Chapter 50: Zombie Shanhai (1)
“Is it really possible for an NPC to replace the Circle Lord and become the new one?”
“It is.” ERROR gave a definite answer. “The Circle Lord is the strongest NPC within its world. As long as Su Qiong possesses enough power to completely overwhelm the current Circle Lord, he can replace it.”
“But Little Pastry doesn’t.” Lu Shufan grabbed An’an’s arm and used his bracelet to scan Su Qiong’s level.
The result was rather miserable.
Su Qiong was at least two hundred levels short of becoming the Circle Lord of Into Nature.
“It’s all right.” Su Qiong guessed what he was thinking and explained seriously, “I only need to reach a higher level than them.”
Su Qiong lifted the sand ball in his palm and poked it.
The lord of Circle Three was rather unusual, having split into four separate fragments. Under ordinary circumstances, the four kings never met, and none of them was the true Circle Lord.
Because the fragments could never reach a consensus, players who completed the main quest were still unable to leave Into Nature.
To truly clear the Circle, they had to defeat every Circle Lord fragment or satisfy each fragment’s desire.
Defeating the fragments was extremely difficult because each remained within its preferred environment and possessed complete control over its surroundings.
Satisfying their desires was even harder.
Their thoughts were chaotic. The little sand ball, for example, could not even clearly explain what it wanted.
But if Su Qiong wanted to become the Circle Lord, he would not even need to fight them.
He only needed to possess greater power than the current Circle Lord and become the strongest NPC in Circle Three.
“Su Qiong, what are you planning to do?” An’an asked.
“There are usually two ways for a white-name NPC to level up. First, guide players through an instance. Second, kill players or red-name NPCs.”
Lu Shufan guessed, “So you’re going to kill them?”
“No!” The little sand ball panicked.
It was terrified that Su Qiong would truly use it to build a cesspit.
Su Qiong shook his head. “I already said I wouldn’t kill them.”
He raised a third finger.
“There’s another way: possessing enough KPI.”
Lu Shufan and Shi Yuntian spoke simultaneously.
“…Isn’t that obvious?”
Even though neither had ever been an NPC, they knew KPI was the system’s only standard for evaluating them.
The ultimate goal of the first two methods Su Qiong mentioned was still to obtain KPI.
ERROR gave them a sideways glance. “Let Su Qiong finish.”
Lu Shufan had recently become bold enough to touch An’an without permission, but he was still somewhat intimidated by ERROR and silently closed his mouth.
“It isn’t obvious.” Su Qiong explained, “An NPC’s KPI can be transferred, just like a player’s points.”
“You mean…”
“The Circle Lord may be divided into four fragments, but since the system recognizes them all as the Circle Lord, they must be considered a single entity. They should share one NPC bracelet.” Su Qiong shook his own bracelet. “We only need to find the fragment carrying it—or rather, the Circle Lord’s main body—and transfer its points to me! Once I open the Circle boundary, I can return the points to them.”
“…That’s allowed?”
“Understood. The next time we see a Circle Lord, we’ll steal its bracelet.”
“Wake up.” ERROR reminded them, “How would you steal a bracelet from something like the Order Staircase?”
“…” Remembering that enormous entity, Shi Yuntian instantly wilted.
Once Su Qiong had finalized the plan, he secretly contacted Xi Huaiji and asked her to watch for the bracelet.
Xi Huaiji was intelligent. The moment she learned that Everyone Survives was also helping rescue Yu Qimiao, she guessed the entire truth.
But she was already aboard the pirate ship. She did not expose them and planned to settle accounts afterward.
Since Su Qiong had contacted her voluntarily, Xi Huaiji inevitably complained and vented her anger for a while before finally agreeing.
As for Everyone Survives, Su Qiong did not contact them.
In the past, he had happily shared clues with other players and guided them through instances.
But after Yu Qimiao was deliberately framed, Su Qiong had reflected on many things.
Not every player clearly distinguished gratitude from resentment.
As the saying went, a small favor earned gratitude, but too great a favor could breed hatred.
Su Qiong might help players clear an instance, only for them to resent him because he had failed to help them obtain a system item.
He put in tremendous effort to carry them to victory, only to be hated afterward.
Even with Su Qiong’s good temper, he no longer wanted to continue such thankless work.
Furthermore, contacting Everyone Survives would increase the risk of exposing their plan.
