The one in his hand was no different. If anything, it was even worse.
All he had done was give it a little electric shock.
It trembled in his hand like a plush toy with its motor switched on. Xie De could even swear the little house centipede was whimpering like a person. It was like a spirit pet that had gained sentience in a cultivation novel: it knew the person before it was not to be messed with, knew it could not beat him, and now that he had it in his grasp, it did not even dare bite.
All at once, it became far less threatening.
455 said outright, "Host, ask if it understands you. If it does, you've got yourself a treasure! Sell it outside, and I guarantee it'll fetch over five million! Besides, it's quality merchandise from an instance. Sure, it's a little weak, but it'd still be great for showing off. At least it looks intimidating."
That went without saying. A bug that understood human speech was almost certainly a rarity. If it could stay this docile, it would make quite an unusual pet, too.
Xie De held it by its antenna and gave it a shake, his voice low. "Do you understand human speech?"
The little house centipede immediately waved its only remaining antenna.
Apparently, it understood.
The little thing was terrified. Even when Xie De set it on the floor, it did not dare move. Then he held out his hand. The little house centipede hesitated, but the man's gaze was far too cold. This time, it had picked a fight with someone it could not handle. It could only submit to his tyranny and climb up his arm to his shoulder of its own accord.
It was palm-sized. Crouched there with its long, slender antenna drooping, it looked like a quiet ornament.
As it happened, the little house centipede had white markings, and its densely packed jointed legs had a certain gothic beauty. One or two cool silver strands of hair fell casually across its body, making it look even more suited to Xie De.
It gave off an overwhelming air of mysterious danger.
Fortunately, Xie De was not afraid of bugs. He was even used to them, so he could genuinely keep a straight face.
He would just consider it a pet he had picked up.
When he turned around, Old Eugene was staring at him, dumbstruck. Beiwei's eyes widened slightly once again.
They did not dare turn on the lights, and it was already frighteningly dark in there. From their perspective, Xie De had merely stepped forward, followed by the sound of a stick striking something. Then, in a thoroughly unbelievable turn of events, he had used some unknown, formidable method to make a monster randomly spawned in the instance as obedient as a pet.
These monsters ate people. All you could do was kill them. How could one possibly be this docile?
Their gazes lingered on the house centipede, and then both shuddered violently. When they saw 39 look their way, they each averted their eyes, their expressions different and their thoughts unreadable.
Xie De felt he had been misunderstood again. After all, this little bug was just a bit ugly. It really was not all that strong.
A sudden noise came from outside the door.
The three of them swiftly found cover and hid. Then a figure in a white apron slipped inside. Taking off the apron as he spoke, Wei Yanchi said, "It's me. Hurry, we need to go. The cook is coming. I found a clue. This place is about to collapse."
He tossed the apron onto a wooden crate and left the door open, then hurried back outside.
With no time to question him, the three quickly followed.
The sound of workers walking came from the corridor outside where they ate their meals. With his back to them, the potbellied cook was moving the prepared food into a corner.
As soon as they came out, 455 spooked Xie De with its ominous warning. "If you're discovered during the scene reenactment, you'll have your tendons ripped out and your skin peeled off. You'll stay here forever, never to be reincarnated."
Xie De wanted to cry. "Why are you scaring me for no reason?"
"To keep you alert, so you don't get left behind because you can't keep up with the protagonist."
"Nice."
Great. It had successfully scared him again.
Now he did not dare make so much as a sound. Xie De could hear his breathing mingling with his heartbeat, his gaze fixed on Wei Yanchi's back. Perhaps it was the adrenaline, or perhaps the training he had done in the three months before entering the instance had paid off.
He actually kept up with the protagonist.
They were successfully led into another Storage Room. It stood directly opposite the storeroom they had just been in, with a palm-sized window that gave them a perfect view of what was happening there.
Wei Yanchi took the spot by the window and looked outside, his expression unchanged, as he shared the clues he had gathered. "I got all my information by asking around among the workers. What's openly known is that the boss has a tendency toward domestic violence. There's a rumor going around the factory that his wife is cheating on him. Based on that, I can infer that what happens next is the boss killing his wife. Wu Yong and Chunju are a couple. Chunju is the factory beauty, and she's gentle, so a lot of people here like her. Li Qiang confessed to Ma Hui, but she turned him down."
No, wait.
Why were these relationships so tangled?
For a moment, his brain seemed unable to keep up.
Xie De pondered in a daze. He still clearly remembered the answers he had gotten to the instance's questions: Ma Hui liked Chunju, and the boss was keeping a Kuman Thong.
Soon, the workers filed into the cafeteria. Though they were at an age that should have been bright and full of youth, every one of them looked numb, like an empty shell. But once one voice spoke up, complaints began rising everywhere, one after another.
Of course, some had been pampered growing up. They were calling their parents and crying, refusing to keep working here no matter what.
Then came an incredibly violent bang!
The hall went silent for two or three seconds, followed by piercing screams as all the workers fled outside.
Xie De saw the protagonist's brow furrow, then relax. He leaned over to take a look, too.
His pupils shook. Remembering that he must not make a sound, and bound by the habit drilled into him over three months of training, he could only scream inwardly in terror.
"455! I know where the Headless Ghost in the cafeteria came from!!"
The storeroom they had just been in had collapsed. The cook's obese body had been crushed until it burst like a plump, juicy watermelon. Blood splattered everywhere, and a head with its eyes still wide in death rolled to the entrance of the cafeteria hall.
The protagonist whispered in his ear, "Actually, the person who was supposed to enter the storeroom just now wasn't the cook. It was Wu Yong."
"Someone wanted to kill Wu Yong," Mr. 39 said with a frown. Disgust flashed in his eyes as he took a step back.
Wei Yanchi was about to say something when his gaze happened to meet that of the house centipede on Mr. 39's shoulder.
*?*
"What is that?"
39 answered coolly, "A pet."
The house centipede lazily lifted its head at him.
Wei Yanchi laughed. "What an unusual pet. It suits you very well, Mr. 39."
Old Eugene made his presence known by saying quietly, "The surroundings outside have changed again."
Cobwebs knitted themselves across the walls once more, and the food began to rot again. A head whose eyes remained wide in death swiveled its eyes, opened its mouth wide, and spoke in anger.
"Who killed me?"
"Tell me, who killed me?!"
The head stared straight through the Storage Room at them, its gaze so venomous it seemed ready to gouge a piece of flesh from their bodies.
Beiwei pressed her lips together and quickly glanced at Xie De.
As for Xie De, he had frozen again...
The Instance System's icy voice rang out. "Player No. 4, please answer the Headless Ghost's question. If your answer is incorrect, you must compensate the Headless Ghost with a head."
Beiwei clenched her fists.
Before you continue