Dark Room

After leaving the alley.

Bo Shuo suddenly slowed his steps, took a deep breath, and asked Xu Ji Mo in return, "Don't you feel that something's wrong?"

Xu Ji Mo surveyed the surroundings and quickly understood what Bo Shuo meant.

"We have indeed had it far too easy along the way."

It was more than just too easy.

They were heading toward the Village Chief's house, but along the way, not only had they encountered no obstacles, even the "villagers" on patrol had visibly grown fewer.

It was like playing a game on an insane difficulty setting, dying and reloading countless times, finally reaching the last level after tremendous effort, only to discover that the final level was Candy Crush. The absurdity was overwhelming.

(Ding, your Black Faction teammate Sang Yu has sent you a message. Do you wish to receive it?)

Something had happened.

Bo Shuo pressed his lips together slightly and swiftly confirmed that he would receive it.

There was only one brief word on it.

Help.

Help with what? Was she asking him to save her life?

Bo Shuo's heart sank.

Xu Ji Mo spoke thoughtfully. "Looks like something happened."

His senses were extremely sharp. He could smell the scent of blood drifting from nearby, and his entire nervous system seemed to leap excitedly.

Sure enough, after walking a few more steps, they saw several corpses sprawled across the snow.

They were villagers' bodies.

The corpses had already gone cold, their limbs covered in bluish-purple patches. They had been dead for more than two hours.

"Someone got to the Village Chief's house before us."

Crouching on the ground, Xu Ji Mo pulled aside one of the corpses, revealing a deep knife wound on its neck. "Killed in one strike."

Bo Shuo's gaze also fixed firmly on the wound, and an ominous feeling suddenly rose in his heart.

Wait, why did this knife wound look so familiar?

007 let out a ghostly sigh. "You're right, Host. This was also made by a scalpel. Judging by how perfectly the edges match, it should be the same model as your scalpel."

Someone who existed outside both teams, and could even imitate his scalpel.

A name instantly surfaced in his mind.

Bo Shuo said with certainty, "Xi Guici."

Xu Ji Mo froze when he heard the name, then said, "I've heard of him before."

He spoke in a regretful tone.

"A rising Newcomer. He advanced very quickly. Unfortunately, because he rejected every major guild's invitation and offended too many people, all the guilds joined forces to blacklist him."

Xu Ji Mo said this while staring meaningfully at Bo Shuo.

"There are only a limited number of spots for reaching the level of a High-Rank Examinee. Most of them are firmly held by the major guilds. For a lone wolf without any backing to dare defy them..."

Xu Ji Mo gave a contemptuous laugh and reached his conclusion.

"Like an egg striking a rock."

That was not entirely wrong. Power in Lost Paradise was severely divided, and the place was intensely exclusionary. It was exceptionally unfriendly toward examinees who fought alone.

"Is that so? What a pity."

Bo Shuo pretended not to understand the threat hidden in Xu Ji Mo's words. He calmly echoed him with a couple of remarks, and the indifference in his voice finally made Xu Ji Mo stop talking.

How utterly ungrateful.

Looking at the tall, slender figure of the young man ahead, Xu Ji Mo raised an eyebrow. Perhaps it was because this was his first time meeting someone like Bo Shuo, but he found it somewhat novel.

He still hated him, naturally—hated him enough to want to cut the young man before him into a thousand pieces.

But he could not help feeling a trace of interest stirred by Bo Shuo.

Now, he genuinely wanted to know what Bo Shuo was planning.

*

They returned once more to the familiar Village Chief's courtyard.

The night was heavy and dark. In the distance, several figures could vaguely be seen approaching. Their heavy footsteps crushed the snow on the ground, producing a creaking sound.

Their movements were unnervingly synchronized, as if they had undergone rigorous training. Even the slight arcs of their steps were nearly identical.

It was exceptionally strange.

(Used Emotion Points to construct one Concealment Cloak.)

Bo Shuo draped the item over himself, ignoring Xu Ji Mo beside him.

Xu Ji Mo accepted this quite readily. After all, their relationship could hardly be called close; it would not be excessive to call them enemies. Even if Bo Shuo gave him the item, he would still have to consider whether he dared use it.

Taking advantage of one of his contracted Ghost's Talent Skills, he concealed himself in the darkness.

"Thud, thud."

The footsteps grew heavier. The figures in the distance gradually approached, and only then did Bo Shuo see the faces of those arriving outside.

They were still villagers—or rather, villagers who had lost consciousness.

Their eyes were stretched wide, their gazes vacant. Their faces were deathly pale from excessive blood loss, and blood continually seeped from their necks, dyeing the entire snowfield crimson.

Their limbs then twisted into grotesque positions as they slowly walked forward, the joints making creaking skeletal noises.

The entire scene was bizarre beyond words. It was as though invisible threads were tightly wrapped around the villagers, manipulating them like puppets on strings.

Suddenly, Bo Shuo's pupils contracted. He saw a familiar figure trailing at the back of the group.

It was Sang Yu!

Her expression was slightly dazed. She clearly had not been completely controlled yet, but she continued walking, following directly behind the group.

Taking advantage of the group continuing forward, Bo Shuo reached out and grabbed Sang Yu by the shoulder, forcibly keeping her behind.

With her shoulder held fast, Sang Yu was like a dehydrated fish, struggling desperately. Her unfocused eyes remained fixed straight ahead.