HM Chapter 31

The room prepared by the butler was quite satisfactory—though, in such a high-risk scenario, players really couldn't afford to be too picky.

The players didn't sleep soundly, even though their bodies sank into soft mattresses and their heads rested on clean, white goose-down pillows. Their minds were unusually active, continuously recalling everything they had experienced in the game and a particular vivid figure.

The bedside lamp cast a warm glow, illuminating the calm night. Aside from the occasional sound of snow tapping against the window, there was no other noise.

Yuan Yuxue didn't turn on the bedside lamp.

He lay flat, and although he didn't need sleep to replenish his energy, he habitually closed his eyes, his breathing even and light, as if he had truly fallen into a deep, unsuspecting sleep.

A sudden flash of lightning outside the villa lit up the sky as bright as day, and after a delay of five seconds, the thunder roared, startling many players who were resting with their eyes closed.

"What's going on?" Someone mumbled, looking out the window, "Such a big thunder, don't scare... people (us)."

Yuan Yuxue opened his eyes and sat up.

It wasn't out of fear of the thunder; he got up and pushed open the window. Tiny snowflakes drifted in from outside. From the high vantage point, he could see the gloomy darkness outside the villa, with shadowy figures gathering below, as if something was attracting those strange beings to hover nearby.

Yuan Yuxue frowned.

At the same moment, on the rooftop of the villa.

Andre didn't know how long he had been standing there. His shoulders, hair tips, and knees were covered in a layer of snow, his face seemingly frozen, his entire being like an ice-carved doll. His golden eyes now glowed with an eerie red.

He was going to end it all.

This was the only thought left in Andre's mind.

He had paid enough. The endless, prolonged suffering should also come to an end.

Andre thought, why had he never realized that he could end the deal, break free from the rules, and finally achieve a peaceful, undefiled death?

A sudden thought emerged in his mind.

—The "cognitive suggestion" was taught to him by "it."

An unprecedented resistance and struggle surged within him, the obsession in his mind growing stronger. Andre took another step forward on the rooftop, a manic smile on his face.

He heard "its" command.

But unlike before, Andre didn't obediently comply. He looked somewhere with his blood-red eyes, tilting his head, questioning it like an innocent young master unaware of the world: "But the rules tell me the deal will end one day. Are you denying the rules?"

A silent confrontation.

After a moment of listening, Andre spoke: "I refuse."

"A thousand years, a hundred years, ten years, I refuse." He looked at the sky illuminated by lightning, clouds floating, and repeated almost indifferently: "I regret it."

This was not a response to "it."

During the game, Yuan Yuxue had asked him with a serious expression:

"Do you regret making that deal?"

Andre didn't answer then.

But now, through time and space, through the blowing snow and thunder, he responded to Yuan Yuxue's question, his last words left for this game.

He regretted it.

Andre stepped out of the villa's boundaries and was instantly devoured by the rules.

...

—This was the first NPC to ever defect from the game!

The villa space, maintained by Andre's power, began to destabilize rapidly. The game lost its source of power and started consuming other forces to maintain stability.

Order was disrupted, space was collapsing, and the game fell into an unprecedented state of chaos.

For the players, even if they didn't immediately realize what was happening, they soon received a system alert.

The mission panel forcibly popped up, startling the resting players out of bed.

Usually, this indicated a new main mission.

What had Andre done now?

They looked at the panel with grim faces.

The original [Game: Prank] had disappeared, replaced by blank text that confused the players.

What's going on? Can the mission system also have bugs?

After a few refreshes, the text finally appeared, but what they saw made the players' faces go pale with shock and confusion.

It would have been better if it hadn't refreshed at all!

[Game: Prank (Updating)

Mission objective disappeared, game world collapsing. Please survive until the update is complete.

Main Mission: Special Mission in Progress]

It was rumored that games with special missions above S-rank offered rich rewards, but encountering one was definitely bad news.

Because its more famous rumor was that the survival rate was below 0.01%.

