Chapter 44: Zero-Frame Opening, Faith in the Akim

"WTF, bro! You mean the solution to keep them from hurting me is for me to go volunteer as an Offering?" Wu Xiaoyu was completely baffled, her head full of question marks.

The two of them had been arranged by the Old Village Head to stay in an empty house near the ancestral hall.

This place was usually used to receive distinguished guests.

Although Yin Yuan Village had little contact with the outside world, it wasn't absolutely non-existent.

After all, children with talent for studying still had to be sent to school; one couldn't let future generations be buried in the village private school in the mountains.

The other villagers were discussing this fervently.

They never expected an outsider to enter the village during the Great Yin Yuan Sacrifice, let alone be arranged by the Old Village Head to stay in the highest-level quarters.

It was the first time in so long.

"I don't recall saying I wanted to sacrifice you," Wu Wang raised an eyebrow, pulled a handful of melon seeds from his pocket, and started cracking them furiously.

"?"

Now Wu Xiaoyu was completely stunned.

He's been brought here and is still being stubborn?

If not sacrificing me, then sacrificing you?

"Oh right, you guessed correctly; I do plan to sacrifice myself, and incidentally go see what exactly the Yin Yuan Great God is." Wu Wang glanced at the stream of inner thoughts above the other person's head.

The Abyss God was exerting its power again.

Before Wu Xiaoyu could express her shock, Wu Wang continued: "But sacrificing you isn't impossible either. If you have such a need, I'll do my best to satisfy it."

"..."

Now Wu Xiaoyu was completely speechless.

She suddenly realized the villagers calling him a "Little Madman" wasn't without some reason.

His mental state was a bit off.

Who would voluntarily go get sacrificed!

Oh, wait, he himself would.

"You don't think I'm joking, do you? Now you have two choices." Wu Wang's tone gradually turned cold: "Either you clearly state who you are and why you came to Yin Yuan Village; or you get sacrificed with me. I've wanted to die for a long time."

"!?"

Zero-frame opening; Wu Xiaoyu was caught off guard.

She truly hadn't expected this little beggar who had protected her all day to turn on her so instantly.

In fact, the killing intent and chill she felt from him were even more severe than being chased by the female ghosts in the forest just now.

He really wanted to kill her!

So bringing her into the village was because he was worried she would try to run away outside!?

"I... I don't remember..."

Click-clack—

Before the words finished, Wu Wang, expressionless, pulled a homemade, hand-crafted Kalashnikov from behind his back.

He skillfully loaded the magazine and chambered a round.

The pitch-black muzzle pressed against Wu Xiaoyu's forehead; the bone-chilling cold made her inexplicably certain this wasn't a toy.

This guy actually had a gun!

"If I don't hear the reason you came here within five seconds, I will shoot through your limbs. We'll wait in the room until the day of the sacrifice and go together." Wu Wang held the gun in one hand while the other held a snack, chewing continuously: "Don't worry, I'll treat the gunshot wounds. I guarantee you'll survive until the sacrifice even with your limbs broken."

No one can resist the charm of the Akim.

If there is, it's just that the firepower isn't big enough.

Suggest switching to an RPG next time.

Wu Xiaoyu still wanted to argue.

"I really..."

"5!"

"You're not joking?"

"4... 1!"

"I'll say it! My name is Wu Xiaoyu, I live at 225 Xingfu Community, Huichuan Avenue, Mingyang City. My parents are still alive, and I have one older sister and one foolish younger brother. I came here to find my origins because both my older sister and I were adopted from an orphanage!" Wu Xiaoyu's chatter spewed information out like a machine gun.

Inside, she was already cursing up a storm.

【Damn, is this five seconds? Going straight from 4 to 1! Can this guy even count properly?】

【Damn! Why is this mystery of my origins getting more and more chaotic? First ghosts, now a madman!】

【That damn fortune-telling old man! When I get back, I'm going to fight him to the death!】

【If I can actually survive and get back...】

Wu Wang silently watched the string of mental activities above the other person's head.

