Yellow Hair Kept His Bold Idea in Check

This time, Xu Kai didn't leave. He stood with the players, much to the short-haired woman's surprise. She asked,

"Master Xu, what is it? Do you have something else to do?"

"Yeah. My boss called just now and told me to work part-time as a security guard, keeping an eye on you so you don't steal anything."

"?"

Isn't your phone in my hands?

The short-haired woman was stunned for a moment. Then, as if she'd thought of something, she smiled and said nothing more.

Yellow Hair patted Xu Kai on the shoulder and said earnestly,

"Buddy, how much do you make a month to be working yourself to the bone like this? You're so young. Why not go out and make something of yourself? That boss of yours is a real piece of work. I bet he's just making up an excuse to force you to work overtime."

"Heh, that prick's always like that."

Xu Kai smiled. He and Yellow Hair had found the one thing they agreed on. Yellow Hair pulled a cigarette from his pocket and asked Xu Kai if he wanted one.

Xu Kai took it but didn't smoke it. He stood nearby and chatted with the others.

The Master of Ceremonies was setting up the Funeral Hall. He worked quickly, as the materials were all ready, and was just as quick to direct the others. Once everything was set up, he jogged over and looked at the three players. Deciding JK looked enough like the one in charge, he walked up to him and said,

"Miss, I don't mean any offense, but so few of you came. I'm afraid the farewell procession might be a little lonely. Would you like to arrange some entertainment to liven things up?"

In fact, the Master of Ceremonies was trying to earn a little extra money for himself. The fees for setting up the Funeral Hall and the cremation had long since been agreed on and paid. He just hadn't expected the three of them to arrive so late, or to come in a pickup truck.

JK looked around and saw that no one else was speaking. Understanding, he waved a hand.

"No, that's all right."

"All right."

The Master of Ceremonies looked a little disappointed but said nothing more. Once the Funeral Hall was ready, he left.

Only Xu Kai, the three players, and the nailed-shut coffin remained in the Funeral Hall.

The Eternal Candle stood right in front of the coffin, burning steadily.

"Phew~"

Yellow Hair rubbed his hands and found a stool to sit on. Seeing that nobody was talking, he started a conversation himself.

"I've gotta say, this Funeral Hall's set up pretty nicely... Hey, have you guys had dinner?"

"What are you talking about? It's like we didn't all come here together."

JK glanced at him, still speaking in a pinched voice. JK had a small frame and well-defined facial features, with no discernible masculine characteristics at all.

That shut Yellow Hair up. For some reason, the kid didn't talk back to JK. He just coughed.

"Ahem... Whatever. I'm hungry. Didn't the Master of Ceremonies say there was tofu rice? I'm going to heat it up. Who wants some?"

The short-haired woman shook her head, as did Xu Kai. Only JK agreed. Yellow Hair smiled.

"That's a bro for you. Doesn't matter where you are, nothing in the world is more important than eating!"

With that, he eagerly went to light the fire and heat the food. The cafeteria was only a few steps from where the Funeral Hall had been set up, close enough for them to see Yellow Hair go inside. He lit the fire and warmed up the tofu rice made that evening, then soon brought it out.

"Here!"

JK said nothing and took it. The two of them began to eat.

The tofu rice smelled wonderful. The rice was glossy and translucent, and the tofu was fresh and tender. Even though it had been heated a second time, Yellow Hair ate it with satisfaction.

"You guys aren't eating? What this crematorium made is damn amazing!"

The short-haired woman swallowed. She was hungry too, and her resolve wavered. It was as if a craving kept tempting her to get herself a serving. In the end, she shook her head firmly and said,

"No. You two should eat less, too. Eating too much makes it easy to fall asleep. Let's take two shifts. You two take the second half of the night, and I'll take the first. What about you, Master Xu? What do you say?"

The short-haired woman looked at Xu Kai. He shrugged helplessly and said,

"Given how many of us there are, I'll team up with you and take the first half of the night. Damn my luck. That heartless boss!"

Xu Kai grumbled, but he was on guard. Normally, though he would be hungry at this hour, he wouldn't crave food this badly. The feeling was far too intense.

