I'm a Reincarnation Stream Player

Clap, clap, clap.

Before anyone could tell reality from illusion, a faint round of applause rang out.

Li Dan stood in front of the cave entrance several meters away, clapping lightly with an awestruck look. "Brother Yuki, your life is unbelievably tough. How are you still alive after all that?"

He had just witnessed a spectacular performance. Yuki had survived by the skin of his teeth, drawing all the enemies' attention so thoroughly that not a single Living Corpse had even looked his way.

The mission had gone very well. It had been worth holding back his murderous urge.

Faced with the taunt, Yuki showed no sign of embarrassment or anger. He smiled gratefully. "That's all thanks to your help. Otherwise, we'd have been done for."

His tone was sincere. Li Dan really had contributed a great deal. Without his precise shots, the Living Corpses would have swarmed them long ago; without him blasting the Tank away, Hayasaka Ai wouldn't have been able to block the hole.

Sincere, yet utterly mocking. Li Dan hadn't wanted to help at all. Instead, Yuki had used him, making him waste two trump cards for nothing.

You son of a—

The man's gaze turned dangerous in an instant. He slowly raised his revolver, then lowered it again.

Mai Sakurajima is nearby. She should still have explosives. If we turn on each other now, we could still end up taking each other down, and I'm not planning to leave a single one of them alive.

As a clever man, Li Dan knew that his top priority was to get through the instance. He could deal with them, but he couldn't afford to take a risk.

"Then until we meet again. Take care of yourselves." Li Dan couldn't be bothered to threaten them. He stepped forward, ducked, and walked straight through the thick red fog filling the hole.

That step carried him across twelve long hours. He only needed to come back out, and the final night would be over too.

As soon as he left, Yuki immediately used his sword for support and got to his feet. "Quick, follow him. He's waiting for Mai Sakurajima's trait to wear off."

It was easy to guess what Li Dan was worried about. He only had to wait another two minutes for Mai Sakurajima's trait to reach its limit. Then he'd have nothing to worry about.

But just as Yuki helped Hayasaka Ai up and started toward the hole, Robert—who hadn't done a thing in the chaotic battle—sidestepped and blocked the entrance completely.

"What are you doing?" Hayasaka Ai's expression changed drastically. The little fatty had behaved himself all along. Why had he suddenly switched sides? She frowned and asked, "The only thing he can offer you is a chance to survive the instance. The way out is right in front of you. Why not take it?"

It was hard to understand. Wasn't this just helping Li Dan draw their hatred? They only had to step back and come out later. Wouldn't that mean they'd won?

Robert said nothing. He raised his rifle in a textbook-perfect Saw Cleaver stance and worked the bolt with a clack, his expression blank.

"No. You're all going to die."

Tonight was bound to be lively.

They had just finished the final battle, survived the crisis by the skin of their teeth, and used Mai Sakurajima to drive Li Dan away. They were less than ten meters from the way out when everything suddenly changed.

Robert acted as if he couldn't see the red fog behind him. He raised his rifle steadily, and didn't waver in the slightest under their questioning.

"So why?" Hayasaka Ai didn't dare move. She could already see the resolve in the little fatty's eyes.

With his practiced gun skills, he could blow their heads off with a single shot at this distance.

"Enough. There's no reason." Yuki stepped in front of the gun and slowly opened his mouth. "It's simple. He and the housewife have been controlled for a long time. If I'm not mistaken, this must be Li Dan's Ego Trait."

"Complete nonsense." Robert shook his head slightly, his eyes darting around as if he were trying to find an invisible person.

"Looks like I guessed right. Well, let me guess a little more." Yuki rubbed his chin, pretending to think.

"This Ego Trait must have something to do with fungal spores. It manifests as constant coughing, and it can infect players without anyone noticing. It can even take other people's traits for its own use."

"It's a powerful ability, but it has a fatal flaw: the infected have to trust Li Dan unconditionally. That's why he took Mai Sakurajima away—no, Hayasaka—and kept trying to get close to her."

Hayasaka Ai, standing beside him, blinked. No wonder Li Dan had kept rambling when they'd played the switcheroo.

"Li Dan's too petty. He was afraid I'd come after him, so he never intended to let us return from the start." Yuki shrugged lightly.

"Do you have Future Sight?" The fatty's expression finally changed. Just like when Yuki had figured out Thomas's identity, he had gotten very close to the truth.

