Chapter 278: Beyond Life and Death

The third day.

Ma Ma Zhaodi sat motionless on the ground; by now, his entire body had shrunk a full size.

The pain had reached one hundred percent, but he no longer had the strength to scream; this was probably the silver lining in a dire situation.

"Dead yet?"

The Pocky Ma Ma Zhaodi had brought was finished; Constantine familiarly pulled a cigarette from the pack, placed it in his mouth, but did not light it.

"Not dead."

Ma Ma Zhaodi's voice sounded hollow and weak; or rather, the mere fact that he could still make a sound was already remarkable.

"You're definitely not human. It's been three days, you haven't even had water; even without the Namus, an ordinary person should be done for by now."

Ma Ma Zhaodi smiled at Constantine: "I'm tougher to chew."

This wasn't a lie; due to the Intermediate Physical Enhancement, Ma Ma Zhaodi's vitality and physical constitution were far superior to an ordinary person's, allowing him to endure the Namus's consumption for a much longer time.

In all recorded cases of victims, from the swarm infiltrating the body, to the awakening of intensified appetite, to completely turning into a skin sack, it basically took about a day and a half. Ma Ma Zhaodi could roughly feel that the Namus's consumption of him couldn't happen that fast.

A moment later, Constantine suddenly asked: "If we go see that old Shaman, maybe he..."

"He has no way; otherwise, he wouldn't have let his own people become Sacrificial Offerings."

Ma Ma Zhaodi replied calmly: "Besides, haven't you already sent Lester to find him?"

Constantine fell silent for a moment, then handed a bottle of water to his lips.

"I won't drink."

"This is water."

"Drinking it will let me live longer, which will give the Namus more time to torture me," Ma Ma Zhaodi replied: "Forget it; a short pain is better than a long one."

"Damn it..."

"There's no choice," Ma Ma Zhaodi replied calmly: "The Namus and the vessel's lives are linked; if I don't die, my emotions and vitality will become the last bit of nourishment supplying its survival."

The basement fell silent again.

The fourth day.

Ma Ma Zhaodi's body had completely withered; his skin hung limply over his skeleton, looking like a dried-up mummy.

"Dead?"

Constantine paused; his question received no answer.

But a moment later, Ma Ma Zhaodi's voice still rang out.

"No."

Having received an answer, he shrugged, then sat back down.

However, in reality, that voice was not produced by Ma Ma Zhaodi; his vocal cords were gone.

"A system-synthesized voice for ten dollars," Ma Ma Zhaodi thought; he had used it once before, and it worked quite well.

He wanted to open his eyes and look around, but everything before him was pitch black; days of dehydration and consumption had left his condition so poor he could barely see.

At this time yesterday, he had still managed to open his eyes; although his vision was blurry, he could vaguely sense four pale figures praying beside him.

Were they still there?

The fifth day.

The Namus inside his body had stopped consuming Ma Ma Zhaodi; the head and skin engraved with the Engraving were inedible to it, and the faint vitality and emotionless fluctuations could no longer trigger its feeding urge.

It was almost driven mad by its own violent, surging appetite; this was not surprising, for it was the Namus, the Hunger Spirit. Its very essence was endless greed and appetite, the fundamental part constituting it; it could not suppress this impulse. Just as humans, no matter how hard they try, cannot stop the flow of blood in their bodies or the beating of their hearts, because that is the body's instinct.

To satisfy this desire, it could bite into anything.

Including itself.

The sound of ravenous eating echoed within Ma Ma Zhaodi's body; the Namus had begun to bite into itself.

"Dead?"

"No."

Ma Ma Zhaodi still retained a sliver of consciousness; though little, it was not nothing.

He heard the sound of the Namus consuming itself and wanted to smile, but moving his lips was simply too exhausting; he couldn't do it.

So he silently listened as the Hunger Spirit's life entered its countdown.

The sixth day.

The sound of the Hunger Spirit's gnawing grew denser; the Namus, having begun to consume itself, suddenly realized it was actually so delicious; why hadn't it thought to taste itself before?

So it fully unleashed its greed and appetite, gnawing even more recklessly; the buzzing sound inside the body had become chaotic, no longer harmonious. Every single worm was killing each other, devouring each other, completely indulging in its own instinctual desires.

But Ma Ma Zhaodi's ears heard only silence.

"Can't hear anything anymore," his remaining sliver of consciousness murmured: "System."

The familiar mechanical voice rang in his ear; for some reason, it sounded quite reassuring at this moment.

【I am here】

"What day is it?"

【The sixth day】

"Is Constantine still there?"

【Yes】

"If he asks, tell him I'm not dead yet."

【Received】

"By the way, I've always wanted to ask a question—if I really die, what will happen to you?"

【Considering your items and asset points, as well as the current mission, your actual mortality rate is three in a thousand】

"Just suppose, though? Suppose I die."

【Don't Die】

Day Seven.

Ma Ma Zhaodi's thoughts were nearly stagnant.

The gnawing sounds of the Namos had almost vanished entirely; millions of voices devouring one another, the vast majority no longer existing, leaving only a few voices emitting a harmless yet irritating, faint buzzing.

The System's voice rang out again.

【According to your previous settings, the System notifies you—today is the seventh day.】

After a long while, Ma Ma Zhaodi's brain finally processed what the System had said; he thought with extremely slow cognition for a long time and asked, "Do I die today?"

【67】 【According to calculations, yes.】

"According to the estimate, yes."

"... Water."

【Understood.】

A cool sensation suddenly moistened his throat, replenishing the dehydrated cells in his body; in that instant, Ma Ma Zhaodi's thoughts were re-stimulated, and he almost felt himself come back to life.

"Give me some... nutrition," he thought slowly. "I'm not a charlatan; I don't want to die on the seventh day. I want to die tomorrow."

【Understood.】

Sweetness began to spread in his mouth. He didn't know what the System had infused into him, but it certainly wasn't a Snickers bar—he no longer had a stomach.

When Ma Ma Zhaodi regained a bit of sensation, he immediately perceived the condition of the Namos within his body.

Heh, you have your day too.

His mood improved slightly, but then he heard the sound of Constantine lighting a cigarette.

Clearly, the guy thought he was dead, so the first thing he did was take out a cigarette and light one—after all, the smoke wouldn't choke him anymore.

"I knew it," Ma Ma Zhaodi said, somewhat speechless. "This guy will never kick his smoking habit in his lifetime."

Just then, a wisp of smoke drifted into his nasal cavity; the guy had walked over to him.

Constantine reached out his hand but felt no pulse. He silently placed a cigarette into the corpse's mouth.

"You can rest for a while now, Old Ma."

"Hey, holy crap! Don't!"

Before Ma Ma Zhaodi could answer, he felt a thick cloud of smoke rush into his body, eroding the last bit of fragile vitality.

At the same time, the Namos lost all its nourishment and perished completely.

Ma Ma Zhaodi immediately saw stars; a tiny golden figure suddenly appeared in his vision and then vanished rapidly.

【The Totem of Immortality has taken effect.】

【Achievement Unlocked—Transcending Life and Death.】

(End of Chapter)