When had Zi Yao ever seen such a sight?
During all her years at the brothel, disobedient women were usually locked up and "re-educated." They were rarely beaten outright.
After all, if any scars were left on their skin, wouldn't it ruin such fine, beautiful bodies?
Only those who would rather die than submit were dragged before everyone else and beaten to death as a warning to the rest.
But what had just happened before her eyes... She truly couldn't handle it.
“Young Master Lin...”
She didn't dare look back. That bloody scene made her physically ill.
Right now, her only choice was to rely on Lin Deyou. After all, she possessed no skills, and even walking a few extra steps left her out of breath.
Zi Yao took a deep breath and forced herself to stand. After trying to orient herself and recalling the direction Lin Deyou had gone, she began searching that way.
“Young Master Lin, where are you...?”
Her voice trembled, thick with tears. Her slender, voluptuous figure moved slowly through the dim, withered forest, her feet rustling against the thick layer of withered leaves.
“Young Master Lin? I'm so scared...”
She looked around, constantly searching for Lin Deyou.
Unfortunately, Lin Deyou had no intention of showing himself.
Meanwhile, Zuo Lin'an had already retreated to a secluded spot and begun browsing the forum posts.
What was that talent Zi Yao had used earlier?
Was it a common talent or a special one?
He started by looking through the common talents and actually found it.
【Common Talent: Concealment】
【Lowers one's own presence, allowing specters to bypass the user and attack others. If the user is the only one with a Death Lock, this talent is ineffective. If the user is the only survivor, this talent is ineffective. Usable once per day.】
Zuo Lin'an nodded to himself.
So that was it. He had indeed felt as though Zi Yao had lost her presence right in front of him, preventing him from attacking. It was because she had lowered her presence.
Suddenly, Zuo Lin'an hesitated.
If Princess Jinyang hadn't been there, and only Zi Yao and Lin Deyou remained, Zi Yao could have used her Concealment talent to prevent him from attacking her.
Meanwhile, Lin Deyou had the special effect of the specter candy, forcing him to leave Lin Deyou for last.
What would he have done then?
Zuo Lin'an froze.
“!”
The answer was simple: he wouldn't have been able to touch either player.
The combination of this talent and the specter item's special effect would likely be useless against other dungeon bosses, since other bosses could lock onto players.
But Zuo Lin'an didn't need a lock to kill players, so they would have triggered an invincibility exploit!
“Sure enough, no matter how outstanding a Human-Specter Symbiont is, they aren't invincible.”
Fortunately, Zi Yao's talent could only be used once a day.
Fortunately, he had hidden the specter item he made earlier.
Fortunately, there was no foundation of trust between Lin Deyou and Zi Yao. Zi Yao might have told Lin Deyou about her talent, but Lin Deyou had not taken her seriously.
Fortunately, Lin Deyou had not stepped in to save Zi Yao just now. If Zi Yao had not used her talent, he would still be facing a dead end right now.
What a pity.
If they had cooperated properly, discussed their options, and already figured out his rules, they might have actually discovered this sole path of survival.
But there were no “what-ifs” in this world.
Huh?
Zuo Lin'an stroked his chin.
Could this be the hidden path of survival?
After all, no dungeon could be a guaranteed death trap.
“Truly fascinating.”
He took a deep breath. “I almost tripped up in an easy situation. It's still because of my lack of experience.”
“Fortunately, my luck was good. Lin Deyou never viewed Zi Yao as an equal, so he didn't save her. Otherwise, this time...”
“If that had happened, who knows how much that fellow Xu Youyou would have mocked me.”
At this moment, he was perched high up, looking down from a tree branch.
Since he was currently in his specter form, he couldn't perceive Lin Deyou, who had eaten the specter candy. However, Zi Yao remained within his range of perception.
Zi Yao wandered slowly through the forest of dry, withered trees all by herself. Disheveled and filled with sorrow, she continued to search for Lin Deyou.
Even though she knew Lin Deyou would not show himself, and even though she knew he was following her from the shadows.
She still clung to that last sliver of hope.
Time trickled by. Zi Yao had no idea how long she had been walking, nor where she had ended up.
She only felt an unbearable ache in her legs, making it impossible to take another step. Her throat had grown so hoarse that her voice was likely audible only to herself.
Despondent, Zi Yao stared up at the gloomy sky, then scanned the deathly quiet, withered forest around her, before finally collapsing onto her knees in sheer exhaustion.
“There's no hope...”
“I'm doomed...”
“Why me?”
“Why did this have to happen to me...”
“I don't want to... I don't want to die!”
It had been so many years.
She had endured so many years at the Shuanghua Brothel, finally rising to become the top courtesan. She had met the Third Young Master of the Lin Duke's Manor and finally hooked him, putting her on the verge of escaping her misery!
“Why...”
“...me?”
“Why did this have to happen to me...”
By this time, Zuo Lin'an had already materialized not far away.
He ignored Lin Deyou, who was hiding in the shadows. It didn't matter where he hid; once he killed Zi Yao, Lin Deyou would have nowhere left to run.
He watched Zi Yao slumped on the ground and approached her step by step.
Faced with such a voluptuous, beautiful woman in revealing attire, his heart didn't waver in the slightest. His eyes were cold, and the knife in his hand was ready.
After Zuo Lin'an methodically executed Zi Yao, he suddenly sensed something and slowly turned his head to look in a certain direction.
His gaze locked directly with that of someone hiding in the distance.
It was Lin Deyou.
Zuo Lin'an could feel that the other man was terrified. Those eyes instantly averted, and he immediately activated his qinggong to flee at top speed.
His look just now had been entirely deliberate.
A playful smile tugged at the corners of Zuo Lin'an's lips as he began to pursue Lin Deyou.
Since he had nothing better to do for the next hour anyway, he might as well chase him to pass the time.
Right now, Lin Deyou was clutching a silver needle in his hand.
This was a consumable specter item he had acquired in a previous dungeon. It was a single-use item that couldn't repel specters, but any specter struck by the silver needle would be immobilized.
The effect would last for three minutes.
This was his greatest trump card. The special effect of the specter candy he had eaten earlier had already vanished, as he was now the only surviving player left in the dungeon.
Yet this silver needle could only buy him three minutes. It seemed practically useless.
Lin Deyou gritted his teeth, running desperately.
The specter behind him didn't seem to be in any rush, merely tailing him from a moderate distance. If he ran faster, the specter sped up; if he slowed down, the specter decelerated as well.
It was like a patient hunter playing with its prey, chasing it until it was too exhausted to run, before finally devouring it in one bite.
Lin Deyou felt exactly like that prey right now.
How ironic.
Truly ironic!
In the past, he had always been the hunter. Who would have thought he would ever end up reduced to such a state?
Rate on N.U.
