470: 6.70 A Sliver Of Hope

6.70 A Sliver Of Hope

The earthquake receded and thick tension lingered in the air. The dust petered out to show the silhouette of the man that was still hanging in midair.  1

Immediately, Lu Yizhou's heart sank to the pit of his stomach. The chains might have been disturbed due to Lu Yizhou's light beam attack but it remained intact! Not even a hint of crack could be seen! Lu Yizhou could not believe his eyes. A sense of loss and helplessness overwhelmed. How…?

"Ha… Hahahaha!" Baines burst out into mad laughter as he yanked his hand out of Lu Yizhou's stomach and kicked him right on the yawning hole. Unable to react on time, Lu Yizhou crashed to the opposite wall before slumping down to the ground like a broken doll. "Foolish human! Do you think the chains can be broken by your meager power?"

No… It could not be. Lu Yizhou stared at the scene in front of him with bloodshot eyes. Why?! Why couldn't it work?! He had tried so many things he could think of but in the end, none of them worked. He knew he should not give up, that there must be something else he could do to free his lover but at this moment, doubt and despair started to creep into the corner of his heart. 

He told himself to stand up again. Move! He had to move! His mind was clamouring, alas his body no longer listened to him…

[System notification: Warning! Host's physical condition is rapidly deteriorating! Host's vitals are declining… 38%... 35%...]

[666: Aaaaah! Why does this always happen every single time?! QAQ 666 hated this world very much!!!]

Lu Yizhou struggled to keep his eyelids open as Baines took one step after another toward him. His vision was dotted in black and the loud buzzing in his ears were so loud that he could not hear anything else. It would be so nice to close his eyes and succumb to the darkness…

But at that moment, his gaze was drawn toward his trapped lover one more time and saw not only one, but three of them. 

Ella and Ellie.

They were saying something he could not hear. Lu Yizhou squinted his eyes hard to focus his vision.

'One more,' Ellie mouthed with tears streaming down her face. 'One more and everything will be over.'

Lu Yizhou furrowed his brow. He remembered that Ellie had told him the exact same sentence earlier in the library but he had not thought too much about it. One more? What did she mean by that…?

A bitter smile curled on the corner of Lu Yizhou's lips. Even if he knew, what could he do? Against Baines, he stood no chance at all. He could not bring himself to hurt his lover and Baines would keep taking advantage of the situation to push the line of his psychological defense bit by bit until it broke, throwing him into the pit of despair…

No! Don't think about nonsensical things! He could not allow any chink to form in his armor. Once he started to doubt himself, then he would fall into the trap Baines had set for him. There must be a way to free his lover and he refused to give up!

Lu Yizhou clenched his teeth. He had said it. He would drag Baines down with him even if it killed him. He was still breathing, he could still fight! Staggering, Lu Yizhou got to his feet and supported himself with the wall behind him, his breathing laboured. 

He already felt a bit better from his 'healing' skill albeit he could see that it was slowly taking a toll on his body. It was like drinking the same medicine for a prolonged period of time. The more he used the skill, his body would grow immune and he would need larger doses to achieve the same result, which would be impossible because his power was stuck on 60%.

"Oh?" Baines raised a brow, genuinely intrigued. "You're truly stubborn. Well, if you insist, then this servant has no choice but to fulfill your wish." He flicked his gaze toward the chained man, malice seeping into his tone. "I can't wait to see his reaction when he opens his eyes and sees your mangled corpse under his feet. Will he finally break down into pieces?"

Lu Yizhou's heart lurched just by the notion of it. He had no idea if he could restart this world because of the presence of the bug. But one thing for certain, it would certainly deliver a detrimental blow to his lover. He could not allow it to happen!

He spat out the blood on his mouth. "I'm sorry… but I won't die that easily."

"We will see." That was all the warning Lu Yizhou got before Baines vanished from his spot. After enduring Baines' attack for a few rounds, Lu Yizhou's body had started to grow accustomed to it. He dodged in reflex and Baines' fist was planted on the wall behind him, a huge web crack forming with his fist on the center.

Lu Yizhou jumped back and observed him warily. He had to survive. No matter what, he could not die under Baines' hands!

Before Baines could even pull his hand out of the wall, a horrifying scream full of anger suddenly echoed in the air around them. The roof shook and debris rained down from how powerful the scream was.

Lu Yizhou and Baines' faces changed in an instant. That was… Maureen's voice! Lu Yizhou had almost forgotten about her because he was too busy staying alive against Baines' merciless attack. And at the moment, he couldn't resist a sliver of hope that shone into his bleak heart. 

Had Ozzie defeated the black witch? 

Just as Lu Yizhou was thinking about it, the door to the cathedral suddenly slammed open and a group of people stumbled in. 

Ozzie looked worse for the wear as she hobbled forward with her front leg hanging awkwardly in front of her, fur blackened and bloodied in a few spots. As soon as she caught sight of Lu Yizhou's messy state, she instantly screeched in alarm. 'Daddy, what happened to you?!' She flew to Lu Yizhou's side and hovered around him anxiously. 'Oh my God, look at you! How can you end up like this?!'

666 immediately burst into tears. [Huwaaaa, 666 has been waiting for you! What takes you so long?! You did not answer anything in the mind link either!]

'I–I guess there's something off with the rooms. It can interfere with our link," Ozzie speculated. 'I have also tried to ask the situation on your side and got no answer!'

[666: *gasp* We have never heard your voice either! Oh my Admin God, this world is truly so terrifying!]

Lu Yizhou was so relieved that his body suddenly swayed, all adrenaline draining from his system. Ozzie was here. Not only that, Ji Yan, Olivia, Maureen and even Diana were also here! Maureen had been trapped in a golden cage, thrashing and kicking around to no avail. The scream earlier had come from her.

Seeing his bloody state, Diana was the first one to rush to him, her eyes complicated. "Are you okay?" Apparently, she finally woke up and found out that the system that had been terrorizing her mind for years was no longer here, compelling her to put her faith on Lu Yizhou. She knew now that Lu Yizhou really meant her no harm and hence, she was willing to put down the enmity between them and help him. "Here, I have a few healing potions you should take…"

Before Lu Yizhou could accept her offer, he suddenly saw Ji Yan and Olivia apprehending Baines from his peripheral vision. Olivia was holding onto a skill card, presumably one that could finish Baines off in an instance. 

Lu Yizhou's pupils suddenly shrunk. With a burst of strength that came out of nowhere, he shrugged Diana off and rushed to stand in front of Baines, separating him from the protagonists. "No! Don't hurt him!" 

Never had he expected that one day he would use his own body to shield the bug. Goddamnit! However, he had no other choice and he could not let the protagonists hurt Baines otherwise his lover would also receive the same backlash!

Ji Yan and Olivia were stunned, especially when they spotted the hideous smirk on Baines' face behind Lu Yizhou as though the old butler had known that this would happen. 

"What is happening?!" Olivia demanded with a glare. "Have you gone crazy, Irene?! Look at what he has done to you and you're still protecting him?!" Beside her, Ji Yan nodded hard in agreement. 

Just by looking at the chaos in the cathedral and the bloody state Lu Yizhou was in already gave them an insight on how fierce the fight was here. 

And what did they hear? Lu Yizhou still wanted to protect him?!

Olivia's face abruptly changed as suspicion surfaced in her mind. "Are you really Irene…?" 

pqdm.com