Chapter 4: As Expected, I'm Still an Ordinary Person

  It's doomed to have no outcome... might as well not do it!

  No matter how he helps others get through difficulties, the final result is just to delay others' death time a bit. Rather than that, it's better for him to sit here and wait instead.

  Leaning against the edge of the labyrinth, Jiǔ Mìng didn't know if it was within its range or not, but somehow he heard several movements, how long had passed?

  Rubbed his eyes, Jiumeng recovered a lot of spirit and stood up again, moved his body, let out a long sigh... felt that he was a bit silly just now?

  He had only taken two steps when the corners of his eyes twitched a few times, and indeed this place had shrunk by a lot again. Otherwise, where did the hand bones with blood stains on them at his feet come from?

  Damn it!

  He tilted his head, and the nine lives half-closed one eye to avoid this place, continuing to move forward. Along the way, it was simply rich in materials to the "extreme point", and the air was filled with a deep bloody smell. From time to time, seeing arms and legs on the side of the road was a common occurrence.

  Picked up a blood-stained phone from the ground, Jiǔ Mìng took a look at the time, and after crossing over 12 hours ago, another 34 hours had passed...

  It's been almost two days and it has developed into this situation, how did he manage to be in a daze for so long?

  The nine lives that almost stepped on various corpses all the way, feeling that there was always a kind of resentment blowing in my ears.

  Sigh... Let's just end all of this quickly!

  Found a clean place to stand quietly for a while, Jiǔ Mìng (Nine Lives) lifted his head again. A fierce fighting sound was approaching him from afar. A young man who looked rather weak and frail had an expression of twisted resentment on his face. No matter how he dodged and weaved, he couldn't shake off the pursuer behind him.

  "It's you! You must be the one who brought us here to watch us kill each other! Let me out!!!"

  As soon as he saw Jiǔ Mìng, the frail young man let out a loud roar and charged over, slamming the femur in his hand down towards Jiǔ Mìng's skull with great force. Naturally, the femur passed through Jiǔ Mìng's head as if it had struck thin air.

  "Think whatever you want." With a helpless expression, Jiǔ Mìng turned around and left. How many people who can still survive now can maintain their 'humanity'?

  I really don't know what's the point of having all these people around, what's the use of such 'employees'? Is this a recruitment for slaughterhouse butchers?

  Grass!!!!

  The idea that he had just given birth to help someone quickly resolve others and end everything soon was also ruthlessly slapped down by him, no need, he didn't want to, since so, then just 'watch' it...

  From now on, just treat this as a rather bad memory, a dark history.

  Wiped off the dirt on the picked-up phone, from the color of the phone and the screen saver, it's obvious that the owner is a girl. The battery still has a little over half left, enough for him to play with for a while. Jiǔ Mìng casually opened the text messages without any purpose, some daily exchanges, from the different content of the texts, it can be seen that the owner of this phone is someone who gets along well with others.

  Unfortunately, bad luck brought me here...

  He opened the draft box, and Jiǔ Mìng was slightly stunned. He saw the owner of this phone left a diary about his experiences here. It was very short, but full of intense despair, making Jiǔ Mìng feel very conflicted. After finishing reading, he gripped the phone with much greater force.

  A faint crackling sound, and the phone screen had several sharp cracks under external force.

  "...If everyone here were to die, would this selection fail?"

  It's all right now.

  "You..."

  Ah!

  Unlike the sound of shattering screens, this time it was a skeletal one. Jiǔ Mìng had already sensed it. Now his soul body's strength was probably similar to that of a normal person, but its explosive power was terrifyingly high. The instantaneous burst of power could allow him to break through hard bones.

  "Damn it, you finally couldn't help but take the initiative to attack!" Looking at the broken leg bone in his hand, the thin and weak young man who had escaped from being tracked turned around and ran away. He had no choice but to run, or else the opponent's fist would have come crashing down and directly broken the hard leg bone in his hand. The force transmitted through it also made him stumble backward several steps. No need to doubt... this guy could kill himself with one punch.

  Why am I so unlucky!

  His physical strength may not be strong, but his wisdom is definitely not bad. While running, he is still thinking actively. The nine lives are taking the initiative to help him, and with his help, they can deal with some more troublesome people.

  But why can't I hear the sound of fighting anymore?

  As he ran, the frail young man started to sweat on his head. After figuring out the rules of the maze, it might be difficult to find a specific place accurately, but it's relatively easy to find a place with sound. Now that there is no voice guiding the direction, finding other people relies on luck.

  Others wouldn't have known that Jiǔ Mìng was about to make a move, and now he had already found a place to hide. The thin man couldn't help but curse in his heart as he turned around to take a look, and Jiǔ Mìng was still firmly following behind him.

