The Blonde Youth, however, was very savvy.
He rushed over, wiped the dust off a cardboard box with his sleeve, and said to Horse Hunter, “Brother, please sit!”
After speaking, he turned to the Delinquent Girl beside him.
“Stop crying! With Big Brother looking out for us, there’s nothing to be afraid of!”
Hearing this, the Delinquent Girl huddled in the Blonde Youth’s arms.
She seemed frightened by Horse Hunter’s red eyes but nodded.
“Big Brother… hello…”
Seeing how proactive the Blonde Youth was, Horse Hunter nodded.
Because his movement was restricted, he couldn’t leave his current one-meter radius or touch anyone else.
“You’re a sharp kid. This little girl looks a bit dim, but since you’ve acknowledged me as your Big Brother, I can’t be heartless.”
“You’ve been caught up in something massive.”
“Did you both suddenly faint, stay in a Pure White Space for a while, and then wake up here?”
The two of them nodded frantically.
Horse Hunter sneered, “Heh, you’ve been pulled into a Death Game.”
“There’s a massive illegal organization that kidnaps people through drugging, injections, and other methods. They organize these Death Games and let wealthy people place bets for their own twisted amusement.”
“You weren’t just drugged; you were implanted with chips. It’s perfectly normal for the things you see and hear to feel… different.”
Both of them were stunned.
How had they been dragged into something so absurd?
The Delinquent Girl couldn’t help but start crying again, muttering that her parents had plenty of money.
As long as they let her go, her parents would pay whatever they wanted.
After the initial shock, the Blonde Youth asked, “Big Brother… don’t tell me you’re also…”
Horse Hunter was simply spinning a tale, waiting for the restrictions to lift so he could start the slaughter.
He continued to bulls**t with the boy, but it sounded remarkably convincing.
He frowned and slapped his chest.
“F**k, don’t compare me to those idiots. I’m only here for the money.”
“The winner of every game gets a massive cash prize!”
Hearing this, the Blonde Youth’s admiration for him soared.
He looked like he was about to kowtow and declare them blood brothers on the spot.
Horse Hunter acted as if he were a man of great loyalty.
“Haha! I’m helping you because I see you’re a sharp kid, and the girl in your arms has a rich family.”
“Those wealthy viewers love ‘entertainment value’ the most. Since you two were just brought in, follow me and kill everyone else.”
“That’ll provide the entertainment they want, and then the game can end.”
“Also, little girl, I’m saving your life. About the money later…”
The Delinquent Girl quickly spoke up, “Big Brother, thank you so much! I’ll make sure my parents reward you properly. I’ll give you 100,000—no, no! 1,000,000!!!”
Horse Hunter had more or less earned their trust.
Seeing the countdown was under 1 minute, he began to probe for information.
“By the way, did the System notify either of you about receiving an item?”
“That thing is a life-saving charm. If you have it, hold it in your hand. No one will be able to touch you!”
The Delinquent Girl shook her head while crying.
The Blonde Youth asked, “An item? Something that powerful? Where do we find it?”
As he spoke, he began rummaging through their surroundings.
Horse Hunter watched the countdown in the upper right corner of his vision.
10 seconds, 9 seconds…
3 seconds, 1 second…
Finally, the corners of his mouth curled into a grin as he laughed loudly.
“Hahaha… No need to look for it!”
As he spoke, a large Cleaver suddenly appeared in his hand, and he swung it straight at the Blonde Youth’s head.
Luckily, because the Blonde Youth hadn’t found anything useful, he happened to turn back just in time to see the Cleaver materialize out of thin air and swing toward him.
Terrified, his street-fighting instincts kicked in.
He subconsciously jumped back to dodge, scrambled off the ground, and shielded the frozen Delinquent Girl behind him.
“Big Brother, what are you doing!”
Horse Hunter looked at them as if they were two lab rats.
He wasn’t in a hurry at all.
He rested the heavy Cleaver on his shoulder and laughed.
“What am I doing?”
“Killing you, of course!”
“Hahaha…”
“You’re killing me! You two are such idiots!!!”
With that, he gripped his blade and walked toward them.
The Blonde Youth realized his new “Big Brother” had betrayed him.
Angry, he shouted, “Big Brother, you have no honor!”
Horse Hunter ignored him completely.
As for the Blonde Youth?
Looking at the gleaming blade and Horse Hunter’s bull-like physique, he was, after all, still young.
He was terrified.
He suddenly knelt on the ground.
“Big Brother, please! Don’t kill me!”
“I’m only 17 years old! I have a younger sister in elementary school at home who needs me to watch over her!”
“Let me go, and I’ll be your undercover spy! I’ll find everyone else for you!!!”
“As… as for that…”
“If you’re going to kill someone, kill her!”
As he spoke, the Blonde Youth actually hid behind the Delinquent Girl, using her as a human shield.
His eyes darted around, looking for a chance to escape.
Watching this, Horse Hunter trapped them in the corner with interest.
He nodded down at them.
“Well, having an extra helper isn’t a bad idea.”
“Only…”
“I f**king hate people who use women as shields the most!”
“DIE!”
Then, he suddenly struck with the Cleaver, aimed directly at the boy’s head.
“AHHH!!!”
The Delinquent Girl squeezed her eyes shut and screamed, a pool of liquid already forming on the ground beneath her.
What happened next?
Was the boy’s skull split open with blood spraying everywhere?
Not quite.
“AAAAHHH!!!”
A miserable scream rang out.
