Chapter 317: Colosseum (Twenty-five) “Kill Him, Then Become a God”

Lin Chen was not actually as profound and strategic as the forums speculated; he didn’t even have a plan other than reviving Qi Si.

He simply desperately wanted to save Qi Si, so after receiving the prompt, he used all his strength to grasp that faint hope, almost impulsively diving into the Colosseum instance.

Just like when they first founded the guild, when Qi Si asked him to be the Guild Master, he asked Qi Si what would happen if he messed up.

Qi Si smiled and told him, “If we mess up, then the Guild Master and Vice Guild Master will just die together.”

That was clearly a joke, but Lin Chen was willing to believe it was true and followed through meticulously.

Qi Si had saved him so many times; if he knew how to revive Qi Si today but failed to act, he would never forgive himself.

What did the potential risks behind it matter? At worst, he would just sacrifice his own life.

Of course, Lin Chen was not a reckless person who acted rashly.

Before entering the Colosseum instance, he had already gathered a large amount of relevant information and had figured out the background and mechanisms of the instance through live streams. This ample information was enough to formulate a decent solution.

As for the public opinion on the game forums and the large screen above the Ruins of the Sunset, these naturally had little to do with him. Firstly, he couldn’t afford the huge sum of 500,000 points, and secondly, he never thought of something like “buying out the venue.”

He only knew that as the Guild Master of the Unnamed Guild, the mysterious “Lin Crow” in the eyes of the players, he had to maintain the image of a guild leader and not show weakness in front of Jiuzhou.

Therefore, he tried his best to recall the demeanor and actions he had displayed under Qi Si’s guidance at the Guild Exchange Conference on April 20th, diligently playing the role of a stern and decisive powerhouse.

He acted quite convincingly; at least everyone else believed it.

While using the Rat People to control the three members of Jiuzhou, Lin Chen was still slightly nervous inside, but he didn’t show it outwardly.

As the instance progressed, watching the expressions of the Jiuzhou members—who were angry but dared not speak—and the respectful gazes of the other players, he gradually calmed down and became more comfortable with his performance.

For a few moments, he even thought he was truly that kind of person—the sinister and ruthless “Lin Crow.”

Relying on the awe of the other players and the information he prepared beforehand, Lin Chen quickly grasped the situation in the Colosseum instance, coordinating and planning the use of everyone’s game coins, ensuring that the daily food supply was just enough to maintain the players’ survival.

He coerced the Jiuzhou members into lending him their points, ensuring his team’s point ranking remained far ahead, and fairly distributed the food resources obtained.

The players’ fear of him gradually dissipated, eventually being replaced by admiration.

An influential figure who cared about everyone’s safety and acted impartially, even though he always wore a cold expression and seemed unapproachable, was still far better than those Jiuzhou members who constantly yelled about killing Slaughter-path players.

Several players, who knew the history of the Eerie Game inside and out, whether to flatter him or because they genuinely felt it, implicitly compared Lin Chen to Lin Jue, the Guild Master of Ark, the predecessor of Jiuzhou.

They almost suggested he was Lin Jue reincarnated, returned to rectify the Jiuzhou Guild, which had strayed from its original intention.

A world where only Jiuzhou members suffered was achieved; everyone else was quite satisfied, except for the three unlucky individuals whose limbs were constantly restrained and held by the Rat People.

The Jiuzhou members were not without resistance; in the most dangerous instance, they accessed a Curse Card in their inventory that could be activated mentally and cast a Death Curse on Lin Chen.

Lin Chen did not die or get injured, and he finally learned the hidden effect of his Identity Card.

【Name: Ominous Crow】

【Effect: Cannot be harmed by any curse, and returns the curse to the caster.】

【Note: Though clearly the hope of salvation, it was falsely accused as a symbol of curse. In that case… truly become the transmitter of curses.】

The Jiuzhou member who cast the curse died horribly on the spot, and the female player next to him screamed, looking at Lin Chen with eyes full of resentment.

The moment the notification for the hidden effect popped up, Lin Chen realized he had underestimated the foundation of the major guilds and had just flashed in front of the King of Hell.

Although he felt terrified afterward, he remained calm on the surface, acting as if the situation was entirely under control.

In the eyes of the other players and the live stream audience, a Jiuzhou member launched an all-out attack, and “Lin Crow,” without even turning his head, caused the attacker to vomit black blood and instantly die.

Above the Ruins of the Sunset, the players watching the large screen erupted in an uproar.

“How did he do that? What happened? He didn’t even look at that person! And that person just died? Is there any known item that can do that?”

