66: Chapter 66 Xu Mo, out of the game?!

The concentration of awkwardness in the air instantly became excessive.

Zhao Tie's foolish smile froze for half a second, then he scratched his head with a hint of helplessness.

"Brother Xu Mo, I know you think fast and are very suspicious. But how can things in this instance always follow common sense? If you don't believe me, smell this."

He pointed at the black opening and wiped the mucus off his body again: "The nests of those Dark Elves just now were full of this acidic liquid. I'm covered in it. I rubbed against it in that blind spot, and unexpectedly, the obsidian turned brittle like a cracker when it touched this liquid—it crumbled with one smash. I just dug my way out along the crumbly spots."

As he spoke, he showed Xu Mo his glove, which was covered in corrosive marks, playing the part of having proof to back up his story.

"Xu Mo!" Lin Sa wiped away her tears and immediately stood in front of Zhao Tie, her tone tinged with anger.

"Zhao Tie just saved my life! If it weren't for his collision, I would be meat paste right now!"

"Besides, didn't that guiding god also say that those Mexican chosen ones were trapped? How could there be a fake one now? Can you stop treating everyone like they are the bad guys?"

Xu Mo remained silent.

Through his lenses, his gaze swept back and forth between Lin Sa's swollen yet determined eyes and Zhao Tie's 'frank' face.

Did I overthink things? Can there really be miracles of good deeds being rewarded in this mythology instance?

Xu Mo took a deep breath, and the cold glint in his eyes slowly receded. The tension left his body.

He nodded, his tone softening considerably: "Sorry, occupational hazard flared up. It's good that you're alive."

"It's fine, it's fine. We're all just trying to survive; being cautious is never wrong." Zhao Tie waved his hand magnanimously.

He looked as honest as an old farmer just off work. "Let's hurry to the altar. Once we take the picture, we can leave this cursed place."

The three of them supported each other and walked toward the familiar black sacrificial stone door not far away.

The old camera stood silently before the stone door, like a cyclops waiting to feed, coldly observing the three 'survivors'.

"Let's rest for a bit." Zhao Tie collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily, his chest heaving. "Digging that hole just now drained every ounce of my strength. Let's recover a bit. If the next floor has an instant kill trap, being in this state now is like delivering takeout."

"Okay." Lin Sa was also at her limit and sat down to wrap her wound with a bandage.

Xu Mo did not sit.

He stood beside the camera, slowly taking off his glasses and pulling out a piece of velvet cloth from his pocket.

He breathed on them, then wiped them. The action was infuriatingly slow, as meticulous as if he were cleaning a rare treasure.

Anyone who knew him understood that when Xu Mo started cleaning his glasses, it usually meant his brain's CPU was starting to overclock.

"Zhao Tie."

Xu Mo suddenly spoke, "The next floor is the first floor, which is also the final stage of this broken instance. Given the nature of the Thriller Game, the difficulty will definitely be Hell-level. Remember to keep your alloy tower shield at the very front. For this kind of terrain, we still need you to act as the meat shield."

Zhao Tie was looking down, adjusting the protective gear on his knees, and replied casually without looking up, "Don't worry, Brother Xu Mo. As long as I, Zhao Tie, have one breath left, I will definitely die in front of you guys."

Lin Sa nodded from the side, her tightly strung nerves finally relaxing.

However...

The hand wiping Xu Mo's glasses stopped.

He slowly placed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose and pushed up the frames.

In that instant, the scholarly air around him vanished completely, replaced by a chilling coldness, like a drawn sword.

"Still standing?"

Xu Mo's voice suddenly rose, sounding less like a question and more like a verdict: "Zhao Tie's alloy tower shield was cut into pieces by the bats back on the third floor!"

"You don't have a shield at all!"

"You are not Zhao Tie at all!!"

Lin Sa suddenly looked up, staring at her 'savior' beside her with utter astonishment, her brain instantly crashing.

The moment the disguise was torn away, the air seemed to be instantly sucked dry.

The honesty and relief of surviving a disaster on 'Zhao Tie's' face...

In that second, it receded like a tide, revealing the jagged reef underneath.

There was no panic, nor any attempt to argue.

He just slowly raised his head. The face was still Zhao Tie's, but the expression was twisted like a demon crawling out of hell. His mouth split open to his ears, revealing a smile full of mockery:

"Oh... you're quite smart."

"Too bad. In horror movies, the smart ones usually die the earliest."

"Be careful!!" Lin Sa screamed, instinctively reaching for her knife.

Too late.

The target of this 'Zhao Tie' was not Lin Sa beside him; he didn't even glance at her.

His already coiled right leg shot out like a battering ram, carrying a piercing whoosh of air, striking Xu Mo without any warning!

This kick was not only fast but also vicious!

"Bang!"

A dull thud that made one's teeth ache.

Xu Mo felt as if his chest had been hit head-on by a speeding truck. His ribs instantly shattered, and his whole body flew backward like a kite whose string had been cut.

That direction... was outside the camera's frame!

"No!!" Xu Mo spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air, clawing frantically with both hands, trying to grasp even a single lifeline.

But he was getting farther and farther away from the camera, watching helplessly as that 'safe zone' drifted away from him.

"Click!"

"Zhao Tie" pinned down Lin Sa, who was trying to rush out to save him, with one hand, while the other hand precisely, gracefully, and ritualistically pressed the shutter button.

This press was not just pressing the shutter; it was confirming the death sentence.

The blinding white light of the flash instantly severed reality from illusion, like the Grim Reaper's scythe.

Photo generated: Lin Sa's face showed terror, and the 'Zhao Tie' beside her smiled eerily and wildly.

And Xu Mo was not in the shot.

Xu Mo crashed heavily onto the ground, the intense pain nearly making him faint. He looked at the sneering 'Zhao Tie', and at Lin Sa, whose eyes were gradually becoming vacant as her memory was forcibly altered by the rules.

His body began to disintegrate like wind-eroded sand sculpture, dissolving into countless light particles that scattered into the air.

Am I going to die?

Is this the end? Or was I just one step too slow...

"Heh..."

Xu Mo let out a tragic smile, his body completely dissipating into the void, not even a speck remaining.

Lin Sa shook her head, her eyes momentarily distant, then she looked at Zhao Tie beside her with some confusion: "Did someone just say something?"

"No, it was just the two of us," Zhao Tie stood up, brushed the dust off his hands, his tone as natural as if nothing had happened. "Let's go, the door is open, don't waste time."

The two crossed the stone door, their figures disappearing into the darkness.

The altar was empty, dead silent.

Except for...

A token, pitch black like ink and emitting a faint, cold light, lay quietly where Xu Mo had vanished.

Pei Fei's underworld emissary token given to Xu Mo.

A slender, fair hand gently picked up the token.

Pei Duo's small face was devoid of its usual childishness; in its place was a chilling coldness that struck fear into the heart.

She looked down at the token in her hand and could clearly feel a faint but tenacious flame of the soul flickering inside the token.

That was Xu Mo's nascent soul.

Just a second before the rule-enforced obliteration descended, this token, representing an official position in the Underworld, forcibly intercepted and sucked Xu Mo's soul in before the erasure.

The physical body died, but the soul was not extinguished.

Pei Duo stroked the token, an unprecedented murderous intent showing in her eyes.

Pei Duo gripped the token tightly and stepped through the stone door.