Chapter 6: Murdering the Musician
"Hiss..."
Shocked by the scene inside the house, Zhou Yuan gasped in a cold breath, What the hell is this?
A remark immediately popped up:
[This scene has been marked as explicit content (warning).
Please be aware that the content of this scene is extremely explicit and may cause nausea, dizziness, and other discomfort, as well as potentially negative emotional effects. Therefore, we believe this scene is not suitable for anyone to watch.
If you still insist on watching, please bear the consequences afterward. If you experience any discomfort, please stop watching immediately and seek medical help in a timely manner.
Alright, let's be serious.
After Bob went insane, his wife and lover were also infected, plunging into the hell of madness. They were intimately interconnected amidst an unceasing symphony, gradually merging into one, enjoying eternal bliss.]
Seeing Zhou Yuan stunned in place, Bob laughed triumphantly:
"Are you captivated by my wife?"
"Yes... yes, your wife is really beautiful."
Zhou Yuan, sweating coldly, said something against his will. His gaze swept through the room and focused on the piano in front of Bob, where there was a yellow music score.
[You're a clever kid, guess what it's made of?
That's right, it's made of a person.
Anyone who understands music theory only needs to see this Human Skin Score to become as frenzied as a diehard fan of an idol, desperately vying for it, trying to play the music on it.
The score records a bizarre piece of music. Both the performer and the audience will be mentally contaminated, and when reason is exhausted, terrible deformations will occur. I suggest you handle them quickly.
Little tip: This is one of the evil instruments made by the infamous cult "Land of Truth," and there are 6 more pieces like this evil instrument.]
System notification sound followed immediately.
[Mission trigger conditions have been met]
[Mission Name: "Murdering the Musician"]
[Mission Objective: Collect 0/7 of the "Land of Truth" evil instruments scattered around the world]
[Mission Reward 1: For each evil instrument collected, gain Experience Points*500, Star Coins*1000, Ordinary Quality Item Pack*1, Ordinary Quality Skill Scroll*1]
[Mission Reward 2: Collect all 7 evil instruments, gain Experience Points*7000, Star Coins*35000, Perfect Quality Item Pack*1, Perfect Quality Skill Scroll*1]
[Accept/Reject]
A mission triggered?
Zhou Yuan, surprised, mentally accepted it, and then heard Bob's urging voice:
"What are you dawdling for? Hurry up, I'll accompany you. I'm already—can't wait any longer!!!"
Bob was panting with excitement, his hands trembling wildly, his bloodshot eyes gleaming with frenzied luster, as if about to partake in a noble and holy ritual.
"You answer a few questions first, and after you're done, I'll join you — that score, who gave it to you?" Zhou Yuan inquired.
"I attended a private music gathering last Saturday, and during it, we started gambling. I won that score from a lady's hand." Bob was full of candor; all he wanted now was to watch Zhou Yuan sleep with his wife and would give anything for it.
"Where was the gathering? What did that woman look like?" Zhou Yuan pressed.
Bob answered truthfully:
"The gathering was at 128 Elm Tree Avenue, in the private estate of the famous musician Soren Wilson.
That woman... that woman..."
His eyes suddenly plunged into the abyss of confusion; the woman's appearance seemed veiled by a thick fog, utterly elusive regardless of how hard he tried to remember.
"I can't remember what that woman looks like..."
Memory affected? Zhou Yuan pondered.
After a moment, he nodded earnestly:
"You go ahead and play."
Bob, ecstatic, positioned himself and was about to play the piano.
——Bang!
The gunshot rang out.
A bullet pierced through Bob's temple, and bright red blood gushed out, splattering on the walls and the floor.
Thud.
Bob's body fell to the floor with a dull sound, his face still frozen with a sickly fervent smile.
[Eliminate the deformed person contaminated by the Human Skin Score: 1/3]
This was the first time Zhou Yuan had shot someone. Contrary to fear and discomfort, it felt especially smooth, as if it were a well-practiced act.
Bang bang!
He moved his arm, fired two shots at the bed, and drilled two bloody holes into the faces of the monster, sending chunks of flesh and bone flying like raindrops.
The Steel Rose Revolver was an extraordinary Transcendent weapon, firing "ordinary revolver bullets" with more power than the infamous ".50 Magnum pistol rounds."
However, the deformed monster was no ordinary creature. With both of its faces smashed to pieces, it still managed to scream terribly and suddenly lunged at Zhou Yuan with surprising speed.
Zhou Yuan's eyes turned sharp in an instant and his left hand clenched—a "Condensed Qi Fist"!
Visible white Qi surged into his fist and, at the moment of his punch, exploded violently, forming a giant fist wrapped with layers of fierce Qi.
Boom!!!
The sheer force made the entire villa shake, and the fierce power stirred up a fierce wind in the confined space, causing countless items to fall. An uncountable number of music scores fluttered like snowflakes.
The deformed monster slammed hard against the wall, almost breaking through it. Its blasphemous body now bore a clear impression of a fist, the insides a bloody blur, obviously pierced through.
