"Those two filthy old rats were obviously chasing that idiot. Otherwise, that idiot wouldn't have damaged my dolls."
The Blood Clan Queen stood at the top of the staircase, looking down at Wang Gang and Li Hai with an expression full of displeasure.
"This is the castle map. In twenty minutes, bring the one who damaged my dolls—the man named Lin Yu—to the underground chamber."
"Remember. I want him alive."
Her voice was icy cold, devoid of any emotion, mechanical to the extreme.
As for Wang Gang and Li Hai—
They were sprawled on the staircase, their bodies almost completely covered in fresh blood, looking like two walking corpses.
Both of them had their eyes tightly shut, breathing weakly, as if they could die at any moment.
After saying this, the Blood Clan Queen's figure vanished without a trace.
Only a few black bats remained, circling around Wang Gang and Li Hai, continuously flapping their wings.
Beside them appeared a map—
And two bottles of recovery potion.
Relying on their last bit of strength—
Wang Gang and Li Hai touched the Recovery Potions left behind by the Blood Clan Queen.
After using them, they finally felt as though they had come back to life.
The two of them shakily stood up again, fear still lingering deep in their eyes.
Just moments ago—
It felt as if they had already seen their long-dead grandmothers waving at them.
Terrifying.
Absolutely terrifying!
Recalling what had just happened, fear uncontrollably surfaced in their eyes again.
"…We finally survived."
At that moment—
Both Wang Gang and Li Hai couldn't help but sigh.
Being alive was wonderful.
"We split up. No matter what, we must find Lin Yu."
Holding the map, Wang Gang's expression became grim.
He never imagined things would develop this far.
A single newbie player had nearly sent him straight to the underworld.
Even now, Wang Gang still couldn't fully accept it.
"What if we can't find him?"
Li Hai whispered nervously.
"Even if we can't, we have to."
"Only by finding Lin Yu do we have a chance to stay alive!"
Wang Gang replied without hesitation.
After barely escaping death, he had gained one crucial insight—
The Blood Clan Queen was willing to negotiate.
That meant he could try to communicate with her.
As long as he paid a price—
He might be able to exchange it for survival.
[This development is getting more and more unpredictable.]
[I seriously thought Wang Gang and Li Hai were done for just now.]
[Yeah… I didn't expect the Blood Clan Queen to spare them.]
[Wait—doesn't that mean everything Lin Yu did earlier was pointless?!]
[Huge loss! Lin Yu took a massive loss! Not only did he fail to kill them, he put himself in danger instead!]
[So now Lin Yu is the only one being hunted in this dungeon?]
...
Watching Wang Gang and Li Hai split up and begin searching for Lin Yu—
The livestream audience once again showed shocked expressions.
No one expected the Blood Clan Queen to believe them and order them to capture Lin Yu instead.
This made many viewers feel deeply sorry for Lin Yu.
"So they really got away?"
Checking the time—
Lin Yu's expression grew heavy.
More than ten minutes had passed since he set his trap.
Yet the dungeon player count was still 4.
That meant—
His lone gamble had failed.
Neither Wang Gang nor Li Hai had died.
Lin Yu frowned.
The difficulty of this newbie dungeon had just skyrocketed.
After all—
He and Wang Gang's group had completely fallen out.
If they met again—
It would be a fight to the death.
Still—
Even if time were reversed, Lin Yu would make the same choice.
He would never submit or beg for mercy.
...
At the same time—
The Blood Clan Queen, who had nearly killed Wang Gang and Li Hai, was now sitting on a bed in one of the castle's rooms.
She was holding a doll in her arms.
"Same appearance. Same name. It should be that idiot."
"So sleepy… I'll let those two idiots find him first. That way, they won't dare hurt him."
"Once they find him… heh heh…"
Yawning, she muttered to herself.
Then she lay down, closed her eyes, and went back to sleep.
...
[Ding!]
[You have received a private message. Please check it.]
"Wang Shan, Li Hai and I just encountered the Blood Clan Queen. We made a deal with her."
"As long as we find Lin Yu and bring him to the underground chamber, she'll spare us."
"I'll let you join, but after clearing the dungeon, you owe me 300 Fear Coins."
Hearing the system notification—
Wang Shan froze for a moment.
Then he opened the private chat.
After reading Wang Gang's message, surprise flashed across his face.
Private chats between horror game players were allowed—
But sending a message of up to 100 characters cost 100 Fear Coins.
Extremely expensive.
Even after clearing a dungeon beyond the newbie stage, Wang Shan only had around 500 Fear Coins on him.
At this moment—
Seeing Wang Gang willing to spend coins and demand 300 Fear Coins in return—
Wang Shan believed him.
After thinking for a few minutes, he made his decision.
...
"Don't tell me all the good stuff is hidden in coffins?"
Lin Yu climbed out of a coffin.
Looking at the potion in his hand, he couldn't help sighing.
[Swift Potion (Consumable)]
[Quality: White]
[Effect: For 30 seconds after use, movement speed increases by 50%]
[Note: Too fast—watch out for walls]
After confirming he had searched the entire room—
Lin Yu finally stepped outside.
Having items and having none made a huge difference.
At least now—
He had a bit more confidence in staying alive.
"Lin Yu?"
Just as he stepped out—
Another player emerged from the neighboring room.
Wang Shan!
"Damn! My luck's actually this good?!"
Seeing Lin Yu appear right next to him, Wang Shan froze briefly.
But he reacted quickly—
A dagger appeared in his hand as he charged straight at Lin Yu.
Lin Yu was genuinely surprised.
He had just shaken off Wang Gang and Li Hai—
And immediately ran into Wang Shan.
And judging by Wang Shan's expression—
He clearly knew something.
The moment he saw Wang Shan—
Lin Yu turned and ran without hesitation.
After all—
Wang Shan was armed.
Unarmed fighting him would be suicidal.
"What kind of cursed luck is this?!"
Lin Yu cursed inwardly as he used the Swift Potion.
At this point, he seriously suspected—
That this damn horror game was deliberately targeting him.
Earlier, he used a Blink Potion—
And immediately ran into the Blood Clan Queen.
Then he found the second side-quest item—
And instantly ran into Wang Gang and Li Hai.
He destroyed the side-quest items and used invisibility—
Barely survived.
Just now—
He found a Swift Potion in a coffin.
And the very next second—
Wang Shan appeared.
Again forcing him to use it.
This repeated sequence made Lin Yu genuinely wonder—
Was the game personally out to get him?
[I don't know why, but it feels like this game is targeting Lin Yu.]
[No "feels like" about it—this is 100% targeting.]
[Isn't this kind of targeted design a bit too much?!]
[I'm convinced now—Lin Yu isn't lucky, he's cursed.]
[No wonder he keeps finding items… the game needs him alive.]
[Sorry, I know he's miserable, but I can't stop laughing.]
...
Even the livestream audience couldn't help but sigh.
Lin Yu's luck—
Was unbelievably bad.
Possibly the worst they had ever seen.
...
"Stop running!"
Wang Shan's voice rang out from behind.
Lin Yu genuinely didn't understand—
Why people always shouted things like that while chasing someone.
He wasn't an idiot.
Why would he stop?
"Hiss—"
Just as Lin Yu was thinking of ways to escape—
A door ahead suddenly swung open.
A pitch-black figure stepped out.
Two blood-red pupils—
Locked directly onto Lin Yu's position.