chapter 24
Zhao Liang was doomed. He had realized it after digging for more than ten minutes without finding any ginseng.
Tong Qian’s arm had only been struck by the bear. Though it continued bleeding, the wound itself was limited.
The carnivorous flower had devoured Zhao Liang’s entire right arm, leaving a savage stump that drained his blood like an open faucet.
He lay in a pool of blood, face ashen. His cracked white lips moved as his remaining hand struggled into a bulging pants pocket and withdrew two Items.
During a previous instance, Zhao Liang had discovered that a dead player’s Items did not disappear. He had looted many from corpses.
But his ability was so poor that he had exhausted every useful Item. Only these two, which he normally considered worthless, remained.
One was a crude doll sewn from filthy white cloth. The other was a small key.
The doll had belonged to a female player. After Zhao Liang and a like-minded companion tricked her to her death, they discovered that she had taken out the doll before dying but lost her life before she could use it.
Only after claiming it did Zhao Liang realize how close he had come to disaster. The doll could extend a life, but only under harsh conditions: it had to be activated when the user was about to die, and it prolonged their life for thirty minutes.
In other words, the user still died. The Item merely delayed the inevitable, so Zhao Liang had carried it without ever using it.
The other Item, a key obtained in his previous instance, allowed a trapped player to escape. It had no effect in supernatural instances.
Powerful resentment flared in Zhao Liang’s dimming eyes. He clenched the white cloth doll, which gradually dissolved into his palm.
A few stars shone in the black night. Colorful flowers nearby released a rich fragrance. On the plot of earth opposite them lay a one-armed man. Blood spread beneath his body, only for the soil to greedily absorb every drop.
Zhao Liang muttered indistinctly, “All of you have to die! If I can’t get out alive, I’ll drag you down with me!”
Cheng Miao and Bai Jiang were focused on the increasingly frenzied Baby Bear and paid little attention to Qi Jiajia.
They never expected Zhao Liang to suddenly appear behind her. His face was blue-gray, his features twisted beyond anything human. He looked no different from a malicious ghost.
“If I’ve taken a liking to you, then come keep me company in hell! Ha ha ha!”
With a savage grin, Zhao Liang shoved Qi Jiajia hard. Fortunately, her reflexes and Item saved her from dying on the spot.
Qi Jiajia sprang up without wondering about his strange appearance or how he had escaped the cabinet. She took a running start, leaped behind Zhao Liang, and kicked his back with all her strength.
Missing one arm, Zhao Liang already struggled with balance. He had not regained his footing after the shove when Qi Jiajia’s kick sent him flying. He crashed to the floor directly behind Baby Bear, whose furious struggle had left its fur standing on end.
“ROAR!” Sensing someone delivered to its back, Baby Bear spun around. When it saw the dazed Zhao Liang, its bloodred eyes curved with delight.
“No! Stay away! Help! Help me! Ahhh!” Though Zhao Liang was already living on borrowed time, pain and fear still gripped his body. He screamed and struggled.
Baby Bear closed one paw around him. The heavy smell of blood instantly spread through the room.
The scene was brutal and extremely bloody.
Cheng Miao turned her head away. Bai Jiang instead looked at Qi Jiajia as she rose and dusted herself off.
The girl looked delicate, but she was intelligent, reacted quickly, and could strike without hesitation. She had excellent potential.
The words of the veteran who guided Bai Jiang sounded in his mind: “Players can form teams. If you find a promising newcomer, remember to invite them into our Club.”
Bai Jiang composed his words and approached Qi Jiajia. He had just raised a smile when she looked up at him.
Qi Jiajia’s exquisite face wore a smile, yet the vicious, unhealthy light had not left her eyes. The contradiction made her look strangely divided.
Startled, Bai Jiang withdrew the hand he had just placed on her shoulder and forcibly changed what he had intended to say. “Did you hurt yourself in the fall?”
Qi Jiajia silently watched him until goose bumps covered his skin. Then she giggled, tilted her head, and said, “I’m fine. Thank you, big brother.”
Having just disposed of someone who annoyed her, Qi Jiajia was in an excellent mood, good enough to offer Bai Jiang a few pleasant words.
She resembled a doll whose exquisite packaging had been opened to reveal what truly lay inside.
Ignoring Bai Jiang’s horrified expression, Qi Jiajia turned with smiling eyes toward Cheng Miao. Cheng Miao glanced down at her face and gave the top of her head a firm pat. “What’s with that expression? Put it away.”
Bai Jiang made a tactical retreat, afraid Qi Jiajia would return to her earlier brutality.
Instead, Qi Jiajia stood still for a moment and seemed even happier. Eyes curved in a smile, she caught Cheng Miao’s shirttail. “Okay!”
This woman was fascinating. Even the instance had become more interesting with her around.
Bai Jiang trembled nearby.
He could not afford to provoke either of them. One was a yandere, and anyone unafraid of a yandere was probably abnormal too. These newcomers were terrifying!
After calming himself, Bai Jiang looked thoughtfully at Baby Bear, whose expression had softened. “It calmed down after killing someone.”
Cheng Miao pulled her shirttail from Qi Jiajia’s hand. The girl grabbed it again. After several rounds, Cheng Miao gave up and let her cling to it.
Dividing her attention, Cheng Miao answered Bai Jiang. “If it’s calm, leave it alone. Once Mama Bear finishes the toy, we can clear the instance.”
Bai Jiang nodded and went to help Tong Qian out of the kitchen.
When they passed the pool of blood, Tong Qian’s beautiful face went pale. She did not dare look directly at it.
There was satisfaction at having been avenged in her eyes, but also a nearly imperceptible sorrow at her own powerlessness before fate.
With Qi Jiajia trailing behind, Cheng Miao approached Mama Bear. The bear ignored the two intruders.
In fact, even Baby Bear’s earlier rampage had failed to attract her attention. She remained absorbed in her sewing. At some point, a small pair of overalls had appeared beside the basket.
They were small only compared with Mama Bear. Cheng Miao or Tong Qian could easily have worn them.
Cheng Miao carried the overalls back with a grave expression. “It seems one of us must put these on and become the toy.”
Bai Jiang’s face darkened. “That’s not a key to clearance. It’s a trap.”
After thinking, Cheng Miao lowered her voice. “The exit will probably appear only after Baby Bear receives the toy and is satisfied. Becoming that toy is genuinely dangerous.”
She sensed that the instance had been secretly engineering situations designed to create conflict among the players.
Violence was permitted. The easiest way to select a toy was to force the weakest person into the role, but that contradicted the fairness the Game claimed to uphold.
Cheng Miao could not understand it. Yet dawn was faintly brightening the sky, leaving them no more time.
Tong Qian appeared to reach the same conclusion. Pale-faced, she looked around. When no one tried to force the role upon her, embarrassment crossed her face. She was about to speak when Bai Jiang interrupted.
“I’ll do it. I’m reasonably capable, and I have an Item to protect myself.”
He was the only man left. Cheng Miao had just volunteered as bait, Tong Qian had barely returned from the brink of death, and Qi Jiajia was only a young teenager. In good conscience, he could not send one of them to become the toy.
With that, Bai Jiang stepped into the overalls, pulled them up…
“Could one of you… help me? They’re stuck…”