Chapter 41: Shall We Make a Deal? The Name Is Desire

He heard it.

The source of everything stemmed from this old fellow's desire.

At first, he wanted to survive, so he built a village with the refugees;

Later, wanting to live longer, he made a deal with the Great God of Yin Bond to become a ghost;

Now, he feels being a ghost is too stifling;

He wants to turn the tables, rebel, and become the Great God of Yin Bond himself.

What about after that?

Endless.

Human desire is like a chasm that can never be filled.

To satisfy it, a person deeply entrenched in it is willing to pay any price.

"Say whatever you want; right now, you just need to tell me: is this deal on or not?" The Old Village Chief's tone turned unkind.

He was actually quite puzzled too.

This fellow before him, who could change his appearance at will, had first been pierced clean through by his own bone spikes, then fallen from a great height.

Finally, he had even cast a curse using the power of the Great God of Yin Bond.

Yet the other party still appeared normally at this Grand Sacrifice.

In fact, he looked so lively and energetic that one could not see any effect at all.

How exactly was this done?

"If I don't do it, what can you do to me? You can't catch me." Wu Wang stood up and began packing food and rice into the box.

If he didn't return soon, Second Sister would go hungry.

The Old Village Chief's face darkened as he said, "From today on, unless the Grand Sacrifice succeeds, without the Great God of Yin Bond's permission, no one can leave the village even a single step."

"Now that Zhang Sanfeng and the Holy Maiden are gone, after the three-day Grand Sacrifice ends, the Great God of Yin Bond will sacrifice the entire village, and the village will become its territory."

He already believed Wu Wang had killed Zhang Sanfeng.

Since now there was neither the Holy Maiden of Yin Bond nor the Little Madman's life to repay the debt.

"You wouldn't want to be trapped here forever, would you?"

Hearing this, Wu Wang suddenly understood.

He knew what the main quest erased by the Abyss God was!

【Escape Yin Bond Village within three days】

Or rather, 【Exorcise the Great God of Yin Bond】!

After all, Wu Wang had personally tested it.

Indeed, normal methods made it impossible to leave this village.

As soon as one stepped into the surrounding forest, one would always end up circling back.

Trying to persuade the Great God of Yin Bond to let him leave was obviously a delusion.

Then the only option was to kill the other party!

Killing the BOSS of a Nightmare-level dungeon...

"Wait until I replace the Great God of Yin Bond, and I will have the right to let you leave! A win-win!" The Old Village Chief's expression had become slightly frenzied; it was clear he had waited too long.

Now, the chance to break free from the Great God of Yin Bond was within arm's reach.

How could he possibly allow the other party to escape?

Wu Wang pondered for a moment.

Then, carrying the packed lunch box, he prepared to descend from the viewing platform.

Speaking coldly, he said, "Wait for me to consider it for a day; tomorrow night, I will give you my answer at the ancestral hall."

He paid no attention to the Old Village Chief's attempts to stop him from behind.

After Wu Wang jumped down from the viewing platform, he blended into the crowd and vanished.

Even though the Old Village Chief, from the highest position, looked down on all the villagers below, he still failed to notice who the other party had transformed into.

But he was not worried.

He knew this person would definitely come back to find him.

Because he had smelled the same scent on the other party as on himself.

The scent of longing for freedom and liberation.

"Come to think of it, that fragrance on him has become even stronger; what exactly is it..."

The Old Village Chief muttered to himself as he sat back down and began to enjoy the Grand Sacrifice performance.

He pondered what exactly that scent on the other party, which attracted him, was.

It was somewhat like the scent of the Holy Maiden of Yin Bond.

But it was more enticing than that.

Exactly who had this fellow come into contact with to acquire such a scent?

————

Wu Wang, who had quietly left the square, hurried toward the mid-slope of the mountain.

All the way, he pondered two things—

First, the truth of the Yin Bond Grand Sacrifice and where the true Holy Maiden of Yin Bond was.

When the Old Village Chief spoke those words, he glanced at his panel.

【Side Quest 1: Investigate the Village Chief's Family Secrets (Completed)】

This proved the Old Village Chief had not lied about his origins.

He really is an old thing from two hundred years ago.

But the next side quest did not display a completion marker.

【Side Quest 2: Uncover the truth of the Yin Marriage Ritual, and find the true Yin Marriage Holy Maiden】

This proves that regarding the matter of the Yin Marriage Great God—

The old village chief has been hiding something from him.

The truth is not necessarily what the old village chief said.

He still needs to go meet the Yin Marriage Great God in person to confirm it.

Second, what exactly is going on with the Pollution Broadcast?

If he remembers correctly, Principal Wang obtained the Abyss God's aura also by hearing a certain eerie broadcast.

From then on, Gaoshan Middle School was polluted.

Now the pollution of Yin Marriage Village comes from the same source.

This proves that the dungeon world is not completely independent!

But a broadcast must have a source!

Wu Wang did not think the broadcast content was being played by the Abyss God.

The Abyss God could make a dungeon explode with a single glance.

He is truly far too terrifying.

And the aura emanating from the broadcast is comparatively far too weak.

It's more like someone is using the aura the Abyss God inadvertently emitted to slowly pollute other dungeons.

"Who would do this? A player? Or some NPC?" The more Wu Wang thought about it, the more chilling it became.

Plus, during the open beta it was once mentioned—

【After open beta, dungeons failed three consecutive times will descend upon reality】

Someone is deliberately increasing dungeon difficulty, to make dungeons descend upon reality!

What kind of disaster is this?

Although he is an undying existence.

But Second Sister is not!

If a dungeon were to descend beside her…

"Forget it, don't overthink it. Let's speedrun this dungeon first." Wu Wang shook his head to clear his thoughts.

His motivation to move forward has actually always been simple—

Get stronger, strong enough to protect Second Sister under any circumstances.

And also strong enough to find the Abyss God's true body.

Then ask the other party to kill him.

He might be the only hope in the world with the possibility of killing him.

Perhaps he could even find the reason for his immortality from the Abyss God.

Wu Wang had been looking forward to true death for a very long time.

Just as water and air are the most primitive cravings of life for ordinary people.

The attraction of death is no different for him.

This is perhaps the curse of being undying.

"Hehehe~ Chicken soup's here~"

Wu Wang cheerfully pushed open the wooden door.

It was just like in reality, after finishing cooking and going to call Second Sister—who was gaming in her room—to eat.

But the moment he came in, he saw her lying stiffly on the bed.

Eyes tightly shut, cold sweat pouring down.

Her whole body trembling, her breathing growing rapid, teeth clenched, making clacking sounds.

As if trapped in a nightmare she couldn't wake from.

Her mind was being tormented nonstop.

"Ah!"

Before Wu Wang could step forward to check what was happening.

Wu Xiaoyou jolted awake as if rising from her sickbed at death's door, eyes snapping open as she flipped over.

Terror flickered unstoppably in her eyes.

Seeing Wu Wang's worried gaze, she instinctively said in a trembling voice: "I… had a nightmare, saw a strange person, they told me to pass on to you—don't make any deal with the old village chief."

"Hm? You're also Cao Cao? I kill people in my dreams?"

Wu Wang was somewhat puzzled.

What dream-message could mention him?

It even knew about his dealings with the old village chief?

The moment his words fell, Wu Xiaoyou's trembling grew even more obvious.

She had never in her life felt such a bone-chilling sensation.

The scientific concepts and materialism she had been taught since childhood were instantly shattered.

Even if she couldn't understand how such a thing had happened, she instinctively knew what had occurred—

She had run into a ghost.

"That guy said… his name was…"

"Yin Yuan Great God..."