Chapter 213
Chapter 213
The Supernova Traffic Tier.
From the moment Xiao Huai entered the fifth-floor instance, his stream had automatically been promoted to the Supernova Traffic Tier.
Throngs of gods had become helplessly enamored with him and begun following his every move.
Wherever he went, all eyes followed.
Loki had just finished the thirteenth-floor battle royale instance. When he saw where Xiao Huai was, he could not help laughing aloud.
He had not used his authority to send Xiao Huai into the Town of the Blind.
Yet the game system seemed to enjoy a sense of drama too. Of all places, it had sent Xiao Huai into the game that existed because of him.
“How does it feel to witness this game, trapped in an endless cycle of tragedy?”
At that moment, winning or losing the game no longer mattered.
Everyone was left with regrets, and no one met a good end.
The thought made him want to play a few more tricks.
But then he watched Xiao Huai uncover the truth of the world piece by piece. He even found the player with the identity card and used that player’s item to help the blind.
The amusement on Loki’s face gradually faded into boredom.
He clicked his tongue. “No fun at all.”
Loki closed the stream, and a wild smile suddenly spread across his face.
“Then again, when I think about how you’ll soon receive an invitation to the gods’ banquet, things do seem a little more interesting.”
Elsewhere, Edwin was also watching Xiao Huai’s every move closely from the Temple of the Moon God.
But at some point, the image from Xiao Huai’s stream disappeared from his view.
As the owner of the stream, Xiao Huai had applied to the system for permission to temporarily block certain gods from watching.
Of course, the system knew exactly what Xiao Huai intended to do.
It weighed the stream’s value according to its principle of entertainment above all else.
Then it approved his request.
What Edwin received next was a plea for help from Xiao Huai.
[Honorable Moon God, your soul companion Xiao Huai requires your assistance. Would you like to enter the game instance and help him?]
Edwin sneered. Why would he refuse an invitation delivered right to his door?
After all, his mark was still on Xiao Huai’s soul.
He had deceived Edwin once, yet he still dared ask for help. How very amusing.
A beam of light split open the sky above the Temple of the Moon God and fell over Edwin.
The system notification sounded again and again.
[Selection confirmed: Yes. Traveling to the game world now.]
[Teleporting immediately to soul companion Xiao Huai’s side.]
He opened his eyes, ready to give Xiao Huai a proper greeting, only for a horde of hideous departed souls to rush him in a frenzy.
His brow creased slightly. With a lift of his hand, the departed souls before him shattered into dust.
Edwin was no fool. He ground out Xiao Huai’s name through clenched teeth.
“Xiao Huai.”
What a disobedient child.
Where exactly are you hiding?
Xiao Huai had ordered all his companions and friends to evacuate. He had decided to bear the god’s fury alone.
Monsters poured endlessly from the bottom of the well and surged into the Yang Residence.
The moment they entered, they did not even have time to look at their surroundings before Edwin annihilated them without hesitation.
“Where are you hiding, little mouse?”
Xiao Huai hid in a pitch-black corner of the courtyard, surrounded by dense shrubs.
The wounds across his body had nearly split open, and blood dripped slowly onto the ground.
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
He was waiting for something to fall into the trap.
The monsters began emerging more slowly, no longer flooding out with their earlier ferocity.
Once Xiao Huai noticed the change, he stopped hiding and slowly rose to his feet.
The instant the ghosts saw him, they switched targets and lunged at him one after another.
But how could Edwin allow this rabble to kill the prey he had set his sights on?
Every ghost that tried to approach Xiao Huai died along the way.
“Tired of playing hide-and-seek with me so soon?” Edwin asked with a soft laugh.
Xiao Huai regarded him coldly. “What’s the point of hiding? After all, you’re my soul companion.”
He deliberately drew out the final phrase, “soul companion.” Those very words had kept Edwin thinking about him for a long time, each one striking where it hurt.
He was a mighty high-ranking god. How could he possibly be the companion of a mere human?
Most of the gods in Xiao Huai’s stream froze when Edwin appeared.
How could Edwin be here?
Ordinarily, even a god could not easily gain permission to enter the world of a specific player.
Of course, none of them knew this was Xiao Huai’s supernatural ability.
The moment Xiao Huai said “soul companion,” the stream automatically censored the phrase.
Nearly twenty thousand gods had already been watching Xiao Huai’s stream. With Edwin’s sudden arrival, the audience immediately surged past twenty thousand.
Several gods laughed. “Edwin chased him all the way into the game. Xiao Huai’s chances don’t look good.”
“And here I was planning to go to the gods’ banquet when the time came. Tell me, if he makes it through the fifth floor, do you think he’ll attend?”
The gods offered a chorus of differing opinions.
Once players cleared the fifth floor, they could meet the gods in person.
For a player, that was an opportunity.
There was never any shortage of players in the horror game, so the gods did not sponsor one easily.
The player had to be special enough, someone who suited their tastes.
Sometimes, even if a player was distinctive and suited them perfectly, a god still might not bestow a blessing upon them.
Giving away a blessing was equivalent to surrendering a portion of divine power that could never be reclaimed.
Unless a god adored a player with true fanaticism, or had lost a bet like Victoria, they would never offer a blessing.
Gods might, however, give items or weapons to a player they favored.
But think about it. Would a god ever give a player an item for nothing in return?
The gods’ banquet gave the players a chance to prove themselves.
If they won the gods’ favor, their chances of obtaining an item would increase.
“Why wouldn’t he come? A mere player must want an item that can keep him alive. Give him a Death-Exemption Medallion, and he might be willing to do anything for me. Heh.” Some of the wicked gods were already entertaining cruel ideas.
…
Edwin approached Xiao Huai at an unhurried pace. “Have you considered the price of deceiving me?”
The corners of Xiao Huai’s mouth lifted slightly, mockery hidden in his red eyes.
He asked coldly, “Oh? And what would you like to do with me, my lord?”
The top button of Xiao Huai’s shirt had broken during the fighting, leaving his collar open. As he strolled closer with casual ease, a passing breeze sharply outlined the curve of his neck.
Edwin’s gaze traveled slowly from Xiao Huai’s neck to his collarbone. The broad expanse of pale skin seemed to radiate an inexplicable, enticing charm.
Edwin’s eyes appeared to darken.
Several seconds later, multiple lengths of red hemp rope materialized around him.
A trace of a smile touched his lips. “A disobedient pet must, of course, be taken home and properly trained.”
His expression shifted, viciousness surfacing in his eyes.
The hemp ropes cut through the empty air like snakes and hurtled toward Xiao Huai at astonishing speed.