Chapter 322: Old Haunts

In the Ruins of the Sunset, the rankings on the rookie rank stele were changing rapidly.

The record belonging to Chang Xu at the top of the rank quickly faded away like a sheet of paper soaked in water, vanishing without a trace, signaling the outcome of death.

The records showing 10 cleared instances also gradually disappeared, falling under the natural turnover of the rankings, but under the shadow of this public Ritual of witnessing death, it felt particularly shocking.

Dong Xiwen’s record rose to the top, but only lasted two seconds before being replaced by a new record.

Everyone saw the line of light gray inscription:

【1. ** (This player has not set a display nickname), Male, Cleared 6 instances】

The players held their breath, staring intently at the ranking, waiting for no further changes.

The ranking was now fixed; the contest for the top spot had ended, and everyone who witnessed it felt a sense of unreality, as if they were separated from the world.

“Wait? Why is it still changing?” A player raised a hand and pointed at the record at the top of the rank.

The players saw the asterisk at the top of the rank and the adjacent note “This player has not set a display nickname” fade simultaneously, replaced by a two-character name.

That name was—Si Qi.

“Look quickly at the records for the Colosseum instance!” Someone spotted something and shouted loudly.

The crowd surged like a tide toward the stele displaying the instance records, where the latest update prominently read—

【Colosseum instance True End – “Gods Gamble” has been recorded】

【MVP Player: Si Qi】

【The Colosseum instance has been permanently closed due to force majeure】

【Last Player to Clear: Si Qi】

…In the Game Space, Qi Si leaned back in the high-backed chair, a phantom image of the ranking stele floating before his eyes.

His record hung high at the top of the rank. The Wraith instance was not counted in his total cleared instances because he participated entirely in the state of a Ghost.

【Fame and praise ultimately belong to you; blood is your ceremonial robe, and bones forge your steps.】

【Congratulations on killing the previous rank leader under the gaze of thousands and ascending to the number one position on the rookie rank.】

The sound of fireworks exploding mixed with simulated applause and cheers, like a dazzling kaleidoscope, making his head throb.

Qi Si closed his eyes for a moment. The noise and clamor subsided, and all was silent. When he opened his eyes again, two lines of text appeared before him.

【Do you want to set your display nickname immediately?】

【Once set, the nickname will be displayed on the rankings, first clear records, and public announcements.】

He had seen these two prompts once when he first became a formal player. At the time, he casually offered the name “Chang Xu,” but abandoned the setting process when he learned the name was already taken.

Perhaps it was because he had returned to being human after resurrection, appearing as a newly connected player in the Eerie Game’s view; or perhaps it was because he had become the number one on the rookie rank, and there was no precedent for the top spot to be marked with an asterisk—

The prompt urging him to set a nickname sounded once more, implying anticipation.

“You want me to set it, don’t you?” Qi Si asked.

Eerie Game: 【A God needs a name familiar to followers to condense their desires and sin.】

The Hall of Thought was filled with clusters of scarlet leaves on the tree. Except for the one belonging to Lin Chen, the others all came from the Ratmen in the Colosseum instance.

Golden fruits hung from the golden vine draped on the left side of the high-backed chair, corresponding to Qijia Village, which was polluted by the eerie, and the population infected with the Insomnia Syndrome Pathogen.

The villagers of Qijia Village were all dead, leaving behind an empty village filled with Ghosts and corpses.

A portion of the people infected with the Insomnia Syndrome Pathogen also died, but more survived. They manifested as scarlet light spots, and their connection to Qi Si was not through faith, but through fear.

Qi Si found the leaf symbolizing Liu Yuhan among the many, drained all its points, and casually crushed it, letting the light spots leak through his fingers.

He half-closed his eyes and said, “I don’t think I’ll have too many living followers. Believing in me will genuinely lead to death, a terrible, terrible death.”

Eerie Game: 【You will eventually possess everything. The reason this world exists is to die for you in the future.】

Qi Si was silent for two seconds, then laughed: “The way you put it, it sounds like if I die, the world will be destroyed. If I had heard these words before I was six, I might have tentatively believed it.”

【Do you want to set your display nickname immediately?】

The Eerie Game repeated itself again, like a malfunctioning AI that had cleared its previous dialogue data.

Qi Si thought for a moment and said, “Let’s use ‘Si Qi’.”

