“Holy sh*t…”
Upon hearing that, the group all took a few steps back, staring at Deng Zhiwei in fear.
“I didn’t mean to, it was my master who forced me to do it. If I didn’t do it, I’d be the one who died,” Deng Zhiwei said emotionally.
Song Linjia said in utter shock, “So, you killed our classmate?”
The few of them all frowned deeply.
The people originally in the world were equivalent to NPCs in a game; it was unlikely for deaths or mutual killings to occur among them.
So if Deng Zhiwei said he killed someone, that person could only be a player who entered the world like them.
He didn’t save Zhou Miaomiao but instead killed another classmate?
Deng Zhiwei said frantically, “You think it was easy for me? I didn’t dare close my eyes all night—every time I did, I’d see her bloody and mangled face!”
The group took several more steps back, as if they’d seen a ghost.
Only Li Ran remained calm as he asked, “What’s your task?”
“Listen to Master. I mean, the task’s name is—Listen to Master,” Deng Zhiwei replied, terrified.
“Did you complete the task?”
“I did.”
Li Ran continued asking, “Why did your master want you to kill someone?”
Upon this question, Deng Zhiwei trembled all over, his face full of fear, “She… she likes collecting women’s faces…”
The group instantly furrowed their brows tightly.
Xiao Yi asked, “What do you mean?”
“She’s obsessively fixated on beautiful women’s faces—it’s almost demonic. She’s a woman full of charm, very beautiful and sexy. She lures guests into the shop under the pretense of beauty treatments, and then… somehow cuts off their faces… Then… then, she has me clean up afterward…”
“If I don’t listen, my master will eat me.”
“So, I dragged that person into the bathroom… and finally I… flushed it all into the sink… into the toilet…”
“Actually, while I was cleaning up, she woke up in pain… hahaha, she was awake… she was awake…”
Everyone’s expressions changed drastically, all showing fear.
The look on Deng Zhiwei’s face was no longer fear and panic, but twisted laughter and excitement.
Song Linjia roared in rage, “You’re a monster!”
“Everyone, back up—”
Xiao Yi, Chen Jiabin, Qiu Zhongji, and Song Linjia all backed away in fear.
Deng Zhiwei’s face contorted unnaturally, his limbs twitching, appearing like he was having a seizure.
“What’s wrong with Deng Zhiwei? This isn’t right,” Qiu Zhongji said, face grim.
None of them could answer that question.
“At the time I… I was truly terrified, panicked, I swore never to kill again, but… but that feeling inside, it was something I’d never experienced—lying in bed all night, unable to suppress the excitement and thrill…”
A line of floating text appeared above Deng Zhiwei’s head.
[Warning: He is infected with a virus. He may turn into a monster at any time. Please evacuate immediately.]
Li Ran stepped forward, “He’s infected with a virus.”
“We’d better get out of here now!”
No one was stupid—Deng Zhiwei’s condition could no longer be described as “not right.” He was like a monster undergoing transformation: slanted eyes, crooked nose, foam coming out of his mouth, something squirming wildly under his skin, reshaping his body.
“Yeah.”
The group quickly began evacuating toward the residential area’s entrance.
At the neighborhood entrance.
“Did you encounter a huge fat guy earlier?” Xiao Yi asked.
Li Ran nodded. “Yeah, he’s dead. He exploded from overeating.”
“Exploded?”
Chen Jiabin, Qiu Zhongji, and Song Linjia all looked confused.
“He was my friend. An extremely disciplined and self-controlled physical education student. He only ate fat-reduction meals every day, kept his body fat percentage strictly controlled, and held himself to very high standards. Unfortunately, when I found him this morning, he had turned into that.”
Xiao Yi pushed up his glasses, his expression pained and guilt-ridden.
“Then what happened to Deng Zhiwei?” Qiu Zhongji asked.
“Like Li Ran said—they’re all infected with the virus,” Xiao Yi replied.
“How did they get infected? Where?”
“Yeah, why are we okay?”
Deng Zhiwei’s terrifying appearance had frightened everyone, and now, learning about the virus, they were even more anxious and uneasy.
