Chapter 128

Chapter 128

Each level of "Locking Immortality" is fraught with danger. Everyone knows they're struggling for their lives, but they don't know when or where they might fail. Nor do they know how many trials they must endure before truly escaping.

Even Xie Yinxue didn't know.

Those who managed to progress far in "Locking Immortality", able to eventually leave the game or attain immortality, all heard about it from Zhu Yikun. Once inside "Locking Immortality", he realized this was the default understanding of all participants.

However, where this information originally came from remained a mystery to all.

While there were participants who doubted the authenticity of the news, it's true that, after clearing a dungeon once and waiting a month for the next entry, no one could die regardless of the methods they tried.

Xie Yin Xue knew this best.

Before entering the "Lock Immortality" game, how deteriorated his health was, perhaps even Liu Bu Hua didn't know.

Yet, upon emerging from the first dungeon, the ever-looming sensation of imminent death, like an overwhelming tidal wave, suddenly vanished without a trace.

Hence, when Yuan Si Ning revealed such a significant secret, he instantly looked up, focusing on the reflection in the inkwell.

From the other end, Yuan Si Ning asked, “May I inquire which dungeon level this is for you?”

Chen Ning whispered, "Sixth."

Dang Dang said, "Fifth."

Mu Yu Ji also spoke up, "This is my sixth."

……

The responses circulated amongst the participants; the highest number they reported was "six." Neither Xie Yin Xue nor Liu Bu Hua had surpassed that.

But Yuan Si Ning revealed, "This round is my seventh."

Pan Ruo Xi was skeptical, even mocking, "Do you even look like someone who could pass seven rounds?"

“I've cleared the most dungeons, so I know more than you do,” Yuan Si Ning replied with an indifferent tone, "Believe it or not, it’s the truth. You'll understand once you reach the seventh level, unless—"

Yuan Si Ning paused for a moment, meeting Pan Ruo Xi's gaze before finishing, "—you never make it there."

“If you could reach it, why wouldn't I be able to?!”

Pan Ruo Xi, angered by her ominous words and on the verge of a retort, was interrupted by Mu Yu Ji, who stepped in, "I'll trust you one more time. If what you say this time is true, we're even."

Yuan Si Ning assured her, "I'm telling the absolute truth this time."

Thus, the two once again agreed to leave the meditation room and went to Mu Yu Ji’s dormitory to discuss matters.

Upon returning, Meng Ni whispered a warning, “Yuan Si Ning is full of lies; it's best not to believe everything she says.”

"I know," Mu Yu Ji nodded, then added, "However, I feel she might be telling the truth this time."

"So, what did she say?"

Liu Bu Hua was intensely curious, having missed their conversation since he wasn't in the meditation room and hadn't heard anything.

Bu Jiu Zhao could easily ignore Liu Bu Hua's presence, but his gaze never strayed from Xie Yin Xue. He even knew every subtle change in the young man's breathing and how many times he blinked within a minute.

Thus, the moment Xie Yin Xue looked up, Bu Jiu Zhao knew—Xie Yin Xue was intrigued by Yuan Si Ning's words.

He also asked, "Do you seek the answer to this matter as well?"

Xie Yin Xue retorted indirectly, "Who wouldn't want to know?"

Bu Jiu Zhao replied, "If you want to know, why not ask me directly?"

On hearing this, Xie Yin Xue shifted his gaze from the inkwell, turned to face Bu Jiu Zhao, and looking up at him, asked, "Would you straightforwardly tell me?"

"Depends on my mood." As their eyes met, Bu Jiu Zhao smirked. But the timing of his smile made it seem as though he was teasing Xie Yin Xue, expecting him to yield and beg. "Maybe if you manage to cheer me up, I might just tell you."

Little did anyone know, Bu Jiu Zhao was already in a good mood.

He relished the sight of Xie Yin Xue looking up at him—not because of the power dynamic it represented, with him seemingly elevated and Xie Yin Xue beneath him, but because in such moments, the only reflection in Xie Yin Xue's cool, poised eyes was of him.

Just like this instant.

Even if those eyes held no warmth.

"I doubt you'd ever be in a good mood." The young man didn't plead but instead remarked sardonically, "I might as well offer Yuan Si Ning another piece of flesh in exchange for her answer. I think she might be willing."

Bu Jiu Zhao frowned, querying, "What other piece of flesh do you have left to offer her?"

"Isn't this it?"

The youth gestured to the area beneath his collarbone, indicating his body.

Lowering his gaze to Xie Yin Xue's snow-white neck, Bu Jiu Zhao remarked, "To get flesh from there, you'd have to be decapitated."

"What's so difficult about that?" Xie Yin Xue motioned towards Liu Bu Hua with his chin, "I can do it myself, and let Bu Hua give me a new body."

Bu Jiu Zhao's voice abruptly deepened, his eyes shadowed. "You trust him that much?"

