I, a Reincarnation Stream Player — Chapter 13

Chapter 17: Playing for Keeps (Revised)

Whimpering, the scrape of nails across hard walls, and the sound of floors cracking under unbearable weight drifted into Yuki's ears on the night wind.

He leaned over and looked down. One glance was all it took for his heart to twist in pain.

While he had been recovering his strength, the true tide of corpses had formed. Below was nothing but a vast black mass, like a surging dark-red tide beneath the Crimson Moon.

They were climbing up the outer wall, gradually piling into a small mountain. They had already reached the third floor.

"Everyone, come here. We need to talk. We can't keep going like this." Li Dan clapped his hands and gathered everyone together. He swept his gaze over them, and disappointment surfaced on his face again.

Most of them wore blank expressions of terror, their cheek muscles twitching unconsciously as though they had been stripped of the ability to think. Only the black-haired boy had his head lowered in thought, though his trembling hands clutching the hem of his clothes gave him away.

"Talk my ass. Let's kill our way out. You and I together can handle the Living Corpses at this stage!" Thomas growled.

"Then what about us? You already promised me!" the beautiful office worker asked tearfully, looking pitiful enough to break anyone's heart.

"I never guaranteed you'd survive. Besides, you only licked it a few times. Do you really think that thing's gold-plated or something?" Thomas could not be bothered with her. He shot the other two a vicious glare. "Your deposit wasn't enough. And you—what are you acting coy for? Even if you stripped naked now, I wouldn't be interested."

"I'll give you a hundred million dollars when we get back!"

"What use is money to a dead man? How about this—based on the deposit you paid earlier, I'll chop your head off in one swing. Guaranteed painless. Better than getting chewed alive by Living Corpses. See? Aren't I trustworthy?"

Rich Brother immediately fell silent. His chubby cheeks trembled even harder, his expression both fierce and utterly servile. Meanwhile, the Housewife only coughed, looking thoroughly scared witless as she kept glancing at Li Dan.

Li Dan found it awkward to interfere in the infighting of that little group, so he quietly looked over at the other three.

The blonde girl's eyes remained clear and foolish, as though she had yet to grasp the situation. The black-haired girl was forcing herself to stay calm, doing her best to hide her helplessness. Only Yuki, the young man, furrowed his brow slightly, looking like he wanted to say something but did not dare.

"The Reincarnation Game doesn't care about experience. If you have something to say, just say it." Li Dan's tone was encouraging. For some reason, he had always paid special attention to this young man.

"Uh, I just wanted to remind everyone to hurry. The Living Corpses aren't the most deadly thing here." Yuki hesitantly raised a hand and pointed at his wrist.

The watch face was covered in cracks, but the hands inside were still turning.

"Go on."

"Um, it's seven-thirty in the morning now. The monsters showed up around four in the morning before. We don't have much time left."

The moment he finished speaking, only the sound of breathing remained on the rooftop. Everyone's faces turned a little paler.

Right. According to Hint 4, gifts would be delivered at intervals. The timing might not be fixed, but it had to be soon.

"Li Dan, do you want to die with these idiots?" Thomas sounded like someone had stuck a needle in his ass, his voice becoming even more urgent.

"I, this..."

"Mr. Thomas, with all due respect, breaking out won't help you either. As long as the Crimson Moon remains, you won't live much longer."

Who the hell asked you to speak?

Band Guy shot him a cold look. His beastlike aura was enough to leave others speechless. He practically pressed his face against Yuki's and roared, "So taking you idiots along will help!?"

Li Dan did not interfere. Hayasaka Ai's fingers rubbed against her axe, while Yuki, though terrified, stubbornly stared back at him.

"It will help. I found a clue while exploring the castle. Maybe we can survive."

Thomas did not look interested. Instead, his face was full of contempt. "You're making up stories just to stay alive? I've seen plenty of idiots like you."

"Yes, it's a story. But it's still better than nothing."

"Then let's hear it."

"Not now. What if you leave me behind?"

Thomas fell silent, merely staring at him with dangerous eyes. He saw the young man's cheeks trembling, his tongue practically tying itself in knots.

He was terrified. But was it real or not?

"In the game, everyone has a chance to create miracles. Maybe little brother Yuki noticed some blind spot. Don't forget, he's the only one who killed a monster." Li Dan firmly gripped Thomas's shoulder and patted it three times.

