Chapter 367: The Golden Cicada Shedding Its Shell

Jing Shui Liushen: Wu Ya, we Dragon Soul haven't offended you, right? Declaring war just like that, even if you're the strongest, you can't just slaughter innocents, can you? If this continues, who will still dare trade with your Black Feather people?

"Exactly, you declared war out of the blue. If you have the ability, bring out the evidence of Dragon Soul attacking you!"

You want evidence, huh?

Cheng Shuili directly flung the evidence in their faces!

What was posted in the group chat was reposted in the regional channel.

"I just love the way Wuya Dalao presents the evidence."

"You want hard proof, right? Here it is! Satisfy you!"

"Did you look at the hard proof? Can you finish reading before commenting?"

"Finished reading, turns out Ling Yun and his group were also being pushed by Dragon Soul, no wonder Black Feather declared war."

"They even assassinated Wuya Dalao, impressive! That's also the first time in our region!"

"What? Assassinate Wuya Dalao? Did it succeed?"

"Someone upstairs, want to see who posted the news?"

After some people saw the evidence, voices that were originally neutral or even slightly pro‑Dragon Soul quickly switched sides in front of the ironclad proof.

"Damn, was that really Li Changyue's doing? Assassinating Wu Ya? He's gone mad, right?"

"No wonder Black Feather declared war outright; who could tolerate that? That's Lao Da! Not to mention Black Feather, even our small faction—if someone assassinates our Lao Da, we absolutely cannot swallow it silently!"

"Dragon Soul is digging its own grave, acting as if nothing happened. Their nerve is just too thick, huh?"

"Before, Jing Shui Liushen pretended to be innocent. Does your face hurt? That slap was so loud I heard it in my own car."

"It's over, feels like Dragon Soul is about to disappear…"

Li Changyue watched the rapidly updating discussion in the regional channel; the veins at the corner of his forehead throbbed uncontrollably again, and a sharp stabbing pain pulsed at his temples.

He stared intently at the evidence Cheng Shuili flung out; after reviewing it himself, he also realized there seemed to be no possible denial.

The video contained not only those people's testimonies but also the transaction records they produced!

Everything he had done was shaken out.

He colluded with Ling Yun, sent people to assassinate Wu Ya, and instructed them to bring the assassin's ID to claim the reward from Wu Ya…

Li Changyue's mind buzzed; what should he do now?

Black Feather also declared war on them.

Dragon Soul, though it gathered a bit after the regional leaderboard announcement, is still a scattered sand when facing an enemy like Black Feather!

Want them to clash head‑on with Black Feather?

Li Changyue opened the faction channel.

A quick glance, and he knew it was over.

The faction channel was filled with resignation letters, all hoping he would consent.

Dragon Soul…

It's over.

The deputy stood beside him, his face equally grim: "President, we…"

Li Changyue suddenly raised his hand and slapped him hard, his eyes nearly blazing with fire!

"This is the person you found, right? Didn't I tell you to find someone reliable? Someone with a clean background? You really did a good job—keeping the spoils in the family, asking your cousin to do it?"

The crisp sound of the slap echoed in the room.

The deputy staggered from the sudden slap, covering his face, staring in disbelief at the maniacal Li Changyue; a flash of humiliation and resentment crossed his eyes, but fear dominated.

"President… I… I also don't know what he'll…" the deputy tried to argue, his voice trembling.

"Don't know?! Can a single 'don't know' wipe the matter clean?!"

Li Changyue grabbed his collar, eyes blood‑red, spittle nearly splashing onto the other's face!

"Now it's done! Everything's over! Dragon Soul is finished! Are you satisfied?! Huh?!"

He slammed the deputy to the ground, his chest heaving violently with rage.

Li Changyue's arm rose high and never came down.

The continuously refreshed resignation requests in the faction channel struck like heavy hammers, blackening his vision.

He knew the hearts had already scattered; this faction could no longer be led.

Before Black Feather's absolute power and the ironclad proof, any luck or struggle seemed laughable.

And the mastermind who ruined everything…

"How did I not realize earlier that you were this kind of person?"

Li Changyue looked at the deputy he had pinned to the floor, his face full of terror and resentment, and suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of exhaustion and absurdity.

