute girl. And now, the quest environment was so dangerous, it would be bad if Qi Leren had ill feelings for him. Moreover, he is still equipped with the skill card ¡°Silent Mediation¡±. Once he opens his mouth, he has to start from scratch. He¡¯ll try to explain it slowly after the quest is over.


    However, Lu Youxin, who has already seen through everything, can only respond with a smile to two people who believe that they are straight men, but in others¡¯ eyes, they¡¯re lesbians, but in reality, they¡¯re actually being gay: You told me to shut up, so don¡¯t blame me.


    ¡ª¨C


    The author has something to say:


    PS: ¡°You are bringing about your own destruction.¡± BY Lu Youxin Juju.


    PPS: Witch¡¯s tips and clues have confused even me. Here¡¯s the following:


    [ The living witches gather together, and the dead witches are ready to go. ]


    1. Those who sleep in rusty iron, burn my body with fire, nourish the vegetation of hell with blood, and whoever wakes me up will be executed by hanging.


    ¡ª¡ªTips after killing witches: Kill us all and the altar will appear.


    2. I¡¯ve been awakened and wandering around, and those who kill me will get my wealth.


    ¡ª¡ªWe used to serve the Old Devil, but now we serve the devil who is in charge of deception.


    3. Are you willing to sacrifice, have you ever been betrayed, and have you seen the distortion and beauty of love when it¡¯s sprouted into despair? The fire of love, which I wanted but could never have, burned to the end of my life.


    ¡ª¡ª£¿ ? ?


    ¡ª¨C

 CH 51

    Chapter 51: Witchcraft Sacrifice (XX)


    Lu Youxin soon left, saying that she was going to find love before leaving. Qi Leren silently mourned for Ye Xia, whose location was unknown. When his skills cooled down, they were ready to leave the temple to continue searching for witches. Isabel, who had learned of her sister¡¯s death, did not want to go, but Qi Leren persuaded her that she might find her lost memory. She hesitated for a while and reluctantly agreed.


    Ellie-Aisha sisters were afraid of the dead outside, and they didn¡¯t want to leave the stone hall. Qi Leren didn¡¯t force them either. He advised Isabel to follow them, mainly for the purpose of protection. If this important clue of an NPC died here, this hidden quest couldn¡¯t continue.


    After leaving the temple, there was still a dead silence in the underground palace, and sometimes there were undead wandering in the corridors. Qi Leren quietly thought about Isabel and the witch before, and suddenly a sharp voice came in his ears: ¡°Grab her, she ran there!¡±


    Qi Leren suddenly stopped, and there was silence around him: ¡°Did you hear that sound?¡±


    Ning Zhou shook her head, and so did the big black bird on her shoulder. Isabel said strangely, ¡°Is there any noise? I only heard our footsteps.¡±


    Qi Leren frowned. He didn¡¯t think it was an auditory hallucination, but was he the only one who heard it?


    ¡°There are ghosts!¡± Isabel saw the dead flying in the distance and shouted a warning.


    Ning Zhou unsheathed her knife and ran forward to tear up the dead soul. Qi Leren stood in the corridor, and the voice sounded again in his ear, with a little anger: ¡°Where did she hide?¡±


    The sound came from the wall? Qi Leren looked at the old wall and frowned doubtfully: ¡°There it is again, did you hear it?¡±


    Isabel shook her head blankly and suddenly screamed in horror: ¡°Ahhh!¡±


    Qi Leren, who turned his back to the wall, was stunned, and his arm was caught by an incredible force. He only had time to lower his head and see a blue skinny arm, before he was grabbed tightly. He couldn¡¯t struggle and was dragged into the wall¡ª


    In the darkness and chaos, Qi Leren¡¯s consciousness blurred. He vaguely heard a familiar voice asking in a pious and humble tone: ¡°Is that her¡­ I know now.¡±


    The voice was very low, passing like a dream. When Qi Leren woke up, he found himself standing in a strange corridor, and dusty air hit his face. He was still in the underground palace.


    ¡°Grab her, she ran there!¡± A sharp and vicious voice came from the corner of the corridor, and a few hurried footsteps appeared there in an instant. Qi Leren was stunned and subconsciously wanted to open his bag and take out weapons, but as soon as he moved, the bag in his mind disappeared¡­


    Qi Leren were frightened terribly and hurriedly touched his belts. No belt, no skill cards!


    ¡°There she is!¡± Three strange girls appeared at the corner and ran towards him with weapons at the ready. Qi Leren started to run, running while his brain was turning fast¨C who are these people?!


    Strange sounds, strange women, missing bags and belts, all these are too strange and bizarre. What¡¯s going on?!


    By the way, the third witch candidate¡­


    Could it be that he had entered the witch¡¯s dreamland, just like in the courtyard?


    The repeating corridors in front of him have become familiar. Qi Leren was convinced that he should have been here already, and the map emerged in his mind. He plunged into a remote bedroom and finally shook off the three women in hot pursuit.


    Once the footsteps outside the door faded away, Qi Leren was relieved and sat down against the wall.


    He didn¡¯¡¯t know what happened to Ning Zhou and Isabel. He remembered that he was dragged into the wall by a bony blue arm. If they were more careful, they would be fine.


    From being dragged into the wall to waking up to finding that he lost his belt and became an ordinary person, he seemed to hear a voice saying something, but what was it? It seemed to be, that¡¯s her?


    It¡¯s strange, why did they say this? The voice sounded a little familiar, but he couldn¡¯t remember who was talking and to whom.


    Qi Leren covered his forehead with one hand, and he jumped up from the ground.


    Where¡¯s the wound? Where¡¯s the bandage? Are they all gone?


    Qi Leren gawked at his hand without scars. In the underground lake of the cave tower, his hands were full of injuries because he struggled ashore. Ning Zhou bandaged his wounds and bandaged his hands. But now, the bandages were gone from both his hands and his forehead!


    Taking a closer look, these hands weren¡¯t his hands at all.


    Suddenly, he found that his soul possessed another person. This absurd and frightening feeling made him feel confused. Qi Leren searched the room for things that one could see themselves in clearly, but thought the room was full of broken porcelain and decorations that were swept to the ground, there was no mirror at all. Forget it, let¡¯s leave here first. Just when Qi Leren thought so, the sharp voice came again from the corridor outside the door: ¡°Where did she hide?¡±


    In a panic, Qi Leren plunged under bed.


    The door of the room was rudely pushed open. Qi Leren saw six legs crowded at the door. One of them walked into the room: ¡°I probably lost her near here. I¡¯ll have a search here. You should go to the next room.¡±


    With this, she opened the cloth covering the tea table with the knife in her hand, and large dust drifted in the air, which made her cough again and again. The tablecloth fell under the bed where Qi Leren was hiding, and the dust drifted into his nasal cavity. Qi Leren had an itch in his nose, and the desire to cough shot up into the sky. The itching made him tremble all over, and the internal organs tightened into a ball. He held his mouth desperately.


    What to do? Now he had no weapons and no skills. What could he do to escape from here? There was one person in the room and two others outside, if he was found ¡­


    Qi Leren was too nervous to breathe. He was lying under the bed, watching as the owner of these legs strode to the cabinet next to him, violently opened the cupboard door, and then moved on to the next one.


    He must act. She will search under the bed sooner or later.


    Qi Leren crawled slowly in the opposite direction, trying not to make a sound.


    ¡°Clang-¡± He met something at his feet, which happened to be covered up by the sound of opening the cupboard door, but it rolled out! Qi Leren turned away stiffly. In the faint light, he saw a cylindrical ceramic sugar jar slowly rolling in the direction of that someone!


    It was over! He was about to be discovered!


    At this critical juncture, Qi Leren climbed out before the porcelain jar rolled from under the bed, and his palm pressed against the porcelain fragments on the ground, which made him shiver in pain. But at this time, he had already neglected the bleeding and pain. He finally glanced at the unknown woman who was rummaging through the boxes to find him, and decided to take a gamble.


    Out of the corner of his eye, the woman who turned her back on him had caught a glimpse of the porcelain jar that rolled to her feet, and then she bent over and picked it up.


    It was too late to rush to the door now. Qi Leren, who was lying at the end of the bed, didn¡¯t get up. He clung to the ground and crept softly towards the bedside table, ready to curl up around the bedside table. Sure enough, she had doubts about under the bed, and the sugar jar was put on the cabinet beside her, making a sound, then the sound of cloth friction, and the sound of the weapon in her hand colliding with the ground.


    Qi Leren unconsciously held his breath, and he almost imagined what kind of posture the person had lying beside the bed and looking at the bottom of the bed with suspicion. There was no figure there, and he was blocked by the bedside table that had fallenl to the ground, just avoiding her perspective.


    After a few seconds, the long knife was picked up, and Qi Leren knew that she was going to stand up. He climbed out from the bedside table and rolled under the bed again - otherwise, she could definitely see him hiding behind the bedside table at the height of her standing up.


    The time difference and perspective were just right, even if it is only one second short, his figure would be exposed. Fortunately, the floor near him was covered with carpet, which makes his moving sounds very slight. Or maybe the long-lost goddess of fortune finally visited him once, and his actions were not discovered.


    Qi Leren, who was lying under the bed, even breathed very low. From his perspective, only the calf of that person could be seen. She seemed to be sure that no one was hiding here, and was walking towards the door. When she stood by the door, she asked loudly if the companions in the next rooms had found anyone, and they all got a negative answer.


    She tutted impatiently, looked back carelessly, and then a faint hum of doubt came out of her throat.


    Qi Leren who was praying for her to get out of here quickly couldn¡¯t help but feel caught. Had he been exposed? How was that possible? She shouldn¡¯t see him from her present point of view!


    She quickly walked to the bed and stopped at the place where Qi Leren rushed out of the bed before. At this moment, Qi Leren understood the reason like a sobering ceremony - there was bright red blood left by him on the white porcelain piece that cut his palm.

 CH 52

    Chapter 52: Witchcraft Sacrifice (XXI)


    It was over. He couldn¡¯t escape this time. Right now he had nothing, and he couldn¡¯t compete with three armed people¡­ If he died¡­


    ¡°Ah, ah, ah-!¡± There was a terrible scream outside the door, and the woman beside the bed shouted the name of her companion and ran out, then another scream after the blade entered flesh.


    Qi Leren under the bed only saw her legs shaking violently, then with a thud, a ferocious-looking head fell by the door, and her unsatisfied eyes were facing Qi Leren under the bed.


    The rest of the people cried out, ¡°Don¡¯t kill her,¡± but the sound of begging for mercy only lasted for a few seconds, and then it was silent.


    Qi Leren was too scared to go out. Suddenly, the mysterious person had killed three NPCs after him. She didn¡¯t leave. Qi Leren saw her legs enter the room and step on the head.


    The person¡¯s head let out a strange scream: ¡°Do you think you can leave here like this? Stop dreaming! I¡¯m not going to die like this! You also don¡¯t want to escape! Stay here forever, stay here with us!¡± Just as the words had fallen, the head and body dissipated into a spot of light in the air.


    Go quickly! Qi Leren¡¯s heart cried and prayed for the mysterious visitor to leave quickly, but it backfired. After the body on the ground dissipated, instead of leaving, she came to the bedside.


    What was she going to do? Had she found him? Qi Leren could only see her feet, he couldn¡¯t see her movements, but the more he couldn¡¯t see them, the more horrible his imagination was.


    With a sharp sound, a long knife went straight through the bed board and was inserted in front of Qi Leren. The blade shining with cold light was less than a finger¡¯s distance from his nose tip!


    Qi Leren¡¯s cold sweat flowed down, and his heart stopped suddenly at that moment, and his brain commanded his soft limbs to press further to the floor. At this time, he has forgotten to think, even dared not to think about whether he had been discovered by this mysterious murderer, but to instinctively escape this deadly terror, just like a worm falling in a spider¡¯s web struggles uselessly.


    ¡°Still not coming out yet?¡± The long knife was slowly pulled out, and the strange and cold female voice asked, ¡°Next time your head won¡¯t be so lucky. If I cut it, it¡¯ll burst like a watermelon.¡±


    She knew he was hiding here!


    No, it was wrong.


    Qi Leren¡¯s eyes lit up, and he rolled out from under the bed. He squatted on the ground and raised his hands: ¡°Wait a minute, I¡¯m Qi Leren.¡±


    The woman with the knife looked strange, but Qi Leren had guessed her identity vaguely. She must be a player.


    Because the fruits in the Nightmare World were completely different from the real world, even if there are similar shapes and tastes, the name was definitely not the name on Earth. In those days in the Village of Dusk, Qi Leren had seen many strange fruits and vegetables. You can¡¯t be an NPC if you say something like watermelon.


    Sure enough, the woman opposite was dazed and murmured, ¡°Qi Leren? You also¡­¡±


    Qi Leren gave a wry smile: ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened. I was dragged into the wall suddenly, and then I found myself in a different body. Are you¡­ Ye Xia?¡±


    After running through all the players in his mind, Qi Leren said the most likely one. He remembered that Ye Xia had used a knife and her technique was extremely neat.


    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Ye Xia smiled at him and stretched out her hand to pull him up. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t know it was you, but I thought you were one of the witch candidates from three years ago.¡±


    ¡°Witch candidate from three years ago? Have we come to a dream world of three years ago?¡± Qi Leren suddenly said.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid so. After arriving here, all my items and skill cards disappeared. It should be that our consciousness is attached to others. They¡¯ll disappear when they kill other NPCs. After a while, they¡¯ll appear again and can¡¯t be completely killed.¡± Ye Xia frowned and told her story.


    Qi Leren suddenly realized: ¡°No wonder, I still think I¡¯ve never seen these people at all.¡±


    Ye Xia frowned and said, ¡°Now I don¡¯t know what to do. Do you have any ideas?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a clue. Every time a witch is killed, there will be a clue to solve the puzzle and a hint of the next witch on the stone wall of the temple where we first gathered.¡± Qi Leren estimated that Ye Xia had never returned since she left the temple, so she knew nothing about it.


    ¡°I knew I should¡¯ve gone back¡­ If it hadn¡¯t been for that time¡­¡± Ye Xia subconsciously touched her arm and sighed again. ¡°I forgot that I¡¯m not using my own body now. My original body was hurt a little, but it won¡¯t hurt now.¡±


    Qi Leren suddenly remembered what Lu Youxin said: ¡°Did you fight Xie Wanwan?¡±


    Ye Xia nodded coldly. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this. Let¡¯s continue to talk about the tips on the wall. I¡¯m not very good at solving puzzles. Is there any hint in that tip?¡±


    Qi Leren was actually not good at it either. He was a little worried about the location here: ¡°Shall we talk about it somewhere else?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, they¡¯ll disappear for at least half an hour.¡± Ye Xia said.


    Qi Leren finally calmed his heart, dusted off his clothes, sat down by the bed, and vaguely described his previous killing of a witch, focusing on the clues and tips on the wall: ¡°Now the witch¡¯s prompt is ¡®Are you willing to sacrifice, have you ever been betrayed, have you ever seen the distortion and beauty of love when it has sprouted into despair? The fire of love, which I can¡¯t get, burns until the end of my life.¡¯ She is a little different from the first two witches. The first two tips emphasize the places where witches may appear and even the means of attack, but there¡¯s no special explanation on how to destroy those witches. But this witch is a bit different.¡±


    Ye Xia seemed to be a little distracted, mumbling: ¡°The fire of love that I can¡¯t get¡­ is really full of feelings of despair and helplessness.¡±


    Qi Leren was speechless for a moment. Wait, sister Ye Xia, shouldn¡¯t we seriously think about how to fix this witch now? Why did you suddenly switch to the channel for literary young women? I really didn¡¯t see that you had such a style before! Didn¡¯t you kill very well just now?!


    ¡°Have you ever liked anyone?¡± Ye Xia suddenly asked with a serious face.


    ¡°Er¡­ yes.¡± Qi Leren was a little ashamed, but he answered honestly. Although they had only known each other for a short time, he had already liked her very much. Although he still couldn¡¯t show this feeling to Ning Zhou, the more he suppressed it, the more intense this yearning love was. Before meeting Ning Zhou, he never thought that love at first sight would really happen to him.


    ¡°Great, does she like you?¡± Ye Xia asked again.


    Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help scratching his hot cheek: ¡°It should be¡­ the friendship kind of like. But it doesn¡¯t matter, it¡¯s enough if she treats me as a friend now. I hope she can like the real me.¡±


    Qi Leren himself felt embarrassed to say such a thing to an unfamiliar person, but Ye Xia had an air that let people want to talk, and he said it before he knew it.


    Ye Xia smiled and whispered, ¡°Whether you are really loved or falsely loved, you¡¯re happy as long as you¡¯re loved. Sometimes love can¡¯t help, and occurs in spite of yourself. Even if you know it¡¯s impossible, you will not give up easily. ¡±


    Looking at Qi Leren¡¯s stunned eyes, Ye Xia smiled suddenly: ¡°Sorry, I accidentally said a lot of inexplicable words. I hope that the person you love will make you better. ¡±


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s not talk about this and continue to get down to business. The witch¡¯s prompt doesn¡¯t explain where or how she¡¯ll appear. I guess it may be because we meet certain conditions, so we¡¯ll be pulled into this dreamland¡­¡± Qi Leren said, and suddenly stopped.


    Was it because he strongly liked Ning Zhou that he was chosen? That Ning Zhou¡­ Will she show up?


    He didn¡¯t think so. She probably just takes care of him as a friend now. Qi Leren suddenly thought a little narcissistically. Now it¡¯s really scary to see Ning Zhou. Doesn¡¯t that mean Ning Zhou likes girls, like Lu Youxin? But when you think about it, the goddess, a high-cold cool girl, liking a girl doesn¡¯t seem¡­ to look strange at all!


    No, no, goddess, don¡¯t let me see you here! I¡¯ll see you when I¡¯m out of this dreamland.


    ¡°Then what?¡± After waiting for a while, she found that Qi Leren had been silent, and Ye Xia, whose expression was ever-changing, could not help but ask.


    ¡°Oh, yes, and then the specific conditions of being selected, I think probably have something to do with the three keywords of ¡®sacrifice¡¯, ¡®betrayal¡¯, and ¡®love¡¯. No matter how we got here, we must destroy the witch who controls this dreamworld if we want to leave. But as you said just now, you can¡¯t completely destroy her by ordinary means.¡± Qi Leren interrupted his own thoughts and talked about his ideas intently.


    Ye Xia nodded and listened very carefully.


    ¡°In fact, there¡¯s a sentence in the prompt that I¡¯m very concerned about¡­¡± Qi Leren rubbed his hand cut by broken porcelain pieces and said, ¡°It¡¯s the phrase ¡®burning until the end of my life.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Burning? Is it necessary to use fire?¡± Ye Xia suddenly understood.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but this is a clue. I suspect that the witch was finally burned to death, so there¡¯s such a hint. To completely destroy her, you need to kill her again in the same way she died before.¡± Qi Leren said.


    ¡°It makes sense, just give it a try.¡± Ye Xia picked up the knife at hand and pointed to the door. ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ve been to the warehouse before. There¡¯s a lot of oil stored in it, which may come in handy.¡±


    This one is also very straight to the point. The same type as his goddess, ¡°just do it, don¡¯t be timid¡± type? Although it is similarly simple and crude, the goddess is cuter after all, Qi Leren thought.


    The two people walked side by side in the empty corridor. Qi Leren had no weapon to protect himself. Ye Xia snatched her weapon from an NPC. There was no second one for Qi Leren, so he had to be on tenterhooks for fear that a monster would suddenly rush out.


    ¡°There¡¯s someone in front.¡± Ye Xia suddenly stopped.


    Not far ahead, a strange girl looked at them coldly with a long metal rod in one hand. The sharp and lonely eyes were like beasts cruising in the jungle, giving a cold warning to unexpected visitors.


    It clearly was a very different appearance, but at the moment he saw her, Qi Leren recognized her for some reason. Maybe it was her expression, maybe it was her posture, maybe it was just instinct, but he was convinced that it was Ning Zhou.


    ¡°Ning Zhou! I¡¯m Qi Leren!¡± Qi Leren waved at her, and Ning Zhou in the distance stood still and strode towards him.


    Looking at Ning Zhou coming towards him, Qi Leren suddenly swore inwardly. The goddess really came! And so on, if the selected condition is really what he guessed, is it true that the goddess really likes girls?!


    A bolt from the blue!

 CH 53

    Chapter 53: Witchcraft Sacrifice (XXII)


    Looking at Ning Zhou walking briskly, Qi Leren felt that the world was dark. Goddess, his goddess really liked him, but she was a lesbian! Lesbian! It¡¯s worse than the goddess having a boyfriend!


    No, don¡¯t think too much, maybe the conditions of being selected are not what he thinks, and even if it is related to love, maybe the goddess loves her boyfriend, bah, I don¡¯t know, don¡¯t think blindly, how can the goddess have a boyfriend! Goddess is still waiting for him to pursue her! Let¡¯s concentrate on this dream world first. As for the goddess ¡­ Make a good relationship with the goddess first. As for the pursuit of something, let¡¯s wait for him to get out of the instance world to change his body back and then slowly figure it out.


    Ning Zhou¡¯s consciousness was also attached to a strange NPC. Although it was a completely different face, when she looked at him, the silence in her eyes was exactly the same.


    Qi Leren was convinced that even if the goddess changed her body, he would still be attracted to her. This attraction came not from her appearance, but from her own irresistible attraction.


    ¡°Ning Zhou, are you all right?¡± Qi Leren asked with concern.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Ning Zhou shook her head and looked at Ye Xia.


    Suddenly hearing Ning Zhou¡¯s voice, Qi Leren still became somewhat speechless. Thinking that now that they¡¯re not in their own bodies, without any skill cards or whatnot, Ning Zhou could naturally speak.


    ¡°She¡¯s Ye Xia, we met just now.¡± Qi Leren didn¡¯t admit that he had just been scared half to death by Ye Xia. He probably felt a little embarrassed in his heart, so he simply changed the subject and talked about this dreamworld¡¯s witch.


    Ning Zhou listened to him quietly. This time, there was no big black bird making noises around her, and Qi Leren wasn¡¯t used to it.


    ¡°So Ye Xia and I are going to find some oil and find a way to burn this witch. Ye Xia said that she¡¯d seen the warehouse where oil is stored before. Let¡¯s go together.¡± Qi Leren said.


    So the three acted together.


    The ubiquitous ghosts in the underground palace had disappeared. From another angle, it showed that the world they were in wasn¡¯t a real underground palace, but a dreamworld constructed by a dead witch. As long as the witch was completely killed, they could get out of the dreamworld.


    The next thing was simple, Qi Leren didn¡¯t find the opportunity to step in. Ye Xia took the two people to the warehouse where the oil was stored, and three people found flint again. Ye Xia and Ning Zhou discussed how to attract witches. Even without the limitation of skill cards, Ning Zhou still cherished words like gold. Qi Leren gawked at the tacit understanding between them, feeling that he was excluded.


    ¡°Can I help you?¡± Qi Leren interposed.


    ¡°Ning Zhou and I can do it.¡± Ye Xia smiled politely, and then continued to use a stone to draw a simple map on the ground to explain the route to lead the witches.


    ¡°Want me to lure the monster? I¡¯m still very experienced in this respect.¡± As someone with E-ranked luck who was chased by a killer to run all over the hospital in the Novice Village, Qi Leren has accumulated sufficient experience in this respect.


    ¡°You can¡¯t use skill cards and props now. I¡¯d rather be on the safe side.¡° Ye Xia declined Qi Leren¡¯s proposal.


    Qi Leren wanted to say more. Ning Zhou¡¯s blue eyes had already looked up. Although she was still silent, the eyes clearly told Qi Leren that she didn¡¯t need his help.


    Qi Leren gave up somewhat sullenly, and sat on the oil drum to watch them continue to discuss. Finally, the plan was finalized and implemented.


    Ye Xia set up the trap, and Ning Zhou went to attract the witches. While waiting, Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help thinking deeply about Ning Zhou¡¯s attitude towards him. He also discovered that although Ning Zhou was a girl, she was very protective of him. She always watched over and took care of him completely as a weak person. When encountering dangerous things, she would rather discuss with the strange Ye Xia than put him in danger.


    It¡¯s a bit bad, Qi Leren thought, is it better for him to confess to Ning Zhou earlier? It feels strange to be taken care of as a girl. But if he says it now, what will Ning Zhou think?


    Qi Leren was a little unsure of Ning Zhou¡¯s character. He only knew that she was a cold-looking but shy person. Will she become angry from embarrassment if she suddenly learned the truth? If she got angry and misunderstood, how would it end then? Most importantly, Ning Zhou¡¯s sexual orientation¡­


    Oh, forget it. I¡¯d better explain it to Ning Zhou slowly after leaving the instance world and returning to the Village of Dusk.


    "Are you thinking about Ning Zhou?¡± Ye Xia¡¯s voice suddenly sounded in his ear, and Qi Leren discovered that he was distracted in such a dangerous place.


    ¡°I, I guess¡­¡± Qi Leren answered honestly.


    Ye Xia wiped the ordinary long knife in her hand with the corner of her clothes, and her smile was a bit inscrutable: ¡°I can understand it a bit.¡±


    ¡°Ah? Understand what?¡± Now it¡¯s Qi Leren¡¯s turn to fail to understand.


    ¡°Nothing, I just want to say that when people look at the person they like, that look is different. No matter how hesitant, concealed or embarrassed, your eyes are bright when you see her.¡± Ye Xia stopped the wiping action, spoke softly and slowly, and smiled quite deeply. ¡°She is the same.¡±


    Qi Leren, who was still embarrassed, was scared silly when he heard Ye Xia¡¯s last half sentence: ¡°Are you ¡­ are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Be careful, someone¡¯s coming!¡± Ye Xia who was originally going to continue suddenly turned serious.


    Qi Leren also immediately kept his thoughts, and watched Ning Zhou running towards this area. Three strange girls chased after her, and ran all the way into the room with the pre-set trap. The fire rose, and Qi Leren hiding outside the room was carrying a heart for Ning Zhou. Although he knew she wouldn¡¯t have a problem, he couldn¡¯t help worrying when she was in danger.


    The witches¡¯ piercing shrieks came from the firelight, and finally gradually disappeared in the fire.


    The surrounding scene has become blurred and distorted, and Qi Leren¡¯s vision blurred, and there is an ethereal voice in their ears.


    ¡°I love you so much, I tried so hard to protect you¡­ Why¡­ Why¡­¡±


    ¡°Because, it¡¯s very interesting. It¡¯s so interesting to watch you deceive and kill each other because of despair, fear, and jealousy. ¡±


    The voice disappeared, and the scene before him was restored again. Qi Leren found himself standing in a strange corridor, surrounded by silence.


    Whose were those voices? One was very similar to the witch who chased him in the dream world just now, while the other was a completely strange female voice, with full pleasure flowing in her beautiful voice. It seemed that playing and torturing others like this was her greatest pleasure.


    It¡¯s terrible. It¡¯s terrible for people to treat such terrible things as fun.


    Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help becoming cold. He didn¡¯t know who was the owner of this voice. No matter how he recalled it, he couldn¡¯t remember where he had heard this voice, but it was subtle and he felt that the tone was a little familiar.


    Who exactly was it?


    No matter how hard he ransacked his mind, he couldn¡¯t remember it. Qi Leren had to put this problem aside and check his own body. With all the skill cards in the card slot, he finally reassured and felt that his life was guaranteed.


    He didn¡¯t know where Ning Zhou was, and Ye Xia too.


    Qi Leren searched around, but they were not found. Fortunately, the terrain became familiar, and he successfully found his way back to the temple.


    Back at the temple, Ellie and Aisha were still inside, but Isabel hadn¡¯t come back, and Ning Zhou hadn¡¯t either. Qi Leren was a little worried, and asked the two sisters if they had seen them. After getting a negative answer, he became more and more uneasy.


    After killing the witch, new information appeared again, which was still a clue and a hint.


    [The Lord of Fraud likes to see human betrayal, depravity, and despair.]


    Qi Leren¡¯s mind suddenly flashed a flash of light. The voice he heard when he was leaving the dreamworld seemed to be like this. What was the connection between the owner of the voice and the Devil of Fraud? That¡¯s right, this group of witches serve the Devil of Fraud.


    He looked at the clue to the next witch.


    [I tore open my companion¡¯s chest and ate her heart, but I was still unbearably hungry. Is your heart just as delicious?]


    Before Qi Leren thought deeply, footsteps came from outside the temple. He turned around excitedly and looked forward to Ning Zhou¡¯s return, but saw Lu Youxin come in with an indifferent face as she saw Qi Leren standing in front of the stone wall. She frowned and said, ¡°Did you pass the corridor on the right when you came?¡±


    ¡°No, I came from the left. Why?¡± Qi Leren asked doubtfully.


    Lu Youxin looked at him deeply and seemed to confirm whether he was telling the truth. After a long time, she said, ¡°Ye Xia is dead.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Qi Leren gawked at her, thinking he had heard wrong.


    Lu Youxin snorted and repeated impatiently: ¡°Ye Xia is dead.¡±

 CH 54

    Chapter 54: Witchcraft Sacrifice (XXIII)


    Ye Xia was dead? How could that be?


    ¡°Just now, I met Ye Xia in the dreamworld. She, Ning Zhou and I were pulled into the witch¡¯s dreamworld together, and possessed the witches from three years ago. All items and skills couldn¡¯t be used¡­¡± Qi Leren said, interrupted by Lu Youxin.


    ¡°Possessed? So what you saw was just someone who called herself Ye Xia? As for whether she was telling the truth or not, how can you be sure? ¡° Lu Youxin cocked her head a little and looked at him with some sarcasm.


    Qi Leren swallowed saliva, and a chill rose on his back.


    Yes, how did he know that the person he met was really Ye Xia? What he saw and talked to was just a person who claimed to be Ye Xia possessing an NPC from beginning to end. With his shallow understanding of Ye Xia, he couldn¡¯t distinguish clearly.


    ¡±¡­Why do you have such doubts?¡° Qi Leren felt something was wrong. Why did Lu Youxin suspect that the "Ye Xia¡± he met was not herself?


    ¡°Of course, because Ye Xia¡¯s body doesn¡¯t look like it just died.¡± Lu Youxin says, before with a confused and irritated look, she frowned and looked at the new tips on the wall.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go and have a look,¡± Qi Leren said.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to see on a corpse,¡± Lu Youxin said coldly as she concentrated on studying the words on the wall. You couldn¡¯t tell that she was still pursuing Ye Xia not long ago.


    ¡°At least to know who killed her!¡±


    Lu Youxin turned and looked at him with a smile: ¡°Oh, maybe it¡¯s me?¡±


    Qi Leren groaned: ¡°No, it wouldn¡¯t be you. If it was you, why did you tell me about her death?¡±


    Lu Youxin clicked her tongue: ¡°Then go and see it, and you¡¯ll understand. However, I advise you not to take it too seriously. It¡¯s common for people to die in quests. There¡¯s no foolproof quest, and there¡¯s no player who can only win or only lose. One day I will die, you will die, Ning Zhou will die, and everyone will die. This is the doomed ending for us. ¡±


    Although Lu Youxin spoke in a relaxed tone, Qi Leren¡¯s mood was extremely heavy. He entered the world not long ago, but he had already vaguely felt the despair and fear of being precarious: ¡°Is there really no way to leave this game?¡±


    ¡°Who knows, maybe when you die, you¡¯ll find that you¡¯ve opened your eyes in your bed. Everything here is just a nightmare.¡± Lu Youxin shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Maybe, after you jump out of the player¡¯s identity and enter another level, you can become a chess player, which must be wonderful.¡±


    ¡°Jump out of the player¡¯s identity?¡± Qi Leren asked curiously.


    ¡°Uh-huh, so after completing this task, I¡¯ll probably try the task of opening the Village of Dawn, hoping that everything will be different after arriving there.¡± Lu Youxin finished that and finally glanced at the rock and left the hall.


    Qi Leren hesitated for a moment, but still couldn¡¯t help worrying. He decided to go there first. Before leaving, he explained to Ellie¡¯s sister that if she saw Isabel and Ning Zhou coming back, to ask them to wait for him here.


    Outside the hall, the corridor was still cold, and Qi Leren took a deep breath of cool dirty air and headed for the corridor on the right.


    He couldn¡¯t judge whether the Ye Xia met in the dreamland was true or not now, but he remembered that Ye Xia said that her original body was slightly injured. At that time, he asked her if she had met Xie Wanwan, and she nodded her head.


    If it was really Ye Xia, then she should¡¯ve met Xie Wanwan again after leaving the dreamworld, and then she was killed. If it was a fake Ye Xia, then who impersonated Ye Xia and why did she do it? Was it Xie Wanwan? But there was no evidence¡­


    His thinking was becoming increasingly disordered. Qi Leren had to put aside his questions first, and continue to the right corridor.


    There is a faint smell of mud and blood intertwined in the air. Qi Leren touched his nose and walked softly around a corner with a dagger in hand. Deep in the front corridor, countless plants emerged from the cracks in the wall, hanging around like a green spider web. In the middle of this verdant place, Ye Xia, who was covered in blood, was covered with branches through the abdominal cavity, and countless vines and branches hung her in mid-air, like a hanged body!


    With a buzz in Qi Leren¡¯s brain, he stood transfixed and saw the dead body of a person he knew, which was far more shocking than seeing a dead stranger. Especially as, not long ago, they had chatted and talked about the private topic of love. Now, seeing her dead beyond recognition, the incredible shock lingered in his heart.


    It turned out that she was really dead.


    When listening to Lu Youxin, he still didn¡¯t associate this fact with Ye Xia. It wasn¡¯t until he really saw Ye Xia¡¯s body that he realized that Ye Xia, who was in the same carriage with him at the beginning of the mission, was dead.


    Unconsciously, his hands and feet became cold, and Qi Leren took a deep breath several times to calm his mood slightly. Only then did he climb the branches growing out of the cracks, cut the vines and branches, and put down Ye Xia¡¯s body.


    Her body was cold and stiff, lying on the ground lifelessly, staring ahead wide eyed in empty horror, and her incredible expression was frozen by death at this moment.


    Qi Leren glanced at her waist, her belt and other items had disappeared with her death. Like an ordinary person, she bid farewell to the world in this dangerous underground palace, even knowing who the murderer was.


    He couldn¡¯t say he didn¡¯t know who it was either. Although iu Youxin didn¡¯t say who killed Ye Xia, as long as she saw Ye Xia¡¯s body, Qi Leren knew it.


    It was Xie Wanwan, the player who could control bugs and plants.


    Qi Leren sat beside Ye Xia and thought about it. Ye Xia¡¯s body really didn¡¯t look like she¡¯d just died. The blood had dried and the body was stiff. Even if he doesn¡¯t know anything about autopsies, he also knew that this was by no means the appearance of a newly dead person. However, from leaving the dreamworld just now to discovering Ye Xia¡¯s body, it had taken only half an hour at most. That is to say, the person he met in the instance world was probably not Ye Xia herself. So, who could it be?


    It is neither Ye Xia nor Lu Youxin. It is even more impossible for the several NPCs. The only option is Xie Wanwan. Although she had a feud with Ye Xia, she should know something about Ye Xia. It wasn¡¯t a problem to pretend to be Ye Xia for a short time.


    What was her motive for doing this? At that time, she could have killed him with one slash of her knife.


    Oh, no, at that time, she was also trapped in the dreamworld, and urgently needed to find a way to leave, and he quickly said that he knew the clue, and it was possible that he saved his life. After that, although he had no value, they soon met Ning Zhou¡­


    A feeling of escaping death entered Qi Leren¡¯s heart. If Ning Zhou hadn¡¯t appeared at that time, would he have died?


    Recalling how when Ning Zhou went to lure witches, Ye Xia, who wiped the long knife, spoke to him softly and slowly, Qi Leren shuddered. At that time, did ¡°Ye Xia¡± hold a murderous intent for him who was unarmed and defenseless? If Ning Zhou hadn¡¯t just led the witch back to end the dreamworld, would he have become a cold corpse like Ye Xia?


    When he chewed every frame of memory carefully, he whose mind was full of Ning Zhou finally realized this belated fear. Her clasping the handle of the knife, the action of wiping the knife, her strange smile, inexplicable questions, and the murderer that almost pierced his skull under the bed. Everything became eerie and chilling.


    It turned out that without realizing it, he had already brushed shoulders with death.

 CH 55

    Chapter 55: Witchcraft Sacrifice (XXIV)


    Qi Leren once again returned to the temple and walked up the stone steps. Suddenly, he discovered that the Ellie sisters who had been in the temple had disappeared.


    ¡°Ellie, Aisha? Are you there? ¡± Qi Leren gave a strange call, and his reply echoed in the empty hall, but no one responded.


    The air was filled with a faint coldness, and the chill and uneasiness were intertwined, catalyzing fear.


    Qi Leren walked forward and came to the front of the stone wall, where there were two more tips, which meant that another witch had been killed.


    [We were just like you, and you will be just like us.]


    [They chased me and killed me here. Now I¡¯m going to chase them and kill them here.]


    Qi Leren read out the tips after the death of the last witch and chewed them carefully.


    Is this a simple curse? It should be more than that.


    Rapid footsteps came from outside the temple. Qi Leren turned nervously to look at the door. A big black bird flew in first and landed on his shoulder. Ning Zhou and Isabel appeared at the door. When she saw Qi Leren, Ning Zhou¡¯s cold eyes softened slightly, and she seemed relieved.


    ¡°Are you all right?¡± Qi Leren hurriedly walked forward, and when he got close, he found that Ning Zhou¡¯s arm was wrapped in bandages, and dark red blood was faintly visible on it. ¡°Are you injured?¡±


    Isabel said nervously, ¡°It was that woman¡­ The woman who brought me to the temple at that time.¡±


    ¡°Xie Wanwan?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    Isabel nodded her head, with fear on her face. ¡°Ning Zhou fought with her. She was so strong and fast that she almost killed me. Then Ning Zhou shouted to get down. I¡­ I got down. I was almost cut by her knife. It was terrible! Fortunately, we had just met a witch, and the witch chased her, and we finally escaped.¡±


    As she spoke, she covered her forehead and whispered in pain: ¡°My head hurts. I seem to remember something, but I don¡¯t know,¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it, don¡¯t worry.¡± Qi Leren calmed down and looked at Ning Zhou again.


    Ning Zhou shook her head gently, as if to say don¡¯t worry.


    Even the goddess suffered a loss. Is this Xie Wanwan so powerful? Qi Leren recalled Xie Wanwan, whom he saw when he was in the swamp tower. She could control insects and plants, but it seemed that she is far inferior to Ye Xia in close combat, let alone Ning Zhou, who was very skillful. Isabel said that she was also strong and fast?


    ¡°Where are Ellie and Aisha?¡± Isabel asked softly.


    Qi Leren shook his head. ¡°I went out just now, and when I came back, I found that they were gone. Besides that, Ye Xia is dead. The murderer is probably Xie Wanwan.¡±


    Qi Leren shared what he¡¯d seen and heard after leaving the dreamworld, and whispered, ¡°It seems that we need to tell Lu Youxin to be careful. There are also Ellie and Aisha, I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re alright. ¡±


    ¡°Bloody words! The bloody words appeared again!¡± Isabel pointed to the rock wall and exclaimed.


    Looking back, Qi Leren found another clue and a hint.


    [Kill each other in anger and fear, and you will gain strength.]


    ¡°I see¡­¡± When he saw the prompt, Qi Leren suddenly realized. If killing other witches could grant strength, this could explain why Xie Wanwan suddenly increased her strength and why she attacked Isabel and Ning Zhou. She should have discovered this after killing Ye Xia, but if so¡­


    ¡°Oh, Ellie, Aisha, and Lu Youxin are in danger!¡± Qi Leren was urgent.


    ¡°Are you going to find them?¡± Isabel asked anxiously.


    ¡°Wait first, don¡¯t be impulsive, let me think.¡± Qi Leren paced around on his hand on his forehead, sorting out all the clues, and finally stood in front of the rock wall without knowing it.


    [They guard the underground palace, meticulous, I will give them life, let them walk freely.]


    Is this the next witch¡¯s clue? Now there were only two witches left. If they could solve the witch as soon as possible and complete the task directly then return to the Village of Dusk, maybe they wouldn¡¯t have to confront Xie Wanwan head-on?


    ¡°What we have to do now is two things. One is to find the remaining people who are still alive, otherwise Xie Wanwan will continue to kill, so that her strength will also increase. If so, I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t cope with her; Second, take the time to solve the remaining two witches, complete the sacrifice according to the clues given on the wall, and finish the quest directly. These two things do not conflict and can be carried out together. In short, we have to be faster than Xie Wanwan, and there¡¯s not much time left for us,¡± Qi Leren said, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw two hints appear on the wall.


    So fast, the witches were being destroyed faster and faster. Was this one by Xie Wanwan or Lu Youxin?


    [One of you has betrayed.]


    Qi Leren smiled silently. This hint came too late.


    Suddenly there was only the last witch left. He looked at the clue of the last witch: [Crawl like a gecko with a broken tail, crawl, smell the living, eat the dead, crawl, crawl.]


    The clue of bloody words was filled with sticky nausea. Qi Leren frowned and looked at all the hints and clues again, suggesting that all the seven clues of the witch have appeared, and the task clue for destroying the witch was still one short, which couldn¡¯t be known until this witch was destroyed. According to common sense, this last tip was likely the key.


    The big blackbird grumbled and cleared its throat, and returned to Ning Zhou, who touched its head and nodded.


    ¡°Your injury¡­¡± Qi Leren still couldn¡¯t help worrying about Ning Zhou¡¯s injury. Ning Zhou climbed the steps he stood atop and looked down at him.


    The distance was too close, and the gleaming eyes reflected himself. In the middle of the confusion, Ning Zhou pulled up his hand and wrote, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. She wasn¡¯t trying to kill me.¡±


    Qi Leren looked at her in astonishment. Xie Wanwan wasn¡¯t trying to kill Ning Zhou? So what exactly does she want to do?


    "Then let¡¯s go.¡± Qi Leren hesitated, and equipped the S/L skill, primary combat and the skill of Rain-Day Laundry which had finished cooling, so he would have to use an ordinary dagger.


    Isabel covered her forehead with pain: ¡°My head still hurts.¡±


    ¡°Do you remember anything?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    Isabel shook her head. ¡°I still can¡¯t remember.¡±


    Qi Leren didn¡¯t know what conditions she needed to meet to restore her memory, so they had to shelve this problem first.


    Three people once again left the empty hall. The air was still filled with a stale taste. Far away from the hall, the statues of half man and half beast that were originally displayed on both sides of the corridor had been destroyed and fellan to the ground. It seemed that a fierce battle happened. When Qi Leren thought back, the last witch¡¯s tip was ¡°They are guarding the underground palace and being meticulous without an error, I will give them life and let them walk freely,¡± which should mean that she could revive these statues.


    Was Lu Youxin or Xie Wanwan the one who killed the witch?


    Qi Leren stopped and looked around, and soon found that there were burnt marks on the surrounding walls and ground. It seemed that Lu Youxin did it?


    ¡°It should be Lu Youxin, I hope she¡¯s alright,¡± Qi Leren said to Ning Zhou, relieved.


    Ning Zhou looked at the broken statues all over the ground, even picking up a piece of debris in her hand, and then shook her head at Qi Leren.


    ¡°Not Lu Youxin? Was that Xie Wanwan then? But there are no plants here,¡± Qi Leren murmured.


    After Ning Zhou¡¯s words, Qi Leren also noticed that many incisions of these scattered statues were very neat, not like being broken, but like being cut off by sharp instruments. He really hadn¡¯t seen Lu Youxin use weapons, but he had seen her come back unarmed but covered in blood in the temple. She didn¡¯t seem like a person who was used to using weapons.


    But Xie Wanwan, it seemed, was not used to using cold steel. He had seen Xie Wanwan fight with Ye Xia. At that time, she didn¡¯t use weapons all the way. Later, he saw with his own eyes that Ye Xia¡¯s body had no wounds caused by weapons, and that the fatal injury was caused by branches running through the abdominal cavity.


    However, this is not necessarily true. If the person pretending to be Ye Xia in the dreamworld was really her, then she should also be a master of using a knife.


    ¡°Maybe it really is Xie Wanwan, be careful, she might not have gone far,¡± Qi Leren solemnly said.


    ¡°Ga-¡± Ning Zhou¡¯s black bird suddenly gave a strange cry and pecked Ning Zhou¡¯s ear with its beak. ¡°There, the smell of blood.¡±


    Three people immediately headed for the front. After a corner, the dark corridor in front was lit by candlelight. The long black hair was soaked in the blood like winding aquatic plants, and the lifeless body lay quietly on the ground. She was no longer a living person, but a dead thing, a puzzle that came to an abrupt end.


    Qi Leren gawked at the distant corpse, and his mind went blank.


    It wasn¡¯t until Ning Zhou had passed by that he came to his senses, and his wandering soul murmured, ¡°Xie Wanwan? Is she dead?¡±


    ¡ª¨C


    The author has something to say:


    PS: Sort out the clues on the wall.


    [ The living witches gather together, and the dead witches are ready to go. ]


    1. Those who sleep in rusty iron, burn my body with fire, nourish the vegetation of hell with blood, and wake me up will be hanged.


    ¡ª¡ªTips after killing witches: Kill us all and the altar will appear.


    2. I¡¯ve been awakened and wandering around, and those who kill me will get my wealth.


    ¡ª¡ªWe used to serve the Old Devil, but now we serve the devil who is in charge of deception.


    3. Are you willing to sacrifice, have you ever been betrayed, and have you seen the distortion and beauty of love when it has sprouted into despair? The fire of love, which I wanted but couldn¡¯t have, burned to the end of my life.


    ¡ª¡ªThe Lord of Fraud likes to see human betrayal, depravity and despair.


    4. I tore open my companion¡¯s chest and ate her heart, but I was still unbearably hungry. Is your heart just as delicious?


    ¡ª¡ªWe were just like you, and you will be just like us.


    5. They chased me and killed me here. Now I¡¯m going to chase them and kill them here.


    ¡ª¡ªKill each other in anger and fear, and you will gain strength.


    6. They guard the underground palace with meticulous care. I will give them life and let them walk freely.


    ¡ª¡ªOne of you has betrayed.


    7. Like a gecko with a broken tail, crawl, smell the living, eat the dead bodies, crawl, crawl.


    ¡ª¡ª£¿ ? ?

 CH 56

    Chapter 56: Witchcraft Sacrifice (XXV)


    Xie Wanwan¡¯s body was lying on the cold ground in the underground, blood pooling out from the big hole in her chest, and there were splashes of blood on the surrounding walls. Her face was frozen in fright, the panic and disbelief at the moment before she died fixed on her face.


    Isabel stepped back a few steps in fear, clinging to Qi Leren¡¯s arm, so strong that she pinched a row of fingerprints on his arm. Qi Leren patted her arm placidly, took out his arm reluctantly, and went forward to check.


    The body was still warm, and it didn¡¯t seem to have died for too long. This fatal wound was what had caused it. The area was very large, even the internal organs were exposed, a mass of sticky collapsed flesh in the blood, which looked particularly disgusting.


    Qi Leren hadn¡¯t recovered from the shock of seeing Xie Wanwan¡¯s body. How was it possible? How could she just die? This question echoed in his mind over and over again, making him feel like he was dreaming.


    ¡°Who killed her? Lu Youxin?¡± Qi Leren asked in a daze.


    Ning Zhou squatted down to check her wound, and nodded her head in a dignified manner.


    Was it that Xie Wanwan tried to kill Lu Youxin and was killed herself? Was Lu Youxin so powerful? Qi Leren¡¯s mind was a mess.


    What about Lu Youxin?


    Isabel sounded like she was choking behind him. She held her head against the wall, slowly sat down on the ground, curled up into a ball, and Qi Leren ran back and asked her what was wrong.


    Isabel seemed to be frightened, holding her head in her hands, her body shaking violently all over, and making a gurgling sound in her throat, as if she wanted to speak but her words were caught in her throat.


    ¡°Are you ok? What¡¯s the matter?¡± Qi Leren was confused by her abnormal reaction.


    Ning Zhou also came over and lifted her up from the ground. Isabel turned pale, and her eyes rolled as she passed out. Qi Leren quickly shook her, but unfortunately there was no response. She seemed to be in a deep coma.


    ¡°Probably seeing the dead stirred her memory,¡± Qi Leren said with uncertainty and asked awkwardly, ¡°What should we do now?¡±


    Ning Zhou¡¯s big blackbird suddenly said calmly: ¡°Find an empty room to settle down, let¡¯s find the last witch.¡±


    Although he knew that Ning Zhou¡¯s bird could speak, what the bird said was always not only mocking but also quick witted. Hearing it suddenly say a long sentence clearly, Qi Leren turned stupid: ¡°You, you, you, you¡­¡±


    ¡°I let it speak. Once I speak, the accumulated strength in my skill will be wasted,¡± the big blackbird added, pecking Ning Zhou¡¯s ear with its beak, and Ning Zhou nodded slightly at Qi Leren.


    Qi Leren listened, stunned, and watched in a daze as Ning Zhou picked up the passed out Isabel and moved forward. He quickly followed after her, looking at his wrist that the goddess wrote on and thinking sullenly, since the pet can speak for her, why didn¡¯t she speak before? Did she think it was unnecessary to explain to him?


    The Goddess¡¯ heart was as deep as the sea, poor Qi Leren who had never had experience of being in love before mentally scratched his head. Although he knew intellectually that he shouldn¡¯t be quibbling over such a thing in this dangerous situation, he couldn¡¯t control himself emotionally!


    In an instant, Ning Zhou had taken Isabel to an empty room, put her on the bed, and put a crystal stone-like thing in her hand. A faint halo emanated from her hand and enveloped her inside. Ning Zhou nodded at Qi Leren, and they left the room and continued to look for the last witch.


    The underground palace was too big. Looking for a witch aimlessly was tantamount to looking for a needle in a haystack. Qi Leren had nothing to talk to Ning Zhou about, pretending that he was seriously analyzing: ¡°We still have to start from the tips on the stone wall. The tips say that this witch is like a gecko with a broken tail, but people don¡¯t have a tail. This ¡®broken tail¡¯ may mean that a part of her body is missing.¡±


    Ning Zhou listened attentively to his speech and nodded from time to time, but this had greatly inspired Qi Leren. He spoke like a junior high school student who couldn¡¯t wait to show off his solution ideas to his favorite deskmate, and chattered on like beans spilling: ¡°But it¡¯s also possible that the ''broken tail¡¯ is not a physical description, but a description of her being as fast as a gecko who survived at a critical juncture. She should have a keen sense of smell, because the tip says that she ''smells the living¡¯ and ''eats the dead body¡¯. We¡¯d better go to Ye Xia or Xie Wanwan¡¯s body.¡±


    Ning Zhou blinked, and there was a trace of emotion that could be called appreciation in her beautiful blue eyes. Qi Leren was greatly encouraged, and although he was obviously too proud, he pretended to be modest and said, ¡°Well, in fact, I might possibly have also talked nonsense, I may not necessarily be right.¡±


    Ning Zhou¡¯s big blackbird looked at him contemptuously, and Qi Leren stared back at it. One person and one bird suggested to each other with their eyes that ¡°you are a fucking moron,¡± while Ning Zhou had already started to leave, and Qi Leren, who felt a little regret about failing to win the fight with his gaze, quickly followed.


    The corridor of the underground palace was like a maze. Ning Zhou suddenly stopped for a while and looked thoughtfully. Qi Leren thought that she had found something, and immediately became alert. Unexpectedly, Ning Zhou¡¯s bird said faintly: ¡°Why didn¡¯t you show the way like a gentleman like you promised?¡±


    Qi Leren immediately realized that the goddess was lost! So he rushed forward to express himself, but before he could show his ability to know the way, Ning Zhou¡¯s face suddenly changed and she ran in the direction they¡¯d come from.


    Huh? What kind of trouble was going on? Qi Leren was at a loss and quickly gave chase.


    The speed of going back was much faster than when they came. When Qi Leren ran to the door of the room where Isabel had been left, a shadow came out of the door as fast as a lightning and went straight for Qi Leren¡¯s face. He stood on the spot in astonishment, and when he saw that his blood was about to splash three feet, a hoarse and gentle voice sounded in the room: ¡°Get out of the way!¡±


    Although the inexplicable strength was not strong, Qi Leren¡¯s body was still tilted uncontrollably to the side, and a strong breeze passed over his head. He subconsciously looks up¡ª a figure with only half of their body was covered with blood that splashed on his face. When he looked back, it climbed on the wall of the corridor like a gecko, and its eyes under its hair were flashing with greed. Its mouth seemed to have been torn open, reaching from ear to ear, revealing a mouth filled with bloody fangs.


    Ning Zhou had rushed out of the room, and the gecko witch let out a scream hoarsely, leaving her body with only two arms hanging upside down on the wall above her head and fleeing like a bird.


    It was so fast that it just disappeared in front of the two people in the blink of an eye. Ning Zhou gave up chasing and inserted the two knives back into their scabbards.


    Qi Leren stood up holding the wall and hurried in to see Isabel¡¯s situation. She was still in a coma, and the barrier that enveloped her was still there, but the halo seemed to have dimmed greatly. It was probably that the gecko witch had touched the barrier while attacking her, which was why Ning Zhou had come back in such a hurry.


    Fortunately, Isabel was fine. If she died, it would be troublesome to complete this hidden quest.


    Ning Zhou came over from the door, and Qi Leren asked with concern: ¡°Are you hurt?¡±


    Ning Zhou shook her head, frowning when she saw his face. He wiped the blood on his face with his sleeves. Qi Leren hadn¡¯t noticed that he¡¯d been smeared with blood by the gecko witch, and immediately felt sick and turned aside to wipe his face. This wasn¡¯t clean blood. If it was poisonous, wouldn¡¯t his face be disfigured?


    The blackbird perched on Isabel¡¯s bed cleared its throat and said seriously, ¡°It has a knife wound.¡±


    Suddenly, he heard the blackbird say something serious in its natural mocking voice, but Qi Leren still couldn¡¯t accept it. He stole a glance at Ning Zhou and then slowly made a sound.


    Wait, what the goddess means is that it was injured, and she wasn¡¯t the one to cut it?


    ¡°Did it get hurt?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    Ning Zhou nodded his head.


    ¡°Is it Lu Youxin?¡± Qi Leren asked again.


    ¡°You¡¯re stupid, it¡¯s a knife wound,¡± the big blackbird said contemptuously.


    Well, this sentence was definitely not Ning Zhou¡¯s words. It was really easy to distinguish.


    But if not Lu Youxin, who could it be? Judging from the time when the last witch appeared, Ye Xia was already dead, and they couldn¡¯t be sure about Xie Wanwan. Judging from the interval between the tips on the wall, the last three witches appeared very close to one another, but the next witch appeared only after one was destroyed. Judging from the battle traces, both Lu Youxin and Xie Wanwan were suspected to have fought with the statue witch, and then Xie Wanwan died, and the murderer was most likely Lu Youxin. From the point of view that Xie Wanwan¡¯s place of death was very close to the statue, it was very likely that the two of them had fallen out immediately after jointly dealing with the statue witch. If Xie Wanwan had cut the gecko witch, it had to have been in a very narrow span of time. Besides, he wasn¡¯t sure if Xie Wanwan wielded a knife or not.


    Was it the Ellie-Aisha sisters? Was it true that the two missing sisters weren¡¯t so simple? Or was it Lu Youxin who cut it? In fact, could she also wield a knife? But looking at Xie Wanwan¡¯s body, the wounds may have been pierced by Liu Youxin with her bare hands. He remembered that he had seen Lu Youxin return to the palace with blood on her hands before. She probably was used to fighting with her bare hands.


    Things became more and more complicated, and Qi Leren rubbed his temples and felt upset.


    Ning Zhou picked up Isabel and walked to the door. Qi Leren asked curiously, ¡°Where are you taking her?¡±


    The big blackbird gave him a side look and said in a strange tone, ¡°Go wandering at the ends of the earth.¡±


    Qi Leren looked at it silently, simply ignored it and said to Ning Zhou, ¡°It¡¯s not convenient if you meet the gecko witch later while holding her. I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    Ning Zhou looked at him with a deep face, looking at him from head to toe. When Qi Leren was starting to be flustered, she handed Isabel over and motioned for him to take her. Qi Leren hurriedly stretched out his arms and tried to hold her in his arms. As a result, he regretted the weight as soon as he got started, and his arms and knees turned jelly and she fell to the ground ¨C so heavy! He couldn¡¯t hold her at all!


    A soft girl¡¯s body really couldn¡¯t hold another soft girl. Qi Leren accepted his fate. He was ashamed to see Ning Zhou carry people on her shoulders like sacks, and no matter whether Isabel woke up with a stomachache or not, by contrast, the him who was princess-carried by the goddess probably received VIP treatment, right?


    They moved on with Isabel, who was still unconscious, and soon came to the temple. Qi Leren proposed to go back and see if Ellie and Aisha had come back, but Ning Zhou was noncommittal.


    After stepping into the temple, Qi Leren saw a line of words on the far wall. He immediately came forward to see that the last clue after killing the witch had already appeared.


    [One of us went and came back.]

 CH 57

    Chapter 57: Witchcraft Sacrifice (XXVI)


    [One of us went and came back.]


    The last bloody word that appeared on the wall stunned Qi Leren.


    What had gone and come back? Did it mean that a dead witch had been resurrected again? No, one of them going and coming back¡­ Did that mean coming back here? Maybe, three years ago, there was a surviving witch candidate in the witchcraft sacrifice mission. Three years later, she came here again and mingled among them.


    Was she a player or an NPC? Why would she do that?


    The creepy feeling slowly climbed to the soles of Qi Leren¡¯s feet from the darkness in all directions, and then slowly climbed up his body along the nerves, stirring his imagination, making the already strange situation more complicated and confusing.


    If someone survived last time and came to this underground palace again, who would it be? He, Ning Zhou, Lu Youxin, and Isabel were the only people who are alive now. The Ellie-Aisha sisters were unknown. Which one was most likely?


    No, it was impossible to make effective inferences. From another angle, if that person received this task again, she would be familiar with the task flow and terrain. If you were familiar with the terrain¡­


    Between crackles, Qi Leren suddenly recalled the situation when he was in the swamp tower. At that time, Lu Youxin asked Ye Xia if she needed to copy a map of the underground palace for her. Ye Xia told the truth under Lu Youxin¡¯s skill: she refused.


    At that time, he and Lu Youxin thought it was because Ye Xia didn¡¯t trust them, but now that he thought about it, could it be because she was very familiar with the terrain of the underground palace, so she didn¡¯t need this quarter map at all?


    But Ye Xia was dead. He saw and touched her body with his own eyes, and Xie Wanwan who killed her had died¡­


    Was the body fake? The idea flashed by, and Qi Leren himself felt funny. This was not a detective novel, to be capable of putting the body in a false pretence. He had seen the bodies of these two people with his own eyes.


    Isabel let out a whimper, struggling as if she had been strangled, looking very pained. Qi Leren checked her condition, and suddenly there was a flash of light. Could it be Isabel who went and came back? She also said that she¡¯s lost her memory. Maybe in this lost memory, she followed her sister to the underground palace. For some reason, she escaped and lost these memories. Then three years later, she came here again.


    Could it be what he thinks?


    Oh, and the altar.


    ¡°Now all the seven witches are dead. According to the clue given by the wall, shouldn¡¯t the altar have appeared?¡± Qi Leren said to Ning Zhou in wonder, ¡°But now it seems that the altar hasn¡¯t appeared here. Could there be some conditions that need to be reached?¡±


    Ning Zhou silently shook her head, saying she didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°She seems to be about to wake up.¡± Qi Leren caught a glimpse of Isabel¡¯s eyelids trembling a few times and immediately squatted down beside her.


    Isabel mumbled, as if shouting for her sister, and finally woke up from a coma. When she woke up, she just lay on the ground and looked at the dark ceiling as if she had lost her soul.


    ¡°Isabel?¡± Qi Leren called to her.


    Isabel suddenly got up from the ground as if possessed, took Qi Leren¡¯s arm and screamed, ¡°It¡¯s her! She¡¯s back! It can¡¯t be wrong, it must be her!¡±


    ¡°Calm down and speak slowly, who is it?¡± Qi Leren pressed her shoulder and asked carefully.


    Isabel, who calmed down from her excitement, stared at him with empty eyes. Her eyes were out of focus. She pursed her lips and whispered, ¡°¡­The woman with the knife.¡±


    ¡°Ye Xia? Have you seen her? ¡± Qi Leren asked again.


    Isabel¡¯s body was shaking and her voice was shaking: ¡°Yes, three years ago, she was in the same carriage with my sister¡­¡±


    Isabel, who was still in chaos, intermittently told what she¡¯d recalled. From her messy and disordered statement, the memory she lost three years ago was slowly presented to the two people.


    Her sister was taken away after being selected as a witch candidate. Isabel secretly inquired about the place where her sister was locked up. When the day of sacrifice came, she quietly followed the carriage to the forest and saw the witch candidates who had been driven out of the carriage. One of the ones with her sister was Ye Xia.


    They were driven into the jungle by domestic dogs, and Isabel was worried about her sister, so she ventured into the forbidden forest after everyone left. At that time it was getting dark, and in the deep twilight, she frantically searched for her sister, trying to take her out of the forest, but she was quickly lost there.


    Then, she met a woman.


    It was a woman so beautiful she could not be described in words. In the sunset, she stood quietly under a withered giant tree, with a bloodied corpse sprawled at her feet. She looked at her, and her eyes couldn¡¯t tell whether it was coldness or gentleness, but only by looking at her like this, she had forgotten everything, even forgetting that there was a corpse lying at her feet.


    ¡°You are not the chosen one, why did you come here?¡± The woman asked her, her voice graceful and elegant as a lark singing in the morning light.


    ¡°I came to see my sister,¡± Isabel answered.


    When she heard her answer, the woman showed an expression like a smile, and the slightly curled corners of her mouth turned her from a perfect sculpture into a living person. She said briskly, ¡°It¡¯s not the time for you to come, come back three years later.¡±


    When she heard her words, Isabel seemed to be possessed, and she couldn¡¯t help agreeing. When her consciousness began to blur, she struggled to ask the last question: ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The woman still smiled calmly at her, but gave a shocking answer: ¡°I am the one you will serve.¡±


    After that, she gently touched her finger on her lips and smiled mysteriously and charmingly: ¡°Brave little girl, you have to keep this secret for me.¡±


    Memories came to an abrupt end here, and Isabel woke up in her own bed and lost that memory until she saw Xie Wanwan¡¯s bloody body in the underground palace and finally remembered the scene in the forest three years ago.


    Qi Leren was shocked speechless. After a long time, he murmured: ¡°Is the person you saw the Devil of Fraud?¡±


    Isabel covered her face and said trembling, ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I don¡¯t know who she is.¡±


    Frowning slightly, Qi Leren looked at Ning Zhou and found her deep in thought.


    ¡°If the Devil of Fraud really came to the sacrifice three years ago, it would explain why the last witch died so tragically.¡± Qi Leren recalled the bloody tips on the cliff and the witches he had met, and his mind had vaguely connected things together.


    For some purpose, three years ago, the Devil of Fraud joined the mission disguised as an ordinary person. She was happy to see human strife, deception and despair. She played with the group of poor witches and provoked them to kill each other. He still remembered that Isabel¡¯s sister was locked in an iron coffin and was burned alive by pouring in molten iron. She said, ¡°I didn¡¯t hurt her¡­ She lied to you¡±, and this ¡°she¡± probably referred to the Devil of Fraud. And the witch who created the dreamworld. She twisted in the love that she wanted, and constantly destroyed other witches. I¡¯m afraid it was just a game for the Devil of Fraud.


    But what happened to Ye Xia? She also took part in the sacrifice for three years, and then she survived? On one hand, she may have been the final winner of the last sacrifice, or on the other, she may have just survived. However, she survived, and came back here again three years later, and then died in the hands of Xie Wanwan.


    It was too strange, it didn¡¯t make sense at all. For a woman who had survived the task under the control of the Lord of Fraud, it didn¡¯t make sense for her to have simply died here!


    Qi Leren thought more and more, and looked forward with empty eyes. Ning Zhou stood there, quietly looking at the words on the wall, just a figure which easily attracted his attention.


    Qi Leren suddenly remembered his situation of talking with Ye Xia in the dreamworld. At that time, Ye Xia had said to him¡­


    -Whether you are truly loved or falsely loved, you are happy as long as you are loved. Sometimes love can¡¯t help but help itself. Even if you know it¡¯s impossible, you won¡¯t give up easily.


    Was that ¡°Ye Xia¡± herself? Who was the impossible love she said she was dedicated to?


    In the silence, a familiar voice came.


    ¡°Oh, I finally found you.¡±


    Qi Leren almost jumped up from the ground as this voice came from the door of the temple. A translucent virtual shadow stood there, like the wandering souls everywhere in the underground palace.


    Lu Youxin¡¯s phantom stood there with her arms crossed and looked at them calmly. Her voice mechanically said, ¡°Congratulations on winning the lucky prize. I am a kind-hearted person and this is the final time I¡¯ll do a good deed of the day. I¡¯ll tell you three crucial things, whether you can live and leave here depends on this. ¡±


    ¡°Lu Youxin?¡± Qi Leren¡¯s voice was lost. No matter how you looked at it, the person in front of them was not like a living person, but a spirit.


    Lu Youxin seemed to be unable to hear his voice, and her voice continued stiffly: ¡°First, I am dead. Second, the woman who killed me seems to be Xie Wanwan. Third, she can transfer her soul. She took my body. To sum up, the murderer is Ye Xia.¡±

 CH 58

    Chapter 58: Witchcraft Sacrifice (XXVII)


    Ning Zhou quickly went to Lu Youxin¡¯s phantom and looked at her in shock.


    Lu Youxin¡¯s phantom was like a written program that ran smoothly: ¡°Ning Zhou, or Qi Leren, or you two, the phantom you see now is an ability I got from the swamp tower. It will convey my will to the designated person after I die for a period of time. You are really lucky. In addition, there are several points to remind you that she has been completely strengthened now, and both strength and speed reaction ability are far beyond the scope of normal people. When she suddenly challenged me, I couldn¡¯t resist at all, but it was strange that she spared me. After I took the opportunity to make a sneak attack on her successfully, she and I suddenly exchanged bodies, and then I died because of the injury caused by my own sneak attack. Therefore, I suspect that her soul transfer skills should be greatly limited. To complete the soul transfer, she may have needed to beat me once, and then let me sneak up on her, causing her serious injuries. If you meet her, be careful. ¡±


    ¡°Time¡¯s running out¡­¡± Liu Youxin¡¯s phantom gradually dimmed, like a television with a bad signal, and even the voice became intermittent. ¡°There¡¯s one thing I want to tell you, but forget it, don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t affect your completion of the task, and you¡¯ll know it naturally. Although it¡¯s a pity to die with regret, looking back, life is always like this. Without knowing what page you¡¯re looking at, the book will suddenly close. Therefore, we must live happily at any time.¡±


    Lu Youxin¡¯s phantom smiled in the direction where the two were standing, just like an ordinary pretty girl. The cold voice said mechanically: ¡°Now I am going home, goodbye¡­ I wish you good luck.¡±


    The image became blurred, and finally in the cold air, the door of the hall was empty, as if no one had ever appeared.


    In the silence, Qi Leren watched Ning Zhou standing at the door, slowly clenching her hand at her side, and exerting herself until the veins stood out.


    ¡°Ning Zhou¡­¡± Qi Leren¡¯s heart was heavy. He didn¡¯t know how to comfort Ning Zhou, who had just lost a friend, but if he just watched her fall into grief and blame herself¡­


    He came to Ning Zhou¡¯s side, stretched out his hand and took Ning Zhou¡¯s clenched hand. In the moment they first touched, Ning Zhou¡¯s clenched fist relaxed to hold his hand tightly instead, as if to confirm his presence.


    The warmth from the palm of his hand ran all the way to his core along the nerves and blood vessels, brewing into a sweet affection in his beating heart.


    For a moment, Qi Leren felt that Ning Zhou also liked him, just as he loved her quietly. Perhaps, as the ¡°Ye Xia¡± in the dreamland said, liking a person always showed in one¡¯s eyes. Maybe after leaving this instance world, Ning Zhou, who liked girls, would be disappointed to find that he is not a girl. And then, he¡¯ll become a stranger to him. He was uneasy about it.


    But at least for now, he could hold Ning Zhou¡¯s hand.


    He never wanted to let go, he wanted to share this burden with her.


    ¡°Here she comes.¡± Stopped on the stone, the blackbird suddenly said.


    Accompanied by its words, a figure came up the long corridor outside the temple where candlelight flickered in the distance.


    She didn¡¯t walk fast, she didn¡¯t hurry, and her footsteps approached in a leisurely and undisguised way.


    Ning Zhou¡¯s hand was pressed on the handle of the short knife, and the cold light in her blue eyes was like a killing weapon about to be drawn.


    She stopped, more than ten meters away from the door.


    ¡°It seems that you already know.¡± Ye Xia, who occupied Lu Youxin¡¯s body, looked at Ning Zhou and smiled arrogantly. ¡°Then you should also know that now I have far exceeded the limits of the human body. No matter the speed, strength or agility, ordinary people can no longer resist it. Confronting me is just like a grasshopper in front of a car.¡±


    Ning Zhou didn¡¯t speak, the two blades out of the scabbards were her answer.


    Something was wrong. Why did she say so much nonsense? Why not just kill them? Qi Leren looked at the explosive atmosphere of the two people, and his doubts lingered.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there is still a game of cat and mouse to be finished. After killing you, I¡¯ll continue to serve the Lord, and you will stay in this cold underground palace forever.¡± Ye Xia¡¯s smile was slightly mocking, while walking towards them.


    When she stepped into the temple gate, the system prompt appeared again.


    [ Witchcraft Sacrifice Step 2: Sacrifice in the underground palace, 7/7 witches have been killed so far, and the remaining witch candidates are 4. Unlock the third step: bloody sacrifice. ]


    [ Task background: You have found that every time a witch candidate is killed, all attributes can be greatly improved (it will become invalid after leaving the underground palace), and the survivor of the last sacrifice and the witch who served the Lord of Fraud once again came to this underground palace. Kill her, the altar will appear, and after the sacrifice is completed, all the surviving players will be regarded as completing the task. ]


    [ All surviving witch candidates will be randomly teleported. Teleportation countdown: ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Teleportation complete. ]


    Qi Leren once again appeared in a strange corridor, and the candlelight around him was weak, swaying in the wind passing through the corridor, together with his shadow.


    There were too many thoughts to be sorted out, and it was too easy to be found just standing in the corridor. He simply ducked into the nearest room and closed the door.


    It seems that the task had reached the last part, which was also the most difficult part.


    Have to say, this time the quest difficulty was not something a new person can deal with. He practically spent eight lifetimes¡¯ of his unluckiness to trigger this abnormal quest. The biggest BOSS turned out to be a witch who survived the sacrifice in the task three years ago. As someone who knew everything inside out, she simply struck first, she killed four people in the underground palace, and her ability increased to a level that was difficult to compete with. This increase would not disappear because she changed her body, and it was completely bound to her soul. They now had only three people in total. Even if one of them killed the other two, they couldn¡¯t beat her either.


    The system prompt said that there are only four witch candidates left, that is to say, the Ellie sisters were dead ¡­


    Qi Leren¡¯s mood was even heavier.


    Now they had solved Isabel¡¯s memory and learned that Ye Xia was a witch who survived three years ago, which should be a necessary condition for clearance. If they didn¡¯t know Ye Xia¡¯s true identity, they may not have been as vigilant. Finally, they¡¯d die. But it was probably too late to know now. Ye Xia had already killed four people earlier¡­ Because she was a player and not an NPC controlled by the system, wasn¡¯t she? So as someone who knew the process of the quest, she wouldn¡¯t give them a chance to turn the situation around.


    Could he only wait to die? There must be some way¡­


    [Rain-Day Laundry: At present, the remaining sensing times are 2/3.]


    Qi Leren¡¯s heart pounding, he suddenly took a step back, afraid to cling to the door.


    There was silence all around, and he looked at the closed door as if there was a monster standing outside, a wandering soul wandering in the underground palace, or¡­


    But nothing happened outside.


    Was the sensing wrong? This skill did have the probability of inducing errors. And the underground was so big, he just finished teleporting, so he shouldn¡¯t be so unlucky as to meet Ye Xia already? Even if Ye Xia was really around here, how did she know he was hiding in this room? He didn¡¯t hear the sound of opening the door to check the surrounding rooms. It didn¡¯t make sense. She just stared at the room where he was hiding.


    Holding the last miniature bomb in his palm, a layer of sweat broke out, and Qi Leren stared at the door motionless, until his crazy heartbeat calmed again. He took a deep breath and took the first step stiffly, ready to open the door.


    [Rain-Day Laundry: At present, the remaining sensing times are 1/3.]


    With a crunch, Qi Leren, who suddenly took a step back at the sensing prompt, and watched the sharp blade stab through the fragile wood board, spraying out fine sawdust, and went straight to his throat with overwhelming murder intent.


    Just a moment slower and it would have pierced his throat.


    Just like in the dreamworld, when she almost pierced his head under the bed.


    It turned out it was no coincidence that she could sense where he was.

 CH 59

    Chapter 59: Witchcraft Sacrifice (XXVIII)


    Time seemed to come to an abrupt stop in this murder-filled room, and the person standing outside the door slowly withdrew her knife. The sharp blade grazed the wooden door that was stabbed through, making a shrill screeching sound, like countless iron combs scraping on one¡¯s heart.


    At that moment, Qi Leren hesitated.


    Did he want to fight to the death? If the sneak attack failed when the S/L skill was used now, he would be faced with 100% death. The person outside the door has gained strength far beyond the limit of human beings. Could ordinary methods deal with her?


    Wait a little longer, when the door opens¡­


    ¡°Come out, you can¡¯t escape if you hide again.¡± Lu Youxin¡¯s voice sounded outside the door, but it was in a very different tone, soft and cold, without a trace of malice.


    Qi Leren still did not move.


    ¡°If you¡¯re waiting for me to open the door and then kill both of us with that ridiculous little skill, you¡¯d better give up early,¡± the person outside said coldly, with a mocking smile.


    ? ! !


    How did she know? How could she know?!


    Qi Leren was in chaos, countless thoughts came one after another, and his heart beat like it was about to burst.


    How did Ye Xia know his skills? Had she ever seen it? Where? What time?


    Just as he panicked, the door opened with a click.


    The first light came in through the crack of the door, and her shadow swaying in the candlelight slightly shook with the signal of death. Her back to the candlelight on the wall of the corridor, her face blurred, she was like a silhouette, a symbol, but she really symbolised the coming of death.


    At this moment, Qi Leren lacked the courage to fight to win or die..


    He¡¯d realized that he couldn¡¯t win.


    This was not a desperate escape under the killer¡¯s pursuit, nor was it a desperate fight with the dead witch in the moonlight courtyard. No matter which time, he had known he had the possibility of survival because he still has a card, but this time, facing an opponent who was prepared for his tricks, he finally found his own weakness.


    Save it now, then detonate the bomb? Would she give him this chance? Would she be unable to escape?


    She would stand here and push the door open, telling him what a success was within her grasp!


    The door was completely opened, and Ye Xia stood motionless outside the door. The projection of her arm and long knife was just like a sickle of death, which hooked at her feet. Qi Leren forgot to breathe, stared at her with a mouthful of anger, and his limbs seemed paralyzed.


    ¡°There is one thing I¡¯m very curious about,¡± Ye Xia asked lightly.


    ¡°¡­What is it?¡± Qi Leren¡¯s voice had a subtle tremor, so he tried to talk to Ye Xia calmly.


    ¡°How did you find out that I am not Lu Youxin? I personally think I didn¡¯t reveal any flaws.¡± Ye Xia looked into his eyes and raised her own questions slowly.


    ¡°Because Isabel saw you three years ago, but she lost that memory until she remembered it just now. So we judged that you couldn¡¯t have died a death as simple as that.¡± Qi Leren subconsciously concealed Lu Youxin¡¯s last words.


    ¡°Saw me? Oh, you mean that you saw the body three years ago. She was really good, sensitive, strong and malleable. I was very satisfied with her at one time. My only dissatisfaction is that it was too ugly.¡± Ye Xia¡¯s mouth rolled up a subtle arc. ¡°Xie Wanwan¡¯s body is also good, Lu Youxin¡¯s is better, but what makes me most excited is Ning Zhou¡¯s body.¡±


    Qi Leren suddenly opened his eyes wide.


    ¡°Strength, agility, speed, reflex nerves are impeccable, I can¡¯t even pick the slightest flaw in her appearance. That¡¯s the body I want! Perfect! With such a body, she will definitely like me more, definitely!¡± Ye Xia¡¯s mood suddenly became excited, and her expression was full of awe-inspiring fanaticism.


    ¡°If I become as beautiful as her, she will definitely notice me. I don¡¯t want to be a worm crawling at her feet, so I begged her to look at me again, but she turned a blind eye. For three years, she never came. Even if I follow her will and return to this underground palace, she will never appear again. Even so, I won¡¯t let anyone take my place! Only I can serve her, only I can! ¡±


    Ye Xia slowly raised the knife in his hand and showed a cold smile to Qi Leren: ¡°Goodbye¡­¡±


    The blade refracted the flickering candlelight, and Qi Leren, who was holding a miniature bomb, finally relented, even though he knew it was impossible to win, he wasn¡¯t resigned to just let her kill him like this!


    In the moment of life and death, a silver flashing arrow shot from a distance, hitting the blade with a sonorous sound. The next second, the arrow exploded, and the shock wave made Qi Leren stumble and fall to the ground, surrounded by smoke. He struggled to climb outside the door, and the cold feeling spread from the ground. Qi Leren was startled to think that Ye Xia had the ability to freeze, and the terrible cold had already formed a thin layer of frost on his hand.


    The frozen limbs were dull and stiff, and he couldn¡¯t stand up at all. In the thick smoke, two figures could be faintly seen intertwining at an alarming rate, touching each other once again, and their weapons collided with each other and made a shrill sound, accompanied by dazzling light.


    There came the sound of a blade piercing flesh. Ning Zhou snorted with frustration, and retreated to Qi Leren¡¯s side in a flash, and the wound on her arm seeped out blood that spilled all over the floor. Her blackbird also flew out of the thick fog, flapping its wings and stopping at Qi Leren¡¯s feet.


    ¡°The Vatican¡¯s dog? The Holy City has fallen into the hands of demons, and you¡¯re not dead yet? It¡¯s really annoying.¡± Ye Xia stepped out from the smoke and looked at Ning Zhou calmly. ¡°Is it necessary to struggle? I admit that you¡¯re very good, but now you can¡¯t be my opponent unless you find four witches to kill one by one. ¡±


    Ning Zhou¡¯s eyes were cold, and she rushed up without hesitation, heedless of her injury. The two short knives were emitting dazzling silver light, just like two flying rainbows. Ye Xia stepped back half a step, holding the long knife, her short knife violently colliding, and the force of the meeting of weapons lifted Ning Zhou up. She turned her body in the air strangely and squatted on the ground. The impact even took her to slide out a few meters before stopping, dragging a long bloody mark on the ground.


    Terrible, this kind of power, human beings were incapable of contending against it.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just obediently throw in the towel? I don¡¯t want to ruin your body. Forget it, I¡¯ll get rid of this little one first.¡± Ye Xia seemed to sigh helplessly, and the cold line of sight turned to Qi Leren.


    Qi Leren struggled to stand up with his hands and knees frostbitten, but he still stood. Even if he died, he would die while standing.


    Ye Xia smiled and raised a knife to kill him. From the corner of his eye, Qi Leren saw Ning Zhou pull out a chain from her chest and she flung it at his feet. A crisp sound came into Qi Leren¡¯s ears at this moment, and everything around him was blurred. The killer Ye Xia, the blackbird at his feet, and Ning Zhou standing in the distance. Everything seemed to be distorted in the time tunnel.


    The holy light rose from his feet, and engulfed everything in holy white.


    The sound of pious singing descended from the sky, and Qi Leren was bathed in pure white. He was in a magnificent temple, and countless pilgrims in white sacrificial clothing prayed piously with songs to the huge cross in front of him. Every one of them was vague and unreal, so he could see at a glance that they weren¡¯t living creatures.


    Where was this?


    He looked in all directions in a panic and saw Ning Zhou nearby, so he was relieved.


    Under the giant cross, a blonde woman wearing a white sacrificial dress prayed to God, as if she felt their arrival. She opened her eyes, and her blue eyes were almost identical to Ning Zhou¡¯s.


    She smiled at them and closed her eyes again to continue praying. The prayer from her mouth seemed to bring a holy magic, which bathed the temple in incredible power and healed people¡¯s souls.


    ¡°Where is this place?¡± Qi Leren asked blankly.


    The blackbird resting on Ning Zhou¡¯s shoulder said: ¡°¡­The Barrier of the Holy Spirit can maintain absolute defense for five minutes, remove all negative influences, and heal all wounds.¡±


    Qi Leren was shocked to see Ning Zhou¡¯s arm. The arm cut by Ye Xia was healing at the speed visible to the naked eye, and even his own wounds disappeared quickly.


    It was¡­ It was amazing. But it only lasted five minutes?


    In Five minutes, they still would have to face death.


    Ning Zhou stood in front of him, looked at him quietly for a while, and then lowered her eyes. The black bird on her shoulder said, ¡°When the barrier is broken, you should run as far away as possible.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± Qi Leren asked in a hurry.


    ¡°Stay.¡±


    ¡°No, she can¡¯t be defeated now, and you¡¯ll die if you stay!¡± Qi Leren guaranteed.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    The arduous situation was drenched in the ethereal holy light, and Ning Zhou¡¯s originally excessively bright facial features were stained with a layer of shadow. Her beautiful blue eyes looked into Qi Leren¡¯s and didn¡¯t speak.


    Qi Leren took a deep breath, covered his forehead and thought: ¡°There must be a way. I don¡¯t believe this is a deadlock situation. There must be a way. Ning Zhou, listen, don¡¯t fight with her stupidly. I can¡¯t live if you die. I would rather die than let you die!¡±


    The current situation was that Ye Xia had killed four witch candidates, and even if Ning Zhou killed him and Isabel now, it was impossible to surpass her strength, which was an absolute difference in quantity. The system also said that ¡°every time a witch candidate is killed, all attributes can be greatly improved¡± ¡­Every time?


    Qi Leren¡¯s eyes lit up. It said every time, not every one?


    At this moment, he was like a hungry and tired traveler walking alone in infinite darkness. Suddenly, he saw the lights swaying in the night ahead, which was the light of life, the flame of hope, and the vitality in despair.


    ¡°Ning Zhou, I have a way, maybe we can all live.¡± Qi Leren excitedly looked at Ning Zhou.


    The singing in the Barrier of the Holy Spirit became more and more ethereal, and countless gold and silver spots were flying in the void, entwining the two people.


    Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help but smile: ¡°It¡¯s very simple: kill me.¡±

 CH 60

    Chapter 60: Witchcraft Sacrifice (XXIX)


    ¡°It¡¯s very simple: kill me.¡± With excitement, Qi Leren told Ning Zhou their only chance to live.


    In the holy barrier, time seemed to fall into the abyss slowly. When Qi Leren saw Ning Zhou standing in front of him, she suddenly opened her eyes wide as if she had heard something unbelievable.


    ¡°Listen to me.¡± Excited Qi Leren took Ning Zhou¡¯s hand and said, ¡°The system said, ¡®every time a witch candidate is killed, all attributes can be greatly improved.¡¯ See clearly, it¡¯s every time, not every one. This may be the chance it leaves us. My S/L skill can be loaded three times in a row. If you kill me, you can get three strength increases, which is very close to Ye Xia¡¯s!¡±


    The hand was suddenly flung away by Ning Zhou, and Qi Leren looked at her in astonishment. Her beautiful blue eyes filled with anger, and the complicated look stung Qi Leren hard and woke him up.


    He had become accustomed to using the pain of death in exchange for the possibility of living. He had repeatedly loaded the file again and again, wearing away the dignity of death itself, and he had even become numb to the pain. He used it as a means to achieve an end, used it rashly, relied on it, and forgot the possible risks intentionally or unintentionally. So what if you died a thousand times or ten thousand times as long as you lived in the end?


    He had been regarding it as an ordinary skill for saving and loading points, but for Ning Zhou, it was most definitely murder to stab her dagger into her companion¡¯s chest, and to let herself live with her companion¡¯s death again and again. That kind of mental torture was far more terrible than physical pain.


    What kind of feelings did Ning Zhou have? Qi Leren, who was cold all over, did not dare to think about it.


    If someone must bear this responsibility, let him be that person, and he must protect her! Qi Leren said to himself.


    ¡°Ning Zhou, you listen, I¡¯ll let you kill me, not to let you live, but to let us all live. When I use S/L skills, I basically don¡¯t feel pain, ¡± Qi Leren lied without hesitation. ¡°If we don¡¯t do this, we will both die here. Looking at it from another angle, if you had such skills now, you would definitely let me do it, right? I want to live and I want you to live.


    "Come on, I¡¯ve saved the file, only half a minute.¡± Qi Leren saved the file, stood tall and waited for the first time in his life, perhaps the only time, when he looked forward to death.


    Ning Zhou looked at him quietly, just like countless times before when had she looked at him, so quiet and beautiful, but this time, her calm was full of sadness and struggle, and the knife in her hand was shaking. Even when her arm was injured, her hand holding the knife was as steady as a rock, but this time, her hand was shaking.


    She stepped forward, her warm left hand covered Qi Leren¡¯s eyes.


    At present, it was dark, and Qi Leren blinked. Eyelashes swept over Ning Zhou¡¯s palm, which brought strange warmth. He felt that Ning Zhou was very close to him, so close that there was no distance.


    He suddenly got a little scared. In the dark, he waited for the arrival of the knife. He hoped that the knife would be faster, at least faster than the healing speed in the Barrier of the Holy Spirit. The countdown had reached ten¡­ nine¡­ eight¡­ He silently read the numbers until there was a warm and soft touch on his lips, a gentle and sudden kiss just landing on his lips.


    Qi Leren was so shocked and surprised that he tried back up, but his body was firmly held. The next moment, a chill pierced his heart from behind.


    The knife was so fast and accurate that he woke up again before he could feel the pain.


    He was still standing here, and Ning Zhou was still standing there. She looked calm and didn¡¯t explain the kiss. She just said to him with her mouth: Close your eyes.


    Qi Leren closed his eyes.


    There seemed to be a warmth on his lips that didn¡¯t belong to him. His heart beat fast, but his soul was calm. If when he first saw Ning Zhou, his love for her was a longing for the distant goddess, then at this moment, he could finally stand side by side with her. He wanted to protect her, even if his strength was so small, but he still wanted to protect her at all costs.


    Even if he really had to pay with his life.


    He was willing.


    This time, he was prepared. When the blade passed through his chest and brought cold death, he flashed countless pictures in his mind and finally settled in front of the jungle bonfire. Ning Zhou jumped down from the tree and raised her face to look at him¡­


    At that moment, the word that had flashed in Qi Leren¡¯s was fate.


    This mysterious premonition, which transcended all rationality and abandoned all logic, told him that this was the person he had been waiting for.


    After loading the file for the second time, the Qi Leren was limp and staggered for half a step, forgetting to close his eyes ¨C Ning Zhou stood in front of him and looked at him without any unnecessary expression. Cold, just like when they first met.


    However, her quiet blue eyes shed tears quietly and silently.


    Tears slipped down her cheeks and splashed on her hand holding the knife. She lowered her eyes and watched the water slip from the back of her hand. Her eyes flashed a trace of astonishment. She hadn¡¯t noticed she was crying.


    Ning Zhou, bathed in hymns and soaked in dreamy fuzzy light and shadow, never feared and never retreated. Ning Zhou who was always moving forward, Ning Zhou who was crying silent tears for him, was so beautiful that it hurt.


    His heart seemed to have been cut with a hole that could not be filled. Qi Leren fought against his weak body to walk to Ning Zhou, and summoned the courage to kiss her face. The salty tears seemed to burn his soul, and fermented his adoration and admiration into love.


    He was so sure, so sure, that they were in love at this moment. There was no need for words to express it, just looking at each other was perfect.


    The ethereal hymn became more and more distant and blurred, the white holy light began to fade, the sky darkened, the earth shook, the colorful church dome, the complicated holy frescoes, and the exquisite sculptures began to peel off one by one, as if it was all a letter lit by flames, and sparks of fire rolled up the black edge, eating away the white paper bit by bit.


    The barrier¡¯s time was running out.


    ¡°Do it.¡± Qi Leren said weakly but firmly, fearless.


    Ning Zhou seemed to turn suddenly crazy, throwing her short knife to the ground. In the crisp sound of metal falling to the ground, she covered her face, and the suppressed cries flowed out of her fingers. This torture made her rationally falter far more terribly than death did. She couldn¡¯t do it anymore. She couldn¡¯t do it again.


    ¡°One more time, one last time.¡± Qi Leren struggled to pick up the knife on the ground, stuffed it into Ning Zhou¡¯s hand, and pointed it at his chest. He already had no fear in saying this sentence, even if with this moment again and again, death left him in so much pain that he was about to collapse, he still tried to smile at her, he always wanted to show her the best of himself.


    The barrier was collapsing, stripping away the appearance of holiness, revealing the dark reality ¨C countless ferocious and horrible demons and monsters were eyeing them up, breaking through the enchantment and entering the church at any time, causing a cruel massacre. This was not a peaceful and serene world, but a nightmare world dominated by demons and shrouded in fog and death.


    ¡°Ning Zhou¡­..¡± Qi Leren called out her name in a low voice, facing Ning Zhou¡¯s quiet teary eyes, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to make you so miserable. I know I¡¯m useless, but¡­ I also want to protect you¡­¡±


    The short knife pierced his heart again. This time, Qi Leren stood up hard, and the blade against his chest pierced the skin and went straight through his beating heart. He didn¡¯t feel any more pain or cold. When he looked at Ning Zhou, he was willing to give wholeheartedly, even if it was his life, even if he really died here, he wouldn¡¯t regret it.


    He had never met such a person, but he was willing to do his best for her despite the short time they¡¯d known each other.


    She deserved it. She deserved everything.


    The file loaded three consecutive times successfully. Qi Leren stood still, the last of his strength drained. He didn¡¯t dare to move an inch, because he would fall if he moved even a little.


    The barrier collapsed completely.


    At the last moment, Qi Leren saw the blonde woman standing under the cross praying. Her blue eyes were exactly the same as Ning Zhou¡¯s, and Ning Zhou looked at them from a distance and was silent. She smiled at them, which was mixed with sadness, thoughts, pity and helplessness, and looked extremely complicated.


    Like a broken mirror, the holy church and the overwhelming demons formed a strange picture, which was broken and peeling off layer by layer, and finally became numerous black and white light spots dispersing.


    In this collapsed barrier, everything was disintegrating in vain. Only Ning Zhou standing in front of him was alive. They were staring at each other quietly, as if it was their only hope and salvation.


    He had many, many words to tell Ning Zhou. When it was over, he had to say it. He wanted to tell her loudly in front of everyone in the warm sunshine¡­


    The enchantment dissipated completely, and they were still in the underground palace. Ye Xia stood in the empty corridor, waiting for them calmly.


    ¡°As long as I kill you, it¡¯s all over. Are you ready?¡± She asked.


    With a clear and crisp sound, Ning Zhou¡¯s pendant fell to the ground. She didn¡¯t go to pick it up, neither did she look back. She just held her knife, stepping towards Ye Xia.


    This was her back: never afraid, never retreating, and always walking forward.

 CH 61

    Chapter 61: Witchcraft Sacrifice (XXX)


    There was a loud roar, and the whole underground palace shook. Originally, because Qi Leren collapsed from the continuous loading, he sat down on the ground with soft legs. The pendant that Ning Zhou dropped was by his hand. He struggled to command his arm to pick up the pendant and climbed to the corner and sat down.


    Not far away the situation had heated up, and the frost had spread to his feet at a terrifying speed, covering the surrounding walls and ground with a layer of frost and snow, while the light on Ning Zhou¡¯s short knife was waving into a silvery satin at an extremely fast speed, and the wall where it passed was cracked and destroyed. Among the dust and ashes, Qi Leren suddenly saw the illusion of a huge blazing angel, holy and majestic, just like when they were in the underground lake¡­


    This time, it was a close battle. As for whether they could win¡­ Qi Leren suddenly felt relief.


    If they lose, just bury him here quietly, and let him slumber with Ning Zhou in this quiet underground palace.


    The metal pendant held in his hand exuded coolness, and Qi Leren brought it before his eyes. He remembered that it was this pendant that released the Barrier of the Holy Spirit and gave the two of them time to breathe.


    The round pendant had been broken, and it was opened with a slight movement of his finger, revealing a small photo of the woman with dazzling blonde hair and blue eyes almost identical to Ning Zhou.


    Was it her? The blonde woman praying under the cross in the Barrier of the Holy Spirit, who was she?


    Judging from their looks, she was definitely related to Ning Zhou. Was it her sister? But this looked like an NPC, didn¡¯t it ¡­


    His body was getting colder and colder, and tired. He had never loaded the file three times in a row. Qi Leren still underestimated the overdraft of using this skill continuously. His head was getting heavier and more painful, and he could no longer think, slipping in and out of consciousness.


    The battle in the distance became more and more fierce, and the whole underground palace seemed to be destroyed. There was constantly fine dust and gravel falling from overhead. Qi Leren barely raised his head and opened his eyes. The stone dome overhead had cracked, and more fragments fell down, the dust floating all around.


    Qi Leren knew he should avoid it, but he couldn¡¯t move at all.


    The head of the flagstone was crumbling, with a ferocious shattering, shocking crack running more and more deeply, soon to hit him.


    [Rain-Day Laundry: At present, the remaining sensing frequency is 0/3, and the cooling countdown is 23:59:59.]


    Move quickly! Move!


    Qi Leren wanted to scramble away a little, even if it was just a little, just to avoid the life-threatening one¡­


    But don¡¯t even talk about moving his limbs, even blinking seemed to burn away his last strength.


    His line of sight became blurred, and the voices became distant. He stared at the slate above his head that was like a slow sinking ship, falling a little into the abyss of death. There was another loud noise in the distance, and the overburdened joint finally broke completely. The slate flipped and fell from over his head, about to hit the immobilized Qi Leren.


    Sometimes, sudden death is so unreasonable¡­ Qi Leren smiled bitterly in his heart and closed his eyes.


    One second, two seconds, three seconds¡­ The expected pain did not come. Qi Leren opened his eyes slightly, and his sight was blurred. He could only faintly see two white figures, holding hands and standing in front of him.


    The slate that almost took his life was lifted into the air by incredible power, and was driven to float slowly to the nearby place, and then fell to the ground with a crash.


    What was this¡­ What was going on?


    Qi Leren blinked hard, trying to see more clearly. The white figures holding hands turned their heads and their faces were blurred like a fog. But Qi Leren just felt that they smiled at him. Then, hand in hand, they disappeared in front of his eyes.


    ¡°Ellie, Aisha¡­¡± Qi Leren silently read out their names. In fact, he hadn¡¯t done anything for these sad sisters, but they still remembered his insignificant help after their deaths.


    Thank you, thank you.


    Darkness and tiredness hung over him, and Qi Leren held the pendant, with the farther and farther sound of struggle in his ears, and his consciousness sank into the barren abyss.


    In his lethargy, Qi Leren felt as if he was lying on a small boat, and the surroundings were calm. Only slight waves brought about the shaking of the hull, and the regular rocking made his consciousness more lazy, and he wandered in the dream freely without scruple. He felt as if he had forgotten something important.


    What was it¡­


    It seemed that¡­ it was an important person.


    Ning Zhou!


    Qi Leren woke up from a trance, and for a moment he thought he had been lying in the grave for hundreds of years, so tired and cold.


    Ning Zhou was cradling him, her long hair messy, and a few strands of hair even grazing gently on his cheek, causing slight itching. She looked down at him with gentle eyes.


    ¡°Ning Zhou?¡± Qi Leren called out her name, and his voice was hoarse as if he had not spoken for several years.


