Qin Xiao, empowered by his own strength and the Prop Cards, dispatched all four murderers with ease.
Staring at the four bodies lying in pools of blood, his face remained expressionless, but deep inside, he felt a trace of delight and relief. “It’s finally coming to an end.”
The other survivors finally snapped back to their senses at this moment, excitement showing on their faces. The monster was defeated, the Hidden Task cleared—they could finally leave this island!
Qin Xiao stood in place, quietly waiting for the system prompt.
[Congratulations on completing your personal Hidden Task. You are about to leave the island. Countdown: 3…2…1…]
In the next second, the Tang Dao slipped from his hand and fell to the ground as his figure vanished right before everyone’s eyes. The others stared at each other in shock, frozen for a full minute.
“What’s going on? Why haven’t we left?”
“Didn’t completing the Hidden Task mean we could leave the island?!”
“Let’s wait a little longer. Maybe we’re just a bit late…” Clearly, even the survivor who said this didn’t sound too confident.
An Ling ignored the panicked crowd. As long as they didn’t run amok right now, it was fine. Next, it was her turn to complete her Hidden Task.
“Chen Rui, can you help me with something?” She turned to Chen Rui, who also looked a bit worried, and asked for his help.
“Ah, sure, sis. What do you need me to do?” Chen Rui agreed without hesitation.
“Help me cut open these four corpses and dig out their pancreas.” An Ling wasn’t being squeamish; she simply didn’t know anything about human anatomy and truly had no idea where the pancreas was.
“Alright.” Chen Rui didn’t ask why. Though fear gripped his heart, he still picked up the Tang Dao from the ground and walked to the bodies, silently chanting to himself that these weren’t humans—they were monsters.
During this time, An Ling kept a sharp eye on all the survivors, ready to prevent anyone from launching a sneak attack in such a critical moment.
By now, most of the survivors had turned their attention to the two of them, curious as to why they were dismembering the bodies.
If the enemy was hiding among them, they might expose their true nature the moment they saw the pancreas.
It was a risky move.
Before long, Chen Rui had carved out the pancreas and signaled An Ling to stop. “Back up. As far as you can,” she instructed immediately.
Looking confused, he nodded and quickly retreated to the Stairs, keeping a watchful eye on the hall from afar.
An Ling, without hesitation, picked up the organ and hurled it toward the group of survivors.
Everyone instinctively dodged to the side, staring at the blood-soaked pancreas on the floor, not understanding why she had thrown it there.
Just then, a figure suddenly lunged from behind, shoving people aside to reach the front. “Damn it, what are you doing?”
The survivor had barely finished cursing when, to everyone’s horror, the figure dropped to the floor and began devouring the pancreas with wild abandon.
His body sprawled on the ground like a Beast, and his entire body began to transform in bizarre ways.
The shirt on his back tore apart, exposing a broad back covered in black hair. His limbs twisted into Beast-like shapes, sprouting massive claws.
After finishing the pancreas, he looked up again—no longer resembling a human at all!
His face was shrouded in black hair, elongated cheekbones jutted with irregular fangs, and his crimson eyes gleamed with a sinister red light.
This was a creature no one had ever seen before—a true monster!
“Run!” someone shouted, and all the survivors scattered in panic as the monster turned and immediately lunged at the person who’d shouted.
The island’s master was an irrational monster after all? An Ling had always thought the mastermind was a high-intelligence being, an observer of sorts.
Now it seemed the survivors had fallen prey to its hunt, and perhaps it too was following some set of rules.
Just as the monster was about to slaughter the nearest survivor, An Ling decisively used two Prop Cards. Instantly, she felt her body surge with strength and explosive power, surpassing human limits.
She drew out a throwing dart and hurled it with all her might. The force of several hundred kilos sent the dart whistling through the air, spinning fiercely as it shot straight for the monster’s forelimb joint.
Bang! The monster’s body was knocked askew by the tremendous force, and its attack missed its mark.
But the dart only pierced into its flesh—it didn’t sever the limb. Its bones were incredibly tough!
This only enraged the monster further. It turned, its gaze bloodthirsty and fixed on its attacker, viscous, foul-smelling saliva dripping from its mouth.
It crouched low, then in the next moment, lunged at An Ling, jaws wide.
An Ling gripped the Tang Dao and bolted. Though the monster’s explosive power was terrifying, with the enhancement from the cards, her speed matched it. For a moment, the monster couldn’t catch her at all.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Darts flew from her hands, relentlessly targeting the monster. At this point, a compound bow was no longer suitable for combat.
Thud! Another dart hit the wounded spot precisely, and one even struck the monster’s skull.
With her hundred-percent accuracy, An Ling could hit whatever she aimed at.
But its skull was unbelievably hard—the dart simply bounced off. Unfazed, An Ling immediately shifted her aim to its limbs. As long as its movements were restricted, victory was still possible.
The two circled around the hall. Each time the monster pounced, she used her speed to dodge and counterattack.
By now, the monster’s limbs were bristling with darts in the same spots, but none had broken. It seemed impervious to pain; even its movement remained unaffected.
Scanning her surroundings, An Ling saw that all the other survivors had fled. She dodged another attack with a swift leap and, in a few quick steps, reached the Second Floor.
Turning around, she drew her compound bow and loosed all her remaining Arrows in one go. The monster’s body was riddled with Arrows, four of them deeply embedded in its neck, hampering its head movement.
Expressionless, An Ling realized she’d run out of Arrows and darts. Calmly, she pulled a handgun from her pocket and aimed at the monster.
The monster, meanwhile, was charging up the Stairs at full speed, intent on ripping apart its foe above. Just as it was about to leap—
Bang! A flash of fire tore through the darkness, and the deafening report echoed in the hall.
The bullet struck the monster’s left leg—already riddled with darts and scarred beyond recognition.
Squelch—half of its black limb snapped off, and with the loss of balance and momentum, the monster crashed heavily to the ground.
An Ling seized the chance, leaping from the Second Floor and landing before the monster. Gripping the Tang Dao with both hands, she drove it hard into its neck.
The blade pierced straight through the monster’s throat and deep into the floor, like the edge of a pair of shears. With both hands, An Ling twisted with all her might to the side, and finally, the monster’s neck snapped!
Watching the light fade from the monster’s eyes and its limbs cease to struggle, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Phew—now it’s really dead.”
An Ling quickly retreated, gun at the ready, warily watching the monster, afraid it might try a last desperate attack.
For a long time, the monster remained still. It was truly dead—its body slowly began to melt away, dissolving into a pool of blood.
[Congratulations on completing the team Hidden Task. You have cleared Novice Island. All survivors will leave in 120 seconds…]
[Countdown: 118…117…]
An Ling’s face lit up with joy. Wonderful—she could finally leave this cursed place.
The other survivors, who’d been hiding upstairs, rushed down and, seeing her figure standing quietly in the main hall, erupted in cheers.