He snapped his head up, looking toward the source of the scream, and saw a black shadow streak across the room like an arrow, landing heavily on the long table.
It was Lord Cha.
Lord Cha was currently in his rodent True Form, but at this moment, his fur was standing completely on end. He was shivering violently, his eyes were bulging, and his face was a mask of sheer terror.
Just a moment ago, Lord Cha had been browsing the forums on the Anomaly Web. When the rule suppression suddenly lifted, he felt himself regain control over his True Form and hurried to disconnect from the Anomaly Web to link back with his puppet.
But the moment he opened his eyes, he found a cold corpse lying across his lap. A pair of lifeless eyes were staring right at him.
It was Player 1, whom Ren Yi had just killed. He had fallen backward, landing right on the lap of Player 12, Lord Cha.
Being stared at by a corpse from such a close distance, Lord Cha's soul nearly left his body. He instinctively severed the link with his puppet, threw off the hat used to hide his True Form, and bolted from his hiding spot with a shrill scream.
Zhang Qiuqiu was standing on the long table. Looking down at Lord Cha, who had scurried to her feet and was shaking like a leaf, she couldn't help but raise her wolf-like front paw and press it down on him.
"Aaaah! Help! There's a monster!" Lord Cha shrieked, even more terrified by the sudden touch.
His body went limp, and with a soft squelch, he suddenly turned flat like a piece of paper, instantly merging into Zhang Qiuqiu's shadow.
Immediately after, Zhang Qiuqiu's entire shadow suddenly detached from beneath her feet as if it had a mind of its own. It slid rapidly off the long table and scurried underneath it.
Zhang Qiuqiu was left standing on the table with nothing beneath her feet. The lack of a shadow looked exceptionally eerie.
"Lord Cha!" Ren Yi pressed a hand to his forehead, speaking with a tone full of helpless exasperation.
"Can you have a little dignity? You're an Anomaly, for goodness' sake!"
From within the shadow under the table, a tearful and aggrieved voice drifted out. "This... this isn't a normal corpse! There's a monster here! It's covered in eyes! It's terrifying!"
Zhang Qiuqiu looked down at the empty space where her shadow should have been, then at the shadow huddled under the table. Fury surged within her, and she yelled toward the floor.
"You useless furball! That's me! Give me back my shadow!"
The banquet hall fell into a sudden silence, save for Player 2's faint, shallow breathing.
After a long while, a patch of shadow sheepishly crawled out from under the table, carefully climbed back up, and returned to its place beneath Zhang Qiuqiu's feet.
Then, Lord Cha poked his head out from the shadow, looking at Zhang Qiuqiu and Ren Yi with a sheepish grin.
"Ahem, sorry, sorry. I just woke up, my head was a bit foggy. I didn't recognize you. It was a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding."
"Anyway, you two, what just happened stays between us. We absolutely can't let a fourth witness..."
As he spoke, he instinctively turned back toward Ren Yi, and his gaze accidentally brushed past Player 2, who was sitting next to Ren Yi with his hands clutching his chest.
"...know about this," Lord Cha finished the sentence with great difficulty.
"Wait, why is there still one left here?"
"Because of you!" Ren Yi glared at Lord Cha, his voice thick with frustration.
Ren Yi sighed helplessly and turned to look at Player 2, who was frozen stiff with fear. Softening his tone as much as possible, he said, "Hold on a moment. I'll finish this up quickly. I won't make you wait long."
This single sentence made Player 2's face turn even paler.
Before continuing the conversation, Ren Yi planned to deal with any unstable factors that might interrupt him... For instance, why hadn't Lu Zihan woken up yet?
He looked toward Lu Zihan's seat.
Lu Zihan was sitting in the eighth position. The rust-colored traces of the seal had completely faded, yet he was leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, seemingly fast asleep.
"Oh, you mean Old Lu?" Lord Cha seemed to realize his confusion and quickly explained.
"It's fine, it's fine. He was probably knocked out by the 'game.' It's not a big deal."
As he spoke, he hopped over to Lu Zihan and brushed his fluffy tail across the man's face, shouting as he did so, "Hey! Old Lu! Wake up! It's morning! Stop sleeping!"
After several shouts, Lu Zihan finally stirred. His eyelashes fluttered, and after a long moment, he finally drifted awake.
He let out a groggy yawn, his eyes unfocused. Before he was even fully conscious, he began muttering to himself.
"Haaa... let's go... another three hundred rounds? Who's afraid of who!"
It took him a while to fully come to his senses. Rubbing his throbbing head, he looked around. When he saw the corpses on the floor, smelled the blood in the air, and saw the forms of Ren Yi, Zhang Qiuqiu, and Lord Cha, he suddenly realized what was happening, and his eyes sharpened instantly.
"Ah, is the Instance over?" Lu Zihan slapped his own cheeks, trying to pull himself together.
Seeing his groggy state, Ren Yi couldn't help but sigh again. "Stop embarrassing our kind. There's still a human here."
Only then did Lu Zihan notice Player 2 sitting nearby, looking as if his soul had left his body.
He looked at Ren Yi in the distance, whose body was covered in cracks and swirling white mist, then at Zhang Qiuqiu on the table, covered in eyes, and then at Lord Cha with his tail held high and a sheepish grin. He realized the situation immediately.
In the next second, Lu Zihan's blue-black muscles began to bulge violently. His human shell was torn apart as his skin turned a deep blue-black. The terrifying True Form of the dual-blade monster instantly appeared before everyone.
However, a sharp crack immediately followed.
The chair beneath Lu Zihan's rear was unable to withstand the burden and was instantly crushed by his massive frame.
He nearly lost his balance and fell onto his backside, his height suddenly dropping by half.
The intimidating pressure he had just built up vanished instantly, replaced by a sense of the ridiculous.
Ren Yi covered his face, looking like he had lost all will to live.
Fine, let them be an embarrassment. It was already like this; there was nothing left to lose anyway.
He slowly lowered his hand and shook his head, no longer looking at Lu Zihan's awkward state. He turned toward Player 2, who was on the verge of losing consciousness from fear.
He walked slowly toward Player 2, forcing a "I'm a good guy" expression onto his face. He pointed to himself, then to Zhang Qiuqiu, Lord Cha, and Lu Zihan.
"Alright, that's about the gist of it," Ren Yi said, his tone becoming light as a smile touched his eyes.
"Now, your wish to die knowing the truth has been granted."
Rate on N.U.
