Volume 1. Let the Game Begin
While listening to Aunt Zhao talk about these things, I was on edge the whole time.
Counting myself, there were nine people last night.
From my information, I could only detect eight people.
Among them were myself and seven passersby, and the game player Fang Zheng would not be displayed.
I killed Fang Zheng... but Fang Zheng still killed seven people?
In other words... while I left the game, returned to this hospital room, and fell asleep here, the Fang Zheng whose soul had already been devoured by me... was walking through the corridor, killing people one by one?
Such a bizarre situation... sent chills down my spine.
But compared to this, I was more concerned about whether I had left any traces during this process, such as fingerprints, or even... the flesh and blood tissue I had likely left behind in the ventilation duct.
However... just like how my injuries healed completely despite being so severe, I had not received any news about it.
In other words... everything I did in the Interdimensional Space did not appear in the real world.
It was as if I had never left the hospital room that night.
All the weirdness made it impossible for me to calm down.
I quickly glanced at the APP’s prompts and saw the time of death for each person.
Except for the game player Fang Zheng who would not be reported, the other seven passersby were all reported.
The concentration of deaths basically occurred after I exited the game.
In other words... that goat was probably injured by my devouring and enraged by my provocation, so it went on a killing spree to vent its anger and replenish its... nutrition?
Previously, the two men and three women all died before 12:37 AM.
The time I exited was 12:37 AM.
Between 12:37 AM and 12:55 AM, the remaining four people all died.
Thus... in this permanent mission, I was the only one who survived.
And I... also took a glance at this crisis rating.
D... only a D.
Just slightly better than a D-.
And D- was the lowest level in this game.
As I thought, this task was not particularly difficult.
Compared to the S-rank event I encountered, this time there was a large space to dodge, the game rules favored players, and even the monster had to touch players to kill them.
As for the first S-rank bus incident I encountered... I didn’t even have any sensation of being touched by the monster.
I merely... made eye contact with it, and then my neck, as if disobeying my body, forcibly twisted and snapped...
And in that bus incident... anyone who had ridden a bus would know that in a single-deck bus, not to mention the space for running, even space to dodge was practically nonexistent.
The entire bus interior was visible at a glance.
In other words, for the bus incident, the reaction time given to players was only one second.
From start to finish, there was only one second.
When the fog rose, if you didn’t react immediately, death was inevitable.
It was hard to imagine how those five people survived previous games.
None of them reacted... or perhaps they did react but couldn’t find a way to survive and thus all died.
Or maybe... the S-rank danger didn’t care about the player’s level?
Those five could have been novice players pulled into an S-rank danger mission?
No... that wouldn’t make sense.
Since this is a game, there must be a way out, no matter how slim.
Yes, very slim.
I died and then wasn’t immediately devoured.
If that’s the case, maybe one of those five people reacted and threw out a substitute doll, buying some time, so that weird smiling face didn’t devour my soul immediately?
And I... amid the clash between the player and horror, miraculously... began to devour the souls of others, then grew stronger, then seized the only intact body, that of the little girl Liu Yunyan, and then... survived?
No, I still had to review the first bus incident.
I remembered that there was a recording in the Honkai APP.
But now I really had no mood to watch it.
After all, I still didn’t know whether the activities I performed in the Interdimensional Space would manifest in the real world.
If they would, then the police would definitely come, and what should I say then?
The information Aunt Zhao knew came from the young nurse.
Thus, it was incomplete.
But overall, I had grasped the main points.
Afterward, I had no appetite at all.
Aunt Zhao seemed to realize something.
Seeing my state, she went to the restroom to make a call.
Although Aunt Zhao tried to avoid me, I still heard it.
After all, this body had been greatly strengthened by the Evil Spirit Form.
She notified Liu Yunyan’s mother, Gong Lianyu.
Then she contacted Liu Wanqian.
I couldn’t clearly hear the reply because the other side’s voice was too low.
However, judging from Aunt Zhao’s slightly relaxed and expectant expression afterward, it seemed... Gong Lianyu had made some decision.
From the hospital’s current situation, it seemed more likely they would take me out of the hospital.
Although I had no appetite, as a foodie, I still ate.
After all, Aunt Zhao’s cooking was quite good.
Hmm... when I return to the compound, should I keep Aunt Zhao?
Of course, she could no longer be used for experiments.
I also felt some guilt about eating the spirit on her shoulder without reason.
Working at Liu Wanqian’s house could be considered a kind of compensation.
After all, Liu Wanqian’s family was very wealthy.
The compound was a villa.
Forgive me for my rustic description.
