novelraw Chapter 364
Chapter 364
“But… wasn’t Guild Master Bai’s memory devoured?” Wang Shun realized, and hesitantly asked, “Can he remember the plans he made prior to that?”
“Bai Liu doesn’t really remember.” Liu Jiayi leaned back on the chair, resting her head on both hands as she watched the large screen with a slightly mischievous smile on her face, “But as soon as this guy entered the instance, he prepared an old trick to set up a plan, one that he can easily check later when he loses his memory.”
Wang Shun thought back for a moment. In the brief few minutes before losing his memory, he hadn’t seen Bai Liu write any kind of note or leave any mark on the side of the road. He didn’t even record anything. There were no actions or signs of him leaving behind any plan.
He couldn’t figure out how Bai Liu managed to leave a plan for himself, so he humbly asked, “How did the Guild Master leave a plan behind?”
“Bai Liu used an old trick that we used to communicate back in the orphanage.” Mu Ke laughed, “Folded page markers in a book.”
Wang Shun was momentarily stunned. “Folded page markers in a book?”
“That’s right. Considering Bai Liu’s memory and that short time frame, don’t you think the amount of information he remembers from [Maoshan Sorcery Manuscript] is a bit much?” With her head still placed on hands, Liu Jiayi turned to face Wang Shun.
Wang Shun was taken aback. He did think there was something off, but the way Bai Liu behaved and spoke about those things was too natural, like it was instinctual, so Wang Shun automatically overlooked his doubt.
But Liu Jiayi didn’t skip over it, she earnestly analyzed, “If the person in the game was Mu Ke, he certainly would be able to finish reading the book in that short amount of time and later recall key points from memory.”
“But with Bai Liu’s memory, it’s impossible.”Liu Jiayi lifted a finger. “So there’s only one possibility, and that is Bai Liu, prior to losing his memory, quickly skimmed over the contents in the book, filtering through the information and folding the corners of pages he deemed important. Afterwards, the amnesiac Bai Liu only read through these filtered pages, which is why he remembered so quickly.”
Wang Shun was starting to become dizzy. He hadn’t played many games; hence, struggled to follow Liu Jiayi’s and the others’ line of thinking about the game strategy. Both of his eyes now started looking like spinning swirls, “From just folded pages, the amnesiac Bai Liu can understand what the Bai Liu before the memory erase was going to do?”
“What kind of Maoshan Sorcery…” Wang Shun was completely baffled, “That book can’t have Kong Xuyang’s weakness and Bai Liu’s detailed plan, right?”
Reverse God let out a laugh. “It doesn’t need to be that clear, and there’s no need to understand it to that extent.”
“Because Bai Li was giving orders, not actually discussing it with his future self. Bai Liu only needed his future self to follow the contents of the markers he left.”
“Giving orders?” Hearing this, Wang Shun understood a little better and bitterly smiled, “Isn’t it how we usually interact with Guild Master Bai most of the time? We don’t need to understand, we just have to carry out the tasks directly following the conditions Guild Master Bai set?”
Reverse God nodded, letting out a sigh. “More or less.”
“Although most of the time, Bai Liu’s plans are indeed appropriate, I still feel it’s a bit like a dictatorship.” Reverse God helplessly spread his hands. Letting out a laugh, he emphatically patted Wang Shun’s back, consoling him, “However Bai Liu isn’t targeting anyone specifically. You see, he’s also like that towards himself. Don’t take it to heart, you just have to follow him…”
As Reverse God spoke in a smooth, unhurried narration, Mu Ke and Liu Jiayi slowly shifted their gaze toward him. Even Tang Erda, who had been silent all along, glanced at Reverse God a few extra times.
“Killer Sequence’s Tactician, regarding our team’s tactician…” Liu Jiayi raised an eyebrow.
Mu Ke frowned, “Aren’t you a bit too familiar with his way of doing things?”
Tang Erda also raised an eyebrow, vigilantly staring at Reverse God.
Reverse God: “…”
Reverse God calmly made a fist and coughed, “Oh really? It’s just a basic understanding of a tactician who might become a formidable rival in the future. Everyone on our team knows Bai Liu very well. Isn’t that right, Spades?”
Spades, who was sitting on the side wearing an expressionless face, seriously nodded, earnestly agreeing, “I understand him the most.”
