They saw a picture.
That should be the picture from four years ago.
The slim and handsome young man stepped into the darkness.
It was a twisted and strange world. The darkness under Xia Jing's feet rose and fell like waves, and the darkness above his head was like clouds blown by the wind.
In front of him was an even darker, indescribable mass.
The shape of that thing was a bit like a city, but it had ups and downs, as if it was breathing. It was a living thing.
The creature said, "I am God."
Xia Jing stopped and looked at it with interest.
"You won't kneel down when you see me? You should beg me to let you go now." The god's voice was a little tense.
Xia Jing smiled: "I thought players could leave directly after reaching 5,000 points?"
Just recently, Shadow City went crazy and created several high-difficulty dungeons, sucking all the players into them.
In the end, it seemed that only Xia Jing survived.
He was the only one who reached 5,000 points.
"Those are my gifts," God said with confidence. "If you don't respect me, I can take them back at any time."
However, the young man before God did not seem frightened or threatened by these words at all.
He raised his head, surveyed the space, and said, "Is this your inner world, Jiang Ying?"
God suddenly fell silent.
The black shadow changed shape dramatically, as if God's heart was in violent turmoil.
"Are you surprised that I know your identity?" Xia Jing looked at it and smiled, "Because that's your shadow, right?"
Twisted, weird, huge.
This dark shadow that once frightened Jiang Ying himself has now become the basis for his self-esteem as a god.
How long has it been since Jiang Ying felt fear?
Since the birth of Shadow City, he began to kidnap humans wantonly.
He first reveled in the city where he lived, and as the fear, sorrow, and despair of the people became his food, his power grew stronger.
He can even reach out to other cities and suck strangers into the Shadow City without touching anyone.
That feeling is a bit like opening a blind box.
Jiang Ying enjoyed the feeling of being in control.
This kind of pleasure made him crazy. If he hadn't been so happy that he lost his mind, he wouldn't have created several high-difficulty copies in one go and lost almost all of his existing toys.
But why was this young man able to get here?
Why was he the one who stepped out of the dungeon, and when did he reach 5,000 points?
Jiang Ying didn't know, he had absolutely no idea!
When he opened his eyes and saw this figure, he felt goosebumps all over his body. He hadn't felt that kind of fear for a long time.
This young man is dangerous.
Jiang Ying had long realized that Xia Jing was not as gentle as he appeared, nor as harmless as his shadow.
He would be an interesting plaything.
But if he steps up the steps and stands before God, he will become a very dangerous person.
Jiang Ying began to regret it.
Perhaps he should stop being so pretentious and just let the young man go.
No, no - he immediately rejected the idea - once he let Xia Jing go, he would be in danger!
Although he could use his growing power to erase all information about Shadow City in the real world, once this young man knew his identity, he would definitely find a way to kill him.
Jiang Ying's shadow vibrated even more violently, like a pot of boiling black water.
The young man took a step toward him and said, "This is your inner world. Shadows here are visible to the naked eye and can be touched with the hand. So, my 'cloud' is also behind me?"
The young man raised his hand and touched the top of his head as if he was exploring something new.
He seemed to touch it and exclaimed, "Ah, so this is the feeling."
It feels icy and cool.
Jiang Ying was extremely frightened. He said in a trembling voice, "Don't come over here! Stop!"
Xia Jing continued to move closer to him: "By the way, I've always been curious, are you the only one who can drive the shadow yourself?"
"Shadows are very interesting. Since they objectively exist in every human being, they should be useful to everyone."
To Jiang Ying, the young man's gentle and pleasant voice sounded like a whisper from hell.
"After all, if the shadows of humans other than you can only be seen by you, and seen through by you, then how is your existence different from that of God?"
Jiang Ying was completely stunned.
The handsome young man stopped in front of him.
He raised his head, curled his lips, and said, "Unfortunately, I don't believe in the existence of God."
At this moment, Jiang Ying felt as if he was pierced by a sharp sword.
He had nowhere to hide and knelt down at the feet of the young man in a despicable and weak manner. The young man, who was as tall as a giant, was looking down at him with a smile.
Jiang Ying lost his composure.
Anger, shame, resentment, and malice surged in his heart, and he pounced on the person in front of him without thinking and devoured him.
…
In fact, even when Xia Jing raised that question, Jiang Ying's slow mind had never thought about that problem.
