Life Game In Other World
Chapter 412: The 9th Player (Long - Please Subscribe, Bookmark, and Vote for Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 412: Chapter 412: The 9th Player (Long Chapter Please Subscribe, Bookmark, and Vote for Monthly Tickets)

"Don’t rush in blindly, stand behind me."

Although He Ao gave Luo Luo a terrifying impression, she still felt it was her duty as a Transcendent from the Research Institute to protect Central Earth citizens abroad.

"It’s okay,"

He Ao glanced at the petite figure blocking his path, and with a step, his body disappeared like a phantom, reappearing instantly in front of the monster.

"So fast."

Luo Luo was stunned.

At this moment, only one thought crossed her mind, ’Where did this freak come from?’

While she was still in shock, Jin Ya also walked past her, entering the carriage. However, Jin Ya didn’t go straight to confront the monster but stood far away at the entrance of the carriage, quietly observing it.

Luo Luo, not understanding Tia language, could only wave her hand to signal Jin Ya to take care of herself, and then she too charged toward the monster.

Her speed was also fast, but her movements were different from He Ao’s.

He Ao’s speed was a burst of instantaneous acceleration, full of explosive power, while her movements were like a bamboo leaf drifting along with a gentle breeze, appearing graceful and relaxed, but were in no way slow.

At this moment, He Ao began to understand the meaning behind the code name ’Sword Dancer’.

Luo Luo’s advantage, like that of a ’Dancer,’ was surely in agility and flexibility.

However, even so, in the face of an absolute strength disparity, Luo Luo had difficulty keeping up with He Ao’s actions.

"Are you C-level?"

She reached into her tiny boots, pulling out a small sword hilt, and with a flick, a silver radiant blade sprang forth.

Luo Luo had a clear understanding of her own strength; she was among the elite in the D-level at the Research Institute. She wouldn’t dare claim overall combat strength, but in terms of movement and agility, no one in the D-level of the Institute could catch up to her.

But at this moment, her proudest aspect was completely dominated by He Ao, who didn’t seem to excel in movement but relied solely on explosive power. She realized that He Ao’s absolute strength was far superior to hers, which only left one possibility.

He Ao was C-level.

C-level, already at the pinnacle of this world. Even the department heads of the overseas branches, who were elusive and difficult to encounter,

Obviously, Luo Luo had not expected to ’run into’ a C-level in a place like this.

However, it seemed the monster before them was also C-level.

Just then, Luo Luo felt someone grab her wrist, pulling her forcefully, moving her from where she had just been standing.

The next second, a pitch-black elongated shadow descended from the sky, piercing through the space where she had just been.

"Keep your distance, harass from the fringe."

He Ao whispered to Luo Luo, who he had pulled behind him.

Luo Luo knew she was being dismissed, but after witnessing the monster’s terrifying power, she understood the gap between herself and the monster, and staying would only trouble He Ao. So, she nodded slightly and swiftly retreated backwards.

It was only now that He Ao had the opportunity to fully observe the monster.

Its entire body was like a somewhat short worm, its lower half attached to the carriage, with its head raised slightly, and its entire head was made of numerous pitch-black arms, densely packed, forming an abyss-like ’mouth apparatus.’

Behind the mouth apparatus, beneath the skull, similar to a neck, were several pitch-black tentacles circling its head like the petals of a sunflower.

The monster seemed to lack a skeleton; its body was made of a pitch-black material that appeared to absorb light, making its body look like moving darkness.

This monster should be this vehicle’s ’creation,’ specifically here as a sort of ’checkpoint.’

While He Ao examined the monster, it was likewise ’observing’ him. A deep, roaring sound emerged, and the head’s mouth apparatus bloomed layer by layer like petals.

Amidst this roaring, He Ao felt as though he were hearing countless twisted and chaotic shrieks resembling human screams.

"Ah!"

At the edge of the carriage, Luo Luo’s body shuddered as she clutched her head and staggered to her knees on the ground, finding the mental attack of this level still too overwhelming for her.

In fact, she had only suffered the aftermath of the battle, as He Ao bore the brunt of the monstrous roar.

Following that roar, countless pitch-black tentacles surged forward.

The monster was very clear about who posed the greatest threat.

He Ao leaped up, his figure flickering between the tentacles, occasionally using the Nightfall Dagger to slice through the monster’s appendages.

This creature must be the strongest entity the carriage could conjure. The carriage was only B-level, yet the monster seemed to have reached the limit of C-level, a notch stronger than the Berserker He Ao had previously encountered.

Without the enhancement of Super Memory and Divine Sense, relying solely on his physical body, it was difficult to defeat this enemy.

