Chapter 256 - Two Hundred and Fifty-Three:

Chapter 256: Chapter Two Hundred and Fifty-Three: "What reason do you have to blame me?Su Ming’an organized the clues once more, placing the car keys into the temporary props section, replacing the flashlight.

Now, his three-slot temporary prop bar held the car keys, a blood-stained journal, and a white lab coat.

Through analyzing Xia Luoyang’s words, he had completely understood the truth about the sixth instance.

Now, only two steps were left, to take Dong Xue away and then enter the final reasoning phase.

He passed through a corridor filled with white creatures, unlocked the door from the inside, and pushed it open.

Stepping into the sunlit courtyard, he saw someone running towards him.

She was slender, her body covered in crisscrossing scars, blood dripping to the ground with her steps, appearing to be fleeing for her life.

Seeing him, her eyes lit up and she lunged towards him as if seeing a savior.

Ming’an extended his hand.

His gaze was utterly unflinching.

"Boom——!"

Spatial vibrations appeared before him, tearing the girl’s body into shreds. He watched as blood and flesh flew before his eyes, yet he didn’t hear the system’s kill notification.

He closed his eyes, then opened them again to see nothing but sunlight-soaked, shattered flower petals.

...It was another illusion.

He had thought it was Suzune, that person, running towards him.

He stared at the brilliant sunlight, feeling as if everything in front of him was spinning.

Having stayed in the three-story building for too long, with a loss of 2 points per minute, his SAN value had dropped to 34.

He walked forward, saw Mo Yan and others standing still, but suddenly realized that Suzune, who should have been among the group, was missing.

"Where’s Suzune?"

"She ran away," Shadow said. "She has a spatial teleportation prop."

...She ran away?

Ming’an had not expected her to be so cautious, to have fled ahead of time, but he had anticipated that he might hear Xia Luoyang’s warning.

"What a pity," he said. "It looks like I need to prepare some props to restrict space in the future."

"Wait, wait, Big Brother, why did Suzune suddenly teleport away... I’m still confused, isn’t she a student NPC..." Mo Yan said, puzzled.

"No." Su Ming’an looked towards the distant fence.

In saying this, his tone carried a touch of regret:

"She is Mizushima Haru."

Shock visibly appeared on Mo Yan’s face, evidently, he had also heard of this person: "How, how could that be... Isn’t she a top-ranked deity..."

"...I had actually somewhat anticipated it," Ming’an said. "But it’s somewhat hard to believe..."

He couldn’t believe, nor did he want to believe, that Mizushima Haru would go to such lengths.

She had become a special identity, become Suzune, infiltrated for so many years, prepared for so many years in this sunless hellish place, almost turning herself into an autistic.

Exerting all her effort, wasting her years... all just to kill him.

...All just to kill him.

She actually hated him that much.

...She really hated him that much.

"Wait! How is she not Suzune?" Zhuang Guo’s exclamation suddenly arose.

After attracting everyone’s attention, his voice grew louder: "How could she possibly not be Suzune, and that spatial teleportation, a living person just disappeared before my eyes, what’s going on..."

"Ah, about that..." Mo Yan started to reply but suddenly felt an overwhelming pressure. Sёarᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

It was as if something had descended from the sky and fiercely pressed down on his head. An invisible force of Energy Suppression suddenly enveloped him, and his body uncontrollably hit the ground.

"Bang bang bang—!"

A series of falling sounds arose as the people who had been standing toppled over in droves.

"Wait... Big bro! Why are you pressing down on me!"

Mo Yan was also pressed down and he immediately spoke out.

Dong Xue was also pinned to the ground, her eyes full of confusion.

"Sorry, I forgot that Energy Suppression cannot target specific individuals," Su Ming’an said as the light in his hands dissipated.

He walked over to Zhuang Guo, who had just managed to get up, and placed his long sword against his neck.

"Mo Yan, tie him up," Su Ming’an commanded.

Without a word or question, Mo Yan immediately took a thick rope from his backpack and approached.

"Hey, wait... wait, weren’t you going to take me out? What right do you have to tie me up—?" Zhuang Guo’s face immediately turned pale.

"Considering that the students might pose a danger, just like Suzune did earlier, it’s practical to tie you up," Su Ming’an casually found an excuse.

In fact, he had only seen Zhuang Guo’s performance in the previous round and knew that this man would only cause trouble, it was better to restrict his actions from now on.