The short-haired woman nodded and urged Yellow Hair and JK to get some rest as soon as they finished eating.

Perhaps because of her urging, the two settled down to rest very quickly after finishing their tofu rice. In less than a minute, they were fast asleep. The short-haired woman fetched two covers from the dormitory next door and put them over the two players. Xu Kai said,

"Wouldn't have guessed it, but you really look after your siblings. Your family gets along so well. It's just a shame..."

Xu Kai glanced toward the coffin, implying something, seemingly regretting the deceased's early passing. He continued,

"Do you think those two killers might have something else up their sleeves? Could other killers follow us here?"

Xu Kai was the driver. Once the mission began, he had to keep up his act, so he didn't say anything beyond what the driver could know.

"Hmph. There are so many people here, and the Master of Ceremonies just said he was going to call the police. It'll be fine."

The short-haired woman didn't want to dwell on the topic. She quietly watched the vigil candle in front of the coffin and burned some paper in the brazier.

Just then, the light suddenly changed. Xu Kai felt a pair of hands covering his eyes, blocking his vision, and his heart jumped.

"This doesn't make sense. No rules were broken, so why did the killing zone appear?"

He prepared himself to die, but after covering his eyes, the force did nothing else. Xu Kai breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't the killing zone after all. Rather, just like at the bend, the Stone Statue Weird could cast illusions here.

"Master Xu, where are you? Something's happening! Yellow Hair, JK, wake up!"

The short-haired woman realized she couldn't see and hurriedly shouted for Yellow Hair and JK.

Just then, a wind sprang up in the Funeral Hall.

"Oh no! The Eternal Candle! Master Xu! Can you see? If you can, help protect it. I'll pay you!"

"Miss, I can't see either!"

Xu Kai was at a loss. The Stone Statue Weird was giving him special treatment. He could feel that it wasn't just his eyes being covered; he was wrapped in layer upon layer of this weird energy, and his perception couldn't extend beyond his body at all.

"Damn it, Yellow Hair and JK are sleeping too deeply. There's something wrong with that tofu rice!"

The short-haired woman spoke anxiously, but there was nothing she could do. The fierce wind came especially fast, blowing out every light in the Funeral Hall at once.

The moment the lights went out, Xu Kai's heart sank. This is bad. He recalled Wang Bangzheng's death in the last instance. He had died on his knees in the Funeral Hall.

Thud, thud, thud.

Oppressive footsteps approached. The Stone Statue Weird arrived as expected. Seeing two people fast asleep and two others standing in place like blind men, he contemptuously raised a hand. The entire Funeral Hall was crushed down and reduced to powder.

On the seventy-first rollback, the Master of Ceremonies had just left, and Yellow Hair was about to make conversation for lack of anything else to say. Xu Kai awoke from the pain of being crushed to death.

He was considering a question.

Since the Stone Statue Weird could control illusions, cover everyone's eyes, and immediately blow out every light with the wind, why hadn't he acted at once? Why had he insisted on waiting until they took turns keeping watch?

There was also the short-haired woman. When the fierce wind rose, she hadn't been able to wake Yellow Hair and JK no matter what she did, and had immediately said there was something wrong with the tofu rice. Was there a connection between the two?

Xu Kai didn't ponder the question for long before reaching a conclusion. The Stone Statue Weird was afraid, and the one he feared was JK!

JK's talent made him immune to its vision-obscuring illusion, so it had waited until JK ate the tofu rice and fell asleep before making its move!

No wonder. Normally, Xu Kai wouldn't have been hungry at this hour. And as an "evil," human food tasted like wax to him. Yet this time, he'd actually wanted to eat. That was why! The Stone Statue Weird's illusions were strengthened in the Funeral Hall, to the point that they could deceive the senses!

Unfortunately for the Stone Statue Weird, he had no idea that among this group of players and materials was someone with an unreasonable talent that let him roll back. Otherwise, he really would have succeeded.

"Whatever. I'm hungry. Didn't the Master of Ceremonies say there was tofu rice? I'm going to heat it up. Who wants some?"

