PTYS Chapter 66

Xiao Muyu was stunned; Shen Qingqiu was truly a fierce warrior.

The room was no longer safe. Instead of staying inside and getting cornered, it was better to take the initiative.

So, after kicking the head away, Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu rushed out. Outside, the lightning and thunder seemed deliberate, allowing them to see the scene clearly.

In Yang Rui and Zhang Yangfeng’s room, a pair of highly decayed arms were crawling quickly on the ground, relentlessly chasing them, forcing them to jump around. Huang Junfeng, after a burst of ghostly wails, scrambled out in terror. Seeing Xiao Muyu, he cried out, “Help, Miss Shen!”

Xiao Muyu glanced at the cold-faced Shen Qingqiu beside her. It seemed Shen Qingqiu’s prowess was well-known, so much so that Huang Junfeng, despite looking at Xiao Muyu, called for Shen Qingqiu to save him.

Xiao Muyu focused and saw, under the continuous lightning, that a pair of legs were chasing Huang Junfeng.

These legs were more like bones with bits of flesh, stiffly stepping forward—the source of the earlier footsteps.

Huang Junfeng, a grown man, was so scared that his legs went weak. He rushed over, disregarding his dignity, trying to hide behind Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Qingqiu glanced at him sideways and kicked him aside. At the same time, she pulled Xiao Muyu behind her, saying coldly, “There’s no place for you here.”

Huang Junfeng shivered, quickly crawling to hide behind Xiao Muyu, “Then I’ll hide here for a bit, just let me catch my breath.”

The legs were now at Zhang Yangfeng and Yang Rui’s door, about to close in. Inside, Zhang Yangfeng and Yang Rui were being chased to the point of madness, and they burst out of the door.

“Boom!” Another flash of lightning, and the two of them collided with the legs.

“Ah!” Yang Rui was so frightened that her heart seemed to seize. Adrenaline surged once again, and she screamed, closing her eyes, and kicked one of the legs hard, sending it flying into the corridor railing with a snap as it broke in two.

Shen Qingqiu and Xiao Muyu saw this clearly and exchanged a subtle glance.

Despite her fear, Xiao Muyu couldn’t help but laugh, “That’s just like you.”

Shen Qingqiu pursed her lips, which somehow made Xiao Muyu find her a bit cute.

Xiao Muyu quickly dismissed this inappropriate thought. She surveyed the scene, a strange feeling rising in her heart—something seemed off.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yangfeng and Yang Rui had fled over. Looking back, they saw the leg they had kicked away was clearly reassembled. It was now coming back together rapidly and moving even faster.

At the same time, the head kicked by Shen Qingqiu was bouncing back up the stairs like a ball.

Huang Junfeng, who had just caught his breath, turned around at the sound, only to have the head fly straight at him.

The stench of decay hit him, making him slow in reaction. The head bit into his neck immediately.

“Ah!” Huang Junfeng screamed in pain, grabbing the head and rolling on the ground.

The lightning flashed white and cold, repeatedly illuminating Huang Junfeng’s agony, making the scene even more terrifying.

Shen Qingqiu wasn’t one to meddle, but in this situation, the fewer people there were, the more vulnerable they would be.

So, Shen Qingqiu took a swift step forward, stomping on Huang Junfeng’s chest, and growled, “If you want to live, stay still and let go!”

Huang Junfeng, his frantic struggling subdued, actually stopped moving and let go as Shen Qingqiu instructed.

Shen Qingqiu’s dagger reflected the lightning’s brilliance, piercing the heavy night with a flash.

Sensing Shen Qingqiu’s threat, the head quickly let go and rolled away into the darkness, leaving Shen Qingqiu’s dagger striking empty air.

The lightning faded, the darkness swallowing all light, leaving only their heavy breathing and Huang Junfeng’s whimpers in the corridor.

Xiao Muyu’s heart was tight with tension. The sounds of scratching and footsteps had stopped, but the silence brought no relief, only compounded their anxiety and fear.

Instinctively, Xiao Muyu began to cautiously look around while backing up until she felt Shen Qingqiu’s warm body against her back, her heart finally settling a bit.

Glancing at Shen Qingqiu, a thought flashed through Xiao Muyu’s mind—she realized what had felt strange.

“Shen Qingqiu, we haven’t seen his body!”

Shen Qingqiu’s expression darkened. Before she could respond, her eyes changed, quickly pushing Xiao Muyu aside.

In an instant, a foul stench filled the corridor as a black shadow crashed to the ground with a splat, like a heap of rotten meat, the sickening sound of splattering flesh and blood clear in the silence.

Zhang Yangfeng and Yang Rui quickly turned, staring at where the thing had landed.