The players stared at the mission panel.

They quickly left their rooms, meeting in the hallway to discuss.

"What's going on?" asked Glasses. "I've never encountered something like this. Captain, you should have more experience. What does game collapse mean?"

Captain calmly withdrew his gaze.

Yuan Yuxue seemed to have lain down for a while, his clothes slightly wrinkled, the collar slipping down a bit, revealing pale skin.

"Unfortunately, I haven't encountered it either."

"It's not just that I've never encountered it," Rabbit said, rubbing her temples. "I've never even seen such a situation on the forums—what kind of game is this unstable?"

Even without experience, seeing the special mission made it clear how dire the situation was.

Before Rabbit could finish speaking, Captain suddenly moved forward, killing a monster hanging from the ceiling.

The stench of blood filled the air, making them want to vomit. Captain frowned slightly, didn't have time to kick the monster away, and pointed his weapon down the hallway.

At the staircase, countless broken corpses climbed up, some clinging to the ceiling, crawling like insects.

Normally, players had seen many such monsters, but they were still taken aback by the sheer number of them.

"Damn..." Curly cursed but held back, maintaining his image. "What the hell are these things?"

"Let's go downstairs," Captain said.

The danger alert level was triggered to the maximum, Yuan Yuxue switched from standby to combat mode, scanning the surroundings silently.

Captain's wrist was grabbed.

He stiffened slightly, turning back to look at Yuan Yuxue with a puzzled expression.

"Be careful," Yuan Yuxue said. "There are more monsters downstairs."

Countless ghosts occupied the villa, surging upward restlessly.

With the game collapsing, all the ghosts were released, no longer bound by rules or conditions, only driven by the sweet, enticing scent of living flesh and blood.

They not only had to face countless sealed ghosts within the villa but also countless attracted spirits outside.

They couldn't stay in the villa; they'd become trapped prey, drawing more predators.

The only path to survival was to fight their way out of the villa through a perilous, bloody route.

Captain's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and he said, "I understand."

Curly's stamina had almost recovered, and he could use his talent again.

His talent was convenient for clearing paths, burning all ghosts within range.

But walking through the flames was dangerous, often scorching clothes. The residual embers loved to jump onto Curly's head, which he angrily patted out.

Others looked at his slightly singed hair, hesitant to speak—

Is that how you got your curly hair?

Of course, considering they relied on Curly now, no one said it out loud.

But Curly's talent had limited endurance, and Captain replaced him after pushing him to the limit.

In games, talents were always the bane of ghosts, and Captain's talent, a lightning element on par with fire, was highly suppressive.

When Captain's talent was revealed, some recognized him as a top player from the forums.

Such special talents were rare.

Lightning struck precisely, turning ghosts to ash, cleaner than Curly's flames.

But there were too many of them.

The sheer density of ghosts almost collapsed the floor, with some slipping through to attack. In the end, Curly joined Captain, clearing a safe path together.

Facing a 0.01% survival rate special mission, the players were forced into a tightly-knit team. In such danger, hiding abilities was pointless.

Glasses silently removed his glasses, and the ghosts he stared at were bound by invisible chains, immobilized and easy to kill. Rabbit's talent was less clear, but the ghosts exploded from within, creating a bloody mess. She used it reluctantly, hating the gore.

Even so, some ghosts broke through their defenses. Luckily, the others were alert, using tools to eliminate them.

Veteran players had gained quick reflexes and physical fitness through game experience, and plenty of tools as capital. Meanwhile, as a newcomer, Yuan Yuxue's movements were conspicuous.

Skirt held Yuan Yuxue back, seriously saying, "It's dangerous ahead, don't go too far forward."

Curly, ever alert, threw a fireball while talking to Yuan Yuxue, "Hey, be careful."

"Stay behind, I'll protect you."

Yuan Yuxue: "…??"

Deprived of his energy weapon and forced to fight hand-to-hand, Yuan Yuxue fell silent.