Infinite spooky game

Above the snow-capped mountains, the shadow of the Tower of Babel blotted out the sun, almost enveloping the entire Shangri-La. Sub-zero temperatures and blizzards, carrying a chill capable of freezing everything, swept through the Bureau of Investigation's camp. The newly lit campfire froze solid, turning into a block of orange-red ice.

As soon as the Tower of Babel appeared, Li Yunyang picked up his trekking poles and rushed into the heart of the snow-capped mountains. When he arrived, the monument and Lin Jue's body had vanished, leaving only dust from the melting ice.

Lin Chen lay supine in the snow, his chest riddled with a huge, gaping hole, the crimson blood staining the snow beneath him, which shimmered a delicate pink in the setting sun.

Only beings at the level of gods could accomplish all this in an instant, but how could a god appear in this land of fallen gods? And which god has come?
Chu Yining had left a prophecy that Qi Si would return to reality after Si Qi's death, but a year and a half of peace was enough to breed too many possibilities. The unsubstantiated prophecy was more like alarmist intimidation than a solid speculation.

Moreover, if it really is Him, why would He kill Lin Chen?
Li Yunyang couldn't understand it, but the fact that a god had descended had already happened, so these questions no longer mattered. She picked up the walkie-talkie and shouted, "All team members, listen up! Cease all operations and retreat immediately!"

The crackling sound of electricity lingered in her ears, and Li Yunyang was unsure if the message could be transmitted. She gazed at the open doorway of the Tower of Babylon, unconsciously gripping her specially made pistol, and cautiously approached.

A sharp pain shot through the soles of her feet, making it impossible for her to take another step forward. She looked down and saw that hard ice had somehow climbed up her ankles, spreading all the way to her waist and heart.

Life slipped away irresistibly; she opened her mouth but could not breathe, and her last sight was of the [Eternal Priest] identity plaque emerging from her chest.

A figure in red robes and black hair appeared before him, carrying a bronze longsword in one hand and holding a black and white card in his sleeve with the other.

She looked at the man's face, a face that had appeared on the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation's most wanted list, yet it was exquisitely different.

Her lips trembled as she silently uttered two words: "Qis..."

……

In a villa in the center of Jiangcheng City, Yu Jinsheng sat in a wheelchair, rapidly turning the wheels towards a dark room behind the wall.

In a split second, blood-red threads appeared around him, instantly binding his limbs and immobilizing him and his wheelchair.

Blood-red lines bulged on the skin along the veins, bringing a stinging pain like needles. The omen of death was coming one after another, but Yu Jinsheng had expected it and sighed softly.

The effects of the soul contract never faded. He even knew about Qi Si's return before the Bureau of Paranormal Investigations. He still held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that since the other party had spared his life until now, there might still be room for maneuver.

In retrospect, he overestimated their friendship and underestimated Qis's malice. He had deceived Qis for six years, and the latter would never let it go easily; his life was destined to be taken.

The red light from outside the window spilled into the room, bathing the floor and walls in a noisy, warm hue. Yu Jinsheng's body was also stained with blood, as if he were seriously injured and bleeding profusely.

He simply sat quietly in his wheelchair, giving up all struggle and awaiting his impending death.

The pain intensified, as if it pierced through flesh and reached the soul, slowly tearing the flesh apart piece by piece with invisible blades.

Yu Jin was afraid that the pain was too intense and tears were about to fall, but he had to maintain his composure as the president of the Tingfeng Guild.

He couldn't help but smile bitterly. Based on his understanding of Qi Si, Qi Si's goal in returning this time was most likely to destroy the world. He was just dying a little earlier than the others. Although it was a bit painful, it wasn't too much of a loss.

A long, narrow shadow appeared behind him, obscuring a small patch of red light overhead. Golden eyes flashed in his peripheral vision. Yu Jinsheng was slightly taken aback, truly not expecting that the one who would ultimately take his life would be this deity.

He thought Qi Si would come to take his life himself, but he never expected that he wouldn't even be able to see him one last time.

Yu Jinsheng suddenly wanted to say a last word and ask Li to pass it on to Qi Si, but after thinking about it, he didn't know what to say. In that moment of distraction, he saw the pitch-black [Forbidden Scholar] card floating in front of him, held by a pale hand.

The next second, the world was plunged into complete darkness.

……

Outside Jinjiang Residential Area, at the morning market. Qiu Lihua stood in front of her breakfast stall, mechanically making egg pancakes on the pan.

