86: Chapter 85: The Only Achievement Across the Entire Server: Forced Quit of the Game

"No!"

Pei Duo shook her head violently, the terror of being abandoned instantly clenching her heart.

This wasn't some 'quarantine'; this was her brother deeming this place too dangerous, unilaterally kicking her out, forcibly stuffing her back into that safe world.

"I'm not leaving! Brother, don't chase me away!" Pei Duo reached out like she was crazy to grab the hem of Pei Fei's hoodie, but her fingers passed through like smoke, grasping nothing. "If I leave, you'll truly be all alone! Mom and Dad won't be able to see you anymore either!"

"What foolishness are you speaking? I am the Underworld Son of Heaven!"

Pei Fei showed no trace of sorrow. Instead, he stood with his hands in his pockets, a characteristic, infuriating smirk plastered across his illusory face, though his eyes were terrifyingly red.

"Your constant sniveling here is seriously affecting my performance. Haven't you heard? Women only slow down my sword drawing speed—sisters are the same."

As he spoke, the surrounding space began to vibrate violently.

Xibalba's god-level shielding rules, like countless gray firewalls, violently collided with the Underworld authority Pei Fei was forcibly invoking.

Pei Duo discovered in horror that the 'System Panel' in her mind, which felt like an extension of her own limbs, was being forcibly stripped from her body, thread by thread.

She was turning back into the college student who couldn't even twist open a bottle cap.

"No... Brother, don't mess around... Don't pull my internet cable!!" Pei Duo cried heart-wrenchingly, desperately mobilizing the residual power within her to resist, but this was a supreme authority lockdown from the Great Emperor of Fengdu; it was nothing her meager cultivation could stand against.

"Stop struggling. This is the 'Super VIP Service' I just negotiated with those ancient maya relics. This is called account cancellation for safety."

Pei Fei looked at his sister, who was crying a river of tears, his hand stuffed in his pocket clenched so tightly his nails were about to dig into his flesh. Yet, his face remained calm and composed, even showing a hint of impatience.

He had to be ruthless. A short, sharp pain was better than prolonged suffering.

He extended his illusory hand, not touching Pei Duo directly, but pointing across the distance at the black jade pendant on her chest.

"This broken stone used to be a talisman to protect you. Now, it's become a death warrant."

Pei Fei's voice softened, like when he coaxed her to sleep as a child, carrying a hint of careless tenderness: "Duo Duo, bear with it for a moment. Brother is going to uninstall the cheat I gave you."

Buzz—!

The black jade pendant trembled violently, emitting a crisp sound like a mournful cry.

A deep, pure stream of black light, seemingly containing supreme majesty, was forcibly extracted by Pei Fei from the jade.

As this stream of origin light returned to Pei Fei's illusory body, his figure instantly solidified for a second, but this divine artifact, which once intimidated all ghosts, made vengeful spirits in red kowtow and beg for mercy, and forced S-rank monsters to retreat three miles, instantly lost all its luster.

The cracks, previously concealed by divine power, now showed themselves hideously. Even accumulated dust could be seen in the fissures.

What hung around Pei Duo's neck was no longer some divine object, but truly just a piece of junk stone.

The one he picked up for two yuan at the Wuyou Grocery Store back then was now truly only worth two yuan.

"There. Done."

Pei Fei withdrew his hand, glanced at the lifeless stone, a flicker of imperceptible melancholy flashing in his eyes before he resumed his roguish demeanor.

As the origin returned, this clone completed its final mission and began to dissipate into specks of starlight.

"Time's up. It's time to log off."

Pei Fei took a step back, creating distance between himself and Pei Duo. He gazed greedily at his sister's face, as if trying to etch this immature appearance deep into his soul, yet his words remained harsh:

"From now on, this jade pendant is just a broken keepsake. No one can track you down through the internet cable anymore."

"Duo Duo, don't blame your brother for being selfish. The divine battles up here are too noisy; they aren't suitable for a weakling like you. It's enough for me to play up here alone."

Pei Fei's figure began to become ethereal, and his voice took on an echo:

"When you go back, forget everything that happened here. Take good care of those two live wires at home for me. Tell the old man to smoke less; his lungs are already black, yet he still smokes. Tell Mom not to go square dancing and fight people for territory; buy more good food instead."

"Live on safely, for my sake!"

"Brother!! I'm not leaving!!"

Pei Duo felt the irresistible thrust—it was the repulsion of rules, the entire world pushing her out. She reached out like she was mad, trying to grasp the last shred of his clothing, even just a corner.

Pei Fei gave her one last deep look; all the roguishness in his eyes collapsed at that moment, transforming into boundless reluctance and resolution.

"Go back to the mortal world and eat your braised spare ribs!"

He resolutely waved his sleeve, letting out a loud laugh—a laugh that was both arrogant and lonely.

A gentle yet immense power instantly enveloped Pei Duo, like a warm cocoon, pushing her toward the rift in the void.

A feeling of weightlessness struck, and Pei Duo's body flew backward uncontrollably.

...

"Hoo—Hah!!"

After a bout of intense dizziness, as if her soul had been forcibly shoved back into its shell, the world instantly returned to silence.

Pei Duo shot up from the bed, gasping for breath, her pajamas soaked with cold sweat, as if she had just been hauled up from the deep sea.

There was no smell of blood, no scent of decay, and none of that suffocating divine might.

Blinding sunlight streamed through the pale yellow curtains onto the floor, tiny dust motes floating in the air.

The incessant sounds of rush hour traffic horns from Jiangcheng drifted in from outside, the smoky atmosphere of a breakfast stall selling soy milk and fried dough downstairs, and the neighbor next door scolding a child for not finishing homework.

Everything was so real, so noisy, so... ordinary that it made one want to cry.

"System... Panel?"

Pei Duo murmured silently in her heart, her voice trembling.

There was no response.

The blue light screen, which represented transcendent power and could be summoned anytime, anywhere, had vanished completely. It was like a dream that never happened.

She frantically touched her chest, her fingers stiff.

Her fingertips brushed against something cold, rough, and hard.

Pei Duo lowered her head and tremulously pulled out the jade pendant.

In the morning light, the black jade pendant lay quietly in her palm.

No flowing radiance, no warm moisture, and certainly no sharp-tongued brother who might pop out at any moment.

The cracks on it looked like ugly scars, and a few bits of uncleaned dust were even stuck in the fissures.

It really was just a stone now.

Her brother, who was tough-mouthed but soft-hearted, who would descend to protect her no matter the distance, had truly pushed her away this time.

Even if he used the crudest method, even if he said the harshest words.

He had succeeded—he had sent her back to the mortal world completely unharmed.

The room was empty, the silence making her heart race.

Pei Duo tightly gripped the broken stone worth two yuan, slowly curling up in this world that was overly safe, where even a mosquito could be swatted dead.

Tears fell silently onto the bedsheet, blooming into dark stains.

She was safe.

But she had also become the loneliest mortal among the vast sea of people.