I Changed My Mind

Zhao Ke glanced back at Qi Liang beside him and discovered that Qi Liang had actually passed out. His kick earlier had apparently been a little too hard, catching Qi Liang off guard and sending his head straight into a tree.

Seeing the steady rise and fall of Qi Liang's chest, Zhao Ke let out a long breath. At least Qi Liang was still alive.

You have completed the main quest. Please return to the real world and claim your reward for this mission.

You have completed the main quest. You may choose to remain in this horror world for ten days and return to reality at any time.

At that moment, a cold, emotionless voice sounded in Zhao Ke's ears, as though someone were speaking right beside him. But Zhao Ke realized the voice had not come from outside—it had come from inside his mind.

To test that thought, Zhao Ke quickly covered his ears. Sure enough, the voice continued.

You have completed the trainee mission. After returning to reality, please open the package to receive the official Postman brand and stamp album.

After the string of notifications ended, Zhao Ke fixed his gaze on the two people at the bottom of the pit. One was old, the other young. One of them was the white-collar woman Zhao Ke had thought he'd accidentally killed.

She was curled up against the wall below. She was not dead, but she did not seem far from it. Her left arm had been hacked clean off, and the wound had only received rudimentary bandaging. Even if she survived, she would be crippled for life.

The white-collar woman stared blankly at the bear corpse before her, its head pierced through. She opened her mouth, wanting to cry out, only to remember that she no longer had a tongue.

Then she looked up. When she saw the familiar figure standing at the edge of the pit, her eyes widened. A chill ran from her scalp through her entire body, and she could not stop herself from shuddering.

"Ahhh!"

After pointing at Zhao Ke and letting out a string of strange shrieks, the white-collar woman's figure actually began to fade before his eyes. By the time Zhao Ke realized something was wrong, she had completely disappeared.

"Did she return?"

Zhao Ke's thoughts stirred. Sure enough, Xiong Er died, so she was considered to have completed the main quest as well and could return to reality. But... how did she get the quest?

The quest to hunt Xiong Er had been obtained after they killed Xiong Er's mother. The white-collar woman should not have received such a quest, yet she had clearly received something similar if she could return to reality.

"It seems there was more than one way to obtain a quest."

Zhao Ke mulled it over. If that was really the case, then the white-collar woman had been incredibly lucky. He had already turned her into a cripple, yet she still managed to leave alive in the end.

By comparison, Chen Jing's psychologist had been far more miserable. Xiong Er had smashed his head apart with a single swipe, making Zhao Ke sigh inwardly.

Zhao Ke turned his gaze to the other person beneath the pit. He was a middle-aged man who looked to be around fifty. Judging by his clothes, he did not seem to be from the real world.

Like the white-collar woman, this middle-aged man's left hand had been chopped off. Zhao Ke remembered that the burly man they had ambushed and killed earlier had carried two hands on him. At the time, Zhao Ke had wondered why one of them was a man's hand.

Now, it seemed the mystery had been explained. What still puzzled Zhao Ke was who that burly man had been and why he had set up such a trap here.

Seeing that the middle-aged man at the bottom of the pit had already slipped into a semi-conscious state, Zhao Ke found several thick vines nearby, twisted them together into a rope, and slowly climbed down along the edge of the trap.

"Save... save me..."

Seemingly sensing someone approaching, the middle-aged man struggled to lift his head.

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

Zhao Ke helped him sit up and carefully examined his injuries. They were crippling but not fatal. Still, judging by the wounds, Zhao Ke could tell that this man had been trapped here for at least two days.

"I... I'm a farmer from the village at the foot of the mountain. Save me. Take me down the mountain."

"A farmer?"

Hearing that, Zhao Ke gave him a sidelong look. A vicious glint flashed through his eyes as he smiled slyly. "Sure. But why should I help you?"

If anyone else had claimed to be a farmer, Zhao Ke might have believed it. But he did not believe the middle-aged man before him.

Earlier, the man's severed hand had been thrown onto the table, and Zhao Ke had examined it closely.

There were irregular scars on the thick knuckles, especially hooked calluses on the fingertips. Zhao Ke was very familiar with those calluses. People who climbed often had such marks on their fingers.

That alone was enough to prove the man was lying. Not to mention his attire and the pronounced temples at the sides of his head—no matter how Zhao Ke looked at him, he could not connect the man with farming.

"Take me down the mountain, and I'll give you money."

