Npc 104

Withered rose petals without religious meaning floated down from the sky, and the gray-white, paper-like clouds above the town suddenly parted.

The thick clouds spiraled layer by layer around the sun encased in roses, creating a magnificent sight as though the onlookers had entered the sanctum of a god.

Sunlight poured down, casting a faint rosy glow over the entire town, making it feel like a dreamlike world.

At that moment, a sharp roar tore through the heavens—the cry of the giant rat. The sound was so deafening that it forced everyone to take a step back.

The roar was massive, seemingly capable of ripping apart the air itself, instilling a primal fear in all who heard it.

Amid the giant rat's growls, the system notification kept ringing in their ears:

"Ding!

[Dear player, would you like to become Jiang Yan’s new follower?]"

The voice was like a spell, lingering in their ears and impossible to ignore.

The new players stared at the repeated prompts on their system panels, at a loss for what to do. They exchanged glances, their eyes filled with confusion.

"What is this? Do we have to click it?" one newcomer asked hesitantly.

"I don’t know. I’ve never encountered this kind of situation before," another player replied.

While everyone hesitated, another notification chimed:

"Ding!

[Item: Number Concealment Card]"

Cao Yufeng pulled out the item and lightly touched the Number Concealment Card. He immediately felt a powerful energy radiating from the card.

The energy spread through the air, filling everyone with a sense of awe.

The numbers on the card began to soar, climbing higher and higher until they turned bright red. The sight left the players gasping in shock—they had never seen such a high anomaly value before.

"What... the hell?!" Cao Yufeng stared at the numbers on the Number Concealment Card in disbelief, momentarily stunned.

"Damn it!" Yu Jia threw his cigarette to the ground and crushed it under his shoe.

He, too, was clearly rattled by the sudden and dramatic change, momentarily at a loss for what to do.

He furrowed his brows tightly, a complex and indescribable worry flickering in his eyes.

He was just here to clear a dungeon, nothing more. When he encountered Jiang Yan in this instance, he hadn’t intended to do anything.

After all, it was just a dungeon—what could possibly go wrong?

But now...

Damn it!

If he had known, he would have struck first! Back in Qingshi Town, he should have killed him right then and there!

Yu Jia stared at the crown of the black giant tree, where rose petals continued to fall. A glimmer of bloodlust flashed in his eyes.

“Squeak, squeak, squeak—”

The giant rat advanced slowly toward the frozen players, its smaller minions trailing behind it. In a low, rasping voice, it hissed:

“Traitors...

“Heretics... You who have betrayed your god...

“Sinners... Repent for your crimes...

“...”

Ding!

[Dear player, would you like to become Jiang Yan’s new follower?]

The system panel continued to chime relentlessly.

The new players were overwhelmed, at a loss for what to do.

“What... what are we supposed to do?!” a bespectacled girl cried in distress.

“Should we run now? That... that rat is coming closer again!” the chef muttered nervously, taking a step back.

“What does it mean to become Jiang Yan’s follower? Do we have to click it?!” the short-haired man asked in confusion.

“Don’t click it! Absolutely not!” Lu Sha shouted.

The short-haired man flinched, startled by Lu Sha’s outburst.

“But... but we can’t close it!” he stammered.

[What was going on? Couldn’t close it?]

[It seemed like the players’ system panels had brought up a new option?]

[Couldn’t turn it off? Why wouldn’t the system panel’s options close?]

“Damn it!”

Lu Sha cursed under his breath.

Lu Sha stormed forward, grabbing Tao Shi by the collar.

“Kill him! Kill him! I’ve told you from the start—if we just killed him, none of this would’ve happened! Look at what you’ve done! What now?!”

“What are you doing?!”

Jian Hou stepped in, shoving the hysterical Lu Sha away.

Lu Sha’s bloodshot eyes glared fiercely at Jian Hou before turning back to Tao Shi.

“This is a disaster. You’re responsible for this,” Lu Sha growled.

Tao Shi hung his head low, his blue hair falling over his eyes, concealing his expression. He said nothing.

He never imagined... never expected something like this to happen.

But why?

Why had Jiang Yan suddenly...

Was something wrong?

Did this really mean something had gone terribly wrong?

[Tao Shi’s expression looks terrible. What’s going on?]

[These rose petals… they’re from Jiang Yan’s item, aren’t they?]

[It must have something to do with Jiang Yan.]

[I thought I’d grown numb to every bizarre thing happening around Jiang Yan, but this time... Okay, I admit it. It’s still bizarre! What happened? What could make Tao Shi and the others look so shaken?!]

—

At this moment, in the headquarters of the [Dawn Guild], a man wearing a blue suit and a rabbit-head mask walked through a blue corridor made of data, holding a long whip in his hand. A group of players and NPCs from the guild’s security were blocking his way.

“You… can’t go in,” the leader of the [Dawn Guild] security team said, his voice trembling.

“Move,” the man with the rabbit mask said coldly.

“Sorry, we can’t let you see the Guild Leader,” the security team leader continued.

“Fine. You get him to come out to meet me, and I won’t go in,” the rabbit-headed man replied icily.

The security team leader hesitated, then said, “Sorry, the Guild Leader has said that he doesn’t want to see anyone.”

“Even me?” the rabbit-headed man sneered, “He’s never said ‘no one’ included me. What? Now even I’m not allowed?”

Hearing this, the players and NPCs standing in front of him froze. Indeed, the Guild Leader’s “no one” never seemed to include the rabbit-headed man…

At this moment, they recalled some gossip about the two of them.

