Don't provoke mentally ill people in the infinite flow genre!

"The blood-written letter mentioned that the monster dispersed its five senses and soul to monitor the entire Chaoyu Island, thus forming six evil spirit statues. You have lost your senses due to the influence of the evil spirit, while I seem to be unaffected. In fact, it is because the Broken Feather Raven is the true form of the evil spirit. It is waiting for the other five senses to be reclaimed before directly devouring my soul."

"So to completely eliminate it, we can't just stun it like we did with you before. You need to kill me and destroy the evil spirit that possessed me along with me to clear the level."

……

Rewinding to the meeting this evening, Yi Zanglan had already analyzed everything clearly, but while the reasoning was sound, the other team members completely disagreed.

"What does this mean? Kill you?" Qin Shaoyu was utterly incredulous. "What's the point of us clearing the game if we kill you? Is this the only way to clear it?!"

"I don't know how this round's mechanics are set up, or if there's any specific targeting, but based on all the information and items we've gathered so far, it seems the only way to clear the level is to sacrifice the chosen soul." Yi Zanglan thought for a moment, then added, "But it's not entirely hopeless. The blood oath also mentions that this monster can be devoured by higher-dimensional souls. If we find a higher-dimensional soul that meets the requirements, perhaps..."

Yan Zhao stared at her seriously: "Are you referring to your skills? I still don't know what your skills are."

"To be honest, I don't know either. Last time it was just officially activated, but they haven't told me how to use it yet."

In other words, at most, they only showed her the skill name; the skill description below was still a string of question marks, leaving her in suspense day after day.

She thought that since it was a mystery, she would have to solve it herself.

"I think it's worth a try, since there aren't any better options."

"Would you risk your life to test this?" Ling Ye asked in a low voice, clearly trying to control his emotions. "What if the skill isn't used the way you expect? What if the plan fails?"

"If I fail, I can take responsibility for the consequences."

"But we can't afford it." Shen Yubai shook his head, unusually firm in his rebuttal. "Lanlan, you should understand, none of us can accept losing our captain in such a crucial qualifying match. Even if we survive, how are we going to explain it to our teammates?"

The other four fell silent, their resistance evident.

"I understand how you feel, but I'm not discussing this with you right now; I'm announcing a decision." Yi Zanglan's tone was flat and calm, yet imposing. "I've included you all in this, which means I'm taking responsibility for you—and you should also be able to withstand the test. Don't be indecisive and make me look down on you."

"..."

She glanced around without pausing and continued to arrange the battle plan.

"Once I'm certain tonight that I'm possessed by an evil spirit, Lingye, you'll be at the forefront. I've already given you the bead; remember to use it where it matters most. Zhaozhao, you'll be responsible for using the Furious Claw to restrain me and provide support attacks."

"I remember Songzi's other skill can restrain ghosts. Along with Lao Shen's Soul-Suppressing Incense, use them all on me tonight. We'll stall for as long as possible to buy Ling Ye an opportunity. Lao Qin, you can't see, so you have to stay close to Songzi. He can give you action prompts, and you have high damage resistance, so you can protect him when necessary."

After saying this, Yi Zanglan paused and emphasized in a deep voice.

"Did you all understand? Show me your true abilities, and kill me at all costs."

She even stared into Ling Ye's eyes when she said those last words, her tone cold and authoritative, leaving him no room to evade.

Ling Ye met her gaze without saying a word. In the end, his voice trembled slightly as he reluctantly gave in to the silence.

"Okay, I understand."

Yi Zanglan sighed softly and nodded with relief. Perhaps sensing that the atmosphere was too heavy, she softened her tone and began to comfort them.

"It's alright. Just consider it a bold attempt. After all, if you want to gain something, you always have to take corresponding risks, right?"

"Don't worry, my adoptive mother had someone tell my fortune. The person said I have the bone structure of a general, a strong destiny, and can withstand all kinds of calamities. I won't die easily."

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

Under the cold moon, fallen leaves are stained with blood, a sea of ​​crimson.

