Chapter 248

[Messiah], the current First Apostle, male, appears to be around twenty-five years old, but his true age, background, social relationships, and contracted deities are all unknown.

This person had been unknown in previous reincarnations until the rules of the Infinite Game were remade in this life, when he suddenly became active in the public eye. In the following trials, he was like a tiger descending the mountain, surpassing all the well-known god-level players and becoming the first to achieve the record of first clear [10]!

Although the goal was achieved, the Infinite Game did not end there. Instead, it was suddenly restarted, and all players' memories were wiped clean. Only a few god-level players and organizations that had taken precautions beforehand were spared.

But the strength demonstrated by [Messiah] is beyond doubt.

In no time, the members of the Federation were like hyenas that had smelled meat, rushing to the door and using a combination of coercion, enticement, and persuasion to win over [Messiah] to their side.

They then used live news broadcasts to promote Messiah, who proved his abilities in one trial after another and demonstrated saintly character by sacrificing himself to save others time and time again. As a result, he won the hearts of many players in the lower and middle stages of the Outer Continent, and his popularity soared to number one.

At that time, Xie Yuchun had completely sacrificed herself and was partially integrated into the four-dimensional law of "time," making it impossible for her to remain in the human world for long.

Inspector Pei Yuheng and his team of key scientific and technical personnel have all disappeared without explanation.

After White's sacrifice, his remains were never recovered.

The Federation vigorously promoted newcomers, even adopting the codename "Messiah," with an obvious purpose—to seize power while the Apostle Guild was leaderless!

Lilith said, "It's normal for you to suspect Messiah. He's about the same age as you, his abilities are comparable to yours at his peak, and he even specializes in mental power just like you. The timing of his appearance is so coincidental that it's laughable. It's like the system deliberately threw bait at the Federation to cater to their preferences. Anyone would think there's something wrong with him."

Xie Xubai pondered: "You mean to say that he is actually trustworthy?"

Lilith: "No, I have never trusted him, not now."

Xie Xubai raised an eyebrow: "Why?"

He had previously helped the lamb cleanse its mind of pollution, and the lamb had mentioned the Messiah.

The lamb told him that because the Messiah was a successor specially recommended by the Federation, no one gave him a friendly look when he first arrived.

But Messiah has a good mindset, just like White in the beginning. Even when he is criticized by many, he remains calm and composed, and does not waste words to defend himself. He gradually resolves the barriers and prejudices through his actions.

However, this move backfired, causing the apostles' initial dislike to escalate into disgust.

Since White had acted in the same way when he first arrived, they had reason to suspect that the Federation wanted Messiah to emulate White in winning people's hearts.

Until Messiah went on a killing spree in a dungeon.

The setting is a village where human trafficking is used for illegal experiments. From pimps who lure tourists into the village, to unlicensed doctors who appear to love public welfare but secretly harvest organs, to the seemingly kind-hearted hotel owner and the food processing plant that acts as a transit point for trafficking, basically everyone is evil and there is not a single innocent person.

However, in the early stages when he did not have enough clues, Messiah, after confirming some of the shop owner's evil deeds, actually cut the man in half on the spot!

This is not an exaggeration.

When the shop owner's blood and brains spurted out from the middle cut, the previously noisy queue suddenly became as quiet as a chicken.

The little lamb asked Xie Xubai, "If it were you, what would you do?"

If it were Xie Xubai, whether he was serving as the First Apostle or an ordinary person, he would use the shop owner as a starting point to follow the clues, understand the whole story, and then bring them all in one fell swoop.

But the Messiah will not wait.

He seemed to have a clear execution line in his mind. No matter what the other party's difficulties were, how much help they could bring to the overall situation, or what other people thought, as long as that line was touched, he would take action immediately.

The story ends with the Messiah slaughtering the entire village, leaving no one alive from the network of interests involved.

Because those people deserved to die, their teammates didn't immediately see anything wrong with it.

Even Messiah took out every item that the perpetrators had touched in their daily lives, including household items such as plates and cutlery, repair tools, and vehicles...

Nearly 100,000 items were collected and destroyed without exception, and then incinerated.

The firelight illuminated Messiah's extremely approachable face. His brows were relaxed, and he looked as holy and benevolent as a statue in a church. At that moment, those around him couldn't help but shiver as they looked at him.

The lamb said, "He seems to have a very serious moral fastidiousness. During one sparring session, Hill and Raven were almost killed by him."

The Raven is the fourth apostle, the covenant god Raphael. Like the second apostle's covenant god Michael, it is an angel of the highest rank.

However, due to system interference, Raphael fell from grace shortly after the game started, becoming a fallen angel. His power and appearance were affected, which is why he earned the nickname "Raven".

For someone of their caliber, conventional training wouldn't achieve the desired results. Therefore, Hill and the Raven attacked Messiah solely to drive away this uninvited guest, suspected of being a spy.

Little did they expect that the Messiah's killing intent towards them would be even stronger.

The reason is simple: Hill's ability to devour flesh and blood is too malevolent, and the raven is a fallen demon.

Even the Federation's commissioner below the ring was so frightened that he turned pale and shouted for the game to stop. Messiah, still with an icy expression, raised his weapon and pierced the crow's heart with a thud!

With such ruthlessness, it's hard to believe the Messiah came to win people's hearts.

Most importantly, later on, a conflict broke out between the Messiah and the Federation, and he personally killed nearly half of the leaders.

This move completely severed ties between Messiah and the Federation, clearing him of suspicion of being a mole.

After all, those self-important and cowardly politicians would never risk their lives to set a trap.