Could it be…?

“Crack!”

The long whip was slammed onto the ground, the sound of it cracking in the air.

The sharp sound brought everyone back to reality. Now was not the time to gossip about the two bigshots.

“Get him out here!” the rabbit-headed man gritted his teeth and said.

Looking at the long whip in his hand, the players and NPCs blocking his path trembled in fear.

In the game, everyone knew about this whip. It was infamous for having turned a god-level NPC into ash with a single strike…

These A-rank players and NPCs stood no chance against the power of this whip.

“Crack!”

The man with the rabbit-head mask didn’t want to waste more words. He simply ordered, “Get out!”

“Sorry… [The Best Actor] Sir, we really can’t let you in,” the leader of the security team said, struggling to keep his voice from trembling.

Every player and NPC in the game knew that the man in front of them had a very bad temper. There had been instances where his outbursts nearly breached the main system’s control room, and a whole team of security systems and personal systems couldn’t stop him. In the end, the main god had to step in and stop him.

After being confined for a month, his temper hadn’t improved in the slightest. He was still just as bad as before.

Their leader had once described the man in front of them as:

"Both fragile and sensitive, with a short fuse! The only reason he isn’t getting beaten up now is because he’s powerful enough to avoid it! When he was still a newbie, with that temper of his, he got dragged through dungeons and had to deal with countless complaints..."

“I’ll count to three, and if you don’t get out of my way, don’t blame me for losing my temper,” the rabbit-headed man said with a sinister tone.

Hearing this, the players and NPCs responsible for security broke into a cold sweat.

“Fighting outside the game is a violation of the rules,” the security team leader said.

“Ha? Violating the rules?” The rabbit-headed man laughed as if he had heard a ridiculous joke.

“Does this game even have rules? That person named Jiang Yan has broken the rules multiple times in dungeons, yet has he ever been punished by the main system?” He scoffed. “Today, I’m going to see if I can kill all of you right here. Let’s see what the main god does about it.”

“Crack!”

The long whip swung, and a small piece of the data-constructed blue tiles shattered.

The players and NPCs responsible for security were now at a loss.

What should they do? What could they do?

Leave? Let this “ancestor” inside?

That would violate the Guild Leader’s orders, absolutely not!

But how could they possibly stop this man?

It was said that the people of [The Church of Valen] were crazy, but that was just because the crazies were mostly from the [Valen Church]. If anyone was truly insane in this game, it was the man in front of them!

How could anyone out-crazy this living ancestor?

They nervously stared at the rabbit-headed man, putting on a brave face, but deep inside, they were almost crying.

Guild Leader!

Even if you want someone to stop this ancestor, you should send those high-level experts from the guild!

Why send us low-level scrubs to deal with this maniac?

"...."

"Sorry, you…"

"Please understand our position. We really can’t let you in…”

"Three."

"Whoosh—"

The long whip sliced through the air, making a sharp sound.

The players and NPCs blocking the way for the man in the rabbit mask all instinctively shut their eyes, bracing for the expected pain, even death.

However, after a while, the anticipated pain didn’t come. They opened their eyes in confusion—

At that moment, a man in a black suit with a shark-head mask appeared behind the rabbit-headed man. He wrapped his arm around the man’s body and grabbed his wrist, preventing the raised whip from coming down.

The mechanical silver whip, with its terrifying barbed spikes, froze mid-air.

"Boss?!"

The players and NPCs responsible for security exclaimed in surprise.

"Let go!"

The man wearing the rabbit-head mask coldly said.

However, the man wearing the cartoon shark-head mask didn’t let go. Instead, he tightened his grip around the other man's waist.

He leaned his head on the man’s shoulder, whispering softly in his ear, "Are you angry? Is it because this time, 'no one' includes you?"

"Stop talking nonsense! Why wouldn’t I be included? Am I not a person?" The man wearing the rabbit mask gritted his teeth, anger evident in his voice.

The man with the shark-head mask, Spades K, placed his chin on the other man’s shoulder, smiling affectionately.

The players and NPCs who were guarding the security were all stunned, staring blankly.

The rumors about the two men, which had been circulating, came rushing into their minds.

They had thought it was just a joke or a bored rumor spread by power-seeking players.

Though they had heard that the top players of the game had good relationships in the real world, after all, the two guilds barely had friendly relations in the game!

Since they were rivals, it was hard to imagine that their relationship could be like what the gossip suggested.

But now, it seemed…

"What are you looking at? Get lost!" The man with the rabbit mask shouted at the players and NPCs who were still staring at him.

The players and NPCs jumped in shock at the shout, but they didn't dare leave casually.

The man in the black suit with the shark-head mask waved his hand at them, signaling for them to leave.

The players and NPCs were finally relieved, turned, and left in a hurry. They couldn’t resist looking back at the two standing in the corridor.

"What are you looking at?! Keep staring, and I’ll gouge your eyes out!" The man with the rabbit mask shouted.

The players and NPCs jumped and didn’t dare to look back, hurrying away.

One of the players muttered to his companion, "This guy really has a bad temper!"

"He’s totally crazy!"

Once everyone had left, the data-constructed blue corridor was left with only the two men. The man with the rabbit mask gritted his teeth and said, "Let go."

"Let me hold on a little longer." Spades K rested his head on the other’s shoulder, smiling affectionately.

The movie emperor sneered and said, "If you’re not going to use your hands, then just continue moving lower."

Spades K paused, his hand having reached near the movie emperor’s belt. Then he moved it back to the emperor’s waist.

"Your ears are red," he teased.

