Cao Liao was a newcomer to the Water Mirror Guild who, like Shen Ru, had performed exceptionally well in his newcomer instance.
Qi Ning wanted to give the newcomer some training, so he had brought him into the instance.
As soon as they entered the room, they noticed something was wrong. Combined with the system's hints, they quickly deduced that the gaps were a problem.
Qi Ning specifically warned him, "Liao, don't go near any gaps in the room. We don't know what this thing is yet. Touching it rashly could be dangerous."
Cao Liao might not have been the quickest thinker, but he was a burly man with decent combat strength, someone who held his own among the newcomers.
He nodded dismissively and even flexed his muscles at Qi Ning. "Don't worry, Guild Leader. Even if I run into danger, I can at least fight back."
Although Qi Ning was a little worried, Cao Liao would have to stand on his own sooner or later. Besides, he had brought him along to develop his abilities. With that in mind, he offered a few more brief reminders before heading into the bathroom to wash up.
The instant the bathroom door closed, the air in the room seemed to stop circulating. The sunlight outside gradually dimmed, and within two minutes, the entire room was shrouded in an eerie gloom.
Although Cao Liao was a newcomer, he immediately noticed something was wrong and warily surveyed his suddenly altered surroundings.
Then, without warning.
White light began flashing all around the room. It was so dark that Cao Liao had to move a little closer to make out the walls.
He advanced cautiously, and the details on the walls gradually came into focus.
There had been numerous cuts in them all along, as though sharp blades had slashed across them. They simply hadn't been obvious beneath the walls' fresh finish.
The beams of white light were shining through those gaps.
Just as Cao Liao prepared to retreat without reacting further, the white light around him abruptly went out.
When someone went from direct exposure to white light into darkness, their eyes needed time to adjust. For several seconds, they were practically blind, and their surroundings appeared even darker.
At that moment, an eye suddenly appeared in the larger gaps in the walls and cabinet doors. Against the dim light, that eye looked all the brighter and clearer in the darkness.
Cao Liao had prepared thoroughly, but he had overlooked human reflexes.
Even knowing that thing was dangerous, he instinctively met the blood-red eye's gaze head-on.
A savage tearing sensation instantly ripped through his eye sockets. Then hot blood, metallic and sickly sweet, gushed from his mouth.
Accompanied by his piercing screams, the room returned to normal.
The gloomy room abruptly brightened, and a blood-drenched corpse lay in its center.
No one had expected a brief rest in their rooms to cost someone his life.
By the time Shen Ru had changed and arrived at Qi Ning's room with Mo Yu, the others were already there.
Cao Liao lay drenched in blood in a pool of his own making.
All color had drained from his face. His pale lips were slightly parted, and his empty eye sockets were pitch-black. It was hard to imagine the pain and torment he had suffered before his death.
Both Qi Ning and Guan Wenyue looked grim. Shen Ru quietly approached Wen Meng to ask:
"What's going on?"
Wen Meng glanced around and explained softly, "President Qi's talent lets him see the last five minutes before someone's death. President Guan wanted him to describe how Cao Liao died, but he refused."
Shen Ru was a little surprised. He had thought Qi Ning and Guan Wenyue were in the same boat, but apparently not.
He liked watching a spectacle, but he didn't want to become part of one.
Besides, everyone now saw his every word and action as synonymous with Mo Yu's. Judging by Mo Yu's demeanor, he probably enjoyed stirring things up.
That made this the perfect time to fan the flames.
"President Guan, aren't you asking too much? President Qi just lost a teammate. Isn't it a little inappropriate for you to care only about the clues?"
The young man raised his eyes to the scheming man. Beneath his thick lashes, a sly glimmer flickered in his dark-red eyes.
Wei Lanxing immediately understood what Shen Ru was getting at. And since Mo Yu had brought him, that practically meant her idol had put him up to it!
Of course she had to stir the pot!
"Exactly, Guan Wenyue. Weren't you and Qi Ning teammates during the Selection Phase? Don't you care about that bond at all?"
Wei Lanxing looked at Guan Wenyue with amusement. The man practically advertised his petty schemes to the whole world. Her contempt for him was nothing new.
Guan Wenyue ignored their mockery and turned to Mo Yu with an odd expression. "President Mo, is this what you want too?"
