Chapter 149
Chapter 149
Playing two games in a single day was enough to leave most people physically and mentally exhausted.
Xiao Huai might be a player, but he was still human.
Though there was still time to enter another game, he went straight back to his room.
As he passed through the corridor, the System announced which players would be locked in the Corpse Cage that night.
There were five in total.
Two more than yesterday.
According to the real-time player count, only a little over fifty remained in the human faction, while even the vampire faction had fallen to fourteen.
Those people had probably all died in the games.
On the first day, the players had still been dazed and confused, but one day had been more than enough for them to grasp reality.
The last glow of sunset spilled across the red velvet carpet, bathing it in an orange sheen.
Eyes lowered, Xiao Huai slowly walked on.
This special instance existed for him. His fate was to die here. Just how difficult would it be to wrest his life back from the gods?
Xiao Huai had heard from the Mad Hatter that leaving the game was simple. All he had to do was kill.
His fingers curled slightly as he looked out the window.
Kill someone?
At that moment, the slanting sunlight reflected from a rose window in the west wing, scattering colored light across Xiao Huai’s lashes.
The light was somewhat dazzling. His eyes narrowed involuntarily, and he raised his head with a frown to look outside.
Then he suddenly froze.
He had seen a familiar figure.
Before Xiao Huai could say a word, his body reacted. He broke into a run toward the west wing.
“Hey, Xiao Huai! Want to grab something to eat?” Xiao Qian had just stepped out when he saw Xiao Huai racing past. Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Huai had swept by, leaving only a gust of wind behind.
Xiao Qian watched his retreating back. He did not think he had ever seen that expression on Xiao Huai’s face before.
Starlight glittered in his eyes, as though they held endless passion.
Anticipation, resentment, longing…
Xiao Qian’s pupils widened. Folding his arms, he leaned against the wall and murmured, “Is there something else here that matters that much to him?”
* * *
*The West Wing*
He rushed into the west wing. When he stopped, he braced both hands on his knees and gulped in air. Sweat wound down his cheeks, and his back rose and fell with every breath.
Xiao Huai raised his head and looked around. No one was there.
The last light of sunset quietly faded.
He ran to the rose window where he had seen the figure. His frown deepened, and his tightly clenched fists gradually relaxed, his fingers trembling slightly.
What was wrong with him…?
Xiao Huai lowered his head. The white mist of his breath vanished quickly into the air as he whispered that person’s name, so softly it was barely audible.
“Lu Yuanshi.”
Was that you? If you’re here, why won’t you show yourself?
Only the sound of his heartbeat remained in the surrounding silence.
Once it finally steadied, Xiao Huai’s lips twitched in self-mockery. He turned to leave.
But as he walked away, he heard footsteps behind him.
Xiao Huai turned without hesitation. Yet when he saw who it was, his heartbeat calmed once more.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy to see me?” Edwin sauntered up to him.
He reached out, intending to wipe the sweat from Xiao Huai’s cheek.
Xiao Huai instinctively dodged, and Edwin’s hand stopped in midair.
An elegant, impeccably courteous smile appeared on Edwin’s face. “Who are you looking for?”
“No one.” Xiao Huai turned to leave, but Edwin seized his wrist.
Xiao Huai frowned and clenched his fist, trying to wrench himself free.
Edwin arched a brow and caught Xiao Huai around the waist with his other hand. His grip was so forceful that it left a handprint in the hollow of Xiao Huai’s waist.
Pain nearly forced a sound from Xiao Huai, but he only pressed his lips tightly together. No one could have seen his discomfort.
“Answer my question, impudent believer.”
Xiao Huai’s chest rose and fell faintly. After a moment, he put on the fakest smile imaginable. “I was looking for you, of course, my lord.”
Edwin’s smile vanished. His green eyes settled coldly on Xiao Huai’s face as one hand clamped around his chin.
“Your acting is poor.”
Xiao Huai suddenly laughed. “Would you like me to make it more convincing?”
He caught Edwin’s hand in his own and rubbed his cheek against the man’s palm like a lazy cat. The setting sun glowed in Xiao Huai’s eyes. Though his face showed no emotion, the sweep of his thick, lowered lashes effortlessly toyed with the rhythm of another’s heart.
“I missed you.”
His voice was irresistibly pleasing, husky with languor, low without sounding muffled.
Edwin froze for a moment.
He knew those words had absolutely not been meant for him, yet he still could not tear his gaze from Xiao Huai.
“How about now, my lord?” Xiao Huai let go and stepped back several paces.
Only then did Edwin realize Xiao Huai had long since gained control of the encounter.
The hand that had gripped Xiao Huai’s waist had gone slack, while Xiao Huai held his other hand.
The moment Xiao Huai released him, Edwin could no longer hold on to him at all.
Edwin’s white lashes trembled. He sighed as if in helplessness.
“Don’t tease me, little one.”
Xiao Huai said nothing. His gaze fell on a dark corner.
The moment passed in a flash, but the corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.
Xiao Huai looked back at Edwin. “That counts as teasing?”
Beneath the questioning tone lurked a faint dissatisfaction with Edwin.
Edwin chuckled. “What do you want to blame me for?”
He deliberately leaned close to Xiao Huai’s face, his eyes full of mocking contempt for humanity.
“You gave me too few choices.”
“At least I gave you a choice.”
Xiao Huai met his gaze without backing down. “But the more you want to see something, the less inclined I am to show you.”
He could choose to cast aside his humanity, but a stubborn streak ran through Xiao Huai’s bones.
He would not accept it, would not submit, and would not concede defeat.
“In that case, aren’t you afraid?”
Xiao Huai said nothing for so long that Edwin assumed he had frightened him. But after a moment, Xiao Huai’s lips curved, the light making his features and eyes appear extraordinarily vivid.
“Whatever my lord commands.”
With that, Xiao Huai inclined his head to Edwin and walked outside.
Edwin had intended to toy with him a little longer, but his expression abruptly sharpened and his gaze snapped toward the dark corner.
His canine teeth lengthened into a vampire’s fangs.
He smelled the provocative aura of a progenitor-class vampire.
Who else here could be a progenitor-class vampire besides him?
Naturally, it was that player who had somehow become a progenitor-class vampire.
Even Edwin had been unable to see through that player’s abilities.
The sun sank toward the west. Its dying rays slowly peeled back the shadows, illuminating the man’s face.
Lu Yuanshi leaned against the corner, watching Edwin coldly.
Lu Yuanshi said nothing. He merely looked at him.
Edwin’s heart suddenly clenched, as though an invisible force had instantly saturated the air.
That power could even kill a god…
For a moment, Edwin lost himself in shock.
Why?
A progenitor-class vampire was too powerful and could only remain in the west wing, whether that vampire was a god or a player.
This mere player had actually received the System’s favor and become a progenitor-class vampire from the moment he arrived.
That was why he could not go to the main hall or take part in any game.
Being born a progenitor-class vampire was his good fortune. All he had to do was remain here obediently for a few days, and the game would naturally release him.
Yet this player was bound by the rules and confined to the west wing.
Why, then, had he made Edwin, a high-ranking god, feel fear for the first time?