ATFBETIBM Chapter 654

In a daze, Little Overlord’s voice continued to echo in Bai Lixin’s ears.

“You think the wealth of the 999th floor is what? Props? Points?”

“It’s neither—it’s that man himself!”

“He’s different from everyone else. He’s not human. He appears human, but his structure is completely different from humans. What we’ve always wanted is him. What we’ve wanted to seize and replicate is also him! The main brain has been observing and analyzing him for years, trying to decipher his structure.”

“When we captured that man, he left behind his secondary body and his spiritual body escaped. Now you’ve brought him back here. He’s the key to evolution. Without him, evolution won’t be complete.”

“So I really must thank you, Bai Lixin.”

“Hahaha, now that we’ve captured him, you inferior beings are completely useless. All of you can die!”

Bai Lixin felt his internal organs being squeezed painfully. It was as his body was caught in a vortex, forced into a twisted, distorted state.

The scene in front of him turned dark and then light again, and the screams, wails, and roars rang out incessantly in his ears.

A sharp whistle sliced through the air, and Bai Lixin dodged subconsciously.

“Clang!” A heavy sound rang out. As his vision returned, he saw a hard, bony object embedded in the ground beside his feet.

It hadn’t struck Bai Lixin, and the bony object slowly withdrew from the ground.

Following the extended bony object, Bai Lixin saw a cloaked monster floating in mid-air.

The monster was shrouded in a cloak, with only a pair of eerie green eyes visible. It held a bone sword in its hand and swooped down towards Bai Lixin.

Bai Lixin instinctively drew out his white scythe.

A system bright red exclamation mark immediately filled his vision.

[Ding! Warning, the Queen is powerless and unable to attack NPCs.]

Cursing inwardly, Bai Lixin put away the scythe and dodged backward.

Suddenly, a cane appeared, blocking the descending bone sword. The cane let out a sharp metallic screech, and the cloaked monster was flung into the air.

Bai Lixin turned his head. The owner of the cane had already withdrawn his hand and was smiling at Bai Lixin. “President Bai Lixin, that was really dangerous just now.”

Bai Lixin’s gaze landed on the blue musical note above the newcomer’s head. “President Nian Suihan.”

Nian Suihan smiled gently. “We really are fated. In this round, you’re the Queen of my faction. It seems I’ll have to use my old bones to protect you.”

Bai Lixin looked around.

This was the first-floor lobby, now crowded with players. Bai Lixin roughly counted and there were over 40,000 people.

It seemed that not only had they been transported to the first floor, but other players had also been transported here.

There were many players, but even more monsters.

Monsters kept flying out of the black vortex above, roaring as they rushed towards the players.

They couldn’t kill them all—there was no end to it.

For every monster killed, two more would surge forward, multiplying endlessly.

Players fell one after another, and if an unlucky Queen of a faction died, nearly a thousand people would fall with them.

A player ran to the elevator and tried to go to another floor. He pressed the elevator buttons frantically, but the doors didn’t open.

They were trapped in the vast first-floor lobby. It had become the graveyard that Little Overlord and the system had arranged for them.

Nian Suihan stood by Bai Lixin’s side the entire time, focusing on protecting him like the most loyal guard.

Bai Lixin looked at the elderly man, “Aren’t you on the same side as Little Overlord?”

Nian Suihan: “You’re joking. How could a mere human like me dare to be on equal terms with the system? I just don’t want to go against fate.”

“The longer a person lives, the more they value their life. As long as Little Overlord can keep me alive, I will follow him. But now that he wants my life, of course, I can’t let him take it.”

Bai Lixin chuckled, “President Nian, you certainly know how to adapt to the circumstances. Do you know that Little Overlord captured the members of the Shentian Guild to replicate them?”

“I know. I knelt and begged him to spare me. There’s no shame in begging for survival,” Nian Suihan’s shoulders drooped slightly. “Don’t you think so?”

“There are many ways to live. Since you’ve chosen this path, there’s no need to seek affirmation from me,” Bai Lixin responded indifferently, quickly scanning the lobby and spotting Xia Chi and the others fighting fiercely in a corner.

