Liu Huai was gone, but he had controlled the violent monster Miao Gaojiang, even if it was only for a minute.
Bai Liu was stunned for a moment as he looked at Liu Huai's corpse. Then he quickly calmed down and grabbed the motionless Liu Jiayi, trying to drag her to the church.
Before this, Miao Feichi had also wanted to run, but what made him collapse was that his child's blood was still on Liu Jiayi. However, Liu Jiayi was next to the zombie monster Miao Gaojiang. He simply didn't dare go up to grab the blood. Miao Feichi hesitated for a bit before running to the church silently. He was going to catch little Miao Gaojiang.
This child was related to him by blood, so the blood was still useful. Then he would only be short of a child's blood. Miao Feichi looked at the large and small Mu Ke behind the baptismal pool, and his red eyes moved slightly.
Bai Liu dragged Liu Jiayi, but she didn't react at all. The little girl hugged Liu Huai's body and knelt down on the spot. The zombie next to them stared at Liu Jiayi with protruding eyes and started to move weakly. However, Liu Jiayi seemed not to see it. She held Liu Huai's head in a trance and muttered to herself, "Yes, I can resurrect my brother. I can, as long as I have enough points. I can..."
"You can't revive Liu Huai," Bai Liu interrupted Liu Jiayi's words. "His soul is here with me."
Liu Jiayi paused before jumping at a speed invisible to the naked eye. She leaped up and grabbed Bai Liu's neck, throwing him to the ground fiercely.
The number one rising star finally revealed her danger. Liu Jiayi's face was full of tears as her thin hands and feet strangled Bai Liu's neck. She hoarsely threatened him, "Give me Liu Huai's soul, or I'll kill you!"
Bai Liu coughed, but his expression was still calm. His voice was a bit hoarse as he replied, "...Even if you resurrect him now, would he want to live? He wanted to die for you. I could've saved him in my plan."
Liu Jiayi's breathing became uneven as she recalled Liu Huai's exhausted yet satisfied tone. She couldn't help letting go of the hand holding Bai Liu's neck, and Bai Liu quickly grabbed her wrist, dragging her to the church without looking back.
Liu Jiayi was dragged to the church by Bai Liu. Her skills were exhausted, and she had no strength to run. She fell to her knees before even taking two steps, so Bai Liu turned and carried her.
Bai Liu coughed while running. He glanced sideways and saw Liu Jiayi's inability to respond to his rescue. He told her indifferently, "Liu Huai asked me to save you in this game no matter what."
"It isn't just this welfare home. It is the entire game. Perhaps by then, he will be willing to be resurrected by you."
Liu Jiayi's eyes were sore, but she quickly refuted Bai Liu's words. "I can't live at all. The alienated monster Miao Gaojiang is a level three S-grade monster with over 10,000 defense. It might be possible if I form a group with the King's Guild, acting as the healing support, while supporting over a dozen A+ players with a high degree of cooperation. How can we fight him now?"
Bai Liu's tone was very calm. "I have a way."
The moment Bai Liu finished speaking, 1 minute and 15 seconds had passed since the zombie was attacked by Liu Huai. He could finally move again.
He opened his two black lips containing long fangs and jumped over to Liu Jiayi's side.
He didn't jump fast, but his height was extremely high. After several jumps, he arrived in front of the church door. However, he didn't attack Bai Liu or Liu Jiayi. Instead, he jumped directly over their heads and headed for the side door.
Miao Feichi was pressed against the side door of the church, ready to go around and commit a sneak attack on Mu Ke. He saw the zombie jumping over and couldn't help but curse. He hurriedly swung his knives to escape. The damage judgment was extremely high, and the spinning double knives slashed the zombie's skin. However, it was like slashing extremely thick leather. No marks were left. Miao Feichi moved away and tried to escape.
As a result, the zombie Miao Gaojiang seemed very familiar with Miao Feichi's attack methods and escape habits. Miao Feichi didn't manage to escape and was instead trapped in front of the church by the zombie.
Miao Feichi was sweating as he kept waving the double knives. Finally, he was forced to use the explosive skill, Resentful Double Knives. It was just that, due to his physical strength limitations, he could only use this skill for one minute.
The resentful souls floated from the double knives wielded by Miao Feichi, and a bloody atmosphere filled the space in front of the church. This skill could hurt Miao Gaojiang, but Miao Feichi was becoming paler because Miao Gaojiang could also hurt him.
[System notification: The Carrion Zombie has bitten player Miao Feichi's shoulder. Player Miao Feichi's health value has decreased by 2.]
[System notification: Player Miao Feichi has used the personal skill Resentful Double Knives to deal a critical hit once. The carrion zombie's health has decreased by 3.]
[System notification: ....]
Miao Feichi bared his teeth and tried to force his way out. The one-minute duration of his skill was soon approaching. Miao Feichi wanted to use the last critical hit, but he had only raised his knives halfway when a deformed child suddenly jumped onto his back.
