Chapter 178

According to the original plan, the fifth player in Wu Chang's faction should have been his True Self.

He intended to use his True Self to communicate with Jian Xing and others as players, while gathering intelligence among the players.

In fact, that day when he sat at the bar recruiting faction members, he had indeed placed his True Self right after Big White Shark.

But just as he had gathered enough people and was about to wrap up, the Fisherman came to him.

He originally had no intention of dealing with the Fisherman and was about to stand up and leave, but the moment he saw the Fisherman, he sat right back down.

Because on the Fisherman's body clung a deep red aura of resentment—his own resentment.

The scenes within the resentment occurred the night everyone first entered the instance, before the Star Leaper boarded.

After the Fisherman officially entered the instance from the safe zone, he went straight to the church of the Xinyuzhou Sect near the harbor, revealed his Ningjing Sect tattoo, and met the Initiate Master.

With the power of the Xinyuzhou Sect, arranging boarding tickets for the two was easy.

According to plan, the Fisherman was supposed to act as Park Changmin's bodyguard, serving as the Ningjing Sect's overt combat force, but Wu Chang's portrayal of Li Zaishi disrupted their plan.

They never expected that during the final harvest of the true instance, this hidden character would actually be triggered.

The Initiate Master feared Li Zaishi's presence would interfere with their plan, so he ordered the Fisherman to move freely on the Star Leaper as a free agent.

If Li Zaishi was a variable capable of affecting the instance, then Li Zaishi would inevitably form a faction—then the Fisherman would join it as a Ningjing Sect mole.

Just as they finalized the plan, the Fisherman left the Ningjing Sect and was heading to the inn when he was intercepted by a mysterious figure clad in a white robe embroidered with golden horns.

The moment he saw the mysterious figure, the Fisherman adopted a combat stance, watching him warily.

Although the believers of the Xieshen Sect formed a circle called the Believers' Circle, it was merely a platform for exchanging interests, not a sign of harmony among the sects.

The Ningjing Sect was infamous for causing chaos, often rendering instances uncontrollable; they barely escaped using Leyman's power, but lower-tier Xieshen Sects might not escape at all.

Even within the Believers' Circle, the Ningjing Sect was universally known as a menace; unless absolutely necessary, other Xieshen Sects rarely wished to associate with them.

The Ningjing Sect was already peculiar enough, but within the Believers' Circle, there existed one entity even more dreaded than the Ningjing Sect.

That was the Revelation.

The Ningjing Sect was purely selfish, indifferent to others' fates; as long as they fulfilled Leyman's demands, they would spare nothing—though despised, their logic was clear and understandable to normal people.

But the Revelation? They were pure mad dogs.

These people shouted about evading the apocalypse, achieving salvation, and forging a new world for humanity, yet their actions were even more insane than the Ningjing Sect's.

From the Fisherman's reaction, it was clear that even the Ningjing Sect feared encountering the Revelation.

Seeing the Fisherman's defensive posture, the mysterious figure spoke calmly:

"Don't be so tense. I know this is your territory. I only have a few questions to ask you, then I'll leave."

The Fisherman said cautiously: "What do you want to ask?"

The mysterious figure spoke slowly: "I want to know why you've established a terrestrial god-kingdom on this plane."

The Fisherman swung his fishing rod; sharp fishing lines spread around him, forming a defensive posture.

"Do you think I'll tell you?"

The mysterious figure shook his head and smiled: "No."

As he spoke, the mysterious figure vanished, then reappeared behind the Fisherman, having passed through layers of fishing lines.

"So I'll find the answer myself."

The Fisherman was about to shout for help when the mysterious figure suddenly shoved his hand into the Fisherman's mouth; then the palm transformed into a rapidly growing mass of flesh, thick and sticky, pouring into the Fisherman's mouth and merging with his own tissue.

When the mysterious figure withdrew his hand, the Fisherman's eyes had gone vacant—his existence had been erased from within.

The last sound the Fisherman heard was: "Now I can find the answer myself."

The Fisherman's resentment ended here; the final image that surfaced was a blood-red last message.

【Destroy my flesh—do not let the Revelation interfere with the completion of the terrestrial god-kingdom!】

From the Fisherman's resentment, it was clear the real Fisherman had been killed by the Revelation's mysterious figure; the current one was merely a possessed shell.

The fake Fisherman, using the Fisherman's identity, infiltrated the Ningjing Sect as a mole.

