After the Evil God Pretends to Be a Player [Infinite] - Chapter 4

Throughout Meng Luo’s state of panic, Lara sat nearby, observing her reactions.

She had been in a deep sleep for far too long and hadn’t been in contact with humans—fragile yet vibrant creatures for ages. She didn’t know if modern humans had developed any supernatural powers or strange traits compared to those of thousands of years ago.

However, none of that was her current concern. Her only reason for waking this time was to pursue a distant, almost unreachable goal.

Yet, after actually interacting with a human, she realized that by observing this girl and understanding the human mind better, she might be able to slightly increase the success rate of that nearly impossible objective.

For now, humans didn’t seem to have evolved significantly since millennia ago: they were fragile, easily frightened, and lacked self-preservation skills.

That said, individual differences seemed vast. Some were warm and friendly like a small sun, some were like porcupines looking for a fight, and some… exuded an unpleasant scent from their very being.

Thinking of the figure in the black coat, she frowned with a mix of boredom and discomfort.

Is it the same old trick again?

The next second, her brow relaxed. she saw Meng Luo biting her lip hard, extending her leg to kick the mannequin!

Ah, she should take back her earlier thought. Humans might be fragile and generally unable to protect themselves, but they still possessed courage that didn’t quite match their strength.

She stepped forward quickly and, a second before Meng Luo could land the kick, she gripped the mannequin by its neck. Then, she glanced at Meng Luo and drew her index finger across her lips.

This was the second time she had made this gesture.

Meng Luo’s eyes widened, and she instantly realized that if her kick had landed, even if the mannequin were toppled, it would have made a loud noise, drawing the attention of the thing outside! A wave of lingering fear washed over her, and she cursed herself for her narrow-minded behavior.

Meanwhile, Lara looked at the mannequin she was choking, her expression turning slightly cold.

As if sensing its fate, the mannequin’s beautiful, painted face instantly became hideous, and its limbs began to struggle. Under the dim yellow light, the scene was terrifying and bizarre.

Then, Lara tightened her grip. A faint crackle sounded—the noise of breaking plastic. The mannequin’s neck was snapped clean through.

a beautiful head fell onto the floor with a thud and rolled several meters away.

The knock, knock, knock at the door outside suddenly vanished.

After about a minute, Meng Luo heard a set of footsteps in the hallway, gradually growing distant.

Meng Luo whispered, “That thing is gone.”

Lara gave a small “mhm,” glanced at her, and briefly explained: “It heard the noise inside and didn’t dare enter.”

Meng Luo understood perfectly: Even monsters are afraid of having their necks snapped the moment they walk in.

Meng Luo looked at her with admiration: “Lara, aren’t you afraid?”

Lara’s appearance was actually quite soft and elegant, which created a strong contrast when she neatly snapped a monster’s neck.

Lara didn’t quite know how to handle a naive human “hatchling,” so she answered vaguely, “I’ve seen many before. I’m not afraid anymore.”

Meng Luo’s mouth fell open: “Seen many? Then wouldn’t you be…”

Lara: Did she realize I’m an Evil God?

Meng Luo: Heavens, could she be the heir to some mysterious monster-slaying clan? I must have used up next life’s good luck to pick up such a goddess for a roommate!

The two looked at each other, both feeling they had hit upon the truth.

Meng Luo patted her chest and promised, “I’ll definitely be quiet from now on and follow instructions! I won’t make random noises and attract monsters!”

Lara said slowly, “Actually…”

As Meng Luo turned her hopeful and worshipping gaze toward her, she continued: “The two warnings I gave you were mainly for when I’m not around. If I’m not here, you need to learn self-preservation. When I am here, it’s fine even if you make noise.”

Meng Luo said sheepishly, “Actually, I studied Karate and stuff when I was a kid. I should be the one protecting you…” Before she could finish, her eyes landed on something, and she froze for a second, saying in horror: “It’s still moving.”

Lara followed her gaze and saw the headless mannequin wasn’t dead yet. The makeup on its face grew increasingly seductive and vivid, its lips blood-red, and from a certain angle, they seemed to be opening and closing.

Lara moved closer to look; Meng Luo, though scared, followed behind her.

They both heard venomous words spit from the mannequin’s mouth: “You all… you all will… lose your own faces!”

It sounded like an ill omen and a curse.

The mannequin laughed spitefully and suddenly stuck out a long tongue. Lara acted decisively, grabbing its face.

Strange to say, the face seemed to be its “reverse scale.” The moment Lara touched its face, the mannequin didn’t dare move.

Meng Luo moved closer and asked, “You touched its face before. Did you notice something?”

“The texture on its face doesn’t feel painted. It feels like…”

Meng Luo summoned her courage and reached out, shockingly completing the sentence for her: “It feels like the texture of skin.”

But it was impossible for a plastic mannequin to grow human skin. Meng Luo tried to peel the skin off but found it wouldn’t budge. Only the mannequin trembled, no longer daring to act out.

Meng Luo had a sudden idea and asked Lara, “Have you ever played a TRPG before?” She suggested, “We could do a ‘Spot Hidden’ check.”

Lara gave her a look and thought with satisfaction: Good, this human girl I’m observing understands the game rules well.

Meng Luo: “We need to ask the Keeper before rolling. Since the Keeper hasn’t objected, he must have given tacit consent.”

