God waved His hand casually, and a projection appeared on the white wall. It displayed various locations within the game space, allowing God to monitor every move the players made with 360-degree surveillance.
He randomly tapped on a smaller window, and the black mist morphed into a finger, pointing at the screen.
God said calmly, “Like this, I have control over everything you do.”
The place He pointed to was the cafeteria.
Xing Yun, currently craving the saliva chicken so much she was actually drooling, did not even look up as she replied, “Like this? No thanks. It is way too salty to eat that way.”
God: …
He had not expected Xing Yun to not even listen properly. It left Him feeling inexplicably stifled. He had intended to properly intimidate Xing Yun, to make her bow before Him in trembling awe and feel the majesty of a god, but the plan failed at the very first step.
Yet, He still desired to destroy her body and soul.
God found it strange. Humans were inherently private; others showed unnatural expressions when they realized they were under 360-degree surveillance, filled with fear and dread toward Him, an omniscient and omnipotent god. Did Xing Yun truly have no little secrets she could not let others see?
God decided to observe Xing Yun more often in the future.
He asked, “Are you not afraid?”
Xing Yun: “Should I be?”
God: “…”
Of course, Xing Yun did not care. What could happen just from being watched? She had once had a fanatical fan tail her home and hide in her closet for three days; she was not unfamiliar with being observed. Besides, was this not just a surveillance feature? The security guards at her apartment complex could do the same thing, so she did not find God particularly formidable.
God did not want to give up. “Submit to Me, believe in Me, and I can fulfill any of your wishes.”
Xing Yun furrowed her brows, staring straight at the mass of black shadows. “Can you leave this game?”
God was stunned, then burst into a roar of laughter as the black mist trembled. “So, your wish is to leave the world I created? That is possible. If you clear My instance, I will satisfy you.” It was not that He had not encountered people like this; on the contrary, there were many.
Xing Yun, however, shook her head. “I am talking about you. Can you leave this place?”
God fell into silence and deep thought.
This time, it was Xing Yun’s turn to laugh aloud. “Are you afraid to go out? If so, what kind of god are you!”
“It is that I do not want to.” The black mist grew significantly denser, and His voice deepened. “If you have no wishes, I can customize one for you. Let me see. No matter how much makeup you wear, it is hard to change your basic bone structure. I have a piece of skin here that can turn you into anyone’s face.”
Xing Yun paused. She remembered Yu Yan saying that items granted by God could be used in various instances, and perhaps they could even be taken back to the real world in the future. She was indeed very interested in this item; God really was tailoring things to her needs.
God was satisfied with Xing Yun’s desire. “Believe in Me, and I will bestow it upon you.”
“Did you forget? If you want belief, you must first do me a favor.” She had heard this exact script in the hotel; she had the procedure memorized.
“You!”
“What about me?” She clearly saw that mass of black mist tremble, which she found somewhat amusing. A bold guess surfaced in her mind.
Thinking about it carefully, this black shadow looked a bit familiar.
Seeing God struggling and hesitating, she simply mimicked a spell she had seen in the instance, bit her finger, and drew a symbol with her blood.
God looked at Xing Yun, dissatisfied. “Where did you learn that?”
Xing Yun blinked. She truly did not know where she had learned it. She had only seen it once and remembered it; her body seemed to have muscle memory, replicating it naturally.
Xing Yun shook her head, deciding not to dwell on it, and said to God, “The one I summoned in the hotel was you, right? Even in the instance you created, you do not seem to be able to do whatever you want; you are constrained as well. Since that is the case, allow me to make a bold assumption about what you are using to control the instance.” Xing Yun smiled, which only drew God’s displeasure.
“If I wanted to, I could cut off your head at any moment and hang your corpse in the game lobby.”
Xing Yun’s eyes darted around. She believed God had the capability, but she felt that if she could make God feel amused, He would exempt her. After all, why would God summon someone who had no unique traits? Since that person was her, she could not be timid.
If God truly wanted to execute her, He would have done so already rather than issuing warnings.
“You have an accomplice. You rely on this accomplice to control the instance, and this accomplice is likely a player who explores the instance freely. That is why you need the players’ belief, using this so-called belief to bind others and tightly control any potential moles.” Xing Yun sneered. “Truly an interesting idea. Watching other people’s struggles every day is boring, but if the struggles are plotted by yourself, it becomes entertaining.”
“Hahahahaha.”
Hearing the laughter, Xing Yun breathed a sigh of relief.
True to her prediction, God did not execute her after hearing her words. The density of the black mist even faded. Xing Yun could faintly see the facial features hidden beneath the mist; they were very similar to the instance Boss, leading her to a bold guess: could it be that the person she faced from the beginning was God Himself?
“Interesting.” God did not give her time to think further. “Your guess is indeed interesting. It is a pity you are not an editor. But it is only a guess, and the content is complete nonsense. I have no need to cooperate with fragile insects.”
Xing Yun changed the subject. “I made you happy. Does that count as a favor?”
Xing Yun felt a weight in her hand. God’s expression became clearer, and a shadow appeared on the floor. He narrowed His eyes. “Little insect, so you were calculating against Me… but it is amusing. While this does not count as a favor, I will grant you the item. But if you do not come up with something interesting again, I will not be so lenient.”
