Fang Yue's hands froze in mid-air while his forehead was covered in sweat.
'Are you kidding me? A poisonous soup? Bloody system! Are you trying to kill a newbie player from the start?!'
Fang Yu was speechless because he had almost taken a sip of the soup.
Dying once in the game would result in the player being unable to log into the game for 24 hours. If the previous character died for real in the game, the player would have to start over with a new character.
Everything would start over from zero. The death penalty was no joke.
If the game tried to kill the player from the start, how should newbie players proceed?
"Big brother, drink the soup." The girl's sweet voice circled around Fang Yue's ears.
Fang Yue looked at her. The smile on her face no longer felt warm or cute. Instead, it felt cold and vicious.
The storm reigned outside the temple.
Kakroom.
Thunder growled. For a moment there, the flash from the thunder shed light over the little girl.
What Fang Yue saw stunned him. The little girl's hands remained extended after handing him the bowl of soup, but there were long nails from her palms.
All ten of her fingers were covered by long nails, both on the back and at the bottom of her fingers.
The noise that Fang Yue heard earlier was from her hands, or more precisely, from the nails rubbing against the bowl.
[-1]
His body froze.
While holding the burning hot poisonous soup, a [-1] notification popped up above his head. It was the worst timing possible.
'OH, COME ON!'
"Big brother, why aren't you drinking?"
The cute voice of the girl sounded like shrieks of a banshee, tormenting Fang Yue's ears again.
The boy behind the girl looked as pale as a dead person as his body quivered endlessly.
Fang Yue finally knew what had happened. The boy was not afraid of him but of the female ghost!
However, with his current pitiful stats and 4 HP left, Fang Yue was certain he was no match for the female ghost.
He smiled stiffly and said, "T-thank you for the soup. It's just that it's a little hot, so I'll drink it later…"
"No, big brother. Drink it while it's hot. You will heal faster! Now is the best timing." The girl looked at him with smiley eyes. She might look cute, but she caused Fang Yue to sweat nervously.
If he died at the start of the game, getting the game from the scalper would mean nothing. If he could not progress faster than other players, he would not be able to make money from the game.
"R-really? O-okay, I'll drink up."
[-1]
Another notification popped up.
[HP: 3/50 (Severely Wounded)]
However, Fang Yue was no longer in panic. His hands held the bowl of poisonous soup steadily, and he looked at the female ghost in front of him with a grin.
The female ghost watched Fang Yue slowly move the bowl closer to his mouth. She also slowly leaned forward, as if she wanted to see him drink the soup with her own eyes.
If Fang Yue had not known what happened, he would have thought that the little girl was a caring person looking forward to someone drinking the soup she made, hence the googly anticipatory look.
However, Fang Yue knew it was the female ghost urging him to take his own life. He calmly observed the situation and subtly stiffened his muscles.
Right before the bowl could touch his lips, he suddenly extended his hand to her.
Before she could react, Fang Yue grabbed her by the neck and swiftly poured the poisonous soup into her mouth.
'Trying to take my life?! I'll take yours first!'
"Mhmm! Mhmm!"
The girl was caught off guard by Fang Yue's sudden action. Her eyes widened in shock, and she struggled strongly. She was unusually strong, which enabled her to push him away easily.
Bang!
Fang Yue's back sang in pain as he crashed into the pillar of the broken temple.
[-1]
[HP: 2/50 (Severely wounded)]
He was not bothered by the pain because his life was still on the line. He quickly switched his attention to the female ghost.
Before he could feed the female ghost the whole bowl of poison, he had been slapped away. He was not sure whether it was enough to kill the girl or not.
The moment he laid eyes on the girl, he saw her scream silently with her hands around her throat. The more terrifying thing was the damage notification popping up from her head.
[-1]
[-1]
[-1]
[-1]
The damage was not high by any means, but it popped up like a reversed waterfall so quickly that the numbers clumped together after seconds.
Slash!
It was then that the girl ripped her throat away barehandedly.
A red damage notification, seemingly a critical strike, appeared above her head.
[-100]
Blood gushed out of her ripped throat, but she was not dead. She could even continue to speak, "Cough, cough! Cough! What?! W-what did you do?!"
Her irritating shriek sounded nothing like her sweet voice before. Both her arms were then covered in nails that resembled fish scales.
The nails were as thick as huckleberries, and when they blanketed her arms whole, it made her look terrifying.
However, her body started to quiver and twitch as black blood started to ooze out from her. It seemed like the poisonous soup was deadly, even to a ghost.
"What? You b*stard! I knew you weren't human at first glance!"
The female ghost lay on the ground, looking weak. Her arms and legs were still twitching non-stop.
Fang Yue was somehow able to muster enough strength to run over to the pot of soup. He kicked the pot as hard as he could.
The moment his kick landed, another [-1] notification popped up.
"D*mn, will I kill myself because of this lousy body?!"
The pot was kicked over, and the boiling and poisonous soup spilled all over the female ghost.
Tsssss!
A dozen of damage notifications popped up from the female ghost, and they showed no signs of stopping.
"Aaaaah! Stop! Stop!"
Kakroom!
Thunder rumbled in the sky again. The rumbling thunder was mixed with the eerie shrieking, irritating his ears.
When the thunder finally settled, the broken temple returned to darkness and silence. The female ghost had disintegrated into a pile of ash as if she had been burnt alive.
At the same time, a white light descended upon Fang Yue. Imaginary music sounded in his mind. It sounded familiar, like some song he had heard on social media.
"The light of justice shines upon the land!"
[Ding!]
[System notification: Congratulations to player NightDawn for killing the Wicked, Fingereater. Rewarded with 10 Control, 10 Load, Lifespan +1]
[Global announcement: Congratulations to player NightDawn for killing the Wicked, Fingereater. As the first player to kill a Wicked, the system rewards him with a Human-level Random Talent, Lifespan +10. Other players, please continue trying!]
"What the heck? A global announcement? Did I just get the first blood of the entire server? Does it mean I'm a pro now? I'm a pro?!"
[Ding!]
[System notification: Congratulations to player NightDawn for acquiring 10 days in your Lifespan]
[When your Lifespan reaches 0, the Underworld Guards will reap your life]
[Please make sure you have sufficient Lifespan at all times]
[Do you want to accept your reward, Human-level Random Talent, now?]
"Of course!"
A translucent roulette appeared and spun on itself. The hand moved through different choices on the roulette. There were all kinds of Human-level talents on the roulette, so many that it was difficult to read.
Fang Yue stopped the roulette with a thought, and the roulette slowed down.
The hand ultimately pointed at his reward.
[Congratulations to player NightDawn for acquiring high Human-level talent, Night Breathing]
[Name: Night Breathing]
[Level: High Human-level]
[Effect 1: During day-time, Control -20, Load -20]
[Effect 2: During night-time, Control +20, Load +20]
[Effect 3: During night-time, highly increase HP regeneration speed]
[Effect 4: During night-time, moderately increase recovery speed]
[Remark: Night Breathing. I am useless during the day; I am superman during the night. Am I a vampire?]
A high Human-level talent!
It sounded great but only during the night. If Fang Yue had to fight in the morning, he would have to put up with the disadvantage.
When he opened his stats window, his eyes widened in shock.
"D*mn!"
He saw his HP regenerating swiftly.
1.
5.
15.
30.
50.
The regeneration speed was ridiculous!
His body also felt warm and comfortable as the wounds on his body were recovering.
[Congratulations on clearing Severely Wounded status]
"So, this is Night Breathing? I'm loving it!"