In Kripper’s space, he stared blankly at Gu Zhan, unable to find his voice.
He was very dissatisfied.
Just from his expression, Gu Zhan could sense this.
But he was powerless.
Finally, just as Garen was about to touch Gu Zhan, Kripper reluctantly let him go.
In the passage, Garen had just reached out, intending to push Gu Zhan slightly.
Suddenly, Gu Zhan turned his head, gazing silently at him.
The tranquility and emotionless divinity in his dark eyes caused Garen to pause, instinctively withdrawing his hand, and he cautiously asked, “Are you alright? I thought you were being influenced by something.”
Gu Zhan’s thoughts were still lingering on the conversation he had with Kripper just moments ago.
He slowly blinked his eyes, and his mind gradually returned to focus.
“I’m fine,” Gu Zhan said. “They should have noticed you’re missing. That priest has also left. While they go check over there, we can escape from this side.”
Garen replied, “But there’s a wall here! How do we escape?”
He had already checked and found no secret passages.
Gu Zhan knocked on the wall and said, “This wall isn’t solid; we can blow it up.”
“……” Garen’s mouth slowly fell open.
He wanted to say something to refute it, but no words came out.
He could only watch helplessly as Gu Zhan took out a magic rune and pressed it against the wall.
The two quickly backed away, and with a loud “bang—,” the wall, which already had a hole, exploded, creating a large opening about half a meter high.
In that moment of the explosion, he felt as though the ground beneath him was shaking.
Garen couldn’t help but think, Is this really possible? Can this really work?!
However, Gu Zhan had already reached the hole, bending down to peek outside.
After confirming that no one was there and that it was safe, Gu Zhan turned back and extended his hand toward Garen, saying, “Come on.”
Garen: “……”
At this point, there was no other option!
Garen gritted his teeth and followed Gu Zhan to the altar.
The altar was massive, capable of accommodating over a hundred people.
The statue on the altar looked very familiar, resembling Kripper as Gu Zhan had seen him moments ago.
However, on the statue's neck, there was a large bulge. Within the plaster statue, something seemed to be brewing; it writhed from time to time, as if trying to break free from the confines of the Kripper statue.
Gu Zhan seemed to hear Kripper's voice again: “Do you see that bulge? Once it bursts, everyone will perish. Time is running out; will you not agree to my offer?”
Gu Zhan ignored him and continued walking outside with Garen.
Walking along this path, they soon reached the church of the Order.
Though Garen was quite familiar with the area, the commotion they had caused was too loud. It wasn’t long before the church guards discovered them, and a group of people in white armor and robes began to chase them.
Garen led Gu Zhan through the passage, dodging left and right, but they were ultimately forced to a fork in the path.
One path went up, the other went down.
This was entirely the church's territory, and Garen was confused, standing at the fork and asking Gu Zhan, “Which way do we go?”
He was actually asking Gu Zhan which way to take.
Gu Zhan had never been here before.
After a moment of contemplation, Gu Zhan said, “Let’s split up. I’ll go up, and you go down.”
Going down would definitely lead to the passage, which would benefit Garen.
However, Garen hadn’t expected Gu Zhan to want to split up. He immediately refused: “No, let’s go down together! Or you go down, and I’ll go up.”
In his mind, going up would definitely result in them getting caught.
The people chasing behind them were gradually closing in, and Gu Zhan frowned as he pushed Garen toward the downward passage. “In this story, you are more important than I am. Take care of yourself and go quickly.”
Garen had no choice but to leave, while Gu Zhan stayed where he was.
He waited until those in white armor turned the corner of the corridor and saw him before he suddenly turned and ran towards the commotion.
His appearance was quite conspicuous in the church, and those people quickly recognized him as the one who had infiltrated the church, freed Garen, and blown up the altar wall. They shouted towards Gu Zhan, “It’s him!” “Catch him!”
A crowd of people rushed after Gu Zhan.
However, the passage was narrow; even though a group was pursuing Gu Zhan, only two or three could fit through the corridor at once.
Instead, they became congested due to the large number, losing their speed.
The path was a spiral staircase that narrowed as they went up; eventually, it could only accommodate one person.
Though the white-armored guards seemed close to catching Gu Zhan, he kicked back at them, sending them tumbling down the stairs with loud thuds.
The two parties engaged in a humorous chase.
However, the staircase had to come to an end eventually.
Gu Zhan quickly reached the outdoors, standing atop a clock tower, where the spiral staircase ultimately led to the tower's peak.
He was nearing the top.
Those below, having been toyed with by him all the way up, were now showing smug smiles.
It seemed they were about to catch Gu Zhan.
At that moment, Kripper spoke up: “Are you sure you won’t listen to me? Just nod, and I can help you out of this predicament.”
Gu Zhan coldly replied, “Does this task have to be accepted with my consent? Understood, I will not accept it.”
Kripper: “……”
Why hadn’t he just killed this person directly in the last quest, ah ah ah ah ah ah!
He really wanted to give up, exit this quest, and let someone else deal with this mess.
But at that moment, Gu Zhan reached the top.
He found himself with no way forward, cornered next to the large clock.
Behind him was a drop of a hundred meters; the railing only reached his waist, and any sudden movement could send him tumbling off the clock tower.
