The Stone Statue Weird's Scheme

This mission all but spelled it out for Xu Kai: the Cremation Workshop was a killing zone, and the Stone Statue Weird was inside sharpening his blade, waiting for Xu Kai to stick his neck in.

But if he didn't go in, the mission would definitely be judged a failure, and failing meant being wiped out by the game.

Xu Kai was meat on a chopping block. A blade awaited him whether he went forward or retreated.

Caught between the two, Xu Kai had already resigned himself. His gaze shifted slightly as he turned his thoughts back to the present.

To Wang Hua, though, Xu Kai had only paused for a moment before saying to her:

"It would be disrespectful to carry him on my back. Since you're in such a hurry to lay your father to rest, Miss Wang, why don't you find a stretcher so the two of us can carry him?"

"Oh, why make it so troublesome? Couldn't you see the miracle I just performed? Master Xu, you still don't understand the situation. Your life is in my hands!"

Wang Hua hated this kind of NPC story dialogue most of all. If she could threaten someone into skipping it, why sit through all that long-winded, tedious story?

She widened her eyes and glared viciously at Xu Kai, continuing:

"See Wang Bangzheng? I can do more than just freeze people. I can control them too! He wouldn't listen to me, so I controlled him and made him kneel here until he died! I even scared everyone around us away!"

"Gasp! You... you killed your uncle!"

Xu Kai "panicked." He dropped his refined insistence on believing in science and bolted, only to be frozen on the spot, just as expected.

"Hah! Is killing my uncle the point here? I'm a goddess! You! Do you want to die? Can't you understand the situation? Next time, I really will kill you! Hurry up and carry him!"

Wang Hua activated her skill again. Her condition had deteriorated much further this time, and sweat beaded faintly on her forehead. There was a tremor in her voice, but after threatening him, she released her talent's control once more. She believed Xu Kai wouldn't defy her again after this.

Sure enough, Xu Kai quieted down. His legs trembled slightly, as though Wang Hua's miraculous power had frightened him again. He nodded cautiously and slowly walked into the Funeral Hall. When he touched the coffin, he looked at a loss.

"M-Miss Wang, I can't lift the coffin lid. Could you help me?"

"Useless! You looked so cool driving earlier, so how come you can't even lift a coffin lid?"

Wang Hua had completely lost patience. All she wanted now was to get out of this instance, and she had no mind to worry about such details. She marched straight over and flipped the thin coffin lid away with one hand.

"Look! It's so light! Are you made of tofu? You look like you're in good shape, so why don't you have any strength?"

As soon as Wang Hua finished speaking, she suddenly sensed something was wrong. She raised her hand and saw that the one she'd used to touch the coffin lid had turned black. She instantly burst into tears of panic.

"W-what is this?"

Before the words had even left her mouth, the morning sky darkened, and a force enveloped the entire Funeral Hall.

Xu Kai had reacted fairly quickly. The instant Wang Hua touched the coffin, he had fled and even made it out of the Funeral Hall, but an immense force dragged him back in an instant.

Bang!

Xu Kai crashed into the Memorial Wreaths, knocking them over, and fell flat on the ground with a heavy thud. But he neither got up nor resisted. Instead, he quietly closed his eyes.

"Hey, hey, Master Xu, you were trying to run away just now, weren't you? Why did you come back? Wh-what's going on? Hurry and save me! Look at my hand!"

Wang Hua was still crying. She waved her hand in front of Xu Kai, but he kept his eyes closed and remained perfectly still.

"Master Xu, say something! This is a crematorium, and you work here, right? Have you ever seen anything like what's happening to me? I'm asking you, so answer me! What are you doing?"

"I'm waiting to die. How about it? Let's do it together. At least we'll have some strength left."

"Waiting to die? I'm a player. There's no way I'll die!"

Wang Hua shouted furiously. When she was done, fear crept into her heart. She took several steps back, shaking her head slightly and muttering that it was impossible, her eyes fixed on her hand. The blackness had already spread to her shoulder, and a wave of immense pain flooded her mind.