——Shadows are something that only Jiang Ying can see and control?
Some people's shadows are ferocious animals.
Some people's shadows are distorted smiling faces.
Some people's shadows are romantic flowers.
Jiang Ying is indeed the only one who can "see".
But do most people really have no idea what kind of person they are?
Is it true that people who interact with others have no idea what kind of person they are?
No.
"Visual inspection" is actually not the only way to see into the essence of another person's soul.
There are many ways to understand and see through a person in this world.
Therefore, Jiang Ying's abilities are not actually that unique.
And if this kind of shadow can become a force and can be activated, then how is it possible that Jiang Ying is the only one who can do this?
As Xia Jing said, if something exists widely and objectively, it must be useful.
And this kind of usefulness does not mean being used by just one person.
The switch that activates the shadow should exist in everyone's body.
It's just that Jiang Ying has special abilities, so he can easily activate this switch.
For ordinary people, it is very difficult to find where this switch is.
Xia Jing is an ordinary person.
But at the same time, he is not ordinary.
He finally found it.
…
Jiang Ying had also been curious in the past. Xia Jing's shadow was a cloud, and that cloud was so pure and harmless, but why was Xia Jing so dangerous?
It was not until the moment he swallowed Xia Jing that he suddenly came to his senses.
Xia Jing's shadow is not a cloud at all.
It was a ball of fog that could change shape at will.
He does not have a fixed shape. He can become a shape that makes you feel harmless, or he can become a shape that makes you feel afraid of him.
He can blend into the air silently, or suddenly gather in front of you.
It can get into any gap and crush the entire behemoth with just a tiny detail.
This is the summer scene.
He controls your emotions and sets your behavior.
With his ever-changing and unpredictable posture, he guides you step by step onto the road he has paved, and he is waiting at the end of that road.
The moment you thought you had successfully devoured him.
He finds your loopholes and cracks and squeezes out.
Then, the fog spreads out into a net, wrapping you tightly.
…
"The shadow is a projection of a person's true self."
"Jiang Ying is a very weak person. His shadow and the power it generates are just like him, like a sponge or a piece of plasticine. No matter how hard I try, I can't crush him."
In the cave, Xia Jing spoke slowly.
"That's what makes him so interesting. His weakness becomes his protective hue. I can't destroy him, I can only put him to sleep. That power always floats in the air of the real world."
Then Xia Jing smiled.
He lowered his head and said to "Li Mian": "But you are great."
"You are tough and sharp, like a piece of glass. You are very aggressive, but as long as I can wrap you up and apply a little force, you will shatter completely."
"Li Mian" clenched his fists.
It was not until this moment that she understood why Xia Jing had said that Jiang Ying would never dare to kill him by "eating" again.
Although there is a difference between "eating" and "swallowing", this young man has left an absolute psychological shadow in Jiang Ying's soul.
Once this young man is swallowed into the pure force dimension, he will be able to drive the shadow. As long as his misty shadow can find the slightest loophole, it will destroy the entire behemoth!
She spent so much effort to devour the Smiling Face City and transform Jiangying's power into hers, but ended up making things easier for this young man!
The moment a powerful psychic's powers awaken, their bodies will stop growing.
Her body stopped functioning when she was thirteen.
More than ten years have passed since then, and she has used her supernatural powers to manipulate and fool many people. She never thinks that anyone can defeat her.
When she discovered the existence of Shadow City, she felt she had found her own paradise, her kingdom.
She activated this dormant energy.
At the same time, she also discovered that this energy was mixed with discordant notes.
The chaotic area of Smiley City is a loophole left by Jiangying.
In the past, she often searched through the dark and chaotic world to find the place where the discordant notes were.
She also had to admit that when she saw Xia Jing, she knew that this young man was no simple man.
She was afraid of him and was careful of him.
However, at that time, she would never have thought that a mere ordinary human being could actually destroy her to this extent.
Li Mian stared at Xia Jing intently and asked, "...How did you find out my identity?"
Xia Jing said, "I first realized your identity when I discovered that the power I felt in the Bionic dungeon didn't come from Chai Feng, but from you."
At the end of that copy, Xia Jingzeng clearly felt something touching his brain.
At that time, he thought it was Chai Feng's supernatural tentacle.
