"GAAH! GET THIS BITCH AWAY FROM ME!"
It took Sergeant Kruger's big, beefy arms to pry the little vixen away from stomping Christof's ankle to dust in front a room filled with shocked players.
Hai Le had hurried to pull Christof away from the menacing beauty, the other players taken back by the cruelty that shined from the sweet cherub face.
Thanh Van's gaze never left Christof Kunze's pained expression, his heart itching to stomp on that ratty face next!
Kruger must have sensed this malice as he dragged Thanh Van to the back of the inn and placed the struggling beauty on the furthest bed.
"You. Sit still."
Thanh Van wanted to make a snappy comeback, but as their gazes met, Thanh Van thought better of it.
The man seemed more pissed than usual. His straight brows bunched in annoyance, jaw taught, lips settled into a thin line.
Any normal person would have shrunk under such a domineering gaze. But Thanh Van merely let his long, slightly curved lashes flutter up at the sergeant - and did as he was told and sat still. Now that Kruger appeared to worry about him so, might as well make the guy fall for him a little bit more.
The sudden obedience shown here seemed to surprise the sergeant, his brow arching ever so slightly. "The rules said not to hurt each other. Do you want to be punished?"
Thanh Van lowered his gaze. It was not like he forgot about it. He simply didn't care. However, the system had yet to hand out a punishment.
Thanh Van's brow twitched. Did the system ignore the punch on purpose?
Kruger let out a sigh as he crouched down to be on Thanh Van's eye level, his fingers brushing some of the lavender strands away from Thanh Van's eyes. "Are you hurt?"
Thanh Van's gaze flickered. Bruises and cuts healed in a few minutes. The bruise left behind by the cane of the plague doctor had already faded away. The pain was the only thing that usually annoyed Thanh Van, but that, too, disappeared once his body regenerated.
The sharp sting over his rib reminded him of its existence. The droplets of blood still leaked from the wound left behind by the plague doctor that chased him through the streets.
Somehow, no matter how long the time had gone by, it wouldn't heal. Every time he breathed or moved, the wound seemed to reopen, unable to scar over.
"You are bleeding," Kruger said, his gaze over the wound that was visible through the torn shirt.
"Mm," Thanh Van hummed. "It's just a scratch."
"We need to clean it or it will be infected."
"Hm," Thanh Van smiled at the sergeant who was studying his bare patch of skin with a heated gaze. "Shouldn't you be more worried about Christof?"
"He is looked after," Kruger said honourably. He nudged Thanh Van to take off his shirt. Kruger had fished their original clothes from the pile next to the bed, holding up a dirty yet bloodless shirt. "We have nothing but water to clean it with, but at least change to another shirt."
Thanh Van leisurely stripped, letting his snow-white skin and tender flesh be openly gawked at. With Kruger momentarily distracted, Thanh Van turned his gaze back to Christof Kunze, a little smile flickering on his lips as he met Christof's murderous glare.
The bastard was nursing his eye while seated on a bed in the middle of the opposite row. The players were looking at his leg, trying to wash the blood with the bathwater before bandaging it with torn strips of bedsheets and clothing.
Kruger had advised them to use only one of the baths for washing. The rest they saved for emergencies if they had no other source of food or water. It should be enough to help them through the remaining two nights.
They had reluctantly agreed to it.
A sudden, heated caress near his wound made Thanh Van's skin crawl, and his gaze shot back to Kruger.
"It looks painful," Kruger said, his thumb trailing the line of the wound that started from the tapered waist and stopped right under the pink nub. The wet piece of fabric in his hand felt cold against Thanh Van's skin.
Thanh Van's body was as frail as glass. The touch of Kruger's finger made the patch of skin turn alluringly pink. Too soft and fragile that it could easily bruise under his rough hands.
A faint blush had appeared over Thanh Van's shoulders, his skin hot to the touch, half-lidded eyes following Kruger's every movement.
Kruger felt a sudden dryness in the back of his throat as Thanh Van's heartbeat thumped under his fingertip. He pulled his hand away.
"Here," Kruger tossed the shirt over Thanh Van, his voice strained before he averted his gaze. "Don't let yourself catch a cold."
Smiling to himself, Thanh Van pulled the shirt over his head when a sudden ruckus broke out.
Hai Le screamed as he crawled backwards until his back hit the foot of the opposite bed. "I-I saw something move!"
"You are out of your fucking mind!" Christof screeched, his bulging eyes glaring at the players who had stepped back, trailing the walls. "I'm not infected! It's only a scratch!"
"Look for yourself! H-he is infected!" Hai Le's hands trembled as he moved to wipe them over his shirt.
Kruger stood up, and Thanh Van quickly clung to Kruger's sleeve, pulling him to a stop.
"Don't. He is infected." It would be a terrible waste for Kruger to die of some infection in the first scenario.
"The more reason to cut off the limp before it spreads," Kruger said, the fishing knife quickly in his hand. The ragged edge of the blade caused the people in the inn to shiver, and Thanh Van let the man go.
He wouldn't stop the man from venting his frustrations- especially when the target would be Christof.
"Y-you are all fucking crazy!" Cold sweat peppered Christof's visage as Kruger stepped closer. His clammy hands moved to pull at the hems of his pants to cover his ankle, shielding it from any prying eyes. "I'm not infected! Don't fucking touch me!"
Thanh Van flashed the ratty bastard a toothy smile as Kruger stopped before Kunze's bed.
"If you want to live, it is better to stop the infection from spreading," Kruger said, his eyes boring into Christof's trembling eyes. "Let me check the wound-"
"Don't you fucking touch me-!"
[System alert.]
[Violence among players detected within the scenario earlier. Hurting fellow players is prohibited.]
[Punishment generating… complete.]
[scenario calibrated.]
[Disease severity advanced by TENFOLD. Once infected, death will occur within 24 hours.]
Oh, Thanh Van's lips trembled in amusement. So there was a punishment after all.