It wasn't known where the monster came from, but he hugged Miao Feichi's neck from behind. Miao Feichi let out a curse and was about to stab the little monster to death. However, the moment he looked back and saw the little monster, Miao Feichi's pupils shrank.
He knew this face. This was the child he had kidnapped before he entered the game. He had cut off the child's fingers and eaten them. If Mu Ke were here, he would be surprised to see that it was the deformed child at the elevator who had warned him not to go up.
The little monster laughed and shouted. He hugged Miao Feichi's neck and clapped his hands. "Fingers! Fingers! Uncle likes to eat my fingers!"
He had no fingers on his hands.
The words "eat my fingers" caused the already zombified Miao Gaojiang to pause for a moment. This had once been Miao Feichi and Miao Gaojiang's secret signal to identify each other in the game, where all the investor players looked the same. He turned his turbid eyes to look at Miao Feichi and hoarsely said, "...Feichi likes to eat... fingers."
He seemed to recognize that the person in front of him was Miao Feichi. Miao Feichi was about to sigh with relief. He thought that Miao Gaojiang had barely recovered his mind, but this wasn't the case. Miao Gaojiang grabbed Miao Feichi's neck and stared at him. "...You will eat my fingers one day."
Miao Feichi was held and lifted into the air, his feet struggling helplessly. He desperately chopped at Miao Gaojiang with his double knives, but Miao Gaojiang didn't respond at all. He just pinched Miao Feichi's throat, and Miao Feichi soon turned red as he was unable to breathe. He stared at Miao Gaojiang's dead zombie eyes and finally understood why Miao Gaojiang had attacked him first. He realized what his father's subconscious fear was.
Miao Gaojiang was afraid that Miao Feichi would eat him. Therefore, Miao Gaojiang's skill status was to not die. He was a rotting zombie.
Miao Gaojiang's palms tightened, and Miao Feichi twitched. His double knives slowly dropped to the ground before disappearing into data light spots. His pupils shrank, and his mouth fell open. His head leaned against Miao Gaojiang's hand like a child acting cute toward his father.
[System prompt (for all players): Player Miao Feichi's health has reached zero. His death is confirmed, and he has exited the game.]
"Fuck!" Mu Ke looked at Miao Feichi, who had easily cut through everything in this instance, being killed by Miao Gaojiang in a minute. He pushed at the mouth of the tunnel, and sweat covered his face. "Why can't we open the tunnel?"
Bai Liu glanced at the door. "It is blocked."
The sweaty little Miao Gaojiang had tried his best to reach the tunnel, and he had blocked the tunnel entrance with the wooden pieces he had obtained from the church. He had used every means to keep the people outside from entering and gulped nervously. The investor had turned into a monster!
He had also used the baptismal pool container and some seats to press down on the exit of the monster children's passage behind the statue. The baptismal pool container had just been pushed open by Mu Ke. Unexpectedly, there was another layer inside.
Miao Gaojiang killed Miao Feichi and turned to look at Mu Ke and Bai Liu. Mu Ke felt numb as he stood in front of Bai Liu, little Mu Ke, and Liu Jiayi. He glanced at his system panel and took a deep breath as he stared at the S-grade carrion zombie.
[System notification: Congratulations to player Mu Ke for obtaining the skill identity 'Bright and Brave Assassin.' You have the skill-derived weapon, 'Light and Dark Daggers'.]
[System notification: Does player Mu Ke want to use the skill-derived weapons?]
Mu Ke exhaled. [Yes.]
Liu Jiayi's face was stained with tears as she stared blankly at Bai Liu, who was still struggling. "Give up, there is no way. We will all die..."
She hadn't finished speaking when Mu Ke stepped forward. He stood in front of Liu Jiayi, his hands lowered as a pair of daggers appeared in them.
This was a particularly familiar movement for Liu Jiayi. Her breathing was stifled, and everything she wanted to say was blocked.
"Liu Huai even gave his skill to someone else to protect you. It isn't for you to die, Liu Jiayi." Bai Liu was still pushing the door, competing with little Miao Gaojiang inside. He didn't look back because he was slightly short of breath from pushing the door. "Do you want to waste your brother's sacrifice?"
[System notification: Does player Mu Ke want to use the critical hit skill One Hit Flash? Since player Mu Ke has never used this skill, it will seriously consume your physical strength, and your body won't be able to escape physical exhaustion after use. Do you want to use it?]
Mu Ke glanced at Bai Liu, the stunned Liu Jiayi, and little Mu Ke behind him. He gripped the dagger, and an unprecedented emotion made his heart beat faster. Tears filled his eyes. He gritted his teeth in fear, but stronger feelings and desires pushed him forward.
[Use!]
Mu Ke sprang up from the ground. In Liu Jiayi's eyes, his heat image was like burning flames.
The dead assassin seemed to be alive again at this moment.
This time, he was no longer cowardly, but a brave assassin.
The moment Mu Ke sprang out, Liu Jiayi suddenly turned to Bai Liu. She lowered her head and ordered in a cold voice, "Get out of the way."
