Gu Zhan fell into a long, deep sleep.
As he hovered between sleeping and waking, someone suddenly burst through the small room's door, crashing in like a cannonball and sliding to his knees beside the bed.
Crying out, “Benefactor! Wake up! Are you still alive? Wuwuwu, it’s all my fault… I shouldn’t have listened to you…”
“What…?” Gu Zhan was a bit dazed from sleep. Struggling to open his eyes, he realized he felt heavy.
Someone was pressing down on his waist, making it hard for him to breathe.
Gu Zhan turned his head and didn’t see the culprit pressing down on him but saw Kripper standing nearby.
He had changed into ordinary clothes, his blinding holy light subdued, yet his features still resembled those of the church statue perfectly.
Monsters are indeed capricious, completely disregarding the explanation costs after being exposed.
Gu Zhan shifted his gaze away from Kripper and looked at the person lying beside him.
As expected, it was Garen.
“I’m fine, Garen…” Gu Zhan struggled to push Garen away.
This guy was too excited and didn’t hear Gu Zhan’s faint voice at all.
Gu Zhan felt like he was really going to be crushed.
He could only cast a pleading look at Kripper who smiled at Gu Zhan and then reached out to grab Garen by the collar, tossing him aside effortlessly.
Garen was suddenly yanked by his collar and nearly rolled his eyes back, curling up in the corner and coughing for a long while before recovering.
He glared at Kripper in anger but soon wilted under Kripper’s gentle smile.
Earlier, he had been blinded by the sunlight in the church, not lost his memory.
Of course, he remembered that he and Gu Zhan had been saved by the person in front of him.
Garen had to suppress his anger and turned to Gu Zhan again, asking, “Are you okay?”
Gu Zhan was already sitting up on the bed and noticed he was bare-chested.
Neither of the two people in the room seemed to care about this, especially Kripper whose gaze was brazenly wandering over Gu Zhan’s body.
Gu Zhan felt quite annoyed. He grabbed a nearby shirt and threw it on, responding, “I’m fine.”
After getting dressed, he turned to Kripper and asked, “You just show up here looking like this?”
Kripper feigned innocence and replied, “I’m just an ordinary priest of the church. There are twelve priests in total; the one you saw was the high priest, the pope of the church. You can’t blame me, a mere lackey, for what the high priest does, can you?”
Both people in the room knew he was lying.
When it was just Garen, he didn’t dare to refute. Whatever Kripper said went.
Now, with Gu Zhan present, he finally mustered the courage to question, “If you’re just a priest, then why do you look exactly like the statue in the altar?!”
Kripper shrugged, “The craftsmen took months to cast the statue because they had no idea what the god looked like. To keep their work going, I willingly offered up my features... As for why it was me, it’s probably because I’m the best-looking one in the church.”
Garen: “…”
The boy was left speechless by this answer, his eyes filled with the question, “Are we really that stupid?”
Gu Zhan, however, didn’t dispute this and directly asked, “What’s your name?”
If Kripper wasn’t a god, then he shouldn’t be using the name Kripper.
Kripper glanced at Gu Zhan and smiled, “My name is Mo Tuo.”
Garen paused: “Your name…”
Why is it so similar to Gu Zhan's?
Gu Zhan asked, “Is that really your name? Aren’t you just a number?”
Kripper… Mo Tuo replied, “Why can’t I have a name? I don’t like that number, so I gave myself a name. Is that a problem?”
Gu Zhan fell silent.
Their exchange left Garen puzzled.
It seemed like these two knew each other?
Could this Mo Tuo really be a priest of the church?
“Hey, my dear partner, you really don’t trust me at all.” Mo Tuo dragged a chair from the room and sat down with a smile, saying, “Now, we should discuss what to do next.”
His appearance already violated the rules.
If he couldn’t complete the mission, he would surely face punishment upon returning.
Gu Zhan seized the opportunity: “You tell us what we should do.”
Mo Tuo chuckled softly and said, “Since it’s come to this, I’ll first explain what’s happening in this city… or rather, in this country.”
This was exactly what Gu Zhan had asked him to clarify before.
At that time, Mo Tuo had refused.
But now, having voluntarily revealed himself to Gu Zhan, it was clear he had lost this covert confrontation.
He ought to tell Gu Zhan everything.
“As you might have guessed, in a country where everyone worships the Sun God, another god known as the shadow has invaded the faith belonging to the Sun God. Shadows will engulf everyone, and those covered in shadows will develop black spots on their bodies, their organs turning to blood, becoming offerings for the Shadow.”
“This isn’t a disease and cannot be cured with medical means. Even if the development of the black spots is temporarily suppressed, the moment that suppression is lost, a stronger backlash will follow. Those chosen will surely become offerings to the Shadow.”
Mo Tuo seemed to find the current situation quite amusing, maintaining a smile as he spoke.
