The Real and the Fake

Ye Shengge’s mood was extremely complicated.

When he saw Zhou Yue’s blank reaction, he could completely confirm that the one he encountered this time was indeed the real Zhou Yue and not a disguise by the dungeon boss.

But he did not know how to answer Zhou Yue’s question.

In this kind of situation with so many people around, he could not exactly say to the ghost version of Zhou Yue: Oh, right, right, right! Someone actually did pretend to be you. Not only that, he wore your skin and cornered me in the principal’s office, kissing me forcefully for a long time. That is why I was so surprised to see you.

If he really said that, he would be facing a terrifying scene of repeated social death in front of another oblivious party.

Even if he luckily escaped this dungeon, it would leave a permanent psychological shadow.

Thinking of this, Ye Shengge shivered and unhesitatingly chose to keep it a secret. Fearing that Zhou Yue would press him, he deliberately made small talk to change the subject: “It is nothing. You seem quite busy, so why don’t I leave first and we can talk after you are finished?”

That was what he said, but in reality, Ye Shengge had no intention of ever seeing Zhou Yue again.

After all, although Zhou Yue looked like a simple, harmless person with low self-esteem, once someone knew the bad things he had done, anyone would keep this distorted personality at arm’s length.

Before his death, Zhou Yue had no reverence for life and had indirectly killed several people through the internet, let alone now that he was already dead.

If the dead Zhou Yue looked as terrifying as the other ghosts instead of being unique like this, Ye Shengge might have felt afraid—even trembling with terror—but he definitely would not be as filled with wariness and suspicion as he was now.

This uniqueness was a constant sign that Zhou Yue’s current status was very special and far from being a common vengeful ghost.

Ye Shengge did not want to have too much involvement with him.

But Zhou Yue did not think that way.

Having finally met the youth he fell in love with at first sight, how could he let him leave? He stammered out: “I-I-I am not, not busy. Do not go!”

Ye Shengge acted as if he had not heard a thing and continued walking forward, using the same “muddling through” tactics he had used with the dungeon boss to fool Zhou Yue.

In his heart, he thought: Only a fool would not leave.

Right now, Zhou Yue was occupied with his revenge, so he was temporarily safe. But once Zhou Yue finished, it would be his turn next. In this situation, he would have to be an idiot to stay.

Seeing Ye Shengge walking further and further away, Zhou Yue’s face was full of anxiety. His internal hatred had long been cast aside. Seeing the three people following behind Ye Shengge, he simply waved his right hand and knocked them all down.

The successive sounds of bodies hitting the floor rang out along with the footsteps of Zhou Yue catching up.

Ye Shengge’s heart sank, and he sighed silently.

It seemed there was no escaping this.

He turned back and looked at Zhou Yue: “What did you do to them?”

The “them” naturally referred to the three people on the ground.

“Do not misunderstand, they are fine. I am not an unreasonable person. Their crimes are not worthy of death. I am just letting them have a nightmare to scare them a little,” Zhou Yue said at this moment, sounding very reasonable, with a mix of truth and lies.

In reality, he was an unreasonable person who sought revenge for the smallest grievance. If Ye Shengge had not suddenly appeared, these three would already be dead.

However, the current result was not much different. Even if they did not die, once they woke from the nightmare, they would be so frightened that they would lose their minds and become little better than fools.

Ye Shengge glanced at the three people struggling painfully with their eyes closed. He did not expose Zhou Yue’s lie and asked in a calm tone: “Then do you have other business with me?”

After being scared by the dungeon boss using Zhou Yue’s face, Ye Shengge’s perception of Zhou Yue was very complex. Combined with the fact that Zhou Yue’s appearance was nearly identical to a living person, it was not hard for him to pretend to be relaxed and calm.

“I-I-I do. I… I want to tell you, watch out for the man who came to my dorm last night. He is not a good person. He is more terrifying than a ghost.” Zhou Yue tried his best to control his stuttering and the bone-deep fear he felt for that man.

Last night, after being killed by the female ghost, he thought everything was over. Who would have thought his soul would be dragged out of his corpse and thrown to the ghosts he had indirectly killed online, where he experienced tortures worse than death.

And the person who threw him to those ghosts was the masked man he saw in the dorm last night.

If he had not accidentally devoured those ghosts—greatly increasing his strength until he was stronger than the female ghost who killed him—and taken the chance to escape, he would probably still be imprisoned and tortured.

“If I am not mistaken, he is the anonymous person who started this Red Envelope game. Do not believe him, he is very dangerous.” Speaking of this, Zhou Yue’s resentment grew heavier.

Ye Shengge waited for a long time, thinking Zhou Yue’s serious demeanor meant he was going to reveal some top-secret information, only to find it was all things he already knew.

But even so, he still nodded in thanks.

“There is one more thing…” Zhou Yue hesitated. After thinking for a few seconds, he finally chose to speak: “Last night, in a daze, I felt like I saw something.”

Ye Shengge’s spirits lifted. He had not expected his casual inquiry to bear fruit; Zhou Yue really did have a secret to tell him.

At this moment, Ye Shengge did not care that Zhou Yue was a ghost. He stared at him expectantly and asked: “And then? Did you see who he is?”