They had already used underhanded methods behind everyone’s backs. What if they suddenly betrayed them and used the bracelet to threaten Su Qiong?
It would be better to keep them uninformed so they would not pay attention to the bracelet.
They could control three of the Circle Lord fragments anyway. If none of those fragments carried it, the bracelet was most likely on the fourth. They could find it afterward.
After making every arrangement, Su Qiong avoided his companions and forced the sand ball into a heart-to-heart conversation.
“I’m going to take your Circle away. Are you angry?”
After being threatened by Su Qiong so many times, the sand ball was reluctant to chat, but the pressure forced it to answer.
“I don’t know.” The sand ball gave up. “I should be angry, but I can’t find a reason to be.”
It and the other fragments had been born from resentment and were filled with hatred for humans, yet none had truly tried to exterminate humanity.
At most, they divided habitats, prohibited human observation, or forced cruel humans to exchange identities with animals.
But was such a world truly what they wanted?
No.
The contradictions still existed, and they were powerless to resolve them.
“That’s because your starting point was wrong,” Su Qiong said. “You began with hatred. That can’t solve anything. If you want humans to truly recognize their mistakes and want a perfect environment in which to survive, then you need to create change.”
“How?”
“Change humans, change yourselves, and change the world you possess.” Su Qiong poked it again. “You’re a Circle Lord. What can’t you change?”
“I’m only a fragment. I can’t…”
“Even a Circle Lord fragment is powerful. You clearly can.” Su Qiong corrected its thinking. “Besides, since the system recognizes all of you as the Circle Lord, your relationship with the other fragments shouldn’t be one of rivalry or estrangement.”
Su Qiong told the sand ball, “You’re one entity. You’re companions. You should share the same goal.”
Curled in his palm, the sand ball fell into thought.
So they were… companions?
Then which idiotic fragment had proposed that no two kings should ever meet for the rest of their lives?
“After I save my companion, I’ll return the Circle Lord identity to all of you. Little sand ball, you and your partners must properly maintain your Circle.” As Su Qiong continued, he even began sounding disdainful. “The next time we meet, don’t let yourselves be defeated one by one again. You’re the lords of Circle Three, yet you’re so weak.”
The sand ball: “???”
Who are you calling weak?!
After finishing its anger, it carefully analyzed Su Qiong’s words and finally understood why he had deliberately told it so much.
They were Circle Lords and possessed the power to control the entire Circle.
Yet because they could never reach a consensus, their long division had invisibly weakened all of them.
As a result, they could neither change this unsatisfactory world nor seize the opportunity placed before them.
It truly was terrible.
The sand ball thought seriously.
The other three fragments were the same kind of existence as itself, each filled with resentment that had never faded.
That meant they were also the beings most capable of understanding one another.
If they listened carefully to the voices of their souls, perhaps they could discover a shared desire and transform Circle Three into the world most suited to them.
“Thank you,” the sand ball silently told Su Qiong. “Although I’ve never seen your Circle, you must be a good Circle Lord.”
The players of IF: Who are you calling a good Circle Lord?!
Have you heard of the five-million-person sacrifice?
The sky gradually brightened beyond the horizon. Su Qiong stood beside the lake and silently admired the sunrise.
Everyone else in the guild had already departed. Only Su Qiong remained behind to watch over Yu Qimiao.
Yu Qimiao had completely transformed into a fish, and his ability to think had been greatly restricted.
He could no longer participate in meetings or understand what his companions intended to do.
However, the oppressive atmosphere around them allowed him to sense that something was about to happen.
“The sunrise in this world is truly beautiful. Unfortunately, I have to leave today.”
After speaking, Su Qiong tossed the sand ball away and drew his wand.
“They’ve already begun. We’re the only ones left. Let’s fight.”
The sand ball rolled once, gathering countless grains of sand and returning to the form of a small sand monster.
“Fight what?” The sand monster pretended to be confused. “You’ve already tamed me.”
“If you were that easy to tame, you would never have become a Circle Lord.” Su Qiong’s gaze was clear as he exposed the truth directly. “A necessary condition for becoming a Circle Lord is possessing powerful, unshakable will.”
“I didn’t deceive you,” the sand monster said. “After spending so much time together, you influenced me greatly. So…”
It raised one arm, causing the surrounding sand to stir.
“I will protect my Circle. Until then, I cannot allow you to take it away!”
Carrying an enormous wave of sand, the monster charged straight at Su Qiong.
