50: Chapter 50 The War of Gods Begins: The Eldest Princess's Unlimited Budget

Cloud Top Manor, Underground Safe House.

As the thermostat cabinet emitted a light hiss from its air valve, the white mist dissipated.

Lin Sa gripped the pair of scarlet daggers in her hand. The moment her fingertips touched the hilts, a shriek like ten thousand bats exploded in her ears.

"What vicious things."

Lin Sa flicked her wrist, and two red beams carved an 'X' shaped kill line in the air. The air itself seemed to be sliced open, and that faint scent of blood clung to her nostrils, impossible to shake off.

The lunatics over at the Special Operations Bureau's Equipment Division had pulled an all-nighter to grind down the pair of 'Vampire Progenitor Fangs' into these 'Blood Kisses'. They left off the handguards and decorations, focusing purely on maximum lethality.

Read good books from Taiwan, super relaxing.

Not far away on the sofa, Xu Mo was pinching a surgical needle and thread, carefully sewing a yellowed sheepskin scroll into the innermost layer of his shirt, like an old craftsman mending socks at a roadside stall.

That was the 'Cain's Sanctuary,' the three-second man moment.

For Xu Mo, a top-tier schemer who believed 'output only comes when you're alive, death means you're just a corpse,' survival items weren't just welded onto him; he felt even implanting them under his skin wasn't secure enough.

"Strategist Xu, can you stop sewing it like a patch?" Pei Duo sat cross-legged on the carpet, still clutching the bag of 'Special Issue' caramel sunflower seeds, crunching away happily. "Anyone who didn't know better would think our Underworld is facing a fiscal deficit and can't even afford decent clothes."

"Your Highness, this is called tactical concealment, and it's also a respect for life." Xu Mo didn't look up, bit off the thread, and casually pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. "Lin Sa is the blade, I am the shield, and as for you..."

He looked up, his gaze sweeping over Pei Duo's left hand, which held the black jade pendant. Her grip appeared casual, but her knuckles were slightly white from the force.

"You are the standard-bearer."

Pei Duo paused, just about to retort with a witty remark, when the independent alarm system of Cloud Top Manor—a system boasted to withstand nuclear strikes—erupted without warning.

Woo—!!

The sound wasn't as crisp as a conventional air-raid siren; rather, it resembled the dying wail of some deep-sea leviathan, carrying a chilling coldness that burrowed into the bone marrow.

Red light flashed violently, and the entire safe house instantly turned into a darkroom for developing photographs.

"Enemy attack?!" Lin Sa shot up, her muscle memory faster than her brain. The 'Blood Kisses' were held across her chest, her entire body instantly taut like a fully drawn bow.

"Wrong!" Xu Mo stood up abruptly, his face turning ashen. "The air... the air has changed!"

The refreshing fresh air system had failed, replaced by a stench so thick it was nauseating—a sickly sweet floral scent of decay mixed with the pungent smell of sulfur.

It was the smell of marigolds, the scent of the flower of death.

The countdown timers on the wrists of the three had not reached zero, but the holographic panels before them violently popped up as if infected by a virus.

This time, the interface was no longer the cold, deep blue.

The field of vision was violently torn in half. The left side was the gloomy, mournful green of the Underworld, and the right side was the scorching scarlet of the Purgatory. The two colors wrestled like savage beasts, frantically tearing and eroding each other's boundaries.

[Warning! Warning! High-Dimensional Rule Forced Override!]

[Underlying Logic Reconstructing...]

The block characters on the screen began to twitch wildly, undergoing a horrifying mutation as if they had come alive. Over the original system font, a layer of ghostly green 'Underworld Yin Script' and a layer of scarlet 'Aztec Divine Runes' crawled like insects.

Gibberish cascaded down the screen like a waterfall. Xu Mo stared intently at the distorted characters, his brain overclocking, cold sweat trickling down his temples.

"It's not a BUG..." Xu Mo's voice was dry, as if he had swallowed sand. "This is two mythological systems borrowing the shell of the game... War has begun!"

Sizzle—

Accompanied by the crackling sound of burnt electricity, a line of large characters, dripping with blood and carrying an overwhelming killing intent, forcibly froze on the main screen.

[Mythological Instance: Mictlan's Day of the Dead]

[Background: The Queen of the Underworld of the Aztec sacrificed her Divine Kingdom to launch a revenge attack on the Eastern Underworld. Standard protection mechanisms have been melted down; only S-rank and above clearers and Gods Chosen One are forcibly admitted.]

"Sacrificing a Divine Kingdom..." Lin Sa sucked in a sharp breath, her scalp tingling. "She wants to drag us down with her!"

Buzz—!

The black jade pendant on Pei Duo's chest, silent for a long time, suddenly became scorching hot, like a branding iron.

A familiar black mist surged out, domineeringly carving out a pure black absolute domain amidst the intertwining red and green vision.

