Chapter 2: 02 Encountering the Enemy

Chapter 2: 02 Encountering the Enemy

On a sweltering summer morn, as the red sun ascended, An Zhi lounged lazily by the windowsill, his eyes lowered. His long, tousled hair fell across his smooth forehead, while the first golden-orange rays of the day enveloped his white tresses, imbuing them with a golden hue that lent him an aura of warmth and nobility.

Though An Zhi appeared calm on the surface, inwardly, he was in turmoil. He never expected the game to be so immersive; if he were to commit murder here, wouldn't it leave a haunting shadow for the rest of his life? That was something he couldn't bring himself to do.

"You may abandon the game mission now, and we shall diminish your consciousness accordingly."

"Threatening me!" An Zhi couldn't help but curse aloud.

Xuan Zhu was bent over, inspecting the corpse when he heard An Zhi's voice but failed to catch what was said. He asked, "What did Brother Shen just say?"

"Ayuan is fine. I didn't say anything, you must have been hearing things," An Zhi feigned ignorance. "I truly didn't speak. Perhaps it was the corpse trying to communicate?"

As he finished his sentence, the woman's clenched hand twitched slightly.

Xuan Zhu briefly furrowed his brow. "It must be due to my recent unrest. But Ayuan, please refrain from such jokes in the future. It's disrespectful to the deceased, and also..."

He turned to address An Zhi, "I have a feeling that these black patterns are some sort of poison. They could be the cause of the woman's death. I need to retrieve my poison-testing needle from my room to examine it further."

"Oh, okay." An Zhi nodded, watching Xuan Zhu leave the room.

Now, he was alone with the female corpse, and the silence in the room was eerily oppressive. Even his own breathing sounded like a disturbance.

The atmosphere weighed heavily on his heart, making it pound wildly. He dared not even breathe loudly, for fear of awakening her. Yet, despite himself, images from horror films began to surface in his mind.

To distract himself, he shifted his gaze to the window, hoping that the scenic view would chase away those disturbing thoughts.

The sun had hidden behind a high-rise building, and rays of light filtered through the gaps in the wall. Unprepared, the brightness momentarily blinded him. When he opened his eyes again, he inadvertently met the gaze of a pair of hazy eyes.

Suddenly, a surge of terror shot through his skull. His heart seemed to pause for an instant, followed by a wave of dizziness. His knees buckled, and he fell to the floor.

The corpse's eyes, as if equipped with radar, tracked An Zhi's descent, and her head tilted down to meet his position.

Perhaps the dead do not think, for the corpse appeared oblivious to the situation. She simply tilted her head, her wide-eyed stare fixed on An Zhi, while her body remained motionless, frozen in place.

A beam of light from outside the window cast a dividing shadow between them.

They engaged in an eerie staring contest.

How hideous! The demonic god Shen Yuan was actually afraid of ghosts and had even lost his footing from fear!

Seeing the female corpse remain unresponsive for a long time, An Zhi cautiously reached out with trembling hands to feel around, attempting to find a solid object to support himself as he stood up.

After fumbling for a moment, he leaned against a wooden window to pull himself up. Then, the female corpse let out a shrill scream and pounced at him with bared teeth and claws.

Her hands formed into sharp claws, striking with incredible speed and ferocity. Her left claw swooped down on An Zhi's throat with a howling gust of wind.

An Zhi wouldn't just wait passively, rolling to the side to dodge her attack.

But with a cracking sound, the wooden window in the room was crushed to pieces!

The corpse's black-veined and withered hand froze inches away from where An Zhi turned his head, sending shivers down his spine. If she had caught him, she would have crushed his throat bones without mercy.

Despite his relief, the female corpse didn't stop her assault. She suddenly lunged again, and as An Zhi attempted to roll away, he realized he was cornered.

To his right was the female corpse's left claw, which hadn't retracted after the previous strike. To his left was her right claw charging at him, while her body pressed against his own.

In the blink of an eye, a tremendous pressure wrapped around An Zhi's neck.

His vision darkened, a metallic tang filled his mouth, and the sensation of suffocation prickled at his ears, amplifying his hearing. He could almost discern the faint cracking of his own throat bones amidst a cacophony of disorienting noises.

Just as he felt that all was lost, a black figure pierced through his blurred sight. The pressure on his neck vanished abruptly, and a pair of cool hands pulled him back from the brink of collapse, into the embrace of a solid chest.

"Cough, cough, cough..." An Zhi coughed violently, his instinct for survival driving him to greedily inhale fresh air in great gulps.

As his breathing steadied, he noticed the motionless female corpse in the distance. Only then did he remember to express his gratitude, "Th-Thank you."

He lifted his gaze to meet a pair of indifferent phoenix eyes. Whether it was an illusion or not, he swore he had seen a fleeting hint of concern in those eyes just now.

An Zhi scanned the man from his eyes down to his chin.

Suddenly, his heart sank.

Without a reason, that face seemed to embody death itself.

Confused, An Zhi pondered: Is this Shen Yuan's memory? Then why do I also feel a repulsion towards him, even a hint of fear?

"Ju Lang, identity: Player, role: Member of the He ODDBP Assassin Organization, famously known as the Death Reaper."

"Player?!" An Zhi thought he had misheard, so he confirmed with the system, "There's someone else?!"

"Yes."

"You didn't mention this to me... What's their level?"

"Max level."

"And mine?"

"Zero." The system added, "It's like an egg hitting a rock. It's advisable not to provoke them; you might easily end up Game Over."

