Infinite: Dawn Game

Chapter 676 The scapegoat

The only sound in the room was He Lingling's panting. After a few seconds, she said in a hoarse voice:

"...Wu Huimin said she regretted it."

She regretted getting on the ship, regretted not telling her brother where she worked... to the point that she died without ever seeing her brother again.

"……regret."

Shi Yuan repeated He Lingling's words, his lips twitching strangely, before looking away.

"What's the use of regretting your choice if you made it yourself?"

He Lingling didn't continue what she was saying. She only felt a sharp pain and intense itching in her throat and neck. In this extreme discomfort, she once again felt as if something unseen was tearing her neck apart—

Sun Qin was the first to notice that He Lingling's breathing was off again. She exclaimed and ran forward to help He Lingling, "Lingling!"

Shi Yuan was startled and instinctively supported the swaying He Lingling.

"Sheep...sheep...sheep milk..."

He Lingling felt as if her throat was instantly filled with countless sticky wool and the smell of blood, making her vision go black and her hands tremble.

She mustered all her strength to take the goat milk out of her system inventory, but she was too weak to unscrew the cap—bang!

The plastic bottle containing goat milk rolled down the bed to the floor, where Sun Qin stepped on it.

"What goat milk?!"

Sun Qin didn't quite understand what He Lingling was saying, and asked in confusion as she bent down to pick up the bottle:

Is it what's in this bottle?

Sun Qin held the plastic bottle filled with a milky white, turbid liquid and shook it in her hand.

"Correct."

Shi Yuan, who was supporting He Lingling, immediately nodded: "Open it! Come and feed her!"

"Oh, okay! Okay!"

Sun Qin hurriedly started twisting the bottle cap to feed He Lingling "goat milk".

Grrrrrrrrrr!

After He Lingling forced herself to drink most of the goat milk to perk herself up, she coughed violently again.

Amidst the strong smell of mutton, Sun Qin couldn't help but cover her nose.

Shi Yuan's expression remained unchanged. "How was it? Did it work?"

"……Have."

He Lingling looked surprised as she realized that her strength and will were recovering at an extremely fast pace.

She had thought goat milk might be useful... but she didn't expect it to work so quickly.

In this game instance, what exactly does goat milk represent?

Seeing He Lingling return to a normal, calm state at a visible speed, Shi Yuan finally let go of her hand and stood up from the bed.

Shi Yuan glanced at the relentless downpour outside the window and said:

"I forgot to mention earlier, tonight the players and NPCs on the first floor have started taking turns to splash water out overnight."

Shi Yuan: "The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and they started to get scared."

The “they” here refers to the “guests” in the second-floor cabin.

Once she regained her senses and calmed down, He Lingling licked her lips, her expression complex.

"The sacrifice is about to begin."

The moment these words were spoken, He Lingling and Shi Yuan's gazes fell on Sun Qin, who was completely unaware of what was happening.

Sun Qin felt a chill run down her spine from their stares and stammered, "What, what's wrong? Why are you two staring at me like that?"

"Sun Qin".

He Lingling opened her mouth with some difficulty: "There are some things I haven't had a chance to tell you yet, but I've been haunted by nightmares."

Shi Yuan remained silent.

She should have told Sun Qin earlier... but because she was too busy these past few days, and she really didn't know how to say it... so she delayed.

Shi Yuan didn't want to admit that he didn't want to be a "bad person".

Telling Sun Qin the news that she thought she was in the safest position but was actually in the most dangerous one was really cruel.

"...Wh-what is it?"

Sun Qin wasn't stupid; she sensed something from their expressions and felt a chill run down her spine.

"It shouldn't be anything serious, right?"

"Feel sorry."

He Lingling said, "My initial guess was wrong; you might be the first chosen 'sacrifice.'"

"???"

Sun Qin was so frightened that she took several steps back and exclaimed in surprise:

"How is this possible! Wasn't Wu Huimin the first sacrifice?! Weren't we still sympathizing with her and wanting to save her?! How did it suddenly become... me?"

"This is impossible!"

Unable to accept that she was about to die, Sun Qin's face turned pale, and her tone became somewhat stiff:

"Are you kidding me...? How could I possibly be angry at the first 'sacrifice'..."

Sun Qin's voice trailed off as she saw He Lingling and Shi Yuan's pained gazes, and she clenched her fists in disbelief.

"No... Lingling, didn't you say that I was the safest one? I've always been, always been trying, trying my best to play the piano, no matter how tired I am, even if my hands bleed, I dare not stop..."

Feeling somewhat guilty after hearing what she said, He Lingling said, "I will take responsibility for what I said, so—"

"How will you take responsibility?!"

Sun Qin collapsed, covering her head and squatting on the ground, muttering:

“I can’t live, I can’t live. How can I live if I’m a sacrifice… I will be, I will be made into human meat buns… I will be hung upside down and bled, just like those goats…”

"..." He Lingling paused for a few seconds, then said, "Actually, what I wanted to say was, I can replace you—"

"Let me do it."

Shi Yuan, who was standing to the side, suddenly spoke up.

Shi Yuan said, "I will die in her place."

The air seemed to freeze for a moment the instant she finished speaking.

Sun Qin, who was crying and lamenting that she was about to die, froze on the spot and suddenly looked at Shi Yuan.

"...Shi Yuan," He Lingling exclaimed, sitting bolt upright in bed in shock, "Do you know what you're saying? I dared to die in Sun Qin's place because I can—"

"Using props, is that right?"

Shi Yuan said calmly, "As far as I know, there are currently no items in the Dawn game that can replace someone's death without incurring any side effects."

“…Not necessarily,” He Lingling said with a headache. “While it might not achieve the same effect, using some props to absorb some of the less noticeable side effects could completely ensure a successful ‘substitute death.’”

He Lingling happened to have one of these props.

She obtained it in a game instance full of mysterious shadows. It can successfully replace a player's "identity" and attract the attention of monsters. Well, after "replacing" the identity, there is a 50% chance of survival... He Lingling wanted to burst into tears when she got this item.

What kind of prop is this? Who would be so bored as to die in someone else's place?!

They said it was fifty percent, but it's actually ninety percent! She doesn't dare to gamble!

Who would have thought that one day she would gamble on a 50% chance for Sun Qin, whom she had only just met... although the premise for doing so was that He Lingling was 100% certain that she would not die.