This Humble One, Reincarnation Stream Player

He was gaunt and thin, wearing a bizarre helmet with a scar over his left eye, striking the exact same pose with his gun and blade as the youth.

"Your trump card!?"

Conceptual activation--

Yuki remained silent, feeling as if a deity had possessed his body. He thought of nothing; his body reacted automatically, with speed and fluidity that surpassed the limits of his physical strength.

Drop the gun, grip the blade, step forward, decapitate.

"Hesitation is Defeat!!"

Author's Note!

Dear readers, this seems to be the seventh time I've written an "on-the-shelves" post. No need for sentimentality, no need for suspense; let's get straight to the point, for the sake of a refreshing start:

Why write this book?

Because during the latter stages of Former Civilization Hero, my body collapsed. Long-time readers should know about this—it was a combination of anxiety and cervical spondylosis. After two months of recovery, I was truly bored and decided to write again, which is why the updates were so slow when this book first started.

Secondly, as a well-known "traffic genius" and "thematic jinx" on Faloo, choosing a subject is always a torture. When I started preparing for this new book, I couldn't settle on a theme for a long time.

Attack on Titan, Warhammer 40K, Bleach, Star Rail, Dark Souls—I considered them all. For me, these are easy and good to write. Later, I simply felt a bit tired of fanfiction and decided to go original. But since I hadn't written long-form original work before, I decided to start with an original dungeon.

And so I wrote. Because this was my first time writing an unfamiliar genre, and the style was different from my previous work, it was natural to experience some discomfort. I am aware of everyone's feedback; looking back, let's just call it tuition. One must always move forward.

For the parts that weren't written well, please bear with me. After all, I am a novice in this area, and assumptions were made from time to time.

I will continue to update earnestly and steadily as before, but due to my health, there might be fewer "burst" updates. I really don't dare to overload my brain; it leads to sleepless nights and a groggy state the next day.

This book may have various flaws, but it will definitely showcase my unique style.

Thank you all for your support over the years. Tomorrow at noon, I'll start with a 10,000-word update. I humbly ask for your patronage.

Please, please~

Shara Twin Trees

Night of April 18th

Chapter 43: This Pig-Headed Guy is So Insidious! (Revised)

As if under external control, this strike was faster than thought, becoming something akin to a law.

The moment the blade was drawn, Yuki knew the result. By the time the blade light flashed past, he felt no physical resistance at all.

Drip, drip.

The "rain" continued to fall. Yuki maintained his leaning, lunging posture, looking at the Chainsaw Sword hovering beside his face and Mai Sakurajima, who stood not far away, dumbfounded.

Everything was deathly silent. In the chaotic supermarket, the three of them stood like statues. A moment later, he looked up to see Thomas staring fixedly at him.

His eyes bulged, the remnants of his rage still visible. His lips moved as if to say something, but a thin line of blood appeared on his neck, slowly seeping out.

Thud.

The head detached from the body, rolled a few times in the ankle-deep water, and only then did Yuki feel the texture of reality. The smell of blood, the girl's rapid breathing, and the onset of pain all rushed in at once.

Hoo--

He let out a long breath, his body swaying for a moment before he used his blade to steady himself.

Is this a Conceptual Craft Essence? A result that guarantees a kill once the conditions are met?

Shortly after unlocking his Ego Trait, Yuki had drawn the "Hesitation is Defeat" concept. Because it could only be used once, he had kept it in his hand the whole time.

I didn't even use it against the Tyrant, just for this very moment. There is no such thing as a coincidence; one must use strategy to find the best opportunity.

Regardless of whether this trait existed, a true gambler would formulate a plan based on the cards in their hand.

A sense of ecstatic victory washed away his exhaustion. He had tested how powerful Thomas was; under normal circumstances, that strike might not have landed. Even if he had managed to cut off an arm, the berserk Thomas would have taken him down on the spot.

An unchangeable rule? No wonder I felt I had already won the moment I swung that blade.

Yuki finally understood the value of a "concept," yet he didn't think this trait was worth affecting the game's difficulty. Because it could only be used once, he had to spend a hundred times the brainpower to plan for this single instance.

"Coincidentally, planning is what I do best."

He glanced at the wide-eyed, severed head and had to admit that this man was truly difficult to deal with. He was powerful, firm in will, and actually quite intelligent. He must have shone in the previous dungeon, which was why Li Dan had taken notice of him.

Specializing in one area and building a distinct profile is far better than being a jack-of-all-trades.

Yuki didn't show much emotion. The Reincarnation Game was filled with slaughter; from the moment he joined, he had been prepared for mutual killing.

