Yours Truly, a Reincarnation Stream Player

At ten o'clock, the bell rang. The Crimson Moon hung high overhead. On the roof of Building B, she saw Li Dan standing at attention, nodding approvingly at her.

He still had the same dependable, generous air of a senior. But Mai knew that look from a moment ago—and hated it.

That gaze had been full of possessiveness.

Shit, I nearly died.

Yuki lay flat on the ground, staring blankly at the ceiling. His long blade had rolled away nearby, but he didn't even have the strength to reach for it.

It hurt. Damn, it hurt. His whole body was in agony.

He felt like a rag doll that had been pulled apart. His head throbbed as though it were about to split open, and his back burned fiercely. When he turned his head slightly, he saw several golden bullet casings lodged in the armor plate of his vest.

The shock wave from the explosion had thrown him into the air. He'd then tumbled down the slope and landed here. A steel plate had even embedded itself in the wall right beside his head.

For a moment, Yuki didn't know what to say. Just as he felt his soul about to leave his body and take flight, he saw a pair of legs above him. The person crouched down, arms wrapped around her knees, and golden hair brushed his cheek.

"Congratulations, you survived." Hayasaka Ai crouched beside Yuki, looked over his battered body, and clicked her tongue. "Don't do anything that reckless next time. You nearly died. Don't worry, none of your injuries are fatal."

"Do you think I wanted to? Nobody can be relied on in this game. If you want to stay alive, you have to fight for it yourself..."

"Wrong. We can rely on you."

Hayasaka Ai suddenly cut him off. For an instant, her expression was utterly serious, making Yuki raise an eyebrow. Then he saw her grinning face, and her tone turned exaggerated.

"You were so cool just now. I was totally smitten."

Uh, guess my eyes were playing tricks on me. There was no way Hayasaka Ai would say something so vulnerable with a serious expression.

Yuki's eye twitched, but he understood that whenever Hayasaka Ai went into her gyaru mode, someone else was bound to be nearby.

Sure enough, the slightly chubby Rich Brother Robert hurried over, excitement written all over his fair face. "That was amazing! You made it out alive in a situation like that. It was crazier than a movie. If you get the chance, teach your little brother how you did it."

Yuki said it had just been luck, but he understood why this rich guy was acting so deferential. Anyone who'd survived this long couldn't be stupid. Robert was getting ready to cling to a strong ally.

Veteran or newbie, what mattered was whether you were impressive or not.

"You couldn't learn it. If I hadn't used my trait and happened to draw the concept 'Speed Shoes,' I'd have died in that building."

"Cough, cough, cough. Doesn't your trait only let you draw once a day?" the chubby man named Robert asked, covering his mouth as he coughed.

Yuki raised an eyebrow discreetly and patted him on the shoulder with a solemn air. "The Crimson Moon has risen. Doesn't that mean it's the second day?"

Hayasaka Ai and Rich Brother turned to look outside the slope. Blood-red moonlight was spreading across the area.

"Oh, I see. I thought your trait had a twenty-four-hour cooldown," Rich Brother said, immediately catching on.

Nobody could say for sure whether the count started at moonrise or moonset. His own trait, for example, was a pain to calculate.

"The voice said 'day,' so it probably depends on the dungeon's setting. In Eternal Night Castle, I doubt you'd get to use it even once." Yuki sighed, then suddenly looked up and asked, "You're pretty observant. How did you not notice that before?"

"I graduated from Oxford University..." He cut himself off halfway, quickly covered his mouth, and coughed violently. "Cough, cough, cough. That's not important. Anyway, I'm not stupid. I can be useful."

Yuki and Hayasaka Ai exchanged a look, both of them puzzled. He stepped over and patted Robert on the back. "Are you feeling all right? Why does it seem like you caught something from that housewife?"

"He's just exhausted. He doesn't exercise much, so it's normal for him to come down with something. Don't worry. As long as we make it out of the dungeon alive, even a terminal illness will disappear in an instant."

