Chapter 37 Pretending I've Been Reborn Too A True Reborn Person: Heaven's Justice is Unfair...

Thanks to Yin Chou's healing potions, the group in the dungeon finally managed to complete the level without any major incidents.

The joy lasted only a few seconds before the gates of the checkpoint ahead opened, signifying that several more checkpoints awaited them.

The smiles on their faces faded without them realizing it, and everyone's expressions gradually became awkward, even somewhat hesitant.

"or……"

Before he could finish speaking, the other temporary members who ran to the monster's corpse to open the treasure chest exclaimed in surprise, "It's purple equipment!"

"Purple?" The other temporary members turned to look, both shocked and envious. "You're so lucky!"

The items in the dungeon are divided into several tiers: useless white items, excellent green items, fine blue items, top-quality purple items, perfect gold items, and legendary red items.

With each level increase, the attributes and functions of items will see a leap forward.

Among them, defeating ordinary monsters will basically only drop white and green items. Blue items depend on luck and have a very low drop rate. They are high-end items that most adventurers are pursuing.

Fighting elite monsters is much better than fighting regular monsters; the worst loot you get is green, the most likely is blue, and the least likely is purple.

For many adventurers, joining a strong team to challenge elite monsters and obtain top-tier equipment is an extremely rare and desirable opportunity.

Even if many people participate in the final boss battle, they may not necessarily get purple-level items from the loot that is randomly distributed according to their contribution value.

So, unlike Yin Chou, who was already considering how to quit, these temporary members, whose heads were practically hanging on their belts after becoming heroes, saw the purple equipment appear with their own eyes and brains filled with the light of the item. All they could think about was "I can't miss this opportunity." They happily went to pick up the treasures in the treasure chest, and then looked at Yin Chou and the new level gate behind him with great anticipation.

Yin Chou: "..."

Yin Chou forced a smile: "This battle is too dangerous. For everyone's safety, we should—"

"No, no, no, we're not afraid of danger!" the group quickly replied. "For the sake of passing through customs, for the sake of our compatriots outside, what danger are we afraid of!"

"The real danger lies in their utter helplessness against monsters."

"That's right, that's right."

"Besides, we have the blood vials you provided, so we'll be fine."

This last sentence truly reflects everyone's feelings.

Although they've lost Si Qi as a priest, with Yin Chou handling healing, they have no worries and can focus on fighting as before.

Yin Chou: "..."

So, he doesn't need to be careful with his blood vials anymore, huh?

Do these people have any awareness that they are encroaching on his survival resources and gradually reducing his chances of survival?

How could you have the nerve to say something like that?!

Yin Chou looked at the blood vials that occupied three full compartments (3*99) in the warehouse and lied through his teeth: "I only have a few dozen blood vials left."

"Then give us ten each."

The other members answered without hesitation.

Yin Chou: "..."

He had never been so speechless in his life.

But in front of the live stream camera, he couldn't bring himself to mock these people for being shameless and having the nerve to say such things.

I can only be thankful that I lied out of habit, at least now I won't suffer too much loss.

But I still have a headache.

Yin Chou smiled and nodded, indicating that there was no problem. He generously traded the blood potion and kindly reminded them, "This is the last blood potion. You should use it carefully so that you don't run out of health when you're done."

Everyone clicked to claim the reward, beaming with joy, and nodding repeatedly in approval.

Then, they still insisted on moving on to the next level.

After all, we already have blood vials, so we're naturally more confident, aren't we?

Yin Chou had shot himself in the foot; he was so angry he wanted to grit his teeth.

But faced with his regular teammates who were used to him saying "We need to conquer the dungeon and save humanity," and temporary members who were only thinking about getting equipment to improve their survival skills, he simply couldn't convince such a group of people on his own.

Now that Si Qi is no longer available as an excuse, it's easier for him to shift the blame.

From the audience's perspective, only he can kill these monsters in this dungeon, and sooner or later he will have to deal with these elite monsters.

He could hide for a while, but not forever. Even though he had a vague feeling that Si Qi would definitely try to survive after leaving the team, and might even single-handedly destroy the entire instance, just like how he had fought back against adversity and narrowly escaped death countless times in his previous life.

But he couldn't tell the audience about this to evade responsibility.

Finally, under the semi-forceful urging of everyone, they pushed open the door to the next level.

One can imagine what the upcoming battle will be like.

Yin Chou had done his best, but the audience was truly disappointed.

Even though fans kept making excuses, saying that this was the most difficult elite challenge level on Earth to date, and that other heroes would have died hundreds of times over, it still couldn't change the chaotic and exhausting reality of Yin Chou's team.

