Chapter 196
Chapter 196
It was a path with countless forks.
Following her instincts, Mu Xin proceeded with extreme caution. Because she was being so careful, her pace was rather slow. She had no idea how much time had passed before she finally left that passage behind and truly entered this game world.
She immediately began to take stock of her surroundings.
She was at the entrance to the Stairs.
The decor around her leaned heavily toward a Chinese style, and the place was huge. She glanced back at the Stairs behind her, unable to determine what floor she was on. Then she swept her gaze over the level she had arrived at.
This floor was enormous.
Just in front of her, there were four rooms, and on the other side, another four or five. Between several of the rooms, there was even a large living room.
Mu Xin observed all of this as she crept forward carefully.
Right now, she was alone. She had to be as cautious as possible, and only after ensuring her own safety could she look for her teammates.
Following the handrail, she slowly made her way forward.
Before long, she entered the living room area. She had not taken more than a few steps when she realized someone was standing by the window. Almost without thinking, she immediately backed up several steps and hid herself behind the wall. Only then did she peek out the slightest bit to observe the situation by the window.
A man stood there. His figure was tall and slender. Mu Xin’s gaze gradually moved upward and landed on his profile.
It was Xia Zeqin.
Xia Zeqin was standing by the window, staring at something unknown. Only after a long while did he turn his head.
The corner of his eye swept lightly in Mu Xin’s direction, but he quickly withdrew his gaze and walked off toward the other side, as if he had not noticed her existence at all.
After recognizing Xia Zeqin, Mu Xin hesitated.
Naturally, she could not team up with Xia Zeqin. He was a dangerous person. If she wanted to stay safe, keeping away from him was the best option. But if she kept blindly avoiding him, how could she uncover the secret hidden on him? He would always be a ticking time bomb.
Mu Xin was deeply conflicted, unable to make a choice.
But seeing that Xia Zeqin was walking farther away and was about to leave her line of sight, Mu Xin gritted her teeth and chose to follow.
Fortune favored the bold. She would take this gamble just once!
Xia Zeqin continued forward.
He walked from the window by the living room to the window at the end of another corridor, then stopped there. And once he stopped, he remained there for nearly half an hour.
Mu Xin hid behind him, watching his behavior, her mind filled with nothing but questions.
Even if Xia Zeqin did not want to team up with them or search for them, he should still be looking for clues and trying to understand this world. Yet Xia Zeqin did nothing at all. He simply stood at the window and observed.
Who was he watching?
A bad feeling rose in Mu Xin’s heart.
Even so, she did not choose to leave.
During this time, Mu Xin witnessed the surrounding environment with her own eyes as it suddenly transformed from a clean villa into a dilapidated ruin.
Xia Zeqin did not seem surprised. He remained standing by the window.
After thinking it over, Mu Xin also chose to stay as she was.
For as long as Xia Zeqin watched, she secretly observed him from behind. Until-the appearance of two people broke the balance between them.
It was the two men newly matched into this world.
The two of them came from the other side of the corridor. They were far away at first and did not notice anything. Only after they approached and turned a corner did they see Xia Zeqin by the window.
Because the situation was unclear, the two men stopped, their gazes falling on Xia Zeqin as they sized him up.
Xia Zeqin let them stare. Smiling, he cast his gaze toward the place where Mu Xin was hiding and said, “There’s a girl over there. You can use her as your target.”
Mu Xin’s heart lurched when she heard this.
Sure enough, Xia Zeqin had discovered her long ago!
Mu Xin wasn’t particularly surprised by that. What she truly hadn’t expected was that Xia Zeqin had no intention of attacking her directly, and instead had deliberately stirred up the other two men’s thoughts.
However, the two men did not act right away.
They looked at Xia Zeqin suspiciously. “What are you trying to do?”
Xia Zeqin smiled. “I’m offering you information. You don’t want it?”
“Do you think we’re idiots?” one of the men said unhappily.
They still only had a vague understanding of this world. Even if they were going to attack their other companions, now was hardly the time. Besides, even if they really did want to kill someone, Xia Zeqin was guiding them for no apparent reason. They would have to suspect whether Xia Zeqin was doing it on purpose, and whether there might be a trap waiting ahead.
Xia Zeqin’s expression remained calm. He lifted his fingertip slightly, then pointed in Mu Xin’s direction.
Mu Xin only felt her body go abruptly rigid. Then her mind suddenly became heavy and muddled, and her whole body seemed to lose its strength. Before she could react and figure out what had happened, her foot stumbled, and she fell straight down against the wall.
The fall immediately made a sound, and her entire body toppled out from behind the wall, exposed directly in front of everyone.
“Character Skill. Only usable on Players,” Xia Zeqin said. He let out a contemptuous laugh. “Don’t you understand? This world is about slaughtering each other.”
Both men’s expressions tightened.
They were both Old Players. After seeing the skill’s setting, they had already formed a faint guess in their hearts, but having Xia Zeqin point it out so bluntly still made them freeze for a moment.
“It only lasts one minute. You don’t have much time to think,” Xia Zeqin said.
The two men exchanged a glance.
“Why are you helping us?” one of them asked.
Xia Zeqin had discovered that girl’s presence long ago and had even made a move against her. At a time like this, he could have attacked the girl himself. There was no reason for him to hand them the advantage.
Xia Zeqin smiled. “There are two of you, and only one of me. If I fight you head-on, I’ll definitely lose. I might as well do you a favor. Besides, I think you should have noticed the situation too. That group of them is together, and I’ve already been pushed out by them. I need teammates. You can take this as a little introductory gift from me if I want to join you.”
Hearing this, the men were somewhat persuaded by Xia Zeqin.
But they were still hesitant.
What if this was Xia Zeqin’s scheme?
“There isn’t much time left,” Xia Zeqin reminded them. Then he continued, “If you don’t trust me, I can leave right now. I won’t be able to pose any more danger to you. But if you achieve your goal, then the next time we meet, I hope you’ll consider my proposal.”
After saying that, Xia Zeqin turned and left, directly exposing his back to the two men.
One of them reached out, seemingly wanting to make a move, but the other stopped him and shook his head.
Xia Zeqin had managed to make it this far even after being excluded. He must have his own abilities. The other man’s behavior was strange. Although the reason he gave could barely be considered reasonable, this person was definitely not simple. Acting rashly would not benefit them.
In the brief moment of one moving and the other stopping him, Xia Zeqin had already walked far away.
He seemed completely unaware of everything that had happened behind him.
Seeing that Xia Zeqin had truly gone far, the two men exchanged another look and hurried toward Mu Xin.
Quite a bit of time had already passed. The skill effect on Mu Xin would disappear soon. Although she was only a girl and probably couldn’t escape anyway, they couldn’t afford to be careless.
Mu Xin watched the two men walk toward her and cursed Xia Zeqin to hell and back in her heart.
But even with danger right in front of her, she did not panic.