Chapter 19: Fierce Ghost

“What’s going on? A side quest completed so quickly! Who the hell was it?!”

Elsewhere, the players, who had predictably lost their quarry, froze on the spot upon hearing the game’s announcement.

The jarring, mechanical voice still echoed in their ears. None of them could have imagined that a side quest they hadn’t even begun to unravel would be completed by someone so quietly.

“Was it Wei Congxin or Lin Yujing?” Qin Dan’s expression turned somewhat sour.

“Forget the side quest for now; worry about ourselves first.” Zhang Bing pulled him back to reality, sweat pouring down his back, panting heavily. “The Instance difficulty has increased again. The fire’s temperature is getting higher, and the number of Charred Corpses has multiplied.”

“These damn monsters!” Zou Zihao had immense strength. He swung his cleaver with fierce vigor, actually managing to hack a Charred Corpse into pieces, causing it to “reset” within the flames.

“That Pearl and Wei Congxin, who knows where they went,” Qin Dan’s talismans weren’t particularly effective against mindless monsters. They were less useful than relying on pure strength, so he was finding it quite strenuous. “Let’s head to the fourth floor and see if we can regroup with them.”

“Things are what they are. Only choice is to charge!”

This was a scene many had never experienced in reality. Blazing fire everywhere, accompanied by rolling thick smoke and Charred Corpses periodically emerging from the flames.

Fortunately, the house’s ventilation was decent. The glass doors and windows were mostly shattered now. Using partially dampened cloths to cover their mouths and noses, the group could barely push forward.

The Charred Corpses seemed to be growing stronger too. Their originally shriveled, brittle forms were becoming like hardwood. Some had even learned cooperation, some blocking while others pursued.

Zhang Bing was momentarily caught off guard and clawed once. Blood welled up, the pain making him inhale sharply.

Yan Shanque, protected behind him, immediately and perceptively produced clean gauze, binding his wound to stop the bleeding as quickly as possible.

“This isn’t working,” Qin Dan was starting to struggle for breath. “This isn’t the outdoors. Some areas are too narrow; there are too many of us to run effectively.”

“What do we do then, Brother Qin? Splitting up probably isn’t good either, right?” Zou Zihao hastily chimed in, afraid of being left behind.

“We split up and run.” Qin Dan pointed out the directions. “I’ll take one person up the front staircase. Zhang Bing, you take one up the back staircase. We’ll regroup up there. If you really can’t hold on, find a window and jump to the second-floor balcony!”

“Alright!”

Zhang Bing knew Qin Dan didn’t want to take Yan Shanque, so he led the girl and ran towards the back.

Zou Zihao, unsurprisingly, followed Qin Dan closely.

Although it was just a single house, at this moment it felt as though it had no end. Fiery light and the nauseating smell of burning were everywhere.

It was as if they’d truly returned to the night of the villa’s accident. Everyone fled through the flames, crying out and struggling, only to be burned into blackened corpses in the end.

“Damn it! Why does this instance keep undergoing aberration after aberration?” Qin Dan’s expression turned somewhat savage. “Even if the Charred Corpses don’t get us, we’ll be smoked to death in here.”

How on earth was this damn game’s main quest supposed to be completed?

How could clues be found in this situation?

“Investigate the house’s past”… Flames, Charred Corpses… surely it wasn’t simply a death by fire?

What was still being overlooked? What was still being missed?!

Qin Dan was drenched in sweat, his lips cracked and dry.

If he’d known this, he should have stubbornly stuck to that little young master!

“Brother Qin, watch out!”

Along with a shout, Qin Dan, still deep in thought, was bitten on the calf by a Charred Corpse lying prone on the ground, catching him completely off guard.

“Ah! Get off!” Qin Dan kicked violently, gritted his teeth, and pulled out two more talismans—one to stop the bleeding, one to slap onto the Charred Corpse’s head.

That monster, which had already begun to evolve some intelligence, let out a miserable shriek before dissolving into black pus on the spot.

“Brother Qin, are you okay?”

“Hurry, go!” Qin Dan’s face was turning pale.

That high-damage talisman was drawn using the heart’s blood of a living person. He only had two in stock; now only one remained.

