Chapter 300: Colosseum (8) “O God, fulfill our desires”

“I don’t know what my desire is.”

In the room with the black wolf mask, Chang Xu calmly said, looking at the wolf head that had the texture of a statue.

“I want many things. When I was very young, I wanted to have enough food, to eat my fill every day, without having to wait hungrily for the next meal.

“Later, I wanted to live, to no longer see innocent people die within my sight, for everyone to live peacefully, as if the Eerie Game had never descended.

“I want to become stronger, strong enough to eliminate all existences that could kill me. Yet, I don’t want others to fear or be wary of me; I don’t like them treating me as a monster.

“I seem to be a greedy person; as soon as one wish is slightly fulfilled, another arises. But I don’t know if those are my desires.”

Chang Xu lowered his eyes, saying with a hint of confusion, “I heard that desires are instinctive, focused, very strong, and one won’t give up until they are achieved. I don’t seem to have that feeling.”

The Sphinx’s expression was indifferent, its half-moon eyes on the wolf’s head watching Chang Xu: “I can see that your heart is filled with chaotic clouds and mist, with jumbled, shifting forms overlapping within. You are bound by an invisible force, forever stopping just short of exploring desire.

“But I penetrated those intricate illusions and saw your desire at this very moment. It is a person like you; you want to kill him.”

Like placing a stone that absorbs impurities into murky water, vague thoughts instantly gained substance.

Chang Xu realized that his various wishes, seemingly unrelated, seemed to converge at a certain point.

Killing existences that threaten his and innocent lives, thus no longer fearing death; killing another monster, thereby proving himself to be human… “Yes.” Chang Xu nodded, “My desire in this instance is to kill Qi Si.”

As long as Qi Si is killed, everything will end.

The Sphinx closed its eyes and said, “Fulfilling this desire requires three thousand points. Awaken me when you have enough points.”

…”It only needs three thousand points? It feels so much cheaper than the Eerie Game’s wish-fulfillment mechanism. This is practically a strong flavor of scamming and pyramid schemes!”

On the other side, Dong Xiwen poked the leopard mask on the wall with his finger, unable to resist complaining.

When the Sphinx asked him what his desire was, he unhesitatingly said he wanted his younger brother resurrected. He thought that would be the end of it, but to his surprise, the Sphinx solemnly told him that this desire could be fulfilled with just three thousand points.

He clearly remembered that in the Eerie Game’s wish-fulfillment mechanism, this wish would cost one million points… And what was the concept of three thousand points?

His initial points in this instance were two thousand one hundred. If he hadn’t lent them to Nian Fu, he could just borrow a little more from someone else, and such an absurd desire as resurrecting the dead could be fulfilled directly.

Once he left the instance, he could change his original wish to leaving the Eerie Game… “You’re so sure about it, can it really happen?” Dong Xiwen stared suspiciously at the Sphinx. “You quickly say, ‘People of Long County don’t deceive people of Long County’… No, you’re not from Long County, and you’re not human…”

Sphinx: “…”

The eyes on the leopard’s head turned to Lena Ann, who was timidly peeking out from behind Dong Xiwen: “What is your desire?”

Lena Ann was suddenly called upon, took a small step forward, and shyly touched the freckles on his cheek: “Anything? Then my desire is to shut down the Eerie Game.”

The Sphinx seemed not to have heard, and asked again, “What is your desire?”

“Then… can I leave the instance immediately?”

Sphinx: “What is your desire?”

Alright, the NPCs in the instance couldn’t hear proper nouns like “Eerie Game” or “instance.”

Lena Ann chuckled, “Then I want to live forever, surely that’s fine?”

The Sphinx closed its eyes and said, “Fulfilling this desire requires three thousand points. Awaken me when you have enough points.”

It was also three thousand points… Dong Xiwen took the leopard mask off the wall, vaguely realizing that things were getting a bit bad.

Lena Ann and he thought of the same thing, and he whispered, “Dong, your boss might be in trouble! I know that Chang Xu, he’s a very stubborn and obstinate guy. Your boss made an enemy of him, and now he’s definitely full of thoughts of killing our boss… ‘Fulfilling a desire only costs three thousand points, he can easily gather that from others. Our boss is going to be done for this time!”

