Endless Throne - Chapter 2

[Literary Mentor]: True works are not in books, but in the soul. When the heart blossoms, butterflies come naturally.

[Drunken Butterfly]: Mentor, I’ve enlightened…

Lin Yebai found it hard not to be distracted by the barrage in the live broadcast room. What were they saying? There were some parts he didn’t quite understand, but he wanted to keep watching.

Turning his gaze back to the pitch-black hallway, he suddenly met a pair of red eyes. Though her head was dented, her mobility wasn’t greatly affected. Instead, she seemed more excited, trying to grab the shovel.

Lin Yebai pulled it back too quickly for her to grasp. Her nails scraped against the metal, producing a sharp, grating sound. She fell prone on the stairs, looking up at Lin Yebai, making a “ho ho” sound in her throat.

Bloody bone spikes suddenly grew from her back, instantly tearing through her clothes. Her entire skeleton was severely distorted, unable to stand upright. Like a humanoid lizard, she quickly crawled towards Lin Yebai.

Lin Yebai had long noticed she wasn’t normal, but he didn’t expect her to turn into a monster directly. Greater strength, slower thinking, sharp nails, no sense of pain.

Her body wasn’t particularly strong, even more fragile than a normal person’s, but the bone spikes were unexpectedly hard. The shovel almost got stuck when he tried to pull it out.

“Brother… I’m in pain…”

“It hurts…”

This voice, tinged with tears, still held a strangely bewitching quality, making one feel reluctant to harm such a fragile girl.

Of course, Lin Yebai was an exception. His expression remained calm, his eyes even showing a hint of curiosity. He brought the shovel down again and again, smashing her entire head before stopping.

This time she should be completely dead. No longer making any sound, her body still twitched slightly, like some large arthropod.

The shovel, used as a weapon, had broken, leaving only half a wooden handle.

[Slayed Level 1 Aberrant x1]

[Points +50]

The prompt from the Main God Space sounded.

So this was an Aberrant?

Lin Yebai felt a bit tired. Due to this bout of intense activity, a sharp pain rose in his chest again, and he couldn’t help but start coughing.

His constitution was poor to begin with. His lips were slightly pale, even his fingertips had lost their color. From head to toe, he looked weak and frail, like a beautiful porcelain vase placed high up – with just a slight push, it would fall to the ground and shatter.

Even seeing the corpse beside him, it was hard to connect the head that had exploded like a rotten watermelon with him.

The dark hallway, the mutated corpse, the dark red blood, and the stark white bone spikes together formed a bloody tableau.

Lin Yebai sat there, aloof and indifferent, everything around him becoming mere backdrop.

[Super Rich Tangerine Seat]: These looks, I approve!

[Super Rich Tangerine Seat] tipped [Star Coins] x520

[Peace for a Lifetime]: Faced with a patient tormented by illness, he resolutely acted, sending them to paradise…

[Blacksmith Thor]: Good lad! Come forge with me, guarantee to cure that cough of yours

[Blooming Wealth] tipped [Star Coins] x100

[Blooming Wealth]: Host, save up more Star Coins to exchange for items

[White Umbrella]: Just joined the stream, what happened? A dismemberment scene?

Lin Yebai didn’t know yet how to exchange Star Coins. He half-closed his eyes, his thick black lashes lowered, unable to suppress his low cough, his face pale enough to cause concern.

Zhou Yuan, who had just left the internet cafe and was about to go home, heard a weak cough coming from the stairwell. He turned on his flashlight—

The entire hallway was splattered with dark red bloodstains, a horrifically mutilated corpse still twitching slightly.

A man in a black uniform sat on the steps, the dark bloodstains on his face particularly eye-catching. He slightly raised his eyes to look towards the light source, his gaze as sharp as a blade, measuring the distance between them with his peripheral vision.

Their eyes met, and Zhou Yuan shuddered. Like a cat suddenly seeing a cucumber, he leapt back violently. Not even bothering to pick up his dropped phone, he ran straight out, screaming loudly.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Murder!!!”

Lin Yebai picked up the phone from the ground, played with it for a while, but unable to operate it, he just held it as a light source.

In the corner was a dark red bead that had rolled out of the Aberrant’s head. He hadn’t had time to pick it up earlier. The bead had a texture not unlike glass, with a dark, muted color that seemed to absorb the surrounding light.

Lin Yebai put the bead into his pocket, and soon heard the terrified voice of the young man from earlier again.

The reason he could recognize it was because when extremely frightened, the other’s voice became as high-pitched as a young girl’s.

“Ah—”

“Ahhhhhhh there’s a monster—”

[Opera Succubus]: This kid might be able to sing soprano

[Literary Mentor]: Fifteen “ah”s vividly express his terror, “murder” and “monster” use the technique of plain description to present the scene before us

Lin Yebai read the barrage while adjusting his breathing, preparing for battle.

—

Zhou Yuan had planned to find a place to call the police after going out, then return to the internet cafe to play games. But before he left the residential area, he bumped into a fat middle-aged woman. Good heavens, when the woman turned around, her face was covered in densely packed eyes!

Twinkling and shining, her entire face was full of little eyes!

He was so scared he wet himself, and had to turn back, running away frantically.

The fat woman was very fast, running while enthusiastically saying, “Xiao Zhou, you haven’t eaten, right? Come to auntie’s house for a late-night snack…”

“I don’t want to eat I don’t want to eat I don’t want to eat ahhhhhhh…”

“Xiao Zhou, Xiao Zhou, don’t run so fast, you might fall hehehe…” The fat woman’s laughter was sharp, reaching a frenzied level, very neurotic.

