MS Chapter 15

The moment Lu Qingjia became a player in a horror game, he was prepared for the day he would inevitably cross paths with his ex.

Although the level gap between them was like a chasm, Lu Qingjia had entered the game with the ambition of becoming a super player. If he could survive, it was only a matter of time.

After that incident went south, both sides were entangled without resolution, and the final understanding was that Lu Qingjia could not appear before him. Given that this guy had a wide range of activities, the physical distance in reality meant nothing to him. Therefore, Lu Qingjia’s range of movement was limited, and for three years he had been cooped up in a certain area.

Though still a newcomer, Lu Qingjia was not unfamiliar with some of the game’s rules, thanks to his deliberate probing.

He knew that there was almost no chance for interaction between newbies and super players because the difficulty of the dungeons was different. The game would never arrange for players to enter dungeons that exceeded their capabilities.

Moreover, in every dungeon, no matter how long it felt in the game, the time lost in reality was always two seconds.

Two seconds—if one entered a concealed space and took proper safety precautions, the probability of being detected was zero. This rule was something Lu Qingjia had once detested, but now, as a player, it was quite convenient.

With the vision of developing quietly, Lu Qingjia thought that even if he encountered his ex, his strength would still be incomparable. But by then, he should at least have some means of escape.

What he never expected was that in this first dungeon, the very first newbie dungeon, he would run into him right away.

Lu Qingjia first suspected that the game was playing tricks, after all, this guy was foolish, but his past and background should be clear as day.

The horror game seemed to be enjoying the drama, as he heard a questioning voice in his mind.

He immediately spat out, “Don’t blame me! I never report anyone, nor do I pry into things.”

“Back when I had a player sneak his sister into the game, she eventually caught on and secretly disguised herself to follow him into the dungeon to catch him. I had such a good relationship with that player, yet I didn’t give him a single hint.”

He spoke with a sense of nostalgia, “That beating he took back then, sigh~~ so pitiful.”

Lu Qingjia was so angry he almost laughed, “What are you pretending to be in front of me, you idiot? Who hasn’t heard of that incident?”

“Isn’t it just some dogs colluding with people, getting caught, and then clamping down in fear, almost pissing themselves and selling out their teammates? Did you think that beating was any less because of you?”

The game: “…”

Swallowing a mouthful of old blood, it cursed someone for telling everything to their partner, then awkwardly changed the subject, “Hey, why are you suddenly so good at swearing?”

Then the tone shifted, “Heh, it’s quite friendly.”

Lu Qingjia: “…”

How the hell has this game survived to become the industry leader?

But this also made Lu Qingjia realize that it probably wasn’t the game playing tricks, leaving only one possibility.

He took a sharp breath. What had that freak done to him? How could he be marked even after disappearing for two seconds?

Amidst a flurry of intense thoughts, only two seconds had actually passed outside.

Manager Hao, who had been yanked out, was still dazed.

Once he regained his senses, he scratched his nails against the cabinet door, letting out a laugh that carried a burnt smell, “What are you hiding from? Are you that scared of me?”

Lu Qingjia jolted. He had just been overly startled and was now finally reacting.

Why did he chase Manager Hao out? If he had just taken him out inside the cabinet, his personal side quest would have been completed, allowing him to exit the game. That would have been more reliable than hiding in the cabinet.

So he opened the cabinet just a crack, this inviting posture left the charred Manager Hao somewhat confused about what this person was thinking, but revenge was a must.

Manager Hao took the opportunity to dive inside, but suddenly a rope shot out from within, wrapping around his neck and pulling him inside swiftly.

A suffocating feeling of burning and choking overwhelmed Manager Hao, the fear of drowning in despair overlapped with the hopelessness he felt when he was burned alive, as if he was about to experience death for the second time.

“What is this? No—let go of me, ah—”

Just as he was about to be dragged into that deadly trap, a sudden force from behind yanked Manager Hao back out.

Having survived a near-death experience, Manager Hao turned around to see a handsome man who could make anyone’s legs weak.

With sharp features, an explosive aura, and an overwhelming presence that sent chills down one’s spine.

Plus, the fact that this person had just saved his life meant that if this were a game interface, Manager Hao’s favorability rating would have shot up by a hundred.

The other person frowned and, when he spoke, his voice was explosively pleasant, “What are you dragging a piece of burnt meat in for? Want to stock up for a long battle with me?”

Muttering something, he then turned with interest and aggression towards the person in the cabinet, shouting—

“Lu—Qing—Jia—”

“What did I say? Didn’t I tell you not to appear in front of me again?”

