You’re not allowed to walk around Tara counterclockwise, nor are you allowed to encircle Brega clockwise.
Anyone would find these two prohibitions bizarre at first glance. However, when the bans were linked with the “Drop the Handkerchief” game, the situation became quite unusual.
The so-called “Drop the Handkerchief” game involves a group of people sitting together. One person runs around them from behind, chooses someone, and secretly drops the handkerchief behind that person.
The person who finds the handkerchief behind them has to pick it up and chase the one who dropped it.
If the dropper makes it back to their seat without being caught, after a full circle, they pass the level; otherwise, if caught, they lose and must perform a show in front of everyone.
Correspondingly, if the person who was supposed to catch the handkerchief either finds it too late or fails to catch the dropper, they lose and become the next one to drop the handkerchief.
Thus, since the game involves running around a group of people, it necessitates the restriction of either running clockwise or counterclockwise. Among the NPCs, could there be someone named Tara or Brega?
If both individuals exist and running around is mandatory, how should one avoid breaking the bans?
Having reached this stage in the game, all players on the scene immediately understood the peril upon hearing the words “Drop the Handkerchief” and anxiously awaited the innkeeper’s answer—what would her name be? Tara or Brega?
“My name is Tartar,” the innkeeper said with a smile, then stood up and led everyone towards the square. On the way, He Xiaowei hurried forward and asked many questions, such as whether she knew Tara or who Brega was. However, Tartar didn’t respond to any questions, simply greeting passersby with a smile.
It seemed she was well-liked and popular here.
When leaving the inn, Zhou Qian specifically looked at the sculpture formed by three human heads and noticed no change; one of the heads still faced west, towards where the sun set, and the village’s heart lay.
Tartar led everyone from the Tartar Inn at the village entrance westward, deeper into the village. Along the way, Zhou Qian thought of something and took a special look back.
First, Zhou Qian looked at the sculpture of the three heads. When he first arrived at this scenario, he remembered the head facing west glowed red in the sunset, including its eyes, which shimmered in the red of the setting sun.
But now, from this angle, the eyes of the head faintly gleamed blue, deep, and bottomless, as if hiding a dark world.
Zhou Qian’s second glance was towards the glass on the inn’s second floor. When he checked inside the room before, he hadn’t noticed anything unusual about the glass. However, looking from this angle at this time, he noticed the glass was actually blue.
The blue, transparent glass shone with a purple light in the sunset, sparkling like a crystal and somewhat eerie.
Having understood something, Zhou Qian said nothing for the moment and continued forward with everyone else.
Shortly after, they reached the central square deep in the village.
Many people were already sitting on the ground, grouped in circles of sixteen, forming three complete circles; an additional eight people formed a half-circle, apparently waiting for players. With the players making up exactly eight people, they sat down to form the fourth circle.
In the center of the square was a large pile of animal bones mixed with straw and other materials, next to which lay some meat, grain, and other items, seemingly for sacrificial purposes.
The four circles formed by the villagers and players were positioned in the north, south, east, and west directions around the pile.
Upon the players’ arrival, a leader-looking figure was pouring oil over the straw and bones.
Tartar, the innkeeper, took the lead to greet him. “Village chief, I’ve brought the people from the Land of Silence over. They’ll join the game.”
“Good, thank you.” The village chief nodded to the innkeeper, then greeted everyone. “Hello, I’m Ab. Please, take your seats! The game will start soon!”
The village chief, a man in his forties, appeared wise, as if his position was based on wisdom rather than age or force.
Zhou Qian took a closer look at the village chief before sitting down with the others. Bai Zhou, of course, sat next to him.
Once seated, Zhou Qian whispered to him through a private chat tool. “If we were playing this game outside, I’d definitely drop the handkerchief for you to chase me.”
Bai Zhou looked at him and smiled faintly. “Okay.”
“Then you’d have to be quick, or you won’t catch me.”
“Mm. I’ll be fast.”
“How fast?”
“How fast do you want it?”
“Well, not too fast, or it won’t be fun. Gotta keep you running a little longer.”
“Okay.”
“Zhou Ge, your patience is really good. You even entertain such boring questions from me.”
“Not boring.”
“Being with me, you’re never bored, right?”
“Yes.”
“Exactly. Am I a fun person?”
“Mm. So, Zhou Qian, do you think—”
Was Bai Zhou worried that he might find him boring?
Before he could speak, Zhou Qian already answered. “Zhou Ge is interesting too. Next time after you transform into a dragon, let me play with your horn again, and I want to touch your tail.”
Above the square, the noise of people was booming.
The two of them were having a secret conversation unknown to others.
Whether the conversation was nutritious or interesting didn’t matter.
For the two of them, being able to have such a long-awaited reunion in another world and to speak so freely and willfully, was already very precious.
After a few exchanges, the village chief raised his voice to speak—
“Alright, everyone is here. Let me explain this year’s new rules to everyone!”
Standing next to the pile of bones, the village chief explained the specific rules of the game to everyone.
The Drop the Handkerchief game in the story was similar to what everyone normally knew.
However, this time the scope of the game was broader—being played in four circles, totaling 64 people.
The person who throws the handkerchief, and the one it was thrown at, could run around the four large circles to chase each other.
Another difference was that the loser of each game would be deducted 2 points, instead of having to “perform a show” like in the real world, and the winner would gain 2 points.
When the game finally ended, the scores of the 64 people would be ranked from highest to lowest, ultimately dividing them into two groups.
The higher-scoring group, the winners, would have the privilege to go home and sleep.
The other 32 people would have to participate in a night vigil arranged by the village chief.
“The moment the sun sets completely marks the arrival of the ‘nonexistent time’, and we will welcome the official festival. Let’s enjoy the game to the fullest before the sun sets!”
The village chief said, “So, where should we start the game… Let’s decide with rock-paper-scissors!”
Under the village chief’s arrangement, the first was a rock-paper-scissors competition within each of the 16-person circles to select one winner from each. Four circles of 16 people would produce four winners, who would then face off in the final showdown.
Of course, even with 16 people playing rock-paper-scissors simultaneously, the likelihood of rock, paper, and scissors appearing at the same time was high. To save time, the village chief had them split into four groups to achieve a tiered selection effect.
Zhou Qian’s group of 16 was divided into four groups of four. NPCs played against NPCs, and players played against players.
During the rock-paper-scissors, He Xiaowei, Zhou Qian, Yin Jiujiu, and Yun Xiangrong were in one group.
He Xiaowei, not understanding the situation of the two girls, turned his head, saw the NPCs at a distance, and quietly advised them, “Let’s not waste our efforts here. We should all try to win, gain points, and if one of us becomes the winner, we absolutely should not throw the handkerchief at each other.
“What we need to do is work together to defeat the NPCs! If an NPC throws the handkerchief at one of us players, we must remind each other quickly so they don’t catch up. This way, our scores will be the highest!”
Yun Xiangrong glanced at him and said, “Have you considered that if you’re outside on night watch, you naturally don’t have to spend the night inside. Thus, the issue of which room someone might die in tonight would be resolved.”
“Eh?” He Xiaowei was stunned for three seconds before quickly responding, “But that doesn’t mean it’s safe. What does that ‘nonexistent time’ mean? We still don’t know!”
“Regarding the meaning of Samhain, our well-read Zhou Qian said it’s the day when the realms of the living and the dead intersect. There will definitely be ghosts coming at night! Inside, the fireplace can ward off ghosts. What about outside?”
Yin Jiujiu thought for a moment and said, “We still know too little. Let’s see how it goes. But I think Yun Xiangrong has a point. There are 32 people on night watch, including many villagers. The village chief wouldn’t send so many people to their deaths, right?”
He Xiaowei, unsure, looked at Zhou Qian for advice. “Qian’er, it seems they make sense. So, should we aim to win or lose points in this game? I’m counting on you.”
Who would have thought, as he turned his head, he saw Zhou Qian asking Bai Zhou, who was playing rock-paper-scissors in the next group, “So, if I throw scissors, will you throw paper?”
He Xiaowei: “……”
As expected, Bai Zhou really threw paper.
And then he lost.
He Xiaowei: “…………”
After a while, feeling a pair of burning eyes on the back of his head, Zhou Qian turned around to see He Xiaowei.
“What are you looking at me like that for?” Zhou Qian asked.
He replied, “There’s a saying that goes, ‘A hero finds it hard to overcome the beauty’s challenge*.’ Now, I want to dedicate this saying to that God Level boss. I never imagined, Qian’er, that you would be the ‘beauty’ in this saying.”
*Idiom refers to how heroes often lose their fighting spirit or reputation because of their obsession with women.
Zhou Qian: “…………”
Three minutes later, the rock-paper-scissors competition among their circle of 16 people quickly ended.
The winner turned out to be He Xiaowei.
The other three circles also finished their games around the same time, selecting three winners, all NPCs.
Under the village chief’s supervision, He Xiaowei was about to step forward for the final rock-paper-scissors contest with them.
Before going up, he asked Zhou Qian uneasily, “Qian’er, something doesn’t feel right. If you wanted to win, I doubt we could beat you in rock-paper-scissors. I don’t understand the tricks and twists of gambling, nor how you guys do it. But rock-paper-scissors is a form of gambling, right? Who are you? You’re the king of gambling! How could you lose?”
“You flatter me too much. It’s not like that,” Zhou Qian said.
“You lost, and you made your partner lose too. Is that really okay?” He Xiaowei asked. “Wait a minute, would it be better to lose? If I win and have to throw the handkerchief, who should I throw it to first?”
Zhou Qian patted his shoulder. “Relax. Just play the game casually. As for tonight… for now, just make sure you have enough salt.”
“…Salt?” He Xiaowei was surprised. “What do you mean?”
“Yes. Salt. Sodium chloride,” Zhou Qian whispered to him. “If you get the chance, go steal some more from the kitchen. It’ll come in handy.”
The wind was blowing—not too strong, but with a biting chill.
Yun Xiangrong’s hair had been cut short, just reaching her shoulders. The wind lifted her hair, making her figure appear even more slender and gaunt. At the moment of eye contact with her, Zhou Qian felt the knapsack move on its own.
He guessed that it was Gao Shan inside the Rib of God sensing something.
Zhou Qian patted the knapsack, barely soothing the Bone Spirit, and then, without saying anything for the moment, turned and led the way to the inn.
As Zhou Qian walked, Bai Zhou naturally followed closely behind.
Shortly after, all eight players, under the system’s guidance, entered the Tatat Inn together.
The innkeeper was a middle-aged woman wearing a white long dress draped with a woolen plaid shirt, currently sitting in front of the fireplace knitting a sweater.
Upon seeing the eight guests walk in, she looked up, smiled at them, and said, “You can choose your rooms. It’s almost festival time. I’m very busy, so please make your choice within ten minutes. I advise each of you to choose a room; it’s best not to crowd together, as there’s only one bed per room.”
Festival?
The fields had already been harvested, and the foliage was showing signs of withering yellow, indicating that it was deep autumn.
What festival could the people in this instance, in this season, be celebrating?
Zhou Qian looked carefully around the inn’s lobby, noticing dried meat, corn, and chili hanging near the door.
Particularly unusual was the seven large pots placed near the entrance, all simmering with meat, the aroma filling the entire lobby.
In fact, the players had already smelled the meat before even entering the inn.
However, the combination of meat and the inn inevitably led to associations with rumors of cannibalistic eateries, and thus, no one dared entertain the thought of coveting that meat.
Turning back to the innkeeper, Zhou Qian asked, “What festival is it? Is this meat prepared for the festival?”
“Yes. There will be banquets these next few nights. Everyone can eat as much meat as they want.” The innkeeper smiled at Zhou Qian. “Eat as much as you like.”
He Xiaowei, beside Zhou Qian, obviously swallowed. “That meat smells so good. But I dare not eat it. How can you eat meat randomly in such instances?”
“That’s not necessarily the case. Don’t the game designers like to play with people? The more it seems you can’t eat, the more likely you can.” Zhou Qian laughed and walked towards the second floor. “Anyway, let’s find rooms first.”
He Xiaowei sighed. “Qian’er, although I’ve been playing games with you for so long, many times I still can’t tell if you’re joking or serious.”
“Really? Then can Zhou Ge tell?” While walking upstairs, Zhou Qian nudged Bai Zhou with his elbow, asking very pointedly.
Bai Zhou glanced at Zhou Qian, grabbed his hand, and before he could reply, He Xiaowei, following behind, added, “Don’t always ask others. Reflect on yourself!”
“Hey, He Xiaowei—”
He Xiaowei couldn’t continue, as he was knocked on the head by Hidden Blade.
“Master, why did you hit me?”
“Trouble comes from the mouth. Focus on choosing a room.”
“Does it matter which room we choose?” He Xiaowei asked.
Hidden Blade: “You forgot that—”
“Oh right, I remember now…”
He Xiaowei didn’t finish his sentence as Zhou Qian’s hand covered his mouth from behind.
Then he heard Zhou Qian tell the two girls. “Ladies first. You choose.”
By this time, all eight people had already made their way up the stairs to the second floor.
Realizing something, He Xiaowei paused, a bit unclear about Zhou Qian’s intentions.
What is he doing? He surely doesn’t mean harm to the two girls, right?
This Yin Jiujiu had a falling out with everyone last time, and she is somewhat naive and impulsive, but her enemy is Situ Qing. She hasn’t intentionally caused trouble for others. She doesn’t really have a grudge against us. At the beginning of the game, would they really just eliminate her so simply and crudely?
As for Yun Xiangrong, she’s even more of a pitiable girl. Zhou Qian shouldn’t be harming her, right?
What is he trying to do?
Noticing He Xiaowei’s gaze, Zhou Qian roughly guessed what he was thinking but didn’t explain much. When he looked at the two girls, his gaze even carried intentional mockery.
When their eyes met, Yun Xiangrong seemed to understand the provocation and mockery in Zhou Qian’s eyes. She immediately turned colder and said with a mocking tone, “I received that prohibition too—’one must not stay overnight in a house where one can still see the firelight from the window after sunset’. You don’t need to try using the asymmetry of information against me.”
Hearing this, Yin Jiujiu’s gaze shifted back and forth between Yun Xiangrong and Zhou Qian. “Do you two have a grudge?”
She then looked at Zhou Qian and asked, “But Zhou Qian… you won’t trick me, right?”
“You misunderstood. Of course, I’m not tricking you,” Zhou Qian said with a smile to Yin Jiujiu, then walked a few steps closer to Yun Xiangrong, staring into her eyes. “I really thought you didn’t know this information, which is why I let you two choose first.”
“But what I’m doing is not to harm you. I just wanted to play the hero who saves you after you trigger a crisis due to lack of information.”
Yun Xiangrong nodded and continued mockingly, “Oh. A familiar tactic. In the instance where Shan Ge died, didn’t you do the same to Situ Qing? How is it, you played a tactic and won her heart at that time… But after you used her and left the instance… You seemed not to care about her?”
“You two are, of course, different. She was indeed an enemy trying to kill me at that time. But at least you were once a teammate I could trust. This time, it’s just a little trick I played to express my goodwill towards you. Now that you know the prohibition… fine, I can’t play this trick anymore. There’s nothing more to say. But…”
Zhou Qian said seriously, “I want to tell you that Shan Ge has become my Bone Spirit now. He has the chance to be revived. And only I can truly revive him.”
“So, what you should do now is immediately leave the Peach Blossom Legion and come join me. You’ve seen it. My team is growing stronger. My people and I can completely protect you.”
“Is that so? Would you give me your weapon then?”
Yun Xiangrong coldly curled her lip, extending her hand towards him. “Give me your weapon, then I’ll believe you.”
“Rong Mei, that’s not fair. What if I give you my weapon and you turn to kill me?” Zhou Qian narrowed his eyes. “I haven’t forgotten. You said I was your first target for revenge.”
“Besides, without the Rib of God, I have no skills. All my skills depend on it.”
“So you see… you dare not give me your weapon.”
Yun Xiangrong turned back, walked into the corridor, randomly opened a room, and walked to the bed, looking through the window at the village outside. “I knew you weren’t sincere.”
“You’re being unfair now.”
Zhou Qian said, “The real insincere one is the Peach Blossom Legion. Can’t you see they’re testing you? If they really wanted to help you kill me, they wouldn’t let you face so many of us alone.
“They’re testing the real relationship between you and me. They want to see if I would harm you in this instance, to eliminate you as a future threat. After all, I have never spared my enemies. So Yun Xiangrong—”
“If I let you go this time, those who want to kill you after we leave this instance might be them.”
Zhou Qian said this was partly a performance for the “traitorous gambler” to watch and for the Peach Blossom Legion to see.
On the other hand, he was genuinely persuading Yun Xiangrong, wanting her to completely abandon the path of being a traitor. After all, the Peach Blossom Legion clearly didn’t trust her, and sending her this time had sinister intentions—
It wasn’t a good opportunity to kill Zhou Qian in this instance. There were eight players, with six on Zhou Qian’s side, and two of them were Rank God players.
The Peach Blossom Legion sending her was obviously testing Zhou Qian’s attitude towards her.
Under such circumstances, she would either die at Zhou Qian’s hand or, due to the fact that Zhou Qian let her go, the Peach Blossom Legion might consider her to be pretending to defect but actually still standing with Zhou Qian and thus choose to kill her.
Thus, no matter the path, Yun Xiangrong seemed to have only one way out—death. Unless—
Unless there were two other possibilities.
The first possibility was that, for some reason, Yun Xiangrong had indeed defected to the Peach Blossom Legion.
In that case, her daring to come here or the Peach Blossom Legion daring to send her here might just be because they calculated that Zhou Qian would let her go. Perhaps Yun Xiangrong’s purpose in coming here was only to get some important special reward from the instance, and she and the legion didn’t plan to kill Zhou Qian in this instance.
The second possibility was that the Peach Blossom Legion still wanted to kill Zhou Qian, but they had other pieces in play, such as Yin Jiujiu, or among the five people with Zhou Qian, there might be problems.
In Zhou Qian’s view, except for Bai Zhou, he trusted no one else.
It wasn’t that he easily doubted his teammates’ character. But someone like He Xiaowei, who was usually less guarded, could be controlled without knowing, which wasn’t impossible.
Zhou Qian was aware that the direct methods of the Peach Blossom Legion had failed, and of course, they would turn to the people close to him that he trusted.
Numerous thoughts flashed through Zhou Qian’s mind when he heard Yun Xiangrong say, “What exactly does your Rib of God do, and what exactly are the souls it produces? It’s still unclear. Maybe you can’t revive Shan Ge at all; you might just create a monster.”
“Shan Ge is a living, thinking, and perceptive soul, but now he’s trapped in that bone day and night. If it were me, I can hardly imagine what that feels like…”
At this point, a brief poignancy appeared in Yun Xiangrong’s words, followed by a sudden icy look in her eyes.
After a while, her gaze continued out the window, showing a bit of yearning as she continued, “But in the Peach Blossom Legion, I’ve seen it with my own eyes… That’s the real power of resurrection. Don’t you have two Rank God players by your side?”
She glanced back at Bai Zhou and Hidden Blade, her eyes shimmering with a certain brilliance. “You’ve heard of the Peach Blossom God, Xie Huaying, right?”
He Xiaowei, standing behind the group, quietly asked Hidden Blade, “Master, who is the Peach Blossom God?”
Hidden Blade replied, “It’s said she was one of the first players to enter this game and achieve godhood. I have indeed heard… she could resurrect people. Not just in the game, but in real life as well.”
“But she hasn’t appeared for a long time. Some say she never existed, and the legend is just a ploy to lure us into training. Others say… she has long been dead.”
“Ah? Did they say when she died?” He Xiaowei asked.
“She disappeared about six years ago,” Hidden Blade replied. “I don’t know the specifics.”
Six years ago?
Wasn’t that a year after Bai Zhou entered this game?
Does he have anything to do with this?
Hearing this, Zhou Qian inevitably linked the matter to Bai Zhou.
From the moment they entered the instance, he and Bai Zhou were equipped with props that allowed them to chat privately without being heard by other players or even the gamblers.
With doubts in his mind, Zhou Qian turned to look at Bai Zhou.
Catching Zhou Qian’s gaze, Bai Zhou guessed what he wanted to ask.
Without waiting for him to speak, Bai Zhou immediately said in the private chat, “I’m not involved in this matter. But I heard from Shao Chuan that he killed Xie Huaying and another Rank God player I don’t recognize years ago. It was also because of that incident he suffered severe injuries.”