Zhou Yuan was absolutely terrified. If he was caught, he would definitely become the woman’s late-night snack.

—

Lin Yebai picked up the battered shovel, thought for a moment, then broke off the bone spikes from the back of the previous Aberrant. The base wasn’t tightly connected to the spine, so it wasn’t difficult to break off.

The bone spike was much harder than the shovel, with sharp edges like a bone knife, much more handy to use than the shovel.

Lin Yebai lacked vigor, so his fist and leg techniques lacked power, but his knife skills were exceptionally gifted. At just over twenty, he already had few equals.

“Big brother, save me, help…”

Zhou Yuan recalled the glimpse of the black security uniform he had seen earlier, and seemed to understand something.

On the surface, he was committing violence, but in reality, he was slaying monsters?

I thought he was on the first level, but actually he’s on the second level?

But Zhou Yuan was also afraid that the security guard brother might be in league with the fat woman, so he didn’t dare run into the stairwell.

—

Lin Yebai suppressed the urge to cough and walked out, slightly stumbling. Leaving the dark hallway, the bloody moonlight poured down, his ink-like long hair falling smoothly behind him, tinged with a hazy and gentle glow.

Lin Yebai looked in the direction of the sound, and saw the young man from earlier being chased all over the place by a plump middle-aged woman.

“Help—”

Seeing that the man was about to be caught, Lin Yebai threw the broken shovel from afar, directly piercing the fat woman’s chest.

Her speed slowed slightly as she turned her head to look at Lin Yebai.

Being stared at by so many eyes at once made Lin Yebai slightly uncomfortable. He suddenly felt it was a pity that the shovel was broken.

Encountering this kind of monster, he should have smashed it with the shovel, to avoid being stared at to the point of nausea, even feeling dizzy.

“Young comrade, I have a situation to report to you…” Her eyeballs bulged outwards as she rushed towards Lin Yebai.

“Big brother, be careful!” Zhou Yuan warned in panic.

She came closer and closer. Lin Yebai dodged just in time, swinging the bone spike in his hand. The head covered with countless eyes instantly flew off.

It was a single-stroke beheading.

Dark red blood sprayed out, bringing with it a strong smell of gore.

Lin Yebai caught a bead and put it in his pocket.

His slender fingers were stained with blood. Dark blood droplets meandered across his palm, flowing along his life line and seeping through his fingers, with a strange vitality.

[Slayed Low-level Aberrant x1]

[Points +50]

Lin Yebai heard the emotionless prompt sound again.

Zhou Yuan sat down hard on the ground, gasping frantically.

As a shut-in, how could he outrun a middle-aged woman who often rushed for groceries? He was almost caught by the hundred-eyed auntie, it was terrifying.

It was truly frightening!

“Big brother, what’s going on…”

“Not sure.” Lin Yebai was new here, but felt that falling into the hands of those monsters wouldn’t end well.

“Big brother, I’m Zhou Yuan. Thanks, otherwise I would’ve lost my life.”

“Lin Yebai.”

“Brother Lin, want to come to my place? Nobody’s home.”

[Blooming Wealth]: The one lying in the corridor said the same thing

[Lifelong Peace]: What does a late-night invitation mean? Is it moral decay or human nature’s distortion? Let’s approach this episode of the All Heaven Livestream…

[Soft Cat Ears]: Finally know the streamer’s name!

[White Umbrella] tipped [Star Coins] x100

Zhou Yuan looked at Lin Yebai’s blood-soaked uniform with “Security” written on the front and back, feeling this walking golden thigh needed to clean up.

Lin Yebai silently gripped the bone knife, not refusing.

The convulsing corpse at the stairway had also invited him home earlier. The multi-eyed Aberrant from before seemed to have something to report?

Too bad she died, who knows what she wanted to say.

Zhou Yuan seemed much more normal, perhaps a living person. If he was an Aberrant, a quick slash wouldn’t be trouble.

“Brother Lin, this is an old neighborhood without elevators. The corpse is blocking the stairs, let’s move her aside first.”

Zhou Yuan pulled first, saw Lin Yebai’s pale face, and instantly decided to shoulder the burden of life alone. Brother Lin’s physical condition looked worrisome, fearing he might suddenly collapse.

“Brother Lin, don’t move. I can carry her, she’s not heavy.”

Zhou Yuan suppressed his fear, dragged the corpse, and stuffed it into the triangular space under the stairs.

Hopefully it won’t rot or grow maggots, that would be suffocating. Dragging it outside seemed worse. Why did the world change so much after playing games at the internet cafe for three months?

In games, seeing monsters charge made him excitedly rush forward. In reality, he only wished he had two more legs to escape faster.

Zhou Yuan’s home was on the third floor. The lights weren’t on inside, but splattered blood stains were visible on nearby walls and corridors before entering.

Two red lights suddenly appeared in a dark corner of the room, coming from some creature’s eyes.

A thin white line shot out from that direction, wrapping around Zhou Yuan’s neck.

“Ah—”

The soprano-like scream sounded again.

Zhou Yuan screamed like a startled young girl, the overly sharp sound making even the window glass tremble and crash to the ground.

Lin Yebai stepped back in advance, avoiding the flying glass shards.

The thin line seemed stunned by the sound too, pausing before continuing to drag Zhou Yuan towards the corner.