June 11, 2023 by Wyrd
The wind on the rooftop was not strong, but due to a power outage, the surroundings were pitch black. Only the lights from a nearby building were visible, but they almost didn’t reach this place.
It even gave a sense of tension.
Wen Li slowly approached the young boy. Although his expression was no different from usual, there was an intangible sense of oppression that made people involuntarily feel uneasy.
Jiang Sinian touched the wound on his waist, from which blood was seeping out again, and looked at the young boy on the rooftop before slowly walking over.
Gu Zhaoxi still stood by the side, leaning against the railing, just watching, and occasionally turning his head to look.
Several other hunters also stood nearby, watching without knowing what they were thinking.
Wen Li was the closest. He walked up to the young boy and gently reached out his hand, as if wanting to touch the young boy’s face.
However, in the next second, a flash of silver light passed by, and Wen Li reacted quickly, retracting his hand and stepping back a few steps.
In the next second, a chainsaw fell from the sky and plunged straight into the position where Wen Li had just been standing.
Immediately after, a figure leaped up from behind Wen Li, agilely flipping in mid-air, and finally landing steadily next to the inserted chainsaw.
Xu Ze pulled out the chainsaw and looked at Wen Li with innocent yet cruel eyes, his tone carrying a hint of danger. “Do you want to touch my little brother? Did you get my permission?”
Ruan Qing didn’t notice that Xu Ze and Ji Yan had also arrived, so Xu Ze’s sudden appearance startled him. He subconsciously took a few steps back until he stopped against the edge of the railing.
Wen Li casually glanced at Xu Ze and said, “Do I need your permission to touch him?”
“Now you do,” Xu Ze tilted his head and looked at Ruan Qing behind him, revealing a bright smile. “Because he belongs to me.”
“Is that so?” Wen Li couldn’t help but laugh, a laughter that made one’s scalp tingle, without a trace of the previous gentle appearance. “It seems your brain hasn’t improved at all over the years, right?”
“No wonder you’re just a failed experiment.”
After saying this, Wen Li no longer wasted any words on Xu Ze, simply waved his hand slightly and said, “Kill him.”
A few hunters were originally standing by, watching. After hearing Wen Li’s words, their pupils darkened, instantly becoming dull and lifeless. They seemed as if they were being controlled, directly launching an attack towards Xu Ze.
Each move was deadly, merciless, carrying out Wen Li’s words to the end.
Xu Ze seemed to have no understanding of fear and swung the chainsaw at them.
Ji Yan almost ended up like the other hunters, but fortunately, he realized something was wrong at the first moment. He fiercely thrust a knife into his own heart.
However, it only went in a little, without completely piercing the heart.
Intense pain freed him from the control.
Jiang Sinian’s eyes momentarily darkened, but the pain in his waist brought him back to clarity. He stared at Wen Li with a dim and unclear gaze.
Only Gu Zhaoxi, whether before or after Wen Li gave the order, leaned against the railing, leisurely watching.
His elegant posture seemed as if he was sitting in his refined bar, sipping red wine, distinctively different from the others.
Ji Yan pulled out the dagger stuck in his heart. Black mist lingered around the wound, and the bloody injury healed quickly, leaving only a fierce scar.
It probably wouldn’t take long for the scar to disappear completely.
Ji Yan, seeing Xu Ze being surrounded and not going to help, walked to Gu Zhaoxi’s side. He held the knife against his neck, his tone filled with danger. “Boss Gu, tell me, what do you know?”
Having lived for so many years, it was the first time Ji Yan realized that he could be controlled by someone else.
Although the knife was pressed against his neck, Gu Zhaoxi remained calm and elegant. He smiled gracefully and asked, “What does Mr. Ji want to know?”
Ji Yan’s voice was cold. “Why can he control us?”
“Oh, that.” Gu Zhaoxi raised his chin and nodded in Wen Li’s direction, generously clearing Ji Yan’s confusion. “Because we are all his experiments. Otherwise, did you think your abilities were innate?”
“He gave us strength, so naturally, he can also control us.”
Gu Zhaoxi shrugged, his face showing a carefree expression as he spoke. “So, going against Dr. Wen is not a wise choice.”
“Not a wise choice?” Ji Yan mocked, “I didn’t know when Boss Gu started enjoying being controlled by others?”
Gu Zhaoxi nonchalantly spread his hands. “I have no choice either. After all, I have no options. If I want to break free from his control, the only way is to find Dr. Wen’s weakness and kill him, but obviously, that’s not possible.”
He had already tried, but couldn’t even find his weak point.
A hunter who didn’t have a weak point was almost an invincible monster, not to mention how many such monsters Dr. Wen could control.
Moreover, Dr. Wen knew the weaknesses of each and every one of them.
There was no chance of winning against him; it’s just meaningless suicide.
