Chapter 42: Naked Purpose

The biting cold wind blew the girl's thin shirt, revealing her slender waist.

Qiu Du Zi rolled its wheels anxiously at the window, with a thick rope tied to the handle, extending all the way to the girl's waist outside the window.

Su Mian stepped on the door frame, the generator outside blowing her hair into a mess. She tilted her head, trying to use the force to climb up, but her legs were shaking violently.

The cold wind made her eye sockets ache, and she had already shredded Su Tang and Zhou Ruochuan into a thousand pieces in her mind.

The distance between the elevator and the window was too far, but this was the only way. The door that four people couldn't crash open would lead to everyone dying there if they dragged it out any longer.

Therefore, Su Mian thought of such an extreme method: let Qiu Du Zi take her all the way to crash through the monsters to the window, and then climb to the floor above to open the door for them.

Why climb up instead of down? The main reason was that Su Mian didn't dare to look down at all.

She tried to use both hands to exert force upward, but her foot slipped suddenly, and a pair of hands grabbed her and brought her into the window.

"I didn't watch you for just one second, and you're plotting something again?"

During the speech, he loosened the rope around her waist.

The DM glanced at Qiu Du Zi. It wanted to step forward, but was so scared that it turned around and left instantly, its two wheels pedaling fast.

Su Mian didn't have time to think about so much. She didn't know how long they could hold on over there, so she grabbed Wen Cisheng's sleeve. "Send me to the 22nd floor, fast!"

Wen Cisheng tilted his head. "Why not just let me send you to the safe house?"

"There are players over there..."

"What does that have to do with me."

The DM interrupted her. Su Mian was silent for a long time before speaking. "Then... why did you help me?"

He was the one who healed the wound on her leg, right?

Su Mian didn't understand. Since the last instance, Si Shi had helped her many times, and even violated the persona without killing her.

An adjudicator of a game, would he feel sympathy for a player?

"Help you?" He repeated lightly, the tail of his voice rising, carrying an unclear meaning.

He raised his hand, his fingertips about to touch the girl's cheek, but stopped at a hair's breadth, turning to brush away the hair that had been scattered by the strenuous exercise on her forehead.

"Perhaps because..." He leaned in closer, his breath brushing her earlobe.

"Watching you struggle in the game is more interesting?"

This answer was frivolous and cruel, but this was precisely the truest answer.

Su Mian wasn't surprised by this answer; on the contrary, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Compared to ethereal kindness, such naked malice made her feel more at ease.

At least, she knew Si Shi's motivation and knew her positioning in his eyes.

A toy to amuse him.

In a game where one is on the line between life and death, clear danger is much easier to deal with than unpredictable friendliness.

Su Mian retreated half a step without changing her expression, opening up a safe distance.

"Then," she raised her eyes to look directly at the DM's unfathomable mask, her voice calm and waveless, "if an interesting toy is damaged too quickly, wouldn't you also feel bored?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a suppressed groan came from not far away.

Su Mian caught a glimpse from the corner of her eye.

Chen Mo was half-kneeling on the ground, her left shoulder scratched by claws, and blood was dripping continuously along the torn white coat.

The color on her face was fading rapidly, shrouded in an ominous blue-gray layer.

Su Mian's heart beat violently. She knew she was very anxious, but the biggest taboo in any transaction was to fall into a disadvantageous position.

"Look at her," Su Mian's gaze led Si Shi to look at Chen Mo. "Is her struggle also 'interesting'?"

"Watching a presence full of vitality, how it explodes with its last bit of strength on the edge of despair, and then... extinguishes like fireworks."

Her words were understated, as if she were commenting on a performance unrelated to herself.

Wen Cisheng followed her gaze, a playful look hooking the corners of his lips: "Dying ants, the struggle is indeed worth watching, but, that's all."

"If..." Su Mian took a slight breath. "If this process of extinguishing could be controlled by you?"

"You let her shine, she shines; you let her dim, she dims. Her life and death, the arc of her struggle, are completely depicted by your will. Doesn't this sound... more interesting than letting her die on her own?"

She tried to extend the definition of "toy" from herself to her teammates, placing herself and her teammates on the altar for his amusement.

If a human with such weak combat power could arouse a little bit of his interest, did that mean those players he ignored could live longer because of this?

Si Shi was silent, and finally, he laughed low, his laughter pleasant and cold, seemingly understanding something.

"Little cat, do you think my interest in you comes from this?"

He sneered, "Do I look very stupid?"

Wen Cisheng raised his hand, his slender fingertips drawing a virtual line in the air.

In the distance, the dark color wrapped around Wang Zeyu was like an invisible hand, strangling and shrinking suddenly.

He began to struggle violently, his face pale and powerless, beads of sweat the size of beans sliding down his forehead.

Su Mian frowned, but said nothing.

He didn't seem to want to kill him, his fingertips hooked lightly, and his painfully twisted body got a chance to breathe, starting to cough violently.

"Is it good to look at?"

The DM's voice carried disgust. He leaned over and approached Su Mian's ear again.

"I think it's much more beautiful when I strangle your neck than other humans."

"I let you shine, you shine."

"I let you dim, you dim. Your life and death, the arc of your struggle, are completely depicted by my will, little cat..."

"Because it's you, I find it interesting."

Su Mian's instantly tense heartstrings were already soaked in cold sweat. He had returned the words she said to him to her exactly.

The air was silent again, but Su Mian knew she didn't have much time left.

Her throat tightened, her tone resolute.

"Then as you wish."

Su Mian suddenly relaxed her shoulders, even slightly raising her chin, revealing her fragile neck.

"But the top collectors all know how to keep their precious collections in the best condition."

Her fingertips pointed lightly to her neck, staying at the position where the artery pulsed.

"The struggle of being forcibly strangled is beautiful, but don't you think... letting the collection dance in your palm voluntarily, watching it bloom for you even though it knows the danger, is what matches your taste?"

Her voice was very light, but it precisely wrapped around the predator's interest.

"I can be that collection that dances voluntarily.

But the premise is..." Her gaze swept over the few people struggling on the verge of death.

"You have to ensure that the other toys are intact. After all, even the most beautiful solo dance will become boring if watched for too long."

"Some foils can make the main collection look even more... dazzling."

The DM's eyes under the mask narrowed slightly. ===== CHAPTER 43 =====