Chapter 94: Werewolf Community (Conclusion)

Chapter 94: Werewolf Community (Conclusion)

The furious rage of Lord Butterfly blazed like an overwhelming inferno, yet it spared no one from harm.

Before the pursuing enemies could catch up, Qin Fei and the other five had safely reached the entrance of a garbage station at the corner of the central square.

The rust-covered gate was rough and weathered, with a massive white-painted ghost face sprawled across its surface.

Once again, Qin Fei reached into his pocket and pulled out the twisted, thin copper wire.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha! A third bloom in the plum tree!"

Cheers and jubilation erupted from the live-stream audience.

Betting on the winning side of this match had officially closed.

The same went for the betting pool on the Most Valuable Player of the game.

Many spirits could be seen pounding their chests in regret at the betting windows.

Even some wraiths who had bet on the wrong side began to cling to mysticism. With clasped hands, they stood in an empty space by the window, muttering incantations:

"Let Xiao Qin lose, let him be devoured by ghosts the moment he enters!"

A wraith who had wagered on the Red Team and Qin Fei passed by, overhearing this curse. It delivered a righteous punch, thudding the offender on the back of the head.

For the first time in years, a brawl broke out in the live broadcast hall.

On the main screen, the culprit of the chaos sailed through unimpeded, leading his companions into the junkyard with incredible ease.

Worried that Butterfly and the others might catch up, Qin Fei even removed the padlock outside, relocking the iron gate from the inside.

"There we go." Qin Fei smiled, patting the sturdy lock hanging securely on the door as if he could already envision the Red Team's triumphant victory.

The junkyard was pitch black. The players fanned out along the walls, and after a while, they finally found the light switch.

With a soft "click," the interior of the junkyard came into view for the players.

Compared to the other two junkyards they had visited previously, this one in the central square was notably cleaner.

There were no garbage bins overflowing with food scraps, nor were there plastic bottles and cardboard boxes scattered everywhere.

The place was spotless, with two desks and a nine-drawer dresser arranged along the walls, leaving a large empty space in the middle.

On the floor, a familiar ghostly face was drawn with white lines. Beside it lay unburned candles and incense ashes.

"This is the site of the ritual?" Tao Zheng analyzed, staring at the pattern on the ground. "Look, the six lines extending from the edges fit perfectly with those six altars."

Lin Ye joined him for a closer look. "Indeed."

This was excellent news. If this was where Ah Po Yu planned to conduct her ritual and release the evil spirits, the chances of the final item, the copper mirror, appearing here would significantly increase.

The players, energized, began searching the area.

Thudding sounds came from outside the garbage station, as if someone was violently slamming against the door.

The heavy metal door insulated them from the commotion, distorting the muffled voices that filtered through.

By the sound of it, it seemed to be Butterfly and his puppet.

Qin Fei raised an eyebrow.

He was indeed persistent, likely fueled by his anger, determined to seek trouble with Wang Mingming.

Unfortunately, the butterfly would never have that chance.

The lock on the door served its purpose, and the players remained undisturbed by the potential danger. Soon, Lin Ye exclaimed from a corner of the room, "Here!"

He held up what he had found.

It was a palm-sized bronze artifact, its heavy base adorned with intricate patterns.

Everyone quickly gathered around Lin Ye, their heads close together for a closer inspection.

Victory seemed to be drawing ever nearer.

The dawn of hope was within sight.

"It does resemble a mirror," Ghostfire commented as he took the object, examined it briefly, and then passed it to Qin Fei.

He had seen that kind of old-fashioned handheld vanity mirror in his grandparents' rural home. It was identical to this one.

However, it was evident that the mirror was incomplete.

"Where's the mirror piece?" He asked the question on everyone's mind.

As the copper mirror stand emerged, a new system prompt resounded in their ears.

"Task Description: Reassemble the broken copper mirror; Required Items: Shattered Mirror Pieces (6/6), Stand (1/1)."

Ghost Fire reached up to scratch his ear canal, looking perplexed. "Did I hear that right? Shattered mirror pieces, 6 out of 6?"