But it was too dark; after the sneak attack missed, it blended into the night. They could see nothing now!

Thunder rumbled, masking many sounds. Xiao Muyu knew they couldn’t wait any longer, so she pulled out the lantern.

After using it once, its range had expanded to 70 centimeters, enough to illuminate only two or three people.

But the moment it lit up, the stench intensified, making Xiao Muyu want to vomit. Less than two meters away, Huang Junfeng let out a piercing scream, breaking the silence.

Xiao Muyu’s back went cold, for there, near the door to their left, a figure was vaguely visible in the lantern’s light.

Shen Qingqiu almost simultaneously kicked sideways and slashed backward with her dagger, forcing the ghostly figure to retreat into the darkness.

Xiao Muyu followed Shen Qingqiu, illuminating her area. Just as she moved closer, Shen Qingqiu’s dagger suddenly slashed toward her neck.

Startled, Xiao Muyu instinctively leaned into Shen Qingqiu, her right arm circling Shen Qingqiu’s waist. In one smooth motion, they swapped positions.

Now standing behind Xiao Muyu, Shen Qingqiu thrust her dagger into the darkness. There was a squelch as the blade pierced flesh, and she mercilessly dragged it through!

A beast-like, hoarse roar came from behind Xiao Muyu. She turned but couldn’t see clearly what had happened, only noticing Shen Qingqiu being pushed away by a great force.

Xiao Muyu quickly reached out to catch her, but the impact was strong and sudden. They crashed into the wall with a dull thud.

Already injured earlier, Xiao Muyu’s back took another heavy blow, causing her to groan in pain, almost losing her balance.

Before she could recover, Shen Qingqiu, breathing heavily, pulled her to the other side. The stench of decay filled the air as a leg swung at them, hitting the wall they had been leaning against, causing it to shake.

Xiao Muyu was swiftly pulled up by Shen Qingqiu and found something pressed into her hand.

The item was smooth, slimy, and soft to the touch. This familiar feeling made Xiao Muyu’s expression freeze. But before she could say anything, Shen Qingqiu urgently said, “Put it on!”

Shen Qingqiu’s face flickered in the lamplight before vanishing into the darkness as she engaged the monster.

Another flash of lightning lit up the sky, revealing the creature to everyone.

It was towering, half a head taller than Shen Qingqiu, with rotting, fallen hair hanging messily over a partially exposed skull. Its bulging eyes glared menacingly at Shen Qingqiu. Its abdomen was hollow, exposing ribs and spine, and its limbs were mismatched and uneven, clearly assembled from different bodies.

Yang Rui, decisive, used her trump card. She threw a small wooden doll, which instantly grew to human size, joining Shen Qingqiu in the fight against the monster.

Zhang Yangfeng’s skill with arrows was limited in this environment. He could only take shots during lightning flashes, risking hitting his teammates.

Despite being disassembled multiple times by Shen Qingqiu and the doll, the monster kept reassembling itself, making it impossible to inflict lasting damage.

Shen Qingqiu was sweating and exhausted, her right hand severely injured and her body heavily burdened.

Huang Junfeng, terrified, found the courage to join the fight with a baseball bat, hitting the monster repeatedly but failing to bring it down. The monster seized an opportunity, grabbed his bat, and flung him several meters away, leaving him motionless on the ground.

As the creature’s rage grew, the wind outside began howling, its coldness making everyone shiver.

When Shen Qingqiu was forced to retreat again, Yang Rui’s doll had its arms torn off by the monster. Worried about further damage, Yang Rui quickly recalled the doll, her face pale. She feared they wouldn’t survive the night.

Without the doll and Huang Junfeng, the pressure on Shen Qingqiu increased. The monster seemed particularly intent on attacking her, ignoring Zhang Yangfeng’s attempts to intervene.

As Shen Qingqiu dodged, the monster’s nails scraped her right hand, sending searing pain through her bones. She stumbled, kneeling from the pain.

Just as the creature’s foul foot was about to stomp on her, Shen Qingqiu felt her body lighten and suddenly appeared at the staircase.

The lamplight enveloped her, revealing not Xiao Muyu, but Qu Muxi disguised as Xiao Muyu.

Gently placing Shen Qingqiu down, Xiao Muyu, now wearing the mask, said softly, “Rest a bit, let me handle this.”

The lamplight vanished, reappearing above the monster’s head, clearly illuminating its ghastly face.

Seeing Xiao Muyu’s current appearance, the monster’s face twisted with rage. Its dead, murky eyes glared at her with venomous hatred.

Xiao Muyu laughed coldly, “You refuse to stay dead. Even in death, you make a mess, trying to disgust everyone. I should have shredded you to feed the dogs back then. Now you’re nothing but a stinking corpse.”