"Whether it's true or not, we won't know without trying. And as he said, even if the two of us break out, we'll only live a few more hours. That's meaningless."

That made sense. Thomas snorted and stepped back, but Yuki did not look relieved. This had been part of his plan from the start.

He glanced at the hand on Thomas's shoulder. When its owner turned away, he resumed his frightened expression, though now it carried the determination of a red-eyed gambler.

"Little brother Yuki, I promise we'll act together. Can you tell us now?"

"Then I'll take the liberty." Yuki gritted his teeth and pointed behind him. "First, we can't stay here. We need to get to the roof of that building."

"And then?"

"Then we find a way to jump from that building to the city wall. I need to verify that clue."

"Are you crazy? Cough, cough, cough! You won't stay in the highest place, and instead you want to go somewhere lower? Won't those Living Corpses climb right up after us?"

The moment he finished speaking, the silent Housewife spoke up. She screamed through her coughing. Surrounded by a tide of corpses, any normal person would instinctively stay at the highest point.

But this game defied common sense. It defied instinct.

Yuki knew perfectly well what they were thinking. Even Hayasaka Ai and Mai Sakurajima could not understand, but he did not explain.

"If we stay here, we're dead for sure. Don't forget how our Novice Guide survived."

Faced with the Novice Guide whose head had burst open, whether they charged forward recklessly or turned and ran, they had a chance of survival. Only standing there stupidly meant certain death.

Of course, that was not the same as their current situation, but in a metaphysical sense, the two seemed somehow connected.

"He's right. The worst choice in the Reincarnation Game is doing nothing. As long as we move, we can always find a chance to survive." Li Dan took over. As an old Player, he felt this more deeply than anyone. He no longer hesitated. "Yuki, we're putting our lives in your hands!"

It sounded like a lot of pressure, but what difference did it make whether they entrusted him or not? Staying here meant certain death anyway.

Yuki actually felt no pressure at all. Keeping a tense face, he nodded heavily. "I wouldn't joke around with my own life."

The group immediately got moving. Even those who did not want to leave the safe rooftop had no choice but to follow when everyone else left.

There was a gap of five or six meters between the two buildings. Looking down, all they could see was a black mass of "jam." Before anyone could lament, Li Dan pulled out something like a harpoon gun as though performing a magic trick.

"This is an Alienated Grade item, a Cable Gun. Its maximum range is two hundred meters. Hold the rope, and it will automatically slide you up or down."

As expected of an old Player. He had plenty of trump cards.

Yuki looked envious. He had long guessed that Li Dan had some kind of escape tool, but he had not expected it to be this convenient. Still, that was good—it could save them a lot of time.

Li Dan did not explain further. He pulled the trigger, driving the spike into the opposite rooftop. Then he gripped the rope with both hands. Jelly-like material seeped from between his fingers, sticking him to it.

He did not even need to exert any strength. He slid across at a steady pace, as if riding an escalator.

Seeing how safe it was, the others copied him and slid one after another to the opposite rooftop. Only Thomas did not use it. For a distance of five or six meters, he simply leaped across.

At least Limit-grade physical strength.

Yuki ran with his head down while secretly observing. He saw that after landing, most of them lightly shook their hands. Hanging from a rope was not comfortable. Only the sickly Housewife seemed completely unaffected. After landing, she simply followed the group forward.

The building was several meters lower, and the tide of corpses surged toward them by scent. The scraping of nails against the walls grew more distinct, like a death warrant that made everyone run even faster.

"Will this really work? At this rate, the corpse horde will climb up within a minute." Hayasaka Ai lowered her voice, sounding utterly uncertain.

At least they had been temporarily safe before. Now they were completely trapped in danger. Aside from the two old Players, no one else even had a chance to fight for their lives.

Yuki did not answer. He only glanced ahead. The city wall was several meters lower still. The stone stairs on the inner side meant the Living Corpses did not even need to climb the walls, but thanks to the height difference, he finally saw the scene beyond the wall.

Outside was a surging mass of Living Corpses, too many to count. They filled the space for a hundred meters, and beyond that sea of corpses—

There was a dense blood-red mist.

Chapter 18: Toward the Abyss! (Revised)

The mist rolled like blood, a massive wall stretching between heaven and earth. It blocked all vision; there was no way to see what lay beyond the Blood Mist.

