In the space beyond the game, Valerius had completely forgotten what he was supposed to be doing.
He stood there blankly, staring at Jingliu as she continued hammering his chest, with only one thought in his mind—
This big sister is cute enough to kill.
"You bad guy… bad guy… I'll beat you to death…"
"Ah… uh… th-this… that… you—"
Valerius was completely at a loss for words. He genuinely had no idea how to stop Jingliu.
Thankfully, the skill's duration wasn't very long.
"I'll beat you to death… beat… beat… beat…"
When the skill ended, Jingliu's entire body froze. She leaned against Valerius's chest, her small fists still raised.
The scene fell into dead silence.
After a long moment…
Jingliu slowly lowered her fists, stepped back, and said calmly:
"You've been controlled by my skill. You won't be able to move for three minutes."
Then she turned around—
And headed straight for the side door.
Only, her face was flushed bright red, and even her steps were unsteady.
Unable to move due to the control effect, Valerius could only watch Jingliu leave, feeling a strange sense of regret.
Why did that skill end so fast…?
"Uh… do you still have points? I'll come find you again later."
Jingliu's foot slipped mid-step, and she nearly faceplanted.
"You just try it. Next time, I'll switch to a different skill."
She shot Valerius a vicious glare, yanked open the side door, and fled in utter embarrassment.
[Ningguang]: Say… Jingliu won't completely lose her composure after this, right?
[Yanqing]: Master's Dao Heart is firm—this won't affect her.
[Lingsha]: What's the big deal? It's just a skill.
[Diluc]: You really think that?
[Jing Yuan]: My master's will is extremely resilient. A scene like this won't shake her.
At that moment, Jingliu closed the door and finally escaped Valerius's sight. Only then did she feel a bit better.
She genuinely couldn't understand why a martial art like that even existed.
And worse—once the skill activated, she couldn't control her body at all. It was like auto-casting. The sequence wouldn't stop until the entire routine was finished.
"Hah… at least the others left first."
That was the only comfort she had.
If the others had seen it too, she'd have died of embarrassment on the spot.
After calming herself a little, Jingliu prepared to reunite with the team. Being alone felt unsafe.
She had only taken two steps when she suddenly realized something was very wrong.
Her teammates might not have seen it—but this thing had a livestream.
Which meant…
"AAAAAAAH——!!!"
She covered her face and squatted down.
This time… she really had no face left to live with.
[Yae Miko]: Such a strong Dao Heart—want to wash that a bit more?
[Yanqing]: ...…
[Jing Yuan]: Th-this… this is only natural.
[Yukong]: Yes, yes—anyone would react like this.
[Raiden Ei]: It's just a skill. If it were me, I definitely wouldn't act like that.
[Venti]: Really?
[Furina]: Really?
[Raiden Ei]: O-of course…
Not her problem anyway—might as well exaggerate!
[Zhongli]: Sigh…
Zhongli sighed. Who would've thought that not only were the punishments nasty, even the skills were this cruel? How was anyone supposed to cope?
Inside the game.
Seeing that Jingliu hadn't chased after them—and no elimination notice had appeared—the others found it strange.
Worried that Jingliu might be in danger, Bronya immediately decided to go back and look for her.
Even if someone had to be eliminated, she'd rather be the one.
After turning a few corners, she quickly spotted Jingliu squatting on the ground, covering her face.
"Miss Jingliu, what's wrong?"
Hearing the sound, Jingliu shuddered, then stood up calmly.
"It's nothing… Valerius will catch up soon. Let's go."
"Alright—follow me. I'll guide you."
Jingliu was confused. Hadn't they already agreed on a route? Why did they need someone to lead?
"Well… it's like this…"
Bronya leaned close to Jingliu's ear and recounted what had happened earlier.
As she listened, Jingliu's eyes lit up with a sharp gleam.
"Then let's speed up."
After learning the full story, Jingliu immediately decided to move faster.
She'd already suffered peak secondhand death today—if she didn't mess with Valerius a bit, she wouldn't be able to swallow this humiliation.
They soon reached a narrow corridor.
"Miss Jingliu, walk along the sides. There are mines in the middle."
"Got it."
Carefully avoiding the faintly visible objects on the ground, they successfully regrouped with the others.
Now that Jingliu knew the situation, it was clear—Valerius appeared in humanoid form at night.
That made Clorinde wonder…
Would her explosives work?
After a brief discussion, the group decided to test it.
Even though it meant spending another point, it was worth trying.
If it worked, they could give Valerius a "surprise" every night.
They didn't need to eliminate him—just prevent him from hunting tonight.
Elsewhere.
Valerius finally broke free from the control and rubbed his nose.
Those punches from Jingliu earlier had almost knocked him silly.
Pushing open another door, he resumed the chase, a trace of anticipation in his heart.
If Jingliu's skill was like that… what about the others?
He even began considering slowing things down—just to see Jingliu "act cute" a few more times.
So cute.
After turning several corners, Valerius spotted a figure darting through a narrow alley.
"That's… Bronya!"
He recognized her instantly.
Without hesitation, he chased after her.
"Click."
Suddenly, Valerius felt something under his foot.
A split second later—
A deafening explosion erupted, flames soaring and smoke billowing.
"BOOM!"
Hearing the blast, the group hiding nearby felt a surge of excitement and rushed over to check.
With just one glance, their joy grew even stronger.
The ground was littered with shattered stone and debris—
And Valerius was nowhere to be seen.
"It worked!"
The discovery sent morale soaring.
If they could repel the BOSS, then there was nothing to fear anymore.
By day, they'd gather points.
By night, if he dared to come—
Mines it is.
[Notice: The BOSS has been repelled. He will not attack players for 2 hours. Afterward, the BOSS's strength will increase.]
"…Ah."
The first half of the notification made them ecstatic.
The second half left them dumbfounded.
Only two hours?
After that, they'd be hunted again?
And he'd be stronger?
Inside a dimly lit room covered in eerie runes, yellow candlelight flickered.
Valerius stood at the center of a magic array, utterly speechless.
"Damn it… landmines?"
There was no need to guess—someone from the Genshin side had learned Landmine Art.
He'd gotten cocky and paid the price.
"Just wait until I find out who you are."
With four Genshin players, he couldn't immediately tell who planted the trap.
But he'd find out—one by one.
And when he did…
He'd make sure they learned why flowers were red.
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