Before Xing Yun could speak, He sent her away. He looked at the flame burning in the corner called “Love” and kicked it over, as satisfying as stomping on Xing Yun’s brain.
When Xing Yun returned to the game lobby, she let out a long sigh of relief. Now she could finally return to her room and have a good dream. With this “skin,” she could transform into many different people and maneuver between other players. Just thinking about it was exciting; what information would she not be able to get?
She did not know how many points she had gotten right in what she just said, but she had plenty of ways to test it.
Now, she planned to try out this skin.
“Who should I choose as the unlucky victim…” Xing Yun kneaded the skin, a brilliant idea flashing in her mind.
For her first step, she planned to play big and meet the “strongest one” everyone talked about. Although she had not seen Rong Ping’an’s full face, she had seen her teammate’s. Why not sneak into Rong Ping’an’s room to chat?
She acted decisively. Room distribution was based on the number of game sessions played, and since Rong Ping’an had cleared over forty more instances than the second-place player, she was naturally on the top floor.
Out of politeness, she rang the doorbell and knocked, but no one opened the door.
Xing Yun was persistent. “Hello?”
Could it be that Rong Ping’an was not inside?
Xing Yun tentatively pushed the door, and it opened.
Rong Ping’an was lying on a rocking chair, holding a book with a blanket over her legs. However, the drape of the blanket was strange; it did not flow down her legs but showed a clear collapse at the knees.
Rong Ping’an did not have a sharp or mean face; on the contrary, she looked very tranquil and did not seem hard to get along with.
“You came to find me. You are truly impatient.” Rong Ping’an put down her book and looked at Xing Yun.
When encountering phenomena she could not understand, Xing Yun was accustomed to keeping a cold face so others would not notice her emotional fluctuations. She licked her slightly dry lips. “The last instance was too treacherous. I felt uneasy and felt my mental state was affected… I just wanted to see how you were doing.”
“I see you have truly lost your mind. Why do you keep staring at my legs? Do you not know?” Rong Ping’an lifted the blanket, and Xing Yun’s pupils shrank involuntarily.
She had no lower legs; from the knees down, there was only emptiness. Yet, she had clearly seen her walking like a normal person before.
Rong Ping’an scoffed. “Staring at me? What do you want? What should be given to you will not be missing.”
Xing Yun’s eyes brightened instantly. She rubbed her hands, her smooth-talking nature kicking in. “I am mainly worried about your condition.”
“Take what is on the table and get out.”
Xing Yun curled her lips. How stingy.
As she left, she did not forget to swipe two apples from the table; waste not, want not.
When she opened the box she had taken, she discovered it contained a photograph—a completely black Polaroid, as if the film were ruined.
Whatever. Free stuff is free stuff.
Xing Yun did not understand the use of the photo, only feeling that it was extremely hard, completely capable of being used as a throwing knife. Because she was afraid of being discovered, she wrapped it in toilet paper. This little piece of paper could serve as a coaster that would not be burned by heat, or as a ping-pong paddle that would not bend at all.
Xing Yun flipped the photo back and forth during her spare time. After all, it was her only item.
She wandered everywhere with this photo in her pocket. She did not dare go to places with few people, but in crowded places, she was always at the forefront.
She discovered a library that was fourteen stories high. The first floor was open to everyone, but entering the second floor required clearing five instances. She browsed through it briefly; it was filled with praises for God. She read it with the intention of being amused, but when she read that people with insomnia could sleep soundly under God’s watchful gaze, she could not help but laugh.
“This?” That mass of black mist? “Sleep soundly?”
They must have been scared unconscious. Crazy.
“Believe in God, and you will never have to watch 30-second ads when you die in a game again. This is quite good.” As Xing Yun muttered to herself, she found that she genuinely felt it was quite good and even developed a feeling of worship. Her mood suddenly became weird; she had actually been swayed by a few lines of idiotic, run-of-the-mill drivel.
It seemed all these books were vicious things that disrupted a person’s mental state, and the content was particularly low-level and idiotic.
“What evil god.” Xing Yun immediately threw the book aside in disgust.
In the pure white space, God looked at the book thrown on the floor, His fists clenched. He rubbed His temples. “Why do these tricks not work on her? Is she a mortal?”
“Is she a spirit?”
“What does she know? If I do not write it simply, how can I ensure that everyone from eighty-year-old elders to three-year-old children can understand it?”
The more He thought about it, the angrier He became. His intelligence had actually been questioned.
He kicked the blue flame beside Him again. This time, He chained the tiny flame up, and it rattled whenever it moved even slightly.
The thing called “Love” made Him feel panic at every moment.
Love could lead to death. He remembered that clearly.
In the library, Xing Yun gave up on the books entirely and turned to search for the entertainment facilities here—strange, varied, and encompassing all sorts of debauched pleasures.
But what she liked even more was the crystal coffin project. It had hot springs and massages inside, which were genuinely comfortable. She decided to use this place as the cradle for her dreams tonight.
The soft bedding captured her body’s curves, the gentle quilt felt like nothing at all, and the light at the head of the bed was warm and peaceful. No one would disturb her here.
But there are exceptions to everything.