They Are Very Hospitable (8)
The players all stood up nervously, putting down their bowls and chopsticks.
Cheng Jun: “Where did he go missing? Take us there.”
Jiao Ye: “O-okay!”
They searched the village like headless chickens, but it was Chen Li who, using the system’s calculated shortest route, arrived at the location first—right at the entrance of the slaughterhouse.
There, he saw the villagers carrying a pig.
Although it was somewhat obscured and hard to see clearly, it was undeniably a real, genuine pig.
Chen Li let out a sigh of relief.
They didn’t regard the red-haired guy as a pig.
The players arrived shortly after. When they saw Chen Li was already there, they were a little surprised. They didn’t know he had a cheat system—they just thought he was mysteriously elusive, which only reinforced his reputation for having unpredictable and hidden powers.
Baldy frowned. “Isn’t this just an ordinary pig?”
He had expected to see the red-haired guy stripped and dragged to the slaughterhouse.
Jiao Ye muttered, “Nothing happened? He’s okay?”
As long as that thug wasn’t dead, then he wouldn’t be in trouble either!
Yes! That had to be it!
It was just a sheep—who would kill someone over a sheep?
The villagers turned toward them. “Ah, you’re here. We were just about to slaughter the pig.”
A bad feeling crept over Chen Li.
Wasn’t this pig supposed to be a sacrifice? Why were they killing it already?
As the villagers stepped aside, they finally revealed the pig completely to the crowd.
The smile that had been slowly forming on Jiao Ye’s face froze solid.
He screamed like he’d seen a ghost: “It’s Brother Hong! It’s him! That pig is him!!!”
The lead villager chuckled. “What kind of joke is that? This is just a meat pig—how could it be a person?”
The other villagers burst into laughter.
But the other players weren’t laughing at all.
Because that pig had a patch of bright red hair—exactly like the thug’s.
And now, hearing the voices, the pig was straining to lift its bound head to look at them, its mouth opening wide in a desperate, pleading squeal.
For some reason, Chen Li suddenly remembered the sheep the red-haired guy had killed. It had looked at him the same way before it died—its eyes filled with pain and silent pleas for help. But back then, the red-haired guy hadn’t cared at all about the gaze of a mere sheep.
The knife had sliced cleanly through fresh veins, blood gushing out, staining the white wool bright red.
The image flashed vividly in Chen Li’s mind.
As the pig gave out its human-like cries for help, Jiao Ye fell apart even more—he clearly remembered something too.
He’d been there when the sheep was killed. He was one of the accomplices.
Jiao Ye shouted, “Save him! That’s a human life!”
His voice cracked at the end, but his feet stayed rooted to the ground, too afraid to step forward.
None of the players dared move either.
Across from them stood over twenty villagers, each holding a weapon. But that wasn’t the scariest part. The real fear was this: if the red-haired guy had become the sacrifice because there was no one else to offer, then if they saved him—would one of them be chosen to take his place?
Everyone had their own thoughts and intentions, but all reached the same conclusion—no one dared step forward. The situation turned into a tense, bizarre standoff.
Only Jiao Ye continued to desperately plead for help.
The villagers’ expressions darkened, their gazes turning hostile and dangerous.
A female player couldn’t take it anymore and said, “Hey, shut up already.”
Unfortunately, Jiao Ye was already on the brink of collapse and couldn’t take in anything they were saying.
Finally, the “Butcher” came out from inside. Sana held up a huge pig-slaughtering knife, her eyes filled with surprise. “Why aren’t you coming in yet?”
The villagers exchanged glances, then carried the still-squealing pig into the slaughterhouse. Even in the final moments, the pig kept desperately looking back at them with pleading eyes.
Sana swept her gaze over the group. The ominous gleam of the cold blade in her hand carried an overwhelming sense of menace.
This time, Chen Li was sure of it—her gaze lingered on him for a few extra seconds.
Chen Li: [System, I think she remembers me.]
System 001, busy being thrilled: [They’re all NPCs. What could she possibly do to you? The fear level just went up again—it’s at 45 now.]
Thinking back to the moment she had slammed him to the ground with brute strength, Chen Li felt like she could do whatever she wanted to him whenever she wanted.
In her hands, he was basically a helpless little chick.
And the worst part? She looked like an even skinnier, weaker girl than him.
Utterly humiliating.
Before long, Sana walked into the slaughterhouse with that knife that clearly didn’t match her appearance.
A single shrill squeal from the pig, then—silence.
Jiao Ye stared blankly. “Dead?”
Suddenly, he exploded with rage, grabbing the nearest player. “Why didn’t you try to save him?! That was a human life!”
The player, who had initially felt a bit of sympathy, snapped back: “In Horror Game, the most worthless thing is human life. He broke the death condition himself by insisting on eating that sheep!”
Another player beside him mocked, “Then why didn’t you save him?”
Jiao Ye fell silent.
Why didn’t he save him?
Because he was scared.
What he really feared was—now that the red-haired guy was dead, he might be next…
Slowly, Jiao Ye let go of the other player. “You’re all insane… This game, these rules—screw them! I’m done! I’m going home!”
With that, he turned and bolted like something was chasing him.
Cheng Jun: “Not good, he wants to leave the village!”
