[Holy crap! Has Lin Yu lost his mind?! If he goes back up, he'll definitely run into Wang Gang and Li Hai!]
[Sigh… I think Lin Yu's realized that no matter what, he's dead anyway—so he's going for a last-ditch counterattack.]
[Honestly, for a newbie player, Lin Yu's already done incredibly well under these circumstances.]
[Hah—if he hadn't tried to set Wang Gang and the others up in the first place, would things have come to this?]
[Can the people upstairs shut up already? You really don't know what Wang Gang and the others were planning from the start?]
...
When Lin Yu chose to turn back up the stairs—
The livestream audience was filled with confusion.
But very quickly, they understood.
This wasn't hesitation.
It was a desperate counterstrike.
Seeing this, many viewers couldn't help but feel a trace of admiration for Lin Yu.
After all—
Facing three veteran players working together, Lin Yu had still managed to see through their scheme—
And even attempted to turn the tables by setting a trap.
For a newbie player, that was already incredibly rare.
Not to mention—
His current predicament was entirely due to the vampire castle's bizarre architecture.
In a normal building, Wang Gang and Li Hai might not have been able to catch him at all.
All anyone could say now was—
Lin Yu's luck was truly awful.
...
In the castle corridor—
Two figures sprinted forward at full speed.
They were Li Hai and Wang Gang, still in hot pursuit of Lin Yu.
At that moment—
Lin Yu's figure suddenly appeared in their line of sight.
And—
He even raised a middle finger at them.
The next second—
His figure vanished once more.
Seeing this, Li Hai and Wang Gang's expressions darkened instantly, fury filling their eyes.
"That damn bastard!"
They clearly couldn't tolerate Lin Yu's provocation.
They accelerated even further, chasing after the direction where Lin Yu had disappeared.
"He went down the stairs!"
After rounding a corner, Li Hai and Wang Gang spotted a staircase leading downward.
Without a word, both of them charged down.
"How is that possible?!"
But—
When they reached the turning point of the staircase and prepared to continue downward—
Both of them froze.
Shock spread across their faces.
Because standing before them—
Was a wall.
A solid wall blocking the end of the staircase.
"Did that bastard Lin Yu use some kind of item?!"
That was the first thought that flashed through both their minds.
But they quickly rejected it.
The wall at the end of the stairs looked exactly the same as the rest of the castle's walls.
There was nothing artificial about it.
"Then… where did Lin Yu go?"
At that moment—
The same question surfaced in both Wang Gang and Li Hai's minds.
Where had Lin Yu disappeared to?
"Wang Gang—look! What's that?"
Just then, Li Hai noticed something and pointed toward the corner near the wall.
Wang Gang followed his gaze.
Something was lying there.
"Wait!"
"That's… a side-quest item!"
Li Hai cried out in shock.
Wang Gang's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Li Hai, you didn't forget what you just said, did you?"
He glanced sideways at Li Hai, who was staring at the item in disbelief.
"Huh?"
"No… of course not."
Li Hai froze for a moment, then quickly nodded.
"This is 300 Horror Coins. Take them."
Only then did Wang Gang's expression soften slightly.
He immediately took out 300 Horror Coins.
Seeing the coins in Wang Gang's hand, Li Hai felt a wave of regret—
He'd priced himself too low.
But at this point, it was too late to say anything.
He took the coins and pocketed them.
"I'll go get them."
After collecting the money, Li Hai stepped toward the bottom of the staircase.
Wang Gang didn't stop him—
But his gaze remained locked on Li Hai, wary of any tricks.
Even so—
Both of them shared the same lingering doubt.
Why had Lin Yu vanished so suddenly?
Still—
Whatever the answer, the side-quest items lying before them were undeniably real.
Neither of them thought too deeply about it.
[Damaged Gray Teddy Bear (Quest Item)]
[Quality: White]
[Note: One of the Blood Clan Queen's favorite dolls. Due to certain reasons, it is missing some body parts.]
[Damaged Teddy Bear (Quest Item)]
[Quality: White]
[Note: One of the Blood Clan Queen's favorite dolls. Due to certain reasons, it is missing some body parts.]
...
"Why are these dolls all missing arms and legs?"
Li Hai muttered softly as he looked at the two damaged dolls on the ground.
His voice was too quiet for Wang Gang to hear.
"Here you go."
"Boss Wang Gang, look—I worked pretty hard for this…"
Li Hai handed both dolls to Wang Gang, already preparing to ask for a bit more compensation.
"Damn it!"
But the moment Wang Gang took the dolls—
His expression changed drastically.
He let out a sharp curse.
"What's wrong?!"
Li Hai jumped in fright.
Without answering—
Wang Gang suddenly threw both dolls onto the ground.
Then, without looking back, he bolted up the stairs at full speed.
So fast that Li Hai didn't even have time to react.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Li Hai was completely stunned.
He couldn't understand why Wang Gang would throw away the side-quest items he'd just spent 300 Horror Coins on.
Even so—
He quickly chased after Wang Gang.
Because for just a split second—
He thought he saw fear in Wang Gang's eyes.
At that moment—
A strange "chirp-chirp-chirp" sound echoed near their ears.
Then—
Countless bats swarmed above the staircase.
They gathered together—
Forming a towering black silhouette.
On that shadow's face—
Was a pair of blood-red eyes, staring directly at Wang Gang and Li Hai.
"Who… dared to damage my dolls?!"
A cold, furious voice rang out.
The rage within it was unmistakable.