I Chop, Chop, Chop

Zhu Zeyu heard Jin Rongxu’s furious shout.

But for some reason, the idiot didn’t come to help him.

The intense pain was close to numbing his nerves. Sweat trickled from his brows, blurring his vision.

Using the cloak to conceal his hand, Zhu Zeyu forced himself to activate [Telekinesis] and quietly pulled the bullet from his body.

Jin Rongxu stood nearby, his breathing involuntarily growing rapid.

He had no mind to care about Zhu Zeyu on the ground. Instead, he took a step back and stared intently at the shrubs ahead.

Beneath the night sky and amid the dense fog, a group of “people” was clearly advancing rapidly.

The ground trembled faintly. The indistinct sound of footsteps drew closer from the distance, and there were evidently quite a few of them.

Jin Rongxu gripped a new piece of horrific creature tissue tightly in his hand.

It was a section of tentacle, immensely powerful and said to be capable of growing up to three meters long.

There could hardly be anything more suitable for dealing with a horde of horrific creatures.

Trembling, Zhu Zeyu pulled out a bottle of healing potion and drank it.

They had arrived at just the right time. There was still one thing he hadn’t done yet.

Jin Rongxu had relied on him to carry him through this dungeon. He ought to collect some compensation.

All he had to do was cut off the man’s left hand, and he would receive six hundred thousand bone coins…

“C-Captain…”

Zhu Zeyu weakly pushed himself up from the ground.

The healing potion was highly effective. The pain came quickly and disappeared just as quickly.

He deliberately tossed the glass bottle onto the ground, letting it roll away with a clatter where Jin Rongxu could see it.

“I-I’m fine…”

Jin Rongxu nevertheless took another step back. Keeping an eye on the movements beyond the shrubs, he sneered at Zhu Yan.

“Where did you get that healing item?”

Zhu Yan was so startled that he immediately recalled the passage of time.

After drinking the Witch’s potion, he had altered the memory of the three hours after waking up.

He hadn’t reconstructed it in great detail, merely establishing a rough outline and leaving plenty of room for specific details.

It shouldn’t be enough to make Jin Rongxu suspicious.

But to be safe, Zhu Yan came up with an even more plausible lie.

“It was a reward item from my last dungeon.”

The explanation made sense, and it also matched Zhu Zeyu’s inner thoughts. Jin Rongxu didn’t ask anything else.

“Hurry up,” he ordered coldly. “I have high standards for newcomers.”

“Since you’re healed, get over here. Can’t you hear something coming?”

Zhu Zeyu was quite useful. Difficult to control, but courageous.

Jin Rongxu felt reassured having someone like that at his side. In any case, he would become fertilizer in a month. No matter how difficult he was to control, he wouldn’t have the chance to cause any trouble.

“Yes, Captain.”

In a place Jin Rongxu couldn’t see, strands of [Fog] peeled away from Zhu Zeyu’s body. Taking advantage of the cover of night, they circled around behind Jin Rongxu.

Zhu Zeyu cast an inconspicuous glance at Jin Rongxu’s left hand, drew a short dagger, and moved to stand beside him.

Under the cover of darkness, the footsteps drew nearer. The wind carried furious roars toward them in waves.

“Kill—”

“Kill you all!”

“Anyone who killed my son must die!”

“Kill you all!”

The final sentence was filled with such venom that it sent a stab of pain through Zhu Yan’s head.

Jin Rongxu didn’t hesitate.

He glanced at Zhu Zeyu, then efficiently pressed the tentacle against the wound he had torn open earlier.

“Get closer!” Jin Rongxu shouted. “You’d better not die on me. I’m going to activate Blood Lock—ah!”

Unfortunately, the scream came before the Blood Lock ability could take effect.

A figure suddenly appeared behind Jin Rongxu, its blade moving too quickly to follow.

As the flash of steel rose and fell, Jin Rongxu felt a chill run through his left hand. A moment later, sharp pain surged through him.

Blood quickly stained the pale stump of his wrist red, gathering into a tiny stream that dripped steadily into the soil.

“Quit taking your time and activate the ability, Captain.”

