Chapter 52: The Never-Sleeping Imperial City 14

Xia Qi and Sister Hong arrived outside the small dilapidated house where the Pale-Faced Man lived. As soon as they stepped onto the path, they noticed bloodstains on the ground.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!" The shrill scream came from the neighbor next door. The female zombie, wearing a colorful blouse, flailed her arms and ran out in an exaggerated manner, shouting, "Help! Murder! Is there any police around to help?"

Xia Qi: "…"

The setting of Nightless City's instance is a mix of ancient and modern times, with the main part resembling an ancient society inhabited by zombies from that era. Only a few areas are populated by modern zombies.

Surprisingly, this female zombie, after dying and arriving in Nightless City, still retained the habit of calling the police when encountering trouble.

The two continued rushing towards the house. They found the door wide open, and a woman lay collapsed at the side entrance. She appeared to be the Pale-Faced Man's mother, who was his target in the game instance.

During the day, the woman had reverted to her zombie form. She was covered in blood, her clothes torn, and her face bore several bruised marks, as if she had been beaten.

Sister Hong strode over and helped the woman up. "Sister, are you still conscious?"

Suddenly, the woman opened her eyes and revealed a sinister smile.

Due to the strange smile and the blackish-red blood seeping from her mouth, Sister Hong recoiled and threw the woman away.

"Hahaha…" The woman slowly got up, looking towards the kitchen, her smile growing more exaggerated. "He actually killed his father, hahaha!"

Xia Qi and Sister Hong exchanged glances and walked into the kitchen.

The kitchen was just as chaotic as the rest of the house, with bloodstains even on the ceiling. Near the stove, a male corpse lay with a kitchen knife embedded in its neck. His eyes were wide open, indicating he was already "dead."

"I killed someone… I killed someone…" In the corner, the Pale-Faced Man, dressed in a school uniform, curled up, trembling and holding his knees.

Seeing this, Xia Qi frowned and walked over, lifting the Pale-Faced Man up.

Xia Qi, lacking patience, asked bluntly, "Do you remember who you are?"

"Aah! Aah! Don't touch me!" The Pale-Faced Man shook his head violently, tears and snot streaming down his face, making him look like a disgusting snail, far from the sharp-witted person he was when entering the instance.

Seeing the Pale-Faced Man refuse to answer, Sister Hong grew furious and slapped him hard.

With a loud "slap," the Pale-Faced Man's face instantly swelled, and he was stunned.

"Did you do something wrong to their family? Tell me now!" Sister Hong grabbed his collar and shouted angrily.

"I, I don't know." The Pale-Faced Man continued crying, his face crumpled.

"Sister, don't be angry." The woman, covered in blood, slowly crawled into the room. She looked at the Pale-Faced Man with a venomous expression but spoke gently, "Don't hurt my son."

After saying this, she grinned, revealing her broken teeth.

Xia Qi sensed the woman knew something and was about to ask, but unexpectedly, the Pale-Faced Man turned and shouted, "Mom!"

With sudden strength, he broke free from Sister Hong's grip and rushed towards the woman.

Ignoring her bloody state, he hugged her tightly and called out, "Mom, I killed Dad; you're free now!"

"He must be insane, right?" Watching the Pale-Faced Man's behavior, Sister Hong wore an expression of disbelief.

As they watched the Pale-Faced Man, the woman's expression changed, her gaze becoming more venomous.

She looked down at the Pale-Faced Man, blood trickling from the corners of her mouth, and muttered, "Killed Dad? Is killing Dad useful?"

"Mom?" The Pale-Faced Man, confused, looked up at her.

Suddenly, cracks appeared on her skin, spreading and causing it to peel off like shattered eggshell. Her eyeballs popped out of their sockets with a "pop," leaving empty blood-filled holes.

Not only her skin and eyes, but also her teeth, hair, and nails began falling out, covering the ground in a bloody mess. Finally, she transformed into a terrifying blood-covered figure in the Pale-Faced Man's arms.

