Chapter 320: Third Stage

Half an hour later.

The Blood Moon on the horizon swelled outward by one circle without warning.

A ring of crimson pulses, visible to the naked eye, rippled outward in a circle.

The air over the entire Jiang Hai City came to a complete standstill in that second.

The wind stopped.

Falling ash hung suspended in midair.

The rats fleeing through the Sewer froze rigid.

Every survivor's pocket in the city vibrated sharply at the same time.

Whether civilians trembling in basements or the rogue hunters battling on the streets.

Everyone's phone screens were forcibly lit up.

The screen's background was crimson, with only a single line of continuously blinking black code.

A flat, mechanical broadcast pierced directly into each person's mind.

"All Fourteen Divine Gifts have been fully allocated."

"The game officially enters the Third Stage."

The mechanical tone carried no emotion, yet it sent a chill to the marrow of those who heard it.

Those who hid in closets, covering their mouths, couldn't stop tears from streaming down.

They had thought that simply surviving this disaster would bring rescue.

But reality dealt a harsh slap to everyone.

The system gave no one a chance to catch their breath.

"Final Rules announced."

"The fourteen players possessing Divine Gifts must hunt each other down."

"The victor takes all."

"Only the one who lives to the end may make a wish to the deity to change everything."

"Hunt... begins."

The final four words fell.

The red mist above the city poured back down into the streets.

The glass curtain walls of the buildings shattered in sheets.

The meat grinder dubbed a battle royale officially started.

The ruins of an abandoned commercial street jewelry shop.

Lin Fan knelt on one knee amid the scattered flesh.

He clenched the newly seized Bronze Ring in his hand.

A phantom blue flame in his right eye leapt wildly, pushing back the surrounding red light.

Thick black hair surged from his collar, winding down his neck onto his shoulders.

Lin Fan stood up.

His left eye was clear, his right eye deep.

His heterochromatic pupils emitted a chilling light.

"Xin Yu, did you hear?"

"Survive to the end, and you can make a wish."

"I... want you to live openly under the sun."

The black hair coiled around his arm affectionately brushed his cheek.

The temperature around him dropped suddenly to freezing.

Lin Fan stepped over the broken limbs and severed arms at his feet, striding toward the dense fog.

The low‑level monsters roaming the ruins' edge, sensing his aura, fled in terror.

He was now more terrifying than the monsters.

The Cross‑River Bridge.

The river wind made Chen Shao's black suit flutter noisily.

Chen Shao pulled the crystal emitting red light from his pocket.

He closed his eyes.

The Dominating Demon Eye in his right eye whirled violently beneath his eyelid.

Thirteen other red dots' positions vividly appeared in his mind.

Those red dots pulsed in the darkness, becoming death‑summoning runes.

"Make a wish?"

Chen Shao toyed with the crystal in his hand.

He slicked his slicked‑back hair back.

"What deity? Just a twisted fancy of higher‑dimensional beings."

"But this wish, I've secured it."

"Yao Yao needs a clean world."

"The cornerstone of Eden Garden will be paved with the lives of these thirteen."

Chen Shao's leather shoes lightly tapped the bridge.

His whole body was lifted by invisible telekinetic force.

They flew straight toward the nearest red dot.

He traced a black afterimage in the sky, and even the rain could not wet his coat hem.

North Suburbs Abandoned Factory.

The mechanical broadcast on the phone had just ceased.

Liang Wen ripped the bandage off his face in one pull.

He drew the nodachi stained with dark crimson blood.

The blade reflected a bizarre light under the Blood Moon.

"Did you hear that, newcomer?"

Liang Wen struck an exaggerated sword‑drawing pose.

"The Abyss's horn has already sounded."

"We, the Dark‑born, it's time to let those rats hiding in the gutters feel true terror!"

Su Ming sat on a pile of scrap metal.

He lowered his head and stared at his palm.

The Rule Power of time and space intertwined at his fingertips, forming a tiny gray void.

He toyed with this power capable of rewriting reality.

"Stop reciting that cheesy line."

Su Ming jumped down from the scrap pile.

"Lao Lei's debt hasn't been settled yet."

"Since the game Rules dictate killing everyone."

"Then we'll completely overturn this game table."

Liang Wen withdrew his flamboyant expression, and a sharp edge glinted in his peach‑blossom eyes.

"Awakening is enough."

"Stay close, don't fall behind."

The two locked eyes for a moment.

One after another they kicked open the dilapidated iron doors of the factory.

They walked into the night, greeted by a sky drenched in blood.

City Center Underground Parking Garage.

Manic laughter echoed in the dim, damp corner.

Zhang Wei rode atop a mutated giant dog the size of an armored vehicle.

He clenched the Seal of Domination in his hand.

Dozens of enslaved survivors and low‑level monsters knelt beneath his feet.

"Make a wish! It's finally begun! Hahaha! I'm going to rule the world!"

Zhang Wei laughed with his features squeezed together.

"Go! Tear apart the others who bear the red glow!"

The giant dog let out a deafening roar.

He led a massive slave army out of the garage.

Zhang Wei greedily inhaled a mouthful of blood‑scented air, his gaze utterly deranged.

Jiang Hai City's tallest building, the spire of the Global Financial Center.

A gale raged here.

Sai Men wore the deep gray stone mask that had no facial features.

His dark‑red shirt paired with a retro black suit flared in the wind.

He leaned on the black staff embedded with a living eyeball.

The eyeball spun wildly.

It greedily recorded the slaughter unfolding across the entire city.

Sai Men spread his arms wide.

He rose onto his tiptoes and performed an elegant waltz along the half‑meter‑wide lightning rod.

It was a stage belonging solely to him.

"How marvelous!"

"Greed, fear, delusion, despair!"

"This is humanity's most primal anthem!"

Sai Men let out a chillingly joyous laugh.

The laughter pierced the clouds.

He was a conductor presiding over a grand symphony.

The staff traced a graceful arc in midair.

"Fight!"

"Rip!"

"Satisfy me with your flesh and blood!"

"This absurd drama called Evolution now reaches its climax!"

Edge of the Blood Moon Weird Domain.

A heavy fog formed an insurmountable Blockade Line.

This is the border between life and death.

The ground is littered with mutilated monster corpses.

Blackened foul blood gathers into little streams.

The heavy stench of rot stings the eyes shut.

From deep within the thick fog comes a steady footfall.

Jiang Yuan wears a brand‑new Black Combat Suit.

A special Card Bag hangs at his waist.

He strides across the blood‑red warning line that marks the border of the Weird Domain.

His combat boots crush a mutated creature's skull beneath his foot.

The crisp crack of breaking bone echoes across the empty street.

Jiang Yuan halts.

He lifts his head, gazing at Jiang Hai City shrouded in crimson light.

In those eyes, usually clear and pure, now settles a focus like a hawk locking onto prey.

No tension, no restraint.

Only the cold ferocity of an Asura entering the battlefield.

He draws two Dark Playing Cards, their edges emitting a metallic chill, from his waist.

The card faces flip on his fingertips.

The Shadow beneath his feet suddenly churns violently.

Countless Shadow Soldiers rise from the ground behind him.

The official's strongest force officially tears apart this blood‑stained night veil.