I, a Reincarnation Stream Player

"Huh? Why?" Hayasaka Ai grew tense too, her eyes darting around as if she feared an enemy might spring out from somewhere.

"You really don't know? If things reset, then this monster should be exactly the same as last night—or at least around the same level. I saw Brother Li take care of that monster in no time last night!"

There was no way to call the fight just now easy. Hayasaka Ai blinked again, looking as if she'd just come to her senses. Then her teeth began to chatter, and she leaned toward Li Dan.

The man took half a step back, seeming unwilling to reassure her. He let out a heavy sigh. "At least things don't reset at night. But we can make a reasonable guess. This is insane—why is this instance so difficult!?"

There wasn't a hint of exaggeration in his words. They even extinguished the last glimmer of hope he had. If things reset, they might just manage to survive under the current circumstances. It wouldn't be easy, but it was still within their abilities.

But if the difficulty kept stacking, how were they supposed to get through the final day and night?

For a moment, he regretted following Yuki's plan. At most, they'd face the Rite of the Crimson Moon twice more tonight. They could grit their teeth and make it through, but they'd killed far too much before moonrise. Who knew what would appear first thing tomorrow morning?

"I thought nights would be more dangerous, but the real killing blow came during the day. I really miscalculated." Li Dan took a deep breath. Without looking at Hayasaka Ai, he muttered to himself,

"The instance's daytime mechanics are more troublesome. As technology keeps advancing, there'll be fewer places to hide. And if we can't hide, we'll have to fight head-on. That'll trap us in a vicious cycle, so—"

I have to make a choice.

The last few words passed through his mind. He carefully put away his gun, then forced a smile. "Let's go meet up with Mai. She's important to us."

"What about Yuki?" Hayasaka Ai asked. Why had he suddenly brought up Mai?

"Him? To be blunt, with a monster that strong, I'm afraid the odds are against him." Li Dan's expression was complicated. He both hoped Yuki was dead and felt it would be a shame.

Of course, he didn't feel sorry for Yuki himself, but for his abilities and the secrets he might have had.

A moment later, Li Dan's expression froze, and he whipped around.

The sound of hurried footsteps came from the distance. A young man and a woman ran toward them. The battered-looking boy was in front, waving a hand as if he'd just escaped death.

"I came to help! Huh? As expected of you, Brother Li—you took care of the monster so fast!"

Li Dan didn't react for a moment. He nearly blurted out something he shouldn't have.

You're not dead!?

Chapter 38: Are You Human or a Wolf? (Revised)

He was still alive? And he'd killed the monster?

When Li Dan saw Yuki, his first instinct was to look behind him. But there was no sign of the bald Giant. An unbelievable thought surfaced in his mind.

Impossible. But the monster wouldn't stop hunting him. So had he really killed it?

For a moment, Li Dan was stunned. The Tyrant and the Licker weren't even in the same league. The latter was terrifying too, but it was all skin and no muscle. Given the right opportunity, it could be killed.

The Tyrant was different. It was impervious to bullets and blades. An ordinary person could hack away at it while it stood still, and it wouldn't matter. Then there was the terrifying pressure it gave off. Anyone with even slightly poor nerves couldn't bring out a fraction of their own strength.

Guns? No, bullets didn't do much. Grenades? The monster wasn't stupid enough to just stand there and let someone blow it up.

Li Dan couldn't figure it out. When Yuki saw him, he didn't react at all. Instead, Hayasaka Ai let out a cheer, suddenly rushed over, and hugged Mai Sakurajima tightly. The two girls bounced around like best friends, celebrating their escape. Before long, they lost their footing and tumbled into a shallow ditch.

"Ow, ow, take it easy."

The girl's voice snapped Li Dan out of it. He ignored the two women and stared at Yuki so intently that the latter began to feel uneasy.

"Brother Li, what's wrong? Why don't you look happy?" Yuki scratched his head, looking at a loss.

"Little Brother Yuki, you managed to kill that thing?"

"Uh, I guess I got lucky. When it showed up, I happened to be in the Parking Lot, so I ran to the second floor. There was no moonlight there..."

Yuki briefly recounted the fight. He forced himself to stay calm. Knowing the Crimson Moon would strengthen the monster, he'd run to a battlefield without moonlight. Eventually, he'd been cornered and had no choice but to find a way to deal with it.

The key had been Mai Sakurajima. Her trait let her disappear from the monster's perception. The two of them had worked well together, tossing a few grenades at its feet and wounding it. Then he'd rushed out to finish it off.

It all made sense. Without moonlight, the Tyrant couldn't regenerate at an accelerated rate. Mai Sakurajima's trait had also been used to its fullest. She was an invisible assassin. As long as she dared approach the Tyrant, the grenades they'd picked up could indeed deal serious damage.

Li Dan went over every word again and again, but couldn't find a flaw. If the black-haired girl had been the one to attack, then as long as she wasn't afraid, she might even have been able to kill the monster by herself. Who could withstand grenades suddenly exploding right beside them?