However, Bian Ya said that when Chai Feng's control ability was activated, it was like a gust of wind.
The blowing of the wind is barely noticeable.
It's not that obvious.
——At that time, Chai Feng did try to control him, but the feeling he captured came from another person who was present at the time.
Who could that be?
Zhao Mingjing and Shen Bai were both controlled by Chai Feng, Deng Kai had already become the main monster, and Song Yang need not be mentioned.
The only person left at that time, the one who supported him, was Tang Yi, who looked young and innocent, and no one would suspect him.
"Your special ability is to control emotions, right? That's why you can drive these forces in Jiangying."
Jiang Ying's shadow power is similar to the power of emotions. Later, this power absorbed the player's fear, sadness, and despair, which is the purest emotion.
This force is huge, but it is completely deadly force, so Tang Yi can easily control it.
The emotions of the living were different again.
It is true that once people's emotions are manipulated, their behavior will be easily affected, and they will become irritable and out of control.
People will confront each other, fight each other, and kill each other.
This is probably how Tang Yi uses his supernatural powers to kill people.
But at the same time, because humans have intelligence and can think, Tang Yi will be very cautious when using his supernatural powers on living people.
He only dared to use his supernatural powers to test Xia Jing when Chai Feng tried to control Xia Jing.
His own special ability is different from the power he transformed from Jiang Ying to attack Xia Jing. It does not have a very obvious route. As long as he uses Chai Feng to block the gun, it will be difficult for Xia Jing to trace this power and track down his existence.
He perfectly hid himself behind Chai Feng and concealed his identity.
Just now, when they were climbing on the rope, he used his supernatural powers to attack the only remaining kidnapped person.
Simply because the kidnapped person's emotions were the easiest to manipulate, the other party would not suspect where his sudden irritability came from. Even when Xia Jingming said that he had been attacked by someone with supernatural powers, it was difficult for him to calm down and think about this problem.
If you can't stay calm, you won't be sober.
The other party would easily break down emotionally, causing chaos, which eventually led to Lu Chenfei losing a leg and weakening his combat effectiveness.
Then, he poured a large amount of supernatural power into Chai Feng's body.
Chai Feng's anxiety increased, his desire index increased exponentially, and his supernatural powers also erupted, so Tang Yi could use him.
But it was precisely because Tang Yi had poured too much power into him that when Tang Yi's own power was crushed and exploded by Xia Jing, Chai Feng, who had endured a large amount of his power, could not withstand the impact and exploded.
At this moment, more clues are connected.
You Ye said, "Your shadow is a doll wearing a tie. That 'tie' is actually a knife sticking out of your chest, right?"
It looks harmless, but it is actually the most dangerous existence.
Tang Yi probably stabbed her with that knife.
Song Yang said slowly, "When Lu Chenfei and I first met you, you didn't seem interested in either of us. But after the Bionics instance ended, you took the initiative to ask to exchange contact information with us. You were completely focused on Xia Jing at that time, right?"
Thinking of this, Song Yang's eyes darkened.
The first crack in the safe house appeared after the "Bionic" copy ended.
Now thinking about it, in the "Bionic" copy, Tang Yi had taken the initiative to bring up the topic of safe house several times.
This person has been spying on them.
After leaving the "Bionic" copy, Xia Jing felt a gaze of unknown origin in the game lobby.
That gaze must have come from this child.
Lu Chenfei said coldly: "Come to think of it, when everyone was waiting for the four-star dungeon to be cleared, the first thing this guy asked us was where Xia Jing was. Were you asking even though you knew the answer?"
Tang Yi sneered.
With this expression, he no longer looks like an innocent child.
This person's inner being is essentially the soul of a twisted adult!
Fei Shengxiao said hoarsely, "In the game hall, he and Mianmian were standing together the whole time."
No one noticed the child.
When Tang Yi quietly inserted the monster prop into Li Mian's body, even Li Mian must have been caught off guard.
At this moment, Fei Shengxiao was just glad that Li Mian's body was still intact.
Just now, Tang Yi used Li Mian's body to cause trouble, and Lu Chenfei was so reckless that he would rather lose a leg to save her. I guess it was also to preserve Li Mian's body.
At that time, they had not yet fully confirmed the truth, but Lu Chenfei did not miss any possibility.
