Chapter 117
The yellow dog, which had been leaping and bounding rapidly, slowed down in my eyes, and I could finally see its trajectory clearly. It was indeed the one that charged ahead and started the fight. Even though it was at the back, it was the first one to rush in front of me.
I've been waiting for you for ages!
Just like hitting a baseball, Yuki head-on, only to find that the dog's reaction speed was extremely fast and it was also very cunning, actually ducking its head in mid-air.
Swish--
A pair of dog ears, severed, brushed past Yuki, their mouths gaping open as if in a smile.
But its smile quickly faded. Even with the Tibetan mastiff's head right in front of it, Yuki didn't dodge. He stomped his left foot hard, turned around, and reached out.
Click.
The floorboards warped up, looking like toothpicks to the Tibetan Mastiff, but thanks to magic, these toothpicks became incredibly hard and stuck in its mouth.
Yuki grabbed the Labrador's tail and swung it with overwhelming force, causing it to collide with the Belgian Malinois that had lunged at his chest.
Bang!
The black dog's attack was incredibly powerful, Piercer the fog and Yuki to take a half-step back. The yellow dog in his hand wasn't so lucky; a crisp sound of bones breaking could be heard.
'Each person strengthens one direction, then they use coordination to kill?'
It's still not quite there!
Click.
The floorboards were chewed to pieces, but before the Tibetan Mastiff shut its mouth, Yuki had already retreated out of the attack range, throwing the yellow dog inside as well.
The Tibetan Mastiff's massive jaws held half a dog's carcass, its mouth splattered with blood like it had eaten a dragon fruit, but this ferocious and terrifying appearance did not frighten Yuki.
Seeing the Tibetan mastiff open its mouth to bite, he stepped forward and swung his elbow.
"Shut up."
Bang--
The Tibetan mastiff, weighing over 100 kilograms, took off from the spot, its entire head plunging into the ceiling, its body still swaying, as a bright blade sliced across its waist.
Splash!
A large chunk of internal organs fell out. Yuki turned his head again and saw the black Belgian Malinois that had been knocked away earlier running away with its tail between its legs.
It was fast and small, leaping out of the house in a few bounds, but it didn't see that Yuki's eyes were gleaming faintly.
Yeah, good riddance.
In the pitch-black night, the Malinois that had just attacked him and been marked as the enemy emitted a faint glow, leaving fluorescent footprints on the ground.
Hawkeye, activate.
Yuki deliberately let it run away. What's the point of just killing a few wild dogs? He wanted to follow the tracks to find its owner.
The Malinois had to escape back to its master, because even the souls of those who had just been killed couldn't escape. Now that it had gathered intelligence, what was the point of not reporting it to its master?
"Rick, make some noise and lure the patrol west of the city."
"Moon Bow, hide upstairs. Ignore the townspeople who come to check, and then you can move around freely."
Yuki relinquished all his Transcendental Grade powers, activated his Conceal Presence, wrapped his cloak tightly around himself, and chased after them like a blurry shadow. Even without skills like 'parkour,' his formidable physical abilities still kept him well behind.
By the time the townspeople heard the commotion and came running, Yuki had already slipped through the alleyways. Through his 'Undercover' activities, he had become familiar with the town's defenses and had even taken down quite a few eyes.
The Belgian Malinois, taking advantage of its size, squeezed through holes and jumped, glancing back and sniffing its surroundings.
Seeing nothing and smelling nothing, we jumped over a low wall and finally slowed down.
Are they looking for their owner?
Yuki hid in the darkness, seeing the moving light through the wall. Once it was far away, he crouched on the wall and peered out.
A huge, square building, resembling a factory, stood across the street. The street was deserted, and its location on the edge of town made it unusually quiet.
So that's what it was.
Yuki had noticed this building long ago; like the market, it was one of the key areas to be explored next.
'That's true, they only said we weren't allowed to travel at night, they didn't say we had to hide in townspeople's houses.'
He watched the departing steed, then glanced back at himself. There were no enemies, no companions; to be honest, it felt a little strange.
