Chapter 185: The Old Man's Full Suicide Run (1/4)

To watch was a given; Fang Qi himself harbored a curiosity to see what manner of eerie aberrations, distinct from the original, this system-forged Silent Hill would present.

He had gleaned a fraction of knowledge prior: the monsters would undergoes subtle transformations from their baseline forms, shaped by the shadows residing within a player’s own heart, yet Fang Qi had thus far encountered nothing divergent from the canonical version, which was to say, his inner soul harbored none of the darkness represented by the beasts he had faced.

It was a mercy, though by no means a guarantee that he would remain so unblemished in the trials to come.

Upon booting up the game, he observed that Nalan Hongwu’s avatar had only recently secured the key and breached the threshold of the apartment complex.

The preceding progression of the narrative would yield clues directing the player to scour this particular domicile; Nalan Hongwu had clearly spent a considerable epoch wandering aimlessly before stumbling upon the thread that led him here.

The town was, after all, vast, and the sheer liberty afforded by the game allowed entry into countless locales, a design choice that easily caused unguided players to squander immense swathes of time in blind exploration.

It was evident fortune had not favored Nalan Hongwu; despite a longer duration at the controls, his actual progression lagged significantly behind that of Su Tianji.

At this juncture, the players who had just been huddled together upon the sofa consuming instant noodles converged upon the spot.

"Oh? Gathered in a ring once more? Whose exploits are we witnessing?" Dong Qingli inquired, stepping forward with an air of mild curiosity.

"We are watching Old Master Nalan!" Xu Zixin, Song Qingfeng, and the others turned their heads to offer a glance, harborling a profound impression of this grand young lady who wore a veil day in and day out.

Setting aside that prior epoch when the entire city had boycotted the establishment, it was a rarity to see anyone conceal their visage with such constancy, and more peculiarly, one who so enjoyed seeking out others to debate the minutiae of the plot, which left an indelible mark on their minds.

"The Old Master possesses an unyielding disposition and a pure martial intent; observing his methodology will surely yield benefits for us all," Su Tianji interjected smoothly.

"Is that so?" Dong Qingli’s gaze instantly found Fang Qi. "Owner, you are watching as well? No live broadcast today?"

Fang Qi pointed toward the monitor. "Today, we observe the Old Master’s play."

"Old Master," Fang Qi called out, "with so many eyes upon you, why not enable the external audio? Save us the trouble of reading the subtitles."

With that, he instructed Nalan Hongwu on the mechanism to unleash the external sound; unlike outward voice communication, this broadcast the ambient audio of the game itself, akin to activating a subwoofer—a practice ordinarily forbidden lest the internet cafe descend into a deafening cacophony.

"Splendid!" Nalan Hongwu let out a hearty laugh, surprised that such a feature existed.

Re-entering the virtual reality simulation, the surrounding players could now hear the auditory landscape of the game world.

Only then did Nalan Hongwu mutter to himself, "Yesterday, the Fang lad went to the second floor first to secure the flashlight, did he not..."

"This old man wandered in pitch darkness for half a day yesterday; who would have thought such an instrument existed?" Gripping a wooden club in his hand, Nalan Hongwu quickly discerned a mannequin reclining upon the floorboards behind the flashlight, evidently not yet startled into animation.

Nalan Hongwu advanced with measured, cautious steps.

"What is the Old Master attempting?"

"Eh? Why is he skirting behind the flashlight?"

They watched as Nalan Hongwu, tightening his grip on the club, crept deliberately to the front of the mannequin. "What is there to fear from this?"

"Observe how this old man handles it! By rights, two strikes of my club would suffice to batter this small creature to death, but does this old man require a cowardly ambush from behind to deal with such things?" Having spoken, club in hand, he lowered his frame and meticulously extended the weapon: poke! Poke! Poke!

The expressions of the onlookers turned grim, nearly choking on their own breath. "...!!??"

The mannequin instantly writched frantically upon the ground like a prodded insect, rising to its feet!

