Chapter 18: Night Stroll in Yin Village 16
byChapter 18: Night Stroll in Yin Village 16
"Countdown to Pursuit: 10 minutes"
"Task Hint: Want to find the old willow tree in the burial ground? First, pass the test of this land's master! Look, the ghouls are crawling out from the depths of the earth to find you!"
...The word "crawl" here carries a haunting connotation.
Qin Fei looked at the scene before him, his brows involuntarily furrowing.
In this tiny burial ground, if one tombstone represented one owner, there were now at least two hundred grotesque ghouls gathered. They howled and roared, making a beeline for the players without any warning.
Screams echoed all around in an instant.
Under these circumstances, surviving for ten minutes was no simple feat.
The mechanical voice reverberated through the night sky as the players scattered in all directions.
These low tombstones were utterly insufficient to serve as cover for adults; everyone could only sprint with all their might, rushing to the next ghost before they were caught.
With such intense exertion, a metallic tang of blood rose in Qin Fei's throat, filling his mouth with a faint rust-like taste.
His breathing was labored, yet his heartbeat quickened. He didn't even have time to catch his breath, focusing all his energy on dashing between the stone markers.
Only two minutes had passed, less than a quarter of the game's progression.
Screams echoed from all corners of the graveyard.
The ghouls were of varied appearances, but each possessed an unusually high level of strength. Their sharp claws tore through players' flesh, and in no time, an aura of despair spread across the burial ground.
They couldn't be caught!
Once caught, with the new players unarmed, death was inevitable!
In the center of the graveyard.
Tan Yong's legs felt weak and unsteady. Though he tried to rise and flee, he lacked the strength. Crawling on the ground with his hands and feet, his cries were mangled by sheer terror.
For some inexplicable reason, none of the ghouls approached him.
—Except for the one he had kicked out at the beginning.
A rotten face suddenly loomed close, carrying a thick, almost tangible resentment that pinned Tan Yong in place. The sticky black hair, like ropes, sprawled across the ground and stretched out before him.
Inch by inch, it clung to his body.
Like a venomous snake playfully tormenting its prey after capturing it.
Please... don't come any closer!
"Ahh... ahh..."
Tan Yong's voice cracked as he let out a scattered cry, trying to break free from the ghostly woman's grasp. However, despite his utmost effort, he could barely move his fingers.
Players occasionally ran past Tan Yong, but, as Sun Shouyi had predicted, not a single one spared him a glance.
Save me...
Save me...
Finally, Tan Yong managed to grab onto someone's pant leg: "Help me, I... I can't stand up..."
With his last glimmer of hope, he lifted his head.
Only to be viciously kicked away in the next instant!
It was Scar.
Tan Yong collided fiercely with a nearby boulder, almost hearing the cracking of his ribs.
Now, he couldn't run anymore.
He still wanted to escape, but he was powerless, frozen on the spot with eyes bulging in desperation.
Not long ago, Tan Yong had been inwardly planning to visit the shrine again after leaving the cemetery.
He wanted to see what hidden information about the dungeons those veteran players had been concealing.
How could they act so superior when they were all merely struggling to survive in these copies?
Tan Yong still remembered the cold, indifferent, and disdainful look beneath Cheng Song's stern expression when he had tried to strike up a conversation.
And that Qin Fei—Tan Yong gritted his teeth just thinking about the setbacks he had suffered at their hands.
But now, he couldn't afford to dwell on such matters.
Fear had become his sole preoccupation.
The female ghost was drawing closer and closer.
He didn't want to die! He didn't want to die!
Her wet, black hair, as fine as gauze yet as strong as iron, draped down to her waist and wrapped tightly around Tan Yong's neck, constricting like a steel wire mesh, slicing through his flesh bit by bit.
Tan Yong's screams grew weaker and more intermittent until he could only gasp for air, his eyes rolling back into his head.
