Chapter 34: Deduction

"Players can't obtain the traits of killed players," Liu Yuanyuan declared first. "You're bluffing.""As a Player-Eater, you naturally don't have traits to begin with, so of course you can't obtain other players' traits. We all just got off the Preliminary Trial Train—I doubt any of you have many tools yet."

Ignoring Liu Yuanyuan's furious glare, Wang Wei kept his gaze fixed on Xu Huo's face. "No one can complete the dungeon mission alone. There are five of you now. Rather than increasing casualties unnecessarily, wouldn't it be better if we leave each other alone and quietly wait until the fifth day?"

Huang Junjie, who prioritized weighing pros and cons, showed signs of wavering. He instinctively looked toward Xu Huo.

"No need to test me," Xu Huo said. "Even if you kill a player, you can't obtain their traits. The only inheritable assets are things like money and tools."

"Being alone indeed makes it impossible to clear the dungeon. The simplest method is indeed ensuring multiple players survive until the dungeon ends. But as you said, we just got off the train—maybe the few players you killed didn't have any tools to begin with."

He smiled. "The hardest part is already over. With the grand prize package right before us, taking some risks is worth it."

Wang Wei had expected Xu Huo wouldn't be so easily fooled. He turned to Yuan Yao and the other two. "Do you all think the same?"

The three remained silent. Wang Wei sneered before addressing Liu Yuanyuan again: "Killing me won't benefit you either. You'll be their next target."

Liu Yuanyuan shrugged. "I don't care. The dungeon reward is more tempting to me."

"Talking this much—could it be you're scared?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she pounced at Wang Wei like a beast unleashed from its cage!

Wang Wei dodged sideways, but his face was still raked with three bloody gashes. The searing pain made his muscles twitch as he retreated several steps to avoid further attacks. He made a grabbing motion in the air, and a black cloak materialized, swirling around to cover him!

But before he could fully conceal himself within the cloak, Xu Huo suddenly ambushed from the side, sweeping Wang Wei off his feet with a leg sweep. "Grab him!"

Abel and Yuan Yao, following closely, each seized one of Wang Wei's legs and forcibly dragged him out from under the cloak!

Though they pulled him out, one of Wang Wei's hands still tightly gripped the cloak, resulting in a three-way tug-of-war!

Huang Junjie, waiting for his chance, raised his bamboo blade with both hands to stab Wang Wei's abdomen. But just as he lifted his arms, an extremely thin silver-black wire looped around his neck and yanked him upward!

The bamboo blade clattered to the ground as Huang Junjie struggled to pry the wire loose. However, the ends of the wire weren't attached to anything—it seemed to grow from thin air. As Wang Wei crossed his index and middle fingers, the wire suddenly twisted and tightened on its own, leaving a bleeding line on Huang Junjie's neck!

Xu Huo glanced at the man who was now rolling his eyes from strangulation. Keeping his foot firmly on the cloak, he took out the "Arsonist's Tools," flipped it open, and commanded: "Burn, burn, burn!"

Without the black cloak as cover, three flames instantly ignited on Wang Wei's clothes, rapidly spreading!

The inexplicable fire threw Wang Wei into panic. He stopped controlling the wire and instead kicked Abel and Yuan Yao away before turning to strike at Xu Huo!

There had been distance between them, but suddenly a black baton appeared in Wang Wei's hand. Electric currents surged from it, engulfing his entire arm. The crackling sparks were blinding, making it impossible to approach.

Xu Huo narrowed his eyes, hesitating whether to let go, when Liu Yuanyuan suddenly lunged from the side. Wearing insulated gloves, she grabbed Wang Wei's left arm and twisted—"Crack!" The baton clattered to the ground.

She snatched the baton and ran while Xu Huo and Huang Junjie, who had just gotten up, simultaneously struck—one aiming for Wang Wei's wrist, the other his calf!

By now, flames had engulfed Wang Wei's entire body, surpassing his tolerance. Forced to abandon the black cloak, he swung the Headhunter Demon's axe to drive them back before rolling away to create distance.

No sooner had he gotten up than Abel charged with a large cross. Wang Wei barely blocked with his axe but was still sent flying into the wall. After crashing down and coughing blood, he frantically tore at his burning clothes!

Thanks to his Evolver physique, though his skin was burned, it wasn't fatal yet. However, the melted fabric had fused to his flesh—ripping it off would only worsen the damage. He could only let it cool naturally.

The scent of cooked meat filled the warehouse.

"Gulp!" Liu Yuanyuan swallowed hard.

"The risk was worth it," Xu Huo said, lifting the black cloak in his hand.

In just these few dozen seconds of combat, Wang Wei—the self-proclaimed Headhunter Demon—had not only failed to gain any advantage but lost his greatest reliance, the black cloak. He'd also lost another tool, and his axe now had a chip from clashing with Abel's cross. Meanwhile, their side had suffered negligible damage.

Panting heavily, Wang Wei glared venomously at Xu Huo, his hatred almost tangible. "How could you be so certain the Headhunter Demon had to be a player? Hot Springs Villa has always had rumors about the Headhunter Demon. Any normal person would assume there was always one here—especially with the evidence I planted! Why wouldn't you believe it?"

"Because you outsmarted yourself!" Yuan Yao blurted eagerly. "Would the real Headhunter Demon need to resort to such petty tricks?"

"That's your reasoning?" Wang Wei raised his voice.

Not just him—even Huang Junjie and the others didn't fully understand. Huang Junjie in particular had only suspected a player was impersonating the Headhunter Demon to kill, never imagining the Headhunter Demon was a player all along.

"Pay attention to the mission briefing. The dungeon background states people have died frequently here over the past three years, but the materials we found in the warehouse show the Headhunter Demon legend spans decades." Xu Huo flicked the lighter.

Wang Wei's eyelid twitched. "What does that prove?"

"The key lies in these records. Looking just at the past three years, the victims follow a pattern—either consecutive decapitations or consecutive dismemberments."

Xu Huo glanced at Huang Junjie. "Setting aside copycat crimes, this fits a player's profile—mostly ordinary players, with a minority being Player-Eaters."

"So that's why some were missing limbs—if the bodies showed signs of being eaten, the Headhunter Demon's identity would be exposed too easily," Yuan Yao muttered.

"Past records and cases appeared in newspapers, meaning the villa wasn't closed due to the Headhunter Demon before—at least newspapers were still delivered. Plus, the game mentioned this place was once popular among players and non-players alike. So it's highly likely this was a dungeon back then too. If the visitors were players and this was a dungeon, combined with the body patterns, the Headhunter Demon being a player makes more sense."

"So this dungeon started decades ago?" Abel exclaimed. "But we're all first-timers here! How is that possible?"

"It's possible," Huang Junjie said, his face paling as he realized something. "Isn't the woodchopper a stranded player?"