A second passed.
Although it was only a second, for those involved, it felt incredibly long.
During that second, Zhou Qi’an spoke very seriously to the college student, “I won’t.”
He would never look back.
“?”
Zhou Qi’an said, “When a hostage is kidnapped, the dumbest thing they can do is to try and remove the kidnapper’s mask.”
So he absolutely would not turn around to see who it was.
“Friend, no matter who you are, as long as I don’t see you with my own eyes today, we can still pretend.”
As he spoke, Zhou Qi’an swallowed, straightened his posture, and used his sleeve to wipe the dust off the tombstone as a sign of respect.
The college student was on the verge of tears. “Do you want to bow while you’re at it?”
Zhou Qi’an shook his head and said, “Do you know? When disaster strikes…”
The college student seemed to realize what he was about to say, and his brows twitched.
Zhou Qi’an continued, “The slowest runner is always the first to suffer.”
Before he even finished speaking, he bolted faster than a rabbit.
The college student was momentarily stunned before hurrying to follow. However, Zhou Qi’an was so fast that all he could see was his back.
No matter how good his temper was, he couldn’t help but curse.
Zhou Qi’an’s sudden sprint was so unpredictable that it caught not only the college student off guard but also the person lurking in the shadows, playing cat and mouse with them.
That brief moment of hesitation gave Zhou Qi’an and the college student a chance to breathe.
“Split up.” At a fork in the road, Zhou Qi’an pointed in a direction, giving the path leading to the villa to the college student. The latter had no sense of direction and could only run forward blindly.
Zhou Qi’an sprinted down the other path.
In theory, the weaker one who had seen the pursuer’s face—the college student—was in greater danger and should be the primary target. However, no matter who they were, they wouldn’t dare to commit murder in broad daylight at the villa.
The villa was the college student’s only lifeline.
After looping around, Zhou Qi’an unexpectedly returned to the grave.
He was well aware that the person who had appeared earlier was most likely Xun Er. Since Xun Er had only shown up when he was halfway through digging up the coffin, there had to be some kind of connection between him and the coffin.
“Pray for yourself.”
The college student had indirectly bought him some time, but once he opened the coffin, Xun Er would most likely be drawn back.
Mutual benefit, after all.
Zhou Qi’an picked up the shovel from the ground again, steeled himself, and applied slight pressure along the edge. With a crisp sound, the coffin lid popped open.
【You have found the most improper place.】
The system’s notification was like timely rain.
Zhou Qi’an let out a breath of relief—he had opened the coffin correctly, seamlessly connecting to the morning’s clues.
Earlier, the system had prompted him to find the diary in Xun Er’s most improper place. Zhou Qi’an had checked his wardrobe.
“So it was the coffin,” he clicked his tongue. “I really am a genius.”
Wasn’t a coffin just a horizontally placed wardrobe?
If the college student had been present, he would have had no choice but to admire Zhou Qi’an’s exceptional reading comprehension skills.
The moment the coffin lid was pried open, a mixture of dust and the scent of soil surged forth. Inside, there wasn’t the expected rotting corpse, but it wasn’t empty either. A diary lay quietly within, weighed down by a dark, lusterless pearl.
Wisps of eerie black mist coiled around the pearl as if nourishing it.
Compared to the diary, the pearl drew more of Zhou Qi’an’s attention. He lifted it in his palm and saw a faintly reddish core deep inside.
A fish’s eye.
For some reason, Zhou Qi’an thought of how Xun Er’s eyes had changed color.
Sss—
A strange sound echoed through the forest, like something slithering through fallen leaves, gliding closer.
As the sound neared, Zhou Qi’an didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the items, stuffed them into his chest, and bolted.
【You have obtained Diary *1】
【You have obtained a Five-Star Fish Eye buried in an Extreme Yin Land *1】
When Zhou Qi’an picked up the pearl, the black mist around it dissipated, though its power seemed to weaken significantly.
【Five-Star Fish Eye: A mysterious energy cluster formed by absorbing resentment from the forest. Resembles a fish’s eye.
Since you removed it prematurely, its condensation process has been interrupted.】
Interrupting it was the right call.
Otherwise, how would players even survive?
The tree branches on both sides formed a dense canopy, blocking out the sky, while the soil beneath his feet grew increasingly soft, as if it could turn into a swamp at any moment.
Zhou Qi’an kept his eyes on the path, but the fallen leaves obscured the ground, making it impossible to see clearly. As he ran with unease, his lower leg suddenly plunged into the mud without warning.
