Playing Hide and Seek

Fen Hao was about to perform a dramatic martyr scene when Jin Lin took out two yellow bottles from his inventory. The bottles looked the same at first glance but on closer inspection, one could see the difference.

One had a symbol of a snakehead with its mouth open showing its fangs and the other had a fangless snake. Jin Lin held them both up and said, "One will save you but the other will kill you and I have no fuckin idea which one is which."

"Are we playing some sick version of spot the difference or something? Just pick one, it's a fifty thirty chance anyway," said Fen Hao suddenly having found the energy to scold his friend.

Jin Lin was about to pick one when he heard this. He wanted to ask what happened to the other twenty per cent chance but this wasn't the time to question his friend's mathematical skills. He crossed his fingers and picked the bottle without fangs.

This system only knows how to sell things and will only tell him exactly what he is looking for at an extra cost which he didn't have enough Quin for. Just as he was about to pour out the contents of the fangless bottle into Fen Hao's mouth an image flashed into his mind.

He remembered that day he had broken out in goosebumps when he noticed those long fangs. He thought the label was deceiving because one would assume it's poisonous. After all, a snake with fangs is indeed venomous.

Switching the bottles right at the last second he poured the contents into Fen Hao's mouth. The boy's face changed into an ugly expression. Jin Lin was about to reach out and cover Fen Hao's mouth as the low-level shield started degrading when a loud thud caught him by surprise.

Fen Hao had collapsed on the ground just like that. If he was a back alley doctor and his patient whom he had just administered medication to collapsed, he would have been dumping the body outside a hospital one province over before skipping town.

Jin Lin checked his pulse and heaved a silent sigh while thinking, 'At least he is quiet now.' His sigh might have been silent but the lady upstairs heard it and made a fuss over it.

"Where are you? This big sister is too old to be playing hide and seek with you so.... come on out," she said as she sat cross-legged midair in an easy pose with her spear across her lap.

Jin Lin didn't dare make a sound as he sat next to Fen Hao. With one leg stretched on the ground and the other bent at the knee, he lazily placed his hand on it and looked up to the sturdy roof of the rabbit hole.

Though he was forced to stay silent there was at least some good news that is Fen Hao's leg seemed to be healing. The thorny spikes started retreating from Fen Hao's leg like they were running away from something sinister. The elixir was definitely working which meant Jin Lin had to make a mental note just in case it happens again in the future.

All he had to do was silently wait for little missy out there to give up and walk away. What he didn't know was that this girl would uproot the ground just to find them.

Tail Raiser on the other end had managed to kill off all of the newbies but still couldn't find what they were here for. The ground all around him was covered in blood, torn flesh and dim coloured crystal energy cores that had lost their luminous shine.

Counting the heads he knew that this wasn't everyone in that truck. This meant the remaining individuals must be where Cream Shot was. Just as he was about to leave and assist her, he felt a pair of eyes watching him. His tentacles perserved something and began aggressively searching for where this feeling was coming from.

This sense of uneasiness could be felt in the presence of a predator or a malicious person but he couldn't distinguish between the two. He didn't want to waste time-fighting a beast because they had a deadline to meet but if this thing was actually the person they were looking for then wouldn't it be a loss if he let them go?

His tentacles extended further searching in the thick forest. Ming Wei who had been hiding behind a boulder stiffened with his body plastered against the rough surface. He had witnessed the bloody massacre from earlier which unconsciously awakened his abilities. His vision magnified as he watched Tail Raiser closely but who would have thought that gaze alone could rouse the tentacle man's sense.

Fearful for his life the blond youth ducked down but he had already grabbed Tail Raiser's unwanted attention. He closed his eyes and tried to lower as much of his presence as possible. A stream of cold sweat flowed down his pale face as he held his breath.

He could hear the weird shrieks from the tentacles drawing closer and closer which meant he was gradually approaching death's door. His life flashed before his eyes regretting ever coming here. He should have silently retired from E-sports like a regular player after the specialist doctor diagnosed him with gamer's thumb but he wasn't done living his glory days.

Instead, he chose to accept Star Horizon's offer to try their gaming capsule which would ultimately be the future of E-sports. This is why he blindly signed the contract despite numerous red flags which led him to this predicament. He was now being hunted down like a dog instead of being in his cushy apartment sipping red bull while watching the championship.

The ominous shriek right above his head brought him back to earth as his face ashen further like someone had thrown ash on his face. He remained motionless like a statue as he attempted to find some saving grace in his inventory. Almost everything was greyed out and he only had 10 Quin to his name which could only buy him elixirs.

He closed his eyes as he lost hope. He resigned to his fate as he made a silent prayer waiting for death to come.