Su Qiong had prepared in advance and used his bandages and vines to bind it.
“This move again? It’s useless!”
Su Qiong tightened his grip on the wand and looked along the bandages.
“Take another look.”
The sand monster sensed something strange and struggled violently, only to discover that it could not break free of Su Qiong’s bandages.
How could this be?
When they fought before, it had scattered its body into individual grains of sand, making it impossible for Su Qiong to restrain it!
“You really are powerful, but…” Su Qiong wrapped the bandages around it layer after layer before slowly explaining, “Even Shi Yuntian knows to bring his brain when he plays games now!”
He bound the sand monster even more tightly.
“Haven’t you noticed yet? Guess why I brought you here.”
“Because of that fish!” the sand monster answered with absolute certainty.
Before sunrise, Su Qiong had come to the lakeside and said he wanted to protect Yu Qimiao.
He had also spent a long time beside the lake the night before, staring at Yu Qimiao and even shedding a tear.
Therefore, the sand monster had not suspected anything.
Yu Qimiao flicked his tail and could not be bothered looking at it.
Even a fish would shake its head at that level of intelligence.
“Mm. Yesterday, it was because of him.” Su Qiong nodded before continuing, “Yesterday, we hadn’t begun the operation yet, so I could spend all my time with Yu Qimiao. But today, everyone else is fighting, and I’m the only one who remained behind… You still haven’t figured it out?”
After several days of patrols, Yu Qimiao’s habitat had become extremely safe. Even a weak player would have been enough to protect him.
Originally, that task should have been assigned to Obey Me and Win.
Yet Su Qiong was the one who remained.
Although his level was low, he possessed Circle Lord items and several abilities, making him an indispensable source of combat power.
“I knew you would attack me because last night, without you noticing, I activated Order Deduction twice.”
The sand monster froze. “Order Deduction? Twice?”
The Circle Lords did not share information. The sand monster had no idea what Order Deduction was and had never seen Su Qiong use it.
During the first deduction, Su Qiong confirmed that the sand monster would fight him and risk its life to protect its Circle.
Even if it could not distinguish right from wrong, protecting its Circle was the ultimate duty the system had bestowed upon every Circle Lord.
Su Qiong had fought the sand monster during that deduction and lost miserably.
During the second deduction, he tried several different methods and investigated its weakness before finally deciding to use the lakeside as the battlefield.
“The only Circle Lord fragments I’ve encountered are you and the yeti. Although you look different, both your bodies are enormous.”
According to Su Qiong’s estimate, the sand monster was even larger than the yeti.
“But after leaving the desert, your body became smaller. At first, I thought that was merely your noncombat form. Only after learning how the other fragments fight did I understand… You became smaller because there wasn’t enough sand for you to use, right?”
“That’s right,” the sand monster answered. “I’m the fragment of sand. I can control every grain of sand around me and use it to form my body.”
“When you controlled the soil, didn’t you notice?” Su Qiong tightened the bandages and wound the vines around it again and again, wrapping the sand monster like a mummy.
The sand monster tried to escape, but not only could it not break free, its body was becoming increasingly stiff.
Su Qiong reminded it, “Was what you controlled… really sand?”
“What?!” The sand monster was shocked.
Only then did it lower its head in panic and inspect the surrounding soil.
“Is it cement?”
“No.” After finishing the restraints, Su Qiong dusted off his hands and kindly explained, “There’s a type of soil that resembles fine sand. But when it comes into contact with water, it instantly clumps together. After being exposed to high temperatures, it becomes permanently solid.”
“Because of that characteristic, it’s also called…” Su Qiong smiled beautifully. “Clay.”
Previously, Su Qiong had accidentally noticed that the fragments around the lakeshore did not resemble marble. Instead, they looked like shattered pottery.
Later, he deliberately dug a hole and discovered that the soil around the lake barely absorbed water and closely resembled clay.
That was how he came up with the plan.
At this point, Su Qiong glanced toward the sun.
“It’s nearly noon.”
Realizing what would happen after prolonged exposure to the blazing sun, the sand monster began to panic.
“Do you want to become a permanent work of art?” Su Qiong asked.
The sand monster shook its head.
“I surrender. Spare me. I swear upon the Circle I protect—the bracelet isn’t on me.”
“I know. I discovered that a long time ago.” Su Qiong raised his bracelet and showed it the message ERROR had sent.