A swamp?
With a wet squelch, something hidden within the earth yanked him downward with brutal force.
At this moment, Zhou Qi’an was like a rat caught in a trap—no amount of struggle would help.
His pursuers seemed to realize what had happened. Their footsteps slowed, now carrying a mocking air.
“No way.”
Zhou Qi’an narrowed his eyes. He absolutely could not die here.
Otherwise, all the pension money he paid each month would go to waste.
But fate had other plans. In the blink of an eye, half his body had already sunk into the depths of the swamp.
Tilting his head back, he tried to keep his breathing steady.
In the next second, a particularly thick tree branch above caught his attention.
Zhou Qi’an pondered seriously—if he used the newly acquired [White Silk] to hook onto the branch, could he hoist himself up?
“…Forget it.”
If he tied it wrong, he’d end up hanging himself.
He shifted his focus to the pearl he had retrieved from the coffin. After a brief moment of hesitation, he did something completely unexpected—
He stuck out his tongue and carefully gave it a small lick.
【Poison Resistance +0.1】
Not that toxic.
So he chose to swallow it whole!
Catching sight of the massive black shadow chasing from afar, Zhou Qi’an shouted, “Remember to fish me out.”
Getting fished out was better than hanging himself with white silk.
Without hesitation, Zhou Qi’an began swallowing.
【You have swallowed a Five-Star Fish Eye*1.】
A heavy blockage clogged his chest instantly.
Within seconds, his body started convulsing. Zhou Qi’an pounded his chest, trying to ease the suffocating sensation.
Unfortunately, it barely helped. The situation worsened quickly—he couldn’t breathe.
His vision blurred. They said that, every year, more people died from choking than from all absurd accidents combined. Heaven forbid he became part of that statistic.
The system had called this thing an [energy cluster]—didn’t that mean… it was edible?
Whether the heavens heard his plea or not, the agonizing struggle felt like an eternity to him but lasted only about thirty seconds. Zhou Qi’an narrowly avoided suffocating to death.
【You have swallowed a mysterious energy cluster.】
【Your limbs have undergone minor evolution, becoming more agile in water.】
Zhou Qi’an suddenly felt buoyant.
Or more precisely, the force dragging him downward had weakened considerably. Seizing the chance, he struggled free from the mire. As he pulled his leg out of the mud, several mutated spiders and centipedes clung to his pant leg.
The stings burned—further proof of the importance of poison resistance.
In the game, sickness or infection was a serious problem. It wouldn’t kill immediately, but it would weaken stamina, and severe cases could cause fever, which would further impair judgment.
Zhou Qi’an had no time to appreciate his new ability. Forcing his weakened legs to move, he ran.
The unhurried footsteps behind him continued to follow, but this time, they weren’t as leisurely as before. Instead, they were heavier, more erratic.
Watching him swallow the pearl had clearly enraged his pursuer—Zhou Qi’an could feel the fury even from a distance.
“Serves you right.”
He sneered to himself. This was why one should never toy with prey like a cat playing with a mouse. If you saw your target, you should be like a leopard—charge in and rip it to shreds. That way, there’d be no trouble.
The slight evolution in his limbs restored some of his stamina, giving him just enough strength to keep running. Speed was already one of his strengths, and now he was fast as the wind.
Yet, despite that, the distance between them was closing.
Zhou Qi’an wanted to glance back.
Something felt off—he hadn’t heard many footsteps, yet somehow, the pursuer kept gaining. It was as if he could only cover one meter per step, while the other covered two or three.
Just as he was about to sneak a look, he caught sight of a building’s rooftop peeking through layers of tree branches.
The distant villa was like a lighthouse in the deep sea. Zhou Qi’an stopped thinking about anything else and sprinted toward it with all his might.
“Chen Jian!”
Zhou Qi’an spotted a familiar figure heading into the villa and shouted.
Chen Jian turned toward him. The next second, his pace quickened sharply, as if he had just seen something horrifying.
“Hurry!” Chen Jian, who had reached the villa first, urged anxiously, ready to shut the door.
The wind from his sprint tore through his throat, leaving a metallic taste in the air. Zhou Qi’an bit his tongue so hard he nearly drew blood as he dove inside.
As he passed by Mr. Si, he saw the man slightly blocking the doorway. “It’s urgent! Move!”
