Chapter 125
Decisive, silent, efficient.
Bang!!
It slammed into the Clown's chest, and with the expanding shockwave, the clown swelled up for a moment before exploding like a tomato.
Blood and flesh flew everywhere, his chest and above were gone. He loved making human Bonsai, but Yuki smashed him into an ink painting with a single hammer blow.
[Player Clown has died; his identity was that of a cultist.]
Accompanied by 'bold strokes', a murmured voice rang in Yuki's ears. He did not relax or summarize, but only took a deep look at the large blob of 'tomato sauce' on the ground, wiped the blood and flesh off his face, and glanced at his player panel.
[Demon Heart (Weakness → Normal)]
The status finally upgraded, giving Jiecheng a sense of fulfillment, and he even forgot the terrifying energy drain he had just experienced.
Thanks, we're a perfect match. You're worth several players by yourself.
Yuki grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth. He hadn't just not lost this battle; he'd actually gained quite a bit.
He wasn't intoxicated by the power; the Clown's corpse had been blasted down to just two legs, so there was no need to search the body. He merely frowned slightly.
When I finally dealt with him, I had a strange feeling, as if his soul wasn't entirely pure, containing impurities.
"It's like the souls of two players. What kind of special ability is this, or is someone behind it?"
Yuki glanced at the scattered pieces of flesh on the ground, but didn't think much of it. Dead people wouldn't tell him the answers, and he wouldn't go easy on the Clown just because he seemed a little strange.
It was decided when the plan was drafted that this dangerous player had to die.
He dispersed the fog, put away the Ram's-Horn Hammer, picked up the Chainsaw Sword stuck in the ground again, and then swung his left hand to grip the hunting rifle.
Listen closely, and you can hear the faint 'tap tap tap' of footsteps. In less than ten minutes, the Clown's reinforcements have arrived.
You reacted quickly, but you were still a step too late.
Yuki raised his gun, tilting his head to listen for sounds and pinpoint their location through the thick fog of the cemetery, while simultaneously generating bullets from his soul energy.
Buzzing.
A metallic trembling sound rang out. After the Demon Heart returned to normal, both its quality and quantity improved significantly, and even the shotgun, which had undergone forging, could not withstand the strain.
Yuki ignored it, and after a few seconds, when both bullets were loaded, he immediately pulled the trigger.
Soul Shotgun - Double Shot.
Bang! Bang!
Gunfire the Roar through the cemetery, hundreds of bullets rained down, blasting everything in its path to dust.
The energy of a bullet begins to decay rapidly the moment it leaves the barrel. A shotgun has a range of less than fifty meters, but within that range, it is an absolute storm.
Amidst the howls of the ferocious dogs, the thick fog was swept away, and the sun finally shone in unrestrainedly. Yuki raised his gun, ignored the dogs with missing limbs, and focused his gaze on the distance.
A middle-aged man in a sharp black suit, with a square face and wearing sunglasses, stood at the entrance of the cemetery. He held a large black sword in front of him, releasing a black light screen that deflected bullets.
It was him.
Yuki solved another mystery: wasn't that middle-aged man, who looked like a yakuza boss, Black Sword?
He wasn't using energy related to the soul, so it seems I don't always get the better of him.
The Demon Eye revealed nothing unusual, Yuki became much more serious, able to feel the pressure emanating from his opponent.
A formidable rival.
The same word echoed in their minds.
Yuki lowered his gun, picked up his Chainsaw Sword, and began to slowly retreat. The dense fog that had been cleared away began to gather again, gradually blurring his figure.
That dagger-like gaze remained fixed on his face. Yuki's true appearance had been exposed, but he simply raised his hand and smiled as he lightly made a cut across his neck.
Come and chase me if you dare.
As he spoke, his body disappeared into the thick fog.
Black Sword's eyes twitched, but he remained completely unmoved, let alone angry.
Half a minute later, a series of rapid footsteps sounded, and the Blackback Shepherd rushed over.
"Why didn't you chase after them?!" He was somewhat exasperated, as the little cutie he had led the way had given him a whole bunch of gifts.
"The enemy situation is unclear. He didn't even exhaust himself killing the Clown. If we pursue him now, we'll only be dead." Black Sword spoke sparingly, then turned his head slightly. "And you, the intelligence was wrong, so I dared not act."
"Pinto wasn't lying, and he truly destroyed the dog's soul. Li Dan was the assassin last night!"
