I spent a night that was eerily quiet inside my tent. The next morning, everyone woke up simultaneously at the exact same time. Just as I was about to step outside, a sharp, blood-curdling shriek suddenly ripped through the air:
-"AAAA!! Lin... Lin Kai Ze is d-dead!"
Startled, I hurriedly rushed to the scene. The bloodthirsty Werewolf seemed to have made its move. Since Lin Kai Ze was in tent number 7, quite close to my tent number 9, it only took me a short run to get there. Yashu and Chu Hao Cheng were already present before me.
I cast my eyes around and silently counted over and over again. Strange, there were only exactly 8 people here, including the deceased Lin Kai Ze. So where had the remaining person gone?
At this moment, Yun Xiao Yao (Seat No. 6) - the girl with the fiery red hair, who was also the first person to discover the corpse - was collapsing to the ground, burying her face in her hands as tears of terror silently rolled down. In front of her lay Lin Kai Ze's body. He had been brutally mauled. A precise bite mark was visible right on his carotid artery, causing the victim to die instantly without any chance to resist.
Guo Xie Ruo ( Seat No. 4), a young girl around 14-15 years old, stepped closer and gently comforted her:
-"Did you know him?"
Yun Xiao Yao raised her tear-stained face to look at the girl:
-"Yeah... He was my younger brother. Who are you?"
-"My name is Guo Xie Ruo, you can call me Ruo Ruo."
As Guo Xie Ruo spoke, she reached out to remove a fallen leaf from Yun Xiao Yao's hair, then continued:
-"Sister, shall we go over to the meeting table and sit down for a bit? Your feet are completely covered in dirt. I brought some water with me, why don't you have some?"
-"Thank you. But... I don't want to leave my brother lying here all alone."
At this point, Guang Jun Ning - Seat No. 8 suddenly spoke up:
-"Everyone, let's work together to move this body. Let's lay him to rest... so he can find peace."
Chu Hao Cheng and I immediately stepped in to lend them a hand, helping to carry the body to another location for burial. But right at that moment, the Game Master abruptly leaped down from a tree, blocking our path:
-"Oh, what miserable fates. Hand it over to me, I have a way to make this soul rest in peace."
Yun Xiao Yao, the red-haired girl and also the sister of the deceased, still asked back with some hesitation:
-"Are you sure?"
The Game Master smirked slightly:
-"What? Do I look that untrustworthy?"
Left with no choice, everyone had to hand the corpse over to the Game Master to take away. We watched as he scooped up Lin Kai Ze's body, sprung up onto a high tree branch, and swiftly swung from one limb to another until he completely vanished from sight.
Yashu also walked over to comfort the sister. I looked at her - as expected, she still possessed that gentle and kind nature. Well, it was best to let the women talk and soothe each other.
Afterwards, we headed toward the round table to prepare for the voting session. As soon as we settled down a bit, I spoke up:
-"Wait, we seem to be missing one person."
Hearing my words, a few people around also immediately noticed the abnormality. I directed my gaze toward tent number 3 and continued:
-"Mo Feng Yan - Seat No. 3 still hasn't woken up yet."
-"Oh right, someone died this morning so everyone was grieving, we almost forgot about him. Brother, you have quite a sharp memory, don't you? I recall you and Mo Feng Yan didn't seem to know each other, right?" Zhou Jing Nian - Seat No. 2 asked suspiciously.
-"Yes, that's true, we don't know each other. It's just a personal habit of mine to pay special attention to everyone's names and positions." I calmly replied.
-"That guy, for some reason he still hasn't managed to wake up on time. Should we head back to the tent to check on him?" Zhou Jing Nian hesitated.
Just as we were planning to split into a small group to go wake that guy up, the group of girls walking ahead suddenly shrieked in absolute horror:
-"AAAA!! T-There's a ghost!"
I quickly rushed over, and in an instant, my pupils contracted out of sheer terror. The corpse of the man who had died on the first night - the one who should have been torn into a pile of minced meat by the Game Master's pack of hounds - was now patched up, crudely stitched back together with rough needlework. The corpse was securely bound to a large tree branch, hanging suspended just like a scarecrow made of real human flesh.
The Game Master suddenly appeared on the treetop, bursting into laughter:
-"Ta-da! This is the 'masterpiece' that I painstakingly stayed up all night to create. Isn't it fascinating?"
Guang Jun Ning - Seat No. 8 could not contain his fear, blurting out:
-"You almost gave me a fucking heart attack! Fascinating my ass!"
Right after speaking, as if suddenly snapping back to his senses, he hurriedly covered his mouth tightly with his hand.
The Game Master looked down from above. Everyone thought he would fly into a furious rage for being insulted, but on the contrary, he only burst out into delighted laughter:
-"Hahaha! This is exactly the reaction I wanted to see! I am highly satisfied with this panic of yours. My hobby of making straw scarecrows finally has someone who knows how to appreciate it!"
Everyone had a stomach full of questions alongside a chilling sensation running down their spines, yet no one dared to utter a single word before this insane Game Master. Only Yun Xiao Yao - the sister of the person who had just died last night - could not suppress her anger, she screamed out:
-"Where did you take my brother's body??? Are you planning to turn Lin Kai Ze into a hideous scarecrow like that too?!"
The Game Master gently rubbed his forehead, his tone expressing exasperation:
-"Rest assured, young lady! I only turn corpses that have been chopped into minced pieces into scarecrows; as for your brother, I will give him a proper burial. It's just... who gave you the nerve to shout at my face like that, huh?"
His gaze suddenly darkened. Yun Xiao Yao clenched her fists tightly, forcing down the surging rage and fear inside her, trying to maintain as calm a face as possible:
-"My apologies, Lord Game Master."
-"Very good! Now everyone, please settle into your positions." The Game Master lifted his face to the sky, shouting out imperiously.
Everyone had to suppress their utter dread regarding that scarecrow made of human flesh and walked quickly toward their seats. As I passed by the scarecrow, my nostrils twitched as I caught a strong, pungent scent of blood - this was clearly the smell of fresh blood. I took a close look at the corpse's clothing; it had clearly just been mixed with many unfamiliar bloodstains that hadn't had time to dry yet.
I silently memorized this abnormal detail in my head, then quietly took my seat.
Only by this time did Seat No. 3 - Mo Feng Yan amble out from his tent and walk toward us:
-"Good morning, everyone!"
He waved his hand cheerfully, but then suddenly froze when he spotted the scarecrow made from a human corpse dangling from the tree branch:
-"Oh, why is there a human corpse hanging up there?!"
His terrified expression looked incredibly fake; one glance was enough to tell he was putting on an act. However, under these circumstances, no one was in the mood to speak up and expose him.
Waiting for Mo Feng Yan to settle into his seat, the Game Master now stood up straight, raising both hands high in a highly overbearing manner. Just as he was about to make a grand, forceful speech, the voice of Seat No. 2 - Zhou Jing Nian suddenly cut him off:
-"How much time do we have to vote?"
The Game Master's expression immediately darkened with intense irritation. Judging by his demeanor, it looked as though he might leap down the next second to strangle the person who had just dared to interrupt him:
-"That is exactly what I was planning to say!"
The Game Master glared sideways, clicking his tongue in annoyance:
-"Why is it you again, huh? Fine, I've made up my mind. From now on, I will give you a new name, called: The Guy Who Asks Too Much. How about that, do you like it?"