Chapter 90: South Street Apartment

Qiao Junyuan raised his hand slightly, and Li Zhi saw that he was holding something that looked like a mirror. Before she could close her eyes, a flash of reflected light shot into her vision.

Li Zhi felt a kind of binding creep over her. She tried to move her fingers but found herself completely immobilized.

That mirror in his hand must have been a prop used for restraining movement.

Seeing Li Zhi frozen in place, Qiao Junyuan’s smile deepened. He stepped closer, his youthful voice no longer hiding its malice. “You're almost through the level… It's time for you to die.”

Li Zhi blinked innocently. “I’m just curious how I’ll die.”

Qiao Junyuan curled his lips. “Still trying to act tough.”

Footsteps from downstairs echoed upward, and a smug expression crossed his face. “Why don’t you guess how your teammates will die first? That guy called Li Feng—isn’t he your brother?”

Li Zhi’s expression hardened.

Qiao Junyuan laughed aloud. “What would it feel like to watch your own brother die right in front of you, unable to do anything at all?”

The footsteps were slow and heavy, heavier than usual, as if someone was carrying a burden.

Li Zhi suddenly smiled, and Qiao Junyuan glared at her with suspicion. “What are you smiling about?”

Li Zhi said calmly, “I'm laughing because you’re celebrating too early.” She added slowly, “Now that you know Li Feng is my brother, you still dare underestimate him? You really think Shen Zhijian can handle him?”

Qiao Junyuan’s expression changed instantly.

He ignored Li Zhi and turned sharply toward the sound. What he expected didn’t happen—instead, Li Feng appeared, dragging a tightly bound Shen Zhijian up the stairs with a cold, hard look on his face.

Li Feng threw Shen Zhijian onto the floor with a thud that stirred up dust. Qiao Junyuan’s face darkened like soot, glaring hatefully at the muffled, struggling figure on the ground. “Useless trash! With all those props I gave you, you still failed!”

Shen Zhijian, his mouth taped shut, trembled in fear, writhing like a worm.

Viewers who had seen the two conspiring earlier now chimed in:

【I’ve always said, even the best props won’t work unless they’re in capable hands. Giving them to a loser like Shen Zhijian is just throwing them away.】

【This is hilarious. Would Qiao Junyuan die of rage if he knew Shen Zhijian got caught the moment he tried his first item?】

【That kid Meng Yuhan seems more reliable than Shen Zhijian. Guess Qiao picked the wrong partner.】

【But Shen Zhijian was the only one he could team up with. Others wouldn't cooperate with him anyway. Shen probably figured out he’d be eliminated next due to low popularity, so he wanted to drag everyone down with him—that’s why he agreed to help Qiao.】

【He plays the villain, but his courage and skill are so weak. One hit from Li Feng and he was done. So frustrating and ridiculous.】

【Still wondering how Li Zhi found out about their plan though—she never saw it from her perspective!】

...

In theory, Shen Zhijian and Qiao Junyuan’s plan should have had a high chance of success.

After all, Qiao had an overwhelming number of props.

Li Zhi had been marked as the top threat, which is why Qiao personally handled her. As for the others, he truly didn’t consider them a threat. So what if Li Feng was Li Zhi’s brother? Just another rookie without any props—he wasn’t worried that Shen Zhijian would fail.

According to the plan, once Li Zhi uncovered the secret of this副本 and was about to complete it, Shen Zhijian would use the props Qiao gave him to trap his teammates in an illusion.

By manipulating the illusion, he could make them willingly walk upstairs and knock on the doors with lanterns lit, where ghosts would drag them into the ashes room.

But Shen Zhijian was too nervous.

And he noticed Li Feng was watching him the entire time.

That tall, muscular man with a cold gaze stared at him so intensely that Shen became increasingly anxious. When he received the signal from Qiao Junyuan, instead of using the illusion prop as planned, Shen panicked and decided to use a stun item on Li Feng first.

It was another prop given by Qiao, meant for emergencies—capable of stunning both humans and spirits for a minute.

Knock out the biggest threat first, then use the illusion prop—it would be safer!

That’s what Shen thought.

But the moment he activated the item, Li Feng didn’t fall—but Shen Zhijian did, with a loud thump.

He didn’t know that Li Feng had already applied his sister’s damage transfer item to himself.

Knowing he was Qiao’s spy, how could they not prepare? The cult usually acted near the end of a level, so after Li Zhi left, Li Feng had been ready all along.

If Shen had followed the plan and used the illusion item, Li Feng might have had a harder time dealing with him. But when your opponent is this weak, maybe it's just bad luck.

When Shen Zhijian woke up, he was already tied up.

His teammates glared at him with hostility, and before Li Feng carried him off, each of them kicked him a few times.

Most of the system’s props were designed to fight ghosts. There were very few specifically made to harm humans—they mostly served auxiliary functions, such as paralysis, stunning, or bad luck, none of which could kill a player outright.

That’s also why Qiao kept trying to use the副本’s ghosts to kill them—he couldn’t do it directly himself, especially since he was still a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy, far less physically capable than adults.

The paralysis item could only be used once, and it was already used on Li Zhi. Now, seeing Li Feng approaching with a grim expression, Qiao had no direct way to take him down.

