Free Web NovelThe instant he stepped into the church, Liu Huai froze.
Mu Ke shoved him anxiously. “Hurry! Get into the tunnel!”
But Liu Huai turned to look at Liu Jiayi, pinned helplessly to the ground. Then, without warning, he inhaled sharply, twisted his body, and shook loose the daggers strapped at his waist. One dropped through the air. He caught it between his teeth in a single motion.
At the same time, he drove the other dagger into his own body.
The blade pierced flesh. Liu Huai lowered his head, his face draining of color as a muffled groan escaped him.
Mu Ke’s expression changed instantly. “What are you doing, Liu Huai?!”
[System Notification: Player Liu Huai has been attacked by Nightblade. Mental value decreasing... Due to severe emotional instability, mental value reduction is being recalculated... Mental value has dropped to 9. Berserk mode activated. Physical stamina rapidly draining...]
Liu Huai moved like a swallow skimming the surface of water. His speed was so terrifyingly fast that only an afterimage remained as he shot across the floor toward Miao Feichi.
Just as Miao Feichi’s twin blades came crashing down, Liu Huai sprang upward like an assassin emerging from the dark. He planted one foot, twisted ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) sharply, and used the dagger clenched in his teeth to forcibly intercept the twin blades aimed at Liu Jiayi.
Miao Feichi stared at him in shock.
This was the first time he had ever seen an assassin continue fighting after both hands had been severed and the Disarm effect activated.
There was something in Liu Huai’s eyes—an almost suicidal brilliance, a desperate intensity that made the soul tremble.
One eye was squeezed half-shut from pain. The corners of his mouth had been ripped open by the force of the clash, blood streaming down his chin. His face was ghastly pale. Saliva mixed with blood dripped from the dagger clenched between his teeth.
Yet he still stood in front of Liu Jiayi.
Not retreating even half a step.
His chest rose and fell violently.
“Fuck...” Even Miao Feichi went momentarily speechless.
He could feel it clearly—that insane determination pouring off Liu Huai. The man was prepared to die here just to hold him back.
But Miao Feichi still gritted his teeth and yanked his blades free before slashing sideways again with savage force.
“Every single person Bai Liu brings with him is fucking crazy!” he roared. “Dad! Leave Liu Jiayi to me!”
[System Warning: Player Liu Huai’s HP has dropped to 1!!! Please retreat to a safe zone immediately!]
Liu Huai dropped to one knee.
His body swayed violently, yet he still forced himself back upright. The dagger remained clenched between his teeth as he stared directly at Miao Feichi.
The meaning in his eyes was unmistakable:
I can still fight.
I won’t go down so easily.
Sweat rolled down Miao Feichi’s jaw. He wiped it away harshly and snarled, “What the fuck did Bai Liu do to you people?! What kind of brainwashing is this?! Is he really worth this much?!”
Liu Huai merely glanced blankly toward Liu Jiayi, who was wrapped in black mist after being thrown aside by Miao Feichi and pinned down by Miao Gaojiang.
If not for the dagger in his mouth, perhaps he would have answered.
Bai Liu hadn’t brainwashed him at all.
They had simply made a deal.
[Bai Liu, can you really guarantee that Liu Jiayi will leave this game safely? I don’t mean just this instance. I mean the entire game. Can you truly bring her out alive?]
[I can’t guarantee it. But I promise you this—so long as I’m alive, I’ll do everything I can to bring Liu Jiayi with me.]
[...I trust the credibility of your promise as a transaction. Sigh... Sometimes I think it would’ve been better if Jiayi weren’t my meimei. She’s too smart, and I... I’ve never managed to accomplish anything. I’m not worthy of being the gege of someone as brilliant as her. Bai Liu, if you were Jiayi’s gege instead, she wouldn’t have to struggle so hard protecting me.]
[Jiayi deserves a better life. A stronger gege.]
Miao Feichi’s twin blades slashed downward again without mercy.
Mu Ke carried Little Mu Ke and ran like a madman, his heart pounding so violently it felt ready to burst apart. Liu Jiayi stumbled toward them clutching a potion bottle as the black mist around her gradually dissipated.
Then Miao Gaojiang slammed her brutally back to the ground.
She turned toward Liu Huai with a completely shattered expression and screamed hysterically:
“Gege!! No—!!”
Liu Huai drew a slow breath and closed his eyes.
Blood seeped from the corners of his mouth as his teeth tightened around the dagger.
Like a man praying to some nameless god, he silently whispered Bai Liu’s name in his heart.
Bai Liu.
Please.
I’m using the last point of my HP to buy time for you.
Please fulfill your promise to me.
[Bai Liu, there’s one more thing I regret. Could you help me apologize to Shi-ge?]
[Apologize to him yourself.]
[If I’m dead, how am I supposed to say it to his face?]
[Then wait until Mu Shicheng dies and tell him face-to-face afterward.]
[...Does Shi-ge know you curse him behind his back like this?]
[I say it to his face too.]
