Chapter 294: Distribution

The shadowy tentacles, shaped like a scarf, wrapped several loops around everyone's necks—tangible yet insubstantial, offering no physical sensation or temperature.

Li Cheng furrowed his brows, sharply leaning back, rolling on the floor, freezing in a handstand, spinning midair—he suddenly broke into a street dance right where he stood.

Fu Ding Huahua stared in stunned silence, blurting out unconsciously, "Bro, you got shocked?"

"He didn't get shocked,"

Zhao Zijing, familiar with Li Cheng's habits, explained: "He's just testing the limits of the shadow tentacles."

The divine corruption tentacles, like shadows, were ethereal and untouchable, easily stretched, shortened, twisted, and bent. No matter how players dodged, retreated, or even teleported, they could not break free.

Hearing their conversation, Li Cheng, still mid-pose, suddenly turned his head, pulled out a crackling electric baton from his pocket, and said calmly: "Actually, I did get shocked—the electric baton I had for self-defense was leaking."

???

Wait, bro, as a Lv16, you don't even need an electric shocker for self-defense?! Did you literally carry a baton in your pocket just so people could mock you? To deliberately shock yourself just to satisfy some twisted sense of humor? Aren't you afraid of getting hurt?

What, Electric Shock Guy, Joyful Mute Guy, Wild Fury Guy?

Fu Ding Huahua's eyes bulged; he was trapped in a tormenting state—desperate to shout out his complaints, yet bound by the deadly situation to remain serious.

The other players in the conference room were in chaos—some swung their blades at the tentacles, hitting nothing but air.

Others activated teleportation skills, vanishing a kilometer away, then returned with faces as grim as if mourning a death—clearly, teleportation didn't work.

Some pulled out emergency escape cards and swung them forward forcefully. Result: no reaction.

"How could this happen?!"

The player named 【Kamou】 twisted his features in distress—emergency escape cards were special items directly tied to the Killing Ground, with priority far exceeding ordinary gear; only epic-level spatial lockdown items might interfere at all.

Teleportation still worked, proving space wasn't locked—then why didn't the emergency escape card function?

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dorian Gray fired five shots at his own temple with the 【Resurrection Repair Gun】, delaying his death by one minute.

But the moment the minute ended, his head fully regenerated—yet the shadow tentacles around his neck continued tightening, now wrapped over four loops.

"The more you understand the Divine Corruption, the deeper its influence sinks."

Dorian Gray's face turned ghastly: "No—Divine Corruption is a product of the Killing Ground. Why is it appearing out of nowhere in this other world?"

Dorian Gray's question was destined to go unanswered,

"Seeing" itself was a way to gather information—and as time passed, all players noticed the shadow on the ceiling growing clearer, the sludge slowly revealing its true form.

It bore tens of thousands of eyeballs—irises blue, gray, or green; pupils flat, square, or vertical—blinking ceaselessly, taking turns observing everyone present.

"There's no other way."

Bai Jixiong took a deep breath, turned to Li Cheng, and said: "Master Pi Fu, I'm about to do something extreme. Please guard me."

"Understood."

Li Cheng stepped back two paces, clearing space for Bai Jixiong,

who sat cross-legged on the floor, arms crossed over his chest, curling into a tight ball—once again activating his Druid shapeshifting ability, transforming into a lump of limestone.

A stone has no capacity for thought, so it cannot unconsciously imagine the Divine Corruption's form—logically, it should escape its influence.

But.

Crackling. Crackling.

Frost began forming on the surface of Bai Jixiong's limestone form, gradually flaking and peeling away.

Bai Jixiong quickly reverted to human form, his neck reddened and raw, skin peeled off two or three layers.

"So that's it—even if a player shuts down their mind, stops thinking, their physical body still exists. The body still interacts with the real world."

Li Cheng suddenly understood: "As long as there's interaction, information is generated. As long as information is generated, the Divine Corruption's influence deepens.

Once this 'hunting' begins, it cannot stop."

The question was: how to counter it?

Li Cheng idly switched off his electric baton, his mind racing.

Emergency escape cards, teleportation, shutting down the mind—all useless. Even his most mysterious weapon, the Two Yin-Yang Blade, was inapplicable here.

Unless—

Li Cheng suddenly realized something, looked up, and asked everyone: "The Divine Corruption kills by directly disrupting the player's bioelectricity, causing instant death.

Does anyone have a skill or item that reduces damage taken? The higher the mystery level, the better."

"I do."

After a moment's hesitation, the player named 【Kamou】 raised his hand and pulled out a skill scroll.

【Skill Scroll Name: Soul Chain】

【Attribute: Consumable (only 2 uses left)】

【Type: Spirit Energy】

【Usage: Active】

【Quality: Perfect】

【Effect: Damage Distribution. Transfers 80% of the initiator's damage to other linked units. Maximum 20 units, all must willingly consent. Soul Chain lasts up to 5 minutes. Linked units may sever connection at any time.】

【Cost: 200 Spirit Points】

【Cooldown: 5 hours】

【Requirement: Player level ≥ Lv15】

【Note: Damage distribution exhibits diminishing returns. With 3 units linked, each bears 33% damage. With 20 units linked, each still bears 10% damage.】

【Note: Guan Gong above, today Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei raise wine in brotherhood, swear before heaven: to share fortune, to bear hardship together.】

Ignore the absurd note—this skill scroll was truly divine, capable of drastically distributing and reducing damage.

An 80% instant-kill effect, spread across several people, combined with healing potions—could they survive?

"Perfect."

Li Cheng's eyes lit up. He turned to Dorien Gray and said, "Judging by the design, your pistol is a Nagant 1895 revolver chambered in 7.62mm R, with seven rounds. You just fired them all."

Dorien Gray asked warily, "That's right. What are you trying to do?"

"Put a bullet in Sonic Boy's head."

Li Cheng said, "I need it right between the brows, piercing the skull."

Dorien Gray's face was torn with indecision. He had originally planned to save the last bullet for himself—at the very least, it would let him die a second or two later than the others.

But from Master Pi Fu's tone, was there still some room to turn things around?

Dorien Gray gritted his teeth and asked, "You have a way?"

"Worth a try."

Li Cheng spread his hands and said calmly, "The fact that news of the Divine Abomination got out proves that the Special Incidents Division under the Federal Bureau of Investigation has, at the very least, repelled a Divine Abomination once. Or successfully escaped from one.

Among everyone here, only Sonic Boy knows the actual inside story. I need to read the information in his brain. During that time, everyone must use the Soul Chain to share the burden of the Divine Abomination's instant-death effect on me."