Chapter 127: Chapter 127: This Isn’t the Self-Injury Stratagem, This Is Calling Black White...
"What a haul. Add that to the one I already had, and now I have six Sun Puppets for fuel."
"That should be enough to support at least three evolutions, if not more," Qi Suian said with a grin.
[Your estimate is very accurate.]
’The burning process will just take a while. After all, Sun Puppets are no ordinary things.’
"I’ll stop for now. Any more will affect the Melting Furnace’s efficiency," Qi Suian said.
’The Melting Furnace has its limits; it’s not like I can just stuff it with an infinite amount of fuel.’
’Besides, these six Sun Puppets will burn for a good while.’
’At this rate, I probably can’t count on finishing the evolutions while I’m in the Polar Day World.’
’I’ll have to wait until the next world—assuming I can even survive this one.’
"By the way, what about that... remarkably human-like person? Have they arrived yet?" Qi Suian asked.
’I suspect there’s a good chance he’s the protagonist of this Polar Day World.’
[We made contact an hour ago. He said he’d be arriving shortly.]
The AI replied to Qi Suian.
"I get it. He says ’shortly,’ but in reality, he probably hasn’t even started moving."
"Sounds like a total flaker," Qi Suian muttered.
’It’s not like I haven’t used that line myself.’
But moments later, the AI proved him wrong.
[Humanoid figure detected on the recon network. Displaying now...]
A three-dimensional hologram appeared. It depicted the form of a middle-aged man, though his features were indistinct.
But one detail was perfectly clear to Qi Suian: the heat signature from the man’s body was a staggering 197 degrees.
Even as he watched, it ticked up another degree, reaching 198.
"Is... that really a person?" Qi Suian asked in disbelief.
"His Power of the Limit must have broken through again. How else could he have such a high body temperature?"
Qi Suian knew it couldn’t be a Desolate Beast or a Sun Puppet; their heat signatures were never this low.
[Correct. Without that breakthrough, it would be impossible for him to survive in such high temperatures.]
The heat radiating from his body couldn’t compare to the ambient temperature, but the Power of the Limit itself granted immense tolerance and resistance to heat.
"Interesting. He’s completely transforming into an Extraordinary Life. You can’t just call him human anymore."
"His fundamental biology is more like a Desolate Beast’s now."
Qi Suian couldn’t help but marvel. Anyone that resilient, relying solely on the Power of the Limit, was not to be underestimated.
"No doubt about it, he’s the protagonist of the Polar Day World."
"My own protagonist’s halo is really something else. I send you out fishing, and you reel in the other protagonist." Qi Suian’s eyes narrowed as he plotted how to deceive the man.
’As long as he’s a native protagonist of this Doomsday World and not a survivor-protagonist brought in by the Doomsday Game, there’s a chance we can cooperate.’
’However, there would be a price.’
’If I get him to use the ashes of the Sun Puppets to bury the sun, there’s a high probability he’ll die in the process.’
’Then I would lose his protagonist’s halo, and my Celestial Fate: Profound would miss out on an enhancement.’
’There had to be a way to have the best of both worlds. Qi Suian could already think of one.’
’I could kill him, take his protagonist’s halo, and then bury the sun myself. The risk, however, would be immense.’
’If either part of that plan failed, it would be utterly catastrophic.’
’For me, it’s a matter of give and take. You have to be willing to lose something to gain something.’
’I can’t just focus on the immediate benefits; I have to think long-term.’
’Between getting a +5 enhancement for my Celestial Fate: Profound and ensuring my own survival, I’d obviously choose the latter.’
’Of course, if a safe opportunity to have it all came along, I certainly wouldn’t pass it up.’
"Lure him into the cave. I want to have a nice little ’discussion’ with him."
"I’ll need you to back me up," Qi Suian said.
When it came to the art of deception, the AI was far more talented than Qi Suian.
Therefore, getting the protagonist of the Polar Day World to go bury the sun would be a bit difficult for Qi Suian to manage on his own.
He definitely couldn’t leave. The moment he stepped into the sunlight, a horde of Sun Puppets would spawn and hunt him down, all while screaming "Blasphemer!"
’Hiding like this might be a bit pathetic, but you can’t argue with how comfortable it is.’
’And have you seen the temperature out there? Any normal person who went out would be walking to their death.’
By now, all the other survivors were dead. The only one left in the Doomsday Game was Qi Suian, the rule-breaker.
The only reason the event hadn’t ended was probably because he, the rule-breaker, was technically still counted as a survivor, effectively bugging out the Doomsday Game.
He had no choice but to wait for the timer to run out before he could leave.
Qi Suian had thought about telling the game to just cancel the limited-time event and take him to the next Doomsday World.
But the Doomsday Game had its own rules.
These rules had their pros and cons for Qi Suian. The rules for the limited-time event, for instance, were a major drawback.
Conversely, the protection clause that prevented the erasure of X-rank talents was a huge boon for him.
Without it, Qi Suian would be dead.
More importantly, he couldn’t let it set a precedent.
Once that precedent was set, if Qi Suian wasn’t satisfied with a world, he could just go on a killing spree and wipe out all the other survivors.
Then wouldn’t the Doomsday Game have no choice but to proceed to the next world under Qi Suian’s control?