Bai Jiamu and Bai Yi, who had been sitting to the side,couldn’t add a single word during this whole exchange: “…”
Oh really?
…Didn’t we just meet Bai Liu for the first time last month? Or did you two secretly look into Bai Liu behind our backs?
Although the Wandering Circus’s atmosphere was very harmonious, the atmosphere of the rest of the viewing pool was not even remotely harmonious at all..
The Fanatic Lambs’ side had almost fallen into complete chaos, with members running about in fear from the pressure— they had used all their reserve points to splurge on the rankings and rig them. But with the current situation, the audience wasn’t dumb; anyone who could run had already run.
Their gambling pool growth rate directly dropped to zero!
The audience whispered nonstop:
“Wow! How dangerous, thankfully I didn’t put anything into Lambs, otherwise my loss would have been so bad my ass would be in the air.”
“…I think Circus is going to win. Bet now?”
“I also kind of want to bet in, but let’s wait and see…”
“Continue watching, and later, there will be more people betting. Once it’s all summed up, the exchange rate will be lower, you should bet as soon as possible!”
“But, although Kong Xuyang’s skill is temporarily disabled, can’t he use it again? I still think Bai Liu isn’t too good. I’ll continue watching…”
Wang Shun watched the system screen, pinching his eyebrows. “It’s clearly such a big advantage, but our gambling pool growth rate hasn’t increased sharply, only going up a little and cooling down again.”
“That’s because Kong Xuyang can still use that skill of his. He’s also a veteran player who’s properly competed in the grand tournament three times. So many of the current audience members want to wait and see.” Liu Jiayi calmly said, “It’s normal, keep waiting.”
Although she said it was normal, Liu Jiayi’s expression was a little tense, her lips pressed together tightly as she watched the big screen. The rightful source is ɴovelfire.net
“Kong Xuyang has no way to use that skill against Bai Liu again.” Reverse God quietly said, watching the moment Bai Liu brandished the whip on the big screen.
Liu Jiayi turned to look at Reverse God, “Why?”
Reverse God seemed to have remembered something and very lightly smiled. That smile was veiled with something Liu Jiayi couldn’t understand, something misty, like smoke. “Because Kong Xuyang saw Bai Liu’s memory.”
“When you feel that the opponent is omnipotent, ruthlessly insane, like a powerful, evil god, you’ll inevitably feel fear towards them in your heart, feeling that the opponent is powerful to the point you cannot defeat them. So, you would grab at every opportunity to kill them, to prevent them from countering.”
“Because the other party seems to just be ‘powerful’ and ‘evil’, by combining those two terms, the person is a murderous target that relentlessly kills. You’ll remain constantly on edge and keep yourself in peak fighting condition until you’ve killed the opponent.”
“Perceiving that the opponent as powerful actually stimulates one’s own fighting strength and aggression.”
“However, once you find out that this guy had a tragic childhood, stepping on ice in the winter, drowning in the summer, not studying in high school, sleeping during math class– if he had grown up properly to his twenties in that manner, he’d be the type of stingy person that couldn’t bear to buy a cake for himself on his birthday, only buying two catties1 of tangerine oranges. You realize that he’s struggled and lived more miserably than most ordinary people in the world…”
Reverse God fell silent for a moment, lowering his gaze. “At this point, you can’t think that he is powerful.”
“Perceiving someone as powerful is often based on emotions like fear, jealousy, and awe, the kind of feelings that come from observing them from a distance. If Kong Xuyang thinks that someone is stronger than him, it’s based on his belief that the opponent has objectively better circumstances than him.”
“But now Kong Xuyang knows Bai Liu’s memories completely.”
“In that memory, every aspect of Bai Liu’s circumstances were too lacking. Lacking to the point that Kong Xuyang can’t believe that kind of environment would result in Bai Liu, a person who is stronger than him.”
Reverse God suddenly turned his head to look at Liu Jiayi, smiling, his facial features very gentle, his tone carrying a carefree sense of pride.
“Of course, I personally believe that Bai Liu is much stronger than Kong Xuyang. We should have a consensus on that point, right?”
Liu Jiayi stared at Reverse God for a long time, then she leaned her head away and coldly said, “Trash can’t compare with Bai Liu.”
Reverse God went along with her readily, smiling, “True.”
Inside the game.
