Life Game In Other World
Chapter 597: Shadows Under the Night of Vitland (Two-in-One Mega - , Seeking Monthly Votes)

Chapter 597: Chapter 597: Shadows Under the Night of Vitland (Two-in-One Mega Chapter, Seeking Monthly Votes)

"Throat lozenge."

Heish spread his hand and handed a candy wrapped in silver plastic to Dasanc in front of him,

The silent wind swept through the empty venue; the speech had already ended.

"Thank you,"

Dasanc’s hoarse voice uttered a thank you, took the candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth. He lifted his head, his gaze fixed intently on a huge advertising screen not far away, inside which was a midterm election countdown.

On this street, there were several other countdown screens like it.

"I remember that every election, there would be screens displaying this kind of countdown. Is this the masterpiece of a consortium?"

Heish moved a stool and sat down next to Dasanc.

"A media company,"

Dasanc slowly replied, "Vitland Entertainment Media, this is one of their marketing tactics. They excel at marketing, and the price is not high. My initial campaign plan, including the strategy of building groups and establishing private domain traffic pools that we’re still using, was provided by them."

Heish raised her head to stare at that gigantic advertising screen, watching the enormous countdown.

00:01:49

A silent tremor from deep within the soul, causing her an uneasy uneasiness.

In the sky, there seemed to be hazy clouds intertwining.

——

"Jess, you need to understand,"

Wells, holding the Gene Potion in his hand, stood in the howling wind with arms outstretched, "we are all ants, and ants cannot hinder the steps of a Great Being."

"But it seems like your ’Great Being’ is in dire need of help from you, an ant,"

He Ao emotionlessly drew out a wooden box from behind, "perhaps because he isn’t so great after all."

The expression on Wells’s face stiffened.

In the silence where no sound dares to tread, violent tides of thought surged through He Ao’s soul like waves capable of easily ripping apart a great vessel.

The illusory and misty fog, along with the whistling cold wind, passed over He Ao’s cheeks.

The stirring currents of these thoughts appeared ready to spill out from the depths of people’s minds, solidifying into something discernible.

Now, even those with a slightly higher inspiration could sense this unreal tide.

He Ao activated Super Memory, standing atop this towering building, surveying the surroundings.

"Woo——"

The prosperous and magnificent Vitland City was like a solitary island floating atop billowing waves, with surging seas battering the towering city walls. And in the silent ocean depths, a shadow even larger than the city itself was emerging from the deepest heart of the deep sea.

In the instant of locking eyes with this vast, terrifying shadow, He Ao’s vision darkened abruptly, a purple-tinged redness obscuring his eyes, and endless chaotic thoughts exploded in his mind as if countless tentacles stretching out from the deep sea were fiercely tearing at his soul, dragging him into the endless Abyss.

"It seems you’re trying to pry into something you shouldn’t,"

Wells said lightly, the glint of a smile in his voice, looking at He Ao as his eyes lost their brilliance and blood tears flowed.

He did not attack He Ao but instead turned his gaze to the distant countdown.

"So this is indeed a ritual,"

As He Ao’s vision, blanketed by a fresh red, gradually regained clarity, he remained composed. This degree of injury was just a bit more than what he usually experienced when prying into secrets; he was used to it,

"Guiding people’s thoughts, steering their minds in a predetermined direction, controlling the ’waves of thought’?"

He calmly watched Wells, "When everyone’s thoughts converge on a certain fixed point, your ’Great Being’ will use this to return from the deep sea of thought?"

"It seems your understanding of the mystical studies is indeed profound,"

Wells replied with a smile, returning He Ao’s gaze.

"There are many methods to mobilize thought, and many events can achieve the same effect. But you chose only the election,"

He Ao looked at Wells, "This ritual cares not just about the process, but the ’result’ is also very important, isn’t it?

"Elections are not only the most influential ’choices of thought’ within this city but also have another attribute: they are one of the most publically credible activities in the city and have ’immediacy.’ Usually, the moment the election is over is the moment the results are announced.

"And what you need is the process of ’announcing the results.’ When the results are announced, that is when the ritual is complete."

Because it’s all electronic, with no manual interference, real-time voting, the Federation’s elections basically have no verification process; as soon as the election is over, the results can be released in real-time.

"A brilliant deduction, I think, even the hidden being you seek help from wouldn’t know such meticulous knowledge,"

Wells looked at He Ao, "You derived the approximate nature of the ritual based merely on a few details. Your intelligence far exceeds that of your parents, and I am not at all surprised now why my mercenaries and subordinates ended up dead by your hand."

