Chapter 98
Chapter 98
Xiao Huai ate a glutinous rice dumpling and muttered, “I don’t understand.”
Yet amusement hid in the corners of his eyes as he raised his head slightly. “I only know this is delicious.”
He finished the dumpling in a few bites and walked to the door. As he left, his peripheral vision settled on Lu Yuanshi.
“Lu Yuanshi, you said it yourself. We’re even now.”
Lu Yuanshi had saved him once, and Xiao Huai had repaid him by sacrificing his blood to create a diamond.
He disliked owing anyone. If someone wanted to be even with him,
he would not refuse.
Lu Yuanshi looked up and gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment.
* * *
Lu Zhi had spent a long time bustling around the dining hall and had gathered a pile of delicious food.
The moment he saw Xiao Huai outside the door, he rushed over with all of it in his arms.
“A-Zhuolang, the food has been replenished. I didn’t know what you liked, so I brought a little of everything.”
Xiao Huai bent forward slightly and sniffed. The smell of food entered his nose as he asked,
“When was it replenished?”
Lu Zhi did not know why Xiao Huai was asking, but he answered honestly.
“Not long after I entered the dining hall, I saw that the food on the table had been replaced with a fresh spread.”
“So you’re the first player to eat the replenished food.”
“Mm… yes! I am.” Lu Zhi nodded.
At that, Xiao Huai picked up a small cookie and ate it. Smiling faintly, he said, “I understand. But I’m somewhat full now, so you can eat the rest. Make sure you eat plenty.”
The sight of Xiao Huai smiling robbed Lu Zhi of his soul, especially when that smile was neither sinister nor strange. He felt as though he might be bewitched completely.
Even so, he hurriedly shook his head, then nodded, and obediently began eating.
Lu Zhi had wanted to speak with Xiao Huai a little longer, but when he turned, Xiao Huai had vanished.
What he did not know was that Xiao Huai had already entered the dining hall and hidden in an inconspicuous corner.
The food Lu Zhi had brought him did not carry the strange fragrance he had detected before.
The food Lu Yuanshi prepared for him had lacked that scent as well.
Based on that deduction, there was nothing wrong with Rule Six.
[6. Food and water are unlimited and will be replenished in the dining hall every day. Help yourselves.]
The problem was a person.
If someone deliberately added something to the food soon after it was replenished, everything could be explained.
He was hiding there to see who had tampered with it.
About twenty minutes later, someone crept furtively into the dining hall, carrying a glass bottle filled with pale blue, glowing powder.
The figure carefully sprinkled the fluorescent powder over the table, and a faint, strange fragrance immediately spread across the entire surface.
Xiao Huai stood in the corner with his arms crossed, silent and enveloped in darkness, his eyes icy.
He was not surprised when the person appeared.
The one responsible was Li Yao.
Why had the witch appeared in their room, yet only one of them had suffered?
Had Li Yao not said that the witch told them, “We have been naughty and need to be punished”?
Li Yao was lying. At the very least, there were holes in her story.
Covering her nose, Li Yao scattered the powder over the food, then fled the dining hall.
Xiao Huai did not confront her. Instead, he slowly approached the table and yanked hard on the tablecloth, sending all the food tumbling to the floor.
The tablecloth wrapped around it in a bundle.
A lit lighter appeared in his hand, and he casually tossed it into the food.
Flames erupted instantly.
As he watched them burn higher, a figure seemed to pass through the fire and enter his vision.
He looked toward the doorway. Lu Yuanshi was leaning there with his arms folded, watching him.
The smell of fire grew stronger in the dining hall. Before long, it attracted several players nearby. They rushed into the room, panicked at the sight, and immediately tried to put out the flames.
But the fire had already been burning for a long time. No matter how hard they tried to extinguish it,
the food could not be saved.
They raised their heads and glared viciously at Xiao Huai. “You! Why did you destroy our food?”
Xiao Huai had no desire to explain, but Lu Yuanshi’s voice passed through the crowd and echoed across the dining hall.
“I started the fire.” He spoke casually and walked to Xiao Huai’s side.
As he approached, he did not glance at Xiao Huai, as though they did not know each other at all.
Sun Xingye and Cheng Shan hurried over at the commotion.
“You?” The people who had been glaring at Xiao Huai shifted their gazes to Lu Yuanshi, confusion and disbelief in their eyes.
Lu Yuanshi had always been a fringe figure among the players. He did not seem normal, constantly clinging to the NPC for no reason. But why would he set fire to their food?
It made no sense.
More and more people gathered until over half the players were in the dining hall.
They all looked at Lu Yuanshi. “What’s going on? Are you saying that guy set fire to our food?”
Cheng Shan had now heard enough to understand what had happened and was surprised that Lu Yuanshi had started the fire.
He whispered to Sun Xingye, “He’s never seemed interested in the game. I don’t think he’d suddenly start a fire for no reason.”
Sun Xingye kept his gaze fixed on Xiao Huai. “It has something to do with that NPC.”
In Sun Xingye’s eyes, Lu Yuanshi was anything but simple.
From his years of experience with horror games, a player who remained calm at all times, never panicked, and even had the leisure to spar with an NPC
was never an ordinary person.
Lu Yuanshi might even be a player from the upper floors.
If that were true, there had to be a reason he remained so close to the NPC.
Perhaps they were about to catch a glimpse of it now.
Everyone waited for Lu Yuanshi to speak. Instead, he slowly lifted a hand and pointed at someone.
Xiao Huai.
Now no one understood what was happening.
Lu Yuanshi said teasingly, “I saw him drug the food. Do you want to eat something that’s been drugged?”
Xiao Huai’s fingertips trembled slightly, and he raised his eyes to look calmly at Lu Yuanshi.
Then he suddenly laughed and lifted his chin high. His eyes were sinister, carrying the madness of someone on the verge of losing control.
Playfulness lingered at the corners of his eyes and brows. Merely meeting his gaze conveyed such a dangerous aura that chills swept over everyone.
Half his face was hidden in shadow. The bloodthirsty madness at the corner of his mouth made everyone swallow and stand frozen.
From nowhere, he produced a dagger, raised it to his lips, and slowly licked the blade. Laughing softly like a madman, he said,
“Oh dear, you caught me. It looks like I’ll have to go hungry again today.”
Everyone present recoiled in shock.
What did he mean? Did he… want to eat them?
Had he drugged the food so he could kill them?
They suddenly remembered that Xiao Huai had not eaten anything at the table that day.
The implications were horrifying!
No one dared say another word. Xiao Huai continued lazily,
“What a shame you discovered me this time. Next time, I’ll try not to let anyone find out.”
Then, under everyone’s terrified gaze, he left the dining hall.
Only after he was gone did the others dare breathe again.
Next time? There would be a next time?
Sun Xingye’s expression had also turned ugly. Xiao Huai had frightened him yet again. One glance into Xiao Huai’s eyes had felt as though the bloodlust within them would kill him.
He said gravely, “It seems we’ll need someone guarding the dining hall from now on.”
Had Xiao Huai not said he would try not to let anyone discover him next time?
Then as long as someone watched the dining hall, would they remain safe?