It was only a pity that this dungeon didn't have a prompt for mutual killing; otherwise, he could have made an unexpected profit.

"There is no justice or evil, just poor wretches struggling to survive. If I were the one who had fallen, he wouldn't have felt any sentiment either." Yuki withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Mai Sakurajima, who was still holding her gun. "Senior, you can breathe now."

"Is he dead?" Mai poked the headless corpse on the ground with her gun barrel, still in disbelief. Thomas's gaze from just a moment ago had left her frozen in place, her trigger finger feeling as heavy as a thousand pounds.

This was simply a monster; the entire supermarket had been nearly demolished.

"Dead as a doornail," Yuki replied casually, then suddenly asked, "Aren't you afraid? We just killed a real person; it was a perfect murder."

Thomas was different from the monsters in the dungeon; he was a living, breathing person who lived in the same world as them.

The gun barrel paused. Mai Sakurajima looked up as if waking from a dream, first with astonishment, then a flash of fear, but finally, her expression turned flat.

"I... I didn't think that much just now. It seems I've gotten used to it."

The tone was filled with sorrow and disgust. The Reincarnation Game was like a master psychologist, first cranking the sense of crisis to the maximum to prevent rational thought, then slowly conditioning players to become accustomed to blood and cruelty.

Take Mai Sakurajima for example; at the start of the game, if Thomas had stood there and let her hack at him, she likely wouldn't have been able to bring herself to do it. But having just blown up hundreds of 'humans' who looked exactly like her a short while ago, the brain automatically adapts when faced with emergencies.

Hideous Living Corpses, police officers who looked like normal people but were anything but, and finally, the players themselves.

Yuki glanced at the water-logged ground. It was pitch black, like a muddy abyss, dragging him deeper and deeper.

So, after returning to reality, would killing also become a matter of habit?

"We have no choice. If we don't kill him, we die." Yuki sheathed his long blade, checked the corpse, and picked up the chainsaw sword. Killing players didn't grant rewards, but veteran players were treasures in their own right.

[Chaos Item: Bloody Chainsaw Sword (Chaos Grade), ****]

[Effect: Slightly strengthens the user as killing progresses, up to a limit. ***Special Effect: Overload Mode]

[Side Effect: As the strengthening progresses, the user's cognition gradually becomes violent. Once the limit is reached, the user begins to cool down and experiences feedback fatigue.]

[Description: Killing brings pleasure, killing brings excitement, but once the pleasure fades, only endless exhaustion remains.]

It was still the same simple and brutal style of description, but what was the meaning of that string of mosaics at the end? Could there be something special about it?

Moreover, as a Chaos Grade item, this sword was far stronger than Hayasaka Ai's Frontal Lobe Fragment. Its crowd-control ability was slightly weaker, but it wouldn't leave him feeling kidney-deficient after a single use.

Yuki had some guesses. He looked at the dazed Mai Sakurajima: "Senior, is there nothing you want to ask?"

These words instantly diluted the bloody stench of the slaughter. The young girl snapped back to reality, her purple eyes widening.

"It really does have something to do with you!"

She wasn't stupid; she already knew that the normal difficulty of the Reincarnation Game wouldn't look like this. While Li Dan and Thomas teaming up played a part, the lion's share of the blame lay with Yuki.

Besides, the man hadn't refuted it just now; he had accepted the blame.

"Did you really get some kind of divine artifact?"

"If I had, why wouldn't I have used it earlier? Besides, didn't Thomas say that in-game rewards are a matter of course?" Yuki rolled his eyes, swinging the greatsword in his hand. "I did hear strange whispers. Li Dan wasn't wrong about that."

"I get it. The game told you the script, which is why you've repeatedly survived near-death situations. Hey, don't touch me."

Yuki withdrew his hand. If he had a script, he wouldn't need to gamble with his life; he would have led them to a successful clear long ago.

"The anomaly occurred after leaving the castle. When I unlocked my trait, the whispers gave me a choice of whether to unlock it or not."

"And then?"

"There is no 'and then.' I chose to unlock it, and I ended up like this."

Mai Sakurajima blinked, wearing an 'are you kidding me' expression. What kind of anomaly was that? Who wouldn't unlock a trait? But as she thought about it, she felt something was off.

"No wonder you asked me at the time what kind of whispers I heard when I unlocked my trait!"

The logic finally connected. She found it somewhat ridiculous. What kind of reason was that? It offered no practical benefits at all. Could there be something wrong with this person's identity?

Wait, there really was something wrong. Who in the world would be bored enough to buy a bulletproof vest, shoot themselves, and learn all sorts of chaotic skills?