Cornered again. Another last-minute reversal. And once again, he couldn't find a flaw.

Li Dan glanced at the Night Vision Goggles on Yuki's head. They'd been one of the keys to victory too. His gaze sharpened. "What else? Mai had the nerve to do it once, but the monster wouldn't give her a second chance. Are you still hiding something from me!?"

"There really isn't anything else..." Under his piercing gaze, Yuki stammered.

"Spit it out!"

"Uh, there's this too. I didn't mean to hide it from you." Yuki obediently took out his long blade and said sheepishly, "When the moon set earlier, I got an upgrade point, so I upgraded this blade to Chaos Grade. It cuts through steel like paper."

"So you were afraid I'd take it from you?"

"No, no! I really didn't mean that!"

As if he didn't. But it was a plausible enough explanation.

Li Dan's gaze gradually softened. A Chaos Item really could turn the tables. Paired with Mai Sakurajima's trait, she was an incredibly powerful assassin.

She could vanish from the perceptual realm and still affect the material world. That Ego Trait was far too overpowered. If Mai Sakurajima were stronger herself, and her enemies lacked skills like Instinct or Mind's Eye, wouldn't she be able to kill anyone she wanted?

The smartest thing would have been to let Mai Sakurajima handle it. But she didn't have the guts to behead the monster at close range, nor did she have the ability.

He glanced at Mai Sakurajima, who'd climbed out of the shallow ditch and was complaining to her friend. That delicate, frail body and those eyes utterly devoid of killing intent—what a waste of such a powerful trait.

It made sense, but it would still have been incredibly difficult to pull off. Yuki definitely had other secrets. Maybe one of them had caused the instance to mutate.

It was like presuming someone guilty. But Yuki had accomplished too many "impossible" things. The advantages his intelligence had brought them in clearing the instance were starting to be eclipsed by the threat he might pose.

Since he refused to tell the truth, then I'm sorry.

"Don't worry. I'm not the type to take things by force." Li Dan patted Yuki on the shoulder with an earnest air, then called the others over. "Cut it out. We're on the brink of disaster. These might be the last few hours of your lives."

His words doused them in cold water, leaving them chilled to the bone. Their present sense of ease was an illusion. They were in even greater danger than they'd been in when the Living Corpses besieged the Ancient Castle.

"I'm almost certain the instance's difficulty won't reset with each moonrise and moonset. We'll get at least one more Gift of the Crimson Moon tonight. But what's even more hopeless is what happens after the sun rises tomorrow."

No one spoke. Their eyes were vacant. No one wanted to face the cruel truth.

"Brother Li, we can be careful and try not to clash with the locals," Yuki said, forcing himself to speak.

"But they'll come looking for us. We spent the whole day hiding, and they still found us. Cough, cough, cough! Who knows, maybe the sky'll be full of drones when the sun rises tomorrow!" Robert shouted, his face flushed red as he coughed nonstop in agitation. "This is all because of your battle plan! You killed so many enemies!"

You were still sucking up to me two hours ago, you little punk. What a quick change of heart.

Yuki froze. The chubby kid had shown him what it meant to be a chameleon.

"Uh, we didn't have time to worry about the difficulty back then, did we?"

"But the result is that you got us killed!"

"What did you say? Without my plan, you'd have been shot to pieces. Living a few more hours is still a win, isn't it?" Yuki flew into a rage, raising his blade as if he were about to fight the ungrateful bastard.

"Enough, enough. Now's not the time to argue over blame." Li Dan raised a hand to stop the two from fighting and rubbed his deeply furrowed brow. "The city is huge. We can find somewhere to hide tonight. We should be able to make it through tomorrow morning."

"Brother Li, what about the Living Corpses?"

"I told you, the city is huge. There's plenty of room to maneuver. The Crimson Moon's gifts are the real threat." Li Dan glanced at Yuki. Seemingly displeased, he took command completely.

The gifts were delivered right beside them with pinpoint accuracy. They couldn't be avoided. And even if they made it through the morning, what about the afternoon? What about the final night, which would last a full twelve hours?

If they came at intervals of up to four hours, they'd receive at least three gifts tomorrow night. With the difficulty stacking at its current rate, who knew how terrifying they'd become?

These were all problems, but no one wanted to think about them. Li Dan and Yuki were more concerned with one question:

If there was no reset, would the difficulty stack more slowly if they eliminated whatever was making the instance harder?

"It's time to stand together. Let's meet up with Thomas first. If he and I join forces, we'll at least have a little more confidence." Li Dan made a decision that was hard to find fault with.

They couldn't change the instance, so they could only strengthen themselves. Even if the new players didn't want to return to the city crawling with Living Corpses, they had no choice but to steel themselves and go. Staying trapped in the narrow Port District meant certain death.

They acted at once. This time, Li Dan didn't ask Yuki for his opinion. He decisively split the group into two teams, sending Yuki and the fat kid ahead to scout the way while he followed behind with the two girls.

The two teams crept along cautiously and reached the canal after nearly half an hour. Yuki looked ahead and quietly swallowed.

