Pending Death Logs Off, Shuangying Takes the Stage!

In front of the bronze statue in 【Dedication Square】, a woman stood looking up, a lollipop tucked into the corner of her mouth. She wore a light-colored, short-sleeved shirt.

She squinted at the statue, which bore Wu Wang's face and a roguish smile. A curious smile of her own spread across her face.

Zhuge Yue asked softly, her voice a near whisper.

"Yue, do you still want to kill him?"

The next second, her voice turned sharp and cold.

"Nonsense! There hasn't been a single day in these past ten that I haven't wanted to! That lecher dared to commit such an indecent act!"

As she spoke, a powerful aura burst forth from her body. The surrounding townsfolk all turned to stare.

Many of the believers of 【Suffering】 even trembled and knelt before her.

"Could it be... the reincarnation of the High Priest?" they murmured.

The aura she released was that of the 【Miracle of Suffering】, and it was nearly as intense as the nun's had been.

"Oh, come on," Zhuge Yue mocked her other personality. "He didn't do anything wrong. Who was it that likes to sleep naked and has a bad habit of kicking off the blankets?"

She spoke as if the body that had been seen wasn't her own.

But her other personality immediately gritted her teeth.

"Who told you to sleep in the living room? I said I wanted the bedroom!"

"I'm the main personality! Of course you have to listen to me!" Zhuge Yue retorted. "It's not like you lose a piece of flesh from being seen! Back when we escaped from that place, we hid in the sewers for half a month without enough clothes to cover ourselves. We even killed and ate rats and cockroaches raw. And now you're getting worked up over a little thing like this?"

She continued to chat with herself, constantly switching between personalities. To the people around her, she appeared increasingly mysterious, and they began to believe some kind of divine oracle was descending.

After a few more sentences of bickering, Zhuge Yue returned to the main topic.

"That guy… his level isn't high, his actions are mysterious, and after ten days together, we don't even know his real name. Now he's able to enter the town from a hundred years ago, a privilege even we weren't granted. Could his Suffering be even stronger than ours? Such schemes… what exactly is he hiding?"

Before entering this Instance, she had already known about the existence of the High Priest of Suffering. She was also well aware that only the player with the most profound understanding of 【Suffering】 would have a chance to reach the 【Hidden Level】.

That level was said to be Aiguyi Town from a hundred years ago.

Only there could one hope to obtain this Instance's true 【Relic】.

Most players thought the most precious things here were the items and equipment left behind by previous players. The so-called 【Relics】 they fought over were basically just those things.

Little did they know, the most precious thing in this Instance was actually the remnant of a 【Mysterious Power】.

In other words, the power of 【The Twisted】.

Zhuge Yue had done her homework before coming here. Through her investigations, she had discovered that the school uniform item the Calamity Cult had promised her was missing its most important component.

Without the aura of that mysterious existence, the school uniform was something she wouldn't even deign to look at.

So, she had made backup plans. She intended to advance to her desired position by studying the power of the Five Great Venerables.

What all the other players didn't know was that a long time ago, Zhuge Yue had already come into contact with 【Suffering】.

She had even received a gift from it.

She originally planned to rely on the power of this gift to win the approval of the High Priest of Suffering. This would make it easier for her to search for the power of 【The Twisted】.

But she never expected there to be an even greater master here.

A low-level brat she had brought in on a whim was somehow favored even more by the High Priest of Suffering.

Damn it! Even the power personally bestowed by 【Suffering】 couldn't compare. Was this bastard the 【Lord of Suffering】 himself, descended to the mortal world?

What was even more interesting now was that the locals called him the 【Saint Son of Desire】.

"Desire… If I recall correctly, that's also the domain of power wielded by one of the Venerables, right?" Zhuge Yue muttered to herself. "Who is he, really? If he's experienced an 【Audience】, there must be quite a few Divine Envoys interested in him."

Fortunately, Wu Wang wasn't here to hear her. If he were, he would have scoffed at her words.