Blood seeped from his deep, bone-exposing wounds, staining the surrounding earth a vivid crimson. With his last ounces of strength, he looked hopefully into the darkness around him, but not a single figure appeared.
In such a chaotic situation, who could spare a thought for others?
Qin Fei dashed between cover, constantly dodging ghosts that emerged abruptly from the ground.
Qin Fei had no weapons nor offensive abilities; he relied solely on his agility to escape death time and again.
Piercing screams grew closer and then gradually faded away. Amidst the chaos, Qin Fei stole a glance in Tan Yong's direction before turning his gaze away, unable to bear witnessing the horror.
Tsk.
It was truly... quite a disturbing sight.
Qin Fei didn't know if Tan Yong was the first to be caught by the ghouls or if he was the only one. But he was certain that Tan Yong's fate was the most gruesome of all.
The grotesque scene unexpectedly ignited Qin Fei's survival instincts. The young man's pace quickened, and with nimble movements, he swerved past a rotten claw still dripping with flesh and blood.
His heart pounded fiercely, and his lungs felt ready to burst. Qin Fei gritted his teeth, his eyes fixed on the enormous countdown timer suspended in the sky.
Almost there!
Just a little more effort!
He ran with all his might.
"Chase Countdown: 5 minutes, 28 seconds, and 48 milliseconds."
Time raced by, more than half of it already gone.
Scanning the chaotic graveyard, numerous players were still desperately fleeing. At this rate, in another five minutes, only a handful would likely remain alive.
Amidst his escape, Qin Fei found the leisure to mentally evaluate which players had a higher chance of survival.
However, the system's voice sounded again the very next second.
"System Friendly Reminder: There are 5 minutes, 14 seconds, and 28 milliseconds left until midnight. Players, make the most of your time!"
Beside the dark red chase countdown, a matching stopwatch emerged, ticking slowly upward.
What's happening?!
A player, startled, involuntarily paused his steps, only to be ruthlessly clawed by a ghoul!
"Ahh!!"
Though the attack didn't hit a vital spot, accompanied by a terrified scream, the person stumbled and started running again.
He couldn't stop!
Stopping meant death!
Qin Fei's brows throbbed violently. He never would have imagined that this live broadcast could be so shameless.
When he returned from the ancestral hall to the mortuary, the sun had just set. Even with the time spent exchanging information among players later, they arrived at the mass grave no later than nine in the evening.
How did it suddenly become dawn??
The system's audacity was astonishing, and even the viewers behind the light screen couldn't help but engage in heated discussions.
Of course, they weren't sympathizing with the players; they were simply thrilled by the increasingly intense plot development.
"I swear, how is it already midnight?"
"Nice time manipulation there! That was smooth!"
"Didn't you notice? Tan Yong's kick to the tombstone violated the rules! From that moment on, this wasn't the original graveyard anymore. In the side quest world, the dungeon has the authority to manipulate time flow."
"Got it! Even dead villagers are still villagers. Tan Yong offended them, so the dungeon is punishing him accordingly."
A colossal countdown hung in the sky, like a giant eye of the system watching over the players.
Tick.
Tock.
The sound echoed ominously.
On the burial ground, everyone's expressions were grim. Sun Shouyi and Xiao Xiao simultaneously looked for Qin Fei, but with all three being chased by ghouls, they had no chance to meet up.
Qin Fei felt as if his lungs were no longer organs, but rather dilapidated balloons, plastic bags, or something else entirely—something that could crumble into dust at any moment.
The young man held his breath, dodging the razor-sharp claws hurtling towards him for what seemed like the umpteenth time.
In that instant of evasion, he heard an unexpected sound.
"Ahhhh—!!"
It was a blood-curdling scream, piercing and heart-wrenching, originating from behind a nearby tombstone.
Screams were not uncommon in this scenario.
Players who had fallen in the chase numbered more than a few. The blood-soaked, haunted graveyard was a gruesome sight, with flesh and blood flying in their dash, a spectacle that was harrowing to behold.