This virus—intangible and invisible—followed no rules. How could they defend against it?
Wear a mask?
Li Ran recalled the warning before entering this eerie world, “This virus magnifies the desires within people’s hearts. Once infected, one becomes a monster ruled by desire.”
He looked at Xiao Yi, “Your friend, although extremely self-disciplined, suppressed his appetite for years. The virus seized on that, and once infected, his suppressed desire became like a wild beast unleashed—unstoppable. In the end, he became a monster that frantically devoured food, until he literally ate himself to death.”
“In short, this virus fully reveals the truest side of a person’s heart. It can kill people, or turn them into monsters.”
Everyone agreed with Li Ran’s analysis.
Then, Chen Jiabin sighed and said, “Sigh, I’ve known Deng Zhiwei since we were kids. He was my next-door neighbor. When we were little, he liked to secretly shoot girls’ butts with a slingshot—cowardly and perverted. He had very little presence at school, but I knew he still secretly pranked girls behind their backs. He had the intentions but not the guts. His personality was weird, no real friends. I don’t know how he even got selected into this world.”
Song Linjia added, “Classic case of craving but lacking the courage to express. These kinds of people long for women’s attention, yet try to appear indifferent. In real life, they’re easily overlooked, nearly invisible.”
Song Linjia continued, “In criminal psychology, what’s called ‘addicted to killing’ is exactly this kind. Killing women gives them a twisted sense of accomplishment—a weak person feeling powerful. Due to inferiority and timidity, they can’t control themselves around the opposite sex. So they choose a brutal and covert way to vent, turning from unrequited love into the thrill of control.”
“The desire virus turned him into a true killer addicted to murder.”
The others looked at Song Linjia with newfound respect.
“Impressive. Didn’t expect you to know this stuff.” Li Ran gave her a thumbs up, then looked toward Building 1. “Here’s the info I’ve got. In Building 1 lives…”
Li Ran briefly explained how Zhou Miaomiao was killed by Wang Qian from Building 1 and warned everyone that the man was extremely dangerous. As for the trash scavenging in the complex, he didn’t mention a word—after all, that involved his golden finger.
Qiu Zhongji provided a clue: in the neighborhood bar, there was a woman dressed like a wealthy lady. He, Xiao Yi, and Chen Jiabin had all tried, but none of them managed to trigger a task.
Song Linjia gave a lead too: by the lakeside was a strange old lady who muttered to herself while staring at the lake’s bottom—very eerie. Song Linjia didn’t dare approach her out of fear.
Xiao Yi offered a suggestion, “Since everyone’s here, why don’t we start with the first one—the old man at the security room. Who wants to try him first?”
Everyone nodded, then headed toward the security room.
Just as they reached the door, a loud bang sounded.
“Bang!”
The group jumped at the sound and quickly looked in that direction.
Xiao Yi pushed up his black-framed glasses and said in a low voice, “That’s the old guy I mentioned from the security room—he’s kicking the door again. Who wants to go talk to him?”
“I haven’t completed a single task yet. I’ll go first.” Chen Jiabin, walking with his signature out-turned feet, strode forward.
Qiu Zhongji was tempted, but Chen Jiabin beat him to it, so he gave up.
Li Ran didn’t fight for it either. He also wanted to observe the old man.
Chen Jiabin walked to the door of the security room and called inside, “Sir, do you need help?”
A slightly chubby, bald, white-bearded old man came out—uniform half unbuttoned, holding a security cap in his hand, glaring and blowing his beard. “You want to help me?”
“Yes, sir,” Chen Jiabin answered with a smile.
The old man raised his eyelids, patted the dust off his cap with his hand, and showed a trace of displeasure on his face. “Alright.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Jiabin stood there in a daze, staring blankly ahead.
“What’s wrong with him?” Qiu Zhongji asked.
“If I’m not mistaken, he probably triggered the task and is reading the task description,” Xiao Yi, experienced with task interaction, immediately realized what happened.
Li Ran looked puzzled, thinking, “Just talking triggers a task?”
While he was thinking that, Chen Jiabin suddenly dropped to his knees with a “thud,” looking desperately at the old man.
(End of this chapter)