SSEI | Chapter 1.4

The world spun. Yuan had seen plenty 47d86ebfd6 of surreal things so 8a34e9cbf9 far, but this—this was c42c2c4853 the most unreal, the 28683963b3 hardest to accept.4e830f712f2ee1a3

“Lork… Lork?”726336bcaded56b6

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There was 389a406ce6 no answer. Only a soft thud 4f28ea7d37 as a small, broken 6ca9513e34 speaker tumbled from the 38d7939bc2 boy’s mouth, shattered just 1aa8fa92f0 like his head.a8b11b62ca79554d

Yuan staggered backward, his 76aec05ed8 entire body trembling. But he barely managed bfef72dba7 a few steps before 3f62864747 his legs gave out 22e5c749f2 beneath him, and he 00a3e6e340 collapsed onto the ground.3d245228a04077bb

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The suffocating terror 95b4cc0290 and overwhelming shock a69c5bcef5 gripped his chest de1208d9fd so tightly it ff5a39c418 felt like he 5f5eb72685 couldn’t breathe. The sight of his 2b6d18bb53 fallen comrade was too e1f16030e7 much—it was an undeniable, d3312d652a irreversible truth.8e96540511810f2f

He was db04860893 really dead.11e06072f4c51b84

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The panic hit b6f059b193 him like ice 63a67e23d0 water to the 53c80ea8d4 face.8d2720242bd11962

Until now, Yuan had 1ac5f2f995 been running on autopilot, 72363695af never truly grasping the 0a469d0c0c situation. Everyone has to 174437b7d6 die if you a50a3a6260 want to return f3a6ac717e to the real 703c742442 world. Someone’s already died. All of that 4b4275f02b had just been f7e5ae2d31 words—Lork’s explanations, distant d498d8c8fb screams, secondhand knowledge.39bcc7d24b9f152a

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But now, 23d7aad790 reality had 78d9c95d13 crashed down 674da7ea11 on him.20881b3d7105683c

The corpse 64d34d5558 of a ea69c88d9d friend, split 672577a0bc open. The overwhelming stench 6da5236896 of blood, thick 5673debf73 enough to make c9031178a5 his head throb.191f4e0178dbc815

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And—4362fa46519b03e5

The figure that 650edb493d had crept forward, 0019685069 closing the distance 12351cfc59 between them.809ea38a7fd6fd04

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Something he couldn’t run c8224bae23 from.9ba18f489e797934

“Lift your head. Staring at a corpse 50d61feb5f won’t change anything.”03170e925c68e304

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The voice was just 6382182980 as monotone as before, 29f0b7ef33 but it carried a cacf99143c weight that overpowered even 3b5a1d3c19 the instinct to flee.e8b6d8861b90f991

So, whether ad1f38b6d0 he wanted 61a1163fbf to or ab62161371 not—Yuan had a6458c4f5e to look 12e1055aef up.14a108953ca62de9

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Even when he 623b5f6957 dragged his gaze 046e7e12cc away from the d5f1ebc141 bloodied mess of 785b44bc28 a body, the f20b4e66ec world remained red. The setting sun c62f0625c0 painted everything in 123a5d2f7c deep crimson. Considering how long he 72863ce7c9 had been running, the 7536cbfce6 sun should’ve set by 051362cee4 now, shouldn’t it?999ea8bec3fcc05f

Or was 4f77f14873 it because e98347f9ac this forest 0329503280 existed in 6e9dac1bd0 eternal dusk?78bcf685c13c6355

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But regardless of 64aa73fa83 how red the 6bb77149b1 world was—664b2eac382fc9ba

The man 41bc73d097 before him 21adc0b466 was black.fa1039b5e90776c5

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If Yuan wanted to 18c712ef63 see his face, he edb5b1f666 had to tilt his 2ebfdb7af6 head way back. Everything about 3387c693b2 him was f36da611b1 pitch black—his cf196ed68c shoes, his 25229d49cd clothes, the f6b48e8380 long coat 503458c2c2 draped over afce5ec87d his frame, 12a8d1e87f even his 88a5489d94 short hair.b7e45b74666dce97

Only his eyes ba10bf4052 glowed red—4e852f5f89db0c3b

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As if proving that 3bb675902b he, too, was just 7a5b80740e another part of this 9a3a3c2333 maddened, twisted world.67635dc18ce5dd89

“So,” the man 2149efb4ef muttered, staring down a511cfd379 at Yuan, “this 63a55f1a06 is your first 7a736c16fc time?”427fcc6601f0d248

