Players, Please Begin Your Performance - Chapter 6

Yu Yan opened her eyes wide in disbelief. Had she heard correctly? The Boss was actually demanding that Xing Yun go with her? She reached for her handgun, her body breaking out in a cold sweat. Unfortunately, her item was a plain, unremarkable pistol.

Lao Xiangyun knit her brows and asked Xing Yun, “Are you going over there?”

Xing Yun had already started running. “Only a fool would go.”

In Yu Yan’s experience, a Boss usually sent whoever they disliked straight to hell without warning. This situation, where a warning was issued before an action, was practically unheard of. The surviving spectators in the stands also scattered and fled; their only goal was to get as far away from the Boss as possible.

The Boss scanned the surroundings but did not lock onto anyone else. She simply drifted toward Xing Yun. Her speed was incredible; she was in front of Xing Yun in the blink of an eye, making Xing Yun’s desperate attempt to escape look foolish.

“You look so much like her,” the Boss murmured.

Xing Yun saw only a dark shadow flash before her. Before she could react, her chin was lifted by a powerful force. She found herself staring into a pair of pitch-black eyes. Being so close to the Boss, Xing Yun finally saw her face clearly. It was a gentle face with high, elegant brows, and the corners of her eyes were naturally tinged with a vivid red, giving off a soul-stirring, soft radiance.

Xing Yun was dazed. “What exactly do you want to do?”

The Boss replied softly, “Nothing. I just want to look at you.” Her gaze fell upon Xing Yun, feeling almost tangible.

Xing Yun felt confused. “Have you not been back at the hotel for a long time? You must have been watching for a while.”

In contrast to the Boss’s gentle face was the strength of her grip. It felt as if she might tear Xing Yun apart, causing Xing Yun to struggle. As she struggled, Xing Yun suddenly saw a pair of hands emerge from the Boss’s throat. Long nails pierced through the Boss’s entire skull. The pitch-black pupils rolled upward, revealing the whites of eyes near death, and her hands went limp.

“Run!” Lao Xiangyun called out.

Taking advantage of the moment, Xing Yun broke free from the Boss’s grasp. Behind the Boss stood a terrified Lao Xiangyun, her hands trembling as she pulled them back. This was Lao Xiangyun’s item, which was described as being able to effectively attack Non-Player Characters. She had not expected it to be so bloody.

The Boss appeared sad. “Why would you treat me this way?”

Xing Yun realized she had celebrated too early. The Boss began to move again and asked a question. The Boss’s wounds were healing rapidly, and before long, she was able to move freely.

Lao Xiangyun panicked, but she too had panicked too early. The Boss paid no attention to her, focusing solely on chasing Xing Yun, like a hunter playing with prey before eating it.

Xing Yun’s face darkened. Although she appeared calm on the surface, her brain had essentially frozen. She noticed that the people who had died on the grass earlier were standing up. Many severed arms were crawling on the ground using their fingers, and intestines were writhing as they moved. The scene was incredibly unsettling, making her skin crawl.

By now, the scene had shifted from the racetrack back to the hotel. Because both the interior and exterior of the hotel were quite dark, visibility was limited, but it offered more cover than the racetrack. The masked employees had all turned into skeletons, and their goal was to target the players.

The skeletons moved quickly; anyone in the residential area was likely in grave danger. Xing Yun shared her conclusion with the others: “The skeletons only move in the residential area!” Staying away from the residential area became a consensus among all players.

The feeling of being chased by skeletons and severed limbs was indescribable. What left Xing Yun speechless, however, was the Boss, who continued to follow her like someone playing with a cat. The Boss said to Xing Yun, “The peach tree is young and elegant, its flowers are bright and blooming. This lady is going to her future home, and she will bring harmony to her chamber and house.”

“?” Xing Yun was completely stunned. In the context of the poem, it referred to a woman getting married. What did the Boss mean?

Xing Yun ran through the hotel and glanced back. The Boss was smiling at her. Wait, did the Boss want to marry her? The Boss beckoned her. “Come to my side.”

Xing Yun spat in disgust. From the looks of it, the Boss intended to take her as a bride. That was not going to happen.

During the escape, Xing Yun became separated from the others. It seemed as if the Boss had specifically planned a route for her. They were like a cat and a mouse. When Xing Yun was too tired to run and stopped to rest, the Boss simply stood in the distance watching her, only following again when she moved.

During this time, countless people had already died in the pursuit. The artificial lake in the observation area had been dyed red. Xing Yun saw many faces that had once been familiar. The scent of crimson blood filled her nose. Some people had only half of their bodies left, while others died with their eyes wide open. Inside the hotel, a clean path could no longer be found.

