You said you would make games by yourself, but how did you become the richest man by doing nothing?

“But you…”

Tang Yin’s voice was low and hoarse, as if penetrating a layer of cold barrier, trying to touch her true emotions.

However, Wang Lina just smiled lightly.

“Too bad!”

Her smile suddenly widened, and the undisguised malice in her eyes poured out completely, as if she had finally torn apart the disguise and revealed the true nature hidden in the shadows.

“You thought it was because of Qianming God’s words? Are you kidding me?”

Her voice trembled slightly, with an air of excitement, as if she had finally broken a boring dream.

“We are all just toys in the palm of the gods!”

Her fingers opened slightly, pinching gently in the air, as if she were manipulating some invisible thread of fate.

“I just wanted to kill, kill, kill from the beginning, and I couldn’t stand it!”

Her words were sharp as a blade, each word like dissecting reality, revealing the deepest madness and desire.

“That’s right, now that I think about it, maybe the reason I came back to my hometown this time was because I wanted to kill people.”

Her tone was terrifyingly calm, as if it were just a trivial matter, like going home to visit relatives, or picking a flower casually.

“…It feels like a dream right now.”

She closed her eyes slightly, a satisfied smile on her lips, as if enjoying the last moment of this game.

“Too bad, scumbag!”

She suddenly opened her eyes, her deep red pupils astonishingly bright in the night.

“Wang Lina is this kind of person! Your taste in women is really something else!!”

——How is that possible.

Tang Yin’s heart contracted sharply, his fingertips trembling slightly from the force.

This woman… was she really like this from the beginning?

Wang Lina tilted her head, the smile on her face still sweet, but with an undisguised cruelty.

“Tang Yin, when I first met you, I was already considering, what would happen if I killed this person?”

Her voice was light, as if recalling a beautiful past.

“In a sense, I finally got my wish.”

The night wind blew, the mist churned, her black hair fluttered gently, setting off her expression even more ethereal and dangerous.

“…Anyway, I’ve already broken the rules, I’ll definitely be polluted to death tonight without a whole body.”

Her voice suddenly lowered, as if murmuring, or talking to herself.

“You should be my last enjoyment.”

Her fingers slowly tightened, grasping the sharp blade hidden in her sleeve, the blade reflecting slightly in the mist, emitting a deadly chill.

“——Alright, then…”

“Let’s make a bet.”

Tang Yin suddenly interrupted her.

His body was on the verge of its limit, the pain almost making it impossible for him to think, but at this moment, his eyes became incomparably calm.

The curiosity about the mystery, the fear of being forced to find the truth, and even my pain, were all mixed together and dissipated.

Tang Yin still had his stubbornness.

He raised his head slightly, gazed at Wang Lina, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

“Give me ten minutes, I will desperately run away, and then you come and chase me.”

His voice was unhurried, even with a hint of composure.

“If I escape, then I win. If you win, then…”

His gaze was deep, as if looking at a distant future.

“Let me die with love for you in my heart.”

Wang Lina was stunned for a moment, then revealed an unexpected smile.

“Okay, I like it.”

She smiled softly, her black hair lifted by the breeze, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Even if it was a meaningless death struggle, Tang Yin wanted to decide his own direction and way of dying.

As long as he ignored the intense pain, Tang Yin could still stagger forward.

He couldn’t feel his legs anymore, or rather, his nerves were gradually adapting to this continuous, intense pain. Drops of blood splattered on the soil, soaking his trouser legs, forming a winding line of blood.

She would definitely be able to find him by following these bloodstains.

But even so, Tang Yin still didn’t stop.

He staggered onto the hillside, heading towards Baifeng Village.

The road to Baifeng Village had already collapsed.

Tang Yin knew this.

He remembered that the last time Xiaomei ran into the mountains, she returned covered in blood, with a look of horror on her face, as if she had seen something terrible.

The mountain surrounded by thick fog was the alien world, the forbidden area for the people of Wuyin Village.

It was like an invisible boundary line, and once ordinary people stepped into it, they would be completely swallowed.

Perhaps, like the last time they tried to escape from the Godhead River,

he would be swallowed by the thick fog and then killed by monsters.

But in any case, if he could attract Wang Lina here, then…

Xiaomei might be able to escape.

If Wang Lina didn’t chase him…

then what would she do?

Tang Yin didn’t know, and didn’t dare to gamble.

