CHAPTER 394: MYSTERIOUS 394

John died without anyone knowing. The God of Darkness is an expert at ambushes!

Lin Bai cast a sidelong glance at the spot where the Thunder Heavenly King had been.

That place was now empty. In all directions, dozens of Thunder Spirits of various colors had suddenly appeared.

These Thunder Spirits looked identical, standing in different positions forming a Bagua shape.

Lightning of various colors leaped from one Thunder Spirit to another, forming a massive, beautiful, yet dangerous net of electricity.

The electric grid sliced the night into individual fragments, sparing only the spots where he and John stood...

「...」

For crying out loud! Is this how you cooperate? This is how you protect my two incarnates?! Lin Bai was speechless. You were the one who attacked first, so don’t blame me for not being polite.

The Body of the War God quickly adjusted its emotions, allowing itself to be consumed by anger.

Shared Anger of Man and God.

When you are angry, those around you will become angry with you.

Although the God of Darkness can weaken one’s attributes and influence others through negative emotions, sufficient mental strength allows one to resist these negative emotions, preventing them from affecting one’s judgment.

In the previous battle, Lin Bai had already verified that the anger stirred by Shared Anger of Man and God could indeed affect a person’s rationality...

I was the one who was tricked; why should I let those two scoundrels keep their sanity and continue fighting? If they remained rational, how could I possibly capitalize on the situation?

「...」

"God of Darkness, this entire space is your body, isn’t it? Watch how I tear your body to shreds! From the moment your health bar appeared, you became my prey."

The Thunder Heavenly King was the first to be affected.

Dozens of Thunder Spirits cackled and spoke in unison. But their first words stunned Lin Bai, making him forget his subsequent actions.

What the hell! What’s going on? These words carry too much information! Health bar? Typically, only a player would say that... So, was the Thunder Heavenly King originally a player? Is the Fairy World actually a game? Do the seemingly perfunctory realm designations like Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Star Diamond, and so on, suddenly have a plausible explanation? But if the Fairy World is a game, why can’t the Celestials resurrect? Wait. The Celestials aren’t players; the Mother System isn’t a resurrection point. It’s an NPC production center. Celestials are born there. That’s why they have no gender distinctions. Because they aren’t truly real; they are produced by the Mother System for players’ entertainment. They are tools! No wonder the Thunder Heavenly King doesn’t care about the Celestials’ lives and is more interested in the unfamiliar Continent of Gods and Demons. In his view, the Continent of Gods and Demons is an undeveloped new map. He’s long grown tired of the NPC-filled Fairy World and yearns for new game features. That’s why he was so eager to cross the Magpie Bridge... The reason he didn’t attack me is probably because he saw me as a special NPC. He’s afraid that if he kills me, the Magpie Bridge will break, and the new map will close again! No wonder these fellows didn’t believe his fabricated story about a new Mother System and a tenth Heavenly King—or rather, they believed it but considered me part of a new plotline! No wonder he wasn’t surprised by the appearance of players... No wonder he had such an indifferent attitude towards everything I said... No wonder he’s so arrogant, challenging the strongest entity immediately upon entering the Continent of Gods and Demons... If they are players themselves, everything makes sense! A world of nine players? Damn it! The so-called Heavenly King Challenge must also be a scam!

Lin Bai felt as if he had fallen into an intricate trap.

The game company distributed gaming cabins in the real world, allowing players to enter the "real" Immortal World and Continent of Gods and Demons. However, it turned out that the upper echelon of the Fairy World was a different version of a game, also populated by players. These players might hail from other worlds and had clearly reached the apex, controlling the entire game world...

Are there only nine top-tier players left? Did the others quit the game, leaving behind these nine nostalgic, max-level individuals? Or is the Fairy World a private server? The so-called Law Holy Artifacts they possess must be like those Divine Artifacts in games, the kind that can wipe out an entire server with a single strike, right! If they are players, it means they can resurrect, their lives are endless... In that case, to truly control them, do I have to kill them back to Level Zero? My enemies are nine top-tier players? Damn, this is utterly screwed!

「At that moment」

Lin Bai’s thoughts were in turmoil. He felt he had stumbled upon the truth, a truth that was difficult for him to accept. He had forcefully seized control of the game’s narrative, orchestrating the fates of the players sent in by the game company, and had believed himself quite successful.

He never imagined the game company had such a massive "surprise package" waiting for him in the Fairy World.

From one game into another!

So, he was the real clown, struggling within the game company’s machinations all along! For an instant, Lin Bai even suspected that the System implanted in him was also the game company’s doing. Creating an NPC like him was merely to make the game more novel and entertaining...

