The not-to-be-provoked Yu Deng stood at the center of the confined space, lowering his eyes to look at the dying player Feng Er. He spoke slowly, emphasizing each word seriously.
"You wanted to kill me, so I won't go easy on you. I have my principles."
There was almost no expression on Yu Deng's beautiful face. The scalpel was still in his hand, a few drops of blood splattered across his cloak, adding an inexplicably strange allure to him.
Feng Er stared at Yu Deng, his pupils already beginning to lose focus.
This extreme player had tortured and killed so many others, always choosing targets weaker than himself. Relying on his skills, he had never failed. Under the banner of "ending the suffering of the weak in advance," he slaughtered his own kind without restraint.
And today, he had finally kicked a steel plate.
—The delicate and slow little fool Yu Deng was not some useless person who only waited to be rescued.
The extreme player's figure gradually disappeared before Yu Deng's eyes. Yu Deng remained a little dazed, his breathing uneven.
"I already… counter-killed him?"
[Yes yes, baby, you were amazing!!]
[I was so nervous watching, kept worrying baby wouldn't win, but baby was so strong hehehe.]
[Even if it was partly because the other side underestimated him, that doesn't stop our baby from being incredible!]
[Having lots of items and skills is strength too! Deng Deng's throat-slitting move just now was so cool!]
[Secretly screenshotting… Baby with that pretty tense face while killing someone is too bewitching, I want to be baby's dog!!!]
Yu Deng's livestream was filled with praise. Donations flooded the screen. The audience was clearly shaken by his counter-kill.
As Feng Er completely died, the restrictive item he owned lost its effect. The sturdy cube-like space shattered into illusory light fragments.
Yu Deng's vision went dark again as he staggered and fell back to the ground. When he opened his eyes, he found he was no longer in front of the mayor's wooden cabin, but somewhere unfamiliar.
The surroundings were rolling yellow-brown earth. The area was wide and open, with houses more sparsely distributed than in the town's central district. Behind him stretched continuous mountain forests.
This was somewhere Yu Deng had never been. Qin Jun and Cheng Xiao were not by his side, nor were there any players or NPCs around.
Yu Deng stood blankly for a few seconds. "Tongtong, why am I here…"
[It's probably the restriction effect of that player's item. It teleported you elsewhere.]
For a moment, Yu Deng didn't know what to do. His body was still trembling uncontrollably. Seeing no one nearby, he simply crouched down to rest.
During those five minutes, he had used the Blood Clan Crown and the Black Mist Prison skill. Both were now in cooldown. He had also thrown away seven or eight one-time defensive and offensive items purchased from the system shop.
It couldn't be helped—Feng Er's combat skills were strong. Rookie Yu Deng had no choice but to keep using items. Fortunately, he had enough points and had extravagantly stockpiled many tools.
Now, trying to recall the details, Yu Deng couldn't quite remember how he had managed to counter-kill him. He could only attribute it to instinctive burst.
Oh, right—and the item that blocked the fatal blow…
Yu Deng quickly pulled out a shattered small mirror from his cloak pocket and gently touched it. A pale blue translucent interface popped up before his eyes.
[Reflective Mirror: A relic left behind by a very beauty-loving young lady. When you look into it, you'll feel very beautiful~
Passive effect: When receiving fatal damage, there is a 50% chance to reflect the damage back to the attacker. Used 1/1 (Awaiting repair)]
Ah… he had used up Qin Jun's item.
Yu Deng scratched his cheek and carefully put the broken mirror away.
After a brief review, his emotions calmed somewhat, though he wasn't fully steady yet. Whenever he closed his eyes, he could feel the scalpel piercing flesh, see the living player fall, and smell the thick scent of blood.
Yu Deng shrank inside his cloak, crouching by the roadside, staring listlessly at his hands. His eyes were still red. A light blink would make tears slip down.
He had been in the Infinite World for over a month now. This was already his fourth dungeon. He had killed many NPC monsters and had chosen not to help certain ill-intentioned players.
But no matter what—
Just now was the first time since entering the Infinite World that he had truly killed another player.
His hands were finally stained with the blood of his own kind.
[Host, you did very well just now. You don't need to doubt or blame yourself.] System 01's electronic voice was steady. [In the Infinite World, being too soft-hearted invites disaster. You have principles. You are the best player I've ever seen.]
