novelraw Chapter 192: The answer was written on the surface all along
Chapter 192: The answer was written on the surface all along
At the end of the road, a tall man in a wrinkled leather jacket stepped out of the shadows and into the streetlight.
The dim yellow light cast his shadow long and narrow, stretching all the way to Xie Antong’s feet, making her heart sink.
She had been hesitating just a moment ago, but now she made a decision in an instant—raised the syringe in her hand and stabbed it into her own temple.
The dark night instantly became clearer, and the haze in her mind was swept away at the same time. This rush, like a stimulant, erased all negative effects.
She knew, if she didn’t bring out her full power, there was no way she’d be able to pass under the hand of the Sun.
“Aiya, taking a shot? What’s that for? Everything’s fine, why stab yourself with a needle?”
The “Sun” continued walking forward slowly. His wrinkled leather jacket was stained with dried blood—no telling if it was his or someone else’s.
But the sharp gaze that shot out from his chiseled face was intimidating enough.
No.7...
This was someone who had fought against “Sin” for so long and still managed to escape.“Hey hey, why so quiet? What do you think about my proposal?”
Staring into the Sun’s eyes, Xie Antong suddenly smiled, all fear vanishing.
In the Sun’s eyes, the woman before him suddenly looked a bit more sinister, as if her danger level had just reached some kind of spiritual threshold.
“Sure, I agree.”
As she spoke, she even raised her right fist and said in a clearly theatrical tone:
“The world belongs to Tiandihui.”
“So, how about that? Good enough?”
Sun: ......
He was momentarily stunned, as if he hadn’t processed what just happened. He couldn’t believe his recruitment worked so easily.
“Uh... doesn’t that count as betraying ‘Sin’?”
“Betrayal?” Xie Antong raised an eyebrow. “No big deal. He actually wanted to join Tiandihui all along. When he shows up later, I’ll bring him in too.”
Sun: ?
Why did it feel like he was being played?
“You...”
“What? Is there some kind of ritual for joining Tiandihui, or requirements?”
“No, not really.”
“Then are there any benefits? Like, do I get a newbie gift pack or something?”
“Didn’t prepare anything... but of course there are benefits. Like...”
Xie Antong interrupted again and said,
“If there’s nothing, then never mind. For now, I’m temporarily a member of Tiandihui.”
“You’re probably the leader of Tiandihui, right? You should protect your team members. So first make sure I don’t get attacked. I need to get something done.”
After speaking, her eyes became distant, focused on dozens of screens in front of her that no one else could see.
Those screens represented all the players participating in this game. She could even see a player ranked over two hundred currently being chased down relentlessly by the Divine Creation Hunters.
You could even call it a perilous situation.
“Looks like these things really did get stronger.”
“They’re hunting inward from the outer edge... and this number...”
Xie Antong’s expression turned grim as she began writing answers on her game interface.
【Player [Blank] has advanced the game decryption progress to 65%!】
【The number of ‘Hunters’ will increase as prey decreases, and their combat power will also rise!】
The Sun just stood there beside her, playing bodyguard, watching this woman blink and think about who-knows-what—and then, somehow, pushed the game’s decryption progress forward.
Wait, what was he here for again?
Didn’t seem like the right time to make a move. She’d already joined them...
“Tch.” Strangely, the Sun felt like he was getting played for a fool.
“You...” Just as he was about to speak, Xie Antong lifted her hand and stopped him, murmuring to herself instead.
“If these Hunters’ presence and combat power are really tied to player elimination, then that means Sin is actually helping them!”
“And that city-wide broadcast—after it played, everyone’s hearts were in chaos. A lot of people stopped trying to hide their player identities.”
“If everyone had stayed hidden, there’s no way the Hunters could’ve found everyone so easily.”
“For the game to spiral downward this fast, well... it’s basically all thanks to him...”
The more she thought about it, the more something felt off.
If “Sin” himself wasn’t a Hunter—then what was he doing?
Sabotaging?
The moment that idea hit, she immediately thought—actually, yeah!
That’s totally possible!
So at this point, she had to toss aside that weird guy and focus solely on the game—on figuring out its ultimate answer.
What exactly does “Hunter” mean?
Suddenly, she felt like something clicked, and started writing again.
......
【Player [Blank] has advanced the game decryption progress to 80%!】
【When the game’s answer is decoded, a new mode will activate, with major changes—called Phase Two!】
Just a simple guess, not even directly tied to the game’s final answer, yet it pushed the progress all the way to 80%!
The Sun stood about ten meters away from Xie Antong, visibly conflicted, fiddling with fire in his hand—and then jumped in shock as he saw the updated progress.
“Woc! Eighty percent already?!”
“D*mn, you really don’t play games like anyone else.”
But right now, Xie Antong had no time to respond. She was in the final stage of decoding—delivering the last, crucial strike.
【Player [Blank] has advanced the game decryption progress to 95%!】
【Hunters are made up of Deep Creations and numerous people within the city. Some are players, others are ordinary civilians, but none of them are participating in this game. They remain in Tokyo as part of the game itself, performing assigned roles and hunting prey.】
“Holy sh*t! Lady, you promised—you already joined Tiandihui! No take-backs!”
The Sun was getting worked up now, feeling like he’d recruited a genius by sheer luck.
But then his expression turned fierce and savage again.
“But you’d better be telling the truth. If you’re playing me...”
But right then, Xie Antong’s face turned pale, her whole being overwhelmed by a crushing sense of failure and sorrow.
Why only ninety-five percent?!
At that moment, a voice came from the other side of the street.
“You’re still so impatient. I didn’t expect you to crack it this fast...”
“You gave me a lot of inspiration.”
“Maybe... the answer was written on the surface all along.”