Did You See Me?

Sheng Qingqiao understood at once. He stepped forward and put an arm around Bai Yang's shoulders, casually blocking the others from view. He smiled and said, "Thanks for what you did just now. It was a good thing you were there to save us. But we all fell for it, so how come you're still so clearheaded, Brother Bai?"

Bai Yang blinked his big eyes and said, looking puzzled, "I don't know either. That aberration used sight to control you, right? Maybe I was slow to react and just happened not to see her, so I wasn't controlled."

"That's what I figured. I completely lost control of my body in that instant, and it felt like a pair of eyes was always watching me. If I hadn't been unable to move, I would've killed that aberration a thousand times over."

"But you managed to stop yourself from looking at her and suppress your instincts, brother. That's really something."

Bai Yang's body still couldn't actually stop itself from looking at an aberration just because he wanted it to. He could move freely only because of an item, a little thing he'd gotten from a card draw.

[Delicious mint candy

Effect: Refreshes the mind. Tastes great.]

The taste of mint lingered in Bai Yang's mouth, and his lips curved upward. But the voice in his head nearly made him go OOC, and he only just managed to keep his smile from stretching wildly across his face.

His original body told him that his fame had surged in that instant. This aberration had come at just the right time.

People admired strength. Only by drawing attention to himself with everything he had could he increase his fame.

Meanwhile, Lin Nieran watched comments flood the livestream as 007 excitedly reported the growing numbers. He rubbed the tip of his nose, crossed out the original plan in his notebook, and drew a heavy circle around the word "powerful."

He closed his eyes, opened them again a few seconds later, and said to 007, "Moonlit Night has already dealt with three aberrations. Is that enough?"

007 nodded its spherical body. "Yes. With the one your card killed, it's enough to buy a few things."

"Good." Lin Nieran smiled. "I just had a great idea. Fighting alone is ultimately just child's play. Since we're going to make a splash, we should make an even bigger one."

"Moonlit Night should go too, when the second batch of players is added." Lin Nieran watched Qin Rang, Tao Yuan, and An Ying talking behind Bai Yang's back in the livestream, his lips curving upward. "This Weird World is very difficult. It'll be hard for the protagonists and Bai Yang alone to clear it."

[Yes, Host. Starting with this Weird World, the balance is going to be broken. The aberrations here shouldn't be this strong.]

Inside the instance:

Sheng Qingqiao sent Bai Yang away, and Tao Yuan lowered her voice. "There's more to Bai Yang than meets the eye. We were all controlled, but he wasn't. An Ying couldn't find any information on him just now, either. I think it would be safer not to stay with him."

An Ying lowered his pink eyes slightly. "But he was trying to save us just now."

"Something still feels off about him." Tao Yuan frowned and patiently explained, "His clothes are too clean. There isn't a single stain on those white clothes. There's no way he came out of the danger zone. He also went off on his own just now without asking. He's too unpredictable. We don't need to take that risk."

An Ying said no more, while Qin Rang didn't pursue the subject. He said, "Did you notice what he did when he killed the aberration?"

Tao Yuan paused, while An Ying looked blank.

"When he killed the aberration, he unconsciously straightened his collar. In such an urgent situation, it didn't look like he was concerned about his appearance. It was more like he was hiding something."

An Ying immediately thought of the person who had killed the water ghost that day. That person had indistinct red markings on his body, and like Bai Yang, there was no information to be found on him.

He and Tao Yuan exchanged a glance, and each realized the other had thought of it too.

After all, the timing of the two appearances was far too coincidental, and both were equally hard to see through.

"Find a chance to test him."

From the corner of his eye, Sheng Qingqiao saw the three start examining the aberration on the ground. Only then did he take his hand off Bai Yang's shoulder. "Hey, didn't that Damn White-Hair want to look at this playing card?"

Bai Yang and Sheng Qingqiao walked over to the aberration's corpse, and Bai Yang handed them the card to examine.

"Why do you call him Damn White-Hair?" Bai Yang asked quietly.

"Heh, when we first met a few years ago, he was the only one with white hair. He was so cold, and he looked so arrogant and punchable. So I called him Damn White-Hair. I only found out later that it was a lasting effect after he recovered from albinism." Sheng Qingqiao shrugged nonchalantly. "Little Peach and I dyed our hair later. Looks good, right?"

Bai Yang looked doubtful. "Isn't Sister Tao Yuan's hair a lasting effect of controlling that pink Chainsaw Weird Object? I think some people even call her Sister Chainsaw."

Tao Yuan raised an eyebrow, leisurely tucked the pink hair at her forehead behind her ear, and smiled, automatically ignoring the second half of what he'd said. "You know about that too?"

Bai Yang was puzzled. "That's not really a secret, is it?"

"True." But for people who weren't familiar with them, that information was still hard to come by, especially her damned nickname. It sounded thoroughly inelegant.

Seeing Tao Yuan's thoughtful expression, Bai Yang's smile deepened in his eyes.

An Ying had been focused on examining the aberration's corpse. After losing its energy, the aberration was just a light, thin sheet of paper. Even the texture of its skin felt like paper.

"There doesn't seem to be anything special about this card." Qin Rang held up the three of hearts and examined it repeatedly. "There's no energy in it. It doesn't seem like a Weird Object left behind after the aberration died. It's more like an ordinary playing card."

Bai Yang said, "But don't aberrations always leave a Weird Object when they die? Where's its Weird Object? Could it still be alive?"

An Ying kicked the pile of paper scraps. "It's dead all right. It probably can't come back to life."

Qin Rang handed him the card. "We don't know what this is for yet, but a playing card obtained by killing an aberration must be an important item. Keep it safe, and don't let anyone else see it."

Bai Yang nodded at the serious-faced Qin Rang and put the playing card in his pocket with the weight.

Tao Yuan craned her neck to look at the empty corridor. Something occurred to her, and she turned back to ask Bai Yang, "Was this the aberration you saw upstairs just now?"

"No, that aberration was carrying a huge nail hammer."

Sheng Qingqiao clicked his tongue. "We really have stumbled into the aberrations' home turf. How long has it been? We've already run into three or four of them."

"If the first wave of aberrations is at this level, I'm afraid quite a few people outside have died."

"Enough chatter. Let's go. The commotion here will probably attract other aberrations. Let's head to another floor."

Bai Yang picked up the lantern and followed the others out. An Ying was quick; by then, he had already taken four lanterns off the wall and given one to each person.

"Fuck!" The five had only just reached the end of the corridor when a familiar aberrant figure blocked their path once again.

It was still a black shadow with long hair, a long skirt, and a slender waist, but this aberration was clearly taller than the one they had encountered at the door. She was already far taller than the ceiling of this floor, so it could only bend over and contort itself into a strange shape.

Without needing to say a word, the four turned and ran. Only Bai Yang carefully gauged the difference in size between the aberration and himself. It was the kind he couldn't hit even if he jumped, so he could only regretfully give up and follow the others in their flight.

"Did you... see me?"