At the brink of life and death, Zhou Qi’an moved like a fish, slipping through a gap at the side.
Bang!
With a loud crash, the villa door slammed shut.
Bang!
Another heavy impact followed—it seemed like something had crashed against the door from outside.
The door shook violently.
Just as they were about to push a sofa against the entrance, the pounding suddenly stopped.
Zhou Qi’an leaned against the wall, panting. It took him a long time to find his voice again.
“For safety’s sake, we should’ve brought the ‘stone statue’ inside to block the door.”
Chen Jian: “…Mr. Si is not a brick.”
Not something you just move wherever needed.
He added, “A single wooden door won’t block Mr. Si’s senses. Watch what you say.”
Zhou Qi’an didn’t dwell on the topic. Calming his heartbeat, he asked, “What the hell was chasing me?”
Chen Jian was speechless.
If you don’t even know what it was, how did you manage to provoke it?
Zhou Qi’an asked again, “Was it Xun Er?”
“I can’t say for sure, but it was much taller than Xun Er. I didn’t get a clear look,” Chen Jian recalled as completely as he could, pausing a few times as if searching for the right words. “Its skin had a bluish tint, with a surface that reflected light like fish scales. The upper body was bare, covered in strange, ominous patterns.”
As he spoke, Chen Jian shuddered involuntarily.
Zhou Qi’an frowned. “So you’re saying… an Avatar was chasing me?”
“……”
Zhou Qi’an: “‘Can’t say for sure’—does that mean it could still be Xun Er?”
Chen Jian nodded. “It’s just a feeling. Like when you see something, and it suddenly reminds you of a person.”
The moment he saw that creature, his mind instinctively connected it to Xun Er.
The Han siblings had yet to return. Just then, the college student emerged from the bathroom after splashing cold water on his face. Seeing Zhou Qi’an, his lips twitched.
Earlier, this guy had bolted away, saying that slow runners would suffer. The college student had no desire to stay in the same room as him. Pressing his lips together, he returned to his room.
First impressions tended to stick for life, and the college student’s impression of Zhou Qi’an was clearly getting worse.
Zhou Qi’an couldn’t be bothered to care. Across from him, Chen Jian asked if they should share information.
Zhou Qi’an first checked the window—the creature had vanished. He sat on the sofa to rest.
“Why not look for Han Li and the others?”
“You think more openly—we can work together.”
Zhou Qi’an chuckled. “You want to team up with me to eliminate the Han siblings. If I’m the only newcomer left in the end, I’ll be easier to deal with than two veteran players.”
Chen Jian didn’t deny it. That was how instances worked—people gathered for benefits and parted when they ran out.
He took out a small wooden fish. It had only a single eye, yet the black pupil inside never stopped spinning.
Zhou Qi’an leaned in curiously. “What’s this?”
“A contract item. Every time it hits the marketplace, it gets snapped up in seconds. It’s essential for players.”
The total number sold every year could circle the Earth three and a half times.
That alone spoke volumes about how little trust existed between players.
Both sides then agreed not to lie during their exchange of information.
Zhou Qi’an said, “Alright, I’ll go first.”
He told Chen Jian about the female ghost, the little ghost, and Xun Er’s grave. Of course, he didn’t mention a word about the pearl. As for the diary, he did bring it up—but whether he’d let Chen Jian read it depended on how much information he provided in return.
Chen Jian stayed silent for a moment. “I think I got the better deal this time.”
Zhou Qi’an didn’t mind. He was just casting a long line to reel in a bigger fish. The diary was the bait.
Chen Jian pressed his lips together before sharing his discovery. “There are a lot of corpses at the bottom of the lake. And some fish… with human faces. One of those faces—I’ve seen before.”
As he spoke, his face grew darker than ever. “It used to be a player.”
Zhou Qi’an wasn’t particularly moved. He pondered aloud, “So we’re not the first batch of players to come here.”
Chen Jian continued, “Those fish in the lake are poisonous to healthy people. But for some… they might actually prolong life.”
Zhou Qi’an asked, “Like who?”
Chen Jian said, “Like Xun the Wealthy. He has corpse spots—Han Li told me that in exchange for information.”
Xun the Wealthy was obsessed with eating fish and shrimp. Clearly, they were benefiting him in some way.
Zhou Qi’an recalled how the little ghost had also craved those rotten fish and shrimp.
So, not only could these creatures strengthen the dying, but they might also work on ghosts.
