If there was anything Li Tao regretted before he died, it was that he got Chi Ting involved for no reason.
The closed door seemed to block their way of life in an instant. Li Tao felt the oppression of death coming from all directions and pulled at the corners of Chi Ting's clothes in a hurry. "B-Brother Chi, I'm sorry. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be…"
Chi Ting was still curiously studying the unknown objects in front of him that looked more like wandering souls. Then after being pulled, he remembered that there was a weak and helpless human beside him.
Seeing that the child was almost dumbfounded by fright, he directly lifted Li Tao to the side. Without saying much, he raised his foot and simply kicked the closed door open.
It had to be known that it took more strength to kick the door open from the inside than to rush into the house from the outside.
This was accompanied by a loud bang. It wasn't just Li Tao. Even the eyes of the three people, who were entangled outside the door, followed the kicked door as it flew straight into the side wall.
At the same time, there was also a [F*k] as the barrage instantly exploded.
The paying viewers in Chi Ting's live stream room watched Li Hou's dirty trick just now and thought that the points they paid were really going to be lost. Before they had time to be frustrated, they were directly struck by this kick.
The moment Chi Ting's duo rushed out the door, Xiang Xianwan had still been arguing hoarsely. "What are you doing? Brother Chi is still inside." She obviously wanted to come and open the door but was stopped by Li Hou.
As a newcomer, she didn't have any game items on her. She was feeling a bit anxious when she saw two figures rushing out. Then after realizing, she suddenly cried with joy. "Brother Chi, Li Tao!"
Her first reaction was to meet up with them. Then her steps froze as if she saw something extremely terrible. Her pupils shook faintly. "These… what are they…"
Chi Ting's reaction from beginning to end could be said to be quite neat. After kicking open the door, he directly rushed out with Li Tao.
He obviously didn't find his explosive power just now amazing. He directly threw the person in his hand into the crowd and said concisely, "Everyone, go upstairs."
At this moment, Chi Ting could feel the gloomy and cold aura behind him.
Seeing that they were going to bypass him and attack the few people in front of him, the red stone on his chest flashed. The white beads fell into his hands, and he flung them behind him in an instant. The red mist had been pouring out from the door and couldn't wait to engulf everything. Now it instantly scattered, and the things that came out with it also froze.
At this moment, everyone seemed to feel a heart-piercing roar enter their minds.
An electric current seemed to pass through their whole body, and their feet suddenly became numb.
The whole time, Li Tao was dragged by Chi Ting and felt like he was suspended in the air. He finally had the feeling of landing on the ground, and his mind completely returned. "Why are you still standing around in a daze? Run!"
Then Xiang Xianwan discovered that in addition to the house that the duo had entered, layers of strange red fog were also gushing out from Rooms 801 and 802 next to them.
There was no longer a false illusion of peace to cover it up. The last layer of window paper seemed to be completely smashed by the door that Chi Ting kicked and sent flying. One soul-like figure after another poured out densely from within.
These 'people' all had no faces. Their empty faces gave people an inexplicable sense of staring. This feeling of being stared at by hunters from all directions made Xiang Xianwan's body weak and stiff. She was about to run up the stairs with the others in a panic, but a foot protruded from out of nowhere. She was tripped by it and fell to the ground.
She looked up in a panic. It seemed like the moment Li Hou passed by her, he gave her a meaningful look.
However, at this time, it was too late for her to think about it.
The feeling of cold hairs on her back made Xiang Xianwan look back suddenly. What entered his eyes was a figure that had already come to her.
A mouth full of fangs suddenly appeared on the faces without any facial features, evoking a hideous and terrifying smile.
The blood on Xiang Xianwan's face instantly faded when she saw that the outstretched hand was about to grab her ankle. She was as pale as paper.
She closed her eyes in despair.
There wasn't the disgusting touch she imagined. The sound of something cutting through the air entered his ears.
Chi Ting had reacted immediately the moment he realized the situation on this side.
The beads in his hands suddenly grew dozens of times larger.
The moment the beads flew over, he could see the instinctive avoidance of the things around him. They lightly wrapped around Xiang Xianwan's body and dragged her to her feet.