Wu Chang's original assignment for the fake Fisherman was to use his Ningjing Sect identity to see what free intelligence he could extract.

But the fake Fisherman managed to lure Zheng Ruiyuan out of the Xinyuzhou Sect, and planned to use Zheng Ruiyuan to trap Wu Chang as well.

Had Wu Chang not seen the Fisherman's resentment, he might have truly fallen for this guy's trap.

Speaking of the Fisherman's resentment, it was divided into two parts: destroy my flesh, and prevent the Revelation from interfering with the completion of the terrestrial god-kingdom.

The first part was easy; completing the second part depended on the resentment's judgment criteria.

If he destroyed the terrestrial god-kingdom before the Revelation could, would that count as preventing the Revelation?

It should count.

Wu Chang stared at Zheng Ruiyuan's photo; his faction had just secured first place in the rankings, and already these people were growing restless.

If the Xinyuzhou Sect's hidden boss invited him over, would the Revelation remain completely silent?

He didn't believe those bastards would stay hidden until he and the Xinyuzhou Sect had settled their victory.

After all, Li Zaishi's public identity was still the Xinyuzhou Sect's biggest patron—if the two factions allied, the Revelation would be completely out of the game.

The opponent would show up soon.

Deep at night, the call from the deep sea sounded again; the call seemed to grow stronger as the Star Leaper remained longer in the Wreck Zone.

In the first few days, the call only caused students, women, and certain passengers in artistic fields to sleepwalk.

Tonight, even mentally strong, physically robust adult men were beginning to be affected.

Not to mention ordinary people—even Wu Chang's secretary and the Four Golden Spears reported hearing faint, whispering rustling in their ears.

For this reason, Wu Chang recalled Cui Chengze, who had been preparing an all-night esoteric ritual, and asked him whether he too had encountered similar calls when he was trapped in the Wreck Zone.

They had only entered the Wreck Zone for a few days, yet the call was already affecting Qinglong and the others—if, as Cui Chengze claimed, the Star Leaper was meant to remain in the Wreck Zone for thirty days according to normal procedure, Wu Chang seriously doubted whether anyone besides the players would still be alive by the time the ship left. Cui Chengze frowned, recalling for a moment, then said: "I can confirm that when the Louis was trapped in the Wreck Zone, no passengers sleepwalked, let alone jumped overboard while sleepwalking."

"During the time I was alone, trapped in the Wreck Zone after the sacrifice, I faintly heard a call—but it was weak, and even when I strained to listen, I couldn't make out what it was saying."

Wu Chang's expression grew solemn; though he didn't know what lurked in the deep sea, his intuition told him it was dangerous.

"What do you think it could be?"

Cui Chengze shook his head and said, "I don't know. Before this voyage, I always thought it was the Long Wang calling to me."

Wu Chang really wanted to say: if that thing were the Long Wang, you'd never make it back to shore.

When I meet Zheng Ruiyuan, maybe I can ask her—whether the Quiet Sect's choice to establish a terrestrial divine realm on this plane has anything to do with what's in the deep sea.

He set the deep-sea call aside and asked Cui Chengze:

"How's the ritual progressing? Do you need help?"

Cui Chengze opened his laptop; on the overhead view of the Star Leap that he had shown Wu Chang earlier, nearly one-third of the area was marked green.

"Progress is even smoother than I imagined. The ritual's framework is already complete. If the Xinyuzhou Sect members keep hiding on the fourth level and don't disturb me, I might finish setting up the ritual before nightfall tomorrow."

!

Wu Chang looked at Cui Chengze with slight surprise and praised him: "Fast progress."

Cui Chengze puffed out his chest proudly. "Who do you think I am? I'm the top mystic user in Gao Mu. That kid I ran into back then could bully me because he's young, but when it comes to setting up mystical rituals, he's no match for me."

At that moment, a knock came from the door; the secretary said outside:

"Boss, someone wants to see you."

The shadow beneath the desk writhed, and a head poked out, whispering: "The visitor is from an unknown faction, and they're powerful. The werewolf you had me investigate is among them."

Wu Chang raised an eyebrow and said: "Let them in."

The secretary opened the door, and four men and one woman entered. Wu Chang glanced at them and sensed three were players.

The first to enter was a middle-aged man in his forties. The moment he stepped in, he didn't look at Wu Chang—he stared in surprise at Cui Chengze.

