“What did you exchange for?”
Yue Shi and the girl locked eyes, speaking almost simultaneously.
Within the ruins of the laboratory, the fires still burned, and thick smoke filled the air.
Neither answered the other’s question.
After a few seconds of standoff, the girl covered half her face with her new folding fan and was the first to break the silence.
“You first.”
“Why not you?” Yue Shi countered.
The girl blinked. “Our relationship isn't exactly what you'd call friendly, is it?”
The corner of Yue Shi’s mouth twitched slightly. “True.”
It was a relationship akin to a mountain of corpses and stagnant water meeting the peak of Yin.
Another few seconds of standoff passed.
“Fine,” the girl said. “I’ll go first.”
“The thing I exchanged for is called a Devil Fruit. As for its specific effects, I’m not telling you.”
Yue Shi didn't press her.
“And you?” the girl asked.
“I exchanged for a human clone.” As he spoke, Yue Shi pulled the clear-eyed, innocent ‘Yue Shi’ behind him.
The Tree of Truth had previously advised him to be a good human, and the Old Gods on Dusk Island were also trying to reincarnate as humans. Although he didn't fully understand the reasons, he had sensed from their attitudes that being “human” was very important.
Given his current situation, he had no way to turn himself into a purebred human. Besides, he wasn't willing to abandon everything he currently possessed.
He had originally planned to take things one step at a time, but he hadn't expected the Lord God’s exchange list to actually offer humans. The price was low, and they could even be customized to specifications.
So, Yue Shi simply exchanged for a pure human version of himself, only making slight adjustments to the personality.
He just wasn't sure if the Lord God had left any backdoors in that body, so he would have to lock it up and observe it for a while.
The girl was somewhat puzzled. “That’s it?”
Yue Shi nodded. “That’s it.”
The girl stared at him for a few seconds. “Have you also noticed something strange about humans?”
Without waiting for Yue Shi’s answer, she retracted her gaze, her tone growing heavy. “That Lord God—what do you make of it?”
Yue Shi was silent for a moment. “Hard to say.”
“Useless.” The girl waved her folding fan.
“Of course I know it’s hard to say. I’m asking if you saw what kind of existence the Lord God actually is, and if you can trace its origin.”
Yue Shi looked toward where the light orb had vanished. Since she disliked his brief answers, he figured he might as well offer a few more words of speculation.
“All I know is that the Lord God just now seemed to be a clone. The true body should be in some place unknown to us.”
The girl was utterly speechless. She wanted to retort, but the words died in her throat. “The question is, who trapped a Lord God clone here?”
Yue Shi narrowed his eyes.
This laboratory, and those chains binding the white light orb—every sign pointed toward the same conclusion.
“Someone wanted to control the Lord God’s... clone.”
“The mastermind behind this might have already achieved some degree of success, reaping quite a few benefits from the Lord God,” the girl added.
The two looked at each other, seeing the same thought in each other's eyes.
The mastermind had trapped the Lord God clone in the laboratory. Now that the clone had escaped, would this matter simply end here?
“The people behind this lab probably won't let it go,” the girl said softly.
Yue Shi, however, said, “I think the Lord God is even less likely to let it slide.”
Although the Lord God had behaved like an emotionless AI during their encounter, who was to say an AI couldn't hold a grudge?
Given the power the Lord God had displayed, if it launched a revenge operation, it would certainly be quite interesting.
Just then, the girl’s expression suddenly changed.
“What is it?” Yue Shi asked.
“I have business to attend to. I’ll take my leave first. Goodbye.”
As her words fell, her figure vanished on the spot.
Only Yue Shi and the bewildered human clone remained standing in the ruins.
The two Yue Shis looked at each other. The clone’s eyes were as clear as a child’s.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you to a safe place,” Yue Shi said.
The clone nodded with a beaming smile, looking perfectly obedient.
...
Inside the Killing Competition game.
Kraken crouched in the corner of an abandoned building, his gaze vacant. He seemed to be looking ahead, but his mind was wandering elsewhere.
He knew he should be alert to his surroundings, observing the environment and finding a way to survive.
But he just couldn't muster any energy.
He was repeatedly thinking about what the cheongsam girl had said to him earlier.
From beginning to end, he was just a target.
A piece of cannon fodder used to draw fire, disposable at any time.
This thought was like a thorn stuck in his heart, impossible to pull out.
After zoning out for a long time, he finally took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay rational.
Now was not the time for despondency.
Regardless of how the Order Alliance treated him or whether he was a target, he had to ensure his own survival first.
Only by getting out alive could he ask for clarification and learn the truth.
He picked up his rifle and continued moving through the ruins.
He noticed that the game scene had undergone some subtle changes.
The surrounding scenery seemed just a little bit off.
He stopped and observed carefully.
The cracks on the walls seemed more numerous than they had been a moment ago.
The outlines of the distant buildings were becoming slightly blurred.
He blinked and looked again.
The blurriness had returned to clarity.
Perhaps he was just too tired and his eyes were playing tricks on him.
He didn't take this anomaly to heart and continued forward, failing to notice that the moment he turned around, a tiny crack split the sky above his head.
That crack vanished in a flash, so fast it seemed like an illusion.
But soon, another crack appeared.
This time, the crack did not vanish.
Then came more cracks.
Countless fissures spread silently across the sky like a spiderweb.
It took quite a while before Kraken finally noticed.
He looked up, his face turning pale with shock.
The sky was splitting open.
The grey sky within the game scene was disintegrating at a visible speed.
Behind the cracks was an indescribable void of chaos.
“What’s happening?” Before Kraken could even process the change in the sky, the ground beneath his feet also gave way.
The ground shook, the tremors growing more violent. The ruins began to collapse, streets split apart, and distant buildings tilted and fell.
The entire game space was collapsing everywhere!
Kraken stumbled to avoid a falling stone, desperately searching for a safe spot.
Unfortunately, there was no safe area; everything within his sight was being destroyed.
Just then, he saw strange things appearing around him.
Those things floated in mid-air—transparent, ethereal humanoids that looked like ghosts.
At first, Kraken thought these ghosts were new monsters released into the game, and that the world falling apart was just the game increasing its difficulty.
But he soon changed his mind because he heard those “ghosts” talking.
They weren't ghosts at all—they were the spectating guests from the stands!
Normally, these spectators and the participants in the game did not interfere with each other.
Now, however, their figures were inexplicably manifesting in mid-air, their faces full of terror and confusion.
They had no idea what was happening; they were suddenly unable to move, pinned to the spot.
No matter how they struggled, they couldn't leave their positions, nor could they exit the game.
Their consciousnesses were all being forcibly held here, unable to return to their bodies.
Rate on N.U.
