Chapter 133: Tearing and Clawing

“No matter what you become, I know you would never harm me.” Liu Hui walked step by step towards Lü Yang.

“Don’t come too close!” Lü Yang retreated several steps. Until he understood the side effects of this black mist, he didn’t want Liu Hui to get infected too.

Liu Hui stopped where she was. She didn’t speak again, just watched Lü Yang with deep worry.

At that moment, a light suddenly turned on in a small room in the courtyard. The light shone through the window into the yard, making Lü Yang feel like he was being roasted over a fire. He didn’t dare look towards the window. But this kind of roasting was much weaker than the direct burn of the flashlight. At least he could bear it.

As the light came on, the electronic voice sounded in Lü Yang’s ear again…

“Third mission completed…”

“Fourth mission: Retrieve the Timed Explosive Device from the Safe Point. Destroy Donkey Tail Town. Escort Liu Hui to evacuate via the road before the town, reaching a safe area at least ten kilometers from the blast site, before the explosion occurs…”

“…”

Lü Yang frowned. According to his earlier guess, he thought the last mission should have been to successfully escort Liu Hui to Donkey Tail Town. He hadn’t expected it to tell him to destroy the town.

Who created this mysterious domain? Death Killer? Or himself?

Why were the missions so strange?

If he created it himself, was it trying to warn or remind him of something through these rounds of games and missions?

If Death Killer created it… what secret scheme was hidden within?

The first game, the second game, the first few missions of the third game… scene after scene, every player appeared clearly in Lü Yang’s mind. The words they confessed under interrogation, the things they said during the journey… all echoed in Lü Yang’s ears.

Countless clues, countless doubts tangled together, driving Lü Yang almost mad at this moment.

He just had a very strong feeling. This last mission wouldn’t be so simple. It definitely wouldn’t let him complete it smoothly and escape the mysterious domain with Liu Hui.

Was he overthinking the complexity of this mysterious domain because of Death Killer’s words about “testing intelligence”? Did he not need to think so much? Should he just follow the requirements of the fourth mission, destroy Donkey Tail Town, and safely evacuate with Liu Hui via the road before the town?

Headache!

While Lü Yang was lost in thought, Liu Hui, without him noticing, had drawn close again and leaned into his arms. By the time Lü Yang realized something was wrong, it was too late.

“The darkness has contaminated me. You being this close, you might get contaminated too,” Lü Yang said helplessly, looking at Liu Hui.

“If I can’t be with you, even living in sunshine every day means nothing to me. I’d rather be contaminated by the darkness, just like you.” Liu Hui raised her head to look at him. Her face and her little red lips were dangerously close to Lü Yang’s.

Lü Yang suddenly felt a deep thirst in his mouth…

“Are you sure you’re really… you!?” Lü Yang suddenly darkened his expression and questioned her sharply. A moment ago, he almost couldn’t control himself in the face of her tenderness.

“Huh?” Liu Hui looked utterly confused, as if she didn’t quite understand what he meant.

“You are Death Killer! Did you think I wouldn’t see through you!? Did you think just changing your face would fool me!?” Lü Yang suddenly pushed Liu Hui down onto the ground. He sat astride her and reached out, trying to rip her face away…

There had been over forty people in the internet cafe when this started. By the third round of the game, only seven remained. But Chen Mingdong died, Huang Wenchao died, Wang Zixian died, Ji Zhen died, Sun Haibo and Li Ping died too…

Now, inside the entire mysterious domain, before the fourth mission of the third round, only Lü Yang and Liu Hui were left. If Death Killer wasn’t present as an observer, then the only other survivor besides Lü Yang was Liu Hui!

Therefore, she had the greatest suspicion.

Death Killer had a strong need to show off. It was entirely possible he’d changed his face to impersonate Liu Hui, stayed by Lü Yang’s side the whole time, letting Lü Yang protect him. Then, at the very last moment when the mysterious domain was about to end, he’d suddenly reveal himself, tell Lü Yang all this, watch Lü Yang go crazy, and then slowly torture him to death.

“Give you a shred of hope, then let you fall into despair! Then… the deepest despair!” Liu Yin’s original words came to mind.

…

After being pinned down by Lü Yang, ridden on, and clawed at, Liu Hui let out a series of painful cries. Finally, she started sobbing loudly out of sheer terror…

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I was just so tense! Don’t be scared! I won’t… I won’t do that to you again!” Lü Yang pulled back his hands and kept apologizing to Liu Hui. Then he buried his head deep between his knees, covering his head with his hands. He looked utterly downcast and helpless.