Chi Ting glanced at the girl, whose eyes were tightly closed out of fear, and suddenly felt that the fresh expression of human beings was really cute. He looked at it more before smiling softly. "It's okay."
Everyone almost crawled back to the 9th floor. The horrible scene they just experienced left everyone with lingering fears.
Li Tao took deep breaths repeatedly and finally calmed down a bit. This was followed by uncontrollable anger.
He rushed over with large strides. He grabbed Li Hou's collar and pushed him hard, pressing him against the wall. Then he raised his hand for a punch. "What bastard thing are you? You closed the door on purpose, right?"
Seeing that the fist was about to fall, Li Hou grabbed it.
The black leather gloves item on his hands obviously increased his grip strength. At this time, in the face of Li Tao's questioning, he glanced at Li Tao in a very bad mood. He was a bit tired of pretending to be friendly and replied casually, "Do you have any evidence?"
"Do I still need evidence?" Li Tao was completely unable to break free when he was like this. He was full of anger that had nowhere to be vented and felt even more violent. "You dare to say that there are no bad intentions? Just now, you were the one who tripped Xiang Xianwan! I want to ask, what good is it for you to kill us?"
Li Hou cursed in his heart.
He originally thought it would definitely be foolproof to trap the two of them in the room. He never expected that the guy called Chi Ting would actually have such power that he could even destroy the buildings in the instance at will.
The moment he saw the exclusive weapon, he completely confirmed that the other party was a bigshot. He couldn't provoke this person and shifted his target. He wanted to fish in troubled waters and let the little girl pave the way for them. Who would've expected that she would be saved again?
He saw one person in danger and saved the other. Was this Chi Ting a bigshot or a fool? Was he playing as a living Bodhisattva in the unlimited world?
Li Hou watched his plan go up in flames twice in a row since the door was kicked and wasn't in the mood to Li Tao. He heard the questioning and just raised his eyes. "Is there?"
Li Tao withdrew his hand fiercely, his teeth itching with anger. "Come, Xianwan. Come here and say it yourself. Did this guy trip you just now? Let Brother Chi listen to it so we can make an evaluation!"
After speaking, he instinctively wanted to look at this reassuring figure. Then he found that Chi Ting was actually standing on the edge of the safe passage entrance in his previous posture. It wasn't known what he was thinking about. Li Tao became stunned. "…Brother Chi? Are there any more problems?"
Chi Ting didn't look back and beckoned at them. "You guys should also come and take a look."
It seemed that due to the rules of the apartment, the red mist that had unknowingly covered the 8th floor spread to the staircase leading to the 9th floor and didn't continue rising up.
In this red mist, the human-type ghosts floated in mid-air. They were obviously unable to leave the mist. They could only 'watch' them with faces without facial features.
The others walked over bravely. They didn't know why, but they always felt that these things seemed more interested in the three of them than Chi Ting.
"S-So… what is there for us to see?" Li Tao endured the numbness and asked in a tight voice.
At such a distance, Chi Ting even leaned forward slightly. It was as if he was very serious about confirming something.
In fact, he already had a very subtle feeling when he was on the 8th floor just now.
The outward appearance didn't seem like there was a connection, but there was something particularly strange about them.
They seemed to be people.
He wasn't sure so he would take a second look.
No one knew what Chi Ting was thinking. They could only resist the urge to run away under the 'gazes' of these things and waited in place.
Finally, Chi Ting gave a final judgment. "Yes, they are indeed people."
People?
These things?
Everyone listened to this sudden conclusion, and their brains froze for a moment. They couldn't understand it.
Li Tao looked at the things in front of him and then at Chi Ting. He was so shocked that he even dared to stretch out his fingers to confirm it. "Brother Chi, you are referring to… these things?"
Chi Ting nodded. He stood up straight again and habitually played with the beads in his hand during the analysis. "There is indeed the heavy breath of a human. The appearance has changed a lot, but it should be regarded that they haven't reached the stage of complete alienation. Therefore, if the calculation is strictly based on the percentage of human measurement, I estimate that it is around 56%."
The analysis that was overly academic once again made Li Tao dumbfounded.
What human breath, what alienation, what human measurement?
Chi Ting wasn't surprised by the dazed looks of the other people.
