You're Not an NPC Here, Are You

At this moment, Ren Lingxi also saw this scene. She swallowed hard, pressed close to Su Yang, and whispered, "Brother Su Yang, that... that can't be real, can it?"

Su Yang shook his head. "It shouldn't be. This area is part of the escape room; outsiders definitely can't get in. Mainly, there aren't any houses nearby at all. This person must be an NPC too. Besides, in a real situation, what decent person would dare burn paper money this late at night?"

"What if... he's a real ghost?"

"A real one? If he's real, then I'd actually want to meet him. Never mind, let's go check it out first."

"I... I can't really move. This scene is even scarier than the ones indoors earlier."

"It's fine. This whole area is a game set. How could there be anything real? Let's go."

As he spoke, Su Yang reached out and grabbed Ren Lingxi's small hand, and the two of them quickly walked towards the boy burning paper money.

After walking a stretch further, Su Yang could see the other person's physique more clearly.

Judging by sight, he should be a teenager of about fourteen or fifteen, but he had his back to the two of them, so they couldn't see his face.

Every few seconds, he would pick up three pieces of paper money and put them into the fire.

After the two walked another ten or so meters forward, Su Yang called out, "Hello there, little handsome guy~"

"Why are you burning paper money here all alone so late?"

Su Yang asked two questions, but the boy didn't answer or turn around, still continuing his actions as if he hadn't heard him.

If this were truly in the wilderness, not playing any escape room game, encountering such a strange person generally meant only two possibilities.

Either the other person was deaf, or it was the real deal.

But since this was a game venue, naturally, neither of those possibilities existed.

The only possibility was an NPC.

Su Yang and Ren Lingxi exchanged a glance. Ren Lingxi swallowed hard and called out again, "Little brother, have you seen a young lady around here before?"

The boy still didn't turn his head or reply.

Seeing this, Su Yang grew a bit impatient. He let go of Ren Lingxi's hand, strode forward, and patted the boy on the shoulder.

"Hey, brother, say something?"

The moment Su Yang's hand landed on the boy's shoulder, the boy stopped his movements.

Only after Su Yang finished speaking did he slowly turn his stiff neck to look at Su Yang.

Instantly, a face with no eyeballs or nose, and a mouth stretched wide as if grinning, came close to Su Yang's eyes.

Su Yang stared at this face without moving. Mainly because he had already been numbed by the frights from those so-called ghosts earlier, and he was somewhat prepared, so he didn't have much of a reaction upon seeing this face.

Su Yang reached out and patted the boy's shoulder, chuckling, "Kid, can you say something? Give us a clue~"

The boy's wide-stretched mouth slowly closed, but he still didn't speak.

Su Yang patted his head again. "You're quite dedicated, little brother, huh? Absolutely refuse to talk, is that it?"

"Then don't blame me."

"Heh heh." Su Yang suddenly felt like teasing this person. He abruptly reached out to tickle the boy's armpits.

But no matter how Su Yang tickled, the boy still showed no reaction at all.

"Huh? Not ticklish, eh?"

The boy stared motionlessly at Su Yang with his eyeless sockets.

After tickling a few times and seeing the guy had no reaction, Su Yang decided not to bother him anymore. Since he wouldn't talk, they could only leave this place and continue into the mountains to search for Yang Xiaoling.

"Forget it, you're not humorous at all, young man. Keep burning. I'm leaving."

As he spoke, he had just stood up to leave when the boy grabbed his hand.

"What? Won't let me leave?" Su Yang said, turning to look. He saw the boy's mouth stretch open again, revealing irregular, blood-red sharp teeth inside.

Su Yang said helplessly, "I told you, you can't scare me. There should be others passing by later. Go scare them, okay?"

He said this while trying to pull his hand free from the boy's grip, but found he couldn't pull it out.

"Huh?"

Su Yang said with a hint of confusion, "Well, kid, you're quite strong."

As he spoke, he glanced up and down at the boy and then tried again with more force to pull his hand out.

But it still didn't budge. At this point, Su Yang suddenly felt something was off.

How could a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy possibly hold him like this?

Thinking this, Su Yang's heart instantly began to race. He looked carefully at the boy's face again.

This look sent a chill down his spine, because the boy's face didn't look like makeup or a mask or anything like that.

He hadn't paid attention before, but looking now, the broken area of his nose looked as if it had been bitten off by teeth, horrifyingly abnormal.

—System, scan.

Su Yang hurriedly called out in his mind.

[Ge Hai, Age: 15]

[Height: 162cm]

[Weight: 55kg]

[Combat Power: B-rank, 80]

—Phew, as long as it's human.

—Wait, combat power... how much?

—80?

Hearing this, Su Yang shuddered all over. He took a sharp breath, turned to look at Ren Lingxi, and shouted, "Lingxi, you go away first. Find a place to hide."

"Huh? Me... go first?"

"Go!" Su Yang signaled her to hurry with a serious expression.

"Oh, oh, okay." Seeing the change in Su Yang's expression, Ren Lingxi didn't have time to think much. She quickly ran and hid behind a large tree diagonally across the path, peeking out.

Seeing Ren Lingxi run off, Su Yang turned to look at the boy who was still sitting on the ground, holding his hand.

"You're not an NPC here, are you?"

The boy didn't speak. A hoarse, low growl began to emit from his throat.

Seeing this, Su Yang stopped wasting words. He suddenly exerted his full strength to pull his hand free. The boy couldn't maintain his grip and Su Yang broke loose instantly.

But the moment Su Yang pulled his hand free, he saw the boy slap both hands on the ground, his whole body bouncing high from the spot. He grabbed Su Yang's shoulders, then pulled forward, opening his bloody maw to bite at Su Yang's neck.

Seeing this, Su Yang hurriedly raised his hands to block the boy's head. He took a few steps back, using the momentum to execute a shoulder throw, flinging the boy away.

The boy, thrown through the air, twisted forcefully and then landed with his hands and feet on the ground, crouching, looking just like an animal.

The moment he landed, he used all four limbs and charged at Su Yang again, baring his teeth like a vicious wolf.

Su Yang's eyes narrowed. Although he was still somewhat baffled, the situation was urgent now, leaving him no time to think.

The boy charged forward a distance at an incredible speed, then all four limbs pushed off the ground together, launching his entire body towards Su Yang like a cannonball.

"Holy shit!"

Su Yang roared, sinking his waist back to dodge the strange boy's attack.

Then he turned, stood straight, and ran towards the boy who had just landed.

Quickly closing in, he lowered his center of gravity and threw a heavy punch into the boy's abdomen.

THUD!!!

A dull sound rang out. The boy was sent flying backward three or four meters by Su Yang's punch, rolling another two or three times on the ground before stopping.

But the moment he stopped, he bounced up again, propped on all fours, and growled lowly at Su Yang.

"Grrr."

Seeing that the other party had temporarily ceased their attack, Su Yang shouted, "What the hell are you? Human or ghost?"

"Hoo, hoo."

"Hoo your sister!!" Su Yang cursed and took the initiative to charge towards the boy lying prone on the ground.

......