Chapter 18: The Returner on a Snowy Night (12)
While Mr. Crow was stomping and cursing in a furious rage, Jin Cheng sneezed in the backyard of the lodge. He rubbed his nose and looked up at the sky, figuring some bastard had to be badmouthing him again.
Who could it be?
As an elite from Zone A, Jin Cheng was well versed in the system’s patterns. One either played it straight with deductions, discovering the truth before Li Yingjun slaughtered all the players (at which point Li Yingjun’s strength would be greatly reduced), or went the brute-force route, crushing everything with overwhelming power.
Skills or brains: you had to possess at least one.
Yet the current situation was decidedly off. Li Yingjun’s power had indeed been diminished, and he was on the brink of death, yet his axe was nowhere to be found. That was most likely Mr. Crow’s handiwork.
In other words, the Li Yingjun before them was no longer Yingjun. Despite all their precautions, the boss had switched bodies after all, in a manner bordering on cheating.
That was truly annoying.
So, Jin Cheng killed Li Yingjun with a single arrow.
Qian Wei and Zhao Ping had not figured it out yet, feeling thrilled to see Li Yingjun finally dead. But when the announcement of clearing the instance failed to arrive, the two finally realized something was amiss, both turning to look at Jin Cheng.
Jin Cheng wasted no words. “To the front.”
The two groups converged before the sea of fire.
Tang Cuo glanced back. “Dead?”
Jin Cheng crossed his arms. “Dead.”
Tang Cuo: “Two people left: Xiaoyuan and Qu Li. Which one do you guess?”
Jin Cheng: “Guessing back and forth is too tedious. Better to kill them both.”
Had Wen Xiaoming been here, he surely would have jumped out of his skin upon hearing this. That was just how their boss was. Other people were mere vandals at best, but he was a demolitionist. Even if NPCs respawned upon death without lasting consequence, playing like this was simply outrageous.
Playing like this, how was the system supposed to handle it?
Tang Cuo neither agreed nor disagreed.
Jin Cheng shrugged. “Whoever holds the axe is Yingjun. Xiaoyuan entered the woods most likely to look for Qu Li, which makes Qu Li Yingjun. But since she came in with your batch, can you bring yourself to do it?”
Tang Cuo countered, “Do you think I’m capable of killing her?”
That was a good question.
Mr. Crow had meddled, and the newly promoted boss would certainly be tough to fight. Given Tang Cuo’s current condition, he truly might not be able to pull it off.
Yet if Tang Cuo could not kill, he could set fires.
“An Ning, make the wind stronger,” he said.
“Even stronger?” An Ning wiped away sweat, her cheeks flushed bright pink from the buffeting heat.
“Stronger.”
“Alright.”
Gritting her teeth, An Ning finally poured in every ounce of strength, releasing her wind without holding back. In truth, her wind ability had only made her body lighter and swifter so far; applying it in actual combat was still unfamiliar to her. Fortunately, fanning flames required no technique whatsoever, just blasting power forward indiscriminately.
Boom. The waves of heat surged violently again, crashing against the forest like rolling tides.
Crimson flames, blackened woods: the clash of red and black stood out brilliantly against the snow-white expanse of the world.
Shielding Peng Mingfan, Qian Wei hastily backed away to avoid being scorched by the inferno. His gaze toward Jin Cheng and Tang Cuo grew increasingly reverent. Why did these two big bosses look so much like villains?
One committed murder while the other committed arson. The Li Yingjun who had died in the backyard almost looked like a fallen hero rising in vengeance for the incinerated mountain forest, only to meet a tragic end beneath a villain’s arrow.
Then what were they?
Looking around, Qian Wei finally pinpointed his role: the cannon-fodder lackey of the villains.
What a miserable fate. Qian Wei clutched his sword with heartache. Hero or villain aside, his sword could not take any more damage. Equipment in Zone F could hardly endure repairs, and the maintenance fees were exorbitant, as anyone who paid them well knew.
