The Leons' Tea Party (End)

In the Livestream Room:

[...Mr. Leon is being way too obvious about targeting him.]

[My wife really has it rough. I only just fucking became a fan. He isn't going to die this soon, is he...]

[How is he supposed to play this? Before, he was only up against beginners. Even if their strength differed, the gap wasn't that big.]

[It's fine. We've still got the great Mo Yu!]

Shen Ru strongly suspected that Mr. Leon was doing this out of spite, but he couldn't figure out the purpose.

Were Mr. Leon and the Butler truly in love?

Had killing the Butler made him the villain who tore the lovers apart?

The logic didn't hold up.

But if he looked at it from another angle, perhaps a player had struck a deal with Mr. Leon-for instance, Mr. Leon would help that player take his life.

And the player would help Mr. Leon resurrect the Butler?

Shen Ru moved a few steps toward Mo Yu and asked softly, "Does any player here have a talent related to resurrection?"

Mo Yu frowned slightly, running through everyone's talents in his mind before replying, "The man beside Guan Wenyue is called Xi Rui. His talent lets a designated person or NPC see things that have already died. It lasts a few hours or so."

Just as I thought. No wonder Guan Wenyue had behaved himself lately. So this was what he'd been waiting for.

The young man said nothing after hearing that. He merely lowered his eyes. Under the dim light, his long lashes trembled slightly. His face was expressionless, his lips pressed into a thin line, and he didn't utter a word.

Mo Yu thought he was terrified. Black shadows gathered behind him as he kept a constant watch on their surroundings.

The final chase was an unexpected mission. Every year's Tea Party had been a routine deduction-based instance, without any conflict between players. The cards they received were determined by their deductive performance and participation in the instance.

So when the system announced the mission, even Mo Yu froze for a moment.

Before the mission reward was announced, alliances could exist. But there was no denying that everyone had selfish motives. Their ultimate goal in entering this instance was that S-Rank Card, especially when their quarry was a novice who had only just cleared the Newcomer Instance.

Suddenly, Shen Ru raised his hand and shoved Mo Yu away with all his strength.

His dark red eyes met the man's slightly startled face.

Without hesitation, the young man turned and bolted toward the back of the Villa, even using his talent as he ran to make his escape seem more desperate.

In the Livestream Room:

[Holy shit, is he deliberately cutting ties to protect the great Mo Yu?]

[Fuck, my wife is really that kind???]

[Waaah, it's over. I'm genuinely invested in this ship now. If this isn't love, what is!?]

[He'd risk his own life for his other half. Everyone, start shipping them!!!!]

Shen Ru hadn't pushed the man away out of love or a desire to protect him. He had done it for himself.

He couldn't let Mo Yu intervene. Not because he feared it would make everyone recognize their alliance, but because Shen Ru himself didn't want any entanglements with the Dark Night Guild.

He had come to this instance with Mo Yu simply because he thought it was rare and interesting.

He had only stayed at the Dark Night Guild for his own safety.

Besides, he planned to kill Guan Wenyue and screw Mo Yu over badly once they left the instance. After being used as a tool for so long, he deserved some compensation.

Shen Ru remembered a natural lake behind the Villa, surrounded by lush, dense foliage.

Although the young man had put force into that shove, Mo Yu only retreated two steps before standing firmly in place.

The shove hadn't accomplished much. It merely looked like a deliberate attempt to draw a line between them.

The corners of the man's mouth rose. He was eagerly anticipating what the young man would do next.

Xi Rui gave chase the instant Shen Ru ran off, leaving Guan Wenyue, Mo Yu, and the others standing where they were.

Wei Lanxing frowned, showing no intention of acting. Though she hadn't spent much time with Shen Ru, she knew very well that he was an uncontrollable madman devoid of morals.

But without Shen Ru, she and Wen Meng wouldn't have made it this far so smoothly. Even if they wouldn't have died, it would have taken some effort.

Moreover, Mo Yu had brought him here. Setting aside the fact that she was Mo Yu's fan, if she crossed him over this S-Rank Card, her life probably wouldn't be easy once she got out.

Wei Lanxing was smart, and smart people never led their teammates into foolish decisions.

She held Wen Meng back, signaling for her not to act rashly.

Qi Ning said nothing either. His thoughts were much the same as Wei Lanxing's.

His guild wasn't particularly high-ranked to begin with. Even if he acted now and obtained the S-Rank Card, keeping it all to himself would be next to impossible.

In previous years, cards had been distributed after the game ended. But this year's blatant designation targeted not only Shen Ru, but every player who might obtain the S-Rank Card.

Seeing that no one moved, Guan Wenyue understood their intentions. He smiled and said with gentlemanly courtesy:

"Since none of you intend to act, I'll gladly claim this year's S-Rank Card."

He spoke naturally, with ample confidence.

Xi Rui was a renowned enforcer in the Blue Chronicle Guild. Few could face him head-on.

During Guan Wenyue's fight with Shen Ru, aside from his greater speed, the young man's combat skills had indeed been considerably better than the average player's. But compared to Xi Rui, he was still nowhere close.

What did it matter how fast the young man was? As long as Xi Rui found an opening, Shen Ru was certain to die.

But what Guan Wenyue didn't know was that the young man wasn't actually fast.

