Chapter 162
Chapter 162
How could a locked door possibly stop Joseph and Carr?
They rushed out with Xiao Huai, stirring a gust of wind behind them.
Little Magician watched Xiao Huai’s retreating back. He wanted to follow, yet hesitated.
Suddenly, a hand closed around his wrist.
“What are you standing there for? He’s your master. Don’t you want to go see him?”
Xiao Huai had actually come back for him.
Little Magician might have been only an item, but at that moment, a soul called concern gradually came alive within him.
He returned to his little doll form and quickly climbed into Xiao Huai’s trouser pocket.
Just as he always had.
He had always risked his life for Master and completed every order he was given.
But he had things he wanted to do too.
He wanted to see his master, to remain beside and protect him, even if it cost Little Magician his own life.
Where was the Corpse Cage?
Xiao Huai had already learned the answer on the first day.
When he visited the west wing that day, Follower No. 3 said they were feeding.
What purpose did the soporific incense in the air serve?
Food.
Players.
Edwin left as soon as nine o’clock arrived, which proved one thing: at nine, he had something to complete or supervise.
On the first day of the game, the System had explained,
[Each night, human players will be selected at random from the human faction and confined in the Corpse Cage. Selected players will automatically be transferred there at 9:00 p.m.]
No one selected for the Corpse Cage had ever escaped.
Because it was a dead-end rule, the final iron law Edwin intended to use to keep Xiao Huai.
That was why he was certain he could make Xiao Huai stay.
When Xiao Huai came close to completing the game, Edwin could use the Corpse Cage to trap him.
First grant him hope, then plunge him into despair. No matter whether he obtained the gold coins, he still might not escape.
But there had been one exception.
Ling Chen had given him a gold coin. More than that, Lu Qian had given him the others.
He could leave now.
But the moment Lu Qian was confined in the Corpse Cage, Xiao Huai faced a choice.
At that instant, it seemed as if every god was watching him.
They wanted to see which choice he would make.
Would he abandon his friend and leave, or enter the game and become trapped forever?
The instant Xiao Huai rushed into the west wing, an abnormal stench of blood filled the entire building, so pungent it was almost unbearable.
This was nothing like his previous visits. It seemed some monster was slaughtering indiscriminately inside.
As soon as he entered, a vampire leaped from a corner and lunged at him.
Joseph raised a hand, and the vampire’s head instantly fell.
Following the scent of blood, Xiao Huai continued forward. More and more vampires ambushed him along the way.
He knew that meant he was drawing closer to his destination.
Suddenly, high heels clicked in the distance.
At the end of the long, dark corridor, Follower No. 3’s pure white dress had already turned scarlet.
She approached with her hands pressed together as if in prayer.
“Xiao Huai, the area ahead is forbidden. Since you are a follower of the Moon God, you should understand that followers cannot trespass on forbidden ground.”
Xiao Huai looked coldly at her. “And if I insist?”
“You should think carefully about the consequences.”
Betrayal. Betrayal of Edwin.
His status as a follower would be stripped away.
But Xiao Huai had never been anyone’s follower from the beginning.
Xiao Huai smiled. “I have no faith. I had none before, I have none now, and I never will.”
So he would trespass on this forbidden ground.
He had no time. The longer Lu Qian remained trapped, the greater the danger.
Had Little Magician not said so himself?
Once the demon persona occupied the entire body, the real Lu Qian would never return.
Lu Qian. Xiao Qian. That somewhat kind, somewhat cunning young man.
The wooden box Lu Qian had given him appeared in Xiao Huai’s hand.
“People are always like this. Once they accept something from someone else, they feel as though they owe a debt.” He looked into the endless darkness behind Follower No. 3.
“I told him he left me very satisfied. Since I already gave him a five-star review, I don’t want the proprietor disappearing forever.”
Xiao Huai spoke calmly.
Follower No. 3’s expression gradually turned cold and eerie. “If you enter, you will be confined there until your life slowly withers away.”
Humans could not leave the Corpse Cage. They had to endure wave after wave of monster attacks.
Unless they died, or became a vampire and left.
They would have no opportunity to emerge from the Corpse Cage again.
Because Edwin was the god guarding it.
Even if Edwin allowed someone else to leave, he would never permit Xiao Huai to escape.
He was waiting for Xiao Huai to take the bait.
Xiao Huai did not answer Follower No. 3. The field of thorny black crystals appearing behind him said everything.
The black diamonds seemed to devour every ray of light, transforming into an abyss. Yet when faint light fell across them, they shone like stars in the night sky while exuding the aura of death.
The black diamonds became thorns.
And he was the brilliant rose among them.
Black and red collided, and unrestrained madness burst from the impact. Within the oppressive corridor, his presence was like vivid life splitting the earth, forcing through a crack, and growing without end.
It was wild, ostentatious beauty.
He was a climbing rose, and an invisible sea of flowers seemed to spread behind him.
Unbound, free, and pure.
Follower No. 3 froze despite herself. Xiao Huai did not hesitate and swept directly past her.
She surveyed the surroundings warily as the other followers appeared one after another.
“Those who trespass on forbidden ground will be executed.”
If the Moon God forbade anyone to enter, his followers would not let them approach easily.
Follower No. 2 slowly emerged from among the others and leaned close to Follower No. 3, whispering,
“Number Three, we only need to put on a show. Didn’t you see those two behind Xiao Huai?”
Follower No. 3 looked up at Joseph and Carr. They were every bit as conspicuous as Xiao Huai. How could she not have noticed them?
Follower No. 2 said, “Those two are boss-level figures who should have disappeared. Somehow, Xiao Huai kept them here, and they even fight for him.”
Follower No. 3’s pupils widened. “What did you say?”
He could do that? Preserve NPCs who should have vanished?
Even a god might not be capable of such a feat.
Yet Xiao Huai had done it?!
What ability did he possess?
Follower No. 3 lowered her head, her eyes curving.
“I understand… Perhaps my lord wants to witness the moment he breaks the rules.”
Some people were born to create miracles.
Follower No. 3 had not seen anyone like Xiao Huai in a very long time.
Her long half-dead heart gradually began reviving because of the young man before her.
For one instant, she even hoped to witness that miracle with her own eyes.
No matter how remote the possibility.
As long as light existed, darkness would eventually be dispelled.
Joseph and Carr fought for him, and the black-diamond crystals existed because of him.
They swept every obstacle aside and opened a path into the darkness.
His features carried an innate coldness that spoke of all things withering, yet the red in his eyes burned like a spark.
Fanned by the wind, that spark gradually became an inferno, breaking through decay and setting the heavens ablaze.
It was the sole ray of daylight within the darkness.
It was the hope he brought.
It was a feast where mortals battered hell with bodies of flesh and blood.
Unbowed, undying, never withering.