"Hah... hah..."
Amidst the heavy breathing, a woman with torn clothes and a noticeable wound on one arm slowly walked in.
After her, a young man and the Japanese man who had spoken to Gao Hai before also entered the cavern. All three looked to be in bad shape, showing various signs of injury, as if they had all taken a rough tumble on gravel.
It was the three players they had met before.
Gao Hai stood up almost immediately, signaling Chika Fujiwara to back away.
"We're explorers. Who are you?"
As Gao Hai reacted, the three on the other side responded just as quickly. The woman in the lead drew a pistol and asked in a cold voice.
"Explorers."
Gao Hai gave this simple reply and also drew his pistol, pulling Chika back by the shoulder. The two groups faced off, about twenty meters apart, in the cold cavern.
The fact that none of the three players had died was a little surprising, but considering they probably weren't novices, it was understandable.
However, considering the corpses and intermittent phantoms Gao Hai had sensed while passing through the tunnel, he doubted these surviving veterans were in much better shape. At any moment, they could be completely corrupted by the anomalous power and become a grave threat to other players.
"Heh heh, let's not get excited, everyone. There are only a few of us left. There's no point in being suspicious of each other. Cooperation—cooperation is the best way to survive."
The Japanese man once again stepped forward, waving his hands to signal that Gao Hai and the woman should both lower their guns.
"This instance is stabilizing, and the rule sheet we got clearly points to content about 'role-playing.' This means there's definitely some kind of 'instant death' rule and a 'corruption and transformation' rule in this place. Under such rules, there's no point in gathering in large numbers; in fact, one person breaking a rule could lead to a total party wipe."
The woman spoke coldly, her gaze sweeping over Gao Hai and Chika, her desire for them to leave obvious.
She didn't trust Gao Hai and Chika.
"Don't be like that, Shelby. We're not in good shape right now."
The Japanese man hadn't expected the woman to adopt such an attitude and tried to persuade her in an embarrassed, low voice.
"It's precisely because we're in bad shape that we need to be more cautious. I don't want to be dragged down by others, and I don't want to be a burden to anyone. Also, Mr. Kawano, we just happened to be heading in the same direction. If you think that team is better, you can go join them. I have no objection."
The woman, called Shelby, sat down on a high rock platform as she spoke and, taking off her backpack, immediately began to bandage her wounds.
The Japanese man, Kawano, looked displeased, as if he was on the verge of saying something but ultimately held it back.
As for the last man, he still did not join the conversation, merely finding a spot to sit and tend to his own wounds.
From the way Shelby and the man moved, it was clear they both had professional medical skills. Shelby, in particular, was clearly very proficient; the many small details and motions as she dressed her wound showed she was capable.
"Should we team up with them?"
Chika moved closer to Gao Hai, standing on her tiptoes to ask in a quiet voice.
"The last time we met them, just one person saying the wrong thing nearly got everyone wiped out. In a place like this, a bigger group isn't necessarily a good thing. We've rested enough. It's time to move on."
Gao Hai shook his head, having no intention of getting deeply involved with these three.
If they were new players, like Chika Fujiwara, Gao Hai felt he could guide them, and they might even be useful in a critical moment. But these three veterans, while seemingly traveling together, were clearly not the type to cooperate seamlessly to clear an instance. Shelby, Kawano, and the man who hadn't said a word were obviously only sticking together out of necessity. Teaming up with such a discordant group would only get him killed faster, Gao Hai feared.
But sometimes, things don't always go the way you want.
Just as Gao Hai turned back to look at the narrow cave entrance he'd come from, he saw a figure slowly crawling out of the cavern.
The pungent smell of blood spread rapidly.
And the person had already lifted their half-collapsed head, smiling at everyone present. Behind him were a purplish-blue boy of about thirteen or fourteen wearing only boxer shorts, and a woman whose entire face was almost completely smashed, reminding Gao Hai of a 'failed dive.'
"Are you explorers here for some fun, too?"
The man with half his face caved in, one eyeball dangling by his mouth, asked with a smile.
Gao Hai first glanced at Chika Fujiwara and saw that although the girl was terrified, she hadn't screamed, keeping her mouth clamped shut and remaining calm.
He then turned back to the three 'people' and found that they had closed a significant distance in that brief moment.
All three 'people' were staring at him, waiting for his answer.
Evidently, just like with the thing with the back of its head blown open, when encountering these entities, if they've already shown an intention to communicate, it's not so easy to just stay silent and bluff your way through.
"We are explorers."
Gao Hai replied while giving Chika a push. The girl hesitated for a moment before also saying, "I'm an explorer, too," though her voice trembled slightly, unable to completely hide her fear.
"Oh, oh, did you two come together? That's great. I brought my wife to the Red Nut Gray Hole this time to show our son around. Have you been to the Heart yet? Seems like there are a lot of people visiting today."
The man spoke again, smiling at the two of them.
"Hiss... hiss... gurgle..."
The woman seemed to be saying something, but her face had split open down the middle. As dark red blood welled up, all Gao Hai could hear was the sound of air passing through her windpipe and the bubbling of blood blocking the passage.
