Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Pan Qing froze. Many players probably had not looked at their system interface since entering the game.
The Gods’ Livestream was the most important reason they had been brought here. Weren’t they participating in these games for the gods to watch? Yet most players had no gods viewing their streams at all.
First-floor instances on idiot mode were too boring. These novices had not built up popularity like veteran players, so why would any god watch them?
The truly entertaining games took place on the higher floors.
Xiao Huai approached Hui Yulian and leaned down slightly, speaking softly enough that only she could hear.
“Still don’t understand? One reason you exposed yourself was your need to perform, prove yourself, and entertain the god backing you. Isn’t that right?”
Hui Yulian’s pupils contracted sharply. Her lips trembled as she stared at him in disbelief.
From the beginning, the moment Xiao Huai mentioned identity cards, she had come over to introduce herself. Later, she offered him the Student Handbook. Finally, in the cafeteria, the first thing she asked was, “Do you have a special identity?”
And all the while, she had subtly encouraged the others to suspect Xiao Huai, using pointed glances to guide the novices toward him.
Her performance had been natural, but an ordinary person would not keep trying to harm him, whether openly or indirectly.
Unless she had been instructed to do so: instructed to approach him, frame him, and kill him. Eventually, she had even begun to wonder whether Xiao Huai possessed a special identity himself.
Xiao Huai straightened and pointed at the monsters pressed against the windows. “You’re the one they want. Though you may not know why.”
He opened the system interface, displaying the horror game’s basic rules.
[1. All players must actively participate in horror games. At the end of each game, players will receive standby time. If this time reaches zero, the system will erase the player.]
[2. Every player should enjoy their time in the game. A player who is murdered may become a vengeful spirit and curse their killer.]
[…]
Many more rules followed, but Xiao Huai enlarged the second. “Little sister, you killed someone and got unlucky. Now you’ve been cursed.”
As he finished, one brow rose. For an instant, he seemed to glimpse three shadows behind Hui Yulian.
Their builds resembled the three dead people in the photograph.
No one else appeared able to see them.
The shadows vanished in a flash. Xiao Huai looked directly at Hui Yulian and finally asked the question he had wanted answered from the start. “So, Miss Werewolf, what exactly is your mission?”
Hui Yulian clenched both fists and bit down hard on her lower lip. Fear entered her eyes. She looked away toward the monsters.
As if answering her, they released low hisses from deep in their throats. Hui Yulian scrambled madly into a corner.
At that moment, every monster’s head moved.
They turned to look at her.
Before, Hui Yulian had been standing in the middle of the crowd, making it impossible to tell whom the monsters were watching.
But now… everyone knew beyond doubt that their eyes were fixed on her.
As if something had snapped inside her, Hui Yulian covered her head, squeezed her eyes shut, and screamed, “It wasn’t me! I’m not the one!”
Xiao Huai regarded her coldly. “At first, you used the rules to kill, so you weren’t cursed. But you became too impatient.”
If I were you, wouldn’t it be more fun to manipulate people slowly?
The thought surfaced in Xiao Huai’s mind without warning. He froze, then rubbed between his brows.
Well, it seemed he had been some kind of psychopath in the past.
His memories had not returned, but now and then a thought emerged as if by reflex. Corpses stirred no emotion in him either.
Sometimes Xiao Huai wondered what sort of person he used to be.
A thief? A swindler? Or a murderer?
He could not remember, but he certainly had not been a good man.
Hui Yulian’s breathing quickened. She clapped both hands over her mouth as tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. Then she looked up at Xiao Huai as if he were her last lifeline.
She crawled to his feet and wrung her hands. “I’ll tell you everything. Everything! I’ll tell you my mission. You have a way to save me, don’t you?”
Xiao Huai lowered his eyes. Moonlight illuminated his cheek, his straight nose as flawless as one drawn in a painting. He stood there like starlight on an autumn night, distant and cold.
In less than five minutes, everything had changed. None of the players dared speak. They had never imagined Xiao Huai would actually expose the traitor.
And now the situation had reversed twice over.
Xiao Huai crouched and pressed one finger to his lips with a soft shush.
Hui Yulian immediately closed her mouth, though choked sobs still escaped her throat and tears continued to fall in heavy drops.
His crimson eyes fixed on hers, as though trying to look through them and communicate with whoever stood behind her.
“Do you know who I am?”
He spoke after a long silence.
Hui Yulian stared at him in confusion.
Who was he? Who else could he be?
“You’re… Xiao Huai.”
Xiao Huai smiled and shook his head. “Right, but also wrong. I want to know what kind of person I was before.”
He drew back his hand and inhaled softly. The past was no longer important. The future was what made things interesting.
“Tell me your mission first.”
The moment Xiao Huai spoke, everyone focused on Hui Yulian.
It took her a while to compose herself. “My mission is… to create panic and cause more people to die in this game.”
Miss Werewolf indeed.
“I truly didn’t mean to kill those people! I really…” She did not finish, or perhaps she was unable to.
Xiao Huai smiled and answered for her. “She truly didn’t intend to. But she has a sponsor behind her. If that sponsor wanted to watch her kill and offered tempting terms, it would be difficult to refuse.”
Those who understood caught his meaning. Hui Yulian fell silent, her face turning ghastly.
Xiao Huai bent down once more and whispered in her ear.
“Whatever else happens, thank the one behind you for making you give me that clue. I’ll put it to good use.”
The instant he finished, his system chimed.
[Congratulations! Player Xiao Huai has identified identity-card holder Hui Yulian. Basic Reward: Popularity +100.]
[Submitting to the system recommendation pool…]
[Successfully ranked in the Horror Game’s Newcomer Zone, District 39.]
[Current divine viewers: 3.]
[You have a new message. Please review…]
[The Mad Hatter: You found my Miss Werewolf so quickly. I look forward to welcoming you to my afternoon tea.]
[The god known as the Mad Hatter has tipped you 66 Survival Coins. Friendly reminder: Survival Coins can be used to unlock the System Shop and purchase items~]