Xu Xi felt as if he were nailed to the spot. He didn't even know what expression he was wearing, his mind completely filled with the image of that horrifying, ghastly corpse.
His limbs seed to disobey his commands. His mind scread at him to move, move, go to the next floor, yet his body remained rigidly in place, refusing to budge.
Finally, his willpower overca his petrified body. Like a puppet, Xu Xi woodenly began to step away, one slow step at a ti.
The female corpse's head slowly turned, its gaze relentlessly following the young man's retreating figure.
The opera music in his ears grew even more shrill. Xu Xi desperately wanted to quicken his pace, but his legs had a mind of their own.
He took back what he had just said.
An undignified death was definitely not worth it.
It really was quite undignified.
Just as the live stream comnts had said, this floor was rely ant to intimidate the players. There was no real danger.
Xu Xi successfully reached the wall at the mouth of the alley. As expected, there was a new slogan.
『Congratulations, your judgnt was correct.』
『Her tears had long since dried up, yet they couldn't win back the man whose heart had been bewitched. Her heart gradually grew cold, eventually swallowed by despair.』
The woman who was crying on the previous floor had hanged herself on this one.
Was it because her husband had borrowed money for gambling and even sold off their family assets in the end, driving her to choose such an extre thod to end her life in despair?
Feeling his icy hands and feet, Xu Xi proceeded to the next floor.
Floor 10.
There was no flurry of paper money filling the sky, no eerie opera music, no terrifying female corpse, nor any other strange phenona.
Everything was normal.
This gave Xu Xi's slightly tense nerves a mont of respite.
Floor 11.
On the street with its unchanged scenery, Xu Xi saw a small, dark lump in the middle of the road in the distance.
As he got closer, he saw it was a black cat. A small bell was tied around its neck.
The black cat's fur was quite disheveled, so of its hair matted into clumps by dried blood. Its two hind legs were bent at unnatural angles as it lay curled up on the ground, barely clinging to life.
Seeing a stranger approach, the black cat let out a few weak ows.
"ow~ ow~~"
As it continued, the black cat grew visibly more agitated. It actually began to drag its injured legs, crawling with difficulty toward Xu Xi.
Xu Xi instinctively wanted to step back.
But perhaps because he sensed no malice from this black cat, and he wanted to see what its goal was, he forcefully suppressed the urge to retreat.
The black cat crawled to Xu Xi's feet, bit onto his pant leg, and tugged with all its might, trying to pull him toward the side of the road.
Xu Xi raised an eyebrow in surprise. What was it doing...?
He thought for a mont, then obediently allowed himself to be guided by the cat's pulling toward the side.
Just then, a loud car horn suddenly blared.
"Beep beep——"
Xu Xi instinctively looked up.
Holy...
Before the word 'shit' could even form in his mind, a car was already speeding toward him.
After being sent flying over ten ters and landing in a crumpled heap on the ground, Xu Xi, as his consciousness began to fade, couldn't help but wonder: how many different ways to die had he collected now?
——
【Master, don't stand in the middle of the road! A car is about to pass!!】
【Stop looking at the kitty, my master, there's a car! A car! (Frantically screaming)】
【I rember the second player before didn't pay attention to the cat. He saw it, went around, and chose the right alley to go to the next floor.】
【Why is this cat covered in injuries? It looks so pitiful.】
【There's a bell around its neck, probably soone's pet.】
【Is the kitty trying to pull the master away?】
【Car car car, the car is coming ahhhhhhh】
For a mont, the netizens' hearts leaped into their throats, and even the live stream comnts fell silent.
After all, the young man on the screen seed entirely focused on the black cat on the ground, completely oblivious to what was happening ahead.
Just as the car was about to hit him, so viewers couldn't help but close their eyes.
But the remaining viewers saw the young man, without even looking up, bend down, grab the black cat by the scruff of its neck, and sidestep to the side in one fluid motion.
The car roared past without stopping.
The entire sequence was smooth and seamless.
...The live stream comnts fell silent.
【Bruh, you're ssing with ?】
【Alright, alright, what a perfectly tid, last-second maneuver.】
【I reasonably suspect this man did it on purpose.】
【No need to suspect. He's just toying with the instance.】
【Xu Xi: Thought you were going to kill ? Aha, not dead.】
【Master, you protected very poorly, you know that?】
——
Xu Xi and the black cat he held in his right hand stared at each other, big eyes eting little eyes. After a mont, he helplessly placed the cat back on the ground.
The reload checkpoint was sotis way too perfectly tid. He'd almost had to die again.
What, was this to train his reaction speed?
He'd just grabbed the cat on impulse. Otherwise, it probably would have been run over by that car.
...Wait.
So, when this black cat was pulling him toward the roadside earlier, it actually knew a car was about to pass and was trying to save him?
Xu Xi looked down.
With the danger gone, the black cat lay weakly on the ground, slowly licking its wounds.
He paused, then bent down and tentatively reached out to pet the black cat's head.
The black cat didn't resist. On the contrary, it actively rubbed against Xu Xi's palm, its amber eyes narrowing slightly. "ow~"
Xu Xi restrained himself, giving it only two pats before withdrawing his hand.
If this weren't an instance, he would have gone in with both hands.
Xu Xi had actually thought about getting a cat or a dog before, but he was always busy being a corporate drone and felt he had no ti to keep them company, so he gave up on the idea.
"Thank you for what you just did."
After thanking the black cat, Xu Xi prepared to head to the next floor.
However, just as he was about to lift his foot, his pant leg was gently bitten again.
Huh?
Xu Xi looked at it once more.
The black cat used its two front paws to fiddle with its neck a couple of tis, and the bell tied there ca loose.
Seeing it use its paw to push the bell toward his feet, Xu Xi couldn't help but be taken aback.
"You want to take your bell?"
The black cat owed.
Xu Xi picked up the small bell, which was only about the size of a fingernail, and examined it carefully.
The craftsmanship was exquisite, though it was a bit dirty now.
Xu Xi's gaze shifted back to the black cat, which had listlessly flopped back onto the ground after presenting the bell.
The next second, he once again pinched the scruff of its neck.
He'd gladly accept the bell, and he'd gladly accept the cat too.
"ow!"
As the black cat looked on in confusion, Xu Xi carried it over to the slogan wall.
『Congratulations, your judgnt was correct.』
『It was her only remaining salvation, yet it too left her.』
Xu Xi glanced at the black cat in his hand, which was now hanging obediently.
Who did the "her" here refer to? That woman who hanged herself?
Was this black cat hers?
Xu Xi shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it further. Just as he was about to proceed to the next floor, his steps suddenly halted.
He turned and walked back the way he ca, only to find that the alley entrance he had used was now a solid wall.
Alright then. The instance definitely wouldn't let him exploit a bug like that.
He had been wondering, since he could see the wall's prompts about correct or incorrect choices, if he could go back and choose again.
There truly was no turning back.
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