Chapter 30: Horror

The abnormal changes were happening everywhere simultaneously.

Zhang Hengheng, who was just explaining the function of the Unity Badge to Yin Luo, suddenly looked up: “I think I hear some unpleasant sounds. There shouldn’t be so many rats in a place like this.”

In a previous instance, he had fortuitously fused with Wind Demon blood, making him exceptionally sensitive to the sound of the wind.

The group immediately scanned their surroundings and realized the indoor light had somehow grown dimly brighter.

The environment, which previously could only be seen by cellphone light, was now filled with flickering shadows. It felt like something could jump out of those shadows at any moment.

But this faint light didn’t provide any sense of security. Instead, it added another layer of creeping horror to the already bizarre atmosphere.

“What time is it?” Lin Rudong swallowed hard and asked.

Everyone was on high alert, except the deadweight Yin Luo, who glanced at his phone and answered her: “Not even eleven yet.”

He also heard the rustling sounds emerging from the darkness, reminding him of the charred corpses hiding in the flames of the last instance.

His power was gradually recovering, but the Corpse Frost Power seemed limited by his physical body. It couldn’t reach the level of his previous strength, where he could affect his surroundings. Otherwise, he would very much like to freeze the floor beneath his feet and force whatever was lurking in the shadows out.

Fortunately, his Flesh and Blood Force was exceptionally acute at this moment.

He could feel the tense muscles in Ying Zixin’s chest against him. He could “hear” Lin Rudong and Lei Jue, seemingly calm on the surface but actually with racing heartbeats and quickened blood flow. He could sense Zhang Hengheng’s presence growing faint, as if melding into the wind.

And concealed in the darkness, countless heartbeats—slow and gentle, yet undeniably present.

Wait, heartbeats. Why are there heartbeats?

Those things with heartbeats… could they be living things?

But with such faint heartbeats, probably even a mouse’s heart would be stronger than this.

He somewhat understood what the player meant by “Abnormal Change.”

He needed to plan ahead, to at least have the power to protect himself.

In the last instance, Yin Luo could easily shatter and regenerate his own body. In this quest world, perhaps he could try a different approach.

For instance, controlling them.

—Controlling the flesh and blood of others.

Those faint heartbeats were like lights in the darkness, each clearly indicating its position, as if simply waiting for someone to find them.

Yin Luo clenched his fingers, then slowly loosened them.

Not yet. His body hadn’t fully recovered, and his power was too eerie, completely different from the players’ system. Exposing his strength too early might arouse the players’ suspicion, which would be detrimental.

“It’s not even twelve yet and it’s already pulling stunts? This instance has no sportsmanship.” Lei Jue assumed a defensive stance, guarding against enemies appearing from the shadows.

Baseball Cap pulled another deck of playing cards from his coat and said: “They… are here!”

As soon as his voice fell, a veritable sea of plastic mannequins walked out, converging on the players’ location like ants drawn to honey.

Their speed wasn’t fast. It was as if they were “being human” for the first time, their limbs still clumsy and unskilled. They weren’t much faster than a tottering old person. Some at the very front were even knocked down and trampled by those behind before they could even take a step.

But no one found it funny, because even after falling, these plastic mannequins used both hands and feet, crawling towards the group with twisted motions no normal human could perform.

It was the first time Yin Luo had seen such a scene. More than fear, it was a visceral, physical revulsion.

Their facial expressions were fixed from the moment of creation. They couldn’t blink, couldn’t smile, couldn’t speak. And yet, it was these very lifeless things that reached out their hands towards the players with an almost crazed fervor, like the pale hands of drowned men reaching up from a river to grab a substitute victim.

Lin Rudong felt her scalp tingle and goosebumps erupt all over her body: “There’s way too many…”

These things were like a locust plague, a rat tide, or the teeming larvae that surge out when you disturb a cockroach nest.

“This isn’t working! Old Ying, clear a path!” Zhang Hengheng shouted. “We can’t let these damn things surround us!”

Supporting Yin Luo with one arm, Ying Zixin used the other hand to dig his fingernail deeply into his fingertip. Bright red blood flowed out but didn’t scatter, suspended in the air. As his fingertip traced swiftly, it coalesced into strange symbols.

Using blood as cinnabar, using Qi as talisman paper—drawing talismans in mid-air.

He barked an order: “Thunder Descend!”

As the word fell, an arm-thick bolt of shocking lightning descended from mid-air, striking the talisman and then erupting outwards.

“BOOM—”

Not just the plastic mannequins surrounding them like a zombie horde—even the players themselves failed to react in time. Unable to withstand the massive concussive force, they were sent flying.

“What the hell?!”

