The severed head, with its eyes tightly shut, suddenly opened. Hollow sockets stared ahead, and two streams of blood-like tears slid down its cheeks.
The surrounding space distorted, and scenes flashed by like a revolving lantern.
—
A girl in hospital scrubs was forcibly restrained on a hospital bed. As the syringe plunged into her arm, she screamed in agony, her delicate features twisting into a grotesque expression.
After the medical staff left, she lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
A pale-faced little boy abruptly appeared at her bedside, smiling. “Big sister, come play with me!”
Her expression was wooden, and she ignored him.
Unhappy, the little boy pouted and ran to the next bed. He turned to another girl and said, “Big sister, come play with me.”
Under his coaxing, she watched helplessly as the other girl walked to the window and jumped out without hesitation.
Instinctively, she rushed to the window, trying to grab her, but all she saw was a mangled corpse. Red and white brain matter splattered over the flowerbed, and the girl’s wide, unseeing eyes were frozen in terror.
“Ke ke ke ke…”
The boy floated mid-air, his laughter eerie and chilling.
The girl trembled. He wasn’t a figment of her imagination—he was a demon.
After the other girl’s suicide, the hospital assumed she had pushed her out of the window. They increased the dosage of her medication, injecting more into her body. The sensation was like countless ants tearing at her flesh, leaving her in unbearable pain every day.
“Big sister, come play with me!”
The boy invited her again.
Desperate not to see him anymore, she hid in an operating room and stole a scalpel. With it, she gouged out her own eyes.
Her hollow sockets bled profusely, soaking her face. Yet, the voice continued to echo in her ears. She punctured her eardrums, screaming in madness, and finally severed her own head.
“Big sister, now you can finally play with me!”
The little boy cradled the bloody head tenderly, his smile twisted with malice.
Her body was eventually sealed within the cement walls of the hospital morgue. In the darkness, countless insects crawled through her body, building nests. Even in death, she could feel the squirming movements of the bugs inside her.
“Big sister…”
“Let’s play hide-and-seek, okay? You have to hide well, or we’ll lose if someone finds us.”
The boy clung to her corpse as disgusting insects crawled and squirmed over them both.
—
The image shattered, and everything returned to reality.
[No wonder no one has ever completed this mission before. Turns out, you have to find both the little boy and the girl.]
[That poor girl. From beginning to end, she was just a victim.]
[Save the sympathy. It’s pointless to empathize with ghosts. Sure, she was pitiful, but what about all the innocent players they’ve killed?]
The audience in the live stream largely held a deep-seated hatred for spirits and ghosts.
In the livestream, many viewers urged Qing Li to quickly banish the girl’s ghost.
However, Qing Li remained unmoved. She placed a finger on the forehead of the severed head and softly chanted a rune. A faint golden light emanated from her fingertips, gradually dispelling the oppressive yin energy in the morgue. The space began to feel as if it were imbued with a holy presence.
Moments later, the golden light slowly faded. Qing Li furrowed her brow, her expression more solemn than ever.
Her attempt to send the spirit to the afterlife… had failed.
If the ritual failed, it could only mean that there was no Hell in this world.
Or perhaps…
This world itself was Hell.
—
“Ding. Task complete. Congratulations to the surviving players for clearing this mission.”
The system’s announcement suddenly rang out.
The tension on Lin Zizhou’s face immediately lifted. He strode forward, intending to speak to Qing Li, but before he could say a word, his body abruptly vanished right in front of her.
“How interesting.”
Qing Li’s lips curved slightly. She felt a powerful energy envelop her, and her body began to fade away as well.
“Thank you,” the severed head suddenly spoke.
A flash of white light, and Qing Li’s body disappeared too.
—
When she opened her eyes, Qing Li found herself standing in the center of a grand hall.
A dazzling crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting brilliant light throughout the space. Dozens of eyes focused on her simultaneously.
Whenever surviving players returned, they were always warmly greeted by veteran players.
“Miss Qing Li!”
Lin Zizhou, who had arrived earlier, approached her eagerly. “This is the player lounge. After every mission, there’s a safe period of at least 24 hours where nothing can harm us.”
Before he could finish, Zhou Ya and Shen Ruo appeared out of thin air in the hall as well.
Unlike Qing Li, the two looked battered and disheveled, their clothes tattered and torn.
By comparison, Qing Li’s outfit was spotless, though her old-fashioned rural attire made her look like a rustic villager.
“This mission didn’t seem too difficult, huh? Four people made it back alive.”
“A 3.5-star mission is nothing special. Even a rookie can clear it.”
Whispers rippled through the crowd.
Zhou Ya cast a complicated look at Qing Li. She hadn’t expected her to survive but kept her surprise well-hidden.
“It’s thanks to the rookie that we’re alive this time. Without Qing Li’s help, we probably would have all died,” Zhou Ya said, smoothing her disheveled hair and turning to Qing Li with gratitude.
Her words caused an uproar.
Everyone’s gaze shifted to Qing Li, scrutinizing this plain, awkwardly dressed newcomer.
Zhou Ya’s lips curled into a subtle smirk, as her words subtly pushed Qing Li into the center of attention.
However, some in the crowd sensed Zhou Ya’s underlying hostility toward the newcomer. Her outward gratitude seemed more like a veiled setup, positioning Qing Li for inevitable backlash.
In the terrifying world they inhabited, everyone lived on edge, doing whatever it took to survive. Some had long abandoned morals and laws, resorting to any means to prolong their lives.
Now, with the emergence of a capable rookie, it was only natural for jealousy and suspicion to brew, making Qing Li a target.
“Qing Li, is it?” someone asked with a kindly expression. “Can you confirm what Zhou Ya said is true?”
Lin Zizhou grabbed Qing Li’s arm, signaling her to stay quiet.
But Qing Li didn’t comply.
“Of course,” she replied, her sweet and innocent face lighting up with a smile. Her clear, black-and-white eyes were strikingly pure, their clarity almost unsettling.
She blinked slowly, her long lashes casting a faint shadow under the crystal chandelier’s light. As the room fell silent, she continued, her smile unwavering.
“But really, Miss Zhou doesn’t need to thank me. I took your money, so naturally, it was my duty to protect your safety. In the end, it was just a transaction.”
Her calm and unassuming words instantly froze Zhou Ya’s smile. Her jaw clenched as she ground her molars in frustration.
“Qing Li, why did you admit it?” Lin Zizhou exclaimed, visibly anxious. If everyone learned of Qing Li’s abilities, it would place her in significant danger.
But then…
Lin Zizhou suddenly recalled the earlier scene of Qing Li casually hefting a massive battle axe on her shoulder.
Alright, maybe he was overthinking things.
“Zhou Ya, is what she said true? Did she really protect you all?” someone else questioned.
To many, Qing Li looked utterly ordinary. There was nothing about her appearance that hinted at extraordinary abilities, which only fueled their skepticism.
Zhou Ya, unwilling to let Qing Li maintain her facade any longer, gritted her teeth and replied, “Not exactly. It wasn’t so much that Qing Li protected us. She discovered a bug in the mission—if you hid inside a certain operating room, the ghosts couldn’t enter. She just took advantage of the situation, charging us money for access.”
Her words rippled through the crowd like a stone thrown into still water. Zhou Ya’s tone, laced with disdain, made it clear she wasn’t about to let Qing Li bask in undeserved praise.