# Chapter 8: Divine Technique: Playing Dead?
Wind scar bullets whistled as they flew, striking the metal layer of the trench with a thunderous roar, metal fragments scattering everywhere.
Boom!
Blue flames surged after the bullets shattered, gradually dissipating into the air.
"Who can suppress him? If this continues, we're all going to die."
"I can."
"Then why don't you make a move!"
"You stick your head out and show me first?"
"I..."
The Dream Spirit clan girl who had spoken fell silent. She absolutely dared not show her head; she didn't want her skull blown apart by a single shot.
"Hang in there, big brother. Don't die, hey!"
Nita's voice came through. She couldn't be sure if Su Xiao would shoot her, so she could only hide inside the trench.
"I might not... hold on... much longer."
A weak, intermittent voice came. A man nearly three meters tall, his skin a dark purple, sat leaning inside the trench. On his chest was a hole as thick as a water barrel, with green light clinging to its edges—that was the only reason he hadn't died yet.
He was a 'Vitan Clan' member, and this metal trench was created by his ability. Once he died, the metalized soil would revert, and the situation would be dire.
Seeing this, Shang Yue stepped forward, took a green gem from her feathered robe, and pressed it against the Vitan's skin.
The green gem quickly turned gray-white, and the Vitan's vital signs stabilized significantly. The nearby Lizardman and Dream Spirit girl both breathed a sigh of relief.
Boom!
An explosion occurred at extremely close range, and an impact wave came from behind the Vitan.
Bullets flew in one after another. After the third round exploded, a breach appeared in the trench behind the Vitan—a semicircular hole. The Vitan was lying right in front of the breach, exposed within Su Xiao's firing angle.
"Don't let him die..."
Before Shang Yue could finish her sentence, a wave of force hit her face. Warm liquid splashed onto her cheeks. The bullet had exploded too close to her, causing a ringing in her ears.
Bang!
Kinetic energy collided. Shang Yue's head buzzed. Large black feathers flew up, and her feathered robe was nearly completely shattered, yet it stubbornly remained connected. That robe had blocked one shot for her, but it absolutely couldn't block a second.
In a daze, Shang Yue vaguely heard someone shouting, "Why did you betray us?" The voice sounded like the Dream Spirit girl.
When Shang Yue's consciousness recovered somewhat, the lower half of her body was nearly buried in soil. The ground within a kilometer around her was pockmarked, as if bombarded inch by inch by 'Koro-style artillery shells.'
Shang Yue tried to get up but failed several times. She had been caught in the explosions of wind scar bullets multiple times; her sense of balance couldn't recover in a short time, and most of her body was numb.
Half a corpse lay near Shang Yue—it was the Lizardman.
"Baha, clean up the battlefield. Bubu, stay alert. The Twins won't be too obedient. And you, this is your payment."
"Don't, don't do this. My clan will seek revenge on you. You, you all, the Chanting Language clan deserves to die. You deserve to be sold as slaves..."
The sound of a blade piercing flesh reached Shang Yue's ears. The light in her eyes dimmed. She didn't want to die, but unfortunately, she could no longer fight. At least for the next ten minutes or so, her nearly battered body wouldn't allow her to continue.
'Ah, is this it? I really wish... I could return to Cherry Wind Forest.'
The light in Shang Yue's eyes completely faded. Her heart stopped. This was a life-saving technique her elder brother had taught her—a desperate measure on the battlefield: playing dead.
Boom, boom~
The sound of heavy objects hitting the ground came one after another, filling Shang Yue with utter despair. The enemy was preventing anyone from faking death.
"Die!"
A desperate shout rang out. After a brief sound of blade slashing, the battle ended.
'Damn it.'
Shang Yue felt her eyes moisten. Before this, her attitude toward death had been contempt. Death was nothing; as a member of the Feather clan, she feared no death. That was also why she rarely smiled.
