Chapter 42
Chapter 42
The eighty-nine blood dragons transformed into eighty-nine horrors, then hurled themselves at the players from the other countries.
The destroyed Hua Nation Core knitted itself back together. Before the players who had attacked it could even react, they were killed by the horrors that Hua Nation’s fallen players had become.
Why had he waited until the very end? Why had he only used this skill after so many Hua Nation players had died?
Now, the answer was clear.
Survival from Certain Death.
Only by reaching a point of certain death could they carve out a path to survival.
Only when their base had been destroyed and nearly every player had fallen had they truly reached that point.
Hua Nation’s base had become Yu Huan’s Territory. Any horror within Yu Huan’s Territory would revive after death.
Once the other countries realized they could not destroy the Hua Nation Base and could no longer afford to lose any Full-fledged Player, they made their decision and withdrew from Hua Nation’s base.
At that moment, the alliance collapsed. The remaining countries began defending their own bases while doing everything in their power to attack the others. No one wanted to finish third from last.
Even after a third country’s base had been destroyed, the bloodshed between them did not stop.
[System Notification: The SS-rank Grand Slaughter Instance has ended. Settlement will begin shortly.]
Three days.
Seventy-two hours.
Four thousand three hundred and twenty minutes.
Two hundred fifty-nine thousand two hundred seconds.
The moment the System notification appeared, it was finally, truly over.
Yu Lingling kept her eyes fixed on her brother.
The eighty-nine horrors, who until now had known nothing but slaughter, regained their senses.
“Did we hold it?”
The surviving Hua Nation players were covered in wounds and utterly exhausted, but they were still standing. Their expressions, however, had changed from their earlier caution and vigilance to grief.
“We held it! We earned a huge number of points. We’re ranked near the top!”
Because those countries had joined forces to attack the Hua Nation Base, the Hua Nation players had fought desperately and killed many enemy players, earning a tremendous number of points.
“First.”
“We’re in first place.”
“First? That’s wonderful.”
The eighty-nine horrors looked toward Yu Huan, who held the Soul-Severing Chain in both hands while half his body was already engulfed in black mist. They gave him a nod, then shattered into motes of light and vanished one by one.
By then, the black mist had already risen to Yu Huan’s chest.
[Instance Settlement: Players may choose their own rewards within certain limits.]
[The SS-rank Grand Slaughter Instance will soon close. Every player’s Livestream Room will soon close.]
Yu Lingling did not say a word. Nor did she fly into a frenzy or lose control as everyone feared she might. She was silent and still, like an uninvolved spectator watching from the sidelines.
But seeing Yu Lingling like this was even more frightening.
She knew her brother could no longer leave the Horror Game Instance.
She knew her brother had broken his promise.
But she also knew that he had chosen to make this sacrifice partly for her sake.
All her life, Yu Lingling had possessed very little she could call her own. The only person she truly considered family was her brother.
Why did even the only family she had have to be taken from her? She could not understand it, nor did she want to.
Because the one being taken away was her brother.
Even if it was the Horror Game Instance, she would not allow it to take him.
Everyone, both in the command center and outside it, rose to their feet. They had already taken off their hats, and now they bowed their heads. Some could not hold back their tears, while others murmured, “Though we die a hundred deaths, we shall never retreat. We shall protect all lives and never know regret.”
At first, only a few people quietly recited the words. Gradually, nearly everyone began repeating those two lines.
Yu Lingling remained silent, her gaze locked with obsessive intensity on Yu Huan in the Horror Game Instance as the black mist gradually consumed him.
Even if her brother would never know she had come.
Even if all Yu Lingling could do was watch helplessly as her brother disappeared, she never looked away.
But just as the black mist was about to swallow Yu Huan completely and the instance was closing, he suddenly looked toward Yu Lingling.
At that moment, the eyes of a brother about to die inside the instance and a sister watching helplessly from outside seemed to meet across every barrier between them.
Yu Lingling saw Yu Huan’s lips move.
The instant the instance closed and every Livestream Room went black, Yu Lingling understood what her brother had said.
“Make sure you eat properly, and take good care of yourself.”
Yu Lingling’s face was expressionless. “Liar. You bastard who couldn’t keep his promise.”
But even if he was a liar, even if he was a bastard who couldn’t keep his promise, he was still her only brother.
When the instance closed, the surviving players were transported out.
The area outside descended into chaos, filled with sobs and the urgent shouts of medical personnel.
Even now, Yu Lingling’s mind ignored her feelings and continued relentlessly analyzing the information before her.
Apparently, leaving an instance did not heal every injury.
Wounds inflicted by certain supernatural entities, items, or unusual environments did not heal even after leaving.
It seemed Doctor Song’s injuries were of that sort.
Xiao Zhang, who had remained by Yu Lingling’s side, hesitated before saying, “My condolences.”
The instant the words left her mouth, a worn, battered dagger was pressed against her throat.
Everyone still in the command room watched in silence.
“Put that down!”
“What are you doing?”
Someone moved to snatch the dagger away.
They had no intention of hurting Yu Lingling, but they could not simply stand by and watch her hurt someone else.
Before they could act, however, four supernatural entities resembling small children appeared around Yu Lingling.
Yu Lingling was only thirteen and naturally shorter than the adult Xiao Zhang, but as she stared into Xiao Zhang’s eyes, she enunciated every word with perfect clarity. “My brother isn’t dead.”
Her brother was not dead. Why was this woman offering condolences? Was she cursing him?
Her brother cared so much about these people that he was willing to die to protect them. Maybe she should drag them all into a Horror Game Instance to keep him company.
The viciousness in Yu Lingling’s eyes grew more intense. Just as she was about to act, a gentle woman’s voice sounded.
“Your name is Yu Lingling, isn’t it?”
Yu Lingling had no intention of responding.
The woman spoke again. “Before your brother, Yu Huan, entered the instance, he left us a message.”
Yu Lingling turned toward the speaker. When she had seen the woman earlier, her hair had only been streaked with gray. Now it was completely white, and she looked as though she had aged ten years.
Yet the way she looked at Yu Lingling remained gentle. The fine lines around her eyes and brows held a profound sorrow. She had not been indifferent to all those deaths. Even though Hua Nation had taken first place in the Grand Slaughter Instance, she could not feel the slightest joy.
Yu Lingling said nothing and simply met her gaze in silence.
The white-haired woman did not keep her in suspense. She said directly, “He told us, ‘Lingling isn’t actually all that smart, and she can be a little slow to understand certain things. If she later does something you can’t accept or understand, please try to be understanding. After all, she’s just a silly child.'”
“Even at the very end, he was still worried about you.”
“The last thing he said before the instance closed was meant for you too, wasn’t it?”
“Lingling, Yu Huan protected you all this time, right up until the very last moment. Don’t make him worry, all right?”