The creature writhed at her words. Its limbs, out of control, stretched toward Xiao Muyu.

“Lantern, spin, and halt!” Xiao Muyu chanted, causing the lantern to spin rapidly. When it stopped, she appeared in front of the monster.

Holding her breath, she gripped and slowly pulled apart, tearing the monster’s head off.

Shen Qingqiu, not resting, leaped up and plunged her knife into the head, gouging out its eyes.

Zhang Yangfeng didn’t miss the opportunity, shooting an arrow through its other eye.

With the mask’s powers, Xiao Muyu could replicate Qu Muxi’s skills. She now understood why such a powerful item could only be used three times. She had wasted one use earlier but learned its capabilities in the process.

Under Qu Muxi’s strength, Xiao Muyu swiftly disassembled the monster.

However, as the lantern’s effect wore off, the monster reassembled itself, even without its eyes, charging blindly.

Xiao Muyu was thrown back by its immense force. The scattered parts began to merge again, and despite its blindness, it rampaged wildly.

“Run, Huang Junfeng!” Xiao Muyu, now in Qu Muxi’s form, could see clearly in the dark and noticed a disembodied hand from the corpse crawling swiftly towards Huang Junfeng.

Xiao Muyu tried to teleport to stop it, but the corpse leaped to intercept her.

Shen Qingqiu was too far from Huang Junfeng to assist. The disembodied hand grabbed Huang Junfeng’s head, ready to twist it off.

Just then, an arrow whizzed through the air. Zhang Yangfeng, aiming in the dark based on Huang Junfeng’s cries, took a risky shot. If he missed, he could kill Huang Junfeng himself.

The arrow struck true, and the hand’s grip loosened. Huang Junfeng’s eyes, filled with terror, now showed a glimmer of hope as the hand let go.

“Be careful, this thing wants to replace its head with someone else’s!” Xiao Muyu gritted her teeth.

She realized that this creature seemed impossible to kill. This didn’t make sense. If it couldn’t be killed, were they doomed to die?

Finding the eight bodies was an unavoidable part of the plot, meaning encountering the corpse was inevitable. If there was no way to deal with it, the players were destined to die, which would make the game design pointless.

Using Qu Muxi’s body, Xiao Muyu managed to restrain the creature, but the mask’s effects were limited in time and strength.

“Shen Qingqiu, it can’t be killed!” Xiao Muyu shouted. Shen Qingqiu frowned deeply. There were no obvious hints around.

Unlike the human skin incident, where there was a clear weakness that could be attacked with fire, this corpse had no such apparent vulnerabilities.

“What is it afraid of? What can restrain it?” Shen Qingqiu muttered.

Huang Junfeng struggled to his feet, stumbling towards the bathroom door.

As lightning flashed, Xiao Muyu, floating in the air, clearly saw five wide-open doors and the closed bathroom door. Suddenly, a thought struck her.

“Shen Qingqiu, the bathroom door!”

Shen Qingqiu hesitated briefly, then rushed into the room. Moments later, she emerged with a bunch of keys, running to the bathroom door. The corpse, which had been entangled with Xiao Muyu, suddenly turned its head.

It moved with lightning speed, pulling the arrow from its eye and hurling it with incredible force towards Shen Qingqiu as she tried to unlock the door.

“Shen Qingqiu, watch out!”

The arrow flew like a bolt of lightning towards Shen Qingqiu.

She narrowly dodged the arrow, feeling its sharpness brush past her cheek. Her heart pounded, but she managed to shove the key into the lock.

The creature roared in frustration and lunged at Shen Qingqiu. But just as it reached her, the bathroom door swung open.

A powerful, overwhelming force emanated from within, pulling the creature towards the bathroom. The corpse struggled, trying to claw its way back, but it was futile. The force was too strong.

“Get back!” Xiao Muyu shouted to everyone. The players retreated as the creature was sucked into the bathroom, its limbs flailing uselessly.

As soon as the last piece of the corpse was pulled inside, Shen Qingqiu slammed the door shut and locked it.

Silence fell over the hallway, only broken by the heavy breathing of the players.

“It’s over,” Shen Qingqiu said, her voice strained but relieved. She leaned against the door, panting.

Xiao Muyu, still in Qu Muxi’s form, floated down, her face showing a mixture of exhaustion and triumph. She removed the mask, her own features reappearing.

“That was close,” Zhang Yangfeng said, lowering his bow.

Huang Junfeng, still trembling, managed a weak smile. “Thanks… for saving me.”

“Let’s not stay here any longer,” Xiao Muyu suggested. “We need to regroup and figure out our next move.”

The players nodded in agreement, their ordeal far from over, but at least for now, they had survived.