Absolute Death Game

Ding-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling!

A series of grating alarm sounds jolted Xiao Buli awake from his deep slumber. He suppressed the urge to curse and, opening his eyes, surveyed the outdated interior around him with a sigh.

Indeed, being locked up wasn't a dream. While thinking, Xiao Buli climbed down from the bunk bed as the alarm continued to ring. It seemed Qin Shimoon had triggered something when she left—it appeared to be the previous "resident's" alarm system. After searching for a while and not finding the switch to turn it off, Xiao Buli couldn't be bothered to change it and decided to just use it as an alarm clock.

The alarm rang for over ten seconds before it stopped. Xiao Buli quickly dressed and stepped out of the bedroom into the dimly lit outside. Although it was daytime, there wasn't much brightness underground. The living room was lit, but perhaps due to the impact of wind direction and speed on the wind power generation system, the voltage wasn't very stable—the lighting was definitely not as bright as last night. It looked quite dim.

Xiao Buli's day began in this gloom. After a hasty breakfast of compressed biscuits and cold water—although there was no shortage of food in this base, the taste wasn't good and he didn't know how long he would be staying, so he tried to conserve as much as possible—he picked up his laptop and logged into the game. Determined to leave this damned place as soon as possible, he decided to devote his time to the game in the following period, enhancing his strength within it while trying to learn abilities that could help him escape from this base.

In the past, he had thought about focusing on enhancing his strength, but he was always distracted by various things. As a result, his strength remained mediocre to this day. He could handle ordinary enemies, but he was totally at a loss against opponents like the Ancestral Dragon, who had professional training on top of game abilities. Although trapped this time, he saw it as a rare opportunity. Once he calmed his mind, he was resolved to fully leverage his expertise as a gaming master and elevate his strength to the level of a powerhouse.

The first thing he had to do was return to the Mystic Hollow Palace.

Upon logging in, Xiao Buli's hand instinctively moved to the skill hotkeys out of caution—the pursuit in Nine Dragons City yesterday still unnerved him. Fortunately, his character was still in the decrepit temple with no creatures around. After confirming it was safe, he used Cloud Thunder Leap, soaring towards the direction of Mystic Hollow Palace.

The journey was uneventful, and half an hour later, Xiao Buli had returned to Mystic Hollow Palace. The first thing he did was to find Xuanxu Zi.

"Ah, my disciple, long time no see! What have you been up to lately?" Xuanxu Zi, the NPC, seemed genuinely happy to see him—or was he?

"Thank you for your concern, Master. I've been busy investigating the affairs of the Demon Clan." Since the other party was courteous, Xiao Buli naturally couldn't be impolite.

"Hasn't the Demon Clan already been repelled?" Xuanxu Zi seemed puzzled.

Xiao Buli was surprised; he was not clear about this. No wonder he saw players and NPCs in Nine Dragons City looking completely unfazed yesterday. However, he didn't want to dwell too much on this issue. With his current knowledge about the Demon Clan and the Ancestral Dragon God, he was powerless against them, and improving his strength was still the priority. Thinking this, he didn't respond to Xuanxu Zi's question but bowed deeply and said, "Master, I wish to see if there are any spells I can learn."

"Oh," Xuanxu Zi seemed not to mind and, with a flick of his horsetail whisk that carried an air of transcendence, pointed to the void, and once again, the skill list appeared before Xiao Buli's eyes.

In the past, when Xiao Buli looked at this skill list, he always focused on the powerful ultimate moves. This time, however, he focused on abilities that could help him escape the underground base, and sure enough, there were abilities that fit his requirements.

Pass-Through-Walls Skills: An advanced ability of the Earth Escape Skills. With this spell, you enter an ethereal state, allowing you to pass through not only soft soil but even brick walls and iron barriers as if they were air. Consumes 50 True Origin Points and lasts for 10 seconds.

(If you fail to pass through an object upon the skill's end, it could be life-threatening.)

Learning requirements: Taoist Heart LV4, spiritual power of 34 points. Contribution Value of 400 points.

The skill was good, but the learning requirements were a bit of a stretch. He only had a Taoist Heart at LV3; he had no clue about how to advance it to LV4. He also lacked the necessary Contribution Value, having exhausted it on exchanging those Teleportation Talismans. It seemed he still had to do the Sect's tasks. With that in mind, Xiao Buli bowed deeply to Xuanxu Zi and said,

"Master, is there anything I can do to serve you?"

