As the last person got off the bus, the doors slammed shut with a bang and the bus drove away smoothly. On the empty platform, six people gathered in silence, no one speaking.
At this moment, only You Yi and Qi Xiaokui still had five lives left, Xin Meng had four, Xiong Jiabao and Dong Xiu had three, while Li Yougen was down to just two.
What had seemed like an abundance of five lives was now nearly halved in just three or four short minutes. The initial calm and sense of safety had lulled everyone into a false sense of security, and they finally began to feel fear and urgency, especially Li Yougen and Xiong Jiabao.
If they died again in this game, they would never have the chance to return to reality.
“We can’t survive, we can’t survive…” Li Yougen curled up into a ball, holding his head and crying bitterly, fear and despair completely enveloping him.
Having cleared the game twice, they had died twice, and each game had been a struggle to survive. With the game being this difficult, did they really still have hope of living?
Xiong Jiabao was also moved to tears by his cries.
Dong Xiu, who had been unconscious, was awakened by the sound of crying. The pain and excessive blood loss had left his face pale, wishing he could faint again, but he quickly realized that the pain in his arms was diminishing at an unreasonably fast rate. In just a few minutes, it had reached a level he could tolerate, and the bleeding had stopped.
Feeling the terrifying power of the game that seemed godlike, he was not happy; instead, his expression grew even worse.
“This is our only chance. If we die again…” Li Yougen suddenly sprang up, rushing to Xin Meng’s side and gripping his arm tightly, pleading through tears, “Xin Meng! Xin Meng! You haven’t died before, you still have three chances, right? Right?! I remember you have three left! So help us, just take a hit for us! Xin Meng!”
Xin Meng’s arm was still injured, and Li Yougen’s grip pressed on it, causing the wound to burst open, instantly staining the white handkerchief red with blood. Xin Meng let out a pained cry but couldn’t shake off the frantic Li Yougen. It was You Yi who came over, grabbing Li Yougen by the collar and throwing him out. Li Yougen fell to the ground, still screaming like a madman:
“Xin Meng! You can’t just watch us die! You still have three chances; what’s wrong with sacrificing once for us! You can’t be this selfish! Can you just watch us die? Just now, why didn’t you come to save us! And you, You Yi! You two, you selfish bastards! Are you just going to care about yourselves?!”
The platform was silent, only Li Yougen’s heart-wrenching curses and accusations echoed, piercing into their hearts.
Xin Meng covered his bleeding arm, his gaze slowly sliding over the silent faces around him. You Yi stood protectively beside him, his expression devoid of emotion, while Qi Xiaokui looked at Li Yougen with a mocking glare, which warmed his heart slightly. However, Dong Xiu, and even Xiong Jiabao, did not refute Li Yougen. Dong Xiu was too weak to speak, but his expression clearly showed he agreed with Li Yougen, while Xiong Jiabao lowered his head, his eyes flickering.
“I still have three chances, but so what?” Xin Meng suddenly spoke, his expression and tone colder than ever, “Just because I have more chances doesn’t mean I have to give them to you, or take on danger for you. I have no obligation to do that.”
“How can you be so selfish!” Li Yougen got up, pointing at Xin Meng and shouting angrily, “We are teammates!”
“We are just teammates,” Xin Meng replied coldly, “You are not my family, my lover, not even my friends, and you have done nothing for me. I have no obligation to do anything for you.”
“Then why did you save that woman!” Li Yougen shouted in exasperation, no longer caring about his fear of You Yi, pointing at Qi Xiaokui and mercilessly cursing Xin Meng, “Oh, I know, you’ve got your eyes on this little bitch, right? I thought you were just a whore, but it turns out you’re a double-dipper, you disgusting slut! Stinking whore! Loose woman!”
He hurled every insult he could think of, appearing furious and insane, as if he wanted to pour all his fear and jealousy onto Xin Meng.
He hated! He hated this damned game, and he hated Xin Meng even more!
Yes, he hated Xin Meng, not because Xin Meng had done anything wrong to him, but out of jealousy. He was jealous of Xin Meng’s good fortune, jealous that he had You Yi protecting him, and jealous that he had never failed even once, jealous that he didn’t have to face the threat of death like himself!
This jealousy eventually morphed into a deep-seated resentment, awakening the ugliest and most malicious emotions within him. He even cursed Xin Meng in his heart, wishing for him to be toyed with by You Yi and then abandoned, wishing for him to die a miserable death on the spot!
His face twisted with this venomous emotion, he glared at Xin Meng, just as he was about to spit out this curse, he found his body flying again, the world spinning, and then intense pain followed.
You Yi had directly thrown him off the platform!
However, this time, under the control of his heightened emotions, Li Yougen surprisingly overcame his fear of You Yi. Previously, You Yi had only intimidated them with his gaze and hadn’t caused them any real harm, leading him to develop a false sense of security. He actually thought this person was just a tough exterior with nothing inside. A surge of inexplicable courage urged him to stand up again, climb back onto the platform, and resolve to curse You Yi as well!
“You…” Li Yougen had just said two words when he saw You Yi, with his back to Xin Meng, walking towards him slowly and unhurriedly.
The man’s resolute face showed no signs of emotion, his brown pupils reflecting light, flashing with an almost inorganic sheen. He simply looked at Li Yougen, his eyes devoid of anger or hatred, just calmly observing.
Li Yougen began to tremble. He finally remembered why he was afraid of You Yi. This man was always cold towards them, his teammates, even less warm than he was towards an NPC. The only expression he showed them was a terrifying killing intent, devoid of any human emotion, making them feel as if they were not facing a person, but a soulless killing machine.
