Chapter 91: Hopeless Sea (XV) Opponent

“Someone tried to kill me… No, he already killed me.”

Lu Li was helped by the long-haired youth to sit on a chair, leaving a trail of shocking red bloodstains along the way.

His face was paper-white from blood loss, but his speech was clear: “That person came from behind me and hit my head with a heavy object—I think he must have smashed the back of my skull. I used an item to transfer the fatal injury from my head, which saved my life.”

He placed a statue, only half the size of a palm, on the table. It appeared to be an angel statue, with its wings folded, eyes cast down, and an expression of pity.

Qi Si watched the statue for two seconds, and a prompt refreshed on his system interface.

【Name: Axuo’s Gift (Consumed)】

【Type: Item】

【Effect: Randomly transfers the location of a fatal injury, with a 10% chance of converting the fatal injury into a non-fatal injury】

【Note: The Goddess of Health saves the dying and helps the wounded, but she has no intention of making an enemy of the God of Death, so she simply leaves everything to fate.】

Qi Si lowered his eyes to look at Lu Li’s right leg.

The leg was clearly ruined, dragging weakly on the ground. Although it had been roughly bandaged by knotting the pant leg, it relentlessly continued to seep blood.

This must be the “non-fatal injury” that the fatal wound was converted into, but it still looked grim.

If not treated promptly, the infection in the leg could spread throughout the body at any moment, leading to death.

Qi Si looked worried: “Professor Lu, are you suggesting… the person who attacked you was a player?”

Lu Li gave a wry smile: “Although I don’t want to believe it, I’m afraid that’s the case. I know very well that the murder weapon doesn’t belong to this instance.”

Trust among players was already fragile; with the peace-advocating Lu Li attacked, cooperation had become nonsense.

A path to completing the main quest was becoming clear, and PVP-oriented side quests were inevitably being brought to the forefront. The situation would only become muddier, and mutual harm was bound to happen… “Daring to attack a Veteran Player means that person is either exceptionally strong or relies on an organization like the Sera Guild,” Qi Si mused for a moment before asking, “Professor Lu, did you notice any physical features of the killer?”

Lu Li shook his head: “No, he approached me from behind, silently. I hadn’t even fully understood what was happening until the moment I died.”

“I was completely stunned at the time, only feeling unbearable pain. I fell to the ground, sand filled my mouth and nose, blood covered my face, and my vision blurred…”

Lu Li’s emotions grew agitated as he recalled the experience of death, his right hand hanging by his side trembling incessantly: “I apologize, I still can’t completely calm down right now.”

“I can only conclude that he killed me because I wanted to go to the altar. He likely knows some clues related to the altar… I advise everyone not to head toward the altar until that person is exposed.”

Liu Yuhan had been keeping her head down, but now, as if realizing something, she suddenly looked up: “There’s a point of doubt. Lu Li’s identity is ‘Merchant,’ and the player who attacked him cannot have the identity of ‘Scholar.’”

“From this, we know that there must be a faction the killer cannot harm, meaning the killer cannot prevent everyone from going to the altar.”

“You are correct.” Lu Li’s glasses reflected the natural light, obscuring the look in his eyes. “I have some speculations. I originally didn’t want to say them and cause alarm, but now it seems I must tell everyone.”

“I suspect the killer has an accomplice, and the two of them happen to belong to different factions.”

Solemn chimes drifted from afar, like a prayerful hymn.

The echoing reverberations blurred the voices, spreading out slowly, resonating and looping with nine strokes of the bell.

Converting to the twenty-four-hour clock, it was exactly six o’clock in the evening.

If they hadn’t returned by this time, the remaining two players were likely in grave danger.

“They can only attack more than one person simultaneously because they have an accomplice. Are they trying to trigger the minimum death count mechanism to clear the instance?”

“Damn it, we’re in the open, and they’re hidden… We could have cooperated, why did they have to cause casualties…”

“To be able to form an alliance in a faction game, they must have specified the instance and entered as a team. Daring to offend Jiuzhou, I bet they are Sera’s people!”

The players discussed animatedly, but soon quieted down, observing their companions with solemn expressions.

The gaze of a few people lingered between Chang Xu and Qi Si for quite a while.

In the deathly silence, Yuna once again appeared before the players holding the wooden board listing accommodation prices, behaving exactly as she had at this time two days ago.

A flawless smile hung on her face. Her gaze swept over the crowd and landed on Liu Yuhan, who was huddled in the shadows, seeming to physically lick the latter’s entire body.

The angel portrait behind the counter was originally androgynous and featureless, but after Yuna appeared, its face gradually shifted to resemble Yuna, revealing a strange sense of similarity.