"No. But once I have a question, I do everything I can to find the answer. For example, when I was fighting Thomas to the death, I had Mai Sakurajima secretly observe the housewife in hiding. Then I looked for common traits among you." Yuki lifted his foot, looking straight at the gun as he slowly lowered it.

"A perfect puppet that coughs. Take you, for example: you're a cowardly fatty, yet you were far too calm when we crossed the canal. I deliberately put you last because I wanted to see if you'd follow us with the river full of Living Corpses."

"And you really did follow us, without hesitation. After landing, you kept up your perfect performance in battle. Then you risked your life to cover us just now. That's not what a cowardly character would do."

Click, click, click.

The trigger was pulled, but not a single bullet fired. Robert stared at Yuki as he came closer, then quickly turned the rifle around.

"The magazine you gave me was faulty?!"

"After we crossed the river, I was mostly sure. Why make things difficult for myself?" Yuki pressed his chest against the gun barrel and sighed. "Two veteran players working together, with everyone but the three of us being puppets. Li Dan, Li Dan. It's rare to meet such a master schemer."

He reached out, stopping the fatty from pulling out his pistol, and slowly raised his foot.

"But it's a shame. I'm even more underhanded than you. Did you enjoy the monsters inside the fog wall?"

As the words fell, the fatty's eyes suddenly came alive, brimming with murderous intent. Then his face split apart like mycelium.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out. The man's head exploded, and Yuki kicked him into the fog wall. He brushed his hands off, then turned to Hayasaka Ai, who was still stunned.

The girl blinked and asked with some irritation, "Seriously, why did you keep it from me?"

"To fool someone else, you first have to fool yourself. Li Dan got careless and showed his hand too early. Who knew I'd rather trust you than him?"

"I've been wondering about that for a while. Veteran players should be more trustworthy, shouldn't they? Who starts looking for other people's weaknesses right from the beginning?"

"I told you, I don't play by the rules." Yuki smiled. Of course, he couldn't tell her that he knew everything about them. He reached out his hand. "My senior got in ahead of Li Dan. Just hold on a little longer. I'll take you both home."

Hayasaka Ai had a lot of questions, but when she saw the hand in front of her, all her doubts disappeared. She opened her palm and clasped his hand tightly.

"Okay."

You son of a bitch, you've been scheming against me this whole time?!

The Spore Puppet could transmit information, so Li Dan received the message almost immediately.

His honest-looking face flushed red in an instant, and the veins on his forehead bulged. He felt like a clown.

His ultimate goal, every trump card he had—Yuki had seen right through it all. And Li Dan had been putting on a show onstage, without knowing a thing?

But no matter how furious he was, he couldn't go back and settle things with Yuki.

"He even hid the crucial information from me. He was still trying to get one over on me at the very end?"

His cunning sent a chill through Li Dan, and the monster made his nerves tighten even further.

What kind of Living Corpse was this?!

On the second basement level, a giant knelt in the middle of a hall spanning several thousand square meters. It stood five or six meters tall and looked like a naked man, with broken chains locked around its wrists.

Its right leg had been torn apart by the Death Knell, but it had healed again amid white steam.

It healed too quickly. I can't escape.

Li Dan glanced furtively behind him. The hole blasted open was in a wall five meters above the floor. He'd landed and run straight into the Giant. There was no way back the way he'd come.

This is bad. The Living Corpses from the Ancient Castle will pour in through the entrance behind it. It's already daytime outside the city, and I could be trapped at any moment.

Thud, thud, thud.

Heavy footsteps cut off his thoughts. In just a few seconds, the Giant stood up. Its blasted right leg was completely unmarked.

There was nothing to hide behind in the hall. Its head almost touched the ceiling. It stood in silence, radiating terrifying pressure.

Click.

Expressionless, Li Dan worked the bolt and loaded a fifth bullet into the chamber. Whether he wanted to or not, he now had to fight for Yuki's sake.

The Giant went from walking slowly to striding, then sprinting. In the blink of an eye, it crossed the hundred meters between them and swung a chain as thick as a human thigh.

The chain whipped through the air like a lash—crash! The wall burst, sending rubble flying. Li Dan ducked and charged forward, passing between the Giant's legs before turning around and raising his gun.

Hm?

The Giant dropped to the ground in an instant, landing on all fours like a Human Centipede. It crawled incredibly fast, its huge body surprisingly nimble. It swayed around like a hyperactive child, making it hard for Li Dan to aim accurately.