「...」

"Husband, what’s wrong?" Xu Longyun gently nudged Lin Bai, rousing him from his deep contemplation.

Her face was etched with worry.

Ever since Xu Longyun had known Lin Bai, even when he was weak, he had always been exceptionally alert, never lost in thought for such an extended period. He actually needed a nudge from her to snap out of it.

"It’s nothing. I just uncovered some secrets about the Fairy World. We might need to adjust some of our strategies," Lin Bai shook his head, striving to rally his spirits.

He wasn’t overly disheartened.

Lin Bai was never one to passively accept fate.

Facts proved that even the Thunder Heavenly King could be affected by skills awarded by the System. This meant he still had a chance to turn the tables. If a BOSS revealed its health bar, players could defeat it. The reverse was also true: if players dared to reveal their levels, he dared to slaughter them back to Level Zero.

Game or reality, he was determined to be the king within it...

"What secret?" Xu Longyun asked.

"The Nine Heavenly Kings are very likely players as well," Lin Bai stated. He had no intention of hiding anything from Xu Longyun, nor was there any need to.

Perhaps the Shared Anger of Man and God had incited the fury of both the Thunder Heavenly King and the God of Darkness.

The two of them began to battle fiercely in the darkness, employing various techniques, temporarily ignoring Lin Bai’s Body of the War God.

If that’s the case, there’s no need for the Body of the War God to leave. If it could obtain more valuable intelligence, sacrificing the Body of the War God would be worth it!

"Players?" Xu Longyun stammered, her expression one of astonishment. "Really?"

"Nine times out of ten," Lin Bai glanced at her. "And top-tier players at that."

These days, Xu Longyun had been studying the real world and naturally understood what "top-tier player" signified.

Ever since learning the characteristics of the heaven-descended beings, everyone had focused on suppressing their level progression. If players were allowed to level up, coupled with their inherently lawless nature, any world would be driven to collapse by their antics.

But now, the rulers of the Fairy World were nine top-tier players, who also controlled all the Celestials within it.

Xu Longyun swallowed hard, suddenly understanding why Lin Bai had been so lost in thought earlier.

There could be no more terrifying catastrophe than this!

"My lord, what should we do?" Xu Longyun asked, a hint of panic in her voice as she reverted to her previous term of address for him.

"Don’t panic. This development has both advantages and disadvantages for us," Lin Bai said, comforting Xu Longyun. "All this time, the Celestials had no idea that the Heavenly Kings ruling over them were players. So, I plan to expose this. Whether the Celestials are NPCs or indigenous beings, they all possess their own thoughts. If even a portion of them believe this, it will be our success; we can divide them and turn them into our allies."

"The Fairy World has existed for tens of thousands of years. The Celestials have their own lives. Such a divisive tactic might not be easily successful," Xu Longyun said, her brow furrowed.

"I know. Even if no one believes it, we must plant the seeds of doubt among the Celestials," Lin Bai stated. "The most crucial part is that we also have players on our side. Learning that the Nine Heavenly Kings of the Fairy World are players from another world will undoubtedly ignite their competitive spirit.

They might pledge allegiance to NPCs, but they would never bow to players from another world. Therefore, they will try everything to verify the truth of this matter, even engaging them in direct PK, to prove to the world that anything otherworldly players can achieve, they can too. That way, the Nine Heavenly Kings will unwittingly draw some of the fire away from me."

"Will they believe it?" Xu Longyun asked.

"They will," Lin Bai replied. "Although my methods are often unconventional, I’ve successfully projected an image of someone whose word is sacrosanct. Therefore, even if they’re skeptical, they’ll initially treat my words as truth.

Besides, you understand players; the Nine Heavenly Kings are already their enemies, aren’t they?

My propaganda merely gives them a more legitimate target. Doesn’t adding a truth-seeking element to the game make it more exciting?"

「...」

"Shocking! The Nine Heavenly Kings Are Actually Players from Another World!"

Half an hour later, Justice Weekly urgently issued a special edition, publicizing the identities of the Nine Heavenly Kings. The article meticulously deconstructed the Fairy World’s composition, covering its realm divisions, the characteristics of Celestials, the nature of the Mother System, and various other aspects.

Then, it deduced a conclusion: the Nine Heavenly Kings are players, and the Celestials are NPCs manufactured by the System.

At the end of the article, it specifically posed a soul-crushing question to the Celestials: Has the Heavenly King Challenge ever truly been won? Are you certain the Starshine Realm challengers who vied for the Heavenly King’s position weren’t part of a meticulously staged conspiracy?

「...」

Along with the release of the Justice Weekly special edition, Lin Bai also published a short video clip: the exact words spoken by the Thunder Heavenly King during his battle with the God of Darkness!

