Chapter 490: Infinite Death

Before a large floor-to-ceiling window.

Wu Xian and the Sackskin stood facing each other.

The golden light streaming in from outside grew brighter, adding a glimmer of hope to this cold and eerie environment.

“I caught you—so what now?”

Wu Xian’s face was filled with anticipation.

He had died three times, endured great hardship, and finally caught the Sackskin—surely he deserved some reward to make his stay here easier.

“This is a ghost-hunting game. You won, so…”

The Sackskin’s expression darkened, unwilling to say what winning meant—but the more displeased he became, the more delighted Wu Xian grew.

But after dragging out a few syllables, the Sackskin suddenly grinned at Wu Xian with a grotesque smile.

“Now it’s my turn to catch you!”

Whoosh!

A gale blew open the window, and the golden light instantly dimmed.

Wu Xian’s face twisted in horror, his features contorted with rage and despair—he wanted to scream at the Sackskin, but swallowed the cry back in bitter helplessness.

Now was not the time to vent emotions—he should flee first!

But as Wu Xian reached the door, a skinless palm, covered in eyes, sprouted from his good eye and slammed onto his face.

Then, like a rash breaking out, eyes grew across his face, squeezing his skin until it bled everywhere.

…

Wu Xian sat up.

His expression was numb, his eyes filled with fear.

This was no longer the starting room—it was the fourth room where Wu Xian had caught the Sackskin.

He stared blankly at the clock.

12:10!

The time in Jinmu Tower was indeed not endlessly repeating.

But the four deaths Wu Xian had just endured had passed in barely ten minutes—and to escape Jinmu Tower, he had to survive an entire day! “Heh, heh…”

“I thought if I caught him, I could leave this place.”

“But I was too optimistic. Catching the Sackskin wasn’t the end of suffering—it was only the beginning of a new kind of torment. There is no hope here, only despair.”

“Ah… forget it. Give up.”

“No, I can’t give up. As long as I’m alive, there’s hope.”

Perhaps he was slipping into self-abandonment.

This time, Wu Xian’s muttering was loud enough to echo through the room.

The starting point had changed.

So past experience was useless—and the Sackskin’s clothes and skin lay on the floor. Next time he faced the Sackskin, he’d likely be that many-eyed thing.

“His appearance changed—I can’t keep calling him by the old name… Forget it, too much trouble. I’ll just keep calling him Sackskin.”

Under the shadow of endless death, Wu Xian had lost all taste for games.

Wu Xian gave himself a few loud pep talks, then forced himself to stay alert and cautiously stepped out the door. When he climbed to the sixteenth floor and stood beneath the golden light searching for the Sackskin, a massive figure blocked the doorway.

It was the Fleshmount Demon! Wu Xian’s face twisted between tears and laughter. He checked the time, then opened the window and leapt straight off the roof.

Thud! This was Wu Xian’s fifth death.

…

Seventh awakening.

Wu Xian’s face was ashen.

He had evaded the Fleshmount Demon, only to be cornered by the Crawler Demon—he discovered one of the Crawler’s abilities: it could teleport instantly between any cabinets.

Wu Xian glanced at his watch and prepared to jump out the window to end it—but all windows were locked and fitted with double-glazed glass.

…

Ninth awakening. Wu Xian’s state became wildly agitated.

His eyes were bloodshot, his energy extraordinary—he caught the Sackskin for the second time, and as the Sackskin moved to seize him, Wu Xian checked the time and then gouged out both his own eyes.

With no eyes, the Sackskin no longer existed—and thus could not catch him.

But without eyes, Wu Xian could see nothing, only tormented and toyed with by the demons. He did not last long before dying in agony.

Even as he died, Wu Xian’s fingers remained pressed against his pulse.

…

Nineteenth awakening.

Due to his familiarity with Jinmu Tower, Wu Xian endured far longer this time—and successfully caught the Sackskin.

But after catching him, Wu Xian let go—and did not gouge out his own eyes.

Wu Xian now looked utterly hollow, his face devoid of color, expression rigid like a statue, his nerves stretched to their absolute limit.

One more blow, and he would shatter completely.

The Sackskin crawled out from Wu Xian’s eyes, placed its hand solemnly atop his head. With a mere thought, it could activate its power, implant eyes into Wu Xian’s body, then make them explode one by one—Wu Xian’s life now lay entirely in its hands.

In Jinmu Tower, every death inflicted psychological damage.

Wu Xian surviving eighteen deaths was already an extraordinary feat of resilience.

But after this, it should finally be over.

“Wait!”

Just as the Sackskin was about to act, Wu Xian, kneeling on the floor, suddenly rose with swift motion and spoke with strong, clear voice.

All the eyes on the Sackskin blinked simultaneously.

Wu Xian rubbed his face.

“I know you’re eager to kill me, but don’t rush. You’ve killed me so many times already—I’ll be free in ten minutes. Just let me talk for a while, okay?”

The Sackskin stopped.

It wasn’t interested in listening to Wu Xian.

It simply didn’t understand why Wu Xian had suddenly regained energy—or why he was so certain he could escape.

Wu Xian made several exaggerated facial expressions before returning to a normal look—but the dark circles around his eyes proved he was far from relaxed.

Seeing Wu Xian keep fidgeting without speaking, the Sackskin raised its hand.

Wu Xian flinched and waved frantically.

“I know you have many questions. You might be too shy to ask directly—I’ll answer them all for you.”

“The first thing you want to know is probably why I’ve changed so suddenly.”

“Simple. Everything you’ve seen—my despair, my pain—had a touch of performance in it.”

Wu Xian clasped his hands together, then stretched them wide in a full-body stretch.

“Before my first death, I thought ahead. Jinmu Tower isn’t a blessed land—it’s more like an execution chamber. So I couldn’t apply the mindset of a blessed land here.”

“In an execution chamber, the executioner holds absolute control. Suffering is inevitable.”

“So my goal was to make the executioner strike more gently—so I could survive twenty-four hours and escape.”

Wu Xian pointed at the Sackskin with contempt.

“I know your kind too well—you have not an ounce of humanity.”

“Acting tough won’t earn your respect—it’ll only make you torture me worse. Begging and feigning pity will only excite you more.”

“So my strategy was to pretend to play a game with you, let you win every time, and make it seem like my spirit was slowly breaking down.”

“You win, you feel accomplishment—and with accomplishment, you don’t need to intensify the torture for pleasure.”

“My worsening state makes you think you’re about to succeed—that one more try will break me!”

“So.”

“You repeated this eighteen times—and finally, I held on until the time came to leave!”

(End of chapter)