“What should I do...?”
Lin Deyou asked himself repeatedly, desperately searching for a way out.
Stop running now?
Conserve his strength?
But he was no novice player; he knew the general nature of specters well. Martial arts and martial techniques were completely useless against them.
Even a Xiantian Rank martial artist would be easily killed upon triggering a specter's Death Rule if they lacked the appropriate talent or specter item to counter it.
His own martial skills were nothing compared to a Xiantian Rank master—hardly even amateur. How could he possibly hope to harm a specter?
“A half-shichen will pass in the blink of an eye. If I can't think of a way before then...”
Anxiety gnawed at Lin Deyou. He had already mentally cataloged every resource at his disposal, yet he still couldn't find a viable solution. Was he truly left with no choice but to wait for death?
He cast another glance backward at the specter trailing far behind him. With a deep sigh, he came to a sudden halt, stepping onto a boulder and turning to face his pursuer.
Seeing this, Zuo Lin'an stopped as well. Since the time wasn't up yet, he was content to simply maintain his distance.
In his specter body state, his vision was exceptionally sharp. He had long since noticed the object clutched in Lin Deyou's hand—a long, thin sliver reflecting a faint glint of silver.
It was a silver needle!
Zuo Lin'an grew wary. This needle was undoubtedly a specter item.
After all, when players entered a dungeon, they were generally forbidden from bringing in external items, save for specific personal belongings like clothing and accessories, or talent creations like the 【Death Doll】.
Especially weapons.
He was only uncertain whether this was a permanent specter item or a consumable specter item.
If it was a permanent specter item, what kind of effect did it have? Could it repel specters? And what was its cooldown?
From what he knew, the cooldown for permanent specter items—especially those capable of repelling specters—was never less than a full day.
Most required at least two to three days, and those with a mere one-day cooldown were exceedingly rare.
If it was a consumable specter item with multiple charges, then it definitely wouldn't have a repelling effect; it would have to be something else.
Of course, consumables had their own advantages: they could be used consecutively for as many charges as they had, with no cooldown in between.
“It seems I still need to be careful.”
Lin Deyou was a player who had successfully cleared a Two-Star difficulty dungeon before. Though not exactly a high-level player, he could still prove somewhat troublesome for a novice dungeon boss like Zuo Lin'an.
“When I close in on him later, I must be ready to switch to my living body form at any moment, otherwise...”
If that item was capable of repelling specters, his very first dungeon run would end in failure.
If that happened, his dungeon in this wuxia world would be sealed away, and he would have to wait for the next world.
How much time would be wasted then?
Lin Deyou looked at the specter and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it indeed made no move to approach. He then sat down cross-legged and began to recover his true qi.
Although martial arts were useless against specters, having his true qi fully replenished gave him at least some semblance of security.
Time ticked away, second by second, and nine o'clock was fast approaching.
Zuo Lin'an sighed with emotion. It was finally almost time. Although his rule didn't require player activation, it certainly was a bit time-consuming. But no matter.
Just a little longer...
Once he accumulated enough Contribution points, his top priority would be to purchase a Sin Hunter City Entry Application to add another Death Rule to his arsenal.
However, Zuo Lin'an didn't expect that as he approached Lin Deyou, the man wouldn't turn and run. Instead, Lin Deyou stood his ground, staring intently at him as if waiting for his arrival.
Zuo Lin'an's heart skipped a beat. Was he planning to prick him with that needle the moment he struck?
Maintaining his vigilance, Zuo Lin'an prepared to switch to his living body form at a split second's notice. He advanced toward Lin Deyou step by step, continuously releasing his specter aura as he did.
Sensing the increasingly frigid air around him, Lin Deyou stared unblinkingly at his approaching foe, his nerves stretched so taut they felt on the verge of snapping.
The moment Zuo Lin'an drew near and reached out toward him, Lin Deyou suddenly whipped his hand upward.
And Zuo Lin'an had been waiting for exactly this moment.
Switch state!
Hiss!
Zuo Lin'an gasped, instinctively drawing his hand back as a sharp pain flared through it.
He focused his gaze.
To his surprise, the silver needle Lin Deyou had jabbed forward had completely pierced through his palm!
Zuo Lin'an cast a cold glance at his own hand before shifting his gaze to Lin Deyou, who was staring back at him in sheer dumbfounded shock.
Since he had already switched to his living body form, and Lin Deyou's specter item was designed specifically to target specters, the item's special effect was completely useless against him even though it had been triggered.
But even if it had failed to take effect, the charge had still been spent, meaning the specter item's usage count was gone for good.
Right before their eyes, the silver needle piercing his palm slowly dissolved into nothingness.
It seemed the silver needle only had—or rather, had only had—this single charge left. He just didn't know what its specific effect was supposed to be.
Was it a knockback, or something else?
But it didn't matter now; the specter item was gone.
“You... You're a living human?”
The figure standing before him no longer bore any resemblance to a specter. There was fresh blood dripping from his hand, his skin was fair and healthy, and his eyes were a deep, normal black.
This was a flesh-and-blood human being dressed in strange attire!
“You're... not a specter?!”
Zuo Lin'an looked down at the blood flowing from his hand, but the wound began to close and heal at a rate visible to the naked eye.
He looked up at the nearby Lin Deyou and flashed him a slight smile.
“Am I a living human or a specter...?”
He cut himself off mid-sentence and casually switched his state. His living human appearance dissolved, reverting once more to his specter body.
Even his voice grew incredibly raspy and hoarse, carrying a strange, overlapping echo.
“Why don't you come over and find out for yourself?”
Scared out of his wits, Lin Deyou spun around to flee, but unfortunately for him, Zuo Lin'an had no intention of wasting any more time.
Reaching out, Zuo Lin'an seized Lin Deyou by the wrist, locking his grip like a steel vice.
In his other hand, he raised his boning knife, slowly bringing it toward the back of the man's head.
Yet at that very instant, Lin Deyou suddenly produced a paper talisman and slapped it onto Zuo Lin'an's body.
Zuo Lin'an was instantly frozen in place, leaving both of them locked in a rigid, motionless stance.
He could sense that this talisman was a single-use consumable specter item designed to immobilize specters. Its duration was short—only about a minute.
Oh, no!
He had been too careless!
He hadn't expected Lin Deyou to possess so many tricks up his sleeve!
First the specter candy, then the silver needle, and now this talisman.
He had remained vigilant against the silver needle, but once his opponent expended it, he had clearly let his guard down, giving Lin Deyou the perfect opportunity to strike back.
As expected, his own experience was still far too lacking.
Rate on N.U.