Nian Suihan followed behind him, leaning on his cane. “So, you look down on me too? I just want to survive. What’s wrong with that?”

Bai Lixin: “You’re not wrong. Everyone here wants to survive.”

He paused, then after seeing Nian Suihan’s fading smile, added, “It’s just a pity, I really don’t like you.”

Nian Suihan was startled, “A pity?”

Bai Lixin: “A pity for all those who came before and sacrificed themselves fearlessly, only to have their efforts ruined.”

When enemies are at the gate and soldiers are fighting bravely, drenched in blood, the general suddenly raises the white flag because of fear.

In times of national crisis, when patriots shed their blood and sacrifice their lives, some people sell intelligence and betray the cause out of fear for their lives.

In this horror game, some people desperately try to save everyone, while others, in order to survive a little longer, knowingly accept the system’s treacherous deals.

They waste everyone else’s efforts, even destroying a possible future.

Survival is a right, and he couldn’t morally condemn Nian Suihan for it.

But he also couldn’t agree with his actions.

A coward afraid of death.

Nian Suihan stood in a daze, watching the young man’s back as he walked away.

“Brother!”

Xia Chi saw Bai Lixin and rushed over, blocking the monster attacking from behind him.

Bai Lixin opened the system, and found that more than half of his friends were already grayed out. Only a few avatars were still lit.

Suddenly, two of the avatars flickered and then dimmed.

Hongyue and Song Yuantian were dead too.

There were two hours left until the third round of the game ended.

Bai Lixin frowned slightly, “President Nian, if you really want to survive, then use your influence to gather all the players. I need their help to make it through these two hours.”

Nian Suihan looked at Bai Lixin in shock, “What are you planning?”

Bai Lixin: “I want everyone to survive.”

Nian Suihan was speechless.

In the end, Nian Suihan was still somewhat useful. He quickly gathered the scattered players after rescuing them one by one.

He pointed at Bai Lixin and said, “Please, everyone, no matter what it takes, help him survive for two more hours! He said he can save everyone!”

In just a few short hours, out of 300,000 people, only 30,000 remained.

Some of them recognized Bai Lixin, having watched his live broadcasts regularly.

“It’s God Xin, it’s God Xin!”

“Even if it’s him, it’s useless. We’re doomed.”

“I believe him. We’re going to die anyway, so I’ll bet my life on him!”

“Then I’ll try too!”

“If we’re going to die, let’s die together!”

The players spread out in a circle, placing Bai Lixin in the center for protection.

While observing the surroundings, Bai Lixin kept a close eye on the numbers displayed in the upper right corner of the system.

To prevent large-scale player deaths, players with the Queen’s emblem above their heads were protected in the very center of the circle.

But even this couldn’t stop the dwindling number of players.

As time ticked away, players fell one after another.

30,000… 25,000… 20,000… 10,000… thousands…

When the countdown reached ten minutes, less than a thousand players remained in the first-floor lobby.

Ten minutes.

Eight minutes.

Five minutes.

Three minutes.

One minute.

Samael fell.

Xia Chi fell.

Nian Suihan also fell in front of Bai Lixin in the final second.

[Ding! The third round of the game has ended. There are 2 surviving players.]

The monsters’ crazy attacks paused, and the entire world fell silent.

[The fourth round of the Queen’s Defense Battle will begin in ten minutes. The two remaining players should prepare. Because the Queen’s Defense Battle is a faction battle, the two players will be directly divided into two different factions, becoming [Lonely Queens] without an army.]

[The Lonely Queens will receive special blessings. Without troops, the Queens will take up arms and defend themselves on the battlefield.]

[The Lonely Queens will gain the privilege to attack NPCs.]

[Since only two players remain, the fourth round will end when one of the players dies.]

[I wish you a happy game. The countdown for the fourth round will start in ten minutes.]

“Ding!”

The sound of the elevator doors opening was very abrupt in the silence.

Bai Lixin looked over with a grim expression. Little Overlord was holding a meteor hammer in one hand, while casually carrying someone on his shoulder. The red hair on his forehead looked even brighter.