Mu Sicheng’s monkey claws and tail seemed like an unstable projection. They flickered twice, then fully took shape. He slammed the wooden plank down with full force, sending up a thick layer of dust from the ground.
Kong Xuyang turned over, avoiding Mu Sicheng’s attack from the air, covering his mouth and half kneeling on the ground, his eyes so red that they almost dripped blood, “How did you break free from my skill when you’re clearly both losers2…”
“Who’s saying who’s a loser?!” Mu Sicheng got up from the ground. With his claw raised by the side of his face, he struck fiercely and viciously at Kong Xuyang’s lower body, “It looks like you’re the loser!”
Kong Xuyang quickly pressed his legs together. A talisman unfurled with a swish and stuck to the front of his crotch. When Mu Sicheng fiercely swiped his sharp claw, it struck precisely against Kong Xuyang’s talisman, producing a hard, metallic clang like metal hitting stone.
“Fuck, the hell is this?!” Mu Sicheng was dumbstruck, “An iron crotch?!”
Kong Xuyang sinisterly smiled, “Reinforced Steel Bone Talisman.”
“Don’t think that you’ll win just because my skill failed.” Kong Xuyang had fought in the Mid-Season Tournament after all. He has a strong mentality and is able to handle unexpected situations quickly.
Kong Xuyang simply didn’t pay Mu Sicheng any mind, turning around and shouting sternly to Yang Zhi who was on the side, “Don’t panic, dig quickly! My skill is temporarily not working, wait till it returns to normal and I’ll use it to control them!”
Mu Sicheng grit his teeth and prepared to attack again. He swung his leg in a wide sweep aiming at Kong Xuyang, but Kong Xuyang was quick-eyed and reacted quickly, sticking the Reinforced Steel Bone Talisman onto his ankle. Mu Sicheng’s toes struck a metal stump, causing him to clutch his foot and hop up in pain.
Kong Xuyang coldly laughed twice. He knew his close-combat skill wasn’t as good as Mu Sicheng’s, so he took advantage of a gap to retreat, letting zombies crowd around to cover him.
At the same time, Kong Xuyang bit his tongue, using his hand to write in blood on a stack of yellow talismans, then his eyes narrowed sharply. He raised his forearm and quickly spun it twice in front of him, two fingers flung outward. The talisman in his arms shot out and stuck onto an approaching zombie’s head.
“Reinforced Steel Bone Talisman, go!”
After the approaching zombies had yellow talismans pasted on their foreheads, their eyes glowed fiercely red, the originally loose, rotten flesh on their bodies grew fibers that connected into a tangled mass of muscle. Their skin surface was coated with a layer of brass-like sheen, and their fangs extended outward by an inch.
These zombies had half of their hair shaved in the style of hairstyles from the previous dynasty, wearing a half-length jacket that bared the chest on the upper body, now coated with a layer of coppery shine. They roared loudly with wide, powerful breaths, working together to surround Mu Sicheng between them…
“Fuck, is this a fucking eighteen copper man zombie formation?!” Mu Sicheng pushed a few times, but was ultimately unable to force his way out. His hand and foot were still in extreme pain from impact.
The zombie formation tightened as they closed in. Mu Sicheng forcefully pushed away a snarling zombie that came close with his left claw, while using his right hand to block another zombie pressing against his neck that was trying to bite him.
Mu Sicheng exerted so much strength that veins bulged on his neck, “…Bai Liu, you there?!”
A whip flicked from left to right in an attempt to strike in. The whip made an ear-piercing cling-clang sound when it hit the zombies’ skin, but it was blocked out by the dense, interwoven limbs like a bronze wall and iron fortress.
“I would love to help, but there’s no way to help you.” Bai Liu’s calm voice came from outside, “They’re too hard, even I can’t enter. Good luck to you.”
After saying that, Bai Liu seemed to have turned around and just walked away.
Mu Sicheng, who was trapped inside the formation of burly zombies: “???”
“Come back, you bastard!” Mu Sicheng was so angry that his hair and coiled monkey tail stood up straight, “Wasn’t it you who told me to charge forward and that you’d take care of things?! Now I’m being blocked by this many men and you’re running– take responsibility for this!”
But outside, Bai Liu’s voice wasn’t heard, only leaving Kong Xuyang’s cynical sneer, “Been dumped?”
