I, a Reincarnation Stream Player

"Bro, what about me? If you let me make it back alive, I'll buy you a mansion!" Robert was good at reading the room, and hurried after them.

Hayasaka Ai watched the lively, bickering group and froze for a moment, then touched her hair.

The strands still held the man's warmth. Her cold gaze gradually softened, quietly taking on a girl's innocence.

This man was really complicated. He was terrifying when he needed to be serious, yet gentle when he needed to encourage everyone.

Being around him made it hard to feel nervous—that sickening tension of facing a life-or-death choice.

Hah. A professional.

The corner of her mouth unconsciously lifted in a faint smile, and she lowered her head and followed.

"This isn't so bad. If death is inevitable, at least dying with a smile won't be too embarrassing."

Thanks to Yuki's "pep talk," the group felt much more relaxed as they set off. The destination was close at hand. Alive or dead, at least this long ordeal would soon be over.

Two kilometers wasn't far, and the Living Corpses weren't very active without moonlight. Even without firearms, they made good time with Hayasaka Ai's axe clearing the way. After about ten minutes, the narrow tunnel suddenly widened.

They had reached Ancient Castle Square Station.

The group stopped, and Yuki poked his head out to take a careful look. He had fled here once when leaving the Ancient Castle, so he already knew the station's layout by heart.

The subway in Crimson Moon City had no platform screen doors. Two parallel tracks ran through the middle, with the last train, which had just arrived, sitting there without a driver.

On either side were spacious platforms, connected to the upper level by four wide staircases.

This was the terminal. This was a monster spawn point. Yuki knew how many Living Corpses were directly above without even hacking into the surveillance cameras. Nearly a hundred, for example, were wandering the platforms.

The slightest disturbance would make them cry out, setting off a chain reaction that would eventually trigger the horde in the square.

"How are we supposed to get past?" Robert's chubby face had gone pale. They had indeed reached the end, only to find the way blocked.

"What are you panicking for? We're not going up from here. There's another way ahead."

"Uh, but it's still in the square. What difference does it make? Maybe we should just wait until eight and set off on time."

Yuki glanced at him and said no more. In truth, every muscle in his body had already tensed, and the sound of a second hand ticking seemed to echo in his heart.

The most dangerous moment had arrived. Gift of the Crimson Moon only gave a rough time frame; it couldn't pinpoint the exact minute or second. The crisis could erupt at any moment.

"We have to keep moving. At least make it to the Dispatch Room." Yuki didn't waver. He pointed at the train in the middle. "We'll go that way and cross straight through."

The platforms on both sides were full of Living Corpses, but the train doors were shut, and there wasn't a soul inside. They had no better options now, so the group tiptoed over.

Yuki crept forward and quietly opened the door at the end of the carriage. He first leaned in to check that it was empty, then pulled himself inside with both hands. After that, he reached out and pulled Hayasaka Ai and the others in.

Shh.

He gestured for silence, then dropped to his knees and crawled along the carriage floor. Hayasaka Ai followed behind him, feeling even more nervous than when they had crossed the canal.

Fighting let you vent your fear. Sneaking around under the enemy's nose was pure torture. All she had to do was raise her head a little to see heads lurching outside the windows.

Thump, thump.

Every so often came the sound of blows and impacts against the carriage, each one making her heart jump. She had to keep her eyes fixed on the man's rear ahead of her. It wasn't very ladylike, but at least that rear, crawling along steadily and utterly unperturbed, put her at ease.

Dare not even breathe too loudly, they placed their hands on the floor without making a sound and crawled for more than ten minutes. At last, no Living Corpses were visible outside the windows; only the pitch-black wall remained.

The front half of the train had already left the platform, its nose entering the dispatch area.

Whoosh.

A wave of relieved sighs came from behind them. They had practically slipped past the Living Corpses right under their noses. It had been thrilling. Yuki, meanwhile, raised his eyebrows slightly.

Li Dan still hasn't caught up. Does he have some kind of Chaos Item that conceals his presence?

He didn't believe Li Dan could have gone around aboveground. Otherwise, why would he have needed to make a deal with Yuki? Besides, his instincts were telling him that the man was following not far behind.

Half an hour left.

Yuki glanced at his watch, then poked half his head out the window to look around. The dispatch area was pitch-black, with far fewer Living Corpses wandering about than outside.

