When Jiang Yan regained consciousness, he found himself tied to a soft bed, his eyes covered with a black cloth, leaving him unable to see his surroundings.
When a person’s sense of sight is taken away, their other senses become infinitely magnified.
Jiang Yan could hear the "crackling" of a fireplace. His nose was filled with the scent of chestnuts and a faint rose fragrance, faintly mixed with a hint of blood.
"What are you planning to do..."
Jiang Yan knew that the "Hunter," the one enforcing the punishment, must be nearby. He tried to free himself from the restraints binding his hands and feet but, unsurprisingly, failed.
His hands and feet were tightly bound to the bed—not painfully so, as they seemed to be tied with silk or some other soft fabric.
He heard a teasing chuckle, and in the next moment, a firm body pressed down on him—it was the "Hunter."
Having been held in the "Hunter’s" arms for the past few days, Jiang Yan could unmistakably recognize the other’s scent.
"You lost, Yan Yan."
The "Hunter’s" voice came close to Jiang Yan’s ear. Jiang Yan could feel the amusement in the "Hunter’s" slightly trembling chest as he spoke:
"The loser must endure a harsh punishment—do you remember that?"
A bead of sweat slid down from Jiang Yan’s temple, soaking into the white shirt that the "Hunter" had personally dressed him in this morning.
For a moment, Jiang Yan couldn’t tell whether it was the roaring fire in the fireplace, the excessive heat from the "Hunter" pressing down on him, or the cold sweat caused by his fear.
"Are you... planning to eat me?" Jiang Yan’s Adam's apple moved slightly as he spoke.
He thought of Xue Dun, of Zhou Hao, and of the other real NPC who had been made into human meat buns right in front of him.
Was this going to be his fate as well?
Would his head be chopped off by this ram-headed monster to make a salted "offering" for the next little sheep? Would his flesh be diced into pieces for the "Hunter’s" dinner? Would his mangled limbs be excitedly torn apart by the "Hunting Dogs"?
With darkness before his eyes and the "Hunter's" dangerous yet delighted aura surrounding him, Jiang Yan realized he might truly die this time.
"Can you make the pain end quickly?" Jiang Yan whispered, pleading.
"I won't let Yan Yan suffer." Looking at the immobile little sheep in front of him, the 'hunter's' voice carried an indescribable excitement.
He reached out and began unbuttoning the shirt Jiang Yan was wearing. It was the shirt he had personally put on Jiang Yan today, and now he was taking it off with his own hands.
The 'hunter's' long fingers undid each button on the shirt one by one, and as he watched the beautiful body of the young man gradually exposed to his sight, the 'hunter' was as excited as if he were unwrapping a long-awaited treasure.
When the fabric brushed against the skin and the air, Jiang Yan's body instantly shivered with goosebumps. He was ready to endure the sharp pain as the 'hunter' cut open his abdomen.
He only hoped the process would be quicker so he could die fast, lose consciousness quickly, and not have to endure such terrifying pain.
The 'hunter's' hand gripped Jiang Yan's waist, and Jiang Yan instinctively arched his back.
The 'hunter's' gaze darkened, looking at the person beneath him as if blindfolded and tied. He didn't hide the almost insane joy in his eyes.
"Are you ready? I'm going to start devouring Yan Yan."
---
The sky was dyed a brilliant red, reflecting in the ebony forest and casting a blood-red hue on the black edges.
Ding Wanyu, dressed in a black robe, holding a soul summoning banner, slowly advanced through the snow-covered birdwood forest.
At this moment, he was the soul guide, the messenger of death, and the guide for the deceased on their journey to the afterlife.
For the players, the "Sheep's Forest" instance was already over. However, as a non-"rule-breaking" NPC, Ding Wanyu needed to remain behind to handle the aftermath of the instance.
For example, he needed to check the status of other system NPCs. If system NPCs were violently destroyed by rogue players, he had to report it to the main system for repair.