Player bracelets and NPC bracelets belonged to different systems and could not communicate with each other.
But because ERROR and Su Qiong were bonded as lovers, they could contact each other through a special channel.
[ERROR: We’re finished here. The bracelet isn’t on any of the three fragments. I tried to make them reach a consensus and open the Circle boundary. But just as you expected, they don’t possess complete minds. Their chaotic consciousness can’t reach an agreement.]
“The rules of a Circle don’t appear from nothing. If none of you can reach a consensus, then there must be a main body that created the rules.”
“Where is it?” Su Qiong demanded.
The sand monster froze and remained silent, allowing Su Qiong to leave it beneath the blazing sunlight.
They confronted each other for a long time before Su Qiong finally withdrew the bandages.
As though escaping disaster, the sand monster immediately plunged into the lake, allowing the clay to dissolve and scatter through the water.
“Please tell me.” Su Qiong crouched beside the lake, curling his body into a small ball.
He knew a way to enter the next Circle. He could leave this world without meeting the so-called “main body.”
But now he had something far more important to accomplish.
Only the NPC who had created the rule could change it.
He had to save Yu Qimiao.
The fragmented sand monster floated to the surface. Seeing Su Qiong’s sorrowful expression, it finally surrendered and released a long sigh.
“In truth, there is no main body.”
“How could that be?!” Su Qiong’s face instantly turned pale, and he looked down at Yu Qimiao.
Had he guessed incorrectly?
If the main body did not exist, did that mean the bracelet did not exist either?
Were they forced to rely upon fragments whose wills could never reach a consensus?
“The thing you’re searching for—the object representing the Circle Lord’s identity and controlling the entire world—was left in the place most important to us.”
The sand monster continued, “Didn’t you want to know why the Circle fails to match our desires?”
“Because this is what you humans call natural selection.”
“Natural… selection?” The moment Su Qiong heard the phrase, he understood and sent ERROR a message.
[Su Qiong: The bracelet is the entire natural world. The locations of the Circle Lord fragments must form the bracelet’s boundary.]
The center of the storm, the mountaintop, the edge of the polar region, and ten thousand meters beneath the ocean.
Those four points formed a circle that enclosed the entire world of Circle Three.
That was their bracelet.
Upon receiving the message, ERROR immediately reached a conclusion and addressed his nearby companions.
“Have you ever completed a jigsaw puzzle?”
“O-of course.”
“Then put them together.”
When Xi Huaiji received the message, her face darkened with rage.
“With Yu Qimiao absent, no one in their guild understands the rules of negotiation. Suppressing a Circle Lord fragment is already difficult enough. How are we supposed to piece them together?”
“Guild Leader, should we refuse?”
“We can’t.” Xi Huaiji said darkly, “If we refuse this time, their guild leader may remain absent forever. Every negotiation afterward will become even more shameless.”
The message received by Everyone Survives had a particularly unusual tone.
[ERROR: Your guild has a player called Plain Water, correct?]
[ERROR: The person who anonymously messaged Plain Water is your guild’s strategist, isn’t it?]
[ERROR: You now have two choices. Follow my instructions, or settle the accounts first and then follow my instructions.]
Realizing the truth had been exposed, the guild leader of Everyone Survives replied with trembling fingers:
[I choose the first option.]
After two days and one night of chaotic fighting throughout Circle Three, Su Qiong appeared carrying a small clay fish tank containing the sand monster, completing the final piece of the puzzle.
The four Circle Lord fragments, previously scattered across separate locations, gathered together.
A bracelet descended from the sky.
Su Qiong caught it and manipulated it with practiced ease. Then he looked toward the fragments with sudden disdain.
“So the four of you add up to nearly Level Six Hundred, yet you’re this weak? The previous Circle Lord could defeat ten of you.”
Inside the Fairy-Tale Kingdom, the princess, who was sleeping while embracing her other self, suddenly sneezed.
“What’s wrong?” the gentle white princess asked worriedly.
“Nothing.” The Fairy-Tale Princess ground her teeth. “That little thief must be insulting me again.”
Su Qiong transferred the KPI into his own account, then closed his eyes and pressed his palms together.
The entire world instantly transformed.
Oases emerged in the desert. Flowers covered the wasteland. Modern cities filled with animals who genuinely coexisted peacefully with humans.
The entire world seemed to awaken, becoming beautiful beyond imagination.