Mo Yu's expression barely changed. His gaze was cold, as though he were looking at a dead man. "What do I want?"
"For the distinguished leader of the Dark Night Guild to take the lead in ostracizing other guilds."
Guan Wenyue was thoroughly enraged. Normally, he wouldn't have spared either Shen Ru or Wei Lanxing a glance, yet now they dared climb onto his neck and shit all over him. How would they dare unless Mo Yu had instructed them?
Mo Yu admired the anger on the man's face as though viewing a work of art he was thoroughly pleased with. Then his malicious words rang in everyone's ears:
"Dark Night hasn't fallen so low that we need to ostracize you to hurt your pride."
He had made it clear in the Livestream Room: Dark Night had no intention of targeting Lanji.
All speculation to the contrary was nothing but baseless rumor.
With a single sentence, he had cleared himself of everything.
In the Livestream Room:
[AAAAAA holy shit, that hit me right in the heart!!!!]
[The sexual tension is off the charts!!!]
[Beautiful Shen, I recorded you gloating back there!!!]
[Come on, you could've been a streamer who got by on his looks, but you had to prove yourself in an infinite survival game. Babe, what were you thinking!!!]
Guan Wenyue clenched his teeth, left speechless by Mo Yu's retort.
He had indeed been too impatient. Ever since underestimating Shen Ru's strength, he had felt trapped in a vicious cycle, one mistake leading to the next.
In the end, his interests came first. Neither inside the instance nor outside the game did he have the power to contend with Dark Night, so he could only back down.
"I'm sorry, President Mo. I got carried away just now. I apologize for speaking carelessly."
Guan Wenyue bowed slightly. He hadn't expected a response, either, and gave himself an excuse to leave. "I have something else to attend to, so I won't disturb you any longer."
With that, he left with his partner.
Once the nuisance was gone, Shen Ru's face filled with smiles. Cunning lurked in his red eyes as he quietly asked Mo Yu:
"Is there a card that can pause the Livestream Room for a while?"
In the Livestream Room:
[?????]
[You want to talk shit behind my back???]
[Listen to yourself. Is that something a decent person would say????]
[Babe, not gonna lie, you're being seriously sneaky...]
Mo Yu watched the young man with a faint, ambiguous smile, curious about what he intended to do. He nodded. "Three minutes."
"That's enough."
The moment he finished speaking, the Livestream Room displayed a lost connection.
[...I'm reporting this!!!]
[AAAAAA this is so annoying! What can't you say in front of me???]
Shen Ru's objective was simple: he wanted to win Qi Ning over.
But announcing it openly in the Livestream Room would defeat the purpose of their alliance and Mo Yu's original plan to kill through someone else's hands.
Only now did Shen Ru understand why the man had never admitted anything in front of him. As it turned out, Mo Yu had been unable to acknowledge it in the Livestream Room from the very beginning.
"President Qi."
The young man's voice was sincere and direct.
"I'm sorry about Cao Liao's death."
Qi Ning watched him warily. After all, he had seen the young man go berserk, and Mo Yu stood behind him.
"It's all right. That day comes for most people."
Qi Ning's answer was diplomatic, neutral, and left no openings.
"But I can make his death mean something. Would you like to hear how?"
Shen Ru watched him without blinking, his red eyes bright, quietly waiting for a response.
"How?"
He took the bait.
"You brought Cao Liao into this instance. Although he was unlucky and ended up staying here forever, not everyone will understand that once you get out. It won't just damage your reputation, but more importantly, the guild's."
The young man seemed completely at ease. His bold confidence made Qi Ning think more highly of him.
"I won't let Guan Wenyue leave this instance alive. Once we're out of the game, we'll say he schemed against Cao Liao, stopping at nothing to obtain clues. Not only will that solve the problem I just mentioned, it'll also leave Lanji without a leader. I believe that benefits everyone here."
Cao Liao could die, but his death couldn't be so worthless.
Qi Ning lowered his eyes and pondered in silence for a long time. Finally, he looked up into Shen Ru's eyes and asked earnestly, "What do you need me to do?"
The young man curved his lips into a smile, an unusual light shimmering in his eyes. His voice was gentle and beguiling:
"It's simple. Take our side, and tell us why Cao Liao died."
"Deal."
The moment he finished speaking, the Livestream Room's connection returned to normal.
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