Chapter 174: Because this is the rule!

Lin Yifan felt his head swelling as if it would explode; countless unfamiliar memories, like a movie being played, were forcibly squeezed into his mind.

Under the massive impact of memories, he could not even tell for a moment who he really was!

If someone saw his eyes right now, they would find his eyes completely bloodshot, as if they might burst at any moment.

But when he heard those words from "Ruan Qingtan," he couldn't help but lift his head, looking at her with a face full of shock.

"Don't be so surprised!" "Ruan Qingtan" gave a light laugh, lazily leaning on the throne, and said offhandedly:

"I've seen that expression of yours too many times; I'm really getting sick of it."

"Who exactly are you?" Lin Yifan said, his voice hoarse, word by word.

"What exactly do you mean by all this?"

Ruan Qingtan looked at him quietly, the corners of her mouth slightly raised, yet without any warmth.

"I am Ruan Qingtan, but also not Ruan Qingtan." Her voice was soft, yet carried a kind of transcendental aura beyond humanity; "You can consider me the 'core' of this world, the 'lock' that maintains its existence."

"As for what my words mean…… I have no particular meaning; I am simply stating the facts calmly!"

"Whether you believe me or not doesn't matter; anyway, the new cycle is about to start, and by then you won't remember me either."

Lin Yifan was now completely confused; he had originally thought he had at least some understanding of this crazy world.

At least he had found a direction for his survival, but now he simply didn't know what kind of world this was.

One "Ruan Qingtan" after another, he simply couldn't tell which was real and which was fake.

But there was one thing he could be certain of: the one before him was definitely not real.

At this moment, the incessantly incoming memories finally stopped; although his head still ached terribly, for Lin Yifan it was at least a chance to catch his breath.

He rubbed his temples and said in a low voice: "What evidence do you have to prove what you're saying is true?"

"No evidence." "Ruan Qingtan" shrugged shamelessly and said offhandedly:

"And whether you believe me or not is unimportant to me anyway."

"Perhaps I once liked you, but you killed me over and over; even though I know you were forced by the rules, that bit of affection of mine has also vanished in the repeated fear of death."

"The reason I still want to see you now is also because the rules compel me to come see you, but please be clear: I have no fondness for you at all!"

"What exactly is the rule that forces me to kill you?" Lin Yifan frowned, puzzled, and asked.

He could tell that "Ruan Qingtan" was not lying; she truly didn't care.

But this was also something Lin Yifan couldn't figure out: what kind of weird rule is this?

"Ruan Qingtan" then stood up, step by step descended from the throne's steps, walked all the way to Lin Yifan, reached out to lift his chin, and smiled with extreme charm:

"What rule? Of course it's this world's foul‑play rule: you like me, I love you, we are lovers, yet what this world hates most is lovers!"

"So this world created a cycle of reincarnation that makes us constantly love each other, then kill each other, over and over, never stopping!"

"Only when one day I no longer love you, and you no longer have friendship for me, will this cycle stop!"

"Ruan Qingtan" released Lin Yifan's chin, stretched lazily, and laughed down from above:

"As of now, this cycle has already gone through 127 rounds, but once I lose my memory and enter the cycle, my feelings for you will involuntarily recover."

"And you are the same; but in the end, we will both, for the sake of racial righteousness, ultimately end up killing each other."

"Look! What a foul‑taste game! Who knows when it will ever stop!"

"How about this: please, do me a favor and actively stop this game, okay?"

Lin Yifan narrowed his eyes, asking with unclear intent:

"Then what must I do to stop this cycle game?"

"Ruan Qingtan's" eyes lit up instantly; the pallor on her face even flushed with two hints of red, and she eagerly said:

"Change your faith, follow me in believing in the Title: God of the Red Moon, and transform your body into the same Cthulhu Clan as me; then we can be together forever, and this cycle game will naturally stop!"

"You never understood before; could it be that you finally get it this time? If you do, I'll immediately set up an altar for you to become a follower of the Title: God of the Red Moon!"

Lin Yifan neither said yes nor said no, but asked:

"Who is the Title: God of the Red Moon you speak of?"

"The God of the Blood Moon! It is one of the chief deities of our Cthulhu Mythos." "Ruan Qingtan" lifted her gaze to the Red Moon in the distance, her eyes full of reverence: "It is a great god of procreation; it can let ordinary us become immortal Cthulhu Clan."

"It is the Divine Being I revere most, and also the Divine Being that guides me onto the right path; I have countless times wanted you to believe in it with me, but you have always been obstinate, and now you have finally awakened—I am truly overjoyed!"

Lin Yifan lifted his gaze to that Blood Moon and finally understood why he had felt it was so sinister before.

It turned out that after all this fuss, that Blood Moon was the true source of corruption!

But regardless of whether that Blood Moon is a Divine Being or not, Lin Yifan still had no interest in transforming himself into a Cthulhu Clan.

He did not want his flesh and blood replaced by maggots, nor did he want to become a neither‑human‑nor‑ghost walking corpse.

"Not to mention becoming Maggot Human Bone doesn't guarantee immortality; even if it truly did, he still had no interest."

In life, living wonderfully is the point!

If one ends up neither human nor ghost, it would be better to die early and be reborn early.

Lin Yifan slowly stepped back, lifted his head with a determined gaze, looked at "Ruan Qingtan," and smiled:

"What if I don't kill you? Would the cycle not continue then?"

"Ruan Qingtan" raised her hand, her slender fingertips lightly touching his forehead, and said in surprise:

"How could you not kill me? Unless you join me in believing in the Title: God of the Red Moon, otherwise you must kill me, because this is the rule."

"So…… you must die every time?" Lin Yifan lowered his head; his voice was low and hoarse, sounding at first like reluctance.

But if the person before him were the real Ruan Qingtan, one could definitely hear the killing intent in his words.