"Daddy, it's cold."
The purplish-blue boy just spoke blankly, his gaze fixed on Gao Hai and Chika, his head tilted as if in confusion.
Gao Hai glanced sideways in the direction of the three veteran players but saw no one.
Did they run away the instant these things appeared? They were pretty fast.
"We haven't been to the Heart yet. We were just about to head over."
Facing these three people who, by all appearances, were thoroughly dead yet still chatting with him, Gao Hai's expression remained unchanged. He spoke while pulling the terrified Chika, who was trying hard to hide her fear, toward the narrow cave entrance, intending to enter the small opening directly.
Then Gao Hai saw a mangled Dennis, who looked like he'd taken a nasty fall somewhere. The man was slowly crawling out of the cave entrance, pulling himself along the ground with broken fingers. He looked up, his blood-soaked face a mess of lacerated flesh, and looked at Gao Hai.
"Oh, it's you. Have you seen my friends? Miss Shelby, Mr. Kawano, and Mr. Ed. I've been looking everywhere for them."
Dennis grinned as he spoke. The corner of his mouth tore open due to the severe facial trauma, and blood seeped from wounds large and small, making the already foul-smelling underground cavern even more nauseating.
"Haven't seen them. Could you please move? You're blocking our way."
Gao Hai's expression didn't change as he calmly spoke, pulling Chika along.
He could feel three gazes on his back, along with three waves of intense malice.
No, 'malice' wasn't the right word.
Human malice was the desire to harm or exploit him. But these inhuman things no longer possessed 'thoughts.' All they had were imitations of their pre-death actions, some inertial repetitions, and the anomalous power of slaughter and transformation hidden beneath.
But why the hell couldn't he see a single thing when he was walking just fine a moment ago, only for these things to start showing up less than a minute after he stopped and ran into other players?
Could it be that too many living people staying in one place attracted them?
"That's a real shame. I've been trying to find them; they're all very good people. By the way, you don't mind if I join you, do you? I'd really like to see the Heart, too."
Dennis crawled out of the cavern, his legs, worn down to the bone, dragging bloody streaks on the ground. Even so, he looked up and spoke to Gao Hai in a very friendly manner.
"No. The two of us are enough."
Gao Hai said with an unchanging expression, squeezing Chika's shoulder slightly to remind her to keep a straight face and not show any weakness.
The three things behind them were almost pressing against them now. Gao Hai could hear the gurgling exhale from the windpipe right behind him.
"Why? Is there something strange about me? Why can't I come with you?"
Dennis tilted his head, asking with great curiosity.
"Can we come with you, too? It seems like it would be nice to have more people. Why are you reacting so strongly?"
The man's caved-in face peeked out from beside Gao Hai's shoulder, his neck twisting in a way human bones couldn't manage, staring at Gao Hai almost face-to-face as he asked.
"Hiss... gurgle..."
The woman had somehow appeared at his side. The breath exhaled from her windpipe, from behind her shattered face, blew directly onto Gao Hai's cheek, spattering a few drops of blood on him.
"Big sister, aren't you cold? Are you scared? Am I scary?"
The purplish-blue boy had, at some point, positioned himself in front of Chika, looking up to meet her gaze as he asked.
The four things had completely surrounded them.
A bone-chilling cold was spreading. Even though Gao Hai's physique had surpassed human limits thanks to his enhancements and Blessing, he still found it difficult to bear.
A slight dizziness began to creep into his mind.
And the expressions on these 'people' were starting to change, slowly shifting from lively and animated to the stiff look of the dead.
"Do we look strange? Why are you reacting so strongly?"
"Why aren't you talking? Are you afraid?"
"Speaking of which, where is this place? I feel like I've been walking in circles. Do you know what's going on?"
The corpses opened their mouths.
The whispering sounds were like something crawling inside his ear canal, murmuring.
Drip—
A drop of water fell from a stalactite, landing on the cavern floor with a crisp sound.
The four corpses had lost all color and had completely decayed.
Gao Hai took a slow breath, reached out, and grabbed Chika Fujiwara's arm, pulling the girl, who was on the verge of breaking, directly into his arms.
"I don't need to team up with anyone. All I need is her."
Gao Hai said to the four things, his face expressionless.
"I came here to explore, to enjoy some cooperative time with my girlfriend."
"I don't need anyone else, and I have no interest in having a few third wheels getting in the way."
"You can all fuck off to wherever you want. Get the hell out of our way."
Speaking in a deliberately harsh and nasty tone, Gao Hai immediately pushed forward, squeezing past the man, woman, child, and Dennis who were blocking his path. He even stepped on Dennis's back.
Chika was practically dragged along by Gao Hai. At this point, she couldn't hold on any longer, and it was only because Gao Hai was holding her that she didn't reveal her expression.
And until Gao Hai and Chika reached the cave entrance, until Gao Hai crouched down, supporting Chika as the weak-kneed girl climbed inside, and then followed her in.
The four things behind them made no further sound, only watching their departure in silence.
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