Chapter 196: The Rose Factory

But the thought was fleeting, and soon I began to feel shocked and frightened at the unthinkable thought that had occurred to me, and I began to reject and even bully Xie Ta like everyone else, but I was always afraid to look him in the face, even though I couldn't see his face because of my eyesight.

I was soon adopted by a middle-aged couple who had no children and left the area, but every now and then I would dream of those silver-blue eyes, which I had simply glanced at, without any human emotion, and after I had dreamt of them, my inner fear and an unwarranted desire would both begin to boil over, making it impossible for me to sleep peacefully.

[I felt my breath burning, my blood rushing through my veins like boiling water, causing my temples to pound.

[There is something magical in those eyes that draws me in].

[I got up from the bed, grabbed a knife as I passed by the kitchen, and went to the head of my adoptive parents' bed, and looked down, very close, at the pair, who were sleeping peacefully, unsuspecting of me, and my breath caught.

[In that moment, like the moment I first saw Xie Ta, that long-lost impulse that had always existed in me, that violent, long-lost impulse, resurfaced -]

[- I want to kill these two! I want to chop them up into pieces!

The people of this world are all pigs, all dogs, all animals who have abandoned me and don't want me! A bunch of inferior creatures who only look at money and future potential! Abandoning me just because I can't see! I've never been treated like a human being, I've never even been given charity or taken in like a dog or a cat!

[I will step on your heads, I will control all of you with my one seeing eye! I will make you wag your tails at me like I do now in order to barely survive!

[When I barely regained consciousness, it was when I saw a golden-haired puppy my adoptive father had barking furiously at me with blood all over my hands].

[This golden is only two months old and was bought by my foster father to give my new arrival a little companion to grow up with].

[At the sight of this little goldie, I came to my senses and knelt down in front of dozens of my adoptive parents, shaking and holding their right hands that had fallen in front of me and crying bitterly, calling them mum and dad and saying sorry to them].

[But the little golden kept barking and barking, and I quickly got scared, so I cried while I let the little dog that was supposed to be with me growing up hang out with my foster parents].

[When I stood up, I looked at the scene in front of me and knew that everything was irrevocable, and that only the living, which was me, mattered. So I cleared the room, cooked them and buried them in the backyard, and when they were almost rotten a month later, I went to the police with a face full of tears and reported my parents missing while out walking with their dog.]

No one would have doubted that a fourteen-year-old with poor eyesight, and Buming White how much energy I could have under the gaze of my inner desires and those eyes, managed to inherit my adoptive parents' estate at the age of eighteen and become an adult with small savings after more than three years of not being able to find them].

[But those eyes inside me are still staring at me, and I know it's not enough, it's far from something that will satisfy those eyes].

[I knew there was one thing that would make it quick and satisfying - it was the thing that the investors in the orphanage were dreaming of, and once I had that, I could sell it for an unprecedentedly high price, and then soon I would be a rich man who could dictate my own destiny!

[When I returned to the orphanage, the secret was guarded so tightly that I couldn't get it, but only vaguely knew it had something to do with the statue that looked like Xie Ta].

[Soon I got married and my wife was a perfumer with a greenhouse full of roses and she developed a lot of little-known perfumes, but still not at the level I wanted - just a little bit of a fuss, and there were still people who were better off than us.

[I went to a lot of lengths to make things better for us, but my wife always didn't understand me and every time she came to pay my bail she always questioned me hysterically why I was doing such things and I had to explain helplessly that I was sacrificing myself for our better future].

[Soon she left me, saying she was going out for a break and coming back to divorce me, leaving me with only the greenhouse full of roses].

[The police told me my wife had disappeared and three years later I got her entire estate].

[Soon something happened to the orphanage and I sold everything to go back and buy the statue, and the moment I saw the statue's snow-white eyes, I knew I was going to get lucky.

[I placed the statue in my wife's rose conservatory, in which the leaves of the rose quickly withered, and the edges of the petals were a lush, misty crimson, so fragrant that I, who had never known even perfume, was intoxicated, and I began to cultivate this dried-leaf rose, but I found that no matter how much I cultivated it, it could not grow properly without the statue].

[I gazed at the beautiful, quiet, broken and holy statue, which also stared back at me with pupil-less, pure white eyes, and that first, cruel, bloody, unquenchable urge to see it rose again from my wildly beating chest, and I smiled as I raised a sawblade towards it].

[In that moment, I saw the silver-blue eyes inside me close].

After scanning through the somewhat long and very messy diary in a single glance, Bai Liu ignored the screams of the King's Guild members behind him shouting at him to hurry up and quickly flipped to the last few pages of the diary.

He wanted to find the recipe for dried rose leaf gas and the place where Tavel was buried after being dismembered.

No, Bai Liu kept turning to the last page and didn't see it.

The diary is followed by Zhang's fragmentary ramblings and eventual cocooning - the first director of the factory, who was the most perfume-poisoned, was the first to "blossom" when he began to be dissatisfied with the low concentration of perfumes and started to develop higher and higher concentrations by all means The first director of the factory, who was the most perfumed, was the first to "blossom".