That made sense. This was a dead end, after all. The Living Corpses would instinctively head outside.

One piece of good news: they could hide in the Dispatch Room for a while.

Yuki quietly eased open the carriage door and jumped down first. He furtively surveyed the area, his brows knitting together.

"What's that sound?"

"Sounds like someone crying?" Hayasaka Ai, who had jumped down right after him, stopped as well.

Several trains were parked in the tunnel. The subway had clearly stopped running because of the daytime battle, and a faint sobbing sound came from among the winding trains.

It sounded like a girl, but was as shrill as a baby's cry. Yuki followed the sound, but the moment he passed the front of a train, he recoiled as if pricked by a needle.

Shit.

He pressed his right hand down, then peered out and saw a blurry figure at the end of the tracks, its back turned to them.

Long white hair hid its face. Its skin was purplish-black from mutation, and its oversized, razor-sharp claws were truly horrifying.

Hayasaka Ai lifted her axe and started to creep up behind it, ready to crack its head open, but someone seized her sleeve in a tight grip.

"Don't disturb her."

This thing was a Witch, the rarest and most powerful kind of Living Corpse, practically a nightmare for players. Its skinny body and seemingly defenseless appearance practically invited a sneak attack.

Hayasaka Ai looked puzzled. She seemed to realize that Yuki knew a lot about it, and silently mouthed, "Is this thing stronger than the Tyrant?"

"Of course it's not stronger than the Tyrant, but we don't have the time or energy to fight right now." Yuki was firm. This was a classic case of circumstances changing everything.

When fighting the Tyrant, Yuki could use every trick in his arsenal and battle a formidable enemy until heaven and earth fell apart. But now they were in the heart of a Living Corpse nest. There was no room to fight.

Boomers, Jockeys, and the like were indeed weaker, but there were just so many of them.

"Turn off your flashlights and watch your step. We'll go around the other side."

Yuki retraced his steps and quietly went around the train car from the other side. They were only a few meters from the Witch in a straight line, and its sobbing was clearly audible. But just as he had expected, the Witch only covered its face and cried, completely ignoring the players passing nearby.

My foreknowledge has come in handy again.

Yuki felt like he was cheating. An ordinary player would definitely have tried to sneak attack, only to realize they had caused themselves a huge problem.

Crimson Moon had its own mutations, but its core nature wouldn't change. That counted as the second piece of good news.

He thought of the Lickers, the Tyrant, the Tanks, and all sorts of other Living Corpses. Without realizing it, he had gained a huge advantage in information.

Two hundred meters left. Fifteen minutes left.

Yuki could already see the end of the tunnel and the warning lines. If all went according to plan, the final test would arrive in fifteen minutes.

Tap.

His steps suddenly stopped, and his muscles tensed in an instant.

A flash of red light suddenly swept through the underground, which should have been pitch-black. It was a remnant of the moonlight, which had blazed at its brightest for an instant and pierced through the surface.

In other words, the Crimson Moon's fourth gift had arrived underground, in the heart of this sea of corpses.

The Forty-Ninth Chapter: One Man Holds the Pass!! (Revised)

I knew it wouldn't go smoothly.

Yuki's heart stopped along with the sudden surge of moonlight, but soon started beating again.

This was within his expectations. The only problem was that it had come too early. If it had been a few minutes later, he could have finished arranging the rest of his plan.

"So what's the gift?"

All four of them turned around almost in unison, holding their breath and scanning every corner.

They didn't see a monster emerge from the moonlight, which made Yuki breathe a sigh of relief. If something stronger than the Tyrant appeared in a place like this, they'd be in trouble.

"Looks like monsters aren't just appearing out of thin air."

"I know. Could it be that the Living Corpses are getting stronger?" Mai Sakurajima said casually, holding her gun.

"Don't jinx it. This place is a Living Corpse nest. I'd rather have two more Tyrants show up."

Yuki lowered his voice. He didn't dare move even a fingertip, but his mind was racing.

Compared with the second gift, the difficulty of the third gift had actually decreased. There wasn't much time left. If this trend continued, my chances of survival were actually improving.

He couldn't help feeling that the rewards hadn't simply vanished. They must have had something to do with the instance.

Thump, thump, thump.