Yet when the big boss gave orders, how could a lackey dare disobey?
Jin Cheng: “Qian Wei, come back to the backyard with me.”
Qian Wei: “Go back for what?”
Jin Cheng smiled. “The rabbit is about to dash out. We’re going to wait by the stump. Looking at your blade, it seems exceptionally well-suited for slaughtering rabbits.”
Qian Wei: “…”
A quarter of an hour later, the fire had engulfed more than half the forest. Twisted black branches collapsed one after another in the flames. That peculiar fragrance, mixed with the smell of smoke, drifted above the mountain woods, growing ever richer.
Acrobatically perched on the roof of the youth hostel.
Wearing Jin Cheng’s mask and holding Jin Cheng’s bow, Qian Wei struck a dramatic pose against the wind, snow, and heat, experiencing an unprecedented grief in his heart:
There truly was a difference between a lackey and a big boss.
The boss’s bow was terribly heavy in his hands, yet the boss’s mask was actually smaller than his face!
This was so unfair!
Why should a mere lackey like him stand here enduring such humiliation? Besides, he had not come to slaughter rabbits at all; he was the very stump waiting for the rabbit to crash into!
And where was the big boss himself?
Qian Wei glanced behind him. On the sloping roof, Jin Cheng had both hands pillowed behind his head, lying casually on the side facing the front entrance, looking utterly carefree.
“Big Boss, do you really think this can fool the boss?” Qian Wei felt the boss wasn’t blind.
“Probably not,” Jin Cheng drawled leisurely.
“Then why are we still…???”
“Just to mess with her for kicks.”
That worked too?
Qian Wei could not fathom the boss’s train of thought at all, but since the man showed no sign of changing his mind, Qian Wei could only grit his teeth and push through. A few minutes later, movement finally stirred in the woods.
The commotion was so massive that the mask on Qian Wei’s face nearly slipped off.
Qu Li was riding a bear!
She had ridden out on a black bear!
And she was holding an axe!
Where did this iron-blooded warrior woman come from!
Holy mother of God!
Roar! The black bear bellowed, but the roar inside Qian Wei’s heart was ten thousand times louder. Shivering in his boots, he sought help from the boss out of the corner of his eye. At some unknown point, another mask had appeared on the boss’s face, who told him, “Don’t move.”
With that, Jin Cheng produced a small red flag and planted it into the gaps between the roof tiles. As the wind blew, the red flag fluttered. Falling into the black bear’s sight, its eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
It lunged toward the roof recklessly. Unable to fly, it slammed violently into the exterior wall, cracking the masonry and shaking the entire hostel to its core.
Only now did Qian Wei understand what “don’t move” meant. But this bear was far too massive; standing upright, it reached the height of the second floor. A few more collisions and the building would collapse.
Was this little flag some sort of taunt skill!
Before thought could catch up with action, Jin Cheng drew Qian Wei’s sword and leaped down from the roof. Gripping the hilt with both hands, he unleashed sword qi mid-fall, hacking down at the bear’s shoulder.
It was silver sword qi, like moonlight, a color Qian Wei had never witnessed in Zone F.
Clang! The longsword bit three inches into the bear’s shoulder before being parried by Qu Li’s axe.
Jin Cheng pulled his blade back in time, trading three lightning-fast clashes with Qu Li atop the bear’s back. A flurry of metallic rings sounded one after another, yet neither gained the upper hand.
Qu Li was indeed formidable; she was an NPC now, no longer a player. Her eyes held the same hatred and venom as Li Yingjun’s, entirely devoid of her former self.
The little taunt flag seemed useless on her.
Jin Cheng shook his hand, flourishing the blade into a neat flower. The display widened Qian Wei’s eyes once more; it was truly hard to imagine what breed of big boss this man was, knowing swordsmanship on top of everything else.