Seeing the blood-covered figure, the Pale-Faced Man recoiled in horror, quickly letting go and jumping back like a frightened rabbit.

The blood-covered figure tore at her facial muscles and crawled towards the Pale-Faced Man, her crimson mouth opening and closing. "Foolish child, you still have your dad."

"Roar—"

At that moment, a beast-like roar echoed from the kitchen. Xia Qi turned and saw that the man's corpse lying near the stove had also transformed into a male blood-covered figure.

The male blood-covered figure pulled the kitchen knife from his neck and slowly stood up.

"You damn woman!" The male blood-covered figure staggered forward. When he reached the female blood-covered figure, his face began regrowing skin and eyes, transforming into another person's appearance.

Xia Qi and Sister Hong were stunned, never expecting the "dead" could not only stand up but also change faces.

What did this Pale-Faced Man do to encounter such vicious zombies?!

"Aah! Aah!" The female blood-covered figure cooperated with the man's performance, her blood-red face showing fear as if terrified. She cried and pleaded, "Don't hit me; don't scare the child."

"You damn woman, I'll strangle you!" The man extended his large hand, grabbing her neck and slamming her against the wall!

Upon hitting the wall, the woman let out a wail.

"Cough, cough, please… spare me…" The woman struggled, slapping the man's hands. With her cries, her face began regrowing skin, transforming into another pitiful woman's face!

This time, the woman transformed from a fifty-year-old to a thirty-year-old, with smooth skin and long, well-maintained fingers, suggesting she had been pampered. It was unclear why she married the rough, forty-year-old man before her.

"Mom!" The Pale-Faced Man got up from the ground, seemingly forgetting his parents had changed, and rushed to pull the man away, shouting, "Stop hitting Mom!"

"Get lost!" The man, engrossed in choking the woman, suddenly kicked the Pale-Faced Man, sending him flying into the corner.

Normally, seeing such domestic violence, Xia Qi and Sister Hong would not stand idly by. However, they remained motionless because they knew who was responsible for this situation.

Xia Qi walked over to the pale-faced man and lifted him up from the ground, saying to Sister Hong, "He's still pretending to be clueless. Should we get rough?"

Like making him suffer?

"Hmph." Sister Hong sneered, "Hold him down, let me handle this."

Just as Xia Qi thought Sister Hong was about to use some of the infamous Qing Dynasty tortures, she walked directly to where the bloodied figure had been lying. She picked up a clump of blood from the ground and approached the pale-faced man with a sinister smile.

Seeing the bloody mess in Sister Hong's hand, Xia Qi felt his scalp tingle, and the pale-faced man seemed to realize something was wrong. He stared at what Sister Hong held and stammered, "What do you want to do?"

"Don't pretend to be stupid. Tell us, what terrible things have you done?" Sister Hong shoved the blood clot right up to the pale-faced man's mouth. "If you don't talk, you'll eat it!"

Compared to Li Ming, who had killed his pregnant wife, the zombies the pale-faced man encountered were clearly more skilled. These two zombies could even change their faces, indicating that the pale-faced man's crimes extended beyond one family—possibly two or three families. Given his status as a high-level player, his sins might be unimaginable.

"Waaah, I don't know anything," the pale-faced man insisted with wide eyes, still trying to lie.

Sister Hong lost her patience, grabbed his chin, and shoved the blood clot into his mouth. "Eat it! How does human blood taste?"

"Guh guh guh... Ugh!" The pale-faced man, forced to swallow the disgusting blood, collapsed on the ground and vomited uncontrollably.

Sister Hong kicked him towards the woman's feet. Seeing the pale-faced man's pitiful state, the woman paused for a moment.

"Your method isn't working. Why not feed him something good?" Sister Hong sneered. This method was taught to her by the female zombie, and she put it to use today.

Unexpectedly, Sister Hong's words worked. The man suddenly released his grip on the woman's neck, and she twisted her stiff neck. Both of them squatted near the pale-faced man.

"Alright, I'll feed my baby something good." The woman looked coldly at the pale-faced man on the ground and grinned at him.

