Ex-Girlfriend – Chapter 61

Song of the Wanderer Arc

Great Demon King 20

Xin Lan didn’t hold back; she directly slammed Qi Haolin’s head, causing blood to flow. However, it was just a single strike before she shifted her target.

She didn’t want Qi Haolin to die right away, but she also had no intention of letting him off easily.

The impact left Qi Haolin seeing stars and his wrist was in excruciating pain.

He let out a miserable scream, trembling all over.

Initially, due to summoning too many spirits at once, he had become extremely weak, so weak that he couldn’t even resist Xin Lan. After the impact, he was even more defenseless and incapable of fighting back.

At this moment, he sat on the ground, his hands hanging weakly.

Xin Lan stepped on his hand, crushing his fingers.

Qi Haolin let out a pained cry, but his cheek was kicked by the tip of Xin Lan’s foot.

“You better hold back. If you can’t help but make loud noises that disturb me, I wouldn’t hesitate to cut off your tongue.”

Xin Lan said calmly, and there was no doubt about the sincerity behind her words.

Qi Haolin almost trembled in terror as he tightly sealed his mouth shut. He wasn’t afraid of fighting to the death with someone, nor was he afraid of dying altogether, but he dreaded being tortured, like a blunt knife slowly cutting through flesh, causing excruciating pain with each stroke.

Ren Difei was not far away, looking extremely disheveled with a swollen and bruised face. He lay on the ground, unable to get up, but he could hear everything clearly and knew the current situation.

He felt a sense of fear and couldn’t help but tremble.

As he suspected, it was indeed the Boss Lady.

Now that all the others were already dead, except for the man the Boss Lady wanted to torture, only he was left.

Ren Difei closed his eyes in agony, and before he met his end, he was determined to plead with the Boss Lady to let him go with some dignity.

Equally terrified as Ren Difei was Zhen Zhen, who stood nearby.

“Your Boss really gives us a feeling that’s even more terrifying than ourselves.”

Zhen Zhen said while involuntarily shivering.

She didn’t dare to mention the word “prey.” Clearly, this person was more like a hunter than a prey.

“Who could be more terrifying than ghosts?”

Yu Wan Yan smiled but remained silent; she had long known how formidable she was.

“Congratulations in advance; you can leave now.”

Hearing these words, Yu Wan Yan raised an eyebrow, and the smile on her face diminished slightly.

“Why? Aren’t you happy?”

“It’s hard to say.”

In fact, Yu Wan Yan felt somewhat useless compared to other participants in this game. Unlike them, Xin Lan didn’t rely on her for anything. Xin Lan also didn’t communicate with her; it was as if she was merely a transparent figure moving before Xin Lan, unable to stir even the slightest ripple in her heart.

This seemed to be natural, Yu Wan Yan told herself.

There was no need for her and Xin Lan to form any essential connection. In this game, they were bound by the roles of ally and player—when Xin Lan went out, she went out; when Xin Lan died, she would consume her, that’s all.

But for some reason, she couldn’t shake off the feeling of disappointment.

It was an inexplicable and unwarranted sense of loss. There seemed to be a voice in her heart urging her to get closer and closer, but when she tried to strike up a conversation, she lost that courage.

It’s hard to describe, but seeing Xin Lan’s actions, she couldn’t think much and couldn’t generate any thoughts.

At this moment, Xin Lan was still torturing Qi Haolin.

Qi Haolin was threatened into silence by her, and Xin Lan was quite satisfied. So she went on to disable Qi Haolin’s other hand.

“Let me think about where it would be better to strike next, the left leg or the right leg. How about you give me some advice?”

Xin Lan looked at Qi Haolin, observing his expression of pain and despair, and her smile on her face grew even more intense.

It’s best to be like this, full of unwilling resentment even until the moment of death, with a heart filled with hatred and animosity. That’s the best way to torture.

If someone willingly embraces death, then it would be a bit disgusting.

“Just kill me, please, just kill me.”

Qi Haolin murmured, his voice weak.

“Want to die? It won’t be that easy.”

Living is a hundred times harder than death. Sometimes, death feels so much easier. Living involves suffering, grinding down one’s will, and that’s what makes it terrifying.

“Left leg first, or right leg first, I’ll give you the chance to choose.”

