Next Trap

Hearing the sound of someone speaking, the shadow on the wall was startled and quickly shrank back.

The next moment, You Huo vaguely heard hurried footsteps.

"Ran off?" Qin Jiu approached him.

"You heard it too?" You Huo asked.

"My ears aren't as sensitive as yours." Qin Jiu pointed at his eyes, "Just saw a shadow pass by——–Why are you looking at me like that?"

Did he really have to use the word 'sensitive'?

You Huo remained expressionless.

Qin Jiu touched his face, "What? Something on my face?"

Seeing his serious expression, You Huo felt that he may have misunderstood. He slowly looked away and continued calmly, "Nothing, just looking. Just now——-"

Before he could finish, he saw Qin Jiu laughing from the corner of his eyes.

You Huo raised his leg and kicked his calf.

It wasn't very strong, and Qin Jiu didn't make any attempt to avoid it. He laughed as he asked, "What are you kicking me for?"

You Huo answered indifferently, "Couldn't control it. A natural reaction when I hear nonsense."

"It's my first time seeing such a big knee-jerk reaction." Qin Jiu continued unhurriedly, "So what was wrong with what I said earlier? I'll have to trouble this head invigilator to point it out for me so that I can correct it."

"...…"

You Huo's lips twitched.

The tease in Qin Jiu's eyes deepened further.

You Huo indicated at the people in the distance with his chin, "If you want to make trouble, scram over there."

Qin Jiu gestured a cross in front of his lips with his fingers and then made a 'go ahead' gesture, "What did you want to say earlier? Please continue."

Continue my ass. Already forgotten.

You Huo stared at him with some exasperation and only spoke a moment later, "Did you see what those things were?"

Qin Jiu shook his head, "Too dark, but they should be examinees. Mirror Humans shouldn't have too much difficulty going over a wall."

"I also think so." You Huo wondered, "But why are the examinees following us?"

Lee in the distance, "....."

He felt like he was a mass of invisible air.

"Hey——–" He raised his hand and waved at You Huo and Qin Jiu, "Is there something there? I said I found the mirror, it should be here!"

He pointed at a small building behind him, "I'm certain. It's in this building!"

You Huo and Qin Jiu exchanged a look before unhurriedly walking over.

***

Although that building was small, it didn't prevent the owner of the building from turning it into a 'maze'.

Perhaps it was because they wanted to have as many rooms as possible, the layout was rather strange.

"Is this family afraid of their child finding the door?" Yu Wen couldn't help but comment.

Lee raised his nose and sniffed as he replied, "You're actually spot on. Ever since there are more Mirror Humans in this town, the townsmen started to renovate their houses into one that is more complicated in design. With this, even if Mirror Humans manage to reach their place, they could use this to their advantage and buy some time. At the same time, it also helps with stopping the little brats from running out."

"Does it work?"

"What do you think?" Lee spread open his hands, "If it worked, would the outcome be like this?"

"At first, it worked a little. It worked well with giving them time to run and hide but once there were more Mirror Humans, it could no longer hold them back. They grew too quickly in numbers."

Lee then paused and laughed bitterly, "Oh, sorry. I mean us."

Now that he mentioned the number of Mirror Humans, You Huo had in fact always been a little puzzled.

There were originally many more townsmen compared to Mirror Humans so theoretically they should be cleared of very quickly but how did the situation reverse such that they had become the minority?

He briefly voiced this doubt of his and Lee answered, "At first there were no suitable fog around, and the Mirror Human's had gone mad from hunger. It was practically a massacre. When the townsmen later found ways to retaliate, the Mirror Humans started to consciously reproduce —- We call it reproduction but it's actually creating new ones using the mirrors."

"How are they created?"

"By converting the townsmen." Lee said vaguely, "Sorry, it reminds me of some bad memories. It was like a nightmare. I don't want to talk about it any further."

"Oh, so you were converted too?" Yu Wen then quickly covered his mouth, "Okay, I won't mention it anymore."

He very considerately kept his mouth shut but his brother had no intention to do so.

You Huo asked, "What is the benefit of converting? Didn't you say that Mirror Humans also attack each other?"

Lee said, "Yeah, but perhaps the Mirror Human you convert into would be a little friendlier? When facing your own family, you may possibly restrain yourself a little."

They bypassed the front porch and when they went through the living room, they suddenly smelt a faint trace of blood lingering in the air.

You Huo furrowed his brows.

To them right now, that smell of blood was like a cover being removed over the top of a feast. If they weren't careful, they may succumb to their urges.

All of Lee's attention was on the mirror so he didn't mind the smell of blood.

He continued, "After that the Mirror Humans grew in number even faster. Do you know why?"

Yu Wen endured his urge to drool and did his best to divert his attention, "Why?"