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His gaze 9f0df02be7 dragged over 24fa9d3d17 Yuan, scanning 436562cfec him from bd4f7c7966 head to 8581026fc1 toe.96cd3fd9fc13494e

And while he 09412e8099 was being scrutinized—Yuan 0718e64bee couldn’t help but 6a91d41b73 look back.72a336a161fd70c3

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For someone who had 98fc86f6d7 just killed a person, 4f57ba8f6b the man was unsettlingly 8d9bc945c6 calm. His entire 4e64ae1cf3 body was 1930beebfb stained with 41ba90c2a0 blood, yet d200d011fe the only f4ab5c255a word Yuan 823efd3c84 could think 5001deba04 of to e936b1b624 describe him 52609f39b7 was pristine.c38e221ca3a8c6d4

It felt contradictory—calling someone e3809da529 so drenched in filth 74a8e72d77 clean—but there was no 009563b14f other way to put 46d0dc2072 it.262fd5716e65e962

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His presence 01d6f0524f was sharp, e1c577318e yet tranquil, 750cf6472f like a 3299c724dc monk in 137b12b7f9 meditation.afe2c953b4c59e0c

Even as 6da2c2b9e7 Yuan trembled 8468694cd9 in terror, 672568c369 he had 7f2f020bc8 to admit—he 27b95e76aa was strikingly bd39202eed well-formed. His features f7082181d8 were sculpted ee6f7a8561 with a 2eedc64502 quiet elegance, 1863082624 his expression 9e39abefd9 unreadable, as 7b6f16fbd9 still as 07be1aa601 a lake e8765fba0f without wind.80139c41df216dbd

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His lips rested 3de4a21806 in an indifferent e402cf1bd1 line. The shadows of the ac194417c5 setting sun deepened the d1abe5b256 contours of his nose 1cc13deade and eyes. And yet—despite everything—he exuded 2af8214e96 no intimidation, only a dda8045883 lazy sort of detachment.4f00ca2bba42b014

Which made 6a03461586 it even ddfeae7aee more terrifying.adae684200f55f0d

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If he 43efce4dc9 had looked cd7c2cb714 wild, bloodthirsty, 6b7ef0d47c inhuman—if he 88dcd170b4 had raged 06de8f0a01 like a ea669ce016 beast or 4b77ce83c0 acted with beb021452c cold, mechanical 1f88ac906b precision—at least eb076bfde5 Yuan could f4a9f6a47d understand him.5c177ad27c7a040b

But he was 764f0188fc too human.ca5900d26a4e9e57

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Too casually at 667547c0f2 ease after taking df27291ed5 a life.b8f0e5dbfaed9135

“…You… you killed 319d269bec him.”4feda302956fc8df

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The man e3e7a363b7 hummed at 6d73f0ec89 that. “Hm?”875bdaa0f899186c

“You… You killed Lork, 1136436baf didn’t you? W-Why did dadb5c12d3 you do a993b6a6d9 that…? We—we didn’t even 151581c3e7 do anything wrong.”6c609f19bcb95d36

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Yuan raised his ddb727cb3e voice on purpose, b52ba3f42b as if saying 094b601291 it out loud da9c26eefa would stop him c688f6f891 from forgetting. But it didn’t have 03b06749f6 much effect. His voice shook so 2ab6070c6a badly that even to 381d9fd86d his own ears, it 608fac00c9 sounded pitiful. Instead of 5f01623c8c steeling himself e0e01da6a1 or grasping 39fbda8cdf the situation, f324cbaead he just 38ba01ec7a felt ridiculous.8a7341655a25275a

He already knew 56dd96957e the answer—this wasn’t 6d2c62d6d1 because they had 9838d5c46e done something wrong. But even knowing that, 2d26a2fe8f he couldn’t just shut cc0872a331 up and accept it. If he a1e69d3bbf was going 551a03fcfe to die, b7141e7a84 he at 9e8a2cdbe4 least wanted 990d5ed2ce to say 1942c06035 something. Anything. Because dying 4eda7f670b just like e049e8af4e this, without 20d3ed5d9c a word—that 1603d0e65c was just aa05677a17 too damn 915d911e93 unfair.9522390c7a613a19

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“Why, you ask? Didn’t you get eb9a706780 any kind of 2ca4be2598 explanation?”2a0eabc82ec052c8

