Chapter 35: Clearing the Level

"We are all participating in a dungeon for the first time, so it's only natural that we overlooked the background, treating the Headless Murderer as a fixed boss. It never occurred to us that there was other information hidden within."

They had assumed they were among the game's earliest players, and that the three years mentioned by the game were merely background lore. Just as they had dismissed the Woodcutter as a mere NPC, they never imagined that this place had been a dungeon for a very long time—and a non-closed one at that.

"Who could have guessed that this has been a dungeon site for decades, and that there are inexplicably lingering players trapped here?" Liu Yuanyuan’s arrogant demeanor had faded significantly.

"We also owe it to that Woodcutter," Yuan Yao added. "Otherwise, we wouldn't have known that if only one person is left, the dungeon cannot be cleared."

His eyes lit up as he lunged toward Xu Huo. "Brother Xu! We’re good friends and brothers now, right? Let’s exchange numbers—or if not numbers, let’s add each other on a social media account!"

Xu Huo pressed a hand against his face to push him away and turned to Wang Wei. "Connecting that to your little tricks earlier, it’s certain the Headless Murderer is a player."

"Then why didn't you suspect her!" Wang Wei pointed furiously at Liu Yuanyuan.

"I did, of course," Xu Huo said calmly. "Didn't we just use the process of elimination earlier?"

Wang Wei had nothing to say. He trembled for a moment, then suddenly gave a sinister laugh. "It’s my bad luck to have crossed paths with you, but don't think you're going to finish this dungeon so easily!"

He lifted a finger, and a thread so fine it was barely visible appeared out of thin air beside Xu Huo. The thread was slightly different in color from the previous ones, seemingly able to blend into the environment, though the faint shimmer of the metallic wire could still be caught by the eye.

"At it again!" Xu Huo reached out to grab the wire, but it was incredibly slippery. It wriggled out of his grip and darted toward Yuan Yao!

It wasn't aimed at him!

Xu Huo kicked Yuan Yao away, but the thread didn't attack Huang Junjie, who was coming from the front. Instead, it brushed past his ear and flew toward Abel in the back!

Abel scrambled backward, the giant cross appearing in his hands once more. He swung it wildly in the air, but not only did it have no real effect, he was blinded by the foam the cross produced. In the next second, he was hoisted into the air by the wire!

Huang Junjie and Yuan Yao ran over to help, intending to lift him up and remove the wire, but it seemed to have grown onto Abel's neck—the harder they pulled, the higher it went!

"This is my prop, 'Ubiquitous String.' It can grow on anything. Whatever you do is useless; you can only watch him hang!" Wang Wei laughed boisterously, looking utterly manic. "But don't worry, I'll kill you all one by one!"

The expressions of the players present darkened. Wang Wei had far too many strange and unpredictable props!

"His prop cannot be used on the same person twice. Huang Junjie, go!" Xu Huo shouted, then tapped his heels twice and vanished from the spot!

His speed was so fast it left a blur in the air. Wang Wei, who had been gloating, saw his expression shift instantly. Before his smile could even fade, he saw Xu Huo standing right in front of him!

"Ah!!!" Wang Wei shrieked, looking down at his left hand; four fingers and half his palm had been sliced off!

With the source of his control gone, Abel fell to the ground. Huang Junjie tried to use his bamboo blade to coil up the wire, but he failed, and could only watch as the wire flew back toward Wang Wei!

"Xu Huo, look out, the wire is coming back!"

Hearing Huang Junjie’s warning, Xu Huo didn't turn back. He parried a swinging axe, kicked Wang Wei back against the wall, turned, and used a brass lighter to bite onto the hovering wire. He tied several tight knots in it and threw it, along with the lighter, to Huang Junjie!

Seeing his own prop stolen, Wang Wei let out a roar and swung his axe frantically, desperate to fight Xu Huo to the death. Unfortunately, his speed couldn't keep up, and he was injured. Without the bonus of the black cape, his clumsy, unskilled hacking couldn't hurt anyone.

Xu Huo signaled to Yuan Yao, who understood and slipped to the side.

"Die, die, die!" Wang Wei’s roars echoed through the warehouse. Xu Huo remained calm, avoiding a direct confrontation and simply retreating as he dodged the swings. Once Yuan Yao had silently reached behind him, Xu Huo suddenly spoke: "Do you want to know how I figured out the weakness of your prop?"

Wang Wei’s movements subconsciously stalled. At that moment, Yuan Yao lunged forward to pin his arms, shouting excitedly, "Brother Xu, do it!"

Wang Wei’s expression changed, but it was too late to realize he had been tricked. A small knife was swiftly plunged into his heart!

Xu Huo watched calmly as the man’s eyes bulged, staring fixedly at him. He reached out to remove the axe before taking a step back, letting the man collapse to the ground.

The moment Wang Wei breathed his last, a notification sounded in the ears of all players present:

[Congratulations to all players for successfully clearing the "Headless Murderer" dungeon. As the dungeon was completed early and the Headless Murderer was captured and killed through joint effort, in addition to the rewards based on mission completion, all players will jointly receive a 100,000 bounty provided by the manor owner and one special prop.]

[Additionally, the Headless Murderer's prop is a fixed item of this dungeon and cannot be obtained by players. Later, players may choose between one character development privilege or one prop. Note: The player to receive this exchange reward will be selected by player vote.]

[Below is the performance rating for this dungeon's missions:]

[Player Passerby A: B-Rank
Player Drunkenly Flicking the Lamp to Look at the Sword: D-Rank
Player Ape Who Doesn't Understand Code: D-Rank
Player Faith of the Gods: E-Rank
Player Beautiful Skin: E-Rank]

"D-Rank!" Yuan Yao was the first to jump for joy. "I got a D-Rank! I didn't even get a rating during the preliminary screening on the train. I never expected to get a D on my first dungeon! Haha!"

"Congratulations." Huang Junjie’s expression also relaxed significantly. He was also a D-Rank; his personal rewards and train tickets should be secure.

Since he and Yuan Yao were both D-Rank, Passerby A, who achieved B-Rank, was undoubtedly Xu Huo.

"Why am I the lowest?" Liu Yuanyuan asked, unconvinced. "I helped catch the Headless Murderer too."

"So did I," Abel said, scratching his head. "It’s probably because we were running around like blind men from start to finish, and you almost caused us to fight each other."

Liu Yuanyuan snorted and turned her gaze to Huang Junjie’s hand. The metallic wire, which had been wriggling like a worm, was now motionless, hanging from the lighter. She looked at it greedily. "Let me see that prop."

Huang Junjie stepped back vigilantly. "It's four against one; you don't have a chance."

Liu Yuanyuan scoffed and looked at Xu Huo, who was lingering by the wall. "What are you doing? It’s time to vote. Don't tell me you're trying to hog the exchange reward for yourself."

Xu Huo searched for a moment longer, finally found a reflective shard in the corner, and tucked it into his pocket before turning back.

After the game announcement ended, the black cape and axe in Xu Huo’s inventory turned gray. Upon clicking them, only the voting interface remained.

"Before we vote," he said, "let's decide who gets this exchange reward."