Chapter 175
Chapter 175
Once everyone left, the secret base was no longer secret.
Qiao Yu watched the Pen Spirit stroll inside as if she owned the place, then told Luo Yunmeng and Kong Xianya, “You two sleep in the courtyard.”
He pointed at Chinnawat and Lucia. “You two as well!”
The two international friends wore expressions that said they “didn’t understand.” Luo Yunmeng crouched in the corner pretending to be a mushroom, while Kong Xianya tried appealing to Qiao Yu’s familial affection. “Don’t! The courtyard isn’t safe. Look how creepy it is outside. I’m scared.”
“What the hell does that have to do with me?”
How could a mouth at thirty-seven degrees speak such freezing words?
Wounded by Qiao Yu’s indifference, Kong Xianya clutched her chest and pleaded, “Brother Qiao, don’t drive me away. Please take me in.”
“Men and women need proper boundaries. Get lost.”
“We don’t need to cross any boundaries. I only need to stay close to you.”
“…Scram. I like men.”
Kong Xianya brightened. “What a coincidence! I like men too. Look how much we have in common…”
Before she could finish chattering, a sinister gaze landed on her.
Her blackhearted boss flicked out the silver chain wound around his wrist and snorted. “Do you think I’m dead?”
Kong Xianya fell silent.
Elsewhere, the Pen Spirit leaned bonelessly against a tree trunk and glanced sideways at the four people who had been driven out. She leisurely waved her white feather fan.
The breeze lifted a lock of hair beside her ear and sent it drifting slowly across her face. Yet the greatest attraction remained the sexy legs exposed by the high slits of her cheongsam-smooth, pale, and divinely sculpted.
Everyone shuddered. Only then did they realize the Pen Spirit had noticed them sneaking looks. The tragically beautiful scene abruptly became sinister and terrifying as her aura changed.
They hurriedly looked away and stood obediently against the wall like well-behaved children.
None dared accidentally offend her.
Only then did the Pen Spirit withdraw her sharp presence. Raising a long arm, she pointed at Luo Yunmeng. “Come massage my shoulders.”
Luo Yunmeng pointed at herself and instinctively asked, “Why?”
The Pen Spirit narrowed her eyes. “You’ve forgotten I saved your life already?”
Luo Yunmeng was speechless.
Thanks for the reminder. She genuinely had forgotten. The Pen Spirit might have saved her, but she had nearly sacrificed her too.
Luo Yunmeng dared not object.
She walked behind the Pen Spirit with her head lowered like a quail and resigned herself to becoming a masseuse.
At the same time, she complained inwardly that she seemed to have far too many side jobs.
She was studying for a doctorate while working as a Daoist, serving as Qiao Yu’s personal Doraemon, and now moonlighting as the Pen Spirit’s masseuse.
Living was truly humiliating…
“Use more force. Haven’t you eaten?”
She was getting a free massage and still had so many complaints!
Luo Yunmeng thought it but filled her face with a sincere, flattering smile. “Big Sister Pen Spirit, is this pressure all right?”
The Pen Spirit closed her eyes. Her fan moved more and more slowly as she hummed. “Passable.”
Luo Yunmeng secretly rolled her eyes but did not dare slack off.
The night hurried by. Qiao Yu stretched as he walked outside and crouched beside the collapsed wall to wash, just as he had as a child.
Naturally, he used the water Chinnawat had risked his life to bring back.
While brushing his teeth, Qiao Yu thought that the little ladyboy was actually kindhearted. Yesterday, Qiao Yu had locked him outside to keep him from interrupting Shang Yan’s medicine, yet Chinnawat had not tried to argue.
Was it because Chinnawat did not want to argue? Obviously not.
The big shot was simply too formidable.
He cleared Instances through sheer courage and did all the work by summoning malicious ghosts. As for that mouth… Chinnawat could not win an argument with him, and his only means of survival was his legs.
Why the hell would he argue? Wasn’t it better to stay quietly beside the big shot and wait to be carried out of the Instance?
Once everyone finished washing and went to the cafeteria, they sensed something wrong the instant they entered.
It was not that everyone was isolating and opposing them. A conflict had arisen between the streamers and the orphanage’s little ghosts.
A company needed a general manager to take charge. A group of children needed a leader too-the legendary king of the kids. Within a small clique, this figure’s word was law, and every decision received the others’ support.
The leader created rules to display his authority, then divided everyone into classes so most followers could gain a pathetic sense of… superiority?
More or less. Only then could they prove they lived well. They might not compare with those above them, but at least they surpassed… those below.
Qiao Beibei held precisely that role here.
He now stood before the streamers, pointed at the lowest scorer, and announced imperiously, “Your identity is now… slave.”
The selected streamer’s face darkened. He was furious but dared not speak, his eyes full of stubborn humiliation.
Qiao Yu looked away and shrugged.
How unoriginal. They never tired of using the slave game to emphasize their own nobility.
“Now go bring us our food!” Qiao Beibei stared down his nose, his smile growing nastier. “Remember, food for ev-er-y-one.”
Serving everyone meant the streamer would have no time to eat.
And the little ghosts had already stolen all his food.
He tried reasoning with Qiao Beibei. “That’s too much. I can’t finish it all.”
Qiao Beibei lifted his chin and narrowed his eyes. “Are you refusing me?”
The streamer said nothing, but his silence answered clearly enough.
A brief system tone sounded in his mind.
[Ding! Chen Who Can Pluck Stars lost 20 points. Current score: 49.]
He sucked in a cold breath, his legs weakening until he nearly fell. He could not understand why so many points had been deducted at once.
Qiao Yu sat down nearby with his tray. As though hearing the man’s thoughts, he murmured, “Because they need to kill a chicken to warn the monkeys. The real game… is only beginning now.”
As his barely audible voice faded, terrified screams erupted from the other side of the cafeteria. The thick smell of blood slowly spread. The sounds alone made what had happened obvious.
Anyone below 50 points would be eaten.
Shang Yan made a questioning sound, having failed to hear him.
Qiao Yu tapped Shang Yan’s tray with his chopsticks and said simply, “Eat. Don’t meddle in other people’s business.”
It was a fine plan, but other people’s business came looking for him.
The female streamer who had mocked Lucia for hiding food suddenly ran over and chose Qiao Yu as her target. “Save me, save me…”
The previous lowest-scoring streamer had been eaten. Now she had the lowest score.
She did not want to become a slave. More accurately, she was terrified of losing points for no reason and being eaten.
The people before her clearly knew how to escape the score’s control…
Qiao Yu paused and instinctively looked toward Qiao Beibei.
The boy had no intention of stopping the female streamer. He even seemed delighted. Had they staged this entire scene just to see how Qiao Yu would react?
Qiao Yu sneered inwardly. He had changed, but only into a normal person. He had not developed the urge to become a saint.
When he looked at the woman again, his eyes remained completely unmoved. “We have no connection. Why should I save you?”
The female streamer froze. “I’m scared. Please… Please tell me how to escape the score’s control. I’ll die. I’ll really die!”
The more she spoke, the more desperate she became. Tears even appeared in her eyes as she reached for Qiao Yu’s arm.
Qiao Yu leaned back and stared at her without expression. His thin lips pressed together. “Why the fuck should I care? Everyone dies eventually. You merely found a shortcut. What’s there to fear?”
Besides… even if there was a method, it was already too late to tell her.