449: 8.49 Not Good!

8.49 Not Good!

Before Lu Yizhou could find any appropriate words to say, Diana added, hesitantly at first as though she was still not certain how much she should divulge. "The first time I entered this game, I was killed by the ghost on the fourth floor on the very first night."1

The corner of Lu Yizhou's lips twitched. The ghost on the fourth floor… Diana must be talking about Ellie. After all, she had also threatened to kill Lu Yizhou when they first met. If Lu Yizhou had not won over her affection, no doubt he would also have become her target sooner or later.

Now everything made sense. Ellie's warning that told him to be careful of those around him must be referring to Diana. She had seen her die again and again only to revive and enter the next batch of doctors. It was no wonder that Ellie was wary of her too. 

"The second time I died," she added with a scowl on her face. "It was because of my pig teammates who offended Master Knox by barging directly into his room. He is not to be trifled with, that monster." She hugged herself and shivered. "In one move… he managed to annihilate us all. Seven of us. And we have not even gotten to the main boss yet."

"The third time I died…" Suddenly, she trailed off, eyes lost in thought.

"What?" Lu Yizhou urged.

But Diana did not say anything more. A strange smile spread across her face. "This time, I will definitely do it. I will complete this abhorrent game and escape from this nightmare. That's why… I won't let you stand on my way. Previously, Irene has always been defeated and died a miserable death in the final fight. This time, too, everything will end up the same."

Lu Yizhou pondered on his option. Getting her to talk did not seem easy. She was a fellow transmigrator too so Lu Yizhou did not know whether 'Devil's Whisper' would be effective on her or not. Attempting it would not be feasible, Lu Yizhou did not want to waste his skill in case it did not work. She was a woman with a mission, and she had died so many times that threatening her with death would only be a stupid move.

Sigh, this had become a real pain in the ass. Lu Yizhou pinched his brows in frustration. If she was not a gold mine of information, Lu Yizhou would get rid of her right here and now. Nip the bud right off the branch before it could blossom.

"How do you know that my mission is different from yours?" He asked in a sincere tone as though placating a stubborn child. Well if he could not force Diana to talk, maybe he should bring her to his side first. "This is the first time you have met a fellow transmigrator, right? What if our path is one and the same? You have seen what I can do. I can help you to complete this game."

Diana stared at him with an incomprehensible look, teeth worrying on her bottom lip. "Actually, I know you."

Lu Yizhou was utterly taken aback. "...What?"

"666. It's your system, right?" The hesitation in Diana's eyes vanished and in its place was a solid determination. She said tentatively, fists clenching on her shirt. "Everyone practically knows 666's Host and the crazy feats he has attempted to clear the mission. 666 has always bragged about you in the forum."

Lu Yizhou: "..."

[666: T–This…This is slander! Which eyes of hers had seen 666 bragged about Host?! 666 was just asking for advice, okay?!]

"It seems like I am right," she scoffed. "Then you should know that I already know your story. In every world, you have always become a couple with the villain."

Lu Yizhou gritted his teeth. [666!!!] 

He had never expected, out of all people, his own system would be the one who smashed the rock on his feet! His blood pressure spiked just by thinking of how 666 would record his movement in every world only to post it in its fucking forum for the whole world to see!

[666: T–This… 666 can explain, Host! B–But, 666 is certain that 404 is not registered in the system forum. How could it know about 666's posts?!]

Ha, nice attempt on switching the topic. Lu Yizhou would not let this go. Ever. 666 should know that he was very petty by now. If he had the power, he would definitely grant 666 a body and then proceeded to beat it up until it cried for Dr. Feng to rescue him!

[666: *shivers* …can 666 kneel for forgiveness?]

'Hmph, you idiot system!' Ozzie, like the supportive daughter she was, stood firmly by Lu Yizhou's side. She rebuked harshly, tone filled with righteous indignation. 'See how deep of a pit you have dug for Daddy meow! How are you going to be responsible for it?!'

[666: You liar, stupid cat! Who is the one who asked to see 666's photo album?! How dare you betray 666 at a time like this?! We are in this together!!!]

