Chapter Twenty-Seven: One Million

The car keys dropped by Shizuka Jukikawa were coveted by everyone, yet not a single person dared to make the first move. As if guided by an unspoken agreement, all pretended not to notice and entered the house by the riverside.

Time slipped by quickly, but after the sun sank beneath the horizon, it began to drag its feet once more.

Night, 7:01:29.

The residence belonging to Shizuka Jukikawa’s friend was spacious, comprised of two floors and covering about two hundred square meters.

However, Mengchao Liu was not inside any of the rooms.

The wind atop the roof was mild, the scenery pleasing. Stars, sparse and scattered, adorned the sky. Mengchao Liu occasionally lowered his gaze, observing the zombies wandering aimlessly along the street below.

“So this is what they call the parade of a hundred ghosts,” Mengchao Liu said to himself with a soft chuckle.

From the outbreak of the zombies to now, only a single day had passed. Yet the entire world was hurtling irreversibly toward ruin.

“Executor.”

Baiya’s voice suddenly sounded in Mengchao Liu’s ear.

“What’s wrong?” Mengchao Liu closed his eyes, listening to the gentle sound of water coming from the rooms below.

The women were bathing.

“Forgive my boldness, but it seems you don’t intend for these reincarnators to perish in this world.”

“That’s right.” Mengchao Liu lay back, stretching out his hand, peering through his fingers at the sky.

“They’re like resources. If I were to squeeze them dry all at once for points from the prize pool, it would pale in comparison to the points gained by letting them struggle to survive, then fall into despair again.”

As he spoke, a spark flashed in Mengchao Liu’s eyes.

“And besides, the current points are more than enough for Joanna to survive, aren’t they? Or is there something you haven’t told me, for example…”

“For example?”

“For example, the purpose of the prize pool points.”

Baiya fell silent.

Mengchao Liu smiled.

Everything was as he expected—Baiya was hiding something from him.

“Baiya, you’re still hoping to wait until this cycle world ends before telling me, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I refuse.” Mengchao Liu’s gaze sharpened, as if Baiya were standing before him. “When it comes to deliberate neglect, I’m quite confident.”

“No!”

To Mengchao Liu’s surprise, Baiya cried out nervously.

“The prize pool points must be maximized! At the very least, by the end of the next cycle world, they must reach one million.”

“Oh?” Mengchao Liu’s face twisted into a mocking smile. “If I fail, will Anna erase me?”

“No…”

Baiya’s voice was filled with struggle. She hesitated for a long time before she was forced to speak.

“Because, there isn’t just one Divine Space.”

“You’ve said that before.”

“Yes…” Baiya’s voice, to Mengchao Liu’s ears, brimmed with fear, as though some terrible memory had flooded her mind. “So, Executor, the gods themselves wage war… Once it begins, it’s a war where one side must perish.”

“Hah.”

Mengchao Liu let out a light laugh.

“So, above us, there are still those who govern us?”

“No… The gods are already at the pinnacle, so among themselves, they must determine who is truly at the top. And the losing god… I believe you’ll witness her fate.”

“Her fate?”

“She’ll be erased by the other, using the prize pool. To erase a god requires at least one million points.”

“Erased? Only one million?”

Upon hearing Baiya’s words, Mengchao Liu stood up, smiling and watching the zombies crawling below his feet like ants.

“The gods really are cheap, cheap like these zombies.” Mengchao Liu studied the fine lines in his palm. “When gods go to war, they must be present in person, right?”

“Yes.”

“And their abilities?”

“Also enhanced by the prize pool.”

“Also by the prize pool? Baiya, you’re mistaken about one thing. If it’s all about enhancement, then a million points are far from enough.”

He clenched his fist, as if the lives of the reincarnators were being crushed in his grasp.

“When this cycle ends, I want that million.”

Mengchao Liu glanced at his current prize pool points.

Prize pool total: 180,000.

“Let’s begin the sprint, my reincarnators.”

He took a few steps forward to the edge of the roof. Below him were two volunteers on night watch—Makoto Ito and…

Xin Li.

One step…

Two steps…

A thud!

Mengchao Liu landed straight on the balcony.

“Mengchao Liu!”

The two looked up in surprise at the man who had descended from above, the veteran in their minds.