He also had to register the transfer of players to system NPCs, such as players who had been corrupted into "hunting dogs" during the instance.
As a "corpse driver," Ding Wanyu also needed to take on the task of organizing the excess corpses in the instance.
He first arrived at the remains of Xue Dun. Looking at the bloodied and disfigured corpse on the ground, he didn’t even furrow his brow, coldly indifferent to the scene before him.
The reason he approached Xue Dun first was that he couldn't understand why Li Xue had turned into Wang Yu in the end.
"Li Xue" was the name of Xue Dun's wife, and also the name of Wang Yu’s girlfriend.
Li Xue was "Bear," and Li Xue was also "Magpie."
But why?
And what about the side quest's result, the one not revealed by the main system? Who was the "thief"?
Could it be that the thief had already died, and it was either Xue Dun or Zhou Hao?
With this thought, Ding Wanyu waved the soul summoning banner in his hand. The "corpse driver's" tool was the soul summoning banner, which could command the dead and trace their memories.
He understood that Xue Dun's memories before his death would provide him the answer. He swiftly passed through Xue Dun’s upper body and arrived at the memory of him killing his wife, after which he was arrested by the police.
The court's verdict was a death sentence with a two-year suspension. After various reductions, he ended up serving only thirty years in prison.
Xue Dun, dressed in prison clothes, numbly cut the buttons in the prison.
He didn't understand what he had done wrong. He had only killed his wife and child.
They were his family. He had killed them in a drunken fit of rage. One was his wife, the other his biological child. What was wrong with that?
Had he regretted it? Yes, he regretted it.
He regretted that he had been drunk and impulsive that day. He should have acted when he was sober.
That woman used him, ate his food, and gave him a few daughters. He felt wronged beyond measure!
She had caused him to lose his only son! She had caused him to be locked in prison and ruined his life!
She deserved to die!
Xue Dun had already been in prison for twenty years, living a numbed life day after day. His mother occasionally visited him.
Her aged face always carried a look of both heartache and resentment. She would comfort him by saying that she had gone to cause trouble at that woman's house again.
She had poured black dog blood at their door, she had seen that woman's illegitimate child, and she had gone to that child's school, making it impossible for the child to attend class, and so on.
They were reluctant to even call Li Xue by her name, simply referring to her as "the bitch."
This was not a name they had for Li Xue after her death; it had been how they called her ever since she gave birth to their eldest daughter. To them, Li Xue was already the "bitch" back then.
And that little "bitch" was, of course, the daughter that Li Xue had given birth to, their second daughter, who had narrowly escaped on the day of the accident.
Twenty years had passed, and Xue Dun had long forgotten her name and appearance, only recalling her childhood nickname—"Yan," "Hua," or "Rui Rui." These were the nicknames of his eldest and second daughters. He also remembered the excited look on the bitch’s face when she gave them their names.
He didn’t understand what was so exciting about giving birth to two little girls.
The day-to-day life in prison had pressed Xue Dun’s inner anger and hatred to a breaking point. He could never stop thinking about how much he could have achieved if he hadn’t ended up in prison.
By now, he would have been at the top of his industry, with countless followers and sons. That bitch couldn’t even give him a son, but surely someone else could have!
What a pity! What a waste! All of it ruined by that bitch!
And so, day after day, Xue Dun suppressed his rage and hatred, hating that bitch for ruining his life, and hating heaven for its injustice.
Finally, one day, it seemed like heaven had heard his pleas, and he entered a game called "Jian."
In this game, he could fulfill all of his wishes.
Ding Wanyu’s brows furrowed as he hastened through Xue Dun’s "corpse memories." He focused on that afternoon’s scene.
Xue Dun cautiously crept around to the back of the small house, but the outside temperature was so cold that he dared not venture too far. At that moment, he felt someone following him.
Xue Dun thought it was "the hunter" who had caught up to him. In a panic, he quickly turned around and drew his weapon—a life knife.