Bai Liu raised an eyebrow and got out of the way. Liu Jiayi placed her hand on the door of the tunnel and raised her head. Her eyes were red, but there were no emotions on her face.
[System, use the item 'Hinge.' The usage location is Miao Gaojiang in the tunnel.]
[System notification: Hinge is in the process of being set up... The setup is complete, and it has locked up player Miao Gaojiang inside.]
Little Miao Gaojiang looked in horror as hinges emerged from nowhere and locked around his ankles and wrists. He couldn't break free.
Mu Ke had been thrown out by Miao Gaojiang and rolled several times on the ground. He coughed up a large mouthful of blood and could barely get up. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pierce Miao Gaojiang's rigid zombie body to create the stiffness effect. The daggers in his hands seemed blunt.
[System warning: Player Bai Liu's health has dropped by 5 points to 1! Warning! Please quickly flee from this dangerous scene!]
Mu Ke lay on the ground and tried to get up. The world in front of him seemed to be shaking. He saw the zombie, whom he had stopped for less than 10 seconds, jumping in the direction of Bai Liu and Liu Jiayi.
No, this couldn't happen! It was a safe area for Liu Jiayi if she entered the church, but Bai Liu was different!
The moment this zombie got to Bai Liu, he would die!
Was there any way to make this zombie stop moving? Let it die! Let it stop hurting anyone else!
Mu Ke struggled to get up. His eyes fell on Liu Huai's bruised body outside the church. He looked at the wound on Liu Huai's chest and was stunned. This was the wound where Liu Huai had stabbed himself to lower his mental value and enter rage mode...
Bai Liu pulled out the whip and calmly faced the jumping zombie, but the zombie unexpectedly jumped over him and attacked Liu Jiayi behind him.
At this time, Liu Jiayi was grasping the hinge and pulling it. Miao Gaojiang was desperately trying to prevent himself from being pulled out. Before she could get in, she heard the sound of the zombie jumping and turned her head. The black nails of the zombie aimed at Liu Jiayi's forehead and seemed like they could pierce it with just a bit more reach.
Bai Liu's pupils shrank when he saw this scene. It wasn't allowed to kill children in the church, but killing children would only result in punishment. This didn't mean that children wouldn't die. Liu Jiayi was their only hope of clearing this game, and she absolutely couldn't die!
Bai Liu flung the whip, wrapping it around Liu Jiayi's waist and pulling her into his arms.
Liu Jiayi was held in Bai Liu's arms. Before she could react, Miao Gaojiang jumped to Bai Liu's side again. The zombie's nails stretched out very fast. They had already extended when he was halfway through the air. Bai Liu threw out the whip to block it, but it was caught by the zombie with one hand. Then Miao Gaojiang fiercely attacked Liu Jiayi in Bai Liu's arms with the other hand.
Liu Jiayi could smell the strong bloody scent from the zombie's nails. There was also Liu Huai's blood and the unmistakable signal that death was coming.
She closed her eyes slightly as she waited for the same death as her brother.
...I really wanted to try and live, Brother. If you see me coming to you, please don't blame me.
Bai Liu turned around and didn't hesitate to press Liu Jiayi's head into his arms. He released the whip and turned his hand into a monkey's hand. He solemnly faced the zombie's nails while completely protecting Liu Jiayi in his arms. The zombie roared and grabbed at Bai Liu. Liu Jiayi was stunned as she was held in Bai Liu's arms, which smelled of blood and dirt.
Bai Liu's chest was very thin, and his heartbeat was gentle. There was a reassuring strength and warmth that made Liu Jiayi involuntarily open her eyes slightly.
She remembered what Liu Huai had said to her.
"Sister, you deserve a brother 10,000 times better than me." Liu Huai smiled at Liu Jiayi. "You will have a better brother than me, Jiayi."
So don't give up on yourself. There is a brighter future waiting for you. Psyche had to go through all types of hardships to fly to heaven and bring Cupid back to Earth.
Bai Liu used the monkey hand to face the zombie. He forced the zombie onto his knees and moved back. Blood overflowed from the corners of his mouth. The zombie roared ferociously and attacked Bai Liu again. Bai Liu blocked Liu Jiayi's face with one hand to prevent her from being caught by the zombie. His eyes focused as he used the other hand to block the zombie.
The zombie raised his head and screamed; his nails slashed down hard. Bai Liu looked seriously at his opponent. If these nails hit him, he would surely die.
[System notification: Player Mu Ke has stabbed himself with the Light and Dark Daggers. His mental value has lowered... His mental value has dropped to 11, and rage mode is turned on!]
[System notification: Player Mu Ke has used the critical hit skill One Hit Flash!]
Mu Ke shot forward from afar like a bolt of lightning. The daggers in his hands shone with a dazzling light and illuminated the long night that seemed like it would never become bright. Mu Ke stood in front of Liu Jiayi and Bai Liu. His body was covered in wounds from where he had clumsily stabbed himself with the daggers. This was Mu Ke's first experience with such a drop in mental value, and his eyes were cloudy and unfocused.