This man must have killed before; only someone who had truly seen blood and experienced brutal slaughter could possess such an aura, capable of intimidating others into immobility with just a glance!
Li Yougen had seen such people before. During a visit with higher-ups, he had encountered a few in the military, all of whom were iron-blooded soldiers who had struggled to survive on the brutal battlefield for years. Each one could be considered a powerful secret weapon of the country, receiving significant attention. Yet even these people seemed like children compared to You Yi.
Who on earth is this man?!
It was one thing to treat Xin Meng specially; that could be understood as him having feelings for Xin Meng, but why was he treating NPCs better than he treated them, the players?
He observed closely; You Yi’s attitude towards NPCs, while not warm, was not particularly hostile either. In contrast, he was always filled with vigilance and killing intent towards the four of them.
What was going on?
Li Yougen was filled with doubts, but he had little time to think. You Yi yanked him over, pressing his hands behind his back against the ground, his knee pressing hard against Li Yougen’s chest, making it impossible for him to even scream. Then a wave of intense pain surged through his limbs, the sound of cracking bones echoing in his ears.
The others watched as You Yi swiftly dislocated all of Li Yougen’s joints. In the blink of an eye, Li Yougen was like a pile of soft mud on the ground, unable to muster the strength to struggle.
Li Yougen opened his mouth to scream, but suddenly felt a hand on his chin, applying a slight pressure to the right.
His head was fixed in place, unable to lift, forcing him to look up and see You Yi looking down at him, his glassy brown eyes quietly gazing at him.
If he made any sound, that hand would grip his chin and twist his head back with force…
Then his cervical spine would emit a crisp cracking sound, like a duck neck being snapped in two.
Li Yougen trembled violently, tears and snot streaming down his face, desperately trying to shake his head, looking at You Yi with pleading eyes, but he bit his lip tightly, not daring to beg for mercy. After a while, he felt the pressure on his chin ease slightly. You Yi stood up from him and turned back to Xin Meng.
“Whew… whew…” Li Yougen was drenched in cold sweat, lying on the ground motionless, only the sound of his rapid breathing indicating he hadn’t passed out yet.
The “eye contact” between the two had been turned away from Xin Meng and the others, so they were unaware, only thinking that You Yi had been angered by Li Yougen and had gone to beat him up, albeit a bit too harshly.
Although Xin Meng had no good feelings left for these so-called teammates, clearing the game was the most important thing. The more burdens they had, the harder it would be. He hesitated for a moment and then quietly asked You Yi, “If he can’t move, will it affect the team’s clearance?”
Everyone looked at You Yi, and Li Yougen also raised his head, but he didn’t dare to look directly, only sneaking glances. He saw You Yi only looking at Xin Meng, saying, “Just a lesson. He’ll be picked up when the bus arrives.”
“Oh,” Xin Meng didn’t quite understand this. He thought that dislocating a joint could be fixed, and it shouldn’t hurt too much, so he didn’t say anything more.
Dong Xiu, however, felt a chill run through him, his vision darkening, unsure if it was from fear or excessive blood loss.
In fact, Xin Meng admired Dong Xiu’s willpower. His arms had been dislocated at the elbows, the forearms falling off, exposing the white bones inside, which looked excruciatingly painful. Losing an arm like that would drive a normal person insane, but Dong Xiu remained calm and didn’t faint from blood loss, which was also due to that fortunate yet unfortunate phrase: this is a game.
Because it was a game, these injuries were not permanent. Once they cleared the game, they would disappear, and he would still be a complete person.
Was that a relief?
Not really, because it was precisely in this terrifying game that they would suffer such injuries.
“Although it’s unnecessary, I’ll explain,” Xin Meng thought for a moment, turned his head, and said to the trembling Li Yougen on the ground, “I saved Qi Xiaokui because I wanted to save her. I don’t plan to help you anymore because I don’t want to help you. It’s that simple. My life is my own; I have the right to decide. All my actions will always stem from my own will. If I want to save, I will; if I don’t want to save, I won’t. There’s no reason, and no one can use morality or human feelings to bind me. That’s useless. Do you understand?”
Such blunt and brutal words conveyed a truth everyone understood. Li Yougen was left speechless, and Xiong Jiabao lowered his head.
For a moment, the platform fell into a deathly silence again, with only time passing quietly.
After a while, the sound of an engine was heard as the second bus arrived.
You Yi walked over and reconnected Li Yougen’s joints one by one. The pain made Li Yougen’s face turn pale, but he didn’t dare to cry out. When the last joint was in place, You Yi grabbed him by the back of the neck and yanked him up, throwing him towards the bus. Li Yougen lost his balance and fell directly against the bus door.
The door opened, and Li Yougen was forced to let go, stepping back two paces. He looked up at the darkness inside the bus.
His legs went weak with fear, but when he turned back to see You Yi behind him, he quickly regained his strength and rushed into the bus.
You Yi followed behind him, but before he could enter, Li Yougen suddenly screamed and rushed out again, the green light above flashing the dangerous “1”…
He had just entered and died once?!
“What’s going on?” Xin Meng hurriedly asked, “What’s inside?”
But Li Yougen didn’t answer; he just tried to lunge at Xin Meng’s arm, but You Yi blocked him. Li Yougen pleaded, “Save me, save me…”
Only one chance left; if he had another, he would die!
“If you don’t tell me what’s inside, how can I save you?” Xin Meng’s face also turned cold.
Li Yougen’s lips trembled for a moment, and he said with a shaky voice, “Medusa…”