Though it didn’t make much difference, as either leg would be crippled, giving him the opportunity to choose showed a bit of leniency.

In truth, Xin Lan didn’t enjoy tormenting others, but in this mission, she had to do it herself.

“Your Boss is so ruthless. Can you ask her when she’ll finally kill this person, so I can eat him up?”

Zhen Zhen noticed that Xin Lan seemed to be enjoying the slow play and quickly asked Yu Wan Yan to help her inquire.

Each cooperating spirit was invisible to others, and their conversations were also unheard by others. Yu Wan Yan was an exception because she was more formidable.

“Um, Xin Lan, Miss Green Hat is asking when you’ll let him die?”

Yu Wan Yan called out Xin Lan’s name, feeling a somewhat inexplicable sensation in her heart.

“Before going out.”

After hearing the answer, Zhen Zhen didn’t dwell on it and instead became curious about something else.

“What’s the meaning behind ‘Miss Green Hat’ as the nickname?”

“Isn’t it fitting and descriptive?”

“Fitting and descriptive.”

Zhen Zhen nodded silently, observing Yu Wan Yan’s expression.

Qi Haolin didn’t understand why Xin Lan suddenly said something inexplicable, but he didn’t have the strength to question it. He collapsed to the ground.

If he hadn’t summoned so many spirits at once, he would probably have the strength to resist now, although he knew deep down that resistance might not be effective.

“Don’t want to choose?”

Xin Lan lowered her head, looking at Qi Haolin.

Qi Haolin’s eyes were already closed, showing a resigned expression as if saying, “Do whatever you want.”

Xin Lan squinted her eyes, gripping Qi Haolin’s chin.

“Do you really think what you see on TV dramas is real? You want to imitate biting your tongue to death?”

Xin Lan sneered, looking at the faint trace of blood on Qi Haolin’s tongue.

Biting one’s tongue to death is an extremely difficult way to die, not something most people can handle. The level of pain is much greater than cutting one’s wrist or hanging oneself.

Qi Haolin felt somewhat irritated, lowering his eyes and remaining silent.

The blood on his head had not yet dried, and the dark red color was alarming.

Xin Lan hated it when she caused trouble and faced such a deadpan expression. It made her lose interest in tormenting.

“Aren’t you supposed to be formidable? Don’t you like this game? Weren’t you the one who tricked people into entering it? So, why are you pretending to be dead now?”

Qi Haolin was taken aback by Xin Lan’s mocking words. It turns out this person knew, which wasn’t surprising considering the strange creature that inexplicably appeared inside Xin Lan’s body would also know.

To prevent Qi Haolin from doing anything extreme again, Xin Lan tore off a piece of cloth from his shirt and stuffed it into his mouth.

Although they couldn’t hear Qi Haolin’s voice anymore due to the cloth stuffed in his mouth, at least they didn’t have to listen to his miserable screams, and it prevented Qi Haolin from attempting suicide in a fit of madness.

Ren Difei’s composure was shaken upon hearing Xin Lan’s words, and he got up from the ground.

“Are you saying he knows there’s danger in here?”

At first, Ren Difei was excited. He enjoyed supernatural and horror stories. However, after that initial excitement subsided, he became afraid. Though he might say it doesn’t matter if he dies, who the hell really wants to die? He hadn’t lived enough yet.

Experiencing such a thing firsthand and being deceived into encountering it are completely different feelings. He looked at the man on the ground, clenching his fists tightly.

“Getting out of this game will earn you one billion.”

“How much?!”

“One billion.”

Ren Difei gulped, feeling tearless and speechless, “Do you know you’re tempting me with riches?”

Xin Lan raised an eyebrow, “Tempting you how?”

“Never mind, never mind.”

In just one second, Ren Difei went from angry to timid, regretting why he had to learn about such a cruel truth.

Originally, he was furious, but money extinguished his anger, and he was even happily considering how he would become instantly rich with one billion.

But that one billion seemed to have nothing to do with him. He was just a tiny step away from death.

Reality can be so cruel.

Ren Difei snapped out of the cruel reality, and the anger returned. He wanted to give Qi Haolin a few punches.

But when he looked down and saw Qi Haolin with a broken head, blood flowing, twisted arms, mouth stuffed, and legs battered into a bloody mess, he hesitated. Given the state Qi Haolin was in, there didn’t seem to be a need to do anything more.

