They All Said This Wasn't a Life Simulator! Section 8

[After all, the wounds on your body have mostly healed, so even if you told others, it wouldn't be very convincing.]

[However, Father Enrique seemed very concerned about this matter. Under his and Elysia's joint questioning, you truthfully revealed your peculiar "trait." After learning the truth, Father Enrique stared at you for a while with an expression that was both joyful and pitying. Finally, he told you with great conviction that he would definitely help you.]

[Both you and Elysia were puzzled, but you still hoped that Father Enrique could save the other children still there first. If possible, it would be even better if he could restore the church to its rightful appearance.]

[Upon hearing your words, he seemed even more determined in a certain idea. The pity in his eyes as he looked at you grew heavier, even tinged with a hint of inexplicable guilt. He seemed to have more to say to you, but unfortunately, the time for communication had ended.]

[In the following days, he visited you daily with Elysia. While learning details from you, he also shared the progress of their efforts—he had found some clues that convinced him that there was a deeper darkness and misfortune behind the church's current state, possibly even a clear "industry chain."]

[When he suspected this, Father Enrique became particularly angry. As a devout believer, the thought of someone exploiting the church and its premises for such evil deeds was undoubtedly a desecration of his faith. Furthermore, the fact that the priests and nuns in the church were accomplices further fueled his rage.]

[Unfortunately, he only found clues; all of this was just his speculation, with no concrete evidence. Currently, the nuns in the church were all behaving themselves, leaving him with no immediate course of action. He could only look for other methods—such as reporting it to the church hierarchy.]

[However, the church's response was ambiguous. Despite it being a major incident affecting the church's reputation, it did not receive the proper attention... This gave Father Enrique a bad premonition.]

[But this was not a reason for him to give up; on the contrary, Father Enrique became even more determined to continue his investigation.]

[He used his connections to investigate the matter and did his best to ensure your stay in prison was slightly more comfortable.]

[You saw everything he did and recognized him as a reliable and trustworthy "adult." Because of this, you gradually let down your guard. If it weren't for the previous priest's excessive actions, you wouldn't have harbored such intense resentment towards others.]

[Of course, you also hadn't forgotten that Elysia was the one who brought all of this about. If she hadn't coincidentally met Father Enrique and informed him of the true situation in the church, Father Enrique would likely have been misled by the publicly released information.]

[Not to mention that she was also helping you in her own unique way—just like before, every conversation with her was filled with joy and happiness, allowing you to momentarily forget the coldness of reality.]

[She was still telling you in her own way—don't give up, hold onto hope, everything will be resolved.]

[You understood and gladly accepted her blessings and encouragement.]

[Elysia's importance in your heart grew with each passing day.]

[But reality often doesn't go as planned, or rather, you forgot that you were facing a power so immense that it could command the police station and church of a small city, even directly replace the police chief within a certain period. It was a vast force capable of establishing a complete "chain of crime."]

[How could such a massive interest group allow you to investigate so smoothly?]

[As expected, after a brief period of smooth investigation, Father Enrique encountered unprecedented resistance. The other party seemed to have realized what was happening and had made corresponding preparations.]

[First, of course, was Father Enrique. As a well-known figure, he had befriended many people, and these were his "connections." But now, his friends seemed to have received warnings of some kind. When he sought their help, they began to show difficulty, even making excuses. Although most people would still choose to help, it was clear they could not, and would not, go all out.]

[Father Enrique keenly sensed the crisis, his face growing more worried day by day, but he had no intention of giving up—his faith would not allow him to ignore such wickedness.]

[Of course, he also admitted frankly that if the church hadn't sent him warnings and veiled assistance, he himself might have undergone a severe test of his faith first.]

[As for Elysia, when Father Enrique sensed that things were going awry, he entrusted her to a trustworthy person for care. Not only that, but he planned to move you to a safer prison to prevent those people from seizing any opportunity, so that he could focus on helping you overturn the case and get you out.]

[But unfortunately, he didn't get to see you.]

[After targeting Father Enrique, who was investigating, you, the instigator of the events, naturally wouldn't be spared.]

[You were inexplicably taken out of your original prison and handed over to a group of strange people.]

