Chapter 116: Death Deception, the Horse’s Substitute

Chapter 116: Death Deception, the Horse’s Substitute

The corpse lay in a pool of blood, the crimson liquid slowly spreading across the floor. Under the flickering fluorescent light on the ceiling, the scene was particularly jarring to the eyes.

The Snake, Rooster, Rat, and Ox Players moved cautiously through the dimly lit operating room, each exhaling in relief at the final outcome of this trap.

That sheep was finally dead!

Chen Guang, the Crying Mourner Supernatural Creature, was classified as a "Deteriorating NPC" within this Instance—a terminally ill patient.

Such NPCs offered no rewards whatsoever; encountering one was pure misfortune.

The four of them had taken the risk of luring this emotionally unstable, volatile terminally ill patient to deal with Ji Yan, all to ensure his death.

"Will this Crying Mourner suddenly wake up?" the Rat Player asked nervously.

Having witnessed Ji Yan’s gruesome demise, they were all deeply wary of the creature’s wails.

"Relax. My Wish Privilege [Crowing] can put any Supernatural Entity to sleep for at least 10 minutes," the Rooster Player murmured. "Unless this thing’s ears are deaf!"

In truth, all four players present had crossed paths with Ji Yan before.

The Snake Player, of course, had lost a life to him.

The Rat Player had stolen equipment from Ji Yan, while the Rooster and Ox Players had once treated patients alongside him.

Honestly, none of them had any deep-seated vendetta against Ji Yan…

But the Dragon Player’s threats and promises had forced them to act against him together.

The threats were secondary.

The promises were the real motivator.

The brutality of the Supernatural Game had left them in despair.

Rather than being dragged into endless terrifying Instances, staying in this one—free from further torment—was the far better option.

Moreover, the Dragon Player had assured them that once he fully controlled this Instance, he could help them return to their original world!

That was the most irresistible temptation of all.

Who wouldn’t want to go back to the real world?

Regardless of how much truth or falsehood lay in that promise, it at least gave them a sliver of hope.

"We only have ten minutes," the Ox Player said grimly.

"He used the Lies Parchment on the Crying Mourner. Now that he’s dead, we can take it from him."

Their gazes locked onto the Rat Player.

Her Wish Privilege [Theft] allowed her to steal any player’s Toolbar—but only Supernatural Artifacts with quality ratings.

For special, ungraded artifacts, the target player had to die first—and must have been using the item at the time of death.

Even if she stole the Lies Parchment, she still couldn’t use it, as it was a Wish Privilege.

But the Dragon Player possessed a mysterious privilege that allowed him to plunder and wield it!

Otherwise, that night, if she could’ve stolen it, the Rat Player would never have passed up the chance to take the Lies Parchment.

"Hurry up. If that Crying Mourner wakes up…" the Snake Player urged. "Its cries are literally deadly."

The Rat Player stepped forward, deliberately avoiding the sight of Ji Yan’s bloodied face, his seven orifices leaking crimson.

She placed a hand on his back and activated [Theft].

Ji Yan’s game Toolbar panel opened before her.

Her fingers closed around the two shimmering parchments, her face twisting with unrestrained greed and excitement.

This was the very artifact the Dragon Player himself feared— The parchments capable of manipulating Instance privileges!

Although the mortality rate among the Zodiac [Goat] Players is generally high, and there are only these two [Lies Parchments] as Wish Privileges, these two alone, if used well, are practically invincible!

Yet the next second, her smile froze.

Because she realized she couldn’t [Steal] the Lies Parchment!

What’s going on??

While the Rat Player was stunned, she noticed that her hand had become covered in pustules.

Her entire arm rapidly swelled!

She yanked her hand back in horror, staring at the scene in terror.

"What’s happening?!"

The other Players also noticed something was wrong.

At the same time, no one noticed that the shadow behind the Snake Player had quietly detached from her heels.

The shadow separated from the ground, and a graceful figure gradually materialized in the air.

The Snake Player instantly sensed danger.

Before she could activate [Lurking] to hide herself, a jade-like hand reached out and gripped her neck.

In the Snake Player’s constricted pupils, Gu Meng’s almost bewitchingly sinister face was reflected...

"Well, well, isn’t this the little sister I strangled to death?"

"Seems like you have two lives."

The Snake Player’s face paled as she spoke in disbelief, "The Goat Players are already dead. How can you still be here?"

She had seen Ji Yan tear up that Drawing Paper.

But when a Player dies, all Supernatural Artifacts freeze and become ineffective.

That’s an ironclad rule of the Supernatural Game!