Chen Jian concluded, “Right now, the priority is to win Xun the Wealthy’s favor. Otherwise, we’ll end up as fish food.”
Just like Wang Mu.
In this instance, everything was quantified—even Xun the Wealthy’s goodwill.
Sixty points of goodwill was the key to survival. Ever since he saw dead players, Chen Jian only wanted to escape this eerie instance as soon as possible.
On the surface, that seemed like the correct approach. But something about it felt off to Zhou Qi’an.
He narrowed his eyes. “What role do you think Xun Er plays in all this?”
Chen Jian replied, “We’ll know once we read the diary.”
Zhou Qi’an, however, made no move to open it. He leaned back against the sofa, still drenched in sweat from his near-death escape. The fear hadn’t completely faded. “How do you force-kill an NPC?”
Chen Jian coveted the diary’s contents and knew Zhou Qi’an wouldn’t give in without a trade. After thinking for a moment, he said, “I know you’re worried about Xun Er. But as long as you don’t break the rules, he can’t actually do anything to you.”
Zhou Qi’an sneered. He wasn’t that easy to fool.
Sooner or later, players and NPCs would have lethal interactions.
Chen Jian sighed in resignation. “The key lies in the rules. Normally, players break the rules, and NPCs execute them. But if you reverse it—if a player avoids triggering any death conditions, yet an NPC still attacks them—then the NPC will suffer a severe stat penalty after attacking. During that weakened state, there’s a chance to counter-kill.”
“Sounds simple, but it’s incredibly difficult.” Chen Jian explained further. “The game’s rules heavily favor the monsters. First, it’s hard to provoke an NPC into attacking outside the rules. Second, even if they do attack, the penalty only applies if they cause actual harm to the player. By that time, most players would already be dead.”
After hearing all this, Zhou Qi’an remained silent for a long time.
Just when Chen Jian thought he had given up, Zhou Qi’an murmured, “The first step is always the hardest…”
“But fortunately, I’ve already taken it.”
Chen Jian: “???”
___
Author’s Note:
Zhou Qi’an’s first thought upon seeing the Five-Star Fish Eye: Damn, an all-you-can-eat buffet.
PS: The mysterious energy cluster is not an eyeball.
A second passed.
Although it was only a second, for those involved, it felt incredibly long.
During that second, Zhou Qi’an spoke very seriously to the college student, “I won’t.”
He would never look back.
“?”
Zhou Qi’an said, “When a hostage is kidnapped, the dumbest thing they can do is to try and remove the kidnapper’s mask.”
So he absolutely would not turn around to see who it was.
“Friend, no matter who you are, as long as I don’t see you with my own eyes today, we can still pretend.”
As he spoke, Zhou Qi’an swallowed, straightened his posture, and used his sleeve to wipe the dust off the tombstone as a sign of respect.
The college student was on the verge of tears. “Do you want to bow while you’re at it?”
Zhou Qi’an shook his head and said, “Do you know? When disaster strikes…”
The college student seemed to realize what he was about to say, and his brows twitched.
Zhou Qi’an continued, “The slowest runner is always the first to suffer.”
Before he even finished speaking, he bolted faster than a rabbit.
The college student was momentarily stunned before hurrying to follow. However, Zhou Qi’an was so fast that all he could see was his back.
No matter how good his temper was, he couldn’t help but curse.
Zhou Qi’an’s sudden sprint was so unpredictable that it caught not only the college student off guard but also the person lurking in the shadows, playing cat and mouse with them.
That brief moment of hesitation gave Zhou Qi’an and the college student a chance to breathe.
“Split up.” At a fork in the road, Zhou Qi’an pointed in a direction, giving the path leading to the villa to the college student. The latter had no sense of direction and could only run forward blindly.
Zhou Qi’an sprinted down the other path.
In theory, the weaker one who had seen the pursuer’s face—the college student—was in greater danger and should be the primary target. However, no matter who they were, they wouldn’t dare to commit murder in broad daylight at the villa.
The villa was the college student’s only lifeline.
After looping around, Zhou Qi’an unexpectedly returned to the grave.
He was well aware that the person who had appeared earlier was most likely Xun Er. Since Xun Er had only shown up when he was halfway through digging up the coffin, there had to be some kind of connection between him and the coffin.
“Pray for yourself.”
The college student had indirectly bought him some time, but once he opened the coffin, Xun Er would most likely be drawn back.
Mutual benefit, after all.
