Back at the hotel, Su Yi's phone rang again. Si Yan turned around and slightly raised his chin, gesturing for her to look.
She glanced at Si Yan, then took out her phone, puzzled. "Another recording?"
"Beautiful lady, please remember, you must kill the boss tomorrow! Looking forward to seeing you again, from Administrator Tang Mu."
After playing the recording, Su Yi was puzzled, "Why didn't he just say it directly?"
"Being regulated."
Si Yan said this and went straight upstairs.
Su Yi, feeling chilled by his coldness, sighed, a sense of despair washing over her.
Hexi, what's wrong with you today?
Mikazuki Shunsuke asked the person following behind him.
Mikazuki Hexi shook their heads. "Nothing's wrong, I'm just scared."
She gazed wistfully at the stairs, then suddenly smiled. "Will we still win in the end?"
Mikazuki Shunsuke: "Let's talk about it after we can survive."
"Am I just imagining things...? It seems like all the contestants have become more pessimistic since returning from the Dark River."
[+1+1! Mikazuki Shunsuke was so arrogant just a few days ago!]
Could it be that God Nuo and Qi Lin were the most affected and jumped into the river?! Were the other players also affected?
Soon, night fell.
Si Yan sat alone on the bed, clutching tightly the coat Jiang Nuo had taken off before leaving home that day.
Moonlight spilled down, illuminating a downcast profile.
" Nuonuo... I can't find you."
His low, hoarse voice trembled; he had never felt that any night was as unbearable as tonight.
Clatter
The window was pushed open a little.
The little paper doll with yellow talismans bounced in, swayed by the window, and then jumped onto Si Yan's lap.
" Nuonuo... is that you?"
Si Yan held the small paper figure, almost in tears.
The little paper figure shook its head and pointed out the window.
That's right... this paper figure was sent out by Nuonuo to explore the area beneath the garden.
The light in Si Yan's eyes went out.
I didn't see you underground today.
He could sense Jiang Nuo's presence on the little paper figure, and reached out to poke it.
The little paper figure couldn't communicate with him directly through telepathy.
He then made a gesture as if he were blindfolded, took a few steps forward, and indicated that he hadn't seen them either.
Then suddenly he grabbed his own neck, fell straight backward, and made a jumping-in-a-river motion.
"Did you know Nuonuo jumped into the river?"
The little paper figure nodded frantically again, trying to pull Si Yan up. Si Yan finally saw a glimmer of hope and followed its guidance to the window.
There was still nothing outside the window, but Si Yan noticed something unusual and his expression turned serious.
The stone statues in the fountain at the center of the square are three in total, each a woman replacing a demon who should have been in the double seal.
"They are not the demons themselves."
Si Yan had this suspicion when Dantalion.
However, the Demonic Qi emanating from Dantalion and Andro, who was killed by Nuonuo, was exactly the same.
Like a manipulated illusion, masquerading as a demon, it brought endless darkness to this town.
What is the purpose of those behind the scenes who go to such lengths to impose rules completely contrary to Christianity doctrine, even going so far as to create seventy-two demons?
The little paper figure pushed Si Yan back again, then floated down onto the bed, signaling Si Yan to go to sleep.
--
The next day.
The little girl specifically instructed that today's ceremony would bring the people of the town back to life from yesterday.
Si Yan found the newspapers and entered the so-called ceremony along with Su Yi and the others.
Su Yi didn't dare get too close to Si Yan, afraid of being affected by his icy aura. She felt that if Jiang Nuo didn't appear soon, Si Yan might destroy the town.
Four people waited behind the pillar, while Si Yan stood alone, still gripping the dagger tightly.
The little paper figure was hidden in his sleeve, peeking out.
The church was still bustling with activity; everyone standing in the prayer hall had killed their own family or friends the day before.
The ceremony was very long, involving collecting sacred objects, walking around a prayer pillar, and drawing blood for resurrection.
Su Yi found it increasingly strange.
"Is this a prayer or a sacrifice...? They're crazy."
No sooner had she finished complaining than the townspeople, who had just bled, clasped their hands together and whispered a prayer to the gods, tears streaming down their faces as they prayed.
Then everyone looked towards the back door without prior arrangement.
It was the boss!
He changed into a black and red robe, and held his heart in his raised palm—a shrunken, dried-out heart.
The boss smiled and nodded to Si Yan and the others, then placed the heart in the center of the divine pillar, and poured all the blood from everyone who had just squeezed into the bowl onto it.
It was absorbed by the heart in an instant, regained its vitality, and began to beat again.
This change was clearly a good omen for the townspeople, who raised their hands high in gratitude and then knelt down.
Before long, the bricks under the divine pillar moved outward, revealing a huge coffin that could hold dozens of people.
The coffin was entirely black, covered with a dense array of mysterious symbols.
[Holy crap!! There are people inside!]
[ God Nuo!! I saw him!]
[Ahhh, Jiang Nuo! You're still alive!]
The townspeople who were praying were also overjoyed and rushed forward to pull back the family members and friends they had killed the day before.
Continuing forward, the boundary of the underground river is reached.
Si Yan's breath almost stopped; he squatted there in disbelief, watching Jiang Nuo crawl out of the coffin.
"... Nuonuo."
He was afraid it was just his Fantasy again, so he spoke very softly.
Then he strode over, his pace quickening, and suddenly pulled Jiang Nuo into his arms.
In that instant, Si Yan froze, his heart clenched with pain, and all the strength in his body seemed to be drained away.
"No... you're not Jiang Nuo."
He pushed the person away; the repeated shattering of his hopes was driving him almost insane.
Si Yan's trembling fingertips clutched her chest, her heart aching terribly, her eyes tinged with a thin mist of crimson, all color draining from them.
They're all fake.
Resurrection? That's all bullshit!
No one can impersonate him.
Si Yan forced these words out of his throat and gripped the dummy's throat tightly.
The dummy stretched out its hand, palm open.
A few words were faintly visible in his palm; they were the Spiritual Power left behind by Jiang Nuo.
"Come find me at the bottom of the river."
Si Yan grasped his hand to confirm, then paused for several seconds, seemingly in response.
Then, the dummy spontaneously combusted without fire, melting and burning to ashes right before everyone's eyes, just like a candle.
"Holy crap..."
Su Yi couldn't help but swear as she looked at Qi Lin, whose smile had vanished and who was slowly turning his head to stare at the puddle of slime on the ground.
The other townspeople who had been resurrected from the coffin slowly approached, gradually revealing sinister smiles.
"Fake!"
"Aaaaaaah!!"
Everyone was screaming and crying loudly.
They killed their friends and family, but this brought no hope of new life, nor could they escape the devil's hunt.
Instead, it allowed their loved ones to rest in eternal sleep.
The screams fueled the conflict, and the boss slowly shook his head, "Why bother?"
"Grab them!"
The boss is cold.
Qi Lin grabbed Su Yi's shoulder, and as he turned his head, the black mist in his pupils expanded.
Si Yan ran outside as fast as she could.
He even felt a pang of regret, thinking he should have jumped down with her yesterday.
" Nuonuo... wait for me."