Chapter 141: Suicide? Sacrifice?

After several futile attempts, Song Bingyuan glanced wistfully at Chen Shicheng on the stands and shook his head helplessly.

Chen Shicheng quickly spread his hands, indicating he couldn't help either; using the Eye of Bai Ze to help him find promising recruits was already his utmost effort, and anything beyond that had nothing to do with him.

"Come down and help; a concrete example is always better than empty talk."

Seeing the message from the bureau chief, Chen Shicheng quickly turned his head aside, pretended to be busy, and even placed his hands on his forehead to block his view.

The applicants each had a segment to display their relics; watching the spectacle was far more enjoyable than actually working, and the relics were so novel that they broadened his horizons.

【Treasure Basin: Periodically, it can automatically collect nearby ownerless items into the basin.】

【Millennium Ice Jade: It absorbs the cold of heaven and earth, stores it within, and can release it all at once to freeze enemies within a certain radius in place.】

【Golden Armor Talisman: When danger arises, it can actively release a protective spell to block a fatal blow.】

【Lightning Strike Peach Wood Sword: It can enhance lightning spell damage, stores a heavenly thunder technique inside, and can be unleashed at any time to harm enemies.】

The assorted relics left Chen Shicheng dazzled, greatly satisfying his curiosity.

At the same time he noticed that the relics held by these new players paled in comparison to his Stealing Heaven Pendant—they were worlds apart, hardly comparable; he wondered if it was just because there were too many players, and they were using junk to fill the numbers.

The most common among them were weapons similar to peach wood swords, which stored a cost‑free attack spell, giving players some self‑defense capability early on.

Chen Shicheng didn't pay much attention to the other relics in people's hands; while watching the spectacle, he also didn't forget to help Song Bingyuan search for so‑called talent.

Soon his gaze settled on a player standing at the center of the sports field.

He was a young man wearing an ordinary T‑shirt, with an extremely ordinary appearance, utterly unnoticeable in a crowd.

He caught attention because, although the young man stood still, his eyes were somewhat restless, his hands clenched tightly around his pant legs, making him seem abnormal.

【Lv. 10 Ninja Invincible (Miura Nariki), Essence: 21, Qi: 11, Spirit: 8.5, Skill: Sacrifice】

"An Islander?"

A nervous Islander came to the domestic players' recruitment fair; Chen Shicheng would not think he was admiring our great Chinese culture and seeking to defect as a Japanese collaborator, and the skill on him also raised some concern.

【Sacrifice: Burn everything one possesses, transforming into a spatial beacon that guides certain people.】

Chen Shicheng dared to swear that if this person were harmless, he would embark on a sweet romance with Song Bingyuan!

"The nervous, unremarkable man in the middle of the field is suspicious; we should take him down right away." He immediately messaged Song Bingyuan.

"Huh? Does that person have a problem?"

After receiving the message, Song Bingyuan was somewhat surprised; this was a government‑organized recruitment fair, everyone present was a player, not to mention the members of the Cultural Tourism Bureau Logistics Department patrolling around—how could anyone dare cause trouble here? "An Islander, and he also has a strange skill on him." With time pressing, Chen Shicheng sent over the key information.

"Understood!"

Song Bingyuan's face changed; he immediately called for personnel to surround the center of the venue. In a gathering where foreigners could not possibly be recruited, the sudden appearance of an Islander obviously meant trouble; whether Chen Shicheng had misjudged him or not, he chose to believe him, figuring he could apologize later if needed.

As the unit advanced, the Islander should have moved forward as well.

But it was obvious he had no intention of leaving the exact center of the stadium; the people behind, not noticing in time, crashed straight into his back.

"Hey, move forward—don't you see that huge empty space ahead?" The person behind him, somewhat dissatisfied, shoved the Islander.

The Islander said nothing, merely gave the person behind him a nervous glance, then shifted slightly to the side to indicate he should go first.

"What a freak!" The person behind glanced at the Islander, shook his head, and walked past him into the empty spot in the line.

The Islander paid no heed; he merely raised his hand to check the time, wiped the sweat from his forehead, took a deep breath, and was about to shout something when an arm suddenly wrapped around his neck.

"You'd better not move—I don't know what you're trying to do, but you'd better look around; you're already surrounded by us, so come along quietly." Song Bingyuan, who had somehow appeared beside the Islander, said this while gripping his neck tightly.

The Islander's body tensed, and he instinctively looked around.

Indeed, a few people's positions in the crowd were subtle, loosely encircling him in the middle, all watching him warily.

Perhaps realizing he had no escape, or perhaps he never intended to flee, he glanced at Song Bingyuan behind him, gave a grin, and countless cracks spread across his body; crimson light burst forth, and his body began to melt away.

Song Bingyuan's face changed instantly; his arm recoiled from the Islander as if shocked, and he shouted, "Danger, everyone fall back!"

The surrounding people were all players; though not strong, their reactions were lightning‑fast. The moment Song Bingyuan shouted, they each unleashed their abilities, swiftly retreating to a safe distance, watching warily as the Islander melted into a pool of blood.

People farther away also cried out in surprise, unaware of what had happened; recruiters from every organization stared blankly, peering over to see what was going on.

"Attack—don't let his skill finish!"

Although Song Bingyuan didn't know what the skill did, he didn't believe an Islander had come here to wage war just to commit suicide, so he quickly ordered the Cultural Tourism Bureau Logistics Department to intervene and interrupt the skill's activation.

Following his order, the members of the Cultural Tourism Bureau Logistics Department and some clever players immediately went all out.

Thunderbolts, flames, frost, and arrows—countless attacks flew at the Islander without regard to order.

By then the Islander had completely dissolved into a mass of blood water ominously glowing red, floating in place, with no means to stop those attacks.

Yet what was shocking was that, as the attacks neared the blood water, they silently vanished into it—not only failing to interrupt the skill, they actually caused the constantly writhing blood water to instantly swell.

In everyone's sight, the blood water swelled to its limit, then abruptly halted and transformed into a three‑dimensional eerie symbol.

At the symbol's center, space began to twist incessantly; soon the sky was overcast with dark clouds that blocked all sunlight, shrouding the stadium in shadow.

(End of chapter)