A year and a half ago, she returned to her human form from her ghostly state, but her son, Yang Yao, died from a bullet wound. She wasn't as grief-stricken as she had imagined, but she lost the ability to feel joy and lived in a daze, as if in a dream.

Even today, she sees once again those scarlet rose vines from her memory, stretching out and spreading across the sky.

She didn't know what those vines were, only that when they were still there, her son, though behaving strangely, could indeed jump and hop.

The vines reappeared. Was her son coming to find her? Would the vines revive her son? Qiu Lihua stared blankly at the world filled with red light, took a step forward, and reached out to grab the vines.

The sharp twig pierced her palm, and the image of her son appeared before her eyes, glaring at her impatiently, cursing his bad luck fiercely. But that was her son…

The crowd screamed, and men, women, and children who had witnessed the vines scattered and fled. The girl tripped and fell to the ground, wailing inconsolably. Her grandfather turned to help her up, but was pushed and knocked down by the fleeing crowd.

But it makes no difference; no one can escape. The thorny vines, like venomous snakes, attack everyone, mercilessly coiling around their ankles and piercing their hearts.

Crimson roses draw nourishment from blood, flourishing on human bodies, with drops of blood splattering everywhere.

People fell, one after another, turning into soil the instant they hit the ground. Roses bloomed into a sea of ​​flowers in an instant, in full bloom, magnificent and spectacular.

Bizarre disasters erupt around the world, with black tides flooding fishing villages near the coast, and fish-headed, human-bodied monsters coming ashore one after another, tearing apart villagers and travelers who couldn't escape in time.

Yellow flowers and butterflies bloomed throughout the rainforest, and wherever they went, humans died in droves as if infected with a plague, their corpses covered with purple mushrooms and dark green mold.

Children emerged from their homes, skipping and jumping into the sea as they clapped their hands; the elderly withered like dehydrated corpses, their newborn bodies reaching out their claws to their children.

Bathed in the blood-red light, some of the people grew fangs and their bloodshot eyes searched for the existence of flesh and blood; the rest also underwent more or less mutations, some with blisters all over their bodies, and some losing all their flesh and blood and becoming skeletons.

The world is collapsing and dying. The edges of the earth curl up like charred parchment, towering buildings bend and collapse, mountains are broken and filled into ravines, and rivers are lifted into the air by enormous force and thrown into the city.

The floodwaters raged, but Noah's Ark, which preserved humanity's flame, and Moses, who parted the Red Sea, were no more. Some knelt on the ground, begging for divine mercy; others cursed the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics with the most venomous words, proving their loyalty to God. God saw and heard nothing, only continuing the process of destruction. Thus, last hope was replaced by despair, and cries of sorrow drifted between heaven and earth, only to be drowned out by the clamor of the rain.

The blood-red rain poured down, not because of the death of a god, but to announce the world's demise.

The water level on the ground rose wildly, climbing layer by layer up the skyscrapers. The people hiding inside tore at each other, fighting for a chance to reach the upper floors, but they were only futilely delaying their death.

"I don't want to die... I can't die... I still have so many things I want to do..."

"Help me... Someone please help me... I feel so bad..."

Sobbing voices rose and fell, amplifying the futile fear and panic. No one wanted to die, but they had no other choice; no one could save others, and they couldn't even save themselves.

In a torrential downpour lasting a day and a night, all cities and villages were drowned in the floodwaters. The divine calamity devoured all fate and sin equally. Humans and beasts alike perished, leaving the world in silence.

Above the dome, a solemn temple hangs high, with Qi sitting on a bronze throne, looking down at the ravaged world below.

The Fate Pocket Watch, symbolizing the authority over time and space, has received sufficient offerings and is ready to restart a new timeline, returning to January 1, 2014, for another cycle.

In the past forty-six timelines, Qi has restarted forty-six times. Each time, his struggle with the rules failed due to a slight deviation, forcing him to start a new round of the game.

But he believed in the correctness of the plan and knew that there was indeed a possibility of success, so all he had to do was restart it repeatedly. Among the thousands of timelines, there was always one parallel world in which he would succeed.

Now He has indeed succeeded. At the moment of the destruction of the last living being, the power of the rules was extremely weak, and its restraint on Him was negligible. After the sources of evil were completely cut off, the rules were nothing more than a higher level of strangeness.

The endless cycle of reincarnation has come to an end; the period has been drawn, and there will be no more side issues.