【You have set your display nickname to ‘Si Qi’. This nickname will be displayed on the rankings, first clear records, and public announcements.】

【Si Qi, welcome back.】

Before Qi Si’s eyes, the asterisk on his record was replaced by “Si Qi.”

Simultaneously, the records for the previous instances—Rose Manor, Carnivore, Hopeless Sea, Grand Performance, Red Maple Boarding School, and Colosseum—changed, with the MVP column displaying the name Si Qi.

This information was not difficult to find, and he believed it would soon be known by the major Guilds, but by this point, Qi Si no longer cared.

The Colosseum instance had caused a huge sensation, successfully pushing him into the eye of the storm. Chang Xu had even revealed what Qi Si had done, and he believed that if the Jiuzhou Guild put in the effort, many players would believe it.

So why bother with unnecessary concealment and whitewashing? Why timidly offer self-justification and clarification?

He was in the Unnamed Guild, standing opposite the Jiuzhou Guild, comparable to forces like Sera and the Balance Guild. Why should he abide by the set of moral standards established by Jiuzhou?

After a period of spreading, the Insomnia Syndrome Pathogen controlled the lives of over ten thousand people. He was confident that through coercion and kidnapping, he could make those so-called righteous individuals hesitate before acting.

It was time for him to step into the open and prepare to take a seat at the negotiating table.

【Your item “Pocket Watch of Fate” has undergone a transformation in effect after the instance’s baptism.】

His left wrist felt slightly hot. Qi Si saw blood-colored patterns etched onto the originally all-gold Pocket Watch of Fate, eerie and difficult to decipher.

The worn abrasions and rust on the surface were completely washed away. Although the ancient design hadn’t changed much, it still shone with renewed splendor.

【Name: Pocket Watch of Fate (Complete)】

【Type: Item】

【Effect: Reverts objective time to the previous decision point that influenced fate (requires sufficient sacrifices before use; sacrifices will be stranded in the River of Time and cannot be reset);】

Uses the soul as a sacrifice to reset fate (effect depends on the quantity and quality of the sacrifice).】

【Note: Time marks fate, fate manipulates time.】

This was one of the aids provided to him by Li.

The time reversal of the Pocket Watch of Fate was no longer limited to the original one minute. Theoretically, it could travel infinitely upstream along the River of Fate, returning to the fork in the road that could change the final outcome after making a choice and seeing the future.

It also no longer had the limitation of being used only once per instance; it only needed enough sacrifices to be used.

Qi Si reached into the golden World-Fruit symbolizing the insomnia syndrome patient group and crushed a handful of light spots.

The slot in the inventory where the watch icon resided was permeated with blood-red color, lacking only a quarter to fill the entire slot.

Blood threads surged across the watch casing on his wrist. Most of the patterns glowed brightly, but only the ends and tips displayed an un-dyed ochre color.

Qi Si then slowed down, crushing the light spots one by one.

The item slot was filled bit by bit, and the patterns on the watch were gradually painted a uniform bright red. Finally, the three characters 【Can Activate】 appeared next to the item name on the system interface.

Qi Si thus learned that activating the effect of the Pocket Watch of Fate required one thousand human lives.

It was a bit expensive, but compared to its upgraded effect, it was absolutely worth it.

The settlement text finally began to refresh.

【Colosseum Rating Grade S, Reward points 5000】

【Colosseum True End route cleared, Reward points 5000】

【Worldview Decryption 100%, Reward points 5000】

【Completed main quest X2, Reward points 10000】

【Recovered “Dark Judge” Identity Card, Reward points 10000】

The main quest “Kill Qi Si” was shared by all players, including Qi Si himself, so he naturally received the corresponding points.

What interested Qi Si more was the line: 【Recovered “Dark Judge” Identity Card】.

In the Grand Performance instance, after killing Cynthia, he searched her belongings and found the Jester Trickster card. This card was still safely resting in his backpack.

However, after killing Chang Xu, the Dark Judge card only appeared as a phantom image for a few seconds before he symbolically crushed it.

It could be confirmed that an Identity Card bound to a player would be automatically recovered upon the holder’s death.

The Eerie Game, on one hand, encouraged players to kill Identity Card holders, and on the other, used the Identity Cards as tickets to enter the Final Dungeon. Its goal was clear.

—It intended to massively recover all the Identity Cards that had been issued.

This reminded Qi Si of a joke: A person sells meat pigs as pet pigs, claiming they won’t grow too large, and tells buyers that if the pigs do grow up, they can be returned for a new, small piglet.