"Shut up! Rabbits' ears are white," the movie emperor retorted.

"I was talking about your ears," Spades K said, laughing.

“Huh? I didn’t know you had such an item that can see it?” the movie emperor mocked.

“Then take it off and have a look,” Spades K said.

Saying this, he reached out to remove the other man’s headgear.

“Go to hell!”

The movie emperor slapped the man’s hand away with a "smack" sound.

The next second, he grabbed the other man’s suit collar and slammed him against the blue data-constructed wall in the corridor.

“I’m here to settle the score with you today!” the movie emperor gritted his teeth.

“I told you to get rid of Jiang Yan earlier! You had already discovered him in the beginning! You knew he existed, but you kept hiding him from all of us!”

“I told you he was a threat! You should have killed him earlier!”

“You said he wasn’t a threat, you said the god would arrange everything.”

“Is this what you call no threat? Is this what you and the god arranged?” the movie emperor shouted angrily.

“Players and NPCs becoming his followers? Then what? You don’t know the current situation with the god? Or does the main god not know?” The game itself is something that attracts extreme beliefs!

“The energy from the real world is about to run out, that’s why there are Jian appearing! Only Jian can absorb continuous people, absorb continuous beliefs, so the one in the temple can survive!”

“And what is Jiang Yan doing now?”

“What are the consequences of making players and NPCs his followers?”

“Recently, Jian has already absorbed a batch of ordinary people who haven’t signed contracts into the game, isn’t the situation bad enough already?!”

“Do you really have to watch as the one in the temple dies, and the world is destroyed, before you’re satisfied?”

The movie emperor complained again and again.

“He won’t die, he’ll just fall,” Spades K explained.

“Is there a difference?!” the movie emperor shouted back loudly.

“Is there a difference?”

“He wants to be an ordinary person, he wants to be Jiang Yan’s husband, and then?”

“Then he stays in the temple with Jiang Yan, watching the whole world turn to ash?”

“Xiao Luan, calm down. He’s not such an irresponsible god,” Spades K tried to advise.

“Not irresponsible??” the movie emperor mocked. “As a god, leaving the temple to fall in love with a human and get married! Oh no, I almost forgot, Jiang Yan can’t be considered a human.”

“As a god, playing house with some strange being in the human world? Then? Then you get yourself nearly destroyed, and now you’re giving your faith to that strange being?!”

Spades K sounded a bit helpless. “He’s not a strange being.”

“In my eyes, he’s a strange being!” the movie emperor retorted without thinking. “Isn’t he strange enough? You guys still can’t figure out what he actually is! Isn’t that strange enough?”

Spades K fell silent.

Indeed, they still had no idea what Jiang Yan truly was.

Perhaps the god knows, but it’s clear he doesn't want to reveal too much information about his wife.

No, according to human legal relationships, it should be said that he’s his ex-wife.

“Kill him! Right now!” the movie emperor said to Spades K.

He released his grip on the other man’s collar, his tone becoming serious.

“Give Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng orders now! I’ll notify Yu Jia! Let them cooperate with Lu Sha to keep Jiang Yan trapped in that instance forever.”

“I can’t do that, it’s the god’s command,” Spades K said, his tone also turning serious.

“Can’t do that? The god’s command?” The movie emperor seemed to hear something laughable.

“The god’s command is to let us watch him fall, watch this world be destroyed, and then he takes his wife to live happily ever after? This ridiculous command, and you still follow it?!”

The movie emperor was almost laughing out loud at the person in front of him.

Spades K said in a deep voice, “Before this, we were all doing one thing... No, not just us, but also the main god, the main system, and all the individual systems of the game.

“We knew the god’s condition was getting worse, so we were desperately trying to funnel belief power to him.”

“We desperately collected all the faith in this world, increased the game difficulty, and provoked people’s desires, all to stop his fall.”

The movie emperor gritted his teeth and said, “Yes! We’ve put in so much effort, and what are you doing now??”

“Just for that thing called Jiang Yan, that unknown monster, are you going to undo all our efforts?”

“Just because of the god’s whim? Because of that unbelievably cheap love of his?”

“When Jiang Yan divorced him, he didn’t hesitate at all!”

The movie emperor mocked.

“This isn’t the time to discuss the god’s gossip, baby,” Spades K said helplessly.

“You think I want to know his gossip?!” The movie emperor was burning with rage.

He didn’t want to know the god’s gossip.

It’s just that Jiang Yan was too special.

At first, they thought it was just luck, that he was just a lucky normal NPC who happened to encounter some bugs in the main system.

But later, he was far too special.

Just like what the other players and NPCs suspected in the game, if he wasn’t the main god’s illegitimate child, that would be hard to explain.

Their main god... seemed to be completely unreliable.

It seemed clear that Jiang Yan had something to do with the main god.

So, they started looking into Jiang Yan’s identity, his history.

They never expected what they found.

Jiang Yan had once been married to the god??

What’s more, it turned out that Jiang Yan had even treated the god as his loyal pet, and Jiang Yan himself appeared to have not been emotionally involved.

Later, the god couldn’t accept that his wife didn’t love him, so he proposed a divorce.

However, Jiang Yan had no feelings at all for the god, signing the divorce without hesitation. Half a year later, he even went on a blind date to find a new partner?!

This was just too shocking!

If he hadn't discovered the strange aspects of Jiang Yan, it would have been much better if he had just stopped at the surface gossip. However, it so happened that he found something odd about the black tentacle on Jiang Yan.

