Read Novel Full Chapter 653
Chapter 653
[Ding! The second round of the Queen’s Defense Battle has ended, and now the game results will be announced.]
[There are currently 65,834 surviving players. Congratulations to all players.]
[Due to the sharp decrease in the number of players, to ensure game balance, each surviving player will be awarded 500 survival honor coins. Please use them wisely.]
[Players will have 10 minutes to rest and prepare. The third round of the game will begin after the 10-minute countdown ends.]
[I wish you all a happy game and I look forward to seeing you next time.]
The difficult second round was finally over.
Bai Lixin, Xia Chi and the others agreed to meet briefly at the Core Fire Guild.
As Bai Lixin moved down from the 999th floor, he opened the elevator at every 50 floors to take a look.
Each time the elevator doors opened, the scenes were terrifying.
More and more monsters were either suspended in mid-air or lying on the ground, and players’ bodies were strewn everywhere, their stiff faces frozen in expressions of fear and despair at the moment of their deaths.
Every floor was like this, without exception.
…
Bai Lixin arrived at the floor where the Core Fire Guild was located. The place was also filled with the corpses of players and monsters, and terrifying monsters were everywhere.
He walked sideways past the monsters.
There were simply too many. The monsters in the tower were now as numerous as the sands of the sea, and just their spit could drown a player.
Some monsters had half a body stuck in their mouths, while others had impaled a broken corpse on their claws.
This was no longer an equal fight, it was a massacre—a massacre of players by monsters.
“Bai Lixin,” a low voice called out. Bai Lixin looked over and saw Samael standing at the entrance of the Core Fire Guild.
The man’s tall figure was completely shrouded in a black cloak. His arms extended from within the cloak, holding a body. Golden hair flowed down from the edge of the black cloak. The hair that once shone brightly was now dull and lifeless.
Bai Lixin pursed his lips and walked up to Samael, looking at the face of the young man in his arms.
The blond young man’s head was turned to the side, his face pale and serene, as if he were merely asleep.
Bai Lixin’s gaze traveled down the young man’s body. The young man was severed at the waist, and below the waist, there was nothing but emptiness, hidden within Samael’s large black cloak.
Bai Lixin: “Samael, Emil…he…”
The lower half of Samael’s face, visible beneath the cloak, was tense, with veins bulging against his skin.
Bai Lixin even heard the grinding of Samael’s teeth.
“He said before he died that he didn’t want his body to be trapped in the Horror Game Lobby,” Samael said in a heavy voice. “I promised him that I would take him out.”
Bai Lixin: “Who killed him?”
“It was a scythe-wielding monster. He was chosen by the system to be the faction’s queen. He originally had soldiers to protect him, but one by one, they were killed, leaving only him. Unable to fight back, he ultimately died at the hands of the scythe monster.”
“When I arrived, I saw the scythe monster cut him in half. Healing cards were useless, and the ordinary substitute dolls couldn’t absorb enough of the fatal damage.”
Bai Lixin: “That scythe monster…”
“I killed it,” Samael said in a calm tone, like the sea before a storm. “I avenged him, but I couldn’t save him.”
“I kept urging him every day to complete his mission and leave the Horror Game, but he just wouldn’t listen. He was too lazy to clear copies and too lazy to do tasks, he spent all his time in the player dormitory. If he had completed his tasks and filled his progress bar earlier, he wouldn’t have died here.” Samael lowered his head slightly. “Emil, let’s see if you’ll be lazy again in the future.”
Bai Lixin’s gaze slowly moved to Samael’s hands.
The man’s hands were bulging with veins, and his pale fingers were trembling uncontrollably.
Samael pulled his cloak tighter, wrapping Emil’s severed body entirely in his arms, leaving only a bit of forehead and hair exposed.
The two of them entered the Core Fire Guild together. The once lively guild was now gone, replaced by a heavy atmosphere of despair and sorrow.
The Core Fire Guild originally had more than 200 members, but now only 60 remained.
Old friends had either died at the hands of monsters or fallen to other players.
No one had imagined that things would come to this. In the morning, they were ready to face new copies with high spirits, but by the afternoon, they were forced to confront the news of their comrades’ deaths.
The game lobby had suddenly taken a turn for the worse, becoming even more sinister.
Everyone leaned against each other, exhausted. Some had completely given up, losing all desire to resist, their expressions vacant and numb.
Some had faces filled with immense sorrow and despair.
Others were filled with anger and unwillingness, cursing the system over and over.
Negative emotions filled the hall, and even Xia Chi, who was usually the most cheerful, had lost his light. He stared at Bai Lixin dejectedly, “Brother, Lin Jue and Brother Liang Xi are gone too.”
“The queen of their faction was killed, and they were caught up in it.”