    ¡°Are you awake? How are you?¡± Isabel¡¯s voice sounded from the other side, and Qi Leren turned to look at her with difficulty. She looked at him with some trepidation and finally breathed a sigh of relief when he woke up. ¡°You don¡¯t know how scary Ning Zhou¡¯s expression was when she saw that the corridor had collapsed just now. Fortunately, after digging through the stones, she found you safe and sound, which is really great.¡±


    Qi Leren blinked his dry eyes and looked at Ning Zhou. Some of her embarrassment appeared on her face, and her earlobes were slightly red.


    His tired body was suddenly injected with an incredible force, Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help laughing, and his smile was a bit silly.


    ¡°We won?¡± He asked confidently.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Ning Zhou hummed gently. After the end of the battle, she could finally stop worrying about the influence of skills and start talking.


    The happiness of the surviving swept through Qi Leren¡¯s whole body. He came down from Ning Zhou¡¯s arms. His legs were still a little weak, he didn¡¯t even have the strength to walk. With the help of Ning Zhou, he walked forward step by step.


    The front was a mess, full of collapsed stone and destroyed sculptures. At the end of the corridor in the distance, it was supposed to be a closed dead end, but now it had become a huge altar. It stood tall there, and there were two rows of stone carvings lined up on the way to it. Each one was a young girl, and their appearance was fixed in their last moment before death.


    The relaxed mood suddenly disappeared, especially when he saw the stone carving of the Ellie sisters ¨C he didn¡¯t even know where the sisters had died in the underground palace.


    ¡°If we finish the sacrifice, we can finish the quest right? Who will do it?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    Ning Zhou shook er head, and her deep and sweet voice was like a graceful cello: ¡°I will not give in to the devil.¡±


    Qi Leren recalled the ethereal and holy sanctuary in the Barrier of the Holy Spirit, and vaguely felt that Ning Zhou should be a person of great adventure and should belong to the Vatican.


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t I try¡­¡± Qi Leren decided to try whether S/L skills could fool the system.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Isabel stood up. She looked sad but determined. ¡°Now I can¡¯t go back to the village. None of the girls who were sent as sacrifices have ever returned. If I go back, they¡¯ll definitely send me back. After all, I¡¯m already a demon¡¯s witch in their eyes.


    "And¡­ if I serve the devil and get strength, maybe I can see my sister again¡­ I want to see her again.


    "Thank you, if it weren¡¯t for you, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯d be dead now, not to mention if I would have found my memories from that year, thank you.¡± Isabel smiled and calmly said goodbye to them.


    ¡°Have you considered it clearly?¡± Qi Leren asked her.


    Isabel nodded: ¡°Serving the devil may not be as bad as I thought. If I become stronger, I can protect the people I want to protect, my parents, my relatives and my friends. I don¡¯t want to see anyone die again¡­ I want to give it a try anyway.¡±


    Isabel¡¯s mind has been made up, and Qi Leren has not said anything. If he were Isabel now, he would probably make the same decision. In this Nightmare World, ordinary human beings were too weak. If there was a chance to change their destiny, even if they became demons, there would be countless people willing to try.


    ¡°Good luck to you,¡± Qi Leren blessed her.


    The silent Ning Zhou also said: ¡°Remember your heart.¡±


    Isabel¡¯s expression froze slightly, and then she smiled: ¡°My heart has never changed.¡±


    As Isabel stepped onto the altar step by step, a light beam rose from the top of the altar, and an illusory figure could be faintly seen in the light. Ning Zhou¡¯s expression suddenly became solemn and her hand pressed on the handle of her knife.


    Who was that? The Devil of Fraud?


    Isabel had come to the front of the light beam, and though the figure shrouded in light and looked illusory, she easily associated her with the beautiful woman from three years ago.


    The figure gave an inaudible chuckle, and the words were full of bewitching power: ¡°Good girl, come to me.¡±


    Isabel¡¯s face showed a trace of fanaticism. She looked at the beautiful image with longing, and murmured like one bewitched: ¡°I can finally come to you¡­ Although I¡¯m not the most beautiful and powerful one, I still won.¡±


    She walked into the beam and never looked back.


    Almost at the same time, the system prompt appeared.


    [ Player Qi Leren completed the witch sacrifice task. Mission completion is 50%. ]


    [ Reward for survival days is 30 days, and the coefficient of task completion is 1.5 times. Completed hidden task: Dusty Past. Reward for survival days is 10 days. Total reward for survival days is 55 days. ]


    [ Data synchronization countdown, ten, nine¡­]


    ¡°Ning Zhou, when we¡¯re back in the Village of Dusk, let¡¯s meet!¡± Time was short, and Qi Leren spoke quickly.


    Ning Zhou¡¯s figure has been wrapped in the transmition beam, together with the blackbird on her shoulder: ¡°Mm.¡±


    Qi Leren laughed happily: ¡°The steel bridge on Sunset Island.¡±


    ¡°OK.¡±


    [ ¡­ Three, two, one, synchronization completion. ]


    The teleportation was completed, which was different from the first time he came to the Village of Dusk. This time, Qi Leren was directly sent back to his home on Sunset Island.


    During the mission in the main world, although his survival days would be frozen, other people¡¯s time was moving. Including the time he took to go to Makah Village, he had actually left the Village of Dusk for more than a week, and a thin layer of dust had formed in his home.


    Qi Leren immediately rushed to the bathroom, reflecting his familiar face in the mirror. Not the girl in the quest, but himself.


    He suddenly became uneasy. Would Ning Zhou be disappointed when he saw the real him? Could she accept it?


    This uncertainty made Qi Leren anxious. After washing his face, he smoothed his hair nervously, and even fussed over a small section of cocked hair.


    Tidying up his clothes and taking a deep breath, Qi Leren stood in the entryway and opened the door.


    The setting sun suddenly came into view, and the familiar air with oil and the salty sea breeze entered his nose, bringing a familiar taste and a strange longing.


    He began to walk to the steel bridge.


    At the twilit seaside, seagulls hunted in groups along the coast, making a loud singing sound.


    The sea breeze blew his hair tips and his heart.


    Qi Leren felt uneasy and happy, thinking about all kinds of things Ning Zhou had done in the quest. The hidden happiness made him eager to share it with someone. After meeting Ning Zhou, he would have to talk to Dr. Lu and tell him that he was leaving the club!


    With every step, the excitement was unbearable. Qi Leren¡¯s pace became faster and faster, and more and more urgent.


    Every point and every drop of memory was sweet, even if it was that he was scared and flustered, even wandering on the edge of life and death, but everything was worth it, because in the end he got Ning Zhou¡¯s heart.


    Recalling Ning Zhou¡¯s tears and kisses in the Barrier of the Holy Spirit, Qi Leren blushed unconsciously.


    At that time, he had forgotten to feel it at all, but it didn¡¯t matter. There must be a chance in the future¡­


    Without realizing, he had changed from fast walking to trotting, and finally he simply ran. The Sunset Island shrouded by the sunset and the shadows stretched by the setting sun retreated rapidly in his field of vision, and it was difficult for him to control this excitement as he ran towards his destination.


    The steel bridge was just around the corner, and Qi Leren finally stopped, panting and scrambling to tidy up his clothes and hair, surrounded by people coming and going, and no one noticed that he was so nervous that he was about to explode in this lively place.


    Ning Zhou probably hasn¡¯t come yet, right? Qi Leren said to himself, looking anxiously in all directions, looking for Ning Zhou.


    Sure enough, she hadn¡¯t come yet.


    Qi Leren couldn¡¯t be said to be glad or sad. He raised his foot and walked from this end of the steel bridge to the highest point of the arch. He wanted to stand there and find Ning Zhou first.


    At the top of the bridge, a tall man in a black trenchcoat stood there with his arms crossed, his back turned to him, as if he were looking out at the estuary connected by the river.


    Qi Leren stood on the other side. The trenchcoat on the man looked very similar to the coat lent to him by Ning Zhou, which made Qi Leren slightly uncomfortable, and he couldn¡¯t help but look at the man¡¯s back.


    People came and went from one end of the bridge to the other, some talking and laughing, and some alone. This ordinary secular picture finally made Qi Leren feel like he was living in reality, instead of being bound by the cold and horrible underground palace like those dead witches.


    Ning Zhou would come soon. How would he greet her? As he waited, Qi Leren had already thought about the scene when they met, until¡­


    The sound of flapping wings sounded in his ear. Qi Leren looked up and saw the familiar big blackbird falling from the sky. It landed on his shoulder and shouted to him cheerfully: ¡°The delicious food, the delicious food!¡±


    There it is! The Goddess is here!


    Qi Leren ignored the bird and looked nervously in all directions.


    At the moment he looked up, the man in the black trenchcoat turned his body and looked at him in amazement.


    Those familiar blue eyes suddenly crashed into Qi Leren¡¯s.


    Sharp outline, handsome face, and blue eyes that he would never forget until he died¡­


    Qi Leren just looked at him, with the comings and goings of people laughing and passing between them, together in the happy mood. In this moment, all kinds of strange things he ignored in the quest emerged one by one, mocking him mercilessly.


    At this moment, the two people on the verge of collapse asked the same question in astonishment: ¡°You¡¯re a man?¡±

 CH 62

    Chapter 62: Seed of Slaughter (I)


    ¡°Then what?¡± Dr. Lu sat cross-legged on the bed and asked excitedly.


    Sitting in a chair and looking at the ceiling, Qi Leren said: ¡°Then the two of us were very awkward. I tried to greet him with a few words, but my brain had completely gone on strike. Fortunately, he looked more broken up than me. His gaze as he looked at the water made me think he was going to jump several times.¡±


    ¡°The cold, introverted pure goddess¡­ Oh no, male god, thought he met his favorite soft girl, who risked her life for him, and he fell in love, and he felt that he was going to leave the club. As a result, he found out that he was a man when they met. It¡¯s already polite that he didn¡¯t have a rectal prolapse¡­ Ahem, didn¡¯t chop you down* on the spot. After all, you deceived the heart of a pure boy.¡± Dr. Lu didn¡¯t hold back from ridiculing him.


    {*E/N: ¡°chop¡± (¿³, kan3) is similar in pronunciation to ¡°rectal prolapse¡± (¸Ø, gang1)}


    ¡°How was I to know! He also lied to me! Ah, ah, ah, ah, my goddess! Return my goddess and return my first love! ¡± Qi Leren suddenly got mad again, grabbed Dr. Lu¡¯s pillow and smashed it on the bed. Then he crawled into the bed and thought about life like a corpse.


    ¡°What happened with him after that?¡± Dr. Lu asked, stifling his laughter.


    ¡°After, we said goodbye to each other. Anyway, we definitely won¡¯t meet again in the future. It¡¯s too embarrassing and shameful. This is a hundred times worse than misunderstanding each other¡¯s gender online!¡± Qi Leren recalled all kinds of events, and the heart-throbbingly sweet and affectionate memories all turned into the merciless ridicule of fate. He didn¡¯t even have the courage to think about it again from beginning to end, restraining himself from thinking about Ning Zhou.


    Maybe after a long time, he would look at this experience calmly, and then they could still be friends, but at least for now, he and Ning Zhou couldn¡¯t accept it.


    ¡°Hey, haven¡¯t you ever thought about trying it out with Ning Zhou? After all, you also went through life and death in the quest. It is a romantic and touching story if you ignore that he¡¯s the wrong gender. You¡¯re also someone educated in the new century. Can¡¯t you take a lighter view?¡± Dr Lu asked with a little regret.


    ¡°¡­I am a straight man, thank you. And Ning Zhou looks straighter than me. Do you think that people¡¯s sexual orientation can be bent as easily as plasticine?¡± Qi Leren shot him a side glance.


    Dr. Lu even thought about it seriously: ¡°It¡¯s not impossible. If it were me, I would seriously consider it.¡±


    ¡°¡­Just because you¡¯re a straight Schrodinger, don¡¯t compare us,¡± Qi Leren said coldly.


    ¡°But I really think you¡¯ve had quite a fated encounter, so it¡¯s a pity to go your separate ways. Well¡­ if you feel fear towards male-on-male activities, I can give you a rectal exam, so that you can experience some special life experience. My skill is okay. Maybe you¡¯ll feel very good after trying it, and you¡¯ll be able to accept male-on-male activity.¡± Dr. Lu touched his chin and made a serious proposal.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡± Doctors sure are terrifying. Qi Leren looked at the serious Dr. Lu, and felt that his rather short stature had suddenly become overbearing and sinister.


    "Are you sure you don¡¯t want to try?¡± Dr. Lu asked sincerely.


    ¡°Lu, Cang, Shu!¡± Qi Leren called his name word by word.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me Lu Cangshu, call me Dr. Lu, or call me Director Lu!¡± Dr. Lu said gravely.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be a director at your young age.¡± Qi Leren was surprised.


    Dr. Lu waved his hand: ¡°No, this is a beautiful expectation for the future. If you must call me Dean Lu, I have no problem with that either¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    After such an interjection, Qi Leren¡¯s tattered mood was finally a little better. On the way to Dr. Lu¡¯s house he had almost walked into walls several times, and only finally felt a little calmer now after ranting at his friend. He no longer felt that the sky was falling and the sun and the moon were dark.


    ¡°How are you doing these days? You did some quests already right? ¡± Qi Leren asked about Dr. Lu.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m a doctor. Healers are popular everywhere. Didn¡¯t you see the sign downstairs when you came? By now I¡¯m a famous doctor around here. A few days ago, I went to an instance world with several new teammates. Although half of them unfortunately died, I was lucky. I managed to get a few survival days. I am going to try to find a simple novice instance world in a few days. I don¡¯t want to be fooled by another group of people and go to a dangerous instance world,¡± Dr Lu spoke with lingering fears.


    ¡°Where is Xue Yingying?¡± Qi Leren asked again.


    ¡°She seems to have found a good team and rarely contacts me now,¡± Dr. Lu said.


    Although they come from the same novice village, they may not always be together in the Nightmare World. Qi Leren understands this truth, but he still feels a little sad. Players who live here are already far away from their relatives and friends. As one survived for longer, even teammates around them would die one by one, and they¡¯d constantly meet new teammates, constantly lose old ones, and even lose themselves in the end.


    This feeling was really lonely.


    Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help but think of Ning Zhou again. His character of being quiet and solitary was probably lonelier than the average person¡­ Recalling his initial coldness to gentleness later in the quest¡­ Forget it, what else did he want to do with this? The Nightmare World was so big that they may not meet again in the future. For some reason, Qi Leren felt his chest tighten.


    A few hours ago, he was immersed in joy and longing to meet the destined person, but in the end, it was a terrible farce.


    He still remembered that after everything was over, they had said goodbye on the steel bridge in the sunset.


    He goes one way, while he goes the other.


    Qi Leren thought that he would not look back, but when the gentle sunset shone on his face and the gentle evening breeze tousled his hair, memories returned to his mind like the rising and falling tide, and he couldn¡¯t help but stop and look back¨C


    He saw his back. He continued on and no longer stopped for him.


    He tried to find the shadow of ¡°her¡± in that back, but all he found was foreignness.


    Unspeakable melancholy appeared in his heart, and he lowered his eyes and walked forward alone.


    In the middle of the steel bridge, a couple had a marriage proposal, and the crowds surge up and shout ¡°marry him¡±, Qi Leren, who had gone away, looked back again, and his eyes crossed the vast sea of people. He saw Ning Zhou at the other end of the bridge, who had also been attracted by this voice, and stopped to look back.


    At such a long distance, he couldn¡¯t see his expression clearly, and even his figure was blurred. However, when this person came and went, he seemed to see ¡°her¡± again, so familiar, but so far away.


    At that moment, his eyes were wet.


    The lively crowd was still shouting ¡°marry him¡±, and the sweet girl put on her ring and threw herself into her boyfriend¡¯s arms with a smile. The two kissed in the sunset, arousing cheers and applause.


    Qi Leren looked back with loneliness and left the steel bridge.


    On the way back from Dr. Lu¡¯s home, Qi Leren was still haunted by this lost mood. Under the setting sun that never fell all the year round, he was in a melancholy mood and walked all the way to the coast where, before he knew it, he found Chen Baiqi.


    Seagulls circled on the coast in twos and threes, sometimes making loud noises. Qi Leren walked all the way against the sea breeze, and saw Chen Baiqi smoking in the distance. This time, her sister wasn¡¯t picking up shells on the beach, but rather she was alone, with a cigarette between her fingers, watching the sunset quietly.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s you. It seems that you survived, not bad.¡± Chen Baiqi smiled casually at him.


    Qi Leren¡¯s anger, which finally subsided, suddenly flared up again. He asked bitterly: ¡°Why did you say Ning Zhou was a cold beauty?¡±


    Chen Baiqi blinked. ¡°Isn¡¯t he cold? Isn¡¯t he beautiful?¡±


    ¡°But he is a man¡­¡± Qi Leren complained.


    ¡°That can be clearly seen.¡± Chen Baiqi said.


    Qi Leren didn¡¯t know how to complain anymore.


    But with Chen Baiqi¡¯s keenness, she didn¡¯t miss Qi Leren¡¯s oddness. She arched her eyebrows with interest: ¡°It seems that you saw him as a woman?¡±


    ¡°¡­It wasn¡¯t my eyes. The male players who participated in the witch sacrifice mission moved as women during the mission.¡± Qi Leren covered his forehead, and his tone was terrible.


    ¡°Wow, this is really exciting,¡± Chen Baiqi said in a perfect tone for reading out loud, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about what happened?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to say it,¡± Qi Leren refused. It¡¯s one thing to talk to Dr. Lu, but it¡¯s another thing to talk to Chen Baiqi about it.


    ¡°This is also information gathering for missions, I¡¯ll pay you,¡± Chen Baiqi arched the slender eyebrow and said.


    Qi Leren looked at his survival days of 55 days and 18 hours and succumbed to the temptation Chen Baiqi offered him: ¡°Well, I¡¯ll briefly talk about the quest situation, but I won¡¯t tell you any of the other irrelevant events.¡±


    Half an hour later.


    After learning of Lu Youxin¡¯s death, Chen Baiqi looked at Qi Leren with a heavy face. Qi Leren squatted on the embankment: ¡°I¡¯ve finished speaking.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s crazy, the Vatican¡­¡± Chen Baiqi murmured, her back to the sunset, and her backlit face wore a dignified expression.


    Chen Baiqi¡¯s voice was so low that Qi Leren didn¡¯t hear her clearly and asked, ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Chen Baiqi said coldly.


    The abridged version of the story obviously couldn¡¯t fool Chen Baiqi. She hit the nail on the head and put forward the most crucial question: ¡°That is to say, in the instance world, you actually fell in love, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a slight affection,¡± Qi Leren argued.


    Chen Baiqi gave him a disbelieving look: ¡°Young man, lying in front of me is not feasible. Are you too underestimating the abilities of an information broker?¡±


    Qi Leren began to play dead.


    ¡°But the intelligence about the Lord of Fraud is very good. At present, our understanding of it is very limited. By contrast, "Power¡± and ¡°Slaughter¡± are much more publicized. There is also the news of Lu Youxin¡¯s death, forget it¡­ I will send the time contract to you tomorrow, remember to sign for it, I¡¯m going to laugh at Ning Zhou now, see you later. ¡° Chen Baiqi didn¡¯t ask any more, and waved her hand as she walked away coolly.


    After watching her leave, Qi Leren continued to stay at the seaside for a while, and the mainlaid of Village of Dusk, which was only separated from Sunset Island by the strait, was shrouded in a misty golden light.


    He sighed again and again, finally remembered his first love that had ended before it started, and started towards home.


    ¡ª¨C

 CH 63

    Chapter 63: Seed of Slaughter (II)


    When he returned home, Qi Leren was already very tired. He hadn¡¯t have a good rest during the mission. The accumulated fatigue finally broke out after returning home. He simply washed and plunged into the bed and slept for 12 hours.


    When he woke up, it was still fully sunset outside, and Qi Leren wore messy hair, confused by time and space.


    After waking up, Qi Leren finally has the strength to think about what had happened in the instance world. Apart from Ning Zhou, there were still many things worth pondering about with this world, such as Isabel¡¯s hidden quest, and that their final completion was only 50%.


    The name of this task was ¡°Dusty Past¡±. Qi Leren always thought it meant Isabel¡¯s lost memory. However, when the task was completed, Isabel¡¯s memory had been recovered, but the completion degree was still only half, which meant that they had missed a lot of clues. To put it another way, they did not achieve the TRUE END.


    So what was the problem?


    Qi Leren leaned against the bed and thought for a moment. He felt that the problem was Isabel.


    The most doubtful point was that Isabel¡¯s memory couldn¡¯t be proven by anyone, but came from her own description. The people involved in her memory, Ye Xia (not even the ¡°Ye Xia¡± who had the ability to transfer souls, but the poor player who was destined to have her body taken from her, her magpie nest occupied by cuckoo eggs), the Devil of Fraud, and her sister, these people were either dead without witnesses or couldn¡¯t be contacted, and no one could confirm her memory.


    Her story was an isolated testimony.


    After finishing this task, Qi Leren could now look at this task more comprehensively. The Witchcraft Sacrifice task should have existed since more than 20 years ago, and had continued till now. The former witches served the Old Devil, but three years ago, for some unknown reason, the Devil of Fraud received the sacrifice and participated in it with great enthusiasm.


    This was also the key cause that led to the witch sacrifice tragedy three years ago.


    The Devil of Fraud who liked to see human betrayal, depravity, and despair played with this group of poor witch candidates with her bewitching power. Even Ye Xia, who won in the end, was just a chess piece crazy for her, just like that infatuated witch. Ye Xia said that she followed the Lord¡¯s will and returned to the underground palace, continuing the task of sacrificing witches¡­ Wait a minute.


    Qi Leren caught a flash of thoughts in his mind.


    This Devil of Fraud undoubtedly has the power of bewitching, so will Isabel¡­


    Did she really go to the altar voluntarily because she couldn¡¯t go back, because she wanted to see her sister again? This may be just a lie she used to persuade them.


    ¡°My heart has never changed.¡±


    Recalling Isabel¡¯s last words before leaving, the original ordinary answer seems to have been endowed with countless undercurrents and became meaningful.


    At that time, the Devil of Fraud appeared in the altar¡¯s beam of light, but because of the distance, Qi Leren didn¡¯t know if she had said anything. He only remembered Isabel walking to the light and never looking back.


    Maybe three years ago, she was bewitched like those poor witches, but she just forgot because she lost her memory. When the memory came back, the irresistible longing for the devil came back again, and finally she was tempted to become a witch of the devil herself.


    The clues given on the wall of the underground palace were actually ambiguous. Now thinking about some of them, for example, ¡°One of you has betrayed¡± and ¡°one of us left and came back¡±. Do both sentences refer to Ye Xia? Then wouldn¡¯t these two clues have been a repetition? What was the point of that? What¡¯s more, since Ye Xia didn¡¯t stand with them from the beginning, could her behavior really be regarded as ¡°betrayal¡±? From the beginning to the end, she was just loyal to herself, loyal to the Devil of Fraud.


    If ¡°one of you has betrayed¡± didn¡¯t mean Ye Xia, then¡­ who was it talking about?


    This ¡°betrayal¡± must have been a factor that could be foreseen by the ¡°system¡± or the ¡°devil¡±. It must have been rooted among them early, just waiting for¡­ the moment of betrayal to come.


    Betrayal doesn¡¯t have to be bloody, it can happen silently. The betrayer wins with a humble attitude, and the betrayed don¡¯t even know that they¡¯ve been used.


    Could it be what he thought? But whether it was or not, it was meaningless, and everything was over. Qi Leren leaned against the bed, silently watching the sunset outside the window, and was lost in thought.


    Underground palace¡­ Witch¡­ Devil of Fraud¡­


    Qi Leren¡¯s thoughts jumped back, until they got stuck in the witch in the hot metal.


    He sat up straight with the quilt rolled up, and a question came to his mind: according to the prompt given by the system, every time a witch candidate was killed in the underground palace, the killer could get an increase in ability. Why didn¡¯t he get an increase in ability when he committed suicide with the witch in the hot metal?


    First of all, it could be confirmed that death with the S/L skill was also counted as killing witch candidates, which Ning Zhou proved. By killing witch candidates before the system gave a hint, you could gain an increase in ability, which Ye Xia proved. The increase in stats was not physical. Ye Xia changed her body several times, but the stats increase still existed.


    That is to say, the power gained by killing witch candidates was bound to the illusory thing called the ¡°soul¡±.


    Then why didn¡¯t he get an increase in stats when he killed himself?


    Qi Leren buried his face in his hand, and he suddenly thought of a possibility.


    Maybe at the moment of suicide, he did get the ability increase, but in that short instant, he had already killed the one who got the ability.


    This thought made Qi Leren go cold, and it took him a long time to calm down.


    It was also possible that he was just thinking too much, and he couldn¡¯t get the stats increase just because the ¡°he¡± at the time of loading overwrote the one who died within 30 seconds and got the ability increase, while he couldn¡¯t get the extra strength bonus.


    He originally thought that the S/L skill was just a perfect restoration plus teleportation, which ensured that he was resurrected in full and teleported back to the archive point at the moment of death, without involving the reversal of time or some other forces that made people afraid to think about, but now it seemed that it was not as simple as he thought.


    This skill probably involved something at the soul level, otherwise there¡¯s no explanation for why he couldn¡¯t get the ability increase bound in the ¡°soul¡± by killing himself.


    A knock came on the door.


    Qi Leren quickly got out of bed, put on his coat and opened the door. Chen Baiqi¡¯s sister stood outside the door and smiled and handed him a piece of paper: ¡°Come sign it, my sister gave it to you.¡±


    Qi Leren glanced at it. The survival days of the contract book transfer were 8 hours. He sighed: ¡°When your sister charged me, it was three whole days. Now I¡¯m only given eight hours for providing her with information. It¡¯s literally Zhou Bapi*.¡±


    {*E/N: ÖÜ°ÇƤ, an nickname for ÖÜ´º¸», a real life figure but was immortalised through the short story, °ëÒ¹¼¦½Ð (Chicken screaming in the night), and now this nickname is associated with an evil landlord.}


    ¡°Who is Zhou Bapi?¡± the little girl cocked her head a little and asked.


    ¡°¡­Well, a black-hearted landlord, don¡¯t you know?¡± Qi Leren asked curiously.


    The little girl shook her head. ¡°This is someone from the outside world. I was born here and I have never been to the outside world.¡±


    Qi Leren looked at her in astonishment. Chen Baiqi¡¯s sister looked like an easterner, so he never thought she would be an NPC: ¡°Didn¡¯t you come in with Chen Baiqi?¡±


    ¡°No, my mom and dad are just like you. They gave birth to me and then died. It¡¯s said that my mother gave birth to me during the mandatory monthly task, and it was even a premature birth. My sister said that she must love me very much to be willing to give birth to me, but I can¡¯t remember how she looked.¡± The little girl stuck out her tongue.


    Players could still give birth to children in the game? What was the child who was born? An NPC in the game?


    ¡°Do you have limited days to live?¡± Qi Leren asked again.


    The little girl shook her head: ¡°I don¡¯t have them, and I don¡¯t need to do quests like you, but my sister said that I¡®ll be like you after I turn eighteen.¡±


    This game also had such a law for protecting minors? Qi Leren was even more surprised.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just ask me questions. Is that Su He still in the Village of Dusk? My sister said that he went back to the Town of Dawn, so I won¡¯t see him in the future?¡± asked the little girl.


    She turned out to be a small fan of Su He. They only met once on the airship. At such a young age, she already loved people with good looks. Qi Leren looked at her with emotion and said: ¡°He has gone back, I don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll come back. Probably not.¡±


    The little girl kicked the ground unhappily: ¡°Yes, people in the Town of Dawn rarely come here, forget it, I¡¯m going home, goodbye.¡±


    Seeing her run away, Qi Leren glanced at his 55 days and 14 hours of survival time and decided to have a good meal.


    &&&


    Qi Leren, who filled his stomach in the busy commercial district, also went to the quest centre nearby. The task types in the Nightmare World were really varied, and the difficulty ratings ranged from D to S, so the more difficult tasks would not appear in the quest centre.


    Some quests might even deprive players of all skills and props - just like in the witch¡¯s dreamworld - but the difficulty of such quests will be relatively low, which was actually beneficial to novices. Some quests simply sealed part of the players¡¯ memories temporarily, so that they forgot their identities and only retained the memories from before entering the Nightmare World, and would not recover them until they returned to the Nightmare World after completing the quests.


    Some players could earn enough living days in the Village of Dusk, such as Chen Baiqi, but they also needed to do quests. The mandatory monthly quest was a nightmare that no player could get rid of, and its difficulty would gradually increase. At about the third year or so, every quest will be a cruel death adventure.


    Therefore, if you wanted to make a living by earning survival days outside the task and neglecting your own exercise, it was basically equivalent to gradual suicide.


    After leaving the quest centre, Qi Leren looked up at the sky.


    Bathed in the setting sun in the Village of Dusk all day long, the beautiful scenery would become depressing after a long time. A closer look to the west revealed a pale moon that, though not as bright as at night, still hung in the sky.


    This picture was a little familiar.


    Recalling the pictures in the game, Qi Leren suddenly thought it was time to trigger the pre-plot of the main quest.


    On the way to the airship port after leaving the centre, Qi Leren once again came to the steel bridge.


    It was still lively here. Some people came and went in groups, some were alone, just like him. The setting sun was infected with unspeakable loneliness for this ordinary scene.


    Just more than ten hours ago, he was so warm and longing to go here, and now once again on the arch bridge full of mechanical steam, but he couldn¡¯t help a burst of dismay.


    Standing at the top of the arch bridge, Qi Leren looked back, sensing something. In the boundless huge crowd, Ning Zhou walked with his back to him. Among so many strangers, Qi Leren saw him at a glance.


    Even if he only met Ning Zhou as a male once, he could easily find him, just as he could see at a glance the ¡°she¡± possessing a strange witch in a dreamworld.


    There was always someone who was the most special in his heart.


    Ning Zhou had disappeared into the crowd long ago. Qi Leren took a deep breath, cast aside everything about Ning Zhou, and continued to set foot on his own path.

 CH 64

    Chapter 64: Seed of Slaughter (III)


    The airship gave a whistle when the ship started, and the airship that looked like an old ship at sea moved. The Qi Leren sitting in the cabin moved his body uncomfortably, waiting for the airship to lift off and fly to the main body of the Village of Twilight across the sea.


    Sunset Island, where players lived in compact communities, was strange to Qi Leren, because he had never been to Sunset Island in the game, but had taken on many quests on the mainland where NPCs lived in compact communities. Today, he would go there because of one such quest.


    A quest that probably involved the main plot of Nightmare World.


    Although attempting the main quest now was basically equal to dying, the pre-task was mainly running errands and getting familiar with NPCs, and there was no danger before going to the Holy City, so he would just start doing it while he¡¯s free now.


    The airship flying in the air made the roar of mechanical operation, and Qi Leren looked at the sunset outside the small round window with his cheeks propped up, which was different from the mood of when he had sat in an airship the first time. This time, he had no curiosity and excitement, but was empty and faint.


    He guessed that this was a repercussion left by the last mission, and his luck in both missions had been bad. After listening to the task of the Witchcraft Sacrifice, Dr. Lu expressed sympathy to him, and repeatedly stressed that the quests for general newcomers were relatively simple. If all the tasks were calculated according to the same difficulty he encountered, 90% of players would be killed in the first mission.


    The next task was chosen by Dr. Lu ¨C he insisted that his luck could crush that of ten Qi Lerens. They could choose some easy and high-rewarding tasks to finish while they were still in the preferential period for newcomers. Qi Leren had no objection to this, as he already knew his own luck very well.


    From time to time, there were guests moving around in the airship. When looking around, they were all young people who were about his age. Were they players? Bored, Qi Leren tried hard not to look at this group of people too suddenly, guessing their age, character and time they entered the game.


    A tall and beautiful woman returned to the cabin from the mess hall, with a cup of boiling water in her hand, and white water vapor emitting from the transparent glass. She closed the mess hall door behind her, and then walked towards an empty seat nearby.


    Qi Leren¡¯s line of sight followed her, his full stomach made him sleepy, and his thinking was dull. He casually compared this beautiful girl with the goddess, and then woke with a start and suddenly remembered that Ning Zhou was a man.


    He had repeatedly restrained himself from thinking about Ning Zhou again and again, and let his dead first love stay in the underground palace forever, just as if he had had a short and beautiful dream, but he still couldn¡¯t help but think of¡­


    This uncontrollable situation made him depressed.


    The young woman walked to the vacant seat and hesitated a little, because in the small area of eight chairs around a table, a man in a cloak was facing the direction in which she was walking to. She instinctively didn¡¯t want to go near this stranger who disguised himself, but there were people everywhere else, so she sat down.


    Qi Leren looked at the cloaked man from a distance, and he didn¡¯t like this kind of cloaked man either, which reminded him of the last accident on the spaceship. Two outlaws threatened the passengers to die together and coerced everyone to hand over ten days of survival.


    The woman sat down, took a sip of hot water, put the glass cup on the table, and the water surface swayed slightly with the airship. She still didn¡¯t want to have more contact with this suspicious cloaked figure, so she moved to the seat inside, sat on the corner diagonal from the cloaked man as far away as possible, and the position against the wall gave her a little sense of security. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes for a nap, waiting for the airship to land.


    The traveler in a cloak put his hands on the table and folded them neatly. His hands were thin, and there was a black totem on the back of his hand near his wrist. Under the magnificent sunset, the totem looked like it was climbing out of his sleeve, winding and twisting.


    Qi Leren wasn¡¯t sure if he was dazzled. Just then a few travelers walked past him and tried to sit down on the table and chair beside him, blocking his view.


    A crisp sound. The sound of broken glass, and Qi Leren¡¯s heart shook.


    [Rain-Day Laundry: At present, the remaining sensing times are 2/3.]


    Qi Leren suddenly stood up.


    A loud noise instantly quieted down the cabin, and everyone looked at the place where it came from. The cloaked man that Qi Leren had noticed stood straight like a scarecrow, and countless black thorns and vines emerged from under the cloak, and the sword nailed the young woman to the wall.


    At the moment before her death, she should have been extremely shocked. The glass placed in front of her had been broken by the thorns. Even before she could struggle, she was stabbed through her body and limbs by the black thorns, and blood splashed everywhere.


    There was an uproar in the cabin, and the frightened crowd panicked to get away from the murderer¡¯s side, but the murderer seemed to have no consciousness of killing. Instead of moving, he stood in front of his seat frozen, then slowly turned around, his face covered by the cloak shrouded in shadow, and his expression could not be seen clearly.


    Qi Leren, whose heart beat faster, noticed his hands. His skinny hands were covered with totems.


    What was that thing?


    That bunch of hard thorny vines retracted like springs back into the murderer¡¯s cloak, and the crucified body lost its support and fell, making a dull noise.


    The sound of it falling to the ground kicked off the feast of death. In the next moment, the calm cabin turned into a bloody Asura field, and the shouts collided with the instruments that were played at random, playing a symphony of death. There was chaos in the cabin, and several thorns and vines shot out from under the cloak of the assailant, attacking innocent travelers unscrupulously, and blood flowed everywhere.


    Someone shouted: ¡°It¡¯s a seed of slaughter, the seed of slaughter in him has awakened!¡±


    The cloak of the assailant was torn by thorns, and the hood on his head quietly fell, revealing a thin and ferocious face. Like his hands, those horrible black totems have covered his whole face, from forehead to chin, everywhere, thickly dotted.


    A few skilled travelers began to fight against him, and more people hid in the corner. In the chaos, Qi Leren was at a loss. Several fleeing passers-by ran past him and pushed him in their panic. Qi Leren stumbled and fell ungracefully under the table.


    There was a loud noise on the table, followed by shrieks. The man who pushed him away just now was nailed to the wall by several black thorns. The fallen Qi Leren reluctantly climbed out from another direction. As soon as he looked up, he saw several thorns again. They nailed a traveler who had just wrestled with the assailant to the ground, less than half a meter away from him.


    The traveler was not dead as a doornail. He struggled while twitching, with more and more blood leaking from his mouth. However, the strength behind his struggles became less and less, and he finally lost his life slowly.


    He was dead.


    The chaos in the cabin continued, and Qi Leren was afraid to stand up. He crawled under the table and chair carefully, and there was a burst of shrieks and fleeing sounds above his head. From Qi Leren¡¯s perspective, he could only see pairs of fleeing legs and bodies lying on the ground. How long could hiding like this work? If no one could stop the murderer, it would be his turn sooner or later, and avoiding blindly couldn¡¯t solve the problem. This reality had taught him too many lessons like this.


    A popping explosion sounded, and Qi Leren saw someone throw something similar to the miniature bomb in his inventory, but it was blown away by the thorns of the assailant, and exploded with a roar, which was far less powerful than the miniature bombs, but killed several innocent players.


    Throwing a bomb couldn¡¯t hurt him at all. It must be closer, closer!


    Another scream sounded closeby, and Qi Leren finally made up his mind.


    Come on, use all your might!


    Qi Leren clasped his last miniature bomb in his hand, rolled out from under the table, and saved!


    A thorn grazed his face and plunged into the ground of the cabin. Qi Leren propped up his body to avoid another thorn coming towards him. He did not dare to throw the last miniature bomb at will. He would rather face the pain of dying himself and make sure that one blow would kill him.


    Close, very close!


    Several passengers closest to the cloaked man had formed a protective enchantment, trying to hold on, and the milky barrier light hanging over them was getting dim under the attack of the thorns, while the cloaked man is crazy, waving his arms, and countless thorns drilled out of his clothes, spreading around like a black wave.


    Less than five meters from the cloaked man!


    Qi Leren hooked his hands on the table in front of him and flipped it. Two thorns that flew by him were violently stabbed into his hand, and a sharp pain spread in his wrist. The miniature bomb fell from his hands¨C


    Regardless of the danger, Qi Leren let himself tumble to the ground, picked up the miniature bomb and continued to rush forward. Several people who were enveloped by the enchantment looked at him in shock, like he was a madman. Qi Leren rushed to the cloaked man regardless, and he finally noticed that this audacious man wore a strange smile on his non-human face.


    More, more thorns came towards him.


    Come on!


    Qi Leren held the bomb and smiled at him with a certain victory.


    There was a loud bang and the bomb exploded.


    Amid the smoke and screams, Qi Leren was loaded back to the table. He wiped his eyes that were wet with smoke and dust. A gust of wind poured in from outside the cabin, and Qi Leren opened his eyes wide.


    The place of the explosion had been near the edge of the cabin, and a big hole with a width of two or three meters was blown out of the wall. The sea wind poured into the cabin, blowing away the smoke and dust.


    Black thorns covered the explosion like a spider¡¯s web, and wrapped the assailant firmly inside.


    Those horrible and disgusting thorns squirmed slowly, like countless black bugs, slowly spreading out, revealing the bloody body of the murderer.


    He slowly raised his head. Having lost his eyelid, his eyeball hung from the eye socket, making his already strange face more terrifying.


    The eyeball turned and fixed on the place where Qi Leren was.


    He smiled grimly.

 CH 65

    Chapter 65: Seed of Slaughter (IV)


    He hadn¡¯t died?


    Qi Leren was so frightened that he was at a loss.


    The wind poured in from the blasted iron wall, and the fresh but cold air from the high altitude quickly lowered the temperature in the cabin.


    The cloaked man was everywhere. Those thorns on the ground slowly shrunk; most returned to his body, the rest were like a black python, cruising and crawling on the ground.


    The cabin was silent, and the survivors looked at Qi Leren who had come back from the dead in astonishment, which was even more shocking than the murderer¡¯s survival in the explosion.


    Thump, thump, thump. His heart beat fast, his body was cramped with nerves, and he was stiff in the cold air.


    He only had 30 seconds, and within these 30 seconds, he would either die or couldn¡¯t die again.


    The murderer¡¯s burned face was naked - showing the burned muscles due to the explosion. He seemed to be laughing, without the cover of his lips, and white teeth were embedded in the dark red flesh, looking horrifying. With his smile, the thorns came crazily toward Qi Leren, and he rolled on the spot without thinking. Those thorns beat on the ground like waves, and one even nicked his arm, scraping off a large piece of skin and instantly pouring blood.


    At this moment, Qi Leren unexpectedly calmed down, and the primary fighting skill equipped in the card slot gave play at this moment, so he narrowly escaped those crazy thorns and vines and approached the cloaked man.


    Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flying thorn, watching the inevitable, and a figure flew out. The long stick in his hand hit the thorn, which gave Qi Leren a chance. Qi Leren didn¡¯t even have time to look back at him, and his feet kept rushing towards the cloaked man.


    There was another inescapable thorn, which stabbed him in the stomach like a sharp arrow. Qi Leren stared at the cloaked man who was less than half a meter away from him, and grabbed his clothes - the thorn passed through his belly, but failed to shake his strength to hold the cloaked man. He was not thrown off, and his other hand also held the cloaked man.


    The setting sun was like blood, shining into the cabin from outside the broken wall. Qi Leren wanted to push hard and drag the murderer down from the blasted bulkhead.


    The wound that pierced his abdomen was not judged by the S/L skill as fatal. Instead of being reloaded, he dragged the cloaked man and fell from the airship together¡­


    Too high, too fast, and the wind was too fierce, Qi Leren simply couldn¡¯t open his eyes, he just felt out of balance and kept falling.


    The afterglow of the setting sun hung over the sea where the airship flew. His eyes were closed, but the golden red light still passed through the thin eyelids and came to his retinas. It was like a glowing red sea of fire, so vast and magnificent, and every knife cut on his skin was so sharp that the pain was like being burned.


    For a moment, he thought he was falling into a lake of fire in hell, and the golden sunset was an eternal industrial fire burning in hell. The cloaked man who was grabbed by him struggled hard, and the thorns running through Qi Leren¡¯s belly twisted crazily, but they could not stop the two from falling out of control.


    To die together.


    Once again, Qi Leren returned to the save point, his legs so soft that he almost fell down. The people around him gave him a quick hand. He murmured a thank you in a cold sweat and sat down on the chair.


    Outside the cabin wall that had been blasted by the miniature bomb, the golden sunset gazed gently at the survivors. They looked in amazement at Qi Leren who had come back from the dead twice in a row, but he was too immersed in the instantaneous death just now.


    Although it is not as high as an airplane, it made no difference whether it was the sea or the ground below when falling from this height. In an instant, it turned a living person to a mass of meat sludge. Fortunately, this kind of death was fast enough and direct enough. It was much simpler than a soft knife to cut meat. It was just that the feeling of falling briefly before death made Qi Leren instinctively feel scared, completely out of control, unable to stop and powerless.


    ¡°Amazing, outstanding determination and courage. That we can survive from the madman who started killing wildly was thanks to you.¡± The man who gave him a hand just now clapped his hands, and Qi Leren noticed that he was the one who had just blocked the thorns with a long stick.


    The surviving people in the cabin also clapped their hands one after another. Surrounded by applause, Qi Leren was a little embarrassed. He whispered to the man near him about the killing: ¡°I just heard someone say that that person¡¯s seed of slaughter had awakened. What does that mean?¡±


    The man arched his eyebrows: ¡°Are you new?¡±


    ¡°¡­Well, I haven¡¯t been here long.¡± Qi Leren gave a wry smile.


    ¡°As a newcomer, you are already very good. Most of the people in the ship are old players, and they still weren¡¯t able to turn the tide. Haha, sometimes luck is more important than strength here.¡± The man laughed, ¡°Oh yes, my name is Luo Yishan, and I¡¯ve been here for about half a year.¡±


    ¡°Hello, my name is Qi Leren. Thank you just now. If you hadn¡¯t helped me fend off the thorns, I¡¯m afraid I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to chat with you here now.¡± Qi Leren didn¡¯t say when he came in, so he thanked Luo Yishan for his help just now.


    Luo Yishan looks like a well-built young man. He was powerful and straightforward at first glance.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. It¡¯s a pity that you couldn¡¯t help everyone¡­¡± Luo Yishan sighed and glanced at the mess on the ground.


    Qi Leren also looked at the devastated cabin, with tables and chairs swept by thorns everywhere. More than a dozen bodies were lying on the ground. Several surviving players were moving the bodies and putting them together. Several friends of the dead stood beside the bodies to mourn, and several women sobbed.


    There was no need to say any more about the damage on the wall. Such a big hole made the temperature in the cabin plummet. He didn¡¯t feel it in the critical moment just now. Now as he calmed down, he began to shake. He rummaged through the system inventory and finally put on Ning Zhou¡¯s coat.


    The dying sunset lingered near sea level, sending a brilliant golden light, which shines brightly, but it was still so cold.


    ¡°Xiao Qi, are you from the Vatican?¡± Luo Yishan suddenly asked.


    Qi Leren looked at him blankly: ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the symbol of the Vatican?¡± Luo Yishan said, pointing to the insignia at the collar of his coat.


    Qi Leren turned up the collar of his coat, and sure enough, there was a logo embroidered in gold thread, which looked quite abstract. At the bottom, it seemed to be a demon with horns, while at the top, there was a cross with a crown: ¡°Is this the symbol of the Vatican? Sorry, I don¡¯t know, this jacket isn¡¯t mine ¡­ ¡±


    ¡°Oh, I thought you were a member of the Vatican. I heard that the headquarters of the Vatican moved to Neverland at the north pole after the demons¡¯ invasion. It¡¯s cold enough to freeze penguins to death there.¡± Luo Yishan suddenly told a cold joke, and he burst out laughing.


    ¡°¡­¡± The man¡¯s laughing point was so low that Qi Leren just forced a laugh without words.


    Neverland? Vatican? When he played ¡°Nightmare Game¡±, the Vatican did exist, but he didn¡¯t know exactly where it was. His understanding of the Vatican was also very limited. Although the main task did involve the Vatican, he even needed to go to the temple cathedral that was captured by the demons more than 20 years ago ¡­


    ¡°About the seed of slaughter¡­¡± Qi Leren asked about the word he had just heard.


    Luo Yishan gave him a dignified look and warned: ¡°It¡¯s not a good thing. Those who walk on this side of the road will not end well.¡±


    The back of Qi Leren¡¯s neck suddenly stung, and he touched the stabbing pain. The sharp pain disappeared like an illusion.


    Several players sat down beside Qi Leren, and inquired about his skills in a beat around the bush. Qi Leren frowned impatiently and didn¡¯t want to pay attention to this group of people. Finally, Luo Yishan gave the excuse that he needed a rest and let him lie in a chair to have a rest. Qi Leren was really tired. He just wanted to take a nap, but he closed his eyes and fell asleep.


    The airship had already started to land, and the swaying hull made people feel very uneasy. Passengers also sat down and held tables and chairs to avoid falling out.


    With the whistle of the landing, the passengers walked down the cabin in twos and threes.


    Qi Leren says goodbye to Luo Yishan, holding the handrail and getting off the airship.


    Under the airship, Al, in uniform, stood there with his arms crossed. Several players were telling him about the accident on the airship. He nodded carelessly and toyed with the ring on his index finger. When Qi Leren came down, he immediately looked up and then came to him.


    Qi Leren looked at him for a while, startled: ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Al looked him up and down. ¡°Did you kill that garbage?¡±


    ¡°¡­Mn,¡± Qi Leren answered


    Al¡¯s lazy attitude seems to be slightly corrected. He glanced at Qi Leren: ¡°Very good, come with me.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    ¡°Court. Congratulations, your movements are restricted from today on,¡± Al answered coldly.

 CH 66

    Chapter 66: Seed of Slaughter (V)


    Once again, Qi Leren sat in an airship.


    Fortunately, this time, he was not in the ship with a big hole, but in a ship belonging to the Court, which was smaller, faster and more bizarre. Even if he were used to all kinds of steampunk-style instruments in the Village of Dusk, seeing an aircraft that looked at first glance like a strange insect hurt Qi Leren¡¯s aesthetic feeling as an (interior) designer.


    The airship was very small, about as big as the cockpit of a helicopter. Al sat opposite him, and the distance between two people was only a small square table less than half a meter.


    ¡°Why should my movements be restricted? Is it a crime to be heroic?¡± Qi Leren, who was forced to be taken aboard the airship, angrily said.


    Al held his arm, squinting and dozing off: ¡°Please cooperate with the work of the Court, thank you.¡±


    ¡°At least you have to tell me the reason. I can¡¯t accept being taken to the police station without rhyme or reason!¡± Qi Leren said.


    ¡°It¡¯s a courtroom. There¡¯s no police station here,¡± Al said with his eyes closed.


    ¡°So why?¡± Qi Leren persisted in asking questions.


    Al was silent for a few seconds, as if he was really asleep. Just when Qi Leren thought he wouldn¡¯t answer, Al opened his eyes. In the afterglow of the sunset, his eyes were no longer brown, but reflected the flaming sunset, which seemed to be burning, but even so his eyes were still cold.


    ¡°Why?¡± He murmured, putting down his crossed arms on the table. He leaned forward towards Qi Leren. Although he looked like a teenager, his presence was amazing. This narrow space made Qi Leren feel uncomfortable. He leaned back, but did not avoid his eyes.


    ¡°If I don¡¯t take you away¡­¡± Al cocked his head and showed a slightly mocking smile, ¡°how long do you think you can live?¡±


    Qi Leren¡¯s expression froze on his face, and there was a sharp pain in the back of his neck again, and he almost cried out.


    Al leaned back in his seat lazily, watching Qi Leren endure uneasiness and doubt, and said with a smile: ¡°Have you felt it?¡±


    ¡°What, what?¡± Qi Leren was a little panicked, and he realized that he was in big trouble now.


    ¡°It¡¯s trying to grow, like a seed, stretching its roots and absorbing the nutrients in the ¡®soil¡¯ as it grows. It¡¯s a tenacious little thing.¡± Al muttered as if dreaming, ¡°One day it will grow up, become stronger and more greedy, and drain every trace of nutrients in the ''soil¡¯, even if the ''soil¡¯ dries up, it doesn¡¯t matter, it never knows gratitude or feedback, it will only plunder. Even so, there are always people who covet its power, drink and quench their thirst and ask for it until they fall deeper and deeper, until they are irreparable.¡±


    Qi Leren had vaguely guessed what he was talking about: ¡°The seed of slaughter¡­?¡±


    But how was that possible? He had already loaded the file, why was he still infected?


    Al laughed. It was hard to tell whether it was sympathy or coldness. He didn¡¯t answer.


    &&&


    The aircraft landed in a remote corner of Sunset Island, and Qi Leren followed Al off. The buildings bathed in the sunset ahead seemed to be medieval sanctuaries, with a road lined with stone pillars as the central axis and symmetrical white buildings on both sides, full of religious essence, but not purely religious buildings.


    They landed in the central square, with a few people walking by sporadically, dressed in the same uniform as Al, and in a hurry.


    Al took Qi Leren to a white building in the distance. From a distance, he could see that the building was higher up than the surrounding buildings. Along the way, there were statues of clergy, praying in different positions. Qi Leren stepped up the steps and looked up. The white building built on the hill was majestic and seemed like holy sanctuary in the sunset.


    A sea breeze blew, and the slightly salty air made Qi Leren sneeze.


    He rubbed his nose and raised his head as he walked.


    Two young men came out of the courtroom.


    The one who walked in front had long black hair. He was wearing a uniform similar to Al¡¯s, which was covered with a long black trenchcoat. As they neared, the sea breeze blew, and his long hair floated with the coat, revealing his slender white neck and beautiful androgynous face.


    ¡°Boss,¡± Al stood up straight, bowed his head, and spoke.


    The man glanced at the two people carelessly, acknowledged them coldly, and then walked over without looking at them.


    Qi Leren was stunned.


    Not because of the man just now, but because of Ning Zhou walking behind him.


    Ning Zhou stopped beside Qi Leren and gave him a deep look.


    The setting sun softened his face and his eyes, but Qi Leren knew that the tenderness at this moment was just an illusion brought by light. He clearly remembered that Ning Zhou didn¡¯t look at him in this way. At that time, ¡°she¡± looked at ¡°her¡± quietly, just like looking at the most precious treasure in the world. Now, the burning love in that same pair of blue eyes had been ruthlessly doused by reality, and would even be frozen into ice over time.


    The big blackbird perched on Ning Zhou¡¯s shoulder cawed. As if unable to bear to see the two strangers, it flapped its wings and flew to the sea and sunset.


    Ning Zhou looked down, walked past Qi Leren, and quickly caught up with the man ahead of him.


    ¡°You seem very interested in him?¡± the long-haired man raised his eyebrows and asked.


    ¡°Why did he come to the Court?¡± Ning Zhou didn¡¯t answer and asked instead.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re taking the initiative to ask me? What relationship does that newcomer have with you?¡± he asked with interest.


    ¡°It has nothing to do with you.¡± Ning Zhou opened the door of the airship parked outside the courtroom and sat in it. The long-haired man clicked his tongue and sat down opposite him.


    The airship lifted off and flew toward the border of the Twilight Township.


    The long-haired man opened the drawer in the table, took out the tea leaves, and made tea. The airship shook slightly, but his hand pouring water was steady: ¡°Have a cup of tea to get rid of the alcohol, I can smell the hangover on you, hehe.¡±


    Ning Zhou didn¡¯t move, didn¡¯t speak, deep and remote cold eyes staring at him.


    The long-haired man took a sip of himself and disliked it. ¡°What type of tea is this?¡±


    The pilot of the airship behind the partition whispered: ¡°Sorry Boss, I¡¯ll change it later.¡±


    He snorted again and put the cup down: ¡°OK, don¡¯t stare at me, I¡¯ll say it, he¡¯s probably parasitized by a seed of slaughter.¡±


    Ning Zhou frowned faintly: ¡°I can¡­¡±


    The man waved his hand: ¡°There are ways to deal with this kind of thing. It¡¯s just that he has other uses.¡±


    Seeing that Ning Zhou looked at him with a slightly poor expression, he laughed instead: ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry. For your sake, I won¡¯t kill him.¡±


    The airship soon reached the Land of Dusk, which was a sea away, and passed through the barrier of its city wall, and the world outside was ruled by demons.


    The long-haired man sent Ning Zhou to the border.


    ¡°I¡¯m returning to Neverland. Inform me in time if there¡¯s any news,¡± Ning Zhou said.


    The long-haired man leaned against the airship bonelessly and waved lazily at him: ¡°Have a good trip. Say hello to the Pope for me.¡±


    Ning Zhou disappeared into the boundary, and the man yawned lazily and returned to the airship.


    ¡°Now return to the Court?¡± The driver asked in a low voice.


    The man sitting on the seat looked at the endless sea with his cheeks propped up. The afterglow of the setting sun fell on the side of his face, and every eyelash was dyed brilliant golden red: ¡°Go back and we¡¯ll visit that unlucky little guy.¡±

 CH 67

    Chapter 67: Seed of Slaughter (VI)


    Qi Leren was a little anxious.


    After entering the court house, he was taken to an underground room with unidirectional glass on all sides. The people outside could see the inside clearly, but the people inside could only see the black glass walls on all sides.


    He sat in the interrogation chair, and there was only one chair opposite to it behind a table, which was so clean that there was not even a trace of dust.


    Al also disappeared, and Qi Leren was the only one sitting in the interrogation room devoid of privacy, waiting anxiously. In the interrogation room, there was silence, one could only hear his own breathing, and the cold from the ground climbed all the way up from the soles of his feet. It didn¡¯t take long for Qi Leren to feel cold and have stiff hands and feet.


    Qi Leren felt that someone was constantly looking at him behind the one-way glass, which was the kind of examining look that abandoned respect for human beings, and weighed him with the eyes one used when evaluating goods. He stared back unhappily. Although he could only see pure darkness through the glass, he stared back intuitively.


    ¡°Oh, this guy¡¯s intuition is very sharp. Does he have extrasensory talents?¡± a girl with black-rimmed glasses said as she pushed them further up her nose.


    Al stood by with his arm crossed: ¡°Miao Li, talk scientifically.¡±


    Miao Li curled her lips disapprovingly: ¡°Science can¡¯t explain everything. In the Nightmare World, you should have thrown away such useless things as science. Otherwise, how can you explain such things as power-ups, skill cards, and survival days?¡± Oh, and that demon crystal. I still don¡¯t understand what supernatural energy it is. The European¡¯s magnetic stones of Atlantis sound* more scientific than the demon crystal. But you can¡¯t deny that the science and technology of the Nightmare World is based on devil crystallization, otherwise things could only be like medieval Europe now. There is also the seed of slaughter. Is this a plant or an animal? Or is it simply a new category beyond the existing species classification, such as the demon species? Anyway, we are far away from science, right, Boss?¡°


    {*E/N: referring to Plato¡¯s claims that the people of Atlantis had stones that enabled telepathy}


    The long-haired man took his cold eyes back from Qi Leren and said coldly, "Cancel Plan A and enable Plan B, just let the long line catch the big fish*.¡±


    {*E/N: A long-term plan seeking a large reward}


    ¡°But Boss¡­¡­¡­¡± Miao Li wanted to argue about something, but suppressed it when the man turned his gaze onto her. ¡°Well, I see. Then the one responsible for training him¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s up to you and Al.¡± The long-haired man turned to leave.


    ¡°Boss, one more thing¡­¡± Al stopped him. He looked back and arched his eyebrows impatiently to signal him to continue.


    Al has obviously felt his impatience. It was better to talk quickly to a boss with poor patience, so he said simply and neatly: ¡°Listening to the passengers on the aircraft, Qi Leren should have some resurrection skills. When he fought with the parasitized player, he was resurrected twice in a row.¡±


    ¡°Let Miao Li ask everything clearly.¡± After that, the long-haired man, lazily looking at the interrogation room, took his long legs and left the cold basement.


    Miao Li spread her hand: ¡°If the lady said so, then I¡¯ll go in.¡±


    Al glanced at her, and there seemed to be some warning in his eyes.


    ¡°Well, I know, that¡¯s just what I call him behind his back. Who asked him to have a lady¡¯s temper.¡± Mao Li laughed and opened the door of the interrogation room.


    Qi Leren raised his head at the sound of the door opening, and a young woman with black-rimmed glasses came in. She smiled politely at Qi Leren, put down the notebook and pen in her arms, and pulled out her chair to sit down.


    ¡°Hello Qi Leren, my name is Miao Li, an executive officer of the court. I know that you have a lot of confusion about why you¡¯ve come here. After all, Al who brought you here isn¡¯t a person who¡¯s good at communicating with people, but you have to believe that we are trying our best to ensure your personal safety. ¡± Miao Li smiled at him, leaving no room for him to speak. ¡°Let¡¯s get started.¡±


    Qi Leren thought for a moment and chose to cooperate.


    ¡°Name.¡±


    ¡°Qi Leren.¡±


    ¡°Age.¡±


    ¡°Twenty five.¡±


    ¡°Time since you entered the Nightmare World.¡±


    ¡°Ten-plus days.¡±


    Miao Li stopped her pen, looked up at him, and said with great interest, ¡°You are the coolest newcomer I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±


    Suddenly praised by the opposite sex, Qi Leren was a little embarrassed, and his anxiety eased for the first time since court house: ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m serious. I think about my stupid appearance when I first came in. Haha, as a newcomer, you have performed very well. You could escape from a person infected by a seed of slaughter and even use the terrain¡¯s characteristics to kill him. Very good, I¡¯m very optimistic about you.¡± Miao Li¡¯s sincere smile made it so that Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help believing her words.


    She continued to ask, and learned about what happened on the airship from beginning to end. Qi Leren didn¡¯t want to explain his skills, but he also knew that there were so many people on the airship who saw him using the S/L skill, so it was impossible to hide this skill card. Fortunately, this was a bound skill, which relieved him a lot.


    What reassured him most was that Miao Li didn¡¯t show any special interest in his skills. She seemed to admire his good luck politely: ¡°This skill is really good, and it¡¯s suitable for catching the enemy by surprise. After all, people will subconsciously relax their vigilance after they¡¯re sure they¡¯ve killed their opponents.¡±


    Qi Leren smiled shyly and said nothing.


    After learning about the matter, Miao Li closed the notebook, looked up at Qi Leren and said, ¡°I think you must have a lot of questions to ask me now. I¡¯ll ease your doubts to the degree that I¡¯m able to answer.¡±


    ¡°What is the seed of slaughter?¡± Qi Leren immediately asked. That parasitic thing in the back of his neck disturbed him greatly. Seeing that someone was willing to answer the full of his questions, he asked without thinking.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s a complicated problem. I could talk about it for three days and three nights to explain it in detail, but I can¡¯t disclose to you some confidential aspects of the Trials Office. To put it simply, the seed of slaughter is something the Devil of Massacre gives to his followers. The parasite, when in the human body, will enhance the potential of the body in a short time, which will significantly strengthen various abilities such as strength, agility and reaction. But this kind of power-up is not without cost. You should have seen its side effects.¡± Miao Li twirled her pen and watched Qi Leren¡¯s reaction silently.


    Qi Leren¡¯s fingers moved as he listened carefully.


    ¡°As you have seen on the airship, the kind of killing will gradually affect people¡¯s sanity, and while strengthening their abilities, they will constantly lose their reason as human beings. The stronger they are, the crazier they will become. Once they can¡¯t grasp the boundary between power and sanity, they can¡¯t suppress anymore¡­¡± Miao Li pushed the black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of the nose and smiled a little meaningfully. ¡°Everything is over, and it is irrevocably over.¡±


    Qi Leren swallowed saliva and his throat was dry: ¡°But why¡­¡±


    Miao Li understood what he didn¡¯t say: ¡°Let me show you something.¡±


    She took off a ring from her middle finger and put it in front of Qi Leren. At this time, he discovered that it was not a plain ring, but she turned it in her hand so the gem was facing her and he could only see the band.


    The ring was then moved to face Qi Leren, and the silvery white gem was filled with black mist, which changed in different shapes like a burning flame.


    ¡°I can see when it senses evil forces around it, and the kind of killing ability in you is no exception.¡± Miao Li took the ring back and put it back on her finger. ¡°Where did I stop just now? Oh, yes, speaking of parasitism. There is a certain probability that the seed of slaughter after its outbreak will be sown into nearby people, just like dandelion seeds blown away by the wind take root in suitable soil, but the probability isn¡¯t high. Al was waiting at the landing dock of the airship, and only you were infected among the confirmed passengers. Generally speaking, the spread of seeds of slaughter requires a ceremony between the original host and the new host. The original host introduces new people to join the Devil of Slaughter¡¯s camp, just like mature plants spreading seeds, spreading and spreading¡­ Believe it or not, for many players, mere survival consumes all of their willpower. Even if they know that it¡¯s to sate an unquenchable thirst, they¡¯ll choose to take the initiative rather than be killed. ¡±


    Miao Li¡¯s mouth held a mocking smile, and her eyes behind the lenses were cold: ¡°There are so many ordinary, cowardly, and incompetent people.¡±


    Qi Leren recalled the tragedy on the airship. Before this, he hadn¡¯t been able to figure out why he had still been parasitized after using his S/L skill. Now it seems that he was sown with the seed of slaughter before he¡¯d made his save point. Just like being in the same room with a flu patient, some people will not be infected, but some people will be infected. Although the probability was very low, he still got caught. His luck was really hopeless.


    ¡°¡­How can we get rid of this kind of thing?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    Miao Li turned the ring on her hand and said regretfully, ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not easy.¡±


    ¡°But there is still a way, right?¡± Qi Leren asked with absolute certainty.


    Miao Li looked into his eyes deeply, and the lenses reflected a bright light under the pale light overhead, which made Qi Leren unable to see her eyes clearly.


    ¡°Yes, but it depends on your determination and sincerity. Are you prepared?¡± Mao Li asked, smiling.


    ¡°What preparation should I make?¡± Qi Leren was nervous, and he felt subtly that it would not be a pleasant decision.


    Miao Li leaned forward slightly, her chin resting in her overlapping hands, and looked at Qi Leren who tried to hide his emotions. She seemed to find his reaction interesting, just like a researcher who observed creatures in a Petri dish. She showed her own interest without any disguise, and it was unpleasant.


    ¡°Become an undercover spy.¡±

 CH 68

    Chapter 68: Seed of Slaughter (VII)


    Qi Leren came out of the courthouse intact, alone.


    The pendant hanging on his chest was heavy. It was hidden underneath his clothes and stuck to his skin. It was slightly chilly. The pendant had the same shape and function as the gem on Miao Li¡¯s ring. Once the black fog symbolizing demonic power overflowed the whole ring face, it also meant that his death had come.


    He had come out with this pendant, which meant that he agreed to the conditions of the court. ¡°We someone new, and the shorter the time since they¡¯ve entered the Nightmare World, the better.


    ¡°Their interpersonal relationships should be simple, and their own strength should be passable. The most important thing was that they have to live up to the task, and will not collapse or even give up on themselves from time to time like garbage,¡± Miao Li¡¯s words echoed in his mind. "There aren¡¯t many things to do, and it won¡¯t be too difficult at first. If you¡¯re lucky, you can even get rid of this identity and return to the track of an ordinary player soon. Although the kind of seed on you is a bit troublesome, we can use a secret method of the Holy See to help you remove it. If you do a good job, maybe you can enter the Trials Office and get more resources.


    "We won¡¯t contact you very often, and please don¡¯t contact the court, don¡¯t tell anyone these secrets about the seed and the court, and keep a low profile; keep to yourself and be an ordinary person like before we found you. We¡¯ll send someone to train you, maybe tonight. Well, you can leave now.¡±


    So Qi Leren returned home in a little dreamy trance. But in half a day, he had escaped from the edge of life and death, and was sent to the mysterious Trials Office, and now he has become an undercover agent! Although Miao Li didn¡¯t tell him what he needed to do, he could guess some things. He was afraid the judgment hall needed a clean new person to enter the camp of Devil of Slaughter believers, and then hunt them down.


    The seed of slaughter in the back of his neck still hurt dully. Qi Leren touched the painful place, where it would sprout soon. The growing seed of slaughter would gradually eat away at his reason. Especially in battle, the surge of adrenaline would stimulate its growth. If it wasn¡¯t controlled, it would only be a matter of time before he went completely crazy. The way to control the growth of the seed of slaughter was to avoid too many battles as much as possible, and the second was to restrain its growth by external force. Holy water and other items of the Holy See could restrain the seed of slaughter to a certain extent. At the same time, he also needed to be careful not to be in contact with demon crystals too much, otherwise the seed of slaughter would accelerate its growth because of the stimulation from the demon energy.


    After washing, Qi Leren lied in bed exhausted, and looked at the survival days: 54 days and 23 hours.


    The gentle colours of sunset shone in from outside the window, and Qi Leren blocked his eyes with the back of his hand. The golden red light still stubbornly struggled through the gaps to his eyes, just like a bright red sea of fire. The feeling of weightlessness from when he¡¯d jumped down from the airship swept through him again, and Qi Leren kicked his leg like he had a cramp, only to wake up from the illusion of falling.


    He let out a breath, took the cold water from his bed and drank it, dousing the memory of death.


    But it was still too clear. Every time he used the S/L skill, he was accompanied by the pain of death. Those memories were hidden deep in his mind and firmly suppressed with willpower. But when he was tired, they would quietly break free and return to his consciousness, making him afraid.


    Qi Leren curled up in a different position. The quilt left by the last owner of this room smelled old. He covered his face with the quilt and blocked the sunset. Instead, he felt relieved in the darkness, holding the pendant warmed by his body temperature. There was a dark breath in the silvery white gem. One day it would overflow with darkness. Maybe one day he would die silently on a mission like Lu Youxin and many other people who died here.


    He suddenly remembered Ning Zhou¡¯s pendant. In the final battle underground, he had picked up Ning Zhou¡¯s pendant and held it in his hand. Then he fell into a coma. After waking up, the pendant had disappeared. It should¡¯ve been picked up by Ning Zhou.


    In the pendant was a woman with a holy aura and blue eyes like Ning Zhou ¡­


    Exhaustion seemed to be flooding in, and Qi Leren sleepily thought that he should forget about Ning Zhou soon, and fell into a deep sleep.


    &&&


    ¡°Are you here?¡±


    Qi Leren found himself floating in a starry sky. He looked at the owner of the voice. Miao Li, whom he had seen in the courthouse not long ago, sat in a chair. She floated in the starry sky like him, with an open book on her knee.


    ¡°Where is this place?¡± Qi Leren did not dare to act rashly, for fear that he would fall if he moved slightly.


    ¡°This is your dream. As I said, we will send someone to train you tonight, which is the safest way to keep secrets. The best thing is that such awareness training will not affect the seed of slaughter, and we can avoid it growing rapidly from you being too active.¡± Miao Li closed the book and made a ring. A chair appeared behind Qi Leren, and she motioned him to sit down.


    Qi Leren sat down and asked straight away, ¡°Where do we start?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a newcomer with a hasty personality.¡± Miaoli sighed, ¡°I still want to talk to you about the situation in the Nightmare World.¡±


    This was an area that Qi Leren didn¡¯t understand at all. He was silent for a moment and politely said, ¡°Please go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Simply put, the Twilight Township is the main settlement for players now, and it can basically be said to be the only settlement.¡± Miao Li turned the ring on her finger and said slowly.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a Village of Dawn?¡± Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help but interrupt.


    ¡°Oh, the Village of Dawn.¡± Miao Li¡¯s smile was a bit subtle. ¡°There aren¡¯t many players there. Those who can go there are, to some extent, not players.¡±


    Qi Leren looked at her in astonishment, and he remembered Su He.


    ¡°Basically, players who can complete the task of entering the Village of Dawn are not normal people, so to speak, they are half GM. If you want to count the Village of Dawn as a settlement of players, there are many other places to include, for example, the base camp of the Holy See - Neverland. After the Holy City was captured by the Devil, the Holy See moved to Neverland. Although most of them were NPCs, some players triggered related tasks in the Nightmare World and entered the Holy See¡¯s camp. Some chose to live in Neverland,¡± Miao Li said.


    ¡°¡­Is Ning Zhou the same?¡± Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Eh? Do you know Ning Zhou?¡± Miao Li asked curiously.


    Qi Leren nodded his head.


    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s a member of the Holy See. Most of the time, he¡¯s never in one town. It¡¯s said that the Pope attaches great importance to him. He occasionally serves as the messenger of the Holy See to convey some instructions. After all, the Trials Office is also regarded as an extended department of the Holy See.¡±


    Qi Leren responded sullenly, not asking about Ning Zhou again, but listening to Miao Li continue to say, ¡°You should know about the three Devil Kings. In fact, they don¡¯t just exist in worldbuilding stories, and many tasks in the Nightmare World are inseparable from them. The Devil of Fraud is relatively low-key, and there is very little information about it, while Power and Slaughter are very troublesome, especially Power. It confuses countless players with the ideal country. In my opinion, this is a completely evil thing to teach.¡±


    ¡°What is an ideal country?¡± Qi Leren had never heard of it.


    ¡°To put it simply, it creates a place similar to a land of pure bliss. As long as the player signs a contract with it, he no longer has to suffer for survival. He will live in an ideal country forever, will not be born or die, and will enjoy all the bliss he wants to enjoy. This is an irresistible temptation for many credulous and weak guys.¡± Miao Li smiled mockingly.


    ¡°It¡¯s really¡­¡± Qi Leren frowned disapprovingly.


    ¡°Stupid, right?¡± Miao Li shrugged her shoulders. ¡°You have a closer relationship with another, though. Players who believe in Devil of Slaughter have a secret association called the Slaughter Secret Meeting. All members are parasitized players who worship Slaughter. Some may also be NPCs. They have another system inside. Currently, they¡¯re secretly developing players. In the future, we¡¯ll arrange that for you. A different identity will help you join the Slaughter Secret Meeting. If you don¡¯t want your identity to be seen through too quickly and come to a bad end, you have to learn something.¡±


    ¡°Learn what?¡± Qi Leren¡¯s spirit was shaken.


    Miao Li pushed the black-rimmed glasses up the bridge of the nose and said with awe: ¡°Learn to lie first.¡±

 CH 69

    Chapter 69: Seed of Slaughter (VIII)


    ¡°To lie?¡± Qi Leren was a bit stupid. He¡¯d thought a lot just now about what the Court might teach him, but he never imagined that what Miao Li said was to lie.


    Miao Li gave a subtle smile: ¡°Why? Do you feel conflicted?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m just¡­ a little surprised,¡± Qi Leren said.


    Miao Li rubbed the ring on her finger and said faintly, ¡°Believe me, you¡¯ll have many places to use it, many, many places¡­¡±


    From the depths of the dream¡¯s universe, a comet flew from outer space, and its dazzling tail was like a long feather, dragging a wonderful arc of light across the land of stars, just like some ancient omen. Or perhaps it was just a sign of the beginning of a new stage.


    &&&


    Qi Leren woke up.


    The light of the setting sun streaming in through the window still filled the room. He got out of bed slowly and looked at the survival time of 54 days and 15 hours. He¡¯d slept for eight hours, so he should be in high spirits.


    But this was not the case at all. He was like a poor man who had been tortured by nightmares all night, and his brain was heavy when he woke up.


    It seemed that although the dream-learning method could save time, it was still very energy-consuming, and there was no way for Qi Leren to have a good rest, but¡­ it was still valuable.


    Qi Leren rubbed his aching temples and got up and washed his face with cold water.


    When a knock came on the door, Qi Leren hurriedly dried his face to open the door.


    Dr. Lu stood outside the door and said excitedly as soon as he saw him: ¡°I saw a very good two-person task in the Quests Centre, only for newcomers who entered the Nightmare World less than a month ago. The task difficulty rating is D, and the minimum reward is 20 days of survival time! Do you want to pick it up?¡±


    ¡°The minimum reward for the task of difficulty assessment D is 20 days?¡± Qi Leren asked strangely, ¡°That¡¯s not reasonable.¡±


    ¡°Should be a novice discount, it said newcomers only; the last time I was cheated by a few cheating customers to do a task with a B-level difficulty, more than half the team died! The task reward was also 20 days, but it was also because we only completed the minimum task, and it didn¡¯t trigger hidden plots and feeder lines. In short, I don¡¯t want to pick another B-level difficulty,¡± Dr Lu said with concern.


    After a little thought, Qi Leren nodded and said, ¡°Well, it¡¯s also good to save more survival days while we¡¯re still new.¡±


    ¡°That is to say, I still want to save more survival days and then exchange some easy-to-use skills. If I strengthen myself only with skill cards it¡¯ll be too hard to improve my actual abilities, it¡¯s not friendly to fragile healers at all.¡± Dr Lu said with dead eyes.


    Qi Leren exhaled: ¡°What is the task¡¯s introduction like?¡±


    ¡°The name of the task is ¡®Castle Cry¡¯, and the introduction isn¡¯t very detailed. It¡¯s probably a task of talking with a group of NPC night scouts who died in the castle. It¡¯s a copy task, and it needs to be sent to the copy. If you agree, we¡¯ll pick it up now, and it won¡¯t be opened for a few days.¡± Dr. Lu was in a hurry, for fear that the task would be taken off the shelf.


    ¡°Well, wait for me to get dressed.¡± Qi Leren went back and put on a coat and followed Dr. Lu to the Quests Centre.


    No matter what time, people came and went from the Quests Centre. Dr. Lu took Qi Leren to take over the Castle Cry task, and the task disappeared from the display board after they signed for it.


    Copy tasks in Nightmare World were almost impossible to repeat, and even if the types were similar, the contents varied widely. Otherwise, players could find players who have done the same task according to the existing tips to get intelligence rewards, but it didn¡¯t rule out that copy tasks taking place in the same location wouldn¡¯t be related to some extent.


    However, the tasks in the main world of Nightmare World could be repeated. For example, the last task Qi Leren did, ¡°Witchcraft Sacrifice¡±, was a typical reincarnation task, which was started every three years, and the content flow was almost the same in many cases. In this case, intelligence was very important.


    ¡°The task has to be opened within one week. Let¡¯s prepare for it first, and then find a lucky day to open it,¡± Dr. Lu said seriously.


    ¡°¡­Old-fashioned superstition is unacceptable,¡± Qi Leren was speechless.


    ¡°It¡¯s just to give me peace of mind.¡± Dr. Lu was very sincere, and forced him to blink.


    ¡°Suit yourself¡­¡± Qi Leren was helpless. Could such a new teammate do it¡­ This was the pattern that led to him having to fight the BOSS one on one.


    The two people speaking while walking out of the Quests Centre were suddenly stopped.


    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±


    Qi Leren looked back and a tall, thin man pointed to Qi Leren. ¡°It¡¯s really you. I saw you taken away by the Trials Court when I got off the airship last time. You were released?¡±


    Dr. Lu poked Qi Leren¡¯s waist with his elbow and whispered, ¡°What have you done?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story¡­¡± Qi Leren hadn¡¯t had time to mention the seed to Dr. Lu, although he wouldn¡¯t tell him that he had been parasitized personally, let alone disclose the transaction with the Court, but he could still talk to Dr. Lu about things on the airship.


    Passersby around them heard the two words of the Trials Court and looked at them intentionally or unintentionally. The feeling of being stared at made Qi Leren frown uncomfortably and he said to the man who had once met on the airship yet couldn¡¯t remember the name of: ¡°Just had to make a statement for fighting.¡±


    The tall, thin man gave him a dull look, nodded at him and walked into the Quests Centre.


    What a strange person, Qi Leren chanted in his mind, and he went out of the Centre with Dr. Lu in tandem.


    ¡°What happened before?¡± Dr. Lu asked curiously.


    ¡°Half a day ago, I took an airship from Sunset Island to the mainland of the Village of Dusk. On the airship¡­¡±


    Qi Leren brought up the things on the airship one by one, from the person in the cloak who had been parasitized by the seed to the poor passengers who died innocently. He calmly told the tragedy that he had been involved in. For the part of the Court, he learned to use the contents of what Miao Li had taught him, and appropriately added some secrets about Slaughter. Soon Dr. Lu was attracted by the secrets, and he listened attentively and believed in his story.


    Although he felt a bit guilty lying to his friend, he would have to get used to lying constantly, until he believed his own lies.


    ¡°Your luck is really bad. It happened to you in the airship twice. Wow, I won¡¯t take an airship with you in the future. You¡¯re like Conan*.¡± Dr. Lu gave an exaggerated wink that amused the heavy-hearted Qi Leren.


    {*E/N: Referencing the main character of Detective Conan, who is present when crimes take place during nearly every episode of the show.}


    ¡°OK, you swim and I¡¯ll take the airship and we¡¯ll see who gets to the destination first.¡± Qi Leren said jokingly.


    Dr. Lu looked dead: ¡°I¡¯ll die anyway, so I¡¯d better take the airship.¡±


    As they spoke, they walked through the busy downtown area and walked all the way to the secluded alleys. The Village of Dusk was shrouded in the inescapable sunset.


    ¡°The last time I was here I found a murder between NPCs here, and the task of the Witchcraft Sacrifice was triggered,¡± Qi Leren said with emotion. He had inspected the NPC¡¯s body out of curiosity, and as a result, he triggered the task. Then¡­ he met Ning Zhou, who had triggered the same task, but they didn¡¯t know anything about each other.


    There are so many coincidences in life, which eventually become something called destiny.


    ¡°You¡¯re too unlucky to even go for a walk.¡± Dr. Lu rubbed his arms, feeling cold, and hurriedly pulled Qi Leren¡¯s sleeve and walked briskly away.


    ¡°Don¡¯t shout, I feel a little weird.¡± Qi Leren muttered and touched his belt subconsciously.


    Faintly, he felt as if something disturbing lurked in this evening ¡­


    At Qi Leren¡¯s words, Dr. Lu also stopped and asked in wonder: ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°I need to think about some things, so I won¡¯t go to your place. I¡¯ll come back to you tomorrow,¡± Qi Leren said calmly.


    Dr. Lu gave a cry: ¡°That¡¯s fine, and the task¡¯s not urgent. Let¡¯s discuss it tomorrow. I¡¯ll be leaving, then.¡±


    Qi Leren nodded and watched Dr. Lu disappear from the alley. He moved a step, sticking his back to the mossy wall of the alley and saying to the empty alley, ¡°Come out.¡±


    The place shrouded from the afterglow of the sunset was silent, and only the breeze blew the vines that covered the wall, bringing a soft rustle, as if to tell Qi Leren that everything was just his illusion.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been following me since I left. Did you really think I wouldn¡¯t notice?¡± Qi Leren toyed with his dagger and spoke with a cool tone; only he probably knew that he wasn¡¯t sure at the moment.


    There was a loud roar, and the wall behind him suddenly exploded. The shockwave lifted Qi Leren up and he fell to the ground. He even rolled on the ground several times before stopping. There was a sharp pain in his internal organs, which made Qi Leren almost think that the organs would be broken.


    Dizzy, Qi Leren heard a mocking voice: ¡°Your acting is good, but the next time you want to cheat people, remember to point your face towards the place where others are hiding.¡±


    An arm was pressed on his back, and a cold blade was on the back of his neck. Even through the thin layer of cloth, he could feel the blade¡¯s chill.


    ¡°Now, take out all your skill cards, starting with the ones on your belt,¡± the man said greedily.

 CH 70

    Chapter 70: Seed of Slaughter (IX)


    It was him!


    This voice wasn¡¯t familiar, but after all, Qi Leren had heard it only a few minutes ago, and he clearly remembered that it was at the Quests Centre, the man who had met him once on the airship!


    Why did he¡­


    The answer is obvious, he came for his skill!


    That magical resurrection skill of ¡°bringing back the dead¡± displayed on the airship, that was why he came!


    But he didn¡¯t know that it wasn¡¯t a resurrection skill at all, but instead was still a bound skill, so it was impossible to give it to others.


    At this moment, when a knife was being held to his neck, Qi Leren¡¯s brain turned quickly. What should I do? Hand over my skill card? No, this was definitely a dead end, not to mention that this skill is a bound skill, even if it was an unbound skill, who could guarantee that he wouldn¡¯t kill Qi Leren after taking the skill card? But if he delayed, would he ¡­


    ¡®In this case, did you still want to use the S/L skill?¡¯ Qi Leren¡¯s heart was cold. ¡®Originally, I wanted to use this skill as little as possible, but it seems that¡­¡¯


    No, wait a minute. This man knew that he could revive with his skills. Why was he so confident? Wasn¡¯t he afraid that he would kill himself, resurrect again, and then kill him? He should have seen him move after the resurrection on the airship when he¡¯d used it so that he could break free from his bondage.


    ¡°Hurry up, hand over all the skill cards!¡± the man said bitterly, and the knife at the back of his neck pushed forward. The blade cut the collar and plunged into his skin. A chill came from the wound, and warm blood wet the clothes and seeped down.


    Qi Leren¡¯s brain, which was still thinking calmly, suddenly froze.


    Blood.


    Hatred.


    Kill him.


    It was as cold as a snake, some unpredictable and unstoppable force like a cold-blooded reptile, slithering down from the back of his neck, growing happily and greedily along his spine and skin.


    ¡°Ah, ah, ah-!¡± There was a shrill scream from the man behind him, as the hand that had been pressing on his back was suddenly bent by Qi Leren, and his fingers plunged into the man¡¯s belly like a blade, and the surging power on his fingers turned like a whirlpool, which exploded with a roar.


    The tall, thin man¡¯s body flew out and fell heavily on the ground. The dark red blood flowed out of his blasted abdominal cavity and slowly soaked the ground along with the internal organs.


    It was still flowing, it felt happy, but it was still not satisfied.


    With empty eyes, Qi Leren looked into the iron tower standing not far away. The mechanical tower was three or four meters high, and the weather vane rotated in the evening wind, making a faint click.


    Snipers lurking in the shadows at the top of the tower had already aimed at him.


    Qi Leren smiled unconsciously, a cold and strange smile appearing on his face, which seemed to be an evil appearing in the embers of the setting sun.


    A bang shot, a mercury bullet rubbed Qi Leren¡¯s arm, and didn¡¯t aim to take his life. It just wanted him to lose his ability to fight back. He evaded the bullet accurately as soon as he turned sideways. The next second, he moved like a cheetah, and rushed to the front of the iron tower with amazing speed. His hands climbed the steel frame and up the iron tower. The person on the mechanical tower waved a short knife in panic. Qi Leren grasped a blade with his bare hands without thinking.


    Blood burst out instantly, but it made it more excited. It almost frantically manipulated Qi Leren¡¯s body, as he wielded a dagger and cut the sniper¡¯s neck with one slice.


    The blood shooting from the carotid artery was as beautiful as an oil painting in the setting sun.


    Qi Leren, who was splashed with blood on his face, looked at the corpse under his feet with amusement, and the lifeless corpse twisted and fell from the top of the tower. With his death, the odd-shaped sniper gun disappeared with his belt.


    Qi Leren stood at the top of the tower, and the roar of airships flying overhead was like the machinery running in a large factory. Looking from the tower, the whole of Sunset Island was shrouded in the heavy setting sun, and the buildings with high and low levels were built into a steel-cast city. A whole row of huge chimneys poured out white water vapor, which reflected a gorgeous rainbow in the sunset.


    A gust of wind mingled with the smell of engine oil and poured into Qi Leren¡¯s nose, and he suddenly coughed as if he¡¯d burst a lung and sat down on the ground with woozy legs, which affected the cough with the internal organs and made his mouth full of the smell of rusty iron, not to mention the pungent scent of blood on his face.


    The cold chill had retracted back into his neck, his reason returned a little bit back from the abyss, the pain of being cut by a knife followed.


    It was terrible. Just now, it was like he had been taken away. Although his eyes could see, he couldn¡¯t control his body at all, or else he didn¡¯t want to control his own consciousness! They were all occupied by the desire to kill, and had killed two gangsters without mercy.


    Qi Leren trembled and looked at his blood-stained hands. The warm blood had lost its temperature in the wind, leaving only bloody hands. He could still remember how he stabbed his hand into the other¡¯s abdominal cavity. The sticky touch made him feel sick, and then that kind of power exploded from his body, destroying his internal organs together.


    Was this the power of evil?


    Qi Leren, brimming with the feeling of nausea, took out a water bottle from his inventory and washed the blood from his hands, and wiped his face with a towel. The towel was bloodstained and shocking, and his palm, which was cut by the blade, was full of blood, but it strangely had stopped. He threw the towel on the ground in disgust, as if he could escape the reality of killing people.


    After climbing down the tower, he still felt weak. It felt as if he had just used his S/L skill.


    It seems that the use of seed would still bring a burden to the body. If possible, he should try to avoid using it, otherwise, he didn¡¯t know how long his rationality could last.


    The tall, thin man¡¯s body was lying on the wall, and the wall around him had been blown down. This sinister greedy robber had ambushed him with explosives, and he also collaborated with a sniper. If Qi Leren¡¯s seed of slaughter hadn¡¯t been stimulated by his own blood, he would have died at least twice now.


    Did he want to dispose of the body? Qi Leren stood beside the corpse and thought, trying not to let himself think about the bloody scene just now.


    ¡°Hello,¡± a familiar voice came from behind.


    Qi Leren felt a rush of fear and immediately turned his head.


    Al sat on the wall of the alley and looked at him with his arms crossed.


    When did he come?! Qi Leren hadn¡¯t felt it at all.


    ¡°You followed me?¡± Qi Leren¡¯s first reaction was that he was watched by the people of the Court.


    Al¡¯s mouth twitched and seemed to want to laugh: ¡°You think too much, we¡¯re too busy to take care of your life or death.¡±


    He spoke impolitely, but this answer was a little reassuring to Qi Leren. He didn¡¯t want to be watched by the people of the Court all day long. He doubted if they would help him, even if they were watching. If he died in this simple predicament, it would only show that he didn¡¯t have the ability to judge, and Qi Leren clearly knew to never put their hopes on them.


    I still have to rely on myself after all.


    ¡°So you were just passing by?¡± Qi Leren still had doubts about his appearance.


    ¡°That¡¯s not it, someone asked for help from the Trials Office, and I just came and looked around here. It¡¯s you; you really do get into trouble wherever you go.¡± Al looked at Qi Leren with great interest.


    Qi Leren couldn¡¯t refute this. Just then, his eye caught on Dr. Lu probing around the mouth of the alley: ¡°Ah, Qi Leren, are you all right?¡±


    He was crouched like a small animal at the mouth of the cave, watching around with vigilance, and didn¡¯t dare to run out until everything was safe. At this moment, he quickly ran over and said, ¡°Mr. Al? Long time no see.¡±


    Dr. Lu was obviously impressed by the young man he had seen on the airship.


    Qi Leren wondered, ¡°Didn¡¯t you leave?¡±


    Dr. Lu gave him an oblique look: ¡°Hey, are you too discriminating against my IQ? Just when you had said that the surrounding atmosphere was wrong, you suddenly had something to go first. It was clear that something was wrong. As a law-abiding citizen, I certainly have to choose the police!¡± Saying this, he gave a cute triumphant smile.


    However, Al was not very supportive. He said with a cold face: ¡°I am not a policeman, and the courthouse is not a police station.¡±


    Dr. Lu murmured: ¡°Isn¡¯t it a different name¡­¡±


    Al didn¡¯t speak again. Sitting on the wall, he leaned back gently and disappeared behind the wall.


    There were only two living people and two dead bodies in the alley that was gently comforted by sunset.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to my place, I¡¯ll help you deal with the wound, and in the process we can try whether the ¡®Doctor¡¯s Orders¡¯ is useful to you.¡± Dr. Lu took Qi Leren¡¯s right hand, which had gripped the blade with his bare hand, and checked it. He found that the wound had stopped bleeding, and it didn¡¯t seem to have hurt his nerves. It wasn¡¯t serious, so he simply treated him with his skill.


    Qi Leren finally looked back at the corpse lying on the ground, resisting the desire to touch the ¡°time-bomb¡± on the back of his neck, and followed Dr. Lu to his home.


    The big bell tower in the middle of Sunset Island rang again, one, two¡­ The thick bells rushed in all directions.


    Near the alley where the accident occurred, Miao Li sat on a towering tree cast from steel, and looked at Qi Leren and Dr. Lu who left one after another and whispered: ¡°The seed of slaughter on his body developed faster than expected. This speed is not normal.¡±


    Al, who had appeared beside her at some point, held his arm and said coldly: ¡°Have you warned him to stay away from demon objects that will accelerate the growth?¡±


    ¡°Of course. Is it because of his physical condition that he¡¯s developing so fast? Or did he have any contact with demons recently? Influenced by the power of evil? This can also explain why the probability is so low, but he got caught. In the eyes of Slaughter, he is an out-and-out ''fertile soil¡¯.¡± Miao Li rubbed her chin and suddenly remembered something. ¡°He said that he knew Ning Zhou, but he¡¯s a newcomer who entered the game only ten days ago. How could he know the Vatican?¡±


    ¡°He also knows people from the Village of Dawn,¡± Al said.


    ¡°Interesting.¡± Miao Li snorted, ¡°But according to this development, the seed with mature within a few months. Do you want to help him suppress it¡­¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself. Don¡¯t kill people, Boss said,¡± Al reminded her.


    Miao Li shrugged her shoulders and said carelessly, ¡°I see.¡±

 CH 71

    Chapter 71: Seed of Slaughter (X)


    Early the next morning, Qi Leren woke up in the sunset-filled room. In his recent dream, he repeatedly dreamed of killing and being killed. Over and over again, sticky and bloody death tormented him during his dreams and waking hours. Fortunately, he was awakened by a knock on the door.


    The Village of Dusk was shrouded in sunset all the year round, and people¡¯s concept of time became weak after a long time; even if they looked at clocks and watches, they couldn¡¯t be sure whether it was ¡°day¡± or ¡°night¡±, and everyone¡¯s work and rest were inevitably confused after a long time.


    The knock on the door still sounded rhythmically, and Qi Leren put on clothes and dragged slippers to open the door.


    When the door opened, Chen Baiqi stood outside her arms crossed and looked him over from head to toe. Qi Leren pressed down his mussed hair, and his voice was hoarse as if he had just climbed out of the grave: ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Get dressed and come with me,¡± Chen Baiqi said.


    ¡°Where to?¡± Qi Leren is baffled.


    ¡°Go see Lu Youxin.¡±


    Qi Leren was shocked: ¡°Isn¡¯t she dead?¡±


    Chen Baiqi leaned against the door and said faintly, ¡°Yes, so we are going to sweep her grave, are you coming?¡±


    ¡°¡­Wait for me.¡± Qi Leren hurried back to wash, dressed and followed Chen Baiqi to the coast.


    ¡°I thought you and Lu Youxin weren¡¯t very familiar,¡± Qi Leren said on the way. Chen Baiqi heard him say that Liu Youxin died when he was on the Witchcraft Sacrifice mission. At that time, she was only slightly surprised, but she didn¡¯t show any sad feelings. He thought they should just be nodding acquaintances. He didn¡¯t expect Chen Baiqi to visit her grave.


    Chen Baiqi, with her hands in her coat pockets, walked in a hurry: ¡°We¡¯ve done tasks together before and exchanged some information, which is not too familiar. Ning Zhou is familiar with her and should be regarded as her friend. ¡±


    Qi Leren lowered his eyes and didn¡¯t ask any more questions, but his heart vaguely understood why Lu Youxin would kindly send them tips before she died. After all, she was friends with Ning Zhou, otherwise why would she bother?


    On the coast, a boat the size of a small yacht was docked at the shore. The two people got on the boat, and Chen Baiqi took the helm. This old-looking boat made a mechanical roar as it started, and white steam came out of the chimney covered with rust, puffing out a long white mist after the fast-moving boat.


    Qi Leren was a little curious about where they were going, but he didn¡¯t ask. He would soon know anyway.


    ¡°At sea, the air is finally better. I really can¡¯t stand the smell of engine oil,¡± Chen Baiqi said with a cigarette in her mouth, the cigarette butt burning fast in the wind. She blew out a mouthful of smoke with the cigarette in one hand and grasped the steering wheel in the other.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it very much¡­ I don¡¯t really understand the energy of the Nightmare World. I heard that it¡¯s neither coal nor oil, but devil crystallization?¡± Qi Leren remembered that he¡¯d heard NPCs talk about this problem in the game, but it was not very deep.


    ¡°Thank God it¡¯s not coal, otherwise there¡¯d be smog everywhere.¡± Chen Baiqi curled her mouth and continued, ¡°The technology development in the Nightmare World is very strange. It¡¯s reached its peak in steam, and there¡¯s no problem in power application. However, the use of other energy sources still stays at the stage of coal and firewood burning. Ha, thanks to the Devil invading the Nightmare World more than 20 years ago, although it brought great damage, it has also made human beings discover a new energy - devil crystallization.¡±


    Qi Leren pricked up his ears and listened to Chen Baiqi tell the story of devil crystallization.


    ¡°Devil crystallization comes from the devils bodies, and can be obtained from their bodies after they¡¯ve been hunted. It can be said that it¡¯s highly condensed devil energy. If you deal with devil crystallization for a long time, human beings are even in danger of demonization and become low irrational demons. However, it was soon discovered that this crystallization has a magical power.¡±


    ¡°What power?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    Chen Baiqi threw the cigarette butt away, and the sea breeze blew her hair back. The goggles made Qi Leren unable to see her eyes, but he could still see that she smiled: ¡°The power of boiling water. Can you guess how long it will take to boil the water in a 50-meter-long swimming pool by throwing in a devil crystal as large as a fingernail? ¡±


    Like putting sodium in water? Qi Leren thought about it and guessed boldly as much as possible: ¡°An hour?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, what a conservative answer.¡± Chen Baiqi laughed loudly, and her voice was scattered in the sea breeze. ¡°For three days and three nights, the water will boil steadily. Now do you understand why the steam engine is the king of this world?


    "If you throw enough demon crystals into the sea, maybe the sea will boil, it¡¯s such an incredible power,¡± Chen Baiqi¡¯s clear voice said.


    This kind of thing that didn¡¯t exist in the real world had completely changed the technological structure of the Nightmare World and the Village of Dusk. The efficient and clean demon crystallization made the steam engine destined to be eliminated firmly occupy the mainstream position. Even after the discovery of electricity, human beings still used steam to generate electricity instead of water power and thermal power.


    Unfortunately, in the world outside the Village of Dusk and the Village of Dawn, human beings still lived in the primitive times of the Middle Ages and were ruled by demons.


    The sea became foggy, and the boat drove all the way into the fog. Unconsciously, even the sunset withered in the fog, and thick white fog continuously emerged from the sea in all directions, covering the boat.


