Chapter 1798: The Pinker the Hair
The cannibal player took a few punches before reacting, raising a hand to block the pink-haired man's move and shoving him back.
The pink-haired man smoothly retreated to the other end of the carriage.
The cannibal player's companions didn't step in to help; instead, they joined the other players in watching the spectacle, even egging him on to return the blows he'd taken.
The cannibal player wiped the blood from his face, his expression cold and grim as he stared at the pink-haired man, then lunged at him like a wild beast.
It seemed both of them were intent on a brawl, and they actually refrained from using items. The cannibal player did have an advantage in physical strength, partly because they generally lacked traits, so their clearance rewards might lean toward physical enhancement, and partly because their diet differed—from a certain perspective, they were more like carnivorous beasts. Under the same evolution rate, cannibal players had the edge in physical ability. Since other players were also on their menu, they fought without restraint, eating anything and everything. For instance, the big man bared a set of sharp teeth and bit directly into the pink-haired man's arm!
The pink-haired man didn't flinch like an ordinary person, nor did he care about the torn flesh. He grabbed the big man's hair while being bitten, and with his other hand, he relentlessly pounded the man's temple.
The big man struck the pink-haired man's gripping hand, bending it, then swept his leg to force him back. Under the protection of a defense item, he pounced again, aiming for the neck!
The pink-haired man's punches missed the big man, and he was instead pinned to the ground. But just as the big man was about to sink his teeth into his neck, he shoved his own hand into the man's mouth. Once bitten, he burst out laughing, lifted the big man by the arm, and slammed him into the floor!
"Boom!" The big man was hurled to the ground. The pink-haired man used an item to restrain him, mounted him again, and resumed the beating, shouting as he fought: "Didn't we say no items? You damn cheater, no honor at all!"
The pink-haired man had already taken off his jacket, and from the color of his number, he wasn't a cannibal player—though that didn't rule out a fake color. But judging by the situation, his physical evolution was clearly stronger than the cannibal player he was pummeling. After a few exchanges of items, he said to the cannibal player, "Nailed down!"
The big man, who was about to get up, was forced back to the floor by some unknown power in a bizarre posture. Then the pink-haired man accelerated his assault, bombarding the man's head. Any defense barriers or protective gear that appeared flashed by briefly. By the time both sides had exhausted their items, the big man was left being beaten on the ground.
The pink-haired man's fists were stained with blood, and he laughed maniacally as he fought. When blood splattered across his face and clothes, and the big man lay motionless on the floor, he looked up at Xu Huo. "Want a punch too? It's really stress-relieving."
"Thanks, but no thanks." Xu Huo sat in the corner.
The cannibal player wasn't dead, but he was a bloody mess. Only then did his companions shout for the pink-haired man to back off.
The pink-haired man got up, even helping the big man to his feet.
Probably embarrassed by the beating, the big man rested for a while before heading to the rear carriage, followed by his companions.
Ignoring the stares, the pink-haired man cleaned the stains off himself, put his jacket back on, and sat across from Xu Huo. "Where were we?"
Xu Huo played along. "You were talking about the first player you met when you entered the instance."
"Right," the pink-haired man said, adjusting his sunglasses. "You really can't judge a book by its cover. He looked all big and tough, harassing female players, robbing and assaulting them—I thought he was straight. But a couple of days later, he tried to crawl into my bed while I was sleeping and groped my chest..."
"Tsk, if I hadn't reacted fast, I wouldn't know how to explain it to my girlfriend. Every time I go out, I promise her I won't fool around. Men might not count as flowers or grass, but I can't break my promise!"
The topic circled back to his girlfriend, and he pulled out his communicator, showing Xu Huo a photo. "Look, isn't my girlfriend beautiful?"
"We grew up together. At first, she didn't like me at all. I had to shamelessly pursue her for years before she agreed. I have to listen to everything she says, or she might break up with me, right?"
The pink-haired man didn't mind anyone seeing his girlfriend's photos. He scrolled through them, showing not just pictures but videos too—sometimes with him, sometimes just her. For every photo or video, he had a little story about when it was taken, his face full of sweet affection that clashed wildly with his appearance.
No one in the carriage paid much attention to this seemingly unhinged man. After a while, Xu Huo said, "Your girlfriend has great taste in clothes and style. It makes sense she wouldn't be into you at first."
"Right?" The pink-haired man wasn't offended at all; instead, he said cheerfully, "I always say she has the best eye. When she became my girlfriend, everyone said I must have accumulated good karma in a past life. Of course, I haven't done anything good in this life—my parents were in prison until they died, so they didn't help with karma either. It must be from a past life."
"She never looked down on me. She said I look good enough once you get used to it. I listen to her—whether meeting friends or her parents, I dress like this. It doesn't matter if others are satisfied; as long as she is, that's enough."
He said it without any hesitation, as if his girlfriend's words were commands he obeyed unconditionally. Even the players in the carriage were a bit moved.
Players usually lived in dire straits, with little time or mood for romance. Most had fleeting flings, hardly real relationships. But even ordinary people rarely expressed their love so intensely—aside from being shy about it, most couldn't match his level.
After the earlier incident with the cannibal player, no one in the carriage deliberately stirred up trouble. But a female player said, "These days, finding a decent man is hard enough. Someone this devoted is like winning the lottery."
"That's because you don't know how amazing she is. If you did, you'd understand me." The pink-haired man turned to look at her.
The woman smiled faintly. "Even if I knew, I wouldn't get it. I like men."
The pink-haired man held up his communicator with both hands, as if it were something sacred and inviolable, staring obsessively at the video of the young woman laughing and talking. "Beautiful people transcend gender."
At that point, everyone in the carriage sensed something off, but no one said anything. They certainly didn't want to hear him preach about how great his girlfriend was. So, the other players paired up to play cards, betting not small stakes but high-level items.
(Chapter End)