Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 374 Meeting
Meanwhile, Merlin, in his office, finished an office meeting.

He first reported his work to Chen Qi, who were completely unaware of the chip failure. After that, he wrote down what he needed to tell Zhuang Xiao and handed it to her.

This was likely the last meeting of his life.

"If they find my body in the apartment tomorrow, then open this note."

Merlin gave his final instructions.

"It sounds like a suicide note."

Zhuang Xiao said half-jokingly that she really couldn't stand Merlin and thought he was a scoundrel who would do anything to achieve his goals, but the thought that Merlin might be found dead in his apartment bedroom like Du Li the next morning made her feel uneasy.

This is the real world; once you die, there is no chance of being resurrected and starting over.

She then asked, "Is there anything else you haven't fulfilled?"

"Colonel Zhuang Xiao, you need to find a way to survive."

As Merlin left the office, he said, "At least don't die on the same day as me. You're different from me; you still have work to finish."

Then, I left work and went home.

The upscale apartment in the North District was the residence allocated to him by the committee to honor those who had made outstanding contributions to the shelter.

On the last day of his life, there seemed to be nothing particularly important to accomplish, and he didn't need to say goodbye to anyone, which saved him a lot of trouble. Merlin suddenly realized that this must be the committee's selection strategy—all the members of that pioneering team had become isolated for various reasons.

In this way, if the experimental project fails, the committee will not have to spend manpower and resources to deal with the aftermath, and most of the people in the shelter will not even realize that someone has "left".

He ate some of the processed fast food he had stocked in the refrigerator, then cleaned up the restaurant, washed up, and changed into a decent set of clothes.

Lying in bed, next to his pillow was a .45 caliber pistol. He had specifically sought out the same type of firearm as Du Li, the only difference being that he had a legal gun license. He began to ponder what Du Li had seen on the night of his suicide. Although he had not gone to the scene, according to the police's on-site investigation, there were no signs of a struggle in the room. In their words, Du Li had passed away peacefully.

They believed that shooting oneself in the head was one of the least painful ways to die, as the bullet would exit through the back of the head and the pain would last no more than 30 seconds.

However, considering that this was a meticulously planned murder, Merlin guessed that the killer may have followed Du Li home. Because he had drunk a lot that day, he did not notice anything unusual behind him. Du Li was fast asleep and did not hear the knocking. Judging from the signs at the scene, the killer may have used a neurotoxin.

He positioned the unconscious Du Li, put the gun barrel into Du Li's mouth, and pulled the trigger.

Perhaps Du Li was completely unaware of anything from beginning to end.

Merlin hadn't been drinking; he was perfectly sober. If the assassin had infiltrated his apartment in the same way, a shootout might be inevitable. Although he was prepared to die tonight, it didn't mean he would surrender. Even in death, he would try his best to cause trouble for the enemy and leave more clues for Zhuang Xiao and Song Xian.

He's a tough guy.

Nothing happened in the first half of the night. When he became sleepy in the second half, Merlin took two fatigue pills. Around 4 a.m., he heard a faint noise coming from the living room. The intruder sounded like an experienced professional. His movements were very light, and the noise was fleeting.

The bedside lamp flickered on and off, as if the circuit was being interfered with.

He guessed that the intruder was cutting off the apartment's electrical system, so he gripped his pistol, rolled out of bed, stuffed the pillow under the covers to make it seem like he was still in bed, and then slipped behind the curtains. Once he had done all that, the bedroom lights went out completely.

Pitch blackness was imminent, and he heard a soft thud at the bedroom door.

The door was opened.

Merlin could only see a blurry figure getting closer and closer to the bed.

The barrel of the silenced pistol was aimed at the man's head. He held his breath and repeatedly pulled the trigger.

The bullet pierced through the curtain and struck the blurry figure's head precisely. At this distance and with this aiming time, even if he repeated it a hundred times, he could hit the target accurately—this was much simpler than target practice during training.

However, the figure who had been shot in the head was still standing, and because of the shooting, he discovered Merlin's exact location and quickly walked towards the window.

Bulletproof helmet?

No, there was no sound of a bullet hitting the helmet.

Merlin quickly shifted his position while firing continuously. However, the bullets could not stop the intruder. The bedroom was not spacious, and the intruder could block the only way to the living room with a simple sidestep. But Merlin had not harbored any unrealistic hopes from the beginning. He was now moving towards the most conspicuous position of the camera.

