Life Game In Other World
Chapter 719: The Ritual Begins? (Two-in-One Super-sized - , Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 719: Chapter 719: The Ritual Begins? (Two-in-One Super-sized Chapter, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

"So, the purpose of this call is merely to offer thanks?"

He Ao asked with a smile.

"Of course not,"

the person on the other end of the line laughed as well, "but for the Church, the renewal of doctrine you’ve brought has dispersed the fog for us, and this thanks is the most important thing."

He paused slightly when he said this, clearly aware that such a ’doctrine’ upgrade could lead the Church of Chaos toward disintegration.

He continued, "So I’d like to invite you to join us. Your understanding of chaos will allow the faith in the Divine Being to be spread more widely."

Upon hearing his words, He Ao knew his intentions.

It was highly likely that this Church leader had locked down the ’meaning of chaos’ articulated by He Ao and tried to pull He Ao into their camp to minimize the spread of the true doctrine of chaos, to maintain the Church’s existence for as long as possible.

After all, the longer the Church lasted, the more benefits the Church leader could reap.

Even in a world where Divine Beings truly existed, the Church did not always operate in alignment with those Divine Beings’ inclinations.

"Aren’t you afraid of punishment from your god? If your god truly exists, that is."

He Ao couldn’t help but chuckle.

"God does not care,"

the Church leader on the phone said calmly.

He Ao, leaning against the door while on the phone, raised his eyebrows. Divine Beings indeed seldom cared what their believers did; in fact, apart from sacrifices, they didn’t pay much attention to mortals at all.

However, the phrase ’God does not care’ made He Ao think of something else, and he chuckled softly,

"Interesting, but I’m sorry. I believe I have made my point clear. I, Lunke, have no interest in joining the Church of Chaos."

"That is truly regrettable. You are a natural-born adherent of chaos,"

the Church leader sighed, "Then how about we find an alternative way to cooperate? Are you interested in coming downtown tomorrow afternoon? We could meet and talk. The right-hand Preacher is dead, and we need a powerful partner. I will secure for you the largest share of Grace."

"That sounds quite tempting,"

He Ao said with a soft laugh, "How do I know you won’t set up an ambush to permanently rid yourself of me, a potential threat that cannot be recruited?"

"Indeed, it is a matter of legitimate concern,"

the Church leader replied, "but I think you should trust me. We are people guided by the brilliance of chaos, and besides, you’re strong, aren’t you? It is not economical to deal with you. We could become friends."

"So, could I see a bit of a friend’s ’sincerity’?"

He Ao asked.

"What kind of ’sincerity’ do you want?"

The Church leader’s tone paused, asking in a low voice, "Power? Wealth? Women?"

"I want the ’contact information’ for your god,"

He Ao shrugged, "If your Divine Being truly exists, then let me see for myself."

Although the copy world contained much information about the Church of Chaos, unlike doctrines and tales that could be spread on a small scale as gossip, the secret rites to communicate with the God of Chaos were mostly restricted material.

Unless one actually came into contact with a preacher of the Church of Chaos, it was difficult to learn this knowledge.

While He Ao had dealt with the Church of the God of Chaos, they did not teach him any rites, and he had not acquired this knowledge from other sources, so he truly did not know the rites of communication with the God of Chaos.

He wouldn’t mind knowing the rites to communicate with the God of Chaos - after all, more friends mean more paths.

"Hmm..."

The person on the phone hesitated for a brief moment, as if contemplating whether to impart this knowledge to He Ao, and finally, he spoke up,

"Of course, my friend. I trust that after you witness that vast power, you will become a staunch believer in my lord. Under the light of chaos, we are brothers of different bloodlines."

Then he continued, "The rite... or rather the ’method’ to communicate with my lord is actually quite simple..."

——

Bright moonlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling onto the polished floor. The man seated in the main chair hung up the phone and looked up at the moon hanging high where the sea met the sky.

"This ’Lunke’ is a bit too powerful,"

the man to his left said quietly, "from the data we’ve collected, he was just at the peak of D-level in the Western Lands. It’s impossible for his strength to have surged so much in such a short time."

"This is a man with secrets,"

the main chair man replied calmly, "but those with C-level power often have their secrets."

"Could it be some sort of powerful Transcendent Prop? Hao Yi arrived in Newland almost simultaneously with him..."

The man on the left murmured thoughtfully, "Could he have acquired something from Hao Yi..."

"We have collected and organized all data on Hao Yi,"

the man in the main chair said slowly, "and from a standpoint, Hao Yi is quite evidently leaning more toward a law-abiding good alignment."

