Chapter 66: Orphan Resentment

Warning: Contains graphic depictions of gore and violence.

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Xiao Muyu was stunned. Shen Qingqiu was truly a wolf in human skin.

The room was no longer safe. Rather than staying inside and getting ganged up on, it was better to take the initiative.

They rushed outside after Shen Qingqiu kicked the head away. The thunderstorm outside seemed almost deliberate. It allowed them a clear view of the scene before them.

A pair of severely decayed arms rapidly crawled across the floor in Yang Rui and Zhang Yangfeng’s room. Those arms relentlessly pursued them, forcing them to scramble away desperately.

Meanwhile, after a round howling, Huang Junfeng scampered out of his room with a panicked face. When he saw Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu, he cried, “Help! Miss Shen!”

Xiao Muyu glanced at the cold-faced Shen Qingqiu. It seemed her strength had made a deep impression. Huang Junfeng cried for her help despite looking at Xiao Muyu.

Xiao Muyu focused. Under the relentless lightning flashes, she saw what was chasing Huang Junfeng. It was a pair of legs.

Calling them legs was generous. They were more like bones with scraps of rotting flesh clinging to them, walking rigidly. They were the source of those footsteps earlier.

Huang Junfeng, a grown man, was so terrified that his legs turned to jelly. He rushed to them, throwing away his dignity as he tried curling behind Shen Qingqiu.

Shen Qingqiu shot him a sidelong glance. She lifted her foot, kicking him aside. At the same time, she pulled Xiao Muyu behind her, saying frigidly, “There’s no place for you here.”

Huang Junfeng trembled. He clambered to his feet and hurriedly hid behind Xiao Muyu. “I’ll just hide here for a bit. Give me… give me a moment to recover.”

The legs closed in fast towards Zhang Yangfeng and Yang Rui’s doorway. The two cornered inside made a mad dash out of the room.

*Boom!* Another lightning bolt lit up the scene. They ran headlong into those passing legs.

“Ah!” Yang Rui’s heart nearly seized. Her adrenaline ramped up. She shut her eyes and shrieked, sending a vicious kick out. One rotting leg flew, then crashed into the hallway banister. *Snap.* It broke clean in two.

Shen Qingqiu and Xiao Muyu had watched the whole thing. They exchanged glances. Their expressions were slightly peculiar.

Xiao Muyu wanted to laugh despite her fear. “You’re quite the influence.”

Shen Qingqiu quirked her lips. For some reason, Xiao Muyu found her cute.

Xiao Muyu quickly shook off the inappropriate thought. She glanced around. A strange feeling crept up. Something didn’t seem right.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yangfeng and Yang Rui fled towards them. When they glanced back, the leg they sent flying had been put back together. Now, it rapidly reassembled itself after they kicked it apart, moving even faster.

The head Shen Qingqiu had punted was also bouncing back along the stairs.

Huang Junfeng had just recovered his breath. He turned around upon hearing the commotion behind him. The head flew straight at him.

The stench of decay hit him like a truck. Huang Junfeng stood petrified for half a second. At that moment, the head sank its teeth into his neck.

“Ahhh!” Huang Junfeng let out a gut-wrenching scream. He clawed at the head with both hands as he twisted on the floor. Lightning illuminated Huang Junfeng’s suffering in flashes of stark white for Xiao Muyu and the others to see.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t like meddling in other people’s business. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t lift a finger to help. However, losing another person in this dire situation would only leave the group more open to attacks.

With a swift stride forward, Shen Qingqiu planted her left foot firmly on Huang Junfeng’s chest. Her voice was low as she growled, “If you want to live, stay still and let go!”

Huang Junfeng’s frenzied struggling halted at once. He obediently loosened his grip on the head.

Shen Qingqiu’s dagger reflected a lightning flash. It was dazzling. Its sharp edge sliced through the oppressive darkness as she stabbed down.

The head sensed danger and loosened its mouth, rolling away into the shadows. The dagger hit nothing but air.

The lightning flickered out. Darkness swallowed all light. All that remained were the heavy breaths of the five and Huang Junfeng’s shaky whimpers.

Xiao Muyu’s heart clenched tight. Gone was the scraping of fingernails and the footsteps. Yet this silence didn’t offer any reprieve. Instead, it intensified the dread pressing down on them.

Instinctively, Xiao Muyu cautiously scanned her surroundings. She retreated until her back pressed against Shen Qingqiu’s warm body. The tension in her chest started to settle.

She glanced at the person beside her. An idea suddenly popped up in her mind. The strange feeling she had earlier. She finally understood what it was.

“Shen Qingqiu, we never saw his body!”

Shen Qingqiu’s expression darkened instantly. Before she could respond, her eyes sharpened. She swiftly shoved Xiao Muyu aside.

In that split second, a foul smell flooded the hallway. *Plop.* A dark mass hit the floor. It looked like a pile of rotting flesh, moving with distinct wet squelches.