At last, Liu Huai smiled.
Relief spread across his exhausted face as tears slid silently from the corners of his eyes.
Truthfully, living had always been exhausting for him.
But now, he had finally found a strange resting place for his soul.
Even if staying there came at a cost...
It still felt peaceful.
Just before Miao Feichi’s blades could descend again, Bai Liu suddenly lunged out from the side.
His expression remained calm as he swung his whip, knocking the twin blades aside and interrupting the attack entirely.
Then he positioned himself directly in front of Liu Huai, facing Miao Feichi head-on.
Even while blocking the furious barrage of strikes, Bai Liu still found time to glance back at Liu Huai.
“Watch out for Miao Gaojiang,” he said evenly. “He’s about to transform into a cross-instance monster. Liu Jiayi might die.”
The moment those words fell, both Liu Huai and Miao Feichi froze simultaneously.
They turned toward Miao Gaojiang at once.
The zombie-like figure standing over Liu Jiayi was now wrapped in a dark bluish-black aura.
Only a tiny black dot remained at the center of his eyes. The whites bulged outward, veined densely with black blood vessels. The fangs protruding from his mouth had lengthened almost to his chin. His skin looked like thick, mold-ridden leather. Coarse black hair spread across his hands while long black nails extended from his fingertips.
One hand gripped Liu Jiayi’s throat tighter and tighter.
The potion bottle had fallen beside her, already empty.
The poison capable of instantly corroding the child monsters had been poured directly onto Miao Gaojiang—
Yet it had produced absolutely no reaction.
[System Warning: Player Miao Gaojiang’s mental value fluctuating... unstable... rapidly decreasing... Mental value has dropped to 0.]
[System Warning: Monster assimilation complete. Personal skill monster fully alienated. Transformation into corresponding Monster Book entity complete—《Monster Book: Undead Creature — Carrion Zombie》]
[System Warning: Carrion Zombie is an S-Class monster from a Level 3 instance. Defense exceeds 10,000. It attacks all players indiscriminately. All players are advised to flee immediately!]
Miao Feichi stood there blankly.
Slowly, his twin blades lowered.
“...Dad?”
The blue-faced, long-fanged monster raised its head and stared at him viciously, exhaling the stench of rotting flesh.
A chill shot straight up Miao Feichi’s spine.
This face had once been familiar to him.
Now it was nothing but a monster.
He staggered backward instinctively.
Over ten thousand defense.
And they didn’t even know its weakness. ƒrēewebnovel.com
Miao Feichi knew better than anyone how terrifying Miao Gaojiang’s defensive abilities were. Even at full power, his own blades could barely leave a white mark on his father’s arm.
And that had been before this transformation.
This thing—
This monster born from his own father—
Was absolutely impossible to defeat.
Liu Jiayi looked toward Liu Huai through tear-blurred eyes.
Then she realized what he intended to do.
Her fingers clawed desperately at the sand as she struggled violently against Miao Gaojiang’s grip, forcing broken words out through her crushed throat:
“Ge... don’t come over...!”
In Liu Jiayi’s vision, the infrared silhouette representing Liu Huai flickered weakly like a dying flame.
A flame she had doubted.
A flame she had hurt.
The flame that had smiled at her since the day she was born. That had carried her, warmed her, held her hand, and promised her a bright future.
Now, within the darkness, it burned with unprecedented brilliance.
Like the final clarity before death.
So dazzling that it almost scorched her eyes.
That flame rushed toward the crying Little Witch pinned to the ground.
[System Notification: Does player Liu Huai wish to activate explosive personal skill (Blink Strike)?]
[Yes.]
With the dagger clenched between his teeth, Liu Huai let out a savage roar and leapt through the air, landing directly on Miao Gaojiang’s massive back.
Miao Gaojiang released Liu Jiayi and roared furiously as he turned to punch Liu Huai.
Liu Huai didn’t dodge.
His legs locked tightly around Miao Gaojiang’s neck while his upper body swayed violently with the monster’s movements. His face twisted viciously as he bit down on the dagger, roaring like a wounded beast protecting its cub.
Then he drove the blade into Miao Gaojiang’s neck with every ounce of strength he had left.
[System Notification: Player Liu Huai has activated explosive personal skill (Blink Strike)... Due to changes in the skill’s core desire, skill effects have changed...]
[System Notification: Player Liu Huai’s intense killing intent and protective instinct detected. Paralysis effect from Nightblade remains unchanged. Additional damage effect added. Damage calculation in progress...]
[System Notification: Player Liu Huai’s (Blink Strike) inflicted 1 minute 15 seconds of paralysis on Carrion Zombie. Damage dealt: 6. Monster remaining HP: 10.]
[System Notification: Due to skill mutation, player Liu Huai’s skill identity has been updated.]
[Cowardly Assassin → Bright and Brave Assassin]
Miao Gaojiang let out an earth-shaking roar and reeled backward from the dagger lodged in his flesh.
Then he grabbed Liu Huai by the throat and hurled him away.
