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Chapter 452 - 449: "And I am on the fifth level.

Chapter 452: Chapter 449: "And I am on the fifth level.

"That makes sense."

Just then, there came a sound of footsteps trampling leaves from the side.

A see-through figure slowly walked over.

It was as if draped in an invisible cloak, the figure in a red Lolita dress emerged from the bushes, a few dark leaves falling onto its shoulder, causing a slow play of light across its delicate face.

Lv Shu cautiously raised his finger that was holding a butterfly, while Su Ming’an smiled as if he had anticipated being followed by Yamada Machiichi.

"And then, Yamada Machiichi, you are ’the Third Layer.’" Su Ming’an plucked a dark leaf nearby, examining the contaminated plant: "The people in this Third Layer have thought of another, more terrifying possibility. For instance—the number of ’Ghosts’ might be far greater than they could have imagined..."

Lv Shu’s expression slightly changed.

"Normally, we would think, in a game where ’Ghosts’ capture people, that the number of ’Ghosts’ should be three or fewer, or absolutely less than the number of ’People,’ right?" said Su Ming’an. "But in my view, these rules already favor ’People.’"

As he spoke, he tore the leaf in his hand, making a crisp "snap": "...in this way, the game is simply unfair."

He heavily emphasized the words ’unfair.’

He observed the leaf in his hand.

These leaves had become as crisp as thin paper, as if scorched by fire, and had a burnt odor to them, unlike normal leaves that brim with life.

... This must be the so-called influence of the curse, the curse that hovered in the black mist at night, contaminating them into this state.

"Unfair?" Lv Shu felt like he had become a parrot.

It wasn’t that he was too foolish to think for himself; in fact, after carefully analyzing what Su Ming’an had said, he could arrive at the same conclusions. However, at that moment, he simply wanted to hear the other speak.

This was his subconscious stance when communicating with Su Ming’an.

"Yes, the rules are too biased toward ’People.’ With such a risky identity as a ’Ghost,’ they only have the privilege to touch someone’s neck during the daytime, whereas ’People’ can even arm wrestle with ’Ghosts’ at night, which is utterly unfair." Su Ming’an said: "Therefore, I suspect that the number of ’Ghosts’ might be much higher than we expect, perhaps even... more than half."

"Furthermore, the Fourth Layer... the people in the Fourth Layer have realized everything I just mentioned. And, they’d deliberately speak out everything like I do, to judge the identities of others," Su Ming’an glanced at Lv Shu. "For instance, Lv Shu, you must be a... ’Ghost’."

Lv Shu hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"The way you ask questions has always felt very aligned with a ’Ghost’s’ perspective." Su Ming’an said: "From your expression, it seems so too..."

"I wouldn’t lie to you," Lv Shu said.

"Alright, let’s stop the analysis there," Su Ming’an tossed the shredded leaf away and looked at Yamada: "Have you been secretly following us wanting to hear about mine and Lv Shu’s identities?"

Yamada Machiichi cleared his throat and turned away: "Although that was part of it... I also wanted to thank you."

"Oh?"

"In the Seventh World, you saved me, and I am very grateful," Yamada Machiichi bowed. "As a form of repayment, in this world, I will be your support. You can make use of me in any way you want."

He referred to when Su Ming’an and Sherrod united to drive away the sea monsters, preventing the annihilation of everyone—a crucial part of Su Ming’an’s perfect pass through the instance, not a deliberate rescue of Yamada, but Yamada’s character was such that as a beneficiary, he would not overlook the favor he received.

Unlike those players who, even after being rescued, would incessantly complain, criticizing the Number One Player for not taking a straight path, Yamada Machiichi was someone who saw things clearly.

In fact, his behavior also made it much easier to gain favorability from others.

In the list of top players, no one was his absolute sworn enemy.

Lv Shu frowned, "Who knows what you might do with this opportunity."

He did not trust Yamada Machiichi.

He felt that this man was like an onion, peeling away layer after layer. When in the Fourth World, Yamada Machiichi had asked Su Ming’an about the "meaning of life" without any reservation, and had thanked Su Ming’an only to then offer his own life, he thought Yamada Machiichi’s adherence to the so-called samurai ethic was too extreme, too narrow, too fanatic.

