Return

"Of course it's for you!" Yuan Yao was the first to speak. "If it weren't for you, forget catching the Head Chopper Demon—we might not even have cleared the dungeon."

"And we have extra prizes now, too. I have absolutely no objections to giving them to you."

Huang Junjie and Abel nodded in turn. Liu Yuanyuan did so reluctantly.

"This vote is public. Every player can see who everyone else voted for, and the majority rules." Xu Huo held out his hand, signaling Huang Junjie to return the lighter.

Huang Junjie handed it over without hesitation, along with Wang Wei's item.

Wang Wei had died by his hand, so he should have inherited his belongings. In anyone else's hands, this string was nothing more than a tough guitar string.

What Xu Huo had tossed Huang Junjie wasn't the "Arsonist's Tool," but the tattooed man's lighter. After putting away the guitar string, he lit a cigarette and said, "Don't rush. One at a time. Even if one or two people drop out, the voting system still works."

Liu Yuanyuan frowned. "Aren't you being a little too domineering? If we don't vote for you, you'll kill us?"

"I'm just giving you a reminder," Xu Huo said. "This is one of the game's rules, too. We may get plenty more chances to vote later."

Huang Junjie and the other two shook their heads. How often could you expect to kill a dungeon BOSS and get its item?

"Brother Xu, don't bother with her. She's no good person. We can just vote for you," Yuan Yao said.

In the end, all five of them voted for Xu Huo, giving him the right to choose the exchange reward.

Under everyone's gaze, Liu Yuanyuan said bluntly, "I don't mind voting for you, but that stun baton has to go to me."

"You already took Li Zheng's and Wan Zhikang's items, and now you want Wang Wei's, too? You weren't the one who killed him!" Yuan Yao said, displeased.

"I still helped," Liu Yuanyuan said, crossing her arms. "I deserve an item."

Huang Junjie and Abel were also unhappy, but Xu Huo said, "You can have it. But you won't get a share of the item the Mountain Villa owner gave us. You can only take ten thousand out of the hundred thousand White Cash."

Liu Yuanyuan's eyes darted around twice. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Fine!"

After they finished negotiating, several stacks of White Cash and a seal carved with a skull appeared on the ground.

Xu Huo picked up the seal:

[Cursed Seal (Note: A curse that can extend its greetings to anyone's immediate family. Find the right opportunity to stamp the design on someone. At least three people, including the person stamped, will have their strength in some aspect weakened, and the curse won't disappear until the design does. Please note that the direction and intensity of the curse depend on the circumstances. Do not use it on a stronger player, or it will become your curse. Ah, what a cursed seal this is.)]

Xu Huo smiled after reading it and passed the seal to Huang Junjie and the others.

"That's a pretty useless item. The stun baton was better."

Liu Yuanyuan hadn't seen the description, but when she saw their disdainful expressions, she immediately said, "I'm not trading."

Xu Huo took the Queen's Mirror and Fast Talk Notebook from Wang Wei's belongings. "You can choose one each from these two items and the seal."

The Queen's Mirror was a portable compact, about the size of a hand. If you said "You're the most beautiful" or "You're the most handsome" to it, anyone who saw you for the next three minutes would automatically see you through a flattering filter.

The Fast Talk Notebook was a shorthand notepad. It could automatically record everything everyone within ten meters said during the five minutes after it was opened.

"You're being way too generous," Huang Junjie said, reluctant to take advantage of him. "We didn't do much, and we already owe you. Now we're taking your items, too... Why don't you take my share of the money instead?"

Yuan Yao hurriedly nodded. He chose the mirror.

"Then I'll take five thousand," Xu Huo said, accepting the White Cash the three of them gave him.

The Cursed Seal was unclaimed, so Abel could put it straight into his inventory. The other three items belonged to Xu Huo for the time being. Though they were in different people's hands, no one else could claim them unless he chose to discard them.

As soon as Liu Yuanyuan got her item, she eagerly took out her Return Ticket and vanished in front of them.

"Is it all right to let her go like that?" Huang Junjie asked. "She's a Cannibal Player."

"The game is over," Xu Huo said. "Relax."

Huang Junjie let out a long breath. "Right. Players aren't obligated to deal with Cannibal Players."

"Xu Huo, I hope we run into each other again." He shook Xu Huo's hand solemnly, then left the dungeon.

Abel walked over with the seal, grinning. "I'll give it a try."

Xu Huo raised an eyebrow and held out his hand.

"I curse you to have less and less bad luck." Abel stamped the back of his hand, then disappeared.

"Brother Xu, you have to remember me," Yuan Yao said earnestly, gripping his hand. "I'm Cheng Xu Yuan Ni Bu Dong. Remember that."

Xu Huo smiled and nodded. After Yuan Yao left, he examined his Return Ticket carefully.

It was made of the same material as a regular train ticket, but it had only a string of numbers on it: E27-014-A07.

He had no leads for now, so he put the ticket away and took a flashlight down to the little wooden cabin at the foot of the mountain. He dug up the woman he'd buried earlier, turned her coat inside out, and scratched a few words into the lining with her own fingernail. Then he buried her again.

He brushed the dirt off his pants, went to the orchard up ahead, snapped off a branch of plums, and slung it over his shoulder. Only then did he use the Return Ticket.

"Beep, beep!" After a brief blank, the sound of a car horn rang in Xu Huo's ears. When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in an alley. Beneath the bright lights was a familiar street—he was back in the back alley of the inn where he'd stayed before.

His phone showed 10:30 p.m. Nightlife was just getting started at this hour.

He was about to leave when his foot suddenly stepped on something that was neither soft nor hard. He picked it up and saw that it was a stuffed wallet.

So the curse could be used like this, too?

Xu Huo glanced at the black skull on the back of his hand, put the wallet away, and went into the inn.

Actors often came and went here, so the front desk wasn't surprised by his appearance. When he explained that he was there to retrieve his things, the clerk said:

"You probably haven't heard, but all sorts of strange things have been happening around here lately. Quite a few people have died. Then you suddenly disappeared, so we had to call the police. The police took your wallets and ID documents. You'll have to pick them up at the station."

"You were filming, right? Look at you, causing us all this trouble. Why don't you stay here for the night, on the house?"

Xu Huo thanked the clerk and left the inn, finding another hotel to stay at.

After closing the door and washing up, he opened the game panel:

[Congratulations, Player Passerby A, on successfully clearing the "Head Chopper Demon" dungeon. Your performance during this dungeon was rated B-level: Outstanding. You have one chance to choose an exchange reward. You may choose one instance of Ability development access or one item. Would you like to make your choice now?]