The next second, the transparent hundred-sided die appeared before her.

[Spot Hidden] Check / Roll: 50/58 Failure

Meng Luo: “Oh, I failed. Fortunately, it wasn’t a fumble. Do you want to try once?”

She waited a few seconds but heard no response from Lara. Looking up, she saw a strange expression on Lara’s face; she was staring at the hundred-sided die, her gaze not shifting for a long time.

Her long lashes hid the expression in her eyes; Meng Luo couldn’t tell if she felt joy or disgust. After a long time, she whispered, “So that’s how it is.”

Meng Luo doubted she had heard correctly and asked hesitantly, “What did you say?”

Lara’s expression turned neutral again. “Nothing. I know how to play this game now.”

She reached out and gave the die a light flick. The hundred-sided die began to spin, finally stopping at 30.

[Spot Hidden] Check / Roll: 70/30 Success

The next second, Lara’s hand noticed a slight protrusion behind the mannequin’s head. She followed the protrusion and peeled back a corner of the mannequin’s skin.

The beautiful, exquisite face indeed wasn’t painted on! This was actually a mask as thin and light as skin!

Meanwhile, in room 513 downstairs.

The man from the couple looked utterly broken: “Brother Li… I… I only made a tiny bit of noise. How… how did it just rush in!”

The door to 513 was wide open. The thing at the door wore a school uniform. From its build, it looked like a girl, but its face was obscured by thick black hair, making its features invisible. In the deep, dark night, this scene was enough to make anyone’s heart stop.

Tap… Tap…

It was the sound of slippers scraping the floor. The black hair on its forehead flickered slightly in the windless night as if it were alive. It extended its long, boney hands in front of itself as if groping for something, and spit out words in an obscure, unpleasant tone:

“Where is my face… have you seen my face… can you give me your faces…”

During its movements, its black hair tilted at an angle, abruptly exposing its hidden face for a second.

The sound of a sharp intake of breath echoed in the air. The male player from the couple couldn’t hide his terror. He saw that its face was empty, like a smooth piece of paper, without a single trace of features.

The man: “Aaaaaaaah!”

On one side was the faceless monster about to pounce from the door; on the other… the plastic mannequin that had previously stood obediently in place was also moving quietly, shuffling its dry, cold feet as it moved toward the two humans.

The man: “? Aaaaaaaaah!”

Li Zhu let out a silent sigh. The next second, he moved.

He walked straight toward the man-made mannequin and, before it could react, grabbed it by the neck.

Mannequin: ?

The plastic mannequin reached out with both hands, clawing for Li Zhu’s face, but he avoided it with incredible speed and ease. Small text only he could see flashed before his eyes:

[Dodge] Check / Roll: 80/37 Success

Meanwhile, the mannequin felt its body go light it was being lifted. Before it could figure out the situation, it felt its body go heavy again as its feet hit the ground.

The mannequin reached out again, clawing at this audacious man’s face once more. Although it was made entirely of plastic, its fingernails were exceptionally sharp, glinting with a cold, blade-like light. If its hands touched a cheek, the nails would sink into the flesh; even if the victim wasn’t disfigured, they would lose a layer of skin.

However, in the next instant, the mannequin’s movements locked up. It felt a fuzzy texture at its fingertips.

Mannequin: ???

Creak— the mannequin slowly raised its head, only to see that there was no sign of Li Zhu in front of it. Instead, there was… a massive clump of soft, black hair?

Not only that, because it had clawed too fast, several black hairs were now entangled in its fingernails. For a moment, it couldn’t pull its nails out.

It acted decisively, intending to snap its own nails off. However, it was already too late. With a faint crack, it saw the scenery before it shift rapidly. In just an instant, its head hit the ground.

The next second, it saw a pair of men’s leather shoes appear before it. The shoes grew closer until finally… they slammed down heavily onto its skull!

That was its last shred of consciousness.

The man from the couple looked at the crushed mannequin head beneath Li Zhu’s feet, then pointed a trembling hand at the thing by the door. He no longer called him “Brother Li,” his voice shaking: “Big Boss! What do we do about that thing at the door?”

The faceless monster, shaped like Sadako, was still walking into the room. It had already crossed the threshold and was only two meters away from them.

Even though the monster had no features or expression, and its only face was covered by heavy hanging hair, Li Zhu felt that if it could have an expression, it would be one of bewilderment bewildered as to why what it had snapped in its hands was plastic rather than the warm neck of a living thing.

Li Zhu let out a silent sigh. He had originally thought the mannequin in the room could fight the incoming monster, with a double-loss being the best outcome or at least depleting some combat power. He hadn’t expected the mannequin to be so pathetic.

He cracked his wrists, watching the monster approach step by step. No sign of discomfort showed on his face as he turned to the male player and asked, “How’s your combat power?”

The man had a bitter face, thinking hard for a long time before describing it obscurely: “Not even as good as a chicken or a dog.”

Li Zhu: “…”

Not only is your combat power no good, but your grammar wasn’t passing in school either.

As the monster moved within a one-meter circle of them, as if a game mechanic had been triggered, both heard the Keeper’s voice in their ears:

“Combat round begins. Sorted by Dexterity, the order of action is: Faceless Monster, Li Zhu, Wang Kai.”

How will the combat play out?