He paused, lifting his hand towards He Ao, "Jess, the surprise you’ve given me today exceeds all of the past decade combined. Had you demonstrated such wisdom ten years ago, I might have considered absorbing you, to become a servant to the master, and we could both have obtained immortality in the new world."

"So, what will the people involved in this ritual sacrifice?"

He Ao gripped the handle of the ax, his voice calm.

"Jess, this short-sighted kindness will become a high wall that hinders your growth,"

Wells looked at He Ao, his amber eyes void of any emotional fluctuation, "The people of this city will become part of a great Divine Being, melding with the Great Being that is reviving. That is their honor."

"Too bad, your god is dead."

He Ao raised his bone ax, taking steps towards Wells.

In this world, they all ’Advent’; only those not of this world would ’Return’.

"I suggest you stop your ’ritual’."

He hurled the bone ax from his hand with force.

In Vitland, it is legal to prevent someone from harming another to a certain extent while the harmful act is occurring.

"Even in eternal slumber, the master’s will can still interfere with this world. Isn’t that a testament to His vast and mighty power?"

Wells, upon hearing He Ao’s words, did not become angry. He leaped back abruptly, dodging He Ao’s attack and creating more distance, replying calmly.

"Many dead fellows want to return from history, but this world is too crowded. Those who have already died should best roll back into their coffins."

The sturdy bone ax struck not far from Wells, against the huge sign for the ’Welme Medical Research Building.’ A cold wind brushed He Ao’s cheek, and he violently pulled, retrieving the bone ax back to his hand, and rushed towards Wells with great speed.

Vast and terrifying pressure emerged from the depths of the endless sea of thought, as the massive Shadow that rose from the deepest part of the ocean neared the ’surface.’

Even without activating Super Memory, He Ao could vaguely see the entire city being overshadowed by the silhouette of a massive creature.

He saw again what he had witnessed the night before, those tentacles covering the sky, which were but whiskers on the surface of this massive beast.

The city lights remained bright, people came and went as usual, shuttling between buildings. Today was like any other day, yet somehow different.

People shuttled within the vast shadow, blissfully unaware.

The shadow beneath Vitland’s night sky, at this moment, finally revealed its full form.

"Jess, do you know what your problem is?"

Wells watched He Ao approaching, adjusting his posture to keep his distance, then slowly pulled out the cork of the gene potion vial in his hand.

The countdown timer on the building below showed only the last five seconds.

"Your foolish kindness is your shackle. As long as this shackle exists, no matter how intelligent you are, your actions are under my control, you cannot escape the cage I have drawn for you, and everything you do is just part of the story I wrote in advance. It’s all over, kind little fellow,"

He dodged He Ao’s bone ax hurled at him again, then lifted the vial, with his back to the countdown screen, smiled slightly, "Who do you think I’ve chosen, the one who should ultimately be elected?"

The cold vial touched his lips, "Is it Ned? No,"

The huge countdown timer hit zero.

"Woo——"

A soul-shaking sound echoed throughout the city.

The countdown advertisement screen instantly switched to the studio, "Friends watching the live broadcast, the mid-term election has ended. Let’s see who the final elected person is······"

Watching He Ao draw nearer, Wells shook his head. He held the gene potion high, pouring it into his mouth, saying the name of the person he’d chosen,

"It’s Dasanc."

——

Seated in the speech hall, Dasanc and Heish both clenched their fists tightly, staring at the large screen.

The Phoenix System would immediately publish the name of the elected person on the official website of Vitland’s city government ’Eranster Palace’, and the staff of these news broadcast studios had already opened the webpage through a special media network channel, waiting for this last moment.

The employees standing near the venue were also looking up at the screen above, waiting for the last moment when the answers would be revealed.

And then they saw the studio host’s look of anticipation turn to shock, and then confusion. The host raised his head, looking awkwardly at the camera,

"I apologize, everyone, there seems to be a slight glitch in the system."

A giant webpage interface was cast onto the screen. The interface was simple, with the emblem of Vitland’s Eranster Palace in the top right corner, and a large black screen in the middle. On the black screen, there was only a simple line of text.

[The system is verifying the votes, please wait······]

Upon seeing the interface, everyone was baffled for a moment.

Heish immediately raised his bracelet and tried to access the Eranster Palace official website, but the usually quick network was now experiencing lag.

The page was stuck in loading.