But he preferred to believe that Wang Lina wouldn’t chase Xiaomei.

She was more likely to choose to stay in this empty village and welcome her end.

If everything was irreversible, he would at least try once, trying the possibility of escaping from here.

Tang Yin took a deep breath, and stopped thinking about Wang Lina’s madness.

Think about it next time.

He stepped forward, crossed the cliff, and passed through the forest.

The fog became thicker and thicker, the humid air invaded his clothes, with a faint fishy smell, as if the whole world was swallowed up in nothingness.

The mountain road was rugged and uneven, the soil under his feet was loose, covered with blood and sweat. With every step, Tang Yin could feel the weakness of his body deepening, and his consciousness was also somewhat dazed.

He finally stood on the cliff, overlooking the collapsed area below.

The road collapse was more serious than he imagined.

Sand and fallen trees completely blocked the mountain road, like a chasm, dividing the world into two.

Large rocks collapsed from the mountain, forming a steep fault, the bottom filled with muddy water, exuding a rotten smell.

No matter how you looked at it, it didn’t look like it could be passable.

Was it a natural disaster, or was it man-made?

Tang Yin couldn’t confirm.

But he didn’t stop, and continued forward along the mountain road.

The time had long exceeded ten minutes.

Wang Lina should have set off already.

He stopped and held his breath.

In the distance, there was the sound of grass being parted.

She was coming.

The fog churned, like some invisible creature slowly wriggling, devouring everything around it.

Tang Yin’s fingertips tightened slightly, but he didn’t look back.

If she wanted to chase, then he would play with her to the end.

However, strangely…

the distance between them didn’t shorten.

Wang Lina wasn’t frantically chasing after him.

What was she waiting for?

Tang Yin’s heart contracted sharply, as if some uneasy premonition was floating in his mind.

What exactly was she thinking?

However, he suddenly felt a burst of dizziness.

It was as if all the blood rushed to the top of his head, his ears were ringing, and the world was twisting and tilting in his vision.

Tang Yin’s knees weakened, and he almost fell.

There happened to be a thick miscellaneous tree beside him, and he immediately sat down on the roots of the tree, leaning against the trunk, trying to adjust his breathing.

Take a break… and then talk.

But at the moment of closing his eyes, darkness was like a silent tide, completely swallowing him.

——Sudden silence.

Tang Yin suddenly opened his eyes, his heart beating violently.

…Something’s wrong.

He blinked, the night was still the same, the fog was churning, and everything around him seemed to have not changed.

But a feeling of extreme unease rose in his heart.

How long had he been unconscious? A minute? Ten minutes? Or… longer?

Tang Yin gritted his teeth and tried to stand up, but—

his limbs couldn’t exert any strength at all.

The severe blood loss made his body terribly weak, his whole body was as cold as if the flesh and blood had been emptied, leaving only an empty skeleton.

It’s almost GAME OVER.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to concentrate.

Wang Lina… was nearby.

Her aura was faint, like a shadow in the fog, lurking around him at all times.

Tang Yin wanted to continue forward along the mountain road, but…

where was the road?

He frowned and looked around.

The once familiar mountain path had long been swallowed by the thick fog, the shadows of the trees were blurred and deformed in the fog, and the surrounding scenery became strange and eerie.

Sense of direction, cognitive ability, judgment… all were exhausted.

The disordered sense of space gave him an uneasy illusion—as if no matter which direction he went, he would return to the origin.

…If he hadn’t exhausted his sanity, perhaps he could really escape?

Unfortunately—

he couldn’t.

This mountain was indeed an alien world.

Even if humans had left insignificant traces here, it still belonged to the edge of Wuyin Village, belonging to the hunting ground of Qianming God.

And in this hunting ground, the only one who could move freely—

“I really couldn’t wait, so I came down to find you.”

Wang Lina’s voice suddenly came from above.

Tang Yin’s pupils shrank sharply.

——How is that possible?!

Her aura had always been coming from the bottom of the mountain!

But now, she was standing on top of the mountain, looking down at him from a high position.

He suddenly looked up, and through the churning mist, he saw a blurry figure.

Wang Lina stood on the high ground of the hillside, overlooking him, a happy smile on the corner of her mouth.

“I won.”

She said softly, her tone as gentle as a lover’s murmur.

“Then, die in my hands with love in your heart.”

——No!

Tang Yin’s body reacted instinctively, turned around, and ran wildly towards the bottom of the cliff!

