Chapter 14: Killing Through the 'Network Cable'
At the exit of the Birth Square, Loki stood still, staring at the animal trap beneath her foot. For some reason, the trap hadn't sprung to clamp her leg.
Loki dared not move. Once she lifted her foot, the trap would likely be triggered, and if she wasn't fast enough to jump away, she'd definitely be caught.
Although Loki still had one resurrection chance left, she had no intention of using it. Her sanity had dropped too much; if she couldn't recover it before entering the next inner painting world, she'd be in serious trouble.
Calm, composed, never stop thinking.
After carefully observing, Loki realized there really was no good solution. Her thoughts continued as follows:
'I can only jump backward or forward. Jumping forward might land me on other traps. Jumping back into the Birth Square is safe—the Life Hunters can't enter the Birth Square. Yes, jumping backward is safe.'
'No! Life Hunters can't enter the Birth Square, but Wood and Zuiyasi can. They could bring traps in after a Life Hunter sets them. Jumping backward is also a trap—I might get caught by other traps. Even the path I've walked isn't 100% safe. Maybe I already stepped over a trap without noticing. Hah, trying to fool me? Impossible!'
Loki took a deep breath, focused, then jumped to the right.
Ding~
A spring plate popped up, along with parts of an animal trap. The trap Loki had stepped on earlier was fake.
Seeing the flying metal parts, Loki's composure shattered. She had survived the chase, survived self-execution, but after dealing with this fake trap, her mental state collapsed.
Loki's toes touched the ground, minimizing the contact area as much as possible.
Click!
A sharp sound came from beneath her foot. Her right leg went numb as a trap clamped tightly around her calf.
Seeing this, Baha, who had been lying in ambush nearby, took flight. Loki had already left the initial square, and Baha's job was to harass her, preventing her from escaping with a broken leg.
In Baha's view, if this situation were a thousand-layer cake, Loki jumping forward would put her on the first layer, jumping backward on the second, jumping to the sides on the third, while his boss was at least on the fifth layer—a true thousand-layer cake master.
"You've worked hard, fighting with thin air for so long. To be honest, it doesn't matter where you jump. See this semicircle outside? There are 19 traps total. Even if you got past them, I'd follow you secretly and keep placing traps ahead. Surprised I chatted with you for so long? Look left—ah no, just kidding, it's actually the right."
Click!
A trap that Bubu Wang had been holding with his head was triggered, clamping onto Loki's right arm. The trap's activation caused a strong recoil as it snapped shut, leaving Bubu Wang sitting there with a dumbfounded expression.
Loki glared at Baha. Thinking of all the eyes watching, she suppressed the rage in her heart.
"Even if Zuiyasi and Wood betrayed you, and Bai Ye is a Life Hunter, and you've captured Soyer and me, there are still Molei, Yueshitu, Tianyu, and Lilim left. They are the hope."
Loki's words slightly lifted the atmosphere in the arena. After all, Loki's situation was too hopeless. Dying again would be too wasteful. As for escaping, impossible—even if she broke free with one arm and one leg, what would be the point?
"Oh? You still have four teammates left? Are you sure they won't disappoint your expectations?"
"They won't. They are representatives from various factions. They won't..."
Loki's words trailed off as she saw her hoped-for teammates being carried—two by a Life Hunter, one slung over a shoulder, Zuiyasi dragging another, and the last, Yinqi Soyer, being hauled by Wood.
Pfft, pfft.
Su Xiao swung his axe twice, freeing Loki. He tucked the hunting axe at his lower back, grabbed Loki from the ground with one hand, and tucked her under his right arm.
After tossing all the survivors into the Birth Square, Su Xiao sat on a chair Baha had brought. Zuiyasi and Wood entered the Birth Square, ready to act if Loki or the others made any move.
Molei, Lilim, and the others exchanged glances, utterly confused. They had too many questions: How did Su Xiao become a Life Hunter? Why did Wood and Zuiyasi become traitors? And was this damn game even meant for humans?
"You cheated. You're bullying us."
Yueshitu bared her little fangs, looking ready to bite someone.
"Oh? How did we cheat?"
Wood, bored, decided to have a friendly chat with Yueshitu.
"You're clearly a survivor..."
"No, I'm a betrayer. That's not just a label—it's a faction identity certified by the Void Tree, part of the game. Any other questions?"
Wood's words left Yueshitu speechless. After a moment, she turned her spearhead to Zuiyasi and said, "This big brother, who looks very fierce, you must have cheated."
Yueshitu was a bit afraid of Zuiyasi. She had heard from Tianyu that this monster had gouged out his own eyeball and popped it in his mouth like a small tomato, biting until it burst.
"I'm now half a Dark Dweller, essentially a native of the Nightmare World. I'm from the Chaos faction. No matter who wins, I gain nothing. Why wouldn't I support the stronger side?"
Zuiyasi's words silenced Yueshitu. Just then, Zuiyasi smiled and said, "Little sister, your eyes... are truly beautiful."
"No, no, no, not beautiful. Bro, my eyes have been inflamed these past few days. They don't taste good."