The number of surviving students could add to his side mission contribution points. There was no need to kill Zhuang Guo since he wasn’t much of a fighter anyway; it would suffice to tie him up and throw him in the trunk of the car when the time came.

"Big brother is truly wise!"

Mo Yan followed suit immediately. Zhuang Guo had no chance to resist and was quickly forced down and bound by his hands and feet.

"While you’re at it, knock him out too, he’s too noisy," Su Ming’an said.

"Big brother is truly insightful!" Mo Yan struck Zhuang Guo’s nape with the edge of his hand, and Zhuang Guo passed out, his eyelids flipping.

Su Ming’an closed his eyes.

The aftereffects of death still lingered; he saw double vision in everything. He didn’t have the energy to think about other matters and his methods had become brutish... but that was unavoidable.

The actions of Mizushima Haru still unsettled him greatly even now.

If back in the Fifth World, as she knelt down, abandoned her dignity, and pleaded with him despondently...

Forget it.

At the time, he had clearly spoken his piece, advising her to regain her self-respect; however, this brainwashed person from the noble families still failed to understand.

Her words at that time, such a speechless and choking question, still echoed in his mind.

Thinking about such matters was pointless.

Since she had chosen that path, let her deal with it then.

"Let’s go," he said, heading for the gate of the fence.

Su Ming’an continued on the route he had taken before.

However, this time, he had the car keys, successfully started the car parked by the roadside, and drove towards the uninterrupted suspension bridge following the correct map route.

Perhaps due to years of disrepair, the suspension bridge looked rickety. Su Ming’an chose not to drive across, but instead parked the car at the edge of the cliff.

He stood at the head of the bridge and, just like in the previous round, blocked the bridge entrance and killed the oncoming white creatures.

This time, it was much easier than the last.

Xia Luoyang was already dead, no one was shooting from cover, and Mo Yan was still alive.

However, because his sanity values were exceedingly low, standing there, he could hear various strange sounds.

He held the sword in his hand, looking across the cliff.

Heavy raindrops splattered on his body, mingling with the blood.

He shook the blood off the blade, feeling uncomfortable. The cold rain soaked his clothes and pants, making each step feel heavy.

"Big brother."

Mo Yan sheathed his sword, his body covered with blood spurted from the necks of strange white creatures; he wiped the blood off his face, smiling brightly.

This young man seemed to have always been like this, displaying nothing but a sunlit smile.

"Big brother, this rain is quite heavy. Should we find a cave to take shelter?" Mo Yan asked.

Su Ming’an did not respond.

"Big brother?" Mo Yan patted his shoulder, looking at Su Ming’an as his form suddenly slanted, startling Mo Yan so much that he almost lost his grip on his sword:

"Big brother, big brother, are you alright? I didn’t use much strength, big brother, don’t faint, I’m scared..."

"It’s nothing."

Su Ming’an stabbed his sword into the ground and quickly stabilized himself leaning on the blade.

His rational points were no longer dropping, just maintaining at an irritating number. As a result, he kept seeing bizarre sights.

Dizziness, tinnitus, hallucinations... Negative emotions and visions continuously dampened his state.

However, fortunately, this instance was likely nearing its end since both major bosses were dead.

He sighed with relief, then turned around and slashed with his sword—

Zhuang Guo’s head, which was still unconscious, fell to the ground, splashing blood on the blade.

Rational points increased by 10, clearing Su Ming’an’s vision slightly.

The system’s voice followed immediately afterward.

Su Ming’an had originally planned to keep Zhuang Guo alive for a side mission, but found it was safer to kill him and regain his rationality.

"Let’s find a cave to take shelter first." He glanced at Dong Xue waiting by his side.

After the previous cycle, he didn’t let Dong Xue roam around on her own anymore, insisting that even if she got drenched, she must stay within his line of sight to ensure her survival.

Now, they only needed the clue in Dong Xue’s possession.

He truly needed a quiet place to make her divulge the clue she harbored.

He looked across the cliff.

No one was there; the white creatures had been wiped out. A segment of a broken iron chain bridge hung over the water. The river water smashed against the cliff, creating intense sounds, turning the entire river into a meat grinder made of water flows. Even the tough-skinned white creatures would be battered beyond recognition if they fell in.

He stared, pondering, when he suddenly felt an extremely strong gust of wind from behind.

