[System alert.]
Stomp.
Stomp!
Thanh Van stomped on Christof's pitiful limbs, a sense of calm rage bubbling inside as he aimed for the swollen ankle. Oh, he was going to break this asshole's leg off!
[Violence among players detected within the scenario. Hurting fellow players is prohibited.]
"Ruan An! Stop that!"
Strong arms wrapped around his dainty waist, lifting him away from snapping that leg in half.
[Punishment generating… complete.]
Thanh Van was still seething as he was tossed on the bed, Kruger's arms pressing him down to check if the wound would be deadly.
Of course, it wasn't!
Thanh Van wanted to roll his eyes. The stinging pain was already gone. The deepest parts of the tissue were stitched back into their place.
Kruger seemed relieved of the shallow wound. But he couldn't help but frown. The cut had bled a lot, so how come it only cut through a bit of the skin?
[scenario calibrated.]
"I'm fine," Thanh Van tried to push the mountainous man away, but Kruger didn't budge, staring down at him with piercing eyes.
Thanh Van froze, fully aware that he had broken out of character. It would be a given that everyone would be suspicious of him - but that bastard Christof Kunze was asking for it!
As if on cue, the bastard's groans reached his ear, and Thanh Van nearly slipped a smile.
"How did you-" Kruger started, but Thanh Van was quick to cut in:
"Adrenaline."
"…" Kruger didn't seem convinced, but his hold eased, and Thanh Van scrambled to sit up.
[Disease severity advanced by twofold. Once infected, death will occur within 12 hours.]
An inhuman howl tore through the inn as Christof squirmed, the greyish skin stretching and bubbling at a terrifying speed. The flesh pouches filled with blood, draining the rest of him dry.
His spine arched unnaturally, pushing his body off the stone floor, bones cracking.
"Do something!" Thanh Van pushed on Kruger to move forward as he rolled off the bed, pulling the quilt with him. "Drape the quilts over him!"
Kruger took hold of the quilt and tossed the heavy fabric over the squirming pile of flesh -
A moist 'pop' rang throughout the inn, and the quilt drenched with crimson.
The outline of Christof's body fell still.
Kruger reached over to pull back the quilt, but Thanh Van clung to his shoulder, pulling him back.
"Don't…" Thanh Van shook his head.
Slowly, the sergeant nodded, his attention turning towards the rest of the players who had come out of their hiding. Their scared faces had gone as white as ghosts, wide eyes quivering over the blood streaks around Thanh Van's throat.
And then there were nine…
Thanh Van shot a fleeting glance at the pool of blood and squirming white that peeked from beneath the quilt and felt a shiver in his spine.
This scenario creeped the shit out of him - in a good way.
The system was ruthless this time around. At this rate, there would be no survivors. Surviving crazy killers was easier than surviving a disease. At least this was not airborne, or there would be no chance of survival.
The fishing knife was still lying on the floor, half hidden beneath Thanh Van's bed after flying off Christof's hand. The crimson-stained metal winked at Thanh Van under the sunlight filtering through the stained windows, and he crouched down.
Someone by the far wall took in a sharp breath as he picked up the knife.
"It is better if I take it." Kruger coaxed, reaching over.
Better, like how Christof got his hands on the knife, to begin with? Thanh Van's brow twitched, the movement hidden under the matted strands of lavender hair that had fallen forward.
Seeing the emotionless expression on the beauty, Kruger lowered his voice. "You are making everybody nervous."
Thanh Van spared the players a glance and they visibly flinched.
There was no emotion behind those dazzling green eyes. No fear, no anger. If the players weren't scared out of their minds from being locked away in this batshit situation, they could have sworn Ruan An looked almost… bored. The thought alone turned their spines rigid.
They must be going crazy-
"It's better for me to hold on to any weapons for now." Kruger's blue eyes were almost gentle as they studied him.
"Hm." Thanh Van pondered it for a moment, the weight of the knife nice and firm over his palm. Slowly, he handed the weapon to the sergeant, who quickly put it back on his belt before he stepped over the body and made way towards the baths.
Someone let out a ragged breath of relief. Thanh Van wished to sock them in the eye.
What a bunch of fools.
Thanh Van didn't need a knife to kill them if he wanted to. Besides, there were bigger problems to tackle at the moment.
"W-what now?" Hai Le's brown eyes flickered over the pool of blood, his Adam's apple quivering as he spoke. "We can't stay here. He-" Hai Le pointed at Thanh Van. "He must be infected too."
"Yeah, he was cut with that same knife-" the other players moved warily. With the disease severity climbing higher and higher, they couldn't risk staying in the same room with the infected.
Thanh Van couldn't give a rat's ass about their fears. At this point him staying with any of these fools was more of a liability to him. Still, being caged together like pitiful rats, it was best to not brew unnecessary bad blood… for now.
"We can't stay here, period." Kruger's voice called as he stepped out from the back, his gaze dark as he stopped beside Christof's head. "The water has been infected. He must have cut himself over the baths."
Restlessness spread like wildfire.
"We can't stay here or we will die for sure-"
"We are gonna die of thirst!"
"If we go out, we are dead meat!"
"Hey you guys…" Metal creaked as the doors were pushed open with ease by one of the players, his eyes round saucers as he looked outside towards freedom. "The door's not locked."