Soft footsteps echoed through the tunnel. Yuki's expression changed as he turned around.

"What was that sound?"

"I don't know, but it came from that direction."

Yuki followed the sound and looked toward the parked trains, the corner of his eye twitching.

"You... think... you can run where?"

A shrill female voice rang out in broken, sobbing phrases. Before the group could react, a black claw pressed against the roof of a carriage. Then a head emerged, its skin purplish-black and its hair long and white.

A Witch?

Its entrance was horrifying, but even more horrifying was—

"Wait, how can a Living Corpse talk!?"

No one could react at first. Players were used to Living Corpses being frenzied and brainless, so hearing one speak felt unreal.

Bang!

Gunfire suddenly rang out. Hayasaka Ai saw that things were going badly and opened fire at once, but the Witch leaped aside to dodge. Unlike other Living Corpses, it didn't charge straight at them to retaliate.

Clink.

The shell casing hit the ground with a sharp ring. The rifle's silencer kept the noise down, and Hayasaka Ai didn't fire a second shot. She looked uncertainly at the monster, which had leaped onto another carriage.

Their opponent had become hard to predict. The Chainsaw Sword behind Yuki's back had already started spinning, ready to strike hard at any moment.

The four players and the Living Corpse stared at one another. But while the players were tense, the Living Corpse's gaze was cold as ice. It didn't leap at them like a lunatic, and its restraint gave Yuki the answer.

"Intelligence. The fourth gift has given the zombies intelligence."

Yuki let out a long breath. They were just one step from the destination, and the thing he feared most was the Living Corpses continuing to grow stronger.

Sure, intelligent Living Corpses would be more cunning and harder to handle. But players had gained Transcendental powers; they were no longer mere Survivors struggling to stay alive with their wits alone.

What the Living Corpses needed now was overwhelming physical strength.

Thud, thud, thud...

The gunshot eventually roused the Living Corpses in the tunnel, setting off a chain reaction that roused the horde in the square as well.

"It's a horde! We've triggered a horde!" Robert's face went pale, and he nearly dropped to the ground.

"What are you panicking for? You think you can stroll back like we're on a field trip? The subway entrance is only so big. They can't all charge through at once." Yuki spoke urgently and nodded at Mai Sakurajima. She hurried toward the depths of the tunnel. Robert glanced over, noticed something strange about the wall at the end, and his eyes lit up.

"Huh? This connects to the Ancient Castle!?"

"Of course. Did you really think I'd go looking for death in the square?" Yuki had just whispered a few words to Hayasaka Ai when he raised his greatsword and shouted up at the ceiling, "Li Dan, if you don't show yourself now, are you planning to die with me!?"

He forgot all about being polite. Before he had even finished speaking, a muffled bang rang out. The Witch leaped onto the wall like a gecko and quickly vanished into the shadows.

A short distance behind it, a figure wrapped in a black cloak appeared.

Li Dan didn't chase after the Witch. He stared at the young man with a complicated expression. He had planned to follow Yuki and pick up an easy win. He had indeed found the key clue, but now he couldn't just abandon the other man.

The horde was already surging toward them, rendering his cloak, which could conceal his presence only at a distance, useless. He had no choice but to show himself—and he couldn't leave Yuki to hold the rear.

There were only ten-odd minutes until dawn. Even if Yuki was willing to hold the rear, he couldn't stop the horde.

Beyond that wall lay Eternal Night, and who knew whether the Living Corpses would disappear once they entered it? If their retreat was cut off, how could he return the way he came and make it through the final night?

Damn it. The way out is right in front of me, and I still have to help him!

Li Dan clenched his back teeth. The timing was so awkward it felt as if someone had calculated it down to the second.

The horde behind them had already leaped off the platform and was spreading along the tracks. The Alienated Grade Living Corpses were all at the front, moving the fastest, claws raised and pus bubbling.

"I'll cover you. Hurry and find a way to block the passage!"

He didn't need to say it. With a whistle, the train in the middle of the tracks started moving. Hayasaka Ai sat in the driver's cab, expressionless, and charged straight toward the horde.

The windows were filled with a sea of black heads. Spikes came flying and pierced the glass. It was so terrifying that even her arms trembled. She pressed her lips together, touched her golden hair, and accelerated the train to its limit.