Chapter 438: Gods (X) – Hostage

Five minutes later, Shuomeng and Jiang Junjue, controlled by the Soul Contract, descended to the first floor with disgruntled expressions and sat down on the sofa one by one.

Jiang Junjue saw that Yu Jinsheng was also controlled and clicked his tongue in wonder: “Si Qi, it’s one thing for you to have a problem with us, but why are you even controlling your own friend? This is the first time I’ve met someone who behaves like you.”

Hearing this, Yu Jinsheng’s gaze drifted: “Old Jiang, he already knows who I am.”

That’s awkward. The muscles on Jiang Junjue’s cheek twitched twice. When he looked at Si Qi again, he changed his tune: “Um, little brother Si Qi, regarding the matter of deceiving you, our Guild Leader takes full responsibility. Shuomeng and I advised against it to no avail and could only follow orders. Considering our pleasant cooperation in the Red Maple Leaf Boarding School instance, please don’t take your anger out on me…”

Si Qi scanned Qi Si’s memories and said flatly, “You almost killed my tool.”

Jiang Junjue: “…”

Shuomeng blinked and raised his hand: “Si Qi, I haven’t offended you. In the Red Maple Leaf Boarding School instance, I even carried you at the end!”

Si Qi looked at him faintly: “You stole my lighter.”

Shuomeng: “…”

In fact, Si Qi never cared about taking anger out on others, nor did he care about grudges or favors. Even if these people had saved Qi Si’s life, as long as holding them hostage yielded sufficient benefit, Si Qi would execute the plan without hesitation.

Unfortunately, people can never grasp this principle; they always like to investigate the whole story and calculate favors and grievances.

Enough with the nonsense. Si Qi’s patience for small talk was basically exhausted. He conveniently used the Soul Contract to place a gag order on the group, then walked skillfully behind the counter, picked up the landline, and dialed the general number for the Public Security Bureau.

After the phone rang for a while, the operator finally answered: “Hello, this is the Shangri-La Town Public Security Bureau. What seems to be the matter?”

Si Qi’s voice was gentle and his articulation clear: “Hello, I am Si Qi, ‘Si’ from ‘Sizhang’ (In Charge), and ‘Qi’ from ‘Qiyue’ (Contract). You can also call me ‘Qi Si.’ I need you to contact Fu Jue of the Bureau of Anomaly Investigation for me within an hour and have him call this number.”

The person on the other end listened to Si Qi’s request, their voice full of confusion: “Sir, I apologize, but I don’t understand what you mean. Are you looking for someone? I think you might have the wrong number; we don’t have a ‘Bureau of Anomaly Investigation’ department here.”

Si Qi was not surprised by the operator’s response. He maintained an unchanging smile and said gently, “It doesn’t matter. You just need to report this immediately. Say that I am holding three important figures from the Listening Wind Guild and one innocent native of Shangri-La Town, and then have Fu Jue call back. I will kill them in one hour.”

The operator was a young man who had just started working. He was scrolling through his phone out of boredom while taking the call, initially assuming it was just one of those mundane, petty domestic matters he dealt with daily. He planned to say a few perfunctory words to brush it off so he could continue watching short videos.

Unexpectedly, the more he listened, the more alarmed he became. The young man on the other end of the phone sounded nonchalant, but his words demanded serious attention. Saying he had people in his hands and asking for someone named “Fu Jue” to call back—wasn’t this clearly a case of kidnapping and extortion?

Speaking of which, should they prepare the ransom next, or mobilize detectives to rescue the hostages?

The operator, who had watched many cop movies, instantly thought of numerous cinematic tropes and his tone became serious: “Sir, please don’t act rashly. I will report this immediately! But one hour is too…”

“It’s enough. He will appear.” Si Qi interrupted the operator’s bargaining, and two seconds later, politely added, “Thank you for your trouble. Please make sure to tell Fu Jue everything I said, word for word.”

“Yes, yes! Please rest assured! Please don’t do anything irreversible…”

Si Qi decisively hung up the phone, avoiding having his ears polluted by the usual platitudes about urging people toward goodness.

On the Contract Scroll at the bottom of the Hall of Thought, golden vines wove into messy handwriting, faithfully recording the contents of the conversation that had just taken place.

Verbal declarations also hold binding power. Now that the contract was formed, Si Qi believed the operator would dutifully deliver the information to Fu Jue within the specified time.

Bored, he casually grabbed a phone without a password from the counter and spent less than two minutes downloading the Happy Match mini-game he used to play, starting from the first level.

Half an hour later, the landline phone at the front desk rang.

Si Qi picked up the receiver, and Fu Jue’s composed voice sounded: “Hello, Si Qi, I am Fu Jue. However, after tomorrow, I will revert to the identity of ‘Lin Jue’; the name ‘Fu Jue’ will become a thing of the past.”

