HP - Chapter 40

Thank you Elaina for the Ko-fi

Kingdom of Gods 18

“Xiao Huan, why did you do that?”

A friend standing beside Xiao Huan asked in confusion.

The brightly lit underground passage was now in complete disarray. The floor and walls bore the scars of fire, and the light at the end flickered intermittently.

On Xiao Huan's youthful face, those eyes that seemed to hold countless stories flickered.

“I was helping him.”

“You’re going to get scolded later... the team leader will be furious.”

In the interrogation room, after Xiao Huan finished describing Qiu Heming's current situation, Ji Zhou immediately changed expression and stood up to leave. Judgment Eye had finally found Ji Zhou; there was no way they could just let him walk away—besides, Xiao Huan was right: if Judgment Eye could find him, the Tarot Path certainly could too.

Ji Zhou leaving would simply be delivering himself to them.

But Xiao Huan and his friends knew how much Ji Zhou valued friendship.

His body ablaze with determination, he forcefully walked out of the underground base.

Dozens of Judgment Eye members couldn’t stop him.

“Nearly three years, right? In this godforsaken place,” Xiao Huan suddenly said.

“About that.”

“My desire to leave is no less than Ji Zhou’s. What Divine Kingdom? It’s just a place to witness how ugly human nature can be.”

“What does that have to do with what you did?”

“Ever read novels? Watch anime?” Xiao Huan curled the corner of his mouth. “To win, the strongest or the powerful aren’t the most important. The key is to find a group of people—people with drive and a spirit of self-sacrifice. We, Judgment Eye, don’t count. Ji Zhou and his teammates are that kind of people.”

The friend looked at Xiao Huan with a complex expression: “Can your dog nose even sense that?”

Xiao Huan looked at him as if he were an idiot: “Is this sensed through smell? It’s felt, sensed.”

“…So vague…”

“Hey—Qiu Heming!”

Ji Zhou rushed out of Judgment Eye’s underground base in one breath, stood under the gray sky, and dialed Qiu Heming’s contact—fortunately, he hadn’t been blocked yet.

Of course, to express his displeasure and show he hadn’t forgiven him yet, he had to use his full name.

“Ji... Zhou?” Qiu Heming’s voice came from the communication device on his wrist, strangely hoarse, as if his vocal cords were damaged.

Ji Zhou’s expression immediately turned stern: “Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine.”

Qiu Heming was somewhere unknown; the sound was noisy there, with occasional static interfering with the signal.

Noticing the signal starting to fail, Ji Zhou quickly said: “Were you captured by the Tarot Path? How are you now? I’ll go find you right away!”

“No need,” Qiu Heming said, struggling to suppress his chaotic breath, his voice hoarse. “You go to Grave City. Go now.”

Ji Zhou froze: “What for in Grave City?”

“Zhong Xu is in Grave City. The Tarot Path has already sent people there. You should go quickly too.”

“Ah Xu isn’t dead?” Ji Zhou asked blankly, joy welling from the bottom of his heart, blooming like a brilliant flower.

Hearing the words “Tarot Path,” he didn’t dare delay a step and immediately headed toward the outskirts of the city.

As he walked, he asked in puzzlement: “Were you lying to me before? Were you afraid the Tarot Path would find out?”

“No,” Qiu Heming said. “I wanted to confirm whether you were a qualified teammate.”

“You were testing me!” Ji Zhou laughed in exasperation, feeling a mix of emotions.

“You can test me in return,” Qiu Heming said quickly. “This is a life-and-death game. The teammates you choose determine the kind of path you’ll have.”

“Then have I passed the test now?”

Qiu Heming seemed to smile: "You are a very good teammate."

"Alright," Ji Zhou’s voice came with the wind. He was probably running, saying through gritted teeth as he ran, "I'll settle accounts with you later. I'm going to find Ah Xu right now!"

Finally, Ji Zhou asked again: "By the way, are you really okay or not? Didn’t they say you were caught by the Tarot Path?"

"I'm fine. Just a bunch of small fry."

The call ended.

Qiu Heming tugged at the corner of his mouth, his eyes pitch black.

In the metallic-sheen corridor, blood flowed like a river, finally pooling at his feet. Qiu Heming turned his wrist; a drop of blood slid from the blood-stained scalpel.

Drip, merging into the pool of blood beneath his feet.

"What kind of monster are you?"

The questioner stood directly ahead, ten meters away.

If Qiu Heming took a step forward, he would take a step back.

Because truly…

His gaze fixed behind Qiu Heming. There was a colossal entity, devoid of flesh and blood, a skeletal structure about as tall as a building, its skull already piercing through the ceiling, exposing the steel framework.

The monster might not be that frightening.

But the problem was, this monster had grown from Qiu Heming’s back and was currently still connected to him as one.

It was simply the arrival of Death.

"Monster? This is the Divine Kingdom. How could there be monsters?" His pale face wore a sarcastic smile.

He always used to wear glasses, making him seem gentle, scholarly, and very easy to get along with. Who knew that one day he would take off his glasses, revealing eyes that were icy and horrifying.

Ten meters away, the Tarot Path member in direct confrontation said softly: "Moon Goddess, are you alright?"