The stand was one thing, but where on earth did they get the shattered mirror pieces from?

In the next moment, they all realized something.

Lin Ye hastily retrieved the altar fragments he had stored in his personal space.

"It can't be—"

With the system's previous hint about not neglecting the altar fragments, the answer was virtually self-evident.

Qin Fei's brows knitted slightly. "We need to find the pieces among these six altar fragments that can fit together to form the surface of the bronze mirror."

It sounded simple, but it was an enormous task.

Each fragment of the altar looked almost identical, with no distinctive patterns or markings.

Their only way to successfully piece together the mirror would be to try each one individually.

Moreover, this mission had a hidden time limit.

Once midnight struck and the clock hit twelve-thirty, the junkyard would vanish, leaving the players to confront the ghosts outside and... the butterflies.

Qin Fei didn't believe the butterflies would spare them easily.

In short, they had to complete this puzzle within half an hour.

The group sat in a tight circle, their expressions tense.

Six altar fragments were spread out on the empty ground in the center. Lin Ye was utterly perplexed as he tried one after another, placing the tested pieces aside.

In truth, he had no idea if he was on the right track or not.

The others were in a similar state of confusion, though they remained silent. Their eyes betrayed their anxiety and frustration.

Only Qin Fei was different.

The young man sat quietly in a corner, his amber eyes filled with contemplation. With a gentle touch of his fingertip, he probed the scattered fragments without picking up any of them or even touching the mirror stand.

"What's the host doing?"

Many viewers in the live stream had participated in the previous melee, their bruised skin or swollen heads not dampening their enthusiasm for the spectacle one bit.

"We're almost there, don't give up, Host!!"

"I'm so anxious, I'm so anxious! Urgent, urgent, I'm the King of Urgency!"

"I really want to lend them a hand."

These spirit bodies, more anxious than the emperor himself, attracted plenty of ridicule from onlookers.

"Are you really that worried about my wife?"

"No need to panic. The host definitely isn't giving up on treatment."

"That's right, I swear by my spirit rank that she's surely brewing some grand scheme!"

Qin Fei wasn't actually holding back a grand move.

He simply couldn't help but recall the scene earlier, in the previous dumpster, where one altar after another had been pulled out.

Unlike other players, Qin Fei, as the one who directly retrieved the altars from the cave, had a clear understanding of every aspect of the situation.

Indeed, there had originally been only one vessel in that cave.

If things had proceeded normally, they would have had to visit all the remaining dumpsters to gather all the altars.

As for why the altars kept appearing one after another, that was a mystery.

Perhaps it was inseparably linked to what Qin Fei had glimpsed and heard in his trance.

The dark sea surface.

A tiny boat drifting up and down.

And the call from the abyss deep beneath the ocean, millions of miles below.

It was as clear as if it were right beside his ear.

All of this, everything, happened because he inadvertently smeared his blood on the altar.

That was all.

Did the blood hold some special significance to the altar or the evil deity?

Or...

A vague notion flickered through Qin Fei's mind.

Is his blood unique?

What exact connection does he have with the Contaminant Source?

Qin Fei even had a faint longing, one that was unrelated to winning in dungeons but rather, he genuinely looked forward to meeting the Contaminant Source again.

In Lamb's mental world last time, Qin Fei had his first direct communication with the Contaminant Source.

It had to be said, the experience was rather enjoyable.

Though it might seem absurd to think so.

But Qin Fei truly felt that the Contaminant Source seemed like a fairly decent individual.

—Provided that such an existence could be loosely referred to as a "person."

All his doubts could only be resolved by encountering It once more.

And from the five altars he stumbled upon not long ago, Qin Fei could undoubtedly deduce a piece of information:

It seemed that It was also eagerly anticipating the sight of Qin Fei appearing before Its eyes soon.

In that case.

Since It could use Its power to bring the altar before Qin Fei,

could It not also open up some other backdoors for him?

Qin Fei felt that the Pollution Source should be quite willing to do so.

With this in mind, he was attempting to scan the fragments on the ground with the tip of his finger, piece by piece.

He hoped to find something within them.

A scent, or perhaps a trace.

