Chapter 43
The thick fog on the Second Floor dissipated, and a long table stood in the very center.
Five seats were arranged before the table.
A long, rectangular object was set atop the table.
The Clown, body intact, stood on the far side of the long table, wearing a headpiece with an exaggeratedly wide grin. Bowing, the Clown beckoned them to take their seats with one hand.
The Clown’s other hand was hidden behind its back.
Qi Mingda pushed Qiao Ren in last.
Qiao Ren whimpered softly, his body wavering between chills and fever, his head spinning dizzily. He lay on the wooden cart, eyelids drooping, his upper body twitching now and then.
The sound of a bell echoed from afar, and Zhu Yue’s words from just now kept reverberating in Qiao Ren’s mind:
-Sleep for a while.
Just sleep and you’ll be fine.
The Elevator closed behind them, merging seamlessly into the wall.
“The Elevator has disappeared,” Luo Jia Bai observed warily, scanning the area. “There’s no exit on this floor now.”
This also meant that they could no longer easily reach the First Floor.
When Lu Li sat down, he glanced up at Nuo Nuo.
Nuo Nuo’s face didn’t completely fill the ceiling this time-something was a little different.
On the previous three floors, her face had always followed the Players as they attempted to clear the Instance.
Now, her gaze fell gently upon the Clown.
Crackle, crackle-
The stillness was broken by faint noises.
“What’s that sound? Is something burning?” Zhu Yue, who was female, was flicking the bell on her Wristband, and was clearly annoyed at being interrupted.
“Don’t scare me. I don’t see anything on fire,” Luo Jia Bai replied, taking the seat to Lu Li’s left and pointing at the thing on the table. “It’s probably that thing making noise.”
Lu Li looked up.
The rectangular object was a Recorder, but there was no tape inside-it was empty.
In front of it were ten square slots, grouped in pairs and linked in a line.
The sound just now didn’t seem to come from the Recorder itself. Instead, it seemed to be coming from outside-the entire room, the whole Second Floor, from the room where Nuo Nuo resided. Layer by layer, the feeling of unease deepened.
The Clown’s bowed posture did not change, but its face slowly turned to look at the two men who were still dawdling.
Qiao Ren’s lower body was missing; only half his body remained, barely clinging to life, sprawled across the wooden cart.
“Hurry up!” Qi Mingda barked after taking his seat, kicking the wooden cart so that Qiao Ren would climb up by himself.
He was repulsed by Qiao Ren’s blood-soaked state; just pushing the cart and bringing him out had already been more than enough.
The Clown lifted its right hand, which had been hidden behind its back.
It was gripping a sharp Axe.
Nuo Nuo followed the motion with a stern gaze, raising her voice in warning.
“Even though it’s Early Morning and the guests have just woken up and may feel restless, please hurry back to your seats!”
“Otherwise, you will be punished!”
“Tsk, tsk,” Zhu Yue fanned the flames. “The Clown is coming over-are you and Qiao Ren about to be punished together?”
The Clown’s raised Axe was already poised above the two of them.
Qi Mingda cursed under his breath, swallowing his disgust as he lifted the bloodied Qiao Ren, about to place him on a chair.
But Qiao Ren’s body convulsed. Soaked in sweat, his unfocused eyes snapped open. Clutched against his chest, he exchanged for a Dagger with his Wristband.
He had just awakened from a nightmare-in it, Qi Mingda suddenly snapped and hacked off his remaining two limbs. The pain had felt horrifyingly real.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Qi Mingda’s furious, twisted face.
Qiao Ren couldn’t tell dream from reality. He snatched up the Dagger in his hand and stabbed it straight into Qi Mingda’s eye.
“Aah! Qiao Ren! Are you fucking crazy?!” Qi Mingda suddenly let go, dropping Qiao Ren to the ground and clutching his left eye as blood gushed out, trembling.
“I have to live! If I get out alive, I’ll be number one in this Instance!” He stabbed frantically at his Wristband. “Item, Item… damn it, I don’t have enough Points!”
He had stacked too many Life-Saving Items.
Now, the Points needed to exchange for another one had become terrifyingly high-he simply couldn’t afford it.
“You tried to kill me first! Qi Mingda, I’ve followed you through so many Instances and you dare to trick me!” Qiao Ren screamed, “You said you’d save me! Go to hell!”
