“Was I once a monster? Did I kill a lot of players? Did I consume malice and hurt a lot of people?” Mo Bai couldn’t help asking herself.

She thought back to the instance monsters she encountered and imagined that the Phantom Butterfly became an Observation Group player. If she met a newly born Phantom Butterfly, could she treat it as a companion?

It would be difficult... After learning the truth, it would be very difficult indeed.

Humans were simply that complicated.

Just like Qiu Xuerong’s ex-boyfriend. At first, he wanted to protect his girlfriend too. But as time went on, suspicion and resentment inevitably crept in.

Once a crack appears in a relationship between two people, that fissure would only grow wider and wider, and never return to what it was before.

Mo Bai looked at Ding Xun, Ye Pingjun, and Du Heng beside her. Against her will, her mind began attaching the labels “Combat Group,” “Combat Group,” and “Combat Group” to them, and she suddenly became acutely aware of the difference between them and herself.

So they really were different.

Xiao Qi shouted loudly inside Mo Bai’s mind: “Player, snap out of it! These are all just your guesses! Xiao Qi knows Player’s deductions are right 99% of the time, but there’s still that 1% chance that you’re wrong! And even if it is true, so what? The Player Xiao Qi knows is the Player you are now!”

Mo Bai blinked, deeply grateful that, even now, Xiao Qi still stood firmly on her side.

She was still confused, but confusion would not make her stop moving forward because Gu Tiandong, a fellow Observation Group player, was waiting for her.

Even if she couldn’t stop herself from doubting the Combat Group right now, Gu Tiandong was still part of the Observation Group!

She couldn’t let anything happen to him!

Mo Bai forced herself to speak. “Du Heng, Ding Xun, Pingjun, we’re running out of time. Can you hold Dai Qianzhong off? I can’t waste any more time here. I need to save Gu Tiandong.”

“Of course!” Ding Xun thumped her chest confidently. “Saving people comes first. Just go!”

The External Brain tasted awful, but it replenished Ding Xun’s energy, and her sensory abilities were exceptionally sharp at the moment.

She crouched down and knocked against the floor. “I can sense Gu Tiandong below us. Maybe a hundred meters down, maybe two hundred. I can’t tell exactly how deep, but he’s definitely underneath us. Taking the stairs will be too slow. If only there were some way to go straight down in one shot.”

Dai Qianzhong sneered. “You think I’ll let you do that?”

“I can try,” Ding Xun said.

She grabbed the stone slab summoned by Rock Fortress and smashed it viciously into the floor. With a thunderous crash, she blasted open a huge hole, exposing the level beneath them.

Du Heng and Ye Pingjun: “…”

Only Ding Xun could somehow turn a defensive card into an offensive weapon.

Ding Xun tossed the slab to Mo Bai and shouted, “This thing is seriously sturdy! Don’t you still have one use of Human Enhancement left? Use that, then take this slab and smash your way straight down. You’ll get there in no time.”

Seeing Ding Xun announce the plan so openly, Dai Qianzhong narrowed her eyes.

She began gathering the power of earth, intending to fill the floors below and block Mo Bai’s path.

The Black Boots were not yet in the space beneath them, so that area was still under her control.

As the underground space gradually filled with concrete, Ye Pingjun picked up a handful of small stones from the ground and threw them at Dai Qianzhong.

Dai Qianzhong looked at him like he were an idiot. Even though the area they were standing in was already the Black Boots’ domain and she couldn’t control its earth, surely he didn’t think a few pebbles could actually hurt her?

What was this player thinking?

The moment Ye Pingjun threw the stones, Du Heng and Ding Xun exchanged a glance and rushed at Dai Qianzhong together.

They needed to keep attacking without giving her a single opening to use her ability to buy time for Mo Bai.

Dai Qianzhong sidestepped Du Heng’s attack. Then her foot pressed on one of the small stones Ye Pingjun threw. Her concentration slipped, and the earth she was condensing beneath them sagged downward before it could take shape.

Her ability failed.