Finally, Yu Qimiao leaped from the clay fish tank and returned to his original form.
“Guild Leader!” Moi and Qiyi rushed forward hand in hand like genuine children and hugged Yu Qimiao.
“Fishy, you’re finally alive again!”
Shi Yuntian said roughly, “Be more careful next time. You really make people worry.”
The other guilds stared in astonishment.
“So powerful. Is that the ability to transform an entire world?”
“Su Qiong just assumed his Circle Lord form again. His long hair is so beautiful.”
“What use is beauty? If we anger him, every one of us will die!”
Su Qiong remained the Circle Lord for only two minutes before returning the KPI to the four fragments.
Then he told them, “I added a new rule.”
“What rule?” The fragments stared at him warily.
“From now on, all of you…” Su Qiong pointed toward them one by one. “Must merge once every week and state your individual wishes. If you all share the same correct desire, you must work together to fulfill it.”
The fragments looked at one another and decided the rule was not bad.
They happily accepted Su Qiong’s arrangement, although they continued cursing outwardly and pretended to leave reluctantly.
“The Circle boundary is open. You may leave.” Su Qiong ignored the other players and walked directly toward Yu Qimiao.
“Tha—” Yu Qimiao had barely begun thanking him when the little marshmallow hugged him tightly.
“Yu Qimiao, welcome back!”
Several people nearby quietly commented.
“What touching maternal devotion.”
“A happy family ending. Not bad.”
“What are you talking about?” Su Qiong glanced at them, returning to his usual soft, clean appearance. He happily said, “Let’s hurry into the next Circle.”
Lu Shufan moved close to Yu Qimiao and secretly complained, “Little Pastry was truly terrifying while you were gone.”
“Don’t spread rumors. How could Su Qiong possibly be terrifying?” Yu Qimiao wore eight hundred layers of filters and considered Su Qiong adorable no matter what he did.
He followed Su Qiong toward the Circle boundary, only to be stopped by an invisible force.
“I… can’t enter.” Yu Qimiao looked stunned.
He quickly understood.
“I don’t have a bracelet.”
The bracelet represented a player’s identity in IF.
Although Yu Qimiao had regained human form, the system had destroyed his bracelet.
Su Qiong triggered a new prompt.
[System: Once a player fails, their bracelet is immediately destroyed and cannot be restored.]
Su Qiong’s eyes instantly turned cold.
“Then what do we do?”
The system seemed to sense the threat and hurriedly produced two additional prompts.
[System: A spare bracelet may be transferred, or a new beginner bracelet may be requested.]
[System: Beginner bracelets default to Level 0 and do not qualify for entry into the Circles. The player must return to the beginner zone and restart the game.]
Yu Qimiao did not particularly care about losing his level.
However—
“Return to the beginner zone?”
Even if he knew every clearing method, traveling from the beginner zone to Circle Four would still require a great deal of time.
Furthermore, if Yu Qimiao were the only player there, he might truly reach the end of his story.
Su Qiong’s eyes darkened. He looked ready to overturn the damned system.
“Su Qiong, calm down,” An’an reminded him. “There’s another method.”
“A spare bracelet?” Su Qiong looked around blankly. “Who has a spare bracelet?”
The system automatically distributed bracelets. Every player received only one upon entering the game, and it could not even be removed.
Even though Moi and Qiyi shared their lives, they could not play using a single bracelet.
Whenever a player died or failed, their bracelet was immediately destroyed.
The idea of stealing one for Yu Qimiao was clearly impossible.
“Su Qiong,” ERROR suddenly called.
“Mm?”
“Do you want to become a player?”
“No. Why would I want to become a player?” Su Qiong answered immediately. “As an NPC, I can guide all of you. That’s good enough.”
“What if…” ERROR explained, “Only players can leave the game? What would you choose?”
“Leave the game…” Su Qiong repeated the words before shaking his head. “I don’t want to think about something so distant. Besides, even if I leave the game, where would I go?”
Who knew where the end of IF even was?
Players wanted to leave because they had their own lives and unfinished dreams in reality.
But Su Qiong?
He might merely be a string of code.
“I see.” ERROR was unsurprised by the answer and chuckled softly. “You can give away your own bracelet.”
“My bracelet?” Su Qiong shook the NPC bracelet on his wrist. “But Yu Qimiao isn’t an NPC.”
“Not that one.” ERROR reached out, took Su Qiong’s slender wrist, and applied a little force.
