Vol. 3 Chapter 5: Fear, Scream, and Then... Why Did He Just Die...

Chapter 5: Fear, Scream, and Then... Why Did He Just Die...

With a flash of crimson, Zhou Qian's blood tendrils gripped the school wall, allowing him to leap over effortlessly. Behind him, Wang Lesheng wasn't far behind. Though his physical fitness wasn't exceptional, he had summoned his Mind Demon: a giant black-furred rat. Riding on the rat's back, Wang Lesheng vaulted into the school.

Lu Li's shadow soldiers split into two groups. Two assassins received orders to disable the security cameras, and before the guards could react, they were knocked unconscious by two shadowy hands. The entire school became a battleground for the gamers.

Four or five shadowy assassins continuously launched shadow darts. Zhou Qian's blood aura flared, deflecting the incoming projectiles.

An assassin appeared before Zhou Qian, abandoning the assassin's creed of retreating after a failed strike. Now, they fought like death warriors, determined to complete their master's commands at the cost of their lives. The assassin's short blade lunged at Zhou Qian, but a blood whip shattered the shadowy figure before the blade dissipated into shadow.

Zhou Qian paused as a barrage of darts blocked his path. Seven or eight clawed ghouls quickly arrived, roaring in excitement, their claws gleaming. Zhou Qian realized he had become the prey.

Lu Li pursued Wang Lesheng, accompanied by three shadowy assassins and two clawed ghouls. The main force of his shadow army was dealing with Zhou Qian, while Lu Li focused on Wang Lesheng with some assistance.

"Come on, little mouse. Don't run. Just hand over the modules, and I'll let you live. Trust me, I promise not to kill you!" Lu Li taunted, moving with eerie grace. The assassins flanked Wang Lesheng, blocking his escape routes.

Lu Li had already sent the clawed ghouls to intercept Wang Lesheng, taking advantage of his familiarity with the school layout. Finally, Wang Lesheng was cornered by the clawed ghouls, with Lu Li and the assassins closing in.

"We're all gamers here. Do we have to kill each other? Can't we leave a way out for future encounters?" Wang Lesheng pleaded, his voice bitter as he sat on the giant rat.

"Heh." Lu Li chuckled. Shadows extended from him, forming three massive tendrils. Finally, he could unleash his full power.

The giant rat roared, its fur standing up like steel needles, shooting towards the shadows. The assassins skillfully dodged or deflected the needles with their blades. The clawed ghouls, though hit by some needles, endured the damage with their tough hides.

Lu Li's shadows blocked the incoming needles. With a thought, he activated the Fearful Touch skill from his skill set. Drawing from the energy module of the assassin skill, the mental control module, the rule module of fear, and a recently purchased spreading module, he unleashed Fearful Touch.

The shadow tendrils emanated an unknown aura, like the fear of being watched in the dark.

The giant rat's fur stood on end. The shadow tendrils under Lu Li's control developed holes, allowing glimpses through them. The alternating patterns of black shadows and light created a disorienting visual effect, overloading Wang Lesheng's senses.

The Fechner Color Effect is a well-known visual illusion that can cause people to see colors that aren't there due to overstimulation of the cone cells in the retina. Black and white can cause different reactions in the cone cells, and when alternated rapidly, the cone cells' information processing can lag, causing a sensory overload.

People can experience this through certain visual patterns that cause eye strain. Lu Li had envisioned this application when he first gained his shadow powers, but his control had been insufficient. Now, he finally tested it.

The relentless play of light and shadow, combined with the fear-inducing aura of the tendrils, overwhelmed Wang Lesheng. He tried to close his eyes to block the information overload, but a dart slashed his cheek. Had it not been for his honed survival instincts, the dart would have hit his eye.

Closing his eyes made him a sitting duck, but the visual overload and fear aura could drive him insane.

"Run? Where can I run?" Wang Lesheng panicked. Surrounded by shadow tendrils, shadow assassins, and clawed ghouls, fear gripped his heart, fueling his Mind Demon's retaliation. But he realized his Mind Demon now harbored a sinister hostility.

The black-furred rat swelled, its fur turning into hardened spikes. Wang Lesheng, pierced by the spikes, bled profusely. He recalled a forum post about Mind Demons: their powers rarely harmed their owners unless the demon started rebelling.

The realization dawned on Wang Lesheng that his Mind Demon's rebellion had begun, signaled by the spikes' newfound ability to harm him. Fear overwhelmed him, and he spiraled into madness. His brain exploded into mush, his vision turned to static, and his thoughts became meaningless whispers—he was insane.

The giant rat laughed hideously, its body expanding as it consumed Wang Lesheng. His corpse merged into the rat, which grew larger, its head morphing grotesquely.

"...I didn't even try that hard, and he's dead?" Lu Li muttered, bewildered. He had only meant to test his skill. Why did someone with such poor mental fortitude choose the Mind Demon path? [TL: Weakness is a sin]