"While Lunke is a despicable villain,"

the man to his left naturally continued, "setting aside whether Hao Yi would employ such a villain, he certainly would not give a powerful Transcendent Prop to such a villain, as it would easily lead to backlash."

Reflecting on his words, he realized his previous thoughts were hasty and lowered his head, "I have spoken thoughtlessly."

"It’s good that you have this thought,"

the man in the main seat shook his head, "We need to be in the habit of thinking cautiously, and we can’t completely rule out the possibility that Lunke was hired by Hao Yi. But actually, that’s not important. Besides chaos, he knows nothing about us; the situation has never escaped our control.

"Moreover, even if he is hired, Lunke may not truly be loyal to Hao Yi. He is favored by the God of Chaos; his goal will ultimately be the same as ours."

The man on his left lightly nodded in agreement, gazing at the man seated in the main seat and, at the right moment, offered a compliment, "Leader, you are wise."

Then he pondered and said, "The Moonlight Branch at Wenlan Island, if the Right Preacher is dead, our arrangements..."

"Isn’t Lunke there?"

The man in the main seat glanced at the man beside him; he knew his subordinate had already formed his thoughts and calmly said, "Arrange for people to follow the original plan. When chaos erupts, the blood of all who crave chaos will boil. Draw them there, and let’s see the true value of this ’Mr. Reason’."

"Yes!"

The man on the left broke into a smirk.

The man in the main seat calmly watched the moonlight outside the window.

Despite a slight hiccup, everything was on the right track.

No one could stop the glory of chaos.

----

Newland City-State·Wenlan Island

As the moon set and the sun rose, with the glow of dawn spreading from the sea to the land, He Ao opened the door and stood at the threshold, stretching his limbs, then walked out towards the sunrise.

"Big brother, good morning!"

Not far away, a little girl who was standing at her doorstep, drying a straw talisman at the windowsill, saw He Ao and cheerfully greeted him.

"Morning."

He Ao smiled and nodded at her. He lifted his hand to show the plate that had held the apple pie from the day before.

The little girl immediately ran away from the windowsill and over to the door, which she opened.

A portion of the interior scenes came into view for He Ao; it was a much smaller old house than Lunke’s, with dull walls and aged furniture divided into two floors.

Above a cabinet against the wall hung a large wedding photo, which seemed to be the wedding photo of the little girl’s parents.

He Ao handed the plate to the little girl, "Thank you for the apple pie; it was delicious."

"I’m glad you liked it, hehe."

The little girl scratched her head and took the plate. Then, looking back into the house as if she remembered something, she enthusiastically invited, "Have you eaten breakfast, big brother? Grandma went to the market to buy bread. We can have breakfast together later."

"I won’t eat, thanks,"

He Ao shook his head and, looking at the little girl in front of him, asked with a smile, "Do you have a place in your home where you can hide from people?"

The little girl looked at He Ao, blinked, seemed to ponder for a moment, and then cautiously answered, "There’s an old cellar that we could hide in if we met robbers."

"Does it get stuffy in there?"

He Ao asked softly.

"No, it doesn’t get stuffy,"

the little girl shook her head.

That means there’s a ventilation duct.

He Ao thought for a moment, staring at the little girl, and said slowly and clearly, "Then when Grandma comes back, lock the door and take the bread and hide in the cellar. No matter what noises you hear outside, don’t come out until evening, okay?"

The little girl blinked, seemingly not quite understanding He Ao’s words.

After a while, she tentatively nodded her head.

Although He Ao’s request sounded a bit odd, she seemed to realize something, having grown up in the chaotic Wenlan Island.

She gazed at He Ao, thought earnestly for a moment, and said, "Big brother, wait a moment."

Then she dashed into the house. After a little while, she came out with a straw talisman in her hand and gave it to He Ao, "Big brother, the Goddess of Luck will protect you."

"Thank you,"

He Ao accepted the talisman from her small hand, showing a faint smile.

----

Core Island·Maple Leaf Hotel

Wu Lan watched herself in the mirror, gathering her long hair behind her head.

She removed the red hair tie from between her lips, tying her beautiful long hair into a high ponytail.

In her ears seemed to echo the rumbling of a train, and the words Hao Yi had said the night before flashed through her mind.

She looked at her reflection, adjusting her ponytail slightly so that it wouldn’t come undone too easily, then took a deep breath and exited the bathroom.

The first thing that caught her sight was the numerous mirrors scattered throughout the spacious restaurant. These mirrors were placed erratically, serving both to protect privacy and to maximize the visual space, making the already sizable restaurant seem even more impressive and expansive.