The muzzle flashes from the gun barrel became the only light in the room, yet the intruder seemed unarmed and did not retaliate in the same manner.

The figure drew closer and closer, almost standing right in front of him.

Merlin unleashed his last bullets at the intruder, prepared to face death. However, when the muzzle flash finally illuminated the intruder's face, the fleeting image sent chills down his spine.

Red skin, nauseating tentacles writhing on its face, its mouth opening and closing, uttering a low, incomprehensible language. A time traveler.

The assassins sent by the guild explained why bullets were ineffective against him—they were blessed by the goddess, and not only bullets, but even high-level elemental magic that could instantly vaporize them could not stop their regeneration.

But why are they here?
The intruder didn't give Merlin much time to think. He grabbed Merlin by the collar with his right hand, and the irresistible force lifted Merlin up in an instant. The same figure appeared at the bedroom door again, and the second intruder seemed to be holding a thin object.

It was a long spear.

No one knew the scene before him better than Merlin, because...

This is how he died.

His chest was pierced by a specially crafted spear, the enchanted spear breaking the goddess's blessing upon him and stripping him of his immortality. Then, the Reaper of Time Traveler severed his head with a scythe—that was the last image he saw.

Merlin heard a noise behind him, as if someone had climbed in through the window. A third intruder was approaching him in the same way he remembered, while the second intruder was already in front of him, raising his spear and aiming the sharp blade at his chest.

An unprecedented fear gripped Merlin.

That was a biological instinct, but what he feared was not these hideous faces covered in tentacles, but the fact that the appearance of the time travelers brought too many new mysteries, and he simply did not have enough time to solve them one by one.

Merlin once thought he was close to the truth, but the approaching blade seemed to silently tell him that he was destined to die with a heart full of doubts and incomprehension.

Tomorrow morning, Zhuang Xiao will find this strange videotape in her room.

The chaotic whispers grew stronger in Merlin's ears until another voice completely drowned them out.

"This time, entrust your faith to me."

Ethan had said this to him before cutting out the dream.

In an instant, many familiar spells flooded his mind. After returning to the sanctuary, Merlin had tried to use elemental magic countless times, but all of them ended in failure. Only this time, the elemental spirits responded to his call once again. His body was lifted up and fell to the ground. He saw the Traveler's severed half-body lying on the ground. A path leading out of the bedroom temporarily appeared in front of him.

Without hesitation, Merlin rolled towards the living room almost the instant he landed.

He knew very well that the wind blades he had just used were not enough to break the goddess's blessing, and that the severed bodies would be restored to their original state in less than 10 seconds.

Merlin continuously chanted elemental spells of blessing, using wind as wings to make his body light.

In an instant, he felt as if he had returned to the capital of the Garlog Dynasty. Back then, he had returned to the Golden Land to unravel the secret of the Time Traveler's immortality. So what about this time?

Where should he run to?
Merlin pushed open the apartment door and ran down the stairs, already having made up his mind.

He's going to the committee area.

Whether or not he survives the pursuit of the time travelers this time, he will have to face the members of the democratic parliament who have lived for hundreds of years.

Have they also been to "other worlds"? And are these time travelers working for them?

More and more time travelers were appearing on the streets. At this moment, it seemed as if the whole world had become his enemy. Merlin realized almost immediately that this was illogical. If the committee needed a carefully staged scene, why would they send out so many assassins at once?
They are practically everywhere and make no attempt to hide their presence.

But Merlin had no time to worry about that right now. He broke through the sentry post guarded by the Time Travelers and tore a gap in the encirclement with his wind blades.

He arrived at the committee's meeting room, the door of which was ajar, and white light shone from within.

Merlin rushed in without the slightest hesitation.

Immediately afterwards, he involuntarily stopped in his tracks.

On the other side of the door, there were no committee members; it was a vast starry sky. He felt as if he were walking in the universe, and not far away was a majestic being bathed in white light.

In that instant, Merlin felt as if his heart had stopped beating.

Because he recognized the figure bathed in light almost immediately.

God of Truth.

Meanwhile, the "gods" were also scrutinizing him, the intruder.

"interesting."

He made his assessment: "Cognitive pollution 100%... Number 3791, why are you still alive?"

(End of this chapter)