It was like ten thousand insects boring into her heart. The instant she felt it, Wang Hua crouched on the ground, cringing as tears welled up. She looked at Xu Kai in panic and said:

"Gasp! Help! Master Xu, save me! Y-you must have a way, right? You have to save me, or I'll kill you before I die! I'll kill you! Gasp, ah..."

Wang Hua continued threatening Xu Kai, but in the few seconds since she'd asked him, he still hadn't moved. She gritted her teeth again, summoned her panel through sheer willpower, and frantically pressed the logout button.

"Log out! Log out! Fucking game, you—you—those—your—!"

Wang Hua cursed furiously. If the game had a family tree, smoke would be rising from it by now.

Unfortunately, it was no use. Everything seemed futile. She might as well do as Xu Kai had said and wait to die off to the side. At least she would conserve her strength.

Thud, thud, thud.

While the two of them were trapped in the Funeral Hall, the familiar, heavy footsteps sounded again.

Xu Kai looked toward the sound. Just as I thought.

The Stone Statue Weird had arrived. He was still the same bluish color all over, and a mocking smile curled his lips as he spoke in a voice like grinding stone:

"Heh heh, isn't it common knowledge that the game has no logout button? Humans..."

"Ah! A Weird that can talk and communicate! Th-th-this..."

Wang Hua froze. Looking at the inky, silken Weird Energy behind the Stone Statue Weird, she doubled over in terror and immediately began to vomit. She almost forgot everything: the pain in her arm, the fact that her talent could control Weirds, even moving her legs to run away! She only stood there, watching as the Stone Statue Weird walked up to her and reached out a twisted hand, covering her face.

"No, please, don't!"

Boom!

Without putting up any struggle, Wang Hua was reduced to a bloody mist!

The Stone Statue Weird waved his bloodstained hand and turned to look at Xu Kai. He didn't kill Xu Kai immediately, instead grinning as he said:

"Material? You were trying to run just now? Shouldn't you have welcomed me? You did very well, tricking the player into lifting the coffin lid and letting me kill her. You deserve some credit for this success! What exactly are you worried about?"

The Stone Statue Weird was genuinely curious, and he also had many questions about Xu Kai's other experiences.

This material was too strange. The Stone Statue Weird had never shown him any killing intent, only laid plans in secret. Yet Xu Kai had easily avoided every one of them. He had even turned the tables and killed an "evil." It was simply unbelievable.

The Stone Statue Weird pondered, but showed none of it on his face. Still smiling, he gently patted Xu Kai on the shoulder and said:

"The player is dead, and there's one hour left before the instance ends. Tell me, why did you hide? What exactly are you thinking?"

"Heh heh, why did I hide? What am I thinking? Hahaha..."

Sitting on the ground, Xu Kai threw back his head and laughed, his shoulders bobbing. The look in his eyes made it seem as though the Stone Statue Weird had fallen into his trap, and his smugness was even more convincing than the real thing. He even laughed wildly and said:

"Of course I was stalling for time to ascend! Stone Statue Weird, I've already gathered three portions of Source Weird Qi. I'll be protected by the instance and ascend into a Weird any moment now. You and the Weird Duke are both dead! My Weird Energy is purer than yours!"

"Y-you completed the missions and became a Weird? No! How is that possible?! Mission reward evaluations can't grant Source Weird Qi! Only the evaluation at the end of an instance can, and only if you've completed every mission assigned by the bosses! No, it was 'City'! That damned Weird Duke, doesn't he know that completing an order in 'City' rewards Source Weird Qi?!"

The Stone Statue Weird thought his worst fear had come to pass. The smile on his face turned to fear, and his body trembled, shaking the entire Funeral Hall with it.

Unfortunately, the change lasted only an instant. The Stone Statue Weird came to his senses, and his expression immediately twisted with anger.

"Material! You're bluffing! It's been so long that I'd forgotten: three portions of Source Weird Qi are only an entry ticket!"

With that, the enraged Stone Statue Weird crushed Xu Kai to pieces.