The time limit for the challenge is clearly nearing its end.

However, the haunted house mini-boss in the level has not been defeated yet, and it is even possible that the level will break apart and merge with the amusement park environment outside after the time limit expires.

This is a very dangerous situation.

If the mini-boss doesn't die quickly enough, it will actively seek out the final boss of the dungeon. With both mini-bosses attacking together, the chances of the adventurer clearing the dungeon will be drastically reduced.

Moreover, how can someone who can't even kill a mini-boss alone handle two bosses, one big and one small?

The more people watched, the more anxious they became, and they couldn't help but ask in the comments what was wrong with Yin Chou and how his skill level had suddenly dropped so much.

Fans immediately blamed Si Qi, saying that it must have been Si Qi's betrayal and slander that affected Yin Chou's mentality.

Many people echoed this sentiment, even insulting Si Qi, saying he was a rotten apple that ruined the whole pot of porridge, a hopeless case who dragged humanity down with him.

If the dungeon collapses and the monsters come to life, Si Qi will undoubtedly be the culprit.

Amidst the chorus of curses, the timer in the haunted house dungeon ticked away, and the final countdown finally began.

Before Yin Chou and the others could even see the face of the mini-boss, the surrounding haunted house shattered, and all the subsequent levels that had not been cleared were unlocked and appeared in front of them all at once.

Yin Chou's expression changed drastically, and he instinctively grabbed his weapon and turned to run.

Those who reacted quickly followed him away, while those who reacted slowly were entangled by the monster.

Two of the heroes died on the spot, while another narrowly escaped death. With only a sliver of health left, he used a one-time-use item he had just acquired to leave the battlefield.

This terrible situation made the audience's mood even worse. While the vast majority of people were cursing Si Qi, occasionally one or two people would say that Yin Chou had a bad mentality, that he broke down after being criticized a few times.

As for those passersby who witnessed Si Qi's abilities in Si Qi's live stream and came to say a few words for him, they were lost among millions of netizens and couldn't attract any attention at all.

Following the trail of the escaped hero, some viewers switched their viewing angles in the live stream, worried that he might encounter danger if he got separated from his group.

When switching options, I was surprised to find that Si Qi's avatar was still lit up—he's not dead yet?

The atmosphere of overwhelming condemnation of Si Qi in the live chat had not yet subsided, and these people subconsciously clicked on Si Qi's live stream, wanting to rush in and curse him for having the audacity to live when everyone else is dead.

Then……

Caught off guard, they saw Si Qi wielding a blue weapon and severing the head of the grinning puppet with a single stroke.

New user: "...???!!!"

Did they enter the wrong live stream room? Or are they doing it wrong?

The profanities that were about to be uttered were swallowed back down.

The atmosphere in Si Qi's live stream was extremely harmonious. Everyone was cheering in unison, and their unanimous and consistent tone even made people wonder if they were paid trolls.

But in these live-streaming rooms supported by mysterious forces, there's no room for paid trolls to run rampant.

Besides, no one would be stupid enough to hire online trolls for someone as universally disliked as Si Qi, right?

Most importantly, even if someone deliberately flattered Si Qi, Si Qi wouldn't kill monsters like chickens just because of a few compliments, taking them down one by one with a single strike.

Are they really not seeing things?

"What... what exactly is going on?"

Someone couldn't help but ask.

"You're new here, aren't you?"

One person replied, "To put it simply, Si Qi didn't lie; he really is as amazing as he claims."

New user: "???"

That's bullshit.

Just based on Si Qi?

"No matter how much you say, it's useless. Just watch." The viewers in the live stream spoke calmly, clearly having said similar things many times before.

There are always people who accidentally stumble into Si Qi's live stream and are then completely astonished by his performance.

Just as netizens believed, Si Qi easily killed the monster in front of him, and after putting away his weapon, he skillfully checked the treasure chest.

"He's really getting better and better at it."

"At first, I wasn't used to being a priest, and I would subconsciously drink health potions while fighting. Later, I would tank monsters as a warrior while healing myself, like a perpetual motion machine."

"Did you notice Si Qi's moves? They're completely warrior-style. Sprinting, rolling, double jump—they're exactly the same as other warriors and heroes, and he's even more skilled at them."

"It's really amazing. How can a priest master a skill that only warriors can use? Isn't that a cross-class skill?"

"Perhaps he has an excellent ability to imitate? After all, warriors' skills are easier to master than mages' skills."