His own heart was also hard to calm.

It's real...

This second sister is real!

Five years ago, when his whole family's plane crashed, the second sister happened to be traveling alone and thus escaped disaster. He never expected she had come out to find her own origins!

She has a connection to this Yin Yuan Village!

So her ability to scold the female ghosts and make them stop wasn't a coincidence, but truly had some reason?

"What's the deal with that fortune-telling old man?" Wu Wang raised the muzzle of the Akim slightly and asked.

Wu Xiaoyu was surprised: "How do you... never mind. I met a blind fortune-telling old man under the overpass. He immediately pointed out my orphan status and also pointed out my abnormalities."

"Finally, he told me that if I wanted to know the source of everything, I should come to this mountain range and find a place called Yin Yuan Village. As a result, I happened to encounter a landslide..."

The events that followed don't need to be elaborated on.

Zhang Sanfeng found Wu Xiaoyou in a coma and, by sheer accident, brought her to Yin Yuan Village.

Wu Wang seized on the key point: "What abnormality did you experience?"

In his memory, his second sister was a simple-minded fool, but she wouldn't have been fooled by some fortune-teller's words into coming to such an isolated mountain range.

What exactly did that man say to you?

"I… I've been able to see ghosts since I was a child," Wu Xiaoyou's voice grew dull and low: "At the orphanage, no one believed me except my eldest sister—but that fortune-teller immediately named this fact, and the key is…"

"He actually released a ghost from his gourd, proving he could see and subdue these things too."

Wu Wang: "?"

This was something he hadn't considered at all.

After all, before he obtained 【Undying】, if someone had told him they could see ghosts, he'd have just mocked them by saying he had a ghost head too.

"So what about just now, in that ruined house?"

"Yes, I can actually see them—and I feel an inexplicable familiarity from them, like I already know them." Wu Xiaoyou laid it all out.

Not bros!

I need the Deep God just to see them!

My second sister actually has a rare talent!

The real-life second sister who's always carefree and cheerful—she really has this hidden side no one knows about?

"OK, sleep. Tomorrow we'll go chat with your good sisters." Wu Wang pondered for a moment.

Once confirmed as the real second sister, there was no objection.

Zero-frame start again.

One second he was possessed by the God of Death.

The next, they were already bros.

Let's pretend nothing just happened.

Wu Xiaoyou was stunned.

"Wait! Why are you only asking me? What about you? Who are you?" She sounded defiant.

Wu Wang said in surprise: "I've got a gun! Do you? And I'm a madman! How would I know who I am? Asking a madman who he is—you're the one who's nuts!"

With that, he lay down and fell asleep.

Wu Xiaoyou: "?"

Hmm… that actually makes some sense.

But something still felt off to her.

She was, by nature, stubborn and relentless—but right now, her principles were held at gunpoint.

Caliber is justice, range is fairness, power is democracy.

At this point, she was left speechless.

Quietly climbed onto the other bed, pulled the blanket over herself, and lay down; as the tension of the entire day slowly eased, sleepiness washed over her.

The moon was bright, the stars sparse, the sound of snoring filled her ears.

————

The next day, clear, the sun rose in the east.

Wu Xiaoyou was still half-asleep, her eyes not yet open, when she heard Wu Wang talking with the old village chief at the door.

The content instantly woke her up.

"Old Biden, I want to visit the place where Yin Yuan Holy Maidens were traditionally handled."

"Oh, by the way, she wasn't brought here to be sacrificed—*I'm* the Offering. If you so much as touch her, I can't kill you, but tonight I'll slaughter every last person in this village—do you believe me?"

"Without Yin Yuan Village, are you still the village chief? Will the Yin Yuan Great God spare you?"

"By the way, do you recognize this?"

"Its full name is Kalashnikov."

"Shortened to AK-47."

Click-click—

Chambered! AK Faith!