One hour earlier.

Su Xiao looked at the corpse climbing up from below. Her face was deathly pale, her heart pounding so violently it felt like it would burst out of her chest.

But when she passed the unconscious player lying on the ground, her steps hesitated. Tears welled in her eyes from fear, yet a trace of hesitation and unwillingness flashed within them.

If she just left him…

The moment she heard Han Yi say, "Leave immediately," she instinctively ran toward the dormitory, driven by the urge to escape this terrifying place.

Lin Zhou did not give her the chance to hesitate. The moment he noticed her slowing down, he grabbed her arm and forcefully dragged her out of the dorm.

Han Yi also noticed this. He looked at Su Xiao and spoke in a hoarse, cold voice without the slightest warmth.

"You’d better put away that useless sympathy of yours."

"You can’t save anyone."

This was an Infinite Horror Game dungeon. No one knew how long they could survive. The next one to die might be themselves.

They could not even save themselves.

Yet still dared to think of saving others.

Naive to the point of being ridiculous.

Su Xiao bit her lower lip hard, forcing herself to look away as she followed the others and ran.

At this moment, time was life.

All the players pushed themselves to their limits.

But what they did not expect was—

The corpse’s target was not them.

And it had not climbed up from the sixth floor.

"He" had come from the fifth floor.

They had just reached the fifth floor stairwell when they saw "Wei Jiayu" emerge from a dorm room, his body twisted, the two sides nearly colliding head on.

"Run downstairs!" Han Yi decided instantly.

The death rule of this dungeon was clearly falling from heights under control. The higher the floor, the greater the danger. Only by going down could they find a chance to survive.

But they were wrong.

The death rule was not limited to controlled falling.

A scream suddenly erupted from the back of the group.

It tore through the air, shrill enough to rupture eardrums, sending chills down everyone’s spine.

The players instinctively turned back—

And saw a player who had just been alive moments ago being torn in half by "Wei Jiayu."

Literally in half.

His head and body were violently ripped apart, flesh at the break mangled into a bloody mess. His head was held in "Wei Jiayu’s" other hand.

"Wei Jiayu" did not even glance at it.

Like throwing away trash, "he" tossed the head aside.

The players’ blood seemed to freeze. Their hearts nearly stopped beating.

They watched as the head rolled across the floor, then down the stairs, the face still frozen in despair and terror.

The sight alone made their skin crawl.

"What are you standing there for!" Han Yi roared.

"Run!"

His shout snapped them back to their senses. The players scrambled down the stairs in a panic.

If they did not run—

They would die.

Su Xiao was a newcomer. Before becoming a player, she had only been an ordinary university student. She had rarely even seen blood.

Faced with such a gruesome scene, her limbs went weak, her mind blank.

This was far more horrifying than someone simply falling to their death.

Lin Zhou glanced back at Su Xiao, who had been frightened senseless. This time, he could not afford to drag her along. Gritting his teeth, he continued running.

Su Xiao’s fear had reached its peak.

It was not that she did not want to run—

She simply could not control her body.

Even if she could, she would not outrun the corpse.

It was too close.

She could almost smell the thick stench of blood.

Watching the figure draw closer, her entire body trembled uncontrollably, her lips quivering.

She opened her mouth to speak—

But no sound came out.

This was fear of death.

A cold that seeped into the bones.

Her heart felt like it was stopping.

She was going to die.

Su Xiao closed her eyes in despair, waiting for the pain—

But it never came.

Instead, she heard footsteps rushing away.

Not… going to kill her?

No.

It was not that it would not kill her.

Su Xiao watched as the corpse, as if drawn by something, suddenly rushed toward the end of the corridor.

In that instant, something clicked in her mind.

From the beginning—

The corpse had never been targeting them.

They had come down from the sixth floor.

But the corpse had emerged from the fifth.

It seemed to be searching for something.

She had heard a sound earlier—

Something falling.

That must have drawn it away.

Su Xiao looked toward the end of the corridor, swallowed hard, then gritted her teeth and forced her weak body forward, moving quickly after it.

To others, this was no different from seeking death.

Even the livestream audience thought so.

Since the arrival of the Infinite Horror Game, every player’s dungeon experience was broadcast live.