A figure in black robes with golden eyes appeared at the temple gates and slowly walked to the throne. Li took out the [Forbidden Scholar] card from his sleeve and handed it to Qi: "I can no longer sense the existence of the rules. It seems we have succeeded."

Qi did not correct the use of "we," nor did he point out that "Li" had not played a significant role from beginning to end. He simply smiled gently and said, "Thank you for your help this time."

Li nodded slightly, about to turn around, but then his brows furrowed. A sudden, intense pain, signifying death, shot through him, and he looked down at his chest.

Just as they were speaking, a bronze longsword appeared out of thin air in Qi's hand and pierced His heart with a backhand.

Golden blood seeped thickly through the black cloth, blending in with the existing gilded embroidery, making it difficult to distinguish. He stiffly raised his eyes to look at Qi, asking each word slowly and deliberately, "Why..."

“I’ve said it before.” Qi smiled, his eyes crinkling, and casually drew his longsword, flicking off a trail of golden blood. “If this world has no reason to exist, then why should gods, as part of this world, still exist?”

This seemed to Him to be self-evident common sense, so much so that He spoke these words naturally. He laughed heartily.

"Only when even the gods perish, as the embodiment of evil, can I confidently believe that the rules will not be restored."

As He laughed, His laughter grew increasingly exaggerated, and the surrounding space began to vibrate erratically. Mixed colors fell like shooting stars, losing their luster as they landed and transforming into thick darkness.

The light is disappearing, the sound is disappearing, the world is folded like a box, gathering all good and evil, humans and ghosts, life and death inside, and then nothing exists anymore, as if they had never existed at all.

Nothingness... The world after the rules disappeared is nothingness... The last god sits on his throne, waiting for darkness to devour his robes, hair, and flesh.

The golden light dissipated completely as soon as it dispersed. He felt his own demise and inexplicably thought, "It's a pity there's no popcorn, and the view here isn't great either." But it didn't matter; a god who had lived for billions of years neither resisted destruction nor felt lonely.

On either side of the bronze table in front of me, illusory figures from the past appeared. Young men and women who once sat under the World Tree were laughing and talking. Human leaders who once paid homage to the gods were extremely respectful. The figures of interesting players flashed by and then faded away. In the end, only two figures remained on the left and right, one wearing a white shirt and black trousers, and the other wearing a red long suit.

"Is this the way you chose to die? It's utterly devoid of any artistry..." Qi Si said sarcastically, toying with the silver bracelet on his wrist.

Siqi spread his hands, unconvinced: "But considering that the whole world is going to be a scapegoat, this kind of death isn't unacceptable. At least it's quite interesting, isn't it?"

Qi smiled but remained silent, calmly watching Qi Si and Si Qi exchange opinions on the methods of death.

The debate enlivened the dark space, adding other sounds. A voice, seemingly emanating from the depths, asked: "Do you want to become the rule?"

That was His own voice, or more precisely, His own thought. Reaching such a height, sitting in such a position, it's only natural that such desires would arise.

Desire? Qi sighed and smiled, shaking his head slightly: "I have no interest in creating worlds and all living beings; that's a really boring thing."

"Is that so?" Siqi rested his chin on his hand and narrowed his eyes. "But don't you think it's interesting to create a world with unique rules and then destroy it?"

Qi Si tapped the table with his index finger and said listlessly, "It's a pity that the sunk costs are too high and the payback period is too long. I feel like I'll lose patience before the world is even built... But I'm very curious about what it'll be like to become the rule—it's two votes to one right now."

“How about we flip a coin?” Sci said with a smile. “I remember a hypothesis that goes something like this: ‘Does God play dice?’ So—shall we flip a coin?”

“Good suggestion.” A golden coin materialized from Qi’s fingertips, one side engraved with a rose pattern, the other side with illegible writing.

He tossed the gold coin into the air, and the round, thin piece spun rapidly, soaring to the highest point before falling back to the ground. Its gleaming reflection, from an unknown source, pierced the darkness and refracted magnificent colors.

Qi said earnestly, "If the rose faces upwards, I will become the rule."

No one, not even a god, objected. Having similar personalities, memories, and pasts, they could easily reach an agreement most of the time, and even think of the same way to cheat.

Three pairs of eyes stared at the still-spinning gold coin, recklessly and absurdly awaiting its answer—an answer that would soon determine the fate of the world.

[END] (End of this chapter)