The evil spirit was destroyed along with the sacrificed host, the six statues on Chaoyu Island collapsed, and the teammates' five senses were restored as a result.

Yi Zanglan lay there quietly, the sea breeze ruffling her long, loose hair. Her eyelids were lightly closed, her face pale and gentle, as if she were simply asleep.

Du Songzi's hands trembled as he tried to apply needles to her body again and again, but she did not react at all, and he did not suffer any more backlash from overdrawing his skills.

The Thirteen Ghost Needles can heal fatal wounds, but they cannot bring the dead back to life.

The miracle did not happen.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." he choked out, desperately apologizing, but he didn't know who he was apologizing to. "I couldn't save the captain, I... I really couldn't do anything..."

Qin Shaoyu's arm was slashed, and blood continued to gush out. He was oblivious, staring blankly at Yi Canglan's corpse, his expression vacant and dazed, while tears streamed down his face.

Shen Yubai rolled up his coat and pressed hard on Qin Shaoyu's wound. He kept his head down, as if his soul had been ripped out, and he had completely lost his spirit.

The horizontal sword named Great Wilderness Flying Snow was now placed side by side with Yi Canglan's scythe, the bloodstains on the blades still fresh—her blood.

Ling Ye knelt beside Yi Zanglan, remaining in that position for a long time without moving. He held her cold hand, reverently pressed it against his forehead, and murmured hoarsely to himself.

"Lanlan, I have done what I promised you. I have not broken my promise."

"But you're asking me to kill you with my own hands, while I'm left alone. Isn't that too cruel?"

He had no faith in his life, relying on that tiny bit of light to move forward, only vowing to be loyal to her.

He couldn't change her decision, but since they had promised to follow her forever, he would follow her through life and death.

Ling Ye's eyes were red, and he calmly, even somewhat numbly, picked up his knife.

Before he could even raise his sword, he was suddenly shoved hard. Turning around, he found Yan Zhao standing right behind him.

Yan Zhao looked at him coldly, her tone resolute: "Don't you only listen to Lanlan? Then just because she didn't order you to die, you can't die."

"..."

"If you go to see her like this, she won't be happy. She'll just think you're weak and look down on you."

"She wants you to live, so you must live, even if you don't want to."

After Yan Zhao finished speaking, he decisively snatched the knife from Ling Ye's hand and threw it far away.

Then she turned around and stood in front of Yi Zanglan for a long time, stunned.

I didn't have the courage to come over earlier, and I didn't even dare to look at it for long. Now that I'm finally here, staring at this corpse, it feels a little unreal.

How could this woman die? A madwoman with no taboos, a genius with extraordinary talent, a fearless fighter, how could she die?

"Is this how a captain should act?" She crouched down, staring intently at Yi Zanglan's face, and murmured, "Didn't you say you had the bone structure of a general, a strong destiny, and that you wouldn't die easily? Why did you still die?"

"You always keep your word, I thought you wouldn't lie to me, but you lied to me at this crucial moment, just so we could kill you without any guilt?"

"How am I supposed to go back and face Yunxi? Yunxi happily led her teammates to victory, and then she missed this one game, and I tell her you're dead? Are you trying to kill her?"

"Wu Ying was definitely watching the live stream. She witnessed us ganging up on you. How can we face each other after that?"

"You gave the team a terrible name, arranged this and encouraged that, kept saying you wanted to build a team and participate in competitions, and then you left a mess and died yourself?"

"Get up, apologize to me, and say you shouldn't have lied to me. Get up."

"Get up."

"Yi Zanglan..."

"...Yi Zanglan! Answer me!"

Her last shred of reason crumbled instantly, and Yan Zhao suddenly let out a roar of despair. She grabbed Yi Zanglan's shoulders and shook him frantically, but couldn't help pulling him into her arms, hot tears streaming down her face.

She screamed and questioned him in heart-wrenching agony, almost suffocating from the pain.

Why did you lie to me?!

Why did you lie to me?!