473: 8.73 Suicide Mission

8.73 Suicide Mission

The wounds on Lu Yizhou's body healed with a speed visible to naked eye. His strength that had nearly been depleted due to the fight with Baines suddenly shot off the roof. Raw power flowed in his veins, so intense that the air around him vibrated along. His silver eyes snapped open and they glowed as radiant as the strike of lightning amidst the stormy sky.  0

When his senses returned to him, he saw that there were only four people in the abandoned cathedral — him, Diana, Baines and his lover that was still chained midair. 

Ji Yan and Olivia were nowhere to be seen. Earlier, amidst the warning sirens of his declining vitals and the loud buzz in his ears, he seemed to hear the mechanical voice of a system saying that… the quest was already completed?

"No need to search for them anymore," Diana said quietly as if knowing his thoughts. One of her hands was still firmly holding onto the end of the white silk that was binding Baines. "As long as they have completed the main quest, they will be able to get out of this world. Later on, the system will grant them the plot card as a bonus."

Plot card? It must be the same as the original plot, Lu Yizhou surmised.

"I understand," he nodded. "For them, the last boss is Maureen the black witch. But for me…" His gaze trailed to Baines, icy cold. "I have to eliminate all of the bugs in this world and save the villain."

Diana took the initiative to share the information. "The villain I have to save is Madam Knox and because you have unlocked the true ending, you involuntarily helped me to complete my mission. For that I…" She took a deep breath. "I am grateful and also… I'm sorry that I tried to trap you inside the underground prison before. Back then, I really thought that your villain and mine were standing on two opposite sides. To save one, you have to kill the other – no in betweens. I really have to clear the quest this time or else…" Diana choked on her words, unable to continue any longer.

Her fists were clenched, trembling ever so slightly. With her head bowed down and her thin shivering figure, she looked extremely like a lost and pitiful child.

Once again, Lu Yizhou got the feeling that he was bullying a junior. Logically speaking, one could not judge someone's age by their appearance alone. Take Lu Yizhou as an example. He had already gone through seven worlds and his mental age could be said to rival an old man in his seventies. 

However, time flowed differently inside the simulator and in the real world. 

If 666's calculation was not wrong, then one year inside the simulator counted as one day in the real world. Let's say that Lu Yizhou had spent 100 years traversing through worlds. Then in reality, he had just been in a coma for around three months…

Diana might look like a fifteen years old teenager, but surely her life experience was even richer than Lu Yizhou and hence he stomped down the discomfort in his chest and asked, "How are you sure that your villain and mine are on the opposite side?"

It was the only thing Lu Yizhou failed to understand. From the start, Diana had been so sure that they were in two different factions. Therefore, she strived to save Madam Knox before Lu Yizhou could even deduce his lover's identity in this world. 

At first, he assumed that Diana had been brainwashed by 404. On the other hand he could see that her psychological quality was superb, otherwise she couldn't have come this far with the bug nestling inside her mind. She did not seem like someone whose principle could be altered by others.

A thought flashed through his mind. "The third time you entered this game… What happened?"

"You guessed it?" A trace of appreciation appeared in Diana's eyes. Then her face turned somber as she glanced at the chained man. "You're right. I met him last time."

Lu Yizhou clenched his fists and his body tensed in anticipation. He could tell that whatever Diana was going to say would give him an insight on his lover. "And then…?"

Diana shook her head, a bitter smile curling on her lips. "Previously, our progress was not as fast as this. We failed to unlock the true ending and the special quest was not triggered either. I didn't even know that the mannequin inside your bathroom is the real Madam Knox…" At this point, Diana suddenly trailed off. She closed her eyes with her brows furrowed as though replaying a terrible memory. "The full moon appeared on Friday night, Luca Knox fought my teammates while Madam Knox went against the black witch. However, she didn't stand a chance at all and was easily obliterated. My mission failed but strangely, I was not transported to the starting point like I did the previous two times. Do you know why?"

Lu Yizhou tilted his head to look at his unconscious lover. He could already tell the reason from Diana's story. "It was Sunday, wasn't it?"

"You're right," Diana confirmed his doubt. "The fight lasted longer than I expected because Luca was very strong. Right as the hour hand of the clock struck midnight on Sunday, this man opened his eyes." All colors drained from Diana's face and her voice trembled with fear. "It was like a purgatory on Earth. He tore Master, Madam Knox, and the black witch apart without even lifting a finger! Attack and control skill cards didn't affect him. All of my teammates were wiped out. And the most horrifying thing was, he was still chained! I narrowly escaped because I have a life-saving skill card…"

Lu Yizhou could almost picture what happened after that. His lover must have fought Baines and injured himself in return. He did not force Diana to elaborate. It was clear that she was frightened by what she had witnessed. 

No wonder… Diana chose to act on the very first day because she wanted to complete her mission as soon as possible before Sunday arrived. If Lu Yizhou had not solved the game so fast, perhaps she wouldn't have been so pressured that she resorted to faking her death so she could investigate on her own. 

The strange thing was, how did 404 the one who had triggered the special quest? 

Lu Yizhou could only make a speculation. Back then, he had triggered the main team quest and hidden quest just by blurting out nonsense. Also, the system in this world seemed to be able to record their thoughts. Majority of Lu Yizhou's discovery was kept in his own mind and shared only with Ozzie and 666, but the system could always adjust the progress of the quest accordingly. That's why Lu Yizhou was wary from the very first day and told 666 to lay low.

404 must have accidentally said or found something that triggered the special quest. It was a bug but still, it could not escape from the laws of the simulator. 

In the end, its intelligence ended up exposing its existence and the rest was history.

While Lu Yizhou and Diana were engaged in a conversation, Baines had been silently trying to free himself. Slowly, he squirmed out of the white silk but unfortunately, every movement of his was transmitted toward Diana. 

Her gaze sharpened as she pulled on the silk. "Don't move!"

Lu Yizhou saw the silk wrapped tighter around Baines, almost turning him into a meat patty and he hastily caught the silk in the middle to slow its momentum. "Stop!" He hissed. "I've said not to touch him!"

Diana looked at him with apprehension and frustration. "It's no use, Irene. When that man awakened, he would go crazy! He would not be able to recognize anyone else. Don't you know that the bugs pull you here because it's a suicide mission? No matter what you do, you will not be able to save him!"

No, his lover would not hurt him! Lu Yizhou instinctively wanted to deny. In this world, there was no one who knew his lover better than him. However, Diana had seen what his lover could manage. Even if Lu Yizhou tried to convince her until his saliva ran dry, she would not believe him because the fear had been embedded into her soul. 

"She's right," Baines interjected with a hint of amusement. He did not show a hint of panic at being tied up and cornered by two transmigrators. "This is indeed a suicide mission. Are you still holding onto the fantasy that you're a hero who will come to save the damsel in distress? Let me tell you a secret. The chains holding him captive are not my doing, it's not anyone else's doing either."

Lu Yizhou froze. What did he just say…?

Meeting Lu Yizhou's horrified eyes, Baines leisurely dropped the bomb. "It's his own doing! He's the one who put himself in this kind of situation. Do you know why?" A sinister laugh escaped Baines' lips. "It's because the darkness inside him is too strong! He can't even control it himself! Once the chains break free, his power will go berserk and this world will become a large black hole that devours everything!"

"Go on." Baines barked out a triumphant guffaw. "Kill me and you will kill him. Free him and everyone will die here. Either he dies here or both of you die together, your choice!"

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A/N: Those who want to stomp on Baines, line up here :)

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