Indeed, Chang Xu would most likely make a wish to the Sphinx to “kill Qi Si.”

If the Sphinx truly had the ability to fulfill players’ desires, and all desires cost a flat three thousand points, then Chang Xu could absolutely crowdfund from other players.

After all, letting Qi Si die would allow everyone to clear the instance, which was a great benefit to both the country and the people… Under such a mechanism, Qi Si was doomed!

“Dong, I don’t know if I should say this, but I always feel that your relationship with your boss isn’t that close. Look, when your boss was on stage, you didn’t bid immediately; it was Nian Fu who made an offer later.”

Lena Ann mumbled in a voice as soft as a mosquito, “If your boss hadn’t discussed it with you in advance, just based on that, he’d probably suspect you of having ulterior motives… Should we go join Chang Xu? Lend him some points to make up for our mistakes…”

“No!” After hearing the words “lend him some points,” Dong Xiwen felt a flash of lightning in his mind, cutting through the fog.

The situation had not gotten worse; on the contrary, it was developing in a better direction.

He shook his head: “No matter what, Qi Si cannot die too early. It’s rare to encounter an instance where a wish can be fulfilled for only three thousand points; leaving without trying feels somewhat unwilling… They must feel the same way.”

…Qi Si had a dream.

In the dream, he stood on a high platform, unable to move, only able to look down at the dense crowd below, shoulder to shoulder.

The bobbing heads were as numerous as ants on a decaying insect, the human sea surged, and occasionally someone would look up, gazing around blankly, but their gaze passed right through Qi Si, as if completely unaware of his presence.

“They can’t see you,” a voice told Qi Si, using Qi Si’s own tone, “You have no desires. Those without desires cannot remain in the world for long.”

The speaker appeared before Qi Si.

He wore an embroidered red robe and had a face identical to Qi Si’s. Without explanation, he extended his index finger and smeared multicolored mud onto Qi Si’s body.

The mud quickly solidified, losing its vibrant colors, becoming as cold, hard, and white as marble.

Qi Si asked, “What is this?”

The person said, “This is desire.”

“Whose desire?”

“Theirs.” The person suddenly turned around, lowered his finger, and pointed distantly at the surging crowd below the high platform.

Old people, children, men, women… some dressed splendidly, others in rags, yet all were hurrying along, their faces repulsive.

Qi Si asked, “So why are you smearing them on me? It looks quite dirty.”

The monster with Qi Si’s face turned back, its scarlet eyes not reflecting Qi Si’s image: “When you are clothed in desire, the world can see you.

“You will be food in the eyes of the hungry, medicine in the eyes of the chronically ill, a shield in the eyes of the fearful, salvation in the eyes of the dying.

“You will henceforth have form, no longer an untouchable void.”

The monster’s face was expressionless, like an angel spreading the gospel in a medieval religious painting, indifferent and unconcerned.

Qi Si asked, “Why should I be seen and touched? Why should I have form?”

The monster said, “Because those without desires should not exist.”

Shimmering mud poured from his wide sleeves. He meticulously picked it up with his fingers and smeared it onto Qi Si’s face.

Qi Si saw the outline of the parts of himself covered in mud reflected in his eyes, as if by being covered in desire, he truly established a connection with the world, becoming a tangible existence that could be seen and touched.

“Maybe I’m not human,” Qi Si said.

The monster didn’t respond, continuing to carefully smear the mud onto every corner of his body, stating, “You were a failed attempt. After discovering you hadn’t grown desires, I once thought of killing you.”

“Then why didn’t you?” Qi Si curved his lips, “Because of sunk costs?”

“You are just one insignificant part of countless attempts. I want to see the true outcome of this attempt.”

“Collecting failure data, huh?” Qi Si sighed and said, “Can I ask what the method is for judging if a person has desires? I’ll see if I can work hard and try to develop a desire as soon as possible.”

“It’s pain.” The monster lifted its eyes, a scarlet glimmer flaring within them, “Do you feel pain?”

The mud had already covered most of Qi Si’s body, including his hair, neck, and cheeks.

A cold, suffocating sensation surged repeatedly, making Qi Si vaguely uncomfortable, yet his emotions seemed locked by a valve, unable to escalate further into more intense feelings.