Seeing the disdain in Gu Zhaoxi’s eyes, Ji Yan thought he was just trying to muddy the waters. If he didn’t have any intentions, there was no need to provoke him here.
But Ji Yan was different from him; he never liked being controlled by others.
Ji Yan immediately launched an attack on Dr. Wen, and Jiang Sinian probably heard it too. They shared the same thought and attacked Dr. Wen together, wanting to kill him.
After all, they had wanted to kill him from the beginning, and nothing had changed now.
Their conversation wasn’t lowered in volume, and Ruan Qing, not far away, also heard it.
Experimental subjects?
Were the so-called hunters actually Wen Li’s experimental subjects?
Ruan Qing didn’t need to think much to know what the experiment was about; it was definitely related to that huge eye.
And Ruan Qing also saw the wounds that healed instantly when Ji Yan attacked just now. It was too incredible.
Even if someone knew the weak points of the hunters, it’s probably difficult for an ordinary person to successfully kill them in return.
But why hadn’t Jiang Sinian’s injury healed?
Was it because the injuries were different in severity?
After all, Ji Yan didn’t pierce the heart, but Jiang Sinian’s injury almost penetrated the entire waist.
Or did Wen Li do something to the knife?
Or perhaps a hunter attacked in their weak spot could not heal instantly?
But at least it proved that his approach was correct, and Wen Li was indeed the most special existence here.
Ruan Qing stood quietly beside, trying to diminish his presence, hoping that this group of people would fight for at least seven minutes.
They should fight directly until the countdown ended.
Gu Zhaoxi didn’t join the battle, but watched from the side. After a few seconds, he looked at the young boy not far away and walked towards him slowly.
He had a relaxed expression and looked at the young boy, asking in a casual tone, as if having a normal conversation, “Are you scared?”
Ruan Qing paused and glanced sideways at Gu Zhaoxi, “Scared of what?”
“What do you think?” Gu Zhaoxi chuckled lightly, leaning back against the railing, looking up at the starry sky. His tone carried a hint of ambiguity. “We are all monsters.”
Ruan Qing honestly nodded in response to his words, as if afraid he hadn’t noticed, and spoke seriously, “Scared.”
Gu Zhaoxi paused, seemingly surprised by the young boy’s answer. He looked down at the young boy and chuckled softly, “It’s too late to be scared now.”
Gu Zhaoxi lifted his chin and pointed at the few people fighting. “Do you see it? Regardless of who wins among them, you will become the spoils of the victor.”
“After all, they are fighting for you.”
All the talk about not wanting to be controlled was merely because, as long as Wen Li was alive, the young boy would never be obtained.
They even had to watch the young boy smiling happily in someone else’s arms.
This was just... an unwillingness to accept it.
Because of unwillingness, one could break free from temporary control.
Otherwise, like other monsters, even if being controlled, one wouldn’t know that they were once controlled, so where did the feeling of discontent come from?
Upon hearing Gu Zhaoxi’s words, Ruan Qing felt somewhat amused. Was it for him?
In the end, it was nothing more than their pitiful and ridiculous affection, as well as possessiveness.
In Ruan Qing’s view, love meant letting go. As long as the other person was happy and leading a fulfilling life, why bother claiming ownership and destroying their happiness?
Unfortunately, stubborn and twisted individuals could never learn to let go.
Gu Zhaoxi didn’t pay attention to the young boy’s silence. Seeing Wen Li’s cold gaze during the fight, he shrugged his shoulders, slightly moving aside and distancing himself from the young boy.
However, there was a hint of unreadable emotions in his eyes, making it difficult to grasp.
Ruan Qing ignored Gu Zhaoxi and calculated the time in his mind.
One more minute.
Fifty seconds.
...
Ten seconds.
...
One... second.
Bang!!!
A loud explosion resounded, almost piercing through the sky.
The next second, flames blazed fiercely, illuminating the entire night as if intending to devour the darkness.
Subsequently, the explosions continued one after another, with the flames growing even larger, turning into a sea of fire.
The explosions and flames were concentrated on the third, fourth, and fifth floors, almost engulfing the higher floors.
The explosion destroyed many areas on the third, fourth, and fifth floors, including load-bearing walls. The entire building began to collapse and tilt.
Ruan Qing was standing on the edge of the rooftop. When the explosion occurred, the third floor beneath his feet was destroyed, and the entire edge collapsed.
He stood at the edge and fell directly.
“Ah Qing!!!”
“Qingqing!!!”
“Younger brother!!!”
Several people in the midst of the battle looked towards the young boy at the edge of the rooftop as the explosion sounded.
No one expected this explosion. The group stared wide-eyed as the young boy’s body tilted and fell from the rooftop, their hearts almost jumping out of their chests.
In the next second, the group quickly moved to catch the young boy, hoping to grab hold of him.
