Chapter 16
Seeing that indifferent face that he loathed so much, Zhang Bin felt his scalp tingle instantly.
The last time he suffered a loss in silence and was severely damaged by the backlash of the secret technique, it was because he underestimated the destructive power that Xie Xubai, a mere passerby, could cause.
But Zhang Bin believed it was absolutely not his fault. What sane person would feed blood to a dying stray dog?
Now, in the same location, with the same smug satisfaction of about to subdue the Demon King, another person appeared.
Zhang Bin was suddenly overcome with an indescribable sense of panic. He hurriedly walked to the player's corpse and pulled out a knife.
The blade sliced through his skin, the pain causing him to utter a string of foul-mouthed curses. He then used his blood-soaked hands to draw an extremely complex and intricate incantation.
The gloomy and dark sky only covered the alley, while outside it was still blue sky and white clouds.
But as the blood-spell incantation was gradually completed, a chilling, evil wind howled from afar and then stopped.
Dust churned and flew, treetops swayed wildly, and in the blink of an eye, thick, dark clouds pressed against the sky, accompanied by lightning and thunder.
Countless vengeful spirits answered the call.
They screamed and roared, and beneath the dark clouds were all grotesque ghostly figures. Suppressed by the talisman, they coalesced into a black cloud, baring their fangs and claws as they lunged at the youth.
Zhang Bin watched with excitement, his face, covered in thick flesh, contorted with an increasingly exaggerated smile: "You little bastard who ruined my plans, you think you can escape death this time?"
In the realm of the Demon King, a blood moon hangs high in the sky.
At this point, players who are still able to move no longer care about wasting resources and use items to heal their teammates as quickly as possible.
The players who got up didn't dare to waste a second and immediately turned around to fight.
As players, they actually have a significant advantage.
First, before entering the dungeon, Yan Yue, in the name of the guild leader, purchased a large number of functional items in advance, including attack, defense, control, and healing items.
Secondly, because the first clear of the trial is related to the fate of the entire population, the player community even has a public welfare organization similar to "Waterdrop Crowdfunding" or "Red Cross Society" to help with crowdfunding. Advanced players who have cleared the trial 4 times or more can receive an extra subsidy before participating in each first clear of the trial.
It just so happens that Yan Yue and his group are all of good quality and received a lot of subsidies, which is equivalent to going to the battlefield fully armed, with almost no logistical worries.
However, the prerequisite for leveraging their advantages is that they are facing ordinary monsters.
Fireballs, lightning, hailstorms...
Colorful attack effects bloomed on the behemoth like flower buds. Several players attacked while their legs swung out in afterimages. The number of items in their system inventory decreased precipitously. The battle was in full swing.
The giant beast, on the other hand, seemed agitated, merely shaking its fur and swiping out a claw—
"Aaaaaaah!"
At least three players were sent flying, their bones broken, and they were on the verge of death.
A skilled player dodged in time and was not hit head-on.
Even a slight gust of air can cause excruciating pain, making one feel as if their internal organs are turned upside down.
Seeing his companions fall one after another, he cursed out, "I'll beat you up!"
Just then, a handsome figure slowly walked out of the alley.
"Look, it's that NPC!"
"We searched for him for six whole hours, and he finally showed up!"
The players were overjoyed to see Xie Xubai appear.
But their initial excitement was short-lived, and seeing the situation was almost beyond their control, they quickly became dejected again.
If Xie Xubai had appeared before the BOSS went berserk, they would have been overjoyed. Now that the BOSS can't even recognize people, what can they expect Xie Xubai to do? Scratch the BOSS's itch with his little arms and legs?
As if they weren't desperate enough, a mechanical system voice suddenly rang out.
The third wave of vengeful spirits is about to arrive.
Location: The Realm of the Demon King
Difficulty: Level B
Quantity: Exceeding 200, unable to be calculated
[Players, please prepare to face the enemy.]
The players present almost vomited blood.
—Good heavens! The boss hasn't even been defeated yet and a bunch of monsters have already appeared. Do they want them to die even faster?
But the bad news wasn't over yet. Following that notification, another cold, unfeeling mechanical voice rang out.