That familiar, peculiar sensation of both danger and safety intertwined.

Half-lidded, he was bathed in the dim light that cast a shadow of his eyelashes upon his cheeks, painting a silhouette as dark as ink.

The others didn't understand what Qin Fei was doing, but for some inexplicable reason, they all involuntarily paused in their actions.

Ghost Fire silently placed the fragment in his hand back onto the ground.

Qin Fei's eyelashes drooped even lower, and he almost had his eyes completely shut.

Yet, with a gentle touch, his fingertips picked up a piece of the debris without the slightest deviation.

One piece.

And another.

The young man precisely and flawlessly selected from the chaotic jumble of fragments exactly what he sought.

He was so certain that for a moment, Ghost Fire was deceived into a hallucination:

It seemed as if he already knew the answer all along.

No larger than the palm of one's hand, the copper mirror stand could only hold a limited number of fragments.

Qin Fei soon ceased his actions.

He opened his eyes, revealing irises slightly lighter in color than others. The softness in his gaze was replaced by a sharp glint that seemed capable of piercing through any veil of fog obstructing his vision.

Without uttering a word, Qin Fei extended his hand, palm facing upward—

Prompted by an intuition, Lin Ye hurriedly passed him the mirror stand.

What had been a chaotic task for five people suddenly became a solo performance by Qin Fei.

In the blink of an eye, he skillfully placed each fragment back into its original position on the ground.

There was no hesitation, nor any need for trial and error. His movements were as crisp as solving a simple math problem like "What is 1 plus 1?"

Before long, the copper mirror was restored to its entirety.

At the precise moment when all the cracks aligned perfectly, a milky white glow enveloped the mirror held in Qin Fei's palm.

Next, the halo dissipated, and the cracks vanished, leaving the mirror surface whole once more.

The rough altar became smooth and level, and Qin Fei gazed thoughtfully at the object in his palm, seeing his blurred reflection within it.

"It's a success!!"

The ghost fire was barely able to contain its excited squeal.

Who could have imagined!

Who could have ever imagined!!

Xiao Qin was a true treasure!

The ghost fire couldn't fathom how it had been so fortunate as to become teammates with such a person.

It looked at Qin Fei with a hint of reverence.

The youth's black hair cascaded softly over his cheek, giving him a delicate and harmless appearance. However, beneath this pure and innocent sheep-like facade undoubtedly lay numerous secrets.

He seemed half-obscured by mist, an enigma to behold.

【Congratulations, Player, for successfully completing the mission "Repair the Bronze Mirror"!!】

The system's voice carried a hint of excitement.

"Brave outsider, we thank you for arriving here! A brand new dawn is about to rise for the werewolf community!! Now, raise your hands high!"

"Mission Description (Final Mission): Shatter the Bronze Mirror!"

"Destroy it, traveler from afar! Demolish this mirror, shatter that passage to darkness, and deny the evil deity any chance to see the light again!!"

They had just pieced the mirror together, only to be told to destroy it.

"From the system's prompt, it seems we have to smash this mirror, right?" Tao Zheng's gaze was sharp as he fixated on Qin Fei's hand holding the mirror.

To destroy the final mission item of a hidden quest.

Upon completion, players were guaranteed an exceptionally high score in their final assessment.

In any other team, without a powerful figure capable of suppressing everyone's desires, the task of destroying the bronze mirror would inevitably spark disputes within the group.

The five people in the junkyard all had expectant expressions, but none of them revealed any signs of jealousy or the desire to compete for the reward.

In the live broadcast hall, tens of thousands of pairs of eyes were focused on a single person.

"Hahaha, this team is so civilized!"

"What civilization? Clearly, my wife is universally beloved, charming even the flowers."

"Princess Feifei - the beloved wife of all!

"Hurry up, hurry up!!"

Voices kept urging impatiently.

Qin Fei felt a subtle warmth in the palm of his hand, and his heartbeat suddenly accelerated drastically.

He lowered his head, and the mirror reflected only darkness, as if shrouded in a veil of mist.

The dense, shapeless fog concealed something, seemingly holding Qin Fei's attention captive with a fierce grip.