However, the young boy fell too quickly. Despite their attempts to reach the edge, they couldn’t catch him and could only watch as he fell from the rooftop.
Ruan Qing fell unexpectedly, gazing bewilderedly at the rooftop growing further away, instinctively reaching out to grab onto something.
But he couldn’t catch anything and continued to fall straight down, like a butterfly with broken wings.
In that instant, time seemed to slow down.
As they saw the young boy about to be engulfed by flames, the group finally reacted and tried to jump down to save him.
However, the control Wen Li had on the other hunters was still in effect, and they immediately launched attacks, forcing the group to disperse in urgency as they tried to save the young boy.
Only Wen Li was unimpeded and jumped directly.
He quickly approached the young boy, grabbed his hand, and pulled him into his embrace.
Then, with one flip, he held the slender waist of the young boy and positioned his body beneath them. The two of them fell straight towards the ground.
Ruan Qing had been in a pleasant mood because everything was going according to his plan.
It seemed that fate was finally favoring him.
However, as Wen Li held him and flipped him over to be on top, he saw the ground clearly.
The ground was... a massive eye.
The eye was no longer the same as when it was imprisoned within the glass case. It had become infinitely large, as if it occupied the entire ground.
The laboratory explosion did not destroy it.
It was as if by blowing up the laboratory; it had been set free instead.
The pupil was so enormous that it seemed like an ocean covering the entire ground. Ruan Qing even heard the terrifying sound of the sea.
It was as if he had instantly plunged into the depths of a dark and profound sea, slowly descending.
Suppression, suffocation, as if on the verge of drowning.
It felt as if a hand tightly gripped his heart, making it difficult to even breathe.
And at the bottom of that lightless sea, there seemed to be a person slumbering.
No, perhaps not a person.
He had his eyes closed. Whether dead or alive was unknown. His face was exquisite and beautiful, with sharp, chiseled features. His narrow, phoenix-like eyes were adorned like a painting resembling a deity. He wore a dark red robe with black silk borders. An unknown black flower meandered and coiled on the robe. His long, jet-black hair danced with the seawater, evoking an inexplicable sense of fear.
Moreover, he was bound by numerous black iron chains, horrifying to behold. The other ends of the chains extended to the infinitely distant depths of the sea, with no visible endpoint.
Upon catching a glimpse of that presence, fear arose—a fear that was indescribable and difficult to name.
Ruan Qing’s entire body was covered in goosebumps, so stiff that he could barely control himself. His brain was even tingling to the point of losing the ability to think.
It was as if he faintly saw some monstrous creature before him, rendering all existence powerless, incapable of even the slightest resistance. It was as if any resistance would be as futile as a mantis trying to stop a cart, utterly ineffective.
The presence seemed to sense someone observing it, as its eyelashes trembled slightly.
It was about to open its eyes.
No... It mustn’t see him!
Ruan Qing’s intuition had always been exceptionally accurate.
Fortunately, it seems that He was under some restrictions, as the speed of opening His eyes was very slow. There was enough time.
Still, there’s time...
Ruan Qing tried to calm himself down and ignore the fear brought by the enormous eye.
He reached out and embraced Wen Li’s neck, affectionately leaning in and then slightly curved his eyes, revealing a sweet smile. His voice was filled with happiness and joy. “Brother Wen Li, I really love you.”
“So, Brother Wen Li, shall we die together?”
The voice of the young boy was clean and pleasant, with a hint of softness. The intimate and joyful tone seemed as if he was expressing his love to a lover, as if he was the happiest person in the world.
Wen Li glanced sideways at the boy’s profile but didn’t say anything. However, his grip on the boy’s hand tightened.
In the next instant, time was instantly frozen. Everything was frozen in this moment, whether it was the explosion or the flames.
Even the two falling figures came to a halt.
In the frozen moment of time, the space on the rooftop seemed to tear apart, and two figures instantly appeared on the rooftop.
Meanwhile, Ruan Qing had already taken out a gun from his shoulder bag, aiming it at his temple.
It was the one he received from Ji Yan on the first night they met.
Ruan Qing turned his head to look at the strangers who appeared the moment he activated the props given by Su Xiaozhen. He also looked at the creature within the eye who remained unaffected by the props, slowly opening his eyes.
Calmly, he spoke in his mind, ‘System, I’ll submit an answer.’
The cold mechanical voice of the game system sounded, [Please submit your answer, player.]
[Ktayat.]
While Ruan Qing submitted his answer, he pulled the trigger.
With a loud bang, the gun sounded, and the bullet instantly pierced through the temples of Ruan Qing and Wen Li.
The world seemed to have returned to nothingness.
Within three seconds, the bodies of a man and a boy fell straight to the ground, their blood staining the earth crimson.
The man protected the boy well, apart from the fatal wound on his temple; there were no new injuries on the boy’s body.
