Infinite: Dawn Game

"Is there something wrong with your eyes?"

Zhao Xuan remained as indifferent as ever: "If there's something wrong with your eyes, then my eyes should be gouged out and washed too."

Mu Gui's breath hitched, understanding the hidden meaning in Zhao Xuan's words. He licked his lips with some difficulty:

"So, so Qi Tie, he really has a problem?"

Zhao Xuan didn't speak immediately. He just stared at the path in front of him, which was only illuminated by moonlight, and his gaze slowly swept over the damp, dark mud on both sides of the path.

"Qi Tie was already parasitized when he was in the ancestral hall."

He glanced at the frightened Mu Gui beside him and chuckled, "What are you afraid of? Didn't you help him cover for him back then? Do you really think I didn't see the exchange between you two?"

Mu Gui immediately knelt down, his knees aching from the pebbles on the path, but he dared not raise his head and could only whisper his apology.

"Brother Zhao, no, I really thought he was alright—"

"No need to explain."

Zhao Xuan interrupted him, glancing slowly in the direction of the guesthouse, his tone ambiguous:

"Keeping a parasite around to observe it closely isn't a bad thing, especially since—"

Seemingly recalling something extremely unpleasant, Zhao Xuan let out a cold snort, his tone suddenly turning irritable and sharp:

"Idiot! Yu Shijiu only met Qi Tie once and she noticed his problems, and you're still doubting your own eyes?!"

The kneeling shepherd: "..."

So what exactly made Zhao Xuan angry...?

After saying that, Zhao Xuan touched his chest, which had scabbed over and stopped bleeding, glanced at Mu Gui who was still kneeling on the ground, and snorted coldly:

"What are you still kneeling for? Are you afraid that the parasite won't know we've discovered it?"

Mu Gui quickly stood up. He couldn't accept Zhao Xuan's repeated use of the term "parasite," and whispered:

"Qi Tie still has his own consciousness, Brother Zhao, what are you planning to do?" He swallowed hard and uttered the terrified words:

"Are you just going to ignore him?"

Zhao Xuan looked at him with an extremely strange expression. "Otherwise what?"

Zhao Xuan replied matter-of-factly, "The fact that he's been parasitized means he's stupid. A fool who can't even protect his own life, does he need any more 'care' from me?"

Mu Gui opened his mouth, but ultimately remained silent in vain.

Zhao Xuan's personality doesn't care about anyone's life except his own.

Just as Mu Gui was about to remain silent, the sound of hurried, panting footsteps suddenly came from the dim light behind him.

Zhao Xuan, who was walking ahead, turned around instantly. Mu Gui, who had learned that Qi Tie had been parasitized, also subconsciously took several steps back.

It must be Qi Tie catching up—

When Qi Tie got close, Mu Gui's pupils contracted sharply. He subconsciously took a step back, but stepped on a large pebble and almost fell.

His movements were so exaggerated that Qi Tie, who was very close by, didn't see them.

To be precise, Qi Tie is no longer Qi Tie.

Standing before the two was a monstrous "Qi Tie" who still possessed a human form. Dozens of pink earthworm larvae had spread from the back of his neck. The larvae clung to Qi Tie's shoulders, constantly contracting their bodies and wriggling forward.

Qi Tie's face was now completely unrecognizable.

As if in an attempt to assimilate humans, Qi Tie's eyes were almost disappearing. His once large eyes had degenerated to the size of a fingernail, with pupils no bigger than mung beans moving around in his narrow eye sockets, seemingly reflecting Qi Tie's current state of mind.

“Brother Zhao,” Qi Tie spoke, and as he spoke, the earthworm larvae fell down following his movement, then disappeared into the black soil beside the path under Mu Gui’s horrified gaze.

"I... I've made up my mind. If I can successfully complete the level, I'll give you two-thirds of my items and all the points I earned this time, as long as... as long as you let me stay out of that shrine..."

Qi Tie, already being devoured by earthworms and beginning to mutate, pleaded:

"May I?"

Mu Gui felt a little reluctant, and just as he was about to ignore Zhao Xuan's obvious intention to use Qi Tie and speak directly, Zhao Xuan suddenly smiled.

Zhao Xuan wasn't actually that old, only in his early twenties, and his features were still somewhat immature. But in reality, he was a completely fanatical supporter who had been successfully brainwashed by the Black Robe Church.

“Of course,” Zhao Xuan smiled gently, and he even reached out his hand to Qi Tie, intending to shake hands.

"As long as you behave, everything will be fine."

When a look of gratitude appeared on Qi Tie's obviously distorted face, Mu Gui's stomach spasmed. He turned his head and silently gagged a few times, his consciousness becoming hazy and dazed.

He realized once again that he had made the wrong choice.

Perhaps someone who makes the wrong choices time and time again shouldn't even be alive.

Qi Tie gratefully reached out and grasped Zhao Xuan's outstretched hand, his voice choked with emotion.

"Thank you, thank you, Brother Zhao. You really are completely different from what others have said..."

Zhao Xuan's reputation within the Black Robe Church wasn't good either. Compared to Zhou Yuanyang's coldness and the nun's kindness, Zhao Xuan was a fickle and frightening figure.

He is ruthless and self-centered, willing to pay any price to achieve his goals. A person like Zhao Xuan might be laughing and joking with you one second, and the next second he might stab you in the heart and tear it apart.

At this moment, the young man, who could stab someone at any moment, tightly gripped Qi Tie's trembling hand and said with a smile:

"I'll say it again, as long as you listen to me, it's fine."

Only obedient puppets can allow him to find more clues.

------------

"Well, I had a fight with Zhao Xuan, that's about it."

At this moment, at the old lady's house, Yu Shijiu was sitting in the courtyard chatting with Lin Feng, who had come to "visit," and casually added with a grin:

"That player named Iron is probably deeply infected, but his personal condition seems stable for now."

I just don't know how long it can last.

Yu Shijiu didn't care much about that, besides... Zhao Xuan didn't seem like a fool.

Lin Feng frowned, somewhat incredulous: "Didn't Zhao Xuan notice?"

Yu Shijiu looked at her, her face showing surprise: "How could that be? I could tell."

Lin Feng: "..."

You seem to think there's nothing wrong with the player being parasitized... after all, you yourself are a bug...

Lin Feng wisely kept this to herself.

She coughed lightly, turned her head to look at the eerily quiet room, and frowned slightly.

Where are the elderly people in your family?

She made sure the village chief was asleep before leaving, so Yu Shijiu's family—

"Grandma?" Yu Shijiu blinked, her cheeks slightly sunken, her dimples captivating.

"Grandma went to bed after washing the dishes."