They were all words from his post-apocalyptic world. It was strange that such cute, peacetime humans could understand it.
However, after confirmation, Chi Ting was able to completely dispel his doubts.
At this time, he finally had the leisure to deal with other matters. He turned to look at Li Hou, who was standing not far away and seemed to be waiting for an opportunity to move.
Chi Ting slowly raised his eyes. The moment he opened his eyes, he directly got to the point. "It doesn't seem appropriate to choose to attack the same kind again and again, right, friend?"
PART 2
This wasn't the first time that Li Hou had been questioned, but it was obviously different from the previous situation.
The reason for ignoring Li Tao was entirely because he knew this person didn't pose much of a threat to him. No one needed to pay attention to the emotions of a weak person.
In contrast, Chi Ting's performance from beginning to end was undoubtedly that of a strong man. This also made Li Hou have to take into account his thoughts.
Moreover, Chi Ting's wording just now was too subtle. Li Hou had only acted twice in front of these people, but Chi Ting said 'again and again', not twice. Unless—he guessed what Li Hou did before.
Li Hou's heart jumped violently, but he stuck a smile on his face. "Everyone's purpose is to clear the instance. I also have my own reasons."
He glanced at the other people meaningfully, and his tone lengthened slightly. "Brother Chi, how about we talk?"
Li Hou captured the panic on the faces of the other people, and the curved angle of his mouth became more and more distinct.
Suspicion was always something that couldn't be erased once it was born in the human heart.
After clearing the instances so many times, Li Hou had absolute confidence that Chi Ting would be willing to cooperate after hearing his ears. After all, at this juncture where the deadline was approaching, no fool would be willing to give up the opportunity to clear the instance.
Chi Ting was a bigshot who had experienced a lot. He should be more aware of the cruelty of this game. It was possible to sympathize with the weak, but it was completely unnecessary at a special juncture.
Of course, even if Chi Ting was really stupid and refused to cooperate, a separate conversation between them would be enough to cause a very delicate crisis in this seemingly strong, small group relationship.
It meant cracks would appear in them, and there would be opportunities he could take advantage of.
The method of clearing the instance would always be the biggest bargaining chip in the instance.
The smile on Li Hou's face grew even wider when he thought of this. However, not even a second passed before it completely stiffened on his face.
"No thanks, it isn't necessary."
The answer entered his ears, and Li Hou's eyes widened in astonishment. "Do you know what you are talking about? I know the way to clear the instance. If you cooperate with me, I can take you out!"
"I said that it isn't necessary," Chi Ting slowly repeated his reply again. His attitude showed that he really didn't have the slightest intention of chatting with Li Hou.
What made Li Hou feel even more desperate were the next words.
"If I'm not mistaken, what you want to say is that you just need me to cooperate with you and arrange for one or two people to be sacrificed. Then the rest of us can safely pass the instance, right?"
Chi Ting looked up slightly. His gaze slowly swept over the three open doors on the 9th floor. Obviously, there were no fluctuations in his expression, but it could clearly be felt that his tone cooled down a bit. "Fan Pengyue, Cheng Chao, and the three NPCs on the 9th and 11th floors should be your masterpieces, right? Putting aside the others, wasn't Cheng Chao a friend who entered the instance with you? You can actually act against a friend."
At first, there was just faint sweat on his forehead. Then when he listened to the end, Li Hou just felt his whole body was covered with sweat. His clothes were already tightly attached to his body.
He stared into Chi Ting's eyes as if looking at a monster. "You… how do you…"
He couldn't understand how this man could speculate on the complete truth.
Chi Ting had always been paying attention to every change in Li Hou's mood. Then a bit of regret appeared in his eyes. "It seems I guessed correctly again."
As a human being, why do such a thing?
Really, what a pity.
Chi Ting couldn't help sighing in his heart.
He really felt sad from the bottom of his heart.
Chi Ting patiently sorted out the folds of his clothes. Then he stepped forward and walked toward Li Hou.
This time, even without Li Tao's warning skill, Li Hou felt a very strong sense of danger.
He trembled for no reason.
He instinctively took two steps back. His whole body was in a tense state. He had already vigilantly placed his hand on his storage space.
