Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 726 - 724 Shrinking Earth

Another victim had appeared.

The next morning, the players gathered in the first-floor lobby, speaking in hushed tones.

Last night was the players' fifth night at the Dolphin Hotel. The ones with a bye were Bai Haozheng, Black Holy Son, Yuyi Xinzhong, Liu Wu Dai, and Ω. Those who received notes were Plague Doctor, Li Ang, Mule, Wanli Fengdao, and 13MARK.

The note Plague Doctor received last night read, "Don't breathe."

He received the note around 12:30 AM and immediately detected a stifling, foul odor of decay.

As an experienced doctor, he immediately identified it as the smell emanating from a highly decomposed animal corpse.

Adhering to the note's instruction, Plague Doctor immediately held his breath, covered his mouth and nose, and, weapon in hand (a long staff), cautiously began to explore his room, 0608.

Upon opening the side-bedroom door, Plague Doctor immediately saw the source of the rotting smell—an aged humanoid creature. It had highly decomposed features; large areas of its skin had peeled away, revealing swathes of blackened, damaged muscle fibers, as if splattered with ink.

It had no hair, nor any body hair such as eyebrows or eyelashes. Its fingers were decomposed to the point where bones were visible. The upper and lower lips were incomplete, and through the holes in them, one could see the darkened gums and teeth underneath.

DRIP. DRIP.

This highly decomposed, aged humanoid creature was bent over, facing the side-bedroom door sideways, motionless. The shorts it wore and the bag clutched in its right hand continuously dripped a black, viscous liquid downwards, resembling oil, yet also like asphalt.

Strangely, the hotel's construction materials, which players had been unable to damage despite their best efforts, crumbled easily in the presence of this black, viscous liquid. The carpet in the side-bedroom of room 0608 sizzled as the black liquid corroded it, smoke rising continually. Through the holes created by the corrosion, Plague Doctor could even see the sublayers of the wooden floor.

Something is off.

Even though the aged humanoid entity did nothing, alarms in Plague Doctor's mind rang at their loudest. Judging from the experiences of many players these past few days, even anomalies within the hotel couldn't cause substantial damage to the hotel rooms. The 'monster' before him undoubtedly ranked several levels higher in Mysterious Degree than ordinary anomalies.

While Plague Doctor held his breath, resisting the urge to breathe, he pretended to see nothing and carefully closed the side-bedroom door.

Sorry to disturb you.

After closing the door, Plague Doctor immediately took out a heavy, sci-fi-looking firearm from his inventory and aimed it at the gap beneath the side-bedroom door, pulling the trigger.

This gun, called the Azure Multifunctional Spray Gun, was equipped with dozens of modules and could spray various types of substances. These included powder for makeup, colored ink for wall graffiti, medical glue for stopping bleeding, and water-blocking gel used for repairing submarines and ship cabins.

Using the Azure Multifunctional Spray Gun, he sprayed a large amount of water-blocking gel into the gap of the side-bedroom door. The gel expanded upon exposure to air and rapidly solidified. It was not only adhesive enough to weld objects together but also capable of isolating seawater, air, and sound waves.

After sealing the side-bedroom door, Plague Doctor took out a Peach Wood Sword, a cross, and a diamond ring on a chain from his inventory and hung them on the side-bedroom doorknob.

All three items could provide a sealing effect. The 'door' they guarded would be truly 'closed' on a mystical level. No teleportation skills or Flash Special Effects would be able to leave the space represented by this 'door.'

After doing all this, Plague Doctor released the hand covering his mouth and nose, then took out a portable oxygen cylinder and breathing mask from his backpack and put them on.

The world record for holding one's breath underwater is ten to twenty minutes. However, this is achieved after inhaling enough pure oxygen, fully exchanging the gases within the lungs, and without any interference. Plague Doctor, caught off guard by the note, hadn't even taken a full breath before being forced to hold it. It was already difficult for him to maintain free movement. After sealing the side-bedroom door and putting on the oxygen mask, he immediately took a breath.

He had thought that by soundproofing the side-bedroom door, isolating the air, and placing Seals, breathing inside the oxygen mask wouldn't alert the decomposing creature inside. Yet, just as he began to engage his chest muscles to inhale a breath of pure oxygen, a large patch of black ink seeped through the side-bedroom door.

A decomposed and emaciated hand reached out from the oily liquid, followed by a head, chest, waist, and legs.

The aged humanoid creature, ignoring the supernatural items, came straight out of the door and waved an arm towards the astounded Plague Doctor.

Without any warning, Plague Doctor suddenly found himself right in front of the decomposing humanoid, staring blankly as the creature reached its hand towards his face.

The oxygen mask he had put on saved his life. The decomposing humanoid's hand, covered in black liquid, pressed onto the oxygen mask, instantly corroding it into debris with a HISS of white smoke.

Facing a fatal crisis, Plague Doctor's mind raced. He waved his staff, releasing a green blade of light, and simultaneously took a half step back, using some sort of Shrinking the Ground to an Inch Flash skill.

The green blade of light from the staff hit the decomposing humanoid but had no effect, like a clay ox entering the sea, causing no damage. However, his Shrinking the Ground to an Inch ability activated properly—he Flashed to the other side of the living room, with a sofa now between him and the decomposed figure.

Unexpectedly, the decomposing figure did not continue its pursuit but stood still, its nostrils flaring as it sniffed the air.

Plague Doctor immediately realized the creature's Trigger: his own breathing.

As long as I don't exhale or inhale, I won't be attacked.

Stopping breathing was easier said than done. Aside from anaerobic bacteria, Viruses, and a very few Myxozoa (a type of parasite that lives in the muscles of salmon), almost all organisms on Earth need to exchange gases with the environment. As a doctor, Plague Doctor was acutely aware of the consequences of suffocation and his body's breath-holding limits. He estimated six minutes if he stood still with a full breath. He estimated four minutes for low-intensity activity, and with intense activity, or even combat, a breath would probably last only two minutes.

After brief contemplation, he resolutely decided on his next course of action.

Using the paper and pen provided by Li Ang, he quickly wrote down all the information about the decomposed humanoid. He then moved to the door in small steps, pushed the paper out from underneath it, returned to the master bedroom, closed the door, and took a deep breath of oxygen from the cylinder's hose.

Just as he expected, while he was inhaling, black ink began to leak from the walls of the master bedroom. The highly decomposed humanoid creature passed through the wall, entering the master bedroom directly from the living room. It once again used that hand-waving skill capable of Cutting Space, pulling Plague Doctor towards it.

[Author's Note: Wishing college entrance exam students every success.

Success

Success success

Success success success

Success success success success

Success success success success success

This represents the Taihang Mountains.]