Dai Qianzhong stared at the pebble beneath her foot and realized that she was affected by Ye Pingjun’s ability. But she felt nothing unusual and had no idea what ability he used on her.

What Dai Qianzhong didn’t know was that Ye Pingjun didn’t just use his ability on her moments ago. He already used it nineteen hours earlier, after she revealed her true objective.

After leveling up, the negative effect of Ye Pingjun’s Expected Value took three full days to fully activate. After those three days passed, everything Dai Qianzhong did would end in failure.

There still wasn’t enough time. But after nearly a day of affecting Dai Qianzhong, the ability began to show through her gradually worsening luck.

Ye Pingjun also discovered through actual combat that repeated failures would accelerate the activation of Expected Value’s negative effect.

And over the course of that day, Dai Qianzhong failed far too many times.

After using A Piece of the Story (13) on Ye Pingjun, she herself nearly became contaminated. That was her first failure.

Before entering the instance, Ye Pingjun sought out the two players who survived Count’s Castle and bought a card called Curse of the Puppets from them. Before being trapped inside the painting, he used that card on Dai Qianzhong.

Of course Ye Pingjun knew a card of that level could never seriously harm her. He merely wanted to stack one more negative condition onto her.

He also gave his own ability a great deal of thought, considering its best application in actual combat. That was precisely why he bought Curse of the Puppets.

Curse of the Puppets slowed a target’s movements. If low-level players or monsters were afflicted and failed to remove the curse in time, they would gradually turn into dolls incapable of moving.

Advanced players and monsters, on the other hand, merely felt their bodies grow heavier. Their joints would stiffen as if rusted, making their movements somewhat sluggish.

It posed no danger to their lives and did not interfere with their abilities, so there was no need for treatment either. As long as they kept moving, their bodies would recover naturally after a day.

Dai Qianzhong knew perfectly well that the card affected her. But she dismissed it as Ye Pingjun’s desperate last struggle and paid it no mind.

She was not a player who relied on physical combat in the first place. Slight sluggishness would not interfere with her abilities, and there was no point wasting a precious healing card on a minor affliction that would resolve itself.

What Dai Qianzhong didn’t know was that this was exactly what Ye Pingjun wanted.

Ye Pingjun already guessed that she would ignore an ordinary B-rank card like this. He didn’t waste it at all. The sluggishness was the whole point.

Over the next nineteen hours, Dai Qianzhong occasionally bumped her head against cabinets, tripped on flat ground, or accidentally spilled water while drinking.

These minor mishaps were insignificant. She knew what caused them, but since she did not need much mobility and they were only waiting for the plan to unfold, and since her mission was already complete, where she only needed to stay hidden, she simply ignored them.

After ten hours, the sluggishness improved significantly, so Dai Qianzhong thought even less of it.

What she failed to realize was that every time she failed at some trivial task, the negative influence of Expected Value was quietly making its root deeper.

Her brain still retained the memory of moving sluggishly. At a critical moment in battle, Expected Value caused thoughts to arise beyond her control: I might step on one of those pebbles. My movements are a little slow.

Then she did step on one of the stones Ye Pingjun threw, and she lost focus for an instant. Not only did she lose control of the underground area, but Ding Xun’s fist slammed brutally into her face.

Mo Bai seized the opportunity, hoisted the stone slab onto her shoulder, and jumped down.

Dai Qianzhong covered her swelling face and stared at Ding Xun in disbelief.

No matter how physically capable Ding Xun was, and no matter how poor Dai Qianzhong’s current condition might be, there was almost no chance that an Intermediate player could land a hit on her.

It must be caused by those pebbles!

Dai Qianzhong looked at Ye Pingjun. That unimpressive brat might not have much ability, but he certainly had absurdly good luck.

Seeing that Dai Qianzhong’s attention shifted to him, Ye Pingjun picked up a stone, tossed it lightly into the air, caught it again, and opened his helmet visor. He gave Dai Qianzhong an utterly ordinary and unremarkable smile.

His manner was far too composed, so Dai Qianzhong couldn’t help wondering, Did he do something to me?