Ozzie sputtered in shock and snuggled deeper into Lu Yizhou's neck, purring. She batted her lashes and peered up at him with her doe ruby eyes — the exact same trick she had attempted to get herself out of trouble countless times before. 'Sheesh, 666 doesn't know what it is talking about, Daddy. Don't listen to it meow~'

Lu Yizhou massaged his aching temple. 'Stop. I will deal with you two later.' 

He looked at Diana with a perplexed look. No matter what kind of action he took today, he should not make Diana his enemy. He tried to pull off a confident air as he said, "How do you know for sure that what 666 posted is the truth? You should have known that it likes to boast the most. It will not hesitate to lie and exaggerate in order to make its post popular."

[666: Gasp! *shocked* How — Is 666 that low in your eyes, Host?!]

Hesitation flashed for a second in Diana's blue eyes but they hardened again in the next second. "No! You're just trying to trick me! I'd rather be killing you too rather than failing one more time. So spare your bullshit!"

Lu Yizhou realized almost immediately the crux of the problem. Diana bringing up his past meant that somehow, she knew about the existence of his lover in this world and most importantly — it's not the same villain she must save. 

If Lu Yizhou had to guess, then Diana's villain must be the Madam. She had been wronged, abandoned and forgotten. Seeing her beloved husband with another woman who was occupying her body must have driven her insane to the point of turning into a vengeful ghost. Who knew how many times she had been killed by the previous players simply because they misunderstood who she really was?

To save the Madam from the demise, then Diana had to defeat the lady in black aka the black witch who was residing in Madam's body now.

However, she still had no idea that Ellie was not on the same side as the lady in black. Touche. She had been killed once by Ellie, how could she bring herself to trust her any longer? Lu Yizhou let out a frustrated sigh. Now, Diana had the mindset that if she wanted to save the Madam, then she had to kill both the lady in black and Ellie as well. He could bet that Diana must not have known about Ella's existence either.

  If he let her be, then she would be a threat to his lover's existence. 

Lu Yizhou's jaws tensed, but in the end he forced his stance to relax and exhaled softly. "I have a proposition." It was really unlike him to offer a deal that did not benefit him at all, but if he could get Diana to his side, maybe it would be beneficial for him in the long term. "If you listen to me, I can save both Madam Knox and my villain. It will be a win-win situation for both of us, and we don't need to be tangled in this meaningless fight. What do you say?"

No matter from which angle he looked at it, his offer would benefit Diana the most. That's why he was caught off guard when her eyes abruptly turned freezing cold. "So 404 is right…" she muttered under her breath.

Her voice was too small for Lu Yizhou to hear. "What?"

"404 has warned me that you will say this." The corner of Diana's lips tilted into a deranged smile. Her eyes looked too desperate and unhinged. Coupled with her badly trembling figure, she looked like she was barely hanging on the last thread. The utter despair in her eyes as well as her words stunned Lu Yizhou. 

Diana's system had predicted what Lu Yizhou was going to say? Wait no, to be exact, what had the system fed into Diana's mind?

"404 is right. I can't trust anyone in this world. I have to listen to it… I have to…" She let out incoherent mumbles, looking more and more unstable by each second. Lu Yizhou was getting a bad feeling now. He took a step forward intending to catch Diana by her arm, but before he could do so, Diana suddenly opened her palm to show a glowing skill card.

Lu Yizhou sucked in cold air. Alarm bells started to ring in his mind. He had no idea what kind of skill card it was, but every cell in his body was buzzing, forcing him to move from that place. He could sense that it was dangerous, very dangerous! His feet moved without him realizing as he spun on his heels. He had to get as far away as possible from Diana!

"To end this nightmare, I have to kill the one behind it and this time… I won't let anyone get in my way anymore!" Diana slammed the skill card to the ground and in an instant, a deep rumble reverberated deep from within the core of the Earth. The scorched trees around them shriveled as though preparing themselves for what was to come. 

Lu Yizhou cursed under his breath as the soil beneath his feet started to tremble. Not good! This must be why Diana led him into this forest. She had been planning this since the beginning!

The ground started to split from where the skill card was buried, heading straight toward Lu Yizhou with a speed faster than lightning, faster than he could ever overtake.

"Once you are trapped in the Underground Prison, you won't be able to escape unless this world collapses." Diana exhaled softly in relief. "Please stay inside until I clear this game if you want to live… Irene."

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