Chapter 71-Game Descent: I Am the Sole Player

Chapter 71

The chosen one? Hai City was a god-forsaken land. Its curse was supposed to fall equally on everyone — no one should be exempt! Unless... unless it was...

The air seemed to drain from the cramped corner. Yan An felt a suffocating tightness, unable to draw breath. She bowed her head, and her body, pressed against the wall, began to slide downward. Only then did Bai Shan, who had been pressing relentlessly, take a step back.

"You tried to kill us — was it to rob us, or was there another reason?"

Yan An hung her head and said nothing.

Seeing this, Bai Shan leaned down and whispered a string of words right in front of Yan An's face.

"Great Compassionate Sacred Love Primordial Unity Omniscient God."

Yan An's head snapped up, her crimson eyes wide.

"What's your relationship with this organization?"

Bai Shan asked.

Outside, lightning flashed and thunder roared. A violent bolt tore across the sky, illuminating most of Hai City. The white glare flickered past the windows, and fierce gusts battered them with a mournful whooo.

Rivers had surged to catastrophic levels, swallowing the waterfront promenades. Floodwater poured through the streets into deeper areas. Old buildings were reduced to the small tips of their rooftops poking above the surface. The slender spire of the TV tower stood in the murky water, looking frail, as if it might topple at any moment.

At such a moment — when gale-force winds and rain made it feel as though the apocalypse had truly arrived — a group of people had gathered on the rooftop of a shopping mall next to the TV tower.

"You don't believe me. You don't believe in the Omniscient God who is willing to give you a chance to repent."

"I don't blame you. The great and compassionate God doesn't blame you either."

Atop the mall, a semicircular white awning sheltered over thirty people crammed beneath it. Wind and rain lashed in from all sides, leaving everyone drenched and bedraggled. Soaked clothing clung to skin like ice, the biting cold turning faces deathly pale.

Only one person remained in high spirits, speaking with commanding eloquence. Her aged, husky voice carried more force than the storm itself.

She had only been up here a short while, and her hair was thoroughly soaked — half-black, half-white strands plastered to her face. Yet it did nothing to diminish her vigor. Her cloudy eyes were sharper and more piercing than any of the younger people present, while also carrying a hint of beguiling warmth.

"I know — God has abandoned you for too long. You harbor resentment. You refuse to believe. You think we're all charlatans and con artists—"

"Aren't you exactly that — a fraud?!"

An old man burst forward, shouting. The armed believers surrounding the crowd moved to restrain him, but Liu Chaoyun raised a hand, signaling them to stand down.

She gazed at the old man who had charged out with a tender, compassionate look — even though he might have been older than she was.

"Tell me — what have I cheated you out of?"

"You're running a cult! Never mind whether gods actually exist — what kind of benevolent deity shows no regard for human life?! Hai City has it bad enough without your outside cult nonsense. Get out!"

The old man steadied his crooked glasses with one hand and jabbed a furious finger at Liu Chaoyun with the other.

His words stirred restlessness among the captive group. The armed believers immediately trained their guns on the crowd.

This mall was the largest and most prosperous in Hai City. Despite the lockdown advisory, a considerable number of people had still been in this central area on the day the mutation struck. When mutant animals and plants launched their rampage, panicked crowds poured into the mall for shelter.

Shortly after, Hai City was hit by torrential rain. Staring at the downpour, those hiding inside were even more afraid to venture out.

No one had imagined that this temporary refuge would stretch into over ten days.

The mall was far from safe. Mutant plants snaked in through pipes, mutant animals smashed through glass windows, and floodwater carrying unknown aquatic creatures surged into the ground floor. The water level kept rising, steadily devouring the space humans could inhabit.

Fortunately, the first and second floors were mostly luxury brand stores, while the dining establishments and gourmet supermarkets were on the upper levels. Relying on these resources, two to three hundred people managed to eke out survival in the mall.

During this time, several people claiming to be players from other cities stumbled in. Through them, the Hai City residents inside the mall learned that the outside world had a game, that everyone had superpowers and wondrous game items. By comparison, Hai City seemed like a forsaken wasteland.

Yet these outsiders didn't last long — every one of them quickly became ordinary, without exception, losing the game abilities that only existed beyond Hai City's borders.

