The Death of Han Luo

That's right, this game must have a hidden danger!

Once this thought sprouted in Xiao Jie's mind, he couldn't shake it off.

But what kind of danger could there be in playing a game?

A game isn't reality; even if you're killed by a monster, you don't actually die. Besides, you can just restart if you die—no! Damn it!

Xiao Jie suddenly thought of something. This game didn't seem to allow for restarts. After Han Luo died, not only could he not respawn, he couldn't even create a new account. He had only found it strange before, but now, linking it to the bizarre phenomenon of game skills being brought into reality, a sinister realization dawned on him.

If the game could directly influence a player's body, allowing them to master abilities they didn't previously possess, then did that mean the bad things in the game could also be reflected onto the player? For instance—death!

No! That's impossible! How could such an absurd thing exist in this world...

Xiao Jie muttered to himself, struggling to calm down, but the shadow in his heart only made him feel more uneasy. Since such a bizarre thing as bringing game skills into reality could happen, then dying in reality because of death in the game seemed to follow a certain logic.

The more I don't want to think about it, the more I can't help but link these elements together.

No, I have to find Han Luo immediately!

Xiao Jie didn't even buy the fruit; he turned around and rushed toward the Haitian Food Workshop.

When Xiao Jie ran into the Haitian Food Workshop, Han Luo had just finished his meal, rubbing his belly and letting out a satisfied burp.

"Refreshing! It's been a long time since I've eaten this well. Huh? Brother Xiao, why are you back? Where's the fruit?"

Seeing Han Luo's state, Xiao Jie breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Thank goodness he's fine.

I must have been overthinking it, right?

"How are you feeling?" he asked with concern.

"How am I feeling? Ah, you mean this meal? It was great, it's just... hmm? What's that..."

Han Luo's expression suddenly shifted, his gaze fixed on something behind Xiao Jie.

"What is it?" Xiao Jie looked behind him, but there was nothing there.

"I feel like something isn't right. I feel..." Han Luo's face turned deathly pale, as if he had sensed something. He scanned his surroundings, stood up from his seat in a panic, and backed away.

"Something's wrong, something is really wrong. Brother Xiao, I—ah!"

A shrill, miserable scream suddenly erupted from Han Luo's throat. Then, Xiao Jie witnessed a scene that filled him with terror: an invisible force silently tore Han Luo's stomach open, as if an unseen blade were carving through his flesh.

One slash... two slashes... three slashes...

The abdomen, the diaphragm, the chest.

Blood splattered everywhere, internal organs spilled out, and one could even see white bone fragments at the edges of the gaping wounds on his chest. The blood splashed onto Xiao Jie's face, scalding hot.

Han Luo clutched his wounds, screaming, his face twisted in terror. "Brother Xiao... save me... save me."

He reached out toward Xiao Jie, and the next second, the screaming stopped abruptly.

Han Luo's head suddenly flew off, a fountain of blood spraying from his severed neck. His head rolled to Xiao Jie's feet, eyes wide open, his face frozen in a mask of fear and agony, while his headless corpse collapsed limply to the ground.

Xiao Jie stared at Han Luo's face on the floor, his mind a complete blank, as if he were trapped in a nightmare. For a few seconds, he even had the urge to slap himself to wake up.

He touched his face, only to feel the sticky, viscous blood.

Just as he had suspected, death in the game meant death in reality.

His guess had actually been true...

Terrified screams erupted from the other diners, but he couldn't hear a sound; his entire body was frozen in place.

"Name?"

"Xiao Jie."

"Age?"

"Twenty-eight."

"Occupation?"

"Game studio director."

The police officer across the interrogation table glanced at him in surprise and wrote "freelancer" on the paper.

"What is your relationship to the deceased?"

"He was my employee, my—friend."

Xiao Jie said painfully. Even now, he found it hard to believe that Han Luo had just died like that—that guy who was always cheerful, that loyal friend who insisted on following him even after the studio dissolved.

He still remembered what Han Luo had said when he stayed behind: [As long as I'm still an employee, the studio is still a studio, and you, the boss, are still the boss. But if I leave too, wouldn't you be all alone? Don't worry, Brother Xiao, I'll stick with you from now on. Let's make the studio big and strong together and create new glory.]

A sad smile touched the corner of Xiao Jie's mouth, but his memories were interrupted by the questioning voice across from him.

"Do you have anything to say regarding the cause of the deceased's death?"

Xiao Jie looked up at the officer, opening his mouth, yet he had no idea where to begin.

Because he died in the game, he died in reality? Just thinking about such a claim in his own mind made him realize how absurd it sounded; would the other party believe him? Would he be treated like a mental patient?

But besides saying that, how else could he explain it?

Should he just play dumb?

As he hesitated over how to speak, the door to the interrogation room suddenly opened.

A man wearing a Black Windbreaker walked in.

"Alright, Officer Li, from now on, I'll take over from here."

The officer in charge of the interrogation looked somewhat dissatisfied, but when the police chief's figure appeared behind the man and nodded at him, the officer could only walk out with a stiff face.

The door to the interrogation room was shut.

The man in the Black Windbreaker sat down directly across from Xiao Jie, picked up the file on the table, glanced at it casually, shook his head, and tossed it aside.

"Smoke?" he asked, pulling out a cigarette and offering it.

Xiao Jie politely shook his head.

The Black Windbreaker didn't mind, putting the cigarette back into the pack. He then leaned back against the chair, arms crossed, and stared at Xiao Jie's face for a full few minutes, as if trying to dig out hidden information from Xiao Jie's stiff, grief-stricken expression.

Just as Xiao Jie was starting to feel annoyed by the stare, the man in black suddenly sat up straight.

"Mr. Xiao, right? Let me guess, you guys were playing a game."

Xiao Jie's heart skipped a beat, and he jerked his head up. His intuition told him that the other party definitely knew the inside story of this matter.

"That's right, a game called Old Earth." He said each word clearly, also watching the other man's face, but the Black Windbreaker maintained a faint expression, revealing no emotion.

"Your friend died in the game?"

Xiao Jie was almost certain now; the other party really did know the secrets of this game.

"Yes. So, my friend's death is related to that game?" he asked, trying hard not to look like he already knew something.

The man wore a playful expression. "No one told you about the taboos of this game?"

"Taboos! What taboos?"

The Black Windbreaker didn't explain, instead continuing to ask: "Then where did your game activation codes come from?"

"An acquaintance gave them to us," Xiao Jie said, the image of Liu Qiang's smug, villainous face appearing in his mind.

"Your acquaintance didn't tell you what this game was about?"

"No, he only said this game was incredibly fun and would change our lives. In fact, he said those things to Han Luo; it was Han Luo who brought the activation codes back."

The man wore an "as I thought" expression. "It seems your acquaintance doesn't have a very good relationship with you guys. Buddy, you've been set up."

Xiao Jie had already figured as much on the way to the police station. Liu Qiang certainly didn't have good intentions when he gave them those two activation codes; he probably wanted both of them to die in the game.

In such a high-difficulty game, if players walked out of the village without knowing about the death penalty, they would likely die during their first exploration.

The only reason he survived was because he saw that Han Luo couldn't be resurrected after dying, so he ended his exploration early and luckily escaped disaster.

"Liu Qiang...!" Xiao Jie silently repeated the name, his expression twisting as he did so.

He gritted his teeth and asked: "What exactly is going on here?"

The man watched Xiao Jie's twisted face with his arms crossed, seemingly understanding something, and let out a sigh before beginning to explain.