Jin Rong Xu Is My Avatar

Earlier, Zhu Yan had used the ability [Everyone Has Their Fate] to roughly sort out the current situation.

The [Walking Corpse] truly was nothing more than a walking corpse. Its body had been stuffed with another, unknown horror creature.

As for the thoughts Jin Rongxu had read, most of them were probably fake as well.

Whatever was inside the [Walking Corpse] wanted Jin Rongxu and the others to head for the little building “where they could stay far away from the truth,” and confront everything that was wrong.

No.

Judging from what it had said to Jin Rongxu, perhaps it genuinely wanted to keep him at Li Daochang’s house.

The surface logic held together, but underneath it...

Zhu Yan glanced at Jin Rongxu.

What exactly was the manipulator behind this instance trying to accomplish?

What would happen if he separated off a portion of his [Mist], had it take Jin Rongxu’s place, and sent it to the little building where Li Daochang lived in the capacity of a player...?

Zhu Zeyu raised his head.

The curtains on the second floor of the little building were closed, but a gap—not too narrow, not too wide—had been left between them.

Half of a face appeared in that gap. One eye was staring at them coldly.

The instant it met Zhu Zeyu’s gaze, the half-hidden face abruptly vanished back into the shadows behind the curtain.

Oh? Interesting.

A wisp of extremely faint mist quietly split off from behind Zhu Yan and slipped into a crevice beside the little building.

Another part of Zhu Yan hid inside the puppet and asked through Zhu Zeyu’s mouth, “Captain, what do we do now?”

“Do we go into Li Daochang’s house together, or avoid that thing and head over to that... low-level horror creature?”

Jin Rongxu weighed the knife in his hand without speaking.

There were advantages and disadvantages to either choice.

If they continued toward the low-level horror creature, honestly, they might not be able to get any more information out of it.

From the perspective of clearing the instance, that thing was completely useless.

But he could read its inner thoughts.

According to its account, Li Daochang was something that had nearly lost all memory and reason, while the presence inside the house was indeed terrifying beyond measure.

He did not know whether a level-thirteen knife could handle whatever was inside.

If he wanted to prioritize keeping himself alive, then the obvious choice was to follow the low-level horror creature.

Zhu Zeyu looked at Jin Rongxu with an entirely harmless expression, while Zhu Yan’s mind raced with calculations.

He had only asked out of politeness.

How was Jin Rongxu, that cowardly, life-loving bastard, actually considering it seriously?

That wouldn’t do.

If Jin Rongxu really went there, how was he supposed to make his move?

Zhu Zeyu poked Pot Lid, signaling for him to cooperate, while opening his mouth to steer the conversation.

“Captain, to be safe, why don’t we go to that low-level horror creature first?”

“Look, we can handle that thing, and maybe we can get more information about the other villagers out of it.”

Zhu Zeyu opened his mouth and began talking nonsense.

“It’s such a huge village. Someone must have been involved in their trade, right?”

“Maybe we can find this so-called Mother through someone else...”

Jin Rongxu said nothing.

Pot Lid looked at Zhu Zeyu, then hurriedly chimed in, “Captain, I think Zhu Zeyu actually has a point this time.”

Everyone had fought hard just to survive. Who wanted to die?

“Since we might be able to obtain clues in a relatively safe way, why do we have to take such a risk?”

Jin Rongxu looked at Pot Lid and smiled.

“What did you just say? After entering this village, you can’t sense the specific presence of any horror creatures, right?”

Pot Lid looked utterly baffled. A fawning smile was forcibly squeezed onto his pale face.

“That’s right, Captain Jin. I can only sense that there’s a very powerful force and an oppressive gloom here. As for the source of that power...”

Under the overwhelming pressure of the environment, he smoothly came up with a perfect excuse for himself.

“Captain Jin, this might be what we players are ultimately supposed to find—ah!”

Jin Rongxu grabbed his hair, yanked him forward, then shoved him again.

The force was tremendous. Pot Lid had no way to stop himself.

