Volume Two, The Devil’s Game, Chapter Fifty-Five: Harsh Conditions

Although eager to check his watch, Lu Yi clearly knew that the rewards for achieving the goal wouldn’t disappear. What mattered now was to care for his companions.

He looked at Shen Yixue and Yuchan. “Shen Yixue, Yuchan, how are you feeling? Were you hurt earlier?”

Yuchan, lying on the ground, raised a hand. “I feel fine.”

Shen Yixue’s expression was somewhat unhappy. Lu Yi recalled that she hadn’t even absorbed the small portion of the core he had given her.

Thinking this over, Lu Yi reached out to Shen Yixue. Seeing she glanced at him without objection, he gently patted her head a few times. “Don’t be discouraged. We’ve only been through a few missions; encountering something unfamiliar is normal.”

“Sweetheart Yiyi: Oh? The streamer just patted that girl’s head.”

“Black Phosphorus Sauce: I think there’s hope now.”

“Warm-hearted Man: Streamer, you’re not going to slap her away again this time, right?”

“I’m a Husky: Haha, the streamer should slap her away, then say coldly, ‘Woman, you’re blocking me and the guardian.’”

With that last comment, Sweetheart Yiyi and others all sent a single word: “Scram.”

Lu Yi’s face twitched slightly at these comments.

Shen Yixue looked up at Lu Yi, her gaze shifting back and forth over his wounds before her expression gradually softened. “I just feel like I wasted a great opportunity. I’m not blaming you. You’ve had it tough too.”

Hearing this, Lu Yi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “Nothing tough about it. We’re partners, so naturally we have to consider everyone’s interests.”

“You’re a good guy.” Yuchan rolled on the ground a few times, then tossed a metal can at Lu Yi. “I brought this for you.”

“Thank you, Yuchan.” Lu Yi smiled at him and then tucked the metal can back into the team’s space.

When Lu Yi looked back, Shen Yixue clearly seemed to have let go of her disappointment. She smiled at him. “Captain, you had us prepare this and that, but in the end, none of it was used.”

Lu Yi rubbed his forehead. “Ah, miscalculation. I didn’t expect the guardian to be like this. I was even planning to use some physical methods against it.”

“Anyway, thanks to you both. If you hadn’t arrived in time, I definitely wouldn’t have caught the guardian.”

He patted Shen Yixue’s head again. “I saw you rubbing your head earlier. How is it now?”

Shen Yixue gave him a side glance. “It’s fine now. You’re only concerned about it now, but back then you were rushing to find the guardian.”

She suddenly chuckled. “I figured it out. If this were real life, you’d definitely fight the game boss first and then care about your girlfriend later. You’d get beaten up for that.”

Before Lu Yi could reply, Shen Yixue stepped closer and gently pinched his arm. “I suspect you took advantage of me just now, so I want a share of your reward later.”

Lu Yi was momentarily stunned. This time, he had clearly asked Shen Yixue and Yuchan for help, so naturally he intended to share the benefits. Shen Yixue’s mention of being taken advantage of without other demands showed she wasn’t fussed.

Thinking this over, Lu Yi smiled and said, “Of course. After all, you can’t just pat the head of a beauty like Shen.”

Shen Yixue froze at that, and Lu Yi then placed his hand seriously on her head. “By the way, do you subscribe to the monthly card?”

Seeing Lu Yi’s earnest expression, Shen Yixue squinted and chuckled, lightly punching him. “How could there be a monthly card for something like this?”

She squinted, sensing the change in her energy. When she opened her eyes again, excitement showed on her face. She happily said, “But there is a free two-hour trial coupon.”

“You’re a good guy. I want a reward too. You can pat my head as well.” Yuchan suddenly came over, blinking at Lu Yi.

Yuchan’s antics immediately amused Lu Yi, who affectionately patted his head.

At that moment, the prompt sounded again in Lu Yi’s mind.

“Congratulations, brave contestant. You have accomplished another feat. We will now grant your deserved reward. Due to your outstanding performance, you will receive a grand surprise. But before that, there is a small matter requiring a choice.”

“The guardian is currently in the revival phase and cannot revive during the remaining time. You have two options:

One: Shorten the guardian’s remaining stay to 30 minutes. You will then spend these 30 minutes peacefully.

Two: Immediately clear the guardian’s remaining stay, causing the last guardian to delay arrival by half an hour.

You have one minute to decide. Please respond mentally once you have reached a conclusion.”

Lu Yi was stunned. What was this grand surprise? Also, these options were different from before—no time for discussion.

Thinking it over, the second option was easier to understand. The last time could be considered a halftime break; maybe the original game design allowed discussion at that point.

As Lu Yi pondered this, Shen Yixue suddenly exclaimed, “Half an hour of safety? Clear the guardian’s remaining time and delay the last guardian’s arrival?”

After speaking, she looked at Lu Yi. “What do we choose?”

Lu Yi stared at her in surprise. “You heard the prompt?”

Shen Yixue nodded immediately. Yuchan chimed in, “Good guy, I heard it too. What do we pick?”

Lu Yi frowned. What was going on? Shen Yixue had assisted in killing the last guardian, but the prompt had only addressed him before. Now Shen Yixue and Yuchan heard it as well?