Lu Qingjia pulled the cabinet door tight, intending to play dead, but upon hearing this and connecting it to his speculations, his rebellious nature kicked in—

“Hey! Isn’t this little rundown hotel beneath your highness’s standards? What? Suddenly want to experience the hardships of the world? Is it my problem or yours that you’re in a place you shouldn’t be?”

Zhong Liyu was so angry he almost laughed, “You don’t know where this is? After all these years of scheming, aren’t you finally getting what you wished for? You barge into my territory and blame me for being too clever? Do I look like someone easy to deal with?”

“Of course, there are thousands of game dungeons, so what are the odds? You managed to time the two-second window perfectly, how come you know my every move so well?” Lu Qingjia retorted.

Zhong Liyu was a bit caught off guard but still argued back, “Stop wasting time, don’t hide in there. Since you’ve broken the ban, you have to face the consequences.”

Lu Qingjia tightened the lock inside, responding to the other party’s words with action.

Zhong Liyu sneered, turning to Manager Hao, “You, go get me a knife or a saw.”

Manager Hao had just nearly been killed, and now he was extremely wary of Lu Qingjia. Seeing the big shot about to take action, he was more than eager to comply.

He immediately agreed and ran out.

Zhong Liyu had an expression that said ‘see? I’m not joking’: “Still not coming out? If you want to come out later, it won’t be up to you.”

What responded to him was a silence.

Zhong Liyu clicked his tongue, about to continue with threats when a chainsaw was handed over.

The power was still on, and it spun rapidly, emitting a chilling buzz.

Manager Hao had a look of pride, “Bro, use this, it’s effective. Just cut through the cabinet, I guarantee that guy inside will be sawed in half.”

The air suddenly fell silent, except for the chainsaw’s roar.

Manager Hao looked at Zhong Liyu with anticipation, but the other party suddenly reached out, ignoring the deadly power of the spinning chainsaw, and grabbed the teeth, crushing it into a lump of scrap metal. The once powerful chainsaw was now less than a piece of A4 paper in his hands.

After two mournful whines, the chainsaw was rendered useless, and before Manager Hao could react, he was slapped away.

Holding his buzzing head, he looked up to see Zhong Liyu’s dark expression, “Who told you to bring this thing?”

Manager Hao protested, “Didn’t you want a knife or saw—”

“How can electric and manual be the same?” Zhong Liyu scolded, “Do you know how dangerous electric ones are?”

“Although I’m steady-handed, with deviations measured in microns, what if? What if someone gets hurt?”

“Damn it, idiots are just unreliable. No wonder so many accidents happen every year. I never do dangerous things; safety first in everything.”

Manager Hao was left dumbfounded, “Aren’t you going to deal with him?”

“Then doesn’t it have to be done step by step? If I just go in hard, what kind of barbarian would that make me?”

Manager Hao glanced at the crumpled chainsaw on the ground, not daring to speak.

Zhong Liyu, however, looked like he couldn’t be bothered to argue with a fool, waving his hand, “Forget it, go get me a saw again, but this time don’t get it wrong.”

Moments later, when the saw was brought back, Zhong Liyu directed him to the top corner of the wardrobe: “Cut that part open.”

Manager Hao looked at his gestures, thinking it was like just cutting a small opening in a carton of milk. With Lu Qingjia’s physique, even stretching out his limbs wouldn’t hurt him at all. He couldn’t understand the point of the intimidation.

The most suffocating part was that while cutting, Zhong Liyu was still throwing threats inside, which Manager Hao couldn’t bear to listen to.

Your actions barely matched a fraction of your fierce words?

After Manager Hao finished cutting and climbed down from the wardrobe, he saw Zhong Liyu, who had been completely ignored inside, finally lose his temper.

In a double sense, as a cluster of blue flames appeared on his palm, just looking at it sent a bone-chilling intimidation through Manager Hao.

The other party sneered, “Still not coming out? Let’s see how long you can last under the fire.”

Manager Hao’s earlier gloom was instantly swept away, excitedly watching him, finally getting serious.

As the blue flames approached the cabinet, they spread out, engulfing the entire cabinet in bright flames, looking quite imposing.

Manager Hao found it satisfying but was also puzzled, “Bro, since you’ve decided to burn him, why did you have me cut the cabinet open?”

Zhong Liyu shot him a glance and, in the most natural tone, said the most exasperating thing—

“How can it breathe if I don’t make an opening? If it catches fire and the air becomes thin, what if something happens inside?”