Although the man’s temple was also pierced by a bullet, strangely, he didn’t die instantly, not even when he hit the ground.
He turned his head and gently kissed the bloodstained corner of the boy’s mouth, his eyes filled with tenderness and doting.
In the next moment, he closed his eyes.
The enormous eye on the ground also vanished, as if they had never appeared.
On the rooftop, several people collapsed unconscious after Wen Li lost his breath, leaving only two figures that suddenly appeared.
One of the figures leaped down, seemingly trying to stop the boy from shooting, but it was ultimately too late.
He stood beside the bodies of the man and the boy, his expression obscure and indistinct.
Another man also leaped down and stood beside the man. “Oh, it seems like I’m a little late.”
He looked at the man with the obscure expression and taunted, “Why didn’t your puppet use the ‘Chronometer’ prop earlier? Could it be that it betrayed you?”
He had been waiting for a chance to enter this instance to snatch a particular prop.
After all, the ‘Chronometer’ not only imprisoned for three seconds, but also allowed a person to ignore the game rules and enter the instance within those three seconds.
But everything was too late.
The next time they entered this instance, the difficulty wouldn’t be the same anymore. It would almost cost their lives to obtain that S-class prop.
The man cast a cold glance at him, recalling his puppet, who was the player... Su Xiaozhen.
Then his figure disappeared from the original spot.
The man raised an eyebrow as he watched the disappearing person and also recalled his own substitute, the man who ran with Ruan Qing in the beginning and was one of the last men to remain conscious.
As the memories of his substitute merged with his own, the man glanced at the lifeless boy on the ground and made an indistinct click with his tongue. His figure also disappeared from the original spot.
***
[Copy “Horror Livestream Room” key NPC missing. The copy has entered the upgrade phase in advance. Please stay tuned.]
The announcement from the game space system caused shock among many players who had not entered the instance, and the game forum suddenly exploded.
[What’s going on? Hasn’t this strange instance remained unchanged for a long time? How did it advance ahead of schedule?]
[What happened? This is too sudden, isn’t it?]
[I heard a rumor that a top player entered that instance with an alternate account. I guess the player wasn’t careful and accidentally caused the instance to crash.]
[You can actually crash an instance? It’s the first time I’ve heard of instances crashing. Who is this top player? That’s so cool.]
[Who else could it be? Probably one of those top-ranked players. This instance hadn’t succeeded in upgrading before, so it’s not difficult for advanced players. It’s the easiest time to enter and obtain items.]
[Wow! So you can play it like that? Does the game system allow it? I remember that high-level players were prohibited from entering that instance.]
[Of course, as long as you can find a bug in the game system and meet the conditions for that bug, you can also enter.]
[Who watched the live broadcast of the Horror Livestream Room instance? Please share!]
[I’m also looking for it! I want to see how the top player crashed the instance. I’m a newbie and want to broaden my horizons.]
[Are there any surviving players from that game? Release the video! I’m willing to spend points to buy it, even if it’s expensive!]
[I saw it before by spending three times the points. It seemed like a group of beginner players mistakenly entered that instance. I thought they would die quickly, so I didn’t watch it. I regret it now!]
[How could beginner players mistakenly enter such a high-level upgraded instance? It’s obvious that the top player with an alternate account was deemed to have an average skill level too high by the system, so they pulled in beginner players for balance. There’s definitely something fishy about it!]
The forum discussion instantly reached a fever pitch, with players discussing various aspects of the Horror Livestream Room instance, fueling even more curiosity among players.
After all, playing a collapsed instance like this was quite rare. Even advanced players find it difficult to accomplish.
Most players would be satisfied with just surviving and completing the instance, without daring to expect too much in terms of items.
Just when everyone was seeking information, a player appeared.
[Um... I am a player who just played in this instance. I have already uploaded a video of the instance, but... it may be different from what you all expected...]
***
Author’s note:
The explanation of the name and other details will be provided in the next chapter. You will understand once you finish reading.
The next instance cannot involve summoning spirits, as Qingqing would faint from fear. He is really scared of ghosts. We will take it step by step, and save the summoning spirits for later. Although there will still be ghosts in the next world.
The next instance will be a horror high school theme, where incidents of school violence lead to death, and the deceased come back as vengeful spirits. Qingqing will be an NPC involved in school violence, the first one to be targeted by the ghost. However, he doesn’t know that there are ghosts in the instance. While other players are trying to resist the ghosts, he will be trying to act as an NPC and find the serial killer, providing clues for the players.
T/N: I guess the author was talking about the name given by Qingqing to the system. I’m also not sure what they meant by ‘summoning spirits’ tho. LOL.
Anyway, this was the end of the first arc. Yey! If you’re enjoying this story and this translation, don’t forget to rate it favorably at Novel Updates. And if you can, I will really appreciate a donation! Thank you! ^^
June 11, 2023 by Wyrd
The wind on the rooftop was not strong, but due to a power outage, the surroundings were pitch black. Only the lights from a nearby building were visible, but they almost didn’t reach this place.