Zhou Qi’an picked up the shovel from the ground again, steeled himself, and applied slight pressure along the edge. With a crisp sound, the coffin lid popped open.
【You have found the most improper place.】
The system’s notification was like timely rain.
Zhou Qi’an let out a breath of relief—he had opened the coffin correctly, seamlessly connecting to the morning’s clues.
Earlier, the system had prompted him to find the diary in Xun Er’s most improper place. Zhou Qi’an had checked his wardrobe.
“So it was the coffin,” he clicked his tongue. “I really am a genius.”
Wasn’t a coffin just a horizontally placed wardrobe?
If the college student had been present, he would have had no choice but to admire Zhou Qi’an’s exceptional reading comprehension skills.
The moment the coffin lid was pried open, a mixture of dust and the scent of soil surged forth. Inside, there wasn’t the expected rotting corpse, but it wasn’t empty either. A diary lay quietly within, weighed down by a dark, lusterless pearl.
Wisps of eerie black mist coiled around the pearl as if nourishing it.
Compared to the diary, the pearl drew more of Zhou Qi’an’s attention. He lifted it in his palm and saw a faintly reddish core deep inside.
A fish’s eye.
For some reason, Zhou Qi’an thought of how Xun Er’s eyes had changed color.
Sss—
A strange sound echoed through the forest, like something slithering through fallen leaves, gliding closer.
As the sound neared, Zhou Qi’an didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the items, stuffed them into his chest, and bolted.
【You have obtained Diary *1】
【You have obtained a Five-Star Fish Eye buried in an Extreme Yin Land *1】
When Zhou Qi’an picked up the pearl, the black mist around it dissipated, though its power seemed to weaken significantly.
【Five-Star Fish Eye: A mysterious energy cluster formed by absorbing resentment from the forest. Resembles a fish’s eye.
Since you removed it prematurely, its condensation process has been interrupted.】
Interrupting it was the right call.
Otherwise, how would players even survive?
The tree branches on both sides formed a dense canopy, blocking out the sky, while the soil beneath his feet grew increasingly soft, as if it could turn into a swamp at any moment.
Zhou Qi’an kept his eyes on the path, but the fallen leaves obscured the ground, making it impossible to see clearly. As he ran with unease, his lower leg suddenly plunged into the mud without warning.
A swamp?
With a wet squelch, something hidden within the earth yanked him downward with brutal force.
At this moment, Zhou Qi’an was like a rat caught in a trap—no amount of struggle would help.
His pursuers seemed to realize what had happened. Their footsteps slowed, now carrying a mocking air.
“No way.”
Zhou Qi’an narrowed his eyes. He absolutely could not die here.
Otherwise, all the pension money he paid each month would go to waste.
But fate had other plans. In the blink of an eye, half his body had already sunk into the depths of the swamp.
Tilting his head back, he tried to keep his breathing steady.
In the next second, a particularly thick tree branch above caught his attention.
Zhou Qi’an pondered seriously—if he used the newly acquired [White Silk] to hook onto the branch, could he hoist himself up?
“…Forget it.”
If he tied it wrong, he’d end up hanging himself.
He shifted his focus to the pearl he had retrieved from the coffin. After a brief moment of hesitation, he did something completely unexpected—
He stuck out his tongue and carefully gave it a small lick.
【Poison Resistance +0.1】
Not that toxic.
So he chose to swallow it whole!
Catching sight of the massive black shadow chasing from afar, Zhou Qi’an shouted, “Remember to fish me out.”
Getting fished out was better than hanging himself with white silk.
Without hesitation, Zhou Qi’an began swallowing.
【You have swallowed a Five-Star Fish Eye*1.】
A heavy blockage clogged his chest instantly.
Within seconds, his body started convulsing. Zhou Qi’an pounded his chest, trying to ease the suffocating sensation.
Unfortunately, it barely helped. The situation worsened quickly—he couldn’t breathe.
His vision blurred. They said that, every year, more people died from choking than from all absurd accidents combined. Heaven forbid he became part of that statistic.
The system had called this thing an [energy cluster]—didn’t that mean… it was edible?
Whether the heavens heard his plea or not, the agonizing struggle felt like an eternity to him but lasted only about thirty seconds. Zhou Qi’an narrowly avoided suffocating to death.
【You have swallowed a mysterious energy cluster.】
【Your limbs have undergone minor evolution, becoming more agile in water.】
Zhou Qi’an suddenly felt buoyant.