Bang! Bang!

The shrill sound of the air being whipped apart rang out again and again. Li Dan retreated in a panic, dodging while dealing with one unexpected situation after another.

After using four Death Knell bullets in a row, he'd become absurdly unlucky. He might even trip while running on flat ground, but he had no time to think about that.

The chain slammed down against his chest. Just as he raised his gun, the Giant pushed off with all four limbs and nearly leaped to the ceiling. Then it crossed its arms over its head and spread its legs like a ballet dancer.

Crash!!

Its downward kick caved in the floor. The shockwave sent Li Dan rolling several times. He braced himself with his left hand and slid into a corner of the hall.

Blood ran down his forehead. The corner of his eye twitched.

Its movements were savage, but it had clearly received the Crimson Moon's fourth gift: intelligence. It was making sure I couldn't aim for its head.

It's hard to deal with, but I have to kill it quickly, then find a way to kill that little bastard.

Whoosh—

The Giant's enormous body sent the dust flying as it shot forward like a sports car. But it was cunning enough not to charge in a straight line.

I have to wait for an opening. A chance to kill it in one blow.

Li Dan quietly hid his left hand behind his back. Just as the Giant's shadow swallowed him—

The monster suddenly arched backward and flung its chain behind itself with all its strength.

At that moment, Yuki came leaping in with Hayasaka Ai in his arms. They had just crossed the fog wall and hadn't even seen what was inside when the chain came roaring toward them. Fortunately, he'd been prepared. He curled up as he fell and felt the wind of the storm sweep over his head.

Bang!!

The wall was gouged with a deep scar. The flying rubble cut several gashes into Yuki's body. He landed on his back and hit the ground so hard he saw stars.

Damn, even that old bastard Miyazaki gives players time to prepare.

Yuki spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva, hurriedly dropped Hayasaka Ai beside him, and looked up. He wore the same constipated expression as Li Dan.

An Abnormal Type?!

Chapter 51: You're the One Who's Going to Die! (Revised)

Yuki had been to this second basement level at the beginning of the game.

He still remembered sneaking a peek around the corner up ahead and seeing the fire extinguisher, a crucial clue. Then he'd immediately turned and run in terror.

He hadn't gotten a good look back then, but now that he'd truly fallen into the underground hall, Yuki reached his conclusion at a glance.

Its appearance, the steam that healed its wounds, its idiotic expression—there was no mistaking it. This thing's core was an Abnormal Type.

A man-eating Giant fits the traits of a Living Corpse. If the Long Night keeps going, will it even send out an Impure World Reincarnation?

Some life-threatening guesses were coming true. Yuki had seen it long ago: the concept of "Living Corpse" in this instance was extremely broad, far beyond anything covered by Resident Evil or Left 4 Dead. If they kept staying in the Ancient Castle, they might even get to witness the First Hokage's jutsu.

Impure World Reincarnation was still a long way off. This Abnormal Type was dangerous enough, especially since it was intelligent and had no intention of letting any player escape unharmed.

And the place was just the right size, with nowhere to hide. It was practically made for the creature to hunt in!

"Go find a corner and hide!" Yuki shoved Hayasaka Ai away and decisively drew his gun. Before the Abnormal Type could charge, he pulled the trigger first.

Bang, bang, bang.

The 9mm pistol rounds weren't even enough to tickle it. The Abnormal Type, which had just changed targets, immediately ignored him and focused all its attention on the stronger prey in front of it.

The Crimson Moon's gift of intelligence let it tell threats apart. Yuki's current strength was negligible. With an opening five or six meters above the ground, what chance did he have of climbing out?

That bastard's playing dirty again!

Li Dan had finally had a chance to catch his breath. Now that the Giant had set its sights on him again, all that pent-up anger rushed to his head.

He'd meant to have Yuki draw its attention so he could find a chance to escape. That little bastard was so underhanded that he'd turned the tables and used Li Dan instead.

"Then you're not getting away either!" Li Dan bounced around in a panic, dodging the Giant as he slipped between its legs again and charged straight toward Yuki at full speed.

Thud, thud, thud, thud...

With the two prey gathered together, the Abnormal Type couldn't have been more pleased. The human spider crawled again, and in just a few steps it had reached the far end of the hall.

When a master schemer faced another master schemer, finding a chance to outsmart him was hard.