Manager Hao: “…”

Fine, fine, looking at how fierce the fire was, it wouldn’t be long before he turned to charcoal.

Sure enough, the man called out to the cabinet, “Now you know I’m not joking, right? What? Still not planning to come out?”

The response from inside was still silence.

As the flames grew larger, Zhong Liyu’s expression darkened further, and after a stalemate of several seconds, he finally waved his hand, and the flames vanished without a trace. He gritted his teeth and shouted at the cabinet, “Fine, you have guts, to still refuse to come out even after all this.”

In the instant the flames disappeared, Manager Hao saw the cabinet intact as if new, indicating that the flames hadn’t damaged the surface of the object.

But he couldn’t help but touch the temperature of the cabinet, almost cursing.

Goodness, it looked like it was burning fiercely, yet it was even cooler than the water he usually bathed in, let alone what it felt like inside the cabinet.

At this moment, it was freezing outside, and the heating had lost its effect with the resurrection of the ghosts. Looking at it this way, the inside of the cabinet was warm and breathable, probably comfortable enough to make one drowsy.

He couldn’t help but glance at the increasingly frustrated guy, wanting to ask what exactly he was trying to achieve with this setup?

Were they going to pull out a forty-meter-long knife to cut a cake for someone named Lu?

But it wasn’t over yet. Seeing that there was no response from inside, Zhong Liyu kicked Manager Hao, “You, carry the cabinet up to the rooftop.”

He gritted his teeth, “I’ll kick the cabinet off the rooftop and see if he comes out.”

Manager Hao was already exhausted, crying out, “Bro, at least look at your muscles.”

“This wardrobe can’t be locked. That guy named Lu can only hold onto the ring inside. You could easily take the cabinet door off with one hand. Is all this really necessary?”

Zhong Liyu had the attitude of a lackey who couldn’t understand the style of a big shot, disdainfully saying, “That would be too cheap for him. Wouldn’t that make me look like I have no standing?”

“Intimidation and terror must go hand in hand to achieve a deterrent effect. Anyone can just hack open the cabinet; why should I be compared to a fool?”

Panting, Manager Hao finally managed to carry the cabinet up to the rooftop, during which the man followed closely behind, seemingly worried that Manager Hao wouldn’t be able to handle it and the cabinet would fall.

Manager Hao finally understood that he shouldn’t expect others to take revenge for him.

So he said, “But that guy inside already thinks you’re a fool; he might be asleep.”

“What? Let me listen!” Zhong Liyu pressed his ear against the cabinet door, and sure enough, he heard faint snoring from inside, sounding quite comfortable.

A smile like an aunt’s appeared on his face, immediately drawing Manager Hao’s ire, “What are you laughing at?”

“That guy is so comfortable, and you’re laughing? What about the threats you made?”

Zhong Liyu’s expression tightened immediately, “Bullshit, the fire in my heart is about to burst out, and you say I’m laughing? You think there’s a mirror here for you to spread rumors, right?”

“You, you can be happy if you want.” Manager Hao was intimidated by the other party’s explosive self-hypnosis.

He said, “Should we teach that guy a lesson? He’s asleep, so let’s just kick him down.”

Zhong Liyu immediately wore a righteous expression, “Hmph, only a small fry would take advantage of someone else’s misfortune.”

“He’ll wake up eventually; I’m not in a hurry.”

“I’m in a hurry!!!” Manager Hao broke down, “Bro, my cycle is about to break, and with the Li and Wang families being tricked back, I need to understand the situation. I don’t have much time left.”

Only then did Zhong Liyu’s brows twitch, “Now that you mention it, I’m curious how he cleared the level; it sounds like he got a good evaluation.”

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and a scene of Lu Qingjia’s progress since entering the dungeon appeared before them, like a small holographic projection, perfectly restoring several days’ worth of time.

However, the playback speed was very fast, at least two hundred times the normal speed.

Thus, Zhong Liyu saw Lu Qingjia flirting with married women, teasing girls, and using his looks to take shortcuts.

The whole person was shaking with anger.

However, at that moment, the cabinet behind them suddenly opened a crack, and a rope shot out, wrapping around Manager Hao’s neck, instantly electrifying him, severing his head like a laser knife.

Zhong Liyu reacted quickly to stop him from logging out of the game, but all he heard from the other party’s last words was—

“Zhong Ye, you idiot, if you have the guts, don’t rely on cheating next time.”

The author has something to say:

Zhong Liyu, affectionately called Carp, darkly known as Brother Ye, and crudely referred to as Green Brother (Liyu Green).