    Chen Baiqi jumped off the rudder and hung a lamp at the stern.


    The misty yellow light lit up the foggy world, and Qi Leren looked intently at the sea water. There seemed to be something moving under the surface, a mass of black things¡­ With a crash, a blue arm stretched out from the water and hit the rusted ship. The dead body under the water showed half a swollen head, which was as bumpy and horrible as over-fermented steamed bread after highly rotting.


    ¡°What is this?!¡± Qi Leren took a step back, and his voice suddenly lifted.


    Chen Baiqi glanced: "Water ghosts, stand far away, they won¡¯t come up.¡±


    With her words, the white mist gradually dispersed in the yellow light, and Moses divided the sea to reveal a channel full of moonlight. He didn¡¯t know when the sunset disappeared and the horizon was replaced by bright moonlight. The water ghosts on the sea seemed to be afraid of the pure moonlight, and fled into the sea and hid in the depths of the fog.


    The boat set sail again, along the dreamy sea paved by moonlight, heading for the faintly visible island ahead.


    &&&


    There was also a thin layer of fog on the island. Chen Baiqi threw a flashlight to Qi Leren. This flashlight was heavy, big and portable, and it had an old and rugged temperament. Qi Leren studied it a little and was interested in the technology development of the Nightmare World.


    ¡°When the sun goes down, we have now left the scope of the Village of Dusk. We can find this small island through the Sea of ?the Undead. A player discovered it many years ago and found that the dead players can be found on this island. A tombstone is generated, and there will be brief personal information on the tombstone. Since then, players have come here to mourn their friends, which can be regarded as sweeping graves.¡± Chen Baiqi took Qi Leren up the stairs and walked through a large cemetery. ¡°We are now passing through the tombstones of those players from more than 20 years ago. Those people should have died. After all, the monthly compulsory task will become more and more difficult later. The third year will be a watershed, which will eliminate those ordinary people who are not working hard. For more than 20 years, that¡¯s two or three hundred compulsory tasks¡­ Oh, the difficulty is probably comparable to the beginning of the world.¡±


    The sense of despair in Chen Baiqi¡¯s discourse depressed Qi Leren for a while. He asked, ¡°Do you still have to carry out compulsory tasks even if you go to the Village of Dawn? Is there no way to get rid of this event?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, no one has proved it. Maybe we¡¯re all just waiting for someone to complete the world¡¯s ultimate task and end it. All this is just a legend between players. After all, the Nightmare World¡¯s not a game, but a real world,¡± Chen Baiqi said.


    Clear moonlight fell all the way, and flowers and trees along the way were shrouded in faint fog, dreamlike. It was just that the tombstones, which were arranged layer after layer as if they were seats in a theater, make all this supposed beautiful scenery heavy, as countless deaths were superimposed together, adding a bit of solemnity to this cold night.


    The two people walked deeper and deeper until they came to the depths of the island. The endless spread of tombstones finally came to an end. Chen Baiqi signaled Qi Leren to illuminate the words on the tombstones with a flashlight, and the two walked forward from the end.


    Strange names appeared in the light of the flashlight and finally settled on the tombstone of the person they were looking for.


    [Lu Youxin. Witchcraft Sacrifice. The survival time was 731 days.]


    Such a simple three lines summarized Lu Youxin¡¯s life.


    ¡°He really came,¡± Chen Baiqi whispered, looking at a bouquet of lilies lying in front of the tombstone.


    Ning Zhou? Had he been here? Qi Leren gawked at the lilies, and the picture of Ning Zhou setting foot on this island with flowers came to his mind. He must have been alone, perhaps in such misty weather, to see a dead friend alone. At that time, what kind of mood was he in?


    Chen Baiqi sprinkled a bottle of wine over the front of the grave, and the wine gave off the bitter smell of alcohol, wetting the lilies in front of the grave. She didn¡¯t say anything, just standing in front of the tombstone, as if lost in her own memories.


    The flashlight in Qi Leren¡¯s hand turned to the grave next to it, and it was Xie Wanwan, who also died as a sacrificial witch. Going forward was an unfamiliar name, who died in a task called Haunted Halloween, next to a player who also died in Haunted Halloween, and going forward¡­


    Qi Leren¡¯s footsteps stopped.


    The beam of the flashlight was fixed on the tombstone, and together with the heartbeat, mortal fear poured in from the depths of his soul, like a cold wave that drowned him.


    [Qi Leren. Witchcraft Sacrifice. The survival time was 13 days.]

 CH 72

    Chapter 72: Seed of Slaughter (XI)


    [Qi Leren. Witchcraft Sacrifice. The survival time was 13 days.]


    Like falling into a freezer, Qi Leren was cold and motionless as he looked at the inscription on the tombstone. Everything around him was far away, just like being blocked by an invisible barrier: the sound of the waves, the bright moonlight, the clear wine¡­ everything was far away. He was like a living person buried in the ground, watching the soil cover his body a little bit, and from then on, he would be accompanied by darkness and insects, and eventually gradually decay in the unknown.


    He was unwilling. He urged the frozen body to move forward, and more and more of the dead were exposed to him.


    [Qi Leren. Witchcraft Sacrifice. The survival time was 13 days.]


    [Qi Leren. Witchcraft Sacrifice. The survival time was 13 days.]


    -If the arrangement of tombstones was according to the time of the death of all people, then the nearest to Lu Youxin was the one who survived for 13 days died of trying his luck and killing himself, and these two died of dragon¡¯s breath.


    [Qi Leren. Witchcraft Sacrifice. The survival time was 13 days.]


    -that one died with a dagger when he was chased by a hungry wolf.


    [Qi Leren. Witchcraft Sacrifice. The survival time was 13 days.]


    -that one died in an explosion that killed the giant.


    Qi Leren, who had lost his mind, was still moving forward. There were all unfamiliar names here. He had to walk a long way before he could meet the tombstone he left in the Novice Village.


    ¡°Enough, Qi Leren!¡± Chen Baiqi¡¯s voice sounded behind Qi Leren.


    Qi Leren stood among rows and rows of tombstones arranged like theater seats, and the moonlight left his shadow on the ground, overlapping with the shadows of countless tombstones, as if entangled between life and death, but the moonlight blurred the boundaries.


    Was he still alive? Was he already dead? How could he prove that he was still alive?


    With memory? But memory was just a brain wave. In the face of all kinds of incredible forces in this Nightmare World, even fabricating a memory was very simple, let alone transplanting a memory.


    Was he really alive?


    Was he still alive?


    Chen Baiqi came to his side, took his arm and walked back into the deeper part of the island.


    Along the path full of moonlight, treading weeds and insects, they walked deeper and deeper. Qi Leren didn¡¯t know where Chen Baiqi was going, but didn¡¯t want to know. His soul seemed to be left in front of his tombstone, and he was just a walking corpse.


    Through the dense forest, his eyes were suddenly enlightened.


    They were standing on a high solitary cliff, and the sea under the moonlight was just over the edge. So quiet, so vast, silvery white scales of moonlight beating on the water, together with the starlight and the sea, constituting a suffocatingly beautiful night.


    Chen Baiqi sat down on a strange rock on the sea cliff, covered her lighter with her hand, lit herself a cigarette, and lit another one for Qi Leren.


    This time, Qi Leren didn¡¯t refuse.


    The two people sat on the cliff, listening to the crash of the tide lapping on the cliff, and the sound of Qi Leren coughing while smoking, and they said nothing to each other.


    ¡°Now I know why Ning Zhou specifically told me not to bring you here before he left.¡± Chen Baiqi finished smoking a cigarette and crushed the cigarette butt beneath her shoe. ¡°Unfortunately, when I don¡¯t collect money, I¡¯m a really uncooperative person.¡±


    ¡°What else did he say?¡± Qi Leren asked hoarsely.


    ¡°A lot, I¡¯ve never heard so many words from him, but it is probably because he was drunk.¡± Chen Baiqi laughed lowly. ¡°After all, I brought a whole box of good wine to see him. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll be eager to kill me when he wakes up.¡±


    Qi Leren looked up at Chen Baiqi. She sat on the stone with her legs crossed and lit a cigarette for herself.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he believed that he could fall in love with someone who doesn¡¯t belong to this world in such a short time,¡± Chen Baiqi said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Qi Leren¡¯s heart thumped, and a sense of foreboding, which he had always been unwilling to ponder, welled up in his mind.


    Chen Baiqi raised a slender eyebrow: ¡°I thought you¡¯d discovered it, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Don¡¯t belong to this world¡­ Qi Leren¡¯s mind suddenly saw a face similar to Ning Zhou¡¯s, the blonde woman praying under the cross in the Barrier of the Holy Spirit, who has a pair of eyes identical to Ning Zhou¡¯s.


    ¡°Ning Zhou is like my sister, but should be said to be more special than her. Her parents are players from the real world, but Ning Zhou¡­ his mother was an NPC.¡±


    Chen Baiqi¡¯s voice seemed to come from outside. He heard every word she said, but suddenly he couldn¡¯t understand them.


    ¡°Calculate Ning Zhou¡¯s age. His father should be the first player to enter this game, but he died very early. After his mother died, he was sent to the Vatican and was deeply influenced by the Holy See. Ning Zhou also told me that when he was 18 years old, he would perform tasks like ordinary players. Three years ago, when he was 18 years old, he had the same number of survival days as us and needed to perform mandatory tasks every month.¡±


    The cigarette butt in Qi Leren¡¯s hand had almost burned out, but he didn¡¯t notice it at all.


    ¡°This time when he received the Witchcraft Sacrifice task, it was a complete accident. He had just come back from Neverland recently. He met a gangster who was chasing several girls and killed them. Unfortunately, he failed to save the two girls. Instead, because of the demon mark on their hands, he triggered the task at this time. Even more coincidentally, you also received this task from another dead NPC.


    "In fact, he didn¡¯t care much about you at the beginning. In terms of personality, Ning Zhou was born not to like being close to people. It¡¯s hard to imagine that he took the initiative to approach someone. At the beginning, he saved you from being attacked by wolves by a bonfire, which was completely convenient. Helping those in need is also the precept of the Holy See.¡± When Chen Baiqi spoke, she suddenly smiled lightly. ¡°But after he got drunk even more, he admitted it. He thought it was cute when you pretended to be calm and tried to talk to him.¡±


    -¡°I¡­ my name is Qi Leren, what¡¯s your name?¡± Memories suddenly changed from gray to new, like a roll of black and white film, suddenly with sound and color. Qi Leren clearly remembered that by the warm bonfire, he felt uneasy and stopped talking, and finally built up the courage to ask her name.


    ¡°Later, in the underground cave, you were chased by the bone dragon, and he took you to escape. At that time, you looked scared, red eyes, and trembling when you spoke, but stubbornly wanted to protect him, even not afraid of death. I ¡®m afraid that Ning Zhou has never seen anyone work so hard for him in so many years. After that, you died from the dragon¡¯s breath and were almost frozen to death by the frozen underground lake. After he rescued you, he looked at you, who was soaked and shivering. He swore to himself that he would protect you.¡±


    -¡°Thank you in short, tell me your name when the time comes!¡± At that time, he had hurriedly run for his life, and his lungs were in pain. He kept his voice down and did not dare to cough, so his eyes were red. He knew that he wouldn¡¯t die, and he had a great chance to survive with skilled help, so he was brave.


    ¡°In the last underground palace, Ning Zhou used up the relics left by his mother. Yes, that¡¯s the pendant. That thing is no ordinary item, he shouldn¡¯t have used it, but at that time it was a close call, and you were in grave danger again, so he didn¡¯t hesitate to use it, even if¡­ You found the only chance in the Barrier of the Holy Spirit, but it was really a monster¡­ "Chen Baiqi looked out at the calm sea in the moonlight, and her voice seemed to have died. "Later when he was drunk, Ning Zhou wouldn¡¯t continue, but I already know. To personally kill a lover who was willing to pay her life for him, how much pain must he have been in at the time¡­ ¡±


    -¡°Ning Zhou, I have a way, maybe we can all live.¡± At that time, the excited Qi Leren even said the most cruel words to Ning Zhou with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s very simple: kill me.¡±


    Qi Leren dropped to sit on the stone and covered his face with his hand. This short experience had turned into a prank of fate in his eyes, but in Ning Zhou¡¯s eyes? This was totally an irreparable tragedy.


    ¡°Do you know? After the mission, before coming to see you, Ning Zhou went somewhere, ¡± Chen Baiqi said slowly.


    ¡°Where?¡± He clearly knew he should stop asking, but Qi Leren still felt the words leave his mouth.


    Chen Baiqi answered the unneeded question: ¡°He went to buy something.¡±


    Qi Leren¡¯s finger moved stiffly, and he knew something vaguely, but it was too unbelievable.


    Chen Baiqi didn¡¯t say any more. She smoked a cigarette. The smell of tobacco made her relaxed and calm. She stood up, facing the sea, and murmured, ¡°This is fate. People who are obviously impossible come to love each other because of various coincidences, but unfortunately in the end¡­ It¡¯s still impossible.¡±


    Qi Leren was silent.


    ¡°In Ning Zhou¡¯s world, I¡¯m afraid he never thought about homosexuality. After all, he lived in the Vatican since he was very young, obeyed the precepts, abided by the canon, and had a firm belief. He was the kind of man whose heart won¡¯t exceed the moment. When he fell in love, he would propose marriage, and his first night would be reserved for his wedding night. Most importantly, the Vatican in this world is not of the modern religion in the world where we once lived. It is old-fashioned and conservative. All love between the same sex is wrong, immoral and even sinful.


    "If one day, he loves you more than everything, maybe he will leave the Vatican. But he will need to abandon his faith and give up everything he once regarded as life¡­ Is this love more painful, or is death more painful?¡±


    The salty sea breeze blew on his face and stole away the heat from one¡¯s body. While listening to all this, Qi Leren had been very calm. He stood up from the stone and whispered: ¡°I understand¡­¡±


    Chen Baiqi turned around and handed him a bottle in her hand: ¡°Take it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have to drown my sorrows in wine,¡± Qi Leren made a joke stiffly, but it was so difficult to raise the corners of his mouth.


    ¡°It¡¯s not wine, it¡¯s holy water from the Holy See. Maybe you can use it later,¡± Chen Baiqi shrugged her shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m going to see some old friends first. We¡¯ll meet at the shore in an hour.¡±


    Qi Leren¡¯s hand holding the bottle froze. How did Chen Baiqi know that he needed holy water to suppress the seed?


    Seeing that Chen Baiqi had left, he ignored caution and asked loudly, ¡°Why did you give me this?¡±


    Chen Baiqi waved backwards at him: ¡°It¡¯s from Ning Zhou. Let me give it to you. Keep it. Maybe it¡¯ll come in handy in the future.¡±


    Chen Baiqi¡¯s figure had disappeared under the steps. Qi Leren shook the bottle, and the crystal clear transparent liquid glowed faintly in the moonlight. Just looking at it made him feel calm. If it was Ning Zhou¡­ Could he know? After all, he saw him at the courthouse.


    Qi Leren didn¡¯t want to think any more, so he put away the holy water and went down.


    This time, he no longer panicked over those tombstones, which he could not verify or control. Even if he was really dead, this one was still alive now. He could act, think and be as happy and sad as before. He didn¡¯t want to struggle with more problems.


    Down the stairs, there were neat tombstones on both sides of the steps, which were as neat as a procession.


    The order of tombstones should be arranged according to the time of death, not according to the order of tasks. Qi Leren stopped at Lu Youxin¡¯s tombstone, walked backwards one row, and then went in. He saw Ye Xia, which turned out to be her real name and she had lived for more than 1,500 days.


    One step further, the place illuminated by the flashlight held the name Qi Leren.


    Three tombstones in a row, all of them him.


    He had died by Ning Zhou¡¯s hand.


    Qi Leren¡¯s feet stopped, an emotion that couldn¡¯t be said to be sad or relieved seeping out slowly from the depths of his soul. After Chen Baiqi said Ning Zhou had bought something, he guessed vaguely, but it was still unbelievable, but now he saw it with his own eyes, and he finally had to believe it.


    He could almost imagine Ning Zhou¡¯s mood when he found his tombstone. Perhaps for him, the Qi Leren he loved has stayed in the underground palace forever, and was killed by his own hands three times.


    They hadn¡¯t had the time to start, and the love he hadn¡¯t said yet stayed there forever. He could only leave proof of his love at the tombstone and give it to the ¡°her¡±.


    Qi Leren stepped forward and squatted down at his grave.


    [Qi Leren. Witchcraft Sacrifice. The survival time was 13 days.]


    An open box was placed upright in front of the tombstone, and a ring lay quietly inside.


    The ring is inlaid with a blue gem, which shone in the moonlight.


    As beautiful as Ning Zhou¡¯s eyes.

 CH 73

    Chapter 73: Neverland (Stranger)


    The aircraft descended slowly over a field of ice and snow, and finally landed in a hidden valley. The steam turbine turned off, and a large amount of hot water vapor formed a wave-like white billow in the environment of minus 30 degrees, spreading around.


    Wrapped in fur from head to toe, the guard with only a pair of eyes showing saluted the aircraft. He couldn¡¯t see the insignia in the steam, but he could still recognize that it was an aircraft of the Holy See, and it should have flown from another stronghold.


    This was one Holy See strongholds closest to Neverland. Most of the Holy See¡¯s hierophants would choose to land here, and then walk through the triple barrier to enter the scope of Neverland. This was a necessary precaution to prevent hell from attacking again after the captured Holy City was evacuated. Nothing could fly through the gravity barrier to enter the polar Neverland.


    When the door opened, the hot air in the cabin burst out, colliding with the cold in the snow and ice, and forming a fog. A tall figure walked out of the cabin with a big black bird parked on his shoulder. He walked steadily down the steps and returned the guard¡¯s salute.


    It really was boring to stand guard here. Usually, the guard would talk to hierophants passing by here, but when he saw the handsome face before him, he gave up the idea of talking. It was more definitely more difficult to pry even one word out of the knight Ning Zhou than to make an ice sculpture spit out human speech. Even under the crown of the Pope who raised him from the age of thirteen, it was rare to hear him speak a long passage.


    The guard watched him walk into the underground checkpoint of the stronghold alone. Although he was still expressionless, today the knight seemed to be colder and more silent than before. Even his noisy black eagle was silent.


    Although it was noon, this city laid within the extreme unending night of the north. The stars were shrouded in the vast snow, as if a sea area of fluorescent plankton was floating over their heads. All you could see was endless white land and boundless snow, and the universe that was vast and unending.


    If a poet walked through this wasteland of ice and snow, the beautiful scenery in front of him would certainly inspire him. Unfortunately, for those who lived in Neverland, this long night was not only a pressure on survival, but also a mental torture, especially for those who trudged in the snow.


    Ning Zhou wore a white fur cloak and walked through the gravity barrier. The gravity and chaotic magnetic field up here made all electronic devices useless. Every step was like carrying a mountain. Although the Vatican¡¯s traffic order could slightly reduce the gravity of the barrier, it still made people sweaty and tired to pass through it.


    After passing through the gravity barrier, there was a sacred barrier set against the power of demons. All demons disguised as human beings couldn¡¯t pass through this barrier. Unless it had suffered a general catastrophe like that of more than 20 years ago, even if the Lord came again, he would not be able to break the barrier.


    It took half a day to walk through the double enchantments. On the vast ice sheet, compasses no longer worked, and the direction could only be determined by stars. The last enchantment was the spiritual enchantment ahead. Walking in this enchantment, people would see countless pictures of their memories, all their desires amplified here, and all the distractions you were looking for and longing for that were contrary to your beliefs would be presented here one by one. Either wash away the filth in your heart here, or lose yourself in your desire.


    For the firm hierophant, this barrier was almost non-existent, and so it was for Ning Zhou.


    Every time he passed here, he would only see a thin phantom, and the trivial desire would be easily washed by faith, leaving no trace in his mind. But this time, he stood in front of the enchantment, letting the rustling wind and snow fall on his face, leaving traces of frost on his eyelashes, but he did not walk into the enchantment.


    The eagle pushed out of the pet bag and pecked Ning Zhou¡¯s ear tip, which seemed to urge him. Ning Zhou took a deep breath and the hot air condensed into a white mist. He stepped forward and headed for his own soul.


    In the vast ice sheet and the boundless sea of stars, the wild wind roared and asked him to retreat, but the traveler trekking in the polar wilderness walked forward step by step with the wind that could tear people¡¯s skin. The eagle on his shoulder was already unsuited to the cold, and it hid in its pet bag, leaving him alone on the ice sheet.


    At some point, the roaring wind had become far away, as if it were the singing of a giant whale in the deep sea, so vigorous and ethereal¡­ The night sky overhead was lit by the hands of the gods, and layers of blue-green auroras emerged in this vast wasteland, dancing in the shape of waves.


    ¡°Ning Zhou¡­¡±


    A sweet voice called out his name, just behind him.


    Ning Zhou didn¡¯t look back, but he was still moving forward, and every step used the whole of his body¡¯s strength to continue walking step by step.


    The voice that was calling went away and died in the wind.


    In the barren land under the aurora, a figure suddenly appeared ahead. Dressed in a thin sacrificial costume, she came up to him with timidity and curiosity. The corners of her brown eyes drooped slightly. She looked up at him with childlike innocence, but when she became serious, she was so patient and brave.


    Close your eyes, don¡¯t look, don¡¯t think, just keep walking, Ning Zhou told himself.


    The phantom held out her hand and tried to hold his sleeve, but her hand went straight through. She looked at her hand in consternation, as if suddenly aware of something, and fell into stupefied tears.


    ¡°Am I dead?¡± She asked sadly.


    It was like a blow to the chest, and the cold air inhaled into the lungs hurt him. He could no longer turn a blind eye and walk away, so he stopped, even though he knew he shouldn¡¯t.


    At the moment when his footsteps stopped, the ice and snow seemed to be covered with a haze. He returned to the Undead Island in a trance. At that time, he held a bouquet of lilies and went up the stairs to look for the tomb of his old friend, but inadvertently found her tombstone.


    So many tombstones.


    Some had died in the task, and some had died in the Village of Dusk. The number of days she¡¯d lived was not even as many as the number of times she had died.


    The heartache and disbelief of that moment could no longer be described in words.


    At the end of the Witchcraft Sacrifice, she left three successive tombstones, not at the hands of the enemy, but at his hands.


    At that time, his soul seemed to be separated from his own body, floating in the air, looking at his ¡°self¡±.


    It was not him, it was just the desire buried in his heart. It finally broke free from the shackles of the reason it had been defeated. It seemed like a demon who broke free from the shackles of seals and came into the world.


    He watched himself take out the ring in front of her tombstone, knelt down on one knee, and asked silently, Will you marry me?


    The tombstone wouldn¡¯t respond, but he had already seen her.


    Walking lightly in the darkness deep in the underground palace was more irresistible than the temptation of the Devil. She gently took his hand, shyly lifted her face, closed her eyes, and slightly opened her lips and tilted her mouth, tempting him to send a kiss.


    ¡°He¡± leaned over¡­


    Deep in his consciousness, a voice suddenly passed through, and if it was low, it would wake him up with thunder.


    On the bridge made of steel, he looked back in a hurry and saw the young man standing behind him with the same brown eyes as ¡°her¡± with the slightly drooping corners. He looked at him in astonishment: ¡°You¡¯re a man?¡±


    When he realized this, the illusion began to fall apart. The girl waiting to be kissed opened her eyes and looked at him sadly. Her figure became weaker and weaker, but her appearance gradually changed. Her hair was shortened, her stature was raised, and she gradually recovered to the appearance of a man. However, she asked directly into his heart: ¡°If you love my soul, why do you want to escape?¡±


    At this moment, his love became a sin.


    The aurora came to his eyes through the half-collapsed dreamland, and when he looked up, he could see the polar night sky.


    But when he lowered his head, he was still in the dreamland, and he still hadn¡¯t escaped it.


    At the foot of an underground cave, which made the bone dragon the two people had been fleeing a pile of frosted bones while they were in the underground lake not far away, she tried to climb ashore when she fell into the water.


    Gravel was everywhere on the shore, which was so sharp that it cut her hand and dragged several brown blood marks on the ground. Steam had enveloped her body, and her wet hair was covered with ice. She fell back to the lake again and again, and finally lost her strength.


    Immersed in ice water, she looked at him on the shore with empty eyes. Even if his heart was twisted, he didn¡¯t take another step, but said silently, ¡°Go home, go where you are meant to.¡±


    The girl who sank in the ice lake showed a reluctant smile to him, closed her eyes, and sank to the bottom of the lake silently. With her sinking, her appearance gradually overlapped with that of a man, and she could no longer be distinguished. At the moment when he sank to the bottom of the lake, the lake floating with crushed ice suddenly froze into ice - together with his heart.


    The illusion disintegrated from top to bottom, and he finally returned to the ice sheet.


    The mighty aurora winded out the beautiful shape, illuminating this dark ice sheet, and the world as far as he could see was frosty and cold, and all emotions, whether shaken, loved, or guilty, were buried deep under the ice, quietly dormant.


    Ning Zhou recalled their farewell from the steel bridge. He watched him turn around and walk towards the other end of the bridge. He kept watching him, watching him go further and further until he walked out of his life¡­ He didn¡¯t look back, so he finally turned around and walked in the direction that would take him back to his own world. But when the cheers of the crowd sounded in the middle of the steel bridge, he looked back, and he looked back, and the two people separated by the boundless crowd saw each other again. For a moment, he thought he saw ¡°her¡±, but he knew that there was never that ¡°her¡±, only ¡°he¡± - a person he could not love.


    The happy couple embraced and kissed, surrounded by the blessings of the world.


    And the distance between them is farther than that of the sky¡­


    Ning Zhou walked on. It was only an hour or two away. He walked for a whole day and a night and finally walked out of the spiritual barrier. His longing, his yearning, was covered by the vast ice and snow, and sank into his soul.


    He knew that he still hadn¡¯t defeated it. Although it died down and went into the darkness, it would come back one day.


    Merciful Lord, my father, I crawl at your feet and pray. May you forgive my sin. He knelt on one knee on the ice and prayed in the direction of the Holy See.


    Under the glacier was a little spark, singing songs and music, and the magnificent Holy See was just around the corner.


    The long night was about to pass, and the light would finally come.

 CH 74

    Chapter 74: Castle Cry (I)


    [Player Qi Leren has started the task: Castle Cry]


    [Task background: In the middle of the night, three couples have come to the mountains in the outskirts of town to watch the stars during a once-in-a-century meteor shower. In the mountains, there was a European-style castle built during the Republic of China. It was said that it was built by a German couple who came to China to do business, and then it was abandoned because of a fire. The locals repeatedly tried to repair the castle, but each time there was an accident, and no one has set foot inside since. At midnight that night, the clear night sky suddenly began to rain with dark clouds. Six people were trapped on the top of the mountain, and the rain gradually worsened. One of them proposed to seek shelter from the rain under the castle¡¯s eaves¡­]


    [Task requirements: Leave the castle before dawn with a task completion degree above 30% to receive the reward of 20 survival days, with the chance for additional survival day rewards. If the completion degree is above 90%, you will receive a lucky draw once.]


    [Data synchronization countdown: ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Synchronization complete.]


    &&&


    Qi Leren was awakened by the rain. It was raining all around him. Two couples were crowded under a tree. One of the girls with long hair complained coily: ¡°Why did it suddenly rain?¡± The weather forecast clearly said it was clear.¡°


    Her boyfriend wrapped an arm around her shoulder to comfort her, but he couldn¡¯t smooth her unwillingness. She complained endlessly: "I wouldn¡¯t have come for the once-in-a-century meteor shower if I¡¯d known! My clothes are all wet. What can I do if I catch a cold? People who aren¡¯t in good health can¡¯t get wet¡±


    "Luo Xueyi, you said you were coming. Now it¡¯s raining and there¡¯s no way. Let¡¯s leave and go home,¡± another girl with short hair said impatiently, holding her boyfriend¡¯s arm and going down the mountain.


    The long-haired girl named Luo Xueyi pouted and said, ¡°You can¡¯t blame me for this. I didn¡¯t know it would rain. Besides, you and Xiao Hong also promised to come. It¡¯s so romantic to watch a meteor shower. Who knew it would rain¡­¡±


    ¡°The rain is getting harder and harder, and the mountain road is slippery and not safe. Let¡¯s find somewhere nearby and wait for it to let up.¡± Xiao Hong, the short-haired girl¡¯s boyfriend, held her back.


    ¡°What if it just gets worse? Besides, there¡¯s no place to hide from the rain here. After a while, even this tree won¡¯t be able stop the rain!¡± the short-haired girl said testily.


    ¡°Oh, Nan Lu is impatient. I think the rain will stop in a moment. As for the place to shelter from the rain, look, it¡¯s dry under the eaves of that old castle.¡± Luo Xueyi pointed to the castle not far away, which was surrounded by trees.


    There was no doubt that the several NPCs in front of them were going to die. Qi Leren decided to persuade them with the idea of saving one¡¯s life. It was inevitable that he and Dr. Lu would go to the castle, but these NPCs didn¡¯t have to stick out their necks: ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s safe to go there after years of disrepair. Let me go and have a look.¡±


    Dr. Lu sighed softly and said in a voice that only he could hear: ¡°According to the rules of horror films, you can¡¯t stop an idiot from dying.¡±


    Sure enough, Luo Xueyi said with a delicate voice: ¡°It¡¯s not safe, don¡¯t say that you believe that rumor. It¡¯s just an old castle, can¡¯t a ghost suddenly jump out?¡± She giggled and seemed amused by her own words.


    ¡°Obviously, this Luo Xueyi plays the role of the classic horror film character with a big chest and no brain. It¡¯s very vivid,¡± Dr. Lu spoke up.


    Unexpectedly, she also added: ¡°I know that you and Lu-xuedi are inseparable, but today we¡¯ll be the third wheels, hehe.¡±


    At this moment, Qi Leren and Dr. Lu¡¯s mood is: WTF?!


    ¡°Now I know why there are three couples in the background of this mission,¡± Dr. Lu said in a cold sweat, ¡°It turns out that this copy is still politically correct and there¡¯s a pair of gays, but I have to firmly refuse this kind of pretending to be a gay couple.¡±


    Qi Leren gave him an oblique look: ¡°You, Schrodinger¡¯s straight man, have nothing to refuse. You¡¯d only protest when my pen is straight.¡±


    ¡°No, I can accept playing gay, but I don¡¯t want to be gay with you,¡± Dr. Lu said seriously.


    ¡°Why?¡± Qi Leren felt as if he¡¯d been rejected.


    ¡°Because you¡¯re taller than me, I feel like ¡®that¡¯ with you¡­¡± Dr. Lu looked dignified.


    ¡°Which one?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    ¡°The one who needs to be checked frequently to see the health status of somewhere.¡±


    ¡°¡­You know a lot.¡± Qi Leren was embarrassed.


    ¡°Stop whispering and keep up.¡± While the two people talked in a low voice, Luo Xueyi had called them to rush forward, and they¡¯d to keep up with it and come to the nearby eaves of the castle against the heavy rain.


    The castle was very old indeed, and it didn¡¯t look particularly tall. It exuded the breath of old history in the night.


    The two couples were still whispering to each other, and Qi Leren looked at these four NPCs quietly.


    The task of ¡°Castle Cry¡± was a copy task. He and Dr. Lu started the task and came to the copy world after preparation. Each copy world was almost a parallel world with large and small areas. Qi Leren suspected that the area of this copy was as big as this mountain. If he tried to go down the mountain now, he would likely be forcibly repatriated by the system.


    The NPCs came with this copy, and there were different opinions about NPC players in this copy task. Some people treated them as real human beings, others completely ignored this group of NPCs, and there were even players who maliciously slaughtered the NPCs. Generally speaking, the NPCs did not affect the player¡¯s basic ending. Even if he killed all the four NPCs now, there would be no problem to achieve the simplest ending. However, there were some clues. If you wanted to dig out the so-called true ending, you might also need the help of NPC.


    Qi Leren naturally has no abnormal hobby of killing NPCs. He was observing these four NPCs.


    Luo Xueyi and Miao Bo were a couple, and Miao Bo was a model of the loyal dog boyfriend. Nan Lu, the girl with short hair, seemed to have no warmth towards Luo Xueyi, and her boyfriend Xiao Hong seemed to be completely ignorant of the subtle aura between the girls.


    Shouldn¡¯t be an important role, Qi Leren thought. He glanced at the time. It was 0:55 in the morning, and it was almost one o''clock. There was not much time left for them in the task. If it was bright at six o''clock, they only had five hours.


    ¡°This door doesn¡¯t seem to be locked. Is it locked inside?¡± Luo Xueyi said, while pushing the strong-looking door.


    With a creak, the wooden door was pushed open halfway, revealing a dark space.


    Luo Xueyi¡¯s scream almost broke the eardrums of several people. Nan Lu slammed her ears and said angrily: ¡°What is it? It¡¯s scary!¡±


    Luo Xueyi shrank into Miao Bo¡¯s arms and cried with tears: ¡°The door is open, the door is open!¡±


    ¡°If you open it, we won¡¯t go in.¡± MiaoBo patted her on the back to comfort her.


    Xiao Hong peeked at Luo Xueyi and echoed: ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll leave when the rain lets up, and we won¡¯t go in.¡±


    Dr. Lu pouted and whispered to Qi Leren: ¡°Believe it or not, there will be an accident soon.¡±


    ¡°¡­To the letter.¡±


    Sure enough, there was a wolf howling in the dark mountain forest. The horrible howling pierced the rainy night and pierced the psychological defenses of the group. Luo Xueyi screamed again: ¡°Ah, ah, there are wolves!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t yell, won¡¯t you attract the wolves?!¡± Nan Lu also panicked, holding Xiao Hong¡¯s trembling arm. Xiao Hong was frightened by her and tried to pull away, but failed.


    "How can there be a wolf here? This is impossible,¡± Miao Bo questioned in awe as he was held by Luo Xueyi. ¡°This area isn¡¯t too far away from the city, and I¡¯ve never heard of anyone seeing wolves.¡±


    However, the howling sound that was getting closer and closer made the several young people panic. Compared to the rumors of being haunted, the wolves that were close at hand were more dangerous - Qi Leren, who had killed wolves, has reservations about this - the group chose to enter the castle to avoid it without struggling for long.


    Sure enough, I still have to go in, Qi Leren sighed in his heart and dragged a reluctant Dr. Lu into the castle.


    The stale smell came over him, and the wooden door was closed. Miao Bo proposed to find something like a table to block the door so as not to let the wolf in, and the rest didn¡¯t object. The range that the flashlight could illuminate was very limited, and it was still dark all around. There were traces of smoke on the wall, which really looked like a fire had happened.


    ¡°How did this castle burn down?¡± Qi Leren took advantage of this time before the dangerous part of the task began, and took the time to inquire about it.


    Nan Lu took Xiao Hong¡¯s arm and said somberly, ¡°I heard that the lady who lived in this castle discovered her husband¡¯s infidelity, and in a rage, she killed all the people in the castle and set it on fire. You see, there are burn marks everywhere now.¡±


    Luo Xueyi, who had calmed down, said with a smile: ¡°It¡¯s just a legend. I think it was just a fire at night that burned down the castle. It¡¯s been rumored about for a long time.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Xiao-Lu, don¡¯t listen to this rumor,¡± Nan Lu¡¯s boyfriend Xiao Hong also said.


    Nan Lu didn¡¯t say anything.


    Qi Leren¡¯s flashlight shone around nearby. The hall the the door entered into had hundreds of square feet, and its height was far higher than that of a normal building¡¯s. The overhead lights hanging above were still gorgeous even after decades, but unfortunately they could no longer light up. Going further, he found two curved staircases leading to the second floor. A picture frame was faintly visible on the wall beside the stairs, but unfortunately the paintings in it had been burned.


    ¡°Qi Leren, where are you going? The floor of the stairs may be burned out. You¡¯d better not walk around.¡± Nan Lu saw Qi Leren walking up the stairs and called him back.


    Qi Leren then went back and followed them to the side corridor, ready to find something like tables and chairs to block the door.


    Suddenly there was a dazzling light in front of him, and Qi Leren walking at the end of the group suddenly saw the fire coming head-on from the depths of the corridor, coming towards them like waves!


    What was happening? Why was there a sudden fire?!


    The people in front screamed, running in the direction of the door, and Qi Leren turned and ran after a slow beat. Fortunately, the fire wasn¡¯t fast, but it was too bright and dazzling, which almost made it hard to open their eyes.


    ¡°The door is gone!¡± Luo Xueyi¡¯s cry was full of panic, and several people were anxiously flapping at the wall that should have been the door. The fear of unnatural things suddenly washed away human reason, and the fire was getting closer and closer, which drove the young people crazy.


    ¡°When-¡±


    A distant bell came from the direction of the curved staircase: it was one o''clock in the morning.


    The flame disappeared with the bell, everything illuminated by the firelight returned to darkness, and only a few people¡¯s flashlights lit up a small piece of darkness.


    But even so, the group soon discovered the abnormality.


    Nan Lu¡¯s voice trembled, and she murmured as if in a dream: ¡°The traces of being burned are gone¡­¡±


    With the bell, the whole castle seemed to have returned to the past.

 CH 75

    Chapter 75: Castle Cry (II)


    With a loud bang, the lights turned on, and the whole hall showed its magnificent side under the light. The magnificent chandelier hanging from the domed ceiling gave off dazzling light and dispelled the surrounding darkness.


    Just now, the stale smell dissipated with the bell, and the traces of being eroded by fire disappeared around it, leaving a colorful castle with a bright marble floor reflecting the lights, thick carpet on the corners, and delicate decorative patterns on that carpet. At that moment, the whole hall was brand new and shining.


    ¡°It seems that this isn¡¯t the old castle that was burned by fire from just now, at least it has electricity.¡± Qi Leren¡¯s hand was still on the switch on the wall as he spoke to Dr. Lu.


    Dr. Lu touched his chin. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s interesting. When we entered here just now, the old castle had been burned down. Now, once the bell tolled, it looks like we entered the old castle before it was burned down.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the use of saying this now? Hurry and find a way out! The door is gone, but there are windows!¡± Luo Xueyi woke up after a brief state of wonder and realized that they were now in strange danger.


    Dr. Lu gave her a pitying look: ¡°According to the rules of horror films, I don¡¯t think we can get out through the window.¡±


    The light overhead made the fear dissipate a lot. Luo Xueyi stamped her foot and took her boyfriend Miao Bo¡¯s hand. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it. I¡¯m going to look for it! If you love me, you¡¯ll come with me!¡±


    Dr. Lu took a slap in the mouth and stopped Qi Leren who wanted to stop Luo Xueyi: ¡°If she¡¯s so eager to die, let her go, maybe you can find something.¡± Of course, it was most likely that they would find two bodies later.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we also¡­¡± Xiao Hong hesitated, wanting to follow Luo Xueyi and others, but was pulled by Nan Lu. ¡°Don¡¯t go!¡±


    Xiao Hong, who was forcibly held by his girlfriend, reluctantly glanced at the two people who were leaving, and remained silent.


    ¡°What now?¡± Nan Lu asked with a clouded expression.


    Qi Leren glanced at Dr. Lu and saw that he didn¡¯t answer. He said, ¡°I don¡¯t think we can go out through the window. If we want to leave this old castle, we have to solve the mystery of the fire that happened here. If you know anything about the legend of this old castle, you might as well say it. Maybe it¡¯s also a clue.¡±


    Nan Lu thought for a moment. ¡°All I¡¯ve heard is the legend that the mistress of the castle killed everyone because her husband was unfaithful, and then set fire to the castle. Xiao Hong, have you heard anything?¡±


    Xiao Hong was a little distracted, and only after hearing his name did he react: ¡°I¡­ I heard from my parents when I was a child that a servant stole a lot of money with outsiders. In order to cover up his crimes, he went mad and killed people in the castle overnight, then set fire to destroy the evidence and disguised it as an accident.¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Qi Leren asked Dr. Lu.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± Dr. Lu murmured bitterly. ¡°Well, if I insist on saying it, I think the second one is more reliable.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Nan Lu disapprovingly asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s very simple. There are at least a dozen servants in an old castle. Can an adult woman kill so many people casually? Killing people is very tiring. Seriously, if you¡¯re an ordinary person and I give you a knife to chop down ten people who are standing still, you¡¯ll be exhausted. Besides, the person she wants revenge against is only her husband, so why kill everyone together? This is revenge on society, which is totally illogical. So I think the second one is more likely. The owner of the castle came from Germany to do business. Instead of living in the city, he built such a castle. He must be very rich. It¡¯s logically possible that someone colluded with the servant to kill for money, but¡­ "Dr. Lu said, spreading his hands.


    "But what?¡± Nan Lu asked.


    Qi Leren had a little understanding: ¡°But the theme of killing people for money is not suitable for solving puzzles.¡±


    ¡°As a positive solution, in terms of subject matter, the first story is very suitable. The lady who went crazy because of her love is like a final boss of a horror game.¡± Dr. Lu rubbed his chin and looked thoughtful.


    ¡°It¡¯s meaningless to think about it now. Let¡¯s walk around carefully and see where the bell came from.¡± Qi Leren said.


    The other three people didn¡¯t disagree, so they took to the curved staircase and headed in the direction where the bell had just come from.


    At this time, the painting on the wall was intact and hadn¡¯t been destroyed by the fire. They finally got to see this portrait.


    On the platform where the left and right curved stairs merged together, facing the door was a huge portrait. The picture showed a young couple, the man looking handsome and elegant in a suit. He gently looked at his wife, a woman in a formal dress with long golden curls winding over her shoulders, which made her beautiful face more beautiful and refined. She was holding a big dog and her face was pulled into a happy smile.


    Below the portrait was the floor clock that had just sounded, and the hour hand and minute hand walked at their own rhythm.


    Was the man in the portrait the owner of this castle? Qi Leren was lost in thinking about the portrait.


    ¡°This should be the master and mistress of the castle? They look very loving.¡± Nan Lu¡¯s face showed envy.


    Xiao Hong also replied: ¡°Yes, she looks really beautiful.¡±


    Nan Lu immediately pinched him and said angrily, ¡°You only know how to look at beautiful women!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at it that way, you¡¯re the most beautiful!¡± Xiao Hong quickly picked up his girlfriend


    The flirting between lovers made Qi Leren feel uncomfortable. Looking at Dr. Lu, he saw that he was also wearing a long face. The two exchanged helpless eyes and were about to continue to go up. Suddenly there was a sound of heavy objects falling to the ground downstairs, and then Luo Xueyi, who had taken Miao Bo to look for a window before, screamed: ¡°Ahhh!¡±


    The shrill screams plunged into Qi Leren¡¯s heart like a sharp sword, and his originally calm heartbeat suddenly became fierce, and Qi Leren rushed down without thinking.


    Outside of the brightly lit hall, the corridor was still dark, and Qi Leren turned on his flashlight and walked forward step by step.


    Illuminated by the flashlight, the corridor was filled with dark and dead human sculptures and potted plants, and the shadows moved with Qi Leren¡¯s footsteps, which made him wonder what lay in the distorted shadows.


    Through the long corridor, the space in front suddenly became.


    There was a crescent moon hanging in the sky outside, and a large patch of moonlight was sprinkled into this room from the window crucified by iron bars, casting shadows and criss-crossed light. In the bright moonlight, floating dust could be faintly seen, looking like plankton floating in the deep sea.


    Qi Leren had smelled blood, which had been with him since the day he entered the game. He was already too familiar with it.


    The flashlight¡¯s yellowish beam dispelled the deep and remote darkness, but it could not erase the bloody scene.


    A suit of armour the size of an adult male was standing in the corner, blood dripping from the sword in its hand, with a small pool of blood on the ground. Twisted into an impressive posture beside the armor was the body of Luo Xueyi¡¯s boyfriend, Miao Bo!


    From behind him came Dr. Lu¡¯s trembling voice: ¡°Qi Leren, is everything all right up ahead?¡±


    Qi Leren took a deep breath: ¡°Nothing, come and have a look, can he still be saved?¡±


    Dr. Lu crept up, saw the body and the strange armor, and gasped: ¡°Oh my god, it can move!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel danger.¡± Qi Leren touched the card slot on his waist. S/L, Rain-Day Laundry, and Primary Fighting Skills were all inserted in the card slot. In order to prepare for this mission, he went to Chen Baiqi to buy three miniature bombs, and specially bought a rune that could be embedded in weapons which allowed an attack effect on ghosts and other spirits, so as to avoid frequent bloodletting.


    Dr. Lu was a little relieved, and carefully walked to Miao Bo¡¯s side. He had fallen to the ground in a strange posture, like he had knelt on the ground after being stabbed and then flopped to the side, forming a very twisted position. Dr. Lu checked his pulse, looked at the wound again, and immediately retired: ¡°It¡¯s hopeless, a sword pierced his heart, even lying in the ICU couldn¡¯t save him let alone this terrible place.¡±


    Nan Lu asked in a panic: ¡°How could he be stabbed by a sword? Will that armor still move?¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s Luo Xueyi? Will she be all right? ¡± Xiao Hong also asked.


    Qi Leren glanced at the armor again. It stood firmly in the corner, like a special ornament. If it wasn¡¯t for the blood on its sword¡­ But the blood was only on the sword. If that armor hadn¡¯t killed him, could it be Luo Xueyi had killed Miao Bo with this sword and ran away? There was no problem in terms of time, but what was her motive?


    Knock knock knock.


    There was a gentle knock on a door and the four people jumped in surprise, looking at the direction it had come from.


    There was a hidden door deep in the room, which you wouldn¡¯t notice if you didn¡¯t look carefully.


    Knock knock knock.


    The knock on the door came again, and a soft and strange voice came from the other side: ¡°Is there anyone outside? Can you open the door for me?¡±

 CH 76

    Chapter 76: Castle Cry (III)


    The dark and abandoned room, the bloody suit of armor, the dead body on the ground, the gentle female voice behind the door: these horrible images all fermented by this eerie atmosphere, constituting fear in people¡¯s hearts.


    There was a knock at the door again, and the strange voice called softly. Although it was in Chinese, it still had a strong foreign accent: ¡°The door is locked from the outside, so I can¡¯t get out. Is there anyone who will help me open the door? ¡±


    In this dark and horrible castle, behind the secret door, what was the ¡°person¡± who was talking to them? Or, was it a person talking, or¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t open the door!¡± Nan Lu let out a scream, and her eyes widened in horror. ¡°Who knows what the hell is behind the door!¡±


    Dr. Lu gave a cry: ¡°It should be either a ghost or a monster.¡±


    The Rain-Day Laundry skill was still unresponsive. Qi Leren couldn¡¯t rely on it to judge whether the ¡°person¡± behind the door was malicious or not. If they turned and walked away now¡­ Would they miss something?


    ¡°Who are you? Why are you behind the door?¡± Qi Leren hesitated for a moment and decided to ask first.


    The voice behind the door was silent for a moment, and said softly, ¡°My name is Nina, and I am the maid here¡­¡±


    Nina paused for a moment and her voice became sad: ¡°¡­While I was still alive.¡±


    Moonlight flowed quietly and fell into this room through the window covered by iron bars. Nina sighed softly behind the door: ¡°I¡¯m dead, and everyone else is dead ¡­¡±


    Dr. Lu gave a cry: ¡°It sounds like a clue. Let¡¯s open the door for her. ¡±


    ¡°No way! What if she¡¯s pretending? What if she lied to us? Once the door opens, who knows if she¡¯ll kill us! I don¡¯t believe a word she said!¡± Nan Lu suddenly seemed to have had a switch flipped and she cried hysterically. Xiao Hong was slightly embarrassed by her overreaction, and took her by the waist to try to calm her down.


    ¡°I also think we should open the door.¡± Qi Leren said quietly.


    ¡°Be careful if she tries to kill you when you open it,¡± Dr. Lu reminded him.


    Qi Leren smiled bitterly at him and whispered, ¡°What I¡¯m more worried about is if I can kill her.¡±


    With the S/L skills, it wasn¡¯t risky for him to open the door and be killed. Although he was a little uneasy to use this skill frequently, this hidden worry was not to be feared compared with the imminent danger.


    ¡°You¡¯re crazy! I don¡¯t care, if you want to die, just do it! ¡± Nan Lu said shrilly, dragging Xiao Hong¡¯s hand and walking back.


    ¡°Well, now there are only two of us left, which is a perfect violation of the horror film rule ¡®don¡¯t act alone¡¯ or you¡¯ll embark on the route of death,¡± Dr. Lu said, throwing up his hands.


    Qi Leren looked back at Nan Lu and Xiao Hong who had left, and frowned: ¡°¡­ What are NPCs in copy missions?¡±


    Because of Ning Zhou¡¯s life story, he now realized that NPCs in the Nightmare World should actually be treated as human beings from another world. Each of them has his own life from birth to death. They were complete and separated from the existence of players, even more free than players because they weren¡¯t bound by the will of the system; But what about the NPCs in the copy? Did they have independent personalities? Would theirs be real joys and sorrows? Did they have their own lives? Or were they just pieces of created data?


    ¡°Can you open the door already?¡± Dr. Lu, who had already hid by the door and was ready to run, interrupted Qi Leren¡¯s thinking with a genial smile.


    Qi Leren took a deep breath and stood in front of the wooden door.


    Save complete.


    The door was unlocked from the outside, the handle was gently turned, and the wooden door was slowly opened with a creak. At that time, his eyes were full of clear moonlight that fell on the carpet with delicate patterns. In the moonlight, a young woman dressed as a maid put her hands in front of her and looked at him with a happy face: ¡°Thank God, the door finally opened. But who are you? Why are you here?¡±


    Nina¡¯s figure was transparent in the moonlight, and she was no longer alive. Even she knew it.


    The Rain-Day Laundry skill didn¡¯t give any warning, and Qi Leren himself didn¡¯t feel any danger. His heart relaxed a little and he waved to Dr. Lu who was far away.


    Dr. Lu slowly moved to the door of the small room, and stood by the door not daring to come in: ¡°Please ask her if she knows about the fire in the castle.¡±


    Qi Leren then said, ¡°We came into this castle by mistake. It was dark when we came in, but the traces of being burned disappeared after the bell rang. Do you know what happened here and why everyone died? Why was there a fire?¡±


    Nina¡¯s figure in the moonlight was slightly sad: ¡°This is a long and unfortunate story¡­¡±


    Dr. Lu, who was still standing by the door, closed the door, sat down silently on the sofa, and  took a bottle of water from his inventory to take a sip: ¡°Speak slowly, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Look at this posture that was like taking out a bag of melon seeds*, Qi Leren and Nina were speechless.


    {*E/N: like settling in to watch a show}


    Nina sighed: ¡°The mistress of this castle, she went crazy.¡±


    Dr. Lu nodded frequently, expressing satisfaction with this high-energy beginning to the story. Both of them didn¡¯t interrupt, and listened quietly as Nina continued: ¡°My lady, like her mother and grandmother, was a famous beauty when she was young, but after giving birth, she began to gradually go crazy. I think her husband knew, but he still married her. Although they had no children after marriage, they loved each other very much. It¡¯s just that the good times don¡¯t last long¡­ The Madam, she¡­ gradually showed symptoms like her mother¡¯s.


    "She began to become suspicious and doubted every woman around her husband. Even we were forbidden to approach him by the Madam, and several people were even whipped by her. The Master spent most of his time doing business outside the home. Every time he came home, she quarreled with him or even beat him, which became more and more crazy¡­ Finally, the Master couldn¡¯t stand it, and locked her up and sent someone to take care of her. On several occasions, she escaped and climbed out from the window to find the master, who then simply had the windows nailed up.


    "We could only watch her get crazier every day until that day¡­¡±


    [Rain-Day Laundry: At present, the remaining uses are 2/3.]


    There was a loud bang, and the closed door was hit by a heavy object. Dr. Lu, who had listened to the story leisurely and comfortably, suddenly stood up from the sofa and looked at the door in a panic: ¡°What happened?¡±


    Qi Leren was also nervous, as the number for Rain-Day Laundry had been reduced once. The ¡°people¡± outside the door were by no means good!


    ¡°It¡¯s coming! It must be coming! ¡± Nina¡¯s expression suddenly became frightened. She looked at the door in a panic, muttered and retreated, and finally hugged her head with a scream and disappeared into the moonlight.


    Bang! The door was slammed, so rough and hard, as if someone had hit the door regardless of pain, and the sound of each impact was like a hammer hitting Qi Leren¡¯s heart.


    ¡°What should we do? What should I do now?¡± Dr. Lu panicked and looked left and right to find out if there was a second door, but there was no other door in this small room and the only window was sealed by iron bars.


    ¡®I shouldn¡¯t have used the S/L skill just now.¡¯ Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help but have some regrets, but there was no time for that now: ¡°There¡¯s only one armor and one body outside the door. The sound of the door being hit sounds like the armor. The door¡¯s going to break. When it comes in, I¡¯ll draw it away and you will run out quickly.¡±


    ¡°But what will you do?¡± Dr. Lu looked at him, stupefied.


    Qi Leren gave him an oblique look: ¡°You, who falls on your face when running, should worry more about yourself. Maybe I¡¯ll overtake you in a short time.¡±


    Dr. Lu, who was poked in a sensitive place, turned his eyes and leaned against the wall, trying to reduce his noticeability. Qi Leren grabbed one side of the tea table and took it in his hands to deal with a living armor. The sharp object of his dagger was obviously not comparable to the blunt object.


    The cracking door was finally overwhelmed, and the door lock was knocked open with a creaking sound.


    The tall armor stood outside the door, covered in silvery white moonlight. With a thud, it moved its legs and feet made of metal and walked into the small room.


    ¡°Run!¡± Qi Leren yelled. He hit the tea table hard against the armor, breaking it into two pieces, and Dr. Lu pushed off the wall and gave it his all, quickly escaping through the door. Before he had run even a few steps, he gave a painful cry, and tripped onto the ground. Then he continued to run while looking chilled.


    If it weren¡¯t for the dangerous situation, Qi Leren would have laughed. But the reality soon gave him a slap in the face, and the sword in the armor¡¯s hand drew a dazzling arc of light in the cold moonlight.


    Danger! Qi Leren¡¯s nerves stretched to the limit at this moment, and there was a slight tingling pain in the back of his neck. The picture in front of him seemed to slow down, and his body rolled down to the ground agilely, and with several rolls hid behind the sofa. The sword split into the back of the sofa, with a slight sloped sound. Fine dust flew out from the incision and floated in the moonlight.


    Come on! Qi Leren rolled out again from another direction, got up and ran, and rushed out of the room without looking back. There was a heavy footstep behind him, and every sound was mixed with the tremolo of colliding metal.


    In front of the corridor was the bright hall, which made Qi Leren who was running in the dark less afraid.


    The footsteps were getting farther and farther away, and finally disappeared.

 CH 77

    Chapter 77: Castle Cry (IV)


    He was safe already.


    Qi Leren breathed a sigh of relief, leaned against the wall and rested for a while. This time, he didn¡¯t start killing, which was good news. He is afraid that the Seed of Slaughter would get out of control so frequently that, even if he had holy water that could suppress the demon¡¯s power, he wouldn¡¯t last long.


    He didn¡¯t know where Dr. Lu went. Qi Leren, who had finished his rest, didn¡¯t see Dr. Lu after looking around nearby. On the first floor, there was only the corridor that suddenly caught fire when they first came in. Qi Leren felt that Dr. Lu¡¯s caution wouldn¡¯t lead him to the dangerous place. He suspected that he had gone to the second floor, so he also went up. When he passed the oil painting hanging on the wall, he stopped and glanced at it again. The lady in the painting smiled sweetly, unable to see the shadow of her own madness. Qi Leren sighed in his heart and turned and continued to go up.


    At the moment he turned around, he seemed to catch a glimpse of the portrait splashed with red paint, and the beautiful face of the mistress was covered with a shadow, even the happy smile on her lips suddenly distorted. Qi Leren jerked back and stared straight at the portrait. The light source from the chandelier in the hall lit up the oil painting, and the lady in the painting still looked happy, as if the image he saw in that moment had just been his illusion.


    However, Qi Leren wouldn¡¯t naively think that this was really just an illusion caused by light. In this dangerous place, any abnormality was a sign, implying possible danger. It seemed that the mistress of the castle really wasn¡¯t a simple person.


    On the second floor, the corridor was dark. Qi Leren turned on the flashlight and looked for the switch. After turning it on, it was brightly lit.


    Where he was now should be the so-called ¡°inner world¡±, which was very similar to the real world, but it was not the real world. It was more like the castle before the fire, and everything was still as it was before it was burned, but this seemingly normal appearance hid fatal danger, such as the moving armor, and there were more anomalies that had not been noticed.


    Quiet all around, Qi Leren tried to open the door to the rooms on the second floor, but every door was locked. He tried to challenge the firmness of the door panel and door lock, but did not dare to make too much noise, and finally had to give up. It was the kind of situation from horror games where a wire would be needed to fix all the locks. Qi Leren thought emotionally that the only room he could enter now was the big room connected to the corridor at the end, with a grand piano in the middle of the room. Qi Leren looked around and made sure it didn¡¯t look like a place where monsters could live.


    Where on earth has Dr. Lu gone? If he wasn¡¯t on the second floor, did he go to the third floor? But it wasn¡¯t long after Dr. Lu ran out of the room that he caught up, so he wouldn¡¯t have been far behind. Qi Leren frowned as he thought and turned back to the first floor.


    Maybe Dr. Lu was desperate, forgot about the fire, and ran into the corridor on the other side.


    When he came down the stairs, Qi Leren took another look at the oil painting. This time, this oil painting didn¡¯t show any abnormality and just quietly hung there, accepting his eyes.


    ¡°Bong-bong-¡± came two bells, and Qi Leren just stood in front of the big clock and watched the time reach two in the morning.


    The light was dispelled by darkness with the bell, becoming dim. When the bell stopped, Qi Leren had returned to the darkness, and there was an old smell in his nasal cavity. He turned on the flashlight and the light shone on the big clock, just at two o''clock.


    It seems that he will switch between the outer world and the inner world every hour. Now it was the outer world.


    The light of the flashlight moved upwards, and the portrait had been burnt down, and only the copper frame could be seen hanging on the wall alone.


    So are we going to the second floor or the first floor now? Qi Leren hesitated and went back to the second floor. He suspected that the doors that could not be opened might be opened after returning to the outer world.


    Stepping on the creaking wooden boards, Qi Leren was a little worried, for fear that the wooden floor would break if he was careless. If there was no cement interlayer under it, he would fall directly to the first floor. Fortunately, the floor is still giving face, although the sound was creepy, but the firmness was not comforting. Standing in front of the wooden door, Qi Leren twisted the door handle, but the door was still locked. He kicked the unyielding door, and the wooden door banged with the impact - it did not move.


    Qi Leren didn¡¯t know whether he should despair for his own strength or their game settings.


    He gave up and returned to the semi-open room with the piano. Unlike the inner world, everything was covered with dust, old and decayed. There was no bright moonlight outside the window of the outer world. Instead, rain was pattering against the ground, and from time to time a burst of lightning lit up. Then there was a dull sound of thunder from far and near, creating a gloomy and foreboding atmosphere. Even a person like Qi Leren who had a good psychological state felt unnerved.


    The flashlight shone on the piano cover, and there seemed to be something there.


    Qi Leren stepped forward and took a closer look. It was a dog collar made of metal. He held a dagger in his right hand, so he had to put down the flashlight in his left to pick up the collar. There were flower reliefs and a string of words on it. The system automatically translated it: To my favorite Redmond.


    ¡°Redmond?¡± Qi Leren murmured the name in a low voice, and his mind drew a picture of the big dog held by the lady. He forgot whether there was a collar around the dog¡¯s neck, but it probably belonged to that dog.


    [Rain-Day Laundry: At present, the remaining sensing times are 1/3.]


    Qi Leren immediately took a step back and turned to stare at the door, but the flashlight on the piano was turned toward himself. He was so shaken that he couldn¡¯t see what was in the corridor outside the door.


    In the darkness of the corridor ahead, there seemed to be the sound of a whimper, and it was like a beast snoring and groaning, which was particularly strange in this horrible castle.


    Had the wolf gotten inside? Or¡­


    The hair on Qi Leren¡¯s neck began to stand up. He realized that there must be something there¡­ He retreated slowly and cautiously, because the light source of the flashlight was facing his eyes, which was too bright and harsh. It was like he was standing on a stage with a spotlight on him. The audience hidden in the dark looked at him with various eyes, but they were not kind eyes.


    ¡°Crunch-¡± A wooden board on the floor that had become loosened after the fire was trampled under Qi Leren¡¯s feet, and there was a creak of protest.


    [Rain-Day Laundry: At present, the remaining sensing times are 0/3, and the cooling countdown is 23:59:59.]


    Qi Leren¡¯s pupils shrink with a jerk. Danger, danger ahead! The primary fighting skills caused Qi Leren to roll forward without thinking, and at the next moment came the sound of a beast pouncing behind him. Something landed where he had stood just now!


    Qi Leren crouched on the ground. This time, he avoided the harsh flashlight light source. He could finally see the place illuminated by the flashlight - a hound was standing there, looking as if it had just crawled out of the magma of hell, and slowly turned to look at him. All of its fur had been burned, and its blackened and bloody body was particularly horrible in the light. It growled in a low voice with twisted teeth, and its teeth dripped with viscous reddish liquid.


    Dog collar, Redmond?


    Qi Leren immediately remembered the collar he had just found on the piano and the dog in the portrait. Was this dog¡­


    Even it was burned to death?


    The hound¡¯s throat purred like broken bellows. The back of Qi Leren¡¯s neck was aching again. He gritted his teeth and tried to restrain himself from losing his mind. He would rather ride it out. Although the S/L skill was still cooling, Dr. Lu is here, so long as he wasn¡¯t seriously injured, he could be healed.


    But before that¡­ Qi Leren took out ¡°Lovely Rations¡± as quietly as possible and threw a piece of it passed the dog.


    It moved! The hound lowered itself, ignored the rations, and swooped down with a jerk. The rations had no appeal to this creature that was no longer a living thing! Qi Leren jumped aside quickly, rolling and crawling to avoid the hound¡¯s attack, and the wooden board under his feet was overwhelmed and broke, and one of his feet became stuck in the floor.


    Qi Leren looked at the ground carefully while he still could. The ground of this semi-open room was not solid, and there was no cement interlayer under the wooden boards, which were fragile from having been burned in the fire. He moved his left foot in disbelief, which was stuck in the wooden boards, and there was no contact with any sort of crawl space under it. There was only the first floor!


    The hound growled and rushed at him excitedly. Qi Leren, whose left foot was stuck and could not move, was about to die. With a cry catching in his throat, he used his quick wits to stamp down with his right foot, and his whole person sand down - his right foot had stamped through the decaying wood, and the fragile floor under his feet let out a huge crack. A small piece of flooring centered on him collapsed, and he fell.

 CH 78

    Chapter 78: Castle Cry (V)


    There was a loud bang and Qi Leren fell to the ground, so overcome with pain that he couldn¡¯t move. He almost thought he was going to die, and more planks and debris poured down and hit him. There were countless dust particles floating in the air, floating up and down in the lightning and thunder, sometimes gathering and dispersing.


    Qi Leren couldn¡¯t even take a deep breath from the pain, and his eyes adapted to the darkness. He gradually saw what was in front of him clearly. The light of the flashlight in the hole was not very bright, which made him feel as if he had fallen into a dark and cold deep well. He could only lift his head to see the light above his head.


    The hound with burned fur was looking at him, and its ferocious and horrible head leaned into the hple. The foul saliva dripped between the dog¡¯s white fangs and landed on the floor beside Qi Leren¡¯s ear, smelling foully of meat that had been rotting for a long time.


    Qi Leren did not dare to move, nor could he move. He felt that his soul seemed to have escaped from this body and flew out.


    Don¡¯t come down, don¡¯t come down, don¡¯t.


    The horrible hound seemed to hear his prayer. After snooping around for a long time, it gave up jumping, growled and left slowly.


    He survived¡­


    Qi Leren took a deep breath, and his nasal was immediately itchy with dust. He wanted to cough, but as soon as he breathed in, his lungs convulsed with pain. He couldn¡¯t help but curl up to cover his cough, and all his internal organs protested as if they were pinched together. When he calmed down, he was already sweating all over.


    Is this a fucking D-level difficulty? Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help cursing in his heart, and collapsed on the ground again to recover his strength slowly.


    He didn¡¯t know if this fall has caused internal injuries. Although his hands and feet were still fuzzy, there shouldn¡¯t have been any fractures. This was a blessing in misfortune. He really did have bad luck. Qi Leren thought hard and turned to look at the window.


    This window was also crucified by iron bars, and lightning cast a criss-crossing shadow on the floor, which also lit up the iron easel in the center of the room.


    This should be a studio, Qi Leren thought, looking at the easel and the brass frames on the wall. It was a pity that they¡¯d all been burned down.


    Faintly, he felt that there seemed to be some strange power hidden in this room, as if¡­


    He raised his arm, which was still aching, and pulled out the pendant from his neck. There was a black fog floating in the gem on the pendant, which was much thicker than before. Qi Leren narrowed his eyes; this black fog represented the concentration of demons around him, including the seed of slaughter on him. Right now the seed of slaughter was still alright, which meant that the demon energy here was very strong.


    It was strange, how could there be devil power in this copy mission?


    Qi Leren sat up from the ground with difficulty. When he got up, he almost thought that his spine was broken. Fortunately, he was only a little sore and hadn¡¯t suffered any fatal damage. He breathed a long breath and felt alive.


    The seed became active under the catalyst of demon energy, and the coldness spread down his spine. Qi Leren hesitated and took out the bottle of holy water from his inventory. The transparent liquid emitted a faint light, just looking at it giving the sense of holy power, he opened the lid and took a sip of it, and the power of the devil in his body immediately melted away. The seed of slaughter was hurt by his unwillingness, and then curled up in the back of his neck, dormant again.


    His whole body¡¯s pain seemed to be relieved, and Qi Leren finally stood up. He glanced at the holy water again and couldn¡¯t help recalling the story Chen Baiqi had told him in the pure white moonlight on the sea cliff of Undead Island.


    Where would he be now? In Neverland, that was covered with cold and snow all the year round? Would he come back?


    Forget it, even if he came back, even if they meet each other, he was afraid Ning Zhou couldn¡¯t let go. Falling in love with someone so quickly, so strongly and so irresistibly, only to find that this love was sinful¡­ Ning Zhou, who grew up in that environment, would only suffer more than him.


    Qi Leren sighed disconsolately, and had no choice but to think of it again. On that day, after listening to Chen Baiqi¡¯s story of Ning Zhou, he had had insomnia all night. Although he couldn¡¯t be blamed for this incident, he could only say that it was a tragedy brewed by the mistake of two people hiding from each other. However, even though Ning Zhou was so pained, he had still sent this holy water that he had learned Qi Leren needed. He still felt guilty for a long time and felt indebted.


    It could only be said that this was a cruel joke of fate.


    At present, the crisis was everywhere, and Qi Leren didn¡¯t think much about this. He concentrated on studying the surrounding situation.


    What was unusual about this studio? Why was there such strong demon energy?


    Qi Leren dragged his aching body around the room. When he walked to the window, he saw that the floor under the easel was slightly tilted, lit up by the lightning from time to time. He stepped forward and squatted down carefully. This action made his face twist with pain. He tried to pull up the floor. Unexpectedly, this loose floor was easily pulled up by him.


    There was a small iron box between the beams under the floor, and the surface had rusted. It could be vaguely seen that the relief above was a strange totem, just like¡­ Qi Leren recalled the seal tower in the Witchcraft Sacrifice mission, where there were similar totems on the tower. Combined with the strong demon energy in this room, was this related to devil worship?


    Qi Leren didn¡¯t dare to touch the tin box directly, and wrapped his hands in cloth and took it out.


    The system prompt followed: [Obtained 1/6 of the devil¡¯s sacrifice].


    Sure enough, it was something related to demons.


    Qi Leren opened the box, and what was hidden in the box was a dark blonde hair, long and curly. Instead of being cut neatly, it was pulled out rudely. Some hairs had traces of breaking, while others did not. They were intertwined like a dark golden grass.


    Qi Leren closed the box and put it in his inventory, thinking.


    Even if this task was related to demons, it can¡¯t be the demons in the Nightmare World, because this copy story took place in a copy similar to the real world, and this castle was built during the Republic of China. If this could also be connected with the three devils of Power, Slaughter, and Fraud, it would be outrageous.


    It was a coincidence that one sixth of the ¡°devil¡¯s sacrifice¡± was discovered, so what was this object trying to tell him?


    While Qi Leren was thinking, the easel not far away gave off a dim light.


    Qi Leren raised his head and looked nervously at the easel. A phantom appeared beside the glowing metal easel, which seemed to be illusory and ethereal across a layer of fog. The phantom was a young woman with long curly golden hair. She sat in front of the easel and painted with a palette and brush.


    It was her!


    Qi Leren suddenly recalled the lady in the portrait.


    She looked quiet and didn¡¯t seem to have any mental illness inherited from her family.


    A gleam of light appeared in the closed door, and a ghostly hound came into the studio through the wooden door.


    ¡°Redmond, come to me,¡± the woman who was painting called it softly.


    The hound came to her side with gentle footsteps and laid down at her feet. The woman stroked its fur and whispered, ¡°He¡¯s coming back soon. When he comes back, I¡¯ll give him a surprise. He¡¯s going to be a father soon!¡±


    The hound wagged its tail, looked up at her, and whined in its throat, as if responding to her words.


    The woman stroked her lower abdomen that was still flat and whispered, ¡°I will love him (her) and never let him (her) be like me¡­¡±


    The hound seemed to feel her melancholy. It looked up and gave a cry. The woman smiled, hugged its head and kissed its ear. ¡°I love you, too, Redmond. You¡¯re my patron saint.¡±


    The dim light of the phantom gradually faded and finally melted into the thunder and lightning.

 CH 79

    Chapter 79: Castle Cry (VI)


    The phantom had disappeared, but Qi Leren was still thinking.


    What was this phantom? It looked like it happened in this castle. At that time, the lady seemed to be in normal spirits. She and her husband loved each other very much. She also kept a dog named Redmond, which was the hound that attacked him just now and had almost killed him.


    What about the devil sacrifice hidden under the easel? Why was there such an object with a mass of golden hair in it¡­ Was this lady involved with the devil?


    More clues were needed¡­ Qi Leren took a deep breath and went to the door and opened it.


    Outside the door was the corridor, that is, the corridor that they tried to enter at first but were scared off by a fire. Would it be better to walk deeper into the corridor or go back to the main hall? Qi Leren didn¡¯t have a flashlight, the castle in this world didn¡¯t have electricity, and there was a thunderstorm outside. Lightning lit up from time to time, followed by the thundering sound.


    Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help but miss the inner world full of moonlight. Compared with this old and dilapidated outer world, the inner world appeared to be kind.


    He had put the flashlight on the piano cover, and now he couldn¡¯t get it back for a while. Qi Leren rummaged through his inventory for a while and found the mobile phone he brought in from the real world. He was speechless in finding that it still had 5% battery after it was turned on, which could be regarded as solving his urgent need.


    Qi Leren hesitated in which way to go. The hall and another corridor had been explored. There were no important clues. The ghost Nina should not be found in this world, but it was possible to meet the metal armor again and then have to deal with being chased. After all, this thing would not be burned in the fire. He wasn¡¯t interested in dying. For now, his top priority was to find Dr. Lu. If he couldn¡¯t find anyone, at least he could find something to light the way.


    Lighting¡­ There may be candles and the like in the kitchen - if they didn¡¯t burn out in the fire - the kitchen must be on the first floor. At present, only this area on the first floor had not been explored. After a pause, Qi Leren turned on the flashlight of his mobile phone and headed for the depths of the corridor.


    ¡°Ah, ah, ah, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, don¡¯t come here-!¡± A terrible cry came, accompanied by the sound of the door being knocked down. Dr. Lu ran all the way from the end of the corridor to Qi Leren, shouting as he ran, ¡°Hurry up, there¡¯s skeletons! They¡¯re moving, they¡¯re moving!¡±


    Of course, he appeared exactly when Dr. Lu needed protection. Qi Leren didn¡¯t know what to say.


    Seeing that Dr. Lu was running towards him, there were two gray skeletons behind him. They were dressed as servants, unarmed, and slow to move. They were incomparable with the monsters that Qi Leren encountered in the last mission. He was relieved and pulled out an iron rod from his inventory. It was obviously unwise to deal with a thin skeleton with a dagger: ¡°Get behind me!¡±


    Dr. Lu listened to his good advice and stayed away, with a genial smile that he continued to run.


    The skeletons were getting closer and closer. Qi Leren, who had primary fighting abilities equipped, stepped forward in two steps, knocking over two skeletons with the rod, stepping on the head of one of them, and then lifting the iron rod to break the skull of the other skeleton, and the deep and remote blue soul flame burning in the skull went out instantly. The other skeleton that he¡¯d stepped on stretched out its bone claws and hugged his thigh. Qi Leren looked cold, kicked its bone claws, poked a stick into its eye socket, and threw the skeleton against the wall.


    Fragile bones were shattered apart on the wall, the flame of soul went out, two skeletons became a big beach of white broken bones, and the servants¡¯ clothes on their bodies also fell off, and rags were generally scattered on the ground.


    ¡°Hey¡­¡± Dr. Lu applauded desperately in the back and said with amazement, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in only a few days and you¡¯ve already become this good at fighting. These sultry and sharp moves of yours are worthy of a goddess in my heart. The small universe is burning up.¡±


    Qi Leren gave him a blank look and expressed contempt for his behavior of opening a pot that shouldn¡¯t be stirred. Of course, he still had to put on a proper act: ¡°These slow skeletons are nothing to be afraid of. After all, this is D-level difficulty.¡±


    Finally, Qi Leren also asked, ¡°What happened to you? You just disappeared in a blink of an eye. I¡¯ve been looking for you for half an hour.¡±


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t mention it. While I was falling, I suddenly remembered that I had skills and didn¡¯t need to be a bastard. I quickly opened my lucky skills. Sure enough, I didn¡¯t fall all the way, so I wandered around here for a while. When I went back to look for you, I couldn¡¯t find you. Later, the bell rang and returned to the castle after the fire. I looked for you everywhere. As a result, even though I didn¡¯t find any people, I found a key.¡± Dr. Lu shook the brass key in his hand. ¡°I took advantage of my current skills in order to not die. As a result, when the door opened, I saw two skeletons, which scared me to think that my skills had failed. As soon as I went out, I saw the skeletons coming towards me. It seems that my lucky value is still average.¡±


    Qi Leren, who had been chased by a burned hound and almost broken his bones from falling through the building, didn¡¯t want to talk.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your arm? So many bruises? Your clothes are also dirty,¡± Dr. Lu asked, noticing Qi Leren¡¯s strangeness.


    Qi Leren glanced at his arm. When he¡¯d fallen from the second floor just now, he scraped his arm, and his foot was scratched from trying to pull it out after being stuck in the floorboard. These kinds of minor injuries didn¡¯t affect his ability to fight, so he was too lazy and ignored it.


    ¡°Do you want my help to treat it?¡± Dr. Lu asked with concern.


    ¡°Forget it, your treatment cooling time is too long, save it for a more serious injury.¡± After thinking about it, Qi Leren felt that he could easily become much more injured with his own luck. Let¡¯s just bear it, so as not to regret the skill cooling.


    By now he was more and more aware that skills were not reliable, and people who relied too much on skills would be particularly vulnerable and timid in the face of cooling, not to mention those tasks that sealed skills.


    ¡°There¡¯s another thing I want to show you,¡± Qi Leren said, taking out the iron box with the mass of blond hair that had been wrapped in cloth from his inventory and handing it to Dr. Lu. ¡°I found this after we got separated from Nina¡­¡±


    Qi Leren stated the following events one by one, and explained that he found the loose wooden board after falling into the studio, and then found the iron box under that board. Dr. Lu looked at him with compassion and forced comfort: ¡°Hmm¡­ Anyway, you still found a clue, so this pain wasn¡¯t for nothing.¡±


    Qi Leren lost his temper at this blase treatment and said nothing.


    ¡°As for this thing¡­ I agree with you. I¡¯m afraid this lady isn¡¯t simply crazy. Do you remember what Nina said? She said that the lady¡¯s mother and grandmother went crazy after giving birth to a child. The lady¡¯s vision told us that she was pregnant, but didn¡¯t say whether the child was born or not. I think it wasn¡¯t.¡± Dr. Lu made a bold guess. ¡°Look at those portraits on the first floor. There are many self-portraits of the lady, or her husband, and even many of her dog, but there are none of her children, and there are no toys or other things children like. It doesn¡¯t look like a family with children. Therefore, it¡¯s very likely that the lady either miscarried or died soon after the child was born, which could also have caused her madness.¡±


    After a moment¡¯s thought, Qi Leren¡¯s mind flashed: ¡°The sacrifice to the devil must be to get something. Do you think she was trying to bring this child back to life?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible. However, as a medical worker, I am skeptical.¡± Dr. Lu said primly.


    There were no more clues after that. Qi Leren simply handed this devil sacrifice to Dr. Lu for safekeeping. He remembered being told by the Trails Office that it was best to avoid devil energy, otherwise the growth rate of the seed of slaughter in him would accelerate. ¡°You should take care of it since you¡¯re more lucky.¡±


    Dr. Lu smiled smugly and put the box in his inventory.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and have a look at the second and third floors of the outer world,¡± Qi Leren said.


    The two men walked in the direction of the hall one after another. With Dr. Lu¡¯s flashlight, Qi Leren didn¡¯t waste the little power left in his mobile phone. Dr. Lu also laughed at him and said, ¡°If you¡¯re so protective of your mobile phone, find someone to buy a charger from when you go back to the Village of Dusk. I heard that there are a large number of talents in the Village of Dusk, and someone in a tech house tried to build a computer. The operation isn¡¯t even fast enough to play snake on it. It¡¯s a pity, if only the ordinary items in the copy world could be brought back, then I would definitely try to install a few computers back in the Village of Dusk and turn back into an otaku.¡±


    Qi Leren thought of his poor laptop, but it didn¡¯t seem to follow him into the Nightmare World, because he didn¡¯t see it when he woke up in the hospital of Novice Village. It was a pity since the laptop contained secrets of this world.


    The two people¡¯s footsteps echoed in the corridor, the front hall dark without any power supply.


    There was a whimper in the dark, and Dr. Lu stopped at once, pulling Qi Leren¡¯s arm, and nervously asked, ¡°Did you hear that sound?¡±


    Qi Leren gave an ear to listen. Outside the corridor ahead, a sobbing cry filled with sadness faintly reached his ears.


    ¡°I hear it, it¡¯s crying,¡± Qi Leren was nervous, and his heart couldn¡¯t help pounding.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a ghost, is it?¡± Dr. Lu said with a gasp, more suspicious.


    ¡°Give me the flashlight, I¡¯ll go and have a look,¡± Qi Leren said.


    Dr. Lu was reluctant to give up his flashlight, but he would rather face the darkness than face the strange cry, so he handed over the flashlight and waved to Qi Leren: ¡°Take care, I¡¯ll wait for you here.¡±


    Qi Leren backtracked two steps and dragged Dr. Lu: ¡°No, I¡¯m taking you with me!¡±


    ¡°Stop, I don¡¯t want to go!¡± Dr. Lu protested.


    ¡°Just do it, don¡¯t be embarrassed!¡± Qi Leren offered the words once used to describe ¡°goddess¡±.


    Dr. Lu clung to a sculpture by the wall and shouted: ¡°It¡¯s scary, don¡¯t do it!¡±


    While the two men argued, the sad crying stopped without them noticing. When Qi Leren noticed that something was wrong, he let go of Dr. Lu and looked warily into the darkness.


    Dr. Lu fell to the ground with a plot, clutching his ass, and cried, ¡°Why did you suddenly let go?!¡±


    "Shh- The crying is gone,¡± Qi Leren lowered his voice and said.


    Dr. Lu was suddenly frightened and stood up shaking at once.


    Footsteps came from the darkness and approached steadily. Qi Leren adjusted the direction of the flashlight and shone straight to the place where the footsteps came from. The person were stabbed by light, covering their eyes with one hand, and asked in tears: ¡°Is it Qi Leren and Lu Cangshu? I, I heard your voices¡­¡±


    ¡°Nan Lu?¡± Qi Leren asked doubtfully, ¡°Didn¡¯t you go with Xiao Hong? What about him?¡±


    Nan Lu¡¯s hand in front of her eyes was slowly lowered, showing her eyes flushed with tears and hatred on her face.


    ¡°He¡¯s gone,¡± Nan Lu said bitterly. ¡°He left with Luo Xueyi, that bitch.¡±

 CH 80

    Chapter 80: Castle Cry (VI)


    Nan Lu once again burst into tears, her eyes red and swollen, and Qi Leren looked at Dr. Lu for help. In response, he was scared and waved his hand to imply that he, as a single dog, had no experience in comforting girls. The two looked at the girl crying at a loss, and after a long time, they said dryly: ¡°Don¡¯t cry¡­¡±


    Nan Lu, who cried for ten minutes, wiped her face with her sleeve and asked faintly, ¡°Am I really inferior to Luo Xueyi? Why does everyone like her and not me? What¡¯s wrong with me?¡±


    Dr. Lu gave a dry cough: ¡°No, Nan Lu, you¡¯re fine. Xiao Hong is blind. But what happened?¡±


    Nan Lu sniffed and looked at her toes in frustration. After a long time, she opened her mouth: ¡°¡­After we separated from you, Xiao Hong and I went back. Soon after the bell rang, we went back to this burnt castle. Xiao Hong said that he seemed to hear Luo Xueyi¡¯s voice. He wanted to go to the second floor, but I refused¡­ We had a fight. In fact, after so long, I know that he¡¯s interested in Luo Xueyi. In this respect, women¡¯s intuition is very keen, not to mention that he¡¯s shown himself clearly. I think Luo Xueyi also knows, she¡¯s always been like this. She explicitly flirted with other people¡¯s boyfriends and seduced these people, hehe¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, after your fight? Did you go find Luo Xueyi?¡± Qi Leren interrupted the direction Nan Lu was going in, and Dr. Lu, who listened to the emotional gossip of men and women with relish, gave him a resentful look, regretting that the gossip was interrupted.


    ¡°We fought, and when we compromised¡­ I promised to find Luo Xueyi. As a result, I saw Luo Xueyi running down the stairs. There was a¡­ a skeleton¡­ chasing her. She kept screaming and asked us for help. Xiao Hong ran to save her. I don¡¯t know why, but the skeleton chased me. I was scared and fell down the stairs. When I looked up, I saw him pulling Luo Xueyi. He left me here and ran away¡­ I saw Luo Xueyi look back at me, that look¡­ Ha, she did it on purpose, she wasn¡¯t scared at all!¡± As she spoke, Nan Lu¡¯s voice became distorted. She couldn¡¯t tell whether she was sad or resentful, or if the pain was one that would never go away. She hatefully said: ¡°If I see that bitch¡­¡±


    Dr. Lu comforted Nan Lu by saying, ¡°Go back and turn your boyfriend into an ex-boyfriend, and then settle accounts with them. You don¡¯t deserve the kind of man who hooks up with someone when he has a girlfriend, right Qi Leren?¡±


    Nan Lu wiped her tears and said enviously, ¡°You have a good relationship with Qi Leren¡­¡±


    Qi Leren and Dr. Lu made a face of stepping in shit.


    ¡°What about the skeleton that came after you?¡± Dr. Lu asked curiously.


    Nan Lu held out her hand that was scratched and red and murmured, ¡°I broke off the stair railing and killed it.¡±


    Dr. Lu looked at her in horror and whispered in Qi Leren¡¯s ear: ¡°Does losing love make women have incredible fighting power? Xue Yingying was the same!¡±


    The corners of Qi Leren¡¯s mouth twitched. The skeletons here really had no fighting power, and only Dr. Lu, an amateur, couldn¡¯t beat it.


    After talking, Nan Lu¡¯s mood stabilized a lot, and she finally remembered that she was still in a dangerous place: ¡°What should we do now?¡±


    Qi Leren briefly talked about the matter, and then said: ¡°It¡¯s 2:40, and we¡¯ll be sent back to the world before the fire in 20 minutes. I think this kind of switching between the outside and the inside has some purpose. There must be some clues that can only be found in the two different worlds, such as keys.¡±


    Dr. Lu took out the brass key and shook it. ¡°I found this key on the first floor. I would guess that the key on the second floor can also be found in the outer world, and then taken it to the inner world to open the door on the second floor of the inner world. This is probably the logic.¡±


    Qi Leren nodded: ¡°There¡¯s still Nina - the place where we separated before. We opened the door and saw an N¡­ ghost.¡±


    Qi Leren almost said the word NPC, and swallowed it when he caught his slip: ¡°She should only haunt the inner world. You see, the monsters we met in the outer world have either rotted into skeletons, or are dogs burned beyond recognition, while the monsters in the inner world are walking armor, or simply ghosts, and there are some differences.¡±


    Nan Lu waited for a while and nodded: ¡°Having said so much, what are we going to do?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­ The ultimate goal is to leave the castle,¡± Qi Leren said.


    Nan Lu has a face of ¡°You¡¯re talking nonsense¡±.


    ¡°If you want to leave the castle, you have to solve the mystery of the fire. According to the current clues, it should have something to do with the crazy mistress. Maybe we need to get rid of this crazy mistress¡­ Speaking of this, Nina said something about when she was crazy. Where was she locked up?¡± Qi Leren asked Dr. Lu.


    Dr. Lu shook his head: ¡°She didn¡¯t say it, just that she had escaped from the castle, so all the windows were barred.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s ask Nina when we get back to that world. I also want to ask her something¡­ I hope that armor isn¡¯t there, otherwise we have to deal with it first.¡± Qi Leren had a little headache. ¡°There are also those doors that can¡¯t be opened. It¡¯ll take 20 minutes to enter the world. Let¡¯s find a way to find the key first.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve searched almost everywhere on the first floor. Shall we go to the second floor?¡± Dr. Lu suggested.


    Qi Leren hesitated and reminded: ¡°There is a hound that burned to death on the second floor. It¡¯s very powerful. Be careful.¡±


    Dr. Lu patted him on the shoulder: ¡°The European Emperor* never cares about this problem, take care of yourself.¡±


    {*E/N: Slang for lucky, full explanation below}


    Qi Leren: ¡°¡­¡±


    Nan Lu: ¡°???¡±


    After some discussion, the three men went to the second floor and walked on the decaying curved staircase. Qi Leren subconsciously looked at the portrait, and the portrait in this world had already been burned, leaving only the copper frame hanging on the wall. Qi Leren looked for a while, but he still insisted that it was not his illusion that he had seen blood on the portrait in the other world before.


    "What are you looking at? It¡¯s gone,¡± Dr. Lu urged.


    Qi Leren looked at the picture frame and asked, ¡°Do you think she is really crazy?¡±


    Dr. Lu touched his chin. ¡°I can¡¯t be sure about this, but Nina¡¯s statement doesn¡¯t sound like a big problem at present. Let¡¯s consider her crazy. Normal people wouldn¡¯t do something like burning the castle and killing a family. ¡±


    The ghostly image in the studio once again appeared in his mind. At that time, she looked so happy that Qi Leren whispered, ¡°Is it really her who burned the castle?¡±


    ¡°What? What are you suspecting? ¡± Dr. Lu was confused.


    ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just that when it comes to things like demon worship, I get a little nervous.¡± Qi Leren smiled and turned to keep up with their footsteps.


    Nan Lu, standing at the top of the stairs, was immersed in the dark. She asked faintly, ¡°Have you ever heard of the opera Don Giovanni? ¡®If I can find the villain and he will not come back to me, I will make a horrible example of him. I will tear out his heart!¡¯ Wouldn¡¯t it make sense if she was betrayed by her lover and destroyed everything in despair?¡±


    Dr. Lu gave a quick laugh and tried to send an alarm to Qi Leren with his eyes, which made his eyes cramp: No, this girl is going to get dark!


    At this time, how should one comfort a girl who is emotionally unstable after falling out of love? Qi Leren was very worried. He really didn¡¯t have this experience. When he falls out of love¡­ Er, well, he is also very distraught.


    ¡°Forget it, why are we talking about this? Let¡¯s go.¡± Nan Lu smiled wryly and continued walking up the stairs.


    Qi Leren and Dr. Lu looked at each other, and they both saw helplessness on each other¡¯s faces.


    The second floor of the outer world was more dilapidated than the inner world. Qi Leren had been here once, and he was worried about the elusive hound in the piano room, so he asked Dr. Lu: ¡°With your intuition, do you think the dog is still there?¡±


    Dr. Lu turned his eyes: ¡°What intuition does this need? According to the rules of horror games, this kind of wandering little boss will basically not stay in the same place. It must be where it¡¯s unlucky to go. You follow me now and go forward with confidence.¡±


    Qi Leren, who was speechless, felt a peace of mind. It was probably that under the European Emperor¡¯s light, even the air of the Africans was temporarily dispersed.*


    {*E/N: ¡°¡­under the light of the lucky star, even the ill fortune was temporarily dispersed.¡± Full explanation below.}


    The three people came to the piano room, and Qi Leren took the lead going in. He had already made psychological preparations before entering. If he saw this horrible hound again, he would definitely not hesitate to jump into the hole he had broken before and go back to the studio, even at the risk of breaking his leg. Fortunately, this time the hound was really gone.


    There was still heavy rain outside the window, and lightning flashed and thundered. Dr. Lu and Nan Lu searched in the piano room. Qi Leren was in charge of watching the door. Soon Dr. Lu called out in a low voice: ¡°Look, a bunch of keys!¡±


    Nan Lu, who was rummaging through the drawer, looked up and hit her arm on the phonograph in the cupboard. She let out a cry of pain and covered her hurt arm. Qi Leren walked up to her and asked, ¡°Is everything all right?¡±


    Nan Lu bit her lip and shook his head. Qi Leren suddenly felt pain like acupuncture coming from the back of his neck, and the seed of slaughter seemed to stir up. He looked around with vigilance, but everything was normal.


    What¡¯s happening? Qi Leren glanced at the phonograph on the cupboard. This ancient device had been broken in the fire, and only the horn made of metal was still intact. He looked at it for a while, and some intuition suggested that it was unusual.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lu doctor also walked over, with his flashlight landing to the phonograph, one hand still swinging the ring of keys he¡¯d just found.


    ¡°Let me see.¡± Qi Leren picked up the heavy phonograph and checked it, and soon found a dark box at the bottom. After he tried to open the dark box, the system prompt appeared again: ¡°Obtained 2/6 of the devil¡¯s sacrifice¡±.


    It was again the same iron box, and the rusted lines were full of religious meaning, but they gave off an impression of evil.


    Dr. Lu put on gloves and opened the box, which contained a tooth.


    ¡°It seems to be the same thing, but I don¡¯t know what it is,¡± Dr. Lu murmured. Because Nan Lu was present, and he didn¡¯t say much. ¡°Let me hang on to it?¡±


    ¡°All right.¡± Qi Leren couldn¡¯t make more contact with this demon item, which would affect the seed of slaughter.


    Dr. Lu stuffed the things into his inventory and glanced at Nan Lu. She didn¡¯t have any special reaction to the sudden disappearance of the iron box. He didn¡¯t know whether it was because of her settings as an NPC or if it was for some other reason. She just asked with disgust: ¡°What is this? Why are you keeping this thing?¡±


    ¡°I found one before, but I don¡¯t know what it is,¡± Qi Leren said casually, not willing to reveal too much.


    Suddenly there was a sweet piano sound behind him, and the three people who were talking froze in order. The fastest reaction of Qi Leren was a phantom!


    Sure enough, there was a faint light around the piano. Just like in the studio, the lady sitting on the edge of the piano played expressionlessly. Gradually, the music became faster and faster, and it became more and more intense. Finally, it seemed crazy. Her whole hand hit the piano, making a sharp noise, which overlapped with a thunderclap rolling outside the window.


    She laughed. At first, it was just a strange giggle, then it became more and more crazy and harsh. The hysterical laughter accompanied her heartbroken cough and finally turned into crying. She was lying on the piano, crying bitterly. Compared with the crazy laughter, her crying was so melancholic and depressing, like the sound of collapsing after trying hard to endure, and it gradually faded into the thunderstorm before finally disappearing with her phantom.


    ¡°She¡¯s crazy¡­¡± Nan Lu said in a dreamy way.


    She really does seem crazy, Qi Leren said in his heart.


    There was thunder outside the window, and lightning lit up the piano room. In the harsh light, Qi Leren saw the collar of the hound on the piano, and the flashlight he had put down to pick up the collar with the dagger in his hand. It laid quietly on the piano, just like an ordinary object, and disappeared in the dark until it was illuminated by the lightning.


    At this time, Qi Leren suddenly remembered¡­


    The flashlight should have been on when he fell into the studio

 CH 81

    Chapter 81: Castle Cry (VIII)


    {cw: discussion of miscarriage}


    ¡°Bong-bong-bong-¡±


    When the distant bell came, fear flooded Qi Leren like the tide, and he had already returned to the inner world before he was able to tell his two partners.


    It was three o''clock in the morning.


    Dr. Lu¡¯s flashlight was still on, and Qi Leren looked at the piano that now lacked the dog collar and his flashlight.


    Qi Leren took a deep breath, hesitated whether to tell Dr. Lu about it, and finally decided to say it. That way, Dr. Lu and Nan Lu would also be wary of any future bizarre actions in the outer world: ¡°I saw my flashlight on the piano just now. I remember that when I fell into the studio on the first floor from here, the flashlight was on, but just now I suddenly noticed that the flashlight had been turned off.¡±


    ¡°What? Huh? You¡¯re lying!¡± Dr. Lu even used three interjections. ¡°Are you sure? Did it run out of power?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure. I couldn¡¯t move after falling into the studio, and I had to lie on my back and look above me. At that time, the hound looked down at me at the mouth of the hole, and my flashlight lit it up. And before I came here, the flashlight was fully charged, it¡¯s impossible for it to have lost power so soon,¡± Qi Leren said with absolute certainty.


    ¡°But dogs don¡¯t turn off flashlights,¡± Nan Lu murmured.


    ¡°Dogs don¡¯t, but ¡®people¡¯ do,¡± Qi Leren said.


    Nan Lu¡¯s eyes were sharp: ¡°You mean Xiao Hong and that bitch have been here?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Qi Leren was silent for a few seconds. ¡°This is a possibility, but they didn¡¯t have to turn off the flashlight. This useful thing would more likely have been taken away directly.¡±


    His voice sank in the bright moonlight of the world. In the brand-new piano room, all three people didn¡¯t speak again. The shock brought by the phantom just now was erased by the fear close at hand. The same kind of imagination lingered in their minds, and the figure created by their fear entered the piano room from the dark corridor, silently turning off the flashlight that had illuminated the darkness¡­


    ¡°No matter what it is, we can at least be sure that it is an intelligent creature. It knows what it is, how to turn it off, and maybe it hates light¡­¡± Qi Leren whispered.


    ¡°Intelligent creatures¡­ that¡¯s troublesome. We broke into its territory. Maybe now even it¡¯s watching us think about how to catch it,¡± Dr. Lu said with horror.


    Nan Lu shuddered: ¡°Stop it!¡±


    ¡°No matter, first find out where the switch is.¡± Dr. Lu took a photo on the wall at the door with a flashlight, and soon found the switch. The chandelier in the piano room lit up, and the light returned immediately. Both Nanlu and Qi Leren were relieved.


    ¡°This world is quite kind,¡± Dr. Lu commended.


    Nan Lu said coldly: ¡°Have you forgotten Miao Bo who died unsatisfied?¡±


    Although this world seemed calm and peaceful, there were hidden dangers everywhere, and the slightest carelessness could end in violent death.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go to Nina first and then come back to search the room. I have a lot of things to ask her. I hope we won¡¯t meet the walking armor this time.¡± Qi Leren said. This time, he wasn¡¯t too afraid. The S/L skill¡¯s one hour cooling time had passed. If he met danger again, it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal. He just didn¡¯t know how to explain this to Nan Lu. He didn¡¯t know how an NPC would react to their special features¡­


    The three people walked to the first floor, with bright lights along the way, but in the bright lights, the surroundings were so quiet that people couldn¡¯t help observing everything around them, but they were afraid of finding any ominous omen amidst the ordinary. This contradictory psychology made everyone nervous.


