Erhu was dead—in the temple.
He’d arrived early that morning, but once he stepped inside, he never came back out. Swift Step had gone in to check…
And now this.
Zhao-jie quickly steadied him. “What happened? Erhu’s dead? You saw his body?”
Swift Step stammered, still visibly shaken. “Yes! He’s inside—I thought he was asleep, but when I touched him, he was cold! His body’s stiff—he’s dead!”
His sentences were jumbled and chaotic, but the raw fear in his expression was unmistakable. He was clearly terrified by the sight of a corpse.
He hadn’t witnessed a teammate die in his last game—and certainly not a “friend” dying in such grim fashion.
This wasn’t part of the original plan. Xu Zhengyi shot a wary glance at Dr. Fu, who signaled back with a look, silently telling him not to act yet.
Zhao-jie gave Swift Step’s shoulder a firm pat. “Calm down. Stabilize your SAN value. Don’t panic.”
She’d already seen teammates die during the newbie instance. Her own survival had been thanks to her composure. That calmness had helped her gather a team of four veteran players this round and become the de facto team leader.
She turned to the others. “Everyone stay calm. Panic will only make things worse. Let’s go inside and see for ourselves.”
The group followed behind her like nervous chicks, crowding forward in a clumsy shuffle as they entered the temple.
Erhu’s body was laid out in the center of the hall. His expression looked peaceful, but the deep wound in his abdomen was unmistakably fatal.
What stood out, though, was the pool of blood.
It spread across the floor, but there were no signs of struggle.
Normally, if someone died from a single, fatal stab, they wouldn’t bleed that much. If the wound wasn’t instantly fatal, the victim would still show some signs of resistance or movement.
But here—nothing.
Fu Changxun’s eyes narrowed. The temple floor was thick with dust. Yesterday, they’d left it covered in footprints. Today, all those prints were still there.
Except—there were no fresh tracks leading directly to the body. None, except Swift Step’s.
That was… odd.
Inside a game instance, what was the most likely thing to kill a player?
Not NPCs. Not other players.
But “ghosts”—beings designed specifically to prevent players from clearing the game.
So what had Erhu done to trigger this “ghost’s” kill condition?
Zhao-jie seemed to be thinking the same thing. Her expression was grim as she examined the body. Then she stood and asked, “Does anyone know where he went after we split up yesterday?”
“There were five veterans,” she continued. “Each took two or three newbies. Who was with Erhu?”
The lively girl from yesterday and her companion slowly raised their hands.
“It was us,” she said nervously. “But there was nothing weird at all yesterday. This morning, Erhu-ge said he’d head out early, and we were a little slower… Then as soon as we got to the door, we heard—”
The girl’s voice trembled—she was clearly terrified.
The temple fell into a suffocating silence.
“I just remembered something!” In the eerie stillness, Fu Changxun suddenly clapped his hands. “That NPC yesterday—wasn’t he killed by Erhu?”
The moment those words left his mouth, all eyes snapped to him. But Fu Changxun immediately ducked behind Dong Zi, trembling like a fragile white flower.
Zhao-jie’s gaze finally landed again on the unusually pretty young man. She softened her tone and asked, “Are you sure?”
Fu Changxun kept his head down, tugging at Dong Zi’s sleeve. “It’s true. If you don’t believe me, ask Xu-ge!”
Caught off guard by the sudden mention, Xu Zhengyi blinked a moment before quickly nodding. “We saw an NPC’s corpse in the forest yesterday. Presumably, uh… Erhu killed him. We didn’t think much of it at the time, but now… it might be related to his death.”
His statement was like a thunderclap.
Zhao-jie’s expression shifted. “So it’s the consequence of killing NPCs…”
With a veteran player suddenly dead, the newbies couldn’t help but panic again.
It was only natural to feel a sense of dread when one of their own fell.
“They can kill experienced players with abilities… what chance do we have?”
“I don’t want to die yet! What do we do?!”
“Don’t panic. Don’t panic.”
Zhao-jie stepped forward. “Erhu’s ability was a support-type. Him getting killed might make sense. From now on, no one goes off alone.”
Her voice was calm and commanding, slowly reining in the fear spreading among the group.
She added, “Looks like we really can’t harm NPCs. Avoid it as much as possible.”
She had already pulled herself out of the fear of losing a teammate and was now giving rational, level-headed guidance.
Xu Zhengyi had been foggy-headed until then. But hearing “don’t harm NPCs” made him whip around in realization.
“Then Xiao Xiao…”
Fu Changxun smiled. “Xu-ge, I suspect this game is extremely hostile toward us. Any action that harms or kills an NPC might bring deadly consequences. Making them think Xiao Xiao is one of the NPCs… is actually an extra layer of protection.”
“I see.” Xu Zhengyi nodded faintly.
Xiao Xiao chimed in softly, “Thank you, Doctor-gege. I’ll act really well.”
Her mild depression actually added to the believability of her NPC disguise.
After giving out instructions and hearing everyone’s updates, Zhao-jie couldn’t help but frown.
No progress at all.
Most players had been too scared to go out last night. Only she and that other veteran had scouted—but the latter was hostile and secretive, offering nothing useful.
“We can’t stay in the temple. Let’s move freely until noon and regroup at the tea stall on the main street,” she said, assigning tasks. “Find out whatever you can.”
This time, the players had a real sense of urgency. They scattered across the city to dig for information on the “General.”
Xu Zhengyi brought his two “fake newbies” into the city. As they discussed their next move, Fu Changxun suddenly stopped, grabbing Dong Zi’s hand.
“Stop him!” he said urgently.
Dong Zi followed his gaze—and sure enough, there was “Cheng En” walking just ahead of them.
The three of them rushed forward and blocked his path.
“Cheng En? You’re alive?”
“Cheng En” looked at them in confusion, his expression wary and unfamiliar.
“Who are you people?”
Fu Changxun froze. He glanced at Dong Zi, then asked, “Your name isn’t Cheng En?”
“I am—but I don’t know you.”
The situation turned strange fast. Dong Zi suddenly grabbed Fu Changxun’s hand and spoke to Cheng En, “Sorry—we met once before and chatted. You probably don’t remember. We won’t bother you anymore. Sorry again.”
“Oh, is that so?—I have to get home. I shouldn’t be out alone. Goodbye!”
Still on guard, Cheng En clutched his money pouch tightly and hurried away as fast as he could.
After he disappeared down the street, the four of them lingered for a moment.
Fu Changxun analyzed, “Maybe the NPCs are reused. After death, their data gets wiped, and the game reinserts them for a second round.”
But Xiao Xiao suddenly insisted, “No, gege—he remembered what I said.”
“Don’t go out alone at night.”
