Chapter Eleven: Unease

After some time had passed, many players, through forums, posts, and chat logs, came to realize that this world was fraught with danger everywhere. Rather than rushing about blindly, it was better to first understand the surroundings, grasp the purpose of their roles, and hold their positions. Only when they had studied enough would they make plans.

Thus, many players stayed put, with little to do, and immediately began refreshing the chat screen. The leaderboard naturally became the most watched area. Everyone wanted to know how these top players managed to maintain such a rapid and strange increase in their eerie value despite the perilous environment.

At that moment, the name "Chen Ye" flashed again on the screen, attracting widespread attention for his incredibly fast growth.
“My goodness, is Chen Ye crazy? His eerie value is rising way too fast!”
“Earlier, he paused for a moment and got pushed down by others. We thought it was just luck, a brief flash.”
“But unexpectedly, he suddenly rose again, like he took some kind of miracle pill. This is insane!”
“Feels like just one refresh and Chen Ye already gained a hundred points in eerie value. How did he do that?”
“He must have mastered the essence of role-playing.”
“Exactly. I heard from some top players’ posts that role-playing is key to gaining eerie value. But you need to understand your profession, perform the role, and internalize it to master quick improvement.”
“Simply completing the external tasks of a job—like a chef cooking or a driver driving—raises eerie value very slowly.”
“Unless you have a hidden profession—like a ‘Lucky Emperor’—who gets a job that upgrades especially fast, then you can reach such speeds.”
“Otherwise, a hundred points a day is already the cap; it’s impossible to spike by a hundred in such a short time!”
“Chen Ye, can you add me as a friend and help this sister out? Let’s sleep together tonight.”
“Hey upstairs, didn’t you say you’re a guy? What’s with this sister thing?”
“Don’t you understand how valuable a big-boned cute girl is?”
“There’s a saying: as long as you’re cute, even if you’re a guy, it’s totally fine.”

On the chat screen, Chen Ye’s name had already drawn countless eyes, with many desperately seeking his contact details. Unfortunately, the Blood-Tinted Phone lacked a friend-adding function, so they could only spam mentions of Chen Ye in the chat.

Many girls caught in dire situations, facing the game’s arrival into reality for the first time, panicked, with no relatives or friends to turn to. At this moment, numerous girls openly admitted in the chat they were willing to pay any price for Chen Ye’s help. Yes, some were even men!

Yet Chen Ye, at the storm’s center, remained unaware of all this. His full attention was fixed on the suona in his hands.

Through repeated practice, Chen Ye found his control over the suona steadily improving!

The most obvious progress was in breath control. Generally, wind instruments require enough breath and precise embouchure to sound correctly. When Chen Ye first held the suona, he had to hold his breath, his face slightly flushed, exerting every ounce of effort just to produce a sound. But because he used all his strength, the sound was harsh and piercing. Combined with the suona’s natural timbre, it was almost indistinguishable from the roar of the Chainsaw Man!

However, after this period of struggle, Chen Ye kept his distance from Chainsaw Man while practicing the suona repeatedly. As his skill improved, he no longer needed so much breath to sound the instrument. With less consumption, his control became noticeably better—he could freely control the length and thickness of notes.

By now, he could play nearly full scales, enough to perform melodies.

“Perhaps…”
“I can try playing a complete piece.”

Chen Ye thought quietly. After all, to earn a performance fee, the audience had to listen to an entire piece to trigger the trait. But if his own skill couldn’t support playing a full song… expecting the audience to listen through was nonsense.

Chen Ye glanced back at Chainsaw Man, a faint smile crossing his face. He had already decided which virgin piece to practice first!

---

Chainsaw Man had chased Chen Ye through more than half of Xining’s alleys, circling several times. Now his steps slowed, revealing fatigue. He seemed ready to give up.

Beyond the waning stamina, Chen Ye’s improved control over the suona softened the sound. What once sounded like a foul-mouthed shrew gradually morphed into something more refined and gentlemanly in Chainsaw Man’s auditory system. The anger in his heart began to dissipate little by little.

“Jiji!”

At that moment, a sharp, piercing suona note suddenly cut through the alley like a razor slicing deeply into Chainsaw Man’s eardrum!

Then the melody of “Uneasy” gradually emerged from the suona, carrying a provocative tone.

To Chainsaw Man, it seemed to say: “Come hit me!”

His whole body shuddered slightly. Though he had no facial features, his body language unmistakably showed that this suona tune had dealt a severe psychological blow.

The next second, it was as if a surge of power returned to him, erupting into his peak speed, chasing Chen Ye like a mad dog! The chainsaw’s rotation even emitted sounds resembling the “Uneasy” melody, as if angrily responding.

Of course, although Chainsaw Man sped up, Chen Ye still needed little effort to maintain the same gap. Moreover…

After several rounds, Chen Ye’s eerie value had reached one thousand points, finally breaking into four digits!

At this moment, with the increase in eerie value, the potential of the Wanderer’s Boots was once again unleashed! A single stride could now easily cover over four meters, with even greater efficiency!

Despite Chainsaw Man’s acceleration, Chen Ye appeared more relaxed, effortlessly maintaining the distance.

Chainsaw Man, seeing this, was enraged and pushed himself to chase harder.

Chen Ye had long stopped glancing at him. He knew that although the Glutton’s sequence had physical advantages, it rarely granted extraordinary abilities. As long as Chainsaw Man couldn’t outpace him, there was no real threat.

His focus remained on the suona.

Seemingly forgetting the passage of time, he practiced again and again.

At first, the pitch fluctuations were difficult for Chen Ye to control. He would sometimes go off-key or overblow, causing shrill sounds even more terrifying than slaughtering a chicken!

After some training, he finally managed to perform “Uneasy” in its original key.

Just then, glancing back, Chen Ye saw Chainsaw Man standing still, no longer pursuing.

He raised an eyebrow and played a sharp note again, trying to draw the enemy’s hatred.

But this time, Chainsaw Man acted oddly, turning without looking back and running away.

“Just like that?” Chen Ye shook his head in disappointment.

As he turned around, suddenly a chill ran down his spine, as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

There stood the old lady selling chestnuts, smiling gently, watching him from behind without his noticing.