CHAPTER 111: CHAPTER 111 INSTANT DEATH

Being unable to enter the building didn’t mean he was out of options.

Li Ang gripped the seams between the wall bricks with one hand while quickly pulling out a [Ruitu Military knife 300] from his backpack with the other. He pinched the middle of the military knife and, with a gentle rub of his thumb, slid out the small shovel attachment. He then released Ripple Energy, infusing the tip of the shovel with it.

With a crisp CLANG, Li Ang, holding the knife handle, inserted the shovel horizontally into the seam between two bricks directly below him. Then, bending his body with one leg forward and the other back, he crouched nimbly and steadily on the knife handle, like a gargoyle statue.

All of this happened in a flash of flint and stone, before the Black Trojan could even react.

Li Ang had already taken a steel rod as thick as a bowl’s mouth from his backpack, gripped it with both hands, and swept it toward the disguised man.

The steel rod, charged with a massive amount of Ripple Energy, began to melt the disguised man’s body merely by its proximity. The monster hastily retracted the long tongue tied around the Black Trojan’s neck, clutched both ends, and stretched it taut to block the incoming steel rod.

The steel rod, carrying Ripple Energy, whipped up a fierce gale and, with no elaborate moves, smashed into the long tongue, making a dull THUMP, THUMP sound, like a rolling pin hitting dough.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.

Under the heavy blows, the disguised ghost stumbled back several steps, the vivid red tongue in his hands going limp as if it had lost all elasticity.

Restricted by the rule "only one player can enter a building at a time," Li Ang couldn’t personally enter the corridor to pursue his quarry, but ranged weapons were clearly not subject to this restriction.

He put away the steel rod, took out an SCAR-H rifle, and accurately fired several shots at the disguised man’s head. The spinning 7.62mm caliber bullets bored through the man’s skull and into his cranial cavity.

Viscous, dark red blood spurted from the bullet holes. The disguised man, like a balloon filled with gore, gushed blood in torrents.

In just a few moments, the entire corridor was smeared with the dark red substance.

"HISS—UGH—"

The disguised man struggled to breathe, then smeared his long, soft tongue over the wounds on his head and body. In an instant, the bullet wounds all over his body healed rapidly. He quickly steadied himself, his cracked lips once again twisting into a mocking curve.

Quite a tongue you have there.

Li Ang watched the long tongue in the monster’s hands, silently admiring it as his mind raced through a hundred ways to cook beef tongue.

Remove the gamey taste of beef tongue with cooking wine, ginger, and garlic, boil it until it’s ninety percent cooked, dip slices in soy sauce and vinegar with cilantro, then put it in your mouth to savor that unique elasticity, rich meat juices, and incredibly satisfying chewiness...

Thinking about it was actually making him a bit hungry.

Completely unaware of what Li Ang was thinking, the disguised man had just raised his tongue again when he saw the Black Trojan, previously rigid and immobile, now struggling to lift an arm and tremblingly press the reset button on the Casio calculator in his hand.

This ordinary-looking calculator was, in fact, a piece of equipment.

[Name: When Mathematician Realized He Was Wrong]

[Type: Weapon]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Attack Power: Extremely Low]

[Special Effect: Pressing the reset button briefly causes an enemy to ponder the philosophical questions: "Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going?" The intensity, priority, and duration of the special effect are determined by the target’s current physiological and psychological condition.]

[Consumption: 30% of the user’s current Sanity Value]

[Cooldown: 15 minutes]

[Equipment Requirements: Intelligence Attribute must be 9 points or higher]

[Note: Mathematicians in The Sims began to doubt whether they were trapped in an absurd virtual world. How fascinating is that.]

The moment the reset button was pressed, the disguised man, still holding his vivid red tongue, froze on the spot. Strings of green numerical symbols continuously streamed downwards within his bloodshot eyes. His originally fierce face trembled rapidly, his expression alternating between confusion, joy, anger, and despair.

Hanging outside the wall, Li Ang certainly didn’t miss this opportunity. He took out the steel rod again, held his breath, and concentrated, channeling all his Ripple Energy into the metal. Then, as if throwing a javelin, he hurled it fiercely.

The steel rod WHOOSHED through the air, carrying the force of a thousand pounds, and viciously struck the disguised man’s neck. Bone fragments scattered, and foul blood spurted out as if it cost nothing. The Ripple Energy contained in the steel rod instantly dissolved his entire head and, its momentum unchecked, pinned the disguised man’s headless body to the wall.

With that thunderous blow, the monster died on the spot.

The Black Trojan, no longer restrained, collapsed onto the blood-stained ground with a THUMP, panting heavily. He had been so close; just a little bit more, and his neck would have been strangled by that tongue.

After a while, he stood up, still shaken, his limbs somewhat weak from the lingering fright.

Still crouching on the military knife, Li Ang asked quietly, "Feeling better now?"

"Yeah."

The Black Trojan replied with a bitter smile, "Thanks to Brother Li this time. If it weren’t for you, I’d probably be dead."

Although temporary teammates in scenario missions were usually just using each other, the act of saving someone’s life was still a debt of gratitude.

"Yeah."

Li Ang nodded noncommittally, his gaze intense as he watched the disguised man’s body, like that of the middle school student earlier, steadily sink and vanish into the ground. The bloodstains on the ground also disappeared as if they had never existed.

"Hey!"

The Plague Doctor, standing below the school building, shouted up, "Brother Li, how are things up there?"

"All clear!"

Li Ang shouted down, then turned to the Black Trojan. "Help me pull the rod out of the wall."

"Alright."

The somewhat weakened Black Trojan nodded, walked over to the wall, and with considerable effort, pulled out the deeply embedded steel rod.

As a proud coder and programmer, the Black Trojan, even after becoming a player, had never possessed a Strength Attribute higher than 6 points. His physical fitness was only marginally better than an average person’s. As he pulled out the steel rod, he felt a subtle awe at its weight. He surmised that this Brother Li Rising must be a combat-specialized player who focused on Strength and Agility Attributes.

The Black Trojan carried the steel rod back and handed it to Li Ang. Li Ang stored the weapon in his inventory and said casually, "Pack up. Let’s meet downstairs."

After speaking, Li Ang retrieved the military knife he was perched on. Digging his fingers into the cracks in the brick wall, he agilely leaped down the building like a monkey.

A moment later, the Black Trojan emerged from the school building. The three of them gathered once again and discussed the disguised ghost they had just encountered.

The Plague Doctor furrowed his brow for a moment, then asked, "So, when it asked about a favorite color, what was the correct answer to avoid dying?"

"Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet? I don’t know."

Li Ang shook his head. "But I suspect there’s a hint to the answer somewhere on this campus. It’s like in some video games where you have to visit Location A to get the key for Location B."

The Black Trojan pursed his lips. "If a player didn’t find the hint first and walked in unprepared, like I did, without waiting for teammate support... wouldn’t that mean instant death?"

"If you die, you die."

Li Ang scoffed. "Only one player can enter each building at a time, and our team has three people. Even if one teammate dies, the remaining two would probably guess that the key to survival is hidden elsewhere on campus. If they continue searching, they’ll find it."

He paused, looked up at the towering and gloomy school building, and said in a low voice, "If I’m right, the remaining supernatural events will likely also have some hidden, maddening ’instant death’ conditions."

Both the Plague Doctor and the Black Trojan fell silent. This news was far from heartening.

Nevertheless, the mission had to continue. The three quickly adjusted their mindsets and resumed searching the school. Since supernatural events could potentially involve "instant death," they decided, for fairness, to take turns searching different buildings.

Li Ang’s turn led him to the male dormitory of Ibaraki Middle School.