The air grew heavy as Hei Jun finished recounting the horrific event. Xia Sahui listened. She tilted her head slightly, violet hair catching the dim light filtering through the corner window. Her eyes, sharp as honed obsidian, pierced through him.

  “Let me see if I understand,” she began, her voice a low, measured tone that sliced through the silence.

  “You claim a faceless demon killed your companion. It doesn’t bleed, it can teleport, and its strength is immense.” She paused, letting the absurdity of the claim hang in the air.

  “Then why, pray tell, did it not simply hunt you down as well?”

  Hei Jun swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing nervously. “I… I don’t know, my lady. I barely escaped with my life.”

  A faint, amused smile touched her lips. “How fascinating. You are absolutely certain you aren’t spinning a tale for your own benefit?”

  “No, young lady! I swear on my life! Why would I invent such a horror?” he pleaded, wringing his hands.

  “I should have never agreed to Ma Bo’s plan to venture into that damned building.”

  'Hmm…’ Sahui’s thoughts raced, eclipsing the man’s frantic denials.

  ‘Father did mention that on rare occasions, the Fragment spawns powerful entities to accelerate the game. Killing them grants substantial rewards to all involved. But he also said the Fragment would announce such events…

  Though there have been cases of unforeseen occurrences...'

  "And whose scream was it?” she pressed, her gaze sharpening. “Did you see anyone else?"

  "No, I didn't see anyone," he replied frantically.

  Sahui studied him for a long moment, her eyes seeming to weigh the very substance of his soul.

  “Very well. From this moment forward, you will serve me for the remainder of the trial. Do you have any objections?”

  “N-none, my lady!” Hei Jun stammered, bowing his head deeply.

  “It would be my honor to serve you.”

  He knew he had stumbled upon an incredible fortune. To encounter Xia Sahui, the daughter of the illustrious Xia Zhong, was a twist of fate beyond his wildest dreams.

  The fundamental rule was clear to all: the Unawakened were not to be influenced. Yet, unlike all absolutes, this one had its exceptions. The great clans and their close families, with lineages stretching back millennia, possessed secrets gleaned from centuries of experimentation.

  They understood the precise limits, what knowledge, what techniques, what subtle advantages could be bestowed upon their scions without triggering the influence’s negative effects.

  Their children were raised on rare pills and elixirs crafted specifically for the trial, letting them gain an unnatural advantage over their peers. Consequently, the heirs of the main family were often leagues beyond their distant cousins or common participants in every conceivable way.

  Hei Jun also understood this. Aligning himself with Xia Sahui was not just a matter of survival; it was an opportunity for unparalleled profit. It was the mentality of a frightened man, one who willingly traded the burden of command for the simple, safe obedience of a follower.

  ‘The rewards…’ Xia Sahui eyes shone for a moment. She knew that the higher the risks were, the higher would be the rewards. Of course, she couldn’t have known that the monster was actually another human.

  ‘It seems my strategy requires adjustment’, Xia Sahui concluded internally.

  “If this demon is indeed a Fragment-generated entity especially for the game, its power will be formidable. No single participant will be able to defeat it alone. We will need to assemble a team of capable fighters,” she declared aloud.

  “However, it is still early. A direct confrontation is not yet necessary.”

  She crossed her arms, her expression contemplative. "I know several people capable of helping us. Tomorrow, you'll accompany me to find someone—the one who likely secured the first kill in the Game. From what I've observed, he'll be a valuable asset in a fight."

  Her tone was commanding, dismissive of objection.

  Hei Jun swallowed, but held his tongue. Questions burned in his chest, yet he knew better than to speak.

  "Excellent. There's a chance he'll refuse. If he does..." Her fingers brushed the hilt of her dagger. "You'll help me convince him. Understood?"

  “Yes, yes, of course, young lady!”

  “Good. Meet me at sunrise, at this very location.” She moved toward the door, then glanced back. "Don't be late."

  “But the—”

  “Do you have a problem?” she interrupted, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.