[Later, you learned that you had been "sold." You and several other juvenile offenders like you were exchanged as "consumables" with another organization.]

[It was a rather well-known assassin organization with a presence in both political and business circles. They had served as the hidden blades for certain important figures, possessing systematic training methods and special means to ensure the loyalty of their assassins, thus earning the trust of many powerful individuals.]

[Of course, those powerful individuals also feared this organization, as at any moment, they could be placed on a bounty with an exorbitant reward and assassinated by the organization's killers.]

[It was a "blade" that everyone could wield, everyone wanted to possess, and everyone feared.]

[It did not yet have a name of its own, but in the future, it would come to bear a name remembered and loathed by most people—Poison Chrysalis.]

Chapter 8: Just To Survive

"Another... similar place..."

Looking around, Xi Wang murmured softly, his eyes cast down.

The sealed room, illuminated only by stark white light. Although the room was somewhat spacious and the scene itself was normal, being in a place where the entire room was locked made Xi Wang feel extremely uncomfortable. Coupled with the casually placed blades nearby, Xi Wang was on the verge of a stress response.

Xi Wang glanced around. Besides the batch of juvenile offenders, there were also some elderly people, some homeless individuals, some girls, and some people who clearly looked like trouble... To be honest, Xi Wang felt like he was experiencing phantom pain again, or perhaps his wounds hadn't healed yet?

"Everyone's here, we can begin."

An electronic voice, processed and altered, echoed in the spacious room, as if someone outside was issuing a command.

Then, someone unlocked your restraints. Except for those who clearly looked like trouble, everyone else's handcuffs were removed.

Although no longer bound, and the strange people who brought you here had left, no one dared to move rashly. Arriving at this place had instilled fear in everyone, making them appear timid. However, a few individuals' gazes occasionally flickered towards the blades not far away.

"Next, please feel free to do as you wish. Of course, as usual, only one person can leave."

The electronic voice sounded again, uttering these meaningless but clearly dangerous words, before falling silent.

No reason, no explanation, all that was left for you was a statement, an empty room, casually placed weapons, gradually dimming lights, and a locked door.

A silent competition... no, a slaughter, began.

The first to act were a middle-aged man who looked like a homeless person and a few juvenile offenders beside you. Perhaps they didn't know what was happening, but they knew that in this situation, taking a weapon for self-preservation was the most important thing.

Next to act were a few girls and an elderly man. They had clearly realized this as well and were purposefully trying to stop the first group and attempt to grab the blades.

As for you and the remaining people, you stayed put, either bewildered or flustered, seemingly not having grasped the situation yet.

Finally, there were those who clearly looked like trouble. With a few crisp "clangs," those individuals had, at some point, unlocked their own handcuffs and then, with extreme speed, charged towards the first group, or rather, towards the weapons.

"Got it!"

The first to grab a weapon was a young man. Perhaps due to his personal preference, or adhering to the principle of "an inch longer is an inch stronger," he unhesitatingly picked up a long blade. The moment he was the first to obtain a weapon, and one he particularly favored, he cheered with joy.

Just as he turned back to threaten with his weapon and force the others away, a sturdy figure had already appeared before him—they were among the last to act, yet they had already reached him!

He directly grabbed the youth's knife-wielding hands, twisted them to the side, pushed them up, and then pulled them outwards. The sharp blade sliced through the youth's throat, taking his life.

Then, he smoothly took the long knife from the youth's hand, picked up the still-breathing youth with one hand, and tossed him to the side, knocking over a vagrant who was trying to grab a weapon. With the knife in his other hand, he swung it towards the several people who were rushing up behind.

The people who rushed up behind had clearly anticipated this. They either dodged, or directly and forcefully grabbed the person next to them to use as a shield, then quickly ducked forward. With a lunge and a roll, they got back up, already holding a weapon, and began clashing with the attacker.

It was somewhat unexpected that in the end, it was you few who seemed not to have grasped the situation and hadn't acted who found peace. Those who had tried to snatch weapons first were all injured... or even directly killed because of the people who were fighting.

Their attacks were purposeful, aimed directly at killing. When the previous people used others as human shields, they deliberately positioned the "shields" to block the blade in fatal areas, causing all the people who had acted earlier to lie on the ground, groaning, their breaths weakening, clearly on the verge of death.

