novelraw Chapter 36 : The Final Victor
Chapter 36 : The Final Victor
Chapter 36: The Final Victor
Lin Lan and her unyielding ambition were buried together with the burning building, consumed entirely in the endless sea of rubble and flames.
Several kilometers away, atop an unfinished building near Jing’an Funeral Home—
Chen Xiang held a high-powered telescope and witnessed the explosion that would forever be engraved in Jiang City’s history.
The firelight shot into the sky, blooming like a massive blood-red lotus in the night, dyeing half the heavens crimson.
Even from kilometers away, the destructive shockwave made the concrete floor beneath him tremble faintly.
“This… what the fuck just happened?!”
Chen Xiang stared blankly at the sight before him, his mind a total blank.
They were all dead?
Only me left?!
I’m the last victor?
Though he lay sprawled awkwardly on the ground, his entire body trembled with excitement.
He greedily breathed in the air, awaiting the sweet oracle that would proclaim his victory.
He had already begun to imagine how, after gaining permanent transcendent power, he would use the abilities of the 【Disguise Master】 to steal wealth, toy with authority, and turn the entire world into his playground.
However, what came instead was a cold, piercing system tone.
【Shadow】 faction player 【Shadow Controller】 has perished.
【Remaining players: 【Radiance】 1, 【Shadow】 1】
……
The ecstasy on Chen Xiang’s face froze instantly into a twisted mask of fear and disbelief.
Lin Lan… was dead?
Only Lin Lan was dead?
The game… wasn’t over yet?
That meant… that girl named Su Wan… she wasn’t dead?!
“No… impossible…”
Chen Xiang’s face turned ghastly pale as a chill surged from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.
He couldn’t comprehend how, in an explosion powerful enough to flatten an entire building, anyone could still be alive!
What on earth was Su Wan’s ability?!
The unknown was the most terrifying of all.
The fear of Su Wan’s eerie powers instantly crushed Chen Xiang’s composure.
He no longer dared to stay for even a second longer and quickly fled the building.
As he ran, he immediately shifted his appearance into that of a drunken man on the street, staggering as he blended into the crowd.
……
Meanwhile, in an unseen corner at the other end of the city, inside a spare coffin—Su Wan slowly opened her eyes.
Her complexion was even paler than before, yet her gaze shone with chilling clarity.
The power of the 【Embalmer】 was the deepest trump card Su Wan had concealed since the beginning of the game.
She could place an “Eternal Coffin” at a designated location.
When she died, she could resurrect from that coffin—but the cooldown period lasted a full week.
That was why she had refused to leave the funeral home—she had to make the most of every opportunity for resurrection.
After reviving, Su Wan calmly stepped out from the hidden chamber that served as her rebirth point. She changed into a clean black trench coat and tied her long hair neatly behind her.
……
Chen Xiang frantically darted through the city streets.
He continuously shifted his appearance and identity.
One moment, he was a hurried office worker;
the next, a taxi driver waiting for passengers at the roadside;
the next, an elderly man walking a dog in the park.
He was like a terrified rat, desperately trying to lose himself within the maze of the vast city.
After countless transformations, Chen Xiang finally stopped. He now appeared as a middle-aged man.
He bought a pack of cigarettes from a small street stall, leaned against an empty street corner, and lit one with trembling hands.
He inhaled deeply, puff after puff, trying to use the taste of nicotine to steady his wildly pounding heart.
At that moment, a woman wearing a black trench coat and holding a black umbrella walked calmly past him. Her face was expressionless and cold.
Her footsteps were so light that they made no sound at all—like a ghost drifting through a rainy night.
Chen Xiang looked at her, thinking her face seemed vaguely familiar—but before he could react—
At the instant they brushed shoulders, a small fruit knife flashed and silently pierced his back, sliding in at a precise, almost surgical angle.
The blade slipped neatly between his ribs and pierced his heart from behind.
“Ugh…”
Chen Xiang’s body went rigid. The cigarette dropped from his lips, scattering faint sparks on the ground.
He looked down in disbelief at the cold blade protruding from his chest, his eyes full of confusion and disbelief.
Slowly turning around, he stared at Su Wan’s emotionless face and, using the last of his strength, asked:
“W… why… how… did you… know it was me…”
Su Wan looked at him calmly, then slowly drew out the blood-dripping knife.
She crouched down beside him and whispered softly into his ear:
“Didn’t you notice? Every animal hates you.”
“Before Yang Li died, she told every animal in the city your ‘scent.’”
“I was merely… looking for the one most hated by them.”
At her words, Chen Xiang’s pupils widened in shock.
He looked around and finally noticed that, at some unknown moment, countless animals had gathered around him.
All of them were staring at him with strange, eerie eyes.
Pigeons circled above the overpass, cooing ominously.
Stray cats arched their backs by the roadside, hissing with hostility.
Sparrows perched on the trees turned their tiny black eyes toward him, staring without blinking.
Chen Xiang’s heart clenched as he suddenly recalled Yang Li’s dying glare—filled with hatred—and the words she had spoken.
“I… will remember you…”
Now he understood.
Before her death, Yang Li had used the last of her strength to tell every animal in the city his “scent”—a unique essence of his soul.
He had been marked!
He had become the enemy of every animal in this city!
And all Su Wan had to do was find… the one most hated by animals.
From the shadows, countless stray cats and dogs slowly emerged, encircling him.
Dozens—hundreds—of eyes filled with “hatred” stared at him silently, as if witnessing a long-awaited trial.
Chen Xiang, swallowed by endless regret and disbelief, breathed his last.
He never expected that his seemingly invincible power would be undone in such a way.
【Shadow】 faction player 【Disguise Master】 has perished.
【All players of Shadow faction eliminated】
【Radiance】 faction has achieved victory.
Congratulations to 【Radiance】 faction player 【Embalmer】 for obtaining final victory…
The final system chime of the game echoed gently in Su Wan’s mind.
Su Wan gazed at Chen Xiang’s lifeless body—his eyes still wide open—but her face held no joy of triumph, only a deep and unshakable sorrow.
She lifted her head and looked toward the dark, cloud-shrouded sky, as though she could see through the layers of mist to glimpse the being who had orchestrated it all.
“Is it truly… over?”
She asked softly—perhaps to herself, perhaps to that unknown “god.”
……
Inside Yun Ge’s apartment—
Yun Ge watched the light representing the 【Disguise Master】 fade out beside the one representing the 【Embalmer】 on the glowing screen.
He set down his glass of whiskey, a faint approving smile tugging at his lips.
“A beautiful curtain call.”
“A trap laid with death, a gamble waged with life, and the will of fallen comrades turned into a blade.”
“Su Wan—you truly are the perfect ‘Embalmer’ I chose.”
Yun Ge rose and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the city that had, after a cataclysmic storm, finally found a brief moment of peace.
“Since the first game has ended, it’s time to deliver the victor’s reward.”
He reached toward the light screen and tapped it gently.
A vast, pure energy from the “Primordial Sea” crossed the bounds of space and poured into Su Wan’s body.
“Enjoy it, my victor.”
“You shall forever retain your powers—and gain new transcendent might.”
“I hope that on the grander stage to come, you’ll bring me even more surprises.”
“For this world-spanning ‘Game of Gods’—has only just begun.”