"Ah!"
Jiang Yan leaned against the head of the bed, completely unable to dodge. He could only watch helplessly as the gleaming, cold silver kitchen knife slashed toward him. He could even see his reflection, as well as the faces of Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng, in the blade’s polished surface.
[What the heck?! It’s over!!]
[Stay calm! It’s not over; this is Jiang Yan.]
[Exactly, hasn’t this happened countless times already? Still not used to it?]
[But you can’t use items in a Level 2 instance, can you?]
[This is Jiang Yan. Do items even matter? Someone the main system’s rules can’t kill…]
"Crack!"
The sound of the kitchen knife striking his skull was indistinguishable from that of cutting pig bones.
Fresh blood gushed from Jiang Yan’s forehead, but the expected pain didn’t reach his brain. Perhaps his body, shocked by the sudden pain, had triggered a protective mechanism, leaving him momentarily unresponsive.
He could see his own face reflected in the flat side of the knife, his features split in two by the blade.
"Jiang Yan!!!"
"Stop!!!"
Jiang Yan heard Cao Youfeng and Tao Shi’s screams, along with the sounds of their struggle against the chef.
But he couldn’t see the exact situation. The warm blood blurred his vision, painting the world in a deep, scarlet hue.
"Die!!"
Another slash.
Still no pain.
"Monster... it’s always you! Monster!!"
The chef, consumed by rage, continued hacking at the helpless elf lying in the hospital bed.
"Stop!! You’re insane! Stop!"
Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng desperately tried to restrain the crazed chef.
However, in this Level 2 instance, with no items allowed and player stats suppressed, the two teenagers found it nearly impossible to stop the chef, who had gone berserk with the kitchen knife.
"Crunch! Crack!"
The sound of the blade tearing through flesh and bone was reminiscent of a wild beast gnawing on its prey, a sound primal enough to awaken the ancient fear buried deep in human DNA.
Jiang Yan’s head was like a bursting tomato. Blood flowed endlessly from under the knife, staining everything around it. Crimson splattered against the pristine white walls, resembling scattered spring blossoms.
Finally, after confirming Jiang Yan wasn’t moving, the chef stopped.
"Jiang... Jiang Yan…?"
Cao Youfeng stared blankly at the utterly shattered boy on the bed, calling out softly.
There was no response. The world seemed to fall into complete silence.
Jiang Yan lay quietly on the bed, his entire being resembling a broken porcelain doll. His head drooped to one side, barely connected to his neck by thin strands of flesh, trembling slightly in midair.
The once pale and delicate face was now covered in chaotic, black cracks, from which fresh blood flowed. White brain matter seeped from the fractures in his skull, mixing with the blood as it dripped onto the sheets.
Yet, his pair of beautiful blue eyes, as clear as glass, remained untouched. They hadn’t dulled despite his mangled body. Instead, they shone even brighter, like two crystalline blue orbs reflecting the room’s tragic scene.
"J...Jiang Yan?"
Tao Shi’s bloodstained, horrified face was reflected in Jiang Yan’s lifeless blue eyes.
Those eyes were utterly devoid of life.
The chef, drenched in blood, stood gasping for air, clutching the blade of the kitchen knife now dulled and jagged from repeated strikes. His bloodshot eyes stared blankly at the boy on the bed, as if confirming whether the boy was truly lifeless.
"Thud."
The last piece of flesh connecting Jiang Yan’s head to his neck tore apart, and his entire head rolled onto the blood-soaked floor.
"Hah..."
A strange chuckle escaped from the chef’s throat. Only when he was sure the head on the ground didn’t suddenly jump back onto the body or sprout black tendrils from the shattered corpse on the bed did he burst into loud laughter.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
The chef’s laughter shattered the eerie silence of the world.
Tao Shi, Cao Youfeng, and the countless spectators on the game forums stared at the bloodstained, shattered head on the ground, finally snapping back to reality.
Jiang Yan… was dead.
[This… this is impossible?!]
[Jiang… Jiang Yan?! How could this happen?!]
[Oh my god… oh my god!!!]
[…]
The game forums erupted into chaos.
Meanwhile, outside the infirmary bathed in dappled sunlight beneath swaying tree shadows, Jian Hou realized something was off about Jiang Yan beside him.
No matter how Jian Hou tried to interact with him, Jiang Yan remained indifferent, his attitude aloof. He seemed to deliberately avoid discussing the game or the dungeon. Just as Jian Hou was about to ask if something had happened, he barely managed to utter the word “Yan” when Jiang Yan’s neck suddenly snapped with a loud crack.
"Thump!"
Jiang Yan’s head rolled onto the floor, shattering into countless black porcelain-like cracks, resembling a broken doll.
There was no blood. Instead, countless crimson rose petals burst from the dark stump of his neck, scattering and obscuring Jian Hou’s shocked gaze.
At that moment, Jian Hou felt as though he had been trapped inside a glass dome. He couldn’t feel his emotions, nor the emotions of the world. He stared numbly at the scene before him. Strangely, his mind wandered to a memory of him and Jiang Yan in fourth grade, winning a porcelain piggy bank at a roadside game. It had shattered just like this.
"Jiang Yan!"