Yu Deng softly hummed in response.
[That player held killing intent toward you. All your counterattacks were completely justified. In addition, 82 players in the Infinite World were tortured to death by him.]
[You are not indiscriminately killing your kind. As you humans say… you are eliminating harm for the people.]
Yu Deng was coaxed into feeling a little better and slightly curved his lips. "Tongtong, you're exaggerating."
There was a brief electric buzz from System 01. A few seconds later, a tall and blurry phantom figure appeared before Yu Deng.
The phantom bent down and carefully wrapped its arms around the crouching Yu Deng. Though its body was illusory and cold, there was a sense of gentleness in the embrace.
[You are the best and most amazing player.]
Even deep in fear, he kept a soft heart. Even after personally eliminating another player, he remained pure and bright—
Yu Deng was the most beautiful and unique existence in the Infinite World.
Yu Deng widened his eyes in surprise. "Tongtong… is that you?"
[Yes, it's me.] System 01 responded, held him for a few more seconds, then disappeared.
After being hugged by his system, Yu Deng finally regained his spirit. At that moment, the dungeon announcement arrived belatedly.
[Ding. Player Yu Deng has eliminated Player Feng Er. Reward: 300,000 points.]
Yu Deng pursed his lips. If Feng Er hadn't obtained key dungeon items and only earned points from eliminating players, that meant he had eliminated ten players.
Given his style, those ten were most likely all killed completely.
[Ding. Congratulations to Player Yu Deng for obtaining Player Feng Er's S-rank item: Interstice.]
[Item effect: Upon use, a 3×3×4 independent space will appear. The user may designate one player or NPC to enter the space. After five minutes, the space automatically dissolves and teleports participants to a random location within 20 kilometers. Cooldown: 48 hours. Note: This is a causality-type item.]
An S-rank item was indeed powerful—forcing a 1v1 situation and even allowing escape if necessary.
But after rereading the description, Yu Deng frowned slightly. "If the cooldown is two days, how did he kill so many players on the first day?"
[He didn't necessarily rely only on this item. His other skills also had high lethality. He most likely carried other items or skills that could refresh Interstice's cooldown.] System 01 explained. [The Infinite World produces a wide variety of items. Intermediate and above players usually possess multiple special items.]
Refreshing cooldown… that sounded useful. Too bad Feng Er didn't drop such an item. Oh well. He already had plenty of useful tools.
System 01 quietly observed him.
Even now, the host had never thought about eliminating others just to seize their items.
"Hmm, after eliminating him, my point ranking should be pretty high, right…" Yu Deng muttered, opening the real-time ranking.
Sure enough, his points had reached 350,000, jumping from near the bottom straight to second place. The first place was also an extreme player, with 420,000 points.
Yu Deng's ranking change and Feng Er's elimination announcement updated simultaneously. Anyone with a little thought could deduce that he eliminated Feng Er.
He wasn't sure whether anyone had seen him meeting Feng Er in his mysterious merchant disguise. If they had, his cover would be blown.
Yu Deng sighed worriedly and stood up, walking toward the houses ahead.
It was nearly 2 PM. The sun hung high in the sky. The air grew increasingly hot and dry.
Yu Deng belatedly realized he felt warm and had to put away his wolf-fur sweater, continuing forward under his cloak.
Suddenly, the inner pocket of his cloak began to buzz.
Startled, Yu Deng fumbled and pulled out a glowing stone.
"Baby, are you okay?" Cheng Xiao's voice came from inside, sounding anxious and annoyed.
Yu Deng suddenly understood—it was a communication item. Cheng Xiao must have slipped it to him.
"I'm fine! Didn't you see? That player was eliminated by me."
"We saw it. Baby was amazing."
There was a brief silence. Likely dissatisfied that Cheng Xiao monopolized the conversation, the voice changed to Qin Jun's.
"Baby, where are you now?"
"I don't know… There are mountains behind me. Not many houses nearby." Yu Deng tried to describe the surroundings. "I don't see any special landmarks."
"You should be north of town. Don't be afraid. We're coming to find you."
"Okay~"
After chatting a bit more, the stone's glow faded—the communication time ended.
Yu Deng put it away and continued walking.
After more than ten minutes, passing many empty houses, he reached a more densely built area. He couldn't help but look up at the sky again.
