Chapter 193

Bang.

With a loud crash, the burly murderer fell straight to the ground, revealing the intertwined branches on his back.

It was a bright green, thread-like vine, with yellowish parts bearing small, glistening fruits. The branches were as delicate as fine silk, with countless long roots intertwined together, clustered like a bird's nest, appearing fragile and harmless.

However, the player who was cornered by the killer suddenly revealed a look of even greater fear and panic than when he was being chased.

Ignoring the murderer's weak struggle in front of him, he frantically examined his own body.

A cold, automated system announcement sounded.

[Player "Seventh Apostle" illegally attacked a player and was given a yellow card. All the monsters in the dodgeball game went into a berserk state until the game ended.]

But the player paid no attention to that; his eyes were red, and he was almost frantic with worry!

He grabbed off her chest, stomach, back, arms, thighs... even her shoes and socks were pulled off, and he carefully examined the spaces between her toes, praying incoherently.

"No, please, please... No, no? No! Hahahaha..."

Upon discovering there was nothing there, the player burst into tears of joy! He collapsed to the ground, panting heavily with cold sweat pouring down his face.

Just then, several figures descended from above.

The player looked up in shock, and a group of people dressed in white priest robes were standing in front of him.

"Don't worry, the Blasphemous Vine only punishes the wicked, while protecting pure and kind souls. As long as you don't harbor evil thoughts, it won't harm you."

The middle-aged man at the head of the group spoke, his brow furrowed with righteous indignation: "What just happened was horrific. To survive, those people were willing to push their own people toward monsters. They are truly heinous!"

"But such a thing would never happen to the team led by the Seventh Apostle."

A fanatical light flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes as he extended his hand to the player, inviting him in a friendly manner: "Come with us, poor child. In this sinful world, only by depending on each other can we survive."

A deathly silence.

Behind them, a young man in a white robe slowly walked toward the checkpoint exit.

The player noticed the young man through a gap in the crowd and immediately stared at him like a startled deer.

The young man's robes were of the same style as those of the middle-aged man, but the material was clearly of a higher quality, as smooth and lustrous as silk. In the center was an emblem in the shape of a cross embroidered with gold thread, and on the left chest was the ancient Roman numeral "7".

His hair was light green and had a smoothness that inferior hair dyes couldn't replicate.

With a slender figure, skin as smooth as jade, and wearing a laurel wreath, she resembled the goddess of beauty descending from ancient Greek mythology.

Seemingly noticing the player's gaze, the young man tilted his head slightly, glancing at him with a smile through his tender, shimmering eyes.

Those are not normal eyes.

Thin vines sprouted from the depths of his eyes, climbing upwards along the eyeballs to outline eerie, bewitching patterns.

By the time the player realized he should be afraid, the young man had already turned around and disappeared into the emergency exit.

The player's gaze returned to the hand the middle-aged man had offered.

After a long silence, he forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, and trembling with fear, he grasped the other person's hand: "Okay, I'll join..."

The middle-aged man happily welcomed him to the team!

A vibrant green light flashed across several pairs of enthusiastic eyes, its presence utterly enigmatic.

The player reluctantly complied, unaware that a tiny, bright green sprout had quietly emerged from the back of his neck, then silently burrowed into his skin and disappeared into the light-colored veins.

All around them, lush green vines spread out and covered every corner, entangled countless players and monsters.

Tiny vines, like snakes, meander beneath their thin skin, taking root in their bones and flesh, sprouting vibrant branches from their mouths, noses, eyes, fingernails, and every inch of skin.

The murderer's body was dragged away by some vines, his eyes were lifeless, his breath stopped, like a puppet whose soul had been drained, only his muscles were still reflexively twitching under the grasp of the vines.

The nourished branches spread like a tide, growing lush and strong, quickly turning the entire space into a green ocean.

Several vines stretched out contentedly, as if they had eaten and drunk their fill, reflecting a dazzling and enchanting green light under the spotlight.

The Seventh Apostle stepped out of the passage and saw a little brown-haired boy staring intently at the counter. His eyes lit up instantly, and he rushed over excitedly, picking the boy up and rubbing his face against him repeatedly: "Oh! My cute little lamb! What are you looking at?"

The boy was holding a cartoon doll shaped like a white sheep and wearing the same white robe as the Seventh Apostle, except that he had the ancient Roman numeral "12" written on his chest.

