"You're here, right now."
Upon seeing this sentence, Lun Tai suddenly froze in place.
I... am right here.
So, I won't rush back from outside to save my little brother...
This simple thought filled Lun Tai' mind.
He had no consciousness left to consider other questions or to think about what might be wrong here.
"So, I'll give you a choice. Would you kill that man to save your little brother?"
"I..."
Lun Tai lifted his head.
The man had already picked up a wrench and brutally struck it against his brother's arm, causing his brother to scream in agony, making Lun Tai's eyes twitch.
His brother couldn't run anymore; his leg was injured, and he was desperately trying to hide in the corner, curled up.
And that man, holding the wrench, had a distorted, menacing expression on his face, step by step, approaching...
This man... was someone he once called "father"!
To kill... him?
...
"Do you know? I really hate you! Hate you!"
Xia Xiaolei panted, slapped Qimu Xi away, and then glanced at the bite mark on his arm.
He stared at Qimu Xi, who was struggling to get up from the ground. "Of course, at first, I didn't hate you. But you're just so useless! The Guild Leader and everyone else in the team are outstanding, they're all so good! But what about you? In this team, you've made absolutely no contribution!
Everyone is working so hard! So hard!
The Guild Leader told us all of his biggest secrets! He truly treats everyone like family!
But with someone like you around, you'll only harm the Guild Leader! You'll only be a burden!
You cry, you scream, you're afraid, you tremble, you run away... What else can you do?!
You can't fucking do anything!!!
Whenever there's danger, you rely on others to save you! When something happens, you just shiver and hide!
Why do you deserve to stay in this team?! You'll get the Guild Leader killed!
He's so kind, he's so powerful! But he'll be dragged down by the likes of you!!
Someone like you has no right to stay in our team!!"
...
"Sister, I really don't know what to do." Soo Soo looked at Qiao Qiao and suddenly whispered, "Sister, do you think if I ask your dad, my father, when I go back, how would he answer me?
I think it would probably be the same as it is now."
Qiao Qiao couldn't say a word; she just used all her strength to hug Soo Soo tightly.
Soo Soo's question was something Qiao Qiao couldn't answer at all!
Because she was well aware of one thing.
Everything related to the world of danger and intrigue was all under the responsibility of her own father, Qiao Yifeng!
Soo Soo's voice drifted out from Qiao Qiao's embrace.
"Sister, I don't want to hurt you... I don't want to hurt your dad either... So what should I do? Maybe I can only hurt myself."
Qiao Qiao shuddered and immediately let go of Soo Soo to look at her, only to find that Soo Soo's body was gradually growing colder!
"You can't hurt your sister, you can't hurt your sister's dad, so you have to kill yourself... If I can't seek revenge, I'll suffer, I can't forget our parents' death... But hurting my sister will also make me suffer..."
"Soo Soo!!" Qiao Qiao grabbed Soo Soo's shoulders, but saw Soo Soo's eyes slowly closing.
Her body temperature seemed to be rapidly fading away!
"What are you doing?! Soo Soo!!"
"I'm killing myself... I've drawn all my body temperature away..."
"Stop it! Stop it!!"
"Drawing away all the warmth should be enough." Soo Soo raised her head, and in her hand, a dagger appeared as if out of nowhere, and she stabbed it into her own heart!
"Ahhhhhh!!!!"
...
"So, what's your choice?
Kill him, or watch him kill your brother?"
Lun Tai trembled.
...
"Come on, kill me." Roddy raised his head and looked at Nicole, who had already lightly fallen in front of him, holding a military blade in her hand, slowly approaching him. He even closed his eyes. "Let's stay here together."
...
Boom!!!
The world shattered!
...
Everything in front of them turned into fragments and disappeared, and the entire world collapsed directly.
As if a colorful glass had been shattered, all the beautiful patterns on the glass also disintegrated completely with the shattering of the glass!
...
Qiao Qiao held Soo Soo tightly, clutching her in her arms.
All around was pitch black.
The burning house, the flames, the blood, all disappeared.
But Soo Soo in her arms was very much real. She shook Soo Soo vigorously and then felt around her, but there was no dagger in Soo Soo's chest, no blood...
Qiao Qiao's heart settled slightly.
Had it all... ended?
Why had it ended?
As this thought was just arising in her mind, suddenly, the surroundings lit up brightly.
Countless lights shone around them. They were still in a cave, a massive circular cave.
The circular walls of the cave seemed to be embedded with various jewels, gold, gems, densely packed and dazzling!
Under the illumination of countless colorful lights, it sparkled brilliantly.
And in this huge circular cave, Qiao Qiao noticed not far to her left...
Xia Xiaolei and Qimu Xi were entangled, wrestling and struggling with each other on the ground.
On the other side, there was Lun Tai, with a ferocious expression, kneeling there, panting heavily, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
And there was Roddy!
Roddy knelt there, his eyes closed, not saying a word, as if waiting for something.
Everything...
No, it was wrong!
Qiao Qiao felt her mind clear up quickly. In the previous illusion, it seemed like her brain had been controlled, unable to think, following a single train of thought relentlessly, desperately delving deeper into it.
It felt like being trapped in a logical loop, unable to escape...
But now, her mind suddenly felt at ease.
She looked down at Soo Soo, who seemed vacant, silently gazing into the distance.
Soo Soo had no expression on her face.
Qiao Qiao's heart sank.