Xing Yun was shaken by the sight in the lake and felt a sense of self-abandonment. She looked down at her toes and then back at the Boss, who was also standing still and watching her. Xing Yun suddenly said, “Should I thank you? If you had not been following me, my fate would be the same as theirs.”

Xing Yun pointed at the artificial lake, suppressing the urge to gag. She did not want to show cowardice before the Boss. The sky was gloomy, and rain was falling lightly. She felt a touch on her ankle and looked down to see it was caused by hailstones mixed in the rain.

The hail beat against everything in sight. Xing Yun felt the stinging pain of being struck in the face, yet she kept her eyes wide, staring at the Boss. The wind and rain could not break her back, and death would not make her yield. But honestly, if the Boss had not been playing around, she would not have lasted this long. The residential area was filled with skeleton employees, and outside were the remains of dead players.

Xing Yun looked at the Boss, completely unable to understand why she only followed her.

At this point, Yu Yan also escaped to this area and met up with her again. Yu Yan was no longer her usual cheerful self. Her left arm was missing, and her clothes were torn. She coughed and said, “Maybe you should just give in to her.”

The severed limbs that had been chasing Yu Yan stopped because of those words. The Boss was very happy.

Xing Yun was now terrifyingly calm. “I have discovered that the scene only refreshes where the Boss is. Once the Boss leaves, it becomes a ruin. The Boss is the one who controls everything here. The Boss is already dead, and this hotel has long been abandoned. It is the Boss who controls the operation of everything and created all of this. So we.”

Yu Yan was stunned and shouted, “I do not want to hear it! I only want to know if you will give in or not!” Yu Yan tossed her hair back, and only then did Xing Yun see that her right eye was gone, leaving only an empty socket staring at her. “We are all about to be wiped out! Why are you still analyzing this?”

“Give in my foot!” Xing Yun shouted. She suddenly turned and pointed at the Boss. “And you, keep dreaming!”

The Boss, who had never been spoken to that way, was also stunned. She looked bewildered, and all the Non-Player Characters and dead players around her became still. Xing Yun felt that if she were to marry the Boss, it might be barely acceptable, but marrying into the Boss’s side was absolutely out of the question. Besides, she felt the whole concept of traditional marriage roles should be abolished; it was about two people forming a small family.

Xing Yun looked at the scene where even the cracks in the ground were dyed red, and the hair on her arms stood up. But the Boss tilted her head and gave her a look of grievance. What was she aggrieved about? Xing Yun felt like she was going to lose her mind. She actually saw that expression on the Boss’s face. Besides, what was the use of the Boss being so beautiful in a dungeon, especially with those pink lips that should not exist?

When the Boss’s brow furrowed, Xing Yun felt her breath catch. That face sometimes made her forget she was in a dungeon.

Yu Yan suddenly said, “Boss, do you think it would be okay if I married you?”

“Hmm?” The Boss shook her head firmly. “I do not want you.”

Yu Yan replied, “You sure are picky.”

Xing Yun coughed and wiped the rain from her face. So, was the Boss only targeting her? She realized that since inexplicably entering this space, she had always been targeted by the system. When clues were mentioned, she got none. When items were given, she got a bubble machine. And now she was being haunted by a ghost. It really left her with nothing to say.

Xing Yun looked around, feeling she could take the opportunity to look for her teammates. Her being alive meant her teammates also existed, and with few people left, the targets were greatly reduced.

Yu Yan was teetering, leaning against a tree in the observation area. Her empty sleeve fluttered in the wind, and her rain-soaked hair clung to her face, but she was still staring sharply at Xing Yun.

Suddenly, a boy in black walked out. “I have been observing for a long time. You really can control the Boss. Stay here. Stay here so that others can successfully leave. Your sacrifice will be valuable.”

Yu Xi had seen Yu Yan escape being chased because of a single sentence, and his mind became active. He said to the Boss, “If I kill her, she can stay here forever to be with you. In exchange, how about you let us go?” His eyelid twitched as he said this. He had done similar things before and was quite familiar with the process.

Xing Yun felt a chill in her heart as she looked at Yu Xi with confusion. Was this person insane? Yu Xi’s teammate, Xu Lang, expressed full agreement. Xu Lang looked at Yu Xi and made up his mind. He was naturally rugged and appeared fierce when serious. His burly physique made his every move noticeable. “Kill her,” he said.

Xing Yun trembled, clenching her teeth. These two madmen.

Yu Yan, enduring her pain, interrupted them and raised her voice, “How can you be sure that killing her will end all of this instead of making it worse? Is there any clue suggesting that killing her will let us leave the dungeon?” She adjusted her breathing. “And the Boss is completely ignoring you. Have you not noticed?”

