Volume 3: High School Arc - Mirror Game
Price?
That kind of thing didn’t really apply to me, but I could use something else quite suitable as a substitute.
“What?”
Both of them showed a flicker of curiosity, staring straight at me.
“Probably... appetite?”
I put down the digital camera.
I instantly memorized all the photos I had just seen.
Then I handed the camera back to Xu Han, and only then did I take a deep breath and look at the two of them.
“I know you’re showing me goodwill, but up until now, I still can’t trust you. What exactly is this so-called Survivor Alliance of yours? And what do you know about this game? These are the pieces of information I want. If you want to win me over, then let’s talk about those two topics.”
Win me over!
That’s right.
From the beginning, I had sensed that these two were deliberately trying to win me over, trying to get close to me.
The general reason could be deduced—items in this game fell into two categories.
The first was the parasitic type, where a parasite inhabited the human body, taking something from it as a price and granting usage.
But judging from Xu Han’s usage time and the price she paid, it didn’t seem proportional at all.
At least, not for me.
But my current situation was a bit special, so I’d calculate that slowly once I got home.
The second type was the item type.
Although I had only taken one glance, I quickly deduced the usage method.
Unlike the parasitic kind, these required tangible objects, and they were often recoverable.
On the main road outside the mirror factory, I heard Xu Han say that her eyes would eventually go blind, and once that happened, she would die…
But in my opinion, the result was definitely not as simple as death!
If the monster only wanted to kill someone, it would’ve had too many chances to kill Xu Han.
But... why did it need her eyes?
The malice and chill released from those eyes, by my estimation, were at least A+ level anomalies.
Something like that wanting to kill was way too easy.
So... what was so special about a pair of eyes that could attract such attention?
No... the anomaly might not be targeting Xu Han’s eyes per se, but trying to use her eyes to interfere with the Surface World!
Xu Han said her eyes would go blind eventually...
Which meant...
“How much vision do you still have?”
The two hadn’t yet recovered from my blunt question when they showed surprise again.
Jiang Yulong even furrowed his brow, suddenly stood up, eyes full of hostility as he stared at me, and his hand was already placed on his pouch.
“You’re with the Death Coffin!?”
“Death Coffin?”
I responded calmly.
At the same time... my left hand completely relaxed.
Right now, Jiang Yulong was in the main seat, facing the door, while I sat to his right, and the door was on my right.
Compared to freeing my right hand, my left was closer to Jiang Yulong.
Relaxing my left hand didn’t mean giving up.
On the contrary, the Evil Spirit Form had already quickly emerged from my left hand.
At that moment, I clearly saw the reflection of my left-hand Evil Spirit Form in both Jiang Yulong and Xu Han’s eyes.
That... piqued my curiosity.
These two could clearly see my Evil Spirit Form, but not the devouring of the Interdimensional Space.
Was I the strange one, not them?
“Yulong!!! Put your hand down. Sister Liu, you too, retract your parasite.”
Like Jiang Yulong and me, Xu Han had now taken off her glasses.
A chill began to radiate from her eyes.
“Hanhan! But she knew about your blindness... and even asked about your prescription. If she’s from Death Coffin, that’s dangerous!”
Jiang Yulong’s brows tightened, fingers already touching the edge of the pouch.
A wisp of cold air leaked from it.
All at once, the room’s temperature seemed to drop by over ten degrees, a chilly sensation invading all three of our bodies.
“If she was from Death Coffin, back when I was grabbed, if Sister Liu had released her parasite to attack us, do you think we could’ve made it out alive? Also, if she hadn’t warned us, we’d already have fallen into the Interdimensional Space!!”
Jiang Yulong was suddenly stunned, his eyes shifting, a hint of embarrassment showing on his face.
Xu Han, on the other hand, lifted her hand to rub her nose bridge.
“Sister Liu, you retract your parasite too. Judging by your left hand, I can roughly guess the cost of your parasite. Appetite seems to be more like a side effect.”
Oh?
Self-interpretation?
That saved me quite a bit of explanation.
“Well... Sister Liu, sorry, I got a bit worked up.”
Perhaps he had figured it out.
Jiang Yulong apologized to me in a rather candid way.
The sincerity on his face didn’t seem fake.
Although he was still wary and suspicious inside, at least for now, there was no need to escalate.
“No worries...”
I retracted my Evil Spirit Form and looked toward Xu Han across from me, waiting for her self-interpretation.
“Sister Liu, when using your parasite, does your body lose control?”
Lose control?
No... it was just the soul leaving the body.
But if she wanted to think that way, it wasn’t a bad thing.