"Because some townsmen wanted to convert out of their own initiative."

"Huh? Are they crazy?"

"It may sound pretty crazy." Lee said, "But you should think about it. Imagine yourself living on one of the streets and the neighbours on both sides had turned into Mirror Humans. One after another, houses are emptied and every now and then something would climb to your window and threaten you. You're unsure how long you can last; although you may survive through today, there were no guarantees that you would survive through tomorrow."

Everyone gave it a try and felt a chill run through them.

"It's pretty terrible, right? At a time like this, some would think: It's better to become a Mirror Human! Once you're a Mirror Human, you won't suffer like this anymore and would turn into a predator instead of a prey that is being hunted." Lee said softly, "Your speed is faster, you're stronger and your five senses become more acute. I can sense townsmen approaching, but they won't notice me at all….."

Perhaps it was because his voice was soft and he spoke in a relatively gentle town, those words of his actually sounded reasonable.

Di Li suddenly spoke up, "Even I have the urge to give it a try after hearing that."

Lee paused and laughed bitterly, "Don't joke around."

"I'm serious." Di Li's expression was solemn, "Objectively speaking, us examinees...Ah, you may not understand why we say that we are examinees so just take it as guests. Anyway, us guests are really on the short end of the stick if we are playing the role of a townsperson. We not only have to ensure that we have weapons, we also need to ensure that we can shoot accurately, make sure our hands don't shake when we encounter Mirror Humans and hopefully have partners helping you out as you attack them. At most we can only live a few days after meeting these conditions."

He spread open his hands, "I just thought about it. The safest option is to convert yourself into a Mirror Human after entering the examination centre as it is overall much easier than living as a townsman. After that, you just need to spend the next few days finding that special mirror you mentioned and following it around. Once the exam is about to end, you can use that mirror to change back into a townsman. Perfect!"

Lee seemed to be surprised by this proposal of his. Both his brows were raised high.

He looked at Di Li for a long time before nodding, "In fact, there were indeed many guests who chose to take this approach of yours."

"Many?"

"Yes, many."

As they spoke the speaker suddenly sounded again.

Throughout the day the speaker had sounded many times. Every time it sounded, it meant that another examinee had died.

But this broadcast was very special. The system calmly reported:

[Examinee Alexander encountered an extreme hungry Yves. Declared dead.]

[Examinee Chen Jingjing encountered an extremely hungry Yves. Declared dead.]

[Examinee Hailey encountered an extremely hungry Yves. Declared dead.]

"Extremely hungry Yves???"

Everyone was stunned.

It used to be "extremely hungry Mirror Human" but today it suddenly had a name.

They immediately realised that this was what Lee had been talking about. Some examinees had taken the initiative to convert themselves into Mirror Humans, turning themselves into the predators.

Di Li said, "See? That person probably came to the same conclusion as me. Definitely a rational person."

Yu Wen: "???"

"Top student, did you eat something wrong? Why are you speaking so strangely?"

"You're the one who ate the wrong thing! I was just expressing my thoughts. It is dangerous after all." Di Li then turned to Lee, "Right?"

Lee: ".....Right."

Perhaps it was because their conversation had gone off the tracks, no one spoke again. Lee opened the doors one by one, focusing intently on finding the mirror.

The further inside he went, the stronger the smell of blood.

You Huo's footsteps stopped.

His lips and throat were extremely dry, and hunger surged inside him once again.

"Still haven't found it?" He asked with a face that was paler than usual.

Lee looked at him and explained flatly, "The smell of blood would be quite heavy where the mirror is located because every mirror is basically the Mirror Humans' base camp. Many Mirror Humans may have been here before. Try and endure a little more, we're at the last room."

As he said this, he pushed open the door.

The moment the door opened; a strong rush of bloody smell surged out.

It was too terrible...

Everyone's minds went blank. It was as if someone had used a hammer to knock onto their head.

The world felt like it was spinning.

Those with weaker willpowers like Yu Wen only had one word in their minds —— Eat!

Anything was fine as long as it could relieve him of this hunger.

Right now, he would bite down on a neck if there was one before him.

If I'm like this, what about brother?

Yu Wen thought this.

In his semi-dazed state, he turned to look over. Before he could find You Huo, he noticed that Lee and his wife Kelly was gone along with Di Li and the three students.

They were clearly standing here not so long ago!

He looked around.

Under the extreme state of hunger. He suddenly realised that there was no mirror in that room. It was a room completely covered with blood.

***

Two strange figures slipped through the night.

With every blink, they would disappear further away and in less than two or three blinks, they were out of sight.

These two figures were none other than Lee and Kelly.

Their figures were strange because they were each carrying people on their shoulders.