    ¡°You wait for me here, I¡¯ll go and have a look first.¡± Reaching the first floor corridor entrance, Qi Leren said this to the two people, and then walked into the corridor.


    The lights were on, illuminating the sculptures and paintings on both sides of the corridor. The potted plants seem to have been carefully taken care of, green and verdant. At the end of the corridor was a semi-open room similar to the piano room on the second floor. Miao Bo¡¯s body was still lying on the ground, but the armor they suspected of the crime had disappeared.


    Qi Leren found the switch on the wall and turned on the light in this room. The door of the hidden small room was damaged after being hit by the armor, but it seemed to be closed. He didn¡¯t know if Nina was still there. He stepped forward to the door and whispered, ¡°Nina, are you there?¡±


    There was a soft reply from the door: ¡°I am¡­ Has it left?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already gone. I have a few things to ask you. Can I come in? ¡± Qi Leren said.


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t come in! Don¡¯t open the door! If it comes back¡­ I¡­ I¡¯m very scared.¡± Nina¡¯s voice suddenly raised in pitch, and there was a broken sound in her rapid voice.


    ¡°But the door¡¯s lock should be broken,¡± Qi Leren looked at the loose lock and said. Although this door could also be locked from the inside, the lock was broken when the armor tried to break the door, but the lock outside seemed to lock the door from the outside.


    ¡°No, no! Don¡¯t open the door! Please, please! If the door is open, it will come in!¡± Nina¡¯s anxious voice faintly devolved into tears, and she seemed to be terrified.


    ¡°¡­OK, wait, I¡¯ll call some friends.¡± Qi Leren compromised and called Dr. Lu and Nan Lu later.


    Once again setting foot in this room, Nan Lu still didn¡¯t dare to look at Miao Bo¡¯s body, and her dead companion was lying here, which inevitably reminded her of her own safety. She resisted fear, stood far away from the body, and silently urged Qi Leren to hurry up with her eyes.


    ¡°There are a few things I have to ask you: Let¡¯s start with the mistress, was she pregnant? Where are the children?¡± Qi Leren asked straight away.


    Behind the door, Nina was silent for a moment and seemed unwilling to talk about it. She asked, ¡°Why do you ask this?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s very important, please tell us,¡± Qi Leren said forcefully.


    ¡°Well¡­ The Missus was pregnant, but unfortunately she had a miscarriage. After that, her spirit was very bad. Probably from that time on, she gradually showed genetic madness¡­ In order to avoid stimulating her, the Master ordered us not to talk about it, but the Missus¡¯s illness was getting worse and worse. Sometimes she felt that her child was still alive. She made dolls and clothes for him (her), but when she was awake, she put these things away again. She is¡­ very pained.¡± Nina¡¯s voice was filled with a kind of humble pity and unspeakable fear.


    This really makes sense, Qi Leren thought.


    ¡°Hey, how did she miscarry? Spontaneous miscarriage? Accidental abortion?¡± Dr. Lu also stood by the door and asked.


    ¡°¡­She fell down the stairs and then had a miscarriage,¡± Nina said.


    At this moment, Nan Lu joined in. She asked sharply, ¡°Did she fall down by herself? Or did someone push her down? She miscarried, killed, and set the fire, is it just because she was crazy?¡±


    Dr. Lu and Qi Leren looked at Nan Lu. He wondered if the lady¡¯s experience reminded her of herself, making her very excited and even a little radical. Qi Leren vaguely felt that Nan Lu should also be a part of the plot, but until she did something harmful to them, he was still willing to help her¡­ This luck-based thinking was dangerous, and he and Dr. Lu knew it tacitly, but they did it anyway.


    Behind the door, Nina was somewhat surprised and said, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for her madness, how could she do such a thing? She used to be a very gentle and quiet person! Even if she is crazy, she is¡­ It¡¯s not her fault!¡±


    Nan Lu reluctantly bit her lip and didn¡¯t speak again.


    ¡°I have another question. As you said before, the lady¡¯s illness was getting worse and worse, and she was locked up. So where was she locked up?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    ¡°¡­The basement. She was locked in the basement,¡± Nina replied.


    Nan Lu said incredulously, ¡°You locked her in the basement?! My God¡­ How could you do this? She¡¯s already in pain. ¡±


    Nina mumbled something a few times and whispered weakly, ¡°It¡¯s what the Master wanted. Missus¡¯s madness was getting more and more serious and needed isolation, so¡­¡±


    Dr. Lu snorted gently, with a little doubt, but did not speak.


    ¡°Where can I go to open the basement? Do I need a key?¡± Qi Leren asked again.


    ¡°The basement is in the kitchen at the end of the corridor on the other side of the hall. There is a secret compartment on the ground in the corner. When you open it, you will see a lock. The key is in the Master¡¯s study. I think¡­ Maybe the Missus has become a resentful spirit, still wandering in the basement¡­ Please let her rest in peace. May God bless her not to suffer in the world. May she rest in the arms of the Lord and let me rest in peace¡­ Let us rest in peace.¡±


    The task was clear here. As long as you got the key to the basement and entered the basement to destroy the dead crazy lady, this task could be finished. This should be the simplest way to clear the requirements.


    But¡­.. There were still many things in his mind about this task, such as the sacrifice to the Devil.


    Did he want to ask? If he asked, would it be self-defeating, triggering the hidden plot to raise the difficulty?


    ¡°That¡¯s the objective? Go find the basement key? ¡± Dr. Lu pulled Qi Leren¡¯s arm and asked.


    ¡°About the sacrifice¡­¡± Qi Leren talked with Dr. Lu in a low voice.


    Dr. Lu stared at him: ¡°Do you want to die?¡±


    ¡°Just a little curious,¡± Qi Leren argued.


    ¡°Young man, your mind is very dangerous,¡± Dr. Lu said earnestly. ¡°It¡¯s safer to know less. If you ask why, you¡¯re going to die. Walk away and find the key.¡±


    Qi Leren, who was dragged by Dr. Lu, didn¡¯t struggle again. He left the room according to his meaning. Before he left, he cast a glance back. The hidden door was closed, and everything seemed normal.

 CH 82

    Chapter 82: Castle Cry (IX)


    On the way to the study on the second floor, all three people were very silent. They walked in the corridor that was bright in this world. They didn¡¯t have the decadent and lavish appearance of this world, but they didn¡¯t have a sense of speechlessness. Nan Lu couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Are we really going to kill her?¡±


    ¡°Remember, she¡¯s already dead. It can¡¯t be called killing her. At most, we¡¯re just sending her to where she should go,¡± Dr. Lu corrected Nan Lu¡¯s words.


    Nan Lu stared ahead and whispered: ¡°Poor woman¡­¡±


    Dr. Lu didn¡¯t understand Nan Lu¡¯s logic: ¡°How is she pitiful?¡±


    ¡°She lost her child and went crazy. Her husband might have betrayed her. Isn¡¯t she pitiful?¡± Nan Lu asked.


    ¡°The first two are easy to say, but where did you find that her husband betrayed her?¡± Dr. Lu asked blankly.


    Nan Lu bit her lip. ¡°Intuition. Maybe her husband was having an affair with that Nina. Otherwise, why, out of so many servants, is she the only one to have become a ghost? She must be different from the others.¡±


    Dr. Lu gave up, secretly fell in line with Qi Leren, and mouthed to him, She is hopeless.


    Although Nan Lu¡¯s words were all based on subjective speculation, they couldn¡¯t be said to be unreasonable. It was also a possibility. Qi Leren thought, ¡°Let¡¯s leave the rest aside, we have to get rid of this crazy lady before we leave here. Just trust her for now and let¡¯s go to the study to find the key to the basement.¡±


    Nan Lu didn¡¯t say anything. After all, in such a dangerous place, the desire to go home was overwhelming.


    Before, Dr. Lu found the keys to the second floor in the piano room of the outer world. When the three returned to the second floor, they began to try one by one, opening the locked rooms on the second floor one by one, and finally found the study when they reached the third one.


    Turning on the light of the study, and the dark room immediately lit up. There were bookshelves of more than ten square meters on both sides of the study. There was a big desk on the side, which was old in style, but very textured. There were many paintings hanging on the wall, and potted plants and sculptures full of artistic sense in the corner. The three people appreciated the layout here, immediately rummaging through the boxes to find the key.


    ¡°There¡¯s a letter here!¡± Dr. Lu found a letter from the drawer of the desk that had been sealed with wax but had not yet been sent, and immediately opened it to see it.


    The original text of the letter should have been German, but the system automatically translated it:


    To Dr. Flajser:


    (omitted) I heard that you just came back from the epidemic area, and I hope everything is alright with you ¡­ (omitted) ¡­ Sarah¡¯s condition is still not getting better, it¡¯s getting worse and worse. She¡¯s begun to imagine frequently, and she is suspicious of everything ¡­ (omitted) ¡­ When I woke up in the middle of the night, I found that she had escaped and made a doll in the baby room, and she seemed to firmly believe that her child was not dead. When I stopped her, she frantically asked me if I still loved her. The loss of her child was a great blow to her. I comforted her many times, but she still resented it. I don¡¯t need her to have a legitimate heir. You know, I¡¯ve been trying to avoid getting her pregnant, but she still became pregnant, which is not a good thing for her. I¡¯m tired of this kind of life, for God¡¯s sake ¡­ (omitted) ¡­ I hope you will take the time to come.


    Waiting for your word, Johann Sebastian Wolff.


    ¡°This letter¡­ seems to be addressed to a doctor by the male owner of this castle. The doctor may also be a German by name.¡± After reading the letter, Dr. Lu touched his chin. ¡°I feel that there is a lot of information here¡­¡±


    Epidemic area¡­ Baby room¡­ Doll¡­ Child¡­ Doctor¡­ Many words leapt through Qi Leren¡¯s mind, which made him think a lot. It seemed that this letter should be from the man who asked the doctor to come to see the crazy lady. This doctor shouldn¡¯t be unfamiliar with them. Listening to Mr. Wolff¡¯s tone, he had great respect for this doctor.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the nursery later, there should be something there.¡± According to his own game experience, Qi Leren judged that there should be a key item there.


    ¡°Well¡­ I think there will be an iron box in the nursery,¡± Dr. Lu said.


    ¡°But maybe it¡¯s the key item to deal with the crazy lady,¡± Qi Leren said.


    ¡°No, no, no, you¡¯re overthinking it. If you continue to explore, you¡¯ll dig too deep. Don¡¯t forget¡­¡± Dr. Lu quickly wrote a D on the table with his finger.


    It was, after all, D-level difficulty.


    Qi Leren nodded: ¡°Keep looking for the key.¡±


    Sitting on the sofa and listening to Dr. Lu, Nan Lu, who had been silent since the letter was read, suddenly whispered: ¡°Love is always like this, so warm and joyful when it comes, but after the passion fades, it becomes so desperate and painful.¡±


    Huh? Excuse me? Dr. Lu looked at Nan Lu in surprise, and she sighed faintly in the shadows: ¡°He was tired of his wife, even though she was so beautiful and gentle, they were so in love, but when she went crazy, he quickly got tired. That¡¯s why she became so helpless and crazy, to ask him if he still loves her¡­ Poor woman, she had been abandoned, but she was still dreaming that her ruthless husband still loved her.¡±


    Nan Lu, who was sitting on the sofa, stroked the book on her knee, opened it and handed it to them: ¡°Look, I just found it on the bookshelf.¡±


    Qi Leren took the book she handed him withl doubt, and there were only a few pages with words.


    -A certain year, month, day, cloudy. Today is Adeline¡¯s death day. Sarah and I came back from the cemetery to visit her and met Dr. Flajser. This is the third year since Adeline¡¯s death. When I woke up in the middle of the night, I heard Sarah calling Adeline¡¯s name. Poor Sarah, my wife, after Adeline¡¯s accident, she was even sadder than me. After all, they grew up together and acted like sisters. I¡¯m going to China with Sarah in a month, hoping that an unfamiliar country will make her forget this sad place and make me forget everything.


    -A certain year, month, day, sunny. I arrived in China with Sarah, and the castle has been built. Although I prefer to live in the city, Sarah insists on an independent castle. She used to live in a castle when she was a child, and there are people serving her everywhere. She likes this and is willing to spend money on it. Anyway, it is only pennies to her. I ordered someone to secretly build a garden on the top floor of the castle. Sarah said a long time ago that she liked painting in the garden. After I took her to see the garden, she was as happy as a child. She took Redmond around the garden and happily said that she would plant roses here. I think I should hire an extra gardener to take care of the garden.


    -A certain year, month, day, cloudy. Sarah is pregnant. She told me the news with great excitement. I was surprised. The method provided by Dr. Flajser should effectively prevent her from getting pregnant. Is it because of the dose problem? I should call Dr. Flajser to see him, but last time he mentioned that he was leaving Germany, I¡¯m afraid he won¡¯t come back for several months. To be honest, I don¡¯t expect the arrival of the child. On the contrary, I am worried about her family¡¯s genetic disease. Although Sarah has no signs of illness at present, her mother and grandmother became crazy after giving birth to a child¡­ But I can¡¯t tell her my worries. She is really looking forward to having a child. May God bless us.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    -A certain day, thunderstorm. She¡¯s still crazy.


    The last line in the diary was very large and untidy. Although it was short, it had a creepy feeling. It was like the sword hanging overhead had finally fallen down, the inevitable tragedy finally happened, and the inescapable fate had finally come.


    Dr. Lu suddenly asked in disbelief: ¡°Nan Lu, can you understand it?¡±


    Qi Leren was shocked. Yes, these diary entries were all written in German. They both relied on the system¡¯s translation, but what about Nan Lu?


    Nan Lu looked at them inexplicably: ¡°Please, we¡¯ve learned German for four years. Although my German isn¡¯t as good as yours, I can read day-to-day letters, can¡¯t I?¡±


    Well, the setting of this copy was quite perfect. It turned out that the four of them were German language college students.


    ¡°What do you think of this diary?¡± Nan Lu asked softly.


    ¡°There are a lot of things to dig into, but we don¡¯t have to worry about this now. Let¡¯s get this Mrs. Sarah out of here first.¡± Dr. Lu stood, continuing to rummage for the key.


    Qi Leren put away the diary. Although these items from the copy world would disappear when he left the copy, he still took the diary with him, since he possibly could use it later. He felt that the story of the crazy lady was not so simple, but as Dr. Lu said, for now they shouldn¡¯t dig deeper to avoid raising the difficulty of the task.


    Nan Lu stood up from the sofa and looked at the portrait hanging on the wall behind the sofa. In the portrait, the handsome male host was holding a book and concentrating on reading. She whispered, ¡°He loved her, she loved him. However, love is like a sand sculpture on the beach, which slowly collapses and is destroyed in waves of the tides. After the destruction of time, love is colder than death.

 CH 83

    Chapter 83: Castle Cry (X)


    As a small expert in finding things, Dr. Lu found a key in a secret compartment of the desk drawer, which was probably the one needed to open the basement. So the three people hurried downstairs and went to the first floor. It was already 3:40 in the morning. They would return to the outer world in 20 minutes, and they had to solve the problem in 20 minutes, otherwise they would have to wait another hour. Who knew what would happen in the outer world?


    Qi Leren and Dr. Lu talked about the task in low voices, and they had to be careful not to let Nan Lu hear about skills - he wasn¡¯t sure how an NPC would react to this.


    ¡°Although Nina¡¯s words are full of flaws, let¡¯s listen to her, otherwise it¡¯s easy to have an accident.¡± Dr. Lu seriously warned Qi Leren, who was eager to move. ¡°Don¡¯t mess around, let¡¯s kill the crazy lady so we can go home.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ My warning skill is cooling, and the cooling time is too long. I can¡¯t count on this skill. The S/L skill has cooled down, so I can fight with it,¡± Qi Leren said.


    ¡°My lucky skill was activated at 1:30. After 90 minutes, it¡¯s expired by now. The cooling time is three hours. That is to say, the next time I can use it is after six o''clock, I basically can¡¯t count on it ¡­ Take care of yourself, as long as you climb out of the cellar alive, I will treat you and cure you.¡± Dr. Lu¡¯s tone was filled with a faint sense of pity, and it seemed that Qi Leren was going to suffer misfortune.


    ¡°¡­What if you die inside?¡± Qi Leren asked sullenly.


    ¡°You little devil, don¡¯t talk nonsense! Go fight the boss well! Don¡¯t set up any Flags!¡± Dr. Lu slapped Qi Leren on the back of his head, giving full play to the majesty of a doctor.


    ¡°¡­Oh.¡± Qi Leren responded stupidly, remembered something again, and quietly reminded Dr. Lu, ¡°Be careful of Nan Lu.¡±


    Dr. Lu nodded his head.


    The deepest part of the corridor was a large kitchen. There were cabinets everywhere in the area of more than 10 square meters. The ceiling directly above the generous prep counter was covered with various nameless kitchen utensils. There were also many pots and pans and some unpacked ingredients on the counter.


    ¡°Look at the corner, there¡¯s a dark box on the ground,¡± Dr. Lu warned.


    Qi Leren inspected the kitchen along the wall. The ground was covered with a layer of ceramic tiles with a white background. They reflected his own figure vaguely under the light. He squatted down and knocked on the ground with his fingers. He didn¡¯t feel that any tiles were hollow. Where was the hidden compartment?


    ¡°I can¡¯t find it¡­ I wish I had asked a little more clearly.¡± Dr. Lu murmured, ¡°Should we go ask Nina? Time is running out.¡±


    Qi Leren also stood up from the ground. After squatting for too long, his brain was short on blood. He was dizzy briefly, and the image in front of him was covered with a black shadow. He blinked hard and then suddenly froze.


    The cupboard door in front him was made of glass, and the transparent glass reflected the image behind him - a well-dressed blonde woman was sitting on a wooden chair not far from Nan Lu, holding a baby in her arms. She lowered her head and looked at the baby in her arms gently, as if humming a gentle lullaby. And at her feet, the ground was covered with bloody remains, a head wearing a chef¡¯s hat was cut into two pieces, and a maid holding kitchen utensils was beyond recognition¡­ The blood rolled like it was boiling, while the woman holding the baby turned a blind eye to the bloody scene, and was strangely serene.


    Qi Leren quickly turned his body, and the wooden chair against the wall behind him was empty.


    Was it an illusion? Or¡­


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Dr. Lu looked at Qi Leren striding toward the chair behind him and asked.


    Qi Leren forgot to answer him. He dragged away the wooden chair and knocked on the tile under the chair with his finger. It was hollow.


    ¡°This is it.¡± Qi Leren stuck his dagger into the gap between the ceramic tiles and pried it open. Several adjacent ceramic tiles were loose. After they were removed, there was a square iron grate below, like a cellar entrance.


    ¡°How did you find it?¡± Dr. Lu asked curiously.


    ¡°I saw her,¡± Qi Leren whispered, staring at the slightly rusty iron grate underground, and the heavy iron lock that firmly locked it, together with all the evil inside.


    ¡°What did you see?¡± Nan Lu said sharply.


    Qi Leren didn¡¯t answer. He said coldly, ¡°Back up and I¡¯ll open the basement. If something is wrong later, you should get out of here¡­¡± He didn¡¯t expect Dr. Lu and Nan Lu to help, and the seed of slaughter in him might accidentally injure his teammates, so he would rather face the crazy lady alone.


    The heavy iron lock was opened with the key, and Qi Leren¡¯s heartbeat quickened. The cellar door to the basement was opened with a dull sound, revealing a vertical iron ladder and the deep darkness below. There was a stale smell in the darkness, as if it had been sealed for a long time.


    Qi Leren¡¯s flashlight had already been lost in the outer world, so he had to use the light of his mobile phone below. The light spread down the iron ladder, illuminating the concrete floor, and there was nothing.


    There must be danger down there, which Qi Leren could feel, but he still had to take the risk. After weighing it, he decided to suspend his use of the S/L skill until he found the danger. With his mouth biting his mobile phone, he continued to light the way, holding a dagger inlaid with holy runes in one hand and climbing the iron ladder in the other hand, ready to climb down to the basement.


    His foot stepped on the rail of the iron ladder, which was very strong. Qi Leren felt like walking alone into the fog full of monsters, knowing that there was danger lurking in the darkness of the basement, but he forced himself to go on.


    Most of his body had descended into the cellar, with only his shoulders above it. Qi Leren nodded to Dr. Lu, beckoning him to pay more attention to Nan Lu. Unfortunately, the tacit understanding between them was insufficient. Dr. Lu waved to him with mirth, and Qi Leren was tired and went to climb the ladder.


    A cold wind blew up from bottom to top in the basement, and the lighting range of the mobile phone was narrow, only seeing his own shadow in the beam, surrounded by vast darkness. Climbing down, Qi Leren suddenly stepped on air, and the rung of the ladder was missing. He fell down, but fortunately, his hand gripped the ladder tightly, so he didn¡¯t fall far. This little accident made Qi Leren, who was originally in a calm mood, feel flustered, and there seemed to be a terrible monster lurking in the deep darkness at his feet.


    Before he could calm his heartbeat, the foot that stepped on empty air in the dark was suddenly entangled in something, and the something that grabbed his ankle was surprisingly strong. It pulled him down from the ladder and he fell to the ground.


    Once again, he fell dizzily, but this time it was much better than falling into the studio from the second floor. At least Qi Leren still had the strength to roll several times, holding up his awkward arm and clenching his dagger.


    The mobile phone had fallen to the ground, illuminating a small area. In the dark, it seemed that there was a gentle singing, a faint candle lit up, then a second, more and more¡­ Two rows of candlelight, lit up close to the wall, illuminated this dark and dead basement. At the end of the candlelight, there was a rocking chair with its back to him. The woman sitting in the rocking chair had long golden hair, which fell down like a waterfall.


    She gently hummed a lullaby and sang softly in this cold basement.


    Qi Leren¡¯s line of sight swept around, but he didn¡¯t see what had pulled him into the basement just now. It was so weird¡­ He even thought of running away, but when he looked up, the open cellar door seemed to be pushed by an invisible hand, and was closed with a loud bang, and the light over his head disappeared, which also cut off his retreat.


    With the cellar door closed, the rocking chair slowly turned, like being placed on a turntable, and slowly turned around. The blonde woman in the rocking chair was humming softly with her eyes closed and her baby in her arms.


    The rocking chair stopped, facing him, and the crazy lady in the chair slowly opened her eyes - her left eye was exactly the same as the portrait, but her right eye had been gouged out, leaving only a bleeding hole, with blood seeping from her eye to her neck.


    This rare and ominous scene made Qi Leren dare not spit out a sigh of relief. He was still, and his muscles were tight to the point of stiffness.


    ¡°Are you here to get back at me?¡± The lullaby stopped, and the crazy lady asked softly.


    ¡°¡­¡± Revenge? Who wants revenge? Qi Leren¡¯s brain was blank.


    ¡°You have taken away my child, what else do you want to take away? His love?¡± The mad lady¡¯s voice became cold. She looked ahead with empty eyes. She said in a self-deprecating way, ¡°I hate you¡­ Hate you¡­ Envy you¡­ Go back to the grave and keep company with dirty maggots. That¡¯s where you belong. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha¡­¡±


    Her crazy laughter grew crazier and crazier, piercing his eardrums.


    She stood up and gently put the baby in her arms on the rocking chair. In the flickering candlelight, the intact half of her face was like the Virgin of Vladimir, but when she was walking towards Qi Leren, the blood and tears flowing from her bloody right eye made her look like the evil spirit from a horror movie.


    Two rows of lit candles shook, casting criss-crossing shadows on the ground, shaking, trembling¡­


    There was something creepy, climbing slowly from his feet, stroking his ankles and knees, and climbing inch by inch. Qi Leren slashed the dagger in his hand at the invisible things, and the dagger waved a sharp wind in the air, but it didn¡¯t touch anything. What were these things? What on earth was it?


    The crazy lady walked towards him with a strange smile on her face. She walked slowly, but every step was like a stuck video tape, jumping forward frame by frame. This was definitely not what human beings should look like! Candlelight in all directions made her shadow tremble and distort, projecting a strange chaos on the ground.


    At this moment, Qi Leren suddenly realized something.


    He lowered his head and looked at the shadows climbing his trouser legs, which had no form and no quality, yet still existed¡­


    It was the shadows.

 CH 84

    Chapter 84: Castle Cry (XI)


    Fear, endless fear, Qi Leren moved in panic, and the shadows crawling at his feet moved. They dragged him to the ground with incredible strength and he could not move. The dagger inlaid with holy runes had no effect on the shadow. Qi Leren ruthlessly cut his left arm with the knife, and blood gushed out. The rune on the dagger gave off milky white light, which made his blood carry a weak holy power. The shadow crawling all over the ground paused for a moment, and then came upon him again.


    Damn, how could he deal with this thing without form? As the power of the shadows wass getting stronger and stronger, Qi Leren was pulled down and he couldn¡¯t stand up. Looking up, the crazy lady was less than five meters away from him!


    Save? Or should he use another spell?


    No, it wasn¡¯t the time to save. Try again!


    A miniature bomb was thrown out and exploded nearby. On the ground, Qi Leren felt the impact, and all the candles nearby went out, leaving only a few candles scattered in the deepest part of the basement.


    Qi Leren looked up. After the smoke dispersed, he saw the crazy lady lying on the ground in the distance. She was still, as if she had died in the explosion.


    Had she died just like that? Was it over?


    Qi Leren was in a state of dreamy unreality, and the shadows had disappeared. He slowly got up from the ground and staggered towards her¡­ Either way, he should make sure with the dagger first.


    After the explosion, the miniature bomb had left a pit in the basement. Qi Leren bypassed it and carefully came to the crazy lady¡¯s side. She was lying on the ground, her face covered with blood, her eyes closed, and her long golden hair scattered, as if she had lost her vitality.


    Qi Leren walked towards her in the dark, and the remaining candlelight in the distance was ethereal, but it could not reach his feet. He came to the lifeless crazy lady¡¯s side, clutching the dagger in his hand and slowly lifting it¡­


    Kill her and finish this mission.


    Qi Leren¡¯s heart beat so fast that even his eardrums were shaking, and his wrist holding the dagger trembled gently because of the fierce struggle just now. He felt as if he was wrapped in a sticky dark, and countless questions, metaphors and plots were glued together, which locked him firmly. But as long as he swung the dagger, everything would be punctured by a sharp blade, and everything would end rudely.


    As long as it was over.


    With a dull pain in the back of his neck, the seed reminded him that this was a place full of demons, and he couldn¡¯t delay any longer.


    Determined, Qi Leren tightened his hand holding the dagger and stabbed it hard!


    The wrist was firmly held by a thin and pale hand, and a temperature as cold as ice froze him. When Qi Leren realized what was holding his hand, he jolted like he¡¯d been given an electric shock - his wrist was clasped, and he couldn¡¯t escape at all.


    He didn¡¯t know when the dead crazy lady had opened her eyes. The intact left eye and the right eye that has become a bloody hole ¡°looked¡± at him together, and the corners of her mouth rolled up in a strange angle.


    ¡°Ah, you are not Adeline.¡± The crazy lady sighed and said, ¡°She was a kind, obedient and stupid woman - while she was still alive. Your skin is so warm, this is the temperature of the living. You are not Adeline.¡±


    Her intact left eye was also empty and held no focus.


    ¡°Are you my Johann?¡± The crazy lady¡¯s other hand slowly touched Qi Leren¡¯s cheek, and the hand stained with blood and ashes smeared the smell of death on his face. ¡°My dear, dear Johann. Do you still love me when I am no longer kind, gentle, and beautiful?¡±


    Blood, blood with a demonic smell, was wiped on his face, and the seed of slaughter was like a river that burst its banks, which plunged down from the dam of rationality and instantly washed away his will.


    At this moment, Qi Leren only had time to save. At the moment when the save was finished, the seed of slaughter living in his back neck jumped instantly, and spread to his whole body along the spine. The demon power filled his whole body, and a bloodthirsty desire for killing invaded Qi Leren¡¯s mind.


    Kill her!


    Qi Leren¡¯s caught wrist filled with strength. He swung his backhand and grabbed his crazy lady, and threw her away. The crazy lady screamed and flew a few meters, and her body collided with the wall beside her, knocking away some candles that had already been extinguished.


    ¡°Monster¡­ You¡¯re a monster!¡± the crazy lady suddenly screamed in horror, trembling.


    Qi Leren stood up, his eyes empty, and walked to her step by step.


    The crazy lady screamed horribly. In the banshee-like high-pitched sound, the extinguished candles lit up again, and the huge basement shone brightly. In this dazzling flickering candle light, countless shadows recovered again, flocking to Qi Leren like a tide.


    Qi Leren was still moving forward, and those crazy shadows were shaking and flapping like branches in the wind, but at the moment when they come into contact with Qi Leren, they seemed to be blocked by invisible barriers, unable to ensnare him, and could only struggle and twist around him in vain.


    Low magic, ah.


    In Qi Leren¡¯s mind sounded a voice that didn¡¯t belong to him, or it wasn¡¯t a voice at all, but a stream of consciousness that suddenly appeared in his mind. He knew what it was saying, even if it didn¡¯t resort to language.


    The seed of slaughter, talking.


    Qi Leren was aware of this, but right now the controlled brain and body couldn¡¯t make any response to the problems he was aware of. It is like a letter that had been written but then forgotten to be sent, and thus it couldn¡¯t get a response from the recipient.


    He came to the crazy lady, caught her neck with his right hand, and lifted her up.


    The crazy lady with blood on her face opened her mouth wide, her feet were off the ground, her face was ferocious and twisted, and her whole body weight remained on her fragile neck, which could break at any time. Her legs struggled to kick, but her strength was weak. Those crazy shadows surrounded her, twisting and changing the shape terrifyingly as she struggled.


    However, all this had lost its effect. Qi Leren threw away the dagger inlaid with holy runes in disgust. The metal dagger fell to the ground and bounced twice, then went to sleep quietly. But his hand clenched around the crazy lady¡¯s neck became harder and harder, and it closed like a vice - a crisp crack sounded, and the struggling crazy lady quivered before going limp. Demon energy gushed out from her, and was swallowed up by the seed through Qi Leren¡¯s hands.


    Qi Leren loosened his hand and watched her turn into a pile of dead meat, which then quickly rotted into a pile of bones amidst the candlelight.


    Wake up quickly.


    Wake up!


    Trapped in the depths of his consciousness, he shouted, and Qi Leren¡¯s fingers twitched. He was trying to compete for control of his body with the seed of slaughter, but unlike the last time he awakened the seed of slaughter, this time it had absorbed new demon power and became stronger and more greedy.


    He only had a few seconds at most, and Qi Leren suddenly broke out and bumped into the rough wall. The sharp pain made him wake up instantly, and the seed of slaughter entrenched in his consciousness unwillingly receded. Reason and control once again returned to his body.


    Qi Leren collapsed and sat on the ground, blood dripping slowly from his forehead, which smeared half of his face. But at this time, he couldn¡¯t take care of it, and fatigue surged up from the bottom of his heart, making his body dull.


    Blood flowed through the corners of the mouth and tasted salty. The dormant seed of slaughter seemed to be stirring again. Qi Leren took out the holy water from his inventory and took a sip of it, suppressing it back.


    The holy power in the holy water injected a little vitality into his body. At least he had the strength to stand up.


    The wound on his head wasn¡¯t serious. Qi Leren directly covered it with a towel. He was ready to go out later and let Dr. Lu bandage it simply, to try not to waste his skills. Only, the cut on his arm was a bit deep. He bandaged it tightly to avoid massive bleeding. He tentatively opened his palm and clenched his fist, and found that there was no nerve damage, so it didn¡¯t seem to affect him in battle too much.


    He picked up the rune dagger that had just been thrown aside and held it in his hand. Qi Leren walked deeper into the basement.


    Earlier, a little baby had been put on the rocking chair where the crazy lady was located. When he got close, he found that it wasn¡¯t a live baby, but a doll. Its shape was rough and it seemed to be sewn with cloth. Qi Leren hesitated and picked it up.


    ¡°Ah¨C!¡± The doll let out a piercing scream, which scared Qi Leren, who threw it on the ground and stepped on it.


    Under his foot the doll struggled to twist up, like a living creature. Qi Leren both wanted to and didn¡¯t want to use the dagger to stab it down, and once stabbed by the dagger, the doll sent out a sad cry then ceased to move.


    A small pool of black liquid seeped out of the doll¡¯s body, like a pool of blood.


    Qi Leren kicked it, and the doll finally stopped moving and looked like an ordinary toy.


    It should be dead? Qi Leren was concerned. What evil thing was this, to give off such a strange and ominous feeling?


    Qi Leren rummaged through the basement, and soon found a hidden compartment on the wall behind the rocking chair. After opening the hidden compartment, there was an embedded cabinet with two drawers. Qi Leren¡¯s heart beat faster, and he had a wonderful premonition,but also an ominous premonition.


    Opening the first drawer, there was a tin box, and the system prompt reappeared: ¡°Obtained the sacrifice of the devil 3/6¡±.


    When the tin box was opened, it was a bloody eyeball, which had already been covered in a layer of gray and looked cloudy and disgusting. Qi Leren immediately thought of the crazy lady¡¯s empty right eye. Why was her eyeball here? Who dug it out?


    Suddenly, there was a glimmer of light behind him, and Qi Leren turned his head and once again saw the phantom - the phantom that appeared every time he found the demon sacrifice.


    The crazy lady who couldn¡¯t see her own face lingered in the cellar and yelled at the cellar door: ¡°Open the door! Let me out! You poor, rebellious slaves! Who allowed you to lock me up here! ¡±


    Outside the cellar came the sound of a key unlocking. The crazy lady looked at the cellar door with delight. The cellar door above her head opened, and a basket containing food was lowered down by ropes and fell to the ground.


    The crazy lady looked above her with bitter eyes: ¡°Nina, have even you betrayed me?¡±


    A trembling voice came from outside the cellar door: ¡°Madam, I didn¡¯t ¡­ It was the Master¡¯s order to have you stay here.¡±


    The crazy lady cried furiously, ¡°I am your master! I am! Let me out! I order you! Let me out!¡±


    Nina sobbed in a low voice outside the door, which could not be heard over the roar of the crazy lady. Soon the crazy lady was tired and sat down on the ground, staring overhead and looking at Nina.


    After a long time, Nina, who had stopped crying, whispered, ¡°Madam, I have to go¡­ but I will forget to lock the cellar door. If you¡­ want¡­ I am willing to help you go back, I am willing¡­ to do anything for you as long as you get better.¡±


    The crazy lady looked at her in confusion and didn¡¯t respond to her words. When the cellar door closed again, she suddenly giggled and slowly put her hand on her intact right eye¡­


    ¡°One more, one more, dear, I can¡­ ha ha ha ha ha¡­¡±


    The phantom gradually faded, and together with the whispered mad words, it went silent before Qi Leren¡¯s eyes.


    The eye in a bloody and rancid state in the tin box made Qi Leren feel sick. He wrapped it in cloth, stuffed the things into his own inventory, and prepared to hand them over to Dr. Lu for safekeeping. The demon power on the tin box made him feel uncomfortable, and the crazy phantom of Mrs. Sarah also made him feel uncomfortable.


    There was another drawer in the dark room¡­


    By dim candlelight, Qi Leren slowly opened the drawer: the reflection of metal first caught his eye, then a familiar trademark. With wide eyes, Qi Leren flung open the drawer and stared at the contents.


    For a moment, he felt that he was dreaming. He must be dreaming, because only in dreams could such absurd things happen.


    Here, he had actually found the origin of this nightmare.

 CH 85

    Chapter 85: Castle Cry (XII)


    As if he had suddenly lost his soul, Qi Leren didn¡¯t move for a long time. This unspeakable fear that was more terrible than any mortal danger came not from a threat, but from the fear of the unknown.


    Countless messy pictures flashed in his mind: he downloaded Nightmare Game, he tried it out absentmindedly, he was depressed after the computer went black, he took the computer and sat on the bus to get it fixed¡­ He woke up in the hospital.


    From that day on, his life took a wrong path. He was injured, died and then came back to life. This ¡°gift¡± of resurrection did not make him feel lucky, but only formed in him deeper and deeper pain.


    Every night, he would wake up from nightmares of countless deaths, sweating and panicking. Those painful deaths engraved in the soul were like wine. The longer time went on, the stronger they became. When his human reason rested in his sleep, it made a comeback with a grimace of a grin. He didn¡¯t even know when this life would come to an end. Maybe he would have a nervous breakdown before he found a way to leave the game.


    But for now, he could hold on a little longer¡­ Hold on a little longer.


    Qi Leren¡¯s fingers gently touched the laptop in the drawer. It looked so familiar that even the scratches from him accidentally bumping it were still there. He took it out as calmly as possible, together with the balled up power cord.


    At the bottom of the drawer, there was a red-brown blood line of text - keep the secret.


    Qi Leren stared at this line of words, which faded slowly and disappeared into the wooden drawer, leaving a colorful egg.


    [Easter Egg: Players who hold colored eggs will be resurrected and have all skills and items returned after seven days if they die with their bodies intact. If the player holds other resurrection props or skills, the order of using an Easter Egg is last. 1/1 remaining usage times.]


    This item¡­ Qi Leren was shocked to hold the Easter Egg. How could this resurrection prop be so simple? This was absolutely¡­ Absolutely not normal!


    He should seriously think about it again, at least think about why he suddenly got this resurrection prop, but at this time his head was filled with this inexplicable laptop, and he could only cram things into the item bar hastily, without thinking again.


    The laptop was in my hand, cold and heavy. Qi Leren turned it over with trembling hands and pressed the power-on button. This time it turned on normally as if it had never been broken. When the Nightmare Game icon appeared on the desktop, Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help shivering. He didn¡¯t even know if he should click on the game icon again.


    What would happen? Would all of this be a dream?


    Just when he was at war between instinct and reason, the prompt of ¡°battery depleted, shutting down¡± appeared on the screen, and the laptop just turned off and shut down again.


    The screen was completely dark, and Qi Leren just stood on the ground without moving for a long time.


    Who on earth was it? Or something, guiding him? He clearly had lost the laptop in the outside world, then it unexpectedly appeared in this ordinary copy, and the line of a blood prompt in the drawer disappeared, after wanting to tell him what?


    He felt that he knew nothing and didn¡¯t want to know. Can you run away from everything without knowing anything?


    Even knowing that this was a dangerous road, he still had to keep moving forward¡­


    Determined, Qi Leren put the laptop back in his inventory, and he would ask Chen Baiqi to find out how to solve the power supply problem after returning to the Village of Dusk. He vaguely remembered that someone in the Village of Dusk had made a transformer to solve the problem that the standard voltage of the Village of Dusk was different from the real world, with the purpose of charging his mobile phone that was brought into the Nightmare World from the real world with the power of the Village of Dusk. But only objects in the real world could be brought into the Nightmare World. After that, no matter which copy world, those objects originating from the copy world couldn¡¯t be brought into the Nightmare World, so even if there was a copy with a future high-tech world, those coveted weapons and items couldn¡¯t be brought back to the Nightmare World. He didn¡¯t know whether this computer in his hand would be considered as brought in from the real world or from the copy world; if it was the latter¡­


    Qi Leren had a faint hope that it was the latter, but he felt that he couldn¡¯t find computers and Easter Eggs from the ¡°people¡± in front of him in this world, as they didn¡¯t fit with this setting. This laptop should be able to follow him back to the Nightmare World.


    After calming down, Qi Leren checked the basement again. After confirming that there were no more clues, he picked up the mobile phone that had fallen to the ground at the beginning. It had no power, but when he returned to the Village of Dusk, he would consider buying a charger made by players.


    Before he left, Qi Leren looked back at the crazy lady again. The boss itself didn¡¯t bring him any reward, which made him a little disappointed. However, he shouldn¡¯t have much expectation for a copy of a D-level difficulty task - although he felt that his D-level difficulty was a little different from the normal concept of a D-level difficulty¡­ Instead, there was a resurrection prop in the dark! The origin of this prop was strange, and the laptop¡­ It was chilling.


    Climbing up the iron ladder, Qi Leren pushed up the iron grate of the cellar, but the iron grate didn¡¯t move. He tried again, and the cellar door moved slightly, but it seemed to be pinned down by something and couldn¡¯t be pushed up at all.


    ¡°Hello, is anyone there? Open the door!¡± Qi Leren knocked on the iron grate and shouted.


    Through the iron grate, he heard Dr. Lu¡¯s voice, vague but full of life: ¡°What? Are you still alive?!¡±


    "Lu Cangshu, whom I rely on, have you locked the iron grate!¡±


    ¡°Of course, what if you die below and the boss rushes out?¡±


    ¡°¡­Your ancestors! Open the door! ¡± Qi Leren instantly forgot the heavy mood just now, and scolded while banging the grate.


    ¡°In order to prevent any monsters who have possessed you from deceiving me with your voice, I want to ask you three questions before opening the door. Please answer them carefully. I will not open the door if you answer them wrong.¡± Dr. Lu said at the door.


    ¡°¡­¡­Your sister!¡±


    ¡°First, what¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Qi Leren.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the name of your goddess?¡±


    ¡°¡­I refuse to answer.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t evade questions and answer them seriously, or I won¡¯t open the door.¡±


    ¡°Well, he¡¯s called Ning Zhou, and he¡¯s a man.¡±


    ¡°I once summed up your story in one sentence, please repeat it again.¡±


    ¡°¡­Two straight men who will eventually become gay have a lily* love to free themselves.¡±


    *{E/N: slang for lesbian}


    ¡°The answer is correct!¡±


    Dr. Lu outside the door opened the lock for him happily. At the moment when the iron grate opened, Qi Leren popped out like a rabbit. He pressed Dr. Lu to the ground with his dagger on his forehead and looked down at him: ¡°Lu, Cang, Shu, are you ready to die?¡±


    Dr. Lu was shocked and said, ¡° I have something to say! Can you not do it?¡±


    Qi Leren patted his cheek with the side of the dagger and asked combatively, ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°You see Nan Lu has been scared away, and I risked my life waiting for you here. What a noble sentiment and comrade* friendship! Although it¡¯s not very kind to lock the door, it¡¯s also for safety reasons. I ask you not to kill!¡± Dr. Lu said unintelligently.


    *{E/N: slang for gay}


    Qi Leren frowned: ¡°Nan Lu ran away? When?¡±


    ¡°Well, after you fell down and closed the cellar door, she let out a scream and ran away,¡± Dr. Lu said.


    Qi Leren put away his dagger and was not in the mood to continue to scare Dr. Lu. He got up and said, ¡°The boss has been solved. It was indeed the crazy lady. I also found a demon sacrifice. Take it with you¡­¡±


    Dr. Lu took over the third devil¡¯s sacrifice, opened it, and was suddenly disgusted by the blood gas coming from his face: ¡°Mom, eyeball!¡±


    ¡°It should be the crazy lady¡¯s eyeball, her right eye had only a bloody hole, which could manipulate the shadows. When I first went down¡­¡± Qi Leren simply said what happened in the basement again. Of course, he skipped over the seed, only saying that he killed the crazy lady, and he didn¡¯t mention a word of the laptop and the Easter Egg, but told of the moving doll.


    ¡°It seems that Mrs. Sarah really was crazy, and that Nina, she was quite loyal to Mrs. Sarah¡­¡± Dr. Lu said with emotion. ¡°Oh, the injury on your head looks a bit miserable. Do you want me to treat it for you?¡±


    Qi Leren touched his head that had stopped bleeding: ¡°Forget it, no dizziness or nausea, it¡¯s nothing serious.¡±


    ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be a concussion, then,¡± Dr. Lu said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and see where Nan Lu went,¡± Qi Leren said. He walked out of the kitchen with Dr. Lu and headed for the direction of the hall.


    ¡°Bong-bong-bong-bong-¡± The four bells rang, and the castle quickly changed decades with the bells, becoming old and dilapidated, and the wooden board under his feet became crisp, making a creaking sound when walking on it, and the beautiful sculptures and ornaments around them were covered with a thick layer of ash, with traces of burning.


    ¡°The boss has been solved now, can we go back? But why is there no system prompt?¡± Dr. Lu asked.


    ¡°The task prompt is for us to leave the castle. We haven¡¯t left yet, so we haven¡¯t completed the task,¡± Qi Leren guessed.


    ¡°Oh, that makes sense¡­ look Qi Leren!¡± Just then, Dr. Lu¡¯s flashlight shone on the position of the door, and the thick door that had disappeared unexpectedly appeared again!


    ¡°Can we go out?¡± Qi Leren also was surprised.


    ¡°It really is a simple task.¡± Dr. Lu said excitedly, and the two people walked quickly to the wooden door.


    Rhythmic footsteps came from far behind, like the sound of shoes stepping on the floor and the crisp sound of a walking stick beating rhythmically on the ground.


    The two people looked back at the same time: on the curved stairs, someone holding a delicate candlestick in one hand and a cane in the other hand came down from the stairs.


    In the dim candlelight, dressed in an English-style three-piece suit, the gentlemen smiled at them: ¡°Good evening. We meet again.¡±


    In the ruined castle, he suddenly appeared like a light, illuminating this dead danger zone.


    ¡°Su He?!¡± Qi Leren and Dr. Lu called out the name of the person with a single voice.


    Su He smiled and nodded to them, and said gently: "Seeing that the name of the investigation task is ¡®Castle Cry¡¯, I also specially changed to a costume that matches the name of the task. I didn¡¯t expect it to be superfluous.¡±


    ¡°Is there a bug in this task?¡± Dr. Lu immediately realized why Su He was here. It must be because this task, like the Novice Village, was abnormal.


    A bug? Qi Leren¡¯s heart suddenly beat faster. What could be called a bug here¡­


    It was in his inventory.


    Su He nodded with a smile and walked down the stairs with the cane. Under the light of the candles, the perfectly handsome him appeared like a vampire who had just woken up in the dark night, elegant and calm, and powerful. He stood in front of the two men and looked at Qi Leren without a trace. The cool and gentle voice sounded in the dark, just like a violin playing on a moonlit night: ¡°If it is convenient, I want to talk with the two of you, alone.¡±

 CH 86

    Chapter 86: Castle Cry (XIII)


    ¡°Sure, no problem.¡± Qi Leren took the lead in responding to Su He¡¯s request, and his expression was calm.


    Now he has a little understanding why the first thing the court trained him in was how to lie, it was really a very practical skill.


    Adversely, Dr. Lu was a little puzzled. He looked at Su He and asked nervously, ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    Su He smiled, moving as if asking another to dance at a ball. He bent slightly, with one hand behind him and the other hand outstretched to Dr. Lu. Dr. Lu gave him a suspicious look and took his hand obediently.


    They only stood still in front of Qi Leren for two or three seconds. Dr. Lu withdrew his hand and said with amazement, ¡°Wow, the Village of Dawn looks beautiful! It¡¯s not the same style as the Village of Dusk at all. I like the Village of Dawn!¡±


    Su He nodded with a smile: ¡°It¡¯s true that the style is very different, but I really like the Village of Dusk, with how lively it is. The Village of Dawn is really too quiet.¡±


    The conversation between the two made Qi Leren a little puzzled: ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°You also try, it¡¯s very interesting!¡± Dr. Lu pushed Qi Leren and urged him.


    Su He also held out his hand to him. He was wearing a pair of white gloves that made his hands look more slender. Qi Leren looked into his eyes as if he knew nothing of what had happened earlier. Su He was looking at him. His eyes were calm and gentle without any inquiry or malicious intent. When he looked at a person like this, it was hard for anyone to refuse him.


    Qi Leren held out his hand.


    At the moment when their hands touched each other, Qi Leren¡¯s eyes were filled with light and shadow. In an instant, he was standing on a tall tower with several white clouds floating in the blue sky. Looking around, the earth beneath his feet turned out to be countless islands floating in the air, just like a flock of white pigeons in the vast blue sky. In the far east, the bright morning sun was rising over the horizon in the depths of the mountains, dispelling the darkness and coldness and making people feel warm.


    ¡°This is the Village of Dawn?¡± Qi Leren stood on the edge of the white handrail and looked at the fantastic and beautiful boundary in amazement.


    ¡°It is the Village of Dawn, but of course, it¡¯s just a field constructed in my memory. I hope to take you there one day.¡± Su He came to him and looked out with him at the quiet and beautiful land covered by the dawn.


    ¡°I hope¡­¡± Qi Leren, who are still living in the shadow of the seed, have never thought about things so far away. ¡°But what is a field?¡±


    ¡°Well, to put it simply, a field is a small world built by itself. If you¡¯re strong enough, you can even build a field similar to a copy world. The world in the field and the world outside have different speeds of time, so resting and training in the field has good results,¡± Su He said.


    Qi Leren never knew there was such a thing, and his knowledge was still too shallow: ¡°Does everyone have a field?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡± Su He smiled gently and patiently said, ¡°There should be no more than thirty people in the Nightmare World.¡±


    Qi Leren swallowed saliva, and the psychological pressure in the face of Su He was even greater.


    The air in the Village of Dawn was fresh, unlike the smell of engine oil everywhere in the Village of Dusk, where there was always a roaring mechanical sound in the ear. It was so quiet here that it didn¡¯t look like there were any other people at all. However, at this time, Qi Leren had no intention of enjoying the scenery at all, and nervously thought about how to hide from Su He.


    As long as he refused to admit it, did Su He have any evidence to prove that the mission error was related to him? Even if he was a high-level player from the Village of Dusk, or even a half GM, he couldn¡¯t know his experiences from before entering the Nightmare World.


    ¡°Qi Leren,¡± Su He¡¯s voice rang in his ear.


    Qi Leren, who was prepared psychologically, raised his head and was ready to accept Su He¡¯s interrogation.


    Su He was looking at him and the smile on his mouth faded. He looked more serious than before: ¡°I noticed just now, what happened to that thing behind your neck?¡±


    ¡°?!¡±


    Qi Leren failed to conceal his shock at that moment and looked at Su He in astonishment.


    He actually found out? And it was at a glance that he noticed the seed of slaughter?


    ¡°I¡¯ve done some research on the power of demons, and that kind of energy can¡¯t hide from me.¡± With a slight sigh, Su He went to the center of the terrace and pulled the chair beside the small round table. ¡°Sit down, let¡¯s talk.¡±


    Like a student caught cheating by a teacher, Qi Leren came to the table in fear, hesitated, and sat down.


    There is a beautiful tea set on the small round white table. Su He took off his gloves, made him a pot of black tea without saying a word, and put a cup in front of him. With his silence, Su He put more pressure on Qi Leren, who would rather Su He question him than be so silent.


    Qi Leren, who was on pins and needles, had turned countless thoughts in his brain. Deny it? Impossible, Su He and have already discovered it, he absolutely could not hide it. Honest account? Even more impossible, the requirement of the Court was that he must never reveal his undercover identity. Pretend to be infected by accident? It seemed that¡­ that was the only way.


    When Su He and her tea were ready, Qi Leren had already thought out the countermeasures and calmed down.


    ¡°Although I didn¡¯t leave you for very long, when I saw you again, I saw that you¡¯ve grown a lot from how you were at the beginning.¡± Su He didn¡¯t ask about seed as soon as he opened his mouth, but reminisced with him with emotion.


    Qi Leren was a little unsure of his rhythm, so he had to talk to him first: ¡°¡­ Because a lot of things have happened. When people are struggling on the edge of life and death, they will always grow faster.¡±


    The black tea in the cup was sending out a curl of mist, which was full of rich and mellow flavor. On the top terrace of the towering white tower, two people with different thoughts casually talked about their experiences in these days.


    ¡°After sending you to Maka Village, which started the Witchcraft Sacrifice mission that day, I was worried for a long time. The mission involved demons, and it was easy for you to encounter accidents as a newcomer. I asked a friend in the Twilight Township to pay attention to your situation and learned that you were still alive. It was really good¡­ Well, it was great.¡± Su He made no secret of his concern, and spoke cheerfully.


    Qi Leren felt more and more guilty. Su He had always taken care of him, but he had to deceive him¡­


    For a moment, he wanted to tell the whole story, and confided his uneasy, painful, confused and guilty feelings. His heart contained too many secrets, which overwhelmed him.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m fine. The Witchcraft Sacrifice was really difficult, but I was lucky,¡± Qi Leren said with a strong smile.


    Although luck never took his side, he lived to the end. Maybe all his luck was spent on meeting Ning Zhou. If it wasn¡¯t for Ning Zhou, he would never have survived the Witchcraft Sacrifice task.


    Su He showed an interested expression: ¡°Oh? I¡¯m quite interested in the task involving demons. Can you tell me about it? ¡±


    Qi Leren suddenly fell into a dilemma. If he wanted to say it, he would definitely mention Ning Zhou, but if he refused¡­ He really couldn¡¯t bear to disappoint Su He again.


    ¡°If you swear not to laugh at me, I will tell you,¡± Qi Leren said gloomily.


    Su He looked at him with some surprise: ¡°Of course I won¡¯t laugh at you. If my request makes you feel embarrassed, I¡¯m sorry¡­ In fact, I don¡¯t have to know.¡±


    With this said, he nodded a little apologetically to Qi Leren, apologizing for his embarrassing request.


    Qi Leren¡¯s previous embarrassment also dissipated: ¡°No, I don¡¯t feel embarrassed. I also feel that some areas of this task were very strange. I want to hear your opinion.¡±


    Su He blinked and said, ¡°I will listen carefully to what you say.¡±


    ¡°The Witchcraft Sacrifice task was a bit special. Just like its task name, the object of participation is a ¡®witch¡¯. So at the beginning of the mission, I woke up in the carriage and found that I had become a¡­ girl.¡±


    Su He¡¯s hands, that had been adding black tea to Qi Leren¡¯s cup, shook and added two drops of tea stains to the white tablecloth.


    Qi Leren¡¯s eyes suddenly became resentful. He really wanted to laugh: ¡°You promised not to laugh at me.¡±


    Su He pressed his fist against his mouth and coughed twice: ¡°I didn¡¯t laugh.¡±


    Having said that, he couldn¡¯t hide it with his smiling eyes: ¡°I just thought, what would you look like if you became a girl¡­¡±


    ¡°It was very ordinary,¡± Qi Leren said with a straight face.


    ¡°My feeling tells me that you must have been a very lovely girl.¡± Su He smiled and pointed to the corner of his eye. ¡°Your eyes are very beautiful, and the outer corner of your eye tilts downward. If it¡¯s on a girl, it will be a very obvious drooping eye and it will look very innocent.


    "Then the lips, the lip shape is very good, the cupid¡¯s bow in the middle of the upper lip is obvious, and the corners of the mouth are a little tilted.¡± Su He¡¯s index finger was placed on his lips, like a gesture of silence. ¡°A girl with this lip shape must be very cute.¡±


    ¡°Hold on, we are not discussing this kind of problem now, I am a man, a man, OK?¡± Qi Leren was inexplicably ashamed and quickly stopped Su He¡¯s conjecture. He secretly felt that with Su He¡¯s appearance, half of the sisters must have fallen under his suit pants. What was even more frightening was that he is still very good at talking, so maybe the other half can¡¯t hold it back either.


    Although it seems a little regrettable, Su He nodded with great cooperation and listened to him carefully.


    When it came to Ning Zhou again, Qi Leren¡¯s mood had calmed down, and he could describe him calmly and objectively, instead of being indignant. Qi Leren didn¡¯t say too much about Ning Zhou, and his skills were basically vague in the past, even his name didn¡¯t come out. He only said that they defeated Ye Xia, finished the task, and didn¡¯t say anything after returning to the Village of Dusk.


    Su He listened quietly. He was really an expert listener, never giving random opinions or asking questions about things he didn¡¯t want to say.


    ¡°That¡¯s probably it. What do you think?¡± Qi Leren said wistfully.


    Su He¡¯s hands were folded and placed beside the teacup. The index fingers of his left and right hands were constantly changing positions up and down. He seems to be thinking about something. In the empty and silent world under the blue sky and white clouds, he had been silent for a long time, and then sighed lightly: ¡°The person you mentioned is a man.¡±


    Qi Leren took a sip of fragrant black tea from the teacup to cover up his complicated mood at this moment: ¡°How did you find out?¡±


    ¡°A lot of details. You deliberately avoided mentioning him in many places, unless you had to mention him. You only said what you did: you risked your life to distract the bone dragon for him, and loaded the file for him three times in a row at the last moment, but you never mentioned his reaction. But I can guess even if you don¡¯t say it. Unless you¡¯re a hard-hearted person, how can you be indifferent to such a person? You must have met later, but the result was regrettable. Most importantly, you didn¡¯t use any words referring to the opposite sex to describe him. You only said ''that person¡¯, and even once you used the word ''goddess¡¯ by a slip of the tongue, but you immediately corrected to ''that person¡¯. Combined with the fact that this copy would make men temporarily change into a woman¡¯s appearance, you can easily think of the answer before you start your statement.¡± Su He spoke his analysis slowly, and every point was concise.


    In front of Su He, it was very difficult for Qi Leren to hide himself.


    ¡°Yes, as you guessed, we met once after the mission, and then¡­ there was no more.¡± Qi Leren gave a wry smile. He didn¡¯t say anything about sweeping the grave, let alone telling Ning Zhou¡¯s ring. It was like a secret between them, or even a secret that belonged to just him.


    Because Ning Zhou wouldn¡¯t know - and even he doesn¡¯t know why - he took the ring.

 CH 87

    Chapter 87: Castle Cry (XIV)


    ¡°I should say ¡®I¡¯m sorry¡¯ to you, but I don¡¯t think you want to hear such boring words of comfort,¡± Su He took a sip of black tea, put down the beautiful white porcelain teacup and said.


    Qi Leren propped up his side face and looked at the boundless blue sky outside the tower, making a muffled sound.


    ¡°Actually¡­ I don¡¯t quite understand.¡± Su He¡¯s voice called back Qi Leren¡¯s attention. He frowned slightly and showed a puzzled expression. ¡°In my opinion, there is no essential difference between men and women. They are both human beings, and their spirits are intertwined. All attractive characteristics and all beautiful characters will not be different because the other party is male or female.¡±


    Su He smiled, looked Qi Leren in the eyes, and said seriously: ¡°If I would fall in love with you as a woman, I would definitely fall in love with you as a man, because you have the same soul, which is unchanged by gender differences.¡±


    The speed of Su He¡¯s was slow and his voice was gentle, and his gaze even gave Qi Leren the illusion that he was special to Su He. This kind of thought made him a little uneasy. He immediately expressed an objection: ¡°It¡¯s still different¡­ There¡¯s a natural attraction between men and women. Even if they don¡¯t like it, they can¡¯t help but pay special attention¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to talk about sexual attraction?¡± Su He asked with a smile.


    ¡°Ah?¡± Qi Leren is a bit stunned.


    Su He put his chin in his hand, looking at him leisurely with an unfathomable smile: ¡°It depends on skill. All kinds of¡­ skills. ¡±


    Qi Leren felt that he seemed to understand something that he would rather not. He coughed twice: ¡°We¡¯re going too far.¡±


    ¡°Ah, because the speed that time flows in the field is very different from the outside world, before I knew it I forgot that we¡¯re still in the task. It really is a pleasure to chat with you¡­ Let¡¯s get down to business.¡± Su He sat up straight, put his hands on the table, and asked solemnly, ¡°Do you want to get rid of that thing behind your neck?¡±


    Get rid of the seed of slaughter? Qi Leren raised his head in astonishment and stared at Su He. At that time, he seemed not to understand.


    ¡°You heard me right. As I said before, I¡¯ve done some research on the power of demons. I guess the demon mark on you should be a seed of slaughter. This thing can really enhance people¡¯s combat effectiveness in a short time, but it will gradually erode the person¡¯s reason. You¡¯ll find it more and more difficult to control it until one day¡­ you completely become its slave.¡±


    Warm sun fell on the tower. They were on the terrace under a circular dome supported by four pillars at the top of the tower. Airy flowed in from all sides, with a fence that was only half the height of a person surrounding the terrace. The Village of Dawn in Su He¡¯s field was sunny and breezy, but Qi Leren¡¯s mood was indescribably heavy.


    He wanted to say yes without hesitation, so that he could immediately get rid of this dangerous ticking time bomb, but he still remembered his contract with the Court. Did he want to break the contract? Should he do this?


    ¡°How do I get rid of it?¡± Qi Leren asked with a hard expression.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit complicated, and you need to go to a place far away. If you like, I¡¯ll take you there after this task is over. I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to go back to the Village of Dusk for a while.¡± Su He¡¯s proposal was incredibly tempting. ¡°There are still many unknown places in the Nightmare World. There are all kinds of wonderful things. Naturally, there are ways to remove the Devil¡¯s mark¡­ I can¡¯t be 100% sure, but still 70% to 80%. Even if you don¡¯t succeed, I will help you think of other ways. In short, I won¡¯t watch you go to a dead end.¡±


    -I won¡¯t watch you go to a dead end. Qi Leren¡¯s heart cramped painfully, and his eyes were a little wet. He didn¡¯t tell anyone about it, and he didn¡¯t dare to tell others how isolated he had been, constantly injured, constantly dying, resigned to his fate, with the road ahead uncertain. No one could share his pressure, not only about his own life and death, but even about the fate of this Nightmare Game.


    He was afraid that he would suddenly die one day and never be able to revive again, and then this heavy secret would be buried with him in this world, together with the hope of redemption that no one knew.


    For a moment, he wanted to tell Su He everything and tell him the secret of the Nightmare Game. He was much better than him. Maybe he had a way to solve it easily and could save the world.


    But when his lips moved, the bloody words in the drawer reappeared in his mind - keep the secret. He choked on the words that had come to his lips, swallowing them back.


    Qi Leren closed his eyes for a long time. He said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Thank you. But¡­ I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m afraid I have to disappoint your kindness.¡±


    He had to refuse. If he didn¡¯t refuse, sooner or later he wouldn¡¯t be able to help himself from telling everything.


    There was an inaudible sigh from the wind: ¡°Is that so? I see.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry,¡± Qi Leren apologized again.


    Su He shook his head. ¡°I know you must have your reasons. If you need my help one day, you can contact me and I¡¯ll help you find a way.¡±


    Qi Leren nodded silently, and his inner doubts came up again: ¡°But why¡­¡±


    Why help him?


    Su He¡¯s calm expression finally revealed a faint confusion and melancholy: ¡°I don¡¯t know. People are always faced with many choices in their life. Sometimes, you don¡¯t even know why you do something. Just like this time, I understand why I came here, and the system won¡¯t make the same mistake twice. Suppose the last time it was because the killer disturbed the order of the Novice Village, what about this time? Why is that this time, the system issued a false alarm?¡±


    Qi Leren¡¯s nerves suddenly tightened, and cold sweat flowed down his back. How could he forget? Su He didn¡¯t appear here to catch up with him! Under the gentle appearance, his keen observation has already seen through him. How many things had he found?


    ¡°I¡­¡± Qi Leren tried to say something, but Su He gently put his index finger on his lips and stopped what he had not yet said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say it.¡± Su He and said.


    ¡°But why¡­¡± Qi Leren really doesn¡¯t understand Su He.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask either.¡± Su He added.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°When I make a choice at this moment, it is not your own business. For now it¡¯s our secret, but if you say it now, I can¡¯t help you keep it a secret. Don¡¯t ask me why, I¡¯ve said many times that people will always make choices they don¡¯t understand.¡± Su He smiled wryly. ¡°But now that you have made a choice, never regret it.¡±


    Qi Leren¡¯s heart was stuck in panic, and the impulse to talk about everything reappeared, but he still couldn¡¯t say it.


    Keep your promises and keep your secrets, even if you have to lie.


    ¡°I¡­ I still have some questions¡­ About this task, there seems to be something involving devil worship.¡± Qi Leren forced himself to divert his attention and took the time to ask Su He, who had done a lot of research on it.


    Su He listened carefully to what he said. Even if the two had just had a regrettable conversation, even if his kindness had been rejected, his tolerance and self-cultivation made him show no negative emotions, and he was as calm as ever.


    It was not until Qi Leren finished telling the story of his battle with the crazy lady and how he¡¯d lost control of the seed of slaughter to kill her that Su He said: ¡°Before, Dr. Lu also told me about the task this time. You¡¯ve found something very interesting.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°In the past few years, many players have found that demon power has appeared in copy worlds outside the main world, but it¡¯s not clear why the demons in the main world interfere with the copy worlds. Even though its existence has become very common, the system will not report errors on these contaminated copies, nor will it purify the copies. There will be some unusual changes in these polluted copy worlds, at least in terms of difficulty, so many players have encountered copies that exceed their own strength, causing accidental death,¡± Su He explained.


    ¡°¡­¡± Well, it seemed that it wasn¡¯t all his lucky value that made this D difficulty so difficult. Qi Leren felt a little relieved.


    ¡°But you still made a lot of mistakes during the boss fight, otherwise you could have solved this crazy lady more simply. Of course, it¡¯s also possible that I¡¯m looking at the problem from your narrative point of view, but I¡¯m caught in a misunderstanding.¡± Su He smiled apologetically and seemed a little embarrassed to point out his mistakes. ¡°Do you want to hear it?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Qi Leren said without thinking.


    ¡°The first one is about the haunting shadows. They appeared for the first time when you were climbing down with your mobile phone for lighting, and for the second time after the candles in the basement came on, but after your explosion caused most of the candles to go out and you were in the dark, they disappeared. The third time was after the crazy lady howled when the extinguished candles came on again, but at this time the shadows couldn¡¯t hurt you, who was controlled by the seed of slaughter. Obviously, these shadows appear because of the appearance of a light source, so the light source you carry should not face yourself and it is better to extinguish them, including those candles. Considering that this is a two-person copy, the two players should cooperate with each other, but you were alone, which made the situation you faced in isolation even more dangerous. This was the first mistake. ¡± Su He calmly said his analysis.


    Qi Leren suffered a wake up call. Yes, the shadows that scared him were not difficult to deal with, but he couldn¡¯t think this kind of problem through calmly in such a time of crisis.


    ¡°Second, when you were against Mrs Crazy, you completely adopted the method of confrontation, but do you remember? You said that at first she held a doll and put it carefully on the rocking chair. After defeating the crazy lady, you grabbed the doll. It seemed to be a reactive living thing. I¡¯m afraid this doll is not simple, because it¡¯s linked to the clue of the crazy lady¡¯s miscarriage. This doll should be her weakness. If you went straight to the doll at the beginning and killed it, maybe the battle would have ended sooner. The other is the devil sacrifice. I think these things are not just to reveal the truth of that year to the players, but to have an impact on the boss, but you didn¡¯t bring one. All of them were left with Dr. Lu.¡±


    Qi Leren nodded solemnly.


    ¡°The last point is not a mistake with the boss fight,¡± Su He suddenly laughed, and his beautiful eyebrows were gentle in the glow. ¡°You unexpectedly hit the wall and forced yourself to wake up from the seed¡¯s control.¡±


    Qi Leren touched his forehead and smiled bitterly: ¡°I couldn¡¯t help it¡­¡±


    ¡°But I think you still had a choice,¡± Su He laughed.


    ¡°What?¡± Qi Leren¡¯s voice just fell, and an idea flashed in his brain.


    ¡°I remember you saved the file before being controlled by the seed of slaughter. If the save time allowed¡­¡± Su He¡¯s voice dropped and finally turned into a faint sigh. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the principle of your skills, but it¡¯s possible that the seed of slaughter would be ''degraded¡¯ back to the save state at that moment because of your loading of the file. For you now, one less outbreak means that you can live longer. Whether loading the file or the seed¡¯s effects are more harmful, you can judge it yourself.¡±


    Qi Leren opened his mouth, but couldn¡¯t say if it was in surprise or helplessness. He still had to rely on the S/L skill to survive. Su He¡¯s guess should be correct. If he deliberately activated the seed of slaughter after saving, and then committed suicide to load the file, then with his death the seed of slaughter should also return to its state at the point of the save, but the premise was that he had to grasp the short moment of clarity, otherwise he would fall under the control of the seed.


    Su He stood up, walked slowly behind him, and said gently, ¡°Look down and let me have a look at it.¡±


    Qi Leren lowered his head. The back collar of his clothes was gently pulled open, and cool air poured down his neck, which made him shiver. Su He¡¯s finger touched it in the place where it stung from time to time. It was a little cold and itchy.


    ¡°The spread of the seed is usually through specific ceremonies, but I believe that you wouldn¡¯t turn into a worshipper of Slaughter, so was it an accidental infection?¡± Su He asked, standing behind him.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Qi Leren talked simply about the accident on the spaceship.


    ¡°In such a short period of time, its growth rate has exceeded the normal level,¡± Su He sighed, adjusted his open collar for him, and then returned to his seat. ¡°It¡¯s almost time to leave, let¡¯s go.¡±


    Qi Leren clutched his neck and nodded silently.


    In the field, the world of the Village of Dawn began to darken, and in the blink of an eye, they had returned to the castle.

 CH 88

    Chapter 88: Castle Cry (XV)


    {cw: discussion of miscarriage, gore}


    As soon as they returned to the copy world, they saw Dr. Lu standing with them, staring at their hands that were still in a handshake and seeing them move. He was also surprised: ¡°So fast? Just five or six seconds!¡±


    ¡°The flow of time in the field is very different from that outside. We talked inside for nearly an hour,¡± Su He said.


    With his mouth open, Dr. Lu said with envy, ¡°It¡¯s so good, can¡¯t you just rest in the field? Can you be healed in the field if you¡¯re injured?¡±


    Su He smiled and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t evolved my field enough to bring my body inside, and there are still many restrictions within the field. If it¡¯s my own task, it should be impossible to open the field during the task, as the system has restrictions on this.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Dr. Lu was a little disappointed, and then cheered up. ¡°Should we go back? Look, the door has appeared. ¡±


    Qi Leren also looked back at the castle door, which stood there as if it had never disappeared.


    ¡°Eh? Are you going to finish your task? At present, your completion is only¡­ 45%.¡± Su He closed his eyes, as if to confirm some information, and then reported the task completion to them.


    ¡°30% can get 20 survival days!¡± Dr Lu said happily, not greedy at all.


    Su He seemed to be surprised by his unproductive attitude, and then looked at Qi Leren, who was hesitating and had been caught red-handed secretly glancing at Su He.


    ¡°Do you want to encourage us to fight again?¡± Qi Leren asked Su He.


    Dr. Lu looked him dead in the eyes and said: ¡°This is the rhythm of playing the true ending. You nearly bashed in your head to get the simple ending, and you want to play the true ending¡­¡±


    Su He looked at them with a smile: ¡°Isn¡¯t there me?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Dr. Lu looked at him in surprise. ¡°But you don¡¯t have any skill cards that can be used in this kind of investigation task, do you?¡±


    Qi Leren wasn¡¯t surprised. Just now, he felt that Su He was helpful.


    ¡°I can use this. If you encounter any danger later, I¡¯ll rely on you.¡± Su He pointed to his forehead and said calmly. He spoke naturally, without showing off, but this confident attitude infected the two, and they couldn¡¯t help believing him.


    ¡°Well said well said, this time we want to get a big prize! Qi Leren, you have to protect Su He! Every hair on his head!¡± Dr. Lu didn¡¯t have a practical concept of Su He¡¯s strength, and he couldn¡¯t use his skill card, so he subconsciously put him on the same level as himself.


    Qi Leren, with a slap in the mouth, felt that Su He meant that if they were in danger, they had to find a way to protect themselves. He only provided consultation and help, but did not provide combat support. Although he suspected that Su He could beat all the monsters in this copy without skill cards, he didn¡¯t think that such senior players would rely on skill cards.


    ¡°Where do we start?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    ¡°Although both of you have told me about this mission, it¡¯s inevitable that there are gaps. I have doubts about several points. The first one is the NPC Nina. Unfortunately, now we¡¯re in the world outer, and it will take at least an hour to see her.¡± Su He played with his cane and thought, ¡°But I think I should go to the room at the end of the corridor on the first floor. I have some vague guesses that need to be verified.¡±


    ¡°Well, we just haven¡¯t been to Nina¡¯s room in the outer world.¡± Qi Leren recalled the course of action he and Dr. Lu had taken before, and he really didn¡¯t go to that room when he was in the outer world.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that room?¡± Dr. Lu asked.


    ¡°Many questions. The most direct one, why is the door of a room locked from the outside?¡± Su He asked.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Dr. Lu froze.


    Then Qi Leren realized what the sense of unease was when he first heard Nina¡¯s call. There was also a small room in the big room at the end of the corridor, and it was a separate room, but this room has two locks inside and outside - Qi Leren had noticed before, this door had an internal lock. Now looking back, the lock outside should have been added later, a very rough lock, which could be opened only by being snapped, and there was no standard lock that needed a key to be opened.


    ¡°Do you suspect there¡¯s a problem with Nina?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to rule out this possibility until I find enough clues,¡± Su He said calmly.


    ¡°I told you before that I saw an illusion after I found the third devil sacrifice in the basement. In that illusion, Nina released the crazy lady who was locked in the basement. I think she may be¡­ a good person,¡± Qi Leren thought.


    ¡°But it¡¯s also possible that she had a different motive.¡± Dr. Lu touched his chin and said, ¡°Why did she help the crazy lady escape? Because she was loyal to the crazy lady? I think she¡¯s quite suspicious. When we asked about the crazy lady¡¯s miscarriage, her tone¡­ oh, it was guilty.¡±


    Dr. Lu said: ¡°And the male owner of this castle is also very strange. After his wife miscarried and went crazy, he locked her in the dark basement. They seemed to be very loving before, so this would be strange if there was no problem.¡±


    ¡°Adeline,¡± Qi Leren said a name. The crazy lady seemed to believe that this woman named Adeline was the chief culprit of her miscarriage. She took away Johann¡¯s love, but she said Adeline was a kind and stupid woman, which was very contradictory. Besides, Adeline was already dead.


    ¡°This name is a bit familiar¡­¡± Dr. Lu scratched his head. ¡°Oh, Johann mentioned Adeline in his diary. It seems to be a friend of the crazy lady, but I think she and Johann seemed to be in a bit of a situation.¡±


    ¡°You mentioned this. Are the diaries and letters still there? Let me see,¡± Su He said.


    ¡°I kept them with me.¡± Dr. Lu handed Su He the diary and letter he had found in his study.


    Su He¡¯s reading speed was very fast, and he only glanced at it and returned it: ¡°The situation is more complicated¡­ Let¡¯s go and see Nina first.¡±


    Done talking, the three headed for Nina¡¯s corridor. There was no electrical lighting in the world. Su He still hand in his hand the candlestick that had been found in some unknown place, and Dr. Lu also held a flashlight. Only Qi Leren, whose mobile phone had died, had to walk behind them, while planning to go back to the second floor later and get his flashlight back from the piano room.


    ¡°Hahahahaha ¡­ Adeline, Johann, stop!¡± Strange laughter came from a distance behind him. The three people immediately turned back. Outside the corridor, a familiar figure ran to the stairs. She wore a long dress and laughed as she ran all the way. The strange laughter that was like crying permeated the dark.


    ¡°Nan Lu!¡± Dr. Lu recognized her.


    She¡¯s gotten worse, Qi Leren thought with worry. Dr. Lu said before that Nan Lu was scared away after he entered the basement. At that time, he had a bad feeling. Now it had been fulfilled: ¡°Let¡¯s go and see, maybe it¡¯s the plot.¡±


    The three people then ran back, and as soon as they entered the hall, they saw three people confronting each other on the landing of the curved staircase.


    Under the empty copper frame, Nan Lu, dressed in a gown, held Xiao Hong¡¯s right hand, while Luo Xueyi, who was also dressed in a gown, held Xiao Hong¡¯s left hand. The two women pulled Xiao Hong, who was the only one sane, from left to right. He shouted in horror: ¡°Don¡¯t pull! It¡¯s going to break, it¡¯s going to break! Let go!¡±


    ¡°Adeline! You let go!¡± Nan Lu screamed and shouted.


    Luo Xueyi took Xiao Hong¡¯s arm and giggled: ¡°Who is Adeline? Adeline is dead, I am not Adeline, I am Sarah, Sarah von Wolff, I am you!¡±


    ¡°Let go, please, let go! It hurts, it hurts, ahhh-!¡± The severe pain made Xiao Hong¡¯s face redden and shed tears. He cried bitterly, but the two women who pulled him from left to right had inhuman power and he couldn¡¯t escape at all.


    ¡°Get out of here, you¡¯re dead! Go back to hell and keep the devil company! Never appear again, go away, go away!¡± The screams of Nan Lu were piercing and bitter, and there was a faint trace of fear.


    Luo Xueyi smiled at her, then at Xiao Hong who was crying for mercy, giggling, and catching Xiao Hong¡¯s arm with her other hand, and then pulling hard-


    The harsh light of thunder and lightning lit up outside the window, accompanied by a rolling clap of thunder. Xiao Hong¡¯s screams come to an abrupt end, and a disgusting tearing sound followed by something wet, like the sound of torn fabrics, like the sound of soaked sponges being torn apart, and then the sound of rain falling on the ground¡­


    There was a bloody rain on the landing of the stairs, and internal organs fell to the ground. Xiao Hong¡¯s body seemed to have been split by a mysterious force from head to toe, perfectly divided into two halves. Luo Xueyi dragged a bloody half of his body and ran to the higher staircase while laughing crazily. Her dress, which was exactly the same as the crazy lady in the portrait, was covered with blood, and two long bloody marks were dragged out on the ground together with Xiao Hong¡¯s half-body.


    Nan Lu gawked at the half body in her hands. Only half of his brain had fallen out of his skull, half hanging on the bloody bone, leaving only the nerve connecting the brain to keep it from rolling to the ground, but the internal organs were not treated so well, and the body split down the middle could no longer stop the bloody intestines and internal organs from flowing all over the floor.


    She suddenly began to cry, holding only half the body to sob, and the cry echoed in the dark.

 CH 89

    Chapter 89: Castle Cry (XVI)


    This absurd and bloody scene shocked the three people. At least, Qi Leren had been stunned. He had witnessed death before, but such a tragic and shocking way of dying still made him feel scared. It took a good half-day to realize that he should do something.


    He took a step forward, stopped again, and looked back at Su He.


    Su He looked at the tragedy on the far away landing, and his eyebrows were slightly frowned. When he saw Qi Leren looking at him, he also stepped forward: ¡°Go and see.¡±


    Qi Leren finally steeled himself and walked boldly to the stairs. In the dark light, Nan Lu, who was kneeling in a pool of blood, hugged Xiao Hong, who was only half left. The tears mixed with his blood that soiled her beautiful dress. She muttered: ¡°You¡¯re mine¡­ It¡¯s mine¡­¡±


    When Qi Leren stepped on the first set of stairs, a hound barked on the stairs to the second floor. He suddenly looked up. The burnt hound slowly came down the stairs and stood beside Nan Lu, barking at them.


    South Lu seemed to wake up with a start. She picked up the body on the ground and ran for her life towards the stairs above. The half of Xiao Hong¡¯s body was like a blood bag, with blood streaming, dragging out shocking blood on the ground.


    The hound crouched beside the blood pool that looked like it was from a slaughterhouse, showing its dense teeth to them. It wasn¡¯t until Nan Lu disappeared from the top of the stairs that it walked back slowly, ignoring them.


    ¡°Is that the dog you met before?¡± Dr. Lu asked from behind the two people.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ but this time it didn¡¯t attack us?¡± Qi Leren said in confusion.


    ¡°This must be the result of two EX-lucks saving an E-luck,¡± Dr. Lu spoke out.


    Unable to refute, Qi Leren rolled his eyes.


    Su He squatted down beside the pool of blood and looked at the scattered internal organs on the ground for a while. ¡°Did you see how the NPC¡¯s body was divided into two just now? It stands to reason that two people pulling him at most could cause his arm to break. It¡¯s impossible to have such a clean tear.¡±


    ¡°I only saw a flash of lightning outside the window, and Xiao Hong became two halves. I didn¡¯t see anything else,¡± Qi Leren said.


    ¡°Looks like they didn¡¯t accomplish cutting their legs, but were instead struck by lightning. When those girls said they¡¯d tear it apart, they meant it, not at all being vague,¡± Dr. Lu told a cold joke.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably that the Devil¡¯s power has infected the two NPCs, so they have abnormal strength and abilities. I¡¯m afraid the inside story of this copy isn¡¯t simple,¡± Su He said, standing up.


    ¡°Devil¡¯s power?¡± Dr. Lu muttered. Qi Leren hadn¡¯t told him about being parasitized, so he didn¡¯t know anything about the Devil¡¯s power.


    ¡°A kind of energy related to the Devil, I and Qi Leren can perceive some. At present, this copy should be inseparable from the Devil,¡± Su He said and looked up at the upper stairs. ¡°Let¡¯s go up and have a look. Listen to their footsteps. They should be on the third floor. Have you been to the third floor yet?¡±


    Both of them shook their heads. It was dangerous to go anywhere in the castle. In addition, the space was too large, and it wasn¡¯t easy to collect clues. The two men had circled on the first and second floors.


    ¡°Before, you said that there is a key to the second floor. There should be no nursery on the second floor?¡± Su He asked.


    ¡°No, the nursery is probably on the third floor. We didn¡¯t plan to go deep into the story before, so we didn¡¯t go to the nursery,¡± Qi Leren said.


    ¡°If you want to go, you have to find the key. I¡¯m good at this,¡± Dr. Lu said proudly.


    Su He nodded and said to Qi Leren, ¡°It¡¯s very likely that you¡¯ll meet the dog before you go up. How are you going to deal with it?¡±


    Qi Leren looked at Su He¡¯s concerned eyes and silently swallowed the words ¡°just do it or not¡±: ¡°I brought three miniature bombs, and now there are two left, so I should be able to kill the dog.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re not sure, let¡¯s go to the piano room on the second floor to get the dog collar. If my guess is correct, picking it up will attract the dog, and you can set traps to deal with it in advance.¡± Su He expressed his speculation according to the previous experience Qi Leren had.


    Qi Leren nodded eagerly, completely ignoring the way.


    Before he could speak, there was a sharp barking sound over his head, which mingled with the sound of metal crashing, rumbling. The three men looked up, just in time to see the charred hound being hit by something, and fell hard on the landing of the second floor. The sound of clanging came, and Qi Leren whispered: ¡°It¡¯s that armor!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a monster in this world?!¡± Lu doctor cried in a low voice.


    "Armor can¡¯t be easily burned, so it¡¯s normal for it to appear in the outer world after the fire,¡± Su He said.


    The hound shot up again, barking and rushing at the armour, which swung an iron fist without a sword, and beat it to the ground again. The hound fell to the ground and rolled, making a whoop of a scream.


    ¡°Redmond, come back, Redmond!¡± From the third floor, there came Nan Lu¡¯s cry. The hound barely climbed up from the ground before it ran in the direction of the voice.


    The armor stood on the stairs, the heavy metal body was as tall as a mountain, and the heavy oppressive feeling was even greater than that in this world.


    It moved!


    With a deafening sound, the armor ran down the stairs with a long sword! Every step on the worn wooden stairs brought a tremor to the ground.


    ¡°Oh my god, it¡¯s coming down!¡± Dr. Lu whined and rushed to run.


    Qi Leren was a little panicked, as he met this armor without psychological preparation. What can I do now? Use miniature bombs?


    The armor came down very fast, and it was already on the platform almost in the blink of an eye. When Qi Leren¡¯s S/L skill was used to beat the crazy lady in the basement - although he didn¡¯t load the file after using it - he still had the Easter egg in hand, but this rare resurrection prop was meant to be used as a last resort for when your hand reached the bottom of the box.


    Fight!


    Qi Leren was ready to take out the iron rod from his inventory and fight the resurrected armor, but before he could come forward, Su He suddenly threw something and said, ¡°Take it!¡±


    Qi Leren reached out and grabbed it. It was a rope. He looked at Su He and suddenly understood what he wanted to do.


    The armor running down the stairs was getting closer and closer. Qi Leren and Su He each took one end of the rope, quickly distanced themselves from each other, and crouched down on both sides of the stairs in a posture that was ready for retreat. Dr. Lu stood blankly at the bottom of the stairs, suddenly realizing that he should run away, and turned to run down the stairs.


    The armor is very fast, and when it came to the rope, it was too late for it to brake. The rope that was not as high as its knee tripped it perfectly. The heavy armor fell down under the momentum, and its strength was so great that it almost made the coarse hemp rope in Qi Leren¡¯s hands slip.


    The armor that fell down the stairs made a heavy noise. At the moment when the body touched the ground, its helmet, gauntlets, and sword all fell out and turned into separate metal parts, which were scattered all over the floor. What was shocking was that with the separation of the armor, broken bones were revealed inside the armor, which were obviously a skeleton.


    Dr. Lu, who squatted on the ground with his head in his arms, opened his mouth wide: ¡°Can you still play like this? This is too easy.¡±


    Su He slowly put away the rope: ¡°It was worth a try.¡±


    Qi Leren had a bit of recollection: ¡°What if it reacted quickly and didn¡¯t trip? Or tripped and it didn¡¯t fall apart? What if the skeleton inside comes alive?¡±


    Su He smiled mysteriously. After letting it hang in suspense, he said slowly, ¡°Then run.¡±


    Qi Leren: ¡°¡­¡±


    Dr. Lu: ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°But this task is D-level difficulty. Even with the interference of demon power and the true ending route, the difficulty will not exceed B-level at most. Under this difficulty, monsters other than the boss will not be too difficult to deal with, or there are opportunistic methods. As long as you respond quickly and observe keenly.¡± After appreciating their ever-changing expressions, Su He gave a reasonable explanation.


    Qi Leren agreed and nodded. It was even more difficult to figure out a way to deal with the armor in the heat of the moment. Su He was rich in experience, so he could solve monsters with the simplest props and terrain. He was an elder player from the Village of Dusk. Even if he didn¡¯t use the skill card, dealing with this difficult a task was a simple matter.


    ¡°This skeleton is a bit interesting¡­¡± Su He stood on the stairs and looked at the skeleton that had fallen on the ground and become shattered, showing an interested look.


    ¡°Look what I found!¡± Dr. Lu suddenly cried joyfully, having found a bunch of keys from the pile of metal parts and skeleton fragments on the ground, and shook them excitedly.


    ¡°It should be the keys to the third floor. Well done,¡± Su He praised him. The light here was too dark, and he hadn¡¯t noticed the ring of keys hidden in the armor.


    Dr. Lu ran up with the key and handed them to Su He.


    Qi Leren was no stranger to his companion¡¯s talent in finding things. Instead, he had doubts about this armor: ¡°Su He, why do you think this armor fought with that dog just now?¡±


    Su He rubbed the keys in his hands, hesitated and said, ¡°I have a theory. At present, the NPCs and monsters that have appeared in this castle are as follows: four drama characters, the maid Nina, the crazy lady boss, the active armor, the burnt hound, white bones, and skeletons. Bones and skeletons are undoubtedly the former servants of this castle, with the weakest strength and no intelligence. They should be controlled by the will of the crazy lady, and attack all creatures that enter their sphere of influence. The burnt hound is also controlled by the crazy lady - now it should be controlled by Nan Lu. She called it away just now. But the skeleton in the armor, it is obviously not controlled by the crazy lady. So there is the question: who is it?¡±


    Dr. Lu jokingly said: ¡°It¡¯s probably a self-motivated skeleton. It felt that wearing clothes is too mainstream, so it had to wear armor. It immediately evolved from white bones to an armor skeleton, became an elite monster, and then rebelled.¡±


    Su He: ¡°¡­¡±


    Qi Leren: ¡°¡­¡±


    Qi Leren leaned against the handrail of the stairs and pondered: ¡°According to what you said, would the skull and bones in this armor be the male host Johann?¡±


    Su He nodded with a smile: ¡°Your idea coincides with mine. Imagine that when the crazy lady was killing people everywhere, the male host John might hide in the armor because of fear. As a result, the crazy lady couldn¡¯t find him and set fire to the castle. He was burned to death before he could escape, so he became such a monster. Armor, as an ornament, should represent men in a symbolic sense, and it also means strength and power, so he preferred this identity. The armor is the will of the male owner. In this case, it¡¯s understandable that it would be at conflict with the hound, because the hound Redmond guards the crazy lady.¡±


    Dr. Lu snorted twice: ¡°It seems that this couple is still turning against each other.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid this is inevitable,¡± Su He sighed.


    ¡°Why?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    ¡°In fact, I can see from their names. Johann¡¯s letter to Dr. Flajser has his signature. His name is Johann Sebastian Wolff. Mrs. Sarah¡¯s full name was given by Luo Xueyi just now. Her name is Sarah von Wolff. There is a ¡®von¡¯ in Mrs. Sarah¡¯s last name, which is a symbol of noble birth in Germany. If Mr. Johann was a noble, he would never miss this word when signing his name, so he is probably not of noble birth. This task has never mentioned what title he had. On the contrary, this Mrs. Sarah must be a big noble,¡± Su He analyzed. ¡°Johann¡¯s diary mentioned that she didn¡¯t want to live in the city after she came here, but built a castle. This castle was paid for by her. She should be a very rich lady due to inherit a lot of property.¡±


    ¡°Wow, the silk is soaked in Bai Fumei¡¯s inspirational story, but unfortunately Bai Fumei has mental illness.¡± Lu doctor immediately extrapolated from the conspiracy theory to guess, ¡°He knew Mrs. Sarah had a family genetic mental illness, but still married her, this is either true love or for money. When doing business in China during the war, it was difficult to hide from people¡¯s eyes and ears, so did he come here to make a fortune from her legacy? ¡±


    ¡°This possibility isn¡¯t ruled out,¡± Su He said. ¡°If Mrs. Sarah had no mental illness inherited from her family, I¡¯m afraid that her family would not easily have agreed to this marriage.¡±


    Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help recalling the crazy behavior and shouting of the crazy lady in the basement.


    There was still a copper frame on the wall of the landing, which was illuminated by lightning again and again in this stormy night. He remembered that in this portrait of the inner world, she held her dog and snuggled up to her handsome and elegant husband. Her smile was full of happiness, and her husband also looked at her gently, loving and tender.


    It was a wonderful time that they wished to go back to, to witness that they once loved each other.

 CH 90

    Chapter 90: Castle Cry (XVII)


    With the deepening of the plot, the fire in the old castle didn¡¯t look like an ordinary fire accident anymore. Since the involvement of the devil worship, the situation had become more and more complicated.


    Dr. Lu also suspected Johann, the male owner of the castle, and guessed whether he sacrificed his wife to the Devil. However, Su He put forward an objection: ¡°It should not be wrong that the person making the sacrifice was Mrs. Sarah. She has the best motive and the source of the sacrifice is also her. The current offerings include her hair, teeth, and eyeballs. The remaining three may also be integral parts of her body, or they may be related to her. I suggest finding these things before the final battle, as they¡¯re related to the completion of the task.¡±


    ¡°That she sacrificed to the Devil was for the sake of what? To pray for yourself to get pregnant, or to pray for your child to come back from the dead?¡± Dr. Lu asked again.


    Qi Leren shook his head: ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    Judging from the phantoms he has seen so far, the crazy lady loved her child, but she loved her husband more. The trigger of the miscarriage made her inherited mental illness break out, and her mental problems aggravated her love and madness. As Nina said, she suspected that her husband was unfaithful to her. And the source of this suspicion¡­ I¡¯m afraid was that woman named Adeline.


    According to Johann¡¯s diary, Mrs. Sarah and Adeline should have been friends or relatives who grew up together since childhood, they were not blood-related sisters, but Adeline had died before they came to China.


    Judging from the situation with Nan Lu, who seems to be possessed by the crazy lady, she seemed to be jealous of Adeline and thought that she was being haunted¡­


    ¡°There are six sacrifices. Why that number?¡± Dr. Lu asked Su He.


    ¡°Well¡­ Probably because in the Nightmare World, 6 is the number representing the Devils.¡± Su He said quietly, ¡°Numbers are very interesting in the Nightmare World. Many numbers have special meanings. For example, 4 stands for luck and 7 stands for ¡®I love you¡¯. If you want to express your confession to an NPC, you can send her seven red roses, and 77 will also do.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a few roses less expensive than on earth,¡± Dr. Lu spat and followed Su He up the stairs.


    ¡°Still not leaving?¡± The two people who had stepped up the stairs to look for the nursery on the third floor found that Qi Leren was still in a daze.


    Qi Leren made a noise in answer, recovered from his meditative state, and continued to go up.


    Maybe there would be more clues for him later.


    The lay-out of the third floor was similar to that of the second floor, and the number of rooms was not far behind. Qi Leren singled Dr. Lu out for the first time: ¡°It¡¯s time to play your role. Feel which room is the baby room.¡±


    Dr. Lu angrily said, ¡°Do you think I am a B-ultrasound probe?! How do I know which one before opening the door!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not a small expert in finding things,¡± Qi Leren inclined his gaze.


    Dr. Lu snorted and took the keys to try the door. Qi Leren and Su He studied the blood on the ground. Two blood stains spread from the stairs to the corridor on the third floor, and dragged all the way to the depths of the corridor. This terrible blood was naturally from the torn-in-half Xiao Hong, and it looked terrible.


    ¡°Are we going to follow it?¡± Qi Leren asked Su He.


    Su He shook his head slowly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I think that direction should be the last boss battle.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± Qi Leren made a voice of doubt. ¡°It can¡¯t happen there.¡±


    Su He smiled and pointed over his head: ¡°To be precise, it¡¯s above.¡±


    ¡°Above,¡± Qi Leren looked up and looked at the ceiling, suddenly saying, ¡°You mean the garden on the roof?¡±


    ¡°Well, there should be a staircase at the end of the corridor leading to the garden at the top of the castle. The blood can be said to show us the way, and maybe we will meet the dog, so let¡¯s collect some clues, lest the completion be too low,¡± Su He said steadily.


    Qi Leren nodded hard. The biggest advantage of having Su He was that he could stop thinking. His IQ could only be said to be average. It was really painful to rack one¡¯s brains for the task. Now he had a plug-in with him, which made him feel a lot easier. He just needed to go up and work hard when it was needed¡­ Although it was really ¡°high-level¡±.


    Unfortunately, when Dr. Lu opened the door, a skeleton dressed as a maid was found in one of the rooms, and he was so scared that he was crying and screaming. Qi Leren had no choice but to come forward to escort him. As the mascot to raise his lucky value, Dr. Lu could never afford to lose.


    Dr. Lu squatted in the corner sadly and waited for Qi Leren to deal with the skeleton. Su He looked at him condescendingly, suddenly sighed and said seriously, ¡°Although luck is important sometimes, luck alone is not enough.¡±


    Dr. Lu mumbled something twice and whispered, ¡°I know, but I just can¡¯t get past that hurdle¡­ No matter what difficult things I encounter, from small to large, I¡¯ll always solve them inexplicably and go smoothly¡­ I¡­¡±


    Su He squatted down with him and patted him on the shoulder kindly: ¡°I understand that it¡¯s not easy to change who you¡¯ve been for the past twenty years. The choice is whether you change quickly or die quickly.¡±


    Dr. Lu glanced at him begrudgingly and felt that he was covered with dead flags.


    ¡°Okay!¡± Three or two hits solved the skeleton. Qi Leren shouted ahead. They stood up. Dr. Lu continued to open the doors. This time, he finally found the right room.


    The dusty door was opened, and the window facing the door was also sealed with wooden bars. The window was already broken a long time ago. The rain and water outside the window were blown into the room with the wind. Lightning lit up this small room from time to time, and dolls of all sizes were everywhere in every corner. They were burnt to pieces, had soaked in the moisture, and had mildewed and blackened, ghostly in the pale light.


    Qi Leren felt uncomfortable as soon as he stepped into the room. The demon power here was much stronger than that in the piano room. He looked around the room and finally stopped before walking to the baby cradle.


    It¡¯s not that he felt anything, but that the doll held by the crazy lady in the basement was impressed upon him, and the one in the cradle was exactly the same as the one in her arms.


    ¡°You see¡­¡± Qi Leren was inviting the two people to see, and suddenly there was a deafening slam of the door behind him - slamming on something hard.


    Qi Leren looked back, and Su He stood by the door, and the walking stick in his hand had just gotten stuck in the door, preventing the door from closing.