At first, he thought it was just some sort of couple's play, and that the higher-ups were simply being capricious, granting this unloving, abandoned ex-husband all these privileges to this extent! It seemed a little overboard. But to his surprise, as he continued investigating, he unearthed Jiang Yan’s abnormalities!

No wonder the god was becoming weaker! And He was planning to keep it a secret?!

Did He not understand the importance of this world? Did He not know how many people and beings in this world had worked so hard and sacrificed so much just so He could survive?! They just wanted Him to live! But all that was on His mind was that strange being named Jiang Yan!

Damn it!!

If the god’s fall wouldn’t lead to the world’s destruction, he would’ve gone into the temple right now and strangled that bastard in the god’s seat!

The more the actor thought about it, the angrier he got. At that moment, Black Spades K spoke up:

"Baby, have you ever thought that the god’s fall is actually inevitable?"

"No, I haven’t! I don’t want to think about it!" the actor mocked with a laugh. "Did He tell you His fall is inevitable? You really are His most devoted believer!"

"I don’t care whether His fall is inevitable or not."

"He is the god of this world, and if He falls, this world will be destroyed!"

"I don’t want to die! I don’t want you to die! I don’t want my parents or family to die because of this! Most people and beings in this world don’t want that either. We need Him to live, so He has to live. Do you understand?"

"I don’t care whether His fall is inevitable or not! I don’t want to know! I just know that for this world, and so the apocalypse doesn’t come, He must live."

"Now, Jiang Yan is the biggest obstacle to His survival! So, for this world, for the beings in it, for me, and for you, Jiang Yan must die! Do you understand?"

The actor spoke passionately.

"Baby, please calm down, let me explain," Black Spades K reached out to embrace the actor.

"I don’t want to listen!"

The actor immediately slapped his hand away.

He looked at Black Spades K, saying, "Or do you like him too? Because he's handsome? Enough to make the god fall for him? So, do you all like him?"

Black Spades K was stunned by his sudden, absurd question. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don’t think I don’t know that Cao Youfeng, after spending one dungeon with him, came back and started writing all sorts of strange stuff in his diary!" the actor said.

Black Spades K froze for a moment. "How do you know about that?"

The actor paused for a moment, then responded, "Because you were sneaky, and I looked at the things you were sneaking to look at."

Black Spades K: "..."

"You can’t say it like that! Xiao Feng didn’t actually like him! He’s just young, hasn’t seen much of the world, and when he saw Jiang Yan, he thought he looked good and unique, so he developed a bit of a fondness for him."

"Look, his attitude toward Jiang Yan isn't even as close as how he is with Jian Hou!"

"I’m not talking about Cao Youfeng, I’m talking about you!" the actor said.

Black Spades K: "..."

Black Spades K was left speechless.

Him? How could he possibly have any feelings for Jiang Yan? Jiang Yan was that kind of thing.

"Why are you so quiet? Did I guess right?" the actor mocked with a smile.

"When I checked Jiang Yan's information before, I found it strange! He seemed so ordinary."

"Yes! His blue eyes are indeed beautiful! He’s good-looking enough, and paired with those blue eyes, he certainly has a certain charm."

"But there are so many people in the world who are more handsome than him! Even beside him, his childhood friend Jian Hou is just as good-looking, so how did this person’s romantic life always go so smoothly?"

"Even the dogs on the street stop and wag their tails when they see him!"

"Now I get it... it turns out he’s that kind of thing!"

Black Spades K helplessly said: "Don’t describe him like that! Jiang Yan is just..."

"Be honest, do you like him?" the actor asked, his tone a mix of accusation and a bit of grievance, though he didn’t want the other person to notice his feelings.

He smiled mockingly and said, "Cao Youfeng only got clingy after spending a dungeon with Jiang Yan. You haven’t even seen Jiang Yan in person, so how could you… mmm!"

Before he could finish his sentence, the helmet was lifted from underneath, and a long hand gripped his delicate chin. His lips were sealed by another soft pair of lips.

"..."

After a moment, he finally came back to his senses.

"Mmm..."

It wasn’t until the other person’s soft tongue brushed against his that he fully regained his senses, starting to push against the other person’s chest in an attempt to break free.

"Mmm... mmm..."

After pushing a couple of times with no effect, he couldn’t take it anymore and stomped down hard on the other person’s foot!

"Hiss..."

Black Spades K, in pain, released him.

The actor wiped his mouth, then angrily yet shyly said: "Get lost!!"

Black Spades K chuckled lightly: "Now you know I don’t like Jiang Yan?"

"Why would you suddenly think I like Jiang Yan? This is really strange!" Black Spades K didn’t understand what kind of logic this person was following.

Him? Like Jiang Yan?

How could such an absurd rumor even come up?

Even if Jiang Yan was... he still couldn’t make everyone love him, haha!

In fact, there were quite a few people Black Spades K knew who disliked Jiang Yan!

Is this what happens to men who are always so insecure in relationships?

Black Spades K smiled helplessly: "Clearly, you didn’t accept my proposal, and now you’re accusing me of liking Jiang Yan?"

The actor, in a fit of anger and embarrassment, said, "I don’t care whether you like him or not!"

"Or, if you agree to my proposal now, no! Agree to my pursuit? Then we’ll be together, and you won’t keep thinking that I like these random, strange people."

"Dream on! Nonsense! I don’t care who you like!" The actor cursed at the person in front of him, then turned to leave.

He came to see this person. Now that they’d met, and the discussion had collapsed without getting the answer he wanted, there was no need for him to stay any longer.

However, as soon as he turned around, he was pulled back by the person behind him, who had grabbed his wrist.

