Chapter 91: First Death Condition

    Beneath the scorching gaze of the sun, ten players and two NPCs trudged along the desert toward the place where they were supposed to work on for the next three days. The heat was merciless, and each step on the sand caused their feet to sink, making the burden feel twice heavier.

    Such was the case for Fatty and Luo Qing, who were clad only in ordinary outfits.

    Luo Qing, in particular, only wore a thin piece of shirt, shorts and sandals as it was summertime in the real world. In a short span of time, her skin turned red akin to boiled lobster. Blisters formed on her feet, while the grains of sand clinging to her sweaty skin gave her incessant itch. She gasped for breath, her complexion turning paler by each passing second, "I... I can’t do this anymore... Water..."

    A water bottle was tossed to her. Caught off guard, she raised her head to find that it was from Zhang Lei. Eyes reddening, she cried out softly, "Z–Zhang..."

    Alas, the man did not even dare to linger for one more second as he hastened his pace and left her behind to catch up with Jiang Shun and the other Intermediate players in front. Luo Qing clutched onto the water bottle in her hand while tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

    "Awo?" Jin Jiuchi tilted his head to the jade doll with a questioning sound.

    Shen Nianzu could guess what he was asking even without thinking. He lay comfortably on Jin Jiuchi’s back and said in a lazy tone, "If you want to carry two people and draw more attention to yourself, feel free to help her." If not for the unbearable heat, he could have fallen asleep from the gentle buoy of Jin Jiuchi’s paw steps.

    "Arooo..."

    Jin Jiuchi did not think that he could carry Shen Nianzu and a female adult like Luo Qing at the same time. If he had to make a choice between the two, he did not even need to think before choosing the jade doll in a heartbeat. Moreover, he also had to be wary of the person who was here to kill him...

    Now was certainly not the time for him to concern himself over someone else!

    Fortunately, before Luo Qing could truly pass out in the middle of the desert, the two NPCs in front halted in their tracks and announced, "We are here."

    "This... is the place we will be working on?" The intermediate player, who was determined to stick close to Jiang Shun, asked with a dumbfounded look on his face.

    Hearing him, the players behind hastened their steps to see what was going on. And similarly, they also stopped and gawked at the huge pit in front of them.

    It sprawled with a diameter spanning ten meters and a depth of approximately two meters. Remnants of human excavation marked its surface, evident in the traces left behind. A wooden slope had been planted on the side to facilitate their descent, while a handful of dirt-covered shovels lay conspicuously in the center.

    Without a word, the two NPCs went down through the slope and grabbed a shovel for each of them. Then they continued to dig from where they left off. Now the players finally knew why the NPCs’ workwear was so dirty.

    "What the—" the Intermediate player, the very same one who had spoken earlier, exclaimed in extreme shock upon witnessing this scene. "We’re really going to dig out this pit by our own hands?! Why don’t you just call a tractor to do it? I guarantee you that the job will be done within a day!"

    As soon as he said this, the movement of the two NPCs froze, and they raised their heads in unison to stare at the player.

    Compared to the nightmare creatures and the mummy bus officer, there was nothing out of place about the NPCs’ features as they looked every inch like an ordinary human being. Yet as the recipient of their intense stare, the intermediate player froze with his mouth parted, the rest of the words stuck on his throat. His complexion grew ashen as seconds ticked by, and his eyes turned glazed as if he was witnessing something horrifying.

    "With our perspiration permeating the sand, we shall convey our unwavering sincerity. Through our blood, we shall demonstrate unwavering dedication, for it is only then that we may sway the heart of God and earn the blessing to create a holy lake," one of the NPCs stated solemnly.

    The other continued without missing a beat, "On the sacred grounds of the temple, impertinence and discourtesy to the God is deemed unforgivable. Divine punishment shall befall those who dare transgress."

    "Divine punishment," both of them echoed in unison with an eerily similar tone and expression.

    Chills ran down everyone’s spine, regardless of how sweltering the weather was.

    They stared, aghast, as the intermediate player fell down to his knees with an agonizing look on his face. He reached out to rub his arms with rough and exaggerated movement, "I–It’s itchy... why is it so itchy..." His skin started to tighten and crackle with a dry papery sound, losing its suppleness and vitality. Wrinkles etched themselves deeply into his face like a grotesque roadmap of decay. His eyes sunk into their sockets and his body started to contort in agony, his muscles seizing and bones creaking under the strain.

    He lowered his gaze to look at himself and a bloodcurdling shriek was torn out of his lips. "A–AHH... HELP! HELP ME—" he scrambled to reach out for the person closest to him, which was coincidentally Jiang Shun’s female companion.

    Seeing the decayed hand closing in on her leg, she screamed and kicked him aside by reflex, and the player rolled down the pit to land beside the NPCs. He raggedly gasped for breath, froth bubbling on the corner of his lips.

    In less than one minute, any traces of light dissipated from his eyes and he breathed his last. His face was still twisted in extreme agony, and his body shriveled up akin to a dried-out relic.

    It was a quick yet excruciating death that was even more effective than the highly potent venom of desert cobra. A pungent odor spread in the air, it was the mixture of filth, decay and sour smell of rotten meat.

    "AHH—!!" Xinxin and Luo Qing both let out a terrified scream on top of their lungs. The former covered his mouth and dry-heaved, tears squeezing out of his eyes, whereas the latter’s reaction was more extreme. Her eyes immediately rolled backward to show the whites and she fainted straight on her feet.

    Witnessing such a gruesome scene, Fatty stumbled to the side and retched, pouring out all the contents in his stomach. W–What was happening? How... How could a perfectly healthy man die all of a sudden?!

    It was then that the two newbies truly witnessed what kind of twisted predicament they had been thrown into.

    Shen Nianzu was standing on the edge of the pit with the miserable and nauseous husky in his arms who kept his snout buried in his chest, breathing in the pure and clean fragrance exuded from the jade doll’s heavenly body. "Now we know the first death condition," he remarked as he ran his fingers through Jin Jiuchi’s thick fur coat, the motion strangely soothing and therapeutic.

    On the side, Jiang Shun had a repulsed sneer on his face as he pinched his nose, mocking the stupidity of a certain player. "Never show disrespect to their God, or else you will all suffer the same harrowing death."