“Tsk tsk.” Little Overlord crossed his arms and casually stepped on the corpses of players as he walked over. “I didn’t expect you to survive. In the end, it’s just the two of us left.”

He tossed the person on his shoulder onto the ground, saying, “Here, for you.”

A man rolled to Bai Lixin’s feet.

There were bloody holes in his palms and feet. His eyes were closed, and though his skin was ashen, it couldn’t hide his handsome features.

Little Overlord: “I keep my word. You brought the treasure, so I give you the man’s shell.”

The countdown overhead continued.

Bai Lixin bent down and cradled the man in his arms. “What did you do to him?”

Little Overlord: “He’s been completely drained. In just a few more minutes, the final evolution will be complete. The unstable energy has been fixed. We will ascend to a higher dimension, while you will all die here.”

Bai Lixin adjusted the man’s body. There was not much emotion on his face, he only let out a soft “Oh.”

Little Overlord: “Is that all your reaction? Aren’t you afraid?”

Bai Lixin: “What’s there to fear? Will being scared keep me alive?”

Little Overlord stared at Bai Lixin for a few seconds, and after a moment, he said in a low voice, “It seems you’re really not afraid.”

“Because I didn’t turn into a tumor monster?” Bai Lixin carried Dijia’s body to a corner. “I figured out something: what ‘don’t answer’ actually means.”

“If the question is your trigger.”

“You could instantly turn everyone in the elevator into tumor monsters, so the question must be something the other person subconsciously responds to. Even if they don’t say it out loud, they will answer in their hearts.”

“I thought about it, and the question should be: Are you afraid?”

“Even if there’s a hint of fear in their heart, it will trigger the transformation.”

“You’ve deliberately shown your slaughter and bloodlust since the beginning of the game. You wanted to quickly instill fear in everyone’s minds. Because you were still accumulating fear value in the beginning, you didn’t kill anyone in the first round.”

“In the second round, you started testing the results of the first round. On the 850th floor, most of the people who saw your terror subconsciously feared you, and they were turned into monsters.”

“As time passed, your terror dug deeper into people’s hearts. Even if Sun Ning hated you, it didn’t change the fact that she feared you deep down, so she also transformed.”

Little Overlord: “But you didn’t change at all. You’re really not afraid of me.”

“You?” The young man casually swept his bangs, revealing his smooth forehead. “There’s only one person in this world that can make me afraid.”

Little Overlord narrowed his eyes. “Who?”

Bai Lixin: “I’m not telling you.”

Suddenly, the ground started to shake.

The walls around them began to crumble.

Little Overlord’s expression remained indifferent as he let out a sigh. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Everything is set. The main brain’s evolution is complete.”

Bai Lixin: “So the previous shaky explosion has also been repaired?”

Little Overlord seemed puzzled. “Of course, it must have been fixed. The main brain is now a perfect mature form. How could there still be that kind of flaw?”

A look of relief appeared on Bai Lixin’s face. “That’s great. Congratulations.”

Little Overlord was bewildered.

‘Is this person sick?’

‘He’s about to die, yet he’s congratulating the main brain on repairing itself. Ridiculous.’

“Then I’ll begin.” Bai Lixin gently placed the man on a flat surface and silently took out a blue crystal ball from his backpack.

The crystal ball was clear and transparent, with an ethereal blue light swirling inside, along with faintly twinkling stars.

Little Overlord frowned.

The countdown above still had one minute remaining.

Bai Lixin raised the crystal ball above the man. Although he didn’t know what Bai Lixin intended to do, Little Overlord suddenly had a bad feeling.

He immediately swung his meteor hammer toward the crystal ball.

The hammer struck the crystal ball with a loud “boom”, causing spider web-like cracks to form on its surface.

Bai Lixin pressed down on the cracked area, causing even more fractures. As he shattered the crystal ball, he didn’t forget to look up at Little Overlord and say with a smile, “Thank you.”

Little Overlord’s face turned red with anger, and he felt a deep sense of humiliation.