Therefore, while the apostles didn't necessarily trust him completely, they also stopped rejecting him without reason.

As for Hill and Raven, who almost died, given the psychological trauma the former inflicted on them by using dodder, and the deep-seated hatred accumulated from the latter's daily indiscriminate and sarcastic remarks, and the fact that they wouldn't actually die due to their rebirth mechanism, no one spoke up for them, and they dispersed after watching the spectacle.

They respected their comrades and trusted their companions.

But there was only one person who treated the members of the Apostle Guild like family, loving and caring for them.

.

Lilith said she suspected Messiah, so naturally she had to conduct an investigation.

She once approached the other party privately to discuss, on the condition that she voluntarily give up her qualification to succeed as the First Apostle, and asked the other party to delay the completion time indefinitely, or to let others achieve the record first [10].

The Messiah agreed.

As a result, the game restarts regardless of whether the person who ultimately achieves the record [10] is the Messiah.

Delaying won't work either; the system will declare you a passive player, thus triggering a 100% all-out war mode. The game difficulty will increase exponentially to an unconquerable, devastating level, resulting in the entire server being wiped out!

“He and I reached a preliminary agreement to verify the results using our own methods and concluded that the conditions given by the system [10] were not simply a trap.”

"Firstly, it must also follow the basic rules of the game; secondly, based on this condition, the future I see is constantly changing and is not a dead end."

"If level design is the additional data, then the conditions for passing the level are the underlying code. It may conceal some key information, but it is absolutely impossible for it to lie."

"The current situation is that Messiah is clearing the dungeon normally and obtaining the record, and is keeping it on standby for the ninth dungeon, trying to delay it as much as possible."

If we still haven't found a solution by then, we should give up.

If found, then record [9] will be the key to breaking the deadlock.

As they talked, stars seemed to spin in Lilith's eyes, emitting a bright glow.

In an instant, countless possibilities for the future piled up before her eyes, one after another dazzling.

What might happen when she observes Messiah's record-breaking achievement [10], namely what Xie Xubai just asked her to investigate, will take some time.

When Xie Xubai heard Lilith say that she had reached an agreement with Messiah, he was somewhat surprised, thinking that she would not help him or would ask him to change the direction of his investigation.

“That was just a temporary collaboration, it doesn’t mean I trust him,” Lilith emphasized repeatedly. “I don’t believe there are such coincidences in this world. His identity has always been questionable, especially his actions after joining the organization.”

Xie Xubai: "What method?"

“Break with the Federation.” Lilith sneered. “Those old fogies in the Federation have been flattered to the point of madness. Even if they can put on a respectable facade for a while, their true colors will be revealed after a while. If the Messiah truly hates evil, why didn’t they break with it sooner?”

Lilith, having faced a similar predicament as a hawkish candidate in the Federation, is not without reason.

Xie Xubai asked, "Since you don't trust him, why were you willing to give up the position of First Apostle?"

Lilith is not a tranquil and indifferent person; on the contrary, she has an extremely ardent pursuit of power.

It may not be obvious now, but in the early days of the guild, she was not afraid to show her talent in the most outstanding way, striving to be the first in every test, and rushing to the front line in dangerous battles.

Even when she learned that Xie Xubai had been designated as the First Apostle, Lilith did not take advantage of her greater power to secretly kill him, but instead extended an olive branch first.

After being explicitly rejected several times, she began to target and suppress him, using legitimate methods—this magnanimity and openness are not qualities that most people possess.

Many people regret that if Lilith's leg hadn't been injured, she might still have been able to fight White to a standstill.

She will become a competent politician, an ambitious person, and an excellent strategic commander.

However, the truth is that Lilith's legs are sealed with a cosmic-level spatial beast, which she can enslave and use for her own purposes. At its peak, the power she unleashed was even comparable to that of an Outer God, and she did not become useless.

With the addition of the "Eye for the Future" given by Xie Yuchun, it's equivalent to her being able to manipulate the two major laws of time and space. It can be said that she has truly grasped the future time and space in her hands.

"Tell me, what's the use of becoming the First Apostle now?"

Lilith rolled her eyes as she fiddled with the timeline.

She rested her elbow on the armrest and propped her chin up with one hand: "Ever since the teacher, Inspector Pei, and you left, the guild has fallen apart and become a mere shell. It's obvious that everyone obeys a trustworthy and authoritative leader, not that so-called position."

"Those arrogant princes and princesses have been spoiled by you. They don't submit to anyone, each one is more opinionated than the last, and they are incredibly fragile. Instead of spending your energy on how to win over these unreliable guys, you should think about how to increase your strength."

If an individual's power is limited, then the right to speak within a group is power.

But if one person can crush tens or hundreds of millions of people, then that person is power itself.

This shows that this ambitious woman has never changed her pursuit.

“If you come back to rebuild the Apostles Guild, I wouldn’t mind watching you coax the child again.”

Lilith said, "But I guess you'd rather there be no more apostles 'born' than to glorify the apostles."

Xie Xubai naturally focused on the second half of the sentence, without denying it: "Isn't this our common goal?"

Lilith glanced at him, thinking to herself that these were two completely different things. What lord would simply disband the recruited soldiers on the spot after winning a war?

As he thought about it, he couldn't help but chuckle and sigh, "That's the problem. With a commander like you leading the way, how can they possibly listen to the orders of those who come after them?"

Just then, Lilith's hand, which was manipulating the timeline, suddenly froze, and her gaze narrowed slightly.

“There’s a problem,” she said in a deep voice.