85: Chapter 84 The Only Weakness, The Final Farewell

Darkness does not mean nothingness.

As the illusion filter shattered, reality revealed its ferocious fangs.

The silhouettes that were merely shadows moments ago now tore off their disguise.

Dense, scarlet pinpricks of light ignited in the darkness, resembling the frantic, error-flashing red lights in a late-night server room, except behind every light lurked a mouth ready to devour people.

They were genuine S-Class Vicious Spirits.

Corrupted corpse fluid dripped onto the obsidian, sizzling and smoking.

The sound of claws scraping the ground was like a rusty saw grinding bone, making one's teeth ache and scalp tingle.

There was no retreat, no 'Strongest Brain' Xu Mo, and no 'Human Weapon' Lin Sa.

At this moment, Pei Duo was like a little white rabbit tossed into a den of hungry wolves; even trembling was an unnecessary action.

"Brother! Save me!!!"

The desperate cry was immediately drowned out by the monsters' roars.

A three-headed stitched monster attacked first, bringing a foul gust of wind, its hooked claws aiming directly for Pei Duo's throat—this strike was meant to disembowel her instantly!

She was doomed.

Just one hundredth of a second before the sharp nails pierced her skin—

Buzz!

The deathly silent black jade pendant suddenly erupted.

A scorching hot current instantly exploded, like clutching a miniature sun in one's hand.

Before Pei Duo could react, something terrifying seemed to 'awaken' inside the jade pendant.

It was furious.

With a violent fury of, 'Dare to touch my person, even the Heavenly King must die,' it exploded!

"Boom—!!!"

A brilliant black light radiated outward in a circular, nuclear-blast fashion from Pei Duo as the center, covering all angles.

There were no flashy techniques; it was pure dimensional suppression, a physical scouring of the land.

The supposedly indestructible obsidian walls crumbled like potato chips against this shockwave, shattering into dust with a 'crack.'

The ferocious S-Class Vicious Spirits rushing over didn't even have time to utter a final word before being vaporized by the black light, leaving no residue behind.

The darkness was forcibly torn apart, and light flooded in.

In the center of the devastating ruins, a tall figure slowly coalesced.

He wasn't wearing his signature baggy shorts and flip-flops, nor did he have that cynical, rogue-like grin.

At this moment, he was clad in a xuan qing daoist robe, the dark gold Six Paths of Reincarnation totem on the hem seemed to flow, he wore a Flat Heaven Crown, and held an illusory longsword condensed from rules.

He was no longer the friendly older brother who only played mahjong, but the Eastern Underworld Son of Heaven—Pei Fei—who suppressed the Western Underworld and made even Satan have to detour.

But his gaze at this moment wasn't on the ants that were instantly killed, nor was it on the crumbling divine kingdom barrier.

He only lowered his head, looking at his little sister huddled on the ground with tear-streaked cheeks, his eyes hiding an inexhaustible tenderness and helplessness.

"Brother!!"

The moment she saw that face, the taut string in Pei Duo's heart snapped.

All her grievances and fear burst forth like a breaking dam.

Ignoring the rubble on the ground, she scrambled up using her hands and feet, throwing herself into the figure who would always shield her, just like when she was little and ran to her parents after being bullied.

As long as she hugged him, she would be safe.

As long as she hid behind him, someone tall would hold up the sky if it fell.

However—

Thud.

Pei Duo stumbled through Pei Fei's body and crashed heavily into the dust on the other side.

Her arms grasped nothing but air; only a few wisps of cold yin energy slipped through her fingertips, like an elusive dream.

Pei Duo froze.

She knelt on the ground and turned back in disbelief.

Pei Fei was still standing there, still holding the posture of opening his arms to catch her, but his body was flickering like an unstable holographic projection, its edges beginning to blur.

"Duo Duo, I'm sorry."

Pei Fei turned around and slowly crouched down.

His illusory finger tried to wipe away his sister's tears but could only hover one centimeter above her skin, unable to make contact.

"This is just a sliver of will, a clone residing within the jade pendant."

Pei Fei's voice carried deep fatigue.

"That full-screen clear just now exhausted all the energy needed to break open Xibalba's Trial House.

Brother can't... hold you right now."

"How could this be..."

Pei Duo watched her hands pass through her brother's face again and again, her tears flowing even more fiercely, her heart feeling like it was tightly squeezed:

"Brother, since you're here, take me home, okay? I don't want the trial anymore, and I don't want to be the Eldest Princess.

Let's go home. I want to eat Mom's cooking..."

Pei Fei did not answer immediately.

"Duo Duo, listen to me."

Pei Fei's voice became serious, carrying an unquestionable majesty.

"This trial was actually my way of seeing if you could survive in this man-eating world if you lost all your cheats."

Pei Duo bit her lip, her head bowed so low it almost buried itself in her chest, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz:

"I... I messed up.

I believed the fake Xu Mo's words. I wanted to be lazy; I didn't want to use my brain..."

"It's not your fault. It's because your brother was too greedy."

Pei Fei gave a wry smile, the light in his eyes dimming slightly.

"I want to protect you, but I'm afraid that if one day I can't protect you, you will suffer.

But the result just now proves that your disposition... is not yet sufficient to handle the karma of being the 'Eldest Princess.'

In the eyes of Satan and those old schemers in the Supreme Heaven, your reliance on teammates is the most fatal vulnerability.'"

"Right now, you are like a target with its high beams on in the dark.

If you continue to wander around in the Thriller Game under the identity of a player, the targeting that follows won't be this kind of 'playing house' trial, but true divine punishment.

By then, let alone Xu Mo and Lin Sa, even I might not be able to protect you every time.'"

Pei Duo trembled all over; she had never seen her brother display such an expression of facing a grave enemy.

"Then... then what should I do?"

Pei Fei took a deep breath, as if making an extremely difficult decision.

"I cannot gamble your life on the chance that you will grow, nor can I let Mom and Dad bury their child."

Pei Fei stood up, the longsword in his hand dissipating, transforming into countless complex and obscure runes.

He looked at Pei Duo, speaking word by word, his voice carrying an absolute dominance that spanned eternity:

"The only way is to sever all your connections to the Thriller World.

To take you off this chessboard..."

"This is Xibalba.

The Maya Pantheon developed a top-tier 'Concealment and Shielding Technology' to evade the God Wars.

I just made a deal with those old bones and borrowed the highest authority for that technology.'"

Pei Fei pointed at the void-like data stream above his head, a hint of determination flashing in his eyes:

"I will use this technology to erase your Player ID at the rule level, making the system 'unable to see' you, and ensuring the Gods can never locate the Pei family's coordinates again.

Simply put—I'm going to forcibly pull your internet cable, cancel your account, and log you out for your safety!"