They were completely focused on reducing the number of people present—Xi Wang realized this.

After finally escaping from that place, had he now arrived somewhere even worse?

Xi Wang was somewhat lost.

If enduring pain in the priest's prison meant not having to worry about his life, and even getting a normal life if he was willing to abandon his dignity... then this was simply an arena.

Only the last one alive could leave... the door would only open when only one remained... At this moment, you who hadn't acted realized what the electronic voice meant.

Some people were panicked and helpless, wanting to go pick up the weapons kicked into the corner, but looking at the intense fight, they didn't know how to act, only pacing anxiously in place.

Some people were frantic, screaming and wailing, not knowing why they had suddenly come here, why they had to suffer this, when they had done nothing.

Some people wanted to try to act, thinking of using the incapacitated people on the ground as shields. They mustered the courage to drag bodies, moving cautiously to retrieve weapons from the corner, but were quickly discovered and then carelessly, casually killed by those people.

Some simply buried their heads like ostriches, hiding in the piles of corpses, trembling and muttering to themselves, convincing themselves it was all a nightmare... then, with a sharp sting, they fell into an eternal slumber.

Truly, it was casual. To them, we people were just "things" that could be dealt with at any moment, so much so that they had already assumed the possibility of "not being picked off" was nil. They believed that even if they fought each other to a mutual destruction, they could still deal with the rest of us—because those who acted first, those who would grab weapons, were already eliminated by them.

As for the rest of you, you were just confused guys who were so panicked you didn't know what to do.

...It was indeed like that.

Xi Wang... was very lost.

Is this world... like this?

The smell of blood in the room grew stronger, mixed with some strange odors, perhaps from some people losing control.

But Xi Wang was used to it; he had already experienced this strong smell of blood enough in that prison of torment.

He was just... confused.

After finally enduring it...

After finally escaping...

Even if... he had stayed in prison forever... that would have been fine...

Why... is it like this?

No one stepped forward anymore—because those who did were dead.

No one wanted to act anymore—because there was no room for resistance.

With vacant eyes, they huddled in the corners, letting fear consume them, waiting for death to arrive.

And then, as the scope of their fighting expanded, they were drawn in and casually killed.

The sound of metal clashing continued. They paid no mind to the few remaining people; you all seemed truly insignificant.

"..."

Xi Wang wanted to speak but didn't know how to make a sound.

Trying to stop the fighting was impossible, as he lacked the ability.

Looking at the scattered corpses, he hesitated for a moment, then dazedly propped himself up on the ground, trembling, and cautiously moved forward, as if wanting to do something.

He grabbed a corpse at the very edge of the fighting.

Xi Wang could feel that the moment he touched the corpse, an almost instinctive sense of danger from "sharp objects" rose from the bottom of his heart. It was a completely subconscious act as he dragged the corpse back one step, causing an incoming blade to miss.

"?"

He seemed somewhat taken aback, not expecting this inexplicable guy to be able to dodge. But he quickly had no time to pay attention to Xi Wang as a variable. The moment he showed this brief opening, the attacks of others came for him.

He could only click his tongue, dodging the attacks while simultaneously kicking Xi Wang away.

"Cough..."

The immense force made Xi Wang feel a sweetness in his throat, as if his internal organs had shifted. He even felt that if it were any stronger, he might pass out from the pain.

Fortunately, Xi Wang adapted quickly... it was only slightly more painful than the priest's torment.

And even after being kicked away, Xi Wang still didn't let go of the corpse. In this way, a corpse was dragged by him to a slightly calmer corner of the room.

This was the corpse of a youth. Like Xi Wang, he hadn't acted at first, seemingly not understanding the situation. Later, he tried to use the corpses for cover to pick up weapons, but he failed.

Xi Wang tidied his clothes a little, making him look neater, and then laid him flat in the corner.

Then, Xi Wang dragged back several more corpses using a similar method. Each time, he narrowly dodged the fatal blades. Although he was hit once or twice each time, and his wounds increased, and he was almost stepped on and left there several times, he miraculously survived each time.

Xi Wang didn't search the corpses he dragged back; he just tidied their clothes and laid them flat next to the other corpses.