Compared to Yueshitu, the goofy Molei was surprisingly silent. She lay there like a shrimp, locked up tight. Today, no matter what, she, Molei, would not embarrass herself.
The Birth Square gradually quieted down. Over at the arena, it was also silent.
On the circular spectator stands, the Law Destroyers, the Feather Clan, the Demon Clan, and the professional miners from Apocalypse Paradise all turned their gazes toward the workers of Reincarnation Paradise.
"Hahaha, blocking the Birth Square—how did he come up with that? Awesome."
"Being stared at by so many people is a bit nerve-wracking."
"Selling rare materials..."
Our workers didn't care. They were used to dealing with contractors from Reincarnation Paradise; this was nothing.
Next door, the Demon Clan spectators remained silent. Those from Doom Star were similar. From the expressions of these scholars, they quite approved of Zuiyasi's actions.
Nightmare World, outside the Birth Square.
Su Xiao leaned back in his chair. Dressed in the Life Hunter set, he seemed powerful, but in reality, he was very weak. Not just him—Zuiyasi and Wood were the same.
The reason was that Su Xiao needed to complete his subsequent plan, and he was certain that Molei and the others wouldn't attempt to attack—the loss would far outweigh the gain.
Time passed quickly. As expected, Molei and the others didn't fight to the death but waited for the game to end.
When the giant clock directly above the Slaughterhouse pointed to 12, Su Xiao received a notification.
[Notification: You have become the victor of the survival game.]
[You have obtained Scroll Fragment ×4.]
[Notification: The Nightmare King has closed the next round of the game, the Amusement Park.]
[The second round has not yet been certified by the Void Tree. The Nightmare King, as the ruler of this world, has the right to close the second round: Amusement Park.]
[All Explorers are about to leave the Nightmare World.]
[The Nightmare King has the right to reclaim the Scroll Fragments. He can buy back the Scroll Fragments you obtained at any time by paying an 'equivalent' price.]
...
A repulsive force surged from the surroundings. Seeing these notifications, Su Xiao wasn't surprised at all.
"So damn shady. This is a huge trap."
Molei cursed under her breath. The Nightmare King simply couldn't take the loss. Just as she was about to curse further, she suddenly noticed Su Xiao taking off his mask and stripping off his clothes, baring his upper body.
Su Xiao's actions caught the attention of Molei, Lilim, Soyer, Yueshitu, and the others, all focusing on him.
"Bai Ye, lend me the axe."
"..."
Su Xiao casually tossed the hunting axe to Wood. Why had the three of them been so weak earlier? Because all three were severely anemic—not from blood loss, but because their blood had been concentrated to a specific point in their bodies, continuously compressed through alchemical secret patterns: creating new blood → concentrating → compressing → the body continuing to produce blood.
Under Molei and the others' puzzled gazes, Su Xiao's right hand pierced into his own chest. His cheek twitched twice, then he ripped out his own heart and crushed it.
Bang!
Zuiyasi smashed his own head with both hands, while Wood chopped off his own head with the axe.
As soon as Su Xiao and the others died, their bodies quickly turned to ash. The Nightmare King sensed something was wrong, but it was too late. To avoid detection, Su Xiao and the others had used their own bodies to gather the means.
Three blood seals burst into radiance. Seeing this, Molei winced in pain. She even suspected these three were planning to take down the Nightmare King himself.
Darkness surrounded him. Su Xiao felt his thoughts rapidly returning to normal. A few seconds later, his consciousness cleared, and a familiar sensation emerged—the feeling of returning to his own body.
Su Xiao could feel surging power throughout his body, Cyan Steel Shadow energy coursing within him.
Eyes closed, one hand on his sword hilt, Su Xiao took a deep breath. What a wonderful feeling. It was so much better to return to his own body.
The room he was in had iron-black walls and ceiling. Dim yellow light filtered through a stained lampshade above, casting everything in a warm, hazy yellow. Suddenly, the light above went out.
A pulling force came from ahead. Normally, Su Xiao would have to go along with this force, be sucked into the door ahead, and return to the main painting world.
But now, not far away, a compressed blood aura was located there—that was the Slaughterhouse's location, where the game had just taken place.
In the darkness, a pair of eyes glowing with blue light opened. Streaks of blade aura spread outward, slicing through the metal room.
The metal floor beneath Su Xiao's feet dented with a clatter. He burst through a wave of air, crystal instantly enveloping his body.
After smashing through a barrier, Su Xiao was surrounded by dark purple fluid. Strong resistance pressed against him from all sides, but with his physique, it couldn't stop him.
Boom!
A wave of air expanded, dark purple liquid splattering everywhere. Su Xiao landed heavily, rising from a rocky crater. He looked around—this was... the Birth Square.
Dozens of meters away, a mass of black tentacles emerged from nowhere, and Zuiyasi stepped out from among them.
A skull made of smoke appeared, and as it dissipated, Wood materialized.
Boom! Thunder rumbled in the sky. From the sky filled with purple lightning and dark clouds, it was clear that the Nightmare King's mood was far from calm.