“The moonlight tonight is beautiful,” Mengchao Liu said, looking up at the hazy moon, ignoring their expressions. “And so are you.”

At his words, Xin Li’s heart skipped a beat.

Could it be that she’d been acknowledged by this veteran? After all, come dawn, only eight people would be able to ride that Hummer.

“No, I’m still far from enough.”

Xin Li lowered her head, not daring to meet Mengchao Liu’s eyes. She knew this man possessed a terrifying ability—to read everything about a person from their expression.

“I don’t like useless people.”

Mengchao Liu continued, knowing he must now exploit every means to squeeze the reincarnators.

The prize pool total remained unchanged.

Apparently, the hints he’d provided weren’t sufficient yet.

With this in mind, Mengchao Liu turned to the two.

Their faces were taut, not daring to show any other emotion.

“The god never issues missions that are certain death. But the loopholes left for us are very slim.” Mengchao Liu continued, observing their expressions.

Their pupils widened.

Were they excited by the information about to be revealed?

Mengchao Liu smiled faintly.

“Check your mission prompts. That’s my advice.”

With that, he didn’t wait for Makoto Ito and Xin Li to respond, but opened the balcony door and walked straight inside.

Click.

The door closed.

Within a second or two, Mengchao Liu noticed his prize pool points began to rise.

Prize pool total: 182,000.

“Makoto Ito…” Xin Li said quietly, looking at him, “Why did he give us a hint?”

“Perhaps he simply wants us to help him kill someone,” Makoto Ito replied calmly. He realized that the thought of killing brought him an odd sense of pleasure. “Or maybe we’re just his test subjects.”

“Test subjects?” Xin Li closed her eyes, listening to the god’s mission prompt in her mind, then suddenly opened them. “Mengchao Liu wants us to kill the story characters we’re teamed with!”

At the mention of story characters, Xin Li’s eyes changed.

Her teammate, Rei Miyamoto, appeared in her mind once more.

“No,” Makoto Ito interrupted, “not our teammates—his.”

He closed his eyes, recalling each word Mengchao Liu had said.

“He doesn’t like useless people. And in our group, the most useless one right now…”

“Shizuka Jukikawa!”

Their eyes met, exchanging a smile.

“We can’t do it ourselves. Maliciously killing teammates, even if there’s no punishment, would make the survivors subconsciously ostracize us.”

“But some people wouldn’t think that way,” Makoto Ito’s eyes brimmed with disdain. “He can’t even walk straight anymore.”

“Yes, let’s hope Yu Tian Ye performs well tonight,” Xin Li said, gently brushing her hair, her eyes soft.

“How do you plan to do it?”

“How? Naturally, I’ll tell him. I like naive students like him the most—and he’s rich. Makoto Ito, do you want to know how I’ll tell him?”

“Yes.”

Makoto Ito suddenly noticed that the woman before him was becoming more familiar.

“I’ll do it like this.”

Before her words finished, Xin Li pressed herself against Makoto Ito. Zombies shuffled slowly beneath the balcony, as her right hand tugged at her hip, sliding black lace panties down her long legs.

“Make him happy…”

With her legs slightly parted, Xin Li pressed her head to Makoto Ito’s ear. In the darkness, the two seemed almost as one.

Only now did Xin Li’s final words softly reach Makoto Ito’s ear.

“And then, destroy him.”

Familiar words, a familiar person.

You truly are all ghosts risen from hell. Isn’t that right, Qingqing Zhang!

Makoto Ito wrapped his arms around Xin Li’s waist, his mouth gently licking her earlobe. His eyes, which should have been hazy, were now clear.

Clear with murderous intent.

Night, 7:11:49.

Prize pool total: 190,000.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

The outbreak began at midnight tonight… then at ten in the morning, two in the afternoon, ten at night…

That question about the new cannon fodder death building… was mentioned to me by Shungun in the group chat, cough cough… may not necessarily be used… But I think if someday the fate of cannon fodder matches my own ideas, it’s quite an accomplishment.

Thanks to Viktoria 8, Little White the Pit, Unscientific Shana, the Madman Xuan Yuan, BXeroXB, Ancient Universe Dust, Rice023, the Outstanding 2B Youth, Digging Your Own Pit, Porcelain Glass, Cold Moon Ice, Loli Boarded, and Frozen Speechless for your support~