The wind came so swiftly, as if someone had pushed him hard from behind, and he didn’t even have time to turn around.

Just as he was about to fall into the river, he immediately performed a spatial displacement, teleporting back to the shore, then turned abruptly.

Behind him, Mo Yan, with a strange expression on his face, was staring intently at him.

"Big brother," Mo Yan said, "you need to rest."

"There’s an enemy." Su Ming’an immediately faced the direction from which the violent wind had attacked, preparing to initiate a spatial vibration.

"Big brother, there is no enemy, you just teleported in place yourself," Mo Yan immediately reminded him.

"..." Su Ming’an was stunned.

He had initially thought that visual and auditory hallucinations were bad enough, but it seemed now that perceptual hallucinations had appeared.

He distinctly felt something pushing him from behind, but now Mo Yan told him it was just his misperception.

...Can Mo Yan be trusted?

He can be trusted.

This was information that Su Ming’an had obtained from the previous round, Mo Yan is absolutely trustworthy.

"Let me know if there’s any danger; for now, let’s head to find a cave," Su Ming’an said. He also passed the same command to Shadow to ensure double insurance.

The group headed deep into the jungle, where a cave was not far off.

"By the way, Mo Yan, are you all right?" Su Ming’an suddenly asked.

He had always found Mo Yan’s mental state unexpectedly good; only during the flax segment did he ever lose his sanity momentarily, even then, Mo Yan had easily snapped out of it.

Although his own mental state was compromised due to venturing into hazardous areas, Mo Yan’s state seemed too relaxed.

"I’m fine," Mo Yan answered matter-of-factly, "The weather is great, and Big Brother is very capable; I’m quite relaxed."

Su Ming’an looked up at the sky, rain poured down as if in torrents, almost causing the water to flood into his eyes as he looked up.

Beside him, Dong Xue was also struggling to walk; her drenched clothes clung to her slightly curved torso and her black hair stuck to her cheeks. Noticing Su Ming’an’s movement, her eyes sparkled as she looked over at him.

Su Ming’an, watching Dong Xue in this state, suddenly felt something was amiss.

It seemed like something he had overlooked was starting to cause unrest.

But he had no time to delve deeper into it now.

What was most urgent for him now was to figure out how to unearth the clues hidden by Dong Xue.

He looked toward the nearby cave, already formulating the words to say.

"Dong Xue." He began again, his tone softening, "Let’s talk."

A particularly bright smile appeared on Dong Xue’s face.

In the dimly lit hotel lounge, the liquor streamed with sparkling golden light.

A young girl, wearing a mask that covered the upper half of her face, sat by the bar, swaying the liquid in her glass.

The bar was doing good business, next to it a singer with a guitar, resting his hand on the guitar without singing, bowing his head slightly as if lost in silence.

Similarly, many patrons sitting in the booths drinking were also silent, the atmosphere suddenly turning heavy.

The reason lay in the LCD screen hung over the bar, displaying a man in hysterics.

"—Do you think I did this for all of humanity? No! Not at all! Who cares about saving those guys, only becoming stronger, bringing the loot home, becoming a special-status player—that’s no betrayal but just a step on humanity’s ladder! Everyone is out for themselves; where do you get the right to be so just, what gives you the reason to blame me—"

This was Dore from Kelan Country, ranked 37th on the world player rankings.

From the beginning of the game, he appeared humble, steady, polite, a perfect gentleman, even taking care to ensure not a crease was out of place on his clothes after fights.

...So no one had ever imagined this gentleman could go mad to this extent.

People watched as this man’s image crumbled bit by bit, his emotions boiling over, as if tearing away his false mask to starkly reveal the ugly truth beneath.

The gentleman who had eloquently spoken at the human self-rescue conference, saying he would "liberate humanity, bravely struggle against fate, and will never succumb", was now descending into madness, collapsing on the floor within the screen and screaming hoarsely at an NPC, his behavior shattering all the beautiful illusions people had about him.

Dore had gone mad.

His madness lay in the reality he revealed.

From this truth laid bare, people stayed silent, the atmosphere heavy.

"Change the channel," someone said.

After all, a bar is a place for relaxation, and even though some people were keen on watching a top-ranked player’s image shatter, this kind of scene was not suitable to be broadcasted here.

The resident singer opened the interface, switching the live stream.