Chapter 62: Chapter 62: You’ve Come, My Friend
After ending his call with Saw, Duan Fei felt it was a bit of a shame.
Although Saw had offered his support, he was, after all, a manifestation created by the Evil God from a horror movie. He didn’t know much about the Evil God and couldn’t provide much substantial help.
For example, what were the Evil God’s specific abilities, where was its true body, and since it said it would hunt them personally, in what form would it descend?
This was all crucial intelligence, but Saw couldn’t answer.
Duan Fei immediately contacted Jinghong and Little Fatty through the messenger app, told them the current situation, and then gave his final order.
"Run. Get away as fast as you can. Jinghong, this should be the last of the horror creatures. After you escape, you’re sure to get a treasure chest reward. Getting your Profession should be no problem then."
"Okay. You be careful."
"Don’t worry, I have a plan. You guys split up. One of you, take Jack with you."
"Okay."
He didn’t use a regular phone call because he felt they could no longer be trusted.
Although Duan Fei had killed an emissary of an Evil God and scared another one off before, those situations had involved unrepeatable factors. He didn’t think he was qualified to challenge an Evil God directly.
This Evil God had the ability to command horror movies. It summoned all sorts of terrifying creatures and urban legends from them, all working toward the goal of sacrificing Duan Fei and his team.
Although these urban legends and horror creatures weren’t very effective—some could be tricked simply by changing one’s name—Duan Fei didn’t think this trick would work on the Evil God itself.
He pushed open the projection room door and started sprinting down the stairs, hoping to get to the first floor quickly and escape.
But the projection room had been on the third floor. Logically, he should have reached the bottom after two flights of stairs, but Duan Fei realized he had been running for ten minutes and still couldn’t see the end.
’An infinite staircase again. How much do you Evil Gods love stairs?!’
Grabbing his crowbar, Duan Fei smashed the window on the stairwell landing and jumped straight out.
’The stairwell was an infinite loop, but the cycle would break as soon as he was outside its confines.’
He was covered in blood from the glass shards where he landed, but Duan Fei didn’t linger. He simply cast a [Rough Healing Technique] on himself and kept running.
’Consuming Yan Yuan’s flesh and blood would have the same effect, but Yan Yuan had other uses. It was too wasteful to use it just for healing.’
The fog on Xuanxiao Mountain grew thicker. The surrounding streetlights cast a blood-red glow, revealing numerous shambling shadows within the mist.
Although their faces were invisible, the faint sound of chewing could be heard, punctuated by occasional screams. Each cry was torture for the players.
Luckily, he had obtained the [Spirit Ring] from Saw, which raised his Spirit Attribute to 16 points. The screams were transformed into animal howls, which didn’t sound nearly as terrifying.
Duan Fei’s current strategy was to have everyone split up and run.
According to the intelligence from Saw, as long as any one of them survived until dawn, the Evil God’s sacrificial ritual would fail, and this entity would fall dormant again for a period of time.
’Little Fatty wasn’t a combatant, Bald Qiang was a Daoist, Jinghong wasn’t afraid of scary things, and then there was himself. Maybe they had a chance of surviving until dawn.’
But before long, a message from Little Fatty popped up in their temporary group chat: "Brother Duan, I’ve been caught. I don’t know where I am, only that it’s pitch black all around me, and I can’t find a way out."
"Fifteen minutes. Not bad. Jinghong, Bald Qiang, has the Evil God bothered you at all during this time?"
"No."
"No."
Seeing their replies, Duan Fei was certain his decision had been the right one.
’The Evil God would only hunt one person at a time. This gave the others ample time to escape.’
He was about to press on, but a message from Bald Qiang suddenly appeared: "Duan Someone, Jack is missing."
Duan Fei paused.
Jack had been a great help to them in this instance.
As the only normal person left on Xuanxiao Mountain, he had helped Duan Fei’s group find a suitable shelter. He had also watched horror movies to find the weaknesses of the urban legends, which was an immense help.
’But he’s just an NPC, after all. Unlike Saw, he doesn’t seem to be tied to a hidden quest. Logically, if he’s lost, he’s lost.’
But when he thought of the nerd who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside, Duan Fei hesitated for only a moment before replying, "He’s our friend. We have a duty to get him out of here. Bald Qiang, you’re a Daoist. Can you use Summon God to find Jack?"
"I already have. But you’d better not be surprised by what I’m about to say."
"Don’t worry. I’m professionally trained. I don’t get surprised easily."
"Do you remember the starting area for this instance? The Divine Shrine?"
"...It can’t be."
"That’s right, Jack is there. I used Summon God to take a look. There’s nothing wrong with his mental state, and he wasn’t coerced or kidnapped. He went to the Divine Shrine on his own, fully conscious."
’The fact that Jack knew the Divine Shrine’s location was a huge red flag.’
’And for him to leave the team at such a critical moment to go there alone... there had to be a deeper secret.’
Gazing at the Divine Shrine in the distance, Duan Fei made his decision.
"Jinghong, Bald Qiang, you two keep running. I’m going to the Divine Shrine."
"What are you planning to do?"
"Check out the hidden plot. If I don’t find out what it is, it’ll haunt me."
"...Okay, then. Just remember to record it. I want to know what the hidden plot is, too."
"Will do."
Finding a bicycle by the side of the road, Duan Fei used his crowbar to break the lock, then hopped on and sped toward the Divine Shrine.
As he pedaled furiously, he discovered that the closer he got to the Divine Shrine, the fewer anomalies there were.
It felt as if the Divine Shrine was a safe zone, but Duan Fei knew this was just a trap set by the Evil God.
’The entirety of Xuanxiao Mountain is the Evil God’s territory; there’s no way a safe zone could exist here.’
’The safer it appears, the more the Evil God wants to lure me there.’
But Duan Fei had no way to retreat now.
Reaching the front of the Divine Shrine at top speed, Duan Fei tossed the bicycle aside, ran up the steps, and burst inside.
The Divine Shrine, filled with red candles, was utterly silent. The candle flames didn’t even flicker as he entered; they just continued to burn quietly.
In the spot where a divine statue should have been, the portraits of himself, Jinghong, and the others remained.
The only difference was that red X’s had been drawn over the portraits of Little Fatty and Lone Ranger, indicating they were out of the game.
Jinghong’s and Bald Qiang’s portraits were still there, but a black mist faintly coiled around them, like a sinister claw caressing their images.
Besides these, Duan Fei also saw someone he knew.
Jack was standing silently amidst the red candles, his body shrouded in black mist.
A spectral figure in a black robe stood behind Jack, its sinister gaze fixed squarely on Duan Fei.
Hearing the footsteps, he turned around, looked at Duan Fei, and smiled as he opened his arms:
"You’re here, my friend."
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