He Ao kept dodging relentlessly.

The monster had a tremendous ability to recover; the wounds left by the Nightfall Dagger on its body would quickly heal, though the regenerated parts were somewhat more fragile than the original tissue, it did not affect the monster’s movement.

As the fight progressed, Luo Luo’s eyes could hardly keep up with He Ao’s speed, but her long-honed combat instincts allowed her to clearly sense that He Ao was rapidly losing ground.

He Ao seemed not to have anticipated the monster being this strong.

She swung her soft sword, trying to rush over to draw some of the monster’s fire and alleviate the pressure on He Ao, but the moment she charged out, she was struck by a tentacle and thrown against the hard carriage wall.

A trickle of fresh blood spilled from the corner of her mouth as she struggled to her feet and charged at the monster again.

Then she was sent flying again.

All of the monster’s attention was on He Ao; it didn’t dare divert even a fraction of its focus to kill her and could only instinctively repel her.

As time ticked by, more and more tentacles surrounded He Ao, nearly enveloping him.

He Ao seemed to have been pushed to the brink; he lunged forward and with a mighty blow, severed a tentacle in front of him.

However, another tentacle surged from the side and thrust viciously towards his heart.

He Ao could no longer dodge in time and could only make a difficult adjustment to roll to the side as the tentacle changed direction from a stab to a whip.

Barbs emerged on the tentacle, and as the huge appendage struck He Ao, it instantly scraped away a large portion of his flesh.

He Ao’s mobility seemed impaired, and he stumbled forward, falling; immediately, numerous tentacles surged up and the monster’s vast maw opened wide.

But just at this critical moment, the monster’s movements slowed, and the terrifying oppressive feeling lessened slightly.

In that instant, a smile curved on He Ao’s lips as the ritual from his primary body descended upon this clone.

Super Memory’s terrifying mental power unfolded in an instant, the influence of Divine Sense gathering in He Ao’s eyes.

There!

He Ao leapt up, dense tentacles swarming towards him.

The dark dagger flashed past, and countless tentacles snapped in an instant.

Just moments before, He Ao had left scars on nearly every tentacle – individually trivial, but collectively, they were weak points sufficient to turn the tide of battle.

The breaking of its tentacles threw the monster into panic. It stretched its body like an unleashed spring. Its enormous maw surged forward, engulfing He Ao inside.

"Hao Yi!!!"

Bruised all over, Luo Luo fell to the ground, watching the scene of He Ao being ’devoured’, momentarily stupefied.

However, the monster didn’t care about that; having dealt with He Ao, it finally had the energy to attend to Luo Luo. Several tentacles, broken and now regrowing, surged forth towards her.

Luo Luo watched blankly as the tentacles rushed at her; she no longer had the energy to dodge.

Just as the tentacle flying towards her was about to pierce through her body, the formidable limb froze mid-air.

Consequently, the monster’s massive body also stiffened in mid-air.

Countless twisted roars emanated from the creature’s mouth, its vast bulk seeming as though every part now possessed its own consciousness, with myriad flesh beginning to twist and wriggle.

Bang——

Following a violent explosion, inky-black flesh splattered in all directions, landing all over the carriage.

Some of the flesh also fell on Luo Luo, but, at this moment, Luo Luo no longer had the time to worry about that; she looked up at where the monster had just stood.

A desolate figure was standing right at the center of the blood-flesh rain curtain.

He Ao turned to give Luo Luo a smile.

Although this smile, set against the backdrop of scattered flesh, was somewhat horrifying, Luo Luo felt an unusual sense of reassurance in her heart.

"Let’s go," he said.

He Ao took a step forward, but before his foot could touch the ground, he seemed to stumble, as if out of strength.

Luo Luo, who had regained a bit of her strength, hurried over, intending to steady He Ao.

He Ao gently waved her off, continuing to walk towards the end of the carriage.

By then, Jin Ya had already walked around the flesh on the ground and came over.

The three of them arrived at the train car door, which remained firmly shut.

He Ao took out the disk, but this time, the car door did not open.

"What’s going on?"

Luo Luo glanced at the car door, tried to pry it open with her hands, but it would not budge.

At this moment, a delicate sound came from behind them.

Luo Luo turned around, only to find that the flesh scattered on the ground was beginning to slowly converge towards the center. The speed of convergence wasn’t fast, but this undoubtedly proved one thing.

The monster was reviving!

Luo Luo, watching this scene, suddenly felt disheartened, "Is this a dead end? Was there never a chance for us to clear this stage from the start?"

"No," He Ao shook his head, glanced at the disk in his hand, "it’s just that the ’Murder Game’ isn’t over yet."

