LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 41 - You Must Die!
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Thomas applauded lightly. It wasn’t enthusiastic, but there was a note of appreciation in it.
“Not bad at all. Are you a med student or a detective? You actually managed to piece together most of the truth.”
His tone carried a hint of curiosity. Seeing the two in front of him tense up, staring at him with sharp vigilance, he could only shake his head with a helpless smile.
“Relax. I’m the kind of person who can’t sleep without knowing the answer after reading a mystery novel. Satisfy my curiosity, and I’ll let you die with some understanding.”
He wasn’t nervous—there was no need to be. He was like a cat that had cornered a mouse. Without waiting for an answer, he asked on his own:
“When did you realize he was about to make a move?”
Yuuki carefully observed his every action, then parted his dry lips. “I only had reasonable suspicion before, but now I’m sure.”
Thomas froze for a moment, his eyes widening slightly. Then, he started clapping again.
“Brilliant. So you were deliberately playing along, confirming the danger at the most opportune time and place—oh, and still holding on to a sliver of hope for a reversal.”
Now he understood. There were no ghouls nearby, and the time for the Red Moon’s ‘gift’ hadn’t arrived yet. If they had to turn against each other, now was the perfect moment—at least they wouldn’t have to worry about getting pincered by the dungeon’s enemies.
“So when did you start suspecting? Let me guess—was it when he relayed the message to me? Impressive, noticing something off just from that and suspecting that we weren’t just casual acquaintances.”
In that brief instant earlier, Thomas had already noticed that Yuuki looked panicked but not shocked—clearly, he had considered the possibility of him showing up but wasn’t sure where he had given himself away.
“Sharing intelligence between veteran players is normal, so I didn’t doubt it. Your performance was flawless.”
“Then how did you—” Thomas’ words cut off as he saw Yuuki raise his hand and pat his own shoulder—three times, with just the right amount of force.
“People’s physical habits are hard to hide. Li Dan only does this to people he trusts. Once I had a reason to be suspicious, I just needed to pay closer attention, and more inconsistencies surfaced.”
Yuuki lowered his hand and slowly smiled.
“For example, you two act like you don’t get along, yet your teamwork is seamless. Or when Robert complained that the dungeon’s difficulty was ridiculous, I deliberately brought up you as a factor. Maybe it was too abrupt, but his expression instinctively changed.”
“Then there’s the fact that, despite time being so tight, he stopped less than a kilometer from the rendezvous point, and you never went to find him.”
Thomas took a deep breath. The curiosity and admiration in his eyes had been replaced by something else—wariness.
At first, he thought Yuuki had some kind of ability to foresee the future.
Now, it was clear—Yuuki was simply using meticulous observation to outplay someone who hadn’t been paying attention. His mind was sharp enough to approach deep truths without any supernatural assistance.
That was even more terrifying.
Like he was born for this game.
Who knew how far he would grow?
“…You really are a bit like him.”
“Him?” Yuuki raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected to guess correctly. A thought flashed through his mind, and his tone turned excited.
“So you suspected me because of him? That’s ridiculous. You got screwed over by him, so now you’re taking it out on me?”
“Ridiculous? A rookie toying with veteran players—how is that ridiculous? Besides, I hadn’t even joined the game back then—I only heard about it from Li Dan.”
Thomas stood up. His chainsaw sword revved with a low, menacing hum.
“But I think you’re even more dangerous. That’s why you have to die.”
A crushing sense of oppression bore down on him. Thomas hadn’t cursed or shouted, but his fury was unmistakable.
As a veteran player, being outplayed like an idiot—how could he not be furious?
Tap.
He jumped onto the rooftop, his landing cracking the floor beneath him.
Then, he casually asked, “I’ll still give you a chance—tell me the clue to escaping the castle.”
It seemed unrelated to the current situation, but there was an undeniable weight to the question.
“If I tell you, I die anyway.”
“At least it’ll be quick. But honestly, I don’t think you have any clue—you’re just bluffing.”