“I just used big data to search the mall. There are indeed some amulet-like items that can reflect damage, but their activation conditions are either extremely strict or they cause significant commotion and side effects. To kill someone silently like that is simply outrageous…”

“Do you think there’s a possibility that Lin Crow’s strength is actually far more unfathomable than we all previously thought? To possess such power but only start showing himself recently—he must be planning something profound.”

Inside the instance, having seen their companion’s fate as a warning, the remaining two Jiuzhou members dared not act rashly again.

The Colosseum Game proceeded smoothly, finally reaching its end on the seventh day.

Lin Chen’s team ranked first in points, naturally earning the qualification to meet the Evil God.

Golden chains fell from the high-hanging Temple in the void, connecting to the stone platform on the ground to form a staircase made of fragments of light.

The Goat, whose eyes were strange horizontal pupils, bowed slightly to Lin Chen and his teammate: “The two ultimate victors, please ascend to the Temple.”

Lin Chen nodded and stepped onto the staircase.

During these seven days in the Colosseum instance, his appearance had subtly changed under the influence of the 【Plague Doctor】 card.

At this moment, he wore a dark gray overcoat, with faint black mist lingering around him. His eyes were dark and deep like a well, seemingly capable of swallowing all light, making people instinctively afraid to approach him.

He walked step by step toward the Temple high in the sky. His teammate followed five steps behind, keeping their distance, cautious and uneasy.

The players in front of the large screen at the Ruins of the Sunset watched their backs recede, their figures eventually turning into two small dots and disappearing beneath the Temple’s shadow.

They all lamented, wishing they could somehow dive into the screen and glimpse the full view of the Temple.

“What do you think Lin Crow will wish for?” a player asked.

“I don’t know.” Another player shrugged. “Maybe he’ll wish for the immediate destruction of the Jiuzhou Guild?”

The first player denied it: “Probably not. No matter how bizarre this instance is, it’s ultimately just an instance subordinate to the Eerie Game. It can’t significantly impact the overall structure of the game itself. I guess the wishes are limited to being fulfilled within the instance.”

“That makes sense.” A player agreed, frowning as he raised a question. “But don’t you find it strange? The Sphinx can grant wishes, and the God can also grant wishes. Their functions completely overlap, so what’s the point of having a God?”

Lin Chen was also pondering this question.

The Sphinx could already grant wishes, so why set up another God?

In the world background, heroes among humanity participated in the Game of Gods simply to fulfill their wishes.

Why specifically complete the task of 【Meeting the Evil God】?

Was it because the Sphinx’s wish-granting had the side effect of petrification, or was it because there was a certain kind of wish that only a God could fulfill?

If it was the latter, what wish would that be?

Lin Chen stepped onto the aerial platform supporting the Temple, and the world before his eyes instantly brightened like midday.

Without the Temple’s shadow to block it, the blazing sunlight poured down unobstructed, stinging his eyes, and the sudden burst of heat nearly melted him.

Lin Chen shielded his eyes with his hand and looked around.

He saw that the magnificent Temple, which had looked golden and splendid from afar, was actually dilapidated; the white walls were covered in cracks like a parched earth, and the golden tiles were crumbling and decaying.

He saw hundreds of bizarre statues stacked on both sides of the Temple—some human figures, some various animals—all frozen in strange poses, as if they had been suddenly immobilized while running.

The faded bronze main gate in the center of the Temple was slightly ajar, revealing the dark, lightless Inner Chamber behind it, the interior layout invisible from a distance.

A voice that belonged to no known language echoed into his mind, scattering elusive information:

“Kill him, and you shall become God.”

This sentence was like a switch, followed immediately by more words surging into his mind, and Lin Chen suddenly gained a large amount of unfamiliar knowledge.

—Becoming the final victor and Meeting the Evil God was never about ordinary wishes.

—The ultimate goal of all wishes is simply to become a new God.

—Only the God who once granted divine power to the beasts can bestow the authority of a God upon a human… Lin Chen subconsciously took a step forward, tempted by the voice to enter the Temple, but his mind was woven with layers of doubt.

—Why become a God? Did everyone truly have no wish more worthy of fulfillment than becoming a God?

—The animals finally escaped human oppression and became the ruling class, so why would they offer humans a path to advancement?

—Are there unknown consequences to becoming a God?

“Kill him, and you shall become God.”

The voice in his mind repeated itself over and over.

Lin Chen’s ears caught the sound of deliberately muffled footsteps, approaching him step by step, coming from his teammate.

He clenched his fists, and fine sweat seeped into his palms.

The sinister intent of the instance and the malicious rules deliberately hidden within the Colosseum Game revealed their fangs at this moment.

Only one person could become God, yet two players from one team had ascended to the Temple together and heard the bloody divine oracle.

