Clean-up Work

Hoo...

The sound of an extremely faint airflow was exceptionally clear in the deathly silent banquet hall, like something breaking free from its shackles.

Following that, a dull thud of a heavy object hitting the floor suddenly rang out, shattering all the tranquility.

Ren Yi withdrew his hand, which had been suspended in mid-air. His face was entirely devoid of emotion, as if he hadn't just casually killed Player 1, the Locksmith, but had merely crushed an ant.

The suppression of the rules had completely vanished. He didn't even need to use his abilities; the innate strength of his True Form as an Anomaly was already a lethal weapon against a normal human body.

In the next second, narrow slits spread without warning from Ren Yi's limbs and torso. From a distance, it looked as if countless tightly closed eyes had split open across his body.

Clusters of pure white mist slowly seeped out from these fissures, swirling around him like living things, flowing and rising gradually.

Ren Yi couldn't help but let out a soft, comfortable hum. The fatigue between his brows vanished instantly, replaced by a sense of relief and expansion.

Having been suppressed by the game rules for so long, his True Form had been curled up inside a human shell. Now, he could finally stretch out.

This is much more comfortable.

Just as he was fully stretching his True Form and enjoying the relief of the lifted suppression, he caught a glimpse of Player 2 out of the corner of his eye.

At this moment, Player 2's pupils had shrunk to the size of pinpricks from extreme terror. His mouth was open wide enough to fit a fist, and all color had drained from his face.

Ren Yi paused for a moment, then cleared his throat, trying to regain his previous gentle tone. "Ah, about that, let's continue our—hiss... sorry."

As soon as he spoke, he felt his voice crack slightly.

Ren Yi looked down and immediately understood why.

Several narrow fissures had also split open on his neck and both sides of his cheeks.

Those fissures happened to cut through his mimicked vocal cords and oral cavity, compromising the airtightness of his mouth and throat. As a result, the mimicked vocal cords could not function properly.

He quickly and carefully stuffed the tissues of his True Form that were leaking out of the fissures back in. The split fissures healed and vanished at a visible rate, quickly returning to smooth flesh.

Once everything was set, Ren Yi cleared his throat again and continued, "I was saying, our previous topic..."

"Ah—!"

His words were once again interrupted by a short, abruptly ending scream.

Ren Yi frowned helplessly. He saw Player 2's gaze fixed intently on the other side of the banquet hall. The fear in his eyes was even more intense than when he had seen Ren Yi's True Form, and his body was shaking even more violently.

Ren Yi followed his gaze and couldn't help but pause as well.

Compared to his side, the scene on Zhang Qiuqiu's side was tragic to the extreme.

The body that originally belonged to Player 11 was being torn apart at a visible rate. It was a bloody mess, and the crisp sound of bones snapping was clearly audible.

It was as if something was frantically expanding and struggling inside the body, forcibly bursting through the human shell. Like a tattered rag bag being ripped apart, it exploded in an instant.

Blood and mangled flesh splashed everywhere, staining the surrounding floor and furniture. The air was instantly filled with a thick, pungent, and nauseating smell of blood.

Then, a wolf-like creature on all fours broke free from the pile of bloody remains.

The most bizarre part was that it possessed a pair of beautiful eyes that were completely out of place with this ferocious body.

In the next second, small patches of flesh on the wolf-like creature's body began to quiver, as if something was about to burrow out from under the skin.

One by one, "clear and bright" eyes opened on its back, limbs, and even its cheeks.

Every pair of eyes was rotating, looking in different directions.

Ren Yi recognized it at a glance; this was the Extinction True Form that Zhang Qiuqiu had obtained earlier.

Just as Player 6 saw this horrifying sight, her pupils shrinking as she instinctively let out a scream, Zhang Qiuqiu's figure blurred. She nimbly extended her sharp claws and slit Player 6's throat.

With a soft squelch, a thin line of blood appeared on Player 6's neck, and her body slumped down.

Ren Yi blinked his eyes, which he still maintained on his human face. Looking at the gruesome scene before him, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

"Was... was that really necessary? Didn't she just argue with you a few times earlier?"

Zhang Qiuqiu slowly turned around, and the dense cluster of eyes all over her body rolled simultaneously.

That look was both horrifyingly eerie and yet carried a hint of girlish charm, creating a striking contrast.

She reverted to her human voice and said flatly, "You don't understand. This is respect."

Meeting his puzzled gaze, Zhang Qiuqiu slowly added, "I truly acknowledge her."

"Therefore, I killed her in the fastest way possible, allowing her soul to dissipate freely without devouring or destroying it. That is my respect for her."

Oh right, Ren Yi suddenly remembered. Zhang Qiuqiu's True Form ability allowed her to seize a target's body through eye contact while simultaneously devouring and digesting their soul to increase her own power.

So, for Zhang Qiuqiu, allowing the opponent's soul to dissipate naturally without devouring or destroying it was indeed much more "respectful" than directly consuming it.

But Ren Yi still shook his head slightly.

"It's meaningless."

"In case some worlds have special rules, or there are characters like Necromancers, allowing her soul to dissipate like this could very well expose our identities and abilities, bringing unnecessary trouble upon ourselves."

Zhang Qiuqiu stiffened at his words and quickly defended herself, "I know that, of course. Isn't it because the Instance has already ended?"

Ren Yi gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I was just speaking offhandedly, sorry..."

Zhang Qiuqiu quickly leaped onto the long table nearby, deliberately changing the subject. She looked at Player 2 beside Ren Yi and tossed her head, her tone casual. "Why are you still keeping him?"

"Oh right, I almost forgot about him."

Reminded by her, Ren Yi remembered the terrified Player 2 beside him. He quickly turned his head and cleared his throat, trying to regain his previous rhythm as he spoke to Player 2.

"Where were we... oh right, I haven't finished explaining to you..."

"Aaaaaaah—!"

His words were interrupted for the third time by another shrill scream. This scream was even more piercing and terrified than Player 6's just now, filled with a sense of utter despair.

Ren Yi's face instantly darkened with exasperation.

What? There was only one human Participant left on the scene, and he was stuck to his chair, too terrified to even make a sound.

Then who on earth was the one screaming?