Chapter 222
The light band covered his eyes, revealing a bright red retina. He could vaguely see a slender figure standing in front of him, seemingly watching him intently.
Stephen was in a daze, wondering why he was here. Wasn't he supposed to have died a long time ago?
...Yes, he remembered.
One day, when the Infinite Game arrived, a mysterious man in a black cloak suddenly appeared at his door. He fell unconscious, and when he opened his eyes again, he found himself trapped in this desolate wasteland with towering black towers, and a flood of memories rushed into his mind.
He remembered that he was not just an ordinary CEO of a listed company, but also a former member of the Apostles' Guild who had been eliminated, a savior in preparation and a chosen one of God, and a beloved woman he couldn't save... named Lisa.
Stephen felt he should die again.
Just then, the mysterious cloaked figure reappeared and rattled off a long string of words. Stephen, his mind in a daze, listened impatiently and didn't understand a word.
But he remembered two things.
The first thing is that humanity has suffered another defeat after going through countless hardships.
At the time, it was the players' last chance; they were pushed to the limit, and failure meant certain death.
But just before the battle, White suddenly came up with a rather risky plan, gathering the strength of all the players and successfully outmaneuvering the system!
They were given another chance to start over, and they were determined to overturn all the previous unreasonable game rules. All the players rallied, knowing there wouldn't be a next time, nor was there any need for one; this time, they were confident they could win!
The second thing is that he has become a mini-boss in the dungeon, and White is about to lead a new team of players to attack the dungeon.
The problem is that White starts as an ordinary person in this life, without the power accumulated through multiple reincarnations, so he needs the help of others.
Hearing this, Stephen's numb and empty eyes finally moved, and a hoarse voice rang out: "How...how can I help him?"
“It’s very simple.” The demon’s voice, tinged with laughter, rang in his ear. “Since he lacks the power to fight against the system, then you can just give him your power, just like in the previous life. It’ll just be a little bit more painful.”
For these people, the physical pain they experience is the least of their worries.
Stephen tried to recognize the cloaked man but failed. He took a blank breath and asked intermittently, "What will happen to White? A person has a limited capacity to withstand power. If he forces himself to absorb it, what price will he pay?"
The cloaked figure smiled and said, "Nothing will happen to him. Think about it carefully. If something really happened to him, would he still be alive to see you again in this life?"
Stephen was skeptical of the cloaked man's words, but he did indeed see White.
The boy's appearance is not the same as it was back then, but he is still exceptionally radiant.
To verify the authenticity of his memory, Stephen blurted out to Xie Xubai, "Help me one more time."
When Stephen saw the boy's pupils suddenly contract, he knew that the cloaked man was not lying.
At that moment, a feeling of relief enveloped him.
Stephen burst into tears as he looked at the boy, desperately hoping that the boy would devour him soon.
It will not only end his nightmare, but also help you have a smooth and glorious journey.
Just as he was prepared to die, Xie Xubai suddenly asked, "Don't you want to see Lisa?"
The raging waves crashed against my heart.
Stephen suddenly looked up, but his eyes, covered by the light strip, couldn't see Xie Xubai's expression, so he frantically tried to tear it off.
The light band inhibits alienation, but cannot be removed.
Xie Xubai raised his hand and established a mental link with Stephen.
Under the emotional resonance, even the slightest trace of guilt or lying could not escape Stephen's perception.
"Stephen, I can let you see Lisa again, see your family."
"So," Xie Xubai asked, "are you willing to believe me?"
Back in the Apostle Guild, Xie Xubai always spoke in a calm and collected tone, leaving no room for error. The astute members could discern from the changes in his mental fluctuations whether the young commander was joking or issuing a stern warning.
But there's one thing they know: White would never joke around.
That is when you mention someone else's inner pain.
Just then, Xie Xubai's true emotions were transmitted through the mental link. Stephen was stunned, and tears welled up in his eyes again, freezing at the edge of the light band and dripping onto the ground.
"I believe you! I've always believed in you!"
Amid Stephen's desperate yet resolute wailing, the golden emblem rapidly took shape on the back of his hand, radiating a dazzling light.
The golden light surged upwards, reaching the depths of the boy's consciousness, rippling outwards in concentric circles, and shattering the source of pollution emanating scarlet blood energy!
In an instant, Stephen's consciousness became crystal clear. The memories that had tormented him for days were soothed and properly settled by the golden light. The moment the source of pollution disappeared, Aite's enormous body rapidly shrank to the size of a normal human, while his stature lengthened and his appearance matured.
The moment the golden barrier disappeared, the players were surprised to find that the giant boy was gone, replaced by a handsome, slightly gloomy foreign young man in his early twenties, with Xie Xubai's God-favored emblem still on the back of his hand!
Ink wash space.
Theseus turned his gaze away from the chessboard and looked up at Xie Xubai.
Although he already knew that this man had a cold and hard heart beneath his seemingly gentle and refined exterior, and he had anticipated that he would not compromise so easily, Theseus still couldn't help but cup his face and chuckle softly when the dust settled.
