After White Rabbit finished speaking, the white light slowly faded.
The flames instantly sent up billowing black smoke, which filled the entire room.
Within the black smoke, a misshapen figure slowly rose.
Then wings spread from the figure's back.
Two red lights shone from his face.
Standing beside him, White Rabbit murmured:
"The devil-"
"Reborn."
The figure in the fire had initially been nothing more than a mass of black mist.
As the flames grew stronger, he gradually became clearer.
A tall figure with dark red skin emerged.
He spread his wings, then raised his hand.
A deafening boom rang out.
Then a powerful wind swept through the room.
"Ah-" Lin Zhi, small and slender, was blown to the floor.
Everyone else staggered in the wind as well.
Lin Jie also struggled to withstand the fierce gale and had to bend down, lowering his center of gravity.
Shielding his face with his arm, he silently watched the one creating the gale.
-the devil.
The devil's wings covered almost half the room.
He raised his hands, spread his sharp claws, and tore at the space before him.
He actually clawed a black rift out of the empty air.
The devil stepped into the black rift.
Then he turned to look at Lin Jie.
Lin Jie met the devil's pitch-black eyes.
Suddenly, a strange feeling rose within him.
The devil seemed somehow familiar.
The devil turned away and vanished into the black rift.
Then everything returned to normal.
The gale abruptly stopped.
Everyone lay half-sprawled on the floor, looking at one another in bewilderment.
The devil, the black rift, and the gale had all vanished, as though those strange phenomena had merely been everyone's imagination and had never happened.
Only the long-extinguished fire still gave off a little black smoke.
"All right." White Rabbit suddenly spoke, drawing everyone's attention.
"As you just saw, the devil was successfully summoned."
Chen Li got up from the floor and dusted off his pants. "Holy shit!"
"I thought 'summoning the devil' was just something in the game rules, just words."
"I never thought the devil was real!"
The others also rose, still shaken.
White Rabbit remained unruffled. "Of course he's real."
"But that isn't the point."
"The point is, the game has a winner and losers. Now it's time to settle the results."
She extended a hand and pointed at Zhao Tian.
Zhao Tian frantically waved his hands. "Wait, I don't want to die yet..."
But before he could finish, his eyes suddenly widened in horror.
Then his entire body toppled straight backward.
He hit the floor with a smack.
Then he never moved again.
The entire process took less than a second.
The sight startled everyone.
Chen Li worked up his courage, leaned over, and held out a finger. He said in surprise, "He isn't breathing."
"He just died like that?"
Xia Qu suddenly pointed at White Rabbit. "Look!"
Everyone looked over.
There, in White Rabbit's outstretched hand, was a bright red heart.
The heart had stopped beating, but blood still slowly dripped from it.
White Rabbit silently tossed the heart onto the floor, took out a handkerchief, and wiped the blood from her hand.
Now everyone understood.
White Rabbit had pulled Zhao Tian's heart right out of his body through thin air.
Like a robot, she announced without emotion:
"The Human-Ghost Game has ended."
"Sole winner: 'Little Ghost,' Lin Jie."
"Losing side: all 'Humans.'"
"Ritual assistants: Lin Zhi, Xia Qu, Chen Li, and Yu Ze are exempt from the death penalty."
"The winner, Lin Jie, receives double the lifespan reward and a cash prize of ten million yuan in the real world."
"Sole deceased: Zhao Tian, completely annihilated."
"Please return to the large room from earlier to collect your rewards."
Yu Ze said to Lin Jie, "Your plan allowed me to achieve my goal."
"I remember you wanted to split the prize money equally. Split it with them."
"I owe you a favor, so I won't take any of your ten-million-yuan prize."
With that, he left the room ahead of the others.
"Congratulations, everyone! You actually accomplished a feat that hundreds of people failed to achieve over several years!"
In the hall, Fox shouted again in that same shrill, high-pitched voice:
"You actually resurrected the devil! What an eye-opener!"
He turned to Lin Jie and said with a grin:
"Especially you, Lin Jie. You deserve much of the credit for the devil's rebirth!"
"Sure enough, letting you join the game was the right decision. Haha!"
"Oh, right. After all that talking, I forgot to give you your reward."
With a sweep of Fox's hand, the black portal from earlier appeared once more.
"As promised, two weeks of lifespan, plus ten million yuan in cash, which will automatically be deposited into your bank account once you return."
Chen Li scratched his head. "If the humans had won... we would've gotten quite a bit of money too..."
Xia Qu's tone was calm. "Be content, Master. If it weren't for Brother Lin's Coexistence Plan, we might have died in that game just now."
Chen Li laughed. "True. Anyway, we still get some money now. Lin Jie, don't forget your promise!"
Lin Jie nodded. "I don't just want to split the prize money equally."
He stood still, his tone serious. "I propose splitting the lifespan equally too."
Their eyes widened. "What?"
Lin Jie turned his head. "We agreed to split the ten million yuan equally."
"Now, you haven't received any lifespan rewards, so even if I return to the real world, I won't be able to give you the money."
"So we might as well split the lifespan equally too."
Chen Li was moved to tears. "Holy shit, young man, you're my dad from now on!"
But a mysterious smile appeared on Fox's face.
"Lin Jie, haven't you misunderstood something?"
Lin Jie frowned. "What do you mean?"
Fox grinned. "I never said lifespan could be shared, did I?"
"Your two weeks of lifespan can only be yours. Once it's used up, it's gone. How could you give any to someone else?"
Lin Jie said coldly, "Then are you saying I played this game for nothing?"
Fox looked puzzled. "How was it for nothing? Aren't two weeks of lifespan still lifespan?"
Lin Jie said sharply, "I came back here to find my little sister and take her back to the real world."
"Now you're saying I can't share my lifespan?"
"You mean my sister can't go back either?"
Fox grew serious. "Of course. She didn't win any lifespan in the game, so of course she can't leave."
Beside him, Lin Zhi said quietly, "It's all right, Brother. You go back first. I'm already familiar with this place."
"I'll join another game, and once I earn some lifespan, I'll come find you."
Lin Jie shook his head firmly. "No. I'd be too worried."
He turned back to Xia Qu and Chen Li. "Sorry, everyone. Lifespan can't be shared."
Chen Li took it in stride. "It's fine. It's the thought that counts! We can stay here for now and go back once we earn some lifespan."
Lin Jie picked up a pen and paper, quickly wrote down his phone number, and handed it to them. "Here's my contact information. Call me once you're back in the real world."
"I'll transfer the money to you."
Then Lin Jie turned to Fox again. "Other than joining games like this, is there any way to help my sister earn lifespan quickly?"
Fox grinned again. "Of course there is."
"You should know that we 'Administrators' are responsible for allocating all lifespan."
"Remember my earlier invitation?"
"If you become an Administrator, of course you can allocate lifespan freely."
"Then you and your sister can go back for as long as you like."
Lin Jie lowered his head in thought.
In death games like these, every round put one's life on the line.
If they kept playing these games, they might lose their lives in one of them.
Becoming an Administrator of these games would be safer instead.
After a long time thinking, he silently raised his head.
"If I become an Administrator, I can let us go back?"
"I'm in."