"Impossible. You can watch the official live stream of the frontline elite squad. Just now, the warrior with the highest level on the leaderboard leveled up and unlocked the 'Thrust' skill, which can deal three times the damage in one hit. She even used it a few times on the spot, and the way she used the move was exactly the same as what Si Qi just used. But the key point is that Si Qi's critical hit rate was five times! Five times! It's obviously an effect that can only be achieved after the skill has been trained to the 'Mastery' level."

"???"

"Honestly, the more I look at it, the more confused I get."

"I think what Si Qi said might be true..."

"With Si Qi's skills, there's no way he could have been so severely injured by the monster before. Besides, he was insulted like that, and his mother was still in the intensive care unit. There was absolutely no need for him to hold back..."

"Could it be that the Yin family threatened Si Qi, using his mother's life..."

"Possibly."

"Even so, Si Qi's abilities shouldn't be this strong. Putting everything else aside, just his ability to use sprinting, rolling, and thrusting as basic attacks is something only a battle-hardened warrior could achieve. Besides, his 'thrust' skill, which he's even more proficient with than the top-ranked warrior, who would have known that warriors could unlock this ability before?"

"So Si Qi could really be a reincarnation... He said he used to be a warrior, so it's not surprising that he knows warrior skills."

"Even if you were a warrior before you were reborn, you still can't use warrior skills after changing classes, right?"

"Not necessarily. Some powerful warriors can unleash skill effects even without using skills, that is, without consuming mana."

"I'm stunned. So just how well did Si Qi utilize his warrior skills in his 'previous life'? Even after being reclassed as a newbie priest, he can still use high-level warrior skills with ease."

A group of people were having a heated discussion, and the scene of Si Qi effortlessly slaying monsters on screen made those who rushed over, eager to yell and curse, all fall silent.

What are they cursing about? Are they cursing Si Qi for dragging everyone down, calling Si Qi a good-for-nothing?

However, the team that was "dragged down" by Si Qi suffered a sharp decline in skill after Si Qi left, unable to even clear a single level, and several team members died.

After Si Qi was kicked out of the team, he fought against all the monsters in the entire level by himself, and it seems that he had already defeated several of them.

Look at his brand-new gear, a complete upgrade from ragtag weapons, and his warrior weapon that broke down incredibly quickly because it wasn't suitable for his class...

It's obvious that he's been fighting for quite some time and has already collected countless treasure chests.

It's really hard to say who dragged whom down.

As they were talking, Si Qi cleared the level of the amusement park's peripheral shops and returned to the main dungeon scene.

Elite monsters that had escaped from the haunted house instance and were hunting down heroes suddenly appeared in front of Si Qi.

Many netizens who didn't have time to switch their viewing angle to check on Yin Chou's situation were startled by the sudden appearance of this monster.

"grass!!"

"Damn, that scared me to death!"

"What the hell? How come there are monsters here??"

Viewers who had been watching Si Qi's live stream from beginning to end were confused by this illogical turn of events. Those who had watched the whole thing and knew the inside story then stepped forward to explain.

"These are the eerie creatures that escaped from the haunted house level because it couldn't be solved within the time limit."

"...What's going on? Yin An didn't even clear the haunted house dungeon?"

"Aren't all the heroes there incredibly skilled? I saw them clearing the haunted house levels very smoothly before."

"Could something have gone wrong? Like the boss going berserk?"

Netizens who helped explain: "..."

How should I put it?

It can't be said that after Si Qi left the team, the whole team was like it was hit by some kind of debuff (negative effect, curse), and its level plummeted and its ability dropped drastically.

The people are the same as before, but they are incredibly weak when it comes to fighting.

The netizen stammered and made an excuse, saying, "Maybe the elite monsters later on were stronger than the ones earlier, so Yin An and his group couldn't defeat them..."

No more than two seconds after he uttered those words, the "incomparably powerful" elite monster rushed in front of Si Qi. With a "whoosh," the tip of the blade pierced through the gap in its ribs, easily piercing its "heart" and killing it cleanly and decisively.

Netizen: "…………"

The slap in the face came so quickly that it caught everyone off guard.

"Emmm...that's pretty 'strong' indeed."

"Hahahaha, the one in front is so despicable."

"It feels like there's no difference between elite monsters and regular monsters in front of Si Qi."

The atmosphere in the live stream was relaxed, and even the person who initially wanted to say that the elite monsters in the haunted house were particularly difficult to deal with couldn't continue.

He couldn't understand why the monster, which had been incredibly strong just a few minutes ago, forcing Yin Chou and his group of warriors to flee all over the room, had become so fragile in front of Si Qi.