    Su He smiled helplessly: ¡°No matter what kind of task, the law is always the same¡­ Be careful, these dolls are going to be resurrected.¡±


    His voice had just fallen when the atmosphere in the nursery suddenly changed. The giggling of children came from every corner. A few palm-sized dolls jumped on the ground like mice, and flashed by in the thunder and lightning outside the window, hiding in the doll pile.


    Qi Leren¡¯s hand holding the dagger tightened. He stuck to the wall and looked at the high and low dolls in the room.


    They were laughing and moving. These toys made by people were endowed with evil life by the Devil¡¯s power, and could come at them at any time!


    ¡°Ah¨C¡± the doll in the cradle let out a shrill scream, rolled over and rolled down the cradle, and jumped into the doll pile to hide.


    Just like a call to arms, the dolls who had been moving only slightly giggled in unison and rushed at them!

 CH 91

    Chapter 91: Castle Cry (XVIII)


    {cw: discussion of miscarriage}


    Qi Leren¡¯s heart thumped, and the dagger in his hand swung hard at the pouncing doll. The holy runes inlaid on the dagger glowed with a milky light, and the doll flew out with a scream, but more and more dolls approached him!


    ¡°Retreat first!¡± Su He and his cane stuck in the door frame prevented the door from being closed, and the door was unwillingly opened with a creak. Dr. Lu, who was hiding beside Su He and him, quickly ran out of the door.


    Qi Leren also stepped back. This horrible scene disturbed his mind. He didn¡¯t have time to think about anything. He only wanted to escape. When he ran to the door, he was pulled by Su He: ¡°Don¡¯t go into the corridor, that place is too open and easy to be besieged. Just hit it from here!¡±


    The disturbed Qi Leren came to his senses and realized that he had to solve this room full of ghost dolls.


    These giggling puppets approached him in the harsh light of lightning, slow and wobbly. They sang a lullaby with a dark ecstatic tone, and from time to time let out a sharp and high-pitched strange call, which made people tremble.


    They were already a group of evil spirits.


    A doll bear, half the height of a person, rushed to the door. Qi Leren kicked it back with a leg, knocking over several small dolls along the way, and the noisy screams echoed in the room. Another one seemed to be hung by an invisible line, and swayed from the window to the Qi Leren¡¯s eyes. It was stabbed severely by his dagger. It fell to the ground with a strange smile and spilled a big pool of dirty blood.


    ¡°The doll screaming in the cradle just now should be the key, but it¡¯s now hiding and can only be slowly found.¡± Su He, like Qi Leren, kept by the door. From time to time, he hit one or two dolls that Qi Leren couldn¡¯t cope with with his cane.


    ¡°That¡¯s it, the doll held by the crazy lady in the basement.¡± As Qi Leren spoke, he stabbed a doll to death. His eyes made of buttons gave off a strange red light in the dark, and its crooked body gave off a disgusting smell of moldy food. The dolls he dealt with had been piled on the ground as high as his knees, bleeding.


    Although this group of dolls looked horrible, it wasn¡¯t difficult to deal with them after they calmed down. Fortunately, Su He had propped the door. Otherwise, when the door was closed, the dolls running around the room could not have been prevented at all. The situation would be much more dangerous. He couldn¡¯t say for certain that he would have been able to kill the doll the crazy lady had hugged without using a save.


    When the last doll fell to the ground with a scream, Qi Leren finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    It was still raining hard outside, the thunder rumbled from far to near, and the dazzling lightning lit up and went out. Qi Leren kicked the dolls all over the ground and stepped on the sticky dirty blood, and once again walked into the room.


    The doll that had been lying in the cradle at first and then escaped into the doll pile screamed and ran around in panic in the room. Qi Leren circled with it like a cat and mouse, and finally blocked it in the corner. The ugly black doll croaked and cried pitifully. Qi Leren frowned and pierced its head with the dagger. The holy runes gave off a white gleam. The doll struggled twice, fell to the ground, and stopped moving.


    When the dagger was pulled out, the pierced forehead spit out a pool of dirty blood, which was full of demon energy.


    Qi Leren stepped on the doll with his foot, and felt that there was something obviously hard in its belly, so he squatted down and cut open its belly with the dagger. At the moment when the blade cut open the cloth, the doll suddenly came back from the dead and struggled. It was so horrible that Qi Leren suddenly stood up and kicked it.


    ¡°Mom, this copy is so malicious that it really could scare people to death,¡± Dr. Lu murmured from where he watched outside the door.


    ¡°I¡¯m used to playing worse,¡± Su He said quietly.


    Dr. Lu snuck a glance at him. When the doll had been cut open and screamed, Su He¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t move. Just now, the room suddenly tried to close but was blocked by him. Su He and his anticipation and consciousness in this respect were indeed much stronger than them.


    In the room, Qi Leren took a moment to steady himself before picking up the doll again. This time, the doll was at its wit¡¯s end, and there was no movement. He successfully found an iron box in its abdominal cavity.


    [Obtained the Devil¡¯s Sacrifice 4/6]


    Having been identified as a demon sacrifice, Qi Leren didn¡¯t bother to wrap his hand in a piece of cloth, etc., and directly opened the box. The disgusting smell of blood rushed to his nose, which made him black out for a moment and become nauseous.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Dr. Lu asked from far away.


    ¡°I also want to know¡­ What the hell is this?¡± Qi Leren pinched his nose and looked at the box again, speaking grumpily.


    In the box was a large pool of dried blood, and there seemed to be a mass of black moldy things, emitting a rotten smell, which gave off an ominous feeling.


    And the phantom appeared again.


    This time, the crazy lady in the illusion sat in the corner, her face blurred. She was humming a ditty softly while making a doll. From the fuzzy light and shadows, he could vaguely recognize that it was the one that Qi Leren had just cut open. She gently stuffed the iron box into the doll¡¯s belly and sewed it up with a needle and thread. The crazy lady¡¯s intermittent humming pervaded the night, and the strange tone seemed like it could be suffocated at any moment, giving the listener goosebumps.


    She was obviously abnormal, and anyone who saw this scene could feel it clearly.


    The needle in her hand stuck in the crazy lady¡¯s finger. She screamed bitterly, suddenly raised her head, and growled bitterly at the nothingness: ¡°Go away! Stop pestering me! You are already dead! Dead!¡±


    The empty darkness naturally wouldn¡¯t give her a response, but this disregard had aggravated her hysteria. She got up from her chair, waved her arms into the air, and attacked an invisible person with her teeth and nails: ¡°Go back, go back! Go back to the grave! You¡¯re already dead! Why did you come back?!¡±


    The more angry she was, the more fearful she was. The invisible enemy exhausted her strength. She sat down on the ground, sobbed and climbed to the corner. She grabbed the doll she had sewed and murmured, "You are dead¡­ I watched you die¡­ You ate the bread with peanut butter, then twitched and died. Yes, I killed you, I killed you! Johann is mine, hahahaha, it¡¯s mine! ¡±


    The crazy lady held the doll and looked ahead emptily: ¡°Yes, I killed you. We grew up together and felt like sisters. I was so sad, sad enough that no one knew I did it, and no one believed it. Do you resent me? So you came to me for revenge. You took my child. What else do you want to take away? Johann¡¯s love? Hahahaha, I won¡¯t let you succeed, hahahaha¡­¡±


    Crazy laughter gradually dispersed in the dark, leaving the littered dolls and a bloody smell.


    There was too much information revealed with this phantom. The ¡°ghost¡± that the crazy lady feared should be Adeline who died many years earlier, and she killed Adeline¡­ Qi Leren¡¯s mind became a little confused at once.


    ¡°Bread with peanut butter? Did Adeline have a severe peanut allergy? This is quite common in white people.¡± Dr. Lu touched his chin and said, ¡°Before, I still felt that Mrs. Mad was really suffering from madness caused by her miscarriage. Maybe she was also a spouse with ulterior motives. Now it seems that she also had a story of immorality. But doesn¡¯t this prove that the husband didn¡¯t love her? In fact, Adeline was Johann¡¯s true love, so the crazy lady secretly killed her?¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t there be an autopsy for such an intentional murder?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    Dr. Lu hesitated: ¡°If you really die of allergies, it¡¯s normal to be considered as accidental. By the way, what is in that box?¡±


    Qi Leren handed the box to Dr. Lu. When Dr. Lu opened it, he was also disgusted: ¡°What is this thing?¡±


    Su He looked at the box and asked: ¡°If you consider the meaning of the doll¡­ what do you think?¡±


    Qi Leren and Dr. Lu were immediately disgusted.


    ¡°You keep it safe, only two are missing.¡± Qi Leren didn¡¯t want to touch this box at all.


    ¡°No, no, you take it. I¡¯ve already taken three!¡± Dr Lu tried to throw the box back.


    ¡°Stop it, don¡¯t you often come into contact with this kind of thing as a doctor? Take it!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a gynaecologist!¡±


    The two argued over who should take the box as Su He watched helplessly. Finally, Dr. Lu lost to Qi Leren and put the box into his inventory with a sad face.


    ¡°Now one thing is certain. The reason why the crazy lady sacrificed to the Devil should not be to pray for her to conceive a child, because she began the sacrifice after the child miscarried.¡± Su He walked around the nursery and his spotless leather shoes stepped on the floor full of dirty blood, which made people feel a little distressed. ¡°But there are still many problems.


    "It can be seen that the crazy lady had been fearful after killing Adeline. Johann wrote in his diary that she called Adeline¡¯s name in her sleep, but at that time Johann only thought that they were deeply affectionate, and he seemed to have special feelings for Adeline. First of all, who is Adeline?¡±


    Dr. Lu smacked his lips: ¡°Anyway, she¡¯s definitely not a sister, otherwise it wouldn¡¯t be ¡®like a sister¡¯, so she should be a friend or relative.¡±


    ¡°Aside from the question of Adeline, there is also a problem with the crazy lady¡¯s pregnancy. Johann¡¯s letter said that he had always given her contraceptives, but the crazy lady still became pregnant. Was this just an accident?¡± Su He threw out another question.


    ¡°Hey¡­ But from a medical point of view, even if you take medicine and use a condom, you can¡¯t ensure contraception 100%,¡± Dr. Lu said academically.


    Su He nodded: ¡°Speaking of this, I have to ask, what contraceptives were there in this era?¡±


    Dr. Lu paused. ¡°Let me think about it. The earliest contraceptive in my impression was probably invented in the 1940s. Before that, the contraceptive methods¡­ Well, the original condoms made from things such as sheep intestines were a kind, otherwise it could only be calculated by the physical cycle, and abortion was simpler and more crude such as with a stick. A specific contraceptive seems to have been absent.¡±


    Qi Leren considered the place where the story happened and put forward a new view: ¡°If the story happened in China, there should be some contraceptive methods handed down from ancient times.¡±


    Speaking of this, Dr. Lu excitedly gave him popular science: ¡°If you¡¯re talking about the cheats of contraception and abortion in popular TV series, musk will be contraceptive when you smell it, and a bowl of safflower will be used for abortions. I can tell you responsibly that this is basically metaphysics. It only applies to the logic system that is self-contained in the story of the show. Just like the thousand-year-old ginseng of Tianshan Snow Lotus in martial arts novels, you¡¯ll lose if you believe it.¡±


    ¡°¡­You know quite a lot,¡± Qi Leren was dumbfounded.


    ¡°I do,¡± Dr. Lu said proudly.


    Su He looked at them with a smile and waited until they finished talking. ¡°In fact, there is another person whom I have long felt suspicion towards.¡±

 CH 92

    Chapter 92: Castle Cry (XIX)


    {cw: discussion of miscarriage, suicide, gore}


    Qi Leren hesitated and guessed who Su He was talking about. He had also doubted this person, but he still regarded him as a ¡°witness¡± rather than a puppet master behind the scenes: ¡°The doctor?¡±


    Dr. Lu gave a cry: ¡°You called me?¡±


    ¡°¡­I mean Dr. Flajser,¡± Qi Leren said quietly.


    Dr. Lu scratched his head: ¡°Oh, when I was in the hospital, I was called for as ¡®doctor¡¯ every day. I was more habituated to hearing this title than to hear my name.¡±


    Su He smiled to show his understanding, and said: ¡°The game¡¯s copy tasks are very logical - in contrast, the tasks in the Nightmare World sometime seem out there, probably because the Nightmare World is relatively real and sometimes reality is illogical. However, in the copy world, ¡®illogical¡¯ situations rarely happen. The game may give you a useless clue to confuse you, but there will never be such a thing as the puppet master being an NPC that has never been mentioned.¡±


    Dr. Lu hesitated: ¡°I have a little understanding of your meaning. You mean that the copy world tasks are like novels, movies, or games. They¡¯re logical, just like how a culprit in a mystery novel must be a figure who has appeared before. It¡¯s impossible to reveal that the prisoner is a pair of twins at the last minute without paving the way for it, because this violates the logic of a story.¡±


    ¡°Yes, at present, the copy task should be coming to an end, and the plot is beginning to finish, so no new characters should be added. We can analyze the characters who have appeared at present: four plot NPCs, two players, the crazy lady Sarah, the male host John, the maid Nina, Doctor Flajser, the late Adeline, and perhaps the devil¡¯s will. The plot of the simple ending should be that the crazy lady lost her mind and killed all the people in the castle. As long as you killed the crazy lady in the castle, it could be over, but we are now on the route of the true ending, so we must solve the ghosts in the outer world. The crazy lady is also solved, and the truth of the year has been investigated as much as possible. The plot will be much more complicated, and many things may not be as we¡¯ve seen.¡±


    Su He said easily, ¡°Nina¡¯s problems need to be further investigated by her later. Let¡¯s talk about Dr. Flajser first. From Johann¡¯s correspondence with him asking him to come to the castle to treat the crazy lady¡ªand more than once¡ªit can be seen that he was also in China at that time. Considering that many foreign doctors did come to provide medical services to their employers at that time, this fact that he came to China cannot be used as evidence to question him, but it can be used as evidence that he has the conditions to commit crimes. The key point is that the letter also mentioned contraceptives. What are the ingredients of this medicine? Is the wife¡¯s miscarriage related to him?


    "We can reverse it. First assume that Dr. Flajser is the murderer who let the crazy lady miscarry and go crazy, and whether he had any way to do it. Yes, he is a doctor, and he is familiar with and trusted by the couple. He has the conditions and ability to do such things, especially to drive the crazy lady mad. He should be aware of this genetic psychosis in her family, and that it¡¯s only a matter of time before she goes crazy with a little hallucinogens. For motive, does he have a motive? I think he does.¡±


    Qi Leren listened attentively to Su He¡¯s analysis and kept up with his thinking: ¡°Is it because of Adeline?¡±


    Su He nodded and looked at Qi Leren appreciatively. ¡°Yes, do you remember the paragraph in Johann¡¯s diary about him and Sarah sweeping Adeline¡¯s grave? He said they met Dr. Flajser on the way back from the cemetery visit. This clue was given for a reason. Dr. Flajser was probably going to sweep Adeline¡¯s grave.¡±


    ¡°Hey, it seems that Dr. Flajser had a good relationship with Adeline. Did he know that Adeline¡¯s death was odd? Then why didn¡¯t he sue the crazy lady?¡± Dr. Lu asked.


    Qi Leren said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget Mrs. Sarah¡¯s identity. Her family should be powerful aristocrats.¡±


    ¡°Oh oh, that makes sense. Mrs. Sarah murdered Adeline, and Dr. Flajser, who was closely with Adeline, saw that it was wrong but he couldn¡¯t get Mrs. Sarah to be brought to justice, so he decided to kill her and make a revenge drama,¡± Dr. Lu snorted.


    ¡°But this is completely speculative, and there is no substantial evidence. Maybe we will find negative evidence in the future.¡± Su He smiled. ¡°If we change our thinking, maybe Nina is behind poisoning the crazy lady, or maybe Johann is the real murderer. Who knows?¡±


    There were too many possibilities. From another angle, maybe the truth is that Johann and Nina had hooked up. Johann was greedy for his wife¡¯s wealth, and got all kinds of medicines from Dr. Flajser, which made Mrs. Sarah crazy and made people think that her genetic disease had broken out. Then he waited for an opportunity for her to ¡°accidentally die¡± in order to get her inheritance.


    What role did Nina play in it? Was it that although she had hooked up with the male host, she still sympathized with the crazy lady? Or did she secretly let the crazy lady go just to further stimulate her and even kill her?


    ¡°It¡¯s 4:43 now. We have to go to Nina quickly, otherwise we¡¯ll enter the other world,¡± Su He looked at the time and said.


    On the way to the first floor, there was silence all around, and the creaking of shoes on the floor and the incessant thunderstorm outside the window made people uneasy. Qi Leren thought this kind of castle building was too dark, and people who stayed here for a long time would be prone to mental problems and become suspicious of everything.


    ¡°Just ahead.¡± Once again entering the corridor on the first floor, Qi Leren pointed to the room in front and spoke.


    Miao Bo¡¯s body wasn¡¯t present in this world. This old room smelled unpleasantly musty. The wall near the window and the ground nearby had rotted to the core. The small door locked from the outside in the inner world was still in the same position, and it looked inconspicuous.


    ¡°It¡¯s this lock. After you engage it, you can¡¯t open the door from the inside. Obviously, this lock was added later.¡± Inspired by Su He, Qi Leren pointed to the door lock and spoke.


    ¡°But you don¡¯t need a key,¡± Su He said.


    ¡°Then I can open the door?¡± Qi Leren suggested.


    Dr. Lu went hide behind Su He and said with great righteousness: ¡°You can do it.¡±


    Qi Leren looked at him contemptuously, took Dr. Lu¡¯s flashlight, opened the outer lock, and then turned the door handle - the dusty wooden door was pushed open, a strange smell invaded their noses, and the flashlight shone in the dark room. On the wall facing the door, there was a corpse hanging under a mounted goat¡¯s head!


    ¡°!!!¡± Qi Leren took a step back and looked at the hanged body nervously. After a long time, the body had turned into a skeleton and, dressed in a maid¡¯s clothes, her identity could be clearly seen.


    Qi Leren immediately understood who she was.


    But why was Nina hanging here?


    Su He also walked into the room. His eyes stayed at Nina¡¯s feet, and his voice said coldly: ¡°She didn¡¯t commit suicide, she was hanged here.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Dr. Lu also came in and snorted strangely.


    Su He pointed to the tea table at the feet of the skeleton with his cane - Qi Leren remembered that he had picked up this tea table in the inner world to deal with the armor that broke the door - and the tea table was placed a few meters away from the feet of the skeleton. It did not seem to have been kicked away by the hanged woman at all, but seemed to be neatly placed away from her feet.


    Qi Leren frowned and looked at the skeleton. The room was also filled with demonic power, and the smell of smoke made the seed in his body stir.


    ¡°There should be another devil sacrifice here,¡± Qi Leren said with certainty.


    ¡°Indeed, look at the wall.¡± Su He pointed to the wall.


    Qi Leren looked down in the direction he pointed out, and there were some traces on the mottled wall¡­ He stepped forward and scratched the wall with his fingers, and the moldy wallpaper peeled off like an egg shell. Some strange totems were faintly visible on several clean walls nearby¡­


    [Obtained the Devil¡¯s Sacrifice 5/6]


    ¡°Is there no iron box this time?¡± Qi Leren looked around and asked softly.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid this room is an ''iron box¡¯, and the sacrifice is probably Miss Nina.¡± Su He sighed.


    ¡°The phantom is coming, switch to theatre mode.¡± Dr. Lu snorted, waiting for the show to start.


    Sure enough, with the discovery of the devil sacrifice, the phantom appeared again.


    ¡°Are you afraid, dear?¡± the crazy lady asked softly.


    Her phantom appeared in the middle of the room. Her face was blurred, but it could be seen clearly that one of her eyes had been gouged out and was still bleeding.


    Nina, standing under the goat¡¯s head, held a hanging rope in her hands, stepped on the tea table, then sobbed and shook her head. She tried her best to suppress her crying, but she couldn¡¯t hide her deep fear when she faced death.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you would do anything for me? Why are you afraid?¡± The crazy lady stood in front of her, looked up at Nina, who was frightened and helpless, and giggled.


    ¡°I, I am willing to help you escape¡­ I¡­ but I¡­¡± Nina couldn¡¯t help crying. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die, madam, I don¡¯t want to die!¡±


    The crazy lady¡¯s facial expression changed and she stared at her fiercely. Nina¡¯s crying came to an abrupt end, and she dared not speak out, shaking and holding the rope with her hands.


    ¡°Good child.¡± The crazy lady held out her bloody hand and stroked her cheek. ¡°Yes, just put your head in. I just need a little help, and you¡¯re willing to help me. You¡¯re a good child¡­¡±


    Nina¡¯s face was covered with blood. She looked at the crazy lady in fear, trembling and sobbing, but she stuck her head into the rope¡¯s loop under the crazy lady¡¯s guidance.


    A twisted smile appeared on the crazy lady¡¯s bloody face, and she suddenly leaned down and took away the tea table under her feet!


    Nina¡¯s body fell, and the noose around her neck tightened immediately. She struggled painfully, kicking the wall and scratching the rope around her neck, but it was useless. The pain of suffocation made her eyes pop out, and they bulged. The sounds of crying and choking overflowed from her throat as if they could expire at any time.


    The crazy lady looked at her struggling with the tea table, looking cold and cruel, without guilt or fear. She watched quietly until Nina gradually stopped moving and was hanged in front of her eyes.


    The crazy lady took a step back, admiring the goat head in her head, and let out a sigh of relief. She put the tea table back in place, singing and pushing her finger into her empty eye socket. The stirring noises of the sour viscous liquid sounded, and she dug a pool of fresh blood from the eye socket and painted on the wall.


    Her tone was so strange that the original lyrics became creepy: ¡°Will you love me? I love you. Even if you change your mind, it doesn¡¯t matter. I have prayed to the Devil to let us be together forever. My love bird, don¡¯t try to escape me, dear Johann, you will love me as one.¡±

 CH 93

    Chapter 93: Castle Cry (XX)


    Until the phantom disappeared, Qi Leren felt a pain in his lungs. When he saw the scene where the crazy lady induced Nina to commit suicide as a sacrifice, he held his breath. Although it was just a phantom, her gloom and coldness settled in everyone¡¯s mind like a fog. Her calm madness and inhuman cruelty were far more horrible than a real madman.


    Qi Leren breathed a long sigh and looked back at the two men: ¡°It turned out that Nina was sacrificed by the crazy lady. It seems that this scene should have happened after she released the crazy lady from the cellar.¡±


    ¡°What a story of a farmer and a snake.¡± Dr. Lu shook his head and said sympathetically, ¡°But this system prompt is a bit strange. It turned out to be ¡®discover the devil¡¯s sacrifice¡¯ instead of ''get the devil¡¯s sacrifice.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Because we really haven¡¯t gotten the sacrifice yet,¡± Su He said, pointing to the skeleton hanging under the mounted goat head.


    ¡°¡­Do we still have to get the skeleton down?¡± Qi Leren asked heavily.


    ¡°I think so.¡± Su He looked at him with encouragement.


    Qi Leren unsheathed his dagger to cut the rose, and the skeleton fell into a pile of broken bones on the ground. Nina¡¯s skull rolled to Qi Leren¡¯s feet and knocked into his shoes.


    Qi Leren stared at the skull solemnly. He really didn¡¯t want to pick it up with his hand. He was a good young man who had lived in the 21st century little more than ten days ago. He¡¯d never touched the bones of the dead when he grew up. Only a little more than ten days in the Nightmare World, and he had done everything he had never done before.


    ¡°Put them on.¡± Su He took off his gloves and handed them to him. Qi Leren thanked him, put on gloves, and picked up the skull.


    The system prompt immediately appeared: [Obtained the Devil¡¯s Sacrifice 5/6]


    Sure enough, his sensing of the devil power was accurate, and the devil power in this room was mainly centered in this skull.


    ¡°Take good care of it.¡± Qi Leren picked up the skull and gave it to Dr. Lu. Dr. Lu gave him an oblique look. He took the skull and stuffed it into his inventory without any complaining.


    Su He tapped the ground with his cane, making a rhythmic sound. ¡°Nina should be the last sacrifice in terms of the time sequence of the sacrifices. She wasn¡¯t a part of the crazy lady, but was a living creature that activated the whole ceremony. Usually, this kind of living sacrifice will be put at the end. I just don¡¯t know what the sacrifice that we haven¡¯t found yet is.¡±


    Qi Leren counted on his fingers: ¡°At present, the offerings we have found include hair, teeth, the eyeball¡­ something suspected of being the fetus, and Nina. Except for Nina, the living sacrifice, everything else is dead, and the rest should be something on the crazy lady.¡±


    The three people couldn¡¯t figure out what the rest of the sacrifices was for the time being, and the time was already close to five o''clock in the morning. Su He proposed that they should leave the room for their own safety, so as not to face a changed Nina after switching between the exterior and the interior. So the three people stood outside Nina¡¯s room, waiting for the bell to chime.


    ¡°Bong-bong-bong-bong-bong-¡± Five bells sounded, the world before them changed again, and they returned to the glamorous inner world. With the electricity and lighting, the surroundings suddenly became friendly, and Qi Leren looked at the lights overhead and suddenly had a flash of realization - Wasn¡¯t there a ready-made power supply here? After coming out of the cellar, he had met Su He, who had come to check for bugs. He¡¯d completely put the laptop behind him, and thought of going back to the Village of Dusk to find someone to make a transformer, because it was said that the standard voltage in the Village of Dusk was much higher than that in the real world, and his mobile phone and computer couldn¡¯t handle it.


    The standard voltage of this replica world should not be much different from that of the 21st century, right? If it was in the range of 110V-220V, the transformer of his laptop should be compatible.


    But¡­ Su He and Dr. Lu were still here.


    Qi Leren was caught in a web. Su He was talking with Dr. Lu about Miao Bo¡¯s body on the floor. He had been killed by the armor of this world. The posture of the body was very distorted. The sounds of the two people¡¯s discussion were not loud, and Qi Leren, who was full of worries, didn¡¯t listen.


    Did he want to find a way to separate from the two for a while? He couldn¡¯t. The time for this task was running out. Why not go back to the Village of Dusk and think of some way?


    Qi Leren opened the item bar, ready to look at the computer and Easter Egg again.


    Laptop¡­ Laptop¡­ Laptop¡­ No? How was that possible?!


    Qi Leren froze. He once again checked his items from beginning to end. He saw the Easter Egg, but didn¡¯t see the laptop!


    This inexplicable laptop computer¡­ has disappeared inexplicably.


    A chill spread from the soles of his feet, and Qi Leren didn¡¯t dare to move and stood stiffly.


    When exactly did it disappear? Had it really appeared? Why did it disappear?


    ¡°¡­The posture of this body when it died is very strange. Normally, he should not have such a death on his knees and then fall back,¡± Su He¡¯s voice sounded like it was far away.


    ¡°Oh, it makes sense. At that time, I suspected that he was in front of her to protect Luo Xueyi, so he was stabbed in front and died.¡± Dr. Lu¡¯s voice was far away, as if he¡¯d heard a whisper in his dream.


    Qi Leren was spaced out.


    He thought of a possibility.


    Qi Leren secretly looked at Su He who was talking with Dr. Lu.


    Su He must have some ability to view and take away his belongings. As a half GM, it was normal for him to have such skills, and this kind of behavior was not to help them. He could use his skills completely.


    When was it¡­ When Qi Leren recalled Su He¡¯s appearance and his words and deeds, he couldn¡¯t help feeling unsettled.


    If Su He never stood on his side¡­


    Qi Leren¡¯s heart went cold. He¡¯d been in and out of Su He¡¯s mysterious field. He¡¯d revealed too many things that shouldn¡¯t be revealed to Su He. Su He absolutely knew that he had secrets. As long as he kept pursuing them¡­ The system may directly wipe out this unstable factor.


    ¡°Qi Leren, what do you think?¡±


    Dr. Lu¡¯s voice awakened Qi Leren, who was overwhelmed by fear. He looked at Dr. Lu absently and asked calmly, ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°Miao Bo¡¯s body, Su He thinks that he may have been pushed, and then he would form this posture of rushing forward and then landing on his knees, and then he would be pierced by a sword, so his body leans back. This posture is too strange. Very unnatural,¡± Dr. Lu repeated again.


    Qi Leren looked at Miao Bo on the ground, but his mind was full of disappearing laptops, so he couldn¡¯t think hard.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? You look like you¡¯re in a cold sweat.¡± Su He stepped forward, with his hand to Qi Leren forehead. ¡°Has some wound become infected and given you a fever? I can see you¡¯ve suffered a lot of injuries.¡±


    Qi Leren suddenly took a step back, avoiding Su He¡¯s touch. Under Su He¡¯s gaze, which was slightly confused and worried, he woke up again.


    Never show it!


    ¡°The wound hurts,¡± Qi Leren hissed and took a chill, clutching his injured left arm. When he was fighting with the crazy lady in the basement, he¡¯d slashed his arm with the dagger to bleed. Although it was simply bandaged later, it still hurt.


    ¡°I told you to let me give you a treatment. You have to have it, whether you want to or not.¡± Dr. Lu rubbed his hands and prepared to treat him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t, you have two hours to cool down your skills, so you can save it for the final battle, so that you won¡¯t be too injured to return to the Twilight Township,¡± Qi Leren quickly refused.


    ¡°Then you¡¯re in pain,¡± Dr. Lu said and shrugged his shoulders.


    ¡°I have a little pain-relieving spray. Give me your hand and I¡¯ll help you bandage it again. This item is still allowed to be used. You can rest assured,¡± Su He said and took out a can of spray.


    Qi Leren hesitated for a moment and held out his hand.


    Su He skillfully cut off the bandage, sprayed the spray on his wound, and then wrapped it again. Sure enough, the feeling of pain became very slight, and he could hardly feel the injury without deliberately feeling it.


    ¡°Do you want to spray a little on your forehead?¡± Su He looked at his forehead and said, asking with concern.


    Qi Leren opened his eyes and shook his head: ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt too much, so don¡¯t waste the medicine.¡±


    Su He smiled gently: ¡°That¡¯s good. Protect yourself.¡±


    Qi Leren¡¯s soul screamed, and he once again doubted his own judgment. If Su He really stood on the opposite side of his position, and he did know his secret and had gotten the laptop, he didn¡¯t need to be so good to him at all, as Qi Leren had no use value¡­


    Was it true that the laptop¡¯s disappearance had nothing to do with Su He?


    Qi Leren¡¯s tight heart relaxed slowly. Now thinking back carefully, the appearance of the laptop was very strange in itself, and the Nightmare Game he¡¯d downloaded was even more strange. This game must have been made by someone who was very familiar with the Nightmare World, and sent this game out of the Nightmare World. So what was the purpose?


    In order to let newcomers who had played the game quickly find the main task and complete it after entering the Nightmare World? But since the person who made the game already knew so much about the Nightmare World, why find new people to do it? Unless they couldn¡¯t finish the task by themselves, and could only ask for help in this roundabout way.


    But if you needed help, weren¡¯t there ready-made players in the Nightmare World? There were so many people, and their qualifications were far better than those of new people. Why not find someone to do the main task in the Nightmare World? Before this castle mission, he had also gone to find out the NPC for the main task, which had not been triggered yet. That is to say, it seemed that only he really knew where the main task started.


    Why would they publish Nightmare Game in the real world instead of finding someone to do it in the Nightmare World? What was the biggest difference between the real world and the Nightmare World?


    There must be a reason¡­ There must be¡­


    An idea flashed through Qi Leren¡¯s mind.


    It was the system.


    It was watching out for the system.


    This made sense. The appearance of the laptop touched the system, so it attracted Su He. When Su He appeared, they sent the laptop back to avoid being discovered by the system.


    As to when it was taken back¡­ When Su He entered this copy, or when he entered the Su He¡¯s field?


    ¡°What you said is reasonable. At that time, we heard Luo Xueyi¡¯s screams, and then came here to find Miao Bo murdered. Luo Xueyi was missing. Because no witnesses saw the whole process of the incident, we don¡¯t know what happened. It¡¯s also very likely that Luo Xueyi would push her boyfriend onto the armor to escape in order to save herself,¡± Dr. Lu said, squatting beside Miao Bo¡¯s body.


    Qi Leren has already slowed down. He glanced at Su He quietly. For now, he couldn¡¯t do anything. If Su He wanted to expose his abnormality to the system, he could only kill him by triggering his neck, but before that¡­


    He was willing to trust him more.


    Anyway, he had no better choice.


    He had to keep it a secret.

 CH 94

    Chapter 94: Castle Cry (XXI)


    {cw: discussion of miscarriage and infanticide}


    Just when Qi Leren was caught in a personal tangle, Dr. Lu and Su He had already discussed Miao Bo¡¯s body, and concluded that he probably hadn¡¯t died in an accident but was instead killed by Luo Xueyi, but they couldn¡¯t be 100% sure because there were no witnesses.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to meet Miss Nina here,¡± Su He said, looking at the hidden door.


    Qi Leren stepped up and stood outside the door again, knocking on the door and asking, ¡°Nina, are you in there?¡±


    There was a silence behind the door, and a trembling voice sounded: ¡°I am¡­ I feel that my mistress¡¯s strength has begun to weaken, but there is a more terrible force still hovering here. Have you killed her?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have been to the basement, and she is dead now,¡± Qi Leren said.


    ¡°No! She¡¯s not dead! She¡¯s still here! ¡± Nina¡¯s voice suddenly became sharp and full of fear. ¡°I can feel it¡­ Her crazy resentment is still here¡­ Even more terrible than ever!¡±


    ¡°What do you know? For example, about her transaction with the devil,¡± Qi Leren asked again.


    Behind the door, Nina replied weakly: ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I don¡¯t know anything¡­¡±


    Qi Leren looked back at Su He, unsure what to do. Su He mouthed ¡°open the door¡±.


    ¡°Nina, I want to open the door. Let¡¯s talk face to face,¡± Qi Leren said, clutching the dagger with one hand and reaching for the lock.


    ¡°No, no, no! Don¡¯t open the door! I beg you, don¡¯t¡­ Don¡¯t open the door!¡± Nina cried and cried out, but this time Qi Leren hardened his heart, undid the lock and pushed the broken door open.


    Moonlight covered the room in this world, and Nina stood under the mounted goat head, tightly burying her face in hands and sobbing.


    Qi Leren walked into the room step by step: ¡°We already know what happened in those days, and we also know that you died at the hands of the crazy lady. Even so, you still hope that we can save her. You¡¯re a very kind girl.¡±


    Nina¡¯s crying stopped, and her hands, covering her face, slowly came down, revealing a bloody death mask. She shook her head and said hoarsely, ¡°No, I am sorry for my mistress¡­ I owe her¡­ If I had obeyed, my mistress wouldn¡¯t have become pregnant or gone crazy. It¡¯s my fault. Everything is my fault.¡±


    ¡°Then tell us everything, and then we can let her rest in peace properly,¡± Qi Leren said to her.


    ¡°Alright¡­ You must also promise me that you must save her soul from the Devil¡¯s hand and let her rest in peace,¡± Nina sobbed.


    ¡°I will try my best.¡± Qi Leren solemnly nodded his head.


    Nina smiled. Her dead soul looked so terrifying, but it was very gentle.


    ¡°Things began many years ago¡­ The Mrs.¡¯s family has a hereditary mental illness, and almost always have gone crazy after giving birth. The Master didn¡¯t want children, so he asked the doctor for advice, and the doctor gave him a medicine. The Master asked me to put a certain amount of it into his wife¡¯s food every day, and I had always done so. Until one day¡­ I discovered it was mercury powder.


    "I heard that it was a poisonous thing, and I was afraid. I thought the Master didn¡¯t know what it was, so I told him, but he insisted that as long as the dosage was small, it wouldn¡¯t harm his wife¡¯s health. I doubt it, because my mistress often complained to me that she had a headache, and whenever she combed her hair some would always fall out. I didn¡¯t dare to disobey my Master¡¯s order, and I was afraid of endangering my mistress¡¯s health, so I took the initiative and reduced the dose¡­ Soon after, my mistress became pregnant.


    "I confessed this matter to my Master, who beat me, locked me in this room, and ordered someone to install a lock. He no longer trusted me, and instead let another maid continue to put mercury powder into his wife¡¯s diet. Soon after, Dr. Flajser came, and I overheard him talking with the Master. He said that the Mrs. was pregnant, and taking the mercury powder would not cause miscarriage, but that the fetus would be deformed. The Master said it didn¡¯t matter. The newborn baby would be so fragile that it would be easy to kill. At that time, I realized that he was not worried that his wife would go crazy. He just didn¡¯t want an heir who would go crazy.


    "Later, I learned that the Master has always had an illegitimate child, but his wife never knew it. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want children, he just didn¡¯t want a defective child,¡± Nina said sadly.


    With Nina¡¯s narrative, the originally scattered clues were gradually connected in series. Qi Leren heard Dr. Lu say to himself: ¡°It turns out that the contraceptive agent is a heavy metal¡­ No wonder¡­¡±


    ¡°At that time, I was at a loss. I don¡¯t know if I should tell my mistress all this. She loved her husband so much and looked forward to the birth of her child. If she gave birth to a deformed baby and the baby died, she would go crazy. I feel like I must have been persuaded by the Devil. I even thought that this child must not be born. He would not become the hope of my mistress, but he would instead drive her crazy. So¡­ I did something unforgivable.¡±


    Qi Leren remembered the last time he came here, Dr. Lu asked Nina how Mrs. Sarah miscarried. Nina was silent for a long time and told them that she had fallen down the stairs. Now he knew how she fell down¡­


    ¡°I moved a little on the stairs. When my mistress was going up the stairs, she fell. She fell down the stairs and shed a lot of blood¡­ When she woke up, her child was gone. I cleaned up the traces, so no one knew that this was not an accident, and even my mistress did not doubt me¡­ After that, she gradually became wrong, and she was suspicious of everything. She felt that she was being haunted by a ghost. She began to go crazy and became unreasonable.¡±


    Nina looked at them sadly and murmured, ¡°I am a murderer. I have committed a crime. If I didn¡¯t reduce the dose, my mistress wouldn¡¯t have become pregnant. If I didn¡¯t do that, my mistress wouldn¡¯t have gone crazy. Everything is my fault. It¡¯s my fault¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you volunteered to be her sacrifice,¡± Qi Leren said.


    Nina showed a tearful smile: ¡°I owed her, and I wanted to make it up to her. I secretly released her from the cellar that day. She was as happy as a child even without an eye and blood in her eyes. I hadn¡¯t seen her smile so happily for a long time, just like before she was crazy. She happily went to find her husband, and I wanted to stop her, because once she found him, she would be sent back to the cellar, and I would be beaten by him. I advised her to leave here and go back to Germany, but she wouldn¡¯t listen. She sneaked over to the Master¡¯s study to give him a surprise¡­ Then she saw that the Master was looking sorrowfully at Adeline¡¯s picture. I thought she would rush in and scream bloody murder at her husband, just like before, but she didn¡¯t.


    "She turned to me and took me to this room. Her expression was so cold and indifferent, and there was blood in her eye socket, but she didn¡¯t seem to feel it. Clearly she was so angry, but she was so calm, I suddenly felt that she really was crazy at this time¡­¡±


    ¡°Who was Adeline? Did you know her?¡± Qi Leren asked again.


    Nina nodded her head and whispered, ¡°She was the lady¡¯s personal maid. She grew up with my mistress since childhood, but she died many years ago¡­ because she ate the bread that the kitchen had made for my mistress, which contained peanut butter. She was allergic to this. When she was found, she had been dead in her room for more than half a day. I don¡¯t sympathize with her at all. I found something wrong with the Master a long time ago. At that time, my mistress probably didn¡¯t know it. When she died, my mistress was very sad and went to sweep her grave every year¡­ Before she went crazy, she was really a very gentle and kind person, but her maid betrayed her.¡±


    Had she? Qi Leren didn¡¯t refute her words, but according to the information revealed by the crazy lady¡¯s phantom, Adeline died from the crazy lady¡¯s deadly trap.


    ¡°The questions are almost clear. Do you have anything else to ask?¡± Qi Leren asked Dr. Lu and Su He.


    When Dr. Lu turned his eyes, he remembered something and asked, ¡°How much do you know about Dr. Flajser?¡±


    ¡°Dr. Flajser? He was a family doctor of my mistress¡¯s family¡­ Later, he came to China and saved lives everywhere. He was a very knowledgeable doctor.¡± Nina spoke highly of Dr. Flajser. Although the tragedy of Mad Lady was related to the medicine prescribed by Dr. Flajser, she took all her mistakes on herself and didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong with the doctor¡¯s behavior.


    ¡°I¡¯ve finished asking, too,¡± Dr. Lu said.


    After thinking about it, Su He asked, ¡°How many times did Dr. Flajser come to the castle after Mrs. Sarah¡¯s miscarriage?¡±


    ¡°There should have been several times, but I can¡¯t remember exactly¡­¡± Nina recalled.


    ¡°Did Mrs. Sarah take any medicine after that?¡± Su He asked again.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Since I confessed to my Master, he gave it to another maid¡­¡±


    ¡°Lastly, how did the castle burn down?¡± Su He asked.


    Nina shook her head and looked ahead with empty eyes: ¡°I don¡¯t know. At that time, I was dead¡­ My soul stayed here, watching my mistress draw the Devil¡¯s totems in the room, watching her walk out of this door¡­ After that, there was a big fire here, and then it went out, and the traces of burning disappeared. Everything seemed to go back to the past, but no one ever opened this door until you arrived¡­¡±


    Two lines of bloody tears flowed down from Nina¡¯s eyes, and she cried, ¡°I have committed an unforgivable crime. I would like to atone in purgatory, but what about my poor lady? Please let her unfortunate and lost soul rest in the arms of the Lord.¡±

 CH 95

    Chapter 95: Castle Cry (XXII)


    After leaving the room, the three walked silently through the corridor until Dr. Lu asked, ¡°Where are we going now?¡±


    ¡°To the last sacrifice. What other places haven¡¯t been explored yet on the second and third floors?¡± Su He asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s several rooms we haven¡¯t been in,¡± Dr. Lu answered.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just go there and have a look,¡± Su He said.


    Qi Leren is still thinking about Nina. She seems to regard everyone as a good person and blame herself for this tragedy, but ironically, perhaps she was the most innocent person in this story - at least her original intentions were good.


    ¡°Do you think that Mrs. Sarah¡¯s madness was caused by Dr. Flajser?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    ¡°Er¡­ This can¡¯t be judged yet, but it looks quite like that,¡± Dr. Lu said, touching his chin. ¡°From the rules of horror stories, Dr. Flajser being the puppet master behind everything sounds much more interesting than the story of a simple lady who went crazy because of love.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too obsessed with exploring who¡¯s behind the scenes. Some tasks will have many plausible possibilities. Different players will have different opinions and will disagree,¡± Su He said.


    ¡°That¡¯s true, hey, how much have we completed now?¡± Dr. Lu asked.


    ¡°75%,¡± Su He told them.


    ¡°It seems that the plot has advanced a lot. It should be that each demon sacrifice found has a fixed completion value, and some important events and discoveries have a fixed completion value. Is this how it¡¯s calculated?¡± Dr. Lu asked again.


    Su He nodded with a smile, but did not speak.


    ¡°That¡­¡± Dr. Lu asked again.


    ¡°If it is not convenient to answer, don¡¯t say it,¡± Qi Leren interrupted.


    Dr. Lu gave a long cry: ¡°Right, then I¡¯d better not ask.¡±


    By this time, the three people had walked out of the corridor with the magnificent hall ahead of them, the huge crystal chandelier lit, and bright light on the ground, which set off the magnificent glory of the castle.


    A slender figure stood on the platform above the curved corridor, with long silky black hair and a gorgeous and elegant dress. Xiao Hong¡¯s bloody body at her feet made her calm and collected appearance become eerie. She stood under the hanging frame of the family portrait, admiring it with her hands behind her back. It seemed as if she heard the footsteps below. She slowly turned around and looked at them on the ground floor.


    Luo Xueyi, wearing the same dress as the crazy lady in the portrait, said with a sigh: ¡°Ah, you have come.¡±


    Under the dazzling crystal chandelier, standing on the platform, she looks like a nun who was about to sing songs for the gods, with lowered eyes and dignified expression.


    Qi Leren stepped forward and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    Luo Xueyi smiled mysteriously: ¡°I am the ghost who killed Adeline. I am the countless betrayals that Sarah has noticed from the details, and the jealousy that will never burn out in her heart. I am her. Look, she is burning¡­¡±


    With her sighing voice, waves of flames welled up under her feet. In the dazzling light, she smiled at them without pain and closed her eyes. The flames were like a lotus flower, which bloomed quietly in the sinful night and devoured Luo Xueyi¡¯s body. By the time Qi Leren rushed up the stairs to save her, she had turned into a mass of ashes, together with the dead half-body left at her feet.


    The burnt floor was blackened, and Qi Leren stood for a while. Dr. Lu and Su He had already come up.


    ¡°What did she really want to do? Why did she suddenly self-immolate?¡± Qi Leren was completely confused.


    Su He stood aside, thought for a moment, and pointed to the ashes on the ground with his cane: ¡°These ashes may be of some use.¡±


    Qi Leren sighed and bent down to pick them up. Before his hand touched the ashes, it was lifted by Su He¡¯s cane: ¡°Don¡¯t use your hands.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    Su He lifted a small amount of ashes with his cane, and the black and gray powder rose up and crackled in the air. A fire appeared out of thin air and disappeared into thin air in a few seconds.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be careless, these are no ordinary ashes. They should be an item for the boss. Well, has this copy finally remembered that it¡¯s D-level difficulty? It¡¯s quite generous. Miss Luo Xueyi probably came to give the item in person,¡± Su He said, smiling.


    Qi Leren and Dr. Lu couldn¡¯t help but squint at the ashes on the ground. In fact, normal people couldn¡¯t think of the use of such a thing.


    ¡°I was worried that Luo Xueyi and Nan Lu would merge into one for the final battle. Now it seems that it won¡¯t be so difficult,¡± Su He was glad to say.


    Qi Leren imagined such a scene and couldn¡¯t help shivering: ¡°Thank God, fortunately not.¡±


    ¡°Luo Xueyi¡¯s words, just what is the meaning of that sentence? I always felt that she had no deep meaning until now.¡± Dr. Lu recalled the words before Luo Xueyi set herself on fire, and felt that they seemed to have great implications.


    ¡°It should be some kind of metaphor and hint. It¡¯s also because of her words that I think there¡¯s something wrong with the ashes left by her,¡± Su He said. ¡°When Luo Xueyi and Nan Lu confronted each other, she said that she was Sarah. I¡¯m inclined to think she was telling the truth, but there is a difference between the two ¡®Sarahs¡¯. Luo Xueyi¡¯s Sarah is a calm and pure evil persona, just like the Sarah who murdered Adeline. She was not crazy, but was calm and knew what she was doing, just like when she killed Nina. But Mrs. Sarah of Nan Lu is more like a kind of crazy jealousy over love. It can be said that Luo Xueyi¡¯s Sarah is a personality different from Nan Lu¡¯s Sarah. She knows of John¡¯s betrayal. Because of this jealousy and hatred, Luo Xueyi¡¯s Sarah appeared.¡±


    I thought she would rush in and scream bloody murder at her husband, just like before, but she didn¡¯t. She turned to me¡­ She was so angry, but she was so calm, I suddenly felt that she was really crazy at this time¡­


    Nina¡¯s words once again appeared in Qi Leren¡¯s mind. At that time, Sarah was completely controlled by the evil thoughts of jealousy, so why would she kill Nina for the sacrifice?


    ¡°Are you saying that Mrs. Sarah actually has multiple personalities?¡± Dr. Lu asked cheerfully.


    ¡°To some extent, it can be explained this way, but this story is not a horror story with multiple personalities. I think it is only because Mrs. Sarah was influenced by the power of the Devil after that this task was polluted, so she became more and more crazy and horrible. But where on earth did she learn such an evil way of offering sacrifices? This is also a problem,¡± Su He said.


    ¡°Ah, the water is so deep,¡± Dr. Lu shook his head.


    Qi Leren went to the kitchen to find cleaning tools - before he went, he was asked by Su He to bring some oil back - and carefully swept the ashes into the dustpan, and then put them away with great care. It was possible that he would have to rely on these things to save his life in the end.


    The three men then continued to gather clues. They found nothing more on the second floor, but something on the third floor.


    ¡°This seems to be a bedroom! But the door isn¡¯t locked!¡± Dr. Lu, who was opening the doors from room to room, turned back and shouted to the two men.


    The room faintly carried the Devil¡¯s energy, but it was not very strong. It seemed like an illusion. Qi Leren strode in and rummaged around with Dr. Lu in the bedroom, but found nothing useful. The wardrobe¡¯s door was not tightly closed, and it was full of crazy lady¡¯s clothes.


    ¡°Since this door is unlocked, could it be that someone has been here before? Were Luo Xueyi¡¯s and Nan Lu¡¯s dresses taken from here?¡± Qi Leren asked, recalling the crazy lady¡¯s dress Luo Xueyi wore.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible. The wardrobe door isn¡¯t closed now, so it¡¯s a bit suspicious.¡± Dr. Lu and Qi Leren studied a bunch of the woman¡¯s clothes.


    Dr. Lu also proposed to find Johann¡¯s clothes to wear. Maybe the crazy lady would lose without fighting if she thought she was despised by Qi Leren: ¡°What if the boss runs away?¡±


    ¡°Anyway, if you¡¯re the one playing him, I¡¯m not worried,¡± Dr. Lu said innocently.


    Qi Leren said combatively: ¡°Believe it or not, I¡¯ll use you as a shield!¡±


    ¡°No, you wouldn¡¯t!¡± Dr. Lu was really scared and refused with a face of fear.


    Su He, who was standing by the door, also came in and walked around, asking, ¡°Where¡¯s the dressing table mirror?¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°Oh right, where¡¯s the mirror?¡± Dr. Lu and Qi Leren, who were playing games, didn¡¯t notice this detail. Now they finally felt something was wrong. There was no mirror on the dressing table, which was totally unreasonable.


    Why was there no mirror? Qi Leren looked at the dressing table and thought.


    Was it that since the crazy lady was disfigured, she couldn¡¯t look at herself in the mirror, or what would be reflected in the mirror¡­ Was that why she put away the mirror?


    ¡°Let me see.¡± Dr. Lu went to the dressing table, opened the drawer, and threw things out one by one. He fumbled and knocked around and finally found that there was a hidden compartment in the drawer.


    At the moment when the secret compartment was opened, Qi Leren obviously felt that the Devil¡¯s power had become thick. Dr. Lu found an iron box inside and said excitedly, ¡°Sure enough!¡±


    [Obtained the Devil¡¯s Sacrifice 6/6]


    The tin box was opened, and inside the box were cut nails.


    ¡°Your love bird has flown away from you. Do you want it to stay on your shoulder forever?¡± In front of the mirror, which emitted deep and remote cold green light, the crazy lady simply sat. Her gaunt face was reflected strangely in the dressing mirror, and that face poured out attractive words in a bewitching voice.


    It was an irresistible temptation for her.

 CH 96

    Chapter 96: Castle Cry (XXIII)


    {cw: crossdressing joke}


    As the phantom in the mirror revealed the fatal temptation, Mrs. Sarah looked at the mirror with empty eyes. She was possessed and cut off her nails according to her instructions. The cut nails fell to the ground. Mrs. Sarah jerked and suddenly woke up.


    With a scream, she threw the mirror to the ground and shouted, ¡°The Devil! You¡¯re the Devil!¡±


    There is a giggle from the mirror: ¡°When you look in the mirror, all you see is the desire in your own heart. Don¡¯t resist it. There is already a jealous witch in your heart, and that is the real you.¡±


    Mrs. Sarah stamped on the fragments of the mirror, and the voice stopped abruptly. She fell back trembling and sat down on the bed.


    ¡°Madam, I heard your voice. What happened?¡± The bedroom door was knocked on and Nina¡¯s voice came.


    ¡°I have nothing to do and accidentally broke the mirror,¡± Mrs Sarah tried to speak calmly, adjusting her skirt.


    Nina opened the door, bowed, and came in to clean up the debris on the ground. Sarah watched her work and said to herself, ¡°Johann will be back soon.¡±


    ¡°Yes, madam,¡± Nina responded to Sarah¡¯s words, cleaning the broken mirror on the ground.


    ¡°He will be very happy.¡± Sarah suddenly laughed and stroked her flat belly. ¡°Although he¡¯s never said it, he must like children as much as I do.¡±


    Nina let out a soft cry, and her cut finger started bleeding. She quickly put her finger in her mouth, for fear that the blood might touch the beautiful carpet. Sarah sighed: ¡°You¡¯re too careless. Forget it. Stop first and let others clean it up later.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, madam. I¡¯ll fix it.¡± Nina said anxiously, her head lowered.


    Sarah sat on the bed and murmured, ¡°Will he love me more when he has a baby?¡±


    Nina shivered and trilled: ¡°Your husband loves you deeply.¡±


    Sarah smiled, looked ahead with empty eyes, and murmured: ¡°Yes, he loves me, just like I love him¡­¡±


    Nina, who was kneeling on the ground to clean, quietly raised her face and looked at the crazy lady quietly and painfully. She forgot that her finger was still bleeding, and a bead of blood fell from her fingertip on the colorful carpet and penetrated into the complicated patterns¡­


    The phantom faded, and Mrs. Sarah¡¯s last words lingered in the room, repeating the lie over and over again into a sad belief. It seemed that she¡¯d discovered John¡¯s infidelity long ago, but she didn¡¯t want to admit it. She would rather hypnotize herself over and over again until she believed it.


    ¡°It seems that this phantom is an explanation to how the crazy lady got the sacrifice method, but at this time she has not yet miscarried, and her mental state seemed to be fairly stable¡­ Nina was a little nervous. She was really afraid that the crazy lady would go crazy,¡± Qi Leren said, not sure how many emotions - pity, guilt, and even passing jealousy - were contained in Nina¡¯s last complicated expression¡­


    Up to now, Qi Leren hadn¡¯t drawn a conclusion: What kind of role did Nina play?


    ¡°Hey, now that the six sacrifices have been collected, can we go to the boss fight?¡± Dr. Lu asked after putting away the last Devil¡¯s sacrifice.


    Su He opened his pocket watch and glanced at it. ¡°Get ready to go back to the outer world. It¡¯s almost time.¡±


    With the six bells ringing, the three people once again returned to the outer world - based off the time, this should be the last hour. After all, the task required them to leave the castle before dawn, and it was now six o''clock. Although the sun would rise late in this season, it would be dawn at seven o''clock.


    ¡°Everything has been found, and all that¡¯s left is the hound and the crazy lady. I can think of three ways to deal with the hound for the time being, so you leave it to me.¡± Su He closed the pocket watch, nodding to the two.


    ¡°God, I just want to have a bug in every copy. Su He and you are the real bugs!¡± Dr. Lu was delighted by this feeling of having everything taken care of by others.


    Su He smiled implicitly. ¡°The first method is dangerous. It comes from what Nan Lu did before. Why did she and Luo Xueyi wear the crazy lady¡¯s clothes? I¡¯m swayed to think that this is a symbolic meaning, which means that they have assimilated with the crazy lady. So when Nan Lu called for the hound, he followed her obediently because he thought she was his master. How did it distinguish her? By recognizing her? That¡¯s obviously wrong. Nan Lu and Mrs. Sarah have very different appearances and voices; By Mrs Sarah¡¯s clothes? It¡¯s possible. If it relies on theDevil¡¯s power¡­¡± Su He caught Qi Leren¡¯s eye and caused his heart and soul to jump, thinking that Su He would reveal the seed in him. ¡°Then the sacrifices we got can be used.¡±


    Dr. Lu smiled with a sloped voice: ¡°You mean to let Qi Leren wear the crazy lady¡¯s clothes and take the Devil¡¯s sacrifice, to pretend to be Mrs. Sarah and lead the dog away?¡±


    Qi Leren¡¯s heart was dead: ¡°¡­I won¡¯t do it, I would rather die!¡±


    ¡°This task isn¡¯t difficult. Dr. Lu should be competent,¡± Su He smiled.


    Qi Leren was overjoyed: ¡°You¡¯re the same size as Mrs. Sarah¡¯s clothes, perfect!¡±


    ¡°¡­Oh NO!¡± Dr. Lu screamed in horror, ¡°I refuse!¡±


    ¡°It seems that there¡¯s no way to reach an agreement. Let¡¯s talk about the second method: I also said before that the dog collar in the piano room on the second floor could be used. After picking up the collar, the hound should be attracted. There should be no problem in ambushing it. To be safe, this would require quick decision making and a miniature bomb that can be fed to it,¡± Su He said.


    Qi Leren was a little distressed. This was all in exchange for the number of survival days. Couldn¡¯t they just not do it and only go against the crazy lady? ¡°Is there another way?¡±


    ¡°Use the armor.¡± Su He said only three words, but lit up the idea in Qi Leren.


    ¡°Yes, before when the armor and hound fought, it was completely one-sided. Maybe there¡¯s some magical power. And the armor¡¯s material is hard, so you don¡¯t have to worry about being bitten by the dog. This is a good idea!¡± Qi Leren got a little excited.


    Dr. Lu whistled at the side: ¡°You can cheat the system.¡±


    Qi Leren sneered: ¡°Then you can do it.¡±


    Dr. Lu was a coward.


    The three men went back to the stairs where the armor had been scattered. With the help of Dr. Lu and Su He, Qi Leren put this heavy metal armor on his body: ¡°It¡¯s a bit heavy, but I can still move around. It¡¯s more flexible than expected.¡±


    ¡°Of course, this is originally modeled after the armor used by knights in the Middle Ages in Europe. It would be strange if you couldn¡¯t wear it,¡± Dr. Lu said haughtily.


    Su He paid more attention to it: ¡°Do you feel any special power in this armor?¡±


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s no such thing. It seems that it¡¯s just plain armor,¡± Qi Leren said regretfully.


    Wearing the armor, he went up the stairs, and Qi Leren returned to the third floor and followed the trail of blood spread to the end of the corridor. To be on the safe side, Dr. Lu and Su He waited for him at the stairs on the third floor. Although Qi Leren was a little nervous to face the danger alone, after being tempered so many times, he was not frightened for such a battle. At most, he was a little nervous.


    Where the hell was the hound?


    The clang of metal armor moving sounded in his ear, every step accompanied by the sound of metal clanking, and the helmet¡¯s visual field was limited, so Qi Leren was constantly worried that he had missed some subtle movement.


    Finally, when he was about to walk to the open room at the end of the corridor, the charred hound appeared from the shadows like a ghost. The castle in the world was dark and old, and the lightning outside the window lit the night sky of heavy rain again and again, which also lit up the explosive battlefield.


    The hound leaned down and growled menacingly in the depths of its throat. Qi Leren wore the metal armor and held the armor¡¯s sword in his hand, ready to stab-


    Move!


    The roar of the hound thundered down, and it sprang up on its hind legs and pounced towards the armor! Its figure lit by the lightning suddenly became nothing but an afterimage!


    So fast! He couldn¡¯t see at all!


    Qi Leren instinctively wielded the sword, slashing it down. The hound that had landed jumped up again. A slave to momentum, Qi Leren was knocked down to the ground with the heavy armor. He hastily shored up his body but forgot to take his sword, and directly swung at the hound that jumped towards him with an iron fist! His fist seemed to be endowed with incredible power. At the moment the punch met, Qi Leren felt that even the opposite wall could easily be penetrated!


    The fist collided with the hound, and the hound whined as it crashed into the opposite wall and fell to the ground.


    Good opportunity! The fallen Qi Leren wanted to get up and make up for the blow, but the heavy armor limited his movement. Struggling, he rose to his feet, picked up the long sword on the ground, and stabbed it through the hound¡¯s body.


    The burnt body of the hound exploded, and the flames swept over its body instantly, burning through it and leaving no ashes.


    This time it had gone well. Qi Leren got up from the ground slowly, took off his helmet, and let out a sigh of relief.


    Although the hound¡¯s speed was much faster than during the last encounter with it, thanks to this armor, he was not bitten. The battle ended quickly enough, and the degree of fright was greatly reduced, which made Qi Leren very satisfied.


    Su He came over with Dr. Lu, and Dr. Lu was surprised: ¡°How fast!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a given,¡± Qi Leren said, pretending to be calm and trying to show his superior demeanor.


    ¡°Qi Leren is very powerful,¡± Su He praised, his eyes curving with a gentle smile.


    Being praised so sincerely, or being praised by a person who was far superior to him, Qi Leren was very flustered. What was even more embarrassing was that Dr. Lu¡¯s eyes were wrong¡­


    ¡°Well, the crazy lady didn¡¯t show up after the hound was killed. It seems that the worst situation you said won¡¯t happen,¡± Qi Leren quickly changed the subject.


    Before the fight, Su He had put forth various possibilities. The most troublesome one was that hatred was shared between the hound and the crazy lady. Once the hound was attacked, the crazy lady would appear, and it would be a lot of trouble to deal with it. However, according to the difficulty of the copy, it was unlikely.


    Fortunately, this kind of situation didn¡¯t happen. Otherwise, Qi Leren who was wearing heavy armor would be bound to have a hard time dealing with the crazy lady. Although Su He promised that he would step in if this happened, Qi Leren still hoped to solve the task by himself. This relatively safe exercise opportunity was really too precious.


    Take off your armor, bring your weapons, take Luo Xueyi¡¯s ashes, and prepare the Devil¡¯s sacrifice. Qi Leren glanced at the small staircase at the end of the corridor, which led to the rooftop garden on the top floor.


    There, a grand battle was about to start.


    ¡ª¨C


    The author has something to say:


    PS: However, the witty Dr. Lu has seen through everything: my (copy) boyfriend is always entangled with men, he really is a gay  ¨r (¨s ¨Œ ¨t) ¨q


    ¡ü


    Crazy lady on standby: What a mess your circle is


    I wish you all a happy Valentine¡¯s Day. I will reply to the messages first, and if there are any omissions, I will reply tomorrow :-D


    ¡ª¨C


    Editor¡¯s Notes: The cw at the top of this chapter brings a good opportunity for me to mention something not so nice that I¡¯ve been worrying about:


    While it¡¯s not very present in this installment of the trilogy, once we get into Nightmare Game II there does start to be somewhat prominent issues of transmisogyny in this series. I¡¯m using my own discretion to edit out any slurs the mtl gives me (especially since I don¡¯t know the specific connotations of the words used in the Chinese), but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s my place as a someone only invovled in translation to completely take out or greatly alter a portion of the original text.


    As we are now moving towards the climax of Nightmare Game I, I feel that it¡¯s best for me to mention this early so that people who do not want to continue reading something with transmisognistic content have the opportunity to drop it if they wish before they get too emotionally invested in the series. I do apologize for not mentioning this earler. Once we reach those scenes, I will be sure to include warnings whenever relevant.


    If you have any further questions or worries about this (or anything else), I encourage you to message me. I would like for people to be able to enjoy this series to the greatest degree possible, even despite the issues present in it.

 CH 97

    Chapter 97: Castle Cry (XXIV)


    ¡°When we reach the rooftop, since it¡¯s still raining outside, that will have an impact on vision and hearing, but you have an advantage; you can sense the demon¡¯s energy, so trust in your perception more. Don¡¯t immediately rush at her after the crazy lady appears. Take her attention and observe, remember to save, and be careful.¡±


    When the door of the rooftop opened, Qi Leren stepped into the rain.


    It was raining cats and dogs, and the Qi Leren was drenched in a few seconds. His mind hovered over the tipis Su He had told him before, and he clenched his dagger in his hand.


    The garden in front of him did not have the appearance of being taken care of. Shrubs and weeds filled the rooftop garden after decades of overgrowth. Some trees that had floated here from nowhere grew wantonly in this place, forming a small dense jungle. If it was left to grow again, sooner or later, it would exceed the load-bearing limit of the roof and completely crush the roof of the castle.


    She was coming.


    Qi Leren felt the strange demon power, which emanated from the dense jungle.


    There was a clap of thunder overhead, and the harsh lightning kicked off this decisive battle. Under the pale light, the woman coming from the forest was like a phantom, and neared in an instant. The rainstorm washed away her makeup and made her unrecognizable. She murmured in sadness, joy, and sorrow: ¡°Ah, you¡¯ve come.¡±


    Dr. Lu shuddered behind the Qi Leren, and shrank behind Su He.


    ¡°Let me have a look at your hearts. Have you betrayed your love?¡± The crazy lady suddenly appeared beside Dr. Lu, and looked him in the eye. Dr. Lu did not move, as if he had been stunned, and looked at her with a glassy stare.


    It was too fast! He didn¡¯t react at all! Qi Leren looked at the crazy lady who had appeared in front of Dr. Lu in awe, and then looked at Su He, who shook his head and said, ¡°The story.¡±


    Qi Leren felt a little comfortable. It seemed that this was an inescapable fixed story element, but even if it was a story, the speed of the crazy lady¡¯s display was really amazing.


    The crazy lady sighed and took a step back. She looked at them gloomily in the rainstorm. ¡°You don¡¯t love your lover, but you are loyal. I forgive you.¡±


    She disappeared in a ghostly way, and suddenly appeared in front of Su He and looked him in the eye.


    Su He smiled at her, not surprised, not afraid.


    ¡°I cannot see your heart,¡± the crazy lady whispered in confusion.


    Su He politely held her hand and left a soft kiss on the back of her fingers: ¡°I hid it in a secret place; even a beautiful and noble lady like you would not find it easily. I would like to dedicate it to my beloved.¡±


    The crazy lady¡¯s empty eyes softened, and she showed a smile, but it looked distorted and weird by this point. She said, ¡°You are a loyal and elegant gentleman, a person worthy of being loved. May God bless you.¡±


    Su He let go and smiled at her: ¡°Bless you too, madam.¡±


    The crazy lady turned around and looked faintly at Qi Leren. He could not see any emotion in Nan Lu¡¯s eyes. Her black eyes were already filled with another woman¡¯s resentment and madness. She opened her mouth and whispered, ¡°Let me see¡­ Look at your heart¡­¡±


    At the moment when the two people¡¯s eyes met, Qi Leren¡¯s mind couldn¡¯t control the images of the Witchcraft Sacrifice task! Every frame was his perspective, every frame was¡­ Ning Zhou.


    Countless times from the past overlapped in this short moment, whether it was the wet forest, the horrible cave, or the  gloomy underground palace, the time spent with Ning Zhou was short and miserable, but it was also deep and sweet. When this strange and warm emotion burned in the soul, the lonely life was suddenly illuminated¡­ Once tasted, it could never be forgotten.


    The picture stilled on the Barrier of the Holy Spirit, the sky filled with light and song, and then suddenly jumped to the scene where he and Dr. Lu chatted with the four NPCs under the tree when the Castle task started.


    The crazy lady opened her mouth, her inaudible voice clear and horrible in the rainstorm, and the excitement over her prey was unbearable: ¡°Ah, you betrayed¡­ Such strong and hot love, even my decaying body felt the warmth. But you betrayed your love.¡±


    Words as cold as the rain seeped into his clothes, the coolness penetrating into his bone marrow. Qi Leren¡¯s mind shuddered, and all words of defence were instantly frozen in this rainy night.


    ¡°Run!¡± With Su He¡¯s order, Qi Leren, who had been stunned, started to run out. The cold rain hit his face, making it hard to keep his eyes open. The light of the flashlight seemed to stretch out into the night. Qi Leren tried to maintain balance and stop himself from tripping over the ubiquitous vegetation, but the crazy lady seemed to have some magical psychic power. The originally flat ground suddenly bulged where he ran, and the strong branches suddenly broke and fell in front of him.


    The crazy lady¡¯s ghost seemed to be everywhere. Sometimes she suddenly appeared in front of him, and disappeared with a strange smile after he was scared enough to have a heart attack. Sometimes she fell far behind him, like a wolf driving lambs. She played with her prey gracefully and calmly.


    A few times, she approached Qi Leren, but when Qi Leren wielded the dagger and stabbed her, the blade of the dagger could not pierce her body! Her skin was as hard as stone, and she was not afraid of his attack.


    The stairs of the rooftop garden lit up with fire, and what Su He said before the fight came to Qi Leren¡¯s mind: ¡°The Devil¡¯s sacrifices will be destroyed by Dr. Lu, and the oil I asked you to bring from the kitchen has also been given to him. After you lead the crazy lady to start running, he is responsible for igniting and burning the sacrifices ¡ª I¡¯m not sure whether burning the sacrifices before entering the rooftop would cause some uncontrollable accidents, so it¡¯s better to burn them on the spot for the sake of safety. And you, when you run from the crazy lady, look for Xiao Hong¡¯s body along the way, and we will burn him as well after determining the position.¡±


    Dr. Lu opened and shook out the iron boxes one by one, throwing them into the fire. The ignited oil burned in the rain. As the sacrifices fell into the fire, the crazy lady who had been chasing Qi Leren suddenly gave a fierce howl: ¡°No- Stop! You¡­ Stop!!!¡±


    An opportunity!


    Qi Leren slammed on the brakes, and the Primary Fighting Skills in the card slot allowed him to twist and throw a miniature bomb at the crazy lady!


    At the moment when the bomb flew out, the crazy lady who was holding her head as she screamed suddenly opened her eyes - under the gaze of scarlet eyes, the miniature bomb flying towards her was controlled by the force of her mind and bounced back to Qi Leren¡¯s feet!


    There was a loud roar, and the miniature bomb exploded instantly. The huge impact blew this corner of the rooftop garden apart, and the roof that had been weakened over the years was almost overwhelmed. The smoke of the explosion dispersed in the rainstorm, and Dr. Lu, who was watching the situation from a distance, was so scared that his face changed, fearing that Qi Leren would die without a corpse.


    On the messy ground, Qi Leren, who was in the center of the explosion, succeeded in avoiding this fatal explosion by virtue of saving at the moment before the crisis.


    Not far away, the crazy lady¡¯s shrill cry stopped. She slowly lowered the arms holding her head and looked at him with a crooked expression: "Unforgivable ungrateful people¡­ I will kill you horribly! Tear out your heart and soul!¡±


    As if it were a banshee¡¯s howl, her supernatural voice made the surrounding air shake, and the thunder exploded over her head. In the dazzling white light, she screamed bitterly, and the surrounding plants shook like crazy, and the sound of the leaves almost overshadowed the sound of heavy rain.


    This is bad! We must get rid of her as soon as possible!


    Qi Leren forgot to find Xiao Hong¡¯s dead half-body according to Su He¡¯s plan. He dug out the ashes from his inventory, and before the second loading time of S/L skill passed, he bravely rushed to the crazy lady and sprinkled the ashes onto her head. The ashes lit, and flames quickly jumped up from the crazy lady. Even heavy rain could not douse the flames on her!


    She laughed like crazy. In the strong wind, the rainstorm was ignited, and the burning fire and rain spewed out in all directions under the guidance of incredible power. The shocked Qi Leren rolled on the spot and escaped the wave of fire and rain. The S/L skill¡¯s 30 seconds were running out. Either commit suicide now or¡­


    One tree after another was ignited by the flames, and was pulled up by the crazy lady¡¯s strange power. Countless dirt and stones mingled with rain poured towards Qi Leren, and a flamingo tree was about to hit him. At this critical juncture, Qi Leren put the knife to his neck, and with the stabbing pain in his throat, the pain of being hit by the flying tree was also transmitted to his brain.


    File loaded successfully.


    After loading the file twice in a row, Qi Leren returned to the crazy lady, not thinking about whether this knife could pierce her body, and rushed up with all his eggs in one basket -


    Wind, rainstorm, lightning, thunder¡­ What happened in this castle on this rainy night merged into a horrible distorted afterimage before his eyes, with plants burning, the rainstorm burning, and the crazy lady standing still burning! Fire seemed to engulf everything, dragging everything into a burning purgatory.


    The crazy laughter came to an abrupt end as the dagger inlaid with holy runes was stabbed into the crazy lady¡¯s chest. She stared at Qi Leren in front of her, and the appalled expression was unreservedly revealed, making her more like Nan Lu than the crazy lady bewitched by the Devil.


    Qi Leren¡¯s heart trembled. Nan Lu, possessed by the crazy lady - was there any of her consciousness there anymore?


    The dagger was pulled out of the crazy lady¡¯s chest and a flame flew out after it, which seemed to be burning blood. Qi Leren stepped back two steps, staring at the crazy lady for a moment.


    The overwhelming raging flames began to droop, and the horrible fiery rain went out. Just like the end of a movement, everything that was burning warmly gradually died out in the rain. There were only a few scattered flames, burning quietly at the crazy lady¡¯s feet.


    The rain weakened, and the thunder sounded farther and farther away. The storm clouds that had been circling here all night  finally began to recede, leaving behind a messy world and a group of people who indulged in stories.


    The crazy lady¡¯s chest was bubbling with ¡°blood¡±, and the burning blood was as dazzling as molten metal, burning like a flame and gradually engulfing her.


    ¡°I had a long, long dream¡­¡± the crazy lady¡¯s hoarse voice sounded in the rainy night, tired and wavering. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t wake up the dreaming¡­¡±


    The crazy lady slowly closed her eyes, and the flames from the chest wound suddenly became blazing and dazzling, engulfing her entirely. Black polluted smoke rose from the flames and dissipated in the air, and the demon power disappeared, leaving a golden box in its place.


    The rain had stopped.

 CH 98

    Chapter 98: Castle Cry (XXV)


    The rooftop garden was filled with ruins, and the traces of the explosion and fire were everywhere. Qi Leren took a deep breath of the smokey and damp air, then walked to the treasure chest left by the crazy lady¡¯s death, hesitated, and called Dr. Lu back: ¡°Come and open the box!¡±


    Dr. Lu came running, panting. He tripped and almost fell on the bumpy ground along the way. Fortunately, Su He gave him a hand.


    ¡°Do you really want me to open it for you?¡± Dr. Lu asked earnestly, his eyes shining and his face irrepressible.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± Qi Leren also said seriously. This was the time to trust the European emperor, not to be cheap.


    ¡°Er¡­ Su He, is there any law or metaphysics in opening the box?¡± Dr. Lu asked.


    ¡°Generally speaking, most treasure chests contain strange disposable goods, a few have skill cards, and there are also pure card slots or attributes. Some people even encounter random tasks. There¡¯s almost no rules they follow. In fact, skill cards may not be good, but some props will have magical effects at critical moments. If you¡¯re lucky enough, you may open them and find legendary resurrection items,¡± Su He smiled and said.


    Qi Leren¡¯s heart hitched. He forced himself not to look at Su He. He didn¡¯t know whether Su He suddenly mentioned the resurrection items intentionally or unintentionally. He could only pretend to be natural enough¡­


    It should be a coincidence¡­ Su He mentioned a similar resurrection skill card a long time ago. Now, it was just to explain the relationship between the box and luck. He was just feeling guilty!


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll open it. If I open a binding skill card, you won¡¯t get your share,¡± Dr. Lu reminded Qi Leren.


    Qi Leren tried to calm down: ¡°Open it.¡±


    Dr. Lu put his finger on the lock, and the golden box opened.


    Dr. Lu glanced at the skill card and said, ¡°This should be good, here.¡±


    [Demon Etiquette (Unbound Skill Card): For each use, one demon crystal must be used. If the demon crystals in your inventory are insufficient, the skill cannot be used. During the equipment of this skill, the player will gain the appearance of a demon, in accordance with the type of consumed demon crystal, but no demon talents will be obtained. The skill lasts for 3 hours and the cooling time is 24 hours.]


    This is¡­


    Qi Leren looked at the skill card in his hand. His intuition told him that this skill card was unusual, but he couldn¡¯t tell what was unusual. He looked at Su He for help: ¡°This card¡­ should be useful?¡±


    Su He took a look at the skill card and said a little unexpectedly: ¡°A very good skill. If there are tasks involving demons in the future, maybe you can pretend to be one of them, but you need demon crystals to do it¡­¡±


    Su He didn¡¯t continue, but gave Qi Leren a meaningful look, and the latter immediately understood what he wanted to say: Right now he should stay away from the demon crystals, otherwise the seed of slaughter in him would soon get out of control.


    ¡°It seems I¡¯m lucky, hey,¡± Dr. Lu said triumphantly.


    Su He looked at him with a smile and nodded appreciatively.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back and get dinner.¡± Qi Leren reached out and tried to clap Dr. Lu¡¯s shoulder. When he lifted his arm, however, this arm that he had rolled on to avoid the crazy lady was in terrible pain, having been severely bruised.


    When Dr. Lu saw it, he quickly sought to treat him: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the skill cooling time now. I¡¯ll treat you first. Although it¡¯s not perfect, it¡¯s better than nothing.¡±


    The ¡°Doctor¡¯s Orders¡± skill was quite reliable. Qi Leren¡¯s bruises on his forehead, the cuts on his arms, and bruises all over his body quickly faded and scabbed over, but it could only reach this level. If he was now suffering from fatal injuries, this skill would be powerless, and would only serve to make him die more slowly at most.


    The wounds healed and the pain eased. Qi Leren waved his arm happily and thanked him. Seeing that Su He was still studying the ashes left by the crazy lady after her death, he asked curiously, ¡°Is there anything wrong?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong, just a little strange. After Dr. Lu burned the Devil¡¯s sacrifice before, the crazy lady didn¡¯t weaken, but became stronger¡­¡± After thinking, Su He said, ¡°It probably caused her madness. At first, her body was hard and it was difficult to hurt her. After burning the sacrifice, her defense and speed dropped sharply. Reusing the ashes left by Luo Xueyi should further stimulate her strength. The attack power and attack means were stronger. This state couldn¡¯t last long.¡±


    Qi Leren scratched his head. Although he¡¯d tried his best to avoid it just now, a few strands of hair were burnt by the fiery rain, giving off an odd smell: "Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t find Xiao Hong¡¯s half-body, otherwise we could have used it¡­ Why did you pull my arm?¡±


    Dr. Lu turned his eyes and pulled his arm to the side: ¡°You can¡¯t see well, get more vitamin A to enhance your night vision.¡±


    Looking in the direction of Dr. Lu¡¯s finger, behind the bush illuminated by a flashlight, Xiao Hong¡¯s half-body was impressively hanging on a big tree, which was very eye-catching.


    Qi Leren was silent.


    ¡°It¡¯s too dark, and it was extremely tense. It¡¯s normal not to notice it,¡± Su He calmly comforted Qi Leren.


    Qi Leren continued to remain silent.


    The three people burned the remaining half of Xiao Hong¡¯s body, and then left the rooftop garden. The time left was running out, so they had to leave the castle quickly to finish the task.


    When they went downstairs, Qi Leren asked, ¡°What¡¯s the completion of our task now?¡±


    ¡°91%,¡± Su He said.


    ¡°Wow, we can get the lucky draw opportunity! More than 90% let¡¯s us randomly draw once! I like it!¡± Dr. Lu got excited.


    ¡°There¡¯s still 9%. Where¡¯s the difference?¡± Qi Leren recalled the plot of the task and felt that they shouldn¡¯t be missing too much.


    Dr. Lu hesitated: ¡°Well, now the story has been mostly explored. A long time ago Sarah fell in love with Johann who was not of noble birth, and Johann married Sarah for some purpose ¡ª maybe emotion or  interest. Sarah found out that her maid Adeline was having an affair with Johann. She secretly killed Adeline and pretended that she had eaten food she was deathly allergic to. No one discovered it was a murder except Mrs. Sarah¡¯s family doctor Flajser. The time frame of the above things is unclear, but they¡¯re generally true. After that, Mrs. Sarah and Mr. Johann came to China for business and built and lived in this castle. In order to avenge Adeline, Dr. Flajser also came to China from Germany. In order to prevent Mrs. Sarah¡¯s genetic disease from being passed on to the next generation, Mr. Johann had been using the method provided by Dr. Flajser to prevent contraception. He instructed his maid Nina to put mercury powder in Mrs. Sarah¡¯s diet. Later, when Nina found out about this. Nina was worried that she was poisoning Mrs. Sarah, so she reduced the dose without authorization. Later, Mrs. Sarah became pregnant. Nina heard the conversation between Dr. Flajser and Mr. Johann, and found that they were going to continue to feed her mercury powder so that Mrs. Sarah would give birth to a deformed fetus and allow it to be killed. Nina was afraid of Mrs Sarah¡¯s genetic disease and caused an accident. Mrs. Sarah fell down the stairs and miscarried. After the miscarriage, Mrs. Sarah¡¯s mental state deteriorated sharply - this may have been Dr Flajser¡¯s doing - and she began to suspect that everything was caused by the dead Adeline¡¯s demons, and the relationship between husband and wife began to break down. Then the Devil bewitched her in the mirror and taught her how to perform the sacrifice. Mrs. Sarah, who loved her husband deeply, sacrificed to the Devil to save his love. However, the sacrifice made her mental illness more and more serious. Until finally, she sacrificed Nina and went completely crazy. Mrs. Sarah, under the control of the Devil, personally killed everyone and set fire to the castle, and the story ended.¡±


    ¡°It sounds like we haven¡¯t missed any important clues.¡± Qi Leren thought that the clues they had were very complete, yet there was still 9% missing.


    Su He analyzed the two in an orderly way: ¡°This degree of completion means that we have completed the main story, and the conclusion of the puzzle is correct, but some clues and evidence are missing. If we must study it deeply, there are three dark lines that we have not excavated. One is about Nina. Her behavior seems reasonable, but it seems strange when you look deeper into it. In order to avoid the genetic disease that would come from Mrs. Sarah giving birth, she chose to force her to miscarry. Didn¡¯t this cause Mrs. Sarah to go crazy? Her original words are also very interesting, ¡®I feel like I must have been persuaded by the Devil¡¯, so we don¡¯t know if she was influenced by the Devil like the crazy lady. Nina¡¯s attitude, which was seen in the phantom when she created the last Devil sacrifice, was also very subtle. She sympathized with the crazy lady and implied guilt, but vaguely, she was also jealous, which was not the emotions that a clever maid should have. At another point, Nina said that since she confessed to Mr. Johann that she had reduced the dosage of mercury powder, this matter was handed over to other maids, and she was also locked up, but after Mrs. Sarah miscarried, went mad, and was locked up in the basement, Nina was still responsible for delivering her food¡­ What did she do to make Johann trust her again?¡±


    Su He stroked the decoration on his walking stick, slowly dissecting the plot, and the details that were excavated by him made others feel uneasy. Qi Leren suddenly thought of a possibility. Nina had pushed the crazy lady down the stairs and caused her to miscarry. Was this really for her? Was it true that this wouldn¡¯t kill two people? Was Nina¡¯s original intention really to help the crazy lady? What exactly did she want to do?


    ¡°The second one is Luo Xueyi. She suddenly appeared on the stairs with the hanging portrait, and died with half of Xiao Hong¡¯s body after setting on fire. She¡¯s even more complicated than Nan Lu, and her behavior is full of metaphors and mysteries. During the period from her disappearance to her self-immolation, we likely missed a lot of her story, which led to a decline in the degree of completion. Finally, there is Dr. Flajser. Don¡¯t forget, there¡¯s no evidence about Dr. Flajser. It¡¯s all based on subjective speculation. We must have missed some evidence that can testify against Dr. Flajser, such as the mercury powder or some hallucinogens left by him somewhere in this castle, and even more letters between him and Mr. Johann.¡±


    Qi Leren thought deeply. The clues about the first two would be hard to find, but there should still be hope of finding Dr. Flajser¡¯s things. Where could they find them? It should¡¯ve been John¡¯s study on the second floor, but he, Dr. Lu and Nan Lu searched the study before. There should be no more clues. Could they find them now? This was the outer world after the fire. Even if there were clues, they probably¡­


    ¡°Go away, you still want to make a 100% clearance? Don¡¯t waste your time, just finish the task quickly.¡± Dr. Lu grabbed Qi Leren who was still thinking and walked him down the stairs.


    ¡°Wait a minute. The keys, give me the keys for the second floor!¡± Qi Leren suddenly remembered something and grabbed Dr. Lu¡¯s shoulder. ¡°No, I don¡¯t need the key. Come with me!¡±


    ¡°Ah? What are you doing?¡± Dr. Lu, who was at a loss, was pulled by Qi Leren and ran to the second floor on the broken floor.


    With the memory of the layout of rooms in the castle, Qi Leren quickly found the room he was looking for. At this moment, all he could think about was what Nina had said when they went to see her for the last time: She sneaked over to the Master¡¯s study to give him a surprise¡­ Then she saw that the Master was looking sorrowfully at Adeline¡¯s picture. I thought she would rush in and scream bloody murder at her husband, just like before, but she didn¡¯t.


    The door opened.


    In the old and dilapidated study, facing the door was the sofa where Nan Lu once sat, and a picture hanging on the wall behind the sofa. The room was not badly burned, and Johann, the handsome man in the portrait, was still faintly visible.


    Qi Leren strode in. This was the only place that could have been seen by the crazy lady standing at the door.


    He carefully took off the picture frame and turned it over. Sure enough, there was a photo behind the frame.


    Qi Leren¡¯s heartbeat suddenly quickened. He vaguely realized that he should have found an important clue. He took a deep breath and took this photo down, turning it over to the front.


    There was only one person in the photo, who looked like a young girl dressed as a maid, smiling at the camera.


    ¡°Is that Adeline?¡± Dr. Lu as he looked at the photo.


    Qi Leren suddenly understood.


    ¡°She has another name.¡± Qi Leren closed his eyes and recalled that girl who solemnly went to the altar of the Devil of Fraud in the cold underground palace.


    ¡°Her name is Isabel, an¡­ excellent witch.¡±


    Adeline, the smiling maid in the photo, overlapped with Isabel, the winner of the Witchcraft Sacrifice.


    This was a story about love, deception, jealousy, and madness. Everyone in the story was lost in their own desires and sins. Whether it was Johann who was fascinated by her, Sarah who was jealous of her, Nina who was incited by her, or Flajser who avenged her, she played with them like marionettes.


    In just the blink of an eye, Isabel, the witch who served the Devil of Fraud, had become a witch who was good at playing with people¡¯s hearts.

 CH 99

    Chapter 99: Slaughter Secret Society (I)


    [Player Qi Leren has completed the Castle Cry task. Mission completion is 95%.]


    [A reward of the base 20 survival days and a bonus of 30 survival days have been given. If the task is over 90% completed, you will be rewarded with a random lottery.]


    [Data synchronization countdown, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, synchronization complete.]


    Qi Leren returned to his home in the Village of Dusk, and the revelation made at the last moment of the mission still remained in his mind, making him shudder. He couldn¡¯t help thinking a lot. Isabel, an NPC serving the Devil of Fraud, had appeared in the task. She or other demons must have interfered with the plot during the time when the task was generated. Although the time span of the plot was very large, it should only take a moment to generate the plot, so there was no conflict in time. But why on earth did they do it?


    The more he thought, the more powerless he felt. He was just an ordinary player who was as fragile as a worm in the face of this huge conspiracy.


    Qi Leren sighed and clicked on this random reward.


    [Countercurrent Sand: You can reset the cooling time of a skill card at will, so that it can be cooled and reused instantly. Remaining uses: 1/1]


    Qi Leren shone at that moment, his originally depressed mood suddenly happy. This disposable prop could come in handy at a critical moment. Even if his S/L skills was still cooling down, as long as he used this hourglass-shaped item, he could instantly reset and reuse it!


    It almost gave him an extra life.


    Combined with the Demon Etiquette and resurrecting egg¡­ His task this time was really rewarding. Could it be that this wasn¡¯t a given, but that his luck had changed?


    It was a pity that the laptop still hadn¡¯t followed him to the Village of Dusk. Qi Leren has made up his mind. In a couple of days, he would go to Chen Baiqi to inquire about the transformer. He intended to take it into his future tasks. He had a feeling that the same thing would happen again sooner or later, and this time, he would come prepared.


    The Castle Cry task has brought great rewards to Qi Leren. With the 50 survival days plus his remaining 50 days and 3 hours, there now was an amazing total of 100 days and 3 hours. Aside from the necessary food expenses, he had nearly three months, and Qi Leren was ready to improve himself rather than hurrying to pick up the next task - his first compulsory task would start in half a month.


    Every player had a mandatory task every month, and the difficulty of the task would become more and more difficult as time went by. But for a newcomer, the difficulty of the mandatory task was simpler than that of the Novice Village. Of course, this was not the kind of deadly Novice Village Qi Leren experienced.


    Two or three months could not be said to be either long nor short. If he trained properly, the primary fighting skills card could be eliminated completely, and a card slot could be saved. Long ago, Su He gave him a dagger - an item card that needed to be inserted into the card slot - but it had been useless because there weren¡¯t enough available card slots, which was really a great waste.


    Before the task ended, the three had agreed to have dinner together tomorrow. Qi Leren looked at the time. Although his mental state wasn¡¯t bad, he¡¯d been running around all night in the castle, so it was better to have a rest first.


    After washing up, Qi Leren got into bed. The Village of Dusk¡¯s unique sun couldn¡¯t be called harsh. After the last time he¡¯d slept, Qi Leren had washed the blankets in his room and watched as the wet sheets dred slowly in the sunset. Now, there was a particularly uncomfortable cold feeling on his body. Even Qi Leren, who didn¡¯t pay much attention to food, clothing, housing, and transportation, felt uncomfortable. With dissatisfaction about the blankets, Qi Leren turned over and fell asleep.


    In his dream, Qi Leren stood in a sea of stars, and he was as humble and small as dirt in the vast universe.


    Not far away, a chair floated in the vacuum, and Miao Li sat in this chair and turned over the books on her knees. As if feeling his arrival, Miao Li looked up and pushed her glasses: ¡°Good evening. Although I didn¡¯t want to let you start the task so soon, it was a rare opportunity. We decided to act in advance.¡±


    Qi Leren gave her a calm look, pulled up his own chair, and sat down. ¡°Something happened with the Slaughter Secret Society?¡±


    ¡°Bingo.¡± Miao Li snapped. ¡°Let¡¯s briefly talk about the cause of the incident. We caught the Slaughter Society¡¯s branch leader who ran the Twilight Township. This is really a big fish.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve caught the key figure, what else do you need me to do?¡± A foreboding came to Qi Leren¡¯s mind. He felt that he was going to have to put up with a great ordeal!


    Miao Li sighed: ¡°Then he died. Died of a seed¡¯s outbreak.¡±


    ¡°So?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start from the beginning, starting with the secret organization of the Slaughter Secret Society. The Village of Dusk is under the control of the Court, so in the Village of Dusk, the Slaughter Secret Society¡¯s division is very low-key and hidden. They have no fixed stronghold, all members contact and communicate under false names and identities, secretly develop players, and regularly perform some special tasks. Their interior is even chaotic and ununited, just like raising a donkey. Only the best ones will be favored by the Devil of Slaughter and become its followers, while the rest are just sad victims,¡± Miao Li said.


    "No one¡¯s betrayed them? Haven¡¯t you bought some informants?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    Miao Li gave him an appreciative look. ¡°We want to do this, but there¡¯s one big problem. The inheritance of the seeds of slaughter is similar to that of a blood clan. The person who holds the seed will spread it to new people through ceremonies and become their ¡®guide¡¯. At the inheritance ceremony, the party implanted with the seed of slaughter will swear allegiance to the Devil of Slaughter, and this loyalty is a kind of contract that cannot be betrayed. Once the betrayal begins, the seed will quickly erupt, causing the parasitized person to die.¡±


    Qi Leren resisted the impulse to touch the seed and said coldly, ¡°This is why you chose me? Because I was accidentally infected, instead of getting the seed through this ritual?¡±


    ¡°This is a very important reason,¡± Miao Li laughed. ¡°Though it¡¯s not the only one. The believers in each branch will choose a holder who wears a token ring, and this ring is attached to a field given by the Devil of Slaughter¡­ ¡±


    ¡°A field?!¡± Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help crying out.


    Miao Li raised her eyebrows. "It seems that you know something about fields.¡±


    Qi Leren didn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°But it¡¯s just a semi-finished product, you can understand it as a portable space, because this field is attached to the pledge with the Devil of Slaughter rather than the holder themselves. So it¡¯s just a semi-finished product, which is worse than the general half-field, because it has no hope of completion. But the holder can use it to summon believers belonging to their branch to execute the Devil of Slaughter¡¯s orders and become their leader.¡± Miao Li changed her sitting position and looked at Qi Leren with her cheeks in her hands. ¡°You seem to have something to say?¡±


    Qi Leren shook his head and calmly said: ¡°I¡¯ve heard people talk about things to do with fields before¡­ Since you¡¯ve caught the Slaughter Societ¡¯s branch leader, shouldn¡¯t he have a token ring for that field?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, with his death, this ring returned to the hands of the ring-bearer. Now, they¡¯re ready to elect a new ring-bearer. Every believer of the Devil of Slaughter is qualified to participate in the selection. Everyone has a choice.¡± Miao Li¡¯s smile was subtle. She looked at Qi Leren deeply, and seemed to examine which step he would take.


    ¡°So you want me to blend in with them and find a way to become the holder for this branch?¡± Qi Leren suddenly felt a sense of absurdity. ¡°Do you think I can?¡±


    ¡°You can. Because we have an excellent identity for you to take,¡± Miao Li grinned.


    Qi Leren¡¯s eyes went wide. He had a very bad feeling.


    ¡°We will train you in ten days¡­ All kinds of training. Do well, I wish you good luck.¡±


    &&&


    A heavy rain began to fall in the Village of Dusk, which was shrouded in sunset all year round.


    The bean-sized raindrops hit the hidden alleys paved in cobblestones, splashing the rushing rain, and the noisy falling rain enveloped people¡¯s five senses in the water vapor, making other sounds dull and distant. Even the roar of machines that continue day and night were covered by the thick curtain in the heavy rain.


    It was as dark as midnight, and the street lamps at the corner couldn¡¯t illuminate past seven or eight meters. In this dark corner, a burst crash of struggle came, surprising the birds who were sheltering under the eaves. The smell belonging to demons invaded this hidden corner, and the raging seed of slaughter died down with the host¡¯s exhaustion after an outbreak.


    The battle soon ended, and nothing happened in the rain.


    ¡°Report: caught a believer of the Devil of Slaughter,¡± the executive of the Trails Office reported into a walkie-talkie as he stepped on the back of the teenager he¡¯d knocked to the ground.


    From the other end of the intercom came Al¡¯s lazy voice: ¡°Bring them back alive.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The executive turned off the walkie-talkie and kicked the teenager who had fainted. The person on the ground didn¡¯t move. After the seed¡¯s outbreak, he had fallen into a weak state and almost fainted.


    The executive slammed his mouth and rudely picked him up by his neck¡­ Blood flowed down from the teenager¡¯s abdomen, and was quickly washed away by the rain. The teenager showed an expression of pain on his childish face and looked at the executive imploringly.


    ¡°Name?¡± the executive asked him.


    ¡°¡­¡± The boy didn¡¯t speak. He¡¯d concluded that he couldn¡¯t escape, and despair had defeated his nerves.


    ¡°Speak!¡± The executive lifted his foot and hit his wound with his knee. The teenager let out a scream and began to cry, letting out sobs.


    ¡°Useless thing.¡± The executive spat, tied his hand, and dragged him toward the Trail Office¡¯s ship.


    In the dark, the rainstorm became more and more rampant, and the sound of rain made the executive¡¯s hearing drop badly. His ears were filled with the cries of the teenager, upsetting him. He stared at the teenager and shouted, ¡°Cry, cry, cry, you fart! Are you a pussy?!¡±


    The teenager was frightened and muttered, "But I¡¯m hurt¡­¡±


    The executive was about to say something when his lips suddenly stopped.


    His expression was so startled, even at a loss. He turned his head in disbelief in the heavy rain, but this action accelerated his death. After a dull crash, he was kicked out like a broken kite, collapsing in the rain, and blood poured out from his back, splashing into the puddles with his heartbeat, like a bloody spring.


    The boy collapsed to the ground in shock, even forgetting to cry. He looked at the man wearing a cloak and hood, a dagger dripping with blood in his hand. He didn¡¯t know when this man had appeared. He was just as powerful as the executive who he hadn¡¯t been able to defeat, who was killed silently by the dagger¡­


    ¡°Useless thing.¡± The man hiding under the cloak mockingly repeated what the executive had said before he died. Who could say whether he was laughing at the teenager on the ground or the dead executive.


    It¡¯s amazing. Although the voice is a bit feminine, it¡¯s still cool!