How could I not have discovered earlier…

This one who had been with me for so long, the left‑hand I trusted most, is fundamentally so incompetent, even daring to outwardly obey while secretly defying for a bit of personal gain, ultimately burying the whole Dragon Soul?

That arm that was raised high finally drooped powerless.

What good is beating him again?

What would killing him achieve?

Dragon Soul's members have already scattered; its destruction is imminent.

Is all this truly all this fool's fault?

No.

Li Changyue slowly straightened, staggered back two steps, his gaze hollow as he stared out the window.

More than that, it was his own ambition and greed, his misjudgment of the situation, underestimating Wu Ya's ruthlessness and decisiveness.

It was he who, with his own hands, pushed Dragon Soul into the abyss.

"Get out."

Li Changyou's voice no longer held the earlier rage, only a thick, unshakable fatigue and dead silence. "While I haven't changed my mind yet… the farther you run, the better."

The subordinate, as if granted a pardon, fled the room crawling and rolling, not daring to look back.

Li Changyou opened the door and cast one last glance at the territory he had rented with all his possessions.

In the resignation letters from the faction channel, almost every one contained the same sentence: "I no longer need the submitted supplies; consider them the fee for leaving Dragon Soul. Please approve this resignation."

The territory had no construction; the supplies they handed over served as material to power the silver‑bearing project.

But unfortunately…

Wu Ya didn't die.

The supplies are gone as well.

Li Changyou's complexion turned ashen; he still possessed something. Had he not obtained this life‑saving item, he wouldn't have been bold enough to act against Black Feather.

He could certainly survive, but only by fleeing like a mouse.

He lives now because of this item, and his downfall to this state is also because of it.

Truly, his rise and fall are both due to the same cause.

Indeed, there is nothing new under the heavens.

Li Changyou gave one final look at the room where he once hesitated with ambition and gave orders.

It was called a room, but in fact it was the faction's warehouse, the only faction building of Dragon Soul.

He inhaled lightly, and in a daze sensed a lingering trace of the former false prosperity in the air.

Proudly he had contacted Lingyun and held 1599 in his grasp, yet now only cold despair remained.

Li Changyou no longer hesitated; he left the territory, returned to his vehicle, and then produced the special item he had placed great hopes on.

It was a palm‑sized, irregularly shaped metal compass.

This was the only special item Li Changyou had obtained.

Fate‑Masking Compass.

Its effect is simple yet domineering: once activated, it can forcibly mask the user's own fatal destiny within an extremely short time.

The so‑called "masking of fatal destiny" means feigning death. After it takes effect, it grants the player a chance to change their ID, erasing the previous one, while providing the killer with all traces of the player's death!

It can deceive everyone, but unfortunately it can be used only once.

…

Cheng Shuili took out a rocket launcher and assigned Ailin to lead a few people to bombard Dragon Soul's base.

She herself planned to carry out a decapitation operation.

Not many followed her—just Su Rui alone—two people repeatedly used the Designated Player Duel Card inside the vehicle.

Su Rui was actually a bit confused, and Cheng Shuili, who liked to observe, noticed her emotion and began to explain.

"Li Changyou is a real old fox. Only an old fox would wait to die in a territory instead of confronting the forces we once declared war on," Cheng Shuili smiled, her expression resolute. "He will definitely come out, and he must have a life‑saving item in hand. Otherwise someone like him would never dare act against Black Feather."

Cheng Shuili's judgment was frighteningly precise.

As she and Su Rui repeatedly used the Designated Player Duel Card, casting it like a net to search for Li Changyou's trace, the card finally succeeded!

The scene switched instantly; the highway officially merged!

Today this matter can finally be put a full stop.

As the dizziness from the scene change faded, Cheng Shuili and Su Rui's vehicle appeared on an unfamiliar road, staring across at a parked vehicle not far ahead.

It was Li Changyou!

He wasn't even staying in the vehicle; instead he stood on the road, his body tense yet bearing no weapon.

Cheng Shuili's gaze hardened; it was too abnormal.

According to her understanding of old foxes, such people are extremely life‑loving.

And a cunning rabbit has three burrows; even if they fail, they won't readily submit.

Su Rui tried to open the door and get out, but Cheng Shuili grabbed her. "Be careful of traps; are you accurate with your gun?"

Su Rui halted, honestly saying, "A bit more accurate than you, Lao Da."

