Chapter 424: Snow Mountain (24) Humanity

“What do I possess? What do I desire?” Qi Si squatted beside the golden orb, pondering with a serious expression.

Materially, he had no worries about food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. His savings were ample, partly inherited from his parents and relatives, and partly accumulated by himself.

On an abstract level, he possessed Qi’s memories spanning billions of years, Qi Si’s thought patterns and behavioral choices, and… several souls controlled by soul contracts.

As for his desires… to live? To win this game? Or to become the new Ancestral God?

Qi Si considered each option, finding none of them particularly interesting. He seemed to be a person without definite desires, often acting on impulse, almost like a bug in program code, or some kind of chaotic element born specifically to create disaster.

Using something he didn’t possess as a bargaining chip seemed like an extremely profitable no-capital business, but would the rules really allow him to exploit such a loophole?

Qi Si was not a self-sacrificing, selfless god, nor did he possess the spirit of offering himself to a tiger for the sake of all beings.

He looked at the orb for a while, then uninterestingly averted his gaze, stood up, and walked aimlessly in one direction.

The connection between the depths of the Hall of Thought and the soul leaves was severed by an unseen force, and his perception of the world became blurry, as if all living beings had vanished in an instant, leaving only him in heaven and earth.

He first had to figure out where he was, why he had come, and how he would leave.

Several golden specks of light scattered from the orb, floating and dancing before Qi Si, guiding him with a tantalizing distance.

Qi Si followed the light specks, and the surrounding scenery imperceptibly changed. Against a monochromatic background, large, towering ice walls rose from the ground, precisely where he had previously encountered Zhou Ke from another world line.

But the difference was that this time, the ice walls did not reflect his image, but the humans he had encountered over the past twenty-two years.

“Qi Si, is that you, Qi Si? You’ve grown so big in the blink of an eye…” A woman’s gentle voice sounded, “Come, let Mom see, Mom hasn’t seen you in so long, I miss you so much…”

In the ice wall closest to the edge stood a woman in a white dress, gazing at Qi Si with tenderness and sorrow, beckoning him as a mother would call her child.

Qi Si walked over, and another middle-aged man emerged from behind the woman, frowning deeply: “Go, go! This isn’t where you should be! Leave quickly!”

His parents before him were so lifelike, from their expressions to their tone, that no fault could be found. If Qi Si hadn’t clearly remembered the location of the two skeletal specimens, he might have truly been entranced.

He looked at the two and asked with interest, “You two were also chosen for the Eerie Game? Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“It’s been so long, many details are blurry…” The woman’s outstretched hand was blocked by the ice wall. She dropped her arm in disappointment, her voice gentle, “Your dad and I entered the game at the same time. We were both very scared at first, but thankfully, we made it through without incident… After becoming official players, we carefully studied the guides and originally thought we could live a few more years, at least to watch you grow up, but your dad kept making bad investments and used up all our points. I could only accompany him to match new dungeons, and I didn’t expect this dungeon to be so difficult…”

The man next to her coughed twice, awkwardly changing the subject: “Qi Si, how have you been since your mom and I left? Before we died, we pledged our souls to the Main God. He promised to keep you safe from ghosts and monsters from then on. I wonder if it came true…”

Qi Si raised an eyebrow slightly.

Indeed, after he turned sixteen, he could no longer see ghosts in reality. It wasn’t until he entered the Eerie Game that he regained some of his spiritual vision.

He had originally thought it was because he had grown up or his psychological illness had been cured, but he never expected there to be such a reason behind it.

It made logical sense, but he still couldn’t be 100% sure. Perhaps the rules had read his memories and deliberately created an illusion to deceive him… Qi Si bypassed the man and woman who wore his parents’ faces and continued forward.

A young woman with long, flowing hair appeared, looking dazed: “Qi Si, why are you here too? You’re so big now, you should be in college, right?”

Qi Si, who had dropped out of high school, remained silent.

This was his high school homeroom teacher, who, in a sense, had died because of him. He had thought he wouldn’t remember such minor details of a fleeting life, but he never expected to meet her here.

“Are those rascals still bullying you? How was your college entrance exam? Where are you studying now?” The homeroom teacher asked eagerly.

Qi Si pursed his lips, said nothing, and quickened his pace, ignoring the concerned words.

As he walked step by step, more and more familiar or unfamiliar acquaintances appeared before and beside him: classmates who had helped him, the proprietress who gave him large portions of food, pedestrians who had given him directions… Because of the world’s rejection, most of his life in reality had been steeped in intense malice, causing mutual harm, death, and disaster… But upon closer inspection, he had indeed encountered some kindness.

Even if it was insignificant compared to the malice, it was still a considerable number given the vast base. Those people were all here, in groups, with great momentum.

“Qi Si, live well, Mom and Dad love you…”

“Qi Si, don’t be afraid, I’ll help you, we all believe in you…”

“Young man, you’re still growing, you should eat more meat…”

A golden light flew from the heart of each figure, converging into a dazzling cluster of light in the high void, condensing into a fist-sized fruit suspended before Qi Si.

Qi Si reached out his index finger to touch it, and relevant information flooded his mind.

【Your “Humanity”… can be placed on the scales of the world as a weight… Only by placing enough weight can you obtain the Ancestral God’s authority…】

“Humanity’? Do I even have such a thing?” Qi Si stroked his chin, feeling a strange sense of novelty.

He paused for a moment and asked seriously, “What exactly constitutes ‘enough weight’?”

【Among all contenders, the one with the greatest total weight will obtain the Ancestral God’s authority… If you fail to contend, the weight will not be returned…】

Qi Si roughly understood. This was a bidding trap with no return on sunk costs.

Although he had never found humanity to be useful, since the rules had specifically listed it, losing it without knowing why was not a good thing.

He ignored the golden fruit and walked straight through the layers of ice walls.

A fierce wind swept down from the high heavens, and snowflakes and icicles lashed at his face. He found himself standing in the center of an altar, a giant skull towering before him, and newly dead white bones piled at his feet, precisely the victims from the sacrificial pit.

This was clearly the scene he had witnessed in his dream last night, the only difference being that the person presiding over the sacrifice had become himself.

The sky was pitch black, as if dawn would never come. He was clearly in the Ancestral God’s dream, sharing an eternal, unending slumber.

Qi Si tilted his head slightly, looking towards the direction where he and Jin Yusheng had been in last night’s dream.

This time, there was no half-dead Jin Yusheng lying there. A figure in a black long suit and black cloak walked slowly against the wind and snow, the wind blowing back his bangs to reveal a young face.

It was Lin Chen.

At the same time, a large amount of textual information surged in the depths of Qi Si’s mind.

【Your “Followers”… can be placed on the scales of the world as a weight… Only by placing enough weight can you obtain the Ancestral God’s authority…】

【Qi, billions of years of recklessness have brewed bitter fruit for yourself. After that sacrifice, you only have one true follower left…】