However, his hands held the daggers very firmly as he used them to block the zombie's nails.
He was like a solid protective umbrella in front of Bai Liu and Liu Jiayi. This young master, who originally trembled when talking with S-grade players, now stood in an unshakable manner in front of an S-grade monster.
Mu Ke held the daggers, his heart beating wildly until it began to tingle, and his whole body became numb. He felt like he was going to die. His knees and hands were shaking. It seemed like he would fall to his knees in the next second, but he didn't.
Mu Ke turned his head and glanced at Liu Jiayi and Bai Liu behind him. An unprecedented emotion suppressed the tears that were about to flow out due to the pain and supported the knees that were about to collapse. It was too painful. Mu Ke had always thought that the pain in his heart during attacks was unbearable. He hadn't expected this to be even more painful.
The young master, who had always been treated preciously, who was afraid of pain and liked to cry, became hysterical under the agony that made him feel like his heart was going to burst. He threw his head back and roared through his tears, "Go away! You aren't allowed to touch them!!!"
Mu Ke viciously stabbed the shining daggers into the zombie's solid skin.
The zombie raised his head and let out an angry roar. The nails pressing into Mu Ke's body dug in harder.
[System notification: Player Mu Ke has used One Hit Flash to cause the carrion zombie to stiffen for one minute. The carrion zombie's health has been reduced to 5!]
Mu Ke was slammed into the ground by the zombie. He knelt weakly on the ground. The ground beneath him cracked due to the intensity of the zombie's force.
The zombie's downward pressure finally stopped. Mu Ke blinked slowly. After confirming that the zombie wasn't moving, he muttered about his success in a low voice.
Then Mu Ke started bleeding from his mouth, eyes, and nose.
Mu Ke let go of the dagger and slowly fell to the ground, vomiting blood while his dazed eyes stared at Liu Jiayi and Bai Liu, whom he had protected. Bai Liu was very familiar with this type of gaze.
It was like a child who had done a good job, his proud eyes seeking his parents' approval. The look on Mu Ke's face was so soft and faint that it seemed it would disappear at any moment along with his drooping eyelids. Even so, he was still happy.
It was because, at this time, like Liu Huai and Mu Sicheng, he had perfectly completed the offensive task assigned to him by Bai Liu.
"Well done, Mu Ke," Bai Liu told him.
Mu Ke's mouth was full of blood, but he smiled happily from the heart at Bai Liu's praise. The corners of his lips curved up proudly, but his eyelids kept drooping.
He spoke in a cautious tone, his voice weak. "...I seem to be dying. This time... I really tried my best. I made the best effort. Cough... I didn't... disrupt your plan... right, Bai Liu?"
"I know, Mu Ke." Bai Liu raised his eyes. "You did a great job. I will allow you to die this time."
Mu Ke sighed with relief. He slowly exhaled, his mouth full of blood and foam. Mu Ke slowly released his grip on the tightly held daggers. It wasn't known when the pattern on the daggers had changed from "blood" to "heart," because he had engraved the letters so tightly into his palm.
The lights on the daggers dimmed. They turned into data spots and disappeared.
[System notification: The health of player Mu Ke's main identity line has reached zero, and death is confirmed.]
Less than a second after confirming Mu Ke's death, Bai Liu didn't stop for even a moment. He hugged Liu Jiayi and ran to the tunnel. Liu Jiayi was carried by Bai Liu on one side, and there was a very strange and incomprehensible expression on her face.
She watched in dismay as the fire that had rushed in front of her was extinguished on the ground. It was Mu Ke, the new player, who was said to have inherited Liu Huai's skills.
They held the same weapons and fire as her brother, and he had also fallen to the ground.
Liu Jiayi's thin fingers slowly tightened around Bai Liu's shoulders, her eyes slowly filling with tears. "Why..."
She was just a little bitch that no one wanted. God had given birth to her only to prove, time and time again in her long, gray life, that she was worthless.
Her existence was meaningless. She struggled in the mud, a small fish who didn't know why she wanted to survive. She was in the pond that had drowned her mother and sister, and the only place to breathe was the hand that Liu Huai had held out to her.
Liu Jiayi didn't deserve to be saved. No one should save her.
In order to protect Liu Jiayi, Mu Ke was lying silently on the ground. His eyes hadn't closed yet. Bai Liu hugged her and ran toward the tunnel. She held Bai Liu's shoulder and opened her eyes blankly. It felt like she was going to fly.
The passing of time was very strange. She stared in shock at the monster zombie jumping toward her. He had recovered from his stiffness and was suspended in mid-air. The ugly monster's face slowly changed into a real face in her thermal vision.
The drunken face of the man who had given birth to her appeared over the zombie's face. He roared angrily at Liu Jiayi, "Little bitch! Who told you to be born!"
Then it turned into Liu Huai's face as he cried and collapsed. "Jiayi, I didn't mean it. This is the last time. One last time, okay?"
Bai Liu pressed Liu Jiayi's face into his arms, and the distorted faces vanished from her sight in an instant.