The clock on the wall showed eleven o’clock.

"This design is quite unique."

Wu Lan walked to a seat by the window and looked at the man sitting opposite her.

"Of course, the Maple Leaf Hotel is a landmark building of Newland City-State, and all the designs in the hotel were done by world-famous designers,"

Wester smiled as he handed the menu to Wu Lan, "Ladies first, the snails here are quite good."

"So you specially called me over, do you have any intelligence to share?"

Wu Lan took the menu, flipping through it as she casually asked.

"Can’t I just be welcoming you in a straightforward manner?"

Wester’s face was smiling as he glanced out at the city beyond the window,

"Actually, you overestimate my authority. Things are complicated here in Newland City-State. I’m a local, and the Tia Empire doesn’t trust me much. Moonlight appointed me as the head of the Newland City-State under pressure from the City-State Council, but they also sent a ’deputy’ from the headquarters to constrain me. I don’t have as much power as you think, and I can’t access many documents."

"Shouldn’t the welcome have been yesterday?"

Wu Lan continued to browse the menu, "And besides, you’re the head around here, aren’t you? The information I got is that you’ve largely taken control of Moonlight’s organizational structure in Newland City-State, and you’ve set up a ’temporary branch’ on Core Island, where most of Moonlight’s staff follow your orders.

"And the forces from the Tia Empire and your ’constraining deputy’ have been relegated by you to the ’Moonlight Branch’ on Wenlan Island to deal with trivial matters."

Her tone paused slightly, "So, Mr. Head, you’re not truly loyal to the Moonlight headquarters, are you? We could have opportunities to collaborate, for instance, about the intelligence regarding the recent disappearances at the Research Institute’s branch?"

"Your intelligence network is truly pervasive."

Wester reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver coin, letting out a light sigh, "Well, what have you found out so far?"

Before Wu Lan could speak, Wester toyed with the coin in his hand, speaking on his own accord, "Let me guess, the investigation report on the city-wide missing persons case?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Lan stopped fiddling with the menu, raising her head to look at the man in front of her.

Whirr—

It was the sound of the coin being flicked into the air.

"Is it you?!"

Realizing something, Wu Lan immediately stood up and leaped backward.

A fiery-red whip suddenly lashed out, aiming for Wester who was seated opposite her.

However, the whip only struck empty space, as Wester’s figure had, at some unknown point, appeared right in front of her, and like lightning, he reached out and grasped Wu Lan’s throat.

"So I say, can’t your keen noses be a bit less sensitive?"

Wester calmly stared at Wu Lan, whom he held up by the throat, her feet dangling in the air, "It’s none of your business; sometimes, ignorance is bliss."

Wu Lan struggled to lift her whip again, but Wester suddenly seized her wrist with his other hand.

Then with both hands, he exerted force like clutching a small chicken, and with a violent toss, flung Wu Lan’s body into some nearby glass.

Bang—

Shattered glass splinters scattered in all directions.

And Wu Lan’s other hand, which had been reaching for her phone, lost control due to the sudden throw, and the phone went flying.

The dark screen had already lit up, displaying the dialing interface.

A call to ’Hao Yi’ had already been dialed, but in the next second, the screen flickered and went dark again.

"You think there’s a signal here?"

Wester looked at her with a smile.

At this moment, Wu Lan’s body was being pushed out the window, with strands of cold air brushing her cheeks. She glanced down; beneath her feet was not the open city, but a gaping void of nothingness.

In that moment, she finally realized something. She looked toward the restaurant interior.

The restaurant, previously with some customers, was now eerily empty, with such silence as if everything outside had been erased.

It was not until this moment that she seemed to finally understand. Looking at Wester, she managed a difficult and hoarse voice from her constricted throat, "Mirror... it’s the mirror..."

"Very smart."

Wester, gripping Wu Lan’s hand, tossed it backward, flinging her against a pillar with a mirror attached to it.

The impact was forceful; a streak of fresh blood glowing with a yellow radiance spilled from the corner of her mouth.

She got up with difficulty, glanced at the pillar, and knew that under normal circumstances, given her physical condition, the pillar should have shattered from the impact, but in fact, she was the one injured, and the pillar remained unscathed.

Next to the pillar, in the mirror, the restaurant scene was reflected.

But the scenario in the mirror was different from the world Wu Lan was currently in; a waiter bearing a plate was walking through the reflected world of the mirror.

Inside the mirror was the real world; the place she was in now was some kind of ’reflection,’ a mirror-world.

Wu Lan lifted her head to look at the man in front of her, "Is this how you made all the people from the Research Institute’s branch disappear into ’nothing’?"