Zhang Yangfeng and Yang Rui spun around. They stared at where they heard the thing had landed. But it was too dark. No sound came from the flesh pile after it fell. It blended into the night. They couldn’t see anything!

Thunder rumbled across the sky, masking many sounds. Xiao Muyu knew she couldn’t wait any longer. She reached out and retrieved the carousel lantern.

The lantern’s range had expanded to 70 centimeters after one use. It was just enough to illuminate an area for two or three people.

But when the light flickered on, the stench in the air grew so nauseating that Xiao Muyu almost retched. At the same time, Huang Junfeng, standing less than two meters away, let out a shrill scream. His voice had cracked with terror.

A chill ran down Xiao Muyu’s spine. Near the doorway to her and Shen Qingqiu’s left, a figure flickered into view under the lantern’s glow.

Almost simultaneously, Shen Qingqiu swung her right leg in a sweeping kick. She reversed her grip on the dagger, slashing across, forcing the ghostly figure to retreat. It vanished back into the darkness.

Xiao Muyu stepped forward with Shen Qingqiu to shine the area around her. But just as she moved closer, Shen Qingqiu’s dagger suddenly stabbed straight at her throat.

Xiao Muyu’s heart almost stopped. She instinctively ducked, leaning into Shen Qingqiu’s arms. Her right arm wrapped around Shen Qingqiu’s waist. With a pull and a push, the two quickly switched positions.

Now, Shen Qingqiu stood behind Xiao Muyu. She thrust her dagger into the darkness. It sank into flesh with a squelch! Shen Qingqiu slashed downward without stopping. The blade cut straight through.

A hoarse, beast-like growl came from behind Xiao Muyu. She turned around. Before she could make out what it was, she saw Shen Qingqiu get shoved back with tremendous force.

Xiao Muyu hastily reached out to catch her. But the sudden and heavy force slammed her hard against the wall with a dull thud.

Her already injured back took another heavy blow. A stifled moan escaped her. She nearly lost her balance.

Before she could recover, she heard Shen Qingqiu’s rushed breathing. The woman pulled her to the side. The next moment, a rancid gust swept past as a leg struck the wall they’d just been leaning on. The impact shook the entire structure.

Xiao Muyu was still reeling when Shen Qingqiu yanked her up. She shoved something into her hand. It felt smooth, slippery, and soft. The familiar texture made Xiao Muyu’s expression stiffen. Before she could say anything, Shen Qingqiu urgently said, “Put it on!”

Shen Qingqiu’s face flickered in the carousel lantern’s light before vanishing into the darkness. Alone, she charged to confront the monster.

The sky lit up again, revealing the creature to everyone.

Its hulking frame was half a head taller than Shen Qingqiu. Scrabbly hair clung messily to its rotting head, its skull showing. Bulging eyes glared fiercely at Shen Qingqiu, who refused to back away.

Its hollowed-out abdomen exposed ribs and spine. It had mismatched limbs of varying sizes stitched together from different corpses.

The sudden light revealed its position. Yang Rui decisively pulled out her trump card—a small wooden puppet—and tossed it forward. The puppet instantly expanded to human size. It joined Shen Qingqiu in fighting the patchwork monstrosity.

Zhang Yangfeng’s skill was archery, which relied heavily on precision. He had a limited range of action in this environment. He could only wait for the lightning to subside to shoot a few arrows. But he had to be cautious of friendly fire.

Shen Qingqiu and the puppet had already dismantled the patchwork corpse several times. Shen Qingqiu kicked its head off more than once, but it always reassembled itself. They couldn’t deal any substantial damage.

Shen Qingqiu’s right arm was badly injured. The extra strain made her sweat buckets. Her stamina was running low, too.

Huang Junfeng was terrified. Yet, he mustered the courage to join the fray at this crucial moment. He swung a baseball bat wildly. The thudding blows forced the monster back but didn’t bring it down. It seized an opening and crushed the bat in its grasp. It sent Huang Junfeng flying several meters. He crashed to the floor, unable to move for a while.

Under their constant attacks, the corpse emitted a vengeful aura. The wind outside whistled, bringing an oppressive chill that made them shiver.

Shen Qingqiu was forced to retreat again. The corpse grabbed the puppet, snapping its arms off.

Fearing her item would be destroyed completely, Yang Rui quickly pulled it back. Her face had turned white as a sheet. She had a sinking feeling they wouldn’t make it through the night.

Without the puppet and Huang Junfeng to hold the corpse off, the pressure on Shen Qingqiu increased dramatically. It seemed to hate her in particular. It attacked even more ferociously, ignoring Zhang Yangfeng’s attempts to distract it. It charged straight at Shen Qingqiu.

The corpse’s nails grazed her right arm as she dodged. Searing pain shot through her bones. She stumbled and fell to one knee.

The repulsive creature raised its large foot to stomp down on her head. Shen Qingqiu gritted her teeth. Suddenly, she felt her body lighten and was suddenly at the stairs.