Fury surged from his heart, and with a low roar, Little Overlord hurled the meteor hammer at the crystal ball once again.

Bai Lixin deliberately held the crystal ball up to meet the hammer. Little Overlord was stunned and quickly retracted the hammer, cautiously observing Bai Lixin and the crystal ball in his hand.

Little Overlord shouted, “Stop playing tricks! There’s nothing you can do now!”

“Ping!”

A crisp sound overshadowed Little Overlord’s roar. The crystal ball shattered, and the blue stars and ocean within it began to pour out, instantly engulfing the man’s body.

The crystal ball was small, but the blue light inside was endless.

The blue light submerged the man’s body and seemed to come to life as it surged into his body.

It was turbulent and aggressive.

The countdown above had only ten seconds left.

The collapse around them continued. As the massive tower broke apart, the lobby contracted, and started transforming into a cube.

5, 3, 2, 1.

As the red countdown ended, the blue light from the crystal ball also ceased flowing.

Above Bai Lixin and Little Overlord’s heads, faction and queen symbols appeared.

In the fourth round, there were only two players.

Two factions, two lonely queens.

This was the final battle.

As soon as the countdown ended, Little Overlord threw his meteor hammer at Bai Lixin.

The last ten minutes had been a rest period; players couldn’t attack each other. Now, with the restriction lifted, the extremely humiliated Little Overlord only wanted to kill the person who had made him feel this shame.

Bai Lixin easily dodged Little Overlord’s attack.

Little Overlord chased after Bai Lixin for a while, then suddenly stopped. He looked at Bai Lixin’s evasive actions, then at the man behind him who was still wrapped in the blue ocean.

Bai Lixin had not launched any major attacks, and each time he dodged, he led him further away from the man.

Was he protecting him?

Little Overlord suddenly turned and swung his meteor hammer toward the blue ocean.

‘Dangerous! That man was very dangerous!’

‘There must be something hidden within this blue ocean. Could the man be resurrected?’

‘But how could that be possible?’

‘The man’s spiritual body had already been completely absorbed by the main brain. The spiritual body was equivalent to the soul. Without a soul, how could the body be resurrected?’

Even though Little Overlord was uncertain, he chose to kill a thousand by mistake rather than let a possible threat go.

The meteor hammer smashed into the blue ocean as if it had struck quicksand.

Not only was there no impact, but his meteor hammer was actually getting pulled down into the ocean.

Little Overlord was shocked and used all his strength to pull the meteor hammer out of the blue ocean.

At that moment, he felt a cold light flash above his head.

Little Overlord suddenly looked up. Bai Lixin had already raised his scythe and was bringing it down.

Little Overlord’s eyelids twitched wildly. He roared angrily and lifted his meteor hammer. Sparks flew where the scythe and meteor hammer collided.

Little Overlord was knocked back and slid a distance. Bai Lixin flipped over in the air gracefully and landed steadily on the ground.

“Bai Lixin!” Little Overlord was furious.

He couldn’t understand why Bai Lixin always made him look ridiculous and embarrassed. Bai Lixin was like his nemesis. No matter how hard he tried, Bai Lixin always managed to provoke his shame and anger. “I’m going to kill you with my own hands!”

The monsters circling the sky suddenly gathered around Little Overlord, but they did not attack him. Instead, they hovered by his side.

Little Overlord pointed his finger at Bai Lixin. “Kill him!”

The next second, the swarm of monsters charged at Bai Lixin crazily.

Bai Lixin took out a Rubik’s Cube from his backpack.

He rotated the cube to the correct color, and it suddenly flew into the air, transforming into a giant box.

The box opened, and countless terrifying black shadows flew out, clashing with the incoming monsters. The scene became extremely chaotic.

Little Overlord was stunned.

Bai Lixin kindly introduced the prop: “Pandora’s Box. It is said to be a gift from the gods to humans, and was brought to the human world by the maiden Pandora. The gods filled it with gifts: plague, disaster, terror, death…These are what you see now. You think you’re the only one with monsters? Who doesn’t have a monster army?”

