NOVPUBCrack! A thunderclap resounded outside as Xiao Buli breathed a sigh of relief that he had moved quickly. Otherwise, that powerful bolt might have struck him, too. Observing the relentless torrential rain, Xiao Buli saw that it wouldn’t let up anytime soon, so, having already arrived here, he decided to go inside and take a look around.
He drew his Glowing Light Sword, infused it with Internal Energy, and the sword immediately illuminated the surrounding area like a giant glow stick.
Holding the sword, Xiao Buli walked deeper inside. After just two steps, he stumbled over something. It sounded like woodlliding. Xiao Buli steadied himself and shone the sword on the ground to find a skeleton starkly before him.
Xiao Buli crouched down. In such a hot climate, bodies decayed rapidly. Looking at therpse still clad in some tattered cloth, Xiao Buli thought that it must not have been dead for very long.
Therpse leaned against alumn inside the building, still showing signs of a struggle from its final moments. Xiao Buli examined it, and a line of text emerged on therpse: "Wuming’srpse: lootable."
Choosing to loot, his hand suddenly held more items, while therpse slumped and crumbledmpletely.
Xiao Buli looked at the items that appeared in his palm, his pupilsnstricting. His nerves felt as if they had been seared by fire.
Green Dragon Adventure Group emblem: This was an emblem of a Green Dragon Adventure Group member, signifying that the person was a member of the renowned Green Dragon Adventure Group.
The Green Dragon Adventure Group? This name was definitely not aincidence. If Xiao Buli wasn’t mistaken, this person must have been one of the Azure Dragon Group members who had entered the game. It seemed that the system in this world had given them new identities and backgrounds.
Hentinued to illuminate with the sword, examining the remaining belongings of therpse closely. From the tattered cloth that was barely holding together, heuld discern what seemed to be a White Tiger Group member’s attire. If he was here, were the others here too? Where were they?
Xiao Buli immediately stood up and moved forward, searching carefully as he went along. The further he went, the more his heart pounded. Along the way, he euntered elevenrpses andllected eleven Green Dragon Adventure Group emblems, which meant that, without exception, all were members who had entered the game. Although therpses were too decayed to identify, they all meant the same thing to Xiao Buli: they had once been living people, just like him, turned into this state by the damned game.
He relentlesslyllected these bones. Some had been torn apart, likely by some beast, but it was evident they had endured a fierce battle before their deaths, with some limbs scattered far from the rest of their bodies.
Xiao Buli suppressed the sorrow in his heart as his body trembled untrollably. He felt as if all his strength was being drained, a sensation that stemmed not only from the fact that these men had once fought beside him as brothers but also because he saw his potential future in theirrpses.
Leaning on the wall, Xiao Bulillapsed on the ground, his mind inevitably wandering to Li Baocheng. What was this game exactly? Why did it strip away one’s will? Why?
Although heuld sit here safely for the moment, he wondered how long thatuld last. Even though he kept enhancing his abilities, the sense of powerlessness that came from not knowing who he was fighting against filled him withnfusion about the future.
"What a fuck," Xiao Buli stiffened all over. Had he just heard something?
"Hey, I’m saying, this thing is really annoying. How about I just take your place and finish this path for you?"
"You?" Xiao Buliuld scarcely believe it.
"No, it’s me, I am you, and you are me. I think you shouldn’t find me unfamiliar, right?" Xiao Buli felt as though a bucket ofld water had been poured over his head. This voice, it was actually the Heart Demon.
"But you already left," Xiao Buli struggled to calm himself down.
"En~~, are you talking about my predecessor? I saw him in your memory, but I’m sorry, his departure doesn’t mean you are free. Likewise, even if I leave one day or you annihilate me, that doesn’t mean you’re free. Different versions of me will emerge because I am you, and you are me. As long as you are alive, you’ll have to carry me with you. Hehe, what do you think, that’s quite a tongue-twister, isn’t it?" The voice was heartlessly joking with Xiao Buli.
"FUCK, what the hell are you?!" Xiao Buli yelled out loud, thinking he had rid himself of the Heart Demon, only to find the thing was like a virus, impossible to eliminatempletely. Xiao Buli’s mood was already bad, and now hempletely lost it. "If you have the guts,me out here, I will strangle you to death!"
"Wow, haha, you seem to be quite fired up. Relax, I can’t replace you right now. I still need some time to grow before I can take your place." The voice remained casual as if it belonged to someone who didn’t understand the gravity of the situation.
Xiao Buli felt like his chest was about to burst open with all the irritation he had accumulated over the days, blocked like a fierce fire within his chest. With a sudden leap from where he was sitting, he let out a loud roar and began to swing the treasured sword in his hands, slashing wildly at the walls andlumns around him.
Sparks flew as the Glowing Light Sword struck the rocks, the buzzing of the vibrating metal echoed within the grand hall. Xiao Bulintinued his frenzied attacks to vent the rage in his heart, spouting nonsense without pause, until he didn’t even know what he was shouting about, until he felt saliva spray from his mouth, even splattering his own face. Xiao Buli suddenly seemed to realize something, stopping the motion of the swirling sword in his hands. What was happening to him? Was it really just anger?
Then it struck him—the people with Soul Departure Syndrome, didn’t they also start by going mad? This thought quicklyoled his mind. He remembered Xuan Zhenzi’s words, that he had delayed the onset of his Soul Departure Syndrome through mental suppression. If that was true, that meant no matter the situation, he should maintain his calm.
He stopped his movements, leaning against a nearby stonelumn, panting heavily as he tried to calm himself.
"O~K, now that you’ve calmed down, we should face the problem at hand. After all, we share one body, and I certainly don’t want you dying on me so soon." That voice echoed again in Xiao Buli’s mind. Even though he was reluctant, Xiao Buli had no choice but to accept the reality.
"What now?" he asked weakly.
By this time, it had bmempletely dark outside the temple. Inside, it was pitch-black as if in the dead of night. Aside from the white halo of Glowing Light surrounding Xiao Buli’s body, the remote scenery was invisible.
The voice spoke cautiously, "I suggest you take a look straight ahead of you. I think there’s something very dangerous there."
Xiao Buli didn’t know whether or not he should listen, for deep down in his heart, the Heart Demon was an evil existence, a devilveting his body.
At that moment, lightning flashed at the cave entrance. Although it lasted only a few snds, Xiao Buli still saw. He stiffened his body in alarm, quickly put on the Betrayer’s Dark Vision on his head, and the world before him became clear in his eyes. Right before him, a huge pit resembled a gaping maw—or a grave dug in waiting. On the ground between him and the pit, a group of creatures with human heads and serpentine bodies wriggled their way closer.
Furthermore, within that pit, something kept slowly poking its head out, indicating that there were more of these creatures than just those seen. These monsters resembled the statues he had seen outside of the great hall, only their real bodies were not that tall, each monster was probably around two meters in height—though Xiao Buliuldn’t be sure at that moment. They moved in a serpentine manner on the ground rather than upright walking. For some reason, their movements seemed slow, theirntinually twisting bodies creating a strangely disturbing sight.
Suddenly, one of the monsters raised its head that had been previously lowered, its blood-red eyes with just a black slit of a pupil stared back. It opened its large mouth, revealing two sharp fangs, and from it came a hissing sound that filled the air. Xiao Buli steadied himself, gripping the treasured sword in his hands. No matter what these creatures were, heuld be sure that the people from the Green Dragon Group had likely been killed by these monsters before him. Xiao Buli’s body radiated with a fighting spirit, his eyes shining with a bloodthirsty light. (To bentinued. If you like this work, you are weme to vote for it at qidianm. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidianm to read.)
