chapter 18

Chu Yue froze for a moment. He’d suspected the game couldn’t possibly be set to a one-hundred-percent death rate, yet they weren’t even halfway through the time limit and they were already down to half their original number.

From that alone, he’d been only half-convinced.

Now that this man had said it out loud, it was hard not to believe.

He just hadn’t expected this kind of situation had happened before-and that someone had actually made it out.

As for the mercenary whatever and the “number one” the man mentioned, Chu Yue-an absolute rookie-had never heard of any of it.

His blank moment lasted only an instant. He recovered quickly, and his expression didn’t change.

He said flatly, “If that’s the case, we can complete the mission together. If everyone cooperates, progress will be faster. Why make things so unpleasant?”

“That’s not what I mean.” The man licked his lips. “Even if we finish the mission faster, we can’t get out today. No matter what, two people have to die for us tonight, right? So tonight, you and this little brat can be kind and save us, how about it?”

Chu Yue understood. They were treating the two of them as expendable stand-ins.

There were only six people left. Even if Wang Meng and Li Baixing weren’t that great, they were still old hands. The two of them-one newbie, one kid-were obviously easier to handle.

The man behind Shen Yubi bent at the waist and didn’t say a word. The one who’d been acting as the decision-maker and talking to them earlier now looked like nothing more than the other man’s lackey.

“What if I say no?” Shen Yubi’s childish voice rang out. “I don’t want to die. Is there a second choice?”

“There is.” The effeminate man patted the flat of his blade against Chu Yue’s neck, then drew it lightly across, his eyes vicious. “If you don’t want to die tonight, I can send you to the afterlife right now!”

Shen Yubi blinked, looking at the knife held across Chu Yue’s throat. “That won’t do,” he said. “There’s still a third option.”

Before the words even fell, there was a sharp crack-“ka-ba”-followed by a sudden scream.

Shen Yubi seized the big man’s hand behind him and yanked, twisting hard. In a way that defied common sense, the hand was snapped straight at the wrist, leaving only a thin layer of flesh still connecting it.

The dagger in that hand clattered to the ground.

The big man dropped to his knees, his whole body shaking, tears and snot pouring out from the pain.

Shen Yubi didn’t even glance back. He simply crouched down and picked up the dagger.

He flipped it through a neat flourish, lips pressed tight, then lifted his eyes to the effeminate man-dark and cold.

The man blanked for a split second, and then he actually laughed.

He looked Shen Yubi up and down.

“Hahahahaha! I knew I wasn’t wrong. Everyone in the Hall said that when you run into that one, you always hear silver ornaments clinking by your ear. So it was all true.

“I wasn’t completely sure before. This is a Level 0 Instance-how could that one possibly show up here?

“Looks like I was the one who was wrong. Wang Meng, that idiot, was only sharp once-and it was on this.

“But it’s not just me. Li Baixing probably noticed too, didn’t she?”

Chu Yue knew nothing about the game world, but he understood what the man was implying. So this little runt wasn’t just some capable veteran player-he was someone famous for being terrifyingly strong.

“Boss, work with me.” The man’s tone turned slick. “If the two of us team up, our chances of escaping are way higher.

“I’m more useful than this newbie. I’ve got points. As long as you can get me out, I’ll transfer all my points to you.”

A second ago, the man had been threatening to kill them both. Now he was shamelessly trying to cozy up and drive a wedge between them.
That attitude wasn’t exactly groveling, but it was damn close to bootlicking.

He practically… didn’t treat Chu Yue like a person at all.

Finishing up with the dagger in his hand, Shen Yubi sat down on the sacrificial altar, not caring if it was dirty. He didn’t even lift his head. “Clues.”

“There are definitely clues.” The man’s tone did a complete one-eighty. “We’ve asked around a lot. Some people were evasive and refused to say anything outright, but we still found out that Li Ergou’s Wife isn’t someone from inside the game. There’s a high chance she’s a player like us.”

Chu Yue and Shen Yubi had already figured that out yesterday.

“What else? Any clue what the townsfolk are praying for?”

“No, but-”

He hadn’t finished speaking when he suddenly felt someone grab his arm. His body went weightless as he was flipped through the air; the world spun upside down. By the time his back slammed into the ground, he finally realized Chu Yue had just thrown him over his shoulder.

Chu Yue twisted his arm up behind his back and dropped into a squat, his knee pressing straight toward the man’s throat. Beads of blood rolled down the man’s neck and dripped onto Chu Yue’s slender hand.

“Looks like I forgot to tell you-this is exactly the kind of clue we’re missing right now. If you don’t have it, you’re in no position to kick me out of the game.”

Chu Yue looked down at him, eyes cold.

It wasn’t that he was dead set on teaming up with Shen Yubi; it was just that this guy’s way of ignoring him and talking over him really rubbed Chu Yue the wrong way.

The man had never imagined that this ant he thought he had firmly in his grasp-someone whose life he could take at any time-would dare fight back, much less that he’d end up pinned to the ground.

The young man had clearly trained. With his arm wrenched up behind his back, he couldn’t exert any strength at all, and the places Chu Yue was pressing down on seemed to be deliberately chosen.

His whole body was useless. He couldn’t resist even if he wanted to.

Fuck! he swore silently. Where the hell did this Monster come from? He’d already undergone quite a few physical enhancements. This kid was just a newbie-how could he be this strong?

Or maybe he wasn’t a newbie at all? That made sense. Someone that close to that person couldn’t possibly be a newbie.

Unaware of the man’s wandering thoughts, Chu Yue glanced at Shen Yubi.

When Shen Yubi told him not to worry just now, Chu Yue had been a little concerned. He hadn’t expected this kid to be even more ruthless than he was.

“D-don’t do this.” Realizing he’d kicked an iron plate, the man hurriedly changed his tune, putting his ability to read the room to full use. “I was in the wrong before. I apologize. We’re all in the same boat here-no need to fight to the death. How about we work together instead? We can search for clues together, complete the quest, and get out of here. What do you think?”

Chu Yue didn’t respond, but Shen Yubi clearly didn’t think that was a good idea.

He stepped down from the altar and looked down at the man from above, the corners of his lips curling into a smile. “I don’t think much of it.”

As he spoke, the dagger in his hand suddenly appeared at the man’s throat. He pressed down with his hand.

He moved so fast that before Chu Yue could react, warm blood had already sprayed across his face.

The man’s eyes flew wide open as blood gushed from his neck. The only sound he could make was a sticky, muffled gurgle deep in his throat.

He never expected Shen Yubi to attack without warning. All the items and points he’d been hoarding stayed unused-the moment he realized what was happening, he was already dead.