An abstract artist

[Wait, why does this guy look so happy when he got picked?]

[Does he not understand what's going on, or what?]

[Could he have... lost his head over a pretty face?!]

"Mr. Zhang" lowered his head and took another careful look at the slip of paper in his hand. "You drew a pretty good pug."

Li Xian: "..."

"It's not a dog."

The man looked at the slip again, seemingly surprised. "Not a dog? Huh... then you drew a pretty good pug-like species."

Li Xian narrowed his eyes at that.

He hadn't met many people whose words practically begged for a punch. Clearly, the man in front of him was one of them.

Under his stare, the man looked a little sheepish. "So what is it?"

Li Xian: "...A ghost."

Realization dawned on the man. "I was wondering why this dog only had one leg."

[Who would've thought? This guy looks so cold, but he's pretty chatty.]

[Who would've thought the streamer actually drew a ghost? I was sure it was something from Sanxingdui.]

[That really is a bit abstract.]

[Understandable. When God opened the door to the streamer's intelligence, he had to close a window somewhere...]

[That's not closing it. That's sealing it shut with cement, right?]

Li Xian shot the man a glare, and he wisely dropped the subject. "Should I go to your room, or will you come to mine?"

"I'll go to yours."

The man paused almost imperceptibly. "Sure."

The layout of his room was no different from Li Xian's. Only the person in the portrait differed: a handsome man smiled as he flashed a peace sign.

They turned off the lights and got into bed, each taking one side without being told. A wide gap remained between them, with the picture frame placed in the middle.

The man beside him was utterly quiet. Even his breathing seemed inaudible, yet his presence was strikingly strong.

Li Xian found it a little hard to get used to.

Strange. When Song Qingzhang slept beside me, I never felt this...

Li Xian suppressed the inexplicable emotions stirring inside him, but didn't close his eyes.

The man beside him didn't close his eyes either. Neither did anyone else.

They all knew there was a very good chance the "human skin" would come knocking.

Li Xian shifted his arm, resting his palm against the edge of the picture frame.

Time ticked by.

For a fleeting moment, Li Xian seemed to see a shadow dart through the gap beneath the door, then vanish into the darkness.

Li Xian closed his hand around the frame and slowly sat up, scanning his surroundings warily.

"Did you spot something?"

The man asked.

"It's here."

Their surroundings remained silent for so long that Li Xian began to wonder whether he'd imagined what he'd seen-then a faint sound suddenly came from overhead!

Li Xian jerked his head up. The ceiling panel swayed slightly, then a dark shape shot out from above!

The human skin spread out fully in midair like a thin blanket, but didn't slow in the slightest as it lunged straight for Li Xian's head.

Li Xian rolled off the bed, grabbed the picture frame, and hurled it at the airborne skin-

The skin swiftly curled itself into a ball and changed direction, barely skimming past the edge of the frame.

The wooden frame hit the floor with a loud, dull thud.

Li Xian's action seemed to enrage the skin. After landing on the bed, it immediately wheeled around and lunged at him again!

Li Xian quickly rolled under the bed and shouted, "Pick up the frame!"

The skin landed on the floor and pursued him beneath the bed. Fortunately, it didn't seem adept at moving through cramped spaces. It slowed considerably, allowing Li Xian to roll out from underneath just in time.

Before he could get up, the skin poked its head out from beneath the bed right behind him. Then came a loud clatter.

The man had precisely trapped the skin emerging from beneath the bed inside the picture frame.

The monster let out a piercing wail, then seemed to be sucked into an invisible layer. It struggled incessantly within that layer, making the frame rattle against the floor.

It took several minutes for the shaking to subside. Li Xian picked up the frame and found that it hadn't returned to its original "portrait" form. Instead, the entire skin had become a canvas, stretched out into an eerie picture.

A distorted face was faintly visible on it. Li Xian could just make out Zhang Guangding's features.

Frowning, Li Xian placed the "picture" face down in a drawer and said to the man, "Thanks."

The man waved it off. In the darkness, his expression seemed entirely devoid of fear after the danger they'd just faced. He was as calm as if he'd merely woken up.

"Why did it only attack me?"

The man paused at the question. "Maybe it was just a coincidence."

Li Xian narrowed his eyes again and opened his mouth to ask something else, only to stop abruptly.

[Phew... that was close. Didn't expect the streamer's roommate to be so quick on his feet.]

[And he's unnaturally calm. He was on the bed too when the skin lunged at them, right? How did he not even blink?]

[Are players in the Novice Zone all this mentally tough now...?]

[Huh? Why did the streamer stop talking?]

[Look, is there... something in the corner?]

Li Xian had happened to glance up and catch sight of that dark shape.

It was clearly a folded human skin. It had probably slipped in while they were under attack, and was now clinging to the corner beside the window.

It seemed to think it hadn't been noticed. It lurked quietly in the corner, waiting for the people in the room to lower their guard, get into bed, and close their eyes.

What's going on? Can these things actually tell how many people are staying in a room?

Li Xian looked away and said to the man, "It's fine now. We can sleep without worrying this time."

As he spoke, he took the man's hand and wrote on his palm:

There's. A. Human. Skin.

Run.

The man's gaze flickered, and he curled his fingers as he withdrew his hand.

"I'm going to the bathroom first."

The bathroom was right beside the entrance. Understanding his intention, Li Xian replied, "I'll go too."

The man gave him an amused look. They moved toward the bathroom, then simultaneously dashed for the door.

Seeing this, the skin in the corner raced toward them along the wall. But it had hidden in the farthest corner of the room, and despite its speed, both men made it out.

Li Xian slammed the door behind him, but he knew it couldn't possibly stop the skin's assault. His mind raced for a way to deal with it.

Someone's room must not have been attacked. I have to hurry...

Li Xian and "Mr. Zhang" ran in opposite directions down the corridor. The skin initially rushed after the man, who was closer. Yet just as it was about to reach his feet, it suddenly froze, turned around, and chased Li Xian instead.

[Seriously, bro?]

[You were just about to catch him! Since when can you switch targets?!]

[These things! They just keep picking on the streamer!!!]