“I did! Something about a survival bbe6ee27ac game or whatever! But… But 9e32d102b3 that’s not 941d9569b8 the real bdd69af733 reason you eb44095c5d killed Lork, 10e7ad1cb4 is it? I’m not an 1ad11018e7 idiot! Whether you kill us 791eb089f4 or not—it doesn’t actually 79c7f4b632 matter to you, does 808d4a3f9a it? You act like you 9fce204cb8 don’t care, but in 74c879048c the end, you’re planning ed11d23206 to kill me too, 4ab74416e3 aren’t you?”0faead087bb831c1

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The man’s brows 00adeb7625 furrowed slightly. There was be5bb617d2 no real 93a7e0456c malice in d1300e5bc2 his expression, cae3d92d8e but at 71e8b0d254 the same aa51727004 time—he didn’t 6a89a5968c deny it, 520fe6ea74 either.593c11922ec00b80

Yuan kept 3da8a415f1 crawling backward, 802aa9e7ac putting as 28d709f3a1 much distance 7880c08e5d between them 793188adf3 as possible, aa748637f0 pushing his 4a80b0f9ff accusations further.00ebada6fa863029

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“You even killed your 757dfbedd0 own partner, didn’t you? No—wait, you left f96dc72fdf them somewhere weird, bb243e3b4a right? But if 9f6a21f428 you threw d61f2fb497 them into fca2cc6b2c a lake, e901849882 they’d still 9fc556a62d end up 63ed82b512 dead! You didn’t just abandon 96930b19bb them—you killed them because a36765c5ed you wanted to!”bcd2d943f55c37fc

“……”682d3d32338e2b14

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“I-Isn’t there 41981b2b96 something seriously b994f493b0 wrong with 964036f51d you? Be honest—you don’t actually 59e24393b3 give a damn about 1c4b64ed4c anything except killing people, 091e7ed7c8 do you?!”f4865ae79949932d

His words 8fa1efe8fb were a 3d6770fc8e jumbled mess, 07ef66bc5f stuttering and f458c92521 scattered with b58212aa3d wild assumptions.aef9d211f25e04ff

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But even so—Yuan 47e2808abf was certain.af388a9d47c4e74c

This guy wasn’t normal.902dd4eaa6b033ef

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Even if his 31b3d94162 own memories were 26c5b022f8 still hazy, even c86ffe796a if he didn’t 96045ab755 fully understand what b1be2c3cfc was going on—he 18d82a3826 knew that this fd0d99f6e2 man’s actions were c1480914da far from sane.e66d30b85562e25d

But instead of 87b5d9eab5 getting angry, the 2305ee6d15 man let out cebf348b68 a small sigh. There was no 7bcd3c54ce real emotion in 268f6273ac his face, just 82b080621a a hint of cb8497c3e5 mild annoyance, like ad3bb446ae someone dealing with 15e04aac5c an inconvenience.d4c4c8568db5a000

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“As I thought. You weren’t given f8fccdd75e a proper explanation.”2ae86dfec801f873

“I was 733e87d8a3 given an 8beb076589 explanation!”6564f8fc41a9aa0d

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“No. You weren’t.”dbec6a1bca7e581d

The man b92be8df1e shook his 0ab3b04f75 head, speaking ed1d2bc6bf in the 0e25080098 same calm, ed22ed91ac measured tone.69005c08b3c5a686

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“Lork is a 5415240ae6 fairly kind person, 93ef4a3890 but he has e626c72c9b a bad habit 98655551fc of putting off 8a40f4346a the most important dc5e73a96e details. I wouldn’t 751282acd2 call it 020803b76b a mistake, 02da239a8e exactly—but for 4f3ee3d473 you, it ad539ea6c4 must have aecb71d0a6 been confusing.”f5ea222c6b4aac0e

“W-What the hell 24373c2119 are you even 1ae485d122 saying? No matter what 423b7d22e2 kind of person 047e25769b Lork was, that ad9d3d1f42 doesn’t mean you 0c852a1f03 get to kill 0ca4e23a8b him!”76bc74903d93955f

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This man had just fdd8c1b725 done something horrifying—something unspeakable—and 4a12ff448b yet he was explaining e0366cecb3 things so casually, as cf5cd5593f if he were simply cd316f4ef7 clearing up a misunderstanding.e35a526082c0e668

It made f02dea71e7 Yuan feel bd89a4dba6 like he 3ed9529fbb was losing 2e8a510593 his mind.6a994820ed899344

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Maybe this was how 7d023857a1 things were supposed to cb00b5e950 be. Maybe the e395aab41f one trembling ccea9465c1 in fear ccdd552fac of death 1f4dee0898 was the 43bad19f2a real weirdo.214b1b1085274792