This news was somewhat surprising to Zhou Qian.
However, with only ten minutes at his disposal, he had to first solve the first puzzle—”choosing a room” before considering anything else.
The inn was a square building, with the second floor built around a corridor precisely aligned with four directions.
There were four doors on each side, making a total of sixteen rooms.
Four of the rooms were at the corners, slightly larger, each with two windows facing different directions. The remaining twelve rooms each had only one window.
As per the innkeeper’s instruction, now the players had to choose eight rooms to stay in.
Zhou Qian first asked his teammates to quickly open every room door. After taking a glance in each to get a rough idea of the structure, he began to enter the rooms for a detailed inspection.
One thing was clear: all sixteen rooms contained a fireplace, plenty of firewood, and candles. The village had no electricity. If lighting was needed at night, candles would have to be used.
After checking several rooms, He Xiaowei was the first to say, “I have an idea… This puzzle might not be related to which room we choose. We just don’t light any lights!”
Right then, Zhou Qian pulled open the simple wooden wardrobe in one of the rooms, then patted He Xiaowei’s shoulder.
“What’s up?”
He Xiaowei turned his head and saw many odd costumes in the wardrobe, each more bizarre than the last—some with skull and ghost patterns, others with red blood stains.
Suddenly, Zhou Qian picked something from the wardrobe and threw it to He Xiaowei, who caught it only to be startled by what it was—a pristine white skull!
“Don’t panic, Xiaowei Ge.” Zhou Qian stepped forward and picked it up. He tied a plastic rope on the back around his head, donning it, and then, with hands outstretched like grabbing something, he stepped closer to He Xiaowei.
Only then did He Xiaowei realize it wasn’t a real skull but just a skull mask.
Still, He Xiaowei retreated step by step until Zhou Qian had him cornered against the wall.
He Xiaowei, trying to invoke some intervention, said to Bai Zhou, who was rummaging through something on the large bed, “Hey… aren’t you going to do something? Let me tell you, I’ve been in love before, so I have experience. If you don’t intervene now, later he’s going to walk all over you! When it comes to love, whoever lowers their stance first will have a harder time raising their status later on!”
Before he could finish, He Xiaowei saw Bai Zhou also take out a yellow head from under the covers, then looked down at it silently, as if measuring something. Then he turned to look at He Xiaowei. “You want to play with this?”
He Xiaowei: “…………”
Deciding to no longer follow Zhou Qian and giving up on seeking help from Bai Zhou, He Xiaowei turned to find his master in another room.
Just as he reached the door, a chill ran down his back as if someone had blown on him, causing his heart to race.
With a surge of courage, he turned back, only to find a yellow ghoulish face right in front of him.
Unable to hold back, He Xiaowei screamed, “Ahhh, a g-ghost—!”
Then, the yellow head lowered, revealing a white skull mask behind it, which was then removed to reveal… Zhou Qian’s face.
It turns out both ghosts were Zhou Qian.
Somewhat frustrated and feeling wronged, He Xiaowei complained, “Qian’er, you know I’m scared of this!”
“Take a closer look at what this is. You can smell it.”
Picking up the skull again, Zhou Qian didn’t wear it this time but set it aside.
Then he raised something else in front of He Xiaowei, who cautiously sniffed it and recognized it was a hollowed-out pumpkin.
Carved with facial features, it looked somewhat ghostly. But at its core, it was still just a pumpkin.
Pumpkin heads, skull masks, odd costumes…
He Xiaowei suddenly went to the window and looked out.
The sun hadn’t set yet. In the light of the setting sun, he could see many grains, pigs, and sheep, as well as many bones that seemed to be from animals, arranged in circles as if for some ritual.
“This, this…” He Xiaowei suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
Zhou Qian said, “Actually, you should be able to easily associate this with a Western festival.”
“Halloween!” He Xiaowei said. “Odd costumes, skull masks…these are for a costume party, right?! And there are also pumpkin lanterns! Do we need to prepare candy? Will kids come knocking on the door at night to ‘trick or treat’?”
“Halloween, November 1st, the timing does indeed fit. However, the costume party of Halloween can be traced back to an even older festival—Samhain*.”
*A Gaelic festival on November 1st marks the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or “darker half” of the year. Often associated with Irish mythology, early literature says great gatherings and feasts marked Samhain when the ancient burial mounds were open, which were seen as portals to the Otherworld. Some of the literature also associates Samhain with bonfires and sacrifices.
Zhou Qian continued, “Some believe November 1st is the beginning of the new year, and on the night of October 31st, before November 1st arrives, there is a period of transition between the old and new—a time that doesn’t exist. During this time, the gates between the worlds of the living and the dead open, and Death and ghosts return to the mortal world to find replacements.”
“To avoid being recognized by Death, people would dress up as ghosts and ghouls. Besides that—”
“People welcoming Samhain would light various offerings at sunset, including burning animal bones to appease the spirits. This is what’s displayed in the square.”
“Not only in public areas would offerings and bonfires be burned, but every household must also keep their fire burning. On the night of Samhain, one must light the fireplace at home to prevent ghostly disturbances. So Xiaowei Ge, do you see the contradiction in the solution you just proposed?”
He Xiaowei realized it.
The prohibition related to the players was that they couldn’t stay overnight in a room where firelight can be seen from outside.
He initially thought that not lighting a fire would suffice.
But now it seemed this plan wouldn’t work. If they didn’t light the fireplace at night, they might very well die from ghosts returning from the other world.
“Damn it.” He Xiaowei couldn’t help saying, “So I’ve come to the instance I fear the most… This time, there really are ghosts.”
“We can’t say that for sure. It’s just one possibility,” Zhou Qian said.
“How should we choose the rooms then?” He Xiaowei pondered and suggested another idea. “Why not just completely block up all the windows with bricks and cement!”
“That would indeed be quite a drastic solution. But what if something unusual happens outside the house? Then you won’t be able to see it at all,” Zhou Qian said.
He Xiaowei was at a loss. “Yes. If we can’t see the information, we might miss a lot of it. So what should we do?”
But he heard Zhou Qian say, “Let’s just choose randomly for now.”
He Xiaowei: “?”
“There’s not enough information at the moment, so just choose randomly.”
He Xiaowei saw Zhou Qian smiling and saying, “The prohibition mentioned ‘overnight’, which means as long as the night isn’t truly over, not until the last moment, we’re not considered to have broken the prohibition. So the consequences of breaking the prohibition can’t take effect.”
“Wow… right. Then we can just keep moving!” He Xiaowei said.
“Right. Although the proprietress reminded us, it’s best for each person to have a room and not to stay together. There’s probably some reason behind it. But there’s no specific prohibition saying we must stay alone. So…”
Zhou Qian walked out of the room, just in time to see the two girls coming out of their rooms. They both seemed serious, probably also thinking about how to avoid the prohibition.
Zhou Qian then said to them, “At the beginning of the game, follow my lead. There are eight of us, so every two people will choose a room in one direction. We can adjust as the situation changes later. You two ladies can choose rooms in two different directions for easy support.”
Everyone agreed to Zhou Qian’s arrangement and chose their rooms. With a few minutes left of the innkeeper’s time requirement, they didn’t immediately go downstairs to report but continued to search the second floor.
After a while, Qi Liuxing found a room with a problem with the ceiling. After testing it, he found that several bricks were loose and could be removed.
After removing some bricks, a large hole appeared in the ceiling—large enough for someone to climb onto the roof.
After finding out, Zhou Qian was the first to follow Qi Liuxing. Bai Zhou and Ke Yuxiao followed behind, and the four of them climbed onto the roof together for a better view of the entire village.
After a round of observation, Zhou Qian could clearly see a rather tall stele in the west.
Being so far away, the words on the stele couldn’t be read, so Zhou Qian took out binoculars.
Beside him, Qi Liuxing glanced at him and couldn’t help saying, “Did you use this binocular back when you were like the ‘waiting for your husband stone’?”
Zhou Qian: “……”
Qi Liuxing rarely got a chance to tease Zhou Qian. Seeing him not responding, he mimicked Zhou Qian’s pleased smile.
But soon, he felt that deliberately smiling like that made him feel awkward, almost as if his facial muscles were twitching, so he stopped and just looked up at the stele.
At that moment, he felt a gaze that one couldn’t ignore—a spine-chilling gaze.
Turning his head, Qi Liuxing met Bai Zhou’s eyes.
In that instant, as if enlightened, Qi Liuxing responded, “The person he’s waiting for is probably you.”
“Brother Sword God, have you been hanging out with Xiaowei Ge too much? If you talk too much, you’ll lose your coolness, and your Sword God persona will collapse,” Zhou Qian immediately cautioned him.
Qi Liuxing calmly replied, “Doesn’t matter. My persona has already collapsed a million times in front of you.”
Zhou Qian: “…………”
Then Zhou Qian saw Bai Zhou walk up beside him, seemingly with a smile in his eyes, looking at him.
Zhou Qian didn’t look at him. His ears were tinged red by the setting sun.
Then he cleared his throat and said, “The stele is inscribed with the third prohibition: Do not circumnavigate Brega clockwise.”
……
The ten minutes for choosing rooms ended.
The eight players went to the first-floor lobby to inform the innkeeper of their decision.
The innkeeper put down the sweater in her hands and smiled at them. “Good. Now please come with me to the square. The evening’s festival activities are about to start. I’ll take you to the first one.”
He Xiaowei couldn’t help asking, “Do we need to prepare candy?”
He was still thinking about the “trick or treating” of Halloween.
“No need.” The innkeeper smiled. “Do you like sweets?”
He Xiaowei seemed to realize—so, tonight’s festival is indeed the ancient Samhain?
After a while, Yun Xiangrong asked the innkeeper, “May I ask what the first activity tonight is?”
“A little game. Similar to Drop the Handkerchief*. It’s very fun.”
*It’s a children’s game that’s similar to Duck, Duck, Goose. It involves a group of children sitting in a circle, facing inward. One child is designated as “it” and walks around the circle holding a small handkerchief. As they walk, they drop the handkerchief behind one of the seated children without them noticing. Once the handkerchief is dropped, “it” continues to walk or run around the circle. The child who discovers the handkerchief behind them picks it up and chases “it” around the circle. The goal is to tag “it” before they can sit down in the vacated spot. If “it” is caught, they must perform a task, a penalty, or continue to be “it.” If not, the child with the handkerchief becomes the new “it.”
The innkeeper said, “There are rewards for the winners of the game and penalties for the losers.”
Drop the Handkerchief?
The kind where a group of people play in a circle?
Zhou Qian immediately caught on to something.
Without waiting for him to ask, Yun Xiangrong seemed to realize too and immediately asked, “So… how many people will participate? Also, what is your name?”
The author has something to say:
Do not walk counterclockwise around Tara
Nor circumnavigate Brega clockwise
Do not stay overnight in a room where firelight can still be seen from outside after sunset
All three prohibitions come from: Instructions from Nimueh to King Conall of Cornwall. The story behind seems interesting, but I haven’t found it. I’ll organize the information and tell everyone later~
For the child in your heart who is fickle and easily bored, don’t give too much candy at once, or they’ll quickly tire of it. It’s better to feed them little by little, enticing and then withdrawing, as if employing the tactics of hunger marketing. Only then will they truly cherish the sweetness for a longer time.
From this perspective, the words Bai Zhou spoke that night—”This can only happen one more time”—seemed to carry a deeper significance.
On this basis, if we were to imagine Bai Zhou’s intentions as somewhat more sinister… Perhaps he’s attempting to manipulate his own senses. In a way, this can be considered a form of control, one related to the senses and desires.
Bai Zhou wants to completely dominate this aspect of himself because he feels his fickle heart will lead to disinterest once he has obtained what he wants, especially if it’s plentiful.
At the moment Zhou Qian realized this, he felt displeased.
Firstly, can sex really be compared to candy?
Secondly, it’s one thing for someone like Wu Ren to misunderstand and tease him, but for Bai Zhou to think this way too?
But then, Zhou Qian thought about how long they had been apart, and that Bai Zhou couldn’t possibly read his mind, so his anger dissipated somewhat. After all, he does seem very good at scheming and sweet-talking others, making it hard for people to discern his sincerity.
Digging deeper, when Zhou Qian considered the true reason behind Bai Zhou’s actions, he wasn’t angry at all—
As for whether or not he truly likes him and how long that affection might last, he was unsure.
Previously, Zhou Qian couldn’t have comprehended why someone as seemingly perfect as Bai Zhou would harbor such almost self-deprecating thoughts. It was only after recalling Bai Zhou’s trembling hand during the ping-pong match and the tightly bound figure in the quarantine ward of Zone X through binoculars that he understood everything.
Zhou Qian was someone who, when mad, acted without care. But not everyone was like him, able to indulge freely in the dreamlike Blue Harbor City. Others certainly cared about what happened when the dream ended.
Bai Zhou, with his slender figure, walked through the neon lights of Blue Harbor City into the teahouse where they first reunited after a long time, carrying breakfast for Zhou Qian as if to place it on the dining table.
Without saying much, Zhou Qian stood up and grasped Bai Zhou’s hand.
“What’s wrong, Zhou Qian?” Bai Zhou asked.
“Nothing. Let’s go home for breakfast,” Zhou Qian said, leading him out, emphasizing the word “home” as if to make a point to Bai Zhou.
Inside the restaurant, Wu Ren, who had witnessed everything, was speechless—wasn’t Zhou Qian just angry a moment ago? How quickly had they made up? Is this what being in love is like? And why were he and He Xiaowei woken up so early for this?
He Xiaowei laughed happily. “That’s the good thing about Qian’er. His temper flares up quickly but also dissipates just as fast. It’s good that they’ve made up.”
Wu Ren laughed at his words and smacked his forehead. “That’s true. They’re about to enter an instance, and it would be troublesome if they were in a bad mood. Hey, while you’re up, can you grab me a Coke?”
“Okay!” He Xiaowei agreed as he walked out, adding, “But I must remind you, don’t let Qian’er see you drinking that Coke! Everything else is fine, but he’s really particular about food and drink.”
……
Meanwhile, in a trial instance in Blue Harbor City.
A waterfall cascaded from the heights of the heavens, a magnificent and majestic sight, as if it were devouring the mountains and rivers with its force. The splashing droplets had transformed into the deadliest hidden weapons; converging into an impenetrable net of lethal beads, they created a vast cavity upon contact with the skin of the players. The key to passing this instance lay behind the waterfall, in a cave; players must swiftly slash these murderous droplets with their swords to reach it.
This was a specialized training instance for swordsmanship, and now Qi Liuxing and Ke Yuxiao had penetrated layer by layer, arriving at this final challenge.
At the moment, Qi Liuxing brandished his sword and created a fierce wind with his sword qi under his control, attempting to cut swiftly through the dense net of droplets but initially failing to completely sever the curtain of beads.
Taking a deep breath, Qi Liuxing focused and then swung his sword again, preparing to unleash a second strike, when suddenly, the melodious sound of a flute began to play—
Ke Yuxiao was standing on a rock beside the waterfall, executing his moves. His fingers rapidly moved over several holes of the long flute, producing moving melodies. The notes undulated, struck against the sword like waves of grain, causing the sword to hum in response as if in harmony with the flute.
As the flute and sword resonated together, Qi Liuxing glanced over, locking eyes with Ke Yuxiao across the distance.
Ke Yuxiao nodded slightly at him. Receiving the hint, Qi Liuxing faced the majestic waterfall again and fully unleashed the stored power in his sword. In that moment, a powerful intent to kill directly charged towards the waterfall from the heavens, as if even the light of the sun and moon paled in comparison, truly living up to the reputation of a Sword God.
In reality, the technique Qi Liuxing used was the same as before, but now it was enhanced with the buff from Ke Yuxiao’s flute play.
But with just a few notes of the flute, the suddenly intensified sword qi struck towards the waterfall, as if forming an invisible wall out of thin air, horizontally placed in the center of the curtain of beads formed by the droplets, temporarily cutting off the continuous fall of water droplets.
“Success!” Overjoyed, Qi Liuxing smiled at Ke Yuxiao, who returned the nod.
Seizing the moment when the overwhelming sword qi hadn’t yet dissipated, they quickly passed through the waterfall curtain to the cave behind it and secured the treasure chest for passing the instance.
As they awaited the ending animation of the trial, Qi Liuxing gripped his sword handle, feeling the sword intent in both the blade and himself, as if he had completely merged with his sword, achieving a unity of man and sword.
“I feel that both my sword and I… are very different now!”
After realizing this, Qi Liuxing’s eyes had an obvious smile in them.
He had always been unable to hide his emotions in front of acquaintances, especially when facing Ke Yuxiao. At this moment, he was almost exuberant and couldn’t help but say, “After getting out, I want to show Qian Ge a good look. Let him mock my swordsmanship again!”
Ke Yuxiao smiled and patted his shoulder. “I’ve always said you have no problems. You belong to the type who’s steady at first but explodes later. Now you’ve completely stepped up to a new level. Given time, I don’t think any ordinary player will be your match. Especially in swordsmanship.”
“Thanks to your buff boost. Our skills really do complement each other,” Qi Liuxing replied, looking firmly at Ke Yuxiao and adding, “Really, thank you. Without you, I wouldn’t have reached this point so quickly.”
Ke Yuxiao simply smiled and replied, “No need for such words. Our skills are complementary and suited for progressing together. Helping your sword move with my music benefits me as well.”
“Right. Together, we’ll be unstoppable in any challenge!” Qi Liuxing said, his eyes shining with enthusiasm, but then a shade of concern crossed his face. “You’ve been alright lately, haven’t you? No more… thoughts?”
Ke Yuxiao understood his concern and quickly reassured, “Don’t worry. I won’t have any more suicidal thoughts. The last incident in ‘The Flower of Evil’ was purely accidental, likely due to memory projection from the swamp nearby amplifying my negative emotions. I’ve truly recovered.”
After chatting a bit more, the ending animation concluded, and they went out for a meal together in Blue Harbor City.
After the meal, they returned to their hotel to rest well in preparation for the new challenge of the instance the next day, rumored to be a new and unpredictable addition to Blue Harbor City. They dared not take it lightly.
Tired, Ke Yuxiao fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow and, unusually, began dreaming of standing on the edge of a cliff again.
“Jump down. Commit suicide,” he heard a voice say.
“You should jump off. Because you were never meant to exist…”
“You still don’t know… Your existence is just to deceive them.”
“False soul… You are just my tool.”
“Unfortunately, you still know nothing—”
“I am your master. I am you, too.”
About a month ago.
Jincheng. Whitewater Psychiatric Hospital.
In the ward, as Priest walked in, the first thing he did was look at Ke Yuxiao’s medical record.
Priest flipped through many pages, reading carefully.
But undoubtedly, the most critical term in the medical record was “split personality”.
Ke Yuxiao’s facial features were still handsome, but at this moment, his expression appeared very distorted, and the look he gave Priest was somewhat provocative, completely unrelated to words like gentle or peaceful.
Looking at Priest, he said, “What? Do you have something for me to do again?”
“Did you watch the video I sent you before?” Priest asked him.
“Zhou Qian playing in ‘Apple Paradise’? Yes, I watched it. So, what do you want me to do? Kill him?” Ke Yuxiao shrugged. “He’s very good. I’m afraid it will be difficult to kill him directly.”
Priest said, “We will try to kill him directly by sending someone else. They are overt operations. But just in case, on the other hand, we want to lay a long line, a roundabout dark line. So, I want to arrange for you to start with someone close to him… Like Qi Liuxing.”
“Got it. You want me to become Zhou Qian’s teammate through Qi Liuxing, right? But I’m already Rank S. How do you expect me to pretend to be a newcomer?” Ke Yuxiao raised an eyebrow.
Priest said, “Of course, it’s not for your main personality to get involved directly. Your special abilities are getting stronger, aren’t they? You can actively control all personalities within the body. So, I want you to split out a completely new personality. I will assist you through hypnosis.”
“We will create a new identity for this personality and make his skills suitable to match with Qi Liuxing. Also—”
“You need to shape this personality’s character according to my requirements. Make him completely compatible with Qi Liuxing, and also ensure that he can definitely gain Zhou Qian’s trust.”
Ke Yuxiao laughed. “Oh, you don’t need to remind me of this. Controlling so many personalities in my body… I certainly know what kind of person is suitable to get along with whom.”