"But you said he used a knife, and the attack was accompanied by thick fog." Black Sword glanced at him sideways.
"Can't we just change the weapon?"
"No, with that level of attack power, you wouldn't have survived last night, and he has no reason to let you go."
The sheepdog opened its mouth slightly, but upon seeing the graveyard riddled with holes, it was completely speechless.
His intuition told him that the enemy was Li Dan, but he couldn't answer his companion's question.
Chainsaw Sword and a hunting rifle, especially the latter which is very powerful, combined with these two, would have blown through the defensive barriers last night.
Are you going to let me off the hook? Impossible. I definitely gave it my all last night, and there's no reason for me to be let off the hook.
"Damn it, let me sort this out. If this isn't Li Dan, then who else could it be?"
Due to an unexpected incident, Pinto vomited everything up.
Rick and Moon Bow are Undercover, and Li Dan is suspected to Judge. These three are a team. This information made him ecstatic, as it solved the biggest mystery of the dungeon. However, he never expected that there was another mystery behind the mystery.
Leaving aside Hua Yin, who died yesterday, and the Clown who just passed away, there are now 7 players left: two Undercover, two cultists, two ordinary people, and one Judge.
Pan Zi and Black Sword are ordinary people, Pinto is a believer, and the remaining four spots should have been easy to distinguish, but now they're all confused.
"If it's not Li Dan, then it can only be the Phantom Thief. Wait a minute, shouldn't the Phantom Thief be a cultist? How could he possibly kill the Clown?"
It is known that believers must not kill each other.
"I don't understand either. Maybe Li Dan is a believer, the Phantom Thief is the Judge, and then the person who dealt with you was Li Dan? Was that the Phantom Thief just now?" Black Sword rubbed his head and gave a half-hearted explanation.
"How is that possible? How could Li Dan, a religious follower, be mixed up with Undercover? Wait, it actually seems quite possible." Pan Zi was stunned. Acting was a basic skill for players; anything was possible.
Moreover, all his speculations are based on Pinto's intelligence. Currently, only Rick's identity can be confirmed. Moon Bow and Li Dan's identities are all hearsay. In extreme cases, it is even possible that Moon Bow is the Judge.
The dog's brain is a bit overloaded; what should have been a simple matter has become complicated.
Perhaps it's a multi-layered disguise; most likely, Li Dan wants to muddy the waters, but he can't convince himself otherwise.
If Li Dan was behind all of this, how did I survive last night if he has such fighting power?
"It's possible Pinto wasn't telling the truth. We should ask him properly," Black Sword thought of a possibility.
"Fine, I'll go find him and have a good talk with him." Pan Zi gritted his teeth, turned around, and ran quickly into the thick fog.
Black Sword didn't follow. He stared blankly at the direction Yuki had disappeared, his hands resting on his sword. He didn't care about the newcomer's life or death; his head was spinning.
The originally clear logic has become chaotic and confusing. Despite all the effort, the identities of Moon Bow, the Phantom Thief, and Li Dan are still uncertain, and one of their companions has also been lost.
But one thing he was very clear about:
The Clown was very strong, yet he still perished here, not even lasting until I arrived to help. Whoever did it must have been very strong.
"If all else fails," Black Sword turned his head to look in the direction of the church, a hint of hesitation appearing on his face.
"We have no choice but to take the risk."
Yuki didn't linger and left the scene of the crime directly. The strength of a player lies in their teamwork, and that Black Sword looked like something not to be trifled with.
I learned a lot.
Not only did 'Demon Heart' finally undergo a qualitative change, but the most dangerous player was also killed by himself. As for sneak attacks, they are completely unimportant. In this game, it's the idiots who play fair and square.
"The dungeon has also made significant progress."
The gathering had ended, and the streets were filled with townspeople. Yuki, who had changed his clothes, walked along the road, and people kept greeting him, but he naturally didn't hear them at all, as if he were deaf and blind.
First, the players' identities are basically clear: Phantom Thief, Pan Zi, and Black Sword. Two of them are 'ordinary people', and one is a 'cultist'. Moreover, the former is not part of their group.
If they were truly allies, they should have rushed to the Clown's aid when he was attacked; there's no reason for them to ignore him. Besides, the Phantom Thief hasn't shown himself at all from the beginning until now.