Ye Pingjun said to Ding Xun, “Ding Xun, try using Synesthesia to control her sense of touch. I’ve noticed she raises her hand every time she activates her ability. That’s probably the initiating motion. Maybe we can stop her from using it.”

“Whoa, do you think she’s an External Brain?” Ding Xun said. “Synesthesia can synchronize sensations at best. Completely controlling someone is almost impossible.”

“It wouldn’t work on most people,” Ye Pingjun said, continuing to toss the stone. “But it might work on her. After all, her luck should be pretty terrible by now.”

“Luck?” Dai Qianzhong asked. “What did you do to my luck?”

An invisible, intangible attack like this was truly maddening.

Realization dawned on Ding Xun. “Oh! So you used your ability on her ages ago! Now that I think about it, it really has been a long time. No wonder she stepped on that stone just now. All right, I’ll try!”

Ding Xun connected her sense of touch with Dai Qianzhong’s. She experimented for a moment and found that she still could not control Dai Qianzhong’s body. She was just about to say it wouldn’t work when Ye Pingjun suddenly reached out and grabbed her arm.

Because Dai Qianzhong was linked to Ding Xun through Synesthesia, she felt someone touch her own arm. A chill ran down her spine.

“What are you doing?” Ding Xun raised her arm, trying to shake Ye Pingjun off.

Ye Pingjun clenched his fist around Ding Xun’s arm to control it, but his eyes remained fixed on Dai Qianzhong. “See? Her arm is being restrained just like yours.”

Then Ye Pingjun pressed Ding Xun’s arm downward.

Ding Xun was about to say, “Nonsense. At most we’re sharing tactile sensations. How could our movements possibly sync too?” But before the words left her mouth, Dai Qianzhong’s hand moved downward in exactly the same way.

Ding Xun opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

Her brain simply wasn’t built to understand how Ye Pingjun’s ability worked.

“It’s Expected Value,” Ye Pingjun said. He closed his visor again and explained through the helmet communication system to his two teammates.

At this point, Dai Qianzhong found herself involuntarily expecting terrible things to happen.

If she hadn’t encountered Ye Pingjun again, the negative effect would only be fully activated after three days.

But after she ran into Ye Pingjun this time, he used various psychological suggestions to make Dai Qianzhong prematurely notice the negative effects of Expected Value.

Some things never enter your mind if you don’t notice them. But the moment you do notice them, you can no longer stop thinking about them.

Dai Qianzhong was not at the worst stage yet. She was still far from the point where everything she attempted would fail.

But right now, her condition was already bad enough, and while in that state, she faced the combined assault of three players.

Du Heng swung the Scythe of Death. “I don’t really understand your ability, but basically her mobility is worse now, right? I’ll try attacking.”

He swung the scythe at Dai Qianzhong. She raised a hand and pushed downward, intending to increase the gravity on Du Heng’s arms so he could no longer lift them.

But she once again felt that someone was gripping her arm.

Dai Qianzhong instinctively looked toward Ye Pingjun. He was holding Ding Xun’s arms in place, preventing them from moving.

An involuntary thought flashed through Dai Qianzhong’s mind: He’s controlling my arm. I can’t press it down.

She knew it was only a thought, so she desperately tried to force her hand downward, struggling against the idea.

But the sensation of being restrained was transmitted vividly into her arm. Her brain believed that her arm could not move, and so it did not.

In a battle between experts, even a momentary lapse could be fatal.

The instant Dai Qianzhong failed, Du Heng’s attack arrived. The blood-red light of Soul Reaping struck her squarely in the heart, and agonizing pain clenched around Dai Qianzhong’s chest. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth, and she involuntarily spat out a mouthful of blood.

Ding Xun whistled. “Not bad, Pingjun! Your ability sure takes forever to get going, but if you're given enough time, it’s actually pretty useful!”

Ye Pingjun smiled faintly. “She's the one who gave me that time. It has already been a very long while.”

