After Yu Deng prodded the dead branch forward, the man's steps came to an abrupt halt, as if he hadn't expected Yu Deng to act like that.
The piece of white cloth, meant to signal peace, was caught on the branch, fluttering slightly in the faint breeze, adding a touch of humor to the tense atmosphere.
Yu Deng noticed the man stop in his tracks and immediately felt that his plan might work. He raised the branch higher, waving it more energetically.
Waaah… I don't have any props or skills right now. I definitely can't win against an S-class player—so this is the only way to save my own life.
He was still wearing his cloak, but the mask from the system space couldn't be used as a prop, so he tugged the hood over the back of the cloak, keeping his head low to cover half his face.
[Oh baby, how did you think of surrendering? Such a timid, adorable baby.]
[So pitiful and cute, hahaha.]
[I imagined a little cat crouching in the corner, raising its paws to surrender—Deng Deng is melting me.]
[Still, I'm worried. That guy over there is a real big shot. I've seen his streams—he looks calm normally but is actually a pretty ruthless lunatic. Will he let the baby go?]
Yu Deng waved his makeshift little white flag, and his worries eased slightly.
Before he could completely relax, the man's figure flickered and suddenly appeared right in front of Yu Deng.
He crouched down and firmly grabbed Yu Deng's arm, which was still waving the white flag. The dark, brooding man finally spoke the first words since their encounter.
"Showing weakness like this will only make bad people want to hurt you more."
—So cute. Anyone who saw him would want to tease him. Even him.
Yu Deng's brilliant idea was dismissed, leaving him a little aggrieved. He lowered his head, hiding his face under the hood. "But… but this is the only way I have… I don't have any better option…"
The man lowered his gaze, staring at Yu Deng curled up in the cloak. A faint, familiar soft scent lingered around his nose.
His expression softened imperceptibly. "Is that so?"
Yu Deng quietly mumbled, "And look—you can communicate with me now…"
The man tossed the dead branch aside. He no longer held onto Yu Deng's arm but didn't completely let go either, instead curling his fingers around Yu Deng's wrist.
It was strange—upon seeing Yu Deng, his usual agitation and aggression seemed to ease slightly.
"Stand up first," the man said.
Yu Deng followed the force and got to his feet, his attention shifting elsewhere. He felt the man's voice seemed somewhat familiar…
Yu Deng strained to recall and realized why it felt so familiar.
A while ago, he had encountered a strange man in the Central District. That man's voice seemed exactly like this one, though now it sounded deeper and huskier.
Yu Deng hesitated and said, "I… I think we met before…"
"We have," the man finished his sentence, accurately recounting the scene, "Not long ago, in the Central District, you were wearing a cloak and eating ice cream."
"Oh…"
It really was that man.
"So… we know each other…" Yu Deng dug into his memory of what the man had said to reassure himself. "You even said you wanted to be friends with me, so you can't hurt me."
The man gave a noncommittal hum.
Yu Deng quietly lifted the edge of his hood a little, inspecting the man carefully.
The man was nearly a head taller, with a high nose bridge and narrow phoenix-like eyes. He no longer wore the stern expression from before, instead showing a hint of lazy indifference.
"So you're an S-class player…" Yu Deng murmured.
Seeing that this top-tier player didn't seem intent on attacking him, Yu Deng's internal alarms eased, and he could finally think about what to do next.
The man spoke first: "You came here from another dungeon, right?"
"Mm." Yu Deng tugged at his hood and replied gloomily, "They said there was a dungeon error, and I ended up here. I'd completed the quest and could have gone back…"
The man's aura was still brooding, but his eyes were clearer.
"This dungeon has anomalies too. The support system said it's under repair." He tilted his head, staring at Yu Deng's exposed chin and lips for a few seconds, then said, "Can you lower your hood?"
Yu Deng looked at the top player, hesitated for a few seconds, and bargained: "Then… you have to guarantee my safety in this dungeon."
"I'll guarantee your safety."
Yu Deng weighed it for a moment and slowly lifted his hood.
A delicate, beautiful face emerged—fair skin, ruby lips, and eyes purer than gemstones. Even just standing there, Yu Deng added a striking color to this desolate village.
The man's breath hitched slightly. His livestream chat scrolled faster than usual.
[Oh my god, it feels like a goddess has descended…]
[A beautiful person in a luxurious cloak—so aesthetic. I'm drooling.]
[I didn't understand why Huo-ge was so patient with this sudden appearance, sorry, I was too loud earlier. I'll act like a dog now.]
[No, they're pretty, but they can't do anything… they only know how to surrender. What use is that?]