He stumbled several steps, then hit the ground with a splat on the steps in front of Li Daochang’s house. A large patch of skin was scraped from his palm, revealing glistening pink flesh beneath.

“Go on,” Jin Rongxu said, still smiling. “Say that you choose to enter Li Daochang’s house.”

Pot Lid twisted his head around, a terrifying expression appearing on his face.

“...What?”

Jin Rongxu repeated, “Say it.”

Zhu Yan understood.

Jin Rongxu was pushing Pot Lid out to test the waters.

Pot Lid’s ability was useless in this instance.

To Jin Rongxu, he was now the expendable one.

If he was going to use someone as a guinea pig, why would he use the precious Zhu Zeyu instead of Pot Lid?

Pot Lid clenched his teeth. After a long while, he finally stammered in a low voice, “I... I choose Li Daochang’s house.”

“Good.” Jin Rongxu smiled. “Listen. Isn’t the broadcast prompt here already? You’ve made some contribution to us after all.”

It had come, but the female voice was clearly not the legitimate one.

“Hello, players!”

“One member of your team has chosen a dangerous path that does not match their strength.”

That was hilarious.

Not to criticize, but those two lines completely failed to capture the real broadcast’s spirit.

Even if there truly were such a kind-hearted announcement, the legitimate female voice should have been gloating.

Something like: “Congratulations, player! Your choice is full of promise. We look forward to your future performance...”

Rather than plainly telling them their choice was dangerous and, between the lines, urging them to choose another path.

Still, Zhu Yan keenly caught the key phrase in the broadcast.

“Does not match their strength”—was that deliberate emphasis hinting at Jin Rongxu, whose strength did match?

So what sort of secret was hidden inside this house?

Zhu Yan’s [Mist]-form, concealed in the crack in the wall, stirred with anticipation.

He carefully observed Jin Rongxu and found that Jin Rongxu was clearly just as eager.

Perhaps he had also noticed the phrase “strength that matches.” Jin Rongxu looked at the little building with a smile that did not reach his eyes, gently stroking the knife in his hand as though he could not wait to use it.

Meanwhile, the female voice that Zhu Yan found so fake continued in a cheerful tone.

“Of course, as this player has not entered the room, the choice may be withdrawn.”

“Would you like to choose again?”

Pot Lid scrambled to his feet and rolled-crawled back.

“Choose again!” he screamed recklessly. “Choose again, choose again!”

“I don’t want to go in here—I want to go to that old man’s house!”

The moment he finished speaking, the female broadcast sounded again.

“Congratulations, player!”

“You have chosen the correct path. Please proceed to your destination as soon as possible.”

“Other players, please make your choices. Once you step inside the house, nothing can be changed.”

Zhu Yan understood.

The way the female voice put it carried an intense sense of coercion.

It was forcing the players to make a decision immediately. Forcing Jin Rongxu to step into Li Daochang’s house!

Zhu Yan’s heart tightened.

That would not do.

Jin Rongxu absolutely could not be allowed into Li Daochang’s house!

With a thought, [Mist] slipped through the crack beneath the door where Jin Rongxu could not see it, winding into the room in thin strands before swiftly condensing into human form!

Inside the house.

The man, his back to the door as he busied himself arranging the divine shrine, spun around sharply. His gaunt face glared at Zhu Yan.

“Weren’t you outside?! Haven’t you made your choice yet?”

His voice was especially hoarse.

Wearing Jin Rongxu’s face, Zhu Yan kept his features hidden beneath the deep shadows cast by his false cloak, making sure the man could not see him clearly.

Well, wasn’t this man giving himself away the moment he opened his mouth?

A faint, enigmatic smile curved Zhu Yan’s lips as he extended one hand.

“Outside?”

With [Hang] active, Zhu Yan grafted a strand of [Mist] onto his body. Thick mist drifted from his palm like spider silk clinging to his hand.

“Shh—I know you want me to come here too.”

“But do me a favor. The one outside is my puppet double; it wouldn’t be convenient for it to enter openly.”

“Let’s talk, shall we?”