It even gave a sense of tension.
Wen Li slowly approached the young boy. Although his expression was no different from usual, there was an intangible sense of oppression that made people involuntarily feel uneasy.
Jiang Sinian touched the wound on his waist, from which blood was seeping out again, and looked at the young boy on the rooftop before slowly walking over.
Gu Zhaoxi still stood by the side, leaning against the railing, just watching, and occasionally turning his head to look.
Several other hunters also stood nearby, watching without knowing what they were thinking.
Wen Li was the closest. He walked up to the young boy and gently reached out his hand, as if wanting to touch the young boy’s face.
However, in the next second, a flash of silver light passed by, and Wen Li reacted quickly, retracting his hand and stepping back a few steps.
In the next second, a chainsaw fell from the sky and plunged straight into the position where Wen Li had just been standing.
Immediately after, a figure leaped up from behind Wen Li, agilely flipping in mid-air, and finally landing steadily next to the inserted chainsaw.
Xu Ze pulled out the chainsaw and looked at Wen Li with innocent yet cruel eyes, his tone carrying a hint of danger. “Do you want to touch my little brother? Did you get my permission?”
Ruan Qing didn’t notice that Xu Ze and Ji Yan had also arrived, so Xu Ze’s sudden appearance startled him. He subconsciously took a few steps back until he stopped against the edge of the railing.
Wen Li casually glanced at Xu Ze and said, “Do I need your permission to touch him?”
“Now you do,” Xu Ze tilted his head and looked at Ruan Qing behind him, revealing a bright smile. “Because he belongs to me.”
“Is that so?” Wen Li couldn’t help but laugh, a laughter that made one’s scalp tingle, without a trace of the previous gentle appearance. “It seems your brain hasn’t improved at all over the years, right?”
“No wonder you’re just a failed experiment.”
After saying this, Wen Li no longer wasted any words on Xu Ze, simply waved his hand slightly and said, “Kill him.”
A few hunters were originally standing by, watching. After hearing Wen Li’s words, their pupils darkened, instantly becoming dull and lifeless. They seemed as if they were being controlled, directly launching an attack towards Xu Ze.
Each move was deadly, merciless, carrying out Wen Li’s words to the end.
Xu Ze seemed to have no understanding of fear and swung the chainsaw at them.
Ji Yan almost ended up like the other hunters, but fortunately, he realized something was wrong at the first moment. He fiercely thrust a knife into his own heart.
However, it only went in a little, without completely piercing the heart.
Intense pain freed him from the control.
Jiang Sinian’s eyes momentarily darkened, but the pain in his waist brought him back to clarity. He stared at Wen Li with a dim and unclear gaze.
Only Gu Zhaoxi, whether before or after Wen Li gave the order, leaned against the railing, leisurely watching.
His elegant posture seemed as if he was sitting in his refined bar, sipping red wine, distinctively different from the others.
Ji Yan pulled out the dagger stuck in his heart. Black mist lingered around the wound, and the bloody injury healed quickly, leaving only a fierce scar.
It probably wouldn’t take long for the scar to disappear completely.
Ji Yan, seeing Xu Ze being surrounded and not going to help, walked to Gu Zhaoxi’s side. He held the knife against his neck, his tone filled with danger. “Boss Gu, tell me, what do you know?”
Having lived for so many years, it was the first time Ji Yan realized that he could be controlled by someone else.
Although the knife was pressed against his neck, Gu Zhaoxi remained calm and elegant. He smiled gracefully and asked, “What does Mr. Ji want to know?”
Ji Yan’s voice was cold. “Why can he control us?”
“Oh, that.” Gu Zhaoxi raised his chin and nodded in Wen Li’s direction, generously clearing Ji Yan’s confusion. “Because we are all his experiments. Otherwise, did you think your abilities were innate?”
“He gave us strength, so naturally, he can also control us.”
Gu Zhaoxi shrugged, his face showing a carefree expression as he spoke. “So, going against Dr. Wen is not a wise choice.”
“Not a wise choice?” Ji Yan mocked, “I didn’t know when Boss Gu started enjoying being controlled by others?”
Gu Zhaoxi nonchalantly spread his hands. “I have no choice either. After all, I have no options. If I want to break free from his control, the only way is to find Dr. Wen’s weakness and kill him, but obviously, that’s not possible.”
He had already tried, but couldn’t even find his weak point.
A hunter who didn’t have a weak point was almost an invincible monster, not to mention how many such monsters Dr. Wen could control.
Moreover, Dr. Wen knew the weaknesses of each and every one of them.
There was no chance of winning against him; it’s just meaningless suicide.
