The blue-clad miner moved so fast that when it teleported in front of Yun You and the others, they all felt a lurch in their hearts, barely having time to react.

And when their minds cleared, an indescribable sense of dread uncontrollably welled up.

The miner's appearance was too eerie; under the dim light, its twisted, lifeless features stared fixedly at the three, with a sobbing lilt in its voice but an unnatural smile on its lips.

This wasn't human; from any angle, this thing could not possibly be considered "human" because, unless fitted with a prosthetic body, no one could twist their neck to their back and run in a reversed posture.

Even with a prosthetic body, a person wouldn't do something so bizarre.

In an instant, Yun You had the urge to act, drawing a knife and attempting to strike the miner.

To be honest, seeing such a terrifying thing, saying one is not afraid is definitely a lie.

Even with Yun You's courage, she was essentially just a sixteen-year-old girl, and being afraid was entirely normal.

But rather than trembling and screaming in terror, the girl preferred to take a trembling stance and swing a knife at the opponent.

She's always had this stubborn nature.

Just as she was about to swing the knife, Jack suddenly stopped her hand, shaking his head and making a "do not act" gesture.

"This thing is a [Wraith], a mutant creature that can exist independently outside the Death Domain, quite rare."

Jack explained softly, "It's transformed from a human. It's said that anyone who dies in extreme despair might become a wraith, wandering where they once lived."

"There are many kinds of wraiths, some of which are not afraid of physical damage... Until we know more, it's best not to act rashly, or we might suffer a backlash from special powers."

He raised an eyebrow, indicating the blue-clad worker with his eyes, adding, "Did you notice, it said it wanted to 'play a game' with us... This suggests its power might be related to this so-called 'game'."

Upon hearing this, Yun You understood Jack's point.

Indeed, mutant creatures possess special abilities, which sometimes defy conventional explanation.

The "Deductive Robot" she'd encountered before, with its "Cyberspace," was the best example.

"You hold off for now, Chica, let me try,"

Jack instructed, shielding Yun You and Frost Moon behind him, blocking the path in front of the blue-clad worker.

"You..."

Jack tentatively asked, but as soon as he spoke, he heard a soft "pfft" as something appeared on his forehead.

The mercenary paused, instinctively looking up, only to feel a warm liquid trickle over his forehead, along his nose to his chin, and drip into his collar.

It was blood.

The moment Jack spoke, his forehead was inexplicably cut by an air blade.

His hazmat suit remained undamaged, as the blade had sliced his skin through the clothing.

And the attacker, naturally, was the twisted-faced blue-clad worker.

"..."

Inexplicably injured on his forehead, Jack was not surprised but merely furrowed his brow slightly.

"Couldn't see any attack trajectory, is it some form of rule-based ability?"

"Did it not act initially, and instead waited until I spoke my first word to it, then abruptly cut my forehead, suggesting this ability might be tied to our response to it?"

He mused silently, quickly forming a rough hypothesis based on his extensive experience and knowledge.

"Chica, Frost Moon,"

Jack took a deep breath, lowered his head, and said to the two behind him, "It's best not to speak to this monster... Even if you must, do so in a way that responds to its questions or requests."

Having said that, he pressed his gas mask, using the inner lining's cotton to wipe away the blood, and then said to the blue-clad worker, "How can I help you?"

Jack didn't directly say "I'm willing to help you" because he knew that sometimes, straightforwardly agreeing to a mutant creature's request could bind one to the monster's "ability rules," forcing compliance.

Even to the point of death.

The mercenary had experienced similar situations, so his words were always ambiguous.

"It's simple..."

This time, the blue-clad worker, indeed, did not act, instead responding with a wide grin, "Just dig out your organs for me to eat."

"Your heart, lungs, spleen, liver, stomach... and both intestines, I want to taste them all."

"I'm so hungry, could you take them out for me to eat?"

"Just agree, and I'll get them myself~"

Its voice was as gentle as ever, yet imbued with cruelty and bloodlust, making one's scalp crawl.

In such a hellish place, could one survive after having their organs removed?

Fortunately, Jack hadn't readily agreed to help at the time, otherwise, he might be gutted open right now.

"Sorry, I can't help you with that,"

Jack shook his head, saying softly, "Of course, we also don't want to play your game."

"Can you pretend you didn't see us?"

"..."

"Heh..."

Hearing Jack's refusal, after a moment of silence, the blue-clad worker suddenly chuckled softly, its smile dazzling.

Then, Jack suddenly felt a chill in his chest, as if something were about to manifest.

With his instinctive sense for danger, he reflexively raised his small knife, positioning it before his chest to block whatever might come.

But Yun You, beside him, sensed the danger too, and without time for words, she forcefully shoved Jack aside.

"Watch out!"

The incident occurred so suddenly that Jack was sent flying, his knife slipping from his grasp, remaining where it was in the blink of an eye.

And in the next moment...

Shh—

A sharp air-splitting sound appeared in the space where the small knife hovered.

Then the hard alloy knife's blade suddenly developed a small notch.

As the knife descended, the notch widened until it split the knife in two, finally stopping.

No one saw clearly how the knife had been cut; it seemed to have broken suddenly, unnaturally, with no trace of a burr at the fracture.

Thud~

Both halves of the knife dropped to the ground, while the pushed-aside Jack finally regained his composure.

Seeing the broken blade, a bead of cold sweat formed on his nose.

Earlier, the blade's break point was on the same plane as his waist.

If Yun You hadn't pushed him, the blue-clad worker's "Air Slash" might have cleaved into his midsection, possibly slicing him completely in half or at least inflicting severe harm...

The attacks from mutant creatures are simply unreasonable, no matter how well-prepared or cautious one is; a single mistake can render all efforts futile, plunging one into an endless abyss...

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