Yuuki didn’t refute him. He didn’t even respond.
Instead, he simply said, “You promised to let me die with understanding.”
“Then ask quickly—keep it short. I don’t think you’ll be around to hear the full answer.”
Vrrrrrrr!
The chainsaw sword tore into the floor, spitting sparks into the night air.
Thomas charged forward.
But Yuuki, seemingly more concerned about his own curiosity, asked:
“A player’s innate trait is supposed to be a bound ability. How can Li Dan able to steal one?”
“Who told you it couldn’t be stolen? Under the right conditions, special tools, skills—even other players’ traits—can be taken.”
“I see.” Yuuki’s eyes widened in excitement.
“So that’s why Li Dan wants me dead—to make Mai trust him, rely on him, and fulfill the conditions?”
“Trust is the key to his ability theft!”
Thomas stopped in his tracks.
He hadn’t revealed anything.
Yet Yuuki had deduced the truth from his words alone.
For a moment, Thomas chuckled in disbelief, rolling his neck until it cracked.
“Hah… Hahaha. Interesting. Really interesting. But I—”
BOOM!!
The rooftop shook violently.
The chainsaw reached Yuuki before Thomas finished speaking.
“I hate smart people the most!”
The ground was torn open, the railing sliced in half like paper.
Stone shards flew in every direction, but the chainsaw shredded them into dust before they could land.
Thomas narrowed his eyes and kicked up a small object with his foot.
Bang!
A flashbang exploded in midair, lighting up the night sky.
It did nothing.
“So you want a painful death instead?”
A cruel smile spread across Thomas’ face as he stepped forward—
Only to find no one in front of him.
A rope dangled from the broken railing.
During their conversation, Yuuki had quietly hooked his harness onto the railing and leapt off the rooftop.
Multitasking.
Interesting.
Thomas stabbed his sword into the floor, carving a perfect circle—
Like cutting through tofu.
Then, he dropped straight down.
BOOM.
A cloud of dust erupted as rubble rained down.
Yuuki, just making his way into the mall, turned back—
Only to see Thomas crouched in the hallway.
Without hesitation, he raised his gun and fired.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks danced as bullets ricocheted off Thomas’ sword.
Then, with inhuman speed, he charged.
[A skill like dynamic vision.]
Yuuki licked his lips. His shots barely mattered—Thomas anticipated every move and blocked them before they even landed.
Yuuki suddenly tossed his rifle aside.
Before it even hit the ground, Thomas’ sword cleaved it into useless fragments.
At the same time, Yuuki rolled backward—
Whoosh—
A perfect slash split the floor open.
Thomas swung again.
A vending machine and the wall behind it were cleanly bisected, sending drinks splattering everywhere.
The chainsaw didn’t jam—it tore through effortlessly.
With a smooth motion, Thomas reversed his grip for another swing—
BOOM.
Two thrown objects exploded in midair.
A fine white powder filled the corridor.
Thomas froze.
Then, after a few seconds, he slowly straightened.
“Ran off pretty fast.”
He looked down at the remnants of an extinguisher at his feet.
His interest only grew.
This rookie was something else.
Calm under pressure.
Using the environment to fight back.
Better than most people he’d seen.
Moreover, the choice of location was quite clever—luring all the undead away meant there were no creatures left to warm up the chainsaw sword. Otherwise, with just a layer or two, absolute speed and strength would’ve been enough to crush such petty tricks.
“Looks like you still have a trump card left to play. I’m curious myself—just how much stronger can a newbie get in a single day?”
He reached up and slid down the glasses perched on his forehead. In thermal imaging mode, the world shifted to shades of gray and white, a few droplets of warm blood trailing off into the distance on the floor.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
His knuckles rhythmically tapped against the wall, matching his unhurried steps. Dragging his sword behind him, Thomas strode deeper into the mall, letting his humming echo through the deathly silent building.
“Hide well, run hard—Death is already on its way to you.”