The system's prompt still echoed in his ears, and Qin Fei was well aware of what he should do.

Smashing this mirror would be so simple.

Yet, at the same time, deep within his mind, an unyielding thought relentlessly pounded against his consciousness.

He couldn't smash it.

Or rather, not right now.

Before breaking this mirror, Qin Fei had to accomplish something first.

His thoughts were directionless, but this notion was strikingly clear.

Qin Fei knitted his brows tightly.

"What's the matter?"

Behind the luminous screen, Qin Fei's every blink and breath captivated countless viewers both inside and outside the live stream.

At this point, no one expressed dissatisfaction over Qin Fei's hesitation anymore.

On the contrary,

Everyone shared the same thought: Has he discovered something new again?

The spirits clenched their fists tightly, oblivious to the pain in their palms as they continuously pushed forward towards the screen.

Despite the fact that moving closer or farther wouldn't affect their viewing experience in the slightest,

In that very moment, each spectator yearned to be infinitesimally nearer to the figure in the frame.

...

Qin Fei's gaze was fixed unwaveringly on the mirror.

As time passed, the sensation of "something hidden within the mirror" grew more profound.

It was as if something was seeping out from the mirror, causing the surrounding temperature to drop abruptly.

Was it... an Evil Deity?

A source of corruption?

Qin Fei's brows knitted tightly together.

In the next moment, ripples like those in water began to spread across the mirror's surface.

Qin Fei's pupils constricted suddenly.

He observed his surroundings with utmost composure, while the other five players remained oblivious.

They seemed unable to perceive the abnormality of this mirror.

Suddenly.

Suddenly.

The mirror began to tremble gently, as if the entity within sought to escape its confines.

Qin Fei attempted to reach out, only to touch the solid, unyielding surface of the mirror itself.

Everything that followed transpired in the blink of an eye.

With a sudden surge of force in his right hand, Qin Fei tore open the partially healed wound on his palm.

Blood trickled down from his fingertips and dripped onto the mirror's surface.

The cracks that had vanished seemed to reemerge under the influence of the blood, loosening the constraints upon the swathe of black mist.

The copper mirror's trembling intensified.

Within the mirror, the mist suddenly spun into a vortex.

Moments later, an immense suction force, unlike anything Qin Fei had ever experienced, emerged from the vortex's center!

His limbs seemed to be entangled by an invisible force, and the space around him compressed and reversed in an instant.

Everything within his field of vision was disrupted into particles and dissipated. The concrete image of the garbage dump vanished.

Qin Fei felt as if he was continuously sinking, deeper and deeper.

It was like being underwater, yet he could breathe freely.

There was not a single ray of light around him.

Qin Fei was taken aback.

He realized that he had seemingly truly arrived at the ocean floor he had seen from the altar before.

Qin Fei lifted his head.

The excessive darkness obliterated any sense of distance.

Somewhere far beyond, an entity darker than the darkness itself stood silently.

The arrival of Qin Fei seemed to upset the delicate equilibrium that had long been maintained in these waters, as the sea began to churn and surge relentlessly.

Tiny ripples of water gently lapped against Qin Fei.

Soft, cold, and moist.

Like delicate tendrils, they softly caressed every inch of his exposed skin, eliciting slight tremors throughout his body.

The sea was seeking a suitable point to deposit Qin Fei into the heart of that darkness.

Drawing ever closer.

Until Qin Fei's eyes narrowed slightly, finally allowing him to discern the darkness.

It was a being.

Calling it a "person" didn't quite seem right, for Qin Fei knew with certainty that this was not an ordinary human.

It was merely something that bore the appearance of a human...

Contaminant Source.

Qin Fei stood resolutely in the darkness ahead.

He lifted his gaze to regard the face that had become, by now, familiar to him in silence.

In the absence of light, His figure could still be discerned clearly. The unfathomable, sunless depths of the undersea canyon failed to obscure His exquisite features and striking, unforgettable countenance.

Entwining black vines sprang forth from beneath Him, resembling spiky chains that bound Him securely, outlining the tense contours of His muscular frame.