The locals hid their relief behind neutral expressions, but inwardly most breathed a sigh. This was the CBD district of Hai City; many of the people sheltering here were employees and executives from the nearby financial center and corporate headquarters — well-educated, high-caliber individuals. They all understood that having a few people with superpowers in their midst wasn't necessarily a good thing. Rather than protection, hierarchy and oppression would likely come first. No one wanted to become a second-class citizen.

That sense of relief lasted until four days ago, when a group calling themselves believers of the Omniscient God forced their way in. Flying the banner of their "Omniscient God," they neither left nor seized resources — they simply spread their bizarre doctrine.

These fanatical believers proclaimed that the worldwide catastrophe was a trial sent by the Great Compassionate Sacred Love Omniscient God. The deity was screening humanity for those worthy of boarding the Paradise Ark. Devout believers who passed the trial would be freed from aging, sickness, and sorrow, and would share in divine bliss.

Because the people of Hai City were generally impious and lacked reverence, they had been stripped of the chance to participate in the trial.

But the Omniscient God was compassionate and benevolent, willing to give them one more chance — those who joined the Omniscient God Cult would receive divine grace: the possibility of gaining special abilities.

Most of the Hai City residents in the mall were society's elite. Even if the world had indeed undergone supernatural upheaval, no one was willing to buy into such absurd claims — especially since these believers, like the previous outsiders, lost their abilities after twelve hours. Nothing special about them.

Yet these outsider believers, even without abilities, were all armed to the teeth — clearly prepared. No one in the mall accepted the doctrine, but every ordinary person had no choice but to bow before the gun barrels.

The trapped people were forced to read the Omniscient God Cult's pamphlets, memorize the teachings, and take oaths day after day — "I will follow the Great Compassionate Sacred Love Omniscient God forever. Should I betray, may I be struck by lightning, die a wretched death, and may my entire family suffer..." Phrases like these were hammered home relentlessly, eroding already fragile minds.

In just a few days, these fanatical believers had brought an atmosphere of despair and oppression worse than the initial mutation crisis. Over a dozen people secretly plotted an escape from the mall — only to be discovered.

Liu Chaoyun arrived at the mall on this very day, paddling in on a kayak. Within the Omniscient God Cult, her rank was second only to the cult leader and the Holy Son.

Upon arrival, she pardoned the "traitors" who were supposed to be brutally executed, and brought them up to the mall's top floor.

Now, facing the old man's furious accusations, she wore her affable, dignified smile. She was nothing like the gloomy, crazed old woman of the past — a completely different person. Her frame was still small, yet without the stoop typical of her age. There was even a hint of commanding poise about her.

The old man standing before her had been a prestigious university professor, now retired. Despite his age, he was often praised as refined and gentlemanly, carrying considerable clout in academic circles. It was he who had organized the dozen-person escape attempt.

Liu Chaoyun, on the other hand, came from a remote village. She had dropped out of elementary school, worked in a factory in her youth, and after marriage had spent her days toiling at her husband's household. Under normal circumstances, these two people would never have crossed paths. And even if they had, it should have been Liu Chaoyun looking up at the professor as he held forth on terms and concepts she could never understand.

Yet now it was Liu Chaoyun who wore the indulgent expression of a superior, as if the eminent professor was the ignorant fool.

"I've been here for more than twelve hours now."

Liu Chaoyun said suddenly.

No one in the crowd understood what she meant. Their expressions were blank and numb.

Liu Chaoyun abruptly clapped her hands. The crisp sound was swallowed by the roaring rain. The old man stared at her, utterly confused.

"AHHH—"

"Look!"

The crowd panicked and pressed together. A creature — jet-black, with enormous wings — had landed on the mall's rooftop. Its wings resembled a bat's, but its body was more feline, with amber slit-pupils and a murderous aura.

Liu Chaoyun beckoned, and the creature obediently sidled up to her. Those dangerous vertical pupils fixed on the old man.

The old man's legs began to buckle, but he held his ground and fired back, "How do we know when you actually entered Hai City?"

"You must still be within the twelve-hour window — your abilities just haven't disappeared yet. You think you can scare me with your powers? My apologies — if the god you worship truly exists, then let Him strike me down with divine wrath for being impious!"

"Go on!"

The old man bellowed with full force. The people behind him seemed to draw courage from his defiance and shouted along:

"Go on!"

"Old woman, prove your identity!"

"Cult, get out!"

