Chapter 181: Divine Servants (The End)

Chapter 181: Divine Servants (The End)

Meanwhile, the players' lounge.

Members of the Death Guild and remaining solo players waited to exit the instance. A flash of white light appeared, just like countless times before.

However, when they opened their eyes, everyone was struck dumb.

"What happened??"

The once luxurious and pristine players' lounge was circular and although it only had one floor, the ceiling was nearly twenty meters high. A massive chandelier made of crystal refracted golden light, and the lounge was well-maintained with tables, chairs, sofas, and individual bars. It was the busiest place in the entire game.

At the very center, a robust pillar wide enough to require ten people to encircle it hung hundreds of screens that scrolled various types of real-time information. This place was usually crowded with players holding pens and paper.

But now, the luxurious lounge looked as though it had been ravaged by war. One half had been destroyed, and the pillar that used to be called "The Foundation Stone" had been snapped in two. Instead of the usual sky above, a stream of data consisting of zeros and ones flowed through the broken ceiling. Wisps of black energy curled around the ruins, and the atmosphere was anything but quiet—it was as if countless ghosts were weeping.

The main entrance to the lounge had shattered doors, and standing there were several people dressed in strange red robes.

"Holy crap! Seven 'Red Robed Demons'?!" someone from the Death Guild exclaimed.

Following this exclamation, the seven "Red Robed Demons," who had initially been huddled as if in a meeting, finally noticed the new souls that had appeared.

The one in the lead emotionlessly waved his hand, and the remaining six, holding chains, immediately approached.

Before the players could regain their senses, the first chain was looped around one of their necks.

"What are you doing?! Asking for death?"

No one's been playing this game for years to be led to the slaughter like sheep or pigs.

Players immediately began to curse and pull out their items, preparing to activate their abilities.

The "Red Robe" who had thrown the chain clearly had experience with this. He snorted coldly, and the chain in his hand abruptly tightened.

Screams of agony and shouts of indignation filled the air.

Players who had previously been able to clear Level 5 dungeons were considered the elite among players. However, now they were outnumbered by just six individuals. The chains thrown at them seemed like the rarest and most potent items in the game, rendering the players helpless as they were involuntarily led away.

Through the broken door of the ravaged base lounge, an eerie dark-red light emanated from outside.

A blood-colored sun hung in the sky, and the ghostly screams of souls sounded from an unknown source.

In the haste of their arrest, some players left behind their items.

A ghostly pale hand picked up one such item, inspecting it before letting out a sneer.

"What kind of child's play is this?"

With a flick of his finger, the item disintegrated into a stream of dark mist, mingling with the surrounding gloom.

All the so-called unlimited items and abilities in this game were merely constructed from stolen dark energy of the Underworld.

Was this meager thread of dark energy seriously considered a valuable item among these "players"?

Truly absurd.

At this moment, after escorting the "offenders," someone came back to report: "Sir, the latest batch of lost souls claims that Mr. Jie is currently in a dungeon and will be coming out soon."

Another sneer followed these words.

However, Jie Fangcheng held a rather unique position in the Underworld, and his combat abilities were mysterious. Rumor had it that he once drew heavenly lightning upon himself for his heavy killings while still alive, but managed to withstand it with his mortal body.

Fearsome as a human, even more so as a ghost.

Given the gravity of his killings, it was astonishing that he was even rehired as an official in the Underworld.

His capabilities alone were enough to silence many.

"Let's wait here, and give Manager Jie a grand welcome."

No sooner had these words been spoken than a man in a purple robe, adorned with a five-colored crown and possessing a notably gallant appearance, approached rapidly, covering ten li with each stride.

Upon reaching the ruined player lounge, the newcomer inquired, "Has Jie Fangcheng not come out yet?"

The others hurriedly bowed, "Lord Xue."

Xue Li stood still, quietly waiting, clearly anticipating the exit of Jie Fangcheng from the game.

Yan Sui had recently taken office as a judge in the Underworld.

The Underworld was severely understaffed. A great war years ago had devastated its ranks, leaving only four of the original Ten Yama Kings, and Dongyue God had not shown his face since that day.

The upper echelons had been decimated, and even more soul reapers were missing.

Though modern facilities now aided them, department heads were as busy as spinning tops—especially with the sudden discovery of this 'infinite game'.