Hearing the displeasure in Zhou Yue’s voice when mentioning the dungeon boss, and his reference to him as the “masked man,” Ye Shengge was certain that Zhou Yue was at odds with the boss.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Even if it was a ghost, he had to grit his teeth and accept this alliance.

Zhou Yue said in a small voice: “I saw it. He… looks very much like your roommate.”

Ye Shengge felt a jolt of shock and subconsciously said: “Impossible.”

“I am not trying to deliberately drive a wedge between you. I really saw it,” Zhou Yue explained hurriedly, his tone anxious.

“Maybe you just saw wrong,” Ye Shengge subconsciously refused to believe it.

Zhou Yue wanted to say more, but he was interrupted by a voice from behind—a voice as terrifying and eerie as a demon’s.

“You are all here. What are you chatting about so happily? Why not say it out loud so I can hear too?”

Ye Shengge looked up and saw the masked youth.

It was the dungeon boss.

He was standing at the junction of light and shadow at the staircase landing, speaking with a pleasant smile.

When Ye Shengge looked up, Zhou Yue also turned his head, discovering the dungeon boss almost at the same time.

Upon the discovery, Zhou Yue’s first reaction was terror. The memory of being casually thrown to other ghosts for torture by the youth resurfaced in his mind, making him tremble all over.

But while afraid, he suddenly remembered Ye Shengge was standing next to him. He quickly pushed him outward and whispered: “Run, quickly! I will hold him back.”

Ye Shengge did not expect him to say that and was stunned for a moment.

To him, Zhou Yue was a truly contradictory person.

You could say he was a coward, yet he dared to use public opinion online to drive others to their deaths. But you could also say he was bold, yet he did not dare resist the people who bullied him in reality.

After doing those bad things, when everyone thought he had no conscience at all, he could discard his own safety to say these words to an ordinary classmate he had only met once, even giving the chance to escape to someone else. He did not know why.

He could not figure it out, truly could not figure it out.

But those words enraged the dungeon boss standing at the staircase landing.

The smiling dungeon boss from a second ago suddenly appeared in front of Zhou Yue. He grabbed him by the collar and looked down at him, his voice full of malice: “You said to let him run, and you will hold me back?”

Zhou Yue’s face turned even worse.

He originally thought that after his strength increased, even if he could not defeat this man, he could at least stall him for a while. But reality gave him a blunt blow.

In front of this masked man, he actually had no power to fight back, let alone stall him.

The words that just came out of his mouth were as ridiculous as a joke.

What the man said next was equivalent to slapping his face right in front of his crush.

“Do you think you are worthy?”

The youth’s tone was full of genuine confusion, as if he could not understand what gave Zhou Yue such confidence.

He suddenly thought of something and sneered: “If your confidence comes from those ghosts you devoured, that is truly naive. Forget devouring those few; even if you devoured hundreds more, you could not hold me back.”

This was not a boast.

He was an Evil Deity far beyond the limits of this dungeon. Even if all the ghosts were absorbed by Zhou Yue, they would not pose any threat to him. Not to mention, the ghosts Zhou Yue absorbed were just evil thoughts stripped from the victims to serve as his lackeys, not complete souls.

As part of one of his deals, the victims’ true souls had long been sent by him to be reincarnated.

The only reason he was being so uncharacteristically kind was because of Ye Shengge.

After all, they would be together forever. The youth was so simple and timid; if he knew the terms of his deals with others were excessive, he would surely be scared to tears and take a long time to comfort. Even if comforted, he would distance himself.

In the dungeon boss’s heart, that was completely intolerable.

Just thinking that the youth would fear him or distance himself made him feel terrible.

Since he was not happy, Zhou Yue—who harbored designs on the youth—could not hope to be happy either.

“You not only covet what is mine, but you also devoured the underlings I worked so hard to trade for. You have to pay some price.” The masked youth let go, throwing the dazed Zhou Yue onto the floor like a piece of trash. He said nonchalantly: “I will treat you just as you treated them. I will devour you. How does that sound?”

Though it was a question, his actions showed no intent of asking.

An eerie, sinister array rose from beneath Zhou Yue.

Everything happened too fast. Before Zhou Yue could even react, he was torn into countless fragments, turning into spots of light that merged into the body of the person he hated most, becoming nourishment for the other party.

After devouring Zhou Yue’s soul, the youth did not forget to say disdainfully: “A person who has done bad things… even their soul stinks.”

For some reason, Ye Shengge—who had witnessed the whole scene—felt his fear instantly recede upon hearing that sentence. He even had the mind to think: It is a good thing Zhou Yue cannot hear that, or he would surely be angered to death all over again.

But in the next second, he had no mind to think about Zhou Yue.

Because the dungeon boss, having finished off Zhou Yue, set his gaze upon him.

The masked youth slowly walked up to him and said with great emotion: “He was really good to you. He did not even care about his own life, yet he wanted you to run. Hey, why are you standing still? Are you not going to run?”

Hearing that familiar, eccentric, and sarcastic tone, Ye Shengge knew the dungeon boss was acting up again.

Based on past experience, the dungeon boss would surely find ways to mess with him next.