He thought Qi Mingda had attacked him, so the Dagger he carried for self-defense finally came into play.
The back of his head hit the ground hard, following the Dagger.
The Dagger only stopped when it struck the leg of Lu Li’s chair.
The Clown’s Axe came down next.
“Thud!”
With one swing, the Axe split Qiao Ren’s desktop in two.
“Thud!”
Another chop landed squarely on Qiao Ren’s brow.
Qiao Ren’s Corpse was cut cleanly into two symmetrical halves.
Blood seeped across the floor, spreading to the feet of the four people.
“So imperfect. You don’t deserve to be my Doll,” Nuo Nuo muttered with a pout. “Ugly! Really too ugly!”
A giant hand reached into the room.
Nuo Nuo loosened her tightly clenched fist.
Sand began pouring steadily from between her fingers, covering Qiao Ren’s Corpse and the broken desktop, piling them up into a small triangular mound.
Luo Jia Bai praised, “The Clown really is a messenger of justice-what a satisfying swing of the Axe.”
Qi Mingda’s eyes and face had both been pierced. Dizzy, he kept smearing medicine he bought with cheap Points onto his wounds, and begged Luo Jia Bai, who was sitting closest, “Lend me some Points! I’ll pay you back as soon as I get them! Just lend me some! Hurry!”
Luo Jia Bai shuddered at his bloody face, then turned and saw Lu Li sitting calm and composed, instantly feeling reassured.
Back when he first entered the Instance, he had told himself to steer clear of Qi Mingda’s edge, but now he had the courage to say no.
Luo Jia Bai pushed him away and said, “Uncle, are you nuts? You think we’re the good guys or something?”
He rapped his Evil Spirit Bracelet sharply, his tone full of sarcasm.
“I’m third in the Live Stream Room by Points. You’re second, right? Honestly, I wish you’d die sooner so I can move up!”
Qi Mingda trembled all over with rage. “Bullshit! I’m first! I only lost a little popularity by accident, that’s all-I’ll surpass Lu Li in no time!”
Lu Li had been quietly watching the Clown’s movements the whole time.
The Clown put away the Axe, walked back to the middle position opposite the table, and stood upright.
One hand rested on the Recorder and stayed still.
Lu Li frowned slightly. “Alright, enough arguing.”
Qi Mingda pressed his wound with one hand, too agitated to listen, and slapped the table with the other to hurry them, “Lu Li! Zhu Yue! What about you? You both have so many Points, what’s the harm in lending me a few?”
Zhu Yue reached up to smooth her hair and flashed the silver bell on her wrist at Qi Mingda. “No.”
“Crackle, crackle-”
Once again, the sound of something burning came from outside the room, but it was so faint that it was quickly drowned out by Qi Mingda’s shouting.
Lu Li turned his ear to listen carefully, but heard nothing.
He picked up the Dagger from the floor, still stained with fresh blood, and-without a hint of emotion-stabbed it into the hand Qi Mingda was making noise with.
The sharp blade pierced right through the back of the hand.
Lu Li said, “I said, be quiet.”
“Can you hear now?”
Luo Jia Bai slowly put down his hands from his ears, stunned. “You-you’re a messenger of justice too.”
Lu Li replied politely, “Thank you.”
Looking into those cold, emotionless silver-gray eyes, Qi Mingda felt a chill run from the top of his head all the way down to his toes.
Being watched by Lu Li, panic rose from deep within his soul and even his body started to tremble.
It felt like a snake.
It was as if there was a venomous snake behind Lu Li as well, baring its cold fangs.
A newcomer… How could a rookie give off such a terrifying vibe… It had to be his imagination!
Qi Mingda clumsily pulled out the Dagger and slumped heavily back into his chair.
He tilted his head up to stare at the ceiling, panting hard, and even his one good eye began to feel heavy.
He just wanted to sleep.
–
Lu Li said to the Clown, “You can start your game now.”
The Clown gave him a slight nod, reached out a hand, and pointed to the square grid on the far left, the one closest to the group.
Then the Clown stood perfectly still.
“What does that mean?” Luo Jia Bai ignored the groaning Qi Mingda beside him and started thinking, “Are we supposed to put something into the grid?”