Gu Meng licked her red lips with a playful tongue, smirking. "I don’t know either."

"But I have a feeling that kid is like an unkillable cockroach—he won’t die so easily."

Over there, the Rat Player was still horrified by her arm, the pustules now spreading to her body.

Completely unaware of what was happening, she only realized when a Warning Panel popped up before her eyes.

"Warning, Player! You are being harmed by another Player’s special Supernatural Artifact. Detected as—[Lies Parchment]."

"Lies Parchment?!"

But the person is dead! And why is the Lies Parchment targeting her?!

In her panic, the Rat Player barely had time to retreat when a hand appeared out of nowhere, gripping her throat.

The corpse on the ground, pale and bleeding from all orifices, was slowly regaining vitality, color returning to its face.

Its unfocused eyes regained clarity, shifting downward to stare at the Rat Player.

This sight drove the Rat Player to the peak of terror, frying her brain in the process.

How could a Player who was already eliminated come back to life?

"Long time no see, Thief."

Ji Yan spoke, his face flickering with unpredictable emotions.

The Rat Player struggled, sensing death looming over her, and hurriedly pleaded, "Brother Goat, I’ll return what I stole from you! I had no choice, I—"

Before she could finish, a scalpel slashed across her neck.

Blood sprayed like a fountain!

The Rat Player collapsed to the ground, mouth gaping but unable to utter a word.

Flicking the blood off the scalpel, Ji Yan said indifferently, "No need. Just take it."

"Pay with your life instead."

Ji Yan stood up and glanced to the side.

Just like last time, Gu Meng had once again snapped the Snake Player’s neck.

But instead of letting go, she watched the dead Snake Player with interest, as if waiting to see if she could revive again.

Unfortunately, this time, the Snake Player had no third life left.

As the Rat and Snake Players died one after another, the Ox and Rooster Players, realizing the situation had completely collapsed, decisively fled.

The Ox Player rushed toward a wall, took out the [Universal Key], and a door instantly materialized on the surface. But before he could open it, the door swung open on its own.

A tall figure stepped out, looking puzzled. "Huh? How did I end up here after leaving [C001]?"

It was the Horse Player, who had just woken up from the patient Chu Meng. He surveyed the scene, noticed the gruesomely slain Ji Yan, and realized something was wrong.

"My bad, didn’t mean to interrupt."

"Carry on."

Just as he turned around, the Ox Player lunged at him, thrusting his hand straight through the Horse Player’s chest. His fingers clamped around the beating heart, crushing it like a rotten persimmon.

"Damn fool, you walked right into this!" The Ox Player’s eyes burned with killing intent.

The Dragon Player had said that the Horse and Tiger Players belonged to the enemy faction. If encountered, eliminating them would yield substantial rewards. So, upon spotting the horse emblem on the other’s chest, he didn’t hesitate to strike first.

The Ox Player tried to pull his hand free and escape through the door, only to find the Horse Player gripping his wrist tightly.

Stunned, he watched as the Horse Player spat blood and asked faintly, "Buddy, what’s the grudge here?"

"Meeting me and immediately going for the heart-to-heart?"

"Damn it! Why aren’t you dead?!"

The Ox Player’s face paled. The moment he spoke, an excruciating pain erupted in his own chest.

The next second, a gaping hole the size of a bowl tore open in his chest, his heart inexplicably crushed into pulp.

As he suffered the same fatal wound, the Horse Player’s chest injury healed at the same rate.

In his final moments before collapsing and dying, the game interface finally popped up before the Ox Player’s eyes.

"Ding! You have been targeted by the Zodiac [Horse] Player. The opponent used the Wish Privilege [Substitute Death]. You have died in their place and have been eliminated from this instance."

Gritting his teeth in unwillingness, the Ox Player spat out with his dying breath, "Information gap… That bastard Dragon never mentioned the Horse Player had a [Substitute Death] privilege."

"That asshole played us!"

After the bloody slaughter, the scene gradually quieted.

Ji Yan watched as the Horse Player wiped blood from his lips and asked, "With such a powerful Wish Privilege, why didn’t you use it earlier?"

The Horse Player adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses. "Cooldown period."

"Tricking others into killing me is an art."

"Besides, compared to your Sheepskin Scroll, this is child’s play."

Ji Yan was about to retort that this sounded like a jinx when he suddenly realized someone was missing.

"Where’s the Rooster Player?"

Ji Yan and the Horse Player turned simultaneously.

There, the Rooster Player was being lifted into the air by a spectral hand!

But the one choking her wasn’t Gu Meng—it was the awakened Crying Mourner Supernatural Creature...