The three of them turned around together and saw Li Dan walking in from the slope, with Mai Sakurajima not far behind him. His shoulder was bandaged, and blood had soaked through his clothes.

Just like in Infinite Terror: as soon as you returned, everything would be restored to normal?

The thought flashed through Yuki's mind. Li Dan might have been trying to change the subject, but the information he'd offered was useful, so Yuki let it go and put on a concerned expression.

"Brother Li, you're injured?"

"It's a minor wound. I prepared some clotting medicine in advance." Li Dan stopped walking. He didn't look at Mai Sakurajima, who had hurried back to Hayasaka Ai's side. Instead, he wore an admiring expression. "Yuki, this is the second time you've turned the tide, and you still barely got hurt. I don't know if 'miracle' is the right word for it."

He'd turned the tide and completely stolen the spotlight from a veteran player like Li Dan, so there was a hint of sourness in his tone.

But from beginning to end, you'd let me take center stage. You never offered any crucial suggestions, yet you weren't afraid of being dragged down by my mistakes.

Was that foolishness, or did you have some trump card that guaranteed your safety?

His injury was timed perfectly, leaving Yuki no grounds to accuse him of hiding his whereabouts beforehand. But it only took a little thought to understand: even if Yuki's plan had gone wrong, Li Dan had plenty of time to escape after pulling out of the fight early.

Should I scratch my head bashfully, or show off how much I've grown?

Yuki hesitated for a moment, then spoke with spirited confidence. "I want everyone to make it out alive. And I've realized this game suits me."

He seemed completely at ease, even a little proud, as if it were nothing. Then he changed tack halfway through.

"But you don't need to be modest. A firefight in open terrain and an ambush in a complex building aren't the same thing at all."

He'd kept his youthful drive without taking credit for everything. Had I really stumbled onto a treasure?

By all rights, this was the moment to ask Yuki to team up for the long haul and tackle dungeons together. Li Dan narrowed his eyes, hesitated for a moment, then finally dismissed the idea.

Confirmed. There was definitely something wrong with this dungeon. The turning point came after they left the castle and split up.

A veteran player's greatest strengths were experience and an understanding of the game. It wasn't hard to spot the problem after comparing this dungeon with previous ones.

The difficulty was too high, and the rewards were too meager. He'd killed so many Living Corpses and police officers, yet hadn't received a single enhancement point. Mai had cleared out the enemies in an entire building and only gotten one enhancement point?

'The process of clearing a dungeon is a process of constant growth. If the difficulty keeps rising without any growth, doesn't that mean it's trying to kill us?'

He looked over the three of them, passing over Hayasaka and pausing briefly on Mai. Her trait was useful, but not enough to affect the difficulty. That left only one answer:

Yuki. This guy was like a cockroach that refused to die, repeatedly surviving impossible situations. And why did Li Dan always feel murderous intent when he saw him?

Li Dan didn't know. He couldn't understand what a player would have to do to make the Reincarnation Game's difficulty mutate. But he knew that if he wanted to survive, he had to eliminate every potential threat.

Wait a little longer. Give him one more chance and see if he knew what was good for him.

"Brother Li?" Yuki's heart tightened when he saw Li Dan's impassive gaze.

"Little Brother Yuki, don't forget you're a rookie. You've been in the Reincarnation Game for less than twenty-four hours. Ha, that's the difference between a genius and an ordinary person."

His tone was full of praise and self-deprecation. A truly gifted young man might have been encouraged by it, but Yuki felt no pride. He'd already begun analyzing every word.

There was plenty of acknowledgment, but one crucial thing was missing: an invitation to join him. Any veteran would feel close to me after what I've shown, especially with his persona as a kindly elder.

Yuki sensed several crucial problems but didn't show it. After recovering a little strength, he pushed himself up with his hands on his knees.

"There's still a lot I could learn from you. Besides, I have no idea what's coming next."