The moment this article was published, the real world and the Celestial Human World erupted.

On the forums, the revelation that the Heavenly Kings were players quickly overshadowed posts about the Anti-Linbai Alliance. Both players and ordinary citizens in the real world were fervently discussing this matter:

「...」

"Is this real? Players from another world besides us? That’s completely outrageous."

"Nothing is impossible. I always thought the realm divisions in the Fairy World seemed somewhat arbitrary. At the time, I even assumed it was a deliberate design by the game company!"

"Who knows how many civilizations exist in the universe. If the game company can deliver game pods to our world, it can certainly do so for other worlds. Don’t the games ’Immortal World’ and ’Land of Gods and Demons’ exist concurrently? If Lin Bai hadn’t built the Magpie Bridge, wouldn’t we have eventually faced players from the Western Continent if the game company had linked ’Immortal World’ and ’Land of Gods and Demons’?"

"So we didn’t end up fighting players from the Western Continent, but instead, we’re up against players from another world."

"The final BOSS is actually a player! Damn, this has shocked me for a whole year..."

"Seriously, if Lin Bai hadn’t interfered and we had discovered the truth ourselves, this would have been an absolutely epic, deluxe version of the game!"

"PVP with players from another dimension... just thinking about it makes me tremble. This is a trans-universal war; we cannot lose."

"They are Heavenly Kings who rule the Fairy World. What do you have to PK them with? Are you kidding? I’m more inclined to believe this is Lin Bai’s scheme to sow discord among the Celestials."

"It’s not just about sowing discord among Celestials; it’s also to divert our attention and, in doing so, fragment the Anti-Linbai Alliance. A game with only nine top players—do you buy that?"

"Why not? Can’t single-player games exist? LAN games? Private servers?"

"Private server, my foot! Private servers have ridiculously high drop rates! Why not just say they’re GMs who can make themselves invincible at will?"

"Nine players is actually plausible. I’ve been on a ghost server where, even during peak hours, there were only three players online..."

"..."

"It was just a game, but you high-IQ types have twisted it into a massive conspiracy. I feel like my brain can’t keep up! What in the world is the real truth?!"

"Still calling it a conspiracy? The video is out! The Thunder Heavenly King over there is already shouting for the God of Darkness to show his health bar."

"That video was released by Lin Bai. With his abilities and technology, if he wanted to fake it, we wouldn’t be able to tell. If he’s got the guts, he should do a livestream!"

"I have a feeling the game company is playing a very deep game..."

「...」

General Chen rubbed his temples and asked, "Xiao Cheng, what’s your take on this? Is it Lin Bai’s conspiracy, or is there truth to it?"

Cheng Xunyun replied, "It’s probably true. Lin Bai’s primary target is the game company; he wouldn’t fabricate something like this just for kicks."

"I’m afraid it *is* true!" General Chen sighed, suddenly looking a decade older. "The game company can send players into the Immortal World, into the Land of Gods and Demons, even into the Fairy World... Tell me, do you think it’s possible that one day, a group of undying, unkillable players might suddenly materialize in our world?"

"..." Cheng Xunyun was stunned into silence.

「...」

Thunder Heavenly King Temple.

A group of leisurely Starshine Realm Celestials leafed through the latest issue of Justice Weekly, jesting, "This Lin Bai really stops at nothing. He’s actually accusing the Heavenly Kings of being players and claiming we’re just NPCs created by the Mother System for others’ amusement. I almost admire his imagination."

On the main seat, Supervisor Meng, clad in a red robe, straightened up from his languid posture. With a flick of his hand, the Justice Weekly flew into his grasp. A moment later, he leaned back into his chair again, covering his face with the Justice Weekly. Players? Heh!

"Exactly! How could the Heavenly Kings be players? We personally witnessed our Heavenly King defeat the previous Heavenly King and seize the Law Holy Artifact to become the new Heavenly King," a Starshine Realm Celestial chuckled.

"Didn’t Lin Bai claim he could travel to the Continent of Gods and Demons at will via the Magpie Bridge?" Supervisor Meng’s lazy voice drifted out from beneath the Justice Weekly. "If you’re all so idle, why not take a trip to the Continent of Gods and Demons yourselves?"

「...」

Continent of Gods and Demons.

The Golden Heavenly King, dressed in a blue robe, strolled along the streets, admiring the scenery of this alien world. He listened to the Western Continent players discussing the Heavenly Kings, chuckled softly, his eyes gleaming faintly, and murmured to himself, This fellow certainly reacts quickly! We are players, indeed. But you... what exactly are you?