Dragon Girl, third on the Ranking List, just below her and Nightmare.
There were very few women among this group of lunatics. For many reasons, the ratio of female participants was pitifully low. There had even been one lunatic who specifically hunted female Game Participants. Because this person’s strength was genuinely formidable, the already scarce female players were nearly wiped out.
Later, this person provoked Dragon Girl in the waiting area of some world and had his head eaten by her.
You couldn’t kill people in the waiting area; otherwise, you’d face a terrifying punishment. Even he didn’t want to force a confrontation there. Dragon Girl not only dared to do it but also survived the fallout.
Of course, this only demonstrated Dragon Girl’s immense strength and robust constitution, along with her being an extreme madwoman. She was good-looking. If not for her overly barren chest, she could even compete with Zhao Mingyue, the Female Lead—provided she didn’t transform.
The key point, however, was Dragon Girl’s relationship with her.
Bai Yu herself didn’t know what outrageously heinous thing she had done to catch Dragon Girl’s attention. Clearly, this person loathed men.
In short, for unknown reasons, she had been fixated upon.
From then on, Dragon Girl’s terrifying, unplaceable love became concentrated on her. That possessive desire was horrific. It could be said that as long as she appeared, anyone within her vicinity—man or woman—even if they just exchanged a single word with her, would be hated by Dragon Girl and immediately eliminated.
This included other Game Participants and plot characters alike.
Dragon Girl’s love made the group of madwomen currently chasing Lu Liangting look tame in comparison.
At least those women didn’t physically attack Lu Liangting, and for the affection meter, they relied on their own abilities.
Dragon Girl was different. The moment she saw her, she would abandon everything—enemies, rewards—and charge straight at her.
It wasn’t a loving embrace, but a faceful of Dragon Breath.
Bai Yu didn’t know what trauma she’d suffered. In her worldview, a lover had to be dead; only such a lover wouldn’t betray her.
Because of this, they’d fought no less than five times. Each time, she was the one to retreat first.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t beat Dragon Girl. In those situations, she was confident she could kill Dragon Girl, though she would also be severely wounded, even near death.
It was more that there was no need.
She had no grudge against Dragon Girl. Killing her brought no benefit. Better to dodge than to fight.
This continued until the final task—the present one.
Before departing for this world, Dragon Girl had proclaimed in front of all the lunatics that she would definitely find her in the next world and kill her.
She remembered one of her classic lines.
“I’m so outstanding, so powerful, so beautiful. Why won’t you be with me forever? Kill me, or let me kill you.”
As for her view on Dragon Girl…
It was simple.
She wished this madwoman would just die.
She wasn’t a masochist. It was impossible to fall in love with Dragon Girl just because she was this “passionate.” Love? She felt more annoyance. If Dragon Girl weren’t so strong, she would have killed her long ago to save all the trouble.
So, seeing that her second redemption target was Dragon Girl, Bai Yu fell silent.
“It seems I really should just kill her this time.”
In the westernmost part of Pingshan Village, in a dilapidated little courtyard.
Zhao Mingyue fished out a key from her backpack. The key was still perfectly preserved in her possession, but the lock on her old home’s front gate was already covered in rust.
Strangely, the moment she touched the lock, it fell off—whether from rust or deliberate sabotage, she didn’t know.
Zhao Mingyue didn’t think too much of it. Old houses abandoned for a long time were like this.
“This is my home. I lived here for six years.”
Zhao Mingyue’s doorstep also had black cloth and scissors hung, now covered in dust and cobwebs.
No high threshold, no talisman. Zhao Mingyue pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The courtyard was small, a little Courtyard House. There were no weeds now, only traces of dead, withered plants, and the air was filled with a pervasive smell of decay.
“Eh? Why is the main door open too?” Zhao Mingyue walked into the courtyard and, after a few steps, discovered the door to the Main Hall was already open. The door was ajar, blocking the light, so she couldn’t see the situation inside clearly.
The room’s darkness was terrifying, hiding who knows what might be lurking, ready to pounce when you got close.
“Don’t go in.” Bai Yu raised a hand to stop Zhao Mingyue. “There’s something inside.”
Zhao Mingyue blinked and turned on her phone’s flashlight.
Bai Yu walked ahead, and she followed behind.
Kicking the door fully open, Bai Yu and Zhao Mingyue immediately spotted a figure crouching in the corner.
“Who are you?” Zhao Mingyue asked.
It was normal for an old house to have some smell, but as soon as she stepped inside, Zhao Mingyue knew something was wrong. This smell wasn’t like mildew. Besides, with the door wide open like this, even if there was a musty smell, it wouldn’t be this strong.
And the source of this strange odor seemed to be the figure leaning against the wall in the corner.
The house had been basically emptied out. Only a few dusty tables, chairs, and stools remained. So, in this empty room, the figure in the corner was extremely conspicuous.
“A corpse.” Bai Yu strode over and crouched beside the figure in the corner.