“Hmm… The newly born personality will not know of my existence at all. He will have a complete identity and memory. He won’t know anything. He will have a completely clean memory. He won’t reveal any flaws.”
“Good. Now listen carefully to me. The next instance Zhou Qian is going to enter is ‘Last List’. I will arrange a pair of siblings to deal with him. If they fail, then the next instance opened for him will be ‘Flower of Evil’.”
Priest said, “According to the intelligence I received, there is a place in ‘Flower of Evil’ that will allow everyone to hear each other’s thoughts. So, in that instance, you have to arrange the personality you created, who knows nothing about anything, to go there. That way, you can thoroughly and genuinely gain Zhou Qian’s trust.”
Later, in “Last Wish”, Situ Qing and Mu Sheng’s attempts to kill Zhou Qian, as expected, failed.
Zhou Qian survived and indeed decided to go to the “Flower of Evil” instance.
Before officially entering “Flower of Evil”, Ke Yuxiao met with Priest again.
This time, Priest told Ke Yuxiao all the detailed information related to the instance and their plan, leaving no stone unturned.
After listening, Ke Yuxiao nodded. “I got it. Under your design, when Zhou Qian gets near the swamp, he will most likely fall into a nightmare due to past events and then walk into the marsh and die. Otherwise, Zhu Qiang will take the opportunity to kill him. In any case, I just need to ensure that Qi Liuxing is taken away.”
“Alright, no problem. When going to the swamp, I will lead Qi Liuxing in another direction, leaving Zhou Qian isolated and unsupported. And if—”
“Once Zhu Qiang fails, when everyone gets to the stage of thought communication, I will timely make myself disappear. That way… no one will be able to detect my existence. Right?”
“Correct.” Priest looked at him inscrutably. “After that, your position in the legion will be promoted.”
“Look at you.” Ke Yuxiao smiled. “I do this for the good of the legion. Only if the legion is well can I be well in the future. I see the long term. Besides… my skills are important to the legion, right? You will promote me sooner or later.”
At this point, looking at Priest, Ke Yuxiao tilted his head and said softly, “Dear Priest, I really admire and appreciate you.
“I am willing to be a chess piece in your hand. I will be the most useful one.”
Time returned to the present moment.
Ke Yuxiao’s main personality had completely taken control of the body.
He stretched and rubbed the back of his neck, then sat up from the bed and opened his knapsack.
After arranging the items inside, he returned the extra double experience cards to Priest through the trade line.
Seeing that long flute, Ke Yuxiao thought of the personality he had created, and the first time that personality teamed up with Qi Liuxing—Qi Liuxing opened a flute from the treasure chest and then gave it to another Ke Yuxiao. The innocent smile of the young man… made him feel that it was naively amusing.
With these thoughts, Ke Yuxiao’s normally gentle and jade-like eyes suddenly became as venomous as a viper’s.
Following Zhou Qian for so long… you haven’t made any progress at all. What a pity, you didn’t realize that the double experience cards and the entry ticket to Blue Harbor City were all deliberately thrown out by me?
The time has come.
This time, I will personally see you on your way.
……
The next day.
Zhou Qian, Bai Zhou, He Xiaowei, Hidden Blade, along with Qi Liuxing and Ke Yuxiao—a total of six people—officially logged into “The Red God’s Banquet”.
This was an eight-person instance recently opened in Blue Harbor City, and currently, no one had received any information related to it.
Zhou Qian still logged in through forming a small team, this time as the captain, pulling six people in, and the system didn’t impose any restrictions.
Under such circumstances, Zhou Qian believed that the Peach Blossom Legion wouldn’t send two more people to be easily defeated.
Just as he was wondering about who the new two members would be, he saw two familiar faces.
At that time, just after logging into the instance, Zhou Qian and his team arrived at a quaint village.
It was sunset, and the tall and short houses were cloaked in red by the setting sun.
The statue at the entrance of the village was the same.
The landing point of the instance was right next to the statue, so Zhou Qian turned his head and saw it at first glance. Its unique design made him take several more looks.
It appeared to be a stone sculpture, made up directly of three heads with no body beneath them.
The three heads without a body looked the same; the size of the eyes, the width between them, the height of the nose bridge, and even the opening and closing of the mouth… all exactly alike, as if they were copied and pasted.
At the moment, one head was facing west, the direction where the sun sets. The sunset, burning red in the sky, also reflected a strange red in the statue’s eyeballs.
If you stood beside it and looked forward, the head on its left faced a fountain, beyond which there was a field that seemed to be past the harvest season.
Further out from the field was a large graveyard, with neat tombstones and some tall and short withered yellow trees visible from this spot.
As for the head on the right, it faced an inn.
There was a wooden sign hanging above the inn with the words “Tatat Inn” written on it.
According to the message from the system, this was where the players were going to stay for the night.
This time, the players’ identities were soldiers who had escaped from a place called the “Land of Silence” to take shelter.
They would first stay in this inn and later have to find work in the village, such as farming, blacksmithing, or weaving, among others.
From then on, they were no longer soldiers fostered by the Land of Silence, but ordinary civilians who needed to work for their food.
It was while Zhou Qian finished looking at the statue and turned to look at the name of the inn that he saw those two familiar people—
One was Yin Jiujiu, dressed efficiently and with heroic-looking eyes and brows.
The other was Yun Xiangrong, who looked soft at first glance but was actually braver than anyone else.
Yun Xiangrong’s features were delicate; her face was still gentle, but her eyes faintly bore more vicissitudes, indicating she had a hard time recently.
Yin Jiujiu hadn’t changed much.
Upon seeing Zhou Qian and other acquaintances, she nodded slightly as a greeting.
As for Yun Xiangrong, according to real-time, Zhou Qian hadn’t seen her for not too long ago.
However, despite the short time apart, seeing those vicissitudes in her eyes, he suddenly felt as if they were worlds apart.
Yin Jiujiu didn’t log into the instance with Yun Xiangrong; they logged in one after the other, with any further associations between them yet unknown.
But as for Yun Xiangrong… under such circumstances, the Peach Blossom Legion wouldn’t possibly send her to kill him.
So, they must be there to test Yun Xiangrong’s loyalty.
They wanted to see if he would turn against Yun Xiangrong.
Before reaching Rank S, Zhou Qian had only one gambler, and they could communicate.
But after reaching Rank S, it was normal to have one or two traitors among so many people. Thus, it was normal for the Peach Blossom Legion to know that he had “resurrected” Gao Shan in some sense.
Yet they still sent Yun Xiangrong into this instance. Their underlying intention couldn’t be any more sinister.
The author has something to say:
Let me remind everyone, previously in “Flower of Evil”, Zhou Qian suspected Ke Yuxiao. When he suspected, everyone heard it together, and it was only him who felt embarrassed~
When Zhou Qian fully logged out of the mini-instance, Gao Shan, as a Bone Spirit, temporarily returned to the Rib of God, and the small dragon transformed into a scale and burrowed into the bag.
The only one left with Zhou Qian in the ancient museum was Wu Ren.
Looking behind him, Zhou Qian saw a crucible with a hastily written description: [A crucible from the Middle Ages, seemingly possessing magical functions.]
Scanning the surroundings, this small exhibition room didn’t contain any other artifacts, suggesting it was specifically for logging into the “Magic Crucible” instance. The room was square, with strange runes painted on the walls.
Zhou Qian asked Wu Ren, “I wonder if the other artifacts here also correspond to separate instances. How did you enter this one?”
Wu Ren replied, “By touching the crucible three times.”
“It’s not accessible to me; touching it probably won’t do anything. But I’m curious to see the other exhibition halls. Touching different ancient artifacts might trigger some unexpected surprises,” Zhou Qian said, curiously examining the crucible’s surroundings and the murals inside the exhibition hall. It seemed he planned to visit other parts of the museum.
Remembering something, Wu Ren reminded him, “Aren’t you supposed to find… your son’s father?”
“Right, I need to contact him.”
After saying this, Zhou Qian walked out of the exhibition hall, not expecting to see Bai Zhou immediately.
Exiting the hall, Zhou Qian realized the architectural style here was ancient Chinese, quite out of place with the colorful modernity of Blue Harbor City, yet unexpectedly complementing Bai Zhou’s temperament.
Snow fell on the gray tiles of the courtyard, piling up in the quaint yard. Bai Zhou, holding a gray umbrella and dressed in a white shirt, looked even more serene and composed against the backdrop of the falling snow.
The only issue was… he wasn’t looking at Zhou Qian.
……
In the game, for ordinary players, the basic attributes are: HP (red bar) and MP (blue bar). But for Rank God players, there’s an additional attribute: mental energy.
Rank God players consume mental energy when using skills. When it drops to a certain threshold, they enter an uncontrollable berserk state.
However, Turtle Fairy was special. Be it prophecy or mind-reading, many of her skills were beyond her control and often released unconsciously, depleting her mental energy.
She rarely triggered the mental energy preset, and when her mental energy was low, she would unconsciously faint and be pulled into the turtle shell to sleep.
Recently, Turtle Fairy had unwittingly talked a lot, and now her system detected low mental energy. The protective mechanism kicked in, and she began to doze off, falling unconsciously to the ground.
Bai Zhou, waiting for Zhou Qian, was about to ask Turtle Fairy something when he saw her about to fall into the turtle shell. Extending his hand, Bai Zhou caught her arm and transferred some mental energy to her, just as he heard Zhou Qian call out—
“Zhou Ge.”
A moment later.
Time moved to evening.
However, the sky in Blue Harbor City was always night, illuminated only by colorful neon lights. Now, with the snowfall, the neon lights cast multicolored hues on the snow.
Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou walked side by side in front.
Wu Ren and Turtle Fairy followed behind.
Wu Ren was somewhat jittery, constantly ready to prevent Turtle Fairy from falling off the turtle shell. Amidst this, he heard Zhou Qian ask, “Zhou Ge, if Turtle Meimei and I fall into the water at the same time, who would you save first?”
Wu Ren: “…………”
Bai Zhou replied, “I won’t let you fall into the water.”
Wu Ren: “………………”
Damn, brother, you’re awesome.
“You’ve asked me this question many times since we were kids,” Bai Zhou added.
“Have I?” Zhou Qian placed his hands behind his back. “I don’t remember.”
Bai Zhou asked, “Tired? Shall I carry you?”
Zhou Qian laughed. “Tired. Okay.”
Wu Ren: “……Fuck.”
……
That evening, everyone gathered for dinner, and after the meal, the others returned to the hotel, while Zhou Qian went back to a small villa by the sea with Bai Zhou.
Having cleared two instances in a row, Zhou Qian was indeed tired, and having drunk a few beers during dinner, he felt somewhat dizzy while bathing and unknowingly fell asleep in the bathtub.
When Zhou Qian woke up, Bai Zhou was lifting him out of the now-lukewarm water, wrapping him in a towel, and carrying him to the bedroom.
As they went upstairs, Zhou Qian yawned and reopened his eyes, his arms naturally hooking around Bai Zhou’s neck. He didn’t look away, just gazing into Bai Zhou’s eyes with a smile as his eyelashes dripped water droplets as he blinked.
It doesn’t matter,” Bai Zhou replied. “Go to sleep. We’ll take a day off tomorrow before heading to the next instance.”
“Do I sense that you’re a bit unhappy?” Zhou Qian asked him.
“No.” Bai Zhou carried him into the bedroom and laid him on the bed. “I’m going to get the hairdryer for you.”
As Bai Zhou turned to leave, Zhou Qian grabbed his hand. Bai Zhou paused, then sat back down on the bed and asked gently, “What’s wrong?”
Zhou Qian shook his head, still staring at Bai Zhou. “At dinner, I asked Turtle Meimei about something.”
Bai Zhou: “Hm?”
“Are you jealous? Or did you get angry because I went to another instance without telling you?” Zhou Qian held his hand. “They are my friends.”
Bai Zhou: “Mm.”
“You’re different from them,” Zhou Qian said with a smile, his eyes shining like stars. “You are my boyfriend.”
“Yeah.” Bai Zhou nodded, looking deeply at Zhou Qian. “I know.”
Zhou Qian glanced at Bai Zhou’s expression, stretched his leg to wrap around Bai Zhou’s waist, leaned in closer, resting his chin on Bai Zhou’s shoulder, and asked softly, “If the title of boyfriend isn’t enough, if you want me to call you—”
Zhou Qian, seemingly tipsy, his eyes and brows tinted red, pressed his nose against Bai Zhou’s ear, his lips close enough to kiss his earlobe. Then, continuing from his previous statement, Zhou Qian called out to Bai Zhou, “Husband?”
He lowered his voice deliberately while stretching out the word, also adding a bit of drunken huskiness. Because they were so close, Zhou Qian could feel Bai Zhou’s muscles tense up.
“So…”
Zhou Qian blew a breath out, turning Bai Zhou’s ear and neck red, and said with a smile, “As those novels say, you do like it when I call you that?”
Bai Zhou asked him, “What exactly are you reading?”
“I won’t tell you,” Zhou Qian said seriously. “There are too many scumbags in it. You can’t learn from them.”
Bai Zhou: “?”
Zhou Qian: “Like those wife chasing crematorium* novels. If it were me, it would be a real crematorium, crushing bones and scattering ashes. How could they be given another chance?”
*Genre where usually the gong wrongs the shou (most likely due to some misunderstanding) and then “chases” the shou by correcting their behavior in order to win him back.
After speaking, noticing Bai Zhou still looked serious, Zhou Qian stopped teasing him, propped his elbow on Bai Zhou’s shoulder, and asked, “Zhou Ge, you really seem off today. Are you…”
Bai Zhou held Zhou Qian’s hand, brushed the hair from his forehead, and said, “You misunderstood. I’m not upset. I was just thinking about the news Turtle Fairy and the others brought.”
“What news?” Zhou Qian became serious.
“Before I entered Zone X and had the surgery, I met someone,” Bai Zhou said. “His name is Shao Chuan. He trained many people. Like Turtle Gairy, Blood Demon, etc.”
Zhou Qian asked, “And Hidden Blade?”
Bai Zhou shook his head. “Hidden Blade hasn’t met Shao Chuan and doesn’t know about him. I first knew Blood Demon and Turtle Fairy. I met Hidden Blade later during an instance. But Shao Chuan has taken an interest in Hidden Blade and might meet him soon. The players Shao Chuan initially assembled all had special skills. Blood Demon excels in assassination—his body can turn into thousands of droplets of blood. Turtle Fairy has a unique prophecy ability.”
“So there are two types of Rank God players. One is like Hidden Blade, leveling up quietly, not knowing how powerful they’ll become; the other is like you, showing immense talent from the start?”
Zhou Qian asked, “Can I understand that Shao Chuan is intentionally gathering people like you? Who exactly is he…”
Bai Zhou said, “He doesn’t seem like a villain. Turtle Fairy predicted this long ago. I haven’t seen Shao Chuan in a long time. He suddenly wants to meet me now, which is worth pondering. Also—”
“I’ve learned from the side that he is paying attention to you.”
“Is he interested in me because I’m your Shepherd?” Zhou Qian asked.
“Not only that,” Bai Zhou said. “No ordinary player has collected three items related to the Seven Elements of Creation as quickly as you. You always enter instances related to hidden achievements. Although this is related to your performance, it seems the system is intentionally guiding you, especially opening these instances for you.”
“Like I said at the beginning, you seem to be chosen by it.”
Zhou Qian thought for a while and asked, “Can I meet this Shao Chuan? He seems very close to the core secrets of this game. At least he knows what your surgery was really about.”
Bai Zhou nodded. “Okay, after we clear the next instance, I’ll take you to meet him.”
With the serious conversation over, Zhou Qian started to be playful again.
As Bai Zhou stood up to get the hairdryer, Zhou Qian grabbed his wrist again.
“Zhou Qian?”
“Zhou Ge, I think… you’re still not quite right.”
Suddenly thinking of something key, Zhou Qian stood up from the bed, pressed Bai Zhou’s shoulders to sit him down on the bed and scrutinized him.
Zhou Qian: “I just realized something—”
Bai Zhou: “What?”
“Maybe I misunderstood something. Zhou Ge, are you…” Zhou Qian’s eyes sparkled. “Then should I do it?”
After a long pause, Bai Zhou understood what he meant. Using his position sitting on the bed, Bai Zhou pressed down on Zhou Qian’s waist, embraced him, and whispered a few words in his ear.
Feeling the warmth of Bai Zhou’s fingertip and listening to his whispers, the scenes from that night exploded in Zhou Qian’s mind.
Bai Zhou didn’t say much, but Zhou Qian understood his meaning—
That night, just being… then… how could he?
Zhou Qian felt a bit embarrassed; he had originally teased Bai Zhou with the help of alcohol, but now he was blushing.
Pushing Bai Zhou away, Zhou Qian slipped into the bed. “I’m going to sleep.”
He was too embarrassed to say that when he was very young, he once attended a romantic wedding with his mother and dreamt afterwards—he dreamt that he married Bai Zhou.
In his dream, Zhou Qian wore a white wedding dress and exchanged rings with Bai Zhou at the ceremony. Then, he went to the bathroom and shockingly discovered he was in the men’s restroom.
Even more astonishingly, when he lifted his dress, he found that he had male genitalia, which scared him awake right then and there.
Afterwards, Zhou Qian felt ridiculously foolish about his dream self and couldn’t bear to think about it. Additionally, he even doubted if he had a gender identity disorder and consulted a psychologist. It wasn’t until he never had such dreams again that the shadow in his heart faded.
“The origin is from your family, since you have a poor relationship with your parents. You couldn’t feel their love, so you yearned even more for a beautiful family and marriage, especially after witnessing a dreamy and beautiful wedding. These dreams are a natural expression of your longing for family life and don’t indicate a gender identity issue.”
This was what the psychologist said at that time.
Zhou Qian asked seriously, “But why did I dream of marrying Bai Zhou? Am I gay?”
Psychologist: “You said he was your class monitor, took good care of you in studies and life, and was very considerate towards you, right?”
“This is ultimately a matter regarding your family issues. You lacked care and affection from your parents, so you projected these needs onto a future partner. You are still young, and this doesn’t necessarily indicate your orientation is towards men. For example…”
“Have you ever had special attention towards any girl?”
Girl? Special attention?
Of course, there was one—the class beauty who sent love letters to Bai Zhou from the neighboring class.
At this moment, a sleepy Zhou Qian hazily recalled the past. He didn’t know if his orientation was definitely towards men, but he was sure that his orientation was definitely Bai Zhou.
……
The next morning, Zhou Qian woke up completely sober. Sounds from downstairs suggested Bai Zhou was making breakfast.
Suddenly, thinking about last night, Zhou Qian felt a bit uneasy. How could he behave like that, yet Bai Zhou didn’t respond in kind?
Alarm bells rang in Zhou Qian’s mind, and a certain percentage skyrocketed to 120%.
After washing up in the bathroom, Zhou Qian shouted towards the kitchen, “I’m leaving now. Got something to do!”
After saying this, Zhou Qian left the villa and headed to the hotel where He Xiaowei and the others stayed, woke everyone up with loud knocking, and took them all to a nearby tea restaurant for breakfast.
Qi Luxing and Ke Yuxiao had gone to a dual challenge instance, fortunately avoiding this scene. Now, only He Xiaowei and Wu Ren were left at the breakfast table.
A sleepy He Xiaowei yawned. “Qian’er… What’s up? You’re not usually an early riser.”
Wu Ren seemed more alert. “Hmm? What’s the situation? Looks urgent. Are we discussing the strategy for tomorrow’s instance?”
Zhou Qian said, “Nothing much. Just a bit upset with Zhou Ge.”
Wu Ren: “……”
Just yesterday, you two were so sweet together. What? Did you have a fight overnight?
Shaking his head, Wu Ren couldn’t help saying, “Zhou Qian, you’re really no exception. People in love are always so fussy.”
Zhou Qian: “……”
He Xiaowei blinked twice and asked, “What happened exactly?”
Then it was Zhou Qian’s turn to be stunned.
It seemed like he really shouldn’t drink. Even though the effects of alcohol should have worn off, it probably had a lasting impact on his nerves, making him impulsive and thoughtless in the morning. Only now did he realize that some questions couldn’t be asked in front of He Xiaowei and Wu Ren.
“Nothing.” Zhou Qian scratched his head. “So, have you two ever been in love?”
Wu Ren decisively shook his head. “I’m blind. How could I trouble a girl?”
