Life Game In Other World
Chapter 1228: Crystal Dice (Major - , Requesting Monthly Votes)

Chapter 1228: Chapter 1228: Crystal Dice (Major Chapter, Requesting Monthly Votes)

At this moment, He Ao glanced at the bloodstained blade of his knife, coated in green blood, then scanned the nearly identical radiance surrounding him. He lowered his head, staring at the spot where Wistain had been standing before.

Too close, much closer than before.

From previous encounters, it was apparent that even if Wistain revealed himself, he would never stand at such proximity, leaving He Ao a chance to attack him in such a short time.

As He Ao pondered this, a sudden thought struck him.

He raised his head abruptly and glanced behind him to his side.

A shadow lunged toward his flank in an instant.

He Ao immediately drew his blade to block, whirled around, and stepped back.

A heavy blow!

BANG—

A crisp sound followed, but this time, instead of dissolving into nothingness, the shadow forcefully received He Ao’s blood knife.

The very next second, however, the blood knife smashed through the weapon the shadow used to parry and tore apart the fragile silhouette.

Without hesitation, He Ao spun the blood knife around and slashed toward another incoming shadow.

This time, the shadow flickered momentarily but ultimately turned ephemeral, letting the blade pass harmlessly through.

Yet the shadow narrowly swept past He Ao’s body, leaving behind a fresh slash wound.

This shadow was noticeably faster than those before. Clearly, Wistain had once again found a way to amplify the shadows’ abilities.

He Ao gripped his blood knife tightly and raised his head, scanning the surroundings.

Dozens of shadows emerged almost simultaneously from the radiant glow, their reflections filling He Ao’s pupils.

A heartbeat later, these shadows surged forth like a multitude of streaks, rushing toward He Ao.

He Ao immediately lifted his knife and maneuvered through the gleaming aura around him.

CRACK—

In a split second, a phantom ripped open a wound on He Ao’s left arm. Glancing at the phantom, he ducked and dodged, attempting to distance himself from his previous position.

But the phantoms simultaneously dove into the nearby starlight and, within moments, emerged again from the starlight near him, encircling He Ao and blocking all exits.

The swarming phantoms moved with such speed, while He Ao—burdened with his injured right arm—found his movements far less agile than before.

Quickly, more cuts appeared across his body. Blood, flesh, and torn clothing mixed into indistinguishable crimson chaos.

Resolutely, He Ao defended against the surrounding shadows, his gaze unyielding as he observed every movement of the shadows.

Then, an abrupt realization dawned upon him.

These shadows were holding back.

Given their strength, the wounds inflicted on He Ao should be far less severe.

Watching the shadows darting past rapidly, He Ao’s mind suddenly recalled a raspy yet tender voice.

"The advantage of the ’M-97’ handgun is its high rate of fire; its drawback is its low damage. But if you have many of the same handgun and numerous subordinates, you can create a dense gun formation with them.

"This gun formation may not kill your enemy, but it can block their path. Fearful of being attacked, they’ll be forced to tread cautiously. And once their movements are confined to a specific area, that’s when your opportunity appears."

At that moment, He Ao felt an unprecedented calmness settle within him.

He lowered his head and murmured silently, "And then?"

"And then?"

A youthful voice echoed in his mind.

"Then it’s up to you what to do next,"

The gentle voice continued, "When the prey falls into the trap, a merciful hunter will end its pain swiftly using the simplest method. Meanwhile, hunters who pursue victory or take pleasure in the despair of their prey may choose to end the prey’s life personally, reveling in its utter hopelessness."

The youthful voice questioned again, "So dad, in situations like these, what do most people choose?"

"The majority,"

The gentle voice replied again, "would choose to resolve the prey themselves."

"Oh?"

The youthful voice hesitated, "Why is that?"

"You already possess several M-97 handguns. The most merciful option would be to shoot the prey to death swiftly. But once you’ve chosen captivity over kindness, compassion becomes hard to justify."

The gentle voice chuckled.

