The world has turned into Hell's Game, why should I stay human?
Chapter 327 - 312: Is There a Future in Mechanical Ascension? (Part 2)

Chapter 327: Chapter 312: Is There a Future in Mechanical Ascension? (Part 2)

"Becoming a woman..."

Albert suggested tentatively.

"Don’t even think about it. Old man, don’t try to morally blackmail me with the life of a Yate, I’m not falling for that,"

Liu Zheng said without hesitation.

In the Metropolis, one was always in a crisis of death, and under such high-pressure situations, a momentary burst was just a burst; after all, going against one’s conscience didn’t necessarily mean living longer.

But in a place like Yate, where there was hardly any crisis as long as one did their job, he wasn’t willing to increase the difficulty for a bunch of strangers; he wasn’t that saintly.

"Alright. There’s actually a compromise. I can temporarily turn you into a female state, and after a certain duration, you can change back. However, doing this might be seen through by the Moon Demon,"

Albert said helplessly.

"Let’s go with that,"

Liu Zheng nodded.

If not seen through, he’d fight an extra big boss and gather more materials.

If seen through, he’d fight one less big boss and use fewer items.

Either way, he’d win, WIN-WIN.

"Since you insist. Let’s go meet Muro; she has been waiting for a long time,"

Albert raised his staff and pointed ahead.

His arm was lifted high, stiff all over, like a withered old tree.

For a moment, Liu Zheng couldn’t even sense the breath of life in him, as if he had never lived at all.

"Being a person is really tough,"

He sighed.

Not only them, the pursuers of supernatural powers, but the ordinary residents of Yate were also caught up in this unfathomable darkness, turning into beasts or even worse things.

What about reality then?

Liu Zheng couldn’t help but think.

If all players were like him and Xia Kai, coming from reality, did that mean that the real world was also facing a crisis like Yate?

And what was Hell’s Game then?

The cosmic will of the real world or some powerful deity filled with pity or mockery?

Lost in thought, Liu Zheng reached the edge of the Observatory and looked down; the silver-white lake water was within arm’s reach.

He took a step forward, like a man slipping into the water, his body leaning forward.

However, upon falling off the platform, he realized the lake was much farther away than it had appeared.

The sensation of weightlessness enveloped Liu Zheng, and what he could see was neither the lake surface nor the water, but swirling tufts of glowing white mist.

"Splash!"

It was several minutes later when Liu Zheng finally heard the sound of something heavy falling into the water.

But beneath his feet was a hard sensation, as if he was standing on an iron block.

He reached out and scrabbled around him; the glowing mist consciously receded, allowing him to see everything clearly.

"It’s beautiful,"

Liu Zheng exclaimed as he looked at the strange space around him.

Above him was a dome made of glowing mist, and the horizon was also enshrouded in fog, like a bowl turned upside down over him.

Beneath his feet was a surface smooth like a mirror, but the reflection wasn’t his own, it was of the Pale Moon.

The moon was even larger than what he had seen at the Observatory, so large that Liu Zheng could clearly see the pockmarked basins and valleys on the Moon.

Or perhaps, those weren’t basins and valleys at all.

Thinking of Yamiro, a thought suddenly struck him.

"You’d better stop staring at it,"

A female voice whispered in Liu Zheng’s ear.

Her tone was gentle yet carried a hint of timidity, like a skittish lamb.

He looked up, and in the distance, a giant creature was slowly approaching him.

’Slowly’ referred to its movement, but its speed was not slow, crossing the distance to him in just a few breaths.

Liu Zheng could now see it clearly, it was the spider he had seen when he encountered the statue of the Twisted Saint.

Only this time, it was much larger.

Even using ’only’ as a measure seems inappropriate, ’vehicle’ might be better, as it really looked like a fully armored trailer.

"I’m sorry, did I scare you?"

The female voice spoke again, and the distant behemoth also turned its body, showing its backside to him.

"No, not at all. It’s just that seeing you reminded me of a friend,"

Liu Zheng hurriedly explained.

Although he didn’t know why she thought her backside looked better than her head, her politeness made Liu Zheng feel a slight guilt.

"A friend? Have you ever encountered a being like me?"

The female voice asked curiously.

"Yes, but it wasn’t as large as you, and didn’t have as many legs or eyes as you do,"

He nodded.

"Can you tell me a bit more?"

The female voice seemed very interested and made a request.

"Sure. It’s called the Fabric Spider, and it makes clothes in our restaurant. It has two eyes, one red and one black."

"Interestingly, it has social anxiety. Initially, I could only communicate with it with my eyes closed. But as we got more familiar, I would suddenly open my eyes and it would freeze in fright."

Liu Zheng remembered the Fabric Spider’s feigned death and couldn’t help but laugh.

"How could you scare it like that? That’s too mean,"

The female voice also laughed and then made a slight complaint afterward.

"Friends tease each other all the time. It’s normal."

He said indifferently.

He and Niu Ma would even occasionally threaten each other, considering themselves almost like grandfather and grandson.

"That’s nice,"

The female voice said dreamily.

"Let’s talk serious, you’re Muro, right?"

Liu Zheng said seriously.

"Yes, did the teacher send you?"

Muro asked.

"Yes, he did. Can’t you communicate with each other? He told me that you have been waiting for a long time,"

He asked curiously.

"After becoming a higher being, it becomes even more difficult to communicate with mortals. Mortals cannot understand our words, and we cannot convey ours clearly and simply,"

"It’s only because you’re in this space, and you also have the blood of a noble higher being in you, that we can communicate so seamlessly,"

"And my teacher and I can only communicate in a special way, carrying very little information, which is often significantly distorted,"

Muro explained.

"Oh, I see,"

Liu Zheng nodded.

"How is my teacher doing now?"

Muro asked again.

"He’s doing quite well, still breathing. Just got more wrinkles, well, that comes with old age. I could easily fix that with a facelift."

He said nonchalantly.

"...I think the teacher’s mood might not be very pleasant today,"

Muro seemed to sigh.

Everyone at Carcarens Academy knew that Master Albert’s first dislike was dealing with ignorant people, and his second dislike was dealing with rude people.

And the young man in front of him seemed to fit both bills.

"Who says? I think his mood should be pretty good. After all, with my fighting skills and such low rates, it’s hard to find anyone comparable,"

Liu Zheng retorted.

"Hope so. Did the teacher tell you everything?"

Muro politely moved past that topic.

"Pretty much. He just told me to kill you first, then pretend to be a woman and kill the Moon Demon, then Yate’s people would be saved, and I can collect my reward,"

He said unabashedly.

"Saved? Maybe. Even brief light is much better than eternal darkness,"

Muro said lightly.

"Oh,"

Liu Zheng heard the underlying message in her words but showed no intention of probing further.

"How did the teacher explain your reason to kill me?"

Muro showed no intention of telling him.

"He said if you simply disable your abilities, the Moon Demon might notice something was wrong, and the part of you that’s a higher being wouldn’t allow you to kill yourself,"

Liu Zheng said.

"The teacher’s wisdom is still so profound. I’m coming over now, Hunter,"

Muro suddenly said.

"Oh. Keep it down when you come over, I’m worried I might get frightened and finish you off before you’ve finished talking,"

He cautioned.

He had a rather good impression of Muro and wanted to give him a death with some ceremony.

"...I’m sure the teacher’s mood isn’t very good today,"

Muro muttered as he moved this way.

And the glowing foggy boundary in the distance also slowly shrank towards Liu Zheng’s side.