Daylight on the Snowfield, Rumors at Death's Door

Sunlight streamed down, illuminating the abandoned "Fear Project" research base.

The base is located deep within a Snow Mountain, almost underground.

But now the sunlight is streaming in, and the reason is quite simple...

Half of this once majestic snow-capped Snow Mountain no longer exists.

The battle between "Loquat Candy" and Nightless Sky Yong Lian has ended—this vanished Snow Mountain is part of the evidence of their confrontation.

Although the fight between the two was extremely fierce, it did not last long.

The battle was over in just three rounds.

And the result is quite obvious.

Dressed in a black kimono, Nightless Sky Yong Lian sat cross-legged on a huge rock atop the remaining half of the mountain peak.

She picked up some loose snow from the rocks and rubbed it gently between her fingers, using the snow water to wipe the bloodstains from her cheeks.

The snowmelt, stained red, slowly flowed down her cheeks, dripping onto Nightless Sky Yong Lian in front of her, creating a tiny crater.

And in front of her...

Loquat Candy stood not far in front of her, before a cliff formed by the shearing away of half of Snow Mountain.

Although he doesn't look like he's still alive, he's practically dead.

Despite having no external injuries, the Loquat Candy's life force was almost completely depleted.

Some [Item] were scattered at his feet... however, they were all unusable.

Some shattered completely, some were dissolved and deformed, and some were dull and lost their luster.

Hundreds of alchemical nails had been driven into his body.

At this moment, let alone moving or using supernatural abilities, even speaking or slightly raising her head is something that Loquat Candy can barely manage.

Every breath he took was accompanied by intense pain that affected both his body and soul.

"... We lost."

Despite the excruciating pain, Loquat Candy still raised her head and looked at Nightless Sky Yong Lian against the blinding sunlight of the snowfield.

"'Chosen of God'... truly amazing."

"Sheng Lanzhi is right, you are indeed the strongest among the five Family Head... and by a significant margin."

Nightless Sky Yong Lian said in a low voice, "Since you knew, yet still dared to attack A Luo, in a sense... I've been underestimated."

"However, you do indeed have the ability to underestimate me... If it weren't for Arthur, I really wouldn't have been able to catch you."

Upon hearing Nightless Sky Yong Lian said, Loquat Candy laughed instead.

"But once you're caught... there's nothing you can do... ouch..."

Looking at the relaxed expression on the Loquat Candy, Nightless Sky Yong Lian said in a low voice, "Even now, you can still laugh?"

"It's not a bad thing after all," Loquat Candy muttered, raising her head even higher, "So... let's get started."

Nightless Sky Yong Lian looked at the Loquat Candy and gently shook her head.

"Although I want to kill you right now... unfortunately, that's not the request I received."

As she spoke, Nightless Sky Yong Lian tilted her head back slightly. "Actually, I'm also very curious, Arthur... why did you specifically ask me not to kill him?"

"I'm sorry, Yong Lian Eiryou... I also want to kill him now, but I do have some questions for him—we still have things to discuss."

Lin Yu slowly emerged from behind the rock, holding a straw hat in his hand, and walked slowly to the Loquat Candy.

On the edge of this newly built cliff, Lin Yu, holding his hat, slowly sat down.

Then, Lin Yu gently raised his hand, Nightless Sky Yong Lian understood and removed the alchemical nails from Loquat Candy's body.

Loquat Candy was also given more room to move around. He spat out a mouthful of blood and sat down opposite Lin Yu.

Is there anything else you want to ask me?

"I asked in a low voice, "Loquat Candy asked.

Lin Yu began, "Many things... For example, what I'm most concerned about is your motive for doing this."

"You're not a member of 'Copper Furnace,' and I even believe you when you say you're an enemy like them... But that's precisely why I'm curious, then why did you kill 'Sherlock'?"

He was clearly investigating the "Copper Furnace."

Loquat Candy whispered, "Because he and Gao Shan couldn't possibly have found anything out. 'Copper Furnace,' 'Secretary'... it's not as simple as you think."

"Of course, his investigation was only a secondary result... The more important reason is that he was too close to you and was the 'Hacker's' chosen candidate."

Lin Yu was puzzled by what the Loquat Candy said, "What... does this have to do with anything?"

Loquat Candy looked at Lin Yu: "Of course it's related... Well, although I initially planned to die with these secrets, since you've given me one last chance to talk to you, I might as well tell you."