Seeing the disdain in Gu Zhaoxi’s eyes, Ji Yan thought he was just trying to muddy the waters. If he didn’t have any intentions, there was no need to provoke him here.
But Ji Yan was different from him; he never liked being controlled by others.
Ji Yan immediately launched an attack on Dr. Wen, and Jiang Sinian probably heard it too. They shared the same thought and attacked Dr. Wen together, wanting to kill him.
After all, they had wanted to kill him from the beginning, and nothing had changed now.
Their conversation wasn’t lowered in volume, and Ruan Qing, not far away, also heard it.
Experimental subjects?
Were the so-called hunters actually Wen Li’s experimental subjects?
Ruan Qing didn’t need to think much to know what the experiment was about; it was definitely related to that huge eye.
And Ruan Qing also saw the wounds that healed instantly when Ji Yan attacked just now. It was too incredible.
Even if someone knew the weak points of the hunters, it’s probably difficult for an ordinary person to successfully kill them in return.
But why hadn’t Jiang Sinian’s injury healed?
Was it because the injuries were different in severity?
After all, Ji Yan didn’t pierce the heart, but Jiang Sinian’s injury almost penetrated the entire waist.
Or did Wen Li do something to the knife?
Or perhaps a hunter attacked in their weak spot could not heal instantly?
But at least it proved that his approach was correct, and Wen Li was indeed the most special existence here.
Ruan Qing stood quietly beside, trying to diminish his presence, hoping that this group of people would fight for at least seven minutes.
They should fight directly until the countdown ended.
Gu Zhaoxi didn’t join the battle, but watched from the side. After a few seconds, he looked at the young boy not far away and walked towards him slowly.
He had a relaxed expression and looked at the young boy, asking in a casual tone, as if having a normal conversation, “Are you scared?”
Ruan Qing paused and glanced sideways at Gu Zhaoxi, “Scared of what?”
“What do you think?” Gu Zhaoxi chuckled lightly, leaning back against the railing, looking up at the starry sky. His tone carried a hint of ambiguity. “We are all monsters.”
Ruan Qing honestly nodded in response to his words, as if afraid he hadn’t noticed, and spoke seriously, “Scared.”
Gu Zhaoxi paused, seemingly surprised by the young boy’s answer. He looked down at the young boy and chuckled softly, “It’s too late to be scared now.”
Gu Zhaoxi lifted his chin and pointed at the few people fighting. “Do you see it? Regardless of who wins among them, you will become the spoils of the victor.”
“After all, they are fighting for you.”
All the talk about not wanting to be controlled was merely because, as long as Wen Li was alive, the young boy would never be obtained.
They even had to watch the young boy smiling happily in someone else’s arms.
This was just... an unwillingness to accept it.
Because of unwillingness, one could break free from temporary control.
Otherwise, like other monsters, even if being controlled, one wouldn’t know that they were once controlled, so where did the feeling of discontent come from?
Upon hearing Gu Zhaoxi’s words, Ruan Qing felt somewhat amused. Was it for him?
In the end, it was nothing more than their pitiful and ridiculous affection, as well as possessiveness.
In Ruan Qing’s view, love meant letting go. As long as the other person was happy and leading a fulfilling life, why bother claiming ownership and destroying their happiness?
Unfortunately, stubborn and twisted individuals could never learn to let go.
Gu Zhaoxi didn’t pay attention to the young boy’s silence. Seeing Wen Li’s cold gaze during the fight, he shrugged his shoulders, slightly moving aside and distancing himself from the young boy.
However, there was a hint of unreadable emotions in his eyes, making it difficult to grasp.
Ruan Qing ignored Gu Zhaoxi and calculated the time in his mind.
One more minute.
Fifty seconds.
...
Ten seconds.
...
One... second.
Bang!!!
A loud explosion resounded, almost piercing through the sky.
The next second, flames blazed fiercely, illuminating the entire night as if intending to devour the darkness.
Subsequently, the explosions continued one after another, with the flames growing even larger, turning into a sea of fire.
The explosions and flames were concentrated on the third, fourth, and fifth floors, almost engulfing the higher floors.
The explosion destroyed many areas on the third, fourth, and fifth floors, including load-bearing walls. The entire building began to collapse and tilt.
Ruan Qing was standing on the edge of the rooftop. When the explosion occurred, the third floor beneath his feet was destroyed, and the entire edge collapsed.
He stood at the edge and fell directly.
“Ah Qing!!!”
“Qingqing!!!”
“Younger brother!!!”
Several people in the midst of the battle looked towards the young boy at the edge of the rooftop as the explosion sounded.
No one expected this explosion. The group stared wide-eyed as the young boy’s body tilted and fell from the rooftop, their hearts almost jumping out of their chests.
In the next second, the group quickly moved to catch the young boy, hoping to grab hold of him.