He eventually chose to take his own life in agony and left a remorseful suicide note, but Bai Liu scanned it to make sure there was no valid message and then threw it away - and he was left with a letter.

--He knows Zhang very well, he writes to glorify himself and deceive those who come after him, all his logic revolves around self-centeredness, a typical moral criminal who can achieve criminal self-justification on his own.

This line of argument has been used by many serial killers throughout history - I was compelled by the devil and I am innocent.

And Bai Liu even senses a sense of mischief in it that the game's designers have aimed at him - the first half of Zhang's life is too much like his, money-loving, rebellious, orphanage born, spurred on by Tavel to run away from the orphanage.

It seemed as if something in the underworld was whispering wickedly in his ear - you see, this is the original trajectory of your life.

Just as Bai Liu was about to close the diary, the withered body in front of him, the same Zhang from the diary, sat up with a start.

This didn't faze Bai Liu, who calmly took two steps back - although it was unclear how much of the information in the diary was true and how much was false, Bai Liu was certain that the self-serving factory manager could never have killed himself.

This thing is pretending to be this, probably to better trap them, the players who enter the inner world.

Numerous tentacles grew from the ribs of this dry corpse's hollow, waterlogged abdomen, and the dried skin on its body rolled in a circle, turning into bright, bright red blood and flesh.

The deflated, narrowed head reverts to that of a normal human with a very distorted shaking, his left eye an opaque colour resembling a white marble and his right eye containing a fully blossomed rose.

If one looks only at the head and not at the lower half of his body, the man still seems a polite, good-looking middle-aged man, but seeing those coiled tentacles and tangled petals on the lower half of his body, the man looks like a comical mobile incubator with roses growing out of his bones.

Those roses on it bloom, giving off a lingering, much stronger fragrance than normal roses.

The aroma was dizzying and at the same time, the sounds of fighting behind Bai Liu faded and Bai Liu looked back to see that most of the King's Guild member's head had been swallowed by a monster and his limbs fell limply outside.

Without hesitation, Bai Liu lashed the creature on the head, which hissed in a strange tone, spat out the King's Guild member's head and turned its head to stare at him with a bloodied face in resentment.

The "spiders", attracted by the stronger scent, began to patter towards Bai Liu, behind whom was a huge "Zhang", almost as high as the bunk, surrounded by a stronger and stronger scent of roses.

[System Alert: Warning! Player Bai Liu's spirit value is below 60!

As if hypnotised by this rose-scented scent, Bai Liu fell to the ground in a daze, coiled and torn gleefully by the tentacles of the huge creature that seemed to be trying to break him into many pieces, and whose jagged, round-wheeled mouth slurred.

"...... You have the breath of an ...... evil god on you ......"

Bai Liu heard the system beep the moment he was lifted up by the object around his waist.

[The Rose Factory Monster Book Refresh - Celiac Staff (2/3)]

[Monster Name: Surly Employee (Generation Factory Manager)

[Weakness: ????? (to be explored)]

[Attack type: Aroma lure (S-), lure the opponent with aroma and devour it].

With Bai Liu spat out on his back and a dying King's Guild member watching Bai Liu being lifted up by a monster to save himself, the member braced himself to stand up, gritted his teeth and looked up - and then was stunned.

He looked at the factory monster with an instantly white face, and after inspecting his opponent's panel, his speech stuttered, "S, S rank monster!!!"

S-rank monsters in Tier 3 games are actually not uncommon, but they are also relatively extremely difficult to deal with, especially since the S-rank monster that lifted Bai Liu up and wrapped him around his arms and legs and tore him apart wasn't even a low S - this thing had a panel of 13,000, which is considered high level among S-rank monsters.

With the majority of players not at S rank, the only way for players to fight S rank monsters is to find each other's weaknesses.

But fuck! There's only a few seconds left before this thing tears through Bai Liu! Where can I find this thing's weak point!

Meanwhile, in the multiplayer section of the gaming lobby, in front of Bai Liu's small TV viewing area.

Mu Sicheng and Muke, along with the members of the Scavenging Guild, were fighting hard against the members of the King's Guild, nodding wildly at every opportunity they got, but not without the King's Guild being somewhat lackadaisical about nodding and stomping all the time.

Nearly everyone in the Food and Corruption Guild has given Bai Liu a collection of likes, charging points can't be used easily, at this rate Bai Liu is going to drop!

With Bai Liu's TV almost tied and the situation on the TV so critical, Muke, who had been able to concentrate on his command, was now in turmoil, looking at the TV with his fists clenched and his eyes red.

Muke can't think outside the game right now, and his face loses all blood when someone calls out that the monster that lifted Bai Liu is an S-rank monster.

If Mu Sicheng hadn't been so quick to give Muke a hand, Muke would have fallen to his knees.

The last game had an S-rank monster that was killed by three players, but only after Bai Liu managed to get a god-level NPC, which is becoming a psychological shadow for Muke.

Muke held back, but couldn't hold back his tears and sobbed: "Oooooooooooooooooo, Bai Liu! Bai Liu, don't let anything happen to you! What will I do if you leave?"