It didn’t come from the boy, but from Horse Hunter.
As his full-strength strike landed on the Blonde Youth’s head, the blade failed to move even a fraction of an inch.
A brilliant golden light erupted from the boy’s body, bathing Horse Hunter in its glow.
Immediately after, Horse Hunter’s clothes burst into flames.
His skin began to rot and fester, and black smoke billowed from his head.
He stared at the Blonde Youth in disbelief, roaring, “You… why is it on you?!”
This Blonde Youth clearly looked like a newcomer who was terrified of dying.
There was no way he should have had that so-called Exorcism Talisman!!!
As for the Blonde Youth, his timid demeanor had completely vanished.
He stood up and sneered as he walked over to Horse Hunter, kicking him viciously several times.
“Hahaha! You simple-minded, muscle-brained moron!”
“When I called everyone ‘trash’ at the beginning, I was talking about you, too!
Hahaha!!!”
The Blonde Youth’s eyes gradually turned red.
He picked up the Cleaver that had fallen to the ground and poked it into Horse Hunter’s cursing mouth.
He spoke coldly, “You’ve only played four matches and you’re already acting like a veteran? How amusing.”
“Heh. I’ve played seven matches, yet I still have to pretend to be a newbie to trick fools like you.”
“People who think so highly of themselves are always the easiest to deceive.”
“But this game is kind of boring. Aside from you, only that pink-haired b***h seems a little dangerous.”
“I’ll kill you first, and then her.”
“Hahaha…”
The Blonde Youth crouched beside Horse Hunter, rambling incessantly.
Horse Hunter could only widen his eyes and glare at him with pure hatred, as if promising to haunt him as a ghost.
But… the Blonde Youth had seen that look too many times.
He didn’t care at all.
He simply watched with leisure as Horse Hunter was completely incinerated into a withered corpse.
Only then did he turn to look at the Delinquent Girl, who was huddled in the corner, shaking her head as if her mind had snapped.
“Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me!”
“Please, don’t kill me!!!”
The Blonde Youth?
Holding the Cleaver, he smiled tenderly.
He walked over, leaned down, and gently stroked her hair.
“You’re so beautiful, how could I have the heart to kill you?”
Under the Blonde Youth’s gentle voice, the girl finally looked up slightly.
Like a frightened rabbit, she nodded fearfully.
A glimmer of hope returned to her eyes, as if she were looking at a savior.
And then…
Squelch!
The Cleaver in the Blonde Youth’s hand suddenly fell.
Survivor count: minus one.
***
After finishing his work, the Blonde Youth trembled with excitement.
He loved seeing the look on people’s faces when they were filled with hope, only to be cast into hell!
He absolutely loved it!
Carrying the Cleaver, he left the room humming a tune, appearing completely unhurried.
‘Which little mouse should I find first?’
‘Oh dear—this place is so big, it won’t be easy to find them…’
Smiling, he pulled a card out of thin air and activated its effect.
[R-Rank Card Activated: 5x Olfactory Enhancement. Duration: 5 minutes.]
The Blonde Youth craned his neck like a pervert, sniffing the air with enjoyment.
Suddenly, his body jerked with a few more tremors as his excitement peaked.
“Hahaha, what a wonderful fragrance…”
“It really is fate. To think you’d be the one closest to me!”
“Good, good. I might as well deal with the most dangerous-looking one first, and then I can have a proper game of cat and mouse!”
The sound of the Cleaver scraping against the ground echoed through the dim Mine Tunnel, sounding like the Grim Reaper ringing a death knell.
It left a lingering chill of terror in the air.Chapter Seven.
Absolute Gap
The card the Blonde Youth had drawn at the start was an unremarkable R-Rank Card.
[5x Olfactory Enhancement. Duration: 5 minutes.]
To be honest, in most Death Games, this would be considered a useless card that served little purpose.
However, in a game that required finding people, it was different.
Because the Blonde Youth was a Killer, his physical attributes and five senses were already doubled.
With an additional fivefold increase to his smell, his olfactory senses were now comparable to a dog’s.
In the heavy, dusty air, the Blonde Youth easily picked out several scents.
One of them, a scent similar to gardenia, allowed him to immediately discover Twilight’s trail.
There were four people to the left of the Mine Tunnel and only one to the right.
The Blonde Youth chose Twilight’s direction without hesitation.
His card’s effect lasted for 5 minutes.
It wasn’t long, yet he walked with a casual, swaying gait, dragging his Cleaver as if he were taking a stroll in his own backyard.
A door next to the starting room was cracked open slightly; the interior was pitch black.
The Blonde Youth stopped there.
He looked further down the Mine Tunnel, then at the crack in the door, and let out a delighted laugh.
“Hahaha… my little darling…”
“You clearly went further away, so why did you come back to this room?”
“Hehehe… Hiding away, thinking you can trick a Killer?”
“The most dangerous place is the safest place?”
“Hahaha…”
“You really don’t understand the joy of having doubled physical attributes and senses!”
“It feels… as if I hold the entire world in my hands…”
“You… are right behind the door!”
As the Blonde Youth spoke, he moved to push the door open, swinging his Cleaver as if to strike the figure behind it.
Whoosh!
But…
The figure behind the door acted first.
Amidst the darkness, at the very moment the door was pushed open, a brilliant white light flashed.
It was a dagger.
Held in the hands of the girl who naturally possessed crimson eyes, it thrust straight toward the Blonde Youth’s heart!
The movement was incredibly fast!