Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 53

[Player Wu Ren experiences abnormalities in his body.]

[Player Triggers Plot: People with low life points seem to be more susceptible to evil spirit contamination.]

This was the plot prompt that all players received at this moment. Before the players discovered the truth, the system still used the word “evil spirit”.

Through the mask, Zhou Qian couldn’t see if there was anything wrong with Wu Ren’s face. However, based on Lily’s symptoms, the first part of her to “monstrify” was her face. But the first reaction on Wu Ren seemed to be on his limbs.

Was everyone’s situation different?

Quickly confirming Wu Ren’s condition, Zhou Qian turned his head to look at the five witches. They walked very carefully and attentively, as if trying to conceal their actions. There was, of course, a reason for this.

When they just stepped off the bus and were about to walk up the mountain path, Eva had reminded everyone to be careful. This place was still within the town’s boundaries.

The mayor was still sending people to investigate, trying to find out what happened during the festival. And the townspeople, represented by the mayor, still despise witches. If the witches were discovered or even captured by them, the consequences are unimaginable.

As Zhou Qian looked at the witches, a sudden change occurred. Unexpectedly, Yin Jiujui shouted—

“This Wu Ren is a man, and he has been possessed by an evil spirit!”

If Yin Jiujui was really from the Peach Blossom Legion, she should be dealing with Zhou Qian. Why would she suddenly attack Wu Ren?

This place was already within the boundaries of Weir Mountain. It was unknown what horrific events occurred here, turning so many children into murderous monsters. Even if she wanted to kill Wu Ren, she shouldn’t act rashly at this time and place.

What was she trying to do?

At this moment, Qi Liuxing, who had been observing everything, was truly perplexed. His gambler was also perplexed. After much deliberation, he could only send him a message with the words: [Be careful.]

Zhou Qian, who also received the gambler’s message, got a message from his main doctor Li Xuehai: [Yin Jiujui’s actions are unusual; it’s uncertain if it’s a diversion.]

In the blink of an eye, Eva had already sprung into action. She pulled out something that looked like a gun from her black robe and glared at Wu Ren with hostile eyes.

At the same moment, Situ Qing saw three lines of text sent by Zhou Qian on her wrist system panel.

[We have been wondering whether to trust you or not. Now it’s your time to prove yourself.]

[If you want me to believe you, you have to believe me first, do exactly as I say.]

[I am not like Mu Sheng. I will not send you to your death.]

These three lines flickered and disappeared in a flash. Soon Situ Qing lifted her head and looked in the direction of Zhou Qian, and further ahead, Eva had raised her gun.

Zhou Qian suddenly shouted, “Situ Qing, stand in front of Wu Ren. Use the power of ice and snow to block the gun for him! The abnormal condition appearing in Wu Ren’s body is an important clue to solving the level; we can’t let him be killed by the witch!”

All my skills need to be charged. Zhou Qian knows this very well! My skills can’t be as fast as Eva’s gun!

How can I use skills to block the gun? 

Zhou Qian means… he obviously wants me to block Wu Ren with my body!

Is he sending me to death?

Can I trust him……

Time was only a second, but countless thoughts crossed Situ Qing’s mind. But when the dark muzzle slowly rose, she had no time to think about anything.

When there was no time to use reason and logic to help judge, people could only make choices based on instinct. And all instincts were traceable.

In this instant, all of Situ Qing’s senses and thoughts seemed to condense into a scene in her heart. It seemed like she had entered the illusion related to fire again. But this time, the fire in the rental home wasn’t an accident; it was deliberately set by her.

She always returned to that rental home with a weary body, but after returning, she often couldn’t rest; she had to clean and cook. By this point, the rental home just made her physically tired.

Every time she returned to the rental home, what she feared most in her heart was facing Mu Sheng. Facing his unpredictable temper, facing his jealousy and rage that could erupt at any time, or facing his tearful eyes and heartfelt “Sister, I love you”…

Now she saw herself setting fire to that rental home, burning Mu Sheng to death, as if she had finally burnt the karmic ties of her past life.

Finally, the illusion disappeared. Situ Qing’s back was filled with the burning and pain brought by the explosive shock wave. But she wasn’t afraid at all. Zhou Qian stood in the light of the fire extending his hand to her. Behind him were Yun Xiangrong, He Xiaowei, and even Gao Shan.

She knew she was walking towards rebirth.

“Come with me. Let me show you the real light.”

“You can join us. You will have a new life like all of us.”

“As long as you are willing to believe in me.”

Her original family was broken, so did joining the team mean another kind of family?

Would that family be different? Would it bring some warmth to her?

But they all didn’t trust her… and indeed, she wronged them…

“We do doubt you now.”

“If you want to prove you are trustworthy, then you have to trust me.”

“I’m not like Mu Sheng. I won’t send you to your death.”

Bang—!

The moment the gunshot sounded, Situ Qing had already come to Wu Ren’s side, opening her arms to block the shot for him. But she didn’t die after all. What Eva’s gun fired wasn’t a bullet, but some substance similar to electricity.

Situ Qing’s body bounced and then crashed to the ground, but she couldn’t feel the pain as her limbs seemed to be numbed by the electrical current.

At the same time, she also breathed a long sigh of relief. She didn’t find the situation dangerous, but instead felt relaxed.

She made the right bet. Zhou Qian really didn’t let her die!

“Situ Qing, are you alright? Can you move?” Zhou Qian’s voice came. “Grasp the stone next to you and show me.”

Situ Qing, leaning on the ground, gasped for a few breaths. She didn’t know why Zhou Qian was asking her to grasp the stone, but she picked up a stone anyway.

She tried and found she could lift the stone but couldn’t hold it for a few seconds. She didn’t even have the strength to throw it away and could only let it slip from her palm.