Earlier in the room, Moon Goddess had escaped at the brink of life and death, but her body was pierced by the bones. Now she was bleeding steadily, like a bird with broken wings, lightly cradled in his arms.

In his ears was the irritating sound of alarms.

In this Tarot Path stronghold, the intrusion alarm had been buzzing for an hour.

Could it be that they had been abandoned?

Should he also abandon Moon Goddess and run quickly?

Just as his thoughts were tangled, Moon Goddess suddenly grabbed his hand tightly, eyes wide with fury: "If you dare abandon me and run, even if I lose arms and legs, I'll hunt you down! I'll make you know the price of betrayal!"

Qiu Heming laughed first: "About to die, yet still threatening your subordinate?"

"Die?" Moon Goddess, face deathly pale, also let out a faint, eerie laugh. "I can't die. I still have to avenge my sister! Qiu Heming! You're truly asking for death!"

Qiu Heming's expression turned stern, and he took a step forward.

The person ten meters away hastily took a step back.

"What are you retreating for?" Moon Goddess snarled viciously. "Take out your Tarot card!"

The other's face changed: "Moon Goddess, all the cards I snatched are in your hands. Now I only have my own card."

"Who wants your card?" Moon Goddess said. "I'll give you two more of my cards. Try to 'reverse' the card."

"Reverse the card?"

Moon Goddess's gaze flickered, her eyes holding absolute malice: "The game rules can't target only you, Qiu Heming."

Inside their metal box-like stronghold, they were unaware of the weather outside.

Lightning streaked across the sky, instantly illuminating the bustling streets.

A torrential downpour arrived suddenly. Pedestrians on the streets hurriedly took shelter, looking at the rain curtain with disgust: "Didn't it just rain? How is there another heavy rain?"

"This heavy rain... ugh... it's gotten even smellier!"

"Hey—" someone exclaimed loudly, "Look at that tree!"

Zhong Xu had just walked out of Grave City's garbage dump when she suddenly felt something was off.

She looked closely and again saw that gray tree in the darkness.

Only this time, it wasn't as if it had lost color, but rather... its leaves were falling.

It was withering.

"Someone used a reversed card, unleashing reversed power. Truly adding mistake to mistake!" A sighing voice came by her ear. "Better act quickly, especially against those who use reversed cards. Killing one is worth ten."

Zhong Xu was about to turn around and ask for clarification.

Boom—

An explosion rang out, shaking Zhong Xu back two steps, her ears hurting and numb, buzzing temporarily.

"Haha! Brother Cat! She really looks exactly like the photo on the wanted poster!"

Giggling and laughing voices came. Zhong Xu heard the sound of a motorcade screeching to a halt around her.

She had been found.

"Why is there an old man here too?"

"Kill him directly!"

Zhong Xu realized they intended to kill the NPC who revealed key information and hurriedly stopped them: "Stop! Don't touch him!"

There were still many key clues she hadn't asked clearly yet. He couldn't die...

Boom!

Another explosion, its roar so loud it could drown out even wails. A bad feeling flashed through Zhong Xu's heart.

The giggling voice sounded again: "Aiya, why didn't you say so earlier? I've already blown him up."

"......"

"Brother Cat, her expression is so scary. She looks like she wants to kill me, but why isn't she looking at me?"

Brother Cat stared at Zhong Xu for a long moment and said flatly: "She's blind."

"What? A blind person! Would killing her count as bullying?"

Brother Cat scoffed: "Take action. Stop all this chattering."

The person who was still giggling and laughing immediately became serious. "Yes, Brother Cat."

They came with many people. They really think highly of her.

However, perhaps because they discovered she was blind, or perhaps to test her skills, the leader called Brother Cat didn't get out of the vehicle, instead only sending one person to fight.

"Hello, you can call me Scarecrow," the voice approached Zhong Xu. "I was the one who dealt with that old man. What? Your lover or your dad? Haha."

Zhong Xu kept an expressionless face, ignoring his filthy words.

Two consecutive explosions had slightly damaged her hearing, but it was enough to deal with one small insect.

When Scarecrow was still ten steps away, Zhong Xu struck first.

Not expecting Zhong Xu to charge directly head-on, and with such speed—

Scarecrow was somewhat caught off guard, even still trying to create distance.

After all, his Tarot card was related to 'explosion'. One careless move and he could blow himself up too.

And Zhong Xu precisely seized upon this.

As long as she was fast enough!

Thud—

Scarecrow froze, didn't even have time to react, and fell straight down.

Zhong Xu grasped the knife handle and pulled it out from the neck.

"As expected of a scarecrow, even his brain is full of straw."

He didn't even get a chance to play his card.

The surrounding Tarot Path members were all stunned by this ultra-fast fight and couldn't help but look at Zhong Xu's eyes.

Those eyes had no focus; she truly was blind!

Brother Cat clapped his hands: "Bravo! Bravo!"

But Zhong Xu's expression was very grim.

At the moment of Scarecrow's death, she once again felt changes in her bodily functions—her damaged ears healed and could hear more clearly, her fatigue vanished, and her vision was no longer so pitch black.

The demise of other players corresponded to the awakening of her power.

Sevyn here ~~~

Enjoy!

Happy New Year!