chapter 146

Lu Li took the poster.

The Two-Headed Monster fumbled out a pen. The head on the left explained, “She printed all kinds of posters of you and covered half a wall in her room. Because of my job… cough, my identity, I figured I might run into you in person someday, so I scanned a digital copy. I didn’t expect it to come in handy this fast.”

The head on the right pleaded, “My little sister says she feels physically unwell if she can’t watch your streams. The last three days she’s been especially depressed, like she suddenly came down with some acute illness. It’s actually pretty serious-please help her out. I’ll scan an electronic copy with your signature and transfer it out of the Necromancer Game later.”

Lu Li’s Live Stream Room exploded with disbelief:

[Reward: Spirit Money *6000, electronic treatment, cyber ghost-healing.]

[Reward: Spirit Money *10000, Doctor Lu makes a move, and the cure is instant. If the Streamer is willing to sign, I’ll also pay big money for a copy.]

[Reward: Spirit Money *10000, whose big brother is this!? This is public execution by a straight man. How can he say something this embarrassing with a straight face? All that going crazy about you online and at home has actually been reenacted in front of the real deal, hahahaha! Got my laugh of the day.]

[Help! That’s my brother! I’m done. He works in the Necromancer Game Operations Department and told me staff get slightly exaggerated designs based on their own image. They go into Instances to open the guide Instance, control headcount, and collect Fear Value. Their position’s performance assessment is based on the Fear Value collected from Players.

The ghosts at home wanted to see his work photos-he didn’t have a single one, just boasted about how cool he looks in-game! Said he’s so handsome he’d blow the family ghosts away! How did it end up like thissss! I’m actually going to split apart from secondhand embarrassment! I didn’t even recognize him just now!]

[Honestly, this is a bit offensive to the Streamer, right? The Necromancer Game isn’t some idol-chasing platform, and there’s no real benefit to signing anyway. Even if the Streamer refuses-holy crap, he signed!! I want one too, I want one! Scan me a copy, please, sob!]

[Lining up here. I’ve also come down with a sudden, incurable illness these days. I only ask for a signed poster from the Streamer. If you can scan the electronic version of that half-body poster along with it, I swear I’ll recover faster. I’ve DM’d with my offer, sis-please reply.]

Lu Li carefully wrote his name, stroke by stroke.

The Two-Headed Monster was extremely grateful. He carefully stowed the poster away. The eyes all over his heads swiveled, as if trying to find some way, within his power, to give Lu Li a bit of help.

“On you… on you…” The Two-Headed Monster searched anxiously, and finally found a few light-colored hairs at Lu Li’s cuff. “Cat hair! That’s the blessing from a B Grade Instance.”

His upright body grew taller and larger. All the eyes on his heads bulged wide open, and his voice turned vicious and terrifying. “This Game Instance has been rated A Grade. Excluding the 1 Player who has already passed the Initial Screening, there are 7 chances to survive left!”

“The Flesh Maze has been prepared for you. The first 7 Players to walk out of the Maze will be victorious. The remaining Players will be torn apart and devoured by the starving Maze.”

“Now, hurry and find your path to survival!”

After a bout of eerie, sinister laughter rumbled out of his chest cavity, the Two-Headed Monster turned back to Lu Li with his earlier gentleness and politely waved a hand over him.

Black Mist gathered and dispersed.

A brief dizziness came with the movement. When Lu Li’s vision cleared, he realized he was standing outside the Maze.

Facing directly toward the Maze’s exit.

–

Separated by just one wall, Luo Jia Bai heard the entire conversation, yet was still completely lost. “Another blessing! Where did Lu Li get cat hair on him? When we go into an Instance during our vacation time to experience it, we’re not supposed to be able to come into contact with any life inside the Instance at all. Mirella and I also…”
Luo Jia Bai suddenly fell silent and looked around. The Flesh Maze Wall that had shot up out of nowhere had even cut off Mirella, who’d been standing a little distance away from him.

Now, on this maze path where you couldn’t see a right way forward or back, there were only two people left standing.

Him and Gu Yu Chu.

“Gurgle-”

The quiet was shattered by the obvious sound of a hungry stomach. It came from the wall that rose and fell like it was breathing, and whoever it belonged to sounded like they hadn’t eaten in a long time.

As Luo Jia Bai stared, a dozen mouths slowly bulged out of the wall.

Drool ran down the surface, and scarlet tongues stretched out in his direction.

From all around came the overlapping cries of Players in pain.

“Ah-! Don’t climb the wall! There’s something wrong with it! I’m jumping down-catch me!”

“Give him Medicine! I exchanged for some-use mine first!”

“Watch out for the mouths on the wall! We can only walk inside the maze. Move! Is there a fork up ahead? Trade for a rope-type Item that can extend infinitely. We tie it on and split up-whoever finds the exit pulls the rope!”

Luo Jia Bai glanced at the ground and saw that the walls on both sides were closing in at a speed the naked eye could track. His scalp went numb. He grabbed Gu Yu Chu with a burst of strength and yanked him up off the ground.

“Run! Hurry!”

They quickly reached a fork.

Left and right.

Two roads exactly the same.

Which way?

When he and Gu Yu Chu both looked down the left-hand path, Luo Jia Bai suddenly saw something strange at the far end of it.

A white Rabbit was poking its head out of the wall, staring at him.

Their eyes met.

The Rabbit wiggled its butt, showed him a round little tail, then hopped sideways into the wall and vanished.

Luo Jia Bai asked Gu Yu Chu, “Did you see that?”

Gu Yu Chu was baffled. “See what?”

Luo Jia Bai swallowed. “The Rabbit.”

A Rabbit pointing the way.

Gu Yu Chu’s negative answer made his decision for him. Luo Jia Bai chose to trust his own eyes. “Left.”

At the next two forks, the Rabbit appeared again.

Following it, Luo Jia Bai turned left, then left again, then right-and at the next fork, he nearly ran straight into Mirella.

“Mirella!”

Luo Jia Bai was pleasantly surprised. “Looks like I really didn’t take the wrong way.”

Mirella also let out a breath when she saw him. “Found you.”

She pointed up at the Crow hovering in the air.

“From here on, we follow him.”

Fenny was flying over the top of the maze. It didn’t take him long to find the simplest, most direct path to the exit, and he had just been about to lead Mirella straight out when she shook her head and told him that ordinary Players could only rely on luck for this stage-they had to go find Luo Jia Bai first.

–

Lu Li was standing at the exit waiting.

He first saw a Player he didn’t recognize, then a small team of more unfamiliar faces.

The number of survival slots kept ticking down.

When there were only three left-

He finally saw three familiar figures.

Lu Li relaxed his clenched hands and walked toward them.

The number of survival slots instantly dropped to zero.

“Boom-!”

With a deafening crash, the maze slammed shut. Blood, steaming hot, erupted upward from the gaps, splashing high before raining back down, only to be “glug glug” swallowed completely by the Flesh Maze.

Gu Yu Chu glanced at the Neck Collar around Lu Li’s throat. He hesitated for a moment, then still spoke.

“On the first Game Night after we enter the Instance, wait for me by the door for a bit. I finished knitting a scarf and left it in the room. I’ll bring it to you then.”