While speaking, Kong Xuyang swallowed wrong and choked, letting out a cough. His complexion became pallid as he wiped the blood that spilled from the corner of his mouth, “I studied orthodox techniques the last time I played this game. Using this Reinforced Steel Bone Talisman on zombies can be said to always result in winning. Although their attack power is average, their defense value is extremely high. Besides, these zombies I’ve subdued only listen to me, no one else. There’s no way to undo it, aside from using a bit of the caster’s blood essence…”
“But I’ve already won. What’s using a bit of blood essence?” Kong Xuyang leaned in close to Mu Sicheng, who was trapped in the formation, gritting his teeth and unable to move. Laughing loudly, his eyes gleamed with malice as he raised a sharp dagger, “Relax, I won’t let the zombies devour you. I’m quick when it comes to finishing people off. Now, die for me!”
In the distance, a loud “bang” rang out, followed by the crashing sound of water flowing.
A bullet shot from afar hit Kong Xuyang’s raised hand at lightning-speed, letting out a clear “pa” sound. The dagger in Kong Xuyang’s hand fell to the ground.
Kong Xuyang cried out in pain as blood spurted out from his palm.
“How can there be a gun here?” Kong Xuyang gripped his hand that had been shot and turned around in astonishment.
Yang Zhi, who had been bitterly digging graves, was also startled and lifted his head: “What just happened?”
“Nothing.” Bai Liu indifferently replied, his finger hooked around the trigger of a rose revolver, “I just blew up the pond, and connected the tomb to this mass grave.”
[System Alert: Player Bai Liu switched to Player Tang Erda’s panel and used personal skill (Rose Bullet)]
“What did you bomb the pond for?!” Yang Zhi looked at Kong Xuyang in panic, “It’s connected to the underground river beneath the bridge in the tomb. If it’s blown up, it’s connected directly– all the monsters inside the tomb will be attracted here!”
“Brother Kong, there’ll be too many monsters for us to deal with!”
Kong Xuyang gripped his hand that was still incessantly bleeding, his cheeks trembling from how hard he was gritting his teeth, “Bai Liu–!”
He was clearly just a lowly nobody, so how could he be pushed to such an extreme!
Not so far away, the pond was faintly visible, with pale limbs continuously reaching out and gripping the shore. Ghosts struggled and crawled out from the muddy bottom of the exploded pond. The paper people, their cheerful faces smeared with mud, hopped left and right as they approached along the tree-lined path. Beside them walked the brides, their faces covered with swaying veils, moving with dignified grace.
Directly ahead stood the sacrificial bridge ghosts, their faces hidden beneath white umbrellas, water dripping steadily as they walked. The ground was crowded with ghostly shadows, twisting and writhing at all angles, all of them evil spirits. The sharp, joyous chatter of men, women, young and old converged into a chilling noise.
At the far end were some paper figures carrying those seven open coffins, inside of which lay drowned old men with pale, bluish-purple faces and smiling expressions.
The old men’s sharp black fingernails were serenely clasped over their chests, as if they were truly dead. But on closer look, their nails were still growing, and the smiles at the corners of their mouths kept deepening and widening until they split all the way to the ears.
On the damp, muddy village road filled with dense yin energy, burial robes and wedding garments, red and white, overlapped faintly. Round spirit coins with square holes rained continuously from the sky. In the ears, two suona melodies played, one festive, one mournful, high and low in contrast. The air was thick with incense, candle wax, the stench of corpses, and the damp rot of water, overwhelming the senses.
The sight of this Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts made one’s liver and gall tremble in fear. Trapped in place by the copper armor zombie formation, Mu Sicheng was completely stunned.
Was Bai Liu coming to save him or fucking kill him?! So many ghosts!
Yang Zhi’s voice cracked in fear as he yelled, “Brother Kong, what do we do?”
Kong Xuyang rapidly opened his panel. The various icons buzzed and crackled, appearing for a moment, then disappearing. Kong Xuyang glanced through these appearing and disappearing icons, quickly coming to a stop on the system alert:
[System Alert: Player Kong Xuyang’s personal skill will soon completely lose effect— 5, 4, 3, 2, 1—]
[System Alert: All players’ panels restored]
Kong Xuyang let out a breath, full of malice. He had been waiting for this moment!