Unexpectedly, He Xiaowei nodded. “I have. But we broke up.”
Zhou Qian asked in surprise, “Why did you break up?”
“After graduating from college, we worked in different places and gradually drifted apart,” He Xiaowei sighed. “Ah, life…”
Wu Ren joined in the sigh. “Life… is bitter.”
“No, Xiaowei, how exactly did you break up? Tell me the details,” Zhou Qian asked.
“No, no. It’s too painful to talk about. I can’t open old wounds, not even for you, Qian’er.”
He Xiaowei yawned and stood up. “I’m going to buy some water next door. Qian’er, should I get you… apple juice?”
Zhou Qian immediately shook his head. “No.”
He Xiaowei: “Ah? I’ve seen you drinking it a lot lately. You drank a lot of it last night. Don’t you like it?”
Zhou Qian nodded. “Yeah. I thought it tasted good at first, but I drank too much at once and got sick of it. No more. I can’t even think about the taste without feeling nauseous.”
He Xiaowei was already at the restaurant’s door. Zhou Qian was looking at him as he spoke, which allowed him to see Bai Zhou, who had just appeared at the door, probably looking for him.
Zhou Qian suddenly remembered an incident from his school days.
There was a time when he loved a certain brand of soft candy. Once, when he couldn’t find that candy at the school store, he was upset for a long time. Later, Bai Zhou bought a lot of that brand’s candy and brought him many pieces every day, leading Zhou Qian to eat a lot of it until his teeth hurt from the sweetness.
Three days later, when Bai Zhou brought that candy again, Zhou Qian refused to eat it.
Just like his recent conversation with He Xiaowei, Bai Zhou also asked why, since Zhou Qian clearly liked it.
Zhou Qian’s answer was similar to now; he said he ate too much at once and got sick of it.
At the restaurant entrance, the tall Bai Zhou stood there, his figure casting a large shadow. Looking at his beautiful features shadowed in the dim light and his deep, unfathomable eyes…
Zhou Qian felt like he finally understood something.
The author has something to say:
Zhou Qian: “Husband~”
Bai Zhou: “Instance… System… Shao Chuan… Rank God players…”
Zhou Qian: He doesn’t love me.
……
The instance “The Red God’s Banquet”, along with the main event, is about to start~
“Zhou Qian, I know you all must think my eyes are small… but do you know? In reality, I am actually blind.”
Looking up at the dark red sky, Wu Ren said, “Entering this game was the first time I experienced color. So, I’m actually quite addicted to this game. I don’t even want to return to reality. Because once I go back, all I will see is darkness. There’s something interesting though—”
“When I first entered the game, all the instances I went to were specifically for training eyesight. Because I needed to use hidden weapons, it required that my eyes keep up and that my eyesight be good.”
“The more I played… I started feeling that this game is a living entity. It’s a God in itself. It can hear our hearts…”
Turning his head to look at Zhou Qian, Wu Ren said, “Sorry, I wasn’t doubting you just now. I just wanted to see… what kind of method a person like you would think of to persuade me. You did quite well. You really are a character. Let me tell you about myself—”
“I have a younger sister, and we’re very close. She’s getting married in a few months. Our father passed away early, so by right, I should be the one to walk her down the aisle and hand her over to the groom.”
“But I’m blind, which is inconvenient. I’m also afraid her colleagues and friends might laugh at her because of it. Besides that, I really want to see her get married with my own eyes, so…”
“I really want to recover my sight before her wedding, so that I can hand her over at the wedding to…”
Wu Ren chuckled and cursed, “Hand her over to that bastard who’s after our family’s cabbage!”
Zhou Qian casually sat on a corpse, patting the small dragon beside him with one hand and clutching the Rib of God with the other. Then he looked at Wu Ren and smiled. “Wu Ge, remember to send me an invitation.”
Wu Ren was silent for a moment, then looked at Zhou Qian with a suddenly serious gaze. “I only have one request for you.”
Zhou Qian asked, “What kind of request?”
Wu Ren took out an item.
[Item: Oath Box]
[Function: Allows two people to make promises to each other; if someone breaks the promise, the Oath Box will claim their soul.]
[Warning: Use with caution; oaths should not be made lightly.]
Wu Ren said, “Zhou Qian, I’m not using this item to threaten you. It’s just a request. Through this ordeal, I’ve realized I might die in this game at any moment. But I think you will live much longer. You’re smart enough and have the courage.”
“So I will make a promise to the Oath Box: if I die, all my gold and items will be transferred to Zhou Qian through the power of the Oath Box.”
“Zhou Qian, promise me, after I die, occasionally look after my sister. I don’t really understand the kind of person she’s marrying. I just hope she won’t get hurt.”
“Wu Ge—” Zhou Qian narrowed his eyes. “Your request is not a simple one. No one can fully take responsibility for another person’s life. Even between lovers, it’s hard to protect each other for a lifetime.”
“I’m not asking you to protect her for a lifetime. Just occasionally check on her and help her out if she’s in trouble.”
Wu Ren became somewhat anxious. “I have a lot of gold and items. I think it’s a fair deal.”
Zhou Qian looked at Wu Ren for a long while, then his eyes curved slightly. “Okay, if I can’t see her, I can’t do anything. But if I happen to see her being bullied right in front of me, I won’t ignore it. However, I think—”
“You won’t die. Playing this kind of game requires belief. As long as you believe you won’t die, you won’t. Trust me.”
……
A few moments later, only 48 corpses remained in the crucible.
Wu Ren, having thrown two corpses out of the crucible, was ready to face death.
Zhou Qian noticed that Wu Ren was indeed a decisive person. After agreeing with him, there was no hesitation. During this time, both of them worked on their tasks without even exchanging glances. This showed that Wu Ren truly trusted him.
Zhou Qian whispered some instructions to the small dragon, checked its condition, and then relaxedly closed his eyes to rest, waiting for the “god” next arrival.
Minutes later, the dark red sky slowly turned blood red, indicating the temporary opening of the passage from the real world to the Crucible World. The familiar red rain fell, and the golden light of the crucible lit up again, ushering in another “resurrection” for the soldiers.
They might not know they were dead or realize they were in the Crucible World. They had only one thought—to sacrifice themselves to protect their general. Thus, the soldiers were about to form a human wall again to withstand the red rain. But this time, Wu Ren stopped them.
Wu Ren hurriedly raised his hand to gather energy, sending countless silver needles to strike the soldiers’ hands and feet, almost depleting his last bit of mana. The injured soldiers couldn’t leave the crucible to form a wall and fell to the bottom.
Afterwards, Wu Ren, using a flying item, quickly dashed out of the crucible towards the sky, ready to meet the myriad red raindrops with his flesh and blood!
The moment the red rain fell, to avoid arousing the god’s suspicion, Wu Ren used many items as if he was struggling for his life.
The defense cloak was burned to ashes by a drop of red rain. The high-level armor shattered before touching the rain, and the bracelets, peeping items, cloaks… everything turned to ashes in an instant.
Lastly, Wu Ren’s own body collided with the red rain!
In this story, Wu Ren was undoubtedly a special existence.
In the real world, he was a general the emperor could rely on and the “god’s” most feared opponent. In this world between life and death, other soldiers lost their memory and consciousness. Only General Wu Ren had the chance to awaken and lead everyone back—
The other soldiers once used their bodies to form a wall to shield him from the red rain. Now, the roles were reversed, with Wu Ren sacrificing himself to protect them!
Wu Ren alone couldn’t withstand the red rain for three minutes. After just one minute, Zhou Qian, disguised in black and hidden behind two injured soldiers, watched as Wu Ren’s body turned to char. At that moment, some soldiers couldn’t hold back.
After a brief rest, they forced themselves from the bottom of the crucible to the top to catch Wu Ren’s charred corpse. They couldn’t speak, but some instinct made them feel immense grief.
In the next instant, their bodies touched the red rain and turned to char alongside Wu Ren.
Soon, more soldiers recovered and wanted to head to the top of the crucible. Seeing this, Zhou Qian promptly commanded the small dragon. The dragon swiftly rose into the air, and on its first swipe with its tail, it struck the soldiers, driven by instinct to meet their general.
On its second sweep in the opposite direction—as it flew to the top of the crucible—its tail swept across, lining up the burning corpses to partially block the red rain from hitting Zhou Qian and the remaining alive soldiers.
With the little dragon’s help, no one else was injured in those three minutes. After that, the god was due to arrive. Before his arrival, the small dragon quickly leaped out of the crucible’s opening, and with a third tail swipe, it threw Wu Ren and the charred bodies back into the bottom of the crucible, avoiding the fate of being scattered by the god later.
Seconds later, the god arrived as promised, immediately firing a strong beam from the front end of his scepter.
On Zhou Qian’s command, the small dragon quickly used its tail to toss an injured soldier into the air, letting him bear the unavoidable first beam. The soldier died again, but this time his body landed steadily at the bottom of the crucible.
Several more beams then fell into the crucible. After estimating that these beams wouldn’t hit him, Zhou Qian didn’t even dodge, only calling the small dragon back to his side, letting it return to its normal small size, and hiding it under his black cloak so the god wouldn’t see it.
No more beams came after that.
Seemingly realizing he hadn’t encountered the feared general’s counterattack, the god stopped, cautiously standing at the top of the crucible, looking down.
His most feared general… must be dead by now. The god was somewhat ecstatic upon this discovery, dancing at the edge of the crucible. Then, without any hesitation, he jumped to the bottom of the crucible, probably intending to find the general’s body.
“You all laugh at my short stature. How about now? Not only did I kill your general, but now I’m going to possess his body! You all praised him for his tall and strong stature, a true man…”
“So I want to take his place!”
So that’s it.
Zhou Qian realized that all the information in this small instance was useful—
This “god” wasn’t some monster, but just an ugly dwarf.
Unwilling to be ridiculed, after the general’s body was pulled into the otherworld, he not only wanted to kill him but also wanted his body to become a tall and imposing man.
Inside the crucible, seeing the god enter, several soldiers suddenly stood up and attacked him directly. The god only feared the general, so he didn’t even bother to look at these small fries, swinging his scepter to kill them all with beams.
“Don’t waste my time!” he said viciously.
The soldiers rushing towards the god became more numerous, and out of desperation, he had to throw his scepter into the air.
Previously, when he stood at the top of the crucible, he had thrown the scepter to release a beam of light, intending to kill the people inside the crucible.
This time, his method of killing was exactly the same—the scepter left his right hand and hovered in mid-air, emitting a lethal beam of light.
While remotely controlling the scepter to deal with the soldiers, the god began to personally turn over one charred corpse after another, trying to quickly find Wu Ren. He could only be in this world for one minute and didn’t want to waste any more time.
The scepter hovered inside the crucible near the mouth, continuously firing beams of light, killing one soldier after another. Hearing the sounds of the soldiers falling, the god smiled relaxedly, searching through the bodies without any guard.
At the moment when he turned his back to the scepter, Zhou Qian directly used his mind to make the small dragon grow larger again!
Just as another beam was about to hit a soldier, the rapidly enlarging small dragon silently swayed its tail and wrapped around the other end of the scepter.
Instantly, the direction of the lethal beam from the scepter was reversed, and the bright red light shot straight towards the god. He never expected such a sudden turn of events.
His eyes widened in shock, but it was too late. The moment he was hit by the beam, he was instantly turned into charred ashes!
“Nicely done!” Zhou Qian said to the small dragon with a smile.
The small dragon, encouraged, seemed very happy and quickly swam to Zhou Qian’s side, rubbing against his face.
Zhou Qian then said, “Throw him out!”
“Yip!” With a flick of its tail, the small dragon immediately wrapped around the god and forcefully threw him out of the crucible.
With the god dead, the uncontrolled scepter no longer emitted lethal beams. Zhou Qian sat back on the small dragon’s back, letting it take him near the mouth of the crucible without completely leaving it.
Zhou Qian held the Rib of God in his right hand and ordered the small dragon to emit purple mist, trying to materialize the spirit within the Rib of God, while his left hand raised the scepter.
The way the wizard in the leather painting controlled the scepter was very clear. Zhou Qian aimed the other end of the scepter at the bottom of the crucible and mimicked the motion.
One end of the scepter could kill, the other could bring life.
At this moment, Zhou Qian seemed like a god with power over life and death. With a wave of his hand, he could resurrect anyone he wished. He was like the ruler of this world!
A golden-white light suddenly shot from the tip of the scepter, autonomously aiming at the dual god with a bull’s horns and serpent’s body on the inner wall of the crucible.
Immediately, the god emitted white light and transformed into a moving spirit, walking along the inner wall. Quickly, the entire interior of the crucible no longer emitted a faint golden light but turned pure white, symbolizing the imminent arrival of true light!
Under the guidance of the dual god, the 51 soldiers carved on the wall also emitted white light and followed the spirit, walking forward along the inner wall.
As the soldiers walked in circles, 51 white beams of light were cast, 48 of them aimed at the 48 soldiers, the 49th at Wu Ren’s body, the 50th at Zhou Qian, and the 51st at the white smoke materializing from Zhou Qian’s Rib of God!
The white smoke turned out to be a living spirit! It was recognized by the scepter as a subject for resurrection!
The 51 beams of light intertwined, growing stronger, and finally converging into a massive beam. It shot out from the inside of the crucible, soaring towards the dark red dome, almost lighting up the entire apocalyptic world.
This powerful light truly opened a channel connecting two worlds. The moment the channel opened, it rose into the air, flying out of the crucible, into the sky, and through the entrance, sending all 51 life forms back to the human world!
In the human world, on an ancient battlefield under the scorching sun, two sides were fiercely engaged in battle. The small dragon had already flown into the bag, and Zhou Qian saw himself in black iron armor, holding a spear, riding a white horse, rising from the crucible. Along with him appeared 49 other cavalrymen, one of whom was surprisingly Gao Shan!
However, at that moment, neither of them could speak. They were undead zombies summoned from another world by the emperor using the crucible, unable to speak.
Leading the 50 cavalrymen into battle was Wu Ren, clad in black iron armor. After his resurrection, he became the mightiest warrior in the human world. His white horse leaped into the air, flying over countless people and plunging deep into the enemy camp.
With the “god” military strategist dead and the main general isolated, Wu Ren raised his sword high, shining like moonlight. But in an instant, this moonlight turned red—stained with the blood of the main general.
In the next moment, Wu Ren threw the sword towards the enemy camp’s flag. With a “crack,” the flag fell to the ground under everyone’s gaze. Behind Wu Ren, his own camp erupted in triumphant cheers.
—”Victory! We have won!!!”
The player-immersive ending animation ended here. Zhou Qian withdrew his gaze and saw the system panel—
[Player Zhou Qian helped player Wu Ren clear the instance: “Magic Crucible”.]
[Player Zhou Qian activated the instance item “Bone Spirit” ahead of time.]
[You can choose to retain the memory of “Bone Spirit” or erase it. Please make your decision within one minute.]
Without spending a minute, Zhou Qian immediately clicked the “Retain Memory” button, then turned his head to look at the cavalryman beside him—
The horse under the person next to him had disappeared, and like a spirit, he floated in the air, unable to land yet.
But his figure and facial features were clearly visible, unmistakably Gao Shan.
Gao Shan looked at Zhou Qian, his eyes showing obvious joy. He immediately opened his mouth as if to say something, but he couldn’t make any sound.
Zhou Qian guessed that this was an effect of the rebirth crucible; probably, Gao Shan couldn’t speak for now.
But the fact that he could come back, continue to exist as a Bone Spirit, was already fortunate.
The game continued. The issue of Gao Shan not being able to speak and finding a way to turn him from a Bone Spirit back into a human would eventually be resolved later.
The ancient battlefield, wrapped in horsehide and flowing with blood, was slowly fading.
Clouds blown by the wind gradually obscured the scorching sun.
The air still smelled of blood, but everyone’s mood was relaxed—the war had finally ended, they had preserved their emperor, and long-awaited peace had arrived!
Standing in such a backdrop, Zhou Qian smiled faintly at Gao Shan. “Shan Ge, long time no see.”
“I’ve always said I hate owing a life to someone. Now, I’ve finally brought part of you back.”
……
Outside the instance. Blue Harbor City.
The climate here was completely different from reality, almost without any pattern.
Suddenly, it began to snow. Bai Zhou, through the spiritual domain’s connection between the Rank God player and Shepherd, tried to locate Zhou Qian, finally finding a lead. He raised an umbrella and went to wait for him at the entrance of the instance.
By this time, Blood Demon had already left.
Turtle Fairy, however, came over using her unique skills.
Holding a small pink umbrella in her left hand, Turtle Fairy drew on the shell of the turtle beneath her with her right hand.
After a long while, she mustered the courage to speak to Bai Zhou. “Big Boss White Dragon, I’ve figured out what’s happening with Zhou Qian. Do you want to know?”
Bai Zhou stood silently in the snow, holding the umbrella with one hand. Its tip and his right elbow were covered with snow, but he seemed not to mind.
Turtle Fairy blinked and added, “Zhou Qian has already cleared the instance. Once the ending animation is over, he’ll be able to come out. Oh, and—”
Usually, a crucible needed to be heated for use, so one couldn’t directly touch its contents with their hands; some tools were necessary for assistance.
Even considering from a magical perspective, after adding ingredients to the crucible, a tool was likely needed for stirring.
Therefore, the crucible probably didn’t exist independently. When the wizard created it, he likely also made a tool to go with it.
What could this tool be?
Zhou Qian asked Wu Ren, “When I arrived, did I see you holding a big spoon?”
“Yes. I found it near the crucible. It’s convenient for moving bodies,” Wu Ren replied. “Could it be…”
Before Wu Ren could finish, Zhou Qian asked, “Have you used both ends of the spoon?”
“I have. But it doesn’t seem to have any extra use,” Wu Ren said. “At least I didn’t feel any.”
“Hmm,” Zhou Qian mused. “I’ll go out and check again later. But the spoon probably doesn’t have any use. Because I think I’ve guessed what the real tool is—”
Changing the topic, Zhou Qian looked at Wu Ren and asked with a smile, “Wu Ge, give me a straight answer. You failed to become an emperor in the instance. After I take you out of here, have you considered… hmm?”
Wu Ren: “…”
Zhou Qian: “This is the third time I’m asking. It’s hard for you to refuse now.”
Three minutes later, Wu Ren seemed to finally give up struggling and looked at Zhou Qian resignedly. “Honestly, I’m quite impressed with you. You’ve only been here for a few minutes… and you’ve already found so much key information. So, I just have one question—”
“Later, do I still have to move 50 bodies by myself?”
Zhou Qian immediately said, “Both my son and I can help you.”
“…?” Wu Ren was very surprised, with almost three question marks appearing on his forehead.
“You-Your son? Oh… who did you owe this romantic debt to?
“Right, as the saying goes, ‘Women love bad men.’ Maybe some girls like bad boys like you. I just didn’t expect you to even have a son. Is it from a girl in the game or outside the game?
“You didn’t abandon her, right? If you’re irresponsible, I won’t join your team!”
Zhou Qian asked in surprise, “Do I look like the type to be frivolous and let people down?”
Wu Ren nodded affirmatively.
Zhou Qian: “…”
“Let’s get back to the point,” Wu Ren said. “Anyway, I’ve already agreed to you. I’m not as slick as you. Either I don’t agree, or if I do, I keep my promise. So now—”
“What do you think is the real solution to clear the level?”
After looking around the interior of the crucible, Zhou Qian said, “To help the emperor and provide him with an endless supply of soldiers, the wizard created a magical crucible and a tool to activate it.”
“Now, you haven’t successfully resurrected, unable to return to the real world to help the emperor. However, at the same time, you also didn’t go to the real hell but is trapped in the ‘Crucible World’, in a state of neither living nor dying.”
“So the crucible actually worked, but only half its function. So what’s really going on is now clear—”
Looking at Wu Ren, Zhou Qian said, “I think the tool to activate the crucible was swapped. Someone stole the tool and replaced it with a big spoon.
“The emperor, unaware, put the bodies of the 51 soldiers into the crucible and tried to use this spoon to activate it.”
“The swapped spoon, of course, couldn’t activate the other half of the crucible’s function. So you couldn’t go back. What we need to do now is find that real tool.”
“So… who and for what purpose would steal that tool?”
“And what tool could help that person reach the ‘Crucible World’?”
Without needing Zhou Qian’s explanation, Wu Ren already knew the answer.