Mu Sicheng, astonished: "!"

It's not an accident yet! You're crying like Bai Liu, he's gone!

He was a little more composed, but Mu Sicheng's composure didn't last long, and he exploded when the King's Guild men began to sneer at Bai Liu.

"I don't think we're going to survive long without a bit of stomping on this rubbish."

"It's not very ethical to order a stomp, but I'm cool with it, and seeing this scene and then ordering a stomp is just comfortable, so comfortable!"

Mu Sicheng pushed up his sleeves and gritted his teeth, "I'll fucking make you comfortable ......"

The two sides soon wrestled without injury.

The clash between these two guilds has been attracting a lot of regular spectators, but because of the power of the King's Guild, they have been sneaking glances at Bai Liu, even though they are curious about him and dare not come over to watch.

At this time, watching the two sides clash, some of the crowd of foodies who had been watching finally couldn't hold back their curiosity and took advantage of the chaos to slip in.

One look at Bai Liu's small TV and these viewers were immediately shocked - this was the first time these regular viewers had seen a small TV with an almost quick one-to-one point-to-pedal ratio and should be dropping out of the multiplayer section soon.

Watching the small TV again, these regular viewers, while sympathetic to Bai Liu being put down like this, had to agree with the King's Guild member who had just ridiculed him - Bai Liu wouldn't survive long without a little stomp.

There are also some players who aspire to the spirit of the King's Guild shareholders rather condescendingly and contemptuously said, "I thought making such a big fuss was more than enough for a player, but the result is that you can't even pass the level, wasting people's King's Guild time against you."

Although many ordinary players disagreed with the player's words, they had to sigh and say Bai Liu had really bad luck.

In this case, even if he knew the weaknesses of the S-rank monsters, Bai Liu had to attack against his opponent's weaknesses, and that panel of his was just too forced.

The moment these players who had come to eat the melon were ready to turn away, I don't know who exclaimed and they all turned their heads - Bai Liu on the small TV, the moment he was mentioned to be at eye level with this monster, his right hand instantly turned into a black monkey claw and aimed at the creature's right eye with an unhesitating grab.

The monster let out a heart-rending cry of pain and let go of Bai Liu, who turned around in the centre of a pile of spider monsters approaching him and aimed a whip at the dumbfounded King's Guild member on the edge, wrapping the other man around his waist and reeling him in with a drag, before raising his eyes for the other man to see.

The giant monster pounded the ground in anger, whipping its tentacles close to Bai Liu, and the whole ground shook, giving the impression that the inner world was about to collapse.

Bai Liu, however, continued to speak calmly and quickly, giving orders: "Do you see the other world through this eye? Close your left eye and look at this eyeball with your desire-filled right eye."

The player dumbfoundedly closes his left eye; one second he sees a tentacle flung with force from behind Bai Liu's head, and the next, he and the calm-looking Bai Liu appear in the normal large passageway.

The two guilds that were clashing violently in front of the small TV stopped at the same time.

Mu Sicheng's secret anger subsided and he gave Muke's shoulder a smug hammer and looked provocatively at the foreign guild: "What did I say? If all these people die, Bai Liu will be fine."

But Muke is still looking at Bai Liu's little TV in a bit of a daze - the likes on Bai Liu's little TV have, for a moment now, finally surpassed the likes on the stomps by a significant margin.

There are viewers other than their guild who silently liked and bookmarked Bai Liu's little TV!

Muke let out a long breath, eyes shining as he glanced at Bai Liu's small TV - there was still a fight to be had in this tug-of-war!

---------- ----

In-game.

The King's Guild member, his face snow-white, wobbled to his large bunk, gasping heartily.

Bai Liu looked at him lightly, drank a bottle of stamina restorer and then jumped off the bunk and walked out.

He still wears the shell of Liu Jiayi, a full-fledged fabricator in the Rose factory, and no one has expelled him.

It didn't take long for the King's Guild player to sneak up behind him. Bai Liu glanced back at him and noticed that he had taped up his eyelids with double-sided tape, and both eyes were as wide as copper bells, staring at Bai Liu without blinking, like a tomcat in an episode of Cat and Mouse who physically opens his eyes to stay awake.

The man looks dumbfounded by this blink-and-switch world game mechanic.

Bai Liu: "......"

Bai Liu silently recalled in his mind the people he had contacted who were involved with the King's Guild, Liu Jiayi, Qi Yifang, Tang Erda and now this not so bright looking member.

Why do these Kings Guild players feel so out of their minds?

After following Bai Liu for a while, the man still couldn't hold back and bowed his body and asked in a whisper, "Eh, how did you just react so quickly to catch the monster's eye and get out?"

"He wrote it down in his diary and told me himself." Bai Liu said casually and perfunctorily.

The man was half silent, convinced and very shocked: "It's the first time I've seen such a frank monster!"

Bai Liu: "......"

He recalled what Liu Jiayi had told him, that one of the other two members of the King's Guild was not too bright, was very confusing, had an IQ of 59, and shared her surname, Liu Ji.

Bai Liu thought the name was a perfect match for the intelligence value at the time.