He faced the slope and could see the Crimson Moon in the night sky. After their brief rest, the red moonlight spilling in once again closed its grip around everyone's throats, reminding them of one cruel truth:

Whether they survived by luck or grew stronger, whether they felt proud or self-deprecating,

the second night had begun.

Chapter 33: You Know a Face, Not a Heart (Revised)

Crimson moonlight fell across his face. Outside, all was silent.

Like a groundhog, Yuki cautiously poked his head out—and saw a bizarre sight.

A shattered building had collapsed into a pile of rubble in the middle of the road. A crashed helicopter burned like a torch, lighting up a wide area. But aside from that—

Nothing?

Yuki couldn't see a single enemy. The earlier explosion hadn't killed everyone. There had still been several helicopters circling overhead, and a few assault team members had even made their way into Building B. But now, not a single living thing was moving.

It was bizarre, as though they really had just been watching a movie. But Yuki wasn't as shocked as the others beside him.

Before the Crimson Moon had risen, he'd already considered several possibilities. The enemies vanishing out of nowhere had been one of them.

'The enemies during the day and at night aren't the same kind. Even if the core definition of a Living Corpse stays the same, there's a huge difference between the two periods.'

'In short, under the Crimson Moon, it's more like a fantasy world, while daytime leans more toward science and technology?'

Yuki's lips moved, but for a moment he didn't know what to say. This game really was Chaos Grade. Even its rules were so jumbled and incoherent that it was hard to make predictions based on common sense.

"Looks like Hint Five depends on the situation. Phew. It'd be a problem if we couldn't kill those Living Corpses." Li Dan let out a long breath and glanced at the others, who were staring in confusion. "You'll get used to it. Even within one dungeon, there can be huge differences. In my dungeon before last, we had to solve puzzles on odd-numbered days, then fight for our lives on even-numbered days. If it hadn't been for a rookie who figured out..."

He trailed off, but Yuki already understood what he'd been about to say.

If someone hadn't found the pattern, the players would all have died in a dungeon where the challenges were completely different.

"Sounds like whoever figured it out was pretty smart. Too bad I never met him," Yuki said casually, then saw Li Dan's expression change slightly.

Li Dan seemed wary and reluctant to say more. He only muttered, "Every dungeon is different. That doesn't give us much to go on. We should focus on what's in front of us."

"Right. If what you're saying is true, we're still in a tough spot. The Crimson Moon will set at eight tomorrow morning. Even if we make it through tonight, what do we do tomorrow?"

Yuki's voice trembled a little. It wasn't all an act. Going by their earlier theory, moonrise to moonset counted as one day. After surviving tonight, they'd still have to make it through a full day and another final night lasting twelve hours.

"You're talking about our progress?" Li Dan turned his head quickly, his cheek twitching involuntarily.

They didn't know what the second night would bring yet, but the last wave had already been a combination of helicopters and SWAT. There was basically nowhere to hide in the Port District.

"Yes. We'll probably have to fight head-on during the next day. At the very least, there's no way we can hide quietly for those twelve hours. By then..."

By then, it wouldn't be SWAT anymore, would it? Given how Killing Spree had driven the progress tonight, maybe mechanized police would show up when the sun rose tomorrow, followed by drones, and finally a Gundam?

The night wind was cold. Yuki's speculation sent a shiver through everyone. Forget the new players—even Li Dan had no hope of surviving.

"Brother Li, this isn't right!" the chubby man, dressed head to toe in luxury brands, shouted. When everyone turned toward him, his face flushed red. "Even with you protecting us, we're still doomed. Is this damn game messing with me? Or does it just want us to be cannon fodder?"

His visibly distraught words struck a chord with the others, bringing a problem everyone had overlooked into the open: the difficulty was absurdly high. Even with Yuki repeatedly turning the tide, they could barely keep up.

First they'd been surrounded by countless Living Corpses in the castle. They'd risked their lives to break out, then spent the whole day being hunted. They hadn't even had a chance to catch their breath before the second night arrived.