"Money? Forget it. How much money could a farmer like you possibly give me? You're badly hurt. If you die halfway down the mountain, I won't be able to explain myself. Better forget it."

After saying that, Zhao Ke stood up and prepared to leave. The middle-aged man's expression changed. He suddenly grabbed Zhao Ke's wrist with his remaining hand and said urgently, "Don't... don't go. The one who hurt me was Hunter Wang. It has nothing to do with you. Take me down the mountain, and I'll tell you a secret."

As soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, another notification sounded in Zhao Ke's ears.

You have obtained a side quest: Escort the injured person down the mountain.

Note: Side quests do not conflict with the main quest. You may interrupt it and return at any time.

Zhao Ke had not expected the middle-aged man to have a side quest on him. Somewhat surprised, he looked at the man and nodded. "Fine, I'll take you down the mountain. But first, tell me why that Hunter Wang wanted to harm you, and what exactly this secret is."

"This..."

The middle-aged man hesitated. Zhao Ke's face immediately turned cold. He shook off the man's hand, stood up, and said, "If you don't trust me, then stay here and wait to die."

With that, Zhao Ke turned to leave in apparent anger. The middle-aged man's expression changed again. No longer caring about anything else, he hurriedly said, "Don't go! I'll tell you!"

"That's better. People need trust between them."

Zhao Ke paused and walked back. Staring at the middle-aged man, he said, "Talk. But don't lie. If I notice you're deceiving me, I'll leave immediately."

The middle-aged man nodded and said to Zhao Ke, "The man who injured me is called Wang Xiaochang. He's a hunter..."

After hearing the whole story, Zhao Ke finally understood. Many of his doubts were instantly cleared away.

The middle-aged man before him was called Zhou Shun, while the burly man Zhao Ke and the others had killed earlier was Wang Xiaochang.

They were all local hunters. It was a year of disaster; the crops had withered in drought, and not a single grain had been harvested. Even the prey in the mountains had become much scarcer.

Later, Wang Xiaochang had somehow heard that there was a household on the mountain whose ancestors had been officials. They had supposedly amassed a fortune and hidden many treasures in their home.

Wang Xiaochang became tempted. He gathered his son, Zhou Shun, and two other hunters, intending to borrow the family's treasures.

Of course, Zhou Shun put it mildly. What borrowing? They had plainly intended to murder people and steal their wealth.

Later, they really did find the box hidden beneath the old woman's bed. But they had never expected that the old woman and Xiong Er were not human at all.

Two of the hunters were bitten to death by Xiong Er, while Wang Xiaochang's son had his throat bitten through by the old woman. Only two of them escaped.

After narrowly surviving, Zhou Shun wanted to go down the mountain. But Wang Xiaochang refused. He wanted revenge. After the two disagreed, Wang Xiaochang simply hacked off Zhou Shun's arm with an axe, set up this trap, and threw him inside to use as bait.

Fortunately for Zhou Shun, Wang Xiaochang had thought this way. Knowing bears did not like eating corpses, he had allowed Zhou Shun to cling to life in there until now.

"Little brother, I guarantee every word I said is true. I absolutely haven't lied to you. Hurry and take me away."

"Hey... where are you?"

At that moment, Qi Liang's shout came from above. Zhao Ke raised an eyebrow. He had not expected the kid to wake so quickly. Turning back to Zhou Shun, he pointed upward and said, "Perfect. I have another brother up there. We'll pull you up in a moment."

"Good, good, good!"

Zhou Shun's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly. He could not help feeling overjoyed. Zhao Ke walked over, hooked an arm around his shoulders, and shouted upward, "I'm down here!"

"Let me ask you one more time. You really didn't lie to me?" Zhao Ke suddenly turned back and confirmed it with Zhou Shun again.

Hearing that, Zhou Shun grew a little impatient and nodded repeatedly. "Really, really. If I'm lying to you, I... mmph!"

Before he could finish, Zhao Ke suddenly covered Zhou Shun's mouth and nose with one hand, pulling him into his embrace. With his lips close to Zhou Shun's ear, he whispered, "Sorry, I changed my mind."

As he spoke, Zhao Ke drew a black dagger with his right hand and stabbed it straight into Zhou Shun's heart.

I didn't expect everyone to dislike this cover so much, though it really is pretty creepy. The editor said it would be changed on Thursday, so please wait until then and see. The cover will be replaced.