This suggested that, at this moment, many people were attempting to access the Eranster Palace official website.

Heish refreshed the page over and over again.

Finally, after countless attempts, the webpage interface loaded.

Heish stared at the simple text on the screen, identical to the one on the advertisement screen, then turned his gaze to Dasanc beside him.

At that moment, Dasanc was also fixated on the interface on his own bracelet.

In that instant, both realized something.

The Phoenix System had malfunctioned.

——

"Jess, are you surprised?"

Wells put down the empty test tube in his hand with a composed expression,

"It doesn’t matter to me who becomes Senator. What I care about is who can bring about the greatest effect to the ritual.

"Indeed, the Welme Consortium supported Ned, but he’s too stupid, so stupid that the people who truly support him are few and far between, and the thoughts he could mobilize were also minimal.

"Although I don’t like Dasanc one bit, comparison shows that he is the one who can truly mobilize the thoughts of the majority, making the ritual proceed more perfectly.

"But Dasanc’s principles are destined not to be accepted by the Consortium, and he’s doomed not to receive the Consortium’s support. Even I can’t persuade the Welme Group’s board to support him, so I had to turn to investing in that fool, Ned."

He spread his hands, "But Jess, your actions showed me an interesting turn of events. I have great faith in your intelligence, and of course, I have even greater faith in your kindness. I know you will certainly help Dasanc.

"So, while you were helping Dasanc with the campaign, I had determined the final target of the ritual’s thought waves before the ritual officially began, and started guiding people’s thinking."

He said with a smile, gazing at He Ao, "Jess, your performance hasn’t disappointed me. In fact, you’ve done even better than I imagined, successfully completing the ritual for me. I should thank you."

He looked at He Ao’s cheeks against the night sky with mockery in his eyes for the first time,

"Of course, I wasn’t actually worried that you would guess my plan. Even if you knew that Dasanc was my ultimate choice, you would’ve tried your best to help Dasanc become a Senator. Your kindness wouldn’t allow you to let the Consortium’s spokesperson continue to be Vitland’s Senator.

"Your father was stubborn, and you’re even more so.

"It’s a circle, one you can’t escape. Even if your martial skills are unmatched, even if you’re extremely intelligent, you have a weak point. You are trapped in my circle, at my behest, just as you researched the Gene Potion for me, pushing the ritual to its most perfect state.

"Jess, in this world, the person who understands you best is actually me."

He crushed the glass test tube in his hand, letting the glass dust scatter in the wind, "Rest assured, you, Dasanc, and that Scavenger young lady, will all become part of the Great Being tonight. That’s your honor."

"Are you done talking?"

He Ao lifted his bone axe, pointing at the screen on the building behind Wells, "Don’t you think something’s off?"

"Wuu—"

The sound that seemed to resonate deep in the soul was still echoing around, and the terrifying shadow still filled the space between the brilliantly lit buildings.

But that was it. The ritual seemed to reach a certain threshold and then could no longer advance any further.

The outdoor advertisement screens were silent, relying on AI-matched subtitles, and Wells could not hear the sounds of the advertisement screen behind him talking. He turned sideways and looked at the screen.

When the simple text appeared on the screen in Wells’s field of view, his body stiffened briefly.

And at that time, He Ao, watching him, spoke, tossing the bone axe out which sped towards Wells,

"Vitland Entertainment Media, a legendary company that was born just a few decades ago, developed into the only privately-owned media group in Vitland that could compete with Trison Group’s media division within just a few decades,

"From the day Vitland Entertainment Media was established, you served as the chief consultant of this company. Of course, it’s very normal for a media company to hire a psychologist as a consultant."

"But by looking through the early records, it can be found that the company’s early, carefully planned actions resemble your style, and I also discovered that Ved, who once attempted to attack me, once held an executive position within this media company."

"The founder of Enright Chemical Company, which went bankrupt after my father’s incident, sold it to a secretive buyer seventeen years ago and left the scene. Although under a non-disclosure agreement, the founder still revealed during a social gathering that the buyer was a ’media’ company.

"At the same time, the business license for Wicke Psychiatric Hospital, which acquired the factory premises after Enright Chemical Company went bankrupt, also went through channels from Vitland Entertainment Media."

The bone axe struck the ground, sending up flying stones that hit the large signboard. He Ao had closed a great deal of distance from Wells, he retrieved the bone axe, and as he continued forward, he went on saying,

"So I guess you’re probably not just a simple ’chief consultant.’ Vitland Entertainment Media is most likely your company, or at least, you are one of its founders.