The thin Liu Jiayi shrank against his chest like a wild cat. She gently grasped Bai Liu's collar. Bai Liu's breathing was very rapid, but his voice wasn't anxious. "If you are asking why I want to save you—"
"It is because I made a deal. Someone sold me his soul and told me to take you out of here as long as I'm alive."
"I'm still alive, so I will save you," Bai Liu declared.
Liu Jiayi opened her blind eyes, tears falling down and soaking Bai Liu's clothes.
Two children who had never believed in God since they were young—at this moment, they stumbled and finally entered the safe zone protected by God.
The monster attacked from behind with his mouth wide open. Bai Liu tore open the hinge outside the tunnel entrance, pulled little Miao Gaojiang from the tunnel, and threw the screaming child toward the zombie monster chasing after them. Then Bai Liu frowned as blood slowly flowed from the corners of his mouth. He coughed and knelt down on the ground, putting Liu Jiayi down.
[System warning: Player Bai Liu's protection item, the Cynic Wrist Guard, will expire in 15 minutes. In the process, the damage that the player has received will be successively overlapped on the body of player Bai Liu! The health of player Bai Liu's main identity line is about to be cleared to zero!]
Liu Jiayi panicked as she saw the fire that was about to go out in front of her. Tears fell from her eyes. "Bai Liu! Hey! Bai Liu!"
Bai Liu slowly fell to the ground.
He loosened the hand holding the whip as more blood poured from his mouth. It was as if he were receiving backlash for all his injuries in this moment. Bai Liu spoke with difficulty to Liu Jiayi. "Run... passage..."
"Don't die!" Liu Jiayi touched Bai Liu's face like a panicked, normal 8-year-old girl. She bent over and pressed her face to Bai Liu's chest, feeling his gradually faint breathing as she cried helplessly. "Please don't die! Aren't you trying to save me? Didn't you promise to take me out of the game? Don't die like this!"
"Don't lie to me. Don't leave me alone..." The dirty little girl raised her eyes. She knelt in front of the pure statue with her dim gray eyes, letting out heartbreaking cries as blood oozed from the corners of her mouth and nose. "Don't let me hide alone!"
She hid forever in the darkness, like a deep-sea fish that couldn't see the light. She had strange blood and appearance, as well as a pair of blind eyes. She grew in betrayal, survived in doubt, and used her cursed ability to live in a game she couldn't tell anyone about.
'Who will be with me?' the invisible little fish whispered. 'I can save you and poison you, but if you approach me with love, I will give you my warmest belly. As long as you stay with me and don't throw me in the mud pool after becoming afraid of my monster-like appearance.'
Little Miao Gaojiang screamed and cried. He was grabbed by his adult self, who had become a monster. The zombie was going to bite little Miao Gaojiang's neck when the eyes of the god on the statue moved.
[System warning: A monster has been detected attacking children in the safe zone!]
[System warning: God's punishment will descend!]
Dense thorns spread from the feet of the statue and wrapped around the carrion zombie who had entered the church. The zombie monster was tightly wrapped in the black thorns. The thorns attacked everything and easily penetrated the thick, blue-purple skin that was like leather. They wrapped around the thick neck as the zombie roared, trying to break out of the thorns.
However, more and more thorns wrapped around him. The zombie was surrounded by a cocoon made of thorns.
The thorns pierced deeper and deeper, and the roars of the zombie gradually subsided. Finally, they became weak and inaudible as the thorns shrank and tightened, as if to swallow the monster.
Little Miao Gaojiang watched the lush thorns that were as tall as the church and moving like a hill. He took a frightened step back and found that the thorns were spreading throughout the entire church, all linked to the cocoon made of thorns in the middle.
The thorny bush slowly gathered together in little Miao Gaojiang's vision. The black spines of the thorns dripped with bloody, rotten liquid.
[System warning: The god-level NPC has attacked the carrion zombie (alienated monster)... the Carrion zombie's health is cleared to 0.]
[System notification: The health of player Miao Gaojiang's main identity line has reached zero, and death is confirmed.]
Liu Jiayi strongly smelled the stench of a corpse. She heard the hissing sound of thorns withdrawing across the ground, followed by the dull thump of something falling and her own rapid breathing. Yet these sounds couldn't compare to the gradually fading light in Bai Liu's eyes that attracted her attention.
She didn't care about the dead Miao Gaojiang and quickly turned to the system panel.
[System notification: I'm sorry to tell you that there is another 1 hour and 30 minutes left in the cooldown of your personal skill 'Antidote.' It can't be used now.]
Liu Jiayi closed her eyes and breathed deeply. 'Calm down, Liu Jiayi, calm down. There must be some way to save Bai Liu.'
Her healing skill couldn't be used, but she still had something that could directly save Bai Liu. It was her blood. Her blood could directly form a blood ganoderma lucidum that could save anyone. It could cure Bai Liu, an investor with a terminal illness. It was just that she needed a straw bed to grow the blood Ganoderma lucidum.
