Chapter 313

Yes, it's hypoxia.

Using the shell coins "given" by the Goddess of Wealth during her counterattack, Li Ang had bought up nearly all the oxygen in the valley; the air in the Emerald Valley now had an extremely low oxygen content.

Blurred vision, accelerated heartbeat, increased blood flow, pale skin… all the abnormalities on the Goddess of Wealth's body were physical reactions to severe hypoxia, and even if she had temporarily purchased "health" for herself, it likely wouldn't lift the hypoxic state.

As for the reason… there wasn't just one Goddess of Wealth in the Emerald Valley!

Although many had been killed by me and the Black Goat, the number of headless divine corpses remaining in the valley still exceeded twenty-nine thousand; thus, this human body carrying the main consciousness of the Goddess of Wealth was at most two or three percent of the whole—no more than the weight of one hand.

Since the Goddess of Wealth could directly reclaim the power from destroyed divine corpses, her connection to these separated bodies must be extremely close, not fully severed; even the faint rises and falls on the chests of those corpses showed synchronized breathing and heartbeat, making them indistinguishable from a single whole.

Now, over ninety-seven percent of her body is in extreme hypoxia—what good is one hand remaining healthy?

…

As Li Ang had anticipated, the Goddess of Wealth, realizing her body was growing increasingly unwell, pulled out handfuls of shell coins and, using her power, frantically purchased health, life, and vitality.

But every time her current body's condition refreshed, the remaining ninety-seven to ninety-eight percent of her body immediately siphoned off that two percent of health, then consumed it at over twenty thousand times the rate, bringing even more intense agony.

"Damn! Damn! Damn it!"

After trying several times, even switching methods, and realizing no matter how hard she struggled, she could not escape this clinging, bone-deep pain and was still steadily heading toward death, the Goddess of Wealth's carefully maintained soul-fire finally began to flicker wildly.

"No! This can't be!"

Looking at the human before her, expressionless and gazing down, calmly waiting for her death, the Goddess of Wealth, her heart seized by terror, threw her head back and roared:

"I don't believe it! You're weak even among humans! How could you possibly wield a method capable of slaying a true god!"

"Hm?"

Hearing the Goddess of Wealth's words, Li Ang's eyebrows lifted slightly, and he replied with deliberate tone:

"Who told you I'm human from this world?"???

How aren't you human? Your soul and body are clearly genuine…

Wait! Not human from this "world"?

Of course! No wonder a weak Level Three Cleaner could kill that toad, shatter his soul, forcibly bypass my power, and even possess a method capable of killing me—so that's it! That's it!

Seeing Li Ang's soul remain perfectly steady, showing no trace of deception, the Goddess of Wealth, now fully convinced of her guess, suddenly widened her eyes and exclaimed in utter disbelief:

"Are you… are you one of those from the Old Land? But weren't those from the Old Land already… hmm… wait! We don't have to be enemies!"

Seeing Li Ang's eyes narrow sharply, the Goddess of Wealth immediately cut off her "exposure" and hurriedly proposed:

"Though I'm a true god anchored in a human form, I've long been hunted and targeted by the Cleaning Bureau! So we can cooperate!"

"If you stop your actions and let me go, I swear by my power that I will never reveal your origins! And whatever you're trying to do by infiltrating the Cleaning Bureau, I can help you!"???

So what exactly have you misunderstood?

Watching the Goddess of Wealth, who now clung to him like a drowning person grasping at a straw, trying to "cooperate," Li Ang—who had only intended to scare her with his outsider identity—suddenly felt a spark of interest. He immediately opened his badge panel and swapped 【Pity Not】 for 【Master of Performance】.

"Heh. Help me?"

Under the effect of 【Master of Performance】, Li Ang, adopting the persona of a "conspirator," took two deliberate steps forward, standing before the Goddess of Wealth, and looked down at her—shorter than him by half a head—with cold, indifferent eyes:

"No need. The best help you can give me is to die quietly here."?!

He's dropping the act! He only wants to silence me!!

Watching Li Ang's sudden transformation—shedding his facade of camaraderie and bravery, his aura now cold and sinister, his gaze utterly indifferent—the weakened Goddess of Wealth's knees buckled, nearly collapsing to the ground.

According to the effect of 【Master of Performance】, the more unfamiliar a person is with Li Ang's appearance, voice, and temperament, the more easily they're influenced; if they're sufficiently unfamiliar and detect no obvious flaws, they may even come to deeply believe Li Ang is truly the role he's playing.

The Goddess of Wealth, meeting Li Ang for the first time today, received the full effect of 【Master of Performance】, and the way he looked at her—as if she were already dead—sent icy shivers through her entire body.

"You… you can't kill me!"

Filled with mounting terror, the Goddess of Wealth mustered her last courage to resist:

"I'm a true god! My soul is too vast—no matter what method you use to dispose of me, fragments will inevitably fall into the Underworld! If the Cleaning Bureau finds my soul fragments, your identity will be…"

"No."

Interrupting her, Li Ang—the Old Land visitor who had infiltrated the Cleaning Bureau with hidden intent, only to be unexpectedly exposed by the unfortunate Goddess of Wealth, forcing him to risk eliminating her—said coldly:

"Souls entering the Underworld always walk the Path of No Return. My companions are already waiting there."

"And before I spoke, those two cleaners had already lost consciousness—they heard none of our conversation. So if you die quietly, no third person will ever know what happened here."

"…"

Someone's already waiting at the Underworld's entrance? Even my soul fragments must be destroyed? Do you really have to be this ruthless?

Seeing Li Ang's soul remain perfectly calm, showing no sign of deception, the Goddess of Wealth finally broke. She swayed weakly, then collapsed with a thud, her eyes filled with the gray hue of utter despair.

Just as she prepared to make one final desperate lunge before being killed, she noticed Li Ang's gaze had unconsciously flickered toward the fallen female cleaner nearby.

Wrong! I still have one card to play!

"Let me go! Or I'll kill those two cleaners right now!"

Seizing the opening Li Ang had unintentionally revealed, the Goddess of Wealth suddenly widened her eyes and shouted sharply:

"If those two Level One Cleaners die, but you—a Level Three Cleaner—remain alive, and I, a true god, never reappear, the Cleaning Bureau will inevitably suspect you! They'll suspect you've been controlled by me!"

"And your record won't withstand scrutiny. Even if Old Land humans and this world's humans are indistinguishable, once the Cleaning Bureau begins to suspect you, your infiltration is already ruined!"