Chapter Thirty-Six: Seeking Someone Out

I cursed loudly, "Trying to play dirty with me, huh? Just you wait..."

No sooner had the words left my mouth than a sharp pain pierced my lower back. I didn’t even need to look—I knew a knife had already been driven into my waist.

"Ah!" I howled in agony, blood slowly trickling down the blade.

I was barely able to steady myself when, out of nowhere, another knife slashed into me from behind.

My pupils dilated instantly; the pain was so intense I couldn’t even scream. I collapsed straight to the ground.

"Lin Yao!"

From somewhere nearby, I could faintly hear Chen Chen calling my name, followed by another shout.

"You… give up your lives!"

That was definitely Chen Chen’s voice, thrown out in a furious roar. But that was all I heard before darkness swallowed me and I lost consciousness completely.

This time, no images flashed through my mind. I felt as if I had died and plummeted into an endless abyss.

In the haze, I saw that swirling white sphere again, spinning rapidly as ever, plumes of white smoke billowing from it as before.

...

I woke up a few times during the ordeal, each time sprawled across a desk in the empty classroom. Night had already fallen, yet there wasn’t a soul around me.

I had no idea how long had passed, but eventually, in a daze, I slowly came to.

Shaking my head and twisting my body, I felt like a robot long left unused, my joints creaking with every movement.

My hand instinctively went to my chest, searching for the wound. Aside from the hole torn through my clothes, there wasn’t even a scar left.

Strangely, I felt an overwhelming surge of strength flooding my entire body.

I sat up slowly and checked over my belongings—thankfully, the knife, phone, and ring were still with me.

From the ring, I retrieved my phone. The first thing I saw was our class group chat, the messages already past ninety-nine plus.

I squinted at the time and, upon realizing what it was, jumped up from under the desk in shock.

If my memory served me, today was already the last day of the three-day period.

I had slept for two days without even realizing it—but what about Li Zijian and Chen Chen?

I quickly tried calling both of them, but neither answered. Helpless, I opened the group chat.

It seemed that since I’d fainted, the Ghost King hadn’t reappeared. My classmates kept posting:

"Ghost King, aren’t you going to give us a task or something…"

"Yeah, it’s so boring just sitting around here every day."

"I’m bored out of my mind. Can we just go home already..."

I managed a bitter smile and lit a cigarette, trying to gather my thoughts.

First off, it must have been Chen Chen who saved me after I collapsed that day. But where were they now?

And why had the Ghost King stopped issuing games ever since I passed out? And who was the sneak who ambushed me? I hadn’t seen clearly, but I had to settle that score.

With my thoughts straightened out, I flicked away my cigarette butt and set off to look for Chen Chen and Li Zijian.

It was just past eight in the morning, yet the playground was utterly deserted.

Still, I could see shadowy figures moving behind the big trees from time to time.

It seemed no one was provoking anyone else—everyone just keeping to themselves.

As I walked, I heard the sounds of fighting coming from the direction of the basketball court.

Crouching low, I crept behind the bushes to take a look.

Sure enough, it was Chen Chen and Li Zijian, each gripping a knife, both covered in blood, facing off against a group.

Looking across at their opponents, I recognized the very guy who had attacked me in the dark that day.

I didn’t care how many of them there were. Pulling the Frost Blade from my ring, I burst out from behind the bushes.

This time, I realized I was moving almost twice as fast as before.

With a shout, I charged into the crowd, swinging my blade. They froze in shock at first, but soon enough, their eyes all filled with murderous intent.

If these had been ordinary people, I might once have spared their lives. But now, I saw clearly—they had it coming!

Blinded by fury, I hacked at anything that moved—arms, heads, limbs, blood and flesh flying everywhere.

In the end, only the spiritually-gifted boy remained.

He tried to attack me with that white smoke of his, but I was faster.

As he reached into his pocket, I was already upon him—my blade flashed, and his head fell.

"Lin Yao..."

Chen Chen called my name softly from behind.

I sheathed the Frost Blade, took a deep breath, and walked over to them.

"Damn, Brother Yao, you’re insane! That move of yours was incredible..."

Li Zijian tossed aside his knife, launching straight into his usual chatter.

I laughed heartily, the gloom within me lifting.

"After you passed out that day, it was like I mutated—my strength surged, and I managed to drive them off before carrying you back to the classroom," Chen Chen explained. "But I passed out myself from exhaustion, though I didn’t sleep nearly as long as you did."

"When I woke up, all that strength was gone—as if it was just a trial run. And since all the food and water was in your ring, we couldn’t get any."

"So today, we came out to steal some food and ran into them by chance." Chen Chen nodded toward the bodies.

Since I’d already killed their group, there was no point asking their names—it meant nothing to me now.

I plopped down on the ground and pulled out three large backpacks, arranging them neatly.

"Eat up. It’s the last day anyway."

Chen Chen, seeing all the food, started swallowing hard—clearly, they hadn’t eaten in ages.

So, the three of us sat outside, sharing a meal of snacks, laughing and chatting as we ate.

Just as I was engrossed in Li Zijian’s jokes, my phone chimed with a message.

I opened it and my heart skipped a beat.

"Did you rest well, Lin Yao?"

"Did killing satisfy your anger, Lin Yao?"

"Are you full now, Lin Yao?"

Reading these three questions from the Ghost King left my mind spinning.

Soon, the group chat erupted into a frenzy.

"Lin Yao killed someone? That ruthless?"

"I always thought he was bad news—kills his own people too."

"Yeah, I think it’s best to stay far away from him from now on."

I sighed helplessly and typed in the group chat:

"Ghost King, if you’ve got something to say, spit it out!"

The Ghost King ignored the others, but replied to me instantly.

"Very well. Let’s begin the final game. Before 3 p.m. today, each group must kill at least one person. The game begins now."

I looked at Chen Chen—his face was troubled. Only Li Zijian kept munching on his chips, washing them down with soda, as if the Ghost King’s game had nothing to do with him.

In the group chat, no one seemed to care about the new game; instead, they all started trash-talking me.

So I posted a message:

"If anyone has a problem with me, come find me. I need to finish the task anyway."

But, as always, everyone was only brave behind their keyboards.

I clapped my hands, stood up, and announced, "Since that’s how it is, let’s go find someone ourselves."

Chen Chen, now full, looked more energetic than before.

"Who?"

"Jiang Yuan!"

(Recently, my update speed has been pretty decent, if I may say so myself. Also, with the pandemic worsening in many places, I hope everyone in affected areas stays safe, and I wish all the doctors and nurses on the front lines peace and well-being.)