At this moment, Yin Jiujiu loudly pointed out to the five witches. “There are four men here!” The witches, shocked, watched as Yin Jiujiu quickly identified four males in the group, excluding Li Buhui. The other four witches then raised their guns and aimed at the four men dressed as women, including Zhou Qian.

“Run!” Zhou Qian immediately said.

“I-I can’t…run!” Wu Ren said in a hoarse voice. “My legs feel like millions of ants are biting—itchy and painful! Damn, now I know how inconvenient it is to wear a skirt!”

“Xiao Qi and I will help you run!”

After saying this, Zhou Qian gave Qi Liuxing a look, and the two each supported one arm of Wu Ren and instantly hid in the nearby bushes.

Thanks to the mutated trees, the normal bushes became tall and dense, and the three disappeared in an instant. Ke Yuxiao followed suit, disappearing with them into the wilderness.

“We know this place better than they do. They can’t escape. Chase!” Eva sternly ordered, leading the other four witches towards the direction Zhou Qian and the others had fled.

At this time, Situ Qing was still lying on the ground. Her numbness was somewhat relieved, but she still couldn’t muster any strength. She was also a bit confused about the situation and didn’t know what was going on.

Taking a breath, Situ Qing barely turned her head, frowning at Yin Jiujiu’s position.

“Are you crazy? What are you trying to do?” she asked weakly.

“I’ve long seen through the so-called… relationships between each member of Zhou Qian’s small team,” Yin Jiujiu said, walking towards Situ Qing. “Zhou Qian and Qi Liuxing must trust each other the most, Ke Yuxiao is also okay. But you are somewhat lacking. Besides, under this setting of witches against warlocks, he can exploit you even more. As expected—”

“He also didn’t know what the witches’ guns were. He wanted to test it, so he let you block the gun for Wu Ren. Through your experiment, he probed out the result.”

“Of course, I think he actually didn’t intend to let you die.”

“Firstly, if the witches have guns that can kill… why didn’t the instance give some clues in advance? All the ‘monsters’ were cut with a knife, and warlocks need to be tied up and burned.”

“It seems now that their guns are just something similar to stun guns, only capable of rendering people immobile. The reason why warlocks could be easily caught and tied up by them is also due to this.”

“So Zhou Qian guessed it—the guns wouldn’t be fatal. He just wanted you to test the real utility of these guns.”

“Secondly, in this instance, the only ones the witches want to kill are the warlocks. But you are not a man. Even if you lose your ability to move, the witches won’t kill you. So, regardless of the internal relationships within your small team, the reason Zhou Qian let you test the gun is very simple. Just because you are the only girl in your team.”

“If a man gets hit and caught by a gun, he will die. But you will be fine. This is the reason he chose to let you experiment. So…”

At this moment, Yin Jiujiu had already walked up to Situ Qing.

She took out a gourd-shaped wine bottle, opened the lid, and took a big gulp, then looked down at Situ Qing with cold eyes. “By saying this, maybe you will feel a bit better, right?”

“Zhou Qian didn’t do it on purpose. He didn’t abandon you either. Under the special setting of this instance, he just did something he thought had relatively high benefits. He thought letting you test the gun could temporarily save other teammates and also keep you alive. But he didn’t expect one thing…”

Crouching down and grabbing Situ Qing’s chin, Yin Jiujiu said fiercely, “He didn’t know that the person I really want to kill is you!”

At this moment, Situ Qing really felt incredulous and asked, “Why?”

She quickly realized something and said, “I get it, Mu Sheng sent you, didn’t he? He hates me for betraying him? Or… are you from the Peach Blossom Legion? My mission failed, and you want to get rid of me? But I haven’t officially joined them. I don’t know any secrets of the legion—”

“What Peach Blossom, what Mu Sheng? I don’t know them at all!” Yin Jiujiu coldly snorted. “It seems you forgot about Meng Hui!”

Who is Meng Hui…

It took Situ Qing quite a while to remember this person.

She once wanted to level up quickly, so she rapidly ran instances, and of course, she met a lot of teammates and witnessed many deaths.

Meng Hui seemed to be one of her former teammates who died quietly, and she even can’t remember how that person died now.

Situ Qing looked into Yin Jiujiu’s murderous eyes and said, “I remember her. But her death has nothing to do with me. I don’t know what kind of misunderstanding is in this—”

Yin Jiujiu’s voice was full of anger. “Stop pretending! I was her gambler at that time. I saw clearly from the screen that you let her die!”

“Meng Hui was my best friend. Situ Qing, I entered this game and waited until today just to kill you. This instance finally gave me a chance, and I won’t miss it. I must avenge Meng Hui!”

Yin Jiujiu continued, “You might think I am crazy, might think I am insane—how dare I kill other teammates at this time, just to avenge my friend?

“To make you die more peacefully and feel less guilty, I can tell you another fact—”

“The witches now will only tie up men and then go to the square to burn them. Apart from the fact that they don’t have a weapon that can kill in one hit, they need a sense of ritual. For the things the warlocks did to them, they want to retaliate.”

“But I am a woman. I am absolutely safe here. So, when Zhou Qian and the others get caught and tied up, I will save them. I only have a grudge against you, not others.”

“The reason why I have to let them be temporarily controlled by the witches and choose to do it at this time is only one—under normal circumstances, I can’t beat you. But now you are injured by the witches’ weapon, and now at my mercy.”

“I’ve told you everything—the cause and effect of killing you and the subsequent situation of your teammates.”

“Situ Qing, you can now rest in peace.”

Yin Jiujiu said all she had to say.

She lifted the wine bottle high, and the liquor inside it condensed into an ice spike. The ice spike formed, accompanied by the pungent smell of wine, and stabbed straight towards Situ Qing’s forehead, who was lying on the ground, unable to move!

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