The deformed angel’s pupilless eyes watched the players in the hall with cold pity, like a second Yuna in the hotel—equally indifferent and hypocritical, and equally malicious toward the players.

None of the players were novices, and they handled this level of shock well. They ignored it, casually pulled banknotes from their pockets, and gathered nonchalantly toward Yuna.

The long-haired youth did not go over but walked toward Lu Li instead: “Professor Lu, you are injured. Let me share a room with you, so I can look after you if an emergency arises.”

His voice was not quiet, and several players showed surprise upon hearing it.

But soon, more than one person realized the implications.

A day ago, Lu Li, though appearing gentle and harmless, was formidable enough to warrant caution simply by being a Senior Player, keeping people at a distance. Now, however, he was experienced yet vulnerable, making him a good candidate for sharing room expenses.

The short man reacted the fastest, leaning over with a grin: “Professor Lu, count me in. It’ll be easier to split the room fee if there are three of us.”

The long-haired youth frowned imperceptibly, but Lu Li seemed oblivious, nodding with a smile: “Thank you both.”

Yuna walked around the hall, collecting the room fees one by one.

When she reached Qi Si, he casually pulled out a banknote and, shielding it from the light, placed it in her hand.

Yuna took the banknote, said nothing, and moved on to the next player.

Qi Si watched her retreating figure, raising an eyebrow slightly.

One of the effects of the Merchant identity is 【Spend less money to receive the same service】. Was the discount this significant?

He currently had nine hundred Yuan left, and combined with the money Chang Xu had, they could stay on the island for more than ten days.

But he believed this money was not just for purchasing days of accommodation.

‘Please believe that the money you receive corresponds to your own value.’

Yuna’s words echoed in his ears. An equation seemed to be established between money and the value of life, not to mention the material called “Angel Feather,” which they didn’t know how to obtain.

Groundless speculation was useless. Qi Si sat down at the table in the center of the hall, resting his chin in his hand, lost in thought.

After collecting the money, Yuna retreated behind the counter. Before long, she returned, pushing a dining cart, first distributing cutlery, and then laying out dishes that reeked of fish on the table.

After finishing the chores, she gestured to the players: “Just last night, I lost the Sea God’s statue. I searched all day today but couldn’t find it. Could you help me look out for it?”

“No problem.” Lu Li smiled faintly. “We will keep an eye out for it. But is that statue very important to you?”

“Yes, very important,” Yuna gestured. “It is a relic left to me by my mother.”

Qi Si knew in his heart that the statue Yuna lost was likely the one Chang Xu had brought out of the dream.

As for why it was lost… who knows?

What did the statue Chang Xu took have to do with him, Qi Si?

Yuna stood for a while longer, her gaze sweeping over everyone, but ultimately finding no suspicious points.

She could only use sign language, troubled: “If you find the statue and give it to me, you may ask one favor of me.”

The players exchanged glances, seeing determination in each other’s eyes.

Chang Xu cast an inquiring look toward Qi Si, but Qi Si had already picked up his chopsticks and was gesturing toward the seaweed on the table.

Although they had the experience of the first day and knew the food might be problematic, causing people to mutate and spit out feathers, the fact that players needed feathers to form wings made the situation seem less unacceptable.

The fish meat definitely couldn’t be eaten; they couldn’t get past that mental hurdle. Eleven pairs of chopsticks simultaneously reached for the plate of seaweed, and in the end, each person only managed to grab one mouthful.

Qi Si grabbed some seaweed but had no intention of swallowing it.

Rather than producing feathers himself by spitting them out, he preferred plundering them from other unlucky souls, trusting that Chang Xu, Liu Yuhan, and Lu Li’s character meant they wouldn’t stand by and watch others die.

Furthermore, the rule stated: 【Only by eating the food on the island can you become a believer of the Sea God】. He had already eaten yesterday, so who said he had to eat every day?

Even if he really had to eat every day, why must he become a believer of the Sea God? Couldn’t he just worship the Evil God who called himself “Qi”?

Qi Si held the seaweed with his chopsticks and brought it to his nose for a light sniff.

He wondered if it was his imagination, but the seaweed smelled better this time than it had last night and this morning. Although the strong fishy odor persisted, a faint fresh fragrance seemed to be mixed within the salty stench.

A winding line of golden-red wrapped around the black-green stalks of the seaweed, exactly like solidified divine blood. Considering the angel corpse Liu Yuhan had seen in the kitchen, the answer was obvious.

Qi Si expressionlessly tossed the seaweed onto Chang Xu’s plate and whispered, “Brother Chang, we agreed this morning that I would be the control group for the experiment, so I’ll skip dinner for now.”

