Chapter 100 The Old Campus: He Was the Prey.
【Item Name: Kaleidoscope】
[Item Description: When falsehood is taken for truth, even truth becomes falsehood; when nothingness is taken for existence, even existence becomes nothingness.]
[Rank: B]
[Instructions for use: Point the kaleidoscope at the target to dispel one illusion or delusion, including illusions imposed on reality and mental disturbances caused by the living being itself.]
The head of the alien was much larger than that of a normal human. The butterfly spread its wings, which were even wider than Xue Chao's shoulders. The wings were a metallic blue, and the changing angles lingered with shimmering light, like floating moonlight. It was about to fly to the other side of the sea. Two white dots, like waves brushed by the sea, gently fluttered.
The wings of the Morpho butterfly are not colored by themselves, but by a complex structure of scales, composed of multiple layers of three-dimensional barriers. When light shines on them, physical phenomena such as refraction, reflection, and diffraction occur. In a sense, the magnificent wings themselves are also an ever-changing kaleidoscope.
Xue Chao felt a little dizzy at first.
He sensed it; his many thoughts, the network of nerves, consciousness and soul, all seemed to be contained within a complex, scaly structure, as if these wings were the outward manifestation of his thoughts and the true form of his soul.
Without flesh, bones, and skin to cover him, he is stretched out naked, like being stripped naked in public, his internal organs dissected. Wind, light, and air mercilessly penetrate him, both cold and passionate, both uneasy and free.
It's as if at this moment, he has truly become a butterfly, returning to the natural sky and earth. He should flutter his wings through the light rain, through the dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves, caring about nothing, to find the fragrant flowers.
For a moment, he couldn't even tell if it was his own thought. He thought, let it go with the wind.
However, his thoughts never ceased, so the magnificent metallic sheen never stopped.
He was still himself, his head was still his head, its shape no longer mattered. He tried to "open his mouth" to speak, and the butterfly's wings fluttered gently, creating ripples in the air and carrying his meaningless interjections, which were also very soft.
"……ah."
This sound seemed to separate the distinct boundary between dawn and dusk. The dizziness of having just gained a strange head dissipated, and he began to clear his mind. The butterfly that had flown to the rainforest fell back into the dirty human world, and his first sense was to smell blood.
It's very rich and sweet, like a spring in the desert, a flavor that makes you want to rush into it without hesitation.
He lowered his head slightly, and the tip of his wing brushed against the mirror, revealing blood on his body. He didn't know if it was from an NPC, Xia Caizhe, or Sheng Hong.
However, he deliberately avoided it, not getting much of it. After leaving the bloody kitchen, the cold night wind almost dissipated the smell, but now it was as strong as a Manchu Han Imperial Feast that a homeless man had passed by, stimulating his hunger.
He instantly recalled Jiang Ming's description of the feeling of being an alien—"instinct".
He thought it meant that the difference between the two heads was only subtle in appearance and structure, but when driven by consciousness, it was still as free as a human head.
Looking back now, is the so-called "instinct" the instinct of a person, or the instinct of this head?
The dreamlike dizziness completely dissipated; the butterfly no longer chased after flowers, but sang its song towards death.
Xue Chao cut his hand, wiped the blood, and opened his eyes again—a vertical blue eye split open in the middle of the insect's body, blinking between the butterfly's wings.
[The prop "Third Eye" is being worn]
He used this eye to look at Pu Fengchun through the glass, and a series of data appeared.
Strength: 50
[Constitution: 50]
[Body size: 65]
Agility: 50
[Appearance: 55]
Intelligence: 50
[Willpower: 50]
[Lucky: 60]
...
These should be Pu Fengchun's basic attributes; they are very average, with no outstanding features or obvious weaknesses. It can be said that every attribute is within the range of "ordinary people".
But in the blink of an eye, his attributes changed, and each one was slowly increasing.
What were the consequences of nearly swapping bodies with Sheng Hong?
"【Pu Fengchun】Oh my god, Makka Pakka, such a beautiful butterfly!!"
"【Pu Fengchun】No exaggeration, I almost couldn't breathe. She's both strange and beautiful, who can understand..."
"【Pu Fengchun】The difference in character heads is a good thing... I really like all the players' heads. I still remember Sheng Hong applying lipstick to rose petals..."
"【Pu Fengchun】I see. The host's head is indeed a blind spot. The host connects all the unit stories and is always half of the main body of the story. There is no chance for him to have a 'different head'... so no one knows what his real head looks like!"
"【Pu Fengchun】I never even thought about his head..."
"【Pu Fengchun】'Mutual repulsion' has no preamble or afterword, so it refers to the mutual repulsion between morpho butterflies. When Pu Fengchun fired his laser cannon, the morpho butterflies didn't care about the danger and were focused on devouring flesh and blood. But when Xue Chao approached in the ward, the morpho butterflies crawled away from the corpse and ran away, and then pretended to be dead... So in the world of morpho butterflies, Xue Chao always had a butterfly head?"
"【Pu Fengchun】Not only butterflies, but also all NPCs and ghosts probably see them as... well, wouldn't you say that bystanders see things more clearly?"
