Infinite spooky game

January 1, 2038, Shangri-La Snow Mountain.

After the team that went into the mountains discovered Lin Jue's body, the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation roughly understood the whole story of the gambling game that Lin Jue went to alone.

Lin Jue, through some unknown means, gained the trust of the Ancestral God, took over the supreme authority from him, and then used the God-Slaying Sword to kill himself, the new Ancestral God, exchanging the highest level of divine demise for the revival of the whole world.

The unknown has become known, and the Bureau of Paranormal Investigations is finally a little relieved, but it still dares not stop exploring the snow mountain, for fear that one day the snow mountain will crack open and those eerie things that were pushed back underground will crawl back into reality.

More and more teams are moving into the snow-capped mountains, clearing out many campsites for rest. The snowstorm that had blocked the way has subsided slightly after a year and a half of settling, and the Bureau of Paranormal Investigations' worries seem to be unfounded.

The nature of the snow mountain survey team gradually changed from a suicide squad to a tool for high-ranking officials to collect funds. Some fearless climbers and guides even continued their plans to reach the summit. The Bureau of Paranormal Investigation symbolically dissuaded them a few times, but then let them go.

"Brother Lin, what are your plans for the afternoon? Do you need any help?" At the Ghost Investigation Bureau's mountain camp, a young man in an orange windbreaker patted Lin Chen on the shoulder with a smile.

Lin Chen turned around and smiled at him, then shook his head: "No arrangements. Everyone can rest where you are and do whatever you want."

Over the past six months, Lin Chen, as a member of the snow mountain survey team, has repeatedly ventured into the most dangerous areas of the snow mountain for exploration, bringing back a wealth of valuable visual information. Therefore, during the expansion of the team a month ago, he was able to leave the original team and form a new survey team, serving as its captain.

He could sense that this expansion was merely a means for higher-ups to cash out funds. As a nobody, he had no choice but to go along with the trend. Regardless of what others did, since he was in this position, he should diligently perform his duties. And, perhaps he was overthinking it, he had a nagging feeling that the final chapter wasn't truly over yet…

Lin Chen's team members were all curious young people. Knowing his "dark history" as an "accomplice" of Siqi and the leader of the Unnamed Guild, they pestered him with questions all day long. Because Lin Chen was approachable and answered every question, they regarded him more as a friend than a superior.

"Brother Lin, don't try to fool us. I saw you even took out your mountaineering gear." The young man looked around mischievously and teased, "You're not going to go solo into dangerous territory again, hoping to make a name for yourself and get a workplace injury along the way, are you?"

"How could that be? Haha." Lin Chen chuckled. "I plan to take a stroll around the monument area and see how the nearby memorial hall is progressing."

The young man lost interest and retreated back into the tent: "Brother Lin, remember to come back early and be careful!"

Lin Chen nodded slightly, picked up his trekking pole, and walked step by step toward the construction site in the heart of the snow-capped mountain.

As the center of the land where the gods fell, the location of Lin Jue's corpse was filled with grand and bizarre phenomena in the heart of the snow-capped mountains for a long time. Unpredictable shadows roamed across the gray-white snow curtain, and the outlines of people and beasts crawled and moved, sometimes bright and sometimes dark.

These visions don't harm people, but they create illusions and affect their emotions. Everyone who enters the area of ​​the visions feels an inexplicable sadness from the bottom of their heart, like being at a funeral and being affected by the wailing crowd. Setting up a memorial here is most appropriate; at least everyone who comes seems sincere and earnest.

The living often indulge in pointless ways to commemorate the dead, using this as a way to demonstrate their moral character and noble qualities. Those who wished to trample Lin Jue into the mud during his lifetime now present themselves as his supporters. They fear his resurrection while simultaneously trying to embellish him as a radiant idol, tearfully demanding that the Federation build a monument and memorial in the snow-capped mountains at any cost to commemorate Lin Jue's sacrifice.

It is unknown how many people embezzled the project funds, but the towering building, officially named the "Monument to Humanity's Victory Against the Bizarre Game," stands majestically amidst the wind and snow. The images of Lin Jue and Fu Jue are engraved at the top, while the rest of the space is densely covered with the names of players who made outstanding contributions.