“And Sister Sun Ning…”
Li Cancan, who was beside Xia Chi, had red-rimmed eyes, clearly from crying. She clenched her teeth and patted Xia Chi’s shoulder to comfort him, “Xia Chi, it’s okay, we’ll all be okay. We..we will avenge them.”
Song Yuantian had various injuries, and his usually meticulous hair was now messily piled on top of his head. He now didn’t have the time to fix it. “Most players are only targeting monsters, but the Shentian where Little Overlord is, is different. They’re attacking players.”
“I know,” Bai Lixin said in a solemn voice. “I came here to tell you this. Sun Ning was killed by Little Overlord. I was there when it happened. Little Overlord turned Sun Ning into a tumor-like monster. I didn’t witness the exact moment he transformed her, but even in her dying moments, Sun Ning kept sending me a message.”
“She kept saying, ‘Don’t…answer’.”
Song Yuantian: “Don’t answer? As in don’t answer a question, or don’t answer someone?”
“In a situation like that, Sun Ning must have conveyed the most crucial information,” Bai Lixin said in a low voice. “She mentioned before that Little Overlord has a skill that can turn players into monsters, but that skill could previously only be used in copies and had restrictions.”
“After the Queen’s Defense battle, Little Overlord’s ability evolved and can now be used in the game lobby, but there must still be conditions for its use.”
“‘Don’t answer’ is likely the key to that restriction.”
Hongyue: “Then when you meet Little Overlord, don’t answer any of his questions.”
Song Yuantian: “It’s best not to even answer in your mind. So many players turned into tumor monsters simultaneously, it’s impossible that every one of them verbally responded to Little Overlord. It’s possible that even answering in the mind triggered the condition.”
Hongyue: “Any other information?”
Bai Lixin thought for a moment: “I saw two Little Overlords on the 900th floor.”
He quickly recounted the cocoon area on the 900th floor. After hearing this, Song Yuantian pondered, “It sounds like the proliferation and replication from Alien movies.”
Bai Lixin: “My guess is that some players might no longer be human. After being cocooned, their original bodies are trapped while their replicas act in the lobby. So be cautious while moving; the players you encounter may not be human anymore. The most suspicious place where these replicants might appear should be in the Shentian Guild.”
The people in the hall gradually turned their attention to Bai Lixin. They stopped grieving and stared at him, their eyes thoughtful.
“I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence or intentional, but I noticed that as the system’s floors increase, entities imitating humans appear.”
“It started with the humanoid robots on the 450th-floor commercial street. They looked human, but their occasional stiffness exposed their true nature.”
“Then there were the DIY robots in the player’s dormitory. Players could customize the appearance according to their needs. These robots were far more advanced than the ones on the 450th floor, with no visible mechanical traits. But they still had flaws—rigid speech, no independent thoughts, they only mimicked specific behaviors in specific environments.”
“Next came the AI on higher floors. This time, they were assigned to players by the system, as if the system had gradually learned about humans. These AI were not only what the players desired but also had their own thinking, making them indistinguishable from real people.”
“And then there was the 900th floor, where the cocoons replicated Little Overlord and other players.”
Bai Lixin had noticed those robots as early as the 450th floor, and when he passed the 900th floor, he saw the copy NPC replicas.
As the floors increased, the system had created near-perfect “humans”.
It was observing, studying, mimicking, becoming, and creating humans.
What was it trying to do?
Didn’t it see humans as inferior beings?
So why did it want to become and create humans?
[Ding! There is 1 minute left before the third round of the Queen Defense Battle begins. Please use the last bit of time to hide.]
[The countdown will end in 60 seconds, and the third round of the Queen Defense Battle will begin.]
Song Yuantian’s voice was heavy: “I have a feeling that after the third round of the Queen Defense Battle, there will be very few players left.”
Everyone’s spirits instantly sank to the bottom.
“Everyone,” Song Yuantian’s smile always carried a fragile sense of brokenness, “It wasn’t easy to meet. I’m glad to have known you all. If fate allows, we’ll meet again.”
His words were sincere, as if bidding farewell.
Hongyue clasped Song Yuantian’s hand tightly from behind, their fingers interlocked. Her hair brushed against Song Yuantian’s shoulder: “Xiao Tian, don’t be afraid, we’re always together.”
Song Yuantian gave a bitter smile: “Sister Hongyue, I thought we could leave this cursed place together. I’m sorry, I’ve dragged you down with me.”
Hongyue, who was rarely dependent, nestled against Song Yuantian’s shoulder like a little bird, “Silly Xiao Tian, dying together can also be a kind of romance.”
Xia Chi seemed to think of something, and pursed his lips together tightly.
[10, 9, 8…]
The game’s countdown numbers grew smaller and smaller.