Li Hou frantically shifted through the battle items while trying very hard to control his already trembling voice. He wanted to change Chi Ting's thoughts. "You… what are you doing? In fact, we can work together… Cooperation is the better option, isn't it? I know the correct way to clear the instance, and it is only at the last step. We can get out of here together if you want."
Chi Ting had already walked up to him. "I never doubted that you know the way to clear the instance, but it might not be the right way."
There was no longer a gentle smile on his face. He looked down without any expression, and Li Hou seemed to feel like it was a gaze from the god of death.
His mind seemed to go blank at this moment under the excessive sense of oppression.
Strangely, he could still clearly hear Chi Ting's voice entering his ears word by word.
"OF course, I would love to leave here, but I don't necessarily need to work with you. Well, I seem to have guessed what you mean by the 'last step'. Should we make a bet?"
The difficulty breathing caused by fear made Li Hou's chest rise and fall abnormally. He almost instinctively raised his head. "W… What bet?"
"Just make a bet…" Chi Ting smiled. "Whether my bet is right or not."
There wasn't much time left to react. Li Hou didn't even have time to digest this sentence. The meaning of the words caused a strange premonition of danger. He instinctively took out a high-level item from his space bag. However, there was no chance for him to take any other action.
The string of beads climbed up and firmly bound his hands like a lifeless, dead thing. Then he was flung out by Chi Ting with incomparable lightness.
Li Hou was pulled by the violent force and seemed to hear the 'clicking' sound of his bones being pulled and broken. What made him feel more desperate was the face without facial features that was instantly approaching in front of him.
At this moment, he seemed to see Fan Pengyue, Cheng Chao… and Ma Zizhou.
They were smiling and greeting him, welcoming him.
"No, you can't do this to me—! No, you can't—!"
The last words stopped abruptly with a click. It was as if something was being eaten away at little by little.
The heads returned to Chi Ting's hands, and he gently stroked it with his fingertips. Finally, he sighed softly. "In fact, I really like the human species, but it depends on whether people are worthy of living or not."
Under the lens of the live stream room, a close-up was given to this moment. The audience was still immersed in Li Hou's ending, and their minds hadn't returned. Suddenly, the absolute visual impact shocked their hearts.
[Is it my delusion? This Chi Ting… seems a bit crazy?]
[Be confident. Remove the seems.]
[I said that Li Hou was ready to sacrifice his teammates before entering the instance. He didn't even let go of his friends living on the lower floors. He really deserves this ending!]
[He deserves it, he deserves it. It is just that this Chi Ting is too different. He looks so harmless in front of people, but it was actually a pretense?]
[This is an unlimited game. Ruthlessness is correct.]
[It scared me into a cold sweat. It directly gave me a face value crit. This live stream room should be able to develop well in the face value area in the future.]
[What is this sudden character contrast? I must follow him after this wave!]
At the corner of the stairs, Li Hou was already surrounded by the wandering souls floating in mid-air.
There was obviously no contact, but it seemed like something invisible was eating away at his blood and bones. He was melting away little by little in front of everyone.
Such a picture was undoubtedly too weird. Chi Ting glanced at it once and didn't look at it again. He slowly raised his head and looked upstairs. "You peeked for so long. Isn't it time to come out?"
Was there someone else?
The others had long been frightened stupid by such a development. They reflexively hugged each other a bit together and followed the direction that Chi Ting was looking at, Then they saw a tall figure slowly appear in their field of view.
He peeked and was caught on the spot, but Yue Ren didn't show any guilty expressions. He was full of interested exploration when looking at Chi Ting.
Such straightforward and blatant eyes roamed back and forth over the other person's beautiful face. Finally, he smiled slightly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to follow you. I just had one question that was haunting me since I went back last night. I was afraid I would stay awake all night if I didn't find the answer."
Chi Ting met this person's gaze and raised an eyebrow slightly. "Now that question is solved?"
"Of course. I have to thank Mr. Chi for allowing me to find the answer."
Yue Ren glanced at the head that had been eaten away at, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved up. It was as if he was very satisfied with the harvest of his trip. "As I guessed, this Li Hou really knows Ma Zizhou."
From his demeanor, it seemed that this was something more important to him than Li Hou's death.