Just then, Wester had pulled her into this world inside the mirror.

"Fascinating, isn’t it?"

Wester watched Wu Lan, "This is ’Divine Miracle’."

"Tch," Wu Lan stood up, flicking her whip, "It’s just a Transcendent prop."

She raised her whip and lashed it towards Wester.

Wester stepped back, dodging the whip.

The tail of the whip struck the dining table behind him, instantly shattering it.

"Stronger, interesting."

Wester glanced at Wu Lan, retreated two steps, and raised his hand, drawing a thin sword from a corner of another dining table.

Wu Lan was about to raise her long whip and strike again, but Wester reappeared in front of her.

Too fast.

She couldn’t catch Wester’s movements at all.

The slender longsword pierced her body in an instant, and blood splattered out.

However, the sword only went halfway in; the other half was tightly grasped by Wu Lan’s outstretched hands as blood flowed down from her palms.

"Oh, although you look no longer young, your body’s ability to withstand injury is pretty strong."

Wester looked at her with a smile and exerted slight pressure. The blade suddenly thrust forward, its sharp tip emerging from Wu Lan’s back.

"Damn it, I’m only,"

Wu Lan gripped the thin sword and began to slowly pull it out of her body, "twenty-eight!"

"Oh!"

Wester abruptly pulled out the thin sword.

The sudden change in force caused Wu Lan to lean forward weakly, then the next second, Wester’s reversed thin sword pierced her body again.

More and more blood flowed from the wound as Wester withdrew the sword and stepped back two steps.

Wu Lan’s body swayed. She stared at Wester, seeming ready to raise her whip again, but this time, her hand lifted slightly and didn’t go up again.

But she did not give up and repeatedly tried to lift the whip.

Finally, she gave up raising the whip in her hand, and instead placed her hand on her waist, as if using the last of her strength, she desperately charged at Wester.

Wester dodged lightly, avoiding the charge, while Wu Lan crashed into a table, her body swaying and nearly falling.

This time, Wester walked over. He glanced at the small knife hidden in Wu Lan’s waist and took hold of her neck, lifting her up again, and headed towards the largest mirror in the room with her.

As the two neared the mirror, faint ripples emerged on its surface, and like passing through water, the two easily moved through the mirror.

After their departure, the silent space flickered and quickly collapsed, devoured by the vast emptiness.

In Wu Lan’s field of vision, the next second, they appeared in a magnificent room.

Reflections were everywhere in the room, and the floor was covered with patterns of dried blood.

"Leader!"

A tall woman, seeing Wester approaching, quickly came over with a wooden yoke.

"Hmm."

Wester dropped Wu Lan on the ground, "Lock her up and strip her of everything."

"Yes."

The woman reached out her hands; under Wester’s watchful eye, she bound Wu Lan with the yoke, seeing her attempting to struggle free. "Don’t try to resist, this is a yoke blessed by Divine Grace; even at your peak, you couldn’t break free with C-level strength."

Then she searched Wu Lan’s body, removed the small knife and long whip, and also found a smart wristband, a locator, as well as a recording pen and a locator earpiece.

Wester crushed all of these items in his hand.

During this process, Wu Lan seemingly lost her strength and passed out.

After searching her thoroughly, the woman scanned with a metal detector and then carried Wu Lan off to a corner of the room.

Wester did not leave but stood still as a gaunt man came towards him, "Leader, all troubles have been resolved, the sacrifices are ready."

Then he glanced at Wu Lan, who appeared to have lost consciousness, "This C-level from the Research Institute with such heavy injuries, she won’t..."

"It’s fine, C-levels aren’t so easy to kill,"

Wester glanced at the central mirror of the room and, together with the gaunt man, entered it. "Prepare the ritual."

...

Elsewhere, the bloodied figure was dragged in front of several others who were also locked in yokes.

The tall woman glanced at the ’prisoners’ resembling those from Central Earth in the corner, threw Wu Lan in front of them, and then turned to leave. A few individuals resembling soldiers were patrolling the area, seemingly as guards.

"Wu Lan? Wu Lan?"

Almost the moment Wu Lan fell in front of the crowd, a short-haired, demure woman with a yoke charged out, crouched beside Wu Lan, and stared at the blood covering Wu Lan’s body, shaking her vigorously.

She struggled to open Wu Lan’s clothes to check for wounds and tried to stop the bleeding for her friend.

At that moment, she conveniently blocked the view of the patrolling guards, and right then, she noticed that her friend on the ground had inexplicably opened her eyes.

Then, she blinked quickly at her.

Eh?