That level of professionalism wasn't bestowed by the game; the foundation had been laid long before he became a player.

"Yeah, I want to know the reason too." Yuki sighed, stroking the greatsword. "Now that you know my secret, Senior, what's your choice?"

A normal person would keep their distance, but this dungeon didn't allow for solo play. Mai had no choice, and besides, emotionally, she had already made her decision.

Without Yuki, she wouldn't have lived to see the day the dungeon mutated; she would have died in the castle long ago.

"Do I have a choice?"

"No need to choose. When you helped me deal with Thomas, you already made your choice." Yuki smiled, lowered his sword, and reached out his hand. "Don't worry, I'll take the heat. As compensation, I will definitely bring you back."

The Living Corpses had all been lured away, and the path out of the mall was completely unobstructed. This was also part of Yuki's plan; he was terrified that after finally taking down Thomas, he would have his kill stolen by some random corpse—there would be no one to complain to then.

He left Thomas's corpse in the underground supermarket. Players were no different from soldiers in war; if they failed, they would be buried in horse hides. Leaving behind such a massive 'tombstone' was the least he could do as a gesture of respect.

He was a good opponent, a reminder not to underestimate any player. Yuki recalled his first impression of him. Thomas was irritable, greedy, and stupid—a standard template for a cannon-fodder character.

In this hellish game, had acting become a necessary skill? If I had dared to underestimate him, I would have certainly died.

If he hadn't been naturally wary of 'veteran players,' he might very well have been fooled by that double act.

Fortunately, the initiative was now in his hands.

Yuki secretly glanced back and couldn't help but find it amusing. Mai Sakurajima had followed him, of course, but she had proposed a penalty:

You must swear that you will bring me back.

Of course I have to go back. The moment the notification sounded, my greatest feeling was actually relief.

The long wait had finally yielded a result, as if the entire meaning of his transmigration was for this very day. Li Dan hadn't been wrong.

"I am a transmigrator, a transmigrator waiting for the supernatural to descend. Is it only natural that I would trigger a dungeon anomaly?"

"What are you muttering about again?" Mai Sakurajima, trailing a few steps behind, raised an eyebrow. He was such a weirdo.

"I said, black stockings are the best!"

"Pah, are you addicted to acting like a pig?" Mai wrinkled her nose, trying hard to maintain a normal expression. "Let's talk business. How do we deal with Li Dan? Are we going to fight him again?"

"He is much stronger than Thomas. Even if we use all our trump cards, we won't be his match."

"Then let Hayasaka sneak out?"

"Li Dan isn't blind; how could he let her escape right under his nose?" Yuki snorted. Seeing the serious expression on the senior's face, he felt gratified by her strong sense of camaraderie while explaining, "We can't win, and there's no need to fight."

"But we've already burned our bridges."

"True, but when it comes to survival, face is completely irrelevant. Thomas is dead, and Li Dan has suffered heavy losses; his original plan must change." Yuki narrowed his eyes, his face full of confidence.

"It just so happens that I left a contingency, giving him a chance to make another choice."

Mai Sakurajima wasn't sure what the contingency was, but after thinking about it, she felt Yuki was right.

Thomas was dead, and Li Dan's original plan could no longer be implemented. As she pondered this, her eyes suddenly lit up.

"You already have an idea on how to clear this instance? No wonder Thomas mentioned a 'clue'!"

"Of course I have an idea, otherwise I would have handed you over on a silver platter long ago." Yuki glanced at the girl, who had opened her mouth to scold him, and said with a confident tone, "Li Dan originally had his own way to clear it and no need to waste time with me, but things are different now—"

"His path has been cut off, and my path is the only way for him to survive."

One link after another; this pighead is so insidious!

Mai Sakurajima took a breath. This was dangling a carrot to keep Li Dan from being driven to desperation, but since both sides had already fallen out, how could they cooperate, and how could they defend against a backstab? She scratched her head until it hurt, but couldn't find a single solution.

She simply stopped thinking about it. Well, it had nothing to do with her IQ; this was just leaving professional matters to the expert.

"By the way, while you were fighting Thomas, I found that housewife. She was hiding in the mall."

That was a given; Thomas couldn't have been acting alone.

Yuki's pace suddenly slowed, his expression focused: "Then what was she doing?"

The housewife couldn't see Mai Sakurajima, and Mai hadn't disturbed her, instead observing her for several minutes, as if she had forgotten that Yuki was being chased all over the place by Thomas.

"Staring blankly. She had no inclination to join the fight, just like a puppet. Also..." Mai tapped her forehead, suddenly recalling a key point.