Ren Difei was about to leave, but he couldn’t help but touch his swollen face, feeling annoyed again.

So, he spat at Qi Haolin and raised his middle finger as a sign of disdain.

Xin Lan fell silent for a moment, finding this provocation rather weak.

Qi Haolin saw it and felt angry, but he couldn’t do anything. He was now in a state of heavy breathing and exhaustion.

He had never been in such a pathetic state before. The intense pain in his body was no longer his primary concern; he wanted liberation, but there was no escape.

“Look at yourself now.”

Xin Lan looked down on him, her eyes filled with undisguised mockery.

“Is this the kind of thrill you were seeking, huh?”

Xin Lan didn’t even want to bother recounting the annoying things this despicable guy had done. While he had committed enough sins to deserve severe punishment, such as manipulating emotions, freeloading, and ultimately kicking someone out while taking away all their money, he was just a vile person who deserved to be despised by everyone. If it were only that, Xin Lan wouldn’t have bothered tormenting him so much. The real issue was the malicious intentions he had revealed within this game.

Xin Lan let out a sigh, having vented her frustration for the time being. She clapped her hands and sat on the sofa.

Alright, now that everything is settled, we just need to complete the mission of this game.

Ren Difei saw Xin Lan sitting on the sofa and also sat down, feeling uneasy.

Now, it seemed like there were only two living people left—himself and the Boss Lady. The person lying on the ground could only be considered half alive, and who knew when he might die.

And there’s another important question: Is the Boss Lady a living person?

She probably is.

But regardless of whether she is or not, Ren Difei feels powerless to resist. He is filled with despair.

Pi Tianzi’s body had disappeared into thin air a few minutes ago, leaving only the blood splatters as evidence. If it weren’t for that, Ren Difei might have thought she had never appeared at all.

This game is truly unfriendly to ordinary people. Ren Difei finds it hard to imagine what would have happened if it weren’t for the Boss Lady; he might have been lost at the very beginning.

Seeing the Boss Lady is calm and composed, Ren Difei also started to feel better about his state of mind.

He knew it was impossible for him to face his impending death calmly, but he hoped that the Boss Lady would make his passing more peaceful, preferably painless.

Xin Lan rested on the sofa for a while and then began to search for the remaining parts of the body.

Zero Nine’s scanning was ineffective, and she was eating chicken legs in the system space.

“Can it still move?”

Xin Lan looked at Ren Difei.

Ren Difei shuddered all over and nodded.

“If it can move, then why haven’t you gotten up yet?”

Immediately, Ren Difei stood up from the sofa, driven by a strong will to survive.

Xin Lan and Ren Difei resumed searching this level, looking for the remaining body parts.

In the first room that was opened, Xin Lan saw a large bed, and the wardrobe was open with clothes scattered inside. It seemed that it was done by Pi Tianzi or Qi Haolin when they came to search earlier.

Those clothes looked like ballet outfits, which immediately reminded Xin Lan of the ballet shoes she found under the sofa in the large room.

When she connected it to the mirror in the last room, she started to suspect that the culprit might be someone who enjoys ballet dancing.

Xin Lan searched the room thoroughly but didn’t find anything.

Ren Difei came out from the second room and shook his head at Xin Lan.

Xin Lan furrowed her brows. The game wouldn’t intentionally deceive them, so the missing parts of the body must be somewhere in this level; they just hadn’t found them yet.

They were still missing one hand, two feet, two eyes, and a bunch of organs.

Xin Lan remained silent, and at this moment, Ren Difei couldn’t gather the courage to talk to her either. The atmosphere became somewhat heavy.

“Do you need my help?”

Yu Wan Yan said softly, her eyes fixed on Xin Lan, carefully observing her reaction.

“Can you do it?”

“Is there anything I can’t do?”

Yu Wan Yan smirked. After all, there was no one to object, so why couldn’t she help?

“It’s no trouble.”

Ren Difei looked a bit bewildered as he observed Xin Lan muttering to herself, initially thinking she was speaking to him. But as he listened, he realized something was off, and he was glad he hadn’t spoken earlier.

Yu Wan Yan led Xin Lan to the hidden area and found the two missing feet. Then, she brought her to the dance studio.

The room was filled with mirrors, reflecting everything from left to right, even the ceiling and the floor.