System 001 loves to watch the excitement and isn’t afraid of making things worse: [Quick, go take a look, the fear level might increase again.]
Chen Li nodded and followed.
Fueled by fear, Jiao Ye ran with terrifying speed. He’d never felt death so close before.
Especially after seeing the red-haired guy slaughtered, the next one was likely to be the one who had started the fire.
Him.
His speed left everyone in the dust. By the time they caught up, he was already at the village entrance, yanking open the door of the tour bus.
Chen Li, catching up, stood dumbfounded, staring as Jiao Ye got in the bus. He looked just like a little animal that had been left behind.
[System, he’s stealing my bus. My bus!]
That bus was a key tool for him as the tour guide. He still needed it to take the surviving players away after the game ended.
Without the bus, how would they leave the game?
The other players didn’t dare cross the village boundary—they knew the consequences of trying to force their way out of the game zone.
Jiao Ye had stolen the tour guide’s bus, and now everyone’s gaze subtly shifted toward Chen Li.
Chen Li stiffened, doing his best to keep a neutral expression and not reveal even a hint of emotion.
A sense of caution slowly rose among the players.
This NPC didn’t react at all after his bus was stolen—definitely not an ordinary NPC.
Their thoughts were completely on a different wavelength.
System 001 chimed in leisurely: [Don’t worry. Anyone who dares to leave the game on their own won’t meet a good end.]
From the bus, Jiao Ye shouted, “Anyone want to come with me?”
He looked toward Cheng Jun and Yiyi, who were also newcomers, secretly hoping someone would join him.
Unfortunately, he was doomed to be disappointed.
Yiyi lowered her head without saying a word, and Cheng Jun tried to talk him out of it.
But that only made Jiao Ye even more frustrated. “Fine! I’ll go by myself! You all can stay here and play this stupid game and wait to die!”
With that, he stormed into the driver’s seat.
Chen Li wasn’t sure if he was imagining things, but the bus seemed to tremble slightly… almost like it was unhappy.
How could a bus be unhappy? Must be seeing things.
The moment Jiao Ye sat down, he felt extremely uncomfortable, and the sensation only grew stronger. After the doors automatically shut, he suddenly felt a sharp, stabbing pain—like being pricked with needles. The pain was so real, it was as if something had pierced his flesh and nailed itself to his bones.
He screamed and tried to get up—only to realize that at some point, a seatbelt had already fastened itself around him.
No, wait… this wasn’t a seatbelt at all!
He looked down and nearly fainted in horror. Wrapping tightly around his waist was a pair of skeletal hands!
The bone-white fingers had reached out from either side of the seat, lacing together to dig into his flesh. Bruises in dark purplish-red quickly spread across his stomach from the pressure, as if the grip was about to crush his internal organs. In the rearview mirror, his face was bathed in an eerie green glow.
But there were no lights on inside the bus. So where was that green light coming from!?
The world reflected in the rearview mirror was completely different—rust covered every surface, like a decaying nightmare version of the bus.
Jiao Ye instantly regretted everything. He struggled, shouting for help and yelling to those outside.
But to everyone else, it just looked like he was suddenly sitting quietly on the bus, staring blankly. No one noticed anything unusual.
His arms and legs were no longer under his control. His hands moved on their own to grip the steering wheel, then his foot pressed down on the accelerator.
A sharp cry came from beneath his foot, and the sensation was disturbingly soft—like stepping on human skin.
The brake pedal… was a human face!
When he pressed it, the face twisted in agony and let out a pained moan, but he couldn’t stop. His body wasn’t his anymore—his foot just kept pressing down harder and harder.
The bus started moving, heading deeper into the forest.
Jiao Ye screamed, “No! Help me! Help me!!”
From the village entrance, it simply looked like he had decided to drive off.
A veteran player who had just been inexplicably yanked by the collar frowned. “He’s asking for death.”
Chen Li had no idea how to stop it. All he could do was watch helplessly as the bus drove off along the road they came from, the thick forest quickly swallowing it from view.
That’s it? He’s just gone?
But Horror Game never let people go that easily.
With a thunderous boom, a massive explosion rang out, nearly piercing everyone’s eardrums. The swirling dust and wind stung the eyes of the players at the village entrance, causing a chorus of startled cries.
Only Chen Li remained unaffected. Just before the explosion, someone had covered his ears and pulled him into a protective embrace.
The air around him was filled with a familiar, yet somehow predatory presence. The chaos of the blast hadn’t touched him at all.
Flames lit up the scene behind him.
At some point, Fu Moyang had appeared. He let go of Chen Li and said calmly, “It’s done.”
Chen Li blinked slowly, completely unsure what to be surprised about first. Realizing he was still in the man’s arms, he flinched like a startled rabbit and backed away.
Only to be pulled right back in by Fu Moyang, who grabbed his wrist in dissatisfaction.
With a wounded expression, Fu Moyang asked, “Aren’t you going to say thank you?”
If not for him, Chen Li would be just as disheveled as the other players, rubbing at his eyes in misery.
Chen Li stammered, “Th-thank you…”
But can you please let go of me first? QAQ
Author’s note:
Overestimated my own pace—only had time to let someone show up at the end.