A Deadly Rendezvous on the Rooftop

It was as he had always said: there were no true fools in this game. Anyone who managed to survive the novice period possessed their own unique traits.

“Now that the main player has arrived, perhaps you can properly explain what it means to drag me up to this rooftop in the middle of the night just to catch a breeze?”

Gu Changqing felt a surge of silent caution as the blue-haired youth appeared. Yet, outwardly, he showed no hint of it, merely waiting for an explanation with an expression of mild interest.

“Of course,” the blue-haired youth replied. “Given your presence here, I imagine you largely agree with my suspicions.”

He slowly approached, passing by Xiang Ke.

‘This scent is…’ Xiang Ke’s pupils abruptly constricted. She instantly understood that things were far from ordinary.

Behind Liu Zhengxuan, she subtly exchanged a glance with Gu Changqing, who responded with a slight nod, acknowledging her signal. The two then averted their gazes, as if nothing had transpired.

The blue-haired youth stopped approximately four meters in front of Gu Changqing, no longer advancing.

He assessed the refined man before him, feeling a degree of approval. If not for other information he had uncovered, he might genuinely have considered Gu Changqing a capable subordinate and would not have tolerated anyone trying to poach him.

But reality offered no ‘ifs.’ Regardless of their now adversarial positions, based solely on the information the blue-haired youth possessed, he could not afford to leave any dangerous individual alive.

The house numbers on the special buildings along each street were all multiples of three. This was undoubtedly a hint from the system, signifying that something out of the ordinary would occur on the third day.

Considering there had been no threats from the Hunters for the past two days, the most likely scenario was that the Hunters would be released by the system on the third day.

There were two possibilities: either the Hunters were temporarily restricted and isolated somewhere by the system, unable to act, or…

He chuckled. This was a punishment round, after all. A group of people or a single person made little difference; the deadly danger was inescapable. He was willing to pay any price to maximize his chances of winning, even if it meant resorting to extreme measures.

Everything was for survival.

“Honestly, your little scheme was rather well-conceived.” The blue-haired youth spread his palm, speaking to himself. “Unfortunately, you overlooked one crucial detail: I’ve never trusted anyone here… So, without thorough preparations, why would I ever have come?”

‘What does he mean?’ Gu Changqing’s expression froze, and a sense of foreboding welled up within him. Two cold beads of sweat trickled down his temples as he, for the first time, truly grasped the man’s power.

In previous games, he had encountered veterans before, but they were generally individuals whose strength was comparable to his own. Aside from information gained within the game, their raw power wasn’t necessarily superior to his.

Only one person had proven slightly troublesome. That power, known as ‘talent,’ could indeed catch one off guard.

However, in that particular round, everyone had been teammates. Despite some friction and minor machinations, they had largely maintained a united front against external threats. After making certain sacrifices, they had managed to defeat the Hunter and survive.

This had led him to believe that veterans and Hunters were nothing more than that—as long as he remained cautious, he could always deal with them.

After joining the team, the members there were not particularly friendly toward newcomers. Beyond some basic game knowledge, they hadn’t divulged anything truly useful.

He had even suspected that the game system might have imposed a restriction, forcing them to offer some assistance to new players; otherwise, those individuals probably wouldn’t have shared even that basic information.

Now, he would have to pay the price for his underestimation of veterans.

“Alas, what a pity.”

A gleaming silver pistol materialized in the blue-haired youth’s hand, its dark muzzle pointing directly at Gu Changqing’s head. A smile played on his lips as he spoke, unhurried.

“Why do you think I allowed the two of you to appear here alone? Even if we genuinely needed to meet to discuss something, the one to approach you shouldn’t have been Xiang Ke, but me.”

‘Are you misunderstanding something?’

Four meters. This distance was more than enough for the blue-haired youth to fire, yet Gu Changqing had no way to effectively counter before the shot rang out.

Anyone with a gun pointed at their head would feel their courage falter. He had initially merely offhandedly suggested it might be a gun wound because it looked somewhat similar, never imagining there would actually be a gun.

“Perhaps?” The blue-haired youth gently swayed his hand, and the muzzle trembled with it, though it never strayed from Gu Changqing’s body. He watched the man’s reaction with interest, then cocked the hammer.

“Perhaps you weren’t secretly plotting anything here, truly just waiting for me to form an alliance with you. Who can say for sure? But I deliberately delayed my appearance, and based on how long you two have been alone together, there’s no way I can let you leave.”

‘A madman,’ Gu Changqing suddenly understood the man’s meaning. It didn’t matter whether the two of them had secretly discussed any plans; the moment he was swayed by Xiang Ke’s words, whatever choice he made was destined to lead to a dead end. And the reason Liu Zhengxuan had delayed his appearance for so long was probably to create a reason to kill—an unassailable one.

He saw Xiang Ke stealthily approaching the blue-haired youth, and he saw the candlelight flickering in the room on the first floor. Suddenly, he felt a strange sense of resignation.

‘Miss Xia, your plan has a flaw.’ Although, up to this point, events had largely unfolded steadily according to the plan, he had successfully gained Xiang Ke’s trust and seen Liu Zhengxuan’s true colors clearly.

It seemed to be developing perfectly.

However… Gu Changqing lowered his gaze. The plan hadn’t mentioned how to deal with the opponent having a gun.

‘Is it still not too late to ask Miss Xia to change the plan?’

****

The sequence of events was as follows:

Inside the music room.

“Um, can I step out for a moment?”

Shu Xun, her face flushed, nervously adjusted her pants. Her petite frame seemed to be holding back something with great effort.

“You may.”

Upon receiving the affirmative reply, the girl stood up and scurried out, appearing quite urgent.

“Is she… on her period?”

Gu Changqing assured himself he was merely making a casual remark, with absolutely no other intentions. He had just accepted the girl’s request for an alliance and was simply trying to find a topic to lighten the mood.

“Who knows?” Xiang Qi said noncommittally. Her skin, tinged with a delicate blush, appeared particularly enticing, like an unripe apple begging to be bitten.

“Perhaps she has some unspeakable secret.”