  "Dead end!!"

  Turning around another corner, the frail young man directly saw a wall that was already visible at the edge. The length of the wall is about 50 meters, and the originally vast labyrinth has now shrunk to this extent.

  The frail young man's eyes lit up slightly as he thought of something, and a glimmer of hope was rekindled, even his footsteps quickened.

  Where is it?! Where is it?! The young man's heart was loudly roaring, with a sense of urgency, he searched around frantically, looking for something. The maze's range had already become very small, and even if his luck wasn't great, under the circumstances of searching every nook and cranny, he would still find what he wanted... or rather, who he wanted.

  A man with a shaved head lying on the ground, his ferocious face now replaced by weakness, with several deep wounds visible to the bone on his body, and a huge wound on his abdomen that made it difficult for him to move. If not for the weak young man finding him here, he would have been hard-pressed to survive much longer. Now he was completely relying on a thread of willpower to hold on. If only he were alone... then he could live on, right?

  It was just the appearance of a frail young man that shattered his last shred of luxury.

  Like a dying beast, he saw the weak young man who had cut off his own hope rush towards him, and the nine-lived man tightly grasped the dagger that was pressed against him. As the weak young man approached, he mustered all his strength to burst out...

  "Ah!!" Even though he tried his best to dodge, the young man's abdomen was still stabbed with a knife. He let out a miserable cry and fiercely bit into the throat of the already exhausted man.

  ...... followed by the nine lives, the corners of his mouth twitched fiercely, feeling a bit bitter in his mouth, and he was indeed an ordinary person after all, hesitating for half a day to kill someone.

  As the footsteps of the nine deaths approached rapidly, the frail young man looked at the man who was holding onto him tightly with weakened breath, filled with terror, unable to break free, and wondered if he would die too?

  Bang!

  A crisp sound, the nine lives slightly trembled and their arms were pushed back two steps. Was it a step late? Never mind, since they missed the opportunity due to their own hesitation... it wasn't really a miss either.

  Because the light film that appeared on the weak young man's body was also present at the moment when the man died, which means that no matter which one of the nine lives solved it, there would always be someone who survived, either him or the dying man, unless the nine lives could solve both in a situation without time difference.

  "Hah! Hahahaha! I'm alive!" Seeing himself unscathed, the frail young man burst into mad laughter. Thinking of his twisted experiences over the past two days in order to survive, he felt an additional urge to cry out loud, "You're not that great, come and kill me!"

  In the light membrane, a frail young man provoked Jiuming, and the stains on his body quickly dissipated with everything here. The weakness and injuries on his body also disappeared. The maze disappeared, replaced by a white space, where one person and one ghost confronted each other.

  Relying on the protection of the light membrane, the frail young man provoked the nine deaths in one go, and started to vent with tears and laughter. When he calmed down later, if he could hold on to the shadow in his heart, that stubborn mind would take shape.

  Congratulations to you, the last survivor. Your tenacious life has earned you the identity of the mysterious shopkeeper. Next, you will undergo a suitable training session to make you more suitable for the identity of the mysterious shopkeeper...

  "Wait, why hasn't he disappeared yet?" Seeing the subtitles that appeared in the air, the thin young man suddenly pointed to the one who was about to disappear and leave Jiuming, "Or is he also a special NPC here, a shopkeeper?"

  NPC? Salesperson?

  "Hey, can't you see that's how people like us are viewed by normal people like you? That subtitle, he can see it too..."

  【……】

  Another line of subtitles appeared in the air, and Jiǔ Mìng felt as if something had swept past him.

  No, he is also one of the participants.

  "What?! He's not even human, isn't that against the rules?! I'm going to report him!" Thinking of his own miserable and twisted experiences, and then looking at Jiuming's experience which could be passed just by being a bystander, an extreme sense of injustice echoed in his heart, why?!

  Similarly, his greater concern is that the Nine Lives may also 'share' this place with him - the mysterious shop? Regardless of what kind of place it is, having such incredible power must be extraordinary.

  He curled up the corner of his mouth and glanced to one side, and Jiǔ Mìng promptly sat down cross-legged. He could understand this person's mood, but understanding was one thing, and his annoyance still lingered. If it weren't for that layer of light membrane, he wouldn't be able to break through it, and rushing up to give him a good beating was what he most wanted to do right now. For the time being, though, he'd just have to wait for Subtitle-kun's "punishment".

  Before his death, he was prepared to die at any time with that weak body. Now that he's dead, where can he die again?

  The target is a mysterious store that can accept 'BUG' type.

  The ninth life noticed that the subtitle assigning fate to the frail young store manager had disappeared... Ah? Is this because the 'screen' is not enough?