Just as the pale-faced man tried to escape, the woman suddenly reached up and gouged out her own eyeball!

"Aaaaah!" Seeing the woman pull out her eyeball, the pale-faced man went insane with fear.

"Eat it, baby." The woman treated the pale-faced man more brutally than Sister Hong did. She pried open his mouth and forced the still-moving eyeball inside.

"Ugh—!"

Feeling the smooth eyeball slide down his throat, the pale-faced man broke down completely. He lay on the ground vomiting, but the woman didn't stop and planned to gouge out her other eye.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" The pale-faced man collapsed, his mind clearing. Crawling to Xia Qi and Sister Hong, he clung desperately to Xia Qi's pants leg. "She was someone I kidnapped. I... I was foolish and sold her to a lonely man in the mountains..."

Hearing this, Xia Qi's expression changed.

Seeing the woman gouge out another eyeball, the pale-faced man wet himself. He shook Xia Qi's pants leg again, pleading, "Tell me, how can I get rid of her?"

Xia Qi looked at him silently, unsure of what to say.

He was kind, but not to such people.

Seeing that Xia Qi wouldn't help, the pale-faced man turned to Sister Hong. Upon learning he was a trafficker, Sister Hong coughed up a mouthful of blood in rage.

Seeing Sister Hong sway as if about to fall, Xia Qi grabbed her arm and said, "Don't get angry."

Sister Hong's daughter Xiao Yu had been kidnapped, and now a trafficker appeared before her. It was a miracle she hadn't fainted from anger.

For someone like the pale-faced man, Xia Qi had already decided to give up on redeeming him for points. Such a person was beyond redemption.

"Trafficker..." Sister Hong's eyes were red with fury, and she glared at the pale-faced man, gritting her teeth. "Why don't you just die!"

Seeing that neither would help, the pale-faced man became indignant. "You won't tell me? Don't you want redemption points?! We're teammates!"

"Screw your points!" Sister Hong suddenly broke free from Xia Qi's grasp and pulled out her weapon.

It was a red whip crackling with electricity, looking quite powerful. Holding the whip, Sister Hong looked like a demoness, stunning the pale-faced man.

"You deserve to go to hell and repent!" Sister Hong raised her hand, swinging the whip viciously at the pale-faced man's neck!

"Snap!"

Amidst everyone's screams, a deep gash appeared on the pale-faced man's neck as the whip struck, sending a spray of blood into the air, splattering the woman standing nearby.

With his eyes wide open, the pale-faced man slowly fell into a pool of blood.

"Ding! Redemption points: +100, total: 300."

"Ding! Remaining players: 3, deaths: 3."

Xia Qi was stunned. Killing the target directly actually increased redemption points?!

After the increase in redemption points, the two zombies playing the roles of the pale-faced man's parents turned their heads toward Sister Hong.

They smiled in relief, bowed to Sister Hong and Xia Qi, then slowly dissipated into green smoke, disappearing from sight.

Just as they exchanged puzzled looks, the system prompt sounded again.

"Detected equal redemption points between the Sky Reader and the Extinguisher. Entering final battle mode!"

Final battle mode... what is it?!

As Xia Qi wondered, Sister Hong pointed outside and shouted, "Look, it's getting dark!"

They had just stepped out, and it should still be morning. How could it suddenly turn dark?

Xia Qi rushed out and looked up at the sky.

The once bright sky had turned into a black night, yet the sun remained suspended in the center of the night sky.

Sister Hong pointed to the horizon and shouted, "The moon is rising!"

Xia Qi turned to look and saw a full moon rising from the eastern bank of the Helplessness River, ascending rapidly into the sky.

Finally, the moon stopped beside the sun, the two closely aligned together.

This is... the sun and moon shining together?

Author's note:

Someone: The sun and moon shining together signifies that I rule Nightless City with Qi.

Xia Qi: I have no interest in your small territory.

Someone: Tired of Nightless City being too small? No problem, in the next instance, I'll build a country, and you will still be my empress!

Xia Qi: ...