This extremism, narrowness, and fanaticism did not stem from pre-modern ignorance but from post-modern loneliness.

"I think, to repay a debt of gratitude."

... This was what Yamada had once said, a statement that was solemn yet frivolous, serious yet highly mediating.

Now, this man had suddenly come to repay his debt of gratitude again.

Despite it being a highly important competition among the top hundred players, this man had nonchalantly placed his freedom and trust on the line.

Lv Shu stared at him, gradually tightening his grip on the Black Blade in his hand.

And standing among the dark bushes, a somewhat depressed-looking Yamada spoke softly.

"I am ’Ghost.’" Yamada Machiichi revealed a faint smile, his words were shocking, "If you feel I am a threat, you can exile me anytime during the voting phase. If you have doubts about my identity, I can find a competing NPC to demonstrate my ability to eliminate them."

"You..." Lv Shu hadn’t expected this man to disclose his identity so straightforwardly.

"Alright," Su Ming’an suddenly said, "I trust you."

The gleam in Yamada Machiichi’s eyes brightened, he seemed quite happy to be trusted.

Before the global game began, he was always thinking about suicide, seeing everything as if it were a silent black-and-white film, with all sounds merely skimming past his ears.

Once, the word "death" hung before his eyes 24 hours a day.

Now, all he saw was the person who had always helped him, and saved him several times.

"So now we have three combat powers on our side," Su Ming’an said, seemingly affirming Yamada Machiichi’s value.

...Though he was only verbally expressing trust.

"Are you ’human’?" Lv Shu asked.

"Of course," Su Ming’an replied, "which is why I am really panicked right now."

Lv Shu looked at Su Ming’an’s expression but couldn’t tell where the panic was.

’Humans’ cannot initiate attacks during the daytime, and the Guide near Su Ming’an had also suddenly disappeared. If someone really attacked him, Lv Shu thought, Su Ming’an would probably be unable to defend himself.

...Was this his reason for accepting Yamada Machiichi?

To have an additional combat power who could act during the daytime?

"...It’s time to start looking for the Oracle. Yamada, please lead the way," Su Ming’an said.

Yamada Machiichi nodded, not asking why there was no Guide by Su Ming’an’s side, but moved to the front.

Yamada’s Guide was a somewhat translucent woman. From the light wave in her hand just now, she was likely a Guide who mastered ’Invisibility’ or ’Stealth’, and probably not ranked very high.

Without Xiber, Su Ming’an had to guess the Guides, for with Xiber here, she really could reveal all the information about any Guide she saw without missing a detail.

The three people moved forward slowly, the dense jungle canopy ahead of them shrouding the sky. They walked along the river and gradually saw an expansive sky.

They had returned to the tribe.

At the entrance of the Fourth Tribe’s fence, there was no longer a player, and even the eight participating NPCs had vanished without a trace.

Su Ming’an suddenly heard a fierce rustling of wind.

"Swoosh!"

A pitch-black axe violently chopped down beside him, the stone axe cutting into the ground and leaving a deep mark.

Lv Shu immediately drew his sword, and Lilina beside him also raised the branch in her hands, only to see that the one who had thrown the axe wasn’t another player but a mad-looking, wild-haired, burly man.

"Haha, hahaha, heeheehee— " The man, seeing them, revealed a childlike sneaky smile. He covered his mouth with his hand and made several monkey-like bizarre calls.

His muscular arms were covered with black markings, signs of a curse that spread throughout his body and was on the verge of eruption. This was a curse that even the ’Purification Chamber’ couldn’t delay. At this stage, it meant his life was counting down.

The nearby tribespeople saw this and immediately tried to stop the mad man, but he was very strong, pushing men and women who rushed at him while clapping and laughing with "hehe," his eyes full of childlike innocence.

"Black lamb, jump quickly~

"Black crow, fly quickly~

"Black python, crawl quickly~

"Mother picked up an axe and chopped the deity’s statue ninety-nine times~

"With its little eyes, take its blood~

"A feather, a raven~

"A rotten corpse fairy tale, from its heart, blooms the flower of the deity..."

He sang the cheerful nursery rhyme while vigorously keeping the beat, his steps both light and heavy, his body twisting left and right.