Bai Liu couldn't wait until he returned to the hospital to use a straw bed. It also needed to be obtained from an investor monster. Even if she had the ability to obtain it, Bai Liu didn't have time to wait for her.
Liu Jiayi's gaze slowly moved toward the place where she heard the thorns gathering. It was the statue of a god with thorns entangled around his body. The god had his eyes open and was looking at Liu Jiayi. However, his body temperature was so cold that he was like a dead object.
Before Tawil had time to speak, he saw the blind girl staggering toward the statue. Then, with fierce force, she started to pull the thorns from his body like they were wool.
The slightly confused Tawil, who had just woken up, "…?"
The humans who saw him after he awakened all went crazy. Bai Liu was the exception. He hadn't expected this girl to be sane enough to collect his thorns, but the moment he saw Liu Jiayi's face, Tawil understood why she was okay.
It was because this little girl couldn't see.
The moment Liu Jiayi touched Tawil, she inspired the god-level NPC. However, this was her safe area, and she didn't feel fear. She wildly pulled with the momentum of stripping Tawil naked.
Tawil silently watched as Liu Jiayi picked the thorns on his body. "..."
He glanced at Bai Liu lying on the ground before slowly wrapping his thorns gently around Bai Liu. These thorns could easily crush a monster with a defense of over 10,000, but facing the weakly breathing Bai Liu, they didn't cause any loss of health. Rather, they safely placed Bai Liu in the baptismal pool behind him.
Liu Jiayi heard the sound and looked at Tawil in shock. Just as she was ready to snatch Bai Liu from his thorns, Tawil silently placed his thorns in Liu Jiayi's hand.
Liu Jiayi was startled.
"Are you going to use my thorns to build a place to nourish the blood ganoderma lucidum?" Tawil spoke peacefully. "I will pile them up for you."
The thorns slowly stacked and wove together at the bottom of the baptismal pool, turning into a sturdy-looking black thorn rattan bed. A pale, bloodless Bai Liu lay on top of it with his eyes closed.
Liu Jiayi stood in front of the baptismal pool and looked down at the person who had been saving her since the beginning of the game, even though she had originally hated him.
"How did you know that using my thorns can nourish the blood ganoderma lucidum?" Tawil looked down at Liu Jiayi. "Or should I say, how did you know that the blood ganoderma lucidum is a product of my thorns?"
Liu Jiayi lowered her head. She still seemed to be looking at Bai Liu. Then she didn't hesitate to cut her wrists with a knife. Blood flowed down her arm and dripped into the water of the baptismal pool onto the bed of thorns. In the clean water meant for children to wash away their sins, the taboo, dirty blood in her body stained it and created flower-like patterns on the surface.
The thorns in the water started to stretch out their branches. The places where the branches crossed flashed with red spots like fireflies, and mushroom spores rose from the thorns.
Brightly colored blood dripped from Liu Jiayi's thin, white wrist. Her trembling eyelashes lowered, and there was no emotion in her voice. "All the monsters in this instance suck blood. You are also a monster. How can you not suck blood?"
"From the setting of the safety zone, you seem to be a god who protects children," Liu Jiayi continued. "Yet if you are really so good to children, why are the investors so enthusiastic about serving you and clinging to baptizing us in front of you? Every instance has a core evil.
These evil things fall into the world and are mixed with disgusting human desires to form a game instance. The core evil in this instance is the blood ganoderma lucidum. Everything started with the emergence of the blood ganoderma lucidum."
"You are the most important monster in this monster book, and your presence will definitely have something to do with the core evil."
Liu Jiayi raised her gray eyes, her hand still dripping with blood. "You aren't a good god at all. You are an evil god, and the investors worship you because the secret recipe of the blood ganoderma lucidum came from you, right? You are the god who gave them these things. That is why they serve you so enthusiastically."
Tawil blinked slowly as he watched Liu Jiayi, who looked up at him without hesitation. "Your words aren't right. The blood ganoderma lucidum did indeed start from me."
"However, I am also just a fallen, immortal evil thing. I am no longer a god." The thorns quickly climbed back onto Tawil's body as he spoke casually. "I am just the first nourishment of the blood ganoderma lucidum."
"I am the first child discovered by an investor whose blood could be used to grow the blood ganoderma lucidum. After discovering that I didn't die, he tied me to a cross with thorns and prayed that every child they baptized could nourish a blood ganoderma lucidum like me. If these prayers could make me a god, then I am indeed an evil god."
Liu Jiayi looked at Tawil, and her breathing stalled. The originally lifeless thorns in her vision suddenly became red and hot. They climbed the surface of the statue, pulsing and twisting like blood vessels.
The thorns burrowed into every blood vessel of the statue, piercing the walls with sharp points and greedily sucking the blood and nutrients from the body. These thorns drilled along the blood vessels into the viscera of the statue, twisting and entangling in the filth. They constantly took nutrients from the body like living things and secreted spore-like substances at the intersections of the vines.
