Chapter 55

Bosi paused. “No, I’m not interested in the Necromancer Game.”

He had been forcibly pulled into the Necromancer Game because of Lu Li.

The whole thing was suspicious.

For now, this must be kept from any ghosts.

Black Bird asked again, “What were you asking me before the disconnection?”

Bosi replied, “Nothing. Just hand in the document that was rejected last time as soon as possible.”

–

The linen Prison Uniform was extremely thin, and the Shackles on his wrists were icy cold and biting.

Lu Li covered his wrists with his palms; only then did his numb, frozen skin begin to recover a little.

He surveyed the Prison.

It was built of brick, and could probably hold about sixty people.

Apart from a small Skylight above and the door they were brought in through, there was no other opening to the outside.

The Skylight was tiny; the Moonlight it let in seemed only to cover three to five people.

The Prison was dark and empty on all sides.

The thing there was most of was weeds.

Withered yellow weeds grew out from the cracks between bricks, looking half-dead.

Lu Li looked toward the corner of the Prison and said quietly, “There are drawings on the wall.”

Luo Jia Bai was surprised. He looked too, but could only see a patch of darkness. “It’s so far and dim-yet you can see it? Your eyesight must be better than 1.0, and not astigmatic, right?”

“What’s drawn on it?”

Lu Li narrowed his eyes. “Fish.”

A faint clacking came from the corner.

It sounded like something moving slowly, bones creaking and grinding together joint by joint.

Lu Li was about to take a closer look when footsteps sounded behind him.

Two people brushed past, both with arrogant expressions. The younger man shot him a fierce sideways glance.

The other man kept his head down, following close behind to match the younger man’s stride.

Lu Li was confused.

Had he offended someone again without realizing it?

“The younger one is Feng Shan, the other is Song Changrong.”

Luo Jia Bai, a frequent Forum user, gossiped with Lu Li, “I heard some unreliable rumors that the two of them knew each other before the game and even had a master-servant relationship.”

“A slave? Servant? Butler?” Luo Jia Bai guessed. “Had to serve someone when alive, and now after being dragged into the Necromancer Game, still has to serve the young master. Do you think he’s really willing?”

“Feng Shan even has a Master in the game. His Master is a Heavenly Ranking Player and gives him remote guidance in every Instance…” Luo Jia Bai’s voice suddenly stopped. “He’s gone to find Mirella.”

“If those two team up, they’ll definitely be the top two in this Instance.”

Lu Li looked thoughtful.

No wonder his Live Stream Room was only third in popularity-turns out the top two are them.

Luo Jia Bai suddenly spoke. “The thin man is about to die. Three minutes left.”

–

Mirella made a circuit around the Prison, running her hand along the wall. Then she bent down and brought her face, covered by a thick, opaque cloth, close to the already withered weeds in the corner.

Even though the cloth was thick and nontransparent, she seemed as if she could truly see.

She reached out a finger and touched the upright withered grass.

With a faint crack, the withered grass broke at the touch.

In just a few seconds, it crumbled into a handful of sand.

Feng Shan came over, trying to get close. “Did you find something?”

After failing to recruit her outside the Instance, now in the game he had no interest in the other Players flailing about, only wanting to draw Mirella into his team.

Feng Shan asked, “Have the weeds withered?”

Mirella’s voice was calm; when she spoke, it was like listening to a church chant. “Not just withered. Sandification.”

The weeds she had just touched were growing right at the edge of the Prison.

Looking toward where Lu Li was standing, Mirella said, “There’s a Skylight over there. The farther from the light, the more serious the sandification. Where the Moonlight hits, a few tufts of grass are still alive.”

Feng Shan’s eyes lit up. “Looks like the weeds are a clue.”
Mirella’s hand groped along the wall.

“There are protrusions on the wall. They’re speaking.”

“Do you hear anything?” Feng Shan listened for a long time, but couldn’t hear a thing.

Mirella ignored him. She pressed her palm to the painting on the wall, listening carefully.

“They’re saying: So thirsty.”

She immediately withdrew her hand and stepped back.

“They’re coming out.”

The Thin Man, who had just gulped down water, was still kneeling on the ground, coughing up blood. The more he coughed, the worse it got, and soon he began to vomit mouthfuls of fresh blood.

“Ugh-!”

Blood covered the Thin Man’s hands, and screams erupted all around him.

“What are these things? What’s coming out of the wall?!”

“Do C Grade Instances not even give a warning when monsters spawn anymore? C Grade Instances are supposed to be simple! When I went into a B Grade Instance before, every round had a very clear warning for monster spawns!”

“Damn, it’s not just one-how can there be so many? Run!!”

The Thin Man had no strength left to run. Something strange appeared beside his hands on the ground.

A Fish Bone, about half an arm long, its protruding bones as sharp as spikes.

The fish bone’s tail flicked.

Suddenly, it was even closer to him.

The Thin Man’s face turned deathly pale.

Alive.

The fish’s flesh and skin hadn’t been completely stripped away. Jagged white bone pierced through shattered, rotten meat and decaying skin; its lower jaw jutted forward, and within its open mouth grew a dozen rows of teeth reaching deep into its throat, while a thin, long tongue strained desperately outwards.

And it wasn’t just one fish bone.

Countless fish bones crawled out of the paintings on the wall, all targeting only one thing.

They floated through the air, “swimming” toward the Thin Man.

Fish bones intertwined menacingly, their spread fins flapping with force. The joints of their bones scraped together violently and excitedly, making a sharp “clack clack clack” sound.

The Thin Man trembled as he coughed blood, not understanding why all the monsters spawning suddenly were coming for him.

He fumbled to redeem items from the Shop.

Things looked dire, and in panic, he redeemed two life-saving items in a row.

The first fish bone that reached him plunged headlong into the still-steaming blood on the floor, rolling in it.

Its blackened, rotten flesh pressed repeatedly into the blood, its tongue sucking at the ground.

The blood on the fish bone’s rotten flesh was quickly absorbed.

The patch of bare bone shrank a little.

A centimeter of new rotten flesh gradually grew on the fish bone’s body.

The fish bones that followed already had little blood left to consume.

They turned.

All at once, they faced the terrified Thin Man, who was clutching his mouth and still unable to stop coughing blood.

They swam much faster than before, following the blood oozing between his fingers.

They burrowed into his mouth.

In the frenzied fish swarm, every fish bone tried to be first, pushing and shoving forward.

“Crack!”

A life-saving item shattered.

The Thin Man clutched his gaping mouth in agony and screamed, “Help-mmph! Ahh! My, my item! My throat!”

His neck swelled rapidly, his face flushed red, his eyes rolled back, and he could no longer form words.

Countless fish bones forced their way inside.

“Help! Help me-ahhh!”

“Crack!”

Another life-saving item shattered.

When his neck swelled to the breaking point-

The Thin Man’s body burst open.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Every player was spattered with a few drops.

The fish bones that received fresh blood and flesh wagged their tails in extreme excitement.

“What is going on?” Luo Jia Bai wiped the cold blood from his face, his scalp tingling. He couldn’t help but try to back away.

But remembering that the fish bones had crawled out from the paintings on the wall, he didn’t dare approach any side.

So, shivering, he edged a little closer to the ever-calm Lu Li.

“The fish swarm is looking for water.”

Lu Li said, “That little bit of water isn’t enough for them anymore.”