She hadn’t been able to determine what this thing was from afar—she’d never seen anything like it. Only up close did it confirm her suspicion. “Don’t come closer. It’s a Wax Corpse.”
The figure leaning against the wall was dressed in tattered clothes like a beggar, eyes tightly shut, clutching a broken bowl to its chest. Its body was coated in some substance, completely lacking the texture of a “human.” If you didn’t look carefully, you might think it was a Paper Effigy or a wax statue.
But if it were a paper effigy or wax statue, it was far too “lifelike,” every detail so closely resembling a “living person.”
The Wax Corpse’s head was lowered, making its facial expression hard to see.
Standing to the side, Zhao Mingyue didn’t know whether to cry or laugh.
A corpse had wandered into her house, and it was a corpse sealed in wax. It was utterly absurd.
The front gate and the main hall door—surely this thing couldn’t have opened them itself?
If someone else had done it, who would be so idle as to carry a corpse inside?
She stepped out the door and closed it behind her. Zhao Mingyue let out a deep sigh. “It seems the events of the Back Village are already spilling over here. Wait, no, they’ve probably always been there. They’re just intensifying now.”
If she hadn’t come into contact with this world, she certainly wouldn’t believe it.
To think, this place was only about twenty kilometers from the urban area. Just over twenty kilometers away was a bustling, civilized world. Who would imagine such things happening in a tiny mountain village? Had no one ever discovered it?
“Bai Yu, what should we do now?”
Zhao Mingyue felt helpless, at a loss. The fear she hadn’t fully suppressed showed signs of rearing its head again.
Anyone who returned to a hometown house unoccupied for years, only to find a Wax Corpse lying in the living room, would feel afraid.
Even more terrifyingly, this Wax Corpse might not have been moved in by someone else—it might have walked in on its own.
This was just the Main Hall. There were still several rooms unchecked. Were there Wax Corpses lying in those too?
Looking at the entire village, how many such Wax Corpses were there?
She couldn’t understand where all the wax for sealing these corpses came from.
It could only be the “reward” from the Evil God, the “eternal life” the Cultists asked for. Could these Wax Corpses be one form of eternal life?
“We wait for nightfall. We wait for Lu Liangting to arrive.”
Bai Yu patted Zhao Mingyue’s shoulder.
·
·
At the same time, staring at the strings and strings of question marks on the Black Phone screen, Lu Liangting felt immense gravity in his heart. “Zhao Mingyue” had already told him the general situation there. Just from her description, he knew this place was incomparable to his previous quest locations. Now, it seemed perhaps even more dangerous than he imagined.
“I don’t know if I’ll make it back alive.”
” Mingyue, I have to save her. And besides, maybe that place is an opportunity for me, a chance for the future.”
Danger and opportunity coexist—this was a universal truth Lu Liangting understood. However, if Zhao Mingyue hadn’t been there, he definitely wouldn’t have chosen to go so soon. If he were to explore it, he’d have done so after getting stronger later on.
Lu Liangting clenched his fist, his eyes determined.
He didn’t believe he was some incredibly lucky person, or a protagonist from a novel or manga who would suddenly power up at a critical moment, or that some hidden expert would appear to save him.
The previous times that female ghost named Bai Yu had saved him were just coincidences. It wouldn’t happen every single time, her showing up the moment danger struck.
He knew he was just an ordinary person with a bit of money. So this time, he would be careful, more careful than ever before.
Ultimately, one must rely on oneself!
Once he rescued Zhao Mingyue, regardless of the quest, they would run immediately.
Opportunities exist, but you need to live to claim them, right?
If they had to flee this time, he could always survey the ground and return later, better prepared.
“Wait for me, Mingyue.”
He mentally braced himself. Judging the distance was about right, Lu Liangting patted the motorcycle driver’s shoulder. “Sir, don’t go any further. It’s dangerous ahead. Just drop me off here.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the kind-hearted motorcycle driver’s head spun 180 degrees with a violent snap. That decaying, terrifying face was imprinted on Lu Liangting’s eyes. Not only did the motorcycle not slow down, it went even faster.
A female ghost near the bridge peeked, startled by the speeding motorcycle heading her way. But out of goodwill, she still helped Lu Liangting.
The motorcycle tumbled into a ditch. Lu Liangting rolled twice on the cement road before stopping.
Unfazed, he picked himself up and continued on his way. But it wasn’t long before he discovered another problem.
“A Ghost Wall Maze? Something wants me to go back. No, I can’t go back!”
·
·
At the same time, Shen Shuyun used her phone to send out the information.
She had contacted every lunatic she knew. These lunatics had their own circles, and she believed quite a few would show up in the end.
“I don’t know what medicine the Doctor is selling, even calling Lu Liangting here. Damn it, we can’t let that kid die there.”
“We have a cooperative relationship, after all. She wouldn’t set me up… right?”
After thinking it over, Shen Shuyun still set off.
She knew there was danger ahead. Perhaps the Doctor was gathering all the patients for a grand conference to discuss treatment methods.
But wasn’t that the fun of it?
“I want to see rivers of blood!”
·