He opened His eyes and gazed at Qin Fei, His sapphire irises more profound than the deepest oceans, His gaze cold and devoid of any warmth.

Qin Fei furrowed his brows.

Although this entity before him possessed the same appearance as the "He" he had encountered before, Qin Fei felt an eerie sensation when looking at Him, as if they were not the same individual.

Or rather, the person before him seemed incomplete in some way.

Emotionless depths shone in His eyes, those inorganic orbs resembling two cold jade spheres. The gaze directed at Him was hollow and unfocused, lacking any hint of convergence.

He seemed like a flawless mask, enveloping an empty, non-existent soul within.

What was going on?

Qin Fei's eyebrows lifted in surprise.

Something must have transpired with this source of corruption before him.

—And it didn't seem to be anything positive.

Could a source of corruption also encounter misfortune?

Qin Fei didn't quite grasp the concept.

He had always believed that sources of corruption were at the pinnacle of the food chain in the rule-bound world.

Perhaps only the System could be compared to or balance out a source of corruption?

A fleeting thought that once flickered in his heart resurfaced with clarity.

Qin Fei realized with certainty that the relationship between the Pollution Source and the System was far from a simple collaboration.

The entity before him didn't grant Qin Fei much time for contemplation.

Its tranquil sapphire eyes locked onto Qin Fei's face, and the latent turbulence within the dark, churning sea grew more distinct.

Qin Fei felt as if he were being compressed by the ocean waters.

...No.

That wasn't right.

This vivid and slightly painful sensation was not merely the pressure of seawater.

Qin Fei lowered his head.

Underneath His feet, black thorned vines were frenziedly proliferating.

Like a skilled hunter with its target already in sight, there was no hesitation as the tendrils stretched directly towards Qin Fei.

Following the contours of the young man's body, the vines rapidly climbed and entwined, binding him tightly.

Delicate tendrils wrapped around his wrists, threaded through his shoulder blades and the vulnerable nape of his neck, as if trying to weave a web there to trap Qin Fei in place, cocooning him.

An immense, irresistible pull coursed through Qin Fei's limbs, dragging him before the entity almost instantaneously.

He was slightly taller than Qin Fei, who was lifted by the vines to meet His gaze at eye level, though his feet seemed to hover slightly off the ground.

The sensation of losing support caused the young man's heart to skip a beat.

Qin Fei's nose nearly touched the other's, their skin cold, but his breath hot and scorching.

Their eyes met, and Qin Fei began, "You..."

His words were cut short.

The figure before him didn't seem to possess much lucidity. His nostrils fluttered gently, as if sensing an alluring scent still emanating from the youth in his former life.

From the suppressed desire in His eyes, Qin Fei could keenly sense a deep longing for him.

As if wanting to devour him...

Like a beast with an insatiable bloodlust upon sighting its prey.

A subtle tic twitched across Qin Fei's forehead.

Before he could regain his composure, a shadow swooped down upon him.

Their lips brushed together, making a soft clinking sound.

His startling action left Qin Fei's mind momentarily blank.

The myriad of entangled thoughts in his mind seemed to vanish in an instant.

A strong hand reached around from behind, pressing Qin Fei firmly into His embrace, its fingertips slightly cool.

...So it turned out that these vines couldn't hold Him captive.

This wasn't a tender and affectionate kiss; rather, it was more like a devouring fueled by primitive desire.

An aggressive assault continued relentlessly, stealing the remaining oxygen. As teeth brushed against the lips, there was a moment of hesitation from the other party, but they still couldn't resist, pressing their sharp fangs downward—

"Ugh."

The young man let out a soft groan.

Blood beads overflowed from the soft petals of his lips, only to be gently caught and rolled between teeth.

In the next instant, the Adam's apple of the person in front of him subtly moved.

A ripple of emotion stirred in the depths of his tranquil, lake-like eyes.

The seawater seemed to be warming, enveloping Qin Fei's body like a gentle embrace. In his profound, cool eyes, threads of vibrant emotions stirred, as if a soul had finally found its home in a physical form.

A deep, husky whisper resounded in Qin Fei's ear.

"You've arrived—"