Black Swan's heart suddenly skipped a beat! If this had happened before, she would have kindly asked if Huangquan in the bathroom needed any help.
But now...
A shadow of dread crept into her heart!
Huangquan still hadn't come out.
Only a door separated them, yet it felt like an overwhelming pressure was bearing down on her!
"What's going on…?"
Black Swan bought herself time by continuing to watch the video.
At this moment, the white-haired Huangquan in the footage completely shifted from her previous demeanor.
Her once dull eyes now gleamed with sharp intensity!
While Black Swan was still utterly confused, Huangquan forcibly took over as the lead dancer, dragging her into a dance against her will!
A simple head-patting gesture, but now it looked more like a noose tightening around her neck.
A push forward—Black Swan's expression twisted into terror.
The movements were now full of tension—every time her arms were yanked apart, a flurry of black feathers scattered into the air.
Huangquan's face was cold and focused, no longer resembling a dancer, but a butcher—
methodically plucking feathers and tearing flesh from her prey.
Black Swan shuddered violently.
But it didn't end there.
In the black silhouette, she transformed into a flock of birds trying to escape.
Yet, Huangquan leisurely tore the flock apart one by one, until only a single bird remained—
yanked back into Black Swan's original form.
Behind them, a white pattern emerged—a python and a swan.
Black Swan's focus sharpened to a razor's edge.
In the background noise, amid the honking of swans and the hissing of snakes, there was also the sound of bones snapping.
The implication was unmistakable.
Black Swan had never imagined that the latter half of the video would take such a gruesome, horrifying turn.
Her on-screen self was flung around like a marionette in Huangquan's grip.
Every time she was stretched to her limit, her head would splatter a massive shadow—
Was that blood? Or feathers?
Either way, it was nothing good.
Finally, Huangquan slammed her to the ground.
Her body shattered into fragments, then transformed back into a flock of birds, desperately trying to flee.
But the python's gaze seemed omnipresent.
Under the stare of those blood-red eyes, the black-and-white scene dissolved, leaving only the skeleton of a swan—
Arms outstretched, head tilted in a soundless scream.
Black blood oozed down the screen, drowning the scene in darkness.
Black Swan felt as if she had been plunged into an icy abyss.
A mere ten-second clip felt like an intensely visceral horror movie to her.
And the protagonist of that horror movie…was herself.
That bare skeleton exuded a dark humor, as if mocking her inevitable fate.
Black Swan's pupils contracted.
With great difficulty, she turned her gaze toward the bathroom.
Huangquan was already at the door, ready to step out at any moment.
Just half a minute ago, Black Swan had thought this was her domain.
She had assumed Huangquan went to freshen up out of nervousness.
But now…
All her composure and confidence had vanished into thin air.
Since becoming a Memokeeper, this was the first time she had encountered such an ominous omen.
The image of her own skeleton was now seared into her mind.
Not only devoured, but plucked clean of every feather!
This place is too dangerous!
"I need to leave—"
By now, the video's visuals had descended into chaos.
Flickering images of predators and prey—leopards chasing antelopes, bears hunting rabbits, sharks tearing through schools of fish, spiders trapping moths— All of them ended the same way: the prey being devoured.
Without exception.
In the end, even single-celled organisms consuming smaller matter and black holes swallowing stars flashed across the screen.
At this point, Black Swan no longer believed she was on the "hunter's" side.
In the video's final moments, a hand reached helplessly upward, clawing at nothingness.
Its owner— Black Swan herself—was now frozen in terror.
A silent scream tore from her lips before she was shredded to pieces in the crimson-black void of a collapsing star.
Clang—!
The bathroom door swung open.
Black Swan jolted in panic, quickly stashing her phone away.
As Huangquan approached step by step, Black Swan instinctively backed away.
Drops of water still clung to Huangquan's hands.
Only now did Black Swan understand—Huangquan hadn't been preparing for anything else.
She had been preparing to kill.
Just like how ordinary people wash their hands before slaughtering livestock.
Black Swan was filled with regret.
Why had she been in such a hurry?
All thoughts of romance and atmosphere had been thrown to the wind.
She should have watched the entire video before deciding whether to invite Huangquan.
This had been Yu Ling's warning to her.
But her overconfidence had cost her the last chance to escape.
"What's wrong?"
Huangquan stared at her expressionlessly, her entire form shrouded in shadows.
"Memokeeper, you weren't like this earlier."
As Huangquan closed in, Black Swan dodged to the side.
The brutal imagery from the video replayed relentlessly in her mind.
She was a Memokeeper— there were still countless precious memories waiting to be uncovered.
She didn't want to die here, without any value, only to be turned into a decorative skeleton
by this psychopath.
The Lord Ravagers had already suffered enough.
Black Swan refused to follow in their footsteps.
In a flash, she darted toward the room's exit, forcing down her fear as she spoke:
"Uh… I also need to prepare for something today."
"Let's skip the dance for now. Maybe another time."
She was desperate to escape this room, to dissolve into memetic particles like in the video—
scattering like a flock of birds.
But in an instant, Huangquan appeared beside her, slamming a hand against the door.
"No."
"You're not leaving today."
Black Swan nearly burst into tears.
Because— She had personally set up a barrier in this room to avoid detection by the Family's hounds.
And Huangquan's action just now had added another lock to her own seal.
Now, even if someone came to rescue her, it would be impossible.
Truly, "Heaven's gate stands open, yet she chose the road to hell."
Black Swan could already foresee how her death would reverberate across the cosmos.
Players would mock her relentlessly, both in-game and out, turning her into a tragic figure
on par with the Lord Ravagers.
Now the entire universe would remember her—but in the worst way possible.
"Sis, you can't just force people like this…"
Black Swan was on the verge of despair.
She had even braced herself for Huangquan to suddenly transform into that white-haired version and slash at her without warning.
But Huangquan only shook her head.
"Memokeeper, have you forgotten?"
"I'm still being hunted by the Family."
"If you leave, you'll expose me too."
"Stay here quietly with me a little longer."
Black Swan had no choice but to nod.
There were no other options now.
Earlier, she had insisted on coming in.
Now, Huangquan was the one refusing to let her leave.
Black Swan could only sit as far away from Huangquan as possible.
Any thought of dancing had long evaporated.
As she watched Huangquan sit there, deep in thought, Black Swan wondered— Was she deciding how to process her?
Right now, it felt like a pot had been set on the stove, waiting for the water to boil.
Huangquan didn't move.
Black Swan didn't dare move either.
She didn't even dare take out her phone again.
Meanwhile, outside— The release of this video had already caused an uproar!
To be continued…
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