His skills required careful operation of the panel. Just now, when his skill seemed about to fail but didn’t, he was actually the most restricted. But now that they’ve completely failed, Kong Xuyang’s own panel interface has been fully restored. And that meant one thing—
The corners of Kong Xuyang’s mouth couldn’t help but rise as he madly pressed on the button of a skill: [Use (Panel Silence) skill again!]
[System Alert: Loading Player Kong Xuyang’s skill (Panel Silence)…]
Soon, soon the advantage will go back to him. He’s such an outstanding person, it was impossible for him to lose to Bai Liu, who couldn’t even eat till he was full since childhood, this stupid orphan who could only score 400 on the college entrance exam…
As long as it was the right circumstance, he was the most outstanding man in the world; no one under the effect of his skill could defeat him, unless the opponent had better circumstances than him.
But did Bai Liu have that?
Bai Liu didn’t. All his life, from start to finish, from childhood, teenage years, to being a young adult, he was continuously failing and facing setbacks; he was a loser who was dragging out his miserable existence due to his memories being altered.
So, it was impossible for him to lose to Bai Liu! He is so much stronger than Bai Liu!
Kong Xuyang’s red eyeballs on the brink of madness reflected the system loading his skill, his shot hand uncontrollably shaking, but the smile on his face grew larger— he was about to win!
[System Alert: Player Kong Xuyang’s personal skill (Panel Silence) loading failed, detected failure cause… detected a target who doesn’t meet skill requirements, unable to use skill on everyone present.]
[Player Bai Liu doesn’t meet skill requirements.]
Kong Xuyang stared at the striking red system alert on his panel before his eyes, feeling a burst of dizziness hit him.
The stench of blood rushed up his throat as he shouted in disbelief, “How can that be?!”
“Why can’t the skill be used on Bai Liu?!”
[System’s Helpful Tip: Because you firmly believe Bai Liu is weaker than you, thus your skill’s requirements are not met since you determined him to be inferior to you, a person weaker than you. Hence, you cannot use the skill on Bai Liu.]
“Why can’t I use the skill on Bai Liu, who’s inferior to me?!” Kong Xuyang uncontrollably slammed his system coin, hollering, “You’re just covering for Bai Liu! This isn’t fair!”
“I’m about to win!”
[System’s Helpful Tip: The game never covers for any person.]
Yang Zhi watched the oncoming army of a hundred ghosts. He continuously retreated back, turning to Kong Xuyang in fear: “Brother Kong! They’re coming!”
Kong Xuyang gathered his mind, which had been driven to the edge by overwhelming anger. His completely bloodshot eyes stared at Bai Liu, who was not far away, and he let out a heavy growl. “That insignificant Bai Liu… even with no skill, Laozi can still win against you!”
He swung his hand up, biting his thumb bloody, and drew on a talisman. Two command talismans flew out and stuck onto the copper zombies trapping Mu Sicheng.
Kong Xuyang rasped, “Rise! Deploy— Copper Wall, Iron Fortress!”
The zombies surrounding Mu Sicheng suddenly froze, then slowly dispersed. They raised their arms, linking them outward to form a circle, firmly shielding Kong Xuyang and Yang Zhi at the center.
Meanwhile, Mu Sicheng, who was also trapped in the center, had his hands bound behind his back by a zombie, standing completely still as it kept watch over him.
During the earlier struggle, Mu Sicheng had been bitten. Now he was sitting on the ground, clutching the large holes in his neck and gasping for breath, a bluish-purple tint from corpse poison spreading across his face.
Seeing Mu Sicheng looking so weak, Kong Xuyang felt a surge of delight: “What if you have your skill? Without your memory, you don’t know how to use it. You’re still a piece of rubbish.”
“You’re infected with corpse poison. In just one hour, your mental energy will be fully depleted, and you’ll become a zombie here.”
“You’re like this.” Kong Xuyang lowered his head, leaning towards Mu Sicheng, his split mouth excitedly smiling, “Bai Liu will also be like this. In the end, the win can only go to me.”
After saying that, Kong Xuyang didn’t even look at Mu Sicheng, ordering Yang Zhi: “Dig. Dig out the remaining almanacs to achieve the true end and end this game.”
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[1] 600g or about 1.32lb
[2] Pretty much every time loser was said, it was in English in the original text. KXY’s English grammar sucks as he used the singular “loser” here so it was pluralized to “losers” because he’s referring to both Bai Liu and MSC