The unusual strength of Mirror Humans was most clearly demonstrated at this moment as the thin and pale couple managed to carry other people without any changes to their expressions. It was as if they were just carrying cotton buds.

The roads in Brandon Town are criss-crossed and wide and there were at least a hundred or so roads.

Lee and Kelly however are familiar with the roads and they seemed to know where to go. They were completely clear, as if they had walked down them a hundred thousand times.

They passed through several blocks, ran past a fork in the road and followed the edges of a small river to the edge of the forest.

This was the edge of the town. The trees spread all the way up the mountain and just at the end of the stone steps was the cemetery.

Lee checked his surroundings before walking into the cemetery.

He stopped in front a tall cross-shaped gravestone and tossed the people he was carrying onto the ground.

Di Li, Jonny and the other two examinees laid there completely out cold.

Taking advantage of the moment You Huo and the others were distracted by their hunger, Lee and Kelly had knocked out the ordinary humans and then managed to successfully bring them out by taking advantage of the complex layout of the building.

"Is it safe?" Kelly asked in a low voice, "My eyelids keeps twitching."

"Only living human's eyelids would twitch." Lee retorted bluntly.

Kelly said: "You know what I mean. This is my first time seeing guests like this."

Lee said: "Don't worry. I can assure you that our guests are currently enjoying their supper in that room."

"What if..."

"There are no what if's." Lee cut her off, "With all that blood, how many Mirror Humans can endure it? No one can."

Kelly pointed at him and then at herself, "We didn't fall to our knees to lap up the blood."

"We're different." Lee said, "We have created many children."

He squatted down and pulled out a shovel from within the bushes.

Seeing how proficient his actions were, he definitely was no stranger to this place.

Lee shovelled off the loose soil on the surface, revealing the coffin below. He then used a few fingers to lift off the lid nailed over the coffin.

Surprisingly, there was no one inside the coffin, it was just a large mirror.

Just as Lee had described, one could tell that this mirror was very special with just one glance. It was completely different to the ones in Shirley's house.

The borders of the mirror were of a silver-black retro pattern and there was a six-pointed star made up from small gems embellishing the top of the mirror.

"What are you two doing?!" Di Li's voice suddenly sounded.

Lee was startled.

He looked over and saw that the students had woken up and were looking at him with both vigilance and fear. The most terrified one was Di Li whose legs were trembling so badly that it didn't look like it belonged to him

Lee laughed, "What do you think? We're just doing a little favour for you."

"Doing us a favour?" Di Li looked shocked. It was his first time seeing such a shameless person.

"Didn't you say that theoretically the probability of living is higher when you're a Mirror Human?" Lee continued gently, "I'm here to help you."

Jonny immediately refused, "No thanks!"

"Too bad. This is the mirror here. I even helped select the best one for you." Lee said.

"No!" Di Li quickly glanced at the mirror and noticed the six-pointed star.

He then looked back and said to Lee: "What benefit do you get for converting us? Didn't you also say earlier that there aren't any obvious benefits?"

"You really believed that?"

Lee let out a short laugh, "Of course there are benefits. If there aren't why would I have brought you here instead of just sucking you dry on the spot?"

"Those converted by us are basically our children. Whenever I need them, they will follow me and, for example, go hunting hear the movie theatre. Even if I don't find a suitable blood source, if they drink enough blood my hunger would also lessen."

"With them around, I can continue living as comfortably as before and enjoy my vacation. So tell me, why shouldn't I do this?" Lee said.

"So these mirrors can't change us back?" Di Li asked.

"It can, I didn't lie. It can change you back but why would I change back? My current self have abilities far superior to ordinary humans and I can also ensure that I am mostly in my right mind and not like a zombie."

Di Li glanced behind Lee and Kelly using the corner of his eyes and continued, "Aren't you afraid of my Brother You and Brother Qin coming to find you?"

"Do you know how much restraint Mirror Humans need when faced with so much blood especially for those who haven't eaten their fill yet?" Lee smirked, "I can use my head to guarantee you that they are currently crawling around the ground lapping up the blood without a trace of dignity."

He shook his head and repeated his last few words, "Not a trace of dignity."

Just as he finished saying those five words, a sudden rush of air came from behind him.

The next moment, his neck was grabbed, and he was pressed into the coffin.

His nose that was crushed against the mirror at the base of the bottom was twisted into an awkward shape. Through the mirror, he saw two people behind him.

One was holding Kelly while the other had one foot on the edge of the coffin as he picked Lee up by the neck. A low voice rang in his ears, "Thank you for leading us to the mirror. May I ask you again who you said has no dignity?"

"...…."

Lee's internal cry: Fuck.

KK has something to say:

Oof, RIP Lee and Kelly. Went against the wrong people~