Lin Jue's body still knelt in the snow, the bronze sword piercing his chest reflecting an eerie light just as it had six months ago. No one dared to touch this strange ice sculpture, fearing unbearable consequences. The alarming tales grew increasingly bizarre, and people subconsciously equated Lin Jue's corpse with ghosts and evil spirits.

A grand commemoration is excessive, not to mention that citizens are often keen to contradict the Federation. Many people have put forward conspiracy theories, saying that Lin Jue was a madman who wanted to destroy all mankind, and that the Bureau of Paranormal Investigations only tried to give him a dignified end because he had once been under his leadership.

After a while, only a few people, including Lin Chen, were willing to come and visit the monument.

Lin Chen had many questions he couldn't figure out, such as the deaths of Si Qi and Lin Jue, and the gambling game involving gods and rules. But the corpses were destined not to give him the answers. He wandered around this area for months but couldn't find any useful clues.

He glanced at Lin Jue, whose expression remained calm, then at the towering monument, and suddenly realized something: "Wait, has the effect of the fall of the god faded? Why don't I feel any sadness, but rather a bit... joy?"

No, the influence did not subside; rather, it shifted due to the intervention of a higher dimension, polluting everyone's emotions in a completely opposite way, with joy replacing sorrow.

The previously subsided gale suddenly rose from the ground, whipping up the snowflakes and ice shards that had settled on the ground and scattering them into the air. The friction against the valley produced a sharp whistling sound, like the wails of ghosts that had accumulated resentment for millions of years.

The gray snow fog was so thick that it condensed into long, tornado-like streaks in the field of vision. The wildly dancing snow snakes swept across the distant glaciers and the nearby ice surface, ravaging the monuments and memorials.

Cracks appeared on the building's surface, spreading out like a spiderweb in just a few seconds. Lin Chen heard the monument cracking and saw stones fall to the ground, shattering into gray-black dust.

Not only the buildings, but the ice surface is also being damaged. Cracks extend to the foot of the ice sculptures, winding upwards like snakes. Lin Jue's body is shrouded in cracks, dissipating from the edges. His face is eroded, and his body is no longer recognizable as human. Silvery snow foam is blown into the sky by the wind.

Flesh and blood mingled with the ice, turning into dust. All traces of existence vanished at a visible speed, leaving behind a bronze sword piercing the ice layer at an angle, golden light beginning to permeate every crack from the tip of the sword.

The black tower pierced through the ice, rising like a bamboo shoot, standing tall and majestic on the snow-capped mountain. The sky where the tower's tip met was tinged with the golden hue of the setting sun, spreading across the surrounding firmament like paint dripped into clear water.

“Tower of Babylon…” Lin Chen murmured a word, and his previous vague premonitions finally came true.

The bizarre game is indeed not over yet... During the guild representative meeting, Yu Jinsheng once suggested that the final dungeon would be a tower climbing event; later, the players inexplicably boarded a bus heading to the snow mountain, without experiencing the tower climbing process, and assumed that the Tingfeng Guild's prediction was wrong; now it seems that things are not as simple as they imagined.

If the final instance is indeed a tower-climbing game, and the strange occurrences in Shangri-La Snow Mountain and the subsequent real-world events are merely the content of one level, then how many more levels are there? Just one level has already brought humanity to the brink of destruction. Now that Lin Jue is dead, what should humanity do next?
A feeling of despair welled up in Lin Chen's heart. He clenched his fists and then released them, his teeth trembling uncontrollably, making a clattering sound. But due to some force, he was smiling, his lips stiff and unable to move.

The sky had turned completely golden, the roots of giant trees stretched out from the cracks in the ice, and the silhouettes of broken stone walls and European-style buildings appeared in the distance. The snow-capped mountains, covered in silver, were adorned with the decorations of the Sunset Ruins, both strange and familiar. A figure in a scarlet robe stood beneath the black tower, his long hair almost reaching the ground. His crimson gaze was fixed on Lin Chen, a cold smile seemingly playing on his lips, but beneath it lay a deeper malice.

“Qi…Brother Qi?” Lin Chen stared wide-eyed at the face he would never forget.

Wasn't Qi Si dead? Why is he here? Is he... really Qi Si?
Having gone through so much, Lin Chen's attitude towards Qi Si was quite complex. Qi Si was a genuine villain, a madman, and a pervert, while Lin Chen was essentially an ordinary person who followed the rules and had some kind heart. If it weren't for the bizarre game, their fates would never have intersected.