The red-haired young man gnashed his teeth. He knew Bai Lixin was intentionally provoking him, but he couldn’t suppress his anger.

No matter what it took, he wanted to kill the damn person in front of him as quickly as possible.

He instinctively wanted to transform the players, but he quickly realized that all the players were already dead. Only the two of them remained.

The red-haired young man simply threw his backpack into the air, tossing out every usable and unusable prop he had.

Bai Lixin didn’t hold back either.

‘You want to compare? Who’s afraid?’

He threw the entire backpack at Little Overlord. Even if the props only had half their power, then he’ll use two halves to counter the other party’s single prop.

A large number of props clashed in the air, while the black shadows and monsters fighting each other became the backdrop.

Little Overlord charged at Bai Lixin again, swinging his meteor hammer again and again, but Bai Lixin was as elusive as the most cunning rabbit. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t land a hit.

The opponent’s honor coins were low, and his strength was inferior, so he constantly avoided direct confrontation. But this also made Little Overlord anxious, like a cat chasing a small red dot. It looked so small, but he couldn’t catch it no matter what, and it was driving him mad.

Little Overlord’s eyes widened in anger and he swung his meteor hammer again.

“Bang!” A loud crash rang out and Little Overlord felt his meteor hammer hit something heavy. Then, he felt a powerful force, and the next moment, he was sent flying, crashing heavily against the wall.

A mouthful of sweet and fishy blood spewed from Little Overlord’s mouth. He looked up in shock and saw a tall figure standing steadily in front of Bai Lixin.

The moment he saw the man clearly, Little Overlord’s pupils contracted sharply.

The man was tall, dressed in a perfectly fitted black suit, and even wore a tie.

The deep-set eyes didn’t look at Little Overlord, but instead fell on the young man beside him.

The man carefully examined Bai Lixin, and only after confirming the other party was safe did his tense features relax.

‘Why was the person from the 999th floor still alive? Impossible! His spiritual body had been destroyed. There was no way he could have been resurrected!’

Little Overlord looked up at the man’s head, but there were no faction emblem.

An outsider.

He was now an outsider, someone not bound by the rules of the game!

Bai Lixin: “Why did you take so long to wake up?”

The man’s gaze gradually softened. “I made you wait too long. It’s my fault.”

Bai Lixin: “Is it okay now?”

The man: “Yes, it’s okay now. Leave it to me.”

Bai Lixin: “Okay.”

Bai Lixin waved his hand at Pandora’s Box above his head. The box shrank back into the shape of a Rubik’s Cube.

He handed the Rubik’s Cube to the man and then grabbed a prop card from the air, passing it to him as well.

Little Overlord observed their movements and noticed that the prop card Bai Lixin handed over faintly read “Ultra SS” and “Resurrection Card.”

He was stunned for a moment. “You’re going to use the Resurrection Card now? Who are you planning to resurrect?”

Could it be what he was thinking?

Were they planning to resurrect all the players?

But Little Overlord quickly regained his composure, and there was a gleam of joy in his eyes.

Resurrection was good. Then the game would continue, and he could transform large numbers of players into monsters to serve as his executioners.

‘These two idiots actually wanted to resurrect the players.’

‘Wasn’t that just handing over the pillow when I am desperate for sleep?’

‘I’m really looking forward to the next round of the game.’

Bai Lixin looked at Little Overlord and said, “Pandora’s Box, the gods placed countless disasters inside it, but they also gave humanity a precious gift. It lies at the very bottom of Pandora’s Box, and its name is—Hope.”

“Hope, that follows my will.”

Little Overlord was stunned again.

‘Hope? That follows my will? Doesn’t that mean they can make a wish?’

Dijia raised the resurrection prop card while opening Pandora’s Box.

“Fuck!’

Little Overlord finally realized what they were planning to do. His pupils dilated and he roared, “Stop!”

“Resurrect all the players who died in the horror game.”

“I hope for all the resurrected players to return to their real world.”

The man’s deep voice still rang out in the lobby.

Little Overlord: No!!!