At that moment, the group of four from the front entrance rushed over after hearing the commotion. Though Zhao Ping and An Ning showed signs of exhaustion, they moved forward decisively to help. But Tang Cuo held them back. “Don’t end up alone.”
Peng Mingfan grew vigilant immediately. “You mean…”
Tang Cuo did not reply, and Peng Mingfan left the second half of his sentence unsaid, though both understood clearly. A chaotic brawl was chaotic for a reason. Without paying close attention, someone being replaced was entirely possible.
Besides, nobody had confirmed that the one holding the axe right now was the real Yingjun.
Bang! Over there, Jin Cheng finally knocked Qu Li down to the ground, cratering the snow-covered soil. Yet she sustained virtually no injury, scrambling right back up.
Such physical defense was terrifying.
The black bear, however, was still stubbornly trying to climb onto the roof. Its eyes were fixed solely on the red flag fluttering in the wind, completely ignoring Qian Wei standing right behind it.
Right at that moment, a disheveled, ash-stained Xiaoyuan stumbled out of the forest. She leaned against a tree trunk, panting heavily and coughing as if choked by smoke.
Everyone’s eyes were drawn to her, but before they could react, a deafening rumble sounded. The black bear finally brought down the lodge. Plumes of dust and falling snow mingled together, blanketing everything, while smoke drifted out from the forest, obscuring everyone’s vision in an instant.
Not good!
Tang Cuo abruptly turned toward Qian Wei, only to see that the person in the ruins who was supposed to be Qian Wei had suddenly become Jin Cheng, holding the longsword up to parry Qu Li’s axe.
Qu Li looked stunned, her vicious expression wiped away.
“How could…”
Bang!
Jin Cheng kicked Qu Li away, then shot forward like an arrow, driving his sword into her chest. In the nick of time, Qu Li twisted aside, barely shielding her heart.
Furious, she swung her axe. Despite such severe wounds, she managed to swing it with ferocious whistling force, nearly shaving off the top of Jin Cheng’s head.
At this moment, Qian Wei stood dazed where Jin Cheng had originally been. Taking off the mask, he saw two small characters engraved on the bottom right of the interior: Shadow Swap.
Beneath those characters was an even smaller line: Powered by 10086.
Suddenly struck with inspiration, he understood everything. Regardless of what 10086 had to do with China Mobile, he really was just a decoy stump. Jin Cheng had purposely positioned him in such an obvious spot and made him wear the mask, all to swap places at the critical moment.
What a crude trick. It openly announced from the start that Qian Wei was a fake, brimming with mockery, yet the boss had fallen for it anyway.
“Does being tricked feel good?” Jin Cheng knocked Qu Li to the ground again, her body skidding several meters until crashing into the black bear. Without waiting for her response, he thrust his sword down. This made Qian Wei realize that the boss had countless ways to win, but perhaps simply wanted to trick the other side for the fun of it.
Swapping shadows and positions: was that not remarkably similar to Yingjun’s identity swaps?
Qu Li coughed up blood, her eyes locked onto him in death, unable to speak. Jin Cheng pulled the sword out with a smile. Qu Li was dead, and dead silence enveloped the area.
Yet the broadcast announcement still failed to chime.
Qian Wei was on the verge of madness. “Is Yingjun still not dead?!”
The others wore grave expressions. Back and forth, back and forth, Yingjun had died countless times, pushing their nerves to the limit. If not even Qu Li with the axe was Yingjun, who else could it be?
Xiaoyuan?
Everyone’s eyes snapped onto Xiaoyuan. Her expression stiffened, and she shook her head frantically. “It’s not me, it really isn’t! What do you want to do…”
The more she protested, the more suspicious she seemed. But was it really her? Or had Yingjun quietly switched bodies during the moment everyone’s vision was obscured?
Was that person among them?
Overwhelming suspicion inevitably took root in their hearts. Sensible or not, logical or not, the current situation made calm reasoning nearly impossible.