“Go, go!”

Wang Lina laughed happily, her voice echoing in the fog, as if encouraging a runner who was about to sprint to the finish line.

She was enjoying this hunt, enjoying every second of the prey’s struggle in despair.

Tang Yin’s steps were staggering, his consciousness was already chaotic, but he knew that he couldn’t stop!

He suddenly jumped off the hillside, sliding down along the loose soil, falling together with the landslide!

Dirt, gravel, and broken branches rolled behind him, like a small collapse.

The surrounding bushes frantically scraped his skin, and sharp branches cut out bloodstains on his arms and cheeks.

But he didn’t have the strength to care anymore.

“So cute, so cute!”

Wang Lina’s voice was still clear, she was still chasing him, her steps were light, and there wasn’t even a trace of panic.

She was enjoying all of this.

And Tang Yin was almost about to fall.

The wolf is coming.

He didn't know if it was because Tang Yin’s vision was getting blurrier, or because the fog was getting thicker, but the world became distorted and unreal in front of him. His steps were staggering, and his consciousness was faltering between the severe pain and weakness.

Then, he was tripped by something.

At the moment when his body lost balance, he didn’t even have the strength to support himself, and his whole person fell heavily on the wet soil. The coldness penetrated his ragged clothes and seeped into his skin, and the smell of blood permeated the air.

“Ah ha.”

A light laugh sounded in the fog, as if admiring a perfect kill.

Tang Yin’s fingers trembled slightly, and he used his last strength to move his body, so that he faced her direction.

——The wolf is coming.

In order to devour his flesh and soul.

Wang Lina stood there, against the fog, her deep red pupils showing a strange light in the night. The corners of her mouth were raised, her eyes were full of excitement and anticipation, as if she had finally forced her prey into a dead end.

Tang Yin had indeed won the banquet, at least… redeem Tang Yin’s soul, Lord Mountain God.

He had endured so much pain, could he be given an easy ending at this last moment?

…Impossible.

Tang Yin smiled wryly.

This world was not so gentle.

This was not the ending he wanted.

However, the wolf’s fangs did not pierce his body.

At the moment when the dagger in Wang Lina’s hand fell, a slender figure suddenly rushed out and stood in front of Tang Yin.

——!

The sound of the blade piercing into flesh and blood echoed clearly in the night.

Warm liquid splashed out and landed on Tang Yin’s cheek, with the sweet and bloody smell unique to the passing of life.

Hua Lu(花露: Hua Lu, a character's name).

Tang Yin’s eyes widened, his breath suddenly stopped.

She… how could she be here?

“…Why?”

Tang Yin squeezed these words out from between his teeth.

Why are you still alive?

Hua Lu’s face was pale, her lips trembled slightly, but she still showed a gentle smile.

She lowered her head, looked at the dagger in her chest, blood slowly flowing down the blade, staining her clothes red.

“Because… I like you.”

Her voice was very light, as if she would disappear into this fog at any time.

“Sorry…”

Tang Yin said another sentence.

He witnessed this ending.

He didn't know if it was because the murder weapon was stuck by the ribs, but the blade could neither be inserted nor pulled out.

Hua Lu’s hand trembled gently, slowly raised, and grabbed Wang Lina’s wrist.

“Wang Lina.”

Her voice became gentle and quiet because of the constant coughing of blood, as if it was just an ordinary night, and she was calling the other person’s name softly by the window.

"Your contamination—leave it to me."

Wang Lina's pupils contracted slightly, and the smile on her face finally disappeared.

"What do you know again!!"

Her voice suddenly rose, almost screaming and roaring.

"No matter what you do, the contamination from Kirigakure and the Yellow Springs will bind Tang Yin—!!"

Tang Yin couldn't understand the meaning of this sentence.

But he knew it was important.

Next time, would he still remember this sentence?

The two blurry figures were entangled in the mist, and Hua Lu's hand accidentally touched Wang Lina's chest.

Her fingertips seemed to have caught something.

The touch was cold, like a pendant?

Hua Lu's eyes changed slightly.

"This is...?"

Wang Lina's body trembled violently, and a rare look of panic appeared on her face.

"No—don't, don't look!"

She immediately let go of the kitchen knife and quickly reached out to snatch back the pendant, holding it tightly in her arms, as if she was protecting something most important.

Tang Yin's heart was beating wildly, he knew that he had touched a real taboo.