"Ugh, you’re teasing me again. Mom told me this is called a ’preset premise trap.’ You frame the bad person’s actions as the background setting, then ask if such behavior is common among good people or bad people. The answer will obviously skew toward bad people."

The youthful voice paused, "It’s like what Mom said about the boat. If you’re on the deck asking everyone if they’ve boarded the ship, naturally most will say ’yes.’"

"Haha, my little Suote is so clever,"

The gentle voice laughed heartily, "You’re bound to grow into a great man, commanding your own territory someday."

He Ao observed the shadows darting about, his body constantly shifting to evade their strikes.

Gradually, he became aware that he had been forced into an area dense with starlight, with all directions sealed off by countless stars.

His range of movement contracted further and further.

"On TV, those great leaders always look exhausted. I don’t want to be one,"

The youthful voice took a step back mentally, asking again, "Dad, what if I’m the prey being cornered? Could I escape somehow?"

"If that’s the case,"

The gentle voice asked with a chuckle, "and you’ve already surrounded the prey in one area, where would you attack from?"

"From behind, of course! They can’t see behind them,"

The youthful voice answered confidently, "I’ll swoop in from behind and finish them off quickly. Just like how the school bully who used to bother me got taken down."

"That’s an excellent idea,"

The gentle voice continued, "But think about it: if you’d consider it, wouldn’t the prey also suspect as much? They’d likely be particularly wary of their rear, always ready to whip around. If they’re prepared, how would you strike effectively?"

"Then how should I attack?"

The youthful voice hesitated, "From the front? But they’d see me coming."

BANG—

He Ao swung his blood blade, blocking the incoming frontal strike. Using the moment the shadow turned ethereal, he shifted his position slightly to the side.

Despite his swift actions, the shadow still grazed past his body, deepening the wound on his already injured right arm.

"Human peripheral vision spans roughly 188 degrees, forming a line. We can’t see behind ourselves. When guarding their rear, the head isn’t always fixed straight ahead—it may tilt slightly left or right, or even bob side-to-side."

That gentle voice sounded in He Ao’s ears once more, "At that moment, you simply need to capitalize on the opportunity. When their head tilts off-angle, strike from their frontal blind spot. This guarantees a precise hit."

"Oh, so that’s how,"

The youthful voice murmured in enlightenment, before reacting sharply, "Wait, Dad, I was asking how to escape or defend against this kind of attack!"

The enclosing shadows grew denser around He Ao. His wounds multiplied, and his limited space continuously shrank.

Until now, he barely had room to maneuver.

Cornered. He Ao tightened his grip on the blood knife and stared into the glowing shadows around him.

Tilting his head slightly to the left, he surveyed his environment.

The surrounding formation seemed capable of squeezing further until he was utterly unable to struggle anymore.

"I’ve taught you already,"

The gentle voice chuckled, "But real situations are far more complex than my descriptions. People’s thoughts differ; some prefer frontal assaults, others favor sneak attacks from behind. What I’ve taught you may not apply."

After a brief pause, he added with a smile, "Unless, of course, the person you face was trained by me, learned the same lessons as you, and happens to be an exceptionally scheming individual.

"Alright, you figure it out yourself. Let Dad take a closer look at this crystal dice tutorial."

A formless connection flourished inside He Ao.

No hesitation!

The blade of blood sliced across the approaching shadow. The shadow instantly turned ethereal to evade the attack.

Chaos Art!

In the next instant, the shadow shuddered briefly. This shudder triggered cascading rhythmical vibrations, each apparition shattering into fragments.

Simultaneously, He Ao swung the blood blade without hesitation toward his right front side.

SLASH—

The swirling shadows condensed near He Ao, forming a distinct humanoid figure.

And in the moment the figure manifested, He Ao’s knife plunged directly into its heart.

Green blood sprayed out, and He Ao turned his gaze toward the outline of Wistain amidst the sparkling layers of starlight.

Holding a shadowy sword enshrouded in scattered starlight, Wistain’s blade tip nearly pressed into He Ao’s body.

A mere moment would be enough for the blade to pierce He Ao’s torso, unleashing the starlight’s energy, shredding He Ao’s flesh completely.

This clash took place in an instant.

