Chapter 53: Breakup

Xu Huo hid in the pigpen for four hours until the darkness outside finally receded. After securing the pigskin, he first went to check on the piglets, then circled around to the rooms of several players.Tang Pei and the others sat silently in the darkness. The air, heavy with the smell of blood, was permeated by a deathly stillness.

"Who died?" he asked.

"Go see for yourself," Qin An said, rubbing his face with both hands, then bending down to look at the ground.

Xu Huo opened the door. The candle on the control desk hadn’t gone out yet. The first thing he saw was Peng Fengnian on the wall, eyes wide open in death. Then he noticed the figure hanging in the middle of the workshop... a person no longer worthy of being called human.

He was hung by the back of his neck, but there was still a faint rise and fall of his chest.

In front of him, a whole human skin hung in midair, its edges pierced with fishhooks and stretched flat like a painting, so thin that the candlelight could shine through it…

The skinned person was Zou Weichang. Though not yet dead, at this stage death was only a matter of time.

Looking around, Xu Huo didn’t find any sign of the Skinner. He was about to take Peng Fengnian down when, unexpectedly, the “corpse’s” eyeballs suddenly moved. The veins on his face were dark and swollen with rage as he jumped off the wall, swinging his fists furiously at Xu Huo’s face!

Xu Huo dodged the punches, grabbed his arm as he sidestepped, and lowered his voice: "Where did the Skinner go?"

Peng Fengnian was panting heavily, his eyes full of a terrifying mixture of anger, hatred, and fear. His mouth opened, but it was unclear if he couldn’t speak or was too afraid to say anything.

Seeing his abnormal state, Xu Huo immediately pulled him into the player’s room.

As soon as the door shut, Peng Fengnian went berserk, attacking wildly. Even Qin An and the others got caught in the crossfire. Yang Can and Xian Dazhi worked together to hold him down. The former, with a face full of shock, said, "Could it be that the Skinner injected him with some kind of madness virus?"

Tang Pei grit his teeth and stepped forward to slap Peng Fengnian. "If you’re not dead, then sober up. Do you want the rest of us to end up like Zou Weichang?"

Peng Fengnian’s eyes were bloodshot, and he no longer listened to anyone. His gaze locked on Xu Huo, his expression completely shattered.

"You faked death on the wall and just happened to see the Skinner skin Zou Weichang alive," Xu Huo said, looking at him.

Qin An and the others were stunned. Although the noise in the workshop wasn’t loud, it was enough to draw their attention. After noticing Zou Weichang was missing, Qin An immediately used his vision ability to scan the workshop. At that time, Zou Weichang’s scalp had already been torn off.

Qin An could not describe the shock he felt then. Just one glance was enough for him to acquire the trait and never dare to look a second time.

"...Alive... he was skinned alive..." Peng Fengnian’s voice was hoarse and trembling. "Even after it was done, he was still alive..."

From the moment Zou Weichang was hung up, the Skinner was no longer just a character in the game’s description to Peng Fengnian. He was a real, bloodthirsty madman who could smile while skinning a person alive, operating for hours without his hands trembling once. And because Peng Fengnian had used the fake death potion, he couldn’t even close his eyes, forced to witness everything from start to finish!

"Why did you give us false information?" Peng Fengnian stared fiercely at Xu Huo. "Zou Weichang sneaked out to get beast hides. It’s because of you that he died so miserably!"

The four people including Qin An exchanged glances, their expressions varied. Qin An said, "What do you mean? Isn’t the key to clearing the level the hides?"

"No!" Peng Fengnian spat harshly. "Zou Weichang failed and was blocked by the Skinner."

"What exactly do you want to do? What good does it do you to get other players killed?"

Xu Huo glanced at the five, who were all on guard and ready to fight. His shadowed face showed no expression, but his voice turned cold. "Think carefully—Zou Weichang died because of me?"

"I clearly told you that collecting hides during the day is safer, and the agreed time was tomorrow daytime. Why did Zou Weichang go to get them on his own?"

"Even if Zou Weichang had selfish reasons, you’re the one who gave false information first." Qin An held a long whip tightly. "If you don’t explain everything clearly today, don’t expect to leave!"

"I already told you how to open the secret room. I deduced the key to clearing the level and warned you all to act during the day."

"We’re all players. I told you everything I should. If I feed you the meal on a silver platter, do you still want to blame me for not blowing cold air on it?"

"Burn your mouth and then turn around to blame me..." Xu Huo chuckled softly. "I really wonder how you even got to D-level playing like this."

Qin An and the others’ faces flickered uneasily. Xian Dazhi hesitated before saying, "It’s true no one else can be blamed here. It’s all our first time, and he was just guessing. Even if he was wrong, it’s not his fault."

Peng Fengnian understood that Xu Huo made sense. Indeed, Zou Weichang was at fault first, but the price was just too tragic!

"I want to know one thing: did you know the dungeon would change at night?" he asked.

"No," Xu Huo said honestly. "You just didn’t take the message ‘The Skinner’s knives can’t be used during the day’ seriously."

"If you were more careful, you’d notice the Skinner actually has a split personality. During the day, he’s the irritable factory owner, Red-Nosed Karl. At night, he’s the mad Skinner."

"His office is neat and tidy. The stationery and bookshelf are well arranged. His knowledge ranges from anatomy to philosophy, matching the game’s description of a ‘delicate inner mind.’ But personally, he’s sloppy, drinks heavily, is lustful, and doesn’t clean his bedroom for a long time. Isn’t that a huge contradiction?"

"If the personality wielding the skinning knives is the Skinner, then it’s obvious who Red-Nosed Karl is at night."

"Knowing this important information, sneaking out at night means you’re playing with your lives."

Peng Fengnian vaguely sensed the huge personality difference in the Skinner, but before he could think it through, witnessing the live skinning had left him mentally shattered.

Looking again at the man standing at the door, still fiddling with his lighter, Peng Fengnian felt both resentful and helpless. He couldn’t ignore Xu Huo’s coldness when he saw the corpse—as if human lives were nothing to him.

"Our cooperation ends here."

Xu Huo returned the paper phone to him and walked straight out of the room.

"Is that it?" Yang Can looked at his back and whispered, "Actually, I don’t think he’s wrong. He didn’t know Zou Weichang would act behind everyone’s back, and just now... we didn’t dare go out to save him either."

To put it bluntly, there was a bit of helpless resentment here.

Peng Fengnian covered his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "Let’s rest first. When it’s daylight, we’ll go to the secret room while the Skinner is out."

No matter what they thought, after Xu Huo left, he returned to the pigpen and pulled out the red-haired man who had been picking at the stitches on his abdomen.

"I’ll let you out if you promise to behave."