Hearing Yellow Hair repeat those words, Xu Kai felt reassured and immediately said,

"Perfect, I'm hungry too. I'll go get it for you!"

"Thanks, brother!"

Yellow Hair was delighted. Master Xu was a really nice guy, so eager to help.

Xu Kai nodded and walked toward the cafeteria under the players' gazes. The short-haired woman seemed to want to say something, but ultimately said nothing more.

Xu Kai fussed around in the cafeteria for quite a while. Then there was a loud clang!

"Ow!"

Xu Kai came rushing out of the cafeteria and spoke to Yellow Hair in the same tone Yellow Hair used.

"Damn it, the floor in this Seven-Eight Cafeteria was mopped so fucking shiny! I lit the fire and lifted that pot of rice, right? Then clang, I nearly broke my back, and the food went everywhere! Sorry, everyone! My fault, my fault. I'll treat you tomorrow!"

"Ah! Come on, Master Xu, haven't you been in this cafeteria before? How... Ah, forget it, forget it."

Yellow Hair was hungry and full of anger, but Xu Kai sounded sincere and was even going to treat them tomorrow. They were all brothers at the Seven-Eight now, so in the end, he said nothing and forgave Xu Kai.

Even so, as Yellow Hair smelled the food spilled in the cafeteria, the strange hunger remained.

"Damn, that smells good. Doesn't seem like it'd be a problem even if it fell on the floor... Wait, how could I have such a perverted thought?"

Yellow Hair looked at JK. As far as he was concerned, his reputation as Yellow-Haired Brother Dog meant something in front of these players. How could he get down on the floor and lick up food?

So Yellow Hair quickly folded his arms and stopped thinking about anything else.

The short-haired woman watched Yellow Hair's strange movements and shook her head. After everything he'd been through, was he finally going mad?

She put those thoughts aside and looked at Xu Kai as he approached. She already had a plan in mind as she said softly,

"You did that on purpose, didn't you? You're being so careful because you're afraid someone else will come after those two killers?"

Xu Kai said nothing, tacitly admitting it.

The short-haired woman's imagination was astounding. But from another angle, wasn't that the truth? The mastermind behind those two really did want to kill them.

Sure enough, not long after Xu Kai spilled the food, the strange hunger vanished.

Immediately afterward, a vast wave of weird energy swept in, covering everyone's eyes.

"I... Why can't I see? Who the fuck turned off the lights?!"

Yellow Hair was awake this time and immediately started complaining. The short-haired woman remained somewhat silent, while only JK looked utterly confused.

"What are you all talking about? Why is everyone covering their eyes?"

Of course you're fine. Your talent makes you immune.

Xu Kai thought to himself. He calmly replied to JK,

"A killer is coming. If you can see, remember to protect anything important. I don't know how you offended them, but they seem to want to kill me too. If I need help, remember to guide me. I don't know what method they're using, but I can't see either."

"Hm? I see... Okay. Actually, this is a supernatural incident, not a killer."

"Sorry, I still believe in science."

Xu Kai said this without blushing or a flicker of his heartbeat.

"Is that so..."

JK remembered how, at the bend, Xu Kai had been so afraid of the wronged ghost on the road that he'd dropped to his knees. Now he believed in science? Had he been acting for them all along? But JK didn't think too deeply about it. In any case, Xu Kai hadn't put them in danger throughout the journey.

Xu Kai was just an NPC. At most, his mission was relatively important, which was why he had appeared beside them.

Just then, a fierce gust blew in. JK reacted quickly, realizing that the weird was trying to extinguish the Eternal Candle. He rushed in front of it and shielded the flame, while the others could only stand where they were and fret.

Enveloped as he was, Xu Kai couldn't hear anything at all. But he'd already lived longer than last time, and he believed the outcome would be different.

Sure enough, JK held firm and protected the flame. The Stone Statue Weird's weird energy could only rage impotently. Once the fierce wind passed, the abnormal presence vanished completely.

Xu Kai breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help looking at the sky.

The long night was so very long, with no change at all. He checked the time on his phone. It was only eleven o'clock.

The Stone Statue Weird, like a ghost drifting through the darkness, was still watching them.