Chapter 296: Colosseum (Part 4) “Divine Authority is Not to Be Infringed Upon”

Chang Xu frowned slightly, but Liu Yuhan tugged at his sleeve, and he ultimately swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue, remaining silent.

Liu Yuhan looked at Qi Si coldly and said, “We are willing to bear the consequences of our erroneous decision. There’s no need for a scumbag like you, who constantly thinks about killing teammates, to worry about it.”

Qi Si looked at them with a half-smile: “To condemn someone, you can always trump up a charge. Treating stupidity as virtue, nitpicking and morally blackmailing, always ready to disrupt cooperation—do you still think you’re righteous?”

The other players kept their eyes down, having no intention of getting involved in the feud between the two guilds.

The bidding continued. After realizing that the person with the lowest points might lose their team qualification, the remaining newcomers, who only had a thousand points, grew nervous and rushed to participate in the bidding.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t outbid the veterans with higher points, and ultimately could only be chosen as auction items.

The team results quickly came out. Dong Xiwen teamed up with a white youth named Lena Ann, and together they had one thousand one hundred points remaining.

A middle-aged man named Zhang Mo teamed up with a young woman named Qin Mu, also with one thousand one hundred points remaining.

Lin Ye teamed up with a youth named Fan Zhanwei, with one thousand two hundred points remaining.

Qi Si and Nian Fu had one thousand one hundred points remaining, Green and Chu Xun had one thousand seven hundred points remaining, and Chang Xu and Liu Yuhan had one thousand points remaining.

Chang Xu’s team, indeed, had the lowest points, becoming the so-called “tail wolf.”

The remaining middle-aged white man, named “Cinderella,” failed to form a team.

His elimination was merely due to bad luck; he was the last one to step onto the stage.

The moment other players completed their teams, he realized his fate. He knelt before Qi Si on the stage, his voice trembling: “Please, I really don’t want to die… my research is just one step away, and thousands of people are waiting for my medicine…”

He began to ramble about his contributions to society, spouting various incomprehensible technical terms, attempting to tell everyone how his research would benefit humanity.

Whether these words were true or false didn’t matter.

Bringing up real-world value was enough to prove that his value in the game was negligible.

Otherwise, as a smart person, he could have analyzed the pros and cons and persuaded another bidder to team up with him when the second-to-last player was on stage, instead of making futile bids.

Now, saying all this was simply hoping to persuade Qi Si to commit suicide immediately, so that others could clear the instance.

Unfortunately for Qi Si, even if everyone in the world died and only he lived, it wouldn’t be a problem; at most, he would end his own life a few years later out of boredom.

The thought that if he died, others would live easily, made him feel utterly uncomfortable, thus strengthening his resolve to live a little longer.

The red-clad youth sighed deeply: “What does that have to do with me? I don’t want to die, no one wants to die, and you didn’t have to die in the first place.”

He spoke vaguely, but his meaning was crystal clear.

If Chang Xu hadn’t activated the Identity Card effect, adding a new main quest, the one who died in this round would have been Nian Fu.

If Chang Xu hadn’t lent points, then Lin Ye would have died, not those newcomers with a thousand points.

No one thought there was anything wrong with not clearing the instance through legitimate means, but rather thinking of killing someone to deal with the main quest.

They hated Qi Si for being human and yet not having the bigger picture to voluntarily die; they hated Chang Xu for activating the Identity Card effect so hastily when he clearly couldn’t kill Qi Si immediately.

“I don’t want to die… I’m sorry…” Cinderella mumbled, suddenly rushing towards Qi Si.

A sharp surgical knife materialized in his right hand, which he raised high and plunged towards Qi Si’s heart.

However, just as it was about to make contact, his movement froze, as if an invisible transparent wall stood between him and Qi Si, preventing the blade from advancing another inch.

His eyes were instantly covered with a layer of grayish-white film, and his face was pale as a zombie’s.

He seemed to have had his soul and consciousness drained, backing away blankly, returning to the center of the circular platform, like an inanimate object, eerily silent.

The Goat had said before, ‘The game hasn’t officially started yet, and harming each other outside the game is not allowed.’

Cinderella violated this, and thus suffered punishment from the instance mechanism.

Amidst the animals’ sighs, The Goat counted down indifferently: “Ten, nine, eight, seven…”

Each countdown sounded like a hard icicle smashing to the ground; other than that, there was only silence.

The players silently awaited the end of this segment; no one intended to speak up for Cinderella.

“Three, two, one! No bids!”

The Goat’s lips curved slightly, forming an eerie smile: “It’s regrettable, this new friend was eliminated on the very first day because he couldn’t find a team willing to accept him!

“This isn’t due to his lack of ability, but rather because he lost the favor of luck. Undeniably, he is still a ‘hero of humanity’…”

The animals giggled, their voices shrill and piercing, as if the term “hero” was also a kind of joke.

