Chapter 716: Oxygen Deprivation Makes You Stupid (Part 1)

Yes, it's oxygen deprivation.

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 Jade Valley now had an extremely low oxygen content.

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

As for the reason… there's more than one Goddess of Wealth in Jade Valley!

Although many of them had been killed by me and the Black Goat, the number of headless divine corpses remaining in Jade 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 slight rises and falls on the chests of those corpses showed synchronized breathing and heartbeat, making them hardly distinguishable from a single whole.

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

…

As Li Ang had anticipated, the Goddess of Wealth, sensing her body growing increasingly unwell, pulled out handfuls of shell coins and, using her divine 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 this precious resource at over twenty thousand times the rate, bringing even greater agony.

"Damn! Damn! Damn it!"

After trying several times, even switching methods, and realizing no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't escape this bone-deep torment and was still steadily heading toward death, the Goddess of Wealth's carefully maintained soul-fire finally flickered wildly.

"No! This can't be!"

Gazing at the human before her, expressionless and calmly watching her die, the Goddess of Wealth, her heart seized by terror, threw back her head and roared:

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

"Hmm?"

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 technique capable of killing me—so that's it! That's it!

Seeing Li Ang's soul still calm and unshaken, with 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 people 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 revelation and hurriedly proposed:

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

"If you stop and let me go, I swear by my own power I won't expose 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 to a straw, desperately 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, embodying the persona of a "conspirator," took two deliberate steps forward until he stood before the Goddess of Wealth, then looked down at her—shorter than him by half a head—with cold, indifferent eyes:

"No need. The best help you can offer me is to die quietly right here."

?!

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

Watching Li Ang's sudden transformation—shedding his previous facade of camaraderie and bravery, now radiating a cold, sinister aura, his gaze utterly devoid of feeling—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 inconsistencies, they may even come to believe Li Ang truly is the role he's playing.

The Goddess of Wealth, meeting Li Ang for the first time today, was fully affected by 【Master of Performance】, chilled to the bone by his gaze—the look of someone staring at a corpse.

"You… you can't kill me!"

Fueled by desperate courage, the terrified Goddess of Wealth protested:

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

"No, they won't."

Interrupting her, Li Ang—the Old Land visitor who had infiltrated the Cleaning Bureau with hidden intent, only to be accidentally exposed by the unfortunate Goddess of Wealth, now forced to eliminate her—said coldly:

"Souls entering the Underworld inevitably 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 one else will ever know what happened here."

"…"

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

Seeing Li Ang's soul remain perfectly calm, with no trace of deceit, 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.

No! I still have one card left 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's eyes snapped wide open as she shouted sharply:

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

"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!"

(End of Chapter)