Yet, this particular scream was different.
It was the voice of a relatively unfamiliar male, youthful yet laced with vulnerability and a hint of hoarseness, resembling the cry of a teenager.
Earlier this evening, when Qin Fei left the mortuary, he had conversed with all the players there.
He was certain that the voice did not belong to any one of them.
Listening closely, it was more like...
Having just shrugged off a ghost, Qin Fei swiftly turned around, his sharp gaze piercing through the layers of darkness like an eagle's, accurately landing on the source of the pitiful scream.
It was a partially fractured tombstone, smaller in circumference than the other graves that surrounded it. Behind this ineffective cover, a young man lay sprawled, his slender frame and disheveled hair concealing a face etched with raw terror.
It's Lin Ye!
He was actually still alive!
Around Lin Ye, by the tiny grave, half a dozen ghouls had already gathered in a tight circle, closing in from all directions. They formed a perimeter, enclosing him at the center.
The poor young man was completely unaware of his surroundings, initially he called out a few times, but when he realized the situation around him, he was so frightened that he couldn't even make a sound, and could only huddle helplessly beside the small tombstone, shivering.
Qin Fei's eyes suddenly narrowed.
What on earth is going on? If Lin Ye didn't die, then what did he encounter last night?
How did he manage to fulfill the tasks assigned by the rules?
Do these experiences hold any clues for the players in unraveling the mysteries of the instance world?
Qin Fei's thoughts raced like lightning and stone in the blink of an eye.
Lin Ye cannot die.
Should he perish, these secrets would be forever interred beneath this chaotic graveyard, shared only with the undead spirits that lurk within.
Qin Fei's gaze darkened; gritting his teeth, he dashed towards the corner swarmed by the ghouls!
*
This was undoubtedly the worst day Lin Ye had ever experienced in his life.
Four grotesque, decaying ghouls, reeking of foul odor, approached him from four directions. Lin Ye attempted to flee, but his body seemed bound by an inexplicable force, pinning his limbs and torso in place as if an invisible rope held him captive.
Help! Who could come to his rescue?
Lin Ye wriggled desperately, trying to break free from the constraint, but all his efforts were in vain.
He could only watch helplessly as those horrifying ghosts drew ever closer.
Under Lin Ye's persistent struggle, the force holding him seemed to loosen slightly, allowing him more and more movement. He wriggled desperately, like a fish thrown onto the riverbank after being caught, gasping for air in its dying moments, its body flailing hopelessly.
As the chase began, a multitude of diverse spirits appeared within the F-Rank Live Broadcast Hall.
"Great! Great!"
"Damned zombie, move faster!"
"Guess which one will make the first move? I'll bet on the one from the southwestern corner!"
Somewhere beyond Lin Ye's perception, an endless array of ethereal spirits gathered joyfully before a translucent screen. They watched his image of near-death with rapt interest, as if they were viewing a mindless blockbuster movie.
This pitiful youth was a human life, yet in this world, human lives were the least valuable of commodities, with no one to care for them.
In the eyes of the spectators, this player was no different from a crab on a steamer or a grasshopper in a fire, both objects of amusement.
An endless stream of viewers flooded the live broadcast, with the chiming sounds of rewards continuously ringing in Lin Ye's ears. Yet, he was no longer able to hear them.
On the light screen, beads of cold sweat trickled down the youth's forehead.
His vision was blurred, and his thoughts were as jumbled as a pot of porridge.
Does the inherent instinct for human survival truly possess the immense power to contend against fate?
Lin Ye had no idea.
Fear, like an invisible pair of shackles, firmly bound his feet in place.
Time seemed like a viscous gel that was stretched infinitely in this moment.
Lin Ye had lost the ability to gauge the situation outside. It might have been an eternity, or it could have been but an instant.
