Chapter 34: Inference

"Players cannot obtain the special abilities of a killed player," Liu Yuanyuan said first. "You are bluffing."

"You are a cannibal player. Cannibal players don't have special abilities to begin with, so of course you can't obtain the abilities of other players. We all just came down from the entry-level train; I assume you don't have many items either."

Ignoring Liu Yuanyuan's angry glare, Wang Wei's gaze remained fixed on Xu Huo. "It is impossible to complete the dungeon mission alone. There are five of you now. Instead of increasing casualties in vain, wouldn't it be better if we leave each other alone and quietly wait for the fifth day?"

Huang Junjie, who prioritized pros and cons, was somewhat swayed. He subconsciously looked at Xu Huo.

"You don't need to probe me," Xu Huo said. "Even if you kill a player, you cannot obtain their special abilities. The only inheritance that can be claimed is money and items."

"It is indeed impossible to clear the stage alone. The simplest way is to ensure that multiple players survive until the end of the dungeon. However, as you said, since you just came off the train, perhaps the players you killed didn't have any items at all."

He smiled. "The hardest part is already over, and with the grand prize package right in front of us, taking a little risk is worth it."

Wang Wei had anticipated that Xu Huo would not be so easily fooled, so he looked at Yuan Yao and the other two. "Do you all think so too?"

The three did not speak. Wang Wei sneered and said to Liu Yuanyuan, "You won't gain anything by killing me. They will be coming for you next."

Liu Yuanyuan shrugged. "I don't care. The dungeon rewards are more tempting to me."

"You've said so much; aren't you just afraid?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she pounced on Wang Wei like a beast released from a cage!

Wang Wei dodged to the side, but three bloody scratches were left on his face. The pain of the lacerated skin made his muscles twitch. After stepping back a few paces to avoid her momentum, he grabbed at the air, and a black cloak unfurled and wrapped around him with a spin!

But before he could hide himself entirely within the cloak, Xu Huo suddenly lunged from the side and tripped him with a sliding kick. "Grab him!"

Abel and Yuan Yao followed closely, each grabbing one of his legs and forcibly dragging Wang Wei out from under the cloak!

Although he was out, he gripped the cloak tightly with one hand, and the three parties began a tug-of-war!

Huang Junjie, who had been waiting for an opportunity, held a bamboo blade in both hands and stabbed toward Wang Wei's chest and abdomen. But just as he raised his hand, he was lifted into the air by a thin, silvery-black metal wire hooked around his neck!

The bamboo blade fell to the ground. Huang Junjie struggled to pull at the wire, but the ends of the thin thread were not connected to anything; it was as if it had grown out of thin air. As Wang Wei crossed his index and middle fingers, the wire suddenly tightened on its own, leaving a bleeding line on Huang Junjie's neck!

Xu Huo glanced at the man who was being strangled to the point of rolling his eyes. He stepped hard on the cloak, pulled out the "Arsonist's Tool," opened it, and shouted, "Burn, burn, burn!"

Without the cover of the black cloak, three flames ignited out of thin air on Wang Wei's clothes, and the fire grew in an instant!

The sudden fire made Wang Wei panic. He stopped manipulating the wire, kicked away Abel and Yuan Yao, and turned to strike at Xu Huo!

The two had been at a distance, but suddenly a black stun baton appeared in Wang Wei's hand. The electric current surging from it enveloped his entire arm, and the leaping sparks were blinding, making it impossible to get close.

Xu Huo narrowed his eyes, hesitating whether to let go, when Liu Yuanyuan suddenly pounced from the side. Wearing insulated gloves, she pressed down on Wang Wei's left arm and snapped it. With a "crack," the stun baton rolled to the ground!

She picked up the baton and ran. Xu Huo and the newly risen Huang Junjie took the opportunity to strike, stabbing at Wang Wei's wrist and calf respectively!

By now, Wang Wei's entire body was burning, and the fire had exceeded his tolerance. He had no choice but to abandon the black cloak, brandish the Headhunter's axe to force the others back, and then roll away to put some distance between them!

As soon as he stood up, Abel charged in carrying his large wooden cross. Wang Wei barely managed to block it with his axe, but he was smashed into the wall. After landing, he began coughing up blood while frantically tearing at his clothes!

Thanks to his physique as an evolver, although his skin was burned, it was not life-threatening. However, parts of the scorched fabric had melted and stuck to his flesh, and unable to tear them off, he had to let them cool.

The smell of cooked meat permeated the warehouse.

"Gulp!" Liu Yuanyuan swallowed hard.

"The risk was worth it," Xu Huo said, lifting the black cloak in his hand.

In just a few dozen seconds of confrontation, the Headhunter Wang Wei not only failed to gain an advantage, but he also lost his greatest asset—the black cloak—as well as another item. Even the axe in his hand had a chip knocked out by Abel's cross, while their side suffered negligible damage.

Wang Wei gasped, staring at Xu Huo with a grim, visceral resentment. He couldn't figure it out. "How can you be so sure that the Headhunter must be a player? There have always been rumors of a Headhunter at the Hot Spring Villa. A normal person should assume there was a Headhunter here to begin with, plus the evidence I fabricated. Why wouldn't you believe it!"

"Because your cleverness backfired!" Yuan Yao said impatiently. "Would the real Headhunter need to play those little tricks?"

"Just because of that?" Wang Wei raised his voice.

Not just him, but Huang Junjie and the others were also confused, especially Huang Junjie, who had initially only guessed that a player was impersonating the Headhunter to kill people; he had never imagined the Headhunter was a player.

"Pay attention to the prompt," Xu Huo flicked his lighter. "The dungeon background says people have been dying at this villa for the past three years, but looking at these materials found in the warehouse, the rumors of a Headhunter here actually go back decades."

Wang Wei's eyelids twitched as he asked, "And what does that prove?"

"The point is in these materials. Setting aside those who died before, looking at the last three years, the people killed follow a pattern—they are either missing heads or have incomplete limbs."

Xu Huo glanced at Huang Junjie. "Setting aside the copycat theory, this fits the profile of a player better; most are ordinary players, and a small portion are cannibal players."

"So that's why there were missing arms and legs. If the bodies had been eaten, wouldn't the identity of the Headhunter be easily exposed?" Yuan Yao muttered.

"You can see records of past incidents in old newspapers. This shows that the villa didn't close down because of a Headhunter in the past—at least there were still newspapers being delivered. Plus, the game says this place was once popular with both players and non-players. It is highly likely it was a dungeon back then, too. The people coming here were players, and this is a dungeon—combining that with the pattern of the bodies, it's more logical that the Headhunter is a player."

"So this dungeon started decades ago?" Abel was shocked. "We are all entering for the first time, how is that possible!"

"It's possible," Huang Junjie thought of something, his face turning ashen. "Isn't the Woodcutter a stranded player?"