The next instant, paralysis took effect, freezing the zombie completely in place.
Liu Huai crashed to the ground and rolled several times before finally stopping.
He could no longer stand.
Blood poured continuously from his mouth and nose as he coughed violently.
And yet—
He was smiling.
[System Warning: Due to severe overuse of personal skill, multiple critical injuries, and excessive blood loss, player Liu Huai’s HP is decreasing... 2... 1... Warning! Player Liu Huai’s HP is about to reach 0!]
Liu Jiayi crawled frantically to Liu Huai’s side on trembling hands and knees.
Carefully, she lifted his head and placed it on her lap.
Her breathing was chaotic, but she desperately forced herself to stay calm while opening her system panel with shaking hands.
[System Notification: Player Liu Jiayi’s personal skills (Antidote) and (Poison) are currently on cooldown. They cannot be used for healing.]
[System Notification: No items or potions capable of instantly treating severe injuries detected in inventory.]
[System Notification: Epic-grade item (Psyche’s Tears) is a consciousness-type item and possesses no healing effect.]
“Fuck the system! Fuck its entire goddamn family!!”
Liu Jiayi completely lost control.
Her face was flushed bright red from panic as the composure she had forced onto herself finally shattered under Liu Huai’s weakening breaths.
Her hands trembled violently as she touched his face.
Trying desperately to steady herself, she forced the words out through sobs:
“Ge, just hold on a little longer! My healing skill will be off cooldown soon! I can save you then!”
“...Jiayi.” Liu Huai coughed again, blood spilling from his lips. Yet he was smiling, eyes curved softly. “Why are you still swearing...?”
“I won’t swear anymore! I’ll listen to you! I’ll never do it again!”
The heat signature representing Liu Huai slowly faded blue within Liu Jiayi’s arms, dimming as though it were about to disappear forever.
At last, Liu Jiayi completely broke down.
Like an ordinary eight-year-old child, she hugged Liu Huai tightly and burst into uncontrollable sobs.
“Ge, I’m begging you!! It’s my fault! I was wrong! Please hold on a little longer!! Don’t leave me alone!!”
“Please don’t leave me!”
“...Jiayi.” Liu Huai’s eyes gradually lost their light, becoming as dim and lifeless as hers. “It isn’t your fault...”
“It’s Gege who wasn’t good enough.”
He spoke with tremendous difficulty, one word at a time.
“I... wasn’t worthy... of such a good meimei...”
Liu Jiayi cried so hard she could barely breathe. She shook her head desperately, unable to say anything coherent, only curling over him while tears streamed endlessly down her face.
“Jiayi... do you know?” Liu Huai’s voice grew weaker and weaker, though he still smiled faintly. “Before you were born... I thought I’d spend my whole life trapped in mud like that forever...”
“But then you were born.”
“You looked at me with those eyes that couldn’t see... and reached out your hands for me to hold you...”
“At that moment, I realized I couldn’t keep living like that anymore.”
“I had to bring you out.”
“Because I was your gege.”
Liu Jiayi desperately tried covering his bleeding mouth.
“Please stop talking! Don’t say anything anymore!”
“But you gave me a future instead.” Liu Huai smiled dazedly, sincerely. “You’re the best meimei in the world, Jiayi.”
His eyelids slowly drooped.
“But... I wasn’t the best gege.”
“I was too stupid...”
“I already entrusted you to Bai Liu. He’s smart. He’ll understand you.”
“In the future... you won’t have to work so hard doubting people... or protecting them...”
“All this time...”
“Thank you for protecting me so desperately, Jiayi.”
[System Notification (To All Players): Player Liu Huai’s HP has reached 0. Player confirmed dead. Exiting game.]
Liu Jiayi stared blankly at the completely extinguished red glow in her arms.
Slowly, she reached out and touched Liu Huai’s face.
A tear slipped soundlessly from the corner of her eye.
“...Ge?”
[System Notification: Item (Psyche’s Tears) has partially activated.]
[Psyche’s Tears will guide you down the path she once walked. You will lose him completely, only to possess him once more. This is Psyche’s jealousy—she cannot allow a woman consumed by doubt to obtain happiness sooner than she did. Yet Psyche is also merciful. Eventually, she will still grant you happiness.]
[You will become painfully happy. Therefore, you will treasure that happiness even more.]
Hearts’ soft, seductive voice suddenly echoed beside Liu Jiayi’s ear.
“Cupid merely flew away.”
“He simply returned to heaven.”
Liu Jiayi clutched Liu Huai tightly.
She lowered her head against his chest, where no heartbeat remained.
Then—
A scream tore from her throat.
A cry so agonizing it sounded like her entire soul had shattered apart.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!!!”
[Psyche finally tasted the bitter fruit of doubt.]
[She wept day and night, but the Cupid who had flown away could never return.]
[Doubt had already poisoned Psyche beyond saving.]
[System Warning: Player Liu Jiayi’s mental value fluctuating... rapidly decreasing...]