[Wait, I checked this player's stats. All dungeon ratings S, reached mid-tier in two dungeons, just finished the multiplayer competition in first place… beautiful and strong baby, I'm climbing the wall!!]
Yu Deng and the man exchanged gazes for several seconds. Then he slowly pulled his hood back down: "You saw it."
"Mm," the man said, taking the initiative. "Huo Yanzhou, that's my name."
Yu Deng blinked. By the rules of etiquette, he should have told his own name too, but he didn't want to.
Huo Yanzhou stared at him for a few seconds, leaned slightly, and whispered near his ear: "Yu Deng?"
Yu Deng's eyes went wide. "?! H-How did you guess?? My disguise was really that bad?"
"Looks like I guessed right."
Yu Deng quietly stepped back a little.
Huo Yanzhou, satisfied with Yu Deng's surprised reaction, felt a small malicious satisfaction.
Who would have thought—the infamous, ruthless Yu Deng was actually a cute, beautiful, and slow-witted idiot.
Yu Deng thought for a moment, grabbed Huo Yanzhou's sleeve, and scolded: "You—you're not allowed to tell anyone."
Huo Yanzhou looked at him for a few seconds and agreed: "Alright, I won't tell anyone your name."
After scrutinizing him for a moment, Yu Deng trusted the man's promise. He followed him a few steps and said, "Tell me about this S-class dungeon."
Huo Yanzhou, unusually patient, explained the situation concisely.
This dungeon, called Yin Ghost Village, was also a competitive dungeon. It took the form of small-group matches. Players acted as exploration team members, investigating the mysterious disappearances and deaths of villagers and tourists.
S-class dungeons were extremely dangerous. Dozens of S-class players fought each other while also watching out for murderous spirits and villagers. In just two days, a group of players turned the village into a war-torn mess, leaving only three members of the "Obituary Bird" guild alive.
Huo Yanzhou's expression became slightly subtle at the end: "There's no final boss in this dungeon, but I integrated the dungeon's power myself."
Yu Deng stared dumbfounded. "?"
The dungeon's power can be integrated?
Yu Deng's expression gave away his thoughts, and Huo Yanzhou immediately noticed his confusion.
The man shrugged: "It can be integrated. But after integration, the dungeon went haywire, and we couldn't leave. This is probably also why you were teleported incorrectly."
Yu Deng tilted his head, trying to comprehend the situation.
Suddenly, a shout came from a distance.
"Boss? Huo-ge? Where are you?"
Yu Deng immediately grew alert and pulled his hood down tightly.
"That's Shi Yi, a teammate from the same guild. Don't worry." Huo Yanzhou placed a hand on Yu Deng's shoulder to reassure him.
"Oh…"
Shi Yi's name also sounded somewhat familiar, probably seen on the leaderboard.
As Shi Yi approached, Yu Deng became anxious and asked Huo Yanzhou: "Do you have a mask?"
Huo Yanzhou complied and produced a fanged mask from the system space for Yu Deng.
Once Yu Deng put it on, he could finally relax a little. The man called Shi Yi reached them shortly after.
"Boss, finally found you. You can control your power now… hmm?"
Shi Yi froze mid-sentence, staring in shock at the cloaked, masked figure beside their boss.
The figure's cloak was studded with jewels, and though the mask concealed the face, the slender and flexible frame made them look obedient and delicate.
Shi Yi clicked his tongue: "Is this… a newly spawned NPC?"
Yu Deng shook his head and glanced at him.
Shi Yi looked dashing even in this ruined village, wearing a floral shirt, like a flamboyant peacock.
Huo Yanzhou explained: "He's a player. A dungeon bug caused him to be teleported here unexpectedly."
Shi Yi clicked his tongue in astonishment: "So he's below S-class? Lucky this dungeon is almost over, otherwise he'd be in serious trouble."
Yu Deng silently nodded.
"Hey, little cutie, why are you still wearing a mask? I'm not a bad guy." Shi Yi circled Yu Deng twice. "Which dungeon did you come from? What level are you? Have you joined a guild? Want to join Obituary Bird?"
Yu Deng silently took a step back.
This guy talks so much—it's making his head buzz.
Huo Yanzhou clicked his tongue lightly: "Speak less."
"Alright." Shi Yi finally stopped bothering Yu Deng. "Li-jie is still looking for dungeon loopholes, but it seems you've handled most of it, Boss."
"Mm, gather as much information as possible before the dungeon is fully repaired," Huo Yanzhou implied. "This dungeon will likely close soon."
Yu Deng listened, mostly confused.
Suddenly, the air seemed to ripple slightly. A few seconds later, another player fell from midair like a dumpling.
Yu Deng: "?" I'm not the only unlucky one?