Who could have imagined that a young man fresh out of the Newcomer Instance already possessed an innate talent?

Xi Rui had followed the young man behind the Villa. There wasn't a soul around, as though the young man had sprouted wings and flown away.

But the man didn't lower his guard. He constantly watched for movement nearby, a knife in hand, ready to slit Shen Ru's throat or stab him through the heart at any moment.

After Shen Ru advanced to rank B, his talent's duration had increased as well, giving him five minutes of stopped time per instance.

To get a head start, the young man had deliberately used his talent at a corner and hidden himself directly in the woods, leaving no trace.

Thus, from the viewers' perspective, the beautiful, red-eyed young man was motionless high in a tall tree. Leaves concealed his body, allowing him to blend into the darkness.

Holding a knife in his right hand, Shen Ru stared fixedly at the man below like a killer stalking prey in the night.

He was waiting for an opportunity.

Suddenly, Xi Rui seemed to detect a sound. Just as he whipped his head around to attack, Shen Ru sprang from the tree, using his talent to create a gap in time.

Before the man could react, the sharp blade plunged straight into the center of his head.

Bright red, sticky blood sprayed out before the young man's crazed smile.

As Xi Rui collapsed, the young man straddled him, yanked out the dagger, and drove it hard into his heart.

Hot, thick blood splattered everywhere. With no time to think further, Shen Ru released the knife's handle and leaped straight into the pond beside him.

In the Livestream Room:

[...]

[He's so strong. I couldn't stop yelling holy shit!!!]

[Help, wife, does my husband know you're this hot!!!]

[Aaaaaah, that was devastatingly handsome. I, Li Dachui, swear I'll marry my wife and bring him home.]

The moment Shen Ru entered the water, he used the C-Rank Card, Black Goldfish. This card allowed him to remain safely underwater for thirty minutes.

If his guess was right, Wei Lanxing and Qi Ning would hesitate to come after him out of respect for Mo Yu's strength.

And the first person to lose patience would definitely be Guan Wenyue.

Sure enough, hurried footsteps sounded on the bank not long afterward.

Guan Wenyue had arrived.

The man's face instantly paled when he saw Xi Rui, stabbed twice, both wounds striking vital points.

He couldn't imagine that Xi Rui, who excelled at fighting, had been killed with just two thrusts. He immediately heightened his vigilance and scanned his surroundings.

Suddenly-

"Glug, glug."

A sound came from the water.

Guan Wenyue whipped his head around and stared fixedly at the surface.

The person underwater seemed to notice something and held his breath again.

The air fell into deathly silence once more.

Guan Wenyue was cautious enough that if Shen Ru revealed an opening outright, he would never take the bait. So Shen Ru needed to manufacture one.

"No one can stay underwater for too long. Come up soon if you don't want to suffocate."

Guan Wenyue had already seen through his trick. Reveal his position, lure him over to investigate, then drag him into the water?

He wasn't an idiot. How could he fall for such an old trick?

Silence swept over everything again. His words seemed like nothing more than talking to himself. Apart from that earlier noise, there hadn't been another sound.

It was as though everything just now had been Guan Wenyue's imagination.

Ten minutes passed.

Those ten minutes were Guan Wenyue's limit. He even suspected that the other man had died, yet never questioned whether he had imagined the sound.

People could never quite suppress their curiosity.

Guan Wenyue was no exception.

Shen Ru waited quietly underwater until he heard footsteps drawing closer and closer before finally stopping.

He knew his chance had come.

His talent had fifteen seconds left, enough for him to swim up.

Suddenly, water erupted in a splash. The handsome young man shot out of the water like an alluring spirit. His thin shirt was thoroughly soaked, his sexy V-line flickering into view. His dark red eyes gleamed brilliantly as they flashed through the air.

"Splash."

Caught completely off guard, Guan Wenyue was dragged into the water.

Shen Ru knew bears could swim, but he didn't know whether Guan Wenyue could, nor did he want to.

The instant he forced him underwater, Shen Ru denied him any chance to use Beast Transformation again. Using the same method, he plunged the sharp dagger straight into the man's right eye.

With a sudden, forceful twist of his wrist, he split the skull in two along the brow bone.

In an instant, the pond turned crimson.

Shen Ru sat quietly beside the water. Bright red droplets followed the winding strands of his hair down his cheeks. His loose shirt was now soaked and clung tightly to his body, outlining his pale, delicate collarbones and firm, slender waist and abdomen.

The pond was crimson, and a blood-drenched corpse still lay on the bank.

This was the scene that greeted everyone when they arrived.

It would hardly have been surprising to call him an immortal descended to bewitch mortal hearts.

At the sound of their approach, the young man lifted his head. His dark red eyes shone with unbridled excitement, as though a raging fire burned deep within them.

"Ding! The game's trading party has been detected dead. An equivalent exchange cannot be provided. Game over!"

"Congratulations to Player Shen Ru for obtaining the S-Rank Card: Mrs. Leon's Tears."

"Instance complete. Automatic exit in thirty seconds."

After hearing the announcement, Shen Ru suddenly smiled. Looking at the corpse that had floated up beside the bank, he spoke with deep regret, his words sending chills through everyone:

"What a shame. I'd wanted to kill Mr. Leon too."