"What now? Let go!"

The actor looked back at the person wearing a cartoon shark headpiece who refused to let go.

"We’ll put those random things aside for now." Black Spades K’s voice became serious.

"Oh, so in your eyes, the matter between us is just random?" The actor began sarcastically again.

This time, Black Spades K didn’t continue answering with the mocking tone from before but instead remained serious: "I’m talking about something serious."

Seeing his serious demeanor, the actor also became more serious.

"Go ahead, what do you want to say?" the actor asked.

"About Jiang Yan and the God issue, the fall of the God is inevitable, and Jiang Yan’s appearance is also inevitable, so..."

Before Black Spades K could finish, the actor directly interrupted him.

"This is your attitude? Well, let me tell you my attitude, my attitude is that I don’t care whether the fall of the God is inevitable or not, I just know I don’t want this world to fall!"

"Since I don’t want this world to fall, I will eliminate every possible obstacle to the God’s fall, and right now, Jiang Yan is that obstacle. Do you understand?"

With that, he shook off the other person’s hand and turned to leave.

"Baby..."

Black Spades K wanted to hold him back, but as soon as his hand reached out, the other person dodged it.

"Our goals and methods in the game have always been different, and from now on, it will stay that way. You do things your way, and I’ll do things mine. We have nothing to do with each other."

With that, the actor left without looking back.

Black Spades K stood there, watching the actor’s figure gradually fade away.

He didn’t look away until the figure disappeared, then he sighed deeply.

What was this all about?

Thinking about it, he looked up at the ceiling.

The blue ceiling, made of data, was constantly rolling with countless bar-shaped numbers, as if some divine energy was gathering somewhere.

The God... truly had made things difficult for him.

—

Apologies for the confusion earlier. Here’s the faithful translation with proper spacing between paragraphs:

---

The actor, holding a silver long whip, ominously walked into the [Valen Church].

Unlike [Dawn Guild], the security here was relatively lax.

There were many perverts here, some were crazy, but they all had enough self-awareness.

Because they were perverts themselves, they wouldn’t go provoke someone even crazier.

For instance, at this moment, they wouldn’t dare provoke the [Actor], who was walking around their guild headquarters with a long whip.

Instead, they simply took a photo and sent it to their guild's internal discussion group before slipping away.

As for security?

Ha! That didn’t exist in Valen Church!

"Why is this old ancestor here?"

"Aren’t our relations with the workshop terrible? Is he here to start a fight?"

"Fighting outside the copy area violates the game rules!"

"But this old ancestor once almost broke into the main God’s control room. Does he still care about the rules?"

"No way??"

"By the way, do you think our leader can beat him?"

"Hard to say! Let’s see..."

"Come on! I bet 3,000 points our leader wins!"

"I bet 3,500, the actor wins..."

"..."

While the discussion group at [Valen Church] debated who would win if their guild leader fought the uninvited guest, the actor had already arrived at the guild leader’s lounge.

To their disappointment, the two didn’t fight, but rather sat down calmly.

The man wearing a robin bird mask smiled at him and asked,

"Would you like a drink? I remember you like milk tea, but it’s probably too late to get it from the real world."

"No need." The actor shook his head.

He curiously looked at the man in front of him and asked,

"Your... your head was supposed to be a dove, right? Why did it change to a sparrow?"

Li Jing: "…This is a robin."

Actor: "Alright! That’s not important."

Li Jing: "…"

"I just went to talk to him," the actor said.

"Who? Black Spade K?" Li Jing sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, looking leisurely.

"Who else could it be?" The actor’s tone was very blunt, directed at the person who was pretending to be ignorant.

However, the person in front of him wasn’t angry; instead, he spread his hands and smiled, "Just confirming."

"As you expected, he refuses to kill Jiang Yan," the actor said.

"I told you already, look at the attitude of the Dawn Guild towards Jiang Yan, look at how Tao Shi and Cao Youfeng act like grandsons in front of Jiang Yan, they almost shove all their points and performance ratings into his hands! From that, you can see Black Spade K's attitude," Li Jing said slowly.

"Clearly, he doesn’t want Jiang Yan to die."

"Not only does he not want Jiang Yan to die, but he also wants Jiang Yan to live and have smooth sailing in this game," he added.

At that moment, he suddenly sat up and, with a very gossiping tone, said to the actor in front of him "Just like I said! Jiang Yan is… right? Maybe Black Spade K is…"

"That’s not it," the actor directly denied.

Li Jing was stunned.

"Oh? You’re so sure?"

Looks like the relationship between these two has progressed?

"Then it’s probably Cao Youfeng, right? After all, he’s always been very fond of Cao Youfeng, and Cao Youfeng is young, his first love..."

"Let’s not talk about that nonsense. I didn’t come here to gossip with you," the actor interrupted him impatiently.

"Alright, alright! Let’s talk about serious matters, serious matters!" Li Jing raised his hands in a surrendering gesture.

After a moment of silence, the actor spoke again:

"I’ve decided to accept your suggestion from last time, I’ll cooperate with you."

"Oh? Finally figured it out?" Li Jing laughed, swaying his long legs.

The actor silently clenched his fists.

"I’ve figured it out. Jiang Yan must die!"

—

At this moment, Jiang Yan was enveloped by the warm, sticky crown of mucus.

He could feel countless energies gathering inside his body, then dissipating, and a certain area of his body seemed to have emptied out!

The mucus continued to fill him up.

He wanted to...

