Chapter 172 · Volume 1

【Anomaly Kill】 The Only Spectator

Almost the moment the words left his mouth, Player 4 noticed Ren Yi's slow pouring motion suddenly freeze.
Then, Ren Yi clutched the bottle and quickly retreated several steps.
Player 4 felt his heart, which had been lodged in his throat, slowly sink back down.
"Ha... ha... you lunatic!" Player 4 sobbed slightly, sensing he was safe for the moment.
"I told you I'm not! I'm not! What transformation? I'm just an ordinary person!"
Under the crushing pressure of life and death, he was unexpectedly honest. He hadn't even thought to lie about having a special identity to make Ren Yi hesitate.
Player 4 looked up and stared intently at Ren Yi, terrified he might suddenly snap and splash the poison anyway.
But then he realized the mad clown wasn't looking at him. He was looking at a point slightly above his head.
And in those slightly widened eyes, there seemed to be a trace of fear.
What? I'm the one who's scared to death. What is he afraid of?
He couldn't be afraid of me, could he?
But besides me and him, who else... is here?
Only then did Player 4 faintly sense a sound coming from above his head.
Hoo... hah... hoo... hah...
Long, drawn-out breaths. They sounded muffled, as if sealed inside a heavy metal casing.
His body froze instantly. Every hair on his body stood on end as a chill surged from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
Stiffly, Player 4 lowered his head and inch by inch shifted his gaze toward the floor behind him.
The incandescent light in the pod was between him and Ren Yi, shining brightly. His shadow should have been stretched thin across the floor behind him.
But now, there was a massive mound of darkness there—a shadow like a small mountain.
From Ren Yi's perspective, the scene was even clearer.
Behind Player 4, inside the cramped, airtight pod, a massive entity had appeared out of nowhere.
Its skin was a sickly greenish-black, its flesh bulging with muscle. Two massive blades on its hands shimmered with a faint, bloody light. A sealed metal hood covered its head, from which heavy, muffled breathing emerged.
Compared to Player 4 sitting on the floor, the creature's presence was exceptionally impactful.
Just now, Player 4's declaration of "I'm! Not!" had successfully summoned the monster that tracked "rebuttals."
Ren Yi muttered to himself: After the upgrade, Old Lu's true form seems even taller, and his muscles are more developed.
Not gonna lie, he looks kind of cool.
But on the surface, Ren Yi maintained a terrified expression. He gripped the bottle tightly and retreated another two steps.
Of course, these actions weren't for Player 4's benefit.
Finally, Player 4 looked up and saw the terrifying monster behind him.
"No—" He only managed half a word before Lu Zihan's blade arrived.
There was only the sharp whistle of the blade slicing through the air. The sound of cutting through flesh was almost inaudible—clean and efficient.
Fortunately, Ren Yi had retreated fast enough to avoid being splattered with blood.
Ren Yi could feel that with Player 4's death, a rule-based concept of "quota met" descended upon him, forming a faint restriction.
However, Ren Yi ignored it for now.
The performance wasn't over yet.
As a Poison Apprentice—or rather, a terrified Poison Apprentice—what should he do after seeing his roommate brutally murdered by an Anomaly?
They had already coordinated this reaction in the group chat.
Ren Yi glanced at the lifeless Player 4 on the floor, feigning a reaction for a few seconds as if confirming the man was beyond saving.
Then, his eyes sharpened. He gritted his teeth and lunged forward, making a show of splashing the potion at the Anomaly.
However, in the next instant, Lu Zihan's massive frame vanished into thin air. Only the corpse on the floor and the faint scent of blood remained to prove that everything just now hadn't been an illusion.
Ren Yi's forward momentum caused him to stumble. He came to a bewildered halt beside Player 4's corpse.
Ren Yi lowered his head to hide the expression on his face.
After the upgrade, Lu Zihan's ability had undergone a minor evolution.
"Within a certain period after a teleportation decapitation, the user can choose to teleport back to the original location."
He was truly going all-in on the path of a high-burst assassin.
Ren Yi felt nothing but envy.
But unfortunately, even with Player 4 dead, he couldn't show that envy. He continued to exert his Best Actor-level skills, standing there with a grim expression.
After waiting a while and confirming it was safe, Ren Yi put away the "homemade potion" and sat back on the bed, appearing lost in thought.
In reality, he was simply trying to sense if he could feel anyone's gaze.
Though in all likelihood, an ability formed through rules wouldn't leave such a glaring loophole as allowing the participants to "sense a gaze."
He wondered if this grand performance of the night had caught the eye of the only spectator.

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