Global Collapse-Chapter 425 - 404: I sincerely pray that this Chapter has nothing to do with its - number_2
The pursuers were closing in from behind, and the distant creature had also moved closer, barely visible in the darkness of night. Seeing the crevasse ahead and the creature slowly advancing towards this side, a daring thought emerged in Gu Mian's mind.
"Stop!" These two words appeared at the bottom of the screen, a call from one of the men behind.
But of course, Gu Mian wasn't going to stop. The Holy Daughter, left with only a sliver of health, was on the verge of death. It wasn't a big deal if the Holy Daughter died, but Gu Mian didn't want his teammate to die on the spot.
Looking back at his dogged pursuers through his character's shadow, he muttered, "You're in for some serious trouble!"
Of course, no one could hear him. His pursuers were relentless. Pressing down on the keyboard, he rushed towards his destination. Just as he'd thought, he could squeeze into the crevasse. Without a second thought, he dove in. The slender Holy Daughter slipped easily into the narrow crevice, and the men closely pursuing her seemed to want to follow her in.
A few strands of moonlight barely penetrated the darkness of the crevice. Under this dim light, the Holy Daughter suddenly turned, wielding a long-handled shovel.
Gu Mian swung at Curly Hair, who was halfway into the crevice. The already injured man's face now bore another bright red gash. Due to the confined space, Gu Mian couldn't wield the weapon effectively; its power was greatly reduced, but he managed to keep his pursuers at a distance.
"Back, back!" The leading man anxiously retreated, but he was blocked by the people rushing in behind him. He took several hits from Gu Mian before finally making his way out of the damp and gloomy crevice.
The man who had just rushed out of the crevice shot a gloomy look over. Gu Mian saw him talking, and then a line of text appeared on the screen: "You can't hide for long. We'll catch you soon."
However, the few strands of moonlight that had originally penetrated the crevice suddenly disappeared as if something had blocked them.
Gu Mian glanced upwards along the crevice before him. A huge shadow had unknowingly appeared behind them.
The people standing in front of the crevice seemed to have noticed it. They turned around to look.
That was their last glance backward; after a few screams, their bodies lay lifelessly on the icy ground, seemingly in disbelief at the tragic fate brought about by this 'Holy Daughter'.
Gu Mian took advantage of their deaths and retreated further into the crevice. It was pitch-black, and he could hardly see anything.
The crevice seemed to lead somewhere. This was the easternmost side of the village. Gu Mian remembered this place as the final settlement of the Crusaders—those evil people who had killed his older brother and the Holy Daughter's family. He wondered what expressions they would wear if they met her now. The final memory fragment should also be here; the execution rack used to burn his friend was likely hidden in this place. The stone walls scraped against the Holy Daughter's clothes. Gu Mian lit his lighter, illuminating the path, and walked deeper into the crevice.
"As long as I can touch the execution rack, I'll turn into a demon," Gu Mian thought, navigating the dark crevice while glancing at the health bar in the top-left corner of the screen. "Though I'm barely alive, as soon as I touch the execution rack, I'll be unstoppable."
If I'm a bit more daring, the Holy Daughter who touches the third memory fragment will directly turn into a demon. The village will suffer the same fate as before, and in the end, the game will display an ending like ["Repeat the Old Path"].
By this time, Gu Mian had already visualized the scene on the screen upon reaching such an ending.
Perhaps there were also endings like ["Delicious Dish on the Table"] and ["Monster Cannon Fodder"], but achieving these wouldn't mean clearing the instance, just that some companions would die in it. Fortunately, I've essentially avoided these two endings now.
At this moment, Gu Mian finally saw light coming from ahead.
A faint firelight streamed in from the crevice ahead. Gu Mian snuffed out his lighter and continued forward. He was about to leave this place and go find the execution rack.
But he hadn't been walking long before text appeared again at the bottom of the screen. This would only appear when the speaker was quite close to him.
"I'll return to the village first. I suppose the first Holy Daughter of the day has been thoroughly dealt with. When all the Holy Daughters are done, we will give you some food."
Looking at these words, Gu Mian inexplicably thought of the village chief.
Another line of text then appeared on the screen below, seemingly from another person: "You are indeed a kind village chief. Despite our past wrongdoings, you still graciously share meat with us."
"As all of our villagers are kind-hearted, they, of course, couldn't bear to see anyone going hungry. Today's Holy Daughter does not seem to be very smart, so I think we will be able to eliminate all the Holy Daughters very soon. Perhaps we'll be able to bring you food by tonight."
"I am truly thankful for that."
Seeing the words on the bottom of the screen, Gu Mian stepped back a few paces. It seems the village chief's late-night outing was to bring comfort to the Crusaders, sacrificing his own food to fill the stomachs of these murderers. What a truly qualified and benevolent village chief, Gu Mian thought sarcastically.
At this point, the cordial conversation outside had come to a halt.
"I shall take my leave now and go check on the Holy Daughter."
"Alright."
Following that, a figure appeared ahead, seeming to squeeze inside. It was the village chief, Gu Mian realized.
Gu Mian took a few more steps back in the narrow crevice, pressing himself tightly against the wall and switching to the kitchen knife he'd taken from the butcher. He made sure he was concealed in the darkness, undetected by the approaching person.
He decided then to give the village chief a big surprise, letting him know the Holy Daughter's situation right here and now.
The area was very dark. Unless the village chief had a light, he wouldn't notice the Holy Daughter lying in wait until he came very close.
Luckily, the village chief didn't bring a source of light. He seemed quite familiar with this crevice and could navigate freely even by touch in the dark. However, tonight was different. After groping his way forward a short distance, he noticed something peculiar: a white figure appeared before him.
Immediately following that, he heard a CLICK.
It was the sound of a lighter being ignited.
An orange-yellow light burst from the fingernail-sized flame, spreading all around. The chief, his head bent down, slowly looked up from the worn shoes in front of him to the blood-soaked clothing, which emanated a menacing and ominous aura. Further up, he encountered a familiar, gaunt face.
She was smiling.
Of course, Gu Mian didn't give him the chance to scream. He frantically mashed the attack key until the figure before him turned a vivid red. Under the soft glow, the village chief's mouth was slightly agape, his eyes wide in terror. The expression of fear solidified on his face, as if he had come face-to-face with the most terrifying demon in the world.
Gu Mian looked at the corpse displayed on the screen and muttered to himself, "Letting an old man pass by here and see all these bodies scattered about wouldn't be good. It could give him a heart attack. So, you'll just have to die here first."
With the village chief gone, Gu Mian had his character step over the body and continue forward. He would soon leave this crevice, and those waiting for food on the other side probably hadn't expected the Holy Daughter to arrive so quickly.
When he reached the exit, Gu Mian paused to check if any subtitles appeared at the bottom of the screen. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
After about half a minute, no new subtitles had appeared. It seemed there was no one around the exit, Gu Mian concluded.
Only then did he boldly walk out.
Moonlight once again shone on the Holy Daughter. This was a slightly wider canyon. Looking up, Gu Mian could see a sliver of night sky squeezed between the rock walls. On the ground, houses were built close against the stone. At this late hour, everyone was presumably asleep; even the Crusaders whom the chief had just left had likely gone back inside.
"So this is the Crusaders' den? The group that killed the Holy Daughter's parents and older brother," Gu Mian mused.
Gu Mian's gaze traveled past the rows of houses built against the stone walls, focusing on a large, dark, rack-like structure in the far distance.