Yu Xi moved his wrists. “She did not object, did she? And it is better than waiting for the Non-Player Characters and players to rush up and kill us all.”

As he reached into his crossbody bag, Xing Yun’s skin crawled, yet she remained calm. “Killing me will not end it. Are you sure you want to gamble?”

Yu Xi paused his movements.

“The Boss said I only look like someone. I am not the one she is looking for. So I am certain that if you kill me, the situation will not improve. Are you sure I will not just disappear from the dungeon when I die? If I die and the Boss loses her target, who knows what she will do? You likely will not even have the chance to stand here and talk.” Xing Yun spread her arms, appearing quite at ease. “Do you really dare to try?”

Yu Xi hesitated.

“Hahahaha, interesting.” Yu Yan laughed, a fanatical expression in her single eye. This Xing Yun was truly arrogant, and that arrogance was fascinating. “Alright, I agree with your view. But I want to hear what you plan to do next.”

She had not intended to harm Xing Yun anyway. Such an interesting little thing should be kept close for slow observation. Such a person should not be with anyone else. In Yu Yan’s view, narcissism was the ultimate meaning of existence, especially for a creature as beautiful, alluring, and self-possessed as Xing Yun, who should remain solitary. For someone like that, just pressing her lips together was equivalent to a kiss; anyone approaching would only ruin it.

Xing Yun looked at Yu Yan. “Do you want to pass the level with me?”

Yu Yan nodded. Despite her weakness, power rose within her from somewhere, and her smile became as bright as a flower. Water droplets gathered along her hair and fell, giving her the beauty of a lotus emerging from water. Her wounds no longer seemed terrifying but held a kind of fragile temptation.

But Yu Xi was still hesitating. Yu Yan ruthlessly pressed her gun against the back of his head and cleared her throat. “Could it be that you have some new plan?”

A new plan? In this situation, just thinking about escaping had exhausted everyone’s brain cells.

“Are you joking?” There was no time to think of any new plan.

Xu Lang shouted, “What are you doing!”

Yu Yan whistled. “What? Are you blind?”

Facing a madwoman like Yu Yan, Yu Xi felt immense pressure. He had always known she was not to be trifled with and had no idea what trump cards she still held. The more senior a player was, the more favors they received from the system, and Yu Yan was a veteran who had survived in the infinite games for an unknown amount of time.

Yu Xi’s heart pounded. Yu Yan tilted her head, her patience with Yu Xi exhausted. “Disobedient guys are indeed better off killed directly.”

“Wait, I agree!” Yu Xi panicked. “I am useful! I have a super intuition that I brought from the last dungeon. It can avoid many dangers.”

“Do not delay next time. The gun might go off,” Yu Yan said coldly, tapping Yu Xi’s head with the muzzle. Suddenly her pupils shrank, and she twisted her body to the right. Several silver needles brushed past her, fired from the watch on Xu Lang’s wrist.

Yu Yan narrowed her eyes at Xu Lang. “Oh, do you think I am a fool?” She spat at Yu Xi. “Your item is likely for remote communication. You have no attack power, yet you said you would kill Xing Yun. You were just covering for your teammate’s actions, were you not?”

Yu Yan saw through everything. Controlling these two was as easy as crushing ants. Facing such insects, she had the calm composure of a creator. That calmness made Yu Xi and Xu Lang feel terrified.

Yu Xi panicked and trembled. Large drops of sweat mixed with rain fell from his forehead. In such cold weather, his whole body was hot with tension. Why had Xu Lang acted on his own? Had he not heard Yu Xi say he agreed to join? After passing a few dungeons, did he really think he was lawless? A hailstone hit Yu Xi’s eye, and blood suddenly spread across the white area. Yet, even the pain of the internal bleeding did not make Yu Xi take any other action.

“He does not know any better. He has not been in the infinite games long,” Yu Xi said hurriedly, afraid that any movement would be seen as resistance. “Please forgive him.”

Xu Lang only then broke out in a sweat. He had acted very discreetly, yet he was still discovered. He stood with his mouth slightly open, and a small hailstone happened to fall into his mouth, making him gag.

Yu Yan ignored Yu Xi completely and asked Xing Yun, “Do you want to try skinning him and using his skin for a painting?”

Xing Yun: “…”

She did not find Yu Yan’s joke funny. She planned to use wall dust as contour, green leaves as eyeshadow, and blood as blush to create a new face. Makeup was her strength. As long as she had something with color, she could do a lot with her face, enlarging or shrinking her eyes, raising or shortening the bridge of her nose. Everything could be changed through visual effects.

Although she would have died if the Boss had not noticed and followed her, if she wanted to escape all of this, she naturally had to get out of the Boss’s sight. So, let the action begin.