These blood-red vines were blood-sucking mycelium. The spikes on them were covered with spores that hadn't grown yet.
Tawil's eyelashes hung down. "I am the eternal nourishment of the blood ganoderma lucidum. Every cell in the straw beds in the investor's hospital was grown from thorns that had drawn my blood and grown on me."
"I am the symbiotic host of the blood ganoderma lucidum."
After driving the vines to kill the monster, these vines, or mycelium, expanded even more and sucked the blood from Tawil's body. They wrapped tighter together, the thorns moving through Tawil's blood vessels and heart. Tawil's expression became obviously tired. This was why he wanted to sleep every time he used the vines to save Bai Liu.
After he directed the mycelium to save Bai Liu, the mycelium would take blood and nutrients from him.
Tawil slowly lowered his eyes and stared intently at the unconscious Bai Liu lying in front of him.
The first time he saw Bai Liu, he was a rotting merman fished from the water by humans. He was placed on display as an exhibit to attract tourists to the slaughter. Eventually, all the townspeople were changed into ghostly fishman monsters.
The second time he saw Bai Liu, he was a ghost mirror stolen from a collector's house by thieves. He hid the fear that all humans didn't dare to face. Day and night, the thieves were afraid he would break or that someone would come and steal him. They placed bombs in his body and eventually buried a whole carriage of passengers in a sea of fire.
This was the third time he had seen Bai Liu—Tawil lowered his eyes.
He was a child who fit the supply requirements of the blood Ganoderma lucidum. He wouldn't die or stop producing blood, only sleep. His special blood drove all investors with terminal illnesses crazy and finally turned the two places that should do good deeds, the hospital and welfare home, into a farm-like human hell.
Thus, he was exiled by the gods.
[Tawil, you are naturally born evil. You can only sleep at the bottom of the sea, in the broken lenses that are untouchable due to human fear, in the darkness of the universe that is 13.7 billion light-years away.]
[The moment that human desires touch you, it will lead to endless bitter fruits and hell. You are a god. You enjoy human faith, so you should be responsible for the human tragedies derived from your evil.]
The high gods had proclaimed in this way. [Tawil, no human can maintain their sense of reason and not go crazy after seeing your true face. It is because you are so evil. From your appearance to your soul, you bewitch people into the abyss and extreme evil. From all the cut latitudes of time and space, you can corrupt even the purest and most innocent child.]
[If a human can keep their sanity when they see you, they will surely become—]
[—the next devil.]
The next devil slept on in the white baptismal pool, soaked with the blood of the taboo witch. He was awakened by God from his dream of blood-colored fireflies, and Bai Liu's eyes slowly opened.
Bai Liu's face was pale. His head was tilted back, and the thinner parts of his hands and feet had crimson vines wrapped around them, moving inch by inch upward. The branches of the plant that healed the terminally ill person shook and spread out on his surface—this was a very fragile posture, like a sacrificial offering.
Sacrifices, devils, and the faces of dead patients hidden under the vines, hidden under the flowers of evil watered by human desires. He calmly looked at the fallen evil god bound by the derivatives of human desires, and the awakened evil god looked back at him quietly.
"Are you going to become crazy after seeing me?" His voice echoed in all directions in the church, swallowed up by the veins. It was as if a thousand believers were throwing themselves into the net at the same time.
"Never." The demonic believer answered with a smile.
The spikes on all the vines that grew from the god burst. Blood-red spores floated like shards of shattered planets. The light from the red candles floated in the air and danced wildly. The spikes bursting from the top were like red clematis with four petals and a strange color. They wrapped tightly around Tawil's cheeks, revealing only the statue's eyes that had no emotional fluctuations.
The air was full of the spores of the blood ganoderma lucidum, and there was a weird, bloody aroma. At the moment the spores blossomed, Liu Jiayi collapsed on the edge of the baptismal pool due to a drop in mental value and excessive blood loss.
She placed her wrists upward on the edge of the pool so that blood was still flowing continuously into the pool. There were several new knife cuts and an old knife cut that had slightly solidified.
"Her blood has been drained, and it isn't enough to grow a blood ganoderma lucidum," Tawil whispered from where his face was hidden under the thorns. "The mother's blood ganoderma lucidum needs more blood."
This was why investors didn't use the mother blood ganoderma lucidum directly. The mother blood ganoderma lucidum needed more blood to raise a mature blood ganoderma lucidum. Tawil's blood recovery speed was only enough to maintain the supply of child bacteria. Thus, they picked the child bacteria from Tawil and cultured them separately in a more efficient and exclusive manner.
"How much more do you need to know?" A weak voice came from the door of the church. Little Mu Ke was holding the door with one hand, his other hand clenched tightly by his side as he looked at the statue. "If there is the blood of me and little Bai Liu (6), as well as the blood packs of Miao Feichi and Liu Jiayi that I just took from Liu Huai, will it be enough to grow a blood ganoderma lucidum to save him?"
"Perhaps it is not enough." Tawil looked calmly at the unconscious little Miao Gaojiang on the ground. "However, if we use the blood of this child and the rest of my blood, then it is enough."