Su Xiao’s livestream was now flooded with comments.

"Has she gone insane? The corpse already let her go and she still wants to die."

"What a waste saving her earlier. Soft heart and stupid, doomed to die."

"Some people are just cannon fodder. If she wants to die, no one can stop her."

"Can’t understand it at all. Wasn’t that scary enough? Does she have to throw her life away to be satisfied?"

"That corpse clearly changed direction for a reason. What’s wrong with following it to check?"

"You think running fast is enough in a dungeon? People like you wouldn’t survive the first night."

The comments erupted into arguments.

But Su Xiao could not see them.

Players inside dungeons could not see the livestream.

Seeing the corpse leap down without hesitation, she hesitated for less than a second before speeding up to follow.

At the end of the corridor, she stood by the railing, looked at the corpse below—now even more twisted from the fall—then looked at the figures running in the distance.

Her gaze froze.

Who were those people?

Was the corpse chasing them?

The distance was too far to see clearly. Su Xiao reacted quickly, pulling out her phone and aiming it at the fleeing figures.

She switched to recording.

Then zoomed in as far as possible.

The image was blurry due to distance and poor lighting, but she could still make out that one person was carrying another as they ran.

When the corpse saw them, its twitching intensified, its speed increasing slightly.

It looked—

Excited.

Excited?

Su Xiao pointed the camera at the corpse, forcing herself to keep looking despite her fear.

No matter how many times she checked—

She could not shake the feeling.

The corpse really was excited.

After the figures disappeared, she seemed to think of something and immediately ran back to the sixth floor dorm.

There was no blood.

No signs of struggle.

Everything was exactly as they had left it.

The unconscious player was still lying there.

Still alive.

That confirmed it.

The corpse’s target—

Was those two people.

On the other side.

Because the corridor’s end was on the side of the building while the main entrance was at the front, Lin Zhou and the others did not encounter anything as they descended.

No one followed them.

Just as they were about to leave quickly, Lin Zhou slowed down.

Han Yi noticed and slowed as well.

"What’s wrong?"

"There was no scream." Lin Zhou looked back at the dormitory, suspicion in his eyes.

Han Yi paused, then realized—

There truly had been no scream.

Lin Zhou spoke in a low voice.

"That woman is very observant."

Su Xiao was timid, but her perception was sharper than most.

Several times, she had been the first to notice something was wrong.

And that kind of awareness—

Was exactly what was needed in a dungeon.

That was why Lin Zhou had helped her earlier.

Han Yi understood.

If possible, they should keep her alive.

But no one knew whether she was still alive.

Or whether returning to the dormitory would mean encountering that corpse again.

With such unknown danger—

He would not gamble his life.

Nor would Lin Zhou.

But he did not want to give up on Su Xiao.

"Let’s wait."

Lin Zhou looked at Han Yi, his tone firm.

"If she doesn’t come out in five minutes, we leave."

Han Yi had no objections.

A perceptive teammate was valuable.

The two ignored the other players and did not chase after those who had fled. Instead, they hid in a shadow where escape would be easy.

Soon, they saw Su Xiao emerge from the dormitory entrance.

Only after returning to the sixth floor did Su Xiao realize—

She had been left behind.

The courage she had just gathered vanished instantly.

She was terrified.

Fighting back tears, she tried to wake the unconscious player.

But no matter what she did—

There was no response.

She had even thought of carrying him out.

But she was too weak.

Even with all her strength—

She could not move him.

In the end, she had to give up.

She locked the balcony doors.

Then locked the dorm door as well.

It was the only thing she could do.

After that, she stumbled downstairs, trying to catch up with the others.

But they were already gone.

Just as she was about to break down in fear—

Two figures stepped out of the shadows.

Lin Zhou.

Han Yi.

The two exchanged a glance.

She was still alive.

Su Xiao saw them like a lifeline. The tears she had been holding back finally spilled over.

"You… you didn’t leave?"

In such a situation, a small lie might have earned gratitude.

But Lin Zhou spoke the truth.

"We didn’t hear you scream, so we waited five minutes."

"If you hadn’t come down, we would have left."

His honesty was almost cruel.