  “N-no, Lady Xia! None at all.”

  Without another word, she vanished into the gathering dark, her footsteps swallowed by the silence of the abandoned district. Hei Jun stood alone, the weight of his new chains settling across his shoulders.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  …

  Dawn bled across the horizon, staining the sky in shades of carnelian and rose-gold. A single beam of light, precise as an assassin's blade, slipped through a deliberate gap in the wooden barrier, striking Lu Er's closed eyelids.

  His brows twitched, and he awoke with the practiced calm of a veteran. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he sat up silently.

  After, brushing the dust from his face, he picked up his satchel and took out a water gourd and two pouches stuffed with jerky and hard biscuits, their surfaces cracked and coarse.

  He drank. Then listened.

  There were no footsteps, no breath, and then pressed his eye to the peephole. Once again, no movement, no silhouettes. Only the skeletal architecture of abandoned homes.

  Satisfied, he pressed against the weak point in the wall; one he’d subtly weakened during construction, a flaw invisible to the untrained eye. The wood gave way with a soft Crunch, and he slipped out into the open.

  He splashed cool water on his face, the shock bracing him for the day ahead.

  ‘Alright. Day two.’

  The map interface appeared in front of him. The outer territories had vanished overnight, erased like ink from parchment. A new boundary, white as bone, marked the safe zone, shifted slightly eastward. He remained within its confines, but the number floating in his vision made his breath catch:

  [442/500]

  “What?! Nearly sixty deaths on the first day?” he whispered, a grim realization settling in.

  ‘At this rate, the trial could conclude in under ten days. Given the speed of the realm’s collapse, fifteen days is a generous maximum.’

  Lu Er thoughts sharpened. 'I need to find the witness from my first kill and the runner. Then I'll fabricate a story and manipulate them into serving as my alibi. Only then will I be free from suspicion in the real world.

  Hmm… the runner should be easy if I promise to fight and kill the ‘monster’ with him. He should be ready to take revenge, no? I hope they've already found each other. The plan works best that way.'

  He forced down a breakfast of jerky that tasted like horse shit and biscuits as dry as wall.

  ‘I really miss the good food, especially that Shyant centipede brisket’ he thought and set out.

  He moved in the general direction he had last seen the runner, scavenging what he could.

  This time, however, he did not use his ability to store the items. An ordinary Acolyte like Lu Zhiheng shouldn't be able to wield the spell of a monster. Instead, he carried his findings in a small, worn bag he had looted the previous day.

  After hours of meticulous searching, his haul was much better and valuable.

  He focused on each item.

  [Sunsencat Marrow Pill: Enhances senses by a small fraction.]

  [Lowest-tier Healing Pill: Cures basic infections and accelerates blood clotting to reduce blood loss.]

  [Tensheng's Common Ring: Grants the wearer’s attacks a minor fire element effect.]

  [Tetanus Dagger: A common, rusted yet sharp blade. Inflicts severe tetanus and several other infections.]

  'Finally, some good loot. What else can be a better weapon than a tetanus infection? Not bad. Was my luck just terrible yesterday, or did they actually place better loot in the outer areas?'

  'Either way—'

  Boom.

  A tremor rolled through the earth. A low vibration rolled beneath his feet. Then, distance but clear, a scream tore through the silence.

  “Ahhhh—!”

  Lu Er froze.

  ‘What in the Nine Hells was that?’

  He moved like smoke: low, swift, silent, slipping between buildings. He darted into a three-storey husk of a building, ascended to the second floor, and found a window with a clear vantage point.

  Below, two figures stood over a wooden box. He recognized one immediately—the runaway from the previous day. A young woman stood beside him; a bow slung over her shoulder. The girl bore minor injuries and was conversing with the runaway.

