Chapter 62: You Underestimate Us Too Much

Chapter 62 You Underestimate Us Too Much

Ning Yan had been trailing Su Bai and Feng Ling, but she quickly found herself unable to keep pace, falling behind.

With the pressure from the rear suddenly easing, Ning Yan's steps slowed. Unnoticed by others, she stumbled, her face betraying a look of utter exhaustion. Though she had fought relentlessly to protect Sister Yao and the others, Ning Yan had forced herself to block out all thoughts unrelated to combat, striving to focus solely on battling the ghosts.

She refused to ponder the meaning of the past three years, what Yao Yao had endured, or the current state of her relationship with Fang Xiujie. She didn't even dare to revisit the terrifying cave deep within her memories, nor what had transpired within it.

This psychological self-torment eventually took its toll, leaving Ning Yan in pain. Coupled with the dwindling food supply from Room 204, the dual assault of an empty stomach and mental fatigue forced her to retreat to the rear, joining Lan Xingchen and the others.

In her weary state, all the memories Ning Yan wished to suppress surged uncontrollably. Moreover, Feng Ling's earlier mention of "Lan Xingchen" triggered a tidal wave of every memory associated with that name.

Ning Yan wearily lifted her head, gazing at the dazzling incandescent lights on the first-floor hall ceiling. Through her blurred vision, faint images she preferred not to scrutinize began to appear. But since they had surfaced... it seemed she had no choice but to confront them.

"Oh, Lan Xingchen! No wonder that name sounded so familiar and so irritating!"

Ning Yan turned to look at Lan Xingchen, who, as before, averted his gaze, unwilling to meet hers.

"That tall, skinny newcomer who seemed utterly obnoxious, wearing a suit and hair wax when he entered the Nightmare World?" While three years had passed for Lan Xingchen, for Ning Yan and Fang Xiujie, he was the last person they had seen alive—an unforgettable presence.

If they allowed themselves to think, they would surely remember.

Sister Qiu Man's expression also seemed distant, perhaps recalling Lan Xingchen before his disappearance.

Lan Xingchen stood with his back to Ning Yan and the others, his breathing heavy. Eventually, he turned to face Ning Yan and Fang Xiujie. His body was covered in savage, grotesque wounds, but the deepest was on his face—the diagonal gash Ning Yan had inflicted three years prior to rouse him.

The Nightmare World knew no sun, so Lan Xingchen, having long been absent from the real world, possessed pale skin, and even his pained, vacant eyes appeared clouded. Yet, compared to the tall, lean corporate elite of three years ago, the Lan Xingchen of today was bulkier, empowered by his abilities. His body, constantly injured and healing, seemed somewhat terrifying due to layers of scars.

No trace of a crisp suit remained on Lan Xingchen. Players who had dwelled in the Nightmare World for extended periods no longer sought quality of life; convenience of movement and basic coverage were all that mattered.

When Lan Xingchen looked at Ning Yan and Fang Xiujie, he expected to see hatred and murderous intent in the eyes of these two "wraiths." But as he met Ning Yan's gaze, the exhausted girl before him simply... glared.

"Fang Xiujie, do you remember this guy?" After confirming that Su Bai and Feng Ling had completely subdued the ghosts at the door, Ning Yan shot a glare at Lan Xingchen, then turned to Fang Xiujie, her tone tinged with nostalgia. "That troublesome newcomer who refused to take off his suit, even knowing the game was set deep in the mountains? Wearing leather shoes, almost tumbling down the mountain, sweating profusely while still fussing with the hair wax on his head?"

"I remember," Fang Xiujie said with a bitter smile, nodding.

"Back then, I secretly bad-mouthed him to you," Ning Yan tried to force a smile, but it grew increasingly bitter. "Saying that a troublesome newcomer like him definitely wouldn't survive."

"If I had died three years ago, it would have been for the best." Lan Xingchen had believed he would forever wander the Nightmare World like a numb zombie, never finding a reason to stop.

But now...

"But it's not too late now." Lan Xingchen suddenly exhaled in relief, dropping the cleaver in his hand to the ground, and closed his eyes.

"Smack—!"

The sound of a slap echoed through the now-spacious hall. Even Su Bai and Feng Ling, at the door preparing to clean up, turned at the noise, seeing Ning Yan's hand still suspended in mid-air.

Though he couldn't clearly see Lan Xingchen's face, based on the sound, Su Bai guessed a bright red handprint likely now adorned it.

For a moment, everyone, including Fang Xiujie, was startled by Ning Yan's sudden slap.

Meanwhile, Su Bai and Feng Ling were still attending to the aftermath. With Feng Ling's assistance, three beads on Su Bai's blood-red string had already turned black-red. These three beads shimmered under the light like black jade studded with starlight, their quality surpassing even the earliest white qipao paper doll. Without Feng Ling's help, Su Bai would have undoubtedly expended far more energy. Though the harvest of three beads was slightly less than anticipated, for Su Bai, who had started from nothing, it was a bounty. His risky journey to "Happy Neighborhood" had been worthwhile.

To conserve energy, Su Bai and Feng Ling tossed the ghosts, charred and immobilized by the orange flames but not yet reduced to ash, directly onto a pile at the shattered entrance. They then ignited them with Feng Ling's flame, creating a blazing wall of fire to block any remaining ghosts attempting to approach from outside.

After completing the cleanup, Su Bai turned back. The digital clock on the wall displayed "23:80." Even if Su Bai and Feng Ling completely forgot how many ghosts they had just slain and burned, the wall clock would surely remember.

Once the pile of ghosts at the entrance had burned to ashes, they might not even need to wait 48 hours to hear the game completion prompt.

Beneath the clock, Ning Yan and Lan Xingchen still faced each other angrily. As Ning Yan's fury gradually subsided, she looked at Lan Xingchen with feigned disdain, then questioned him in a tone dripping with sarcasm—

"Back then, when Fang Xiujie and I wanted you to survive, was it just so we could specially come back today to kill you again? Look at your pathetic state—do you even need Fang Xiujie and me to lift a hand? I don't know what happened these past three years, but haven't you already tortured yourself into a half-dead, wretched state?!"

"You've tormented yourself like this—is it to amuse Fang Xiujie and me, who saved you back then?" Ning Yan's questioning grew increasingly sharp. "In your eyes, are Fang Xiujie and I such great villains? Do you think we let you live just to torment you forever? Lan Xingchen, are you underestimating us?"