A plastic mannequin, partially melted from the intense heat, landed right on Zhang Hengheng. He grimaced in pain. After finally scrambling to his feet, he ran for his life without another word, dodging the explosion and the incoming flames: “Old Ying, what are you doing?! Trying to murder us?”

Ying Zixin was also stunned: “I, I…”

Since when was his thunder magic this powerful?

“Wow.” Yin Luo casually used the white rabbit doll to shield his head. He thought it was incredibly cool.

Could his ice also detonate like this, the shards shooting out in all directions to cause greater damage?

Or perhaps, if he condensed the ice into a shield, could it block lightning like that?

The firelight reflected in his eyes, making them sparkle. His heart itched to try.

Ying Zixin’s thunder magic indeed cleared a large area around them. But these plastic mannequins were like game respawns—in the blink of an eye, they emerged ceaselessly from the darkness again. There was simply no limit to their numbers.

“Did we just kick a cockroach nest?!” Zhang Hengheng touched his baseball cap, which now had a large hole burned through it, feeling incredibly unlucky.

He’d rather face a more powerful ghost than this mindless, meaningless attrition.

Scattered by the thunder blast, the few players had no choice but to fight on their own against the relentless tide of plastic mannequins.

Lin Rudong pulled her triangular spike out from a plastic head she’d just pierced. Glancing at it, she frowned in disgust: “Are these things evolving? Why is there blood?!”

The texture she felt when she stabbed through wasn’t plastic. It felt like soft human tissue beneath a hard shell.

“This is called Abnormal Change!” Zhang Hengheng found a moment to answer her. “Why do I feel like they’re becoming more and more like real people?”

“Damn it, why is this Reality Quest so hard too?”

Even if the mannequins’ attacks weren’t high, the players didn’t dare let them land a hit, afraid of falling into a deadly trap. Each used their own skills to evade.

Draped over Ying Zixin’s shoulder, Yin Luo once again marveled that the quality of the players in this instance was much higher than those in the last one.

Everyone’s reaction speed and strength were superior to that previous Zhang Bing. Even Lin Rudong, limited by the inherent physique of a female body, was still extremely agile. It was clear she had undergone systematic training and special instruction.

He’d heard from Lin Yujing that players had to rely on their own comprehension and learning for many things. They couldn’t just add points and level up on the spot like in novels, instantly gaining power or proficiency after exchanging points.

So it seems, even in a horror game, people still have to work hard.

Grind, it’s all about the grind. Either grind your teammates to death, or grind the monsters to death.

Time passed. Everywhere they looked, shattered plastic mannequins littered the floor.

But the players’ stamina was ultimately limited. How could they compare to these tireless monsters with seemingly infinite numbers, essentially respawning at the click of a data refresh?

“No good! There’s too many! They’ll wear us down!” Lei Jue had the loudest voice, his shout echoing through the entire floor.

“Split up and run! We can’t stay here!”

Zhang Hengheng, unsuited to this kind of grinding combat, was already panting: “But why do I feel like these things are deliberately forcing us to separate?”

“No choice then! Unless that big brother carrying someone can unleash that lightning a few more times!”

“I can’t do it again in a short time.” Ying Zixin explained: “And that wasn’t ‘releasing’ lightning, that was ‘invoking’ thunder.”

“DOES THAT MATTER?!”

“No, we still have to split up. They’re not too strong yet. Staying here makes us too big a target. We’ll still get worn down.” Lin Rudong, gripping her triangular spike, ruthlessly stabbed it into another mannequin’s skull. “Lei Jue, retreat first! We’ll regroup later!”

Just in case, she and Lei Jue had also just exchanged for a Unity Badge. She’d be able to find him again when the time came.

Halfway through her run, she suddenly remembered something and turned back, shouting: “My old classmate is in your hands.”

“Just saying that doesn’t mean anything. You haven’t been in contact for so many years, and you act like you’re so close to him? I think you’re just judging by his looks!” Zhang Hengheng snorted at her. He turned his head and shouted distantly to Ying Zixin, “Old Ying, be careful! Protect yourself!”

“Got it. I’m stronger than you. Watch yourself.” The crew-cut youth gave him one last look, then turned and ran in a direction where the mannequins seemed sparser.

As expected, after they separated, the number of plastic mannequins on the path decreased significantly. Ying Zixin didn’t even need to attack anymore; he just had to avoid them preemptively.

Could it be they really were deliberately forcing everyone apart? Did those things have some intelligence? Or was something behind the curtain orchestrating all this?

The crew-cut youth had a bad premonition. But at this point, whether it was a conspiracy or an open scheme, he could only follow the other party’s script.