Could it be that the monster wasn't too strong, but rather that Yin Chou and his group were too weak?

Just as this thought crossed their minds, the very member of the hero's team, who had been the subject of everyone's conversation, appeared before them.

He was also stunned for a moment when he saw Si Qi appear. Then, just like the viewers in his live stream who were concerned about his situation, his expression immediately fell, his eyes filled with resentment, and his tone became violent as he angrily cursed him: "You're still alive!"

Si Qi glanced at him, raised an eyebrow, and the viewers in the live stream couldn't help but be speechless: "What kind of person is this?"

"He would curse at someone upon meeting them, asking why they weren't dead yet."

"I don't understand what Si Qi owes him."

Si Qi didn't speak. The man rushed straight up to Si Qi, first spouting a bunch of blame-shifting statements like "If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be in such a mess," and then ordering him, "Quickly heal me!"

Si Qi asked with interest, "I'm not your teammate, why should I heal you?"

The teammate glared fiercely, his voice booming, "You're a priest! If you don't heal me, what are you trying to do?!"

"Si Qi really did it on purpose. His last-minute withdrawal from the team put An'an and the others in a difficult situation. He's so cunning." Viewers in his live stream also chimed in with their comments.

"Those brave warriors who were forced to sacrifice themselves were all killed by Si Qi." Netizens tried to incite the already emotionally charged families of the deceased to hate Si Qi.

“You’re a warrior too. You didn’t protect me when the monster attacked me,” Si Qi sneered.

The team member was taken aback by Si Qi's retort, then his face flushed red with anger: "Do you want to die?"

"What, are you going to hit me again like before?" Si Qi mocked, "You're not good at fighting monsters, but you're very good at hitting people."

The soldier was furious at Si Qi's reaction and couldn't help but instinctively throw a punch, just like he would in the real world.

Si Qi dodged, his eyes icy: "Now you're not pretending in front of the camera? I thought you only had this ability in the real world."

"Wait... what? These guys treated Si Qi like this even after leaving the dungeon?" Viewers in Si Qi's live stream were shocked, then became furious: "Damn, I saw this guy kick Si Qi's head while Si Qi was seriously injured in the back of the head, almost killing Si Qi's last bit of health. I thought this guy was really ruthless. Was this something he practiced?!"

"I'm starting to feel more and more sorry for Si Qi..."

However, in the live stream chat on the other side, the curses against Si Qi became even more rampant because of Si Qi's "slander." They were saying all sorts of despicable and vicious things, making many viewers who switched to the live stream to "check out the enemy's situation" frown.

The soldier had no reason to admit to Si Qi's "rumors" and said impatiently, "Stop talking nonsense and heal me!"

He had drunk all the red potions Yin Chou gave him while dodging elite monsters, and now his health was almost depleted. If a monster even grazed him, he would die.

Si Qi remained unmoved and completely ignored him.

The person opposite him got angry and wanted to fight Si Qi, but Si Qi dodged faster than he could. He scrambled and kicked wildly for a long time but couldn't touch a hair on Si Qi's head. Finally, he became furious and started verbally attacking him: "What do you want to do? Even if you've left the team, you should remember that I protected you before."

"You protected me so well that I almost died several times?" Si Qi retorted sarcastically.

The opposing warrior choked, then retorted in a fit of despair: "You're a priest! Priests are supposed to heal everyone else for free!!"

"You warriors don't seem to have any obligation to protect priests."

"How can this be the same?" The warrior's voice boomed like thunder, as if he could use the volume of his voice as a battle cry skill, making the viewers in the live stream buzz. "This is the priest's job. What else can you do if you don't heal me? The warrior is responsible for killing monsters. You just need to hide in the back to survive. You should be happy about that, but you dare to negotiate with me?"

"You're supposed to be a warrior, but you haven't killed many monsters," Si Qi said with disdain. "Was that elite monster from the haunted house? What, did you fail to clear the haunted house level? Did you exceed the time limit? With this level of skill, you dare to claim you've contributed much to killing monsters?"

"Exactly! While you guys were getting beaten up by elite monsters, Si Qi had already cleared five levels." Viewers in Si Qi's live stream were indignant on his behalf, unable to stand the other person's bossy attitude.

If you think warriors contribute a lot and priests are obligated to assist them, then you should at least act like a warrior.

"How do you know... you saw an elite monster?" The warrior frowned, assuming that Si Qi had been wandering in the safe zone since leaving the group and hadn't encountered any regular monsters, but he hadn't considered the possibility that Si Qi might have encountered an elite monster.

