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Bonus chapter! Thank you to --- for the donation! ^^
***
Since his lips were covered in marks, Ruan Qing wore a mask and a cap. But the cap made him stand out too much in the crowd, so he had no choice but to take it off and hide behind Qi Lintian instead.
At a glance, nothing seemed amiss.
The footsteps outside belonged to staff members—likely just passing by.
Ruan Qing and the players listened as the footsteps grew louder, then gradually faded away. They remained motionless, lying cautiously on the ground until the sound disappeared completely.
The players let out a sigh of relief once they were sure the staff had truly left. But just as they untied each other’s ropes and prepared to escape, footsteps echoed from the hallway again.
This time, there were multiple people, their steps hurried, even urgent.
The players’ hearts leaped into their throats. Quickly, they resumed their bound positions, pretending to be tied up—Ruan Qing included. Unlike before, these footsteps weren’t just passing by; they were heading straight for the room.
Perhaps because Lin Zhiyan had intended for them to be killed by the monster, the door to the room had been left unlocked. Three staff members strode inside.
They had come to clean, carrying mops and rags, but froze when they saw the players still alive. Confusion flickered in their eyes—Why weren’t these people dead? The monster had been here just moments ago.
Their gazes swept over the room.
The once-pristine, luxurious space was now in disarray, with clear signs of a struggle. Yet there was no trace of the monster.
The staff’s suspicion deepened. Had someone lured the monster away?
But luring it was no ordinary feat.
Though these monsters had lost all reason and thought, their combat prowess was terrifying—even the staff weren’t confident in facing them.
The summoning of the evil god could not afford any mishaps. No room for error. Immediately, the staff reported the situation to their superiors.
The players listened, their hearts pounding in their throats, but there was nothing they could do but watch helplessly.
One of the staff eyed the bound figures on the floor, a hint of doubt in his expression. Something felt… off.
Had their positions changed? Were there fewer of them? Or—had they been swapped out?
The staff member stared for a long time but still couldn’t pinpoint what was off.
It was normal for the positions to have shifted—after all, only their hands and feet were tied, so they could still wriggle away under the threat of the monsters.
As for the people themselves…
The staff member couldn’t remember how many had been tied up earlier or who they were. No one paid much attention to sacrificial offerings who were about to die anyway.
After scrutinizing the scene with no clear conclusion, he gave up and nudged the colleague beside him. Tipping his chin toward the bound figures on the ground, he muttered in a low voice, laced with hesitation and uncertainty, “Don’t they seem… a little off to you?”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it wasn’t quiet either. The tied-up players on the floor heard him clearly, their bodies tensing instantly, terrified the staff would notice their ropes had already been loosened.
Ruan Qing froze too, lying motionless on the ground, not daring to breathe.
Even Qi Lintian stiffened for a split second—though he quickly regained his composure, acting as if nothing were amiss.
Perhaps it was because Qi Lintian had been raised in privilege; even bound, he carried an air of unshakable superiority.
The nudged staff member glanced over but immediately averted his gaze when he met Qi Lintian’s icy stare, as though intimidated.
After scanning the other players, the staff member shook his head slightly. “No.”
Most people wouldn’t ask such a question without reason. After answering, the staff member turned back to his colleague. “Why? What made you ask?”
The first staff member couldn’t explain it either and shook his head. “Nothing. Just a random thought.”
Seeing that the two hadn’t caught on, the players exhaled in relief—but only slightly. No one had forgotten the staff’s earlier report.
Lin Zhiyan arrived soon after.
The moment he stepped into the room, Ruan Qing’s body locked up. He ducked his head, hiding completely behind Qi Lintian.
Lin Zhiyan’s gaze swept idly across the chaotic room before settling on the bound players. Instantly, his eyes sharpened.
Like the staff, he hadn’t kept track of how many were tied up—but his observational skills were keen. He sensed something was wrong immediately, even vaguely grasping what it was.
The numbers didn’t add up.
Was there… an extra person?
His stare lingered on Qi Lintian for a few seconds, but he couldn’t be bothered to identify the intruder. Turning away, he strode out of the room, tossing over his shoulder as he left—
“Use them to activate the summoning array.”
Summoning an evil god requires not only a vast number of souls, but also a large amount of fresh blood to activate the summoning formation.
The process is extremely painful and cruel. It involves placing a living person inside the array, then slicing open their major arteries so their blood slowly drains into the summoning circle. Once the formation is completely filled with blood, it can be activated.