“Oh? God Fu staked everything on the Final Instance, including twenty-two years of accumulated reputation, yet still failed to achieve ultimate victory. So, are you forced to utilize the resources sealed away twenty-two years ago?” Si Qi smiled sarcastically. “Make whatever decisions you want; why explain them to me?”

Lin Jue said calmly, “Since you resorted to extreme measures just to contact me, I assume you don’t mind me using this opportunity to convey some information. Furthermore, I hope the cooperation we previously established remains valid in the Post-Final Instance Era.”

“‘Post-Final Instance Era’? I didn’t expect your Bureau of Anomaly Investigation to name it so quickly.” Si Qi teased, narrowing his eyes slightly. “You must have realized already that I am not Qi Si. I’m curious why you think the cooperation negotiated by Qi Si can still continue, given that we are now rivals competing for the sole position of Ancestral God?”

“Because neither of us wants the Ancestral God to return to the world,” Lin Jue said. “Once the candidate for the Ancestral God is finalized, They will act as the proxy of the Will of the Rules, destroying and restarting all worlds, which is what I do not wish to see.

“And at that time, apart from the entity executing the Ancestral God’s authority, all other people, ghosts, and gods will be reclaimed by Them, becoming fuel for creating new life and deities in the new world. I imagine this is what you do not wish to see.

“We share a common goal at this stage, and the benefits of cooperation far outweigh the risks of opposition. Therefore, I propose this alliance to you.”

After finishing this, he said no more. These words were clearly all the information he intended to convey to Si Qi. His next step was to quietly wait for Si Qi to analyze the pros and cons.

“As expected of the shared leader of Jiuzhou and Xila, your analysis of the situation and prediction of the future are quite accurate.” Si Qi’s smile remained unchanged. Holding the receiver with one hand, he idly tapped the desk with his raised index finger, making a “knock-knock” sound.

He smiled and countered, “Then Lin Jue, have you considered that unlike that rationalist named ‘Qi Si,’ I am a lunatic who thrives on chaos? In fact, rather than living, I would prefer to welcome a grand and dazzling death.

“A golden wheel spinning high in the sky, lava symbolizing destruction raining down, blood and flesh splattering and raising vast clouds of dust… Just imagining that scene, I am struck by its magnificent and bizarre splendor.”

Lin Jue on the other end of the phone clearly frowned slightly. When he spoke again, his tone was slightly deeper: “So, what is your choice?”

Si Qi remained silent for a long time, but it was certainly not due to being speechless; rather, it seemed he was suppressing laughter, amused by Lin Jue’s rhetorical question.

The young man’s suppressed laughter subsided, and his clear voice rang out: “Someone once asked me an interesting question—a question I remember he also asked you:

‘A lunatic wants to have a killing competition with you. Whoever kills more within a limited time wins. If you win, nothing happens; if you lose, he will destroy the world.’ Do you know what choice I made?”

Si Qi lowered his voice, placed his index finger on his lips, and adopted a tone of sharing a secret: “I told Them to remember to tell me before destroying the world, so I can find a spot with a good view and watch while eating popcorn.”

This was Qi Si’s answer to Qi after the Double Happiness Town instance ended, but at that time, Qi Si and Si Qi’s fates had not yet diverged—Si Qi was Qi Si.

“I don’t believe you,” Lin Jue’s voice was calm. “If your choice for the game’s ending was death, you wouldn’t have taken those four people hostage to initiate this conversation with me.”

“It’s not that I choose death, but before the inevitable death, I want to do more interesting things, like destroying a world for fun, or bringing more anomalies into reality.” Si Qi sighed, sounding troubled that Lin Jue didn’t understand his pure intentions.

Without waiting for Lin Jue to speak, he continued on his own: “As for why I controlled those four and demanded a conversation with you, it’s probably because I hope your Bureau of Anomaly Investigation can spare a car to take us back to Jiangcheng.

“Also, don’t forget to leave a phone number. I might have other needs later, as the journey from Shangri-La Town to Jiangcheng is quite long, and the ride might be uncomfortable.”

Although it was clearly an unreasonable request, Lin Jue didn’t get angry upon hearing it. Instead, he asked seriously, “Why are you so insistent on returning to Jiangcheng? Currently, apart from Shangri-La Town, all other areas are indistinguishable from the end of the world, with anomalies raging and ghosts running rampant.

“Shangri-La Town, as the settlement closest to the origin of the world, is like the mythical Noah’s Ark, having the highest probability of surviving into the new, restarted world compared to all other regions.”

“Just assume I want to die,” Si Qi laughed softly. “Also, for me, the ‘biggest anomaly released into reality by the anomaly game,’ how do you know I won’t feel a kinship when I meet ghosts and monsters, like running into an old acquaintance?”