With the limited information in the instance, there was only one answer—the person who stole the tool to activate the crucible could only be the “god” who opposed the “last emperor”.
Wu Ren immediately said, “I know! It’s the scepter!”
“The tool that goes with the crucible can only be the scepter in the god’s hands! It’s also because the scepter’s power matches that of the crucible that the god being can enter the Crucible World through it!”
The scepter was very large, as long as the diameter of the crucible. Moreover, whether it was the red rain or the beams, all were emitted by the scepter. The key to the problem undoubtedly lay in the scepter.
The god stole the scepter that could activate the crucible and replaced it with a giant spoon.
Thus, the emperor’s attempt to resurrect his soldiers failed.
Even so, the god, still uneasy, repeatedly entered the world created by the crucible using the scepter, wanting to kill the general completely.
Wu Ren couldn’t help but look at Zhou Qian and ask, “But with the god controlling it, the scepter will attack us! How can we truly activate the crucible with its help, allowing us 51 people to return to the human world?!”
Zhou Qian said, “The crucible and the giant spoon that exist in reality have their counterparts in this ‘in-between life and death’ world, to assist players in solving puzzles.
“So, there should be information about the scepter as well. It’s just that you didn’t have time to find it. Every time you return all the bodies to the crucible, it takes you almost an hour.”
“I’ll move the bodies now. You go find it!” Wu Ren said.
“Actually, there’s no need to search specifically. This is where off-scene information becomes important.”
Zhou Qian yawned and asked Wu Ren, “Do you know about a god named ‘Dagda*’?”
*An important god in Irish mythology. One of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Dagda is portrayed as a father-figure, king, and druid. He is associated with fertility, agriculture, manliness and strength, as well as magic, druidry and wisdom. He can control life and death, the weather and crops, as well as time and the seasons.
Wu Ren decisively shook his head.
Zhou Qian explained, “Dagda is known as the ‘good god’ and is said to control the fertility of the Irish people. So you see, you misunderstood; I’m not a playboy. Dagda is the real womanizer with a string of lovers.”
“Dagda has two very magical treasures, one of which is a rebirthing crucible that provides an endless supply of food, and the other is a gigantic club.”
“Dagda’s club has powerful effects; one end can cause death, and the other can bring life.”
A few seconds later, Wu Ren fully understood.
“The club in our instance corresponds to what we thought was the god’s scepter! The red rain and beams are emitted from one end of that scepter. Are we supposed to find a way to use the other end of the scepter?!”
“Exactly. But this is just my speculation based on mythological stories. Ideally, there should be clues in the instance to further confirm this idea. So—”
“Brother Wu, you continue moving the bodies, and I’ll look for clues.”
As he said this, Zhou Qian muttered to himself, “My son should have recovered some by now.”
Reaching into his bag, Zhou Qian pulled out a scale, rubbed it three times with his finger, and a deep blue little dragon popped out.
Hopping over to Zhou Qian, the small dragon tilted its head and rubbed his trouser leg with its head, making a cute “yip” sound.
“Good boy.” Zhou Qian patted the little dragon’s head. “Can you grow bigger and fly me? If you can, let’s go find the clues quickly.”
Hearing this, the little dragon quickly grew to the size of a person. Its tail swung over, lifting Zhou Qian up and then placing him on its back.
Zhou Qian patted its head again. “Use your treasure-hunting abilities. Let’s find the clues quickly so we can go see your dad soon. I’m starting to miss him.”
Small Dragon: “Yip!”
Zhou Qian then took out three small bottles of medicine and threw them to Wu Ren. “Wu Ge, replenish some health. My son is still young and can only carry me. You’ll have to climb out yourself.”
After saying this, the small dragon swung its tail and flew Zhou Qian to the top of the crucible, disappearing from Wu Ren’s sight.
Wu Ren was stunned for a moment but quickly consumed the medicine. After regaining some health, he hastily started climbing out, determined to collect the bodies quickly.
Having fought the “god” six times, his health was too low, causing his brain to be a bit slow to react.
It was only after climbing out from the bottom of the crucible that Wu Ren belatedly realized something was off.
Wait, why did Zhou Qian tell his “son” that they were going to find “Dad”?
……
The small dragon carried Zhou Qian, quickly circling the entire world.
They flew left all the way and eventually returned to the starting point.
This world was clearly circular.
The circle was surrounded by impenetrable red mist, and the dark red clouds at the top of the sky were also untouchable.
Thus, the investigation seemed to further prove that they were indeed inside a pot; the sky was an unreachable pot lid, and the surroundings were impassable inner walls.
The crucible in this world and the continuous cycle of life and death of those 50 bodies were like a repeated scene from the real world.
These soldiers had died for the emperor in reality and “died” again and again for their general in this “in-between life and death” world.
They together formed an imagery, perhaps with the real purpose of awakening the general’s memory—
General, you have died in battle, but the emperor in the human world is still waiting for your help.
Now, the god is still trying to enter the “in-between life and death” to kill you completely. He even fears your spirit!
Such a powerful general, please recall everything. Lead us to take back the scepter and return to reality! Please fight for the emperor. Avenge us all!
With 10 minutes left before the god’s next arrival, Zhou Qian and Wu Ren were again with a pile of bodies.
Wu Ren asked Zhou Qian, “So, did you find that clue related to the scepter?”
“I did.” Zhou Qian handed Wu Ren a piece of cowhide.
The edges of the cowhide were charred, and it was covered in mud; it was dug up by Zhou Qian after the small dragon smelled it. It was fortunate that it was buried deep below and wasn’t destroyed by the red rain.
The cowhide had several drawings.
The first drawing depicted the wizard creating the crucible. In the image, what was placed in the crucible wasn’t a spoon but a gigantic stick, which was the “god’s” scepter.
The second drawing on the cowhide was also interesting. A cloaked wizard raised the scepter towards a fish belly-up in the water, clearly dead.
The following third drawing showed the fish swimming in the water.
The cowhide was old and ancient, but the fish in the drawing was vividly alive, flipping its tail and stirring up countless droplets, as if they would leave the water and splash onto one’s face any moment.
The last two drawings clearly indicated a fact—the scepter indeed had the power to resurrect.
“Phew… just as I thought. But for a single-player instance, this is too difficult.”
After quickly examining the drawings, Wu Ren couldn’t help but say, “It’s impossible for one person to collect so many bodies…”
“Yes. The mythology of Dagda’s system is relatively obscure for us. Without knowing this off-scene information, it’s very hard for a single person to complete it alone.”
Zhou Qian asked Wu Ren, “What’s the difficulty level of your instance? Why haven’t I encountered it?”
When selecting single-player instances, Zhou Qian looked through each option several times, but he indeed hadn’t seen this ‘Magic Crucible’.
Therefore, if not for Wu Ren pulling him in, he wouldn’t have come here.
Wu Ren said, “I played several instances in Blue Harbor City, and once when I opened a treasure chest, I got an item that could summon teammates. After that, I was able to see this instance. I… I was eager to accomplish something, so I was indeed a bit hasty. The success rate of this instance is only 5%.”
Zhou Qian: “I have such an item, but it still didn’t open for me. Is it because my stats are too low?”
Wu Ren: “If you don’t use your full power when you’re critically injured, under normal circumstances, my output is three times yours. Besides, there are defense and other factors…”
“Alright. So basic attributes are one hurdle to enter this instance. The summoning item is another hurdle.”
Zhou Qian said, “Can it be understood that this instance is only open to you when you can summon teammates? So…”
“Perhaps this can be seen as a kind of hint.”
“What hint? How to deceive the god into using the other end of the scepter to resurrect us. Do you have an idea?”
After Wu Ren asked this, Zhou Qian’s gaze suddenly became more profound.
Wu Ren felt a sudden jolt in his heart. “What do you mean?”
Zhou Qian said, “I mean, actually, the system is being kind to players. It thinks this instance is one you can only pass with a summoning card. You can’t complete it alone.”
“Your HP is only 5,000 now. But you said that when the god arrives in this world, his first move has a 100% hit rate. Even if you completely dodge it, you will still lose 8,000 points of health.”
Wu Ren: “The health restored by the small potions is little, but still barely—”
Zhou Qian: “But it seems we can’t directly take the scepter from his hand. He has the power to fight an emperor with numerous soldiers, not to mention the enhancement from the scepter. Moreover… he can leave this world and return to reality at any time. Can we delay another hour?”
“Once he discovers we know the secret of the scepter, will he still dare to come?”
“Perhaps if we fail to snatch the scepter, we will be completely trapped here!”
By this time, Wu Ren had fully understood what Zhou Qian meant. “You want to… use my death to trick him and get his scepter.”
“Correct,” Zhou Qian said. “This is the hint I mentioned from the instance—you need someone else to help you through this level. Otherwise, you will definitely die.”
“This also means that after you die, the god will let his guard down, which is a certain plot development.”
“Then, your teammate, seizing that opportunity, can take the scepter and then use its other end to resurrect you and the other 50 soldiers.”
“Now the teammate you summoned is me. I’m the only one who can help you.”
“But it’s also possible…”
Wu Ren gave a bitter smile, sat down against the inner wall of the crucible, with two charred corpses beneath him.
The dim light made his normally gloomy eyes squint, and his pupils were deeply black.
“It’s also possible that after I die, the god will kill me, this war god, and then leave. You are not part of the story. Perhaps you can naturally leave.”
“You yourself said that we can talk to each other… This doesn’t fit the setting. It’s outside the story logic.”
“Wu Ge, if you still think like that now, I’m really going to get angry.”
“First, your idea is completely wrong. If you die and I ignore you, I’m afraid I’ll also be trapped here. Although we can talk to each other because of the summoning item, since I can enter the Crucible World in the story, it’s very likely I’m also dead. Second—”
Looking into Wu Ren’s eyes, Zhou Qian’s expression became unprecedentedly serious. “I haven’t met many good people before. But since entering this game, I’ve met quite a few decent people, and you’re one of them. So, Wu Ren—”
“I came to save you, not to kill you. I won’t abandon my king.”
“Do you trust me?”
Staring into Wu Ren’s eyes for 30 seconds, Zhou Qian stood up and said, “If you trust me, then use your death to trick the god into a ‘relaxed plot’.”
“In the story, you’re actually already dead, so you won’t truly die.”
“In the story setting, I’ll use the scepter to bring you back from ‘in-between life and death’ to reality. You’ll return to the human world as a ‘knight’ and fight for your emperor.”
After a pause, Zhou Qian raised his Rib of God, tried to make the little dragon exhale some purple mist, and suddenly white smoke rose from the bone.
The smoke formed a human shape and then dispersed.
Then Zhou Qian clearly saw the astonishment in Wu Ren’s eyes.
Zhou Qian said, “If you trust me, now help me fish out two more bodies.”
Wu Ren quickly understood Zhou Qian’s meaning. “You’re worried that the crucible can only resurrect 51 people at a time?”
The war might have been large-scale, so there could be countless casualties, not just the ones Zhou Qian and Wu Ren saw.
The reason there were only 51 people in this world might be because the crucible could only resurrect 51 people, so the emperor only put 51 bodies into the crucible to try to resurrect them. After all, there were only 51 soldiers carved on the inner wall of the crucible.
Seeing Zhou Qian nod, Wu Ren quickly asked, “I understand your meaning. You were summoned here by an item, so whether you have an identity in this instance is an uncertain matter…”
“So, if you are considered a character in the story, like me, already dead in reality… you’ll need to replace a soldier’s resurrection slot. That way, the two of us can return to reality together.”
“But if that’s the case, I only need to throw out one body. Why two?”
“Did you see the white smoke just now?”
Zhou Qian glanced at the Rib of God and smiled at Wu Ren. “He used to be my teammate and died in someone else’s scheme. He’s temporarily become my bone spirit, maybe just one step away from resurrection.”
“So, I want to try and see if this crucible with the power of rebirth can realize some kind of resurrection for his spirit. Perhaps the resurrection crucible is just a setting of the instance and won’t have much effect, but I’ll try my best. So, Wu Ren—”
Putting away his smile, Zhou Qian became serious again. “You’re right, I asked you to be the so-called ‘king’ because I need your abilities.”
“But in this game, isn’t being teammates about complimenting each other, cooperating, or, in other words, ‘using each other’?”
“You have to believe that I will take you all out alive.”
“I won’t let go of any scum, but for decent teammates, I won’t abandon any. I have that confidence.”
“Wu Ge, maybe I will use you in the future. But now, it’s your turn to use me. You must seize the opportunity.”
The author has something to say:
The crucible, giant club, and Dagda ‘the good god’ are all from the Celtic mythology~
The situation was becoming increasingly dire, and Wu Ren only had time to say one sentence to Zhou Qian. “In ‘Flower of Evil,’ you hardly saw me really make a move. Don’t tell me you’re just standing by to test my abilities!”
Hearing this, Zhou Qian’s smile became even more pronounced. “You think so badly of me.”
Wu Ren: “…”
With a thunderous boom, the god stepped onto the edge of the crucible, creating a loud noise.
Zhou Qian glanced at him and found, as Wu Ren said, that this god looked quite strange.
Influenced by various legends, people subconsciously believe that gods should be quite large, especially those with world-destroying powers, who must be gigantic.
But this so-called god was different; he was very small, about as tall as Zhou Qian’s waist. He had a pointy mouth and monkey cheeks, which was indeed very odd, yet he was strikingly similar to humans.
It seemed he was essentially a person, just deformed in appearance.
Of course, despite his small stature, his power wasn’t to be underestimated.
A scepter, as long as the diameter of the huge crucible, was wielded by him. After flinging away the bodies of 50 soldiers, it headed straight for the interior of the crucible!
Suddenly, a blood-red beam shot out from the tip of the scepter, and Wu Ren, with his experience, promptly opened a huge protective umbrella.
[Item: Impressive Protective Umbrella]
[Function: An ambitious umbrella, which swore from the moment it was made to be more powerful than the Golden Bell Shield. No matter what moves the target makes, it’s able to block 50% of the damage.]
[Grade: S, Rare]
The moment the beam collided with the umbrella, a loud friction noise ensued. The umbrella looked thin but was indeed powerful; the beam struggled to penetrate it.
Using the umbrella to block the beam, Wu Ren concentrated his hands, and suddenly dark clouds gathered above the crucible.
After a brief charging period, a bolt of lightning followed by a clap of thunder came down—not rain, but thousands of silver needles shimmering with light.
Controlled by Wu Ren, the silver needles turned around, their tips aimed at the god, and then immediately stabbed towards him.
Enraged, the god, seizing the opportunity before the hidden weapons struck, released several beams from his scepter and avoided them with his small and agile body.
His red figure flashed, and he temporarily disappeared.
Only the dark red sky remained above the crucible’s opening.
Seeing this, Wu Ren promptly shouted to Zhou Qian, “Dodge. His first beam is the fiercest. Even if you dodge, you’ll lose 8,000 HP, but the rest can be avoided if you’re fast enough!”
At this point, Wu Ren indeed suffered the aftermath of that unavoidable first beam, losing 8,000 health points, and his body emitted a red warning of critically low vitality.
Opening his mouth, he spat out a mouthful of crimson blood.
Just then, a new crisis emerged, and another beam struck towards his head!
Normally, Wu Ren could easily dodge with his speed, but now he was severely injured. His steps were heavy and slow after spitting blood, and the situation became extremely critical. His heart sank heavily—
If Wu Ren remembered correctly, the last time he saw Zhou Qian, he was leaning against the inner wall of the crucible, looking extremely relaxed, as if strolling through a forest.
And Wu Ren also remembered Zhou Qian holding a flashlight, his gaze fixed on the carvings, so lost in thought that he seemed oblivious.
He might not have heard Wu Ren’s words or noticed these beams.
He didn’t know the attack pattern of the beams or how long it would take for them to reach the bottom of the crucible!
Wu Ren felt he was done for.
If Zhou Qian really had no mana, he was done for too.
They couldn’t escape!
Wu Ren wiped the blood from his mouth and tried his best to dodge forward, but it was too late. The scorching beam was almost exploding above his head. Even if he exerted all his strength, he could only ensure his head wasn’t hit, but he couldn’t avoid it with his back. His entire back was going to be burned by the beam, and he would die from it!
At this critical moment, Wu Ren suddenly saw an abnormal distortion at the edge of the crucible in front of him. Realizing that this was not the god’s trick, he suddenly understood—time had been slowed down!
Zhou Qian’s mana was running low, so he had to use it sparingly.
Therefore, after time slowed down, he only bought Wu Ren an extra second.
But that was enough.
One end of the Rib of God appeared in front of Wu Ren, who immediately grabbed it.
Zhou Qian pulled the Rib of God towards himself with a forceful tug, and due to the excessive force, they both fell down together.
The next instant, a blood-red beam smashed into the bottom of the crucible, but surprisingly, it caused no damage to the crucible’s bottom. It silently vanished into the crucible’s base, as if absorbed by its special material.
Lying on the ground, Wu Ren spat out a mouthful of blood. “Thanks.”
Finally, he saw the acceleration shoes on Zhou Qian’s feet, and some of his confusion was resolved. “No wonder you got here so fast. But you haven’t done many instances. How are you so rich? Who did you con?”
Zhou Qian, getting up, laughed. “My master.”
“Your master?” Wu Ren shook his head, muttering, “Don’t know which poor sap that is.”
Zhou Qian: “Hey, I just saved your life.”
“Fine. Another thank you—”
Wu Ren added awkwardly, then quickly reminded Zhou Qian, “The beams, they’re not over yet!”
“Got it. Hold onto the Rib of God.”
Zhou Qian looked up, his gaze not missing a single beam, and quickly determined their speed—fortunately, they were much slower than the Demon King Son, and he didn’t even need to summon the little dragon.
With the acceleration shoes, Zhou Qian, holding Wu Ren with the Rib of God, started to move swiftly within the huge crucible, large enough to hold 50 people, as if walking on walls and eaves.
Although he had only been through one training instance, Zhou Qian could feel that his movements had become much faster, and with the acceleration shoes, his actions were even more fluid.
There were still seven beams to dodge.
Zhou Qian and Wu Ren avoided them all.
The seven beams almost grazed Wu Ren’s back each time, silently disappearing into the crucible itself.
But fortunately, they made it through without mishap.
Wu Ren dared not take a moment’s rest, and upon seeing Zhou Qian stop, he quickly warned, “The god is coming back! He has another wave of attacks! I need to use another wave of silver needles to drive him away. In this situation, he can only release eight beams. Otherwise, it’ll be even harder for us to escape!”
As soon as Wu Ren finished speaking, he began to gather strength again.
Dark clouds returned, and silver needles formed once more amidst thunder and lightning from the void.
After the god released eight beams to avoid the silver needles, he chose to leave the scene again.
This time, the beams fell faster, making it harder for Zhou Qian, with his swift shoes, to dodge while carrying Wu Ren.
But in the end, aside from Wu Ren’s clothes being scorched by the beams, both of them managed to escape unscathed.
A minute later, the red light at the mouth of the crucible dissipated.
The god returned to his world.
An hour later, or a day in this world, he would come again.
Wu Ren took several deep breaths, leaning against the inner wall of the crucible to rest for a moment, gradually relaxing. Then he looked up at the top of the crucible and slowly climbed out.
Suddenly, he heard Zhou Qian laughing.
Wu Ren immediately looked down at him in surprise. “What are you laughing at?!”
Zhou Qian held up a mirror to him. “Look at your back.”
Wu Ren didn’t want to look but couldn’t help turning to see—his back in the mirror was charred and tattered with more than a dozen holes in his clothes.
Through these holes, his skin was exposed—some parts red, some black, and some even powdery from burnt flesh, looking utterly ridiculous.
Wu Ren took a cloak from his bag to cover his back, then turned around angrily and continued climbing up.
“You’d better think of a way. Otherwise, we’ll both die here. I only have enough mana for one small spell!”
Zhou Qian just said, “Wu Ge, climb slowly. Be careful not to fall!”
Originally, Wu Ren was climbing just fine, but after hearing Zhou Qian’s words, his hands and feet slipped, and he actually fell to the bottom of the crucible with a “plop”.
The fall wasn’t light, and Wu Ren immediately lost another 3% of his health.
Due to the severe injury, Wu Ren couldn’t get up for a while.
Lying flat at the bottom of the crucible, he stared blankly at the blood-red sky through the opening, and after a long time, he said solemnly, “Zhou Qian, I’ve always been quite lucky. How come I drew the card with the least life points when I met you in ‘Flower of Evil’? Zhou Qian, you definitely bring me bad luck.”