To take such a step would mean handing one's life over to another. So many on the battleship knew of this method, but who dared to act upon it? How could Xie Yin Xue, a man known for his self-preservation and selfishness, trust Liu Bu Hua to such an extent, when there was no blood relation between them?

Even though he was aware that there was no romantic bond between them, Bu Jiu Zhao couldn't help but feel a flare of jealousy.

"If you'd do it for me, that works too." Unexpectedly, the next moment, the young man reached up to grasp his shoulder, voice gentle and soft, offering his delicate, vulnerable neck. "I trust you just as much."

Bu Jiu Zhao was slightly taken aback.

Xie Yin Xue looked at him, his almond eyes, reminiscent of willow leaves and shimmering like autumn waters, curved in a way that made it difficult for Bu Jiu Zhao to discern his own reflection within them.

Fortunately, the young man soon told him, "Bu Jiu Zhao, you're smiling."

Was he?

Bu Jiu Zhao wasn't certain.

All he knew was that after Xie Yin Xue spoke, he raised his hand, letting the frost-like tips of his fingers glide over his chin, finally pressing them to the corner of his lips, as if marking evidence. "Are you happy now? In a better mood?"

The young man's nails felt devoid of warmth.

Their cold touch felt like a snowflake resting on a branch.

Yet, Bu Jiu Zhao felt a fiercer flame ignite within him. He swallowed hard, murmuring, "Just because I smile doesn't mean I'm in a good mood."

Xie Yin Xue sighed, pulling back his hand with a mock gesture of exasperation. "You always say one thing and mean another. Always playing hard to get."

"There are ten stages to 'Lock of Immortality'," Bu Jiu Zhao suppressed the urge to pull him back, and with a more serious tone, continued, "Clear the nine stages and you're free. Clear the tenth, and you achieve immortality. The concept derives from: nine deaths, one life."

"If you seek immortality, you must pass through all ten stages."

"Nine deaths, one life..." Xie Yin Xue parsed the phrase, rolling it on his tongue as if savoring it, then frowned. "It's quite apt."

Seeing his frown and hearing his words, Bu Jiu Zhao assumed Xie Yin Xue referred to the perilous nature of the "Lock of Immortality" being in line with the term "nine deaths, one life", a phrase often used to describe narrowly surviving grave dangers.①

However, what Xie Yin Xue actually meant by "apt" wasn't this.

The term "nine deaths, one life" originates from "Li Sao", with the original line being: "It is what my heart favors, even if it brings nine deaths, I have no regrets."

The phrase only mentioned "nine deaths", but it was the scholar Liu Liang who commented, "Even with nine deaths and not a single life, there's no regret." It was then that the so-called "single life" emerged. ②

The original meaning is neither that there's one life in every nine deaths nor that it's difficult to find one life in nine deaths, but rather that there's no life in nine deaths.

Ironically, what he sought was this "single life".

Outside the battleship, Xie Yin Xue's mood improved after coaxing the truth out of Bu Jiu Zhao.

Inside the battleship, Yuan Si Ning also used this matter to calm Mu Yu Ji. Once they returned to their meditation room, Mu Yu Ji stopped bringing up previous issues.

Now, Xie A Qi no longer had any leverage to blackmail Yuan Si Ning into giving her another piece of flesh to sustain her until midnight. At the stroke of midnight, she'd transform into a starving ghoul.

Despite her immense dissatisfaction, Xie A Qi couldn't change this fate. As long as she remained on the battleship, this was the outcome awaiting her.

She stood still for a few seconds, and eventually, without uttering a word, she picked up her lightsaber and started walking towards the exit of the meditation room.

Zhuo Chang Dong quickly intercepted her at the entrance, "Where are you heading?"

Xie A Qi coldly replied, "Back to my quarters."

Skeptically, Zhuo Chang Dong chuckled, "Are you really just going back to your room?"

Definitely not.

Even Xie A Qi didn't believe her own excuse of returning to her quarters, and others probably wouldn't either.

Staying inside would prevent other participants from attacking her. But without an immunity vaccine, in two days, she'd morph from a ghoul into a monstrous form, unable to retain her human shape or clear the stages. Locking herself up would be equivalent to tying her own hands.

This was just a pretext by Xie A Qi. Her true intent was to leave the battleship before midnight and roam the ruined city outside, just like Xie Yin Xue, Liu Bu Hua, and Bu Jiu Zhao – then find and decapitate them before returning to the battleship to seek Kult.

The problem was, she wasn't the only one aboard lacking the vaccine. Those individuals wouldn't let her leave easily. Zhuo Chang Dong, currently blocking her way, was a perfect example.

Xie A Qi wouldn't tell him the truth, "Do I need to report my every move to you?"

Zhuo Chang Dong smirked, "Of course not. I'm just kindly reminding you that it's dark outside. It might be dangerous."