"Chairman Cui, what are you doing here?"

Cui Chengze said: "I came for a vacation. Deputy Chairman Yin, why are you here?"

The middle-aged man said: "We're not here for a vacation. We came specifically for the Xinyuzhou Sect."

After a brief greeting, the middle-aged man nodded to Wu Chang and said:

"Director Li, I'm Yin Junhao, Deputy Chairman of the Gao Mu Folk Mystic Research Association. I wonder how much Chairman Cui has told you about our association."

The Gao Mu Folk Mystic Research Association was the underground mystic circle Cui Chengze had mentioned before.

After one man toppled the underground mystic circle, Cui Chengze became its chairman; the man before him, Yin Junhao, was the former chairman.

Wu Chang said without expression: "He told me the essentials."

Yin Junhao smiled and said: "Then I'll save myself the explanation. Director Li already knows about our association—Chairman Cui must have demonstrated mysticism for you already."

Wu Chang nodded.

Yin Junhao continued: "Our association was publicly founded fifty years ago, but for centuries, we've secretly protected Gao Mu. Every member comes from a historically renowned mystic family."

Here, Yin Junhao glanced at Cui Chengze and added challengingly: "Even Chairman Cui's own family once belonged to this category."

"Our long lineage has granted us many secrets unknown to others—secrets even the former royal family and the current powerful clans controlling the nation may not know."

"Such as what's happening aboard the Star Leap right now."

Wu Chang glanced sideways at Cui Chengze.

Cui Chengze looked slightly embarrassed—he had become chairman through brute strength, but his family had declined for so long that he knew none of the secrets Yin Junhao mentioned.

Had he known, he wouldn't have spent years investigating alone after leaving the wreck zone.

Yin Junhao also glanced at Cui Chengze, wearing the expression of a victor.

"Director Li's family has always treated the Xinyuzhou Sect as a political tool, funding them merely to gain social influence. But you don't know that although the Xinyuzhou Sect is new, the deity they worship is an ancient demon god."

"Since the Xinyuzhou Sect grew powerful, they've been conducting secret sacrifices, trading the flesh and souls of living people for ominous energy. We've seen the Sea Song and the Breakwater—both were their crimes."

Wu Chang feigned being a native of this plane and asked: "If you've known about the Xinyuzhou Sect's conspiracy all along, why haven't you exposed or stopped them?"

Yin Junhao's expression changed, becoming solemn and reverent.

"Because the Lord told us it's not yet time."

Wu Chang: "Huh?"

Yin Junhao explained: "Our research association also has faith, but we worship the will of the world, the source of mysticism, the supreme true god—completely different from the demon god worshipped by the Xinyuzhou Sect."

Wu Chang: …

Neither of you two are good, yet you're still trash-talking each other.

Yin Junhao: "Destroying the Xinyuzhou Sect's operations only temporarily halts their plot. The demon god they worship still exists—soon, Old Universe Sect, New Century Sect, or New New Universe Sect will arise."

"Only at a critical juncture, by imposing heavy blows, can we truly wound them and shatter their centuries-old conspiracy completely."

Wu Chang nodded. Translated into plain terms, Yin Junhao meant they'd come to reap the harvest.

Wu Chang scanned Yin Junhao and the others behind him. The first person he noticed was a tall, broad-shouldered, straight-backed man from Mide—clearly a soldier.

According to the shadow's intelligence, this officer named Evans was the werewolf who had competed for Cui Chengze that day; his player alias was Blood Thorn.

Beside Blood Thorn stood a woman, a Gao Mu native, barely over one meter fifty, appearing twenty-three or twenty-four.

Her face was pale, with faint dark circles under her eyes—she looked frail and worn out—but Wu Chang sensed through his intuition that her power was not much weaker than Evans's.

At the edge, the third player was an ordinary-looking young man.

If the fisherman had the face of a typical fisherman, this man had the face of a typical nobody—throw him into a crowd, and you'd lose him in a blink.

His aura was weak, even weaker than the woman's, but Wu Chang, having witnessed the fisherman's resentment, recognized him: he was the mystic who killed the fisherman and possessed his body.

Wu Chang turned his gaze back to Yin Junhao and asked: "What do you plan to do?"

The plot's getting stuck, written awkwardly, updates are light—I'll try to post more tomorrow.

(End of Chapter)