The blazing sun hung high in the sky, casting a surreal shade of deep blue over the city.
Skyscrapers rose like giants, and the streets below resembled a checkerboard.
Pedestrians hurried along the streets, their footsteps blending with the cacophony of sounds – car engines, honking horns, and the bustling crowd.
Chen Xiaolian stood by the roadside, taking in the scene before him.
After a brief moment of distraction, he quickly turned to look behind him.
To his surprise, the exit of the mountain cave had vanished, as if he had always been standing on this city street from the beginning.
Everything felt so familiar.
It was the city where he had grown up.
The street wasn't too far from his school and home.
The bookstore across the street, he had visited countless times. The movie theater on the corner – every Marvel superhero movie premiere, he had watched there.
And then there was the ramen shop and the dessert place...
This was undeniably the commercial hub closest to Chen Xiaolian's life.
Standing at the intersection, he suddenly noticed the traffic light on the opposite side turn green, and a surge of people flowed toward him as he became part of the ceaseless crowd.
Amidst the flow of pedestrians, one person bumped into Chen Xiaolian's shoulder. Chen Xiaolian stood still, but the other person suddenly looked up, his face and eyes revealing anger and hostility.
The next moment, this passerby actually pulled out a knife from his pocket and fiercely lunged at Chen Xiaolian!
Chen Xiaolian was stunned.
However, his body's muscle memory remained intact. Faced with the attack, the habits he had developed from countless battles with demon soldiers in the underground base's training room kicked in.
He swung the Stone Sword in his hand, easily cutting off the knife in the assailant's hand. The sharp Stone Sword continued its path, slicing across the man's neck!
With a splatter of blood, the attacker fell to the ground. Even in his final moments, he still glared at Chen Xiaolian with a fierce, beast-like hatred and enmity.
Chen Xiaolian was in shock.
On one hand, he was amazed by his own reaction. On the other hand... pulling a knife over a minor collision on the street?!
Meanwhile, the pedestrians around them seemed to turn a blind eye, continuing on their way without intervening.
At that moment, Chen Xiaolian suddenly saw... in the sky, against the almost unreal deep blue backdrop, a line of data appeared.
"Obtained 1 Demon Point. Current Status: 1/999."
What on earth is going on?!
Demon Points?!
What is this all about?
Chen Xiaolian immediately recalled a sentence from the system prompt: "Activating the magic array requires undergoing trials of dark forces, completing the trials can obtain dark power to activate the magic array. When dark power reaches the critical point, the magic array will be activated."
Could this "Demon Points" be the equivalent of "dark power"?
Chen Xiaolian's eyes widened!
Killing a random passerby... could actually earn him a Demon Point?
Is this something gained through acts of violence?
He suddenly turned his head, looking at the continuous flow of pedestrians on the street...
At that moment, a commotion on the street caught Chen Xiaolian's attention, and he instinctively looked in that direction...
About twenty meters away from him, a man and a woman were angrily quarreling, most likely because one of them had stepped on the other's foot.
In just a matter of seconds, however, the man suddenly went berserk and grabbed the woman's neck, squeezing it ruthlessly! The woman screamed like a wild animal, and her nails dug fiercely into the man's eyes!
It was like a scene out of madness, as the two individuals fought like wild animals. The man, in pain, loosened his grip on the woman's neck, but she wasted no time and pounced on him, sinking her teeth viciously into the man's cheek while tearing off a sizable chunk of flesh with her nails!
It was too savage! Too gruesome! Too... insane!!
The pedestrians on the street still seemed utterly indifferent, continuing on their way as if nothing had happened.
And then, in the midst of the brawl, the man and woman tumbled onto the ground, tripping another passerby. This third individual roared with anger and joined the melee. It turned into a three-person brawl... The woman had already bitten deeply into the man's throat, leaving him gasping in a pool of blood. Meanwhile, the third passerby quickly grabbed the woman by her hair, pinned her to the ground, and plunged a knife into her back!
Chen Xiaolian was stupefied.
This... this was beyond insane!!
It was as if everyone on this street was completely unhinged. The slightest provocation triggered the most ferocious anger and hostility, along with an unrelenting urge to kill each other!
This was definitely not a normal world!
Chen Xiaolian instinctively took a few steps back, inadvertently stepping onto the street. Before he knew it, a car was approaching. Chen Xiaolian's reflexes were lightning-fast as he quickly stepped aside. The car came to a halt, and the driver immediately jumped out, his face contorted with a twisted and malevolent expression, charging toward Chen Xiaolian!
Chen Xiaolian frowned and grabbed the driver, tossing him far away into the crowd, causing a domino effect as more people fell.
However, seconds later, when these pedestrians got back on their feet, their faces twisted into beast-like expressions, and they charged at Chen Xiaolian in madness!
Many of them brandished knives, and some even bared their teeth and claws!
Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath but immediately made the decision to jump into the car. He placed Little Will in the back seat and then took the driver's seat, placing the Stone Sword on the passenger seat. He quickly closed the car door!
At this moment, a pedestrian had already reached the car door and began violently pounding on the window...
The car window vibrated under the relentless assault, and it seemed like it could shatter at any moment. More and more people were converging around the vehicle...
"Damn it! What the hell is going on?! Do I have to kill someone to survive?"
Chen Xiaolian gritted his teeth, started the car, and pressed the accelerator!
The car slowly moved forward, forcibly squeezing through the crowd, but soon someone climbed onto the car's hood, their contorted and menacing face pressed against the windshield.
A surge of anger welled up within Chen Xiaolian—he didn't even understand why he suddenly felt so enraged!
He slammed on the gas pedal, and the car went madly charging forward! It plowed through the crowd, leaving a trail of blood in its wake, and the car eventually raced away!