His eyelashes were incredibly thick, his pupils were as blue as the sky, his leather boots were gleaming, and his white stockings clung to his calves, making him look like a Persian prince from a fairy tale who had come to life.

The boy had no expression when he was standing, and he remained the same when he was suddenly picked up. He held the doll without saying a word, and there were tired dark circles under his eyes, giving him a hollow and numb feeling.

The Seventh Apostle, not getting a response, was not angry. He followed the boy's gaze and found it was the dodgeball game's completion record board.

The top column clearly showed their clear time: 26 minutes.

Anyone who sees this outrageous completion time would be utterly astonished! The Seventh Apostle stroked his chin, quite pleased with himself; the time was about right up to his estimate.

He was curious about what a horror game set in Middle-earth would be like, so he wandered around the level a little longer; otherwise, he could have gotten another five or six minutes faster.

And below...

The Seventh Apostle suddenly narrowed his eyes.

The second-place finisher was only 10 minutes slower than them, which surprised several of their subordinates.

Upon seeing Brian's name, the subordinate was no longer surprised and complimented with a smile, "It seems Thor also participated in this amusement park ride, but the adults are still stronger."

"Thor?"

The Seventh Apostle seemed to have discovered something interesting and gave a strange laugh: "No, it has little to do with him."

The game has no limit on the number of players; even if the raging lion takes pity on the weak, it will only send everyone to attack at once.

"And his name only appeared three times in this team... Hah, not only was he not chosen as captain, he wasn't even considered a confidant?"

Upon hearing this, the subordinate's eyes widened in shock.

It's more unbelievable than the sky falling down that Thor, with his arrogant and conceited nature, would actually work for another team for free!

"The banquet begins..."

The Seventh Apostle uttered the name that always appeared in the group.

Five games, five clear records, the worst was 15th place, and the best two records were second and third place respectively.

The sixteenth place finisher had an time of three and a half hours or more, so they simply didn't have the ability to compete.

But the record for fifteenth place also lasted three hours.

The Seventh Apostle, seemingly remembering something, suddenly burst into excited laughter, lifted the boy up, and spun him around.

The vine patterns parasitizing the pupils seemed to tremble excitedly in that joyful mood.

"At first, he was so ordinary that he was inconspicuous, but over time he was able to climb up little by little until he trampled everyone else under his feet. He really is just like White! No wonder you are so fascinated by him, little lamb!"

When he first arrived, the Seventh Apostle didn't even glance at the record board, because he knew his name would definitely appear in the first column.

Now, however, he couldn't wait any longer and, with a strong fighting spirit, asked his subordinates, "When was the second record set?"

The two apostles had tried almost all the rides in the amusement park before they arrived, but their subordinates had already been there to take over.

Upon hearing this, he replied, "It's been almost forty minutes."

Forty minutes?

It lasted longer than the second-place finisher's thirty minutes.

The Seventh Apostle's excited fighting spirit vanished instantly, replaced by great disappointment.

He stared at the record board with resentment, becoming more and more engrossed, to the point of fanaticism and cynicism, his wildly trembling vines seeming to sprout from his pupils.

“Little Lamb,” the Seventh Apostle asked, “do you think this Central Continent person named Yan Chuyi is White?”

The boy lowered his thick eyelashes, hugging the white sheep doll, and seemed a little sleepy.

When he spoke for the first time, his weak voice sounded like a muttered soliloquy: "White isn't that weak."

"..." The Seventh Apostle calmed down instantly and smiled, "Yes, that's the White Satan who devoured eleven of us."

The Seventh Apostle, carrying the boy, slowly walked outside: "The amusement park White's been longing for isn't as fun as ours. I'm almost tired of it. By the way, do you think that deity named Xie Xubai might be White? His name has the character 'white' in it, and his personality seems similar to White's..."

He completely ignored the fact that his subordinates were terrified by this shocking secret, their sweat pouring down their backs and their souls nearly leaving their bodies.

Good heavens! What did the Seventh Apostle just say, "eat"?

The "eating" in the Seventh Apostle's name is standard terminology, without any ambiguity; it refers to "eating" the flesh and blood.

The subordinates did not understand the specific operating model of the Twelve Apostles; they only knew that the selection of the Apostles was fraught with bloodshed.

In order to complete the game and redeem Earth, the highest global federation organized players from all over the world who had the potential to advance to godhood to gather in a closed area for training. They were constantly screened and eliminated until only twelve remained, who became the current "Twelve Apostles".

