But the blade He Wuning had prepared never got the chance to strike.
Yi Luo grabbed him by the collar, trying to pull him back—but the ghosts behind them surged forward aggressively. Judging by the density of their attacks, if Yi Luo insisted on standing there and tanking it, his HP would likely be wiped out on the spot.
He had no choice but to step forward, willingly entering the trap, and fell together with He Wuning into the small, indistinct room beyond.
He Wuning was pulled solidly into his arms. Before he could protest, the world spun—and Yi Luo flipped their positions mid-fall.
Yi Luo’s back hit the ground with a dull thud, shielding He Wuning in his embrace.
He Wuning: “……”
He had already recovered from the earlier attack. His icy limbs were moving again, and his HP was still relatively healthy—but he was still slightly dazed.
Yi Luo was holding him tightly. For a brief moment, He Wuning wavered between telling him to let go or asking if he was hurt—and lost the initiative.
Yi Luo had already scrambled upright and asked first, “You okay?”
He Wuning could only nod passively. But Yi Luo wasn’t satisfied with that answer and immediately grabbed him, checking him over from head to toe.
If He Wuning had a tail, it would’ve puffed up under all that rough handling.
He backed away while speaking. “I’m fine. Let go.”
Yi Luo didn’t release him. Instead, he pushed further, raising an eyebrow. “Even if something’s wrong, you wouldn’t admit it. I still think something’s off…”
He reached out and pressed a finger against He Wuning’s lips. “Why are they so pale?”
He Wuning leaned back slightly. “That’s just how I look.”
“Who are you trying to fool?” Yi Luo raised a brow. “Like I haven’t been paying attention to—”
He cut himself off abruptly, as if realizing he’d let something slip.
He Wuning: “……”
“Ahem.” Yi Luo cleared his throat awkwardly. “I mean, I’ve seen before.”
He Wuning didn’t respond. He turned his gaze to survey the room’s layout and glanced at the glaring “Curse” debuff beneath his status bar.
Curse: You have drawn the attention of non-human entities. You will appear paler, feel depressed, weak in the limbs, cold in body temperature, and generally unwell. Don’t worry, it’s not fatal—unless you are attacked by ghost-type abilities.
Under “Curse,” ghost-type damage is multiplied by ten.
He Wuning: “……”
In other words, on this Ghost Island, he was now like a porcelain doll—fragile at the slightest touch.
He sighed, glanced at his remaining 280 HP, and reached into his inventory for restorative milk tea. Then his expression froze as he watched his HP tick down to 270 before his eyes.
He hesitated before asking Yi Luo, “Are you losing HP?”
“Huh? Yeah.” Yi Luo didn’t seem particularly concerned. He was examining the room for mechanisms. “This should be Ghost Island’s ‘trap room.’ I checked—looks like 1 point of damage every three seconds. My HP can last three or four hours, no problem.”
He chuckled. “But with your 400-something HP, that might be a bit tricky. Keep an eye on it and top up when needed.”
He Wuning didn’t smile.
Yi Luo glanced back, puzzled. He Wuning wasn’t even correcting him about his HP being well over 400 now…
“There’s bad news,” He Wuning said seriously.
Yi Luo’s brows furrowed. “What is it?”
He showed him the debuff and corrected him at the same time. “My HP is 660 now, but…”
“But you won’t last three minutes in this damned room.” Yi Luo’s expression darkened as well. “Hurry and heal up first. Just looking at your HP bar makes me nervous.”
He turned abruptly. “I’ll find a way out. A trap room in a game definitely has an exit!”
An inexplicable irritation rose in He Wuning—like he was the one dragging them down. He looked around the room. It wasn’t that there was no way out—there were too many. Every wall had a door.
His body felt uncomfortable. His head swam faintly. He wasn’t sure if it was the damned debuff, but not only did he feel listless, his complexion looked worse than usual.
“He Wuning.”
Yi Luo called his name. He Wuning seemed startled, eyes widening briefly before he responded in a low voice after a beat. “Hm?”
Yi Luo could clearly tell something was wrong with his state. He tried to shift the mood. “Hey, the atmosphere in here sucks. We can’t just search in silence. Let’s chat while we look for clues.”
“If we can’t find anything, we’ll just pick a direction and go.”
“Do I look like someone who knows how to chat?” He Wuning didn’t really want to respond—but he understood Yi Luo’s intention. He could gauge his condition through how he spoke.
He Wuning’s brows were tightly knit. Everywhere he looked seemed like it might be hiding something.
Yi Luo stood up. “Bad news: I knocked on every surface in here. No hidden doors.”
“But good news: I asked Ji Ou to help pick a direction. We’re heading west.”
He Wuning didn’t move. “I can’t tell east from west.”
Yi Luo paused and carefully asked, “You’ve never been able to tell, or you’re too dizzy right now?”
He Wuning looked at him expressionlessly.
Yi Luo nodded in understanding. “Got it. Never could.”
He extended a hand. “Let’s go. I’ll lead.”
He Wuning kept a straight face. “Do we have to hold hands?”
“We don’t have to.” Yi Luo was surprisingly agreeable. “You can just grab the back of my shirt. When I was little, I always wanted a younger sibling. I’d take them everywhere, and they’d cling pitifully to my shirt hem…”
He Wuning wordlessly grabbed his hand.
