Arrogance

Translator: Cinder Translations

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Slightly stunned, Chen Ran raised his left arm and exaggeratedly pointed at it in front of Jiang Cheng, saying, "Brother Hao, this isn't what you meant to say, is it?"

On Chen Ran's left forearm, just below his small arm, there was a neat wound.

It wasn't serious, about 4-5 centimeters long, with blood occasionally oozing out. The bright red blood contrasted sharply with Chen Ran's fair skin, finally pooling at his fingertips and dripping onto the ground.

Chen Ran was bewildered, the man before him had clearly lost his ability to resist, becoming a lamb ready to be slaughtered, while he himself had only been slightly wounded by the other's reckless move.

How was it that he had won?

Suddenly, Chen Ran's pupils constricted, and he immediately looked toward the flames in the center of the room.

The flames were burning fiercely, and a faint, strange scent filled the air.

"Heh," Chen Ran slowly lowered his arm. He squinted at Jiang Cheng, who was grinning at him like a sly fox after succeeding in his scheme, and sighed, "The dagger is poisoned."

"Hmm," Jiang Cheng looked at Chen Ran, who was still holding onto his sanity for the moment but would soon be at his mercy, Jiang Chen even more wickedly. "It's true that the dagger is poisoned, but it wasn't me who poisoned it."

"It was Su Xiaoxiao.", Chen Ran continued.

"Yes," Jiang Cheng shrugged and continued, "She's not as stupid as you think. She figured out the secret of the flames too. The fuel contains a substance that induces hallucinations."

"Her only mistake was being too weak and needing to take care of her brother. If she had been able to wound you with the dagger, you'd be the one on the stone slab," Jiang Cheng laughed, "That was close, Brother Chen."

The flames in the lighthouse must have some purpose, or else those "things" in Blackstone Town wouldn't keep emphasizing it.

After Liang Long disappeared, Jiang Cheng figured out the secret.

At the scene of Liang Long's disappearance, Jiang Cheng had smelled that familiar scent.

Yes, it was the aroma produced by burning the milky white oil-like substance in the lighthouse flame apparatus.

They had realized that this scent could greatly slow people's reactions and suppress emotions.

If they weren't mistaken, Liang Long had secretly taken some of the substance, perhaps wanting to study it when no one was around. But because she had to light a fire alone in the lobby at night, she used some of the oil as fuel.

The oil was highly combustible and could provide a lot of heat.

It was this act, by pure coincidence, that awakened the monsters sleeping inside the stone walls.

And thus, she was killed.

Looking at it now, it was clear that those people from Blackstone Town had urged them to light the lighthouse to awaken their "kind" who had turned to stone.

Jiang Cheng speculated that Liang Long had accidentally unsealed a part of the monsters in advance, but if they had waited until they lit the lighthouse in a few days, or even longer, all the stone statues in the lobby would revive.

At that point, they would be doomed.

His body started to go numb, and despite his superior physical condition, Chen Ran felt a headache, and he was holding on with sheer willpower, unwilling to fall.

Chen Ran staggered back until he hit the wall behind him, then slowly slid down to sit on the ground.

He seemed to want to struggle for a moment, but his body no longer allowed it.

"Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle."

A strange, tooth-grating sound was heard beside his ear. He tried to turn his head, but in his hazy vision, he saw an extremely twisted but excited face.

An old woman's head poked out from a gap, greedily staring at the immobile Chen Ran.

She seemed to be gathering strength, but more likely she was waiting.

Like a spider watching a moth struggling in its web.

The moment it stops struggling, it will be its death.

"Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle."

The old woman opened her mouth, and a long, snake-like, crimson tongue darted around her violet lips. That eerie sound came from her throat, like the rasping of a dying old person with phlegm in their throat.

With an expression like that of the old woman's, she could have come straight out of a horror film.

As for Jiang Cheng's view of Chen Ran, he agreed that this person was very smart and skilled, but too arrogant. If he had just used a knife to sever his tendons directly, none of this would have happened.

As he had said, the old woman wasn't one of the players, but a special NPC.

The crisis in this mission came from two aspects.

One was external—the ghostly creatures from Blackstone Town. However, Jiang Cheng speculated that these ghosts couldn't enter this building; in fact, as soon as they stepped inside, they would be petrified.

The stone statues in the lobby were the result of this.

The other aspect was internal.

The old woman, appearing as a "teammate."

According to the Fatty, they had "found" this old woman by the sea.

If they viewed the building as a safe house to deal with the Blackstone Town creatures, then the old woman was the hidden threat inside. Otherwise, if the player assigned to this task was too cowardly and stayed behind closed doors, the mission duration would be extended.

She was there to make sure that won't happen...

So...

Suddenly, Chen Ran's voice once again attracted Jiang Cheng's attention.

"Brother Hao," his voice was weak, but the flippant tone hadn't changed, as if he was facing death with the same calm demeanor.

Chen Ran squinted, his chin only barely lifting due to exhaustion, and chuckled softly, "So, what do you plan to do with me?"

To others, this might seem like the ramblings of a madman, but Jiang Cheng didn't think so. He found Chen Ran to be exceptional, with a rare thought process that resonated somewhat with his own.

If it had been Liang Long or the others, they probably wouldn't beg for mercy at this point, but they would definitely emphasize the consequences of hurting teammates in a nightmare.

Right, and Chen Xiaomeng.

"Are you going to use my hands to kill this damn old woman?" Chen Ran asked.

Jiang Cheng stroked his chin. His injuries weren't life-threatening, but they hurt badly whenever he moved.

"No, killing is too simple a task for you. What if this is really the way to leave here?" Jiang Cheng said. "Wouldn't that let you escape?"

"I plan to leave you here," he paused before adding, "So just stay put. I need to verify something."

Jiang Cheng had been keeping an eye on the old woman. She seemed extremely interested in Chen Ran, who had lost his ability to resist, with her tongue almost touching his face.

Yet she didn't make a move, instead glancing impatiently at Jiang Cheng.

(End of the Chapter)

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