Thinking of this, Fei Shengxiao wiped his eyes and said, "But it's strange. I entered the dungeon a few minutes after you. Before I entered the dungeon, Mianmian was already in Tang Yi's body. She seemed to have no reaction at all! When Jia Qing and I were discussing the extra quota, she didn't say a word!"
If Li Mian had told the truth in time, they would have known Tang Yi's identity at the first moment.
Xia Jing said, "Once a player is forced to exchange souls with this item, they will fall into a state of confusion for several minutes. I believe she has already woken up."
——In other words, everyone in the game hall must have already known Tang Yi's identity!
Tang Yi suddenly said coldly: "So what? The game hall outside has collapsed, and the players will return to the real world. I can return to my own body as long as I stop the soul exchange. When I return to the real world, you will never be able to catch me again!"
If he didn't want to know where he fell even if he died, he wouldn't have waited in this body until now.
After saying this, he grabbed the nail on his arm and pulled it out with force.
Blood splattered and Li Mian's body fell to the ground.
From beginning to end, no one stopped Tang Yi.
Then he quickly realized something was wrong.
The voice of the god rang out in their minds, gritting their teeth: "What did they do?!"
He was bounced back!
He couldn't return to his own body, and Li Mian's body could not be used again because her soul had returned to its place.
Now his entire soul was forced to return to the divinity of this copy god!
He is trapped in this copy and can't get out!
Feng Shi asked, "Do you really think Jia Qing and the others are fools?"
Bian Ya raised an eyebrow and said, "This kind of soul exchange item... as long as the protective item is activated on one of the players, that player's soul will not be able to return to its original position, right?"
Xia Jing smiled and said, "Ordinary protective gear may not be enough, but top-level protective gear will do. Jia Qing has bought quite a few unusual and bizarre gear in my small supermarket."
Later, in order to contribute the monster body parts to Xia Jing, Jia Qing worked very hard. In view of his good performance, Xia Jing finally gave him some small discounts.
At this time, Li Mian, who was lying on the ground, moved and opened his eyes.
Those eyes were gentle, clear and calm.
This is exactly the look of the real Li Mian.
Fei Shengxiao finally rushed over, hugged Li Mian and started crying: "Mian Mian, you scared me to death!"
Li Mian was stunned for a moment, then smiled, patted Fei Shengxiao on the back, and said to the others, "Do you already know the truth?"
"Just now, when Xia Jing appeared in the game hall, Tang Yi activated the props on me. When I regained consciousness, I was already in his body, and Sheng Xiao had already followed you into the dungeon."
Li Mian calmly recounted the entire process. "Jia Qing and I discussed this, and we've decided that the initiative to exchange souls isn't in my hands. We can only wait for you to discover the truth. By then, Tang Yi might choose to remove the tool and escape back to his body. We'll have to stop him."
"Jia Qing happened to have a protective item that might be useful. We agreed that the moment I left Tang Yi's body, he would immediately activate the item to prevent Tang Yi's soul from returning."
There will be a very short time difference between the time their souls leave their bodies and the time they return to their bodies.
This is the opportunity they are going to seize.
If Jia Qing had been a little slower, the plan might have failed.
Fortunately, Jia Qing did not let down at the critical moment.
"Just now, the game hall began to collapse, and many people left Smiley City. Jia Qing and the others are still waiting outside, wanting to wait for you until the very last moment."
"So," Li Mian asked doubtfully, "where are you at now?"
Hearing this question, everyone looked at each other.
Then, Bian Ya said with a smile, "The big boss has been almost dealt with. We should now be considered to be... the only one left is the last main monster?"
Lu Chenfei exhaled and stood up straight, holding onto the earth wall. "Okay, now that we've come this far, let's return to our normal route to clear the dungeon."
The normal route to clear the dungeon is naturally—
Bianya smiled and said, "Explore the map."
Feng Shi said in a deep voice: "Look for clues."
You Ye said lazily: "Get the answer."
Fei Shengxiao and Li Mian looked at each other and smiled through their tears: "Defeat the monster."
Song Yang looked at Xia Jing and said, "Before we deal with him, we have to find out how he got the props from Smiley City into the real world."
This is related to Xia Jing's method of returning to the real world.
Xia Jing said, "No need, I already have the answer to this question."
Song Yang was stunned.
Xia Jing raised the corners of his lips and smiled, "I'll tell you about this later. Let's finish this copy first."