The commotion here was really loud, the clan leader came out from the stone house nearby. Seeing this scene, he blew his top:

"— Who let this guy out!" He pointed vigorously with the cane in his hand: "Didn’t I say not to let these ’banished’ people enter the tribal area?"

"Clan leader, we couldn’t stop him; his strength is too great..."

The tribespeople spoke in distress.

"Such a strong scent," a follower of Yamada Machiichi suddenly spoke: "It’s the smell of a curse about to erupt... He’s dying soon. No wonder his strength is so great, it’s the curse near eruption that has enhanced him."

Su Ming’an picked up the axe on the ground.

This was a very ordinary stone axe, but with the man’s casual throw, the stone axe had directly slashed diagonally into the ground, showing the great strength. However, the man probably meant no harm as he seemed mentally unstable and might have thrown it casually.

"Sorry, adventurer." The clan leader saw Su Ming’an, whose favorability had already been brushed to 40, and immediately came over: "This guy, he’s a tribal member with a curse about to erupt. The curse aura on him is too heavy, we feared it might attract nighttime cursed creatures, so we expelled him from the tribe. But today, he sneaked back."

Su Ming’an said, "His spirit seems a little abnormal?"

"He has been like this since he was a child." The clan leader pointed at his head: "Maybe there was a problem during childbirth; this guy grows in physique, not in brain."

Over there, the man was still singing and dancing, with childlike delight on his face, and the tribespeople simply couldn’t stop him. He was like a rampant wild ox.

But soon, a middle-aged woman hurried to the edge of the tribe. The moment the man saw the old woman, the joy on his face disappeared, and his expression became somewhat ingratiating and helpless.

"Hehe, Mom, Mom..." The man swiftly bowed his head, the axe in his hand dropping to the ground. He stood still like a child who had done something wrong.

"Sorry, sorry, it’s my fault I didn’t keep an eye on him. I didn’t expect him to sneak out again..." The woman who had rushed from outside was humble. She bowed repeatedly to the tribespeople in apology, stretching out her thin and bony hand to drag the big, foolish man away from the Fourth Tribe.

The man, who had seemed like a wild beast, instantly turned docile upon seeing the woman. Sucking on his thumb, he wore a silly, happy smile.

"Black lamb, jump quickly~

"Black raven, fly quickly~

"Black python, crawl quickly~"

"A feather, a raven~ a fairy tale of a rotting corpse, from its heart, a deity’s flower blooms..."

The eerie singing resonated within the somewhat quiet tribe.

"Follow them."

Su Ming’an immediately stepped forward.

He didn’t mention going to the Fifth Layer to the two people beside him.

People of the "Fifth Layer" would gradually realize—all of it, voting, factions, identity judgments, were not the most important parts.

What does "Cursed Ghost" imply?

And what does "human" refer to?

Such instances were always part of the storyline.

...

"Swoosh—!"

Under the brilliant white flames, the charred body burning with fire fell.

The white, dancing flames, like the fire of light, burned through every corner of the tribe, reducing thatched canopies and wooden houses to ashes.

Bodies lay on the ground, men and women, old and young, their eyes lifeless. Their bodies were charred black by the flames, not even sparing the lives of children.

With black hair fluttering, the woman like a deity floated above the small settlement. Beside her, her guide held aloft a long sword trailing white flames, like the ’Sword of Justice’ that judged life.

Her guide had just swung his sword and destroyed this entire settlement, slaughtering all the tribespeople.

"No need to be sad, adventurer," Dian Si said. "These people carried a heavy curse aura, unblest by Bai Shen... Even if they had lived, they would exist in endless suffering. It’s better we help them leave sooner."

Mizushima Kawa Sora looked at the sword in his hand.

"You didn’t do anything wrong," she said.

"Of course I didn’t do anything wrong—I am a great person who helped them find release!" Dian Si spread his arms. "We wield the Sword of Judgment that expels the wicked. As long as we kill all those on the brink of a curse outbreak, other nearby tribes will be safe—we are righteously disposing of ’garbage.’ You are suitable to wield this power."

Mizushima Kawa Sora looked down at the hellish scene below, ablaze with flames, slowly, slowly curving her lips into a smile.

"Hmm," she said.

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