Luo Luo: "What?"

He Ao raised the disk lamp, "Each of these lights represents the death of one person."

Luo Luo counted, "There are six lights here, and we started with eight players, leaving three of us. Five people have died."

As she said this, she paused, "The numbers don’t add up, why is that?"

"Because there is a ninth player in this game, one who is neither in the Murderer’s camp nor in the good guys’ camp—a third-party player,"

He Ao slowly put away the disk,

"I have been thinking all this time; the Murderer wins by killing all the good guys, the good guys win by finding the Murderer, and the Monster helps the Murderer. So, what would be the victory condition for this third-party player?

"Not until I saw the hint upon entering this carriage did I finally unravel the last key, the task of this ninth player commences after one side wins, and her mission is,

"’Kill everyone.’"

He Ao turned his head, looking at the blonde girl who had gotten very close behind them, still with a silly and confused expression on her face, and with a smile said in Central Earth’s language,

"Am I right, the ninth player, or should I say, Miss Secret Art Mage?"

"I’m very curious,"

the blond woman’s somewhat scattered pupils suddenly concentrated at this moment, her gaze as sharp as that of an eagle. Standing in front of her and looking into her eyes was like staring directly at a lofty queen. She asked with articulate Central Earth language and a smile,

"When did you start suspecting me?"

"You speak Central Earth?"

Luo Luo looked at Jin Ya, her expression a bit unnatural, "Then did you understand everything I said earlier?"

"Drink more milk, little sister."

Jin Ya winked at Luo Luo, her eyes resting on her chest.

"Who’s little! I’m not little! I’m thirty!"

Luo Luo retorted with a flushed face.

However, this time, Jin Ya did not look at her but smiled and turned her attention to He Ao, seemingly waiting for his response.

"Actually, it’s not that complicated, cough..."

He Ao said softly, coughing weakly,

"All you had to deduce was that the Chef had died during the second time through the tunnel, and everything after that became much simpler. The Chef’s prop gloves must have ended up in the hands of the person who killed him, so after the second passage through the tunnel, the person standing in the kitchen was most likely the murderer."

"You’re saying the Chef was killed by Jin Ya?" Luo Luo was completely stunned, "But after the second tunnel ended, Jin Ya was outside with us the whole time. She came out of the compartment with us and then went to the dining room, and in the end, she even went to fetch milk from the serving table..."

"It seems I made too many ’proofs’ of my alibi. Too much of anything can be bad,"

At this moment, Jin Ya seemed to understand something as well and chuckled to He Ao.

"Indeed, you excused yourself to eat my dumplings, went to the kitchen for a fork, and then went alone to get milk. All of this seemingly proves that the Chef was in the kitchen, while you were outside—a nearly perfect alibi."

"And we’ve just seen the inside structure of the kitchen. Actually, the serving table isn’t as small as we imagined; it extends beyond our line of sight with a countertop along the wall.

"The fork and the milk had been prepared in advance, hidden just behind the wall next to the serving station, waiting for the moment when you needed them. All you had to do was reach out and ’take’ them."

"But didn’t you go to the dining room first for the dumplings?" Luo Luo asked pensively, "Jin Ya was with us back then."

"Think carefully, do you truly have a memory of her being by your side in your mind?"

He Ao asked softly.

Luo Luo was taken aback; her brain began turning rapidly.

She suddenly realized that during the time He Ao went to the dining room, she had no memory of Jin Ya at all. It was just a subconscious notion that ’Jin Ya must be there’.

"In this world, there are many abilities that can achieve an ’invisibility’ effect. For instance,"

He Ao looked at Jin Ya and said with a smile, "Daybreak’s ’Secret Art Mage’."

How could a Secret Art Mage manage not to show any slip for so many years while interacting with subordinates, even preventing them from grasping any bit of information?

If she could make her subordinates subconsciously ’overlook’ certain details, that would make sense.

In fact, if He Ao hadn’t once possessed the ability of an ’Assassin’, and if the Miracle Wand did not contain the ’Silence Concealment’ Miracle, and he hadn’t happened to get the Secret Mage’s Secret Medicine formula, he might never have thought of this angle.

"It seems you know quite a lot. Now, I’m beginning to get curious about who you really are."

Jin Ya crossed her arms in front of her, cradling her chest, and revealed a smile, "But all these are just speculations. Where’s your evidence? I don’t think you would trust that little girl beside you without solid proof. Both of us were your suspects."

Luo Luo: "I’m not little!"

"Of course," He Ao shrugged, "at first I also didn’t believe this guess. After all, it’s too bizarre. However, I followed this guess and straightened out the logic."