Chang Xu clearly remembered that this was not what they had agreed upon this morning, but he smoothly replied “Oh” and ate two mouthfuls of seaweed.

—He didn’t have a strong preference for being the control group or the experimental group. With great power comes great responsibility, and since he was naturally immune to Eerie Game corruption, he ought to bear more risk.

“Yuna’s cooking has improved! This seaweed tastes really good, better than what you get in restaurants.” The short man finished his seaweed and commented with a smile.

He looked at the other plates of fish meat, prepared in various ways, and a look of desire appeared in his eyes: “This fish meat looks good too. Maybe it won’t be as awful as yesterday…”

Liu Yuhan adjusted her glasses and said, “Based on my experience clearing instances in the past, you might be assimilated by the Hopeless Sea. I suggest you stop eating.”

“Ah? That terrifying?” The short man sheepishly put down his chopsticks, not daring to look at the dishes on the table again.

The other players also scoffed, looking at the short man with scrutiny, genuinely unable to understand his palate.

The issue with these things on the table wasn’t whether they tasted good or not, but that their appearance was completely unappetizing… Otherwise, wouldn’t it be easier to use an item like the 【Evil God Finger Bone】 to modify the flavor?

Qi Si quickly finished his dinner and left the table on his own.

Chang Xu silently followed, heading upstairs one step behind him.

In the narrow corridor on the second floor, the water stains on the ground had dried up, leaving only a faint salty smell of the ocean faintly stirring in their nostrils.

The decayed, dry wooden floor seemed soft from salt corrosion. Stepping on it gave a sinking feeling underfoot, accompanied by a rustling sound, like silkworms feeding.

Flying dust particles reflected the beams of light leaking through the floorboard cracks. The milky yellow light paths intertwined like repeatedly washed gauze, creating a dreamy haze.

In the terrifying stillness, Chang Xu suddenly spoke: “Si Qi, what exactly is going on with that statue? I think I dreamt about you last night…”

“You should be asking yourself that, shouldn’t you? By not reporting you to Yuna and instead sharing the risk with you, I’ve done everything I could as a friend.”

Qi Si scoffed and sighed deeply: “As a friend, let me give you one more piece of advice: don’t rush to return the statue to Yuna. Be wary of entrapment.”

A friend? Hearing Qi Si’s natural phrasing, a sense of guilt welled up in Chang Xu’s heart for no reason.

Qi Si lowered his eyes and continued: “You must have noticed that many players are in disarray.”

“On one hand, there is Yuna’s threat, and on the other, the hidden killer. Under this pressure, I estimate quite a few people will start thinking about the minimum death count mechanism… Although I don’t want to see that happen, I still advise you to stay alert and prepare for the coming zero-sum game.”

“It won’t reach that point. Although more and more players are being provoked into malice by the game, cooperation and peace are still the mainstream.”

Chang Xu said earnestly: “One of my seniors created a profile of official players based on forum interactions, and Slaughter-path players only account for twenty percent.”

Qi Si, knowing he was a Slaughter-path player, went silent: “…”

He stopped walking and raised a timely objection: “As far as I know, the third instance filters out eighty percent of the players. It’s difficult for non-Slaughter-path players to survive the competitive environment.”

Chang Xu rubbed the back of his neck, his voice calm: “But the fact is, the Eerie Game seems to deliberately control the proportion of Slaughter-path players. No matter how hard it is to understand, that ratio consistently floats around the twenty percent mark.”

Qi Si was unconvinced.

In his memory, apart from himself, every single Veteran Player in the third instance had died miserably, regardless of whether they were good or bad.

But he knew it was unwise to voluntarily expose more information just to convince someone else, so he subtly changed the subject: “Lu Li said the killer has an accomplice from a different faction. What do you think?”

Chang Xu thought for a moment and said, “Being able to collude so quickly suggests they knew each other beforehand. I suspect the killer and his accomplice are Sera’s people who teamed up to enter this instance.”

“Not necessarily,” Qi Si shook his head.

As soon as the Evil God told him to “be wary of the Puppeteer,” he automatically recalled information about the Puppeteer from the forums.

The Puppeteer, leader of the Sera Guild, is the most mysterious player since the Eerie Game descended, always hiding behind the scenes, manipulating other beings using Puppet Threads.

Anyone could be instantly converted into a puppet, becoming an extension of his will, subject to his command.

In other words, anyone could be his accomplice—even if that person didn’t belong to Sera.

The seed of suspicion was planted; no one could be trusted, including himself… As the thought reached an interesting point, Qi Si couldn’t help but smile: “Brother Chang, don’t you think the two of us look like the killer and the accomplice?”

Chang Xu tilted his head, thought for two seconds, and said earnestly: “You do.”