Infinite: Dawn Game

Inside the ancestral hall.

Zhao Xuan and Mu Gui carefully examined every corner, ignoring the silk cloths and red candles hanging on the beams or memorial tablets. Mu Gui didn't dare leave Zhao Xuan's side for even a moment, fearing that he would end up like Qi Tie, parasitized.

The way to die—being eaten alive by a bunch of earthworms—is still too terrifying.

Just thinking about pastoral regulations makes me want to vomit.

There's nothing there.

Zhao Xuan searched the entire ancestral hall inside and out, even uncovering a lot of the black mud in the corners, but still found nothing strange.

"That old woman lied to me?"

Zhao Xuan said coldly.

Mu Gui swallowed hard. He glanced at the dark, grimy soil in the corner and felt that the air was filled with the earthy smell unique to earthworms.

"No way, NPCs generally don't lie—"

"Aaaaaahhhhh—Brother Zhao, save me—"

Before Mu Gui could finish speaking, he was interrupted by screams from outside the ancestral hall.

He was so frightened that he fell silent instantly. When he subconsciously looked at Zhao Xuan, he found that the other party had already run out of the ancestral hall.

Mu Gui also belatedly realized that he recognized a familiar voice in that scream.

It's Qi Tie.

Qi Tie, who dared not go to the ancestral hall, offered all his points and items in an attempt to survive.

Mu Gui's heart pounded, and he followed.

Outside the ancestral hall, Zhao Xuan stood by the door with a somewhat unpleasant expression.

Nothing else. Qi Tie, who should have been waiting for them at the entrance of the ancestral hall, was nowhere to be found. But Zhao Xuan could still clearly remember the fear in his voice as he was screaming for help just moments before.

Zhao Xuan patiently searched through the surrounding woods and bushes again and again, finally cursing under his breath and kicking a large tree next to him.

"Damn-"

Dripping water droplets fell from the tree onto his head and gradually slid down his temples. Zhao Xuan subconsciously reached up to touch his face, only to find his hand covered in slightly sticky water stains.

Zhao Xuan's heart skipped a beat. He reached out his hand by the moonlight and saw a series of scarlet bloodstains between his fingertips, mixed with some kind of indescribable transparent viscous fluid.

But Zhao Xuan knew perfectly well that this was the unique mucus on earthworms.

His mind raced, and he quickly retreated. At the same time, a hoarse voice came from the tree, as if Qi Tie wanted to say something but couldn't.

Zhao Xuan looked up and paused for a moment.

On the tree trunk, Qi Tie's entire body was twisted into a pretzel, his arms and legs twisted out in a ferocious manner, his clothes torn between his joints, and with the dripping of scarlet blood, his bones appeared to be broken, with his white bones lying bare in front of people, like a human strip that had been forcibly twisted into the shape of an "earthworm".

The scene was bizarre and terrifying. Even Zhao Xuan's heart stopped for several seconds when he saw the other party for the first time before he could suppress the urge to scream.

Mu Gui wasn't so bold. As soon as he stepped out of the ancestral hall, he saw Zhao Xuan standing under a big tree, looking up at something. Curious, he took a few more steps forward and saw Qi Tie hanging on the tree trunk in a contorted position.

Qi Tie seemed to still be alive. He shakily turned his head on the tree trunk, opened his mouth wide, and countless earthworm larvae poked their heads out of his throat, sucking around with their mouthparts open.

"Help...help me...I...I don't want to die yet..."

Qi Tie's eyes were red, but the blood and tears that fell were sucked into his stomach by the earthworm larvae that grew on his body. The larvae even made an excited "hissing sound" after being full.

Mu Gui was so frightened that he almost fainted on the spot, but he managed to suppress his fear and nausea, and even turned his head to look at Zhao Xuan while trembling.

"Brother Zhao..."

Zhao Xuan's eyes returned to normal. He looked at Qi Tie, whose eyes were almost narrowed to slits on the tree trunk, and shook his head slightly.

"Hopeless."

Zhao Xuan glanced coldly at Qi Tie on the tree trunk, then silently walked out of the area where Qi Tie, the living corpse, was supposed to be.

Mu Gui's hands were still trembling. He looked at Qi Tie, who was frantically searching for someone to rescue him on the tree trunk, swallowed hard, and mumbled:

"So, is he like this?"

Zhao Xuan hesitated for a few seconds, then revealed a strange smile.

"Do you want him to be free sooner?"

Mu Gui didn't immediately grasp the meaning behind his words, and nodded subconsciously.

The next second, a flash of cold light appeared before them, and as Zhao Xuan quickly left the vicinity of the tree, Qi Tie's voice, which had been desperately pleading for help, suddenly stopped.

Mu Gui's pupils contracted sharply; this time he was truly terrified and fell to the ground, his limbs going weak.

Zhao Xuan, who had been standing some distance away, walked to Mu Gui's side, twirling the boomerang in his hand. He casually wiped the blood off the boomerang with the corner of his clothes and smiled:

"You've freed him; Qi Tie will thank you."

Mu Gui looked at Zhao Xuan in disbelief and murmured, "I didn't ask you to kill him..."

He only said one sentence—

Zhao Xuan: "Really? But he's in a lot of pain, isn't he? Didn't you want to save him?"

After saying this, Zhao Xuan ignored Mu Gui lying on the ground and turned to walk back into the ancestral hall.

He's busy and doesn't have time to waste here.

On the tree trunk, Qi Tie, whose head had been severed by the spinning blade, could no longer utter a word. A large number of earthworm larvae and blood fascia protruded from the junction of his neck and body, making the sight nauseating.

Qi Tie's slit-like eyes were still fixed on the direction where Mu Gui was, his lips wide open as if he was pleading for help—earthworms wriggled out of his esophagus, making an even more intense hissing sound.

Mu Gui could no longer hold back and bent over, gagging. Through his teary eyes, he seemed to see Qi Tie's hands being sucked by earthworm larvae...

He couldn't bear it any longer. He dragged his heavy steps into the ancestral hall and closed his eyes.

Zhao Xuan did it on purpose.

He never valued human life, and killing Qi Tie, who was barely clinging to life, was a deliberate attempt to make himself feel guilty...

Mu Gui took a deep breath, his pale face momentarily stiff and cold in the glow of the red candlelight.

He cannot die.

He still has to live.

----------

Beyond the screen, Anjie, who had just bought flowers, seemed to realize something. She slowly turned her head to look at the densely packed screens of various colors in the square next to her, and accurately found the live broadcast room belonging to Mugui.

He's still so timid.

Anjie thought quietly, then hugged a large bouquet of flowers and walked towards a mountain gully not far from the intersection with the pupa shop.

Passing players looked at Anjie with extreme shock when they saw the flowers in her arms.

"Are there still idiots buying flowers in the game? Why would someone with hundreds of points buy useless flowers when there are so many other things to buy?"

"...Why should you care what others are willing to do?"

"Oh, I was just saying, it feels pretty silly..."

"..."

The words of the passing players reached An Jie's ears, but she seemed not to hear them at all. She only glanced at Yu Shijiu and the other person on the big screen, who had now exited the illusion, and slightly curved the corners of her mouth.