Seizing the King (14)
Chen Li tugged at the wolf ears, careful not to pull too hard, his eyes reddening with anger at the corners: “You finally decided to come out?!”
That single sentence silenced everyone around.
Both System 001 and Wendy, who had been hesitant to speak, fell silent.
Fu Moyang was so startled by Chen Li’s fierce tone that his wolf tail drooped in defeat: “Sorry.”
He was a completely different person from the spoiled brat who’d been clinging to Chen Li’s hand just last night.
Chen Li wasn’t buying it and decided it was time to settle some accounts.
Starting with the most important question first: “Why did you leave without telling me this morning?”
Fu Moyang lowered his gaze, said nothing, but his ears flushed red and the tip of his tail began to sway again.
Chen Li, who had been stern, suddenly recalled everything and couldn’t stay mad anymore. His face turned even redder than Fu Moyang’s as he stammered: “Ne-never mind. I’ll ask the second question.”
Fu Moyang quietly watched him.
Chen Li continued: “Why did you lie to me? You’re already the wolf king, aren’t you?”
Wendy stood nearby with her arms crossed, watching the scene like it was entertainment.
Fu Moyang’s expression was sincere: “I just worried you might get into danger.”
Definitely not because he wanted to play the victim and sleep in the same bed with Chen Li.
Chen Li’s resolve softened, and he was slightly stunned: “But you shouldn’t lie to me.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry,” Fu Moyang apologized seriously and promptly. “I won’t lie to you again.”
He gently stroked the little curl on Chen Li’s head that had popped out from excitement.
Chen Li immediately relaxed, clinging to Fu Moyang’s shirt, looking up at him in a daze.
Seeing this, Fu Moyang’s heart itched with affection, his fierce nature melting away into tenderness: “Don’t be mad anymore, okay?”
He gazed deeply into Chen Li’s eyes, as if wanting to drown him in that silver-grey eyes.
Wendy, originally watching for fun but now witnessing him seduce a human, called out nervously: “…Hey!”
Fu Moyang shot her a sharp glance full of killing intent, then turned back to Chen Li with gentleness.
Wendy was stunned by the obvious double standard and was momentarily speechless.
Fu Moyang continued soothing Chen Li’s little curl: “Are you scared?”
Chen Li whispered: “No.”
Though his eyes didn’t dare to look around.
Despite being frightened by the hellish scene around them, he still naively approached the one responsible for it all — bleating softly like a lamb.
Fragile and pure, yet capable of doing what no one else dared—scolding him.
Fu Moyang’s eyes darkened: “I’m sorry.”
He had lost control and made everything so bloody, and he shouldn’t have let such filthy things enter Chen Li’s sight.
Chen Li didn’t understand why Fu Moyang apologized again. As he looked up to say something, the system’s alert suddenly rang in his mind.
System 001’s voice, tinged with unnatural nervousness: [This mission has ended.]
Chen Li widened his eyes slightly: [What about the other players?]
[Gu Fu of the featherfolk successfully rose to power. The human player escaped but was caught and killed by the angry princess just moments ago. And the undead player also succeeded in ascending.]
With that, the game was over.
As soon as the system’s message ended, a black hole appeared in front of them, impossible to see inside.
The thought “Once you go in, you can leave” popped into everyone’s mind.
Wendy, long fed up with romantic moments, shouted urgently: “Let’s go!”
Chen Li looked at Fu Moyang, who rubbed his head: “Let’s go.”
They stepped into the black hole together. At their parting, Chen Li finally asked his last question: “Who are you, really?”
Could a human really defeat two well-trained armies in just twenty minutes?
Fu Moyang chuckled lightly: “Clever little lamb, you’ll know next time we meet.”
He had promised not to lie anymore.
The last word drifted away into the disappearing black hole until it vanished completely.
. . . . .
Cold little hands were placed in Chen Li’s, the chill spreading through his left hand to his whole body. Chen Li opened his eyes—but it wasn’t the familiar system space.
Instead, he was in an utterly black void, so dark nothing was visible, yet surprisingly, he could see here.
Wendy giggled: “Welcome. Get to know me again—I’m ‘Playful Wendy.’”
System 001: [Playful Wendy ranks tenth on the NPC leaderboard.]
Chen Li looked down and asked: “Why did you bring me here?”
Wendy: “Everyone wants to meet you.”
Everyone?
Chen Li looked up and saw dozens of eerie glowing eyes suddenly appearing in the once pitch-black surroundings.
“…”
He jumped in fright and shrank back.
The owners of the eyes began whispering and complaining to each other.
“It’s your fault for being so ugly and scaring him!”
“Pfft, no, it’s your fault. Look, you still haven’t wiped off the blood from the last instance on your body.”
“He smells so good… and he’s so small and cute.”
The conversation took a strange turn as the hidden monsters began to compete in praising the scent clinging to Chen Li.
Chen Li, who had just started to feel a little afraid: ?
He couldn’t help but speak up: “I can’t see you.”
The voices suddenly fell silent, as if they were afraid of disturbing something. But once they realized what he meant, the whispers resumed—soft rustling sounds creeping through the dark.
Finally, the first NPC stepped forward.
