Chase Game

He died when a fiery red laser pierced Wang Yun's heart.

He collapsed to the ground, motionless, and dark red blood quickly spread across his entire chest.

Zhou Jie frowned, a strange feeling creeping into his heart.

"He's dead already?"

"Hehehehe..."

In the darkness, Ding Guifang walked over with a smile, carrying an oil lamp.

The flames on her body had been drawn into the oil lamp.

"His 'life force' has been extinguished; he is as dead as can be."

Life fire?

Zhou Jie turned to look at Ding Guifang, thinking to himself: She actually has this kind of trick up her sleeve.

Ding Guifang walked to Zhou Jie's side and said with a cheerful smile, "Please help me turn him over."

The two were partners, not in a superior-subordinate relationship. Zhou Jie refused on the spot, but it wouldn't be a big problem if he didn't help.

But he didn't say anything, and simply squatted down to accept the request, just because he also wanted to see what Ding Guifang was asking for.

When Wang Yun was turned over, the massive amount of blood loss made his entire chest sticky.

Wang Yun's body dissipated like dust, starting from his toes. This meant that soon he would be waiting in the chaotic space as a loser, alongside Zhao Dayou, until the game ended and the final judgment was made.

Seeing Ding Guifang's indifference, Zhou Jie asked with some doubt, "He's about to disappear, aren't you going to hurry up and look for him?"

Unexpectedly, Ding Guifang was not worried at all. She said leisurely, "Don't worry, he can't take that thing with him."

Things you can't take with you?

After obtaining this crucial information, Zhou Jie immediately realized that if he couldn't take it with him, it must be a game item.

After entering the game, he spent most of his time with Wang Yun. At this moment, he thought to himself:

"I don't know if Wang Yun is hiding anything from me, but all I seem to know is that one thing..."

He asked tentatively, "You want the 'Patriarch's Jade Pendant'?"

Ding Guifang didn't mince words, and smiled with narrowed eyes, "Exactly!"

If Zhou Jie hadn't witnessed Ding Guifang's ruthless methods before, he probably would have been fooled by her smile and thought she was just a kind old lady.

But now, he felt that he absolutely could not underestimate this old woman.

Zhou Jie once asked Wang Yun if the jade pendant of the family patriarch had any special effects, and Wang Yun's answer to him at that time was "not clear for the time being".

He felt a pang of sorrow; Wang Yun himself hadn't even figured out how to use the jade pendant, and now he was dying because of it.

This truly exemplifies the saying, "A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime."

Now, they no longer need to get their hands dirty to find the jade pendant. Once Wang Yun's body has completely dissipated, the jade pendant will naturally fall out.

Zhou Jie then turned to Ding Guifang and said, "Now that Wang Yun is dead, my part of the contract is complete."

"Now, you should keep your promise."

Ding Guifang knew that Zhou Jie was referring to the "divine bird egg" and the "identity of the pursuer".

Having obtained the divine bird egg, Zhou Jie's single-line quest as the "treasure hunter" was perfectly completed.

As long as he has the divine bird egg, he can quit the game whenever he wants. He can choose to protect himself or take a gamble on the main quest to get a higher score.

Zhou Jie also had ambitions: to collect three S ratings and become a Tier 1 player.

There's a saying that's been circulating among players—

"Only by gaining game access can you truly step into the world of the chase game!"

"The scenery inside... Heh, how could I not go and see it?"

Zhou Jie thought to himself with such delight.

But what he didn't expect was that the first step of obtaining the divine bird's egg would encounter an unexpected problem.

Ding Guifang said, "Your game identity has now changed to that of the hunter."

"You should now have a new role as 'God's Messenger,' right?"

Zhou Jie frowned and examined the documents. In addition to his original roles as "Acting Patriarch's confidant" and "Treasure Hunter," he now had an additional identity as "Messenger of God."

This means he has another single line, which means he has another path.

Ding Guifang continued, "If you choose to play the game as the 'Messenger of God,' then you won't need this divine bird egg."