The twelve apostles who competed for the election still harbor resentment, leading people to speculate that something quite unpleasant must have happened back then, but no one expected it to be this cruel!

One of them opened his mouth in terror, but the other quickly covered his mouth, and he shook his head, sweating profusely.

Don't ask! Don't mention it! These are secrets they can't just casually discuss!

Just then, the subordinate, looking up in a daze, saw the suddenly changed numbers on the clearance record board and couldn't help but exclaim, "My God, first place—"

The seventh apostle, who had already stepped out of the tent, suddenly stopped.

The next second, his body flashed in front of the completion record board. Facing the panicked gazes of the crowd, he watched as his first place was replaced by a brand new record time, his pupils dilating inch by inch.

The little boy, who seemed to be drowsy, suddenly opened his eyes, his bright blue eyes staring blankly at the top of the rankings.

A long list of names was displayed in the first column, more than a dozen in total.

However, the title of "Yan Chuyi" remained firmly in first place, and the system judged it to be the one with the highest contribution from the authorities.

The Seventh Apostle's breath caught in his throat. As he gazed at her, his eyes became hazy and alluring. A smile appeared on his upturned lips, and his cheeks flushed red, as if he had drunk a large amount of wine.

The completion time displayed a startling number—

"Eleven minutes???"

The players waiting outside grabbed their teammates who had just come out and shook them wildly, so excited they were incoherent: "Two matches, averaging about five minutes each, and that includes entry time, you guys were cheating, weren't you?!"

"I don't know!" The man was dizzy from being shaken. "We just followed the orders of the first-year boss. After we went in, we started running and attacked wherever he told us to."

Then, as I ran, I found the ball and the murderer, and just like that, I cleared the game in a daze!

They were especially happy to receive extra points for completing the game within an hour!

Others had similar experiences.

If anyone had questioned Xie Xubai's abilities before, now no one dared to utter a sound, and they sullenly touched their noses.

Thinking back to the exhilaration of being carried away, she felt ashamed even when she looked at Xie Xubai.

Captain Xu seemed quite amused.

No matter how much you talk, it's better to just show off your skills and slap people in the face. He bet that this time there won't be any troublemakers who dare to talk back or disobey.

As for Captain Xu, he gave up on subtly probing which organization the young man belonged to, since dealing with such a person would be a piece of cake... He would wait until they had developed a camaraderie and asked him when the time was right.

The search team brought back clues about the train station. After eating and drinking their fill and resting, the people were ready to set off in high spirits, creating a joyful atmosphere.

It was at this moment that they suddenly realized Xie Xubai was standing still and had not followed.

The young man's shadow stretched long, separated by a large area bathed in direct sunlight. Compared to the shadows of the bustling, joyful crowd, he appeared solitary, silent, and gaunt, leaving a somber feeling in one's heart.

Xie Xubai glanced at them and finished the last bottle of Grade A reagent he had received from the logistics department.

Even the most resilient person would find it mentally exhausting to replenish and deplete their reagents so frequently. The logistics girl's brow twitched as she watched: "Hey! Don't worry, there's still some here. You can drink it on the way back, okay?"

Unexpectedly, Xie Xubai said, "You guys go first."

Everyone was shocked.

Could it be that the boss has finally had enough of their chicken-like incompetence and constant nagging, and is going to abandon them and go solo?!

Captain Xu thought so too, but then he realized it wasn't right.

If Yan Chuyi really disliked them, she wouldn't have patiently divided them into six groups to play in order to ensure that everyone could pass the level without dying, wasting so much time.

Brian met Xie Xubai's unwavering eyes. Ever since the first match, he had had a strong premonition.

You are angry.

Brian's heart skipped a beat, and he spoke in a low voice during their mental communication.

[You beat the game so quickly, repeatedly pushing your completion time to the limit, not to prove this ridiculous reason to others, but because...?]

Xie Xubai interrupted him expressionlessly: "No matter what you think of me, I've done my duty by dragging this whole team of old, weak, sick and disabled people through. From now on, I sever all ties with you, and what I want to do has nothing to do with you."

After saying that, he ignored the various expressions on the faces of the crowd and turned to walk towards the owner of the dodgeball shop.

*

Xie Xubai, in his ink-wash style, placed a white chess piece with a snap!