But Yuki could clearly see Living Corpses emerging endlessly from the mist, their bodies gradually becoming distinct like lost travelers.

"Keep running! Don't stop!"

Li Dan ran at the front, fired the Cable Gun at the city wall, then gripped it with one hand and slid toward it with his gun in the other.

The reminder was completely unnecessary. Whether they believed Yuki or not, who would dare stop now?

Dense hands had already appeared along the roof's edge. The bloodthirsty Living Corpses were climbing up frantically. Including Thomas, everyone grabbed the rope and fled without looking back.

Yuki was at the rear. Feeling the stickiness transmitted through the rope, he quickly looked around.

Behind him, hundreds of Living Corpses had already climbed onto the rooftop. They charged with their arms swinging as though a cafeteria had just opened, and they were not much slower than adults.

Below, the tide of corpses was surging toward the city wall. He had no idea how they located them, but they were all gathering here.

It was a scene straight out of hell. Yet Yuki could no longer feel even a trace of fear. This step would either mean death or survival. At least he would not have to keep worrying anymore.

Tap.

His feet landed on the solid city wall. He was not falling very fast, so there was no need to roll to bleed off the momentum.

Yuki looked up and saw everyone staring at him expectantly. Their meaning could not have been clearer:

If this leads to a dead end, you die first.

How fucking realistic. But there was nothing to say in this situation.

At death's door, he no longer needed to pretend to tremble in fear. He looked unusually excited, even forgetting all about respecting age and seniority.

"We're going to the tower. Thomas, block the entrance."

"Don't order me around!" The man glared, lifted his greatsword, and turned away.

Standing on the city wall would only leave them attacked from both sides. Retreating into the tower was obviously safer, though their current situation could hardly be called "safe."

Wooo—

With the shriek of a chainsaw, countless sprays of blood burst beneath the greatsword. Thomas stood at the stairway turn, needing no swordsmanship at all. Everything flesh and bone was torn apart after passing through those serrated teeth.

Bang! Bang!

Gunfire rang out as well. The city wall was only a few meters wide. Li Dan pulled the trigger, every shot hitting its target, and the corpse horde fell in rows like wheat.

With the advantage of the terrain, they should be able to hold out for a while.

Yuki leaned out for a glance and suddenly felt reassured. He raised his cracked watch.

"It's already seven fifty-five."

"So what?" Hayasaka Ai gripped her battle axe. She had not let go of it the entire way.

Everywhere she looked was terrifying. There were Living Corpses everywhere, nothing but Living Corpses.

On the inner side, they climbed the stone stairs onto the wall and poured into the arrow tower from both sides. Even after Thomas severed the stairs, they still stepped on each other's heads, clawing their way upward.

Outside the wall, the alerted Living Corpses no longer needed to enter the city and take a detour. Like soldiers piling earth to storm a fortress, they gradually formed an enormous mountain of corpses. The arms at the front had already reached over the wall and were making the arrow tower sway with their pounding.

Everyone grabbed onto something fixed nearby, terrified of being shaken off. Judging from that horrifying sight, the instant someone fell, they would disappear without a trace.

Yuki also grabbed something like a flagpole and answered instinctively, "At eight in the morning, people become morning souls. Next year, we'll be the elite again."

"You're still in the mood to joke around?" Mai Sakurajima looked at him as though he were insane. This bastard's nerves are pretty damn strong.

"I'm not joking. There are many definitions of morning." Yuki muttered to himself, then suddenly turned around. "Brother Li, take your harpoon gun and fire outside!"

"Fire? Fire where???"

Li Dan looked over, seeming to realize something, but the intense battle had left his mind unable to keep up.

"Anywhere. Just fire it into the mist. Raise the angle a little."

If the angle was too low, it would slide straight into the corpse horde. Those Living Corpses probably would not refuse a gift delivered right to them.

Li Dan seemed to understand. He put away his gun.

"Thomas, cover us for a moment."

"Cover your mother!"

A furious curse came from inside the tower, accompanied by a bloodthirsty frenzy. But at this point, no one cared what he thought.

Pfft.

The harpoon shot out with a long cable trailing behind it. Yuki did not dare blink as he stared at the curving, extending rope, silently counting in his heart.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

After about five seconds, the cable suddenly went taut. Yuki quickly worked out the equation in his head, multiplying the time by the speed of the harpoon.

One hundred and eighty meters.