Peng Mingfan: “Everyone, don’t act rashly!”
No one dared move.
Whoever moved was suspicious.
Yet Tang Cuo moved.
He walked forward, casting a deep downward glance at Qu Li, then turned his gaze toward the unconscious black bear. The bear had been knocked out after bringing down the hostel, its massive form sprawled on the ground, gruesome wounds oozing blood across its body.
He raised the axe in his hands and brought it slicing down against its neck!
Ding!
Player has killed Yingjun, successfully completing the Blizzard Mountain Villa mission: “Returner on a Snowy Night”!
Now calculating rewards.
The entire backyard fell dead silent once more. Peng Mingfan blinked, his gaze darting between the black bear and Qu Li’s corpse. He finally understood: perhaps the final swap had occurred the moment Qu Li crashed into the bear.
Jin Cheng’s blade had struck Qu Li.
What Tang Cuo had killed was Yingjun.
Who could have imagined that Yingjun would end up being a bear?
Humans and bears could swap places; how utterly shameless. No wonder Qu Li had ridden out on a bear; she had probably planned this from the start. Had Tang Cuo not reacted so swiftly, they would have been plunged into endless suspicion and might have even slaughtered one another.
Silence: except for silence, there was only silence. Sitting on the ground as if drained of all strength, their emotions were mixed.
This mission was truly a burden beyond what Zone F players could bear. Without Jin Cheng, they would not have stood a chance against the boss. Yet thinking about it now, total party wipes were common in Zone F instances, whereas a mission this grueling had claimed only two lives.
A miracle.
Pushing up his glasses, Peng Mingfan felt a cold sweat on his back despite his relief. He realized he had been far too confident before: his intellect was not sharp enough, nor was his combat ability.
Zhao Ping inevitably thought of Li Shuangshuang. Timid as she was and unable to help much, she never caused trouble for others, which was why Zhao Ping had always kept her by his side. He could not help wondering whether the struggle in Li Shuangshuang’s eyes before she went to the restroom that day meant she had wanted to change, to make herself stronger.
At this thought, Zhao Ping looked up toward the raging wildfire across the mountain, his gaze distant.
Seeing Zhao Ping like this, Qian Wei patted his shoulder with feigned maturity, while the others remained quiet. In Yong Ye City, partings were far more frequent than reunions.
Being able to leave this instance alive was already tremendous fortune.
Tang Cuo and Jin Cheng were also watching the wildfire, though neither wore a sentimental expression from beginning to end.
Suddenly, Tang Cuo asked, “You said players who fail missions stay in the instance to clear karma. What about those buried in the woods?”
Jin Cheng stared at him for a long time without speaking, as if trying to read something from his face.
Tang Cuo let him look, meeting his gaze directly and openly, until Jin Cheng chuckled. “Remember what I said when I first met you? You’re actually quite kind. They should thank you. With the trees burned down, they can leave this place and enter the karma-clearing process. The sooner it begins, the sooner they find release.”
Tang Cuo understood.
Though Peng Mingfan and the others did not know what “karma-clearing process” meant, they could roughly understand Jin Cheng’s words. If burning these trees was a good thing, then let them burn.
Li Shuangshuang and Zhang Zhiqiu were among them as well; burning was better than having trees sprout from their heads.
A moment later, the broadcast chimed again.
“Blizzard Mountain Villa: Returner on a Snowy Night.
Difficulty: Hard.
Participants: 8 players. S
urvivors: 6 players.
Rating: A-.
Stat Points Awarded: 18.”
“Acquired Yingjun’s Curse. Duration: 7 calendar days.”
“Please check the system panel for remaining individual rewards.”
“Welcome back to Yong Ye City!”
In the next second, everyone’s vision blurred as familiar darkness descended once again. Only a faint, enraged voice seemed to pierce through the darkness from afar:
“Infuriating! I am furious to death!!!”