Su Qiong’s NPC bracelet slid down slightly, revealing a brilliantly glowing player bracelet concealed beneath it!
Upon seeing the player bracelet on his wrist, Su Qiong finally understood why he had received system rewards every time they cleared a Circle.
He had possessed a player identity all along!
“Yu Qimiao, I…” Su Qiong was about to remove the bracelet.
“Wait.” Yu Qimiao stopped him. “If Su Qiong has a bracelet, does that mean he can truly leave the game?”
Everyone else looked at ERROR, waiting for an explanation.
“I’m not certain,” ERROR answered. “The system has deviated too far from its original design.”
“Su Qiong said himself that if he leaves the game, he’ll have nowhere to go.”
“How could that be?” Yu Qimiao answered calmly without hesitation. “He can take over my company.”
“???”
“Yu Qimiao, are you serious?”
“President Yu, can I take over your company?”
“If possessing a bracelet allows someone to leave the game, I choose to return to the beginner zone.”
“No!” Su Qiong stubbornly stopped him. “Starting over is too dangerous. If you return to the beginner zone, I’ll go with you.”
“Su Qiong, if you return to the beginner zone, it may collapse.”
“Huh? Then what do we do…”
ERROR repeated one of the system’s favorite lines.
“There is more than one method of clearing the game.”
“Mm. Exactly.” Su Qiong removed the player bracelet and forcibly placed it around Yu Qimiao’s wrist. “We haven’t reached the end yet. Even if we truly reach it, there will still be another solution.”
An’an glanced at Su Qiong, then at ERROR, his expression remaining calm.
When the time came, this group would find a solution somehow.
As for Su Qiong having nowhere to go, there was even less reason to worry.
A certain tycoon was already planning to let him inherit an entire company. Would Su Qiong truly lack a place to belong?
“That’s wonderful! Fishy can enter the next Circle with us!”
“It’s a shame that after changing bracelets, he can’t use the Equivalent Exchange Bag anymore.”
“I already understand the game’s patterns. Even without the item, I can still negotiate.” Yu Qimiao did not mourn the lost item. He casually opened the new bracelet and froze in astonishment.
[System: Bracelet ownership has changed from Su Qiong to Yu Qimiao. Personal information is being refreshed.]
[Player ID]Yu Qimiao
[Level]285
[Ranking]1
An’an saw Yu Qimiao’s profile and opened his own bracelet.
Sure enough, his ranking had fallen by one place to second.
His level was also exactly one hundred below Yu Qimiao’s.
For a moment, the surroundings fell completely silent.
Previously, Su Qiong’s player bracelet had been hidden, so his level had also remained concealed.
Throughout the game, he had received point rewards each time he completed a quest or cleared a Circle boundary.
He had always assumed it was a system bug and paid no attention.
As a result, Su Qiong’s player level had unknowingly accumulated to Level 285, placing him far ahead at the top of the rankings.
“L-Little Pastry, where did you get such a high level?”
Su Qiong thought about it and counted on his fingers.
“I killed every player on the server more than once, killed the Circle Lord of the World of Order, completed a large number of hidden quests, and never spent any points… So my level is reasonable.”
“Giving such a high level to me feels like a waste.”
“Why couldn’t you give the bracelet to me?” Shi Yuntian wailed in anguish.
“It’s fine. I don’t particularly need levels.” Wearing his harmless, adorable NPC level, Su Qiong happily rushed toward the fourth Circle.
Watching the marshmallow’s back, everyone remembered that if Su Qiong had not returned the Circle Lord KPI to the fragments or used it to reinforce the beginner zone, his NPC level would also have reached a terrifying number.
Fine.
It seemed he truly did not care about levels.
The moment Su Qiong stepped through the new Circle boundary, he sensed a sinister atmosphere.
[System: Welcome, players, to the world of Circle Four—[Zombie Shanhai]. Status scanning will now begin.]
“What’s the purpose of a status scan?” Su Qiong did not understand, but he obediently accepted it.
Once the scan was complete, a green check mark appeared before him.
The others completed their scans as well and received green checks.
Only when it reached Moi did the symbol become a red X.
“Huh? What’s wrong with me?” Moi panicked.
Everyone looked toward her, unable to understand why she had failed the scan.
The system soon provided the answer.
[System: Player Moi has previously died. Her life is now controlled by the Zombie King. Puppet transformation will now begin.]