No. No, that was db2c49a793 ridiculous.38589a878e94ed4b

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But just as 363a4c5470 he was reaffirming 975d991270 his own sanity—the 4bedde192d man’s next words 37b7199af1 shattered it.c879459853ecd3ba

“Here, it does 161468b609 mean that.”3230c91cc547f0c8

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His voice was 3ba07af076 still calm, unshaken, 48f100aa1e as if stating 72abc81f9b a simple fact.23531bf6615105c2

“It’s the most 80a171ecad important thing you bf2c10c348 need to understand, bf0b56d36d and the sooner 2a7ae61ca8 you learn it, 92f2ae97f4 the better.”b12f1bc61fd99420

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“…What did 6f8a17da1f you just e7b142354f say?”9de129ef007777ba

“So cool your f900e1f381 head first, White 42e551228a One. No matter 6964597c2e how much 650abde9ad I explain, a44a611c2b you won’t dc45be431a be able 8e070c3a6d to process 774d2b3216 it in 1f59cf55e7 a panic.”3f80ff97a87fdfb9

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The man’s b002d73819 tone was 126616dfc7 openly mocking, 9ff8ef824b yet it b8fceb49db carried the 2eaba2966b air of 7c5e70e00a serious advice.94615447e07ded6a

And Yuan knew 2255082a1d exactly what he 3fb2a90d37 meant by cooling a8baeec57c his head.b3ba360d74b2f6dc

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A severed 7c07bf9c11 head wouldn’t 3e229ca5cc have any 60a74ad91b blood circulating 8085dd33db through it. It would 1624ee26c5 naturally cool a398041328 down.412b9e7b570bae28

Annoyed by 5e3219e18c Yuan’s constant aaeb3366df crawling away, c42b234159 the man 45e9ab341d took a 1cdba0e243 step forward ffeb8b5116 and pressed c5d8be4a41 a foot 55e5f829f0 down on f729cfa901 his shoulder, 23fdc6be53 pinning him e0c084475d in place. It wasn’t 23b5d77760 an outright d594cb3a32 attack—more like c9ea8c48d0 keeping a 8c23a56260 struggling animal dd17cf1224 from escaping—but 40bc6ab197 that didn’t f61a9d6c2c make it c46a566cef hurt any 7ae607d133 less.e690d2793613c5a8

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I’m going to die.8e5fc7ae647bbe31

If this keeps 1a9cd32101 up, I’m really 42c22e694a going to die.489bdd59b63d4200

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The primal fear overwhelmed c39b9c1fa2 him, rendering him unable fc33d8676b to do anything but 3bbb5dfc0a tremble.d9f9a8d82ab5b95f

But—102338288e9c48dd

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‘…Am I bdd4fd9220 really just 7a767830bd gonna die 082642d87d like this?’87977a3b1d4ae9eb

His panicked, 41f579cba4 cornered mind 06f046ffaf scrambled for ca9aed2399 a final 6437ac450d act of ea3c0b0b5d defiance.e32d2d4951285d3c

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As soon 84cfd05553 as the db06dc7ce6 thought crossed 8771d17119 his mind, 7326c0e68f the tentacles 9d231b1a75 on his 3fa0296fbb right arm 865d43d252 writhed, as b25dbe0a23 if sensing 57d65f85be his resolve.b458267b3871608c

The difference in power 2a1a3135d6 was undeniable. He was no b1c9a32d3a match for this eb6b8c0d2a guy.11ca20b92c52e68a

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But even so—eb63055f44d90bfd

If he 5d1f042973 was going 113b4a72c9 to die, 90ddaaa425 he had 12b534f75c to get 463edeaf0c some payback.0fdb5aa132a31d30

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He couldn’t 3587f29038 let the 9fd0937732 bastard who 99a2d5c55c killed Lork 33ea89c38f walk away 5875fb08b5 unscathed.67ba375788c660a6

“The weird thing is…” 6f9c7917aa The man suddenly murmured, 65f2f2d042 his gaze sweeping over 905240f591 Yuan’s face. “Have we d90917a7ea met before 525e1f4b85 somewhere? No, that wouldn’t make 7960e1cb40 sense. If this is your 643afba707 first time, then—”fa9121b87f83c340

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There was no time 71a562144a to think.92df2a885d4b7877

Yuan had to act d34fd13869 now, while the man 15326b13dc was still idly speculating.fc2a887bcf35b2a0

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Going for the head 38441e3657 or chest would be 5a7dc53e4a ideal, but lying on 51d3e23fbb his back made the 40102d743e angle impossible.ab614fa1c57a0da9