Alright, one person is more flexible; I can fight when I want to fight, and run away when I want to run away.
Yuki didn't feel lonely. The costume's duration was limited, and he didn't want to waste time, so he simply climbed over the wall and silently entered the factory.
As soon as he entered the door, his nose twitched as he looked at the completely dark building.
The smell of blood is so strong.
Chapter Twelve: You Dare to Kill My Dog!? (5K)
The Three Dogs can't even defeat a god, Yuki; at best, they can only bully Moon Bow or newbies.
Pan Zi never expected that just three dogs would kill the other party; this was just a test.
"Yes, we've confirmed that the police officer is an 'Undercover.' The two players following him didn't realize it, but there's a high probability that one of them is the 'Judge.'"
The man sat atop a pile of boxes, holding what appeared to be a telephone, listening to a male voice on the other end.
"Looks like they were very careful. Your fishing plan failed?"
"Not really. We did manage to extract some information, and we also got a clear picture of their progress in the dungeon. At least we figured out hint 1 and hint 3." Pan Zi first tried to save face, then gripped the phone tightly, his expression turning serious.
"And there was one guy inside who was really good with a knife; he took down the dog in no time. Luckily, I got out of there quickly, or all three dogs would have been lost."
"With a knife? How strong is it?" The person on the other end of the phone showed some interest.
"Damn it, I told you it was strong enough to kill even souls. Dog's soul was completely annihilated. Damn it, how much time did I spend raising 'Blackback' and 'Lele'?"
His specializations are taming and strengthening. He goes all in on all specialization points, and each dog has a specific strengthening direction. If he gets killed, it doesn't matter; he can just find another dog, put its soul into it, and it will be fully revived.
Who knew the other party would even obliterate his soul, essentially giving it away for nothing?
"Don't get agitated, you have many dogs."
"But every dog is my precious!" Pan Zi gasped for breath, rubbing his hair in frustration. "Forget it, when Xiao Ma comes back, it'll remember the other dog's scent and will definitely recognize it next time we meet."
Just then, the Belgian Malinois returned, whimpering as if it had suffered some grievance. Pan Zi stroked the dog's head while casually opening the box next to him and throwing something out.
The Malinois immediately grabbed it with great joy, only to realize that it was a twisted human hand.
The bones are very fine, but there's plenty of meat, making it perfect for slow simmering over low heat.
"I'm looking for that player who's disappeared. I'll have the results soon. Be careful, don't get caught in a trap." The man's voice on the phone sounded worried.
"I know, but the dogs need to eat. I can't let them bite the townspeople, can I?" Pan Zi helplessly, thinking to himself that he didn't want to stay in this godforsaken place either.
The first night was a test, to try and find out the identity of each player. Now it has been confirmed that the newcomer is an 'Undercover'.
He and I are 'ordinary people', the Clown is a 'follower', which means there are two other followers, an Undercover, and the Judge.
"Don't worry, why do you think I'm hiding here?" Pan Zi lit a cigarette, endured an epic inhalation, stomped it out fiercely, and looked into the depths of the factory:
"It would be interesting if one of those two were the Judge."
Yuki entered the factory and found that it was indeed different from other places; there wasn't a single resident in sight.
The exhaust fan whirred, but it couldn't dispel the strong smell of blood. He raised an eyebrow slightly as he looked at each room.
"A slaughterhouse?"
He knew the source of the food, but according to Rick, the townspeople were eating people, which was strange.
If humans are two-legged sheep, then where did humans come from?
Yuki opened some rooms but didn't see any prison or anything like that. Eating residents? There were no missing persons cases in the town. Eating outsiders? These players would be too many to gobble up.
There must be something strange here, and the player who controls the dogs is also hiding here.
Yuki walked slowly down the corridor, keeping an eye on the time. After all, once the sun rose, he would find it hard to escape the enthusiastic residents, but he showed no sign of backing down.
On the first night, we must gather enough intelligence. We have already figured out hint one and hint three. We are still missing three 'cultists' and two 'ordinary people' identities among the players.