[3, 2, 1, 0!]
[The countdown has ended. The third round of the Queen Defense Battle officially begins.]
[Due to the sharp decrease in surviving players, the number of factions will also be reduced accordingly. Currently, there are 65,834 surviving players. The number of random factions is 20. Random faction allocation will begin below.]
Emblems immediately appeared above the heads of the players in the guild hall.
Since there were only 20 factions, many players in the hall had the same emblems.
Above Bai Lixin’s head was a blue music note emblem, and his faction was the [Blue Melody] faction. As expected, a [Queen Card] appeared in front of him again, and a golden crown was added behind the blue music note.
Two other people in the hall shared his emblem.
One was Samael, and the other was Xia Chi.
“Ah!” Just as the faction and queen allocations were completed, before the players could even check where their faction members were, a scream rang out through the hall.
A player in the corner suddenly collapsed to the ground. His eyes were wide open, staring at the floor in shock, seemingly unable to comprehend how he had just died.
His death plunged the scene into an even thicker atmosphere of fear. In extreme terror and despair, the players were at a loss, unsure of what to do.
They wanted to move but didn’t dare, they wanted to find their queen, but feared they would be killed by a monster as soon as they stepped outside.
In addition to Bai Lixin, there was another queen in the hall. This queen was trembling in a corner, too scared to move.
Bai Lixin remembered this player. He had once been a decisive and brave player, and performed exceptionally in multiple copies. But now, under this prolonged pressure, he had become timid and cowardly.
He was not the only one. Many players had been crushed by the initial fear to the point where they no longer had the courage to resist.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The door of the Core Fire Guild was slammed hard
Outside, the sound of claws scraping against the walls and the roars of monsters rang out continuously.
The door was being battered out of shape, the door frame broke away from the wall, and the door itself was barely hanging on.
A small portion of the players in the hall huddled further into the corners, but most chose to fight. They took out their weapons, ready to face the approaching monsters.
Suddenly, the noise outside fell silent for a second.
After a brief pause, the monster’s howls grew even louder. However, these howls were different from before. Initially, they sounded like triumphant roars, but now they resembled cries of agony.
The banging on the door stopped, but the monsters’ wails continued.
The players looked at each other in confusion and then all eyes turned toward the door.
Suddenly, the door was hit again.
The players trembled and looked at the door warily.
The doorknob clicked, and the deformed door creaked open with an ear-piercing screech. A skinny clown with an exaggerated and terrifying face pushed the door open and stepped inside.
After entering, the clown even remembered to close the door behind him and gave everyone a gentlemanly bow.
Players: “…”
That was… rather gentlemanly.
But…
The players’ eyes fell on the clown’s head.
No emblem. This was an NPC!
The players instinctively took two steps back.
Then, a deep, hoarse voice came from the clown’s mouth, “Why did you abandon me and run away, Bai Lixin?”
The voice carried a nasal tone, sounding somewhat… aggrieved?
Everyone’s gaze shifted to Bai Lixin, silently probing him.
God Xin’s friend?
That’s fine. He must be one of us.
But what did God Xin do to the clown to make him this upset?
Bai Lixin: “Didn’t I leave you a note?”
The clown pulled out a handful of shredded paper from his pocket, “I didn’t get a chance to read it before a monster turned it into this.”
Bai Lixin: “Then how did you find me?”
Clown: “I searched floor by floor. It didn’t take too long.”
Bai Lixin’s expression became somewhat complex, “From the 999th floor?”
The clown nodded, “Yes.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
He suddenly became curious about what the upper floors had turned into.
Bai Lixin walked over to the clown. He glanced at the people in the hall, then at the clown, and just as he was about to speak, the clown immediately said, “No.”
Bai Lixin: “I haven’t even said anything yet.”
The clown: “I’m not staying. Wherever you go, I go.”
Bai Lixin looked at the players in the hall and fell into deep thought.
Little Overlord wanted Dijia’s wealth, and used Xia Chi and the others’ lives as leverage.
An hour was the deadline, and there were only thirty minutes left before the time Little Overlord mentioned would be up.
If he didn’t hand over Dijia’s wealth to Little Overlord, would Little Overlord treat Xia Chi and the others the same way he treated Sun Ning?
For Little Overlord, who had accumulated countless Honor Coins, he was no match for him now.
He had two choices in front of him.
One was to leave Dijia behind to protect these people.
The other was to have them follow him.
Bai Lixin glanced at the stubborn clown.
Well, there wasn’t really a choice.
And so, Bai Lixin led over sixty players away from the Corefire Guild.
He planned to head back to the 900th floor.
The 900th floor was Little Overlord’s territory, essentially his home.
And the place where a person is most vulnerable is often the place they frequent the most.
Besides, there was still that mysterious cocoon area there.
