The blond was the first to realize something was wrong. He stared at the young man in disbelief, then backed away several steps as though something had suddenly occurred to him, his eyes widening in terror.
"So the game's difficulty also increases because you're a high-level player, right?"
That meant these newcomers were about to face an entry-level instance on hell difficulty.
Before Shen Ru could react, the footprints that had surrounded Du Xiaomei began moving restlessly again. Their terrifying speed and eerie footsteps seemed to herald a beast in the shadows about to bare its fangs.
By now, Du Xiaomei no longer cared who the real culprit was. She abruptly looked up, her eyes filled with terror from the depths of her soul. Her vacant gaze held a humble plea, and her hoarse throat produced one final cry for help.
"Help... help me."
The moment she finished speaking, the enormous footprints stopped dead in front of her, as if they had suddenly received an order.
Then came the dull sound of a blade slicing through flesh.
Dazzling blood burst from the girl's body, spilling out with her intestines and organs from the corpse that had been cleaved in two.
The sticky, metallic-smelling liquid splashed onto the young man's cheek. His pale, slender fingers brushed away the blood, then casually traced vivid streaks across the wall.
Stained with blood, the transparent monster finally became fully visible to everyone.
The thing stood only about half a meter tall. Its hollow eyes were entirely white, and its gaping mouth revealed sharklike serrated teeth. Some nauseating, dark yellow substance even hung from its neck.
The one detail worth noting was that the monster had no feet.
Although enormous footprints were clearly stamped across the floor, the thing was transparent from the ankles down, as though someone had simply cut off its feet.
Qi Liang was just a small fry who hung around beginner instances. He had never seen anything so bizarre.
His eyes trembled with terror in their sockets. Still shaken, he looked at the expert before him and hurriedly edged farther back.
"You have ten minutes left."
The monster's voice sounded as though a bowl of hot oil had been poured down its throat, echoing in the ears of every shaken player.
Shen Ru studied the monster standing motionless beside the corpse with interest.
The area they could move around in was small, and the conditions under which the monsters could kill were correspondingly strict.
The monster repairing the wall killed through negotiations, so what did this monster use?
If it was because Du Xiaomei had smashed the receiver, her life should have ended the instant it broke. Unfortunately, that hadn't happened.
Instead, the poor girl had been mercilessly killed when she opened her mouth to ask everyone for help.
Could asking for help be the condition that allowed the monster to kill?
No, that condition wasn't restrictive enough.
Du Xiaomei was an extremely timid female player who feared death, yet before asking for help, she had acted out of character, neither screaming nor shrieking. Instead, her eyes had been filled with fear of an unknown danger, and even numbness.
She must have seen something before she died.
Following that line of reasoning, Shen Ru quickly circled the corpse and suddenly spotted a piece of mirror about half the size of a palm beside the fragments of the receiver.
He knew perfectly well that it hadn't been there when the receiver shattered on the floor.
Of course. The monster had emerged from the restroom mirror, which meant it must have loathed the mirror that imprisoned it. And this shard had conveniently appeared near Du Xiaomei.
The monster's rampage and slaughter suddenly had a clear cause and explanation.
What a vile man. First, he lured the newcomers into taking on a side quest, using his strength and attitude to intimidate them into temporarily overlooking how the game assigned difficulty. Then, with just a few words, he shifted the blame onto someone else, effortlessly redirected their hostility, and played everyone like puppets.
How amusing. Who would have imagined that he was actually the despicable one who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals, secretly making fools of everyone?
If Shen Ru were Mo Yu, he would probably be feeling quite pleased with himself right now.
Looking down on these ants from on high.
Look! All he had to do was lift a finger to move the plot along.
But everything needed a motive. The man must have wanted something from these side quests, and Shen Ru was certain that what he wanted was on this blood-drenched monster right now.
Otherwise, Du Xiaomei's death made no sense.
Shen Ru suddenly had a bold idea.