The game had appeared out of nowhere; it was the judges who noticed that people were missing.

Unlike the mortal world, the Underworld doesn't have surveillance cameras, but it has its own methods for locating people. They quickly found that Lang Gu's essence had vanished in what the mortals called "Hell," a penal area for spirits.

Upon further investigation, they realized that the number of souls in Hell, which was supposed to operate automatically, was off.

Not only were there fewer new souls, but a missing person caught everyone off guard.

The original cause of the great Underworld war was, in fact, a ludicrous affair.

The Heavenly Realm and the Underworld may seem like separate entities, but they are deeply interconnected.

In modern terms, the Heavenly Realm is in charge of appointing all Underworld officials, while the gods must visit the Underworld to negotiate favorable reincarnations to ease their earthly tribulations.

This practice had gone on for an untold number of years until one fateful year when a god's earthly incarnation died on the day of birth.

It was a real death—the body, the deity, and even the soul vanished as if erased from existence.

The Heavenly Realm was furious and ordered a thorough investigation.

Initially, everyone thought the matter would soon blow over, but as they dug deeper, things began to look amiss.

There were too many alterations on the Book of Life and Death.

Souls condemned to the animal realm in their previous lives were reborn in affluent families; souls who had been generous and virtuous found themselves incarnated as livestock, waiting to be slaughtered.

Soon, the perpetrators were discovered.

It wasn't the work of one or two soul reapers with access rights; it was countless reapers, sucking the lifeblood out of the Book.

They were so adept at swapping fates that they could not only alter the destinies of gods but also use this "strategy" to gain more benefits for themselves.

Soul reaper promotions were based on merit, usually acquired by completing tasks and hard work, accumulated over time.

But such progress was too slow.

The power to alter the Book of Life and Death could offer much greater advantages to soul reapers.

For example, they could extort souls who had just enough karmic merit to secure wealth and prosperity for ten lifetimes, but not enough for ascension to divinity.

How could these souls resist? In such circumstances, wasn't the karmic merit funneled directly into the pockets of those who needed it?

For these underworld envoys, altering fates had become too easy, too routine.

Nobody thought much of it at the moment; after all, many had done the same thing.

No one expected that Dong Yue Shen Jun, who had always appeared to be good-natured, would insist on executing all these underworld envoys according to the law.

An uproar ensued.

His insistence not only failed to gain the approval of the majority in the Underworld, even the celestial realm sent emissaries to persuade him to abandon this idea.

Dong Yue Shen Jun remained steadfast, insisting on carrying out the punishments.

If that were all there was to it, it might merely be another sweeping purge under his iron-fisted rule.

Yet, in the midst of his handling, he stumbled upon a far graver issue.

The Underworld has been so influenced by the celestial realm that the gods now wield words more deftly than it does.

This can't go on any longer.

Initially, it was just a cleansing, an "operation" to excise the rot from the body—until—

Yan Sui surreptitiously eyed the Ten Yama Kings beside him and finally murmured, "My lord, our presence here is sufficient. Once Manager Jie is freed, we will inform him to seek you out. Please, attend to your matters."

Hearing this, Xue Li merely shook his head.

"You don't understand."

Having said that, he continued to stand in silence.

Yan Sui and the other newcomers of his batch were firmly in the camp of the Qing faction. After such a great war in the Underworld, the Qing faction has remained dominant, and he himself is a staunch advocate of "following rules and regulations."

To their eyes, Jie Fangcheng—someone who rarely adheres to these rules—is as jarring as a grain of sand in a pearl; glaringly out of place.

With a rare opportunity to speak to someone of Xue Li's stature, Yan Sui hesitated but finally broke the silence. "Lord Xue, why would you let someone like Manager Jie in? He is a malevolent spirit, his original body still suppressed beneath a divine statue. What has he done this time?"

Ever since the exposure of the Infinite Game, the Underworld has been working to crack its defense system and has begun admitting some spirits.

Through their accounts, everyone realized that Jie Fangcheng—who was supposedly retired and vacationing in the human world—had actually entered this game.

Not only had he entered, but he also seemed to be thriving within it.

This is entirely against the rules!

To avoid repeating the disasters of the great Underworld war, it had long been mandated that underworld officers should not fraternize with spirits.

