Protect Yourself

Yin Chao waved a hand and said Liang Chen and Linmu had still been in the classroom before the tiger-headed man appeared.

But the classroom was now empty.

Both of them turned to Moqi Xinzhi. During the gap between Yin Chao falling into the underground level and Midnight killing the tiger-headed man, he had been the only one present.

Feeling their gazes on him, Moqi Xinzhi brushed the dust off his clothes. "The tiger-headed man chased us here. We didn't see anyone when we arrived."

He didn't look as though he was lying, nor did he have any reason to.

That left only one possibility: what Liang Chen and Linmu had encountered wasn't the tiger-headed man.

Perhaps they, too, had been chased somewhere else.

Yin Chao shared his theory with Midnight, who nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, the system's voice rang out in everyone's minds.

[Beep. Players Chen Xing and Yang Qin have died. Twelve players remain: four werewolves, three villagers, five special roles.]

"Something's wrong. Players are dying too quickly."

Moqi Xinzhi was the first to speak.

Yin Chao pondered for a moment, then offered a guess. "Maybe the instance has deployed hunters specifically to hunt down players."

All three of them looked grim.

Meanwhile, at the far end of the corridor, Skinny Monkey waved them over.

Before leaving, Yin Chao gave Anna a meaningful glance, signaling that once they were gone, she could eat the tiger-headed man's corpse while no one was around.

They followed Skinny Monkey into an abandoned office.

The system's voice sounded in Yin Chao's mind just then.

[Beep. Ghost servant Anna, A-rank ghost, level 22

HP 10000 + 1000, stamina 5000 + 500, spirit 100 + 0, intelligence 70 - 2

Specialties: Claw Wind, Flash Strike, Space Rend (allows brief travel through spacetime, returning to three seconds earlier to anticipate an opponent's movements)]

It seemed the first time she devoured a ghost provided the greatest boost. Fortunately, Anna had gained the tiger-headed man's extremely powerful skill.

"Mr. Moqi, thank goodness you're all right!"

Square Face spoke excitedly from inside the room.

Moqi Xinzhi nodded and introduced Midnight and Yin Chao to them.

Skinny Monkey and Square Face were in the same class as them, so the introductions were mainly for the unfamiliar face.

He was a young man with dyed yellow hair and a vicious expression.

The young man sized up the two of them before finally settling his gaze on Yin Chao's face.

"Hi, I'm Huang Mao."

He extended his right hand to Yin Chao.

Yin Chao had always been sensitive to malice. The man before him felt like a bug crawling through some damp, dark corner.

Disgusting.

I want to crush him.

That was what Yin Chao thought, but none of it showed on his face.

His eyes still held a smile as he reached out and took Huang Mao's right hand.

"Hello."

He was already beautiful, and with his eyes curving in a smile, he looked even more like an innocent camellia blooming deep in a secluded valley.

Yin Chao could feel Huang Mao's fingers rubbing indecently against the back of his hand.

He pretended not to understand, lifting his lashes to look at the other man in confusion.

The curved corners of his long, narrow eyes only deepened the desire in Huang Mao's gaze.

Just then, Midnight, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke.

"I'm Midnight."

He extended his hand toward Huang Mao, a faint scent of blood emanating from him along with an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Huang Mao gave a couple of awkward chuckles, withdrew his right hand, and gave Midnight a perfunctory handshake.

Surprised by Midnight's sudden greeting, Yin Chao shot him a look with the ghost of a smile.

Once the introductions were over, Yin Chao glanced at the darkening sky outside the window and said he wanted to use the restroom, but was afraid to go alone and needed someone to accompany him.

Huang Mao was the first to volunteer. "I need to go too. I'll come with you!"

Yin Chao smiled and agreed.

The office where they were hiding wasn't far from the restroom.

As soon as they entered the men's restroom, Huang Mao locked the door.

Yin Chao looked at him questioningly, and Huang Mao explained that he was afraid a hunter might show up while they were using the restroom.

A good excuse, Yin Chao thought. It would be even better if he could tone down that ill-intentioned smile.

He didn't expose him, instead maintaining his innocent, delicate persona as he walked over to a urinal.

Then he rested a hand on his zipper and went no further.

Huang Mao, desperate with lust, urged him on. "What's wrong? Need your big brother to unzip it for you?"

Yin Chao turned and looked at him with a bright smile.

That look aroused Huang Mao, who thought he understood what Yin Chao meant.

"You little tease. You asked me to come to the restroom on purpose, didn't you?"

"That's true enough," Yin Chao said unhurriedly.

At those words, the other man immediately undid his trousers, his face brimming with excitement.

By the time Midnight's urgent knocking got the restroom door opened, he found Anna standing with her little leather shoe planted on Huang Mao's head.

"Midnight?"

Yin Chao was a little surprised.

Seeing that he was unharmed, Midnight's expression eased. He walked calmly to the sink. "I came to wash my hands."

"Oh." Yin Chao didn't believe him.

Huang Mao lay unconscious on the floor, his face swollen and bruised.

Arms crossed, Yin Chao leaned against the doorway. He studied the tall, long-legged man at the sink and asked, "What's your role?"

Midnight turned off the tap and met his gaze in silence.

"You think I'd tell you?"

Yin Chao chuckled. "At the very least, you're not in the Werewolf Faction."

He extended his index and middle fingers, and a card with a dark border gradually materialized.

"I can show you my card. Surely you'll believe me now."

Midnight took the card, confirmed that Yin Chao's role was the Idiot, and only then returned it.

"What if I'm a werewolf?"

As he spoke, he looked at the young man before him, who seemed no more than a delicate, fragile ornament, yet whom he dared not underestimate.

Yin Chao merely smiled without giving him an answer.

"Für Elise" played over the loudspeakers, echoing across the hellish campus.

There wasn't much time left. Huang Mao slowly stirred awake on the floor.

To keep anyone from overhearing, Midnight pulled Yin Chao into his arms, one hand pressing against the back of his neck and the other wrapped around his waist.

Their breaths mingled with an almost intimate warmth. Yin Chao couldn't quite describe the feeling; he only found it novel.

Then Midnight leaned close to his ear and said, "I'm the Guard."

Yin Chao's mind raced. The Guard could protect one person from being killed by werewolves at night. He couldn't protect the same person on consecutive nights, and he could only protect himself once.

"Protect yourself."

That was what he said.

The moment the words left his mouth, they both vanished into the darkness.

When light appeared again, they were in the familiar judgment hall.