Chapter 38: Eating Flesh (X) - Deception

Qisi pulled a razor blade out of his specially modified bracelet and flicked it casually toward Zhao Feng.

"A weapon-type item, and a detachable, assembly kind at that..." Zhao Feng caught the blade, his gaze complex. "You're so lucky. The background of my very first instance was a medieval church, where there was nothing except crosses everywhere."

Qisi smiled, a very sincere smile. "Is that so? I assumed weapons were something everyone received. You don't mean to tell me you didn't get one?"

"..."

Accepting favors makes one soft-spoken; Zhao Feng could only suppress the urge to curse. Holding the blade given by Qisi, he walked toward the door.

He had taken only a few steps when he abruptly stopped, a thought popping into his mind for no reason: If he truly needed to kill someone, the young man named "Chang Xu" right in front of him was clearly the best choice.

He was entirely alone, without teammates, and didn't look particularly capable of fighting...

Qisi seemed to read his thoughts and let out a cold chuckle. "What are you thinking? Do you really believe that with your current strength, you can lay a hand on anyone? On me?

"Even if you did use some means to control some unlucky soul, do you think Yang Yudong would let you off? From my observation, he possesses quite a strong sense of justice and won't allow a black sheep to exist."

Zhao Feng calmed down, the evil impulse that had suddenly flared up in his mind flickering twice before being extinguished.

That's right, there was still that meddling asshole Yang Yudong. He had rushed out eagerly to advocate cooperation the moment someone died, likely wanting to seize the moral high ground to boss everyone else around.

That bastard even policed him for swearing; who knew what he'd do if he found out someone had been murdered...

Besides, the other guy had a knife, and he wasn't entirely sure he could win in a fight...

Qisi lowered his gaze and sighed heavily. "Zhao Feng, just think about it. The moment you commit murder, you will inevitably be treated as a threat by everyone else in the progression of this instance, and they will resort to any means necessary to eliminate you.

"To be so spooked by a momentary crisis that you lose sight of the overall situation, blindly making short-sighted decisions that plunge you into an even greater vortex of danger—I honestly had no idea you were such a shortsighted and foolish person.

"Furthermore, you cannot be certain that the so-called 'meat with a soul' that Axi wants is actually carved from a living human being. To take such a risk only to find out your initial hypothesis was entirely wrong—wouldn't that be laughable?"

Zhao Feng's emotions were tossed back and forth by Qisi's words, completely stripping away his temper and ideas.

He irritably grabbed his messy hair and asked, "Then what do you suggest I do?"

"Aren't you human yourself?" Qisi asked with a smile, turning the question back on him.

The hint was left at that, but the meaning it conveyed was crystal clear. Whether to listen or not depended entirely on Zhao Feng's own choice.

And Zhao Feng knew clearly that he no longer had any room for choice.

To strike at anyone else would inevitably make him a public enemy; and waiting for Yang Yudong to find a solution was like trying to put out a distant fire with water close at hand...

He was quite renowned among tomb raiders and understood numerous tricks for dealing with corpses; his very first instance had been cleared purely through brute force.

When he discovered that his methods allowed him to steamroller even Western-background instances, he naturally chose to stick to his old ways, striking first against Axi at the very first opportunity.

Little did he know that the bizarre game played without sportsmanship, instituting a rule that "ghosts cannot be killed by forces outside the village"...

Yet he was only skilled at fighting, not at pondering overly complicated problems.

In the morning light, Qisi wore a faint smile, waiting at his leisure for Zhao Feng to make a decision.

How pathetic it was that Zhao Feng indeed made the expected choice.

He clenched his teeth, gripped the razor blade in his right hand, and slashed at his left arm.

Blood splattered, and a chunk of flesh was forcibly shaved off, falling to the ground alongside the beads of sweat on his forehead.

Gritting his teeth, he tore a piece of his clothing to bandage the wound on his left arm, then carefully picked up the flesh that had fallen to the ground and tucked it into his pocket.

Having done all this, he unwillingly tore off another small scrap of fabric and sluggishly began wiping the blood-stained razor blade.

It was hard to come by a weapon-type item. Even though it was just a blade with no special effects, it was a lie to say he wasn't tempted.

Who knew what kind of circumstances future instances might present? Without something sharp to rely on, doing anything would be inconvenient everywhere.

After all, crosses could only deal with ghosts, not kill people.

Qisi watched Zhao Feng's actions, which were far too perfunctory, and the thoughts behind them were not hard to guess.

Looking at the latter's rough fingers, he smiled lightly and airily, "Keep that blade for now. Return it to me when the instance is almost over."

Where in the world was there such a good deal?

Zhao Feng looked suspicious. "Aren't you afraid I'll keep it and not return it?"

Qisi put on a show of counting on his fingers. "First of all, I actually have a bit of a cleanliness obsession. To be honest, I don't really want things that you've touched anymore."

"You mother..." Zhao Feng couldn't help cursing, but the rest of his words were choked off in his throat.

He only heard Qisi say leisurely, "Secondly, I am a formal member of the Cherubim Guild. I believe you shouldn't be foolish enough to offend me over a blade with no special effects."