But in this place—

It was already rare kindness.

Su Xiao understood.

Even so, she was deeply moved, tears flowing uncontrollably.

"Let’s leave first." Lin Zhou glanced at the dorm, wary.

Su Xiao immediately understood.

"He won’t come after us."

Lin Zhou frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"He’s not targeting us."

She took out her phone and showed them the recording.

"He’s targeting these two."

Though blurry, the footage clearly showed the twisted corpse chasing after the figures.

Su Xiao explained what had happened.

"When it reached me, it suddenly changed direction and chased them."

"These two must be special."

After watching the video, Lin Zhou also realized it.

He looked at Han Yi.

"Should we follow?"

"Yes." Han Yi gritted his teeth, determination flashing in his eyes.

"If you don’t enter the tiger’s den, you won’t catch the tiger cub."

The corpse was easy to track.

Blood dripped along its path, forming a clear trail.

The three followed it all the way to the back gate.

From a distance, they saw a ruined corpse lying motionless on the ground.

All three tensed instantly, ready to flee.

But it did not move.

Lin Zhou and Han Yi exchanged glances, then cautiously approached.

Step by step.

Nothing happened.

As if it were just an ordinary corpse.

Lin Zhou poked it with a branch.

No response.

Han Yi crouched and checked.

"Dead."

"Why is it here?" Lin Zhou frowned.

"It looks like it chased someone here."

Su Xiao looked at the corpse, then at the gate.

"I think… someone ran here and got cornered."

She moved to the corpse’s position, following the direction it faced, then the outstretched hand beside it.

The scene formed in her mind.

Someone had been chased to a dead end.

Then the corpse fell.

That person seized the chance—

And ran.

Which direction?

Su Xiao turned, scanning quickly.

Then pointed.

"That way."

Her guess was correct.

Wen Ruyu had indeed gone that way.

But she missed one thing.

What if—

It had not been his choice?

At that moment, Wen Ruyu was walking stiffly toward the library.

Step by step.

Like walking toward death.

He could think.

He could feel.

He could see the darkness ahead.

But he could not control his body.

Not even a finger.

He was being controlled by that cold force—

Walking toward his inevitable end.

As he approached the library, hurried footsteps sounded from the side.

More than one person.

Wen Ruyu’s heart jumped.

The only thing he could move—

Was his eyes.

He turned them desperately toward the sound.

Tears filled his beautiful eyes.

Begging.

Hoping.

Notice him.

Please notice him.

Save him.

Perhaps his plea worked.

Or perhaps he was too obvious.

The approaching group noticed him immediately.

They were players who had gotten separated from Lin Zhou’s group.

One of them had sharp eyes.

"There’s someone over there."

They became cautious.

Seeing no immediate abnormality, they relaxed slightly.

Under the dim streetlight, the young man’s slender figure stretched long across the ground.

He walked alone in the empty road, surrounded by silence.

Strange.

Unsettling.

His face was covered by a mask, hiding most of his features.

Only his delicate, slender frame was visible.

Fragile.

Beautiful.

Impossible to look away from.

The players stood at a distance, watching.

After nearly a minute, one of them spoke quietly.

"Could he be a key NPC?"

Sometimes dungeons had key NPCs that provided clues.

Usually not dangerous.

"Very possible."

After a brief hesitation, they cautiously approached and blocked Wen Ruyu’s path.

The pressure around "Wen Ruyu" instantly dropped.

"He" looked at them, stiffly raising a hand—

Then forcibly stopping.

No.

This body could not be damaged.

Wen Ruyu felt himself finally stop.

The tension in his body loosened slightly. Tears gathered even more in his eyes, soaking his lashes.

Though his face was hidden by a mask, his eyes were exposed—

Wet.

Beautiful.

Pitiful.

Even though he had stopped, he still could not control his body.

He could only stand there, looking at the nearest player with pleading eyes.

Save him.

The player froze.

Those eyes were too beautiful.

His heartbeat faltered.

His ears turned red.

He quickly looked away, whispering to his companion, flustered.

"Why… why is he looking at me like that?"

"Is he… trying to seduce me?"

Wen Ruyu: "......?"

Chapter 34

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