Chapter 77 - 72: Waiting for You to Kill

Chapter 77: Chapter 72: Waiting for You to Kill

Guan City Information Center.

Wang brought Nan Jiamu a large mug of black coffee and watched as she downed it in a single gulp.

"Everyone is here. You don’t have to monitor this in person. Your health is more important," he said.

Nan Jiamu set down the coffee mug. "Don’t worry, I won’t die that easily. Has the system recovered?"

Wang glanced at the busy technicians around the Information Center and nodded, though he looked troubled. "The system has been restored, but we missed the optimal window. Right now, it’s not just our Information Center—every technician in the country, including the external experts we hired, is helping, yet we still can’t find this hacker."

Nan Jiamu lowered her eyes in disappointment. If they could bring over the AI from the Red Corpse World, its immense computing power and core architecture would surely build a formidable firewall, leaving the Black Domain Walker with nowhere to hide.

Unfortunately, even if she could, she wouldn’t do it.

What to bring back had to be decided by her!

Not everyone in the upper echelons was grateful to her. She had to ensure this world slowly grew stronger while remaining under her absolute control.

Nan Jiamu turned to Wang. "I will figure out a way to find the Black Domain Walker. You all need to quickly purge the Blood Clan members from this recent invasion, continue screening for new Players, and ensure everyone’s safety."

Because the Black Domain Walker was hunting Players, the new Players were unwilling to trust the authorities. She had no way to gather those new Players through official channels; even if she flew the official flag, only a few were willing to believe them.

"Let’s get moving. If we can just hold on for these next few days, perhaps the next time we enter the Red Corpse World, I can end all of this."

July 19, 8:00 a.m.

Yin Zhen was awakened by her alarm. Hearing the sound of the television coming from the living room, she almost instantly grabbed the gun by her pillow and leaped out of bed.

She rushed into the living room, only to relax her tense body and pat her own face.

The pitch-black Shadow Servant was wearing an apron. It held a cookbook up to shield its face while watching a horror movie on the TV with great relish.

Yin Zhen glanced around and noticed the living room had been tidied up perfectly. The floor was mopped so clean it was reflective. On the dining table sat a bowl of freshly cooked instant noodles, complete with two poached eggs, looking and smelling absolutely fantastic.

"This guy’s ability to learn is way too strong!"

Yin Zhen looked at the cookbook in the Shadow Servant’s hands; it was one her mother had bought.

She put her gun away, washed up, and sat down to eat. While eating, she checked the forum. There were no new reports of Player deaths, nor were there any new private messages.

At 8:30 a.m., Yin Zhen wheeled herself out the door.

As she passed the breakfast shop at the residential compound’s entrance, she noticed the doors were closed. A police cordon surrounded the area, and there were dark red stains on the ground that had been washed with water.

A few elderly men and women were standing in the distance. Their voices were kept very low, but the words still drifted into Yin Zhen’s ears.

"...The shop owner’s son suddenly went mad last night and bit her... He bit her neck right off... What a tragedy, that boy always seemed so well-behaved..."

"...She ran this shop for most of her life, getting up at three in the morning every day..."

"...What’s going on lately? My grandson was talking about the end of the world. Times are truly troubled now..."

Yin Zhen’s wheelchair stopped outside the police cordon. Her fingers slowly tightened around the armrests.

A moment later, she relaxed her grip and continued wheeling forward.

After changing her attire at the bookstore, Yin Zhen headed back to the same fight club from yesterday. Last night, she had faintly heard the echoes of blood, and today she wanted to find a sparring partner to consolidate her condition.

When the receptionist saw her enter, she quickly said, "I’m so sorry, Mr. Ding, but the coach didn’t come in today. It’s quite strange; he didn’t ask for a day off, but his phone just won’t connect."

Yin Zhen fell silent for a moment before asking, "Where does he live?"

The coach lived in a nearby upscale residential compound. When Yin Zhen found his apartment, she could smell the stench of blood right from outside the door.

She used the Universal Key to unlock the door, and the metallic tang of blood in the air instantly intensified. The apartment was pitch-dark, the curtains drawn tightly. Yin Zhen didn’t turn on the lights. She walked straight to the window and pulled the curtains open slightly.

Sunlight flooded in.