Monsters indeed don’t care much about the death of humans in the dungeon.
But Gu Zhan was certain that his pleasure stemmed more from his personal tasks…
The fact that people dying would deduct points.
If it weren’t for the rules, Mo Tuo might have even looked forward to seeing everyone die, leading to his own score being wiped out or even going negative.
“The Shadow has seduced the high priest of the Sun God’s church, causing him to issue erroneous commands from top to bottom, leading to the pollution of the entire nation. Hasan City has already become their last stronghold, and the entire country is now shrouded in shadows.”
At this point, Mo Tuo intentionally glanced at Gu Zhan, his smile becoming increasingly sinister: “Although you’ve only been active in Hasan City during this time, the entire nation is already enveloped in shadows.”
Gu Zhan: “…”
In other words, if they didn’t resolve this issue, all the deaths across the country would fall on Gu Zhan’s shoulders.
Moreover, based on the current clues, there was only Gu Zhan among the players in this game.
No wonder the number of participants wasn’t announced at the start of the dungeon.
This was actually a solo dungeon!
Gu Zhan quickly adjusted his state: “Alright, tell us what we should do.”
Mo Tuo said, “It’s simple. Just destroy the three large altars that have already been formed. Their rituals won't hold together. The good news is that two-thirds of the altars are in Hasan City. The bad news is that the largest altar, which is also the most remote, will take you at least two months to reach with your pace.”
Two months, and everything would be cold by then.
Mo Tuo continued, “Since I’ve joined you, I will help you deal with this furthest and largest altar. Now, you only need to take care of the last two altars.”
When Mo Tuo had previously suggested that he take on the task, Gu Zhan had felt something was off.
After a preliminary conversation with Mo Tuo, he realized that this guy was not being honest at all.
Gu Zhan quickly dismissed the idea of partnering with the monster and firmly rejected Mo Tuo.
His subsequent actions were somewhat of a gamble.
But it was only at this moment that he understood that his initial feelings had been correct.
If he had agreed to Mo Tuo back then, Mo Tuo would surely not have shown up, and they would have had to deal with the three altars themselves.
Even if Gu Zhan managed to handle the two altars in Hasan City, the remaining one would not be easy to solve.
Two months, and by the time they walked over, everything would be cold.
This was essentially a trap… no, or rather, a trap set by Mo Tuo for him.
Gu Zhan quietly watched Mo Tuo. Although Mo Tuo was speaking, he was listening.
But both of them knew that neither trusted the other.
After all, one was a monster and the other a player.
What trust could exist between players and monsters?
Once Mo Tuo finished speaking, Gu Zhan asked, “Then where are the other two altars located?”
Mo Tuo smiled and said, “Actually, you’ve both been to them. One is at the church, and the other is at the lord’s mansion. The one at the church isn’t fully formed yet.”
He looked at Garen and said, “Their important sacrificial offering has run away, preventing the church’s altar from being completed. The solution is simple: as long as the sacrificial offering is not caught by the church people before the other two altars are destroyed, it will awaken. However, the altar at the lord’s mansion is a bit more troublesome…”
He turned to Gu Zhan, seemingly waiting for him to react: “The formation at the lord’s mansion has already been established, and they have stolen the power of the Sun God. To reverse the stolen power, you need to bring the sacrificial offering back to the altar and follow the formation on him in reverse. Once everything is over, you must completely dispose of the sacrificial offering to ensure that it won’t be exploited by those with ulterior motives.”
“Sacrificial offering?” Gu Zhan asked, “Is it that runaway lord?”
Mo Tuo nodded.
Gu Zhan frowned and lowered his head to think of a solution.
The lord was indeed easy to find; he should still be in the dungeon.
However, how could he make the other party comply and not cause trouble when reversing the formation?
Mo Tuo said, “The entire population of Hasan City is shrouded in the shadow of the lord’s mansion’s altar. You need to act quickly; human bodies are quite fragile. If they are eroded by the black spot disease for too long, even if they ultimately come into contact with the curse of the altar, they may not survive.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion came from outside the small house.
Garen, who was closest to the door, immediately went to open it a crack to peek outside.
After a moment, he turned back with a pale face and said softly, “The church people are after us. They’re searching the village and should be looking for us.”
Mo Tuo laughed even more, seemingly enjoying the situation.
“Since that’s the case, I won’t disturb you any longer. Goodbye, and I wish you a successful operation.”
As soon as Mo Tuo finished speaking, he transformed into a wisp of light and disappeared from the room.
Garen stared in shock, moving to Gu Zhan’s side and asking, “Benefactor, who exactly is that person?”
Gu Zhan replied, “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about him. Let’s go while the church hasn’t found us here.”
Garen immediately set aside his previous doubts and said, “I know a path leading out of the village. Let’s hurry.”
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