Jiang Yan had just wanted to ask what this thing was for and why it had appeared here, but a strange and inexplicable sense of dread pulled his gaze back to the sky that was still collapsing. He saw that as the players poured in their strength, the golden web grew far tougher, yet the collapse of the dungeon remained irreversible, and chunks of data glowing a ghostly blue continued to fall from the sky. As more and larger data blocks fell, the golden web holding up the sky gradually tightened. The threads, under extreme pressure, grew thinner and thinner, lighter and lighter in color. It was clear it was reaching its limit. “No…” Jiang Yan instinctively looked toward the [Divine System] on his personal system panel. It was a primal instinct embedded in his DNA, prompting him to draw on the players’ power of belief. At this moment, the players floating beneath the golden web were arguing in the flurry of falling rose petals about why Jiang Yan, who should have already become par...
At the same time, Gu Zhan actively reached out to touch the scale in the wooden box.
The edge of the scale was sharp, and with just a bit of force, Gu Zhan easily cut his finger. Blood instantly flowed down and dripped onto the scale.
In that moment, the black mist spread rapidly, surrounding Gu Zhan.
At the same time, the system also responded.
[Congratulations, player has triggered the side quest mini-game <Catch Me If You Can (Version 2.0)>, preparing to enter the side quest space...]
[Game Description: The furious Little Su must catch his perfect prey... Huh? Why are there others eyeing this prey? Player is currently occupied with the main quest, side quest delay initiated...]
"...."
As the system announced the impending failure of the quest, a space beside Gu Zhan was forcibly torn open, and a slender hand reached out from the tear. Deep within the crack was a dark, ominous space.
The hoarse laughter of the director echoed nearby, filled with malice, clearly dissatisfied.
"Mine…"
His obsession with Gu Zhan had reached terrifying levels. The moment he realized someone else was eyeing Gu Zhan, he immediately acted.
However, Gu Zhan’s blood had already dripped onto the scale, forming a contract with the evil god.
In other words, Gu Zhan had now become prey to both the evil god and the director.
What should one do in such a situation?
Of course, let them fight it out. Whoever wins gets to decide the ownership of the prey.
[So, that’s how it's settled!!]
[Whoa, didn’t know it could be like this.]
[Just a few words and now the two bosses are fighting to the death for me.]
[LOL, he didn’t even say anything.]
[But looking at the situation, the director seems to be at a disadvantage since the opponent is an evil god!]
[Boss fights don’t work that way. The identity is just tied to the game’s background. Power doesn’t decrease just because the boss is set to be an ordinary human… But since this is the evil god’s domain, the director may indeed be at a disadvantage.]
[Fight! Fight!]
The director, emerging from Gu Zhan's watch, immediately started fighting the evil god.
As soon as they clashed, both transformed into pure energy. In an instant, lightning flashed and thunder roared outside the cave, with waves surging violently.
The people outside had no idea what was happening. They only saw the villagers collapsing like rotten wood.
“What’s happening? What’s going on?!”
Miyamoto Satoshi glanced at the cave and saw it was completely engulfed by black mist, with a terrifying energy radiating from its center.
The bodies of the collapsed villagers were continuously emitting black mist, which all flowed toward the cave.
Suddenly, someone in the crowd let out a scream.
That familiar voice belonged to none other than Masaki Taro, the one who had tricked them into finding the scale!
It turned out that he had been hiding among the crowd all along. Now that the villagers had fallen, only he remained standing!
And when he removed his cloak, his face had not become disfigured like the mutated villagers! He still looked like a normal person.
In that instant, Miyamoto Satoshi quickly pieced together what was happening.
He grabbed Nakano Asaka and shouted, "He tricked us! Run!"
“But, Akiyama...” Nakano Asaka hesitated, not wanting to leave.
Miyamoto Satoshi hurriedly said, “If we don’t leave now, when will we? Staying here will only make things worse for him!”
This statement was half-truth, but staying wouldn’t help Gu Zhan at all.
Nakano Asaka knew this and stopped resisting.
However, Masaki Taro wasn’t going to let them leave so easily.
He shredded his human disguise and, with inhuman speed, lunged at the group.
“We don’t have time, we’ll have to fight!” Miyamoto Tomo exclaimed.
—
Outside, Miyamoto Tomo and the others prepared for battle. Inside, Gu Zhan wasn’t faring much better.
Although the two bosses were fighting, they were treating Gu Zhan’s body as their battleground.
Gu Zhan felt like he was being torn in two, and he could split apart at any moment. What’s worse, he couldn’t move his body! He was stuck in this game!
Sooner or later, the bosses would decide a winner.
By then, it would be too late!
He had to think of something.
The director had emerged from the watch. Gu Zhan looked down—the watch was still firmly on his wrist.
If the director could be pulled into the watch, what about the evil god?
They were both bosses, so it wouldn’t hurt to capture both, right?
[Whoa, he’s moving! What’s he planning to do? Did I see that right? He’s walking into the mist himself.]
[Why isn’t he taking this chance to escape while the two bosses are fighting? If I remember correctly, the villagers outside should be down by now. If he can defeat Masaki Taro, he can leave Haizu Village safely.]
[Easier said than done. Masaki Taro is the evil god’s top subordinate. He’s not easy to beat.]
[And he has to defeat Masaki before the bosses finish their fight—tough.]
[But that’s still better than walking into the mist! Isn’t he just surrendering himself?]
[Judging by his actions, there seems to be more to it.]