Focusing, he saw it was someone he recognized—a helpful player from the novice dungeon, from the Feng Deng guild, Zhou Ji.
[Wait, another player?]
[Also teleported incorrectly like the baby? What is Infinite World official doing?]
[@official, no announcement?]
[Damn, black screen!]
Zhou Ji bounced up from the ground, recognized the people in the dungeon, scratched his head, and mumbled: "Hmm, it's the Obituary Bird people." His gaze landed on Yu Deng, curious.
Shi Yi approached him casually: "Bro, how did you get here?"
"Hi, teleport error," Zhou Ji smiled. "The high-level match just ended, and a bug happened."
Yu Deng didn't speak carelessly. He listened for a while, feeling somewhat uneasy.
"Do these bugs happen often in dungeons?" Yu Deng crossed his arms and rubbed them nervously. "If the bug isn't fixed, won't some players get trapped?"
[…]System01's electric buzzing sounded for a few seconds,[Such bugs are rare. Since the opening of Infinite World, there have been only five cases.]
[When a bug appears, the dungeon will attempt self-repair. Some bugs can't be fixed immediately and enter a frozen state. Host, your current dungeon is under emergency maintenance. Don't worry.]
"Alright…"
This competitive dungeon had only one small group left. Normally, it would have ended and teleported players out, but now the dungeon was completely still and had even teleported players from other dungeons due to data errors.
After exchanging information, the group reluctantly accepted the situation.
Once Zhou Ji arrived, Li-jie (the person Shi Yi mentioned) came from elsewhere to meet them. Her golden hair was tangled with branches, as if she'd just climbed down from the mountains.
She glanced cautiously at the two unlucky players before speaking: "The anomaly hasn't reappeared, but villagers and spirits can spawn randomly. Be careful."
The next two hours passed without more mis-teleported players. The dungeon sky gradually darkened.
Yu Deng followed the players, intending to rest in an intact house.
Walking along the village road, he saw collapsed houses, toppled trees, and roads plowed through, giving him a new understanding of S-class players' destructive power.
They arrived at a larger courtyard and quickly assigned living quarters. Huo Yanzhou, infused with dungeon power, was unstable and stayed alone in a small building; the others stayed in another.
Yu Deng pondered for a while and chose to follow Huo Yanzhou.
The man looked a little surprised: "They can guarantee your safety too."
"But I'm not familiar with them…" Yu Deng's voice was muffled. "Even though I'm not familiar with you either, you said you'd protect me."
Huo Yanzhou stared at him for a few seconds, then led Yu Deng to a clean bedroom.
Yu Deng was actually very tired.
He had just finished a multiplayer competitive dungeon, been tormented by a malicious god for a long time, and thought he could rest at the player center—but another dungeon appeared unexpectedly.
Just lying down, Yu Deng tried to stay lightly alert, but soon fell asleep.
Night deepened.
The desolate village grew colder, and Yu Deng curled further into his blanket. In the next room, the man hadn't slept at all.
Creak—the old wooden door pushed open slightly.
On the narrow bed lay a small mound—Yu Deng, curled up, sleeping soundly.
Huo Yanzhou stood at the bedside for a long time, the darkness in his eyes growing thicker, his emotions amplified by the dungeon's power.
He lifted a corner of the blanket. Beneath it, fair feet curled slightly, nails a soft pink, and the cold wind caused them to curl even more.
Huo Yanzhou's Adam's apple moved, and he gently stroked the feet, then lowered his head.
"..."
Yu Deng, sound asleep, suddenly felt his feet wet. He pushed down hard.
—the top player, whose face had just been pressed, froze for a few seconds, his gaze darkening further.
Yu Deng mumbled in his sleep, finally realizing this dungeon really was haunted. He shot upright and saw a figure at the bedside.
"Ugh…"
The figure spoke: "It's me."
"Huo Yanzhou…?" Yu Deng mumbled drowsily. "What are you doing?"
Huo Yanzhou ignored the question: "I forgot to tell you, this village eats people."
Yu Deng raised his guard: "S-So… what does that mean?"
"So, as you can see."
Nighttime Huo Yanzhou had lost his lazy air.
Perhaps it was the unmerged dungeon power at work—the energy of Yin Ghost Village affecting him, giving his gaze a obsessively pathological coldness.
Huo Yanzhou half-knelt on the edge of the old wooden bed, gripping Yu Deng's ankles without letting go, voicing his perverse request as casually as one might talk about eating or drinking.
"Let me have a taste… or… just licking is fine too."
T/N: The literal translation of "讓我吃一吃,或者...只舔也行." is actually "Let me eat, or… just licking is fine too."
However, I find "Let me have a taste… or… just licking is fine too." sounds more natural to read.