Little Mu Ke knelt by the pool. He rolled up his sleeves and cut his thin arm with the knife that had fallen beside Liu Jiayi. Then he took out little Bai Liu (6)'s blood bag. The blood had solidified, and there were slight layers. It was completely cold. The moment little Mu Ke saw the blood, his eyes turned red. He tore open the three blood bags and soaked them in the baptismal pool under Bai Liu, who was too weak to move. Then he cut his other arm and soaked both arms inside.
Little Miao Gaojiang was dragged over and cut so he was bleeding by little Mu Ke, who gritted his teeth. If it wasn't for this bastard, so many of them wouldn't have died!
"Cough, cough." Bai Liu coughed twice as he looked sideways at little Mu Ke, whose arms were soaked in the water. Bai Liu suddenly smiled, seemingly not very concerned that his life was hanging by a thread. He joked casually with little Mu Ke, "Don't you hate me? Why do you want to save me?"
Little Mu Ke lowered his head and answered in a very low voice, "…Bai Liu (6) wanted to save you, and you saved me. Thus, I will save you."
Liu Jiayi's hand extended through the gap in the vines and soaked in the cold water of the baptismal pool. Her sleepy face leaned against the edge of the pool while her other hand gently grabbed the corner of Bai Liu's clothes.
Her fragile face was covered with tears, and her thin arm was covered with shocking knife marks. This little girl had cut herself in a deadly manner. She knew that her mental value and consciousness wouldn't last long. She was afraid she would faint, so she cut deep enough to prevent blood clotting.
Bai Liu turned his head and stared up at the ceiling of the church. He seemed to be answering little Mu Ke, but also not. "It is really the logic of a child."
A child's logic seemed so simple, simple and easy to deceive. You saved me, so I want to save you. You paid for me, so I have to pay for you.
Liu Jiayi was like this, and Mu Ke was like this.
The same was true for Bai Liu (6). Bai Liu didn't want to admit it, but he hadn't grown up much since he was a child. He still had this set of logic now. This logic was a very pure, transactional logic.
"So why are you saving me, Tawil?" Bai Liu whispered. "I don't remember making a deal with you that would cost you all your blood."
Tawil's face was completely covered with thorns, but his voice wasn't. "Your existence itself is worthy of everything."
"Bai Liu." Tawil's voice was flat, as if he were declaring something sacred and unknowable in the church. It was cold and solemn, like a once-in-a-lifetime vow. "You are my only believer."
[Tawil, if such a human exists, you will have a believer again.]
[A demonic believer of the evil god.]
"God has to unconditionally fulfill all the requests of his believers," Tawil said.
Little Mu Ke had lost too much blood. He also felt a wave of unspeakable fear and dizziness when looking at the statue's face, so he fainted.
The vines on the statue's body crept upward, and the thorns traveled through the structure. At a speed that made people feel pain with one glance, they quickly climbed all over the church.
The holy church was turned dark red in an instant, and the leaping vines created a satisfactory habitat. The red spores, or daughter bacteria, seemed to have a heartbeat. They beat regularly and grew rapidly, as if they were swallowing incredible nutrients. They grew heart-shaped mushrooms in an instant.
Tawil's heart was also beating at the same frequency as theirs.
Bang, bang. It was as if Tawil's heartbeat was magnified by the vines as it echoed through the church.
Bai Liu looked at the vines covering the ceiling and the thumping "heart." Then his gaze finally fell on the unseen statue covered in dark red vines.
"If I really am your only believer—" Bai Liu joked in a casual tone. "Then please save me, Tawil, my god."
The thousands of beating hearts stopped for a moment.
Then they started to beat even more frantically and intensely.
The vines started to shrink, and rose-like, bright red Ganoderma lucidum grew on each vine. Thousands of gleaming red blood ganoderma lucidum grew from the withered black veins, just like a rose field at night in the flowering season. They blossomed decadently and wantonly before withering.
The vines on the statue withered and slipped down. Tawil leaned down from the statue and supported himself using both edges of the baptismal pool. The ever-cold god lowered his eyes. His lips now had a temperature like blood. He lightly kissed Bai Liu's forehead and whispered, "God has baptized you for your new life, my only believer."
[System notification: Player Bai Liu has obtained a hidden identity, 'the only believer of the evil god.']
[System notification: Congratulations to player Bai Liu for obtaining the clearance item, the blood ganoderma lucidum, and completing the main mission to successfully cure your terminal illness. You have cleared the instance and can leave the instance.]
[System warning: Player Bai Liu's health has been restored to 3 due to curing your terminal illness. Your health value is low. Do you want to stay in the game after clearing it?]
[System warning: Player Bai Liu has chosen to stay in the game. During his stay, player Bai Liu will bear the consequences of all actions, and the system won't give any warnings or notifications.]
[Note: The small TV can be turned off during the stay. Once the small TV enters data settlement, the data of the stay isn't included in it. During the stay, the player can choose to exit the game at any time.]