The sunlight was dazzling, falling straight to the ground. In the corner of his vision, there was also a faint silver glow.
Was that… the sun and the moon?
If he wasn't hallucinating, they were appearing at the same time.
The system's clue was vague and abstract. Yu Deng had no idea whether the temple was a tangible building or merely a metaphor, nor whether it was above ground or underground.
After staring at the intense light for a while, he felt dizzy and had to lower his head, rubbing his already red and swollen eyes, making them look even more pitiful.
He stopped pondering the sky.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the door of a wooden house open. A young woman, around twenty-five or twenty-six, walked out.
Her features were gentle and pleasing. Her golden hair was fully tied up atop her head, and she wore a light apricot long dress.
Why did she look familiar?
After thinking hard, Yu Deng finally realized why.
Wasn't this Grandma Mara's younger version? Their features were almost identical.
He subconsciously murmured, "Grandma Mara…?"
"Are you calling me?"
Yu Deng abruptly looked up, eyes wide. "Eh?"
The young woman adjusted her golden hair, concealing something sharp faintly visible. "Mara White. That is my name."
Yu Deng felt like his brain was about to grow from the itching confusion. "Grandma Mara… no, Sister Mara."
"Yes. We meet again."
Yu Deng asked, dizzy, "But… didn't your house collapse? And…"
"I told you. This is my home." Mara gently shook her head, placing a finger to her lips. "I can't tell you casually. If you want to know, discover it yourself."
"Okay…"
Mara asked, "Would you like to come inside?"
Yu Deng hesitated.
At that moment, a man and a woman walked out of the house. The woman was tall and plump, looking five or six years older than Mara. The other was a red-haired freckled boy.
"Mara, who is this?"
"A little guest," Mara replied.
Yu Deng cautiously looked at the unfamiliar NPCs. After a moment's thought, he removed his mask and took out his lantern.
The two had initially been hostile, but upon seeing Yu Deng's beautiful face and the lantern, their attitude clearly softened.
Yu Deng walked in nervously as Mara introduced them.
"This is Annie and Blake."
"Hello," Yu Deng said politely.
Blake's face turned as red as his hair after seeing Yu Deng's appearance. He rubbed his face and casually pushed up his bangs, faintly revealing a pair of eyes on his forehead.
Yu Deng didn't notice the strangeness for now.
He sat and listened to their chat.
"These past few days, more outsiders have come to town," Annie said.
"Yes. Just like before. Every so often, many outsiders appear, wanting to explore the town's secrets."
Yu Deng tried to follow.
They must mean players, right? But in previous dungeons, NPCs usually had no memory of past players. Was this a special feature of competitive dungeons?
He quietly asked, "Do you remember every batch of outsiders who come?"
They seemed never to have considered this and paused.
"Some we remember, some we don't," Blake scratched his head. "Anyway, they all search for the dwelling of the gods and even want to steal treasure."
Yu Deng felt a little guilty.
Sorry… he was also eyeing the temple and treasure.
He forced himself calm. "Did they find it?"
"Of course not," Mara smiled.
"Even if they failed, outsiders always try to damage the town!" Blake gritted his teeth. "Two years ago, a lazy-looking outsider blew up half the town without a word. Absolutely hateful!"
Yu Deng, who had grown fond of demolishing dungeons, felt even guiltier.
Annie patted Blake to calm him. "Some outsiders are quite interesting. During the bonfire ceremony, we hear amusing stories."
Yu Deng quickly noted the clue. "Bonfire ceremony?"
"Yes. At the bonfire ceremony, we express our sincerest blessings to the gods or speak our wishes."
Mara explained, "Both townsfolk and outsiders can participate. If they have no wish, they may tell an interesting story, sharing beautiful people or things with the gods."
Blake shrugged. "Of course, they usually don't cooperate. They just sit there like stones, looking around. Very boring."
Yu Deng tilted his head. "Oh? They tell stories too?"
"Yes. Some do. The one I remember most was a very handsome young man," Annie said. "He looked cold and ignored everyone. During the ceremony, the diviner invited him to share."
Annie gestured dramatically, trying to express her disbelief.
"After he went up, he started talking about his younger brother."
Her expression grew pained.
"Although their bond sounded sincere and beautiful, and that younger brother was very cute, he talked for two whole hours!!!"