My Deceased Childhood Friend is the Horror Game Boss 2 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The players exchanged glances.

Ou Feiluan put away his pitch-black whip and followed the butler into the auction house’s back workroom.

The light dimmed sharply. A reek of blood mingled with the stench of rot rushed at us.

On the shelves in the display area sat all kinds of horrifying merchandise.

Tattered old books with worn covers and blurred writing, a thick scent of blood seeping from between their pages;

Cages covered in black cloth, low, pained roars coming from inside as whatever was trapped within slammed against the bars, making them sway;

A stone coffin as tall as a person, its surface carved full of twisted symbols, as if it sealed away some unspeakably terrifying existence.

The manager pointed at the items.

“This is your first task as auctioneers. Sort this batch of goods for tomorrow night’s auction and attach the price tags.”

A small, skinny male player rolled his eyes, then rushed forward and reached for what looked like the simplest item: one of the tattered books.

The next second, a shrill scream nearly tore through the ceiling.

The skinny player clutched his arm. Starting from his fingertips, his skin split open and his flesh began to rot.

His flesh melted like candle wax, dripping onto the floor with wet plops.

In less than ten seconds, all that was left of him was a skeleton. His flesh, meanwhile, seeped back into the ancient book.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but I thought I saw the book’s pages shudder in satisfaction.

“…”

After the skinny player died, the air grew even more stagnant.

I walked up to the stone coffin covered in twisted symbols, took a deep breath, and opened it.

Inside the stone coffin was not a specter or a monster, but a girl about seventeen or eighteen years old.

Her hair was tied in twin ponytails and dyed a brilliant gold. Iron chains bound her hands and feet, and an iron mask was locked over the lower half of her face.

As light suddenly fell upon her, the girl raised her head and looked straight at me. Her eyes were unusually bright, as if burning with an unyielding flame.

A player beside me sucked in a breath.

“I… I know her!

“She’s Sheng Ling, ranked eighth on the Player Ranking!”

I froze. “She’s a player too?”

“Yeah!”

The player spoke quickly.

“I remember she’s one of the rare kindhearted top players. Whenever she runs into players in a dungeon, she helps if she can.

“And Sheng Ling’s combat power is incredibly strong. How did she end up locked in here?”

The manager frowned and looked over. “No whispering. You have one minute left!

“If you fail to complete the task within one minute, that means you are not qualified for the position of auctioneer. In that case, please leave immediately.”

Outside the windows was a dense, impenetrable black fog.

It was as thick as ink, and like a bottomless black hole, capable of swallowing everything.

The player beside me shrank back, returned to his auction item, and sped up his movements.

“Ahhh!!!”

Two screams rang out one after another. Two more players were dead.

Ou Feiluan successfully attached a metal price tag to his auction item, though he had been injured too. His face was pale, and his brows were tightly furrowed.

The manager raised his voice. “Ten-second countdown.”

I took Sheng Ling’s hand.

Sheng Ling’s eyes widened. Several emotions flickered through them. I didn’t know what she was thinking, but at last, she slowly nodded.

She did not struggle, letting me attach the metal price tag to her arm.

In the end, Ou Feiluan, two other players, and I successfully completed the task.

The stone coffin slowly closed, sealing Sheng Ling inside once more.

Several staff members came over and carried the auction items to the warehouse.

The manager said with satisfaction, “Not bad.

“You have passed the junior auctioneer test. Tomorrow night at eight, gather backstage. I will take you into the auction.”

The next day, everyone gathered backstage at the auction venue to take inventory of the auction items.

But the manager abruptly discovered something.

Sheng Ling was gone.