Just as terror gripped the group, the eerie telephone suddenly rang.
The strange, insistent ringing made Qi Liang, who stood beside Shen Ru, shudder violently.
The dripping wet footprints remained clearly visible on the floor, moving slowly and rhythmically.
None of them dared make a rash move. Du Xiaomei, who was closest, had to answer the phone.
Moonlight suddenly spilled in through the window, revealing Du Xiaomei's bloodless face to everyone. In an instant, despair and terror filled the cramped room.
The phone kept ringing. Unable to bear the unseen terror any longer, Qi Liang snapped viciously:
"If you don't want to die, fucking answer it!"
That low snarl seemed to jolt Du Xiaomei back to her senses. Her trembling hands slammed onto the phone, and cold sweat dripped from her forehead, down her chin, and onto the floor.
"H-hello...?"
The grating ringing finally stopped. In the silent room, the crackle of static from the other end was especially distinct.
A terrifying roar full of malice suddenly erupted:
"Fifteen minutes! If you can't find my feet, you'll all die!!!"
Du Xiaomei barely needed to repeat anything. The voice on the other end was so shrill that every one of them heard it clearly.
She broke down completely. Before the voice on the other end had even finished, she hurled the receiver onto the floor.
Amid her piercing sobs and screams, the receiver's components scattered everywhere.
"Aaaah-"
Du Xiaomei crouched in terror and clutched her head. Her shrill screams cracked, her entire body shook, and tears poured down her face.
Seeing that she had smashed even the components out of the receiver, the blond kid crouching nearby finally lost his patience:
"Lady, there's a time and place for freaking out! If you want to die, don't drag us down with you!"
The girl who had just spoken up for Du Xiaomei couldn't help joining in. "Exactly! The phone's broken now. How are we supposed to answer when the next task comes in?"
Qi Liang kept watching Shen Ru closely, trying to gauge the expert's reaction.
But from beginning to end, Shen Ru had remained a detached, indifferent spectator. Instead, he watched Mo Yu in the distance with keen interest.
Finally, Qi Liang couldn't hold back any longer and asked cautiously, "Boss, what should we do now?"
A flicker of anticipation flashed through the young man's red eyes, as though an entertaining show was about to begin. His slender index finger slowly tapped his vivid red lips.
"Shh."
Following Shen Ru's gaze, Qi Liang looked beside Du Xiaomei. His pupils abruptly contracted, and a chill shot up his spine.
Those enormous, dripping wet footprints were slowly approaching Du Xiaomei. Judging by the disordered tracks, they had already been lingering around her for some time.
When had that happened...?
At the speed it had been moving before, there was no way that thing could have reached Du Xiaomei so quickly!
And apart from the boss and that terrifying man in the corner, no one seemed to have noticed anything unusual.
He really was an expert!
Qi Liang couldn't help marveling as he slowly edged back a step.
Shen Ru had seen it clearly: the moment the girl answered the phone, the footsteps stopped.
But the instant the receiver shattered, the halted footsteps rushed toward the culprit.
If it had previously been wandering slowly and aimlessly, then the moment Du Xiaomei broke down, it had chosen its prey.
Why?
Shen Ru sensed a subtle discrepancy.
It was as though... the phone wasn't giving the players tasks, but giving the monsters instructions.
The footprints' panic-or anger-when the receiver shattered was evident in their disordered steps and rapid movement.
The system had only told the players to take care of the store's repairs. It had never said that repair workers would come in the middle of the night.
All of this...
Ultimately, these were tasks issued by that phone on its own.
And who had first wanted the players to answer it?
The answer was obvious.
It was that high-level player.
Shen Ru felt as though he could barely contain the excitement and exhilaration deep inside him. His pounding heart threatened to leap out of his throat along with the truth.
"Everyone, in my opinion, the phone breaking is actually a good thing."
The young man raised his eyes, his expression solemn and earnest. He looked genuinely confident, as though he had carefully considered the matter and reached a definite conclusion.
In the face of overwhelming strength, even if they thought he was spouting nonsense, none of them had the courage to interrupt.
Shen Ru cast a light, provocative glance toward Mo Yu. The corners of his lips lifted slightly as he wore a beguiling expression, coaxing the lambs, little by little, into a clichéd trap.
"Did any of you receive an explicit system task saying that the repair workers would contact the players by phone?"
Qi Liang and the others thought for a few seconds, then slowly shook their heads.
Shen Ru arched his brows in satisfaction and continued, "So this is just an ordinary side quest. No one will die if we don't accept it or complete it."
Du Xiaomei slowly raised her head as well, her eyes filled with surprise and disbelief.
The young man's gentle voice sounded again, each word striking heavily against their ears.
"So, who exactly was leading us into completing a side quest?"
Shen Ru drew out the end of the question slightly, with an almost coquettish lilt that inexplicably made their hearts itch.
Yet a glimmer flashed in his eyes, and a fleeting smile touched his pressed lips.
You sick freak. Let's see how you handle this!
Qi Liang was the first to realize it. Back then, that man had urged him to answer the phone with his eyes.
He had been about to blurt out the answer, but remembering the murderous aura that surrounded the man, he immediately decided against sticking his neck out.
Du Xiaomei had no time to think that much. She had clearly seen the man's vicious gaze back then. Those weren't eyes a normal human should have.
Just as she thought-he wanted them all dead!
"It was him! This is all his fault!"
Du Xiaomei screamed and jabbed an accusing finger at Mo Yu. She glared at him through gritted teeth, wishing she could slice him into a thousand pieces.
Shen Ru narrowed his eyes slightly, slowly curling his lips into a gloating smile.
In the livestream chat:
[Holy shit!? How did he untangle all the stakes so clearly in no time at all?]
[I never thought I'd live to see the great Mo Yu get outplayed, let alone by a newbie! Hahahaha, why is this so funny?]
[He had them all spinning in circles with just two simple sentences. This newbie's good! Following!]
[No way, no way! Don't tell me the big shot's going to trip over a tiny obstacle!!!]
Mo Yu watched the young man before him without betraying a thing. It had been a long time since anyone had challenged him so brazenly.
Especially by singling him out so explicitly.
The man's face remained expressionless. In the dim moonlight, his handsome features looked even more striking. His ruthless gaze swept over the beautiful young man as though by chance, then his lashes lifted slightly, and the icy expression from a moment earlier vanished completely.
The sly fox must have discovered that he was a high-level player. That was why he was so certain.
If he spoke up to deny it now, the young man would definitely reveal that he had raised the game's difficulty.
Either choice would make him the target of everyone's anger.
How interesting!
Then why not play along and have some fun with this little fox?
Mo Yu's deep eyes appraised the young man. His voice remained cool and detached, but his words were like a time bomb.
"So this is all the magnanimity a high-level player can muster."
Shen Ru abruptly raised his head and stared straight at the black-haired man before him.
There was no trace of joy or anger in the other man's eyes. But as they closed, a flicker of excitement flashed through them, as though he were watching prey struggle.
In the livestream chat:
[Holy shit!!! I'm calling that the greatest counterattack in history!!!!]
[Fuck, that's a top player for you. One sentence, and he defused the whole thing!!!]
[My mom asked why I was watching the livestream on my knees. Don't ask! It's called respect!]
[Seriously! How are you not shipping these two??? Two powerhouses together, loving and fighting each other!! I love this so much!!!]
Before you continue