Chang Xu stared intently at The Goat, estimating the distance and strength comparison.

The rules only said not to attack players, so… what about taking an NPC hostage?

A scarlet king chess piece glowed overhead, a giant black scythe materialized behind him, and slender golden chains hooked into its iron rings, exuding an aura of death.

【Name: Life Severer】

【Type: Item】

【Effect: Reaps life, can expend energy to instantly move within a five-meter radius】

【Remark: The Grim Reaper’s usual scythe. Is it the Grim Reaper or the scythe that appears and disappears mysteriously? That is the question.】

Chang Xu raised his hand to grasp the scythe, concentrating to instantly move behind The Goat, but felt his body rooted to the spot, unable to move.

At the same time, all players heard the system announcement:

【Divine authority is not to be infringed upon; gods cannot be killed by humans.】

This was a warning, and a final verdict. In this instance, players seemed utterly helpless against these animal-headed, human-bodied “gods,” only able to be slaughtered by them… The Goat didn’t even glance at Chang Xu, turning his head to look at the blank-eyed Cinderella, and continued: “Of course, we must also congratulate this hero. Although he was abandoned by his human companions, he has honorably gained the qualification to become a sacrifice for the great gods!”

His words had barely fallen when the circular platform beneath the players’ feet suddenly trembled.

Everyone instinctively retreated two steps outwards, only Cinderella remained standing blankly, a trickle of saliva flowing from his mouth.

To die unknowingly might be a stroke of luck for him.

A large hole slowly split open in the center of the circular platform, revealing a stench of blood water almost overflowing from below. Several skeletons faintly appeared beneath the surface, their arms twisted into grotesque shapes, as if trying to crawl ashore.

Cinderella fell into the pool of blood, not a single drop splashing, as if swallowed by an invisible giant entity, slowly submerging, with only his head remaining visible.

His outer shell was visibly turning pink, or more accurately, the outer layer of skin was silently dissolving, exposing the bloody muscles beneath.

Soon, even the muscles melted, collapsing layer by layer like cooked clay, patiently and meticulously absorbed by the blood water, becoming part of the blood pool.

The fascia-covered bones scattered weakly, and the head that had been above the water also sank, enveloped by the viscous blood.

Qi Si looked up at the white temple suspended high in the sky, golden vines sacredly hanging, calm, solemn, and detached.

It was like two different worlds from the chaotic and bloody Colosseum below, with no discernible connection between the two.

He lowered his eyes and saw the cracked stone slabs of the circular platform slowly close, leaving no gap, smooth and intact as before.

—He didn’t know the principle behind this sacrifice; there were no strange phenomena or movements.

However, the animals in the audience seemed to have witnessed a miracle, cheering loudly and fanatically, making sounds incomprehensible to humans, no different from the fervent believers of a cult in reality.

That sound, to the players’ ears, was exactly like the death knell.

No matter how much experience they had dealing with instances, people were still afraid of death, especially this kind of painful death that left no complete corpse.

NPCs couldn’t be killed, the rules of the beast-fighting game were unclear, and no one knew who would be the next to die.

None of them wanted to die, no one wanted to die.

Several players who had been hesitant earlier now became even more determined to kill Qi Si.

After all, no matter how powerful Qi Si was, he was still just a human, much easier to deal with than NPCs and the instance mechanism.

They even secretly blamed Green.

If Green had been willing to lend points to Lin Ye, allowing Lin Ye to team up with Qi Si, and then Lin Ye seized the opportunity to backstab his teammate, wouldn’t everyone be happy?

The animals’ cries gradually subsided, and the sky suddenly grew dark, as if covered by a black cloud.

The Goat scanned the players, grinning: “Today is over. I believe you are all tired. Now you can return to your respective rooms to rest.

“The animal corresponding to each of your teams, and the location of your rooms… the great gods should have already told you.”

An icon refreshed in the system interface at the top left of his vision.

Qi Si saw a fluffy, rather three-dimensional fox head embedded in a gray background.

【Fox】 was the team he belonged to in this instance.

Next to the fox head was a compass, subtly rotating with shifts in perspective.

When Qi Si cast a sidelong glance in one direction, the pointer indicated forward.

In that direction, a stone door carved with patterns stood ajar; that must be his room.

All the players saw their corresponding animals and rooms, but no one moved.

In this kind of faction-based adversarial game, information was extremely important; everyone wanted to know where others lived and didn’t want their own location exposed.

The sky grew darker and darker, and the animals gathered around the Colosseum perimeter gradually dispersed.

Today’s show was over, and they had seen enough excitement. What the players did next was none of their business.

The Goat actively stood at the exit of the Colosseum, maintaining order.