An Zhi had no intention of provoking Ju Lang. Following his instincts, he forcefully pushed the man aside and coldly said, "Thank you." His tone was distant and indifferent.

At that moment, the female corpse struggled to her feet. A hint of anger flashed in Ju Lang's eyes as he swiftly threw something, putting an end to the corpse once and for all.

An Zhi focused to see that the weapon Ju Lang had thrown was actually a white feather!

"I'll protect you," Ju Lang said indifferently.

An Zhi chuckled softly. "We have no ties, so how can I trust you?"

"You don't remember me?"

"I don't."

"Good then..."

Good then?! A stranger would at least show concern upon learning someone has lost their memory, but he's saying it's good?

An Zhi was even more convinced that he needed to keep this person at arm's length.

Scanning the room, he scoffed under his breath. "Forgetting everything is indeed for the best. Anyway, I'm not a decent person. If you see me someday and want to settle old scores, go ahead. I won't remember, and I might even foolishly say 'thank you'."

Ju Lang strode forward and grasped An Zhi's thin shoulders tightly. The chill seeped through the thin silk shirt. "We have no grudges... No matter what you recall, believe that I only have your best interests at heart... It took six thousand years, and I finally found you... I waited so long, so hard..." His arms trembled with the force of his grip, and his voice quavered slightly.

An Zhi lifted his gaze to see a calm expression on Ju Lang's face, but his eyes conveyed a mix of joy and pain, like a puppy who had finally found its owner, only to see them leave in the next moment.

Those eyes stared intently, reminding him of his two-year-old Bichon Frise.

With the thought of being left alone in this absurd game, An Zhi's nose tingled with emotion. He lowered his head to avoid the gaze.

At that moment, Xuan Zhu appeared at the door with a cloth bag containing the poison-testing needles.

Seeing the chaotic scene inside, his clear, gentle eyes showed a hint of bewilderment, which quickly turned into a smile, tugging at the corners of his mouth. "So Ayuan knows Ju Lang from ODBP."

"Xuan Zhu!" An Zhi struggled to break free but found himself unable to do so. He then addressed Ju Lang, "Let go of me first! It hurts like hell!"

Ju Lang, as if waking up from a dream, hastily retracted his hands as if they were burnt. "You can feel pain now?"

An Zhi retorted sharply, "Can a living person not feel pain?"

Without holding onto An Zhi, he rushed to Xuan Zhu's side. "The female corpse suddenly came alive and tried to strangle me!"

Xuan Zhu slowly crouched down beside the corpse. "How could that be?" He opened the cloth bag, ready to retrieve the extremely thin poison-testing needle.

Standing aside, Ju Lang casually spoke three words, "It's not poison."

"Not a poison, then the poison needles won't reveal anything significant." Without any hesitation or skepticism, he rolled up the cloth bag and stood up.

"What is it then?" An Zhi was perplexed.

"Echo Bug," Ju Lang replied.

Xuan Zhu barely lifted his eyebrows, saying, "I've come across descriptions of Echo Bugs in my master's ancient texts. They were quite common in the primordial wilderness era, afraid of light, feeding on corpses, and only appearing at night. However, they only consume corpses without causing them to reanimate. Moreover, with burial no longer allowed, they should have no food source, logically leading to their extinction."

Supporting his chin with a hand pressed against his veil, he pondered, his nose lifting the white fabric taut. Through the sheer veil, one could discern the subtle movements of Xuan Zhu's lower face. "Unless... someone has been breeding and cultivating them..."

"Mm," Ju Lang affirmed Xuan Zhu's speculation.

"Dong Tianyi!" An Zhi blurted out.

Xuan Zhu glanced at An Zhi, a rather refined smile curving the corners of his eyes. "Dong Tianyi is the mayor of Ciye Town, known for his seriousness and integrity, even bordering on aloofness. Does Ayuan mention him because he needs his assistance?"

"No, his name just suddenly popped into my head. Heh heh... carry on, carry on..."

Unfamiliar with the topic of discussion and unable to contribute, An Zhi turned to find a chair and sat down, yawning silently in boredom.

"Rest if you're tired." Ju Lang's peripheral gaze never left An Zhi.

Though he couldn't be of much assistance, as the central figure in this situation, he couldn't possibly fall asleep.

An Zhi cleared his throat and, with a serious expression, said, "I'll go outside and see if there are any clues." With that, he got up and left the room.

Before leaving the chamber, Ju Lang softly exhorted, "Don't wander too far; it's dangerous out there."

An Zhi simply responded with an "Oh," without turning back.

After stepping out, he paced up and down the hallway, eventually slumping his head like a deflated balloon. "I'm neither a cop nor a detective. What am I supposed to do with no hints at all...?"

"Do you require a playback of the events to extract pertinent information?"

"Is that even possible?"

"Do you need it?"

"Yes, yes, I do!..."

"Begin..."

"Wait!" Adhering to the principle of sitting when possible and lying down when not, An Zhi plopped down on the staircase before remarking, "Let's start then."

The virtual screen rapidly displayed the storyline, until a minute before Ju Lang's appearance, when a voice tinged with a sense of impending death emerged.

- It was an apology from a female corpse.

- "I'm sorry, I didn't want to hurt you, but I couldn't help it. It's all because of Dong Tianyi, he's the one who made me and the others do this, he's the reason we've become like this."

"Dong Tianyi..." An Zhi understood now. "That's why a stranger's name suddenly popped out of my mouth."

"Brat, get out of the way."

A deep, chilling voice echoed down to An Zhi's ears from above. He looked up and exclaimed, "Dian Shan!"

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