And yet, what is Jie Fangcheng doing?

He seems to be having a grand time with souls who should be standing trial in the Underworld—making friends, joining guilds, and even, perhaps, finding a boyfriend?!

What is this? This is a severe breach of discipline!

Such a person is a cancer that needs to be decisively suppressed!

Yan Sui became increasingly incensed as he spoke. Xue Li listened quietly, finally offering a dispassionate reply: "He cannot die."

"Why?!"

"If he dies, the next one to die will be Dongyue God." Xue Li didn’t want to elaborate further. "I understand your viewpoint, but refrain from expressing it again."

Yan Sui was taken aback.

Xue Li simply looked at him, "If Jie Fangcheng hears you saying this, he might just beat you up. For your own sake, keep such thoughts to yourself next time."

Yan Sui: "..."

Just as they were conversing, suddenly, the ground began to shake violently.

The tremors seemed to originate from the deeper layers of hell, making the already unstable structure of the player’s hall crumble further. Collapsing pillars smashed into the hall’s exit point.

Yan Sui anxiously queried, "What’s going on?!"

Xue Li, momentarily stunned, quickly grew alarmed.

"This is bad!"

.

Amidst a white mist, outside the temple doors,

Jie Fangcheng gently laid the body of Wei Yuan on the ground.

In front of him, Lang Gu, having casually slain Wei Yuan, had enraged Qiao Mai into lunging at him. Just as the silver fork in Qiao Mai's hand was about to strike, Lang Gu waved his hand dismissively.

With a "clang," Jie Fangcheng’s greatsword blocked this casual swipe. The blade and Lang Gu’s fingertip clashed, emitting a sound akin to weapons colliding.

At this single exchange, Jie Fangcheng’s brow furrowed.

"Everyone, stand back!"

Saying this, Jie Fangcheng, gripping his greatsword, charged forward once more.

Lang Gu didn’t dodge; he directly engaged in combat.

The white mist thickened, and the two rapidly moving figures attacked each other relentlessly. All the bystanders could hear were the sounds of clashing weapons.

"Is Lang Gu... this powerful?"

Someone inquired in astonishment.

Zhang Dao'an already understood.

It's not that Lang Gu has become stronger; it's that they operate on different dimensions.

Just like when Jie Fangcheng fights against regular players—regardless of whether he wields a sword or how much strength he has—their dimensions are simply not the same.

Now, in someone's mental realm that we're not aware of, Lang Gu's dimension is a notch above that of Jie Fangcheng.

Rather than saying Lang Gu is strong, it’s more terrifying to consider how powerful Jie Fangcheng is.

He can fight someone empowered by this mental realm, relying purely on brute strength and not invoking any powers of the mental realm. This is beyond human capabilities.

However, this kind of combat is disadvantageous for Jie Fangcheng.

He has already sensed it himself.

It’s as if countless tiny spiderwebs surround him, struggling to trap him. Though they don’t affect his power now, if this continues, the webs will become more and more entangled, inevitably impacting his attacks.

"Lang Gu!"

The two had moved farther and farther apart, now well away from the group of players.

Jie Fangcheng tried to call out his name to awaken him, but the Lang Gu in front of him continued his methodical attacks without uttering a word.

He's being controlled, isn't he?

Jie Fangcheng closed his eyes momentarily, and when he reopened them, his irises had become one black and one white.

Thorns and sword-shadows overlapped on his forehead, forming intricate black patterns that radiated from his brow, quickly covering his entire forehead.

With a sweep of his greatsword, it was as if the heavens and earth were filled with the ghostly wails; boundless dark energy surged vaguely around him.

"Zing"—

Lang Gu was sent flying, twitching twice as he landed before finally lying still.

Forcibly using yin energy had a significant toll on Jie Fangcheng as well. He grunted softly as the fragmented golden light of merit around him trembled once again, scattering and reassembling like a nebula.

Shaking his head slightly, Jie Fangcheng first picked up the unconscious Lang Gu before swiftly heading toward where the players were gathered.

Upon reaching the gathering of players, Jie Fangcheng gently laid Lang Gu on the ground.

Wei Yuan's body was lying in Qiao Mai’s arms, who was sobbing uncontrollably. Jie Fangcheng paused for a moment, walked over to Wei Yuan, and gently touched his forehead with a finger.