"Lin Yu... I am the one among all the 'Player' whose goals are most aligned with yours."

More than anyone else, I wish... you could Resurrection your sister, Lin Zhao.

"I believe more than anyone else that you can bring your sister Resurrection."

Upon hearing Loquat Candy's words, Lin Yu stared at him, a sharp Killing Intent flashing in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.

"I don't need you, Loquat Candy... I don't need your presumptuous help."

Loquat Candy shook her head. "No... you need to. You have no idea what happened in the Previous Version."

"You don't really know what kind of person your sister is—what she did in the 'Death game'."

But I know—I know it better than they do.

"Although I don't know the whole story, I'm the closest I can get to her."

"I know better than the 'General,' and I know better than the 'Hacker'... because both of them were planned by your sister to seize 'Authority' at the last moment, so neither of them saw the end."

"The 'Secretary' has lost most of his Memory... The 'Emperor'... I still don't know who he is, but he should be an insignificant fringe figure who only Becoming a God in this version by chance—besides, even if the guy from 'Copper Furnace' knows something, he won't tell you."

As Loquat Candy spoke, he coughed softly, and blood splattered onto the Snowfield.

Lin Yu didn't speak, but listened silently as he spoke, waiting for him to continue.

Loquat Candy wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and continued speaking.

"I could elaborate on the 'Copper Furnace' and the 'Emperor'... There are actually only two official 'members' of this organization."

"The 'Emperor' and the 'Secretary'... there are only the two of them."

"The rest of the people are all in temporary partnerships—like that 'Cold Cicada'... He's not a member of 'Copper Furnace,' but because his family members were also 'Player' in the Previous Version of 'Death game,' 'Copper Furnace' deemed him qualified to cooperate."

"This is also where he and you are similar—you both had a 'Player' relative from the Previous Version who left you with a lot of [Item] and connections beforehand... However, it's true that his was much worse off than yours."

Loquat Candy spoke, Lin Yu finally opened his mouth.

"Really? I see... Please continue."

"You see... you're really interested, right? This is definitely useful to you," Loquat Candy whispered. "Anyway, after we talk about the 'Copper Furnace,' let's talk about 'Hacker.'"

"That woman was... an absolute idiot. If it weren't for her, your sister wouldn't have died... at least, she wouldn't have been rendered ineffective by any subsequent measures."

Lin Yu shook his head. "No... her follow-up tactics worked—my joining this 'Death game' was her biggest trump card."

She knew I would save her.

Loquat Candy paused for a moment after hearing Lin Yu's words, then said, "What you say is fine... but you're underestimating Lin Zhao a bit."

"To be honest, I didn't initially think she was that amazing. In fact, we even had some disagreements... We came up with completely different solutions for dealing with the 'Final Trial' and this 'Death game.'"

"So, at the last minute, we didn't actually have a deep cooperative relationship; we were still acting separately..."

"But it wasn't until I experienced the 'Final Trial' and faced the most fundamental part of the 'Death game' that I realized Lin Zhao was right—she saw things more clearly than I did."

"Only she can stop the 'Death game'... Even if she didn't manage it in the Previous Version, she has successfully bought us another version—if we give her another version of time, she will definitely find a way."

Lin Yu interrupted him, "I don't need you to tell me how amazing Lin Zhao is... What exactly are you trying to say?"

"What I'm trying to say is... do you think that if your sister had a choice, she would choose 'you to Resurrection her' as her first option?" Loquat Candy said with a burning gaze, "Don't you think she should have had more alternatives—you should be the final 'emergency plan,' some kind of 'safety net,' shouldn't you?"

Lin Yu looked at the Loquat Candy, remained silent for a long time, and then spoke.

"Go on."

The Loquat Candy exhaled.

"It seems you've realized too, that an 'accident' happened back then!"

"And the reason for that accident, I've already told you... it was the 'Hacker,' Shen Bingmiao!"

"That guy's mistake forced Lin Zhao to 'truly die' and use you to try and Resurrection himself."

"So... I won't allow this to happen again—I smell something similar to 'Hacker' in 'Sherlock'."

"Moreover, he was even chosen by the 'Hacker'," Loquat Candy said, her tone revealing a hint of regret, "But even so... I never really intended to kill him."

"But... he went and provoked the 'Secretary,' putting himself in a hopeless situation, so I really... had no reason to save him."

"Especially when his life is at stake, which could motivate you to uncover the secrets of the 'Copper Furnace' as quickly as possible."