Amidst the green mucus and countless black tentacles, the beautiful elven prince slowly opened his eyes. His body, wrapped in the green mucus, gleamed with purity, and his golden wings fluttered lightly above his delicate shoulder blades.

His eyes were slightly red, with traces of tears still visible — the remnants of his recent crying.

As he opened his eyes again, he felt a bit confused. He stretched his hand toward the sky, as if trying to grab something.

A soft petal from a rose fell into his palm.

"This... a flower?"

Why was there a flower?

Jiang Yan immediately became alert.

He sat up from the mucus, and the black tentacles gently supported his waist and back, helping him sit more comfortably.

At that moment, he noticed countless withered rose petals pouring into the tree canopy.

Looking at the dried petals in his hand, he realized —

This was his prop?!

Why?

He had clearly never used any props.

"663?" Jiang Yan instinctively called out to his personal system.

However, there was no response from 663.

But at that moment, his personal system popped up with a message.

"Ding!"

[Congratulations, dear NPC Jiang Yan, you have acquired a believer. Faith value +1000]

[Click on the Believer tab to view detailed information about your believer!]

Believer??

What believer?

Why did he suddenly have a believer?

Thinking of this, Jiang Yan clicked on the Believer tab.

The tab displayed the following information:

[Believer 1: Jian Hou, Identity: Player]

"What is this??" Jiang Yan stared at the strange panel in front of him.

Why did Jian Hou suddenly become his believer?

The petals continued to fall inside.

The petals continued to float inside.

"663? 663!" Jiang Yan called out to his personal system again.

What was going on??

Had the system bugged out???

Finally, the familiar annoying voice of 663 echoed in his mind.

Judging by the sound, it seemed like 663 had just returned to his seat, and Jiang Yan could clearly hear the sound of the computer chair being compressed.

"Were you slacking off?" Jiang Yan asked.

"Meeting, meeting!" 663 explained. "The system has been really busy lately, holding all kinds of meetings every day."

Jiang Yan was uninterested in 663's work or the main system department's activities.

He said to 663, "My personal system panel and props seem to have malfunctioned. I didn’t activate any props, but for some reason, these flower petals are flying around everywhere. And what’s this 'believer' tab? What is it?"

"Let me take a look!" 663 replied.

And then, there was an endless silence.

Jiang Yan waited for a long time but still didn’t hear 663 speak again.

This guy wasn’t slacking off again, was he?

"Did you... figure it out?" Jiang Yan asked tentatively. "Are you looking at it?"

663 remained silent.

After a long pause, Jiang Yan cautiously spoke again.

"663? Are you still there?"

This time, the personal system finally responded.

"I'm here, I’m here!" 663 answered. "I just went to check these two issues for you. These problems are a bit special."

"So?" Jiang Yan asked. "What did you find?"

At this moment, 663 suddenly used an exaggerated tone.

"Congratulations, Host!! You've hit the jackpot with a special hidden reward from the main system!"

"What reward?" Jiang Yan asked, curious.

"A special major storyline task!" 663 replied.

Jiang Yan: "..."

This was considered a reward??

This was bad luck!!

663 continued to explain exaggeratedly, his tone now resembling a pushy mall salesperson trying to make a sale.

"Ahhh!!! Let me see! This is a big surprise!"

"You originally entered the game by accident! Because it was an accident, your obsession was blank, and in the case of a blank obsession, it is difficult for you to leave the game!"

"Now, you have drawn this hidden main storyline task. As long as you complete this task, you can leave the game!"

"Congratulations!! Leaving the game is now possible!!"

Clap, clap, clap...

663 excitedly started clapping.

Jiang Yan: "..."

Well, it didn’t sound so bad.

Jiang Yan thought to himself.

"So, what is this main storyline task?" Jiang Yan asked.

"Collect enough faith! The source of faith is the believers! As long as you increase your believers, your faith value will increase," 663 explained.

"The way to increase believers is through your props. If they willingly use your rose, or when they come into contact with your rose and, under your influence, agree to become your believer, the task will be completed!"

"Now, the reason why these petals are appearing is probably because you gave a rose to your childhood friend last time. He must have been worried that you were trapped in the tree crown, so he used the rose and agreed to become your believer."

Jiang Yan suddenly understood. He looked at the rose petals in his hand and said, "So... that’s how it is?"

"You should now close your eyes and use your spiritual power to sense it. You should be able to sense the power of faith from your believer," 663 explained.

Jiang Yan closed his eyes.

As expected, just as 663 said, a golden outline seemed to appear before his eyes.

At this moment, a golden thread extended from the glowing outline, connecting to his chest.

A faint, almost imperceptible warm flow coursed through his heart.

At this point, he felt his heart was empty, as though it desperately needed a large amount of warm flow to fill it.

Jiang Yan slowly opened his eyes and looked at the rose petals in his hand. "How amazing."

"It’s indeed amazing, because this is…" 663 trailed off and suddenly stopped speaking.

"What is this?" Jiang Yan asked, curious.

"Nothing!" 663 laughed awkwardly. Then, he reminded him, "But now, you might need to close your thoughts because this seems to be disturbing other players."

"Huh?" Jiang Yan tilted his head, confused.

"Feel the faith that you haven't activated yet, and close that window. Wait until they are willing to kneel at your feet and become your believers, then open it again," 663 said.

Jiang Yan followed 663’s advice and closed his eyes again.

This time, he saw several golden outlines.

Golden threads drilled out of his heart, repeatedly striking against those golden outlines. But these outlines swayed, as if they hadn’t fully made up their minds to establish a link with him.