The entire process completely drains the blood of the person inside the array—until only a corpse remains.
The staff knew the detailed procedure. The players, having read books about summoning evil gods, also knew how it worked. But they could only let themselves be dragged away by the staff.
They weren’t a match for the staff in a direct confrontation. They had to wait for the right opportunity.
Ruan Qing subtly watched Lin Zhiyan’s figure as he walked away, a trace of doubt surfacing in his heart.
While he was relieved that Lin Zhiyan hadn’t noticed him, he also found it strange. Just moments ago, Lin Zhiyan’s gaze had lingered on Qi Lintian for two to three seconds—and Ruan Qing had been right behind him.
Logically, he should have seen him. But it was as if Lin Zhiyan hadn’t recognized him at all.
In the past, even just his presence would’ve been sensed—but not this time.
As if responding to his thoughts, the system spoke in Ruan Qing’s mind:
[The Demon's Eye can see through all illusions—and also block all forms of detection.]
In other words, with the Demon's Eye, everything about Ruan Qing could be concealed—including a certain... mark left on him.
After hearing this explanation, Ruan Qing’s eyelashes fluttered slightly before he lowered his gaze, concealing the expression in his eyes.
The staff seemed somewhat disgusted by how “dirty” the players were. When dragging them, they treated them like trash, yanking them by the collars as they pulled them toward the elevator.
In some cases, they didn’t even want to touch their collars—using the excess length of the ropes that had been tied around their wrists instead.
Being dragged by the collar was just uncomfortable. But being dragged by the rope was a real problem. One player, in shock, immediately gripped the rope tightly, letting the staff drag them along—terrified that the staff would realize the rope was only loosely tied.
The staff didn’t really pay attention as they dragged them. In fact, to avoid the hassle of multiple trips, they often dragged several people at once.
One player wasn’t strong enough to hold the rope firmly and struggled to keep his grip. Fortunately, he barely managed to keep hold of it and wasn’t exposed.
However, just as they were passing through the doorway, something went wrong. That player was on the edge of the group, and the staff member dragging him was especially rough. His waist slammed hard against the doorframe.
Sharp pain shot through his lower back, and his face twisted in agony. His hands reflexively loosened, and he let go of the rope—falling to the ground.
The staff immediately noticed the sudden absence of one person’s weight.
The worker turned around expressionlessly, his gaze locking onto the player whose rope had come loose.
“Um…” The player looked up into the worker’s icy stare, his voice trembling. “If I said… the rope came undone on its own… would you believe me?”
The only response was a murderous glare—clearly, the worker wasn’t buying his excuse.
The player scrambled to his feet and bolted, ignoring the searing pain in his waist. The others abandoned their act too, fleeing in panic.
Ruan Qing and Qi Lintian did the same.
Most of the staff were busy preparing for the Evil God’s summoning, leaving only two or three to clean up the room.
Three people couldn’t possibly stop over a dozen, giving the players the perfect chance to scatter in every direction.
Lin Zhiyan had already stepped into the elevator—a private one, separate from the service elevator the staff used.
From his angle, he had a clear view of the chaos outside his room.
He watched the commotion indifferently as the doors began to close.
But just as the gap narrowed to a sliver, a familiar figure flashed into sight—so familiar it made his heart stutter.
Lin Zhiyan’s eyes widened. Instinctively, he lunged forward, as if to get a better look.
Yet at that moment, the elevator doors sealed shut, cutting off his view—and the figure—completely.
Without hesitation, he wrenched the doors apart with brute force. The mechanism groaned under the strain before shattering with a loud bang.
Lin Zhiyan ignored the broken elevator, stepping out in haste.
But the hallway was empty now—no trace of that familiar presence. Only fleeing players darted in every direction.
As if it had all been an illusion.
His eyes darkened, his entire demeanor radiating danger.
***
Thanks to the sparse staff, this time, luck was on the players’ side—most escaped.
But it wouldn’t matter. The ship had no shortage of living souls. If the players fled, the staff would simply replace them with other guests.
The ritual to summon the Evil God would not be delayed.
They had to find a way to stop the summoning.
However, likely because of their escape, the cruise ship was locked down again—this time with a swarm of staff meticulously searching every deck.
Under pressure from both the crew and the monsters, the players could barely protect themselves, let alone halt the ritual.
In the end, many were captured, including Qi Lintian.
As Ruan Qing watched Qi Lintian get dragged away—a man who’d shielded him—he pressed his lips together. Without a word, he vanished into the shadows.
