chapter 4

Outside the wall, Fatty let out a shrill, piercing scream.

It didn’t sound like he was scared by any key clue being broadcast.

Amidst the screams came frenzied barking. “Dog! There’s a dog! Help-ahhh! Why does this dog only have a head? Don’t bite me! Please, don’t bite me!”

Only then did Nuo Nuo mechanically turn her head, looking down, her shoulders moving as if she were stroking something.

She smiled,

“Naughty toys have to be dealt with. Buck, good dog.”

After the barking stopped, there came the sounds of tearing and satisfied snuffling.

Lu Li looked up, peering outside through the roof that had been lifted away.

It seemed like there was an even bigger room outside.

In the room, besides Nuo Nuo, there was also a dog.

The house they were in was a Castle built by Nuo Nuo-a playground fortress.

The screaming stopped completely.

Fatty was dead.

“Crunch, crunch-”

Everyone could clearly hear the dog swallowing the last of the flesh, then gnawing the bones back and forth with its teeth, grinding them in a way so sharp it made everyone’s skin crawl.

Lu Li suddenly became interested and asked Luo Jia Bai, “Fatty was going to die, did you know in advance?”

Just now, Luo Jia Bai’s confident tone made it seem like he knew everything.

“Of course.”

This time, being asked directly by Lu Li, Luo Jia Bai didn’t rush to answer.

He folded his arms, waiting leisurely for Lu Li to ask how he knew-so he could naturally invite Lu Li to team up.

It was perfect.

Luo Jia Bai waited and waited, but Lu Li said nothing more.

Now it was his turn to get anxious. “And then? Aren’t you going to keep asking?”

Lu Li looked confused. “And then what?”

“Oh, I do have a question.” He noticed both of Luo Jia Bai’s arms were wrapped in bandages. “You don’t have any wounds, so why are you pretending with all those bandages?”

Luo Jia Bai felt the awkward atmosphere linger around him for a long time.

He recalled how Fatty had been rendered speechless earlier and felt he was at least a bit better off.

“That’s a secret.”

Lu Li calmly stopped asking, nodding slightly. “You sure have a lot of secrets.”

Realizing Lu Li really would stop just like that, Luo Jia Bai clenched and unclenched his fists, pushed up his glasses, and finally couldn’t help but ask, “In your original world, you must have been the type who never got PUA’d by your boss, right?”

“PUA?” Lu Li said. “I don’t understand.”

Luo Jia Bai sighed.

“You want to be a lone wolf, but what if the other Players team up?”

“See those two over there who keep looking at you? The really burly one is Qi Mingda, an old Player who’s a regular in the D Grade Instance of the newbie village, specializing in scamming and tricking newcomers. The short guy with him is his sidekick, Qiao Ren. The two of them always team up.”

Lu Li followed his gaze and met the two’s eyes. The other side quickly looked away, awkwardly.

His attention was soon drawn to something new.

High up on the wall hung a square object covered with a white cloth.

Because it was so high, Players kept passing by underneath, but no one climbed up to see what it was.

A sudden gust of wind lifted the white cloth.

Lu Li saw it clearly-it was a Family Portrait in a Photo Frame.

In the center of the photo stood a girl.

Judging by her clothes and hairstyle, it was Nuo Nuo.

She clasped her hands happily at her chest.

She was surrounded by her father and mother, with a black dog lying at her feet.

What was strange was that the mother in the photo had no head, and the father had no lower body.

As soon as Lu Li finished looking, the white cloth fell back down. His Wristband grew hot, and new information refreshed.

[Instance Game Name: Eternal Lost Paradise]
[Item: 1]

[Clue: 1]

The clue was found by Fatty, but the item…

Lu Li stared at the small ‘1’ behind the item, lost in thought. Then he looked up at the veteran Players who were indifferent to Fatty’s death.

Everyone was still knocking around, searching for Items and clues everywhere.

He had only stared at the Family Portrait for a short while.

How did he trigger the Key Item?

–

Nuo Nuo’s hand reached in again, this time taking away a chair from the edge of the Round Table.

She looked regretfully at the nine remaining chairs, gently clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention, and said, “Now that the little episode is over, let’s officially start the game.”

Nuo Nuo pushed everyone into their seats.

She rubbed the Players’ warm cheeks with her thumb, as if caressing pieces of art, utterly delighted.

“Each one is so beautiful. Who should I keep to stay with me?”

Nine people sat around the Round Table.

Besides Lu Li, there were two newcomers, one male and one female.

The two hadn’t figured out what was going on, their faces unable to hide their terror.

Unlike Lu Li, they couldn’t quickly integrate into the Game Instance.

They had witnessed ninety people die instantly in the hall, entered the game with no one answering their questions, and had seen firsthand the tragic consequences of failing to clear the Instance.

The overwhelming panic made the woman cover her face and cry. She pounded the table and shouted at the ceiling, “Can I quit? I don’t want to play anymore, I’m a newcomer!”

“Yu Tong, stop! Once the game starts, you can’t quit.” The two newcomers had just banded together and gotten acquainted. Seeing the woman really stand up to leave, the man hurried to stop her.

Yu Tong had made up her mind.

“I don’t know how I got into this game. If you want to play, stay by yourself! You people are crazy!”

Qi Mingda deliberately chose the seat to Lu Li’s left and sat close to him.

He sneered at the scene, “Naive. Just wait for the punishment.”

“I really don’t want to play! Let me out, please, ah-!”

Yu Tong suddenly screamed and collapsed to the floor, convulsing and clutching her wrist.

Her Wristband crackled with sparks.

Soon, the air was filled with the stench of burnt flesh.

Yu Tong’s Arm around the Wristband was charred black, and as she wailed in agony, her flesh peeled off in strips.

“It hurts!” Her screams made everyone’s scalp tingle, and she shrieked in submission, “I’ll play!”

The fire on the Wristband went out.

Yu Tong was drenched in cold sweat, clutching her nearly ruined Arm, and shakily sat back down on Lu Li’s right, a layer of despair clouding her face.

Her lips kept trembling from the pain, her mind barely clear, only able to repeat, “I’ll play… I won’t quit, I won’t quit…”

Qi Mingda noticed that Lu Li’s expression hadn’t changed at all throughout, and said with interest, “Are you really a newcomer? Why aren’t you scared?”

Lu Li: “Is this little injury something to be afraid of?”

“You’re really bold, I like that.” Qi Mingda looked at him admiringly, grinning to reveal yellow teeth. “I’m Qi Mingda. I saw you refused that Bandaged Man’s invitation to team up. Why not join me instead? I’m much better than him.”

Lu Li gave the same reply, “No cooperation.”

Qi Mingda’s smile froze. His gaze lingered on Lu Li’s serpentine Wristband, shifting several times, but he still held his temper and said, “You’re really capable. Stick with me and you’ll have more Points than you can spend.”

Lu Li parted his lips slightly.

Qi Mingda thought he was about to agree, but Lu Li simply placed his index finger gently on his lips.

“Shh.”