A nearly imperceptible golden light entered Wei Yuan's body.

He wasn't certain of the current state of the Book of Life and Death. Wei Yuan’s death here may or may not be correctly registered. However, the golden light of merit would at least prevent his soul from dissipating, from becoming lost dust in the world.

Having bestowed the merit, Jie Fangcheng also sat on the ground.

Zhang Dao'an looked at him: "Tired?"

Jie Fangcheng nodded, then shook his head.

Just as he was about to speak, Qiao Mai, crying, suddenly stood up and lunged toward the wolf lying on the ground.

"Hey!" Jie Fangcheng hastily rose, about to move forward when he felt a sudden, acute pain in his chest.

A dagger—yet another dagger.

You've got to be kidding me. Not this damned dream again…

"Hello, Jie Fangcheng."

A foreign voice emanated from behind him.

Jie Fangcheng slowly turned his head.

Behind him, Ji Ge wore a broad smile.

"I've said it before—once Zhang Dao'an is dead, dealing with you will be a piece of cake."

Jie Fangcheng blinked deliberately.

As his eyes fluttered, the scenery in front of him shifted once more.

Gone were Wei Yuan and Lang Gu; enveloped in a sea of white mist lay Zhang Dao'an, his life hanging in the balance, his body marred by a greatsword's wounds.

Ji Ge's smile was radiant.

"Guess: did you enter my dream when you encountered Lang Gu, or perhaps when you met Zhang Dao'an in the temple? Or even," his smile widened further, "perhaps from the moment you heard the warning 'Beware of Ji Ge,' you've been ensnared in a dream all along?"

Jie Fangcheng felt his heart tighten.

With a 'whoosh,' the dagger lodged in his chest twirled, causing him to violently cough up blood.

Yet it was that very spurt of blood that confirmed it for Jie Fangcheng—

"My guess is, I'm in your dream only now," Jie Fangcheng quickly grasped Ji Ge's wrist.

Ji Ge, whose wrist had been seized, faltered for a moment, his complexion changing dramatically.

"How did you know???"

Within someone else's mental landscape, Ji Ge couldn't construct a dream as flawless and convincing as he claimed.

His momentary lapse exposed the reality of the surrounding environment.

At the time, Jie Fangcheng and "Lang Gu" had strayed far from the other players during their duel; currently, the two had yet to return to the main group, remaining in a secluded area.

The dagger in "Lang Gu's" hand was indeed embedded in Jie Fangcheng's chest.

Yet not a single drop of blood oozed from Jie Fangcheng's body.

He didn't have much blood in him to begin with; it had long since been drained. He couldn't possibly cough up such a large amount of blood. It was a clear indication that this was a dream.

Jie Fangcheng tightly gripped "Lang Gu's" wrist, completely uninterested in the dagger lodged in his own chest.

He was somewhat curious.

Ghost emissaries can see the names of souls directly. The "Lang Gu" before him clearly still had Lang Gu's soul. So why was he being controlled by Ji Ge?

Lang Gu is a judge, after all!

How was this even possible?

But obviously, this wasn't something he could figure out.

Jie Fangcheng quickly bound "Lang Gu" up.

Just then, Zhang Dao'an's voice came through the white fog.

"Manager Jie, are you alright?"

What's going on now?

As Jie Fangcheng was thinking this, Zhang Dao'an's figure appeared in the white fog.

His eyes were closed, yet he seemed to be "looking" directly at Jie Fangcheng.

"Did you catch him? Who is this?"

"Ji Ge," Jie Fangcheng answered, then quickly asked, "Are you really Zhang Dao'an?"

Without elaborating, Zhang Dao'an gestured, and a white "Dream Return Fish" swam out from his hand, its sapphire-blue eyes still revealing a sense of wisdom.

"I'm temporarily controlling this mental space with the help of the Dream Return Fish."

What Zhang Dao'an was doing was akin to a computer that had just barely lost its connection and was now cautiously re-establishing it.

Not just re-establishing, but also attempting to inject a virus into this cognitive network to seize control.

Jie Fangcheng had no idea how he did it, but he felt that Zhang Dao'an seemed like an upgraded version of a Dream Return Fish—far more capable than the standard ones.

"Let's go. I think I have an idea of what's happening," Zhang Dao'an said.