Buddy, during my first Audience, two angels tried to burn me alive with Amaterasu. You call that being interested?

"Big Sis, there are no more toys here. Why aren't we leaving?" Little Yueyue couldn't help but pop out and ask, confused.

Zhuge Yue smiled.

"We're waiting for a big brother to take us out."

She looked at the statue again.

"Since he could gain the favor of the High Priest, he definitely won't die so easily. I believe he will come back."

She had two reasons for not boarding the cruise ship with the other players.

First, she could tell the cruise ship was not something that should exist in Aiguyi Town. It was very likely related to some kind of problem with the Instance itself.

Second, she suspected this might be a plot by the Calamity Cult. Luring all the players onto the ship would make it convenient for them to carry out some sinister plan.

Although she had signed a contract with the Calamity Cult, that only pertained to the post-mission transaction. Now that there was a problem with the school uniform item, she naturally considered that contract null and void.

She was a lunatic, but not an idiot.

On the contrary, Zhuge Yue was exceptionally intelligent.

"The players who boarded that ship are definitely in for a nasty surprise," she chuckled.

Then, in the blink of an eye, she vanished from 【Dedication Square】.

She was going to the cruise ship to see the bitter fruit of the other players' choices.

Her sudden disappearance astounded the surrounding townsfolk. They all began to worship the bronze statue of the High Priest of Suffering, their faith becoming purer and more devout. They believed this was a sign that the High Priest still loved the town deeply. That was why he would possess an outsider to come and see it.

Otherwise, how could an ordinary person possess such a powerful aura of 【Suffering】?

But in reality, it was because the 【Miracle of Suffering】 was ridiculously easy to obtain here. Zhuge Yue, who was in constant torment and possessed power personally bestowed by the 【Lord of Suffering】, didn't even need to harm her own body to trigger it.

In a sense, she had also bypassed the Instance restrictions set by the Spirit Calamity Game.

Even without her player level and all her equipment and items, she was still terrifyingly strong here.

Praise the Suffering.

Praise the Calamity.

In fact, Zhuge Yue's deductions were eighty to ninety percent accurate.

Her only mistake was a critical one. She didn't know that Wu Wang had a second player account.

Not long after Zhuge Yue left 【Dedication Square】, the players aboard the Mary were lined up neatly on the deck.

Everyone looked at each other, a mysterious sense of anticipation flickering in their eyes. This included the players from the Loser's Bracket.

After Mary returned to the cargo hold, she had presented them with a golden Transaction Contract. She told them they could redeem their lives by offering up valuable items or equipment.

The players, who had thought losing the game meant certain death, were naturally ecstatic. Everyone happily signed the IOUs.

In their hearts, they felt a deep sense of dread toward the owner of this cruise ship. To be able to play so many high-level players in the palm of one's hand was the mark of a true master.

This feeling became even more palpable after they met up with the group of players from the top floor. When the others told them this was all a game for the amusement of the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】, their dread intensified.

So this was a Venerable?

Truly this terrifying!

At the same time, an ordinary-looking man appeared beside Mary.

He introduced himself to everyone.

He was 【Yan Shuangying】.

He then announced that he was going to take all of them to find the people from the Abnormal Affairs Bureau, stating that this was a divine oracle from that great one.

Clearly, he was going to lead them to compete for the 【Relics】 held by the Abnormal Affairs Bureau!

How could anyone possibly refuse such a good thing?

And so, all the players present followed Wu Wang's lead. They assembled on the deck of the Mary to witness it carry them to the small 【Hope】 Instance.

From this moment on, the low-level Pending Death had logged off.

What remained was the private tutor to the Saint Son of Desire, the Designated Cooperative Player for the Abnormal Affairs Bureau, the Mysterious Hermit Master, the Exclusive Holder of the Question Mark Level, and the Abyss God's Account Gundam Pilot.

【Yan Shuangying】 was online.