Even if Qi Suian couldn’t do it now, he was growing so fast, who knew when he’d eventually be able to?
And then the game would be truly screwed.
The survivors were supposed to be mere tools for the Doomsday Game. Instead, they had become leverage for Qi Suian to threaten and control the game itself—a complete subversion of the established order.
Besides, Qi Suian figured the Doomsday Game was watching to see if the "sun in a bottle" of the Polar Day World would take care of him.
If he died here, the Doomsday Game would have a major thorn removed from its side.
[He seems to have grown wary. He’s no longer advancing.]
[Will you employ the self-injury ruse?]
The AI’s sudden suggestion reminded Qi Suian of the option.
"A self-injury ruse? How would that work?" For a moment, Qi Suian was stumped, his mind immediately jumping to the famous tale of Zhou Yu and Huang Gai.
[You go out and save him. That ought to do it.]
Inspiration struck Qi Suian.
’Me going out means more Sun Puppets will spawn.’
’But he doesn’t know that. I can twist the truth, reverse cause and effect, and make it look like I’m the one saving him.’
"But the flaw in that plan is a bit too obvious."
It was a good idea, but implementation would be tricky.
"Don’t forget, the moment those Sun Puppets show up, they’ll start screaming ’Blasphemer!’ at me. Their hatred for me is pretty intense," Qi Suian said, naturally aware of the flaw.
[Then silence them before they can speak.]
[The speed that the Wind Master aviation system grants the Tai Sui God is more than sufficient to complete the plan in a short window.]
[If this succeeds, the probability of convincing him to bury the sun will increase by ten percent.]
That was the power of a first impression, a principle Qi Suian understood well.
After weighing his options, he ultimately decided to take the gamble.
If he succeeded, everyone would be happy. If he failed... well, he’d deal with that later.
He trusted in his own protagonist’s halo and the AI’s control capabilities.
"Alright, I’m leaving the whole thing to you. I’ll stay out of it." Qi Suian was afraid he’d botch it. Besides, the AI could perfectly simulate his voice and tone.
This would prevent him from misspeaking and causing the whole plan to fail.
-----------------
"A cool, shady place with no sun." Xu Tongming stared grimly at the designated meeting point in the distance.
He was certain now: whoever had contacted him was definitely not a Sun Puppet.
It was a human with an unknown agenda.
’My first guess is that they’re hunting Sun Puppets.’
’But that raises a serious question: how is a human capable of hunting Sun Puppets?’
’Even with my Power of the Limit approaching two hundred degrees, I’m no match for a Sun Puppet.’
’Let alone hunting them.’
So, in Xu Tongming’s eyes, the other party’s situation was utterly baffling.
That’s what made him hesitate to advance.
’Walking right into the trap of someone with ulterior motives... there’s no way that’s a good idea.’
Xu Tongming was no hot-blooded youth. To have survived to middle age in the apocalypse, one needed both real strength and ample caution, and he had both.
Otherwise, he’d have been dead long ago.
’Back when my Power of the Limit was at one hundred twenty degrees, this person was already deceiving Sun Puppets.’
’They did it so skillfully, they must have reached that level long before I did.’
’So, in terms of strength, they must be much stronger than me.’
’If they have hostile intentions and we fight, I’m definitely no match for them.’
Xu Tongming quickly analyzed the situation. Until he could confirm the other party’s intentions, he shouldn’t go looking for them directly.
He wanted to proceed with a long-term plan, but things didn’t develop according to his wishes.
Just as he was thinking, a dark shadow flashed across the sky, then turned back—its target was clearly him.
"A living person? Let’s move!"
The voice rang in Xu Tongming’s ears, and before he could react, he was swept along with it.
"Wait, who are you...?" Xu Tongming asked, feeling a powerful force pushing him from behind.
"Not now! You’ve attracted the Sun Puppets. Let’s lose them first," a gentle voice said in Xu Tongming’s ear.
The voice immediately inspired a sense of goodwill; it didn’t sound like it belonged to a villain.
Xu Tongming glanced back and was thoroughly terrified.
Hundreds of Sun Puppets had suddenly appeared. If he had been surrounded, he would never have survived.
Moreover, judging by their positions, they had formed an encirclement, and he had been, very unfortunately, right inside of it.
If this mysterious person hadn’t arrived just in time to save him, he would have had no path to survival.
Analyzing the man’s attitude and actions, it seemed he held no ill will toward him.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come to save him.
This made Xu Tongming breathe a sigh of relief. At least he no longer had to worry about how to ascertain the other’s intentions.
"How are we going to shake these Sun Puppets?" Xu Tongming asked.
In his experience, Sun Puppets were simply impossible to kill.
And this time, with such a large number, shaking them off would be no easy feat.
"Don’t worry, I’m experienced with this," the gentle voice replied.
Xu Tongming looked back and, sure enough, the horde of Sun Puppets was falling farther and farther behind them.
This put him much more at ease. The other man was clearly very experienced; how else could he have shaken off the Sun Puppets so easily?
It wasn’t as if he’d never encountered Sun Puppets before. Every escape had been an extremely dangerous affair. It had never been this easy.
As for whether the man was just relying on the convenience of his equipment? Well, that equipment was still his to use.