Jiang Yan was momentarily stunned.

He then tried to control his thoughts and pulled the golden threads back in.

"Ugh."

At this moment, the players standing under the giant tree were surprised to find:

"Hey?? It's gone?"

“What exactly was that just now??” The chef asked curiously.

No one answered his question. The faces of the few veteran players in front of him were grim.

“I don’t know what you’re all talking about, but I don’t think this is the time to discuss irrelevant things...” Jiekhe said, stepping forward, closing the distance with the giant rat, then taking half a step back.

The chef finally came back to his senses. "Right, right, right! We should run! We should run!!"

With that, he turned and was about to start running, just like when he had fled from the giant rat earlier.

“It’s no use.”

Jiekhe who had been actively escaping earlier, coldly spoke up.

The chef’s leg froze mid-step, and he stood motionless in place.

“W-What do we do now if we don’t run? Are we just going to wait to be eaten by this rat?!” The girl with glasses said in a tearful voice.

At this point, the girl with colorful braids grew impatient and snapped, “You guys better think of something! Aren’t you all veteran players? Don’t you have any props?!”

The veteran players she mentioned all had their own thoughts.

Lu Sha and Yu Jia exchanged a glance.

Just moments ago, they had received the order from their leader to cooperate and kill Jiang Yan.

Jian Hou, on the other hand, curiously watched the thorny rose vine that had just sprouted on his wrist.

He... could he really control this vine?!

Then, he cautiously scanned the surroundings, preparing to use the vine to attack when the others attempted to harm Jiang Yan.

Cao Youfeng was staring absentmindedly at the rose petals in his hand.

Jiang Yan.

He nervously glanced at Tao Shi beside him before lowering his head again, continuing to stare at the rose petals.

Tao Shi was extremely frustrated!

What exactly was going on?!

Why was it happening so quickly?!

How did it suddenly come to this?!

This wasn’t what the boss had originally said!

After all the meetings, what did they get? Nothing!

At first, he was almost ready to give up on the task of protecting Jiang Yan. He started questioning whether their plan had already failed.

But just now, he had received an order from the leader, which was still very clear:

“Protect Jiang Yan at all costs.”

And added:

“Become Jiang Yan’s believer.”

Become Jiang Yan’s believer?!

Damn it! What the hell had he gotten himself into!!

Tao Shi irritably rubbed his blue hair, not paying any attention to the giant rat that was approaching them step by step.

He glanced at his personal panel, then said to Jian Hou beside him, “Teacher Jian, give me a petal.”

Jian Hou didn’t understand, but still picked a petal from the vine on his wrist and handed it to him.

“Ding!”

【Dear player, do you wish to become Jiang Yan’s new believer?】

Tao Shi resignedly clicked on 【Willing】.

At the same time, Cao Youfeng also clicked 【Willing】 without hesitation.

Just then, Jiang Yan’s personal system panel popped up two windows one after another:

“Ding!”

【Congratulations, dear NPC Jiang Yan, you now have a believer. Faith value +1000】

【Click the believer section to view detailed information about your believers?】

Hmm??

Why are there more??

Curious, he clicked on the believer section:

【Believer 2: Tao Shi, Identity: Player】

【Believer 3: Cao Youfeng, Identity: Player】

Jiang Yan was a bit shocked. These two? They actually agreed to become his believers?

“You can bestow miracles upon your believers,” 663 reminded him.

“Miracles??” Jiang Yan asked curiously.

“Miracles are when they use your props or abilities, and using your props won’t consume the original number of uses for you!” 663 explained.

Jiang Yan rubbed his chin and said, “So, if my 【Lost Rose】 has three instances of leaving the instance in a dungeon, and I authorize them, they can also use 【Lost Rose】 to leave the dungeon three times?”

“That’s not allowed,” 663 explained. “That’s a unique privilege for you.”

“So, what’s the point of the authorization?” Jiang Yan asked.

Just as Jiang Yan finished speaking, a loud crash sounded from outside.

Then, they heard Jian Hou’s loud voice, “Holy crap!”

He climbed to the edge of the tree crown and peered down through the gaps in the branches.

He saw Jian Hou manipulating the rose vine to bind the giant rat’s legs, causing it to fall to the ground with a loud thud. Small rats, like bugs, scurried across the giant rat's body.

Jian Hou excitedly looked at the vine in his hand. “Awesome! This is amazing!”

“Almost forgot,” Tao Shi said with a smile, “Although items don’t work in this town, their basic forms still function. Like Lu Sha’s fire can still burn, and Jiang Yan’s rose can barely be used as a rope.”

Jian Hou asked in confusion, “But wasn’t Xiao Feng’s bandage just…”

“The bandage’s basic form is fabric, and fabric is, of course, not as sturdy as a vine,” Tao Shi replied.

Jian Hou: "The quality of that small Fabric is really terrible. Don’t you consider changing the material? How could it have a vine that breaks so easily when pulled?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the giant rat that had just fallen to the ground immediately bit through the vine that was entangled around it, then quickly got up and charged at the players in front of it, roaring angrily:

"Zzzzz!!"

Its murky, green-glowing eyes were filled with rage.

These damn heretics!

Not only did they ignore the wrath of the gods, but they also tried to frame me, a faithful servant of the gods!

Damn it!

Damn it!!!

"It's... it's over... Jiekhe."

"What... What should we do now?!" The girl with glasses cried, gasping for air.

"Quickly repent for your sins!!" Jiekhe said in a commanding tone.

"What... what sins?!" The boy with colorful braids asked.

