The King of Hell Came and Went (23) GAME OVER

"Fire!"

The increasingly choking smell and the cries of "Fire!" threw the already chaotic banquet hall into an even greater uproar.

Even An Ya, who had seemed to have everything under control, paled at this. She whipped around to Bai Cha. "What's going on?"

Bai Cha looked at her, his eyes covered in red veins, his once-handsome face contorted:

"GAME OVER. It's time for the game to end. Let's all die together!"

An Ya spat. "If you want to die, do it yourself!"

Then she surged toward the doors with the other staff members.

The crowd stopped.

A series of loud bangs followed.

"The doors... won't open!"

At those words, everyone panicked.

The banquet hall was on the top floor of the Riverside Building. The only exits were those locked doors.

They couldn't exactly jump out the windows!

The smoke grew thicker, and the temperature in the banquet hall rose rapidly.

Gong Yao's voice rang out amid the crowd milling around like headless chickens. "Don't shove or trample anyone! Look for the fire safety equipment!"

"I found it!" Tao Lele shouted.

A moment later, he added quietly, "...It looks broken."

Everyone joined the frantic struggle to save their lives except Bai Cha and Li Qing, one seated and the other standing.

Bai Cha gloated, "Watching people doomed to die flail around, desperately trying to survive, is actually pretty entertaining, isn't it?"

"Is it?" Li Qing said flatly. "I don't think so."

"Then what are you doing now? Waiting to die?"

He looked at Li Qing with scorn.

Li Qing's gaze passed over his head, catching sight of a white figure beyond the people rushing back and forth.

The King of Hell met his eyes across the crowd, the corners of his eyes and mouth curled upward in an exaggerated expression, ready to claim everyone's lives.

Li Qing didn't approach him.

There was another line of text in his vision:

[Time until Dungeon Instance settlement: 00:29:59]

In half an hour, the Dungeon Instance would be settled and the players would leave.

But judging by the fire... this place wouldn't last half an hour.

Li Qing pondered this without answering Bai Cha.

Bai Cha's face twisted for an instant. He rose from his chair and grabbed Li Qing by the collar. "We're about to die, and you're still looking down on me?"

Li Qing's eyes shifted, reflecting Bai Cha's utter loss of composure.

After a moment, he said softly, "I just don't understand. You didn't have to die. You can use the system, yet you spent the points that could have saved you on taking everyone else down with you."

At those words, Bai Cha's expression froze.

"You-how do you know!?"

First he roared, then he muttered, "Impossible... I'm the only one who's been reborn over and over... I should have been the only person in this world with special privileges!"

He slammed Li Qing to the floor and seized his throat. "How could you!? You haven't suffered through all those deaths like I have, so how could you so easily get the special privileges I paid such a huge price for!!!"

"..."

Li Qing could already feel immense pressure crushing his throat.

The fingers of his left hand twitched, entering a command-

[Coordinate relocation: ...]

"Bai-Cha-!!" An enraged voice drew rapidly closer!

The next instant, Bai Cha was sent flying by a kick.

A high heel landed alongside him.

Caught off guard, Li Qing stared in astonishment as An Ya, suddenly displaying superhuman strength, pinned Bai Cha to the floor, picked up her high heel, and smashed it against his head, cursing as she struck:

"You bastard! I knew you were behind all of this! Go to hell! Even if I die here, I'll make sure you get there first!"

Li Qing: ...

So this was the destructive power of an A-Rank player...

Li Qing was still marveling when he was suddenly gathered into a warm embrace carrying a faint scent of mint.

He looked up into Gong Yao's anxious face.

"Li Qing! Are you all right?"

Gong Yao gently pulled aside the collar of Li Qing's hoodie. The sight of a distinct red mark on his pale neck made Gong Yao's breath catch.

Li Qing shook his head. "I'm fine."

"The fire safety equipment is broken, and even if we could open the doors now, we couldn't just do it. The fire has already spread behind them. Opening them now might..."

Gong Yao quickly explained the situation, keeping his uninjured arm loosely around Li Qing to shield him from the panicked crowd that might trample him at any moment.

"All we can do now is pray the fire engines get here soon." Gong Yao gave a bitter laugh.

"Judging by the fire, we have thirteen minutes left."

After saying that, Li Qing suddenly looked around.

"Where's Director Li?"

Gong Yao froze.

"Director Li? What do you need him for?"

Li Qing asked, "Did Director Li ever say whether filming for 'The King of Hell Is Here' had officially wrapped?"

"No. He was supposed to announce it after the wrap party..."

Gong Yao thought for a moment, then slapped his forehead:

"Right! If our bad luck won't end until filming wraps, let's have him announce it now! It's a long shot, but we've got nothing to lose!"

Finally heartened, Gong Yao vigorously ruffled Li Qing's hair with his large hand, then stood up. "Director Li! Where's Director Li? Isn't it time this damned movie wrapped?"

Hearing him, An Ya looked up from her brawl with Bai Cha, sudden realization dawning on her face. "That's right! Director Li, announce the wrap!"

Bai Cha spat out a mouthful of blood with a tooth in it. "Heh. It won't work."

Tao Lele loudly cut him off. "Director Li's here! I've got him!"

Director Li pulled a miserable face. "What good will announcing a wrap do now? Fine, it's a wrap, it's a wrap! This movie has nothing to do with any of you anymore!"

The fire didn't stop because of that.

But several crisp chimes sounded in Li Qing's ears almost simultaneously, and several lines of text popped up on his monitoring panel:

[Mission complete. A07710 System successfully activated.]

[Mission complete. B11111 system successfully activated.]

[Mission complete. C88010 System successfully activated.]

[Mission complete. P001 system successfully activated.]

Bai Cha, who had just been mocking everyone's futile efforts, watched in astonishment as the disheveled An Ya, no longer caring about appearances, first froze, then changed expression. Suddenly, her entire demeanor turned ruthless.

-That wasn't a demeanor any celebrity should have possessed.

Already halfway into the darkness, Bai Cha realized this woman must have blood on her hands, and plenty of it.

"...Tsk. What a pain." An Ya wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and glanced at Bai Cha.

Her eyes held none of "An Ya's" usual arrogance or contempt. They held no other emotion, either, as though she were looking at an ant she could crush with one hand.

She pushed through the crowd, walked to a window, and looked outside.

Then she glanced at Li Qing, who was sitting by the window, and suddenly gave a knowing smile. "Thanks. You two keep at it. I'll be heading out first."

With that, she kicked the glass to pieces and jumped out under the staff's horrified gazes.

-This Dungeon Instance automatically erased the players' memories, making them believe they were ordinary people.

That was why it didn't prohibit players from using any items. They wouldn't use them anyway.

Li Qing wasn't the least bit curious about how An Ya would escape the inferno.

Because Gong Yao had already come over to him.