    The teenagers stared in worship at this mysterious master who was like a visitor in the night. At this time, he even forgot his pain.


    ¡°Go, more dogs from the Trials Court will come,¡± the mysterious master said coldly.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Oh oh! Thank you, senior! Thank you!¡± The teenager gained a second wind in front of this person, excited.


    Qi Leren pulled down the hood of his cloak and quietly looked at the teenager in front of him.


    Everything was going well, and then¡­


    [Rain-Day Laundry: At present, the remaining sensing times are 2/3.]


    Shit!


    Qi Leren¡¯s head was about to explose, and he instinctively completed a save at the critical juncture. Almost at the same time, a silver arrow shot through Qi Leren¡¯s back.


    The save point was just under his feet. The Qi Leren who loaded the file and resurrected heard a crisp sound in his ears, and the arrow that had lost its targets fell to the ground. Fortunately, he escaped.


    Qi Leren turned his body in a hurry, and the rushing rain whirled and flew out. Under the distant and dim street lamp, a figure waved at him with a short knife. The figure was as fast as lightning, and the blade was about to pierce him. At the moment, the man suddenly realized something, suddenly pulled back, and forcefully reversed the direction the short knife swung in. The sharp blade flashed a silver-gray arc in the rainy night, dazzling like a meteor.


    The knife¡¯s afterimage passed over the tip of Qi Leren¡¯s nose, and cut down his cloak vertically. Qi Leren fell back onto the ground, splashing water. He was like a survivor who jumped off the tracks at the last second before a train came, looking up at the threat in shock - and he saw those unforgettable blue eyes.


    In the forest, in the underground palace, in the cemetery, in the castle, in the dream¡­ Qi Leren had recalled these eyes countless times, but never thought that they would meet by chance in this way.


    The same emotion called consternation appeared in the eyes of the two people caught off guard.


    The buckle of the cloak was split by the knife, and the hood fell off. The rain-soaked cloak slid down heavily along the curves of his shoulders, revealing the man Adam¡¯s apple and clavicle. The neckline of the shirt under the cloak was opened almost to the belly, and vast areas of skin were exposed, and the hem was so short, revealing the navel¡­ Ning Zhou¡¯s gaze was quickly pulled away as if he had been burned, falling back to his face.


    It was a young face, obviously so familiar, but the eyeliner, red eye shadow, and heart-shaped tattoo made the face from his memory so strange.


    Ning Zhou looked at him, stupefied, as the knife in his hands stayed at his throat. One standing and one sitting, looking at each other silently. There, they stagnated under the dim street lamp, becoming an oil painting with light opposing shadow.


    The heavy rain didn¡¯t stop.

 CH 100

    Chapter 100: Slaughter Secret Society (II)


    The teenager who fell to the ground was already stunned.


    A few meters away from him, the cold man with blue eyes stood in the rain, and the knife in his hand pointed to the mysterious master who had just assassinated the executive. One of them stood in the light of the street lamp, and the other sat in the shadow, as if they were born against each other.


    However, their eyes were filled with similar surprise.


    Did they know each other? The questioning teenager even forgot the dangerous situation he was presently in, and forgot the pain from his wound. He just stared at the two men.


    There was a loud roar, and a mass of black smoke wrapped the two men. Before the smoke dispersed, the young man only felt something tighten around waist and was pull up from the ground. The man who saved him seemed to throw something like a hook and took him over the wall of the alley. When he landed, he stumbled because of the weight of the second man.


    The mysterious master was familiar with the nearby terrain, and he could skillfully use the terrain to bypass the pursuer with an injured person. Before long, the teenager passed out from blood loss.


    Qi Leren was relieved as he carried his unconscious goal in his arms.


    The destination was just around the corner. Qi Leren was carrying a living person weighing more than 100 kilograms. If the Court hadn¡¯t lent him a few skill cards, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to move himself let alone another person. It would be too abnormal for him to pass as a mysterious master.


    Entering the house, Qi Leren threw the person on the sofa, found the medicine cabinet, and sewed him up simply and crudely. After making sure the person wouldn¡¯t die, he was relieved. He sat down on the sofa heedless of being soaked and began to sort out his course of action.


    Kuangshan* (an alias), male, 32 years old, died quickly after being captured by the Trial¡¯s Office. He was the holder of the Slaughter Secret Society¡¯s Twilight Township branch, and also the¡­ lover of the character Qi Leren was playing at this time.


    *{E/N: ¡°Crazy Mountain¡±}


    Yes, Kuangshan was a homosexual, and his private life was very chaotic. It was normal to have several lovers who weren¡¯t known by members of the Slaughter Secret Society.


    In order to fit the character type of Kuangshan¡¯s lover, he was made into this horror! Low-cut crop top! Leather pants that were so low as to show the Adonis belt! Ghost-like (waterproof) eyeliner and eyeshadow! With a glance at his tattoo, one could tell that this was not a good man! In order to make him look like a queen, the Court also taught him how to change his voice! How to walk the catwalk!


    Dark lines covered Qi Leren¡¯s forehead. He wanted to finish this secret mission immediately and abolish this gay persona, killing it so that people wouldn¡¯t discover this dark history of his, but the timing was bad. Just as he made his debut, Ning Zhou saw this person who was neither man nor ghost.


    At the thought of Ning Zhou¡¯s shocked expression when he saw him, Qi Leren only felt that his pores were going to explode.


    What would Ning Zhou think? Would he think he really was a pervert?


    Qi Leren looked at the ceiling above his heads as if he was dying. When he fled with the smoke-fog-bomb just now, he obviously felt that Ning Zhou was deliberately letting him slip away, otherwise it would be impossible for the smoke-fog-bomb and rain to stop Ning Zhou¡¯s tracking¡­ At the beginning, the arrow had almost killed him. At that time, Ning Zhou thought he was a devil worshipper who attacked the Court executive. However, when the arrow that shot him fell to the ground because of his load, Ning Zhou quickly recognized who he was, so he had cut him some slack¡­


    The assassination of the Court¡¯s executive officer to save the teenager was a good show played by Qi Leren and the executive. Everything had been going well. After the Court¡¯s executive officer faked his death, he escaped with his target. Who knew that he would meet Ning Zhou passing by? It could only be said that this was an embarrassing coincidence.


    Qi Leren stood up and went to the window to look out.


    Heavy, pattering rain flowed down from the windowsill earnestly, a chain of beads hanging onto the window. In the quiet Twilight Township, the lights were like fishing fires on the sea. Qi Leren¡¯s line of site suddenly settled, and he stared stupefied at the distant street lamp emitting yellow light in the rain, and the black figure under that street lamp.


    Qi Leren suspected that he was wrong, so he blinked hard. When he looked there again, the figure was gone.


    Qi Leren rubbed his eyes again, but no one was there under the light.


    Was it an illusion? Qi Leren thought for a moment and immediately denied this judgment.


    He believes his own eyes.


    Maybe that was the person in charge of supervising him, or maybe¡­


    Qi Leren¡¯s hand held the windowsill, and a kind of unutterable melancholy stagnated in his heart. He vaguely felt that the figure should be Ning Zhou, and he had been following behind them, but he didn¡¯t come out to stop his actions in the end.


    Maybe the people from the Court had already contacted him. They should tell him that this was a special operation, and the misunderstanding would be solved naturally. Thinking this, Qi Leren had a light feeling of relief. Although he still had to act as this embarrassing fake identity for a while, he finally didn¡¯t have to be regarded as a pervert by Ning Zhou. This was really great¡­


    Under the street lamp at the corner, Ning Zhou, who had been hidden in the darkness, leaned against the wall. The rain poured down, his coat already soaked through, but he seemed not to notice. The black bird that was stopped on the eaves cried and, in answer, Ning Zhou looked up and looked at the corner.


    A casually dressed executive, Al, came to him through the rain. After reaching him, he stopped and looked at the window with the lights on. His usual loose tone was hard to dignify: ¡°Fortunately, you didn¡¯t break it. You almost ruined the big event.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Ning Zhou frowned. The scene in the rainstorm just now had a great impact on him - not only because of Qi Leren¡¯s costume. When he remembered that he had almost accidentally killed Qi Leren again just now, he became uneasy. If Qi Leren¡¯s reaction had been slower at that time¡­ Ning Zhou didn¡¯t even dare to think about it.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say, you can ask the Boss later,¡± Al said.


    Ning Zhou stood up straight, looked back at the window, and whistled. The big black bird passed under the eaves, stopped on his shoulder, and disappeared into the night with him.


    Inside the house.


    There were low sounds of pain from the sofa. Qi Leren took a deep breath several times, made psychological preparations, and began to enter the performance state. He lit a cigarette - one of his newly learned skills from the past ten days - and slowly walked to the sofa, leaned down, and blew a mouthful of smoke on the injured boy.


    The half-conscious boy suddenly sucked in a mouthful of smoke and coughed. He woke up in tears from the pain of the newly sewed wound, groaning while twitching. The pain made him want to faint again.


    The teenager who woke up saw a sleazy young man sitting on the opposite end of the single-person sofa, smoking a cigarette carelessly, squinting his eyes. For a man, the voice that was too feminine sounding, soft was sultry. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that I had been away from the Village of Dusk long enough for the Devil of Slaughter¡¯s believers to have already devolved into this.¡±


    The boy turned pale and didn¡¯t dare to look at him. He muttered, ¡°Thanks to your ancestors¡­ Thank you for saving me¡­¡±


    The man sitting on the sofa changed his posture, putting his feet on the armrest of his sofa and smoking lazily: ¡°What¡¯s your name? Who¡¯s your guide?¡±


    The teenager snuck a glance at him, and was caught by the man¡¯s smiling eyes. He immediately lowered his eyes and said obediently, ¡°My name is Assi, and I¡¯m a child of Mrs. Kathleen.¡±


    ¡°Hm? Kathleen? An NPC or a player?¡± the mysterious man asked idly.


    ¡°The Mrs. is an NPC.¡± Assi seems to be in awe of her. His tone was very respectful, tinged with a hint of fear.


    ¡°Who is the acting leader here now?¡± the mysterious man asked again.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ Mr. Lie Yang. Since the death of Mr. Kuangshan, he¡¯s been responsible for the branch. In a few days, the succession selection ceremony will be opened, and Mr. Lie Yang should be able to obtain the position of the holder,¡± Assi said truthfully.


    The mysterious man chuckled: ¡°That may not be true.¡±


    Assi looked at him for a while in wait, waiting for him to explain.


    ¡°Because there are always uninvited people who ruin other people¡¯s good things, such as¡­ this lady who came late at night?¡± The mysterious man lifted his face and glanced at the closed door.


    A woman¡¯s light laughter came from outside the door, and the door was pushed open. A well-dressed young woman put away her dripping umbrella and looked at the two people in the room with a smile: ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to meet you in the rain. Such a beautiful young gentleman, it¡¯s a pity that we haven¡¯t met before. How should I call you?¡±


    Assi looked at Mrs. Kathleen and snuck a look at the mysterious man on the sofa.


    He slowly pressed out the cigarette butt, and his slender fingers touched the red tattoo on the corner of his eye, as if remembering something. His mouth curled into a seductive arch: ¡°My name is Red. Blood Red.¡±

 CH 101

    Chapter 101: Slaughter Secret Society (III)


    ¡°Red? What a beautiful name.¡± Mrs. Kathleen chuckled and looked at Red who sprawled lazily. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re not a resident of the Village of Dusk, are you?¡±


    Red¡¯s feminine voice joined the sounds of the rain falling on the window panes: ¡°Of course, I¡¯ve been wandering in the Underground Ant City for a long time and I rarely come here, but I almost forgot the Village of Dusk¡¯s scenery.¡±


    ¡°Underground Ant City.¡± Mrs. Kathleen¡¯s expression was stiff for a moment, and her red eyes changed. ¡°I heard that that place is adjacent to Purgatory, where humans and demons live together, and there is no sun all the year round. Every month, irrational low-level demons form devil tides, and it¡¯s disordered and dangerous. Is this so?¡±


    Red laughed lowly, gorgeous and delicate eyebrows exuded terrifying charm in the dim light. With his laughter, a demon energy that would never be mistaken spread in the house. The mysterious man sitting on the sofa opened his eyes again. His original brown eyes became scarlet, and his red lips showed sharp canine teeth. The signs of a demon gradually emerged on his pale skin, making the unusual young man become a succubus!


    Assi, who was still lying on the sofa, almost jumped up. He looked at Mrs. Kathleen with trepidation, only to find that his guide¡¯s reaction was not much better than his. No one would mistake the obvious surprise on Mrs. Kathleen¡¯s face.


    Demonization, which was a sign that a player had completely entered the demon camp, had many methods. For example, worshippers of the Devil of Slaughter had the opportunity to be selected as servants after being favored by the Devil, and they were transformed from human beings to demons under the Devil¡¯s power, which was a secret of the Slaughter Secret Society. Although ordinary people¡¯s long-term exposure to demon energy would also lead to demonization, this demonization would only turn people into irrational low-level demons, which was far from true demonization.


    Therefore, when she saw the demonized Red, Mrs. Kathleen¡¯s first reaction was that this man was already a close confidant of the Devil of Slaughter.


    ¡°I heard that Kuangshan died?¡± the man under the demon¡¯s spell asked lazily with his cheeks propped up with his hands, ignoring the two people¡¯s surprise.


    ¡°¡­Yes, yes. The token ring automatically came to one of our agent¡¯s hands, and the only possibility was that Kuangshan died. We suspect that he fell into the hands of the Court and was killed by the seed of slaughter.¡± Mrs Kathleen¡¯s momentary surprise had faded away. She put down her umbrella, made a curtsy to Red, and sat gracefully beside her subordinate.


    ¡°What a pity¡­ He was really a very good lover.¡± Red stroked his bright red lips, revealing the charming smile unique to a succubus. ¡°I liked him very much.¡±


    When Mrs. Kathleen¡¯s eyes lit up, she guessed vaguely why this man named Red had come. She expressed regret for the death of Kuangshan, and then said: ¡°A new selection ceremony will be held in another week. The agent Lie Yang is confident in taking over the Slaughter Secret Society. I think you* are more qualified.¡±


    *{E/N: Respectful form of ¡°you¡±}


    ¡°Well? The Killing Secret Society¡­ I¡¯ve been away from the Slaughter Secret Society in the Underground Ant City for many years. I was alone in Purgatory and interacting with demons. Kuangshan sometimes came to me, and I would also go to him. Hmm¡­ That was a really happy time.¡± The tip of Red¡¯s tongue passed over his lip, leaving a wet mark of color and desire. He said silently, ¡°Since this is the place where he was in charge, I have no reason to let it fall into the hands of others. Agent Lie Yang? Oh, I will compete fairly with him.¡±


    Mrs. Kathleen smiled. ¡°I¡¯m happy to be your reference.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you down,¡± Red said lightly. There was no color of gratitude.


    Mrs Kathleen was satisfied. She knew that once Red became the Slaughter Secret Society¡¯s keeper for the Village of Dusk, as the person who recommended him, she would surely get enough benefits. Red also needed someone to recommend him, otherwise he would not be able to enter the field to attend the selection ceremony.


    Two people with ulterior motives smiled at one another, tacitly.


    ¡°I will have a small party with my subordinates tomorrow night. We will look forward to your arrival,¡± Mrs. Kathleen invited Red before leaving. Assi, who stood firm against the wall after covering his wound, looked at the mysterious Red with trepidation, and his pale face was slightly red.


    Red nodded carelessly, so Mrs. Kathleen left with Assi, satisfied.


    When the door was closed, Qi Leren slumped into the sofa, relieved. The switch symbolizing acting skills in his mind immediately turned off. He changed from the mysterious and enchanting Red to his normal self. He looked back over the conversation with Mrs. Kathleen just now, and confirmed that he didn¡¯t show any flaws. He went to the bathroom, humming cheerfully.


    In the bathroom mirror, he was still dressed as ¡°Red¡±, and obviously showed demonization, but without the lazy and enchanting temperament he now seemed to only have a sense of disobedience. If you insisted on describing it, it was probably a sheep in a fox¡¯s clothing. He had protested against the demon crystal being that of a succubus, but the Trails Office thought that it was beneficial for him to distinguish himself from Red¡¯s role and also suitable for Red¡¯s identity, so finally he compromised.


    Maybe he really had inherited his mother¡¯s talent in this respect. Miao Li had been deeply shocked when she examined his acting skills. Interestingly, after she learned the stage name of Qi Leren¡¯s mother, she solemnly said that if she could leave the Nightmare World one day, she must visit his mother and ask for an autograph because she had grown up watching her works.


    Qi Leren, who was tortured to death by Miao Li, had had a complicated mood.


    In order not to accelerate the seed of slaughter¡¯s growth, Qi Leren couldn¡¯t maintain demonization with ¡°Devil Etiquette¡± for a long time. He really was more suitable to be a good man, Qi Leren thought.


    His clothes were still wet, and by now they had half dried from his body temperature. Qi Leren took off his coat and was about to take off his low-waisted leather pants when a figure suddenly appeared in the mirror, scaring him into letting out a cry and bumping into the washstand. The bottles and cans on the counter suddenly staggered.


    The person who jumped in from the open window obviously didn¡¯t expect this to be the bathroom, let alone to suddenly encounter the half-naked Qi Leren, and quickly turned his back to him. Qi Leren put his clothes back on in a panic - the neckline was still so low, the hem was still so short. Wearing it was worse than not wearing it!


    Qi Leren covered his forehead in despair and said weakly, ¡°I can explain¡­¡±


    From outside the window came the voice of the big black bird: ¡°Explanation is cover-up.¡±


    Ning Zhou still stood with his back turned, and the rain dripped from his coat. The slender and straight back was unexpectedly embarrassed: ¡°You don¡¯t have to say¡­¡±


    Qi Leren opened his mouth in a panic, but he didn¡¯t know what to say. He only heard Ning Zhou¡¯s low voice in the narrow bathroom: ¡°I understand.¡±


    He understands? Qi Leren looked at Ning Zhou in surprise, his gaze burning. Ning Zhou stood for half a minute and suddenly said quickly, ¡°It¡¯s very dangerous, you should be careful.¡± After that, he jumped out of the open window. By the time Qi Leren came to the window, Ning Zhou had disappeared like a gust of wind.


    The big black bird standing outside the window looked at him. The black bird honked and flapped its wings, flying into the rain.


    Qi Leren, who hadn¡¯t had time to explain a word, was saved by the oncoming rain. In the end, he didn¡¯t understand what Ning Zhou was doing in such a hurry. Was it just to explain that he didn¡¯t misunderstand him and then remind him to be careful?


    I always feel that it¡¯s more difficult to understand the goddess now that she¡¯s changed back to a male god, Qi Leren thought blankly. He took off his clothes and continued the interrupted washing process.


    Outside in a dark corner, Al silently watched the drenched Ning Zhou disappear from sight again. Later there came Miao Li¡¯s voice gloating in the walkie talkie, telling him how Ning Zhou just drove the airship to the court and went straight to the Boss¡¯s office. After he left, the Boss asked his people to clean up his most cherished tea set that he ¡°slipped¡± and broke.


    ¡°There aren¡¯t enough people these days, yet you have to bother to look after the ¡®bait¡¯. The fewer people who know about this plan, the safer it is. There¡¯s really no way to entrust it to others. I should be able to take over for you tomorrow,¡± Miao Li said from the walkie talkie.


    ¡°Ah¡­ It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Al leaned against the wall and looked at the curtain of rain under the street lamp. ¡°I think someone would be happy to be a free labor force.¡±


    The light in the second floor window went out, and the person in the room should have gone to sleep. Al glanced at the man hiding in the shadows again, and it was inevitable that there was a little confusion: How did these two people know each other?

 CH 102

    Chapter 102: Slaughter Secret Society (IV)


    {cw: sexual stereotyping}


    When the rain stopped the next day, Qi Leren, who had been exercising at home for half a day, received a banquet invitation from a bat sent by Mrs. Kathleen. Qi Leren put the invitation letter in his inventory and went into the bathroom with deep pain - the make-up.


    Yes, this was also a new skill he had mastered in ten days. Except for the red tattoo on the corner of his eye, which was painted with special material and had to be erased with special chemicals, all the other dressings have to be prepared by himself. Of course, these styles were all designed by the Trials Office, and strived to make anyone think at first sight that he was a gay man with a good ¡°yooooo¡± aesthetic.


    Qi Leren did not protest against this, but he insisted that a person¡¯s sexual orientation could not be judged from his appearance. Even if he was dressed in a straight style, it didn¡¯t mean that his sexual orientation was straight. However, the court rejected his opinion, and their purpose was to make him look like a gay man. As for whether he was or not, the Court indicated that they couldn¡¯t control him.


    Half an hour later, Qi Leren looked at his unrecognizable self in the mirror and felt melancholy.


    Although make-up was a good skill to have, a man doing it would be treated as a pervert¡­


    After finishing crossdressing, Qi Leren finally examined himself in front of the mirror. Today¡¯s clothes weren¡¯t low-necked and open-navel, but it looked strange after being accessorized with a collar. It was like going to an S&M party with a whip tied around the waist.


    Qi Leren repeatedly hypnotized himself. Right now he was Red, not Qi Leren, so he walked out of the house with his head held high. Of course, in order to keep a low profile, he still put on his cloak.


    On the way to the party, Qi Leren vaguely felt that someone seemed to be following him, probably from the Court, but he didn¡¯t care. Soon he came to the place written on the invitation letter.


    The present destination seemed to be a small bar, which was located in the area of the Twilight Township where most NPCs were concentrated. The handsome waiter outside the door asked him if he had an invitation letter, and after seeing the invitation letter sandwiched between Qi Leren¡¯s fingers, he greeted him respectfully.


    The feeling of being followed disappeared, and Qi Leren followed the waiter through the lively dance floor and walked into a quiet corridor.


    ¡°Keep walking along the hall, there is a door at the end, and someone will show you the way,¡± said the waiter.


    Qi Leren snorted lightly, stuffed the common currency used between NPCs in Nightmare World into the waiter¡¯s collar, and whispered in his ear lightly: ¡°Thank you for guiding me, baby.¡±


    The waiter turned red, and some took a step back in a panic. He bowed and left under the teasing gaze of Qi Leren. The speed was much faster than when he came, for fear of losing his virginity if he took a slow step.


    Qi Leren¡¯s ¡°evil charm smile¡± had already reached an advanced level in the business of flirting with straight men, and he walked slowly to the waiter at the end of the corridor¡­ Well, he had already seen the waiter opposite¡¯s face pale. Good, it seemed that this was also a straight man, easy to flirt with.


    ¡°It¡¯s fun to flirt with straight men¡± ¡ª¡ªBY Qi Leren, who was having bitter fun.


    After walking to the waiter and speaking flirtily, Qi Leren smoothly entered the space hidden in the bar¡¯s basement. After the humble door was opened, mirrors and masks were hung on both sides of the wall behind the door. Each mask was beautifully decorated, looking gorgeous and elegant. Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help but pay more attention to it.


    ¡°Are you Mr. Red? Welcome, welcome.¡± Assi, the young man who had been saved by Qi Leren, came out from the corner and spoke with awe and excitement.


    After being rescued by Red yesterday, Assi has been thinking about this mysterious predecessor, and he was also very concerned about the man who¡¯d played against Red. He vaguely felt that there was some kind of entanglement between them. After he told Mrs. Kathleen about it, Mrs. Kathleen just smiled and touched his cheek, saying that she also liked to play with the hierophants of the Holy See. Somehow, Assi¡¯s heart was full of acidity.


    Across from him Red nodded lightly, not caring about his complicated mood.


    Assi took a masquerade mask off from the wall and put it on his face: ¡°Mr. Red should also choose one. Our party is a masquerade, and everyone will be wearing a mask.¡±


    With that said, he secretly looked at the side of Red¡¯s face. He still looked so cold, but so charming, the delicate side of his face and that red tattoo in the yellow light filling him with a sense of colourful desire. With a smile on his face, he squinted at him, and his vapid, feminine voice sounded, ¡°Oh? Why don¡¯t you choose for me?¡±


    Assi¡¯s face turned red and he felt overwhelmed under Red¡¯s gaze, and even the wound from being stabbed by the Trail didn¡¯t hurt.


    ¡°I¡­ I think this one is very nice and suitable for you, predecessor,¡± Assi said pointing to one of the masks.


    The mask was a half-piece, covering only the upper half of the face and covered with golden wire-drawing. There were two bright red patterns at the position of the tear groove, just like two tears, and the corner of the mask had a moon-like arc, just to reveal the tattoo on his face.


    Red stretched out his hand and took the mask off the wall, putting it on his face. The silver mask made him mysterious and elegant, while the tattoo exposed in the hollow part added a few charm points to him. He looked in the mirror on the wall for a while narcissistically, then turned to Assi and said, ¡°You have a good eye.¡±


    ¡°Predecessor is the one who¡¯s won the prize.¡±


    Assi, who bowed his head as he spoke, suddenly saw a white and beautiful hand appear in front of his eyes. The slender index finger lifted his chin. He raised his face in panic and saw Red¡¯s face close to his. The half-mask covered his upper face, but it highlighted the charming curve of his bright red lips. He was so close that he almost touched the tip of Assi¡¯s nose.


    ¡°Don¡¯t waste me saving your life. So¡­ How are you going to repay me?¡± Red whispered in his ear.


    Assi¡¯s comely face suddenly rose with crimson, and he glanced at Red in a panic, and then, under his smiling gaze, he closed his eyes tightly, with a shy appearance allowing this to continue.


    ¡°¡­¡± Play, play it off!


    Qi Leren growled in his heart, and stood stiffly in the same place, lying in the trough, talking about a good straight man! He¡¯s a straight man pretending to be gay, and of course he only goes after straight men! What¡¯s wrong with you, you little gay! He¡¯d only done this twice yet already gotten caught by it?! People shouldn¡¯t respond this well!


    Assi, who didn¡¯t wait for the kiss, secretly opened his eyes. The mysterious man who hooked his chin smiled lightly and bit him full on the earlobe: ¡°You¡¯re so cute.¡±


    With that said, Red stepped back and blew him a kiss, swaying into the underground corridor.


    Assi gawked at his back, and the earlobe he¡¯d bitten was burning hot. He didn¡¯t know what was wrong with him. Obviously he only liked women, but it was as if he¡¯d been poisoned when he saw how attractive and charming the predecessor Red was. Even if he was a man, his heart beat faster for him.


    Was it because the predecessor Red had saved him that he had that kind of nestling complex?


    Assi shook his head to dismiss the blushing thoughts and quickly chased after him.


    The low-key bronze door opened, loud music suddenly burst out, and gorgeous lights lit the basement, illuminating the room full of men and women having fun. Mrs. Kathleen, draped in tulle and leaning against the Roman column by the door, wore a feather mask and held a glass of bright wine. She showed a charming smile to Red as he stood at the door: ¡°Welcome to our carnival feast. Have fun.¡±


    After Red paused, he looked around at the men and women who were dressed revealingly and whispered, ¡°My pleasure.¡±


    In fact, at this moment, Qi Leren¡¯s heart was broken: Hello, is this 110? Someone here is having a divine feast of the body, gathering people to have sex and wreak chaos. Come and save me!!!

 CH 103

    Chapter 103: Slaughter Secret Society (IV)


    {cw: slight nsfw, sexual harrassment - I¡¯ve marked the start and end of the scene in question with ++ and included a summary at the end if you wish to skip this.}


    Help: How do I pretend to be a gay man without moral integrity but keep my moral integrity at a hedonistic party? Urgent, online, etc.


    Answer: Hold steady first, then look for straight men to flirt with.


    Qi Leren, who had made up his mind, calmly talked and laughed with Mrs. Kathleen. Obviously, when straight women and gay men know each other¡¯s orientation well, neither side will be too distracted. Qi Leren felt that this was probably called courtesy-flirting.


    Fortunately, the bottom line of Mrs. Kathleen¡¯s moral integrity was still there, and the communication between them was limited to courtesy-flirting instead of courtesy-sex. She quickly recommended her male subordinates to Qi Leren, and showed him her ¡°goods¡± in a row like a salesman.


    The utterly hopeless Qi Leren looked at the group of coquettish men despairingly.


    He, absolutely, did, not, want, to, go, one, round, with, men!


    ¡°Most of my subordinates like women, and these are not exclusive to men. Don¡¯t you like them?¡± Kathleen always paid attention to Red¡¯s face. Although he kept smiling, he was always absent-minded and seemed to be not interested in her subordinates.


    Assi looked at Red nervously. The mask covered half of his face, revealing his deep red lips. He took a sip of wine and pointed towards a pair of men and women in the corner who were exchanging life experiences fiercely. ¡°Is that man your subordinate too?¡±


    Mrs. Kathleen looked intently and smiled softly, ¡°Oh, Sid? He¡¯s the lover of a female subordinate. Apart from his body, there¡¯s really nothing commendable. If you insist on me saying it, his performance in bed is fine. Are you interested?¡±


    Red¡¯s mouth hooked up, and he lifted Mrs. Kathleen¡¯s hand and dropped a kiss on it. ¡°Thank you for your recommendation.¡±


    With this, he left Mrs. Kathleen and a melancholy Assi, and walked to the corner with the light gait of a cat.


    The whole party scene is full of unpleasant smells, the smell of wine, smoke, and various drugs all mixed together, making people indulge in desire, and the crazy music was earth-shattering. Young men and women dancing on the dance floor got carried away, and the pressure of survival was forgotten. They indulged in passion and unscrupulous actions.


    It was sad and pathetic.


    Obviously, there was lively music everywhere, and there were people who had fun everywhere, but at this moment standing in the crowd, Qi Leren felt very lonely.


    After all, this wasn¡¯t a place where he should stay. He had to find a way to get away without being noticed¡­


    He vowed to force himself to keep his eyes open to the end, mind over matter.


    ¡°It¡¯s the most pleasing thing in life to light a cigarette afterwards.¡± A mysterious man dressed in a mask sat down beside Sid. Sid, who was entering the sage time*, paused. Instead, his female companion gave a charming smile and moved to kiss the mysterious man in front of her.


    *{E/N: ¡°sage time¡± means being post-orgasm. I¡¯m pretty sure the implication is that Sid and this girl just got off together.}


    A slender finger touched her lipstick-covered lips to stop her: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, madam, I¡¯m not interested in women.¡±


    The woman rolled her eyes, picked up the clothes that had fallen on the ground and put them on her body, and walked away without looking back.


    Sid, who¡¯d been abandoned by his female companion, looked at the mysterious man warily. He¡¯d never seen this man at the party. He remembered that Mrs. Kathleen had told them that a distinguished guest would come to the party this time¡­


    Wait, what did he just say? He wasn¡¯t interested in women? Then the question was coming. He is sitting here to¡­


    Sid¡¯s cold sweat immediately flowed down.


    {++}


    The man in front of him looked at his body with great interest: ¡°Your muscles are very good, and your ass is also quite firm. I once had a lover as strong as you, but unfortunately he¡¯s dead. Seeing you reminds me of him.¡±


    Sid, a straight man who was forced to be naked in front of a gay man, felt deep pressure. The man in front of him had long legs, a thin waist, and white skin. At first glance, he was the type that was easy to play. Apart from gender, he was impeccable. He also knew clearly that he couldn¡¯t offend the man in front of him, but¡­ But heaven, have pity on him. He was a straight man!!!


    His dull reaction seemed to make the man in front of him only more interested. As light as a cat, he rolled over and sat on him, slowly lighting himself a cigarette. The thick smoke made his slightly upturned lips have a charming allure. ¡°Would you like one?¡±


    ¡°¡­Okay ¡­Okay.¡±


    The man straddled him, his long fingers stroking his muscles. The cold fingers aroused goose bumps on Sid¡¯s skin. He crouched on him like a snake, put a cigarette in his mouth, and then lit him up with the cigarette he was holding.


    The faint light burning from the cigarette butt was very ambiguous in this hidden corner. The masked man flicked the cigarette butt and the ashes lightly landed on Sid¡¯s collarbone, burning slightly. The man breathed a sigh and blew away the ash that had fallen on his skin.


    The smell of the smoke cascaded over his naked skin, even more arousing than the sensation of the cold fingers.


    The man laughed in a low voice, and the light brown eyes hidden behind the mask stared at him: ¡°But compared to a cigarette, don¡¯t you want to try the one I have lower down?¡±


    Sid¡¯s face suddenly changed. What, this shameless gay guy wanted his chrystanthemum?!


    ¡°Hm? What? If your technique is good enough, I don¡¯t mind trying again, as long as it can make me feel good¡­" The man pushed his knee towards the place where he was still weak, and he let out an embarrassing sound, tempted by the proximity.


    The pale Sid looked at Mrs. Kathleen for help, but the latter nodded to him, telling him to do it!


    As a straight man, he never expected to encounter such a crisis. If he couldn¡¯t get it up¡­ would he be killed? However, the desperate Sid was left unrequited. The mysterious man whispered an address into his ear, then climbed off of him, adjusted his clothes and smiled at him: "I¡¯ll be waiting for you there. Don¡¯t make me wait too long.¡±


    {++}


    With that, he walked lightly through the crowd and returned to Mrs. Kathleen.


    ¡°Do you allow take-away?¡± Red said cheerily, and Mrs. Kathleen clinked her glass.


    ¡°Of course, but you don¡¯t need to. There¡¯s a back room here that has everything you want,¡± said Mrs. Kathleen.


    ¡°When people ¡®communicate¡¯ with each other, it¡¯s also the time when people are least prepared. I prefer to be on my own site,¡± Red said lightly.


    Mrs. Kathleen expressed her understanding and politely sent him out of the door: ¡°The selection ceremony is in a week¡­¡±


    Red took his cloak from the waiter and put it on his body. He took off his mask and said to Mrs. Kathleen, haughtily and reserved, ¡°It¡¯s just a ritual without suspense. The winner can only be me.¡±


    ¡°I wish you all the best,¡± said Mrs. Kathleen.


    ¡°Thank you for your kindness. Oh, have my ¡®pizza¡¯ come to me in half an hour. I have to prepare some ''good things¡¯ first. ¡± He smiled and turned away.


    As soon as he walked out of the bar, Qi Leren gave a long sigh of relief. Although he stayed in it for only half an hour, it felt like a year. As a great young man in the 21st century, he really hadn¡¯t seen this kind of battle before. He¡¯d almost let his expression slip several times. Fortunately, he was covered by the mask and finally didn¡¯t show his feelings.


    Qi Leren had considered rejecting Mrs Kathleen¡¯s ¡°kindness¡± directly, but doing so would obviously cast a shadow over their cooperative relationship. The best way was to make a proposition first, and then find an excuse to send the person away. Time is short, he had to hurry and meet with the extra sent by the Trials Office who would make a guest appearance, together put on an act with him for ¡°Mr Takeaway¡±, and then drive the man back on the grounds of ¡°I met a hotter one on the road, so you can go back and continue to pick up girls¡±. The perfect plan.


    Back near his temporary stronghold, Qi Leren whistled, and then went back to the house to wait for the people in the Trials Office to contact him. Soon he heard a slight footstep on the second floor, and he whistled again to signal that there was no one else in the room.


    The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and someone came down the stairs. Qi Leren looked up, and his calm expression instantly solidified on his face.


    ¡°Ning¡­ Ning Zhou?¡± Qi Leren, dressed in strange clothes and heavy make-up and smelling of alcohol and tobacco, immediately jumped up from the sofa, looking both embarrassed and nervous.


    Ning Zhou¡¯s eyes stayed on him for a few seconds, then he frowned and asked coldly and stiffly: ¡°What is it?¡±


    Qi Leren felt awkward enough to burst into tears. Could he tell Ning Zhou, who was conservative and introverted, that he needed someone to undress and help him now? He had to replace him!


    ¡°Who else is nearby besides you?¡± Qi Leren asked, deathly pale.


    ¡°Miao Li.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Heaven will kill me!


    ¡ª¨C


    The author has something to say:


    PS: Can you imagine how much the heart collapsed when the author modified this text to unlock it¡­

 CH 104

    Chapter 104: Slaughter Secret Society (VI)


    {cw: slight nsfw}


    After a strange silence, Qi Leren, who had broken the jar*, looked at his shoes and asked, ¡°Things are complicated. I need someone to play a scene with me now.¡±


    *{E/N: despaired over an error}


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Ning Zhou sighed calmly, his Adam¡¯s apple bobbing.


    Qi Leren wasn¡¯t sure whether this was him acknowledging what he¡¯d said, or agreeing to it. He had to look up and observe Ning Zhou¡¯s face. When he looked up, he crashed into his beautiful blue eyes, and suddenly he couldn¡¯t say anything. He had no choice but to look in all directions, his eyes drifting.


    He thought that he¡¯d already accepted the fact that Ning Zhou was a man, but compared with the hasty meetings at the steel bridge and the entrance to the Court, at this moment he truly felt that the person he loved had the same gender as him.


    It was frustrating that the person in front of him was taller, more handsome, and stronger than him, truly too frustrating.


    Wait, Qi Leren suddenly remembered something serious. Was it Ning Zhou that he¡¯d felt on the way to the bar just now? In an instant, Qi Leren¡¯s face changed, and his mind was white for a long time before he realized that Ning Zhou shouldn¡¯t have been allowed to enter the bar. It was okay¡­


    The silence in the room was broken by Ning Zhou¡¯s black bird. It fluttered around the room with its wings, and finally stopped on the coat rack under Ning Zhou¡¯s cold eyes, pretending to be an immobile ornament.


    ¡°Then¡­ take off your clothes first.¡± In his nervousness, Qi Leren said something wrong when he opened his mouth. He watched Ning Zhou¡¯s serious expression crack, and he looked at him straight, as if he thought he¡¯d misheard.


    Qi Leren solemnly met his line of sight: ¡°You heard it correctly, that is, taking off, clothes and stuff.¡±


    Well, he knew that his image in Ning Zhou¡¯s mind had collapsed from a beautiful girl who was like a soft and cute rabbit to a deadly abnormal homosexual in strange clothes. Let¡¯s give up maintaining his image and concentrate on completing the task.


    Sometimes, life is just like that¡­


    &&&


    On the way to ¡°deliver food¡±, Sid had been thinking about life. For more than 20 years, he had no doubt about his own orientation. After entering the Nightmare World, he¡¯d won the favor of many women by virtue of his figure, thus having the opportunity to join the Slaughter Secret Society, but he was just a marginal figure, and he wasn¡¯t even qualified to be given a seed of slaughter. But just now, Mrs. Kathleen, who was once out of reach, had summoned him personally and ordered him to take good care of the mysterious Mr. Red. If he was satisfied with him, he could get the seed of slaughter.


    Sid was very eager for this. Although after being given the seed of slaughter he would die in a few years because of its outbreak, without the seed of slaughter, with only his own ability and the increasingly dangerous compulsory tasks, he may not be able to endure even one year.


    Besides, as long as he didn¡¯t use the seed too frequently, he is confident that he can live a few more years, especially as there were rumors of ways to restrain the seed.


    Sid, who had made up his mind, stood in front of the two-story house and encouraged himself repeatedly.


    There wasn¡¯t much difference between serving a man and serving a woman. It was no big deal to close your eyes and imagine fucking a beautiful woman. As long as he served the person well, he would soon reach the peak of his life after the job was done!


    As the sun set, Sid stood in front of the door, took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock on the door.


    The door was left unlocked, and there was a bright light in the crack of the door. Sid stood on the spot like he¡¯d been struck by lightning. The crack in the door that was less than a palm width wide was facing the sofa in the living room. Under the dim and ambiguous light, there were two intertwined figures.


    The man with his back to him had firm musculature. The back of the sofa covered half of his body, showing only broad shoulders and short black hair. Even so, it could be seen that he was a man with a figure good enough to make others jealous.


    This live gravure video shocked Sid. He stood at the door at a loss. His presence was quickly noticed by the people inside. Red raised his misty face and smiled charmingly: ¡°Sorry, you can¡¯t be used tonight, unless you want to join¡­ Ah!¡±


    The man beneath him discontentedly bit his earlobe, and Red teased and asked into his ear if he was jealous. The man hugged him tightly, hard enough to make it a punishment. Red remembered that there was someone outside the door whom he¡¯d forgotten to handle.


    ¡°Go away, go back and tell Kathleen to thank her for her kindness¡­ Be gentle¡­¡± After that, Red eagerly hugged the man and rolled onto the sofa, ignoring Sid as if he was a mess in the wind.


    Sid closed the door on them stiffly and walked back silently.


    The sunset in the Village of Dusk was still so beautiful, but the melancholy Sid has no intention of enjoying the scenery. He was lucky enough to escape. He didn¡¯t have to force himself to be gay. His chrysanthemum was safe, but he didn¡¯t feel lucky. Instead, he vaguely regretted it. He couldn¡¯t stop recalling the image he¡¯d just seen¡­ Did it feel that good to be with a man? Sid, who had never tried before, couldn¡¯t make a comparison. If he had a chance in the future, should he give it a try?


    Sid, unaware that the door of the new world had opened a gap, returned to the bar in dismay.


    With the sound of the door closing, Qi Leren jumped up from Ning Zhou like a rabbit. Although there was the barrier of the back of the sofa, both of them had taken off their shirts for the performance effect. Just now, Qi Leren had vaguely felt¡­ Qi Leren¡¯s line of sight drifted to Ning Zhou¡¯s lower body involuntarily, but the light was too dark to see completely in pants. Was it an illusion?!


    Ning Zhou was very calm - if one ignored his hot ears - and picked up the clothes on the ground, turning his back to put them on. From behind, the body with wide shoulders and a narrow waist was really not bad. Of course, the effect was positive. Just now, Qi Leren didn¡¯t dare to look him in the eye. It was really Ning Zhou who¡¯d crashed all the way, making it seem like he was dominating a good woman. He had to use 200% of his acting skills and pretend to enjoy it, but they actually hadn¡¯t even taken off their pants!


    In fact, Qi Leren didn¡¯t dare to ask Ning Zhou to take off his pants. Just persuading Ning Zhou to take off his shirt consumed him with shame, but to his surprise, Ning Zhou agreed very simply and took it off very simply, although he stared back at him after taking it off¡­ It was Qi Leren. When he sat on Ning Zhou¡¯s lap, his brain couldn¡¯t stop pouring out all kinds of dirty associations. It boiled down to one sentence: I defiled the innocence of the goddess¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving.¡± Dressed, Ning Zhou turned his back on him and left without looking back.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Qi Leren stopped him but didn¡¯t know what to say. A thousand words only turned into one sentence, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°¡­You¡¯re welcome.¡± Ning Zhou still didn¡¯t turn around and strode up the stairs to the second floor.


    The big blackbird parked on the coat rack groaned curiously and flew to Qi Leren¡¯s shoulder to beg for food. Qi Leren was running low on rations, but for Ning Zhou¡¯s sake, he gave him a bite. The unconscionable black bird took his feed and followed his master who didn¡¯t walk to the front door.


    A cold wind blew, and Qi Leren shivered and quickly put on his clothes.


    He was still struggling with that problem. When they were in close contact just now, did Ning Zhou really react? Qi Leren was ashamed at once. He knew that this couldn¡¯t be Ning Zhou¡¯s fault. In this ambiguous atmosphere, he¡¯d been in close contact with someone, and the other person was dressed so cool and refreshing and loud that the young man couldn¡¯t handle it.


    Since Chen Baiqi had told him that Ning Zhou was only twenty-one this year, Qi Leren was uneasy, feeling as if he¡¯d harmed a youth. At twenty-one, he was still studying in the ivory tower in the outside world. Before, he had not only unconsciously deceived his feelings, but had also almost shaken his faith. This time, he didn¡¯t say anything and cooperated with him in this act, and Qi Leren felt guilty.


    If Ning Zhou was a girl, he would be responsible for people¡¯s feelings properly, and be kind to her with all his heart and soul. It was a pity¡­.. The other party was taller than him, handsome and strong, and he was still a boy with firm faith.


    It was really a chaotic and cutting relationship, and Qi Leren fell back on the sofa with a headache.

 CH 105

    Chapter 105: Slaughter Secret Society (VII)


    {cw: mention of miscarriage}


    ¡°What have you been busy with recently? I haven¡¯t seen you since our last meal. You¡¯ve been away from home for days, and Su He asked me several times.¡±


    On this day, Qi Leren wasn¡¯t dressed up as Red. He went back to Sunset Island in the Village of Dusk and asked Chen Baiqi about making chargers and compulsory tasks. In ten days, he had to carry out a compulsory task for the first time. He¡¯d heard that it would be very easy, but he was still a little nervous. As a result, he was caught red-handed by Dr. Lu, who brought his own talent of finding people and treasure.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been working on something¡­¡± Qi Leren, of course, could¡¯t disclose what he was doing to Dr. Lu, so he had to play dumb.


    This undercover mission was very dangerous. Qi Leren had even written a suicide note and put it in his home in Sunset Island. If he unfortunately died without a corpse and could not be resurrected with the Easter Egg, this letter and other articles for daily use would be left to the next person who lived in his house, and the information about the Nightmare Game and main tasks would be conveyed to them. It was all written in this letter. His mood was a bit complicated. He always felt like a predecessor NPC who had died before being able to achieve his mission. He died before the story started. His lucklessness would serve to provide clues and items to the protagonist.


    The reason why he didn¡¯t choose to tell Dr. Lu was because he didn¡¯t want to bring trouble to him. He couldn¡¯t afford such a great event with Dr. Lu¡¯s character. He would rather bet his hope on an irrelevant stranger. As long as he wouldn¡¯t let the secret disappear with his death, he could feel at ease.


    Unfortunately, Dr. Lu didn¡¯t understand his good intentions at all and he criticized his disappearance. Qi Leren had no choice but to use the ultimate technique: ¡°I was wrong, I¡¯ll invite you to dinner.¡±


    ¡°Wow, if you say so. I found a delicious restaurant. Let¡¯s go!¡± Dr. Lu forgot his chatter for a second and took Qi Leren to eat delicious food.


    ¡°Oh, two days ago, Su He and I talked about the Castle Cry task. The task¡¯s true ending is the type that can be interpreted in multiple ways, and I thought of another possibility.¡± On the way, Dr. Lu chatted with Qi Leren.


    ¡°What possibility?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say before that the NPC who played Adeline was a Devil worshipper named Isabel? She seduced John and was killed by the jealous Crazy Lady. All this was premeditated by her. Then she changed her hat and bewitched the crazy lady as a demon, which finally caused the whole tragedy. This should be the true ending in the universal sense. However, we¡¯ve never considered the position of Nina¡¯s role. She had greatly influenced the whole story, but her behavior seems strange. Is it possible that Nina was actually on the Devil¡¯s side, or at least she was bewitched by the Devil when she caused the Crazy Lady to miscarry? The last Devil¡¯s Sacrifice we found was nails, but in chronological order, this was actually the first of the Crazy Lady¡¯s sacrifices, and it was also the only place where Devil bewitched her. In this memory, Nina, who cleaned up the mirror fragments, cut her hand and blood dripped on the carpet. At that time, there were mirror fragments on the carpet. Is it possible that the person who was bewitched at that time was not just the Crazy Lady?¡± Dr. Lu said.


    ¡°You mean, Isabel attached the Devil to Nina¡¯s soul?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say it was attached, more like it affected her. Su He knows a lot about demons. He said that Isabel is no longer a low-level demon. As a follower of the Devil of Fraud, she represents an original sin, such as hegemony, greed, paranoia, depravity, tyranny, lust, betrayal, or other sins. What do you think Isabel stands for?¡±


    Qi Leren closed his eyes and remembered everything about Isabel, and word suddenly poured into his mind.


    -I am the ghost who killed Adeline. I am the countless betrayals that Sarah has noticed from the details, and the jealousy that will never burn out in her heart.


    ¡°It¡¯s jealousy,¡± Qi Leren said clearly.


    He remembered the underground palace where witches were sacrificed, where countless girls¡¯ resentments were buried, and the girls who danced in the palm of the Devil of Fraud¡¯s hands fought each other because of jealousy, and finally made one witch after another.


    And the garden at the top of the old castle, burning in the fire and rain, and finally the fire and blood shed by the Crazy Lady herself¡­ That flame was the green-eyed monster that never went out in her heart.


    Dr. Lu nodded: ¡°Yes, she is ¡®jealousy¡¯ nine times out of ten. The Crazy Lady was bewitched by her because she was jealous, Nan Lu was possessed by her because she was jealous. If Nina was also affected, it showed that there was also a flame of jealousy in her heart.¡±


    ¡°Er¡­ You mean Nina may have been Johann¡¯s mistress, so she was jealous of the Crazy Lady?¡±


    Dr. Lu gave him a blank look: ¡°Haven¡¯t you ever thought that she was jealous of someone else?¡±


    ¡°Ah? Who? ¡± Qi Leren was confused.


    ¡°She was jealous of Johann because she liked the Crazy Lady,¡± Dr. Lu stated matter-of-factly.


    Qi Leren, who was shocked by Dr. Lu¡¯s train of thought, looked at him incredulously for a while. After a stretch of silence: ¡°No way? They¡¯re both women.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve played as a lily* yourself, why are you biased against lilies?¡± Dr. Lu asked with dissatisfaction.


    *{E/N: lesbian}


    Qi Leren was speechless.


    ¡°If you read this story without prejudice, Nina¡¯s love towards the Crazy Lady explains things. She adored the Crazy Lady and didn¡¯t want her to get pregnant, so she helped Johann to drug the Crazy Lady, but later she felt bad because of the side effects, so she disobeyed Johann¡¯s order and reduced the mercury powder dosage. She acted aggressively to cause her to miscarry after the Crazy Lady became pregnant, so she was willing to risk her life to let Crazy Lady go at last and advised her to run away, and she became a sacrifice for the Crazy Lady when it became inevitable. Nina was weak, she was just a lowly maid, afraid of Johann - in the story, she was afraid of the armor because the Master who was represented by the armor punished her for her incompetence - and she dared not show her feelings to the Crazy Lady. This mixture of love, jealousy, and fear filled her soul with pain, and was eventually seduced by the demon. Hey hey, aren¡¯t I smart?¡± Dr. Lu, who talked nonsense seriously, finally couldn¡¯t help it and began to boast.


    ¡°Is there any evidence for this conjecture?¡± Qi Leren asked the key question.


    ¡°¡­No.¡± Dr. Lu deflated.


    ¡°So you¡¯re just guessing?¡± Qi Leren sneered.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you being unreasonable? What you called guessing should be called reasonable imagination,¡± Dr. Lu argued. ¡°If you¡¯re not satisfied with the lily direction, I¡¯ll tell you a gay theory! Once upon a time, there was a man named Johann who wanted to marry rich Mrs. Sarah for money, but fell in love with her family doctor. He didn¡¯t want to expose himself as a homosexual but wanted to break off his engagement, so he pretended to have an affair with Mrs. Sarah¡¯s maid Adeline. As a result, Adeline was secretly killed by Mrs. Sarah. He still married Mrs. Sarah, and was ready to wait for an opportunity to kill her to get her inheritance. His lover, Dr. Flajser, assisted him. The cheating dog who drove Mrs. Sarah crazy was finally killed by Mrs Sarah.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± More and more bullshit. Although Qi Leren didn¡¯t agree with Dr. Lu¡¯s imagination, he couldn¡¯t stop his friend¡¯s thoughts, but he was interested in the types of demons. Because of his skill ¡°Devil¡¯s Etiquette¡±, he appealed to the Court for some demon crystals, but these crystals were all low-level demons, and most of them were succubi. There was no demon of Isabel¡¯s level. He was a little curious about what kind of crystals a devil like her would have. The energy inside could possibly make a whole lake boil.


    In order to appease Dr. Lu, Qi Leren treated him to a delicious meal and told him to be careful in his compulsory task, so as not to throw himself into the street because he only had the fighting ability of vegetables or chickens.


    After saying goodbye to Dr. Lu, Qi Leren went to look for Chen Baiqi. Her sister Sissi was looking after the shop. When she saw him, she called for her sister at the top of her voice. Only then did Chen Baiqi come out of the basement and put a stack of books on her desk, greeting Qi Leren.


    Chen Baiqi ran a bookstore, most of which were books about the Nightmare World collected from unknown sources. What was more frightening was that such books as Simple Demon Summoning, Feeding Methods of Lower Demons, Introduction to Theological Prayer, Some Thoughts on the Purification of Demon Crystallization Energy, etc., which seemed like popular fiction at first glance, were not fabricated but were actual non-fiction.


    Unfortunately, Qi Leren had little interest in occultism and had no time to study these things, but he¡¯d heard that many players were interested in these things and were willing to spend a lot of survival days to buy these books.


    ¡°I want to ask about the first compulsory mission,¡± Qi Leren said to Chen Baiqi. ¡°In addition, I want to find out if anyone in the Twilight Township can make a charger.¡±


    Chen Baiqi looked him up and down, took out a contract book, and Qi Leren looked at the numbers on it. It wasn¡¯t too expensive, so he signed it.


    ¡°The players in the Nightmare World come from all walks of life in the real world. I happen to know a few craftsmen. I¡¯ll give you a list and their contact information later. You can contact them yourself. If you need me to contact them, I¡¯ll charge extra,¡± Chen Baiqi calmly explained and put the contract book away. ¡°As for the compulsory task, it¡¯s very simple. You can pass it with your eyes closed and your hands empty. The difficulty is about equal to a haunted house at an amusement park. Just walk.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± Qi Leren couldn¡¯t believe his ears.


    ¡°That¡¯s all,¡± Chen Baiqi said.


    ¡°¡­You con-woman, return my money!¡± Qi Leren said angrily.


    ¡°There¡¯s really nothing to say. Everyone has different tasks. As far as I know, it seems that no one has died in the first compulsory task, unless it was a multiplayer task and they were killed because of conflicts with other players.¡± Chen Baiqi grinned. ¡°As compensation, you can ask me another question free of cost.¡±


    Qi Leren sat back in his seat again. It was impossible to get back time. It would be better to ask Chen Baiqi about something else.


    After hesitating for a while, Qi Leren pretended to ask casually: ¡°Do you know how to produce a half-field?¡±


    Chen Baiqi looked at him with surprise, as if wondering how he knew about this thing. Qi Leren became uncomfortable: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°It seems that you know,¡± Chen Baiqi said with some regret.


    ¡°Know what?¡± Qi Leren¡¯s heart jumped, feeling as if he was gazing into the unknown.


    ¡°A half-field that has not completely condensed into a field is inherently fragile, but don¡¯t worry, although Ning Zhou¡¯s half-field has collapsed, he¡¯s still young and has potential. It¡¯s not impossible for him to break through the shackles and re-condense the field in time,¡± Chen Baiqi consoled.


    Qi Leren looked at her, waiting for her to continue: ¡°Half-field collapsed? When? What¡¯s happened?¡±


    Instead, Chen Baiqi was shocked: ¡°You don¡¯t know? Then why did you ask how about half-fields?¡±


    Originally, he wanted to ask about the Slaughter Secret Society producing a half-field. However, he had been told about Ning Zhou¡¯s half-field collapsing. Qi Leren suddenly felt panicked: ¡°What did you mean?¡±


    Chen Baiqi looked at him with awe, and her eyes were inexplicably complicated: ¡°When his half-field collapsed, weren¡¯t you there?¡±


    Qi Leren sat back in the chair and closed his eyes with shame. The ethereal and graceful holy music is getting farther and farther away, the holy white light in front of us gradually fades, and the pilgrims praying in the magnificent church hall become unreal, standing under the cross - the holy nun in a white robe silently closes her blue eyes. Demons are raging, and this enchantment, supported by countless prayers, is crumbling and will die at any moment.


    At that time, bathed in the holy light, Qi Leren had been focused on surviving and didn¡¯t know the truth. He hadn¡¯t known that it was his half-field that Ning Zhou was about to break.

 CH 106

    Chapter 106: Slaughter Secret Society (VIII)


    ¡°I really didn¡¯t know before¡­ I just heard about the field and half-field recently,¡± Qi Leren said with difficulty. ¡°I thought that the Barrier of the Holy Spirit was an enchantment attached to his mother¡¯s memento. I didn¡¯t expect¡­¡±


    ¡°That is indeed a memento of his mother; mementos do also have magic that can be used to help one condense a field as soon as possible. Ning Zhou¡¯s half-field was condensed by his mother¡¯s memento, but the growth of this kind of field is very fragile until it¡¯s been fully formed. If it¡¯s forcibly used, it will inevitably lead to the collapse of the half-field. It will be much more difficult to condense the half-field again than it was the first time. Frankly speaking, Ning Zhou¡¯s divine talent is far less than that of his mother Maria, who was already a field-level master at his age,¡± Chen Baiqi said.


    ¡°Ning Zhou is already very powerful. I was still in college when I was as old as him. I couldn¡¯t even kill a chicken.¡± Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help defending Ning Zhou.


    Chen Baiqi gave him a complicated look: ¡°Compared to you, of course. When I first entered the Nightmare World, Ning Zhou was only thirteen years old. He couldn¡¯t even learn the most basic healing of holy light. Even after Maria died and he was taken to the Holy See, he didn¡¯t learn magic well. I always disapproved of his use of the secret methods of the Holy See to condense his half-field, because he wasn¡¯t suited for this road. Even if he reaches the field level, he may not be able to go further. So this time, the collapse of the half-field may be a good thing for him.¡±


    Qi Leren opened his mouth, but he didn¡¯t know what to say. His understanding of Ning Zhou was too little. Every time he listened to Chen Baiqi, he missed seeing the tip of the iceberg of Ning Zhou¡¯s life. He wanted to ask a lot, but he didn¡¯t know what position he should use to ask. In the end, he had to be silent.


    He thought of a lot of things. The Holy Nun of the Holy See, the young field-master, appeared in the inferno invasion more than 20 years ago¡­ The combination of such clues reminded him of an NPC¡­¡­ in the Nightmare Game¡­ A lady known more by her legend than her name.


    It turned out that her final ending was not to be buried in the Holy City, but instead she spent the rest of her life in the Village of Dusk.


    It turned out that she was Ning Zhou¡¯s mother.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been in the Nightmare World for eight years,¡± Qi Leren said after a long pause.


    ¡°Yes, for eight years¡­ I once condensed more than half of a field, but it was broken on the edge of life and death. So far, I¡¯ve not taken this step again. Unfortunately, I won¡¯t have a second eight years.¡± Chen Baiqi¡¯s slender eyebrows revealed a fleeting loneliness. In the past eight years, life and death had been honed and precipitated by her, and finally left only the fine lines in the corner of her eyes. ¡°Everyone has limits, mediocre people can¡¯t live for three years, and those with outstanding qualifications can only live for ten years. One day, sooner or later, the difficulty of the task will exceed your limit.


    "We will all have that day, and most people won¡¯t even be able to survive until then, because luck will not always be on your side,¡± Chen Baiqi said.


    Qi Leren also wanted to know more about fields, at least know how to condense a field, and what the use of a field was. Unfortunately, Chen Baiqi refused to disclose it, saying that knowing too much was not necessarily a good thing for him, and he might even doubt life. On the way back, Qi Leren was still thinking about fields. The memento ring of the Slaughter Secret Society was a half-field item, but it could be used repeatedly. What was the difference between it and the half-field condensed by others? He remembered that Miao Li said that there was no hope of becoming a field master by killing the secret societies half-field pledge¡­


    Back at Red¡¯s home, Qi Leren lied down on the sofa tiredly. He fidgeted and lit a cigarette. Puffing away, he seemed to have returned to that embarrassing night. What kind of mood was Ning Zhou in at that time? No matter how much he did for others and how much he paid the price, he would never say it, and he would even stay away from it for fear that others would know. This kind of character, this kind of go-to person, was the most lovely and the most hateful.


    Sluggishly, Qi Leren snuffed his cigarette and threw it aside. There was no way but to learn to smoke for this task, but it wouldn¡¯t be good for him to really become addicted to smoking. Considering that today¡¯s training task was not finished, Qi Leren stood up at his appointed position, changed into his sportswear, and walked into the basement.


    He had to prepare for the selection ceremony in a week¡¯s time. He was sure it would be a test of life and death.


    &&&


    ¡°It¡¯s going to rain again. The weather has been changing quickly lately,¡± Mrs Kathleen said as she sipped hot coffee. Ashley, who stood beside her, looked at the ground with eyes narrowed, and secretly took a look at the person opposite from time to time.


    Red reclined and put his slender legs on the coffee table next to him. He looked out the window with his head in his hand and seemed to be absent-minded. The silver chains tied to his boots reflected the light of the sunset: ¡°What time is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still five minutes away from midnight. When the time comes, we¡¯ll be taken into the half-field. If you don¡¯t belong to the Village of Dusk¡¯s Slaughter Secret Society, you need me as a reference, but next time you¡¯ll be able to enter the half-field by yourself.¡± Mrs Kathleen spoke with a smile, talking about the party again, and expressed regret that Sid couldn¡¯t be of use.


    Red became a bit more energetic, licking his lips and revealing a tacit smile: ¡°Although I really wanted to accept him, it¡¯s a pity¡­ This little wild cat is jealous, and his enthusiasm is unexpected these days.¡±


    Mrs. Kathleen glanced at the hickey on his neck and smiled, ¡°I can see that.¡±


    Qi Leren had a cold and noble face on the surface, but a heart full of enthusiasm. In order to go for the full effect, he¡¯d taken the syringe with the needle removed and used it to suck and scratch around his neck for a long time. Fortunately, it was not in vain.


    ¡°Speaking of it, Sid has been very lost since you returned him that day. I heard that he found a man to try it out and has become addicted¡­ My female subordinate has already complained to me that he¡¯s absent-minded in bed.¡± Mrs Kathleen covered the lower half of her face with a feather fan, and her tone was rather bitter.


    Ha ha, my ¡°straight man¡± bent with one look at my gravure video, yet I¡¯m blamed for bending him? As a virgin, Qi Leren was speechless in the face of this group of men and women who thought about the lower body all day.


    ¡°It¡¯s better to be my Ashley. I like such a sweet boy, like a little apple that¡¯s not yet mature,¡± Mrs Kathleen said, smiling and touching Ashley¡¯s red face.


    However, she didn¡¯t see it. Ashley blushed at the Qi Leren all the time and bumped into him like a fawn.


    Qi Leren felt tired for a while: Madam, as the leader of a hedonistic organization, why are all the men in your organization SO GAY? It¡¯s only newly discovered. If you break them of it immediately they can still mend their ways¡­


    ¡°Time is up.¡± Mrs Kathleen closed her feather fan, got up, and held out her hand to Qi Leren.


    The two held hands together, and a white light appeared on Lady Kathleen and Ashley, then on Qi Leren.


    A huge force pulled the three people out of the Village of Dusk and into the half-field.


    The feeling of entering this half-field was completely different from entering Su He¡¯s field. Su He¡¯s field hardly made one feel that this was not a real world, and there was not much discomfort when entering. However, here, Qi Leren had a feeling of unreality from the moment he entered the field.


    At present, the half-field was a huge underground cave. The churning viscous red magma rolled underneath, and dozens of people in cloaks walked along the only stone path in the magma, heading for the open space in the middle of the cave.


    There was a beam of light rising from the altar in the center of the magma, leading to the roof of the cave.


    This scene felt familiar to Qi Leren. He remembered that there was also an altar in the underground palace in the Witchcraft Sacrifice task. At the end, Isabel walked into the altar¡¯s beam. Perhaps this was a way for the Devil to contact his followers? Although the Trial indicated that the relationship between the Devil of Slaughter and his believers was rather distant, and Qi Leren¡¯s identity would not be exposed under normal circumstances, he was still a little nervous for fear that his identity would suddenly be exposed and he would be trapped in the field to die.


    Some thermophilic fungi grew at the top of the cave, sending out strange blue light, which made the dome of the cave seem as bright as the milky way. The hot air and churning magma at their feet added a bit of hellish atmosphere to this half-field.


    A large group of people walked slowly towards the rocky ground in the middle of the magma, where there was already a person waiting for their arrival.


    Lie Yang, the agent of the Slaughter Secret Society¡¯s Twilight Township branch.


    At the moment he saw him, Qi Leren¡¯s stomach seemed to sink into a cold stone.


    Qi Leren had seen this man, and that man had seen him. He knew that he was a newcomer and that he was related to the Holy See. On the ship where he was parasitized by the seed of slaughter, they had fought together against a player who was overcome by a seed of slaughter.


    His name was Luo Yishan.

 CH 107

    Chapter 107: Slaughter Secret Society (IX)


    Suddenly there was a chuckle in the crowd, with a hint of sarcasm. The crowd spread out on both sides like Moses dividing the sea. An unusual man slowly came out of the crowd, just like a queen who was presented by her ministers. Under the aura of confidence and strength, even strangers could not help but make way for him.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to see an acquaintance here.¡± Red curled the corners of his mouth, and his gorgeous face showed no delight in meeting an old friend, but instead provocation.


    Luo Yishan, standing under the altar, paused. He felt that the people in front of him was a little familiar, but when he recalled, there was no such person in his memory. It was strange. This kind of flamboyant aura and rare style of dress, if he¡¯d seen it once, he could never forget it¡­ Unless¡­


    ¡°Are you¡­¡± Luo Yishan suddenly remembered a man, a newcomer with a different temperament from the man in front of him, who was later taken away by the Trial.


    Red smiled, and his brown eyes were suddenly stained with blood. The original enchanting face suddenly revealed a demonic symbol, which entangled with the tattoo at the corner of his eye rendered the pale skin with a sense of bright and fragrant lust. The demon¡¯s unabashed power spread from him, and the people around him in this hot purgatory were overcome with the feeling of suffocation!


    ¡°Dear Mr. Luo Yishan, we meet again.¡± Red showed sharp fangs and smiled enigmatically.


    Luo Yishan, who had been called his real name, was silent for a few seconds: ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect¡­ the ¡®newcomer¡¯ I met on the airship to turn out to be a demonized player.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not surprised. The smell of Slaughter on you was too strong. Even if you can fool the Court¡¯s examination, you can¡¯t fool my eyes,¡± Red said mockingly, looking haughtily at Luo Yishan.


    He didn¡¯t explain why he acted like a newcomer at that time, nor did he explain his coat bearing the Holy See¡¯s emblem, nor did he explain his bizarre resurrection on the airship. He even provoked Luo Yishan unscrupulously, but the more puffed up, the more cautious the other party was, the more initiative they took to weave his behavior into a logical story.


    ¡°Let me introduce you to Mr. Red from the Underground Ant City, a master who recently came to the Village of Dusk. He was originally affiliated to the Underground Ant City¡¯s branch, but he hasn¡¯t returned for a long time because he was honing himself in purgatory.¡± Mrs Kathleen duly introduced Red¡¯s origin to everyone.


    Red looked around at the believers, and the demonic smile on his face seemed to grow.


    ¡°I came for someone, and I think everyone is familiar with him.¡± Red deliberately prolonged his tone and said slowly, with a cruel smile at the end. ¡°His name is Kuangshan, my lover.¡±


    ¡°So?¡± Luo Yishan calmly asked.


    ¡°So, I will accept his ring,¡± Red said lightly, glancing at the ring on Luo Yishan¡¯s thumb.


    He spoke calmly and understated it as if he were stating a fact, but it doing so, his words became more terrifying. His mysterious origin, his demonized body, and his imposing manner of oppressing people forced the others to pay attention to him.


    The expression on Luo Yishan¡¯s face was stiff, and his identity as a holder was inevitable, which was bound to offend Red¡­


    Red¡¯s origin was too mysterious. He¡¯d disguised himself as a newcomer who had just entered the game on the airship, killed the believer who was overcome by his seed by means of bizarre resurrection, and deliberately let him see the Vatican¡¯s emblem on his clothes. Was this a way of testing him? At that time, he didn¡¯t feel the smell of Slaughter on Red¡¯s body. Even the Trails Office couldn¡¯t find it.


    This man was so unfathomable¡­ He would have to deal with him carefully.


    Luo Yishan, who was caught in conspiracy theories, laughed heartily: ¡°According to the rules of the Slaughter Secret Society, any believer is qualified to compete for the position of the holder. If there are many people competing at the same time, the first person to complete the task is the winner.¡±


    Red crossed his arms but didn¡¯t refute. He just said arrogantly: ¡°What are you waiting for? Who else wants to compete for the holder, stand up together. But the person who will eventually bring the sacrifice back will only be me.¡±


    No noise was made, the only sound that of the rolling magma, which rose and fell in this underground lava cave.


    Red laughed, as if laughing at their timidity, but no one dared to show dissatisfaction.


    Luo Yishan stood on the altar, and the ring on his hand touched the groove of the altar. A beam of light rose from the altar and sank into the dome ceiling covered with blue fluorescent fungi. A few lines of golden words emerge in the light:


    [SACRIFICE TARGET NAME: Ning Zhou]


    [GENDER: Male]


    [AGE: 21]


    [AFFILIATION: Holy See]


    [PERSONAL INTRODUCTION: An exorcist of the Holy See, a knight of high rank, who is suspected of holding semi-finished products. At present, he is in the Village of Dusk and is closely related to the Court]


    At that moment, Qi Leren failed to conceal his horrified expression.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Mrs. Kathleen noticed his look and asked curiously.


    Red lowered his eyes, and a strange smile spread on his mouth. He licked his red lips with great interest: ¡°Ah, it¡¯s him¡­¡±


    He glanced at Luo Yishan and threw a kiss: ¡°Sorry, I won this task.¡±


    Luo Yishan¡¯s heart sank and his face was silent: ¡°It is not known who will die.¡±


    ¡°Haha, so, I¡¯ll bring this person back alive, and let you meet the Vatican¡¯s exorcist. No matter how firm one¡¯s faith is, it¡¯s so vulnerable in the face of desire and hope¡­ But the more painful it is when it falls, the more delicious the soul is, making one¡­ unable to stop.¡± Red looked at the golden words emerging from the beam, showing a subtle complexity in his expression.


    Red turned away and smiled strangely. The demon¡¯s bright red eyes seemed to be flowing with hot magma, making those around him dare not stare: ¡°I will use his blood to begin the coronation ceremony and sacrifice him to my Lord.¡±


    Luo Yishan, who had a heavy heart, reluctantly smiled: ¡°I will wait and see.¡±


    &&&


    After leaving the field, Qi Leren returned to the place where they had entered the field, but found that the time inside and outside the field was synchronous. He clearly remembered that there was a significant difference between the speed of time inside and outside Su He¡¯s field, probably because this field was a semi-finished product attached to a memento.


    With Red¡¯s persona, Qi Leren lightly avoided Mrs. Kathleen¡¯s temptations and left.


    Seeing Ning Zhou¡¯s name at the Slaughter ceremony really surprised him, but he soon realized that it might be a good opportunity for him. If Ning Zhou was willing to cooperate with him, he could bring the living Ning Zhou into the Slaughter ceremony and take the memento ring.


    In a word, let¡¯s discuss it with the Court first.


    That night, Miao Li appeared in Qi Leren¡¯s dream. After learning the true identity of the agent, she was surprised and said she would inform her boss.


    ¡°We¡¯ll inform Ning Zhou that he¡¯s locked in as the ceremony¡¯s target. As for whether he¡¯s willing to cooperate with the task, it depends on his attitude. After all, he¡¯s not an employee of the Court, and we have no right to order him to do anything,¡± Miao Li said.


    Qi Leren had a feeling that Ning Zhou would agree to help¡­ He just had this feeling.


    Ah¡­ Don¡¯t worry about debt, don¡¯t worry about debt.


    No, no.

 CH 108

    Chapter 108: Slaughter Secret Society (X)


    ¡°Good, good evening¡­¡± Qi Leren, who came out of the basement after completing today¡¯s training task, glanced over and saw Ning Zhou sitting on the sofa. The uninvited guest sat straight on the soft sofa, who knows how long he¡¯d been waiting.


    Qi Leren, who was covered in sweat, subconsciously looked down at his clothes. This time he was fine, wearing a sports vest, and finally he was not curious-looking: ¡°I¡¯ll take a shower and be right back!¡±


    With that said, Qi Leren ran upstairs to first wash himself quickly.


    Perched on the coat rack, the big black bird let out a strange laugh and seemed to laugh at Ning Zhou, this master of its that had been left on the sofa. The latter gave it a blank look, and under the deterrent of its master¡¯s eyes, it made a whistling sound and looked in all directions casually.


    After a quick shower, Qi Leren ran down the stairs with a boiling hot water kettle, and poured Ning Zhou and himself a glass of water. The big black bird that was not entertained rattled discontentedly, and Qi Leren had no choice but to pour it a cup. Unexpectedly, the bird was brazen and pushed its luck: ¡°I¡¯m hungry, I want something delicious!¡±


    It also coveted the few rations Qi Leren had left!


    Qi Leren was distressed. There weren¡¯t many ¡°pleasing rations¡±. By now, they had all been fed to this bird¡­ But this was Ning Zhou¡¯s bird. Right now, he had to count on Ning Zhou for help. Alright, let¡¯s feed¡­


    ¡°Ignore it.¡± Before Qi Leren took out the food, Ning Zhou made a noise to stop him.


    Qi Leren retracted the hand he¡¯d been about to feed it with in good faith.


    The big black bird looked at its master resentfully, pecked his ear discontentedly, and flapped its wings to fly away.


    ¡°Your bird has character¡­ but its very smart. What¡¯s its name and breed?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    Even outside of the mission, where Ning Zhou was no longer equipped with the Closed Meditation skill, he was still quiet, rarely saying anything: ¡°It has no name, the species is an eagle, and its habitat is in the Jinghai Desert.¡±


    Qi Leren¡¯s regional understanding of the Nightmare World basically comes from his playing Nightmare Game, and he vaguely remembered that the Jinghai Desert was the location of the Underground Ant City, hiding the nest-like underground world under its scorching and horrible desert, as well as the scorching Purgatory deep underground, which was a place where demons ran rampant.


    There were really too few topics between the two. They¡¯d hardly talked during the Witchcraft Sacrifice. After that, every time they met, the unique circumstances hadn¡¯t allowed them to sit down and chat, but now they were a little embarrassed.


    ¡°If it¡¯s an eagle, then doessn¡¯t it speak eagle (English)?¡± Qi Leren told a pun.*


    *{E/N: Ning Zhou says his bird is an eagle (ÓïÓ¥ yu ying), and Qi Leren tries to joke by saying oh, then wont it speak the language of the eagles (ying yu Ó¥Óï; the same characters but switched), which is a homonym for english (Ó¢Óï ying yu) }


    Ning Zhou gave him a calm, blank look, giving no indication of laughing.


    Qi Leren froze, forgetting that Ning Zhou was not a person from the real world. He didn¡¯t know what English was!


    ¡°Ahem, in the outside world, there is a common language called English. We sometimes use it when we talk. What is Hello, Happy, Hani¡­ Ahem, it¡¯s nothing special, pretend I didn¡¯t say anything.¡± Qi Leren felt that he had suddenly become an emperor of silence, and his heart was in tears. Why was it that he could easily talk to sinister killers when he was acting as Red? Yet now, in the face of his own kind, he often made stupid mistakes?


    In fact, he didn¡¯t know what to say to the other party. Why did he say such a thing? Ning Zhou: ¡°¡­Oh.¡±


    For some reason, this silent scene reminded Qi Leren of a long time ago. At that time, he had not yet entered the Nightmare Game, and he was still an unemployed youth who was looking for a job everywhere shortly after graduation. His parents introduced him to a friend¡¯s daughter. This sister was dignified and beautiful, that is, she was a little cold. After the exchange of ¡°um, ah, oh, ok, thank you, you¡¯re welcome¡±, there was no more¡­


    At this moment, the scene was similar to the picture of that blind date, except the one on the opposite sofa wasn¡¯t quite the right gender.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Qi Leren was ready to talk about the Slaughter Secret Society.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Ning Zhou also happened to speak.


    The two voices collided.


    ¡°You go first.¡±


    ¡°You go first.¡±


    Two voices collided again, and they went silent at the same time.


    Qi Leren began to sweat again. It won¡¯t work! This communication is totally impossible! It¡¯s embarrassing to sit and talk!


    ¡°Are you hungry? I¡¯ll make some fried rice.¡± Qi Leren was really a little hungry. It would be better to communicate at the dinner table.


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m hungry! I¡¯m so hungry! I¡¯m starving!¡± Ning Zhou had just said two words when his bird screamed at the top of its lungs, startling Qi Leren.


    After being interrupted by it, the atmosphere in the room was finally better. Qi Leren showed a big smile and looked at it gratefully: ¡°If it can eat, I¡¯ll make three servings. Cooking at home is much cheaper than eating outside. Paying the bill when you eat out hurts.¡±


    Seeing Qi Leren¡¯s offer, Ning Zhou didn¡¯t refuse and silently followed him into the kitchen¡­ A win.


    Qi Leren¡¯s mood became complicated when he saw Ning Zhou cutting tomatoes with a kitchen knife. It felt like seeing Dr. Lu approach him; he always felt that the skill points were a little biased.


    A pan of fried rice and a pot of soup were finished quickly, and Qi Leren¡¯s craftsmanship was OK. After all, he lived alone all the year round, and he would have to eat instant noodles every day if he couldn¡¯t cook with his own hands. Ning Zhou, though, seemed almost like a chef, and Qi Leren felt distressed when he thought of his own life experience.


    But there was a feeling of friendliness with this chef, and the atmosphere was much better when the two people sat at the dinner table. Qi Leren told Ning Zhou about the Slaughter Secret Society while eating, and how when he saw Ning Zhou listed as the mission goal for the selection ceremony to decide the holder, he¡¯d almost fallen into the trap. Ning Zhou gave him a deep look.


    Qi Leren choked for a moment, and he found it was easy to misunderstand, but the explanation made it worse and worse, so he had to bury his head in his food, burping from the anxiety. He was ridiculed by the eagle, who was tasting its unfamiliar fried rice.


    After eating, Qi Leren revived his spirits and began to tell Ning Zhou about his plan: ¡°The Slaughter Secret Society¡¯s internal struggle is fierce. The Court always suspected that they could catch Kunagshan because the present keeper agent Lie Yang (Luo Yishan) had secretly leaked his whereabouts, because once the keeper dies, the memento ring will fall into the hands of the keeper agent. Right now, the ring has lost its binding. No matter whose hands it falls into, anyone can use it, but the functions of the half-field are incomplete. The acting ring holder also has the right to hold a selection ceremony to elect the next ring holder, and the new ring holder binds the ring to restore all functions in the half-field. But my presence broke his calculations. He must be worried that I¡¯ll find you before him and sacrifice you to the Lord of Slaughter to become the new holder, so he needs to find a way to get rid of me and hold another selection ceremony. There are too many variables now. So I guess he¡¯ll get rid of me before I finish the task. When there¡¯s only one competitor left, whether the task is completed or not, he¡¯ll become the ring holder. ¡±


    Qi Leren¡¯s situation at this time was undoubtedly dangerous, but he felt quite safe in this house. After all, the Court¡¯s people shadowed him all the time. It was very difficult for Yang to kill him here. If Yang was being careful, he wouldn¡¯t assassinate him here. The place was too unfamiliar, and his likelihood of failing would be very high. Once he failed, Red would be more vigilant.


    In order to assassinate the demonized Red, it was necessary to kill him with one swift and resolute blow and end the battle before he awakened his demonization. The best way was to carry it out in the field. When you entered the field with full confidence and wanted to complete the sacrifice and seize the memento ring¡­


    ¡°There¡¯s a good chance that he¡¯ll rally his men to attack me suddenly and get rid of me after I enter the field. I¡¯ve heard that in many selection ceremonies, it was quite common for candidates to kill each other. The Devil of Slaughter is indifferent to this group of believers, looking at them as no different from beggars. He just likes to watch them kill indiscriminately,¡± Qi Leren said with a frown.


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Ning Zhou asked.


    Qi Leren glanced at Ning Zhou with trepidation: ¡°This¡­ requires you to be sacrificed¡­¡±


    Ning Zhou: ¡°¡­¡± He had a bad feeling.


    Qi Leren was really becoming more and more skilled at convincing his teammates.

 CH 109

    Chapter 109: Slaughter Secret Society (XI)


    {cw: brief transmisogyny}


    ¡°You are in a very dangerous situation,¡± Mrs. Kathleen said to Red while enjoying Ashley¡¯s black tea.


    Red was still careless. He gave Mrs Kathleen a smile after hearing her words.


    Ashley, who stood on the side, was worried. Although it hadn¡¯t been long since he¡¯d become a follower of Slaughter, he¡¯d already seen blood shed in several selection ceremonies. Those candidates had put aside their tasks and become absorbed in dealing with their own kind, and almost every time all would be killed except the final winner. He couldn¡¯t help but worry about Red. He had heard that he¡¯d left the Underground Ant City¡¯s branch of the Slaughter Secret Society several years ago, so it was inevitable that he was unfamiliar with the situation in the Slaughter Secret Society now.


    ¡°If you¡¯re worried that Lie Yang will suddenly attack me, hehe, I think I¡¯m a little smarter than him.¡± Red pulled out a cigarette for himself, threw another one to Mrs. Kathleen, and then looked straight at Ashley.


    Axi went red in the face, bending down to light Red¡¯s cigarette.


    From this overlooking point of view, he found for the first time that the intimidation had faded away from Red¡¯s body. He was still indifferent and careless, but under the thick makeup, he seemed to have a delicate face, which was both strange and novel¡­


    Feeling his line of sight, Red raised his face to look at him, and his light brown eyes reflected the scarlet light of the sunset. At close range, this was more terrifying than he was in his succubus state.


    Ashley went back to Mrs. Kathleen in a panic and lit her cigarette. Mrs. Kathleen said jealously, ¡°My underling seem to like you very much.¡±


    ¡°No, ma¡¯am¡­¡± Scared, Ashley hurried to defend himself.


    ¡°He¡¯s cute, but unfortunately I¡¯m not interested in this kind of soft boy.¡± Red gave a smile as enchanting as a passing cloud, flicked the cigarette butt, and continued, ¡°You didn¡¯t come here today just to tell me about Lie Yang.¡±


    Being ignored, Ashley stood behind Lady Kathleen. Still, every time Red ignored his existence, it made him feel more silly about his feelings. He would rather choose a man who was useless in bed, or wasn¡¯t concerned with greetings, or was even stingy with kisses. When would he be able to talk and laugh with him like Mrs. Kathleen? Would there really be that day? Ashley, who was eaten by his inferiority complex, watched secretly, and his heart was filled with humble acidity.


    ¡°Lie Yang is also very wary of me now because I¡¯ve referred you, but I still have good relationships with a few friends, so I will hear some things. I suggest that you complete the task as soon as possible and bring the target¡¯s body into the field as soon as possible. It¡¯s best if before Lie Yang is ready, I threaten him with my friends and ¡®force¡¯ him to hand over the ring,¡± Mrs. Kathleen said.


    ¡°As long as the ring is still in Lie Yang¡¯s hands, he won¡¯t hand it over,¡± Red said coldly and smiled mockingly. ¡°I prefer to bring my prey into the field alive and begin the ceremony by watering the altar with his and Lie Yang¡¯s blood.¡±


    With a hand over his heart, Red spoke with a look of longing and enthusiasm: "Only in this way will my Lord notice me, and see that I¡¯m his most loyal believer!¡±


    Mrs. Kathleen¡¯s expression was stiff. Obviously, she was not such a fanatical believer. When she met a fanatical believer, she would feel uncomfortable: ¡°If you insist on this, it will be risky. After all, your prey is a firm hierophant. You might not be able to control him.¡±


    ¡°Compared to my Lord, this danger isn¡¯t worth mentioning,¡± Red said, his expression decisive.


    ¡°OK¡­¡± Mrs. Kathleen¡¯s expression could be summarized as: Although I don¡¯t quite understand what you crazy believers think, it¡¯s good that you¡¯re happy.


    Mrs. Kathleen left. Although she couldn¡¯t reach an agreement in this meeting, she was still willing to bet on him. She also inquired about Ning Zhou. Qi Leren vaguely said that he¡¯d formed a relationship with him by approaching him while pretending to be a woman. After all, hierophants of the Holy See resisted same-sex love. Mrs. Kathleen looked at him with surprise and even her subordinate, Ashley, was shocked.


    They thought it was a terrible thing to let the world know that you used to change your hat and dress as a woman.


    Ning Zhou, who was sitting in the basement with his black bird, must think so, hehe.


    &&&


    The underground cave filled with hot lava was once again opened to the Lord of Slaughter¡¯s believers. This half-field was like a solidified space, with no potential for growth, but it was an excellent shelter that allowed believers to not have to gather in a specific place in the Twilight Township, thus reducing the risk of being caught by the Court.


    But today, it was about to fall into enemy hands.


    Luo Yishan, standing at the edge of the altar, looked dignified. He didn¡¯t expect Red to play his hand so fast. When he was still searching widely for clues about Ning Zhou, Red had already completed the task. Although he hadn¡¯t had enough time to finish the task, it was enough for him to arrange manpower to deal with Red. As long as he killed Red, he was the only candidate. Even if he didn¡¯t not finish the task, the ring in the half-field belonged to him.


    On the stone bridge over the rolling magna, holding a chain in hand, Red laughingly came to the altar, and the crowd made way for him spontaneously.


    He dragged the man dressed as a Vatican exorcist, but the collar of his shirt was half unbuttoned, revealing large areas of kiss and scratch marks on his clavicle. He looked ahead with empty eyes, wearing a metal collar around his neck and with his hands bound in metal handcuffs, and he walked forward silently and blankly. In this half-field where the heat was like hell, all the places he stepped seemed to be covered with invisible snow and ice.


    Red, who showed signs of demonization, looked back lazily, stroked the beautiful abstinent exorcist¡¯s face, and winked in Luo Yishan¡¯s direction: ¡°The exorcist of the Holy See, I brought him alive. How about it? Don¡¯t I have a good style? This fallen pure soul is the best gift to sacrifice for my Lord.¡±


    Red eyed Luo Yishan¡¯s ring. Luo Yishan immediately felt his line of sight and a wave of anger welled up in my mind. He would never hand over this ring! The manpower had been arranged, as long as he gave the order¡­


    Red suddenly showed a strange smile, and the chain held in his hand loosened and fell to the ground with a crunching sound. He had rushed to Luo Yishan like an arrow, and with a wave of his dagger in the air, he moved like the wind - his cheetah-like speed was too fast and amazing, and he threw him to the ground!


    ¡°Start it! Get him!¡± There was a chilling coolness from his wrist, and the severe pain turned Luo Yishan¡¯s command into a scream. The left hand wearing the ring had been cut off by the dagger, and the blood flowed wildly. The defensive shield he used to protect himself was immediately broken, and Red flew out like a bullet. However, he flew too much, and Red fell directly into the rolling magma, turning to ashes in an instant.


    Luo Yishan and his men were still stunned by the sudden end of the battle, when an arrow flashing with a silver luster flew like thunder, and the translucent shield was like glass, crashing and breaking under this arrow!


    The Vatican exorcist, who had originally been controlled like a marionette under Red¡¯s masterful technique, had opened the shackles on his hands when everyone¡¯s attention had been turned, and Red, who had disappeared into the magma, appeared in front of him again¡­

 CH 110

    Chapter 110: Slaughter Secret Society (XII)


    The seed of slaughter broke out!


    Luo Yishan, whose protective cover was broken, sank into the seed of slaughter¡¯s control after it was triggered by the sudden crisis, and the crazy seed of slaughter turned into thorns piercing his body. The demon energy flowed furiously in the half-field and surrounded the altar, and the surging rain cloud of demon energy generally enveloped this half-field controlled by lava.


    On the cave¡¯s dome ceiling, the blue light of the thermophilic fungi was like a vast starry sky. Under this gloomy and strange blue light, the seeds of slaughter caused the believers to lose control one after another, devouring all reason in an instant!


    Qi Leren¡¯s, after loading the save file to resurrect himself, felt his eyes go red as the cold power ran down his neck. It was flowing through the current of his blood. That terrifying, destructive power encroached on his reason. At this moment, there was no memento ring before his eyes, no Ning Zhou. His eyes only sought death!


    Luo Yishan, who had lost his hand, was the same. He forgot the wound that was constantly spraying blood, didn¡¯t even remember to pick up his amputated hand, and forgot the ring on his amputated hand. His healthy right hand roared at Qi Leren with a heavy stick, and thorns swept towards him like heavy rain!


    The two frenzied men fought in the open space, and the Qi Leren, who was fully inspired by his fighting instinct, was as agile as a bobcat. Even under the control of the seed, he did not forget his shortcomings, and Luo Yishan¡¯s powerful hits never connected. But even so, the significant difference in combat effectiveness between the two men was not enough for him to defeat this opponent. If Ning Zhou hadn¡¯t helped with his archery, he would have been beaten in little more than ten seconds.


    The half-field was in chaos, and Mrs. Kathleen became suspicious because of how quickly Ning Zhou had broken free, but at this time she was already riding a tiger*, so after consideration still she chose to believe him. She didn¡¯t let Luo Yishan¡¯s cronies control the whole situation. However, under the traction of the huge demon energy, all the believers had been caught in the outbreak of the seeds of slaughter, and the believers whose seeds were deeply developed had been pierced by thorns one after another. The large black thorns unscrupulously harvested the lives of believers and a melody of death rose from the spewing blood and death wails.


    *{E/N: in a precarious situation}


    There was no right or wrong, just killing for celebration, and celebration for killing.


    A silver arrow shot a long line of electric light across the ground, exploding into frost and spreading. The extremely cold temperature made the magma around it freeze for a moment, to say nothing of the believers in that area, their bodies and thorns becoming covered with a layer of frost that slowed their movement. Ning Zhou drew his double knives out of their sheaths and rushed to the devil worshippers who had turned to ice, killing them amidst the blood rain.


    On the edge of the altar, Qi Leren had turned around and climbed up the altar, fighting bravely with Luo Yishan. His clear consciousness had been suppressed under the desire to kill, but the countdown was progressing lower and lower.


    The S/L Skill¡¯s effect time was only¡­ seven, six, five, four, three¡­


    Luo Yishan¡¯s thorns swept over the rocky ground, and the limb that had been cut off by Qi Leren flew out. With its arc, it fell towards the magma.


    Qi Leren, who was avoiding Luo Yishan¡¯s attack on the altar, suddenly woke up for a moment. If the ring fell into the magma, his recent painstaking efforts would be completely invalid!


    Two seconds.


    With a push of his foot, he jumped up like a cat lunging for his prey.


    One second.


    His hand was two meters away from the flying amputated hand. He was still rising, but the bloody hand was falling away.


    Zero seconds.


    He also began to fall, but was still half a meter short! Only half a meter away!


    The save time had passed, and the skill cooling countdown was 0:59:59.


    His feet were no longer solid ground but hot lava, and the terrible heat was on him, getting closer and closer¡­


    He¡¯d lost his center of gravity, falling upside down. The world was inverted before his eyes. Ironically, at this moment, he could calmly look at the absurd Slaughter ceremony not far away. In this upside down world, the blood gushing everywhere was like red rain falling from the sky, more dazzling than the magma.


    A cold voice laughed wildly in his mind. It was the seed of slaughter¡¯s consciousness, and it joyfully commanded him to die.


    No, stop! There was still a way, there had to be a way¡­ Yes, he could use the [Countercurrent Sand] to reset a skill card at will, but¡­ Even if he reset the S/L skill here, he would still fall into magma in midair after loading the file!


    It was over.


    Once again, his sober consciousness was swallowed up by the seed of slaughter. Qi Leren looked at the hot red manga indifferently as he watched himself rush towards death.


    ¡°Qi Leren-! Grab the ring!!!¡± Ning Zhou¡¯s voice came from far away, waking him from his zen state like sudden thunder.


    Qi Leren¡¯s consciousness once again overcame the seed of slaughter, and he realized that he was falling into the abyss of death.


    To fall into magma was to fall into hell. He would be reduced to ashes and disappear here forever.


    There was only one chance for him to survive¡­


    Grab the ring!


    Although his spiritual power left after breaking from his meditative state was weak, it made the impossible possible at the moment when it seemed lost. Qi Leren stretched his hand out hard and grabbed the hand at the moment when it was about to fall into magma. The cold temperature of the memento ring shocked his system, and he frantically screamed in his his mind-


    Get out! Close the field! Get us out of here!


    A white light flashed, and the half-fields was closed.


    At this moment, this feast of the Devil of Slaughter¡¯s dance¡­


    Abruptly ended.


    &&&


    In front of him was a hot red. As if given an electric shock, Qi Leren sprang up from the sofa only for his legs to go soft, sitting back down.


    At the last second in the half-field, the hot magma had almost touched his head, and the terrible heat seemed to have burned his soul. At that time, his S/L skill had run out. If Ning Zhou hadn¡¯t woken him up at that time, if he hadn¡¯t caught the amputated hand at that time¡­


    The amputated hand was still in his hand, yet before Qi Leren could take off the memento ring, his hand was grasped.


    An awkward Ning Zhou pulled his wrist, and his blue eyes were like the sea in the storm, brewing a horrible mood. Qi Leren was stunned, a little embarrassed.


    "Oh¡­ We¡¯re okay,¡± the old man Qi Leren said towards the ground, but he didn¡¯t have any confidence in his heart.


    His wrist hurt, but Qi Leren didn¡¯t dare to look at Ning Zhou¡¯s face. Just now, he couldn¡¯t tell whether Ning Zhou was going to hit him or hug him¡­ Probably hit him. He also knew that the image at that moment had been too thrilling, enough that someone watching would have a heart attack.


    After leaving the half-field, his seed of slaughter was controlled, and now it was back to hiding in the back of his neck. Qi Leren was a little distracted thinking about it, only to suddenly hear Ning Zhou¡¯s voice: ¡°At any time, living is the most important thing.¡±


    ¡°¡­Um, I see.¡± The atmosphere was too strange, and Qi Leren had no intention of arguing. He took his hand away and contacted the Trials Office with a walkie-talkie. ¡°The ring is here, come quickly.¡±


    ¡°Three minutes, wait on the roof,¡± Al¡¯s calm voice came from the other end of the walkie talkie.


    There wasn¡¯t much time, and the Slaughter Secret Society¡¯s belivers would surely come here. They had to leave before they arrived.


    Qi Leren took the ring off the amputated hand and held it in his hand. He didn¡¯t complete the ritual task or kill another candidate, so the ring didn¡¯t belong to him, nor was he the Slaughter Secret Society¡¯s keeper. At most, he could only use part of this half-field.


    Unfortunately, believers summoned to the half-field could refuse to enter it, otherwise he could now pull all the believers into the half-field and escape with ease.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and wait for the airship on the roof,¡± Qi Leren said to Ning Zhou.


    On the roof, the sun shone like blood.


    The Nightmare Game had not explained why the Nightmare World had this strange weather in the Village of Dusk. This human sanctuary shrouded in the sunset all year round seemed to have been forgotten in time, together with the sunset that never fell.


    But at this moment, the two people have no intention of appreciating such beautiful scenery. From the direction of the setting sun, a large group of bats were coming towards them like migratory birds. Looking down from above, believers wearing cloaks and masks appeared in the distant streets. They were coming here to stop them from taking away the memento ring!


    The Court¡¯s airship appeared at almost the same time. The helicopter-like airship headed straight toward the roof where the two were located.


    Hurry up, hurry up. Qi Leren looked to both sides, praying that the speed of the aircraft would be faster than the approaching tide of bats.


    He looked at Ning Zhou again, who had taken out his bow and arrow without saying a word.


    Sure enough, there it was. Qi Leren was used to his style, but there were too many bats. Were there enough arrows? Or did he intend to use the frost arrows that could freeze bone dragons?


    A dark arrow was draped over the metal longbow, and as the string was pulled back, the arrow shot out with a loud bang. Such a sound was surprising to the ear. The arrow shot out like lightning, and bats fell from the air like iron blocks. The sound echoed like thunder.


    What kind of arrow was this? Qi Leren watched curiously, secretly looking at the bow and arrow in Ning Zhou¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Gravity increase,¡± Ning Zhou said.


    Qi Leren didn¡¯t really know whether this was a skill or something, but everything had been happening so quickly recently that he hadn¡¯t been able to change his mentality. Not knowing how to pretend to understand, he nodded blindly.


    Only two meters away from the roof, the nearby aircraft opened its door. Ning Zhou motioned for Qi Leren to go first, and Qi Leren struggled for a moment. He jumped high to reach the door and strained to climb up then turned back to Ning Zhou to stretch out his hand and pull him, but before he had turned around, Ning Zhou had come up.