This building should belong to a church; is the person with the dog a church member?
Yuki felt the probability was extremely high, so he treated this place as a den of dragons and tigers. As he walked, he realized that he was indeed different from before.
Let alone the Bloodthirsty Red Moon, he wouldn't personally take any risks, even in the Demon Hospital, preferring to adopt a more cautious approach. Now, however, he's willing to pursue efficiency.
'The composure of the strong? No, confidence is a better word; they want to proactively seize benefits.'
Yuki slowly smiled, walked to the middle of the building, looked at the stairs going up and down, and glanced at the architectural design drawings.
With two elevators and three evacuation staircases, the building is quite complex.
From Hawkeye perspective, the disappearing dog paw prints followed the stairs downwards, while the stench of blood emanating from the ground grew even stronger.
It seems they've gone underground.
Yuki hesitated for a moment. Logically speaking, the other party shouldn't know that he could secretly follow, or rather, that Malinois had to be retrieved, leaving no room for hesitation.
But the other side was also clever, knowing how to use the dungeon as cover. Yuki didn't even need to try; based on experience alone, he knew that the underground was definitely not simple.
Go? Return?
Two seconds later, he had silently stepped down the stairs into the underground, and was now qualified to take the risk.
The temperature was slowly dropping, the explosion-proof lights emitted a dim yellow glow, and not a single person could be seen. All that could be heard was the sound of the ventilation fan, and the nauseating smell of blood had reached its peak.
The long, narrow corridor was lined with densely packed rooms on both sides. Pushing open the iron doors made it look like a freezer, and Yuki wasn't in a hurry to find the players.
The underground area is quite large; the 'food' stored here is enough for the town, but the problem remains—
Where did the raw materials come from? I didn't see any passageways for transporting meat.
Could it have appeared out of thin air? No, while the Reincarnation Game is simple and brutal, it's not mindless; it possesses a rigorous logic.
The deeper we went, the slower our pace became. After walking for more than ten minutes, the densely packed cold storage suddenly changed, and there was another staircase leading down in front of us.
There's another layer, well, judging from the direction of the ventilation ducts, that should be the bottom layer.
Yuki placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, slowly making his way down the stairs, and peered out from around the corner, looking left and right.
It was another corridor, with doorsless rooms on both sides. These rooms were large and filled with packed white styrofoam boxes. In the shadows at the end of the corridor on the left, something was lying there.
With its ears perked up, it looked like a German Shepherd. As a favorite breed of the military and police, it was very responsible and sat in front, watching the corridor.
Experienced players should be careful.
Yuki wasn't surprised. If someone got so close that you didn't notice, it would be like a trap, and an ordinary person wouldn't be able to move forward. But Hawkeye's vision locked onto the 'enemy'.
Using a feint to the east while attacking in the west—that's very insidious.
Through the wall, he saw the Belgian Malinois in the third-to-last room on the right, its movements resembling those of someone eating.
When the Belgian Malinois raised its head, as if to retrieve something, Yuki already understood.
He is there.
Clang--
He drew his long sword and suddenly charged forward, startling the Blackback so much that it jumped up in fright.
Woof woof woof.
After a burst of barking, he didn't pounce to bite, but instead took off running. Yuki gave chase, but after only two steps, he stopped abruptly and turned to run to the right side of the corridor.
Trying to outsmart me, huh?
Without Hawkeye, he would definitely have chased after them, circling around in this complex building, and by the time he realized what was happening, they would have already escaped.
As soon as the dog ran, Yuki gave chase, but then he turned around and launched a surprise attack.
Soul energy is released.
Enhanced mode activated.
The combination of these two states made Yuki extremely fast; in almost a second, he rushed across the corridor, sword in hand, and stepped into the warehouse.
A man sat atop a mountain of styrofoam boxes, hastily pulling a black cloak over his shoulders. His face was covered by an iron mask, but a section of his clothing was still visible around his waist.
A brightly colored shirt.
Instant disguise is an essential skill for every veteran player, but Yuki arrived too quickly and was completely unaffected by any feints, ultimately falling a step too late.