His heart ached as if dripping blood, but hampered by his injury, he only ran slower. As they neared the fourth-floor staircase landing, the Charred Corpses pursuing them were almost close enough to grab his clothes.

At this rate, he’d surely die.

That thought flashed through his mind.

The black-clothed man turned his head, speaking to the shorter, stockier man who was running even faster than him: “Brother Zou, I saved you in the kitchen earlier, right?”

“Yeah, Brother Qin! Running into a good man like you here is truly my greatest fortune. I won’t forget this life-saving grace even in death! In my next life, I’ll definitely repay you by working like an ox or a horse!” Zou Zihao thought Qin Dan still had more talismans, his eyes showing both ingratiation and greed.

“In that case, Brother Zou, I won’t ask for any repayment.” The black-clothed man smiled, perfectly polite.

“Huh?” Zou Zihao hadn’t reacted yet, the obsequious smile still on his lips.

“I only need you to return your life to me!”

Before the words even finished echoing, Qin Dan abruptly reached out and shoved the other man behind him with all his might!

Although Zou Zihao wasn’t tall, due to his line of work, his strength was far from small. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to keep up with Qin Dan while being chased by so many Charred Corpses.

But he never imagined that the person he’d been so diligently sucking up to would be so vicious, showing not a shred of team camaraderie, using his life to buy a chance at survival.

Caught completely off guard, the stocky man was pushed backward into the group of Charred Corpses behind him. One of the fastest ones, which had almost grabbed Qin Dan, suddenly acted like it had encountered a supreme delicacy—immediately abandoning the close-at-hand Qin Dan and turning to bite down on the fallen Zou Zihao.

Gulping his flesh, drinking his blood!

Those originally sluggish, seemingly mindless Charred Corpses showed no hesitation, swarming upon him, using their nails to scratch, their teeth to bite, determined to tear chunks of flesh from his body.

“AAARRGHH! Don’t come near me! Don’t come near me, you things! You disgusting things! No! No! Brother Qin! Save me! Save me!!”

“Don’t blame me. I just want to make it back alive.” Qin Dan felt no regret, running forward without looking back.

“Come back! Brother Qin! QIN DAN!!”

Zou Zihao realized the other man was truly abandoning him. The searing pain made him roar and curse: “Qin Dan! I’ll remember this! I won’t let you get away! I won’t let you get away!! I want you to stay here with me! Stay here for all eternity!!”

His voice kept reaching Qin Dan’s ears, continuing for a long time.

Even after running a great distance, it remained clear.

Wait.

Qin Dan suddenly sensed something was wrong. So many Charred Corpses were on top of him, and the flames had long since engulfed him. Even with the strongest vitality, this guy should be dead and turned to ash by now. How could he still be screaming? How could he still be screaming?!

The shrill, agonized screams in his ears grew increasingly sharp, until they seemed to echo throughout the entire villa. This wasn’t a sound a living person could produce. It was just like… just like…

Just like the knocking sounds that night!

Qin Dan ultimately couldn’t resist looking back. He saw Zou Zihao, who’d been gnawed upon by layer after layer of Charred Corpses until barely a skeleton remained, hadn’t died. Half his face had been torn off, revealing a charred skull.

A charred skull!

Flames burned on his incomplete, mangled body, producing sizzling sounds. Yet they didn’t sweep him away with destructive force like they did other things. Instead, they seemed to struggle against each other, as if the two elements were already inseparable, fused into one.

He was never human in the first place. This was a Fierce Ghost. This was this instance’s Fierce Ghost!

The Fierce Ghost picked up the cleaver, which had undergone aberration and multiplied in size several times, and butchered the Charred Corpses like chopping vegetables, hacking them all into pieces. It panted heavily, its eyes filled with irresolvable hatred. Malice assaulted the senses: “I won’t let you get away… Heh heh heh… I won’t let you get away… I want you to stay here forever… stay here to suffer the agony of burning for all eternity!!”

“I just knew it! I just knew you rich and powerful types all look down on me! You all want me dead! I don’t want to die… If I don’t want to die, then I just have to make you die first! I just have to make you die first! All of you, just go die!!”