Skin Hunger Syndrome [6]

The warning came without notice.

Che Quan's delicate brows knitted in an instant, as though he were facing a formidable enemy.

The next second, the strange sensation unique to a flare-up of skin hunger syndrome surged from deep within his bones, catching him off guard.

Che Quan had been standing there at ease.

But the unnatural heat spreading through his fingertips and neck forced him to brace a hand against the doorframe. His head gradually bowed despite himself, and the fangs that had merely rested against his soft lips, looking like little canine teeth, once again grew longer and sharper.

Che Quan clenched his slender fingers tightly, then abruptly raised his eyes in fury.

His pupils were like crimson lotuses ablaze, like roses stained with blood.

Unexpectedly, they reflected the tall, graceful figure of a young man.

Che Quan had always been extraordinarily perceptive, yet this time he had not sensed the other man approaching at all.

His crimson eyes widened uncontrollably.

Fighting the waves of strange sensations coursing through his limbs, blood, and nerves, Che Quan eyed the newcomer warily.

This was no ordinary person.

Someone who could approach him so easily without being detected... how could he possibly be an ordinary human?

Che Quan's excellent night vision allowed him to make out the other man's appearance bit by bit.

Waist-length silver hair, tied with a moon-white ribbon, shone with a beautiful, moonlit luster amid the pitch darkness.

He was tall and slender, his bearing elegant.

His features were exquisite and sharply defined, his expression composed and guileless. He appeared to be a human of mixed ancestry.

Che Quan instinctively knew there was more to this man than met the eye-as a human, he could not only move freely through the darkness just like Che Quan, but also showed no fear of the oppressive atmosphere on the third floor, where the resentment was strongest.

What was more... the thick resentment that had clung to Che Quan ever since he set foot on the third floor had dissipated because of this human of unknown origins standing before him.

It was as though that resentment feared this human.

The flare-up of skin hunger syndrome made Che Quan's breathing unbearably rapid, but his mind continued racing. As these thoughts occurred to him, his lovely brows unconsciously drew into a tight frown.

The vigilance in his flame-red eyes intensified.

Che Quan pressed down with his fingertips, nearly driving them into the doorframe.

The resulting pain at least allowed him to regain a little clarity amid this damned skin hunger syndrome.

But he had used too much force, scraping open the tip of his ring finger. The cold blood unique to vampires dripped from the wound and fell silently onto the floor.

It was only a tiny drop, and only a single microsecond passed.

An enormous, invisible barrier rapidly expanded outward, centered on that drop of Che Quan's blood.

The sinister energy throughout the third floor seemed to be ruthlessly cowed in an instant. A woman's shrill scream seemed to flash through the darkness before fading away.

The so-called instance boss on the third floor, which had been hiding in the darkness and watching him all along, was temporarily driven back by Che Quan's blood.

A closer look at the drop of blood on the floor revealed a beautiful pale-gold sheen.

That was a bloodline possessed only by purebred vampires-one that could repel all ghosts.

Yet the human remained entirely unaffected. Instead, he strolled toward Che Quan with even greater composure.

His snow-white fangs fully exposed, Che Quan stared with blazing, shimmering red eyes as the young man approached, unsure what he intended.

Unfortunately, the flare-up of skin hunger syndrome had drained all his strength, leaving him barely able to support himself in the doorway.

Che Quan watched as-

The young man lowered his unfathomably deep eyes slightly, raised a hand to untie his moon-white hair ribbon, and wrapped it around Che Quan's injured fingertip.

Che Quan could not help frowning even harder.

A low, youthful voice emerged from his throat like the growl of a small beast, brimming with displeasure. "What are you doing?!"

That cry, as though his pride and dignity had been violated, rang out in the pitch darkness and instantly sent the livestream viewers into an agony of curiosity.

[Hey, hey, hey, what the hell is happening?! If you don't let me see soon, I'm going to lose my mind!]

[Why can't we adjust the brightness on this damn livestream?]

[Of course the third-floor lights are off. I'm so pissed.]

[What did the little beauty run into?! Aaaaah! I'm begging in blood here, tell us!]

Inside the instance, however, Che Quan discovered with slight astonishment that the wound beneath the ribbon had healed instantly.

It was even faster than his own vampiric regeneration.

For a moment, Che Quan was startled and uncertain, unable to tell what this human intended.

The wariness in his red eyes deepened.

But when the young man's fingers touched the skin of Che Quan's wrist, Che Quan unexpectedly felt a coolness seep deep into his bones.

In an instant, all the restless, unnatural heat surging inside him seemed to be soothed.

A peaceful, comfortable feeling spread through his entire body.

Che Quan froze, then realized-was this human standing before him the person who could ease his symptoms?

Why was he here?

No... rather, was this human a player too?

While Che Quan was still puzzling over it, he realized the other man's fingers had already withdrawn.

With that skin contact gone, the strange sensations caused by his skin hunger syndrome came surging back in an instant, even stronger than before.

Che Quan had already been able to stand steadily, but now the sudden onslaught caught him completely unprepared. He immediately bent forward despite himself, gripping the doorframe even harder than before.

The faint noises he made in the process drove the viewers, who could see absolutely nothing on their screens, even further up the wall:

[If I've done something wrong, punish me with the law, not by making me unable to see anything!]

[I've never hated this livestream so much in my life.]

[Anyone got a cracked version? Waiting online, it's urgent, fuck!]

Just then, however, the viewers suddenly heard a calm, resonant, elegant male voice emerge from the dark screen-

"My name is Jiang Cong. I'm a player too."

For a moment.

Everyone fell silent.

All the viewers paused their clamoring at once, then began cautiously posting comments:

[Jiang Cong... is he the person I think he is?]

[I don't know why, but I've got a feeling it's that big shot.]

[Same... this damn intuition.]

Inside the instance, Che Quan, who had long since blocked all the comments, saw none of this. His attention was entirely on the young man before him, who had just finished his brief introduction.

Che Quan endured the strange sensations of his skin hunger syndrome while trying his hardest to think.

Jiang Cong.

A player.

That made sense.

After all, the instance had stated at the beginning that there were seven players this time, and all of them had finished loading in.

But why was this man named Jiang Cong so unusual? Not only had he not appeared outside the villa, he had been on its seemingly most "dangerous" third floor all along.

Che Quan said all along because, thinking back, he had deliberately "monitored" everyone passing through the stairway ever since entering the villa.

No one else had come or gone.

Much less a human with such a commanding presence.

So Jiang Cong had arrived at this villa before them and had been "lying low" on the third floor ever since?

What was this man's purpose?