Ye Pingjun repeatedly emphasized the idea that a great deal of time had already passed, reinforcing the illusion in Dai Qianzhong’s mind that his ability was already fully active.

Naturally, Du Heng did not waste the opportunity. He unleashed Soul Reaping against Dai Qianzhong again and again.

Dai Qianzhong instinctively dodged. While doing so, she unconsciously glanced at Ye Pingjun. Seeing that he didn’t trip Ding Xun, she relaxed slightly.

But in the very next instant, she stepped on another pebble Ye Pingjun threw. She stumbled, failed to dodge Du Heng’s attack, and was struck by Soul Reaping again.

Again! How could she be this unlucky?

Dai Qianzhong could no longer regard Ye Pingjun with the same contempt as before. This utterly unremarkable player possessed a terrifying ability.

She had to kill Ye Pingjun first.

With a thought, a card appeared in her hand. Her expression alone made it clear that she took out her one and only S-rank card.

Du Heng and Ding Xun immediately grew tense.

Only Ye Pingjun calmly opened his visor again, deliberately letting Dai Qianzhong see the relaxed expression on his face.

Ye Pingjun said, “You’re already this unlucky. Are you really going to use an S-rank card with such severe side effects? The last time you used an A-rank card on me, you nearly got contaminated yourself, remember? The ideas in The Story are pretty brainwashing, aren’t they? Back then, you managed to shake off the contamination because my ability was only just taking effect. But nineteen hours have passed now. Can you still escape an even stronger negative effect?”

Dai Qianzhong once again remembered how she nearly became contaminated by The Story.

The side effect of this S-rank card was even more terrifying. There was a ten-percent chance that the user’s body would transform into an enormous breeding vessel. Horrifying Gu insects would crawl out from every part of their body, eventually consuming them completely and killing them in excruciating agony.

But the probability was only ten percent. On a first use, the likelihood was extremely, extremely low.

This was the first time Dai Qianzhong ever took out the card. Originally, she wasn’t concerned about the risk at all.

But Ye Pingjun made her think about it.

Ye Pingjun said, “Actually, my ability doesn’t make you unlucky. It makes your Expected Value come true. The more desperately you think about something not happening, the more likely it is to happen. You thought Ding Xun and I were controlling your arm just now, but we weren’t. I don’t have that ability. You came up with that thought yourself, and then your own brain controlled your body accordingly.

Look. I’ve already put both of Ding Xun’s hands behind her back. You didn’t expect me to do this, and you didn’t notice it, so you didn’t copy the movement, did you?”

Only then did Dai Qianzhong notice Ding Xun’s hands folded behind her back.

The tension in her heart eased when she realized that Ye Pingjun was not actually controlling her.

But at that exact moment, Ye Pingjun spoke again in his perfectly ordinary voice, sounding almost like a demon whispering beside her ear. “When I mentioned that S-rank card’s side effect just now, did you picture what it would look like if it happened to you?”

Dai Qianzhong froze. She did!

Ye Pingjun smiled. “Looks like you did. That’s wonderful. Go ahead. Use it. If I can trade my insignificant life for the life of a Catastrophe-level Advanced player, I’d say that’s honestly a pretty good deal.”

His expression seemed to say: You're absolutely going to trigger the side effect. So, are you really going to use that card and take me down with you?

Dai Qianzhong’s hand began to tremble.

Du Heng was about to attack while she was distracted, but Ye Pingjun stopped him.

Then Ye Pingjun offered Dai Qianzhong a way out. “As long as you don’t attack us and don’t stop Mo Bai from moving forward, we can refrain from killing you for now. I’m afraid of dying too, after all. But the moment you attack, I’ll control your body and let Du Heng kill you.”

For some inexplicable reason, Dai Qianzhong felt relieved, and her will to fight vanished.

She knew she could still struggle, but Ye Pingjun’s words influenced her, and the thought already appeared in her mind: Maybe I should just stop fighting.

In her current state, once that thought existed, there was no longer any possibility of victory.

The bullet Ye Pingjun fired nineteen hours earlier struck Dai Qianzhong squarely between her eyes.