Chapter 151: You Are Dead |
[BOSS: [Love Snatcher] Mourning Paper Man (lv.20)]
[HP: 20000]
[Description: It holds a funeral for 'love,' and you are the target.]
The information of the paper man appeared before Guan Shan.
As he had guessed, a B-level Esper in the simulator's view was at least level 20.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
The thin paper money covering the ground looked light and fragile. Still, under the combined push of high-speed internal and external rotation, it easily cut through everything around it, producing continuous slicing sounds.
What appeared as wooden walls and floors in Guan Shan's view were actually special alloys in reality, with a hardness that could withstand a full-force strike from Guan Shan's Yellow Springs Demon Blade, which had a base Attack Power of 1500.
— Don't ask how he knew; let's just say he tested it out of boredom.
It showed how sharp they were! As expected, they also cut through Guan Shan's skin, surrounded by these papers.
When the paper money flew by at high speed, they were like locusts, devouring everything in their path.
When they rotated in three dimensions, they became like a pencil sharpener, biting inward with blades, shaving off unnecessary parts.
At this moment, Guan Shan was the pencil being inserted...
"Wait!"
As the first round of paper money turned, Guan Shan, sweating profusely, shouted, "I have nothing to do with Qi Xingyu's disappearance! She came to me because of Captain Sun's task; our conversation did not involve anything personal. If you don't believe me, you can ask Captain Sun!"
Although Qi Xingyu had used her ability on him at the time, and because of its nature, it seemed very ambiguous and was all initiated by her.
But in front of her pursuer, he definitely couldn't say that!
Hiss!
Guan Shan saw his arm being cut open, with blood seeping from the wound, staining the swiftly passing paper pieces red.
At the same time, a tingling sensation came from his back, throat, and outer thighs, clearly indicating they had also been cut by those paper pieces.
-4 -7 -6 -3 -1 -1 -3 -2 -4 -5...
A dense array of damage numbers flooded his vision, more frequent than those inflicted by the Esper who released poison mist (a swarm of flies in Guan Shan's eyes) in the "Room."
This single attack took away nearly 200 HP from Guan Shan.
It's okay, just minor injuries, surface wounds don't count as injuries...
Guan Shan took a deep breath, staying calm as his blood pressure and heartbeat soared. He pulled out his Glock 17.
But he still tried to communicate, reasoning and appealing.
"I am now a witness for the 'Room' archive. Before the archiving ends, I should be protected by the Special Security Group and won't leave Wuhao Base. You can ask me anytime, but attacking me is not only against the rules but also openly defying the Special Security Group."
"Qi Xingyu is missing. Instead of finding her, you're destroying your future by tangling with me. What's the point?!"
After all, this was in Wuhao Base, the opponent's home turf, and Luo Yi was a B-level Esper. He probably couldn't win, and Qi Xingyu had only interacted with him before her disappearance, so blaming him was normal...
However, the paper man, which Guan Shan saw as Luo Yi, gave no positive response.
Hiss—
Its hissing paused momentarily. Guan Shan thought it was going to listen to him and felt relieved, thinking he could manually stop the simulation after knowing the truth.
The simulator seemed to activate automatically when Guan Shan was in danger, and each time he had to kill the BOSS to end it.
But since Guan Shan knew everything he saw was based on reality, if the BOSS lost its intent to kill, wouldn't the simulation end? If not, staying in this simulation might be like exploiting a bug, preventing the formation of the next simulation?
In this way, wouldn't it be an indirect way to avoid experiencing different horror scenarios each time, not a complete release but a new approach...
Guan Shan was thinking optimistically.
Then the paper man gave him a bizarre smile, making weird noises, shaking its entire body as if mocking him.
Guan Shan was stunned. The paper man's reaction was completely different from Luo Yi's rage in reality.
Although he couldn't understand the paper man's language, it was clear it wasn't worried or angry about the loved one's disappearance. Instead, it mocked Guan Shan's explanation and reasoning.
It seemed... it only wanted Guan Shan dead! Swish!
Guan Shan's pupils contracted. He couldn't understand the paper man's language but saw its hand gesture.
The paper money danced!
A strong sense of danger and fear exploded from his spine, bringing chills and tremors.
"This Luo Yi didn't return for Qi Xingyu; he just wanted an excuse to kill me!"
"Why? We don't even know each other; why does he want to kill me?!"
Guan Shan couldn't understand and had no time to think.
As the second round of paper money turned, it contracted by nearly thirty centimeters, showing no mercy!
These thirty centimeters marked the boundary between life and death.
The paper money, already close to Guan Shan's body, rotated inward like a white cocoon filled with blades.
In this snow-white world inside the coffin, clusters of blood spurted out like roses blooming in the snow.
Guan Shan instantly experienced the pain of a thousand cuts!
His arms and legs were divided into thousands of parts, his torso and head split, separating into a neatly arranged fruit platter.
Due to his hesitation and not expecting the opponent to attack with lethal intent within the base, Guan Shan couldn't react in time, and his HP dropped to zero in an instant.
His only thought at this moment was: "[BEEP—]!!!"
Guan Shan could have taken timely action, but knowing the truth about the simulator affected his judgment.
Although he felt no pain, watching himself being "dissected" was more terrifying than any previous simulation. This was the horror of death.
"I was wrong. I shouldn't have treated the monster as a person. If it were a person, it would appear as an NPC. A monster is a monster, all just experience points!"
In the fading and darkening vision, Guan Shan deeply regretted, "If I could do it again, I'd follow the simulator's rule: kill them all, no mercy!"
"But now... it seems too late."
Guan Shan's vision went completely dark.
At this moment, a prompt suddenly appeared.
[You Are Dead]
[You triggered the effect of Blade-Wielding Monk's Prayer Beads]
[Blade-Wielding Monk's Prayer Beads]
[Effect: Each Buddhist-related item increases its effect bonus by 5%, stackable; upon reaching zero HP, there is a chance to avoid death and restore 1% HP.]
[HP +71]
[Current HP: 71]
Qing Yi's prayer beads!!!
Guan Shan's eyes snapped open, overjoyed. In his vision, his fragmented body parts emitted a faint golden glow, linked together by the golden light.
Following his backward motion, he pushed off the ground with his hands, performing a backflip. His body instantly reassembled during the motion, escaping the paper money's encirclement!