Through the rearview mirror, Chen Xiaolian saw the aftermath of his car's path, with many pedestrians lying on the ground, victims of being hit and run over. Suddenly, his eyes caught sight of the Stone Sword that he had thrown aside when he had to drive the car.
A thought crossed Chen Xiaolian's mind, and he immediately reached out to grab the Stone Sword.
Soon, a warm sensation flowed through his palm, like a clear stream washing over him, instantly purging the uncontrollable hatred and anger that had been filling his mind.
The skill of the Stone Sword that eliminated all negative mental effects had been activated.
Chen Xiaolian felt a sense of relief as his mind cleared up.
Glancing back at the scene of bloodshed he had left behind, he shuddered!
Meanwhile, in the sky...
"Obtained 7 Demon Points. Current Status: 8/999."
Chen Xiaolian suddenly understood!
Killing?
Exchanging for Demon Points?
After a brief inner struggle, a look of determination flashed in Chen Xiaolian's eyes.
"This isn't real... None of this is real... It's all just an illusion..."
He gritted his teeth and suddenly stopped the car, then looked at the bustling crowd on the street. He pressed the accelerator...
However, just as the car was about to reach the pedestrian crossing, Chen Xiaolian suddenly cursed loudly and slammed on the brakes!
With a screech, the car came to a halt less than two meters from the pedestrian crossing.
Chen Xiaolian closed his eyes and then opened them.
"I... can't do it."
Even though he knew that these people were all fake, mere illusions.
But... he still couldn't do it.
Because... the people might be fake, but the urge to kill was real!
These "people" were created by the system to be so real, with flesh and blood...
Could he really go through with it? Kill up to nine hundred and ninety-nine?
If he did, then... his heart would become so dark, so ruthless, so... cruel?!
"Is this the so-called abyss of darkness? The descent into a cruel heart, bloodlust, cruelty, heartlessness, ruthlessness... the plunge of the soul into the abyss?" Chen Xiaolian snorted.
Little Will's life countdown: 8 minutes and 33 seconds.
...
Qimu Xi and Xia Xiaolei walked out of the end of the cave and, upon exiting, they saw a dilapidated metal shack.
Upon seeing the metal shack, Qimu Xi's eyes lit up, and her body trembled!
Under the setting sun, at the entrance of the metal shack, several small dogs were gathered around an old washbasin, eating heartily. There was also a young boy leaning on a broken lounge chair, taking a rest. As these figures entered Qimu Xi's eyes, tears streamed down her face.
"Brother, brother, brother... Brother!!!"
Qimu Xi screamed and suddenly sprinted toward them.
A strange expression flickered in Xia Xiaolei's eyes, and he watched as Qimu Xi rushed out.
The several small dogs turned their heads and happily ran toward Qimu Xi, sniffing around her feet.
The young boy on the lounge chair also stood up. He had a somewhat stolid face, but there was a hint of a smile in his eyes.
The boy opened his arms and embraced Qimu Xi tightly, and she was already crying with snot and tears all over her face.
"Brother, brother... Brother!!! Waaah!!!" Qimu Xi cried out.
The boy gently patted Qimu Xi's back and whispered in her ear with a familiar voice, "Don't be afraid, Xixi, don't be afraid... Brother is here, Brother is here..."
Qimu Xi felt like all the strength had been drained from her body. She clung tightly to her brother, unwilling to let go.
Her mind was completely empty, and everything seemed blurry and unclear.
But at that moment, she suddenly heard a furious roar from Xia Xiaolei, and then...
Qimu Xi felt a sharp pain in her neck!
She winced in pain and instinctively recoiled, only to see her brother viciously biting her shoulder. His stolid face was now twisted into a grim and cruel expression!
"Brother!!" Qimu Xi struggled with all her might but felt a sharp pain in her legs.
The small dogs that had been playfully sniffing around her feet suddenly bared their fangs and began biting her legs viciously!
Qimu Xi screamed in agony.
And at that moment, Xia Xiaolei rushed forward and forcibly pulled the young man off Qimu Xi. In his haste, Xia Xiaolei raised his bayonet and thrust it toward the young man!
Because Xia Xiaolei had seen it—the young man was holding a dagger and was about to stab it into Qimu Xi's neck!
"No!!!"
Qimu Xi screamed, only to witness Xia Xiaolei's bayonet piercing the young man's chest. The young man let out a scream and was knocked over by Xia Xiaolei's kick.
"Ah!!!" Qimu Xi screamed as she clutched her shoulder wound.
Xia Xiaolei kicked away a small dog that was about to pounce and didn't hesitate to escape from the scene.
Bang!
Bang, bang, bang!
Qimu Xi had already sat on the ground and watched as Xia Xiaolei fired shot after shot, killing all the small dogs. Then...
She saw her own brother sitting up, holding a dagger, and attempting to crawl toward her with a twisted and grim expression!
Xia Xiaolei's gun was pointed at the young man.
"No, don't, no!!" Qimu Xi suddenly grabbed Xia Xiaolei's arm and pressed the gun down.
Xia Xiaolei hastily pushed her away. "You're crazy! He was going to kill you! He's not your brother!!"
But Qimu Xi, her eyes turning red, like a wounded wild animal, suddenly turned and hugged the young man, paying no heed to the young man's bite on her calf!
She seemed impervious to pain, letting the blood flow freely, and used her body to shield the gun barrel from Xia Xiaolei. At the same time, she drew a gun and pointed it at Xia Xiaolei!
"If you kill my brother! I'll kill you!!!!"
Xia Xiaolei's eyes also turned red, unable to suppress his overwhelming rage and anger, and he yelled, "You were useless in the team from the beginning!! Now you can't even see through this illusion! And you dare to point a gun at me!!! Useless!!!"