"It shouldn't be like this..." Perfect Life sat among the ruins, frowning as he stared at the game forums that had reignited with activity. "Could her influence really be that strong?"
"And besides, wouldn't Sin step in to stop her...?"
He witnessed the surging tide of people clamoring for surrender, elevating the organization "Divine Punishment" to unprecedented heights!
Yet within Divine Punishment, neither Blank nor Chiyo Eine showed any intention of clarifying the situation.
They simply kept accepting new members into Divine Punishment, as if tacitly endorsing the rumors swirling around them.
From the perspective of people like Perfect Life, they could naturally sense that the gods were trying to find a way to directly descend into this world.
Next time should be their final ultimatum.
But Xie Antong - how could she possibly betray them at a time like this? Even if she wanted to surrender, would Pleasure on the other side even agree?
Perfect Life had already sent Xie Antong several private messages. As fellow participants in the god-player wager, he wanted to understand the situation.
But Xie Antong completely ignored him. Every single message vanished into the void, never to be seen again.
In truth, there were several others like him who had gained divine power through the wager and sent questions to Xie Antong. None of them received any replies.
As this undercurrent of emotion gradually built toward its peak, the one who had lit this fuse was still busy playing emotional games with someone, steadily cultivating her power of Pleasure.
Then, suddenly, on an otherwise unremarkable afternoon, a golden video appeared in the game's internal channels, pinned permanently at the top.
This kind of pinning privilege belonged exclusively to those ranked in the world's top ten on the Peak Rankings.
And because the game had stalled, the world player Peak Rankings hadn't been updated since the last round.
The person who posted this message was - Blank!
World Ranked #9!
This move instantly captured global attention within moments. In every corner of the world, tens of millions of people excitedly clicked on the video the moment they saw it.
The Master of Divine Punishment was finally going to make some kind of statement.
"Oh dear, what a hassle. But I suppose it worked out. I knew this thing should be able to record video. That makes it much more interesting."
She cut straight to the chase. The video opened with Xie Antong's slightly mocking voice as she sat before the screen like some game streamer.
"But this consumed a lot of my Points. Oh well, doesn't matter. It's not like I'll need them after this anyway."
"There's been quite a commotion lately. I've actually been keeping an eye on it, just too lazy to deal with it. Let's talk about it now. Mm, I've got some good news - and some even better news to share with all of you."
The Xie Antong in the video wore a somewhat wicked smile. Back when she recorded this, she had blatantly copied Lu Ce's opening line from when he confronted Dragon Group.
"The good news is - I tricked every single one of you! You absolute idiots!"
Everyone: ???
Across the entire world, everyone watching this video was utterly dumbfounded by the insult hurled directly in their faces.
As if imagining everyone's reaction to this video, Xie Antong's smile in the recording could barely be contained.
"Back when I first established Divine Punishment, it was meant to attract those fanatical worshippers of the gods, the ones dreaming of crawling to their feet and kowtowing."
"And now that you know the gods might descend directly, you've all come running, thinking about so-called... finding a way to survive?"
In the video, Xie Antong bared a dazzling set of white teeth with a grin.
"I established Divine Punishment specifically to screw with you morons!"
The moment these words dropped, even though many had already guessed based on her previous statements, the entire world was still shocked!
Those fantasizing about surrendering to the gods, about finding a master to bow to so they could survive - their eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets.
No... How could this be?!
The Xie Antong in the video continued:
"Of course, when Divine Punishment was first established, no one really knew what the game and the gods were truly about. A lot of people probably joined just because they hated Sin. Mm, he is pretty hate-worthy, I'll give you that."
"But we're past that now, so let me just say it straight. Come on, show your face. Don't be shy."
As she spoke, her gaze shifted off-screen. She vanished from the frame, as if going to drag someone over.
A moment later, a figure wearing a rainbow-colored mask appeared somewhat reluctantly on camera, with Xie Antong holding his arm.
???
No words were needed. No explanations required. The mere appearance of this person caused the entire game's chat to be flooded with question marks.
— Sin!
Those surrender faction members who had planned to be the first to kneel, hoping to secure some advantage, felt as if a blender had been shoved into their brains, spinning wildly.
It was over! Those two were actually in league with each other!
Even Dragon Group members were surprised. They had assumed that Xie Antong and Sin had simply set aside their past grudges to jointly oppose the gods, burying the hatchet.
But it seemed their relationship was nothing like that. Were they actually living together this whole time?
"Mhm, ahem. Now that he's appeared on camera, I don't think I need to say anything more, do I?"
Xie Antong hooked her arm around Lu Ce's in a very intimate posture, pressing her body close to his. The two of them looked like lovers in the throes of a passionate relationship.
Just a moment ago - or rather, for a very long time - these two had appeared to be mortal enemies. This reversal was practically a violation of everyone's understanding.
"Alright, I know your brains must be buzzing right now."
"I'm definitely going to fight the gods eventually. You spineless surrender faction types are useless, but letting you just waltz over to Their side obviously won't do either."
"So I'm announcing the second piece of good news - Divine Punishment is dissolved, effective immediately!"
"Don't bother dreaming. This organization I gathered you all into is gone now. When the gods descend, just go ahead and die."
"Oh, and I want to give a special reminder to certain individuals. I hope you know I'm talking to you."
With that, Xie Antong's smile slowly faded, her expression turning serious, like her true self emerging.
"What's coming next is your last chance - all of you!"
"Grow up fast. Don't die too easily when the time comes."