The young man's voice was warm and gentle, like a stone dropped into a lake, sending ripples through the deathly silence.
"Solving our customers' problems is the guiding principle of the Good Review Convenience Store. Finding your feet isn't any trouble, but you'll need to offer something of equal value in return. After all, I can't have the store's employees working for nothing, can I?"
Shen Ru avoided looking at anything reflective the entire time. He was certain he hadn't broken any rules. At least for now, he was safe.
Qi Liang had already gone pale with fright at this maneuver.
Did all experts have this problem??
Bargaining with a monster even in the middle of a crisis???
Was this the confidence of a high-level player!?
At that thought, Qi Liang looked at Shen Ru with even greater respect and admiration.
The monster paused, as though it hadn't expected a player to dare speak to it so openly. After several seconds of silence, it seemed to receive some notification. It split its mouth into a grin, revealing densely packed teeth, and spoke in an eerie voice.
"Fine. You decide the payment. I just want my feet."
Having received a satisfactory answer, Shen Ru tilted his head and quietly looked at the man to one side, his lips curling into an inscrutable smile.
The beautiful young man slowly walked up to him and lightly rested his slender fingers on the man's broad chest.
The beauty lowered his eyes, his soft, bright red lips parting in a genuine show of weakness. His dazzling red gaze swept over the other man's neck as he leaned in and whispered.
"I really don't want to be your enemy. After all, I just want to get out alive. Mere words aren't very convincing, so now I'm offering you what you want. How about we get along peacefully?"
Mo Yu found it amusing and teasingly exposed the young man's little scheme. "You want me to help find those feet."
Long lashes trembled softly. Apart from the livestream viewers and Mo Yu himself, no one knew what they were saying.
The beautiful young man blinked slowly. The corners of his eyes gradually reddened, and at the man's words, even his pale cheeks flushed slightly. His delicate collarbones trembled in the cold air.
To anyone watching, he looked as though he had been terribly bullied.
Shen Ru's fragile air practically spilled out of the screen, yet the words flowing from his red lips were razor-sharp.
"Then what are we going to do, sir? If you refuse now, I have a hundred ways to make sure you never get what you want."
After speaking, the young man's shoulders continued to tremble faintly. Whatever method he used, even his neck had turned scarlet.
The three who had no idea what was happening quietly huddled together.
Qi Liang whispered, "Shen Ru's obviously being bullied. This guy tricked us into doing a side quest, and now he won't even leave an expert alone??"
The blond's name was Cheng Lin. Hearing that, he nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I bet Shen Ru went to talk to him about the quest. Chances are he's refusing to help."
The girl beside them was named Wei Lingling. After listening to their analysis, she finally recovered her senses and said in disbelief, "So he tricked us into doing a side quest, and now Shen Ru has to beg him to help find this monster's huge feet?"
Their analysis grew increasingly absurd, until they had nearly painted Shen Ru as a pitiful, helpless victim.
The livestream viewers who had heard Shen Ru and Mo Yu's entire conversation reacted:
[...No, there has to be some misunderstanding here.]
[If I hadn't heard what those two were saying, I would've almost believed these newcomers' nonsense...]
[Seriously! How can he be so shameless!? Pretending to be a victim to con everyone!!]
[Oh my god!!! Aaaaaah, my wife is so captivating, I love him!!!]
[Help, who would've thought someone could look so heartbreakingly vulnerable while spouting vicious threats!!!]
Rather than getting angry, Mo Yu laughed. His warm hand lightly pinched the young man's beautiful cheek before pulling him sharply closer.
In an instant, their breaths mingled.
An alluring, cool fragrance washed over him, followed by the man's low, wicked laughter.
"All right. I agree."
The moonlight was somewhat dim now, casting a thin veil over the man's handsome face.
Forced closer by the man's pull, Shen Ru then heard an amused voice beside his ear.
"My name is Mo Yu."
Before you continue