"But if you choose to continue as the 'treasure hunter' and insist on getting the divine bird egg, you might as well wait a bit."

"What are you waiting for? Are you going to break the contract witnessed by the system?"

Zhou Jie stepped forward, his towering figure contrasting sharply with the petite Ding Guifang.

Faced with Zhou Jie's intimidating presence, Ding Guifang remained unmoved. She calmly replied, "I'll wait until I get the jade pendant."

Zhou Jie turned his head to look at the dissipation of Wang Yun's body; his entire lower body had completely turned into dust and vanished into the wind.

It won't take long for it to completely dissipate.

Then let's just wait a bit.

The two were focused on Wang Yun's body dissipating, completely unaware that there was a spatial rift in this space, and another space had been created outside the rift.

This person was Shen Nianqing. She arrived here at the end of the battle and hid in the independent space, looking out at the surrounding area through the gaps.

The two spaces appear to be very close, but in reality, without special means, they cannot communicate with each other.

Therefore, Zhou Jie and Ding Guifang would not be able to detect anything Zhou Jie did or said in the independent space.

Therefore, Ma Tuan was able to ask without any hesitation, "My lady, is Wang Yun really dead?"

Shen Nianqing stared solemnly at Wang Yun's dissipating body, her intuition telling her that things were not that simple.

Shen Nianqing didn't answer, so Sancai Tuanzi picked up the conversation, saying, "The fact that the Ruyi Suixin Hao brought us here means the key is nearby?"

This time, Shen Nianqing nodded: "That's right... let's wait and see."

Wang Yun's body continued to dissipate, and when the part below his chest had completely disappeared, something rolled out with a gurgle.

Zhou Jie glanced at it, his pupils contracting slightly, and exclaimed in surprise, "This is... a heart?"

As Wang Yun's body dissipated until only a head remained, what he really wanted to ask was:

Why didn't the heart dissipate?

and--

dong dong!

dong dong!

dong dong!

The heart is still beating?!

This bizarre scene was something even Zhou Jie, a veteran player, had never seen before.

He turned to look at Ding Guifang, only to find that although she was also somewhat shocked, there was also a hint of... excitement in her shock.

She said, "This is it!"

This time, she didn't ask Zhou Jie for help; instead, she held the still-beating, vibrant heart in her hands!

After picking it up, Zhou Jie noticed that something inside his heart seemed to be glowing.

After Wang Yun's head had completely dissipated, no jade pendant appeared on the ground.

Therefore, Zhou Jie could only make a bold guess—

"Could the glowing thing inside the heart be the jade pendant?"

He didn't know how Wang Yun had done it, but it was truly incredible.

The beating heart seems to possess a special magic, captivating people and making it impossible to look away.

The two seemed frozen in time, their eyes fixed intently on the heart.

Shen Nianqing, in her private space, suddenly realized something was wrong.

"There's something wrong with this heart!"

Neither of the kittens were affected.

Ma Tuan looked at it carefully: "It doesn't seem like there's anything wrong...wait, there really is!"

The tricolor dough also noticed: "It's expanding!"

dong dong!

dong dong!

……

With each beat, my heart expands a size.

Even when it swelled to the size of a basketball, Ding Guifang and Zhou Jie still didn't make a move.

When it swelled to the size of a yoga ball, Ding Guifang's hand felt heavier, but the two of them still didn't move.

When it swelled to the size of a giant balloon, Ding Guifang could no longer hold on, and her heart sank in with a thud.

The two then seemed to wake up from a dream.

They stared blankly at each other, then the sound of their heartbeats drew their attention away, and their blank gazes turned into ones of terror.

The heart on that giant ball was terrifying to look at, let alone the fact that it was still beating and emitting an eerie glow!

Suddenly, the heart stopped beating again, and another abnormality appeared.

Red light continuously emanated from within, and three words simultaneously popped into their minds:

"It's going to explode!!!"

The two used their respective methods to retreat at lightning speed, but unfortunately they did not escape far before being engulfed by the light behind them.

Immediately following was a deafening earthquake—

Boom!!!