Priest Yezuola of the God of Knowledge

Drip—drip—

The crisp sound of dripping water, along with the faint sticky noises of slick limbs rubbing together, woke He Ao from his muddled slumber.

Game Start

In this game, you will play a game character. Please read the following instructions carefully.

1. Please note: once role-playing begins, the player is the character. If your role-playing is exposed, the game will be considered a failure.

2. Please note: any physical objects obtained during role-playing cannot be taken away after the game ends.

3. Please note: in the game, you only have one life. Cherish it. The game is unregulated; your loved ones will weep two lines of tears.

Your identity: Priest Yezuola of the God of Knowledge

Your mission: Complete the Descent Ritual for the God of Knowledge Sub-body according to the original plan.

Have a pleasant game.

After that string of glowing Songti characters filling He Ao's vision vanished, he finally saw his current surroundings clearly.

The first thing he saw was a vast underground cavern. Drops of moisture slid down the cavern's pitch-black rock walls, falling to the ground with soft drips. Deep passageways stretched out in every direction around the cave, without a trace of sunlight reaching them.

Yet the cave was not completely dark. Dense clusters of things resembling plant tubers grew across the damp rock walls. These "tubers" emitted a faint glow, bathing the cave in hazy light.

Evil God. Sacrifice. Descent. Ritual.

One keyword after another resurfaced in He Ao's mind. That "thing" which had followed him for eighteen years seemed to have brought him into some kind of "game," where he needed to play a certain character.

This did not seem like any proper urban game. Judging from these elements, it reminded He Ao more of fantasy games or fantasy novels.

He Ao did not panic. He remained calm. The more dangerous and unfamiliar the place, the more one had to stay composed. Humanity had become the ruler of the world not merely through agile limbs, but more importantly through highly developed brains.

He Ao believed strongly in the results of evolution.

This was science.

He Ao tried to move his "body," only to immediately notice something was wrong. Accompanied by a slick scraping sound, he raised an enormous tentacle.

......

This did not seem like any proper fantasy game either.

Controlling these "new limbs" was more troublesome than controlling "hands and feet," but with the instincts of this body, He Ao quickly adapted. Just as he tried to move those limbs, a sharp stab of pain suddenly came from one side.

Almost at the same time, similar stabbing pains came from several other directions.

One black metal stake after another lit up in the dim cave. There were eight in total, neatly arranged in eight directions. From each stake extended an extremely thin metal wire, disappearing into He Ao's current "body." When He Ao began to move, the stakes activated simultaneously, delivering violent electric shocks into his body through those wires.

Those stabbing pains had come from that.

The black metal stakes had blended into the dim surroundings, so He Ao had not noticed them at first.

The pain was not particularly intense for He Ao, roughly like silver needles being slowly pushed into his fingers through the gaps beneath his nails. He could endure it, but he still gradually slowed down and stopped, because he heard hurried footsteps coming from one of the passages connected to the cave.

This body's eyesight was not very good, but its hearing was excellent.

As he stopped moving, the metal stakes gradually quieted as well.

Eight figures emerged from the passage in succession. They all wore black, form-fitting Combat Suits and carried all kinds of firearms and equipment. The instant they appeared, lines of gray, translucent text flashed above their heads.

Cybernetic Human ×8

This seemed to be a game prompt only He Ao could see. Mm, Songti font.

The mess of elements was getting more and more absurd...

Leading them was a tall young woman who looked around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with smooth brown wavy hair.

The moment she appeared, she strode to the black metal stakes, crouched down, and inspected them one by one.

"The restraint device was activated just now." The woman raised her head and stared at He Ao. "We need to deal with this guy first."

At the same time, He Ao was also watching the blonde woman. A powerful sensation surged into his mind. Danger!

That sensation did not come from the system, but from the body itself. Interestingly, aside from this woman, the other seven people all felt like weaklings he could crush to death with a casual squeeze.

"Miss Serena, but we still haven't found the Ritual Array." A man standing behind and to the left of the woman spoke. He held an advanced-looking black firearm. "And this thing's consciousness has already been shattered by us. These cultists are all lunatics with immense power but no reason. Once their consciousness collapses, they're just piles of garbage. There's no need for us to be so nervous."

He then added with a smile, "Maybe his body just twitched a little and triggered the restraint device. And even if he's awake, he might not be able to break free from it. After all, you know how painful it is when the restraint device activates."

The man stood behind the woman's side and appeared to hold a higher position than the others. The team members behind them stood closer to him rather than the blonde woman, indicating that he was the true core of the team.

"By the Church of Knowledge's usual practices, if we didn't find the Ritual Array in his residence, then it must be beneath his body."

The blonde woman did not turn to look at the adjutant who had spoken. Instead, she turned toward the last team member, who was holding a box, and waved at him. That team member discreetly glanced at the man who had just spoken, then quickly walked over with the box in his arms.

It was a black Metal Box covered in thick protective armor. At the top was a smooth, display-like surface. The blonde woman pressed her palm against it.

"As long as we kill this guy, we'll be able to see the Ritual Array."

Pure white light began to shine across the box. The blonde woman's palm seemed to be some sort of key, unlocking the previously sealed box.

At the same time, He Ao had familiarized himself with all his limbs. While these people were talking, he had slowly prepared to attack. The sharp perception from this body told him that whatever was inside the box was dangerous.

Waiting helplessly for death was not his style.

However, the unexpected arrived faster than his attack.