Jiang Xiuxiu: "Wait, what exactly does 'long time no see' mean?"
It couldn't be what she thought, could it?
Thinking about the previous level at Cihe Academy where the boss, Xu Bai, was identified as a 'demon,' and now in this instance, his identity is an 'evil god,' it seemed that there was some kind of subtle similarity between the two.
In that case, they might be the same person.
Jiang Xiuxiu stared blankly at the boss.
Two seconds later, she trembled and tentatively asked, "Xu Bai?"
As expected, the boss smiled and nodded, "It's me."
There was a hint of mild delight in his eyes, and he seemed to be in a very good mood. "After we parted last time, I missed you very much. I didn't expect us to meet again so soon."
His expression was very gentle, but when Jiang Xiuxiu saw his face and heard his words, she couldn't help but shiver.
From his smile, she could only read four large words:
"You are doomed."
Jiang Xiuxiu: "Haha, what a coincidence, I didn't expect to meet you here."
Facing Xu Bai's gaze, she forced a couple of dry laughs, looking scared and without any aura.
And the next second, without hesitation, she turned and ran.
Xu Bai's demeanor clearly showed that he still remembered everything that happened in the first game.
If she didn't escape now, when would she?
Jiang Xiuxiu started running suddenly but very swiftly. In the blink of an eye, the entire wooden corridor was filled with the sound of her "thump thump thump" footsteps.
While running with all her might, Jiang Xiuxiu's mind was racing.
For the boss, to prevent him from appearing too much and disrupting game balance, there must be some kind of restriction.
And the most effective restrictions would be time or ability.
Thinking about Xu Bai's act of burning four people in one go just now, she guessed that his ability was still the same. Jiang Xiuxiu squinted her eyes and decided that her current task was to buy time.
Determined, Jiang Xiuxiu gritted her teeth and started running even faster.
She swiftly navigated the corridor, dashed past the stairs, and toppled many decorative jars, trying to create noise to cause interference.
As long as she ran fast enough, Xu Bai wouldn’t be able to catch her, and she could escape.
If she survived, she would have a chance to turn the tables.
With this thought, Jiang Xiuxiu's eyes burst with a strong and resolute color.
Two seconds later, a white ghost shadow grabbed her and threw her directly in front of Xu Bai.
She fell into the grass in a very embarrassed state, and in front of her stood the smiling boss.
At this moment, as four howling sounds fell, the four players had already been completely burned by that strange fire.
The light in the courtyard suddenly disappeared, and the cold moonlight shone into the yard, casting a sinister pale shade on everything.
In this environment, the handsome young man walked slowly towards Jiang Xiuxiu.
"I also think we have a lot of fate," he said with a light laugh. "Look, we meet again."
His voice was gentle, his tone calm.
But beneath this calm surface, Jiang Xiuxiu could faintly sense the hidden murderous intent in his tone.
Having lived so long, it was the first time she felt speechless like this.
Desperate and exhausted, Jiang Xiuxiu didn't bother to look at Xu Bai anymore.
She closed her eyes and gave up struggling. "Go ahead, kill me or chop me up, it's up to you."
After saying this, she collapsed on the ground, looking completely defeated.
While maintaining a brave expression on her face, deep down, she was extremely indignant.
This game was such a scam.
Why did Xu Bai clearly remember things from the last game? What was this escape game trying to pull?
Wasn't this just forcing her to die?
She would definitely file a complaint once she got out.
"Kill you?"
To Jiang Xiuxiu's surprise, Xu Bai looked puzzled after hearing her words. "Why would I kill you?"
Jiang Xiuxiu couldn't be bothered to pretend anymore. She sneered and said, "After what I did to you, I don't believe you wouldn't hold a grudge."
Having been forced to wear that kind of lingerie, if he was a normal man, he couldn't possibly not be angry.
"Of course I hold a grudge."
Xu Bai nodded after hearing her, without any denial.
He just tilted his head, looked at her puzzledly, and asked, "But you're not afraid of dying, so why should I kill you?"
Jiang Xiuxiu: "Well, thank you very much."
After trying to figure out Xu Bai's thinking for so long, Jiang Xiuxiu suddenly understood what he meant.
Just as she had thought before, Xu Bai was a twisted person who took pleasure in tormenting others.
So, he had no interest in killing Jiang Xiuxiu.
Not because he didn't hold a grudge, but because Jiang Xiuxiu wasn't afraid of death.
She wasn't afraid of dying, so facing death wouldn't make her scared or terrified. As a result, Xu Bai would find it boring.
After all, for him, killing had become such a routine that it was almost numbing.
Just like just now, when those four players were burned to that extent, all Xu Bai had to say was, "How boring."
For some reason, thinking of this didn't make her feel any relief.
Of course, she couldn't be sure if her thoughts were correct, since Xu Bai's mind worked very differently from normal people.
Maybe when she was smugly thinking she could escape, he might snap his fingers and burn her to death too.
"Don't worry, I won't harm you tonight."
Just when Jiang Xiuxiu was feeling uneasy, Xu Bai suddenly spoke.
His pair of deep black eyes looked at her with interest, completely different from the look he gave the four players earlier. "You're much more interesting than them. I won't kill you."
"But, I really don't like the way you run away," he lowered his head, pinched her face, and softly said, "So, I'll leave a mark on you, alright?"
