Chapter 84: Hopeless Sea |
"Someone tried to kill me... No, he already did."
Leaning on the long-haired young man for support, Lu Li sank into a chair, leaving a trail of small bloodstains behind him.
His face was paper-white from blood loss, yet he spoke with perfect clarity. "The man came at me from behind and struck my head with a heavy object—I think he must have shattered the back of my skull. I used an item to transfer the fatal injury, which is the only reason I'm still alive."
As he spoke, he placed a statue, no bigger than half his palm, on the table.
Qi Si's gaze lingered on it for a moment, and a text box promptly appeared on his system interface.
[Name: Gift of Akeso (Consumed)]
[Type: Item]
[Effect: Randomly transfers the location of a fatal wound. Has a 10% chance to convert a fatal wound into a non-fatal one.]
[Note: The goddess of health heals the sick and wounded, but she has no wish to make an enemy of Death. Thus, she leaves all to the hands of fate.]
The leg was clearly mangled, dragging uselessly on the floor. Though the pant leg had been tied in a crude bandage, blood still seeped out relentlessly.
This, he presumed, was the "non-fatal wound" that the fatal blow had been converted into. It still looked incredibly grim.
If it wasn't treated soon, the infection could spread through his entire body and kill him.
Qi Si dredged up every sad memory he could think of and molded his features into a look of concern. "Professor Lu," he began, "are you saying... your attacker was another player?"
Lu Li gave a wry smile. "As much as I hate to believe it, I'm afraid so. I'm certain the weapon used to kill me doesn't belong in this instance."
Trust among players was fragile to begin with. With Lu Li, an advocate for peace, falling victim to a sneak attack, any hope of cooperation was now just a fantasy.
Things were about to get much messier. It was inevitable that they would start turning on each other...
Qi Si considered this for a moment before asking, "Did you get a look at the attacker's features?"
Lu Li shook his head. "No. He came from behind, completely silent. Even in the moment I died, I couldn't fully process what was happening."
"I was completely terrified," he continued. "In that instant, pain was my entire world. I fell to the ground, sand filling my mouth and nose. Blood covered my face, and everything went blurry..."
Recounting the experience, Lu Li grew more agitated. His pale right hand, hanging at his side, trembled uncontrollably. "I'm sorry," he stammered, "I still can't quite pull myself together."
"All I can figure is that he attacked me because I was heading for the altar. He must know something about it... I suggest all of you stay away from the altar until we know who he is."
Liu Yuhan, who had been staring at the floor, suddenly looked up as if struck by a thought. "There's a flaw in that logic. Lu Li's role is 'Merchant,' which means his attacker cannot be a 'Scholar.' That means there's a faction the killer can't harm. He can't stop everyone from reaching the altar."
"You're right," Lu Li said, his glasses glinting in the light and obscuring his eyes. "I have a few theories. I was hesitant to share them for fear of sounding alarmist, but now I feel I must."
"I suspect the killer has an accomplice, and that they belong to different factions."
A solemn bell chimed in the distance, its toll as resonant as a prayer.
The reverberations rippled through the air, blurring their words and resonating with nine unhurried chimes.
On a twenty-four-hour clock, it was now six in the evening.
The fact that the other two players hadn't returned by now was a very bad sign.
"An accomplice... of course. With a partner, they could target more than one person at a time."
"To team up in a faction-based game, they must have queued for this instance together. What's their objective?"
"Damn it. We're out in the open, and they're lurking in the shadows... We could have just worked together..."
The players murmured amongst themselves, but the discussion quickly died down. They fell silent, studying their companions with grim expressions.
Several pairs of eyes drifted between Chang Xu and Qi Si, lingering for a long moment.
In the dead silence, Yuna reappeared before them, holding the wooden plank scrawled with the lodging prices. Her behavior was identical to what they had witnessed at this exact time two days prior.
A flawless smile was plastered on her face. Her gaze swept over the crowd and landed on Liu Yuhan, who was curled up in the shadows. It felt as if a physical tongue were licking over the girl's entire body.
The girl's already pale face went a shade whiter, and her shoulders began to tremble.
The others pretended not to notice, pulling banknotes from their pockets and moving toward Yuna.
The long-haired young man didn't join them, walking over to Lu Li instead. "Professor Lu, you're injured. Why don't I share a room with you? That way, we can look out for each other if something happens."
He spoke loudly enough for several other players to hear, and their faces registered surprise.
But it didn't take long for more than one of them to figure out the angle.
A day ago, Lu Li, despite his gentle and harmless appearance, was an intimidating veteran player whom others kept at a respectful distance. Now, however, he was both experienced *and* vulnerable—the perfect person to split a room fee with.
A short man was the first to catch on. He sidled up with a grin and said, "Professor Lu, count me in. With three of us, the rent will be even easier to split."
The long-haired young man's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, but Lu Li seemed not to notice, simply smiling and nodding. "Thank you both."
Yuna made her way around the lobby, collecting the room fee from each player.
When she reached Qi Si, he casually pulled out a banknote and placed it in her hand, his back to the light.
Yuna accepted the bill without a word and moved on to the next player.
Qi Si watched her back as she walked away, raising an eyebrow. One of the "Merchant" identity's effects was *[Spend less money for the same service]*. Was the discount really that steep?
