Statistically speaking, the odds of multiple Butchers respawning on the first floor were astronomically low. But the Main God? That entity was a complete jerk. A stingy, petty, basement-dwelling shut-in who treated the game's rules as mere suggestions.
As the final hour ticked down, the silence was shattered by a deafening, discordant symphony of chainsaws, accompanied by the sight of sixteen people rushing out of the shadows.
"Damn it!" Slaughterhouse braced himself as he blocked a Butcher's chainsaw. He spat out a string of curses, his pulse hammering. The creature's strength was monstrous, its speed almost teleportational. The confidence he'd held—the ironclad belief that he'd walk out of this alive—began to crumble.
This was supposed to be a low-difficulty instance because of the four newcomers. Low difficulty? This was a slaughterhouse.
Jiang Mo side-stepped a lunging Butcher, his own chainsaw swinging out in a smooth, brutal arc. The high-speed teeth tore through flesh and bone with sickening ease. Hot, viscous spray hit his face, but there was no time to wipe it away.
(God... this is too savage.)
Lin Shuang dodged a frantic swipe, watching the carnage unfold. (Human adaptability is terrifying,) she mused. Once she reframed the scene as a hyper-realistic VR game, her tolerance for the blood and gore spiked significantly. She was just keeping an eye on Jiang Mo, waiting for the perfect moment to assist.
A sudden, sharp roar of a chainsaw behind her snapped her out of it.
"Get down!"
Jiang Mo's shout was instantaneous. Lin Shuang didn't think; she threw herself forward, rolling across the floor just as the Butcher's blade carved a deep furrow where she had been standing.
Not far away, Forced Smile was doubled over, gasping for air, muttering, "Sorry, I just want to live," under his breath.
The Butcher's pattern was easy to read. Lin Shuang realized too late that while she had been focused on the immediate threat, Forced Smile had been dragging a Butcher right to her.
It was too late to yell. She scrambled again, looking for an opening to reach Jiang Mo, but he was currently locked in a desperate struggle with three of the monsters. He'd handled two with ease in the last round, but this... this was becoming a nightmare.
(No. If I lead this thing to him, I'm just going to be a liability.) As much as she wanted to be a lazy, inactive "salted fish,"1 she still had a moral code.
"Lin Shuang!"
Jiang Mo watched her scramble away in the opposite direction. His heart sank; he assumed the girl had finally snapped, running blindly in a panic.
But then, he saw her. Amidst the chaos of the chase, she looked back and gave him a clear, steady "OK" sign.
(Wait. She's... luring it away?)
The realization hit him hard, bringing a mix of shock and something else he couldn't quite name. But in a fight, losing focus was a death sentence. A searing pain flared in his left arm—the Butcher's teeth had bitten deep into his shoulder, exposing white bone. Sweat beaded instantly on his forehead.
(At least it's the left arm,) he thought grimly. (And thank god the physical exertion doesn't actually translate to my real body.)
Lin Shuang, playing her own high-stakes version of tag, tried to find humor in the situation. (If this much cardio actually happened in real life, I'd lose at least four pounds!)
(Enough. I can't keep running.)
Her eyes darted around, landing on a nearby security scanner. She made a break for it. She reached the unit, took a quick, sharp breath, and waited. As the Butcher raised its chainsaw high, she didn't just dodge—she side-stepped with surgical precision.
The heavy, jagged blade slammed into the metal of the scanner. The Butcher tugged, trying to pull its weapon free, but the blade was hopelessly wedged in the mangled security machinery.
Lin Shuang raised her Tang sword. (Two hands first.) She slashed through the creature's arms before it could dislodge the saw.
"Help! Someone, help me!"
Forced Smile had led his pursuer away from her, only to be cornered by another. This time, he didn't head toward Lin Shuang. He sprinted toward Superman Can't Fly, who was standing with Gentleman.
The two players exchanged a cold, sharp glance. Superman Can't Fly gripped a heavy, half-meter black security baton—a leftover item from Exaggeration. It was lighter than a chainsaw, perfect for a player with a damaged leg. She didn't hesitate. She spun the baton with fluid grace and hurled it. It struck Forced Smile squarely in the forehead.
He didn't die instantly, but the impact sent him sprawling. He didn't get back up.
While the Butcher was busy finishing off Forced Smile, Lin Shuang slipped behind it. With two swift, clean strikes to the back of the neck, she ended it. She kicked the limp body, glancing over at the now-silent corpse of Forced Smile.
(If I wasn't barefoot, I'd be kicking you right now.) Using others to draw aggro and then contributing nothing? That was the worst kind of teammate.
She caught her breath. (Three kills now.) Her first was thanks to Jiang Mo, the second to the environment, and the third a straight-up backstab... but a win was a win.
She turned to help Jiang Mo, but he didn't need it. He severed the final Butcher's head with a clean, brutal stroke, following it with a forceful kick to the headless torso.
Lin Shuang couldn't help but note: (That leg... he's got some serious reach.)
Across the room, Evil Monarch lay on his back, his eyes fixed in a final, hateful stare. Slaughterhouse knelt beside him, gently reaching out to close the eyes of his fallen comrade.
"Tsk, tsk. Brutal," Exaggeration murmured, shaking his head. "What was it for? Just some game items?"
"What?" Slaughterhouse stood up, his expression one of weary resignation. "It's a shame. He got careless in the final moments. It just goes to show—we have to be cautious in every single instance."