In a nutshell, at one fateful moment, that mysterious force that had tightly bound him to the clutches of death truly vanished, as if an elastic band stretched to its limits had suddenly snapped.
The youth finally wrested control of his body from Death's grip. With a speed he had never mustered before, he jolted upright, bending at the waist, and dashed through the narrow gap between the two approaching zombies!
Claws brushed past his ear, and Lin Ye ran with a reckless abandon, as if his life depended on it.
Miracles, it seemed, were never easily granted.
Before entering the instance dungeon, Lin Ye was nothing more than an ordinary 16-year-old urban high school student.
He wasn't particularly tall, nor was he athletic; he preferred reading and gaming to playing basketball, barely scraping by with passing grades in his annual one-kilometer fitness test.
His weekends were typically consumed by tutoring sessions and piles of paperwork, with the occasional respite being a leisurely stroll with his parents in the park across from their neighborhood.
He had never participated in extreme survival scenarios, let alone gone on many countryside excursions.
Frankly, he didn't possess much in the way of self-preservation skills within these dungeons.
The sounds behind him grew closer, and the icy resentment nearly materialized at such close proximity, raising every hair on Lin Ye's arms.
It was too late!
A hand, elongated with razor-sharp claws and soaked in sticky blood, had already covered Lin Ye's shoulder!
It was over.
This time, it's truly over.
The youth gritted his teeth in anguish.
How unjust!
In just a few more months, he would have been able to pass the university entrance exam, embarking on a life of freedom and joy.
Yet, in an unfortunate twist of fate, they found themselves thrust into the world of instanced dungeons.
He was genuinely terrified, but the vibrant vitality and strong will to survive within the teenager sustained him. He didn't back down in the face of blood and death.
He had endured solitary nights, malevolent ghosts haunting his steps, and the terrifyingly hopeless night before.
Yet, he was inevitably falling into the trap of this day.
Death seemed like an intricately woven and interconnected web, leaving no room for respite.
So be it.
Lin Ye closed his eyes.
It wasn't that he didn't try, but there was simply no way out.
Mom and Dad, I'm sorry.
Claws tore through his clothes as easily as a sharp knife slicing through tofu, sending sharp stabs of pain through the flesh beneath his shoulder.
Just a second before that pain intensified drastically—
"Watch out!" A sharp cry echoed in his ear!
The clear, resonant male voice sounded like a heavenly melody at this moment, tugging at Lin Ye's heartstrings. He abruptly opened his eyes, staring ahead in disbelief.
A figure dashed over from not far away. Someone ran to Lin Ye's side, one hand wrapping around his shoulder while the other firmly grasped his wrist, yanking him forcefully away from the ghoul!
The hand holding onto him was just as cold, but it felt distinct from the ghouls upon contact.
It was the softness and suppleness unique to human skin, brimming with vibrant vitality.
With no time to break their momentum, they crashed into the ground, tumbling several times before colliding with a broken tombstone. Stars danced before their eyes.
But they had narrowly escaped death!
The prey they had almost caught had slipped away! An enraged wail echoed from a nearby undead creature.
The cluster of tombstones in this area was denser, providing the two a tiny respite.
Lin Ye lifted his head in astonishment. In the darkness, he saw a refined profile.
The man was as disheveled and battered as he was, but his eyes betrayed a steadfast calmness that Lin Ye lacked. The clean lines of his handsome profile seemed like a masterpiece hanging in an art gallery.
Lin Ye recognized him.
His name was Qin Fei.
It was this veteran player named Qin Fei!
He saved his life!
His hair was disheveled, and his clothes were splattered with blood and dirt from their frantic escape. But in Lin Ye's eyes, Qin Fei at this moment was nothing short of a deity descending upon the world.
Who else but a god would appear at the brink of certain death to save him?
"I... I..." Lin Ye's lips quivered, his eyes burning with emotion.
The joy of surviving a calamity, gratitude towards Qin Fei, and the fear that danger still loomed all intertwined, rendering him speechless.