[What more could there be? He’s as good as dead. Let’s go, no point watching a dead man.]
Deep in the black mist, there was nothing, but the overwhelming power was nearly crushing Gu Zhan.
The stars on his watch face flashed madly as the mist frantically surged into the watch.
As the power flowed in, Gu Zhan’s body began to swell… nearing its limit.
[Your sanity value is decreasing, mental collapse imminent...]
[Your sanity value is decreasing, mental collapse imminent...]
[Your sanity value is decreasing, mental collapse imminent...]
The system kept repeating warnings, and large red letters appeared before Gu Zhan, constantly reminding him that his sanity value was about to hit zero.
As the black mist surged in, the speed at which the sanity was decreasing became faster... and faster...
“Crack.”
The world suddenly paused, and the vision was suddenly shrouded in red.
The system's voice abruptly cut off, followed by a cold, emotionless electronic voice.
【Congratulations, your sanity value has reached zero.】
The black mist roared and clawed, instantly absorbed by the watch, and the entire cave fell silent.
Everything seemed unchanged, except for the red in front of Gu Zhan.
……
Outside the cave, Miyamoto Satoshi and the others finally dealt with Masaki Taro.
Several of them were injured.
At this moment, the villagers had not yet woken up, providing them a great opportunity to leave Haizhu Village.
But when it came to leaving, everyone hesitated; after going through so much together, they were no longer the same as when they first entered the dungeon.
Miyamoto Satoshi asked again, “Should we... go in and take a look?”
Nakano Asaka said, “Let’s go in and see! We don’t know what happened; what if it’s a trap?”
Miyamoto Satoshi: “…”
He felt Nakano Asaka had a point, so he decided to check the cave first; what if Gu Zhan was still alive?
They walked towards the cave, but before they could get close, Gu Zhan walked out from the cave.
He looked calm, and his expression showed no fluctuations, but Miyamoto Satoshi felt inexplicably that he seemed different from before...
“What... happened to you?” Miyamoto Satoshi asked in confusion.
Gu Zhan replied, “It’s nothing, let’s go quickly.”
“What…” Miyamoto Satoshi didn’t have time to react before Gu Zhan passed by him.
“…”
Nakano Asaka rushed forward to ask Gu Zhan how he was doing, but was stopped by Miyamoto Satoshi.
Miyamoto Satoshi looked cautious and simply said, “Let’s go.”
They walked towards the outside of Haizhu Village.
All the villagers in Haizhu Village were gathered by the sea and had yet to wake up; the whole village was as empty as when they first arrived.
On the way, they could hardly believe that they had cleared the dungeon just like that?
Soon, they arrived at the place they had woken up—where they initially camped on the hillside.
Standing on the hillside, they could still see Haizhu Village and the distant sea.
The sea water had turned a thick black, roaring as it tried to rush towards the shore, but was blocked by some invisible force, posing no threat to Haizhu Village.
On the other side of the campsite, a path leading outside appeared that had never existed before...
Standing at the entrance, Nakano Asaka swallowed and said, “Did we really clear the dungeon just like this?”
He could hardly believe it, glancing at his companions. They had relied on each other to get through the tough times these days... although there were some minor inconveniences along the way, they could all be overlooked.
He quietly said to the others, “Actually, my name isn’t Nakano Asaka, my name is…”
Before he could finish, Miyamoto Satoshi pushed him, and he staggered, unable to take a step towards the entrance, disappearing from everyone’s sight.
Takagawa Ayaka exclaimed, “What are you doing...”
Miyamoto Satoshi smiled and said, “This is the exit from the dungeon; aren’t you leaving?”
“…” Ayaka was scared to death; she had thought she would die inside!
How could she not leave!
The dungeon still felt a bit abnormal, but she didn’t care about that anymore and took a step forward, saying, “I’m leaving!”
After both had left, Miyamoto Satoshi turned to look at Gu Zhan... indeed, his intuition was correct; Gu Zhan’s eyes were filled with red blood vessels, giving off a strong inhuman feel.
“Is your sanity value...?” Miyamoto Satoshi cautiously asked.
Gu Zhan did not hide it and showed him an unusual smile: “As expected, you discovered it.”
Miyamoto Satoshi fell silent.
At this moment, Gu Zhan looked very unfamiliar; his face was still the same, but his expression suddenly held more aggression. He originally had a strikingly sharp appearance but usually kept to himself, seeming indifferent to the world around him. His weariness made him appear more at peace.
Now, however, he looked like a drawn sword, releasing all his coldness and distance without reservation.
Yet this only made him appear even more dazzling; the distance in his black eyes made people yearn for him even more.
“…”
Like a beautiful, precious, yet dangerous treasure.
But he didn’t look like he was about to turn into a monster; he appeared calm, breathing steadily.
Miyamoto Satoshi almost asked him how much sanity value he had left.
But he stopped himself in time.
This wasn’t something he should be concerned about; he believed that people were independent entities... such questions were intrusive.
“I’m going out; maybe we’ll meet again if fate allows.”
Miyamoto Satoshi reined himself in, bid farewell to Gu Zhan, and left the dungeon.
In the end, only Gu Zhan was left standing at the dungeon entrance.
【So how much san value does he have left!! Can he still leave!!】
【Looking at him, he should have quite a bit left; otherwise, how could he remain so calm?】
【It’s impossible!! How could someone face two bosses fighting and still keep their composure!】
【To be honest, even now, I still don’t know what just happened.】
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