Or more precisely, the force dragging him downward had weakened considerably. Seizing the chance, he struggled free from the mire. As he pulled his leg out of the mud, several mutated spiders and centipedes clung to his pant leg.
The stings burned—further proof of the importance of poison resistance.
In the game, sickness or infection was a serious problem. It wouldn’t kill immediately, but it would weaken stamina, and severe cases could cause fever, which would further impair judgment.
Zhou Qi’an had no time to appreciate his new ability. Forcing his weakened legs to move, he ran.
The unhurried footsteps behind him continued to follow, but this time, they weren’t as leisurely as before. Instead, they were heavier, more erratic.
Watching him swallow the pearl had clearly enraged his pursuer—Zhou Qi’an could feel the fury even from a distance.
“Serves you right.”
He sneered to himself. This was why one should never toy with prey like a cat playing with a mouse. If you saw your target, you should be like a leopard—charge in and rip it to shreds. That way, there’d be no trouble.
The slight evolution in his limbs restored some of his stamina, giving him just enough strength to keep running. Speed was already one of his strengths, and now he was fast as the wind.
Yet, despite that, the distance between them was closing.
Zhou Qi’an wanted to glance back.
Something felt off—he hadn’t heard many footsteps, yet somehow, the pursuer kept gaining. It was as if he could only cover one meter per step, while the other covered two or three.
Just as he was about to sneak a look, he caught sight of a building’s rooftop peeking through layers of tree branches.
The distant villa was like a lighthouse in the deep sea. Zhou Qi’an stopped thinking about anything else and sprinted toward it with all his might.
“Chen Jian!”
Zhou Qi’an spotted a familiar figure heading into the villa and shouted.
Chen Jian turned toward him. The next second, his pace quickened sharply, as if he had just seen something horrifying.
“Hurry!” Chen Jian, who had reached the villa first, urged anxiously, ready to shut the door.
The wind from his sprint tore through his throat, leaving a metallic taste in the air. Zhou Qi’an bit his tongue so hard he nearly drew blood as he dove inside.
As he passed by Mr. Si, he saw the man slightly blocking the doorway. “It’s urgent! Move!”
At the brink of life and death, Zhou Qi’an moved like a fish, slipping through a gap at the side.
Bang!
With a loud crash, the villa door slammed shut.
Bang!
Another heavy impact followed—it seemed like something had crashed against the door from outside.
The door shook violently.
Just as they were about to push a sofa against the entrance, the pounding suddenly stopped.
Zhou Qi’an leaned against the wall, panting. It took him a long time to find his voice again.
“For safety’s sake, we should’ve brought the ‘stone statue’ inside to block the door.”
Chen Jian: “…Mr. Si is not a brick.”
Not something you just move wherever needed.
He added, “A single wooden door won’t block Mr. Si’s senses. Watch what you say.”
Zhou Qi’an didn’t dwell on the topic. Calming his heartbeat, he asked, “What the hell was chasing me?”
Chen Jian was speechless.
If you don’t even know what it was, how did you manage to provoke it?
Zhou Qi’an asked again, “Was it Xun Er?”
“I can’t say for sure, but it was much taller than Xun Er. I didn’t get a clear look,” Chen Jian recalled as completely as he could, pausing a few times as if searching for the right words. “Its skin had a bluish tint, with a surface that reflected light like fish scales. The upper body was bare, covered in strange, ominous patterns.”
As he spoke, Chen Jian shuddered involuntarily.
Zhou Qi’an frowned. “So you’re saying… an Avatar was chasing me?”
“……”
Zhou Qi’an: “‘Can’t say for sure’—does that mean it could still be Xun Er?”
Chen Jian nodded. “It’s just a feeling. Like when you see something, and it suddenly reminds you of a person.”
The moment he saw that creature, his mind instinctively connected it to Xun Er.
The Han siblings had yet to return. Just then, the college student emerged from the bathroom after splashing cold water on his face. Seeing Zhou Qi’an, his lips twitched.
Earlier, this guy had bolted away, saying that slow runners would suffer. The college student had no desire to stay in the same room as him. Pressing his lips together, he returned to his room.
First impressions tended to stick for life, and the college student’s impression of Zhou Qi’an was clearly getting worse.
Zhou Qi’an couldn’t be bothered to care. Across from him, Chen Jian asked if they should share information.
Zhou Qi’an first checked the window—the creature had vanished. He sat on the sofa to rest.