[The A-rank Ghost King "Peace" has reached its hunger threshold and officially entered berserk mode. Attack power +300%, defense power +300%, attack speed increased to 3 times its original value.]
[Ding! The "Peace" stat of the A-level Ghost King has exceeded the A-level threshold, advancing to S-level.]
Name: Peace (Berserk State)
Monster type: King of Ghosts
Grade: S
[Hint: Unbeatable.]
If the player felt angry when they heard about the approaching tide of vengeful spirits, then...
Now, all that's left is confusion.
They doubted they had heard correctly, and stared tremblingly at the blood-stained "S-Class" lettering, feeling as if all the air had been sucked out of their lungs in an instant.
...S-class?
How could it be an S-class?
Isn't the strongest boss in this game only A-rank? Why is there an S-rank? And why can it be even higher?!
A sharp, cacophony of sinister laughter echoed through the sky, and an unknown tide of vengeful spirits was almost upon them.
The colossal beast nearby opened its blood-red maw and roared furiously, its roar shaking the heavens and the earth.
An unprecedented sense of despair overwhelmed the player, leaving them feeling lost for the first time.
Is this the end of the world, or hell?
Suddenly, an anxious shout came from behind: "Xie Xubai, get out of the way!"
The person shouting at the top of their lungs was Xu Qingran.
Surprisingly, she didn't lose consciousness after being thrown away by the blast wave, but no one wanted to pull her up to fight, fearing that a newcomer like her would be at a loss and only cause trouble for everyone.
Throughout the entire process, Xu Qingran lay slumped in a corner, feeling dizzy and disoriented.
She wasn't a veteran player and had no experience. In her mind, there wasn't much difference between an S-rank Ghost King and an A-rank or B-rank Ghost King; she figured she couldn't beat either of them anyway.
This naive and ignorant thinking, commonly known as the fearlessness of a newborn calf, strangely helped her maintain her composure. While others were in despair and speechless, she was able to shout out to Xie Xubai.
Upon hearing the sound, Xie Xubai not only didn't run away, but also stopped and glanced at her.
"Is he stupid?!"
Seeing this foolish act of stopping to let the vengeful spirit bite them, the other players were speechless and shocked, even forgetting to continue their despair.
However, the scene they had envisioned—Xie Xubai being torn to pieces by vengeful spirits—did not occur.
A gigantic vengeful beast suddenly appeared out of nowhere, letting out a cold roar. The vengeful spirits in the front row froze on the spot like mice seeing a cat.
All voices fell silent.
Before anyone knew it, the ghosts in the sky began to drift down.
These are the king's servants, always baring their teeth and making arrogant sneers, as if they don't care about any human beings.
At this moment, it landed on the ground quite obediently, its ferocious face fading, revealing a cute, fluffy appearance, and bowed slightly to the young man.
Xie Xubai nodded to Xu Qingran and continued walking forward with the homemade dog food in his hand.
The air seemed to freeze, and the entire Ghost King's Domain fell into a deathly silence.
In a state of utter shock, all the players simultaneously turned their stiff heads and stared blankly at the young man.
...
From a panoramic view, the entrance to the alley is quite a sight.
The alley was turned upside down by the massive blast wave. Buildings collapsed, trees were uprooted, and countless structures were reduced to gray dust under the high pressure, leaving behind a desolate and chaotic ruin.
The alley entrance is remarkably well-preserved, with a spotless surface, free of even loose stones, leaves, or grass clippings, which is simply unbelievable.
The Demon King's control over the domain is unparalleled.
Many players, seeing that the Ghost King could precisely control the range of destruction, felt disheartened but also couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope: perhaps the Ghost King still had some remaining rationality?
They were right; it did exist.
But the chances are extremely slim.
Even before the player received the hint, Ping An was already so hungry that her vision was blurred.
Only those who have experienced hunger know that when a person is starving to the extreme, the intense desire to disregard everything transforms into a raging inferno that devours all reason.
When Yan Yue appeared with a group of players, holding a basin of tempting blood, he approached it step by step.
What is Ping An doing?
It stared intently at the blue-and-white porcelain basin, watching the thick blood crash against the basin's walls, creating a beautiful, vibrant red spray, its Adam's apple bobbing.