Before Moi could react, the red X rushed toward her and slammed into her body.
“Ah!” Moi screamed and looked down at herself.
She lifted her clothes and saw a grayish-blue skeletal handprint appear across her flat abdomen.
Moi panicked.
“What will I become?”
“I don’t know.”
No one could answer.
They looked toward the other players and discovered that many of those who had entered earlier were also undergoing puppet transformation.
Some had entered the Circle long ago. The flesh on their faces had already withered, revealing the outlines of their skulls.
Even more original inhabitants wandered nearby like walking corpses, completely lifeless.
“Will I become like that too?” Moi trembled uncontrollably.
Qiyi hugged her and tried helplessly to comfort her.
“No! Big Sister will never become a zombie!”
“Let’s calm down first.” Yu Qimiao instinctively took control of the situation and analyzed, “According to the system notification, anyone who previously died inside the game will become a zombie.”
“Oh no! In that case, every player aside from us will become a zombie.”
“What do you mean?”
An’an answered, “Su Qiong killed them.”
“Me?” Su Qiong suddenly felt guilty.
It was true.
To collect KPI, he had killed the players again and again.
How could he have known a world like this existed inside the Circles?
Just as Su Qiong began blaming himself, a voice came from behind them.
“Being killed by you doesn’t seem to turn anyone into a zombie.”
“Huh?”
Everyone turned and saw Obey Me and Win hiding at the very back.
“I passed.” Obey Me and Win showed them his green check mark.
When it came to the number of times Su Qiong had killed someone, no one could rival Obey Me and Win.
Yet he had not become a zombie, proving that Su Qiong’s purification attacks did not cause players to fail the scan.
Then a new question emerged.
Why were there so many zombies?
At a glance, many had already completed their transformations, entirely losing their human appearances and minds.
Seeing the experts of the Orphan Alliance fall into thought, Obey Me and Win finally rediscovered a sense of superiority.
“Seriously? You can’t figure it out?”
“You know the answer?”
“Of course, because…” Before answering, Obey Me and Win’s brain became intelligent for once. “I’ll tell you, but you have to protect me!”
Yu Qimiao looked at him with a familiar smile.
“Mr. Obey Me and Win, are you attempting to negotiate with me?”
Obey Me and Win had been schemed against by him too many times. Remembering those terrifying experiences, he instantly surrendered.
“No, of course not. I was only joking.” Obey Me and Win said humbly, “Great Yu, you can just call me Little Shunshun.”
Yu Qimiao’s smile became even more refined, but his eyes urged him to speak quickly.
“Well, actually, the condition for becoming a zombie puppet isn’t dying inside the game. It’s being taken away by the funeral procession. I’ve seen them several times before. They’re all subordinates of the Zombie King.”
Su Qiong’s purification attacks fell beyond the funeral procession’s control, which was why those players did not become zombies.
“Being taken away by the funeral procession” was equivalent to being marked as a puppet.
“Furthermore, anyone who has ever died in the game will be brought here as a zombie, regardless of whether they entered the Circles.” Obey Me and Win lowered his voice. “Do you remember? I killed several players in Gangan Village. Afterward, they remained trapped in Terminal Rebirth and lost the right to enter the Circles.”
“I remember.” Yu Qimiao said calmly, “I warned you at the time.”
“Cough, cough.” Obey Me and Win coughed awkwardly. “But I saw one of them just now. Although he had become a zombie, the hatred in his eyes when he looked at me was unmistakable!”
“So any player who dies inside the game is forced to remain here as a zombie. No wonder there are so many.”
“All right. You’re no longer useful.” Shi Yuntian waved dismissively, telling Obey Me and Win to get lost.
Obey Me and Win nearly cried.
“There are zombies in this Circle who hate me! They’ll definitely hunt me down! I don’t want to die. Please save me!”
Shi Yuntian’s attitude was exceptionally rude.
“We don’t have the time.”
The other players were not familiar with Obey Me and Win and could not be bothered responding.
Only the angelic guide NPC Su Qiong softened upon seeing how pitiful he looked.
“All right.”
“Really?!” Obey Me and Win was overjoyed and nearly knelt to call Su Qiong his father.
Su Qiong nodded and took out his wand.
“But I’ll need to collect just a tiny amount of KPI.”
Obey Me and Win: “…”
So no matter what, I still can’t escape being killed?