    Almost at the same time, the believers flooded onto the roof.


    A man-made rain cloud condensed in the sky and the wind blew with thunder and lightning. Lightning as thick as wrists fell from the sky onto the roof. A shield popped open instantly on the aircraft, blocking the thunder and lightning.


    The aircraft rose, getting farther and farther away from the roof. Through the translucent shield, Qi Leren saw the large group of believers wearing cloaks flooding the roof, and believers with ranged attack abilities were trying to break the shield and shoot down the aircraft.


    In the crowd, only one person was not wearing a mask, and Qi Leren saw him at a glance.


    Ashley.


    In the violent, chaotic crowd, he looked up at him. Through the thunder and heavy rain, his childish eyes changed.


    He had many things to ask and say. That encounter in the rainy night had turned out to be the beginning of a plot of destruction. His longing, his yearning, and his silent love were all false.


    There was no Red in this world. What he had fallen in love with was just a carefully woven phantom.


    Just as the day they had met, his first love, which had never started, came to an abrupt end in the midst of a rainstorm that clouded his eyes.


    The crowd flocked to the aircraft, but Ashley suddenly turned around and left against the stream of people. He held Red¡¯s mask in his hand, which broke from being clutched too hard. The fragment cut his palm, and the blood was dissolved and washed away by the rain.


    ¡°Ma''am, get out of here. The Village of Dusk is no longer safe,¡± Ashley said to Mrs. Kathleen, who was hiding in the shadows.


    In the heavy rain and thunder, Mrs. Kathleen looked at him wearily. Her delicate makeup had been washed away by the rain and her face had become blurred, decadent and ridiculous. She vaguely felt that her subordinate had changed and his youth had faded from his face, leaving no trace, and giving the outline of a mature man standing in the rainstorm.


    ¡°Pull yourself together¡­ Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go to the Underground Ant City. The Village of Dusk¡¯s enchantment has been broken by the Trial.¡± Mrs Kathleen made the decision and gave up calling to her other subordinates. She would take Ashley to the border with her.


    Ashley looked up at the flying aircraft, which had passed through the magic rain cloud and flew towards the distant sunset.


    One day¡­ Ashley carefully put the mask he held away into his item bar. One day, they would meet again.


    At that time, he must not be what he was today.

 CH 111

    Chapter 111: The Dream of the Holy Nun (I)


    In an instant, the aircraft had already flown over the rain clouds and the setting sun shone through the transparent window, casting warm gold onto the three people in the aircraft. Al drove the aircraft, and the inner cabin of this small aircraft was narrow. Qi Leren and Ning Zhou sat side by side, waiting for the aircraft to land.


    The heavy memento ring was still in Qi Leren¡¯s hand. He played with the ring, a little absent-minded as he recounted what had happened. The last image he¡¯d seen before the hatch had closed behind him was still deeply imprinted in his mind: amidst the thunderstorm, the believers rushed toward the departing aircraft, but Ashley had turned around and disappeared into the crowd against the flow of people.


    The young boy who blushed when he met his eyes had changed.


    When he was on duty, Qi Leren hadn¡¯t paid much attention to him. He paid more attention to Mrs. Kathleen than to Ashley, who was just an introduction to his task. In order to catch Mrs. Kathlee¡¯s support, he¡¯d mixed into the Slaughter Secret Society, but somehow, at the end of the task, it was this teenager who followed behind Mrs. Kathleen like a shadow who suddenly was impressed upon him.


    But it didn¡¯t make sense. Sooner or later, they would fall into the hands of the Trials Office, and the Village of Dusk¡¯s Slaughter Secret Society would soon be uprooted.


    Qi Leren picked up the ring with Luo Yishan¡¯s blood on it. The ring reflected the bright light of the sunset outside the window.


    Ning Zhou looked at the ring then looked at him as well. The outline of the side of his face was softened by the light, and the sunset passed through his eyelashes, leaving countless shadows. Qi Leren¡¯s eyes fell from the ring to Ning Zhou¡¯s face. For a moment, he wanted to ask about the blue gem ring, but he couldn¡¯t ask, he could only smile at Ning Zhou.


    An incredible thing happened at this moment. Ning Zhou, who has always been unsmiling, softened his expression and smiled back at him.


    The roaring sound of the ship¡¯s engine disappeared from his ears, as did the ticking sounds of the machinery. Even the orange sunset seemed to disappear. Qi Leren stared at Ning Zhou¡¯s rare smile and was speechless.


    It was silly, because he still held the Slaughter Secret Society¡¯s memento ring, as if he were going to give it to someone.


    ¡°Remove the seed of slaughter when you go back,¡± Ning Zhou said, the side of his face being made noticeably warm by the red light of the dreamy sunset.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Yeah, okay.¡± Having come to his senses, Qi Leren touched the seed of slaughter that had grown from the back of his neck down his spine. This timebomb could finally be gotten rid of.


    ¡°Ning Zhou¡­ For this time, thank you,¡± Qi Leren whispered his gratitude.


    Ning Zhou shook his head and said nothing.


    Qi Leren understood what he meant. He didn¡¯t mean anything by it. He was just doing what he thought should be done, and he would never ask for anything in return.


    Al, who is driving the aircraft, had been paying attention to the movement behind him. At this moment, he finally rolled his eyes. What¡¯s the matter with these two people? Affectionately looking at each other for half a day, were they going to kiss? Even if movie law states that ¡°there must be a kiss after a big battle¡±, you have to look at the gender clearly!


    Thinking this, Al suddenly felt a little ashamed. This task was really too difficult for new people. Seeing that a good young man had had his sexual orientation become wrong due to his special training¡­ And Ning Zhou, the Holy See forbade homosexuality.


    The aircraft landed at the Courthouse, and Qi Leren was not as upset by this visit as he had been the last time he¡¯d been to the Courthouse. With the task completed, he walked off the aircraft with high spirits and followed Al into the Courthouse.


    This time, instead of being taken into the underground area, he went directly to an office.


    Al knocked on the door and a man¡¯s voice came from inside: ¡°Come in.¡±


    Al opened the door and motioned for Qi Leren to go in. Instead, Ning Zhou went in first.


    The person inside stood at the window with his back to them. He seemed to be looking at the sunset that lingered on the coastline. When he heard footsteps, he turned around and saw Ning Zhou at the door and suddenly asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    Qi Leren didn¡¯t know who this man was. The last time he¡¯d come to the Court, he¡¯d seen him come out with Ning Zhou. He should be the Court¡¯s leader. Seeing him at this moment, Qi Leren suddenly had a kind of confidence - so, Red¡¯s style of dress was not so girly.


    Look at this one - tall, pale, thin, straight black hair. His face was really neutral. If it wasn¡¯t for his voice, he wouldn¡¯t have been sure he was a man. Qi Leren would definitely think this was a sophisticated elder sister.


    Qi Leren was looking straight ahead when Ning Zhou suddenly caught his gaze and held out his hand.


    What was this? Qi Leren took a slow beat to remember the memento ring and handed it to Ning Zhou quickly.


    Ning Zhou took the memento ring and threw it without looking at it. The other party quickly caught it and complained: ¡°I really don¡¯t know why you¡¯re so angry¡­ Hello Qi Leren. Although it¡¯s not the first time we¡¯ve met, I didn¡¯t rush to introduce myself last time.¡±


    The man came over, held out his hand to Qi Leren, and shook it gently before pulling away: ¡°I¡¯m Si Ling, acting chief executive officer of the Court. Thank you very much for your support for this mission. We¡¯ll honor our previous promises at any time.¡±


    ¡°What about other rewards?¡± Ning Zhou asked coldly.


    Si Ling sighed: ¡°Well, because you¡¯ve done very well, we¡¯ll give you an extra reward, such as skill cards and items, which can be converted into survival days. You can tell us your general requirements and we will try our best to satisfy you.¡±


    Qi Leren was delighted. He wanted the skill card lent to him before by the Trial that improved the basic values of equipped cards. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have had the agility and strength to fight with Luo Yishan for so long.


    But¡­


    ¡°I want to participate in Court¡¯s the training of newcomers,¡± Qi Leren said firmly.


    Skill cards could improve his ability instantly, but if he didn¡¯t try to improve himself while he was still a newcomer, he would die in a task sooner or later. He still had many mysteries to solve, and he wanted to go further.


    Si Ling raised his eyebrows. It seemed that he didn¡¯t expect him to put forward this request.


    ¡°It seems you¡¯re smarter than I thought.¡± Si Ling approached him. At close range, his eyes seemed to be like that of a cold-blooded reptile, his pupils longer than that of ordinary people. The distance between the two people had exceeded the limit of politeness and Qi Leren felt a chill coming from Si Ling.


    This was not the coldness brought by an aura, but a kind of substantial coldness. It was like the coldness from a refrigerator when the door was opened. It was not aimed at him, but was a real coldness.


    ¡°Then let Al train you,¡± Si Ling took a step back, glanced at Ning Zhou with a smile, and then smiled at the guest.


    ¡°Choose something else,¡± NingZhou suddenly said.


    Qi Leren sighed blankly, only to hear Ning Zhou repeat: ¡°I¡¯ll train you. Choose something else.¡±


    Someone had volunteered to be his coach. Qi Leren immediately understood Ning Zhou¡¯s meaning. He could make other demands to the Tria, he shouldn¡¯t waste this precious opportunity on training himself. Although he didn¡¯t think it was a waste, since there were better people willing to help him, he could make other demands to the Trial.


    ¡°Hey, although the Trial is an extension of the Holy See, you shouldn¡¯t take advantage of us,¡± Si Ling said with an air of annoyance.


    Ning Zhou ignored him and said to Qi Leren: ¡°If you can¡¯t think of something, keep it. If you want to use the Trail in the future, you don¡¯t have to be polite to them.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ I¡¯ll keep it.¡± Qi Leren listened to the good advice. Maybe he could avoid being arrested in the future.


    Si Ling walked past the two men, opened the door of his office, and held out his hand perfunctorily: ¡°You can leave.¡±


    Qi Leren felt as if he had successfully offended him and was a little nervous. He smiled kindly at Si Ling and left quickly.


    ¡°Ning Zhou,¡± Si Ling stopped him.


    Ning Zhou¡¯s footsteps stopped and he looked at Si Ling. He looked at him with a dignified expression: ¡°The Pope once praised you in front of me. He said that you never let him down.¡±


    Ning Zhou¡¯s hand at his side moved for a moment, slowly clenching into a tight fist.


    ¡°I won¡¯t let him down,¡± He said, turning and walking out of the room.

 CH 112

    Chapter 112: The Dream of the Holy Nun (II)


    ¡°So Ning Zhou is there with you now?¡± Miao Li asked as she roamed Qi Leren¡¯s dream.


    Qi Leren kept having unwanted dreams whenever he nodded off, but thanks to Miao Li¡¯s intrusion, he had been woken from the nightmare he had been having just now. His dreams of continuous death only made him more tired.


    Miao Li yawned: ¡°That¡¯s great, we¡¯re still busy with the follow-up for the Slaughter Secret Society.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it all over?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    ¡°Over? No, no, no, this task is much more complicated than you think. Although you¡¯ve performed the most critical part, there are many other things besides this¡­¡± Miao Li pushed her glasses up. ¡°Do you think sending you into the Slaughter Secret Society undercover is the only thing we did? It took a lot of effort for the Illusionist to cover up your tombstones on Undead Island. He¡¯s very curious about you.¡±


    Tombstones? Qi Leren suddenly remembered that when he¡¯d recognized Luo Yishan, Luo Yishan had also recognized him. If he sent someone to investigate the identity of ¡®Qi Leren¡¯, then those amazing tombstones on the Undead Island¡­


    Wait a minute.The Court knew about his tombstones? Qi Leren was stunned.


    ¡°You thought no one knew about it? In a few months, the whole Twilight Township will know that there¡¯s a player named ''Qi Leren¡¯ who has died many times. This kind of bizarre news always travels quickly,¡± Miao Li said with a smile, seeming to see what he was thinking.


    Qi Leren suddenly had a bad feeling. He didn¡¯t want to get into any trouble: ¡°Is there any way to cover up my tombstones? For example, by digging them out?¡±


    For the sake of confidentiality, Qi Leren would not hesitate to dig his own graves.


    ¡°¡­Your idea is really interesting, but the Nightmare World is different from reality after all. Even if you forcibly dig out your tombstone, it will be refreshed after midnight. The Undead Island is like a game log, recording the names of players since the birth of this world. What qualifications do we have to delete the game logs when we¡¯re only players?¡± Miao Li said with a slight irony. ¡°So we just sent an Illusionist to temporarily cover your tombstones on the Undead Island after confirming that you needed to go undercover. Now the Illusionist has removed the illusion, and your secret can¡¯t be concealed for too long. As long as one person finds out, a secret is no longer a secret. You should be glad that there aren¡¯t many people who have grave-sweeping as a hobby.¡±


    It was unfortunate. If the Illusionist had covered the tombstones earlier, he wouldn¡¯t have been distracted by the mountain of death records. It seemed that you should use your real name less when walking outside. If there were onlookers, he would be afraid of someone trying to take advantage of his ability to resurrect himself¡­ This had already happened and would continue to happen. Speaking of which.


    ¡°The Slaughter Secret Society¡¯s believers were caught, right? Luo Yishan¡­ Lie Yang knows my real name. At that time, I failed to kill him in the field,¡± Qi Leren asked with a frown.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead, died of the seed of slaughter¡¯s outbreak and blood loss. Now the Village of Dusk¡¯s enchantment has been closed, only in not out. The connection attached to the memento ring can track the identities of people who have entered the field, and basically all believers have been either arrested or will be soon. However, there are still several believers who were not in Dusk when the incident occurred, and two other believers escaped before the enchantment closed,¡± Miao Li gave a brief account of the situation.


    ¡°Who escaped?¡± Qi Leren suddenly had a bad feeling.


    Miao Li gave him a deep look and seemed a little sympathetic: ¡°Two people you know very well. Mrs. Kathleen, and her subordinate Ashley.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± The sense of foreboding always came true. Qi Leren couldn¡¯t say what kind of revelation this was.


    ¡°Let Ning Zhou train you, maybe it will be useful one day,¡± Miao Li said.


    The depressed Qi Leren looked indifferent. Ning Zhou didn¡¯t speak kindly when he trained him. He couldn¡¯t remember how many times he knocked him to the ground even when he was prepared. Even if his psychological quality was better, he would soon have a psychological shadow from falling into a sprawl all the time.


    ¡°Oh, another thing about Slaughter, go to the Trial after you finish your first compulsory task and set aside at least one week of survival days. We¡¯ll help you take out your ticking timebomb,¡± Miao Li said with a smile and walked out of his dream lightly.


    It was already morning when he woke up. Although it was still sunset outside the window, the countdown of survival days told him that another day had passed. Qi Leren struggled to get out of bed, washing and thinking about today¡¯s mission.


    Ning Zhou gave him a daily training menu, and he was also responsible for sparring with him for some of the contents that required a partner. Therefore, Qi Leren took the initiative to prepare the ¡°coach¡±¡¯s three meals. At present, the two people got along well - considering that so many embarrassing things had happened between them, this harmonious relationship was even more commendable.


    There was a faint warmth when he remembered the scene of them eating together in the warm sunset.


    However, Ning Zhou said yesterday that he would be absent today and Qi Leren didn¡¯t bother to ask him where he was going, so he was the only one who enjoyed breakfast today.


    Compared to a large number of procrastinators and lazy parasites in modern society, Qi Leren was a very self-disciplined person. After entering the Nightmare Game, he consciously exercised himself. Now that he had this scientific tutorial, he cherished this opportunity very much. Although every day he was drilled so black and blue that he had to crawl to bed at the end of the day, and when he fell asleep he was haunted by nightmares from time to time, the next day he would still grit his teeth.


    Ning Zhou was not here, so the training schedule was cancelled. After training in the afternoon, Qi Leren had some rare leisure time. Out of camaraderie among friends, he specially copied a training menu for Dr. Lu. In the private clinic, he saw Dr. Lu lying on a soft sofa enjoying dessert and hot drinks. He warmly invited Qi Leren to share in the afternoon tea.


    After learning about Qi Leren¡¯s recent training menu, Dr. Lu showed the expression of ¡°My little friend is so masochistic he would scare a baby to death¡± and only reluctantly agreed to jog for two kilometers every day after being persuaded by Qi Leren. However, when he saw his criminal record of falling flat after running only two steps - which Dr. Lu repeatedly explained was because his cerebellum was naturally uncoordinated and his balance was worse than the average person - Qi Leren didn¡¯t believe he would last for long¡­


    After coming out of Dr. Lu¡¯s clinic, Qi Leren also saw a player who spoke with an accent talking with his friend: ¡°There¡¯s a female doctor here whose medical skills are very good! There¡¯s just a few more rules. ¡±


    ¡°Really? Is she beautiful?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a man.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it was a female doctor?¡±


    ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s Nu (woman).¡±


    The window on the second floor suddenly opened. Dr. Lu poked his head out and said maliciously, ¡°My last name is Lu! I don¡¯t treat people with accents!¡±


    After asking for forgiveness, the two people found that the doctor was hard-hearted and they immediately took up evil thoughts, wanting to threaten violence. Worried about Dr. Lu¡¯s safety, Qi Leren, who hadn¡¯t left yet, simply practiced his recent training results and was pleasantly surprised to find that one or two players weren¡¯t a problem.


    The two players didn¡¯t even dare to trash talk as they escaped. Qi Leren watched the two disappear at the intersection and then reluctantly looked at the helpless Dr. Lu: ¡°Now that you know how important exercise is, let¡¯s teach you a few tricks.¡±


    Dr. Lu opened his mouth and exclaimed: ¡°I¡¯m used to you having the aura of a mysterious soft girl, you¡¯re as easily bullied as I am. I¡¯m surprised to see you¡¯ve improved so much. It¡¯s really hard to look at you now, you were so cute before¡­¡±


    Qi Leren¡¯s hands itched to beat him. What is this mysterious soft girl aura?! Who the hell is cute? Although that one task forced me to be a girl for a few days,  I¡¯m still a man normally. I just sent two seven-foot men packing!


    ¡°Have a good time training yourself. If you can¡¯t run at least two laps, what will you do the next time someone makes trouble? If you can¡¯t beat them, you have to run for it,¡± Qi Leren said earnestly, too lazy to care.


    ¡°Don¡¯t I have a skill card, [Here, We Will Have Free Wi-Fi]? When equipped, everyone will slowly forget my existence and do their own thing. If the duration of the skill is up, I¡¯ll either admit defeat or call the police. If it truly doesn¡¯t work out, there¡¯ll always be passersby who will help me at the crucial moment,¡± Dr. Lu said firmly.


    ¡°¡­Do whatever you want.¡± Qi Leren said tiredly. As someone with E-level luck, he didn¡¯t quite understand the confidence of someone with EX luck, so he left in a disgruntled manner.


    It was still early, so he could go somewhere else. Qi Leren made a trip according to the addresses and information given by Chen Baiqi. There were two players who were good at manual work and could be used to make chargers. As a result, when he came to the doors that matched the addresses, one had gone out to do a task and wasn¡¯t at home and the other house was empty, which should mean he¡¯d died recently.


    Qi Leren was in a state of melancholy. It seemed he would have to come back another time to see if the player who had left to do a task had come back alive.


    As he had plenty of time, Qi Leren simply checked the main task again. Ever since he¡¯d entered the Nightmare World he would go see if the key NPC Rudd, who triggered the task, was present, but he deliberately didn¡¯t trigger the task for fear that he would die again. He just wanted to see if anyone knew about it.


    Following the remembered route, Qi Leren came to the Twilight Township¡¯s NPC settlement, which was close to ¡°Red¡¯s¡± home where he¡¯d been staying while undercover with the Slaughter Secret Society. Qi Leren was afraid he would meet some believers who hadn¡¯t been arrested, so he put on his cloak for safety.


    Under the setting sun, a large amount of water vapor gushed out from the rusty iron pipes on both sides of the road, seeming like smoke when seen from a distance.


    There was a tavern in the depths of the alley near a garbage dump made of scrap iron. The iron waist-high iron gate couldn¡¯t keep out the noisy sounds coming from the building. Men played cards, drank, and chatted loudly, making this remote tavern seem very lively.


    Qi Leren pushed open the waist-high iron gate and walked into the pub.


    The tavern owner recognized him, the man with short curly hair asking enthusiastically, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in a long time, Qi.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been busy with some things recently,¡± Qi Leren answered and looked around.


    The NPC Rudd he is looking for wasn¡¯t here¡­ This was unusual. Every time he¡¯d come here before, he was drunk in the corner of the pub. According to the plot, if he bought him a drink, he would recount his memories with a face of snot and tears, the tragic battle where mankind¡¯s Holy City was overtaken by demons more than 20 years ago, and then he would go to the churchyard to pay homage to his comrades.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the drunk?¡± Qi Leren asking, pointing to the corner of the pub.


    ¡°Oh, him. Just now, a man in a cloak came to have a drink with him and then they left together. Before leaving, the guy even paid off the wine bill he owed. I¡¯m really grateful,¡± said the boss.


    Qi Leren¡¯s face changed instantly: ¡°What did the man look like?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, he was also wearing a cloak. I couldn¡¯t see his face clearly,¡± the boss said. ¡°But I haven¡¯t seen him here before. I don¡¯t remember his voice¡­ Hey, don¡¯t you want your wine?¡±


    ¡°Keep it!¡± Qi Le rushed out of the pub and headed for the abandoned church not far away without looking back.


    The main task¡¯s next step was there!

 CH 113

    Chapter 113: The Dream of the Holy Nun (III)


    The abandoned church was located at the border of the Twilight Township, an area deserted and overgrown with weeds.


    From a distance, the dilapidated church, which was about to be overtaken by the sparse woods, seemed to be frozen in the sunset, gradually broken under the wheel of years, and finally forgotten.


    At the edge of the roof, a string-thin moon was bathed in the sunset. Qi Leren recalled that the day when he received the task in the Nightmare Game, there was also such a string-thin moon hanging in the twilight.


    Qi Leren took a deep breath, stepped on the rubble, and walked to the church.


    The door of the church had been in disrepair for a long time and opened with a gentle push. The breeze from the door aroused the settled dust, sending it flying under the golden red afterglow. The image of the game overlapped with this scene, both familiar and unfamiliar. The image of the computer screen in his memory became a real scene at this moment, giving a feeling of absurdity.


    Through the rows of pews, Qi Leren came to the depths of the church.


    There were two doors here, one to the left and one to the right.


    At that time, Qi Leren had randomly chosen the door to the right and walked along the forest path. He¡¯d come to a cemetery, where he had received a mission to go to the Holy City. The reason why he¡¯d known this mission was special was that the mission¡¯s text colour in the game was different from other tasks.


    As a save scummer, Qi Leren had actually saved files when choosing to go left or right, but after entering the right door and receiving the task, he didn¡¯t reload the file but instead continued the game. The NPC Rudd had told him that he and his comrade-in-arms Arnold were eroded by the Devil¡¯s energy after the Battle of the Holy City and their fighting power had declined, so they didn¡¯t have the strength to return to the Holy City. Now, the Holy City is shrouded in fog, but Arnold has a mission item which would allow people to pass through the fog and enter the Holy City. He hoped that players could dispel the fog and let the people trapped in the Holy City be free.


    At that time, Qi Leren hadn¡¯t known much about the Holy City. After getting the task items, he¡¯d rushed to the Holy City and then died for the first time in this game, getting a Bad Ending¡­


    Qi Leren looked at these two identical doors carefully. They were embedded in the wall from left to right, waiting for his choice.


    Qi Leren knew that he should make a decision quickly. If he caught up now, he might still catch the man who took away the drunken NPC and even take over the task before him. But so what? If the other party, like him, had played the Nightmare Game in the real world and happened to trigger the main task, then his secret was no longer only his secret¡­


    Therefore, it was important to leave this kind of responsibility to others.


    But¡­


    A faint unwillingness made him hesitate.


    Qi Leren helplessly felt that this tangled situation was probably retribution for his rare procrastination¡­ Although him dragging out triggering this task hadn¡¯t been from laziness, but because he was thinking of his own safety.


    Forget it, he would go to the left door this time. The choice was always his Qi Leren turned away from the door on the right and went straight to the wooden door on the left.


    The wooden door was pushed away. Ahead was a sparse forest shrouded in sunset, weeds covering the gravel path on the ground, and Qi Leren easily identified the path and headed into the forest. In the setting sun, the wind blew this barren woods, far away from the factories that roared all day long. The air in this area was fresh and the sound of insects, birds, wind, and bats¡¯ flying turned into a natural music in the ear.


    Qi Leren walked forward with his heart in his hand. As he walked deeper and deeper, the forest in front of him gradually grew thick. In the deep twilit scene, he vaguely saw the high and low tombstones in the misty clearing ahead, and a hazy figure in the fog.


    His foot stepped on the wet ground, and the dead branches were broken. The birds in the branches sang, and the man turned around.


    The open space in the forest, the worn tombstones on the wet soil, and the man in the sunset¡­ were like a story and a dream.


    ¡°Ning, Ning Zhou?¡± Qi Leren swallowed. He never expected to see him here.


    Ning Zhou, wearing a cloak, looked at him quietly. The soft sunset blurred the blue in his eyes, and Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help but think that he saw tenderness. But in the blink of an eye, those eyes were frozen by rational coldness, leaving only empty calm.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    Ning Zhou backed away a little, revealing the tombstone behind him, which was well maintained unlike those around it that had been damaged and broken. It had a name engraved on it - Maria.


    Qi Leren suddenly remembered Ning Zhou¡¯s life experiences. His mother was a hierophant of the Holy See, and his father was from the first group of players to enter the game¡­ He was raised by his mother, and after Maria died he was sent to the Holy See in Neverland and embarked on the same path as Maria.


    He remembered what Chen Baiqi had said. The thirteen-year-old Ning Zhou couldn¡¯t even learn a holy light cure. Even if he went to the Holy See, he wasn¡¯t able to learn magic well¡­


    What was Ning Zhou like as a child? Maybe he also had the same experiences as ordinary children, and grew up freely and happily in the sunset¡­ until Maria died.


    Qi Leren hesitated for a moment and walked silently to Ning Zhou¡¯s side. There was no photo on Maria¡¯s tombstone. There was nothing but a name. It was hard to imagine that a field master should finally be silent in such a deserted churchyard.


    ¡°She always wanted to go back,¡± NingZhou suddenly said.


    Since just now, Qi Leren had been waiting for Ning Zhou to say something, but he didn¡¯t expect Ning Zhou to talk about Maria¡¯s wishes.


    ¡°Go back to the Holy City?¡± he asked in a low voice.


    Ning Zhou nodded shallowly: ¡°But she had been unable to go back and dare to.¡±


    Although he didn¡¯t know the reason, a feeling of melancholy welled up in Qi Leren¡¯s mind. He was almost sure that Maria was the Holy Nun who had never been named in the Nightmare Game.


    After the Holy City¡¯s enchantment collapsed, the Holy See withdrew from the Holy City. She stayed behind and used a mysterious method to protect the people in the Holy City. Now Qi Leren knew that this power should be called a ¡°field¡±, but at that time, the game did not describe this method figuratively, instead describing it as ¡°The Dream of the Holy Nun¡±.


    This Holy Nun, who was unwilling to give up the Holy City, broke out with amazing power. She was favored by the gods and pulled everything in the Holy City into her own ¡°Dream¡±. The Dream suppressed the raging demons and made them unable to harm human beings. Even the Devil was killed by this Dream and slept deep in the cathedral.


    However, the Holy Nun finally collapsed herself, and when she died, her Dream would not be woken again. Her Dream imprisoned both human beings and demons, and even the Old Devil who had invaded the human world for the first time was imprisoned in her Dream.


    Maybe even her own soul had been forgotten there.


    The surviving walking dead was finally defeated by time, and her bones were buried deep in the soil.


    However, Qi Leren knew that until the moment before her death, she still wanted to go back and personally end the ¡°Dream¡± she had created in order to let the people trapped in the Dream return to reality. However, she had been weak for too long, lingering on her deathbed for more than ten years, and finally returned to heaven.


    At this moment, Qi Leren wanted to do something for her and for him¡­


    ¡°Do you want to go back to the Holy City?¡± Qi Leren asked him.


    Ning Zhou nodded silently.


    ¡°Then leave it to me!¡± Qi Leren showed a happy smile to him. It seemed that it was a very happy thing to be able to help Ning Zhou. This was indeed the case. ¡°I happen to know how to get to the Holy City. As long as I find something, I can pass through the fog outside the Holy City. So let¡¯s go to the Holy City together!¡±


    The breeze was harmonious, the afterglow was tender, and Ning Zhou, who stood in the deserted cemetery, did not ask him how he knew how to get through the fog, nor how to get the key item. He just nodded his head without doubt.


    He shouldn¡¯t have agreed. Ning Zhou knew this clearly. Every step closer was a step toward the abyss; to stay one more second was to drink poison to quench his thirst. In the depths of his heart, her appearance has faded away, but his appearance has become more and more vivid. Meeting again and again was like a colorful brush that filled his outline with color, and he was about to come out of the painting.


    The demon lurking in his soul lured him with moving words, which made him hesitate, doubt, shake, and drowned him in sin.


    God wanted his followers to love their own kind, men, women, old people, and young children alike.


    God praised love and blessed couples who were united by love, but God did not allow men to fall in love with men and women to fall in love with women.


    Man¡¯s love could not exceed that of the Lord. Only the Lord loved everyone.


    Therefore, he should restrain himself and stay away from him, but his inner desire and yearning couldn¡¯t be suppressed. Just like after the long extreme night in Neverland, when he and the other followers had stood on the glacier, singing and chanting against the cold wind, waiting for the first sunshine after the endless night. At that moment, the joy and yearning in his heart came from his soul and was irresistible.


    He could only say to himself: This is the last time.

 CH 114

    Chapter 114: The Dream of the Holy Nun (IV)


    ¡°So, you¡¯re the one who took Rudd away from the pub just now? Do you know him?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    ¡°I do. He and Mr. Arnold were my mother¡¯s friends, and I recently learned that Mr. Arnold has passed away,¡± Ning Zhou said. The knight Arnold was his first teacher, and most of his fighting skills were learned from him. When Arnold died a few months ago, he didn¡¯t find out right away. Although he¡¯d been to the Village of Dusk, he had been in too much of a hurry and didn¡¯t visit Arnold, and he didn¡¯t hear the news of his death until recently.


    Because he didn¡¯t know where he was buried, he had come to Arnold¡¯s friend Rudd, who brought him here. Then he came to visit Maria, who was also buried nearby, and then he met Qi Leren.


    Qi Leren thought deeply at that instant, and some of his thoughts made him afraid.


    If he had chosen the left door instead of the right one in the abandoned church, would he have met Ning Zhou in the game?


    Maybe, maybe not.


    If he had met Ning Zhou at that time, would the plot of the Nightmare Game have changed dramatically?


    The answer was yes.


    If Maria was really the Holy Nun then, as her child, Ning zhou in the game will definitely make the same choice as him now. If he took Ning zhou to the Holy City¡­


    Qi Leren gave a wry smile in his heart. So he had given his ¡°first drop of blood¡± in the Holy City because he hadn¡¯t brought the task¡¯s key NPC?


    He didn¡¯t want to think like this because it made him think Ning Zhou was an NPC in the game, not a living human being.


    Maybe there was such a possibility if he had seen Ning Zhou composed of a series of data through the computer screen. He wouldn¡¯t have a problem regarding him as an ordinary NPC, and he wouldn¡¯t explore his life, nor be moved by his emotions. Even if he saw him die, he could only sigh for him and forget in an instant.


    This was too cruel, too cruel¡­


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and find Rudd. He knows that Arnold has a key item in his hand. With it, we can cross the fog outside the Holy City and enter the ¡®Holy City¡¯,¡± Qi Leren said, clearing the mood.


    The Holy City in the fog was also the Dream of the Holy Nun, or in a more colloquial way, a field created by Maria, a world shrouded by the illusion of peace and tranquility, where the human beings who had survived the demon invasion lived happily and were ignorant of the world, under the appearance of peace. However, after the death of the Holy Nun, the illusion of peace has become increasingly fragile, and would eventually reveal the ferocious and horrible contents.


    The two men turned back to another path. Ning Zhou had just returned from Arnold¡¯s grave and returned there now with Qi Leren. He found Rudd in the cemetery. Qi Leren remembered that Rudd had easily given him the task in the game and had told him that the keepsake was in Arnold¡¯s former residence, hoping that he would take the keepsake to the Holy City as soon as possible and rescue the human beings trapped in the Holy City.


    But this time, Qi Leren hadn¡¯t chatted with Ruth in the pub. He was worried that Rudd would no longer tell him this key information since the son of his old friend was here. Would Rudd be more cooperative?


    While he was weighing his words, Ning Zhou asked straight away: ¡°Give me her field memento.¡±


    Rudd, who was still drunk, suddenly sobered up and denied it: ¡°I don¡¯t have that kind of thing!¡±


    Qi Leren was stunned at the plot¡¯s sudden change. Rudd¡¯s attitude was too strange. Why did he deny it? In the ¡°Nightmare Game¡±, he couldn¡¯t wait to tell him the clue of the memento¡­ Was it because he¡¯d missed the pub part of the plot?


    No, it was because of Ning Zhou.


    Qi Leren carefully observed Rudd¡¯s eyes. When he looked at Ning Zhou, he obviously showed nervousness. He was trying to hide something¡­


    Ning Zhou said that Rudd and Arnold were friends of his mother, so why didn¡¯t he want Ning Zhou to go to the Holy City?


    Why?


    Although the ¡°Dream of the Holy Nun¡± had started to have problems, wasn¡¯t it better to crack the field early and let the human beings there leave? Why did he want to stop Ning Zhou?


    Ning Zhou¡¯s aura suddenly suppressed. He seemed to be trying to endure something and asked in a low voice: ¡°Did she know that her domain memento had fallen into the hands of you and Arnold?¡±


    Rudd¡¯s lips moved and he swallowed what he said: ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    Ning Zhou took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His over-suppressed voice trembled slightly: ¡°She was thinking about going back before she died¡­¡±


    Rudd seemed to have been struck by lightning, and his pale face was stiff and sober.


    ¡°You knew she¡¯d been thinking about going back. For more than a decade, she¡¯d been worried and tormented, and she had woken up from nightmares over and over again¡­ She thought that her domain memento had been lost in the Holy City, but she didn¡¯t expect that you were hiding it.¡± Ning Zhou¡¯s blue eyes brewed with deep anger and disappointment, ¡°Why did you hide it from her? Why?!¡±


    Rudd, who was left without face, trembled in a way that made him look a little vulnerable in front of Ning Zhou¡¯s anger. He looked at Arnold¡¯s grave and seemed to draw strength from his friend. He shouted, "If Maria knew that her field memento hadn¡¯t been left in the Holy City, she would have definitely gone back, but her field is dead! The only way to solve the field is to destroy it completely. What¡¯s the difference was there between that and killing her? How could we watch her die?!¡±


    "A soldier should die on the battlefield. This is the supreme honor given by the Lord. Accept it, don¡¯t run from it.¡± Ning Zhou took a step toward him and Ruth was intimidated by his imposing manner, retreating unconsciously towards Arnold¡¯s tombstone.


    ¡°Let me finish what she failed to finish. Now, give me her field memento,¡± Ning Zhou said as he reached his hand to Rudd, staring into his eyes.


    Rudd was silent, his clenched teeth revealing his fear as they rattled. He seemed to be a trapped beast pushed to its limit, struggling with his heart at a loss.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Rudd let this sentence drop and fled away from the cemetery.


    In the sunset, only Qi Leren and Ning Zhou were left.


    Seeing this, Qi Leren somewhat understood why Rudd would tell him the whereabouts of the field memento so easily in the Nightmare Game. Rudd was afraid. The pious Arnold would rather reveal his deception so that he could go to heaven after his death, but Rudd was not as persistent as he was. He wanted to relieve his guilt, so he chose to give the field memento to a stranger who was willing to go to the Holy City, and let him fulfill Maria¡¯s last wish.


    Qi Leren could understand Rudd¡¯s feelings to some extent. Just like how when he was undercover with the Slaughter Secret Society, he would rather leave a letter about the  Nightmare Game¡¯s main task and some scattered side tasks in his own room, expecting a stranger whom he had never met to take over the heavy responsibility rather than tell Dr. Lu about it.


    The heart that wanted to protect relatives and friends was the same.


    ¡°I know where it is.¡± After consideration, Qi Leren said it: ¡°It¡¯s in Arnold¡¯s home.¡±


    Ning Zhou stood at Arnold¡¯s grave. He had been his first teacher and his mother¡¯s knight. He had vowed to be loyal to Maria, but he would rather break his oath and bring this secret to the grave, even if his soul would be condemned to fall into hell.


    Ning Zhou closed his eyes, recalling how Arnold had patiently taught him many years ago, and helped him to correct one of the simplest knife-cutting movements carefully. After Maria died, he had followed Maria¡¯s last wish and sent him to the Holy See, where the Pope personally served as his guardian.


    But this was the man who had sent Maria to her grave believing a white lie.

 CH 115

    Chapter 115: The Dream of the Holy Nun (V)


    Although the key NPC Rudd had run away, Qi Leren, who was a ¡°cheating¡± player, did not panic at all. He said in a word: ¡°That thing is in the dark room of Arnold¡¯s former residence.¡±


    So in less than half an hour, they had snuck into Arnold¡¯s room smoothly and retrieved the key task item - a small and delicate brooch, composed of metal gears and feathers, from which a drop-shaped pendant hung down. The whole brooch was incredibly delicate. At the moment the brooch was picked up, a system prompt appeared:


    [Obtained the special task item brooch. Holding this brooch, one can pass through the fog around the Holy City.]


    [Player Qi Leren has triggered a special task: The Dream of the Holy Nun. Please bring the memento to the Holy City within 30 days. After arriving at the task site, your survival time will be suspended until the mission ends. Overdue arrival is regarded as a task failure, and 100 survival days will be deducted. Players can receive the task by touching the task item. The current number of participants is ?.]


    Qi Leren handed Ning Zhou the brooch, and Ning Zhou also received the task.


    Qi Leren asked, ¡°Would you like to bring a few more people to do the task with? We can find two more teammates¡­ A healer, at least.¡±


    Qi Leren deeply remembered that Chen Baiqi said Ning Zhou¡¯s Holy Spirit cure was broken, and Ning Zhou had also taken medicine with him in the Witchcraft Sacrifice task. It didn¡¯t seem like he had any healing abilities. Although Dr. Lu¡¯s fighting power was unreliable, there was still a lack of healers in the Nightmare World - seeing that he could live so well by opening a clinic. He also brought with him EX luck and treasure hunting skills, but was it a good choice to take him? That is, the task was a bit dangerous¡­ Did he want to take Dr. Lu?


    Ning Zhou snorted, but the black bird on his shoulder said noisily, ¡°I won¡¯t bring a healer, clearing the world depends on going wild!¡±


    Qi Leren was speechless about this bird. Ning Zhou was such a serious person. How could there be such a rowdy bird? He didn¡¯t know where it learned to be such a mess.


    After leaving Arnold¡¯s former residence, Qi Leren hesitated to go to Dr. Lu¡¯s home, and was just in time for Dr. Lu to be going to get a midnight snack.


    Dr. Lu depressedly and asked him if he intentionally came during mealtimes. He¡¯d gone to have a snack that afternoon, but had instead entertained Qi Leren. After eating and drinking, Qi Leren told him about the ¡°Dream of the Holy Nun¡± task and invited Dr. Lu to join.


    ¡°The first ¡®monthly exam¡¯ will be held soon, and we¡¯ll have to wait until after that,¡± Dr. Lu said with an expression of pain.


    Because the compulsory task happened to be once a month, it was dubbed the monthly exam by players. Qi Leren and Dr. Lu had entered the game on the same day, and the time of their monthly exams were the same, so he naturally agreed: ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t want to die. This task sounds very difficult. Why don¡¯t you invite Su He and I¡¯ll go if he goes? Speaking of it, I saw him two days ago. He¡¯s still in the Village of Dusk. He should have a better understanding of the main world¡¯s background. If he¡¯ss willing to help, the task could be much easier,¡± Dr. Lu suggested.


    Qi Leren paused. After receiving the task, he didn¡¯t want to invite Su He, because he was always a little afraid of Su He seeing through him about the laptop. But when he thought about it, Su He wouldn¡¯t know that this is the so-called main task. He could say he¡¯d received it by chance.


    But if as the task went on Su He found that this task was inextricably linked with the Nightmare World¡­ Would his half-GM status have an uncontrollable impact on this task?


    Just as Qi Leren struggled, a knock sounded on the door and Dr. Lu sighed, ¡°Ah, there are patients at night, it¡¯s really exhausting. Come in, come in!¡±


    When the door opened, Su He pushed the door open and looked slightly surprised to see Qi Leren in the room: ¡°So you¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°Speak of the devil, Su He, we were talking about a main world task. Do you want to participate?¡± Dr. Lu asked smoothly.


    ¡°A main world task? What¡¯s the task¡¯s name and location?¡± Su He hung his blazer on the hook behind the door, walking towards the two people. It was a little crowded when three people sat in the spacious room, but Su He gentle aura wouldn¡¯t make people feel oppressed.


    Dr. Lu has already started, so Qi Leren simply said: ¡°The task is called ''The Dream of the Holy Nun¡¯ and the location is in the Holy City.¡±


    ¡°The Holy City? It was captured by the Devil more than 20 years ago, tough, and now it¡¯s shrouded in a fog. I am afraid it¡¯s dangerous to enter rashly,¡± Su He said, recalling the history of the Nightmare World.


    ¡°Entering the Holy City isn¡¯t a problem. I accidentally got a task item. With this item, I can pass through the Holy City¡¯s fog.¡± Qi Leren thought about it, but still didn¡¯t say anything about Maria and her field, because he couldn¡¯t explain the source of the information.


    ¡°It seems to be related to the Devil¡¯s invasion in the previous tasks, I¡¯m very interested. Okay, I¡¯ll join,¡± Su He smiled and readily agreed.


    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Dr. Lu breathed a sigh of relief and suddenly remembered something. ¡°Oh, why are you coming to see me so late?¡±


    ¡°I originally came to say goodbye to you. In fact, I went to Qi Leren¡¯s home just now¡­ Your friend opened the door,¡± Su He paused strangely, his handsome eyebrows raising in a clear sign of curiosity.


    Dr. Lu: ¡°Ah?¡±


    Qi Leren: ¡°¡­¡±


    After the Slaughter Secret Society undercover mission, Qi Leren moved back to his home on Sunset Island. Ning Zhou was staying with him for the time being for convenience while carrying out basic training. Just after the two had come back from Arnold¡¯s former residence, he left Ning Zhou because he came to see Dr. Lu. As a result, Ning Zhou returned to his home and happened to meet Su He who had come to say goodbye to him¡­


    In the Castle Cry task, Qi Leren had talked with Su He about the Witchcraft Sacrifice task¡­ Although he hadn¡¯t used any names and Su He shouldn¡¯t be able to tell that the man he¡¯d mentioned was the same Ning Zhou who opened the door at his house, Qi Leren still felt a little guilty for no reason.


    But if Dr. Lu and Su He joined the Holy Nun task, it was only a matter of time before they realized who Ning Zhou was!


    The story of going undercover with the Slaughter Secret Society was hidden and couldn¡¯t be made public. How could he explain that the two people who had looked upon each other like death had suddenly made up again and were living together? Could this be explained as a pure friendship between the same sex?!


    Qi Leren, who had a headache, forcibly changed the subject: ¡°Well, you came to say goodbye to me? So Su He, you¡¯re going back to the Village of Dawn?¡±


    Su He was really a very gentle person, and even had no objection to the poor change of topic: ¡°I was going to go back to the Village of Dawn, but now that you need it, of course I have to stay and help.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no, if you have something to do, go back.¡± Qi Leren imagined Dr. Lu and Su He watching Ning Zhou and him together and felt his heart become overwhelmed. He regretted it, he shouldn¡¯t have come here to ask Dr. Lu to take part in the task.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. In fact, there¡¯s nothing important, I just haven¡¯t been to the Village of Dawn in a while and thought I should go back. I would leave if there was nothing else here, but now that you have difficulties, then of course I can¡¯t stand by,¡± Su He said with a smile.


    Dr. Lu applauded and praised his teammate: ¡°Little friend of love and justice, come, I will invite you to eat cake.¡±


    Qi Leren, who felt that there is no love in his future, was simultaneously angry and comforted as he ate Dr. Lu¡¯s cake: Anyway, there was a healer, a fighter, and a recyclable meat shield, so let the GM come along for the ride.

 CH 116

    Chapter 116: The Dream of the Holy Nun (VI)


    Out of habit, Qi Leren went to Chen Baiqi to buy some information about the Holy City. Unfortunately, Chen Baiqi didn¡¯t have any details on it, only an old map of the Holy City from decades ago that she made Qi Leren pay for. Chen Baiqi reserved the task information of ¡°The Dream of the Holy Nun¡± from him, to be sold to her when he finished his task.


    Qi Leren also asked her if she had any interest in this task. Although the number for the task was already full, if Chen Baiqi was willing to join, he could consider persuading Dr. Lu to stay safe in the clinic.


    Chen Baiqi gave him an inscrutable look: ¡°I¡¯ve been able to  live in this world for eight years by holding a principle.¡±


    ¡°What principle?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    ¡°Never die easily unless you have to,¡± Chen Baiqi said.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°This kind of task involving the demon invasion from more than 20 years ago is either epic difficulty or a chain task that will go through eighty-one difficulties before finally becoming epic difficulty. Anyway, it won¡¯t be easy. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised to see demons all over the city as soon as you enter the Holy City. Please Qi Leren, don¡¯t let me sweep your grave again,¡± Chen Baiqi patted Qi Leren on the shoulder and said with a smile.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t give me a flag,¡± Qi Leren said depressedly.


    ¡°You¡¯d better hold Su He¡¯s thighs. He may have items that force him out of the task. He would never let himself die from not being able to stand the difficulty. After all, there¡¯s still a long way to go. It¡¯s a pity that you are a little poor, otherwise I could sell you some high-quality items. Right now I can only sell you cheap little miniature bombs, I really can¡¯t make a lot of money.¡± Although Qi Leren had earned a lot of survival days, he was still a poor wretch in Chen Baiqi¡¯s view. She couldn¡¯t extort money before he was fattened.


    Qi Leren, after paying for the task¡¯s necessities, went home depressed.


    The mandatory task for the first month had arrived. In the first month, Qi Leren performed two tasks, namely, Witchcraft Sacrifice and Castle Cry; one was a main world task and the other was a copy world task. During the tasks¡¯ execution, the players¡¯ remaining survival days would not be consumed, but they were still counted as survival time spent by players.


    Every mandatory task could be postponed for one week. If a player failed to start after the deadline, he would be forced into the task world. If a player performed a task that lasted for two months, he must complete a mandatory task within one week after the task was finished, and then complete another mandatory task within one week.


    Players in the Nightmare World hated the ¡°monthly exam¡±, because there was almost no task reward (unless the degree of completion was extremely high), and the difficulty was also raised every month. By the third year, those players who were not qualified and neglected to improve themselves began to fall off one after another and were eliminated by the cruel monthly exam without the chance of a make up exam.


    Qi Leren wasn¡¯t worried about his own strength. Ning Zhou said that his skill cards and his own strength were enough to cope with the compulsory tasks of the first three years, but he was often flustered because he frequently met tasks with unusual difficulty.


    Dr. Lu, however, looked frightened, fearing that he couldn¡¯t pass the first monthly exam, and came to Qi Leren¡¯s home to start the task together. Although most of the first compulsory tasks were single-person tasks and starting together didn¡¯t mean they would be in a task together, it made Dr. Lu feel a little safer.


    But¡­


    ¡°You, you, you, you, hello*!¡± After seeing Ning Zhou standing by the window, Dr. Lu suddenly remembered that Su He had talked about a friend in Qi Leren¡¯s home last time.


    *{E/N: Dr. Lu is trying to cover up his shock by making ¡°you¡± (Äã) into ¡°hello¡± (ÄãºÃ)}


    At the moment when Qi Leren opened the door, he wanted to throw the door in Dr. Lu¡¯s face. However, if you thought about it carefully, Ning Zhou and Dr. Lu would meet each other sooner or later. Seeing him early was the same as later since he had to introduce people to Ning Zhou.


    ¡°Dr. Lu, this is Ning Zhou, who will participate in the ¡®Dream of the Holy Nun¡¯ task. Ning Zhou, this is Dr. Lu, whose full name is Lu Cangshu, he¡¯s my friend from the same Novice Village who¡¯s a healer,¡± Qi Leren briefly introduced the two men.


    Stopped on the sofa, the big black bird cawed angrily, forcing Qi Leren to introduce it to Dr. Lu to get it to stop.


    Dr. Lu looked at the person from head to toe with his mouth open, pulled Qi Leren¡¯s ear to him, and asked, ¡°Your goddess?¡±


    Can you not be so quick with this? Qi Leren vomited in his mind and nodded honestly.


    So Dr. Lu sat down with a strange smile, looked hard at Ning Zhou, and looked hard at Qi Leren, as if he knew everything. Qi Leren felt that he couldn¡¯t explain clearly even if he had one hundred mouths.


    Poor Ning Zhou didn¡¯t know why he was being scrutinized. He was completely out of the situation and was not used to getting along with strangers. He sat for a while and then went upstairs.


    When Ning Zhou left, Dr. Lu tried to suppress the excitement of getting gossip, and forced him to align himself with Qi Leren seriously, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t discriminate against homosexuals. Really, I¡¯ve seen many as a doctor. Several little gays came to the anorectal department every day to ask my brother for a finger examination. His technique isn¡¯t bad. It takes 30 seconds to milk a prostate¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­You¡¯ve misunderstood, we¡¯re not that kind of relationship.¡±


    Dr. Lu had a look of ¡°Excuse me, you are living together¡±.


    ¡°Ning Zhou just came to help me train. The training menu I gave you last time was set by him,¡± Qi Leren explained.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Dr. Lu suddenly realized, then looked at him askance, and asked, ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll believe this nonsense? Didn¡¯t your relationship die as soon as the mission was over? Why is it that now he cordially trains and practices with you? A while ago, you suddenly disappeared. I couldn¡¯t find you all over the world. I really wondered if you¡¯d given up and chased your goddess. Now that you¡¯ve finally caught this goddess, you actually say that you have a pure straight man friendship, hehe.¡±


    Qi Leren was speechless.


    Although it was normal for two men to live together, Qi Leren believed that Ning Zhou didn¡¯t think much about it at all, but it was unconvincing in front of Dr. Lu who knew the previous episode¡­ After all, more than half a month ago, they¡¯d fallen in love at first sight and went through fire and water, dying to live¡­ and then died when it was all laid bare. As a result, it took less than half a month for them to live under the same roof. This development didn¡¯t seem quite right¡­


    However, Qi Leren couldn¡¯t explain the Slaughter Secret Society undercover task to Dr. Lu - although he feels that after the explanation, Dr. Lu would only be more convinced that they weren¡¯t innocent, and even Qi Leren himself began to wonder if there is something really wrong between him and Ning Zhou.


    Qi Leren asked himself, if he had met Ning Zhou as a woman at a different time and place, would he fall in love with her? The answer was: he would. As a woman, Ning Zhou perfectly met all his expectations for the other half. Whenever and wherever he met her, he would definitely fall in love with her.


    But if he met Ning Zhou, who was a male, would he still fall in love with him?


    Qi Leren thought that the answer was probably no.


    He may worship him, yearn for him, want to be friends with him, and even go through life and death for him, but he wouldn¡¯t fall in love with him, because he wouldn¡¯t consider the possibility of exceeding the limit of friends at all, and Ning Zhou would only be more stubborn than him. Even if they went through hardships and died together, they may have a deeper friendship and even affection than love, but that would never turn into love.


    Feelings were so simple and complicated, neither one was deeper than the other, but only a small error would completely change them.


    ¡°Although there was something wrong at the beginning, the misunderstanding has been solved now. I think we¡¯ll become good friends, very good friends,¡± Qi Leren said, speaking slowly. Maybe he was a little confused, but he still said so, inexplicably determined.


    Dr. Lu looked at him carefully for a long time with disbelief: ¡°¡­Oh.¡±


    ¡°Time is almost up, let¡¯s start the mandatory task.¡± Qi Leren cast aside his distractions and concentrated on dealing with the present difficulties.


    He opened the system¡¯s menu bar and selected the mandatory task for this month. Qi Leren and Dr. Lu disappeared from the room one after another.


    The eagle, who stopped on the sofa, patted its wings and flew up the stairs to return to its master. Ning Zhou, who stood on the stairs, stretched out his arm to let it land. The eagle that understood speech affectionately rubbed the side of Ning Zhou¡¯s face and felt it¡¯s master¡¯s mood. It was very clever at times.


    The two people in the living room had disappeared. Ning Zhou wanted to go downstairs to help them prepare but instead heard Qi Leren and Dr. Lu talking about him, so he had stopped on the stairs.


    Friends¡­


    This should be the most appropriate distance.

 CH 117

    Chapter 117: The Dream of the Holy Nun (VII)


    Qi Leren thought that with his luck value falling below the alphabet, there could be no such thing as a simple task. After all, the novice-difficulty Castle Cry has soared by two levels, and not only had the copy been polluted by demon energy, but there had also been the laptop with the Nightmare Game from the real world.


    It was in this mentality of non-expectation that Qi Leren started his first compulsory task.


    But he got a surprise, the kind without fright.


    Qi Leren, who spent the night in the forest cabin, found that this was really a copy where he could just lie down. At night, the howling of wolves, the crying of ghosts, and cries for help came one after another outside the cabin, and strange laughter, crying, and knocking on the door continued outside the bedroom door. Frightened, Qi Leren stood still with his dagger in his hand and just waited until dawn when the task finished.


    The most ironic thing was that the name of this compulsory task was ¡°Night Tour in the Forest¡±. Qi Leren had waited with this spirit of ¡°don¡¯t die¡± in a copy where he could have spent the night lying on the wooden bed. As a result, no monster came in. During that period, he scratched his claws and wanted to go out and have a look, but he was short of interest when he remembered that Chen Baiqi had said compulsory tasks hardly gave any rewards.


    In a few days, he would go to the Courthouse to get rid of the seed at the back of his neck, and then he would go to the Holy City to start his mission. If he was seriously injured here, Dr. Lu couldn¡¯t cure it, which would affect his combat effectiveness. However, Qi Leren knew clearly how dangerous the Holy City in the fog was¡­


    After the task, Qi Leren returned to his house. Dr. Lu had finished earlier than he did and had fallen asleep on the sofa. After being woken up by Qi Leren, he told him cheerfully about his compulsory task, which was simpler than his! He and a group of NPCs went to try a test session, and the team followed him and never ran around. The people resolutely refused to fight, and the task was finished in an hour, which was earlier than Qi Leren¡¯s return.


    ¡°I know what novice difficulty is now,¡± Qi Leren said with half-moved emotion. ¡°Make sure you¡¯re ready to leave for the Holy City in ten days. Go back and prepare soon.¡±


    After setting the time and team members, there weren¡¯t many things left. Qi Leren prepared what to bring and sorted out his skill cards and articles.


    There were three belt slots.


    There were four skill cards: [S/L Data], [Rain-Day Clothing], [Primary Fighting Skills], and [Demon Etiquette]. Originally he had a skill card borrowed from the Court, but he returned it after the undercover mission.


    There were four items: [Dagger Full of Human Blood] (which needed to be inserted into a card slot), [Delightful Rations], [Countercurrent Sand], and [Easter Egg].


    There were also holy runes (which had expired) bought from Chen Baiqi before the castle was frightened, and the miniature bombs he¡¯d just bought, with the rest before, were a total of five. Because of the undercover mission, the Court had given him some succubus demon crystals, seven of which were left, meaning he could transform seven times. He also still had some of the holy water from Ning Zhou. In addition, there were necessary items for the mission, such as daggers, flashlights, first aid kits, and compressed food.


    Qi Leren sadly found that there was too little time left for him to practice, as he had only entered the game a month ago yet he was already about to start the main task. If the task¡¯s follow up was good, then he could improve step by step, but if the task went straight to epic difficulty, he could stop eating.*


    *{E/N: aka he would have no reason to, since he¡¯d be dead}


    He would have to wait until after the task to continue training. This kind of training wasn¡¯t quick. It would take Ning Zhou at least three months to make significant progress in his regimen. There wasn¡¯t enough time now.


    Sighing that there was never enough time, Qi Leren went to prepare food, and wanted to ask Ning Zhou what he wanted to eat. However, he couldn¡¯t find anyone else from the basement to the second floor. He was the only one in the empty house.


    For the next few days, Ning Zhou always left early and arrived late, only appearing when he needed to teach him and then disappearing again. Qi Leren could hardly feel the existence of another person in the house, and asked him what he was busy with recently. Ning Zhou said that the Holy See had some things to deal with. Therefore, this situation of living under the same roof but hardly seeing each other continued.


    Before, the Court had informed him that it was necessary to set aside a week or so, so Qi Leren rested for a few days after finishing the compulsory task, left a note for Ning Zhou, and went to the Court alone. Miao Li took him into the Courthouse¡¯s underground level and told him as she walked, ¡°It will involve some secrets of the Courthouse to help you get rid of the seed of slaughter parasite. It takes about seven days to get rid of the seed of slaughter, so we¡¯ll use special methods to make you forget your memories of this week. You¡¯d better write a letter to yourself in case you don¡¯t know what happened when you wake up.¡±


    Although Qi Leren was a little curious about what the secret was, he also knew that the Court couldn¡¯t tell him. What he was more worried about was whether wiping his memory would accidentally harm his other memories, or whether the Court would take the opportunity to get some secrets from his mind that he doesn¡¯t want to be known.


    ¡°You can not wipe my memory? I promise I won¡¯t tell,¡± Qi Leren asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. This involves very important things¡­ To be honest, even I don¡¯t know.¡± Miao Li pushed her glasses and saw his concern. ¡°If you¡¯re worried about your privacy, you can rest assured that the method to eliminate memories doesn¡¯t involve hypnotism. It¡¯s a drug that causes memory loss, just take it according to the dose.¡±


    Qi Leren was a little relieved. He felt that there was no need for the Court to deceive him, nor would he be killed to cover up the Slaughter Secret Society¡¯s existence - for Ning Zhou¡¯s sake, he wouldn¡¯t be given such a cruel hand.


    Under Miao Li¡¯s guidance, Qi Leren changed into patient¡¯s clothes and lied on the operating table. A Trial agent gave him an injection, and then he lost consciousness.


    When he woke up again, it was a week later. It took seven days and four hours of survival time, and he was sore and unconscious. It took Qi Leren a good half-day to remember where he was; his memory was blank. After reading the letter he¡¯d written a week ago, he slowly remembered it.


    The seed of slaughter at the back of his neck was gone, and the cold and bloody energy was pulled away from him. He felt like a tree freed from a parasitic plant that could spread its leaves comfortably.


    The pendant that had been lent to him by the Trial before, that measured the concentration of demon energy, was also returned easily.


    After walking out of the Courthouse, the setting sun shone on Qi Leren, and he felt warmth.


    Finally, finally, you can stop worrying.


    Although the seed could greatly improve his ability, he¡¯d always felt that it is very dangerous to take this shortcut, like walking on a cliff  where every step could cause him to fall at any moment.


    He prefered to rely on his own strength and go on step by step.


    With a relaxed and happy pace, Qi Leren left the Courthouse.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going with him?¡± Si Ling reluctantly tried to push. ¡°You come to me every day to punch in and supervise for fear that we¡¯ll do something to him. It¡¯s been a week. Now that you know he¡¯s fine, you should roll.¡±


    With his arms crossed, he stood by the window and watched Ning Zhou watch Qi Leren leave the Court, acting as if he hadn¡¯t heard his words.


    ¡°I can¡¯t stand you¡­¡± Si Ling complained, looking at him as he picked up the file on the desk.


    &&&


    Three days later, in the early morning, Dr. Lu and Su He came to Qi Leren¡¯s house, and Ning Zhou was already there. Qi Leren solemnly asked them again: ¡°It¡¯s not too late to change your minds, you haven¡¯t officially taken the task.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it too late to say this?¡± Dr. Lu squinted at him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, give us the task item. If you wait, you¡¯ll have to trigger the task a second time.¡±


    The brooch that triggered the task was taken out by Qi Leren, handed to Dr. Lu and handed to Su He.


    Su He held the brooch in front of his eyes and looked at it carefully. He praised: ¡°This brooch is very delicate, and there¡¯s a strong faith attached to it. It should be the personal belonging of a female priest.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ Well, I think so.¡± Qi Leren didn¡¯t say that it was Ning Zhou¡¯s mother¡¯s relic.


    ¡°With it, you can walk into the Holy City through the fog. It seems that the owner of this item had a very close relationship with the Holy City¡­¡± Su He said. His line of sight paused for a second on Ning Zhou, and Ning Zhou, who was looking out of the window, felt his line of sight and immediately turned his head. The two men met each other¡¯s eyes and looked away from each other.


    Qi Leren was inexplicably nervous. He always felt that Su He was very clever, and he may have guessed Ning Zhou¡¯s special origin¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s almost time, let¡¯s go,¡± Su He said.


    ¡°Oh, okay, let¡¯s go.¡± Qi Leren quickly got up, and the four people left the house and headed for the border of the Village of Dusk.


    The Vatican¡¯s aircraft stopped there, carrying them to the Holy City.

 CH 118

    Chapter 118: The Dream of the Holy Nun (VIII)


    The aircraft landed on a hill near the Holy City. Looking down from the hill, the Holy City located in a valley shrouded in a fog that reached the sky, and the scene in the fog was obscured from view.


    Qi Leren and his party went down the hill and headed for the fog. Maria¡¯s brooch, which he held in his hand, began to grow hot as he entered the fog, radiating a warmth.


    The fog was getting deeper and deeper, and the trees close at hand became blurred. Even their feet were covered with a layer of gauze, and to the front, the back, and the left were gray fog, which made it difficult to tell the direction.


    ¡°The compass has also failed,¡± Dr. Lu muttered.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go by feeling. Since the task item is there, we¡¯ll definitely be able to walk into the Holy City,¡± Su He said comfortingly.


    Qi Leren had an instinctive fear of the fog. When he was in the Novice Village, the hospital was shrouded in the fog. He also fell from the roof to save Su He. In the fog that was so thick it was almost a liquid, countless mysterious laughing spirits stood quietly, and the scene became a frequent visitor in his future nightmares.


    ¡°There seems to be light ahead!¡± Dr. Lu cried in surprise.


    The four people walked forward quickly, and the thick fog began to dissipate. A small figure could be seen standing in the misty gray fog.


    Qi Leren stopped. When he crossed the fog of the Holy City in the Nightmare Game, he never saw any such strange figure. What was the shadow in front of him¡­


    From the fog came the sound of a little girl giggling, and then the standing figure ran. It seemed  she had just discovered that they were ordinary, and she was running towards them happily. Her figure became clearer and closer, and her golden hair was as dazzling as gold in the fog, overcoming the mist.


    She was holding her skirt and jumping as she ran. The fog made her look blurred. Qi Leren tried to look at her, but he couldn¡¯t see her face clearly. He only felt a familiar feeling¡­ Very close, very close.


    The laughter stopped, and the little girl¡¯s footsteps stopped. She lifted her skirt with both hands, bowed to them like a dancer at curtain call, ran away with a smile, and disappeared into the fog.


    ¡°So¡­ What was that?¡± Dr. Lu asked shakily.


    Qi Leren was calmer than he was. He could also think about what it meant for this little girl who hadn¡¯t appeared in the Nightmare Game to appear now.


    Perhaps this meant that he was on the right path this time.


    Qi Leren looked at Ning Zhou beside him. He was frowning slightly.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Qi Leren whispered to him.


    ¡°¡­¡± Ning Zhou shook his head and said nothing.


    ¡°Let¡¯s follow her, maybe we¡¯ll be there soon,¡± Su He said.


    The four people continued to trek through the fog. After the mysterious blonde girl appeared, the fog finally began to dissipate. The brightness of the sun brought a feeling of happiness and yearning. They chased the direction of the light. Finally, the fog in front of them was gone, and the magnificent Holy City was just around the corner!


    System task appears:


    [Player Qi Leren has begun the task: The Dream of the Holy Nun.]


    [Task Background: Twenty-two years ago, the Devil led the demons to attack the Holy City, and the Holy City fell. The Holy See was forced to evacuate, leaving the country forever. A holy nun couldn¡¯t bear to see the believers suffering from the Devil¡¯s ravages, and was willing to live and die together with the people of the Holy City. In the desperate situation, she obtained a power given by God and protected the Holy City with her own dreams. The demons were expelled and destroyed, but since then the Holy City has been shrouded in a fog and isolated from the outside world¡­]


    [Task Requirements: End the Dream of the Holy Nun.]


    [Data synchronization countdown, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, synchronization completion.]


    There was a towering wall surrounding the city. The group of people came to the gate. The gate was open, but there was no guard. Through the open outer wall of the city, the city in front of them was thriving. The residents traveled in the busy streets, and the masonry buildings had a different exotic style. There were pubs open during the day, vendors selling fruits by the roadside, and a church complex built around the mountains in the distance¡­ Everything looked beautiful, yet this was the city that had been closed off for more than 20 years.


    ¡°This is¡­ the Holy City?¡± Ning Zhou said to himself, his voice very light. Although this was where his mother grew up, he had never been here. Because when he was born, it was isolated from the outside world.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m afraid this is not the real Holy City,¡± Su He said with a hint of dignity. ¡°I can feel that I¡¯m now in a field.¡±


    Yes, they were not in a real world now. Qi Leren knew this very well. This was Maria¡¯s field and the Dream of the Holy Nun, but it was not the real Holy City.


    ¡°A field? It seems to be very powerful.¡± Dr. Lu doesn¡¯t know what this was. His understanding of  fields came from the ¡°field¡± Su He had brought him and Qi Leren into from the castle.


    ¡°This field really is very powerful. Whether in scope or realism¡­ Connecting it to the name of this task and the history of the Holy City, is this the field condensed by the Holy Nun? She created a dream Holy City and let the human beings who survived twenty-two years ago live in her field. It¡¯s really¡­ amazing,¡± Su He praised, looking at the realistic blue sky and white clouds in front of him. ¡°Very, very amazing.¡±


    ¡°If you have a chance, you must meet this lady,¡± Su He said.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s impossible. This lady has been dead for many years.¡± Before he spoke, Qi Leren had taken a glance at Ning Zhou and saw that he didn¡¯t show any special expression.


    Su He looked at him with consternation: ¡°The field master is dead, but the field isn¡¯t broken? Or is there a difference between a field condensed field through the Vatican¡¯s secret method and a field condensed by a player? A relationship with faith?¡±


    Ning Zhou nodded his head. Although his half-field was broken, he knew the path of the Holy See very well, which was also attributed to a great deal of research for the Holy See that Maria had left before her death. Although his physique was not suited for the route of power through faith, he had no issue with theoretical knowledge.


    Qi Leren was inexplicably a little sad. Since he found out that Ning Zhou¡¯s half-field was broken he¡¯d been worried about it, but he knew too little about fields. Now¡­


    Although a little embarrassed, Qi Leren still cheekily asked Su He: ¡°What should players do to condense a field?¡±


    ¡°Actually, this is very mysterious. When I recall the field condensation, I can only think of a very vague memory fragment, because at that time¡­ I was about to die.¡± Su He calmly narrated, ¡°It was like a light suddenly flashed in the dark, and I suddenly realized a new power while on the edge of life and death, which was wonderful and incredible¡­¡±


    Dr. Lu covered his forehead. ¡°I don¡¯t understand at all. I believe in science. What¡¯s the use of this field thing?¡±


    ¡°Simply put, only field-level skills may confront field-level people, otherwise it¡¯s not an order of magnitude at all.¡± Su He blinked at the others mysteriously. ¡°It¡¯s like suddenly stepping into a new world. What you have to face is completely different from the past.¡±


    While Qi Leren was confused and wanted to ask something, several middle-aged NPC guards found them and asked where they¡¯d come from. After learning that they had passed through the fog outside the Holy City, the guards and surrounding NPCs were very surprised and wanted to take them to see the Lord.


    Was there this story in the Nightmare Game? Qi Leren was baffled.


    He remembered that when he played here, there had been no guards, and he hadn¡¯t seen any lords until his death. What was happening with this story?!


    Qi Leren, who felt the plot derail, felt powerless.


    The four people followed the guards to the Holy City¡¯s palatial main government building, and the residents along the way looked at them curiously and whispered.


    Along the street paved with bricks and stones, the guards brought the four to the stone fort in the middle of the Holy City, passed through the gates and halls, and came to the Lord. The manager of the Holy City was about fifty, with white hair and aged appearance.


    The guard reported to him the origin of the four men, and the old Lord stood up from his seat trembling and stared at Ning Zhou: ¡°You¡­ Are you from the Holy See?¡±


    Ning Zhou, dressed in the uniform of a Vatican exorcist, nodded his head. The uniforms of the Holy See had not changed for more than 20 years. Even if the Holy City in the fog had been forgotten by God¡¯s grace for more than 20 years, the Lord could still recognize the dress of the Holy See at a glance.


    The Lord stared at him for a long time, and then collapsed and sat back in his seat for a long time. His wife served him wine in a golden cup, and the Lord gulped it down: ¡°So, are you here to help us end the disaster of the new moon?¡±


    The disaster of the new moon? Qi Leren gave a silent wry smile. After going for a turn, he still had to solve this same task.


    He hoped he wouldn¡¯t die this time.

 CH 119

    Chapter 119: The Dream of the Holy Nun (IX)


    After seeing the Lord, the four people stayed in the Lord¡¯s castle, waiting for the night of the new moon to come.


    From the Lord¡¯s mouth, they learned some information about the new moon: from a certain year, every night of the new moon, the residents in the Holy City had to fall asleep before midnight, whether they fell asleep naturally or relied on sleeping draughts. If someone didn¡¯t fall asleep before the clock struck zero, or woke up before dawn, the person would disappear, vanishing forever.


    The residents in the Holy City called it ¡°the disaster of the new moon¡±.


    The cause of the disaster of the new moon was still unclear. Many people had explored this strange monthly phenomenon with curiosity. Some even deliberately stayed awake after midnight, and then left some creepy notes¡­


    In the castle¡¯s library, according to the requirements given by Qi Leren and others, the attendants collected the data about the night of the new moon together, and the group sat at the table to peruse the data separately. Even Ning Zhou¡¯s big black bird stopped to comb its feathers honestly without making any noise.


    Su He looked through a note and said, ¡°This diary is interesting. You can have a look.¡±


    Qi Leren took the notebook handed by Su He. Fortunately, the lingua franca of the Nightmare World was Chinese (although he didn¡¯t know whether this came from automatic translation by the system), so he could read the Nightmare World¡¯s words. For some time now, he had become accustomed to the NPCs who looked like Westerners speaking Chinese skillfully.


    ¡°¡­I have prepared everything I need, such as paper, pen, oil lamp, stick, and cloak, and told my parents that I have drunk my sleeping draught and can sleep through the night. It¡¯s twenty-three o''clock in the evening, with one hour left before midnight. I am very excited and uneasy because I don¡¯t know what I will see in an hour. If everything is normal after midnight, I will put on my cloak and go out for a night tour. If something is wrong¡­ I have locked the doors and windows anyway, and there will be no danger.¡±


    After reading this, Qi Leren had already seen the unfortunate ending.


    Dr. Lu also leaned over and said, ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡±


    Qi Leren turned the notebook to the next page, and the handwriting on parchment became hastily messy:


    ¡°The zero hour is here! God, I actually stayed up after zero on the night of the new moon. Now I¡¯m a little nervous. But everything around me is normal. Just now, I stood by the window and looked down. The Holy City is dark, and even the kerosene street lamps on the main road have gone out. This is normal. After all, no one needs street lamps on this night. It¡¯s so quiet, there¡¯s no sound around, only the rustle of the quill pen writing on paper, and I can already hear my heart beat faster and faster. Is this the disaster of the new moon? It¡¯s not the same as I imagined.


    "I seem to hear footsteps outside¡­ An illusion? (A splotch of ink) Just now I walked softly to the door and listened carefully. There were really footsteps!!! There¡¯s something on the stairs?! There was the sound of the floorboard creaking, a strange loud noise which must have been made by stepping on the loose board on the stairs! Oh, my God. Did something sneak into my house?! Mom and Dad are asleep in the master bedroom. They can¡¯t hear me. God, what should I do? What to do!! Will it come in? God, what should I do? What should I do?¡±


    The owner of the notebook had been completely panicked, and he was becoming more and more untidy and messy.


    ¡°Will it see the light of my room through the door? I¡¯d better blow out the oil lamp, yes, blow it out, and then drink the sleeping draught. I must sleep.¡±


    The image of a terrified young man appeared in Qi Leren¡¯s mind. He imagined how he was horrified to notice the strange footsteps of an unknown monster wandering outside the door. He had lost his innocent curiosity to fear, but fear itself did not let him go.


    Qi Leren turned the page. A line of words full of fear and despair occupied most of parchment, and the last half word was even written outside the lines. It was untidy, distorted and collapsed, and the fear of the unknown completely defeated the young man who wrote the last sentence in the dark.


    ¡°It¡¯s knocking at the door.¡±


    This notebook was only a few hundred words, but it was unnerving. From curiosity to panic to despair, he was like a frightened bird in the dark, and the sudden knock on the door had completely defeated him¡­


    Su He waited patiently for them to finish reading this note, and then said: ¡°From the content of the text, there will be some incredible changes after midnight on the night of the new moon.¡±


    Qi Leren closed the notebook and returned it to Su He: ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a demon?¡±


    He knew more than them, because he had experienced the night of the new moon in the Nightmare Game. In the game, he got the task inexplicably and walked into the Holy City. However, the NPCs didn¡¯t show curiosity towards him and he wasn¡¯t taken to see the Lord. Instead, he spent the night in a pub in the Holy City and learned the story of the disaster of the new moon through the guests in the pub. Naturally, he chose to stay up late when the night the new moon arrived, and walked into the streets of the Holy City after the zero hour.


    And then he died in an ordinary way to a demon¡¯s attack.


    ¡°It¡¯s most likely demons. Maybe the demons appear on the night of the new moon, and then attack any humans who haven¡¯t fallen asleep. But why does this happen only on the new moon? Where do these demons usually lurk? Why attack people who have not fallen asleep?¡± Su He raised several questions in one breath.


    Qi Leren was speechless to these questions and peeked at Ning Zhou, who was reading the documents: ¡°This question is handed over to the professional exorcist of the Holy See to answer.¡±


    Ning Zhou raised his head to Su He¡¯s slightly smiling eyes, the two people looked at each other for three seconds, and then their eyes turned away.


    ¡°Wait until the night of the moon,¡± Ning Zhou said and continued to read the stack of data.


    Su He smiled silently and said faintly, ¡°All right.¡±


    That¡¯s it? Don¡¯t you want to continue analyzing it? Qi Leren looked at their busy Ning Zhou and Su He blankly, and was suddenly pulled aside by Dr. Lu. Qi Leren thought that he¡¯d found some clues. Instead, Dr. Lu just dragged him to the corner and asked mysteriously: ¡°Do you think that Su He and your good-friend-who-lives-with-you-but-still-has-a-purely-platonic-relationship-with-you are a little angry?¡±


    Wasn¡¯t this too long of a descriptor? Qi Leren suddenly felt the malice from his friend: ¡°It¡¯s okay. Ning Zhou just doesn¡¯t like to talk very much. He doesn¡¯t talk to you much either.¡±


    Dr. Lu said definitively: ¡°No, this is totally different, the aura, there is a subtle aura between them.¡±


    ¡°What aura?¡± Qi Leren was not ashamed to ask.


    Dr. Lu said seriously: ¡°Asura¡¯s field*.¡±


    *{E/N: A situation of dispute between a present and past lover}


    ¡°What?¡± Qi Leren remembered that this seemed to mean describing a tragic battlefield, but it was obviously not appropriate to use it here.


    ¡°Forget it, I¡¯m going to the bathroom.¡± Dr. Lu gave him a supercilious look as he walked out of the library with his hands in his pockets.


    Qi Leren, who didn¡¯t get an answer, was still thinking about what ¡°Asura¡¯s field¡± meant. He suddenly heard Ning Zhou and Su He call his name at the same time: ¡°Leren, look at this." "Qi Leren, here.¡±


    The two men, each occupying one side of the table, looked at each other then both looked at the Qi Leren by the door.


    In a moment¡¯s lightning strike, Qi Leren learned something without need for a teacher.


    Was this what Asura¡¯s field meant? When two good friends put forward the same request at the same time and it wasn¡¯t clear which side should be prioritized; this subtle, strange, and even slightly embarrassing atmosphere. This is what it meant.


    It was really confusing, but he didn¡¯t know what he was panicking about.


    ¡°I¡­ I need to go to the bathroom, you can exchange what you¡¯ve found with each other first.¡± At the same time, Qi Leren learned a little skill of how to deal with this scene without need for a teacher, and pretended to walk out of the library calmly.


    Anyway, go to the bathroom first.

 CH 120

    Chapter 120: The Dream of the Holy Nun (X)


    When walking on the dark steps looking for the bathroom, Qi Leren still thought about this question: Why did he feel flustered?


    He reasoned that it was due to unpredictability. If he had to give an answer, it was probably that no matter which side he went to first, the other side would have a feeling of being ignored.


    At this moment, Qi Leren suddenly remembered a picture.


    When he was still a junior high school student, a friend of his had accidentally recommended a bad gal game* for him to play. When the protagonist he played as had hesitated between the white rose childhood sweetheart and the red rose heiress, the two had appeared at the same time and both tenderly and proudly invited him to attend a party as their date. No matter which one he chose, the goodwill of the other party would go crazy, which had scared the still junior high school aged Qi Leren to quickly save in order to lessen the pressure.


    *{E/N: dating sim aimed at a male audience}


    Although the game picture in his memory had been blurred, the confused mood at that moment was clearly printed in Qi Leren¡¯s mind and he actually felt that there was a subtle similarity with the present scene, which made his hair raise.


    There was a short light laugh in the dark, and the contemplative Qi Leren¡¯s hair exploded. He clasped the dagger and lowered his voice and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡±


    There was a dead silence.


    At this time, he was standing on the stairs of the castle, close to the top floor. There were a few kerosene lamps scattered on both sides of the mottled stone wall, shaking slightly in the wind that poured down from above the stairs.


    In the extreme silence, Qi Leren heard the sound of himself swallowing and the ba-bump ba-bump of his heartbeat.


    Just now, the laughter had been very short and light, which seemed to be the voice of a young girl, but it disappeared quickly. Qi Leren wondered if it was only the creaking sound of the wind blowing open the doors and windows.


    He was as calm as possible and examined his own situation.


    Tonight was not the new moon. This was the relatively safe castle of the Lord. His skills were ready to be activated. The task had just started. Although the present situation was slightly strange, it shouldn¡¯t kill him. It should be a clue.


    Qi Leren took a deep breath and walked up slowly against the wall. He walked for almost half a minute just to climb the dozen stairs.


    Above the stairs was an open terrace, which overlooked the night view of the whole Holy City. The entrance of the terrace was three or four meters wide, decorated with white stone pillars on both sides. The ground was covered with smooth stone, which reflected the light of the moon.


    The curtains hanging on the terrace were light and dancing in the wind, and the moonlight and the shadow of the curtains intertwined, as graceful as a dancer¡¯s skirt but cold and empty under the moonlight. However, the beautiful scenery in front of him did not relax Qi Leren at all. He stared at the shadow of the colonnade.


    Accurately speaking, it should be hidden behind the colonnade, but it was exposed by the moonlight as a figure in a skirt.


    Unblinkingly, Qi Leren¡¯s eyes stared at the pillar. Looking carefully, there was a hand on the pillar hidden by the flowing curtain, like a person was hiding behind the stone pillar but was stretching out their hand to hug it.


    The hand was small, the fingers on the pillar were thin, and with the height of the hand, it was obviously a child.


    It should be a little girl. He was afraid that it was the little girl they met in the fog when they had walked into the Holy City. He remembered that she had golden hair, which was as bright as sunlight even in the thick fog.


    And now, this strange little girl was hiding behind the pillar.


    Cold wind poured in from the terrace, cooling Qi Leren¡¯s entire body. He didn¡¯t know whether the little girl in front of him was a human being or a ghost¡­ It should not be a ghost at least, since she had a shadow.


    Did she want him to go there? If he saved here now, it wouldn¡¯t take more than a few seconds to walk¡­


    The little girl behind the pillar let out a laugh again, her fingers holding onto the pillar moving. A gust of wind blew, and a few strands of her hair were blown by the wind. The white gauze curtain also floated high with it, revealing the color of the girl¡¯s hair behind the gauze curtain. Even in such a cold moonlight, her hair was still the colour of gold.


    She moved.


    She tilted her head slowly, slowly, her head sticking out from behind the pillar, more hair exposed, then her small ears, her face¡­


    The wind came to an abrupt end, and the floating curtains fell silently, blocking her face. Qi Leren could only see her shadow projected on the gauze curtain in the pale moonlight. She came out from behind the colonnade, took her little skirt, and stepped forward and came towards him!


    "Let¡¯s dream together,¡± the sweet voice of the little girl sounded in the dark.


    Qi Leren¡¯s eyes widened, and his already tight nerves were almost broken. Stiffness spread from his feet, and he was paralyzed and couldn¡¯t move. At this moment, he seemed to be the young man who ventured on the night of the new moon, and heard a knock on the door that could not exist in the dark¡­


    She¡¯s coming, she¡¯s coming, she¡¯s coming!


    ¡°Qi Leren, what are you doing up there?¡±


    Dr. Lu¡¯s voice came from under the stairs. He ran up the stairs, and Qi Leren shouted in a hurry: ¡°Don¡¯t come over!¡±


    Dr. Lu, who was running up the stairs, suddenly stopped, but stopped too fast and his center of gravity was unstable, so he rolled down the stairs with a whoop of ¡°ouch!¡± He heard a tumbling sound that made his own skin hurt, and Dr. Lu lied under the stairs and screamed.


    While Qi Leren was distracted, the shadow behind the curtain disappeared quickly, and the silent moonlight spread on the marble ground, quiet and serene. The strange little girl seemed now to have been a phantom, coming and going without a trace.


    Qi Le strode onto the terrace and tore back the curtain. When the curtain stopped, something like a butterfly or a moth fluttered out and flew in front of his eyes before going away toward the night sky, with the moonlight shining brightly on the marble of the terrace. The pillars were empty. He pondered for a moment, and turned and walked down the stairs to check on Dr. Lu.


    ¡°Ow ow ow ow! I¡¯m dying! I¡¯m dying! Don¡¯t pull me, I¡¯ll give myself treatment first!¡± Dr. Lu, who had fallen to the bottom of the stairs, refused Qi Leren¡¯s help and used ¡°Doctor¡¯s Orders¡± for himself. Only then did he slow down and hold the wall, standing up resentfully. ¡°You shouted so loudly that thought you were doing something gross, which scared me so much that my feet gave out and I rolled down¡­¡±


    Qi Leren was worried and helped him in the direction of the library: ¡°There was a strange situation just now¡­ You might have been in danger when you came up. Let¡¯s go back and talk.¡±


    Back in the library, Qi Leren told Ning Zhou and Su He what they had just discovered: ¡°¡­Although it¡¯s not clear who it is, I am basically sure that she¡¯s the same person as the little girl we met when we crossed the fog. I saw golden hair, but I didn¡¯t see her face.¡±


    ¡°It seems to be a key role,¡± Su He said confidently.


    ¡°¡­A little familiar,¡± Ning Zhou suddenly said.


    All three looked at him, and Ning Zhou frowned and said, ¡°That little girl gave me a strange feeling.¡±


    ¡°Does she have demonic energy or pious energy?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    Ning Zhou and Su He shook their heads at the same time: ¡°I can¡¯t feel it.¡±


    There were no more clues, so the four people had to forget about it for the time being and prepare to go around the Holy City to investigate the next day. It was the night of the new moon in three days, leaving them with little time to collect clues.


    Late at night, the group of people stayed in the castle under the Lord¡¯s arrangement. To be on the safe side, they didn¡¯t want single rooms, but rooms for two people. Of course, they still had separate beds. There was a slight delay in dividing rooms. Because of a subtle atmosphere that is difficult to describe in words, Qi Leren wanted to stay with Dr. Lu, but Dr. Lu jumped out of his chair like he¡¯d burned his ass and refused sternly on the grounds that two chickens could not be placed in the same room, otherwise they would be caught by the gang.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll share a room with Qi Leren,¡± Su He suggested naturally.


    Dr. Lu looked bitter and said, ¡°Is it not better for us to share a room? Leren and Ning Zhou are familiar, and they¡¯re very good together.¡±


    He didn¡¯t want to share a room with his best friend¡¯s ¡°cohabiting friend¡±, 10,000% didn¡¯t want to, so he sent a wave of crucial assists at the crucial moment.


    So, the matter of dividing the room was finally decided. As a maid led them to their room, Qi Leren watched Ning Zhou¡¯s back as he walked in front of him, and the nerves caused by the mysterious little girl seemed to relax.


    There should be no more nightmares tonight, he thought.

 CH 121

    Chapter 121: The Dream of the Holy Nun (XI)


    {cw: brief transmisogyny}


    On this night, Qi Leren still dreamed, but it was a rare dream that wasn¡¯t a nightmare. No, in a sense, it was a nightmare. The dream was like a movie that was played automatically. It began where he and Dr. Lu had entered the Novice Village, and then Su He appeared. They finished their mission and came to the Village of Dusk, then there was the Witchcraft Sacrifice, and then it jumped to the Castle. In his dream, he experienced the battle where he had defeated the crazy lady in the basement. When he tried to open the drawer with the laptop computer again, his dream came to an abrupt end.


    Qi Leren, who had woken up in the middle of the night, was still in a daze. He turned over and went back to sleep. Then he dreamed of Ning Zhou in the Witchcraft Sacrifice. At that time, he still had a woman¡¯s appearance. They had intimate contact in the deserted underground cave and explored each other¡¯s bodies unscrupulously until¡­


    In his dream, he felt something that shouldn¡¯t appear on a woman.


    Qi Leren rolled up and sat on the bed in cold sweat. It was already bright out, and his biological clock rarely went on strike. Just as he groped for the watch on the pillow, he saw Ning Zhou sitting on the sofa by the window polishing his double knives.


    Qi Leren got a kick and immediately woke up: ¡°Morning¡­ Morning.¡±


    Ning Zhou¡¯s line of sight paused for a second on his open T-shirt collar, then paused for a second on his sleepy face, nodded lightly, and moved away.


    Qi Leren had encountered a little trouble. A normal male would encounter morning trouble beginning in puberty. Now he had two choices: just sit on the bed and wait until it goes away, or go to the bathroom to solve it by himself.


    Considering that less than five meters away, there was his (incorrectly gendered) sex dream object, and the other party was wiping the blade with a cold face while his talking eagle stood on the back of the sofa watching him, his brain felt like it was overheating. Qi Leren felt that no matter which one he chose, he was a little ashamed. Now he could only pray that he hadn¡¯t made any wrong sounds when he¡¯d been dreaming just now.


    Because he was too nervous, he even thought about it. How would Ning Zhou solve this kind of trouble? He vaguely remembered that some religious doctrines not only prohibited premarital sex but even prohibited self-comfort, which was inhumane in multiple ways.


    Just as his thoughts were spinning out of control, Ning Zhou suddenly put away his double knives and inserted them back into the sheaths on the outside of his thighs: ¡°I¡¯ll get breakfast.¡±


    ¡°Oh, good, good.¡± Qi Leren breathed a sigh of relief and watched Ning Zhou leave the room with his black bird.


    The trouble was solved. After breakfast, the four people got together again, studied the map of the Holy City Qi Leren had bought from Chen Baiqi, and discussed their actions for the next few days. Finally, they decided to take a general walk around the city now, and then go to investigate the old site of the Holy See.


    The Holy City was still the Holy City. It still looked lively after being closed for more than 20 years. However, in some corners signs of the city¡¯s decline could already be seen. Many houses had been abandoned except for those along main roads. It was said that after the demon invasion and the disaster of the new moon, the existing population of the Holy City was less than 10,000.


    The streets were full of middle-aged men and women and some white-haired old people, but young men and women were rarely seen, especially children. The four people wandered around to inquire about the Holy City, and then set off to the former site of the Vatican.


    ¡°What did the Lord say yesterday? The vicinity of the Vatican was closed by a mysterious force and cannot be entered?¡± Dr. Lu asked, recalling the information he¡¯d found in the castle yesterday.


    Qi Leren responded, ¡°That¡¯s what the passer-by said just now. They wanted to seek asylum from the Holy See, but they couldn¡¯t get in at all. The Lord¡¯s wife is a very devout believer and often prays near the Vatican, but she can¡¯t walk into it.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go there and see,¡± Su He said.


    The former site of Holy City¡¯s Vatican was located on a hill on the north side of the city. The white stone buildings built around the mountain were still holy, but felt as if they were in a pool of stagnant water.


    ¡°This is a bit like a saint¡¯s sanctuary,¡± Dr. Lu sighed when he stood at the foot of the mountain and looked up.


    By what he said, Qi Leren also felt a little similar.


    Looking up, the verdant mountain forest was covered with a long ladder composed of white stone steps, extending upwards along the winding mountain road. There were many religious buildings along the way. Green and white constituted the most basic colours of this sanctuary, which shone under the blue sky and white clouds. The church at the top of the mountain seemed to have experienced a war. Half of the buildings had collapsed, but even if only the broken wall remained, it still looked holy and magnificent and fascinating.


    In the past, was this the holy land in the eyes of believers?


    ¡°Sure enough, it¡¯s closed.¡± Su He stood on the steps and held out his hand, and his palm seemed to touch some strange barrier, ripples spreading from the position of his palm, filled with ominous black.


    ¡°The power of the Devil,¡± Ning Zhou said with certainty as he also stepped forward.


    ¡°It is the power of the Devil. It seems that they closed the Vatican¡­¡± Su He thought for a moment and continued, ¡°The Devil who led the demons to invade the human world for the first time in historical legends should be sealed here.¡±


    Dr. Lu¡¯s expression was distorted and he asked painfully, ¡°We won¡¯t let it out by accident, will we?¡±


    Su He smiled: ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be, because it¡¯s said that the Devils¡¯ inheritance is different from that of human beings. If the old Devil does not die, the new Devil will not be crowned and recognized by the Devils. By now the new Devil has been born. I¡¯m afraid that the old Devil is really dead.¡±


    ¡°You mean the three Devils of Power, Slaughter, and Fraud?¡± Qi Leren remembered that Su He once gave them a basic rundown. ¡°But can three Devil Kings be produced at the same time?¡±


    ¡°This¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± Su He smiled helplessly.


    Unable to enter the Vatican, the four people searched near the foot of the mountain and found a cemetery surrounded by flowers and green trees beside a stone stairway.


    ¡°The Garden of the Holy Tomb,¡± Qi Leren stood at the entrance of the cemetery and read the inscription.


    It was said to be a cemetery, but the Garden of the Holy Tomb was full of flowers, and these beautiful flowers bloomed luxuriantly even now when no one cared for them. If it wasn¡¯t for the few scattered tombstones interspersed among the flowers, people who come here would hardly feel that it was a cemetery.


    ¡°I¡¯m starving. Let¡¯s take a rest and investigate the clues in the afternoon.¡± Dr. Lu¡¯s stomach had been growling.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m hungry, too.¡± Qi Leren hadn¡¯t eaten much for breakfast and now he was hungry after running around all morning. Although this was a cemetery, the scenery was good, and four people decided to have a rest here.


    Lunch had been prepared by the maid in the Lord¡¯s castle. The maid in her forties carefully packed bread and wine in a big basket with jam and bacon, which tasted much better than their own dry food. Spreading out the tablecloth like a basket, the four people sat on the lawn and enjoyed lunch in the sunshine.


    After coming to the Nightmare World, Qi Leren hadn¡¯t been so relaxed in a long time. He¡¯d left the depressing mechanical city of the Village of Dusk with its sun that never fell. The sunshine and air here and now made him relaxed and happy. Ning Zhou¡¯s eagle also liked this environment very much. It got out of its pet bag, grabbed a large piece of bacon, and flew off on its wings. Even its shadow had left.


    After being satiated with food and drink, Qi Leren circled the Garden of the Holy Tomb. In the corner of the garden there was a huge tree stump, which should be the remains of a huge tree that had been struck down in a thunderstorm after its interior had decayed. The trunk laying more than a meter away on the ground had fallen down and become a piece of lifeless deadwood on the grass. Even so, the broken trunk with a diameter of two meters was higher than Qi Leren standing in front of it.


    The stump left by it had been hollowed out, but it was interesting that green grass had grown out of the hollowed-out wooden stump, making the space in the stump look like a natural open bed.


    In this season, the flowers were in full bloom and the surrounding treetops were full of flowers, mostly blue and white. When a gust of wind blew the petals fell down in a swirl, and fell into the hollow stump, covering the grass inside the stump, which looked soft and comfortable.


    Qi Leren, who was a little sleepy after eating and drinking, simply stepped on the roots above the ground and climbed into the stump. He was covered with fresh grass and fallen flowers that distributed their fragrance, and sighed contentedly.


    The stump of this huge wooden tree that had been broken off became a small bed for his nap, with just enough room for a person to sleep. Lying in it, Qi Leren closed his eyes and let the sun fall on him, making him blush, and his whole body was filled with sunshine and warmth.


    In the quiet Garden of the Holy Tomb, Qi Leren could still vaguely hear the voices of Dr. Lu and Su He, but their voices were pushed farther and farther by sleepiness, and he fell asleep.


    ¡°Why are there roses carved on this tombstone?¡± Dr. Lu asked, pointing to a tombstone.


    After carefully studying the tombstone, Su He said: ¡°The key should not be roses, but the number. There are just seven roses, which means ¡®I love you¡¯ here. This should be a tombstone for someone¡¯s lover.¡±


    Dr. Lu hit his right hand with his left hand: ¡°Yes, I remember you told me and Leren in the Castle task.¡±


    The conversation between the two attracted Ning Zhou¡¯s attention. He also saw the tombstone with the name and life of a Holy See believer. Her name was Susan, a devout believer who had disappeared on the night of the new moon. Her husband held a funeral for her, praying that her soul could be saved by God. The lifelike rose relief on the tombstone was painted white.


    ¡°White roses are pure love,¡± Ning Zhou said. Maria had loved white roses, so he remembered.


    He still remembered that Maria told him about the Garden of the Holy Tomb outside the Holy City¡¯s Vatican. When she was a girl, she had planted many roses here which were colorful, but she loved white best. There was a towering tree in the corner of the Garden of the Holy Tomb where she had hung a swing and played alone in the evening wind. It was an innocent and carefree time.


    More than 20 years had passed and the roses planted by Maria had survived tenaciously, growing in the corners of the Garden of the Holy Tomb, and the tree that she had hung from the swing on¡­


    ¡°Hey, where¡¯s Qi Leren?¡± Dr. Lu asked curiously.


    ¡°He seems to have wandered over there.¡± Su He pointed to the corner of the garden.


    Ning Zhou strode past and he found Qi Leren in the corner of the garden. He was lying in the hollow stump, sleeping amongst grass and petals, and taking a nap in the warm afternoon sun. A naughty petal rolled down his hair along the wind and ran to his face, getting stuck in his eyelashes. He seemed to feel itchy, and his wrinkled nose scrunched. The breeze saved the petal from his eyelashes. It bounced and landed between his lips. The blue and white petal looked more bright outlined by his red lips. Ning Zhou stared at it for a long time¡­


    ¡°Qi Leren - where did you go?¡±


    Dr. Lu¡¯s cry came from a distance and Qi Leren, who was sleeping soundly, woke up with a start, suddenly opened his eyes, and it seemed that something was blocking the sunshine¡­ He lied in the petals and looked up and his eyes fell on a piece of blue, which was bluer than the sky. It was clear and pure, hitting his heart. For a moment he didn¡¯t realize it wasn¡¯t the sky, but Ning Zhou standing by the tree. He looked at him quietly, still so cold, as if the gentle blue he saw just now was the illusion that he had not yet woken up from.