The players mustered their courage and followed Bai Lixin out of the guild. They expected another fierce battle upon leaving, but when they saw the eerily quiet hall, they were dumbfounded and looked at the clown with a mixture of fear and excitement.
You’re amazing, boss. You’re not just a clown; you’re the father of monsters!
With the clown’s presence, the players suddenly grew bolder, and in a daze, they remembered the ambitions they once had when they first ventured into the copies.
Back then, they didn’t act so timidly. Why had they become so cautious now?
…
The elevator numbers slowly rose, and as they neared the 900th floor, the players’ hearts began to race.
The courage they had gained from the clown quickly faded as their fear of Little Overlord resurfaced. Many players began to retreat, pressing themselves against the elevator walls, wishing they could blend in with them.
Little Overlord’s brutal slaughter had deeply ingrained fear into the players, becoming a psychological shadow.
“Ding!”
The elevator reached the 900th floor, and the doors slowly opened.
Bai Lixin glanced at the players behind him who were visibly reluctant to step out, and didn’t force them to leave the elevator.
Thus, the original group of over sixty people split.
Over thirty people followed Bai Lixin onto the 900th floor, while the other thirty chose to stay in the elevator and leave.
The 900th floor looked different from when Bai Lixin had first come here. Last time, there were eyeballs strung together like colorful garlands. This time, it had become a massive stone gate.
Next to the stone gate stood a sign with the words “Stone Escape.”
It seemed that the 900th floor’s escape room could change themes too.
“Ding!”
Suddenly, a sharp sound rang out behind the players. They all turned and saw the elevator, which had previously left, quietly returning and stopping behind them.
Someone in the crowd teased, “They must have changed their minds.”
The elevator doors slowly opened, and something rushed out in a frenzy.
When the players saw what those things were, their faces turned pale, and they instinctively wanted to flee.
It was a group of tumor monsters, over thirty of them.
Their rough, uneven skin was covered with eyes, and their twisted bodies rolled and squeezed toward them.
Driven by instinct, the players tried to distance themselves from the monsters, and before they realized it, they had already stepped into the stone cave.
With a heavy “clunk”, the stone door slammed shut, separating the players from the tumor monsters.
The players stared at the thick wall behind them. Someone tried pushing it or hacking at it with skills, but the stone door stood firm, unmoving.
It seemed that the only way to leave here was to move forward and clear this escape room.
Ahead was a deep, dark tunnel, and even with a flashlight, they couldn’t see the end.
The air was slightly damp and cold. Someone among the players rubbed their chilled arms and muttered, “How did those tumor monsters end up in the elevator?”
Song Yuantian: “There were 32 tumor monsters in the elevator, the same number as the players who chose to leave earlier.”
In an instant, the players felt goosebumps rise all over their bodies. Someone whispered in the dark tunnel, “The tumor monsters we were afraid of…were actually our companions?”
Everyone: “…”
“Didn’t we say ‘don’t answer’ in the hall? Why were they still turned into rumor monsters?” a player asked, their voice trembling slightly. “I’d rather die than turn into something so hideous and terrifying. If that happened to me, I’d rather just die!”
“Just die…”
“Die…”
“Die…”
“Die…”
The long and narrow tunnel echoed the player’s words over and over, as if there were many people whispering around them.
The crowd got goosebumps again. They rubbed their skin and observed the walls around them warily.
Fortunately, the tunnel only looked dark.
After walking for a while, the narrow tunnel gradually widened, and the area ahead became brighter.
They came upon an oval-shaped cave.
Hanging from above were many white cocoons, and more were scattered haphazardly on the ground.
But these weren’t the cocoons of little insects or silkworms—each cocoon here was as large as a human.
Xia Chi walked up to Bai Lixin. “Brother, is this the cocoon area you mentioned?”
Bai Lixin looked around, then walked to a cocoon in the corner. He peeled it open, revealing the thin face inside. It was the same man he had discovered earlier.
This was the place.
But Bai Lixin felt something was off.
It had all gone too smoothly—so smoothly it felt like a conspiracy.
He wanted to get to the 900th floor, and here he was.
He wanted to find the cocoon area, and suddenly, those tumor monsters appeared, pushing them into the stone cave, and they found the cocoon area after passing through the tunnel.
It was as if someone had deliberately opened a path for him, leading him right here.
Bai Lixin frowned, a vague sense of unease creeping into his heart.
“Hiss…”
He heard a faint sound.
Bai Lixin abruptly looked up, and in the next second, countless white cocoons surged down from all directions like a waterfall, instantly engulfing them.
In the midst of the blur, he heard Little Overlord’s voice.
“Bai Lixin, I really must thank you for delivering the treasure from the 999th floor into my hands.”
“Hahaha.”