Nalan Hongwu had not yet claimed the flashlight; with one hand tucked behind his back and the other extending the club forward, he adopted a martial stance. "To ensure you see clearly, this old man shall grant him a handicap of three moves!"

Everyone's faces twitched in unison; what madness was this, granting three moves!

The mannequin, its form contorting violently, lunged forward, but Nalan Hongwu sidestepped with an agile flourish!

The strike met nothing but air!

Immediately following the evasion, he slipped behind the mannequin's flank and unleashed a torrent of wild, furious blows!

The mannequin collapsed instantly to the floor!

"Brilliant, Old Master!"

"So the monster is not so formidable after all!"

"A fine display of maneuvering!" Fang Qi’s eyes lit up as well, silently marveling that an elder of such caliber played with a sophistication quite apart from the common herd.

Yet, what of the promised three-move handicap?!

Nalan Hongwu coughed in mild embarrassment. "I nearly forgot; this old man was meant to grant him three moves. We shall test it upon the next beast..."

The crowd fell into an absolute silence.

With the flashlight now in his possession, Nalan Hongwu rapidly combed through the chambers one by one, and before long, encountered another of those twisted, humanoid abominations—the "Man-in-the-Body-Bag"—the very first type faced in the game.

"This old man grants this monster three moves!"

"Pfft!"

A direct spray of toxic mist blasted him square in the visage!

Nalan Hongwu clutched his eyes. "..."

The onlookers stood mute. "..."

"Dire tidings! The toxic mist has penetrated his eyes!"

"The Old Master is in mortal peril!"

The spectating crowd finally found their voices, erupting into a chorus of sudden alarm.

"To dare ambush this old man!"

The Mad Demon Club Technique times two!

The monster: deceased!

"Ah..." Beholding another soul invoking the Mad Demon Club Technique so abruptly, Su Tianji’s spirits suddenly lifted into high humor.

"Whew... Whew...!" Nalan Hongwu finally caught his breath and hastened to proffer an explanation. "This old man merely wished to demonstrate the hazard to you all; you must never emulate such carelessness when you play yourselves!"

"This protagonist is far too mundane!" Fortunately, he had plundered some medicinal phials earlier, possessing properties that dispelled venom and knit wounds, allowing Nalan Hongwu to sit upon the floorboards to rest whilst he explained.

In the ordinary course of things, even with a modicum of internal martial energy, or perhaps the physical constitution of that Chris fellow, he could have evaded the blow; yet with a vessel such as this, the physical form simply failed to keep pace with the swiftness of his reflexes.

To dodge only upon witnessing the foe's strike? With such a constitution? Pure folly; without a correct anticipation, one was essentially doomed.

His vitality restored, Nalan Hongwu rose from the ground.

Feeling a slight loss of countenance, he gave a cold snort. "This monster failed to receive the three moves; we shall grant them to the next creature instead!"

"Uh... still granting three moves?" The onlookers exchanged glances of mutual bewilderment.

"Old Master, it would be wiser to fight in earnest," Su Tianji offered with a touch of awkwardness. "You were a breath away from perishing just now."

"What manner of beast lies ahead?" An Huwei inquired, sampling a spoonful of Haagen-Dazs. "If it lacks potency, then with a modicum of caution, granting three moves is of little consequence..."

Fang Qi’s face contorted. "Old Master, you are courting destruction... If memory serves, the next monstrosity is that triangular iron-headed lad..."

"A triangular iron-what...!?" The crowd's countenances darkened; what a ridiculous moniker to bestow!

"Owner, when you collaborate with the Old Master like this, I instantly feel we are no longer observing a tale of horror..."

"Owner, can you cease your jests...!?" Shen Qingqing, whose threshold for mirth was notoriously low, nearly choked on her laughter.

One truly knew not whether to weep or to laugh!

"Owner, your speech here cannot reach his ears..." Nalan Mingxue had materialized behind them at some unknown moment.

"Let us observe three minutes of silent mourning for the Old Master..." Dong Qingli remarked.

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