    ¡°I fell asleep?¡± Qi Leren opened his mouth, and the petal falling between his lips was eaten by him. He quickly sat up and looked in all directions to find the source of the sound just now.


    Dr. Lu trotted to him and exclaimed in amazement: ¡°This bed looks so comfortable, it¡¯s still all natural and pure, you really know where to find a place.¡±


    Qi Leren jumped out of the stump and patted the petals and grass clippings on his clothes. ¡°Do you want to lie down for a while?¡±


    Dr. Lu looked at the stump for a while and gave up: ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s eat small cakes. I brought them from the Village of Dusk. They¡¯re delicious.¡±


    Qi Leren took a reluctant look at the comfortable tree bed and finally followed Dr. Lu to the picnic place. Su He sat on the grass casually,  smiled, and raised the goblet filled with wine to greet them. As they walked along, Qi Leren looked back. Ning Zhou stood by the stump and looked at him silently.


    He hadn¡¯t thought he¡¯d look back. A little surprise appeared in his blue eyes, and there was some hidden emotion that was too late to be restrained. He restrained it implicitly, almost to self-abuse, quiet and always too easy to miss. There were too many details in a single moment, so people who couldn¡¯t understand ignore them completely. In the warm sunshine in the afternoon, Qi Leren smiled,raised his hand, and waved to Ning Zhou: ¡°Come with us!¡±


    So he hesitated for just a moment, then walked straight and firmly towards him.

 CH 122

    Chapter 122: The Dream of the Holy Nun (XII)


    ¡°We still need to think about this task,¡± Su He said as he took a sip of bright-colored wine. ¡°There¡¯s still two days left before the night of the new moon. Although this task might not be completed on a night of the new moon, the key point should be in this night. We must find a breakthrough on this night, otherwise we¡¯ll have to delay here for at least a month. You don¡¯t want to face several consecutive ¡®monthly exams¡¯ as soon as you finish this task.¡±


    Dr. Lu looked at the food: ¡°No, absolutely not!¡±


    ¡°First of all, the task requirement is to end the Dream of the Holy Nun, but there¡¯s no reward. The tasks in the main world are often like this. They won¡¯t inform you of the reward in advance like a copy task will. Sometimes the completion method is very vague and you need to explore it yourself,¡± Su He said.


    Qi Leren nodded his head. The same was true when he did the Witchcraft Sacrifice. He wasn¡¯t told the rewards in advance, and he didn¡¯t receive a reminder when he hit each one. However, the objectives of the Witchcraft Sacrifice had been much clearer than this task, probably because it had been a main world cycle task which was carried out every three years, so the rules are clear.


    ¡°To end the Dream of the Holy Nun means to break this field. In theory, the owner of the field dies and the field should end, but here it has not¡­ The fields created with the Holy See¡¯s faith are different from ordinary fields. I don¡¯t know this much about this. I need Mr. Ning Zhou to solve our doubts,¡± Su He said lightly.


    ¡°¡­The formation of the Holy See¡¯s fields require an item, and the power of faith condenses on that memento to form a half-field.¡± Ning Zhou¡¯s cold voice explained the secret of the Vatican. Qi Leren looked at him carefully. Is the memento pendant still hanging around Ning Zhou¡¯s neck? He couldn¡¯t see because of his clothes, but he thought Ning Zhou should be wearing it.


    ¡°The memento for this field is the brooch,¡± Ning Zhou said.


    Qi Leren took out Maria¡¯s brooch and presented it in his hand. The small and delicate brooch was slightly warm, as if it was alive. It was with it that they had been able to walk into this dead closed field as if they had the key, but if they used it too much, it would collapse.


    ¡°After forming, the half-field grows gradually. The process may be fast or slow, depending on the affinity¡¯s strength. It can be condensed into a field in a moment. After the formation of the field, it will condense into another memento, representing¡­ Destruction.¡±


    Su He raised his eyebrows with interest: ¡°Do you need this memento to end the field?¡±


    Ning Zhou nodded: ¡°This field is dead and it will not evolve any more, nor can it be controlled by the field master. It¡¯s already a small independent world. To end it, you need to destroy it with a memento of Destruction.¡±


    Two mementos of faith, one for life, the other for death, beginning and end¡­ Was this the secret of the Vatican? Unfortunately, Ning Zhou¡¯s half-field has just begun, and it has already been destroyed. Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help but be somewhat disappointed.


    ¡°It seems that we need to find the memento of Destruction,¡± Su He said and looked at the former site of the Holy See shrouded by the power of the Devil. ¡°Well¡­ I feel like it should be there.¡±


    ¡°It really is there,¡± Ning Zhou said.


    ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Hey?¡± Dr. Lu and Qi Leren looked at him in surprise. ¡°How do you know?¡±


    Ning Zhou looked at the broken building on the top of the mountain in the distance and said in a very low voice: ¡°¡­She told me that used the sword there to kill the Devil.¡±


    ¡°¡­You knew the Holy Nun?!¡± Dr. Lu asked, gawking.


    "She was my mother, Maria,¡± Ning Zhou said.


    ¡°A player?¡± Dr. Lu asked nervously.


    Ning Zhou shook his head. He wouldn¡¯t use the word NPC to refer to people from this world. In his eyes, these people who called themselves ¡°players¡± were outsiders.


    Dr. Lu looked at Qi Leren with a face of curious sympathy.


    The atmosphere had become very tense. Dr. Lu¡¯s mouth opened and closed, closed and opened, like a fish stranded on the beach. Su He seemed to have anticipated it, and said easily, ¡°This kind of situation is quite common here¡­ Let¡¯s go on with the mission. Now it seems that to end the Dream of the Holy Nun, we need to get the sword that Lady Maria used to kill the Devil, but to get the sword, we must first open the enchantment of the Devil around the Vatican. According to the existing clues, the disaster of the new moon is very likely to be related to the Devil. We need to crack the disaster of the new moon first¡­ One leading into another, a typical task chain. ¡±


    The problem was back to the disaster of the new moon. Now, the clues about the disaster of the new moon were still incomplete, and they could only boldly guess that it had something to do with demons - according to Qi Leren¡¯s understanding of the Nightmare Game.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll stay awake on the night of the new moon in two days. With the [Demon Etiquette] skill card I got in the Castle task, if there is a demon at that time, I can make it think I¡¯m an ally and maybe I can get some unexpected clues,¡± Qi Leren said, though he was actually a little scared. After all, in the Nightmare Game he had died to the demons¡¯ attacks on the night of the new moon.


    ¡°I remember that that skill needs a demon crystal,¡± Su He recalled very clearly.


    ¡°This¡­ I have one.¡± Qi Leren took out a piece of a demon crystal. After the Slaughter Secret Society undercover mission, the remaining demon crystals hadn¡¯t been confiscated, and the Court generously left them to him.


    Su He picked up the demon crystal and observed it. He suddenly laughed. His smile was as warm as spring water in the warm sunshine: ¡°This is a succubus crystal.¡±


    Qi Leren who was seen through at a glance: ¡°¡­¡±


    Su He returned the demon crystal and paused when he retracted his hand: ¡°Look down.¡±


    Qi Leren bowed his head without knowing why. Su He parted his hair with one hand, and picked out a blue and white petal from his hair with the other hand, which must have gotten stuck when he was sleeping in the tree stump. The petal was pinched between Su He¡¯s slender fingers, delicate and soft, and looked broken when touched.


    ¡°This flower is really beautiful,¡± Su He laughed, looking into Qi Leren¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Well, it¡¯s pretty good,¡± Qi Leren just said.


    Ning Zhou¡¯s eagle had played around enough and finally flew back on its wings. It righteously stood on the handle of the basket, cocked its head and looked at the group. When it saw the petal in Su He¡¯s hand, it suddenly flapped its wings and squawked twice. It pecked away the petal, took it, and flew to Ning Zhou¡¯s shoulder where it threw it into his hair.


    Qi Leren looked at the petal in Ning Zhou¡¯s hair and his expressionless handsome face that was obviously confused. He couldn¡¯t help laughing and, infected by his laughter, Dr. Lu also laughed. Finally, Su He looked at them laughingly, and his beautiful eyes were gentle.


    In this warm afternoon sunshine, joy and happiness infected everyone. For a short time, they could forget the pressure of the nightmare and spend their time happily under the flowers and sunlight. Unfortunately, relaxed and happy times are always short. After lunch and rest, the four people continued to search for clues about the night of the new moon and did not return to the Lord¡¯s castle until nightfall.


    After dinner the group of people returned to the library, looking for clues suspected to be related to the night of the new moon. Some of the witnesses¡¯ notes had already been read, and the contents were similar. No one could write down what they had met, because they had disappeared forever before they put pen to paper¡­


    While everyone was searching hard, Su He, who was sitting at the table, suddenly asked a creepy question thoughtfully: ¡°Have you noticed? Today, we walked all day in the Holy City and we didn¡¯t meet any young people under the age of twenty. None of them.¡±


    Su He adjusted his sitting posture, supported the side of his face with the back of his hand, and asked, ¡°So what does the little girl we saw suggest?¡±

 CH 123

    Chapter 123: The Dream of the Holy Nun (XIII)


    Su He¡¯s words made Qi Leren realize what the strangeness he¡¯d vaguely felt all day was. There were no minors in the city, from guards to ordinary residents, and the youngest was over twenty years old. Connecting that to the history of the city being closed for more than twenty years¡­ Were there no children born since then?


    But then¡­ where had the mysterious blonde girl come from?


    It seemed that she really wasn¡¯t a human being, but a demon?


    With such doubts, the group asked the servants in the castle, and some of them admitted that no babies had been born since the Holy City was closed more than 20 years ago, but because the Lord had forbidden them to discuss this matter, they hadn¡¯t mentioned it before; but there were several servants, and their reaction gave them a strange feeling.


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m being arrogant and should stop talking, but hey, there must be something more to this, right?¡± asked Dr. Lu, who had just returned from speaking with a maid.


    That was indeed the case. The group asked the Lord the next morning, and the Lord¡¯s reaction was equally intriguing. When asked why it was forbidden to discuss the matter of there being no newborns, the Lord and his wife turned pale but refused to answer.


    The group who couldn¡¯t get clues from the Lord had to continue searching for needles in a haystack, while discussing how to deal with the upcoming night of the new moon. Qi Leren tried to insist on using Demon Etiquette to disguise himself as a demon and find out, but Ning Zhou and Su He both rejected it.


    ¡°No way,¡± Ning Zhou simply refused. ¡°We¡¯ll go together.¡±


    Su He¡¯s reason was more sufficient: ¡°If you¡¯re worried about our safety, there¡¯s no need at all. The main world tasks have fewer restrictions on fields. I can let my field interfere with the real world and completely prevent you from being discovered.¡±


    With this, Su He snapped his fingers, and Qi Leren vaguely felt that he seemed to be covered with something invisible. He looked at himself and found that, strangely, nothing had changed.


    A maid came from the other end of the corridor, coming towards the four people who saw that she was about to hit Qi Leren, but she looked ahead as if she didn¡¯t see him and Qi Leren quickly took a step back. She didn¡¯t look at him and went straight on, further into the corridor.


    ¡°She really didn¡¯t notice me. Are we invisible to other people?¡± Dr. Lu asked, poking his arm curiously.


    ¡°Yes. When a person¡¯s field interferes with reality, it will have a certain impact on reality. Hiding yourself is only one of the functions, but this degree of disguise is useless against others with fields,¡± Su He explained.


    ¡°No wonder you said that only field levels can compete with field levels,¡± Dr. Lu nodded and said happily. ¡°That¡¯s good. We can wait for the night of the new moon, then go out and investigate. Maybe we can finish the task in a single night.¡±


    Although Qi Leren wasn¡¯t so blindly optimistic, with Ning Zhou and Su He around, he was quite confident that this task wouldn¡¯t result in the same end he¡¯d had with the ¡°Nightmare Game¡±.


    The next few days were calm, and the group looked for clues and waited for the night of the new moon to come. Finally, this day arrived.


    Qi Leren woke up and looked at his watch. It was 20:15 in the evening, with nearly four hours left before the zero hour. He¡¯d been sleeping from noon until now so that he now had full energy. He didn¡¯t think he would feel sleepy again during the night. Ning Zhou wasn¡¯t in the room. He didn¡¯t know where he¡¯d gone. The quilt on his bed was neatly folded, so it didn¡¯t seem like he¡¯d napped during the afternoon.


    After getting up and washing up, Qi Leren sorted out his skill cards. The S/L skills and Rain-Day Laundry skills had cooled down, the Primary Fighting skills could be used at any time, and  Demon Etiquette wasn¡¯t equipped, as there were only three card slots.


    Out of the room, the corridor was quiet. Every night of the new moon, the castle¡¯s servants would finish the day¡¯s work early and drink the draught that would let them sleep through the night, so the Lord¡¯s castle was a little scary at this moment, and this strange atmosphere made Qi Leren feel uncomfortable. He didn¡¯t know where everyone else was, so he went outside of Dr. Lu and Su He¡¯s room and raised his hand to knock.


    ¡°Hey, Leren, here!¡± Dr. Lu emerged from the end of the corridor and greeted him briskly.


    ¡°You¡¯re up. Where¡¯s Su He?¡± Qi Leren walked towards him as he spoke.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe in the library?¡± Dr. Lu said with lack of interest.


    ¡°Did you see Ning Zhou?¡± Qi Leren asked again.


    Dr. Lu shook his head, then suddenly remembered something and said, ¡°By the way, I just thought that that memento brooch might be useful. Show me.¡±


    With an ¡°oh¡±, Qi Leren took out the brooch from the item bar. The brooch was still slightly hot, but it seemed to be hotter than before¡­


    Holding the brooch, his hand reached out to Dr. Lu¡¯s open palm and Qi Leren¡¯s eyes followed the brooch carelessly. Just as he was about to hand it over, he saw Dr. Lu¡¯s eyes.


    That was a pair of familiar eyes - round and always shining when they saw something delicious - but at this time, strange greed and excitement flowed in those eyes, which were by no means Dr. Lu¡¯s eyes!


    Who was he? Who was this man?!


    Qi Leren suddenly clenched the brooch and put it back in his item bar. He stepped back and pointed his dagger at the other: ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Dr. Lu¡± gave a loud cry and looked at him with his head tilted crossly: ¡°I really despise you, you¡­¡±


    The door behind the Qi Leren suddenly opened and Dr. Lu yawned as he came out of it. He saw Qi Leren, who was standing at the door, and muttered, ¡°What time is it? Did I oversleep¡­ What?¡±


    Dr. Lu looked at the person who looked like him a few meters away: ¡°I must have not woken up¡­¡±


    He pinched his thigh and cried out in pain: ¡°It¡¯s not a dream! What¡¯s going on here! Who are you!¡±


    The fake ¡°Dr. Lu¡± snorted testily, turned around, and ran to the end of the corridor and out of sight. Qi Leren didn¡¯t catch up after two steps, so he had to give up and come back.


    Dr. Lu stood at the door looking distraught: ¡°There¡¯s a monster pretending to be me¡­ God, if it pretends to be you I¡¯ll be fooled! It¡¯s terrible, it¡¯s terrible.¡±


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be interested in you, it just wants the memento brooch,¡± Qi Leren inferred. The monster pretending to be Dr. Lu just now was obviously aiming for the brooch in his hand. It had been vivid in both appearance and tone. If he hadn¡¯t seen that the monster¡¯s eyes were wrong¡­


    What was worse was that this monster didn¡¯t even trigger the ¡°Rain-Day Laundry¡± skill. He didn¡¯t know whether it was the error probability of this skill or if its malice wasn¡¯t enough to trigger the skill¡¯s sensor. At present, it seemed that this skill only warned of fatal dangers. Maybe this monster only wanted to get the memento, not kill him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and find Ning Zhou and Su He. This thing isn¡¯t safe with me.¡± They didn¡¯t know that something was coveting this brooch before so the keepsake had always been kept by Qi Leren, but now that he knew it, he couldn¡¯t take the risk and should give it to a more reliable person.


    The two quickly left the corridor, headed for the library as the most likely place. Oil lamps were burning in the castle along their way, which should be from the special instructions given by the Lord when he¡¯d learned they were going to go out on the night of the new moon.


    The main world of the Nightmare World was still set in the Middle Ages, and there was no power equipment for sustainable power generation. Only the Twilight Township had skewed the science and technology tree because of the demon crystallization energy, entering the electrical age ahead of time.


    Qi Leren took Dr. Lu to the library. As soon as the door opened, he saw the back of Su He, who was picking books off the shelf. ¡°What happened? You look anxious.¡±


    Seeing Su He and his calm figure in the candlelight, their hanging hearts finally relaxed, and Dr. Lu said first, ¡°You¡¯d never guess, just now Leren met a monster that had taken my appearance!¡±


    Su He pushed the newly taken book back onto the shelf and motioned for the two to sit down. He poured two cups of tea for the two, and the two who were still afraid drank the hot tea and began to feel calmer.


    Qi Leren told the story once again, emphasizing its ability to transform: ¡°¡­It was really very similar. If it wasn¡¯t for his eyes when he saw the brooch, I definitely wouldn¡¯t have seen it. Even my perception skills didn¡¯t give an alarm. It should want this brooch.¡±


    ¡°There is a possibility, arguably, that since holding the field memento allows one to freely enter and exit the field, it may want to escape? It¡¯s likely that it¡¯s been eyeing you, you must be careful,¡± Su He guessed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave it with you for safekeeping. It seems that this thing is a key item.¡± Qi Leren insisted on giving it to Su He.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s not so easy for it to deceive me,¡± Sue said with a smile, coming to stand before Qi Leren and holding out his hand.


    ¡°Yes, it can¡¯t fool you.¡± Qi Leren felt better at the thought of handing over this burden.


    Once again, he took out the memento brooch from the item bar. It was still hot, hotter than before, and it seemed to burn his palm¡­


    Qi Leren suddenly seemed to have pressed the pause button, and the hand holding the memento brooch also paused.


    It was not easy for one to deceive Su He, but it was not difficult for one to be deceived.


    So how could he prove that the Su He in front of him was really Su He himself?

 CH 124

    Chapter 124: The Dream of the Holy Nun (XIV)


    Qi Leren¡¯s hesitation fell on Su He¡¯s eyes. He looked at him in consternation, and a little injured look appeared in his eyes, making Qi Leren feel ashamed: ¡°Are you doubting me?¡±


    Qi Leren had a cramp in his stomach and did not dare to look Su He in the eye, but still insisted: ¡°Sorry, I need some proof¡­ Please answer me, where was the first time we met?¡±


    If the monster was pretending to be Su He in front of him, he may have watched them since they entered the Holy City, so he had to ask something that it would never know.


    Su He looked at him deeply, showing a hint of melancholy under the faint candlelight next to his beautiful face, which was then concealed by the gentle smile in his eyes: ¡°In the hospital that was your Novice Village, I disguised as an ordinary player and completed the task with you.¡±


    With his judgement proven wrong, Qi Leren swallowed his saliva and blushed awkwardly: ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry! I thought you were the monster¡­¡±


    Dr. Lu, who was nervous on the side, also breathed a sigh of relief: ¡°It scared me to death. I really thought you were the monster just now.¡±


    ¡°It is a good thing that you should have such vigilance, it will let you avoid the tragedy caused by credulity in many cases.¡± Su He smiled and blinked at Qi Leren again. ¡°Now you can give me the memento.¡±


    The ashamed Qi Leren had no face here. He turned his face and handed the brooch to Su He¡­


    A knock came on the door, and a gentle and familiar voice came from outside. It was Su He who said, ¡°I¡¯m coming in.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°!!!¡±


    ¡°?!¡±


    Qi Leren jumped from the chair like he¡¯d been given an electric shock, the brooch was put away again, and the dagger was stabbed out - the ¡°Su He¡± in the before him shoved himself back in the chair, avoiding the dagger¡¯s attack, a stack of books was overturned, the teacup was overturned, and the sound of the chair sliding on the floor completely filled the library.


    Hearing the movement inside the door, Su He, who stood outside, flung open the door, stretched his right hand forward, and opened his fingers in the void - Qi Leren and the monster who were fighting felt their bodies sink, especially the standing Qi Leren, who found himself thrown to the ground.


    It was so heavy, it felt like he was weighed down by a few hundred pounds and couldn¡¯t get up at all!


    The weight on his body suddenly disappeared again, and Qi Leren drifted uncontrollably and was placed in the chair to the side in good condition. He looked at the sluggish Dr. Lu, but the monster disguised as Su He had changed his appearance, and turned out to be the little girl with golden hair! She was also pressed to the ground by the terrible gravity. The complicated and beautiful dress skirt was heavily attached to her back as if wet, which made her unable to move. She said in a forced voice: ¡°It is worthy of¡­ a field level¡­¡±


    Su He¡¯s hand that was stretched out in the air slowly lifted and the suppressed blonde girl floated up. The scattered blonde hair blocked her face. She suddenly gave a strange laugh: ¡°Fortunately¡­ I didn¡¯t come in person¡­¡±


    With that said, her body exploded with a loud noise and turned into a mass of gray smoke. In the fog, a blue-black butterfly struggled to flap its wings, fell to the ground under the pressure of horrible gravity, and turned into a mass of burning flame.


    Su He frowned and said regretfully, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that she wasn¡¯t the host body. She was almost caught.¡±


    ¡°My God, I almost fell for it, but this guy is too unlucky. He just happened to hit the right button twice¡­¡± With that, Dr. Lu, who was in shock, turned his head and looked at Qi Leren. ¡°It¡¯s like she was your sister, she had the same horrible strain of luck as you.¡±


    ¡°¡­Shut up.¡± Qi Leren said depressedly.


    This mysterious little girl should be the same person, or the same thing, as the one he¡¯d seen on the terrace, and she was probably a demon, but how had she known about his first meeting with Su He? How could she possibly know?


    Qi Leren searched his memories, and finally he realized a possibility.


    On the first night when he¡¯d come to the Holy City, he¡¯d met the little girl on the terrace. She said, ¡°Let¡¯s dream together.¡± That night, he¡¯d dreamed of the past¡­ almost fast-forward his experience after entering the Nightmare World, until cutting off at the panic from the Castle. Now that he thought about it, ¡°she¡± appeared on the terrace not only to scare him, but rather to spy on his memory. But why had his dream come to an abrupt end when he was about to see his laptop? Had he consciously stopped her in his dream, or was it because¡­


    Qi Leren was a little afraid to think about it.


    Dr. Lu was giving Su He a run down of what happened just now. Qi Leren added a few words. After Su He finished listening, he smiled calmly and looked at Qi Leren slowly: ¡°If it were me, I would let you continue to hold the memento, and then take good care of you.¡±


    Qi Leren¡¯s face felt a little burnt. Su He¡¯s voice was soft and sexy, just like a man broadcasting on a radio station in the middle of the night. What was more frightening was that he was still very good-looking. Not being fascinated at this time could only prove that his sexual orientation was very firm.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯d better keep the brooch for you,¡± Qi Leren said, staring at his tea because he was a little afraid to look at Su He.


    ¡°No, anyway, we will act together later, and maybe we¡¯ll need to fish her out with this thing¡­¡± Su He said.


    ¡°All right.¡± Qi Leren was now scared of this invincible monster. ¡°Since we¡¯re all here, let¡¯s act together. Speaking of it, where is Ning Zhou?¡±


    Ning Zhou, who was being remembered, was standing alone in the cold night wind. He stood at the top of the castle with his arms crossed, monitoring everything around him. The eagle hovered in the moonless night sky and flew in the wind. Unlike an ordinary eagle, the eagle had excellent night vision and could see its prey move from thousands of meters away.


    Nothing unusual, nothing at all.


    There was silence around the castle. Looking from the top of the castle, no household had lit a lamp. Even the oil lamp on the main road had gone out, and the whole Holy City was shrouded in horrible darkness.


    Although the disaster of the new moon would start at midnight, he was worried that there would be an accident. Ning Zhou had waited here since nightfall¡­


    The eagle hovering overhead let out a loud cry, and a longbow appeared in Ningzhou¡¯s hand. He pulled the string and the bow bent, pointing to the direction in which the devil¡¯s energy appeared.


    On the castle terrace, a group of blue-black butterflies gushed out wildly and flew into the endless night sky in the night wind. Their butterfly wings were inlaid with sapphire-like color blocks, as if pairs of devil¡¯s eyes were blinking. The night messengers fluttered gracefully in the wind and fled.


    Dark arrows shot out in the moonless night, and the sharp arrows disappeared into the darkness with the crisp sound of surprise when the bowstring was loosed. The dancing butterflies were broken by strange forces, falling heavily and burning brilliantly, and they all swirled like fireworks coming to an end. In the burning butterfly rain, a sweet little girl¡¯s light laughter sounded:


    ¡°Don¡¯t be impatient, I¡¯ll come to you soon¡­¡±


    The voice dispersed, and those blue-black butterflies seemed to be a beautiful dream in the night, disappearing in an instant.

 CH 125

    Chapter 125: The Dream of the Holy Nun (XV)


    When he saw the large flock of butterflies flying out of the castle, Ning Zhou realized his carelessness. His attention was focused on guarding against demons sneaking into the castle, but he hadn¡¯t expected one to lie in ambush for a long time, and it was hidden so deep that he hadn¡¯t felt the demon¡¯s energy when he¡¯d patrolled the castle before.


    The eagle returned to the pet bag and Ning Zhou quickly walked down from the top floor, making crisp clicks on the quiet stone spiral staircase. He went to the room first and Qi Leren was no longer there. The quilt was neatly folded, so he should have left after waking up.


    No one was in the dining hall, no one was in the lounge; not only Qi Leren, but also Dr. Lu and Su He had disappeared, and the castle was eerily quiet. Ning Zhou searched all the way down and finally came to the door of the library¡­


    Pushing open the door, the man he was looking for sat at the table happily talking to Su He. The latter seemed to say something funny, and he burst out laughing. He was a happy person who was different from himself. He was not nervous, worried, anxious, awkward, but simply happy, yet he had hardly seen such a relaxed and joyful expression on his face.


    He had seen a lot of smiles from Qi Leren, gentle, pleasant and bitter¡­ But in front of him, even if he smiled brilliantly, it was always mixed with a little caution. Why? Why did he never smile so much in front of him?


    ¡°Ning Zhou!¡± Qi Leren suddenly stood up from his chair, took two steps forward, and stopped again. The familiar careful expression reappeared on his face. He seemed to have a full stomach of questions to ask, but in the end he swallowed them back forcefully, showing only the most common concern. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find you anywhere just now. Are you alright?¡±


    Ning Zhou nodded. Although he wasn¡¯t didn¡¯t have the Silent Mediation skill card equipped because this was a team effort, he was still used to being silent, and his eyes passed over Qi Leren¡¯s shoulder. He saw traces of a chair dragging on the floor. The last time he¡¯d been in the library, there was no such skid mark. The books on the table were also messy. What had happened just now?


    Behind the long table that was nearby, Su He met his eyes and smiled at him. It should be a friendly smile, but Ning Zhou instinctively couldn¡¯t like him. It wasn¡¯t that he had any opinions about this Su He person. Su He was a very easy person to get along with, gentle and kind, knowledgeable and talkative, but they were completely opposite individuals, and it was already the best state for them to be able to stay peaceful.


    ¡°Qi Leren, don¡¯t go there yet,¡± Su He called Qi Leren back.


    Qi Leren remembered that he¡¯d just had two dangerous situations in succession. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a sudden moment of doubt that made him look straight into Ning Zhou¡¯s eyes.


    The dim candlelight was reflected in his eyes and the beating flame seemed to be a burning ice fire, but it happened that it was precipitated in inorganic blue, and all the extreme emotions were rationally covered with ice and snow, leaving only extreme restraint, as if even the self had been destroyed.


    There was no mistake, these were Ning Zhou¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°It should be Ning Zhou,¡± Qi Leren said diplomatically, despite his character of never drawing quick conclusions. ¡°Besides, didn¡¯t that monster run away just now?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true. Maybe it¡¯s still lurking nearby?¡± Su He said lightly.


    Even when he doubted Ning Zhou, Su He¡¯s tone was peaceful, without personal feelings or prejudice, as if only stating a logical possibility.


    ¡°However, Mr. Ning Zhou is from the Holy See, so he¡¯s easy to identify. The demons can¡¯t use the magic of the Holy See,¡± Su He said.


    ¡°¡­Ning Zhou isn¡¯t very good at it,¡± Qi Leren said with a lack of confidence.


    Ning Zhou didn¡¯t speak, but the knife fixed with leather straps on the outside of his thigh was drawn out and the holy light spilled out, dispelling the doubts of the three men. Qi Leren breathed a sigh of relief after having doubted him. Even if the reason was logical, it would always make one feel guilty when the misunderstanding was eliminated. Qi Leren was no exception, but he was too embarrassed to say anything, so he nervously turned over the book in his hands.


    Dr. Lu, holding his forehead and drinking tea, just needed his Free Wifi skill to reduce his sense of existence.


    ¡°It will be 0:00* soon, let¡¯s confirm our plan of action. Don¡¯t worry, the monster won¡¯t hear our conversation now.¡± Su He opened his gorgeous pocket watch and confirmed the time.


    *{E/N: Midnight}


    The serious matter of discussing their actions commanded their attention and they listened attentively to Su He: ¡°After zero, I¡¯ll use my field to partially interfere with reality to ensure that we won¡¯t be noticed by other people or things, but you can¡¯t stray too far from me. If you exceed five meters, you¡¯ll probably lose the stealth effect.


    "We should be able to find many clues tonight, and there may be fights. I don¡¯t think the shapeshifting demon will give up easily,¡± Su He said.


    Ning Zhou still didn¡¯t know what had happened just now. Qi Leren whispered what happened to him: ¡°¡­It wants your mother¡¯s memento brooch, maybe you want to take this brooch and escape from the field?¡±


    After hesitating, Qi Leren still took out the memento brooch: ¡°Otherwise, you should keep it. After all, this was your mother¡¯s possession¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too late to give it to Mr. Ning Zhou now¡­ In fact, if you know its purpose, it¡¯s easy to guess the means to use it. It¡¯s no longer feasible to pass off something else as the memento, and you shouldn¡¯t give it to others. Keep it, the best way to ensure that no one gets the field memento is for them to have to force us to hand it over,¡± Su He said slowly, with his hands folded on the table.


    ¡°Force?¡± Dr. Lu muttered and asked consciously, ¡°You don¡¯t mean like taking me hostage, do you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a possibility. We¡¯ll adapt to it when the time comes,¡± Su He said with a smile.


    ¡°¡­¡± That was too casual. Qi Leren and Dr. Lu looked at Su He silently. Did he want to draw such a stroke?*


    *{E/N: want to have such a thing happen}


    Su He said calmly: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, what we have to face is only an opponent who won¡¯t confront us head-on. It¡¯s deliberate and careful, but only because it¡¯s weak, so be confident. This time we¡¯re the hunters.¡±


    Su He¡¯s words made Qi Leren suddenly enlightened. Yes, he used to react to the enemy from the angle of being weak. Every time he was afraid of any accident, but this time it was different. He¡¯d brought his teammates! In front of his teammates who¡¯d brought their own abilities, an opponent who wasn¡¯t of a field level was destined to be crushed.


    Su He said softly, ¡°But I still have to make a little preparation¡­ Well, I have an idea to try.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    Even though in Nightmare Game, Qi Leren had died quickly on the night of the new moon, this time he was full of confidence.


    As time went by, Su He¡¯s pocket watch on the table moved steadily with the crisp mechanical sound. Finally, the hour hand and minute hand overlapped on the Roman numerals XII. He picked up the pocket watch and smiled calmly at the three people: ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The world after zero seems to be no different from before. The four people walked all the way from the Lord¡¯s castle to the bustling area of ?the Holy City. It was dark and silent, with no moonlight and no lamps. Without any night vision, Qi Leren felt like he would miss something: ¡°Can¡¯t you light a lamp?¡±


    In the dark, the eagle hiding in the pet bag flew out, let out a mocking cry, and flapped its wings to fly into the night, exploring the road ahead.


    Dr. Lu was worse than Qi Leren, and he took Qi Leren¡¯s clothes in hand for fear that his feet would send him into a violent fall.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t. If a light is on, people in the distance will have a very strange effect when they look here¡­ It would be like there¡¯s a black hole with a radius of five meters surrounded by light,¡± Su He said.


    Imagining the picture is a bit intoxicating. What was the difference between stealth and invisibility? They kept walking honestly in the dark.


    In the darkness, Qi Leren¡¯s eyes gradually adapted to it, and he could faintly see the outline of his companions under the starlight. Unfortunately, he was too busy looking at the others that he didn¡¯t pay attention to his feet. He kicked a raised stone and immediately tilted forward with an unstable center of gravity. He thought he was going to fall flat on the ground, but he was caught  by another.


    ¡°¡­Thank you,¡± Qi Leren thanked sullenly as he was pulled up by his arm.


    Ning Zhou let go of his hand in silence.


    ¡°If you¡¯re worried about tripping, you can hold onto me,¡± Su He¡¯s smiling voice sounded in the dark.


    Qi Leren hesitated, but before he said anything, Dr. Lu beside him cried happily: ¡°Good, good! I¡¯ve stumbled twice just now, it¡¯s too dark to see at all!¡± Saying this, he happily took Su He¡¯s arm.


    A warm hand grasped Qi Leren¡¯s wrist. He turned towards it, and only the outline of Ning Zhou could be seen in the dark. He was looking ahead as if the person he was holding had nothing to do with him.


    ¡°Watch your step,¡± He said.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Um,¡± Qi Leren answered twice. The temperature on his wrist permeated his skin into his blood, and it was transmitted to every corner of his body by his beating heart. It was another person¡¯s temperature, which came from a very different individual. They had different living experiences, different personalities, hobbies, and different religious beliefs. They weren¡¯t even from the same world, yet they¡¯d met and even fallen in love with each other¡­


    Qi Leren clenched his sweaty palm tightly and quietly felt the temperature on his wrist. He didn¡¯t speak and didn¡¯t dare to move.


    Why?


    The person holding him was no longer the dream lover whose gender had been misunderstood by him, but his heart was still beating for him.


    It shouldn¡¯t be like this, he thought with joy and despair. It shouldn¡¯t be like this.

 CH 126

    Chapter 126: The Dream of the Holy Nun (XVI)


    {cw: cannibalism}


    Ning Zhou¡¯s talking eagle circled far ahead and then returned to its master.


    ¡°There¡¯s movement ahead,¡± Ning Zhou relayed after being told by the eagle.


    In the darkness, only some buildings could be seen vaguely ahead. The rich black blinded their vision, and they couldn¡¯t help but feel fear because of the darkness and the unknown.


    Ning Zhou looked forward, and on the other side of the street several figures were staggering. Although his night vision was good, he still couldn¡¯t see clearly. The eagle on his shoulder flapped its wings again and flew there in the dark.


    ¡°It¡¯s demons,¡± Ning Zhou said coldly.


    Sure enough, as in Nightmare Game, demons began to appear in the Holy City after the night of the new moon began. At that time, Qi Leren had been attacked by these demons and died, but this time he wouldn¡¯t repeat the same mistakes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they won¡¯t find us,¡± Su He said, and walked on.


    This group of solitary demons walked in the dark streets, wobbling, and seemed to have no mind or thoughts. Qi Leren observed them closely. Although the darkness made him unable to see their appearance clearly, he could see that they were walking slowly like zombies.


    As a group of people walked into the market area of the Holy City, the number of these demons increased. They had no organization or discipline, but they followed strange instructions and wandered here¡­ Waiting¡­


    ¡°Are the Holy City¡¯s residents ok? Will these demons attack humans?¡± Dr. Lu asked nervously.


    ¡°There are no humans,¡± Su He¡¯s voice sounded in the dark. ¡°Now, there are only demons left in this Holy City.¡±


    A chill climbed from his foot to the back of his neck, and Qi Leren couldn¡¯t help but feel disturbed. Although he knew that the Holy City would be full of demons after zero, he didn¡¯t expect that these demons¡­ were the residents living here?


    ¡°Why is this? Do the residents here know that they¡¯ll become demons? And then, if you don¡¯t sleep¡­¡± Qi Leren remembered the previous residents who disappeared on the night of the new moon, and a more terrible guess welled up in his mind.


    ¡°Once you fall asleep on the night of the new moon, you will be transformed into a demon after zero. If you stay awake, then¡­¡± Su He paused and said slowly, ¡°¡­You¡¯ll become the demons¡¯ prey.¡±


    As if to confirm Su He¡¯s conjecture, there came the sound of a door in the street ahead. The door of the roadside house opened and a young man screamed as he rushed out: ¡°No, demons! Don¡¯t come near me!¡±


    Behind him, two strange demons staggered after him.


    As he escaped from the house, the demons wandering aimlessly in the street were awakened. This group of irrational monsters roared excitedly and chased him in the direction of the four people. The young man ran away crying. In the dark, he tripped, got up, and continued to run, but the greedy predators behind him were getting closer and closer, about to catch him in the next second¡­


    Qi Leren felt the hand on his wrist loosen, and when he turned to look, Ning Zhou had already rushed out.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill them! They¡¯re living people!¡± Qi Leren shouted.


    Ning Zhou didn¡¯t kill them. He hurriedly took the young person who¡¯d fled, kicked away the demons who had pounced on him, carried the adult man in one hand, and grabbed the roof of the nearby house with one hand to pull them both up. More demons were alerted and they rushed towards him crazily¡­


    There was a short melody in the dark, but it wasn¡¯t beautiful. Instead it made one anxious, but in this strange melody, the originally crazy demons calmed down. They stood there blankly, and after standing still for a while, they continued to wander in twos and threes, turning a blind eye to the two living people.


    The sound of this melody was too strange. Could it be the little blonde girl? Qi Leren stared in the direction of the sound, where it was immersed in pure darkness, and vaguely saw several figures coming towards them.


    Three people in cloaks came to Ning Zhou, one of whom was still playing a flute. The front man looked up at the two people on the roof and said in a hoarse and erratic voice, ¡°Foreigner, please give him to us.¡±


    The frightened young man knelt on the roof, shivering, and shouted with a broken voice: ¡°No, no, no, don¡¯t hand me over¡­ I want to go home, I want to sleep¡­¡±


    ¡°We will send you home, you will sleep safely until dawn, and then you will forget this matter. Come on, we¡¯ll send you home,¡± the cloaked man said.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Ning Zhou asked. He was wary about these three people wearing cloaks because he felt that these people also had strong demon energy.


    Qi Leren became nervous and took a step forward only to be dragged back by Su He: ¡°Wait, let¡¯s see what this group wants to do first.¡±


    The cloaked men were silent for a moment, and two of them talked in a low voice. Finally, they said, ¡°You can call us the night watch.¡±


    ¡°Demons?¡± Ning Zhou coldly asked.


    The demon under the cloak smiled bitterly, took off his hood, and showed a ferocious mutated face: ¡°Yes, but we are lucid demons.¡±


    The young man saved by Ning Zhou shook even harder, his teeth rattled in the shaking. He seemed likely to faint at any moment.


    ¡°On this night of the new moon, all those who fall asleep will become demons, while those who are awake¡­ will become the targets of demons. Although we¡¯re standing here now, we can walk and talk, but in fact we are also sleeping. It can be said that we¡¯re ¡®sleepwalking¡¯. On every night of the new moon, we look for the living who haven¡¯t fallen asleep while we sleepwalk and save them before the demons eat them. We let them forget all this, and then sleep peacefully. Foreigner, promise me to keep this a secret like we do,¡± the cloaked man said huskily.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell people? Aren¡¯t you letting this kind of thing continue?¡± Ning Zhou asked.


    Within the faint flute music, a ferocious yet sad smile appeared on the night watchman¡¯s mutated face.


    ¡°The crimes committed by people in ignorance can be forgiven by God. Every night of the new moon, these people who fall asleep take off their clothes in their dreams, become cannibals, hunt their own kind everywhere, then clean up all traces before dawn, put on the cloak of human beings again, and wake up safely¡­ This night has passed for eight years without incident. If one day, this hypocritical peace is broken and innocent people know that they were eating people, then the city will really be finished. They¡­ Us, anyone will fall into hell and will no longer be redeemed.¡±


    Eating people¡­ Once again, Qi Leren remembered the young man who recorded all this in his notebook. Did he end up being eaten by demons? Thinking again about the knock on the door he had heard that last time¡­ the people who appeared in his home that night were probably only his relatives who had already fallen asleep.


    Qi Leren felt a tumult in his stomach, as if it were burning. He covered his stomach and tried not to imagine the bloody and cruel picture.


    The young man saved by Ning Zhou let out a cry of despair and threw up on the roof. On every night before this night, he slept like the bloody demons and greedily attacked the living. He couldn¡¯t help thinking of one day many years ago, when he¡¯d spent the night of the new moon safely in his dream, he woke up feeling happy and satisfied physically and mentally, as if he had had a beautiful dream. On that day, the old woman next door who¡¯d watched him grow up had disappeared in the disaster of the new moon¡­


    That kind smile reappeared on the demonic face of the night watchmen: ¡°Look. Knowing that you¡¯ve eaten people is far more terrible than the eating of people itself.¡±

 CH 127

    Chapter 127: The Dream of the Holy Nun (XVII)


    {cw: cannibalism}


    ¡°I see,¡± Su He whispered, walking with the two others in the direction of the night watchmen.


    The strength of the field brought the night watchmen into the illusory range, revealing Su He¡¯s figure to the night watchmen. The night watchmen finally realized Qi Leren and others¡¯ presence and looked at them with surprise and vigilance: ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re with the one you just called a foreigner, investigating the cause of the disaster and trying to end this nightmare,¡± Su He said.


    The watchman looked at them carefully, and they were looked at by this deformed strange face. Qi Leren felt very uncomfortable, not because their eyes were full of malice, but because these ferocious and horrible faces were uncomfortable to look at.


    ¡°I know that you passed from the outside world through the fog to come here, maybe you¡¯re the key to end all this. If you want to know, okay¡­ This disaster started eight years ago¡­¡±


    The hoarse voice of the night watchman sounded in the dark, telling the story of the disaster of the new moon.


    More than 20 years ago, the Holy City was invaded by demons. It wasn¡¯t known what happened after that, since the whole city was surrounded by fog, but the demons had disappeared and the Holy City was restored to calm. The residents who survived the event found that they could never walk out of the fog, and no matter how far they walked in the fog, they would eventually return to the Holy City.


    Since then, no woman had become pregnant and no babies had been born. The city had grown old alone in the fog¡­


    It was not until a night of the new moon eight years ago that the nightmare began.


    ¡°At least one in ten people disappeared that night. No one knew what had happened, and the whole city fell into a panic. On the next night of the new moon after that, another group of people disappeared¡­ Slowly, we found the rule. Whenever the night of the new moon comes, we must never be awake before the sun rises, otherwise we¡¯ll disappear. After that, people gradually got used to this kind of life. Whenever the night of the new moon came, they would drink sleeping draughts to ensure that they slept until dawn, and the amount of people disappearing began to decrease. But there were always accidents¡­ For example, the one who almost became food for the demons just now. ¡±


    The young man who was still sitting on the ground shivered, hugging his head and trembling as he sobbed. Knowing the truth of the disaster of the new moon had put him on the verge of collapse. As long as he thought that he might have eaten the living even once, he fell into fear of not going to heaven.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been sleepwalking since I was a child. I sleepwalked once on a night of the new moon, but it was strange that during this sleepwalking, I was awake, and I ¡®saw¡¯ my wife take off her pajamas, and her body slowly turned into that of a demon. At that time I was scared crazy, but when I looked at myself I saw that I had also become a monster, and I followed her out of the house¡­¡±


    ¡°That night, I saw a Holy City that was like hell. My wife and the demons searched for and chased prey together. They found a living person who hadn¡¯t fallen asleep, attacked him crazily, and ate him. I¡¯ve never seen such a cruel and barbaric scene in my life. A group of people eating a person like mad dogs. They plucked bloody meat from the screaming living person and chewed it greedily, as if it were food given by God. I tried to stop this atrocity and pushed my wife away. She bumped into the wall and woke up covered in blood.¡±


    A tearful smile appeared on the strange face of the night watchman as he repeated: ¡°She woke up.¡±


    Everyone was silent, and even the sobbing young man held his breath and forgot to cry. In the deep darkness, the horrible night watchman whined: ¡°She turned back into a human being, watching the demons screaming in the dark. I approached her, trying to protect her, but to her eyes I was the demon. She wouldn¡¯t listen to me at all, just screamed and ran away. That group of terrible, inhuman beasts jumped up¡­ I roared, struggling to fight with them, and I wanted to wake up at this moment, even if I died with my wife¡­ I hit the wall with my head, again and again until my skull cracked, but I couldn¡¯t wake up. I was trapped in a nightmare. This dream is too long and too desperate¡­


    "The demons had a good meal. I don¡¯t want to admit that I was as hungry as them. I used my last human dignity and reason to compete with them for my wife¡¯s flesh and blood. Before the sun rose, they returned to their homes in an orderly manner, and some demons even spontaneously cleaned up the traces of their hunting, washed away their blood, and woke up to meet dawn in bed as if nothing had happened. Bleeding out, I lay on the ground waiting to die. As dawn rose in the east, my body changed back to human and all the wounds healed. What happened on this bloody night could only be borne by me alone. After dawn, the neighbours who had eaten my wife recovered their human appearances and asked with concern how my wife and I had slept last night. They didn¡¯t know that they¡¯d just killed her a few hours ago. I couldn¡¯t even say it! I couldn only stay in hell in silence, alone, in hell!


    "Susan, my wife, had become a person who disappeared in the disaster of the new moon, forever.¡± The night watchman who witnessed all this had chosen to keep it a secret.


    ¡°Later, I saved a few living people, one of whom was a pharmacist. He prepared a draught that can make people lose a short period of their memory and mixed it with the sleeping draughts. We let the people we rescue choose whether to join us or drink the draught and forget all this. Most of them chose to drink the draught and forget this horrible experience. Those who choose to stay will become one of us and keep this secret together. Together, we study the method of lucid sleepwalking, the cause of the disaster of the new moon, and how to appease this group of demons who keep hunting the living. The more you insist, the more desperate you are¡­


    "This city, once full of devout believers, may have no souls left to go to heaven.¡±


    There was a spasm in his stomach, and Qi Leren pressed his hand on his abdomen. The confused and desperate narration of the night watchman drew him into that same horrible feeling. Sleeping people became demons, killing the waking people who knew the truth. In order to protect more people, they could only cover up these crimes and keep their mouths shut. On this evil night, this tragedy had been repeated for eight years, which is so long that it was desperate.


    They desperately kept the secret that would have made everyone fall into hell, but it was too late. In the first few disasters of the new moon, too many people had committed unforgivable crimes. What was even more frightening was that no one knew whether they were innocent or not, and those who knew the truth always thought about their missing relatives and friends, and questioned whether they once mourned those who were in their stomachs.


    ¡°Take it and let him drink it.¡± The night watchman threw a bottle of medicine at him and Ning Zhou caught it and handed it to the man kneeling on the ground. Trembling, the man took the draught, so panicked that he couldn¡¯t open the bottle after several times. He bit the cork with his teeth and drank it without question.


    The man who¡¯d drank the draught sat on the ground absently, looked at the silver cross embroidery on Ning Zhou¡¯s gloves, and murmured, ¡°Can God forgive me? Can I still go to heaven?¡±


    The medication had begun to work, tiredness welling, yet he looked up at Ning Zhou with desperate eyes full of tears.


    Ning Zhou¡¯s fingers curled and the feeling of grief swept over him. He recalled Maria on her deathbed, leaning against her pillow, holding his hand, tears flowing in her blue eyes.


    ¡°I have to go back¡­¡± she had said angrily. ¡°Once I die, the power there will be completely out of control. If there are demons lurking there, everything will be done for.


    "But I can¡¯t go back. In the past thirteen years, I¡¯ve tried every means to open up that dead field. But it¡¯s dead. It¡¯s no longer a door that can be opened and closed at will, but a locked door that cannot be opened without a key¡­ Behind that door, what evil forces have begun to move?¡±


    Maria, whose face was gaunt with sickness, shed tears silently: ¡°My self-righteous salvation may be the greatest evil. You must¡­ You must save them¡­ Promise me¡­¡±


    Half kneeling in front of the bed Ning Zhou had taken her hand and nodded wordlessly.


    Eight years later he¡¯d really come here, but the Holy City that Maria had guarded with her life was already a hell on earth.


    ¡°In the name of God, I forgive your crimes and give you peace of mind.¡± Ning Zhou¡¯s hand was on the man¡¯s forehead and the white gloves gave off a faint light.


    The man smiled happily and closed his eyes slowly.


    With his deep sleep, his body began to change: his face twisted, his body swelled, and the clothes he wore were torn. He let out a low roar and opened his inhuman eyes.


    The sound of the night watchman¡¯s flute soothed his appetite. He jumped off the roof, fell heavily on the ground, and then walked into the distance, returning again to the demon¡¯s side.


    The leading night watchman sighed heavily and whispered, ¡°Sometimes even we doubt whether we¡¯re saving mankind or demons. Or maybe we¡¯re just saving ourselves.¡±

 CH 128

    Chapter 128: The Dream of the Holy Nun (XVIII)


    {cw: helminthophobia}


    The atmosphere was stagnant in the dark, and the night watchman¡¯s exhaustion and confusion was truly written all over him. His deformed body was bent, seeming as though it was about to be destroyed by the weight of his soul.


    The truth of the disaster of the new moon was so heavy that this Holy City, once known as the ¡°hometown of God¡¯s brethren¡±, had fallen into sin. No soul was left pure white or innocent.


    The night watchmen were still struggling in vain for the ignorant residents - they couldn¡¯t tell the truth, which would destroy the Holy City¡¯s last remaining peace and plunge the city into despair and sin, but if they didn¡¯t tell the truth, they couldn¡¯t persuade everyone to stay awake on the night of the new moon, and as long as one person fell asleep¡­ the consequences would be like a hungry wolf getting into the sheepfold, and after dawn, the whole city would be a hell on earth.


    Therefore, they could only choose to guard silently, make humble efforts, persist desperately, and try their best to make everyone who woke up forget this nightmare.


    Qi Leren took a deep breath and the cold air entered his lungs, suppressing the discomfort in his stomach. A gloomy cold spread from his lungs throughout his whole body, making him feel like he was in a refrigerator.


    Su He¡¯s cold and gentle voice sounded: ¡°The disaster of the new moon couldn¡¯t have started suddenly without warning. Please recall, did anything special happen eight years ago?¡±


    The night watchmen shook their heads.


    ¡°We¡¯re also exploring the cause of the disaster in the new moon, but there¡¯s been no evidence so far¡­ There is only a suspicious rumor that eight years ago, the Lord¡¯s wife gave birth to a baby girl.¡±


    Qi Leren instantly got an inkling. Eight years ago, a baby girl? The blonde girl who tried to trick the memento brooch out of his hand happened to be seven or eight years old, so¡­


    ¡°About the baby girl, tell us about her,¡± Ning Zhou suddenly said.


    Qi Leren looked at him with puzzlement. Although the night was too deep for him to be able to see Ning Zhou¡¯s expression clearly, there seemed to be a vibrato in his usual cold tone just now. What was he worried about?


    The night watchmen looked at each other. Finally, the leading night watchman said, ¡°We¡¯ve never seen the baby girl. This rumor came from the Lord¡¯s castle. It¡¯s said that the Lord¡¯s wife was pregnant eight years ago. At that time, no newborn had been born for 13 years. It was even rumored here that there would be no more human beings born. If one was born, they must be a demon. Therefore, the Lord and his wife concealed this matter and only the closest servants knew of it. The maid who was ordered to take care of the child revealed it to her relatives because she was afraid. Later, the child was born on the new moon. From that day on, the whole city fell into a nightmare, and the maid disappeared with the new moon¡­¡±


    ¡°Has anyone seen this little girl in these eight years?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    ¡°Occasionally, some people say that they¡¯ve dreamed of a little girl with blue eyes, long golden curly hair tied into two braids, and white roses in her hair. She looks dignified and holy, just like the portrait of the Virgin in the Vatican,¡± said the night watchman.


    Blonde hair and blue eyes, a portrait of the Virgin Mary¡­ Qi Leren¡¯s mind flashed to the figure of Maria in Ning Zhou¡¯s half-field¡­


    Ning Zhou went to the Vatican at the age of thirteen because Maria had died that year, just eight years ago.


    Was this really a coincidence?


    Qi Leren once again looked at Ning Zhou in the dark. Perhaps at this moment, only he understood his inner worries and fears. This field originally created by Maria to protect the Holy City had now become a hunting ground for demons, and the most terrible thing was¡­ They couldn¡¯t be sure if Maria¡¯s dead soul had returned here, but had been polluted by demons¡¯ energy and become evil.


    If it had, it was the most ruthless mockery of fate for a pious holy nun.


    ¡°Dream¡­¡± Su He muttered to himself.


    Dream? Come to think of it, everything that was happening here was related to dreams. Even the little girl would peek into his memory from dreams¡­


    ¡°The Witch of Nightmares? My friend and I have studied the data of the human world¡¯s first demon invasion. At that time, the old Devil King¡¯s most trusted witch was called the Witch of Nightmares, as she was good at manipulating dreams. If she didn¡¯t die in the disaster 22 years ago, she must have fallen asleep then awakened eight years ago. It makes sense,¡± Su He said slowly. ¡°I¡¯m afraid the cause of the disaster on the new moon is that she¡¯s polluted this dead area created by the Holy Nun and is slowly recovering her strength until she can escape from here, or¡­¡±


    Su He looked in the direction of the church grounds, eyebrows furrowed.


    Dr. Lu suddenly covered his lower abdomen and said with a pale face: ¡°My stomach hurts¡­¡±


    Qi Leren, whose stomach had also been feeling uncomfortable, was also suffering from stomach pain. Cold sweat dripped down from behind and instantly soaked the clothes on his back. There was something there, as if something was rolling in his stomach!


    Dr. Lu spat out a mouthful of blood. In the blood, a blue-black butterfly that had grown from a pupa was hatching from a chrysalis. The soft butterfly wings stained with blood quickly became dry in the wind, and it fluttered its wings and flew.


    The Witch of Nightmares? Thinking about it, when she pretended to be Su He in the library, she had poured tea for him and Dr. Lu. At that time, they drank it without worry and the Rain-Day Clothing skill hadn¡¯t been triggered.


    Qi Leren, who had no time to dwell on it, took out the holy water Ning Zhou had given him a long time ago and drank it down. The stomach acid and blood fumes in his stomach settled slightly, but it still had him in a cold sweat. He didn¡¯t know when Ning Zhou had rushed to him from the roof and held his shoulder to check the situation. Qi Leren handed him one third of the remaining holy water: ¡°To Dr. Lu.¡±


    The butterfly hatched from Dr. Lu¡¯s stomach flapped its wings in the night. A childish laughter came from the butterfly and said in a sweet voice: ¡°It¡¯s useless, even if the holy water can temporarily suppress it, you two will die in an hour because of the toxins.¡±


    Dr. Lu was in enough pain that he nearly lost consciousness. He used ¡°Doctor¡¯s Orders¡± once on himself, but his skills had no effect on this strange witch poison-medicine. Qi Leren¡¯s condition was a little better, but he was also shaking and unable to stand. If Ning Zhou hadn¡¯t been holding him, he would have already fallen down.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it painful? This kind of pain will get worse and worse as time goes by, until you can¡¯t even breathe. It¡¯s really pitiful. This feeling of slowly dying may be more painful than being eaten alive.¡± The Witch of Nightmare¡¯s voice was still innocent and sweet, but her tone was full of grim malice.


    The night watchman roared, ¡°Is that you?! The one who made all this!¡±


    The butterfly gradually changed into the outline of a little girl, and she giggled and said, ¡°Oh, I remember you, you really are a poor worm. Whenever I see you trying your best to maintain this false peace, I can¡¯t help but want to laugh. Thanks to you, those ignorant fools have continuously sent me the power of dreams for the past eight years.¡±


    The Witch of Nightmares clapped her hands and praised the night watchman. The crisp applause made the night watchman roar and he went forward to fight with the phantom without thinking, but the witch¡¯s butterfly spread its wings and flew high above the air: ¡°I hate places with lots of people. It seems you can endure for a while. I¡¯ll give you the antidote in exchange for you bringing the field memento you hold to the old site of the Vatican.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, madam, we don¡¯t believe a demon¡¯s promises,¡± Su He said lightly.


    ¡°I have no interest in your lives, but if you need a promise, well, I¡¯ll give you a devil¡¯s contract.¡± The witch¡¯s butterfly flapped its wings, and the blue spots scattered from its wings and changed into a blank sheet of paper with a contract written on it.


    Ning Zhou glanced at it. The contract required that the Holy Nun¡¯s field memento be exchanged for two antidotes, and the witch promised not to harm the contractor on the way to and from.


    Su He turned his back to the witch and mouthed: Promise her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring the memento,¡± Ning Zhou said coldly.


    ¡°I can¡¯t agree to that. I don¡¯t want to be given something by the Holy See,¡± the witch¡¯s voice became cold and disgusted.


    ¡°Then let me bring him,¡± Ning Zhou said to the witch.


    The witch¡¯s butterfly paused for a moment, then slowly flew to Ning Zhou and circled around him: ¡°You remind me of someone¡­ Okay, but this gentleman who controls the field must stay here and must not leave here until the contract is fulfilled.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Su He said lightly.


    After adding the contract amendment, the transaction was established.


    Although Qi Leren¡¯s pain was so great that he¡¯d lost the strength to speak, his brain was still awake. Everything was going according to their plan. Although the poisoning exceeded their expectations, they had planned to let the witch take one person away and then wait for her to offer to exchange hostages with the field memento. The poisoning was painful, but taking risks would make the witch let down her guard.


    ¡°Come on, follow me.¡± The witch¡¯s butterfly flapped its wings in the night and the blue butterfly scales gave off faint fluorescence, floating like powder in the night.


    Ning Zhou put Qi Leren¡¯s arm around his shoulder and led him forward.


    In the heavy night, the pain beat on the body wave by wave, suffocating him from pores to bone marrow. He tried hard to stride forward, but his strength was gradually lost from the pain. He almost fell down from his legs giving out several times as Ning Zhou pulled him along.


    ¡°I can carry you,¡± Ning Zhou¡¯s voice sounded in the dark.


    Qi Leren shook his head. At this time, when he didn¡¯t even have the strength to embrace Ning Zhou¡¯s neck, he still wanted to say that he was walking. In fact, it was simply Ningzhou carrying him forward.


    As he was holding him Ning Zhou paused, and the pain made this short moment become infinitely long¡­ He hugged him against himself and strode forward.


    The world was quiet with only one person¡¯s footsteps. Qi Leren trembled in the severe pain, struggling to keep breathing, and his will became fragile because of pain. Finally, he abandoned rationality and logic, leaving only pure instinct.


    In the dark, memories rolled in pain, and Qi Leren remembered the cold and damp hole in the Witchcraft Sacrifice. At that time, he had just been rescued from the lake, so he was cold and in pain as he was held by Ning Zhou and carried forward step by step.


    That dark road was full of his innocent sweetness and shy snickering, so warm, so gentle, and so joyful.


    When the past and the present overlapped, he suddenly discovered that the mood at that time was no different from that of today.


    Pain blurred his line of sight and his thinking was replaced by absurd imagination. He looked intently at the starry sea above his head, the eternal wilderness and the vast expanse. They seemed to be in a long river of time, and there was no future without the past. In only this short island of time, they were pulled by the net woven by the goddess of destiny. The two from different worlds met at that moment, were soaked by joys and sorrows, and sprouted feelings that they dared not admit.

 CH 129

    Chapter 129: The Dream of the Holy Nun (XIX)


    On this dark road, the witches¡¯ butterfly showed them the way while the demons they passed seemed to be unable to see them, turning a blind eye to their coming and going.


    The former site of the Vatican was just ahead, and the witch¡¯s butterfly hovered around them: ¡°Let¡¯s stop here.¡±


    Ning Zhou put Qi Leren down, letting him lean on himself, and took out holy water to have him drink. Although the power of holy water couldn¡¯t relieve the witch¡¯s poison-medicine, it could alleviate the pain. Qi Leren swallowed a few mouthfuls and the cold holy water made the burning feeling in his stomach better, but it still hurt as if he was on fire.


    Ning Zhou helped him dry the water stains on the corners of his mouth. In this very close distance, in this very dark night, Qi Leren actually couldn¡¯t see Ning Zhou¡¯s appearance, but his eyes seemed to reflect the starlight in the sky. He was like the first person who looked up at the night sky, who fell at the first sight.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Qi Leren squeezed two words from his throat.


    But these two words were hoarse and unconvincing, yet they were extremely firm because the plan was about to be realized.


    The demon enchantment they discovered when exploring the former site of the Vatican earlier was still there, and the former site of the Vatican is behind an inaccessible barrier.


    At this time they were just outside this barrier, and the witch¡¯s butter was dancing and flapping its wings as it flew inside.


    The world hidden behind the enchantment seemed to be rippling, and in the deep black, it seems that someone was coming towards them¡­


    Nearby, in the dark, she was slightly glowing, golden.


    As she got closer and closer, her appearance gradually became clear. She was a seven or eight year old girl with beautiful golden curls and white roses on her clothes. She walked lightly down the steps to them and Qi Leren could see her face through the layer of the demon enchantment.


    She was so much like¡­ No, she was exactly like Maria as a child.


    But her blue eyes were not as gentle as Maria¡¯s. Even as they were pulled by a playful smile, they were as gloomy as a nightmare.


    ¡°This is the face¡­ Well, it¡¯s interesting and incredible.¡± The Witch of Nightmares behind the demon enchantment cocked her head and stared at Ning Zhou innocently and maliciously. ¡°It¡¯s so interesting that that woman¡¯s child came back here and brought me what I wanted.¡±


    Ning Zhou¡¯s hand went to his knife and the cold blade was pointed at the Witch of Nightmares.


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t be angry, this kid still needs my antidote. Come and exchange it under the guidance of the contract.¡± The Witch of Nightmare¡¯s tone was full of greed and excitement.


    Qi Leren took out the field memento and Maria¡¯s brooch was slightly hot. At this moment, he felt uneasy, even though Su He had promised repeatedly¡­ But he was used to the fact that there would always be accidents at the critical moment, so he was always uneasy.


    The contract paper was suspended between the two people, the brooch floated up, and the two antidotes in the witch¡¯s hand also floated up. Under the power of the contract, they drifted toward each other, passed through the demon enchantment safely, and landed in each other¡¯s hands.


    The Witch of Nightmare¡¯s gave a pleasant laugh: ¡°This is it, this is it! Hahaha, I got it, My Lord, I got it!¡±


    She ran to the depths of the Vatican as if the wish she had hoped for for many years had been fulfilled and she¡¯d gone mad with it. She held the field memento and made a pilgrimage to the front of the temple protected by the enchantment of the Holy Nun.


    The Witch of Nightmare¡¯s surge of emotion had her look up at the broken temple in the distance, this was the place where she hadn¡¯t set foot for more than 20 years, protected by the faith of the Holy Nun. Even in the eight years after her death, she still stubbornly blocked the Devil¡¯s remnants.


    But as long as one had her field memento¡­


    ¡°That damned, damned Maria, she lied to you, she is unforgivable!¡± The Witch of Nightmares raised Maria¡¯s field memento before the holy enchantment, and she expressed her longing for nothingness. ¡°My Lord, am I like her now? Only I¡­¡±


    At the moment when the field memento touched the enchantment, the secret technique attached to the memento was triggered and horrible black flames suddenly burned from the Witch of Nightmare¡¯s hand. She let go in astonishment but it was too late. The black flames that devoured everything quickly swept over her body, and the fire from hell completely engulfed her.


    Before she could even let out a scream, she was burned to ashes by the absolute power and the frantic demon energy seeped into the ground, causing waves of tremors in the earth.


    The vicious game of the Witch of Nightmares had ended. The dawn was coming and the nocturnal demons controlled by the witch¡¯s power slowly walked towards home. Now the cycle of terror would be ended forever.


    Outside the former site of the Vatican, the ground was still shaking. Qi Leren had already drunk an antidote and the pain had fully disappeared from his body, leaving only a sticky cold sweat. When pain is over, in order to protect themselves, people¡¯s memory quickly forgets the physical torture and only feels unreal when recalling the pain.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Qi Leren said, standing up straight and wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. ¡°We need to send the other antidote to Dr. Lu quickly.¡±


    Ning Zhou responded lightly, looking at the disappearing demon barrier. Behind the barrier was a deep darkness. There was something calling him.


    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing wrong with Su He¡¯s plan, the Witch of Nightmares should be dead and this enchantment is gone.¡± Qi Leren couldn¡¯t feel the demon energy that had come from depths of the Vatican a few seconds ago. Naturally he didn¡¯t know the Witch of Nightmare¡¯s situation, and he was a little worried. At this time, the whole hill where the Vatican was located was slightly shaking, as if there was a terrorist operation raging inside, which gave an ominous feeling.


    ¡°She¡¯s dead.¡±


    ¡°After that, there will be no more disasters.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    ¡°But the task reminder still hasn¡¯t appeared. It seems that according to the goal, the Dream of the Holy Nun must be ended¡­ The memento representing destruction is inside, right?¡± Qi Leren asked again.


    NingZhou nodded his head.


    Qi Leren instinctively felt that Ning Zhou was in a bad mood and he was a bit nervous, so many words choking on his lips that he couldn¡¯t open his mouth. He wanted to comfort Ning Zhou, but he didn¡¯t know where to start. He wanted to encourage Ning Zhou, but he felt that his words paled.


    But at least at the moment, he was sure that Ning Zhou was different. For him, he had exceeded the limit of what could be called a friend, but he couldn¡¯t give him a sensible and rational position.


    He couldn¡¯t say it, couldn¡¯t say anything, even if it exposed it only a little bit, it was blasphemous to Ning Zhou¡¯s faith.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll give the antidote to Dr. Lu,¡± Qi Leren flinched timidly. He took a step back and was ready to leave, but just after two steps, he turned back regretfully. ¡°Wait for me and let¡¯s go into the Vatican together when I get back.¡±


    No, that wasn¡¯t it. That wasn¡¯t what he meant.


    ¡°Or¡­ would you like to come with me?¡± Qi Leren looked at Ningzhou hopefully and summoned up the courage to ask.


    Ning Zhou, standing in the dark, was illuminated by the faint light of the stars, andhis figure seemed to melt in the dark.


    He waited for a long time but didn¡¯t receive an answer. Qi Leren¡¯s unreasonable nose was sour, and he didn¡¯t want to turn around or leave. Even if he knew it was only for a short time, they would meet again soon, it was just for a while. It would be fine in just a little while.


    Qi Leren forced a smile and shouted: ¡°Then you stay here, I¡¯ll be right back. You have to wait for me! You must wait for me! ¡±


    Finished saying that, he ran towards the road they¡¯d come from.


    The earth still trembled and mourned and the cold night wind blew on his face, drying the sweat. His heart beat faster and faster with his footsteps. There were no human beings or demons in the empty streets, only his footsteps passing through the silent night with his memories.


    As he ran, he thought back. He recalled his hugs, his kisses, and the burning temperature of his skin.


    What made him think he was indifferent?


    The destination was getting closer and closer. It was a long way to come, but it was so short when he was going back. The night watchman has left. Qi Leren stopped, panting, and handed the antidote to Su He standing in the middle of the road: ¡°The Witch of Nightmares is dead. This is the antidote. Give it to Dr. Lu.¡±


    Su He didn¡¯t hurry to take it. He asked with gentle surprise, ¡°Why are you crying?¡±


    Qi Leren wiped his face blankly, and the faint but bright starlight reflected in the water marks between his fingers.

 CH 130

    Chapter 130: The Dream of the Holy Nun (XX)


    ¡°Because it hurts too much,¡± Qi Leren replied seriously. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t hurt now. It doesn¡¯t hurt after drinking the antidote.¡±


    ¡°Really, that¡¯s good.¡± Su He sighed softly and took the antidote to give to Dr. Lu.


    ¡°Please look after Dr. Lu, I¡¯ll go back to find Ning Zhou,¡± Qi Leren said.


    Su He shook his head: ¡°Well, you should send Dr. Lu back to the Lord¡¯s castle first and I will go to the old site of the Vatican first. If Ning Zhou is in trouble, I¡¯m always more experienced than you.¡±


    The ground was still shaking slightly. With the death of Witch of Nightmares, the demon energy she had accumulated for so many years seemed to be going out of control. Qi Leren was very worried that her former companion would be in the former site of the Vatican and regretted that he hadn¡¯t bring insisted on Ning Zhou coming back with him - although he knew that Ning Zhou would definitely choose to stay there just in case - but if Ningzhou met any danger¡­


    ¡°Okay, you go first, I¡¯ll be right there,¡± Qi Leren agreed.


    Su He smiled at him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it will be over soon.¡±


    Qi Leren helped Dr. Lu, who was still unconscious: ¡°Yeah, it will be.¡±


    Su He nodded to him with a smile, then turned and walked into the darkness.


    &&&


    The night wind blew quietly through the branches and leaves and the site of the Vatican, which had been closed for more than 20 years, was as quiet as sleeping in a grave.


    Ning Zhou went up the stairs, walking the same steps Maria had taken so many times, and headed for the church at the highest point.


    Along the way the earth continued to shake, and it became more and more frequent. The scattered demon energy rampaged under the earth¡¯s surface, awakening the sleeping birds.


    A gust of wind blew and a large number of dead leaves and fallen flowers swept past Ning Zhou. The eagle¡¯s voice came from overhead and it circled and landed, throwing a small piece of blue and white petals in Ningzhou¡¯s hair. Ning Zhou picked off the petals. The blue and white petals should have been blown from the Garden of the Holy Tomb. He deeply remembered that the petals had fallen on Qi Leren¡¯s lips as he slept, and the memory soaked in the afternoon sunshine was as gentle as a dream¡­ He touched the eagle¡¯s head and moved on.


    He had never been here before, but when he walked here, his heart was filled with an unwarranted kindness¡­ and a strange fear, as if this was both his holy land and his hell.


    The Witch of Nightmares had died not far away and the memento brooch had fallen to the ground. Ning Zhou picked it up. The one-time trap attached to it had been used up, and the debris and ashes on the ground proved it all.


    It was just a simple trick, but sometimes winning is as simple as that.


    Ning Zhou touched the ward in front of him. This ward set by his mother still dutifully protected the deepest secrets of the Vatican even after she¡¯d left more than 20 years ago. Although it had begun to become fragile because of the erosion of demon energy over so many years, it had still blocked the footsteps of the Witch of Nightmares.


    The field memento was once again raised in front of the enchantment of the Holy Nun. Golden ripples flowed away from the brooch and slowly spread out. The enchantment of the highest church of the Holy See began to blur and finally disappeared.


    Further down was the cathedral that has been isolated for more than twenty years.


    Ning Zhou looked up at the half of the churches that had been turned to ruins, where Maria had killed the Devil.


    The black bird on his shoulder let out a cry and NingZhou turned around. From the distant stairs came the sound of high heels on the stone steps, getting closer and closer.


    Someone was coming.


    The blade rubbed the scabbard as he pulled it out. Ning Zhou stood on the steps and waited quietly for the person to come. The demon¡¯s energy, which was left unchecked by the other, came flooding in from the deep night, full of evil thoughts from hell.


    A woman wearing a black veiled hat and a black evening dress walked at an elegant pace, and the evening dress inlaid with pearls and precious stones shone brightly in the night. She pushed back the brim of her hat and behind the black veil was a face with delicate makeup and her eyes flashed with demonic brilliance, which was quite different from the ordinary village girl from that year.


    ¡°Long time no see,¡± Isabel nodded slightly to Ning Zhou.


    Ning Zhou looked at her with a complicated mood.


    Deep in the underground palace, Isabel had volunteered to become a witch of the Devil of Fraud and walked onto the altar. However, after more than half a month, she appeared in front of him again but was no longer the ordinary human girl.


    The raging demon energy was fueled by numerous killings. She had become a witch completely.


    The most terrible thing was, how had she crossed this closed field and come to him? She couldn¡¯t have a field memento, so she couldn¡¯t enter Maria¡¯s field by herself unless¡­


    ¡°To introduce myself again, I am Isabel, the Witch of Jealousy. At the order of my Lord, I came to compete with you.¡± Isabel, wearing black silk gloves, lifted her skirt and graciously bowed to him.


    A holy light shone on the knife and Ning Zhou looked expressionlessly at the Witch of Jealousy: ¡°Ning Zhou, the exorcist of the Holy See, is the one who will kill you.¡±


    In the dark and silent site of the Vatican, the power of faith and the power of evil suddenly collided in the void and a raging billow of air broke out, where the trees fell and the stone steps broke.


    The witch smiled lightly: ¡°I won¡¯t let you pass.¡±


    &&&


    After settling Dr. Lu in, Qi Leren immediately left the Lord¡¯s castle and hurried towards the former site of the Vatican.


    Residents who had been transformed into demons had been restored to their original state. After dawn, these demons would end forever. The night watchmen had also restored their human identities. From now on, they wouldn¡¯t have to struggle on every night of the new moon - they had been freed, forever.


    As long as they got Maria¡¯s memento of destruction, they could reopen this field and let the people who had been trapped here for more than 20 years ago leave.


    In the quiet night, Qi Leren¡¯s footsteps went faster and faster, and at last he started to trot all the way and soon came to the former site of the Vatican, but Ning Zhou had disappeared and Su He was not here.


    Shining his flashlight on the road ahead, Qi Leren walked along the steps to the higher buildings.


    The ground was still shaking intermittently, so Qi Leren had to be careful with his steps so as not to fall.


    The mountain stone path had broken in front of him into a pit with a shocking width of more than ten meters, and the surrounding trees had fallen down. It looked like there had been a fierce battle here and Qi Leren¡¯s heart went into his throat. Judging from the trees, this was not a remnant left by the demon invasion more than twenty years ago, but was fresh. Although it wasn¡¯t clear whether Su He or Ning Zhou had a conflict with people here, there must be danger ahead.


    The space seemed to be distorted ahead, and the deep darkness could not be illuminated by the flashlight. There were no figures, no sound, only pure darkness, frightening and disturbing.


    The road was also broken and the Qi Leren hesitated, circling another stone staircase, and soon he came to the cathedral at the top of the hill.


    Under the starry sky, this broken church was still majestic. The round stone terraces and all the stone pillars along the road have been broken, but even so as he passed through, he found that these broken walls still exuded holy and solemn beauty.


    Along the way, there were all kinds of angel sculptures, some having lost their heads, some having had their wings cut off, and some even having only their legs. They surround the center of the square where there was a disk with a diameter of four or five meters, which seemed to be the base of some giant sculpture. However, there was no statue that should exist on this base, and there was no statue wreckage around it. It was like it had disappeared into thin air, making this group of angels around it extremely lonely in the night.


    Going further, half of the church had been destroyed. The front hall was almost completely destroyed. Even the dome had disappeared. After the wind and rain, it had become covered with weeds and shrubs. Qi Leren walked carefully on the weeds, passed through the rows of stone pillars, and came to the stone door of the main hall.


    These were two doors that could be pushed away from the center, almost ten meters high. The exquisite reliefs on the doors had been covered with moss, but it was still faintly clear that the reliefs were about the magnificent scenes of wars between angels and devils in heaven.


    Behind this door, what could be there?


    Qi Leren¡¯s hand had been placed on the door. His heart beat faster and his breath was short. He retracted his hand and adjusted himself.


    [S/L Data], [Rain-Day Clothes] and [Primary Fighting Skills] have been equipped.


    If there was a battle later and S/L skill entered cooldown, he also had the [Countercurrent Sand] item. This exquisite hourglass item could reset the cooling time of one skill card at will. If he still couldn¡¯t defeat the enemy by then¡­ He also had the Easter Egg.


    There was no need to be afraid, the Witch of Nightmares who was polluting this field was dead. If she still had allies, they should have stopped him on the road.


    The ground shook again and this time it felt stronger than before, as if the church was the source of vibrations. What had happened inside, and what would happen if the earthquake continued like this? He couldn¡¯t wait any longer¡­


    Once again, Qi Leren put his hands on the cold stone door and pushed forward hard.


    Save completed.


    To his surprise, this giant door was not as heavy as he imagined. Under his touch it opened almost automatically, fresh air swept forward, his flashlight lit up the marble floor, and Qi Leren looked at the starry sky exposed by the huge collapsed wall of the church. He took a step toward the darkness ahead with his dagger.


    A light suddenly lit up in the deep shadows, as if lit by the hand of God.


    The darkness was dispelled and the light in front of him became more and more bright until finally it was as bright as day.


    Qi Leren looked at the temple in front of him for a while in wait, just in the deepest part of the hall. A huge Maria held a sword high, piercing the flesh of a ferocious roaring black dragon, crucifying it in front of a giant cross.


    This shocking scene showed the tragic battle that had occured here many years ago, but this was not the reason why Qi Leren was stunned. After a moment of shock, he looked at the throne belonging to the Pope under the huge cross.


    On the throne decorated with reliefs and gems, Su He leaned on one hand and looked on at him with a smile.


    His expression is still peaceful and gentle.


    Except for those red, evil eyes.

 CH 131

    Chapter 131: The Dream of the Holy Nun (XXI)


    Save countdown: 30 seconds, 29 seconds, 28 seconds¡­


    As time passed, Qi Leren stared at the familiar yet strange man on the throne. His mind was blank. He couldn¡¯t think, and he didn¡¯t dare to think. The unspeakable fear that had been hidden deep in his heart for a long time was confirmed at this nightmarish moment - he had opened the door of the defenseless shelter and invited the polite devil standing outside to come in.


    If everything from when they had first met wasn¡¯t a coincidence, how many secrets had he inadvertently revealed?


    Qi Leren was so desperate that he couldn¡¯t even think about it.


    Twenty seconds, nineteen seconds, eighteen seconds¡­


    ¡°Good evening, Leren, why don¡¯t ask my name?¡± Su He asked softly from the throne.


    Qi Leren closed his eyes painfully. If Su He was a demon, he was definitely not an ordinary one. He had deliberately used him to come to this where the Holy Dun killed the old Devil more than 20 years ago, and what he sought was by no means an ordinary thing.


    Qi Leren asked hoarsely: ¡°Power or Slaughter?¡±


    Su He smiled lightly and said meaningfully: ¡°I¡¯m the one you missed.¡±


    ¡°Impossible, the Lord of Fraud is a woman¡­¡± Qi Leren retorted with shock only to realize instantly.


    In the Witchcraft Sacrifice task, both he and Ning Zhou had been forced to appear as another gender. If the Devil of Fraud had also appeared in the task he would probably have been like them, as it would be fun for the Devil of Fraud to hide his gender¡­ Qi Leren suddenly remembered the voice he¡¯d heard vaguely in the underground palace: ¡°Because it¡¯s very interesting. It¡¯s so interesting to watch you cheat and kill each other because of despair, fear, and jealousy.¡±


    That gentle and beautiful voice made him feel cold all over. He had never heard this voice, but the tone had felt familiar. Now that he thought about it, he hadn¡¯t recognized the source of this female voice, but the tone and the habit of speaking were clearly¡­.


    ¡°Now, do you understand?¡± Su He asked with a smile.


    He understood. Everything was clear. Ever since Su He had first appeared in the Novice Village, he had noticed his abnormality. The so-called Novice Village bug was not only the killer, but also a laptop loaded with the Nightmare Game. But at that time, Su He had no evidence. He¡¯d just watched him and waited patiently for him to reveal his flaws.


    The Witchcraft Sacrifice was a temptation which had made him carry out a task under the Lord of Fraud¡¯s nose, but still he¡¯d found nothing. No, maybe he¡¯d left some marks on him. And then he was parasitized by the seed of slaughter with an abnormal growth rate, which may have been coincidence or may have been inevitable.


    Castle Cry was a trap that had been set in advance. Isabel interfered with the copy¡¯s history according to his command, and the ignorant Qi Leren had showed his biggest flaw - the laptop had appeared, then Su He followed, and then the computer disappeared mysteriously, perhaps in the hands of Su He, perhaps by a certain force intending to hide the secret of the computer from Su He. However, in the Castle Cry, Su He had become 100% sure that it was Qi Leren.


    He had been gentle and considerate, patiently dormant, and had presented himself properly. Finally, he¡¯d received the invitation as he wished and entered the Holy City, which had always been sealed to him. Maybe at first he was just a little suspicious and curious, but in the end he got a surprise.


    Really, it was a perfect scam.


    ¡°It¡¯s so funny, the incredible expression worn by a blind, ignorant human at the moment when they discover the truth¡­¡± the voice belonging to Su He echoed in the hall. Under his gentle eyes, everything was just his playthings. Qi Leren shuddered.


    Qi Leren suddenly didn¡¯t want to ask any more questions. He didn¡¯t want to know his calculations, his purposes, and what kind of person the real Su He was.


    His time was running out.


    Three seconds, two seconds, one second¡­ The countdown for the skill¡¯s cooling was 0:59:59.


    ¡°Time is up.¡± The corners of Su He¡¯s mouth hooked upwards as he looked at him happily. ¡°From what I know about you, you¡¯ll save before pushing open this suspicious door. You didn¡¯t even think about resisting it. It¡¯s not like you.¡±


    Qi Leren¡¯s breath hitched. He knew that his strength was very different from Su He¡¯s. As long as Su He used his field, he would be crushed to death in front of him like a worm, but what if¡­ What if Su He was careless?


    It was a gamble, but what other choice did he have than to accept his fate?


    Most importantly¡­ If he died¡­


    ¡°Where is Ning Zhou?¡± Qi Leren asked.


    ¡°Isabel¡¯s with him. Although she¡¯s only been the Witch of Jealousy for a short time, I gave her some extra preferential treatment. A small cup of Devil¡¯s blood makes such a powerful witch that surely even her friends would look at her with new eyes,¡± Su He said.


    Isabel? She was here too? How did she get in? It must be that Su He had hidden demons in his field and brought them into the Holy City.


    Qi Leren¡¯s heart was getting heavier. What should he do? Exactly what was there to do? Keep stalling? However, even if he prolonged it, the situation wouldn¡¯t get better. Even if Ning Zhou defeated Isabel, he couldn¡¯t be an even opponent for the Devil of Fraud.


    No matter how he thought, there was a dead end ahead.


    No, think again, calm down¡­ He had to at least figure out the purpose of Su He¡¯s chess game so that he could leave some glimmer of chance for Ning Zhou.


    Qi Leren tried to stay calm, looking at the huge statue of Maria holding the sword she had stabbed into the black dragon. The sword on the statue of Maria was not made of stone, but instead was a huge metal sword reflecting a sharp arc of light.


    This should be the real sword Maria had used to kill the Devil, that was, it was this field¡¯s memento of destruction.


    Just pull it out and cut open the field, and the task could be completed.


    ¡°That¡¯s Ms. Maria¡¯s sword. It has a holy and dazzling power. Unfortunately, Devils can¡¯t touch it¡­ I should thank her for her dedication and sacrifice in changing the rule over the demon world.¡± Su He stood up and held out his hand toward the black dragon.


    The space before his hand twisted and the black dragon¡¯s chest suddenly lit with a deep red light, and a burning flame burst out of its chest and flowed back into Su He¡¯s hand.


    The flame went out, leaving a palm-sized ruby with bright red flowing inside it, as if it were blood.


    Apart from the seed of slaughter, Qi Leren had never been able to feel demon energy, but he couldn¡¯t help shivering when he saw that ruby.


    That was a kind of evil and overbearing power, which is disturbing and fearful.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Qi Leren whispered.


    Su He held the ruby in his hand and looked at it with great interest: ¡°It has many names. You can call it a higher form of devil crystallization or a collection of the evil in this world, but I prefer a name that¡¯s easier to understand. In hell, it represents one third of the kingship.¡±


    Qi Leren swallowed his saliva. One third? Where were the two remaining thirds?


    ¡°There are a lot of things I know very well, so it doesn¡¯t matter that there¡¯s a lot I don¡¯t know. I never ask questions, I simply enjoy the fun of solving puzzles. However, I originally thought you knew a lot. Although I don¡¯t know where you got the clue to enter the Holy City, it turns out that you only know a little about it after repeated trials. You¡¯re really very careful,¡± Su He said lightly.


    The unsettling feeling struck again. Although he already knew what dangerous struggle he might be involved in, the feeling of being a pawn became more and more vivid at this moment.


    He can¡¯t wait for his death any longer, but he would die either way. He still had the Easter Egg. As long as his body stayed intact, it could be resurrected in seven days, but¡­ What could he do about Ning Zhou? Even if he could defeat Isabel, then take down Maria¡¯s sword, cut her field, and finish the task, so long as Su He has the heart to kill him, he couldn¡¯t survive.


    Unless he could really kill Su He while he was being careless, but was this possible?


    The gap in the strength of the field made Qi Leren so desperate that he even lost his desperate courage.


    ¡°Qi Leren,¡± Su He called his name.


    Qi Leren raised his head and looked at Su He stepping down the throne¡¯s steps. He looked at him commandingly, and his scarlet eyes seemed to be filled with thoughtful interest.


    ¡°I¡¯m curious, will a person who has experienced countless deaths still be afraid of death?¡± Su He asked.


    ¡°¡­They will be. No matter how many times, people are extremely afraid when they go to their death. This is engraved in their genes, so as long as there¡¯s a choice, people always want to live,¡± Qi Leren tried to answer calmly.


    ¡°Human beings¡¯ desire to survive is really interesting, but it¡¯s this kind of power that will give birth to incredible miracles.¡± The Devil King standing on the high platform smiled at him, cut his wrist, and the bright red blood flowed into a goblet - the same goblet he had used when they had a picnic in the Garden of the Holy Tomb.


    It¡¯s just that what was in the cup now was no longer sweet wine, but sinful temptation from hell.


    ¡°For demons, ¡®to do aught good never will be our task, but ever to do ill our sole delight¡¯. If someone has a firm soul, seduce him, torture him, and destroy him until his pure white soul is so dirty it falls into hell¡­ But if you can¡¯t, then fear it and destroy it.¡± The Devil who enjoyed toying with people raised the goblet toward him and gently asked, ¡°Now you have a choice: Would you like to be born of betrayal or die of martyrdom?¡±

 CH 132

    Chapter 132: The Dream of the Holy Nun (XXII)


    To be or not to be?


    This is really a simple choice.


    But at that moment, this choice was extremely difficult.


    Qi Leren slowly closed his eyes. He couldn¡¯t reveal his emotions. At this moment, his heart was beating so fast that an emotion that could be called ecstasy surged in his mind.


    He had a great opportunity.


    Originally he didn¡¯t even have one in ten thousand possibilities, but now, he did.


    He needed acting ability, 200% acting ability, just like when he played Red.


    Qi Leren took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes.


    Those brown eyes revealed the human struggle. He moved his lips, as if he wanted to question Su He about why he did this, but in the end the bitter accusations all turned into a trembling in his eyes. His eyes, his expression, and his shaking fingertips were filled with the desire to live.


    For a moment, Su He almost thought he was going to give in, but he shivered suddenly, took a step back, and looked at the closed stone door. He seemed ashamed of his weak will, so he wanted to look in the direction he had come, wanted to escape and ask for help, but he knew that he couldn¡¯t escape his fate. Finally, he only turned around in despair, shame, and helplessness, and looked at Su He again.


    They stared at each other for a long time. The Devil¡¯s scarlet eyes were only interested in observing the human, while the observed humans had too many emotions, from resistance to struggle, from hesitation to compromise, and finally it turned into deep despair and he began to cry.


    Those beautiful brown eyes closed, and when they opened again there was only an empty desire to live.


    The Devil smiled and looked at him with encouragement, but he stopped looking at the Devil. He was still suffering for his weakness, so he didn¡¯t dare to look at him.


    Trembling, he took the first step towards his journey.


    Descent begins with this small step.


    After this step, there was numbness, compromise, and submission.


    He had come to the Devil King, quietly looking at the goblet filled with the Devil¡¯s blood in his hand. If he drank this cup of the Devil¡¯s blood he could gain great power, but at the same time would degenerate into a demon.


    The human being lured by the Devil King took the goblet with both hands. The blood in the goblet was like wine. He stared at the red liquid his Adam¡¯s apple rolled.


    The Devil smiled.


    The goblet tilted, the glass pressed on his lips, and the bright red liquid was about to catch his lips, but another transparent liquid rolled down from his eyes first. The humble man¡¯s brown eyes gazed at the Devil, wept silently, and silently swallowed the temptation from hell.


    The moment the blood flowed into his mouth, the transformation had already started. His brown eyes became scarlet and the devil sigil climbed over his cheek from his earlobe, leaving a thorn-like mark. Black wings sprouted from his back and pierced his clothes. They were as beautiful as a black swan¡¯s, like an angel who had fallen from heaven.


    The new demon held the empty goblet in his hand and his blood-red lips parted slightly, looking at his master.


    ¡°You look like an naive and innocent lover, beautiful but so enjoyable to see destroyed.¡± The Devil King leaned down, kissed the forehead of his beloved demon in reward, and whispered softly, ¡°From today on, your name is ¡®Depravity¡¯.¡±


    The devil¡¯s blood slipped from the new ¡°fallen¡¯s¡± lips, and the viscous scarlet liquid flowed down his chin and fell to the earth.


    At the moment when the blood fell to the ground, a violent explosion engulfed the two people who stood opposite each other, and they vanished in an instant.


    &&&


    In the scenes where reality and illusion were interweaved, countless illusions passed by the two people pitted in combat -  demons crawling in the lava of hell growled, blazing angels falling from heaven prayed, and the holy light and the demonic energy intertwined together, overturning large areas of trees and even distorting this space, making the two people fighting seem to be in another time and space.


    The land under the Witch of Jealousy¡¯s feet had turned into a burning hell where countless demons hatched from evil and were shot through by the unreal blazing angels one by one. The witch looked at Ning Zhou with red eyes hidden behind he black veiled hat, with a smile on her mouth: ¡°Are you in a hurry? Are you worried? Is it for Qi Leren? I remember him. He gave me my sister¡¯s things in the underground palace. He is really a kind and good man. I should thank him¡­¡±


    ¡°He has a pair of beautiful eyes, brown, but my Lord thinks red eyes are more suitable for him.¡± The Witch of Jealousy¡¯s scarlet eyes flashed, maliciousness pouring out from her painted red lips, ¡°As long as they drink the blood given by my Lord, ordinary human beings can easily become demons just like me and get unimaginable power. You see, you¡¯ve been studying hard in the Holy See for so many years, but I¡¯m tied with you. No one can refuse the temptation of strength, no one.


    "He¡¯s going to betray you, poor knight, he¡¯s going to betray you!¡± The witch laughed madly, shrill laughter with hysteria.


    Ning Zhou, who was intercepted by another demon, waved off the giant demon and landed lightly on a rock in the hellish lava. He said coldly to the witch, ¡°You¡¯re jealous.¡±


    The witch¡¯s laughter came to an abrupt end and the smile that died on her mouth slowly turned into anger: ¡°What do you know?¡±


    At this moment, the Witch of Jealousy perfectly interpreted the appearance of jealousy. She stepped forward on the lava and said sharply in a distorted voice: ¡°You don¡¯t know anything! I was so careful, so I walked on the edge of the cliff with every step and climbed out of hell little by little, just to see him again. I tried my best to reach what I am today, but it happened that some people are so lucky that they could easily ascend to heaven. He likes him, praises him, seduces him¡­ Why, why is my Lord so fond of him?!¡±


    The witch¡¯s anger triggered the illusion of hell and the lava turned into flames and shot at Ning Zhou. The two knives in Ning Zhou¡¯s hands crossed and he stood in front of her, but he rushed past regardless - the magma was split by holy light and his sharp knives passed through the furious lava and appeared in front of Isabel.


    The angry witch smiled grimly and raised her sword to stab him.


    The angels and demons in the false image collided together and a magnificent disillusionment broke out from them.


    Suddenly the boiling magma died down, the shaking earth died down, and even the surging night wind died down.


    Among the hills where the Vatican was located, there were only sacred songs and music coming as if from nowhere under the bright starry sky, compassionate and holy.


    Blood flowed down the tip of the thin sword, trickling into the fertile soil, and the two people who were so close that there was almost no distance between them stood motionless, then suddenly separated.


    The thin sword had pierced Ning Zhou¡¯s abdomen, but the short knives had penetrated the witch¡¯s chest.


    More and more blood flowed down.


    Isabel¡¯s black veiled hat had fallen to the ground, revealing her dim scarlet eyes. Covering her chest, blood streaming through her fingertips from her beating heart.


    She seemed shocked, but the surprise gradually turned into self-mockery and loneliness. A gust of wind blew and she slowly fell down, looking at the night sky with her eyes empty.


    "It¡¯s too late¡­¡± the Witch of Jealousy murmured. ¡°Even if you go there, it¡¯s too late. He doesn¡¯t belong to you¡­ You¡¯ve lost him¡­¡±


    Ning Zhou stepped forward and came to her. Blood flowed out from his abdominal wound, but he didn¡¯t feel it.


    Blood was trickling from Isabel¡¯s mouth. She looked him in the eye and asked dreamily, ¡°Do you know the taste of jealousy?¡±


    The bloody knife hung over her head, and the blood trickled down the blade and fell on her forehead.


    The witch looked into his eyes and showed an understanding smile: ¡°Ah, that¡¯s the taste.¡±


    The knife fell and pierced the witch¡¯s head, and her demon crystal was broken in the holy light.


    The demons condensed from rocks disintegrated, and the illusion of the dying demons screamed silently and dissipated in the night sky. The space dominated by the witch was gradually restored to be in line with reality. The ghostly angels stayed in the void for a while, bowed to the broken church on the top of the hill, and then disappeared into the night of the new moon.


    Ning Zhou coughed softly, but the movement of the lungs disturbed his abdominal wound, making the blood flow faster. He leaned partially against a half-fallen tree, took a deep breath, and bandaged himself with a straight face.


    After only doing the simplest medical treatment, and even having no time to clean up the demon energy that had infected his body through the wound, Ning Zhou hastily put on his clothes and ran towards the church on the top of the hill.


    White gauze was quickly dyed red, but Ning Zhou¡¯s training had accustomed him to being injured and he numbly adapted to this degree of pain. He had to go quickly, quickly¡­


    There was an earth-shattering noise and the church on the top of the hill began crumbling.


    Ningzhou¡¯s footsteps stopped, and his heartbeat seemed to stop with the explosion.


    As his chest stuttered, blood gas rolled up from the depths of the throat and Ning Zhou spat out one mouthful of stagnated blood. The pain that he should have been used to was overpowered by the feeling of his heart breaking. He wiped the blood from his mouth, dyeing the silver cross embroidery on his gloves red with blood.


    God, if I am guilty, please let all the harsh punishments come on me, even if I have to pay for it in hell for all eternity.


    Please, bless him and let him be safe.


    ¡ª¨C


    The author has something to say:


    Although the author thinks that the plot is quite clear, there are still many girls who don¡¯t understand it. Simply put: Su He is the Devil of Fraud, male (three years ago, he appeared in the appearance of a woman during the Witchcraft Sacrifice). His status has changed from before, but he was originally a player. There are witches and demons like Isabel under his hand, and there will be other devils/witches acting under others outside. The master of the Witch of Nightmares (the little girl who was like Maria) is not the Devil of Fraud, but the old Devil.


    The Nightmare World is equivalent to another real alien world. It is not surprising for either NPCs or human beings to become Devil Kings. For example, it is also possible for someone to aspire to the Holy See and become the Pope after decades of hard work (provided that they are not dead).


    At the same level as Su He, there are also the Devil King of Power and the Devil King of Slaughter. The relationship between these three people is not peaceful, and we will talk about it later; It was not them who were killed by Maria, Ning Zhou¡¯s mother. It was the old Devil who led the demons to invade the underworld for the first time more than 20 years ago. After he died, it was peaceful for more than 10 years. Three years ago, the text began, and three new Devil Kings led the demons to invade the human world for the second time.


    Is it clear =v=