Xuanxu Zi stroked his beard, pondering for a moment, "Of course. That traitor Xuan Zhenzi is still on the run. If you encounter him, you must kill him for me and bring back his head." It was that Xuan Zhenzi again; Xiao Buli wondered what deep enmity or grudge this old man had with him. Whenever Xuan Zhenzi was mentioned, Xuanxu Zi's eyebrows would furrow, and even with his white hair and beard, he exuded a chilling killing intent.

Xiao Buli thought to himself, "I haven't forgotten about this yet."

He hastily agreed, but he didn't take it to heart. This Xuan Zhenzi would not be easy to find, and even if he did encounter him, Xiao Buli did not plan to kill him this time. Instead, he wanted to clear up the matter of the Soul Departure Syndrome from him.

"Hehe, are you still thinking about getting rid of me? To be honest, it's futile for you to try," the voice seemed to have picked up on what Xiao Buli was thinking and opportunistically rang out in his ear again. Fortunately, Xiao Buli had grown accustomed to this voice, so he wasn't alarmed, and besides, it wasn't too bad having someone to talk to in this completely isolated environment. Therefore, Xiao Buli changed his usual resistance, and snorted in his mind, "You think I can't do it? But Xuan Zhenzi has done it."

"Xuan Zhenzi? Hmph, you don't even understand what he's all about. How do you know he has truly succeeded?

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And even if he has succeeded, how can you be sure he will teach you? Don't forget that you have killed him once."

"Even if he agrees to teach you, what makes you think you can learn it? After all, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of players in this game, but how many can actually get rid of the trouble of the Heart Demon?"

"Hey, are you annoying or what, with all this chatter? Heart Demon? So, are you saying that you are my Heart Demon?"

Xiao Buli started talking to himself. Previously, because Qin Shimoon was around, Xiao Buli could only talk in his head, but now he could ask directly. However, this self-talk felt pretty strange, giving him a vibe like Smeagol in "The Lord of the Rings."

"You could think of me that way, simply put, I am your subconscious. I know everything about you, and I also know many truths that you are aware of but don't realize. Like that Qin Shimoon, deep down, you've already started doubting her, haven't you? But why won't you listen to me? In the end, it's because you are too foolish, too full of yourself. It's a common human failing. Only an existence like me can see through everything. Honestly, you should hand control of this body over to me; then you wouldn't have ended up in such a state," the voice said, becoming softer in his mind as if gently persuading a child. The voice was gentle, disarming, and if Xiao Buli didn't know its true nature, he might have been tempted to follow its words.

"Hand over control of my body to you? How would I do that?" Xiao Buli, seemingly enticed, asked with interest.

The voice, originally gentle and seductive, seemed taken aback by Xiao Buli's question, but then suddenly laughed, "Are you trying to find out how I can take over your body and then plan your counterattack? Haha, smart indeed. But don't forget, I am you. Whatever you think, I can hear, hahahaha." Laughter echoed in his mind.

Xiao Buli felt helpless inside. How is it possible to fight back like this? Annoyed, he didn't want to pay any more attention to it.

But the voice seemed to sense Xiao Buli's thoughts, stopped laughing, and continued, "That's right, you indeed cannot fight me. I exist within you; I am you, and you do not understand me. As for how I will take control of your body, it's simple. As long as you continue talking to me, one day, you will belong to me."

"Aren't you me? How can I belong to you? What a logical mess." Although he didn't want to talk to it anymore, Xiao Buli couldn't help but think that as long as he thought about it, it was as if he were speaking with it, presenting quite the problem. "If I don't continue talking to it, then it can't control me, right?" Xiao Buli pondered internally.

"Oh? Haha," the voice in his mind laughed again, "You can try and see."

Although he knew it might be futile, Xiao Buli decided to give it a try. Since thinking of it meant conversing with it, it seemed he could only ignore it and focus on other things to break free. With this in mind, Xiao Buli steadied his spirit and decided to make the attempt, which certainly couldn't hurt.

His attention returned to the computer screen, Xiao Buli decided to consult his master. Otherwise, what would be the point of acknowledging a master beyond learning skills?

"Master, lately I have often felt doubts in my heart. A voice in my mind tells me to do things I wouldn't normally do. May I know what this means?"

Upon hearing this, Xuanxu Zi's face seemed to change—Xiao Buli wasn't sure if it was the lighting effect—but for a moment, Xiao Buli thought his face flickered and his expression twisted.

Xiao Buli's heart tightened, but on closer inspection, he found that Xuanxu Zi still looked distinguished, as if it had been just an illusion.

Was it really just an illusion? Xiao Buli wondered internally.

PS: There will be another chapter tonight, continue to seek subscriptions. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at QiDian ). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)