“It must be because you didn’t agree to be my king,” Zhou Qian said seriously.
Wu Ren couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
Zhou Qian added, “Have I ever told you that your eyes are too small, so rolling them doesn’t look intimidating?”
Wu Ren felt like he couldn’t even cry. “Zhou Qian, I really regret summoning you.”
“Don’t say that.” Zhou Qian said, “Lie here for a while. We’ll act together later.”
“How are we going to act?” Wu Ren asked.
Zhou Qian said, “This is the apocalypse of mankind. The god is enraged, hence the destruction. All these are your guesses, right? I just want to confirm.”
“Right. But I got clear information—the crucible was made by the most powerful wizard of mankind. He made it to protect the last emperor of the human world.
“Okay, so, after I entered the instance, the red rain fell and the earth was wounded. I was beside a crucible, and 50 soldiers came out to protect me. So…”
Wu Ren said, “Now, besides me, there are no other living people in this world. Naturally, I would think this is the end of the world.”
“There’s only one emperor left in the world, whom the wizard said he needed to protect. So, when I see that I’m the only one in this world, and indeed, 50 people are protecting me, I would naturally think… I am the emperor of this world, and those 50 people are my soldiers.”
“Is there a problem with that?
“But if this is not the apocalypse and I am not the emperor… how do you explain all this?”
Zhou Qian suddenly asked, “Besides these 50 soldiers, have you seen any other corpses, like ordinary people or other animals or plants?”
Wu Ren shook his head, then sat up abruptly, asking seriously, “So… what’s your guess?”
“Do you remember what I told you? The double spirits on this carving have the power of a shaman and can traverse different worlds,” Zhou Qian asked Wu Ren.
“I remember,” Wu Ren said. “You also said the god is probably from another world. The red rain is a medium connecting two worlds and a channel to traverse worlds. The red rain must fall for three minutes, and only then can the channel between the two worlds open. That’s why the god appears three minutes after the rain.”
Zhou Qian further asked Wu Ren, “You never heard your soldiers speak, right?”
Wu Ren nodded.
Zhou Qian: “Even when you first entered the instance?”
Wu Ren had always thought that, when he first entered this world, he and his soldiers weren’t dead.
They were all in the human world. The 50 soldiers protected him with their flesh and blood, and after the first red rain, they died in front of him.
According to the system’s initial prompt, Wu Ren put them in the crucible and witnessed their rebirth through the crucible’s power.
What followed was the repetition of the same story, round after round.
Zhou Qian looked at Wu Ren. “There’s a book called ‘Mabinogion’, which tells medieval Welsh stories with many myths and legends.”
“This book mentions the crucible, the same as the initial information the system gave us. However, the system deliberately omitted a sentence.”
“‘The original words in the book about this story are, ‘Throw the bodies of your soldiers who died that day into the crucible, and they will come back to life unscathed the next day, except for one thing—they can no longer speak.’”
“The resurrected soldiers can no longer speak.” Wu Ren frowned. “The system didn’t give us this sentence… But it doesn’t seem like the system deliberately concealed information. After all, this is something we could observe.”
“True. But knowing the original words in advance would have been more helpful,” Zhou Qian said to Wu Ren. “The first time you came here, your soldiers didn’t speak to you.”
“Have you ever thought that maybe by then, they were already dead? You and the soldiers, together, repeatedly reliving this story.”
Wu Ren’s scalp tingled. “What on earth is this…”
Zhou Qian said, “Maybe you can’t speak either. When you were fighting alone here, thinking you were the only living person, you didn’t need to speak. You didn’t notice this.”
“The reason you can communicate with me is probably due to the summoning item. This is outside the logic of the story. That is, such rare cheat items that help you clear the level, granted you the ability to communicate with your teammates. But in the story, your original identity, perhaps, couldn’t speak, just like those soldiers.”
Wu Ren’s back was sweating. The sweat soaked into his wounds and then stuck to his cloak, making his spine feel ice cold.
“You’re not suggesting…” Wu Ren swallowed hard. “That I’m dead?”
Zhou Qian pointed to the inside of the crucible.
A row of soldiers with closed eyes stood in a circle inside the crucible.
Above them, a row of cavalry did the same, but with their eyes open, moving in the opposite direction to the soldiers with closed eyes.
“Have you ever counted the number of these soldiers?” Zhou Qian asked Wu Ren.
Wu Ren suddenly realized something.
Zhou Qian said, “There are 51 soldiers. There are also 51 cavalrymen.”
“The soldiers with closed eyes symbolize death. They are led by the double spirits with the horns of a cow and the body of a snake towards hell, or another world. Then, they return to the world as cavalrymen with their eyes open. That’s the true meaning of the carving inside the crucible.”
Zhou Qian continued, “When alive, as infantry, they died in battle. Their expectation was… when they returned to the world, they should become stronger to protect their emperor. Thus, they became cavalrymen. And you—”
Looking into Wu Ren’s eyes, Zhou Qian’s pupils seemed to shine with a certain light.
He said, “You are one of them. Perhaps you are the general leading these soldiers. Take a close look. Among these 51 carved soldiers, you can find one dressed slightly differently from the others.”
“So, you mean this is not the apocalypse but some kind of undead world?” Wu Ren said. “In the story, I’ve been dead for a long time. I’m an undead…”
“Right. Wu Ge, look, you’ve been fooled by the system’s trick. ‘The last emperor of mankind’ doesn’t mean there’s only one living human left.”
Zhou Qian smiled. “The real story is now quite clear.”
There was a war in the human world.
The war was between ‘the last emperor of mankind’ and the ‘god’ who could make it rain red with his scepter.
A wizard, to protect the emperor, made a crucible that could resurrect his warriors from death.
In a battle, 51 soldiers, including a powerful general, who is Wu Ren’s true identity in this story, died for the emperor.
The emperor put the general and the 50 soldiers’ bodies into the crucible, hoping they would come back to life to fight for him.
His enemy, the ‘god’, didn’t want the powerful general to come back to life, so he repeatedly tried to enter the ‘Crucible World’ to kill the general’s spirit.
Wu Ren swallowed again. “I understand what you mean. The entire dark red world we see is actually the inside of the crucible. This so-called crucible is just a metaphor or a symbolic representation.”
“The dead should go to hell after death. But because of the crucible… we didn’t go to hell, but were trapped here, neither alive nor dead…”
“You could say that. ‘Crucible World’ is a world between life and death. You are trapped here.”
Zhou Qian said, “Also, why do you think ‘Mabinogion’ specifically mentions that the resurrected soldiers cannot speak? There’s a meaning behind this too.”
Wu Ren shook his head.
Zhou Qian explained, “It means that the so-called ‘resurrection’ is not a real resurrection.”
“The ‘last emperor of mankind’ tried to use the ‘crucible’ to resurrect you, but he couldn’t really do it. What he brought back to the human world with the crucible weren’t truly living people, but zombies. He just wanted to use the power of your spirits. You are his undead army.”
“My guess is that after the war, you will leave ‘Crucible World’, this otherworld, and go to real hell. Of course, this doesn’t affect clearing the level. What’s really important is the meaning of these carvings themselves—”
Pointing at the nearest knight, Zhou Qian said, “As these statues imply, you died, were led to another world by the double spirits, then got a kind of ‘rebirth’ under the crucible’s influence, becoming knights returning to the human world.”
“But so far, you and those 50 soldiers haven’t really become ‘knights’.”
“So… the real way to clear the level isn’t to defeat the ‘god’ but… to find a way to go back; to leave this Crucible World, to return to the real world?!”
Wu Ren stood up straight. “Using the crucible isn’t possible by hand. It requires a tool! This crucible isn’t complete; it needs something else to match with it!”
Within the instance, the sky turned a sinister dark red, spreading in shades both deep and shallow, intersecting with the blackness of the distant horizon. A faint dawn seemed to loom in the distance, but it remained indistinct, as if the land could welcome the light at any moment or step towards oblivion.
The earth was scarred, with cracked ground and collapsing mountains. No snakes, insects, mice, or ants could be seen; no sound of chirping insects or birdsong was heard.
All was silent, for every creature, every person in this world was dead—except for Wu Ren. He was the sole survivor in this apocalyptic world of corpses.
He had struggled to survive alone for quite some time. Thankfully, it was just an instance, not a real apocalypse. Thus, he used a tool to summon Zhou Qian. Now, the two of them were the only living people in this apocalyptic world.
Glancing at the extremely limited information provided by the system, Zhou Qian walked up to Wu Ren, looking at the giant crucible in front of him.
The crucible was engraved with strange patterns, notably two rows of soldiers—the lower row of infantry holding shields as if ready to face the enemy at any moment. The upper row depicted cavalry, carved so vividly it seemed as if the knights could leap out on horseback at any moment.
Apart from the soldiers, a peculiar animal was depicted—a snake with bull’s horns, leading the infantry as if guiding them.
Due to the crucible’s immense size and height, Zhou Qian couldn’t see inside. He bent his knees, jumped up, and, with hands on the crucible’s edge, peered inside to find it filled with countless corpses.
All the corpses were in the same state—blackened like coal, bodies tightly curled, joints bent, fists clenched. The carbonization of bones and muscles at high temperatures caused this posture, indicating they were all burnt alive.
At that moment, Wu Ren stood on a flat stone, using its height to stir the corpses aside with a giant spoon, making space. He then set the spoon aside, jumped off the stone, and lifted another corpse to toss it into the crucible.
The system indicated the crucible had regenerative powers—corpses placed inside would resurrect the next day in their original state. Wu Ren’s goal seemed to be using the crucible’s power to resurrect these corpses, but this was supposed to happen the next day. So, why the urgency in summoning Zhou Qian?
Before Zhou Qian could ask, the instance provided the answer. Suddenly, a fiery arrow-like blaze appeared in the dark red sky, slowly descending. Wu Ren, estimating its trajectory, stayed put. Half a second later, it struck near him, reducing several buildings to ashes.
Wu Ren looked back at the destruction, then at Zhou Qian, with a bitter smile. “The last few houses of this world are gone.”
Zhou Qian gestured towards the sky, prompting an explanation from Wu Ren. “There’s a monster hidden in the sky—the Boss I must fight. It occasionally rains red, turning the land into a sea of fire. Perhaps it’s divine punishment, aiming to burn every living person.”
This explained the burnt corpses. Divine rain of fire, capable of destroying everything.
As Wu Ren moved corpses into the crucible, he shared the story he had learned—
The people had angered God, who decided to end the world. The god, hidden from human sight, randomly rained red, destroying houses and trees. This minor attack was random and not particularly harmful, so it wasn’t feared.
But the god’s major attack was terrifying. Every other day, he would rain a dense red, turning everything it touched into a sea of fire. Almost no one could escape. After three red rains, the world approached its end.
A powerful wizard had enchanted the crucible and offered it to the last emperor and his soldiers. Under its spell, the soldiers would resurrect repeatedly. During each red rain, they’d shield the emperor from harm until he figured out how to confront the god.
“I see. In this story, you’re the last emperor.” Zhou Qian realized, pointing to the crucible almost full of corpses. “And these are your soldiers?”
“Yes. They form a wall of flesh to protect me during the red rain,” Wu Ren replied, bending to lift another corpse into the crucible.
After taking a few breaths and wiping blood and mud off his face, he asked Zhou Qian, “Do you know how many bodies are here?”
Zhou Qian shook his head. Wu Ren compared the numbers and said, “50! Exactly 50 corpses.”
Wu Ren bent down and repeated the same action he had done countless times before, putting the last corpse into the crucible. He then wiped his sweat and said to Zhou Qian, “Just wait.”
Wait for what?
Zhou Qian didn’t need to ask, as the dark red sky suddenly brightened. It was a sign of God’s wrath—the onset of the world-ending red rain!
“Let’s go. Get into the crucible!” Wu Ren urged.
Zhou Qian leaped up, climbing into the crucible. Wu Ren followed, using the stone’s height to jump in.
Ignoring the blackened corpses underfoot, Zhou Qian looked up at the increasingly blood-red sky.
“The system says these soldiers will resurrect tomorrow to shield us. But the god is already unleashing his power. Is time different in this instance?”
“Smart,” Wu Ren praised. “A day here lasts an hour. Sunrise and sunset happen within an hour.”
Zhou Qian caught on. “How long have you been here?”
Wu Ren sighed. “Five hours. I arrived just as the god first unleashed his power. You’ll witness the sixth with me.”
In the past five hours, the god unleashed its powerful attack five times, causing the soldiers to die five times. They died and resurrected repeatedly, solely to help their emperor, Wu Ren, withstand the red rain. Afterwards, Wu Ren had to repeatedly gather their scattered corpses from various places and return them to the crucible. He had to do this; otherwise, there would be no one to protect him from the red rain when the god attacked again. Thus, Wu Ren collected the bodies five times, each time gathering as many as 50 corpses.
“No wonder you’re so precise with the number. It seems you have a deep resentment towards ’50’,” Zhou Qian said.
Just as his words fell, an extraordinary phenomenon occurred—the sky turned a vivid red, identical to the first spurt of blood from a slit throat. The entire firmament seemed composed of the purest blood.
At the moment it turned purely and intensely red, countless crimson droplets began to fall. This was the wrath of the god, intent on letting his anger flow to every inch of the earth, determined to kill every living person!
Simultaneously, a golden light appeared inside the crucible. The light emerged from countless fine lines and cracks on the inner walls, weaving around Zhou Qian and Wu Ren, then striking the group of corpses inside. In just a moment, each corpse was enveloped in the golden light.
Suddenly, the first droplet of red rain drifted to the top of the crucible, fiercely targeting the last emperor of this human world. In the nick of time, a soldier resurrected and lunged in front of Wu Ren, steadfastly blocking this lethal droplet.
Countless droplets of red rain followed. However, many soldiers were also resurrected. They pushed Wu Ren and Zhou Qian aside and rapidly climbed to the mouth of the crucible. Perhaps due to some secret method, they lay one after another in mid-air. Thus, 50 people, with their flesh and blood, completely sealed the mouth of the massive crucible so tightly that not a single droplet of red rain could enter.
As the red rain hit the soldiers, they immediately caught fire, one after another, soon turning into a vast sea of flames. From afar, the scene was undoubtedly shocking—
The sky turned completely crimson. Countless red droplets carrying the god’s intent to kill showered upon the earth, leaving nothing in their wake as all turned to ash and vanished.
On the cracked earth below stood a gigantic crucible, and at its top, a sea of flames sealed it. The power of this sea of flames was immense, as if it could defy the heavens and burn the sky itself! It was a protective wall forged by the flesh and blood of countless soldiers!
Amidst excruciating pain, not a single one retreated!
They were determined to protect their emperor, the last human being in this world!
……
With the fifty corpses gone, the inside of the crucible became spacious. Zhou Qian moved his slightly aching arm and asked Wu Ren, “I feel you have a good grasp of this instance. So, what’s your plan in summoning me?”
Wu Ren explained, “After five attempts, I’ve figured it out. The red rain lasts for 3 minutes. After that, the 50 soldiers will die again. Then, the god’s true form will appear, probably to check if I’m dead. If he finds me alive, he angrily strikes the soldiers with a scepter. The soldiers forming the human wall will be shattered. Some will fall back into the crucible; others will scatter on the ground. Then, I have to gather all the bodies again for the next attack—”
He couldn’t help but complain, “Although there’s an hour gap between the god’s attacks, I spend all that time collecting bodies, with hardly any time to think of a solution…”
The top of the crucible was completely covered by the 50 soldiers, blocking all light, so Wu Ren couldn’t see where Zhou Qian was.
He could only focus on a spot and said, “Anyway, I’ve realized that every hour, the god rains down red, and exactly five soldiers revive to protect me. After the 3 minutes of red rain, the god’s true form appears, which is my only chance to defeat him!”
“I’ve fought him several times alone, all in vain. Not only did I not kill him, but I also nearly died myself. You have no idea how many ‘Universe Teleportation Mirrors’ I used to escape. Those mirrors are getting more expensive, it really hurts. So, my thought is—”
Wu Ren was very serious. “I can’t keep going like this. I can’t afford to deplete my mana and stamina any further. This time, after the 3 minutes of red rain, the god’s real form will still appear. Zhou Qian, I called you here because I think together we can take the opportunity to kill him!”
“My attack power alone isn’t enough, and neither is yours usually. But this instance’s setting is interesting! An apocalyptic background, corpses everywhere, you have unlimited resentment to use. Your ultimate move can be invincible!”
Zhou Qian thoughtfully said, “Hmm. Seems like a good plan.”
Wu Ren, apologetically, said, “So, I’m going to start bleeding you with silver needles. Don’t worry, my technique is good. I’ll keep your HP stable at 9%—”
Wu Ren’s skill emanated a damp, rainy aura, enveloping Zhou Qian. But before the lethal silver needles could form, Zhou Qian raised his hand in a stopping motion. “Wait!”
“There’s no time! The god only appears for a minute. Then he’ll retreat to heaven!” Wu Ren said, “We must seize the minute after the red rain stops. If we miss this chance, we’ll have to wait another hour… I really don’t want to move 50 corpses again!”
Wu Ren cursed, “I never thought I’d face death from exhaustion. If you hadn’t come to help, I’d rather not throw bodies into the crucible or hide there. Might as well just let the red rain kill me!”
“Wu Ge, don’t rush. Let me finish,” Zhou Qian said.
Wu Ren was impatient to attack Zhou Qian with his hidden weapons. “Hurry up if you want to say something! Don’t delay!”
Zhou Qian replied, “I also want to use my ultimate move.”
Wu Ren said, “Yes, so use it!”
Zhou Qian said, “But I don’t have enough mana.”
Wu Ren: “…What?”
Zhou Qian: “I just came out of an instance. My mana has only recovered to 30%.”
After a long silence, Wu Ren said, “Then you could have refused me. I could have found someone else…”
Zhou Qian: “Wu Ge, why talk about finding someone else? That makes us sound so distant. After ‘Flower of Evil’, I thought you were a good person, so I came to help. You have to trust me. Look, I came because I trust you.”
Wu Ren: “Really? Not because you suggested something earlier, and I refused, so you came to persuade me, even threatening me?”
Wu Ren referred to Zhou Qian’s suggestion to join his team, even urging Wu Ren to become the so-called team leader.
When Wu Ren left ‘Flower of Evil’, rising from A to S, he didn’t dare respond to Zhou Qian’s messages, haunted by visions of Zhou Qian saying, “You will become our king.”
Hearing Wu Ren’s words, Zhou Qian immediately said, “Wu Ge, our team lacks someone like you. Your gambler is also great. I’m sincerely seeking talent. Don’t think it’s a conspiracy. It’s okay if you don’t join. If not teammates, we can still be friends. I’m not that rigid.”
Wu Ren quickly waved him off. “Stop that!”
Zhou Qian seriously said, “I genuinely want you to be our team’s king.”
Wu Ren shook his head. “King my ass. Go to hell, Zhou Qian. Why do you love playing puppet emperor tricks? You just enjoy manipulating everything from behind, right? I understand you now. And let me guess, you’ve always wanted to quietly build an army, but don’t want to be too conspicuous, since so many want to kill you…”
“So, you want to push me as the army’s commander? What team lacks an assassin like me? You want me to join to attract hatred for you, I get it!”
“It’s okay if you refuse. Three visits to the thatched cottage*, I understand.”
*(三顾茅庐) Idiom derive from a historical story. The phrase refers to the story of Liu Bei, a warlord, who personally visited the humble thatched cottage of Zhuge Liang, a very talented but reclusive strategist, three times to earnestly request his assistance. It refers to the act of sincerely and respectfully inviting or seeking someone’s help or expertise.
Wu Ren didn’t speak.
But Zhou Qian knew his personality well and that he would be receptive. Zhou Qian smiled and turned serious, taking out a flashlight from his bag. The faint light shone directly onto the inner wall of the crucible. Zhou Qian moved closer to the edge, examining the drawings inside.
“Wu Ge, have you looked closely at these patterns?”
“Yeah, I have. They’re the same as the ones outside,” Wu Ren replied.
Zhou Qian said, “Yes. Both inside and outside, there are two rows of soldiers, infantry below, cavalry above. But haven’t you noticed, there’s something different about these two types of soldiers?”
