Chapter 31: Save Me

Little Bear was also heartbroken. Watching the back of the black-haired youth’s hand—red either from impact or from his own cold aura—it was so angry the entire plushie seemed to emit white steam. It viciously kicked the completely deformed plastic head even further away.

What kind of creature dares to scare Pearl?!

Ptui!

It had only just fully awakened. At first, it could only lie motionless, at most extending a long ear to eavesdrop on gossip, unable to make any significant movements. Otherwise, how could Pearl get hurt right in front of it?

And that stinking player—all body, no brain. Little Bear would have to find an opportunity to beat him up soundly.

“Did you wake up too?” Yin Luo opened his hands and caught the white rabbit doll as it jumped into his arms, nuzzling its soft fur.

To him, the bizarre worlds that players desperately avoided were like blessed paradises. Only here was he free.

“You are also free.” Yin Luo poked Little Bear’s nose tip.

The white rabbit doll twitched its little nose and crawled up to its spot on Yin Luo’s shoulder and neck.

Mm, Little Bear’s exclusive spot.

The consequence of that sudden explosive use of power was a slight dizziness and fatigue for Yin Luo. He had no choice but to rest in place for a while, which also gave him a chance to observe his surroundings.

The corpse, unrecognizably mangled, lay bloody beside him. Now, he felt no fear whatsoever. He even reached out, protected by a layer of ice, to examine it.

“The outside is still plastic, but somewhat softer, like skin. Inside, there’s a complete blood circulation system, but no skeleton. How interesting.”

Yin Luo withdrew his hand and concluded: “Like humans, the heart should be the weak point. Just not sure if cutting off the head alone is enough to stop it. Maybe I should find one to test that on.”

After voicing what was clearly a villain’s line, Yin Luo dusted off his hands and stood up.

Eh, wait.

He could actually walk?

Something suddenly occurred to him. He raised his hand, and with a light, graceful touch forward, frost condensed. An Ice Mirror, not entirely clear, appeared before him.

He leaned in to look. Sure enough, red pupils. A beautiful yet uncanny color.

The tips of his hair were also fading to a frosty white.

His face was still the same one from the Real World, appearing seventeen or eighteen. The illness had not only slowed his thinking but also stunted his physical growth.

So, Yin Luo would absolutely never tell Ying Zixin and Zhang Hengheng that his real age was actually older than both of theirs 🙂

Did this mean that whenever his emotions ran high, whenever he used his power excessively, his body would gradually improve?

Of course, whether this “improvement” was recovery, or an abnormal change, was worth pondering deeply.

After all, Yin Luo was also clear that his state was somewhat off. It seemed that as soon as he entered an Instance World, his emotions were more easily provoked, and he became more cold-blooded.

Whatever. Being able to stand, having power—that’s what mattered.

Does it even matter if I’m human or ghost?

With a wave of Yin Luo’s hand, the Ice Mirror dissolved back into water mist and dispersed. Hands clasped behind his back, he skipped and hopped with great delight towards the dark depths where the plastic mannequin had been trying to take him before.

Let me come see just what you things really are.

Zhang Hengheng was already running out of breath. The playing cards he’d been temporarily using as weapons were completely exhausted. Only his metal Flying Blades remained as trump cards, but their numbers were limited and enemies were many. He had to conserve them.

“Damn, this game is so stingy. One hundred points to expand the backpack by only ten slots, and then a thousand points for another ten?! Bah, profiteer!”

Ten standard Flying Blades counted as one set, occupying one slot. Because of this, he’d forcibly stuffed some into Ying Zixin’s Game Backpack.

“And we just had to get separated now.” Zhang Hengheng sighed. With a flick of his wrist, a plastic mannequin that had just poked its head out was pinned to the wall through the head, leaving a streak of crimson blood.

“Headshot~” He snapped his fingers.

But the mannequin was still reaching out, trying to grab Zhang Hengheng.

The Flying Blade was embedded three inches deep in the wall. No matter how the mannequin struggled, it couldn’t budge. Finally, it actually ripped its own torso free from its pinned head and crawled towards the only living person present, its head still nailed to the wall.

“Holy crap!” Even Zhang Hengheng, who prided himself on strong mental fortitude and had watched countless horror films, felt his sanity points dropping. He hastily dodged the headless “corpse” and bolted.

“I wonder where Old Ying took Alice.”

Zhang Hengheng finally found a free moment to pull out the Unity Badge, checking the positions of his two other teammates.

“What’s going on? They separated?” Zhang Hengheng frowned.

The two small green dots representing his teammates were positioned far apart, almost spanning most of the east-west axis. He couldn’t even be sure they were on the same floor.

One was moving slowly forward. The other was heading rapidly in his direction.

Zhang Hengheng wrestled with the decision briefly, then prepared to regroup with the closer green dot first.

Moving a bit further, the sound of the wind brought him the faint rustling noises ahead. Gripping a Flying Blade, he poked his head out to take a peek.

And was instantly horrified by the scene inside.

A massive horde of plastic mannequins, the likes of which he hadn’t seen for a while, had gathered around someone standing on a raised platform, reaching their hands up to grab him.

Trapped up there, the black-haired youth’s delicate face was a mask of terror. His eyes brimmed with tears, as if about to overflow the next second.

Seeing the newcomer, those black eyes lit up, as if beholding a savior deity. His voice trembling with tears, he cried out: “Save me.”