CHAPTER 379: CHAPTER 315: LIFE AND DEATH SITUATION_2

Yang Feng was momentarily stunned by this barrage of impressive titles.

No wonder it had been easy to annihilate the ’Death Cult’ and ’Hermit Association.’ Turns out, It was this terrifying all along.

The Dark Starker sneaked over sheepishly, "Uh, officers, I’d like to get out of jail as soon as possible. Could you possibly... make an exception?"

...

With items like teleportation scrolls, travel wasn’t such a hassle. Even with another living person in tow, streaks of light flashed, and Yang Qizhou quickly returned to No. 10 Sky Mountain Garden.

First, he began inspecting the spoils of this outing,

As per the rules, killing a ’Deceit World’ player in the real world entitles you to choose three items from all their possessions... miraculous artifacts, Old Sacrifices, materials—anything was possible.

There were about 20,000 Old Sacrifices in total, one epic-level item, three quasi-epics, and a smattering of average items. Overall, better than nothing, but not by much.

He grabbed a bottle of cola, twisted off the cap, and took a hearty gulp, secretly lamenting, "If the anomaly in ’Deceit Prison’ really was the Divine Descent Ceremony of the ’Deceiving Apostle,’ then I could have had the ’Hermit Scholar’ replace ’Mr. Dead.’ That way, I’d have settled my debt of gratitude."

At the same time,

The unconscious ’Mr. Dead’ slowly woke up. In a daze, he saw a young figure in front of him fiddling with a bottle of cola. Images flooded his mind—a rapid succession of scenes from everything that had happened in Deceit Prison. His scalp prickled, goosebumps spreading across his skin. Clinging to the belief that "you can never wake someone pretending to sleep," he quickly and naturally closed his eyes again.

"Huh, still not awake? Did I accidentally kill him? Should I just toss him into the crematorium? Hmm, that’d be a hassle... Oh, right, the ’Doomsday Apostle’ can command Sulfur Fire; no trace of him would remain."

Yang Qizhou’s leisurely voice drifted into his ears.

This sent ’Mr. Dead’ jerking awake with a shiver. Feigning drowsiness, he wore a look of confusion, "W-where is this...?"

He was acting remarkably well.

But Yang Qizhou didn’t speak, merely watching him with an ambiguous smile, a look that screamed, "Go ahead, perform; I’m just here to watch."

This forced ’Mr. Dead’ to swallow hard on the "where" that was about to escape his lips. Though his face was composed, a flicker of fear and unease betrayed him in his eyes. "You knew I was awake all along, didn’t you, Lord Dark Crow of Profane Fortune?"

"Have you guessed who I am?" Yang Qizhou didn’t respond directly to the question.

’Mr. Dead’ offered a bitter smile, laced with self-mockery. "Knowing about the Divine Descent Ceremony of the ’Deceiving Apostle’ and being somewhat familiar with it could be dismissed as coincidence. But for you, an ally, the probability is far greater."

This guy was clever, but how had he turned foolish in his dealings with the ’Hermit Association’?

Yang Qizhou brought up the matter.

"Isn’t it obvious? The ’Hermit Association’ arranged the No-True Deception Secret Ceremony, borrowing the power of the ’Deception God’ from the Old Days. Fooling me required little effort." As he spoke, Mr. Dead shrank back, instinctively searching for an escape opportunity. But when he glanced at the faint, fleeting smile on ’Dark Crow’s’ lips and recalled the terror of his strength, he grew cold all over, snuffing out his last spark of hope.

Watching the fire in ’Mr. Dead’s’ eyes extinguish, Yang Qizhou felt a surge of boredom. "’Mr. Dead,’ as the founder of a Hidden Organization and the schemer behind a vast conspiracy targeting ’Deceit Prison,’ you cut a decent figure for a villain. I expected you to keep your composure—to, you know, *stay cool*."

Mr. Dead didn’t seem offended; instead, he asked, "’Dark Crow,’ hmm, Lamp Holder, which should I call you?"

"Whatever you prefer."