He now had nine hundred dollars left. Combined with Chang Xu's money, they could afford to stay on the island for over ten more days.
But he was certain this money was for more than just paying for lodging.
'Rest assured, the amount of money you received corresponds to your own value.'
Yuna's words echoed in his mind. It seemed an equation had been drawn between money and the value of a life.
It was just baseless speculation for now. Qi Si sat at the central table in the lobby, resting his chin on his hand as his mind drifted.
Once Yuna had collected all the money, she retreated behind the counter. A few moments later, she emerged pushing a food trolley, first distributing cutlery and then setting out an array of dishes that reeked of fish.
After laying out the food, she began gesturing to the players. "Last night, I lost the Sea God's statue. I've searched all day without success. Could you please help me look for it?"
"Of course," Lu Li said with a pale smile. "We'll keep an eye out for you."
Qi Si knew perfectly well that the statue Yuna had "lost" was almost certainly the one Chang Xu had brought back from the dream.
As for *how* she lost it...
A small smile played on Qi Si's lips, his expression unconcerned. *The statue Chang Xu took has nothing to do with Qi Si.*
Yuna stood there a moment longer, her gaze sweeping over each person, but she found nothing suspicious.
Frustrated, she signed, "If you find the statue and return it to me, I will grant you one request."
The players exchanged knowing glances, a shared determination reflected in their eyes.
Chang Xu shot a questioning look at Qi Si, but Qi Si had already picked up his chopsticks and was focused on the plate of seaweed on the table, seemingly ready to pounce.
Learning from the first day's experience, no one held back. Eleven pairs of chopsticks shot out toward the plate of seaweed, and in the end, each person managed to snatch only a single mouthful.
Qi Si contentedly chewed the generous portion of seaweed he had managed to snag.
Perhaps it was his imagination, but he felt the seaweed tasted better this time than it had last night or this morning. While the stubborn fishy stench remained, there seemed to be a faint, savory freshness mixed in with the saltiness.
He stroked his chin, his gaze turning to the other dishes with a flicker of curiosity.
Had Yuna's cooking improved? he wondered. Might the other dishes be even more delicious?
After a quick dinner, Qi Si left the table. Chang Xu fell in behind him silently, and the two of them headed upstairs, one after the other.
In the long, narrow second-floor hallway, the puddles on the floor had dried, leaving only the faint, briny scent of the ocean to tickle their nostrils.
The dry, rotting floorboards seemed to have been softened by the salt. With each step, their feet sank slightly into the wood, and a synesthetic whisper, like the rustling of feeding silkworms, prickled their senses.
Dust motes danced in the milky-yellow beams of light filtering through the cracks in the walls. The hazy shafts looked like well-worn gauze, or perhaps a tangled, half-remembered dream.
In the eerie silence, Chang Xu spoke abruptly. "What's the real story with that statue?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Qi Si replied, his tone sincere, his gaze earnest. "I helped you hide it and get past Yuna's search. I've done more than enough. But here's a piece of free advice: don't be in a rush to return it to her. It could be a trap."
Chang Xu stared at Qi Si suspiciously but could find no crack in his facade. Finally, he just muttered sullenly, "Thanks."
Qi Si lowered his gaze and continued, "You've probably noticed that many of the players are starting to panic. Between Yuna's threats and a killer lurking in the shadows, the pressure is mounting. I suspect it won't be long before people start thinking about the minimum death count mechanic... As much as I'd hate to see it come to that, I suggest you stay on your guard. Prepare for the zero-sum game ahead."
"It won't come to that," Chang Xu said, shaking his head. "While the game certainly brings out the worst in some players, cooperation and peace are still the norm. A friend of mine analyzed the player base using forum data, and 'slaughter-stream' players only make up about twenty percent."
Qi Si, who was himself a "slaughter-stream" player, remained silent.
He stopped walking and posed a timely question. "From what I understand, the third instance weeds out eighty percent of the player base. It's hard for non-slaughter-stream players to survive that kind of competition."
Chang Xu replied calmly, "But the fact remains that the Weird Game seems to be deliberately controlling the proportion of slaughter-stream players. As strange as it sounds, the ratio always hovers right around that twenty percent mark."
Qi Si wasn't convinced.
In his experience, every veteran of the third instance he'd known—besides himself—had died a miserable death, good or bad.
He knew it was unwise to reveal more information just to win an argument, so he seamlessly changed the subject. "Lu Li said the killer has an accomplice from a different faction. What's your take on that?"
Chang Xu thought for a moment. "I suspect the killer and his partner are from the Sila Guild."
"Not necessarily," Qi Si said, shaking his head.
Ever since the evil god had warned him to "beware the Puppet Master," he had been dredging up everything he knew about the man from the forums.
The Puppet Master was known to control other players with his puppet threads. Anyone could be transformed into his puppet in an instant, forced to do his bidding.
That meant anyone could be his accomplice—even someone who wasn't a member of the Sila Guild.
The seeds of suspicion had been sown. No one could be trusted. Not even himself...
With this in mind, Qi Si cracked a grim joke. "Hey, Chang Xu, do you think we look like a killer and his accomplice?"
Chang Xu tilted his head, considered it for a moment, and said with a perfectly straight face, "Yes."
Qi Si facepalmed. "Has anyone ever told you that you have zero sense of humor?"
Chang Xu replied, "Yes."
"..."
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