Secondly, the relative strength of the two sides at the player level has fundamentally changed. Originally it was 1.5 against 3, after all, Moon Bow and Rick together could only be considered half a veteran player, but now it has become 2 against 2, I am stronger, at least I can be considered as 1.5 people.
The guessing game is gradually coming to an end. Black Sword and Pan Zi teamed up, the Phantom Thief disappeared without a trace, and because of my actions, Pinto probably won't have a good ending.
Then, the three of us— Moon Bow, Rick, and I—were grouped together, and their only advantage was the Church, which held absolute dominance.
It wasn't easy, but the scales were gradually being tipped back. Thinking of this, Yuki suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Huh, why don't those two contact the church and use their influence to pressure me?"
Yuki suddenly discovered a blind spot. He didn't know what the cultist's hints were, but he could guess that they must be related to the church, and his thoughts began to wander.
Pan Zi is definitely not a believer. He didn't hesitate at all when the factory monster attacked him, and that priest could clearly recognize me as the Judge.
Could it be due to the special nature of cemeteries?
Yuki had just activated the Demon Eye, so the cemetery didn't have the faint, grayish hue of the town. Instead, it was incredibly pure, and didn't even look like a factory that was guarded.
Is it a problem with people? Or a problem with the land?
Yuki was hesitant when he spotted Moon Bow walking with the crowd. Wearing a motorcycle helmet, she was definitely the most eye-catching star in the crowd.
Forget it, I'm too lazy to think about this for now.
Yuki lifted his foot, looked at each face, and a firm belief flashed through his mind:
Anyway, they're all going to die.
Chapter Twenty: Disruption
[Player Pinto has died; his identity was that of a religious follower.]
The murmured voice echoed in the minds of every player. On the second floor of a small house, Yuki, who was listening to the girl's report, was stunned.
It was both unexpected and predictable.
Yuki deliberately made Pinto's situation unclear. Who can guarantee it wasn't a ruse? Anyway, the objective fact is:
His intelligence caused Black Sword and his team a huge disaster. Not only did they lose a powerful combatant, they also gained nothing. The players who launched the midnight raid and fought in the graveyard were clearly not the same person. So who the hell is Li Dan?
Veteran players got confused and lost the patience to dig deeper, thus losing the information's value; Pinto was just trash.
'Didn't they bring any contract items? Or did they run out of uses and didn't want to waste them on a useless player?'
This is not surprising. The bamboo slips for the Soil-Offering Contract are also limited, and torture is ineffective, since Pinto was telling the truth. So, let's just kill him and let the game tell us the answer.
"Alright, now that we've confirmed Pinto is a believer, it proves his information is at least true. Your identities can no longer be hidden."
The motorcycle helmet concealed her expression, but the girl was clearly very unwilling, so much so that she pursed her lips and cursed this insidious bastard.
That's incredibly cunning. They used a scheme against each other, borrowed someone else's knife to kill, and shifted the blame eastward. They used one trick after another as easily as eating and drinking.
"Don't be too happy yet, they also know that Li Dan is the Judge!"
"Ha, who is Li Dan? The assassin from last night? Or the hunter from just now?" Yuki couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head to himself. "Why can't I be the Phantom Thief? Anyway, he's never shown himself."
'Li Dan' is characterized by his gas mask and military overcoat; anyone can wear those. Players are identified by their skills and items, and there's a huge difference between an assassin and a hunter.
You...
The girl was speechless. If Yuki n't killed the Clown, he might even have been a cultist, putting on an act all along.
"Are you trying to create the illusion that we're a team of four?"
"That's right, they complicate simple issues, and they'll fill in the gaps in their own minds when things don't make sense."
"Aren't you afraid the Phantom Thief will prove his innocence?"
"If he wanted to be on the opposite side of us, he would have done it long ago. His position must be very delicate; he can neither be an enemy of the church nor follow the instructions."
Yuki's words confused the girl, but she couldn't refute them. The players had already fought two rounds, but this person still hadn't shown up and they didn't know where he was hiding.
If the game hadn't given a notification when the player died, she would have thought the Phantom Thief had died silently.
"So, according to you, he's very likely a 'cultist'?" Moon Bow asked. Having witnessed the strange gathering firsthand, she suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for the player who drew the 'cultist' card.
That baptism was definitely suspicious; no normal person would have a good impression of the Yadu Town Church.
"There's a certain probability. No need to rush, he should be coming to us soon." Yuki was full of confidence; he had seen those ghostly things with his own eyes.