However, the young boy fell too quickly. Despite their attempts to reach the edge, they couldn’t catch him and could only watch as he fell from the rooftop.
Ruan Qing fell unexpectedly, gazing bewilderedly at the rooftop growing further away, instinctively reaching out to grab onto something.
But he couldn’t catch anything and continued to fall straight down, like a butterfly with broken wings.
In that instant, time seemed to slow down.
As they saw the young boy about to be engulfed by flames, the group finally reacted and tried to jump down to save him.
However, the control Wen Li had on the other hunters was still in effect, and they immediately launched attacks, forcing the group to disperse in urgency as they tried to save the young boy.
Only Wen Li was unimpeded and jumped directly.
He quickly approached the young boy, grabbed his hand, and pulled him into his embrace.
Then, with one flip, he held the slender waist of the young boy and positioned his body beneath them. The two of them fell straight towards the ground.
Ruan Qing had been in a pleasant mood because everything was going according to his plan.
It seemed that fate was finally favoring him.
However, as Wen Li held him and flipped him over to be on top, he saw the ground clearly.
The ground was... a massive eye.
The eye was no longer the same as when it was imprisoned within the glass case. It had become infinitely large, as if it occupied the entire ground.
The laboratory explosion did not destroy it.
It was as if by blowing up the laboratory; it had been set free instead.
The pupil was so enormous that it seemed like an ocean covering the entire ground. Ruan Qing even heard the terrifying sound of the sea.
It was as if he had instantly plunged into the depths of a dark and profound sea, slowly descending.
Suppression, suffocation, as if on the verge of drowning.
It felt as if a hand tightly gripped his heart, making it difficult to even breathe.
And at the bottom of that lightless sea, there seemed to be a person slumbering.
No, perhaps not a person.
He had his eyes closed. Whether dead or alive was unknown. His face was exquisite and beautiful, with sharp, chiseled features. His narrow, phoenix-like eyes were adorned like a painting resembling a deity. He wore a dark red robe with black silk borders. An unknown black flower meandered and coiled on the robe. His long, jet-black hair danced with the seawater, evoking an inexplicable sense of fear.
Moreover, he was bound by numerous black iron chains, horrifying to behold. The other ends of the chains extended to the infinitely distant depths of the sea, with no visible endpoint.
Upon catching a glimpse of that presence, fear arose—a fear that was indescribable and difficult to name.
Ruan Qing’s entire body was covered in goosebumps, so stiff that he could barely control himself. His brain was even tingling to the point of losing the ability to think.
It was as if he faintly saw some monstrous creature before him, rendering all existence powerless, incapable of even the slightest resistance. It was as if any resistance would be as futile as a mantis trying to stop a cart, utterly ineffective.
The presence seemed to sense someone observing it, as its eyelashes trembled slightly.
It was about to open its eyes.
No... It mustn’t see him!
Ruan Qing’s intuition had always been exceptionally accurate.
Fortunately, it seems that He was under some restrictions, as the speed of opening His eyes was very slow. There was enough time.
Still, there’s time...
Ruan Qing tried to calm himself down and ignore the fear brought by the enormous eye.
He reached out and embraced Wen Li’s neck, affectionately leaning in and then slightly curved his eyes, revealing a sweet smile. His voice was filled with happiness and joy. “Brother Wen Li, I really love you.”
“So, Brother Wen Li, shall we die together?”
The voice of the young boy was clean and pleasant, with a hint of softness. The intimate and joyful tone seemed as if he was expressing his love to a lover, as if he was the happiest person in the world.
Wen Li glanced sideways at the boy’s profile but didn’t say anything. However, his grip on the boy’s hand tightened.
In the next instant, time was instantly frozen. Everything was frozen in this moment, whether it was the explosion or the flames.
Even the two falling figures came to a halt.
In the frozen moment of time, the space on the rooftop seemed to tear apart, and two figures instantly appeared on the rooftop.
Meanwhile, Ruan Qing had already taken out a gun from his shoulder bag, aiming it at his temple.
It was the one he received from Ji Yan on the first night they met.
Ruan Qing turned his head to look at the strangers who appeared the moment he activated the props given by Su Xiaozhen. He also looked at the creature within the eye who remained unaffected by the props, slowly opening his eyes.
Calmly, he spoke in his mind, ‘System, I’ll submit an answer.’
The cold mechanical voice of the game system sounded, [Please submit your answer, player.]
[Ktayat.]
While Ruan Qing submitted his answer, he pulled the trigger.
With a loud bang, the gun sounded, and the bullet instantly pierced through the temples of Ruan Qing and Wen Li.
The world seemed to have returned to nothingness.
Within three seconds, the bodies of a man and a boy fell straight to the ground, their blood staining the earth crimson.
The man protected the boy well, apart from the fatal wound on his temple; there were no new injuries on the boy’s body.