  'An opportunity,' Lu Er thought, calm settling over him. He knew the archer was the greater threat. He raised his crossbow, the stock cool against his cheek, and took aim at the young woman. He held his breath, finger resting lightly on the trigger…

  …

  A Few Hours Earlier

  Hei Jun paced the third-storey room, each step a silent prayer. Through the bamboo slats, he watched the street below, his reflection a pale ghost in the glass. Sunrise, she had said. The sun had barely risen; the house was cold, and so was his stomach.

  He stood by the window, his face a mask of anxiety as he awaited Xia Sahui. A sudden rustle of fabric announced her presence behind him.

  "Lady Xia—"

  “Let’s go,” she commanded, her voice devoid of warmth. “We need to find allies, team up, and loot efficiently. Do whatever you want, just don't die instantly."

  Hei Jun trailed her through the warren of abandoned shops and tenements like a shadow attached to a flame. He knew separating to loot would be more efficient, but that defeated the purpose of teaming up.

  For an hour, they moved in silence until Sahui, from the perch on the third floor of a bamboo structure, spotted a lone figure scavenging in the distance.

  Below, in the distance, a lone figure wandered, searching for supplies.

  'Not the one I'm looking for. It seems people from the outer areas are already converging on the center,' she thought, glancing at the figure.

  "I'll kill him. Stay back and don't interfere."

  Hei Jun nodded obediently.

  She unslung the bow from her back, nocked an arrow, and fired.

  “Huh? Crap!”

  The target below reacted with surprising speed, diving into a wooden hut just as the arrow thudded into the ground where he had stood.

  Sahui’s eyes narrowed. A second arrow flew, but the man was already scrambling out the opposite side, his eyes frantically scanning for his attacker.

  She leaped from the window, landing silently on the rooftop of an adjacent house, closing the distance with fluid grace.

  As the man turned, she released a third shot.

  “Guh!” The arrow struck his shoulder. Their eyes met for a fleeting second—his wide with pain and surprise, hers cold and detached—before he vanished into another building.

  She refused to give him time to think or heal. She dropped to ground level and entered the structure.

  Suddenly, her senses screamed alarm.

  Her body moved without conscious thought; an unnatural force yanked her backward thirty paces.

  Boom!

  The building she had been about to enter erupted. Wood splintered and shrapnel hissed through the air.

  A large, jagged piece grazed her torso, tearing her robe and drawing a thin line of blood.

  The man emerged from the other side, a triumphant smirk on his face—a smirk that instantly melted into horrified disbelief when he saw her standing, wounded but very much alive.

  He turned to flee, but he was exposed.

  Thwack.

  Sahui’s next arrow took him in the back of the skull as he ran. The arrow caught him mid-stride as he tried to reach another building, punching through his skull. Brain matter and blood sprayed from the exit wound, and painted the wall behind him.

  His legs crumpled mid-stride, momentum carrying him into a graceless tumble.

  “Ahhhh! Die! Leave Lady Xia alone!” At that precise moment, Hei Jun erupted from their hiding place, dagger in hand. The tumbling corpse crashed onto him and his dagger.

  [Ding…]

  [You have obtained 1 Fragment Point.]

  The notification chimed in Hei Jun's mind. He had been lucky to get the final hit.

  He rushed to Xia Sahui's side. "Wh-what happened? Are you alright, my lady?"

  "I'm fine. Stop shouting."

  "Are you—are you sure, my lady? You're bleeding!"

  "It's nothing."

  "I couldn't see what happened. How did the building explode?"

  "Shut up." 'Sigh. I was worried something like this might happen. If not for my gift, I'd be dead—killed by some random nobody.' Xia Sahui thought while looking at the corpse.

  This was the game. A survival contest. You didn't negotiate with enemies fighting for the same prize. Heirs like her often died before they could even flaunt their authority.

  She glanced at Hei Jun, with what he thought was concern.

  'She just looked at me! I knew it—she likes me. She probably feels guilty because I was worried about her,' Hei Jun thought, a grin creeping across his face.

  'And I'm stuck with this useless bootlicker. Sigh. I need to find that guy and recruit him. Even this dead one would've been more useful,' She knelt beside the wooden box and began calmly searching for anything of value.