Not a single light shone across the city. Everything was shrouded in the Crimson Moonlight, which was so thick it looked like a churning fog.

Aah—

A wail like a ghost's cry drifted over on the wind. Even if the players hadn't been pinpointed yet, the city was a hellscape teeming with evil spirits. If they got into a firefight, Living Corpses would swarm them like a tide.

"Bro, give me a little more cover later, okay?"

The trembling voice came from beside him. The fat kid's hand shook as he held his gun, his eyes fixed on the city.

"Fatso, didn't you want to fight me just now?"

"That was then, this is now, bro. You can just call me by my name from now on. I've trained with guns. I'm a great shot."

Yuki rolled his eyes. Rich kids really were spoiled, and this one had mastered the art of changing his tune.

He didn't have time to deal with the shameless kid. He glanced behind him. Li Dan and the two girls were moving slowly, and mishaps kept cropping up.

All right, let's see whether you're a human or a wolf.

Chapter 39: Li Dan Is a Wolf! (Revised)

A day later, the players were already armed to the teeth.

The instance's difficulty was absurd, but the rewards were still pretty generous. Even the gear they'd been given openly was leagues ahead of what they'd had the previous night.

Bulletproof vests, Night Vision Goggles, all kinds of guns—not only Yuki but even the fat kid was armed to the teeth. Anyone who'd made it to tonight was already in decent shape, with willpower and nerves at least better than an ordinary person's.

Robert hadn't been lying. He really was a good shot. Hiding in a corner, he fired his silenced rifle twice with two soft pfft-pfft sounds. A Living Corpse wandering a hundred meters away took a bullet to the head and collapsed.

"Brother Yuki, I'm an expert marksman," he said proudly, turning his head.

"You've trained with guns before?"

"I go hunting all the time. I've even gone to Africa in a helicopter to hunt lions."

As expected of a rich kid.

Yuki gave an awkward laugh. He'd had too many things to prepare over the years to specialize in just one skill. And this body hadn't inherited much, so sometimes he'd had to make ends meet by fighting in underground rings.

Good marksmen were made with bullets. He couldn't compete with those kinds of resources.

"Watch the intersection ahead. Shoot anyone who comes out." Yuki spoke almost like he was giving an order. He took out his phone and opened the map. They were already several kilometers from the Port District and not far from the Old Town.

According to Li Dan's plan, the team would avoid attracting the Living Corpses' attention. Once they met up with Thomas in the Old Town, they'd find a way into the sewers.

They'd looked up the area. The Old Town's sewers were like the underground waterways common in Europe and America: broad and complex. They wouldn't be trapped like rats the way they might in the Port District's modern sewers.

So far, there didn't seem to be a problem. I'd planned to hide down there myself. It had to be better than running around above ground, and it should buy us a few hours.

As for what would happen after those few hours, no one could say. Yuki tapped the screen in a regular rhythm, continuing to refine his plan.

'According to Li Dan, completing the instance's main mission will send us back. But sometimes we leave instantly, while other times there's a short waiting period.'

'Should I tell him what I discovered when we left the castle? No. It's my last trump card. If he really decides to make a move, I'll need that secret to negotiate with him.'

After confirming the pattern of moonrise and moonset, he'd already come up with an escape plan. The risks aside, it was even harder to put the plan into action when all the players had their own agendas. So when he noticed something was wrong with Li Dan, he hadn't discussed it with anyone.

Yuki raised his head and happened to see the fat kid staring at him with a strange look. He reached out and slapped him on the back.

"Why are you staring at me? Watch the intersection. We have to cross the Railway to get to the Old Town."

"Uh, you looked troubled, that's all." Robert turned back toward the road. Keeping an eye on the sight through his scope, he offered some advice. "If you've figured anything out, you should talk it over with Brother Li. We're all in the same boat, and he's an experienced veteran player."

"How do you know I've figured something out?"

"You're smart, and didn't Brother Li say the Reincarnation Game isn't something you can beat with brute force alone? Sometimes you can get twice the result with half the effort by figuring out the rules. Like when you led us out of the castle." Robert's voice was full of admiration. Then he suddenly asked,

"Oh, I've been meaning to ask: how did you figure out there was a way out of the castle?"

Li Dan had asked him the same question. But the situation had been urgent then, so Yuki had fobbed him off.

"I gambled with my life."

"Don't joke around. You need something to wager when you gamble." The fat kid looked eager to learn.

Was he curious, or was Li Dan?

Yuki thought it over. He didn't believe Li Dan hadn't known that the Crimson Moon's gift would appear beside them. In other words, the Tyrant had been a test Li Dan had set for him.

If he died, the problem would solve itself. If he survived, Li Dan could reasonably guess that he'd kept a trump card powerful enough to change the game's difficulty.

"Of course I had something to wager. I made a major discovery that only I know about."

"What major discovery?" Robert leaned forward without thinking.

Yuki looked at him and suddenly smiled. "Why would I tell you?"

The expression on the fat kid's face froze, as if he'd choked on something. He coughed nonstop.