After the last copy of Smiley City is closed, this strange city will completely disappear from this world.
Tang Yi has lost the chance to return to his body.
He was trapped in the body of a god. If Song Yang and the others successfully solved this copy, his soul would be destroyed.
This drove him crazy: "Do you really think it's so easy to break this dungeon? Let me tell you the truth. Although I have successfully seized the godhood, even I don't know what the monster in this dungeon really is! This is a five-star dungeon. Don't even think about it. You will be trapped in this dungeon forever with me!"
Upon hearing this, Song Yang said calmly, "You took over the god's position without knowing its true form? Is it possible that you have actually seen its true form, but you didn't realize that it was its true form?"
Tang Yi gritted his teeth and said, "Are you calling me stupid?!"
Xia Jing smiled and said, "You shone your flashlight down the tunnel last night, didn't you? What you saw wasn't rising water. What did you see?"
Tang Yi paused and said coldly: "Why should I tell you?"
Xia Jing didn't care. He continued, "In this world, gods aren't necessarily human, but since they possess divine nature, they naturally have shadows. And as the master of this instance, their shadow surely doesn't need the NPC 'Jiang Ying' to awaken it; it can be seen and touched."
"You saw a dark, strange shadow on the wall of the corridor, right?"
Lu Chenfei thought of something and squinted his eyes, saying, "At the very beginning of this instance, the main monster said that it was the most special and supreme existence."
"If a player's shadow is attacked, the player will die. But if a god's shadow is attacked, its true body will definitely continue to survive - because at that time, the player has replaced its existence, and its body has also become another body besides the player's true body!"
Bian Ya pondered, "No, Tang Yi might not even have the intention to attack the god, because he hadn't dealt with Xia Jing yet, so there was no way he would let this instance end like this. He might have just touched it out of curiosity—"
At that time, he discovered a strange shadow. After the contact, Tang Yi's soul began to merge with the god.
He could feel that he had become a god, but he actually didn't understand the truth at all.
Song Yang said, "If the god's true body is very huge, then it is impossible that you still don't know what its true body is. There is only one reason for this situation—"
"The god's true form was extremely small. So small that it was connected to its own shadow, and you couldn't even detect its existence with the naked eye."
Xia Jing walked towards Li Mian.
Li Mian was a little confused.
They heard Tang Yi's rapid and disordered breathing.
He seemed to realize something.
Xia Jing raised his lips and spoke softly, "This underground world is very strange. It connects to the surface, is long and deep, with caves often appearing on both sides, and there are forks in the road halfway through. All living things need to keep climbing up."
"This strange underground world looks a lot like an ant hole, doesn't it?"
You Ye paused.
That's why she saw so many ants crawling up before the rain yesterday...
"As long as players follow the rules, they might be lucky enough to receive the arrival of a god—that's what an NPC once said."
"What kind of player is considered a good player? This may be difficult to define and distinguish."
"But the gods themselves will never go against their will. Therefore, the player who becomes the god is perhaps the most obedient believer. The true form of the god will naturally descend upon this player."
Xia Jing raised his hand and reached for the hat on Li Mian's head.
Li Mian was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head cooperatively.
In everyone's mind, Tang Yi's breathing became extremely rapid and he began to get scared.
"This dungeon is very interesting. You set the title, and Jiang Ying's will reveals the setting and content."
It is God, was the arrogant and presumptuous declaration of these two men.
They think that people with special abilities are higher beings different from ordinary humans, which is why Tang Yi is more inclined to recruit players with special abilities.
Among the people with special abilities, they are even more transcendent and absolute.
"But the core of cracking this dungeon is made up of the thoughts of countless players."
Those innocent people.
Those who had suffered all kinds of torture in Shadow City and Smile City, released emotions such as pain, despair, and sadness, and were consumed by Jiang Ying and Tang Yi as food.
Those who still refuse to give up the hope of living and struggle hard in desperate situations.
Their thoughts merged into this enormous power and gave a unique answer.
Xia Jing's slender fingers pinched a tiny ant that was crawling slowly on Li Mian's hat.
Tang Yi blurted out in fear: "Stop——"
The next second, Xia Jing exerted a little force with his index finger and thumb.
He crushed the tiny main monster's body between his fingers.
…
The only answer is...
There is no God in this world.
Only ants.