He Ao looked intently at the "Wistain" before him, noting that the heart pierced by the knife was the only energy convergence point in this humanoid form.

The shadow sword in Wistain’s grasp shattered under He Ao’s gaze.

He reached out and grasped Wistain’s right hand, extracting a crystal dice from his grip.

Holding the familiar, smoothly polished crystal dice in his palm, He Ao peered at its engraved numbers from 1 to 6.

Pale green radiance converged within the dice, resembling a glowing bean.

"Dad, are you working on this dice again?"

A youth’s curious voice welled up in He Ao’s mind, "I thought you said you’d given up on it? Looks pretty impressive now, though."

"I still feel it’s lacking,"

A slightly weary voice replied, "Not perfect enough yet."

"In my opinion, you should just give it to Mom. Forget perfection—she’ll love it anyway,"

The youth’s nonchalant tone mingled with the sound of a drawer being closed, "You’re too stubborn. You two argue nonstop but never divorce. By the way, what’s the significance behind this dice? Some hidden meaning I’m missing?"

"Where are you picking up all this nonsense,"

The weary voice continued, "There’s no deep meaning. Your mom used to watch television dramas back when she was younger. There was a soap opera about the Original Federation that mentioned some ancient text. It said gifting a hand-carved crystal dice to your beloved grants them protection and safety.

"She used to ask me for one back in the day. I never made her one. Tried a few times and gave up. Now, being somewhat crippled, I’ve got more time—figured I’d give it another shot."

"You two are really boring sometimes."

The youth’s voice drifted further away.

He Ao gripped the crystal dice tightly, as the memories faded from his mind. He looked up, his raspy voice cutting the air as he asked Wistain in front of him, "Tell me, where is my father? How did he die?"

"Heh—heh—"

Wistain stared at He Ao, the corner of his mouth curling into a mocking smile, "Fool."

He glanced at the crystal dice clutched in He Ao’s hand, letting out another hoarse laugh, "I knew that old geezer’s creations wouldn’t be flawless. Didn’t expect he actually buried a hidden mechanism in it, letting it linger all these years before emerging now.

"I can’t even count how many times he’s sabotaged me over the years."

With a sigh, he ignored the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. Like a victorious conqueror, he spoke leisurely, "I should thank you for exposing the fault in this object. I’ll eradicate its spirit once I am back."

He glanced at He Ao, grinning, "You’re impressive. Clearly, that old geezer taught you plenty, didn’t he? Seniority-wise, perhaps you’d be my ’senior’? Such a pity, though. The lessons he taught are obsolete. How could you possibly know, this isn’t my final ’move.’"

"Farewell, ’Senior.’"

That soft murmur came from behind He Ao.

The icy shadow sword emerged from the back, plunging relentlessly toward He Ao’s spine.

SQUELCH—

The sound of a blade sinking into flesh echoed. A face materialized behind He Ao within the starlight—it was Wistain.

Clad neatly in his gray military uniform, his posture straight and graceful, he resembled a dignified hunter confidently stepping into his trap to finish off the prey.

But the shadowy sword failed to pierce through He Ao’s frame. Though the blade tip had entered his flesh, it stopped entirely after that point.

Wistain halted there as well, his chest pierced by a ruby-topped magic wand, glowing faintly with green light from the bleeding wound seeping into his gray military attire.

His eyes widened in shock as he stared impotently at He Ao’s right hand holding the Chaos Art wand, observing the ugly gashes on his hand. "You, why..."

"When did I ever tell you,"

He Ao lifted his hand and twisted the wand further within Wistain’s body, "that this wand could only be used for spells or that my right arm had lost all its strength?"

Then, withdrawing the blood knife from the body of the other "Wistain," He Ao turned and faced the apparition of Wistain behind him. Smiling, he said, "What made you believe my previous move was the end?"

He watched the stunned man before him and rotated the Divine Sense-infused wand, destroying the energy convergence point inside his body completely.

He Ao caught the back of Wistain’s head, pulling it close to his ear, his hoarse voice trembling, "Now, can you tell me how my father passed away?"