"【Pu Fengchun】According to the speculation of the players and the host, the alien head is the real body. The kaleidoscope, as a prop to break the illusion, reveals Xue Chao's alien head, which further proves that this idea is correct. So from beginning to end, everyone is an alien head... In other words, the players are like NPCs in other units, so they are in a real state. On the contrary, they enter the dream as the main body in their own unit, which is why it becomes 'unreal'. The human head is fake... 'When the fake is taken for the real, the real becomes fake'."
"【Pu Fengchun】...So from beginning to end, when I was speaking, it was actually a butterfly flapping its wings...Thanks, I'm already covered in goosebumps."
"【Pu Fengchun】etc., so■■■■■■■■■■■???"
"【Pu Fengchun】grass, wouldn't that be ■■■!"
Even if other players' content is blocked, and even if Pu Fengchun can't see the comments section, Xue Chao and Pu Fengchun know what they are thinking.
He is another Morpho butterfly.
Cut off his head to escape the instance.
He was the prey.
Congratulations! Your room has entered the top ten of the real-time recommendation list!
His popularity soared, attracting even more viewers and getting his room featured on the homepage, where it reached eighth place.
The blackboard has also been updated.
[Game Host Rules]
4. The host can also be an NPC (Player-NPC).
*
"...So, do you understand?" Jiang Ming smiled brightly, patted the two who were stunned into silence, and gave them a gentle push. "He's not easy to deal with, you've seen it—in the end, who gets him depends on our own abilities, but first we need to join forces to catch the little butterfly~"
His naturally smiling eyes fell on Deng Dayun, who, without seeming to have recovered or fully processed the massive amount of information, didn't even move his eyes. He simply nodded menacingly, like a dragonfly skimming the water, and decided to take that person's life.
Regardless of who that person is, what their relationship is, what happened, what interactions they had, what their motives were, or what dangers they might face...
Only one thought remained in his mind: kill that person, and he could leave the instance.
Jiang Ming stared at Deng Dayun for a few seconds, then looked away, feeling both relieved and bored, and instead focused his gaze on Fang Tailai, silently inquiring about her stance.
Fang Tailai subconsciously looked away. She hated eye contact, especially oppressive gazes, which automatically put her in a defensive posture. However, she did not slap away Jiang Ming's hand that was around her shoulder, which was a silent statement.
Jiang Ming released them and clapped his hands cheerfully: "As everyone expected, I knew we got along well. In that case... everyone, let the hunt begin!"
*
Xue Chao went all the way to the rooftop, swung over the plant roots, jumped, and swung to the second-floor rooftop.
He looked up at the rooftop on the third floor. The black netting fence swayed in the air like an open door. He only glanced at it and did not continue swinging towards the third teaching building. He immediately went downstairs and headed to the biology laboratory.
Upon reaching his floor, he immediately sensed something was amiss. His scalpel was tucked into his sleeve, ready to strike, when he noticed the door to the biology lab was ajar.
Tsk, they won't catch up so quickly, will they? Are they all that smart?
They were quick to chase him down, but not so proactive when it came to his individual story segments...
His mind quickly scanned the remaining players, then suddenly stopped on Jiang Ming—could it be that lunatic spreading rumors everywhere, as if afraid he wouldn't become the target of everyone's criticism?
Pushing open the door, in the center of a circle of butterfly specimens, there was only a clean white hospital bed. The windows were bright and the table was spotless. The moonlight was cold and desolate. The pile of human butterfly bones had disappeared, and strings of colorful paper butterflies hung from the ceiling.
Hanging origami cranes is understandable, as it's a prayer for the patient's speedy recovery. But given the symbolism of butterflies in this story, is hanging paper butterflies a curse to kill someone?
Xue Chao pinched off a blue paper butterfly and unfolded it. Inside was only a simple line drawing of a smiley face. He glanced up and saw, in the reflection of the specimen's glass, a headless little girl in a hospital gown standing at the door. Realizing she had been discovered, she immediately ran away.
Xue Chao chased after them and saw two rows of people standing on either side of the corridor, all wearing hospital gowns. One row was filled with heads of people offering bouquets of condolence, and the other row with heads of people offering fruit baskets of condolence. They were all motionless, like commercial flower baskets displayed at the entrance of a business opening.
He inevitably slowed down, wary of these seemingly harmless "flower baskets" suddenly making a move, otherwise he would lose track of them.
He stopped, cautiously between the two baskets of consolation fruit, and opened the other classrooms. The classrooms had been turned into hospital wards, but they were empty. The only thing in the white rooms was a string of paper butterflies hanging from the ceiling.
The crisp sound of footsteps rang out from the other end. The little girl stood at the opposite end, curiously craning her neck as if watching what he was doing. As soon as she was discovered, she immediately turned and ran away.
It wasn't like being afraid of him, it was like playing hide-and-seek with him.
Xue Chao pretended to chase her a few times, and when he was almost at the top of the stairs, she indeed appeared at the other end of the stairs.
He even proudly tiptoed.
When she disappeared again, Xue Chao didn't chase after her. He returned to his ward and began to remove the paper butterfly strings one by one.
He left the door open, making a loud noise and his actions obvious. After he had picked all the paper butterflies from half the ward, the little girl, who was bored and no one was chasing her, reappeared at the ward door, curiously observing his actions. After seeing clearly, she nervously gripped the door frame.
It seems she folded them all.
Neither of them spoke. Xue Chao, with his back to her, picked off the last string of paper butterflies and suddenly asked, "You've come to take your head?"
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