The white jade chessboard was like a bright mirror, reflecting his half-face, which looked like a devil when he smiled.
Theseus said, "Xie Xubai, I gave you a chance. As long as you die a quick and painless death with the system, I won't hold a grudge against your beloved human... I've tried so hard to tolerate you, why are you still so ungrateful?"
Xie Xubai's eyes quickly moved to the area under his chair, and upon discovering that the nine black pieces were intact, his pupils narrowed slightly.
"So you've finally figured it out?" Theseus said slowly. "Stephen isn't the piece I just placed."
The world of chessboards.
A heavy, loud crash came from behind them. The players turned around abruptly. The tightly closed copper and iron gates of the Black Tower swung open without any apparent action, scraping the ground and kicking up clouds of dust.
According to the tall, thin figure, the Black Tower houses the game kingdom.
Players will encounter a variety of citizen NPCs and level bosses with different personalities and varying strengths. By playing the game and accumulating enough competition points, they can climb up level by level until they reach the top of the Black Tower, meet the most noble Black King in the game kingdom, and win the final game.
However, before they could see the figures that resembled citizens, they first caught a glimpse of lush, verdant green stretching leisurely towards the sky from the rising dust.
Brian's heart skipped a beat.
"...Get out of the way!" he yelled. "Everyone, get out of the way—!"
"Varied……"
In the blink of an eye, the players in the front row saw a yellow-green vine appear in front of them. It was slender and curved, swaying happily, looking harmless and fragile.
In the blink of an eye, it pierced their foreheads!
Green vines burrowed into the flesh along the wound, spreading out into countless thin strands that moved freely, creating wrinkles like tree roots. The whole face was grotesque, like a ghost, or like dried orange peel.
The player convulsed in pain, clutching his forehead and letting out hissing roars.
Consciousness rapidly dissipated, and pupils instantly lost focus.
When he looked up again, both of his eyes were entwined with green vines, turning into beautiful and eerie green patterns.
His face no longer showed pain and panic, but was filled with a happy and peaceful smile.
"Come here, everyone! Quickly!"
Captain Xu erected a barrier, drawing the other surviving players to him.
The next second his pupils shrank.
Captain Xu's gaze swept past the fleeing crowd, past the open gates of the Black Tower, and saw a lush green ocean reflected in the azure sky.
That green wasn't the background color of the buildings; it was clusters of surging yellow-green vines.
They were densely packed, swarming like cricket pupae, coiled around the medieval-style buildings, some of which were at least ten meters high!
They climbed over the bluestone streets and hung from the treetops, seemingly covering the entire world, with no end in sight.
Captain Xu keenly heard the crackling and sputtering sound coming from the vines, and then he saw bones of different shapes in the surging gaps.
Some are thicker than a water bucket, some are longer than a giant tree, and they are all S-grade replicas, so their hardness is evident. Normally, they would require a super heavy-duty press to crush them, but the vines skillfully extract their essence and bone, so they become thinner at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning into a diseased grayish-white color.
With a gentle squeeze, the two slender vines crumbled into dust.
"The Seventh Apostle of Dionysus... He lied about his rank!"
Captain Xu heard himself let out a roar through gritted teeth.
"This bastard is at least a demigod! We must retreat! Group battles are his strength; we can't fight him!"
But they all forgot that the track had been destroyed by Stephen, and the restrictions of the special map had not been lifted. Where could this huge group of people run to?
The first level inside the Black Tower Gate.
In this green forest filled with bloodshed and murder, a fair-skinned, handsome man dressed in a white divine robe and wearing a laurel wreath sat on a seat piled up with vines about ten meters off the ground, seemingly unable to see the hellish scene below, his legs gently swaying.
He only turned his head to look at it the moment the Black Tower's gate opened.
When they spotted Yan Chuyi in the front row of the players, their emerald-like eyes immediately lit up.
The Seventh Apostle stood up in surprise: "As long as we wait here, we'll see White. You really didn't lie to me!"
From the shadows behind him, a slender figure in a cloak appeared, seemingly chuckling softly. He leaned close to the young man's ear, like the serpent tempting Eva in the Garden of Eden, flicking out a wisp of red tongue: "Then you must stop him."
"With his current strength, charging up the Black Tower will only lead to his death. We don't want to see that happen again. Hill, only you can save him now. When he knows what you've done for him, he'll be moved to tears and praise you endlessly."
Only I can save him.
just me……
The young man listened intently, cupping his face in his hands and breathing softly with excitement, his cheeks flushed with a blush of ecstasy.
Those eerie green eyes suddenly contracted and expanded, flickering between light and dark, with mottled patches of black and green swirling around like a rapidly changing kaleidoscope—very strange and unstable.
—Mind control.
Xie Xubai's signature move, which made him a legend in the interstellar dungeon, was also copied when the system created Theseus by copying data!
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