Seeing Li Daochang Again

“He’ll be here in a moment,” Walking Corpse muttered in response to Zhu Yan’s question.

Zhu Yan glanced around and asked, “Where is he now? And when will the player who’s getting married arrive?”

He needed to keep an eye on Li Daochang—and, ideally, come up with a reasonable way to intercept him halfway there.

As for the second question, that was deliberately pointless. Zhu Yan only asked it to make himself seem more convincing.

He sent Jin Rongxu several messages, briefly explaining the situation.

“I’m at the wedding feast. Captain, things are complicated here. I’ve been observing their movements, so I didn’t have a chance to reply.”

Jin Rongxu stared at the red words in front of him, veins throbbing in his forehead.

Zhu Zeyu was obviously brushing him off.

What kind of lousy excuse was that?

Sending a message only required a little thought. How could it possibly have gotten in the way?

But the person on the other end clearly hadn’t realized that, and continued rubbing salt in the wound.

“Captain, you can come over now.”

“You’re the main character, after all. If you don’t show up, they can’t keep the plot moving forward.”

What the hell did he mean by that?

Jin Rongxu was so furious he nearly had a heart attack.

He quickly typed back, demanding an explanation: “Are you treating me like a tool? Zhu Zeyu, do you even understand the meaning of discipline?!”

Zhu Yan didn’t understand discipline.

But he understood Jin Rongxu’s heart.

Touching the tip of his nose, Zhu Yan followed “Mother” as it wandered along and casually sent back a reply.

“Captain, I’ve seen [Hunter]. I think I’ve figured out what he’s trying to do.”

As expected, Jin Rongxu fell silent.

[Fog] floated outside the window, watching Jin Rongxu’s furious expression freeze solid.

A moment later, a new line of red text appeared before Zhu Yan’s eyes.

“What? [Hunter] is there too? What is he trying to do?”

It was too funny.

Zhu Yan couldn’t help laughing aloud, causing Walking Corpse ahead of him to make a sharp click as it twisted its neck around.

“Your dad’s skin is busy in the basement. His ashes are down there too.”

“Son, what are you laughing at?”

It had already reached the entrance of the villa, and the thick stench of blood instantly flooded Zhu Yan’s nostrils.

The furniture inside the Western-style house appeared to be exactly where it had always been, with traces of a designer’s painstaking work everywhere.

The only difference was that all the sofas and various pieces of furniture had been covered with red cloth. The cloth had clearly been scavenged from different homes, since the colors and materials varied from piece to piece.

Zhu Yan sidled over to the sofa and lifted the covering to take a look.

Hmm… an extremely soft, light-brown fabric sofa.

If only this house could belong to him.

“Mom, I’ll have a new ability soon,” he answered evasively. “Wouldn’t it be strange if I didn’t laugh?”

While Walking Corpse admired the brightly lit villa, a thin strand of [Fog] quietly separated from the rest. Like a snake, it slithered nimbly toward the basement entrance.

Zhu Yan looked at the message window with Jin Rongxu, then collapsed onto the sofa and adjusted himself into a comfortable position.

After that, he spun a story that was half true and half false.

“Captain, I got a clear look just now.”

“You remember our doubts from before, right? Judging from the conversation between [Hunter] and those terrifying creatures, he really did disguise himself as you and strike a deal with them.”

“Oh, right. He claimed that you were his original body, and that he himself was merely a bionic puppet.”

…

Elsewhere.

[Fog] pressed itself against the window, watching Jin Rongxu’s face with eager anticipation.

As expected, Jin Rongxu’s expression twisted. His cheeks tensed, and his eyes suddenly turned vicious.

He had no reason to doubt Zhu Zeyu’s account.

But [Hunter]—that bastard was absolutely infuriating!

Stealing the three abilities he had set his sights on was one thing. Now he had even turned Jin Rongxu himself into a puppet!

Jin Rongxu swept his gaze over the several terrifying creatures in the room and restrained himself from losing his temper.

“What exactly was the deal?”

Zhu Zeyu was still somewhat useful.

In less than a minute, he sent back a detailed response.

“Captain, Li Panlong is still alive. I overheard part of the conversation between him and that Mother.”

“They seem to be using this wedding to steal the abilities from your body and transfer them to Li Panlong.”

Jin Rongxu sneered.

“And what role is [Hunter] playing in all this?”

“Captain, it probably has something to do with the special nature of the ritual.”

“I couldn’t make out the exact steps. Sorry.”

Jin Rongxu wanted to vent his anger at Zhu Yan, but the next message made him abandon the idea.

“Captain, it seems they can only take your abilities if they make sure you stay alive.”

“I made a rough guess. I think [Hunter] may be planning to kill you halfway through and take your abilities for himself.”

Jin Rongxu could no longer hold it in.

“Fuck! I haven’t even stolen his abilities, and he’s already trying to steal mine?!”

“Exactly. And he intends to do it by killing you.”

Zhu Yan fanned the flames in an eerie tone, deliberately posing another question.

“Captain, judging by the information [Hunter] has, it seems he knows much more than we do.”

“I want to ask you something. Since [Hunter] is also a player, does he have to complete the player mission too?”

He trusted that Jin Rongxu wasn’t stupid and would understand what he was implying.

On the other end, Jin Rongxu clearly got the message. His lips pressed into a tight line.

That was right.

[Hunter] still had a player mission to complete.

“What are you getting at?”

“Captain, if the prophetic vision was accurate, there’s a very high chance that [Hunter] already knows how to complete the player mission.”

In reality, [Hunter] didn’t know. After all, the real broadcast had been isolated.

But [Hunter] believed that as long as he found a way to exploit Mother’s weakness, he would be able to learn everything.

“Captain, all we have to do now is cooperate with [Hunter] and put on a little performance. Then we can win without lifting a finger.”

“He’ll handle the player mission, and I’ll help you block the knife. He won’t be able to steal your abilities, and he’ll still have to give you a piece of clothing for nothing.”

“Seems like a pretty good deal. What do you think, Captain?”

Jin Rongxu could no longer sit still.

The logic was sound.

But something about it felt wrong—deeply, profoundly wrong.

The red words flashing before his eyes stirred his mind into chaos. He turned around, yanked open the door, and strode downstairs.

“Let’s go!” Jin Rongxu shouted irritably at several “teammates.” “Aren’t we supposed to be heading to the wedding feast? What are you all standing around for?!”

Outside the window, [Fog] laughed silently.

The villa was still some distance away. If Jin Rongxu walked there, it would take roughly ten minutes.

Zhu Yan still needed to stall him a little.

This final act had to go off without a hitch.

…

Inside the villa.

Another strand of [Fog] hid in a corner of the basement, watching Li Daochang bustle about nearby. It looked around as well, searching for anything that might give it an advantage.

The basement of a wealthy family was built with considerable care. There was a small home theater and a room filled with exercise equipment.

The two rooms were separated, with the home theater shut behind a small wooden door. A metal key hung from the door.

Li Daochang was in the exercise room, busy sealing up the remaining ashes.

Under no circumstances could Li Daochang be allowed upstairs to reunite with the already-dead Li Panlong.

Ideally—ideally, he needed to find a way to keep those Walking Corpses as far away from Li Daochang as possible, giving Zhu Yan enough time to peel away his skin.