Regardless, Qis had genuinely helped him a great deal and had never truly harmed him. Although he had repaid Qis with three lives, the debt of gratitude could not be measured by cold numbers. Emotionally, he inevitably leaned towards Qis, but rationally, he knew that those with different paths could not work together, and Qis should be his enemy.

"Lin Chen, if you trust me, share a room with me... I'm an experienced player, I've cleared a dungeon before, and I have some survival skills, unlike a newbie like you."

"You don't need to feel guilty. I'm not a good person; I've killed many innocent people. I'm just tired of playing around and want to find a place to rest. And you don't need to belittle yourself. Compared to scum like me who doesn't deserve to die, it's clearly more valuable of you to have survived."

"You saved me once in the 'Colosseum' instance; I've already repaid that debt."

Scenes from the past surfaced at the bottom of his memory, and Lin Chen seemed to have become that hesitant new player in the eerie game again, wondering how to face Qi Si and whether to continue to stand on the side of the Bureau of Espionage.

Then he saw the young man in red walk towards him step by step. His face was as pale as a ghost, and his features were as exquisite as a statue. Although each part of him had some resemblance to Qi Si, when put together, he did not look like Qi Si. Instead, he looked like a strange god.

The red-clad, red-eyed deity approached Lin Chen, a captivating smile gracing his face as he spoke softly and slowly: "You're still alive..."

Lin Chen hadn't expected this to be the opening line. He opened his mouth to say a greeting, but couldn't utter a single syllable. A sharp pain exploded in his chest as he watched helplessly as the hand of a god pierced through his chest and pulled out a still-beating, blood-red heart.

He stared blankly at the youth's flawless face, trying to find a trace of Qi Si within it, but even as his consciousness sank completely into darkness, he found nothing. The being before him was merely a god, no longer the Qi Si he knew.

……

Qi casually killed the person in his way, then leisurely returned to the Tower of Babel and stepped into the dark tower gate.

Golden vine shadows swayed in the cramped, dark space, while lines of silvery-white characters floated in the air, accompanied by solemn, rule-based whispers:
[Instance Name: World 47 - Snow Mountain]

[Instance Type: Final Instance - The Gods' Gamble]

[Those who passed the screening: Qi]

You can now proceed to the next level of the tower.

Qi never underestimates the wisdom of mortals, nor can he guarantee that Qis can beat everyone, but in a game played by one person, no matter how the rules change, He will be the only winner.

Now that Bai Ya and Lin Jue are both dead, and Li is confined to a human body, digging a fence somewhere unknown; only Qi remains who can continue to participate in the game of rules.

If Qi never returns to this world, then the bizarre game will undoubtedly end as humans believe.

"Snow Mountain" is the final instance. If the Ancestral God's plan is successfully implemented, the world will be restarted; if He fails, then the result will be that Lin Jue will use his own death to drive away all mystery and strangeness, creating a world without gods for mankind.

Just as the Ancestral God did not expect Qi to return, Lin Jue knew this but could not think of a way to deal with it, and could only do his best to accomplish everything he could.

What will happen next, no one can stop now.

Qi stepped onto the spiral escalator, heading to the second level of the Tower of Babel, where a new world unfolded before him. Lush vines covered the ground and stone walls, and layers of leaves hung down, concealing humanoid creatures with plant branches growing on their bodies.

"Another short-lived outsider..." The deep voice, accompanied by the rustling sound of plants growing, was cut off after only half a sentence.

The scene seemed to be paused, the frozen image slowly fading, and the silver-white text reappeared:
[Instance Name: World No. 47 - The Land of Immortality]

[Instance Type: Final Instance - The Gods' Gamble]

[Those who passed the screening: Qi]

You can now proceed to the next level of the tower.

In a game with only one participant, that person is naturally destined to be the winner.

Qi quickened his pace, ascending the stairs to the third, fourth, and fifth floors, where scenes of ocean, volcano, and aerial city changed before his eyes.

Standing atop the tower, He gazed down at the nascent World Tree within the golden sphere of light and smiled: "According to the rules, I will become the new Ancestral God. But more than that, I wish to become the rules themselves." (End of Chapter)