Once all the animals had left, he returned to the circular platform and said to the players: “Since one person was eliminated today, all of you have received a portion of food, which has been placed in your respective rooms. I hope you enjoy your meal!”

Then, like an employee eager to clock out, he turned and quickly walked towards the exit, without looking back.

Dong Xiwen stretched his neck to watch for a moment, then tentatively took a step towards the exit.

The next second, a new rule was triggered in all players’ system interfaces:

【During the beast-fighting game, humans cannot leave the Colosseum.】

…Well, never mind then.

The players, like trapped beasts, could only engage in endless disputes and harm within the Colosseum, until Qi Si died, or… a victor was decided.

Fan Zhanwei, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke: “Qi Si, I want to say a few words to you.”

He had semi-long hair, bangs covering his eyes, and seemed somewhat lifeless: “Based on your choices since entering the instance, I tentatively judge Chang Xu’s accusation against you to be true. However, this does not constitute a prerequisite for the game.

“I have no intention of upholding justice. My hostile intent towards you is based on the low difficulty of the main quest to kill you, which aligns with economic principles; once the equilibrium point changes, I will adopt a different strategy.

“My primary goal is to clear the instance. Personal emotions, public morality, and past events have zero influence on me. I hope you can also view this game rationally.”

Before Qi Si could speak, Lin Ye asked with a cold face: “Fan Zhanwei, what do you mean by that? I spent points to bid for you, and now you’re switching sides?”

Fan Zhanwei said: “Even if you hadn’t bid, as the fourth person to go on stage, someone eager to form a team would have bid, such as Cinderella, who was scheduled to go on last.

“On the contrary, I believe that an irrational you would not be my most suitable teammate.”

He walked directly to a stone door, pushed it open, and entered, his movements decisive and swift.

Most of the surrounding players hadn’t reacted, looking at each other in confusion.

“Are you sick…” Lin Ye cursed under his breath, but ultimately couldn’t separate from a teammate who held more points, so he had no choice but to follow.

It was strange; earlier, when Fan Zhanwei remained silent, he thought he had him figured out and rather looked down on him; now, after being retorted, he actually felt the other party was unfathomable and a trustworthy and reliable teammate.

With someone taking the lead, the others weren’t as insistent on the order of entering rooms and scattered towards their respective rooms.

The game hadn’t started yet, they couldn’t kill each other, and staying outside was pointless.

As for making threats… most players were past the age of chuunibyou and deeply understood the principle that the more you say, the more mistakes you make.

Qi Si was clearly not someone who could be morally blackmailed; he had his own set of principles, and saying more to him wouldn’t change anything.

Lin Ye’s lesson was right before them; if Chang Xu hadn’t lent him points, he would have truly been trapped and killed by Qi Si and Dong Xiwen… Since that was the case, it was better to eat and sleep first.

Qi Si waited until most of the players had dispersed before walking towards the door indicated by the pointer and pushing it open.

The door looked like it was carved from marble, but it was very light to push, like an ordinary pivot door, opening with a single push.

Qi Si entered the room. What greeted him was a stone chamber about thirty square meters in size. On the wall directly opposite the door hung a fluffy fox mask, and on the ground lay two piles of straw, which appeared to be beds.

Next to each straw bed was a bowl filled with bloody chunks of meat, whose raw material was unknown.

Combined with Cinderella’s death and the pool of blood beneath the circular platform, it inevitably gave rise to terrible associations.

Nian Fu slowly walked into the room, and the door closed automatically behind her.

She squatted by the straw bed, making a joke in a deliberately relaxed tone: “Qi Si, does this count as us, a man and a woman, alone in a room?”

Qi Si had no intention of responding; he preferred dark humor over dad jokes.

He shifted his gaze from the bloody meat in the bowl to Nian Fu: “I’m very curious why you chose to bid.

“Simply being worried that someone would break their promise and eliminate you, the one with the lowest points, doesn’t seem very convincing. They wouldn’t need to forgo easily obtainable benefits to harm an insignificant existence.

“Or is there some information I don’t know?”

Nian Fu didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she looked up and asked with a smile: “May I ask, if I hadn’t bid, would you have died?”

“No,” Qi Si said. “I came with a teammate.”

“He doesn’t seem to be on very good terms with you, as he didn’t bid immediately.”

“Being assigned to different teams is beneficial for acquiring more information, isn’t it?”

“I understand.” Nian Fu stood up, looking directly into Qi Si’s eyes.

She smiled, and said earnestly: “I teamed up with you because I am not content with a ne clearance.

“The Final Dungeon is about to open, and I need an Identity Card. This is the first world view I’ve encountered since entering the game that explicitly involves gods.

“The Goat has repeatedly emphasized that you are the only player who qualified through wisdom, and I believe you will be the key to a te clearance.

“I will invest my full effort in you, and I hope you can help me win this game.”