It didn't matter much, anyway. Qin Fei was currently preoccupied and had no time for Lin Ye's thanks.
The black-haired youth didn't spare Lin Ye a glance, his attention fixed on the movements of the horde of undead nearby.
"Chase countdown: 2 minutes and 35 seconds!"
In this graveyard of chaos, the game of life and death never ceased.
Agitated by the commotion, the zombies' attack speed doubled, accompanied by a deafening roar that shook the earth. More and more of them charged towards their position!
What the hell? This is an absurdly accelerated frenzy!
Qin Fei's mouth turned bitter. Without time to catch his breath, he grabbed the dazed Lin Ye by the back of his collar and flung him forward with force.
"Run!"
With Qin Fei's fierce command, the two men sprinted as if their lives depended on it!
Perhaps human limits could only be surpassed through repeated challenges. Qin Fei was certain that his current speed far exceeded his best record during physical training in the police force.
The enraged howls of the ghouls behind them continued uninterrupted.
Soon, the pursuers behind the duo grew from four to eight, then multiplied into countless numbers.
It was no different from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood!
Qin Fei glanced at the dark, overwhelming mass closing in behind them, his lips twitching involuntarily.
It was hard to determine if his previous act of saving Lin Ye had been wise or foolish. In any case, if they were caught up with now, the ghouls wouldn't even need to attack; they could crush the pair into patties just by piling onto them.
Not far away, Xiao Xiao and Sun Shouyi were closely observing the movements in Qin Fei's vicinity.
From the beginning, they had been eager to join Qin Fei, but they had always lacked an opportunity. The entire rescue operation of Qin Fei saving Lin Ye was witnessed by the two veterans.
As they saw more and more ghouls chasing after Qin Fei, the expressions on these seasoned players' faces became somewhat complicated.
Xiao Xiao had never imagined that in a dungeon, there would truly be someone like Qin Fei, who would selflessly risk his own life to save others in a crisis.
Yes, selflessly risking one's life to save others.
Xiao Xiao observed with clarity that Qin Fei deliberately headed in that direction after hearing Lin Ye's miserable scream.
Despite entering the instance dungeon, Qin Fei had consistently presented himself as courteous and refined, his words and actions exuding a gentle warmth that was as soothing as a spring breeze.
However, this was, after all, a dungeon world.
The distance between hearts has always been an enigmatic measure to fathom.
Xiao Xiao could never forget the incident in his previous instance, where a player, in a moment of desperation, pushed their companion—who had accompanied them through two instances—forward to block the boss.
Nor could he forget the sight of players forming alliances one moment, only to turn their blades on each other the next.
He had experienced only a handful of instances in these realms.
Yet, the unpredictability of human nature had been laid bare before his eyes in this brief time.
But Qin Fei's actions at this moment surpassed his understanding.
He actually went to save Lin Ye.
Ever since entering the instance world, the worldview Xiao Xiao had painstakingly constructed over 20 years in reality – a world filled with friendliness and order – had rapidly crumbled into dust.
Yet, Qin Fei's actions were now like a tube of super glue, piecing together the few remaining fragments of beauty that lingered in his old memories.
It turned out that not everything in the instance worlds was about betrayal and schemes.
It seemed that not all hearts were as dark as he had thought.
Xiao Xiao once believed that in this lawless world, suspicion and self-preservation were the norms for everyone's survival.
The dark side of human nature was magnified infinitely in the face of blood and life-and-death situations, forming a black hole-like vortex that swallowed all that was bright and pure.
Yet, at this very moment, without a doubt, a ray of light had pierced through.
"If this continues…" Xiao Xiao gazed at the immense horde of zombies not far away, his expression a jumbled mix of emotions.
If they allowed those two to persist, they would undoubtedly meet their end.
Would this light be extinguished?
...
In front of the screen in the spectator hall, the spirits watching the live broadcast chimed in with their opinions on Qin Fei's actions.