She wore a beautiful ballet outfit. Her exposed skin was unnaturally pale, and her eyes were tightly shut for some unknown reason: “Hello, human.”
“Hello,” Chen Li replied silently in his mind.
They’re colleagues. They’re just colleagues. They’re all colleagues.
He repeated this mantra to ease the discomfort in his chest.
“You can call me Chen Li.”
The whispers flared up again, varying in volume, but two phrases stood out above the rest: So obedient and So cute.
Chen Li couldn’t help but lift his hand and take a look at himself. He really was a grown adult—not a tiny, mewling kitten.
Yet their reactions were so exaggerated it was like a bunch of burly men had just spotted the cutest kitten alive.
“I’m called Killer Swan,” the ballerina NPC introduced herself. “That’s the name you humans gave me.”
Her true form was actually a music box, stained with the resentment of witnessing an entire family brutally murdered.
Though her eyes remained shut, Killer Swan seemed to see through his unease and spoke gently to comfort him: “There’s no need to be afraid. We’re all guide NPCs. No one here will hurt you.”
Her kind tone soothed Chen Li’s nerves. Killer Swan continued: “Would you like to meet the others? They’ve all been dying to get to know you.”
The murmuring around them instantly quieted. Dozens of expectant gazes fell on Chen Li, as if the slightest rejection would cause them to wither away in heartbreak.
Chen Li nodded: “Okay.”
At that, the hidden NPCs burst forth all at once, jostling and elbowing each other, some even throwing sneaky punches and kicks to get ahead.
Even though he’d mentally prepared himself, Chen Li was still a little startled by the sheer number of strange and grotesque forms swarming out at once.
He scanned the crowd but didn’t see any familiar faces.
Killer Swan, ever perceptive, offered an explanation: “Joker and Nightmare are off fighting.”
The other NPCs immediately piled on: “Serves them right!”
“Nightmare’s gonna get wrecked. No clue what happened in that instance, but he came out with a face full of bruises!”
“Hehehe, idiot.”
Suddenly, something tugged at Chen Li’s ankle. He looked down and saw a shy, squirming tentacle.
When it noticed him looking, the tentacle turned a bright pink out of embarrassment. At its tip, it awkwardly bloomed a tiny, lopsided white flower.
“This… is for me?” Chen Li asked, surprised.
The tentacle monster gave a low hum and offered the flower again, clearly intent on not giving up until he accepted it.
Chen Li hesitated for two seconds, then bent down and took the little white flower.
“Thank you,” he said politely.
He leaned down and sniffed it gently. A faint smile flickered across his face.
The human smiled!!!
That single expression sent the surrounding monsters into a frenzy. One after another, they scrambled to offer gifts, afraid of being left out. Then, one by one, they began fighting—openly and in secret—throwing punches and kicks.
Some of the gifts were rare, high-level items that would make any player envious. Others, like the flower, were meaningless by practical standards.
But to these NPCs, each item was precious—the best thing they could think of to give to the little human.
Chen Li couldn’t hold them all and had to start gently declining. But even a simple refusal had several NPCs looking utterly crushed.
Killer Swan sighed: “Don’t make things difficult for him.”
Despite her stiff and eerie appearance, she clearly played the “big sister” role among the group.
The moment she spoke, the others calmed down—at least a bit. Though a few smaller NPCs still sneaked over to stuff candy into Chen Li’s pockets.
They’d heard human children loved sweets.
Watching them, an indescribable feeling rose in Chen Li’s heart.
These NPCs… really didn’t seem like they meant him any harm.
He completely relaxed and tilted his head slightly, asking curiously: “Are you all working for the Horror Game?”
The word “working” was unfamiliar to some of the NPCs. Seeing their confused expressions, Chen Li rephrased his question: “Have you all been in the Horror Game for a long time?”
“Yes, yes!”
“I’ve been here since over a decade ago!”
“I’ve been here even longer! It’s been decades for me!”
They eagerly answered Chen Li’s questions, and the place grew a bit noisy. Although some of their responses were off-topic, they listened intently to anything Chen Li said.
Who knew how much time had passed—Chen Li had already become one of them. With a smile in his eyes, he said: “I should be heading back.”
A single eyeball bounced over and asked: “Back? Back where?”
It was promptly knocked aside by a chipped cow-headed creature, who scoffed: “Idiot, obviously back to the human world.”
Voices rang out from all directions: “Hey, don’t go—”
Wendy grabbed Chen Li’s hand, her big eyes sparkling: “I don’t want you to leave.”
Even though they were terrifying NPCs in the eyes of outsiders, Chen Li felt like he was comforting a bunch of children. Blinking, he said seriously: “I’ll come back to see you all.”
Wendy held out her pinky finger: “Pinky promise?”
“Pinky promise.” Chen Li extended his hand and gave it a firm shake.
. . . . .
When he opened his eyes again, he was finally back in his own home. After a brief rest, Chen Li began changing clothes.
System 001 asked, confused: [Where are you going?]
Chen Li: [To find Gu Fu.]
System 001: [Oh, he’s not home right now.]
Chen Li, surprised: [Then where did he go?]
System 001: […ICU.]
[…]
Author’s note:
Just a little sneak peek—
The next instance is a Truth or Dare one!
And in the next instance… they get together!