With one hand holding onto the still-struggling "Lang Gu," Jie Fangcheng followed him back to where the players were gathered.

Though "Lang Gu" was a fake, Wei Yuan was indeed dead.

Hearing Qiao Mai's heart-wrenching cries, Jie Fangcheng made the same choice as before.

The golden light infused into Wei Yuan's corpse. He couldn't come back to life, but at least there was the promise of another life to look forward to.

After doing all of this, Jie Fangcheng sighed and joined Zhang Dao'an in a corner to listen to his analysis of the entire game situation.

"This game, by some means we're not yet aware of, has been established in someone's mental space," Zhang Dao'an explained, conjuring paper and a pen from thin air. "I suspect that this 'someone' is immobile, possibly sealed away."

"Ah?" Jie Fangcheng was taken aback, finding the description eerily familiar, almost as if it described him.

He scratched his head, "It can't be me. Only Dongyue Shenjun can enter my space; no one else can."

"I know. If it were you, you'd be invincible here," Zhang Dao'an conceded. "I say this because a person's thoughts are ever-changing. It's improbable for one's mental space to be so placid, allowing a game like this to firmly root itself there. Such stability is like that of a person in a vegetative state."

Jie Fangcheng nodded in understanding. "Your guess makes sense. The Underworld is complicated right now, but there are definitely some sealed entities."

Zhang Dao'an nodded, then glanced at "Lang Gu."

"Ji Chaoyang?"

"Ah? Shouldn't it be Ji Ge?" said Jie Fangcheng.

Zhang Dao'an shook his head, "The kind of risky action to sabotage you, making you believe you were in a dream and destroying your will to fight—that's not something Ji Chaoyang would let his younger brother undertake. Stop pretending; I recognized you at first glance."

Upon hearing this, "Lang Gu" went still, merely staring at him.

Zhang Dao'an was right; the entity inside "Lang Gu" was indeed Ji Chaoyang.

He had planned it all well. Once Jie Fangcheng opened the divine temple, Ji Chaoyang would engage him in combat under his own identity, feigning death to later switch into "Lang Gu's" shell.

Lang Gu was one of their own; they wouldn't suspect him, would they?

As long as he could get close to Jie Fangcheng, Ji Chaoyang could use a specially designed spell against them when they were off guard.

But Ji Chaoyang hadn't expected the dungeon's progression to deviate from his plan at every step.

Even at the very end, when he knew he shouldn't let NPCs get under his skin, Ji Chaoyang, a mere human, couldn't resist their taunts and engaged them, using the NPCs as a vent for his frustrations.

By the time he came to his senses, only members of the Death God Guild remained in the rear hall.

The flow of time in the mental space differed from the outside world. Despite the short discrepancy of just a few seconds, not only had Jie Fangcheng reunited with Zhang Dao'an, but Zhang Dao'an had even discovered the "networked connection," forcibly disconnecting himself.

Unable to infiltrate any further, Ji Chaoyang couldn't proceed with his original plan.

He had no choice but to forcefully enter "Lang Gu's" shell, preparing to eliminate them one by one.

What he hadn't expected was that in this cognitive space, even as a semi-administrator, he couldn't deceive Jie Fangcheng. Not only was he caught, but his identity was immediately exposed.

But... it didn't matter anymore.

They had already succeeded.

Ji Chaoyang dropped the pretense and looked at Jie Fangcheng and Zhang Dao'an.

"You both are indeed formidable. I don't want to waste words with you, so I'll be frank: I don't want this game anymore."

Zhang Dao'an nodded: "You've guessed it."

With fewer than 200 computers remaining, Jie Fangcheng surmised that the Underworld had discovered the game and arrived for a rescue.

However, Zhang Dao'an had another hypothesis.

"You've found a new host for the Infinite Game and copied it there, preparing to launch the next chapter?"

At this point, Zhang Dao'an found it laughable: "I really don't understand why you're so obsessed with this game."

Ji Chaoyang also looked at him: "Of course you wouldn't understand."

"Hmm," Zhang Dao'an continued, "is it because you were born within the game?"

Ji Chaoyang was taken aback: "How could you possibly know??"

Zhang Dao'an offered no explanation. He turned to "Lang Gu": "You don't need to know how I know. What you should know is that if you try to find another host, I'll find you again."