In front of him was a guard team of dozens, completely blocking the staircase.
There was no possibility of escape left.
The leader of the church guard, peering at Gu Zhan through his armor, coldly warned him, “You might as well give up resisting. Lord Kripper will forgive your transgressions.”
Behind Gu Zhan was the entirety of Hassan City.
This clock tower was probably the tallest building in Hassan City.
It was already morning, yet the entire city remained shrouded in eerie silence, the streets empty of any people.
A sinister black mist covered the city from above.
Gu Zhan asked the leader, “Are you certain that you are following Kripper’s will? Did Kripper instruct you to transform the entire city into this?”
The leader's eyes flashed with a hint of hesitation; clearly, he, too, felt confused about Hassan’s current state and what the church was doing.
However, at this point, how could the leader be swayed by a few words from Gu Zhan?
He decided not to waste time on dialogue and directly commanded those around him: “Capture him!”
Kripper’s sharp laughter echoed, “Hehe, are you sure you won’t agree to my offer? Right now, no one can help you.”
Gu Zhan was forced against the railing by the church guards, his slender waist pressed against the half-meter-high barrier.
He said calmly, “Who says there’s no one? Aren’t you here?”
“What?” Kripper was taken aback.
In the next second, Gu Zhan flipped over the railing and leaped down. He resembled a falling butterfly in the wind, light and agile.
Behind him, the sun rose slowly, a beam of light piercing through the darkness and gloom of Hassan City.
The wind rushed past Gu Zhan's ear as he closed his eyes and relaxed his body.
Kripper: “……”
Only then did he understand the cunning human's intentions to separate from the NPC.
Below the clock tower, Garen successfully escaped the church's range and was running towards the church entrance.
He looked up just in time to see Gu Zhan jumping down from the clock tower, a silent cry of horror and regret filling the boy's eyes.
But in the next second, the sunlight burst forth, momentarily blinding everyone; their eyes stung, forcing them to shut them tight.
A beam of sunlight seemed almost tangible, rigidly cushioning Gu Zhan's fall and stopping his descent.
Gu Zhan thought he would fall to the ground, likely looking a bit disheveled, especially since he had forced Kripper to act; the monster must be very displeased.
But in the next moment, he found himself landing in someone's arms.
The divine robe enveloped Hassan City, and Kripper glanced at Garen, whose eyes were blinded by the light, before angrily grabbing his collar and swiftly moving both him and the smaller boy outside Hassan City.
He couldn’t hold back any longer; he had to settle the score with this person.
Whatever rules there were, they could go to hell.
---
Gu Zhan had indeed orchestrated this series of events to force Kripper to act.
From their previous exchanges, he realized that Kripper needed his help to stop the church from doing whatever it was planning.
Players were crucial in this quest.
The game’s rules constrained the monsters more than they did the players.
Kripper absolutely could not let himself die.
But he hadn’t expected the tactic to work so effectively; Kripper actually came personally.
Well, that was a bit excessive in a good way.
After that strong light, everyone was left blinded, their eyes stinging and streaming tears, Gu Zhan included.
He felt himself being held and flown for a while before landing.
Kripper carried him for a distance, and nearby, it seemed he could hear the village chief's voice, followed by the sound of a door opening.
Then, Kripper just tossed him onto the ground.
The familiar smell around him made him realize he had returned to the room Garen had arranged for him in the village.
He reached out beside him and indeed found the bed.
Gu Zhan asked, “Where’s Garen?”
Kripper’s cold sarcasm came from ahead, “You really are something; the first thing you ask is about Garen. Why not ask about me?”
Gu Zhan frowned.
Wasn’t this monster’s nature a bit too sarcastic?
Kripper’s voice suddenly drew closer, as if he was speaking right next to Gu Zhan’s face: “Human, are you looking down on me?”
Gu Zhan turned his head away. “No.”
The words “no” were laced with deep disdain.
After a moment of silence, suddenly, Gu Zhan felt someone grip his chin, tilting his head up.
This position made Gu Zhan feel quite unsafe, and he twisted his neck, trying to resist.
The grip wasn’t very strong, but there was no room for negotiation, and in the end, he was forced to look up.
He didn’t know which finger had gently brushed across his lips, creating a soft gap in his mouth, revealing pearly white teeth.
Kripper seemed to be admiring some item, exclaiming, “You’re really beautiful. Even among monsters, you stand out. How about it? Interested in coming with me?”
This was a question from the last quest.
Do you want to become a monster? How can you be sure you still qualify as human?
It seemed that this wasn’t the first time Kripper had said something like this.
Why were these monsters so obsessed with recruiting him into their ranks?
Gu Zhan replied, “You want me to become a monster? Are you sure? If so, you might have to see me every day.”
Kripper chuckled lightly: “You’re overthinking it; monsters are busy too.”
His hand withdrew from Gu Zhan's chin.
“Sleep now, human. When you wake up, you’ll have everything.”
As soon as his voice fell, a heavy drowsiness swept over Gu Zhan.
Everything will be his when he wakes up?
Gu Zhan thought drowsily…
Wasn’t this mocking him? Sleep now; you’ll have everything in your dreams?
This second monster’s personality was truly awful.
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