I didn’t reply, remaining ‘noncommittal.’
“Just as I thought. Looks like Sister Liu’s...”
Xu Han was about to continue when suddenly there was a knock on the door.
The charcoal delivery guy walked in, carrying a charcoal stove in an iron box.
“Careful, it’s hot.”
As he spoke, the man entered.
Xu Han didn’t continue speaking.
She just watched the charcoal man place the stove into the floor hearth, then set up the metal grill on top, turning around to place the spare one on the floor.
Right behind the charcoal delivery man was the waitress who had just taken our order.
She pushed a small cart into the room, placing each dish on the table one by one.
“Add three more portions of Snowflake Beef and Prime Ribeye.”
Xu Han spoke while deliberately giving me a silent smile—it seemed she had taken in my earlier mention of ‘appetite.’
“Alright.”
The waitress nodded, then brushed cooked chicken fat onto the grill mesh.
“What would you like to drink? Beer or baijiu? Oh, I see the two ladies here look quite young—how about some wine? Our boss brought back some homemade wild grape wine from the countryside recently. Many guests have praised it, but there’s not much left. Would you like to try some?”
The waitress was quite eloquent, her commercial smile never fading.
At the mention of wild grape wine, I couldn’t help but feel... hmm, tempted.
But I didn’t show it.
Instead, Jiang Yulong nodded excitedly.
“Great, great, then let’s have some wild grape wine. No baijiu. Bring a case of Budweiser.”
“Got it.”
After confirming the order, the waitress jotted it down and then pushed the cart out.
Meanwhile, as the stove gradually heated up, the room began to warm a little.
The best part of this kind of sunken hearth design in the middle of the bed was that your feet never got cold.
The downside was... if someone had smelly feet, they’d be universally despised here.
After all, the ventilation here sucked air downward, with smoke funneled out through floor pipes.
That meant the lower half of the seating area stayed warmer, which also meant... it was toasty underfoot.
If someone had foot odor, it was hard to imagine anyone still having an appetite in this room.
Judging by the looks of it, the restaurant’s hygiene was pretty good—they must disinfect daily.
I could see a half-full bottle of a well-known disinfectant on the nearby shelf.
Of course, you could eat with your shoes on—it would just be very hot.
“Alright, let’s eat while we talk.”
Xu Han looked at the dishes on the table and didn’t bother with Jiang Yulong.
She directly laid out the meat over the iron grill, then picked up a small dipping bowl and handed one to me.
Each person had their own set of condiments, so you could mix your own however you liked.
There were also pre-mixed options, so I didn’t bother fussing.
As a chef, there was no need to showcase my cooking in a restaurant—here, I was here to taste unfamiliar skills.
I scooped some pre-mixed sauce, added a bit of scallion and cilantro, while listening to Xu Han continue.
“The cost of your parasite is probably your body. I believe that as time goes on, your body will eventually be taken over by your parasite, Sister Liu. When that time comes...”
“When that time comes?”
I was a hundred kinds of curious about that question, but I couldn’t let it show.
“When that time comes... you’ll be like me, thinking about how to die in the least painful way.”
“Hanhan...”
Jiang Yulong, who had still been smiling moments ago, instantly went quiet when he heard her words.
“Yulong, I’m fine... Sister Liu isn’t exactly a newbie, but there’s a lot she still doesn’t know, so it’s good to explain.”
Xu Han then turned to look at me.
“Sister Liu, item-type anomalies only absorb physical matter. They’re easy to satisfy. But item-type ones have a usage period. Once that period is exceeded, they’ll go completely out of control. But parasitic types like mine and yours are different.”
I frowned as I looked at Xu Han.
Jiang Yulong popped open three Budweisers and handed me one.
I nodded lightly in return, then turned all my attention back to Xu Han.
“Sister Liu, try not to use your parasite unless absolutely necessary. I won’t ask about the specifics—that’s your private matter. But I can tell you this: once they get what they want, they can escape the constraints of the Surface World.”
What they want?
Escape the constraints of the Surface World?
“You mean... the parasitic type gains access to interfere with the Surface World by taking over a human body?”
Though I had already deduced this answer, I still wanted confirmation.
“That’s right. Just like you asked—my eyes used to be perfectly fine. But with increased use, my vision has deteriorated. Now I have about five hundred degrees of myopia. Yes... you asked, so I’m answering. My eyesight deteriorates in proportion to how much I use the parasite. When the day comes that it completely takes away my sight, these eyes will become its passage from the Inner World to the Interdimensional Space...”
As she spoke, Xu Han’s tone suddenly turned serious, her eyes locking tightly onto mine.