Li Dan had been waiting for someone to raise this question. He pretended to hesitate before saying, "It's true that the Reincarnation Game has a high death rate, but players aren't just cannon fodder. I started as a newbie too. If everyone died, where would the veterans come from?"

"Because there's no set difficulty?" Yuki asked.

"Of course there is. If you find the pattern, a dungeon can become very easy. Once, we cleared one without even lifting a finger. But the difficulty is flexible. A lot of factors can affect it."

Li Dan's voice grew weaker and weaker, until he sounded like he was talking to himself. His eyes shifted around before sweeping over everyone.

His gaze turned stern. The pressure of a Transcendental Grade player made everyone's legs tremble.

"B-Brother Li, what's going on?" Hayasaka leaned against the wall, as if she couldn't stay on her feet.

"Each of you needs to explain what happened to you. Someone must have triggered an abnormal situation. Tell us the truth now, and we still have a chance."

"An abnormal situation? What counts as abnormal?" Mai asked, her teeth chattering and her face full of confusion.

When Li Dan saw her, his gaze softened a little. He shook his head and said, "Generally speaking, the player lineup and excessive use of contract items can cause the difficulty to change abnormally. For example, if this dungeon only had Thomas and me as veterans, and I used a contract item to team up with him, the game might decide the players were too united and raise the difficulty."

"But that kind of adjustment wouldn't be too big. At the current difficulty, even if he and I really did team up, we wouldn't be sure we could survive. So the problem can't be with either of us."

Even if that were the case, the Reincarnation Game wouldn't tamper with the rewards. In fact, the two of us would grow stronger quickly.

Li Dan added this silently to himself, then looked at Yuki. The latter's scalp prickled under his gaze, and Li Dan's voice turned earnest.

"I've only cleared three dungeons, so I don't understand the game very well. Maybe getting a key item or something could also change the difficulty. Oh, think carefully: did any of you hear strange murmuring?"

So he really did suspect me.

Yuki looked as though he were deep in thought, but inside, his mind was racing. Li Dan's suspicion was justified. He really had heard strange murmuring, and he'd confirmed that other people didn't get a choice when they unlocked their traits.

Tell him the truth?

The thought flashed through Yuki's mind, but he immediately dismissed it. He couldn't say it. If he did, everyone would turn against him—or rather, they'd all say that the dungeon couldn't be cleared.

Why? Sure, being a transmigrator was kind of like cheating, but I haven't used any cheats. That's not a crime worthy of death.

Yuki screamed inwardly, but the mental resilience he'd built over ten years kept his face calm and puzzled.

"Little Brother Yuki, did you notice anything?"

"Brother Li, do you suspect me?"

"Not at all. But this affects everyone's fate, so think carefully."

Yuki pretended to think. He saw Mai Sakurajima and Hayasaka Ai watching him suspiciously too. They weren't pretending, but neither of them knew about the strange things that had happened when he unlocked his trait.

"I really didn't. After the three of us split up, we went to the subway station, unlocked our traits, then hurried over to meet you. We were in a sorry state the whole way. If I had any special items, I would've used them already."

Yuki's eyes were sincere. He met Li Dan's gaze without flinching. Li Dan stared at him for a full five seconds, then looked at Hayasaka Ai and Mai Sakurajima. The two women nodded slightly.

He wasn't lying, at least not about what he'd revealed. Even if he were a good enough actor to fool me, those two wouldn't risk their lives to cover for him.

Then that's strange. What went wrong?

Li Dan began doubting himself too. He didn't need to believe Yuki; all he had to do was compare the facts. But this person really was useful, and he also mattered to Mai.

The hand resting on the trigger quietly relaxed. Li Dan decided to give him one more chance. If he was honest and kept his head down, his intelligence might still be enough to clear the dungeon.

Li Dan joked, half-seriously, "Maybe you're just too much of a genius, and the game doesn't want us getting too comfortable, so it deliberately raised the difficulty."

"We can't just wait to die, can we?" Yuki spread his hands and let out a long breath. Just as the atmosphere began to ease, he suddenly slapped his thigh.