The Hunter’s voice was teasing. Both the real blade and Jin Rongxu’s severed left hand had already been placed inside his ring.

He stood empty-handed, sneering at Jin Rongxu as the latter spun around, one eyebrow raised.

“…I have high standards for newcomers, especially useless trash like you, who only got where you are by piling up resources.”

Jin Rongxu went mad.

The blood sliding down from his wrist bound him in place like an iron chain.

He turned to look at Zhu Yan. The corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably, twisting into a vicious grin amid the cold sweat covering his face.

“Captain!” Zhu Zeyu shouted. “They’re almost here—”

“I’ll kill you!”

Like a trapped beast, Jin Rongxu let out a furious roar. The rapidly growing tentacles slammed toward the Hunter with enough savage force to tear everything apart.

The young man continued smiling faintly at Jin Rongxu. It was only when the tentacles touched him that they suddenly disintegrated.

Jin Rongxu began roaring furiously.

Zhu Zeyu hurriedly ducked to the side, suppressing the wild elation in his heart as he cried out mournfully, “Captain, they’re here!”

He couldn’t add any more lines. He would start laughing.

And if he laughed, his delivery would be completely off.

That would be extremely unprofessional!

The [Walking Dead] began lunging out of the trees ahead, one after another. Their sharp shrieks rang out in a cacophonous chorus.

“Kill you!”

“Kill you all!”

But the thick tentacles, carrying all the fury Jin Rongxu had nowhere to vent, swept across the area and sent the nearly rotten corpses flying in a shower of blood and flesh.

Zhu Zeyu stood to the side, unable to find even an opportunity to intervene.

While keeping an eye on Jin Rongxu’s tentacles to make sure he wasn’t caught in their path, he did his best to recall the Seer’s prophecy.

The Seer had said that, in reality, all of them would survive.

Jin Rongxu trusted the Seer completely. The man never acted without proof.

If the Seer’s prophecy was correct, then what exactly did “everyone survives” mean?

Zhu Zeyu lifted his head and looked at the battered bodies and the agitated Jin Rongxu.

The [Walking Dead] could hardly be considered alive.

Zhu Zeyu narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, an absurd guess came to him.

The [Fog] silently seeped deep into the trees, once again taking shape where Jin Rongxu couldn’t see it.

“That’s enough.” The Hunter’s voice was cold and commanding.

In one hand, he held the foul-smelling [Nightmare Book]. In the other, he carried the level-thirteen military saber.

The blade’s tip rested against the [Nightmare Book]. With the slightest tremor of Zhu Yan’s wrist, everything inside could be reduced to ashes.

A short distance ahead, several [Walking Dead] that had been preparing to charge out suddenly stopped.

Like NPCs running on a preset program, they turned around in perfect unison. The closest to Zhu Yan was the “woman” in an elegant qipao and high heels.

Beneath the dim landscape lights, the velvet fabric still shimmered with a lustrous sheen. One of her shoes had lost its heel, while her ruined stockings were caked with mud.

“You killed…”

“Make one more move and I’ll kill you.” Zhu Yan’s words were brief and forceful. “If you surrender, I can resurrect your son.”

He couldn’t resurrect Li Panlong.

But for now, what mattered was ending the dungeon as quickly as possible and seeing whether he could confirm his guess.

A lie was still a lie. With the [Nightmare Book] in his hands, Zhu Yan had nothing to fear.

A glimmer passed through the murky eyes of the [Walking Dead].

“If you make another move, you and Li Panlong will both be reduced to ashes.”

Zhu Yan gave the [Nightmare Book] a little shake.

“I’ll give you five seconds to think it over. Five, four, three—”

In fact, [The Walking Dead] had no other choice.

Obsession was far too important to a horror creature—

Rather than truly lose it, it would rather place its trust in this liar one last time.

“I’ll let you out,” it said unwillingly, “but you have to…”

The rest of its words were muted.

A delighted female voice poured into his mind, carrying Zhu Yan’s familiar laughter.

“Wow, player!”

“Congratulations on clearing the instance! I love that you recognized the real broadcast!”