Chapter 85
Chapter 85
Xiao Huai frowned, and a torch appeared in his hand. The flames scorched the soulbugs with a hiss, sending them shrieking in every direction.
As expected, they were afraid of fire.
The strange fragrance in the air grew stronger, so he held his breath for the moment.
The wound on his left hand split open again. Every time a drop of blood landed on the sand, the soulbugs went mad, braving the scorching flames to burrow into the bloodstained ground.
Only when the dim blue glow faded did the soulbugs gradually dig into the sand and disappear.
Dawn was almost here.
Over the course of the night, his Sanity had dropped into the seventies.
Xiao Huai did not use a potion to restore it, and not because of the price.
It was because when his Sanity fell,
he seemed able to hear and see things that were not supposed to exist.
Were those things hallucinations, or were they real?
If they were real,
how low would his Sanity have to fall before he uncovered the truth?
* * *
The first light of sunrise climbed over the eastern horizon, tinting the sky with a pale dawn.
A layer of gentle light settled over the earth.
The players woke one after another. The suffocating fragrance filled their noses, and they immediately began coughing violently, their heads spinning.
“What’s going on? Can you smell that?”
“Something smells strange. It’s weirdly sweet.”
“Where’s A-Zhuolang? Ask him what’s happening.”
The players looked around until Ji Yelin called out, “He’s over there.”
Covering her nose, she pointed into the distance.
Xiao Huai was about a hundred yards away from them.
The strange fragrance was coming from his direction.
The closer they got to Xiao Huai, the dizzier they became.
Xiao Huai stood where he was, dark circles shadowing his eyes.
Morning light crept across the sky and illuminated half his face. His lashes were long, and when the sunlight fell over him, they intertwined with their shadows.
His gaze was cold and utterly devoid of emotion.
The blood at the corner of his mouth resembled a bud blooming from hell.
It drew every gaze toward him.
Laziness showed between Xiao Huai’s brows as he yawned under everyone’s watchful eyes.
Confusion covered their faces. What had happened to him during the night? Why was he injured?
And was that soot on his face?
Xiao Huai slowly turned around and beckoned to them. “Hold your breath. It’s time to go.”
At his words, the players who had not been holding their breath properly hurried to cover their noses.
Some of the wealthier players simply pulled out full gas masks.
They would reach Aledi Village today.
Crossing the desert was no easy task.
It was even more difficult when his identity card assigned him the hidden role of the Holy Father.
Sometimes, certain people were determined to court death, and nothing could stop them.
Xiao Huai was very good at enduring pain, but that did not mean he liked it.
In fact…
he was somewhat afraid of pain.
But he would never tell anyone that.
Everyone worshiped strength. Who truly cared whether he was in pain, or whether he was afraid?
Xiao Huai walked forward at an unhurried pace, with the players following close behind.
His nose had nearly gone numb from the soulbugs’ strange fragrance.
Every breath seemed saturated with that dizzying scent.
Yet amid the unpleasant odor, a faint scent suddenly drifted into his nose.
It was like a cold wind sweeping through winter and stirring up frost, chilly yet irresistible.
Lu Yuanshi raised a hand, and Xiao Huai instinctively looked at him.
Lu Yuanshi’s knuckle brushed the tip of his nose, and as his hand lowered, his well-defined fingers swept a lock of hair from Xiao Huai’s forehead.
Xiao Huai’s fingers curled slightly with Lu Yuanshi’s movement, tightening into a fist before relaxing again.
Neither of them spoke, as if by mutual understanding.
Lu Yuanshi had wiped the soot from Xiao Huai’s nose.
What Xiao Huai remembered, however, was his scent.
* * *
Aledi Village
Sand swirled through the air. The shabby little village was filled with mottled houses whose walls had been eroded by wind and grit.
It was desolate and dilapidated.
When the group arrived at Aledi Village, they were all somewhat dumbfounded.
Most of the houses had their doors tightly shut, and there was not even a trace that anyone had ever lived there.
If not for the wooden sign reading [Aledi Village Inn] hanging from a building at the end of the road,
they would have suspected the place was nothing more than a ruin.
A yellow lantern hung beside the inn, several twisted characters painted across it in red.
Ji Yelin narrowed her eyes and tilted her head in confusion. “I think that says ‘Welcome.'”
“Yeah. Looks like that’s where we’re supposed to go. But why isn’t there anyone here?” the girl beside Ji Yelin said.
Wasn’t this game called the Witch’s House?
Forget the witch. There was not even another person in sight.
Suddenly, the system’s official female voice began speaking in everyone’s minds.
[Welcome to Aledi Village. As an excessive number of players remain alive, the game difficulty will be increased by default.]
[Ding! Collective main mission: Find the witch’s lost treasure and return it to her.]
[Difficulty raised to Intermediate. The original three submission attempts have been reduced to one. In other words, all players have one, and only one, opportunity to submit the treasure.]
[Mission failure: Death.]
[Hint: Side mission – You may choose to kill one teammate. Doing so will also count as mission completion.]
[Players, please enjoy the game to your hearts’ content. In a horror game, entertainment comes above all!]
On the final sentence, the system abandoned its usual official tone. Its voice even carried a hint of madness.
The players stood frozen in silence for a long time.
Panic, confusion, helplessness… Countless negative emotions flooded their minds like a rising tide.
How could this happen?
This was only the third floor. How could there be a collective mission, much less an automatic increase in difficulty?
It made no sense.
Why had the difficulty increased by default?
Why should it be because too many players were still alive?
Did that mean the difficulty would have decreased if fewer players had survived?
No… This mission itself was designed to make them kill one another.
The collective mission had no time limit, but failure meant death.
As for the side mission, they could survive as long as they killed one teammate.
Kill just one person… and they would live!
At that moment, Xiao Huai suddenly spoke. “Why are you all standing there? Don’t you want to rest?”
He looked toward the inn. Everyone raised their heads, and sinister, malicious looks flashed through their eyes before disappearing.
They had almost forgotten there was still an NPC among them.
Following Xiao Huai’s gaze, the players slowly made their way toward the Aledi Village Inn.
Sun Xingye walked at the very back of the group, remaining silent.
Unexpectedly, a strange gravity had settled over his face.
Since Cheng Shan belonged to the same organization as Sun Xingye, he walked over and patted him on the shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
Sun Xingye’s face was slightly pale. “Something’s wrong, Cheng Shan. Something is wrong with this instance.”
Cheng Shan frowned. “What do you mean?”
What did he mean, something was wrong with this instance?
Sun Xingye stopped walking. “Don’t you understand? A collective mission and a difficulty increase are impossible in a third-floor instance!”