But only after he said that did he belatedly realize that Si Qi's equipment had all been changed, completely different from the beginner's blank gear he had been wearing before, and his body was faintly radiating a blue glow.

His eyes widened instantly, and he blurted out, "How is that possible?!" Then, after frowning and thinking for a moment, he realized, "You have the props that An'an gave you in your storage!"

—How cunning! They'd rather use low-level, basic gear to heal them than equip them with better gear to maximize their team's strength.

The soldier looked at him with disdain: "You planned this all along, didn't you? You were planning to break away from the group halfway through and catch us off guard."

"Damn, Si Qi is too vicious!" The audience was filled with righteous indignation.

Si Qi: "What do you mean by 'caught off guard'? Didn't you all say that without me as a burden, you could unleash even greater power? You've been yelling for me to get lost?"

"I don't care what you say, it's all your fault!" the warrior snapped angrily. "Stop talking nonsense and heal me!"

He simply didn't have the patience to waste time with Si Qi here. If an elite monster appeared later, it would be one thing if Si Qi died, but he didn't want to die!

Si Qi simply said, "No."

The warrior roared, "You're a priest!!!"

“Priests also use up their mana to heal,” Si Qi said slowly and deliberately, completely ignoring the other person’s anxious and agitated appearance. “I don’t even have enough mana to heal myself, why would I care about you?”

"So you're just going to stand by and watch me die?" The warrior's tone was chilling, already prepared to use force to coerce Si Qi into a choice between death and cooperation: "You should know this is happening live. If I die because of low health, it will definitely be because of you!"

"It's not like you'd use your skills to protect me instead of yourself when monsters appear and life and death are at stake," Si Qi rolled his eyes. "Is a priest's life worth less than your warrior's? My mana is obligated to protect you, while your mana is all yours?"

Without waiting for a rebuttal, Si Qi continued, "Warriors and mages are killing monsters, getting treasure chests, and gaining experience. Priests also participate in the battle, but they get nothing and have to take responsibility for their own safety. You get all the benefits, and I get nothing no matter how much I give. What, do I owe you anything?"

"Putting everything else aside, just considering the blood vials alone, how much money have I saved you? Have you shared it with me?"

"Did you replenish my mana with the mana potion I used to heal? Wasn't that a skill I used on you? Only the skills you use on monsters count as skills, while the skills I use are nothing?"

"You say it's a priest's duty to heal, but when you warriors and mages see someone about to die, it's not your duty to heal? Only priests' skills can heal, but your skills and the red potions in your pockets can't heal? What are you pretending to be stupid about? You're trying to morally blackmail me here. Do you even have any morals?"

Si Qi's explanation finally made some viewers in the live stream realize: "No wonder I always felt something was off, now I understand!"

"Priests are just as brave as warriors and mages when they enter dungeons to fight. Why is it that priests get less benefit than warriors, and are even called a burden? They are morally blackmailed into using their mana to heal others... It's those people who are unwilling to use potions themselves, and insist that priests heal them, and then they don't even compensate the priests after they've healed them!"

"Just look at Si Qi's situation before. Even though he was in Yin Chou's team, he still only had basic equipment. You can imagine the situation of the priests in other dungeons."

"Wait a minute, there really isn't. The priests in other dungeons are doing much better than Siqi. They're higher level, and they have more equipment and more health and mana potions than Siqi."

"...The more I talk about it, the more I realize how badly Si Qi had fared in the past. Despite his strong abilities and far superior proficiency in healing skills compared to other priests, he ended up empty-handed with no results whatsoever."

"Even so, he still gets criticized by his teammates and fans, who say that Si Qi is a burden."

"To be fair, even disregarding Si Qi's combat abilities, just considering his healing skills, his healing prowess surpasses that of other priests of the same generation by several levels. Not only does he never miss a skill, but he also calculates his teammates' health very well, often using his skills before the boss's skills land, and he has never let his teammates' health drop below half a bar."

"Should we say those teammates have high aspirations, or that they are all talk and no action, selfish and self-serving..."

Si Qi's words made the viewers in his live stream feel particularly comfortable, as if they had spoken out many of their long-held objections that they had never known how to express.

But the warrior on the other side didn't see it that way at all. He felt that Si Qi was deliberately talking back, making excuses not to heal him, and slapping him in the face in public.

He used his professional skills, swinging an axe directly at Si Qi's head, intending to shut Si Qi up or simply kill him.

This kind of trash that everyone hates, no one will feel sorry for him even if he dies.