"That guy's insane, trying to save someone when he can barely save himself? And he's saving a burden who seems utterly useless."
"Just die already, do-gooders don't survive in this livestream. They'll die sooner or later, so might as well now and give us some entertainment."
There were differing viewpoints, however.
"Who says a Saintly Father figure can't survive? In that A-level world, there was that high-ranking player... what was his name again? He was a textbook example of a Saintly Father player, with his followers idolizing him like a god."
"Exactly, are you the only ones who are clever? Everyone understands the principle of shared sorrow among those in similar circumstances, just as when the lips are gone, the teeth will chill. Look at those two over there, aren't they already wearing expressions of deep sympathy? I'd bet they'll certainly come to assist the streamer."
"Is there really no one here who has seen the story from Lin Ye's perspective? What exactly did he go through last night? I didn't even notice that he managed to survive until now."
Someone else pinpointed the crux of the matter—
"Is it really that complicated? In my opinion, the streamer simply miscalculated. With his original escape speed, he could have rescued that young boy and then remained with him until the end of the level... Speaking of which, it's truly bizarre. Why did almost half of the ghosts from the chaotic burial ground go after him?"
Was it really that infuriating just because his food was stolen?
Even if they were enraged, shouldn't it be the zombie who lost its prey that should be furious? Why did the others care so much that they chased after him like Qin Fei had disturbed their graves?
Indeed, this spectator had hit the nail on the head.
The concepts of self-sacrifice or saving others were not within Qin Fei's considerations at all. He had meticulously planned everything, only to be caught off guard by the sudden ferocity of the zombies, which relentlessly hunted them down.
Thinking about it, he actually had almost twice as many pursuers from the very beginning compared to others.
However, these zombies all had roughly the same running speed. Being chased by one or two didn't make much of a difference in reality. Qin Fei, desperate to escape, hadn't given it much thought and assumed it was simply bad luck that there were too many zombies on his path.
His rescue of Lin Ye clearly drew even more attention from the zombies, which poured towards them from all directions as if they were determined to have a showdown with the duo.
Qin Fei ran with all his might, veins bulging on his forehead.
Damn it, what the hell is going on?
Back at the ancestral hall in the afternoon, the yellow-robed ghost had shown an unusually strong interest in him. At that time, Qin Fei hadn't connected this interest to other ghosts.
Now, Qin Fei was almost certain that, unless something unexpected happened, he had an extraordinary appeal to all the ghosts in this scenario, far surpassing that of other players.
It was sheer torment!
If he attracted the attention of ghosts in every scenario in the same way...
That would be anything but good news.
Could this also be one of his innate abilities?
To friendly and romanceable NPCs, he had an allure that drew them in. And to these unapproachable, mindless monsters that only knew how to feed on flesh, he seemed to possess another kind of "appeal."
This damned instance dungeon, this damned system!
It was deliberately trying to kill him, wasn't it?!
"Brother Qin!"
Lin Ye's startled cry came from behind.
A pair of blood-red ghostly eyes flashed past his side. Qin Fei suddenly crouched down, rolling on the ground to evade the attack. His movements were so smooth that they could have been part of an action movie scene.
But in this situation, even Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee would likely be helpless.
Three ghouls surrounded Qin Fei, while more were closing in from a distance.
There was no escape!
The corpse ghost's razor-sharp claws dug into Qin Fei's flesh, tearing at his muscles with a vicious jerk, leaving a deep, bone-exposing gash on the young man's arm.
Instantly, half of his shirt was stained a vivid crimson.
This was the first time Qin Fei had sustained such a graphic and severe injury since entering the instance dungeon.
Unlike the seemingly harmless injuries inflicted by the yellow-robed ghost in the shrine, the precise strike of the corpse ghost's claw caused Qin Fei's life points to plummet by a full 20 points in a single moment.
