The Labyrinth of the Monsters

Chapter 48 – Manipulator

The person in front of you is not a human, nor is it your friend Wang Zikai.

"Wang Zikai" doesn't actually exist, it's just a foolish beast pretending to be him, a mutated lost one.

If he's dead, then he's dead. There's no need to be sad.

Gao Yang told himself this, but it was useless. His chest felt tight, and he could hardly breathe.

Memories flooded his mind: almost being hit by Wang Zikai's sports car on the first day of school; passing out from heatstroke during military training and being carried to the infirmary by Wang Zikai; being dragged by Wang Zikai to the internet cafe for the first time and gaming all night; Wang Zikai crying and saying he didn't actually want his parents to divorce...

Gao Yang sat dejectedly in front of Wang Zikai's body, feeling lost.

Qing Ling walked into the room, holding a knife and covering her bleeding arm.

Chubby Jun hesitated for a moment, then stood up from beside Wang Zikai and walked towards Qing Ling, placing his hands on her injured arm. "I'll heal it!"

Qing Ling glanced at Wang Zikai and furrowed her brow. "Is he dead?"

Officer Huang nodded. "No heartbeat." He looked around at the scattered bodies of the beasts on the ground. "I didn't expect the village to be truly slaughtered. If it weren't for Wang Zikai, the four of us would probably be dead."

"...Did anyone escape?" Chubby Jun asked anxiously.

"I just counted. There are 31 outside and 22 inside the house, a total of 53 people."

"No one escaped! Can we leave this cursed place now?" Chubby Jun couldn't wait any longer. "They're all dead, there are no more enemies!"

As soon as Chubby Jun finished speaking, Gao Yang's chest tightened.

He covered his chest. "Something's not right..."

"What's wrong?" Officer Huang became alert.

"It just doesn't feel right..." Gao Yang couldn't explain. Perhaps it was because of his high mental strength, he could sense the presence of hidden enemies.

"It's not over yet," Gao Yang's voice was filled with despair. "There's something still with us. It's strong, excited, and dangerous..."

"Yang ge, you... don't joke like that, it's not funny at all!" Chubby Jun couldn't bear it anymore. He looked around. "What else is there? Where is it? I didn't see anything!"

Gao Yang closed his eyes and entered the system.

[Warning! You are in extreme danger]

[Lucky point earnings increased by 1000 times]

- 1000 times?

Gao Yang didn't know what this concept meant. All he knew was that with their current state, they were bound to die!

He opened his eyes and shouted, "Run! Run fast!"

Qing Ling remained silent. She had at least three fractures, and the muscles in her right arm were severely torn, making it impossible for her to exert any strength. Although she was still barely holding the Tang Blade, it was merely a bluff.

A quick look at " will leave you more fulfilled.

Of course, she could still use her Metal Talent. However, a level 2 Metal Talent, while useful for controlling hidden weapons to ambush a human, was completely ineffective against a beast of this level.

Gao Yang naturally thought of this, and Qing Ling's silence said it all.

Escape was impossible.

Fight meant certain death.

All reason told Gao Yang: it was a dead end.

Nothing was more torturous than waiting for death, but this agony didn't last long. The sky-covering black hair, like a black man-eating flower hanging upside down in the sky, began to surround the four of them in the courtyard.

"Everyone, be careful!"

Gao Yang shouted, but it was in vain.

Chubby Jun was the first to be entangled by the black hair. He completely gave up resistance, closed his eyes and sobbed in pain, hoping that he could die quickly without too much suffering.

Officer Huang was the second to be caught. He tried to resist, but only struggled for two more seconds before being tied up like a dumpling.

Gao Yang's situation was similar to Officer Huang's. The temporary addition of a dozen points of Agility didn't help him avoid the black hair's binding.

Qing Ling held out the longest. She used her Metal Talent to control the dagger, blade, and Tang Blade, spinning them rapidly around her. Countless strands of hair were cut off, but some still penetrated her defense. Within six or seven seconds, Qing Ling was tightly bound by the black hair.

Under the influence of the black hair, Gao Yang's feet slowly left the ground, and he floated up along with his three companions.

Qing Ling was the last to be caught, but it seemed that she was the prey the hair monster desired the most. She was quickly drawn towards the hair monster and soon hung upside down in front of the skull.

The black hair wrapped around her body moved slowly and coldly like tiny snakes, slowly burrowing into Qing Ling's waterfall-like black hair, as if wanting to merge with it.

Suddenly, the skull opened its mouth and spoke in a hollow, chilling, and distorted female voice: "Hair, hair, such beautiful hair..."

Qing Ling stared at the skull in front of her, showing no fear.

Suddenly, she opened her mouth, and a small blade hidden on her tongue flew out, aiming for the skull's brow.

"Metal!" Qing Ling shouted, concentrating all her control on the blade.

It was useless. The blade was too thin and brittle. It was crushed by the powerful intent, leaving only a tiny scratch on the skull's brow.

But this sneak attack angered the hair monster.

Hundreds of strands of hair intertwined, instantly condensing into a hard "black giant needle", like a scorpion's tail, curving upwards from below, piercing Qing Ling's chest.

"Qing Ling!" Gao Yang shouted.@@@@