Regardless of how perilous it might be tonight, being outside was far safer than staying aboard the battleship. Even if she couldn't trace Xie Yin Xue and the others tonight, she could continue searching by day. If all else failed, she'd seek the ferryman NPC for assistance. See, she had plenty of options.

Taking a deep breath and feigning calmness, Xie A Qi responded, "I'm aware. You don’t need to remind me. I won't be leaving."

"Let's sit in the meditation chamber for a while longer." At these words, Zhuo Changdong reached out to grasp her wrist. "Look, everyone is still here."

Xie Aqi replied, "You all can stay as long as you like, but I've been hunting outdoors all day and I'm exhausted. I want to go back to my dormitory to rest."

This time, Zhuo Changdong didn't try to stop her. "Alright, you go ahead."

As soon as Xie Aqi stepped out of the meditation chamber, she dashed towards the warship's entrance. Among the girls in this instance, her physical abilities were top-notch. But however excellent, there remained a gap when compared to the men.

It was a fundamental physiological difference between men and women, something she couldn't change.

So, no matter how fast Xie Aqi ran, she couldn't outrun Chen Ningmo.

He stood in front of the warship's large door, holding his ray gun, his smile sinister. "Miss Xie, this doesn't seem to be the way to your dormitory."

Behind Xie Aqi, the footsteps of other participants echoed as they chased after her.

Zhuo Changdong also pursued, "Miss Xie, are you still determined to blindly venture out of the warship?"

Xie Aqi tightly gripped her lightsaber in her right hand, replying coldly, "Move aside."

"And if I don't?" Chen Ningmo glanced at her sword. "Do you intend to decapitate me with that?"

"But I'm not a simple foe, nor am I a pushover. Dare you? Can you?"

Without waiting for Xie Aqi's response, he raised his ray gun and fired twice at her.

The shots wouldn't cause Xie Aqi any pain. Even if Chen Ningmo had aimed at her left hand or legs, her nanotech armor would heal any wounds instantly. However, he shot her right arm, which had long been replaced with a mechanical prosthetic.

Even without feeling pain, the electronics would be damaged, rendering it unusable.

As a result, sparks flew from Xie Aqi's right arm as it went limp. The lightsaber she was holding fell to the ground, rolling until it stopped at Mu Yujing's feet.

Mu Yujing frowned at the sight of her injured arm. She bent down to pick up the lightsaber, handing it back to Xie Aqi, and said to Zhuo Changdong and Chen Ningmo, "Let her go."

"Mu Yujing, should I say you have a kind heart or a cruel one?" Zhuo Changdong laughed heartily, pointing at Xie Aqi, "Don't you realize what Xie Aqi intends to do tonight?"

"She wants to kill Xie Yin Xue."

"Xie Yin Xue did grant you a boon to help you complete the challenge, and now you're letting Xie Aqi out to kill him. Can you live with that on your conscience?"

At Zhuo Changdong's pointed question, Mu Yujing was taken aback. "I... That's not what I meant."

Chen Ningmo sneered, "Then what did you mean?"

Mu Yujing looked to Xie Aqi. Zhuo Changdong's question was not just for her but also for Xie Aqi, as she too had accepted the fleshly gift from Xie Yin Xue.

Xie Aqi said nothing in explanation. After a moment's silence, she gripped her lightsaber with her left hand and repeated, "Move aside."

Zhuo Changdong remained silent, standing beside Chen Ningmo like a human barrier between Xie Aqi and the warship's door.

The power of the lightsaber couldn't rival that of the ray gun, and it couldn't penetrate the nanotech armor. To inflict damage on a participant with it, one would have to aim for the neck, seeking to decapitate.

However, both Chen Ningmo and Zhuo Changdong were currently human, not the hungry spirits Gama, and thus outside the range of allowable targets. If Xie Aqi were to act, she might be deemed an aggressor against participants, a consequence she couldn't afford.

Xiao Xingxi, anxious, looked on at the tense standoff and tried to mediate. "Aqi, go back to the meditation chamber and replace your arm first. Even if you're set on killing Xie Yin Xue, can you do it with your left hand?"

Even the right hand might not suffice.

She had tried it once, during the day at the bell tower, using her right hand against Xie Yin Xue...

Defeated, Xie Aqi let go of her lightsaber and said, eyes closed in frustration, "Fine, I won't leave. I'll look for the Ferryman NPC."

With everyone else, she returned to the meditation chamber.

Xiao Xingxi brought her a mechanical right arm for replacement.

Holding the arm, Xie Aqi hesitated for a moment before raising her eyes to Dangdang, seated on a cushion. "I want to make a deal with you."

Author's Note:

① Derived from the phrase "a slim chance of survival".

② The references to 'Lisao' and Liu Liang's notes are real, but their origins as presented here are fictional. I'm not sure about their true origins, so just enjoy the story.