Gamers Are Fierce

"That’s right," Xu Tuoan said. "I discovered Ao Yong sneaking into the main control room. I possessed his body and accessed the so-called player privileges. A death game, is it? I instantly understood those vague, unspeakable ’secrets’ and ’prophecies’ recorded within the Datura organization. I don’t want to be reincarnated, nor do I want to be a Lone Ghost. I want to break free from here and become a living person. If possible, I’d rather be a player in the death game."

"So, you set your sights on us."

Xu Tuoan nodded. "The structure of the Evil-quelling Array is similar to the Yin Gathering Array. The Evil-quelling Array requires six Talismans, while the Yin Gathering Array needs five. Just by removing one Talisman and adding another, the Evil-quelling Array can be converted into the Yin Gathering Array. Removing a Talisman is easy, but adding a completely new one requires a living person to do it."

Li Ang shook the yellow paper in his hand. "This yellow paper you gave the Plague Doctor must be that new Talisman belonging to the Yin Gathering Array, right?"

"Yes." Xu Tuoan sighed and pointed at the Fierce Ghost in a suit. "The Talisman you drew on the fifth floor was exactly the one that needed to be removed, so I had him go to the spot beneath the Jiupin Crab Emperor Fort’s signboard—based on the photo you posted in the group chat—and dig out the floor where the yellow paper was. Touching the Talisman causes great harm to Yin Spirits, even an explosion, but that’s negligible compared to what we’ll gain after completing the plan."

In a matter-of-fact tone, Li Ang casually asked, "You plan to complete the Yin Gathering Array, absorb the Yin Evil Aura, and then possess my body, Wu Dai’s, and the Plague Doctor’s, right?"

"That’s right." Xu Tuoan laughed. "As a Ghost, the task I received was to complete drawing the five Talismans of the Yin Gathering Array. That would be considered mission accomplished. Five Ghosts, five bodies, five brand-new lives belonging to players. That’s the System’s hint, isn’t it? Bound by the System’s limitations, the other four Fierce Ghosts can only track you through sound and light. However, with me—a being who is both a player and a Ghost—tracking and locating you is as convenient as having a clear view of the map. All along, we’ve been playing along with you, pursuing you, applying pressure, making you draw the four Talismans common to both the Evil-quelling and Yin Gathering Arrays. As for the decisive fifth Talisman of the Yin Gathering Array, I planned to trick you into drawing it. Unfortunately, you’re too clever—so clever you don’t know when to feign ignorance. If you’d detected my abnormality earlier and messaged me privately, I might have let you off the hook, allowing you to finish drawing the fifth Talisman peacefully and then die without pain. Now, I can only break all your limbs and make you draw slowly with a Cinnabar Brush held in your mouth..."

Xu Tuoan exhaled a breath of foul air, and the Array formed from his collected blood on the ground slowly dissipated. The Fierce Ghosts outside the air wall began to close in.

This air wall, created by Xu Tuoan himself, had two purposes. One was to instill a sense of oppression, forcing Li Ang and the others to draw the Talismans under extreme pressure. The second was to prevent the spirit of the Lost Airship from getting close to the players and avoid accidents—even though he had lost his tongue and couldn’t speak.

Now that Li Ang had deduced the entire truth, the air wall was no longer necessary. It was time to end this pointless charade.

The Fierce Ghosts stepped forward slowly. Xu Tuoan laughed wildly. Liu Wu Dai somberly drew his bowstring taut, and the Plague Doctor stood motionless, hands hanging naturally at his sides.