The armed believers seethed with fury, but Liu Chaoyun remained unruffled. Her gaze swept across the faces of the dozen-odd captives, finally settling on the young man standing just behind and to the left of the old professor.

"You there, young man. Step forward."

Liu Chaoyun pointed, and immediately a gun was pressed against the young man's head, forcing him out.

The old man's face twisted with alarm. "What are you doing? Whatever it is, come at me! Don't hurt an innocent child..."

His aged features bore a striking resemblance to the young face held at gunpoint.

"Heh, I'm not going to hurt him. He's your grandson?"

Liu Chaoyun shook her head and turned to the young man. He looked like a top student. What a shame her own eldest daughter had been an unremarkable student, and her worthless younger son had dropped out of high school, refusing to study no matter what. He'd fathered a child, dumped it on her, and then skipped off to enjoy himself elsewhere.

But those old matters no longer mattered. The thought of Chen Xinyi, who was somewhere else now, brought a touch of genuine warmth to Liu Chaoyun's eyes.

She asked kindly, "What ability would you like?"

The young man had been wearing a look of grim resolution, ready to face death. Liu Chaoyun's question blindsided him completely.

"Wh-what ability?"

"Flying through the sky, burrowing underground, breathing fire, controlling water, or commanding those creatures out there... What ability would you like?"

Liu Chaoyun's tone was as casual as asking a younger relative how big of a red envelope they wanted for the holidays.

The young man's gaze drifted past the old man's anxious face to the monster nestled at Liu Chaoyun's side, then snapped back as if his eyes had been scorched.

"I — I don't want any!"

Liu Chaoyun said, "Normally, you'd need to complete a ritual before being eligible to receive an ability."

"But I think you have a pleasant look about you. You remind me of my own no-good kid — about the same height, a bit older... I can give you the ability first, then you complete the ritual afterward."

"Would you like to control these monsters?"

"Hold out your hand."

Liu Chaoyun's kindly gaze turned razor-sharp in an instant — more blinding than the lightning flashing through the storm clouds above.

*

"So that's how that cult pitches itself."

Bai Shan ran a hand through her hair and let out a cold laugh. Packaging the game system as a deity... No — given Liu Chaoyun's degree of fanaticism, she might genuinely believe the game was the creation of the Omniscient God she had always worshipped.

Based on what Bai Shan had seen in the Rong City channel last time, the organization had already seized control of Rong City. Being armed wasn't surprising. But weapons alone couldn't win people's faith.

"Liu Chao— that old woman leading them, can she really grant abilities to others?"

Yan An clutched her throbbing head. "I don't know. When those people came to proselytize, they said you had to complete a ritual to... to receive an ability."

"What ritual?" Bai Shan pressed.

"...Sacrifice a person."

Yan An's answer made Bai Shan's expression shift, her gaze turning guarded.

But she didn't pursue Yan An further. Right now, she was more curious about that old acquaintance of hers.

"Do you know where this Omniscient God Cult is currently based?"

"Those people mentioned something about the center of Hai City. The central area is huge — I don't know the exact location."

Bai Shan thought for a moment, then asked, "Is Hengxin Shopping Mall in the center of Hai City?"

Yan An nodded blankly. "Yes — its location is definitely central."

"I see."

Having gotten her answer, Bai Shan turned to leave. She hadn't taken more than two steps before curiosity got the better of her, and she turned back to Yan An.

"Did you kill Zhao Yi?"

A long silence.

"AHHHHH!"

Agonized screams rang out simultaneously from two different places in Hai City.

On the mall rooftop, the young man slumped against the railing, staring at his trembling hands in a daze. Then he clutched his head and screamed in anguish, half his body leaning over the railing as he looked down—

The old man's body drifted downward, light as a feather. It passed the giant advertising billboard, where the painted face bearing a red distress signal smiled serenely at the scene.

Soon, he hit the canopy above Entrance No. 1. The mall wasn't very tall; he didn't die on impact. His bleeding limbs twitched faintly.

On the rooftop, the young man broke into a tearful, relieved smile. He was about to rush off the roof to rescue him — he had powers now, he could command the monsters!

Then a massive fish erupted from the water, snatched the body from atop the entrance canopy, and vanished beneath the surface.

"The ritual is complete."

Liu Chaoyun, who had watched the entire thing, consoled him, "This is the will of God. Young man, you are now a child recognized by the Omniscient God."

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