"Who!"
"Uncle, it’s me," Wang Yu said from behind him, raising his hands and looking at him innocently.
Xue Dun’s guard dropped when he saw the pale, weak, unarmed boy in front of him.
He sized the boy up, his cautious gaze tinged with contempt. "What do you want? Shouldn’t you be going back to find my daughter? Otherwise, you’ll be made into a human dumpling tonight."
He remembered that the boy’s girlfriend was also named Li Xue and looked a little like that bitch.
When he first saw him, he was startled, thinking that the bitch had come back to life.
But in the end, they were all bitches. At such a young age, hugging and cuddling with a boy like that—heaven must have had eyes. She deserved to die!
"Do you want to leave?" Wang Yu asked, looking at the man before him.
"Of course! There’s nothing to be found in this house. It’s better to just escape," Xue Dun replied, looking at the blizzard outside with difficulty.
"I have an item. I can lend it to you," Wang Yu said, pulling out a tattered cotton coat and offering it to Xue Dun.
Xue Dun didn’t reach out to take the coat. Instead, he looked suspiciously at the boy before him. "Why are you helping me?"
The boy smiled brightly at him.
Xue Dun's eyes widened in shock.
He stared at the boy, watching as his skull split open, revealing a familiar, delicate face—Li Xue!
“You… you…!” Xue Dun was so scared that he stumbled backward, thinking he had seen a ghost!
No matter which Li Xue it was, he had seen a ghost!
“You’ve forgotten, I’m Rui Rui!” The Li Xue in front of him smiled and softly called out, “Dad.”
“It’s… it’s you?!”
[Memory] analyzed the item information—[Player: Wang Yu, Item: Ghost Mask].
Ding Wanyu was a little surprised. No wonder the BOSS hadn’t asked him to collect Xue Dun’s corpse!
But he had a rough idea of what happened next.
The "Magpie" had nothing to do with Zhou Hao. "Magpie" was "Bear's" child.
"Magpie" had always known who she was, and Li Xue had always known she was Li Xue.
Wang Yu’s item had been used before, but the traces of its use weren’t related to the space item they had seen—it was the [Ghost Mask]!
That meant, when "Li Xue" had left the basement, their identities had already been swapped.
But why?
Why did Wang Yu do this?
He could roughly guess that Li Xue had entered the game to avenge her mother and sisters. But Wang Yu? What was his reason for entering the game? Li Xue?
He didn’t believe anyone would enter the game just because of some inexplicable, completely unrelated lover and risk their life for it.
As a "corpse driver," he understood that life was the most valuable thing for anyone.
At that moment, he remembered the blue-eyed boy. That night, the boy had told him that he had entered the game without any reason.
There were no "obsessions" in this game.
Ding Wanyu picked up a severed finger from Xue Dun and tossed it toward a small ghost hidden nearby, watching. The ghost stood beside a "hunting dog" wearing a strawberry hairband on its wrist.
He now needed to collect Zhou Hao's corpse. Speaking of which, he was quite curious about what role Zhong Yun played in this "revenge killing."
As for Jiang Yan, he should have met the same fate as Xue Dun by now...
—
At this moment, Jiang Yan was enduring the cruel punishment of the "Hunter."
Compared to the arrival of death, the most terrifying thing was the moment just before death arrived.
The "Hunter" was an excellent tormentor; he knew how to make a helpless sheep suffer a fate worse than death.
Jiang Yan trembled all over, waiting for the excruciating pain that would come from having his abdomen split open, his intestines and heart gouged out.
He wasn’t really afraid of death itself; it was the instinctive fear of pain that gripped him.
The "Hunter," however, didn’t seem to intend to let him die easily. The figure lifted his chin and looked at the black satin ribbon wet with the physiological tears that had formed from his fear. He gently stroked Jiang Yan’s cheek with a hand.
"Yan Yan, which part of you would you like to be eaten first?"