"And fifteen years ago, Vitland Entertainment Media was taken over through a share swap and cash deal by the Welme Medical Consortium, thereby securing a seat on the board of Welme Medical Consortium."

"And this is the real reason you can influence the board of the Welme Medical Consortium."

"When the Ned scandal broke out, Vitland Entertainment News TV, which is a subsidiary of the Welme Medical Consortium, was one of the first to follow up with the scandal coverage, which in itself is not a reasonable thing."

When He Ao suspected that Wells might be the Mysterious Person, he verified his conjecture while tracing back through the clues to Vitland Entertainment Media.

In Vitland, the shareholder information of private companies is not public, and He Ao could not directly find out Wells’ controlling information over Vitland Entertainment Media, but he could get all the possible related information of Vitland Entertainment Media through Eve.

This information revealed the connections between Vitland Entertainment Media and Enright Chemical Company, Wicke Psychiatric Hospital, and even Ved, the "subordinates" of the Mysterious Person.

Of course, if one were to investigate from just those few points, they would encounter the various ’ruses’ laid out by Wells, such as Wells diverting the acquisitions of Ernst’s media companies through some leads to media companies established by the Welme Consortium itself.

Wicke Psychiatric Hospital also had connections with some hospitals under the Welme flag, and Vitland Entertainment Media was not the only entity involved in the whole process.

Ved also had served as an executive in places other than Vitland Entertainment Media.

Even the companies and individuals that linked all of these together weren’t limited to a single company.

However, Wells, in order to separate his identities in light and dark and avoid suspicion, had all his ’ruses’ related only to Vitland Entertainment Media and ’Doctor Wells’.

Although at that time He Ao was not too certain of Wells’ identity, nor was he sure that Vitland Entertainment Media was Wells’ business, he still followed the clues and discovered the anomaly of Vitland Entertainment News.

At that time, He Ao actually had suspicions about the goals of the Mysterious Person.

That’s why he had Eve delve deeper into the investigation of the Phoenix System.

"It seems you’ve discovered quite a bit,"

Wells stopped in his tracks, glanced at the content on the large screen, his cheeks covered with confusion and disbelief, and turned his head to look at He Ao, his hoarse voice tinged with disbelief,

"How did you do it?"

As the founder of Vitland Entertainment Media and a lifelong rival of the Trison Group, he knew intimately that the Phoenix System had no flaws and could not be breached.

This belief stemmed from his faith in his enemies and in himself.

"Take a guess."

He Ao shrugged.

After the flaw in the Phoenix System was triggered, it didn’t break the system or affect its computing power but merely resulted in a ten-minute delay in the output of the results.

The conditions for triggering this flaw were harsh; Eve mobilized most of the computing power, used big data for human behavior prediction, and tried to disrupt at least a hundred thousand people through texting and making calls; in the end, only 2,075 were successful.

"Jess,"

Wells took a deep breath, then another deep breath, "I think I’ve been merciful enough with you, I should have personally executed you on the day you completed the Gene Potion."

Powerful purple energy gathered around him, transforming his body.

"Wooh—"

That huge Shadow lurking in the sea of thought let out an ear-piercing screech as if angry flames were burning in He Ao’s mind.

A massive ethereal tentacle stretched out from the void and then pierced into Wells’ back.

Subsequently, the giant tentacle illusion slowly merged into Wells’ body.

This was what Wells had been doing all along.

He was trying to create a Husk, a vessel that would allow his Great Being to awaken from eternal slumber and briefly walk the world.

Previous Arrays were attempts to create an illusory Husk; after the failure of that plan, he turned to Gene Potion to become the vessel that could contain the Great Being.

If the ritual were completed successfully, then the Great Being would be able to merge with him after he ingested the Gene Potion.

To awaken from the eternal slumber.

Unfortunately, in this world there are no ifs; the ritual did not go smoothly, to be precise, it failed this time.

Because the effects of the Gene Potion were time-limited.

Results delayed by the setback would severely diminish the ritual’s efficacy and increase the probability of a failed merger.

Purple energy suffused Wells’ skin, he raised his hand, "Jess, you should pay the price for your actions, I will shred your Soul."

Terrible pressure spread from the giant Shadow over He Ao’s Soul.

And He Ao just calmly watched him, lifting his bone axe,

"Now, you’re no longer human."

The pitch-black night sky shattered in his vision, turning into a land scorched by flames.