Yi Luo tightened his grip and gave it a small shake, smiling with a hint of smugness. “See? Should’ve listened earlier.”
He Wuning didn’t reply, but Yi Luo continued anyway. “Why is your hand so cold?”
“That’s just how it is.” He Wuning sounded uninterested—but the fact that he was still answering at all was already generous.
Yi Luo led him west, checking with Ji Ou from time to time to confirm their direction. After exhausting small talk about the weather, food, complexion, and whatever else he could think of, he paused and glanced sideways at He Wuning.
They had walked less than ten minutes, and He Wuning had already replenished his status several times. The problem was, those recovery items didn’t seem to improve his spirits at all—his movements were noticeably slower than at the start.
Softening his tone, Yi Luo asked, “Are you cold?”
He Wuning lifted his eyelids slightly and shook his head. “Not cold. Just weak.”
Yi Luo gave a wry smile and tightened his grip on his hand, hoping at least some of his body heat would transfer over. He scanned their surroundings and continued westward, then quietly asked a question he’d been hesitating over for a while: “Outside just now… the girl that the Prankster Ghost turned into—who was she?”
“It’s rare to see you hesitate before striking someone down.”
He sneaked a glance at He Wuning, pretending not to care. “Just asking. Figured I’d ask something that makes you use your brain.”
He Wuning looked at him, and Yi Luo had the distinct feeling that his thoughts had been seen through.
He Wuning withdrew his gaze and said, “An old teammate.”
Yi Luo’s ears perked up. “Oh?”
“But don’t you never team up with people?”
“One time. A long time ago.”
“What happened?”
He Wuning looked at him and stopped walking.
Yi Luo pressed his lips together. A flicker of something unreadable passed through his eyes, but he quickly smiled again. “I’m just asking. No getting mad. Let’s go.”
“Not mad.” He Wuning glanced at him, then braced himself against the wall, frowning. “I can’t walk anymore.”
“Then I’ll carry you.” Yi Luo let out a breath of relief. He had wanted to suggest it earlier but figured He Wuning would refuse.
Without giving him the chance to object, Yi Luo moved in front of him and crouched down. “This is about getting out of here. Don’t push yourself. Cooperate, and we’ll leave sooner.”
He Wuning lowered his eyes and sighed. Surprisingly, he obediently hooked his arms around Yi Luo’s neck.
Yi Luo stood up steadily and reminded him, “Don’t go quiet on me. Talk.”
“Talk about what?” He Wuning rested his chin on his shoulder, eyes lowered, looking drained.
Yi Luo felt as if his breath was brushing against his ear and cleared his throat slightly. “You didn’t answer my question. You and that girl—what happened?”
“Why do you care so much about her?” He Wuning asked lazily.
“For reference. You know, the behavior patterns of a former teammate.” Yi Luo glanced at him discreetly. It was rare to see him this docile; the usually prickly kid had shrunk into himself, and it tugged at the heart.
After a moment’s thought, He Wuning finally spoke.
“I told you before.”
“I did team up with people once. When I first entered the game, I saved them. They followed me. I didn’t insist they leave.”
“There was a boastful office worker, a slightly chuunibyou high schooler, a lively truck driver, and a quiet girl.”
His eyes were half-lowered. “I’d just entered the game back then. I hadn’t encountered any powerful monsters yet. I thought I could carry them.”
“Then we entered a dungeon together. The final boss suddenly mutated. At the time we thought it was just a berserk effect at low HP, but looking back, it was probably because of a fragment.”
“It was the first time we’d faced something like that. At first, I set up tactics—they stood at four corners and kited the monster in the center.”
“But it suddenly revived.” He closed his eyes briefly. “The driver was the first to fall.”
“They weren’t strong at all. Against a monster of that level, they had no chance. The moment things went off plan, they panicked.”
“But we had a healer—the girl you saw. So they didn’t die immediately. They were barely hanging on.”
Yi Luo already regretted bringing it up. He tried to stop him. “Alright, how about we talk about something sunny and uplifting—something that makes people feel positive about life?”
But He Wuning didn’t stop. It was rare for him to speak this much at once, as if he couldn’t shut it off now. “I wanted to save them. But the driver… he cried and apologized, said he was dragging me down. He held my hand and gave me his knife.”
“Maybe he was trying to reenact something from a TV drama. He said that rather than die at the hands of those monsters, he’d rather die by mine. He asked me to do it.”
He Wuning lowered his eyes and took a deep breath. “Back then, no one knew how the respawn point worked.”
“I had guessed. But no one would gamble on that.”
“I had no choice but to gamble.”
“First the driver. Then the office worker. The high schooler—even thanked me.”
He took a breath. “Last was the girl.”
“She didn’t want me to kill her. But I did it anyway. The moment I struck, she cast one last heal on me.”
He thought for a moment, then said flatly, “That’s it. I’m done.”
Yi Luo was silent for a long time before speaking softly. “That girl… I’ve seen her too.”
He Wuning shifted slightly in surprise. Yi Luo lowered his voice. “Now that you mention it, I remember. Before the rescue center was established, a girl rushed into the service hall, shouting for help at anyone she saw.”
He Wuning blinked faintly.
Yi Luo smiled. “Do you remember how you got back to the safe zone back then?”
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The author has something to say:
Yi Luo: Some people turn into chatterboxes when they’re hurt. Not naming names.
He Wuning: …
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