Ji Chaoyang listened, and simply smiled: "Is that so?"

With that said, he had no intention of continuing the conversation with Zhang Dao'an.

"Maybe you could have this conversation outside. Zhang Dao'an, I know you're intelligent, but even the cleverest can sometimes fall into a trap."

Ji Chaoyang looked directly at Zhang Dao'an before him.

"One can fall into thinking they are capable of anything, even defying fate. In reality, that's impossible."

Having said that, Ji Chaoyang smiled again, appearing utterly at ease.

"Good luck to you both."

After uttering this, "Lang Gu's" eyes closed.

When he opened them again, he was visibly startled by the scene before him.

"How did I end up here?"

Jie Fangcheng wasn't sure whether this was truly Lang Gu; he looked towards Zhang Dao'an for confirmation.

Zhang Dao'an nodded: "Ji Chaoyang is very arrogant."

His facade had been exposed, yet he retained a carefree, assured demeanor as if he held all the cards.

There was no need to keep up the act under these circumstances.

With Zhang Dao'an's affirmation, Jie Fangcheng finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He tried to explain but quickly found himself entangled in confusion; once again, he looked to Zhang Dao'an for assistance.

Zhang Dao'an was succinct: "In short, we are now in a very dangerous instance."

"Huh?"

"How did you get in here?"

Lang Gu scratched his head.

"While I was waiting for you outside, a player claiming to be a member of the Death God guild approached me, saying he could bring me into your instance."

"You believed him??"

Lang Gu paused for a moment.

He was notoriously gullible, but who had ever dared to truly deceive him before? At most, people played pranks on him.

This was the first time he had been genuinely fooled, and the deception was devastating.

"And then?"

"Then?" Lang Gu shook his head. "He had me click some kind of 'agree' button. As soon as I did, I felt a sudden sharp pain in my chest, and a dagger pierced my heart. After that, I have no idea what happened."

Hearing this account, Jie Fangcheng was stunned for a moment before conjuring a dagger with a swipe of his hand.

"This kind of dagger?"

Recognizing the familiar weapon, Lang Gu eagerly nodded.

"Yes, yes, exactly that one."

Jie Fangcheng stared blankly at Zhang Dao'an.

"I think I was also just stabbed by—"

Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly closed his eyes, his body going limp as he collapsed.

Zhang Dao'an hastily caught him.

"Jie Fangcheng!"

The Jie Fangcheng in his arms lay motionless.

"What on Earth is going on?" Lang Gu was utterly perplexed.

For the first time, Zhang Dao'an felt alarmed.

"He was also just stabbed in the heart with this kind of dagger."

At the time, Jie Fangcheng didn't think much of it, and given his nonchalant appearance, Zhang Dao'an assumed there wouldn't be any issues.

Lang Gu quickly helped support Jie Fangcheng.

"What do we do now??"

"Exit the instance!"

"How?!"

Zhang Dao'an closed his eyes.

He abruptly unleashed his mental space...

"Zhang Dao'an!!!"

With a "thud" sound.

Zhang Dao'an opened his eyes, looking somewhat bewildered.

Before him, Jie Fangcheng was staring at him anxiously.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

So it was...

——Intelligent people sometimes fall into a trap, thinking they can accomplish anything.

The scene before him seemed to revert to its prior state: Lang Gu anxiously asking "What happened?" on the side, with Jie Fangcheng lying lifeless in his arms.

Then, just as suddenly, it morphed into something else.

It was when they first entered the instance, with Jie Fangcheng talking and laughing beside him.

Again, it abruptly transformed into a blanket of white fog, where he found himself alone, searching... Searching for what?

Searching for a way to clear the level... Clear...

Clear what?

The moment Zhang Dao'an fully opened up his mental space, a torrent of data rushed into his mind. It was like a copyable virus, entirely overriding his original mental space.

[Ding—The game is being copied, please wait.]

[Ding—Insufficient memory, deleting partial save files.]

[Ding—Deleting instance **.]

[Ding—Copy successful.]

[The game will restart shortly, please wait.]

Zhang Dao'an understood.

"They've... copied the game into my mental space."

"What??"

It's already too late.

Zhang Dao'an gripped Jie Fangcheng's hand.

"Manager Jie."

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry... but can you kill me?"