Upon entering, an inexplicable sense of fear engulfed them. Even though they stood there, surrounded by their own reflections, they felt a certain pressure, as if something was hiding within those reflections, ready to appear at any moment.

“Behind the mirrors?”

“Yes.”

Yu Wan Yan reached out and touched the mirror beneath her feet.

From the point of her touch, the mirror started to shatter, spreading cracks in all directions. With a crisp sound, Xin Lan saw a middle-aged woman lying with her eyes closed inside the shattered mirror.

She looked somewhat affluent and adorned with expensive jewelry.

“This…”

Ren Difei observed the woman lying in the mirror.

Obviously, she couldn’t be alive.

In a typical story, unrelated elements wouldn’t appear, so this woman was either the perpetrator of the dismemberment, an accomplice, or a victim.

“In her belly.”

Yu Wan Yan said, and as she gestured above the woman, her belly started to get sliced open little by little.

Inside, there was a pile of sticky and nauseating substances.

“Are these, organs?”

Ren Difei approached, his stomach convulsing.

“Obviously. However, they don’t belong to her. Take them back.”

Ren Difei didn’t dare to say anything and tremblingly reached out his hand to retrieve the organs.

“Oh my god, there are still a pair of feet in there, gross!”

Ren Difei turned around and started to retch, looking visibly distressed.

Xin Lan frowned, understanding that he was hungry and seeing such things could be very uncomfortable for him.

After finishing his bout of nausea, Ren Difei continued to search the contents.

“How did she manage to put all these things intact inside her body?”

Undoubtedly, the pair of feet belonged to the body, including the organs, but those feet were still intact as a whole. For a human body, it was impossible to fit them in so neatly.

Xin Lan didn’t answer him, just staring at the woman.

After Ren Difei took out all the organs and the feet, the woman suddenly opened her eyes and lunged at Ren Difei.

“Be careful!”

Xin Lan pulled Ren Difei back and confronted the woman herself.

However, before the woman could reach her, Yu Wan Yan stood in front of her. With a scream, the woman fell to the ground.

“Can you just casually intervene like that?”

Xin Lan’s curiosity outweighed her gratitude. When Yu Wan Yan had helped her before, she could still convince herself that Yu Wan Yan had only told her where things were, which didn’t violate any rules. But now, Yu Wan Yan not only appeared and communicated but also took action.

“I think I can. So, naturally, I can,”

Yu Wan Yan said, pulling a slight smile. Although she should have been an observer, like Zhen Zhen and the others, not appearing and not interacting.

She was doing the opposite now – appearing, communicating, and even taking action.

It’s hard to describe that feeling; it’s like feeling uncomfortable while being an observer.

The rules, actually, didn’t specify so much; it was their own agreement. But now, with those people dead and Zhen Zhen not caring, and the detective persona not coming out in Ren Difei, it seemed like she could do whatever she wanted.

Even though Xin Lan knew she didn’t need help, Yu Wan Yan still took action.

“Thank you.”

There wasn’t much to say, so “thank you” was the best way to express it.

Yu Wan Yan wanted to say something more, but in the end, she didn’t say anything.

Finally, they were missing one hand, the one that appeared at the beginning and then mysteriously disappeared. Yu Wan Yan informed them that it could be found in the large room.

Xin Lan walked back to the large room, where the pieces of the body were assembled like a puzzle, with a visual effect that looked strange due to the severed connection.

The hand was holding an empty glass bottle, the same bottle Ren Difei had found in the toilet tank earlier, which Yu Wan Yan said was very important to the young man.

Xin Lan looked at the bottle and the hand, contemplating whether she should reach up and take it down.

However, before Xin Lan could reach up and take it down, the hand moved on its own, walking towards the nearly assembled body on the ground.

When the body was fully assembled, it disappeared into thin air, and a delicate young man appeared before Xin Lan.

He lightly touched Xin Lan’s hand, giving her a slight chill. Xin Lan knew that it was the key.

As Xin Lan left the room, the young man was holding his bottle, looking down at it.

Xin Lan was curious but didn’t ask.

“This level is still quite simple.”

In fact, this game was relatively straightforward for her.

The things she needed to solve were not too difficult; it was only a matter of time. There were few things that posed a challenge to her, at least not at the moment.

“The bottle contains light.”