“Why not look for Han Li and the others?”
“You think more openly—we can work together.”
Zhou Qi’an chuckled. “You want to team up with me to eliminate the Han siblings. If I’m the only newcomer left in the end, I’ll be easier to deal with than two veteran players.”
Chen Jian didn’t deny it. That was how instances worked—people gathered for benefits and parted when they ran out.
He took out a small wooden fish. It had only a single eye, yet the black pupil inside never stopped spinning.
Zhou Qi’an leaned in curiously. “What’s this?”
“A contract item. Every time it hits the marketplace, it gets snapped up in seconds. It’s essential for players.”
The total number sold every year could circle the Earth three and a half times.
That alone spoke volumes about how little trust existed between players.
Both sides then agreed not to lie during their exchange of information.
Zhou Qi’an said, “Alright, I’ll go first.”
He told Chen Jian about the female ghost, the little ghost, and Xun Er’s grave. Of course, he didn’t mention a word about the pearl. As for the diary, he did bring it up—but whether he’d let Chen Jian read it depended on how much information he provided in return.
Chen Jian stayed silent for a moment. “I think I got the better deal this time.”
Zhou Qi’an didn’t mind. He was just casting a long line to reel in a bigger fish. The diary was the bait.
Chen Jian pressed his lips together before sharing his discovery. “There are a lot of corpses at the bottom of the lake. And some fish… with human faces. One of those faces—I’ve seen before.”
As he spoke, his face grew darker than ever. “It used to be a player.”
Zhou Qi’an wasn’t particularly moved. He pondered aloud, “So we’re not the first batch of players to come here.”
Chen Jian continued, “Those fish in the lake are poisonous to healthy people. But for some… they might actually prolong life.”
Zhou Qi’an asked, “Like who?”
Chen Jian said, “Like Xun the Wealthy. He has corpse spots—Han Li told me that in exchange for information.”
Xun the Wealthy was obsessed with eating fish and shrimp. Clearly, they were benefiting him in some way.
Zhou Qi’an recalled how the little ghost had also craved those rotten fish and shrimp.
So, not only could these creatures strengthen the dying, but they might also work on ghosts.
Chen Jian concluded, “Right now, the priority is to win Xun the Wealthy’s favor. Otherwise, we’ll end up as fish food.”
Just like Wang Mu.
In this instance, everything was quantified—even Xun the Wealthy’s goodwill.
Sixty points of goodwill was the key to survival. Ever since he saw dead players, Chen Jian only wanted to escape this eerie instance as soon as possible.
On the surface, that seemed like the correct approach. But something about it felt off to Zhou Qi’an.
He narrowed his eyes. “What role do you think Xun Er plays in all this?”
Chen Jian replied, “We’ll know once we read the diary.”
Zhou Qi’an, however, made no move to open it. He leaned back against the sofa, still drenched in sweat from his near-death escape. The fear hadn’t completely faded. “How do you force-kill an NPC?”
Chen Jian coveted the diary’s contents and knew Zhou Qi’an wouldn’t give in without a trade. After thinking for a moment, he said, “I know you’re worried about Xun Er. But as long as you don’t break the rules, he can’t actually do anything to you.”
Zhou Qi’an sneered. He wasn’t that easy to fool.
Sooner or later, players and NPCs would have lethal interactions.
Chen Jian sighed in resignation. “The key lies in the rules. Normally, players break the rules, and NPCs execute them. But if you reverse it—if a player avoids triggering any death conditions, yet an NPC still attacks them—then the NPC will suffer a severe stat penalty after attacking. During that weakened state, there’s a chance to counter-kill.”
“Sounds simple, but it’s incredibly difficult.” Chen Jian explained further. “The game’s rules heavily favor the monsters. First, it’s hard to provoke an NPC into attacking outside the rules. Second, even if they do attack, the penalty only applies if they cause actual harm to the player. By that time, most players would already be dead.”
After hearing all this, Zhou Qi’an remained silent for a long time.
Just when Chen Jian thought he had given up, Zhou Qi’an murmured, “The first step is always the hardest…”
“But fortunately, I’ve already taken it.”
Chen Jian: “???”
___
Author’s Note:
Zhou Qi’an’s first thought upon seeing the Five-Star Fish Eye: Damn, an all-you-can-eat buffet.
PS: The mysterious energy cluster is not an eyeball.
The chapter repeats. But it’s a fun chapter so I don’t mind XD