On the surface, Ren Yi's expression shifted abruptly, his eyes flashing with a perfectly timed mix of panic and hesitation, but his mind was already crystal clear.
Lu Zihan was intentionally giving him a way out, helping him fulfill the hard requirement of "personally killing a Participant."
Suppressing his inner realization, he respectfully responded with a "Yes" and then slowly shuffled over to the Participant's side.
"No... you can't kill me!" The Participant on the ground was covered in blood, the wound on his temple still seeping. He stared fixedly at Ren Yi, his voice raspy and desperate.
Ren Yi glanced toward the livestream camera.
Out of respect for his current human disguise, he crouched down and spoke in a flat tone.
"You're beyond saving. I'm just helping you find release."
The Participant tried to struggle and argue, but the scene before his eyes suddenly began to warp.
The walls, the floor, and even Ren Yi's face began to shake and blur. An intense wave of vertigo instantly seized him, leaving his entire body paralyzed.
Ren Yi's fingertips twitched slightly. Seizing the moment of paralysis, his right hand suddenly clamped onto the man's neck and gave it a sharp twist.
Crack.
After the slight sound of bone snapping, the Participant's body slumped down. His eyes remained wide open, but they quickly lost all luster.
Taking advantage of the moment he released his ability, Ren Yi quietly absorbed the positive emotion swirling around him, refilling his magazine once more.
He stood up nonchalantly and brushed off his hands, confirming no blood had splattered on him.
Okay, quota met. Progress +1.
In the livestream:
"Wait, did he just kill one of his own?"
"Stop with the moral kidnapping. The expert said it himself—he was helping the guy find release."
"Care to guess why people from the other cities aren't trash-talking right now? This time he killed someone from the Holy City, so they have nothing to say."
"Does no one care about the expert's play? Did he get some kind of unique job?"
"Heh, what's the point? You'll only die faster being right next to an Anomaly. Didn't you see how miserably the guy who disobeyed the Young Master died earlier?"
Inside the Instance, under the gazes of other Participants—some filled with respect, others with pity—Ren Yi walked up to the second floor and stood beside Lu Zihan.
He looked like he was behaving himself, but in reality, he was busy expending ammo on the remaining Participants nearby to make it easier to absorb energy.
Of course, the way he used his ability was merely to slightly distort the light and shadows before the Participants' eyes.
This was partly because his ability was an illusion that only affected a portion of the senses; it didn't have the lethal power to kill someone directly.
On the other hand, he was only a minor boss in this Instance—a "nepotism hire" who had been squeezed in. He had to leave more prey for the adults who were here to help.
Ren Yi hadn't expected that in a three-day Instance, he would basically achieve his primary goal on the very first morning.
In the coming days, he just needed to find opportunities to expend his "ammo" on the Participants before the other Anomalies killed too many of them.
Then, he would rely on the livestream to put on a show, harvesting positive emotions with highlight-reel performances.
Besides that, Ren Yi was also a bit curious about that Auxiliary Rule.
【Auxiliary Rule: Do not feel pain together with others】
So far, this vague rule didn't seem to have been triggered even once.
Ren Yi felt as though the Anomalies within the Instance were intentionally trying to avoid triggering it.
Whether it was the initial work assignments or the solo task in the Watermelon Patch, there seemed to be a deliberate effort to keep the Participants separated to avoid meeting the "together" condition.
After all, making people feel pain was unavoidable for most Anomalies.
It was actually understandable; Ren Yi didn't think anyone who triggered this rule would emerge unscathed. Once triggered, it would likely be equivalent to that Calamity "stealing the kill."
If the results of all their hard work went to waste, no one would want to make such a losing deal.
Lu Zihan led Ren Yi into the study. Today, he wore a moon-white robe, which slightly concealed his burly physique and gave him a somewhat more refined, scholarly appearance.
The study was large. Fu Ye led the remaining Participants inside.
Rows of bookshelves stood in the center of the room. Books were scattered haphazardly on the floor, and there were even one or two yellowed bamboo slips that looked like antiques, clearly quite old.
In the innermost corner of the study, Fu Ye had a narrow desk covered in ledgers, which was likely his workstation.
In principle, the study should have been Fu Ye's territory, but for some reason, Lu Zihan had also been assigned here.
It was clear that Lu Zihan must have thrown a tantrum, disrupting the work of the Participants here.
Lu Zihan yawned as he walked over to his own desk.
As the Young Master, his desk was located by the window where the sunlight was best.
However, the trees outside were lush and green, with birds occasionally hopping through the branches. It was the kind of view that easily made one lose focus.
Ren Yi glanced at the desk and immediately saw a book titled 《Anomaly Tongue》.
What is this? A classic masterpiece of the Anomaly world?
Lu Zihan slumped into his chair.
He had also finished his quota of "killing a Participant," and now he seemed to have no motivation left.
He sized up Ren Yi with a mischievous gaze, seemingly thinking about how to exploit the rule: 【Servants must not disobey any command from the "Master."】
The few Participants who had resumed organizing the books couldn't help but steal glances. Having witnessed Lu Zihan's brutality, they all collectively assumed Ren Yi was a dead man.
"Reading is too exhausting," Lu Zihan drawled, finally speaking. "You, come over and give this Young Master a shoulder massage."
Ren Yi almost couldn't hold back a laugh. After all that posturing, this was the best command he could come up with?
In a spot hidden from the livestream's view, Ren Yi's lips curled up briefly. He didn't even bother to argue with him on the Anomaly Web.
"Of course, Young Master," Ren Yi's voice was so sweet it could practically drip.
Before Lu Zihan could react, Ren Yi had already moved behind him. He gripped the muscles on both sides of the boy's neck and, before the other could speak, began to shake him violently from side to side.
"Hiss... gent—gentle! My head! My head is spinning!"
Inside the Anomaly Web:
【Lu Zihan: Stool! Stop! I was wrong! I'm really sorry! My head's about to fall off!】
While the two Young Masters—one in the light and one in the shadows—were messing around...
Nearby, Participant No. 87 was somewhat disappointed that he hadn't seen a bloodbath.
He stood there holding a stack of books for a while before finally averting his gaze with regret.
Just then, he looked down and discovered that at the very top of the stack he was holding was a book titled 《Liaozhai Anomalies》.
Could this be some kind of knowledge from the Anomaly world?
Participant No. 87 felt a surge of intense curiosity.
He quietly flipped open 《Liaozhai Anomalies》.
However, the content was different from what he had imagined. It seemed to be a collection of stories, recounting strange anecdotes about Humans and Anomalies. The plot was full of twists and turns, making it hard to put down.
He became more and more engrossed. Eventually, he simply set the stack of books down and leaned against the bookshelf to read with great interest.
Gradually, his gaze grew vacant, his pupils lost focus, and his entire being seemed as if his soul had been sucked out.
Creak—
A faint sound of a bookshelf sliding rang out.
The copy of 《Liaozhai Anomalies》 fell softly to the floor, its pages still fluttering slightly, but the figure of Participant No. 87 had already vanished without a trace.
【Servants should be diligent and strive to complete their work】
...
Rate on N.U.