In those online novels Lü Yang had read, like “Obi Island”, the protagonist, while leveling up, would always encounter enemies just slightly stronger than them. The clever protagonist would pick those moments to show their power, defeat the stronger foe, pulling off the heroic act of hiding their strength and defeating stronger foes.

Those truly powerful enemies would never disturb the protagonist before they grew strong. They’d wait stupidly, patiently, until the protagonist was only a little weaker than them, then rush out like idiots to get beaten by the protagonist.

But this wasn’t a novel.

Lü Yang was only a Junior Mystic Scholar who had just experienced two mysterious domains. He barely understood mysterious domains when he immediately faced a powerful, experienced, cunning high-level Mystic Scholar trying to kill him. He also didn’t have any magical rings, beads, gourds, the kind from stories that might contain a mysterious old man who’d pop out to solve his troubles…

He could only rely on himself. Every minute, every second, was like walking a tightrope. One wrong step, and he’d fall into eternal damnation.

More importantly, it wasn’t just about saving his own life. He had to rescue his sweetheart, Yi Ya, from Death Killer’s clutches…

Losing both parents as a child forged Lü Yang’s resilience. Alone all these years, he grew from a naive boy into a strong young man. He’d relied on his own hands and hard work to come this far. He worked hard. He wasn’t someone who gave up easily. Time and again, he’d faced mortal danger and pulled through. But here… now… he felt despair. Deep discouragement. Anger. And even… helplessness…

Liu Hui cautiously sat up. She touched her face and looked at Lü Yang. She was clearly terrified.

“I-I… I’m not… Death Killer…” Liu Hui sobbed the words out.

“I know… I’m sorry…” Lü Yang didn’t look up. He kept his head firmly buried between his knees.

“I… I…” Liu Hui carefully moved closer to Lü Yang. Then, very cautiously, she rested her head on Lü Yang’s shoulder and back. Sobbing, she managed, “I… I’m… not… not mad at you…”

“I’m sorry. Yi Yi is gone. I can’t lose Xiao Ya too… She’s my only family. I just wanted to save her… If I can’t save her, I’d rather die here myself…” Lü Yang still spoke softly, muttering the words to Liu Hui.

“If you die… what… what about me?” Liu Hui became sad again.

Lü Yang said nothing. He didn’t know what he could say. He had a responsibility to Yi Yi, to Yi Ya. He wanted to tell Liu Hui… he had no responsibility towards her… but the words stuck in his throat.

…

“Remember that little room you slept in before? The one with the light on? It’s the Safe Point for this courtyard. I’m trapped in this dark mist now; I can’t go inside. I need you to go in and check. See if there’s a magazine… fireworks… or anything like that inside. Bring out whatever you can…”

“And look to see if there’s anything else strange inside. If you find something you don’t recognize, don’t touch it. Come out, tell me all about it in detail, and I’ll tell you what to do.” After calming down, Lü Yang explained this to Liu Hui.

“Okay. I’ll go now,” Liu Hui nodded to Lü Yang, her eyes red, and obediently walked towards the lit-up small room.

She entered. Not long after, she ran back out, shouting and yelling. Lü Yang hurriedly asked her what happened.

“There’s so much stuff inside! I… I can’t carry it all out…” Liu Hui explained to Lü Yang.

“What kinds of stuff?”

“There are big guns! And a lot of wooden boxes!” Liu Hui gestured vaguely. It was clear she didn’t understand much about guns or weapons.

“Is there a light switch inside? See if you can turn the light off. Then maybe I can go in and look.” Lü Yang thought for a moment and suggested. Though he was afraid of the light right now, reflected light from the flashlight shining elsewhere was something he could bear.

“Okay!”

Liu Hui ran back. But she soon returned, shaking her head at Lü Yang. “I don’t know where the room’s light comes from. I couldn’t find a switch.”

Lü Yang frowned. Clearly, this setting by Death Killer was to prevent him from entering the small room. Lü Yang thought again and spoke to Liu Hui. “You bring out the big guns first. Bring them out one by one and put them here near me. Then bring out a little bit of the other kinds of stuff too, one of each kind. Oh, and be extremely careful. Some things might be dangerous.”

“Okay,” Liu Hui responded and obediently ran back. Shortly after, she returned, struggling to drop several bulky guns she’d been carrying onto the ground beside Lü Yang. She then turned and ran back into the lit room.

After several trips back and forth by Liu Hui, the ground beside Lü Yang was quickly filled with all kinds of weapons and ammunition.

“Damn! This Safe Point’s supplies are really generous!” Lü Yang inspected each gun on the ground—there were mini-subs, shotguns, AKs, even a grenade launcher!

Liu Hui entered the little room once more. This time, she took a long while before emerging. She was heaving a large wooden box, struggling to drag it all the way over to Lü Yang.