Could it be that all three shared the kill this time? Lu Yi shook his head, but a bad feeling rose within him. He looked at Shen Yixue and Yuchan and urged, “We pick the first option—the safe 30 minutes.”

“Voting concluded. Currently, there are 10 conscious contestants. Seven have chosen option two. The guardian’s remaining time is now zero.”

As the voice faded, the core fragments floating in the air vanished instantly.

Lu Yi and Shen Yixue exchanged horrified glances. Yuchan looked confused. “Good guy, it seems we can’t choose anymore.”

“A collective vote?” Lu Yi said gravely. “I think this change is a trap. We might be overlooking something, or there’s something we don’t know.”

Shen Yixue nodded. “I also think this collective vote is strange.”

“What are you talking about?” Yuchan tilted his head, looking at Lu Yi.

Lu Yi patted Yuchan’s head. “We’re discussing some complicated matters.”

“Complicated? Well, take your time then.” Yuchan was about to walk away.

Lu Yi grabbed Yuchan and Shen Yixue. “I have a bad feeling something will happen. Since this is the last guardian, our team won’t split up.”

Shen Yixue smiled brightly and nodded immediately. Yuchan had no objections.

With the decision made, Lu Yi glanced at his watch. Sure enough, a prompt asked if he wished to keep the Demon King identity.

He chose to keep it, and the city’s prompt sounded in his mind.

“You have chosen to retain the Demon King identity and gained the talent [Demon King Identity]. This talent is not self-activated but obtained through other means and cannot be enhanced through ordinary methods.

You may select one of the following two paths. The talent can only be enhanced in the way you choose:

One: Conqueror Demon King Path—accumulate battle merits by continuously defeating powerful enemies. When merits suffice to upgrade the talent, the city will assign special enhancement tasks to specified targets. Completing these without outside help upgrades the talent; failure with survival halves the merits.

Two: Defender Demon King Path—accumulate wealth, followers, and resources to strengthen yourself and your faction.

When developed sufficiently, the city will issue collective tasks to relevant targets who will become aware of you after mid-adventure. You must repel them, ensuring neither you nor your faction’s strength falls below a critical threshold.”

Lu Yi studied the two options for a long moment before cursing inwardly. What was the real difference between these final tasks?

Oh, there was a difference. One path had him fighting groups of enemies in intervals; the other had him fighting groups simultaneously.

How many lone wolves qualified as formidable enemies? Lu Yi knew without doubt that if he chose the first path, he’d be constantly breaking through enemy lines.

As for the second path, it seemed he could cooperate with a faction, but was it easy to build a faction from scratch?

“The city’s conditions are too harsh.” Lu Yi grumbled silently.

The city’s mechanical prompt soon responded, “According to the city’s judgment, these two paths are not much easier than the Princess Knight Order’s Demon King hunt.”

Lu Yi was speechless. “Fine, I get it. You mean even someone like Tan Weiwei, who self-activated her talent, finds it hard to upgrade. So it won’t be easier for me, whose talent is externally granted.”

He suddenly recalled that the talent would be reconstructed after choosing to retain the Demon King identity. He took a deep breath. “I want to know the talent’s abilities.”

“[Demon King Identity], current level: 1. Upon choosing a path, you will gain the corresponding abilities.

Choose Conqueror Demon King Path: Gain passive energy absorption, automatically absorbing berserk energy to enhance your attributes; increase cellular activity to speed up wound healing. Next level grants skill: [Killing Intent].

Choose Defender Demon King Path: Gain passive energy absorption, automatically absorbing gentle energy to boost certain latent attributes; gain passive skill [Insignia], which grants slight random enhancements to non-light type abilities you bestow on others. Next level grants skill: [Jealousy].

[Killing Intent]: Each life you kill passively accumulates killing intent; the stronger the enemy, the greater the accumulation. You can imbue attacks with killing intent for greater power.

[Jealousy]: Display your wealth and power to incite envy and negative emotions among others, gathering surrounding life’s jealous energy to infuse your attacks with disruptive jealous energy.”

Bestow abilities on others? Lu Yi’s expression twisted. That would be a long way off.

He pondered and asked, “City, what are latent attributes?”

“Latent attributes refer to those not directly reflected in combat power, aside from strength, speed, and constitution. Special note: Luck is not a latent attribute but a hidden attribute.”

Lu Yi chuckled dryly. What he really cared about was whether latent attributes included luck. He didn’t want the city to be so blunt.

He looked over the first path again. It seemed more practical but also more troublesome.

There was no way the task targets would be weaklings. They might even be a team of adventurers, possibly aided by native factions in the adventure world.

Just imagining that scene made Lu Yi shudder. He had no interest in fighting multiple enemies at once—that was for battle maniacs or masochists.

Remembering Tan Weiwei’s strange talent, Lu Yi decisively abandoned the first path.

Of course, the second path wasn’t easy either. Flaunting wealth and power would naturally draw attacks. Ultimately, a fight would be inevitable.

Fortunately, although the talent upgrade tasks involved team battles, they didn’t prohibit forming alliances.

In Lu Yi’s mind, recruiting and allying with a stable team was far easier than doing so as a battle-crazed lone wolf.

“I choose the Defender Demon King Path.”

As his words fell, he immediately felt some changes within himself.