The centaur teacher’s startled voice echoed from the classroom. Jian Hou turned his head blankly toward the door and saw Jiang Yan sitting inside. His head suddenly exploded like a balloon, sending a flurry of red rose petals flying out of his severed neck. The petals whirled chaotically in the classroom, mingling with the screams of classmates.
The headless body remained in its original posture, motionless, just like the one beside Jian Hou.
Then, one after another, more pops echoed throughout the ornate spire of the school building, accompanied by the panicked screams of teachers and students.
"Jiang Yan!"
"Jiang Yan!"
"Jiang Yan..."
For a moment, it seemed as though the entire world was calling his name. In the sunlight filled with floating golden dust, roses grew and spread wildly, overtaking everything.
Jiang Yan was dead.
The legendary NPC who had entered the game less than half a year ago and repeatedly made history was killed in a Level 2 instance by a novice player with a kitchen knife.
The game forums were on the verge of crashing.
[Dead?! Oh my god?! He’s really dead?!]
[What else would you expect? He was hacked apart with a knife like that! How could he not be dead?!]
[No twists… Are we sure? No twists for real?!]
[How can you be sure? The system hasn’t announced any corruption!]
[Level 2 instances don’t broadcast player or NPC eliminations. You need to return to a Level 1 instance for the stats!]
[Huh?? Is that really in the game rules?]
[Level 2 instances are rarely triggered. It’s normal not to be familiar with the rules—many people might never encounter one in their lifetime.]
[So… Jiang Yan is really dead?]
[Not just one Jiang Yan. Every Jiang Yan in the Level 2 instance is completely gone. Initially, everyone thought it was a mistake, but there isn’t a single Jiang Yan left in the dungeon.]
[But! Jiang Yan is a real NPC! Why were there so many system-generated Jiang Yans in the instance?!]
[I’ve said it before: Jiang Yan must be some kind of virus or bug. The main system was determined to kill him.
[Does the main system have a split personality? One moment it protects him, the next it wants him dead?!]
[It must be a bug… The main system is visibly glitching. Didn’t someone mention before that removing Jiang Yan might fix the bug?]
[Oh my god—oh my god… sob sob sob!!]
Meanwhile, in the main system’s control room, a tall man sat in a swivel chair in front of a computer, furiously typing on the keyboard. The blue light from the monitor reflected on his face, and the stubble along his sharp jawline revealed his exhaustion.
As he typed, he muttered, "Damn it… Just kill me already!"
"Stop posting! Stop posting! A bunch of idiots! Can’t you see the program is already overloaded?! Damn fools!"
"This shitty program, garbage! Garbage!"
"Am I some cursed workhorse for this damned game?!"
“...”
He was repairing the program.
However, what appeared before him wasn’t a computer screen but a giant golden tree growing against a backdrop of blue data chains.
No tree in the world could be taller, more magnificent, or more luxuriant than this one.
Countless golden threads finer than strands of hair converged from all directions, forming the trunk, branches, leaves, and even the veins of every leaf of this massive tree.
The shimmering golden glow caused the entire tree to sway, as if it weren’t growing within blue data chains but in a gusting wind.
---
Cold... Suffocating...
This was the sensory information Jiang Yan’s brain registered as his body’s signals reconnected.
When he regained consciousness, he found himself in a narrow, damp, and pitch-dark space. Wet and sticky soil pressed against his mouth and nose, pushing him to the brink of suffocation.
Huff... Huff...
His newly awakened consciousness told him: he was being buried alive.
The survival instinct made Jiang Yan start to struggle, and then he heard two familiar voices above him.
"Dad... he—he seemed to move just now?" It was the voice of the braided-haired boy.
"How could that be? You’re imagining things. His head exploded—how could he possibly still be alive?" The middle-aged man refuted his son.
The braided-haired boy stared at the silhouette of the boy’s body under the damp yellow soil with regret.
"What a shame... I didn’t get to kiss him."
A real pity.
His personal system told him that in Level 2 dungeons, player attributes would be weakened and items couldn’t be used. He realized then that this might be his only chance to get Jiang Yan.
Coincidentally, just after skipping class and contacting his father, he turned around and saw Jiang Yan walking alone into the woods.
His father hesitated at first, worried whether there would be other companions of Jiang Yan or dangerous giants in the woods.
But he didn’t care at all. Without hesitation, he followed Jiang Yan.
Once he entered the woods, he saw it was true: Jiang Yan was all alone.
Looking at Jiang Yan, who appeared like a helpless, defenseless lamb, he didn’t hesitate and lunged at him.
But he used too much force, and Jiang Yan was knocked to the ground, his head smashing into a stone by the path. In that instant, Jiang Yan’s head exploded like a rotten eggplant.
He screamed in terror for a long time.
Eventually, it was his father who calmed down, dug a pit, and buried Jiang Yan’s body.
What a shame. Truly, a pity...
"Dad!!"
The braided-haired boy suddenly screamed.
The middle-aged man was startled. "What? Keep burying! Bury him deeper."
"He... he’s moving..." The braided-haired boy said in a panic.
The middle-aged man, leaning on the shovel, looked at his son uneasily. "Tao Tao, are you that scared? It’s over, it’s done."
As he spoke, he reached out to pat his son’s head but was slapped away by the boy.
"No! Dad! He’s really... moving!"
The braided-haired boy stared at the damp soil on the grave, his eyes wide with fear.
"Rustle—"
A pale hand stretched out from the soil.