Cheng Shuili: "……"

Fine, a little more accurate is still accurate.

"Do you remember how 1599 came to kill me?" Cheng Shuili pulled out a rifle, loading each bullet before Su Rui's eyes, "You have a clip of ammo; make him a wasp nest!"

Su Rui instantly lit up, eyes sparkling as she took the rifle, then stood behind cover, carefully opening a small slit in the car window and sticking the barrel out.

Li Changyou watched the barrel protruding from the window slit; his face showed not fear but a strangely liberating calm, even a twisted smile tugging at his mouth.

He made no attempt to flee, nor any move to draw a weapon; he simply stood there quietly, as if awaiting a preordained ending.

"Wu Ya!" he suddenly roared with all his might, his voice shrill across the empty road. "I did it! That's right! I'm sick of you! How can you be so strong? Why does everyone fear you? I won't accept it!"

He spread his arms, wild as madness: "Come on! Kill me! If I can force you to act yourself, it's worth it!"

Is that so?

Cheng Shuili raised a light eyebrow, ignoring his words, and gently told Su Rui, "Miss Su, you must aim accurately."

Almost the instant Cheng Shuili finished speaking, Su Rui pulled the trigger!

"Tatakata—!"

The rifle spat a fierce tongue of fire, bullets pouring out like a sudden storm, precisely enveloping Li Changyou's position.

Cheng Shuili saw with her own eyes dozens of bullets pierce Li Changyou's body.

He slowly fell backward, seemingly silent at last.

Cheng Shuili found it even stranger—someone like Li Changyou, just stretching his neck to be slaughtered?

She didn't believe it.

Cheng Shuili opened the car door and walked over with Su Rui; the corpse had already disappeared, leaving only some supplies on the road.

It was no different from killing a player before, but Cheng Shuili just felt weird.

She checked the supplies all around, yet found nothing unusual; it seemed this person really was dead.

Even the announcement of the faction's dissolution began scrolling in the region channel.

All these phenomena seemed to indicate that there was nothing abnormal about this matter.

But Li Changyou's behavior before his death was like a thorn, stuck in Cheng Shuili's heart.

She lowered her eyes in thought for a moment, then lifted her hand and turned the Abyssal Ring on her finger, saying, "Ring Spirit, stop pretending to sleep—check if there's anything abnormal here."

The Abyssal Ring warmed slightly, and a barely perceptible aura spread out like ripples, sweeping over this area.

The Ring Spirit's voice, lazy yet tinged with surprise, echoed in her mind: "Huh? Interesting… traces of a forcibly twisted fate, still fresh. Master, the person you just killed definitely isn't dead."

Indeed!

Cheng Shuili's eyes turned cold, yet a heavy stone fell in her heart.

Knowing the enemy is still alive is certainly better than not knowing.

"Be more specific."

"It's a very clever substitute-death method; they probably used some item, but I didn't sense my colleague's aura, so what they had in hand must be a single-use item." The Ring Spirit's voice carried a hint of amusement, "It's what you humans commonly call the golden cicada shedding its shell. Now he should have taken on a completely new ID, like a drop of water merging into the sea."

"Can we still find him?"

"Hard." The Ring Spirit answered bluntly, "Unless he shows up before you voluntarily, otherwise… it's like looking for a needle in the sea."

"Looking for a needle in the sea?"

"Not necessarily."

Cheng Shuili fell silent for a moment, gazing at the pile of supplies left behind by Li Changyou on the ground, her eyes icy.

This person's ambition and greed are too great; since the region merger could give him a boost, Cheng Shuili isn't afraid he won't show up later.

Moreover… is there really no way to find him before the region merger?

Cheng Shuili opened the region channel and glanced; now everyone is discussing the Dragon Soul matter, and some Dragon Soul members are seeking a new faction.

She casually skimmed a few posts, then suddenly thought of a particularly important question: "Ring Spirit, has his appearance changed as well?"

"As expected of my master, you've pinpointed the crux of the issue so quickly."

The Ring Spirit's voice was unhurried, yet Cheng Shuili detected a hint of irritation: "Next time, speak fully; this is my order to you."

"Yes, Master." The Ring Spirit chuckled twice and added, "His appearance hasn't changed; if you, Master, follow this lead, you'll probably find him soon."