[Eliminate the deformed person contaminated by the Human Skin Score: 3/3]
[Task complete, return countdown—9:59]
"That strong?"
Zhou Yuan was shocked by the power of "Condensed Qi Fist," it was like a punch from a superhuman.
Suddenly, his vision darkened, and a strong sense of dizziness hit him. His body swayed a few times, and he almost fell—using the Condensed Qi Fist had almost depleted his already low spirituality points.
Zhou Yuan clenched his teeth, enduring the dizziness caused by the excessive consumption of spirituality points, and circled to the back of the piano to prevent himself from accidentally seeing the Human Skin Score and suffering mental contamination.
He had never studied music theory, and in principle, he wouldn't be affected by the Human Skin Score, but now with the excessive consumption of spirituality points and his mental state not being so good, he better secure his hand first.
Zhou Yuan grabbed the Human Skin Score and stuffed it into his player inventory, the cold and slimy sensation from his hand made his eyebrows furrow, feeling disgusted for a while.
Adhering to the principle of "since I'm already here," he also packed the piano into his player inventory, to see if he could sell it for a good price.
[Name: Bob's Piano]
[Remark: The favorite piano of the musician Bob; it has accompanied him for many years. However, as the owner went mad, the piano also began to take on an eerie air.]
[Sale Price: 100 Star Coins]
"Nice!"
Zhou Yuan's eyes lit up, his headache was not so bad, and he immediately sold it.
[Star Coins +100]
Taking advantage of the remaining free time, he hurriedly searched for possibly valuable items in the house.
Bob had many musical instruments and collectibles, but those things couldn't be sold; it seemed only items related to the "supernatural" could be sold.
Thus, Zhou Yuan's gaze shifted to the floor.
"Buddy, although you're a nice guy, even inviting me to sleep with your wife, I really am short of seed money.
You're glowing and heating up in the incinerator anyway, why not make an angel investment in me? When the holidays come around, if I remember, I might even light a stick of incense for you.
If you don't speak up, I'll take it as you agree, okay."
Zhou Yuan easily overcame his own reservations and extended his 'devil's claw' towards Bob's corpse.
[Name: Mutant's Body]
[Remark: A pitiful little bug, who thought he could enjoy the highest form of art before he died.]
[Sale Price: 200 Star Coins.]
Next, Zhou Yuan approached the body of the monstrous creature and picked it up.
[Name: Incomplete Mutant's Body]
[Remark: Who would have thought this thing was two people?]
[Sale Price: 100 Star Coins]
"Sell them all."
[Star Coins +300]
Zhou Yuan let out a breath, feeling at ease.
"Return!"
·
·
With just a blink of an eye, Zhou Yuan found himself back in his own home.
The task ended, and the effect of the one-time illusion card was lifted.
[Task "Frenzied Music Score" Completed]
[Task Rating: S (Experience and Star Coins rewards increased to 150%)]
[Comment: A corner of the real world has been unveiled before you. On your first contact with the Extraordinary World, you demonstrated remarkable adaptability. Maybe you are a born extraordinary person.]
[Task Reward 1: Experience Points *300]
[Task Reward 2: Star Coins *3000]
[Task Reward 3: Random Quality Item Pack *1]
[Task Reward 4: Random Quality Skill Scroll *1]
[Task "Murdering a Musician" updates...]
[Currently collected evil instruments: 1/7]
[Task Reward 1: Experience Points *500]
[Task Reward 2: Star Coins *1000]
[Task Reward 3: Regular Quality Item Pack *1]
[Task Reward 4: Regular Quality Skill Scroll *1]
[LV2→LV5!]
[Experience: 210/300]
A series of prompts flashed before his eyes, giving Zhou Yuan a strong sense of satisfaction from the fruitful harvest.
"I even got an S rating... Hmm... From what I've experienced with the newbie tasks, they're like welfare point giveaways. Getting an S shouldn't be difficult; I wonder if I can get S ratings in future tasks, that 150% reward..."
Zhou Yuan coveted the extra rewards from the S rating and hoped for more such welfare tasks; then, he wouldn't have to worry about experience points and Star Coins.
"I leveled up three times this round, so let me calculate... With each level up, the experience gauge's maximum increases by 50 points, not bad, at least it isn't doubling, otherwise, it would reach astronomical numbers all too quickly.
Where should I apply these three attribute points that I have to distribute?"
Zhou Yuan fell into a contemplative silence.
Putting everything into Charm might allow him to break through the human limit and become "Transcendent," but playing with a charm-focused build seemed somewhat unreliable. What if he encountered someone with formidable fighting strength like Nan Tong? Wouldn't he just end up being tied up and taken for a big bird ride?
"It's fine to have primary attributes high, but the other attributes can't be too low; it's best to distribute points evenly and develop comprehensively."
After some consideration, Zhou Yuan decided to start by training, attempting to raise his Strength, Agility, and Constitution. It would be more cost-effective to add points later on.