Such a big yard, such a big house, in general still needed someone to manage it regularly.
You couldn’t expect a billionaire to clean every day.
Liu Wanqian really made hundreds of thousands in turnover in minutes.
How could you expect him to clean?
Do you know how high the cost would be?
Moreover, the treatment at Liu Wanqian’s house was quite good.
According to Liu Yunyan, working there as a cleaner started at a five-figure monthly salary.
Perhaps in some first-tier cities that was only slightly high.
But don’t forget... this was a small city, one that wouldn’t even qualify as third-tier.
In such a small city, the average salary was about 1700 or 1800.
Young people could earn a little more.
Earning over ten thousand... was very hard for an ordinary job.
And relatively speaking, Liu Wanqian and Gong Lianyu were not the kind who looked down on people.
Thus, staying to work there was generally a very good choice.
After deducting social insurance and housing funds, you could still take home more than ten thousand yuan per month.
It was practically a net gain of over ten thousand plus social insurance and housing funds.
Eating the food, for me, after tasting the deliciousness of souls, no other food could ever amaze me again.
But after all, I was a foodie.
And now the Evil Spirit Form itself was very powerful.
Even just daily maintenance required a lot of nutrition intake.
So I didn’t need to worry about getting fat at all.
You know... a body that doesn’t get fat is an incredibly precious physique for a foodie.
It allowed me to eat endlessly without restraint.
Because...
Just as I was eating, the police arrived.
An old officer and a young officer appeared.
Seeing that there were only two of them, I relaxed.
After all... if the police were here to arrest someone, they wouldn't send only two people.
They took a statement from Aunt Zhao, and I listened on the side.
From time to time, they would ask me a question.
However, their behavior was somewhat strange.
Their expressions always carried a... mysterious look, with an indescribable gaze, constantly observing me and Aunt Zhao.
"Um... may I ask, do you two know a young man named Fang Zheng?"
"No, who is that?"
Aunt Zhao instinctively responded, and I shook my head to indicate that I didn't know.
Of course, I did my best to act like I didn't know.
"Oh... it's nothing, did you hear any sounds outside the door last night, or see anyone passing by?"
"No..."
"Alright, thank you for cooperating with the investigation, we won't bother you anymore."
After speaking, they saluted and turned to leave, leaving behind a bewildered Aunt Zhao and myself, who was also somewhat bewildered.
Why did they come here?
Wait... it seemed they didn't go to any other rooms?
From the footsteps outside, it was clear that after leaving the door, the two officers left the building and did not visit any other rooms.
Hearing this, I couldn't help but frown.
"Aunt Zhao, please take the food away, I don't have much appetite and want to lie down for a while."
"Eh, alright..."
Aunt Zhao quickly cleared the table, while I lifted the quilt and wrapped myself inside.
Then I closed my eyes.
After eating, my consciousness became much firmer.
Although the Evil Spirit Form still had a strong craving for food, in this state it was somewhat satisfied.
Thus, when withdrawing, I did not lose control.
The behavior of those two officers made me concerned.
As a person with obsessive tendencies, I still wanted to know their purpose for coming.
My soul floated through the wall and followed the two officers to the elevator.
In the corridor, the two officers did not have any conversation.
However, when I passed through the elevator door and came close to them, I heard their conversation.
"Brother Wang... what do you think about this matter?"
The young officer asked meaningfully, while the older officer frowned, thought for a while, shook his head, and replied, "It probably has nothing to do with it."
The young officer also frowned, complaining a bit.
"This case is really strange, that Fang Zheng was so ruthless... killed seven people in one night, but Brother Wang, I still have some doubts, why did Fang Zheng stop in front of that room for nearly ten minutes, but not at others?"
As he spoke, the young officer seemed to feel a chill and couldn't help but gasp.
"Hiss~~ I just feel it's so creepy, Fang Zheng stood at the door of that hospital room, staring through the peephole for a full ten minutes without moving... When I watched the video, my scalp went numb. Inside that room were just two women, one of them looked only fifteen or sixteen years old. If they knew about this, wouldn’t they be scared to death?"
"Little Liu, talk less, what if someone hears you? As a new recruit, you can't afford to make such a big mistake. Otherwise, not to mention implicating me, you should worry about losing your job."
"Yes, yes, I was a bit muddled... Brother Wang, I still think, that Fang Zheng..."
"Let's report it to the captain later, actually... I also find it very strange."
As he said this, the older officer took out a cigarette but didn't light it.
He just held it in his mouth, staring at the countdown on the elevator display, murmuring like he was talking to himself...
"Why did Fang Zheng... just stand motionless at that door?"