"What happened to us?"
Xia Xiaolei gently released Qimu Xi on the ground, and Qimu Xi had a look of fear on her face, cowering.
After they exchanged glances, their expressions became complex.
Even though they had escaped from the illusion, they hadn't forgotten everything that had happened in it!
However, their minds were no longer in turmoil at this moment and had calmed down.
But the scenes and conversations from earlier...
Qimu Xi looked at Xia Xiaolei with a fearful expression. Xia Xiaolei's heart sank, and he hugged his head tightly. "I... What did I say, what did I..."
Lun Tai's breathing gradually calmed, and he looked at everyone. After looking around, he felt a hidden pain in his heart.
Is it over? Or was it interrupted?
But... what choice did I make in the end?
Did I choose to kill... him? Did I make such a choice?
I...
Roddy had already opened his eyes.
"Why am I not dead? I should be dead!"
...
Just when everyone's thoughts seemed to be getting more and more confused, almost on the verge of collapsing.
Clang!!
A voice echoed in the cave.
Everyone turned to look and saw Chen Xiaolian standing in the corner of the cave.
He was holding a stone sword, and the blade of the sword was fiercely striking the cave wall!
One strike, two strikes!
Clang! Clang!
Chen Xiaolian's expression seemed calm, but also cold and indifferent, yet his gaze...
Anyone who made eye contact with him couldn't help but feel a shiver down their spine.
What kind of gaze was this!
"Are you all awake now? Are you all awake from the nightmare?" Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath and then shouted loudly.
Slowly, he walked to the center of the cave, dragging the blade of the stone sword on the ground.
Standing in the middle of the cave, Chen Xiaolian looked at his team members.
"Now, I just want to tell you... no matter what you experienced just now, no matter what happened, those... were all fake! Fake!
Do you understand? Remember?
Listen to me carefully! It was all fake!! It was all an illusion created by this damn instance dungeon!
Now that you've escaped from the nightmare, I don't care what you dreamed of, but you... stop here!!"
Chen Xiaolian's fierce gaze made Xia Xiaolei's mind clear up instantly, and Qimu Xi stopped trembling, subconsciously straightening her posture.
Chen Xiaolian continued to approach and stood in front of Roddy. He looked at Roddy, who still seemed a bit confused, and suddenly raised his hand, delivering a resounding slap across Roddy's face.
Smack!
Roddy staggered from the force of the blow.
"Wake up a bit, will you?"
"..."
Smack again!!
A second slap!
"Are you more awake now?"
"...Much better," Roddy shook his head with a wry smile, touched his cheek with a red mark left from the slap, and took a deep breath. "I... I don't know what happened just now."
Chen Xiaolian ignored Roddy and turned to Lun Tai.
Lun Tai was still deep in thought, but Chen Xiaolian didn't hesitate. He kicked Lun Tai in the chest without warning, sending the sturdy man sprawling to the ground.
Lun Tai was startled.
"I don't know what you dreamed of just now," Chen Xiaolian gritted his teeth. "But you listen to me, everyone is still counting on you! And don't forget, Spare Tire is waiting for us at home! We can't afford to lose a single member!"
Lun Tai suddenly became more alert.
Finally, Chen Xiaolian walked over to Qiao Qiao and Soo Soo.
Qiao Qiao gazed at Chen Xiaolian with a dazed expression - instinctively, she sensed that something was off about him.
Soo Soo remained silent, just watching Chen Xiaolian quietly.
Chen Xiaolian looked at the two sisters for a full five seconds before he spoke in a hoarse voice, "How are you two?"
Qiao Qiao nodded, about to speak, but Soo Soo suddenly released Qiao Qiao's hand - to be precise, she pulled it away.
"Xiaolian Oppa," Soo Soo's voice was soft but determined. "Can I stand by your side?"
With that, she stood up forcefully, breaking away from Qiao Qiao's hand and walked over to Chen Xiaolian.
Qiao Qiao's heart sank.
Chen Xiaolian gazed at Soo Soo, looked at her for a moment, then nodded.
"Since it's a dream, it's over when it's over! Now we have more important things to do!" Chen Xiaolian shook his head impatiently and then stared at everyone. "Haven't you noticed that one of us is missing!"
"Missing..."
"Ah! Where's Will?"
"He was with me just now."
"With you? No, he fell into the nightmare of the Tokyo instance dungeon with me."
"No, I remember carrying him all along."
A flicker of flames danced in Chen Xiaolian's eyes, and then he took a deep breath. "Alright, stop arguing."
Chen Xiaolian clenched his fists, as if forcibly suppressing something. Finally, he slowly spat out a sentence through gritted teeth, "You! Aren't you satisfied enough already...!"
Silence...
A few seconds later...
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
Clear applause rang out.
In the center of the cave, a dark figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
A frail-looking Will stood there, still bearing the same appearance, but his expression and gaze seemed inexplicably evil!
"It was wonderful, truly wonderful. I am really, really satisfied. I mean all of you. Not a single one of you dreamed." Will's gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on Chen Xiaolian's face. "Especially you... you are the one who surprised me the most!"
"Will?" Xia Xiaolei exclaimed.
"Oh, don't get my name wrong." Will gave a slight bow. "I am not Will. I just borrowed his body to regain my consciousness... No, to be precise, the Will you all know is just one of countless versions of me. And now, please don't call me Will anymore. My name is...
The Demon King, Belia!"