Panic flickered briefly in his eyes, but he quickly masked it. Then he feigned fear, trembling slightly in place as if terrified, waiting for Li Feng to get closer.

“I’m sorry…” he muttered, “I didn’t mean to hurt you all. I just…”

Li Feng was now standing in front of him.

Qiao lowered his eyes, appearing nearly on the verge of tears. His hand, hanging at his side, suddenly darted toward Li Feng.

But it was caught mid-air.

The smirk creeping up Qiao’s lips froze.

He heard Li Feng scoff, “Trying sneaky moves under my nose again?”

How fast could he be compared to a soldier?

Li Feng grabbed his frail wrist, lifting it high in the air, while his other hand gripped Qiao’s shoulder. Instantly, Qiao went numb all over, unable to resist.

In that small child’s hand was a tiny talisman.

Li Feng took it, and under Qiao’s pale, horrified stare, pressed it against his chest.

“You can’t…” Qiao’s terror was finally genuine, “You can’t… You’re a soldier—you can’t kill me…”

Li Feng stared at him emotionlessly. “I am a soldier. It’s my duty to eliminate threats to the people.”

In these special times, their responsibilities had long since changed.

Qiao was definitely part of the cult—otherwise, how would he know Li Feng was a soldier? They must have investigated Li Zhi, and through her, found out about Li Feng.

“Who said we’re killing you?” Li Zhi defended her brother beside him. “We don’t even know what this talisman does. Don’t go around accusing people falsely.”

Li Feng stared at the trembling boy. “What kind of talisman is this?”

Qiao tried to stay silent, but his mouth moved on its own. “Obedience Talisman.”

Indeed, quite obedient.

Li Feng glanced at Li Zhi, who gave him a slight nod.

They had already agreed—the boy couldn’t be allowed to leave the副本as a dangerous criminal.

But actually taking that step was still a test for Li Feng. If he didn’t do it, his sister would.

Li Feng’s expression finally hardened. “Go do to yourself what you intended to do to me.”

Qiao’s face turned deathly pale, but his body was beyond his control. He could only shuffle stiffly toward the rooms upstairs with glowing lanterns.

Red lanterns swayed silently, like a quiet celebration.

As Qiao screamed in despair, he raised his hand and knocked on the lit door.

The door opened soundlessly. A pale, slender hand with red-painted nails reached out, grabbing his wrist. Giggles echoed from inside the hallway as the screaming, broken Qiao was dragged inside.

The door closed, cutting off every sound.

Li Feng slowly unclenched his fist and turned to his sister. “Can you move yet?”

Li Zhi blinked. “Not yet. Probably has a time limit.”

Li Feng bent down and scooped her up in his arms. “Let’s finish the level first.”

Downstairs, Fu Huan and Xiang Ling held the human skin scroll and came up, kicking Shen Zhijian twice as they passed him writhing on the floor.

Li Zhi told them, “Just send him to Room 302.”

They nodded.

Li Zhi looked at her brother and coughed lightly. “Bro, we’re almost done. I…”

Li Feng looked down at her coldly, already walking downstairs before she could finish speaking.

Li Zhi smiled sweetly. “Thanks, Brother.”

Outside, Li Jianxi emerged from the security booth. Seeing Li Zhi being carried, he immediately grew tense. “Are you injured?”

Li Zhi shook her head. “No, just paralyzed.” She smiled at him. “Thank you for telling us about their plan. You helped us again.”

Li Jianxi shook his head. “Even if I hadn’t said anything, you would’ve figured it out.” He glanced up at the dark night sky, his tone quietly somber, “You’re leaving.”

Looking at his lowered lashes, Li Zhi suddenly felt a pang of softness.

Like a sad little dog.

Ignoring her brother’s icy glare, she whispered seriously, “We’ll meet again.”

Li Jianxi lifted his eyes, his long lashes framing a beauty that seemed unaware of its charm. “Yes. We will.”

Li Feng: “Finished talking yet?”

Li Zhi: “Yep, done.”

She winked secretly at Li Jianxi when her brother wasn’t looking.

Li Jianxi pressed his lips together, suppressing a smile.

Li Feng: “…...”

You really think I didn’t see that?!?!

At that moment, the dark sky revealed stars, and familiar words rang out clearly through the screens of viewers and players alike:

——Congratulations to the players for uncovering the truth beneath the glossy surface. Mission completed. South Street Apartment cleared. Entering popularity ranking phase. Thank you for watching. See you next episode. Goodbye.

The program ended, the live stream closed, and players were teleported back to the safe house.

Yet the world within the副本did not collapse immediately.

A short night passed quickly.

Morning sunlight broke through the darkness as a moving truck stopped outside South Street Apartment. Workers bustled in and out, carrying packed luggage and furniture down from the sixth floor.

Someone else was moving out.

The few remaining residents gathered to watch. In the morning light, the energetic Chu Guangyan held his wife Chen Meiqian’s hand as they bid farewell to Grandma Qiu.

“Grandma, we’re leaving now. Please take care of yourself.”

Grandma Qiu looked at the loving couple before her, her thin lips quivering. She said nothing, only nodded tearfully.

“You two must live well,” she said softly.