A mark? What kind of mark?
Jiang Xiuxiu looked confused.
The next second, everything went black before her eyes,
And then, a sharp pain radiated from her collarbone.
He was biting her.
Jiang Xiuxiu shuddered in pain, trying to struggle, but she couldn't break free.
Xu Bai's fingers were cold, gripping tightly, and Jiang Xiuxiu could feel that chilling coldness seeping into her skin.
The pain was not blocked by the system, it came fiercely, sharply stimulating Jiang Xiuxiu's brain.
She could clearly feel how the other party was mercilessly biting her collarbone, his teeth roughly piercing her skin, breaking blood vessels, and causing blood to flow.
The smell of blood intertwined with the faint scent of vegetation from Xu Bai, lingering around her nose.
Unable to escape or struggle, she felt like a sacrificial lamb, powerless and desperate, only able to offer her vulnerable neck to the deity for tasting.
After an unknown amount of time, Xu Bai finally let go.
In the pitch darkness, Jiang Xiuxiu saw through the faint moonlight that there was still a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.
Although he had a very clean and handsome appearance, at this moment, there was an inexplicable wickedness in his eyes.
Was this a demon?
Jiang Xiuxiu covered the bitten area and, in a daze, suddenly realized this fact.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Jiang Xiuxiu looking at him, Xu Bai asked, confused.
Faced with this situation, Jiang Xiuxiu looked at Xu Bai, then at herself, not knowing what to say.
After a while, she replied blankly, "Nothing."
After all, her life was in Xu Bai's hands. What else could she do but accept it calmly?
She was bitten, so be it. Although she didn't understand why he did it, it was just a data body in the game anyway.
In a way, Jiang Xiuxiu had a strong mindset.
Xu Bai wasn't angry at her response instead, he looked at her with some surprise.
His eyes studied Jiang Xiuxiu thoughtfully, filled with an intriguing curiosity.
"It's getting late," he said slowly. "I'm looking forward to your next move."
After saying this, Xu Bai took a step back, and his figure suddenly blurred.
Jiang Xiuxiu hurriedly looked up, only to see him appearing at the entrance of the basement the next second.
The white ghost shadow led the souls of the remaining six players, staggering towards Xu Bai's position.
They soon disappeared above the basement, and as agreed, Xu Bai didn't look at her again.
He disappeared quickly, just as unpredictably as he had appeared.
It wasn't until their shadows could no longer be seen that Jiang Xiuxiu reacted and got up from the ground.
Xu Bai let her go?
She found it hard to believe.
Was it because his allowed time had run out?
Just like at Cihe Academy?
Jiang Xiuxiu's first reaction was this, but after thinking carefully, she felt it wasn't right.
At Cihe Academy, Xu Bai let her go repeatedly not because of time, but because she was useful in the early stages and had leverage later.
In this level, he had no reason to let her go.
Could it be that he really was, as he said, interested in her?
Jiang Xiuxiu shook her head, dismissing the thought.
She was quite self-aware she couldn't think of anything about herself that would interest Xu Bai.
Unless one day Xu Bai suddenly realized that he was just a game data, and she was the player.
As for Xu Bai's "you're interesting" and "I'm looking forward to it," Jiang Xiuxiu didn't buy it at all.
These thoughts flashed through her mind and were quickly dismissed.
Realizing it was getting late and feeling extremely tired from staying up late, Jiang Xiuxiu didn't hesitate and immediately turned to leave.
Back in her room, she took a deep breath, cleared her mind of the chaotic thoughts, and calmed herself.
Her goal was to pass the game. Since she had survived, she couldn't give up easily.
Next, she needed to quickly take the initiative and find something to restrain Xu Bai.
That night, Jiang Xiuxiu fell asleep quickly due to exhaustion.
The next morning, she woke up and went to check on Zhang Wei and the others.
As expected, Zhang Wei and his group had all disappeared.
While other players still "lived" in the mansion in ghost form, those burned by Xu Bai's fire, like Zhang Wei and Ye Ming, were directly eliminated.
Jiang Xiuxiu noted this.
Except for her, the remaining ten players were quite happy.
They found the food Jiang Xiuxiu had left in the hall and, noticing Zhang Wei and the others' disappearance, cheered and rushed to divide the food.
Three days of peace had made the players lose their vigilance.
Even though Zhang Wei and the others were eliminated, due to their antagonistic relationship, the others were only scared for a couple of seconds before feeling secretly pleased.
Watching them, Jiang Xiuxiu felt increasingly uneasy.
Something's wrong, she thought. This is a survival game; it can't be this safe.
Fear and death sometimes make people retreat, but more often, they push players to unleash their greater potential.
But now these players seemed like a bunch of domesticated hounds, their only daily worry being the scarcity of food.
No, not just food, they were also wary of each other, leading to most teams disbanding.
All players acted individually, and except for her, no one seemed to be making any progress.
Recalling the white ghost shadow's obedient behavior towards Xu Bai, Jiang Xiuxiu knew this must be Xu Bai's scheme.
Realizing this, Jiang Xiuxiu understood one thing.
Like her, Xu Bai was also growing.
Now, he had learned to use tactics to break the players.
And she had to give it her all to quickly find useful information today.