Although the man’s temple was also pierced by a bullet, strangely, he didn’t die instantly, not even when he hit the ground.
He turned his head and gently kissed the bloodstained corner of the boy’s mouth, his eyes filled with tenderness and doting.
In the next moment, he closed his eyes.
The enormous eye on the ground also vanished, as if they had never appeared.
On the rooftop, several people collapsed unconscious after Wen Li lost his breath, leaving only two figures that suddenly appeared.
One of the figures leaped down, seemingly trying to stop the boy from shooting, but it was ultimately too late.
He stood beside the bodies of the man and the boy, his expression obscure and indistinct.
Another man also leaped down and stood beside the man. “Oh, it seems like I’m a little late.”
He looked at the man with the obscure expression and taunted, “Why didn’t your puppet use the ‘Chronometer’ prop earlier? Could it be that it betrayed you?”
He had been waiting for a chance to enter this instance to snatch a particular prop.
After all, the ‘Chronometer’ not only imprisoned for three seconds, but also allowed a person to ignore the game rules and enter the instance within those three seconds.
But everything was too late.
The next time they entered this instance, the difficulty wouldn’t be the same anymore. It would almost cost their lives to obtain that S-class prop.
The man cast a cold glance at him, recalling his puppet, who was the player... Su Xiaozhen.
Then his figure disappeared from the original spot.
The man raised an eyebrow as he watched the disappearing person and also recalled his own substitute, the man who ran with Ruan Qing in the beginning and was one of the last men to remain conscious.
As the memories of his substitute merged with his own, the man glanced at the lifeless boy on the ground and made an indistinct click with his tongue. His figure also disappeared from the original spot.
***
[Copy “Horror Livestream Room” key NPC missing. The copy has entered the upgrade phase in advance. Please stay tuned.]
The announcement from the game space system caused shock among many players who had not entered the instance, and the game forum suddenly exploded.
[What’s going on? Hasn’t this strange instance remained unchanged for a long time? How did it advance ahead of schedule?]
[What happened? This is too sudden, isn’t it?]
[I heard a rumor that a top player entered that instance with an alternate account. I guess the player wasn’t careful and accidentally caused the instance to crash.]
[You can actually crash an instance? It’s the first time I’ve heard of instances crashing. Who is this top player? That’s so cool.]
[Who else could it be? Probably one of those top-ranked players. This instance hadn’t succeeded in upgrading before, so it’s not difficult for advanced players. It’s the easiest time to enter and obtain items.]
[Wow! So you can play it like that? Does the game system allow it? I remember that high-level players were prohibited from entering that instance.]
[Of course, as long as you can find a bug in the game system and meet the conditions for that bug, you can also enter.]
[Who watched the live broadcast of the Horror Livestream Room instance? Please share!]
[I’m also looking for it! I want to see how the top player crashed the instance. I’m a newbie and want to broaden my horizons.]
[Are there any surviving players from that game? Release the video! I’m willing to spend points to buy it, even if it’s expensive!]
[I saw it before by spending three times the points. It seemed like a group of beginner players mistakenly entered that instance. I thought they would die quickly, so I didn’t watch it. I regret it now!]
[How could beginner players mistakenly enter such a high-level upgraded instance? It’s obvious that the top player with an alternate account was deemed to have an average skill level too high by the system, so they pulled in beginner players for balance. There’s definitely something fishy about it!]
The forum discussion instantly reached a fever pitch, with players discussing various aspects of the Horror Livestream Room instance, fueling even more curiosity among players.
After all, playing a collapsed instance like this was quite rare. Even advanced players find it difficult to accomplish.
Most players would be satisfied with just surviving and completing the instance, without daring to expect too much in terms of items.
Just when everyone was seeking information, a player appeared.
[Um... I am a player who just played in this instance. I have already uploaded a video of the instance, but... it may be different from what you all expected...]
***
Author’s note:
The explanation of the name and other details will be provided in the next chapter. You will understand once you finish reading.
The next instance cannot involve summoning spirits, as Qingqing would faint from fear. He is really scared of ghosts. We will take it step by step, and save the summoning spirits for later. Although there will still be ghosts in the next world.
The next instance will be a horror high school theme, where incidents of school violence lead to death, and the deceased come back as vengeful spirits. Qingqing will be an NPC involved in school violence, the first one to be targeted by the ghost. However, he doesn’t know that there are ghosts in the instance. While other players are trying to resist the ghosts, he will be trying to act as an NPC and find the serial killer, providing clues for the players.
T/N: I guess the author was talking about the name given by Qingqing to the system. I’m also not sure what they meant by ‘summoning spirits’ tho. LOL.
Anyway, this was the end of the first arc. Yey! If you’re enjoying this story and this translation, don’t forget to rate it favorably at Novel Updates. And if you can, I will really appreciate a donation! Thank you! ^^