In the corner, a huddled figure abruptly lifted its head.

It was the coach. His neck bore the residual marks of a savage bite. His skin had turned a sickly gray, his nails had grown long and sharp, and fresh blood still clung to the corners of his mouth, revealing two teeth that were slightly pointier than a normal person’s.

In the inner room, there were three corpses: two elderly people and a... small child.

Yin Zhen stood in the light, looking at two framed photos on the wall.

In one, the young coach stood in a boxing ring, holding a championship belt in one hand and embracing his wife with the other, smiling as brightly as a child.

The photo next to it showed three generations under one roof—the happy, smiling faces of a family of five. The old woman was holding her grandson, the old man was playfully teasing the baby, and the coach’s wife stood by his side. The whole family was whole and complete.

The coach recognized Yin Zhen. A trace of struggle flashed across his grotesque face as a slurred, guttural sound tore from his throat.

"...Save... me..."

"Okay."

Yin Zhen turned around and pulled the curtains wide open.

The panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows faced the rising morning sun in the east. The scorching rays fell directly onto the coach. His skin immediately began to smoke, charring black and cracking open.

"AAAAARGH!"

The coach let out a hoarse, agonizing howl. Within a dozen seconds, he was burned to ashes by the sunlight.

Without a word, Yin Zhen went into the inner room and drew back the curtains. The sunlight poured in, illuminating the three corpses that had yet to turn.

They wouldn’t become monsters anymore; they were simply dead.

The Shadow Servant lingered at Yin Zhen’s feet, meticulously wiping away her footprints and any other traces she had left behind. By the time the neighbors heard the commotion and came out to check, Yin Zhen had already stepped into the elevator.

The ones dying in this game weren’t just the Players; it was also these ordinary people who knew absolutely nothing. They didn’t even have names. They were just "the shop owner" and "the coach"—background characters who were even more "laughable" than she was.

In the protagonist’s playground, background characters were completely worthless!

In the elevator, Yin Zhen opened the forum and sent a private message to the Black Domain Walker.

[Blossoming Prosperity]: I know what your mission is. Tonight at ten o’clock, the same place as yesterday. I’ll be waiting for you to kill me! If you don’t come kill me, I’ll go kill you!

The Shadow Servant squirmed uneasily at Yin Zhen’s feet.

"What are you afraid of?" Yin Zhen glanced down at it. "He’s the one who should be afraid!"

Meanwhile, at Bai Qiang’s home.

She hadn’t slept all night. Dark circles hung heavy under her eyes. She had drunk four cups of coffee, and her ashtray had been filled and emptied multiple times.

Suddenly, Bai Qiang crumpled up all the papers she had spent the entire night writing on and chucked them into the trash can.

"I overcomplicated things. A piece of trash who only knows how to hide in the shadows and manipulate others can be dealt with using the simplest method."

She opened her private messages and sent a paragraph to the Black Domain Walker.

"[Heavenly Dao Rewards Diligence]: Bro, is it really that bad being human? Do you absolutely have to be a dog for the Blood Clan? And a spineless, utterly despicable dog at that! You only dare to hide behind a screen, using other people’s fear to prove that you’re still alive. What a pity that zero people felt any fear. You just put on a joke of a performance, hahahahaha!

"In real life, you don’t even dare to look up when talking to people, do you? If someone speaks just a little louder, do you get so scared you drop to your knees, crying and begging for mercy? Even your own parents must feel ashamed of you! I bet you don’t even dare look in the mirror, because you’re terrified of seeing your own loser face!

"You are an absolute, thorough piece of trash hiding in your shell. Come on, say it out loud with me: L-O-S-E-R!

"If you want to prove you’re not a loser, I’ll be waiting for you to kill me tonight at the abandoned industrial park from yesterday!

"Oh, right, remember to bring a few extra pairs of pants. I’m worried you’ll piss yourself on the spot the moment you see me, you useless piece of garbage!"

In a dark, gloomy room, the person sitting in front of the computer monitor crushed the glass cup in his hand after reading the forum’s private messages.

Turning his head, the mirror reflected a face that even he found disgusting. In a fit of rage, he hurled the glass shards in his hand at it.

Accompanied by the endless sounds of arguments and crying children coming from outside, the man began frantically pounding on his keyboard.