“Infantry with shields, cavalry on horses, indeed different, wait—” Wu Ren moved closer to the edge, joining Zhou Qian in examining the drawings. He looked closely and suddenly realized something. “Their walking direction is reversed! Also…”
“The infantry’s eyes are closed, but the cavalry’s are open,” Zhou Qian continued. “This is a crucible that can resurrect corpses. There must be a meaning in these drawings. Right, you said when you first arrived, you encountered the god’s first attack, just as the red rain fell?”
“Right. Then, the soldiers around me were real living people, not dead yet. Later, thinking of the system’s hint and fearing another red rain from the god, I gathered them all into the crucible, and they successfully resurrected. Hiss—”
Wu Ren looked at Zhou Qian expectantly. “So, what are you thinking?”
Zhou Qian asked, “I spent eight months in a hospital, bored out of my mind, reading a lot.”
Wu Ren: “…?”
Zhou Qian: “I read a wide variety, all types of books.”
Wu Ren: “So?”
Zhou Qian pointed to the animal with a snake body and bull’s horns on the inner wall, “Do you know what it is?”
Wu Ren shook his head decisively.
Zhou Qian suddenly laughed.
Wu Ren looked at him incredulously, hearing him say, “I have a soft spot for these crawling, long-tailed snake-like creatures now. Its bull’s horns are a bit like the horns on my Zhou Ge’s head. But just a bit.” Wu Ren: “……….?”
Wu Ren couldn’t follow Zhou Qian’s train of thought, only to hear him switch to a serious tone. “Although it’s a snake, it has bull’s horns. In shamanism, it would be considered a dual spirit, full of shamanic power. A dual spirit, both a bull and a snake, capable of traversing different worlds.”
“Different worlds. What do you mean?” Wu Ren asked.
Zhou Qian countered, “You said after the red rain, the god appears for a minute. You’ve fought him. Do you know what he looks like?”
“I do; pretty strange,” Wu Ren replied.
Zhou Qian continued to question him, “That means he has a physical form. Then why can’t you see the god when he’s hiding in the sky?”
“He can turn invisible?” Wu Ren guessed, “After all, he’s a god! Gods are omnipotent.”
“That’s one possibility. But let me ask you another question.” Zhou Qian said, “Why does he wait three minutes after the red rain, letting all the soldiers burn to death, before coming to kill you? Why doesn’t he just appear in his true form, find you, and kill you directly?”
“This…” Wu Ren said, “Actually, my gambler and I discussed this. We thought it might be a game design issue. They want us to use that one minute to fight the boss. But… thinking about it, the logic does seem flawed.”
Wu Ren carefully recalled the events of the god’s appearance in his mind.
The red rain would fall for three minutes.
After three minutes, the god would appear to see if the last emperor of the human world had been killed by the red rain. If the emperor wasn’t dead, the god would take action himself.
But why would the god need to perform such redundant actions?
The god had already thoroughly destroyed this world.
During this period, he used three red rains to kill everyone except for this emperor.
So, why did he continue to use such tactics against this emperor? He must have known that he might still fail.
He didn’t need to release the red rain anymore; logically, he just needed to appear, find the emperor, and kill him. Why didn’t he do that?
Why did he only appear for a minute and then disappear?
“Although the red rain killed many people in this world, its real purpose might not be to kill. I just asked you if you could see the god on a regular basis. You guessed that he might be invisible but combined with this animal with the horns of a cow and the body of a snake, I guess the truth of the story is related to a different world.”
“You can’t see the god usually because he’s not in this world. He’s been trying to come to this world to kill you. But he can’t do it.”
Zhou Qian said, “I guess that the so-called red rain is actually a medium to communicate between two worlds. The god’s small tricks, those sporadic red rains, are to probe and find the location; once he confirms the location, he sends a large amount of red rain to truly reach this world. But he can only stay for a minute.”
As the two spoke, the 3-minute limit had passed.
The 50 soldiers couldn’t hold on anymore and were all burned alive into char.
Above that crucible, the god appeared like a flame from the sky. He angrily took out a scepter and struck the 50 soldiers, then looked towards the center of the crucible.
Long absent sunlight reddened Zhou Qian’s eyes.
Deep within his pitch-black pupils, it seemed like the flames of hell were dancing.
For some reason, when Wu Ren, who was beside him, saw his eyes, he suddenly felt a sense of palpitation. He couldn’t explain why.
But the reason was soon found—
Zhou Qian said to him, “In the next minute, it’s up to you to deal with the god. You have experience now. First drive him away. Then, we will have a whole hour. In that hour, you can go collect corpses, and I’ll sit in the crucible and slowly think about how to clear the level. By the way—”
After the red rain, the sky gradually turned dark red again.
Zhou Qian sat at the bottom of the crucible, holding a flashlight, smiling at Wu Ren. “Wu Ge, think about my suggestion. Come be our king!”
The author has something to say:
Wu Ren: “I am now regretting getting this person involved—very much regretting…”
……
I see some little angels have forgotten Wu Ge. Wu Ge is the poor elder brother who initially drew the least life points in “Flower of Evil” and then was threatened by Qian Ge all the way.
The Purple Mist Mountain was surrounded by clouds and fog all year round, presenting a picturesque scenery with beautiful waters and clear mountains.
The land here contained powerful spiritual energy. Every tree and plant grown from this land was imbued with rich spiritual essence, making it a true paradise.
The Demon King Son absorbed his mother’s lifelong spiritual power and grew up in this treasured land. By the age of four, he had become a very powerful spirit creature.
At this moment, the Demon King Son faced many puzzles. He didn’t understand why his father lay motionless on the ground, nor why the surrounding trees were falling and the ground cracking. He vaguely felt that his father wouldn’t return, and his home was destroyed.
Driven by instinct, the Demon King Son shed tears. He was only four years old and had been raised by his father as food. He didn’t understand right from wrong, nor did he understand emotions. All he knew was that an intruder had disrupted his and his father’s ritual. He was angry and wanted to kill the intruder.
In his mind, without his father, there was no him. When his father needed him, he should give everything. What was wrong with that?
Before going to sleep, his father said to wait 30 minutes, and then he could enjoy him. If he could serve his father and make him happy, he would be very happy.
But why did the intruder, who destroyed everything, insist that he was doing this for his own good, that he was avenging him? What did he mean by “mother”? What is a “mother”? He only knew his father, his only kin.
And now… what did the intruder mean by saying, “Life is unique, and everyone should live for themselves”?
What was nectar to one was poison to another. The Demon King Son could never understand Zhou Qian’s words.
30 minutes later. The little dragon’s tail swept lightly, moving gracefully as it dodged another powerful attack and prepared for the next one. Suddenly, the Demon King Son’s attack stopped.
The illusion of a crying child disappeared, along with the high-speed movement and deadly palm strike. The Demon King Son stopped attacking Zhou Qian and walked silently to his father, kneeling beside him, shaking him.
“Dad? You should wake up! You said you would wake up after 30 minutes!”
He didn’t know his father was already dead. His father, who wanted him to die willingly, never taught him the meaning of life and death. He only remembered his father saying to wake him after 30 minutes to enjoy a meal.
After shaking his father several times without waking him, the Demon King Son shed a few more tears and then looked dazed. He stood up and walked to a thatched hut nearby, its roof overturned during the fight. The hut was in chaos, with various utensils scattered and covered in ash.
The Demon King Son found a cauldron in the messy hut. He brought it to the platform, set up wood, lit a fire, filled the cauldron with water, and then fetched a sack of medicinal herbs from the hut, adding them to the water.
Finally, he jumped into the cauldron without hesitation. Before closing his eyes, he looked towards his father and said, “Dad, remember to wake up and eat me…”
The bronze cauldron was engraved with mysterious symbols. The moment the water began to boil, the runes on the cauldron emitted a golden glow, while a purple mist rose from the mouth of the cauldron.
The Demon King Son cooked himself, offering all his life energy to the cauldron.
As if responding to some signal, the little dragon in the sky opened its mouth, and the endless purple mist from the cauldron flew into its belly, all of it absorbed by the Taotie Golden Pill.
As the little dragon’s life force increased manifold, Zhou Qian also received a system notification. He had successfully completed the level, with a whopping 40% increase in his combat-related stats. After gently patting the little dragon’s head and commending it as a good boy, Zhou Qian used his mind to command it to descend to the ground.
It was then that he noticed something unusual with the Rib of God—some of the purple mist was seeping out of the little dragon’s mouth and moving towards the bone.
Soon, the Rib of God was surrounded by the purple mist. Following this, a faint white smoke, almost invisible, emerged from the bone.
If Zhou Qian didn’t know it was impossible, he might have thought the Rib of God was on fire. The white smoke collided, intertwined, and merged with the purple mist, forming a faint, light purple smoke.
Eventually, the purple part completely disappeared, leaving only the white smoke, which coalesced into a human shape in front of the bone.
It was as if a soul had taken residence inside the Rib of God, too weak initially to leave its life source. Now, it had absorbed some life force and appeared before everyone.
Zhou Qian, with a serious expression and a furrowed brow, vaguely realizing something, earnestly said to the little dragon, “Longlong, try to emit some more life force for him!”
Upon hearing this, the little dragon immediately tried, but it had been exhausted from helping Zhou Qian evade the Demon King Son’s attacks for 20 minutes and couldn’t afford to expend any more energy.
Nevertheless, it managed to release a bit more life force before sitting down on the ground, its body slowly shrinking back to its original small dragon form.
However, its actions were meaningful. The white smoke absorbed more of the purple mist, taking on a more human-like appearance, and the features of the person in the smoke became clearer.
Zhou Qian, gripping the Rib of God, recognized something in the white smoke and immediately smiled. “Shan Ge, is it you? Did you stay in the Rib of God during ‘Last Wish’? Is my bone spirit actually you?”
Gao Shan faced Zhou Qian, raised his hand as if to say something, but couldn’t make any sound. He then tried to step towards Zhou Qian but disappeared instantly. The white smoke returned to the Rib of God, leaving no trace.
Zhou Qian immediately resolved to further enhance his stats quickly. Perhaps next time, he could actually talk to Gao Shan, maybe even revive him.
Since Gao Shan’s skills were still present, Zhou Qian’s team might still have a very powerful tank.
A short while later, Zhou Qian, holding the little dragon, descended the mountain, waiting at the exit to be transported out of the instance.
During this time, his watch on his left wrist vibrated—it was a summoning request.
[Item Name: Affectionate Call]
[Function: When facing a crisis, this item allows the user to summon a past teammate to assist in clearing the level; the teammate will receive 80% of the experience points.]
[Restrictions: Only usable in solo instances; only applicable to monster-slaying type instances; similar function cards can only be used once every three months.]
[Grade: S, extremely rare]
Zhou Qian was familiar with the function of this item because it was among the many things Bai Zhou had given him, including the [Affectionate Call]. However, when he was playing solo, he couldn’t use this item to summon Bai Zhou, as players of Bai Zhou’s level were completely unable to enter ordinary low-level instances.
Therefore, this item could only summon teammates of the same level, limiting its usefulness and preventing it from being used like a cheat code to summon powerful external support.
Upon seeing the message [Player Wu Ren has sent you a summoning request. Please confirm within one minute whether to accept.], Zhou Qian decided to go. At this time, he was in the process of being transported out of a solo instance and could message other teammates.
He quickly sent a message to Bai Zhou: [Zhou Ge, I can’t come back right now; I need to help a friend. Also, I think I might be able to summon a bone spirit now. Maybe I can revive an old friend. I’m going to try. Wait for me! I’ll be right back!]
……
Blue Harbor City, 2301, near the entrance of Purple Mist Mountain.
Anticipating Zhou Qian’s return, Bai Zhou bought some black tea and his favorite snacks. Just as he returned to the entrance of Purple Mist Mountain, he unexpectedly received a message from Zhou Qian.
Bai Zhou’s gaze lingered on the system panel for three seconds until the text disappeared. Then, he shifted his gaze, took out a portable sofa and a sun umbrella from his bag, and sat down. Since Zhou Qian didn’t mention which instance he was going to, Bai Zhou could only wait there for the time being.
He took out a cup of black tea and took a sip through a straw. Sitting under the sun umbrella, Bai Zhou opened a book to read.
After a while, a “tick” sound echoed as if a droplet of water had fallen in front of him. Bai Zhou shifted his gaze from the book to the ground—
It was a drop of red blood.
Casting a casual glance at it, Bai Zhou returned his attention to the book. His expression was indifferent from beginning to end, merely stating, “When he’s around, don’t appear in this form.”
“White Dragon, oh White Dragon, you are as heartless as your Breaking Dawn.”
A male voice spoke.
A female voice quickly countered him, “That’s not fair to say. He is heartless towards us, but affectionate towards that person!”
Male voice: “Xiao Mo, I think you have a problem.”
Female voice: “You’re the one with a problem! You’re so disgusting. You’re actually a drop of blood!”
Male voice: “You’re the weird one. Aren’t you also blood?”
With some arguing, the drop of blood on the ground began to spread and enlarge, bubbling like red lava, and finally, a person made entirely of red—wearing a red hat, dressed in red clothes, even the face emanating red—rose from it.
Strictly speaking, it couldn’t be considered a person because this body had two heads.
[Blood Demon] was always an object of fear among many players. It was notorious for its eerie appearances and disappearances, and for its ruthlessness in killing without blinking an eye. After every kill, it absorbed all the blood from its victim’s body.
Few had seen its true form and, thus, were unaware of its peculiar appearance.
This male and female duo shared one body; they were conjoined twins since birth. In the real world, no surgeon could separate them, and doctors had predicted they wouldn’t live past the age of nine.
So, they chose to participate in an experiment, entering the game, which has allowed them to survive until now.
Among the two, the male called himself “Xiao Xue1” and the female “Xiao Mo2”. They both had a joking nature.
1Blood. The Xiao is referring to “little”. 2Demon/Devil. The Xiao is referring to “little”.
In serious situations, Xiao Mo was usually more composed and mature, while Xiao Xue tended to be more impulsive. However, they complemented each other well and usually managed to turn perilous situations around.
As for their usual behavior, neither were easy to get along with, and they often bicker. Ever since Hidden Blade met them, he frequently pondered a question—whose opinion should he listen to when they argue?
Both of them unanimously responded, “Of course, listen to me. This body is male/female, so I make the decisions!”
At the moment, as Bai Zhou slightly furrowed his brows and turned the pages of his book more forcefully, the two’s quarrel abruptly ceased. Staring at him for a while, Xiao Mo said, “You haven’t reported back to Master for a long time.”
Xiao Xue pondered for a moment. “Hmm, I’ve realized we don’t need to be so servile to him!”
Xiao Mo added, “Yes, yes, White Dragon is far from his peak now!”
Xiao Xue mused, “I wonder if that Rank S kid knows what White Dragon sacrificed to save him. Such a touching story.”
Bai Zhou ignored them and silently turned to the next page of his book.
Xiao Xue and Xiao Mo said in unison, “Master wants you to return immediately! We’re dying here! Why are you still leisurely reading a book?”
Bai Zhou, without looking up, replied, “I’m waiting for my future Master to level up.”
Xiao Xue and Xiao Mo: “…”
Bai Zhou: “He will also be your future Master.”
At this, Bai Zhou seemed to sense something, abruptly threw the tea in a certain direction, his gaze turning sharp. Soon, a girl with big eyes, riding a turtle, and looking very cute and silly appeared not far away.
“Ah, I stayed hidden a bit longer this time. I’ve improved!” The cute-looking girl, riding a silly-looking turtle, approached the trio very slowly.
She yawned. “Much better than last time. Last time, White Dragon discovered me in a tenth of a second. This time it took half a second!”
Xiao Xue and Xiao Mo: “…”
The silly girl’s code name was [Turtle Fairy].
When Hidden Blade first saw this name, he thought it belonged to a centuries-old person with white hair, a white beard, and wrinkled face.
He never expected the real person behind the code name to be such a young girl*.
*Clarity: The fairy is [xian] (仙) which can also mean an immortal/celestial being, which is why Hidden Blade was thinking it was some immortal hermit-type guy that cultivated for hundreds of years.
Turtle Fairy blinked at Blood Demon and then looked mysteriously at Bai Zhou. “Lord White Dragon, I divined for that kid, oh no, for our future Master, using my turtle shell. He’s entered a very dangerous instance. Do you want to know if he wins or loses? Hehe—”
She paused, squeezing out a very cute smile. “If you want to know, accompany me to see Master. I’ll tell you on the way!”
Bai Zhou looked down and turned to the next page of his book. “He won’t lose.”
“Hahaha…”
Turtle Fairy laughed awkwardly, exchanged a look with Blood Demon, and then tried again. “You have so much confidence in him, his code name is… oh, Nightmare Commander, right?”
“Mm.” Bai Zhou nodded.
“I actually came to Blue Harbor City a long time ago. That day, I followed him for a few steps, and he didn’t notice me. Hehe, it was when you guys came out of the Murder Exhibition Hall, and Nightmare Commander went to the hotel alone.”
Turtle Fairy said, “At that time, I used [Mind Reading] to take a look—”
Before the naive girl could finish speaking, she was suddenly met with Bai Zhou’s abruptly cold gaze.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately looked at Xue Mo for help, then hurriedly said, “Hey, my mind reading skill is not entirely active—it’s a passive skill. I’m forced to hear the thoughts of lower-level players, and actually, I find it very noisy every day! Cough cough…”
“White Dragon, do you know, he thinks you don’t understand his heart, don’t understand what is… love!”
Xiao Xue and Xiao Mo immediately began an exchange of glances.
“Turtle Meimei* has been getting bolder lately. Have you noticed?”
*Little Sister (妹妹) When used with a name, it often conveys a sense of affection and endearment, generally towards a girl who is younger than you.
“Actually, Turtle Meimei is our team’s pet. Mind reading, fortune-telling—how amazing. A prophetic master we must protect!”
In an instant, however, Turtle Fairy’s demeanor changed as if she was possessed.
Initially, she was sitting sideways on a turtle’s back in a white dress, with big eyes and a tilted head, while speaking. This was her most genuine and adorable appearance, seeming naive and cute.
But then she suddenly stood up, almost floating above the turtle’s back in a drifting pose. Her facial expression became very serious, as if she had suddenly matured several years.
She stared straight at Bai Zhou and said something she herself hadn’t anticipated—
“Have you ever thought that the emotions between you two are not equal?”
“You can give him everything. But for him, even if he heard of your death, he would indeed be sad, but he could still peacefully get through these seven years.”
“These seven years he has been doing very well, so, actually, with or without you, for him, it doesn’t matter.”
“He would leave you behind any time for his friends. He has many important things to do every day. You are never the only one in his heart.”
“Maybe he does like you, and you are indeed different from others. But this difference is limited, and the extent of your importance to him is also limited.”
“Essentially, you are no different from his other friends.”
“From seven to seventeen years old, you’ve only known each other for ten years. Excluding those childish years, how many years of true affection are left between you?”
“But you’ve been apart for seven years.”
“Bai Zhou, have you ever thought that, to him, you’re not that important. If it weren’t for the time you spent with him in your youth, perhaps he would see you no differently from others.”
“He thinks you don’t understand his heart, don’t understand emotions. But in reality, it’s he who doesn’t understand.”
“I’m saying this just to remind you, about our battle in the future…”
……
After hearing these words, Xue Mo didn’t dare to look at Bai Zhou’s face. She only saw the swirl of her red rob and Turtle Fairy’s forehead being struck, knocking her out. She fell motionlessly back onto the turtle’s back.
When Turtle Fairy woke up, Bai Zhou was already gone.
Only Xue Mo was in front of her.
Turtle Fairy, realizing something from Xue Mo’s expression, annoyingly slapped her own head. “Did I enter… divinity state again? Did I babble things I shouldn’t have?”
Without Xue Mo saying much, Turtle Fairy had guessed everything.
“It’s over. Oh no, I didn’t mean it!”
“What about Master’s task? He asked the three of us to make sure Bai Zhou meets him.”
Xue Mo sighed. “What do you think he said before he left?”
Turtle Fairy blinked twice and asked, “What did he say?”
Xue Mo: “He said he wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye again. He will accompany Zhou Qian to finish this instance. Let’s wait a bit longer.”
……
Zhou Qian was completely unaware of what happened outside the instance.
He arrived at a vast stretch of open land, with a few scattered houses behind and a huge stone pot in front.
Next to the stone pot, stood a man holding a giant spoon.
He was badly wounded, almost unrecognizable.
With great difficulty, Zhou Qian recognized him as Wu Ren.