The Eerie Game’s method of dealing with players was like slaughtering pigs.

First, issue the Identity Cards, wait until sufficient sin has accumulated, then harvest them with one blow.

【Achievement “Winner” unlocked (Achieved victory in the Gods Gamble), Reward points 5000】

【Achievement “Resurrection” unlocked (Died once for real in the game and resurrected), Reward points 5000】

【Achievement “Messiah” unlocked (Gained the faith of one thousand sentient beings), Reward points 5000】

【Total Reward points 55000, already deposited into the points account】

【Congratulations on perfectly clearing the Colosseum instance, receiving the reward item “Colosseum”】

As the final prompt sounded, a head-sized Colosseum model appeared on the Bronze Table in front of Qi Si, with introductory text floating beside it:

【Name: Colosseum】

【Type: ##】

【Effect: Can be deployed in the “Reality World,” capturing any sentient being to enter the arena for slaughter;】

【After deployment, it moves randomly across the world, and no one except the deployer knows its exact location;】

【The number of sentient beings inside the Colosseum is constantly one thousand. After casualties occur, new beings will be captured to replenish the ranks.】

【Note: The world is a giant Colosseum.】

This was undoubtedly an Eerie item similar to the Statue of the Joyous God and the Insomnia Syndrome Pathogen, which could be deployed, yet it was far more powerful than both, clearly creating a small, separate Eerie Game within the Reality World.

Simply by throwing it into reality, it required no management effort and could automatically extract sin, consistently providing sacrifices, faith, and souls.

Of course, Qi Si did not plan to deploy it immediately.

A weapon of mass destruction is most terrifying only before it is used. Rather than being relentlessly hunted by the Eerie Investigation Bureau after killing a mass of people, he preferred to use this as a Sword of Damocles hanging over the world, threatening and intimidating all of humanity.

With the miscellaneous matters largely handled, Qi Si stood up, walked to the Full-Length Mirror, and reached out to touch the cold glass surface.

【You have just cleared an instance. There are seven days until the next mandatory match. Would you like to immediately enter the next instance?】

Qi Si nodded and said, “Yes, I want to designate the instance.”

【Please state the name of the instance you wish to enter.】

“Rose Manor.”

【We apologize, this instance is currently occupied and cannot be entered… Error! Error!】

【A change in your authority has been detected. Your qualifications are being re-evaluated.】

【Following evaluation, you are eligible to enter this instance.】

The figure in the mirror was replaced by a black hole. The Eerie Game informed Qi Si that with his current authority, he could enter any instance, provided he paid the points.

Qi Si paid the newly acquired points to the Eerie Game and stepped into the mirror.

After the sudden descent of darkness, dim light abruptly appeared from the edges.

Qi Si saw a familiar scene: under a gray-purple sky, the castle was tall and leaning, its walls crisscrossed with cracks and wrapped in chain-like vines. He was surrounded by a boundless sea of roses in the garden, their extreme redness manifesting as a sickly black color.

The air, humid like the rainy season, carried a sticky floral fragrance that rushed into his nostrils, nearly making him vomit.

This was where everything began, and now he had voluntarily returned.

Shen Ming, Ye Zi, and Zou Yan died in the instance long ago, yet the Sera Guild and Balance Church behind them were now heavily involved with him.

Of the two survivors, Chang Xu and Lin Chen, one was killed by him, and the other became his Guild Leader, rising quickly to fame.

When recounted in detail, one could truly call it a case of human affairs being unpredictable and things no longer being the same.

Qi Si chuckled softly, walked along the path through the sea of flowers to the heavy Stone Door, and pushed it open, just as he had before.

Behind the door, there were no players, nor any furnishings Qi Si was familiar with. Only Qi, dressed in red, was suspended by vines beneath the dome, his dangling right hand a white bone devoid of flesh.

Gleaming light spots floated boundlessly, flowing into a Golden Long River in another dimension. Brilliant phantoms gently drifted, passed Qi Si, vanished in one instant, reappeared elsewhere, and repeated the process of appearing and disappearing.

Qi Si looked directly at the God’s body, his expression calm. He was no longer bewildered and drowsy, washed over by an ocean of ravings, as he had been in the Carnivore instance.

A vast amount of faith supported his status. Knowledge and experience enabled him to comprehend more information. He no longer knew what fear was.

He walked step by step toward Qi, a brilliant smile curving on his lips: “Your Excellency the Evil God, you promised me you would tell me the final part of the truth.”