It was drooling frantically, desperately trying to close its mouth, its sharp canines piercing its lips to prevent itself from revealing its ugly, greedy, beast-like face.
It suppressed its excited panting, suppressed its overwhelming appetite, and its cold gaze swept along Yan Yue's hand holding the basin, cutting into the man's tight skin, fragile throat, and sweet heart in turn.
Until the ghost came to report, letting Ping An know that the young man was looking into the alley through the window of the guesthouse, observing its and the players' movements.
In that instant, Ping An thought she could immediately control her craving for food.
Just like every time I was so hungry that I wanted to eat people without a care, I would eventually restrain myself under the gentle smile of the young man.
But there was no peace.
In that instant, its mind went blank, and it lost its rationality faster than it had imagined, falling straight into the illusion woven by hunger.
In the hallucination, the man walking towards it as if on thin ice was no longer Yan Yue, but Xie Xubai, who was unknowingly approaching it with his eyes narrowed.
Ping An suppressed his panting, swallowed hard, and could no longer hold back. He pounced on the young man and bit open his neck.
Teeth ripped open the throat, and blood flowed into the parched, smoking mouth.
It finally tasted the sweet flesh and blood of its owner, and its tense brain relaxed. Every cell in its body seemed to be sighing with pleasure as it closed its eyes and savored the food with almost blissful enjoyment.
When the real Xie Xubai walked into the alleyway carrying homemade dog food, Ping An could hardly distinguish between illusion and reality.
Without reason, it's no different from a man-eating monster.
—I need to eat something, something to fill my stomach. Nobody can stop me.
The monster greedily thought, catching the enticing scent of blood in the air.
It opened its mouth and, completely unable to control itself, lunged at the corpse on the ground. Suddenly, it heard a very faint yet familiar footstep.
A young man's gentle and pleasant voice came through the phone.
He called it peace.
Annoying. That was the monster's first thought.
It was starving and almost went crazy. Why would anyone try to stop it at this time? Aren't they afraid it will kill them?
But even as the young man was blown off balance by its threatening roar, he showed no fear whatsoever.
The monster became even more annoyed. It wanted to push the young man out, but the human body was too fragile, and it was afraid that its claws were too sharp and would pierce a hole in him.
After only a brief moment of hesitation, the young man had already walked up to it and placed the homemade dog food on the ground.
He smiled and said, "This is the meal I made for you. It took me a long time to prepare. Doesn't it smell delicious?"
The ravenous monster couldn't bear the word "food" and roared angrily again: "Smells good? You smell better! What I need to eat is blood, flesh, and you! Not that garbage! You ignorant human—"
The monster suddenly got stuck.
It was only because it smelled the strange and incredibly attractive aroma coming from the rice bucket that its heart was suddenly filled with shock and disbelief as it stared at the young man.
The young man looked up and met its gaze.
Under the gaze of those clear and gentle eyes, it seemed that all dark and bloody thoughts would have nowhere to hide.
The monster suddenly felt afraid of the accusations it might hear next. This fear even overwhelmed its hunger, causing it to retreat involuntarily.
Unexpectedly, it was the young man who apologized first, full of remorse.
"I'm sorry, I should have come down to find you directly."
"I'm sorry for making you go hungry for so long. I'm really not a good owner. It will never happen again. Don't feel bad anymore."
"Peace, my dear Peace." The young man reached out and called its name again, speaking softly and tenderly. His eyes crinkled, a sense of guilt making him look somewhat sad, and every word he uttered was filled with a heartwarming warmth, "I want to hug you right now."
...
A blood moon hung high in the night sky, and all that could be seen were ruins and broken walls.
The colossal beast stood atop the ruins, its size seemingly capable of blotting out the sky. Compared to it, the approaching youth appeared as insignificant as a grain of sand.
No player had ever hoped that Xie Xubai would be able to subdue the Ghost King.
They had checked the NPC's stats beforehand and found him to be a real piece of cake; he could easily defeat not only the Ghost King but also the vengeful spirits.
Who would have thought that at this very moment...
The young man simply stretched out his hand, and the raging monster shut its gaping maw and nestled obediently in his palm.
Author's Note:
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