Chapter 37: Deception |
In the dead silence, Qi Si suddenly scoffed. "What are you thinking? Do you really believe you have the strength to take anyone on right now?"
"Even if you did manage to control some poor soul, do you think Yang Yundong would let you get away with it? From what I've seen, he has a strong sense of justice. He wouldn't tolerate a wolf among the sheep."
"Besides, you can't even be sure it's human flesh A'Xi wants. Imagine taking such a risk only to discover your entire premise was wrong from the start. Wouldn't that be pathetic?"
Qi Si's words sent Zhao Feng's thoughts reeling, his resolve soaring one moment only to crash the next. He was completely at the mercy of the verbal assault, his own will eroded.
He ran a hand through his disheveled hair in frustration. "Then what do you suggest I do?" he asked.
"Aren't you human, too?" Qi Si countered with a smile.
The question was left hanging in the air, but its implication was crystal clear. Whether Zhao Feng chose to accept it was entirely up to him.
But Zhao Feng knew he was out of options.
If he went after someone else and got caught, he'd become a target for everyone. And waiting for Yang Yundong to find a solution was pointless—a distant promise that couldn't save him from his immediate crisis.
When he found that his methods could steamroll even Western-themed instances, he naturally stuck to what he knew. The moment he saw A'Xi, his first instinct was to strike.
But he never expected the game to play dirty, throwing in a rule that "monsters cannot be killed by powers from outside the village."
In the faint morning light, a subtle smile played on Qi Si's lips as he waited, unhurried, for Zhao Feng to make his decision.
And tragically, Zhao Feng made the exact choice Qi Si had anticipated.
He gritted his teeth, gripped the blade in his right hand, and sliced into his left arm. Blood sprayed as he carved off a piece of his own flesh, which fell to the ground along with the sweat dripping from his brow.
Clenching his jaw, he tore a strip from his shirt and wrapped the wound on his left arm. Then, he carefully picked up the piece of flesh from the ground and stuffed it into his pocket.
Once that was done, he reluctantly tore off another small piece of cloth and began to slowly wipe the blood from the blade.
It wasn't easy to get your hands on a weapon, and even though it was just a simple blade with no special effects, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't tempted to keep it.
Who knew what the future instances would bring? Without a sharp blade at his side, everything would be more difficult.
Qi Si watched him, noting the obvious reluctance in his movements. It wasn't hard to guess what was going through his mind.
He glanced at Zhao Feng's rough fingers and smiled nonchalantly. "Keep the blade for now. You can give it back to me when the instance is almost over."
It sounded too good to be true. Zhao Feng froze, his expression turning suspicious. "Aren't you afraid I'll just keep it?"
Qi Si ticked a point off on his finger, putting on a show. "First of all, I'm a bit of a clean freak. To be honest, now that you've touched it... I don't really want it back."
"You son of a..." Zhao Feng started to swear, but he choked back the rest of the curse.
Qi Si continued, his tone measured. "Secondly, I'm an official member of the Sila Guild. I trust you're not foolish enough to make an enemy of me over a simple blade."
As a player on his second instance, Zhao Feng knew exactly what the Sila Guild represented.
It was one of the top three guilds, active since the dawn of the Weird Game. It boasted thousands of veteran players, all with formidable stockpiles of items.
What's more, many of its members were kill-on-sight lunatics—the type to hold a grudge and fiercely protect their own.
So "Chang Xu" was from the Sila Guild? No wonder he could make such a morally bankrupt argument without batting an eye—it was practically the Sila Guild's motto. No wonder he'd kept his distance from everyone at the start of the instance; in his eyes, the rest of them were probably already dead... Zhao Feng's mind raced, replaying every moment since they'd arrived. The more he thought, the more it all clicked into place. He looked at Qi Si, his eyes filled with a new, profound wariness.
To be recruited by a guild right after his first instance meant he was either exceptionally talented or had powerful connections... Either way, he was not someone to be crossed.
"And finally," Qi Si said, "I want this to be a gesture of goodwill. An offer to cooperate."
Qi Si reached up and touched the cord of the necklace at the nape of his neck. The [Rose Heart] on his chest began to radiate a gentle, comforting warmth, signaling that its effect was taking hold.
"Zhao Feng, you're ruthless and you're decisive. I won't lie, I'm interested in you. I believe our guild leader will be, too. If we work well together, I'll make the introduction."
At these words, Zhao Feng's breath quickened, and he couldn't hide the ecstatic glimmer in his eyes.
He'd never been one for morals. Though he had publicly denounced the Sila Guild on the forums, deep down, he had always secretly longed to join them.
For a powerhouse of that magnitude to extend an olive branch to him... it was beyond his wildest dreams.
If he could just join the Sila Guild, he'd never have to face an instance alone and helpless again. He could even act with impunity under the protection of their name...
It all felt like a dream. Zhao Feng still couldn't quite believe it. "You... you're really with the Sila Guild?" he stammered.
Qi Si remained silent. His expression unreadable, he reached into his shirt pocket, pulled out a black ring carved with a butterfly, and tossed it on the ground in front of Zhao Feng.
He had lifted the ring from Liu Ajiu's body and kept it on him, just in case. He never wore it, afraid it might randomly pair him with other Sila members in an instance.
Now, the little trinket was finally proving its worth.
The moment he saw the ring, any lingering doubt Zhao Feng had about Qi Si vanished.
Only the Sila Guild possessed the complete technology to craft items that could be brought into instances.
The black ring was unmistakably a Sila creation. For a new player to get their hands on one, short of joining the guild itself, was next to impossible.
It's not like he killed a Sila member and took it as a trophy, right?
Now that it seemed real, Zhao Feng's confidence faltered. "Chang... why me? Why cooperate with me? All I've got is a bit of nerve and I've seen a few monsters. I have no real instance experience..."
He looked up to see the young man—the Sila member—give him a disappointed look, shaking his head with a sigh. "I thought someone as smart as you would have figured it out by now."
"Last night, the first death: Lu Keliang. He died indirectly because he failed to get a piece of the 'divine meat.' The zero-sum nature of this instance is already becoming clear. You, Yang Yundong, and Allen have all triggered the task to find meat for an NPC. I'm sure we'll see more of this, not less. The amount of flesh we'll be forced to give will only increase."
"There's only so much flesh a person can cut from their own body. And as we've seen, doing so cripples your ability to fight. This will inevitably lead to conflict. Eventually, someone will be chosen as a sacrifice to satisfy the NPCs."
"After all, sacrificing the one for the many is a time-honored human tradition. The group forces the individual's hand, justifying present atrocities with the promise of a future for the tribe. They call it 'justice' and 'morality'."
Zhao Feng followed Qi Si's logic, and the more he considered it, the more sense it made.
The only reason he'd been so hesitant, so afraid to openly defy conventional morality, was the fear of being cornered by the others—of them using morality as a weapon to single him out as the sacrifice.
Qi Si watched Zhao Feng's expression shift from confusion to resolve, a faint smile on his face. "I can see you're like me," he said coolly. "You're not one of those fools who'd let themselves be swayed by empty notions of honor and praise, willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the herd."
"During the first three novice instances, everyone is on roughly the same level. All we have to do is eliminate the strongest few, establish a clear numerical advantage, and we'll be the ones who decide who lives and who dies. We can create our own 'rules of sacrifice'."
"Yang Yundong and Allen have already formed a solid little alliance, and I'm quite sure they wouldn't agree with my philosophy. That leaves you as my only potential partner."
The monster in human skin smiled, a cold, mocking light in its eyes. "And of course," it said, "it seems I'm also the only one willing to help you find a way to deal with A'Xi."