“Light?”

“Yes,” Yu Wan Yan nodded, “It was a rare sight of light, and he captured it in a bottle.”

Even though they knew that sunlight couldn’t be contained in a bottle, if they believed it was captured, then even the cold surface of the bottle would feel warm when tightly held.

Xin Lan fell silent; it wasn’t a pleasant story at all.

They ascended the stairs to the third floor, with Xin Lan dragging Qi Haolin step by step.

Qi Haolin was now extremely weak, his limbs paralyzed, with only his brain still functioning.

Each dragging step up the stairs was tormenting for him, both physically and psychologically.

He glared at Xin Lan with resentment, and Xin Lan lowered her head, meeting his gaze with a smile.

The third floor was also dark, and it only brightened when Ren Difei also arrived.

Upon seeing the situation before him, Ren Difei gasped in surprise.

In front of them was not a gruesome murder scene, but only photographs, lots and lots of photographs.

The walls on both sides and the ceiling were covered with photographs, and the protagonist in all these photos was the same person. They were either standing or lying, crying or laughing, making people feel their scalp tingling and their backs chilling.

Ren Difei touched the goosebumps on his arm. Although this guy looked quite handsome, the overwhelming and densely packed feeling of these photos made him feel face-blind and unable to look at this face anymore. After looking at them for too long, he even felt a bit nauseous.

This was even crazier than the paparazzi. Although they would click-click-click while taking sneak shots, they weren’t so obsessed.

It seemed like a scene of a massive stalker.

When Xin Lan first saw so many photographs, her eyes also felt a bit sore.

She had encountered extremely crazy fans before, with their homes filled with photo posters, completely packed. A single glance would reveal their fanaticism, and this situation was somewhat similar to what she had seen before.

On the walls and ceiling, each photograph was meticulously placed, leaving no blank spaces. Fortunately, the floor was not covered with photos yet.

Ren Difei shook his head; no matter how good-looking a person was, they couldn’t withstand being seen like this. He truly felt uncomfortable now and could only stare at the floor.

This floor was quiet, unlike the second floor, which was more direct. It was somewhat similar to the situation on the first floor, where they had to explore on their own.

The layout on each floor was almost the same, with a living room, kitchen, bedrooms, and so on.

What Xin Lan saw was the situation in the living room. Only when she opened the bedroom door and the doors to the guest rooms did she realize that the living room was not the most extreme.

“My eyes…”

Ren Difei’s head started to ache, and he glanced at the floor, trying to catch his breath.

In each room, there were also photographs covering all the walls, ceilings, and even every inch of the desks.

This feeling is as if the subject of the photographs is staring at you, constantly, from every angle.

“Not quite mentally normal.”

But then again, it seems like those involved in this three-floor setup aren’t normal at all. The first and second floors both displayed a twisted emotional attachment and obsession, and this one is likely no different. The only question is whether there are any victims.

If there are any, it’s probably the person in these photographs.

After inspecting all the rooms and arrangements on this floor, Xin Lan felt a bit numb.

Let’s not even mention the rooms; there are even photos and Q-version (cartoonish) images in the kitchen, bathroom, and balcony. This obsession is truly over-the-top.

Staying in such a room all day would drive anyone crazy, even if they weren’t sick to begin with.

However, when Xin Lan opened the wardrobe, she discovered that it wasn’t the most extreme aspect. Every single piece of clothing had either a photograph or a Q-version image on it.

She tentatively concluded that the person was likely a girl because the wardrobe was full of women’s clothing. There were many cosmetics on the dressing table, and the bathroom was filled with skincare products. Of course, the possibility of it being a cross-dressing boy couldn’t be ruled out.

But what caught Xin Lan’s attention was that there were two mugs in the living room, both with photos of the same guy on them.

On the desk, there were also some sketches and drawings, all featuring the same protagonist.

However, there weren’t many crucial clues. No corpses or peculiar props—just an abundance of photographs and artwork, which clearly demonstrated the room’s owner’s intense affection or obsession for the subject in the photographs.

Xin Lan was aesthetically fatigued to the point of exhaustion. Even looking at Yu Wan Yan standing nearby seemed extremely pleasing.

When Xin Lan returned to the living room and saw Qi Haolin lying on the floor, barely conscious with closed eyes, he even seemed much more agreeable to her.

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