Wu Ren’s small eyes were completely buried in the mud and sand, almost completely invisible.
He squeezed out a smile at Zhou Qian, uglier than crying. “I almost thought you were going to refuse me.”
“You’re lucky. I just finished an instance, or else I couldn’t have made it.” Zhou Qian sized him up. “What’s going on with you?”
[Player Zhou Qian enters the instance: Magic Crucible.]
[I will give you a crucible. If you throw the bodies of your fallen men into it today, they will be resurrected unharmed tomorrow*.]
The Demon King Child’s method of attacking people was easy to figure out. He would first use illusions to confuse his opponent, making them see countless children and unable to discern which one was real. Once successful, he would approach his enemy at high speed and then use his ultimate move, “Love Slap”.
With the combination of illusions and high speed, the Demon King Child’s strike was extremely difficult to avoid. However, Zhou Qian’s weapon had two abilities that were naturally the nemesis of these tactics.
The Rib of God, in itself a divine artifact for creating illusions, hadn’t yet fully unleashed its power due to the limitations of Zhou Qian’s own stats. But against such monsters, it was more than enough, allowing Zhou Qian to momentarily come to his senses and identify the real Demon King Child amidst the illusions. Zhou Qian’s ability to control time, effectively slowing down speed, was the trump card against the Demon King Child.
Thus, Zhou Qian had easily killed the Demon King Child with a short knife. But, as expected, the situation wasn’t that simple—the child could resurrect.
Zhou Qian’s time-slowing skill was very powerful, but it also drained MP quickly.
He had tried to conserve his MP but still used up 15% of it. It had taken him about a minute to kill the Demon King Child once.
But in the next 29 minutes, he could use such a tactic at most six more times before running out of MP. If the Demon King Child could resurrect without limit, Zhou Qian would be completely unable to resist him. To make matters worse, when the time was up, the Demon King Father would awaken.
Currently, it seemed that the child’s resurrection was related to his father. Perhaps the father’s “womb” was a medium capable of transferring life points, allowing his son to continuously resurrect.
The system mentioned that the life points of the Demon King Father were unknown. Perhaps this number was infinitely large, allowing him to provide endless life points to the Demon King Child.
Should Zhou Qian try to kill the father first? But given his seemingly infinite life points, that seemed too difficult.
Waking him up prematurely would only lead to a dire two-on-one situation without any other benefit.
Moreover, the system had specifically emphasized at the beginning not to easily awaken the Demon King Father, whose attack power was unfathomable. It was very likely that upon waking, the Demon King Father would directly unleash a powerful move.
This meant that the moment Zhou Qian woke him up would be the moment of death, as his basic stats were too weak to withstand a major attack from a big boss.
Lacking attributes, Zhou Qian resorted to using items. Before the Demon King Child launched his next attack, Zhou Qian hastily equipped his small dragon with armor and himself with a full-body protective device.
Additionally, to save MP, he put on shoes that increased his speed to 200% for up to 10 minutes.
Just a minute later, the Demon King Child recovered and quickly launched a second round of attacks on Zhou Qian.
Accompanied by the piercing cries of the child, the illusion surged, and layers of child-like afterimages interwove into a giant web around him, slowly tightening as if to strangle Zhou Qian to death.
With the Rib of God firmly in his left hand and leveraging the power of the weapon, Zhou Qian identified the real Demon King Child within a thousandth of a second and then quickly found the right direction to retreat with the help of the speed-boosting shoes.
Even though his speed was fast enough, it was still too late—
Just as Zhou Qian retreated ten steps, the Demon King Child, with palms combined, rapidly struck at his face! But at that moment, Zhou Qian’s right hand holding the short knife didn’t even have time to swing!
In this critical moment, Zhou Qian had to repeat his tactic and slow down time again.
With the speed-boosting shoes, he didn’t slow time down too much this time and only consumed 7% of his mana to successfully counter-kill the Demon King Child.
However, the golden light on the Demon King Father’s belly soon brightened again.
The lifeless body of the child lying on the ground quickly came back to life!
……
When Zhou Qian chose to enter this instance, high-level gamblers once again gathered to watch.
Initially, they weren’t interested in Zhou Qian playing such instances, always feeling he would clear them easily.
But as the situation developed, they too became somewhat nervous.
It seemed that fighting alone wasn’t Zhou Qian’s strong suit.
[Wait, I think this pair of bosses isn’t too hard to beat! Am I alone?]
[You’re not alone. I thought of it too. The key problem might lie in the father’s “womb”. Players indeed can’t kill the father in one blow, but piercing and destroying his womb should be doable.]
[Exactly. Without the womb, the father shouldn’t be able to resurrect the Demon King Child. Then, players can kill the child and focus on fighting the father.]
[But according to the system’s hint, the father might unleash a big move upon waking. How will Qian Ge dodge it?]
[Doesn’t Qian Ge have a pet? Use it to bait the big move!]
[Right, pets are for sacrifices, after all!]
[Right! So, Qian Ge’s correct approach should be: attack the father’s womb, severing the life connection between him and his son; meanwhile, let the pet dragon take the brunt of the father’s powerful move! Once the father has used his ultimate move, there will surely be a cooldown period, which Qian Ge can use to deal with the Demon King Child!]
[Reliable plan. After killing the Demon King Child, the next consideration is how to kill the Demon King Father.]
[But still… Even if the son dies, the father is tough to deal with, with all his stats unknown and thus unfathomable. From a numerical perspective, he completely overwhelms the player in every aspect! How can this be fought?]
[The father can keep resurrecting the child indefinitely. He’s immortal—impossible to defeat!]
[Yeah, I was wondering why Qian Ge didn’t think of destroying the womb earlier. Qian Ge is truly Qian Ge. He wouldn’t act rashly for a reason.]
[No, I think Qian Ge is wrong this time. If it were me, I would have let the dragon bait the ultimate move first. Dealing with one monster is always better than two!]
After a long discussion without a conclusion, the gamblers watched as Zhou Qian had already killed the Demon King Child three times, with less than 70% MP remaining.
At this point, everyone turned their attention to Priest.
[Priest, we need an answer. How do we solve this?]
[We initially thought attacking the father’s womb was the way to go. But the more we discuss, the more we feel it won’t work. Even if we sacrifice the pet to kill the child, it’s useless. The father’s life points are infinite… This puzzle is unsolvable!!!]
Hearing everyone’s words, Priest slowly said, “100 people enter, 10 die from the Demon King Child’s first attack; of the remaining 90, 10 will choose to attack the Demon King Father, fail, and get killed by the father and son combined—”
[And the rest?]
[Damn, what’s the answer?]
“Only 15 people clear the dungeon successfully, so 65 people will make the same mistake—”
“Like you, they think of destroying the Demon King Father’s womb to cut off the connection between father and son. But according to the system’s hint, this means waking up the father and very likely triggering his ultimate move; even if they survive the move, they still have to deal with these two…”
Priest continued, “They hesitate, not daring to make an immediate decision, only to kill the Demon King Child over and over again in their indecision and contemplation.
“Perhaps after killing the Demon King Child ten times, they finally make a decision—continuing like this isn’t the way might as well go with the initial plan—destroy his womb first and then adapt as things unfold.”
Pausing for a moment, Priest added, “Of these 65 people, about 30 will die in the combined attack of the father and son after waking the father by removing his womb, leaving 35 alive.”
“But at this point… these 35 people don’t have enough MP to face the real monster.”
“So ultimately, all these 65 people die.”
Smiling at the image on the tablet, Priest said, “These numbers are actually quite objective. The foolish or those with low combat power are eliminated at the beginning, about 20%; those who clear it are 15%; and those who die slowly in between make up 65%. You can calculate, does it approximate a normal distribution?”
[I get what Priest means.]
[Me too. He’s mocking us for being part of that 65% majority.]
[If we were in that game, we could avoid the early attacks and think of removing the womb, but we belong to the majority who hesitate, delay, and ultimately die due to lack of MP.]
[Wow, shh, quiet, look! Qian Ge is making his move!]
[!!! He’s really going for the Demon King Father’s womb!]
[Why?! He didn’t let the dragon bait the ultimate move?!]
[Ah, then he himself will have to face the ultimate move… This can’t be good! He’s finished…]
[Ah, the Demon King Father is waking up!]
……
In the game.
Zhou Qian tightly gripped the Rib of God in his left hand to slow down time, and while the effect of his speed shoes hadn’t worn off, he used his extreme speed to reach the Demon King Father before the Demon King Child could catch up.
The Demon King Child seemed to sense something and suddenly shouted, “Daddy!”
Some fear of losing his father probably triggered him, and suddenly, he charged at Zhou Qian with unprecedented speed, his palms creating numerous palm prints, all striking towards Zhou Qian’s back!
Zhou Qian leaped up, his back, abdomen, and legs all stretched out straight, almost parallel to the ground. This way, he narrowly avoided a few palm strikes and then adjusted his posture as he landed, eventually flipping halfway and returning to the ground in a kneeling position on one knee.
The wind created by his landing fluttered the hair on Zhou Qian’s forehead, revealing a pair of cold and slightly mocking eyes.
Meanwhile, he reversed his grip on the short knife and thrust it downward with force. As the cold light vanished, the tip of the knife pierced straight into the meatball on the Demon King Father’s belly.
Purple blood splattered on Zhou Qian’s pale, thin chin. He raised his knife-wielding hand, thumb up, casually wiping his face, and then stood firm without retreat or avoidance.
“Ah—! How hateful!! Pay with your life!!”
The Demon King Father woke up, immediately letting out a tremendous roar.
That roar was filled with endless hatred and murderous intent, as if determined to chop into a thousand pieces the one who woke him up and even destroyed his womb!
However, facing this hatred, Zhou Qian remained calm and composed.
While slowing down time, he slightly sidestepped to avoid a slap, merely dodging the Demon King Child attacking from the side as usual.
[What is Qian Ge doing?]
[Why is he so calm?]
[The Demon King Father is about to unleash his ultimate move, right? Wuwuwu, I’m scared]
[Hasn’t Qian Ge dodged yet?]
[Hey, look, the Demon King Father didn’t unleash his ultimate move!]
At this moment, Priest spoke up. “He can’t unleash it.”
The gamblers said in unison, “Why?”
Priest, with a faint smile, said, “At this moment… he doesn’t have an ultimate move at all.”
On the screen, Zhou Qian looked at the Demon King Father with a pleased smile on his face.
“The system says he has unknown vitality, unknown defense, unfathomable attack power… Initially, everyone would think his health points are incredibly high. But who would have thought that he would actually be easy to kill.”
After finishing his words, Zhou Qian reversed his grip on the knife and mercilessly slashed at the Demon King Father’s neck.
“Maybe you also have fast speed and astonishing attack power. But under my slowed-down time, all of that is of no use.”
Zhou Qian watched with a smile as the purple blood slowly spilled out and climbed up the knife, but this smile didn’t reach his eyes.
Staring into the eyes of the Demon King Father, Zhou Qian’s gaze was extremely cold and ruthless.
Only when he saw the Demon King Father’s data on the system panel did his eyes show a bit of satisfaction.
“Your unknown vitality is because it’s merely a thousand points. I’m already at Rank S, with a life value of 50,000. It turns out ‘unknown’ can also mean very small, so small it can almost be ignored. Indeed, it’s a trick of the system.”
The Demon King Father’s life points quickly bottomed out, and he lay motionless on the ground.
Zhou Qian turned to look at the Demon King Child.
The Demon King Child, caught in the drastically slowed-down time, seemed to be moving very slowly. But he seemed to sense something, his eyes becoming watery.
Tears were accumulating in his eyes but couldn’t flow out, merely because they were constrained by time.
“The key to clearing the dungeon is in the word ‘cooking’.”
Zhou Qian said to the Demon King Child, “Your father is skilled in childbirth, childcare, and cooking. But what was he cooking? Of course, it was cooking a delicacy for himself.”
“So, it’s not that he has endless vitality and can transfer it to you upon your death. The real situation is the opposite—”
“The one who is truly immortal and has endless life is you. He nurtured you, raised you, and in the end, he was going to cook you and eat you to absorb your power.”
“As for that golden light… It’s also a trick to deceive the players.”
As he spoke, Zhou Qian reached into the broken belly of the Demon King Father and felt a golden pill-like object.
Shortly after it was in Zhou Qian’s palm, it emitted a golden light, flickered a few times, and then went out.
Its intermittent glow wasn’t the Demon King Father transferring life to his son; rather, it was absorbing life from his son.
Why?
Only because his own life force was extremely weak.
In fact, he needed to rely on his son to live.
Shortly after securing the golden pill, Zhou Qian received this prompt—
[Player Zhou Qian obtains item: Taotie* Golden Pill]
*An ancient Chinese mythological creature that is one of the “four evil creatures of the world.” It is one of the four that’s opposed to the holy four creatures (Azure Dragon, Vermillion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise). Notably, it’s known for its gluttony (thus the word (饕餮) can mean glutenous).
[Effect: The Taotie never knows satisfaction, and it loves to absorb people’s life force the most, so under certain circumstances, it can help you absorb someone else’s life force.]
[Player Zhou Qian unlocks the complete story: —
A man on the brink of death from a severe illness obtained a Taotie Golden Pill from an old Taoist and swallowed it. The pill could absorb the life force of people around the man, allowing him to hang on to life.
But the life force of ordinary people was limited and couldn’t satisfy the man’s needs, so he began searching for ways to extend his life.
Hearing that there was a spiritual woman on Purple Mist Mountain with a robust life force, the man spent his days searching for her on the mountain. His goal was to kill her and absorb her spiritual power.
After successfully meeting the spiritual woman, the man realized her power was too strong for him to kill directly, and even the golden pill couldn’t actively absorb her power.
So, the man began to deceive the woman, making her fall in love with him and eventually marry him.
He bought an apartment in Blue Harbor City, claiming he wanted to bring the spiritual woman into the world to live an ordinary life. He cared for her in every way, and the spiritual woman, unsuspecting, willingly bore his child, and the two became a loving couple in the eyes of others.
Unbeknownst to the spiritual woman, while she was pregnant, the man used an old Taoist to cast a spell on the child in her womb.
Thus, each day as the child grew, it consumed more of the mother’s spiritual power.
By the time the child was four months old, the spiritual woman’s spiritual power and life force had been completely consumed by the child, leading to her eventual death from depletion of her spiritual energy. She transferred all her spiritual power and life force to the child.
While the child’s physical body wasn’t fully developed, it could provide limited life force to the man, enough for him to live another hundred years. However, if the child was carefully nurtured, absorbing the essence of Purple Mist Mountain and turning into a spirit monster, upon reaching the age of four, the man could eat its flesh and blood to become immortal and god-like.]
“Your father deceived your mother’s feelings, using her womb as a tool or vessel to create an elixir of immortality, and the medicine cultivated in this vessel was you.”
“He was skilled in cooking—not to cook food for you, but to cook your flesh and blood, making you his delicacy. He raised you to four years old to eat you.
“Such a scoundrel; he deserved to die. I have avenged you and your mother.”
Quickly scanning the story sent by the system, Zhou Qian spoke to the child before the slowed time ended. “So, when the system initially said that the Demon King Father would wake up from his sleep in 30 minutes, it really meant that in 30 minutes, you would turn four years old.”
“Why did the system say the Demon King Father was unfathomable?”
“Because 30 minutes later, when he woke up, he would eat you and then become immortal.”
“Probably that’s why so many players couldn’t clear the dungeon. Many of them faced the Demon King Father, who had become immortal.”
“The system’s so-called unbelievably strong Demon King Father actually referred to him after becoming immortal, that is, after waking up and eating you.”
“Indeed, who could beat him in that situation? So, the system wasn’t really lying, right? I’m tired of these little tricks from the game designers. But I never expected—”
“To encounter the power of the Taotie here. Speaking of which…”
Zhou Qian smiled, holding the golden pill, and patted the small dragon on his shoulder. “Dragons have nine sons, and the Taotie is one of them. What kind of dragon is your father? Are you related to him?”
Yawning, Zhou Qian began to think of ways to delay time.
Actually, only about 10 minutes had passed in normal time.
Zhou Qian estimated that if he could delay another 20 minutes, he should be able to directly absorb the Demon King Child’s life force with the golden pill in his hand and then clear the dungeon.
However, in the next 20 minutes, Zhou Qian couldn’t really kill him. According to the setting, after absorbing all the spiritual woman’s power and turning into a spirit monster on Purple Mist Mountain, he would resurrect time and again.
His life force was endless and invincible, only absorbable by the golden pill.
Zhou Qian brought out all sorts of items: the Universe Teleportation Mirror, Flying Ropes, even Flash Smoke Bombs, and more. Now that the Demon King Father was dead, Zhou Qian’s MP was almost depleted.
Surviving the next 20 minutes against the Demon King Child wouldn’t be easy.
Zhou Qian decided not to kill the Demon King Child futilely. He would hit and run, simply biding time.
With so many items, plus using the small dragon for cover, even though he might be heavily injured upon leaving, clearing the dungeon wasn’t a big problem.
Unexpectedly, just as Zhou Qian prepared all his items and planned everything for the next 20 minutes, the small dragon, staring at the golden pill in his hand, suddenly made a move.
The golden pill suddenly rose into the air and hovered. The next moment, the small dragon opened its mouth, and the golden pill flew into it and was swallowed.
“Little Dragon, you—”
Zhou Qian blinked and saw it surrounded by a golden glow, rapidly growing in size, quickly becoming the length of an adult, rising into the air, and hovering.
From the data panel, its strength had increased significantly, and the system even offered options to increase its skill values.
Considering the current situation, Zhou Qian immediately increased all its skills to speed, granting the small dragon extremely high agility.
Essentially, Zhou Qian still considered the small dragon a part or incarnation of Bai Zhou, and after dividing his spiritual power with the small dragon, he could control it as a Shepherd.
“Not bad at all.” Zhou Qian patted its head. “Even the incarnation has upgraded so quickly. Then—”
After cleaning the bloodstained knife and putting it away, Zhou Qian switched the Rib of God to his right hand. Narrowing his eyes at the Demon King Child not far ahead, he waved his left hand forward. “Little Dragon, cover me!”
Time resumed its normal pace.
Zhou Qian’s MP was down to 5%, but he didn’t care.
The small dragon swooped in, and he leaped up, mounting it.
The infant’s crying sound rose again, and countless illusions immediately surrounded Zhou Qian. After identifying the real Demon King Child coming from the left with the Rib of God, Zhou Qian thought of dodging to the right. The small dragon swiftly received the signal from his brain and immediately moved to the right.
Two palms fiercely struck the ground, the force so great that it tore open the earth.
But the dragon had already carried Zhou Qian away in advance, soaring lightly like a drifting cloud, rising several feet into the air, facing the Demon King Child from a distance.
“Ugh—!”
The Demon King Child furiously slapped the ground again, causing it to crack open instantly.
Stepping on the battered ground, he leaped up, lunging towards Zhou Qian in mid-air.
In mid-air, however, a deep blue dragon tail swept across, hitting the Demon King Child’s head and flipping him harshly to the ground.
Zhou Qian’s voice echoed in the air. “Didn’t you understand what I said? Your father is the one who harmed you. I’m the one avenging you.”
The Demon King Child didn’t listen, his health dropping to the lowest and then instantly restored to full, as he roared and charged at Zhou Qian again.
Zhou Qian shook his head.
It seems the child’s mind was completely altered by his father.
He must think his life is for his father.
Maybe when his father wanted to eat him, he would willingly sacrifice himself.
“Without me, there would be no you. Your life was created by me, and you should serve me, offering all your flesh and blood to me.”
Sitting on the small dragon’s back, Zhou Qian looked down at the Demon King Child with a piercing gaze. “Did your father brainwash you with this line?”
“But have you ever thought about your mother?”
“Maybe she willingly gave birth to you. Maybe she was willing to share her life force with you. But did she want to give it to your father? She was harmed by him for her entire life.”
The Demon King Child couldn’t understand Zhou Qian’s words at all.
Under the curse, from birth, he lived for his father.
Even his daily cultivation, eating fruits and animals rich in spiritual power, was to make himself tastier.
He was pitiable, but beyond saving.
Zhou Qian patted the small dragon’s head. “Your dad and I wouldn’t do that to you. Don’t fight him head-on. He can’t die. If we wait until 30 minutes, we should be able to use the golden pill to absorb his life force.”
Kinky Translations 