For players, the base value and rate of decline of their life points varied depending on their innate conditions, making each individual unique.
When Qin Fei entered the instance dungeon, his base health was only 90. Despite his poor physical condition, which barely kept him afloat during the past two days of exploration, he had still lost around ten points, leaving him precariously close to the 60-point threshold for survival.
A wave of intense dizziness overwhelmed him, blurring his vision in an instant.
He felt as if he were drifting on the ocean's surface, enveloped by the icy waters and choked by a suffocating pressure that rendered him unable to breathe. His limbs grew weak and numb.
This sensation was vastly different from the experience of being injured in the real world. At this moment, the players seemed like manipulated system characters within a game, puppets controlled by external forces imposed upon them by the system.
A chill ran down Qin Fei's spine.
Once again, the same question resurfaced in his mind: What kind of existence was this so-called "System"?
It could not only manipulate one's physical body but also influence one's psyche. It was even capable of creating a space where those who had died in reality could be reborn.
He wondered if, after dying in this bizarre instance world, it would be like true death—ending in dust and ashes—or if they would end up in an even more bizarre dimension.
"Be careful!" Lin Ye's cry accompanied by a tug pulled Qin Fei away from the bloodstained fangs before them.
Behind them, the zombie's razor-sharp claws sliced through the air once more!
Even now, Qin Fei's reflexes were still relatively sharp. However, the negative status effects imposed on him by the System were too overwhelming. The zombie couldn't afford any mistakes; a slight misstep, and two new wounds appeared on his side.
His already tattered shirt was now completely shredded into rags.
Two deep, bone-exposing gashes appeared on the slender waist of the young man, with the flesh at the wounds grotesquely torn open. It was a horrifying sight to behold.
In the meantime, Qin Fei suddenly realized that the number of viewers in his live stream seemed to be skyrocketing like a rocket.
—The live stream was purely for entertainment, and the number of viewers who simply enjoyed the host's appearance was by no means less than those intently watching the intense battle.
The lecherous crowd couldn't care less if Qin Fei was experiencing a savior complex or a temporary brain malfunction!
In this vast world, beauty reigned supreme. Who could resist such a treat?
【Congratulations to Player Qin Fei for achieving the "Thousand-Eyed Focus" accomplishment. System reward: +300 points.】
"258 people have liked your performance, and 688 have followed your live stream account."
"Your live stream viewership has surpassed 99% of historical F-rated streams. Continuous traffic recommendations are in progress. Keep it up, Player Qin Fei!"
How exaggerated could this be?
Did these spectators find pleasure in seeing players get injured?
Despite his severe injuries, three dark lines still appeared on Qin Fei's forehead.
Truly, there was no limit to how bizarre things could get; they could always become more twisted.
It had to be said that the live stream audience was indeed peculiar. Fortunately, Qin Fei, being in an F-rated experience world, couldn't see the comments. Otherwise, he would have realized that his understanding of their eccentricity was far from accurate.
His head was already covered in blood, making him appear even more terrifying than the ghosts behind him. Yet, through the light screen, the majority of the audience's ghostly spirits were fixated on—
his body.
In the center of the screen, the black-haired youth was drenched in blood but remained calm. His delicate face was stained with blood, creating a stark contrast between his fair skin and the crimson liquid, as if he were an injured angel who had fallen into a demonic abyss, evoking uncontrollable pity in those who saw him.
"The waist, the legs, the skin..."
"The host looks so beautiful with blood on his face. I never realized I had a thing for damaged characters."
"I can't help but imagine reaching out to add even more vibrant colors to him."
"Can this host level up quickly? I'm eager to see how beautiful he'll look on the sandbox. If he were in a world ranked E or above, I wouldn't hesitate to spend gold coins to summon more ghouls, enhancing this magnificent spectacle!"
Upon hearing this, the surrounding ghostly spirits fell silent.
In the world of the viewers, gold coins equaled the players' points.