But as death gradually approached, Shang Yue realized she wasn't as strong as she had imagined. She was afraid. She missed the delicious desserts made by the family chef. Her tears were about to flow uncontrollably, but she held them back. She was a Feather clan member, one of the major races in the Void.
Death was more terrifying than Shang Yue had imagined. Just then, heavy footsteps approached. Coldness spread over her body—icy, cruel, without a trace of mercy. Death was getting closer.
"Amu."
"Moo?"
"This determines whether you get dinner tonight."
"Moo!"
Amu realized the seriousness of the matter, glanced at Shang Yue, and walked away.
Hearing this brief exchange, Shang Yue was puzzled. But just then, footsteps approached again, accompanied by a faint scent of blood.
A hand grabbed Shang Yue's long hair and lifted her slightly. Shang Yue was still playing dead, her vision blurry, but she vaguely saw the man crouching in front of her take a gray stone from his chest and press it against her cheek. Within three seconds at most, she felt a faint warmth through the touch on her cheek.
Shang Yue felt the hand gripping her hair release. Soon, she smelled the unique scent of tobacco.
But not long after, Shang Yue felt the man grab a lock of her hair and cut it off. Shang Yue knew this was the enemy keeping a souvenir before killing her.
"Boss, they're all dead. The Twins are following the rules; they didn't come near here."
"Mm."
After hearing this brief exchange, the footsteps began to fade. As for why she kept hearing footsteps, it was because her face was pressed against the ground—of course she could hear clearly.
Sensing that the enemy had left, Shang Yue's heartbeat began to accelerate uncontrollably. She had succeeded! She had successfully played dead! She really had succeeded! Her elder brother's life experience was indeed richer.
At this moment, Shang Yue's usually stern demeanor was healed. Because being alive was simply too wonderful.
Something seemed to be stuck in Shang Yue's throat. She was actually choking up. She realized that being alive was so beautiful, and playing dead was simply a divine technique.
She had survived. Shang Yue swore that the enemy she encountered this time was the most ferocious and decisive enemy she had ever faced.
In reality, Shang Yue's playing dead couldn't fool Su Xiao at all. The reason Shang Yue survived was due to the protection of her race—the Feather clan + Demon clan. Without both, just the Feather clan identity alone would have meant certain death today.
The Demon clan and Feather clan were playing a grand chess game, and Su Xiao was a 'spectator' on the sidelines. To prevent him from smashing a piece on the board, one of the players, 'Old Demon Goat,' had previously conveyed a message through secret channels.
There was no problem with the two players consuming each other's pieces. But if Su Xiao, as a spectator, overturned the board, all three sides would suffer. After all, the two players had already promised benefits to the spectator. As long as it wasn't a public battle, Su Xiao wouldn't smash the pieces—there was no benefit in that.
For this reason, Su Xiao had sent Nita away first to avoid her seeing him let a 'small piece' go.
The two old fellows from the Demon clan and Feather clan were ruthless enough. The war between the two clans would cost many lives. Even if the ultimate goal was achieved, the two clans wouldn't immediately reconcile. They would remain hostile for a while longer before reuniting due to some 'opportunity.'
In fact, only a few people were qualified to know about this chess game. It wasn't selfishness on the part of those two old fellows; everything they did was for the sake of their respective races.
In a place like the Void, developing too stably for too long would invite suspicion. The good fortune of 'I won't trouble others if they don't trouble me' had basically disappeared after the end of the Law Destruction era.
Inside the dense forest, Su Xiao placed the lock of hair in his hand into a test tube. This item could be exchanged for resources from a certain 'Old Demon Goat.' As for him not paying? Absolutely impossible.
Su Xiao had no worries about revenge from that female Feather clan member, because it was almost impossible—unless the two old fellows made a decision-making error. Even if that situation occurred, it would happen before that female Feather clan member found Su Xiao, as she would die in some war zone first.
There were three reasons why Su Xiao could become a spectator in this game.