As a player entering an instance for the second time, Zhao Feng naturally knew what the Cherubim Guild represented.

That was one of the top three major guilds, active since the very advent of the bizarre game, gathering thousands of veteran players, all holding impressive reserves of items.

Moreover, quite a few of those people were madmen who killed on sight, the kind who held grudges and fiercely protected their own.

So "Chang Xu" was a member of the Cherubim Guild?

No wonder he could calmly utter those statements that disregarded morality; this was clearly an extension of the Cherubim Guild's principles...

No wonder he had a detached air from the crowd the moment he entered the instance; in his eyes, the other players were probably all dead men walking...

Zhao Feng subconsciously began to recall everything he had experienced since entering the instance, and the more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. His gaze toward Qisi became filled with awe and caution.

To be accepted by a guild right after clearing his first instance meant he either had extraordinary personal capabilities or an extremely profound background—he wasn't someone to mess with!

"Lastly, I want to convey goodwill through this action to indicate my intent for cooperation."

Qisi's smile was gentle. The [Rose Heart] item on his chest emitted a warm, non-scorching heat, manifesting the activation of its item effect.

"Zhao Feng, you are ruthless enough and decisive enough. To be honest, I am very interested in you, and I believe our guild leader is as well. If our cooperation is pleasant, I will recommend you."

Zhao Feng's breathing grew rapid, and the joy in his eyes was impossible to suppress.

He himself didn't have much sense of morality. Although he had once denounced the Cherubim Guild on the forums for leeching experience, deep down, how could he not yearn for it?

For a colossal entity of this caliber to extend an olive branch to him was something he wouldn't dare to dream of.

As long as he could join Cherubim, he wouldn't find himself isolated when entering future instances, and he could even act wantonly under the guild's banner...

Everything felt like a dream. Zhao Feng still found it hard to believe and muttered, "You... are you really from Cherubim?"

Without changing his expression, Qisi reached into his shirt pocket, fished out a black ring carved with a butterfly, and tossed it in front of Zhao Feng.

This ring was something he had picked off Liu Ajiu, keeping it on him just in case; he hadn't worn it on his hand for fear of being inexplicably matched into the same instance as other Cherubim members.

At a time like this, this little trinket came in handy.

Upon seeing the ring, Zhao Feng harbored not a shred of doubt toward Qisi.

Only Cherubim possessed a complete set of technologies to manufacture items that could be brought into instances.

The black ring was undoubtedly a product of Cherubim, and the probability of a newcomer acquiring a Cherubim product through other channels was virtually zero.

It couldn't possibly be the spoils of war from killing a Cherubim member, could it?

Things having reached this point, Zhao Feng conversely felt lacking in confidence. "Brother Chang, why did you choose to cooperate with me? When it comes down to it, I just have a bit more guts and have seen more ghosts; I have practically no instance experience..."

Then he saw the young man claiming to be a Cherubim member reveal a look of disappointment, shaking his head and sighing: "I had assumed that with your intelligence, you would have figured out the connections here.

"Last night at the first death site, Zhu Dafu's indirect cause of death was failing to consume the divine meat in time, and divine meat is limited... The zero-sum game nature of this instance is already beginning to show.

"You, Yang Yudong, and Allen have all triggered events requiring you to find meat to feed the NPCs, and I believe situations like this will only increase. The amount of meat we are required to provide will only grow.

"Yet the amount of meat that can be carved from a single person is limited, and at the same time, the drop in combat effectiveness caused by carving meat is obvious to all. As this goes on, new conflicts will inevitably arise, selecting unlucky souls as sacrifices to satisfy the NPCs' demands.

"After all, sacrificing individual interests to exchange for the survival of the group is an unwritten rule customary to human groups. The collective coerces the individual, using the future of the tribe to whitewash immediate atrocities under the banner of so-called 'justice' and 'morality'."

Zhao Feng subconsciously followed Qisi's line of thinking, and the more he thought about it, the more reasonable it felt.

The reason he had always been timid and hesitant, not daring to boldly make choices that violated universal values, was precisely out of fear of facing moral kidnapping and being pushed out by other players as a sacrifice.

Yes, once someone took the lead in raising the banner of justice and standing on the moral high ground, others would only have to bow and obey...

Watching Zhao Feng's expression shift from confusion to firmness, Qisi smiled indifferently. "I can tell that you and I are the same kind of person. Not the kind of fools who allow themselves to be coerced and deceived by illusory honors and accolades, willingly sacrificing themselves to fulfill the majority.

"In the first three instances of the newbie phase, most people's strengths are roughly similar. As long as we eliminate the few with the greatest strength and form an absolute numerical advantage, we can decide the life or death of anyone and establish a new 'set of rules for sacrifice.'

"Yang Yudong and Allen have already formed a solid camp, and I believe they would not agree with my philosophy. Therefore, the only one who can conspire with me is you."

The evil spirit hiding in the human world wore human skin, its smile playful and alluring. "Of course, as far as I can see, the only one willing to help you figure out a way to get through Axi's test is currently me."