"Any crime greater than stealing two grains of rice is called a sin! Hurry up and repent, then throw the person with the greatest sin out to sacrifice to this beast!" Jiekhe said.

"Does it really have to be the one with the greatest sin?!" The father of the boy with colorful braids asked.

Jiekhe looked at him with a puzzled expression and said, "Isn’t the one with the greatest sin the one who should die? If the others have lighter sins, why should they die?"

Upon hearing this, the faces of the new players turned grim.

"Die? Greater than stealing two grains of rice? The one with the greatest sin..."

"I... I skipped a class, does that count? Also, when I was little, I stole fifty cents from my mom and got beaten half to death," Jian Hou raised his hand and said.

Although this was certainly worse than stealing two grains of rice, it probably wasn’t the worst, right?

But then again, how many crimes can an ordinary person commit?

He thought to himself and looked around at the other players, but found that the faces of the new players were all ashen.

"Isn’t there anything worse than that?" Jian Hou asked.

The father of the boy with colorful braids was about to say something, but Jiekhe interrupted.

"Confession to the gods must be sincere. If you don’t want to speak, you don’t have to, but liars will pay a great price."

As soon as these words were spoken, the father of the boy with colorful braids asked, "Can we not speak? Will there be any consequences if we don’t speak?"

Jiekhe looked at him with a baffled expression and said, "Of course there will."

Jiekhe pointed at the giant rat that was closing in on them: "It will eat you."

"..."

The rose-colored sunlight fell like a brilliant curtain, casting a soft glow, making the figure of the giant rat seem even larger and more mysterious.

In the light of the sun, the rat’s sharp claws and pointed teeth gleamed with a cold light, as if exuding an ominous aura that made people shiver with fear.

The giant rat seemed to possess endless violent power. Its roar thundered through the air, charging toward the crowd. The fierce look in its eyes and its bloodthirsty aura filled the air with terror.

"Heretics!!"

The giant rat roared.

"If..." Jiekhe took a step back, "If none of you are willing to confess your real crimes, then... now’s the time to start running."

"..."

Seeing the giant rat only a few steps away from them, at this critical moment, Jiekhe shouted.

The group turned and fled, panicking and scattering in all directions. They started running around the town's center, dodging the beautiful white angel statue, skirting past one towering, desolate spire-shaped building after another.

Though the new players were slightly more fit than Jian Hou, after running for so long, they too were nearly exhausted.

As the giant rat steadily closed the gap, every footstep echoed with fear and despair.

However, they dared not stop.

Fear, like an invisible force, pushed them forward.

Their hearts raced like drums, each beat bringing an indescribable sense of anxiety and tension.

In this life-and-death moment, the boy with colorful braids and his father ran, one ahead and one behind. They frequently looked back, worry and fear written on their faces.

But then, at that moment, the boy with colorful braids suddenly stopped, causing his father, who was close behind, to almost crash into him.

"What’s wrong?" The middle-aged man asked, panting, as he looked at his son.

The boy with colorful braids did not answer. He stared ahead, a puzzled expression on his face: "What... what is that?"

The middle-aged man followed his son's gaze and saw, at some point, a person standing in the corner of the circular town center.

The person was dressed in a black robe, with a hood that completely obscured their face.

"Who is that?!"

Jiekhe, who had been running at the front, suddenly stopped. He spread his arms to block the players' way.

The boy with the buzz cut almost tripped.

"Why did you suddenly stop, you little dwarf?!" the boy with the buzz cut angrily shouted.

"Why did you stop?! Run!! It's going to catch up!" the cook said in a panic.

"You... won’t be able to run anymore. It won't chase you now," Jiekhe said seriously.

As soon as he finished speaking, the giant rat, which had been relentlessly chasing the players, suddenly stopped in its tracks.

The boy with colorful braids looked at the black figure ahead, then glanced back at the giant rat, confused. "What... what is going on?"

A gust of wind blew by, scattering flower petals in the air.

Suddenly, dozens of giant rats appeared around them, surrounding them completely.

"Zzzzz-!!"

The giant rats howled at them, the foul stench of their breath almost making people gag.

"Oh my god!!"

Seeing so many giant rats suddenly appear, the girl with glasses nearly fainted from fear.

The boy with colorful braids supported her, helplessly asking, "W-why are so many here all of a sudden?"

"Because you need to repent for your sins."

At that moment, the black-robed figure spoke.

The group turned towards him, still confused.

The black-robed person slowly removed his hood.

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock:

"Jian Yan?!!"

"No!" Cao Youfeng denied, "Jian Yan's eyes are blue, but this person’s eyes... are green?"

"He is Jian Yan, your companion," Jiekhe answered.

Yu Jia looked at the towering black giant tree behind them, then turned to look at the person in front of them, saying, "Then why are his eyes green?"

"Because he is now in a divine descent state," Jiekhe explained.

"Divine descent?"

"It means that the god is now within his body, and the god is using his body to communicate with you."

As soon as he finished speaking, the main system's voice echoed from the sky:

"Ding!

[Real NPC Jian Yan, side mission status unlocked: Divine Descent]."

Jian Yan maintained the indifferent, godly expression that was expected of a divine being. No one knew that beneath his black robe, his long legs were trembling uncontrollably.

The god was inside his body... yes, but in a way that he could not fully comprehend.

"Ugh..."

No one knew what was happening under the black robe, but Jian Yan couldn't help but let out a small groan. His legs were shaking even more violently.

Heh... One day, he would get rid of this god who was always on the verge of acting out!

Jian Yan gritted his teeth in frustration.

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