Acquiring gold coins was an extremely complex and challenging task. Only the wealthiest or the most obsessed with the live broadcasts would spend them on communicating with players within the broadcast worlds.
Among these, the majority were die-hard fans of the top streamers.
These players, due to their exceptional strength or unique traits, had already established their own dedicated fan ecosystems, much like viewers in the real world who passionately support live streamers by showering them with virtual gifts. Similarly, spectators in the Rule Realm would go to great lengths and spend money to please their favorite streamers, providing them with beneficial clues for their live broadcasts and assisting them in clearing the dungeon worlds.
In addition, there was a special group known as "Gamblers."
As the name implies, they gambled within the Rule Realm, using points and gold coins as stakes, betting on the lives of the players in the live streams.
However, gambling always carried risks. Dungeon worlds were unpredictable, and even the most skilled players couldn't guarantee a smooth victory in every broadcast. One wrong move could lead to a devastating loss, even obliteration.
Thus, many spirits held a certain fear and found the Gamblers' behavior rather terrifying.
The silence before the screen didn't conceal the intensity in the Gambler's eyes. After a moment, whispers began to echo around him:
"It's hard to say if this player is fortunate or unfortunate."
Being targeted by gamblers is a double-edged sword, neither entirely good nor bad.
Once a player sits at the gambling table, there will always be two opposing factions: those betting on their survival and those betting on their demise.
In more casual, low-level games, the influence of the table might not be apparent. However, in higher-stakes matches, gamblers will intervene to sway the direction of the live stream for their own benefit.
Viewers betting on survival will attempt to aid the streamer, while those betting on death will strive to hinder the players within the stream.
Players who become favorites in the gambling system are often those who rise fastest through the leaderboard, but they are also the ones who disappear just as swiftly.
After all, how can one avoid getting wet when walking by the river too often?
"Ha." A spirit snorted in disdain.
Many disliked gamblers and were not afraid of them. This spirit spoke candidly, "I doubt you'll live to see that day."
Remember, this is just a beginner's dungeon, and this player, with countless viewers watching, is merely a novice entering it for the first time.
No matter how exceptional or outstanding he may be, under these circumstances, his chances of survival are slim to none.
At the center of the live-streaming screen, a disheveled young man was covered in wounds, almost resembling a bloodied figure.
His once elegant features were now unrecognizable, with blood trickling down his shoulder and neck, pooling at his fingertips before slowly dripping onto the ground.
His dwindling life force made his movements increasingly sluggish, as dizziness and oppression relentlessly assaulted Qin Fei's senses.
He could even hear his own heartbeat echoing in his ears, "Thump! Thump!" - a chilling resemblance to the game's system notification when a character is on the brink of death.
The scenery before his eyes gradually blurred, with red and black intertwining. Qin Fei knelt half on the ground, surrounded by the encroaching undead creatures.
Yet, this slender body seemed to possess inexhaustible potential. Even when everyone believed he was doomed in a critical moment, he could still muster the strength to dodge aside, barely evading another attack.
But what good did escaping this assault do?
For Qin Fei at this moment, whether he took one more hit or not held no significance anymore.
The countdown timer above his head flashed mercilessly with alternating lights.
"Chase Countdown: 1 minute, 34 seconds, and 67 milliseconds!"
"He's about to die! There's only one minute left in the chase, there's no way he can last that long," a spectator declared before the screen.
One minute might seem brief.
Yet, judging from the shrinking circumference of their encirclement, within 15 seconds at most, the two individuals trapped within would be torn apart by the swarming zombies.
It's coming!
Almost there!
The spirits gathered before the screen wore diverse expressions.
Some had their eyes gleaming, unwilling to miss a single second of the thrilling spectacle. Others displayed frustration, as if regretting losing a strong hand for future bets.
But in the next instant, an unexpected turn of events unfolded once more!
The spectators before the screen couldn't help but cry out in unison in astonishment.
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