The monster scooped up the last handful of mud and covered Qi Si’s eyes. The world plunged into sightless darkness for an instant, only to light up with a hazy dawn the next second.

Qi Si floated above the head of the stone statue forged from his own body, seeing the crowd below suddenly gain direction, gathering from all directions beneath the high platform.

They twisted and prostrated themselves, reaching out to the statue as if to grasp something, yet not daring to truly touch it.

They said, “O God, fulfill our desires.”

…”O God, fulfill our desires…”

Qi Si awoke from his dream, consciousness gradually returning, hearing a buzzing sound nearby.

The pronunciation was very strange, like a race with poor language talent struggling to speak a highly difficult language.

Touch returned closely after consciousness; Qi Si felt something gripping his ankle.

The sticky, slippery sensation reminded him of leeches in rural rice paddies, which in turn provoked a physiological disgust and aversion.

He lay on the damp straw bed, eyes tightly closed, maintaining steady breathing, motionless, as if still asleep.

The Cursed Pendulum wrapped around his wrist silently flew up, swiftly and quietly heading towards his heel, plunging down heavily.

“Squeak!”

A piercing shriek exploded in his ear, the slippery grip on his ankle withdrew, leaving behind cold, sticky fluid.

Qi Si opened his eyes and saw a pair of glowing green eyes in the darkness.

Two seconds later, silver-white prompt text refreshed.

【Name: Underground Resident】

【Type: NPC】

【Description: Monsters living underground and only appearing in darkness. They are said to carry contagious bacteria and curses, discriminated against by animals and feared by humans.】

【Note: Although most animals were elevated to gods, some unlucky ones were left behind, as a group cannot be without its lowest members. All they can do is continuously pray for the gods’ mercy, hoping to escape their suffering.】

This was the first time Qi Si had seen a description of an NPC.

Upon realizing that the uninvited guests usually moved in the dark, he immediately stood up, took out a flashlight from his backpack, and pressed the switch.

He held the flashlight high, casting light down from above his head, illuminating the entire room.

Under the cold white circle of light, red venomous snakes writhed densely on the ground, all having emerged from underground, looking at first glance as if they grew from the earth.

The hard, seamless marble floor was like mud before them, softly squeezed into holes, allowing them to break through the ground.

They opened their gaping maws, thrashing wildly, but they were not the entirety of the monsters.

Human torsos abruptly grew from their tails, with pointed-snouted, red-cheeked rat heads atop their necks, whiskers around their noses made of tiny white snakes, and gray snakes for hair behind their round ears.

The monsters, pieced together from rats and snakes, surrounded Qi Si and Nian Fu. Tentacles made of red snakes tentatively reached forward, seemingly wanting to touch the humans within the encirclement.

The red snake that had just been wounded by the Cursed Pendulum lay dying at Qi Si’s feet, twitching for a while before becoming still.

Nian Fu had already woken up, standing back-to-back with Qi Si, looking at the room full of bizarre snake-rat hybrids, and murmured, “What exactly are these things?”

“I guess they’re the ‘Rat’ from animal chess.” Qi Si controlled the Cursed Pendulum to circle around him, making an ill-timed joke, “Hmm, maybe they could be called ‘a nest of snakes and rats’?”

“Whatever they’re called, our top priority is to drive them away.” Nian Fu’s left hand produced an entirely black iron whip.

She held a bottle of alcohol in her right hand and brought it to her mouth.

She bit open the cap and sprinkled the alcohol onto the whip.

The colorless liquid seeped into the fine cracks of the whip, not a single drop leaking out, as if the whip had drunk it all.

Nian Fu raised her left hand high, cracking the whip in the air with a deafening sound.

In an instant, sparks climbed along the whip’s tip, covering the entire whip, drawing a series of blazing fire trails in front of her.

The closest snake groups were scorched and scattered on the ground. The rat-headed people shrieked in pain, and their serpentine hair thrashed wildly.

Qi Si pressed the Pocket Watch of Fate, ready to activate its effect at any moment.

The imagined retaliatory counterattack did not come. The snake groups seemed to have sensed the players’ displeasure and retreated like a tide.

All the rat-headed people prostrated themselves before the two in the encirclement, bowing their heads heavily.

“O God, fulfill our desires…”