After running for he-didn’t-know-how-long, the sight of those chilling plastic mannequins finally stopped appearing. Ying Zixin could at last breathe a sigh of relief.

After all, carrying a person was a huge drain on his stamina too. It was time to rest.

He looked around: “Was this place on the map before?”

No one answered him.

Ying Zixin suddenly realized Yin Luo hadn’t spoken for a long time. Could he be frightened? Or maybe he’d been injured and passed out without him noticing?

“You… are you okay?”

Yin Luo still made no sound.

Feeling worried, Ying Zixin was about to turn his head to look, when a glance in his peripheral vision made him suddenly notice that the hands resting on his neck had, at some unknown point, become heavy and rigid.

Even more so, those hands were tightening, constricting until he had trouble breathing.

Alarm bells shrieked in Ying Zixin’s mind, but his expression didn’t change. As if sensing nothing, he said: “I still have a Scarlet Fruit Pill here. Do you want another one? Lei Jue must have injured you earlier.”

The person on his back seemed to hesitate, not reaching out for a moment.

Ying Zixin’s voice was full of worry: “Your injury still hasn’t healed. Eat it first, or I’m afraid you won’t last until the quest ends.”

These words finally seemed to persuade it. It reached out its hand and took the item.

It held it up to its eyes to look. What pill was this? It was clearly a talisman paper crumpled into a ball!

The instant it loosened its grip, Ying Zixin violently flung it off his back. He pointed the Peach Wood Sword he’d retrieved from his Game Backpack: “Invoke Thunder!”

“BOOM—”

The ground trembled. The world lit up as bright as day.

On the other side, having confirmed that Ying Zixin didn’t intend to abandon him, Yin Luo began fiddling with Little Bear’s rabbit ears, deciding to just conserve his energy for now and wait for his strength to recover.

Fine, if this Ying Zixin insisted on bringing him along, he’d just wait and see what the man’s motives were. Coincidentally, he was quite interested in that Thunder Invocation technique anyway.

At worst, he could just casually give him a hand later.

“Eh, where is this? Where did we run to?” Yin Luo realized the surroundings were unfamiliar. He didn’t remember seeing this place on the materials he’d reviewed earlier.

The Ying Zixin carrying him had a heartbeat pounding like a drum, but gave no answer.

“If you’re tired, how about you put me down? I can manage on my own,” Yin Luo said softly.

The person carrying him still didn’t answer, only picking up speed.

Yin Luo finally sensed something was wrong. His palm shot out, locking around its neck, his voice sharp: “Stop!”

He used a great deal of force, but this “person,” who had replaced Ying Zixin at some unknown point, showed not the slightest reaction, as if feeling no pain.

Yin Luo frowned, slinging Little Bear onto his shoulder, realizing a fight was probably about to start: “You…”

The next second, it finally turned its head.

Only, it was a sudden, sickening 180-degree twist.

Where the back of its head should have been was now a stiffly smiling false face, pointed directly at him.

It bore a seventy-percent resemblance to Ying Zixin, but the eyes weren’t three-dimensional; they were printed on.

Yin Luo’s pupils suddenly constricted. His heart seemed to stop for several seconds from the sudden shock.

Blood rushed to his head, his mind swelling. Corpse Frost Power reflexively condensed in his fist, and he slammed it violently against that plastic face.

The texture was no longer that of cheap plastic; it felt like a human body, with bones, with brain matter!

Simultaneously, his body seemed to turn into an ice pit, eerily emitting cold air.

The Flesh and Blood Force not only gave him control over his own blood and body, but also a sharply keen sense of other living beings within proximity.

He could feel it: inside the body of this plastic mannequin carrying him, there were actually human blood vessels and a heart.

That was precisely why Yin Luo hadn’t reacted immediately.

—They truly were transforming into living people!

Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting!

The fear hadn’t even fully surfaced before it was converted into killing intent.

Without a second thought, the black-haired youth’s consciousness perceived the blood vessels and blood within the eerie plastic mannequin’s body, connecting with them, resonating with them—until he controlled them.

He didn’t even need to use his own blood as a weapon. He directly manipulated the viscous, sluggishly flowing liquid inside the other’s body.

Then, he made that blood coagulate, and burst out of the body!

Pssh—

The luckless plastic mannequin shattered into countless pieces that fell to the ground. The blood had become knives inside its body, cutting from the inside out, until it had entirely dismembered the body.

The head, still bearing that grotesque smile, rolled several meters away. The newly formed heart also turned into a lump of frozen meat, steaming with cold air, unlikely to ever function again.

The death was gruesome.

The instigator was curled up not far away, kneeling somewhat dizzily on the ground. Delicately and powerlessly, he patted his chest: “Scared me to death.”