"Duo Duo."

Pei Fei's voice came through. Gone was his usual languor and teasing; only a solemnity and murderous intent capable of crushing the heavens remained.

"Listen, time is short. That lunatic blew up her own Divine Kingdom just to drag you in with her."

Pei Duo's fingers tightened around the jade pendant, her nails almost digging into her flesh: "Brother, where are you?"

"Brother is outside, currently demolishing her ancestral home." Pei Fei spoke extremely quickly. The background noise faintly carried the roar of collapsing city walls. "But this time is different. This is a deadly rule-based trap she achieved by shattering her Godhead. Even I am temporarily blocked outside. This time, Brother can't cover for you anytime like before."

The safe house fell deathly silent, only the shrill wail of the alarm still echoing.

Even Xu Mo's heart sank to the bottom. Losing the absolute martial suppression of the Underworld Son of Heaven, facing a crazed Western Main God, were these few ants enough to withstand one stomp from her?

Just then, Pei Fei changed his tone, his voice carrying an arrogance that looked down upon the world.

"But Duo Duo, remember, the channel of the 'Fengdu Sacrificial Art' is based on the fundamental law; no one can sever it! From this moment on, the Underworld's internal treasury is fully open to you!"

The black jade pendant vibrated violently, as if transmitting a heavy authority capable of crushing mountains.

"The situation inside is unknown, and Brother can't judge what you need. Therefore, this time, you decide."

"When to perform the sacrifice, what to use as bargaining chips, which army of the Underworld to call upon to break the deadlock..." Pei Fei's voice was like a great bell, heavily striking Pei Duo's heart. "All of this, you decide for yourself!"

"Remember, you are the Eldest Princess. In that instance, you are the will of the Underworld!"

The voice abruptly stopped.

Pei Duo lowered her head, looking at the black jade in her hand, which was gradually cooling.

Xu Mo and Lin Sa exchanged a glance, both seeing the worry in the other's eyes. Asking a sophomore who hadn't even graduated to command resource allocation at the level of a God War? That pressure was likely heavier than Mount Tai.

"Sister Lin Sa."

Pei Duo suddenly spoke, her voice unnervingly calm.

"Here.", Lin Sa responded instinctively, her muscles tense.

"Put away that bag of sunflower seeds."

Pei Duo raised her head and solemnly placed the unfinished bag of sunflower seeds on the table.

In her eyes, which were originally clear and naive, there was now a trace of majesty that made people afraid to look directly at her. It was the aura cultivated from being constantly immersed in imperial power, absorbing it by osmosis.

She carefully tucked the jade pendant close to her body and gently patted her chest.

"Brother can't enter this instance. He is restricted by the rules." Pei Duo's lips curled into a cold smile, a hint of Pei Fei's shadow appearing in it. "But he gave me the key to the national treasury."

"Since we are fighting for Brother, we must fight beautifully. We cannot disgrace the Underworld."

Xu Mo looked at Pei Duo now and the hand adjusting his glasses trembled slightly.

He realized that the little sister who only knew how to cry hiding behind her brother was gone. Standing before them now was the true Eldest Princess of the Underworld, holding trillions of ghost currency and backed by a hundred thousand Yin soldiers.

Xu Mo took a deep breath, instantly entering character, a sharp light flashing in his eyes. "Your Highness, give the order."

Rumble—!!

With a loud crash, the dome of the safe house was violently shattered by a thick beam of light.

This transmission light beam was extremely bizarre; red and green energies were wildly slaughtering each other within it. The red light carried a violent, tearing force, attempting to crush the three into dust; while the ghostly green light firmly protected the three, resembling an indestructible eggshell.

"Duo Duo!!"

A piercing cry was heard. Father Pei and Mother Pei rushed into the ruined living room, ignoring the obstruction of the SWAT officers.

Seeing their daughter standing in the center of that bizarre storm, Mother Pei's legs went weak, and she almost collapsed.

"Dad, Mom!"

Pei Duo did not turn back, her back to her parents. Her voice was slightly broken amidst the fierce wind, yet exceptionally firm.

"Don't be afraid. I'll be back soon."

She turned around, facing the two elders through the curtain of life and death, and showed a brilliant smile, as relaxed as when she used to walk home from school.

"Let's go!"

Pei Duo gave a low shout.

The three stood back to back: Lin Sa holding her blades, Xu Mo forming hand seals, and Pei Duo holding the jade in the center. Like reefs in a raging tide, the three were firmly rooted in place, allowing the interwoven red and green light to swallow their figures.

The countdown reached zero.

In the second before completely vanishing, Pei Duo looked up, her gaze piercing through the light beam to stare directly at the faintly visible scarlet giant eye floating in the void, filled with resentment and greed.

She showed no fear.

That look was exactly like that of a seasoned, top-tier hunter watching a beast willingly jump into a trap.