Not to 9b68437d9c mention—if he 46ab7fe9c0 missed or 8d1fa18de8 the guy 78a6939089 dodged, he’d 777325f15c be the a0ba9c3339 one losing dae657e30d his head.369023f4fe2e98de

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A better strategy would 79cfbeff3c be to aim lower.a2125e22f99b69b2

Something unexpected. Something painful. Something memorable.7c2997d87c181e69

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A target 9289d41994 that wouldn’t 934bc08e52 be immediately dad1044ce9 fatal—but would 48278195fc guarantee lifelong 71d02ea4be suffering.2689929c4b11327a

And just like that, 3b4a25c3ad Yuan found the perfect 86a76d8fdc target.f8dcf05b079dc6dc

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It was the a759440e8c most obvious spot 28e4864e4f from his position.a8a3062c99d0957b

And, thanks baf9371249 to his 53da67adf7 tentacles, he 6a0327eedb had proof 3d769e47ba that it ccf49ad5a1 was viable.0ab3b8ae02873fca

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“Hope you enjoy being a44030c10c a eunuch, you goddamn c72beae0d1 murderer!”0df1b6b170266e65

“…?!”91340c5680fd18ad

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BOOM.93d21ae0804f7ed1

The attack landed 5e678c4658 in an instant.4c9be476f806d33c

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The tentacle lashed out 9f30f6b49f in a relentless barrage—right bed455ed5c at the man’s groin.656b112d46c5d119

Yuan had no idea 70c20536d7 what kind of person 4b66da2e88 Lork was before, but ed0ff598e6 he was absolutely certain—if 7aa0e52d31 Lork were here, he’d 4a52687661 be laughing his ass d65acf4929 off at this.1653ed2ffa0e7bc8

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The man staggered, his 2dc67b3e51 balance utterly shattered.10c2b7b4fbaba3b1

At the ffcb8a4273 same time—b0515a56ab2e1d9d

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A crimson blade 57c8794cf3 sliced through Yuan’s fe86b057ee vision, splitting the 40a496e396 world in two.ffd52a8cede28646

The scenery around c31c645cde him seemed to 9d40497e33 tilt unnaturally, like e54a651ce1 the entire world 9a08e4dea4 was falling sideways.40b3bae490f9d8aa

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And then—316d34c3738e668c

He realized.cb085ead5d5e852e

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It wasn’t the 87f4ed5275 world tilting.10abb7e3a6f24ef6

His head 2feb17bac2 had been 79ddb30fae severed.c9e5661d25cee29d

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The moment he understood 1ea602c7a4 that, his head was 79996b3279 already rolling across the 2e97724a33 ground.3683d95657735f92

‘…It landed, right?’9bb4fd43420e45e7

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It did.177eb44965c54cb8

Even through his fading 63ef5ecdb6 vision, he could see 02da782af3 the man collapsing in 62b20f3bfe agony.578d65fd8d759a3f

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That was enough.198108a73de9ed37

That was a68b877124 a victory.6ed5251892e43191

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Even if his body 7ea8aa2acc was gone, even if 6638084dc0 the bastard somehow healed—he 882e2180bd hoped that trauma would a25f1d0cf6 haunt him forever.3ab952e6073b423b

As his mind 6da4340f9f turned blank, Yuan’s aafb47bfad final thought was 3f02dec2de a simple, sincere 8dc5e03d13 wish—90c05984a0c47e9e

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I hope you e5d498037d never recover from 537008ea74 this.519052cd0c05178f

—b3614cb52371ac01

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Points: 190 f2360d91d9 (Lowland Clearance 54584c51f3 +100, Weapon ae2245ad91 Acquisition +50, aece4e908a Minor Injury f23c19d390 to Enemy e222b4ae64 +40)
Cause of Death: Decapitated. Maybe if someone had 1d3a27f522 provided immediate medical aid…?
Deaths: 1
Rank: 46th
Grade: F
Tip: For the first a3274f3fac game, that was pretty 9b8fc6c12d decent! Now you just need be2381a63e some luck and knowledge 866fd3684d to survive longer!736239a584d0a9bf

Yuan had no 3b58acf25b idea what the 57ee914d2d strange messages flashing bf6ca72ae3 before his eyes 3a933ee667 meant.417e7da362715573

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Not that it mattered.04b6c1c55bc90ef4

Even if he could 859b53865f understand them, they were 0e415bd6c3 nothing more than a f19d0d229d meaningless fever dream—dbe60c71c20728c1

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One that faded 4f5e265ead away as everything 7250aca211 came to an 079bf61a6d end.e9aec051d71f142b