The chain of suspicion objectively existed; neither believed the other would give up the chance to become God and refrain from killing them.

A God was the highest known existence next only to the Supreme Rule. With the opportunity right there, who could resist the temptation?

Since that was the case, the only option was to strike first… Lin Chen knew his teammate’s psychology and could understand their resolve.

His public image was sufficiently ruthless; while intimidating others, it also caused people to regard him as a dangerous, cold-blooded killer.

At the brink of life and death, no matter how afraid one was, they should fight for a chance to live… Unfortunately, Lin Chen was not the real “Lin Crow” after all, and he couldn’t kill his teammate without hesitation.

The moment his teammate drew a dagger, he said calmly, “The main quest is to meet the Evil God, not to become a God.”

The 【Pilgrims Blessing】 skill in his Skill Bar lit up. After the last instance ended, this skill changed, and an effect of 【Resist Physical Damage】 was added.

Pure white feathers appeared behind Lin Chen, intertwining to form giant wings that enveloped his body, blocking the fatal blow.

Lin Chen didn’t even glance at the teammate who attacked him, quickly running forward and rushing through the Temple gate.

Just now, he had thought of a way to break the deadlock.

The main quest would be considered complete just by Meeting the Evil God.

No matter what happened during the final three minutes, no substantial harm could be inflicted, and everyone remaining would survive.

His teammate, jolted awake by Lin Chen’s reminder, chased after Lin Chen into the Temple after a moment of internal struggle.

He could feel that Lin Chen held no malice toward him, and even wanted to save everyone… He thought, without reason, that “Lin Crow” didn’t seem as terrifying as he looked… The two crossed the Temple gate one after the other.

In an instant, all the surrounding scenery rapidly disintegrated into fragments, plunging them into boundless darkness.

The black-haired, golden-eyed God descended silently. Golden vines glowed faintly, weaving into a cage that enclosed the two of them.

The system notification 【main quest completed】 sounded in Lin Chen’s ear.

However, the remaining text did not pop up, and time seemed to have paused; the clearance notification never arrived.

Lin Chen vaguely felt that things were not so simple.

Ignoring the instinctive fear rising in his heart, he looked up directly into the God’s eyes and asked, “Have we cleared the instance?”

The God was not displeased by Lin Chen’s disrespect, and their voice was indifferent like water: “Since you have met me, the two of you may leave after three minutes.”

“Just the two of us?” Seeing Lin Chen’s calm, the teammate gained courage and pressed loudly, “What does that mean? What about the others? Can they leave with us?”

The God said, “They did not come to meet me, so naturally, they will remain here forever.”

Colored fragments of light appeared out of thin air, weaving scenes from the past.

Players wearing various modern outfits were driven by the animals to the center of the high platform. Some cried, some cursed, but without exception, they all fell into the Blood Pool below when the stone slabs opened, dissolving into a puddle of blood.

The animals cheered and jumped into the Blood Pool, scooping up plasma to smear on themselves, occasionally pulling out bones that hadn’t fully dissolved and gnawing on them.

The death game belonging to humanity had ended; the animals’ revelry was just beginning… This was the ending of past Colosseum instances.

The God said, “You are not the first ones to come here to meet me. The heroes who came here either lacked the courage for a life-or-death duel, fearing failure and death; or they lacked the ambition to become a God, unwilling to bear the desires of living beings.”

“They all left. So what about you? Will one of you stay behind?”

His teammate, his face pale, asked in a trembling voice, “Is it true that only if one of us becomes God and goes back to meet them, they can survive?”

The God nodded: “That is indeed a feasible solution.”

Lin Chen asked, “What does’staying behind’ mean? Does it mean being trapped in this instance forever, unable to leave?”

“Are you afraid?” The God turned their face toward Lin Chen, and their golden eyes unfurled shimmering images. “I can see your desire. You came here to save one person.”

“And only when a God is born from the Colosseum can all separated space-times be unified, allowing you to go see him.”

More Chips were instantly placed on both sides of the Balance.

Becoming God or not not only concerned the individual but also determined the lives and deaths of the other players, and whether… Qi Si could be saved.

The price also became steeper: one person would die, and the other would remain in the instance forever, which was no different from death… Lin Chen knew his teammate would inevitably choose to abandon becoming God, leave the instance, and let the other players fend for themselves.

To save Qi Si, he had to kill his teammate and become God himself.

So… could he personally kill one person in order to save another?

“Kill him, then become God.” The God closed their eyes, their voice full of pity. “You don’t have much time left to make your choice.”

Lin Chen pressed his lips together, remaining silent, his right hand unconsciously tightening around the blade hidden beneath his long sleeve.