"Then I’ll use ’Lamp Holder,’ as that’s what the members of Deceit Prison call you. Lord Lamp Holder, with all your horrifying powers, rivaling or even surpassing the divine, you’ve probably never faced a genuine life-and-death crisis, have you?"

Yang Qizhou hadn’t expected such words, momentarily stunned.

On reflection, there was some truth to it.

When the game began, there was free resurrection and the Dark Crow’s power to Restart Destiny Line. This meant Yang Qizhou was virtually immune to true crises. Even when exploring the ’Truth Hut’ and nearly being consumed by the Correct Wizard King’s signpost, he had simply rewound time to avoid it—hardly a true brush with death.

Yang Qizhou had a vague sense of the other’s intentions behind these words.

’Mr. Dead’ subconsciously tried to adjust his glasses but, with hands and feet bound, had to give up that notion. "Because of the unique nature of ’Deceit World,’ whether in the game or reality, I instinctively treated everything as a grand game. NPCs, players who could resurrect—everything was part of an elaborate instance. The so-called conspiracies, the process of gaining power, all felt like stepping through one dungeon after another. Before I encountered you, that was always my mindset."

"Are you afraid now?" Yang Qizhou sounded casual, but even he felt a slight tremor inside.

’Mr. Dead’ stayed silent for a long while before letting out a single word: "Afraid."

Then he turned the question back: "When you face a genuine life-and-death crisis, one you cannot escape, avoid, or dodge, will you feel fear?"

The surroundings fell into a heavy silence.

Yang Qizhou quickly noticed that something was off. Wasn’t this guy supposed to be the prisoner? How had the roles reversed, leaving him nearly roped into the other’s line of thinking?

"That’s none of your business... I killed the ’Hermits’ but brought you out alive. You should know why." Yang Qizhou flashed a sly grin.

’Mr. Dead’ no longer showed the panic from earlier and spoke calmly, "To have my game character cooperate with you in exploiting the unfolding events in ’Asgard’ to your greatest benefit."

He had figured it out,

That as long as he remained useful, his life would not end so easily.

Dark amusement flared within Yang Qizhou. With a movement of his hand in the Void, a shadowy figure dressed as a maid appeared in the living room. "Let’s play a little game. This person—hmm, not exactly a person in the conventional sense—will guard you. You can try escaping any time. If she catches you..."

Yang Qizhou let out a chilling laugh and ordered No, "Don’t kill him, but beat him within an inch of death."

A battle doll formed from the combination of the [Battle Maid’s Core] and [Demon King Puppet], which were both quasi-legendary items, gave a cool nod of acknowledgment.

An icy aura of menace exploded, sending shivers coursing through ’Mr. Dead.’ A primal fear gripped his soul.

Horrifying.

Even the ’Deceiving Apostle’ didn’t carry such overbearing dread.

But ’Mr. Dead’ did not succumb to despair. After all, despite her liveliness, the maid wasn’t truly alive. If she had flaws, there would be an opening.

The two of them discussed ’Asgard’s’ plotline, the Divine Descent Ceremony, the current situation, and how to counter the Tree Ancient God. Having his game character stationed in the God’s Fortress, ’Mr. Dead’ provided ample insight and disclosed everything he knew.

"Get online. The ’Deceiving Apostle’s’ Divine Descent Ceremony is about to begin, and ’Asgard’s’ main storyline is kicking off. Don’t miss out." As Yang Qizhou spoke, he handed Mr. Dead his phone, pausing to add, "And make sure your game character cooperates with me. Keep me updated on any changes in ’Asgard.’"

Mr. Dead nodded and replied, "Understood."

Yang Qizhou had ’Mr. Dead’ placed in the servant’s quarters, then returned to his own room. Of course, he didn’t trust the other’s apparent capitulation. To err on the side of caution, he used the Demon Lord’s authority to summon a small demon to monitor every move.

Then he summoned ’Little White’ to relay crucial information to his game character.

Only after finishing up did he retrieve his phone. A twisted, horrifying, eldritch background filled the screen...

...

"Has the ’Divine Descent Ceremony’ already begun?"