Chapter 235 Breaking the Rules

Chapter 235: Violating the Rules

"Here's my game: if you want to survive, kill another human present."

The Eerie Entity possessing "Xiao Xiaodie" tightened its grip on the blood threads. Yue Zhengqing, his neck constricted by the threads, clutched his throat in agony. Hearing "Xiao Xiaodie's" words, his dilated pupils contracted for a moment. Struggling, he craned his neck forward as if to speak, but the threads choked off any sound.

The Eerie Entity noticed Yue Zhengqing's attempt to speak. Its fingers, controlling the blood threads, twitched. Yue Zhengqing, who had been gasping as if suffocating, suddenly drew a deep breath, like a drowning man finally reaching air. After several long breaths, he managed to choke out a question—

"Didn’t you make a deal with Xiao Xiaodie to kill me?"

Yue Zhengqing’s question, though seemingly pointless, cut to the core of the situation.

According to the Eerie Entity, it had possessed Xiao Xiaodie as part of a deal: Xiao Xiaodie offered her body, and in return, the blood-thread entity was to kill Yue Zhengqing.

This was a deal that likely meant certain death for the players, and Xiao Xiaodie might have already paid with her life. Yet now, the Eerie Entity was brazenly violating that agreement and proposing a new deal to Yue Zhengqing.

In other words, if it could break its deal with Xiao Xiaodie, it could just as easily break any deal with Yue Zhengqing. Its words were utterly untrustworthy—devoid of any credibility!

"Heh, afraid I’ll break the contract? Humans are so shrewd."

As "Xiao Xiaodie" spoke, all of Yue Zhengqing’s exposed skin turned an alarming crimson, a sign that he was attempting to use his abilities, just as before. Clearly, as an experienced player, Yue Zhengqing was determined to kill the Eerie Entity directly rather than trust its proposed deal.

But the next moment, more blood threads extended from "Xiao Xiaodie’s" fingertips, spreading toward Yue Zhengqing’s eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, invading his nostrils and even piercing his eyes!

"Ugh—"

The threads pierced Yue Zhengqing’s body and head silently, but the sudden pallor of his face, his wordless agony, and his trembling body showed that the invasion was subjecting him to unbearable torture.

"I do enjoy breaking agreements, but the humans who make deals with me have no other choice." "Xiao Xiaodie" watched Yue Zhengqing, his eyes rolling back in pain, with evident pleasure. "Either die by my hand in your game, or join my game and kill another human. Which will you choose, dear?"

"Xiao Xiaodie’s" lingering, taunting tone felt like a knife twisting in Yue Zhengqing’s heart.

Under everyone’s gaze, Yue Zhengqing, on the verge of losing consciousness from agony, slowly nodded, agreeing to the deal.

"It seems you’ve made your decision." "Xiao Xiaodie" retracted some of the threads, allowing Yue Zhengqing just enough mobility to act. Since he had agreed to the deal, he at least needed the strength to kill.

"Then, in my game, the human you must kill is… him." The Eerie Entity possessing Xiao Xiaodie extended its right hand, covered in blood threads. The threads on its hand grew denser with each passing moment, as if Xiao Xiaodie’s body would soon be completely consumed by them.

With Su Bai’s keen eyesight, he could even see the threads squirming beneath Xiao Xiaodie’s skin.

And the person "Xiao Xiaodie" pointed to…

Was Qin Yuxuan, standing behind the sofa.

As "Xiao Xiaodie" pointed, the players’ expressions shifted from vigilance and fear to confusion. But in the Eerie Entity’s game, the identity of the victim might not matter, so there was no need to question why the defenseless newcomer Qin Yuxuan had been chosen.

"Mr. Yue, don’t do it!" Meng Zhi, the most compassionate among the players, trembled as she spoke. She was likely the most terrified, yet she was the first to speak up. "Don’t listen to it! The Eerie Entities in the Nightmare World are monsters that devour humans whole. You mustn't obey it!"

"From the beginning, it has been guiding us to break the game’s rules," Sang Sang said, her hand reaching into her small bag. "Though I don’t know what happened between you and Miss Xiao, it’s clear she was the first to break the rules. If you attack Qin Yuxuan now, you’ll be the second."

"Like Sister Meng said, the words of Eerie Entities are utterly untrustworthy!" As she spoke, Sang Sang drew a small razor from her bag, its sharp edge glinting under the room’s light. "Yue Zhengqing, sometimes breaking the rules is far more terrifying than being hunted by ghosts."

Unlike ghosts, which could be killed even as they hunted humans, certain absolute rules were like inescapable consequences. Until they understood the limits of the "Harmonious Neighborhood" rule, the players should not act rashly.

But time was running out.

"I knew it. In the Nightmare Game, even the simplest rules aren’t easy to follow." Sang Sang gritted her teeth and drew the blade across her left forearm.

But at that moment, several blood threads instantly wrapped around her arms, stopping her movement. Unlike the threads that had pierced Yue Zhengqing, these merely restrained her without penetrating her flesh.

"What’s the use of saying this now?" Yue Zhengqing stepped toward Qin Yuxuan. "You did nothing earlier, but now that this Qin kid is in danger, you want to stop me? Now that I’ve glimpsed a chance to survive, you’re using empty moralizing to stand in my way? Is Qin Yuxuan’s life more valuable than mine?"

Yue Zhengqing walked out of the sofa area. Though the threads had receded from his face, his neck, arms, and even his back were still pierced by inescapable blood threads. The threads stretched forward with his steps, not restraining his movement but making him look like a marionette controlled by strings.

"You…"

Chen Xi, sitting on the sofa, bolted up. But in the blink of an eye, dense blood threads, like a spiderweb, blocked all the players on the sofa, seemingly ready to impale them at any moment.

"Wouldn’t it be better to sit here as spectators?"

"Heh, compared to my companions, I’ve been quite friendly to humans."

"Though I haven’t been kind to Yue Zhengqing, it’s because this human body still holds her memories, emotions, and overflowing anger."

"You needn’t pity the human Yue Zhengqing will kill. After all, he’s been doing the same things as us."

Yue Zhengqing stepped forward, his face, neck, and arms flushing red. His eyes, fixed on Qin Yuxuan, were filled with undeniable murderous intent. The chance to survive by killing a defenseless newcomer was an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Just then, the lights in the room flickered.

And the large "Family Harmony Brings Prosperity" painting on the white wall instantly transformed into a mirror covering half the wall!