Chapter 201: I Am

Chapter 201: Chapter 201: I Am

Shi Zhile: "So, in the future, I really did blow up your interstellar civilization?"

Chuyi’s icy expression thawed for a moment. "You did, but not completely. Many people survived, and the ones who did were the deepest-hidden and most evil."

Shi Zhile: "Like the three of you?"

Chuyi fell silent.

Shi Zhile continued to ask, "How do I get back into the game?"

Chuyi pointed to himself. "Kill me."

Shi Zhile: "..."

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to kill him, but she wasn’t sure she could do it in a single strike.

Chuyi didn’t seem to care at all as she sized him up.

"You occupy a crucial position in the game. You might not understand if I just tell you directly, so let me give you an example."

"Think of the game as a formation array. And you, Shi Zhile—you are the chosen core of that array. When the core leaves the array, the array shatters, and the players trapped inside are released."

"But the game is different. If you leave the game, it gets damaged, and all the players inside will die from a lack of necessary resources. You could say you are the game’s core, the oxygen for every player inside."

If it weren’t for the serious look on Chuyi’s face, Shi Zhile would have thrown her axe at him already.

’This is what they call killing with praise, isn’t it!’

He was describing her as super powerful and incredibly important just because he was afraid she’d kill herself and take Jiang Yuxing with her.

’If what he’s saying is true, I’ve already left the game. Doesn’t that mean all the other players are dead, except for the ones in the curse instance?’

She would have been anxious if he’d said an instance was going to collapse, but pinning the fate of a game with hundreds of millions of people on her didn’t really faze her.

"A person doesn’t die the instant they lose oxygen, but a formation shatters the moment its core is removed. I’ve already left the game. So which am I right now, the oxygen or the core?"

’Being the oxygen means the players inside the game aren’t dead yet.’

’Being the core means the players inside are already all dead.’

Chuyi understood her hidden meaning. He took out an Energy Ball. Unlike the one in Shi Zhile’s backpack, the sphere he held was slowly fading.

"I stole this Energy Ball from the Interstellar Building. It connects directly to the game, and with enough power, it can even be used to control the game. It’s been 12 hours since you left. The ’oxygen’—the game’s energy—is dwindling. In 12 more hours, at most, all the players inside will die."

"Likewise, if you stay out of the game for 24 hours, you’ll die too. When I said the end of the game is you, it’s because you can choose to end it yourself and take everyone with you."

Shi Zhile’s brow furrowed slightly. When she held her breath, she could clearly feel her heart stop beating.

She knew she should be skeptical of Chuyi’s words, but she couldn’t gamble with her own life, or the lives of others.

"I want to know how I can get all the players out of the game safely."

Chuyi shook his head. "I don’t know. This survival game has no end unless it’s destroyed."

He paused for a moment. "Perhaps... your system can do it."

Shi Zhile was surprised. "You know I have a Wish System?"

"I do. And it’s not just me. Jiang Yuxing, Wang Peng, and even Xi Nan all know."

"Jiang Yuxing personally chose your system. He has many systems at his disposal. The Wish System is one of the most useful, but unfortunately, it lacks power and its consciousness is muddled, making it easy for Jiang Yuxing to control."

"You can use it, but you can’t trust it blindly. When it’s lucid, it’s a bit... not so bright, so it’s pretty easy to recognize. However, it’s not impossible that someone from the interstellar side might deliberately imitate it."

Shi Zhile’s gaze swept over the neatly folded quilt on the bed again. "Do they also need to fold quilts like this in the interstellar world?"

Chuyi faltered for a second, then handed her the Energy Ball. "The system’s power is channeled into the game through this Energy Ball. The energy here is the purest. I compressed the energy to its minimum, which reduced the resources and froze the game, freezing all the monsters along with it."

"This is for you. The rest of the game is in your hands now, too."

Shi Zhile took the Energy Ball, and in the next moment, it automatically merged into the palm of her hand.

"This..."

"You’re the core. The Energy Ball was always meant for you to control. Plus, the energy within it belongs to the Wish System, so it has automatically recognized you as its master."

"There isn’t much time left. Anything else you want to ask?"

"If I die, can I really take Jiang Yuxing with me?"

Chuyi: "If he’s inside the game, yes. But I advise you not to. If you die, the other players die too."

Shi Zhile: "Is the energy on Jiang Yuxing a system? How do you save the people he’s controlling? And where are Wen Bai and Sun Ci?"

Chuyi gestured for her to look at her palm. "If you’re looking for someone, the Energy Ball can help you. He does have a system, but the people he was able to control... are already dead."

’Dead!’

Shi Zhile’s heart clenched violently.

’Impossible!’

’My sister clearly had a heartbeat and was breathing. So did Jiang Jing and Tang Yan. How can someone with a heartbeat be dead?’

The image of Jiang Jing bleeding from all seven orifices flashed through her mind.

’The blood was black...’

’Only dead people bleed black blood!’

"But... but they... they were conscious and had heartbeats."

Chuyi didn’t answer, just watched her quietly.

After a long moment, Shi Zhile finally calmed down.

"What do I do?"

"Burn them!

"Do you know why they had heartbeats and consciousness at first? Because when a player dies inside the game, their body vanishes immediately. To preserve the corpse, you have to leave a single breath inside the body for control, right as they’re about to die but not quite dead yet."

"Once that breath dissipates, the puppet is complete."

"Only by burning the bodies can the puppets be destroyed."

Chuyi said this with a calm expression, his eyes reflecting Shi Zhile’s pale face.

The paler she became, the more detailed his explanation grew.

Only by feeling the pain herself would she know how to keep going.

Shi Zhile stood up, her grip on her axe tightening. "How can I kill Jiang Yuxing?"

Chuyi: "The System. A product that transcends both Earth and the interstellar."

The Wish System bound to Shi Zhile was their only hope, but right now, the system was too weak. It needed human help.

Shi Zhile was silent for a moment before looking at him. "Last question. Are you one of the Huaxia people? From our past life?"

Chuyi’s fingertips trembled. He clenched his fists, his eyes turning scarlet. "I am!"

In their past life, they had been comrades, working undercover together!

After the interstellar explosion, the true mastermind controlling everything was still alive. So, he lured Jiang Yuxing and Wang Peng into a wormhole to die with them.

But as fate would have it, the three of them ended up traveling through time instead.

To eliminate Jiang Yuxing’s suspicion and to gather more information, he stuck close to Jiang Yuxing, not daring to leave his side for a moment. He knew Jiang Yuxing’s brother was like him, which was why he sent a book to Jiang Yu.

He knew Jiang Yuxing had Wang Peng watching him, so he couldn’t befriend Shi Zhile. He had to make their relationship seem like fire and water to dispel their suspicions.

But in the end, there was still so little he could do.

"Comrade Shi Zhile, you should go now!

"The road ahead is long. Take care!"