"Yeah, tell me about it," Exaggeration shrugged, turning away.
Looting someone's gear was standard practice here. Everyone knew it. You didn't get items because you were strong; you got them because you were lucky.
[System Message: Butcher elimination confirmed. Total players: 10. Surviving players: 6. Instance complete. Processing final evaluation...]
[Player: Shuang Lin. Performance review complete. Rating: C-Rank. 30,000 credits transferred. Please proceed to the Main God Space for your two prize draws.]
Summary:
Chaos erupts as Butchers swarm the first floor, forcing the survivors into a desperate battle for survival. Lin Shuang employs tactical maneuvers to secure kills while navigating the treacherous behavior of fellow players. The game instance concludes with the elimination of the monsters, leaving Lin Shuang with a ranking and rewards to collect.
Trivia:
The Main God entity is characterized as a petty, stingy shut-in.
The game difficulty scaling is based on the proportion of newcomers.
Physical exertion within the game does not translate to the players' real bodies.
Looting game items from fallen players is standard and accepted practice.
Translation Notes:
1 ↩ A Chinese internet slang term, "咸鱼" (xiányú), referring to someone who has no ambition, is lazy, or simply wants to do nothing but lie down and relax, similar to a "couch potato" or "slacker" with a connotation of intentionally avoiding effort.
Notes:
• Butcher - A hostile, respawning creature in the game instance armed with a chainsaw.
• Slaughterhouse - A ruthless veteran and student-like combatant who has cleared four games of the Main God's Game. While initially confident, his demeanor falters during intense encounters. Known for his aggressive, opportunistic nature, he shows little mercy to weaker, panicking players, yet displays a complex side, such as pausing to close the eyes of a fallen comrade.
• Jiang Mo - A cold, calculated strategist in the Infinite Stream, he masks a predatory nature with a gentle persona. As a former boxer living a solitary, tidy life, he balances lethal survival skills with a guarded temperament. He acts as a devoted protector to Lin Shuang, navigating the game's dangers with detached pragmatism and a methodical, controlled approach to both combat and his personal life.
• Jiang - Ranked first in the Main God Space, 'Jiang' is a stoic, cynical, and highly skilled survivalist. A working-class young man with a lean, fit build, he appears in-game as a weary construction worker in a white vest and camo pants. Armed with a Tang sword and chainsaw, this reluctant, protective solo-ranker masks his growing attachment to his rookie partner, Lin Shuang, with a teasing demeanor.
• Mo - Jiang, a gifted martial artist, is defined by his cold-but-caring demeanor. While he prefers operating alone, he serves as a dedicated mentor to Lin. Known simply by his given name, he balances his solitary nature with his role as a guide, maintaining a reputation for both his aloof outward appearance and his protective influence over those he chooses to support.
• Lin Shuang - Lin Shuang is a college student transmigrated as a cannon fodder in an infinite game. To survive its horrors, she adopts a detached persona, clinging to the male lead for security while finding solace in small rewards like cake. Navigating the original owner's complex social ties with anxiety, she hides her true self, focusing solely on comfort and survival within the deadly, surreal game world.
• Shuang - Lin Shuang is a college student who transmigrated into an infinite game as a cannon fodder. Anxious and desperate to survive, she adopts the persona of an opportunist clinging to the male protagonist for comfort. Known as Shuang or Lin, she navigates this dangerous world by leveraging the original owner’s social ties and attempting to siphon protagonist luck to secure her own survival.
• Lin - A university junior and Jiang Mo’s fiancée, she is a resilient survival game player who masks her trauma and vulnerability with a facade of bravado. Lean and striking in a black blazer and pencil skirt, she swaps a formerly sedentary life for tactical combat with a Tang dao. Though judged by others for her appearance, she skillfully navigates the brutal game while forging vital alliances to survive.
• Forced Smile - A male player who displays visible fear and helplessness, and ends up losing a hand during the game.
• Forced - A desperate player who exhibits cowardice and selfishness by luring monsters toward others to ensure his own survival. A desperate rookie player who resorts to stealing equipment from others to survive.
• Superman Can't Fly - A young woman in her twenties with an energetic personality who is teammates with Gentleman.
• Gentleman - A skilled, tactical player dressed in an elite-style suit, he brings a background in boxing to his combat, often using red gloves as a signature game item. He is known for engaging in violent disputes with others over equipment. Despite the chaos of battle, he remains a composed observer, maintaining an elite presence while ruthlessly competing against other players.
• Superman - A player struggling with the strength of the Butchers, often losing his weapon during combat. A player who utilizes makeshift weapons, such as a security baton, with precision despite being injured in the leg. A player whose hero name is "Superman Can't Fly," who sustains a serious leg injury.
• Exaggeration - A hot-headed veteran and survivor of a Butcher encounter, he leads combat and coordination with pragmatic ruthlessness, openly looting fallen comrades. Despite his experience, he remains biased against rookies and women forming alliances. Prone to loud, hyperbolic shock, he acts as a polarizing, intense presence who prioritizes game survival over camaraderie or traditional social conventions.
• Evil Monarch - A veteran player who assists Slaughterhouse in fighting the butcher, suffering minor injuries during the intense encounter.
• Evil - A player who is killed during the final stages of the game instance. An accomplice to Slaughterhouse, equally cold and calculating.