Light from the carousel lantern enveloped Shen Qingqiu. However, she didn’t see Xiao Muyu when she looked up. Instead, it was Qu Muxi. More accurately, Xiao Muyu disguised as Qu Muxi.

Carefully lowering Shen Qingqiu, Xiao Muyu spoke gently. “You rest here. I’ll go.”

The lantern light vanished. It reappeared above the corpse’s head. The lantern spun midair, casting light on the corpse’s face, which was too grotesque to look at.

It was clear the corpse could see everyone’s movements in the darkness. It took in Xiao Muyu’s appearance. Its entire face contorted, and its eyes, cloudy in death, glared at Xiao Muyu like venomous snakes. Vengeful hatred, piercing as icicles, filled its gaze, threatening to sink into Xiao Muyu’s body.

Xiao Muyu sneered. “You really can’t rest in peace, can you? Even after dying, you couldn’t just go quietly. You had to come back looking like this. Who are you trying to disgust? I should have fed you to the dogs after chopping you up. Now, all you do is stink up the place with your rot. You’re useless.”

With a cry, the corpse began writhing. Its limbs and torso were no longer under its control. It struggled desperately. In the blink of an eye, a pair of hands broke away, elongating and shooting straight for Xiao Muyu.

“In a walking-horse lantern, a lantern horse walks. The lantern dies, and the horse stops!” chanted Xiao Muyu. The carousel lantern spun rapidly above the corpse. Xiao Muyu appeared right in front of it the moment it stopped.

Holding her breath, Xiao Muyu tugged with both hands. She ripped the corpse’s head off.

Shen Qingqiu lost all care about resting. She leaped and drove her dagger deep into the head, gouging out an eyeball.

Zhang Yangfeng wasn’t about to miss this chance either. He fired an arrow, piercing the remaining eye.

Xiao Muyu had become incredibly powerful after donning the mask. It enabled her to replicate the original’s skills. Xiao Muyu realized why the S-grade item could only be used three times. Unfortunately, she hadn’t known at the start and had wasted one use. However, it let her know the human skin mask’s hidden function.

With Qu Muxi’s supernatural strength, Xiao Muyu swiftly dismantled the corpse.

The carousel lantern had a time limit. Xiao Muyu was about to crush the corpse’s skull when it regained its ability to move.

Once it had recovered, its strength was terrifying. It violently threw Xiao Muyu off. The scattered parts of the corpse began to reassemble. It continued its rampage despite its ruined eyes.

“Huang Junfeng, run now!”

The others couldn’t see well in the dark. But with Qu Muxi’s vision, Xiao Muyu saw one of the corpse’s hands crawling at blinding speed toward Huang Junfeng.

Xiao Muyu attempted to teleport to stop it. To her surprise, the corpse leaped to intercept her. Shen Qingqiu was too far from Huang Junfeng to provide any help. There was a crunch as the giant hand grabbed Huang Junfeng’s head. It lifted him to snap his neck.

Just then, something whizzed through the air. Zhang Yangfeng had heard Huang Junfeng’s scream. He fired an arrow in the dark. It was a gamble. If he missed, he would kill Huang Junfeng.

*Whoosh!* Terror and despair filled Huang Junfeng’s eyes. But after a sting on his cheek, the foul-smelling hand’s grip loosened and it released him.

“Watch out! This thing is trying to take someone else’s head for itself!” Xiao Muyu spoke through gritted teeth.

She also realized something. This monster couldn’t be killed! But that didn’t make sense. If that was the case, were they just supposed to wait for death?

The discovery of those eight people’s corpses was an unavoidable part of the storyline. Hence, an encounter with the corpse monster was also inevitable. The players would die if they couldn’t find a way to resolve this. That would make the entire game’s setting meaningless.

Borrowing Qu Muxi’s body, Xiao Muyu had restrained the damn thing. However, the mask’s ability had a time limit, and she herself had finite strength.

“It can’t be killed, Shen Qingqiu!” Xiao Muyu shouted. Shen Qingqiu frowned deeply. It couldn’t be killed. There were no reliable clues either.

It didn’t have an obvious weakness to fire like the human skin. What weakness did this corpse have?

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

Meanwhile, Huang Junfeng struggled to stand up. He stumbled toward the bathroom door.

Lightning flashed again. Floating in the air, Xiao Muyu saw the five wide-open dorm room doors and the closed bathroom. Suddenly, a thought shot through her mind.

“Shen Qingqiu, the bathroom door!”

Shen Qingqiu paused before turning and rushing into the room. Seconds later, she emerged holding a set of keys. She ran toward the bathroom The corpse tangling with Xiao Muyu suddenly turned its head.

It moved unbelievably fast. It yanked the arrow from its eye. With all its might, it flung the arrow toward Shen Qingqiu, who was opening the door.

“Shen Qingqiu, look out!”